I’ve got viz 2008 on my pc, when i try and use the text command it displays the text like an extruded pipe around the perimeter, with no solid infill. I just want to use flat text but can’t find a way to alter it to just flat text.
Any one any ideas on how to produce flat text??

Right now, it sounds like you have the text to be a renderable spline.  What you want to do is change the spline to a surface (geometry).  There are several ways to do this, and I like to add a Normal modifier, or maybe UVW Map.  You can also convert to editable mesh, or editable poly, but by using a modifier you can make changes to the text later on more easily.  Another option is to add an Extrude modifier with zero height, but that adds extra faces on the edges that are not necessary.  But you can set a very small height to prevent coplanar faces when the text is lying flat on a surface.

3DS Max Design 2011 64-bit - Advantage Pack
Dell Precision T5500, Dual Six Core Xeon X5650 @ 2.67GHz, nVidia Quadro 5000, 24 GB RAM, Win 7 Enterprise 64-bit
Minneapolis, MN, USA

many thanks, that worked a treat.
cheers
Lee