Archive for June, 2010
Runtime Font Publisher, a tool for runtime font sharing.
June 22nd, 2010 The Runtime Font Publisher makes it easy to create, configure, and publish SWFs that contain fonts for runtime sharing. Each SWF that is created by the Runtime Font Publisher can contain a single font definition, or multiple definitions. True Type, TrueType Collection, and OpenType fonts files can be used to create font definitions. Font definitions can be configured by name, style, embedded character ranges, and more.
A while ago I released a CS4 version of the Runtime Font Publisher. This post is to announce an updated version of the Runtime Font Publisher. Important new features include the ability to:
- Publish runtime shared fonts for use in Flash Text Engine text and Classic text.
- Enable or disable the advanced anti-aliasing setting for Classic text fonts.
- Export the ActionScript classes used in each runtime shared font SWF.
- Display the family and subfamily names of different font file types.
- Select font style, allowing for font definitions that share a name across multiple font faces.
- Specify a custom file name for the runtime shared font file.
In addition to the new features, the Runtime Font Publisher has a number of easy-to-use controls to configure and define the behavior of an embedded font. An embedded font can be configured by name, file, style, characters & ranges, anti-aliasing option, and Compact Font Format. As well, the code base for the Runtime Font Publisher is now open source, and can be found on Google Code.
Download and start using the Runtime Font Publisher
Download the Runtime Font Publisher directly from Google Code. The most recent version of the Runtime Font Publisher and the one described in this post requires Flash CS5. The official code base for the Runtime Font Publisher can be found on Google Code. Instructions on using the extension and runtime shared fonts exist on the Wiki. The extension has also been submitted to the Adobe Exchange and is currently in review has been approved.
For those not interested in the extension, there may still be value in checking it out. There are a set of Flex 4 skins that are a close match to the look and feel of the CS5 interface, and an ActionScript 3.0 library of JSFL commands for file system interaction that are worth taking a look at for anyone interested in creating their own extension.
