How to Add Shadow Effect to Text
June 24, 2024
Updated December 10, 2024
The Shadow Effect on text is a visual enhancement technique used to create depth and distinction for text elements. When applied, it introduces a duplicated version of the text behind the original, slightly offset to give the appearance of a shadow. This secondary text, known as the shadow, can be adjusted in several ways to achieve different visual effects.
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How to Add Shadow Effect to Text
- Download a C# library to add a shadow effect to text
- Apply the text effect to either newly created or existing text
- Apply a preset shadow effect using the static named instance of the Shadow class
- Configure the Shadow properties to achieve a customized shadow
- Export the edited Word document as a new file
Add Shadow Effect
To specify the shadow effect for the text, create the TextStyle object and populate the ShadowEffect property with a Shadow object. Finally, add new text with the style by assigning the TextStyle object to the TextEffect property.
:path=/static-assets/word/content-code-examples/how-to/text-effect-shadow-effect.csusing IronWord;
using IronWord.Models;
// Create new Word document
WordDocument doc = new WordDocument();
// Create and configure text style
TextStyle textStyle = new TextStyle();
textStyle.TextEffect = new TextEffect()
{
ShadowEffect = Shadow.OuterShadow1,
};
// Add text with style
doc.AddText("Hello World").Style = textStyle;
// Export new Word document
doc.SaveAs("shadowEffect.docx");Imports IronWord
Imports IronWord.Models
' Create new Word document
Private doc As New WordDocument()
' Create and configure text style
Private textStyle As New TextStyle()
textStyle.TextEffect = New TextEffect() With {.ShadowEffect = Shadow.OuterShadow1}
' Add text with style
doc.AddText("Hello World").Style = textStyle
' Export new Word document
doc.SaveAs("shadowEffect.docx")$vbLabelText $csharpLabel
Shadow Effect Properties
Besides assigning a predefined shadow value, all of the shadow effect's properties can be configured. This provides a very flexible option to customize the shadow effect in any way possible. Please see the properties and their descriptions below:
- Alignment: Gets or sets the alignment of the shadow.
- BlurRadius: Gets or sets the blur radius of the shadow effect. The blur radius is specified in points (1/72 inch).
- DirectionAngle: Gets or sets the direction angle of the shadow effect. The direction angle is specified in degrees.
- DistanceFromText: Gets or sets the distance of the shadow effect from the text or object. The distance is specified in points (1/72 inch).
- HorizontalScalingFactor: Gets or sets the horizontal scaling factor of the shadow effect.
- HorizontalSkewAngle: Gets or sets the horizontal skew angle of the shadow effect. The skew angle is specified in degrees.
- SchemeColor: Gets or sets the scheme color of the shadow effect.
- VerticalScalingFactor: Gets or sets the vertical scaling factor of the shadow effect.
- VerticalSkewAngle: Gets or sets the vertical skew angle of the shadow effect. The skew angle is specified in degrees.
:path=/static-assets/word/content-code-examples/how-to/text-effect-customized-shadow-effect.csusing IronWord;
using IronWord.Models;
using IronWord.Models.Enums;
// Create new Word document
WordDocument doc = new WordDocument();
// Create and configure text style
TextStyle textStyle = new TextStyle();
textStyle.TextEffect = new TextEffect()
{
ShadowEffect = new Shadow()
{
Alignment = RectangleAlignmentValues.BottomLeft,
BlurRadius = 5,
DirectionAngle = 45,
DistanceFromText = 3,
HorizontalScalingFactor = 100,
VerticalScalingFactor = 100,
HorizontalSkewAngle = 0,
SchemeColor = IronWord.Models.Color.Aqua,
VerticalSkewAngle = 0,
},
};
// Add text with style
doc.AddText("Customized shadow").Style = textStyle;
// Export new Word document
doc.SaveAs("customizedShadowEffect.docx");Imports IronWord
Imports IronWord.Models
Imports IronWord.Models.Enums
' Create new Word document
Private doc As New WordDocument()
' Create and configure text style
Private textStyle As New TextStyle()
textStyle.TextEffect = New TextEffect() With {
.ShadowEffect = New Shadow() With {
.Alignment = RectangleAlignmentValues.BottomLeft,
.BlurRadius = 5,
.DirectionAngle = 45,
.DistanceFromText = 3,
.HorizontalScalingFactor = 100,
.VerticalScalingFactor = 100,
.HorizontalSkewAngle = 0,
.SchemeColor = IronWord.Models.Color.Aqua,
.VerticalSkewAngle = 0
}
}
' Add text with style
doc.AddText("Customized shadow").Style = textStyle
' Export new Word document
doc.SaveAs("customizedShadowEffect.docx")$vbLabelText $csharpLabel
Chaknith works on IronXL and IronBarcode. He has deep expertise in C# and .NET, helping improve the software and support customers. His insights from user interactions contribute to better products, documentation, and overall experience.
