Choices.js

A vanilla, lightweight (~15kb gzipped 🎉), configurable select box/text input plugin. Similar to Select2 and Selectize but without the jQuery dependency.

Demo

TL;DR

• Lightweight
• No jQuery dependency
• Configurable sorting
• Flexible styling
• Fast search/filtering
• Clean API
• Right-to-left support

Setup

<!-- Include base CSS (optional) -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="assets/styles/css/base.min.css">
<!-- Include Choices CSS -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="assets/styles/css/choices.min.css">
<!-- Include Choices JavaScript -->
<script src="/assets/scripts/dist/choices.min.js"></script>
<script>
    // Pass multiple elements:
    const choices = new Choices(elements);
    
    // Pass single element:
    const choices = new Choices(element);
    
    // Pass reference
    const choices = new Choices('[data-choice']);
    const choices = new Choices('.js-choice');

    // Pass jQuery element
    const choices = new Choices($('.js-choice')[0]);
    
    // Passing options (with default options)
    const choices = new Choices(elements, {
        items: [],
        choices: [],
        maxItemCount: -1,
        addItems: true,
        removeItems: true,
        removeItemButton: false,
        editItems: false,
        duplicateItems: true,
        delimiter: ',',
        paste: true,
        search: true,
        flip: true,
        regexFilter: null,
        shouldSort: true,
        sortFilter: sortByAlpha,
        sortFields: ['label', 'value'],
        placeholder: true,
        placeholderValue: null,
        prependValue: null,
        appendValue: null,
        loadingText: 'Loading...',
        noResultsText: 'No results round',
        noChoicesText: 'No choices to choose from',
        classNames: {
            containerOuter: 'choices',
            containerInner: 'choices__inner',
            input: 'choices__input',
            inputCloned: 'choices__input--cloned',
            list: 'choices__list',
            listItems: 'choices__list--multiple',
            listSingle: 'choices__list--single',
            listDropdown: 'choices__list--dropdown',
            item: 'choices__item',
            itemSelectable: 'choices__item--selectable',
            itemDisabled: 'choices__item--disabled',
            itemChoice: 'choices__item--choice',
            group: 'choices__group',
            groupHeading : 'choices__heading',
            button: 'choices__button',
            activeState: 'is-active',
            focusState: 'is-focused',
            openState: 'is-open',
            disabledState: 'is-disabled',
            highlightedState: 'is-highlighted',
            hiddenState: 'is-hidden',
            flippedState: 'is-flipped',
            loadingState: 'is-loading',
        },
        callbackOnInit: () => {},
        callbackOnAddItem: (id, value, passedInput) => {},
        callbackOnRemoveItem: (id, value, passedInput) => {},
        callbackOnHighlightItem: (id, value, passedInput) => {},
        callbackOnUnhighlightItem: (id, value, passedInput) => {},
        callbackOnChange: (value, passedInput) => {},
    });
</script>

Installation

npm install choices.js --save

Terminology

Word	Definition
Choice	A choice is a value a user can select. A choice would be equivelant to the <option></option> element within a select input.
Group	A group is a collection of choices. A group should be seen as equivalent to a <optgroup></optgroup> element within a select input.
Item	An item is an inputted value (text input) or a selected choice (select element). In the context of a select element, an item is equivelent to a selected option element: <option value="Hello" selected></option> whereas in the context of a text input an item is equivelant to <input type="text" value="Hello">

Configuration options

items

Type: Array Default: []

Input types affected: text

Usage: Add pre-selected items (see terminology) to text input.

Pass an array of strings:

['value 1', 'value 2', 'value 3']

Pass an array of objects:

[{ 
	value: 'Value 1',
	label: 'Label 1', 
	id: 1 
},
{ 
	value: 'Value 2',
	label: 'Label 2', 
	id: 2
}]

choices

Type: Array Default: []

Input types affected: select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Add choices (see terminology) to select input.

Pass an array of objects:

[{
	value: 'Option 1',
	label: 'Option 1',
	selected: true,
	disabled: false,
},
{
	value: 'Option 2',
	label: 'Option 2',
	selected: false,
	disabled: true,
}]

maxItemCount

Type: Number Default: -1

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: The amount of items a user can input/select ("-1" indicates no limit).

addItems

Type: Boolean Default: true

Input types affected: text

Usage: Whether a user can add items to the passed input's value.

removeItems

Type: Boolean Default: true

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Whether a user can remove items.

removeItemButton

Type: Boolean Default: false

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Whether a button should show that, when clicked, will remove an item.

editItems

Type: Boolean Default: false

Input types affected: text

Usage: Whether a user can edit items. An items value can be edited by pressing the backspace.

duplicateItems

Type: Boolean Default: true

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Whether a user can input/choose a duplicate item.

delimiter

Type: String Default: ,

Input types affected: text

Usage: What divides each value. By default the delimited value would be "Value 1, Value 2, Value 3".

paste

Type: Boolean Default: true

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Whether a user can paste into the input.

search

Type: Boolean Default: true

Input types affected: select-one

Usage: Whether a user should be allowed to search avaiable choices. Note that multiple select boxes will always show search inputs.

flip

Type: Boolean Default: true

Input types affected: select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Whether the dropdown should appear above the input if there is not enough space within the window.

regexFilter

Type: Regex Default: null

Input types affected: text

Usage: A filter that will need to pass for a user to successfully add an item.

shouldSort

Type: Boolean Default: true

Input types affected: select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Whether choices should be sorted. If false, choices will appear in the order they were given.

sortFilter

Type: Function Default: sortByAlpha

Input types affected: select-one, select-multiple

Usage: The function that will sort choices before they are displayed (unless a user is searching). By default choices are sorted by alphabetical order.

Example:

// Sorting via length of label from largest to smallest
const example = new Choices(element, {
    sortFilter: function(a, b) {
        return b.label.length - a.label.length;
    },
};

sortFields

Type: Array/String Default: ['label', 'value']

Input types affected:select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Specify which fields should be used for sorting when a user is searching. If a user is not searching and sorting is enabled, only the choice's label will be sorted.

placeholder

Type: Boolean Default: true

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Whether the input should show a placeholder. Used in conjunction with placeholderValue. If placeholder is set to true and no value is passed to placeholderValue, the passed input's placeholder attribute will be used as the placeholder value.

placeholderValue

Type: String Default: null

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: The value of the inputs placeholder.

prependValue

Type: String Default: null

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Prepend a value to each item added/selected.

appendValue

Type: String Default: null

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Append a value to each item added/selected.

loadingText

Type: String Default: Loading...

Input types affected: select-one, select-multiple

Usage: The text that is shown whilst choices are being populated via AJAX.

noResultsText

Type: String Default: No results round

Input types affected: select-one, select-multiple

Usage: The text that is shown when a user's search has returned no results.

noChoicesText

Type: String Default: No choices to choose from

Input types affected: select-multiple

Usage: The text that is shown when a user has selected all possible choices.

classNames

Type: Object Default:

classNames: {
    containerOuter: 'choices',
    containerInner: 'choices__inner',
    input: 'choices__input',
    inputCloned: 'choices__input--cloned',
    list: 'choices__list',
    listItems: 'choices__list--multiple',
    listSingle: 'choices__list--single',
    listDropdown: 'choices__list--dropdown',
    item: 'choices__item',
    itemSelectable: 'choices__item--selectable',
    itemDisabled: 'choices__item--disabled',
    itemOption: 'choices__item--choice',
    group: 'choices__group',
    groupHeading : 'choices__heading',
    button: 'choices__button',
    activeState: 'is-active',
    focusState: 'is-focused',
    openState: 'is-open',
    disabledState: 'is-disabled',
    highlightedState: 'is-highlighted',
    hiddenState: 'is-hidden',
    flippedState: 'is-flipped',
    selectedState: 'is-highlighted',
}

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Classes added to HTML generated by Choices. By default classnames follow the BEM notation.

callbackOnInit

Type: Function Default: () => {}

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Function to run once Choices initialises.

callbackOnAddItem

Type: Function Default: (id, value, passedInput) => {}

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Function to run each time an item is added (programmatically or by the user).

callbackOnRemoveItem

Type: Function Default: (id, value, passedInput) => {}

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Function to run each time an item is removed (programmatically or by the user).

callbackOnHighlightItem

Type: Function Default: (id, value, passedInput) => {}

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Function to run each time an item is highlighted.

callbackOnUnhighlightItem

Type: Function Default: (id, value, passedInput) => {}

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Function to run each time an item is unhighlighted.

callbackOnChange

Type: Function Default: (value, passedInput) => {}

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Function to run each time an item is added/removed by a user.

Methods

Methods can be called either directly or by chaining:

// Calling a method by chaining
const choices = new Choices(element, {
    addItems: false,
    removeItems: false,
}).setValue(['Set value 1', 'Set value 2']).disable();

// Calling a method directly
const choices = new Choices(element, {
    addItems: false,
    removeItems: false,
});

choices.setValue(['Set value 1', 'Set value 2'])
choices.disable();

destroy();

Input types affected: text, select-multiple, select-one

Usage: Kills the instance of Choices, removes all event listeners and returns passed input to its initial state.

init();

Input types affected: text, select-multiple, select-one

Usage: Creates a new instance of Choices, adds event listeners, creates templates and renders a Choices element to the DOM.

Note: This is called implicitly when a new instance of Choices is created. This would be used after a Choices instance had already been destroyed (using destroy()).

highlightAll();

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Highlight each chosen item (selected items can be removed).

unhighlightAll();

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Un-highlight each chosen item.

removeItemsByValue(value);

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Remove each item by a given value.

removeActiveItems(excludedId);

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Remove each selectable item.

removeHighlightedItems();

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Remove each item the user has selected.

showDropdown();

Input types affected: select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Show option list dropdown (only affects select inputs).

hideDropdown();

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Hide option list dropdown (only affects select inputs).

toggleDropdown();

Input types affected: text, select-multiple

Usage: Toggle dropdown between showing/hidden.

setChoices(choices, value, label);

Input types affected: select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Set choices of select input via an array of objects, a value name and a label name. This behaves the same as passing items via the choices option but can be called after initialising Choices. This can also be used to add groups of choices (see example 2);

Example 1:

const example = new Choices(element);

example.setChoices([
    {value: 'One', label: 'Label One', disabled: true},
    {value: 'Two', label: 'Label Two' selected: true},
    {value: 'Three', label: 'Label Three'},
], 'value', 'label');

Example 2:

const example = new Choices(element);

example.setChoices([{
    label: 'Group one',
    id: 1,
    disabled: false,
    choices: [
        {value: 'Child One', label: 'Child One', selected: true},
        {value: 'Child Two', label: 'Child Two',  disabled: true},
        {value: 'Child Three', label: 'Child Three'},
    ]
}, 
{
    label: 'Group two',
    id: 2,
    disabled: false,
    choices: [
        {value: 'Child Four', label: 'Child Four', disabled: true},
        {value: 'Child Five', label: 'Child Five'},
        {value: 'Child Six', label: 'Child Six'},
    ]
}], 'value', 'label');

getValue(valueOnly)

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Get value(s) of input (i.e. inputted items (text) or selected choices (select)). Optionally pass an argument of true to only return values rather than value objects.

Example:

const example = new Choices(element);
const values = example.getValue(true); // returns ['value 1', 'value 2'];
const valueArray = example.getValue(); // returns [{ active: true, choiceId: 1, highlighted: false, id: 1, label: 'Label 1', value: 'Value 1'},  { active: true, choiceId: 2, highlighted: false, id: 2, label: 'Label 2', value: 'Value 2'}];

setValue(args);

Input types affected: text

Usage: Set value of input based on an array of objects or strings. This behaves exactly the same as passing items via the items option but can be called after initialising Choices.

Example:

const example = new Choices(element);

// via an array of objects
example.setValue([
    {value: 'One', label: 'Label One'},
    {value: 'Two', label: 'Label Two'},
    {value: 'Three', label: 'Label Three'},
]);

// or via an array of strings
example.setValue(['Four','Five','Six']);

setValueByChoice(value);

Input types affected: select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Set value of input based on existing Choice.

Example:

const example = new Choices(element, {
    choices: [
        {value: 'One', label: 'Label One'},
        {value: 'Two', label: 'Label Two', disabled: true},
        {value: 'Three', label: 'Label Three'},
    ],
});

example.setValueByChoice('Two'); // Choice with value of 'Two' has now been selected.

clearStore();

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Removes all items, choices and groups. Use with caution.

clearInput();

Input types affected: text

Usage: Clear input of any user inputted text.

disable();

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Disables input from accepting new value/sselecting further choices.

enable();

Input types affected: text, select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Enables input to accept new values/select further choices.

ajax(fn);

Input types affected: select-one, select-multiple

Usage: Populate options via a callback.

Example:

var example = new Choices(element);

example.ajax(function(callback) {
    fetch(url)
        .then(function(response) {
            response.json().then(function(data) {
                callback(data, 'value', 'label');
            });
        })
        .catch(function(error) {
            console.log(error);
        });
});

Browser compatibility

Choices is compiled using Babel to enable support for ES5 browsers. If you need to support a browser that does not support one of the features listed below, I suggest including a polyfill from the very good polyfill.io:

Polyfill example used for the demo:

<script src="https://cdn.polyfill.io/v2/polyfill.js?features=es5,fetch,Element.prototype.classList,requestAnimationFrame,Node.insertBefore,Node.firstChild"></script>

Features used in Choices:

• Array.prototype.forEach
• Array.prototype.map
• Array.prototype.find
• Array.prototype.some
• Array.prototype.reduce
• Array.prototype.indexOf
• Element.prototype.classList
• window.requestAnimationFrame

Development

To setup a local environment: clone this repo, navigate into it's directory in a terminal window and run the following command:

npm install

NPM tasks

Task	Usage
npm start	Fire up local server for development
npm run js:build	Compile Choices to an uglified JavaScript file
npm run css:watch	Watch SCSS files for changes. On a change, run build process
npm run css:build	Compile, minify and prefix SCSS files to CSS

Contributions

In lieu of a formal styleguide, take care to maintain the existing coding style. Add unit tests for any new or changed functionality. Lint and test your code using npm scripts...bla bla bla

License

MIT License

Misc

Thanks to @mikefrancis for sending me on a hunt for a non-jQuery solution for select boxes that eventually led to this being built!