How to pass parameters to autocomplete_source jquery autocomplete? - ruby-on-rails

Question

I'm using Rails 4.0.2 with jquery-rails (3.1.0) and jquery-ui-rails (4.1.1) gems. I'm added autocomplete in order to do a specific search based on what user typed and other fields at form.
The form:
<%= text_field_tag :field , some_value, data: { autocomplete_source: select_path( { :id => #order.Id , :type => #order.type } ) } %>
Form.js:
$('#field').autocomplete
minLength: 0
source: $('#field').attr('data-autocomplete-source')
select: ( event, ui ) ->
$('#pedido_venda_CodTransp').val(ui.item.value)
$('#transportadora_escolhido').val(ui.item.label)
this.form.submit()
false
...
The controller:
def select
# retrieve parameters
id_cliente = params[:id]
retira_entrega = params[:type]
term = params[:term]
# do the query, etc...
end
When I run the code, everything is OK. The controller receives all parameters and run the query flawlessly.
The parameter type, however, is based on a SELECT control and, in order to change it, I put the following code in the SELECT control.
<%= f.select :type, options_for_select( [['RETIRA','R'],['ENTREGA','E']] , #pedido.RetiraEntrega ) ,{}, { :onchange => "change_type();" } %>
JS Code function:
function change_type()
{
var e = document.getElementById("type");
var option = e.options[ e.selectedIndex ].value;
var field = document.getElementById("field");
var origem = "type=";
source = field.attributes["data-autocomplete-source"].value;
// pesquisa a string retira_entrega=
index = source.search(origem);
field.setAttribute("data-autocomplete-source", source.substring(0,index+origem.length) + String(option));
}
The JS function is called, the last line is run, the attribute is set (I put an alert at the end retrieving the attribute).
The problem is that the controller never receives the changed value (it always receives the value when the form is created).
So, the question is: how can I change a parameter passed on to autocomplete in order to use it in rails controller?

Answer 1

Not sure if this is what your looking for but I was struggling with the same issue because I had two input fields that I wanted different lists loaded to in the autocomplete widget. So what I did was pass an extra param to the auto complete source like this:
<!-- /_form.html.erb -->
<%= f.text_field :auto1, :size => "100", class: "form-control", data: { autocomplete_source: root_path(:fieldType => "numerouno")} %>
<%= f.text_field :auto2, :size => "100", class: "form-control", data: { autocomplete_source: root_path(:fieldType => "numerodos")} %>
Then in my controller I used that extra param to determine which list I needed to show:
if param[:fieldType] == "numerouno"
format.json { render :json => #unoList}
elsif param[:fieldType] == "numerodos"
format.json { render :json => #dosList }
else
flash[:danger] = "Error loading list for autocomplete!"
end
param[:term] still goes through too!