text() — Text Display Cue

Display text content with six simple modes: pick, cycle, shuffle, scroll, ticker, and reveal.

Modes

pick — Random Selection

Display ONE random item from an array. Each trigger picks a new random item.

text(pick:["Hello","World","Goodbye"], dur:3)

cycle — Sequential Playthrough

Display items one after another in order, with crossfade transitions.

text(cycle:"poem.txt", dur:2)
text(cycle:["Line 1","Line 2","Line 3"], dur:2, loop:0)

shuffle — Randomized Playthrough

Display all items in random order, reshuffling each pass.

text(shuffle:"poem.txt", dur:2, loop:0)

scroll — Teleprompter

Smooth scrolling text display, like a teleprompter.

text(scroll:"speech.txt", speed:60)

ticker — News Crawl

Horizontal scrolling text, like a news ticker or stock crawl.

text(ticker:"Breaking news • Headlines here • More info", speed:100)

Content Sources

Array

text(pick:["Option A","Option B","Option C"])

File

Load from .txt file. Files are resolved in order:

1. Project texts directory: scores/<project>/texts/<filename> (what new projects get)
2. Older project text directory: scores/<project>/text/<filename>
3. Shared text directory: shared/text/<filename>

text(cycle:"poem.txt", dur:2)

Inline String

Separate lines with newlines or semicolons.

text(cycle:"Hello;World;Goodbye", dur:2)

Unit Splitting

For files and inline strings, control how content is split:

text(shuffle:"hello world", unit:char, dur:0.3)
text(pick:"poem.txt", unit:stanza)

Per-Item Duration

Prefix any item with duration: to override the default:

text(cycle:"1:fast;5:slow;2:medium", dur:3)

Works with words too:

text(cycle:"2:hello 4:world 1:goodbye", unit:word)

And in arrays:

text(pick:["1:Quick","5:Slow","Normal"], dur:3)

In text files:

2:First line shows for 2 seconds
5:This line has: colons and shows for 5 seconds
This line uses the default duration

Items without a duration prefix use the default dur: value.

Grouping Lines (Stanzas)

Use unit:stanza to group lines separated by blank lines:

text(cycle:"poem.txt", unit:stanza, dur:3)

File format:

3:First stanza line 1
First stanza line 2
First stanza line 3

5:Second stanza
shows for 5 seconds

Third stanza uses default duration
with multiple lines

Each group displays as a unit. Duration prefix on the first line applies to the whole group.

Parameters

Examples

Random greeting from array

text(pick:["Hello","Hi","Hey","Greetings"], dur:2)

Random line from file

text(pick:"quotes.txt", dur:3)

Random stanza from file

text(pick:"poems.txt", unit:stanza, dur:5)

Cycle through poem lines

text(cycle:"haiku.txt", dur:3)

Cycle through stanzas

text(cycle:"poem.txt", unit:stanza, dur:4)

Infinite shuffle with styling

text(shuffle:"words.txt", dur:1.5, loop:0, style:"color:yellow;font-size:6em")

Character scramble effect

text(shuffle:"HELLO", unit:char, dur:0.2, loop:5)

Per-item durations

text(cycle:"2:Quick;5:Slow;3:Medium")

Teleprompter for speech

text(scroll:"speech.txt", speed:40, style:"font-size:1.5em")

Teleprompter constrained to element bounds

text(scroll:"speech.txt", speed:60, target:self, pad:8)

The teleprompter will be sized to match the SVG element's bounding box, with optional padding.

Reveal a poem line by line

text(reveal:"poem.txt", dur:3, fade:1500, linger:10, fadeout:4, target:self)

Each line fades in over fade ms, the next follows after dur seconds, all stay visible; linger seconds after the last line the whole block fades out over fadeout seconds. At an element (target:self or an id) the block is drawn inside the score, in the element's own group, starting at its left edge just below it — so it stays locked to it through zoom, pan, scrolling and any animation of that group. Sizes are then in that group's units: width: (default 300), offsetX/Y, and the font-size in style. Without a target it is a centred page overlay.

News ticker

text(ticker:"Breaking news • Headlines scroll here • Click to dismiss", speed:120)

Ticker constrained to element

text(ticker:"Item 1 • Item 2 • Item 3", speed:80, target:self, loop:0)

Right-to-left ticker

text(ticker:"Scrolling right", speed:100, dir:right)

Hold final content visible

text(cycle:["Step 1","Step 2","Step 3"], dur:2, trig:click, target:self, hold:true)

Shows preview of first item at element before trigger, keeps final item visible after completion.

Ticker with preview and hold

text(ticker:"Click to scroll this message", speed:80, trig:click, target:self, hold:true)

Text is visible statically at element before clicking, then scrolls, then holds at final position.

Positioned at cue element (replaces element)

text(pick:["Yes","No","Maybe"], dur:2, target:self)

When target:self is used, the text appears centered on the cue element and the element is hidden during display. The element fades back in when the text completes.

Positioned at another element by ID

text(pick:["Yes","No","Maybe"], dur:2, target:display-area, trig:click)

When target: is set to another element's ID, the text appears centered on that element and the target element is hidden during display. This is useful for separating the trigger element from the display area.

Click-triggered button

text(cycle:"1;2;3;4;5", dur:1, trig:click)

Synced random across clients

text(pick:["🎲 One","🎲 Two","🎲 Three"], dur:2, trig:click, sync:true)

Synced infinite shuffle

text(shuffle:"words.txt", dur:1, loop:0, trig:click, sync:true)

Trigger Modes

playhead (default)

Text cue triggers when playhead crosses the element:

text(pick:["A","B","C"], dur:2)
text(cycle:"poem.txt", trig:playhead)

click

Text cue triggers when user clicks the element. The element remains clickable at any time:

text(pick:["Click me!","Clicked!"], dur:2, trig:click)
text(cycle:"1;2;3;4;5", dur:1, trig:click)

Click-triggered cues are always active and don't depend on playhead position.

toggle

Click to start, click again to stop. Useful for continuous random text that runs until manually stopped:

text(shuffle:"word1;word2;word3", dur:0.5, loop:0, trig:toggle)
text(shuffle:["A","B","C"], dur:1, loop:0, trig:toggle, target:self)

The first click starts the infinite loop, the second click stops it.

extent

Text runs while the playhead is within the element's horizontal bounds. Automatically starts when playhead enters and stops when it exits:

text(shuffle:"alpha;beta;gamma", dur:0.8, loop:0, trig:extent)
text(shuffle:["X","Y","Z"], dur:0.5, loop:0, trig:extent, target:self)

This is useful for sections where text should cycle continuously while the playhead traverses a wide element.

Hold Mode

Use hold:true to show a preview before the cue triggers and keep the final content visible after completion.

text(pick:["Yes","No","Maybe"], dur:2, trig:click, target:self, hold:true)

Behavior:

• Preview: First item displays statically at the target location before triggering
• Preview scrolls: When using target:self, the preview tracks the element position as the score scrolls
• Hold: After completion, final content stays visible until the cue is triggered again
• Works with all modes: pick, cycle, shuffle, scroll, and ticker

Best practice: Always use target:self with hold:true to keep the preview positioned at the element rather than screen center.

text(cycle:["Step 1","Step 2","Done"], dur:1.5, trig:click, target:self, hold:true)
text(ticker:"Click to scroll", speed:60, trig:click, target:self, loop:0, hold:true)

Network Sync

By default, each client independently makes random choices for pick and shuffle modes.

Use sync:true to synchronize:

pick with sync

The triggering client's random choice propagates to all clients:

text(pick:["Alpha","Beta","Gamma"], dur:3, sync:true)

shuffle with sync

The triggering client generates a shuffled sequence that all clients follow:

text(shuffle:"words.txt", dur:1, loop:0, sync:true)

For long-running shuffles, a pre-generated sequence (~100 passes) ensures clients stay synchronized without visible repetition.

Interaction

Regular text overlays (pick/cycle/shuffle)

Click any text overlay to dismiss it immediately.

Teleprompter (scroll mode)

• Single click: Pause/resume scrolling
• Double-click: Show confirmation dialog to dismiss

Ticker (news crawl)

• Click: Dismiss immediately

Stopping All Text

stopAllCueTexts()

Removes all active text overlays.

Scroll speed from a signal

speed: takes a follow(), so a ticker can run at a rate something else decides:

text(uid:crawl, ticker:"…", speed: follow(fader.t))

It is sampled when the cue fires, not followed: a scroll is one animation whose duration is worked out from distance ÷ speed at the moment it starts, so a later value has nothing left to change. With no range of its own a follow() here spans 10–400 px/s.

Before this, a follow() on speed: parsed, ran, and was ignored — it fell through Number(...) as NaN and quietly became the 60 px/s default.

Demo

See demo-text — text cues, timing and placement.

http://localhost:8001/?project=demo-text

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