Getting Started with the MultiColumnComboBox

This tutorial explains how to set up a basic Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC MultiColumnComboBox and highlights the major steps in the configuration of the component.

You will initialize a MultiColumnComboBox control with a number of tools. Next, you will handle some of the MultiColumnComboBox events.

Prerequisites

To successfully complete the tutorial, you need a project that is already configured to use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC components:

• To create a new pre-configured project for the Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC components, you can use a project template.

• To manually configure an existing project by using NuGet, see the Adding Telerik UI through NuGet.

1. Prepare the CSHTML File

The first step is to add the required directives at the top of the .cshtml document:

• To use the Telerik UI for ASP.NET MVC HtmlHelpers:

  @using Kendo.Mvc.UI
  

Optionally, you can structure the document by adding the desired HTML elements like headings, divs, paragraphs, and apply some basic styles.

2. Initialize the MultiColumnComboBox

Use the MultiColumnComboBox HtmlHelper to add the component to a page:

• The Name() configuration method is mandatory as its value is used for the id and the name attributes of the MultiColumnComboBox element.

• The DataTextField() configuration method provides the text content of the list items. The component will filter the data source based on this field.

• The DataValueField() configuration method provides the value of the component.

• The DataSource of the component which is used to display a list of values. Can be a JavaScript object which represents a valid data source configuration, a JavaScript array or an existing kendo.data.DataSource instance.

• The Columns configuration array defines the columns rendered in the table of the MultiColumnComboBox.

@using Kendo.Mvc.UI

 <label for="customers">Customers:</label>
    @(Html.Kendo().MultiColumnComboBox()
                .Name("customers")
                .DataTextField("ContactName")
                .DataValueField("CustomerID")
                .Columns(columns =>
                {
                    columns.Add().Field("ContactName").Title("Contact Name").Template("<div class=\"customer-photo\" style=\"background-image: url(" + Url.Content("~/shared/web/Customers/") + "#:data.CustomerID#.jpg" + ");\"\"></div><span class=\"customer-name\">#: ContactName #</span>").Width("150px");
                    columns.Add().Field("ContactTitle").Title("Contact Title").Width("150px");
                    columns.Add().Field("CompanyName").Title("Company Name").Width("150px");
                    columns.Add().Field("Country").Title("Country").Width("150px");
                })
                .FooterTemplate("Total #: instance.dataSource.total() # items found")
                .HtmlAttributes(new { style = "width:100%;" })
                .DataSource(source => source
                    .Custom()
                    .Transport(transport => transport
                    .Read(read =>
                    {
                        read.Action("BasicUsage_Customers_Read", "MultiColumnComboBox");
                    }))
                )
    )

3. Handle the MultiColumnComboBox Events

The MultiColumnComboBox exposes various events that you can handle and further customize the functionality of the component. In this tutorial, you will use the Open, Close, and Select events of the MultiColumnComboBox.

@using Kendo.Mvc.UI

 <label for="customers">Customers:</label>
    @(Html.Kendo().MultiColumnComboBox()
                .Name("customers")
                .DataTextField("ContactName")
                .DataValueField("CustomerID")
                .Columns(columns =>
                {
                    columns.Add().Field("ContactName").Title("Contact Name").Template("<div class=\"customer-photo\" style=\"background-image: url(" + Url.Content("~/shared/web/Customers/") + "#:data.CustomerID#.jpg" + ");\"\"></div><span class=\"customer-name\">#: ContactName #</span>").Width("150px");
                    columns.Add().Field("ContactTitle").Title("Contact Title").Width("150px");
                    columns.Add().Field("CompanyName").Title("Company Name").Width("150px");
                    columns.Add().Field("Country").Title("Country").Width("150px");
                })
                .FooterTemplate("Total #: instance.dataSource.total() # items found")
                .HtmlAttributes(new { style = "width:100%;" })
                .DataSource(source => source
                    .Custom()
                    .Transport(transport => transport
                    .Read(read =>
                    {
                        read.Action("BasicUsage_Customers_Read", "MultiColumnComboBox");
                    }))
                )
                .Events(e =>
                {
                    e.Select("onSelect").Open("onOpen").Close("onClose");
                })
    )

    <script>
        function onOpen() {
            console.log("event: open");
        }

        function onClose() {
            console.log("event: close");
        }

        function onSelect(e) {
            if ("kendoConsole" in window) {
                if (e.item) {
                    var dataItem = this.dataItem(e.item.index());
                    console.log("event :: select (" + dataItem.Text + " : " + dataItem.Value + ")");
                } else {
                    console.log("event :: select");
                }
            }
        }
    </script>

For more examples, refer to the demo on using the events of the MultiColumnComboBox.

4. (Optional) Reference Existing MultiColumnComboBox Instances

To use the client-side API of the MultiColumnComboBox and build on top of its initial configuration, you need a reference to the MultiColumnComboBox instance. Once you get a valid reference, you can call the respective API methods:

1. Use the .Name() (id attribute) of the component instance to get a reference.

       <script>
           var multicolumnComboBox = $("#customers").data("kendoMultiColumnComboBox"); // MultiColumnComboBox Reference is a reference to the existing instance of the helper.
       </script>
   

2. Use the client-side API of the MultiColumnComboBox to control the behavior of the widget. In this example, you will use the enable method to disable the MultiColumnComboBox.

       <script>
           $(document).ready(function () {
           var multicolumnComboBox = $("#customers").data("kendoMultiColumnComboBox");
   
           multicolumnComboBox.enable(false);
       })
       </script>
   

For more information on referencing specific helper instances, see the Methods and Events article.

Next Steps

• Using a Cascading MultiColumnComboBox
• Changing the Appearance of the MultiColumnComboBox
• Configuring the Columns of the MultiColumnComboBox

See Also

• Using the API of the MultiColumnComboBox for ASP.NET MVC (Demo)
• Client-Side API of the MultiColumnComboBox
• Server-Side API of the MultiColumnComboBox
• Knowledge Base Section