Form input

For more information on using Forms, see Retrieve the value of a text field, from the Flutter Cookbook.

What is the equivalent of a “hint” on an Input?

In Flutter, you can easily show a “hint” or a placeholder text for your input by adding an InputDecoration object to the decoration constructor parameter for the Text Widget.

body: Center(
  child: TextField(
    decoration: InputDecoration(hintText: "This is a hint"),
  )
)

How do I show validation errors?

Just as you would with a “hint”, pass an InputDecoration object to the decoration constructor for the Text widget.

However, you don’t want to start off by showing an error. Instead, when the user has entered invalid data, update the state, and pass a new InputDecoration object.

import 'package:flutter/material.dart';

void main() {
  runApp(SampleApp());
}

class SampleApp extends StatelessWidget {
  // This widget is the root of your application.
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return MaterialApp(
      title: 'Sample App',
      theme: ThemeData(
        primarySwatch: Colors.blue,
      ),
      home: SampleAppPage(),
    );
  }
}

class SampleAppPage extends StatefulWidget {
  SampleAppPage({Key key}) : super(key: key);

  @override
  _SampleAppPageState createState() => _SampleAppPageState();
}

class _SampleAppPageState extends State<SampleAppPage> {
  String _errorText;

  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return Scaffold(
      appBar: AppBar(
        title: Text("Sample App"),
      ),
      body: Center(
        child: TextField(
          onSubmitted: (String text) {
            setState(() {
              if (!isEmail(text)) {
                _errorText = 'Error: This is not an email';
              } else {
                _errorText = null;
              }
            });
          },
          decoration: InputDecoration(hintText: "This is a hint", errorText: _getErrorText()),
        ),
      ),
    );
  }

  _getErrorText() {
    return _errorText;
  }

  bool isEmail(String em) {
    String emailRegexp =
        r'^(([^<>()[\]\\.,;:\s@\"]+(\.[^<>()[\]\\.,;:\s@\"]+)*)|(\".+\"))@((\