Question

I would like to get the html element corresponding to the auto-complete list i.e. dropdown part that opens as I type into the input element of jQuery combobox. How would I get this dropdown element using jQuery?

Answer 1

If you’re talking about jQueryUI autocomplete, you can access the menu‘s element using:

$('autocomplete_selector').data("autocomplete").menu.element;

So in the context of the open event, you could do something like this:

$("input").autocomplete({
    open: function (event, ui) {
        // menu is a jQuery object.
        var menu = $(this).data("autocomplete").menu.element;
    }
});

Example: http://jsfiddle.net/PvgGw/

---

For the combobox widget you’ll need to jump through a few more hoops, since the input is dynamically generated:

$("combobox_selector")
    .data("combobox")
    .wrapper
    .find("input")
    .data("autocomplete")
    .menu
    .element;