Getting Started with Kendo UI for Angular

In this article, you will learn the basics about working with Kendo UI for Angular. First, you will complete the installation steps necessary to get an Angular project up and running. Next, you will see how to use multiple Kendo UI for Angular components. And finally, you will learn about a few useful learning resources that will help you be successful with the library.

Let’s get started.

Installing Your First Kendo UI for Angular Component

1. Set Up the Angular Project

Do You Prefer Video?

You can set up an Angular project and add Kendo UI for Angular components by following the steps in this guide. Alternatively, you can check our Angular video tutorials or our full-blown video course.

1. Install the @angular/cli globally using the npm package manager. The Angular CLI is a command-line interface tool that helps you to initialize, develop, scaffold, and maintain your Angular applications directly from a command shell.

   bash

   npm install -g @angular/cli

2. Create an Angular project using ng new command. The kendo-angular-app is the name of our testing project.

   • As of version 17.0.0, Angular makes standalone component enabled by default.
     bash

     ng new kendo-angular-app

   • If you want to stick to NgModules use --standalone false flag.
     bash

     ng new kendo-angular-app --standalone false

   The ng new command will prompt you for a few settings of the new Angular app. Let's use these:

   • Which stylesheet format would you like to use? - CSS is selected by default. Press Enter
   • Do you want to enable Server-Side Rendering (SSR) and Static Site Generation (SSG/Prerendering)? - No

3. When the new project is generated, replace the content of src/app/app.component.html with:

   html

   <h1>Hello Kendo UI for Angular!</h1>

4. Build and open the Angular app in the browser. Navigate the terminal to the newly created application and run ng serve command of the Angular CLI.

   bash

   cd kendo-angular-app
   ng serve -o

We are ready to dive into Kendo UI for Angular! Next, we will install and add several components of the library.

2. Using Kendo UI for Angular Components

Kendo UI for Angular is a library of 110+ fully native components for building high-quality modern Angular UI. In this section, you will learn how to use one of these components, the Calendar, in only three steps.

1. Let's add the Calendar component to the project. For that purpose, the DateInputs package needs to be installed.

   bash

   ng add @progress/kendo-angular-dateinputs

   The ng add command will perform several actions automatically to facilitate the developer:

   • Add the @progress/kendo-angular-dateinputs package as a dependency to the package.json file.
   • Import the DateInputsModule in the current application's main module (only if the application uses NgModules).

     If your application uses standalone components, you must import the DateInputsModule manually.

   • Register the Kendo UI Default theme in the angular.json file.
   • Add all required peer dependencies to the package.json file.
   • Trigger npm install to install the theme and all peer packages that are added.

2. Open src/app/app.component.html and add the Calendar component to your markup.

   html

   <kendo-calendar></kendo-calendar>

3. Build and open the app in the browser. There you have a fully functioning calendar in two lines of code!

   bash

   ng serve -o

Using the many other Kendo UI for Angular components is as straightforward as using the Calendar—install the corresponding package and use the component’s markup in your apps.

As a final step to getting Kendo UI for Angular up and running, let’s look at how to handle licensing next.

3. Activating Your Trial or Commercial License

Kendo UI for Angular is a professionally developed library distributed under a commercial license.

Using any of the UI components from the Kendo UI for Angular library requires either a commercial license key or an active trial license key. To activate your license follow the instructions on the Activating Your License Key page.

Now that you have components installed, and licensing set up, you’re ready to start developing with Kendo UI for Angular! Feel free to explore the full components list or follow the tutorial below to learn how to combine multiple components and make them work together.

Integrating Multiple Kendo UI for Angular Components

Kendo UI for Angular is a rich suite of many modular components. Next, you will use two of these components (Grid and DropDownList) to build a small demo application.

Before continuing, remove the Calendar from the page so that you have a blank app to work with.

1. Adding Kendo UI for Angular Data Grid

Let's add the Kendo UI for Angular Grid to our app.

1. The Grid package installation requires a single step when using the ng add command.

   bash

   ng add @progress/kendo-angular-grid

2. Add some data to the app. For simplicity, we will use static local JSON data and a service that you can later modify to use remote data. Create the following two files in src/app folder and copy-paste their content from the linked files in GitHub:

   • src/app/data.products.ts
   • src/app/product.service.ts

3. In the src/app/app.component.ts file, add the ProductService as a provider in the component declaration.

   ts

   import { ProductService } from "./product.service";
   //...
   @Component({
     selector: 'app-root',
   //...
     providers: [ProductService]
   })

4. Add the AppComponent class members that we will use to page and sort the Grid.

   ts

   export class AppComponent {
       // ...
       public gridItems: Observable<GridDataResult> | undefined;
       public pageSize: number = 10;
       public skip: number = 0;
       public sortDescriptor: SortDescriptor[] = [];
       public filterTerm: number | null = null;
   }

5. Handle the sortChange and pageChange events to process the Grid data and update the view.

   ts

   export class AppComponent {
       // ...
       constructor(private service: ProductService) {
           this.loadGridItems();
       }
   
       public pageChange(event: PageChangeEvent): void {
           this.skip = event.skip;
           this.loadGridItems();
       }
   
       public handleSortChange(descriptor: SortDescriptor[]): void {
           this.sortDescriptor = descriptor;
           this.loadGridItems();
       }
   
       private loadGridItems(): void {
           this.gridItems = this.service.getProducts(
             this.skip,
             this.pageSize,
             this.sortDescriptor,
             this.filterTerm
           );
       }
   }

6. Finally, add the Grid markup in src/app/app.component.html, rebuild, and check the Grid in your browser.

   html

   <kendo-grid
       [data]="gridItems | async"
       [pageSize]="pageSize"
       [skip]="skip"
       [pageable]="true"
       (pageChange)="pageChange($event)"
       [sortable]="true"
       [sort]="sortDescriptor"
       (sortChange)="handleSortChange($event)"
       [height]="400"
       >
       <kendo-grid-column field="ProductID" title="ID"></kendo-grid-column>
       <kendo-grid-column field="ProductName" title="Product Name"></kendo-grid-column>
       <kendo-grid-column field="Category.CategoryName" title="Category"></kendo-grid-column>
       <kendo-grid-column field="UnitPrice" title="Unit Price" format="{0:c}"></kendo-grid-column>
       <kendo-grid-column field="Discontinued" filter="boolean">
           <ng-template kendoGridCellTemplate let-dataItem>
               <input type="checkbox" [checked]="dataItem.Discontinued" disabled />
           </ng-template>
       </kendo-grid-column>
   </kendo-grid>

In this section, you added a robust Data Grid to your application, enhanced with paging, and sorting. Feel free to explore the Kendo UI for Angular Grid documentation pages to get a sense of just how many things the Grid can do.

2. Adding Kendo UI for Angular DropDownList

Let's add the Kendo UI for Angular DropDownList to our app and bind it to an array of objects.

1. The DropDowns package installation requires a single step when using the ng add command.

   sh

   ng add @progress/kendo-angular-dropdowns

2. Add some data for the DropDownList. For simplicity, we will use static local JSON data. You can later modify to use remote data. Create a data.categories.ts file in src/app folder and copy-paste the content from this GitHub file.

   Open src/app/app.component.ts and import categories and Category type from data.categories.

   ts

   import { categories, Category } from "./data.categories";

3. In src/app/app.component.ts file, declare the variables that we will use inside the DropDownList declaration. To display a hint for the users when no item is selected, use the defaultItem property. The default item must have a field that matches the textField and valueField names.

   ts

   export class AppComponent {
       public dropDownItems: Category[] = categories;
       public defaultItem: Category = { text: "Filter by Category", value: null };
   }

4. Finally, open src/app/app.component.html and add the DropDownList markup.

   html

   <kendo-dropdownlist
       [data]="dropDownItems"
       [defaultItem]="defaultItem"
       textField="text"
       valueField="value"
       [style.width.px]="170"
   >
   </kendo-dropdownlist>

The data property of the DropDownList points to an array of objects or primitive values. In this case, we will use an array of objects and therefore specify both the valueField and textField properties.

3. Configuring Advanced Grid Filtered by DropDownList

Finally, let's add some component interaction. The Grid has a built-in filtering UI, but instead, we will use the DropDownList to filter the Grid by product category. To achieve this:

1. Bind the valueChange event of the DropDownList in src/app/app.component.html.

   html

   <kendo-dropdownlist
       [data]="dropDownItems"
       (valueChange)="handleFilterChange($event)"
   >
   </kendo-dropdownlist>
   

2. Add the handleFilterChange method in src/app/app.component.ts.

   ts

   export class AppComponent {
     // ...
     public handleFilterChange(item: Category): void {
       this.filterTerm = item.value;
       this.skip = 0;
       this.loadGridItems();
     }
   }

4. Getting the Complete Source Code

Your Kendo UI for Angular Getting Started application is complete!

You can download and run the complete sample application from the kendo-angular-quickstart-cli GitHub repository. Alternatively, run, fork and experiment with the application directly in StackBlitz.

This article shows just a glimpse of what you can create with Kendo UI for Angular. We hope we have managed to inspire you how to become a more productive Angular developer and build complex UI in no time with our professional UI library.

Resources

Let’s look at a few more tips and tools that can help you get the most out of Kendo UI for Angular.

1. Building Blocks and Page Templates

Page Templates offer ready-to-use Angular layouts that effectively integrate the Kendo UI for Angular components. These templates consist of Building Blocks, which are the individual elements that form the complete layouts. The templates and blocks streamline the development process by providing pre-designed, customizable elements. For more details, refer to the Building Blocks and Page Templates documentation.

2. ThemeBuilder

To take full control over the appearance of the Kendo UI for Angular components, you can create your own styles by using ThemeBuilder.

ThemeBuilder is a web application that enables you to create new themes and customize existing ones. Every change that you make is visualized almost instantly. Once you are done styling the Angular components, you can export a zip file with the styles for your theme and use them in your Angular app.

3. UI Kits for Figma

Kendo UI for Angular comes with four UI Kits for Figma: Material, Bootstrap, Fluent, and Kendo UI Default. They provide the designers of your application with a building block that matches the UI components available in the Kendo UI for Angular suite. Having matching building blocks guarantees the smooth implementation of the design.

4. Virtual Classroom

The Progress® Virtual Classroom contains training courses and represents a free on-demand technical training program which is available for both active trial users and active license holders. Each session provides practical knowledge and helpful approaches to application development which are suitable for both junior and senior developers.

5. Kendo UI Productivity Tools

To help you create projects even faster, Telerik introduced the Kendo UI Productivity Tools extension for Visual Studio Code. This extension comes with a handy template wizard that facilitates the creation of new projects and with a rich code snippet library that allows you to add Kendo UI for Angular components to your project.

Sample Applications

If you want to see more Kendo UI for Angular components in action, check our cool and interesting sample applications:

1. Finance Portfolio Application
2. Coffee Warehouse Dashboard Application
3. My Stock Portfolio
4. CryptoVault

Next Steps

We are sure that you are looking for more—browse the components section and discover the amazing features that Kendo UI for Angular brings to the table.

Happy coding!