SplitType is a small javascript library that splits HTML text into elements so that lines, words, and characters can be animated independently. It was inspired by GSAP's SplitText plugin, and can be used with any animation library.
Under the hood, SplitType changes the html structure of the target elements, wrapping each line, word, and/or character in a element.
<br>
tags)SplitType works in all modern browsers. Internet Explorer is no longer supported.
Yarn/NPM
You can install SplitType as a dependency using yarn or npm.
yarn add 'split-type'
import SplitType from 'split-type'
CDN
Or, include the following <script>
tag to load SplitType from a CDN.
<!-- Minified UMD bundle -->
<script src="https://unpkg.com/split-type"></script>
The SplitType class "splits" the text content of the target elements using the provided options. It returns a SplitType
instance which provides access to the split text nodes. By default, text will be split into lines, words, and characters, using relative position.
Because SplitType is a class, it cannot be called without the new
keyword. As an alternative, you can use the static method SplitType.create().
const text = new SplitType('#target')
// or
const text = SplitType.create('#target')
// Array of line elements
text.lines
// Array of word elements
text.words
// Array of character elements
text.chars
Important: The following style should be applied to all target elements. This prevents the characters from shifting slightly when text is split/reverted.
.target {
font-kerning: none;
}
Also, if the target elements are inside a flex container, they need to have a defined width
to prevent the text from moving when it gets split.
The types
option lets you specify which units the text will be broken up into. There are three types: lines, words, and characters. You can specify any combination of these types. However, splitting text into only characters is not recommended. To maintain normal line breaks, you need to include words and/or lines.
// Splits text into lines, words, characters (default)
const text = new SplitType('#target')
// Splits text into words and characters
const text = new SplitType('#target', { types: 'words, chars' })
// Splits text into lines
const text = new SplitType('#target', { types: 'words' })
You can access the split lines/words/characters via properties on the SplitType
instance.
// Splits text in element with ID="target"
const text = new SplitType('#target')
// An array of the all line elements
console.log(text.lines)
// An array of all word elements
console.log(text.words)
// An array of all character elements
console.log(text.chars)
You can also use selectors to access split text elements
const text = new SplitType('#target')
const words = document.querySelectorAll('#target .word')
The revert method will restore the target element(s) to their original html content. It also removes all data associated with the target elements from SplitType's internal data store. It is recommended to revert split text once it is no longer needed (for example at the end of an animation, or before the component is unmounted).
Text can be reverted using the instance method:
instance.revert()
Or using the static method, and specify the target elements to revert.
SplitType.revert('#target')
As of v0.3
, nested elements inside the target elements will be preserved when text is split. This makes it possible to:
<p id="target">Foo <em>Bar</em></p>
SplitType.create('#target')
Result
<div class="target">
<div class="line" style="display: block; text-align: start; width: 100%">
<div class="word" style="display: inline-block; position: relative">
<div class="char" style="display: inline-block">F</div>
<div class="char" style="display: inline-block">o</div>
<div class="char" style="display: inline-block">o</div>
</div>
<em style="display: inline-block; position: relative"
><div class="word" style="display: inline-block; position: relative">
<div class="char" style="display: inline-block">B</div>
<div class="char" style="display: inline-block">a</div>
<div class="char" style="display: inline-block">r</div>
</div>
</em>
</div>
</div>
Caveat: this feature is not compatible with splitting text into lines. When split lines is enabled, if the text content of a nested element gets broken onto multiple lines, it will result in unexpected line breaks in the split text.
By default, split text nodes are set to relative position and display:inline-block
. SplitType also supports absolute position for split text nodes by setting { absolute: true }
. When this is enabled, each line/word/character will be set to absolute position, which can improve performance for some animations.
When text is split into words and characters using relative position, the text will automatically reflow when the container is resized. However, when absolute position is enabled, or text is split into lines (default), the text will not reflow naturally if the viewport is resized. In this case, you will need to re-split text after the container is resized. This can be accomplished using an event listener or ResizeObserver and calling instance.split()
after the container has been resized.
For a complete example, see __stories__/components/Example.svelte
const text = new SplitType('#target')
// Reposition text after the container is resized (simplified version)
// This example uses lodash#debounce to ensure the split method only
// gets called once after the resize is complete.
const resizeObserver = new ResizeObserver(
debounce(([entry]) => {
// Note: you should add additional logic so the `split` method is only
// called when the **width** of the container element has changed.
text.split()
}, 500)
)
resizeObserver.observe(containerElement)
target
The target element(s) for the SplitType call. This can be a selector string, a single element, or a collection of elements (ie NodeList, jQuery object, or array).
options
name | type | default | description |
---|---|---|---|
absolute | boolean |
false |
If true, absolute position will be used to for split text nodes. |
tagName | string |
"div" |
The HTML tag that will be used for split text nodes |
lineClass | string |
"line" |
The className all split line elements |
wordClass | string |
"word" |
The className for split word elements |
charClass | string |
"char" |
The className for split character elements |
splitClass | string |
null |
A className for all split text elements |
types | string |
"lines, words, chars" |
Comma separated list of types |
split | string |
"" | Alias for types |
get
instance.lines
: HTMLElement[]
An array of the split line elements in the splitType instance
get
instance.words
: HTMLElement[]
An array of the split word elements in the splitType instance
get
instance.chars
: HTMLElement[]
An array of the split character elements
get
instance.settings
: SplitTypeOptions
The settings for this splitType instance.
get
instance.isSplit
: boolean
Indicates if the target elements are currently split
method
instance.split(options)
=> void
The split method is called automatically when a new SplitType instance is created. It can be called manually to re-split the target elements. By default it will use the same options that were passed to the constructor when the instance was created. You can also provide new options. This method is useful when you need to re-split text after the browser or container element has been re-sized.
method
instance.revert()
=> void
Restores the target elements to their original html content. It also removes data associated with the target elements from SplitTypes internal data store.
get
SplitType.defaults
: {SplitTypeOptions}
Gets the current default settings for all SplitType instances. The default settings can be modified using the setDefaults
methods.
method
SplitType.setDefaults(options: any)
=> SplitTypeOptions
Sets the default options for all SplitType
instances. The provided object will be merged with the existing SplitType.defaults
object. Returns the new defaults object.
method
SplitType.create(target, options)
=> SplitType
Creates a new SplitType
instance using the provided parameters. This method can be used to call SplitType without using the new
keyword.
method
SplitType.revert(target)
=> void
Reverts the target element(s) if they are currently split. This provides a way to revert split text without a reference to the SplitType
instance.
Text Animation with GSAP
// Split text into words and characters
const text = new SplitType('#target', { types: 'words, chars' })
// Animate characters into view with a stagger effect
gsap.from(text.chars, {
opacity: 0,
y: 20,
duration: 0.5,
stagger: { amount: 0.1 },
})