Documentation

Documentation

Text Area

Source: TypeScript / Java

Text Area is an input field component for multi-line text input.

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<vaadin-text-area
  label="Comment"
  .maxlength="${this.charLimit}"
  .value="${this.text}"
  .helperText="${`${this.text.length}/${this.charLimit}`}"
  @value-changed="${(event: TextAreaValueChangedEvent) => {
    this.text = event.detail.value;
  }}"
></vaadin-text-area>

Text Area is typically used for descriptions, comments, and other longer free-form content.

Automatic Height Adjustment

Unless set to a fixed height, Text Area adjusts its height automatically based on its content. The default and minimum height is two rows of text.

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<vaadin-text-area label="Description" value="${loremIpsum}"></vaadin-text-area>

Minimum & Maximum Height

The automatic resizing can be restricted to a minimum and maximum height like so:

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<style>
  vaadin-text-area {
    width: 100%;
    min-height: 100px;
    max-height: 150px;
  }
</style>

<vaadin-text-area label="Description" value="${loremIpsum}"></vaadin-text-area>

Basic Features

The following features common to most input field components are supported:

Label

The label is used to identify the input field. It supports plain-text content, and its length is limited to the width of the field. Helpers and Tooltips can be used to provide additional information that doesn’t fit into the label.

Visible labels are strongly recommended for all input fields. In cases where the built-in label cannot be used, an external element can be associated as the field’s label through the aria-labelledby attribute. Fields without any visible label should be provided an invisible label for assistive technologies through the aria-label attribute.

Helper

Helpers are used to provide additional information that the user may need to fill in the field, such as format requirements or explanations of the field’s purpose, below the field.

A style variant is available for rendering the helper above the field.

In addition to plain-text, helpers can contain components and other HTML elements. However, complex and interactive content are likely to have accessibility issues.

Placeholder

The placeholder is a text that is displayed when the field is empty. Its primary purpose is to provide a short input hint, such as the expected format, in cases where a Helper cannot be used.

Placeholders should not be used as a replacement for a visible label. See Label for alternatives to the built-in field label. Be aware that placeholders can be mistaken for a filled-in value.

Tooltip

Tooltips are small text pop-ups displayed on hover and on keyboard-focus. They can be used to provide additional information about a field. This can be useful in situations where an always-visible Helper is not appropriate. Helpers are generally recommended in favor of tooltips, as they provide much better discoverability and mobile support. See the Tooltip documentation for more information.

Clear Button

The optional clear button, displayed when the field is not empty, clears the field’s current value. Clear buttons can be especially useful in search and filter fields, where users often need to clear the value, but less so in regular forms.

Prefix & Suffix

Prefix and suffix elements — rendered at either end of the field — can be used to display units, icons, and similar visual cues to the field’s purpose or format.

Prefix and suffix elements typically don’t work well with assistive technologies like screen readers. Therefore, the information conveyed by them should also be conveyed through other means, such as in the Label, a Helper or through ARIA attributes on the field itself.

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<vaadin-text-area
  label="Label"
  helper-text="Helper text"
  placeholder="Placeholder"
  clear-button-visible
  style="width:100%">
  <vaadin-tooltip slot="tooltip" text="Tooltip text"></vaadin-tooltip>
  <vaadin-icon slot="prefix" icon="vaadin:vaadin-h"></vaadin-icon>
  <span slot="suffix">:)</span>
</vaadin-text-area>

Constraints

Required

Required fields are marked with an indicator next to the label, and become invalid if left empty after having been focused. An error message explaining that the field is required needs to be provided manually.

An instruction text at the top of the form explaining the required indicator is recommended. The indicator itself can be customized through the --lumo-required-field-indicator style property.

Min & Max Input Length

The minimum and maximum length value constraints dictate the smallest and largest number of characters a field accepts. It limits text entry to the maximum length, and triggers a validation error if a value shorter than the minimum length is entered. They can be used to enforce specific formats, or to cap the value to the length supported by the underlying database schema.

In cases where the length requirements may not be clear to the user, it’s recommended to provide this information, for example by using a helper.

Pattern

The pattern is a regular expression used to validate the full value entered into the field. Any value that doesn’t match the pattern invalidates the field.

Preventing Entry of Invalid Characters

A separate single-character regular expression can be used to restrict the characters that can be entered into the field. Characters that don’t match the expression are rejected.

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<vaadin-text-area
  required
  min-length="5"
  max-length="50"
  pattern="^[A-Z]([A-Za-z0-9,-\s])*\.$"
  allowed-char-pattern="[A-Za-z0-9,.-\s]"
  label="Sentence"
  helper-text="Must be one complete sentence ending in a period, between 5 and 50 characters long"
  style="width:100%"
></vaadin-text-area>

Read-Only & Disabled

Fields used to display values should be set to read-only mode to prevent editing. Read-only fields are focusable and visible to screen readers. They can display tooltips. Their values can be selected and copied.

Fields that are currently unavailable should be disabled. The reduced contrast of disabled fields makes them inappropriate for displaying information. They can’t be focused or display tooltips. They’re invisible to screen readers, and their values cannot be selected and copied.

Disabled fields can be useful in situations where they can become enabled based on some user action. Consider hiding fields entirely if there is nothing the user can do to make them editable.

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<vaadin-text-area readonly label="Read-only" value="Value" style="width:100%">
</vaadin-text-area>

<vaadin-text-area disabled label="Disabled" style="width:100%">
</vaadin-text-area>

Style Variants

The following style variants can be applied:

Text Alignment

Three different text alignments are supported: left (default), center, and right.

Right-alignment is recommended for numerical values when presented in vertical groups, as it aids interpretation and comparison of values.

Small Variant

The small variant can be used to make individual fields more compact. The default size of fields can be customized through style properties.

Helper Above Field

The helper can be rendered above the field, below the label.

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<vaadin-text-area theme="align-right small helper-above-field"
  label="Label" helper-text="Helper text" value="Value"
  style="width:100%">
</vaadin-text-area>

Character Counter

Longer free-form inputs are often capped at a certain character limit. The current character count and upper limit should be displayed to the user, for example by using the Helper feature:

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private charLimit = 600;

@state()
private text = loremIpsum;

protected override render() {
  return html`
    <vaadin-text-area
      label="Description"
      .maxlength="${this.charLimit}"
      .value="${this.text}"
      .helperText="${`${this.text.length}/${this.charLimit}`}"
      @value-changed="${(event: TextAreaValueChangedEvent) => {
        this.text = event.detail.value;
      }}"
    ></vaadin-text-area>
  `;
}
Component Usage Recommendation

Text Field

Basic single-line text input.

Rich Text Editor

Multi-line text entry with rich formatting support.

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