EditText

EditText is a text field for values the user can enter and modify. It is a good fit for form fields, search queries, settings, and other places where text should move between the UI and application state.

Passing a string state gives the field two-way synchronization: the current state becomes the field text, later state changes update the field, and user edits are written back to that state.

Use it when…

Use EditText when typing is part of the interaction. It is appropriate for names, email addresses, search terms, notes, and other editable strings.

If the value is only being displayed, use TextView instead.

How it behaves

EditText inherits the text configuration available on TextView, including useful setters such as hint(_:). With EditText($value), Droid installs text-change handling in addition to the normal state-backed text update, which is what makes the binding two-way.

Selection methods such as selectAll() and setSelection(index:) are imperative: they call the existing Android view instance. Invoke them after the field has been created, for example from a button or another user event, rather than chaining them onto a newly constructed field before it is on screen.

Examples

Bind a field to state

@State var email = ""

body {
    VStack {
        TextView("Email")

        EditText($email)
            .hint("name@example.com")

        TextView($email)
    }
    .padding(16)
}

Typing in the field changes email, and the second label reflects the same state. Changing email elsewhere also updates the field.

Select the current value from an action

@State var query = "Swift"
let searchField = EditText()

body {
    VStack {
        searchField
            .text($query)
            .hint("Search")

        Button("Select all")
            .onClick {
                searchField.selectAll()
            }
    }
    .padding(16)
}

The selection call runs after the field exists, so it can act on the underlying Android instance.

Initializers

Create an empty field or bind it directly to a string state:

EditText()
EditText($email)
EditText(id: 1001)

Methods

Select all text

selectAll() selects the field's current text. Because it operates on the existing view instance, call it after the field has been built.

Button("Select all")
    .onClick {
        searchField.selectAll()
    }

Move or extend the selection

setSelection(index:) moves the caret to an offset. The range overload selects between two offsets, while extendSelection(index:) extends the current selection.

Button("Move cursor")
    .onClick {
        searchField.setSelection(index: 0)
    }

For a range:

Button("Select first word")
    .onClick {
        searchField.setSelection(start: 0, end: 5)
    }

Style shortcuts

setStyleShortcutsEnabled(_:) enables or disables supported keyboard style shortcuts on the existing field instance.

Button("Enable style shortcuts")
    .onClick {
        searchField.setStyleShortcutsEnabled()
    }

Use it after the field has been created for the same reason as the selection methods.

Observe text changes

The inherited textChangedListener(beforeTextChanged:onTextChanged:afterTextChanged:) API is useful when you need a callback in addition to state binding.

EditText()
    .textChangedListener(
        beforeTextChanged: nil,
        onTextChanged: { event in
            Log.i("Current input: \(event.p0 ?? "")")
        },
        afterTextChanged: nil
    )