JavaScript/jQuery Autocomplete API

The Autocomplete widget is a textbox that provides suggestions while a user types into it.

import Autocomplete from "devextreme/ui/autocomplete"
Type:

Object

DevExtreme widgets are integrated with many popular libraries and frameworks. See the Installation section (for JavaScript libraries) or the Prerequisites and Installation section (for ASP.NET MVC framework) to find details on setting up DevExtreme with a particular library or framework.

The following code shows how to create the Autocomplete widget using every supported library and framework. For more details on working with widgets in these libraries and frameworks, see the Widget Basics topic for jQuery, Angular, AngularJS, Knockout or ASP.NET MVC.

jQuery
JavaScript
HTML
$(function () {
    $("#autocomplete").dxAutocomplete({
        dataSource: [ "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" ],
        placeholder: "Type item name..."
    });
});
<div id="autocomplete"></div>
Angular
HTML
TypeScript
<dx-autocomplete
    [dataSource]="autocompleteData"
    placeholder="Type item name...">
</dx-autocomplete>
import { DxAutocompleteModule } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    autocompleteData = [ "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" ];
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
        DxAutocompleteModule
    ],
    // ...
})
AngularJS
HTML
JavaScript
<div ng-controller="DemoController">
    <div dx-autocomplete="{
        dataSource: autocompleteData,
        placeholder: 'Type item name...'
    }"></div>
</div>
angular.module("DemoApp", ["dx"])
    .controller("DemoController", function ($scope) {
        $scope.autocompleteData = [ "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" ];
    });
Knockout
HTML
JavaScript
<div data-bind="dxAutocomplete: {
    dataSource: autocompleteData,
    placeholder: 'Type item name...'
}"></div>
var viewModel = {
    autocompleteData: [ "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" ]
};

ko.applyBindings(viewModel);
ASP.NET MVC Controls
Razor C#
Razor VB
@(Html.DevExtreme().Autocomplete()
    .ID("autocomplete")
    .DataSource(new[] { "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" })
    .Placeholder("Type item name...")
)
@(Html.DevExtreme().Autocomplete() _
    .ID("autocomplete") _
    .DataSource({ "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" }) _
    .Placeholder("Type item name...")
)

View Demo

See Also

Configuration

An object defining configuration options for the Autocomplete widget.

Name Description
accessKey

Specifies the shortcut key that sets focus on the widget.

activeStateEnabled

Specifies whether or not the widget changes its state when interacting with a user.

dataSource

A data source used to fetch data the widget should display.

deferRendering

Specifies whether to render the drop-down field's content when it is displayed. If false, the content is rendered immediately.

disabled

Specifies whether the widget responds to user interaction.

displayValue

Returns the value currently displayed by the widget.

dropDownButtonTemplate

Specifies a custom template for the drop-down button.

elementAttr

Specifies the attributes to be attached to the widget's root element.

focusStateEnabled

Specifies whether the widget can be focused using keyboard navigation.

grouped

Specifies whether data items should be grouped.

groupTemplate

Specifies a custom template for group captions.

height

Specifies the widget's height.

hint

Specifies text for a hint that appears when a user pauses on the widget.

hoverStateEnabled

Specifies whether the widget changes its state when a user pauses on it.

inputAttr

Specifies the attributes to be passed on to the underlying HTML element.

isValid

Specifies whether the editor's value is valid.

items

An array of items displayed by the widget.

itemTemplate

Specifies a custom template for items.

maxItemCount

Specifies the maximum count of items displayed by the widget.

maxLength

Specifies the maximum number of characters you can enter into the textbox.

minSearchLength

The minimum number of characters that must be entered into the text box to begin a search.

name

The value to be assigned to the name attribute of the underlying HTML element.

onChange

A function that is executed when the widget loses focus after the content has been changed.

onClosed

A function that is executed once the drop-down editor is closed.

onContentReady

A function that is executed when the widget's content is ready and each time the content is changed.

onCopy

A function that is executed when the widget's input has been copied.

onCut

A function that is executed when the widget's input has been cut.

onDisposing

A function that is executed before the widget is disposed of.

onEnterKey

A function that is executed when the Enter key has been pressed while the widget is focused.

onFocusIn

A function that is executed when the widget gets focus.

onFocusOut

A function that is executed when the widget loses focus.

onInitialized

A function that is executed only once, after the widget is initialized.

onInput

A function that is executed each time the widget's input is changed while the widget is focused.

onItemClick

A function that is executed when a list item is clicked or tapped.

onKeyDown

A function that is executed when a user is pressing a key on the keyboard.

onKeyPress

A function that is executed when a user presses a key on the keyboard.

onKeyUp

A function that is executed when a user releases a key on the keyboard.

onOpened

A function that is executed once the drop-down editor is opened.

onOptionChanged

A function that is executed after a widget option is changed.

onPaste

A function that is executed when the widget's input has been pasted.

onSelectionChanged

A function that is executed when a list item is selected or the selection is canceled.

onValueChanged

A function that is executed after the widget's value is changed.

opened

Specifies whether or not the drop-down editor is displayed.

placeholder

The text displayed by the widget when the widget value is empty.

readOnly

A Boolean value specifying whether or not the widget is read-only.

rtlEnabled

Switches the widget to a right-to-left representation.

searchExpr

Specifies the name of a data source item field or an expression whose value is compared to the search criterion.

searchMode

Specifies a comparison operation used to search widget items.

searchTimeout

Specifies the time delay, in milliseconds, after the last character has been typed in, before a search is executed.

selectedItem

Gets the currently selected item.

showClearButton

Specifies whether to display the Clear button in the widget.

showDropDownButton

Specifies whether to show the drop-down button.

spellcheck

Specifies whether or not the widget checks the inner text for spelling mistakes.

tabIndex

Specifies the number of the element when the Tab key is used for navigating.

text

The read-only option that holds the text displayed by the widget input element.

validationError

Specifies information on the validation error when using a custom validation engine. Should be changed at runtime along with the isValid option.

validationMessageMode

Specifies how the message about the validation rules that are not satisfied by this editor's value is displayed.

value

Specifies the current value displayed by the widget.

valueChangeEvent

Specifies the DOM events after which the widget's value should be updated.

valueExpr

Specifies which data field provides the widget's value. When this option is not set, the value is the entire data object.

visible

Specifies whether the widget is visible.

width

Specifies the widget's width.

Methods

This section describes the members used to manipulate the widget.

Name Description
beginUpdate()

Prevents the widget from refreshing until the endUpdate() method is called.

blur()

Removes focus from the input element.

content()

Gets the popup window's content.

defaultOptions(rule)

Specifies the device-dependent default configuration options for this component.

dispose()

Disposes of all the resources allocated to the Autocomplete instance.

element()

Gets the root widget element.

endUpdate()

Refreshes the widget after a call of the beginUpdate() method.

field()

Gets the widget's <input> element.

focus()

Sets focus to the input element representing the widget.

getDataSource()

Gets the DataSource instance.

getInstance(element)

Gets the instance of a widget found using its DOM node.

instance()

Gets the widget's instance. Use it to access other methods of the widget.

off(eventName)

Detaches all event handlers from a single event.

off(eventName, eventHandler)

Detaches a particular event handler from a single event.

on(eventName, eventHandler)

Subscribes to an event.

on(events)

Subscribes to events.

option()

Gets all widget options.

option(optionName)

Gets the value of a single option.

option(optionName, optionValue)

Updates the value of a single option.

option(options)

Updates the values of several options.

registerKeyHandler(key, handler)

Registers a handler to be executed when a user presses a specific key.

repaint()

Repaints the widget without reloading data. Call it to update the widget's markup.

reset()

Resets the value option to the default value.

Events

This section describes events fired by this widget.

Name Description
change

Raised when the element loses focus after the content has been changed.

closed

Raised once the drop-down editor is closed.

contentReady

Raised when the widget's content is ready.

copy

Raised when the widget's input has been copied.

cut

Raised when the widget's input has been cut.

disposing

Raised before the widget is disposed of.

enterKey

Raised when the Enter key has been pressed while the widget is focused.

focusIn

Raised when the widget gets focus.

focusOut

Raised when the widget loses focus.

initialized

Raised only once, after the widget is initialized.

input

Raised each time the widget's input is changed while the widget is focused.

itemClick

Raised when a list item is clicked or tapped.

keyDown

Raised when a user is pressing a key on the keyboard.

keyPress

Raised when a user presses a key on the keyboard.

keyUp

Raised when a user releases a key on the keyboard.

opened

Raised once the drop-down editor is opened.

optionChanged

Raised after a widget option is changed.

paste

Raised when the widget's input has been pasted.

selectionChanged

Raised when a list item is selected or the selection is canceled.

valueChanged

Raised after the widget's value is changed.

See Also

Default Item Template

This section lists the data source fields that are used in a default item template.

Type:

Object

By default, a predefined item template is applied to display the items of this widget. This template is based on certain fields of the data source provided for this widget. Below is the list of these fields. If the default item template is not appropriate for your task, implement a custom item template based on these or other fields of your data source.

See Also