Data binding in EJ2 JavaScript Auto complete control

2 May 202315 minutes to read

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

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

Fields	Type	Description
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.

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

Bind to local data

Local data can be represented in two ways as described below.

Array of string

The AutoComplete has support to load array of primitive data such as strings and numbers.

index.js
index.html
var sportsData = ['Badminton', 'Cricket', 'Football', 'Golf', 'Tennis'];
   // initialize AutoComplete component
    var listObj = new ej.dropdowns.AutoComplete({
        dataSource: sportsData, 
        // set placeholder to AutoComplete input element
        placeholder: "Select games"});
    listObj.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://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

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


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Array of object

The AutoComplete 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, Game column from complex data have been mapped to the value field.

index.js
index.html
let sportsData = [
    { 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
    var listObj = new ej.dropdowns.AutoComplete({
      //set the data to dataSource property
        dataSource: sportsData, 
        // maps the appropriate column to fields property
        fields: { value: 'Game' },
        // set placeholder to AutoComplete input element
        placeholder: "Find a game"});
    listObj.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://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container" style="margin:0 auto; width:250px;">
        <br>
        <input type="text" id="atcelement">
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Array of complex object

The AutoComplete 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, Country.Name column from complex data have been mapped to the value field.

index.js
index.html
let countriesData = [
        { 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'} },
        { Country:{Name: 'Finland'}, Code:  { Id:'FI'} },
        { Country:{Name: 'Germany'}, Code: { Id:'DE'} },
        { Country:{Name: 'Greenland'}, Code:{ Id: 'GL' }},
        { Country:{Name: 'Hong Kong'}, Code: { Id:'HK'} },
        { Country:{Name: 'India'}, Code:{ Id: 'IN'} },
        { Country:{ Name: 'Italy'}, Code: { Id:'IT'} },
        { Country:{ Name: 'Japan'}, Code: { Id: 'JP'} },
        { Country:{Name: 'Mexico'}, Code: { Id: 'MX' }},
        { Country:{Name: 'Norway'}, Code: { Id: 'NO'} },
        { Country:{Name: 'Poland'}, Code: { Id: 'PL' }},
        { Country:{Name: 'Switzerland'}, Code: { Id: 'CH'} },
        { Country:{Name: 'United Kingdom'},Code: { Id: 'GB'} },
        { Country:{Name: 'United States'}, Code: { Id: 'US'} }
];
   // initialize AutoComplete component
    var listObj = new ej.dropdowns.AutoComplete({
      //set the data to dataSource property
        dataSource: countriesData, 
        // maps the appropriate column to fields property
        fields: { value: 'Country.Name' },
        // set placeholder to AutoComplete input element
        placeholder: "Find a country"});
    listObj.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://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container" style="margin:0 auto; width:250px;">
        <br>
        <input type="text" id="atcelement">
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>

Bind to remote data

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

The following sample displays the first 6 contacts from the Customers table of the Northwind data service.

index.js
index.html
//initiates the component
var acObject = new ej.dropdowns.AutoComplete({
    //bind the data manager instance to dataSource property
    dataSource: new ej.data.DataManager({
            url: 'https://services.odata.org/V4/Northwind/Northwind.svc/',
            adaptor: new ej.data.ODataV4Adaptor(),
            crossDomain: true
    }),
    //bind the Query instance to query property
    query: new ej.data.Query().from('Employees').select(['FirstName', 'City','EmployeeID']).take(6),
    //map the appropriate columns to fields property
    fields: { value: 'FirstName' },
    //set the placeholder to AutoComplete input
    placeholder:"Select an employee",
    //sort the resulted items
    sortOrder: 'Ascending'
});

//render the component
acObject.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://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/syncfusion-helper.js" type ="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container" style="margin:0 auto; width:250px;">
        <br>
        <input type="text" id="atcelement">
    </div>


<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
  ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}   
      </script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>