Screen

Introduction

The Screen category includes blocks that allow your VEX IQ (2nd generation) robot to display text, values, and graphics on the Brain’s built-in screen. These blocks can be used to print sensor data, create custom interfaces, or draw visual elements like lines, shapes, and text with adjustable styles and colors.

Below is a list of available blocks:

Print – Display text and values on the Brain.

• print – Prints a value or text to the selected screen.

• set cursor to row column – Sets the row and column location for printing.

• set cursor to next row – Moves the cursor to the next row.

• clear row – Clears a specific row.

• cursor column – Returns the current cursor column number.

• cursor row – Returns the current cursor row number.

Settings – Configure screen display properties.

• clear screen – Clears the entire screen.

• set font – Sets the font style and size for printed text.

• set print precision – Sets how many decimal places to show.

• set pen width – Sets the line thickness for drawings.

• set pen color – Sets the color used for outlines and text.

• set fill color – Sets the fill color for drawn shapes.

Draw – Create shapes and graphics on the Brain screen.

• draw pixel – Draws a single pixel at a coordinate.

• draw line – Draws a line between two points.

• draw rectangle – Draws a rectangle.

• draw circle – Draws a circle.

Print

print

The print block displays text on the Brain’s screen at the current cursor position and font.

    print [VEXcode] on screen ▶

Parameters	Description
value	The text, number, or variable value to display.
expanding arrow	Expand the block to read and set cursor to next row and make the cursor move to the next row after this block.

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Display a message at the starting cursor position.]
    print [Hello, Robot!] on screen ◀ and set cursor to next row

set cursor to row column

When using the set cursor to row column block, the cursor is placed at a specific row and column on the Brain’s screen. How many rows and columns can comfortably fit depends on the selected font.

Monospaced fonts have characters that are all the same width, making text placement consistent. In contrast, proportional fonts vary in character width, so some letters take up more space than others. However, regardless of which type is used, the set cursor to row column block positions the cursor based on row and column size, not font style. The font size can be adjusted using the set font block.

Set cursor stack block

    set cursor to row [1] column [1] on screen

Parameters	Description
row	The row of the cursor.
column	The column of the cursor.

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Repeatedly print the current timer at Row 1 Column 1]
    forever
    print (timer in seconds) on screen ◀ and set cursor to next row
    wait (1) seconds
    clear screen
    set cursor to row (1) column (1) on screen

set cursor to next row

The set cursor to next row block moves the cursor to column 1 on the next row on the Brain’s screen.

    set cursor to next row on screen

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Display two lines of text.]
    print [Line 1] on screen ▶
    set cursor to next row on screen
    print [Line 2] on screen ◀ and set cursor to next row

clear row

The clear row block is used to clear a single row on the Brain’s screen.

    clear row (1) on screen

Parameters	Description
row	The row number to clear.

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Display text on two rows, but only keep one.]
    print [This text stays] on screen ◀ and set cursor to next row
    print [This disappears] on screen ◀ and set cursor to next row
    wait (3) seconds
    clear row (2) on screen

cursor column

The cursor column block returns the column number where text will be printed as an integer.

cursor column reporter block

    (cursor column)

Example

When started, moves the cursor to row 3, column 2 on the screen and prints the current cursor column number.

    when started :: hat events
    [Display the cursor's current column.]
    set cursor to row [3] column [2] on screen
    print (cursor column) on screen ▶

cursor row

The cursor row block returns the row number where text will be printed as an integer.

cursor row reporter block

    (cursor row)

Example

When started, moves the cursor to row 6, column 2 on the screen and prints the current cursor row number.

    when started :: hat events
    [Display the cursor's current row.]
    set cursor to row [3] column [2] on screen
    print (cursor row) on screen ▶

Settings

clear screen

The clear screen block clears all text from the Brain’s screen.

    clear screen

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Fill the screen, then clear it after 2 seconds.]
    repeat (5)
    print [Line] on screen ◀ and set cursor to next row
    end
    wait (3) seconds
    clear screen

set font

The set font block sets the font and size used for displaying text on the robot’s screen. This font will apply to all subsequently printed text.

    set font to [monospaced v] [medium v] on screen

Parameters	Description
font	The font to use: monospaced proportional
size	The size to use: extra small small medium large extra large super large

Mono Extra Small	Mono Small	Mono Medium
Mono Large	Mono Extra Large	Mono Super Large
Prop Medium	Prop Large	Prop Extra Large
Prop Super Large

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Display two different fonts on separate lines.]
    set font to [monospaced v] [medium v] on screen
    print [Mono Medium] on screen ◀ and set cursor to next row
    set font to [proportional v] [medium v] on screen
    print [Prop Medium] on screen ◀ and set cursor to next row

set print precision

The set print precision block sets the precision formatting used for displaying numbers on the Brain’s screen. This print precision will apply to all subsequently printed numbers.

    set print precision to [0.1 v] on screen

Parameters	Description
precision	Sets the print precision to: 1 0.1 0.01 0.001 All Digits

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Print 1/3 as 0.33.]
    set print precision to [0.01 v] on screen
    print ([1] / [3]) on screen ◀ and set cursor to next row

set pen width

The set pen width block sets the pen width used for drawing lines and shapes.

    set pen width to [10] on screen

Parameters	Description
width	The pen width in pixels in a range from 0 to 32.

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Draw two circles with different pen widths.]
    draw circle (40) (70) (20) on screen
    set pen width to (5) on screen
    draw circle (100) (70) (20) on screen

set pen color

The set pen color block sets the pen color used for drawing lines, shapes, and text on the Brain’s screen.

    set pen / font color to [red v] on screen

Parameters	Description
color	Sets the pen color to: red green blue white yellow orange purple red violet violet blue violet blue green yellow green yellow orange red orange

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Draw two rectangles with different colors.]
    draw rectangle (100) (50) (10) (20) on screen
    set pen / font color to [blue v] on screen
    draw rectangle (50) (50) (10) (20) on screen

set fill color

The set fill color block sets the fill color used when shapes are drawn.

    set fill color to [red v] on screen

Parameters	Description
color	Sets the fill color to: red green blue white yellow orange purple red violet violet blue violet blue green yellow green yellow orange red orange

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Draw a yellow circle.]
    set fill color to [yellow v] on screen
    draw circle (50) (50) (20) on screen

Draw

draw pixel

The draw pixel block draws a pixel at the specified (x, y) screen coordinate in the current pen color.

    draw pixel [0] [0] on screen

Parameters	Description
x	The x-coordinate to draw the pixel.
y	The y-coordinate to draw the pixel.

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Draw one pixel at the center of the screen.]
    draw pixel (80) (50) on screen

draw line

The draw line block draws a line from the first specified screen coordinate (x1, y1) to the second specified screen coordinate (x2, y2) using the current pen width and pen color.

    draw line [0] [0] [159] [107] on screen

Parameters	Description
x1	The x-coordinate in pixels of the start of the line.
y1	The y-coordinate in pixels of the start of the line.
x2	The x-coordinate in pixels of the end of the line.
y2	The y-coordinate in pixels of the end of the line.

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Draw a line from the top left to bottom right of the screen.]
    draw line (0) (0) (159) (107) on screen

draw rectangle

The draw rectangle block draws a rectangle using the current pen width, pen color, and fill colors.

    draw rectangle [0] [0] [10] [10] on screen

Parameters	Description
x	The x-coordinate in pixels of the top-left corner of the rectangle.
y	The y-coordinate in pixels of the top-left corner of the rectangle.
width	The width of the rectangle in pixels.
height	The height of the rectangle in pixels.

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Draw a rectangle on the screen.]
    draw rectangle (25) (25) (100) (50) on screen

draw circle

The draw circle block draws a circle using the current pen width, pen color, and fill colors.

    draw circle [0] [0] [10] on screen

Parameters	Description
x	The x-coordinate in pixels of the center of the circle.
y	The y-coordinate in pixels of the center of the circle.
radius	The radius of the circle in pixels.

Example

    when started :: hat events
    [Draw a circle on the screen.]
    draw circle (80) (50) (20) on screen