Text and TextMeshPro in Unity

Introduction

Text and TextMeshPro let you show words on the screen in your game or app. They help make your messages clear and nice to look at.

When you want to show a score or timer in a game.

When you need to display instructions or menus.

When you want to add labels to buttons or objects.

When you want text that looks sharp and can be styled easily.

When you want to support multiple languages with good text rendering.

Syntax

Unity

using UnityEngine;
using TMPro;

public class ShowText : MonoBehaviour
{
    public Text uiText;           // For UI Text component
    public TextMeshProUGUI tmpText; // For TextMeshPro UI component

    void Start()
    {
        uiText.text = "Hello World!";
        tmpText.text = "Hello TextMeshPro!";
    }
}

Text is the older Unity UI text component, simpler but less flexible.

TextMeshPro is newer, sharper, and supports more styling options.

Examples

Set the text of a UI Text component to show a score.

Unity

uiText.text = "Score: 100";

Set the text of a TextMeshProUGUI component to show a message.

Unity

tmpText.text = "Game Over!";

Change the color of TextMeshPro text to red.

Unity

tmpText.color = Color.red;

Change the font size of UI Text to 24 points.

Unity

uiText.fontSize = 24;

Sample Program

This script sets a TextMeshProUGUI text to say "Welcome to the game!" in green color and large font size when the game starts.

Unity

using UnityEngine;
using TMPro;

public class TextExample : MonoBehaviour
{
    public TextMeshProUGUI messageText;

    void Start()
    {
        messageText.text = "Welcome to the game!";
        messageText.color = Color.green;
        messageText.fontSize = 36;
    }
}

Important Notes

TextMeshPro uses signed distance field rendering for sharp text at any size.

Always use TextMeshPro for better quality and more features in modern Unity projects.

Remember to add the TextMeshPro package via Unity Package Manager if not already included.

Summary

Text and TextMeshPro display text on screen in Unity.

TextMeshPro offers better quality and styling than the older Text component.

Use TextMeshPro for modern, clear, and flexible text in your games or apps.

Practice

1. Which component in Unity provides sharper and more customizable text rendering compared to the basic Text component?

easy

A. Sprite Renderer

B. Canvas Renderer

C. TextMeshPro

D. Audio Source

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand Unity text components

   Unity has a basic Text component and a more advanced TextMeshPro component for displaying text.

2. Step 2: Identify which is sharper and customizable

   TextMeshPro is designed to provide sharper, clearer text with more customization options than the basic Text component.

3. Final Answer:

   TextMeshPro -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Sharper text = TextMeshPro [OK]

Hint: TextMeshPro is the advanced text component in Unity [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing Canvas Renderer with text rendering
• Thinking Sprite Renderer handles text
• Choosing Audio Source which is unrelated

2. Which of the following is the correct way to change the displayed text of a TextMeshPro component in a Unity C# script?

easy

A. myText.display = "Hello World!";

B. myText.SetText = "Hello World!";

C. myText.content = "Hello World!";

D. myText.text = "Hello World!";

Solution

1. Step 1: Recall TextMeshPro text property usage

   TextMeshPro components have a public property called 'text' to set the displayed string.

2. Step 2: Identify correct syntax

   Assigning a string directly to 'text' like myText.text = "Hello World!"; is correct and common.

3. Final Answer:

   myText.text = "Hello World!"; -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Set text with .text property [OK]

Hint: Use .text property to set displayed text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Using SetText() which exists but is a method, not property assignment
• Using non-existent properties like content or display
• Missing quotes around string

3. What will be the output on screen after running this Unity C# code snippet if myText is a TextMeshProUGUI component?

myText.text = "Score: " + 10 + 5;

medium

A. Score: 15

B. Score: 105

C. Score: 10 5

D. Score: 10+5

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand string concatenation in C#

   When using + with a string and numbers, numbers are converted to strings and concatenated left to right.

2. Step 2: Evaluate expression "Score: " + 10 + 5

   "Score: " + 10 becomes "Score: 10", then + 5 becomes "Score: 105" as 5 is appended as string.

3. Final Answer:

   Score: 105 -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   String + numbers concatenates left to right [OK]

Hint: String + numbers concatenate as strings left to right [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming 10 + 5 adds first before string concatenation
• Expecting spaces between numbers automatically
• Thinking + signs appear in output

4. You wrote this code to update a TextMeshProUGUI text but it doesn't change on screen:

public TextMeshProUGUI myText;

void Start() {
    myText.text = "Game Over";
}

What is the most likely reason?

medium

A. The myText variable is not assigned in the Inspector

B. TextMeshProUGUI does not have a text property

C. You must call Refresh() after setting text

D. The text must be set in Update(), not Start()

Solution

1. Step 1: Check common setup mistakes

   If myText is not assigned in the Inspector, the script has a null reference and text won't update.

2. Step 2: Verify other options

   TextMeshProUGUI has a text property; no Refresh() needed; setting text in Start() works fine.

3. Final Answer:

   The myText variable is not assigned in the Inspector -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Assign UI references in Inspector [OK]

Hint: Always assign UI variables in Inspector before running [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming text property doesn't exist
• Thinking Refresh() is required
• Believing Start() is too early to set text

5. You want to display a player's health as text using TextMeshProUGUI and update it every frame. Which code snippet correctly updates the text to show "Health: " followed by the current health integer stored in playerHealth?

hard

A. All of the above

B. void Update() { myText.text = "Health: " + playerHealth.ToString(); }

C. void Update() { myText.text = string.Format("Health: {0}", playerHealth); }

D. void Update() { myText.text = $"Health: {playerHealth}"; }

Solution

1. Step 1: Review ways to convert int to string in C#

   playerHealth is an int; to display it, convert to string or use string interpolation or formatting.

2. Step 2: Check each option

   B uses + and ToString(), C uses string.Format(), D uses string interpolation with $"..."; all work.

3. Step 3: Confirm all are correct

   All three methods correctly update the text with the health value.

4. Final Answer:

   All of the above -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   Multiple string methods work for text update [OK]

Hint: Use any string conversion method to update text [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Forgetting to convert int to string
• Using incorrect string syntax
• Updating text outside Update() when dynamic