Introduction
In this tutorial, we will explore how to use the cftextarea tag in Adobe ColdFusion to create a rich text area with a basic toolbar in a web form. ColdFusion's cftextarea is a versatile tag that allows developers to include text areas with rich text editing capabilities in their web applications, enhancing user input experience by providing them with a simple text formatting tool. This example demonstrates the creation of a form where users can submit their favorite colors, using a rich text-enabled textarea.
We will break down the code step-by-step, explaining how the cftextarea tag works, how form submission is handled, and how ColdFusion outputs the data. By the end of this article, you will have a clear understanding of how to implement a similar functionality in your ColdFusion applications.
Page Structure and Metadata
The code begins with an HTML document structure that defines a simple page with proper encoding through the <meta> tag, setting UTF-8 as the character set. This ensures that any user input, regardless of language or special characters, will be handled correctly by the browser and the server.
The <title> tag sets the page title to inform the user of the page's purpose: demonstrating how to use the ColdFusion cftextarea tag to create a rich text area with a basic toolbar. A heading (<h2>) styled in a specific color and font format is included to make the page more visually appealing.
Conditional Output with ColdFusion
One key feature of ColdFusion is its ability to process form submissions dynamically. In this example, we see a conditional block (<cfif IsDefined("Form.SubmitColors")>) that checks if the form has been submitted. When the form is submitted, ColdFusion checks if the SubmitColors field exists in the form data. If true, the code block inside the cfif statement is executed.
Within this block, the form data (the user's favorite colors) is displayed back to the user using the cfoutput tag. The chosen colors are displayed in a custom styled <h3> element, providing a clear and colorful feedback mechanism for users.
The Form Structure
The form itself is created using ColdFusion's cfform tag. This tag allows for easy integration of various ColdFusion features like validation, enhanced formatting, and input handling. In this case, the form's method is set to post, meaning it will send the data to the server when the user submits it.
The form contains a simple table with three rows. The first row provides the title of the form, styled with a background color (DodgerBlue) and text color (Snow). The second row contains the label "Favorite Colors" and the main component of this example: the rich text-enabled cftextarea.
The cftextarea Tag
The cftextarea tag is the focal point of this form. It is set to be a required field, meaning that the user must provide input before the form can be submitted. If the field is left blank, a message ("Colors required.") will be shown, instructing the user to complete the form.
The tag’s richtext="yes" attribute is what enables the rich text functionality. This allows users to enter formatted text, including options like bold, italics, and underlines, depending on the toolbar configuration. In this example, the toolbar="Basic" attribute ensures that only a simplified toolbar is displayed to the user, offering a more streamlined and user-friendly experience.
Submit Button
The final part of the form is the submit button, which is implemented using the cfinput tag. This tag not only creates the submit button but also allows for various styles and attributes to be applied easily. The button is designed to stand out, with a bold, large font, and a matching blue color scheme.
Once the user clicks the button, the form data is sent back to the server, where it is processed, and the results are displayed above the form, as discussed in the conditional output section.
Summary
In this ColdFusion tutorial, we demonstrated how to create a simple web form using the cftextarea tag to enable rich text editing with a basic toolbar. By using ColdFusion's built-in form handling capabilities, we were able to collect user input, validate it, and display it back to the user dynamically.
The cftextarea tag is a powerful tool for web developers looking to enhance user experience with minimal effort. By enabling rich text input, developers can provide users with a more engaging and flexible way to interact with forms. With the simple addition of styling and dynamic output, this example serves as a foundation for more advanced applications of rich text areas in ColdFusion.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<title>cftextarea tag: how to use rich text area with basic toolbar in coldfusion</title>
</head>
<body>
<h2 style="color:SaddleBrown; font-style:italic">cftextarea example: how to use rich text area</h2>
<hr width="450" align="left" color="SaddleBrown" />
<br />
<cfif IsDefined("Form.SubmitColors")>
<cfoutput>
<h3 style="color:DeepPink;">
Your favorite colors are: #Form.Colors#
</h3>
</cfoutput>
</cfif>
<cfform name="RichTextAreaTest" method="post" format="html">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="CornFlowerBlue">
<tr>
<td colspan="2" bgcolor="DodgerBlue" style="color:Snow; font-size:large" align="center">
Favorite Colors Submit Form
</td>
</tr>
<tr valign="top">
<td style="color:DodgerBlue; font-weight:bold">
Favorite Colors
</td>
<td width="250">
<cftextarea
name="Colors"
required="yes"
message="Colors required."
richtext="yes"
toolbar="Basic"
/>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" align="right">
<cfinput
name="SubmitColors"
type="submit"
value="Submit"
style="height:45px; width:150px; font-size:large; font-style:italic; font-weight:bold; color:DodgerBlue;"
>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</cfform>
</body>
</html>
