enter key to insert newline in asp.net multiline textbox control - asp.net

Question

I have some C# / asp.net code I inherited which has a textbox which I want to make multiline. I did so by adding textmode="multiline" but when I try to insert a newline, the enter key instead submits the form :P
I googled around and it seems like the default behavior should be for enter (or control-enter) to insert a newline. Like I said I inherited the code so I'm not sure if there's javascript monkeying around or if there's just a simple asp.net thing I have to do.

Answer 1

It turns out this is a bug with Firefox + ASP.NET where the generated javascript for the defaultButton stuff doesn't work in Firefox. I had to put a replacement for the WebForm_FireDefatultButton function as described here:
function WebForm_FireDefaultButton(event, target) {
var element = event.target || event.srcElement;
if (event.keyCode == 13 &&
!(element &&
element.tagName.toLowerCase() == "textarea"))
{
var defaultButton;
if (__nonMSDOMBrowser)
{
defaultButton = document.getElementById(target);
}
else
{
defaultButton = document.all[target];
}
if (defaultButton && typeof defaultButton.click != "undefined")
{
defaultButton.click();
event.cancelBubble = true;
if (event.stopPropagation)
{
event.stopPropagation();
}
return false;
}
}
return true;
}

Answer 2

I created a sample page with a TextBox and a Button and it worked fine for me:
<asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="textbox1" TextMode="MultiLine" />
<br />
<br />
<asp:Button runat="server" ID="button1" Text="Button 1" onclick="button1_Click" />
So it most likely depends on either some other property you have set, or some other control on the form.
Edit: TextChanged event is only triggered when the TextBox loses focus, so that can't be the issue.

Answer 3

I can't find that "WebForm_FireDefaultButton" javascript anywhere, is it something asp.net is generating?
Yes.
That's generated to support the DefaultButton functionality of the form and/or Panel containing your controls. This is the source for it:
function WebForm_FireDefaultButton(event, target) {
if (event.keyCode == 13) {
var src = event.srcElement || event.target;
if (!src || (src.tagName.toLowerCase() != "textarea")) {
var defaultButton;
if (__nonMSDOMBrowser) {
defaultButton = document.getElementById(target);
}
else {
defaultButton = document.all[target];
}
if (defaultButton && typeof (defaultButton.click) != "undefined") {
defaultButton.click();
event.cancelBubble = true;
if (event.stopPropagation) event.stopPropagation();
return false;
}
}
}
return true;
}

Answer 4

I suspect it's (like you say) some custom javascript code.
The original asp.net control works fine... you are going to have to check the code

Answer 5

Are you handling the textchanged event for the textbox? That would mean ASP.Net sets the textbox to cause a postback (submit the page) for anything the might cause the textbox to lose focus, including the enter key.

Answer 6

#dave-ward, I just dug through mounds of javascript. most was ASP.NET generated stuff for validation and AJAX, there's a bunch starting with "WebForm_" that I guess is standard stuff to do the defaultbutton, etc. the only javascript we put on the page is for toggling visibility and doing some custom validation...
edit: I did find the below. I don't understand it though :P the beginning of the form the textarea is in, and a script found later: (note, something on stackoverflow is messing with the underscores)
<form name="Form1" method="post" action="default.aspx" onsubmit="javascript:return WebForm_OnSubmit();" id="Form1">
<script type="text/javascript">
//<![CDATA[
var theForm = document.forms['Form1'];
if (!theForm) {
theForm = document.Form1;
}
function __doPostBack(eventTarget, eventArgument) {
if (!theForm.onsubmit || (theForm.onsubmit() != false)) {
theForm.__EVENTTARGET.value = eventTarget;
theForm.__EVENTARGUMENT.value = eventArgument;
theForm.submit();
}
}
//]]>
</script>

Answer 7

http://blog.codesta.com/codesta_weblog/2007/12/net-gotchas---p.html worked for me.

Answer 8

this worked for me
<asp:TextBox ID="emailTo" TextMode="MultiLine" Rows="5" Columns="25" Wrap="true" Style="white-space:normal" runat="server"></asp:TextBox>

Answer 9

you can use \n for enter key
i.e.
[a-zA-Z 0-9/.\n]{20,500}