Using Custom Caret in a TextField

I am trying to set a custom caret in my TextField. I want the caret to always be visible even when focus is on another JavaFX node. If possible I also want to make the caret "Bold" and set the color to blue.

I am using JavaFX 17.0.2 and Java 17.0.2+8

I have tried writing my own textField skin but my version of JavaFX does not have a Caret object, and my TextField does not have a setCaretVisible property. I have also tried using some css such as -fx-caret-color: blue; but nothing seems to work any help and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I belive I may have to create my own custom textfield. I am open to any suggestions thank you

Solution

The caret is implemented in the TextInputControlSkin as a StackPane, with a style class of caret-handle. If you style that class in your CSS (stylesheet not inline style setting), you can modify the way the caret looks (I didn't try it).

A StackPane is a Region, so any CSS styling that can be applied to a Region should be able to be applied to the caret. Region styling capabilities are quite extensive and include setting an SVG path string shape to control the shape of the caret (for example if you wanted a caret shaped like an I instead of a simple rectangular bar).

There are also other CSS properties for controlling caret visibility, color, and other caret attributes as mentioned in the related questions, and that you can see in the skin implementation code.

Unlike many JavaFX skin members, the caretHandle is not private to the standard JavaFX skin implementations and subclasses should be able to access it if needed.

If you want to change other aspects of caret style and behavior completely then you can subclass the TextFieldSkin to create your own. That is tricky for some changes but might be OK for you depending on what you want. Some simple examples of such an approach are in the related questions.