minLength Number(default: 1)

The minimum number of characters the user must type before a filter is performed. Set to higher value than 1 if the search could match a lot of items.

Widget will initiate a request when input value is cleared. If you would like to prevent this behavior please check the filtering event for more details.

Example - set minLength

<input id="dropdownlist" />
<script>
$("#dropdownlist").kendoDropDownList({
  dataSource: ["Chai", "Chang", "Tofu"],
  filter: "contains",
  minLength: 3
});
</script>