# Textarea

`Alias: Umbraco.TextArea`

`Returns: String`

Textarea is an HTML textarea control for multiple lines of text. It can be configured to have a fixed character limit, as well as define how big the space for writing can be. By default, there is no character limit unless it's specifically set to a specific value like 200 for instance. If you don't specify the number of rows, 10 will be the amount of rows the textarea will be occupying, unless changed to a custom value.

## Data Type Definition Example

### Without a character limit

![Textarea Data Type Definition](https://3872888104-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FgEH4FChbCn7eDDqREvdE%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-c9fc0f6ab183bc49ebf88d3a1e8b13eef2052c52%2FTextarea-Setup-v10.png?alt=media)

### With a character limit

![Textarea Data Type Definition With Limits](https://3872888104-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FgEH4FChbCn7eDDqREvdE%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-10056565a9eacc59a5404cf9d287fe46b086cb1d%2FTextarea-Setup-Limit-v8.png?alt=media)

## Settings

## Content Example

### Without a character and rows limit

![Textarea Content Example](https://3872888104-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FgEH4FChbCn7eDDqREvdE%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-a705fe2e373e207c19f39dc902741207ffa389f5%2FTextarea-Content-v8.png?alt=media)

### With a character limit and rows limit

![Textbox Content Example With Limits](https://3872888104-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FgEH4FChbCn7eDDqREvdE%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-11b0429ae07c22dd6c017b6e61ffaf26394801c6%2FTextarea-Content-Limit-v8.png?alt=media)

## MVC View Example

### Without Modelsbuilder

```csharp
@{
    if (Model.HasValue("description")){
        <p>@(Model.Value<string>("description"))</p>
    }
}
```

### With Modelsbuilder

```csharp
@if (!Model.HasValue(Model.Description))
{
   <p>@Model.Description</p>
}
```

## Add value programmatically

See the example below to learn how a value can be added or changed programmatically to a Textarea property. To update a value of a property editor you need the [Content Service](https://docs.umbraco.com/umbraco-cms/13.latest/reference/management/services/contentservice).

{% hint style="info" %}
The example below demonstrates how to add values programmatically using a Razor view. However, this is used for illustrative purposes only and is not the recommended method for production environments.
{% endhint %}

```csharp
@using Umbraco.Cms.Core.Services;
@inject IContentService Services;

@{
    // Get access to ContentService
    var contentService = Services;

    // Create a variable for the GUID of your page
    var guid = new Guid("796a8d5c-b7bb-46d9-bc57-ab834d0d1248");

    // Get the page using the GUID you've just defined
    var content = contentService.GetById(guid);
    // Set the value of the property with alias 'description'
    content.SetValue("description", "This is some text for the text area!");

    // Save the change
    contentService.Save(content);
}
```

Although the use of a GUID is preferable, you can also use the numeric ID to get the page:

```csharp
@{
    // Get the page using it's id
    var content = contentService.GetById(1234); 
}
```

If Modelsbuilder is enabled you can get the alias of the desired property without using a magic string:

```csharp
@using Umbraco.Cms.Core.PublishedCache;
@inject IPublishedSnapshotAccessor _publishedSnapshotAccessor;
@{

    // Set the value of the property with alias 'description'
    content.SetValue(Home.GetModelPropertyType(_publishedSnapshotAccessor, x => x.Description).Alias, "This is some text for the text area!");
}
```