Here is a tutorial by farrukhaziz on how to add this functionality to the plugin: http://plugins.jquery.com/node/10336
You will need to edit the plugin source code.
Add the 'LaunchManual' part to this section of the source.
flushCache: function() {
return this.trigger("flushCache");
},
setOptions: function(options){
return this.trigger("setOptions", [options]);
},
unautocomplete: function() {
return this.trigger("unautocomplete");
},
launchManual: function() { //ADD THIS
return this.trigger("launchManual");
}
and the 'LaunchManual' bit in this section:
}).bind("flushCache", function() {
cache.flush();
}).bind("setOptions", function() {
$.extend(options, arguments[1]);
// if we've updated the data, repopulate
if ( "data" in arguments[1] )
cache.populate();
}).bind("unautocomplete", function() {
select.unbind();
$input.unbind();
$(input.form).unbind(".autocomplete");
}).bind("launchManual", function() { //ADD THIS
if( !cache.load( $input.val() ) )
{
cache.flush();
cache.populate();
}
lastKeyPressCode = KEY.DOWN; // equivalent of 40 (down arrow)
onChange(0, true);
});
Then you can call the function to show the dropdown:
$('#textbox').click(function() {
$(this).launchManual();
});