Text elements

Create and style text elements in designs.

Running this example

To run this example locally:

  1. If you haven't already, create a new app in the Developer Portal(opens in a new tab or window). For more information, refer to our Quickstart guide.

  2. In your app's configuration on the Developer Portal(opens in a new tab or window), ensure the "Development URL" is set to http://localhost:8080.

  3. Clone the starter kit:

    git clone https://github.com/canva-sdks/canva-apps-sdk-starter-kit.git
    cd canva-apps-sdk-starter-kit
    SHELL
  4. Install dependencies:

    npm install
    SHELL
  5. Run the example:

    npm run start text_elements
    SHELL
  6. Click the Preview URL link shown in the terminal to open the example in the Canva editor.

Example app source code

// For usage information, see the README.md file.
import {
Button,
ColorSelector,
FormField,
Rows,
Select,
Text,
TextInput,
Title,
} from "@canva/app-ui-kit";
// FontWeight and TextAttributes are Canva's type definitions for text styling
import type { FontWeight, TextAttributes } from "@canva/design";
import { useCallback, useState } from "react";
import * as styles from "styles/components.css";
import { useAddElement } from "utils/use_add_element";
// UI state matches the properties accepted by Canva's text element API
type UIState = {
text: string;
color: string;
fontWeight: FontWeight;
fontStyle: TextAttributes["fontStyle"];
decoration: TextAttributes["decoration"];
textAlign: TextAttributes["textAlign"];
};
const initialState: UIState = {
text: "Hello world",
color: "#ff0099",
fontWeight: "normal",
fontStyle: "normal",
decoration: "none",
textAlign: "start",
};
export const App = () => {
const [state, setState] = useState<UIState>(initialState);
// Custom hook that provides addElement function, which uses Canva's addElementAtPoint or addElementAtCursor APIs
const addElement = useAddElement();
const { text, color, fontWeight, fontStyle, decoration, textAlign } = state;
const disabled = text.trim().length < 1 || color.trim().length < 1;
// Creates a text element in the Canva design using the configured styling options
const addText = useCallback(async () => {
await addElement({
type: "text", // Specifies this is a native Canva text element
...state,
children: [state.text], // Text content is passed as children array
});
}, [state, addElement]);
return (
<div className={styles.scrollContainer}>
<Rows spacing="2u">
<Text>
This example demonstrates how apps can add text elements to design.
</Text>
<FormField
label="Text"
value={text}
control={(props) => (
<TextInput
{...props}
onChange={(value) => {
setState((prevState) => {
return {
...prevState,
text: value,
};
});
}}
/>
)}
/>
<Title size="small">Custom options</Title>
<FormField
label="Color"
control={() => (
// ColorSelector provides Canva's native color picker interface
<ColorSelector
color={color}
onChange={(value) => {
setState((prevState) => {
return {
...prevState,
color: value,
};
});
}}
/>
)}
/>
<FormField
label="Font style"
value={fontStyle}
control={(props) => (
<Select<TextAttributes["fontStyle"]>
{...props}
stretch
onChange={(style) => {
setState((prevState) => {
return {
...prevState,
fontStyle: style,
};
});
}}
options={[
{ value: "normal", label: "Normal" },
{ value: "italic", label: "Italic" },
]}
/>
)}
/>
<FormField
label="Font weight"
value={fontWeight}
control={(props) => (
<Select<FontWeight>
{...props}
stretch
onChange={(fontWeight) => {
setState((prevState) => {
return {
...prevState,
fontWeight,
};
});
}}
options={[
{ value: "normal", label: "Normal" },
{ value: "thin", label: "Thin" },
{ value: "extralight", label: "Extra light" },
{ value: "light", label: "Light" },
{ value: "medium", label: "Medium" },
{ value: "semibold", label: "Semibold" },
{ value: "bold", label: "Bold" },
{ value: "heavy", label: "Heavy" },
]}
/>
)}
/>
<FormField
label="Decoration"
value={decoration}
control={(props) => (
<Select<TextAttributes["decoration"]>
{...props}
stretch
onChange={(decoration) => {
setState((prevState) => {
return {
...prevState,
decoration,
};
});
}}
options={[
{ value: "none", label: "None" },
{ value: "underline", label: "Underline" },
]}
/>
)}
/>
<FormField
label="Text align"
value={textAlign}
control={(props) => (
<Select<TextAttributes["textAlign"]>
{...props}
stretch
onChange={(textAlign) => {
setState((prevState) => {
return {
...prevState,
textAlign,
};
});
}}
options={[
{ value: "start", label: "Start" },
{ value: "center", label: "Center" },
{ value: "end", label: "End" },
]}
/>
)}
/>
<Button variant="primary" onClick={addText} disabled={disabled} stretch>
Add element
</Button>
</Rows>
</div>
);
};
TYPESCRIPT
// For usage information, see the README.md file.
import { AppUiProvider } from "@canva/app-ui-kit";
import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
import { App } from "./app";
import "@canva/app-ui-kit/styles.css";
const root = createRoot(document.getElementById("root") as Element);
function render() {
root.render(
<AppUiProvider>
<App />
</AppUiProvider>,
);
}
render();
// Hot Module Replacement for development (automatically reloads the app when changes are made)
if (module.hot) {
module.hot.accept("./app", render);
}
TYPESCRIPT
# Text elements
Demonstrates how to create basic text elements with styling controls including color, font weight, style, decoration, and alignment. Shows fundamental text insertion and formatting patterns.
For API reference docs and instructions on running this example, see: <https://www.canva.dev/docs/apps/examples/text-elements/>.
Related examples: See design_elements/richtext_elements for advanced text formatting, or app_text_elements for text within app elements.
NOTE: This example differs from what is expected for public apps to pass a Canva review:
- Text content and styling are hardcoded for demonstration purposes only. Production apps should provide comprehensive text editing interfaces or dynamic content loading
- Font validation and fallback handling is not implemented. Production apps must validate fonts and provide fallback options
- Internationalization is not implemented. Production apps must support multiple languages using the `@canva/app-i18n-kit` package to pass Canva review requirements
- Accessibility features are simplified for demonstration. Production apps must meet WCAG 2.0 AA standards
MARKDOWN

API reference

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