# TextData

Displays a multi-line block of text defined within the report.

### Description

The text item allows the developer to provide the text as part of the report design. The multi-line data item displays blocks of text retrieved from the database, from a file, or from an expression. The text can be plain text, HTML. The format of the text can be fixed at design time, or can be dynamically selected at run time to match the format of the incoming text.

### See Also

Text element

## contentType

The formatting within the text: HTML / plain text

### Choices

- auto: BIRT will infer the format as explained below.
- plain: Plain text with no formatting.
- html: Formatting using a subset of HTML tags.

### Description

The user can explicitly identify the format of the text using the Content Type property. Or, the user can set the property to "auto", (or omit the property) and BIRT will infer the format from the text itself.

BIRT determines the text format by examining the first few characters of the string. If the first characters are "<HTML>" (in either upper case or lower case), then the string is assumed to be HTML. Otherwise, the text is plain text. Any white space before these characters is ignored. That is, "<html>" and " <html>" are both taken to indicate that the text is formatted in HTML.

### See Also

## valueExpr

An expression that provides the text

### Description

The value expression provides the text to display. The expression is most often simply a reference to a query column. But, it can also reference a report parameter, a formula, a special value, a file, or other data item.

### See Also

## onCreate

Script executed when the element is created in the Factory.

### Description

Executed when the element is created in the Factory. Called after the item is created, but before the item is saved to the report document file. See the scripting spec for additional information about this script. Applications should perform visual customization in the on-render script instead.

## onPrepare

It is for a script startup phase. No data binding yet. The design of an element can be changed here.

### Description

It is for a script startup phase. No data binding yet. The design of an element can be changed here.

## onRender

Script executed when the element is prepared for rendering in the Presentation engine.

### Description

Executed when the element is prepared for rendering in the Presentation engine. Changes made to the element are written to the target output format, but not saved to the report document file. This is the preferred place for visual customizations.