Working with Text > Controlling text with ActionScript > Formatting text dynamically |  |

Formatting text dynamically

You can use the ActionScript TextFormat object to set properties of a text field. A TextFormat object incorporates character and paragraph formatting information. Character formatting information describes the appearance of individual characters: font name, point size, color, and an associated URL. Paragraph formatting information describes the appearance of a paragraph: left margin, right margin, indentation of the first line, and left, right, or center alignment.

First you must create a new TextFormat object. Then you can use the methods of the TextField object and pass them the TextFormat object as a parameter to format the text in a field.

Each character in a text field may individually be assigned a TextFormat object. The TextFormat object of the first character of a paragraph is examined to perform paragraph formatting for the entire paragraph.

To format text dynamically:

1 | Choose Window > Actions to open the Actions panel if it isn't already open.
2 | Do one of the following to create a text field:
| Use the Text tool to drag a text field on the Stage. Assign the text field an instance name in the Property inspector.
| For this example, enter the instance name myText.
| Use the `createTextField` method of the MovieClip object. See Creating text. For this example, enter the instance name myText as a parameter of the `createTextField` method.
3 | Do one of the following to place text in the text field:
| Enter text into the text field on the Stage.
| Set the `text` property of the TextField object. See Creating text.
4 | In the Actions toolbox, select the Objects category, then select the Movie category, then select the Movie category, then select the TextFormat category, then double-click `new TextFormat`. For this example, enter myformat in the Object parameter field. The following code is displayed in the Script pane:
    myformat = new TextFormat();
5 | In the Actions toolbox, select the Objects category, then select the Movie category, then select the TextFormat category, then select the Properties category, then double-click `color`. Repeat this step for the `bullet` and `underline` properties. The following code is displayed in the Script pane:
    myformat.color = 0xff0000;
    myformat.bullet = true;
    myformat.underline = true;
6 | In the Actions toolbox, select the Objects category, then select the Movie category, then select the TextField category, then select the Method category, then double-click `setTextFormat`. For this example, enter myText in the Object parameter field.
7 | In the Object field, enter the name of the TextFormat object you created in step 4, myformat. The following code displays in the Script pane:
    mytext.setTextFormat(myformat);

For a complete list of TextFormat object methods and detailed descriptions of each, see TextFormat (object).