At design time, when you click in a text field with the Text tool, you can select and edit the existing text. You may also notice that the handles around the text box change. One of the handles on the right or bottom of the text box appears larger than the rest, as shown in Figure 6-10. This handle always provides some helpful information about the text box's characteristics and behavior.
Figure 6-10. The handles on a text box provide details about the type of text field and the way it's sized. The hollow, round handle in the upper-right corner of this text field shows that it's static text that expands with the box.
Here's your secret text field handle decoder ring for horizontal text:
Handle at upper-right means it's Classic static text.
Handle at lower-right means it's Classic dynamic or input text.
Hollow circle means the text field expands as text is added.
Hollow square indicates that the text has a fixed width (as shown in Figure 6-11).
Solid square means the dynamic text is scrollable.
The codes for vertical text are similar, except that the handle providing information is always at the bottom of the text box. It appears at bottom left for static text and at bottom right for dynamic and input text.
When you click inside a TLF text container, it displays square handles on the left and right side. As described on Flow Text from One Container to Another, you use these handles to flow text from one container to another.
Figure 6-11. The handle shown in the lower-right corner of this text box indicates that this dynamic text has a fixed width.
You can change the orientation of TLF text and Classic static text using the Properties panel. As shown in Figure 6-12, the "Change orientation of text" menu is at the top, next to the Text type menu. Your choices are "Horizontal", "Vertical", and "Vertical, left to right". You edit text that's been turned with the orientation options as with any other text. Choose the Text tool from the Tools panel, and click the text field. It may take a moment or two for you to get your bearings if you're not used to working with vertical text. But you'll soon find it's easy to drag to select text. The arrow keys help you navigate back and forth. When you type, text appears vertically and follows the paragraph's orientation properties.
Figure 6-12. Use the "Change orientation of text" menu to create vertical text. Then, use the Rotate button to change the direction the vertical text points.
When you use TLF text, you can rotate characters within the lines of text. This technique is handy if you want, for example, to create vertical text like the neon signs that attach to the sides of buildings. Set the "Change orientation of text" menu to Vertical, and then change the Rotation to 270 degrees, as shown in Figure 6-13.
In Flash, text containers are either multiline or single line. Multiline containers are great for big paragraphs of text, while single-line containers work well for headlines, labels, and input text.
When you're working with TLF text, go to Properties→Container and Flow→Behavior. The menu gives you these choices: "Single line", "Multiline", "Multiline no wrap", and "Password". The available options depend on the Text type. For example, Password is available only with editable text. You use it to conceal the characters someone types into a password box.
When you're working with Classic text, you have similar options, but the Properties panel tools are slightly different. With Classic static text, you create multiline text boxes by pressing Enter (Return). If you're using dynamic or input text, you find the single-line and multiline options in the Paragraph subpanel.
Typographers and art directors are as particular about text as winemakers are about wine. With Adobe, the Ministry of Fonts, as its publisher, Flash has lots of tools to keep type connoisseurs smiling. You can delve into these features if you like, but right out of the box, Flash has some pretty good settings.
Tracking (Properties→Character→Tracking). Tracking determines how much space surrounds individual letters. In most cases, you can leave the tracking at zero for the best readability. Enter a negative number for tight tracking, where letters can bump up against one another or even overlap. A positive number creates larger spaces between letters, a style sometimes used for logos and other artsy effects.
Auto kern (Properties→Character→"Auto kern"). Kerning also affects the space between characters, but its purpose is different. Some letters, like A and V, look better when they're tucked a little closer together, to eliminate the awkward gaps that are especially noticeable at larger type sizes. Flash's Auto-kern feature is on when you first begin using Flash. If you want to turn it off, turn off the "Auto kern" checkbox.
Leading (Properties→Character→Leading). Back in the days of metal type, printers called the space between lines leading, because they actually used lead slugs to set the space. The name is still used to set the space between lines. With TLF text, you can set the leading as a percentage of the line height or as a specific point size.
Before Adobe developed TLF text, you created multiple newspaper-style columns of text by creating multiple containers and carefully putting the right amount of text in each container. With TLF text, you can create up to 10 columns of text in any container. Simply go to Properties→"Container and Flow" and type a number from 1 to 10 for the Columns setting, as shown in Figure 6-14. Then use the box at the right to specify the distance between columns.
Another TLF text specialty is making text flow from one container to another. If you know your text is always going to be seen at the same size or with the same typeface, you might not worry about automatically flowing text. However, if you give your audience the option to change the text size or font, the text may need more or less space. That's when automatically flowing text comes in handy.
The following steps demonstrate how flowing text works:
Using TLF text, create two text boxes on the stage.
You can use any text type: read only, selectable, or editable.
Copy and paste several paragraphs of text.
You can type directly into the text boxes, but it's faster to copy and paste text from a letter or other document.
In the lower-right corner of the first text container, click the red square.
The cursor changes—it looks like it has a paragraph of text attached.
Move the cursor over the second text container.
When the cursor is over an empty text container, it changes to a chain link.
Click in the second container.
Text flows automatically from the first container to the second, as shown in Figure 6-15. A blue line connects the two text boxes, indicating how the text flows.
Figure 6-15. Here there are two TLF text fields on the stage. You can create a link so that text flows automatically from one field to the other. Click the red square in the lower-right corner of the first text field and then move the cursor over the second. Click when the cursor shows a link icon (circled).
Not only does any extra text fill the second container, but it also makes automatic adjustments if you change the size of the text containers or change the type specifications.