Question

I need to create and autocomplete like this

I guess Jquery UI won’t be able to do stuff like this?

Will I need to hand write it, or what head start would you recommend?

Answer 1

I assume you mean the customised output of the autocomplete suggestions? You can customise the output of the autocomplete results with jQuery – no problem. For example:

$(this).autocomplete().data("autocomplete")._renderItem = function (ul, item) {
                    return $("<li></li>")
                        .data("item.autocomplete", item)
                        .append($("<a></a>").html(item.label))
                        .append($("<span>whatever you fancy in here..</span>"))
                        .appendTo(ul);
                };

I suggest you Google “monkey patching jquery autocomplete” for more details.