Adding text OMG!

[theotherguy]

Hi, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but ASpro freaks out when I add text. I add a vector layer, then choose text, it takes 20 secs for the text box to even appear, if I click on anything before it appears I get a 'program not responding' crash. Do I have to get rid of the bitmaps and other memory intensive objects for this to run smoothly?

Also, the text box does not include a drop shadow option, is there a way to add a drop shadow to text?
thanks

[Imago]

How many fonts have you installed on your PC?
Try to uninstall useless fonts.

About the shadow, you can add it with layer effects and shape effects.

[heyvern]

Fonts are a HUGE resource hog. They can bog down any application if you have a lot of them active. On my relatively slow and old PC I have to wait a while in many applications including AS for the font menu to load up (I have a ton of fonts )

If you get a "Program not responding" don't ASSUME THIS IS A CRASH!!!! Wait for it to come back. Many times the application is not responding only because it is doing something... and... uh... can't respond... like when you are on hold on the telephone with tech support. Try the font thing again in AS but just wait. It may take a while.

The good news in AS is that if you load the text tool ONCE it won't take as long the next time... hopefully. That's been my experience. I wait a loooong time for fonts to load the FIRST TIME I use the text tool, after that it loads immediately.

-vern

[sbtamu]

What version of AS do you have? I think AS 6.2 addressed the 20 sec opening delay. On my 6.2 AS Debut the text opens immediately but on AS 6.0 it was 20 seconds or more. On My AS7 Pro it opens up in less than a second.

[heyvern]

Hey you are right. It's still takes a bit of time on my slow machine to load the fonts but it is faster than before. It's instant on my Mac Mini though.

Another thing to watch out for are any fonts you downloaded for free. Sometimes fonts can get "damaged" or have... unusual names or configurations that can conflict with some applications. I have a few fonts like that that cause me all kinds of trouble. They are "picture" or "icon" fonts. They work great in some applications but in others they won't even display at all.

-vern

[theotherguy]

Thanks guys, I really don't have that many fonts though.

Where do I get ASpro 6.2?

[sbtamu]

Thanks guys, I really don't have that many fonts though.

Where do I get ASpro 6.2?

http://anime.smithmicro.com/index.php?s ... ow_Updates

[lilkimbo11]

How many fonts have you installed on your PC?
Try to uninstall useless fonts.

THANK YOU!! I only removed some of the heavy fonts and it solved my problem instantly!

[Telemacus]

I do have lots of fonts installed, but most of them are not "useless". I have the same problem (AS 9.5) if I try to add text to my animations: it crashes.
I use dozens of different programs, and I never had this problem. I think perhaps AS should try to improve the way it handles fonts: it seems to me that it loads ALL of them into memory rather than 1 at a time when a user selects it.
I think this would be a more professional approach than telling users to "uninstall some fonts", particularly when no other program that I've ever come across has this issue...
If you have inkscape, check out how it handles adding text and you'll be impressed.

[Telemacus]

By the way, I just tested this.
You know what's not funny? adding text in AS 8.0 Debut works fine (ok, 10 seconds to load) on my computer. 9.5 pro, it crashes it.