Text

Creates a typographic layout object with font, size, alignment, and wrapping. Outputs TextData for rendering or conversion to shapes.

Category: Text Menu path: Text > Text

Ports

Port	Type	Direction	Description
content_in	string	input	Overrides the literal text param when connected. Chain a String or MergeText node here to drive the content from elsewhere (animated captions, AI prompts, etc).
out	text	output	TextData carrying content, font params, and computed glyph layout
width	scalar	output	Computed text bounding width in pixels
height	scalar	output	Computed text bounding height in pixels
lineCount	scalar	output	Number of lines in the layout

Parameters

Param	Type	Default	Description
text	string	Hello	Text content (supports multi-line). Keyframeable with Hold interpolation — animate caption swaps directly on the node, or pipe in a String at content_in to drive from elsewhere.
fontFamily	string	Helvetica Neue	System font family
fontWeight	enum	Regular	Thin, ExtraLight, Light, Regular, Medium, SemiBold, Bold, ExtraBold, Black
fontStyle	enum	Normal	Normal or Italic
fontSize	scalar	72	Font size in pixels
tracking	scalar	0	Letter spacing adjustment in font units
lineHeight	scalar	1.2	Line height multiplier
alignment	enum	Center	Left, Center, or Right
wrapping	enum	None	None (point text) or WordWrap (box text)
boxWidth	scalar	0	Text box width (0 = no box constraint)
boxHeight	scalar	0	Text box height (0 = no box constraint)

Expose Channels

When enabled (E button on node header), adds input ports that override params via edge connections:

Port	Type	Overrides
fontSize_in	scalar	fontSize
tracking_in	scalar	tracking
lineHeight_in	scalar	lineHeight
boxSize_in	vec2	boxWidth and boxHeight

How It Works

The Text node computes a full typographic layout using the engine's font stack (fontdb for enumeration, ttf-parser for parsing, rustybuzz for OpenType shaping). The output TextData carries both the input parameters and the computed glyph positions, cluster information, and line metrics.

Point text (wrapping: None): Text flows on a single line (or multiple lines from explicit line breaks). No width constraint.

Box text (wrapping: WordWrap, boxWidth > 0): Text wraps within the specified box dimensions. Layout is centered within the box when both boxWidth and boxHeight are set.

The Text node does not render pixels -- it produces layout data. Connect to DrawText for rasterization, TextAnimate for per-glyph animation, or TextToShape for outline conversion.

The scalar outputs (width, height, lineCount) are useful for driving other parameters. For example, feed width into a Rectangle node to create a background that auto-sizes to the text.

Usage Examples

Basic: Rendered text

Text (text: "Hello World", fontSize: 96) -> DrawText -> Transform2D -> Output. Standard text rendering pipeline.

Animated text reveal

Text -> TextAnimate (progress: keyframed 0 to 1) -> DrawText -> Transform2D -> Output. Characters animate in one by one.

Auto-sized background

Text -> DrawText -> Transform2D -> Output. Also: Text.width and Text.height -> Math nodes (with padding) -> Rectangle (width/height driven) -> DrawShape -> Transform2D -> Output on a layer below.

Text as geometry

Text -> TextToShape -> ShapeAttributes (Color from Gradient.colorField) -> DrawShape -> Transform2D -> Output. Text outlines filled with a gradient.

Tips

• Use the Text tool (T key) to create text interactively -- click for point text, drag for box text
• Double-click a text layer to enter text editing mode with caret and selection
• The font picker in Properties offers searchable font families with CSS preview
• Safety clamping prevents NaN/Inf from extreme parameter values
• The text port type is distinct -- it cannot connect directly to image or shape ports

Related Nodes

• DrawText -- rasterizes TextData to a texture
• TextAnimate -- per-glyph geometric animation
• TextToShape -- converts glyph outlines to shape data
• DrawAscii -- ASCII art rendering (different approach to text)