Text Shape

Intro

Create and format text.

tip

A Text Shape can also be created in the Viewport using the Text tool. With the Text tool selected, click and drag to draw a Text Box. If you Option/Alt + click on the Text tool or, with the Text tool selected, click once in the Viewport, the Text Shape will be created with Auto Width and Auto Height checked. This results in the text box fitting the text rather than the text fitting within the Text Box.

UI

Common Attributes +

Shape

String - Enter text, numbers or symbols here.

+ - Add a String Generator.

T - Open the Glyph Browser.

Font - Select the Font and Weight.

info

If you select a Variable Font a small hamburger icon will appear to the right of the Font attribute. Click this icon to load a pop over window in order to access the font's axes.

Typeface - Connect a Typeface. See Typeface.

Font Size - Set the size of the font.

Shrink to Fit Text Box - When checked, the Font Size will be automatically reduced at the point the String overflows the Text Box. Note - this requires Auto to be unchecked on the Text Box Size Attribute.

Allow Word Breaks - When unchecked and with Shrink to Fit Text Box checked, words are prevented from wrapping over lines. This is useful for automated templates to prevent long words being split across lines where they would otherwise extend outside the text box. Instead, the text will be scaled appropriately.

Hyphens

Hyphenated words (e.g. Sub-Mesh) will be treated as separate words unless they contain a NON-BREAKING HYPHEN character (U+2011).

Alignment - Align text horizontally to the Left, Centre or Right.

Vertical Alignment - Align text vertically to the Top, Centre, Bottom or Baseline.

Character Spacing - Set the distance between characters.

Word Spacing - Set the distance between words.

Line Spacing - Set the distance between lines.

Text Box Size - Set the size of the area the text wraps within.

• Auto Width - When checked, the Text Box is sized to the width of the text.
• Auto Height - When checked, the Text Box is sized to the height of the text.

Force Monospacing - Click the checkbox to remove any kerning from non monospace fonts (useful when animating text strings but need to maintain each character's position). Use the Monospace Multiplier to increase or decrease the space between monospaced characters.

String Manipulators - Add a String Manipulator.

Style Behaviours - Add a Style Behaviour. Style Behaviours allow for the procedural manipulation of text strings. For an example, see the Apply Font Size Utility.

Material Behaviours - Add a Material Behaviour. Material Behaviours allow for the procedural manipulation of text strings. For an example, see the Apply Text Fill Utility.

Formatting Inputs - Inject a String/Text into the Text Shape. This allows you to set up Text containing different styles, colours or sizes. Any connected Text or String can then be referenced by its index within curly brackets. For example, a Text Shape containing the Text string Cavalry {0} will inject the text from another Text Shape connected to Formatting Inputs index 0.

Text Path - Connect a Shape to position the Text Shape along.

Paths and Alignment

When Text is placed along a path its Alignment will be set based on the path's start/centre/end. Text will be positioned as follows depending on the Alignment:

• Left - its left edge (first character) is positioned at the path's first point.
• Centre - its centre is positioned half way along the path.
• Right - its right edge (last character) is positioned at the path's last point (for closed paths this will be the same as the first point).

Path Travel - Move the Text Shape along the Path.

Looping around a closed Path

It's not possible to loop Text around a closed Path using Path Travel. Instead, try adding a Travel Deformer to the Shape being used as the Text Path.

Path Push - Move the Text Shape along the Path's normals.

Text along a Path

Use the Shape > Reverse Contour(s) command or Reverse Path Behaviour to position Text on the other side of a Path.

Example

Formatting Inputs

1. Create a Text Shape (Text Shape 1).
2. Using the + icon on the Formatting Inputs attribute row, add a second Text Shape (Text Shape 2).
3. Set the Font Weight for Text Shape 2 to Bold.
4. On the Fill tab, set Text Shape 2's Color to blue.
5. Change the Text input for Text Shape 2 to rules.
6. On Text Shape 1, insert a space character between Cavalry and {0}

Text Shape 1 now displays 'Cavalry rules' (with rules in blue).

Background

Background Shape - Add a Custom Shape to be used as the background. Note - this is an output connection. To reconnect, connect the Text Shape's Background Shape attribute to the Custom Shape's Input Shape attribute.

Mode - Set the level for the Background Shape to be based on:

• Document - Create a Shape to encompass the entire String.
• Paragraph - Create a Shape for each paragraph found within the String. Note - a paragraph is defined by an empty line (e.g. two line returns).
• Line - Create a Shape for each line found within the String.
• Word - Create a Shape for each word found within the String.
• Character - Create a Shape for each character found within the String.

Specific Indices - Manually enter the indices to determine which paragraphs/lines/words/characters are selected. Enter comma separated values (e.g. 0, 4, 7) or create ranges using colons (e.g. 1:4) or a combination of both (e.g. 2, 3:5). Entering the string first or last will procedurally select those indices. Negative values can also be used to select indices working backwards from the end of the string. e.g. -1 = last, -2 = penultimate, -3 = third to last, etc.

Padding - Increase/ decrease the padding of the Custom Shape around the Text Shape.

Ascender Adjustment - Offset the vertical padding of the Custom Shape above the ascenders (e.g. t, d, l) within the font.

Descender Adjustment - Offset the vertical padding of the Custom Shape below the descenders (e.g. g, y, j) within the font.

tip

In order to add rounded corners to the Text Background try adding a Bevel as Deformer.

Advanced

Font Scale - Output the scale factor applied to the Text when Shrink to Fit Text Box is checked.

Per-Character Animation

See Sub-Mesh for animating Text by character/word/line.

Order of Operations

When using a combination of features with Text they will affect the output in the follow order:

1. Text input (includes String Generators and String Manipulators)
2. Style Behaviours (Apply Character Spacing, Apply Font Size, Apply Typeface)
3. Standard Materials (Fill, Stroke)
4. Material Behaviours (Apply Text Fill)
5. Formatted Inputs

Naming Text Shapes

A Text Shape's 'nice name' is inherited from its String unless it has been manually set by renaming it in the Scene Window.