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Flash Article
Formatting text for localized Flash projects using CSS, HTML, and ActionScript
Dan Carr
Table of Contents
Adobe Flash CS3 Professional has grown from a designer's tool into a full-blown, globally accessible application building platform. Developers are increasingly building applications capable of displaying their default language as well as any other language needed. This is the process of localization. Due to differences in system code pages and differences in the ways operating systems handle installed fonts and multi-byte fonts, building a localized application in Flash can involve many challenges and pitfalls.
Recently I've been working through a range of localization strategies and issues while working for the Hellenic Studies department at Simon Fraser University. We're building an online language tutor that currently teaches English, Greek, and Chinese from all perspectives. Ultimately the tool is built to handle a larger range of languages, but the challenges and solutions for these three languages alone provide a lot of insight into the localization options available in Flash.
This article addresses the key points I learned while localizing the tutor application. It stitches together much of the information that is loosely available out there and combines it with some of the custom solutions which have proven to be the most successful in the project.
Requirements
To make the most of this article, you'll need the following software and files:
Flash CS3 Professional
Dreamweaver CS3
Sample files:
- localized_flash.zip (ZIP, 20K)
Prerequisite knowledge
Although general Flash experience is advised, this article is geared towards anyone interested in an overview of localization and text formatting techniques in Flash.
The general information in this article applies to ActionScript 2.0 and ActionScript 3.0; however, the sample files are ActionScript 3.0 only. Intermediate and advanced Flash developers will be able to deconstruct it; all skill levels should be able to make good use of the general information discussed in the article.
About the author
Dan Carr is owner, lead developer, and trainer for Dan Carr Design in San Francisco. With years of history developing for Macromedia and Adobe, Dan has created a range of features available in Flash, including e-learning templates, UI components, and Developer Resource Kit extensions. Dan teaches Flash design and ActionScript classes in San Francisco and develops e-learning and web applications for the public, as well as for Adobe product teams.
