title: Google Maps API Autocomplete search without selecting from dropdown
body: <p>I am using Google Maps API and the Autocomplete search feature. Currently, you must begin typing a location(city, state, zip, etc.) and then select a result from the dropdown for the map to center at that location. However, I would like to make this fool proof and set it up so that if someone types just a city or just a state and hits "enter" without selecting an Autocomplete result, it will still work. For instance, if someone types "New York" and hits "enter" without selecting a result in the dropdown, it will still center on New York.</p>
  
  <p>I'm assuming this is accomplished by grabbing the first result from the Autocomplete dropdown if one is not selected manually.</p>
  
  <p>I've added an event listener for the submission of the form, but not sure how to pass the first result into the "place" variable.</p>
  
  <p>Here is my code:</p>
  
  <pre><code>function searchBar(map) {
      var input = document.getElementById('search-input');
      var searchform = document.getElementById('search-form');
      var place;
      var options = {componentRestrictions: {country: 'us'}};
      var autocomplete = new google.maps.places.Autocomplete(input, options);
  
      //Add listener to detect autocomplete selection
      google.maps.event.addListener(autocomplete, 'place_changed', function () {
          place = autocomplete.getPlace();
          center = new google.maps.LatLng(place.geometry.location.lat(),place.geometry.location.lng());
          map.setCenter(center);
          map.setZoom(5);
      });
  
      //Add listener to search
      searchform.addEventListener('submit', function() {
          center = new google.maps.LatLng(place.geometry.location.lat(),place.geometry.location.lng());
          map.setCenter(center);
          map.setZoom(5);
      });
  
      //Reset the inpout box on click
      input.addEventListener('click', function(){
          input.value = "";
      });
  };
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>And here is a <a href="http://jsfiddle.net/4nr4tdwz/" rel="noreferrer">JSFiddle</a> for experimentation. </p>