Skip to content

Multiselect

KMultiselect - A select component that allows for choosing multiple items and creating new options.

  • Selected items labels will be displayed as dismissible badges.
  • When the dropdown is open, the input field for filtering items will be displayed.
  • If at least one item is selected, there will be a clear all button displayed in place of the dropdown chevron when the multiselect has focus.
  • Selected items are displayed at the top of the dropdown for easy access (refreshed on multiselect collapse).
html
<KMultiselect label="Pick Something" :items="items" />

Props

v-model

KMultiselect works as regular inputs do using v-model for data binding:

vue
<template>
  <KLabel>Value:</KLabel> {{ myVal }}
  <KMultiselect v-model="myVal" :items="items" />
  <KButton @click="clearIt">Clear</KButton>
</template>

<script setup lang="ts">
import { MultiselectItem } from '@kong/kongponents'

const myVal = ref<string[]>(["cats", "dogs", "bunnies"])

const items: MultiselectItem[] = [
  { label: 'Cats', value: 'cats', selected: true },
  { label: 'Dogs', value: 'dogs', selected: true, disabled: true },
  { label: 'Bunnies', value: 'bunnies', selected: true },
  { label: 'Lions', value: 'lions' },
  { label: 'Tigers', value: 'tigers' },
  { label: 'Bears', value: 'bears' },
  { label: 'An extremely lengthy truncated item', value: 'long' }
]

const clearIt = () => {
  myVal.value = []
}
</script>

items

An array of items containing a label and value.

You may also specify:

  • a certain item is selected by default
  • a certain item is disabled
  • certain items are grouped under a group
html
<KMultiselect :items="[{
    label: 'Cats',
    value: 'cats',
    selected: true
  }, {
    label: 'Dogs',
    value: 'dogs',
    selected: true,
    disabled: true,
  }, {
    label: 'Bunnies',
    value: 'bunnies',
    selected: true
  },
  {
    label: 'Lions',
    value: 'lions',
    disabled: true,
  }, {
    label: 'Tigers',
    value: 'tigers',
    disabled: true
  }, {
    label: 'Bears',
    value: 'bears'
  }, {
    label: 'An extremely lengthy truncated item',
    value: 'long'
  }, ...]"
/>

help

Pass a string of help text to be displayed below the multiselect element.

html
<KMultiselect label="Label" help="Help text or other tips." :items="items" />

error

A boolean to put the component into an error state.

html
<KMultiselect error :items="items" />
<KMultiselect error collapsed-context help="Help text can turn into error message." :items="items" />

enableItemCreation

KMultiselect can offer users the ability to add custom items to the list by typing the item they want to and then clicking the ... (Add new value) item at the bottom of the list, which will also automatically select it.

Newly created items will have a label consisting of the user input and a randomly generated id for the value to ensure uniqueness. The item will also have an attribute custom set to true. This action triggers an item-added event containing the added item data.

Deselecting the item will completely remove it from the list and underlying data, and trigger a item-removed event containing the removed item's data.

NOTE

You cannot add an item if the label matches the label of a pre-existing item. In that scenario the ... (Add new value) item will not be displayed.

html
<template>
  <KLabel>Value:</KLabel> {{ mySelections }}
  <KLabel>Added Items:</KLabel> {{ addedItems }}
  <KMultiselect
    v-model="mySelections"
    :items="items"
    enable-item-creation
    @item-added="(item) => trackNewItems(item, true)"
    @item-removed="(item) => trackNewItems(item, false)"
  />
</template>

<script setup lang="ts">
const mySelections = ref(['cats','bunnies'])
const addedItems = ref([])

const trackNewItems = (item, added) => {
  if (added) {
    addedItems.value.push(item)
  } else {
    addedItems.value = addedItems.value.filter(anItem => anItem.value !== item.value)
  }
}
</script>

label

The label for the select.

html
<KMultiselect label="Cool label" :items="items" />

labelAttributes

Use the labelAttributes prop to configure the KLabel's props if using the label prop. This example shows using the label-attributes to set up a tooltip, see the slot section if you want to slot HTML into the tooltip rather than use plain text.

html
<KMultiselect
  label="Name"
  :label-attributes="{
    info: 'I use the KLabel `info` prop',
    'data-testid': 'test'
  }"
  :items="items"
/>

width

You can pass a width string for the dropdown. By default the width is 100%. This is the width of the input, dropdown, and selected item. Currently we support numbers (will be converted to px), auto, and percentages for width.

NOTE

Because we are controlling the widths of multiple elements, we recommend using this prop to control the width instead of explicitly adding classes or styles to the KMultiselect component.

html
<KMultiselect width="80%" :items="items" />

selectedRowCount

Use this prop to customize the number of rows of selected items to display when the multiselect has focus. By default, we display one row of selected items.

Additional selections will be combined into a count badge if the number of selections would extend beyond the selection row count. You can hover over this badge to see the remaining selections.

Note that this prop only applies when collapsedContext prop is false.

html
<KMultiselect :selected-row-count="2" :items="items" />

collapsedContext

By default KMultiselect displays selected items as badges. However, you can set collapsedContext to true and have it display just the number of selected items.

html
<KMultiselect collapsed-context :items="items" />

You can pass a dropdownMaxHeight string for the dropdown. By default, the dropdownMaxHeight is 300px. This is the maximum height of the KMultiselect dropdown when open. You can pass a number (will be converted to px), auto, percentages, or vh units.

html
<KMultiselect :items="items" dropdown-max-height="150" />

Adds informational text to the bottom of the dropdown options which remains visible even if the content is scrolled. Can also be slotted.

html
<KMultiselect dropdown-footer-text="Sticky dropdown footer text" :items="items" />

By default, the dropdown footer text will be stuck to the bottom of the dropdown and will always be visible even if the dropdown content is scrolled.

If you want to override the behaviour and have the footer text at the end of the dropdown list, use the value static. This ensures the footer text is visible only when the user scrolls to view the bottom of the list.

Accepted values: sticky (default) and static.

html
<KMultiselect dropdown-footer-text-position="static" dropdown-footer-text="Static dropdown footer text" :items="items" />

loading

You can use the loading prop to show a loading indicator in place of the chevron while fetching data from API. See autosuggest for a functional example.

html
<KMultiselect loading :items="items" />

filterFunction

Use this prop to override the default filter function if you want to do something like filter on an attribute other than label. Your filter function should take as parameter a JSON object containing the items to filter on (items) and the query string (query) and return the filtered items. See slots for an example.

ts
import { MultiselectFilterFunctionParams } from '@kong/kongponents'

const myCustomFilter = ({ items, query }: MultiselectFilterFunctionParams) => {
  return items.filter(anItem => anItem.label.includes(query))
}

NOTE

filterFunction does not work with autosuggest enabled. For autosuggest, you are in charge of filtering the options, so KMultiselect won't filter them internally. See autosuggest for more details.

autosuggest

Add the autosuggest prop to trigger a query to an API with the filter keyword, and then update items asynchronously as suggestions as the user types. Empty state content can be configured using the empty slot.

NOTE

When using autosuggest, you must use v-model otherwise the Multiselect can't maintain an accurate list of which items are selected.

vue
<template>
  <KMultiselect
    v-model="myAutoVal"
    autosuggest
    :items="items"
    :loading="loading"
    @query-change="onQueryChange"
  >
    <template #item-template="{ item }">
      <div class="item-container">
        <div class="item-label">{{ item.label }}</div>
        <div class="item-description">{{ item.description }}</div>
      </div>
    </template>
    <template #empty>
      <div>No results found</div>
    </template>
  </KMultiselect>
</template>

<script setup lang="ts">
import { MultiselectItem } from '@kong/kongponents'

const allItems: MultiselectItems[] = new Array(10).fill().map((_, i) => ({
  label: `${i % 2 === 0 ? 'Even item' : 'Odd item'} ${i}`,
  description: `This is the description for item ${i}.`,
  value: `autosuggest-item-${i}`,
  ...(i > 5 && { group: `${i % 2 === 0 ? 'Even items greater than 5' : 'Odd items greater than 5'}` })
}))

const myAutoVal = ref([])
const defaultItems = ref([])
const items = ref([])
const loading = ref(false)

const onQueryChange = (val) => {
  if (val === '' && !defaultItems.value.length) {
    loading.value = true

    // If query is empty and default items are not fetched, fetch them
    setTimeout(() => {
      defaultItems.value = [...allItems]
      items.value = defaultItems.value.map((item) => ({ ...item }))
      loading.value = false
    }, 200)
    return
  }

  if (val === '') {
    // If query is empty and default items are fetched, use the default items
    items.value = defaultItems.value.map((item) => ({ ...item }))
    return
  }

  loading.value = true

  // Otherwise fetch items that contain the keyword
  setTimeout(() => {
    items.value = allItems
      .filter(
        (item) =>
          item.label.toLowerCase().includes(val.toLowerCase()) ||
          item.description.toLowerCase().includes(val.toLowerCase())
      )
      .map((item) => ({ ...item }))
    loading.value = false
  }, 200)
}
</script>

autosuggest with debounce

NOTE

The query-change event triggers immediately when the user types in the input. If you need to send API requests in the query-change event handler, you may want to implement a debounce function. The following is an example:

vue
<template>
  <KMultiselect
    v-model="myDebounceAutoVal"
    autosuggest
    :items="items"
    :loading="loading"
    @query-change="onQueryChange"
  >
    <template #item-template="{ item }">
      <div class="item-container">
        <div class="item-label">{{ item.label }}</div>
        <div class="item-description">{{ item.description }}</div>
      </div>
    </template>
  </KMultiselect>
</template>

<script setup lang="ts">
import { MultiselectItem } from '@kong/kongponents'

function debounce(func, timeout) {
  let timer
  return function (...args) {
    clearTimeout(timer)
    timer = setTimeout(() => {
      func.apply(this, args)
    }, timeout)
  }
}

const allItems: MultiselectItems[] = new Array(10).fill().map((_, i) => ({
  label: `${i % 2 === 0 ? 'Even item' : 'Odd item'} ${i}`,
  description: `This is the description for item ${i}.`,
  value: `autosuggest-item-${i}`,
  ...(i > 5 && { group: `${i % 2 === 0 ? 'Even items greater than 5' : 'Odd items greater than 5'}` })
}))

const myDebounceAutoVal = ref([])
const defaultItems = ref([])
const items = ref([])
const loading = ref(true)

const onQueryChange = (val) => {
  if (val === '' && !defaultItems.value.length) {
    // If query is empty and default items are not fetched, fetch them
    loading.value = true

    setTimeout(() => {
      defaultItems.value = allItems
      items.value = defaultItems.value.map(item => ({ ...item }))
      loading.value = false
    }, 200)
    return
  }

  if (val === '') {
    // If query is empty and default items are fetched, use the default items
    items.value = defaultItems.value.map(item => ({ ...item }))
    return
  }

  debouncedHandler(val)
}

const debouncedHandler = debounce(function (val) {
  loading.value = true
  // Fetch items that contain the keyword
  setTimeout(() => {
    items.value =
      allItems
        .filter(item => item.label.toLowerCase().includes(val.toLowerCase()) || item.description.toLowerCase().includes(val.toLowerCase()))
        .map(item => ({ ...item }))
    loading.value = false
  }, 200)
}, 400)
</script>

Attribute Binding

You can pass any input attribute and it will get properly bound to the element.

html
<KMultiselect disabled :items="[{ label: 'test', value: 'test' }]" />

required

KMultiselect will display a red dot to indicate a field is required if you set the required attribute and provide a label. See KLabel's props for more information.

NOTE

Text passed in for the label will automatically strip any trailing * when used with the required attribute to try to prevent duplicate visual indications.

html
<KMultiselect label="Name" required :items="items" />

Slots

label-tooltip

If you want to utilize HTML in the multiselect label's tooltip, use the slot.

html
<KMultiselect label="My tooltip" :items="items">
  <template #label-tooltip>Id: <code>8576925e-d7e0-4ecd-8f14-15db1765e69a</code></template>
</KMultiselect>

item-template

You can use the item-template slot to customize the look and feel of your items. Use slots to gain access to the item data.

html
<KMultiselect :items="myItems">
  <template #item-template="{ item }">
    <div class="custom-item">
      <KongIcon />
      <div class="custom-item-title-container">
        <span class="custom-item-title">{{ item?.label }}</span>
        <span class="custom-item-description">{{ item?.label }} description.</span>
      </div>
    </div>
  </template>
</KMultiselect>

empty

You can use the empty slot to customize the look of the dropdown list when there is no options. See autosuggest for an example of this slot.

Slot the content of the dropdown footer text. This slot will override the dropdownFooterText prop if provided.

html
<KMultiselect dropdown-footer-text="I am replaceable" :items="items">
  <template #dropdown-footer-text>
    Come as you are
  </template>
</KMultiselect>

Events

selected

Fires when an item is clicked. Returns an array of selected item objects.

update:modelValue

Fires when selections are changed. Returns an array of selected item values.

change

Fires when selections are changed. Returns the last item selected/deselected object or null.

item-added

Fires when enableItemCreation is true and an item is added. Returns the item object being added to selections.

item-removed

Fires when enableItemCreation is true and an added item is deselected. Returns the item object being removed from selections.

query-change

Fires when the filter string is changed. Returns the query String.

An example of hooking into events to modify newly created items (enableItemCreation) as they are added.

vue
<template>
  <KMultiselect
    :items="myItems"
    enable-item-creation
    @item-added="item => handleAddedItem(item, true)"
    @item-removed="item => handleAddedItem(item, false)"
    @selected="handleSelection"
  />
</template>

<script setup lang="ts">
import { ref } from 'vue'

const myItems = ref([
  {
    label: '200',
    value: 200,
    selected: true,
    disabled: true
  },
  {
    label: '400',
    value: 400
  },
  {
    label: '401',
    value: 401
  },
  {
    label: '404',
    value: 404
  },
  {
    label: '500',
    value: 500
  },
])

const handleAddedItem = (item, added) => {
  if (added) { // addition
    item.custom = true
    // mutate added items in some way
    item.value = `${item.label}-overridden`
    myItems.value.push(item)
  } else { // removal
    myItems.value = myItems.value.filter(anItem => anItem.value !== item.value)
  }
}

const handleSelection = (selectedItems) => {
  // updated selected state
  myItems.value.forEach(item => {
    const itemSelected = selectedItems.filter(sItem => sItem.value === item.value).length
    item.selected = itemSelected ? true : false
  })
}
</script>

Released under the Apache-2.0 License.