Auto-complete - Ajax search

This example demonstrates the use of autocomplete with Ajax search for options. The initial JSON that is loaded by the DataTable does not contain a list of options for the field in this case, rather as the end user types into the field an Ajax call is made to the server to get a sub-list of matching options. This is particularly useful if you have a large list of options and don't wish to load them all up front.

You'll notice that when you focus on the Country field's input, instead of showing the list of values it waits for the end user to start typing. The text "Type to search" can be customised using the i18n.placeholder option for the field. It can also be hidden by setting that option to be an empty string.

Please note that the editing performed here is local only - i.e. it is not saved to the database (the ajax option is not present in the Editor initialisation).

Name	Country

Javascript
HTML
CSS
Ajax
Server-side script
Comments

The Javascript shown below is used to initialise the table shown in this example:

var editor = new DataTable.Editor({
	fields: [
		{
			label: 'Name:',
			name: 'team.name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Country:',
			name: 'country.name',
			type: 'autocomplete',
			ajax: '../php/autoCompleteAjax.php'
		}
	],
	table: '#example'
});

$('#example').DataTable({
	ajax: '../php/autoCompleteAjax.php',
	columns: [
		{ data: 'team.name' },
		{ data: 'country.name' }
	],
	layout: {
		topStart: {
			buttons: [
				{ extend: 'create', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'edit', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'remove', editor: editor }
			]
		}
	},
	select: true
});

const editor = new DataTable.Editor({
	fields: [
		{
			label: 'Name:',
			name: 'team.name'
		},
		{
			label: 'Country:',
			name: 'country.name',
			type: 'autocomplete',
			ajax: '../php/autoCompleteAjax.php'
		}
	],
	table: '#example'
});

new DataTable('#example', {
	ajax: '../php/autoCompleteAjax.php',
	columns: [
		{ data: 'team.name' },
		{ data: 'country.name' }
	],
	layout: {
		topStart: {
			buttons: [
				{ extend: 'create', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'edit', editor: editor },
				{ extend: 'remove', editor: editor }
			]
		}
	},
	select: true
});

In addition to the above code, the following Javascript library files are loaded for use in this example:

The HTML shown below is the raw HTML table element, before it has been enhanced by DataTables:

This example uses a little bit of additional CSS beyond what is loaded from the library files (below), in order to correctly display the table. The additional CSS used is shown below:

The following CSS library files are loaded for use in this example to provide the styling of the table:

This table loads data by Ajax. The latest data that has been loaded is shown below. This data will update automatically as any additional data is loaded.

The script used to perform the server-side interaction for this demo is shown below. This server uses PHP, so the PHP script is shown, however our download packages include the equivalent script for other platforms, including .NET and Node.js. Server-side scripts can be written in any language, using the protocol described in the Editor documentation.

Auto-complete - Ajax search

Other examples

Simple initialisation

Advanced initialisation

Triggering editing

DataTables as an input

Dates and time

Dropdown input types

DataTables extensions

Inline editing

Bubble editing

API

Standalone

Styling

Plug-ins

DataTables