What It Replaces#

Hundreds of FiveM scripts ship their own DrawText3D: a function that draws a line of white text at a coordinate, called every frame from a loop while the player stands nearby.

[E] Open door
[E] Talk to the clerk
[G] Lockpick

It is drawn with the game's text natives, so it cannot be styled, it has to be redrawn on every frame, and each script carries a slightly different copy. Text UI keeps the function name and the call, and turns every label into a proper prompt: a marker from a distance, the key badge and the text up close.

Only the function is replaced. The script keeps its own loop and its own keypress check, so its behaviour does not change — only the way the label looks.

Replacing the Function#

Add the wrapper

Find the DrawText3D function in the script's client files — usually in client/main.lua or client/functions.lua — and replace the whole function with this:

lua

local texts = {}

function DrawText3D(x, y, z, text, id, key)
    id = id or text
    exports['qs-textui']:drawText3D(x, y, z, text, id, key or 'E')
    if texts[id] then
        texts[id] = 5
        return
    end
    texts[id] = 5
    CreateThread(function()
        while texts[id] > 0 do
            texts[id] = texts[id] - 1
            Wait(0)
        end
        texts[id] = nil
        exports['qs-textui']:DeleteDrawText3D(id)
    end)
end

Every call is forwarded to Text UI, so a label that moves or changes its text follows along. When the script stops calling it for a few frames — the player walked away — the label is removed.

Keep a fallback (optional)

For a script that must also run on servers without Text UI, use this version instead. It picks Text UI when qs-textui is started, and the classic white text when it is not.

lua

local texts = {}

if GetResourceState('qs-textui') == 'started' then
    function DrawText3D(x, y, z, text, id, key)
        id = id or text
        exports['qs-textui']:drawText3D(x, y, z, text, id, key or 'E')
        if texts[id] then
            texts[id] = 5
            return
        end
        texts[id] = 5
        CreateThread(function()
            while texts[id] > 0 do
                texts[id] = texts[id] - 1
                Wait(0)
            end
            texts[id] = nil
            exports['qs-textui']:DeleteDrawText3D(id)
        end)
    end
else
    function DrawText3D(x, y, z, text)
        SetTextScale(0.35, 0.35)
        SetTextFont(4)
        SetTextProportional(1)
        SetTextColour(255, 255, 255, 215)
        SetTextEntry('STRING')
        SetTextCentre(true)
        AddTextComponentString(text)
        SetDrawOrigin(x, y, z, 0)
        DrawText(0.0, 0.0)
        local factor = text:len() / 370
        DrawRect(0.0, 0.0 + 0.0125, 0.017 + factor, 0.03, 0, 0, 0, 75)
        ClearDrawOrigin()
    end
end

The check runs once, when the script starts — so qs-textui must start before it in server.cfg.

Give each label an id and a key
Old scripts call the function with four values, and put the key inside the text:
lua
```
DrawText3D(x, y, z, '[E] Open door')
```
Add a unique id and the key, and take the key out of the text — the badge already shows it:
lua
```
DrawText3D(x, y, z, 'Open door', 'motel_door_' .. doorId, 'E')
```
Without an id, the text itself is used as one. That is fine for most scripts, but a script that draws the same text at several places at once needs an id per place, or the labels merge into one.

A Complete Example#

A typical door loop after the change. Only the DrawText3D line is different from the original:

lua

CreateThread(function()
    while true do
        local sleep = 1000
        local coords = GetEntityCoords(PlayerPedId())
        for doorId, door in pairs(Doors) do
            if #(coords - door.coords) < 2.0 then
                sleep = 0
                DrawText3D(door.coords.x, door.coords.y, door.coords.z, 'Open door', 'door_' .. doorId, 'E')
                if IsControlJustReleased(0, 38) then
                    OpenDoor(doorId)
                end
            end
        end
        Wait(sleep)
    end
end)

How the Labels Behave#

Labels drawn through DrawText3D use fixed distances, measured from the player to the label:

Distance	What shows
Over 5 m	Nothing.
2 to 5 m	A small marker at the point.
Under 2 m	The key badge and the text.

The script still decides when the label exists: a script that only draws within 1.5 m shows the label from 1.5 m and removes it beyond that. For your own distances, a keypress handled by Text UI, or a job filter, create the prompt with create3DTextUI instead — see Commands and Exports.

GTA codes left in the text — ~g~, ~r~, ~h~, ~n~ — become colours, bold and line breaks, and codes such as ~INPUT_CONTEXT~ are removed. See Text Formatting.

Labels belong to the script that drew them. When that script stops or restarts, its labels are removed with it.

ReplaceDrawText3D

What It Replaces#

Replacing the Function#

Add the wrapper

Keep a fallback (optional)

Give each label an id and a key

A Complete Example#

How the Labels Behave#

ReplaceDrawText3D

What It Replaces#

Replacing the Function#

Add the wrapper

Keep a fallback (optional)

Give each label an id and a key

A Complete Example#

How the Labels Behave#

ReplaceDrawText3D

What It Replaces#

Replacing the Function#

Add the wrapper

Keep a fallback (optional)

Give each label an id and a key

A Complete Example#

How the Labels Behave#

ReplaceDrawText3D

What It Replaces#

Replacing the Function#

Add the wrapper

Keep a fallback (optional)

Give each label an id and a key

A Complete Example#

How the Labels Behave#