Welcome back to another article to help get your broadcast designs spiffy and professional as ever.
In this article, we'll discuss adding text to your overlay using Streamlabs Stream Labels. Directions for adding scrolling text can be found in Step #4.
Step #1: First make sure you have a Streamlabs account and you're using OBS for your overlay. To add overlays, swing over to our Technical Article on adding overlays.
You'll need to head over to your Streamlabs account and navigate to the "All Widgets" tab.
Once you have selected the all widgets tab head over to "Stream Labels"
Select the platform that you wish to download the Stream Labels program for THIS IS ESSENTIAL
You can download the file for both Windows and OSX. Make sure you download the file to your PC's document folder. Label appropriately (something familiar so you can get to it without sifting through your files/folders) and you'll have a new folder that contains all the possible .txt files you need for adding text, as seen below.
Additionally, Stream Labels will now be an app on your PC, and can be opened to see the recent events, new alerts, and other options as you're streaming.
Step #2: Now that you have the appropriate files downloaded and installed, it's time to setup your OBS TXT source. Choose the Scene you want to add the text to, then click on the "+" button under Sources. Click on the Text (GDI +) option to bring up the sub-window. Create a new source, and name it what you want (i.e. "Recent Follower," "All-Time Top Donation," etc.) The sub-window will give you options for changing the font, color, size, custom text, etc. Make sure the box labeled READ FROM FILE is checked.
Click on the browse button, and go to the Documents folder and select the file for the text you desire. Adjust the customizable options (font, size, color) to the preferences you want, then click OK.
You should now see the text from the file in the top left of the OBS screen. Click OK.
The red lines around the text are the border, and as described in the previous articles, you can increase or decrease the size of the text, BUT this will not change the actual font size, so make sure to adjust the font size and preferences by right-clicking the source, selecting properties, and adjusting from there. You can also click anywhere within the red lines to drag the source around the preview screen, and place it in a different location.
Note: OBS has a default setting that locks, or snaps, the sources into corners, or against the border of another source. To turn this off, simply go to OBS settings (bottom right) and uncheck the two boxes labeled Snap Sources to Edge of Screen and Snap Sources to Other Sources.
Make sure those boxes are unchecked for free movement! If you want to have the sources snap into place, just make sure those boxes are checked.
Step #3: Now that your text is displayed on OBS, you might need to adjust some settings in the Stream Labels app itself. Click on the application to open it.
In the app window, towards the top, you'll see a Settings option, which will bring you a new screen with customization options for each text file. To change the desired file, click on the drop-down option and scroll through the different files available.
Change Output Directory Change the location of the text files. Strongly recommend keeping them in Documents.
Restart Session Acts as a "refresh" button so all your streamlabels are up-to-date.
When you're done, click Save Settings, and it will update in OBS within a short time frame (you can also click on Restart Session to help refresh the changes).
When selecting a text file that shows multiple users, it's suggested to add spaces in the Item Separator box to allow the users to be spaced out, as seen in the below image.
In the Preview box, you can actively see what the text file will look like once added.
Step #4: Once you have configured your settings in both OBS and Streamlabs Stream Labels, you may want to add a scroll to the text. This is done within the Filter settings of the source in OBS.
Right click on the text source you've added. Select Filters (second last option, above Properties). A new sub window will pop up. On the bottom left hand side, click on the "+" button to add a filter.
There are ten options here. Choose the second last one titled Scroll, and name it. Click OK. For the purposes of this tutorial, All Time Cheerer has been added as a text file.
In this window, you can now add a speed to the scroll. Play with the Horizontal and Vertical speeds until you get your preferred speed. Horizontal will make the scroll move from right-to-left or -left-to-right while Vertical will make the scroll move up or down.
An important option is the Limit Width (and Limit Height). This will allow you to control how wide the scroll will occur, which gives you the option to fill out a desired box for text. For example, in some overlays, preset boxes for text are added, such as in the image below.
As you can see, there are boxes set in this custom design for Recent Follower, Subscriber, and Donations. Make sure your text source is placed above the image source (for the overlay) inside the Sources box in OBS. Since OBS has a layering system, if the text source is under the image source, it won't appear "on top of" the overlay and will be behind it, rendering it invisible. Below is an example of how the ordering of layers should look.
Then simply drag the text source to the desired location, and fit it into the box (which may require you to drag the small corner circle on the red border of the text source to increase or decrease the size, OR change the font size within text source Properties).
Add your Scroll and adjust the Limit Width option in Text Source Filters until the text is fits nicely into your overlay without covering it up. Adjusting the Limit Width and/or Limit Height will adjust the length or height of the scroll, giving you full customization when adjusting the scroll.
That's it! If you need any help with anything mentioned above, comment below or join our Discord for help. We hope this helps you with customizing your overlay. Happy streaming!