Lightweight Autocomplete Controls with the HTML5 Datalist

In this tutorial, we’ll take a deep-dive into the little-used HTML5 <datalist> element. It can implement a lightweight, accessible, cross-browser autocomplete form control that doesn’t r…


Lightweight Autocomplete Controls with the HTML5 Datalist

In this tutorial, we’ll take a deep-dive into the little-used HTML5 <datalist> element. It can implement a lightweight, accessible, cross-browser autocomplete form control that doesn’t require JavaScript.

What’s Wrong with <select>?

HTML5 <select> controls are ideal when you want the user to choose from a small range of options. They’re less practical when:

  • there are lots of options, such as countries or job titles
  • the user wants to enter their own option which is not on the list

The obvious solution is an autocomplete control. This allows the user to enter a few characters, which limits the options available for quicker selection.

<select> will jump to the right location as you start typing, but that’s not always obvious. It won’t work on all devices (such as touchscreens), and it resets within a second or two.

Developers often turn to one of the many JavaScript-powered solutions, but a custom autocomplete control is not always necessary. The HTML5 <datalist> element is lightweight, accessible, and has no JavaScript dependencies. You may have heard it’s buggy or lacks support. That’s not true in 2021, but there are browser inconsistencies and caveats.

<datalist> Quick Start

Picking your country from a list containing more than 200 options is an ideal candidate for an autocomplete control. Define a <datalist> with child <option> elements for every country directly in an HTML page:

<datalist id="countrydata">
  <option>Afghanistan</option>
  <option>Åland Islands</option>
  <option>Albania</option>
  <option>Algeria</option>
  <option>American Samoa</option>
  <option>Andorra</option>
  <option>Angola</option>
  <option>Anguilla</option>
  <option>Antarctica</option>
  ...etc...
</datalist>

The datalist’s id can then be referenced by a list attribute in any <input> field:

<label for="country">country</label>

<input type="text"
  list="countrydata"
  id="country" name="country"
  size="50"
  autocomplete="off" />

Confusingly, it’s best to set autocomplete="off". This ensures the user is shown values in the <datalist> but not values they previously entered in the browser.

The result:

datalist auto-complete

This is the default rendering in Microsoft Edge. Other applications implement similar functionality, but the look differs across platforms and browsers.

<option> Options

Using the label as a text child of an <option> is common:

<datalist id="mylist">
  <option>label one</option>
  <option>label two</option>
  <option>label three</option>
</datalist>

Using a value attribute produces identical results:

<datalist id="mylist">
  <option value="label one" />
  <option value="label two" />
  <option value="label three" />
</datalist>

Note: the closing /> slash is optional in HTML5, although it could help prevent coding errors.

You can also set a value according to a chosen label using either of the following formats.

Option 1:

<datalist id="mylist">
  <option value="1">label one</option>
  <option value="2">label two</option>
  <option value="3">label three</option>
</datalist>

Option 2:

<datalist id="mylist">
  <option value="1" label="label one" />
  <option value="2" label="label two" />
  <option value="3" label="label three" />
</datalist>

In both cases, the input field is set to 1, 2 or 3 when a valid option is chosen, but the UI varies across browsers:

  • Chrome shows a list with both the value and the label. Only the value remains once an option is chosen.
  • Firefox shows a list with the label only. It switches to the value once an option is chosen.
  • Edge shows the value only.

The following CodePen example shows all variations:

See the Pen
HTML5 <datalist> autocomplete examples
by SitePoint (@SitePoint)
on CodePen.

Implementations will evolve but, for now, I’d advise you do not use a value and label since it’s likely to confuse users. (A workaround is discussed below.)

<datalist> Browser Support and Fallbacks

The <datalist> element is well supported in modern browsers as well as Internet Explorer 10 and 11:

Data on support for the datalist feature across the major browsers from caniuse.com

There are several implementation notes, but they won’t affect most usage. The worst that could happen is a field reverts to a standard text input.

If you absolutely must support IE9 and below, there’s a fallback pattern which uses a standard <select> in conjunction with a text input when the <datalist> fails. Adapting the country example:

<label for="country">country</label>

<datalist id="countrydata">

  <select name="countryselect">
    <option></option>
    <option>Afghanistan</option>
    <option>Åland Islands</option>
    <option>Albania</option>
    <option>Algeria</option>
    <option>American Samoa</option>
    <option>Andorra</option>
    <option>Angola</option>
    <option>Anguilla</option>
    <option>Antarctica</option>
    ...etc...
  </select>

  <label for="country">or other</label>

</datalist>

<input type="text"
  id="country" name="country"
  size="50"
  list="countrydata"
  autocomplete="off" />

See the Pen
HTML5 <datalist> autocomplete fallback
by SitePoint (@SitePoint)
on CodePen.

In modern browsers, the <option> elements become part of the <datalist> and the “or other” label is not shown. It looks identical to the example above, but a countryselect form value will be set to an empty string.

In IE9 and below, both the (very long) <select> and text input fields are active:

IE9 datalist fallback

Both values could be entered in old IEs. Your application must either:

  • decide which is most valid, or
  • use a small JavaScript function to reset one when the other is changed

Continue reading
Lightweight Autocomplete Controls with the HTML5 Datalist
on SitePoint.


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» Lightweight Autocomplete Controls with the HTML5 Datalist | Craig Buckler | Sciencx | https://www.scien.cx/2021/02/07/lightweight-autocomplete-controls-with-the-html5-datalist/ | 2024-03-28T17:34:20+00:00
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