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A reference guide to the components of the RichFaces 4 (draft) framework
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Abstract
This book details each component in the RichFaces 4 framework, including examples of their use in applications.
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Common Ajax attributes
- 3. Common features
- I. Ajax control components
- II. User interface components
- 9. Rich inputs
- 10. Panels and containers
- 11. Tables and grids
- 12. Trees
- 13. Menus and toolbars
- 14. Output and messages
- 15. Drag and drop
- 16. Layout and appearance
- 17. Functions
This book is a guide to the various components available in the RichFaces 4.0 framework. It includes descriptions of the role of the components, details on how best to use them, coded examples of their use, and basic references of their properties and attributes.
For full in-depth references for all component classes and properties, refer to the API Reference available from the RichFaces website.
The RichFaces framework is made up of two tag libraries: the a4j library and the rich library. The a4j tag library represents Ajax4jsf, which provides page-level Ajax support with core Ajax components. This allows developers to make use of custom Ajax behavior with existing components. The rich tag library provides Ajax support at the component level instead, and includes ready-made, self-contained components. These components don't require additional configuration in order to send requests or update.
Ajax support
All components in the a4j library feature built-in Ajax support, so it is unnecessary to add the <a4j:support> behavior.
The Ajax components in the a4j library share common attributes to perform similar functionality. Most RichFaces components in the rich library that feature built-in Ajax support share these common attributes as well.
Most attributes have default values, so they need not be explicitly set for the component to function in its default state. These attributes can be altered to customize the behavior of the component if necessary.
The render attribute provides a reference to one or more areas on the page that need updating after an Ajax interaction. It uses the UIComponent.findComponent() algorithm to find the components in the component tree using their id attributes as a reference. Components can be referenced by their id attribute alone, or by a hierarchy of components' id attributes to make locating components more efficient. Example 2.1, “render example” shows both ways of referencing components. Each command button will correctly render the referenced panel grids, but the second button locates the references more efficiently with explicit hierarchy paths.
Example 2.1. render example
<h:form id="form1">
<a4j:commandButton value="Basic reference" render="infoBlock, infoBlock2" />
<a4j:commandButton value="Specific reference" render=":infoBlock,:sv:infoBlock2" />
</h:form>
<h:panelGrid id="infoBlock">
...
</h:panelGrid>
<f:subview id="sv">
<h:panelGrid id="infoBlock2">
...
</h:panelGrid>
</f:subview>
The value of the render attribute can also be an expression written using JavaServer Faces' Expression Language (EL); this can either be a Set, Collection, Array, or String.
rendered attributes
A common problem with using render occurs when the referenced component has a rendered attribute. JSF does not mark the place in the browser's Document Object Model (DOM) where the rendered component would be placed in case the rendered attribute returns false. As such, when RichFaces sends the render code to the client, the page does not update as the place for the update is not known.
To work around this issue, wrap the component to be rendered in an <a4j:outputPanel> with layout="none". The <a4j:outputPanel> will receive the update and render the component as required.
A component with ajaxRendered="true" will be re-rendered with every Ajax request, even when not referenced by the requesting component's render attribute. This can be useful for updating a status display or error message without explicitly requesting it.
Rendering of components in this way can be repressed by adding limitRender="true" to the requesting component, as described in Section 2.1.3, “limitRender”.
A component with limitRender="true" specified will not cause components with ajaxRendered="true" to re-render, and only those components listed in the render attribute will be updated. This essentially overrides the ajaxRendered attribute in other components.
Example 2.3, “Data reference example” describes two command buttons, a panel grid rendered by the buttons, and an output panel showing error messages. When the first button is clicked, the output panel is rendered even though it is not explicitly referenced with the render attribute. The second button, however, uses limitRender="true" to override the output panel's rendering and only render the panel grid.
Example 2.2. Rendering example
<h:form id="form1">
<a4j:commandButton value="Normal rendering" render="infoBlock" />
<a4j:commandButton value="Limited rendering" render="infoBlock" limitRender="true" />
</h:form>
<h:panelGrid id="infoBlock">
...
</h:panelGrid>
<a4j:outputPanel ajaxRendered="true">
<h:messages />
</a4j:outputPanel>
The queue attribute defines the name of the queue that will be used to schedule upcoming Ajax requests. Typically RichFaces does not queue Ajax requests, so if events are produced simultaneously they will arrive at the server simultaneously. This can potentially lead to unpredictable results when the responses are returned. The queue attribute ensures that the requests are responded to in a set order.
A queue name is specified with the queue attribute, and each request added to the named queue is completed one at a time in the order they were sent. In addition, RichFaces intelligently removes similar requests produced by the same event from a queue to improve performance, protecting against unnecessary traffic flooding and
The requestDelay attribute specifies an amount of time in milliseconds for the request to wait in the queue before being sent to the server. If a similar request is added to the queue before the delay is over, the original request is removed from the queue and not sent.
When set to true, the ignoreDupResponses attribute causes responses from the server for the request to be ignored if there is another similar request in the queue. This avoids unnecessary updates on the client when another update is expected. The request is still processed on the server, but if another similar request has been queued then no updates are made on the client.
RichFaces uses a form-based approach for sending Ajax requests. As such, each time a request is sent the data from the requesting component's parent JSF form is submitted along with the XMLHTTPRequest object. The form data contains values from the input element and auxiliary information such as state-saving data.
The execute attribute allows JSF processing to be limited to defined components. To only process the requesting component, execute="@this" can be used.
If the immediate attribute is set to true, the default ActionListener is executed immediately during the Apply Request Values phase of the request processing lifecycle, rather than waitingfor the Invoke Application phase. This allows some data model values to be updated regardless of whether the Validation phase is successful or not.
The action and actionListener attributes can be used to invoke action methods and define action events.
The action attribute is a method binding that points to the application action to be invoked. The method can be activated during the Apply Request Values phase or the Invoke Application phase of the request processing lifecycle.
The method specified in the action attribute must return null for an Ajax response with a partial page update.
RichFaces allows for Ajax-enabled JSF applications to be developed without using any additional JavaScript code. However it is still possible to invoke custom JavaScript code through Ajax events using event listeners.
The submit event attribute invokes the event listener before the Ajax request is sent. The request is canceled if the event listener defined for submit event returns false.
The click event attribute functions similarly to the submit event attribute for those components that can be clicked, such as <a4j:commandButton> and <a4j:commandLink>. It invokes the defined JavaScript before the Ajax request, and the request will be canceled if the defined code returns false.
The success event attribute invokes the event listener after the Ajax response has been returned but before the DOM tree of the browser has been updated.
The complete event attribute invokes the event listener after the Ajax response has been returned and the DOM tree of the browser has been updated.
Reference consistency
The code is registered for further invocation of the XMLHTTP request object before an Ajax request is sent. As such, using JSF Expression Language (EL) value binding means the code will not be changed during processing of the request on the server. Additionally the complete event attribute cannot use the this keyword as it will not point to the component from which the Ajax request was initiated.
The error event attribute invokes the event listener when an error has occurred during Ajax communications.
The data event attribute allows the use of additional data during an Ajax call. JSF Expression Language (EL) can be used to reference the property of the managed bean, and its value will be serialized in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and returned to the client side. The property can then be referenced through the data variable in the event attribute definitions. Both primitive types and complex types such as arrays and collections can be serialized and used with data.
Example 2.3. Data reference example
<a4j:commandButton value="Update" data="#{userBean.name}" oncomplete="showTheName(data.name)" />
This chapter covers those attributes and features that are common to many of the components in the tag libraries.
A number of attributes relating to positioning and appearance are common to several components.
disabledSpecifies whether the component is disabled, which disallows user interaction.
focusReferences the
idof an element on which to focus after a request is completed on the client side.heightThe height of the component in pixels.
dirSpecifies the direction in which to display text that does not inherit its writing direction. Valid values are
LTR(left-to-right) andRTL(right-to-left).styleSpecifies Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) styles to apply to the component.
styleClassSpecifies one or more CSS class names to apply to the component.
widthThe width of the component in pixels.
Client-side JavaScript methods can be called using component events. These JavaScript methods are defined using the relevant event attribute for the component tag. Methods are referenced through typical Java syntax within the event attribute, while any parameters for the methods are obtained through the data attribute, and referenced using JSF Expression Language (EL). Example 2.3, “Data reference example” a simple reference to a JavaScript method with a single parameter.
Refer to Section 2.5, “Events and JavaScript interactions” or to event descriptions unique to each component for specific usage.
Table of Contents
This chapter details the basic components that respond to a user action and submit an Ajax request.
The <a4j:ajax> component allows Ajax capability to be added to any non-Ajax component. It is placed as a direct child to the component that requires Ajax support. The <a4j:ajax> component uses the common attributes listed in Chapter 2, Common Ajax attributes.
Attaching JavaScript functions
When attaching the <a4j:ajax> component to non-Ajax JavaServer Faces command components, such as <h:commandButton> and <h:commandLink>, it is important to set disabledDefault="true". If this attribute is not set, a non-Ajax request is sent after the Ajax request and the page is refreshed unexpectedly.
Example 4.1. <a4j:ajax> example
<h:panelGrid columns="2">
<h:inputText id="myinput" value="#{userBean.name}">
<a4j:ajax event="keyup" render="outtext" />
</h:inputText>
<h:outputText id="outtext" value="#{userBean.name}" />
</h:panelGrid>
The <a4j:actionParam> behavior combines the functionality of the JavaServer Faces (JSF) components <f:param> and <f:actionListener>.
Basic usage of the <a4j:actionParam> requires three main attributes:
name, for the name of the parameter;value, for the initial value of the parameter; andassignTo, for defining the bean property. The property will be updated if the parent command component performs an action event during the Process Request phase.
Example 4.2, “<a4j:actionParam> example” shows a simple implementation along with the accompanying managed bean.
Example 4.2. <a4j:actionParam> example
<h:form id="form">
<a4j:commandButton value="Set name to Alex" reRender="rep">
<a4j:actionparam name="username" value="Alex" assignTo="#{actionparamBean.name}"/>
</a4j:commandButton>
<h:outputText id="rep" value="Name: #{actionparamBean.name}"/>
</h:form>
public class ActionparamBean {
private String name = "John";
public String getName() {
return name;
}
public void setName(String name) {
this.name = name;
}
}
When the button is pressed, the application sets the name parameter of the bean to Alex, and displays the name in the output field.
The <a4j:actionParam> behavior can be used with non-Ajax components in addition to Ajax components. In this way, data model values can be updated without an JavaScript code on the server side.
The converter attribute can be used to specify how to convert the value before it is submitted to the data model. The property is assigned the new value during the Update Model phase.
Validation failure
If the validation of the form fails, the Update Model phase will be skipped and the property will not be updated.
Variables from JavaScript functions can be used for the value attribute. In such an implementation, the noEscape attribute should be set to true. Using noEscape="true", the value attribute can contain any JavaScript expression or JavaScript function invocation, and the result will be sent to the server as the value attribute.
The <a4j:commandButton> is similar to the JavaServer Faces (JSF) component <h:commandButton>, but additionally includes Ajax support. When the command button is clicked it submits an Ajax form, and when a response is received the command button can be dynamically rendered.
The <a4j:commandButton> requires only the value and render attributes to function. The value attribute specifies the text of the button and the render attribute specifies which areas are to be updated. The <a4j:commandButton> uses the click event instead of the submit event, but otherwise uses all common Ajax attributes as listed in Chapter 2, Common Ajax attributes.
Set disabledDefault="true"
When attaching a JavaScript function to a <a4j:commandButton> with the help of a <rich:componentControl>, do not use the attachTo attribute of <rich:componentControl>. The attribute adds event handlers using Event.observe but <a4j:commandButton> does not include this event.
The <a4j:commandLink> is similar to the JavaServer Faces (JSF) component <h:commandLink>, but additionally includes Ajax support. When the command link is clicked it generates an Ajax form submit, and when a response is received the command link can be dynamically rendered.
The <a4j:commandLink> requires only the value and render attributes to function. The value attribute specifies the text of the link and the render attribute specifies which areas are to be updated. The <a4j:commandLink> uses the click event instead of the submit event, but otherwise uses all common Ajax attributes as listed in Chapter 2, Common Ajax attributes.
The <rich:componentControl> allows JavaScript API functions to be called on components after defined events. Initialization variants and activation events can be customized, and parameters can be passed to the target component.
The event, for, and operation attributes are all that is required to attach JavaScript functions to the parent component. The event attribute specifies the event that triggers the JavaScript API function call. The for attribute defines the target component, and the operation attribute specifies the JavaScript function to perform.
Example 4.3. <rich:componentControl> basic usage
<h:commandButton value="Show Modal Panel">
<!--componentControl is attached to the commandButton-->
<rich:componentControl for="ccModalPanelID" event="click" operation="show"/>
</h:commandButton>
The example contains a single command button, which when clicked shows the modal panel with the identifier ccModalPanelID.
The attachTo attribute can be used to attach the event to a component other than the parent component. If no attachTo attribute is supplied, the <rich:componentControl> component's parent is used, as in Example 4.3, “<rich:componentControl> basic usage”.
Example 4.4. Attaching <rich:componentControl> to a component
<rich:componentControl attachTo="doExpandCalendarID" event="click" operation="Expand" for="ccCalendarID" />
In the example, the click event of the component with the identifier ccCalendarID will trigger the Expand operation for the component with the identifier doExpandCalendarID.
The operation can receive parameters either through the params attribute, or by using <f:param> elements.
Example 4.5. Using parameters
- The
paramsattribute <rich:componentControl name="func" event="rowclick" for="menu" operation="show" params="#{car.model}"/>
<f:param>elements<rich:componentControl event="rowclick" for="menu" operation="show">
<f:param value="#{car.model}" name="model"/>
</rich:componentControl>
The name attribute can be used to define a normal JavaScript function that triggers the specified operation on the target component.
The attachTiming attribute can determine the page loading phase during which the <rich:componentControl> is attached to the source component:
immediateattached during execution of the script.
availableattached after the target component is initialized.
loadattached after the page is loaded.
The <a4j:jsFunction> component allows Ajax requests to be performed directly from JavaScript code, and server-side data to be invoked and returned in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format to use in client-side JavaScript calls.
The <a4j:jsFunction> component has all the common Ajax action attributes as listed in Chapter 2, Common Ajax attributes; the action and actionListener attributes can be invoked and parts of the page can be re-rendered after a successful call to the JavaScript function. Example 4.6, “<a4j:jsFunction> example” shows how an Ajax request can be initiated from the JavaScript and a partial page update performed. The JavaScript function can be invoked with the data returned by the Ajax response.
Example 4.6. <a4j:jsFunction> example
<h:form>
...
<a4j:jsFunction name="callScript" data="#{bean.someProperty1}" reRender="someComponent" oncomplete="myScript(data.subProperty1, data.subProperty2)">
<a4j:actionParam name="param_name" assignTo="#{bean.someProperty2}"/>
</a4j:jsFunction>
...
</h:form>
The <a4j:jsFunction> component allows the use of the <a4j:actionParam> component or the JavaServer Faces <f:param> component to pass any number of parameters for the JavaScript function.
The <a4j:jsFunction> component is similar to the <a4j:commandButton> component, but it can be activated from the JavaScript code. This allows some server-side functionality to be invoked and the returned data to subsequently be used in a JavaScript function invoked by the complete event attribute. In this way, the <a4j:jsFunction> component can be used instead of the <a4j:commandButton> component.
The <a4j:poll> component allows periodical sending of Ajax requests to the server. It is used for repeatedly updating a page at specific time intervals.
The interval attribute specifies the time in milliseconds between requests. The default for this value is 1000 ms (1 second).
The timeout attribute defines the response waiting time in milliseconds. If a response isn't received within the timeout period, the connection is aborted and the next request is sent. By default, the timeout is not set.
The <a4j:poll> component can be enabled and disabled using the enabled attribute. Using Expression Language (EL), the enabled attribute can point to a bean property to apply a particular attribute value.
The <a4j:push> component periodically performs an Ajax request to the server, simulating "push" functionality. While it is not strictly pushing updates, the request is made to minimal code only, not to the JSF tree, checking for the presence of new messages in the queue. The request registers EventListener, which receives messages about events, but does not poll registered beans. If a message exists, a complete request is performed. This is different from the <a4j:poll> component, which performs a full request at every interval.
The interval attribute specifies the time in milliseconds between checking for messages. The default for this value is 1000 ms (1 second). It is possible to set the interval value to 0, in which case it is constantly checking for new messages.
The timeout attribute defines the response waiting time in milliseconds. If a response isn't received within the timeout period, the connection is aborted and the next request is sent. By default, the timeout is not set. In combination with the interval attribute, checks for the queue state can short polls or long connections.
This chapter covers those components used to handle and manage resources and beans.
The <a4j:keepAlive> component allows the state of a managed bean to be retained between Ajax requests.
Managed beans can be declared with the request scope in the faces-config.xml configuration file, using the <managed-bean-scope> tag. Any references to the bean instance after the request has ended will cause the server to throw an illegal argument exception (IllegalArgumentException). The <a4j:keepAlive> component avoids this by maintaining the state of the whole bean object for subsequent requests.
The beanName attribute defines the request-scope managed bean name to keep alive.
The ajaxOnly attribute determines whether or not the value of the bean should be available during non-Ajax requests; if ajaxOnly="true", the request-scope bean keeps its value during Ajax requests, but any non-Ajax requests will re-create the bean as a regular request-scope bean.
This chapter details those components in the a4j tag library which define an area used as a container or wrapper for other components.
The <a4j:include> component allows one view to be included as part of another page. This is useful for applications where multiple views might appear on the one page, with navigation between the views. Views can use partial page navigation in Ajax mode, or standard JSF navigation for navigation between views.
The viewId attribute is required to reference the resource that will be included as a view on the page. It uses a full context-relative path to point to the resource, similar to the paths used for the <from-view-id> and <to-view-id> tags in the faces-config.xml JSF navigation rules.
Example 6.1. A wizard using <a4j:include>
The page uses <a4j:include> to include the first step of the wizard:
<h:panelGrid width="100%" columns="2">
<a4j:keepAlive beanName="profile" />
<rich:panel>
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="A wizard using a4j:include" />
</f:facet>
<h:form>
<a4j:include viewId="/richfaces/include/examples/wstep1.xhtml" />
</h:form>
</rich:panel>
</h:panelGrid>
The first step is fully contained in a separate file, wstep1.xhtml. Subsequent steps are set up similarly with additional buttons.
<ui:composition xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
xmlns:ui="http://java.sun.com/jsf/facelets"
xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"
xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"
xmlns:a4j="http://richfaces.org/a4j"
xmlns:rich="http://richfaces.org/rich">
<div style="position:relative;height:140px">
<h:panelGrid rowClasses="s1row" columns="3" columnClasses="wfcol1,wfcol2,wfcol3">
<h:outputText value="First Name:" />
<h:inputText id="fn" value="#{profile.firstName}" label="First Name" required="true" />
<rich:message for="fn" />
<h:outputText value="Last Name:" />
<h:inputText id="ln" value="#{profile.lastName}" label="Last Name" required="true" />
<rich:message for="ln" />
</h:panelGrid>
<div class="navPanel" style="width:100%;">
<a4j:commandButton style="float:right" action="next" value="Next >>"/>
</div>
</div>
</ui:composition>
The navigation is defined in the faces-config.xml configuration file:
<navigation-rule>
<from-view-id>/richfaces/include/examples/wstep1.xhtml</from-view-id>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>next</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/richfaces/include/examples/wstep2.xhtml</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
</navigation-rule>
<navigation-rule>
<from-view-id>/richfaces/include/examples/wstep2.xhtml</from-view-id>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>previous</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/richfaces/include/examples/wstep1.xhtml</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>next</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/richfaces/include/examples/finalStep.xhtml</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
</navigation-rule>
<navigation-rule>
<from-view-id>/richfaces/include/examples/finalStep.xhtml</from-view-id>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>previous</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/richfaces/include/examples/wstep2.xhtml</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
</navigation-rule>
The <a4j:outputPanel> component is used to group together components in to update them as a whole, rather than having to specify the components individually.
The layout attribute can be used to determine how the component is rendered in HTML:
layout="inline"is the default behavior, which will render the component as a pair of<span>tags containing the child components.layout="block"will render the component as a pair of<div>tags containing the child components, which will use any defined<div>element styles.layout="none"will render the component as a pair of<span>tags with an identifier equal to that of a child component. If the child component is rendered then the<span>are not included, leaving no markup representing the<a4j:outputPanel>in HTML.
Setting ajaxRendered="true" will cause the <a4j:outputPanel> to be updated with each Ajax response for the page, even when not listed explicitly by the requesting component. This can in turn be overridden by specific attributes on any requesting components.
The <a4j:region> component specifies a part of the document object model (DOM) tree to be processed on the server. The processing includes data handling during decoding, conversion, validation, and model updating. When not using <a4j:region>, the entire view functions as a region.
The whole form is still submitted to the server, but only the specified region is processed. Regions can be nested, in which case only the immediate region of the component initiating the request will be processed.
JavaServer Faces 2 provides built-in support for bean validation as per the Java Specification Request JSR-303 standard. As such, containers must validate model objects. Validation is performed at different application tiers according to annotation-based constraints. Refer to http://jcp.org/en/jsr/detail?id=303 for further details on the JSR-303 specification.
Example 7.1, “JSR-303 validation annotations” shows an example JSF managed bean. The bean includes JSR-303 annotations for validation. Validation annotations defined in this way are registered on components bound to the bean properties, and validation is triggered in the Process Validation phase.
Example 7.1. JSR-303 validation annotations
import javax.validation.constraints.Max;
import javax.validation.constraints.Min;
import javax.validation.constraints.Pattern;
import javax.validation.constraints.Size;
@ManagedBean
@RequestScoped
public class UserBean {
@Size(min=3, max=12)
private String name = null;
@Pattern(regexp = "^[\\w\\-]([\\.\\w])+[\\w]+@([\\w\\-]+\\.)+[a-zA-Z]{2,4}$" , message="Bad email")
private String email = null;
@Min(value = 18)
@Max(value = 99)
private Integer age;
//...
//Getters and Setters
}
Requirements
Bean validation in both JavaServer Faces and RichFaces requires the JSR-303 implementation. The implementation is bundled with JEE 6 Application Server.
If using Tomcat or another simple servlet container, add the validation-api Java Archive and a validation provider (such as Hibernate Validator) to your application libraries.
The validation built in to JavaServer Faces 2 occurs on the server side. The <rich:validator> behavior adds client-side validation to a control based on registered server-side validators. It provides this validation without the need to reproduce the server-side annotations. The <rich:validator> behavior triggers all client validator annotations listed in the relevant managed bean.
The <rich:validator> behavior is added as a child element to any input control. The value of the input control must reference a managed bean. The <rich:validator> behavior validates the content of the input control on the client-side based on registered server-side validators included in the managed bean.
Example 7.2. Basic usage
<h:inputText value="#{userBean.name}">
<rich:validator/>
</h:inputText>
The <rich:validator> behavior is added to an <h:inputText> control. The validator uses the registered server-side validators included in the managed bean referenced by the input control.
JSF validation tags
JSF validation tags, such as <f:validateLength> and <f:validateDoubleRange> tags, can be declared alongside <rich:validator> behaviors. However, because this duplicates the validation processes at both the view and model level, it is not recommended.
Use the <rich:message> and <rich:messages> components to display validation messages. The for attribute of the <rich:message> component references the id identifier of the input control being validated.
Example 7.3. Messages
<rich:panel header="User information">
<h:panelGrid columns="3">
<h:outputText value="Name:" />
<h:inputText value="#{validationBean.name}" id="name">
<rich:validator />
</h:inputText>
<rich:message for="name" />
<h:outputText value="Email" />
<h:inputText value="#{validationBean.email}" id="email">
<rich:validator />
</h:inputText>
<rich:message for="email" />
<h:outputText value="Age" />
<h:inputText value="#{validationBean.age}" id="age">
<rich:validator />
</h:inputText>
<rich:message for="age" />
<h:outputText value="I agree the terms" />
<h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{validationBean.agree}" id="agree">
<rich:validator/>
</h:selectBooleanCheckbox>
<rich:message for="agree" />
</h:panelGrid>
</rich:panel>
Failed validation checks are reported using <rich:message> components. The validation annotations in the managed bean are outlined in Example 7.1, “JSR-303 validation annotations”.
[D]
Use the event attribute to specify which event on the input control triggers the validation process. By default, the <rich:validator> behavior triggers validation when the input control is changed (event="change").
Example 7.4. Validation triggers
<h:inputText value="#{userBean.name}">
<rich:validator event="keyup"/>
</h:inputText>
The event attribute is changed to the keyup event, such that validation takes place after each key press.
If no client-side validation method exists for a registered server-side validator, Ajax fall-back is used. The <rich:validator> behavior invokes all available client-side validators. If all the client-side validators return valid, RichFaces performs an Ajax request to invoke the remaining validators on the server side.
The <rich:graphValidator> component is used to wrap a set of input components related to one object. The object defined by the <rich:graphValidator> component can then be completely validated. The validation includes all object properties, even those which are not bound to the individual form components. Validation performed in this way allows for cross-field validation in complex forms.
Validation without model updates
The <rich:graphValidator> component performs a clone() method on the referenced bean instance during the validation phase. The cloned object is validated and triggers any required validation messages. As such, the model object remains clean, and the lifecycle is interrupted properly after the Process Validations phase.
The <rich:graphValidator> element must wrap all the input controls that are required to validate the object. The value attribute names the bean for the validating object.
Example 7.5. Basic usage
The example demonstrates a simple form for changing a password. The two entered passwords must match, so a <rich:graphValidator> component is used for cross-field validation.
<h:form>
<rich:graphValidator value="#{userBean}">
<rich:panel header="Change password">
<rich:messages/>
<h:panelGrid columns="3">
<h:outputText value="Enter new password:" />
<h:inputSecret value="#{userBean.password}" id="pass"/>
<rich:message for="pass"/>
<h:outputText value="Confirm the new password:" />
<h:inputSecret value="#{userBean.confirm}" id="conf"/>
<rich:message for="conf"/>
</h:panelGrid>
<a4j:commandButton value="Store changes"
action="#{userBean.storeNewPassword}" />
</rich:panel>
</rich:graphValidator>
</h:form>
The input controls validate against the following bean:
@ManagedBean
@RequestScoped
public class UserBean {
@Size(min = 5, max = 15, message="Wrong size for password")
private String password;
@Size(min = 5, max = 15, message="Wrong size for confirmation")
private String confirm;
private String status = "";
@AssertTrue(message = "Different passwords entered!")
public boolean isPasswordsEquals() {
return password.equals(confirm);
}
public void storeNewPassword() {
FacesContext.getCurrentInstance().addMessage("", new FacesMessage(FacesMessage.SEVERITY_INFO, "Succesfully changed!", "Succesfully changed!"));
}
...
}
When validation occurs, the whole object is validated against the annotation contstraints. The @AssertTrue annotation relies on the isPasswordsEqual() function to check whether the two entered passwords are equal.
If the entered passwords do not match, an error message is displayed:
[D]
This chapter covers those components that manage the processing of information, requests, and updates.
The <a4j:queue> component manages a queue of Ajax requests to control message processing.
The size attribute specifies the number of requests that can be stored in the queue at a time; smaller queue sizes help prevent server overloads. When the queue's size is exceeded, the sizeExceededBehavior determines the way in which the queue handles the requests:
dropNextdrops the next request currently in the queue.dropNewdrops the incoming request.fireNextimmediately sends the next request currently in the queue.fireNewimmediately sends the incoming request.
The <a4j:queue> component features several events relating to queuing actions:
The
completeevent attribute is fired after a request is completed. The request object is passed as a parameter to the event handler, so the queue is accessible usingrequest.queueand the element which was the source of the request is accessible usingthis.The
requestqueueevent attribute is fired after a new request has been added to the queue.The
requestdequeueevent attribute is fired after a request has been removed from the queue.The
sizeexceededevent attribute is fired when the queue has been exceeded.The
submitevent attribute is fired before the request is sent.The
successevent attribute is fired after a successful request but before the DOM is updated on the client side.
The <a4j:log> component generates JavaScript that opens a debug window, logging application information such as requests, responses, and DOM changes.
The popup attribute causes the logging data to appear in a new pop-up window if set to true, or in place on the current page if set to false. The window is set to be opened by pressing the key combination Ctrl+Shift+L; this can be partially reconfigured with the hotkey attribute, which specifies the letter key to use in combination with Ctrl+Shift instead of L.
The amount of data logged can be determined with the level attribute:
ERRORFATALINFOWARNALL, the default setting, logs all data.
Log renewal
The log is automatically renewed after each Ajax request. It does not need to be explicitly re-rendered.
The <a4j:status> component displays the status of current Ajax requests; the status can be either in progress or complete.
The startText attribute defines the text shown after the request has been started and is currently in progress. This text can be styled with the startStyle and startStyleClass attributes. Similarly, the stopText attribute defines the text shown once the request is complete, and text is styled with the stopStyle and stopStyleClass attributes. Alternatively, the text styles can be customized using facets, with the facet name set to either start or stop as required. If the stopText attribute is not defined, and no facet exists for the stopped state, the status is simply not shown; in this way only the progress of the request is displayed to the user.
The <a4j:status> component works for each Ajax component inside the local region. If no region is defined, every request made on the page will activate the <a4j:status> component. Alternatively, the <a4j:status> component can be linked to specific components in one of two ways:
The
forattribute can be used to specify the component for which the status is to be monitored.With an
ididentifier attribute specified for the<a4j:status>, individual components can have their statuses monitored by referencing the identifier with their ownstatusattributes.
Example 8.3. Updating a common <a4j:status> component
<a4j:region id="extr">
<h:form>
<h:outputText value="Status:" />
<a4j:status id="commonstatus" startText="In Progress...." stopText="" />
<a4j:region id="intr">
<h:panelGrid columns="2">
<h:outputText value="Name" />
<h:inputText id="name" value="#{userBean.name}">
<a4j:support event="keyup" reRender="out" status="commonstatus" />
</h:inputText>
<h:outputText value="Job" />
<h:inputText id="job" value="#{userBean.job}">
<a4j:support event="keyup" reRender="out" status="commonstatus" />
</h:inputText>
<h:panelGroup />
</h:panelGrid>
</a4j:region>
<a4j:region>
<br />
<rich:spacer height="5" />
<b><h:outputText id="out"
value="Name: #{userBean.name}, Job: #{userBean.job}" /></b>
<br />
<rich:spacer height="5" />
<br />
<a4j:commandButton ajaxSingle="true" value="Clean Up Form"
reRender="name, job, out" status="commonstatus">
<a4j:actionparam name="n" value="" assignTo="#{userBean.name}" />
<a4j:actionparam name="j" value="" assignTo="#{userBean.job}" />
</a4j:commandButton>
</a4j:region>
</h:form>
</a4j:region>
The <a4j:status> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
start()Start monitoring the status.
stop()Stop monitoring the status.
Table of Contents
- 9. Rich inputs
- 10. Panels and containers
- 11. Tables and grids
- 12. Trees
- 13. Menus and toolbars
- 14. Output and messages
- 15. Drag and drop
- 16. Layout and appearance
- 17. Functions
This chapter details rich components for user input and interaction.
The <rich:autocomplete> component is an auto-completing input-box with built-in Ajax capabilities. It supports client-side suggestions, browser-like selection, and customization of the look and feel.
The value attribute stores the text entered by the user for the auto-complete box. Suggestions shown in the auto-complete list can be specified using the autocompleteMethod attribute, which points to a collection of suggestions.
Example 9.1. Defining suggestion values
<rich:autocomplete value="#{bean.state}" autocompleteMethod="#{bean.suggestions}" />
Users can type into the text field to enter a value, which also searches through the suggestion items in the drop-down box. By default, the first suggestion item is selected as the user types. This behavior can be deactivated by setting selectFirst="false"
Setting autoFill="true"
The <rich:autocomplete> component uses the JavaScript startsWith() method to create the list of suggestions. The filtering is performed on the client side. Alternatively, use the clientFilter attribute to specify a custom filtering function. The custom function must accept two parameters: the subString parameter is the filtering value as typed into the text box by the user, and the value parameter is an item in the list of suggestions against which the subString must be checked. Each item is iterated through and passed to the function as the value parameter. The custom function must return a boolean value indicating whether the passed item meets the conditions of the filter, and the suggestion list is constructed from successful items.
Example 9.2. Customizing the filter
This example demonstrates how to use a custom filter with the clientFilter attribute. The custom filter determines if the sub-string is contained anywhere in the suggestion item, instead of just at the start.
<script>
function customFilter(subString, value){
if(subString.length>=1) {
if(value.indexOf(subString)!=-1)
return true;
}else return false;
};
</script>
<h:form>
<rich:autocomplete mode="client" minChars="0" autofill="false"
clientFilter="customFilter"
autocompleteMethod="#{autocompleteBean.autocomplete}" />
</h:form>
The <rich:autocomplete> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
getValue()Get the current value of the text field.
setValue(newValue)Set the value of the text field to the
newValuestring passed as a parameter.showPopup()Show the pop-up list of completion values.
hidePopup()Hide the pop-up list.
The <rich:calendar> component allows the user to enter a date and time through an in-line or pop-up calendar. The pop-up calendar can navigate through months and years, and its look and feel can be highly customized.
Basic usage of the <rich:calendar> component requires only the value attribute, which holds the currently selected date. Example 9.3, “Basic usage” shows a basic declaration, with the value pointing to a bean property. The bean property holds the selected date.
The <rich:calendar> component is presented as a pop-up by default, appearing as a text field with a button to expand the full pop-up calendar. To render the calendar in-line on the page instead, set popup="false. This displays the full calendar without the text field or display button.
To add keyboard support for manual input, set enableManualInput="true". To disable the calendar from any user input, set disabled="true".
To change the appearance of the display button from the standard calendar icon, use the buttonIcon and buttonDisabledIcon attributes to replace the icon with a specified file. Alternatively, use the buttonLabel attribute to display text on the button without an icon. If buttonLabel is specified then both the buttonIcon and buttonDisabledIcon attributes are ignored. To hide the text field box, set showInput="false".
The calendar features a button for locating today's date on the calendar. This can be set to three different values using the todayControlMode attribute:
hidden, which does not display the button;select, the default setting, which scrolls the calendar to the current month and selects today's date; andscroll, which scrolls the calendar to the current month but does not select today's date.
To make the entire calendar read-only, set readonly="true". This allows months and years to be browsed through with the arrow controls, but dates and times cannot be selected.
The <rich:calendar> component can additionally allow a time of day to be specified with the date. After selecting a date the option to set a time becomes available. The default time can be set with the defaultTime attribute. If the time is altered and a new date is selected, it will not reset unless resetTimeOnDateSelect="true" is specified.
Support for seconds
In RichFaces 4, the <rich:calendar> component supports times that include seconds. Previous versions of RichFaces only supported hours and minutes.
Date and time strings can be formatted in a set pattern. Use standard locale formatting strings specified by ISO 8601 (for example, d/M/yy HH:mm a) with the datePattern attribute to format date and time strings.
To set the locale of the calendar, use the locale attribute. The calendar will render month and day names in the relevant language. For example, to set the calendar to the US locale, specify locale="en/US".
Use an application resource bundle to localize the calendar control labels. Define the following strings in the resource bundle:
The RICH_CALENDAR_APPLY_LABEL string is the label for the button.
The RICH_CALENDAR_TODAY_LABEL string is the label for the button.
The RICH_CALENDAR_CLOSE_LABEL string is the label for the button.
The RICH_CALENDAR_OK_LABEL string is the label for the button.
The RICH_CALENDAR_CLEAN_LABEL string is the label for the button.
The RICH_CALENDAR_CANCEL_LABEL string is the label for the button.
Alternatively, use the org.richfaces.renderkit.calendar resource bundle with Java Archive files (JARs) defining the same properties.
The look and feel of the <rich:calendar> component can be customized through the use of a data model on the server side. The component supports two different ways of loading data from the server side through defining the mode attribute.
When the mode attribute is not specified, the component uses the client mode. The client mode loads an initial portion of data within a set date range. The range can be defined by using the preloadDateRangeBegin and preloadDateRangeEnd attributes. Additional data requests are not sent.
Alternatively, with mode="ajax" the <rich:calendar> requests portions of data for rendering from a special data model. The data model can be defined through the dataModel attribute, which points to an object that implements the CalendarDataModel interface. If the dataModel attribute is not defined or has a value of null, the ajax mode functions the same as the client mode.
Instead of using a data model, the <rich:calendar> component can be customized on the client-side using JavaScript. Use the dayClassFunction attribute to reference the function that determines the CSS style class for each day cell. Use the dayDisableFunction to reference the function that enables or disables a day cell. Example 9.4, “Client-side customization” demonstrates how client-side customization can be used to style different days in a calendar.
Example 9.4. Client-side customization
<style>
.everyThirdDay {
background-color: gray;
}
.weekendBold {
font-weight: bold;
font-style: italic;
}
</style>
<script type="text/javascript">
var curDt = new Date();
function disablementFunction(day){
if (day.isWeekend) return false;
if (curDt==undefined){
curDt = day.date.getDate();
}
if (curDt.getTime() - day.date.getTime() < 0) return true;
else return false;
}
function disabledClassesProv(day){
if (curDt.getTime() - day.date.getTime() >= 0) return 'rf-ca-boundary-dates';
var res = '';
if (day.isWeekend) res+='weekendBold ';
if (day.day%3==0) res+='everyThirdDay';
return res;
}
</script>
<rich:calendar dayDisableFunction="disablementFunction"
dayClassFunction="disabledClassesProv"
boundaryDatesMode="scroll" />
The <rich:calendar> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
showPopup()Expand the pop-up calendar element.
hidePopup()Collapse the pop-up calendar element.
switchPopup()Invert the state of the pop-up calendar element.
getValue()Return the selected date value of the calendar.
getValueAsString()Return the selected date value of the calendar as a formatted string.
setValue(newValue)Set the selected date value to the
newValuedate passed as a parameter. If the new date is not in the currently displayed month, a request is performed to display the correct month.resetValue()Clear the selected date value.
today()Select today's date.
getCurrentMonth()Return the number of the month currently being displayed.
getCurrentYear()Return the number of the year currently being displayed.
showSelectedDate()Show the calendar month that contains the currently selected date.
showDateEditor()Show the date editor pop-up.
hideDateEditor()Hide the date editor pop-up.
showTimeEditor()Show the time editor pop-up.
hideTimeEditor()Hide the time editor pop-up.
The <rich:fileUpload> component allows the user to upload files to a server. It features multiple uploads, progress bars, restrictions on file types, and restrictions on sizes to be uploaded.
Basic usage requires the fileUploadListener attribute. Use the attribute to call a function on the server side after each file is uploaded.
Files are uploaded to either the temporary folder (different for each operating system) or to RAM (random-access memory), depending on the value of the org.richfaces.fileUpload.createTempFile parameter of the web.xml settings file for the project. If the parameter is set to true, the files are uploaded to the temporary folder.
To limit the maximum size of the uploaded files, define the byte size with the org.richfaces.fileUpload.maxRequestSize parameter of the web.xml settings file for the project.
The text labels used in the component can be completely customized. Labels for the various controls of the component can be set using the following parameters:
addLabelThe
addLabelparameter sets the label for the button.clearAllLabelThe
clearAllLabelparameter sets the label for the button.clearLabelThe
clearLabelparameter sets the label for the button.uploadLabelThe
uploadLabelparameter sets the label for the button.
The progress of a file upload operation can be represented using either a referencing <rich:progressBar> component, or the progress facet. Refer to Section 14.3, “<rich:progressBar>” for details on the <rich:progressBar> component.
To disable the <rich:fileUpload> component, use the disabled attribute.
There are a number of event handlers specific to the <rich:fileUpload> component:
filesubmitis triggered before a file is uploaded.uploadcompleteis triggered after all files in the list have finished uploading.
The <rich:inplaceInput> component allows information to be entered in-line in blocks of text, improving readability of the text. Multiple input regions can be navigated with keyboard navigation. The component has three functional states: the view state, where the component displays its initial setting, such as "click to edit"; the edit state, where the user can input text; and the "changed" state, where the new value for the component has been confirmed but can be edited again if required.
Basic usage requires the value attribute to point to the expression for the current value of the component.
When in the initial view state, the starting label can be set using the defaultLabel attribute. Once the user has entered text, the label is stored in the model specified by the value attribute. The use of the default label and value is shown in Example 9.6, “Default label and value”.
Example 9.6. Default label and value
<rich:inplaceInput value="#{bean.value}" defaultLabel="click to edit"/>
By default, the event to switch the component to the edit state is a single mouse click. This can be changed using the editEvent attribute to specify a different event.
The user can confirm and save their input by pressing the Enter key or cancel by pressing the Esc key. Alternatively, buttons for confirming or canceling can be added to the component by setting showControls="true".
The <rich:inplaceInput> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
getValue()Get the current value of the input control.
setValue(newValue)Set the value of the input control to the
newValuestring passed as a parameter.isEditState()Returns
trueif the control is currently in the edit state, orfalseif the control is currently in the view state.isValueChanged()Returns
trueif the control's value has been changed from the default.save()Saves the current item as the control's value.
cancel()Cancel editing the value.
getInput()Return the input entered into the control by the user.
The <rich:inplaceSelect> component is similar to the <rich:inplaceInput> component, except that the <rich:inplaceSelect> component uses a drop-down selection box to enter text instead of a regular text field. Changes can be rendered either in-line or for the whole block, and inputs can be focused with keyboard navigation. The component has three functional states: the view state, where the component displays its initial setting, such as "click to edit"; the edit state, where the user can select a value from a drop-down list; and the "changed" state, where the new value for the component has been confirmed but can be edited again if required.
Basic usage requires the value attribute to point to the expression for the current value of the component and a list of items. The list of items can be defined using the JSF components <f:selectItem/> and <f:selectItems/>.
Example 9.7. Defining list items for <rich:inplaceSelect>
<rich:inplaceSelect value="#{bean.inputValue}" defaultLabel="click to edit" >
<f:selectItems value="#{bean.selectItems}" />
<f.selectItem itemValue="1" itemLabel="Item 1" />
<f.selectItem itemValue="2" itemLabel="Item 2" />
<f.selectItem itemValue="3" itemLabel="Item 3" />
<f.selectItem itemValue="4" itemLabel="Item 4" />
</rich:comboBox>
When in the initial view state, the starting label can be set using the defaultLabel attribute, such as defaultLabel="click to edit".
By default, the event to switch the component to the edit state is a single mouse click. This can be changed using the editEvent attribute to specify a different event. When switching to edit mode, the drop-down list of possible values will automatically be displayed; this can be deactivated by setting openOnEdit="false"
Once a new value for the control is saved, the state switches to the "changed" state. Saving a new value for the control can be performed in three different ways:
Once the user selects an item from the drop-down list, the item is saved as the new control value. This is the default setting.
If
saveOnBlur="true"is set, the selected item is saved as the new control value when the control loses focus.If
showControls="true"is set, buttons are added to the control to confirm or cancel the selection. The new control value is only saved once the user confirms the selection using the button.
The <rich:inplaceSelect> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
getValue()Get the current value of the select control.
setValue(newValue)Set the value of the select control to the
newValuestring passed as a parameter.isEditState()Returns
trueif the control is currently in the edit state, orfalseif the control is currently in the view state.isValueChanged()Returns
trueif the control's value has been changed from the default.save()Saves the current item as the control's value.
cancel()Cancel editing the value.
getInput()Return the input entered into the control by the user.
getLabel()Return the default label of the control.
setLabel(newLabel)Set the default label of the control to the
newLabelstring passed as a parameter.showPopup()Show the pop-up list of possible values.
hidePopup()Hide the pop-up list.
The <rich:inputNumberSlider> component provides a slider for changing numerical values. Optional features include control arrows to step through the values, a tool-tip to display the value while sliding, and a text field for typing the numerical value which can then be validated against the slider's range.
Basic use of the component with no attributes specified will render a slider with a minimum value of 0, a maximum of 100, and a gradient step of 1, together with a text field for typing the desired numerical value. The slider is labeled with the minimum and maximum boundary values, and a tool-tip showing the current value is shown while sliding the slider. The value attribute is used for storing the currently selected value of the slider.
The text field can be removed by setting showInput="false".
The properties of the slider can be set with the attributes minValue, maxValue, and step.
The minimum and maximum labels on the slider can be hidden by setting showBoundaryValues="false"showToolTip="false"
Arrow controls can be added to either side of the slider to adjust the value incrementally by setting showArrows="true"delay attribute.
The <rich:inputNumberSlider> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
getValue()Get the current value of the slider control.
setValue(newValue)Set the value of the slider control to the
newValueinteger passed as a parameter.increase()Increase the value of the slider control by the gradient step amount.
decrease()Decrease the value of the slider control by the gradient step amount.
component-type:org.richfaces.inputNumberSlidercomponent-class:org.richfaces.component.html.HtmlInputNumberSlidercomponent-family:org.richfaces.inputNumberSliderrenderer-type:org.richfaces.renderkit.inputNumberSliderRenderertag-class:org.richfaces.taglib.inputNumberSliderTag
The <rich:inputNumberSpinner> component is a single-line input field with buttons to increase and decrease a numerical value. The value can be changed using the corresponding directional keys on a keyboard, or by typing into the field.
Basic use of the component with no attributes specified will render a number spinner with a minimum value of 1, a maximum value of 100, and a gradient step of 1.
These default properties can be re-defined with the attributes minValue, maxValue, and step respectively. The starting value of the spinner is the minimum value unless otherwise specified with the value attribute.
When changing the value using the buttons, raising the value above the maximum or cause the spinner to restart at the minimum value. Likewise, when lowering below the minimum value the spinner will reset to the maximum value. This behavior can be deactivated by setting cycled="false", which will cause the buttons to stop responding when the reach the maximum or minimum value.
The ability to change the value by typing into the text field can be disabled by setting enableManualInput="false".
The <rich:inputNumberSpinner> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
getValue()Get the current value of the spinner control.
setValue(newValue)Set the value of the spinner control to the
newValueinteger passed as a parameter.increase()Increase the value of the spinner control by the gradient step amount.
decrease()Decrease the value of the spinner control by the gradient step amount.
component-type:org.richfaces.inputNumberSpinnercomponent-class:org.richfaces.component.html.HtmlInputNumberSpinnercomponent-family:org.richfaces.inputNumberSpinnerrenderer-type:org.richfaces.renderkit.inputNumberSpinnerRenderertag-class:org.richfaces.taglib.inputNumberSpinnerTag
The <rich:select> component provides a drop-down list box for selecting a single value from multiple options. The component supports keyboard navigation and can optionally accept typed input. The <rich:select> component functions similarly to the JavaServer Faces <h:selectOneMenu> component.
Simple usage of the <rich:select> component does not need any attributes declared, but child tags to manage the list of selections are required. The child tags can either be a number of <f:selectItem> tags or a <f:selectItems> tag which points to a data model containing a list of selection items. The value attribute is used to store the current selection.
Example 9.8. Selection items
- Using multiple
<f:selectItem>tags <rich:select>
<f:selectItem itemValue="0" itemLabel="Option 1" />
<f:selectItem itemValue="1" itemLabel="Option 2" />
<f:selectItem itemValue="2" itemLabel="Option 3" />
<f:selectItem itemValue="3" itemLabel="Option 4" />
<f:selectItem itemValue="4" itemLabel="Option 5" />
</rich:select>
- Using a single
<f:selectItems>tag <rich:select>
<f:selectItems value="#{bean.options}" />
</rich:select>
The arrow keys on a keyboard can be used to highlight different items in the list. If the control loses focus or the Enter key is pressed, the highlighted option is chosen as the value and the list is closed. Pressing the Esc key will close the list but not change the value.
Use the defaultLabel attribute to set a place-holder label, such as defaultLabel="select an option".
Server-side processing occurs in the same manner as for an <h:selectOneMenu> component. As such, custom objects used for selection items should use the same converters as for an <h:selectOneMenu> component.
Selection lists can allow the user to type into a text field to scroll through or filter the list. By default, the <rich:select> component functions as a drop-down list with no manual input. To add keyboard support for manual input, set enableManualInput="true".
Once the user begins typing, the first available matching option is highlighted. If the typed text does not match any values in the list, no value is chosen and the drop-down list displays as empty. Other keyboard interaction remains the same as the basic drop-down list.
The <rich:select> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
getValue()Get the current value of the text field.
setValue(newValue)Set the value of the text field to the
newValuestring passed as a parameter.getLabel()Return the default label of the control.
showPopup()Show the pop-up list of completion values.
hidePopup()Hide the pop-up list.
This chapter details those components which act as panels and containers to hold groups of other components.
The <rich:panel> component is a bordered panel with an optional header.
No attributes need to be listed for basic usage. a <rich:panel> without any attributes defined renders a bordered region with no header.
To add a header to the panel, use the header attribute to specify the text to appear in the header. Alternatively the header can be constructed using a header facet. Example 10.1, “Adding a header” demonstrates the two different approaches.
Example 10.1. Adding a header
<rich:panel header="This is the panel header">
<h:outputText value="This is the panel content" />
</rich:panel>
<rich:panel>
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="This is the panel header">
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="This is the panel content" />
</rich:panel>
Both the examples render an identical panel.
The <rich:accordion> is a series of panels stacked on top of each other, each collapsed such that only the header of the panel is showing. When the header of a panel is clicked, it is expanded to show the content of the panel. Clicking on a different header will collapse the previous panel and epand the selected one. Each panel contained in a <rich:accordion> component is a <rich:accordionItem> component.
The <rich:accordion> component requires no attributes for basic usage. The component can contain any number of <rich:accordionItem> components as children. The headers of the <rich:accordionItem> components control the expanding and collapsing when clicked. Only a single <rich:accordionItem> can be displayed at a time. Refer to Section 10.2.7, “<rich:accordionItem>” for details on the <rich:accordionItem> component.
The switching mode for performing submissions is determined by the switchType attribute, which can have one of the following three values:
serverThe default setting. Activation of a
<rich:accordionItem>component causes the parent<rich:accordion>component to perform a common submission, completely re-rendering the page. Only one panel at a time is uploaded to the client side.ajaxActivation of a
<rich:accordionItem>component causes the parent<rich:accordion>component to perform an Ajax form submission, and the content of the panel is rendered. Only one panel at a time is uploaded to the client side.clientActivation of a
<rich:accordionItem>component causes the parent<rich:accordion>component to update on the client side. JavaScript changes the styles such that one panel component becomes hidden while the other is shown.
In addition to the standard Ajax events and HTML events, the <rich:accordion> component uses the client-side events common to all switchable panels:
The
itemchangeevent points to the function to perform when the switchable item is changed.The
beforeitemchangeevent points to the function to perform when before the switchable item is changed.
The <rich:accordion> component uses the server-side events common to all switchable panels:
The
ItemChangeEventevent occurs on the server side when an item is changed through Ajax using theservermode. It can be processed using theItemChangeListenerattribute.
The <rich:accordion> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions, which are common to all switchable panels:
getItems()Return an array of the items contained in the accordion control.
getItemsNames()Return an array of the names of the items contained in the accordion control.
switchToItem(itemName)Switch to and display the item identified by the
itemNamestring passed as a parameter.
component-type:org.richfaces.accordioncomponent-class:org.richfaces.component.html.HtmlAccordioncomponent-family:org.richfaces.accordionrenderer-type:org.richfaces.accordionRenderertag-class:org.richfaces.taglib.accordionTag
The <rich:accordionItem> component is a panel for use with the <rich:accordion> component.
Basic usage of the <rich:accordionItem> component requires the label attribute, which provides the text on the panel header. The panel header is all that is visible when the accordion item is collapsed.
Alternatively the header facet could be used in place of the label attribute. This would allow for additional styles and custom content to be applied to the tab.
In addition to the standard HTML events, the <rich:accordionItem> component uses the client-side events common to all switchable panel items:
The
enterevent points to the function to perform when the mouse enters the panel.The
leaveevent points to the function to perform when the mouse leaves the panel.
The <rich:collapsiblePanel> component is a collapsible panel that shows or hides content when the header bar is activated. It is a simplified version of <rich:togglePanel> component.
Basic usage requires the header attribute to be specified, which provides the title for the header element. Additionally the panel requires content to display when it is expanded. Content is added as child elements like a standard panel.
The switching mode for performing submissions is determined by the switchType attribute, which can have one of the following three values:
serverThis is the default setting. The
<rich:collapsiblePanel>component performs a common submission, completely re-rendering the page. Only one panel at a time is uploaded to the client side.ajaxThe
<rich:collapsiblePanel>component performs an Ajax form submission, and only the content of the panel is rendered. Only one panel at a time is uploaded to the client side.clientThe
<rich:collapsiblePanel>component updates on the client side, re-rendering itself and any additional components listed with therenderattribute.
The appearance of the <rich:collapsiblePanel> component can be customized using facets. The headerExpandedClass and headerCollapsedClass facets are used to style the appearance of the panel when it is expanded and collapsed respectively. The expandControl facet styles the control in the panel header used for expanding, and the collapseControl facet styles the control for collapsing.
The <rich:collapsiblePanel> component uses the following unique server-side events:
The
ChangeExpandEventevent occurs on the server side when the<rich:collapsiblePanel>component is expanded or collapsed through Ajax using theservermode. It can be processed using theChangeExpandListenerattribute.
The <rich:collapsiblePanel> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
switchPanel()Switch the state of the collapsible panel (expanded or collapsed).
The <rich:popupPanel> component provides a pop-up panel or window that appears in front of the rest of the application. The <rich:popupPanel> component functions either as a modal window which blocks interaction with the rest of the application while active, or as a non-modal window. It can be positioned on the screen, dragged to a new position by the user, and re-sized.
The <rich:popupPanel> does not require any compulsory attributes, though certain use cases require different attributes.
If show="true" then the pop-up panel will display when the page is first loaded.
The <rich:popupPanel> component can be shown and hidden manually using the show() and hide() methods from the JavaScript API. These can be implemented using two different approaches:
Using the
<rich:componentControl>component. For details on the component, refer to Section 4.5, “<rich:componentControl>”.Using the
rich:componentfunction. For details on the function, refer to Section 17.2, “rich:component”.
For explicit referencing when using the functions, the component can be given an id identifier. The component can, however, be referenced using other means, such as through a selector.
Example 10.2, “<rich:popupPanel> example” demonstrates basic use of both the <rich:componentControl> component and the rich:component function to show and hide the <rich:popupPanel> component.
Example 10.2. <rich:popupPanel> example
<h:commandButton value="Show the panel">
<rich:componentControl target="popup" operation="show" />
</h:commandButton>
...
<a4j:form>
<rich:popupPanel id="popup">
<p><a href="#" onclick="#{rich:component('popup')}.hide()">Hide the panel</a></p>
</rich:popupPanel>
</a4j:form>
Placement
The <rich:popupPanel> component should usually be placed outside the original form, and include its own form if performing submissions. An exception to this is when using the domElementAttachment attribute, as described in Section 10.4.4, “Size and positioning”.
By default, the <rich:popupPanel> appears as a modal window that blocks interaction with the other objects on the page. To implement a non-modal window instead, set modal="false"
The pop-up panel can be both re-sized and re-positioned by the user. The minimum possible size for the panel can be set with the minWith and minHeight attributes. These abilities can be deactivated by setting resizable or movable to false as necessary.
The pop-up panel can be automatically sized when it is shown if the autosized attribute is set to true.
The <rich:popupPanel> component is usually rendered in front of any other objects on the page. This is achieved by attaching the component to the <body> element of the page, and setting a very high "z-index" (the stack order of the object). This approach is taken because relatively-positioned elements could still overlap the pop-up panel if they exist at higher levels of the DOM hierarchy, even if their z-index is less than the <rich:popupPanel> component. However, to avoid form limitation of the pop-up panel on pages where no such elements exist, the <rich:popupPanel> component can be reattached to its original DOM element by setting domElementAttachment to either parent or form.
Embedded objects inserted into the HTML with the <embed> tag will typically be rendered in front of a <rich:popupPanel> component. The <rich:popupPanel> component can be forcibly rendered in front of these objects by setting overlapEmbedObjects="true"
Using overlapEmbedObjects
Due to the additional script processing required when using the overlapEmbedObjects attribute, applications can suffer from decreased performance. As such, overlapEmbedObjects should only be set to true when <embed> tags are being used. Do not set it to true for applications that do not require it.
The <rich:popupPanel> component can contain any other rich component just like a normal panel.
Contents of the <rich:popupPanel> component which are positioned relatively may be trimmed if they extend beyond the borders of the pop-up panel. For certain in-line controls this behavior may be preferable, but for other dynamic controls it could be undesirable. If the trimOverlayedElements attribute is set to false then child components will not be trimmed if they extend beyond the borders of the pop-up panel.
A panel header and associated controls can be added to the <rich:popupPanel> component through the use of facets. The header facet displays a title for the panel, and the controls facet can be customized to allow window controls such as a button for closing the pop-up. Example 10.3, “Header and controls” demonstrates the use of the facets.
Example 10.3. Header and controls
<h:commandLink value="Show pop-up">
<rich:componentControl target="popup" operation="show" />
</h:commandLink>
...
<a4j:form>
<rich:popupPanel id="popup" modal="false" autosized="true" resizeable="false">
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="The title of the panel" />
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="controls">
<h:graphicImage value="/pages/close.png" style="cursor:pointer" onclick="#{rich:component('popup')}.hide()" />
</f:facet>
<p>
This is the content of the panel.
</p>
</rich:popupPanel>
</a4j:form>
The <rich:popupPanel> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
getTop()Return the top co-ordinate for the position of the pop-up panel.
getLeft()Return the left co-ordinate for the position of the pop-up panel.
moveTo(top,left)Move the pop-up panel to the co-ordinates specified with the
topandleftparameters.resize(width,height)Resize the pop-up panel to the size specified with the
widthandheightparameters.show()Show the pop-up panel.
hide()Hide the pop-up panel.
The <rich:tabPanel> component provides a set of tabbed panels for displaying one panel of content at a time. The tabs can be highly customized and themed. Each tab within a <rich:tabPanel> container is a <rich:tab> component. Refer to Section 10.5.6, “<rich:tab>” for further details on the <rich:tab> component.
Form elements required
All <rich:tabPanel> components should be wrapped in a form element so that the contents of the tab are processed correctly during a tab change in either ajax or server mode.
Alternatively, the contents of a <rich:tab> component within the <rich:tabPanel> component could be wrapped in a form element, such that they will be processed using the inner submitting component only. In this case, the <rich:tabPanel> component will automatically add form tags around the tab's contents, and the contents will not be processed during switching.
The activeItem attribute holds the active tab name. This name is a reference to the name identifier of the active child <rich:tab> component.
The switching mode for performing submissions is determined by the switchType attribute, which can have one of the following three values:
serverThe default setting. Activation of a
<rich:tab>component causes the parent<rich:tabPanel>component to perform a common submission, completely re-rendering the page. Only one tab at a time is uploaded to the client side.ajaxActivation of a
<rich:tab>component causes the parent<rich:tabPanel>component to perform an Ajax form submission, and the content of the tab is rendered. Only one tab at a time is uploaded to the client side.clientActivation of a
<rich:tab>component causes the parent<rich:tabPanel>component to update on the client side. JavaScript changes the styles such that one tab becomes hidden while the other is shown.
In addition to the standard Ajax events and HTML events, the <rich:tabPanel> component uses the client-side events common to all switchable panels:
The
itemchangeevent points to the function to perform when the switchable item is changed.The
beforeitemchangeevent points to the function to perform when before the switchable item is changed.
The <rich:tabPanel> component uses the server-side events common to all switchable panels:
The
ItemChangeEventevent occurs on the server side when an item is changed through Ajax using theservermode. It can be processed using theItemChangeListenerattribute.
The <rich:tabPanel> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions, which are common to all switchable panels:
getItems()Return an array of the tabs contained in the tab panel.
getItemsNames()Return an array of the names of the tabs contained in the tab panel.
switchToItem(itemName)Switch to and display the item identified by the
itemNamestring passed as a parameter.
component-type:org.richfaces.tabPanelcomponent-class:org.richfaces.component.html.HtmlTabPanelcomponent-family:org.richfaces.tabPanelrenderer-type:org.richfaces.tabPanelRenderertag-class:org.richfaces.taglib.tabPanelTag
The <rich:tab> component represents an individual tab inside a <rich:tabPanel> component, including the tab's content. Clicking on the tab header will bring its corresponding content to the front of other tabs.
Basic usage of the <rich:tab> component requires the name attribute to uniquely identify the tab within the parent <rich:tabPanel> component. As the tabs are switched, the name identifier of the currently selected tab is stored in the activeItem attribute of the parent <rich:tabPanel> component.
In addition to the name identifier, the header attribute must be defined. The header attribute provides the text on the tab header. The content of the tab is then detailed inside the <rich:tab> tags.
Alternatively, the header facet could be used in place of the header attribute. This would allow for additional styles and custom content to be applied to the tab. The component also supports three facets to customize the appearance depending on the current state of the tab:
headerActiveClassfacetThis facet is used when the tab is the currently active tab.
headerInactiveClassfacetThis facet is used when the tab is not currently active.
headerDisabledClassfacetThis facet is used when the tab is disabled.
The header facet is used in place of any state-based facet that has not been defined.
The switching mode for performing submissions can be inherited from the switchType attribute of the parent <rich:tabPanel> component, or set individually for each <rich:tab> component. Refer to Section 10.5, “<rich:tabPanel>” for details on the switchType attribute.
An individual tab can be disabled by setting disabled="true"
In addition to the standard HTML events, the <rich:tab> component uses the client-side events common to all switchable panel items:
The
enterevent points to the function to perform when the mouse enters the tab.The
leaveattribute points to the function to perform when the mouse leaves the tab.
The <rich:togglePanel> component is a wrapper for multiple <rich:togglePanelItem> components. Each child component is displayed after being activated with the <rich:toggleControl> behavior.
Refer to Section 10.6.5, “<rich:toggleControl>” and Section 10.6, “<rich:togglePanel>” for details on how to use the components together.
The <rich:togglePanel> component is used as a base for the other switchable components, the <rich:accordion> component and the <rich:tabPanel> component. It provides an abstract switchable component without any associated markup. As such, the <rich:togglePanel> component could be customized to provide a switchable component when neither an accordion component or a tab panel component is appropriate.
The initial state of the component can be configured using the activeItem attribute, which points to a child component to display. Alternatively, if no activeItem attribute is defined, the initial state will be blank until the user activates a child component using the <rich:toggleControl> component.
The child components are shown in the order in which they are defined in the view.
The switching mode for performing submissions is determined by the switchType attribute, which can have one of the following three values:
serverThe default setting. Activation of a child component causes the parent
<rich:togglePanel>component to perform a common submission, completely re-rendering the page. Only one child at a time is uploaded to the client side.ajaxActivation of a child component causes the parent
<rich:togglePanel>component to perform an Ajax form submission, and the content of the child is rendered. Only one child at a time is uploaded to the client side.clientActivation of a child component causes the parent
<rich:togglePanel>component to update on the client side. JavaScript changes the styles such that one child component becomes hidden while the other is shown.
The <rich:togglePanel> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions, which are common to all switchable panels:
getItems()Return an array of the items contained in the toggle panel.
getItemsNames()Return an array of the names of the items contained in the toggle panel.
switchToItem(itemName)Switch to and display the item identified by the
itemNamestring passed as a parameter.
component-type:org.richfaces.TogglePanelcomponent-class:org.richfaces.component.html.HtmlTogglePanelcomponent-family:org.richfaces.TogglePanelrenderer-type:org.richfaces.TogglePanelRenderertag-class:org.richfaces.taglib.TogglePanelTag
The <rich:toggleControl> behavior can be attached to any interface component. It works with a <rich:togglePanel> component to switch between different <rich:togglePanelItem> components.
Refer to Section 10.6, “<rich:togglePanel>” and Section 10.6.6, “<rich:togglePanelItem>” for details on how to use the components together.
The <rich:toggleControl> can be used to switch through <rich:togglePanelItem> components in a <rich:togglePanel> container. If the <rich:toggleControl> component is positioned inside a <rich:togglePanel> component, no attributes need to be defined, as the control is assumed to switch through the <rich:togglePanelItem> components of its parent.
A <rich:toggleControl> component can be located outside the <rich:togglePanel> component it needs to switch. Where this is the case, the <rich:togglePanel> is identified using the activePanel attribute. the Cycling through components requires the for attribute, which points to the id identifier of the <rich:togglePanel> that it controls.
The <rich:toggleControl> component will cycle through <rich:togglePanelItem> components in the order they are defined within the view. However, the next item to switch to can be explicitly defined by including a <rich:toggleControl> component within a <rich:togglePanelItem> and using the targetItem attribute. The targetItem attribute points to the <rich:togglePanelItem> to switch to when the state is next changed. Example 10.4, “<rich:toggleControl> example” demonstrates how to specify the next switchable state in this way.
Example 10.4. <rich:toggleControl> example
<rich:togglePanel id="layout" activeItem="short">
<rich:togglePanelItem id="short">
//content
<h:commandButton>
<rich:toggleControl targetItem="details"> // switches to details state
</h:commandButton>
</rich:togglePanelItem>
<rich:togglePanelItem id="details">
//content
<h:commandButton>
<rich:toggleControl targetItem="short"> //switches to short state
</h:commandButton>
<rich:togglePanelItem>
</rich:togglePanel>
<h:commandButton>
<rich:toggleControl activePanel="layout"/> // cycles through the states
</h:commandButton>
The <rich:togglePanelItem> component is a switchable panel for use with the <rich:togglePanel> component. Switching between <rich:togglePanelItem> components is handled by the <rich:toggleControl> behavior.
This chapter covers all components related to the display of tables and grids.
The <a4j:repeat> component is used to iterate changes through a repeated collection of components. It allows specific rows of items to be updated without sending Ajax requests for the entire collection. The <a4j:repeat> component forms the basis for many of the tabular components detailed in Chapter 11, Tables and grids.
The contents of the collection are determined using Expression Language (EL). The data model for the contents is specified with the value attribute. The var attribute names the object to use when iterating through the collection. This object is then referenced in the relevant child components. Example 11.1, “<a4j:repeat> example” shows how to use <a4j:repeat> to maintain a simple table.
Example 11.1. <a4j:repeat> example
<table>
<tbody>
<a4j:repeat value="#{repeatBean.items}" var="item">
<tr>
<td><h:outputText value="#{item.code}" id="item1" /></td>
<td><h:outputText value="#{item.price}" id="item2" /></td>
</tr>
</a4j:repeat>
</tbody>
</table>
Each row of a table contains two cells: one showing the item code, and the other showing the item price. The table is generated by iterating through items in the repeatBeans.items data model.
The <a4j:repeat> component uses other attributes common to iteration components, such as the first attribute for specifying the first item for iteration, and the rows attribute for specifying the number of rows of items to display.
Specific cells, rows, and columns can be updated without sending Ajax requests for the entire collection. Components that cause the change can specify which part of the table to update through the render attribute. The render attribute specifies which part of a table to update:
render=cellIdUpdate the cell with an identifier of
cellIdwithin the row that contains the current component.Instead of a specific identifier, the
cellIdreference could be a variable:render=#{bean.cellToUpdate}render=tableId:rowIdUpdate the row with an identifier of
rowIdwithin the table with an identifier oftableId. Alternatively, if the current component is contained within the table, userender=rowIdInstead of a specific identifier, the
tableIdofrowIdreferences could be variables:render=tableId:#{bean.rowToUpdate}render=tableId:rowId:cellIdUpdate the cell with an identifier of
cellId, within the row with and identifier ofrowId, within the table with an identifier oftableId.Instead of a specific identifier, any of the references could be variables:
render=tableId:#{bean.rowToUpdate}:cellId
Alternatively, keywords can be used with the render attribute:
render=@columnUpdate the column that contains the current component.
render=@rowUpdate the row that contains the current component.
render=tableId:@bodyUpdate the body of the table with the identifier of
tableId. Alternatively, if the current component is contained within the table, userender=@bodyrender=tableId:@headerUpdate the header of the table with the identifier of
tableId. Alternatively, if the current component is contained within the table, userender=@headerrender=tableId:@footerUpdate the footer of the table with the identifier of
tableId. Alternatively, if the current component is contained within the table, userender=@footer
The <rich:dataTable> component is used to render a table, including the table's header and footer. It works in conjunction with the <rich:column> and <rich:columnGroup> components to list the contents of a data model.
<rich:extendedDataTable>
The <rich:dataTable> component does not include extended table features, such as data scrolling, row selection, and column reordering. These features are available as part of the <rich:extendedDataTable> component; refer to Section 11.6, “<rich:extendedDataTable>” for further details.
The value attribute points to the data model, and the var attribute specifies a variable to use when iterating through the data model.
The first attribute specifies which item in the data model to start from, and the rows attribute specifies the number of items to list. The header, footer, and caption facets can be used to display text, and to customize the appearance of the table through skinning. demonstrates a simple table implementation.
Example 11.2. <rich:dataTable> example
<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" rows="5">
<f:facet name="caption">
<h:outputText value="United States Capitals" />
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="Capitals and States Table" />
</f:facet>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">State Flag</f:facet>
<h:graphicImage value="#{cap.stateFlag}"/>
<f:facet name="footer">State Flag</f:facet>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">State Name</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.state}"/>
<f:facet name="footer">State Name</f:facet>
</rich:column>
<rich:column >
<f:facet name="header">State Capital</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.name}"/>
<f:facet name="footer">State Capital</f:facet>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">Time Zone</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.timeZone}"/>
<f:facet name="footer">Time Zone</f:facet>
</rich:column>
<f:facet name="footer">
<h:outputText value="Capitals and States Table" />
</f:facet>
</rich:dataTable>
For details on filtering and sorting data tables, refer to Section 11.10, “Table filtering” and Section 11.11, “Table sorting”.
As <rich:dataTable> the component is based on the <a4j:repeat> component, it can be partially updated with Ajax. Refer to Section 11.1.2, “Limited views and partial updates” for details on partially updating the <rich:dataTable> component.
The <rich:dataTable> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
expandAllSubTables()Expand any sub-tables contained in the data table.
collapseAllSubTables()Collapse any sub-tables contained in the data table.
switchSubTables()Switch the expanded or collapsed state of any sub-tables contained in the data table.
filter(columnId, newFilterValue, [isClearPreviousFilters])Filter the table based on the column specified with the
columnIdparameter. Use thenewFilterValueparameter as the filter value. The optionalisClearPreviousFiltersparameter is a boolean value which, if set totrue, will clear any previous filters applied to the table.sort(columnId, [direction], [isClearPreviousSorting])Sort the table based on the column specified with the
columnIdparameter. The optiondirectionparameter specifies whether to sort in ascending or descending order. The optionalisClearPreviousSortingparameter is a boolean value which, if set totrue, will clear any previous sorting applied to the table.
The <rich:column> component facilitates columns in a table. It supports merging columns and rows, sorting, filtering, and customized skinning.
In general usage, the <rich:column> component is used in the same was as the JavaServer Faces (JSF) <h:column> component. It requires no extra attributes for basic usage, as shown in Example 11.3, “Basic column example”.
Example 11.3. Basic column example
<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" rows="5">
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">State Flag</f:facet>
<h:graphicImage value="#{cap.stateFlag}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">State Name</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.state}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column >
<f:facet name="header">State Capital</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.name}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">Time Zone</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.timeZone}"/>
</rich:column>
</rich:dataTable>
Columns can be merged by using the colspan attribute to specify how many normal columns to span. The colspan attribute is used in conjunction with the breakBefore attribute on the next column to determine how the merged columns are laid out. Example 11.4, “Column spanning example”.
Example 11.4. Column spanning example
<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" rows="5">
<rich:column colspan="3">
<h:graphicImage value="#{cap.stateFlag}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column breakBefore="true">
<h:outputText value="#{cap.state}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column >
<h:outputText value="#{cap.name}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.timeZone}"/>
</rich:column>
</rich:dataTable>
Similarly, the rowspan attribute can be used to merge and span rows. Again the breakBefore attribute needs to be used on related <rich:column> components to define the layout. Example 11.5, “Row spanning example” and the resulting Figure 11.5, “Complex headers using column groups” show the first column of the table spanning three rows.
Example 11.5. Row spanning example
<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" rows="5">
<rich:column rowspan="3">
<f:facet name="header">State Flag</f:facet>
<h:graphicImage value="#{cap.stateFlag}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">State Info</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.state}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column breakBefore="true">
<h:outputText value="#{cap.name}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column breakBefore="true">
<h:outputText value="#{cap.timeZone}"/>
</rich:column>
</rich:dataTable>
For details on filtering and sorting columns, refer to Section 11.10, “Table filtering” and Section 11.11, “Table sorting”.
The <rich:columnGroup> component combines multiple columns in a single row to organize complex parts of a table. The resulting effect is similar to using the breakBefore attribute of the <rich:column> component, but is clearer and easier to follow in the source code.
The <rich:columnGroup> can also be used to create complex headers in a table. Example 11.6, “Complex headers using column groups” and the resulting Figure 11.5, “Complex headers using column groups” demonstrate how complex headers can be achieved.
Example 11.6. Complex headers using column groups
<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" rows="5" id="sublist">
<f:facet name="header">
<rich:columnGroup>
<rich:column rowspan="2">
<h:outputText value="State Flag"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column colspan="3">
<h:outputText value="State Info"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column breakBefore="true">
<h:outputText value="State Name"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="State Capital"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="Time Zone"/>
</rich:column>
</rich:columnGroup>
</f:facet>
<rich:column>
<h:graphicImage value="#{cap.stateFlag}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.state}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.name}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.timeZone}"/>
</rich:column>
</rich:dataTable>
The <rich:collapsibleSubTable> component acts as a child element to a <rich:dataTable> component. It allows sections of a table to be grouped into collapsible sections. The <rich:collapsibleSubTable> component works with the <rich:collapsibleSubTableToggler> component, which allows the user to expand and collapse the sub tables.
The <rich:collapsibleSubTable> component requires the same basic attributes as the <rich:dataTable> component. The value attribute points to the collection, and the var attribute specifies a variable to use when iterating through the collection.
In addition, the <rich:collapsibleSubTable> component typically needs a corresponding <rich:collapsibleSubTableToggler> component to allow expanding and collapsing. Declare the id identifier on the <rich:collapsibleSubTable> element so that the <rich:collapsibleSubTableToggler> component can reference it. Refer to Section 11.5.4, “<rich:collapsibleSubTableToggler>” for details on the <rich:collapsibleSubTableToggler> component.
Example 11.7. Basic usage
<rich:dataTable value="#{carsBean.inventoryVendorLists}" var="list">
<f:facet name="header">
<rich:columnGroup>
<rich:column colspan="6">
<h:outputText value="Cars marketplace" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column breakRowBefore="true">
<h:outputText value="Model" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="Price" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="Mileage" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="VIN Code" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="Items stock" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="Days Live" />
</rich:column>
</rich:columnGroup>
</f:facet>
<rich:column colspan="6">
<rich:collapsibleSubTableToggler for="sbtbl" />
<h:outputText value="#{list.vendor}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:collapsibleSubTable value="#{list.vendorItems}" var="item" id="sbtbl"
expandMode="client">
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="#{item.model}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="#{item.price}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="#{item.mileage}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="#{item.vin}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="#{item.stock}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="#{item.daysLive}" />
</rich:column>
<f:facet name="footer">
<h:outputText value="Total of #{list.vendor} Cars: #{list.count}" />
</f:facet>
</rich:collapsibleSubTable>
</rich:dataTable>
The resulting tables contains multiple sub-tables, grouping the list of cars by vendor. Each sub-table can be expanded or collapsed using the toggle with the vendor's name. The screenshot shows all sub-tables collapsed except for the sub-table for Ford cars.
[D]
Use the boolean expanded attribute to control the current state of the sub-table.
The switching mode for performing submissions is determined by the expandMode attribute, which can have one of the following three values:
serverThe default setting. Expansion of the
<rich:collapsibleSubTable>component performs a common submission, completely re-rendering the page.ajaxExpansion of the
<rich:collapsibleSubTable>component performs an Ajax form submission, and the content of the data table is rendered.clientExpansion of the
<rich:collapsibleSubTable>component updates the data table on the client side.
component-type:org.richfaces.CollapsibleSubTablecomponent-class:org.richfaces.component.html.HtmlCollapsibleSubTablecomponent-family:org.richfaces.CollapsibleSubTablerenderer-type:org.richfaces.CollapsibleSubTabletag-class:org.richfaces.taglib.CollapsibleSubTableTag
The <rich:collapsibleSubTableToggler> component provides a toggle control for the user to expand and collapse sub-tables.
The <rich:collapsibleSubTableToggler> component requires the for attribute. The for attribute references the id identifier of the <rich:collapsibleSubTable> component to control.
Refer to Example 11.7, “Basic usage” for an example using the <rich:collapsibleSubTable> component. In the example, the toggle control is placed in a column that spans the width of the table. Output text next to the toggle control displays the car vendor's name for that sub-table.
component-type:org.richfaces.CollapsibleSubTableTogglercomponent-class:org.richfaces.component.html.HtmlCollapsibleSubTableTogglercomponent-family:org.richfaces.CollapsibleSubTableTogglerrenderer-type:org.richfaces.CollapsibleSubTableTogglertag-class:org.richfaces.taglib.CollapsibleSubTableTogglerTag
The <rich:extendedDataTable> component builds on the functionality of the <rich:dataTable> component, adding features such as data scrolling, row and column selection, and rearranging of columns.
The <rich:extendedDataTable> component includes the following main attributes not included in the <rich:dataTable> component:
clientRowsfrozenColumnsheightonselectionchangeselectedClassselectionselectionMode
The <rich:extendedDataTable> component does not include the following attributes available with the <rich:dataTable> component:
breakBeforecolumnGroupcolSpanrowSpan
Complex sub-tables
Due to the complex mark-up involved in the <rich:extendedDataTable> component, it does not support the use of the <rich:collapsibleSubTable> component. The <rich:collapsibleSubTable> component is only available with the <rich:dataTable> component.
Similarly, complex row and column spanning using the breakBefore, columnGroup, colSpan, and rowSpan attributes is also not available with the <rich:extendedDataTable> component.
Basic use of the <rich:extendedDataTable> component requires the value and var attributes, the same as with the <rich:dataTable> component. Refer to Section 11.2, “<rich:dataTable>” for details.
The height attribute defines the height of the table on the page. This is set to 100% by default. The width of the table can be set by using the width attribute. As with the <rich:dataTable> component, the look of the <rich:extendedDataTable> component can be customized and skinned using the header and footer facets.
Example 11.8. <rich:extendedDataTable> example
This example <rich:extendedDataTable> component demonstrates horizontal and vertical scrolling and frozen columns. Each feature is detailed in this section.
<rich:extendedDataTable value="#{carsBean.allInventoryItems}"
var="car" id="table" frozenColumns="2"
style="height:300px; width:500px;" selectionMode="none">
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="Cars marketplace" />
</f:facet>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="vendor" />
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{car.vendor}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="Model" />
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{car.model}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="Price" />
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{car.price}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="Mileage" />
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{car.mileage}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="VIN Code" />
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{car.vin}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="Items stock" />
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{car.stock}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="Days Live" />
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{car.daysLive}" />
</rich:column>
</rich:extendedDataTable>
[D]
The example table shown in Example 11.8, “<rich:extendedDataTable> example” features both horizontal and vertical scrolling. Scrolling occurs automatically when the contents of the table exceed the dimensions specified with the height and width attributes. Headers and footers remain in place and visible when the table is scrolled.
Large tables can use Ajax "lazy" loading to cache data on the client during scrolling. Use the clientRows attribute to specify the number of rows to load. The specified number of rows are loaded on the initial rendering and with every vertical scroll. If the clientRows attribute is not specified, all the rows are loaded on the client without the use of Ajax.
In addition to Ajax scrolling, the <rich:extendedDataTable> component can also be used with the <rich:dataScroller> component in the same way as a regular <rich:dataTable> component. Refer to Section 11.9, “<rich:dataScroller>” for full details on using the <rich:dataScroller> component.
The example table shown in Example 11.8, “<rich:extendedDataTable> example” has the first two columns frozen so that they remain visible if the user scrolls horizontally through the table. Note that the horizontal scrollbar does not encompass these frozen columns. To freeze columns, use the frozenColumns attribute to specify the number of columns on the left-hand side of the table to freeze.
Row selection is determined by the selectionMode attribute. Setting the attribute to none allows for no row selection capability. The example table shown in Example 11.8, “<rich:extendedDataTable> example” does not allow row selection.
Setting the selectionMode attribute to single allows the user to select a single row at a time using the mouse. With the selectionMode attribute set to multi, the user can select multiple rows. Holding down the Ctrl key while clicking selects additional rows with each click. Holding down the Shift key while clicking selects all the rows in a range.
The selection attribute points to a collection of objects. It holds the rowKey identifiers to track which rows are selected. Example 11.9, “Selecting multiple rows” shows how to implement multiple row selection in the same table from Example 11.8, “<rich:extendedDataTable> example”.
Example 11.9. Selecting multiple rows
<rich:extendedDataTable value="#{extTableSelectionBean.inventoryItems}"
var="car" selection="#{extTableSelectionBean.selection}"
id="table" frozenColumns="2"
style="height:300px; width:500px;" selectionMode="multi">
...
The accompanying ExtSelectionBean bean handles which rows are selected. The rows are identified by their rowKey identifiers.
package org.richfaces.demo.tables;
import java.io.Serializable;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.List;
import javax.faces.bean.ManagedBean;
import javax.faces.bean.ManagedProperty;
import javax.faces.bean.SessionScoped;
import javax.faces.event.AjaxBehaviorEvent;
import org.richfaces.component.UIExtendedDataTable;
import org.richfaces.demo.tables.model.cars.InventoryItem;
@ManagedBean
@SessionScoped
public class ExtTableSelectionBean implements Serializable{
private Collection<Object> selection;
@ManagedProperty(value = "#{carsBean.allInventoryItems}")
private List<InventoryItem> inventoryItems;
private List<InventoryItem> selectionItems = new ArrayList<InventoryItem>();
public void selectionListener(AjaxBehaviorEvent event){
UIExtendedDataTable dataTable = (UIExtendedDataTable)event.getComponent();
Object originalKey = dataTable.getRowKey();
selectionItems.clear();
for (Object selectionKey: selection) {
dataTable.setRowKey(selectionKey);
if (dataTable.isRowAvailable()){
selectionItems.add((InventoryItem)dataTable.getRowData());
}
}
dataTable.setRowKey(originalKey);
}
public Collection<Object> getSelection() {
return selection;
}
public void setSelection(Collection<Object> selection) {
this.selection = selection;
}
public List<InventoryItem> getInventoryItems() {
return inventoryItems;
}
public void setInventoryItems(List<InventoryItem> inventoryItems) {
this.inventoryItems = inventoryItems;
}
public List<InventoryItem> getSelectionItems() {
return selectionItems;
}
public void setSelectionItems(List<InventoryItem> selectionItems) {
this.selectionItems = selectionItems;
}
}
[D]
Columns in a <rich:extendedDataTable> component can be rearranged by the user by dragging each column to a different position. A graphical representation of the column is displayed during dragging. Figure 11.6, “Dragging columns” illustrates the Price column being dragged to a new location. The small blue arrow indicates where the column will be moved to if it is dropped in the current position. Figure 11.7, “Rearranged columns” shows the result of dragging the Price column.
The <rich:extendedDataTable> component can include filtering and sorting in the same way as a regular <rich:dataTable> component. For full details on filtering tables, refer to Section 11.10, “Table filtering”. For full details on sorting tables, refer to Section 11.11, “Table sorting”.
The <rich:extendedDataTable> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
sort()Sort the data table.
filter()Filter the data table.
clearSorting()Clear any sorting that is currently applied to the table.
clearFiltering()Clear any filtering that is currently applied to the table.
selectRow(index)Select the row specified by the
indexparameter.selectRows([startIndex, stopIndex])Select all the rows in the table. Optionally, select only those rows between the indexes specified with the
startIndexandstopIndexparameters.deselectRowDeselect the row that is currently selected.
setActiveRow(index)Set the active row to that specified by the
indexparameter.
The <rich:dataGrid> component is used to arrange data objects in a grid. Values in the grid can be updated dynamically from the data model, and Ajax updates can be limited to specific rows. The component supports header, footer, and caption facets.
The <rich:dataGrid> component is similar in function to the JavaServer Faces <h:panelGrid> component. However, the <rich:dataGrid> component additionally allows iteration through the data model rather than just aligning child components in a grid layout.
The <rich:dataGrid> component requires the value attribute, which points to the data model, and the var attribute, which holds the current variable for the collection of data.
The number of columns for the grid is specifed with the columns attribute, and the number of elements to layout among the columns is determined with the elements attribute. The first attribute references the zero-based element in the data model from which the grid starts.
Example 11.10. <rich:dataGrid> example
<rich:panel style="width:150px;height:200px;">
<h:form>
<rich:dataGrid value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.allCars}" var="car" columns="2" elements="4" first="1">
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="Car Store"></h:outputText>
</f:facet>
<rich:panel>
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="#{car.make} #{car.model}"></h:outputText>
</f:facet>
<h:panelGrid columns="2">
<h:outputText value="Price:" styleClass="label"></h:outputText>
<h:outputText value="#{car.price}"/>
<h:outputText value="Mileage:" styleClass="label"></h:outputText>
<h:outputText value="#{car.mileage}"/>
</h:panelGrid>
</rich:panel>
<f:facet name="footer">
<rich:datascroller></rich:datascroller>
</f:facet>
</rich:dataGrid>
</h:form>
</rich:panel>
As <rich:dataGrid> the component is based on the <a4j:repeat> component, it can be partially updated with Ajax. Refer to Section 11.1.2, “Limited views and partial updates” for details on partially updating the <rich:dataGrid> component.
The <rich:list> component renders a list of items. The list can be an numerically ordered list, an un-ordered bullet-point list, or a data definition list. The component uses a data model for managing the list items, which can be updated dynamically.
The var attribute names a variable for iterating through the items in the data model. The items to iterate through are determined with the value attribute by using EL (Expression Language).
By default, the list is displayed as an un-ordered bullet-point list. The type attribute is used to specify different list types:
unorderedThe default presentation. The list is presented as a series of bullet-points, similar to the
<ul>HTML element.orderedThe list is presented as a numbered series of items, similar to the
<ol>HTML element.definitionsThe list is presented as a series of data definitions. Part of the data model, specified as the term, is listed prominently. The other associated data is listed after each term.
The term is marked using the
termfacet. The facet is required for all definition lists. Use of the facet is shown in Example 11.11, “Data definition list”.Example 11.11. Data definition list
<h:form>
<rich:list var="car" value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.allCars}" type="definitions" rows="5" title="Cars">
<f:facet name="term">
<h:outputText value="#{car.make} #{car.model}"></h:outputText>
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="Price:" styleClass="label"></h:outputText>
<h:outputText value="#{car.price}" /><br/>
<h:outputText value="Mileage:" styleClass="label"></h:outputText>
<h:outputText value="#{car.mileage}" /><br/>
</rich:list>
</h:form>
The appearance of bullet points for unordered lists or numeration for ordered lists can be customized through CSS, using the list-style-type property.
The first attribute specifies which item in the data model to start from, and the rows attribute specifies the number of items to list. The title attribute is used for a floating tool-tip. Example 11.12, “<rich:list> example” shows a simple example using the <rich:list> component.
Example 11.12. <rich:list> example
<h:form>
<rich:list var="car" value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.allCars}" rows="5" type="unordered" title="Car Store">
<h:outputText value="#{car.make} #{car.model}"/><br/>
<h:outputText value="Price:" styleClass="label"></h:outputText>
<h:outputText value="#{car.price} "/><br/>
<h:outputText value="Mileage:" styleClass="label"></h:outputText>
<h:outputText value="#{car.mileage} "/><br/>
</rich:list>
</h:form>
The <rich:dataScroller> component is used for navigating through multiple pages of tables or grids.
The <rich:dataScroller> must be placed in the footer facet of the table or grid it needs to control. Alternatively, use the for attribute to bind the parent table or grid to the scroller.
The bound table or grid should also have the rows attribute defined to limit the number of rows per page.
The <rich:dataScroller> component must be re-rendered whenever a filter changes on the bound table, so that the scroller matches the current model for the table.
Example 11.13. Basic usage
<rich:dataTable id="table" value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" rows="5">
<!-- table content -->
...
</rich:dataTable>
<rich:datascroller for="table" maxPages="5">
<f:facet name="first">
<h:outputText value="First" />
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="last">
<h:outputText value="Last" />
</f:facet>
</rich:datascroller>
The page attribute is a value-binding attribute used to define and save the current page number.
The <rich:dataScroller> component provides a range of controllers for scrolling through tables and grids:
- Controls for scrolling by a specific amount
The component includes controls for switching to the first page, the last page, the next page, and the previous page, as well as controls for fast-forwarding or rewinding by a set amount. Use the
fastStepattribute to set the number of pages to skip when fast-forwarding or rewinding.The appearance of these controls can be customized using the following facets:
first,last,next,previous,fastforward, andrewind. Additionally, there are facets for the controls' disabled states:first_disabled,last_disabled,next_disabled,previous_disabled,fastforward_disabled, andrewind_disabled.- Page controls
The component also features a series of numbered controls to jump to a specific page. Use the
maxPagesattribute to limit the number of page controls that appear. The current page control is highlighted.
The pageIndexVar and pagesVar attributes are request-scope variables for the current page and the total number of pages. Use these attributes with the pages facet to provide information about the pages of the table, as shown in Example 11.14, “pages facet”.
Example 11.14. pages facet
<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" rows="5">
<!-- table content -->
...
<f:facet name="footer">
<rich:datascroller pageIndexVar="pageIndex" pagesVar="pages">
<f:facet name="pages">
<h:outputText value="#{pageIndex} / #{pages}" />
</f:facet>
</rich:datascroller>
</f:facet>
</rich:dataTable>
To add optional separators between controls, define the separators with the controlsSeparator facet.
The <rich:dataScroller> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
switchToPage(pageIndex)Switch to the page specified with the
pageIndexparameter.next()Switch to the next page.
previous()Switch to the previous page.
first()Switch to the first page.
last()Switch to the last page.
fastForward()Step forward through the pages by the
fastStepamount.fastRewind()Step backward through the pages by the
fastStepamount.
Documentation in development
This section is currently under development. Any features it describes may not be available in the current release of RichFaces.
Tables entries can be filtered by the user through either the basic method built in to the <rich:column> component, or by defining external filters. Refer to Section 11.3, “<rich:column>” for details on using the <rich:column> component in tables.
The built-in filtering abilities of the <rich:column> component allow the user to enter text as a filtering value. The table displays only those entries that begin with the filter value.
Set the filterValue attribute to point to the value used to filter the column. This can be either an initial filtering value on the page, or a value binding on the server. The filterValue value is then used with the JavaScript startsWith() method to filter the column entries based on the data specified with the filterBy attribute. Expressions in the filterBy attribute must refer to the variable declared in the table's var attribute, which is used to fill the contents of the table.
The filter is processed and the table is rendered when the onblur event occurs for the column. This can be changed by defining a different event with the filterEvent attribute. For example, to implement live updating such that the filter refreshes after every keystroke, set filterEvent="keyup".
Example 11.15. Basic filtering
<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap">
<f:facet name="header">
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="State Name">
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="State Capital">
</rich:column>
</f:facet>
<rich:column filterValue="#{capitalsBean.currentStateFilterValue}"
filterBy="#{cap.state}" filterEvent="keyup">
<h:outputText value="#{cap.state}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column filterValue="#{capitalsBean.currentNameFilterValue}"
filterBy="#{cap.name}" filterEvent="keyup">
<h:outputText value="#{cap.name}"/>
</rich:column>
</rich:dataTable>
The example uses the basic filtering method on both columns in the table.
[D]
If you require more advanced filtering using custom functions or expressions, use the external filtering properties of the <rich:column> component.
Use the filterExpression attribute to define an expression that can be evaluated as a boolean value. The expression checks if each table entry satisfies the filtering condition when the table is rendered.
Use the filterMethod attribute to define a method binding. The method needs to accept an object as a parameter and return a boolean value. Similar to the filterExpression attribute, the table is rendered only with those entries that satisfy the filtering condition. By defining a custom filtering method, you can implement complex business logic to filter a table.
Example 11.16. External filtering
<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" id="table">
<f:facet name="header">
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="State Name">
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
<h:outputText value="State Time Zone">
</rich:column>
</f:facet>
<rich:column filterMethod="#{filteringBean.filterStates}">
<f:facet name="header">
<h:inputText value="#{filteringBean.filterValue}" id="input">
<a4j:ajax event="keyup" render="table"
ignoreDupResponses="true" requestDelay="700"/>
</h:inputText>
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.state}"/>
</rich:column>
<rich:column filterExpression=
"#{fn:containsIgnoreCase(cap.timeZone, filteringBean.filterZone)}">
<f:facet name="header">
<h:selectOneMenu value="#{filteringBean.filterZone}">
<f:selectItems value="#{filteringBean.filterZones}" />
<a4j:ajax event="change" render="table" />
</h:selectOneMenu>
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{cap.timeZone}"/>
</rich:column>
</rich:dataTable>
The example uses a filter expression on the first column and a filter method on the second column.
[D]
Documentation in development
This section is currently under development. Any features it describes may not be available in the current release of RichFaces.
Tables entries can be sorted by defining external sorting algorithms. Refer to Section 11.3, “<rich:column>” for details on using the <rich:column> component in tables.
Sorting non-English tables
To sort a table whose contents are not in English, add the org.richfaces.datatableUsesViewLocale context parameter to the project's web.xml settings file. Set the value of the context parameter to true.
Bind the sortOrder attribute to bean properties to manage the sorting order externally. The bean must handle all the sorting algorithms. Example 11.17, “External sorting” demonstrates table sorting using an external control.
Example 11.17. External sorting
<rich:dataTable value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.allCars}"
var="category" rows="20" id="table" reRender="ds2"
sortPriority="#{sortingBean.prioritList}">
<rich:column id="make" sortBy="#{category.make}"
sortOrder="#{sortingBean.makeDirection}">
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText styleClass="headerText" value="Make" />
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{category.make}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column id="model" sortBy="#{category.model}"
sortOrder="#{sortingBean.modelDirection}">
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText styleClass="headerText" value="Model" />
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{category.model}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column id="price" sortBy="#{category.price}"
sortOrder="#{sortingBean.priceDirection}">
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText styleClass="headerText" value="Price" />
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{category.price}" />
</rich:column>
<rich:column id="mileage" sortBy="#{category.mileage}"
sortOrder="#{sortingBean.mileageDirection}">
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText styleClass="headerText" value="Mileage" />
</f:facet>
<h:outputText value="#{category.mileage}" />
</rich:column>
</rich:dataTable>
The example uses an external control to manage the table's sorting.
[D]
When using the sortMode="multiple" configuration, set the priority by which columns are sorted with the sortPriorities attribute.
Use the sortExpression attribute to define a bean property to use for sorting the column. The expression checks each table entry against the sorting expression during rendering.
Read this chapter for details on components that use tree structures.
The <rich:tree> component provides a hierarchical tree control. Each <rich:tree> component typically consists of <rich:treeNode> child components. The appearance and behavior of the tree and its nodes can be fully customized.
The <rich:tree> component requires the value attribute to point to the data model for populating the tree. The data model must be either an org.richfaces.model.TreeNode interface, an org.richfaces.model.TreeDataModel interface, or a javax.swing.tree.TreeNode interface. The var attribute declares the variable used for iterating through the data model, so that child <rich:treeNode> components can reference each iteration.
Ideally, the <rich:tree> component needs one or more <rich:treeNode> components to work with the data model. However if no <rich:treeNode> components are provided the tree creates default nodes instead.
Example 12.1. Basic usage
This example demonstrates basic usage of the <rich:tree> component using an org.richfaces.model.TreeNode data model.
The data model is constructed as follows:
private TreeNodeImpl<String> stationRoot = new TreeNodeImpl<String>();
private TreeNodeImpl<String> stationNodes = new TreeNodeImpl<String>();
private String[] kickRadioFeed = { "Hall & Oates - Kiss On My List",
"David Bowie - Let's Dance",
"Lyn Collins - Think (About It)",
"Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes",
"KC & the Sunshine Band - Give It Up" };
stationRoot.setData("KickRadio");
stationNodes.addChild(0, stationRoot);
for (int i = 0; i < kickRadioFeed.length; i++){
TreeNodeImpl<String> child = new TreeNodeImpl<String>();
child.setData(kickRadioFeed[i]);
stationRoot.addChild(i, child);
}
The tree then accesses the nodes of the model using the station variable:
<rich:tree value="#{stations.stationNodes}" var="station">
<rich:treeNode>
<h:outputText value="#{station}" />
</rich:treeNode>
</rich:tree>
Different nodes in the tree can have different appearances, such as node icons, depending on the type of data the node contains. Use the nodeType attribute to differentiate the types of nodes; the node is then rendered according to the <rich:treeNode> component with the corresponding type attribute. Example 12.2, “nodeType attribute” shows a <rich:tree> component with three different child <rich:treeNode> components defined to represent three different node appearances. Refer to Section 12.1.8.2, “Appearance” for details on customizing the appearance of <rich:treeNode> components.
Example 12.2. nodeType attribute
<rich:tree style="width:300px" value="#{library.data}" var="item" nodeType="#{item.type}">
<rich:treeNode type="artist" iconExpanded="/images/tree/singer.png" iconCollapsed="/images/tree/singer.png">
<h:outputText value="#{item.name}" />
</rich:treeNode>
<rich:treeNode type="album" iconExpanded="/images/tree/disc.png" iconCollapsed="/images/tree/disc.png">
<h:outputText value="#{item.album}" />
</rich:treeNode>
<rich:treeNode type="song" iconLeaf="/images/tree/song.png">
<h:outputText value="#{item.title}" />
</rich:treeNode>
</rich:tree>
If the nodeType attribute returns null, the node is rendered as a "typeless" (or default) node. The typeless node is the first child <rich:treeNode> component with a valid rendered attribute, but without a defined type attribute.
If the nodeType attribute is not included and there are no child <rich:treeNode> components, the tree constructs a default node itself.
Icons for different nodes and node states can be defined for the whole tree using the following attributes:
iconLeafThe
iconLeafattribute points to the icon to use for any node that does not contain any child nodes.iconExpandedandiconCollapsedThe
iconExpandedandiconCollapsedattributes point to the icons to use for expanded and collapsed nodes respectively. If these attributes are defined, theiconattribute is not used.
The mode for performing submissions when nodes are expanded or collapsed is determined by the toggleType attribute, which can have one of the following three values:
ajaxThis is the default setting. The
<rich:tree>component performs an Ajax form submission, and only the content of the tree is rendered.serverThe
<rich:tree>component performs a common submission, completely re-rendering the page.clientThe
<rich:tree>component updates on the client side, re-rendering itself and any additional components listed with therenderattribute.
By default, the event to expand or collapse a tree node is a mouse click. To specify a different event, use the toggleNodeEvent attribute.
The mode for performing submissions when nodes are selected is determined by the selectionType attribute, which can have one of the following three values:
ajaxThis is the default setting. The
<rich:tree>component performs an Ajax form submission, and only the content of the tree is rendered.serverThe
<rich:tree>component performs a common submission, completely re-rendering the page.clientThe
<rich:tree>component updates on the client side, re-rendering itself and any additional components listed with therenderattribute.
If the <rich:tree> component uses a custom data model, the data model provides unique keys for tree nodes so they can be identified during a client request. The <rich:tree> component can use strings as key values. These strings may contain special characters that are not allowed by browsers, such as the left angle bracket (<) and ampersand (&). To allow these characters in the keys, a row key converter must be provided.
To apply a converter to the <rich:tree> component, define it with the rowKeyConverter attribute.
In addition to the standard Ajax events and HMTL events, the <rich:tree> component uses the following client-side events:
The
nodetoggleevent is triggered when a node is expanded or collapsed.The
beforenodetoggleevent is triggered before a node is expanded or collapsed.The
selectionchangeevent is triggered when a node is selected.The
beforeselectionchangeevent is triggered before a node is selected.
The <rich:tree> component uses the following server-side listeners:
The
toggleListenerlistener processes expand and collapse events.The
selectionChangeListenerlistener processes the request when a node is selected.
component-type:org.richfaces.treecomponent-class:org.richfaces.component.html.Htmltreecomponent-family:org.richfaces.treerenderer-type:org.richfaces.treeRenderertag-class:org.richfaces.taglib.treeTag
The <rich:treeNode> component is a child component of the <rich:tree> component. It represents nodes in the parent tree. The appearance and functionality of each tree node can be customized.
The <rich:treeNode> component must be a child of a <rich:tree> component. It does not need any attributes declared for basic usage, but can provide markup templates for tree nodes of particular types. Refer to Example 12.1, “Basic usage” for an example of basic <rich:treeNode> component usage.
Refer to Section 12.1.2, “Appearance” for the <rich:tree> component for details and examples on styling nodes and icons. Icon styling for individual <rich:treeNode> components uses the same attributes as the parent <rich:tree> component: iconLeaf, iconExpanded, and iconCollapsed. Icon-related attributes specified for child <rich:treeNode> components overwrite any global icon attributes of the parent <rich:tree> component.
Use the rendered attribute to determine whether the node should actually be rendered in the tree or not. Using the rendered attribute in combination with the <rich:treeNode> type attribute can allow further style differentiation between node content, as shown in Example 12.3, “rendered attribute”.
Example 12.3. rendered attribute
The rendered attribute is used to differentiate between music albums that are in stock and those that are not. The item type attributes return values that are otherwise identical; only the item.exist property differs, so it is used for the rendered attribute.
<rich:tree style="width:300px" value="#{library.data}"
var="item" nodeFace="#{item.type}">
...
<rich:treeNode type="album" iconLeaf="/images/tree/album.gif"
rendered="#{item.exist}">
<h:outputText value="#{item.name}" />
</rich:treeNode>
<rich:treeNode type="album" iconLeaf="/images/tree/album_absent.gif"
rendered="#{not item.exist}">
<h:outputText value="#{item.name}" />
</rich:treeNode>
...
</rich:tree>
Interactivity with individual nodes, such as expanding, collapsing, and other event handling, can be managed by the parent <rich:tree> component. Refer to Section 12.1.3, “Expanding and collapsing tree nodes” and Section 12.1.6, “Event handling” for further details.
Use the expanded attribute to determine whether the node is expanded or collapsed.
Use a tree adaptor to populate a tree model declaratively from a non-hierarchical model, such as a list or a map.
The <rich:treeModelAdaptor> component takes an object which implements the Map or Iterable interfaces. It adds all the object entries to the parent node as child nodes.
The <rich:treeModelAdaptor> component is added as a nested child component to a <rich:tree> component, or to another tree adaptor component.
The <rich:treeModelAdaptor> component requires the nodes attribute for basic usage. The nodes attribute defines a collection of elements to iterate through for populating the nodes.
Define the appearance of each node added by the adaptor with a child <rich:treeNode> component. Refer to Section 12.1.8, “<rich:treeNode>” for details on the <rich:treeNode> component.
<rich:treeModelAdaptor> components can further be nested in other <rich:treeModelAdaptor> components to subsequently populate lower levels of the tree.
To access the current element at each iteration, use the var attribute of either the parent <rich:tree> component or the <rich:treeModelAdaptor> component itself. Example 12.4, “Nested <rich:treeModelAdaptor> components” demonstrates a series of nested <rich:treeModelAdaptor> components, each using the parent's var attribute to reference the current element.
Example 12.4. Nested <rich:treeModelAdaptor> components
<rich:tree>
<rich:treeNodesAdaptor id="project" nodes="#{loaderBean.projects}" var="project">
<rich:treeNode>
<h:commandLink action="#{project.click}" value="Project: #{project.name}" />
</rich:treeNode>
<rich:treeNodesAdaptor id="srcDir" var="srcDir" nodes="#{project.srcDirs}">
<rich:treeNode>
<h:commandLink action="#{srcDir.click}" value="Source directory: #{srcDir.name}" />
</rich:treeNode>
<rich:treeNodesAdaptor id="pkg" var="pkg" nodes="#{srcDir.packages}">
<rich:treeNode>
<h:commandLink action="#{pkg.click}" value="Package: #{pkg.name}" />
</rich:treeNode>
<rich:treeNodesAdaptor id="class" var="class" nodes="#{pkg.classes}">
<rich:treeNode>
<h:commandLink action="#{class.click}" value="Class: #{class.name}" />
</rich:treeNode>
</rich:treeNodesAdaptor>
</rich:treeNodesAdaptor>
</rich:treeNodesAdaptor>
</rich:treeNodesAdaptor>
</rich:tree>
Each <rich:treeModelAdaptor> component is mapped to a list of objects. During the iteration, the corresponding object properties are used to define the node labels and actions, and are in turn used for iterating through nested lists.
Adaptors that use Map interfaces or models with non-string keys require a row key converter in order to correctly identify nodes. Refer to Section 12.1.5, “Identifying nodes with the rowKeyConverter attribute” for details on the use of the rowKeyConverter attribute.
Adaptors that use Iterable interfaces have simple integer row keys. A default converter is provided and does not need to be referenced explicitly.
The <rich:treeModelRecursiveAdaptor> component iterates through recursive collections in order to populate a tree with hierarchical nodes, such as for a file system with multiple levels of directories and files.
The <rich:treeModelRecursiveAdaptor> component is an extension of the <rich:treeModelAdaptor> component. As such, the <rich:treeModelRecursiveAdaptor> component uses all of the same attributes. Refer to Section 12.2.1, “<rich:treeModelAdaptor>” for details on the <rich:treeModelAdaptor> component.
In addition, the <rich:treeModelRecursiveAdaptor> component requires the root attribute. The root attribute defines the collection to use at the top of the recursion. For subsequent levels, the node attribute is used for the collection.
Example 12.5, “Basic usage” demonstrates how the <rich:treeModelRecursiveAdaptor> component can be used in conjunction with the <rich:treeModelAdaptor> component to recursively iterate through a file system and create a tree of directories and files.
Example 12.5. Basic usage
<rich:tree var="item">
<rich:treeModelRecursiveAdaptor roots="#{fileSystemBean.sourceRoots}" nodes="#{item.directories}" >
<rich:treeNode>
#{item.shortPath}
</rich:treeNode>
<rich:treeModelAdaptor nodes="#{item.files}">
<rich:treeNode>#{item}</rich:treeNode>
</rich:treeModelAdaptor>
</rich:treeModelRecursiveAdaptor>
</rich:tree>
The <rich:treeModelRecursiveAdaptor> component references the FileSystemBean class as the source for the data.
@ManagedBean
@RequestScoped
public class FileSystemBean {
private static final String SRC_PATH = "/WEB-INF";
private List<FileSystemNode> srcRoots;
public synchronized List<FileSystemNode> getSourceRoots() {
if (srcRoots == null) {
srcRoots = new FileSystemNode(SRC_PATH).getDirectories();
}
return srcRoots;
}
}
The FileSystemBean class in turn uses the FileSystemNode class to recursively iterate through the collection.
public class FileSystemNode {
...
public synchronized List<FileSystemNode> getDirectories() {
if (directories == null) {
directories = Lists.newArrayList();
Iterables.addAll(directories, transform(filter(getResourcePaths(), containsPattern("/$")), FACTORY));
}
return directories;
}
public synchronized List<String> getFiles() {
if (files == null) {
files = new ArrayList<String>();
Iterables.addAll(files, transform(filter(getResourcePaths(), not(containsPattern("/$"))), TO_SHORT_PATH));
}
return files;
}
private Iterable<String> getResourcePaths() {
FacesContext facesContext = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
ExternalContext externalContext = facesContext.getExternalContext();
Set<String> resourcePaths = externalContext.getResourcePaths(this.path);
if (resourcePaths == null) {
resourcePaths = Collections.emptySet();
}
return resourcePaths;
}
...
}
The getDirectories() function is used recursively until the object has the collection of children. The model adaptor calls the getFiles() function at each level in order to add the file nodes.
The resulting tree hierarchically lists the directories and files in the collection.
[D]
Adaptors that use Map interfaces or models with non-string keys require a row key converter in order to correctly identify nodes. Refer to Section 12.1.5, “Identifying nodes with the rowKeyConverter attribute” for details on the use of the rowKeyConverter attribute.
Adaptors that use Iterable interfaces have simple integer row keys. A default converter is provided and does not need to be referenced explicitly.
Read this chapter for details on menu and toolbar components.
The <rich:dropDownMenu> component is used for creating a drop-down, hierarchical menu. It can be used with the <rich:toolbar> component to create menus in an application's toolbar.
The <rich:dropDownMenu> component only requires the label attribute for basic usage. Use the label attribute to define the text label that appears as the title of the menu. Clicking on the title drops the menu down.
Alternatively, use the label facet to define the menu title. If the label facet is used, the label attribute is not necessary.
To set the content of the drop-down menu and any sub-menus, use the <rich:menuItem>, <rich:menuGroup>, and <rich:menuSeparator> components. These components are detailed in Section 13.2, “Menu sub-components”.
Use the jointPoint and direction attributes to determine the direction and location of the menu when it appears. The jointPoint and direction attributes both use the following settings:
topLeft,topRight,bottomLeft,bottomRightWhen used with the
jointPointattribute, the menu is attached to the top-left, top-right, bottom-left, or bottom-right of the control as appropriate.When used with the
directionattribute, the menu appears to the top-left, top-right, bottom-left, or bottom-right of the joint location as appropriate.autoThe direction or joint location is determined automatically.
autoLeft,autoRight,autoTop,autoBottomWhen used with the
jointPointattribute, the joint location is determined automatically, but defaults to either the left, right, top, or bottom of the control as appropriate.When used with the
directionattribute, the menu direction is determined automatically, but defaults to either the left, right, top, or bottom of the joint location as appropriate.
By default, the menu drops down when the title is clicked. To drop down with a different event, use the eventShow attribute to define the event instead.
Menus can be navigated using the keyboard. Additionally, menus can be navigated programmatically using the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API allows the following methods:
show()The
show()method shows the menu.hide()The
hide()method hides the menu.activateItem(menuItemId)The
activateItem(menuItemId)activates the menu item with themenuItemIdidentifier.
Use the mode attribute to determine how the menu requests are submitted:
server, the default setting, submits the form normally and completely refreshes the page.ajaxperforms an Ajax form submission, and re-renders elements specified with therenderattribute.clientcauses theactionandactionListeneritems to be ignored, and the behavior is fully defined by the nested components or custom JavaScript instead of responses from submissions.
The <rich:menuItem>, <rich:menuGroup>, and <rich:menuSeparator> components are used to construct menus for the <rich:dropDownMenu> component. Refer to Section 13.1, “<rich:dropDownMenu>” for more details on the <rich:dropDownMenu> component.
The <rich:menuItem> component represents a single item in a menu control. The <rich:menuItem> component can be also be used as a seperate component without a parent menu component, such as on a toolbar.
The <rich:menuItem> component requires the label attribute for basic usage. The label attribute is the text label for the menu item.
Icons can be added to menu items through the use of two icon attributes. The icon attribute specifies the normal icon, while the iconDisabled attribute specifies the icon for a disabled item.
Alternatively, define facets with the names icon and iconDisabled to set the icons. If facets are defined, the icon and iconDisabled attributes are ignored. Using facets for icons allows more complex usage; example shows a checkbox being used in place of an icon.
Example 13.1. Icon facets
<rich:menuItem value="Show comments">
<f:facet name="icon">
<h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{bean.property}"/>
</f:facet>
</rich:menuItem>
Use the submitMode attribute to determine how the menu item requests are submitted:
server, the default setting, submits the form normally and completely refreshes the page.ajaxperforms an Ajax form submission, and re-renders elements specified with therenderattribute.clientcauses theactionandactionListeneritems to be ignored, and the behavior is fully defined by the nested components instead of responses from submissions.
The <rich:menuItem> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
activate()Activate the menu item as though it were selected.
The <rich:menuGroup> component represents an expandable sub-menu in a menu control. The <rich:menuGroup> component can contain a number of <rich:menuItem> components, or further nested <rich:menuGroup> components.
The <rich:menuGroup> component requires the value attribute for basic usage. The value attribute is the text label for the menu item.
Additionally, the <rich:menuGroup> component must contain child <rich:menuItem> components or <rich:menuGroup> components.
Icons can be added to menu groups through the use of two icon attributes. The icon attribute specifies the normal icon, while the iconDisabled attribute specifies the icon for a disabled group.
The <rich:menuGroup> component can be positioned using the jointPoint and direction attributes, the same as the parent menu control. For details on the jointPoint and direction attributes, refer to Section 13.1.3, “Appearance”.
The <rich:menuGroup> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
show()Show the menu group.
hide()Hide the menu group.
The <rich:menuSeparator> component represents a separating divider in a menu control.
The <rich:menuSeparator> component does not require any attributes for basic usage. Add it as a child to a menu component to separator menu items and menu groups.
The <rich:panelMenu> component is used in conjunction with <rich:panelMenuItem> and <rich:panelMenuGroup> to create an expanding, hierarchical menu. The <rich:panelMenu> component's appearance can be highly customized, and the hierarchy can stretch to any number of sub-levels.
Example 13.2. richpanelMenu
<rich:panelMenu mode="ajax"
topGroupExpandedRightIcon="chevronUp"
topGroupCollapsedRightIcon="chevronDown"
groupExpandedLeftIcon="disc"
groupCollapsedLeftIcon="disc">
<rich:panelMenuGroup label="Group 1">
<rich:panelMenuItem label="Item 1.1"/>
<rich:panelMenuItem label="Item 1.2"/>
<rich:panelMenuItem label="Item 1.3"/>
</rich:panelMenuGroup>
<rich:panelMenuGroup label="Group 2">
<rich:panelMenuItem label="Item 2.1"/>
<rich:panelMenuItem label="Item 2.2"/>
<rich:panelMenuItem label="Item 2.3"/>
<rich:panelMenuGroup label="Group 2.4">
<rich:panelMenuItem label="Item 2.4.1"/>
<rich:panelMenuItem label="Item 2.4.2"/>
<rich:panelMenuItem label="Item 2.4.3"/>
</rich:panelMenuGroup>
<rich:panelMenuItem label="Item 2.5"/>
</rich:panelMenuGroup>
<rich:panelMenuItem label="Item 3"/>
</rich:panelMenu>
[D]
The <rich:panelMenu> component does not need any extra attributes declared for basic usage. However, it does require child <rich:panelMenuGroup> and <rich:panelMenuItem> components. Refer to Section 13.3.8, “<rich:panelMenuGroup>” and Section 13.3.9, “<rich:panelMenuItem>” for details on these child components.
The activeItem attribute is used to point to the name of the currently selected menu item.
By default, the event to expand the menu is a mouse click. Set the expandEvent attribute to specify a different event to expand menus. Multiple levels of sub-menus can be expanded in one action. Set expandSingle="true" to only expand one sub-menu at a time.
Similarly, the default event to collapse the menu is a mouse click. Set the collapseEvent attribute to specify a different event to collapse menus.
As with other control components, set disabled="true" to disable the <rich:panelMenu> comonent. Child menu components can be disabled in the same way.
Icons for the panel menu can be chosen from a set of standard icons. Icons can be set for the top panel menu, child panel menus, and child item. There are three different menu states that the icon represents, as well as icons for both the left and right side of the item title.
topGroupExpandedLeftIcon,topGroupExpandedRightIconThese attributes determine the icons for the top level menu when it is expanded.
topGroupCollapsedLeftIcon,topGroupCollapsedRightIconThese attributes determine the icons for the top level menu when it is collapsed.
topGroupDisabledLeftIcon,topGroupDisabledRightIconThese attributes determine the icons for the top level menu when it is disabled.
topItemLeftIcon,topItemRightIconThese attributes determine the icons for a top level menu item.
topItemDisabledLeftIcon,topItemDisabledRightIconThese attributes determine the icons for a top level menu item when it is disabled.
groupExpandedLeftIcon,groupExpandedRightIconThese attributes determine the icons for sub-menus that are not the top-level menu when they are expanded.
groupCollapsedLeftIcon,groupCollapsedRightIconThese attributes determine the icons for sub-menus that are not the top-level menu when they are collapsed.
groupDisabledLeftIcon,groupDisabledRightIconThese attributes determine the icons for sub-menus that are not the top-level menu when they are disabled.
itemLeftIcon,itemRightIconThese attributes determine the icons for items in the menus.
itemDisabledLeftIcon,itemDisabledRightIconThese attributes determine the icons for items in the menus when they are disabled.
Example 13.2, “richpanelMenu” demonstrates the use of icon declaration at the panel menu level. The standard icons are shown in Figure 13.2, “<Standard icons>”.
Alternatively, point the icon attributes to the paths of image files. The image files are then used as icons.
Any icons specified by child <rich:panelMenuGroup> and <rich:panelMenuItem> components overwrite the relevant icons declared with the parent <rich:panelMenu> component.
The itemMode attribute defines the submission mode for normal menu items that link to content, and the groupMode attribute defines the submission mode for menu items that expand and collapse. The settings for these attributes apply to the entire menu unless a menu item defines its own individual itemMode or groupMode. The possible values for itemMode and groupMode are as follows:
server, the default setting, which submits the form normally and completely refreshes the page.ajax, which performs an Ajax form submission, and re-renders elements specified with therenderattribute.client, which causes theactionandactionListeneritems to be ignored, and the behavior is fully defined by the nested components instead of responses from submissions.
The <rich:panelMenu> component fires the ItemChangeEvent event on the server side when the menu is changed. The event only fires in the server and ajax submission modes. The event provides the itemChangeListener attribute to reference the event listener.
The <rich:panelMenu> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
expandAll()Expand all the panel menu groups in the component.
collapseAll()Collapse all the panel menu groups in the component.
selectItem(id)Select the menu item with the
ididentifier.
component-type:org.richfaces.PanelMenucomponent-class:org.richfaces.component.html.HtmlPanelMenucomponent-family:org.richfaces.PanelMenurenderer-type:org.richfaces.PanelMenuRenderertag-class:org.richfaces.taglib.PanelMenuTag
The <rich:panelMenuGroup> component defines a group of <rich:panelMenuItem> components inside a <rich:panelMenu>.
The <rich:panelMenuGroup> component needs the label attribute declared, which specifies the text to show for the menu entry. Alternatively, the label facet can be used to specify the menu text.
In addition, the <rich:panelMenuGroup> component at least one <rich:panelMenuGroup> or <rich:panelMenuItem> components as child elements.
Icons for the menu group are inherited from the parent <rich:panelMenu> component. Refer to Section 13.3.3, “Appearance” for details on icon attributes and facets. Alternatively, the menu group's icons can be re-defined at the <rich:panelMenuGroup> component level, and these settings will be used instead of the parent component's settings.
If the mode attribute is unspecified, the submission behavior for the group is inherited from the parent <rich:panelMenu>. Otherwise, the mode setting is used instead of the parent's behavior. Refer to Section 13.3.4, “Submission modes” for submission mode settings.
The <rich:panelMenuGroup> component fires the ActionEvent event on the server side when the menu group receives a user action. The event only fires in the server and ajax submission modes. The event provides the action attribute to specify the user action performed, and the actionListener attribute to reference the event listener.
The <rich:panelMenuGroup> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
expand()Expand this panel menu group.
collapse()Collapse this panel menu group.
select(id)Select the menu item with the
ididentifier.
The <rich:panelMenuItem> component represents a single item inside a <rich:panelMenuGroup> component, which is in turn part of a <rich:panelMenu> component.
The <rich:panelMenuItem> component needs the label attribute declared, which specifies the text to show for the menu entry. Alternatively, the label facet can be used to specify the menu text.
Icons for the menu item are inherited from the parent <rich:panelMenu> or <rich:panelMenuGroup> component. Refer to Section 13.3.3, “Appearance” for details on icon attributes and facets. Alternatively, the menu item's icons can be re-defined at the <rich:panelMenuItem> component level, and these settings will be used instead of the parent component's settings.
If the mode is unspecified, the submission behavior for the item is inherited from the parent <rich:panelMenu>. Otherwise, the mode setting is used instead of the parent's behavior.
The <rich:panelMenuItem> component fires the ActionEvent event on the server side when the menu item receives a user action. The event only fires in the server and ajax submission modes. The event provides the action attribute to specify the user action performed, and the actionListener attribute to reference the event listener.
The <rich:panelMenuItem> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
select()Select this menu item.
The <rich:toolbar> component is a horizontal toolbar. Any JavaServer Faces (JSF) component can be added to the toolbar.
The <rich:toolbar> component does not require any attributes to be defined for basic usage. Add child components to the <rich:toolbar> component to have them appear on the toolbar when rendered.
Example 13.3. Basic usage
<rich:toolbar>
<h:commandLink value="News" />
<h:commandLink value="Reviews" />
<h:commandLink value="Galleries" />
</rich:toolbar>
Set the width and height of the toolbar using the common width and height attributes.
Items on the toolbar can be separated by a graphical item separator. Use the itemSeparator attribute to specify one of the standard separator styles:
Alternatively, use the itemSeparator attribute to specify a URL to an image. The image is then used as an item separator. The appearance of the item separator can be additionally customized by using the itemSeparator facet.
Group together multiple items on the toolbar by using the <rich:toolbarGroup> child component. Refer to Section 13.4.5, “<rich:toolbarGroup>” for full details on the <rich:toolbarGroup> component.
component-type:org.richfaces.Toolbarcomponent-class:org.richfaces.component.html.HtmlToolbarcomponent-family:org.richfaces.Toolbarrenderer-type:org.richfaces.ToolbarRenderertag-class:org.richfaces.taglib.ToolbarTag
The <rich:toolbarGroup> component is a child component of the <rich:toolbar> component. The <rich:toolbarGroup> component is used to group a number of items together on a toolbar.
Like the <rich:toolbar> parent component, the <rich:toolbarGroup> component does not require any extra attributes for basic functionality. Add child components to the <rich:toolbarGroup> component to have them appear grouped on the parent toolbar when rendered.
Similar to the <rich:toolbar> component, items within a <rich:toolbarGroup> can be separated by specifying the itemSeparator attribute. Refer to Section 13.4.2, “Appearance” for details on using the itemSeparator attribute.
Groups of toolbar items can be located on either the left-hand side or the right-hand side of the parent toolbar. By default, they appear to the left. To locate the toolbar group to the right of the parent toolbar, set location="right".
Example 13.4. <rich:toolbarGroup>
<rich:toolBar height="26" itemSeparator="grid">
<rich:toolBarGroup>
<h:graphicImage value="/images/icons/create_doc.gif"/>
<h:graphicImage value="/images/icons/create_folder.gif"/>
<h:graphicImage value="/images/icons/copy.gif"/>
</rich:toolBarGroup>
<rich:toolBarGroup>
<h:graphicImage value="/images/icons/save.gif"/>
<h:graphicImage value="/images/icons/save_as.gif"/>
<h:graphicImage value="/images/icons/save_all.gif"/>
</rich:toolBarGroup>
<rich:toolBarGroup location="right">
<h:graphicImage value="/images/icons/find.gif"/>
<h:graphicImage value="/images/icons/filter.gif"/>
</rich:toolBarGroup>
</rich:toolBar>
The example shows how to locate a toolbar group to the right-hand side of the parent toolbar. It also demonstrates how item separators on the parent toolbar work with toolbar groups.
[D]
Read this chapter for details on components that display messages and other feedback to the user.
The <rich:message> component renders a single message relating to another specific component. The message consists of two parts, both of which are optional: the marker icon and the textual label. The appearance of the message can be customized, and tool-tips can be used for further information about the message.
The <rich:message> component needs the for attribute to point to the id identifier of the related component. The message is displayed depending on the state of the linked component's requests.
The <rich:message> component is automatically rendered after an Ajax request, even without the use of an <a4j:outputPanel> component.
The passedLabel attribute contains a message to display when there are no errors; that is, when validation passes successfully. The showSummary attribute specifies whether to display only a summary of the full message. The full message can be displayed in a tool-tip when hovering the mouse over the summary.
Facets are used to define the marker icons for different message states:
errorMarkerDefines the icon for messages with the
errorseverity class.fatalMarkerDefines the icon for messages with the
fatalseverity class.infoMarkerDefines the icon for messages with the
infoseverity class.passedMarkerDefines the icon for messages that are not of the
error,fatal,info, orwarnseverity classes.warnMarkerDefines the icon for messages with the
warnseverity class.
Example 14.1. rich:message example
<rich:message for="id" passedLabel="No errors" showSummary="true">
<f:facet name="errorMarker">
<h:graphicImage url="/image/error.png"/>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="passedMarker">
<h:graphicImage url="/image/passed.png"/>
</f:facet>
</rich:message>
The <rich:messages> components works similarly to the <rich:message> component, but can display validation messages for a group of components instead of just a single component. Refer to Section 14.1, “<rich:message>” for details on the <rich:message> component.
The <rich:messages> component doesn't require any extra attributes for basic usage. It displays all messages relating to requests from components in the same container element.
The <rich:message> component is automatically rendered after an Ajax request, even without the use of an <a4j:outputPanel> component.
The <rich:messages> component displays error messages for each validating component in the same container. The passedLabel attribute contains a message to display when there are no errors; that is, when validation for all components passes successfully. The layout attribute defines how the messages are presented: either using list for a list layout, or table for a tabular layout.
All messages use the same state icons, specified by using facets in the same way as for the <rich:message> component:
errorMarkerDefines the icon for messages with the
errorseverity class.fatalMarkerDefines the icon for messages with the
fatalseverity class.infoMarkerDefines the icon for messages with the
infoseverity class.passedMarkerDefines the icon for messages that are not of the
error,fatal,info, orwarnseverity classes.warnMarkerDefines the icon for messages with the
warnseverity class.
Example 14.2. rich:messages example
<h:form>
<rich:messages passedLabel="Data validated." layout="list">
<f:facet name="header">
<h:outputText value="Entered Data Status:"></h:outputText>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="passedMarker">
<h:graphicImage value="/images/ajax/passed.gif" />
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="errorMarker">
<h:graphicImage value="/images/ajax/error.gif" />
</f:facet>
</rich:messages>
<h:panelGrid columns="2">
<h:outputText value="Name:" />
<h:inputText label="Name" id="name" required="true" value="#{userBean.name}">
<f:validateLength minimum="3" />
</h:inputText>
<h:outputText value="Job:" />
<h:inputText label="Job" id="job" required="true" value="#{userBean.job}">
<f:validateLength minimum="3" maximum="50" />
</h:inputText>
<h:outputText value="Address:" />
<h:inputText label="Address" id="address" required="true" value="#{userBean.address}">
<f:validateLength minimum="10" />
</h:inputText>
<h:outputText value="Zip:" />
<h:inputText label="Zip" id="zip" required="true" value="#{userBean.zip}">
<f:validateLength minimum="4" maximum="9" />
</h:inputText>
<f:facet name="footer">
<a4j:commandButton value="Validate" />
</f:facet>
</h:panelGrid>
</h:form>
The <rich:progressBar> component displays a progress bar to indicate the status of a process to the user. It can update either through Ajax or on the client side, and the look and feel can be fully customized.
Basic usage of the <rich:progressBar> component requires only the value attribute, which points to the method that provides the current progress.
By default, the minimum value of the progress bar is 0 and the maximum value of the progress bar is 100. These values can be customized using the minValue and maxValue attributes respectively.
The progress bar can be labeled in one of two ways:
- Using the
labelattribute The content of the
labelattribute is displayed over the progress bar.Example 14.4. Using the
labelattribute<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue}" id="progrs" label="#{bean.incValue}"/>
- Using nested child components
Child components, such as the JSF
<h:outputText>component, can be nested in the<rich:progressBar>component to display over the progress bar.Example 14.5. Using nested child components
<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue}">
<h:outputText value="#{bean.incValue} %"/>
</rich:progressBar>
Macro-substitution
The following section details the use of macro-substitution paramaters in labeling. Macro-substitution may be revised and altered in future versions of RichFaces. Be aware of this when using macro-substitution in your applications.
For labeling, the <rich:progressBar> component recognizes three macro-substitution parameters:
{value}The current progress value.
{minValue}The minimum value for the progress bar.
{maxValue}The maximum value for the progress bar.
Example 14.6. Using macro-substitution for labeling
<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue1}" minValue="400" maxValue="900">
<h:outputText value="Minimum value is {minValue}, current value is {value}, maximum value is {maxValue}"/>
</rich:progressBar>
Additionally, you can use the {param} parameter to specify any custom parameters you require. Define the parameters in the bean for the progress method, then reference it with the <rich:progressBar> component's parameters attribute, as shown in Example 14.7, “Using the param parameter”.
Example 14.7. Using the param parameter
<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue}" parameters="param:'#{bean.dwnlSpeed}'">
<h:outputText value="download speed {param} KB/s"/>
</rich:progressBar>
To define customized initial and complete states for the progress bar, use the initial and complete facets. The initial facet displays when the progress value is less than or equal to the minimum value, and the complete facet displays when the progress value is greater than or equal to the maximum value.
Example 14.8. Initial and complete states
<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue1}">
<f:facet name="initial">
<h:outputText value="Process not started"/>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="complete">
<h:outputText value="Process completed"/>
</f:facet>
</rich:progressBar>
The <rich:progressBar> component can be set to constantly poll for updates at a constant interval. Use the interval component to set the interval in milliseconds. The progress bar is updated whenever the polled value changes. Polling is only active when the enabled attribute is set to true.
Example 14.9. Using set intervals
<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue1}" id="progress" interval="900" enabled="#{bean.enabled1}"/>
The mode for updating the progress bar is determined by the mode attribute, which can have one of the following values:
ajaxThe progress bar updates in the same way as the
<a4j:poll>component. The<rich:progressBar>component repeatedly polls the server for the current progress value.clientThe progress bar updates on the client side, set using the JavaScript API.
The <rich:progressBar> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
getValue()Return the current value displayed on the progress bar.
setValue()Set the current value to display on the progress bar.
getMinValue()Return the minimum value for the progress bar.
getMaxValue()Return the maximum value for the progress bar.
disable()Disables the progress bar.
enable()Enables the progress bar.
isEnabled()Returns a boolean value indicating whether the progress bar is enabled.
The <rich:toolTip> component provides an informational tool-tip. The tool-tip can be attached to any control and is displayed when hovering the mouse cursor over the control.
For basic usage, define the tool-tip text using the value attribute. The <rich:toolTip> component is then automatically attached to the parent element, and is usually shown when the mouse cursor hovers.
Alternatively, the content of the tool-tip can be defined inside the <rich:toolTip> tags, and the value attribute is not used. This allows HTML tags to be used to define the content, and provides for rich content such as images, links, buttons, and other RichFaces components.
Example 14.10. Defining tool-tip content
- Basic content
<rich:panel>
<rich:toolTip value="This is a tool-tip."/>
</rich:panel>
- Rich content
<rich:panel>
<rich:toolTip>
This is a <b>tool-tip</b>.
</rich:toolTip>
</rich:panel>
If not otherwise specified, the tool-tip is attached to the parent element in which it is defined. The for attribute is used to attach the tool-tip to another component, pointing to the target component's id identifier. This allows the <rich:toolTip> component to be specified outside the target element. This approach is demonstrated in Example 14.11, “Attaching the tool-tip”.
Example 14.11. Attaching the tool-tip
<rich:panel id="panelId">
...
</rich:panel>
<rich:toolTip value="This is a tool-tip." for="panelId"/>
The <rich:toolTip> component can alternatively be left unattached, and is instead invoked through an event handler on the target component. To leave the <rich:toolTip> component unattached, set attached="false", and define the event handler to trigger the tool-tip on the target component. This approach is demonstrated in Example 14.12, “Unattached tool-tips”. When leaving the <rich:toolTip> component unattached, ensure it has an id identifier defined. If the <rich:toolTip> component is nested inside the target element, it must be the last child. If it is defined outside the target element, it must be nested in an <a4j:form> component.
Example 14.12. Unattached tool-tips
<rich:panel id="panelId" onclick="#{rich:component("tooltipId")}.show(event);" />
<a4j:form>
<rich:toolTip id="toolTipId" attached="false" value="This is a tool-tip."/>
</a4j:form>
By default, the <rich:toolTip> component is positioned intelligently based on the position of the mouse cursor. Use the direction attribute to specify a corner of the target component at which to display the tool-tip instead. Possible values include top-left, top-right, bottom-left, and bottom-right. Use the horizontalOffset and verticalOffset attributes to specify the horizontal offset and vertical offset at which to display the tool-tip.
Use the hideEvent attribute to specify when the tool-tip is hidden. The default value is none, so the tool-tip remains shown. However, it can be linked to an event on the target component, such as the mouseout event.
Set followMouse="true" to cause the tool-tip to follow the user's mouse movements.
Advanced appearance features are demonstrated in Example 14.13, “Advanced tool-tip usage”.
The mode for updating the tool-tip is determined by the mode attribute, which can have one of the following values:
ajaxThe tool-tip content is requested from the server with every activation.
clientThe tool-tip content is rendered once on the server. An external submit causes the content to re-render.
When using mode="ajax", define the defaultContent facet. The tool-tip displays the content of the defaultContent facet while loading the actual content from the server.
Example 14.13. Advanced tool-tip usage
<h:commandLink value="Simple Link" id="link">
<rich:toolTip followMouse="true" direction="top-right" mode="ajax" value="#{bean.toolTipContent}"
horizontalOffset="5" verticalOffset="5" layout="block">
<f:facet name="defaultContent">
<f:verbatim>Loading...</f:verbatim>
</f:facet>
</rich:toolTip>
</h:commandLink>
The <rich:toolTip> component supports the following client-side events:
clickThis event is activated when the tool-tip is clicked with the mouse.
dblclickThis event is activated when the tool-tip is double-clicked with the mouse.
mouseoutThis event is activated when the mouse cursor leaves the tool-tip.
mousemoveThis event is activated when the mouse cursor moves over the tool-tip.
mouseoverThis event is activated when the mouse cursor hovers over the tool-tip.
showThis event is activated when the tool-tip is shown.
completeThis event is activated when the tool-tip is completed.
hideThis event is activated when the tool-tip is hidden.
The <rich:toolTip> component can be controlled through the JavaScript API. The JavaScript API provides the following functions:
show(event)Show the tool-tip.
hide(event)Hide the tool-tip.
Read this chapter for details on adding drag and drop support to controls.
The <rich:dragSource> component can be added to a component to indicate it is capable of being dragged by the user. The dragged item can then be dropped into a compatible drop area, designated using the <rich:dropTarget> component.
To add drag support to a component, attach the <rich:dragSource> component as a child element.
The type attribute must be specified, and can be any identifying string. Dragged items can only be dropped in drop zones where the type attribute of the <rich:dragSource> component is listed in the acceptedTypes attribute of the <rich:dropTarget> component.
Use the dragIndicator parameter to customize the appearance of a dragged object while it is being dragged. The dragIndicator parameter must point to the id identifier of a <rich:dragIndicator> component. If the dragIndicator attribute is not defined, the drag indicator appears as a clone of the <rich:dragSource> component's parent control.
To bind data to the dragged object, use the dragValue attribute. The dragValue attribute specifies an item in a data model, which is then bound to the parent component when it is dragged. This facilitates handling event data during a drop event.
The <rich:dropTarget> component can be added to a component so that the component can accept dragged items. The dragged items must support the <rich:dragSource> component, and be of a compatible drop type.
To allow dragged items to be dropped on a component, attach the <rich:dropTarget> component as a child element to the component.
The acceptedTypes attribute must be specified. The acceptedTypes attribute is a comma-separated list of strings that match the types of dragged items. Dragged items can only be dropped in drop zones where the type attribute of the <rich:dragSource> component is listed in the acceptedTypes attribute of the <rich:dropTarget> component.
The acceptedTypes attribute can optionally be set to either @none or @all. If set to @none, the component will not accept any type of dropped object. If set to @all, the component accepts all dropped objects. If the acceptedTypes attribute is not specified, the default value is null, which is the same as a @none setting.
To provide additional parameters for a drop event, use the dropValue attribute.
The <rich:dropTarget> component raises the DropEvent server-side event when an object is dropped. The event uses the following parameters:
The
dragSourceidentifies the component being dragged (the parent of the<rich:dragSource>component).The
dragValueparameter is the content of the<rich:dragSource>component'sdragValueattribute.The
dropValueparameter is the content of the<rich:dropTarget>component'sdropValueattribute.
The <rich:dragIndicator> component defines a graphical element to display under the mouse cursor during a drag-and-drop operation.
If included without any attributes specified, the drag indicator will appear as an empty dotted outline, as shown in
The drag indicator can be styled depending on the current state of the dragged element. There are three attributes for different states. The attributes reference the CSS class to use for styling the drag indicator when the dragged element is in the relevant state.
acceptClassThe
acceptClassattribute specifies the style when the dragged element is over an acceptable drop target. It indicates that thetypeattribute of the element's<rich:dragSource>component matchesacceptedTypesattribute of the drop target's<rich:dropTarget>component.rejectClassThe
rejectClassattribute specifies the style when the dragged element is over a drop target that is not acceptable. It indicates that thetypeattribute of the element's<rich:dragSource>component is not found in theacceptedTypesattribute of the drop target's<rich:dropTarget>component.draggingClassThe
draggingClassattribute specifies the style when the dragged element is being dragged. It indicates that the dragged element is not over a drop target.
Read this chapter to alter the layout and appearance of web applications using special components.
The <rich:jQuery> component applies styles and custom behavior to both JSF (JavaServer Faces) objects and regular DOM (Document Object Model) objects. It uses the jQuery JavaScript framework to add functionality to web applications.
The query triggered by the <rich:jQuery> component is specified using the query attribute.
With the query defined, the component is used to trigger the query as either a timed query or a named query. The query can be bound to an event to act as an event handler. These different approaches are covered in the following sections.
Any objects or lists of objects used in the query are specified using the selector attribute. The selector attribute references objects using the following method:
The
selectorattribute can refer to theididentifier of any JSF component or client.If the
selectorattribute does not match theididentifier attribute of any JSF components or clients on the page, it instead uses syntax defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) for the CSS rule selector. Refer to the syntax specification at http://api.jquery.com/category/selectors/ for full details.
Because the selector attribute can be either an id identifier attribute or CSS selector syntax, conflicting values could arise. Example 16.1, “Avoiding syntax confusion” demonstrates how to use double backslashes to escape colon characters in id identifier values.
Example 16.1. Avoiding syntax confusion
<h:form id="form">
<h:panelGrid id="menu">
<h:graphicImage value="pic1.jpg" />
<h:graphicImage value="pic2.jpg" />
</h:panelGrid>
</h:form>
The id identifier for the <h:panelGrid> element is form:menu, which can conflict with CSS selector syntax. Double backslashes can be used to escape the colon character such that the identifier is read correctly instead of being interpreted as CSS selector syntax.
<rich:jQuery selector="#form\\:menu img" query="..." />
Queries set as event handlers are triggered when the component specified in the selector attribute raises an event. The query is bound to the event defined using the event attribute.
Use the attachType attribute to specify how the event-handling queries are attached to the events:
bindThis is the default for attaching queries to events. The event handler is bound to all elements currently defined by the
selectorattribute.liveThe event handler is bound to all current and future elements defined by the
selectorattribute.oneThe event handler is bound to all elements currently defined by the
selectorattribute. After the first invocation of the event, the event handler is unbound such that it no longer fires when the event is raised.
Timed queries are triggered at specified times. This can be useful for calling simple methods when a page is rendered, or for adding specific functionality to an element. Use the timing attribute to specify the point at which the timed query is triggered:
domreadyThis is the default behavior. The query is triggered when the document is loaded and the DOM is ready. The query is called as a
jQuery()function.immediateThe query is triggered immediately. The query is called as an in-line script.
Example 16.2. <rich:jQuery> example
<rich:dataTable id="customList" ... >
...
</rich:dataTable>
<rich:jQuery selector="#customList tr:odd" timing="domready" query="addClass(odd)" />
In the example, the selector picks out the odd <tr> elements that are children of the element with an id="customlist"addClass(odd) is then performed on the selection during page loading (load) such that the odd CSS class is added to the selected elements.
[D]
Named queries are given a name such that they can be triggered by other functions or handlers. Use the name attribute to name the query. The query can then be accessed as though it were a JavaScript function using the specified name attribute as the function name.
Calls to the function must pass a direct reference (this) to the calling object as a parameter. This is treated the same as an item defined through the selector attribute.
If the function requires extra parameters itself, these are provided in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) syntax as a second parameter in the JavaScript call. The options namespace is then used in the <rich:jQuery> query to access the passed function parameters. Example 16.3, “Calling a <rich:jQuery> component as a function” demonstrates the use of the name attribute and how to pass function parameters through the JavaScript calls.
Example 16.3. Calling a <rich:jQuery> component as a function
<h:graphicImage width="50" value="/images/price.png" onmouseover="enlargePic(this, {pwidth:'60px'})" onmouseout="releasePic(this)" />
<h:graphicImage width="50" value="/images/discount.png" onmouseover="enlargePic(this, {pwidth:'100px'})" onmouseout="releasePic(this)" />
...
<rich:jQuery name="enlargePic" query="animate({width:options.pwidth})" />
<rich:jQuery name="releasePic" query="animate({width:'50px'})"/>
The example enlarges the images when the mouse moves over them. The enlargePic and releasePic components are called like ordinary JavaScript functions from the image elements.
The <rich:jQuery> component applies style and behavioral changes to DOM objects dynamically. As such, changes applied during an Ajax response are overwritten, and will need to be re-applied once the Ajax response is complete.
Any timed queries with the timing attribute set to domready may not update during an Ajax response, as the DOM document is not completely reloaded. To ensure the query is re-applied after an Ajax response, include the name attribute in the <rich:jQuery> component and invoke it using JavaScript from the complete event attribute of the component that triggered the Ajax interaction.
Read this chapter for details on special functions for use with particular components. Using JavaServer Faces Expression Language (JSF EL), these functions can be accessed through the data attribute of components. Refer to Section 2.5.7, “data” for details on the data attribute.
The rich:clientId('id') function returns the client identifier related to the passed component identifier ('id'). If the specified component identifier is not found, null is returned instead.
The rich:component('id') function is a shortcut for the equivalent #{rich:clientId('id')}.component code. It returns the UIComponent instance from the client, based on the passed server-side component identifier ('id'). If the specified component identifier is not found, null is returned instead.
The rich:element('id') function is a shortcut for the equivalent document.getElementById(#{rich:clientId('id')}) code. It returns the element from the client, based on the passed server-side component identifier. If the specified component identifier is not found, null is returned instead.
The rich:findComponent('id') function returns the a UIComponent instance of the passed component identifier. If the specified component identifier is not found, null is returned instead.
Example 17.1. rich:findComponent example
<h:inputText id="myInput">
<a4j:support event="keyup" render="outtext"/>
</h:inputText>
<h:outputText id="outtext" value="#{rich:findComponent('myInput').value}" />
The rich:isUserInRole(Object) function checks whether the logged-in user belongs to a certain user role, such as being an administrator. User roles are defined in the web.xml settings file.
Example 17.2. rich:isUserInRole example
The rich:isUserInRole(Object) function can be used in conjunction with the rendered attribute of a component to only display certain controls to authorized users.
<rich:editor value="#{bean.text}" rendered="#{rich:isUserInRole('admin')}"/>