<input id="multicolumncombobox" /> <script> $("#multicolumncombobox").kendoMultiColumnComboBox({ dataTextField: "text", dataValueField: "value", dataSource: [ { text: "Apples", value: "1" }, { text: "Oranges", value: "2" } ], columns: [ { field: "text", title: "Text" }, { field: "value", title: "Value" } ], }); var multicolumncombobox = $("#multicolumncombobox").data("kendoMultiColumnComboBox"); // Search for items starting with "A" - will open the suggestion popup and show "Apples" multicolumncombobox.search("A"); // Close the suggestion popup multicolumncombobox.close(); </script>