CiviCRM Community Forums (archive)

Hi All,

For my current project I need to allow the user to enter anything in the Individual Prefix field, rather than choosing from a list of options.  The client in this case is very sensitive about presenting the individual's honorific just as the individual wants, so "Dr.," "Rev. Dr.," and "Most Rt. Rev. Dr." should all be possible, along with anything else the user wants to enter. 

To illustrate the scope of issue: out of the aprox. 20K records in the client's existing database, there are over 400 distinct values for this field.  A select list that long is unwieldy in numerous ways.

What I'd really like is to present the field as a text input that offers type-ahead auto-complete for a short list of preferred options, but still allows the user to enter whatever they want.

My best idea so far is this:
1. Use hook_civicrm_buildForm to replace the existing select element with a text element,
2. Add some JS to the template for the type-ahead effect, and
3. Use hook_civicrm_postProcess to create -- if necessary -- an option for any new user-generated prefix.

Would anyone like to suggest a better way to do this? 

Thanks,
Allen

Yes, I'd be happy to.  Will post here when I have something to share.

Thanks,
Allen