Fixing the Cursor Movement Issue in Flutter TextFields with TextEditingController

Описание: Discover how to prevent the cursor from jumping to the start of a TextField in Flutter when using TextEditingController and onChanged.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/62847606/ asked by the user 'James' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/13910693/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/62920968/ provided by the user 'James' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/13910693/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Fixing the Cursor Movement Issue in Flutter TextFields with TextEditingController

When developing a Flutter application, you may encounter a frustrating issue: the cursor in your TextField jumps to the beginning when you attempt to type. This can be particularly annoying for users who expect to place the cursor anywhere within the text field. Today, we'll explore the root of this problem and provide a simple solution that allows for a smoother text editing experience.

Understanding the Problem

In Flutter, the TextEditingController is a powerful tool for managing text in input fields. However, when using it in conjunction with the onChanged parameter, you may notice an unexpected behavior where the cursor resets to the start of the TextField each time the text changes. In a note-taking application, this can hinder user experience significantly.

Common Scenario

Imagine you're building a simple app to store notes using a TextField. When users type, they expect to seamlessly edit their notes without issues like cursor relocation. Let's take a look at the code that led to this concern:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

With this setup, each time the text changes, the _setText function is called, which retrieves and saves the text to the shared preferences. However, many developers have faced issues where the cursor unexpectedly jumps to the start.

The Solution: Simplifying Code

Upon investigation, it became clear that the issue stemmed from a line in the _setText method. The original code included a call to getText(); every time the text changed:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

By removing the line getText();, we allow the TextEditingController to maintain its state more naturally, thus resolving the cursor movement problem.

Revised Code

Here’s the modified _setText function:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

With this change, your TextField will now behave as expected, allowing users to type and reposition the cursor without jumping back to the beginning.

Conclusion

In summary, if you find your cursor jumping to the start of a TextField while using TextEditingController and onChanged, check your code for unnecessary state updates that could be causing this behavior. By simplifying your method and removing redundant calls, you can enhance user experience significantly.

Now keep coding and improving your Flutter apps! If you have any further questions or need additional help, feel free to reach out or leave a comment below. Happy coding!