My screen has multiple textfields, about 15 or so. I don't want to use TextEditingController due to performance reasons as the number of TextFields are likely to grow and I need to pass data from one widget to another back and forth. So I am using OnChanged method of the TextField and am setting a variable which will be used from the parent widget through a function. Now when I click on reset on the parent widget, how do I clear all the values in the TextField controls without using TextEditingController?
class Parent extends StatelessWidget {
String txt='';
myfunction(text)
{
txt=text;
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
...
Foo(myfunction);
....
}
}
class Foo extends StatelessWidget {
final Function myfunction;
const Foo(this.myfunction);
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return TextField(
onChanged: (text) {
myfunction( text);
},...
}
}
You should try to declare all textfields with:
final TextEditingController name = TextEditingController();
final TextEditingController age = TextEditingController();
Create one method like this :
resetAll() {
name.clear();
name.clear();
}
then you call resetAll on reset button like below:
onPressed:() => resetAll()
It's not possible, but the text Fields will be reset if you dispose and reopen the screen holding the text Fields.
Related
I have the following code, shown below where every time I make changes to a text field, a function gets called, in my case doSomething(). However, I assumed that since I bound the value of the text to a variable, if that variable were to get updated, the textfield text would also update. This is not happening, and my question is, what would be the simplest way to make the textfield update its text every time the corresponding variable changes.
Edit: Just to clarify, I have no problem getting the doSomething() function to update other parts of the code, I am looking for the inverse where an external variable changes the text of the textfield
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
class DynamicTextField extends StatefulWidget {
const DynamicTextField(
{
required this.value,
Key? key})
: super(key: key);
final double value;
#override
State<DynamicTextField> createState() =>
_DynamicTextFieldState(value);
}
class _DynamicTextFieldState extends State<DynamicTextField> {
_DynamicTextFieldState(this.value);
final double value;
late TextEditingController textChanged;
#override
void initState() {
textChanged = TextEditingController(text: value.toString());
super.initState();
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return TextField(
controller: textChanged,
onChanged: (text) {
doSomething();
},
);
}
}
you can change the TextField value with the textChanged controller you set to that widget.
String stringVariable = "some value";
textChanged.text = stringVariable;
you can then update the state with a normal SetState(() {}), and it should update the value in TextField
Your value is declared as final. Meaning it can only be set once. Try removing the final declaration.
I also see you’re also declaring the value variable twice, instead of referencing the original value variable.
The second declaration should be in the widgets build method & should = widget.value.
this will update the text everytime DynamicTextField get rebuild.
#override
void initState() {
textChanged = TextEditingController(text: widget.value.toString());
super.initState();
}
Depends how you use the DynamicTextField in another class. The life-cycle of StatefullWidget is call the initState once the widget initialize.
i have some questions about which is the correct way of creating TexEditingController;
Assuming that i want to create a controller with a fixed text, so i can do like this :
TextEditingController bioEditorController = new TextEditingController(text:"dummy");
Now my questions is this:
if i'm usign a stateful widget i can create this controller ad assign an initial text by doing this :
TextEditingController bioEditorController;
#override
void initState() {
bioEditorController = new TextEditingController(text: "dummy");
super.initState();
}
but if i'm not using a stateful widget is it correct to make something like this :
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
TextEditingController bioEditorController =
new TextEditingController(text: controller.profile.value.bio);
What i mean is it correct to create this controller inside the build method, if i do like this it works , but i think that probably is not the best way of doing this things, also becauze i know that controller should also disposed....
I really need some help about clarifying this. Thanks
You are correct in assuming that doing that in the build method is not ideal. You have way less control over how many times the build method runs vs initState.
And while it's generally true that you would need a stateful widget when dealing with TextEditingControllers (or hooks), if you use GetX state management it's absolutely fine, and preferred to not bother with a stateful widget just because you need a TextEditingController.
Another benefit of this way is very easy access to the value of the TextEditingController from anywhere else in the app.
Here's a quick example. This is a class where you can keep all your TextEditingControllers.
class TextController extends GetxController {
RxString textfieldString = ''.obs; // observable String
TextEditingController textController;
// this onInit replaces initState of a stateful widget
#override
onInit() {
super.onInit();
textController = TextEditingController(text: 'dummy');
// adding a listener that automatically updates the textfieldString with the textfield value
textController.addListener(() {
textfieldString.value = textController.text;
debugPrint(textfieldString.value);
});
}
}
Initialize the controller in your main or anytime before you actually use it. This is when the onInit from that class is called.
Get.put(TextController()).textController;
Here's Page1 a stateless widget with an already initialized TextEditingController
class Page1 extends StatelessWidget {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
final controller = Get.find<TextController>(); // finding same initialized controller
return Scaffold(
body: Center(
child: TextFormField(
controller: controller.textController, // using TextEditingConroller from GetX class
),
),
);
}
}
And here's a quick example of a text widget on a different page automatically updating anytime the user types into the TextFormField
class Page2 extends StatelessWidget {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
final controller =
Get.find<TextController>(); // finding same instance of controller
return Scaffold(
body: Center(
// this Obx widget rebuilds based on any updates
child: Obx(
() => Text(controller.textfieldString.value),
),
),
);
}
}
So no matter where you are in your app, you can access the value of that TextFormField and you don't have to use a stateful widget. The GetxController will be removed from memory when not in use.
At this point the only time I ever need to use a stateful widget is when I need the AutomaticKeepAliveClientMixin.
Even animations can be done with stateless widgets in GetX by adding SingleGetTickerProviderMixin to a Getx class and doing everything there that would normally clutter up your stateful widget.
Let's say there is an empty TextFormField. After entering 2 characters manually I would like to insert a new one programmatically. So if length equals with 2 than insert a new one. It sounds really simple but strange behaviors appeared while I tried to achieve this. For example: The cursor continuously jumps back to the start and may cause this debug log:
Text selection index was clamped (-1->0) to remain in bounds. This may not be your fault, as some keyboards may select outside of bounds.
Or if I try to deal with the TextEditingController's value or selection property to place cursor at the end of the text, it causes more strange behaviors.
Can you provide me an example by using a TextField or a TextFormField with a TextEditingController and on onChanged() if text length is equals with 2 than insert a new character at the end and place back the cursor also at the end.
I tried these solutions but in this case they did not work:
How do you change the value inside of a textfield flutter?
Thank you!
EDIT: Example code:
void main() => runApp(MyApp());
/// This Widget is the main application widget.
class MyApp extends StatelessWidget {
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return MaterialApp(
title: 'example',
home: Scaffold(
body: Center(
child: MyWidget(),
),
),
);
}
}
class MyWidget extends StatefulWidget {
#override
_MyWidgetState createState() => _MyWidgetState();
}
class _MyWidgetState extends State<MyWidget> {
final TextEditingController controller = TextEditingController(text: '');
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return TextFormField(
controller: controller,
onChanged: (value) {
if (controller.text != null && controller.text.length == 2) {
controller.text = '$value/';
controller.selection = TextSelection.fromPosition(
TextPosition(offset: controller.text.length));
setState(() {});
}
},
);
}
#override
void dispose() {
controller.dispose();
super.dispose();
}
}
The problem: If I replace the TextFormField to a TextField, it works as expected. I guess it is a bug that should be fixed.
I also found a link that in flutter version 1.20.1 and later this is an issue with TextFormFields.
https://github.com/flutter/flutter/issues/62654
TextFormField is a FormField that contains a TextField. While a Form isn't required to be its parent, using a Form makes it easier to manage multiple fields at once. You can stick with TextField if it works better and meets the requirements.
I am looking for a better explanation on the benefit of TextEditingController over OnChanged event for a TextField.
My understanding is that onChanged's setState notifies all widgets of the change in state variable value. This way any widget (e.g. Text) can simply use the state variable and it will be notified of its changes.
My false hopes were TextEditingController would make it even simpler that I won't even need a state variable. Something like below:
import "package:flutter/material.dart";
class TestForm extends StatefulWidget {
#override
State<StatefulWidget> createState() {
return TestFormState();
}
}
class TestFormState extends State<TestForm> {
//string myStateVariable = "";
final ctrl = TextEditingController();
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
var tf = TextField(
controller: ctrl,
);
var t = Text("Current value: " + ctrl.text); // <<<<<<<<<<< false hope! doesnt work!
var x = Column(children: <Widget>[tf,t],);
return MaterialApp(home: Material(child: Scaffold(
appBar: AppBar(title: Text("Test Form"),),
body: x,
)));
}
}
Can anyone explain why TextEditingController or something similar cannot manage the state itself and notifies all consumers of change in state?
Thanks.
You are just not setting state synchronously that's all. What onChanged does is exactly possible with this approach:
class _TestFormState extends State<TestForm> {
late TextEditingController controller;
#override
void initState() {
controller = TextEditingController()
..addListener(() {
setState(() {});
});
super.initState();
}
#override
void dispose() {
controller.dispose();
super.dispose();
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Column(
mainAxisAlignment: MainAxisAlignment.spaceAround,
children: <Widget>[
Text('Current Value: ${controller.text}'),
TextField(
controller: controller,
),
],
);
}
}
As you see, we have listener that setting state every time state of the controller changes. This is exactly what onChanged does.
So, about benefits, you can achieve everything with both approach, it's a subjective way.
About benefits:
If you need to hold field values within Stream, onChanged is what you need. In other cases you may use controller.
Actually you won't need both in most of time in my opinion because TextFormField + Form within StatefulWidget is quite complete way to implement form pages. Checkout cookbook: https://flutter.dev/docs/cookbook/forms/validation
TextEditingController actually is managing his own state, that's why you can see the input on the screen once you change it.
You have 2 problems here, the first is that you are not adding any listener to the TextEditingController, you are just asking "give me the current value" only when you build the widget, not "give me the value any time it changes". To achieve this you need to add a listener to the text controller and it will be called every time that the value change.
Try this :
#override
void initState() {
super.initState();
// Start listening to changes.
ctrl.addListener(_printValue);
}
_printValue() {
print("Value: ${ctrl.text}");
}
This will work because print doesn't need to render anything on the screen but if you change it to return a widget it will not work either. That is the second problem, as you pointed out, your parent widget is not been rebuild when the value change, in this case you cannot avoid the setState (or other way to tell flutter that needs to rebuild the widget) when the value change because you need to rebuild the widget to view the change.
Another thing that ill like to point out is that TextEditingController is much powerful and it can be used for more things that just add notifiers to changes. For example if you want a button on other part of the screen that clear the text on a TextField you will need a TextEditingController binded to that field.
Hope it helps!
I am using flutter and I want to set text (String value) in TextFormField dynamically, means set value over press of a button.
use TextEditingController. Then assign it to the TextFormField then make use of the controller to assign the new data from wherever you want. If you want initial data assign it some value in the initState() function also use it on a stateful widget.
_textEditingController.text = "1";
You can make use of a StatefulWidget to adjust the initialValue property of your TextFormField.
class TextFieldChanger extends StatefulWidget {
#override
_TextFieldChangerState createState() => _TextFieldChangerState();
}
class _TextFieldChangerState extends State<TextFieldChanger> {
String presetText;
void _onPressed() {
setState(() {
presetText = 'updated text';
});
}
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) => Column(children: [
TextFormField(initialValue: presetText),
RawMaterialButton(onPressed: _onPressed),
]);
}
In setState, I am assigning a new value to presetText and build will be called (with the updated initialValue) because of setState.