Link auto-complete doesn't include exact matches

SimonW · June 4, 2026, 10:24am

I have a ticket number 80701 that I wish to add as a linked ticket. When I search for that in the Links section “Referred to by” I get the first ten list of tickets that match on the subject but not the exact match to ticket #80701.

Additionally I can’t just type the ticket number in, the UI insists on using one of the list provided.

I’ve worked around this by going to the ticket I want to link and creating the link in reverse so I’m OK for now

Please could the auto complete list always include exact matches and/or the UI allow me to just type in the ticket number?

Many thanks,

Simon

sollericos · June 4, 2026, 10:55am

Good idea!

Sorting the list by length ascending will show exact matches on the top, wont it?

knation · June 4, 2026, 12:48pm

The latter ask to be able to submit a value not from the list was recently added to 6.0-trunk:

github.com/bestpractical/rt

Accept typed input in tom-select autocompletes when blurring

committed 09:07PM - 22 May 26 UTC

cbrandtbuffalo

+2 -0

Tom-select autocomplete fields (Links, Cc/Requestor, Owner in autocomplete mode,… custom fields, etc.) only commit a value once the user explicitly selects it from the dropdown or presses Enter. If the user types or pastes a value and then clicks Save without first hitting Enter, the typed text is silently dropped. For multi-select fields no item is added; for single-select fields the prior value is restored. This is most annoying when the user knows the value won't have an autocomplete match anyway like typing a new email address that doesn't have a user record, for example. The user types it, clicks Save, and is surprised that nothing happened. Set createOnBlur: true on the tom-select autocomplete instances so that when the field loses focus with text in the input, the typed text is committed as an item. If the typed value matches an option that has already loaded, tom-select uses that option (preserving the labeled chip); otherwise it creates a new item from the literal text. For single-select fields like Owner, this coexists cleanly with the existing onBlur handler that restores the prior value when the user focuses and blurs without typing: tom-select's createItem returns without doing anything for empty input, so the restore still runs.

SimonW · June 4, 2026, 1:16pm

In the example shown below, a lot of ancient tickets are shown, so the one I want doesn’t appear. The fix that @knation has pointed out will solve the immediate problem, I can just type it in, but it would be useful to see exact ticket matches at the top. Alternatively, expand the hint function to allow one to specify ticket:80701 alongside hints for asset: etc.