AutoComplete

AutoComplete allows you to suggest values to the user while they are typing in a form field. Instead of filling in the full value manually, the system queries an external service and displays relevant suggestions (e.g. city names, street names, product codes).

This feature improves the user experience by making forms faster to fill out and reducing input errors.

How AutoComplete Works

  1. User starts typing into a field (e.g. City).
  2. PalDock calls an external service via Connection Creator using the configured sequence step.
  3. The external service responds with a list of possible values.
  4. Suggestions are displayed to the user as they type.
  5. When the user selects a suggestion, the value is automatically filled into the field.

Example: OpenStreetMap City

Form field in the structure

  • System name: city

Sequence step configuration

  • Method: GET https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search
  • URL params:
    • city – object; maps the form field city to the API parameter.
    • featureType=city – constant.
    • format=json – constant.
    • limit=5 – constant.
  • Headers:
    • User-Agent: PalDock/1.0 (Linux; x86_64) Guzzle/7.9

Response handling

  • Expected result: success
  • HTTP code: 200

How to use the response

  • Source: body
  • Response value: *.name
  • Use as: {names}

Form field configuration

  • Sequence step: link the field city to the sequence step above.
  • Accessor: Sequence step → Responses → How to use response → {names}

Typical Use Cases

  • Suggesting city or street names from geolocation services.
  • Offering product codes or SKUs from a product feed.
  • Completing company names from a business registry.
  • Providing postal codes based on partial input.

Note: AutoComplete depends on external services. If the service is unavailable or slow to respond, suggestions may not load. Always configure sensible timeouts (e.g. 2–5 seconds).

Related articles

Structures > Feed structure
Structures > User structure
Structures > Form structure
Structures > Translations
Structures > Modify field in Structure
Structures > Autofill
Structures > Field validation
Structures > Field types
Structures > Field settings
Structures > Local versus Global fields

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