Autocomplete disallow free text entry?

Question

Is it possible to disallow free text entry in the JQuery UI autocomplete widget?

eg I only want the user to be allowed to select from the list of items that are pre

Answer 1

If you would like to restrict the user to picking a recommendation from the autocomplete list, try defining the close function like this. The close function is called when the results drop down closes, if the user selected from the list, then event.currentTarget is defined, if not, then the results drop down closed without the user selecting an option. If they do not select an option, then I reset the input to blank.

/**
 * The jQuery UI plugin autocomplete
 */
$.widget( "ui.autocomplete", $.ui.autocomplete, {
   options: {
      close: function( event, ui ) {
         if (typeof event.currentTarget == 'undefined') {
            $(this).val("");
         }
      }
   }
 });