Data binding in EJ2 JavaScript List box control

2 May 202320 minutes to read

The ListBox 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 ListBox also supports different kinds of data services such as OData, 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 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 iconCss class that needs to be mapped.
htmlAttributes string Allows additional attributes to configure the elements in various ways to meet the criteria.

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

Local Data

Local data can be represented by the following ways as described below.

Array of string

The ListBox has support to load array of primitive data such as strings or numbers. Here, both value and text field acts as same.

// define array of string
var sportsData = ['Badminton', 'Cricket', 'Football', 'Golf', 'Tennis', 'Basket Ball', 'Base Ball', 'Hockey', 'Volley Ball'];

// initialize ListBox component
var listObj = new ej.dropdowns.ListBox({
    //set the data to dataSource property
    dataSource: sportsData
});

listObj.appendTo('#listbox');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 ListBox</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">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/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;">
        <h4>Select your favorite sports:</h4>
        <input id="listbox">
    </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 ListBox can generate its list items through an array of object data. For this, the appropriate columns should be mapped to the fields property.

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

var sportsData = [
    { id: 'game1', sports: 'Badminton' },
    { id: 'game2', sports: 'Cricket'},
    { id: 'game3', sports: 'Football'},
    { id: 'game4', sports: 'Golf'},
    { id: 'game5', sports: 'Tennis'},
    { id: 'game6', sports: 'Basket Ball'},
    { id: 'game7', sports: 'Base Ball'},
    { id: 'game8', sports: 'Hockey'},
    { id: 'game9', sports: 'Volley Ball'}];

// initialize ListBox component
var listObj = new ej.dropdowns.ListBox({
    //set the dataSource property
    dataSource: sportsData,
    // maps the appropriate column to fields property
    fields: { text: 'sports', value: 'id' }
});

listObj.appendTo('#listbox');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 ListBox</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">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/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;">
        <h4>Select your favorite sports:</h4>
        <input id="listbox">
    </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 ListBox 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, Sports.Name column from complex data have been mapped to the text field.

var sportsData = [
    { Id: 'game1', Sports: { Name: 'Badminton'} },
    { Id: 'game2', Sports: { Name: 'Cricket'} },
    { Id: 'game3', Sports: { Name: 'Football'} },
    { Id: 'game4', Sports: { Name: 'Golf'} },
    { Id: 'game5', Sports: { Name: 'Tennis'} },
    { Id: 'game6', Sports: { Name: 'Basket Ball'} },
    { Id: 'game7', Sports: { Name: 'Base Ball'} },
    { Id: 'game8', Sports: { Name: 'Hockey'} },
    { Id: 'game9', Sports: { Name: 'Volley Ball'} }];

// initialize ListBox component
var listObj = new ej.dropdowns.ListBox({
    //set the dataSource property
    dataSource: sportsData,
    // maps the appropriate column to fields property
    fields: { text: 'Sports.Name' }
});

listObj.appendTo('#listbox');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 ListBox</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">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/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;">
        <h4>Select your favorite sports:</h4>
        <input id="listbox">
    </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 ListBox has also be rendered through <input>, <UL>, select element.

Remote Data

The ListBox 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 ListBox.

The following sample displays the first 10 products from Products table of the Northwind Data Service.

//initiates the component
var listObj = new ej.dropdowns.ListBox({
    //bind the DataManager 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('Products').select('ProductID,ProductName').take(10),
    //map the appropriate columns to fields property
    fields: { text: 'ProductName', value: 'ProductID' }

});


listObj.appendTo('#listbox');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 ListBox</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">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/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 id="listbox">
    </div>


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

HTML element

The ListBox can be initialized different tags as described below. Though it is initialized in different tags, the UI appearance and built-in features will behave in the same way.

Select element

When a ListBox is initialized on SELECT element, the list items can be assigned through the option tag of the HTML select element.

//initiates the component
var listObj = new ej.dropdowns.ListBox({});

listObj.appendTo('#listbox');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 ListBox</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">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/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;">
        <h4>Select you favorite car:</h4>
        <select id="listbox">
            <option value="1">Hennessey Venom</option>
            <option value="2">Bugatti Chiron</option>
            <option value="3">Bugatti Veyron Super Sport</option>
            <option value="4">SSC Ultimate Aero</option>
            <option value="5">Koenigsegg CCR</option>
            <option value="6">McLaren F1</option>
            <option value="7">Aston Martin One- 77</option>
            <option value="8">Jaguar XJ220</option>              
            <option value="9">McLaren P1</option>
            <option value="10">Ferrari LaFerrari</option>
        </select>
    </div>


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

UL element

The ListBox can be initialized through <UL> element which contains a collection of <LI> element. The <LI> items act as a popup list items of the ListBox. The inner text of the <LI> element is considered both as text and value fields.

//initiates the component
var listObj = new ej.dropdowns.ListBox({});

listObj.appendTo('#listbox');
<!DOCTYPE html><html lang="en"><head>
    <title>Essential JS 2 ListBox</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">
    <link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/27.2.2/ej2-buttons/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;">
        <h4>Select you favorite car:</h4>
        <ul id="listbox">
            <li>Hennessey Venom</li>
            <li>Bugatti Chiron</li>
            <li>Bugatti Veyron Super Sport</li>
            <li>SSC Ultimate Aero</li>
            <li>Koenigsegg CCR</li>
            <li>McLaren F1</li>
            <li>Aston Martin One- 77</li>
            <li>Jaguar XJ220</li>              
            <li>McLaren P1</li>
            <li>Ferrari LaFerrari</li>
        </ul>
    </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