Text Input

Anatomy

1. Label: Title of the Text Input.
2. Input Container: Rectangular container that houses the placeholder and input text.
3. Placeholder/Input Text: Placeholder text is optional and shows an example of how to format the text for what the input is used for.

Usage Guidance

• Text Inputs can only support words, numbers or characters.
• Standard and Wide Text Inputs does not support images or any text styling.
• To ensure we don’t overwhelm users, there shouldn’t be more than two Wide Text Inputs on a page.
• For all Text Inputs on Web, a user clicking into an input or label that is not disabled will trigger the text cursor to appear, allowing users the ability to type. As the user types in the Text Input, the placeholder text is replaced with the user’s input.

When to Use

• Text Input is typically a form element used to collect user data that includes words, numbers or characters.

When to Use Something Else

• If styling is needed, such as for configuring email messages, you can use a Rich Text Editor instead.
• Use a Text Area when you need to let users enter an amount of text that’s longer than a single line.
• Consider using a Select, Radio or Checkboxes if there are predetermined data that a user should not input themselves.

Examples

Basic Example

Text Input should be used in tandem with Form Field to meet accessibility standards.

Disabled

Set the disabled prop of the Text Input to prevent users from interacting with it.

Placeholder

Set the placeholder prop of the Text Input to display a sample of its expected format or value before a value has been provided.

Ref Forwarding

Text Input supports ref forwarding. It will forward ref to its underlying <input type="text"> element.

Grow

Set the grow prop of the wrapping Form Field to true to configure the Text Input to expand to the width of its container.

The grow prop may also be applied directly to the Text Input if Form Field is not being used.

Label Position

Set the labelPosition prop of the wrapping Form Field to designate the position of the label relative to the Text Input. labelPosition accepts the following values:

• FormField.LabelPosition.Top (Default)
• FormField.LabelPosition.Left

Required

Set the required prop of the wrapping Form Field to true to indicate that the field is required. Labels for required fields are suffixed by a red asterisk.

Error States

Set the error prop of the wrapping Form Field to FormField.ErrorType.Alert or FormField.ErrorType.Error to set the Text Input to the Alert or Error state, respectively. You will also need to set the hintId and hintText props on the Form Field to meet accessibility standards.

The error prop may be applied directly to the Text Input with a value of TextInput.ErrorType.Alert or TextInput.ErrorType.Error if Form Field is not being used.

Alert

Error

Component API

Specifications

Given	When	Then
given the 'Basic' story is rendered		it should not have any axe errors
given the 'Basic' story is rendered	clicked	it should be focused
given the 'Basic' story is rendered	text is entered	it should reflect the text typed
given the 'Alert' story is rendered		it should not have any axe errors
given the 'Alert' story is rendered	clicked	it should be focused
given the 'Alert' story is rendered	text is entered	it should reflect the text typed
given the 'Error' story is rendered		it should not have any axe errors
given the 'Error' story is rendered	clicked	it should be focused
given the 'Error' story is rendered	text is entered	it should reflect the text typed
given the 'Disabled' story is rendered		it should not have any axe errors
given the 'Disabled' story is rendered		it should be disabled
given the 'Placeholder' story is rendered		it should not have any axe errors
given the 'Placeholder' story is rendered		it should render a placeholder text
given the 'Placeholder' story is rendered		it should reflect the text typed

Source: TextInput.spec.ts

Accessibility Guidelines

• Text Inputs must have a visual label that clearly indicates the purpose of the input.
• Avoid using color alone to differentiate between errors and alerts. Instead, use icons or text that read “Error” or “Alert.”
• If both icons and visible text is used to differentiate between errors and alerts, the icons are considered redundant and should not provide any alternative text for screen readers.
• When possible, error and alert states should provide information on how to fix validation or formatting issues.

Structure

• <input> tag with attribute type="text".

Visual

• Ensure placeholder text exceeds a contrast ratio of 4.5:1 against the background to meet WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.3 for minimum contrast.
• Ensure keyboard focus on the Text Input is visually indicated and exceeds a contrast ratio of 3.0:1 against the background and prior state to meet WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.11 for non-text contrast.

Screen Reader

• If Text Input has no placeholder text, an aria-label is required to indicate what the input does.

Content Guidelines

• Labels for Text Inputs are written in title case.
• Refer to the guidelines on Placeholder Text in the Content Style Guide for more tips on how to write placeholder text.