Text Animation

Text animation reveals the text of shapes over time, as if it were being typed.

It works on texts, rich texts, texts on a path, code texts, geometry shapes, and arrows.

With it you can:

• Type text in: in steps as small as a character or as big as a paragraph.
• Type several texts together: at the same time, or one after another.
• Erase text: all of it or only part of it.

Creating it

Adds a block that types the text of the selected shapes in or out.

• Operation:
  1. Select the shapes on the board.
  2. In Animation mode, choose Text Animation in the Actions panel.
• Result: a selected block starts at the playhead and types the text.
  • First text block: it types the whole text from nothing, unless a text sequence shows text there first.
  • Later text blocks: it starts from the text's state at the playhead.
    • Hidden: it types the whole text.
    • Fully shown: it erases the text.
    • Partly shown: it finishes typing the text.
  • Duration: it follows the amount of text typed or erased at the board's base text speed.
  • Before another text block: if another text block on the shape starts sooner, the new block ends where that one starts, because text blocks on the same shape can't overlap.
  • Continue from its end: the playhead moves to the end of the block, so the next block you create starts where this one stops.

With several shapes

When you select several shapes, one text block types all their texts. The block holds one start and one end progress for every text, so texts shown to different points meet at their average:

• No text block yet: their texts are typed from nothing.
• All hidden at the playhead: they're typed in.
• All fully shown: they're erased.
• Anything else: the block starts from their average progress and finishes typing them, so each text first takes that average.
• Duration: all texts share the block's duration and finish together. The duration is worked out from the longest text.
• One after another: turn on Stagger shapes and set Ref to End. See Stagger.

The text animation block in the Timeline panel

In the Timeline panel, text blocks appear in indigo ().

1. Blocks that animate one shape use circular handles.
2. Blocks that animate several shapes use square handles.
3. Staggered blocks show a marker where each later shape starts.

On the board

The block has no indicator or handles. You set it in the Attributes panel.

With other text blocks

Text animations and text sequences both animate a shape's text:

• After a text sequence: a text block types the sequence's last text instead of the shape's own text.
• Overlapping times: in the Attributes panel, a time edit stops at another text animation, and a time that would overlap a text sequence isn't accepted.

How text is typed

Each kind of text is typed in its own way:

• Texts and texts on a path: they keep their layout while typed, and the words not visible yet still take their place.
• Labels and rich texts: the labels of geometry shapes and arrows, and rich texts, are laid out again as they grow.
• Code texts: they keep their box, and the highlighting follows the code as it appears.
• Emoji and accented letters: they appear whole, never in pieces.

Attributes

A text block's settings are in the Text Animation section of the Attributes panel.

Timing

• Time: when the typing starts and ends, in seconds. Each time is outlined while the playhead sits on it.
• Duration: the block's total length, including staggered shapes and block pauses.
• Speed: speed multiplier relative to the board's base text speed, which is in characters per second.
  • It counts characters, so a longer text takes longer at the same speed.
  • Changing it changes the block's duration.

Progress

• Progress: two values, how much of the text is visible at the start and at the end, from 0 for none to 1 for all.
  • An end below the start erases the text. See Erasing text.
  • Maintain speed, in the Timeline panel header, decides what happens when you change a value:
    • On: the speed stays and the duration adjusts.
    • Off: the duration stays the same.

Erasing text

An end progress below the start erases the text from its end:

• Erase all of it: set the start progress to 1 and the end progress to 0.
• Erase part of it: set the end progress between 0 and 1.
• Only the text changes: the shape's fill and stroke keep their appearance.

Reveal unit

Unit chooses what appears at each step:

• Character: one character at a time, so a word can be left partly typed. This is the default.
• Word: one whole word at a time.
• Line: one line at a time. A line ends at a line break.
• Paragraph: one paragraph at a time. A paragraph ends at a blank line.

The speed always counts characters, so changing the unit keeps the duration.

Stagger

• Stagger shapes: starts the texts one after another. With Ref set to End, each text starts after the previous one finishes, plus the Delay. See Stagger shapes.
• Reordering panel: with Stagger shapes on, sets the order in which the texts start. See Stagger shapes.

Easing

• Easing: controls how the typing speeds up and slows down. Linear is the default, so the text appears at an even pace. See Easing.

Actions

With a text block selected, the Actions panel offers these block actions:

• Delete: removes the block. See Block actions.
• Cut, Copy, and Paste: move or copy the block to another time or sequence. See Cut, copy, and paste blocks.
• Reassign: changes which shapes the block types. See Block actions.
• Create Block Pause: holds the typing for a moment inside the block. See Block pauses.