The class IlvTextField defines a one-line text editor that is used to edit a short character string.

This section covers the following topics:

The text of an IlvTextField can be left-aligned (the default), right-aligned, or centered. To change the text alignment, use IlvTextField::setAlignment.

Use the member functions IlvTextField::setLabel and IlvTextField::getLabel to set and retrieve text. The class IlvTextField also contains a set of useful methods for setting or retrieving formatted text such as integer or float values:

Subclasses of IlvTextField edit an integer, a float, a date, and a password.

See Using IlvDateField, Using IlvNumberField.

Text fields in read-only mode can be localized.

See Localizing a Gadget.

You can limit the number of characters that can be edited in a text field with IlvTextField::setMaxChar. When its parameter is set to -1, you can type as many characters as you want. This member function limits the number of characters that you can type in a text field, but not the number of characters you can specify with IlvTextField::setLabel. See Setting and Retrieving Text.

This section covers the following topics:

When the user presses the Enter key in a text field, the IlvTextField::validate member function is called. This virtual method invokes the Main callback of the text field and moves the focus to the next gadget in the focus chain.

Setting the Main callback for a text field provides an easy way to validate it. You can set a Focus Out callback to validate the text field instead of the Main callback. In this case, the field is validated when it loses the focus.

See Associating a Callback with a Gadget and Focus Management.

Each time the user types a regular ASCII character in a text field, the virtual IlvTextField::check member function is called. Its default implementation removes the selected text and adds the characters that the user enters at the current cursor location.

This method checks the maximum number of characters allowed (see Limiting the Number of Characters). As a consequence, when you redefine it, be sure to add a test (similar to the one shown below) to allow this mechanism to work.

When the user modifies the content of a text field, the member function IlvTextField::labelChanged is called. Its default implementation invokes the Change callback.

To set this callback, use IlvTextField::setChangeCallback.

See Associating a Callback with a Gadget.

The following table lists the keyboard shortcuts that can be used with text fields: