Search for	Example	Results
A single word	`cat`	Topics that contain the word "cat". You will also find its grammatical variations, such as "cats".
A phrase. You can specify that the search results contain a specific phrase.	`"cat food"` (quotation marks)	Topics that contain the literal phrase "cat food" and all its grammatical variations. Without the quotation marks, the query is equivalent to specifying an OR operator, which finds topics with one of the individual words instead of the phrase.

Search for	Operator	Example
Two or more words in the same topic	`AND` `and` `+` (plus symbol) `&` (ampersand)	`cat AND dog` `"cat food"+milk` `"cat food"&"dog food"`
Either word in a topic	`OR` `or` `\|` (pipe)	`cat OR dog` `cat \| dog`
Topics that do not contain a specific word or phrase	`NOT` `not` `!` (exclamation point)	`NOT cat` `! dog`
Topics that contain one string and do not contain another	`^` (caret)	`cat ^ mouse`
A combination of search types	`( )` parentheses	`cat + (dog \| mouse)` `cat \| dog + (! mouse)`

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Develop > Tailoring Best Practice Guide > Form tailoring > Typing text into a control > Text Area

Text Area

The Text Area control allows users to type in or view multiple lines of unformatted text. You can also make a Text Area control read-only to display the value of a particular field or if the control is part of a Subform control virtual join.

Example Text Area control

The benefits of a Text Area control are listed below.

Users have multiple lines in which to type or view text.
You can make the control read-only to display data you do not want users to change, such as the description of an open interaction.
RDBMS tools can typically query Text Area control fields as long as you map the Text Area's input field to a multi-row array table. See Multi-row array table.
Third-party reporting tools can typically read Text Area control fields as long as you map the Text Area's input field to a multi-row array table. See Multi-row array table.
The user does not have to apply any text formatting to the value typed.
If the control is editable, users can update the text value at any time.

The costs of a Text control are listed below.

You must choose an array mapping strategy in which to store the Text Area control data. See Array mapping options.
The control uses the character encoding of the back-end RDBMS to determine how to store character data. If users type in text using a character encoding that your system does not support, the data will likely become corrupted.
It is difficult to validate that users type in meaningful values into the control.
There is no way for users to format the text they type into the control.
The longer the width of the Text Area control the more form space the control requires.

In general, a Text Area control is best used in the following circumstances.

The user needs to type in or view multiple lines of text.
You want the option to make the text read-only. For example, the text is a part of an closed record or part of a virtual join in a Subform control.
You do not need to format the text.

If you want users to type a single line of text, use a Text controls instead. If you want users to be able to format the text they type in, use an HTML Editor control instead.

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