Not sure the exact question, but if you are looking for how to cause say a configuration field to have a text area instead of an input box, then this is/can be controlled through the assignment of the set_function field of the configuration table.
To convert a specific entry to use a textarea (which really doesn't matter about the data type, though a short datatype which is perhaps best represented by a single text box will get truncated upon saving if a lot of information is stored in it as compared to a mediumtext or largetext and if a data field is set to say mediumtext, well if it has a lot of information then it won't look good in a single text box).
So for example could put the following into the Tools->Insert SQL Patches area:
Code:
UPDATE configuration SET set_function = 'zen_cfg_textarea(' WHERE configuration_key = 'INSERT_KEY_TO_MODIFY_HERE';
and it would update the configuration_key of INSERT_KEY_TO_MODIFY_HERE to use a textarea type field instead of whatever it currently is using. Yes, you may need to also modify the datatype of the field to obtain "better" results/performance; however, it seems that this at least in (another?) part addresses your question.
Where as if you want a standard text field, then set the set_function = NULL and it will become a single "one-line" text field...
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