Getting Started with the TextBox

This tutorial explains how to set up a basic Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC 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.

Prerequisites

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

• To create a new pre-configured project for the Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC components, you can use a project template.

• To manually configure an existing project by using NuGet, see the Adding Telerik UI through NuGet.

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 MVC HtmlHelpers:

  @using Kendo.Mvc.UI
  

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>

2. Initialize the TextBox

Use the TextBox HtmlHelper 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>

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>

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>

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>
   

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 MVC (Demo)
• Client-Side API of the TextBox
• Server-Side API of the TextBox
• Knowledge Base Section