Yes, you just pre-populate the hidden field with the userid in the format above and pre-populate the textarea with the visual representation of the mention.

I did that. But as soon as I select the textbox to type, it updates and copies the text to hidden_input.

Ah yes, because the id_map is not defined. You'll also need to pre-populate that as well.

It would help alot if you can point me to an example. And also how to define the id_map.

@tushar_vikky It is mentioned above. You'll just need to create a json encoded array with a single element representing the user you'd like pre-populated. If you need to see it in action try editing a comment you made here with a @mention and view the source for the id_map.

@Hawkee thanx a lot. It works perfect. :)

@Hawkee just to test the id_map as I have trouble using it
edit: got it to work now :)