Getting started in EJ2 TypeScript Auto complete control

21 Feb 202412 minutes to read

This section explains how to create a simple AutoComplete component and configure its available functionalities in TypeScript, using Essential JS 2 quickstart seed repository.

This application is integrated with the webpack.config.js configuration and uses the latest version of the webpack-cli. It requires node v14.15.0 or higher. For more information about webpack and its features, refer to the webpack documentation.

Dependencies

The following list of dependencies are required to use the AutoComplete component in your application.

|-- @syncfusion/ej2-dropdowns
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-base
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-data
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-inputs
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-lists
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-navigations
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-popups
        |-- @syncfusion/ej2-buttons

Set up development environment

Open the command prompt from the required directory, and run the following command to clone the Syncfusion JavaScript (Essential JS 2) quickstart project from GitHub.

git clone https://github.com/SyncfusionExamples/ej2-quickstart-webpack ej2-quickstart

After cloning the application in the ej2-quickstart folder, run the following command line to navigate to the ej2-quickstart folder.

cd ej2-quickstart

Add Syncfusion JavaScript packages

Syncfusion JavaScript (Essential JS 2) packages are available on the npmjs.com public registry. You can install all Syncfusion JavaScript (Essential JS 2) controls in a single @syncfusion/ej2 package or individual packages for each control.

The quickstart application is preconfigured with the dependent @syncfusion/ej2 package in the ~/package.json file. Use the following command to install the dependent npm packages from the command prompt.

npm install

Import the Syncfusion CSS styles

To render AutoComplete component, need to import dropdowns and its dependent components styles as given below in the ~/src/styles/styles.css file, as shown below:

style.css
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-base/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-buttons/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-popups/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-lists/styles/material.css';
@import '../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css';

Initialize the AutoComplete

The AutoComplete can be initialized through input tags.

Add the HTML input element which needs to be initialized as AutoComplete in index.html.

[src/index.html]

index.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>AutoComplete component</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no" />
    <meta name="description" content="Essential JS 2" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="https://maxcdn.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/3.3.7/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    ....
    ....
</head>

<body>
    <div id='container' style="margin:0 auto; width:300px;">
        <!--element which is going to render the AutoComplete-->
        <input type="text" tabindex="1" id='atcelement' />
    </div>

</body>

</html>

Now import the AutoComplete component to your app.ts and initialize it to the element #atcelement as
shown below.

[src/app/app.ts]

app.ts
import { AutoComplete } from '@syncfusion/ej2-dropdowns';

// initialize AutoComplete component
let atcObject: AutoComplete = new AutoComplete();

// render initialized AutoComplete
atcObject.appendTo('#atcelement');

Binding data source

After initialization, populate the AutoComplete with data using the dataSource property. Here, an array of string values is passed to the AutoComplete component.

app.ts
import { AutoComplete } from '@syncfusion/ej2-dropdowns';

// define the array of data
let sportsData: string[] = ['Badminton', 'Basketball', 'Cricket', 'Football', 'Golf', 'Gymnastics', 'Hockey', 'Rugby', 'Snooker', 'Tennis'];

// initialize AutoComplete component
let atcObject: AutoComplete = new AutoComplete({
    //set the data to dataSource property
    dataSource: sportsData
});

// render initialized AutoComplete
atcObject.appendTo('#atcelement');

Run the application

After completing the configuration required to render a basic AutoComplete, run the following command to display the output in your default browser.

npm run start

The following example illustrates the output in your browser.

index.ts
index.html
import { AutoComplete } from '@syncfusion/ej2-dropdowns';

// defined the array of data
let sportsData: string[] = ['Badminton', 'Basketball', 'Cricket', 'Football', 'Golf', 'Gymnastics', 'Hockey', 'Tennis'];

// initialize AutoComplete component
let atcObject: AutoComplete = new AutoComplete({
    //set the data to dataSource property
    dataSource: sportsData,
    // set placeholder to AutoComplete input element
    placeholder: "Find a game"
});

// render initialized AutoComplete
atcObject.appendTo('#atcelement');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 AutoComplete</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="styles.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div id='loader'>LOADING....</div>
    <div id='container' style="margin:0 auto; width:250px;">
        <input type="text" tabindex="1" id='atcelement' />
    </div>
</body>

</html>

Custom values

The AutoComplete allows the user to give input as custom value which is not required to present in predefined set of values. By default, this support is enabled by allowCustom property. The custom value will be sent to post back handler when a form
is about to be submitted.

index.ts
index.html
import { AutoComplete } from '@syncfusion/ej2-dropdowns';

// defined the array of data
let sportsData: { [key: string]: Object }[] = [
    { Id: 'Game1', Game: 'Badminton' },
    { Id: 'Game2', Game: 'Basketball' },
    { Id: 'Game3', Game: 'Cricket' },
    { Id: 'Game4', Game: 'Football' },
    { Id: 'Game5', Game: 'Golf' },
    { Id: 'Game6', Game: 'Hockey' },
    { Id: 'Game7', Game: 'Rugby' },
    { Id: 'Game8', Game: 'Snooker' }
];

// initialize AutoComplete component
let atcObject: AutoComplete = new AutoComplete({
    //set the data to dataSource property
    dataSource: sportsData,
    // By default, its enabled. For your better understanding, showcase this property.
    allowCustom: true,
    // maps the appropriate column to fields property
    fields: { value: 'Game' },
    // set placeholder to AutoComplete input element
    placeholder: "Find a game"
});

// render initialized AutoComplete
atcObject.appendTo('#atcelement');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 AutoComplete</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="styles.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div id='loader'>LOADING....</div>
    <div id='container' style="margin:0 auto; width:250px;">
        <input type="text" tabindex="1" id='atcelement' />
    </div>
</body>

</html>

Configure the suggestion list

By default, suggestion list width automatically adjusts according to the AutoComplete input element’s width, and the height of the suggestion list has ‘300px’.

The height and width of the popup list can also be customized using the popupHeight and popupWidth property respectively.

In the following sample, suggestion list’s width and height are configured.

index.ts
index.html
import { AutoComplete } from '@syncfusion/ej2-dropdowns';

// define the array of data
let sportsData: string[] = ['Badminton', 'Basketball', 'Cricket', 'Football', 'Golf', 'Gymnastics', 'Hockey', 'Rugby', 'Snooker', 'Tennis'];

// initialize AutoComplete component
let atcObject: AutoComplete = new AutoComplete({
    //set the data to dataSource property
    dataSource: sportsData
    //set width to suggestion list
    popupWidth: '250px',
    // set placeholder to AutoComplete input element
    placeholder: "Find a game",
    // set the popup list height
    popupHeight: "250px"
});

// render initialized AutoComplete
atcObject.appendTo('#atcelement');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 AutoComplete</title>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
    <meta name="description" content="Typescript UI Controls" />
    <meta name="author" content="Syncfusion" />
    <link href="styles.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/systemjs/0.19.38/system.js"></script>
    <script src="systemjs.config.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    <div id='loader'>LOADING....</div>
    <div id='container' style="margin:0 auto; width:250px;">
        <input type="text" tabindex="1" id='atcelement' />
    </div>
</body>

</html>