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SetTextAlign

Description​

Use alignment strings to control how text is positioned relative to the coordinates set by SetTextPosition. The first argument controls horizontal alignment, and the optional second argument controls vertical alignment. Only the first letter of each alignment string is actually used.

function SetTextAlign(horizontalAlign, verticalAlign) --[[ ... ]] end

Parameters​

  • horizontalAlign: string - Horizontal alignment: "left", "right", or "center" (default)
  • verticalAlign: string - (Optional) Vertical alignment: "top" (default), "bottom", or "center"

Return Values​

None.

Example​

-- HUD elements using proper alignment
-- Top-left health (left-aligned from left edge)
SetTextPosition(0.05, 0.05)
SetTextAlign("left")
SetTextHeight(0.03)
SetTextColor(255, 100, 100, 255)
DrawText("Health: 100%")

-- Top-center score (center-aligned)
SetTextPosition(0.5, 0.05)
SetTextAlign("center", "top")
SetTextHeight(0.04)
SetTextColor(255, 255, 0, 255)
DrawText("Score: 12,500")

-- Top-right timer (right-aligned from right edge)
SetTextPosition(0.95, 0.05)
SetTextAlign("right", "top")
SetTextHeight(0.03)
SetTextColor(100, 255, 100, 255)
DrawText("Time: 05:23")

-- Bottom-center message (center-aligned from bottom)
SetTextPosition(0.5, 0.9)
SetTextAlign("center", "bottom")
SetTextHeight(0.025)
SetTextColor(255, 255, 255, 255)
DrawText("Press ESC for menu")
-- Table with column alignment
local tableData = {
    {"Name", "Score", "Time"},
    {"Alice", "1500", "02:30"},
    {"Bob", "1200", "03:15"},
    {"Charlie", "900", "04:00"}
}

local colX = {0.2, 0.5, 0.8}
local colAlign = {"left", "center", "right"}
local startY = 0.1
local rowHeight = 0.04

for rowIndex, row in ipairs(tableData) do
    local y = startY + (rowIndex - 1) * rowHeight
    
    for colIndex, cell in ipairs(row) do
        SetTextPosition(colX[colIndex], y)
        SetTextAlign(colAlign[colIndex], "top")
        SetTextHeight(0.025)
        
        if rowIndex == 1 then
            SetTextColor(255, 255, 0, 255) -- Header
        else
            SetTextColor(255, 255, 255, 255) -- Data
        end
        
        DrawText(cell)
    end
end
-- Dialog box with proper text alignment
local function drawDialogBox(title, message, x, y, width, height)
    -- Draw background
    DrawRectangle(x, y, width, height, 0, 0, 0, 200)
    DrawRectangle(x, y, width, 0.002, 255, 255, 255, 255) -- Top border
    
    -- Title (center-aligned at top)
    SetTextPosition(x + width/2, y + 0.02)
    SetTextAlign("center", "top")
    SetTextHeight(0.035)
    SetTextColor(255, 255, 0, 255)
    DrawText(title)
    
    -- Message (left-aligned with margins)
    SetTextPosition(x + 0.02, y + 0.08)
    SetTextAlign("left", "top")
    SetTextHeight(0.025)
    SetTextColor(255, 255, 255, 255)
    SetTextWrapping(width - 0.04) -- Word wrap within box
    DrawText(message)
end

-- Example dialog
drawDialogBox(
    "Important Notice",
    "This is an important message that needs to be displayed to the player. It demonstrates proper text alignment within a dialog box.",
    0.2, 0.3, 0.6, 0.3
)
-- Tooltip with dynamic alignment
local function drawTooltip(text, mouseX, mouseY)
    local padding = 0.02
    
    SetTextHeight(0.02)
    local textWidth, textHeight = MeasureText(text)
    
    local boxWidth = textWidth + padding
    local boxHeight = textHeight + padding
    
    -- Adjust position to keep tooltip on screen
    local x = mouseX
    local y = mouseY - boxHeight - 0.02
    
    -- Right align if too close to right edge
    local align = "left"
    if x + boxWidth > 0.95 then
        x = mouseX - boxWidth
        align = "right"
    end
    
    -- Draw tooltip background
    DrawRectangle(x, y, boxWidth, boxHeight, 50, 50, 50, 240)
    
    -- Draw tooltip text
    SetTextPosition(x + (align == "left" and padding/2 or boxWidth - padding/2), y + padding/2)
    SetTextAlign(align, "top")
    SetTextColor(255, 255, 255, 255)
    DrawText(text)
end

-- Example tooltip usage
drawTooltip("This is a helpful tooltip", 0.7, 0.6)

See Also​