Getting Started with Blazor MultiColumn ComboBox Component

20 Sep 20247 minutes to read

This section briefly explains about how to include Blazor MultiColumn ComboBox component in your Blazor Server App and Blazor WebAssembly App using Visual Studio.

To get started quickly with Blazor MultiColumn ComboBox component, you can check out this video or GitHub sample.

Prerequisites

Create a new Blazor App in Visual Studio

You can create a Blazor Server App or Blazor WebAssembly App using Visual Studio via Microsoft Templates or the Syncfusion Blazor Extension.

Install Syncfusion Blazor MultiColumnComboBox and Themes NuGet in the App

To add Blazor MultiColumn ComboBox component in the app, open the NuGet package manager in Visual Studio (Tools → NuGet Package Manager → Manage NuGet Packages for Solution), search and install Syncfusion.Blazor.MultiColumnComboBox and Syncfusion.Blazor.Themes. Alternatively, you can utilize the following package manager command to achieve the same.

Install-Package Syncfusion.Blazor.MultiColumnComboBox -Version 27.2.2
Install-Package Syncfusion.Blazor.Themes -Version 27.2.2

NOTE

Syncfusion Blazor components are available in nuget.org. Refer to NuGet packages topic for available NuGet packages list with component details.

Register Syncfusion Blazor Service

Open ~/_Imports.razor file and import the Syncfusion.Blazor and Syncfusion.Blazor.MultiColumnComboBox namespace.

@using Syncfusion.Blazor
@using Syncfusion.Blazor.MultiColumnComboBox

Now, register the Syncfusion Blazor Service in the ~/Program.cs file of your Blazor Server App or Blazor WebAssembly App.

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Web;
using Syncfusion.Blazor;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Add services to the container.
builder.Services.AddRazorPages();
builder.Services.AddServerSideBlazor();
builder.Services.AddSyncfusionBlazor();

var app = builder.Build();
....
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.Web;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Components.WebAssembly.Hosting;
using Syncfusion.Blazor;

var builder = WebAssemblyHostBuilder.CreateDefault(args);
builder.RootComponents.Add<App>("#app");
builder.RootComponents.Add<HeadOutlet>("head::after");

builder.Services.AddScoped(sp => new HttpClient { BaseAddress = new Uri(builder.HostEnvironment.BaseAddress) });

builder.Services.AddSyncfusionBlazor();
await builder.Build().RunAsync();
....

Add stylesheet and script resources

The theme stylesheet and script can be accessed from NuGet through Static Web Assets. Reference the stylesheet and script in the <head> of the main page as follows:

  • For .NET 6 Blazor Server app, include it in ~/Pages/_Layout.cshtml file.

  • For .NET 7 Blazor Server app, include it in the ~/Pages/_Host.cshtml file.

  • For Blazor WebAssembly app, include it in the ~/index.html file.

<head>
    ....
    <link href="_content/Syncfusion.Blazor.Themes/bootstrap5.css" rel="stylesheet" />
    <script src="_content/Syncfusion.Blazor.Core/scripts/syncfusion-blazor.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
</head>

NOTE

Check out the Blazor Themes topic to discover various methods (Static Web Assets, CDN, and CRG) for referencing themes in your Blazor application. Also, check out the Adding Script Reference topic to learn different approaches for adding script references in your Blazor application.

Add Blazor MultiColumn ComboBox component

Add the Syncfusion Blazor MultiColumn ComboBox component in the ~/Pages/Index.razor file.

<SfMultiColumnComboBox TItem="string" TValue="string" Placeholder="Select any product"></SfMultiColumnComboBox>
  • Press Ctrl+F5 (Windows) or ⌘+F5 (macOS) to launch the application. This will render the Syncfusion Blazor MultiColumn ComboBox component in your default web browser.
Blazor MultiColumn ComboBox Component

Binding Data Source and Mapping Fields

After initialization, populate the MultiColumn ComboBox with data using the DataSource property. In this case, the MultiColumn ComboBox binds its DataSource to the Products list, which contains multiple product columns. Both the ValueField and TextField properties are set to the Name property of the Product class, ensuring that product names are displayed in the dropdown. The @bind-Value is used to bind the selected value, with an initial value of “Smart phone” pre-selected in this example.

<SfMultiColumnComboBox @bind-Value="@Value" DataSource="@Products" ValueField="Name" TextField="Name" Placeholder="Select any product"></SfMultiColumnComboBox>

@code {
    public class Product
    {
        public string Name { get; set; }
        public decimal Price { get; set; }
        public string Availability { get; set; }
        public string Category { get; set; }
        public double Rating { get; set; }
    }
    private List<Product> Products = new List<Product>();
    private string Value { get; set; } = "Smartphone";
    protected override Task OnInitializedAsync()
    {
        Products = new List<Product>
        {
            new Product { Name = "Laptop", Price = 999.99m, Availability = "In Stock", Category = "Electronics", Rating = 4.5 },
            new Product { Name = "Smartphone", Price = 599.99m, Availability = "Out of Stock", Category = "Electronics", Rating = 4.3 },
            new Product { Name = "Tablet", Price = 299.99m, Availability = "In Stock", Category = "Electronics", Rating = 4.2 },
            new Product { Name = "Headphones", Price = 49.99m, Availability = "In Stock", Category = "Accessories", Rating = 4.0 }
        };
        return base.OnInitializedAsync();
    }
}
Blazor MultiColumn ComboBox with Data Binding

Configuring the Columns

The MultiColumn ComboBox supports auto-generating columns, which simplifies the process by automatically creating columns based on the data source. Additionally, you can customize the column header text to reflect specific data, adjust the column Width for optimal display, and set the TextAlign (left, center, or right) to enhance readability.

<SfMultiColumnComboBox @bind-Value="@Value" DataSource="@Products" PopupWidth="600px" ValueField="Name" TextField="Name" Placeholder="Select any product">
     <MultiColumnComboboxColumns>
         <MultiColumnComboboxColumn Field="Name" Width="200px" TextAlign="Syncfusion.Blazor.Grids.TextAlign.Center"></MultiColumnComboboxColumn>
         <MultiColumnComboboxColumn Field="Price" Width="200px" TextAlign="Syncfusion.Blazor.Grids.TextAlign.Center"></MultiColumnComboboxColumn>
         <MultiColumnComboboxColumn Field="Availability" Width="200px" TextAlign="Syncfusion.Blazor.Grids.TextAlign.Center"></MultiColumnComboboxColumn>
     </MultiColumnComboboxColumns>
 </SfMultiColumnComboBox>
Blazor MultiColumn ComboBox with Data Binding

Configuring the popup list

By default, the width of the popup list automatically adjusts to match the width of the MultiColumn ComboBox input element, and the height is set to 350px. Both the height and width of the popup list can be customized using the PopupHeight and PopupWidth properties, respectively.

<SfMultiColumnComboBox @bind-Value="@Value" DataSource="@Products" PopupHeight="350px" PopupWidth="400px" ValueField="Name" TextField="Name" Placeholder="Select any product"></SfMultiColumnComboBox>
Customizing Popup Height and Width in Blazor MultiColumn ComboBox

See also