Use text input components

Collect short answers and long responses from submitters with the two text input components, Input and Textarea.

Both text components share the same Visibility control (Editable, Visible, or Hidden per workflow step), a Width from 1 to 12 columns, Placeholder Text, optional Hint and Tooltip helper text, a Name used as the CSV export column, and a read-only ID.

Input

The Input component collects a single line of text - names, email addresses, phone numbers, or any short answer. It is the most commonly used form component.

Properties

Label: The text displayed above the field. Use a clear, specific label like "First Name" or "Email Address."
Required: When enabled, the submitter must fill in this field before submitting.
Type: Under Input Settings. Controls validation and the mobile keyboard: Text, Email, or Number.
Mask (for Text Types only): Under Input Settings. Formats what the submitter types as they go. Built-in masks are Phone, Dollars, Dollars (No Cents), Social Security, and Social Security (Last 4), plus Custom for your own pattern. Leave it on None for a plain field.
Placeholder Text: Hint text shown inside the field before the submitter types. Found under Details.

Common Examples: For a phone number, set Type to Text and use the Mask Phone. For currency, set Type to "Text" use the Dollars mask. For an email field, set Type to Email so Droplet validates the address and shows the right keyboard on mobile.

Note: Masks are only available when the Input Type is Text.

Custom input masks

A custom mask decides, keystroke by keystroke, what a submitter is allowed to type. Instead of catching a badly formatted employee ID or budget code after the fact, the field simply refuses the wrong characters and drops in your separators as the submitter goes. Choose Custom under Mask to write your own pattern.

Set up a custom mask

Add an Input and set its Type to Text

Masks are only offered on Text inputs, so check the Type under Input Settings first.

Set Mask to Custom

The Mask property lives under Input Settings alongside the built-in Phone, Dollars, and Social Security options.

Open Custom Mask Logic

Click the Custom Mask Logic button under the Rules section to open the pattern window.

Write your pattern

String together the tokens below with any literal characters you want inserted automatically, then preview the form and try typing into the field.

Character tokens

Every rule starts with a forward slash. The slash tells Droplet that the next character is a rule, not something the submitter types. Anything without a slash in front of it (a dash, a space, a period) is a literal that the field inserts for them.

Escape

Marks the character that follows as a rule. Every token below is written with a leading slash.

Numeric

One digit, 0 through 9.

Alpha

One letter, uppercase or lowercase.

Upper

One uppercase letter.

Lower

One lowercase letter.

Alphanumeric

One letter or one digit.

Any

Any single character, including spaces and symbols.

Modifiers

Modifiers change how the rule right after them behaves. Combine them freely: a set can be inverted, and a length can wrap a set.

[ ]

Set

Only the listed characters. /[123] accepts a 1, 2, or 3. Ranges work too: /[a-c].

Not

Inverts the rule that follows. /!9 accepts anything except a digit.

( )

Length

Repeats the rule that follows. /(5)9 requires exactly 5 digits; /(1:5)a allows 1 to 5 letters.

Reading a pattern

Say an inventory form needs a serial number that starts with two uppercase letters, then a dash, then 3 to 5 characters that are not numbers. Written as a mask, that is:

/u/u-/!(3:5)9

/u/u

Two uppercase letters

-

A literal dash, inserted for the submitter

/!

Not the rule that follows

(3:5)9

3 to 5 of anything but a digit

Example patterns

Data type	Pattern	What it enforces
4-digit employee ID	`/9/9/9/9`	Exactly 4 digits. Letters and symbols are blocked.
Accounting code	`/9/9./9/9/9/9./9./9/9/9/9./9/9./9/9/9/9./9/9/9/9./9/9/9./9/9./9/9/9./9/9`	A long segmented budget string. The periods drop in automatically at the right spots as digits are typed.
Serial number	`/9/9/9-///*-/?/?/?-/a/a/a`	3 digits, a dash, 3 alphanumerics, a dash, 3 of any character, a dash, then 3 letters.
Variable-length note	`/(1:20)?`	1 to 20 characters of any kind, spaces and symbols included.
Pick from allowed sets	`/![abc]/[def]/[ghi]/[jkl]`	First character is anything except a, b, or c; second must be d, e, or f; and so on.

Pair long masks with a validation rule. A mask controls which keys are accepted, but it cannot stop someone from stopping halfway through. For a 41-character accounting code, add a validation rule such as value.length === 41 so an incomplete entry throws an error instead of slipping through.

Use Validation Rules

Adapted from Brock Halladay's Pro Tip on custom input masks in the Droplet Community.

Textarea

The Textarea component provides a resizable text area for longer responses - comments, descriptions, or any answer that may span multiple lines.

Properties

Label: The text displayed above the text area.
Required: When enabled, the submitter must provide a response before submitting.
Number of Lines: Sets the initial height of the text area. A higher number shows more visible lines. Defaults to 5.
Max Length: Limits the total number of characters allowed. Defaults to No Limit.
Enable Resize: Lets the submitter drag the field taller. Turn it off to lock the height to the Number of Lines.
Placeholder Text: Hint text shown inside the field before the submitter types. Found under Details.

Click below for more information on the Rules section with Show/Hide Field and Add Validation Rule.

Use Show/Hide Field Rules

Use Validation Rules

Looking for the static Text element (formatted titles, instructions, and body copy)? It is a display element, not an input - see Use layout components.

Last reviewed by Lindsay Miceli and published on August 28, 2026 3PM ET