Andy De George
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title, ms.date, helpviewer_keywords, ms.assetid
| title | ms.date | helpviewer_keywords | ms.assetid | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TextBox Overview | 03/30/2017 |
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1ba6dc5b-11a7-4247-9213-36c6729ee35f |
TextBox Overview
The xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox class enables you to display or edit unformatted text. A common use of a xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox is editing unformatted text in a form. For example, a form asking for the user's name, phone number, etc would use xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox controls for text input. This topic introduces the xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox class and provides examples of how to use it in both [!INCLUDETLA#tla_xaml] and C#.
TextBox or RichTextBox?
Both xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox and xref:System.Windows.Controls.RichTextBox allow users to input text but the two controls are used for different scenarios. A xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox requires less system resources then a xref:System.Windows.Controls.RichTextBox so it is ideal when only plain text needs to be edited (i.e., usage in a form). A xref:System.Windows.Controls.RichTextBox is a better choice when it is necessary for the user to edit formatted text, images, tables, or other supported content. For example, editing a document, article, or blog that requires formatting, images, etc is best accomplished using a xref:System.Windows.Controls.RichTextBox. The table below summarizes the primary features of xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox and xref:System.Windows.Controls.RichTextBox.
| Control | Real-time Spellchecking | Context Menu | Formatting commands like xref:System.Windows.Documents.EditingCommands.ToggleBold%2A (Ctr+B) | xref:System.Windows.Documents.FlowDocument content like images, paragraphs, tables, etc. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox | Yes | Yes | No | No. |
| xref:System.Windows.Controls.RichTextBox | Yes | Yes | Yes (see RichTextBox Overview) | Yes (see RichTextBox Overview) |
Note
Although xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox does not support formatting related editing commands like xref:System.Windows.Documents.EditingCommands.ToggleBold%2A (Ctr+B), many basic commands are supported by both controls such as xref:System.Windows.Documents.EditingCommands.MoveToLineEnd%2A. See xref:System.Windows.Documents.EditingCommands for more information.
Features supported by xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox are covered in the sections below. For more information about xref:System.Windows.Controls.RichTextBox, see RichTextBox Overview.
Real-time Spellchecking
You can enable real-time spellchecking in a xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox or xref:System.Windows.Controls.RichTextBox. When spellchecking is turned on, a red line appears underneath any misspelled words (see picture below).
See Enable Spell Checking in a Text Editing Control to learn how to enable spellchecking.
Context Menu
By default, both xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox and xref:System.Windows.Controls.RichTextBox have a context menu that appears when a user right-clicks inside the control. The context menu allows the user to cut, copy, or paste (see picture below).
You can create your own custom context menu to override the default behavior. See Use a Custom Context Menu with a TextBox for more information.
Creating TextBoxes
A xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox can be a single line in height or comprise multiple lines. A single line xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox is best for inputting small amounts of plain text (i.e. "Name", "Phone Number", etc. in a form). The following example shows how to create a single line xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox.
[!code-xamlTextBoxMiscSnippets_snip#BasicTextBoxExampleWholePage]
You can also create a xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox that allows the user to enter multiple lines of text. For example, if your form asked for a biographical sketch of the user, you would want to use a xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox that supports multiple lines of text. The following example shows how to use [!INCLUDETLA#tla_xaml] to define a xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox control that automatically expands to accommodate multiple lines of text.
[!code-xamlTextBox_MiscCode#_MultilineTextBoxXAML]
Setting the xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox.TextWrapping%2A attribute to Wrap causes text to wrap to a new line when the edge of the xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox control is reached, automatically expanding the xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox control to include room for a new line, if necessary.
Setting the xref:System.Windows.Controls.Primitives.TextBoxBase.AcceptsReturn%2A attribute to true causes a new line to be inserted when the RETURN key is pressed, once again automatically expanding the xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox to include room for a new line, if necessary.
The xref:System.Windows.Controls.Primitives.TextBoxBase.VerticalScrollBarVisibility%2A attribute adds a scroll bar to the xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox, so that the contents of the xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox can be scrolled through if the xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox expands beyond the size of the frame or window that encloses it.
For more information on different tasks associated with using a xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox, see How-to Topics.
Detect When Content Changes
Usually the xref:System.Windows.Controls.Primitives.TextBoxBase.TextChanged event should be used to detect whenever the text in a xref:System.Windows.Controls.TextBox or xref:System.Windows.Controls.RichTextBox changes, rather then xref:System.Windows.UIElement.KeyDown as you might expect. See Detect When Text in a TextBox Has Changed for an example.