RepositoryItemTextEdit.NullValuePrompt Property

Gets or sets a grayed out hint displayed when the editor’s value is null or empty. This property is in effect for standalone editors and for editors embedded in toolbars and Ribbon controls. Not supported for in-place editors embedded in grid and tree list controls. Not supported for read-only editors.

Namespace: DevExpress.XtraEditors.Repository

Assembly: DevExpress.XtraEditors.v24.1.dll

NuGet Package: DevExpress.Win.Navigation

Declaration

C#

[DXCategory("Behavior")]
public virtual string NullValuePrompt { get; set; }

VB.NET

<DXCategory("Behavior")>
Public Overridable Property NullValuePrompt As String

Property Value

Type	Default	Description
String	System.String.Empty	A string that specifies the text displayed grayed out when the edit value is empty.

Remarks

Use the NullValuePrompt property to display a hint in an editor when its value is not set.

C#

textEdit1.Properties.NullValuePrompt = "Enter text to search...";

VB.NET

textEdit1.Properties.NullValuePrompt = "Enter text to search..."

Use the RepositoryItem.NullText property to present the editor’s null value with custom text.

C#

textEdit1.Properties.NullText = "<empty>";

VB.NET

textEdit1.Properties.NullText = "<empty>"

The following table compares these two properties in more detail.

	NullValuePrompt property	NullText property
Supported editors	Standalone editors Editors embedded in toolbars and Ribbon Note: Editors embedded in grid and treelist controls do not support the NullValuePrompt.	All in-place and standalone editors
Conditions, when the property’s text is displayed.	For any editor, when its edit value equals : null System.DBNull.Value an empty string (provided that the RepositoryItemTextEdit.ShowNullValuePrompt equals EmptyValue). For DateEdit, when its value is: null, System.DBNull.Value a null date (RepositoryItemDateEdit.NullDate).	For any editor, when its edit value equals : null System.DBNull.Value For DateEdit, when its value is: null, System.DBNull.Value a null date (RepositoryItemDateEdit.NullDate).
Read-only editors	NullValuePrompt is hidden in read-only editors	NullText is displayed in read-only editors
Focused editors	NullValuePrompt keeps displaying when an editor is focused in certain cases, provided that the RepositoryItemTextEdit.ShowNullValuePrompt option equals EditorFocused. See this topic to learn more.	NullText is automatically hidden when an editor is focused
Text color	SystemColors.GrayText	The foreground color specified by the RepositoryItem.Appearance property.
The editor’s Text property.	The NullValuePrompt property doesn’t affect the editor’s BaseEdit.Text property.	The NullText property’s value, when displayed, affects the editor’s BaseEdit.Text property.

The SearchControl displays the default “Enter text to search…” string even if you have not set the NullValuePrompt property manually. To hide this text, assign a whitespace character to the NullValuePrompt property.

Related GitHub Examples

The following code snippets (auto-collected from DevExpress Examples) contain references to the NullValuePrompt property.

Note

The algorithm used to collect these code examples remains a work in progress. Accordingly, the links and snippets below may produce inaccurate results. If you encounter an issue with code examples below, please use the feedback form on this page to report the issue.

C#

winforms-mvvm-best-practices/CS/POCOBindableProperties/StandardDataBindingUserControl.cs#L19

editor.Dock = DockStyle.Top;
editor.Properties.NullValuePrompt = "Please, enter the Title here...";
editor.Properties.NullValuePromptShowForEmptyValue = true;

winforms-grid-customize-find-panel/CS/MyXtraGrid/MyFindControl.cs#L44

be.ButtonClick += be_ButtonClick;
be.Properties.NullValuePrompt = "MyCustomPanel";
be.Properties.NullValuePromptShowForEmptyValue = true;

VB.NET

winforms-mvvm-best-practices/VB/POCOBindableProperties/StandardDataBindingUserControl.vb#L19

editor.Dock = DockStyle.Top
editor.Properties.NullValuePrompt = "Please, enter the Title here..."
editor.Properties.NullValuePromptShowForEmptyValue = True

winforms-grid-customize-find-panel/VB/MyXtraGrid/MyFindControl.vb#L41

AddHandler be.ButtonClick, AddressOf be_ButtonClick
be.Properties.NullValuePrompt = "MyCustomPanel"
be.Properties.NullValuePromptShowForEmptyValue = True