Paragraph Component

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Function

a!paragraphField( label, instructions, required, readOnly, disabled, value, validations, saveInto, refreshAfter, labelPosition, validationGroup, requiredMessage, height, placeholder, helpTooltip, showWhen, accessibilityText, characterLimit, showCharacterCount, marginAbove, marginBelow )

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 saveInto expression is evaluated. Valid values: `"UNFOCUS"` (default), `"KEYPRESS"`. When set to `"UNFOCUS"`, the expression evaluates when the user deselects the field after changing its value. When set to `"KEYPRESS"`, the expression evaluates after every character typed into the field.
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, 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.
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"`.
Show When	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.
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 paragraph field. Only applicable if the character limit is set. Default: true.
Margin Above	marginAbove	Text	Determines how much space is added above the component. Valid values: "NONE" (default), "EVEN_LESS", "LESS", "STANDARD" , "MORE", "EVEN_MORE".
Margin Below	marginBelow	Text	Determines how much space is added below the component. Valid values: "NONE", "EVEN_LESS", "LESS", "STANDARD" (default), "MORE", "EVEN_MORE".

Usage considerations

Using the characterLimit parameter

The character limit value

The value of the characterLimit parameter is in bytes, not characters. Most characters are one byte. However, certain characters are more than one byte, including emojis and some characters from non-Latin alphabets. So if you set the characterLimit parameter to 255, you are allowing 255 bytes, not necessarily 255 characters.

Matching the character limit to the database field

Make sure the value you set for the characterLimit parameter matches the length of the field in your data source. For example, most standard Text fields have a 255 character limit.

Using the showCharacterCount parameter

The character limit is not displayed when the component is read-only, even if showCharacterCount is set to true.

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.

Examples

Use the interactive editor below to test out the example code.

Paragraph with only an adjacent label

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
)

Editable paragraph with a label and instructions

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."
)

Paragraph using character limit

a!localVariables(
  local!storedQuote: "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.",
  a!paragraphField(
    label: "Favorite Quote from a Book",
    value: local!storedQuote,
    saveInto: local!storedQuote,
    characterLimit: 300,
    showCharacterCount: true 
  )
)

Feature compatibility

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

Feature	Compatibility	Note
Portals	Compatible
Offline Interfaces	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.
Process Autoscaling	Incompatible	Cannot be used in autoscaled processes.
Event Consumer Filter Conditions	Compatible	Can be used in filter conditions.
Event Consumer Event Handlers	Compatible	Can be used in event handler expressions.

The following recipes include usage of the Paragraph Component.

Inline Survey (Radio Buttons, Checkboxes, Buttons):
Use this pattern to create a clean and easy to navigate survey.
Upload Multiple Documents and Edit Document Properties (Document Management, Records):
Build a form that allows users to create a record and upload related documents. Users can edit the document name and add a document description before submitting the form.
Upload Multiple Documents in an Editable Grid (Document Management, Records):
Build a form that allows users to create a record and upload related documents in an editable grid.
Upload and rename a file (Document Management, Records):
Allow users to upload and rename a file.

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