ElementBuilder Text and Input Controls API Reference

Prowl.Paper handles text display and text input as first-class element capabilities. Static content is set directly on an element with Text, RichText, or Markdown; interactive editing is added with TextField or TextArea. All text styling properties (FontSize, TextColor, etc.) are inherited from StyleSetterBase<T> and interact correctly with state blocks and style templates.

Text Display

Text

public ElementBuilder Text(string text, FontFile font)

text

string

required

Plain text content to display. No markup is interpreted.

font

FontFile

required

Font asset used to render the text.

Renders static, unstyled text inside the element. Sizing, color, and alignment are controlled by the style properties described in Text Styling.

Paper.Element("heading")
    .Text("Welcome to Prowl", myFont)
    .FontSize(24f)
    .TextColor(Color32.FromArgb(255, 220, 220, 240));

Markdown

public ElementBuilder Markdown(
    string text,
    FontFile font,
    FontFile bold,
    FontFile italic,
    FontFile boldItalic,
    FontFile mono)

text

string

required

Markdown-formatted text.

font

FontFile

required

Default font for body text.

bold

FontFile

required

Font for **bold** spans.

italic

FontFile

required

Font for *italic* spans.

boldItalic

FontFile

required

Font for ***bold-italic*** spans.

mono

FontFile

required

Font for `code` spans.

Parses the text as Markdown and renders inline formatting. Block-level Markdown elements (headings, lists, code fences) are supported where the underlying Scribe renderer implements them.

Paper.Element("readme")
    .Width(UnitValue.StretchOne)
    .Markdown(
        "Hello **World** — visit `ProwlEngine` for more.",
        regularFont, boldFont, italicFont, boldItalicFont, monoFont)
    .FontSize(15f)
    .Wrap(TextWrapMode.Wrap);

RichText

public ElementBuilder RichText(
    string text,
    FontFile font,
    FontFile bold,
    FontFile italic,
    FontFile boldItalic,
    FontFile mono)

Renders tagged rich text. The laid-out result is cached across frames so that animation timers (typewriter reveal, wave, pulse) survive between frames. Call Paper.ResetRichText on the element’s handle to replay animations from the beginning. Supported inline tags:

Category	Tags
Style	`<b>`, `<i>`, `<u>`, `<s>`, `<color=…>`, `<size=…>`, `<font=mono>`
Link	`<link=…>`
Animation	`<shake>`, `<wave>`, `<rainbow>`, `<pulse>`, `<fade>`, `<jitter>`, `<typewriter>`

Paper.Element("fancy-label")
    .RichText(
        "Score: <color=#FFD700><b><wave>9999</wave></b></color>",
        regularFont, boldFont, italicFont, boldItalicFont, monoFont)
    .FontSize(18f)
    .Alignment(TextAlignment.MiddleCenter);

Alignment

public ElementBuilder Alignment(TextAlignment mode)

mode

TextAlignment

required

Controls both the horizontal and vertical anchor of text within the element’s content box.

Value	Position
`Left`	Top-left
`Center`	Top-center
`Right`	Top-right
`MiddleLeft`	Vertically centered, left-aligned
`MiddleCenter`	Fully centered
`MiddleRight`	Vertically centered, right-aligned
`BottomLeft`	Bottom-left
`BottomCenter`	Bottom-center
`BottomRight`	Bottom-right

Paper.Element("badge")
    .Size(UnitValue.Pixels(64))
    .Text("OK", uiFont)
    .Alignment(TextAlignment.MiddleCenter);

Wrap

public ElementBuilder Wrap(TextWrapMode mode)

mode

TextWrapMode

required

TextWrapMode.NoWrap — text overflows horizontally (default).
TextWrapMode.Wrap — text wraps at the element’s content width.

Paper.Element("description")
    .Width(UnitValue.Pixels(400))
    .Text(longDescription, bodyFont)
    .Wrap(TextWrapMode.Wrap)
    .FontSize(14f);

Text Styling

These properties are set on the element and affect all text rendered inside it. They cascade to children via the style inheritance system.

TextColor

public ElementBuilder TextColor(Color color)

Sets the color of rendered glyphs. Applies to Text, Markdown, RichText, and uncolored spans inside tagged rich text.

LetterSpacing

public ElementBuilder LetterSpacing(float spacing)

spacing

float

required

Extra horizontal space between glyphs in pixels. Can be negative to tighten tracking.

WordSpacing

public ElementBuilder WordSpacing(float spacing)

spacing

float

required

Extra space added between words.

LineHeight

public ElementBuilder LineHeight(float height)

height

float

required

Line height as a multiplier of FontSize. 1.0 = tight; 1.4 is a comfortable default for body copy.

TabSize

public ElementBuilder TabSize(int size)

size

int

required

Number of spaces a tab character expands to. Default is typically 4.

Text Input Controls

TextField

Creates a single-line editable text control. The element that calls TextField becomes the input container — apply sizing, background, border, and padding to it as normal. Overload 1 — full settings:

public ElementBuilder TextField(
    string value,
    TextInputSettings settings,
    Action<string> onChange = null)

value

string

required

Current text value. The field reads this every frame when unfocused; while focused, internal state is authoritative (see TextInputSettings.ForceValue to override).

settings

TextInputSettings

required

Struct controlling font, colors, placeholder, masking, filtering, and more (see below).

onChange

Action<string>

Callback invoked with the updated string each time the value changes.

Overload 2 — simple parameters:

public ElementBuilder TextField(
    string value,
    FontFile font,
    Action<string> onChange = null,
    Color? textColor = null,
    string placeholder = "",
    Color? placeholderColor = null)

Use the simple overload for quick prototyping; switch to the settings overload for production controls that need masking, filtering, or SelectAllOnFocus.

string name = "";

Paper.Element("name-field")
    .Size(UnitValue.Pixels(240), UnitValue.Pixels(32))
    .BackgroundColor(darkBg)
    .Rounded(4f)
    .Padding(UnitValue.Pixels(6))
    .TextField(name, uiFont,
        onChange: v => name = v,
        placeholder: "Enter name…");

TextArea

Creates a multi-line editable text control with vertical scrolling and optional word wrap. Overload 1 — full settings:

public ElementBuilder TextArea(
    string value,
    TextInputSettings settings,
    Action<string> onChange = null)

Overload 2 — simple parameters:

public ElementBuilder TextArea(
    string value,
    FontFile font,
    Action<string> onChange = null,
    string placeholder = "",
    Color? textColor = null,
    Color? placeholderColor = null)

TextArea automatically enables ContentSizer for the inner text content so the element’s height grows with its content when unconstrained. Give the element a fixed height and call Clip() to produce a scrollable box.

string notes = "";

Paper.Element("notes-area")
    .Size(UnitValue.Pixels(400), UnitValue.Pixels(200))
    .BackgroundColor(darkBg)
    .Rounded(4f)
    .Padding(UnitValue.Pixels(8))
    .Clip()
    .TextArea(notes, uiFont, v => notes = v, placeholder: "Write here…");

TextInputSettings

TextInputSettings is a plain value struct. All fields have defaults provided by the static Default property.

var settings = TextInputSettings.Default;

Field	Type	Default	Description
`Font`	`FontFile`	`null`	Font used to render and measure text inside the field.
`TextColor`	`Color`	Near-white	Color of input text.
`Placeholder`	`string`	`""`	Hint text shown when the field is empty and unfocused.
`PlaceholderColor`	`Color`	Muted grey	Color of placeholder text.
`ReadOnly`	`bool`	`false`	When `true`, the field displays text but rejects all edits.
`MaxLength`	`int`	`0`	Maximum character count. `0` means no limit.
`DoWrap`	`bool`	`true`	Multi-line only — `true` to wrap lines at the field width; `false` to scroll horizontally.
`CharFilter`	`Func<char, string, bool>`	`null`	Return `true` to accept a character, `false` to reject it. Receives the incoming character and the current full value.
`SelectAllOnFocus`	`bool`	`false`	Selects all text when the field gains focus.
`MaskChar`	`char?`	`null`	When set, every visible character is replaced with this glyph for display. The underlying value is unchanged. Clipboard copy/cut is suppressed while masking.
`ForceValue`	`string`	`null`	When non-null, overrides the internal value for the current frame regardless of focus state. Reset to `null` on subsequent frames.
`ForceSelectAll`	`bool`	`false`	Companion to `ForceValue`: selects all text after a forced update, if the field is focused.

Examples

Password field

Use MaskChar to hide characters and MaxLength to cap input:

string password = "";

var pwSettings = TextInputSettings.Default;
pwSettings.Font       = uiFont;
pwSettings.MaskChar   = '●';
pwSettings.MaxLength  = 128;
pwSettings.Placeholder = "Password";

Paper.Element("pw-field")
    .Size(UnitValue.Pixels(240), UnitValue.Pixels(32))
    .BackgroundColor(darkBg)
    .BorderColor(accentColor).BorderWidth(1f)
    .Rounded(4f)
    .Padding(UnitValue.Pixels(6))
    .TextField(password, pwSettings, v => password = v);

Clipboard copy and cut (Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X) are automatically suppressed when MaskChar is set, so masked content cannot leave the field via the clipboard.

Numeric-only field

Use CharFilter to accept only digits and an optional decimal point:

string numericValue = "0";

var numSettings = TextInputSettings.Default;
numSettings.Font = uiFont;
numSettings.CharFilter = (ch, currentValue) =>
    char.IsDigit(ch) || (ch == '.' && !currentValue.Contains('.'));

Paper.Element("numeric-field")
    .Size(UnitValue.Pixels(120), UnitValue.Pixels(32))
    .BackgroundColor(darkBg)
    .Rounded(4f)
    .Padding(UnitValue.Pixels(6))
    .TextField(numericValue, numSettings, v => numericValue = v);

Programmatic value override with ForceValue

When you need to push a new value into a focused field from outside (e.g. an autocomplete suggestion), set ForceValue for exactly one frame:

string query = "";
bool applyAutocomplete = false;
string autocompleteResult = "";

var searchSettings = TextInputSettings.Default;
searchSettings.Font = uiFont;
searchSettings.Placeholder = "Search…";
searchSettings.SelectAllOnFocus = true;

if (applyAutocomplete)
{
    searchSettings.ForceValue     = autocompleteResult;
    searchSettings.ForceSelectAll = false;  // place cursor at end, don't select
    applyAutocomplete = false;              // clear flag — only force for one frame
}

Paper.Element("search-field")
    .Size(UnitValue.Pixels(300), UnitValue.Pixels(32))
    .BackgroundColor(darkBg)
    .Rounded(4f)
    .Padding(UnitValue.Pixels(6))
    .TextField(query, searchSettings, v => query = v);

Set ForceValue only on the frame you want to apply the change. On subsequent frames, leave it as null; otherwise the field’s internal editing state is replaced every frame, breaking normal typing.

Read-only display field

var roSettings = TextInputSettings.Default;
roSettings.Font     = uiFont;
roSettings.ReadOnly = true;
roSettings.TextColor = Color32.FromArgb(200, 200, 200, 200);

Paper.Element("status-display")
    .Size(UnitValue.Pixels(200), UnitValue.Pixels(32))
    .BackgroundColor(Color32.FromArgb(40, 255, 255, 255))
    .Rounded(4f)
    .Padding(UnitValue.Pixels(6))
    .TextField(currentStatusText, roSettings);

Paper Class

Element Builder

Types & Enums

ElementBuilder Text and Input Controls API Reference

Text Display

Text

Markdown

RichText

Alignment

Wrap

Text Styling

TextColor

FontSize

LetterSpacing

WordSpacing

LineHeight

TabSize

Text Input Controls

TextField

TextArea

TextInputSettings

Examples

Password field

Numeric-only field

Programmatic value override with ForceValue

Read-only display field

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Paper Class

Element Builder

Types & Enums

Documentation Index

​Text Display

​Text

​Markdown

​RichText

​Alignment

​Wrap

​Text Styling

​TextColor

​FontSize

​LetterSpacing

​WordSpacing

​LineHeight

​TabSize

​Text Input Controls

​TextField

​TextArea

​TextInputSettings

​Examples

​Password field

​Numeric-only field

​Programmatic value override with ForceValue

​Read-only display field

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Text Display

Text

Markdown

RichText

Alignment

Wrap

Text Styling

TextColor

FontSize

LetterSpacing

WordSpacing

LineHeight

TabSize

Text Input Controls

TextField

TextArea

TextInputSettings

Examples

Password field

Numeric-only field

Programmatic value override with ForceValue

Read-only display field