Text Box Form Element

Type: String

The text that appears initially in the text box.

Type: String

A description of the element. The description appears below the element's title.

You can use the Description property to describe what the element represents or to provide instructions to the user about how to use the element.

You can format the description using Markdown.

Type: String

The element's ID, which is used in other form elements and activities to access the element's properties, including the user's input. The ID must be unique across all elements in the form.

You cannot set the value of the Element ID property in an expression—you can only use the value that you configured for it. To use the Element ID property in an expression:

${Display Form ID}.state.{Element ID}.{property name}

For example:

$form1.state.textBox1.visible

Type: Boolean

Name in Properties Panel: Enabled

Name to Use in Expressions: enabled

Indicates whether the text box is enabled in the running workflow. When a text box is enabled, the user can enter text. When a text box is disabled, the user can see the text box but cannot interact with it. Disabled elements appear dimmed or shaded in the running workflow.

By default, text boxes are enabled. To disable a text box, clear the Enabled checkbox. You may want to change the property's value at run time depending on the user's input in a previous form element.

To access the enabled property in an expression:

For example:

Type: String | MarkdownRef

Indicates whether an error occurred in the element.

We recommend using the Set Form Element Error and Clear Form Element Error activities to work with errors in form elements.

Type: Number

Name to use in Expressions: maxLength

The maximum number of characters that can be entered in a field.

To access the enabled property in an expression:

For example:

Type: Boolean

Name in Properties Panel: Read Only

Name to Use in Expressions: readOnly

Indicates whether the user can edit the text in the text box or not. The user can select and copy read-only text, provided the element is enabled.

Use the Read Only property to prevent the user from changing the text in the text box.

By default, the user can change the text in a text box. If you want the text to be read only initially, select the Read Only checkbox.

To access the readOnly property in an expression:

For example:

Type: Boolean

Name in Properties Panel: Required

Name to Use in Expressions: require

The Required checkbox is intended as a quick way to do simple validation without having to add a validate event. When you add a validate event, the Required check is not performed even if the checkbox is selected. To force the Required check to be performed when a validate event is configured, add a Propagate Form Event activity anywhere within the event's subworkflow.

Indicates whether the user must enter some text in the text box. When the text box is required, the user cannot submit the form until some text is entered.

By default, text boxes are not required. To require a text box, select the Required checkbox.

To access the require property in an expression:

For example:

Type: String

Indicates the name of the style that will be applied to the element.

To access the styleName property in an expression:

For example:

Type: String

The element's title, which appears at the top of the element. You may want to change the title to describe what the element represents in your workflow.

You can format the title using Markdown.

Type: String

A message that displays when the user hovers the mouse pointer over the text box. You may want to use the tooltip to provide help to the user.

Type: String

The variety of form element. Text boxes are type "TextBox".

Use the type property to find out the variety of a form element in a form with many elements. Loop through ${Display Form ID}.state, comparing each element to the known form types and performing some action on the elements that meet your type criteria.

To access the type property in an expression:

${Display Form ID}.state.{Element ID}.type

For example:

$form1.state.textBox1.type

Type: String

The text that the user entered in the text box.

To access the value property in an expression:

For example:

The load event fires when the element finishes loading.

You can use the load event to set one or more of the element's properties at run time. For example, you could set the text box's initial value.

The change event fires when the user clicks away from the text box after entering or changing the input.

You can use the change event to create dependencies between form elements. For example, you could configure a change subworkflow that enables or disables other form elements depending on the user's input.

The change event fires every time the user's input changes. This means that the change subworkflow can run multiple times. Because of this, you should make sure that the change subworkflow is not computationally intensive or long running.