How to add and position text on canvas in Unity

Unity's user interface (UI) allows you to add and position the text using a canvasA sort of drawing board, which can be seen as a 2D interface pinned to the camera or as a world-space upon which UI elements are built..

Previously, Unity used a basic text system for UI. However, with advancements, a new text system called the TextMeshPro was introduced. TextMeshPro is a powerful and flexible solution for text rendering in Unity. It offers advanced text layout and markup options, improved performance, and better text visual customization capabilities.

How to add text

Given below are the steps on how to add, position, and change the text on canvas in Unity.

Create a Text - TextMeshPro

• Right click in the Hierarchy window and click on UI > Text - TextMeshPro.

• This will create a canvas GameObject in the scene with a child.

Position the text

• Adjust the text object's position either by:

  • Move tool in the scene view

  • Transform component in the inspector pane

Edit the text

• Navigate to the TextMeshPro component in the inspector pane

• Edit the "Text" field with the desired content

Create a C# script

• Create a new C# script

A sample C# script is given below.

Explanation

• Lines 1–3: These lines make the necessary imports.

• Line 4: It includes the TextMeshPro namespace to allow access to the TextMeshPro related classes and functions.

• Line 6: A class is declared named Modify_text. It inherits methods from the class MonoBehaviour, a base class in Unity for the scripts attached to the specific GameObjects.

• Line 8: It declares a public variable named canvasText which is of type TMP_text. The variable holds a reference to the TextMeshPro text object which you can modify.

• Lines 10–13: The Start() method is a callback method which is automatically invoked before the first frame update. It is generally used for initialization. CanvasText.text sets the text of the TextMeshPro object (referenced by the CanvasText variable).

Create a GameObject

• Create an empty GameObject in the hierarchy tab.

Assign the C# script to the GameObject

• Select the GameObject

• Drag and drop the C# script in the inspector pane

• Drag the TextMeshPro text from the hierarchy into the Canvas_Text field in the Modify_text script component.

Enter the game mode

• Enter the game mode

• Your text should show the content specified in the C# script

Demonstration

Read more about Unity

• What are the different Unity render pipelines?

• How to add audio effects in Unity

• How to manage multiple scenes in Unity

• How to add player movement in Unity

• Introduction to collision detection in Unity

• Introduction to game physics in Unity

• What is terrain in Unity?