Styling the Telerik ASP.NET RadGrid textboxes that are used when editing

Styling a textbox should be the easiest win in web development — until you meet a Telerik RadGrid in edit mode. Suddenly that simple <input> is wrapped in layers of generated markup, skin classes, and RadInput wrappers that seem determined to ignore your CSS. If you’ve ever changed a font size only to watch Telerik politely decline your request, you’re in the right place.

In this article, we’ll walk through how RadGrid actually renders its edit controls, why your styles sometimes don’t “stick,” and the exact CSS selectors that reliably target Telerik’s in-place editors. Whether you’re trying to shrink oversized inputs, match your site’s typography, or just regain control of your UI, you’ll see how to style these textboxes with precision — no hacks, no guesswork, and no fighting the framework.

Understanding What Telerik Renders in Edit Mode
When a RadGrid row switches into edit mode, Telerik doesn’t give you a simple <input> sitting in a <td>. Instead, it wraps each editor in a small stack of generated markup:

The row becomes <tr class="rgEditRow">

Each editable cell becomes <td class="rgEditCell">

The editor inside may be:

A plain <input type="text"> (for simple GridBoundColumn)

A RadInput control, which renders as <input class="riTextBox riEnabled">

A nested structure if you’re using masked or numeric inputs

This extra markup is why your normal CSS selectors don’t always “stick.” Telerik’s skins apply their own font sizes, padding, and colors — and they do it with fairly high specificity. To override them, you need selectors that target the edit-mode structure directly.

Targeting Edit-Mode Textboxes with CSS
The simplest and most reliable way to style every textbox in edit mode is to target the two containers Telerik uses: .rgEditRow and .rgEditForm. Once you anchor your selector there, you can safely override Telerik’s defaults without affecting the rest of your grid.

Here’s the exact CSS:

/* Applies to all textboxes inside an edit row */
.RadGrid .rgEditRow input[type="text"],
.RadGrid .rgEditForm input[type="text"] {
    font-size: 16px !important;
    padding: 4px 6px;
    color:#333333;
}

 


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