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2.1.5 Advanced Text Editor

BDC_Patrick edited this page Dec 9, 2025 · 7 revisions

Advanced Text Editor

Image Info
Advanced Text Editor A GUI-based wrapper for Unreal's Rich Text system, integrated into the Dialog Editor.
Description
The Advanced Text Editor replaces standard text input fields within the Message Node and Option Node details panel. It provides a toolbar of buttons that allow designers to visually configure and insert Rich Text Decorators (animations, colors, formatting) and Global Variable injection tags without needing to memorize or manually type complex XML syntax.

Functionality & Uses

The editor creates a wrapper around the standard multi-line text input. It features a toolbar with icons representing specific Rich Text Decorators or macros. When a user selects text and clicks a button (or clicks without selection), a Configuration Popup appears.

This popup allows you to adjust parameters (e.g., speed, strength, colors) using sliders and color pickers. Upon confirmation, the editor automatically generates the correct tag string (e.g., <shake strength="5">Text</>) and inserts it into the text field.

Advantages over Standard EditableText

Feature Standard EditableText Advanced Text Editor
Rich Text Entry Manual typing required. Prone to typos (e.g., writing <shake> instead of <shake strength="1">). Visual Generation: Click a button, set sliders, and the tag is generated perfectly every time.
Parameter Tuning Must guess values or look up documentation for supported attributes (e.g., "speed", "frequency"). Live Preview (Popup): Configure parameters via UI sliders and see a preview of the text effect before inserting.
Asset Integration Difficult to reference texture paths or Emoji codes manually. Asset Pickers: dedicated picker for Emojis and other assets defined in settings.

Toolbar Tools

The toolbar included in the Advanced Text Editor provides quick access to the following features:

Icon Name Function
Txt Text Format Applies basic formatting: Bold, Italic, Strike, Underline, Color (Hex, Rainbow, Monochrome), and Font Size.
Link Interactive Link Creates clickable text that triggers OnMessageLinkClicked events in the subsystem. Configurable normal and hover colors.
Value Insert Value Opens a menu to inject Global Variables (Int, Float, String, etc.) into the text dynamically.
Time Time Inserts the current system time in HH:MM format.
Date Date Inserts the current system date in DD/MM/YYYY format.
Game Game Time Inserts the current game time (time since level load) formatted as HH:MM:SS.
Player Player Info Inserts the name of the local player (requires valid PlayerController/State).
Node Node Info Inserts the ID (Row Name) of the currently active Dialog Node.
Name Name Info Inserts the name of a participant identified by a specific GameplayTag.
Emoji Emoji Opens a visual grid of emojis defined in the project settings (EmojiRichTextStyleSet) to insert inline images.
Effects Visual Effects Includes buttons for Shake, Wobble, Sparkling, Glitch, Glow, Burn, Shift, Pulse, Secret, and Obfuscate. Each opens a settings popup to customize the animation.
Tongue Tongue Applies a "Language" filter that replaces specific words or glyphs based on a defined DataTable (e.g., creating alien dialects or rune text).
Scrambler Scrambler Randomizes characters within the text block, useful for "hacking" effects or corrupted data.

There are maybe more Decorators and tags, than listed here. You can find a Full List here.

Notes

- The editor supports standard keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V).
- If you manually type valid XML tags, the editor will respect them even if they weren't created via the buttons.
- The Preview window inside the button popups renders the actual Rich Text effect using the current settings, allowing for rapid iteration.

Documentation Index

I. What is the Dialog Backend?
II. Setting up
III. Binding UI
IV. The Subsystem
V. The Components
VI. Dispatchers
VII. Others

Demo available: Demo Page

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