How to convert an IText object into a data-like URL string using FabricJS?

In this tutorial, we are going to learn about how to convert an IText object into a datalike URL string using FabricJS. The IText class was introduced in FabricJS version 1.4, extends fabric.Text and is used to create IText instances. An IText instance gives us the freedom to select, cut, paste or add new text without additional configurations. There are also various supported key combinations and mouse/touch combinations which make text interactive which are not provided in Text.

Textbox, however, which is based on IText allows us to resize the text rectangle and wraps lines automatically. This is not true for IText as height is not adjusted based on the wrapping of lines. We can manipulate our IText object by using various properties. Likewise, we can convert an IText object into a data-like URL string by using the toDataURL method.

Syntax

toDataURL(options: Object): String

Parameters

options (optional) − This parameter is an Object which provides additional customizations to the URL representation of the IText object. Using this parameter format, quality, multiplier and a lot of other properties can be changed.

Example 1

Default value without using toDataURL method

Let’s see a code example to see how the IText object looks like when the toDataURL method is not used. On using the toDataURL method, a URL representation of the IText object is returned. In this example, we have created an itext object and assigned it various properties like stroke, fill, shadow, etc. However, since we have not used the toDataURL method, we will not be able to see the URL representation of the object in the console but rather the itext object’s default value is logged.


<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
   <!-- Adding the Fabric JS Library-->
   <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/fabric.js/510/fabric.min.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
   <h2>Default value without using toDataURL method</h2>
   <p>You can open console from dev tools and see the logged output</p>
   <canvas id="canvas"></canvas>
   
   <script>
      // Initiate a canvas instance
      var canvas = new fabric.Canvas("canvas");
      canvas.setWidth(document.body.scrollWidth);
      canvas.setHeight(250);

      // Initiate a shadow object
      var shadow = new fabric.Shadow({
         blur: 25,
         color: "grey",
         offsetX: 12,
         offsetY: 15,
      });

      // Initiate an itext object
      var itext = new fabric.IText(
         "Add sample text here.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet 
consectetur adipiscing.",{
            width: 300,
            left: 50,
            top: 70,
            fill: "#c70039",
            backgroundColor: "#c1dfed",
            stroke: "#c70039",
            originX: "center",
            shadow: shadow,
         }
      );

      // Add it to the canvas
      canvas.add(itext);

      // Console logging the itext object
      console.log("The itext object is as follows: ", itext);
   </script>
</body>
</html>

Example 2

Using the toDataURL method

Let’s see a code example to see the logged output when using the toDataURL method. As soon as we open the console from the dev tools, we can see the URL representation of the IText object. We can copy that URL and paste it into the address bar of a new tab to see the final output.


<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
   <!-- Adding the Fabric JS Library-->
   <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/fabric.js/510/fabric.min.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
   <h2>Using the toDataURL method</h2>
   <p> You can open console from dev tools and see the output URL. You can copy that and paste it in the address bar of a new tab to see that the image </p>
   <canvas id="canvas"></canvas>

   <script>
      // Initiate a canvas instance
      var canvas = new fabric.Canvas("canvas");
      canvas.setWidth(document.body.scrollWidth);
      canvas.setHeight(250);

      // Initiate a shadow object
      var shadow = new fabric.Shadow({
         blur: 25,
         color: "grey",
         offsetX: 12,
         offsetY: 15,
      });

      // Initiate an itext object
      var itext = new fabric.IText(
         "Add sample text here.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet 
consectetur adipiscing.", {
            width: 300,
            left: 50,
            top: 70,
            fill: "#c70039",
            backgroundColor: "#c1dfed",
            stroke: "#c70039",
            originX: "center",
            shadow: shadow,
         }
      );

      // Add it to the canvas
      canvas.add(itext);

      // Using the toDataURL method
      console.log(itext.toDataURL());
   </script>
</body>
</html>