Marquee

Smooth scrolling marquee text for TextMeshPro in Unity UI.

Installation

Via Git URL

Add this line to your Packages/manifest.json:

{
  "dependencies": {
    "com.iraklichkuaseli.marquee": "https://github.com/irakli/marquee.git"
  }
}

Or install via Package Manager:

1. Open Window → Package Manager
2. Click the + button
3. Select "Add package from git URL"
4. Enter: https://github.com/irakli/marquee.git

Manual

Clone or download this repo into your project's Packages/ folder.

Requirements

• Unity 2022.3 or later
• TextMeshPro (included in Unity)

Features

• Single component - Add MarqueeText alongside any TMP_Text, no hierarchy changes
• Three behaviors - Continuous loop, PingPong bounce, OneShot
• Edge fading - Soft alpha fade via TMP shader clipping softness, zero overhead
• Edit-mode preview - See scrolling without entering Play mode

Setup

Add Component > UI > Effects > Marquee Text on any GameObject with a TextMeshProUGUI or TextMeshPro component.

Text scrolls automatically when it overflows the rect. Enable Force Scrolling to always scroll.

Usage

Basic

var marquee = GetComponent<MarqueeText>();

marquee.Play();
marquee.Pause();
marquee.Restart();   // reset to home and start scrolling
marquee.Stop();      // reset to home and stop

Runtime Configuration

marquee.SetSpeed(100f);

// Read-only state
bool overflows = marquee.IsOverflowing;
bool playing   = marquee.IsPlaying;
float progress = marquee.ScrollProgress; // 0..1

// Events
marquee.StateChanged   += isPlaying => Debug.Log(isPlaying);
marquee.ScrollBegan    += () => Debug.Log("started scrolling");
marquee.ScrollCompleted += () => Debug.Log("cycle complete");

Inspector

Scroll

Property	Description
Direction	Left or Right
Behavior	Continuous, PingPong, or OneShot
Speed Mode	Rate (units/sec) or Duration (seconds per full cycle)
Speed / Duration	The speed value (meaning depends on Speed Mode)
Delay at Edge	Seconds to pause before looping/reversing
Easing Curve	AnimationCurve for PingPong/OneShot movement (not shown for Continuous)

Spacing

Property	Description
Leading Buffer	Extra space before the text starts (in scroll direction)
Trailing Buffer	Extra space after text ends before it wraps

Behavior

Property	Description
Force Scrolling	Scroll even when text fits within bounds
Hold Scrolling	Prevent scrolling but keep edge fades visible
Tap to Scroll	Only begin scrolling when clicked/tapped

Fade Edges

Property	Description
Enable	Turn on soft alpha fade at edges
Fade Width	Width of the fade zone

Live Preview - Toggle at the top of the inspector to enable edit-mode animation and playback controls.

API Reference

Methods

Method	Description
Play()	Start or resume scrolling
Pause()	Pause at current position
Restart()	Reset to home and start scrolling
Stop()	Reset to home and stop
SetSpeed(float)	Set scroll speed at runtime

Properties

Property	Type	Description
IsPlaying	bool	Whether the marquee animation is active
IsOverflowing	bool	Whether text exceeds the visible area
AwayFromHome	bool	Whether text is away from its starting position
ScrollProgress	float	Normalized scroll progress from 0 (home) to 1 (fully scrolled)

Events

Event	Description
StateChanged	Fired when play state changes (parameter: bool isPlaying)
ScrollBegan	Fired when a scroll cycle begins
ScrollCompleted	Fired when a scroll cycle completes

Advanced Usage

How It Works

MarqueeText operates directly on TMP's vertex data in LateUpdate:

1. Forces overflow mode so all characters render beyond the rect
2. Clips overflowing text at the rect bounds via CanvasRenderer rect clipping (respects TMP margins)
3. Offsets all character vertices by the current scroll position
4. In Continuous mode, wraps characters that leave one edge back to the other side
5. When edge fading is enabled, sets clipping softness for a smooth alpha fade

Subclassing

Override virtual methods for custom behavior:

public class CustomMarquee : MarqueeText
{
    protected override void OnScrollBegan() { /* ... */ }
    protected override void OnScrollCompleted() { /* ... */ }
}

Performance

If the marquee lives inside a complex UI, place it under its own nested Canvas. This prevents per-frame vertex updates from forcing a batch rebuild on sibling elements.

For world-space canvases, prefer TextMeshPro (3D) over TextMeshProUGUI to avoid Canvas overhead. Both work with MarqueeText.

Package Structure

com.iraklichkuaseli.marquee/
├── package.json                # UPM package manifest
├── README.md                   # This file
├── CHANGELOG.md                # Version history
├── LICENSE.md                  # MIT License
├── Runtime/
│   ├── MarqueeText.cs          # Main marquee component
│   └── IrakliChkuaseli.Marquee.asmdef
├── Editor/
│   ├── MarqueeTextEditor.cs        # Custom inspector
│   ├── MarqueePlayModeHandler.cs   # Play mode state handler
│   └── IrakliChkuaseli.Marquee.Editor.asmdef
├── Icons/
└── Tests/
    ├── Editor/
    └── Runtime/

Troubleshooting

Text not scrolling

Problem: MarqueeText is added but the text doesn't move.

Solution: Text only scrolls when it overflows the rect bounds. Either make the text longer than the rect, or enable Force Scrolling in the Inspector.

Word wrapping or overflow mode warnings

Problem: Inspector shows info messages about overflow mode or word wrapping.

Solution: MarqueeText requires overflow mode set to Overflow and word wrapping disabled. Both are enforced automatically when the component enables.

License

MIT