TextArea

This topic describes the options and limitations available when using a TextArea component.

Content settings

Text

This setting displays any text that is entered in the field. If you provide text as part of the component specification, that text displays by default and overrides any Placeholder text that might exist.

Users can override any text you might have provided, unless you create the component as a read-only field. Even if they do so, your default text remains as part of the component configuration, though it does not display in runtime.

This component allows for multi-line input. Text automatically wraps when the length of the line reaches the border of the text area. If the amount of text is too large to fit in the allotted space, it extends below the bottom edge and a vertical scroll bar is employed automatically.

You can use this component pretty much the same way you would a TextBox component. The big difference is in the fact that this is a multi-line component and can display much more text easily.

Label

These settings specify what text is to display as the label for the component, if a label is displayed.

Note: The option to display or not display the label is on the Style tab.

Placeholder

This setting allows you to provide text to be used as a placeholder, typically as a prompt for user input. The text displays in a gray font. As soon as the user enters any text into the field, the placeholder text disappears.

Any text you use in the Text setting overrides and hides any Placeholder text.

Max Length

This setting specifies the maximum number of characters that can be entered into the field.

When this setting is defined, the phrase "Characters left: ###" displays in a smaller gray font below the text area. This display counts down the number of characters that can still be entered, as the user types, and displays the number (###) to the user.

Interactions

Trigger Event

The TextArea component can trigger only the On Load event. This event might display as:

• Data Service has run (On Load), where Data Service is the name of a data service assigned to the component
• On Load (No Data Service), where no data service has been assigned to the component

Target Action

Depending on the target, the TextArea component can perform a Get operation, a Run operation, or a Clear operation on the target component.

Style settings

Style

This setting has these options:

• Show Label

  This setting determines whether a label is to display with the component.

• Read-Only

  When this option is selected, the contents of the text area are disabled and read-only.

  To disable the component conditionally, click the lock icon next to this check box.

  See Setting conditional component disablement.

• Resizable

  When this option is selected, the actual text area can be resized vertically (but not horizontally).