jQuery#typeahead ---------------- The UI component of typeahead.js is a available as a jQuery plugin. It's responsible for rendering suggestions and handling DOM interactions. Table of Contents ----------------- * [Features](#features) * [Specification](#specification) * [Usage](#usage) * [API](#api) * [Options](#options) * [Datasets](#datasets) * [Custom Events](#custom-events) * [Look and Feel](#look-and-feel) * [Bloodhound Integration](#bloodhound-integration) Features -------- * Displays suggestions to end-users as they type * Shows top suggestion as a hint (i.e. background text) * Supports custom templates to allow for UI flexibility * Works well with RTL languages and input method editors * Highlights query matches within the suggestion * Triggers custom events Specification ------------- In an effort to take advantage of the pre-existing knowledge of typeahead.js users, the behavior of the typeahead.js UI is modeled after google.com's search box. Below is pseudocode that details how the UI reacts to pertinent events. **Input Control Gains Focus** ``` activate typeahead ``` **Input Control Loses Focus** ``` deactivate typeahead close dropdown menu remove hint clear suggestions from dropdown menu ``` **Value of the Input Control Changes** ``` IF query satisfies minLength requirement THEN request suggestions for new query IF suggestions are available THEN render suggestions in dropdown menu open dropdown menu update hint ELSE close dropdown menu clear suggestions from dropdown menu remove hint ENDIF ELSE close dropdown menu clear suggestions from dropdown menu remove hint ENDIF ``` **Up Arrow is Keyed** ``` IF dropdown menu is open THEN move dropdown menu cursor up 1 suggestion ELSE request suggestions for current query IF suggestions are available THEN render suggestions in dropdown menu open dropdown menu update hint ENDIF ENDIF ``` **Down Arrow is Keyed** ``` IF dropdown menu is open THEN move dropdown menu cursor down 1 suggestion ELSE request suggestions for current query IF suggestions are available THEN render suggestions in dropdown menu open dropdown menu update hint ENDIF ENDIF ``` **Left Arrow is Keyed** ``` IF detected query language direction is right-to-left THEN IF hint is being shown THEN IF text cursor is at end of query THEN autocomplete query to hint ENDIF ENDIF ENDIF ``` **Right Arrow is Keyed** ``` IF detected query language direction is left-to-right THEN IF hint is being shown THEN IF text cursor is at the end of the query THEN autocomplete query to hint ENDIF ENDIF ENDIF ``` **Tab is Keyed** ``` IF dropdown menu cursor is on suggestion THEN close dropdown menu update query to display key of suggestion remove hint ELSIF hint is being shown THEN autocomplete query to hint ENDIF ``` **Enter is Keyed** ``` IF dropdown menu cursor is on suggestion THEN close dropdown menu update query to display key of suggestion remove hint prevent default browser action e.g. form submit ENDIF ``` **Esc is Keyed** ``` close dropdown menu remove hint ``` **Suggestion is Clicked** ``` update query to display key of suggestion close dropdown menu remove hint ``` Usage ----- ### API #### jQuery#typeahead(options, [\*datasets]) Turns any `input[type="text"]` element into a typeahead. `options` is an options hash that's used to configure the typeahead to your liking. Refer to [Options](#options) for more info regarding the available configs. Subsequent arguments (`*datasets`), are individual option hashes for datasets. For more details regarding datasets, refer to [Datasets](#datasets). ```javascript $('.typeahead').typeahead({ minLength: 3, highlight: true, }, { name: 'my-dataset', source: mySource }); ``` #### jQuery#typeahead('destroy') Removes typeahead functionality and reverts the `input` element back to its original state. ```javascript $('.typeahead').typeahead('destroy'); ``` #### jQuery#typeahead('open') Opens the dropdown menu of typeahead. Note that being open does not mean that the menu is visible. The menu is only visible when it is open and has content. ```javascript $('.typeahead').typeahead('open'); ``` #### jQuery#typeahead('close') Closes the dropdown menu of typeahead. ```javascript $('.typeahead').typeahead('close'); ``` #### jQuery#typeahead('val') Returns the current value of the typeahead. The value is the text the user has entered into the `input` element. ```javascript var myVal = $('.typeahead').typeahead('val'); ``` #### jQuery#typeahead('val', val) Sets the value of the typeahead. This should be used in place of `jQuery#val`. ```javascript $('.typeahead').typeahead('val', myVal); ``` #### jQuery.fn.typeahead.noConflict() Returns a reference to the typeahead plugin and reverts `jQuery.fn.typeahead` to its previous value. Can be used to avoid naming collisions. ```javascript var typeahead = jQuery.fn.typeahead.noConflict(); jQuery.fn._typeahead = typeahead; ``` ### Options When initializing a typeahead, there are a number of options you can configure. * `highlight` – If `true`, when suggestions are rendered, pattern matches for the current query in text nodes will be wrapped in a `strong` element with `tt-highlight` class. Defaults to `false`. * `hint` – If `false`, the typeahead will not show a hint. Defaults to `true`. * `minLength` – The minimum character length needed before suggestions start getting rendered. Defaults to `1`. ### Datasets A typeahead is composed of one or more datasets. When an end-user modifies the value of a typeahead, each dataset will attempt to render suggestions for the new value. For most use cases, one dataset should suffice. It's only in the scenario where you want rendered suggestions to be grouped in the dropdown menu based on some sort of categorical relationship that you'd need to use multiple datasets. For example, on twitter.com, the search typeahead groups results into recent searches, trends, and accounts – that would be a great use case for using multiple datasets. Datasets can be configured using the following options. * `source` – The backing data source for suggestions. Expected to be a function with the signature `(query, cb)`. It is expected that the function will compute the suggestion set (i.e. an array of JavaScript objects) for `query` and then invoke `cb` with said set. `cb` can be invoked synchronously or asynchronously. A Bloodhound suggestion engine can be used here, to learn how, see [Bloodhound Integration](#bloodhound-integration). **Required**. * `name` – The name of the dataset. This will be appended to `tt-dataset-` to form the class name of the containing DOM element. Must only consist of underscores, dashes, letters (`a-z`), and numbers. Defaults to a random number. * `displayKey` – For a given suggestion object, determines the string representation of it. This will be used when setting the value of the input control after a suggestion is selected. Can be either a key string or a function that transforms a suggestion object into a string. Defaults to `value`. * `templates` – A hash of templates to be used when rendering the dataset. Note a precompiled template is a function that takes a JavaScript object as its first argument and returns a HTML string. * `empty` – Rendered when `0` suggestions are available for the given query. Can be either a HTML string or a precompiled template. If it's a precompiled template, the passed in context will contain `query`. * `footer`– Rendered at the bottom of the dataset. Can be either a HTML string or a precompiled template. If it's a precompiled template, the passed in context will contain `query` and `isEmpty`. * `header` – Rendered at the top of the dataset. Can be either a HTML string or a precompiled template. If it's a precompiled template, the passed in context will contain `query` and `isEmpty`. * `suggestion` – Used to render a single suggestion. If set, this has to be a precompiled template. The associated suggestion object will serve as the context. Defaults to the value of `displayKey` wrapped in a `p` tag i.e. `

{{value}}

`. ### Custom Events The typeahead component triggers the following custom events. * `typeahead:opened` – Triggered when the dropdown menu of a typeahead is opened. * `typeahead:closed` – Triggered when the dropdown menu of a typeahead is closed. * `typeahead:cursorchanged` – Triggered when the dropdown menu cursor is moved to a different suggestion. The event handler will be invoked with 3 arguments: the jQuery event object, the suggestion object, and the name of the dataset the suggestion belongs to. * `typeahead:selected` – Triggered when a suggestion from the dropdown menu is selected. The event handler will be invoked with 3 arguments: the jQuery event object, the suggestion object, and the name of the dataset the suggestion belongs to. * `typeahead:autocompleted` – Triggered when the query is autocompleted. Autocompleted means the query was changed to the hint. The event handler will be invoked with 3 arguments: the jQuery event object, the suggestion object, and the name of the dataset the suggestion belongs to. All custom events are triggered on the element initialized as a typeahead. ### Look and Feel Below is a faux mustache template describing the DOM structure of a typeahead dropdown menu. Keep in mind that `header`, `footer`, `suggestion`, and `empty` come from the provided templates detailed [here](#datasets). ```html {{#datasets}}
{{{header}}} {{#suggestions}}
{{{suggestion}}}
{{/suggestions}} {{^suggestions}} {{{empty}}} {{/suggestions}}
{{{footer}}}
{{/datasets}}
``` When an end-user mouses or keys over a `.tt-suggestion`, the class `tt-cursor` will be added to it. You can use this class as a hook for styling the "under cursor" state of suggestions. Bloodhound Integration ---------------------- Because datasets expect their `source` to be a function, you cannot directly pass a Bloodhound suggestion engine in as `source`. Rather, you'll need to pass the suggestion engine's typeahead adapter: ```javascript var engine = new Bloodhound({ /* options */ }); engine.initialize(); $('.typeahead').typeahead(null, { source: engine.ttAdapter() }); ```