Getting Started in EJ2 TypeScript TextArea Control

25 Mar 20249 minutes to read

This section explains how to create a simple TextArea Control and configure its available functionalities in TypeScript, using Essential JS 2 quickstart seed repository.

This application is integrated with the webpack.config.js configuration and uses the latest version of the webpack-cli. It requires node v14.15.0 or higher. For more information about webpack and its features, refer to the webpack documentation.

Dependencies

The following list of dependencies are required to use the TextArea Control in your application.

|-- @syncfusion/ej2-inputs
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-base

Set up development environment

Open the command prompt from the required directory, and run the following command to clone the Syncfusion JavaScript (Essential JS 2) quickstart project from GitHub.

git clone https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/ej2-quickstart-webpack- ej2-quickstart

After cloning the application in the ej2-quickstart folder, run the following command line to navigate to the ej2-quickstart folder.

cd ej2-quickstart

Add Syncfusion JavaScript packages

Syncfusion JavaScript (Essential JS 2) packages are available on the npmjs.com public registry. You can install all Syncfusion JavaScript (Essential JS 2) controls in a single @syncfusion/ej2 package or individual packages for each control.

The quickstart application is preconfigured with the dependent @syncfusion/ej2 package in the ~/package.json file. Use the following command to install the dependent npm packages from the command prompt.

npm install

Import the Syncfusion CSS styles

To render TextArea Control, need to import inputs and its dependent components styles as given below in the ~/src/styles/styles.css file, as shown below:

style.css
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-base/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css';

Adding TextArea to the application

Add the HTML Textarea tag with the id attribute as default to your index.html file.

[src/index.html]

index.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 TextArea</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2 TextArea Controls" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/20.3.56/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/20.3.56/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div>
        <!--Element to render the TextArea control-->
        <textarea id="default"></textarea>
    </div>
</body>

</html>

Then, import the TextArea Control in your app.ts file and initialize it with the #default.

[src/app/app.ts]

app.ts
import { TextArea } from "@syncfusion/ej2-inputs";

// Initializes the TextArea control
let textareaObj: TextArea = new TextArea();

// Render initialized TextArea.
textareaObj.appendTo("#default");

Run the application

Run the application in the browser using the following command.

npm start

The following example shows a basic TextArea control.

index.ts
index.html
styles.css
import { TextArea } from "@syncfusion/ej2-inputs";

let textareaObj: TextArea = new TextArea();
textareaObj.appendTo("#default");
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
  <title>Essential JS 2 TextArea</title>
  <meta charset="utf-8" />
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
  <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2 TextArea Components" />
  <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
  <link href="index.css" rel="stylesheet" />
  <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.1.48/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
  <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.1.48/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
  <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
  <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
  <div id='loader'>Loading....</div>
  <div id='container'>
    <div class='wrap'>
      <div id="input-container">
        <textarea id="default"></textarea>
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
</body>

</html>
#container {
    visibility: hidden;
}

#loader {
    color: #008cff;
    font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', 'calibiri';
    font-size: 14px;
    height: 40px;
    left: 45%;
    position: absolute;
    top: 45%;
    width: 30%;
}

.wrap {
    box-sizing: border-box;
    margin: 0 auto;
    padding: 30px 10px;
    width: 260px;
}

Getting and setting values

To set the initial value of the TextArea Control, you can utilize the value property. Here’s how you can achieve it:

app.ts
import { TextArea } from '@syncfusion/ej2-inputs';

// initializes the TextArea Control
let textareaObj: TextArea = new TextArea({
        // sets value to the TextArea
        value: 'Comments'
});
// Append the component to the target element
textareaObj.appendTo('#default');

You can also set the value by enclosing the desired text within the opening and closing tags of the textarea element.

app.html
// initializes the TextArea Control
<textarea id="default">Comments</textarea>

Alternatively, you can set the value to the textarea element by assigning text to the value property using the textarea instance.

app.ts
import { TextArea } from '@syncfusion/ej2-inputs';

// initializes the TextArea Control
let textareaObj: TextArea = new TextArea();
textareaObj.appendTo('#default');
// Set value to the TextArea Control
textareaObj.value = 'comments';

You can dynamically retrieve the value of the TextArea Control using the value property from the TextArea Control instance.

[src/index.html]

app.html
// initializes the TextArea Control
<div>
    <textarea id="default"></textarea>
    <button id="valuebtn">Get Value</button>
</div>

[src/index.ts]

app.ts
import { TextArea } from '@syncfusion/ej2-inputs';

// initializes the TextArea Control
let textareaObj: TextArea = new TextArea();
textareaObj.appendTo('#default');
// gets value from TextArea Control instance
document.getElementById('valuebtn').onclick = function () {
    let textareaValue = textareaObj.value;
}

You can retrieve the value of the TextArea by accessing it as an argument from the change event.

app.ts
import { TextArea, ChangedEventArgs } from '@syncfusion/ej2-inputs';

// initializes the TextArea Control
let textareaObj: TextArea = new TextArea({
    change: (args: ChangedEventArgs )=> {
       // Get the value of the TextArea from the arguments
       console.log(args.value);
    }
});
textareaObj.appendTo('#default');
// Set value to the TextArea Control
textareaObj.value = 'comments';