Components / Editors / ComboBox

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ComboBox Appearance

As of the R1 2022 release, the ComboBox component uses a new rendering. To learn more about the reasons for this decision, see the Components Appearance article.

For a live example of the ComboBox styling options, visit the ComboBox Appearance Demo.

Options

The ComboBox supports the following styling options:

  • Size—configures the overall size of the component.
  • Rounded—configures the border radius of the component.
  • FillMode—configures how the color is applied to the component.

Size

The Size option controls the size of the ComboBox. The k-input-{size} class, which is applied to the wrapping span element of the ComboBox, reflects the value of the Size option.

The following values are available for the Size option:

  • Small—small size (applies the k-input-sm class to the wrapping span element)
  • Medium—medium size (applies the k-input-md class to the wrapping span element)
  • Large—large size (applies the k-input-lg class to the wrapping span element)
  • None—unset.

The following example demonstrates how to set Size in the declaration of the ComboBox:

    @(Html.Kendo().ComboBox()
                .Name("combobox")
                .Size(ComponentSize.Medium)
                .DataTextField("Text")
                .DataValueField("Value")
                .Filter("startswith")
                .HtmlAttributes(new { style = "width:100%;" })
                .BindTo(new List<SelectListItem>()
                {
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 1", Value = "1"
                    },
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 2", Value = "2"
                    },
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 3", Value = "3"
                    }
                })
        )

The default Size value is Medium and it is applied to the wrapping span element through the k-input-md class.

<span class="k-combobox k-input k-input-md">
</span>

Rounded

The Rounded option controls the border radius of the ComboBox. The class that corresponds to the Rounded option is k-rounded-{rounded}.

The following values are available for the Rounded option:

  • Small—small border radius (applies the k-rounded-sm class to the wrapping span element)
  • Medium—medium border radius (applies the k-rounded-md class to the wrapping span element)
  • Large—large border radius (applies the k-rounded-lg class to the wrapping span element)
  • Full—largest border radius (applies the k-rounded-full class to the wrapping span element)
  • None—unset.

The following example demonstrates how to set Rounded in the declaration of the ComboBox:

    @(Html.Kendo().ComboBox()
                .Name("combobox")
                .Rounded(Rounded.Medium)
                .DataTextField("Text")
                .DataValueField("Value")
                .Filter("startswith")
                .HtmlAttributes(new { style = "width:100%;" })
                .BindTo(new List<SelectListItem>()
                {
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 1", Value = "1"
                    },
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 2", Value = "2"
                    },
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 3", Value = "3"
                    }
                })
    )

The default Rounded value is Medium and it is applied to the wrapping span element through the k-rounded-md class.

<span class="k-combobox k-input k-rounded-md">
</span>

FillMode

The FillMode option controls the way color is applied to the rendered ComboBox. The k-input-{fillMode} class, which is applied to the wrapping span element of the ComboBox, reflects the value of the FillMode option.

The following values are available for the FillMode option:

  • Solid—applies the k-input-solid class to the wrapping span element
  • Flat—applies the k-input-flat class to the wrapping span element
  • Outline—applies the k-input-outline class to the wrapping span element
  • None—unset.

The following example demonstrates how to set FillMode in the declaration of the ComboBox:

    @(Html.Kendo().ComboBox()
                .Name("combobox")
                .FillMode(FillMode.Solid)
                .DataTextField("Text")
                .DataValueField("Value")
                .Filter("startswith")
                .HtmlAttributes(new { style = "width:100%;" })
                .BindTo(new List<SelectListItem>()
                {
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 1", Value = "1"
                    },
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 2", Value = "2"
                    },
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 3", Value = "3"
                    }
                })
        )

The default FillMode value is Solid and it is applied to the wrapping span element through the k-input-solid class.

<span class="k-combobox k-input k-input-outline">   
</span>

Old vs New Rendering

Below you will find the differences between the old and the new rendering.

Wrapper Rendering:

<!-- OLD WRAPPER-->
<span class="k-widget k-combobox">
    <input id="combobox" type="text" class="k-input" placeholder="...">      
</span>

<!-- NEW WRAPPER -->
<span class="k-combobox k-input k-input-md k-rounded-md k-input-solid">
    <input type="text" class="k-input-inner" value="..." placeholder="..." />
</span>

The following example demonstrates how to configure the appearance of the component through configuration:

    @(Html.Kendo().ComboBox()
                .Name("combobox")
                .Size(ComponentSize.Medium)
                .Rounded(Rounded.Medium)
                .FillMode(FillMode.Solid)
                .DataTextField("Text")
                .DataValueField("Value")
                .Filter("startswith")
                .HtmlAttributes(new { style = "width:100%;" })
                .BindTo(new List<SelectListItem>()
                {
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 1", Value = "1"
                    },
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 2", Value = "2"
                    },
                    new SelectListItem() {
                        Text = "Item 3", Value = "3"
                    }
                })
        )

Popup rendering without virtualization:

<!-- OLD POPUP WITHOUT VIRTUALIZATION-->
<div class="k-list-container k-popup k-group k-reset k-state-border-up" id="products-list" data-role="popup">
    [Header template]
    <div class="k-group-header">Argentina</div>
    <div class="k-list-scroller">
      <ul class="k-list k-reset">
        <li class="k-item">Patricio Simpson</li>
        ...
        <li class="k-item k-first"> 
            Ann Devon 
            <div class="k-group">UK</div>
        </li>
        ...
      </ul>
    </div>
    <div class="k-nodata">
      <div>No Data!</div>
    </div>
    <div class="k-footer"> 
      [Footer template]
    </div>
</div>

<!-- NEW POPUP WITHOUT VIRTUALIZATION -->
<div class="k-popup k-group k-reset">
    <div class="k-list k-list-md">
        <div class="k-list-header">
            [header template]
        </div>
        <div class="k-list-group-sticky-header">Argentina</div>
        <div class="k-list-content k-list-scroller">
            <ul class="k-list-ul">
                <li class="k-list-item">
                    <span class="k-list-item-text">Patricio Simpson</span>
                </li>
                ...
                <li class="k-list-item k-first">
                    <span class="k-list-item-text">Roland Mendel</span>
                    <div class="k-list-item-group-label">Austria</div>
                </li>
                ...
            </ul>
        </div>
        <div class="k-nodata">
            <div>No data found.</div>
        </div>
        <div class="k-list-footer">
            [Footer template]
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

Popup rendering with virtualization:

<!-- OLD POPUP WITH VIRTUALIZATION-->
<div class="k-list-container k-popup k-group k-reset">
    <div>
       [Header template]
    </div>
    <div class="k-virtual-wrap">
        <div class="k-group-header"></div>
        <div class="k-virtual-content">
          <ul class="k-list k-reset k-virtual-list">
            <li class="k-virtual-item k-item">
              Vins et alcools Chevalier
            </li>
            ...
            <li class="k-virtual-item k-item">
              Toms Spezialitäten
            </li>
            ...
          </ul>
          <div class="k-height-container">
            <div style="height: ....;"></div>
          </div>
        </div>
    </div>
    <div class="k-nodata">
        <div>No data found.</div>
    </div>
    <div class="k-footer">
        [Footer template]
    </div>
</div>

<!-- NEW POPUP WITH VIRTUALIZATION-->
<div class="k-popup k-group k-reset">
    <div class="k-list k-list-md k-virtual-list">
        <div class="k-list-header">
            [Header template]
        </div>
        <div class="k-list-group-sticky-header">Argentina</div>
        <div class="k-list-content k-virtual-content">
            <ul class="k-list-ul">
                <li class="k-list-item">
                    <span class="k-list-item-text">
                        Text
                    </span>
                </li>
                ...
                <li class="k-list-item k-first">
                    <span class="k-list-item-text">
                        Ernst Handel, Austria 
                    </span>
                    <div class="k-list-item-group-label">Austria</div>
                </li>
                ...
            </ul>
            <div class="k-height-container">
                <div style="height: ...;"></div>
            </div>
        </div>
        <div class="k-nodata">
            <div>No data found.</div>
        </div>
        <div class="k-list-footer">
            [Footer template]
        </div>
    </div>
</div>

Visual Backwards Compatibility

In order to achieve the same look and feel as the old rendering, the element references must be updated. Visit the CSS Classes Migration and JQuery Selectors Migration sections of the Styling Overview article for additional information.

The new styling and rendering supports only the default options when you use a LESS theme.

The following example showcases how to change the background colors of the input and button elements of the ComboBox in both the new, and the old rendering:

    <style>
      /* Doesn't work BEFORE R1 2022 */
        .k-input-inner{ /* change the input field style */
            background-color:red;
        }
        .k-input-button{ /* changes the button style */
            background-color:orange;
        }
        .k-list-item{ /* change the style of the items */
            background-color:red;
        }

      /* Doesn't work AFTER R1 2022 */
        .k-input{ /* change the input field style */
            background-color:red;
        }
        .k-select{ /* changes the button style */
            background-color:orange;
        }
        .k-item{ /* change the style of the items */
            background-color:red;
        }
    </style>

See Also

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