🧰 AngularJS Material Elements: Paginator, Datepicker, Dropdown – UI Components Guide (2025)

🧲 Introduction – Why Use AngularJS Material Elements?

AngularJS Material provides a rich set of UI components that follow Google’s Material Design principles. These components—such as paginators, date pickers, and dropdown menus—help developers build responsive, accessible, and visually appealing interfaces quickly.

🎯 In this guide, you’ll learn:

• How to use AngularJS Material components like paginator, datepicker, and dropdown
• Integration and setup using AngularJS 1.x
• Real-world UI examples with working code
• Tips for customization and accessibility

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⚙️ Step 1: Include AngularJS Material in Your Project

✅ Required Libraries (CDN)

<!-- AngularJS Core -->
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/angularjs/1.8.2/angular.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/angularjs/1.8.2/angular-animate.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/angularjs/1.8.2/angular-aria.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/angular_material/1.2.2/angular-material.min.js"></script>

<!-- Angular Material CSS -->
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/angular_material/1.2.2/angular-material.min.css">

✅ Define Angular Module with Dependencies

var app = angular.module('materialApp', ['ngMaterial']);

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📄 Common AngularJS Material Modules

Module	Purpose
md-select	Material dropdowns
md-datepicker	Native date pickers
md-paginator	Custom paginator (user-defined)
ngMessages	Validation and form errors

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📦 1. Material Dropdown – <md-select>

✅ HTML Example:

<md-input-container>
  <label>Select Language</label>
  <md-select ng-model="language">
    <md-option value="en">English</md-option>
    <md-option value="es">Spanish</md-option>
    <md-option value="fr">French</md-option>
  </md-select>
</md-input-container>

✅ Binds selected value to $scope.language.

Output:

Language dropdown with material design and keyboard support.

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📅 2. Material Datepicker – <md-datepicker>

✅ HTML Example:

<md-input-container>
  <label>Choose a Date</label>
  <md-datepicker ng-model="appointmentDate"></md-datepicker>
</md-input-container>

✅ Supports keyboard navigation, date validation, and custom formatting.

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🔁 3. Material Paginator – Custom Pagination using Angular Material

AngularJS Material doesn’t have a built-in paginator like Angular 2+, but you can build one using Material components and AngularJS logic.

✅ HTML Pagination Component:

<md-content layout="row" layout-align="center center">
  <md-button ng-disabled="currentPage === 1" ng-click="prevPage()">
    Previous
  </md-button>

  <span style="padding: 0 20px;">Page {{ currentPage }} of {{ totalPages }}</span>

  <md-button ng-disabled="currentPage === totalPages" ng-click="nextPage()">
    Next
  </md-button>
</md-content>

✅ JavaScript Logic:

$scope.currentPage = 1;
$scope.totalPages = 5;

$scope.prevPage = function() {
  if ($scope.currentPage > 1) {
    $scope.currentPage--;
  }
};

$scope.nextPage = function() {
  if ($scope.currentPage < $scope.totalPages) {
    $scope.currentPage++;
  }
};

✅ Dynamically paginates data, customizable UI.

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🧠 Combine Components for Interactive Forms

<form name="appointmentForm">
  <md-input-container>
    <label>Full Name</label>
    <input ng-model="user.name" required>
  </md-input-container>

  <md-datepicker ng-model="user.dob" placeholder="Birthdate"></md-datepicker>

  <md-select ng-model="user.gender" placeholder="Select Gender">
    <md-option value="male">Male</md-option>
    <md-option value="female">Female</md-option>
    <md-option value="other">Other</md-option>
  </md-select>

  <md-button class="md-raised md-primary" ng-click="submit()">Submit</md-button>
</form>

✅ Valid, material-styled form using md-input, md-select, and md-datepicker.

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🛠️ Best Practices for AngularJS Material UI

✔️ Use ng-model for two-way binding
✔️ Always wrap form controls in <md-input-container>
✔️ Use ngMessages for form validation messages
✔️ For paginators, calculate total pages using Math.ceil(totalItems / itemsPerPage)
✔️ Follow Material Design guidelines for spacing, colors, and layout

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📌 Summary – Recap & Next Steps

AngularJS Material provides powerful, modern UI components like dropdowns, date pickers, and paginators, making it easier to build clean and user-friendly web apps. Though not as advanced as Angular Material for Angular 2+, it still offers essential and flexible UI patterns for AngularJS 1.x applications.

🔍 Key Takeaways:

• Use md-select for dropdown menus with keyboard and touch support
• Use md-datepicker for selecting dates with formatting and validation
• Build custom paginators using md-button and AngularJS logic
• Enhance forms and UIs with consistent Material Design

⚙️ Real-world Relevance:
Used in dashboards, booking systems, profile forms, product selectors, and any app requiring elegant UI elements.

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❓ FAQ – AngularJS Material UI Components

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❓ Is AngularJS Material the same as Angular Material?
✅ No. AngularJS Material is for Angular 1.x. Angular Material (without “JS”) is for Angular 2+.

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❓ How do I add Material dropdown in AngularJS?
✅ Use <md-select> with <md-option> and bind with ng-model.

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❓ Does AngularJS Material support a paginator?
✅ Not out of the box. You can build one using md-button and custom logic.

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❓ Can I validate a material datepicker field?
✅ Yes. md-datepicker supports required, min/max dates, and ngMessages.

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