Getting Started with the TextBox

This tutorial explains how to set up a basic Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core TextBox and highlights the major steps in the configuration of the component.

You will initialize a TextBox component with a placeholder text and a label. Next, you will learn how to handle the Change event of the component and update and access its value at runtime. Finally, you can run the sample code in Telerik REPL and continue exploring the components.

Prerequisites

To successfully complete the tutorial, you need a project that is already configured to use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core components:

• You can use the Telerik REPL playground and skip installing the components on your system and configuring a project.

• You can prepare a Visual Studio project by following either of these guides:

  • Creating a new pre-configured project for the Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core components from a project template.

  • Manually configuring an existing project as described in the First Steps on Windows or First Steps on Mac articles.

1. Prepare the CSHTML File

The first step is to add the required directives at the top of the .cshtml document:

• To use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core HtmlHelpers:

  @using Kendo.Mvc.UI
  

• To use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET Core TagHelpers:

  @addTagHelper *, Kendo.Mvc
  

Optionally, you can structure the document by adding the desired HTML elements like headings, divs, paragraphs, and others.

    @using Kendo.Mvc.UI

    <h4>TextBox with a Placeholder</h4>
    <div>

    </div>

    @addTagHelper *, Kendo.Mvc

    <h4>TextBox with a Placeholder</h4>
    <div>

    </div>

2. Initialize the TextBox

Use the TextBox HtmlHelper or TagHelper to add the component to a page:

• The Name() configuration method is mandatory as its value is used for the id and the name attributes of the TextBox element.
• The Placeholder() configuration specifies the text that appears initially as a hint.

@using Kendo.Mvc.UI

<h4>TextBox with a Placeholder</h4>
<div>
    @(Html.Kendo().TextBox()
        .Name("textbox")
        .Placeholder("Name...")
        .HtmlAttributes(new { style = "width: 300px;" })
    )
</div>

@addTagHelper *, Kendo.Mvc

<h4>TextBox with a Placeholder</h4>
<div>
    <kendo-textbox name="textbox" style="width: 300px;" 
    placeholder="Name...">
    </kendo-textbox>
</div>

3. Define a Label Text

The next step is to present a description in front of the TextBox component by using the Label() property.

@using Kendo.Mvc.UI

<h4>TextBox with a Placeholder</h4>
<div>
    @(Html.Kendo().TextBox()
        .Name("textbox")
        .Label(l => l.Content("Set value:"))
        .Placeholder("Name...")
        .HtmlAttributes(new { style = "width: 300px;" })
    )
</div>

 @addTagHelper *, Kendo.Mvc

<h4>TextBox with a Placeholder</h4>
<div>
    <kendo-textbox name="textbox" style="width: 300px;" placeholder="Name...">
         <textbox-label content="Set value:"/>
         </kendo-textbox>
</div>

4. Handle a TextBox Event

The TextBox component provides convenient events for implementing your desired logic. In this tutorial, you will use the exposed Change() event to log the current TextBox value in the browser's console.

@using Kendo.Mvc.UI

<h4>TextBox with a Placeholder</h4>
<div>
    <script>
       function change(e) {
          console.log("Change :: " + this.value());
       }
    </script>

    @(Html.Kendo().TextBox()
        .Name("textbox")
        .Label(l => l.Content("Set value:"))
        .Placeholder("Name...")
        .Events(e => e.Change("change"))
        .HtmlAttributes(new { style = "width: 300px;" })
    )
</div>

@addTagHelper *, Kendo.Mvc

<h4>TextBox with a Placeholder</h4>
<div>
    <script>
       function change(e) {
          console.log("Change :: " + this.value());
       }
    </script>

    <kendo-textbox name="textbox" style="width: 300px;" 
    placeholder="Name..." on-change="change">
       <textbox-label content="Set value:"/>
       </kendo-textbox>
</div>

5. (Optional) Reference Existing TextBox Instances

You can reference the TextBox instances that you have created and build on top of their existing configuration:

1. Use the id attribute of the component instance to establish a reference.

   <script>
       var textboxReference = $("#textbox").data("kendoTextBox"); // textboxReference is a reference to the existing TextBox instance of the helper.
   </script>
   

2. Use the TextBox client-side API to control the behavior of the widget. In this example, you will use the value() method to change its current content.

   <script>
       var textboxReference = $("#textbox").data("kendoTextBox"); // textboxReference is a reference to the existing TextBox instance of the helper.
       textboxReference.value("Sample text"); // Update the current TextBox value.
       console.log(textboxReference.value()); // Log the new TextBox value in the browser's console.
   </script>
   

Explore this Tutorial in REPL

You can continue experimenting with the code sample above by running it in the Telerik REPL server playground:

• Sample code with the TextBox HtmlHelper
• Sample code with the TextBox TagHelper

Next Steps

• Set Labels to the TextBox
• Customize the Appearance of the TextBox
• Explore the Accessibility Features of the TextBox

See Also

• Using the API of the TextBox for ASP.NET Core (Demo)
• Client-Side API of the TextBox
• Server-Side API of the TextBox
• Knowledge Base Section