Work notes field not displaying placeholder text in the existing incidents

[kandulek]

Hi All,

We have a requirement to add a placeholder text to the work notes field in the incident records. It is possible to add a placeholder text to any new record before submitting it. However, unfortunately, in case of already existing incidents the placeholder text flashes for a second and then disappears. Could anyone advice on what could be modified in the below onLoad Client Script?

function onLoad() {
        var placeholderText = "This is a placeholder text";
        var workNotes = g_form.getControl("work_notes");
        var streamNotes = g_form.getControl("activity-stream-work_notes-textarea");
 
        // If this is a *new* incident
        if (g_form.isNewRecord()) {
            if (workNotes) {
                workNotes.placeholder = placeholderText;
            }
        }
        // If this is an *existing* incident
        else {
            if (streamNotes) {
                streamNotes.placeholder = placeholderText;
            }
        }
    }

 I would be grateful for any hints, or suggestions!

[Rafael Batistot]

Hi @kandulek 

Instead of a fixed timeout, you can use a retry loop to check until the element exists:

function setStreamPlaceholder(text) {
var streamNotes = document.querySelector("textarea#activity-stream-work_notes-textarea");
if (streamNotes) {
streamNotes.setAttribute("placeholder", text);
} else {
setTimeout(function() {
setStreamPlaceholder(text);
}, 300);
}
}

function onLoad() {
var placeholderText = "This is a placeholder text";

if (g_form.isNewRecord()) {
var workNotes = g_form.getControl("work_notes");
if (workNotes) {
workNotes.placeholder = placeholderText;
}
} else {
setStreamPlaceholder(placeholderText);
}
}

This ensures the placeholder stays even after the activity stream replaces the textarea.

Note: This only works in UI16/UI15. If you’re using UI Builder / Workspace, you’ll need a different approach (client extension point in the workspace component).

[kandulek]

Hi Rafael,

Thank you for a quick reply.

Just tested your solution but unfortunately work notes still don't display my placeholder text. We use UI16.

[Ankur Bawiskar]

@kandulek 

any other client script is adding that placeholder?

did you try to add some timeout for 2-3 seconds and see if your script is able to set that?

If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.

[Ankur Bawiskar · Accepted solution]

@kandulek 

by giving timeout of 2 seconds it worked for me in new and existing record both

function onLoad() {
    setTimeout(function() {

        var placeholderText = "This is a placeholder text";
        var workNotes = g_form.getControl("work_notes");
        var streamNotes = g_form.getControl("activity-stream-work_notes-textarea");

        // If this is a *new* incident
        if (g_form.isNewRecord()) {
            if (workNotes) {
                workNotes.placeholder = placeholderText;
            }
        }
        // If this is an *existing* incident
        else {
            if (streamNotes) {
                streamNotes.placeholder = placeholderText;
            }
        }
    }, 2000);
}

Output:

If my response helped please mark it correct and close the thread so that it benefits future readers.