TextArea Appearance

As of Kendo UI R1 2022, the TextArea widget uses brand new rendering.

In this article you will find information about the new rendering of the Kendo UI TextArea.

For additional information regarding the decision behind these changes, visit the Styling Overview article.

For a live example, visit the Appearance Demo of the TextArea.

Options

The Kendo UI TextArea supports the following styling options:

• size—configures the overall size of the component.
• rounded—configures the border radius of the component.
• fillMode—configures how the color is applied to the component.
• overflow—configures the overflow behavior of the element.
• resize—configures how the resizing of the element is applied.

Size

The size option controls how big or small the rendered textarea looks. The structure of the class is k-input-{size}.

The following values are available for the size option:

• sm—small size
• md—medium size
• lg—large size
• none—unset

The following example demonstrates how to configure the size of the component through the widget configuration:

<textarea id="description"></textarea>
<script>
$("#description").kendoTextArea({
    size: "medium"
});
</script>

The default size value is medium and it is applied to the wrapping span element through the k-input-md class.

<span class="k-textarea k-input k-input-md">
</span>

Rounded

The rounded option controls how much border radius is applied to the rendered textarea. The structure of the class is k-rounded-{size}.

The following values are available for the rounded option:

• sm—small border radius
• md—medium border radius
• lg—large border radius
• full—largest border radius
• none—unset

The following example demonstrates how to configure the rounded of the component through the widget configuration:

<textarea id="description"></textarea>
<script>
$("#description").kendoTextArea({
    rounded: "medium"
});
</script>

The default rounded value is medium and it is applied to the wrapping span element through the k-rounded-md class.

<span class="k-textarea k-input k-rounded-md">
</span>

FillMode

The fillMode option controls the way the color is applied to the rendered textarea. The structure of the class is k-input-{fillMode}.

The following values are available for the fillMode option:

• solid
• flat
• outline
• none

The following example demonstrates how to configure the fillMode of the component through the widget configuration:

<textarea id="description"></textarea>
<script>
$("#description").kendoTextArea({
    fillMode: "solid"
});
</script>

The default fillMode value is solid and it is applied to the wrapping span element through the k-input-solid class.

<span class="k-textarea k-input k-input-solid">
</span>

Overflow

The overflow option controls the overflow behavior of the rendered textarea. The structure of the class is k-overflow-{overflow}.

The following values are available for the overflow option:

• auto
• hidden
• visible
• scroll
• clip
• none

The following example demonstrates how to configure the overflow of the component through the widget configuration:

<textarea id="description"></textarea>
<script>
$("#description").kendoTextArea({
    overflow: "auto"
});
</script>

The default overflow value is auto and it is applied to the textarea element through the k-overflow-auto class.

<textarea class="k-input-inner k-overflow-auto" placeholder="..."></textarea>

Resize

The resize option controls the resizing behavior of the rendered textarea. The structure of the class is k-resize-{resize}.

The following values are available for the resize option:

• both
• horizontal
• vertical
• none

The following example demonstrates how to configure the resize of the component through the widget configuration:

<textarea id="description"></textarea>
<script>
$("#description").kendoTextArea({
    resize: "none"
});
</script>

The default resize value is none and it is applied to the wrapping span element through the k-resize-none class.

<span class="k-textarea k-input k-resize-none">
</span>

Old vs New Rendering

The old rendering of the component consisted of a wrapping span element with the k-textarea class and a child textarea element with the k-textbox class.

<span class="k-textarea">
    <textarea class='k-textbox'></textarea>
</span>

The new rendering of the component also consists of a wrapping span element that has a child textarea element:

• The span element controls the overall appearance of the widget and has the following class structure:

  <span class="k-textarea k-input k-input-md k-rounded-md k-input-solid">
  </span>
  

• The textarea element controls the appearance of the textarea itself and has the following class structure:

  <textarea class="k-input-inner k-overflow-hidden k-resize-both" placeholder="..."></textarea>
  

The following example demonstrates how to configure the appearance of the component through the widget configuration:

<textarea id="description"></textarea>
<script>
$("#description").kendoTextArea({
    size: "medium",
    rounded: "medium",
    fillMode: "solid",
    resize: "both",
    overflow: "hidden"
});
</script>

The full rendering of the component has the following HTML structure:

<span class="k-textarea k-input k-input-md k-rounded-md k-input-solid">
    <textarea class="k-input-inner k-overflow-hidden k-resize-both" placeholder="...">...</textarea>
</span>

Visual Backwards Compatibility

To achieve the same look and feel as the old rendering, you must update the element references.

When you use a LESS theme, the new styling and rendering supports only the default options.

Previously, a reference to the textarea element was obtainable through the k-input class.

$(".k-input") // Returns a reference to the textarea element in the old rendering.

With the new rendering, you must target the textarea element by using the k-input-inner class.

$(".k-input-inner") // Returns a reference to the textarea element in the new rendering.

The following example showcases how to apply a background color to the TextArea in both the new, and the old rendering:

    <!-- Open the example in Dojo and select version prior to 2022 R1 to see the difference in the appearance -->
    <div id="parent">
      <textarea id="textarea"></textarea>
    </div>

    <style>
      /* Works BEFORE R1 2022 */
      #parent .k-input {
        background-color: #0071bc !important; /* Blue color in versions BEFORE R1 2022 */
      }

      /* Works AFTER R1 2022 */
      #parent .k-input-inner {
        background-color: #2e8540 !important; /* Green color in versions AFTER R1 2022 */
      }
    </style>

    <script>
      $("#textarea").kendoTextArea();
    </script>

See Also

• Styling Overview Article
• Appearance Demo of the TextArea
• JavaScript API Reference of the TextArea