--- title: Live Text State slug: author/live-text-state docTags: createdAt: 2025-03-11T06:56:11.035Z --- ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/511c8QBH-VHiwWnyzIwUb/upWKJLTwP2T6PdzEzOWkN_livetext.png" size="14" width="148" height="148" position="center" darkWidth="148" darkHeight="148" showCaption="false"} A Live Text state consists of images and text fields overlaid on top of each other. Images can be layered with both static text and updatable RSS and MRSS content, and the positions and sizes of all items can be customized. # State Properties - **Name:** The name of the Live Text state - **Initial State:** Select this to make this state the home screen ## Notes This section lets you store important information about the Live Text state for future users. It can be modified at any time. ## Advanced This section lets you add commands to your presentation to extend its functionality. See [Commands & Conditional Targets](docId\:az1YTDtEYH-Zp2Dbg_lBL) for more information. # Using a Live Text State ![image-20240410-231756\_new.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/511c8QBH-VHiwWnyzIwUb/MAucj0Ppcxi2wWkstoz8r_image-20240410-231756new.png) Make sure the **Advanced** zone type is selected (instead of Simple) and drag-and-drop a **Live** **Text** state onto the canvas. Double-click the **Live** **Text** widget icon on the canvas to edit the state. ## Layers ![image-20240430-230856.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/511c8QBH-VHiwWnyzIwUb/p3bkpf0S92b2enboOnfMn_image-20240430-230856.png) Live Text items are organized by items with each item belonging to its own layer (unless you click the trashcan icon to delete an item from the Live Text canvas). Each layer can be clicked-and-dragged up or down. Each layer has a number associated with it. Higher numbered layers are displayed on top of lower numbered layer. For example, in Image 2 above, the “OS Version” is layer 2 and will be displayed on top of the “Fixed Text Example” text which is layer 1. Background is a permanent layer that is always displayed behind all other Live Text items. To set the background, click anywhere on the canvas outside of an existing item. The Background layer will be highlighted. Next, click Layer Properties to set the background to either a color or an image. ## Add Item Click the "+" icon to add a new item to the Live Text canvas. - **Position**: Check this box to set an initial position for new items in relation to the most recently created item. Input the offset distance for the next text item (in pixels) in the **Left (X)** and **Top (Y)** fields. ## Duplicate This enables a duplication of the currently selected item. - **Offset**: Checking the offset option will offset the duplicated item relative to the item selected. ## Update Live Data Refresh items that are populated from a remote URL (i.e. Live Text Data, RSS Feed, Media RSS Feed). ## Grid Lines Check this box to include invisible gridlines on the Live Text canvas. When you manually move or resize elements by clicking and dragging them, they will snap to these lines. Enter the distance between gridlines (in pixels) in the **Vertical** and **Horizontal** fields. :::hint{type="info"} To exit the Live Text canvas and go back to the Zone Content canvas, click either: - the **\< Back** button in the top-right corner of the canvas, or - the Zone description located in the top left corner of the canvas. ::: ::::VerticalSplit{layout="middle"} :::VerticalSplitItem ## Layer Properties Select an item on the canvas or from the **Layers** list to edit its properties: ## Size & Position Adjust the width and the height of the item as well as the position of the item on the horizontal (**X**) and vertical axes (**Y**). ## Type Use the dropdown menu to select the item type: **Fixed Text: **Displays simple, static text. Under **Text**, enter the text you want to display.  **System Variable: **Displays the player serial number, OS version, script version, or other system value. Use the dropdown list under **System Variable Options** to determine the system value to display. ::: :::VerticalSplitItem ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/0prk6SO2dy9LdU77jB8D1/qVpyqf_Et6IA3MM6Hdytm_image.png" size="80" width="1280" height="2610" position="center" darkWidth="1280" darkHeight="2610" showCaption="false"} ::: :::: **Media Counter: **Displays the number of times a media file has played in a presentation.  To use this feature, Media Counters must first be enabled in the [Presentation Settings > Variables](docId\:a6Ali6u-szxHuansk6T3-) section. Use the dropdown list under **Media Options** to select a media file that is being used in your presentation. **Variable: **Displays the current value of a Variable. You must create a [Variable](docId\:a6Ali6u-szxHuansk6T3-) before using this option. Use the dropdown list under **Variable Options** to specify a Variable in the text field. **Image: **Displays an image. Depending on your [Content Mode](docId:8yTHtVfOe83v1SSsbyIW-), you will be prompted to select an image file from either your BrightSign Author Plus library or your local computer. **Live Text Data: **Displays content from a feed in the text field. The displayed feed item will remain fixed and will not cycle through feed items like an RSS ticker (use the "RSS Feed" type for this functionality). However, you can still update the text in real time by modifying the feed on the server and changing the description associated with the feed item. - **Item title**: Specify the feed item to display using the Title/Name of the item. - **Item index**: Specify the feed item to display using the index number of the item. - **Validate Live Text Data**: Refresh the contents of the item based on the selected item title/index. - **RSS Feed**: Displays content from an RSS Feed. - **Display RSS title**: Check this box to display the title of the RSS item. - **Display RSS description**: Check this box to display the description of the RSS item. - **MRSS Feed**: Displays content from an MRSS Feed. - **Display Media RSS Title**: Check this box to display the title of the MRSS item. - **Display Media RSS Description**: Check this box to display the description of the MRSS item. - **Display Media RSS Media**: Check this box to display the media item associated with the MRSS item. :::hint{type="info"} BrightSign Author presentations cache a single Media RSS (MRSS) feed and retain the content files until they are refreshed. When displaying the MRSS feed, the presentation will play files as they are downloaded. If an image file takes longer than five seconds to download, the unit skips to the next image in the feed. If a video file hasn't finished downloading, the unit skips to the next file until all items have been attempted. ::: ## Data Feeds ::::VerticalSplit{layout="right"} :::VerticalSplitItem Use this section to add Data Feeds to your Live Text Data, RSS Feed, and MRSS Feed items. For RSS Feed and MRSS Feed items, you can add multiple feeds. The item will cycle through the feeds according to their order in the list. Use the **Validate** button to check if the feed is accessible and if the format is correct. If your data feed is valid, a green message will appear to let you know that the data feed was accessed successfully. If there are problems with your data feed, you may get the following messages: ::: :::VerticalSplitItem ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/0prk6SO2dy9LdU77jB8D1/7oG6orfcPLTkZF_LT9b3o_image.png) ::: :::: - If no data feed URL is specified, you will get an error stating “Data Feed source not properly specified”. If you select **Validate** at this stage, you will get an error indicating that you must specify a data feed URL. - If an incorrect data feed URL has been input, you will get an error stating “Unable to access specified data feed. Check the URL or try a new one.” ## Set Text Parameters ::::VerticalSplit{layout="right"} :::VerticalSplitItem Use this section to edit the appearance of a text item. For example, you can adjust the font size of a text widget in a Live Text state by choosing an **Automatic** or **Fixed point** font size for the text. 1. **Time to Display Each Line** (RSS Feed, MRSS Feed only): Specify how long (in seconds) to display each entry in the feed. 2. **Rotation**: Specify a degree of rotation for the text. This option does not rotate the dimensions of the text box, so you'll likely need to resize it manually. 3. **Alignment**: Specify whether the text is left-aligned, right-aligned, or centered. 4. **Foreground Text Color**: Select a color for the text. 5. **Background text color**: Check this box to include a background color for text fields. 6. **Font size**: - Select **Automatic** to fit the text to the height of the text field so each text widget contains only one line of text. This is the default option. - Select **Fixed point size** to enter a value for the font size (1 - 500). 7. **Font**: Select a font for the text. The **System Font** option uses the default Linux font. You can use any TrueType font. Click **Reset to System Font** to reset the font to the default. When selecting a font file, you cannot browse to the font files in the Windows fonts folder. You will need to copy the font file to your desktop or another location and then select it using the **Local Font** button in BrightSign Author. If the presentation's **Destination** is set to **BrightSign Network,** fonts can be accessed through BrightSign Cloud by going to **Set Text Parameters** **> BSN Fonts**.  ::: :::VerticalSplitItem ![](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/0prk6SO2dy9LdU77jB8D1/2FouyWUkRUP3lZYhyOmAx_image.png) ::: :::: # Examples ## Adding a Live Text State to a Presentation 1. Make sure that your BrightSign Author presentation contains a **Video or Image** zone, and that the toggle is set to **Interactive**. 2. Drag and drop the **Live Text** icon into the canvas. 3. In **State Properties** enter a **Name** for the Live Text state. 4. Double-click the state to edit it, and select a **Background Image**. If you do not specify a background image, the text may display on top of a video, image, or the background color of the presentation (depending on the [zone layering](docId:0Vm0UTpL2j8dss-DFNhMo) in the presentation).  5. Add one or more **Live Text** items (fields) and adjust the settings for those fields. :::hint{type="info"} Live Text states aren't available in Ticker zones. ::: ## Updating a Static Text Field ::::VerticalSplit{layout="right"} :::VerticalSplitItem You can manually edit Live Text fields in BrightSign Author and republish, or use an RSS feed or BrightSign Cloud Live Data feed to remotely update Live Text. To configure the Live Text state to receive updates: 1. Go to **Content > New Component > Live Data Feed** to create a BrightSign Cloud [Live Data Feed](docId\:gPjwF1LNjhau_EQZJMfUq). 2. In the **Presentation** tab, open a **Live Text** state. 3. Select a text box or add one using the **Add Item** button. 4. Use the **Type** drop down list, select **Live Text Data,** and go to **Data Feed**  5. Choose the data feed you created in Step 1 in **Live Data Feed**. If you're hosting your own RSS feed, enter the **URL** in the **Data Feed** field. 6. Enter an **Item title** or **Item index** number for the **Live Text** item. The feed item (RSS or Live Data) that matches this value will be displayed in the text box. 7. Once you have configured the **Live Text** state, publish the presentation to your player. ::: :::VerticalSplitItem ::Image[]{src="https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/0prk6SO2dy9LdU77jB8D1/b2vYD-FB8iuiIP_nUjGNj_image.png" size="80" width="1280" height="2398" position="center" darkWidth="1280" darkHeight="2398" showCaption="false"} ::: :::: ## Displaying a UDP message using a Live Text State Follow these steps to display and update Live Text fields using UDP messages: 1. Create the required number of User Variables by going to **Presentation Settings > Variables** and clicking the **Add Variable** button to create each user variable. Then click OK. ![Variables\_UDP.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/511c8QBH-VHiwWnyzIwUb/K5h5ACKXf_bcQOMqNn66d_variablesudp.png) 2. Drag and drop a **Live Text** state onto an interactive playlist. ![Live\_Text\_state.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/511c8QBH-VHiwWnyzIwUb/aV1zvjO9vpWa82s-dM3m5_livetextstate.png) 3\. Select **User variable** for the item **Type**, then select the corresponding User Variable under **User Variable Options** (“cell1” in this example). ![Set\_Type.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/511c8QBH-VHiwWnyzIwUb/Wg2UX8KA6DlDCDbIKv6Xe_settype.png) 4. Click **Add Item** to add more text widgets to the Live Text canvas, and then assign the remaining User Variables to these widgets. Go back to the interactive zone where the Live Text state is located.  ![Three\_Variables.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/511c8QBH-VHiwWnyzIwUb/qswyHMiwfD20zVjuVaAYi_threevariables.png) 5. Drag and drop the **UDP** event onto the Live Text widget from **Events**. ![UDP\_Event.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/511c8QBH-VHiwWnyzIwUb/P7we2ivxBBea7DL5iZ_WT_udpevent.png) 6. In **Event Properties** enter "” (without the quotation marks) into the **Specify UDP input** field. :::hint{type="info"} **Note:** Text in the **Label** field is up to the user. ::: 7. Select **Transition to new state** under **Target State**. ![Transition\_UDP.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/511c8QBH-VHiwWnyzIwUb/VK54yp4nrY1aEC7CEkaBa_transitionudp.png) 8. In **Event Properties** select the **Assign input to variable** option and make sure that the **Input specifies variable** option is selected. Then publish the presentation to the player. ![Input\_UDP.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/511c8QBH-VHiwWnyzIwUb/P8GGnGiVWRWke0OOiMi0e_inputudp.png) ## Sending UDP Messages You can use any application capable of sending UDP messages to display your UDP messages on the screen. This example uses [Hercules](http://www.hw-group.com/products/hercules/index_en.html) to send UDP messages to the networked player(s) playing the above presentation. 1. Open Hercules and go to the **UDP** tab. 2. Under **Module IP**, enter the BrightSign player IP address and port 5000 (this is the default UDP sender and receiver port on BrightSign Author) 3. Under the server settings make sure to deselect **Server echo**, **Redirect to TCP Server**, and **Redirect to TCP client**. 4. At the bottom under the Send section enter “cell1\:new message” and click **Send** to display “new message” on the BrightSign player. The string consists of "User Variable\:the message". 5. You can also use one UDP string to update multiple Live Text items at the same time. To do so, you need to separate each message with a `!!`. For example, you can enter `cell1:my message!!cell2:my other message!!cell3:yet another message` and click **Send**. ![image-20240520-232919.png](https://api.archbee.com/api/optimize/511c8QBH-VHiwWnyzIwUb/in_YypgX28XCgwNnEHbvV_image-20240520-232919.png) If you want to broadcast a UDP message to all the BrightSign players on the same subnet, you can replace the IP address of the player with a broadcast address (e.g., 192.168.1.255).