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• Definition
• Details
• Shell alternatives
• Requirements
• Contact
• Useless facts

The TypeFX module allows printing a string with a user-defined delay after each character.

You can find more text printing effects here.

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With the Python modules, there are two types of delays.

Prints the output "typically machine-like", character by character at the same speed.

Prints the output "typewriter-like" as if a person was typing. This method is available in the Python modules and the PowerShell code, only.

First of all, the module must be imported.

import typefx

Notice that the delays must be given in milliseconds.

The static method requires only two arguments, the string that should be printed and the delay between printing each character:

typefx.static(string, delay=10)

The dynamic method requires three arguments, the string that should be printed, the minimum delay as well as the maximum delay between printing each character.

typefx.dynamic(string, delay_min=1, delay_max=100)

The following code

import typefx
typefx.static("This is the static \"typically machine-like\" output effect.", 10)
typefx.dynamic("This is the dynamic \"typewriter-like\" output effect.", 20, 300)

produces this output:

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In case the effects should be used in a shell script, it would be quite inconvenient to use this Python module every time when printing a text on the shell.

However, such effects can also be produced using shell commands. Below you can find some code snippets for various shells:

• Bash
• Android terminal emulator
• PowerShell

The following code was developed on the Bash shell, which is the default shell on many Unix-like systems (or at least Linux distributions). It may also work with other shells, however, there is no guarantee for that.

Notice that unlike the Python scripts, the delay range must be given in seconds instead of milliseconds and the delay must be given before the string. Furthermore, the following script provides the static "typically machine-like" output effect, only.

#!/usr/bin/env bash

typefx() {
    delay=$1
    string=$2

    for char in $(seq 0 $(expr length "${string}")); do
        echo -n "${string:$char:1}"
        sleep $delay
    done
    echo
}

typefx 0.01 "This is a simple text printed on the shell."

While waiting, I wanted to use the time for something "useful", so I wrote a TypeFX script on the terminal emulator of my smartphone.

When using a terminal emulator such as Termux, you can run the Bash code above.

Notice that unlike the Python scripts, the delay range must be given in seconds instead of milliseconds and the delay must be given before the string. Furthermore, the following script provides the static "typically machine-like" output effect, only.

#!/bin/sh

typefx() {
    delay=$1
    string=$2

    for char in $(echo "$string" | tr -c 1); do
        for lt in $(echo "$char" | tr -c 1); do
            echo "$lt\c"
            sleep $delay
        done
        echo " \c"
        sleep $delay
    done
    echo
}

typefx 0.01 "This is a simple text printed on the shell."

Here is the PowerShell code for both effects. As in the Python scripts, the delay must be given in milliseconds, but the delays must be given before the string.

Function Type-Dynamic([Int32]$DelayMin, [Int32]$DelayMax, [String]$String) {
    For ($i = 0; $i -lt $String.Length; $i++) {
        Write-Host $String[$i] -NoNewLine
        $Delay = Get-Random -Minimum $DelayMin -Maximum $DelayMax
        Start-Sleep -Milliseconds $Delay
    }
    Write-Host
}

Function Type-Static([Int32]$Delay, [String]$String) {
    For ($i = 0; $i -lt $String.Length; $i++) {
        Write-Host $String[$i] -NoNewLine
        Start-Sleep -Milliseconds $Delay
    }
    Write-Host
}

Type-Static 10 'This is the static "typically machine-like" output effect.'
Type-Dynamic 20 300 'This is the dynamic "typewriter-like" output effect.'

There also are C# methods available.

TypeFxStatic("This is the static \"typically machine-like\" output effect.", 10)
TypeFxDynamic("This is the dynamic \"typewriter-like\" output effect.", 20, 300)

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In order to use the TypeFX scripts in Python, the framework must be installed on the system.

Depending on which version of the framework you are using:

• Python 2.x (version 2.7 or higher is recommended, may also work with earlier versions)
• Python 3.x (version 3.2 or higher is recommended, may also work with earlier versions)

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Any suggestions, questions, bugs to report or feedback to give?

You can contact me by sending an email to dev@urbanware.org or by opening a GitHub issue (which I would prefer if you have a GitHub account).

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• The project name is an abbreviation for Type Effects.
• The first version uploaded on GitHub was TypeFX 1.1.1 built on March 31^st, 2015.
• Before uploading, the project has neither been changed nor even touched for almost three years.

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