Can I mix different fonts and styles within the same text surface?

Question

Ryan McCombe · Accepted Answer

Mixing different fonts and styles within the same text surface is possible with SDL2 and SDL_ttf, but it requires a custom implementation. SDL_ttf doesn't provide a built-in method for rendering mixed-style text on a single surface. However, we can achieve this by rendering different parts of the text separately and then combining them. Here's a step-by-step approach:

Split the text into segments based on font/style changes.
Render each segment separately with its corresponding font/style.
Combine the rendered segments onto a single surface.

Here's an example implementation:

1#include <SDL.h>
2#include <SDL_ttf.h>
3
4#include <string>
5#include <vector>
6
7struct TextSegment {
8  std::string text;
9  TTF_Font* font;
10  SDL_Color color;
11};
12
13SDL_Surface* renderMixedText(
14  const std::vector<TextSegment>& segments) {
15  int totalWidth = 0;
16  int maxHeight = 0;
17
18  // Calculate total width and maximum height
19  for (const auto& segment : segments) {
20    int width, height;
21    TTF_SizeText(segment.font,
22                 segment.text.c_str(), &width,
23                 &height);
24    totalWidth += width;
25    maxHeight = std::max(maxHeight, height);
26  }
27
28  // Create a surface to hold all segments
29  SDL_Surface* combinedSurface =
30    SDL_CreateRGBSurface(0, totalWidth,
31                         maxHeight, 32, 0, 0, 0,
32                         0);
33
34  int xOffset = 0;
35  for (const auto& segment : segments) {
36    SDL_Surface* segmentSurface =
37      TTF_RenderText_Blended(
38        segment.font, segment.text.c_str(),
39        segment.color);
40    if (segmentSurface) {
41      SDL_Rect dstRect = {xOffset, 0, 0, 0};
42      SDL_BlitSurface(segmentSurface, nullptr,
43                      combinedSurface,
44                      &dstRect);
45      xOffset += segmentSurface->w;
46      SDL_FreeSurface(segmentSurface);
47    }
48  }
49
50  return combinedSurface;
51}
52
53// Usage
54TTF_Font* regularFont = TTF_OpenFont(
55  "regular.ttf", 24);
56TTF_Font* boldFont = TTF_OpenFont(
57  "bold.ttf", 24);
58TTF_Font* italicFont = TTF_OpenFont(
59  "italic.ttf", 24);
60
61std::vector<TextSegment> segments = {
62  {"Hello ", regularFont, {255, 255, 255, 255}},
63  {"bold ", boldFont, {255, 0, 0, 255}},
64  {"and ", regularFont, {255, 255, 255, 255}},
65  {"italic", italicFont, {0, 255, 0, 255}}};
66
67SDL_Surface* mixedTextSurface = renderMixedText(
68  segments);
69
70// Render mixedTextSurface to your screen
71SDL_BlitSurface(mixedTextSurface, nullptr,
72                screenSurface, &dstRect);
73
74// Clean up
75SDL_FreeSurface (mixedTextSurface);
76TTF_CloseFont (regularFont);
77TTF_CloseFont (boldFont);
78TTF_CloseFont (italicFont);

This approach allows for flexible mixing of fonts, styles, and colors within a single text surface. Remember to handle text alignment and wrapping if needed for more complex layouts.

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