Can't bind to 'formControl' since it isn't a known property of 'input' - Angular2 Material Autocomplete issue

Question

I am trying to use Angular Material Autocomplete component in my Angular 2 project. I added the following to my template.

<md-input-container>
   <input mdInput placeholder="Category" [mdAutocomplete]="auto" [formControl]="stateCtrl">
</md-input-container>

<md-autocomplete #auto="mdAutocomplete">
   <md-option *ngFor="let state of filteredStates | async" [value]="state">
      {{ state }}
   </md-option>
</md-autocomplete>

Following is my component.

import {Component, OnInit} from "@angular/core";
import {ActivatedRoute, Router} from "@angular/router";
import {FormControl} from "@angular/forms";

@Component({
    templateUrl: './edit_item.component.html',
    styleUrls: ['./edit_item.component.scss']
})
export class EditItemComponent implements OnInit {
    stateCtrl: FormControl;
    states = [....some data....];

    constructor(private route: ActivatedRoute, private router: Router) {
        this.stateCtrl = new FormControl();
        this.filteredStates = this.stateCtrl.valueChanges.startWith(null).map(name => this.filterStates(name));
    }
    ngOnInit(): void {
    }
    filterStates(val: string) {
        return val ? this.states.filter((s) => new RegExp(val, 'gi').test(s)) : this.states;
    }
}

I'm getting the following error. It looks like the formControl directive is not being found.

Can't bind to 'formControl' since it isn't a known property of 'input'

What is the issue here?

Answer 1

While using formControl, you have to import ReactiveFormsModule to your imports array.

Example:

import {FormsModule, ReactiveFormsModule} from '@angular/forms';

@NgModule({
  imports: [
    BrowserModule,
    FormsModule,
    ReactiveFormsModule,
    MaterialModule,
  ],
  ...
})
export class AppModule {}

Answer 2

Forget trying to decipher the example .ts - as others have said it is often incomplete.

Instead just click on the 'pop-out' icon circled here and you'll get a fully working StackBlitz example.

You can quickly confirm the required modules:

Comment out any instances of ReactiveFormsModule, and sure enough you'll get the error:

Template parse errors:
Can't bind to 'formControl' since it isn't a known property of 'input'. 

Answer 3

Another reason this can happen:

The component you are using formControl in is not declared in a module that imports the ReactiveFormsModule.

So check the module that declares the component that throws this error.

Answer 4

From version 9.1.4 you only need to import ReactiveFormsModule

https://angular.io/guide/reactive-forms

Answer 5

Start by adding a regular matInput to your template. Let's assume you're using the formControl directive from ReactiveFormsModule to track the value of the input.

Reactive forms provide a model-driven approach to handling form inputs whose values change over time. This guide shows you how to create and update a simple form control, progress to using multiple controls in a group, validate form values, and implement more advanced forms.

import { FormsModule, ReactiveFormsModule } from "@angular/forms"; //this to use ngModule

...

imports: [
    BrowserModule,
    AppRoutingModule,
    HttpModule,
    FormsModule,
    RouterModule,
    ReactiveFormsModule,
    BrowserAnimationsModule,
    MaterialModule],

Answer 6

In angular 12 the imports path for matautocompleteModule is changed and it solved my problem.... Now it look like this

Answer 7

Well what worked for me was to build the form within the template `` in the @component({}), for example--

import { Component, OnInit } from '@angular/core';
import { FormControl } from '@angular/forms';

@Component({
  selector: 'app-contact-form',
  template:`
  <form class="validation-form" validate method="createUserWithEmailAndPassword">
  <div class="form-row">
    <div class="col-md-6 mb-3">
      <label for="firstName">First name</label>
      <input type="text" [formControl]="firstName" id="firstName" placeholder="Please enter your first name" required>
      <div class="valid-feedback">
        Looks good!
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="col-md-6 mb-3">
      <label for="lastName">Last name</label>
      <input type="text" [formControl]="lastName" id="lastName" placeholder="Please enter your last name" required>
      <div class="valid-feedback">
        Looks good!
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
    <div class="form-row">
      <div class="col-md-6 mb-3">
        <label for="email">Email address</label>
        <input type="email" [formControl]="email" id="email" aria-describedby="emailHelp" placeholder="Please enter your last name" required>
        <small id="emailHelp" class="form-text text-muted">We'll never share your email with anyone else.</small>
        <div class="valid-feedback">
          Looks good!
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="col-md-6 mb-3">
      <label for="password">Password</label>
      <input type="password" [formControl]="password" id="password" placeholder="Please enter your password" required>
      <div class="valid-feedback">
        Looks good!
      </div>
    </div>
    <div class="col-md-3 mb-3">
      <label for="zip">Zip</label>
      <input type="text" [formControl]="zip" id="zip" required>
      <div class="invalid-feedback">
        Please provide a valid zip.
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
  <div class="form-group">
    <div class="form-check">
      <input class="form-check-input" type="checkbox" value="" id="invalidCheck" required>
      <label class="form-check-label" for="invalidCheck">
        Agree to terms and conditions
      </label>
      <div class="invalid-feedback">
        You must agree before submitting.
      </div>
    </div>
  </div>
  <button class="btn btn-primary" type="submit">Submit form</button>
</form>`,

  templateUrl: './contact-form.component.html',
  styleUrls: ['./contact-form.component.scss']
})
export class ContactFormComponent implements OnInit {

  firstName =  new FormControl('');
  lastName =  new FormControl('');
  email =  new FormControl('');
  password =  new FormControl('');

  constructor() { }

  ngOnInit(): void {
  }

}

This stopped showing errors. If the error persists then this could work out for you