Working with data in EJ2 TypeScript Mention control

2 May 202316 minutes to read

The Mention loads the data either from local data sources or remote data services using the dataSource property. It supports the data type of either array or DataManager.

The Mention also supports different kinds of data services such as OData V4 and Web API, and data formats such as XML, JSON, and JSONP with the help of DataManager adaptors.

Fields	Type	Description
text	`string`	Specifies the display text of each list item.
value	`number or string`	Specifies the hidden data value mapped to each list item that should contain a unique value.
groupBy	`string`	Specifies the category under which the list item has to be grouped.
iconCss	`string`	Specifies the icon class of each list item.

When binding complex data to the Mention, fields should be mapped correctly. Otherwise, the selected item remains undefined.

Binding local data

Local data can be represented in three ways as described in the following.

Array of simple data

The Mention has provided support to load an array of primitive data such as strings and numbers. Here, both the value and text fields act the same.

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/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-base/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/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>

Array of JSON data

The Mention can generate its list of items through an array of JSON data. Therefore the appropriate columns should be mapped to the fields property.

In the following example, ID column and Game column from complex data have been mapped to the value field and text field, respectively.

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

//define the array of complex data
let sportsData: { [key: string]: Object }[] = [
    { ID: 'game1', Game: 'Badminton' },
    { ID: 'game2', Game: 'Football' },
    { ID: 'game3', Game: 'Tennis' },
    { ID: 'game4', Game: 'Hockey' },
    { ID: 'game5', Game: 'Basketball' }
];

//initiate the Mention
let mentionObject: Mention = new Mention({
    // bind the sports Data to datasource property
    dataSource: sportsData,
    // maps the appropriate column to fields property
    fields: { text: 'Game', value: 'ID' }
});
//render the control
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/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/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="width:200px;">
        <label style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600;">Comments</label>
        <!--element which is the Mention target to list the suggestions-->
        <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>

Array of complex data

The Mention can generate its list items through an array of complex data. For this, the appropriate columns should be mapped to the fields property.

In the following example, Code.ID column and Country.Name column from complex data have been mapped to the value field and text field, respectively.

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

//define the array of complex data
let CountryGroup: { [key: string]: Object }[] = [
    { Country: { Name: 'Australia' }, Code: { ID: 'AU' }},
    { Country: { Name: 'Bermuda' }, Code: { ID: 'BM' }},
    { Country: { Name: 'Canada'}, Code:{ ID: 'CA'} },
    { Country: { Name: 'Cameroon'}, Code:{ ID: 'CM'} },
    { Country: { Name: 'Denmark'}, Code:{ ID: 'DK' }},
    { Country: { Name: 'France'}, Code: { ID:'FR'} }
];

//initiate the Mention
let mentionObject: Mention = new Mention({
    // bind the sports Data to datasource property
    dataSource: CountryGroup,
    // maps the appropriate column to fields property
    fields: { text: 'Country.Name', value: 'Code.ID' }
});
//render the control
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/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/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="width:200px;">
        <label style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600;">Comments</label>
        <!--element which is the Mention target to list the suggestions-->
        <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>

Binding remote data

The Mention supports retrieval of data from remote data services with the help of DataManager control. The Query property is used to fetch the data from the database and bind it to the Mention control.

OData v4 adaptor - Binding OData v4 service

The ODataV4 is an improved version of OData protocols, and the DataManager can also retrieve and consume OData v4 services. For more details on OData v4 services, refer to the odata documentation. To bind OData v4 service, use the ODataV4Adaptor.

The following sample displays the first 6 contacts from Customers table of the Northwind Data Service.

index.ts
index.html
import { Mention } from '@syncfusion/ej2-dropdowns';
//import DataManager related classes
import { Query, DataManager, ODataV4Adaptor } from '@syncfusion/ej2-data';

//initiates the control
let mentionObject: Mention = new Mention({
    //bind the DataManager instance to dataSource property
    dataSource: new DataManager({
        url: 'https://services.odata.org/V4/Northwind/Northwind.svc/',
        adaptor: new ODataV4Adaptor,
        crossDomain: true
    }),
    //bind the Query instance to query property
    query: new Query().from('Customers').select(['ContactName', 'CustomerID']).take(6),
    //map the appropriate columns to fields property
    fields: { text: 'ContactName', value: 'CustomerID' },
    popupWidth: '250px'
});

//render the control
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/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/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="width:200px;">
        <label style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600;">Comments</label>
        <!--element which is the Mention target to list the suggestions-->
        <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>

Web API adaptor

You can use WebApiAdaptor to bind mention with Web API created using OData endpoint.

index.ts
index.html
import { Mention } from '@syncfusion/ej2-dropdowns';
//import DataManager related classes
import { Query, DataManager, WebApiAdaptor } from '@syncfusion/ej2-data';

//initiates the control
let mentionObject: Mention = new Mention({
    //bind the DataManager instance to dataSource property
    dataSource: new DataManager({
        url: 'https://ej2services.syncfusion.com/production/web-services/api/Employees',
        adaptor: new WebApiAdaptor,
        crossDomain: true
    }),
    //bind the Query instance to query property
    query: new Query().select(['FirstName', 'EmployeeID']).take(7),
    //map the appropriate columns to fields property
    fields: { text: 'FirstName', value: 'EmployeeID' },
    popupWidth: '250px'
});

//render the control
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/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/23.1.36/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="width:200px;">
        <label style="font-size: 15px; font-weight: 600;">Comments</label>
        <!--element which is the Mention target to list the suggestions-->
        <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>