Angular DropDownList - Setup

Smart UI for Angular supports both standalone components (bootstrapApplication) and NgModule-based apps (bootstrapModule(AppModule)). Steps 1-5 show the standalone path; the section below shows the NgModule path with the same package and styles.

Demo source (Smart UI repo): angular/src/dropdownlist/basic

1 NPM Install

Install the smart-webcomponents-angular package:

npm install smart-webcomponents-angular

2 Register styles

Add the default Smart UI stylesheet to angular.json -> projects -> <your-project> -> architect -> build -> options -> styles (merge with existing entries):

"styles": [
		"node_modules/smart-webcomponents-angular/source/styles/smart.default.css"
	]

Add optional theme CSS from the same package after smart.default.css if you use Bootstrap, Fluent, or other bundled themes.

3 Import the Angular module

Import DropDownListModule from smart-webcomponents-angular/dropdownlist: use @Component.imports for standalone, or add it to your AppModule (or feature module) imports array for NgModule apps.

import { DropDownListModule } from 'smart-webcomponents-angular/dropdownlist';

4 Root component (standalone)

Add DropDownListModule to your root standalone component (src/app/app.ts). Snippet from Smart UI demos (paths normalized to app.html / App where applicable):

 import { Component, ViewEncapsulation, ViewChild, OnInit, AfterViewInit } from '@angular/core';
import { DropDownListComponent } from 'smart-webcomponents-angular/dropdownlist';

import { DropDownListModule } from 'smart-webcomponents-angular/dropdownlist';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-root',
  standalone: true,
  imports: [ DropDownListModule ],
  templateUrl: './app.html',
  styleUrl: './app.css'
})

export class App implements AfterViewInit, OnInit {	
	@ViewChild('dropdownlist', { read: DropDownListComponent, static: false }) dropdownlist!: DropDownListComponent;
	
 
	ngOnInit(): void {
		// onInit code.
	}

	ngAfterViewInit(): void {
		// afterViewInit code.
		this.init();
    }
		
	init(): void {
		// init code.
	    

	}	
}

Boot the app with bootstrapApplication from src/main.ts and an ApplicationConfig in src/app/app.config.ts as generated by the CLI.

5 Template (standalone)

Use your markup in src/app/app.html (or inline template). Bind properties and events on smart-drop-down-list as needed:

 <smart-drop-down-list #dropdownlist [selectedIndexes]="[0]">
    <smart-list-item [value]="'1'">Affogato</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'2'">Americano</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'3'">Bicerin</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'4'">Breve</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'5'">Cappuccino</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'6'">Cafe Crema</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'7'">Cafe Corretto</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'8'">Cafe macchiato</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'9'">Cafe mocha</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'10'">Cortado</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'11'">Cuban espresso</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'12'">Espresso</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'13'">Eiskaffee</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'14'">Frappuccino</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'15'">Galao</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'16'">Greek frappe coffee</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'17'">Iced Coffee</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'18'">Instant Coffee</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'19'">Latte</smart-list-item>
    <smart-list-item [value]="'20'">Liqueur coffee</smart-list-item>
</smart-drop-down-list>

6 NgModule bootstrap (also supported)

Same npm package and angular.json styles as steps 1-2. Put DropDownListModule on your NgModule.imports instead of @Component.imports, and bootstrap with bootstrapModule(AppModule).

The demo sources bundled for this widget use standalone only (there is no app.module.ts in that folder). NgModule is fully supported: put DropDownListModule from smart-webcomponents-angular/dropdownlist on NgModule.imports, make your root component non-standalone (remove standalone: true and move widget modules from @Component.imports to the module), and bootstrap with platformBrowserDynamic().bootstrapModule(AppModule).

Minimal main.ts + app.module.ts pairing (adjust paths to match your CLI layout):

src/main.ts

import { platformBrowserDynamic } from '@angular/platform-browser-dynamic';
import { AppModule } from './app/app.module';

platformBrowserDynamic().bootstrapModule(AppModule).catch((err) => console.error(err));

src/app/app.module.ts

import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { BrowserModule } from '@angular/platform-browser';
import { AppComponent } from './app.component';
import { DropDownListModule } from 'smart-webcomponents-angular/dropdownlist';

@NgModule({
	declarations: [ AppComponent ],
	imports: [ BrowserModule, DropDownListModule ],
	bootstrap: [ AppComponent ]
})
export class AppModule { }

Reuse the template and class logic from steps 4-5 in AppComponent, configured for declarations + NgModule.imports instead of a standalone @Component.

Run

ng serve or npm start - then open http://localhost:4200/.

Smart UI for Angular - full documentation

Common Use Cases

  • Populate from API

    Load dropdown options from a REST endpoint

    const options = await fetch('/api/options').then(r => r.json());
    dropDownList.dataSource = options;
  • Get selected value

    Retrieve the currently selected item

    const selected = dropDownList.selectedValues[0];

Troubleshooting

How do I set a default selected value?
Set the selectedValues property to an array containing the default value(s): selectedValues = ['defaultValue'].
How do I disable specific items?
Add disabled: true to items in your dataSource that should not be selectable.

Accessibility

The DropDownList component follows WAI-ARIA best practices:

  • Keyboard navigation - Tab, Arrow keys, Enter, and Escape are supported
  • ARIA roles - Appropriate roles and labels are applied automatically
  • Focus management - Visible focus indicators for keyboard users
  • Screen readers - State changes are announced to assistive technology
  • High contrast - Supports Windows High Contrast Mode and forced colors

For custom labeling, set aria-label or aria-labelledby attributes on the component.

Live demos

Supported stacks: Smart UI targets Angular 17+, React 18+, Vue 3+, Node 18 LTS, and evergreen browsers; pin exact package versions to your org policy.