<?php $form=$this->beginWidget('bootstrap.widgets.TbActiveForm',array(
'id'=>'user-form',
'enableAjaxValidation'=>false,
)); ?>
<?php echo $form->textFieldRow($model,'username',array('class'=>'span5','maxlength'=>20,'value'=>'input username')); ?>
<?php $this->endWidget(); ?>
Yii provides built-in methods? Still have to write it yourself?
Could it be that you mean the "placeholder" attribute instead of "value"?
<?php echo $form->textFieldRow($model,'username',
array(
'class'=>'span5',
'maxlength'=>20,
'placeholder'=>'input username' // <- use this
)); ?>