<Textbox>

The Textbox tag renders as a single-line text input box at run time. You will probably use it most often in your forms — it is the standard control for entering names, addresses, and other single-line data.

Example

<AddForm>
  ...
  <table>
    <tr>
      <td>
        <Label For="txtFirstName" Text="First Name" />
        <Textbox Id="txtFirstName" DataField="FirstName" DataType="String" />
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>
        <Label For="txtLastName" Text="Last Name" />
        <Textbox Id="txtLastName" DataField="LastName" DataType="String" />
      </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td colspan="2">
        <AddButton Text="Add"/>&nbsp;<CancelButton Text="Cancel"/>
      </td>
    </tr>
  </table>
</AddForm>

Properties

Property	Values	Default	Description
ID *	string		Unique identifier for the control within the form
DataField	string		Parameter name for data binding to your form's data commands
DataType	String Int32 Int64 Boolean more...	String	Database type for data commands
AccessKey	string		Keyboard shortcut character (e.g. F for Alt+F)
CssClass	string		CSS class name(s) for styling the control
Enabled	True False	True	When False, the control is disabled (grayed out and not interactive). Different from ReadOnly, which still allows focus and selection
Height	size		Height of the control
HtmlEncode	True False	False	HTML-encodes content before sending to the SubmitCommand
MaxLength	integer		Maximum number of characters allowed
Nullable	True False	False	Returns DBNull when the control is blank or whitespace
Placeholder	string		Hint text displayed when the control is empty
ReadOnly	True False	False	Prevents the user from changing the contents
Style	string		Inline CSS (e.g. color: red; border: solid 1px black;)
TabIndex	integer		Tab order for keyboard navigation
ToolTip	string		Text displayed on mouse hover
Visible	True False	True	Shows or hides the control
Width	size		Width of the control

* Required property

Deprecated Properties

These properties use ASP.NET inline styling and are no longer recommended for modern web development. Use the CssClass property to apply CSS classes or the Style property for inline CSS instead.

Property	Values	Description
BackColor	color name | #dddddd	Background color of the control
BorderColor	color name | #dddddd	Border color of the control
BorderStyle	NotSet None Dotted Dashed Solid Double Groove Ridge Inset Outset	Border style of the control
BorderWidth	size	Border width of the control
Font-Bold	True False	Bold text
Font-Italic	True False	Italic text
Font-Names	string	Font family name
Font-Overline	True False	Overline text decoration
Font-Size	XX-Small X-Small Small Medium Large X-Large XX-Large or size	Font size
Font-Strikeout	True False	Strikethrough text decoration
Font-Underline	True False	Underline text decoration
ForeColor	color name | #dddddd	Text color of the control

Property Details

• ID: Name, consisting of letters and numbers, beginning with a letter, that uniquely identifies the control within the form.

• DataField: Name of the parameter in the <SubmitCommand> which will be filled with this control's data when the form is submitted and/or the parameter in the <SelectCommand> which will supply this control's data when the form is loaded. This attribute is required if the control will participate in operations with your form's data commands.

• DataType: The type of data this control is supplying to the data commands. This is a Database type. This attribute is required if the control will participate in operations with your form's data commands.

• HtmlEncode: When set to True, the content of the control will be HTML-encoded before sending it to the SubmitCommand for processing. This can help protect against scripting attacks but will also enlarge the size of the text that is saved — for instance, < becomes <.

• Nullable: If True, the control will return a DBNull value if the control is blank or contains just whitespace. If a DBNull value is passed to the control, the control will be set to an empty string.

• Placeholder: The value will be displayed in the textbox when it is empty, providing explanatory text prior to user input. For instance, a contact form's Email textbox might use "Enter your email address" or simply "Email" as the Placeholder. When the user tabs into the control, the text disappears. If the user tabs out without entering anything, the placeholder text re-appears. This is not a default value and will not be sent to the database.