How to patch *just one* instance of Autocomplete on a page?

Question

This answer -- jQueryUI: how can I custom-format the Autocomplete plug-in results? -- describes how to monkeypatch the jqueryUI autocomplete widget, so that it displays th

Answer 1

Check out the custom data and display demo. This demo is not modifying the prototype object of the autocomplete widget, meaning that only that instance of the widget is effected:

$("selector").autocomplete({ ... }).data( "autocomplete" )._renderItem = function( ul, item ) {
    return $( "
" )
        .data( "item.autocomplete", item )
        .append( "" + item.label + "
" + item.desc + "" )
        .appendTo( ul );
};

Here's a working demo: http://jsfiddle.net/vJSwq/