[Fixed]-HTML input textbox in Django admin.py filter

In case anybody still need this. It is little hackish in template, but implemented without a piece of js.

filters.py:

from django.contrib.admin import ListFilter
from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured


class SingleTextInputFilter(ListFilter):
    """
    renders filter form with text input and submit button
    """
    parameter_name = None
    template = "admin/textinput_filter.html"

    def __init__(self, request, params, model, model_admin):
        super(SingleTextInputFilter, self).__init__(
            request, params, model, model_admin)
        if self.parameter_name is None:
            raise ImproperlyConfigured(
                "The list filter '%s' does not specify "
                "a 'parameter_name'." % self.__class__.__name__)

        if self.parameter_name in params:
            value = params.pop(self.parameter_name)
            self.used_parameters[self.parameter_name] = value

    def value(self):
        """
        Returns the value (in string format) provided in the request's
        query string for this filter, if any. If the value wasn't provided then
        returns None.
        """
        return self.used_parameters.get(self.parameter_name, None)

    def has_output(self):
        return True

    def expected_parameters(self):
        """
        Returns the list of parameter names that are expected from the
        request's query string and that will be used by this filter.
        """
        return [self.parameter_name]

    def choices(self, cl):
        all_choice = {
            'selected': self.value() is None,
            'query_string': cl.get_query_string({}, [self.parameter_name]),
            'display': _('All'),
        }
        return ({
            'get_query': cl.params,
            'current_value': self.value(),
            'all_choice': all_choice,
            'parameter_name': self.parameter_name
        }, )

templates/admin/textinput_filter.html:

{% load i18n %}
<h3>{% blocktrans with filter_title=title %} By {{ filter_title }} {% endblocktrans %}</h3>

{#i for item, to be short in names#}
{% with choices.0 as i %}
<ul>
    <li>
        <form method="get">
            <input type="search" name="{{ i.parameter_name }}" value="{{ i.current_value|default_if_none:"" }}"/>

            {#create hidden inputs to preserve values from other filters and search field#}
            {% for k, v in i.get_query.items %}
                {% if not k == i.parameter_name %}
                    <input type="hidden" name="{{ k }}" value="{{ v }}">
                {% endif %}
            {% endfor %}
            <input type="submit" value="{% trans 'apply' %}">
        </form>
    </li>

    {#show "All" link to reset current filter#}
    <li{% if i.all_choice.selected %} class="selected"{% endif %}>
        <a href="{{ i.all_choice.query_string|iriencode }}">
            {{ i.all_choice.display }}
        </a>
    </li>
</ul>
{% endwith %}

Then according to your models in admin.py:

class CatalogCityFilter(SingleTextInputFilter):
    title = 'City'
    parameter_name = 'city'

    def queryset(self, request, queryset):
        if self.value():
            return queryset.filter(city__iexact=self.value())

class CatalogAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
    form = CatalogForm
    list_display = ('title','city') 
    list_filter = [CatalogCityFilter,]

Ready to use filter would look like this.

I’m running Django 1.10, 1.11 and r_black‘s solution didn’t completely fit because Django was complaining that filter fields must inherit from ‘FieldListFilter’.

So a simple change for the filter to inherit from FieldListFilter took care of Django complaining and not having to specify a new class for each field, both at the same time.

class SingleTextInputFilter(admin.FieldListFilter):
    """
    renders filter form with text input and submit button
    """

    parameter_name = None
    template = "admin/textinput_filter.html"

    def __init__(self, field, request, params, model, model_admin, field_path):
        super().__init__(field, request, params, model, model_admin, field_path)
        if self.parameter_name is None:
            self.parameter_name = self.field.name

        if self.parameter_name in params:
            value = params.pop(self.parameter_name)
            self.used_parameters[self.parameter_name] = value

    def queryset(self, request, queryset):
        if self.value():
            return queryset.filter(imei__icontains=self.value())

    def value(self):
        """
        Returns the value (in string format) provided in the request's
        query string for this filter, if any. If the value wasn't provided then
        returns None.
        """
        return self.used_parameters.get(self.parameter_name, None)

    def has_output(self):
        return True

    def expected_parameters(self):
        """
        Returns the list of parameter names that are expected from the
        request's query string and that will be used by this filter.
        """
        return [self.parameter_name]

    def choices(self, cl):
        all_choice = {
            'selected': self.value() is None,
            'query_string': cl.get_query_string({}, [self.parameter_name]),
            'display': _('All'),
        }
        return ({
            'get_query': cl.params,
            'current_value': self.value(),
            'all_choice': all_choice,
            'parameter_name': self.parameter_name
        }, )

templates/admin/textinput_filter.html (unchanged):

{% load i18n %}
<h3>{% blocktrans with filter_title=title %} By {{ filter_title }} {% endblocktrans %}</h3>

{#i for item, to be short in names#}
{% with choices.0 as i %}
<ul>
    <li>
        <form method="get">
            <input type="search" name="{{ i.parameter_name }}" value="{{ i.current_value|default_if_none:"" }}"/>

            {#create hidden inputs to preserve values from other filters and search field#}
            {% for k, v in i.get_query.items %}
                {% if not k == i.parameter_name %}
                    <input type="hidden" name="{{ k }}" value="{{ v }}">
                {% endif %}
            {% endfor %}
            <input type="submit" value="{% trans 'apply' %}">
        </form>
    </li>

    {#show "All" link to reset current filter#}
    <li{% if i.all_choice.selected %} class="selected"{% endif %}>
        <a href="{{ i.all_choice.query_string|iriencode }}">
            {{ i.all_choice.display }}
        </a>
    </li>
</ul>
{% endwith %}

Usage:

class MyAdmin(admin.ModelAdmin):
    list_display = [your fields]
    list_filter = [('field 1', SingleTextInputFilter), ('field 2', SingleTextInputFilter), further fields]

While it’s not actually your question, this sounds like a perfect solution for Django-Selectables you can with just a few lines add an AJAX powered CharField Form that will have it’s entries selected from the list of cities. Take a look at the samples listed in the link above.

Below is the fix for field name..in queryset function

class SingleTextInputFilter(admin.FieldListFilter):
"""
renders filter form with text input and submit button
"""

parameter_name = None
template = "admin/textinput_filter.html"

def __init__(self, field, request, params, model, model_admin, field_path):
    super().__init__(field, request, params, model, model_admin, field_path)
    if self.parameter_name is None:
        self.parameter_name = self.field.name

    if self.parameter_name in params:
        value = params.pop(self.parameter_name)
        self.used_parameters[self.parameter_name] = value

def queryset(self, request, queryset):

    variable_column = self.parameter_name
    search_type = 'icontains'
    filter = variable_column + '__' + search_type

    if self.value():
        return queryset.filter(**{filter: self.value()})
def value(self):
    """
    Returns the value (in string format) provided in the request's
    query string for this filter, if any. If the value wasn't provided then
    returns None.
    """
    return self.used_parameters.get(self.parameter_name, None)

def has_output(self):
    return True

def expected_parameters(self):
    """
    Returns the list of parameter names that are expected from the
    request's query string and that will be used by this filter.
    """
    return [self.parameter_name]

def choices(self, cl):
    all_choice = {
        'selected': self.value() is None,
        'query_string': cl.get_query_string({}, [self.parameter_name]),
        'display': ('All'),
    }
    return ({
        'get_query': cl.params,
        'current_value': self.value(),
        'all_choice': all_choice,
        'parameter_name': self.parameter_name
    }, )