Change the AutoComplete placeholder after initialization

[Ehtesham]

I am setting up my AutoComplete via MVC Wrappers. On a certain event, I want to be able to change the placeholder text for this autocomplete. However, 
I am not sure where and how to set this. I've tried the following but doesn't work.
>> $('lsel_l3').data('kendoAutoComplete').options.placeholder = 'new value';

the value always shows up as "undefined" in the debugger with IE 9

The snippet below shows the setup.. Thanks in advance.

 @(Html.Kendo().AutoComplete()
                    .Name("lsel_l3")
                    .DataTextField("Name")
                    .Filter("contains")
                    .Placeholder("District")
                    .MinLength(3)
                    .HtmlAttributes(new { style = "width:250px" })
                    .DataSource(source => {
                        source.Read(read =>
                        {
                            read.Action("LocationAutoComplete", "DcmSelectors", new { area = "" })
                                                .Data(@<text>function(e) {return lsel.GetL3AutoCompleteParams(e,lsel);}</text>);
                        })
                        .ServerFiltering(true);
                    })
                        .Events(events => events.Select(@<text>function(e) {return lsel.OnL3AutoCompleteSelect(e,lsel);}</text>)
                                                                       .Change(@<text>function(e) {return lsel.OnL3AutoCompleteChange(e,lsel);}</text>))
                    )

[Kiril Nikolov]

Hi Ehtesham,

Dynamic change of the AutoComplete's placeholder is not a supported functionality. What I can suggest you to do is to destroy the widget and reinitialize it with the new placeholder value. 

If you want to see this feature added to Kendo UI, please go to our feedback section, and post your suggestion there, so it can be taken into consideration for a future release.
 
Regards,
Kiril Nikolov
Telerik

[Ehtesham]

Thanks Kiril for your response. I will certainly try that.

[Kiril Nikolov]

Hi Ehtesham,

I am glad you find my answer helpful.

If you need any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
 
Regards,
Kiril Nikolov
Telerik

[Lennart]

Simple solution I've used in the past was to add the following:

.HtmlAttributes(new { placeholder = "Search for ..." })

[Ehtesham]

Thanks! Lennart