# Custom Values

By default, when the `Enter` key is pressed or after the component loses focus, values that do not appear in the supplied list of items are dismissed.

To configure the ComboBox to accept custom values, set the [`allowCustom`](https://www.telerik.com/kendo-angular-ui-develop/components/dropdowns/api/comboboxcomponent#allowcustom) property to `true`.

## Primitive Values

If the component is bound to primitive values (strings, numbers, or other), set the [`allowCustom`](https://www.telerik.com/kendo-angular-ui-develop/components/dropdowns/api/comboboxcomponent#allowcustom) property to `true`.

> This approach is valid when the component is either bound to a dataset of primitive (strings, numbers, or other) or complex values (objects), and the `valuePrimitive` property is set to `true`.

The following example demonstrates how to allow custom primitive values.

[Demo Source](https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-angular-ui/demos/dropdowns/combobox/custom_values/source.txt)

## Complex Values

If the component is bound to objects, set the [`allowCustom`](https://www.telerik.com/kendo-angular-ui-develop/components/dropdowns/api/comboboxcomponent#allowcustom) property to `true` and provide a [`valueNormalizer`](https://www.telerik.com/kendo-angular-ui-develop/components/dropdowns/api/comboboxcomponent#valuenormalizer) function. The purpose of the `valueNormalizer` function is to convert the user text input into an object that can be recognized as a valid ComboBox value.

> The `valueNormalizer` function receives `Observable<string>` as an argument and is expected to return a single normalized value wrapped as [`Observable`](http://reactivex.io/rxjs/manual/overview.html#introduction), which will be further processed by the component.

The following example demonstrates how to allow custom object values.

[Demo Source](https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-angular-ui/demos/dropdowns/combobox/custom_values/object_values/source.txt)

### Using with a Remote Service

The following example demonstrates how to handle custom object values through a remote service.

[Demo Source](https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-angular-ui/demos/dropdowns/combobox/remote_normalizer/source.txt)

### Handling Errors

The following example demonstrates how to handle errors that occur while normalizing custom object values through a remote service.

[Demo Source](https://demos.telerik.com/kendo-angular-ui/demos/dropdowns/combobox/remote_normalizer_error/source.txt)

## Suggested Links

* [API Reference of the ComboBox](https://www.telerik.com/kendo-angular-ui-develop/components/dropdowns/api/comboboxcomponent)