Text

Text creates a text-input field that has an optional label and placeholder text.

Data binding

Set or modify the data binding for the control in the General properties tab. The Text control can be bound to a String variable.

Configuration properties

Set or modify configuration properties for the control, such as appearance and behavior properties, in the Configuration properties tab. Set the formula configuration properties in the Events tab.
Screen size
A configuration property that has the Screen Sizes icon The Screen Sizes icon beside the property name can have different values for each screen size. If you do not set a value, the screen size inherits the value of the next larger screen size as its default value. If you are using the Process Designer desktop editor (deprecated), you are setting the value for the large screen size. The other screen sizes inherit this value.
Theme definitions
Theme definitions specify the colors and styles for a control and determine the appearance of the control. You can preview the look and feel of controls in the theme editor. See Themes.

The appearance configuration properties for Text are shown in the following table:

Table 1. Appearance configuration properties for Text
Appearance configuration property Description Data type
Width The Screen Sizes icon The width of the control. You can specify the width in px (pixels), % (percent), or em units. For example, 50px, 20%, or 0.4em. If a unit type is not specified, px is assumed. String
Size The Screen Sizes icon The text size. The size applies to both the label and the text. String
Label placement The Screen Sizes icon The placement of the label in relation to the text. Labels on the left change the specified width of the control. String
IBM BPM version 8.6.0 cumulative fix 2017.12Label width Large screen icon The width of the label. You can specify the width in px (pixels), % (percent), or em units. For example, 50px, 20%, or 0.4em. If a unit type is not specified, px is assumed. String
The behavior configuration properties for Text are listed in the following table:
Table 2. Behavior configuration properties for Text
Behavior configuration property Description Data type
Tab index The tabbing sequence index. The tab indices start at 1 and can be set sparsely. For example, you can use 1, 5, 10. The Tab index property controls the tabbing sequence when you move between coach areas by pressing the Tab key. Integer
Placeholder text The placeholder text that is displayed when no value is entered. String
Validate input The regular expression to use for validating input. String
Select text on focus Selects all the text in the text field that has the focus. Boolean

Events

Set or modify the formula configuration properties and the event handlers for the control in the Events tab. You can set events to be triggered programmatically or when a user interacts with the control. For information on how to define and code events, see User-defined events.
The formula configuration properties for Text are listed in the following table:
Table 3. Formula configuration properties for Text
Formula configuration property Description Data type
Text expression Provides the expression or formula that calculates the text in the Text control. You can set the text either by using a static string or dynamically by using a formula.

For more information about formulas, see Formulas.

String
Text has the following types of event handlers:
  • On load: Activated when the page loads. For example:
    me.setText("Some default text on load.")
  • On change: Activated when the text is changed. For example:
    if(newText != oldText){return confirm ("Are you sure you want to change the text field?");}
  • On focus: Activated when the focus moves to the text field. For example:
    me.setLabelPlacement("T")
  • On blur: Activated when the text field loses the focus. For example:
    me.setLabelPlacement("L")
  • On input: Activated when the user enters text in the text field. For example:
    return potential.length<=10;

Methods

For detailed information on the available methods for Text, see the Text JavaScript API.

Additional resources

For information about how to create a coach, see Building coaches.
For information about standard properties (General, Configuration, Positioning, Visibility, and HTML Attributes), see Coach view properties.