JavaScript/jQuery TagBox API

The TagBox widget is an editor that allows an end user to select multiple items from a drop-down list.

import TagBox from "devextreme/ui/tag_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 TagBox 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() {
    $("#tagBox").dxTagBox({
        dataSource: [ "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" ],
        maxDisplayedTags: 2
    });
});
<div id="tagBox"></div>
Angular
HTML
TypeScript
<dx-tag-box
    [dataSource]="tagBoxDataSource"
    [maxDisplayedTags]="2">
</dx-tag-box>
import { DxTagBoxModule } from "devextreme-angular"
// ...
export class AppComponent {
    tagBoxDataSource = [ "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" ];
}
@NgModule({
    imports: [
        // ...
        DxTagBoxModule
    ],
    // ...
})
AngularJS
HTML
JavaScript
<div ng-controller="DemoController">
    <div dx-tag-box="{
        dataSource: tagBoxDataSource,
        maxDisplayedTags: 2
    }"></div>
</div>
angular.module("DemoApp", ["dx"])
    .controller("DemoController", function ($scope) {
        $scope.tagBoxDataSource = [ "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" ];
    });
Knockout
HTML
JavaScript
<div data-bind="dxTagBox: {
    dataSource: tagBoxDataSource,
    maxDisplayedTags: 2
}"></div>
var viewModel = {
    tagBoxDataSource: [ "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" ]
};
ko.applyBindings(viewModel);
ASP.NET MVC Controls
Razor C#
Razor VB
@(Html.DevExtreme().TagBox()
    .ID("tagBox")
    .DataSource(new[] { "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" })
    .MaxDisplayedTags(2)
)
@(Html.DevExtreme().TagBox() _
    .ID("tagBox") _
    .DataSource({ "Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3" }) _
    .MaxDisplayedTags(2)
)

View Demo Watch Video

See Also

Configuration

An object defining configuration options for the TagBox widget.

Name Description
acceptCustomValue

Specifies whether the widget allows a user to enter a custom value. Requires the onCustomItemCreating handler implementation.

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.

applyValueMode

Specifies how the widget applies values.

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.

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.

grouped

Specifies whether data items should be grouped.

groupTemplate

Specifies a custom template for group captions.

height

Specifies the widget's height.

hideSelectedItems

A Boolean value specifying whether or not to hide selected items.

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.

maxDisplayedTags

Specifies the limit on displayed tags. On exceeding it, the widget replaces all tags with a single multi-tag that displays the number of selected items.

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. Applies only if searchEnabled is true.

multiline

A Boolean value specifying whether or not the widget is multiline.

name

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

noDataText

The text or HTML markup displayed by the widget if the item collection is empty.

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.

onContentReady

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

onCustomItemCreating

A function that is executed when a user adds a custom item. Requires acceptCustomValue to be set to true.

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.

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.

onMultiTagPreparing

A function that is executed before the multi-tag is rendered.

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.

onSelectAllValueChanged

A function that is executed when the "Select All" check box value is changed. Applies only if showSelectionControls is true.

onSelectionChanged

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

openOnFieldClick

Specifies whether a user can open the drop-down list by clicking a text field.

placeholder

The text that is provided as a hint in the select box editor.

readOnly

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

rtlEnabled

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

searchEnabled

Specifies whether to allow searching.

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.

selectAllMode

Specifies the mode in which all items are selected.

selectedItems

Gets the currently selected items.

showClearButton

Specifies whether to display the Clear button in the widget.

showDataBeforeSearch

Specifies whether or not the widget displays unfiltered values until a user types a number of characters exceeding the minSearchLength option value.

showDropDownButton

Specifies whether the drop-down button is visible.

showMultiTagOnly

Specifies whether the multi-tag is shown without ordinary tags.

showSelectionControls

Specifies whether or not to display selection controls.

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.

tagTemplate

Specifies a custom template for tags.

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 selected items.

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 TagBox 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 fired by this widget.

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.

contentReady

Raised when the widget's content is ready.

customItemCreating

Raised when a user adds a custom item.

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.

multiTagPreparing

Raised before the multi-tag is rendered.

opened

Raised once the drop-down editor is opened.

optionChanged

Raised after a widget option is changed.

selectAllValueChanged

Raised when the "Select All" check box value is changed.

selectionChanged

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

valueChanged

Raised after the widget's value is changed.

See Also

Default Item Template

This section describes object fields that can be used in the default item template.

Type:

Object