Unlock the Potential of Autocomplete Material UI: A Step-by-Step Guide with Real-Life Examples!

Table of content

1. Introduction
2. Understanding Autocomplete Material UI
3. Step 1: Setting Up Autocomplete Material UI
4. Step 2: Creating the Autocomplete Component
5. Step 3: Adding Data to Autocomplete
6. Step 4: Customizing Autocomplete
7. Real-Life Examples of Autocomplete Material UI
8. Conclusion

Introduction

Autocomplete is a popular feature in most modern user interfaces that allows users to easily type in search queries, code snippets, or other text inputs by providing them with a list of suggestions that match what they're typing. Autocomplete is particularly useful in web applications and other software platforms where users have to interact with a lot of data and information.

Material UI is a popular library of pre-built React components that can help developers quickly build beautiful and responsive user interfaces. In this subtopic, we will dive into how Material UI can help developers unlock the potential of autocomplete, making it faster and easier for users to interact with the application.

In this guide, we will provide a step-by-step explanation of how to build an autocomplete component using Material UI. We will also provide real-life examples to show how this feature can be used in practice. By the end of this guide, developers will have a deep understanding of how to integrate and customize autocomplete in their applications using Material UI.

Understanding Autocomplete Material UI

Autocomplete Material UI is a powerful tool that can enhance the user experience of your applications by allowing users to quickly and easily search for and select items from a list. It is a feature-rich library that includes a wide range of components and features that make it easy to create autocomplete functionality in your applications.

At its core, Autocomplete Material UI is a user-interface component that combines a text-input field with a drop-down list. Users can enter text into the input field, which is then matched against a list of items, and the matching items are displayed in the drop-down list. Users can then select an item from the list, and the input field is updated with the selected value.

One of the key benefits of Autocomplete Material UI is its ability to handle both static and dynamic lists. Static lists are pre-defined lists of items that are stored within your application code or database. Dynamic lists, on the other hand, are lists that are generated on-the-fly based on user input or other factors.

Overall, Autocomplete Material UI is a versatile and powerful tool that can help you unlock the potential of your applications. By providing users with an intuitive and efficient way to search and select items, you can make your applications more user-friendly and increase user engagement.

Step 1: Setting Up Autocomplete Material UI

The first step to unlocking the potential of Autocomplete Material UI is to set it up in your project. Here’s how to do it:

1. Install the @material-ui/lab package by running the following command in your terminal:

   npm install @material-ui/lab
   

2. Import Autocomplete from the @material-ui/lab package in your component:

   import Autocomplete from '@material-ui/lab/Autocomplete';
   

3. Create a list of options to be used for autocompletion. This can be an array of strings, objects or a combination of both. For example:

   const options = ['Apple', 'Banana', 'Cherry', 'Dewberry', 'Elderberry'];
   

   or

   const options = [
     { label: 'Apple', value: 'apple' },
     { label: 'Banana', value: 'banana' },
     { label: 'Cherry', value: 'cherry' },
     { label: 'Dewberry', value: 'dewberry' },
     { label: 'Elderberry', value: 'elderberry' },
   ];
   

4. Finally, add the Autocomplete component to your JSX code:

   <Autocomplete
     options={options}
     getOptionLabel={(option) => option.label} // or getOptionLabel={(option) => option}
     renderInput={(params) => (
       <TextField {...params} label="Search fruits" variant="outlined" fullWidth />
     )}
   />
   

   In this example, we pass our options to the options prop, specify how to get the label for each option using getOptionLabel, and render an input field using the renderInput prop. You can customize the input field and autocompletion behavior by passing additional props to the Autocomplete component.

That's it! Autocomplete Material UI is now set up and ready to use in your project.

Step 2: Creating the Autocomplete Component

To create the Autocomplete component in Material UI, start by importing the necessary dependencies at the beginning of your code. Besides the Autocomplete component, you'll need to import the TextField component for the input field and the CircularProgress component to display a loading spinner when fetching data.

Next, create a state variable to store the value of the input field and another state variable for the options array. The options array should be initialized as an empty array.

const [value, setValue] = useState('');
const [options, setOptions] = useState([]);

Then, create an async function to handle the fetching of data for the options. This function will receive the user's input as a parameter, and it should return an array of options that match the input. You can use the fetch API to retrieve data from an external API or use any other method to get the options.

const fetchOptions = async (input) => {
  // fetch data
  const data = await fetch('https://api.example.com/options?q=' + input);
  const options = await data.json();
  return options;
}

Now, you can add the Autocomplete component to your code:

<Autocomplete
  freeSolo
  options={options}
  onInputChange={(event, newInputValue) => {
    setValue(newInputValue);
  }}
  inputValue={value}
  loading={loading}
  renderInput={(params) => (
    <TextField
      {...params}
      label="Enter option"
      variant="outlined"
      onChange={(event) => {
        setValue(event.target.value);
      }}
      InputProps={{
        ...params.InputProps,
        endAdornment: (
          <>
            {loading ? <CircularProgress color="inherit" size={20} /> : null}
            {params.InputProps.endAdornment}
          </>
        ),
      }}
    />
  )}
/>

The freeSolo prop enables users to enter custom input that is not in the options list. The options prop connects the component to the options array in state. The onInputChange prop updates the value state as the user types. The inputValue prop sets the value of the input field to the value state. The loading prop displays the CircularProgress component while data is being fetched. The renderInput prop returns the TextField component with customizations, including an event listener to update the value state, the endAdornment with the loading spinner and the InputProps that spread the props passed by the Autocomplete.

By following these steps, you can create an Autocomplete component that fetches data from an external API and updates the options list as the user types.

Step 3: Adding Data to Autocomplete

To add data to Autocomplete in Material UI, we need to first create an array of objects containing the data we want to display. Each object should have a "label" key, which will be used as the displayed text, and a "value" key, which will be used as the input value. The data should be sorted alphabetically if we want Autocomplete to show suggestions in order.

For example, let's say we want to create an Autocomplete for a list of fruits. We can create an array of objects like this:

const fruits = [
  { label: 'Apple', value: 'apple' },
  { label: 'Banana', value: 'banana' },
  { label: 'Cherry', value: 'cherry' },
  { label: 'Mango', value: 'mango' },
  { label: 'Orange', value: 'orange' },
  { label: 'Pineapple', value: 'pineapple' },
];

Once we have this data, we can pass it to the Autocomplete component as a prop, like this:

<Autocomplete
  id="fruits"
  options={fruits}
  getOptionLabel={(option) => option.label}
  renderInput={(params) => <TextField {...params} label="Fruits" />}
/>

Here, we pass the "options" prop the "fruits" array we created earlier. We also define "getOptionLabel" to return the "label" key of each object, which will be used as the displayed text. Finally, we render a TextField component as the input for the Autocomplete.

By following these steps, we can easily add data to Autocomplete Material UI and display suggestions to the user based on their input.

Step 4: Customizing Autocomplete

Customizing Autocomplete can take your application to the next level. Material UI Autocomplete provides the option to customize various features as per the requirements of the application. Let's explore some of the customizations you can apply while using the Autocomplete Component.

Customizing Input Value

The inputValue prop can be used to customize the selected value displayed in the input. It takes a string as an input and returns a string.

const [inputValue, setInputValue] = useState('');

<Autocomplete
  inputValue={inputValue}
  onInputChange={(event, newInputValue) => {
    setInputValue(newInputValue);
  }}
  {...props}
/>

Customizing the options Array

You can customize the options array provided to the Autocomplete Component. In some cases, you may want to show more than one attribute of the object in the suggestion display. The options array can be customized to display the extra information also.

<Autocomplete
  options={options}
  getOptionLabel={(option) => `${option.title} (${option.year})`}
  {...props}
/>

In the getOptionLabel prop, the option object is passed, and a string representation of the object is returned. Here, we have concatenated the title and year attribute of the object and returned a string.

Customizing the Render Option

The renderOption prop of Autocomplete is used to customize the display of each option in the suggestion list. It can be used to return a customized component for each option instead of just a string.

<Autocomplete
  options={options}
  renderOption={(option) => <CustomizedOption option={option} />}
  {...props}
/>

Here, we have created a CustomizedOption component, which takes the option prop and returns a customized component for each option to be displayed in the list.

Customizing Autocomplete can enhance the user experience of the application and make it more interactive. The above customizations are just some examples; there are many other customizations that can be done using the Material UI Autocomplete Component.

Real-Life Examples of Autocomplete Material UI

Autocomplete Material UI is a versatile tool that can be used in a variety of applications. Here are some real-life examples of how Autocomplete Material UI can be used in practical ways:

1. Location search: Autocomplete Material UI can be used to provide a location search feature in an application. As the user types in their desired location, Autocomplete Material UI can suggest matching locations in real-time, making it faster and easier for the user to find their desired location.

2. Product search: Autocomplete Material UI can be used to provide a product search feature in an e-commerce application. As the user types in their desired product, Autocomplete Material UI can suggest matching products in real-time, making it faster and easier for the user to find the product they are looking for.

3. Contact search: Autocomplete Material UI can be used to provide a contact search feature in a contact list application. As the user types in a contact name, Autocomplete Material UI can suggest matching contacts in real-time, making it easier for the user to find the contact they need to connect with.

4. Tagged search: Autocomplete Material UI can be used to provide a tagged search feature in an article or blog application. As the user types in a tag keyword, Autocomplete Material UI can suggest matching tags in real-time, making it faster and easier for the user to find the articles or blog posts they are interested in.

In conclusion, Autocomplete Material UI is a powerful tool that can be used in a variety of applications. By providing real-time suggestions as the user types, Autocomplete Material UI can help make applications faster and easier to use.

Conclusion

In , autocomplete Material UI is a powerful tool that can significantly improve the user experience of your web applications. By automating the process of suggesting relevant options to users as they type, you can save them time and effort while helping them find what they need more quickly and easily.

To unlock the full potential of autocomplete Material UI, it's important to carefully consider the design and implementation of your search fields. By using appropriate data structures, leveraging machine learning algorithms, and taking advantage of the flexibility offered by Material UI, you can create incredibly powerful and intuitive autocomplete features that will delight your users.

Of course, as with any programming tool or technique, the key is to start small and iterate. Begin by implementing basic autocomplete functionality using simple data structures and algorithms, and then gradually refine and improve your code over time.

With a little effort and some careful planning, you can harness the power of autocomplete Material UI to create beautiful, intuitive web applications that will delight your users and help them get the most out of your site or service.