Log pad

A writing pad that is still a real textarea. A sheet of ruled paper is set into a machined frame, and the rules move with the words. A small LCD in the foot counts characters or words: it lights amber near the limit and red over it, and the limit is said once, in words, when it is crossed. The pad grows with the text up to a height you choose.

Write in it, or press Add a paragraph a few times. Amber near the limit, red over it. Then try Post note: the form will not send it.

• It is a real <textarea>, named by its label and posted by its form, so nothing about writing, selecting, spelling or autofill is reinvented.
• The limit is printed in words (“280 characters at most”) and attached to the textarea with aria-describedby, so it is read before anyone types. The LCD repeats the count for the eye and is hidden from assistive technology.
• Crossing the limit is said once, in a polite live region: “13 characters over. The limit is 280.” Coming back inside it is said once too. Nothing is said in between, so the pad does not talk while someone types.
• The amber and the red are second signals. Over the limit the textarea is aria-invalid and carries a validity message, so a form will not send it and says why.
• The digits on the amber and red glass are dark on a light ground: about 8:1 on amber and 5:1 on red.
• The focus ring goes round the frame, since the sheet is inside it; it uses the finish’s ring colour, which reads on the frame in both finishes.
• With reduced motion the meter changes colour at once; the pad still grows, since that is a change of size, not an animation.