Chosen (v2.2.0)

Chosen has a number of options and attributes that allow you to have full control of your select boxes.

Options

The following options are available to pass into Chosen on instantiation.

Example:

  $(".my_select_box").chosen({
    disable_search_threshold: 10,
    no_results_text: "Oops, nothing found!",
    width: "95%"
  });
OptionDefaultDescription
allow_single_deselect false When set to true on a single select, Chosen adds a UI element which selects the first element (if it is blank).
disable_search false When set to true, Chosen will not display the search field (single selects only).
disable_search_threshold 0 Hide the search input on single selects if there are n or fewer options.
enable_split_word_search true By default, searching will match on any word within an option tag. Set this option to false if you want to only match on the entire text of an option tag.
inherit_select_classes false When set to true, Chosen will grab any classes on the original select field and add them to Chosen’s container div.
inherit_option_classes false When set to true, Chosen will grab any classes on the original option tags and add them to Chosen’s container li.
max_selected_options Infinity Limits how many options the user can select. When the limit is reached, the chosen:maxselected event is triggered.
no_results_text "No results for:" The text to be displayed when no matching results are found. The current search is shown at the end of the text (e.g., No results for: "Bad Search").
placeholder_text_multiple "Select Some Options" The text to be displayed as a placeholder when no options are selected for a multiple select.
placeholder_text_single "Select an Option" The text to be displayed as a placeholder when no options are selected for a single select.
search_contains false By default, Chosen’s search matches starting at the beginning of a word. Setting this option to true allows matches starting from anywhere within a word. This is especially useful for options that include a lot of special characters or phrases in ()s and []s.
search_in_values false By default, Chosen’s search matches in content of HTML<option> element. Setting this option to true allows matches in value attribute of the <option> element.
group_search true By default, Chosen will search group labels as well as options, and filter to show all options below matching groups. Set this to false to search only in the options.
single_backstroke_delete true By default, pressing delete/backspace on multiple selects will remove a selected choice. When false, pressing delete/backspace will highlight the last choice, and a second press deselects it.
width Original select width. The width of the Chosen select box. By default, Chosen attempts to match the width of the select box you are replacing. If your select is hidden when Chosen is instantiated, you must specify a width or the select will show up with a width of 0.
display_disabled_options true By default, Chosen includes disabled options in search results with a special styling. Setting this option to false will hide disabled results and exclude them from searches.
display_selected_options true

By default, Chosen includes selected options in search results with a special styling. Setting this option to false will hide selected results and exclude them from searches.

Note: this is for multiple selects only. In single selects, the selected result will always be displayed.
include_group_label_in_selected false

By default, Chosen only shows the text of a selected option. Setting this option to true will show the text and group (if any) of the selected option.
max_shown_results Infinity

Only show the first (n) matching options in the results. This can be used to increase performance for selects with very many options.
case_sensitive_search false

By default, Chosen's search is case-insensitive. Setting this option to true makes the search case-sensitive.
hide_results_on_select true

By default, Chosen's results are hidden after a option is selected. Setting this option to false will keep the results open after selection. This only applies to multiple selects.
rtl false

Chosen supports right-to-left text in select boxes. Set this option to true to support right-to-left text options.

Note: the chosen-rtl class on the select has precedence over this option. However, the classname approach is deprecated and will be removed in future versions of Chosen.

Attributes

Certain attributes placed on the select tag or its options can be used to configure Chosen.

Example:

  <select class="my_select_box" data-placeholder="Select Your Options">
    <option value="1">Option 1</option>
    <option value="2" selected>Option 2</option>
    <option value="3" disabled>Option 3</option>
    <option value="4" hidden>Option 4</option>
  </select>
AttributeDescription
data-placeholder

The text to be displayed as a placeholder when no options are selected for a select. Defaults to "Select an Option" for single selects or "Select Some Options" for multiple selects.

Note:This attribute overrides anything set in the placeholder_text_multiple or placeholder_text_single options.
multiple The attribute multiple on your select box dictates whether Chosen will render a multiple or single select.
selected, disabled, hidden Chosen automatically highlights selected options, hides hidden options and disables disabled options.

Classes

Classes placed on the select tag can be used to configure Chosen.

Example:

  <select class="my_select_box chosen-rtl">
    <option value="1">Option 1</option>
    <option value="2">Option 2</option>
    <option value="3">Option 3</option>
  </select>
Classname Description
chosen-rtl

Chosen supports right-to-left text in select boxes. Add the class chosen-rtl to your select tag to support right-to-left text options.

Note: The chosen-rtl class will pass through to the Chosen select even when the inherit_select_classes option is set to false.

Note: This is deprecated in favor of using the rtl: true option (see the Options section).

Triggered Events

Chosen triggers a number of standard and custom events on the original select field.

Example:

  $('.my_select_box').on('change', function(evt, params) {
    do_something(evt, params);
  });
EventDescription
change

Chosen triggers the standard DOM event whenever a selection is made (it also sends a selected or deselected parameter that tells you which option was changed).

Note: The selected and deselected parameters are not available for Prototype.
chosen:ready Triggered after Chosen has been fully instantiated.
chosen:maxselected Triggered if max_selected_options is set and that total is broken.
chosen:search_updated Triggered when Chosen’s search results are updated after typing search term. The event includes a corresponding search_term parameter.
chosen:showing_dropdown Triggered when Chosen’s dropdown is opened.
chosen:hiding_dropdown Triggered when Chosen’s dropdown is closed.
chosen:search Triggered when Chosen has performed search.
chosen:no_results Triggered when a search returns no matching results.

Note: all custom Chosen events (those that begin with chosen:) also include the chosen object as a parameter.

Triggerable Events

You can trigger several events on the original select field to invoke a behavior in Chosen.

Example:

  // tell Chosen that a select has changed
  $('.my_select_box').trigger('chosen:updated');
EventDescription
chosen:updated This event should be triggered whenever Chosen’s underlying select element changes (such as a change in selected options).
chosen:activate This is the equivalant of focusing a standard HTML select field. When activated, Chosen will capture keypress events as if you had clicked the field directly.
chosen:open This event activates Chosen and also displays the search results.
chosen:close This event deactivates Chosen and hides the search results.