AutoComplete Issues

[Andrew Powrie]

Noticed an issue with the autocomplete functionality in regards to the DropDownList not selecting the item when the control loses focus when in SuppestAppend' mode.  In an older Demo for the ComboBox you type the letter 'U' and 'USA' is selected and when you tab off the Index and Text fields are populated on the right hand side.  In the latest demo for the DropDownList  you type the letter 'U' and 'USA' is NOT selected and when you tab off the Index and Text fields are NOT populated on the right hand side plus the drop down portion of the control does not disappear.  Also if the drop down portion is already displayed when a letter is first pressed, then the full list stays whilat a new list appaers with the suggested items.

[Victor]

Hello Andrew Powrie,

Thank you for writing.

These issues have been addressed in the upcoming Q2 2010 Service Pack. Thank you for your feedback and write again if you need assistance with our controls.
 
Sincerely yours,
Victor
the Telerik team

[Andrew Powrie]

Which service park will it be in  as it does not appear to be in the just released SP1?

[Victor]

Hello Andrew Powrie,

Thank you for the question.

It seems that the fix for this issue did not make it to the service pack branch. We will be releasing an internal build today or on Monday which will have the fix.

Please write again if you have other questions.

Regards,
Victor
the Telerik team

[Andrew Powrie]

Are there any plans for a SP2 yet?

[Peter]

Hello Andrew Powrie,

Thanks for writing.

Service Pack 2 is scheduled for the first half of September.

Let me know if you have further questions.

Greetings,
Peter
the Telerik team

[Andrew Powrie]

Just installed Q2 2010 SP2 and this problem is still not fixed.  When will this fix be released?

[Peter]

Hello Andrew,

Thank you for writing back.

I confirm that the incorrect behavior still occurs in our latest release. I believe that we will manage to provide a fix for this issue in our next official release.
 
Please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience. I have updated your Telerik points for your feedback.

Best wishes,
Peter
the Telerik team

[Pawz]

I've submitted a support ticket about this exact issue as well. It makes the RadDropDownList look sad compared to the original RadComboBox, unfortunately :(. Makes the control pretty much unusable with the keyboard!

Also missing is the ability to clear the combobox if an incorrect value is selected (AKA Limit to list). Still working on figuring out a workaround for that one...

[Peter]

Hi Pawz, 

Thank you for contacting us.

Please find the answer in your support ticket #359276. There you will find an internal build that addresses the issue. The fix will be included in the official Q3 2010 scheduled for the first half of Novermber.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have additional questions.

Sincerely yours,
Peter
the Telerik team

[David]

So ... you're not going to tell the rest of the community how to work around this issue?  It really is quite dire.

[Nikolay]

Hi David,

There is no workaround for the issue and this is why Peter did not share it here. The solution that we provided to the customer was in the form of a special build that addresses the issue, but since the build was for licenses users only, we could not make it publicly available in our forums. 

Still, please note that the issue has been addressed in Q3 2010, while our latest version is Q2 2011 SP1. In order words, the issue is addressed in Q2 2011 SP1 as well. If you have a scenario which we missed to check while addressing the issue, I would kindly ask you to open a new support ticket and send us a sample project which demonstrates your case. This will allow us to consider your scenario as well and address the issue in a future release.

Regards,
Nikolay
the Telerik team

[David]

The issue hasn't been addressed in the 2011.2.11.831 build - the control, when selecting from an unbound list, still allows for the entry of whatever text the user would like.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Create a form.
2. Add a RadDropDownList to the form.
3. Add a RadTextBox to the form.
4. Add the following code behind the form:

    Private Sub Form_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Load
        Dim a() As String = {"Test 1", "Test 2", "Test 3", "Test 4"}
        With Me.RadDropDownList1
            .AutoCompleteMode = AutoCompleteMode.SuggestAppend
            .SelectedIndex = -1
            .SelectedText = ""
            .Items.Clear()
            .Items.AddRange(a)
        End With
    End Sub

1. Type "asdf" into the RadDropDownList
2. Press tab.
3. Text "asdf" remains in the list; autocomplete was never engaged; the control appears valid, even though nothing has been selected.

Please direct me to whatever build is required to address this issue, as it isn't available to me that I can see (and I've purchased the controls).

[Nikolay]

Hello David,

Thank you for writing back.

Please note that the scenario that you have and the original scenario described by Andrew are actually different. Here is the Andrew's scenario:
1. You have a DropDownList filled with countries: Usa, Canada, Spain, France.
2. You type the letter "U". There is a record that starts with "U" in the list of records.

In the versions prior to Q3 2010, if you tab off the DropDownList after the letter "U" is typed, "USA" is not selected which is an issue. We addressed this issue in the custom build sent to the client and in the Q3 2011 SP1.

Here is your case:
1. You have a DropDownList filled with countries: Usa, Canada, Spain, France.
2. You type "T" (for example, for Taiwan). However, there is no record starting with "T", so the AutoComplete feature is not engaged. 
3. You tab off the DropDownList and the text "T" remains in the RadDropDownList.

Point 3) of your scenario is not an issue, but is the way RadDropDownList should behave. We are following the behavior of the Microsoft ComboBox control which behaves the same way. 

I hope this clarifies the case and the difference between your scenario and the scenario that Andrew had.

Best wishes,
Nikolay
the Telerik team

[David]

Nikolay,

Thanks.  You are correct in that this is the default performance of the Microsoft control.

Have you any idea how to go about forcing "limit to list" behaviour on this control?

Thanks,

-D

[Nikolay]

Hello David,

When the DropDownStyle is set to DropDownList, the end-user is not allowed to type text which does not exist in the items. Please note that when this mode is enabled, the AutoComplete modes are not available.

Best wishes,
Nikolay
the Telerik team

[David]

The problem with changing the style is that it doesn't allow autocomplete, which we do want.  I've sort-of got it working to limit to list by the following code:

    ''' <summary>
    ''' Adds event handlers for various combobox events
    ''' </summary>
    ''' <remarks></remarks>
    Private Sub AddHandlers()
        AddHandler cboMain.LostFocus, AddressOf HandleCBOEvent
        AddHandler cboMain.Click, AddressOf HandleCBOEvent
        AddHandler cboMain.SelectedIndexChanged, AddressOf HandleCBOEvent
        AddHandler cboMain.TextChanged, AddressOf HandleCBOEvent
    End Sub

    ''' <summary>
    ''' Removes handlers for combobox events
    ''' </summary>
    ''' <remarks></remarks>
    Private Sub RemoveHandlers()
        RemoveHandler cboMain.LostFocus, AddressOf HandleCBOEvent
        RemoveHandler cboMain.Click, AddressOf HandleCBOEvent
        RemoveHandler cboMain.SelectedIndexChanged, AddressOf HandleCBOEvent
        RemoveHandler cboMain.TextChanged, AddressOf HandleCBOEvent
    End Sub

    <System.Diagnostics.DebuggerStepThrough()> _
    Private Sub HandleCBOEvent(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs)
        '// Begin "limit to list" functionality
        If MyBase.DataTable Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
        If MyBase.Initializing = True Then Exit Sub
        '// Make sure we don't overflow with events, as we'll be tinkering
        RemoveHandlers()
        If String.IsNullOrEmpty(Me.cboMain.Text) Then
            '// make sure there's nothing selected
            Me.cboMain.SelectedIndex = -1
        ElseIf Not Me.cboMain.Items.Contains(Me.cboMain.Text) Then
            '// make sure there's nothing selected, and eat their text
            Me.cboMain.Text = ""
            Me.cboMain.SelectedIndex = -1
        End If
        '// End "limit to list" functionality
        '// Put the events back in place, as we're done tinkering
        AddHandlers()
        '// End "limit to list" functionality
    End Sub

[Nikolay]

Hi David,

I am glad to hear that you managed to find a solution for your scenario. Write back if you have additional questions.

Best wishes,
Nikolay
the Telerik team