SAP Dashboards (Xcelsius) autocomplete input text

Autocomplete has become a standard in modern application, when users are asked to type in inputs. In the example below, I implemented autocomplete functionality into an Xcelsius input text component. Start typing any zip code starting with 0 and hit the enter key to get the all the zip codes that match the starting numbers you typed in. (zip code list sourced from http://www.quine.org/zip-all-00001.html, not all zip codes represented, and accuracy of list is unknown)

To get this to work, I used an ajax technique. The Xcelsius file contains two eic variables, one for the value inserted in the text box, and one for the query results array presented in the spreadsheet component. The html page that embeds the swf contains a javascript functions that listens to changes in the value of the input eic. On change, it makes a call to a php file that uses the user input as part of a sql where clause, and gets the list of matching zip codes from a mySql database.
Since there are no native inpu text components in Xcelsius that write to the model while users type, users still need hit enter; ce la vie. Also, I limit the query results to 100 rows from the database, so you don’t get all 5600 zip codes that start with 0 as you type 0 and hit enter…
Using BusinessObjects native connectivity methods, such as BI Services, QaaWS or Live Office can eliminate the need for the ajax approach and basically trigger connections on change from within Xcelsius. All the source files for this example can be found here. Enjoy!