Thanks very much guys for the advice - it is really usefull to me. Apppreciate it alot.
Quick question! my code has been altered to reflect the change suggested, like this; $("#operator").autocomplete("auto.php", { delay:10, lineSeparator: "^", cacheLength: 10, matchSubset:1, matchContains:1, onFindValue:function(){ if ($("#operator:first").autocompleter.findValue() !== ' '){ $("#mesage").append("I am working"); } }, autoFill:true }); After testing, it is still not displaying the message as required - can anyone spot the ommition?