Implementing autocomplete

I am having trouble finding a good autocomplete component for Angular2. Just anything that I can pass a list of key-label objects to and have a nice autocomplete on an input field.

Kendo does not support Angular 2 yet and that it what we mostly use internally. It doesn't appear that Angular Material supports Angular 2 yet either.

Can anyone please point me in the right direction or let me know what they are using?

This is what I built so far. It's pretty bad and I'd like to find something that looks nice.

import {Component, EventEmitter, Input, Output} from 'angular2/core';
import {Control} from 'angular2/common';
import {Observable} from 'rxjs/Observable';
import {SimpleKeyValue} from '../models/simple-key-value'
import 'rxjs/add/operator/map';
import 'rxjs/add/operator/debounceTime';
import 'rxjs/add/operator/distinctUntilChanged';

@Component({
selector: 'general-typeahead',
template: ` <div>
            <div class="input-group">
            <input type="text" [ngFormControl] = "term" class="form-control" placeholder={{placeHolder}} >
            </div>
            <ul>
                <li class="item" *ngFor="#item of matchingItems" (click)="selectItem(item)">
                    {{item.value}}
                </li>
            </ul>              
</div>`
})

export class GeneralTypeahead {

  matchingItems: Array<SimpleKeyValue>;
  term = new Control();

  @Input() allItems: Array<SimpleKeyValue>;
  @Input() placeHolder: string;
  @Output() onSelectItem = new EventEmitter<SimpleKeyValue>();

  constructor() {
    this.term.valueChanges
        .distinctUntilChanged()
        .debounceTime(200)
        .subscribe((term : string) => this.matchingItems = this.allItems.filter(sl => sl.value.toLowerCase().indexOf(term.toLowerCase()) > -1));
  }

  selectItem(sl: SimpleKeyValue) {
    this.onSelectItem.emit(sl);
  }
}

Update: This answer has led to the development of ng2-completer an Angular2 autocomplete component. This is the list of existing autocomplete components for Angular2:

1. ng2-completer
2. ng2-auto-complete
3. ng2-typeahead

Credit goes to @dan-cancro for coming up with the idea

Keeping the original answer for those who wish to create their own directive:

To display autocomplete list we first need an attribute directive that will return the list of suggestions based on the input text and then display them in a dropdown. The directive has 2 options to display the list:

1. Obtain a reference to the nativeElement and manipulate the DOM directly
2. Dynamically load a list component using DynamicComponentLoader

It looks to me that 2nd way is a better choice as it uses angular 2 core mechanisms instead of bypassing them by working directly with the DOM and therefore I'll use this method.

This is the directive code:

"use strict";
import {Directive, DynamicComponentLoader, Input, ComponentRef, Output, EventEmitter, OnInit, ViewContainerRef} from "@angular/core";
import {Promise} from "es6-promise";
import {AutocompleteList} from "./autocomplete-list";

@Directive({
    selector: "[ng2-autocomplete]", // The attribute for the template that uses this directive
    host: {
        "(keyup)": "onKey($event)" // Liten to keyup events on the host component
    }
})
export class AutocompleteDirective implements OnInit {
    // The search function should be passed as an input
    @Input("ng2-autocomplete") public search: (term: string) => Promise<Array<{ text: string, data: any }>>;
    // The directive emits ng2AutocompleteOnSelect event when an item from the list is selected
    @Output("ng2AutocompleteOnSelect") public selected = new EventEmitter();

    private term = "";
    private listCmp: ComponentRef<AutocompleteList> = undefined;
    private refreshTimer: any = undefined;
    private searchInProgress = false;
    private searchRequired = false;

    constructor( private viewRef: ViewContainerRef, private dcl: DynamicComponentLoader) { }
    /**
     * On key event is triggered when a key is released on the host component
     * the event starts a timer to prevent concurrent requests
     */
    public onKey(event: any) {
        if (!this.refreshTimer) {
            this.refreshTimer = setTimeout(
            () => {
                if (!this.searchInProgress) {
                    this.doSearch();
                } else {
                    // If a request is in progress mark that a new search is required
                    this.searchRequired = true;
                }
            },
            200);
        }
        this.term = event.target.value;
        if (this.term === "" && this.listCmp) {
            // clean the list if the search term is empty
            this.removeList();
        }
    }

    public ngOnInit() {
        // When an item is selected remove the list
        this.selected.subscribe(() => {
            this.removeList();
        });
    }

    /**
     * Call the search function and handle the results
     */
    private doSearch() {
        this.refreshTimer = undefined;
        // if we have a search function and a valid search term call the search
        if (this.search && this.term !== "") {
            this.searchInProgress = true;
            this.search(this.term)
            .then((res) => {
                this.searchInProgress = false;
                // if the term has changed during our search do another search
                if (this.searchRequired) {
                    this.searchRequired = false;
                    this.doSearch();
                } else {
                    // display the list of results
                    this.displayList(res);
                }
            })
            .catch(err => {
                console.log("search error:", err);
                this.removeList();
            });
        }
    }

    /**
     * Display the list of results
     * Dynamically load the list component if it doesn't exist yet and update the suggestions list
     */
    private displayList(list: Array<{ text: string, data: any }>) {
        if (!this.listCmp) {
            this.dcl.loadNextToLocation(AutocompleteList, this.viewRef)
            .then(cmp => {
                // The component is loaded
                this.listCmp = cmp;
                this.updateList(list);
                // Emit the selectd event when the component fires its selected event
                (<AutocompleteList>(this.listCmp.instance)).selected
                    .subscribe(selectedItem => {

                    this.selected.emit(selectedItem);
                });
            });
        } else {
            this.updateList(list);
        }
    }

    /**
     * Update the suggestions list in the list component
     */
    private updateList(list: Array<{ text: string, data: any }>) {
        if (this.listCmp) {
            (<AutocompleteList>(this.listCmp.instance)).list = list;
        }
    }

    /**
     * remove the list component
     */
    private removeList() {
        this.searchInProgress = false;
        this.searchRequired = false;
        if (this.listCmp) {
            this.listCmp.destroy();
            this.listCmp = undefined;
        }
    }
}

The directive dynamically loads a dropdown component, this is a sample of such a component using bootstrap 4:

"use strict";
import {Component, Output, EventEmitter} from "@angular/core";

@Component({
    selector: "autocomplete-list",
    template: `<div class="dropdown-menu  search-results">
                    <a *ngFor="let item of list" class="dropdown-item" (click)="onClick(item)">{{item.text}}</a>
               </div>`, // Use a bootstrap 4 dropdown-menu to display the list
    styles: [".search-results { position: relative; right: 0; display: block; padding: 0; overflow: hidden; font-size: .9rem;}"]
})
export class AutocompleteList  {
    // Emit a selected event when an item in the list is selected
    @Output() public selected = new EventEmitter();

    public list;

    /**
     * Listen for a click event on the list
     */
    public onClick(item: {text: string, data: any}) {
        this.selected.emit(item);
    }
}

To use the directive in another component you need to import the directive, include it in the components directives and provide it with a search function and event handler for the selection:

 "use strict";
import {Component} from "@angular/core";

import {AutocompleteDirective} from "../component/ng2-autocomplete/autocomplete";

@Component({
    selector: "my-cmp",
    directives: [AutocompleteDirective],
    template: `<input class="form-control" type="text" [ng2-autocomplete]="search()" (ng2AutocompleteOnSelect)="onItemSelected($event)" autocomplete="off">`
})
export class MyComponent  {

    /**
     * generate a search function that returns a Promise that resolves to array of text and optionally additional data
     */  
    public search() {
        return (filter: string): Promise<Array<{ text: string, data: any }>> => {
            // do the search
            resolve({text: "one item", data: null});
        };
    }

    /**
     * handle item selection
     */  
    public onItemSelected(selected: { text: string, data: any }) {
        console.log("selected: ", selected.text);
    }
}

Update: code compatible with angular2 rc.1

PrimeNG has a native AutoComplete component with advanced features like templating and multiple selection.

http://www.primefaces.org/primeng/#/autocomplete

I think you can use typeahead.js. There are typescript definitions for it. so it'll be easy to use it i guess if you are using typescript for development.

I know you already have several answers, but I was on a similar situation where my team didn't want to depend on a heavy libraries or anything related to bootstrap since we are using material so I made our own autocomplete control, using material-like styles, you can use my [autocomplete][1] or at least you can give a look to give you some guiadance, there was not much documentation on simple examples on how to upload your components to be shared on NPM.

[1]: https://github.com/kEpEx/angular2-kpx-autocomplete "autocomplete"

I have created a module for anuglar2 autocomplete In this module you can use array, or url npm link : ang2-autocomplete

I've built a fairly simple, reusable and functional Angular2 autocomplete component based on some of the ideas in this answer/other tutorials around on this subject and others. It's by no means comprehensive but may be helpful if you decide to build your own.

The component:

import { Component, Input, Output, OnInit, ContentChild, EventEmitter, HostListener } from '@angular/core';
import { Observable } from "rxjs/Observable";
import { AutoCompleteRefDirective } from "./autocomplete.directive";

@Component({
    selector: 'autocomplete',
    template: `
<ng-content></ng-content>
<div class="autocomplete-wrapper" (click)="clickedInside($event)">
    <div class="list-group autocomplete" *ngIf="results">
        <a [routerLink]="" class="list-group-item" (click)="selectResult(result)" *ngFor="let result of results; let i = index" [innerHTML]="dataMapping(result) | highlight: query" [ngClass]="{'active': i == selectedIndex}"></a>
    </div>
</div>
    `,
    styleUrls: ['./autocomplete.component.css']
})
export class AutoCompleteComponent implements OnInit {

    @ContentChild(AutoCompleteRefDirective)
    public input: AutoCompleteRefDirective;

    @Input() data: (searchTerm: string) => Observable<any[]>;
    @Input() dataMapping: (obj: any) => string;
    @Output() onChange = new EventEmitter<any>();

    @HostListener('document:click', ['$event'])
    clickedOutside($event: any): void {
        this.clearResults();
    }

    public results: any[];
    public query: string;
    public selectedIndex: number = 0;
    private searchCounter: number = 0;

    ngOnInit(): void {
        this.input.change
            .subscribe((query: string) => {
                this.query = query;
                this.onChange.emit();
                this.searchCounter++;
                let counter = this.searchCounter;

                if (query) {
                    this.data(query)
                        .subscribe(data => {
                            if (counter == this.searchCounter) {
                                this.results = data;
                                this.input.hasResults = data.length > 0;
                                this.selectedIndex = 0;
                            }
                        });
                }
                else this.clearResults();
            });

        this.input.cancel
            .subscribe(() => {
                this.clearResults();
            });

        this.input.select
            .subscribe(() => {
                if (this.results && this.results.length > 0)
                {
                    this.selectResult(this.results[this.selectedIndex]);
                }
            });

        this.input.up
            .subscribe(() => {
                if (this.results && this.selectedIndex > 0) this.selectedIndex--;
            });

        this.input.down
            .subscribe(() => {
                if (this.results && this.selectedIndex + 1 < this.results.length) this.selectedIndex++;
            });
    }

    selectResult(result: any): void {
        this.onChange.emit(result);
        this.clearResults();
    }

    clickedInside($event: any): void {
        $event.preventDefault();
        $event.stopPropagation();
    }

    private clearResults(): void {
        this.results = [];
        this.selectedIndex = 0;
        this.searchCounter = 0;
        this.input.hasResults = false;
    }
}

The component CSS:

.autocomplete-wrapper {
    position: relative;
}

.autocomplete {
    position: absolute;
    z-index: 100;
    width: 100%;
}

The directive:

import { Directive, Input, Output, HostListener, EventEmitter } from '@angular/core';

@Directive({
    selector: '[autocompleteRef]'
})
export class AutoCompleteRefDirective {
    @Input() hasResults: boolean = false;
    @Output() change = new EventEmitter<string>();
    @Output() cancel = new EventEmitter();
    @Output() select = new EventEmitter();
    @Output() up = new EventEmitter();
    @Output() down = new EventEmitter();

    @HostListener('input', ['$event'])
    oninput(event: any) {
        this.change.emit(event.target.value);
    }

    @HostListener('keydown', ['$event'])
    onkeydown(event: any)
    {
        switch (event.keyCode) {
            case 27:
                this.cancel.emit();
                return false;
            case 13:
                var hasResults = this.hasResults;
                this.select.emit();
                return !hasResults;
            case 38:
                this.up.emit();
                return false;
            case 40:
                this.down.emit();
                return false;
            default:
        }
    }
}

The highlight pipe:

import { Pipe, PipeTransform } from '@angular/core';

@Pipe({
    name: 'highlight'
})

export class HighlightPipe implements PipeTransform {
    transform(value: string, args: any): any {
        var re = new RegExp(args, 'gi');

        return value.replace(re, function (match) {
            return "<strong>" + match + "</strong>";
        })
        
    }
}

The implementation:

import { Component } from '@angular/core';
import { Observable } from "rxjs/Observable";
import { Subscriber } from "rxjs/Subscriber";

@Component({
    selector: 'home',
    template: `
<autocomplete [data]="getData" [dataMapping]="dataMapping" (onChange)="change($event)">
    <input type="text" class="form-control" name="AutoComplete" placeholder="Search..." autocomplete="off" autocompleteRef />
</autocomplete>
    `
})
export class HomeComponent {

    getData = (query: string) => this.search(query);

    // The dataMapping property controls the mapping of an object returned via getData.
    // to a string that can be displayed to the use as an option to select.
    dataMapping = (obj: any) => obj;

    // This function is called any time a change is made in the autocomplete.
    // When the text is changed manually, no object is passed.
    // When a selection is made the object is passed.
    change(obj: any): void {
        if (obj) {
            // You can do pretty much anything here as the entire object is passed if it's been selected.
            // Navigate to another page, update a model etc.
            alert(obj);
        }
    }

    private searchData = ['one', 'two', 'three', 'four', 'five', 'six', 'seven', 'eight', 'nine', 'ten'];

    // This function mimics an Observable http service call.
    // In reality it's probably calling your API, but today it's looking at mock static data.
    private search(query: string): Observable<any>
    {
        return new Observable<any>((subscriber: Subscriber<any>) => subscriber
            .next())
            .map(o => this.searchData.filter(d => d.indexOf(query) > -1));
    }
}

I'd like to add something that no one has yet mentioned: ng2-input-autocomplete

NPM: https://www.npmjs.com/package/ng2-input-autocomplete

GitHub: https://github.com/liuy97/ng2-input-autocomplete#readme