JavaScript/jQuery DropDownBox API

The DropDownBox widget consists of a text field, which displays the current value, and a drop-down field, which can contain any UI element.

import DropDownBox from "devextreme/ui/drop_down_box"

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 DropDownBox 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 () {
    var fruits = ["Apples", "Oranges", "Lemons", "Pears", "Pineapples"];
    $("#dropDownBox").dxDropDownBox({
        value: fruits[0],
        dataSource: fruits,
        contentTemplate: function (e) {
            var $list = $("<div>").dxList({
                dataSource: fruits,
                selectionMode: "single",
                onSelectionChanged: function (args) {
                    e.component.option("value", args.addedItems[0]);
                    e.component.close();
                }
            });
            return $list;
        }
    });
});

<div id="dropDownBox"></div>

Angular

HTML

TypeScript

<dx-drop-down-box
    [(value)]="selectedFruit"
    [(opened)]="isDropDownBoxOpened"
    [dataSource]="fruits">
    <div *dxTemplate="let contentData of 'content'">
        <dx-list 
            [dataSource]="fruits"
            selectionMode="single"
            (onSelectionChanged)="changeDropDownBoxValue($event)">
        </dx-list>
    </div>
</dx-drop-down-box>

import { DxDropDownBoxModule } from "devextreme-angular";
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    fruits = ["Apples", "Oranges", "Lemons", "Pears", "Pineapples"];
    selectedFruit = fruits[0];
    isDropDownBoxOpened = false;
    changeDropDownBoxValue = function (args) {
        selectedFruit = args.addedItems[0];
        isDropDownBoxOpened = false;
    }
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
        DxDropDownBoxModule
    ],
    // ...
})

AngularJS

HTML

JavaScript

<div ng-controller="DemoController">
    <div dx-drop-down-box="{
        dataSource: fruits,
        bindingOptions: {
            value: 'selectedFruit',
            opened: 'isDropDownBoxOpened'
        }
    }">
        <div data-options="dxTemplate: { name: 'content' }">
            <div dx-list="{
                dataSource: fruits,
                selectionMode: 'single',
                onSelectionChanged: changeDropDownBoxValue
            }"></div>
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

angular.module("DemoApp", ["dx"])
    .controller("DemoController", function ($scope) {
        $scope.fruits = ["Apples", "Oranges", "Lemons", "Pears", "Pineapples"];
        $scope.selectedFruit = $scope.fruits[0];
        $scope.isDropDownBoxOpened = false;
        $scope.changeDropDownBoxValue = function (args) {
            $scope.selectedFruit = args.addedItems[0];
            $scope.isDropDownBoxOpened = false;
        }
    });

Knockout

HTML

JavaScript

<div data-bind="dxDropDownBox: {
    value: fruits[0],
    dataSource: fruits,
    opened: isDropDownBoxOpened
}">
    <div data-options="dxTemplate: { name: 'content' }">
        <div data-bind="dxList: {
            dataSource: fruits,
            selectionMode: 'single',
            onSelectionChanged: changeDropDownBoxValue
        }"></div>
    </div>
</div>

var viewModel = function () {
    var vm = { };
    vm.fruits = ["Apples", "Oranges", "Lemons", "Pears", "Pineapples"];
    vm.selectedFruit = ko.observable(vm.fruits[0]);
    vm.isDropDownBoxOpened = ko.observable(false);
    vm.changeDropDownBoxValue = function (args) {
        vm.selectedFruit(args.addedItems[0]);
        vm.isDropDownBoxOpened(false);
    }
    return vm;
};
ko.applyBindings(viewModel);

ASP.NET MVC Controls

Razor C#

Razor VB

@(Html.DevExtreme().DropDownBox()
    .ID("dropDownBox")
    .DataSource(new[] { "Apples", "Oranges", "Lemons", "Pears", "Pineapples" })
    .Value("Apples")
    .ContentTemplate(@<text>
        @(Html.DevExtreme().List()
            .DataSource(new JS("component.option('dataSource')"))
            .SelectionMode(ListSelectionMode.Single)
            .OnSelectionChanged("innerList_selectionChanged")
        )
    </text>)
)

<script>
    function innerList_selectionChanged (e) {
        var dropDownBox = $("#dropDownBox").dxDropDownBox("instance");
        dropDownBox.option("value", e.addedItems[0]);
        dropDownBox.close();
    }
</script>

@Code
    Html.DevExtreme().DropDownBox() _
        .ID("dropDownBox") _
        .DataSource({ "Apples", "Oranges", "Lemons", "Pears", "Pineapples" }) _
        .Value("Apples") _
        .ContentTemplate(Sub()
            @<text>
                @Html.DevExtreme().List() _
                    .DataSource(New JS("component.option('dataSource')")) _
                    .SelectionMode(ListSelectionMode.Single) _
                    .OnSelectionChanged("innerList_selectionChanged")
            </text>
        End Sub).Render()
End Code

<script>
    function innerList_selectionChanged (e) {
        var dropDownBox = $("#dropDownBox").dxDropDownBox("instance");
        dropDownBox.option("value", e.addedItems[0]);
        dropDownBox.close();
    }
</script>

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Options

An object defining configuration options for the DropDownBox widget.

Name	Description
acceptCustomValue	Specifies whether the widget allows a user to enter a custom value.
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.
contentTemplate	Specifies a custom template for the drop-down content.
dataSource	Binds the widget to data.
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.
displayExpr	Specifies the data field whose values should be displayed.
dropDownButtonTemplate	Specifies a custom template for the drop-down button.
dropDownOptions	Configures the drop-down field which holds the content.
elementAttr	Specifies the attributes to be attached to the widget's root element.
fieldTemplate	Specifies a custom template for the text field. Must contain the TextBox widget.
focusStateEnabled	Specifies whether the widget can be focused using keyboard navigation.
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.
maxLength	Specifies the maximum number of characters you can enter into the textbox.
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 text field's content was changed using the keyboard.
onClosed	A function that is executed once the drop-down editor is closed.
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 used in JavaScript frameworks to save the widget instance.
onInput	A function that is executed each time the widget's input is changed while the widget is focused.
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.
onValueChanged	A function that is executed after the widget's value is changed.
opened	Specifies whether or not the drop-down editor is displayed.
openOnFieldClick	Specifies whether a user can open the drop-down list by clicking a text field.
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.
showClearButton	Specifies whether to display the Clear button in the widget.
showDropDownButton	Specifies whether the drop-down button is visible.
stylingMode	Specifies how the widget's text field is styled.
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 currently selected value. May be an object if dataSource contains objects and valueExpr is not set.
valueChangeEvent	Specifies the DOM events after which the widget's value should be updated.
valueExpr	Specifies which data field provides unique values to the widget's value. When the data field 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 members used to manipulate data.

Name	Description
beginUpdate()	Prevents the widget from refreshing until the endUpdate() method is called.
blur()	Removes focus from the input element.
close()	Closes the drop-down editor.
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 DropDownBox 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.
open()	Opens the drop-down editor.
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 that this widget raises.

Name	Description
change	Raised when the widget loses focus after the text field's content was changed using the keyboard.
closed	Raised once the drop-down editor is closed.
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.
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.
valueChanged	Raised after the widget's value is changed.

JavaScript/jQuery DropDownBox API

See Also