1# Textwrap 2 3[![](https://github.com/mgeisler/textwrap/workflows/build/badge.svg)][build-status] 4[![](https://codecov.io/gh/mgeisler/textwrap/branch/master/graph/badge.svg)][codecov] 5[![](https://img.shields.io/crates/v/textwrap.svg)][crates-io] 6[![](https://docs.rs/textwrap/badge.svg)][api-docs] 7 8Textwrap is a library for wrapping and indenting text. It is most 9often used by command-line programs to format dynamic output nicely so 10it looks good in a terminal. You can also use Textwrap to wrap text 11set in a proportional font—such as text used to generate PDF files, or 12drawn on a [HTML5 canvas using WebAssembly][wasm-demo]. 13 14## Usage 15 16To use the textwrap crate, add this to your `Cargo.toml` file: 17```toml 18[dependencies] 19textwrap = "0.16" 20``` 21 22By default, this enables word wrapping with support for Unicode 23strings. Extra features can be enabled with Cargo features—and the 24Unicode support can be disabled if needed. This allows you slim down 25the library and so you will only pay for the features you actually 26use. 27 28Please see the [_Cargo Features_ in the crate 29documentation](https://docs.rs/textwrap/#cargo-features) for a full 30list of the available features as well as their impact on the size of 31your binary. 32 33## Documentation 34 35**[API documentation][api-docs]** 36 37## Getting Started 38 39Word wrapping is easy using the `wrap` and `fill` functions: 40 41```rust 42#[cfg(feature = "smawk")] { 43let text = "textwrap: an efficient and powerful library for wrapping text."; 44assert_eq!( 45 textwrap::wrap(text, 28), 46 vec![ 47 "textwrap: an efficient", 48 "and powerful library for", 49 "wrapping text.", 50 ] 51); 52} 53``` 54 55Sharp-eyed readers will notice that the first line is 22 columns wide. 56So why is the word “and” put in the second line when there is space 57for it in the first line? 58 59The explanation is that textwrap does not just wrap text one line at a 60time. Instead, it uses an optimal-fit algorithm which looks ahead and 61chooses line breaks which minimize the gaps left at ends of lines. 62This is controlled with the `smawk` Cargo feature, which is why the 63example is wrapped in the `cfg`-block. 64 65Without look-ahead, the first line would be longer and the text would 66look like this: 67 68```rust 69#[cfg(not(feature = "smawk"))] { 70let text = "textwrap: an efficient and powerful library for wrapping text."; 71assert_eq!( 72 textwrap::wrap(text, 28), 73 vec![ 74 "textwrap: an efficient and", 75 "powerful library for", 76 "wrapping text.", 77 ] 78); 79} 80``` 81 82The second line is now shorter and the text is more ragged. The kind 83of wrapping can be configured via `Options::wrap_algorithm`. 84 85If you enable the `hyphenation` Cargo feature, you get support for 86automatic hyphenation for [about 70 languages][patterns] via 87high-quality TeX hyphenation patterns. 88 89Your program must load the hyphenation pattern and configure 90`Options::word_splitter` to use it: 91 92```rust 93#[cfg(feature = "hyphenation")] { 94use hyphenation::{Language, Load, Standard}; 95use textwrap::{fill, Options, WordSplitter}; 96 97let dictionary = Standard::from_embedded(Language::EnglishUS).unwrap(); 98let options = textwrap::Options::new(28).word_splitter(WordSplitter::Hyphenation(dictionary)); 99let text = "textwrap: an efficient and powerful library for wrapping text."; 100 101assert_eq!( 102 textwrap::wrap(text, &options), 103 vec![ 104 "textwrap: an efficient and", 105 "powerful library for wrap-", 106 "ping text." 107 ] 108); 109} 110``` 111 112The US-English hyphenation patterns are embedded when you enable the 113`hyphenation` feature. They are licensed under a [permissive 114license][en-us license] and take up about 88 KB in your binary. If you 115need hyphenation for other languages, you need to download a 116[precompiled `.bincode` file][bincode] and load it yourself. Please 117see the [`hyphenation` documentation] for details. 118 119## Wrapping Strings at Compile Time 120 121If your strings are known at compile time, please take a look at the 122procedural macros from the [`textwrap-macros` crate]. 123 124## Examples 125 126The library comes with [a 127collection](https://github.com/mgeisler/textwrap/tree/master/examples) 128of small example programs that shows various features. 129 130If you want to see Textwrap in action right away, then take a look at 131[`examples/wasm/`], which shows how to wrap sans-serif, serif, and 132monospace text. It uses WebAssembly and is automatically deployed to 133https://mgeisler.github.io/textwrap/. 134 135For the command-line examples, you’re invited to clone the repository 136and try them out for yourself! Of special note is 137[`examples/interactive.rs`]. This is a demo program which demonstrates 138most of the available features: you can enter text and adjust the 139width at which it is wrapped interactively. You can also adjust the 140`Options` used to see the effect of different `WordSplitter`s and wrap 141algorithms. 142 143Run the demo with 144 145```sh 146$ cargo run --example interactive 147``` 148 149The demo needs a Linux terminal to function. 150 151## Release History 152 153Please see the [CHANGELOG file] for details on the changes made in 154each release. 155 156## License 157 158Textwrap can be distributed according to the [MIT license][mit]. 159Contributions will be accepted under the same license. 160 161[crates-io]: https://crates.io/crates/textwrap 162[build-status]: https://github.com/mgeisler/textwrap/actions?query=workflow%3Abuild+branch%3Amaster 163[codecov]: https://codecov.io/gh/mgeisler/textwrap 164[wasm-demo]: https://mgeisler.github.io/textwrap/ 165[`textwrap-macros` crate]: https://crates.io/crates/textwrap-macros 166[`hyphenation` example]: https://github.com/mgeisler/textwrap/blob/master/examples/hyphenation.rs 167[`termwidth` example]: https://github.com/mgeisler/textwrap/blob/master/examples/termwidth.rs 168[patterns]: https://github.com/tapeinosyne/hyphenation/tree/master/patterns-tex 169[en-us license]: https://github.com/hyphenation/tex-hyphen/blob/master/hyph-utf8/tex/generic/hyph-utf8/patterns/tex/hyph-en-us.tex 170[bincode]: https://github.com/tapeinosyne/hyphenation/tree/master/dictionaries 171[`hyphenation` documentation]: http://docs.rs/hyphenation 172[`examples/wasm/`]: https://github.com/mgeisler/textwrap/tree/master/examples/wasm 173[`examples/interactive.rs`]: https://github.com/mgeisler/textwrap/tree/master/examples/interactive.rs 174[api-docs]: https://docs.rs/textwrap/ 175[CHANGELOG file]: https://github.com/mgeisler/textwrap/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md 176[mit]: LICENSE 177