Wiring a suggester – component with suggestions

Suggester this is a special type of external data source used mainly for text fields. Its role is to suggest or automatically correct the value entered by the user, according to a specified algorithm. The suggester operates on the server side – when the user enters data and leaves the field, the suggester service can for example modify that value (enforcing a specific format, range, etc.) or suggest a different one.

Step-by-step configuration:

1. Selecting the component: You should select a component of type Text field (TextField) for which the suggestion or correction mechanism is to be enabled.

2. Selecting a suggester: In the Properties panel you need to go to the Interactions section. In the External data source field you should click Select serviceand then choose the appropriate one from the list of available sources Suggester. After attaching it, an identifier of the suggester (e.g. its name) should appear in the field.

3. Automatic value update: In the Other properties section of the text field you must check the Automatic value update (autoServerUpdate) option. This setting causes the value to be sent to the server after every completion of field editing (e.g. after leaving the field or losing focus). This way the suggester will receive the value entered by the user and can return a possibly modified one. If the autoServerUpdate option is not enabled, the suggester will not work – the change in the field value will not be recorded on the server side.

4. Finishing configuration: After finishing the configuration you should save the changes. From that moment the text field will be linked to the Suggester. When the user types a value and finishes editing (e.g. moves to the next field), the suggester mechanism will process the entered value. If it requires correction, the system will automatically replace it with the suggested one (for example, increase it to the minimum allowed value). The suggester can also display messages to the user – for example information about the correction made.

5. Customizing messages: If the suggester has default messages (e.g. in English), it is worth localizing them to Polish. To do this, go to the Translations tab in the application editor and find the message keys associated with the given Suggester. Then you need to add the appropriate translations into Polish.

Illustration 1. Example of a connected suggester in Eximee Designer

Demo application: demoSuggester