Create text crawl
create_text_crawlGenerate animated text crawls, vertical credits rolls, or character-by-character typewriter effects inside a self-contained TouchDesigner network. Supports multi-line text, continuous looping, and configurable speed, color, and font size.
Instructions
Build a multi-line animated text crawl / ticker / credits roll / typewriter reveal inside a self-contained baseCOMP. Three modes: 'crawl_horizontal' = continuous left-scrolling ticker tape (news-ticker style); 'roll_vertical' = upward credits roll (use \n to separate lines); 'typewriter' = text is revealed character-by-character from left to right (EXPERIMENTAL — the substring expression on a textTOP text par is unverified across TD builds). A textTOP renders the content; a transformTOP animates position via an EXPRESSION parameter (crawl/roll modes) or the textTOP text par is set to a time-sliced substring expression (typewriter mode). The scroll wraps continuously (loop=true, default) so the text re-enters from the opposite edge. Outputs a nullTOP 'out' as a stable handle. Differs from create_kinetic_text (single-string flash/pulse/slide) and create_text_overlay (a static, non-moving caption/title); this tool handles multi-line copy, continuous scrolling, and character-reveal. Returns a JSON block with container path, output_top, text_top, transform_top, mode, line count, and any per-step warnings.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| loop | No | When true (default), the scroll position wraps so the text crawls/rolls continuously. When false, it plays once and stops at the end. | |
| mode | No | Animation style: 'crawl_horizontal' = text scrolls continuously left across the frame (ticker-tape); 'roll_vertical' = text rolls upward (credits roll); 'typewriter' = text is revealed one character at a time from left to right — EXPERIMENTAL (the substring expression on a textTOP par is UNVERIFIED across TD builds). | crawl_horizontal |
| name | No | Name for the baseCOMP container that holds the crawl network. | text_crawl |
| text | Yes | The text content to display. Use \n to separate multiple lines (e.g. for a ticker or credits roll). All lines are fed to a single Text TOP. | |
| color | No | RGB text colour as three 0–1 floats, e.g. [1,1,1] = white. Sets fontcolorr/g/b on the Text TOP. | |
| speed | No | Scroll speed as a fraction of the output resolution per second. 0.1 = the text travels one full screen-width per 10 s. Drives the Transform TOP position expression. | |
| width | No | Output resolution width in pixels (sets resolutionw on the Text TOP). | |
| height | No | Output resolution height in pixels (sets resolutionh on the Text TOP). | |
| bg_alpha | No | Background alpha [0–1]. 0 = fully transparent background (text over black/transparent). The par name is probed: 'alphabg' is tried first, then 'bgalpha' — UNVERIFIED across TD builds. | |
| font_size | No | Font size in pixels (maps to the Text TOP's fontsizex parameter; fontsizey is set to the same value). | |
| parent_path | No | Parent COMP where the text-crawl container is created (default '/project1'). | /project1 |