Reactjs – How do I stop text fields inside a table from deselecting when being edited?

I believe the text field is losing focus because the entire table is being re-rendered when the state updates. I’ve updated the code below, adding a key to maintain focus and optimising the state update:

import TableContainer from "@mui/material/TableContainer";
import Table from "@mui/material/Table";
import TableBody from "@mui/material/TableBody";
import TableRow from "@mui/material/TableRow";
import TableCell from "@mui/material/TableCell";
import TextField from "@mui/material/TextField";
import { styled } from "@mui/system";
import { useState } from "react";

export default function TableTextFieldTest() {
    const [questions, setQuestions] = useState([
        {
            index: 0,
            question: "Do you have any feedback on your manager or team that you'd like to share?",
        },
        {
            index: 1,
            question: "What suggestions do you have for improving the company culture or work environment?",
        },
        {   
            index: 2,
            question: "How was your experience working here?",
        }
    ]);

    const TableBodyCell = styled(TableCell)({
        paddingLeft: "24px",
        paddingRight: "24px",
        paddingTop: "16px",
        paddingBottom: "16px"
    });

    function handleEditTextfield(e, index) {
        setQuestions(prevQuestions => 
            prevQuestions.map(q => 
                q.index === index ? { ...q, question: e.target.value } : q
            )
        );
    };

    return (
        <TableContainer>
            <Table>
                <TableBody>
                    {questions
                        .sort((q1, q2) => q1.index - q2.index)
                        .map((q) => (
                            <TableRow key={q.index}>
                                <TableBodyCell>
                                    <TextField 
                                        value={q.question}
                                        onChange={(e) => handleEditTextfield(e, q.index)}
                                        sx={{ width: "100%" }}
                                    />
                                </TableBodyCell>
                            </TableRow>
                    ))}
                </TableBody>
            </Table>
        </TableContainer>
    );
};

Changes made are:

• Added a key prop to the TableRow component using q.index
• Modified handleEditTextfield to use the functional update pattern with prevQuestions
• Changed the index parameter in handleEditTextfield to use q.index instead of the map index
• Used proper array immutability patterns in the state update

The above changes should maintain focus on the text field while editing. The problems with the original code were:

• Missing key props, which caused React to re-mount components unnecessarily
• Using Array.from() and find() which created new references and triggered unnecessary re-renders
• Using the map index instead of the question index, which could cause issues if questions were reordered

This should, hopefully, resolve the issue.

EDIT:

Here’s a different approach using a controlled editing state:

import TableContainer from "@mui/material/TableContainer";
import Table from "@mui/material/Table";
import TableBody from "@mui/material/TableBody";
import TableRow from "@mui/material/TableRow";
import TableCell from "@mui/material/TableCell";
import TextField from "@mui/material/TextField";
import { styled } from "@mui/system";
import { useState, useRef } from "react";

export default function TableTextFieldTest() {
    const [questions, setQuestions] = useState([
        {
            index: 0,
            question: "Do you have any feedback on your manager or team that you'd like to share?",
        },
        {
            index: 1,
            question: "What suggestions do you have for improving the company culture or work environment?",
        },
        {   
            index: 2,
            question: "How was your experience working here?",
        }
    ]);
    
    // Track which question is being edited
    const [editingIndex, setEditingIndex] = useState(null);
    // Store the current value while editing
    const [editingValue, setEditingValue] = useState("");

    const TableBodyCell = styled(TableCell)({
        paddingLeft: "24px",
        paddingRight: "24px",
        paddingTop: "16px",
        paddingBottom: "16px"
    });

    const handleStartEditing = (index, initialValue) => {
        setEditingIndex(index);
        setEditingValue(initialValue);
    };

    const handleEditTextfield = (e) => {
        setEditingValue(e.target.value);
        // Update the questions array
        setQuestions(prevQuestions =>
            prevQuestions.map(q =>
                q.index === editingIndex ? { ...q, question: e.target.value } : q
            )
        );
    };

    return (
        <TableContainer>
            <Table>
                <TableBody>
                    {questions
                        .sort((q1, q2) => q1.index - q2.index)
                        .map((q) => (
                            <TableRow key={q.index}>
                                <TableBodyCell>
                                    <TextField 
                                        value={editingIndex === q.index ? editingValue : q.question}
                                        onChange={handleEditTextfield}
                                        onFocus={() => handleStartEditing(q.index, q.question)}
                                        sx={{ width: "100%" }}
                                    />
                                </TableBodyCell>
                            </TableRow>
                    ))}
                </TableBody>
            </Table>
        </TableContainer>
    );
};

• Added editingIndex state to track which question is currently being edited
• Added editingValue state to maintain the current value while editing
• Added handleStartEditing function that’s called when a TextField gets focus
• Modified the TextField to use either the editing value or the stored question value depending on whether it’s being edited

This approach should maintain focus while editing because:

• The TextField’s value is controlled by the editingValue state when being edited
• We’re tracking which field is being edited separately from the questions array
• The focus/blur cycle is managed explicitly

If this approach still doesn’t work, you might need to try a different approach with contentEditable or a custom input component.