Attention: Here be dragons

This is the latest (unstable) version of this documentation, which may document features not available in or compatible with released stable versions of Godot.

LineEdit

Inherits: Control < CanvasItem < Node < Object

An input field for single-line text.

Description

LineEdit provides an input field for editing a single line of text. It features many built-in shortcuts that are always available (Ctrl here maps to Cmd on macOS):

  • Ctrl + C: Copy

  • Ctrl + X: Cut

  • Ctrl + V or Ctrl + Y: Paste/"yank"

  • Ctrl + Z: Undo

  • Ctrl + ~: Swap input direction.

  • Ctrl + Shift + Z: Redo

  • Ctrl + U: Delete text from the caret position to the beginning of the line

  • Ctrl + K: Delete text from the caret position to the end of the line

  • Ctrl + A: Select all text

  • Up Arrow/Down Arrow: Move the caret to the beginning/end of the line

On macOS, some extra keyboard shortcuts are available:

  • Cmd + F: Same as Right Arrow, move the caret one character right

  • Cmd + B: Same as Left Arrow, move the caret one character left

  • Cmd + P: Same as Up Arrow, move the caret to the previous line

  • Cmd + N: Same as Down Arrow, move the caret to the next line

  • Cmd + D: Same as Delete, delete the character on the right side of caret

  • Cmd + H: Same as Backspace, delete the character on the left side of the caret

  • Cmd + A: Same as Home, move the caret to the beginning of the line

  • Cmd + E: Same as End, move the caret to the end of the line

  • Cmd + Left Arrow: Same as Home, move the caret to the beginning of the line

  • Cmd + Right Arrow: Same as End, move the caret to the end of the line

Properties

HorizontalAlignment

alignment

0

bool

caret_blink

false

float

caret_blink_interval

0.65

int

caret_column

0

bool

caret_force_displayed

false

bool

caret_mid_grapheme

false

bool

clear_button_enabled

false

bool

context_menu_enabled

true

bool

deselect_on_focus_loss_enabled

true

bool

drag_and_drop_selection_enabled

true

bool

draw_control_chars

false

bool

editable

true

bool

expand_to_text_length

false

bool

flat

false

FocusMode

focus_mode

2 (overrides Control)

String

language

""

int

max_length

0

bool

middle_mouse_paste_enabled

true

CursorShape

mouse_default_cursor_shape

1 (overrides Control)

String

placeholder_text

""

Texture2D

right_icon

bool

secret

false

String

secret_character

"•"

bool

select_all_on_focus

false

bool

selecting_enabled

true

bool

shortcut_keys_enabled

true

StructuredTextParser

structured_text_bidi_override

0

Array

structured_text_bidi_override_options

[]

String

text

""

TextDirection

text_direction

0

bool

virtual_keyboard_enabled

true

VirtualKeyboardType

virtual_keyboard_type

0

Methods

void

clear()

void

delete_char_at_caret()

void

delete_text(from_column: int, to_column: int)

void

deselect()

PopupMenu

get_menu() const

float

get_scroll_offset() const

String

get_selected_text()

int

get_selection_from_column() const

int

get_selection_to_column() const

bool

has_selection() const

void

insert_text_at_caret(text: String)

bool

is_menu_visible() const

void

menu_option(option: int)

void

select(from: int = 0, to: int = -1)

void

select_all()

Theme Properties

Color

caret_color

Color(0.95, 0.95, 0.95, 1)

Color

clear_button_color

Color(0.875, 0.875, 0.875, 1)

Color

clear_button_color_pressed

Color(1, 1, 1, 1)

Color

font_color

Color(0.875, 0.875, 0.875, 1)

Color

font_outline_color

Color(0, 0, 0, 1)

Color

font_placeholder_color

Color(0.875, 0.875, 0.875, 0.6)

Color

font_selected_color

Color(1, 1, 1, 1)

Color

font_uneditable_color

Color(0.875, 0.875, 0.875, 0.5)

Color

selection_color

Color(0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 1)

int

caret_width

1

int

minimum_character_width

4

int

outline_size

0

Font

font

int

font_size

Texture2D

clear

StyleBox

focus

StyleBox

normal

StyleBox

read_only


Signals

text_change_rejected(rejected_substring: String)

Emitted when appending text that overflows the max_length. The appended text is truncated to fit max_length, and the part that couldn't fit is passed as the rejected_substring argument.


text_changed(new_text: String)

Emitted when the text changes.


text_submitted(new_text: String)

Emitted when the user presses @GlobalScope.KEY_ENTER on the LineEdit.


Enumerations

enum MenuItems:

MenuItems MENU_CUT = 0

Cuts (copies and clears) the selected text.

MenuItems MENU_COPY = 1

Copies the selected text.

MenuItems MENU_PASTE = 2

Pastes the clipboard text over the selected text (or at the caret's position).

Non-printable escape characters are automatically stripped from the OS clipboard via String.strip_escapes.

MenuItems MENU_CLEAR = 3

Erases the whole LineEdit text.

MenuItems MENU_SELECT_ALL = 4

Selects the whole LineEdit text.

MenuItems MENU_UNDO = 5

Undoes the previous action.

MenuItems MENU_REDO = 6

Reverse the last undo action.

MenuItems MENU_SUBMENU_TEXT_DIR = 7

ID of "Text Writing Direction" submenu.

MenuItems MENU_DIR_INHERITED = 8

Sets text direction to inherited.

MenuItems MENU_DIR_AUTO = 9

Sets text direction to automatic.

MenuItems MENU_DIR_LTR = 10

Sets text direction to left-to-right.

MenuItems MENU_DIR_RTL = 11

Sets text direction to right-to-left.

MenuItems MENU_DISPLAY_UCC = 12

Toggles control character display.

MenuItems MENU_SUBMENU_INSERT_UCC = 13

ID of "Insert Control Character" submenu.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_LRM = 14

Inserts left-to-right mark (LRM) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_RLM = 15

Inserts right-to-left mark (RLM) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_LRE = 16

Inserts start of left-to-right embedding (LRE) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_RLE = 17

Inserts start of right-to-left embedding (RLE) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_LRO = 18

Inserts start of left-to-right override (LRO) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_RLO = 19

Inserts start of right-to-left override (RLO) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_PDF = 20

Inserts pop direction formatting (PDF) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_ALM = 21

Inserts Arabic letter mark (ALM) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_LRI = 22

Inserts left-to-right isolate (LRI) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_RLI = 23

Inserts right-to-left isolate (RLI) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_FSI = 24

Inserts first strong isolate (FSI) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_PDI = 25

Inserts pop direction isolate (PDI) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_ZWJ = 26

Inserts zero width joiner (ZWJ) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_ZWNJ = 27

Inserts zero width non-joiner (ZWNJ) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_WJ = 28

Inserts word joiner (WJ) character.

MenuItems MENU_INSERT_SHY = 29

Inserts soft hyphen (SHY) character.

MenuItems MENU_MAX = 30

Represents the size of the MenuItems enum.


enum VirtualKeyboardType:

VirtualKeyboardType KEYBOARD_TYPE_DEFAULT = 0

Default text virtual keyboard.

VirtualKeyboardType KEYBOARD_TYPE_MULTILINE = 1

Multiline virtual keyboard.

VirtualKeyboardType KEYBOARD_TYPE_NUMBER = 2

Virtual number keypad, useful for PIN entry.

VirtualKeyboardType KEYBOARD_TYPE_NUMBER_DECIMAL = 3

Virtual number keypad, useful for entering fractional numbers.

VirtualKeyboardType KEYBOARD_TYPE_PHONE = 4

Virtual phone number keypad.

VirtualKeyboardType KEYBOARD_TYPE_EMAIL_ADDRESS = 5

Virtual keyboard with additional keys to assist with typing email addresses.

VirtualKeyboardType KEYBOARD_TYPE_PASSWORD = 6

Virtual keyboard for entering a password. On most platforms, this should disable autocomplete and autocapitalization.

Note: This is not supported on Web. Instead, this behaves identically to KEYBOARD_TYPE_DEFAULT.

VirtualKeyboardType KEYBOARD_TYPE_URL = 7

Virtual keyboard with additional keys to assist with typing URLs.


Property Descriptions

HorizontalAlignment alignment = 0

Text alignment as defined in the HorizontalAlignment enum.


  • void set_caret_blink_enabled(value: bool)

  • bool is_caret_blink_enabled()

If true, makes the caret blink.


  • void set_caret_blink_interval(value: float)

  • float get_caret_blink_interval()

The interval at which the caret blinks (in seconds).


int caret_column = 0

  • void set_caret_column(value: int)

  • int get_caret_column()

The caret's column position inside the LineEdit. When set, the text may scroll to accommodate it.


bool caret_force_displayed = false

  • void set_caret_force_displayed(value: bool)

  • bool is_caret_force_displayed()

If true, the LineEdit will always show the caret, even if focus is lost.


bool caret_mid_grapheme = false

  • void set_caret_mid_grapheme_enabled(value: bool)

  • bool is_caret_mid_grapheme_enabled()

Allow moving caret, selecting and removing the individual composite character components.

Note: Backspace is always removing individual composite character components.


bool clear_button_enabled = false

  • void set_clear_button_enabled(value: bool)

  • bool is_clear_button_enabled()

If true, the LineEdit will show a clear button if text is not empty, which can be used to clear the text quickly.


bool context_menu_enabled = true

  • void set_context_menu_enabled(value: bool)

  • bool is_context_menu_enabled()

If true, the context menu will appear when right-clicked.


bool deselect_on_focus_loss_enabled = true

  • void set_deselect_on_focus_loss_enabled(value: bool)

  • bool is_deselect_on_focus_loss_enabled()

If true, the selected text will be deselected when focus is lost.


bool drag_and_drop_selection_enabled = true

  • void set_drag_and_drop_selection_enabled(value: bool)

  • bool is_drag_and_drop_selection_enabled()

If true, allow drag and drop of selected text.


bool draw_control_chars = false

  • void set_draw_control_chars(value: bool)

  • bool get_draw_control_chars()

If true, control characters are displayed.


bool editable = true

  • void set_editable(value: bool)

  • bool is_editable()

If false, existing text cannot be modified and new text cannot be added.


bool expand_to_text_length = false

  • void set_expand_to_text_length_enabled(value: bool)

  • bool is_expand_to_text_length_enabled()

If true, the LineEdit width will increase to stay longer than the text. It will not compress if the text is shortened.


bool flat = false

  • void set_flat(value: bool)

  • bool is_flat()

If true, the LineEdit doesn't display decoration.


String language = ""

Language code used for line-breaking and text shaping algorithms. If left empty, current locale is used instead.


int max_length = 0

  • void set_max_length(value: int)

  • int get_max_length()

Maximum number of characters that can be entered inside the LineEdit. If 0, there is no limit.

When a limit is defined, characters that would exceed max_length are truncated. This happens both for existing text contents when setting the max length, or for new text inserted in the LineEdit, including pasting. If any input text is truncated, the text_change_rejected signal is emitted with the truncated substring as parameter.

Example:

text = "Hello world"
max_length = 5
# `text` becomes "Hello".
max_length = 10
text += " goodbye"
# `text` becomes "Hello good".
# `text_change_rejected` is emitted with "bye" as parameter.

bool middle_mouse_paste_enabled = true

  • void set_middle_mouse_paste_enabled(value: bool)

  • bool is_middle_mouse_paste_enabled()

If false, using middle mouse button to paste clipboard will be disabled.

Note: This method is only implemented on Linux.


String placeholder_text = ""

  • void set_placeholder(value: String)

  • String get_placeholder()

Text shown when the LineEdit is empty. It is not the LineEdit's default value (see text).


Texture2D right_icon

Sets the icon that will appear in the right end of the LineEdit if there's no text, or always, if clear_button_enabled is set to false.


bool secret = false

  • void set_secret(value: bool)

  • bool is_secret()

If true, every character is replaced with the secret character (see secret_character).


String secret_character = "•"

  • void set_secret_character(value: String)

  • String get_secret_character()

The character to use to mask secret input. Only a single character can be used as the secret character. If it is longer than one character, only the first one will be used. If it is empty, a space will be used instead.


bool select_all_on_focus = false

  • void set_select_all_on_focus(value: bool)

  • bool is_select_all_on_focus()

If true, the LineEdit will select the whole text when it gains focus.


bool selecting_enabled = true

  • void set_selecting_enabled(value: bool)

  • bool is_selecting_enabled()

If false, it's impossible to select the text using mouse nor keyboard.


bool shortcut_keys_enabled = true

  • void set_shortcut_keys_enabled(value: bool)

  • bool is_shortcut_keys_enabled()

If false, using shortcuts will be disabled.


StructuredTextParser structured_text_bidi_override = 0

Set BiDi algorithm override for the structured text.


Array structured_text_bidi_override_options = []

  • void set_structured_text_bidi_override_options(value: Array)

  • Array get_structured_text_bidi_override_options()

Set additional options for BiDi override.


String text = ""

String value of the LineEdit.

Note: Changing text using this property won't emit the text_changed signal.


TextDirection text_direction = 0

Base text writing direction.


bool virtual_keyboard_enabled = true

  • void set_virtual_keyboard_enabled(value: bool)

  • bool is_virtual_keyboard_enabled()

If true, the native virtual keyboard is shown when focused on platforms that support it.


VirtualKeyboardType virtual_keyboard_type = 0

Specifies the type of virtual keyboard to show.


Method Descriptions

void clear()

Erases the LineEdit's text.


void delete_char_at_caret()

Deletes one character at the caret's current position (equivalent to pressing Delete).


void delete_text(from_column: int, to_column: int)

Deletes a section of the text going from position from_column to to_column. Both parameters should be within the text's length.


void deselect()

Clears the current selection.


PopupMenu get_menu() const

Returns the PopupMenu of this LineEdit. By default, this menu is displayed when right-clicking on the LineEdit.

You can add custom menu items or remove standard ones. Make sure your IDs don't conflict with the standard ones (see MenuItems). For example:

func _ready():
    var menu = get_menu()
    # Remove all items after "Redo".
    menu.item_count = menu.get_item_index(MENU_REDO) + 1
    # Add custom items.
    menu.add_separator()
    menu.add_item("Insert Date", MENU_MAX + 1)
    # Connect callback.
    menu.id_pressed.connect(_on_item_pressed)

func _on_item_pressed(id):
    if id == MENU_MAX + 1:
        insert_text_at_caret(Time.get_date_string_from_system())

Warning: This is a required internal node, removing and freeing it may cause a crash. If you wish to hide it or any of its children, use their Window.visible property.


float get_scroll_offset() const

Returns the scroll offset due to caret_column, as a number of characters.


String get_selected_text()

Returns the text inside the selection.


int get_selection_from_column() const

Returns the selection begin column.


int get_selection_to_column() const

Returns the selection end column.


bool has_selection() const

Returns true if the user has selected text.


void insert_text_at_caret(text: String)

Inserts text at the caret. If the resulting value is longer than max_length, nothing happens.


bool is_menu_visible() const

Returns whether the menu is visible. Use this instead of get_menu().visible to improve performance (so the creation of the menu is avoided).


void menu_option(option: int)

Executes a given action as defined in the MenuItems enum.


void select(from: int = 0, to: int = -1)

Selects characters inside LineEdit between from and to. By default, from is at the beginning and to at the end.

text = "Welcome"
select() # Will select "Welcome".
select(4) # Will select "ome".
select(2, 5) # Will select "lco".

void select_all()

Selects the whole String.


Theme Property Descriptions

Color caret_color = Color(0.95, 0.95, 0.95, 1)

Color of the LineEdit's caret (text cursor). This can be set to a fully transparent color to hide the caret entirely.


Color clear_button_color = Color(0.875, 0.875, 0.875, 1)

Color used as default tint for the clear button.


Color clear_button_color_pressed = Color(1, 1, 1, 1)

Color used for the clear button when it's pressed.


Color font_color = Color(0.875, 0.875, 0.875, 1)

Default font color.


Color font_outline_color = Color(0, 0, 0, 1)

The tint of text outline of the LineEdit.


Color font_placeholder_color = Color(0.875, 0.875, 0.875, 0.6)

Font color for placeholder_text.


Color font_selected_color = Color(1, 1, 1, 1)

Font color for selected text (inside the selection rectangle).


Color font_uneditable_color = Color(0.875, 0.875, 0.875, 0.5)

Font color when editing is disabled.


Color selection_color = Color(0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 1)

Color of the selection rectangle.


int caret_width = 1

The caret's width in pixels. Greater values can be used to improve accessibility by ensuring the caret is easily visible, or to ensure consistency with a large font size.


int minimum_character_width = 4

Minimum horizontal space for the text (not counting the clear button and content margins). This value is measured in count of 'M' characters (i.e. this number of 'M' characters can be displayed without scrolling).


int outline_size = 0

The size of the text outline.

Note: If using a font with FontFile.multichannel_signed_distance_field enabled, its FontFile.msdf_pixel_range must be set to at least twice the value of outline_size for outline rendering to look correct. Otherwise, the outline may appear to be cut off earlier than intended.


Font font

Font used for the text.


int font_size

Font size of the LineEdit's text.


Texture2D clear

Texture for the clear button. See clear_button_enabled.


StyleBox focus

Background used when LineEdit has GUI focus. The focus StyleBox is displayed over the base StyleBox, so a partially transparent StyleBox should be used to ensure the base StyleBox remains visible. A StyleBox that represents an outline or an underline works well for this purpose. To disable the focus visual effect, assign a StyleBoxEmpty resource. Note that disabling the focus visual effect will harm keyboard/controller navigation usability, so this is not recommended for accessibility reasons.


StyleBox normal

Default background for the LineEdit.


StyleBox read_only

Background used when LineEdit is in read-only mode (editable is set to false).


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