User Guide

716 Chapter 7: ActionScript for Flash
TextField class
Availability
Flash Player 6.
Description
You can use the TextField class to perform low-level text rendering. However, in Flex, you
typically use the Label, Text, TextArea, and TextInput controls to process text.
All dynamic and input text fields in a SWF file are instances of the TextField class.
The TextField class inherits from the Object class.
To create a text field dynamically, you do not use the
new operator. Instead, you use
MovieClip.createTextField().
Method summary for the TextField class
Property summary for the TextField class
Method Description
TextField.addListener()
Registers an object to receive notification when the onChanged and
onScroller event handlers are invoked.
TextField.getFontList()
Returns names of fonts on the player’s host system as an array.
TextField.getDepth()
Returns the depth of a text field.
TextField.getNewTextFormat()
Gets the default text format assigned to newly inserted text.
TextField.getTextFormat()
Returns a TextFormat object containing formatting information for
some or all text in a text field.
TextField.removeListener()
Removes a listener object.
TextField.removeTextField()
Removes a text field that was created with
MovieClip.createTextField().
TextField.replaceSel()
Replaces the current selection.
TextField.replaceText()
Replaces a range of characters.
TextField.setNewTextFormat()
Sets a TextFormat object for text that is inserted by a user or by a
method.
TextField.setTextFormat()
Sets a TextFormat object for a specified range of text in a
text field.
Property Description
TextField._alpha
The transparency value of a text field instance.
TextField.autoSize
Controls automatic alignment and sizing of a text field.
TextField.background
Indicates if the text field has a background fill.
TextField.backgroundColor
Indicates the color of the background fill.
CHAPTER 7
ActionScript for Flash