Templates in EJ2 JavaScript AutoComplete

4 Sep 202618 minutes to read

The AutoComplete provides several options to customize each list item, group title, header, and footer elements. It uses the Essential® JS 2 Template engine to compile and render the elements properly.

Item template

The content of each list item within the AutoComplete can be customized with the help of itemTemplate property.

In the following sample, each list item is split into two columns to display the relevant data.

//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',
    //set the value to itemTemplate property
    itemTemplate: "<span><span class='name'>${FirstName}</span><span class ='city'>${City}</span></span>"
});

//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/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container" style="margin:0 auto; width:250px;">
        <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>

Group template

The group header that categorizes the sub-items can also be customized with the help of the groupTemplate property. This template is common for both inline and floating group headers.

In the following sample, employees are grouped according to their city.

var groupPredicate = new ej.data.Predicate('City', 'equal','london').or('City','equal','seattle');
//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).where(groupPredicate),
    //map the appropriate columns to fields property
    fields: { value: 'FirstName', groupBy: 'City'},
    //set the placeholder to AutoComplete input
    placeholder:"Select an employee",   
    //sort the resulted items
    sortOrder: 'Ascending',
    //set the value to groupTemplate
    groupTemplate: "<strong>${City}</strong>"
});

//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/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container" style="margin:0 auto; width:250px;">
        <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>

Header template

The header element is shown statically at the top of the suggestion list items within the AutoComplete, and any custom element can be placed as a header element using headerTemplate property.

In the following sample, the list items and their headers are designed and displayed as two columns similar to multiple columns of a grid.

//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',
    //set the value to headerTemplate
    headerTemplate: "<span class='head'><span class='name'>Name</span><span class='city'>City</span></span>",
    //set the value to item template
    itemTemplate: "<span class='item' ><span class='name'>${FirstName}</span><span class='city'>${City}</span></span>"
});

//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/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container" style="margin:0 auto; width:250px;">
        <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>

The AutoComplete has options to show a footer element at the bottom of the list items in the suggestion list. Here, you can place any custom element as a footer element using footerTemplate property.

In the following sample, footer element displays the total number of list items present in the AutoComplete.

var sportsData = [ "Basketball", "Cricket", "Football", "Golf"];
//initiates the component
var acObject = new ej.dropdowns.AutoComplete({
    //bind the data manager instance to dataSource property
    dataSource: sportsData ,
    //set the placeholder to AutoComplete input
    placeholder:"Select games",
    //set the value to footer template
    footerTemplate:"<span class='foot'> Total list items: "+ sportsData.length +"</span>"
});
 
//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/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/dist/ej2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

<body>
    
    <div id="container" style="margin:0 auto; width:250px;">
        
        <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>

No records template

The AutoComplete provides support to custom design the suggestion list content when no data is found or no matches are found on a search, with the help of the noRecordsTemplate property.

In the following sample, the suggestion list content displays a notification indicating that no data is available.

//initiates the component
var acObject = new ej.dropdowns.AutoComplete({
    //bind the data manager instance to dataSource property
    dataSource: [],
    //set the placeholder to AutoComplete input
    placeholder:"Select an item",
    //set the value to noRecords template
    noRecordsTemplate:"<span class='norecord'> NO DATA AVAILABLE</span>"
}); 
//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/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/dist/ej2.min.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>

Action failure template

There is also an option to custom design the suggestion list content when the data fetch request fails on the remote server. This can be achieved using the actionFailureTemplate property.

In the following sample, when the data fetch request fails, the AutoComplete displays a notification.

//initiates the component
var acObject = new ej.dropdowns.AutoComplete({
    //bind the data manager instance to dataSource property
    dataSource: new ej.data.DataManager({
            // Here, use the wrong url to display the action failure template
            url: 'https://services.odata.org/V4/Northwind/Northwind.svcs/',
            adaptor: new ej.data.ODataV4Adaptor(),
            crossDomain: true
    }),
    //bind the Query instance to query property
    query: new ej.data.Query().from('Employees').select(['FirstName']).take(6),
    //map the appropriate columns to fields property
    fields: { text: 'FirstName', value: 'EmployeeID' },
    //set the placeholder to AutoComplete input
    placeholder:"Select an employee",
    //set the value to action failure template
    actionFailureTemplate:"<span class='action-failure'> Data fetch get fails</span>"

});
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/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
    
    
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/34.2.2/dist/ej2.min.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>

See Also