# Text Input

With some limitations, Ren’Py can prompt the user to input a small amount of text. This prompting is done by the `renpy.input()` function, which returns the entered text, allowing it to be saved in a variable or otherwise processed.

On Linux, text input is limited to languages that do not require input method (IME) support. Most Western languages should work, but Chinese, Japanese, and Korean probably won’t.

The renpy.input function is defined as:

Games that use renpy.input will often want to process the result further, using standard Python string manipulation functions. For example, the following will ask the player for his or her name and remove leading or trailing whitespace. If the name is empty, it will be replaced by a default name. Finally, it is displayed to the user.

    define pov = Character("[povname]")

    python:
        povname = renpy.input("What is your name?")
        povname = povname.strip()

        if not povname:
             povname = "Pat Smith"

    pov "My name is [povname]!"