Text Component (a!textField)

Inputs

Text Component

Function

a!textField( label, instructions, required, readOnly, disabled, value, validations, saveInto, refreshAfter, validationGroup, requiredMessage, align, labelPosition, placeholder, helpTooltip, masked, accessibilityText, showWhen, inputPurpose, characterLimit, showCharacterCount )

Displays and allows entry of a single line of text. For a multiple line of text, use a paragraph 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 text 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 text 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.
Validation Group	`validationGroup`	Text	When present, the requiredness of the field is only evaluated when a button in the same validation group is pressed. The value for this parameter cannot contain spaces. For example, `“validation group”` is not a valid value. You need to add an underscore between words: `“validation_group”`. See the following recipes for more information: Configure Buttons with Conditional Requiredness Validation Groups for Buttons with Multiple Validation Rules'
Required Message	`requiredMessage`	Text	Custom message to display when the field's value is required and not provided.
Alignment	`align`	Text	Determines alignment of the text value. Appian recommends this setting only be used inside the Grid Layout component. Valid values: `"LEFT"`, `"CENTER"`, `"RIGHT"`.
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.
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"`.
Masked	`masked`	Boolean	Determines if the value is obscured from view. Default: false.
Accessibility Text	`accessibilityText`	Text	Additional text to be announced by screen readers. Used only for accessibility; produces no visible change.
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.
Input Purpose	`inputPurpose`	Text	Indicates the intent of input for accessibility improvements, like autocomplete, used by browsers and assistive technologies. Valid values are `"NAME"`, `"EMAIL"`, `"PHONE_NUMBER"`, `"STREET_ADDRESS"`, `"POSTAL_CODE"`, `"CREDIT_CARD_NUMBER"`, and `"OFF"`.
Character Limit	`characterLimit`	Number (Integer)	Determines the maximum number of characters. Depending on the language, some characters may count as more than one.
Show Character Limit Count	`showCharacterCount`	Boolean	Determines if the character count displays on the text field. Only applicable if the character limit is set. Default: true.

Usage considerations

Displaying different data types and placeholder text

This component is useful for displaying values of another type that require formatting other than the original type’s default formatting.
Whether placeholder text clears on focus or input varies by device and browser.

Using the characterLimit parameter

Emojis and characters in some languages (for example, Chinese and Arabic) may be counted by characterLimit as more than one character.
The characterLimit parameter and character limits set on CDT fields must be independently maintained to ensure that the two limits match.
If you set readOnly to true, the component's character limit won't be displayed.

Using the readOnly parameter

If readOnly is set to true, the component's value displays without a box around it.
If you pass the same local variable to value and saveInto when readOnly is set to false, you can use the user's input in the component to modify the interface, such as filtering a grid.

Using inputPurpose parameter

When using inputPurpose, there is no visible change in the form factor preview.
If inputPurpose is set to "OFF", autocomplete may be disabled depending on your browser settings. The default behavior allows for autocomplete, but does not require you to specify inputs.
inputPurpose is not supported if the masked parameter is set to true.

Examples

Use the interactive editor below to test out your code:

Text with only a label

Text with label and instructions

Time with 24-hour formatting

Integer with no formatting or with special formatting

This example shows an integer with no thousand separators.

Integer formatted as currency

a!textField(
  label: "Amount",
  value: a!currency(
    isoCode: "USD",
    value: 12345
  ),
  readOnly: true
)

Displays the following:

integer as currency

Date with "m/dd/yy" formatting

Date and time with "m/dd/yy h:mm a" formatting

Text with character limit

This example uses the characterLimit parameter to validate that a user's entry meets a particular limit.

Feature compatibility

The table below lists this component's compatibility with various features in Appian.

Feature	Compatibility	Note
Portals	Compatible
Offline Mobile	Compatible
Sync-Time Custom Record Fields	Incompatible
Real-Time Custom Record Fields	Incompatible	Custom record fields that evaluate in real time must be configured using one or more Custom Field functions.
Process Reports	Incompatible	Cannot be used to configure a process report.
Process Events	Incompatible	Cannot be used to configure a process event node, such as a start event or timer event.

The following patterns include usage of the Text Component.

Define a Simple Currency Component (Formatting): Show a text field that allows the user to enter dollar amounts including the dollar symbol and thousand separators, but save the value as a decimal rather than text. Additionally, always show the dollar amount with the dollar symbol.
Format the User's Input (Formatting): Format the user's input as a telephone number in the US and save the formatted value, not the user's input.
Year-Over-Year Report (Charts, Reports, Formatting): This is a feature-rich, interactive report for sales and profits by products over select periods of time.