Textarea Control Settings

Add a control from which the Request participant can insert more than three lines of text.

Control Description

The Textarea control allows the Request participant to insert more than three lines of text. Though this control displays a vertical scroll bar if more than three lines are inserted, the input box can be expanded as necessary. To do this, click the lower right-hand corner of the input box of the Textarea control, hold, and then drag to enlarge or shrink the control size as necessary. Release when you have adjusted the Textarea control to your required size.

This control is only available for Form-type Screens. See Screen Types.

Permissions Required

Your user account or group membership must have the following permissions to design a Screen unless your user account has the Make this user a Super Admin setting selected:

• Screens: Edit Screens

• Screens: View Screens

See the Screens permissions or ask your Administrator for assistance.

Add the Control to a Screen

Permissions Required

Permissions are required to do this.

Design Best Practice

Avoid designing with more than 25 controls in one Screen.

Follow these steps to add this control to the Screen:

1. Create a new Screen or click the Edit iconto edit the selected Screen. The Screen is in Design mode.
2. View the Screen page to which to add the control.

3. Locate the Textarea iconin the panel to the left of the Screen Builder canvas.
4. Drag the Textarea icon into the Screen Builder canvas. Existing controls on the Screen Builder canvas adjust positioning based on where you drag the control.

5. Place into the Screen Builder canvas where you want the control to display on the Screen.

   
6. Configure the Textarea control. See Settings.

7. Validate that the control is configured correctly. See Validate Your Screen.

Below is a Textarea control in Preview mode.

Textarea control in Preview mode

Move the Control on the Page

After adding a control to a Screen page, you may move it to another location on that page such that it is above or below other controls placed on that page. A control cannot be moved to another Screen page.

Permissions are required to do this.

Follow these steps to move a control to another location on that Screen page:

1. Place your cursor anywhere on the control not displaying the Duplicate Controlor Delete Controlbuttons.
2. Hold your cursor, then drag the control above or below other controls on that Screen page. Screen Builder previews where the control would display on the page based on how you position the control above or below other controls. If the control cannot be placed in a location because your cursor is above an existing control or too far to the left or right of the page, theicon displays in the preview.
3. Place the control at the location on the page you want it. The other control(s) on the page automatically adjust position.

Copy the Control with its Settings

Copying a control also copies the current settings of that control. The copied control displays below other controls placed on that Screen page.

Permissions are required to do this.

Follow these steps to copy a control:

1. Select the control to be copied.

2. Click the Duplicate Control button. The control copies with its current settings, and then displays below other controls placed on that page.

As a best practice, after copying a control, change the Variable Name setting value for the copied control to its own unique variable value. Otherwise, in-progress Requests that use this Screen read from and send data to both controls.

Delete the Control from a Screen

Permissions are required to do this.

Deleting a control also deletes configuration for that control. If you add another control, it will have default settings.

Follow these steps to delete a control from a Screen page:

1. Select the control to be deleted.

2. Click the Delete button. The control deletes. Other controls on that Screen page adjust their locations automatically.

Settings

Permissions are required to do this.

The Textarea control has the following panels that contain settings:

• Variable panel

• Configuration panel

• Design panel

• Advanced panel

Variable Panel Settings

Click the control while in Design mode, and then click the Variable panel that is on the right-side of the Screen Builder canvas.

Below are settings for the Textarea control in the Variable panel:

• Variable Name

• Label

• Validation Rules

• Read Only

Variable Name

Edit the default Variable Name setting value for this control if necessary. The Variable Name setting value represents data in this control during Requests. Ensure that the Variable Name setting value is a unique name from other controls in this Screen and contains at least one letter. This is a required setting.

Use the Variable Name setting value in the following ways:

• Reference this control by its Variable Name setting's value. The Data Preview panel in Preview mode corresponds the Textarea control's textual content with that Textarea control's Variable Name value. In the example below, TextareaControl is the Variable Name setting's value.
• Reference this control's value in a different Screen Builder control. To do so, use mustache syntax and reference this control's Variable Name value in the target control. Example: {{ TextareaControl }}.

• Reference this value in Visibility Rule setting expressions.

See best practices when editing a Request variable name.

Label

Edit the default label that displays for this control if necessary. New Textarea is the default value.

Validation Rules

Enter the validation rule(s) the Request participant must comply with to properly enter a valid value into this control. This setting has no default value. If there are no configured validation rules the following message displays: No validation rule(s). See Validation Rules for "Validation" Control Settings.

Follow these steps to add a validation rule to this control:

1. Access the Variable panel for this control while in Design mode, and then locate the Validation Rules setting.

2. Click the Add Rule button. The Select drop-down menu displays.
3. Select the rule that this control validates against.

4. Click Save. Parameters for the selected rule display. Parameter settings display which ones are required to properly configure the rule.

5. Enter the parameter settings that this control uses to validate against. See Validation Rule Settings, and then locate the validation rule for its parameters.

Follow these steps to edit a validation rule for this control:

1. Access the Variable panel for this control while in Design mode, and then locate the Validation Rules setting.

2. Click the Edit iconfor the validation rule to edit if that rule can be edited. Validation rules that do not have parameters cannot be edited. The parameter settings for that validation rule displays.
3. Edit the parameter settings that this control uses to validate against. See Validation Rule Settings, and then locate the validation rule for its parameters.

Follow these steps to delete a validation rule for this control:

1. Access the Variable panel for this control while in Design mode, and then locate the Validation Rules setting.

2. Click the Delete iconfor the validation rule to delete. A message displays to confirm deletion of the validation rule.
3. Click Delete.

Read Only

Select to indicate that this control cannot be edited. This option is not selected by default.

Configuration Panel Settings

Click the control while in Design mode, and then click the Configuration panel that is on the right-side of the Screen Builder canvas.

Below are settings for the Textarea control in the Configuration panel:

• Placeholder Text

• Helper Text

• Rich Text

• Rows

Placeholder Text

Enter the placeholder text that displays in this control when no value has been provided. This setting has no default value.

Helper Text

Enter text that provides additional guidance on this control's use. This setting has no default value.

Rich Text

Select the Rich Text checkbox to display the What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) rich text editor to allow the Request participant can enter rich text. This option is not selected by default.

Rows

Enter the number of rows to provide for input. 2 is the default value.

Design Panel Settings

Click the control while in Design mode, and then click the Design panel that is on the right-side of the Screen Builder canvas.

Below are settings for the Textarea control in the Design panel:

• Text Color

• Background Color

Text Color

Select the text color that displays for this control. Optionally, click the Clear Color Selection option to remove the selected color.

Background Color

Select the background color that displays for this control. Optionally, click the Clear Color Selection option to remove the selected color.

Advanced Panel Settings

Click the control while in Design mode, and then click the Advanced panel that is on the right-side of the Screen Builder canvas.

Below are settings for the Textarea control in the Advanced panel:

• Default Value

• Visibility Rule

• CSS Selector Name

• Aria Label

• Tab Order

Default Value

Enter the default value this control displays. The default value can be assigned as a Request variable, text or JavaScript. When the Screen submits, the Request uses this control's default value unless the Request participant changes it. When using a Request variable in the Default Value setting, consider the following:

• If the Request variable is empty, the control does not display any value by default.

• When the Request variable is assigned a value for the first time, this value becomes the permanent default value of the control.

• Any further changes to the Request variable do not affect the default value of the control.

The Default Value setting supports using Request variables in mustache syntax. For example, if the Default Value setting is {{ FirstName }} {{ LastName }} from which a Request participant entered her first name and last name in separate controls (respectively) earlier in that Request, this control displays the contents of those controls by default during the Request.

There are two ways to enter the default value this control displays.

Enter the default value as text (default)

Enter the default value as text or as a Request variable in mustache syntax.

Enter the default value as JavaScript

Enter the default value as JavaScript, especially if a Calculated Property might change this default value setting. Ensure to use the this. JavaScript keyword preceding the Screen control reference. Example: this.FullName when FullName is the Variable Value setting value for the control to set its default value.

Visibility Rule

Specify an expression that indicates the condition(s) under which this control displays. See Expression Syntax Components. If this setting does not have an expression, then this control displays by default.

Note the following regarding how to use visibility rules:

• To make this control hidden until another control contains a value, enter the Variable Name setting value of that control to this control's Visibility Rule setting.

• Visibility rules override custom CSS settings.

CSS Selector Name

Enter the value to represent this control in custom CSS syntax when in Custom CSS mode. As a best practice, use the same CSS Selector Name value on different controls of the same type to apply the same custom CSS style to all those controls.

See the following best practices regarding custom CSS in Screens:

• Editing a CSS name to represent this control in custom CSS syntax

• Visibility rules override custom CSS settings

Aria Label

Enter the string that provides a text alternative to this control for the following purposes:

• Assistive technology, such as screen readers, read the Aria Label setting value.

• This control has a visual indication of its purpose, such as a button that uses a graphic instead of text, but still needs to clarify that purpose for anyone who cannot access the visual indication.

The Aria Label setting value replaces the Label setting value. For example, if a Submit Button control has both a Label setting value and an Aria Label setting value, assistive technology only uses the Aria Label setting value.

Tab Order

Tab order determines the sequential navigation order to navigate a Screen's controls using a keyboard interface. Assistive technology users often use a keyboard for navigation.

See best practices for setting the tab order for a Screen's controls.

Enter the number for the sequential keyboard navigation order that this control takes focus amongst other controls in this Screen.

Related Topics

pageScreen TypespageScreen Builder ModespageValidate Your ScreenpageEdit Your ScreenpageCheckbox Control SettingspageDate Picker Control SettingspageFile Download Control SettingspageFile Preview Control SettingspageFile Upload Control SettingspageGoogle Places Control SettingspageImage Control SettingspageLine Input Control SettingspageLoop Control SettingspageMulticolumn / Table Control SettingspageNested Screen Control SettingspagePage Navigation Control SettingspageRecord List Control SettingspageRich Text Control SettingspageSelect List Control SettingspageSignature Control SettingspageSubmit Button Control SettingspageExpression Syntax ComponentspageValidation Rules for "Validation Rules" SettingspageReference Magic Variables in ProcessMaker Platform Assets