JavaScript/jQuery TextArea API

The TextArea is a widget that enables a user to enter and edit a multi-line text.

import TextArea from "devextreme/ui/text_area"

Type:

DevExtreme widgets are integrated with many popular libraries and frameworks. See the Installation section (for JavaScript libraries) or the Prerequisites and Installation section (for ASP.NET MVC framework) to find details on setting up DevExtreme with a particular library or framework.

The following code shows how to create the TextArea widget using every supported library and framework. For more details on working with widgets in these libraries and frameworks, see the Widget Basics topic for jQuery, Angular, AngularJS, Knockout or ASP.NET MVC.

jQuery

JavaScript

HTML

$(function() {
    $("#textArea").dxTextArea({
        placeholder: "Type a text here..."
    });
});

<div id="textArea"></div>

Angular

HTML

TypeScript

<dx-text-area placeholder="Type a text here..."></dx-text-area>

import { DxTextAreaModule } from "devextreme-angular"
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    // ...
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
        DxTextAreaModule
    ],
    // ...
})

AngularJS

HTML

<div dx-text-area="{
    placeholder: 'Type a text here...'
}"></div>

Knockout

HTML

<div data-bind="dxTextArea: {
    placeholder: 'Type a text here...'
}"></div>

ASP.NET MVC Controls

Razor C#

Razor VB

@(Html.DevExtreme().TextArea()
    .ID("textArea")
    .Placeholder("Type a text here...")
)

@(Html.DevExtreme().TextArea() _
    .ID("textArea") _
    .Placeholder("Type a text here...")
)

View Demo

Options

An object defining configuration options for the TextArea widget.

Name	Description
accessKey	Specifies the shortcut key that sets focus on the widget.
activeStateEnabled	Specifies whether or not the widget changes its state when interacting with a user.
autoResizeEnabled	A Boolean value specifying whether or not the auto resizing mode is enabled.
disabled	Specifies whether the widget responds to user interaction.
elementAttr	Specifies the attributes to be attached to the widget's root element.
focusStateEnabled	Specifies whether the widget can be focused using keyboard navigation.
height	Specifies the widget's height.
hint	Specifies text for a hint that appears when a user pauses on the widget.
hoverStateEnabled	Specifies whether the widget changes its state when a user pauses on it.
inputAttr	Specifies the attributes to be passed on to the underlying HTML element.
isValid	Specifies whether the editor's value is valid.
maxHeight	Specifies the maximum height of the widget.
maxLength	Specifies the maximum number of characters you can enter into the textbox.
minHeight	Specifies the minimum height of the widget.
name	The value to be assigned to the `name` attribute of the underlying HTML element.
onChange	A function that is executed when the widget loses focus after the text field's content was changed using the keyboard.
onContentReady	A function that is executed when the widget's content is ready and each time the content is changed.
onCopy	A function that is executed when the widget's input has been copied.
onCut	A function that is executed when the widget's input has been cut.
onDisposing	A function that is executed before the widget is disposed of.
onEnterKey	A function that is executed when the Enter key has been pressed while the widget is focused.
onFocusIn	A function that is executed when the widget gets focus.
onFocusOut	A function that is executed when the widget loses focus.
onInitialized	A function used in JavaScript frameworks to save the widget instance.
onInput	A function that is executed each time the widget's input is changed while the widget is focused.
onKeyDown	A function that is executed when a user is pressing a key on the keyboard.
onKeyPress	A function that is executed when a user presses a key on the keyboard.
onKeyUp	A function that is executed when a user releases a key on the keyboard.
onOptionChanged	A function that is executed after a widget option is changed.
onPaste	A function that is executed when the widget's input has been pasted.
onValueChanged	A function that is executed after the widget's value is changed.
placeholder	The text displayed by the widget when the widget value is empty.
readOnly	A Boolean value specifying whether or not the widget is read-only.
rtlEnabled	Switches the widget to a right-to-left representation.
spellcheck	Specifies whether or not the widget checks the inner text for spelling mistakes.
stylingMode	Specifies how the widget's text field is styled.
tabIndex	Specifies the number of the element when the Tab key is used for navigating.
text	The read-only option that holds the text displayed by the widget input element.
validationError	Specifies information on the validation error when using a custom validation engine. Should be changed at runtime along with the isValid option.
validationMessageMode	Specifies how the message about the validation rules that are not satisfied by this editor's value is displayed.
value	Specifies a value the widget displays.
valueChangeEvent	Specifies the DOM events after which the widget's value should be updated.
visible	Specifies whether the widget is visible.
width	Specifies the widget's width.

Methods

This section describes the members used to manipulate the widget.

Name	Description
beginUpdate()	Prevents the widget from refreshing until the endUpdate() method is called.
blur()	Removes focus from the input element.
defaultOptions(rule)	Specifies the device-dependent default configuration options for this component.
dispose()	Disposes of all the resources allocated to the TextArea instance.
element()	Gets the root widget element.
endUpdate()	Refreshes the widget after a call of the beginUpdate() method.
focus()	Sets focus to the input element representing the widget.
getInstance(element)	Gets the instance of a widget found using its DOM node.
instance()	Gets the widget's instance. Use it to access other methods of the widget.
off(eventName)	Detaches all event handlers from a single event.
off(eventName, eventHandler)	Detaches a particular event handler from a single event.
on(eventName, eventHandler)	Subscribes to an event.
on(events)	Subscribes to events.
option()	Gets all widget options.
option(optionName)	Gets the value of a single option.
option(optionName, optionValue)	Updates the value of a single option.
option(options)	Updates the values of several options.
registerKeyHandler(key, handler)	Registers a handler to be executed when a user presses a specific key.
repaint()	Repaints the widget without reloading data. Call it to update the widget's markup.
reset()	Resets the value option to an empty string.

Events

This section describes events fired by this widget.

Name	Description
change	Raised when the widget loses focus after the text field's content was changed using the keyboard.
contentReady	Raised when the widget's content is ready.
copy	Raised when the widget's input has been copied.
cut	Raised when the widget's input has been cut.
disposing	Raised before the widget is disposed of.
enterKey	Raised when the Enter key has been pressed while the widget is focused.
focusIn	Raised when the widget gets focus.
focusOut	Raised when the widget loses focus.
initialized	Raised only once, after the widget is initialized.
input	Raised each time the widget's input is changed while the widget is focused.
keyDown	Raised when a user is pressing a key on the keyboard.
keyPress	Raised when a user presses a key on the keyboard.
keyUp	Raised when a user releases a key on the keyboard.
optionChanged	Raised after a widget option is changed.
paste	Raised when the widget's input has been pasted.
valueChanged	Raised after the widget's value is changed.

JavaScript/jQuery TextArea API

jQuery

Angular

AngularJS

Knockout

ASP.NET MVC Controls

See Also

Options

Methods

Events

See Also