Working with data in EJ2 JavaScript 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.
var userData = ['Selma Rose', 'Garth', 'Robert', 'William', 'Joseph'];
// initialize Mention component
var mentionObj = new ej.dropdowns.Mention({
dataSource: userData
});
mentionObj.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/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-base/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-dropdowns/styles/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/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="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>
<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 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.
var sportsData = [
{ Id: 'game1', Game: 'Badminton' },
{ Id: 'game2', Game: 'Football' },
{ Id: 'game3', Game: 'Tennis' },
{ Id: 'game4', Game: 'Hockey' },
{ Id: 'game5', Game: 'Basketball' }
];
// initialize Mention component
var mentionObj = new ej.dropdowns.Mention({
dataSource: sportsData,
fields: { text: 'Game', value: 'Id' }
});
mentionObj.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/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/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="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>
<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 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.
var 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'} }
];
// initialize Mention component
var mentionObj = new ej.dropdowns.Mention({
dataSource: countriesData,
fields: { text: 'Country.Name', value: 'Code.Id' }
});
mentionObj.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/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/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="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>
<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}
</script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</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.
// initialize Mention component
var mentionObj = new ej.dropdowns.Mention({
//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('Customers').select(['ContactName', 'CustomerID']).take(6),
fields: { text: 'ContactName', value: 'CustomerID' },
popupWidth: '250px'
});
mentionObj.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/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/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="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>
<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}
</script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>Web API adaptor
You can use WebApiAdaptor to bind mention with Web API created using OData endpoint.
// initialize Mention component
var mentionObj = new ej.dropdowns.Mention({
//bind the data manager instance to dataSource property
dataSource: new ej.data.DataManager({
url: 'https://services.syncfusion.com/js/production/api/Employees',
adaptor: new ej.data.WebApiAdaptor(),
crossDomain: true
}),
//bind the Query instance to query property
query: new ej.data.Query().select(['FirstName', 'EmployeeID']).take(7),
fields: { text: 'FirstName', value: 'EmployeeID' },
popupWidth: '250px'
});
mentionObj.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/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-base/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-inputs/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/ej2-dropdowns/styles/material.css" rel="stylesheet">
<script src="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/25.2.3/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="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>
<script>
var ele = document.getElementById('container');
if(ele) {
ele.style.visibility = "visible";
}
</script>
<script src="index.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</body></html>