Macromedia Director MX for Windows and Macintosh [Electronic resources] : Visual QuickStart Guide نسخه متنی

Creating and Importing Text

In Director, text (whether regular or field) can be created in either of two ways:

You can type the text directly on the Stage.

You can create a cast member by typing text in the Text or Field window. (Afterward, you can create a sprite by dragging the cast member from the Cast window to the Stage.)

If you want to format your text with custom tab settings or hanging indents, you'll need to use the Text window. Otherwise, typing directly on the Stage is usually more convenient.

With either method, you can type text just as you would in a word processor. You can use the Tab key to create an indent and the Return key to start a new paragraph (Figure 12.4).

Figure 12.4. A text cast member may include tabbed indents and multiple paragraphs.

You can also create text outside Director and then import it. Imported text automatically becomes a regular text cast member; field text can't be imported.

To create text directly on the Stage:

Choose Window > Text Inspector.

The Text Inspector opens (Figure 12.5). (You'll use this later for setting the font, size, and other text attributes, but right now its controls are dimmed until you select the Text tool.)

Figure 12.5. The controls in the Text Inspector remain dimmed until you start using the Text tool.

In the Score, select the cell where you want the text sprite to begin (Figure 12.6).

Figure 12.6. Select the cell where you want the text sprite to begin.

Click the Text tool (for regular text) or the Field tool (for field text) in the Tool palette (Figure 12.7).

Figure 12.7. The Text and Field tools in the Tool palette.

On the Stage, position the mouse pointer at the place where you want the text to begin.

Press the mouse button and drag horizontally to set the desired line length for the text.

A rectangle appears on the Stage, serving as a bounding box for the text (Figure 12.8).

Figure 12.8. A rectangle appears as you drag the mouse across the Stage.

Release the mouse button.

The border of the rectangle widens, and a flashing insertion point appears inside. At the same time, a new, empty text cast member appears in the Cast window, and the controls in the Text Inspector become active.

Set the font, size, style, and other attributes, using the controls in the Text Inspector (Figure 12.9). (See "Setting Text Attributes," later in this chapter.)

Figure 12.9. Set attributes for the text in the Text Inspector.

If you wish, you can skip this step and Director will use whatever text attributes are currently set. You can change them at any time.

Type the text.

If the text you type exceeds the width of the rectangle, Director automatically wraps it to a new line (Figure 12.10).

Figure 12.10. Type text inside the rectangle. Director wraps text to a new line as necessary.

When you're finished, click anywhere on the Stage outside the rectangle.

The rectangle disappears. The text remains on the Stage, just as you typed it. The text also appears as a cast member in the Cast window (Figure 12.11).

Figure 12.11. When you create text on the Stage, it also appears in the Cast window.

To create text in the Text or Field window:

Choose Window > Text (for the Text window) or Window > Field (for the Field window).

The window opens (Figures 12.12 and 12.13).

Figure 12.12. The Text window offers an alternative way to create and format text for your movie.

Figure 12.13. The Field window.

If a text cast member is currently selected in the Cast window, that text appears in the Text or Field window when it opens.

If no text cast member is selected in the Cast window, the Text or Field window opens empty and a blank text cast member appears in the Cast window. In this case, you can skip step 2.

If necessary, click the New Cast Member button to empty the Text or Field window.

Doing so creates a new cast member in the Cast window.

Set the font, size, style, and other attributes for the text you're about to type, using the controls on the toolbar at the top of the Text or Field window. (See "Setting Text Attributes," later in this chapter.)

If you wish, you can skip this step and Director will use whatever text attributes are currently set. You can change them at any time.

Type the text (Figure 12.14).

Figure 12.14. The Text and Field windows work like a word processor. Lines wrap automatically as you type.

As you type, the text appears simultaneously in the current cast member in the Cast window.

The text cast member is available for use at any time. You don't have to save the text, close the Text or Field window, or do anything else.

Tip

To show or hide the Text or Field window's toolbar, choose View > Text Toolbar while the window is active.

To import text:

Chapter 2)

You can import text from plain ASCII text files, Rich Text Format (RTF) files, and HTML files. Director preserves the formatting as much as possible.

Tip

Tables imported from RTF and HTML documents will be preserved in Director, even though tables can't be created in Director (Figure 12.15).