Formatting Code & Legacy Format

Text can be represented by using a special character indicating a formatting of some kind followed by a unique character indicating the specific formatting to be used. In the SpongeAPI, there are two different characters that are supported by default: the ampersand (&) and the section character (§).

Both formatting schemes use the codes found at the Minecraft Wiki. It is important to note that the Minecraft Wiki only displays the use of the section character (§), but the same codes work with the ampersand (&) as well.

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Text serialization using any kind of formatting code is limited to representing only some of the capabilities of a Text, namely formatting. It cannot represent any kind of click or hover actions. If brevity is not an issue (as it is in Minecraft chat), it is recommended to use either the TextXML Format or the JSON Format.

Ampersand Formatting

By default, Sponge supports the formatting character & (ampersand). Using the ampersand format allows for easier user input of text formatting and is useful in such cases where brevity is necessary, such as in the Minecraft chat console.

To use this formatting, you can access its corresponding TextSerializer with TextSerializers#FORMATTING_CODE. From there, you can use the serialize or deserialize methods as normal:

import org.spongepowered.api.text.Text;
import org.spongepowered.api.text.format.TextColors;
import org.spongepowered.api.text.format.TextStyles;
import org.spongepowered.api.text.serializer.TextSerializers;

Text text = Text.of(TextColors.RED, TextStyles.UNDERLINE, "Hello World!");
String ampersandFormattedText = TextSerializers.FORMATTING_CODE.serialize(text);

For example, the text “Hello World!”, formatted with the color red and an underline would have the following representation with the ampersand formatting code: &c&nHello World!

Legacy Formatting

The legacy text representation is the format widely used in older versions of Minecraft, represented by the section character (§). Sponge provides serialization and deserialization using the legacy format only for compatibility. It should not be used unless absolutely necessary. Rather, it is recommended to use formatting with the ampersand, as detailed above. The legacy formatting has a few limitations that the ampersand formatting does not have, the most obvious among them being that users cannot easily type the section character into the chat.

To use this formatting, you can access its corresponding TextSerializer with TextSerializers#LEGACY_FORMATTING_CODE. From there, you can use the serialize or deserialize methods as normal:

Text text = Text.of(TextColors.RED, TextStyles.UNDERLINE, "Hello World!");
String legacyText = TextSerializers.LEGACY_FORMATTING_CODE.serialize(text);

For example, the text “Hello World!”, formatted with the color red and an underline would have the following representation in the legacy format: §c§nHello World!

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Although its use is not recommended, you can get a FormattingCodeTextSerializer using whichever formatting character you need by calling TextSerializers#formattingCode(char), passing in a char as the only argument.