Autocomplete is an important part of the typing experience, where autocomplete suggestions can be shown as the user types, and autocorrect can automatically correct incorrectly typed words.

In KeyboardKit, an AutocompleteProvider can provide autocomplete and autocorrect suggestions that automatically update views like the AutocompleteToolbar.

KeyboardKit doesn’t have a standard provider as it has for other services. Instead, it uses a disabled one until you register a custom provider or activate KeyboardKit Pro.

KeyboardKit Pro unlocks and registers a local autocomplete provider that works for most supported languages. More information about Pro features can be found at the end of this article.

Autocomplete namespace

KeyboardKit has an Autocomplete namespace with autocomplete-related types, like suggestions.

Autocomplete context

KeyboardKit has an observable AutocompleteContext class that provides autocomplete state, such as which suggestions to present to the user.

How to perform autocomplete

KeyboardKit will call the controller performAutocomplete() when the text changes. This will update the the controller state context with suggestions from the main the controller services provider.

You can use these suggestions as you like. Views like the AutocompleteToolbar will automatically show the latest suggestions, and will handle any tapped suggestion with an action handler.

You are of course not restricted to use an AutocompleteToolbar. You can use and present suggestions in any way you want. You can also modify the context at any time.

How to customize the autocomplete behavior

You can customize the autocomplete behavior by replacing the the controller services provider with a custom AutocompleteProvider or by overriding the various KeyboardInputViewController functions.

For instance, the controller autocompleteText determines which text to pass into the provider. It uses the controller textDocumentProxy by default, but you can override it to customize which text to use.

To temporarily or permanently disable autocomplete, just can set the context’s isEnabled to false.

How to create a custom autocomplete provider

You can replace the the controller services autocomplete provider with a custom provider, for instance if you want to integrate with a custom SDK or 3rd party provider.

👑 Pro features

KeyboardKit Pro unlocks additional autocomplete providers and binds a LocalAutocompleteProvider instance to the controller services.

LocalAutocompleteProvider

This provider uses on-device capabilities to perform autocomplete. It works offline, doesn’t require full access and integrates with other system components, like the on-device lexicon.

RemoteAutocompleteProvider

This provider can be used to integrate with external REST-based APIs and web services. All you have to do is to specify endpoints, some parameters, and a model that matches the service response.

Documentation

The information on this page is shortened to be easier to overview. For more information about this feature, code samples, etc., please see the online documentation.