• Creating a TextArea
• Adding a TextArea to the Scene Graph
• Reading the Text of a TextArea
• Setting the Text of a TextArea

A JavaFX TextArea control enables users of a JavaFX application to enter text spanning multiple lines, which can then be read by the application. The JavaFX TextArea control is represented by the class javafx.scene.control.TextArea .

Creating a TextArea

You create a TextArea control by creating an instance of the TextArea class. Here is a JavaFX TextArea instantiation example:

TextArea textArea = new TextArea();

Adding a TextArea to the Scene Graph

For a JavaFX TextArea to be visible the TextArea object must be added to the scene graph. This means adding it to a Scene object, or as child of a layout which is attached to a Scene object.

Here is an example that attaches a JavaFX TextArea to the scene graph:

package com.jenkov.javafx.controls;

import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.TextArea;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.stage.Stage;


public class TextAreaExperiments extends Application  {


    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {
        primaryStage.setTitle("TextArea Experiment 1");

        TextArea textArea = new TextArea();

        VBox vbox = new VBox(textArea);

        Scene scene = new Scene(vbox, 200, 100);
        primaryStage.setScene(scene);
        primaryStage.show();

    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Application.launch(args);
    }
}

The result of running the above JavaFX TextArea example is an application that looks like this:

Reading the Text of a TextArea

You can read the text entered into a TextArea via its getText() method. Here is an example of reading text of a JavaFX TextArea control via its getText() method:

String text = textArea.getText();

Here is a full example that shows a TextArea and a Button and which reads the text entered into the TextArea when the button is clicked:

package com.jenkov.javafx.controls;

import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.Button;
import javafx.scene.control.TextArea;
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox;
import javafx.stage.Stage;


public class TextAreaExperiments extends Application  {


    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {
        primaryStage.setTitle("TextArea Experiment 1");

        TextArea textArea = new TextArea();

        Button button = new Button("Click to get text");
        button.setMinWidth(50);

        button.setOnAction(action -> {
            System.out.println(textArea.getText());

            textArea.setText("Clicked!");
        });

        VBox vbox = new VBox(textArea, button);

        Scene scene = new Scene(vbox, 200, 100);
        primaryStage.setScene(scene);
        primaryStage.show();
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Application.launch(args);
    }
}

Setting the Text of a TextArea

You can set the text of a TextArea control via its setText() method. Here is an example of setting the text of a TextArea control via setText() :

textArea.setText("New Text");