ontario-input

Use a text input when you want the user to enter no more than a single line of information.

Usage guidance

Please refer to the Ontario Design System for current documentation guidance.

Disabled and read-only states

This component intentionally does not provide readOnly or disabled props.

Disabling form controls can create accessibility and usability barriers, and often does not explain what the user needs to fix.

Instead:

• keep controls and submission actions available
• use validation and error messaging to clearly identify missing or invalid input

For implementation examples, see Error messaging.

Source: https://designsystem.ontario.ca/components/detail/buttons.html#disabled-buttons

Configuration

Once the component package has been installed (see Ontario Design System Component Library for installation instructions), the input component can be added directly into the project's code, and can be customized by updating the properties outlined here. Additional information on custom types for header properties are outlined here. Please see the examples below for how to configure the component.

Examples

Example of a bare-bones input component, the name property is passed in for the input, which is used to reference form data after a form is submitted. The caption property is being provided, which will be displayed as the label. By default, the inputWidth will be default, the type will be text, and the input will be set to optional.

HTML

<ontario-input name="ontario-text-input" caption="Ontario input"></ontario-input>

React

<OntarioInput name="ontario-text-input" caption="Ontario input"></OntarioInput>

Angular

<ontario-input [name]="'ontario-text-input'" [caption]="'Ontario input'"></ontario-input>

The following input component example has the inputWidth property passed in, which will define the width of the input field.

HTML

<ontario-input
	name="ontario-text-input"
	caption='{
		"captionText": "Ontario input",
		"captionType": "large"
	}'
	input-width="10-char-width"
></ontario-input>

React

<OntarioInput
	name="ontario-text-input"
	caption={{
		captionText: 'Ontario input',
		captionType: 'large',
	}}
	inputWidth="10-char-width"
/>

Angular

<ontario-input
	[name]="'ontario-text-input'"
	[caption]="{ captionText: 'Ontario input', captionType: 'large' }"
	[inputWidth]="'10-char-width'"
></ontario-input>

Forms

The ontario-input supports integration with native HTML <form> elements. This element integrates with the underlying browser form API and should work the same as an <input type="text">.

<form>
	<!-- Add an ontario-input -->
	<ontario-input
		id="input-1"
		caption="What is your name?"
		required
		name="input-1"
		hint-text="Enter your full name"
	></ontario-input>

	<!-- Submit the form with a submit button -->
	<ontario-button type="primary" html-type="submit">Submit</ontario-button>
</form>

Remember to set the name attribute as this is used to identify the field when submitting the form.

Event model

If you are observing the component from the outside, prefer reading the current input value from event.target.value on the component input or change event. Use inputOnInput and inputOnChange when you specifically want the component's custom event detail.

Each custom event emitted by the component uses the CustomEvent type. To access the data emitted by the component within the CustomEvent type use the CustomEvent.detail property.

Example of the inputOnInput event:

<ontario-input id="input-1" name="input-1" caption="What is your name?" required></ontario-input>
<script>
	// Note: this waits for the page and components to load before
	// locating the component.
	window.onload = () => {
		const input1 = document.getElementById('input-1');
		input1.addEventListener('inputOnInput', (event) => {
			console.log('OnInput detail:', event.detail);
		});
	};
</script>

If the letter i is typed into input-1, the value of event.detail is the object emitted along with the inputOnInput event.

{ id: "5d5d9012-3773-41c5-910b-851956b3fad7", value: "i", inputType: "insertText" }

See the Events table to learn more about the available custom events from the component and what the type of CustomEvent.detail will be.

Native input and change events

The component uses a ShadowDOM to maintain encapsulation, however, this changes how the events flow from the inside of the component to the outside in the DOM.

The component keeps its value in sync as the internal <input> changes.

Events, such as the native input event, deliver data from inside of the component and flow up the event stack as expected.

This isn't the case for the native change event, this event hits the ShadowDOM boundary and stops propagating. The implication of this is that it can't be listened for outside the component. To attempt to overcome this, a synthetic change event is generated and emitted. The original change event is available via the detail property on the emitted event.

document.querySelector('ontario-input').addEventListener('input', (event) => {
	console.log(event.target.value);
});

document.querySelector('ontario-input').addEventListener('change', (event) => {
	console.log(event.target.value);
});

When using libraries that listen for events, this process may not work with them and a workaround might be required depending on the framework or library in use.

Error messaging

Setting an error message

An error message can be displayed on an input by setting the errorMessage property. This will display a message to the user along with broadcasting an event, called inputErrorOccurred, that can be listened for by other components or custom event handlers.

Static vs live validation

Use a static errorMessage when validation happens on submit (for example, after a form post or submit handler check).

Use live validation when you want real-time feedback as users interact (for example, on change or blur).

For more guidance, visit the Error messaging guidance page.

HTML

<ontario-input id="input-1" name="input-1" caption="What is your name?" required></ontario-input>
<script>
	// Note: this waits for the page and components to load before
	// locating the component.
	window.onload = () => {
		const input1 = document.getElementById('input-1');
		input1.addEventListener('inputErrorOccurred', (event) => {
			console.log('errorMessage:', event.detail.errorMessage);
		});
	};
</script>

React

<OntarioInput
	elementId="input-1"
	name="input-1"
	caption="What is your name?"
	required
	errorMessage="Enter your first name"
/>

Angular

<ontario-input
	[elementId]="'input-1'"
	[name]="'input-1'"
	[caption]="'What is your name?'"
	[required]="true"
	[errorMessage]="'Enter your first name'"
></ontario-input>

Note: to test the above code sample either set an errorMessage on input-1 or add the enable-live-validation attribute.

Live validation

By setting the enableLiveValidation property the value of an input can be validated by using the custom inputValidator function. This function notifies the component if there is an error based on the custom logic that fits your application. On the blur event of the component, it will pass over the value of the input and if an errorMessage is returned it will instruct the component to display it. To clear the error message displayed return undefined or null.

For example, in HTML a script can be added to validate if the user has entered the word error in to the input.

<ontario-input id="input-1" name="input-1" caption="What is your name?" required enable-live-validation></ontario-input>
<script>
	// Note: this waits for the page and components to load before
	// locating the component.
	window.onload = () => {
		const input1 = document.getElementById('input-1');
		input1.inputValidator = async (value) => {
			if (value === 'error') return { errorMessage: "You entered 'error'" };
		};
	};
</script>

Required validation

OntarioInputs that are labelled as required will have validation performed on them to make sure they are filled out. Validation on the input is performed in the following order:

1. inputValidator is called to perform custom validation, then if there are no errors,
2. the required check is performed.

If the field has been interacted with and there is no value present then an error message will be displayed.

Required validation error message

Our best practices insist that a contextual based error message be provided to the user should an error occur. For required fields the requiredValidationMessage property can be used to set the message that is displayed should the required check fail, ie. if a required field has been interacted with but the information has been deleted from it this message will prompt the user that the field is required.

For example,

HTML

<ontario-input
	id="first-name"
	name="first-name"
	caption="First Name"
	required
	enable-live-validation
	required-validation-message="Enter your first name"
></ontario-input>

React

<OntarioInput
	id="first-name"
	name="first-name"
	caption="First Name"
	required
	enableLiveValidation
	requiredValidationMessage="Enter your first name"
></OntarioInput>

Angular

<ontario-input
	[id]="'first-name'"
	[name]="'first-name'"
	[caption]="'First Name'"
	required
	enable-live-validation
	[requiredValidationMessage]="'Enter your first name'"
>
</ontario-input>

Custom property types

caption

The caption property is used to render the label for the ontario-input. It can be passed either a string or an object. If no captionType needs to be specified, it can be passed as a string.

caption='{ "captionText": "Input label", "captionType": "large" }'

Property name	Type	Description
captionText	string	Text to display as the input question
captionType	"default" | "large"| "heading"	The type of label to display for the input question. This is optional, and if no information is provided, it will default to the default type.

hintExpander

The hintExpander property is used to include the Hint Expander component underneath the input label. This is passed in as an object with key-value pairs.

hintExpander='{ "hint": "This is the hint expander title", "content": "This is the hint expander content - it is only
visible when the hint expander title (hint) is toggled" }'

Property name	Type	Description
hint	string	Text to display as the hint expander label/title. When toggled, it will display/hide the hintExpander content
content	string	Text to display as the content of the hint expander

Accessibility

An element-id attribute is necessary to allow the input to be associated with a label element

A name attribute needs to be set to be submitted to the server when the form is submitted.

Technical Note: SSR (Server-Side Rendering) Considerations

The Ontario Input component supports server-side rendering, with a few considerations:

• Language prop: Language change events only fire in the browser after hydration. To ensure the correct language is rendered during SSR, pass the desired language explicitly as a prop.
• Dynamic ID generation: If elementId is not passed, a UUID is generated at runtime. To prevent hydration mismatches between server and client, explicitly pass a stable elementId.
• Hint text and accessibility IDs: If using ontario-hint-text, note that the aria-describedby reference is resolved after hydration. Make sure this does not impact critical accessibility paths in your application.
• Form participation: This component uses the Form-Associated Custom Elements API (@AttachInternals) to participate in native form submission. During SSR, it renders with the expected text-input structure and can support straightforward form submission when name, language, and elementId are stable. Enhanced validation, custom validators, and the component's event model become available after hydration.
• Hydrated-only behaviour: If your application depends on custom events or runtime validation, use the event examples below and treat that behaviour as hydrated-only.
• Framework guidance: Use the HTML <form> example above for native submit or Next.js server-action style flows. For App Router setup details, follow the Next.js integration guide.

SSR-safe example:

<OntarioInput name="firstName" language="en" elementId="first-name"></OntarioInput>

Overview

Ontario Input captures single-line text input.

This component intentionally does not expose readOnly or disabled props.

To support accessible and understandable form completion:

• keep form fields and submission actions available
• use validation and error messaging to guide corrections

For component guidance, see:

• https://designsystem.ontario.ca/components/detail/text-inputs.html
• https://designsystem.ontario.ca/developer-docs/components/ontario-input/

Disabled/read-only policy source:

• https://designsystem.ontario.ca/components/detail/buttons.html#disabled-buttons

Properties

Property	Attribute	Description	Type	Default
caption	caption	The text to display as the input label	Caption | string	undefined
customOnBlur	custom-on-blur	Used to add a custom function to the input onBlur event.	((event: Event) => void) | undefined	undefined
customOnChange	custom-on-change	Used to add a custom function to the input onChange event.	((event: Event) => void) | undefined	undefined
customOnFocus	custom-on-focus	Used to add a custom function to the input onFocus event.	((event: Event) => void) | undefined	undefined
customOnInput	custom-on-input	Used to add a custom function to the input onInput event.	((event: Event) => void) | undefined	undefined
elementId	element-id	The unique identifier of the input. This is optional - if no ID is passed, one will be generated.	string | undefined	undefined
enableLiveValidation	enable-live-validation	Enable live validation on the input. Custom live validation can be performed using an inputValidator validation function. It will also validate the required state if no errors are returned from the inputValidator. Please set a requiredValidationMessage to report concisely to the end user what they are required to set.	boolean	false
errorMessage	error-message	Set this to display an error message.	string | undefined	undefined
hintExpander	hint-expander	Used to include the ontario-hint-expander component for the input component. This is passed in as an object with key-value pairs. This is optional.	HintExpander | string | undefined	undefined
hintText	hint-text	Used to include the ontario-hint-text component for the input. This is optional.	Hint | string | undefined	undefined
inputValidator	input-validator	Validate the validity of the input value onBlur. This async function should return a result to trigger an error message. Returning undefined or null will clear it.	((value?: string | undefined) => Promise<{ errorMessage?: string | undefined; } | null | undefined>) | undefined	undefined
inputWidth	input-width	The width of the input field. If no value is assigned, it will present as the default input width.	"10-char-width" | "2-char-width" | "20-char-width" | "3-char-width" | "4-char-width" | "5-char-width" | "7-char-width" | "default"	'default'
language	language	The language of the component. This is used for translations, and is by default set through event listeners checking for a language property from the header. If no language is passed, it will default to English.	"en" | "fr" | undefined	'en'
name	name	The name assigned to the input. The name value is used to reference form data after a form is submitted.	string	undefined
required	required	This is used to determine whether the input is required or not. This prop also gets passed to the InputCaption utility to display either an optional or required flag in the label. If no prop is set, it will default to false (optional). Please add a validation messaging using requiredValidationMessage if setting this property.	boolean | undefined	false
requiredValidationMessage	required-validation-message	Custom error message to display if a required field is not filled out. Please add a custom message when setting an input as required.	string	undefined
type	type	The input type value. If no type is provided, it will default to 'text'.	"email" | "password" | "tel" | "text"	'text'
value	value	The input content value. This is optional.	string | undefined	undefined

Events

Event	Description	Type
inputErrorOccurred	Emitted when an error message is reported to the component.	CustomEvent<{ inputId: string; errorMessage: string; }>
inputOnBlur	Emitted when a keyboard input event occurs when an input has lost focus.	CustomEvent<InputInteractionEvent & { focused: boolean; }>
inputOnChange	Emitted when a keyboard input or mouse event occurs when an input has been changed.	CustomEvent<{ id?: string | undefined; value?: string | undefined; }>
inputOnFocus	Emitted when a keyboard input event occurs when an input has gained focus.	CustomEvent<InputInteractionEvent & { focused: boolean; }>
inputOnInput	Emitted when a input occurs when an input has been changed.	CustomEvent<InputInteractionEvent & { inputType?: string | undefined; }>

Dependencies

Depends on

• ontario-hint-text
• ontario-hint-expander
• ontario-icon-alert-error

Graph

---

Built with StencilJS