syncfusion-maui-combobox

name	syncfusion-maui-combobox
description	Implements Syncfusion .NET MAUI ComboBox (SfComboBox) control. Use when working with ComboBox, dropdown selection, editable dropdown, searchable dropdown, or filterable dropdown in .NET MAUI. Covers basic ComboBox setup, editable/non-editable modes, single/multiple selection, filtering and searching, custom UI styling, and AI-powered smart search.
metadata	{"author":"Syncfusion Inc","version":"33.1.44"}

Implementing .NET MAUI ComboBox

The Syncfusion .NET MAUI ComboBox (SfComboBox) is a powerful selection control that allows users to type a value or choose an option from a list of predefined options. It combines the functionality of a dropdown list with an editable text box, supporting data binding, filtering, searching, single/multiple selection, and extensive customization options.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user needs to:

• Implement dropdown selection controls with editable or non-editable text input
• Enable searchable dropdowns with filtering and auto-complete functionality
• Support multiple selection modes with token or delimiter display
• Bind data from collections to dropdown lists with custom display formatting
• Apply custom filtering logic including AI-powered smart search
• Customize dropdown UI with headers, footers, item templates, and styling
• Highlight matched text during search operations
• Implement load-more functionality for large datasets
• Create accessible selection controls with proper automation support

Component Overview

Key Capabilities:

• Editable & Non-Editable Modes: Toggle between allowing free text input or dropdown-only selection
• Single & Multiple Selection: Support for single item or multi-item selection with token/delimiter display
• Filtering & Searching: Built-in text filtering with StartsWith/Contains modes and custom filter logic
• Data Binding: Bind to any IEnumerable source with DisplayMemberPath and TextMemberPath
• UI Customization: Extensive styling options for dropdown, items, tokens, headers, footers
• Smart Features: AI-powered search, text highlighting, load-more, auto-sizing
• Events & Methods: Rich event model for selection changes, dropdown state, and user interactions

Documentation and Navigation Guide

Getting Started

📄 Read: references/getting-started.md

• Installation and NuGet package setup (Syncfusion.Maui.Inputs)
• Registering Syncfusion Core handler (ConfigureSyncfusionCore)
• Basic ComboBox implementation in XAML and C#
• Data binding with ItemsSource, DisplayMemberPath, TextMemberPath
• Minimal working example

Editing Modes

📄 Read: references/editing-modes.md

• IsEditable property for editable/non-editable modes
• IsClearButtonVisible for clear button control
• Text property for getting/setting input text
• CursorPosition management

Selection

📄 Read: references/selection.md

• Single selection (SelectedItem, SelectedIndex)
• Multiple selection (SelectionMode, SelectedItems)
• Multi-selection display modes (Token, Delimiter)
• TokensWrapMode (Wrap, None)
• SelectedValue and SelectedValuePath
• SelectionChanging and SelectionChanged events
• Programmatic selection and Clear method

Filtering

📄 Read: references/filtering.md

• Enable filtering with IsFilteringEnabled
• Filter modes (StartsWith, Contains)
• Custom filtering with IComboBoxFilterBehavior
• Implementing GetMatchingIndexes for custom filter logic
• MinimumPrefixCharacters constraint

Searching

📄 Read: references/searching.md

• TextSearchMode configuration (StartsWith, Contains)
• Search based on DisplayMemberPath and TextMemberPath
• Edit mode searching behavior
• Prefix characters constraint (MinimumPrefixCharacters)

UI Customization

📄 Read: references/ui-customization.md

• Placeholder and colors
• Clear button and dropdown icon customization
• Border styling (Stroke, ShowBorder)
• MaxDropDownHeight configuration
• ItemTemplate and DataTemplateSelector for custom item rendering
• Dropdown styling (Background, Stroke, StrokeThickness, CornerRadius, Shadow)
• Dropdown item styling (Font, Color, Height, Padding)
• DropDownPlacement (Top, Bottom, Auto, None)
• DropDownButtonSettings customization
• Token item styling
• Text alignment and cursor position
• ReturnType for keyboard behavior
• ShowSuggestionsOnFocus
• AutomationId support for UI testing

Header and Footer

📄 Read: references/header-footer.md

• Adding header view with ShowDropDownHeaderView
• Adding footer view with ShowDropDownFooterView
• Custom templates for headers and footers
• Height configuration

Text Highlighting

📄 Read: references/highlighting-text.md

• TextHighlightMode (FirstOccurrence, MultipleOccurrence)
• Customizing highlight color and font attributes
• Highlighting in StartsWith and Contains modes

Advanced Features

📄 Read: references/advanced-features.md

• AutoSizing with EnableAutoSize
• NoResultsFoundText and NoResultsFoundTemplate
• Load-more functionality (MaximumSuggestion, LoadMoreText, LoadMoreTemplate)
• IsDropDownOpen for programmatic control
• ReturnCommand and ReturnCommandParameter
• Liquid Glass Effect (EnableLiquidGlassEffect)

Events and Methods

📄 Read: references/events-and-methods.md

• SelectionChanging event (with Cancel option)
• SelectionChanged event (AddedItems, RemovedItems)
• ValueChanged event (OldValue, NewValue)
• Completed event
• DropDownOpening, DropDownOpened, DropDownClosed events
• ClearButtonClicked event
• LoadMoreButtonTapped event
• Clear() method

AI-Powered Smart Searching

📄 Read: references/ai-smart-searching.md

• Integrating Azure OpenAI for intelligent search
• Implementing IComboBoxFilterBehavior for AI filtering
• Prompt engineering for accurate results
• Async filtering with CancellationToken
• Fallback mechanisms (Soundex, Levenshtein algorithms)