Getting started in EJ2 TypeScript Mention control

3 Nov 20239 minutes to read

This section explains how to create a Mention, 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 Mention control in your application.

|-- @syncfusion/ej2-dropdowns
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-base
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-data
    |-- @syncfusion/ej2-lists
    |-- @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 Mention control, need to import dropdowns and its dependent controls styles as given below in the ~/src/styles/styles.css file, as shown below:

style.css
@import "../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-base/styles/bootstrap5.css";
@import "../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-inputs/styles/bootstrap5.css";
@import "../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-buttons/styles/bootstrap5.css";
@import "../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-popups/styles/bootstrap5.css";
@import "../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-lists/styles/bootstrap5.css";
@import "../../node_modules/@syncfusion/ej2-dropdowns/styles/bootstrap5.css";

Adding the Mention control to the application

Open the application in Visual Studio Code and add the Syncfusion JavaScript UI controls.

Add the HTML div tag with the id attribute as mentionElement to your index.html file.

[src/index.html]

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


<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 Mention control</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="width:200px;">
        <!--element which is the Mention target to list the suggestions-->
        <label style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600;">Comments</label>
        <div id="mentionElement" style="min-height: 100px; border: 1px solid #D7D7D7; border-radius: 4px; padding: 8px; font-size: 14px; width: 600px;"></div>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Import the Mention control in your app.ts file and initialize it with the #mentionElement.

[src/app/app.ts]

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

// initialize Mention control
let mentionObject: Mention = new Mention({});

// render initialized Mention
mentionObject.appendTo('#mentionElement');

Binding the data source

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

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

// define the array of data
let userData: string[] = ['Selma Rose', 'Garth', 'Robert', 'William', 'Joseph'];

// initialize Mention control
let mentionObject: Mention = new Mention({
    //set the data to dataSource property
    dataSource: userData
});

// render initialized Mention
mentionObject.appendTo('#mentionElement');

Run the application

Run the application in the browser using the following command:

npm run start

The following example, shows a basic Mention control.

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

// defined the array of data
let userData: string[] = ['Selma Rose', 'Garth', 'Robert', 'William', 'Joseph'];

// initialize Mention control
let mentionObject: Mention = new Mention({
    //set the data to dataSource property
    dataSource: userData
});

// render initialized Mention
mentionObject.appendTo('#mentionElement');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 Mention</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/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-dropdowns/styles/bootstrap5.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="width:200px;">
        <!--element which is the Mention target to list the suggestions-->
        <label style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600;">Comments</label>
        <div id="mentionElement" style="min-height: 100px; border: 1px solid #D7D7D7; border-radius: 4px; padding: 8px; font-size: 14px; width: 600px;"></div>
    </div>
</body>

</html>

Display mention character

By using the showMentionChar property, the text content can be displayed along with the mention character. You can customize the mention character by using the mentionChar property in the Mention control.

By default, the mentionChar is @ and the showMentionChar property is disabled.

The following example, displays the text content along with the mention character configured as #.

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

// defined the array of data
let userData: string[] = ['Selma Rose', 'Garth', 'Robert', 'William', 'Joseph'];

// initialize Mention control
let mentionObject: Mention = new Mention({
    mentionChar: '#',
    //set the data to dataSource property
    dataSource: userData,
    showMentionChar: true
});

// render initialized Mention
mentionObject.appendTo('#mentionElement');
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 Mention</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/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-base/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.1.35/ej2-dropdowns/styles/bootstrap5.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="width:200px;">
        <!--element which is the Mention target to list the suggestions-->
        <label style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600;">Comments</label>
        <div id="mentionElement" style="min-height: 100px; border: 1px solid #D7D7D7; border-radius: 4px; padding: 8px; font-size: 14px; width: 600px;"></div>
    </div>
</body>

</html>