overview.md

title	page_title	description	slug	tags	published	position
Overview	Client-Side Programming Overview - RadAutoCompleteBox	Check our Web Forms article about Telerik's ASP.NET AutoCompleteBox Client-Side Programming Overview.	autocompletebox/client-side-programming/overview	overview	true	0

Client-Side Programming Overview

RadAutoCompleteBox provides a flexible client-side API. You can easily interact with RadAutoCompleteBox in the browser using its client-side object. In addition to a variety of [client-side events]({%slug autocompletebox/client-side-programming/events%}), the client-side object model lets you achieve complicated tasks.

Getting the RadAutoCompleteBox Client-side Object

RadAutoCompleteBox creates a client-side object with its ClientID. You can obtain the reference using the following JavaScript code:

	
	var autoComplete = $find("<%= RadAutoCompleteBox1.ClientID %>");
	

Cancelling an Event

Several client-side events occur immediately before RadAutoCompleteBox performs some action. These events have names that end with "-ing". You can use these events to cancel the RadAutoCompleteBox's action by using the set_cancel method of the eventArgs passed to the handler:

	
	function onDropDownClosing(sender, eventArgs) {
        eventArgs.set_cancel(true);
        alert('The DropDown remains open.');
    }