[](https://pub.dev/packages/flutter_typeahead) # Flutter TypeAhead A TypeAhead (autocomplete) widget for Flutter, where you can show suggestions to users as they type ## Features * Shows suggestions in an overlay that floats on top of other widgets * Allows you to specify what the suggestions will look like through a builder function * Allows you to specify what happens when the user taps a suggestion * Accepts all the parameters that traditional TextFields accept, like decoration, custom TextEditingController, text styling, etc. * Provides two versions, a normal version and a [FormField](https://docs.flutter.io/flutter/widgets/FormField-class.html) version that accepts validation, submitting, etc. * Provides high customizable; you can customize the suggestion box decoration, the loading bar, the animation, the debounce duration, etc. ## Installation See the [installation instructions on pub](https://pub.dartlang.org/packages/flutter_typeahead#-installing-tab-). Note: As for Typeahead 3.X this package is based on Dart 2.12 (null-safety). You may also want to explore the new built in Flutter 2 widgets that have similar behavior. ## Usage examples You can import the package with: ```dart import 'package:flutter_typeahead/flutter_typeahead.dart'; ``` For Cupertino users import: ```dart import 'package:flutter_typeahead/cupertino_flutter_typeahead.dart'; ``` Use it as follows: ### Material Example 1: ```dart TypeAheadField( textFieldConfiguration: TextFieldConfiguration( autofocus: true, style: DefaultTextStyle.of(context).style.copyWith( fontStyle: FontStyle.italic ), decoration: InputDecoration( border: OutlineInputBorder() ) ), suggestionsCallback: (pattern) async { return await BackendService.getSuggestions(pattern); }, itemBuilder: (context, suggestion) { return ListTile( leading: Icon(Icons.shopping_cart), title: Text(suggestion['name']), subtitle: Text('\$${suggestion['price']}'), ); }, onSuggestionSelected: (suggestion) { Navigator.of(context).push(MaterialPageRoute( builder: (context) => ProductPage(product: suggestion) )); }, ) ``` In the code above, the `textFieldConfiguration` property allows us to configure the displayed `TextField` as we want. In this example, we are configuring the `autofocus`, `style` and `decoration` properties. The `suggestionsCallback` is called with the search string that the user types, and is expected to return a `List` of data either synchronously or asynchronously. In this example, we are calling an asynchronous function called `BackendService.getSuggestions` which fetches the list of suggestions. The `itemBuilder` is called to build a widget for each suggestion. In this example, we build a simple `ListTile` that shows the name and the price of the item. Please note that you shouldn't provide an `onTap` callback here. The TypeAhead widget takes care of that. The `onSuggestionSelected` is a callback called when the user taps a suggestion. In this example, when the user taps a suggestion, we navigate to a page that shows us the information of the tapped product. ### Material Example 2: Here's another example, where we use the TypeAheadFormField inside a `Form`: ```dart final GlobalKey _formKey = GlobalKey(); final TextEditingController _typeAheadController = TextEditingController(); String _selectedCity; ... Form( key: this._formKey, child: Padding( padding: EdgeInsets.all(32.0), child: Column( children: [ Text( 'What is your favorite city?' ), TypeAheadFormField( textFieldConfiguration: TextFieldConfiguration( controller: this._typeAheadController, decoration: InputDecoration( labelText: 'City' ) ), suggestionsCallback: (pattern) { return CitiesService.getSuggestions(pattern); }, itemBuilder: (context, suggestion) { return ListTile( title: Text(suggestion), ); }, transitionBuilder: (context, suggestionsBox, controller) { return suggestionsBox; }, onSuggestionSelected: (suggestion) { this._typeAheadController.text = suggestion; }, validator: (value) { if (value.isEmpty) { return 'Please select a city'; } }, onSaved: (value) => this._selectedCity = value, ), SizedBox(height: 10.0,), RaisedButton( child: Text('Submit'), onPressed: () { if (this._formKey.currentState.validate()) { this._formKey.currentState.save(); Scaffold.of(context).showSnackBar(SnackBar( content: Text('Your Favorite City is ${this._selectedCity}') )); } }, ) ], ), ), ) ``` Here, we assign to the `controller` property of the `textFieldConfiguration` a `TextEditingController` that we call `_typeAheadController`. We use this controller in the `onSuggestionSelected` callback to set the value of the `TextField` to the selected suggestion. The `validator` callback can be used like any `FormField.validator` function. In our example, it checks whether a value has been entered, and displays an error message if not. The `onSaved` callback is used to save the value of the field to the `_selectedCity` member variable. The `transitionBuilder` allows us to customize the animation of the suggestion box. In this example, we are returning the suggestionsBox immediately, meaning that we don't want any animation. ### Cupertino Example: Please see the Cupertino code in the example project. ## Known Issues ### Animations Placing TypeAheadField in widgets with animations may cause the suggestions box to resize incorrectly. Since animation times are variable, this has to be corrected manually at the end of the animation. You will need to add a SuggestionsBoxController described below and the following code for the AnimationController. ```dart void Function(AnimationStatus) _statusListener; @override void initState() { super.initState(); _statusListener = (AnimationStatus status) { if (status == AnimationStatus.completed || status == AnimationStatus.dismissed) { _suggestionsBoxController.resize(); } }; _animationController.addStatusListener(_statusListener); } @override void dispose() { _animationController.removeStatusListener(_statusListener); _animationController.dispose(); super.dispose(); } ``` #### Dialogs There is a known issue with opening dialogs where the suggestions box will sometimes appear too small. This is a timing issue caused by the animations described above. Currently, `showDialog` has a duration of 150 ms for the animations. TypeAheadField has a delay of 170 ms to compensate for this. Until the end of the animation can be properly detected and fixed using the solution above, this temporary fix will work most of the time. If the suggestions box is too small, closing and reopening the keyboard will usually fix the issue. ### Cupertino The Cupertino classes in TypeAhead are still new. There are also differences in the Cupertino widgets vs the Material ones. Some behavior will not translate when moving between the two. ## Customizations TypeAhead widgets consist of a TextField and a suggestion box that shows as the user types. Both are highly customizable ### Customizing the TextField You can customize the text field using the `textFieldConfiguration` property. You provide this property with an instance of `TextFieldConfiguration`, which allows you to configure all the usual properties of `TextField`, like `decoration`, `style`, `controller`, `focusNode`, `autofocus`, `enabled`, etc. ### Customizing the suggestions box TypeAhead provides default configurations for the suggestions box. You can, however, override most of them. This is done by passing a `SuggestionsBoxDecoration` to the `suggestionsBoxDecoration` property. Use the `offsetX` property in `SuggestionsBoxDecoration` to shift the suggestions box along the x-axis. You may also pass BoxConstraints to `constraints` in `SuggestionsBoxDecoration` to adjust the width and height of the suggestions box. Using the two together will allow the suggestions box to be placed almost anywhere. #### Customizing the loader, the error and the "no items found" message You can use the `loadingBuilder`, `errorBuilder` and `noItemsFoundBuilder` to customize their corresponding widgets. For example, to show a custom error widget: ```dart errorBuilder: (BuildContext context, Object error) => Text( '$error', style: TextStyle( color: Theme.of(context).errorColor ) ) ``` By default, the suggestions box will maintain the old suggestions while new suggestions are being retrieved. To show a circular progress indicator during retrieval instead, set `keepSuggestionsOnLoading` to false. #### Hiding the suggestions box There are three scenarios when you can hide the suggestions box. Set `hideOnLoading` to true to hide the box while suggestions are being retrieved. This will also ignore the `loadingBuilder`. Set `hideOnEmpty` to true to hide the box when there are no suggestions. This will also ignore the `noItemsFoundBuilder`. Set `hideOnError` to true to hide the box when there is an error retrieving suggestions. This will also ignore the `errorBuilder`. By default, the suggestions box will automatically hide when the keyboard is hidden. To change this behavior, set `hideSuggestionsOnKeyboardHide` to false. #### Customizing the animation You can customize the suggestion box animation through 3 parameters: the `animationDuration`, the `animationStart`, and the `transitionBuilder`. The `animationDuration` specifies how long the animation should take, while the `animationStart` specified what point (between 0.0 and 1.0) the animation should start from. The `transitionBuilder` accepts the `suggestionsBox` and `animationController` as parameters, and should return a widget that uses the `animationController` to animate the display of the `suggestionsBox`. For example: ```dart transitionBuilder: (context, suggestionsBox, animationController) => FadeTransition( child: suggestionsBox, opacity: CurvedAnimation( parent: animationController, curve: Curves.fastOutSlowIn ), ) ``` This uses [FadeTransition](https://docs.flutter.io/flutter/widgets/FadeTransition-class.html) to fade the `suggestionsBox` into the view. Note how the `animationController` was provided as the parent of the animation. In order to fully remove the animation, `transitionBuilder` should simply return the `suggestionsBox`. This callback could also be used to wrap the `suggestionsBox` with any desired widgets, not necessarily for animation. #### Customizing the debounce duration The suggestions box does not fire for each character the user types. Instead, we wait until the user is idle for a duration of time, and then call the `suggestionsCallback`. The duration defaults to 300 milliseconds, but can be configured using the `debounceDuration` parameter. #### Customizing the offset of the suggestions box By default, the suggestions box is displayed 5 pixels below the `TextField`. You can change this by changing the `suggestionsBoxVerticalOffset` property. #### Customizing the decoration of the suggestions box You can also customize the decoration of the suggestions box using the `suggestionsBoxDecoration` property. For example, to remove the elevation of the suggestions box, you can write: ```dart suggestionsBoxDecoration: SuggestionsBoxDecoration( elevation: 0.0 ) ``` #### Customizing the growth direction of the suggestions list By default, the list grows towards the bottom. However, you can use the `direction` property to customize the growth direction to be one of `AxisDirection.down` or `AxisDirection.up`, the latter of which will cause the list to grow up, where the first suggestion is at the bottom of the list, and the last suggestion is at the top. Set `autoFlipDirection` to true to allow the suggestions list to automatically flip direction whenever it detects that there is not enough space for the current direction. This is useful for scenarios where the TypeAheadField is in a scrollable widget or when the developer wants to ensure the list is always viewable despite different user screen sizes. #### Controlling the suggestions box Manual control of the suggestions box can be achieved by creating an instance of `SuggestionsBoxController` and passing it to the `suggestionsBoxController` property. This will allow you to manually open, close, toggle, or resize the suggestions box. ## For more information Visit the [API Documentation](https://pub.dartlang.org/documentation/flutter_typeahead/latest/) ## Team: | [](https://github.com/AbdulRahmanAlHamali)|[](https://github.com/sjmcdowall)|[](https://github.com/KaYBlitZ)| |---|---|---| |AbdulRahman AlHamali|S McDowall|Kenneth Liang| ## Shout out to the contributors! This project is the result of the collective effort of contributors who participated effectively by submitting pull requests, reporting issues, and answering questions. Thank you for your proactiveness, and we hope flutter_typeahead made your lifes at least a little easier! ## How you can help [Contribution Guidelines](https://github.com/AbdulRahmanAlHamali/flutter_typeahead/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md)