Multi-line TextField in Flutter - dart

Question

It may sound easy but How can we do a multi-line editable textfield in flutter? TextField works only with a single line.
Edit: some precisions because seems like it's not clear.
While you can set multiline to virtually wrap the text content, it's still not multiline. It's a single line displayed into multiple lines.
If you want to do something like this then you can't. Because you don't have access to ENTER button. And no enter button means no multiline.

Answer 1

To use auto wrap, just set maxLines as null:
TextField(
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
maxLines: null,
)
If the maxLines property is null, there is no limit to the number of lines, and the wrap is enabled.

Answer 2

If you want your TextField be adapted to the user input then do this:
TextField(
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
minLines: 1,//Normal textInputField will be displayed
maxLines: 5,// when user presses enter it will adapt to it
);
here you can set the max lines to whatever you want and you are good to go.
In my opinion setting the maxlines to null is not a good choice that's why we should set it to some value.

Answer 3

Although other people already mentioned that the keyboard type "TextInputType.multiline" can be used, I wanted to add my implementation of a TextField that automatically adapts its height when a new line is entered, as it is often desired to immitate the input behaviour of WhatsApp and similar apps.
I'm analyzing the number of '\n' chatacters in the input for this purpose each time the text is changed. This seems to be an overkill, but unfortunately I didn't find a better possibility to achieve this beahivour in Flutter so far and I didn't notice any performance problems even on older smartphones.
class _MyScreenState extends State<MyScreen> {
double _inputHeight = 50;
final TextEditingController _textEditingController = TextEditingController();
#override
void initState() {
super.initState();
_textEditingController.addListener(_checkInputHeight);
}
#override
void dispose() {
_textEditingController.dispose();
super.dispose();
}
void _checkInputHeight() async {
int count = _textEditingController.text.split('\n').length;
if (count == 0 && _inputHeight == 50.0) {
return;
}
if (count <= 5) { // use a maximum height of 6 rows
// height values can be adapted based on the font size
var newHeight = count == 0 ? 50.0 : 28.0 + (count * 18.0);
setState(() {
_inputHeight = newHeight;
});
}
}
// ... build method here
TextField(
controller: _textEditingController,
textInputAction: TextInputAction.newline,
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
maxLines: null,
)

Answer 4

TextFormField(
minLines: 2,
maxLines: 5,
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
decoration: InputDecoration(
hintText: 'description',
hintStyle: TextStyle(
color: Colors.grey
),
border: OutlineInputBorder(
borderRadius: BorderRadius.all(Radius.circular(20.0)),
),
),
),

Answer 5

While this question is rather old, there is no extensive answer that explains how to dynamically resize the TextField with little developer effort. This is especially of major importance when the TextField is either placed in a flexbox such as ListView, SingleChildScrollView, etc. (the flexbox will not be able to determine the intrinsic size of an expandable TextField).
As suggested by many other users, build your TextField like so:
TextField(
textInputAction: TextInputAction.newline,
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
minLines: null,
maxLines: null, // If this is null, there is no limit to the number of lines, and the text container will start with enough vertical space for one line and automatically grow to accommodate additional lines as they are entered.
expands: true, // If set to true and wrapped in a parent widget like [Expanded] or [SizedBox], the input will expand to fill the parent.
)
How to cope with the missing intrinsic height of the TextField?
Wrap the TextField in a IntrinsicHeight class to provide the dynamically computed intrinsic height of the expandable TextField to its parent (when requested via e.g. flexbox).

Answer 6

1. Fixed height:
(A) Based on lines:
TextField(
minLines: 3, // Set this
maxLines: 6, // and this
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
)
(B) Based on height:
SizedBox(
height: 200, // <-- TextField expands to this height.
child: TextField(
maxLines: null, // Set this
expands: true, // and this
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
),
)
2. Flexible height:
Use a Column and wrap the TextField in Expanded:
Column(
children: [
Expanded(
child: TextField(
maxLines: null, // Set this
expands: true, // and this
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
),
),
],
)
(Optional) Set decoration:
You can se this decoration to any of the above TextField:
decoration: InputDecoration(
hintText: 'Write a message',
filled: true,
)

Answer 7

You have to use this line in the TextField widget :
maxLines: null,
if didn't work , just note that you have to delete this :
textInputAction: TextInputAction.next
it's disable multi line property action in the keyboard ..

Answer 8

use this
TextFormField(
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
maxLines: //Number_of_lines(int),)

Answer 9

This Code Worked for me, Also I'm able to use ENTER for web & mobile.
#override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
double width = MediaQuery.of(context).size.width;
double height = MediaQuery.of(context).size.height;
return Row(
crossAxisAlignment: CrossAxisAlignment.start,
children: [
Container(
child: ConstrainedBox(
// fit: FlexFit.loose,
constraints: BoxConstraints(
maxHeight: height,//when it reach the max it will use scroll
maxWidth: width,
),
child: const TextField(
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
maxLines: null,
minLines: 1,
decoration: InputDecoration(
fillColor: Colors.blueAccent,
filled: true,
hintText: "Type ",
border: InputBorder.none,
),
),
),
)
]);
}

Answer 10

TextField has maxLines property.

Answer 11

Use Expanded widget for dynamic feels
Expanded(
child: TextField(
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
minLines: 1,
maxLines: 3,
),
)

Answer 12

if above once not worked for you then try add minLines also
TextField(
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
minLines: 3,
maxLines: null);

Answer 13

For autowrap just use null for maxLines
TextFormField(
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
maxLines: null,
)
or
TextField(
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
maxLines: null,
)

Answer 14

Official doc states:
The maxLines property can be set to null to remove the restriction on the number of lines. By default, it is one, meaning this is a single-line text field.
NOTE: maxLines must not be zero.

Answer 15

Specify TextInputAction.newline to make a TextField respond to the enter key and accept multi-line input:
textInputAction: TextInputAction.newline,

Answer 16

use this
Expanded(
child: TextField(
controller: textMessageController,
keyboardType: TextInputType.multiline,
textCapitalization: TextCapitalization.sentences,
minLines: 1,
maxLines: 3,
onChanged: ((value) {
setState(() {
_messageEntrer = value;
});
}),
decoration: InputDecoration(
hintText: "Type your message here",
hintMaxLines: 1,
contentPadding:
const EdgeInsets.symmetric(horizontal: 8.0, vertical: 10),
hintStyle: TextStyle(
fontSize: 16,
),
fillColor: Colors.white,
filled: true,
enabledBorder: OutlineInputBorder(
borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(30.0),
borderSide: const BorderSide(
color: Colors.white,
width: 0.2,
),
),
focusedBorder: OutlineInputBorder(
borderRadius: BorderRadius.circular(30.0),
borderSide: const BorderSide(
color: Colors.black26,
width: 0.2,
),
),
),
),
),