14 DAY TRIAL // Creating text effects in Adobe Flash can result in a very tedious task especially if you are not familiarized enough with all the options available. Adobe Flash is for most of the users an application which is quite easy to handle once you discover most of its secret weapons. However, when it comes to effects, there isn't one user to tell you that the job is easy. Not if you want the effects to be original and nice looking.
For this type of job, there are the extensions you can add to Flash in order to increase its functionality and reduce the amount of time spent for one job. Earlier today, we've talked about Creative MovieFX, a very nice Adobe Flash extension designed to save you some time with the preparation of movie clips effects. Now it?s Creative TextFX?s turn, a relative that deals with generally the same area of activity but differs in the elements of the stage it affects.
As the name suggests, it deals only with text and applying all sort of cool effects. Its aim is to fulfill the task with the least effort from the user. The price is the same as for its movie effects relative, i.e. $49.95 and the same limitations are applied. That is the end result will have the developing company's watermark applied for each effect you append.
The interface is as nifty as ever and the perfect integration in Adobe Flash is still available, making it easier to you to handle all the windows. Docking, integration in the various panels made available by the host software, transparency when the window is dragged and help menu incorporation of extension usage information are all present in Creative TextFX.
Let's take a look at the goodies provided in this nifty-looking Flash component. The Component Inspector in this case is equipped with four tabs for defining and customizing your effects. The first one, General, has the function of allowing you to configure the text inserted in the stage. The window is split into two sections, one for text configuration, and one for general parameters.
The interesting thing is that you no longer get to type your text in Flash, but instead input it directly into the component. The presence of the "Update" button let me down at first as I thought that, in order to apply all the changes to the text, pressing it was required. However, the whole formatting of the text is automatically reflected in the Adobe Flash stage. Only modifying the text itself is not automatically resolved and you will see instead the Creative TextFX mark on the object turn red.
Scrolling the font list is a bit difficult because they can be perused only by using the mouse. There is no chance for you to browse them by using the up and down arrows of the keyboard. Also, an automatic update function would have come in very handy in order to see faster the way the font looks like. This can only make me think that the component is designed for users that deal a lot with fonts and know exactly how they look like.
Lower in the window, in the General Parameters section you get to select the effect you want. They are split into several categories for management and handling. The help file will present each category with the incorporated effects. Some examples of categories are Trails, Simple, PassingBy, InPlace, 3D effects, Blurs and Drop. Each of these contains at least five different effects.
Further options include setting the letter spacing, choosing a direction of the effect, specifying the duration of the effect in frames, behavior (start the animation, reverse it, or do nothing and control it from Action Script), set the wait time for the effect to appear and the give an autohide value (set the number of frames after which the animation will hide).
The starting point of the effect also needs to be specified, the default values are -50 for Y distance and 200 for X distance. These represent an offset relative to the final position of the letters.
Presets comprise the area where you get to save the customized effects to use them later, in other Flash projects. You can name them, save them, load them whenever needed and delete them. This section offers a very good manipulation of the created effects. Needless to say, only the results of your customization will be handled here. The presets Creative TextFX brings cannot be deleted.
Notice that nothing has been said about coloring your text. This option is available in the last tab of the extension. "Colors" lets you hue up your text the way you want it. More than applying solid colors, it allows you to give a gradient view of the writing by electing the two colors of the transition. Additionally, the rotation of the gradient can be customized to whatever degree you want.
If you are a color freak and you know the values you want, you type them in for hue, saturation, brightness and RGB or simply enter the color code to achieve the desired result.
After all the settings have been made all there is left to do in order to see the effects is to press Ctrl+Enter for the preview to roll.
Working with Creative TextFX is extremely easy and I am sure that Adobe Flash power users will appreciate the benefits of this extension more than others, as it makes text effects creation extremely simple and light.
The Good
The component handles very well and the integration in the host software is perfect. It behaves like any other panel in Adobe Flash with no exception.
The list of more than 70 effects available plus the flexibility of customizing and saving them for later use turns the application into an advantage for the Adobe Flash users.
The Bad
Just like Creative MovieFX, there is no support for Action Script 3.0.
The Truth
Nice, simple and perfectly integrated in Adobe Flash, Creative TextFX allows you to quickly add effects to your text. The flexibility of the application lets you customize and save your own versions of animations for later use.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
