Embedding Flash fonts

There will be at least two Flash items, or widgets, on pretty much every page that is created with SwissCMS.  These are the main navigation menu at the top of the page, and the page title itself (the bit that reads 'Changing the Flash Fonts' above).

What is an embedded font?

An embedded fonts means that all variations of a font - bold, italic and normal - have been stored within the Flash movie itself.  This means that it will view on any computer - even if they don't have that specific font installed.

Alternatively, if a font is not embedded into a Flash object, the text will only show on those computers which have a copy of the font installed.  If it's not installed, it won't show, or only show the browser's default font - usually Times New Roman.

To keep things globally compatible, the SwissCMS Flash objects do not embed fonts and use Tahoma - a very common font which is found on most computers.

Adding new fonts

When changing the navigation or page title fonts within the Global Configuration Settings, you need to make sure that either:

a) You use a font that is very common and will be installed on all computers

...or

b) You need to embed any specialised font within the Flash movie itself.

Safe fonts (do not require embedding)

You can use any of the following fonts without the need to crack open the Flash file and embed any new fonts.

• Arial
• Courier New
  
• Times New Roman
• Tahoma (default)
• Verdana
  

Embedding a new font

If you wish to use a non-standard or specialist font for any of your Flash page objects, there a few steps to embedding the font.

1. Download and open the Flash (*.fla) file
2. Add 3 dynamic text boxes to the stage for every font you wish to embed - one normal, one bold and one italic
3. Make sure the fields are set to embed fonts
4. Do not label the text fields or add any text to them - they are purely there for embedding purposes
5. Change the main, existing dynamic text box to embed fonts
6. Export the Flash movie and upload it (replacing your old one)

The above steps apply to both the main menu and the page title widgets.  Note - embedding fonts within your Flash objects will increase their file size and lead to slightly longer page loading times.

If in doubt, do not embed anything and use Tahoma throughout.