TextArea

TextAreas are multiline text inputs, useful for cases where users have a sizable amount of text to enter. They allow for all customizations that are available to text fields.

installyarn add @react-spectrum/textfield
version3.0.0-rc.2
usageimport {TextArea} from '@react-spectrum/textfield'

Example#


<TextArea label="Description" />
<TextArea label="Description" />
<TextArea label="Description" />

Value#


A TextArea's value is empty by default, but an initial, uncontrolled, value can be provided using the defaultValue prop. Alternatively, a controlled value can be provided using the value prop.

function Example() {
  let [value, setValue] = React.useState('This is on a wait list');

  return (
    <Flex gap="size-300">
      <TextArea
        label="Notes (Uncontrolled)"
        defaultValue="This is on a wait list" />

      <TextArea
        label="Notes (Controlled)"
        value={value}
        onChange={setValue} />
    </Flex>
  );
}
function Example() {
  let [value, setValue] = React.useState(
    'This is on a wait list'
  );

  return (
    <Flex gap="size-300">
      <TextArea
        label="Notes (Uncontrolled)"
        defaultValue="This is on a wait list"
      />

      <TextArea
        label="Notes (Controlled)"
        value={value}
        onChange={setValue}
      />
    </Flex>
  );
}
function Example() {
  let [
    value,
    setValue
  ] = React.useState(
    'This is on a wait list'
  );

  return (
    <Flex gap="size-300">
      <TextArea
        label="Notes (Uncontrolled)"
        defaultValue="This is on a wait list"
      />

      <TextArea
        label="Notes (Controlled)"
        value={value}
        onChange={
          setValue
        }
      />
    </Flex>
  );
}

Placeholder text that describes the expected value or formatting for the TextArea can be provided using the placeholder prop. Placeholder text will only appear when the TextArea is empty, and should not be used as a substitute for labeling the component with a visible label.

<TextArea placeholder="abc@adobe.com, def@adobe.com" label="List of emails" />
<TextArea
  placeholder="abc@adobe.com, def@adobe.com"
  label="List of emails"
/>
<TextArea
  placeholder="abc@adobe.com, def@adobe.com"
  label="List of emails"
/>

Labeling#


A visual label should be provided for the TextArea using the label prop. If the TextArea is required, the isRequired and necessityIndicator props can be used to show a required state.

<Flex gap="size-300" wrap>
  <TextArea label="Address" />
  <TextArea label="Address" isRequired necessityIndicator="icon" />
  <TextArea label="Address" isRequired necessityIndicator="label" />
  <TextArea label="Address" necessityIndicator="label" />
</Flex>
<Flex gap="size-300" wrap>
  <TextArea label="Address" />
  <TextArea
    label="Address"
    isRequired
    necessityIndicator="icon"
  />
  <TextArea
    label="Address"
    isRequired
    necessityIndicator="label"
  />
  <TextArea label="Address" necessityIndicator="label" />
</Flex>
<Flex
  gap="size-300"
  wrap>
  <TextArea label="Address" />
  <TextArea
    label="Address"
    isRequired
    necessityIndicator="icon"
  />
  <TextArea
    label="Address"
    isRequired
    necessityIndicator="label"
  />
  <TextArea
    label="Address"
    necessityIndicator="label"
  />
</Flex>

Accessibility#

If a visible label isn't specified, an aria-label must be provided to the TextArea for accessibility. If the field is labeled by a separate element, an aria-labelledby prop must be provided using the id of the labeling element instead.

Internationalization#

In order to internationalize a TextArea, a localized string should be passed to the label or aria-label prop. When the necessityIndicator prop is set to "label", a localized string will be provided for "(required)" or "(optional)" automatically.

Events#


TextArea accepts an onChange prop which is triggered whenever the value is edited by the user. For a full list of supported events, see the Props table below.

The example below uses onChange to update a separate pre element with the same text entered into the TextArea.

function Example() {
  let [text, setText] = React.useState();

  return (
    <Flex flexDirection="column">
      <TextArea
        placeholder="Enter some text"
        onChange={setText}
        label="Your text"
      />
      <pre>Mirrored text: {text}</pre>
    </Flex>
  );
}
function Example() {
  let [text, setText] = React.useState();

  return (
    <Flex flexDirection="column">
      <TextArea
        placeholder="Enter some text"
        onChange={setText}
        label="Your text"
      />
      <pre>Mirrored text: {text}</pre>
    </Flex>
  );
}
function Example() {
  let [
    text,
    setText
  ] = React.useState();

  return (
    <Flex flexDirection="column">
      <TextArea
        placeholder="Enter some text"
        onChange={
          setText
        }
        label="Your text"
      />
      <pre>
        Mirrored text:{' '}
        {text}
      </pre>
    </Flex>
  );
}

Validation#


TextAreas can display a validation state to communicate to the user whether the current value is valid or invalid. Implement your own validation logic in your app and pass either "valid" or "invalid" to the TextArea via the validationState prop.

The example below illustrates how one would validate if the user entered more than 20 characters into the TextArea.

function Example() {
  let [isValid, setValid] = React.useState(true);
  let [value, setValue] = React.useState('Lorem ipsum dolor sit');

  React.useEffect(() => {
    setValid(value.length <= 20)
  }, [setValid, value]);

  return (
    <TextArea
      validationState={isValid ? 'valid' : 'invalid'}
      value={value}
      placeholder="Enter a description"
      onChange={setValue}
      label="Description" />
  );
}
function Example() {
  let [isValid, setValid] = React.useState(true);
  let [value, setValue] = React.useState(
    'Lorem ipsum dolor sit'
  );

  React.useEffect(() => {
    setValid(value.length <= 20);
  }, [setValid, value]);

  return (
    <TextArea
      validationState={isValid ? 'valid' : 'invalid'}
      value={value}
      placeholder="Enter a description"
      onChange={setValue}
      label="Description"
    />
  );
}
function Example() {
  let [
    isValid,
    setValid
  ] = React.useState(
    true
  );
  let [
    value,
    setValue
  ] = React.useState(
    'Lorem ipsum dolor sit'
  );

  React.useEffect(() => {
    setValid(
      value.length <= 20
    );
  }, [setValid, value]);

  return (
    <TextArea
      validationState={
        isValid
          ? 'valid'
          : 'invalid'
      }
      value={value}
      placeholder="Enter a description"
      onChange={setValue}
      label="Description"
    />
  );
}

Props#


NameTypeDefaultDescription
iconReactElementAn icon to display at the start of the textfield.
isQuietbooleanWhether the textfield should be displayed with a quiet style.
isDisabledbooleanWhether the input is disabled.
isRequiredbooleanWhether user input is required on the input before form submission. Often paired with the necessityIndicator prop to add a visual indicator to the input.
validationStateValidationStateWhether the input should display its "valid" or "invalid" visual styling.
isReadOnlybooleanWhether the input can be selected but not changed by the user.
autoFocusbooleanWhether the element should receive focus on render
placeholderstringTemporary text that occupies the text input when it is empty.
valuestringThe current value (controlled).
defaultValuestringThe default value (uncontrolled).
labelReactNodeThe content to display as the label.
autoCompletestring
maxLengthnumber
minLengthnumber
namestring
patternstring
type'text' | 'search' | 'url' | 'tel' | 'email' | 'password' | string
inputMode'none' | 'text' | 'tel' | 'url' | 'email' | 'numeric' | 'decimal' | 'search'Hints at the type of data that might be entered by the user while editing the element or its contents
labelPositionLabelPosition"top"The label's overall position relative to the element it is labeling.
labelAlignAlignment"start"The label's horizontal alignment relative to the element it is labeling.
necessityIndicatorNecessityIndicator"icon"Whether the required state should be shown as an icon or text.
UNSAFE_classNamestring
UNSAFE_styleCSSProperties
Events
NameTypeDefaultDescription
onFocus( (e: FocusEvent )) => voidHandler that is called when the element receives focus.
onBlur( (e: FocusEvent )) => voidHandler that is called when the element loses focus.
onFocusChange( (isFocused: boolean )) => voidHandler that is called when the element's focus status changes.
onKeyDown( (e: KeyboardEvent )) => voidHandler that is called when a key is pressed.
onKeyUp( (e: KeyboardEvent )) => voidHandler that is called when a key is released.
onChange( (value: string )) => voidHandler that is called when the value changes.
onCopyClipboardEventHandler<HTMLInputElement>
onCutClipboardEventHandler<HTMLInputElement>
onPasteClipboardEventHandler<HTMLInputElement>
onCompositionEndCompositionEventHandler<HTMLInputElement>
onCompositionStartCompositionEventHandler<HTMLInputElement>
onCompositionUpdateCompositionEventHandler<HTMLInputElement>
onSelectReactEventHandler<HTMLInputElement>
onBeforeInputFormEventHandler<HTMLInputElement>
onInputFormEventHandler<HTMLInputElement>
Layout
NameTypeDefaultDescription
flexstringnumberboolean
flexGrownumber
flexShrinknumber
flexBasisnumberstring
alignSelf'auto' | 'normal' | 'start' | 'end' | 'flex-start' | 'flex-end' | 'self-start' | 'self-end' | 'center' | 'stretch'
justifySelf'auto' | 'normal' | 'start' | 'end' | 'flex-start' | 'flex-end' | 'self-start' | 'self-end' | 'center' | 'left' | 'right' | 'stretch'
flexOrdernumber
gridAreastring
gridColumnstring
gridRowstring
gridColumnStartstring
gridColumnEndstring
gridRowStartstring
gridRowEndstring
Spacing
NameTypeDefaultDescription
marginDimensionValue
marginTopDimensionValue
marginLeftDimensionValue
marginRightDimensionValue
marginBottomDimensionValue
marginStartDimensionValue
marginEndDimensionValue
marginXDimensionValue
marginYDimensionValue
Sizing
NameTypeDefaultDescription
widthDimensionValue
minWidthDimensionValue
maxWidthDimensionValue
heightDimensionValue
minHeightDimensionValue
maxHeightDimensionValue
Positioning
NameTypeDefaultDescription
position'static' | 'relative' | 'absolute' | 'fixed' | 'sticky'
topDimensionValue
bottomDimensionValue
leftDimensionValue
rightDimensionValue
startDimensionValue
endDimensionValue
zIndexnumber
isHiddenboolean
Accessibility
NameTypeDefaultDescription
idstring
tabIndexnumber
aria-activedescendantstringIdentifies the currently active element when DOM focus is on a composite widget, textbox, group, or application.
aria-autocomplete'none' | 'inline' | 'list' | 'both'Indicates whether inputting text could trigger display of one or more predictions of the user's intended value for an input and specifies how predictions would be presented if they are made.
aria-haspopupboolean | 'menu' | 'listbox' | 'tree' | 'grid' | 'dialog'Indicates the availability and type of interactive popup element, such as menu or dialog, that can be triggered by an element.
aria-labelstringDefines a string value that labels the current element.
aria-labelledbystringIdentifies the element (or elements) that labels the current element.
aria-describedbystringIdentifies the element (or elements) that describes the object.
aria-detailsstringIdentifies the element (or elements) that provide a detailed, extended description for the object.
aria-errormessagestringIdentifies the element that provides an error message for the object.

Visual options#


Quiet#

View guidelines

In addition to changing the visual style of the TextArea, the isQuiet prop removes the ability to manually resize the TextArea. To compensate, the TextArea automatically adjusts its own height to accommodate for additional lines of text.

<TextArea label="Email" placeholder="Email Address" isQuiet />
<TextArea
  label="Email"
  placeholder="Email Address"
  isQuiet
/>
<TextArea
  label="Email"
  placeholder="Email Address"
  isQuiet
/>

Disabled#

View guidelines

<TextArea label="Email" placeholder="Email Address" isDisabled />
<TextArea
  label="Email"
  placeholder="Email Address"
  isDisabled
/>
<TextArea
  label="Email"
  placeholder="Email Address"
  isDisabled
/>

Read only#

The isReadOnly boolean prop makes the TextArea's text content immutable. Unlike isDisabled the TextArea remains focusable and the contents can still be copied. See the MDN docs for more information.

<TextArea label="Email" defaultValue="abc@adobe.com" isReadOnly />
<TextArea
  label="Email"
  defaultValue="abc@adobe.com"
  isReadOnly
/>
<TextArea
  label="Email"
  defaultValue="abc@adobe.com"
  isReadOnly
/>

Label alignment and position#

View guidelines

By default, the label is positioned above the TextArea. The labelPosition prop can be used to position the label to the side. The labelAlign prop can be used to align the label as "start" or "end". For left-to-right (LTR) languages, "start" refers to the left most edge of the TextArea and "end" refers to the right most edge. For right-to-left (RTL) languages, this is flipped.

<TextArea label="Search" labelPosition="side" labelAlign="end" />
<TextArea
  label="Search"
  labelPosition="side"
  labelAlign="end"
/>
<TextArea
  label="Search"
  labelPosition="side"
  labelAlign="end"
/>

Custom width#

View guidelines

<TextArea label="Email" width="size-3600" />
<TextArea label="Email" width="size-3600" />
<TextArea
  label="Email"
  width="size-3600"
/>