autocomplete-vue

@trevoreyre/autocomplete-vue

Demo

Take a look at the documentation page, and the Codepen examples.

Installation

Install the component from npm.

npm install --save @trevoreyre/autocomplete-vue

Or using yarn.

yarn add @trevoreyre/autocomplete-vue

You can also use the browser bundle in a script tag.

<script src="https://unpkg.com/@trevoreyre/autocomplete-vue"></script>

Usage

Import the autocomplete component and register it globally in your Vue app. Import the CSS as well if you wish to use the default styling.

import Vue from 'vue'
import Autocomplete from '@trevoreyre/autocomplete-vue'
import '@trevoreyre/autocomplete-vue/dist/style.css'

Vue.use(Autocomplete)

You can also import autocomplete locally in your component if you prefer.

import Autocomplete from '@trevoreyre/autocomplete-vue'

export default {
  name: 'my-component',
  ...
  components: {
    Autocomplete
  }
  ...
}

Then, use the component in your app.

<autocomplete :search="search"></autocomplete>

Props

Prop	Type	Default	Description
search	Function (required)		The search function to be executed on user input. Can be a synchronous function or a Promise.
baseClass	String	'autocomplete'	Base class used to create classes and IDs for generated DOM elements
autoSelect	Boolean	false	Controls whether first result should be highlighted after input
getResultValue	Function		For complex search results, this function is executed to get the value to display in the input
defaultValue	String		Initial value of the component
debounceTime	Number	0	Time in milliseconds that the component should wait after last keystroke before calling search function

Note: Any extra props you pass will be spread on the input element of the autocomplete component.

Events

Event	Signature	Description
submit	function (result: any): void	Executed on input submission
update	function (results: any[], selectedIndex: Number): void	Executed when the results list is updated

search

The search function is executed on user input. It is expected to return either an array of results to be rendered, or a Promise that resolves to an array of results.

In the simplest case, search can return an array of strings.

search(input) {
  if (input.length < 1) { return [] }
  return countries.filter(country => {
    return country.toLowerCase()
      .startsWith(input.toLowerCase())
  })
}

The search function can also return a Promise, to make asynchronous calls to an API, for example. The return value doesn't have to be an array of strings, it can also be an array of objects. In this case, you will need to provide a getResultValue function to get the raw value from your result object to display in the input field when a user selects or submits a result.

Below is a more advanced search example showing these props.

<div id="app">
  <autocomplete
    :search="search"
    placeholder="Search Wikipedia"
    aria-label="Search Wikipedia"
    :get-result-value="getResultValue"
    @submit="onSubmit"
  ></autocomplete>
</div>

const wikiUrl = 'https://en.wikipedia.org'
const params = 'action=query&list=search&format=json&origin=*'

new Vue({
  el: '#app',
  components: {
    Autocomplete,
  },
  methods: {
    // Search function can return a promise
    // which resolves with an array of
    // results. In this case we're using
    // the Wikipedia search API.
    search(input) {
      const url = `${wikiUrl}/w/api.php?${params}&srsearch=${encodeURI(input)}`

      return new Promise((resolve) => {
        if (input.length < 3) {
          return resolve([])
        }

        fetch(url)
          .then((response) => response.json())
          .then((data) => {
            resolve(data.query.search)
          })
      })
    },

    // Wikipedia returns a format like this:
    //
    // {
    //   pageid: 12345,
    //   title: 'Article title',
    //   ...
    // }
    //
    // We want to display the title
    getResultValue(result) {
      return result.title
    },

    // Open the selected article in
    // a new window
    onSubmit(result) {
      window.open(`${wikiUrl}/wiki/${encodeURI(result.title)}`)
    },
  },
})

baseClass

The baseClass prop is used to derive classes for generated DOM elements in the results list. It's also used to create IDs when necessary for use in ARIA attributes.

For example, if you passed a baseClass of 'search':

<autocomplete base-class="search"></autocomplete>

You would get the following DOM (simplified for demonstration purposes):

<div class="search">
  <input class="search-input" />
  <ul id="search-result-list-1" class="search-result-list">
    <li id="search-result-0" class="search-result">
      First result
    </li>
    <li id="search-result-1" class="search-result">
      Second result
    </li>
  </ul>
</div>

This prop can be useful if you need a certain class in your DOM for styling purposes. See the section on Styling and customization for more info.

autoSelect

If the autoSelect prop is set to true, the first result in the list will automatically be highlighted after user input.

<autocomplete :search="search" auto-select></autocomplete>

getResultValue

If your search function returns more complex results like an array of objects, you can use the getResultValue function to tell the autocomplete component what value to display in the results list and input. The function receives a result as an argument, and is expected to return a String to display for that result.

// Results come back in the format:
//
// {
//   name: 'lion',
//   collateral_adjectives: [
//     'leonine',
//     'lionish'
//   ]
// }
//
// We want to display the name
getResultValue(result) {
  return result.name
}

defaultValue

The defaultValue prop can be used to set the initial value of the input field.

<autocomplete :search="search" default-value="some value..."></autocomplete>

debounceTime

The debounceTime prop can be used to improve the performance of your UI by specifying an amount of time (milliseconds) to wait before invoking the search function. This ensures that the search function will not fire until the user is done typing instead of firing after each keystroke.

<autocomplete :search="searchWikipedia" :debounce-time="500"></autocomplete>

submit

The submit event is executed when the user submits their result by either selecting a result from the list, or pressing enter/return. The function receives the selected result as an argument.

submit(result) {
  alert(`You selected ${result}`)
}

update

The update event is executed when the results list is updated. The function receives the results list and the index of the selected result.

update(results, selectedIndex) {
  console.log(`${results.length} results`)
  if (selectedIndex > -1) {
    console.log(`Selected: ${results[selectedIndex]}`)
  }
}

Slots

Two slots are provided for controlling rendering of different parts of the component. A named slot, result, if you need to control rendering of result items in the result list, and a default slot if you need to control rendering of the entire component.

result

The named result slot allows you to take control of the rendering of individual result items. Using scoped slots, you can access the following data in the slot.

• result - The result value returned from your search function.
• props - An object containing generated attributes for the result item. You can easily v-bind this object on your li element, so you don't have to worry about generating the necessary IDs, classes, and ARIA attributes yourself.

<autocomplete
  :search="search"
  placeholder="Search Wikipedia"
  aria-label="Search Wikipedia"
  :get-result-value="getResultValue"
  @submit="onSubmit"
>
  <template #result="{ result, props }">
    <li v-bind="props">
      <div class="wiki-title">
        {{ result.title }}
      </div>
      <div class="wiki-snippet" v-html="result.snippet" />
    </li>
  </template>
</autocomplete>

default slot

The default slot allows you to take full control of rendering for the entire component. Using scoped slots, you can access the following data in the slot.

• rootProps - Object of attributes to v-bind on the root container element.
• inputProps - Object of attributes to v-bind on the input element.
• inputListeners - Event listeners to listen on the input element.
• resultListProps - Object of attributes to v-bind on the ul element.
• resultListListeners - Event listeners to listen on the ul element.
• results - The list of results returned from your search function.
• resultProps - A list of props for each result item. Each item in the list is an object of attributes that you can v-bind on your li element.

<autocomplete
  placeholder="Search for a country"
  aria-label="Search for a country"
  :search="search"
>
  <template
    #default="{
      rootProps,
      inputProps,
      inputListeners,
      resultListProps,
      resultListListeners,
      results,
      resultProps
    }"
  >
    <div v-bind="rootProps">
      <custom-input
        v-bind="inputProps"
        v-on="inputListeners"
        :class="[
          'autocomplete-input',
          { 'autocomplete-input-no-results': noResults },
          { 'autocomplete-input-focused': focused }
        ]"
        @focus="handleFocus"
        @blur="handleBlur"
      ></custom-input>
      <ul
        v-if="noResults"
        class="autocomplete-result-list"
        style="position: absolute; z-index: 1; width: 100%; top: 100%;"
      >
        <li class="autocomplete-result">
          No results found
        </li>
      </ul>
      <ul v-bind="resultListProps" v-on="resultListListeners">
        <li
          v-for="(result, index) in results"
          :key="resultProps[index].id"
          v-bind="resultProps[index]"
        >
          {{ result }}
        </li>
      </ul>
    </div>
  </template>
</autocomplete>

Styling and customization

To include the default styling of the autocomplete component that you see here in the docs, include the CSS file on your page.

<link
  rel="stylesheet"
  href="https://unpkg.com/@trevoreyre/autocomplete-vue/dist/style.css"
/>

Or import it into your app.

import '@trevoreyre/autocomplete-vue/dist/style.css'

This styling is intentionally opinionated, however, it's relatively easy to write your own CSS if you want a different style. All positional styling is handled inline, so you don't have to worry about positioning the results list in your CSS.

The IDs and classes of the component can be customized using the baseClass prop. If you need more control than the baseClass prop can provide, you can also control rendering of different parts of the component using slots.

Below is an example of a typical DOM structure, and all the properties that might be relevant for styling.

<div
  id="autocomplete"
  class="autocomplete"
  data-expanded="true"
  data-loading="false"
  data-position="below"
>
  <input class="autocomplete-input" aria-expanded="true" />
  <ul id="autocomplete-result-list-1" class="autocomplete-result-list">
    <li
      id="autocomplete-result-0"
      class="autocomplete-result"
      data-result-index="0"
      aria-selected="true"
    >
      First result
    </li>
    <li
      id="autocomplete-result-1"
      class="autocomplete-result"
      data-result-index="1"
    >
      Second result
    </li>
  </ul>
</div>

There are a few data attributes that are added to the root element as well to show the current state of the component.

• data-expanded="true" - This is added when the results list is open
• data-loading="true" - This is added if your search function is a Promise, and hasn't resolved yet
• data-position="below" - This shows if the results list is positioned above or below the input element

In addition, an aria-expanded attribute is added to the input element, and aria-selected is added to the currently selected li element.

Below is an example of how you could use these attributes in your CSS.

/* Change border if results are above input */
[data-position='above'] .autocomplete-result-list {
  border-bottom: none;
  border-radius: 8px 8px 0 0;
}