HorizontalAlignment

Introduction

HorizontalAlignment controls the placement of the letters inside the Text's bounds. To align a TextRuntime in its parent, its XOrigin and XUnits may need to be modified as well to adjust its bounds.

Example - Right-Alignment in a Parent

The following code shows how to right-align a TextRuntime in its parent:

// Initialize
var leftAligned = new TextRuntime();
leftAligned.AddToRoot();
leftAligned.Text = "Hi, I am some text that is left aligned, even if I line wrap";
leftAligned.HorizontalAlignment = RenderingLibrary.Graphics.HorizontalAlignment.Left;
leftAligned.Width = 100;
leftAligned.WidthUnits = Gum.DataTypes.DimensionUnitType.Absolute;
leftAligned.X = 50;
leftAligned.Y = 100;


var centerAligned = new TextRuntime();
centerAligned.AddToRoot();
centerAligned.Text = "Hi, I am some text that is center aligned, even if I line wrap";
centerAligned.HorizontalAlignment = RenderingLibrary.Graphics.HorizontalAlignment.Center;
centerAligned.Width = 100;
centerAligned.WidthUnits = Gum.DataTypes.DimensionUnitType.Absolute;
centerAligned.X = 250;
centerAligned.Y = 100;


var rightAligned = new TextRuntime();
rightAligned.AddToRoot();
rightAligned.Text = "Hi, I am some text that is right aligned, even if I line wrap";
rightAligned.HorizontalAlignment = RenderingLibrary.Graphics.HorizontalAlignment.Right;
rightAligned.Width = 100;
rightAligned.WidthUnits = Gum.DataTypes.DimensionUnitType.Absolute;
rightAligned.X = 450;
rightAligned.Y = 100;

Try on XnaFiddle.NET

HorizontalAlignment, Anchor, and Dock

The Anchor and Dock methods automatically set HorizontalAlignment on Text elements to match the anchor or dock direction. For example, Anchor(Anchor.Right) sets HorizontalAlignment to Right, and Dock(Dock.Top) sets it to Center. This means calling Anchor or Dock overwrites any previously set HorizontalAlignment value.

If you need a different alignment than the default, set HorizontalAlignment after calling Anchor or Dock to override it. The following example docks a TextRuntime to fill its parent's width (which defaults HorizontalAlignment to Center), then overrides it to Left:

// Initialize
var text = new TextRuntime();
text.AddToRoot();
text.Text = "Docked to top, but left-aligned";
// Dock sets HorizontalAlignment to Center by default
text.Dock(Gum.Wireframe.Dock.Top);
// Override to left-align the characters within the full-width area
text.HorizontalAlignment = RenderingLibrary.Graphics.HorizontalAlignment.Left;

The same applies to Anchor. The following example anchors a TextRuntime to the right side of its parent (which defaults HorizontalAlignment to Right), then overrides it to Left:

// Initialize
var text = new TextRuntime();
text.AddToRoot();
text.Text = "Right-anchored, but left-aligned";
text.Width = 200;
text.WidthUnits = Gum.DataTypes.DimensionUnitType.Absolute;
// Anchor sets HorizontalAlignment to Right by default
text.Anchor(Gum.Wireframe.Anchor.Right);
// Override to left-align the characters inside the element
text.HorizontalAlignment = RenderingLibrary.Graphics.HorizontalAlignment.Left;