5 Ways To Implement Autocomplete With React Hook Form

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As a developer, you're likely familiar with the importance of providing a seamless user experience in your web applications. One way to achieve this is by incorporating autocomplete functionality, which allows users to quickly and easily find what they're looking for. When combined with React Hook Form, autocomplete can become a powerful tool for enhancing user engagement and reducing friction. In this article, we'll explore five ways to implement autocomplete with React Hook Form.

Implementing autocomplete with React Hook Form can be a bit complex, but it's definitely doable. With the right approach, you can create a robust and user-friendly autocomplete feature that will take your application to the next level.

What is Autocomplete?

Autocomplete is a feature that provides users with a list of suggested options as they type in a text field. This can be especially useful for search bars, form fields, and other input areas where users need to enter specific information.

Why Use React Hook Form?

React Hook Form is a popular library for managing forms in React applications. It provides a simple and efficient way to handle form validation, submission, and other related tasks. By combining React Hook Form with autocomplete, you can create a robust and user-friendly form experience.

5 Ways to Implement Autocomplete with React Hook Form

1. Using the useForm Hook with a Simple Autocomplete Library

One way to implement autocomplete with React Hook Form is to use a simple autocomplete library like react-autocomplete. This library provides a basic autocomplete component that you can integrate with your form.

Here's an example of how you can use react-autocomplete with React Hook Form:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { useForm } from 'react-hook-form';
import Autocomplete from 'react-autocomplete';

const options = [
  { label: 'Apple', value: 'apple' },
  { label: 'Banana', value: 'banana' },
  { label: 'Cherry', value: 'cherry' },
];

function MyForm() {
  const { register, handleSubmit } = useForm();
  const [selectedOption, setSelectedOption] = useState(null);

  const handleSelect = (option) => {
    setSelectedOption(option);
  };

  return (
    
 console.log(data))}>
       item.label}
        items={options}
        shouldItemRender={(item, value) => item.label.toLowerCase().includes(value.toLowerCase())}
        onSelect={handleSelect}
        onChange={(event) => register(event.target.name).onChange(event)}
        name="autocomplete"
      />
      Submit
    
  );
}

In this example, we're using the useForm hook from React Hook Form to manage our form state. We're also using the Autocomplete component from react-autocomplete to provide the autocomplete functionality.

2. Using a Custom Autocomplete Component with React Hook Form

Another way to implement autocomplete with React Hook Form is to create a custom autocomplete component. This approach gives you more control over the autocomplete functionality and allows you to customize it to your specific needs.

Here's an example of how you can create a custom autocomplete component with React Hook Form:

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { useForm } from 'react-hook-form';

const Autocomplete = ({ options, onSelect, name }) => {
  const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(false);
  const [selectedOption, setSelectedOption] = useState(null);
  const [filteredOptions, setFilteredOptions] = useState(options);

  const handleSelect = (option) => {
    onSelect(option);
    setSelectedOption(option);
    setIsOpen(false);
  };

  const handleFilter = (event) => {
    const filteredOptions = options.filter((option) => option.label.toLowerCase().includes(event.target.value.toLowerCase()));
    setFilteredOptions(filteredOptions);
  };

  return (
    

       setIsOpen(true)}
        onBlur={() => setIsOpen(false)}
      />
      {isOpen && (
        

          {filteredOptions.map((option) => (
            
 handleSelect(option)}>
              {option.label}
            
          ))}
        
      )}
    
  );
};

function MyForm() {
  const { register, handleSubmit } = useForm();
  const [selectedOption, setSelectedOption] = useState(null);

  const handleSelect = (option) => {
    setSelectedOption(option);
  };

  return (
    
 console.log(data))}>
      
      Submit
    
  );
}

In this example, we're creating a custom Autocomplete component that provides the autocomplete functionality. We're using the useForm hook from React Hook Form to manage our form state.

3. Using a Third-Party Library with React Hook Form

Another way to implement autocomplete with React Hook Form is to use a third-party library like react-autosuggest. This library provides a robust autocomplete component that you can integrate with your form.

Here's an example of how you can use react-autosuggest with React Hook Form:

import React, { useState } from 'react';
import { useForm } from 'react-hook-form';
import Autosuggest from 'react-autosuggest';

const options = [
  { label: 'Apple', value: 'apple' },
  { label: 'Banana', value: 'banana' },
  { label: 'Cherry', value: 'cherry' },
];

function MyForm() {
  const { register, handleSubmit } = useForm();
  const [selectedOption, setSelectedOption] = useState(null);

  const handleSelect = (option) => {
    setSelectedOption(option);
  };

  return (
    
 console.log(data))}>
       handleSelect(suggestion)}
        onSuggestionsFetchRequested={({ value }) => {
          const filteredOptions = options.filter((option) => option.label.toLowerCase().includes(value.toLowerCase()));
          return { suggestions: filteredOptions };
        }}
        getSuggestionValue={(suggestion) => suggestion.label}
        renderSuggestion={(suggestion) => 
{suggestion.label}
}
        inputProps={{
          name: 'autocomplete',
          onChange: register('autocomplete').onChange,
        }}
      />
      Submit
    
  );
}

In this example, we're using the Autosuggest component from react-autosuggest to provide the autocomplete functionality. We're also using the useForm hook from React Hook Form to manage our form state.

4. Using a Custom Hook with React Hook Form

Another way to implement autocomplete with React Hook Form is to create a custom hook. This approach gives you more control over the autocomplete functionality and allows you to customize it to your specific needs.

Here's an example of how you can create a custom hook with React Hook Form:

import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { useForm } from 'react-hook-form';

const useAutocomplete = (options) => {
  const [isOpen, setIsOpen] = useState(false);
  const [selectedOption, setSelectedOption] = useState(null);
  const [filteredOptions, setFilteredOptions] = useState(options);

  const handleSelect = (option) => {
    setSelectedOption(option);
    setIsOpen(false);
  };

  const handleFilter = (event) => {
    const filteredOptions = options.filter((option) => option.label.toLowerCase().includes(event.target.value.toLowerCase()));
    setFilteredOptions(filteredOptions);
  };

  return {
    isOpen,
    selectedOption,
    filteredOptions,
    handleSelect,
    handleFilter,
  };
};

function MyForm() {
  const { register, handleSubmit } = useForm();
  const { isOpen, selectedOption, filteredOptions, handleSelect, handleFilter } = useAutocomplete([
    { label: 'Apple', value: 'apple' },
    { label: 'Banana', value: 'banana' },
    { label: 'Cherry', value: 'cherry' },
  ]);

  return (
    
 console.log(data))}>
       setIsOpen(true)}
        onBlur={() => setIsOpen(false)}
      />
      {isOpen && (
        

          {filteredOptions.map((option) => (
            
 handleSelect(option)}>
              {option.label}
            
          ))}
        
      )}
      Submit
    
  );
}

In this example, we're creating a custom useAutocomplete hook that provides the autocomplete functionality. We're also using the useForm hook from React Hook Form to manage our form state.

5. Using a Server-Side Solution with React Hook Form

Finally, you can also implement autocomplete with React Hook Form by using a server-side solution. This approach involves making API requests to a server to retrieve the autocomplete suggestions.

Here's an example of how you can use a server-side solution with React Hook Form:

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
import { useForm } from 'react-hook-form';
import axios from 'axios';

const apiEndpoint = 'https://example.com/api/autocomplete';

function MyForm() {
  const { register, handleSubmit } = useForm();
  const [selectedOption, setSelectedOption] = useState(null);
  const [filteredOptions, setFilteredOptions] = useState([]);

  const handleSelect = (option) => {
    setSelectedOption(option);
  };

  const handleFilter = async (event) => {
    const response = await axios.get(apiEndpoint, {
      params: { query: event.target.value },
    });
    setFilteredOptions(response.data);
  };

  return (
    
 console.log(data))}>
      
      

        {filteredOptions.map((option) => (
          
 handleSelect(option)}>
            {option.label}
          
        ))}
      
      Submit
    
  );
}

In this example, we're using the axios library to make API requests to a server to retrieve the autocomplete suggestions. We're also using the useForm hook from React Hook Form to manage our form state.

Conclusion

In this article, we've explored five ways to implement autocomplete with React Hook Form. From using simple libraries like react-autocomplete to creating custom hooks and server-side solutions, there are many approaches to providing autocomplete functionality in your React applications. By choosing the right approach for your specific needs, you can create a robust and user-friendly autocomplete feature that enhances the user experience.

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