How To Keep Fonts Clear (edited title)

[ilyaslamasse]

hey, i have a ?.
every time i do the text scrolling thing, although it works it always ends up looking different than the rest of the regular normal text(the static text).
ive tried leaving it as the same font and the same size but it always changes. it looks more pixelated than usual.

any tips ??.
thanks

[eyezberg]

Static and Dynamic text have one main difference: one can be anti-aliased, the other one not, so it's normal it looks jagged!

[ilyaslamasse]

And is there a way to solve that ? Apart from writing very small so that you can't really tell ??
pom 0]

[eyezberg]

Try using pixel fonts, dunno if it gets better, it's s'posed to though, but they're a apin i d b to use! Get some here, and check the instructions!
www.miniml.com/ (http://www.miniml.com/)

[eyezberg]

Something from the treasure chest i just found on my hard drive:

"How To Keep Fonts Clear

Here are the basic rules to follow to keep text from anti-aliasing (ie. getting
fuzzy, unclear, blurred). I've also included a few notes that could be useful
when manipulating text with actionscript.

Know the 'Size Intended'

The first bit of info you will need is the size that the font was intended to be
set at. Most fonts are between 8-12 pt fonts. In the case of the popular
miniml fonts they are 8. Contact the creator of the font if you can't determine
the correct size.

RULE #1:

Be sure that the font being used is only set to multiples of the size intended.
For example, miniml fonts should only be size 8,16,32,40, etc. If you try
other sizes the flash anti-aliasing will kick in and they will blur.

RULE #2:

Adjust placement of text so that it rests on integer (ie 1,2,3,4.. not
1.1,2.5,1.2,5.6, etc.) x and y values. If the text is placed on say x:1.4 y:2.3
the text will anti-alias and blur. The exact position of text is easily changed
by selecting it and opening the info box in flash. Simply type in the rounded
x and y values.

Those are the two basic rules. Here are a few
notes/tricks for other situations:

NOTE #1:

A lot of times you will have text within a movie clip. Even though the x and y
values may be integers it may still look blurry. This is because the movieclip
that it resides in is not on integer values. It's generally good practice to
manually adjust movieclips via the info box whenever they contain text.

NOTE #2:

You will run into a problem with the aliasing when you scroll or manipulate
the location of the text via actionscript. This is obviously due to the text
being moved between integer values. The solution is to modify the
actionscript so that when it determines the x and y position of the text you
include a Math.round () argument.

AMENDMENT #1:

You must left justify the text for it to remain clear. If it's centered
or right justified it will alias and blur.

AMENDMENT #2:

The movie that the text resides in must be published with a set
size (i.e. x:300 pixels, y:400 pixels). If it gets published with as a resizable movie it will also resize the fonts and they will fall apart. "

Don't know who wrotte this, but it should help..!

[ilyaslamasse]

Hey ! great tips ! Lots of conditions though...

pom 0]

[eyezberg]

That's why i can't be bothered :) You can't read it? Too bad, buy a new pair of glasses!

[upuaut8]

That's a nice set of rules. Probebly will move this to best of Kirupa in a while, once people have read it

[olmanshado]

thank you all for the tips and advice. i appreciate it.
this site works beter than most books.lol.

anyways thank you all and until later

shado

[fr-ode]

this is old, but gets me wondering: what is so great with pixelfonts if you only can use them at for example 8px 16px 32px size and so on?

[REEF·]

Pixel fonts deliver a different style and look that regular fonts, they are extremely crispy when used at the right sizes. You can use them at any size you want, but at certain factors they reach their peak look.

[sdpkelkar]

@f-rode: I think it has to do with the way the fonts are created and displayed. Characters created for pixel fonts consist of units positioned on a lattice. Each cell of the lattice conforms to one pixel on the screen, when using the font in 8 pixel size. This implies that in sizes 8, 16, 24, 32, etc. the font will be displayed crisp, without aliasing since it will snap to the grid on your monitor.

That was what we were taught in class, but then I was asleep most of the time ;)

[tooper12]

always try to use tab 4 long space

[vikrant29nov]

always try to use tab 4 long space
I tried using tab for long spaces but it doesn't work :sure:

[dmitriysorokin]

Thanks for the tips. It helped a lot.