If you've been messing around in Roblox Studio lately, you probably realized that a roblox text box script is one of those things that seems simple until you actually try to make it do something useful. It's one thing to drop a text box onto the screen; it's a whole other thing to make the game actually listen to what the player is typing. Whether you're trying to make a custom chat, a code entry system for rewards, or just a way for players to name their pets, getting the scripting right is the difference between a polished game and a broken UI.
In this post, we're going to break down how to handle player input without pulling your hair out. We'll look at the basic setup, how to capture the "Enter" key, and how to make sure that whatever the player types actually goes where it's supposed to.
Setting up the UI first
Before we even touch a script, you need the actual text box. In the Explorer window, you'll usually want to put this inside a ScreenGui under StarterGui. From there, add a Frame (if you want things to look organized) and then add the TextBox.
Don't confuse a TextBox with a TextLabel. A label is just for showing text that players can't change. A TextBox is the one that actually opens up the keyboard on mobile or lets you type on a PC. Once you have it there, I'd suggest giving it a clear name like "InputBox" or "SubmitField" so you don't get confused later when you have fifty things named "TextBox."
One little tip: check the properties window. There's a setting called ClearTextOnFocus. If you leave this checked, the box will wipe itself clean as soon as the player clicks on it. It's usually what people expect, so keep it in mind.
The basic LocalScript logic
Since the UI lives on the player's screen, we handle the typing part using a LocalScript. You'll want to put this script directly inside the TextBox.
The core of a roblox text box script usually revolves around an event called FocusLost. This fires when the player stops typing—either because they clicked away or they hit the Enter key. Here is a simple way to set that up:
```lua local textBox = script.Parent
textBox.FocusLost:Connect(function(enterPressed) if enterPressed then local playerInput = textBox.Text print("The player typed: " .. playerInput)
-- You can do stuff with playerInput here textBox.Text = "" -- Optional: clear the box after they hit enter else print("Player clicked away without hitting Enter.") end end) ```
The enterPressed bit is a boolean (true or false). It's super handy because you usually don't want to trigger an action just because someone accidentally clicked off the text box. You only want the "magic" to happen when they actually submit their answer.
Making it do something useful
Now, printing text to the output window is cool for debugging, but it doesn't help your game much. Let's say you want to make a system where typing the word "Blue" turns a part in your game blue.
This is where things get a bit more interesting because you have to deal with case sensitivity. Most players aren't going to be careful about typing "Blue" versus "blue" or "BLUE." To fix this, we use string.lower(). It converts whatever they typed into lowercase so your script can check it easily.
```lua textBox.FocusLost:Connect(function(enterPressed) if enterPressed then local input = string.lower(textBox.Text)
if input == "blue" then print("Changing color to blue!") -- Logic to change color would go here elseif input == "red" then print("Changing color to red!") else print("I don't recognize that command.") end end end) ```
Bridging the gap: Client to Server
Here is where most beginners get stuck. If you change a part's color or give a player money using a LocalScript, that change only happens on their screen. Nobody else will see the blue part, and the server won't actually believe they have more money. This is the "Filtering Enabled" system doing its job.
To make a roblox text box script affect the whole game, you have to use a RemoteEvent. Think of a RemoteEvent like a walkie-talkie. The client (the player) sends a message to the server, and the server decides if it wants to listen and take action.
- Create a
RemoteEventinReplicatedStorageand name it "SubmitInput." - Update your
LocalScriptto "Fire" that event. - Create a
Script(a regular server script) inServerScriptServiceto receive the event.
In your LocalScript, it would look like this:
```lua local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage") local remoteEvent = ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SubmitInput") local textBox = script.Parent
textBox.FocusLost:Connect(function(enterPressed) if enterPressed then remoteEvent:FireServer(textBox.Text) textBox.Text = "" end end) ```
And then on the server:
```lua local ReplicatedStorage = game:GetService("ReplicatedStorage") local remoteEvent = ReplicatedStorage:WaitForChild("SubmitInput")
remoteEvent.OnServerEvent:Connect(function(player, text) print(player.Name .. " sent this text: " .. text) -- Now the server can safely change parts or give items! end) ```
Adding some polish and safety
If you're building a game where people type a lot, you'll want to add some "sanity checks." People will try to break your script. They'll leave the box empty, they'll type 5,000 characters, or they'll try to use special symbols that might mess things up.
It's always a good idea to check the length of the text. You can do this with #text. For example:
lua if #text > 20 then print("Whoa, that's way too long!") return -- This stops the script from continuing end
Also, don't forget about Roblox's filtering rules. If you're planning on showing the text the player typed to other players (like in a custom chat or a name tag), you must use the TextService to filter the text. If you don't, your game might get flagged or taken down because it could bypass the chat filters. It's a bit more advanced, but it's super important for anything social.
Visual feedback for the player
A text box that does nothing when you hit enter feels broken. Even if the script is working perfectly in the background, the player needs a sign that it worked.
You could change the color of the text box's border to green for a second if the input was correct, or red if it was wrong. You could even play a little "ding" sound. It's these small things that make the roblox text box script feel like part of a real game rather than just a coding exercise.
For example, you could quickly animate the text color:
lua textBox.TextColor3 = Color3.fromRGB(255, 0, 0) -- Turn red task.wait(0.5) textBox.TextColor3 = Color3.fromRGB(255, 255, 255) -- Back to white
Wrapping it up
Scripts involving text boxes are basically the gatekeepers of player interaction. Once you get the hang of FocusLost and connecting your UI to the server via RemoteEvents, you can build almost anything. Just remember to keep your logic clean, handle those pesky lowercase conversions, and always validate what the player sends you.
It might take a few tries to get the references to Parent and ReplicatedStorage exactly right, but once it clicks, you'll find yourself using text boxes for everything. Happy scripting, and hopefully, your output window stays clear of those annoying red error messages!