class flash.text.TextField extends InteractiveObject

Available on all platforms

The TextField class is used to create display objects for text display and * input. 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. <ph * outputclass="flashonly">You can give a text field an instance name in the * Property inspector and use the methods and properties of the TextField * class to manipulate it with ActionScript. TextField instance names are * displayed in the Movie Explorer and in the Insert Target Path dialog box in * the Actions panel. *

To create a text field dynamically, use the TextField() * constructor.

*

The methods of the TextField class let you set, select, and manipulate * text in a dynamic or input text field that you create during authoring or * at runtime.

*

ActionScript provides several ways to format your text at runtime. The * TextFormat class lets you set character and paragraph formatting for * TextField objects. You can apply Cascading Style Sheets(CSS) styles to * text fields by using the TextField.styleSheet property and the * StyleSheet class. You can use CSS to style built-in HTML tags, define new * formatting tags, or apply styles. You can assign HTML formatted text, which * optionally uses CSS styles, directly to a text field. HTML text that you * assign to a text field can contain embedded media(movie clips, SWF files, * GIF files, PNG files, and JPEG files). The text wraps around the embedded * media in the same way that a web browser wraps text around media embedded * in an HTML document.

*

Flash Player supports a subset of HTML tags that you can use to format * text. See the list of supported HTML tags in the description of the * htmlText property.

* * @event change Dispatched after a control value is * modified, unlike the * textInput event, which is * dispatched before the value is modified. * Unlike the W3C DOM Event Model version of * the change event, which * dispatches the event only after the * control loses focus, the ActionScript 3.0 * version of the change event * is dispatched any time the control * changes. For example, if a user types text * into a text field, a change * event is dispatched after every keystroke. * @event link Dispatched when a user clicks a hyperlink * in an HTML-enabled text field, where the * URL begins with "event:". The remainder of * the URL after "event:" is placed in the * text property of the LINK event. * *

Note: The default behavior, * adding the text to the text field, occurs * only when Flash Player generates the * event, which in this case happens when a * user attempts to input text. You cannot * put text into a text field by sending it * textInput events.

* @event scroll Dispatched by a TextField object * after the user scrolls. * @event textInput Flash Player dispatches the * textInput event when a user * enters one or more characters of text. * Various text input methods can generate * this event, including standard keyboards, * input method editors(IMEs), voice or * speech recognition systems, and even the * act of pasting plain text with no * formatting or style information. * @event textInteractionModeChange Flash Player dispatches the * textInteractionModeChange * event when a user changes the interaction * mode of a text field. for example on * Android, one can toggle from NORMAL mode * to SELECTION mode using context menu * options

Class Fields

static function isFontCompatible(fontName:String, fontStyle:String):Bool

Returns true if an embedded font is available with the specified * fontName and fontStyle where * Font.fontType is flash.text.FontType.EMBEDDED. * Starting with Flash Player 10, two kinds of embedded fonts can appear in a * SWF file. Normal embedded fonts are only used with TextField objects. CFF * embedded fonts are only used with the flash.text.engine classes. The two * types are distinguished by the fontType property of the * Font class, as returned by the enumerateFonts() * function. *

TextField cannot use a font of type EMBEDDEDCFF. If * embedFonts is set to true and the only font * available at run time with the specified name and style is of type * EMBEDDEDCFF, Flash Player fails to render the text, as if no * embedded font were available with the specified name and style.

*

If both EMBEDDED and EMBEDDED_CFF fonts are * available with the same name and style, the EMBEDDED font is * selected and text renders with the EMBEDDED font.

* *

fontName

The name of the embedded font to check. *

fontStyle

Specifies the font style to check. Use flash.text.FontStyle

returnstrue if a compatible embedded font is available, * otherwise false. *

Instance Fields

var alwaysShowSelection:Bool

When set to true and the text field is not in focus, Flash * Player highlights the selection in the text field in gray. When set to * false and the text field is not in focus, Flash Player does * not highlight the selection in the text field. * * @default false

var antiAliasType:AntiAliasType

The type of anti-aliasing used for this text field. Use * flash.text.AntiAliasType constants for this property. You can * control this setting only if the font is embedded(with the * embedFonts property set to true). The default * setting is flash.text.AntiAliasType.NORMAL. * *

To set values for this property, use the following string values:

var autoSize:TextFieldAutoSize

Controls automatic sizing and alignment of text fields. Acceptable values * for the TextFieldAutoSize constants: * TextFieldAutoSize.NONE(the default), * TextFieldAutoSize.LEFT, TextFieldAutoSize.RIGHT, * and TextFieldAutoSize.CENTER. *

If autoSize is set to TextFieldAutoSize.NONE * (the default) no resizing occurs.

*

If autoSize is set to TextFieldAutoSize.LEFT, * the text is treated as left-justified text, meaning that the left margin * of the text field remains fixed and any resizing of a single line of the * text field is on the right margin. If the text includes a line break(for * example, "\n" or "\r"), the bottom is also * resized to fit the next line of text. If wordWrap is also set * to true, only the bottom of the text field is resized and the * right side remains fixed.

*

If autoSize is set to * TextFieldAutoSize.RIGHT, the text is treated as * right-justified text, meaning that the right margin of the text field * remains fixed and any resizing of a single line of the text field is on * the left margin. If the text includes a line break(for example, * "\n" or "\r"), the bottom is also resized to fit the next * line of text. If wordWrap is also set to true, * only the bottom of the text field is resized and the left side remains * fixed.

*

If autoSize is set to * TextFieldAutoSize.CENTER, the text is treated as * center-justified text, meaning that any resizing of a single line of the * text field is equally distributed to both the right and left margins. If * the text includes a line break(for example, "\n" or * "\r"), the bottom is also resized to fit the next line of * text. If wordWrap is also set to true, only the * bottom of the text field is resized and the left and right sides remain * fixed.

* *

var background:Bool

Specifies whether the text field has a background fill. If * true, the text field has a background fill. If * false, the text field has no background fill. Use the * backgroundColor property to set the background color of a * text field. * * @default false

var backgroundColor:UInt

The color of the text field background. The default value is * 0xFFFFFF(white). This property can be retrieved or set, even * if there currently is no background, but the color is visible only if the * text field has the background property set to * true.

var border:Bool

Specifies whether the text field has a border. If true, the * text field has a border. If false, the text field has no * border. Use the borderColor property to set the border color. * * @default false

var borderColor:UInt

The color of the text field border. The default value is * 0x000000(black). This property can be retrieved or set, even * if there currently is no border, but the color is visible only if the text * field has the border property set to true.

var bottomScrollV:Int

An integer(1-based index) that indicates the bottommost line that is * currently visible in the specified text field. Think of the text field as * a window onto a block of text. The scrollV property is the * 1-based index of the topmost visible line in the window. * *

All the text between the lines indicated by scrollV and * bottomScrollV is currently visible in the text field.

var caretIndex:Int

The index of the insertion point(caret) position. If no insertion point * is displayed, the value is the position the insertion point would be if * you restored focus to the field(typically where the insertion point last * was, or 0 if the field has not had focus). * *

Selection span indexes are zero-based(for example, the first position * is 0, the second position is 1, and so on).

var condenseWhite:Bool

A Boolean value that specifies whether extra white space(spaces, line * breaks, and so on) in a text field with HTML text is removed. The default * value is false. The condenseWhite property only * affects text set with the htmlText property, not the * text property. If you set text with the text * property, condenseWhite is ignored. *

If condenseWhite is set to true, use standard * HTML commands such as
and

to place line * breaks in the text field.

*

Set the condenseWhite property before setting the * htmlText property.

var defaultTextFormat:TextFormat

Specifies the format applied to newly inserted text, such as text entered * by a user or text inserted with the replaceSelectedText() * method. *

Note: When selecting characters to be replaced with * setSelection() and replaceSelectedText(), the * defaultTextFormat will be applied only if the text has been * selected up to and including the last character. Here is an example:

*
 var mytxt:TextField new TextField();
 * mytxt.text = "Flash Macintosh version"; var myfmt:TextFormat = new
 * TextFormat(); myfmt.color = 0xFF0000; mytxt.defaultTextFormat = myfmt;
 * mytxt.setSelection(6,15); // partial text selected - defaultTextFormat
 * not applied mytxt.setSelection(6,23); // text selected to end -
 * defaultTextFormat applied my_txt.replaceSelectedText("Windows version");
 * 
*

When you access the defaultTextFormat property, the * returned TextFormat object has all of its properties defined. No property * is null.

* *

Note: You can't set this property if a style sheet is applied to * the text field.

* *

var displayAsPassword:Bool

Specifies whether the text field is a password text field. If the value of * this property is true, the text field is treated as a * password text field and hides the input characters using asterisks instead * of the actual characters. If false, the text field is not * treated as a password text field. When password mode is enabled, the Cut * and Copy commands and their corresponding keyboard shortcuts will not * function. This security mechanism prevents an unscrupulous user from using * the shortcuts to discover a password on an unattended computer. * * @default false

var embedFonts:Bool

Specifies whether to render by using embedded font outlines. If * false, Flash Player renders the text field by using device * fonts. * *

If you set the embedFonts property to true * for a text field, you must specify a font for that text by using the * font property of a TextFormat object applied to the text * field. If the specified font is not embedded in the SWF file, the text is * not displayed.

* * @default false

var gridFitType:GridFitType

The type of grid fitting used for this text field. This property applies * only if the flash.text.AntiAliasType property of the text * field is set to flash.text.AntiAliasType.ADVANCED. *

The type of grid fitting used determines whether Flash Player forces * strong horizontal and vertical lines to fit to a pixel or subpixel grid, * or not at all.

*

For the flash.text.GridFitType property, you can use the * following string values:

* * @default pixel

var htmlText:String

Contains the HTML representation of the text field contents. *

Flash Player supports the following HTML tags:

*

Flash Player and AIR also support explicit character codes, such as * &(ASCII ampersand) and €(Unicode € symbol).

var length:Int

The number of characters in a text field. A character such as tab * (\t) counts as one character.

var maxChars:Int

The maximum number of characters that the text field can contain, as * entered by a user. A script can insert more text than * maxChars allows; the maxChars property indicates * only how much text a user can enter. If the value of this property is * 0, a user can enter an unlimited amount of text. * * @default 0

var maxScrollH:Int

The maximum value of scrollH.

var maxScrollV:Int

The maximum value of scrollV.

var mouseWheelEnabled:Bool

A Boolean value that indicates whether Flash Player automatically scrolls * multiline text fields when the user clicks a text field and rolls the * mouse wheel. By default, this value is true. This property is * useful if you want to prevent mouse wheel scrolling of text fields, or * implement your own text field scrolling.

var multiline:Bool

Indicates whether field is a multiline text field. If the value is * true, the text field is multiline; if the value is * false, the text field is a single-line text field. In a field * of type TextFieldType.INPUT, the multiline value * determines whether the Enter key creates a new line(a value * of false, and the Enter key is ignored). If you * paste text into a TextField with a multiline * value of false, newlines are stripped out of the text. * * @default false

var numLines:Int

Defines the number of text lines in a multiline text field. If * wordWrap property is set to true, the number of * lines increases when text wraps.

var restrict:String

Indicates the set of characters that a user can enter into the text field. * If the value of the restrict property is null, * you can enter any character. If the value of the restrict * property is an empty string, you cannot enter any character. If the value * of the restrict property is a string of characters, you can * enter only characters in the string into the text field. The string is * scanned from left to right. You can specify a range by using the hyphen * (-) character. Only user interaction is restricted; a script can put any * text into the text field. This property does * not synchronize with the Embed font options in the Property inspector. *

If the string begins with a caret(^) character, all characters are * initially accepted and succeeding characters in the string are excluded * from the set of accepted characters. If the string does not begin with a * caret(^) character, no characters are initially accepted and succeeding * characters in the string are included in the set of accepted * characters.

*

The following example allows only uppercase characters, spaces, and * numbers to be entered into a text field:

*
 mytxt.restrict = "A-Z 0-9"; 
* *

The following example includes all characters, but excludes lowercase * letters:

*
 mytxt.restrict = "^a-z"; 
*

You can use a backslash to enter a ^ or - verbatim. The accepted * backslash sequences are \-, \^ or \\. The backslash must be an actual * character in the string, so when specified in ActionScript, a double * backslash must be used. For example, the following code includes only the * dash(-) and caret(^):

*
 my_txt.restrict = "\\-\\^"; 
*

The ^ can be used anywhere in the string to toggle between including * characters and excluding characters. The following code includes only * uppercase letters, but excludes the uppercase letter Q:

*
 mytxt.restrict = "A-Z^Q"; 
* *

You can use the \u escape sequence to construct * restrict strings. The following code includes only the * characters from ASCII 32(space) to ASCII 126(tilde).

*
 mytxt.restrict = "\u0020-\u007E"; 
* * @default null

var scrollH:Int

The current horizontal scrolling position. If the scrollH * property is 0, the text is not horizontally scrolled. This property value * is an integer that represents the horizontal position in pixels. *

The units of horizontal scrolling are pixels, whereas the units of * vertical scrolling are lines. Horizontal scrolling is measured in pixels * because most fonts you typically use are proportionally spaced; that is, * the characters can have different widths. Flash Player performs vertical * scrolling by line because users usually want to see a complete line of * text rather than a partial line. Even if a line uses multiple fonts, the * height of the line adjusts to fit the largest font in use.

*

Note: The scrollH property is zero-based, not * 1-based like the scrollV vertical scrolling property.

var scrollV:Int

The vertical position of text in a text field. The scrollV * property is useful for directing users to a specific paragraph in a long * passage, or creating scrolling text fields. * *

The units of vertical scrolling are lines, whereas the units of * horizontal scrolling are pixels. If the first line displayed is the first * line in the text field, scrollV is set to 1(not 0). Horizontal scrolling * is measured in pixels because most fonts are proportionally spaced; that * is, the characters can have different widths. Flash performs vertical * scrolling by line because users usually want to see a complete line of * text rather than a partial line. Even if there are multiple fonts on a * line, the height of the line adjusts to fit the largest font in use.

var selectable:Bool

A Boolean value that indicates whether the text field is selectable. The * value true indicates that the text is selectable. The * selectable property controls whether a text field is * selectable, not whether a text field is editable. A dynamic text field can * be selectable even if it is not editable. If a dynamic text field is not * selectable, the user cannot select its text. * *

If selectable is set to false, the text in * the text field does not respond to selection commands from the mouse or * keyboard, and the text cannot be copied with the Copy command. If * selectable is set to true, the text in the text * field can be selected with the mouse or keyboard, and the text can be * copied with the Copy command. You can select text this way even if the * text field is a dynamic text field instead of an input text field.

* * @default true

var selectionBeginIndex:Int

The zero-based character index value of the first character in the current * selection. For example, the first character is 0, the second character is * 1, and so on. If no text is selected, this property is the value of * caretIndex.

var selectionEndIndex:Int

The zero-based character index value of the last character in the current * selection. For example, the first character is 0, the second character is * 1, and so on. If no text is selected, this property is the value of * caretIndex.

var sharpness:Float

The sharpness of the glyph edges in this text field. This property applies * only if the flash.text.AntiAliasType property of the text * field is set to flash.text.AntiAliasType.ADVANCED. The range * for sharpness is a number from -400 to 400. If you attempt to * set sharpness to a value outside that range, Flash sets the * property to the nearest value in the range(either -400 or 400). * * @default 0

var styleSheet:StyleSheet

Attaches a style sheet to the text field. For information on creating * style sheets, see the StyleSheet class and the ActionScript 3.0 * Developer's Guide. *

You can change the style sheet associated with a text field at any * time. If you change the style sheet in use, the text field is redrawn with * the new style sheet. You can set the style sheet to null or * undefined to remove the style sheet. If the style sheet in * use is removed, the text field is redrawn without a style sheet.

*

Note: If the style sheet is removed, the contents of both * TextField.text and TextField.htmlText change to * incorporate the formatting previously applied by the style sheet. To * preserve the original TextField.htmlText contents without the * formatting, save the value in a variable before removing the style * sheet.

var text:String

A string that is the current text in the text field. Lines are separated * by the carriage return character('\r', ASCII 13). This * property contains unformatted text in the text field, without HTML tags. * *

To get the text in HTML form, use the htmlText * property.

var textColor:UInt

The color of the text in a text field, in hexadecimal format. The * hexadecimal color system uses six digits to represent color values. Each * digit has 16 possible values or characters. The characters range from 0-9 * and then A-F. For example, black is 0x000000; white is * 0xFFFFFF. * * @default 0(0x000000)

var textHeight:Float

The height of the text in pixels.

var textInteractionMode:TextInteractionMode

The interaction mode property, Default value is * TextInteractionMode.NORMAL. On mobile platforms, the normal mode implies * that the text can be scrolled but not selected. One can switch to the * selectable mode through the in-built context menu on the text field. On * Desktop, the normal mode implies that the text is in scrollable as well as * selection mode.

var textWidth:Float

The width of the text in pixels.

var thickness:Float

The thickness of the glyph edges in this text field. This property applies * only when flash.text.AntiAliasType is set to * flash.text.AntiAliasType.ADVANCED. * *

The range for thickness is a number from -200 to 200. If * you attempt to set thickness to a value outside that range, * the property is set to the nearest value in the range(either -200 or * 200).

* * @default 0

var type:TextFieldType

The type of the text field. Either one of the following TextFieldType * constants: TextFieldType.DYNAMIC, which specifies a dynamic * text field, which a user cannot edit, or TextFieldType.INPUT, * which specifies an input text field, which a user can edit. * * @default dynamic *

var useRichTextClipboard:Bool

Specifies whether to copy and paste the text formatting along with the * text. When set to true, Flash Player copies and pastes * formatting(such as alignment, bold, and italics) when you copy and paste * between text fields. Both the origin and destination text fields for the * copy and paste procedure must have useRichTextClipboard set * to true. The default value is false.

var wordWrap:Bool

A Boolean value that indicates whether the text field has word wrap. If * the value of wordWrap is true, the text field * has word wrap; if the value is false, the text field does not * have word wrap. The default value is false.

function new():Void

Creates a new TextField instance. After you create the TextField instance, * call the addChild() or addChildAt() method of * the parent DisplayObjectContainer object to add the TextField instance to * the display list. * *

The default size for a text field is 100 x 100 pixels.

function appendText(newText:String):Void

Appends the string specified by the newText parameter to the * end of the text of the text field. This method is more efficient than an * addition assignment(+=) on a text property * (such as someTextField.text += moreText), particularly for a * text field that contains a significant amount of content. * *

newText

The string to append to the existing text.

function copyRichText():String

function getCharBoundaries(charIndex:Int):Rectangle

Returns a rectangle that is the bounding box of the character. * *

charIndex

The zero-based index value for the character(for example, the first position is 0, the second position is 1, and so on). *

returns

A rectangle with x and y minimum and * maximum values defining the bounding box of the character.

function getCharIndexAtPoint(x:Float, y:Float):Int

Returns the zero-based index value of the character at the point specified * by the x and y parameters. * *

x

The x coordinate of the character. *

y

The y coordinate of the character. *

returns

The zero-based index value of the character(for example, the first position is 0, the second position is 1, and so on). Returns -1 if the point is not over any character.

function getFirstCharInParagraph(charIndex:Int):Int

Given a character index, returns the index of the first character in the * same paragraph. * *

charIndex

The zero-based index value of the character(for example, the first character is 0, the second character is 1, and so on). *

returns

The zero-based index value of the first character in the same paragraph.

function getImageReference(id:String):DisplayObject

Returns a DisplayObject reference for the given id, for an * image or SWF file that has been added to an HTML-formatted text field by * using an tag. The tag is in the * following format: * *

 <img src = 'filename.jpg' id =
 * 'instanceName' >

* *

id

The id to match(in the id attribute of the tag).

returns

The display object corresponding to the image or SWF file with the matching id attribute in the tag of the text field. For media loaded from an external source, this object is a Loader object, and, once loaded, the media object is a child of that Loader object. For media embedded in the SWF file, it is the loaded object. If no tag with the matching id exists, the method returns * null.

function getLineIndexAtPoint(x:Float, y:Float):Int

Returns the zero-based index value of the line at the point specified by * the x and y parameters. * *

x

The x coordinate of the line. *

y

The y coordinate of the line. *

returns

The zero-based index value of the line(for example, the first line is 0, the second line is 1, and so on). Returns -1 if the point is not over any line.

function getLineIndexOfChar(charIndex:Int):Int

Returns the zero-based index value of the line containing the character * specified by the charIndex parameter. * *

charIndex

The zero-based index value of the character(for example, the first character is 0, the second character is 1, and so on). *

returns

The zero-based index value of the line. *

function getLineLength(lineIndex:Int):Int

Returns the number of characters in a specific text line. * *

lineIndex

The line number for which you want the length. *

returns

The number of characters in the line. *

function getLineMetrics(lineIndex:Int):TextLineMetrics

Returns metrics information about a given text line. * *

lineIndex

The line number for which you want metrics information. *

returns

A TextLineMetrics object. *

function getLineOffset(lineIndex:Int):Int

Returns the character index of the first character in the line that the * lineIndex parameter specifies. * *

lineIndex

The zero-based index value of the line(for example, the first line is 0, the second line is 1, and so on).

returns

The zero-based index value of the first character in the line. *

function getLineText(lineIndex:Int):String

Returns the text of the line specified by the lineIndex * parameter. * *

lineIndex

The zero-based index value of the line(for example, the first line is 0, the second line is 1, and so on).

returns

The text string contained in the specified line. *

function getParagraphLength(charIndex:Int):Int

Given a character index, returns the length of the paragraph containing * the given character. The length is relative to the first character in the * paragraph(as returned by getFirstCharInParagraph()), not to * the character index passed in. * *

charIndex

The zero-based index value of the character(for example, the first character is 0, the second character is 1, and so on). *

returns

Returns the number of characters in the paragraph. *

function getRawText():String

function getTextFormat(?beginIndex:Int, ?endIndex:Int):TextFormat

Returns a TextFormat object that contains formatting information for the * range of text that the beginIndex and endIndex * parameters specify. Only properties that are common to the entire text * specified are set in the resulting TextFormat object. Any property that is * mixed, meaning that it has different values at different points in * the text, has a value of null. *

If you do not specify values for these parameters, this method is * applied to all the text in the text field.

*

The following table describes three possible usages:

* *

returns

The TextFormat object that represents the formatting properties for the specified text.

function getTextRuns(?beginIndex:Int, ?endIndex:Int):Array<Dynamic>

function getXMLText(?beginIndex:Int, ?endIndex:Int):String

function insertXMLText(beginIndex:Int, endIndex:Int, richText:String, ?pasting:Bool):Void

function pasteRichText(richText:String):Bool

function replaceSelectedText(value:String):Void

Replaces the current selection with the contents of the value * parameter. The text is inserted at the position of the current selection, * using the current default character format and default paragraph format. * The text is not treated as HTML. *

You can use the replaceSelectedText() method to insert and * delete text without disrupting the character and paragraph formatting of * the rest of the text.

*

Note: This method does not work if a style sheet is applied to * the text field.

* *

value

The string to replace the currently selected text. *

function replaceText(beginIndex:Int, endIndex:Int, newText:String):Void

Replaces the range of characters that the beginIndex and * endIndex parameters specify with the contents of the * newText parameter. As designed, the text from * beginIndex to endIndex-1 is replaced. * *

Note: This method does not work if a style sheet is applied to * the text field.

* *

beginIndex

The zero-based index value for the start position of the replacement range.

endIndex

The zero-based index position of the first character * after the desired text span. *

newText

The text to use to replace the specified range of * characters. *

function setSelection(beginIndex:Int, endIndex:Int):Void

Sets as selected the text designated by the index values of the first and * last characters, which are specified with the beginIndex and * endIndex parameters. If the two parameter values are the * same, this method sets the insertion point, as if you set the * caretIndex property. * *

beginIndex

The zero-based index value of the first character in the selection(for example, the first character is 0, the second character is 1, and so on). *

endIndex

The zero-based index value of the last character in the * selection.

function setTextFormat(format:TextFormat, ?beginIndex:Int, ?endIndex:Int):Void

Applies the text formatting that the format parameter * specifies to the specified text in a text field. The value of * format must be a TextFormat object that specifies the desired * text formatting changes. Only the non-null properties of * format are applied to the text field. Any property of * format that is set to null is not applied. By * default, all of the properties of a newly created TextFormat object are * set to null. *

Note: This method does not work if a style sheet is applied to * the text field.

*

The setTextFormat() method changes the text formatting * applied to a range of characters or to the entire body of text in a text * field. To apply the properties of format to all text in the text field, do * not specify values for beginIndex and endIndex. * To apply the properties of the format to a range of text, specify values * for the beginIndex and the endIndex parameters. * You can use the length property to determine the index * values.

*

The two types of formatting information in a TextFormat object are * character level formatting and paragraph level formatting. Each character * in a text field can have its own character formatting settings, such as * font name, font size, bold, and italic.

*

For paragraphs, the first character of the paragraph is examined for * the paragraph formatting settings for the entire paragraph. Examples of * paragraph formatting settings are left margin, right margin, and * indentation.

* *

Any text inserted manually by the user, or replaced by the * replaceSelectedText() method, receives the default text field * formatting for new text, and not the formatting specified for the text * insertion point. To set the default formatting for new text, use * defaultTextFormat.

* *

format

A TextFormat object that contains character and paragraph formatting information.