TextView

TextView displays text that the user reads but does not edit. It works well for titles, labels, status messages, helper copy, and values that change while a screen is open.

Pass a plain String for fixed text or a string state when the label should stay synchronized with application state. A state-backed TextView applies the current value when the view is created and updates the Android view when that state changes.

Use it when…

Use TextView whenever text is output rather than input: headings, descriptions, counters, validation messages, connection status, or values derived from state.

When the user needs to type or edit the value, use EditText instead.

How it behaves

Text configuration is applied to the underlying text view when the view is built. Methods such as textSize(_:_:), maxLines(_:), and gravity(_:) let the text participate naturally in the surrounding layout without turning the page into a list of Android properties.

When text comes from state, Droid keeps listening to that state after the view is created. Changing the state updates the displayed text without requiring you to replace the TextView yourself.

Examples

Show a title and supporting text

body {
    VStack {
        TextView("Account")
            .textSize(24)

        TextView("Manage the details used to sign in.")
            .textSize(14)
            .maxLines(2)
    }
    .padding(16)
}

The title is visually distinct while the supporting copy is allowed to wrap to at most two lines.

Keep a status label in sync with state

@State var status = "Not connected"

body {
    VStack {
        TextView($status)

        Button("Connect")
            .onClick {
                status = "Connected"
            }
    }
    .padding(16)
}

The label receives the current state value when it is built. Tapping the button changes the state, and the displayed text follows that change.

Initializers

Create an empty view, pass fixed text directly, or bind a string state:

TextView()
TextView("Hello")
TextView($status)
TextView(id: 1001, "Title")

Methods

Text and state

text(_:) changes the displayed text and accepts either a plain string value or a compatible string state.

TextView()
    .text("Ready")

A state can be attached the same way when the value should keep updating:

TextView()
    .text($status)

Line limits

maxLines(_:) limits the maximum number of displayed lines and is useful when surrounding layout height should stay predictable.

TextView("A longer message that may wrap when space is narrow.")
    .maxLines(2)

Gravity

gravity(_:) controls the alignment of text inside the view when its bounds have extra room.

TextView("Centered")
    .width(.matchParent)
    .gravity(.center)

Text changes

textChangedListener(beforeTextChanged:onTextChanged:afterTextChanged:) registers callbacks for text changes. It is especially useful with editable subclasses such as EditText.

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

Notes

Some TextView operations are imperative rather than deferred. For example, append(_:) talks to the existing Android instance, so use it only after the view has been created. For ordinary declarative text changes, prefer text(_:) or state-backed text.