@memberjunction/ng-word-cloud

A reusable, SVG-based word cloud component for Angular. Renders weighted text items in a spiral or rectangular layout with collision detection. Supports multiple color modes using MJ design tokens, optional entry animation, and click/hover interaction.

Installation

npm install @memberjunction/ng-word-cloud

Usage

The component is standalone and can be imported directly:

import { MJWordCloudComponent } from '@memberjunction/ng-word-cloud';

@Component({
    imports: [MJWordCloudComponent],
    template: `
        <mj-word-cloud
            [Items]="Words"
            [MaxFontSize]="56"
            ColorMode="categorical"
            (ItemClick)="OnWordClick($event)">
        </mj-word-cloud>
    `
})
export class MyComponent {
    Words: WordCloudItem[] = [
        { Text: 'Machine Learning', Weight: 1.0 },
        { Text: 'Data Science', Weight: 0.8, Category: 'analytics' },
        { Text: 'Neural Networks', Weight: 0.6, Category: 'ai' },
    ];

    OnWordClick(event: WordCloudItemEvent): void {
        console.log('Clicked:', event.Item.Text);
    }
}

Component API

Selector

mj-word-cloud

Inputs

Input	Type	Default	Description
Items	WordCloudItem[]	[]	Data items to display in the cloud
MinFontSize	number	12	Minimum font size in pixels for the lowest-weighted item
MaxFontSize	number	48	Maximum font size in pixels for the highest-weighted item
Layout	'spiral' | 'rectangular'	'spiral'	Layout algorithm for word placement
ColorMode	'brand' | 'categorical' | 'weight-gradient'	'brand'	How colors are assigned to words (see Color Modes below)
Interactive	boolean	true	Whether words are clickable and hoverable
MaxItems	number	100	Maximum number of items to display (heaviest items are kept)
Animate	boolean	true	Whether to animate words in with a staggered fade

Outputs

Output	Type	Description
ItemClick	EventEmitter<WordCloudItemEvent>	Emitted when a word is clicked
ItemHover	EventEmitter<WordCloudItemEvent>	Emitted when the pointer enters a word
ItemLeave	EventEmitter<WordCloudItemEvent>	Emitted when the pointer leaves a word

Types

WordCloudItem

interface WordCloudItem {
    Text: string;                           // Display text
    Weight: number;                         // Importance (0.0 - 1.0), determines font size
    Category?: string;                      // Optional category for color grouping
    Metadata?: Record<string, unknown>;     // Optional metadata passed through events
}

WordCloudItemEvent

interface WordCloudItemEvent {
    Item: WordCloudItem;    // The item that was interacted with
    Event: MouseEvent;      // The original DOM event
}

Color Modes

brand

All words use --mj-brand-primary. Opacity varies with weight (range 0.4—1.0), giving higher-weighted words more visual prominence.

categorical

Words with the same Category share a color from a fixed palette of MJ design tokens: --mj-brand-primary, --mj-status-success, --mj-status-warning, --mj-status-error, --mj-status-info, and others. Words without a Category each get their own color.

weight-gradient

Interpolates between --mj-text-muted (low weight) and --mj-brand-primary (high weight) using color-mix(). Provides a smooth gradient that adapts to both light and dark themes.

Rendering Approach

The component renders entirely in SVG using an <svg> element with a computed viewBox and preserveAspectRatio="xMidYMid meet" so the cloud scales to fill its container.

Layout Algorithm

1. Items are sorted by weight (heaviest first) and trimmed to MaxItems.
2. For each item, the engine computes a font size by linear interpolation between MinFontSize and MaxFontSize based on weight.
3. Roughly 20% of words are rotated 90 degrees for visual variety (deterministic based on index).
4. The engine generates candidate positions using the selected algorithm:
   • Spiral — Archimedean spiral expanding from the center.
   • Rectangular — concentric rectangular rings expanding from the center.
5. For each candidate position, an axis-aligned bounding box is computed (accounting for rotation) and tested against all previously placed items.
6. The first non-colliding position is accepted. If no position is found after 500 attempts, the word is skipped.
7. The overall SVG viewBox is computed to fit all placed items with 20px padding.

Text width is estimated using an average character width ratio of 0.6x the font size (no DOM measurement required), making the layout engine fully deterministic and SSR-compatible.

Design Token Compliance

All colors use MJ semantic design tokens exclusively. No hardcoded hex values are used in the component’s styles or color logic. The component adapts automatically to light and dark themes via the --mj-* CSS custom properties.

Tokens used:

• --mj-brand-primary, --mj-brand-primary-hover — brand color mode
• --mj-status-success, --mj-status-warning, --mj-status-error, --mj-status-info — categorical palette
• --mj-text-muted — weight-gradient low end
• --mj-font-family — inherited font family

Change Detection

The component uses ChangeDetectionStrategy.OnPush for performance. The layout is recomputed whenever any @Input changes (via ngOnChanges).