Paragraph Component

Paragraph

Function: a!paragraphField()

Displays and allows entry of multiple lines of text. For a single line of text, use a text component.

Parameters

Name Keyword Types Description

Label

label

Text

Text to display as the field label.

Instructions

instructions

Text

Supplemental text about this field.

Required

required

Boolean

Determines if a value is required to submit the form. Default: false.

Read-only

readOnly

Boolean

Determines if the field should display as not editable. Default: false.

Disabled

disabled

Boolean

Determines if the field should display as potentially editable but grayed out. Default: false.

Display Value

value

Text

Text to display in the field.

Validations

validations

List of Text String

Validation errors to display below the field when the value is not null.

Save Input To

saveInto

List of Save

One or more variables that are updated with the text when the user changes it. Use a!save() to save a modified or alternative value to a variable.

Refresh After

refreshAfter

Text

Determines when the interface is refreshed with the saved value from the barcode field. Valid values are "KEYPRESS" to refresh after every character typed into the field and "UNFOCUS" (the default value) to refresh when the user deselects the field after changing its value.

Label Position

labelPosition

Text

Determines where the label appears. Valid values:

  • "ABOVE" (default) Displays the label above the component.
  • "ADJACENT" Displays the label to the left of the component.
  • "COLLAPSED" Hides the label. The label will still be read by screen readers; see accessibility considerations for more information.
  • "JUSTIFIED" Aligns the label alongside the component starting at the edge of the page.

Validation Group

validationGroup

Text

When present, this field is only validated when a button in the same validation group is pressed. See the documentation for more information about how to use validation groups.

Required Message

requiredMessage

Text

Custom message to display when the field's value is required and not provided.

Height

height

Text

Determines the field height. Valid values: "SHORT", "MEDIUM" (default), "TALL".

Placeholder

placeholder

Text

Text to display in the field when it is empty. Does not show if the field is read only.

Help Tooltip

helpTooltip

Text

Displays a help icon with the specified text as a tooltip. The tooltip displays a maximum of 500 characters. The help icon does not show when the label position is "COLLAPSED".

Visibility

showWhen

Boolean

Determines whether the component is displayed on the interface. When set to false, the component is hidden and is not evaluated. Default: true.

Accessibility Text

accessibilityText

Text

Additional text to be announced by screen readers. Used only for accessibility; produces no visible change.

Notes

  • If you set Label Position to "ADJACENT" or "ABOVE", but do not give a value for Label, a space still displays to the left-side or above, respectively, of the component as if there was a label displayed. To ensure the component appears to the far left when Label has no value, use "COLLAPSED" for Label Position.
  • If Read-only is set to true, the Display Value displays without a box around it.
  • If you pass the same local variable to Display Value and saveInto when Read-only is set to false, you can use the user's input into the component to modify the interface.
  • Whether placeholder text clears on focus or input varies by device and browser. Placeholder text does not display on Microsoft Internet Explorer 9.

Examples

Copy and paste an example into the INTERFACE DEFINITION in EXPRESSION MODE to see it displayed.

Paragraph with Only a Label Displayed Adjacent

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=a!paragraphField(
  label: "Description",
    labelPosition: "ADJACENT",
  value: "Expenses could not be submitted. When " & char(10) & " I click on the expenses link, I see an error page.",
  readOnly: true
)

Displays the following:

Editable Paragraph with Label and Instructions

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=a!paragraphField(
  label: "Description",
  instructions: "The description must include the problem statement",
  value: "Expenses could not be submitted. When " & char(10) & " I click on the expenses link, I see an error page."
)

Displays the following:

Paragraph with a Length Validation

To validate that a value enter by the user meets a particular character limit:

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=a!localVariables(
  local!storedQuote,
  a!paragraphField(
    label: "Favorite Quote from a Book",
    instructions: "Number of characters " & len(local!storedValue) & "/4000",
    refreshAfter: "KEYPRESS",
    value: local!storedQuote,
    saveInto: local!storedQuote,
    validations: if(
      len(local!storedQuote) >= 4000,
      "Limit your entry to 4000 characters",
      ""
    )
  )
)

Displays the following:

Open in Github Built: Fri, Sep 17, 2021 (01:39:49 PM)

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