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JBoss.orgCommunity Documentation

RichFaces Developer Guide

RichFaces framework with a huge library of rich components and skinnability support


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1. Introduction
+2. Technical Requirements
2.1. Supported Java Versions
2.2. Supported JavaServer Faces Implementations and Frameworks
2.3. Supported Servers
2.4. Supported Browsers
+3. Getting Started with RichFaces
3.1. Downloading the RichFaces
+3.2. Simple JSF application with RichFaces
3.2.1. Adding RichFaces libraries into the project
3.2.2. Registering RichFaces in web.xml
3.2.3. Managed bean
3.2.4. Registering bean in faces-cofig.xml
3.2.5. RichFaces Greeter index.jsp
3.3. Integration of RichFaces into Maven Project
3.4. Relevant Resources Links
+4. Settings for different environments
4.1. Web Application Descriptor Parameters
4.2. Sun JSF RI
4.3. Apache MyFaces
4.4. Facelets Support
4.5. JBoss Seam Support
4.6. Portlet Support
4.7. Sybase EAServer
4.8. Oracle AS/OC4J
+5. Basic concepts of the RichFaces Framework
5.1. Introduction
5.2. RichFaces Architecture Overview
5.3. Partial Rendering
5.4. RichFaces Integral Parts
5.5. Limitations and Rules
+5.6. Ajax Request Optimization
5.6.1. Re-Rendering
5.6.2. Queue and Traffic Flood Protection
+5.6.3. Queue Principles
5.6.3.1. Global default queue, defined in the web.xml file
5.6.3.2. View scoped default queue
5.6.3.3. View scoped named queue
5.6.3.4. Form based default queue
+5.6.3.5. Queue functionality
5.6.3.5.1. Events Similarity
5.6.3.5.2. Similar requests during request delay
5.6.3.5.3. JavaScript API
5.6.4. Data Processing Options
5.6.5. Action and Navigation
5.6.6. JavaScript Interactions
5.6.7. Iteration components Ajax attributes
5.6.8. Other useful attributes
5.6.9. Common Ajax Attributes
+5.7. How To...
5.7.1. Send an Ajax request
5.7.2. Decide What to Send
5.7.3. Decide What to Change
5.7.4. Decide what to process
5.8. Filter Configuration
5.9. Scripts and Styles Load Strategy
+5.10. Request Errors and Session Expiration Handling
5.10.1. Request Errors Handling
5.10.2. Session Expired Handling
+5.11. Skinnability
5.11.1. Why Skinnability
5.11.2. Using Skinnability
5.11.3. Example
5.11.4. Skin Parameters Tables in RichFaces
5.11.5. Creating and Using Your Own Skin File
5.11.6. Built-in Skinnability in RichFaces
5.11.7. Changing skin in runtime
+5.11.8. Standard Controls Skinning
5.11.8.1. Standard level
5.11.8.2. Extended level
5.11.9. Client-side Script for Extended Skinning Support
5.11.10. XCSS File Format
+5.11.11. Plug-n-Skin
5.11.11.1. Details of Usage
5.12. Definition of Custom Style Classes
5.13. State Manager API
5.14. Identifying User Roles
+6. The RichFaces Components
+6.1. Ajax Support
+6.1.1. < a4j:ajaxListener > available since 3.0.0
6.1.1.1. Description
6.1.1.2. Details of Usage
6.1.1.3. Reference Data
6.1.1.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.2. < a4j:actionparam > available since 3.0.0
6.1.2.1. Description
6.1.2.2. Details of Usage
6.1.2.3. Reference Data
6.1.2.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.3. < a4j:form > available since 3.0.0
6.1.3.1. Description
6.1.3.2. Details of Usage
6.1.3.3. Reference Data
6.1.3.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.4. < a4j:region > available since 3.0.0
6.1.4.1. Description
6.1.4.2. Details of Usage
6.1.4.3. Reference Data
6.1.4.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.5. < a4j:support > available since 3.0.0
6.1.5.1. Description
6.1.5.2. Details of Usage
6.1.5.3. Reference Data
6.1.5.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.6. < a4j:commandButton > available since 3.0.0
6.1.6.1. Description
6.1.6.2. Details of Usage
6.1.6.3. Reference Data
6.1.6.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.7. < a4j:commandLink > available since 3.0.0
6.1.7.1. Description
6.1.7.2. Details of Usage
6.1.7.3. Reference Data
6.1.7.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.8. < a4j:jsFunction > available since 3.0.0
6.1.8.1. Description
6.1.8.2. Details of Usage
6.1.8.3. Reference Data
6.1.8.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.9. < a4j:poll > available since 3.0.0
6.1.9.1. Description
6.1.9.2. Details of Usage
6.1.9.3. Reference Data
6.1.9.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.10. < a4j:push > available since 3.0.0
6.1.10.1. Description
6.1.10.2. Details of Usage
6.1.10.3. Reference Data
6.1.10.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.11. < a4j:queue > available since 3.3.0
6.1.11.1. Description
6.1.11.2. Details of Usage
6.1.11.3. Reference Data
6.1.11.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.12. < a4j:status > available since 3.0.0
6.1.12.1. Description
6.1.12.2. Details of Usage
6.1.12.3. Reference Data
6.1.12.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.2. Resources/Beans Handling
+6.2.1. < a4j:loadBundle > available since 3.0.0
6.2.1.1. Description
6.2.1.2. Details of Usage
6.2.1.3. Reference Data
6.2.1.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.2.2. < a4j:keepAlive > available since 3.0.0
6.2.2.1. Description
6.2.2.2. Details of Usage
6.2.2.3. Reference Data
6.2.2.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.2.3. < a4j:loadScript > available since 3.0.0
6.2.3.1. Description
6.2.3.2. Details of Usage
6.2.3.3. Reference Data
6.2.3.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.2.4. < a4j:loadStyle > available since 3.0.0
6.2.4.1. Description
6.2.4.2. Details of Usage
6.2.4.3. Reference Data
6.2.4.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.3. Ajax Validators
+6.3.1. < rich:ajaxValidator > available since 3.2.2
6.3.1.1. Description
6.3.1.2. Key Features
6.3.1.3. Details of Usage
6.3.1.4. Reference Data
6.3.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.3.2. < rich:beanValidator > available since 3.2.2
6.3.2.1. Description
6.3.2.2. Key Features
6.3.2.3. Details of Usage
6.3.2.4. Reference Data
6.3.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.3.3. < rich:graphValidator > available since 3.2.2
6.3.3.1. Description
6.3.3.2. Key Features
6.3.3.3. Details of Usage
6.3.3.4. Reference Data
6.3.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.4. Ajax Output
+6.4.1. < a4j:include > available since 3.0.0
6.4.1.1. Description
6.4.1.2. Details of Usage
6.4.1.3. Reference Data
6.4.1.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.4.2. < a4j:mediaOutput > available since 3.0.0
6.4.2.1. Description
6.4.2.2. Details of Usage
6.4.2.3. Reference Data
6.4.2.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.4.3. < a4j:outputPanel > available since 3.0.0
6.4.3.1. Description
6.4.3.2. Details of Usage
6.4.3.3. Reference Data
6.4.3.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.5. Ajax Miscellaneous
+6.5.1. < a4j:page > available since 3.0.0
6.5.1.1. Description
6.5.1.2. Details of Usage
6.5.1.3. Reference Data
6.5.1.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.5.2. < a4j:portlet > available since 3.0.0
6.5.2.1. Description
6.5.2.2. Details of Usage
6.5.2.3. Reference Data
6.5.2.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.5.3. < a4j:htmlCommandLink > available since 3.0.0
6.5.3.1. Description
6.5.3.2. Details of Usage
6.5.3.3. Reference Data
6.5.3.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.5.4. < a4j:log > available since 3.0.0
6.5.4.1. Description
6.5.4.2. Details of Usage
6.5.4.3. Reference Data
6.5.4.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6. Data Iteration
+6.6.1. < rich:column > available since 3.0.0
6.6.1.1. Description
6.6.1.2. Key Features
6.6.1.3. Details of Usage
+6.6.1.4. Sorting and Filtering
6.6.1.4.1. Sorting
6.6.1.4.2. Filtering
6.6.1.5. Reference Data
6.6.1.6. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.2. < rich:columnGroup > available since 3.0.0
6.6.2.1. Description
6.6.2.2. Key Features
6.6.2.3. Details of Usage
6.6.2.4. Reference Data
6.6.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.3. < rich:columns > available since 3.2.0
6.6.3.1. Description
6.6.3.2. Key Features
6.6.3.3. Details of Usage
6.6.3.4. Reference Data
6.6.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.4. < rich:dataDefinitionList > available since 3.0.0
6.6.4.1. Description
6.6.4.2. Key Features
6.6.4.3. Details of Usage
6.6.4.4. Reference Data
6.6.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.5. < rich:dataFilterSlider > available since 3.0.0
6.6.5.1. Description
6.6.5.2. Key Features
6.6.5.3. Details of Usage
6.6.5.4. Reference Data
6.6.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.6. < rich:dataGrid > available since 3.0.0
6.6.6.1. Description
6.6.6.2. Key Features
6.6.6.3. Details of Usage
6.6.6.4. Reference Data
6.6.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.7. < rich:dataList > available since 3.0.0
6.6.7.1. Description
6.6.7.2. Key Features
6.6.7.3. Details of Usage
6.6.7.4. Reference Data
6.6.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.8. < rich:dataOrderedList > available since 3.0.0
6.6.8.1. Description
6.6.8.2. Key Features
6.6.8.3. Details of Usage
6.6.8.4. Reference Data
6.6.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.9. < rich:datascroller > available since 3.0.0
6.6.9.1. Description
6.6.9.2. Key Features
6.6.9.3. Details of Usage
6.6.9.4. Reference Data
6.6.9.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.10. < rich:dataTable > available since 3.0.0
6.6.10.1. Description
6.6.10.2. Key Features
6.6.10.3. Details of Usage
6.6.10.4. Reference Data
6.6.10.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.11. < rich:subTable > available since 3.0.0
6.6.11.1. Description
6.6.11.2. Key Features
6.6.11.3. Details of Usage
6.6.11.4. Reference Data
+6.6.12. < rich:extendedDataTable > available since 3.2.2
6.6.12.1. Description
6.6.12.2. Key Features
6.6.12.3. Details of Usage
6.6.12.4. Reference Data
6.6.12.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.13. < a4j:repeat > available since 3.0.0
6.6.13.1. Description
6.6.13.2. Details of Usage
6.6.13.3. Reference Data
6.6.13.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.14. < rich:scrollableDataTable > available since 3.1.0
6.6.14.1. Description
6.6.14.2. Key Features
6.6.14.3. Details of Usage
6.6.14.4. Reference Data
6.6.14.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.7. Drag-Drop Support
+6.7.1. < rich:dragIndicator > available since 3.0.0
6.7.1.1. Description
6.7.1.2. Key Features
+6.7.1.3. Details of Usage
6.7.1.3.1. Macro definitions
6.7.1.3.2. Predefined macro definitions
6.7.1.3.3. Marker customization
6.7.1.4. Reference Data
6.7.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.7.2. < rich:dragSupport > available since 3.0.0
6.7.2.1. Description
6.7.2.2. Key Features
6.7.2.3. Details of Usage
6.7.2.4. Reference Data
6.7.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.7.3. < rich:dragListener > available since 3.1.0
6.7.3.1. Description
6.7.3.2. Key Features
6.7.3.3. Details of Usage
6.7.3.4. Reference Data
+6.7.4. < rich:dropListener > available since 3.1.0
6.7.4.1. Description
6.7.4.2. Key Features
6.7.4.3. Details of Usage
6.7.4.4. Reference Data
+6.7.5. < rich:dropSupport > available since 3.0.0
6.7.5.1. Description
6.7.5.2. Key Features
6.7.5.3. Details of Usage
6.7.5.4. Reference Data
6.7.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.7.6. <rich:dndParam> available since 3.0.0
6.7.6.1. Description
6.7.6.2. Details of Usage
6.7.6.3. Reference Data
+6.8. Rich Menu
+6.8.1. < rich:contextMenu > available since 3.0.0
6.8.1.1. Description
6.8.1.2. Key Features
6.8.1.3. Details of Usage
6.8.1.4. Reference Data
6.8.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.8.2. < rich:dropDownMenu > available since 3.0.0
6.8.2.1. Description
6.8.2.2. Key Features
6.8.2.3. Details of Usage
6.8.2.4. Reference Data
6.8.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.8.3. < rich:menuGroup > available since 3.0.0
6.8.3.1. Description
6.8.3.2. Key Features
6.8.3.3. Details of Usage
6.8.3.4. Reference Data
6.8.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.8.4. < rich:menuItem > available since 3.0.0
6.8.4.1. Description
6.8.4.2. Key Features
6.8.4.3. Details of Usage
6.8.4.4. Reference Data
6.8.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.8.5. < rich:menuSeparator > available since 3.0.0
6.8.5.1. Description
6.8.5.2. Reference Data
6.8.5.3. Relevant Resources Links
+6.9. Rich Trees
+6.9.1. < rich:tree > available since 3.0.0
6.9.1.1. Description
6.9.1.2. Key Features
6.9.1.3. Details of Usage
6.9.1.4. Built-in Drag and Drop
6.9.1.5. Events Handling
6.9.1.6. Reference Data
6.9.1.7. Relevant Resources Links
+6.9.2. < rich:treeNode > available since 3.0.0
6.9.2.1. Description
6.9.2.2. Key Features
6.9.2.3. Details of Usage
6.9.2.4. Built-in Drag and Drop
6.9.2.5. Events Handling
6.9.2.6. Reference Data
6.9.2.7. Relevant Resources Links
+6.9.3. < rich:treeNodesAdaptor > available since 3.1.0
6.9.3.1. Description
6.9.3.2. Key Features
6.9.3.3. Details of Usage
6.9.3.4. Reference Data
6.9.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.9.4. < rich:recursiveTreeNodesAdaptor > available since 3.1.0
6.9.4.1. Description
6.9.4.2. Key Features
6.9.4.3. Details of Usage
6.9.4.4. Reference Data
6.9.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.9.5. < rich:changeExpandListener > available since 3.1.0
6.9.5.1. Description
6.9.5.2. Key Features
6.9.5.3. Details of Usage
6.9.5.4. Reference Data
+6.9.6. < rich:nodeSelectListener > available since 3.1.0
6.9.6.1. Description
6.9.6.2. Key Features
6.9.6.3. Details of Usage
6.9.6.4. Reference Data
+6.10. Rich Output
+6.10.1. <rich:modalPanel> available since 3.0.0
6.10.1.1. Description
6.10.1.2. Key Features
6.10.1.3. Details of Usage
6.10.1.4. Reference Data
6.10.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.2. < rich:paint2D > available since 3.0.0
6.10.2.1. Description
6.10.2.2. Key Features
6.10.2.3. Details of Usage
6.10.2.4. Reference Data
6.10.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.3. < rich:panel > available since 3.0.0
6.10.3.1. Description
6.10.3.2. Key Features
6.10.3.3. Details of Usage
6.10.3.4. Reference Data
6.10.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.4. < rich:panelBar > available since 3.0.0
6.10.4.1. Description
6.10.4.2. Key Features
6.10.4.3. Details of Usage
6.10.4.4. Reference Data
6.10.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.5. <rich:panelBarItem> available since 3.0.0
6.10.5.1. Description
6.10.5.2. Key Features
6.10.5.3. Details of Usage
6.10.5.4. Reference Data
6.10.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.6. <rich:panelMenu> available since 3.1.0
6.10.6.1. Description
6.10.6.2. Key Features
6.10.6.3. Details of Usage
6.10.6.4. Reference Data
6.10.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.7. <rich:panelMenuGroup> available since 3.1.0
6.10.7.1. Description
6.10.7.2. Key Features
6.10.7.3. Details of Usage
6.10.7.4. Reference Data
6.10.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.8. <rich:panelMenuItem> available since 3.1.0
6.10.8.1. Description
6.10.8.2. Key Features
6.10.8.3. Details of Usage
6.10.8.4. Reference Data
6.10.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.9. < rich:progressBar > available since 3.2.0
6.10.9.1. Description
6.10.9.2. Key Features
6.10.9.3. Details of Usage
6.10.9.4. Reference Data
6.10.9.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.10. < rich:separator > available since 3.0.0
6.10.10.1. Description
6.10.10.2. Key Features
6.10.10.3. Details of Usage
6.10.10.4. Reference Data
6.10.10.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.11. < rich:simpleTogglePanel > available since 3.0.0
6.10.11.1. Description
6.10.11.2. Key Features
6.10.11.3. Details of Usage
6.10.11.4. Reference Data
6.10.11.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.12. < rich:spacer > available since 3.0.0
6.10.12.1. Description
6.10.12.2. Key Features
6.10.12.3. Details of Usage
6.10.12.4. Reference Data
6.10.12.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.13. <rich:tabPanel> available since 3.0.0
6.10.13.1. Description
6.10.13.2. Key Features
6.10.13.3. Details of Usage
6.10.13.4. Reference Data
6.10.13.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.14. <rich:tab> available since 3.0.0
6.10.14.1. Description
6.10.14.2. Key Features
6.10.14.3. Details of Usage
6.10.14.4. Reference Data
6.10.14.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.15. < rich:togglePanel > available since 3.0.0
6.10.15.1. Description
6.10.15.2. Key Features
6.10.15.3. Details of Usage
6.10.15.4. Reference Data
6.10.15.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.16. < rich:toggleControl > available since 3.0.0
6.10.16.1. Description
6.10.16.2. Key Features
6.10.16.3. Details of Usage
6.10.16.4. Reference Data
+6.10.17. < rich:toolBar > available since 3.0.0
6.10.17.1. Description
6.10.17.2. Key Features
6.10.17.3. Details of Usage
6.10.17.4. Reference Data
6.10.17.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.18. < rich:toolBarGroup > available since 3.0.0
6.10.18.1. Description
6.10.18.2. Key Features
6.10.18.3. Details of Usage
6.10.18.4. Reference Data
6.10.18.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.19. < rich:toolTip > available since 3.1.0
6.10.19.1. Description
6.10.19.2. Key Features
6.10.19.3. Details of Usage
6.10.19.4. Reference Data
6.10.19.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11. Rich Input
+6.11.1. < rich:calendar > available since 3.1.0
6.11.1.1. Description
6.11.1.2. Key Features
6.11.1.3. Details of Usage
6.11.1.4. Reference Data
6.11.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.2. < rich:colorPicker > available since 3.3.1
6.11.2.1. Description
6.11.2.2. Key Features
6.11.2.3. Details of Usage
6.11.2.4. Reference Data
6.11.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.3. < rich:comboBox > available since 3.2.0
6.11.3.1. Description
6.11.3.2. Key Features
6.11.3.3. Details of Usage
6.11.3.4. Reference Data
6.11.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.4. < rich:editor > available since 3.3.0
6.11.4.1. Description
6.11.4.2. Key Features
6.11.4.3. Details of Usage
6.11.4.4. Reference Data
6.11.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.5. < rich:fileUpload > available since 3.2.0
6.11.5.1. Description
6.11.5.2. Key Features
6.11.5.3. Details of Usage
6.11.5.4. Reference Data
6.11.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.6. < rich:inplaceInput > available since 3.2.0
6.11.6.1. Description
6.11.6.2. Key Features
6.11.6.3. Details of Usage
6.11.6.4. Reference Data
6.11.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.7. < rich:inplaceSelect > available since 3.2.0
6.11.7.1. Description
6.11.7.2. Key Features
6.11.7.3. Details of Usage
6.11.7.4. Reference Data
6.11.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.8. < rich:inputNumberSlider > available since 3.0.0
6.11.8.1. Description
6.11.8.2. Key Features
6.11.8.3. Details of Usage
6.11.8.4. Reference Data
6.11.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.9. < rich:inputNumberSpinner > available since 3.0.0
6.11.9.1. Description
6.11.9.2. Key Features
6.11.9.3. Details of Usage
6.11.9.4. Reference Data
6.11.9.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.10. < rich:suggestionbox > available since 3.0.0
6.11.10.1. Description
6.11.10.2. Key Features
+6.11.10.3. Details of Usage
6.11.10.3.1. Main attributes
6.11.10.3.2. JavaScript API
6.11.10.3.3. Other attributes and facets
6.11.10.4. Reference Data
6.11.10.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.12. Rich Selects
+6.12.1. < rich:listShuttle > available since 3.1.3
6.12.1.1. Description
6.12.1.2. Key Features
6.12.1.3. Details of Usage
6.12.1.4. Reference Data
6.12.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.12.2. < rich:orderingList > available since 3.1.3
6.12.2.1. Description
6.12.2.2. Key Features
6.12.2.3. Details of Usage
6.12.2.4. Reference Data
6.12.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.12.3. < rich:pickList > available since 3.2.0
6.12.3.1. Description
6.12.3.2. Key Features
6.12.3.3. Details of Usage
6.12.3.4. Reference Data
6.12.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.13. Rich Semantic Layouts
+6.13.1. < rich:page > available since 3.3.1
6.13.1.1. Description
6.13.1.2. Key Features
6.13.1.3. Details of Usage
6.13.1.4. Reference Data
6.13.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.13.2. < rich:layout > available since 3.3.1
6.13.2.1. Description
6.13.2.2. Key Features
6.13.2.3. Details of Usage
6.13.2.4. Reference Data
6.13.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.13.3. < rich:layoutPanel > available since 3.3.1
6.13.3.1. Description
6.13.3.2. Key Features
6.13.3.3. Details of Usage
6.13.3.4. Reference Data
6.13.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14. Rich Miscellaneous
+6.14.1. < rich:componentControl > available since 3.0.0
6.14.1.1. Description
6.14.1.2. Key Features
6.14.1.3. Details of Usage
6.14.1.4. Reference Data
6.14.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.2. <rich:effect> available since 3.1.0
6.14.2.1. Description
6.14.2.2. Key Features
6.14.2.3. Details of Usage
6.14.2.4. Reference Data
6.14.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.3. < rich:gmap > available since 3.0.0
6.14.3.1. Description
6.14.3.2. Key Features
6.14.3.3. Details of Usage
6.14.3.4. Reference Data
6.14.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.4. < rich:virtualEarth > available since 3.1.0
6.14.4.1. Description
6.14.4.2. Key Features
6.14.4.3. Details of Usage
6.14.4.4. Reference Data
6.14.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.5. < rich:hotKey > available since 3.2.2
6.14.5.1. Description
6.14.5.2. Key Features
6.14.5.3. Details of Usage
6.14.5.4. Reference Data
6.14.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.6. < rich:insert > available since 3.1.0
6.14.6.1. Description
6.14.6.2. Key Features
6.14.6.3. Details of Usage
6.14.6.4. Reference Data
6.14.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.7. <rich:message> available since 3.1.0
6.14.7.1. Description
6.14.7.2. Key Features
6.14.7.3. Details of Usage
6.14.7.4. Reference Data
6.14.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.8. <rich:messages> available since 3.1.0
6.14.8.1. Description
6.14.8.2. Key Features
6.14.8.3. Details of Usage
6.14.8.4. Reference Data
6.14.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.9. < rich:jQuery > available since 3.0.0
6.14.9.1. Description
6.14.9.2. Key Features
6.14.9.3. Details of Usage
6.14.9.4. Reference Data
6.14.9.5. Relevant Resources Links
7. IDE Support
8. Links to information resources

RichFaces is an open source framework that adds Ajax capability into existing JSF applications without resorting to JavaScript.

RichFaces leverages JavaServer Faces framework including lifecycle, validation, conversion facilities and management of static and dynamic resources. RichFaces components with built-in Ajax support and a highly customizable look-and-feel can be easily incorporated into JSF applications.

RichFaces allows to:

RichFaces UI components come ready to use out-of-the-box, so developers save their time and immediately gain the advantage of the mentioned above features in Web applications creation. As a result, usage experience can be faster and easily obtained.

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RichFaces was developed with an open architecture to be compatible with the widest possible variety of environments.

This is what you need to start working with RichFaces 3.3.3:

  • Java

  • JavaServer Faces

  • Java application server or servlet container

  • Browser (on client side)

  • RichFaces framework

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This chapter describes all necessary actions and configurations that should be done for plugging the RichFaces components into a JSF appplication. The description relies on a simple JSF with RichFaces application creation process from downloading the libraries to running the application in a browser. The process of application creation described here is common and does not depend on used IDE.

The latest release of RichFaces components is available for download at JBoss RichFaces Downloads area at JBoss community. Binary files (uploaded there in *.bin.zip or *.bin.tar.gz archives) contains compiled, ready-to-use version of RichFaces with set of basic skins.

To start with RichFaces in computer file system create new folder with name "RichFaces", download and unzip the archive with binaries there.

For those who want to download and compile the RichFaces by themselfs there is an article at JBoss community that describes the RichFaces repository's structure overview and some aspects of working with it.

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"RichFaces Greeter"—the simple application—is hello-world like application but with one difference: the world of RichFaces will say "Hello!" to user first.

Create standard JSF 1.2 project with all necessary libraries; name the project "Greeter" and follow the decription.

After RichFaces libraries where added into the project it is necessary to register them in project web.xml file. Add following lines in web.xml:


...
<!-- Plugging the "Blue Sky" skin into the project -->
<context-param>
   <param-name>org.richfaces.SKIN</param-name>
   <param-value>blueSky</param-value>
</context-param>

<!-- Making the RichFaces skin spread to standard HTML controls -->
<context-param>
      <param-name>org.richfaces.CONTROL_SKINNING</param-name>
      <param-value>enable</param-value>
</context-param>
 
<!-- Defining and mapping the RichFaces filter -->
<filter> 
   <display-name>RichFaces Filter</display-name> 
   <filter-name>richfaces</filter-name> 
   <filter-class>org.ajax4jsf.Filter</filter-class> 
</filter> 
  
<filter-mapping> 
   <filter-name>richfaces</filter-name> 
   <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
   <dispatcher>REQUEST</dispatcher>
   <dispatcher>FORWARD</dispatcher>
   <dispatcher>INCLUDE</dispatcher>
</filter-mapping>
...

For more information on how to work with RichFaces skins read "Skinnabilty" chapter.

Finally the web.xml should look like this:


<?xml version="1.0"?>
<web-app version="2.5" 
                xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee"
                xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" 
                xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd">
<display-name>Greeter</display-name>
  
<context-param>
   <param-name>javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD</param-name>
   <param-value>server</param-value>
</context-param>
  
<context-param>
   <param-name>org.richfaces.SKIN</param-name>
   <param-value>blueSky</param-value>
</context-param>

<context-param>
      <param-name>org.richfaces.CONTROL_SKINNING</param-name>
      <param-value>enable</param-value>
</context-param>
 
<filter> 
   <display-name>RichFaces Filter</display-name> 
   <filter-name>richfaces</filter-name> 
   <filter-class>org.ajax4jsf.Filter</filter-class> 
</filter> 

<filter-mapping> 
   <filter-name>richfaces</filter-name> 
   <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
   <dispatcher>REQUEST</dispatcher>
   <dispatcher>FORWARD</dispatcher>
   <dispatcher>INCLUDE</dispatcher>
</filter-mapping>
  
<listener>
   <listener-class>com.sun.faces.config.ConfigureListener</listener-class>
</listener>
  
<!-- Faces Servlet -->
<servlet>
   <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
   <servlet-class>javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet</servlet-class>
   <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>
 
<!-- Faces Servlet Mapping -->
<servlet-mapping>
   <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
   <url-pattern>*.jsf</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
  
<login-config>
   <auth-method>BASIC</auth-method>
   </login-config>
</web-app>

The "RichFaces Greeter" application has only one JSP page. Create index.jsp page in root of WEB CONTENT folder and add there following code:


<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en">
<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core" prefix="f" %>
<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html" prefix="h" %>
<!-- RichFaces tag library declaration -->
<%@ taglib uri="http://richfaces.org/a4j" prefix="a4j"%>
<%@ taglib uri="http://richfaces.org/rich" prefix="rich"%>
 
<html>
      <head>
            <title>RichFaces Greeter</title>
      </head>
      <body>
            <f:view>
                  <a4j:form>
                        <rich:panel header="RichFaces Greeter" style="width: 315px">
                              <h:outputText value="Your name: " />
                              <h:inputText value="#{user.name}" >
                                    <f:validateLength minimum="1" maximum="30" />
                              </h:inputText>
                              
                              <a4j:commandButton value="Get greeting" reRender="greeting" />
                              
                              <h:panelGroup id="greeting" >
                                    <h:outputText value="Hello, " rendered="#{not empty user.name}" />
                                    <h:outputText value="#{user.name}" />
                                    <h:outputText value="!" rendered="#{not empty user.name}" />
                              </h:panelGroup>
                        </rich:panel>
                  </a4j:form>
            </f:view>
      </body>
</html>

The application uses three RichFaces components: <rich:panel> is used as visual container for information; <a4j:commandButton> with built-in Ajax support allows rendering a greeting dynamically after a response comes back and <a4j:form> helps the button to perform the action.

Note, that the RichFaces tag library should be declared on each JSP page.

For Facelets you should add the following lines for tag library declaration:


<ui:composition xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
                xmlns:ui="http://java.sun.com/jsf/facelets"
                xmlns:a4j="http://richfaces.org/a4j"
                xmlns:rich="http://richfaces.org/rich">
   ...
</ui:composition>

That's it. Run the application on server. Point your browser to index.jsp page in browser: http://localhost:8080/Greeter/index.jsf


In this section we will tell how you can create a simple JSF application with RichFaces using Maven.

In the first place you need to make sure that Maven is installed on you local machine. We will run the JSF application on Tomcat 6.0 server, so please download and install it if you haven't done already so.

Now we can move on to creating the application. To create the project structure and fill it with minimal content we will use the "maven-archetype-jsfwebapp" Maven archetype which is a part of RichFaces CDK.

The "maven-archetype-jsfwebapp" archetype and the project itself require extra repositories to be provided, namely "http://snapshots.jboss.org/maven2/" and "http://repository.jboss.com/maven2/". The easiest way to make the repositories visible for Maven is to create a profile in "maven_installation_folder/conf/settings.xml" in <profiles> element. This is the content of the profile:



<profile>
    <id>jsf-app-profile</id>
    <repositories>
        <repository>
            <releases>
                <enabled>true</enabled>
            </releases>
            <snapshots>
                <enabled>true</enabled>
                <updatePolicy>always</updatePolicy>
            </snapshots>
            <id>snapshots.jboss.org</id>
            <name>Snapshot Jboss Repository for Maven</name>
            <url>http://snapshots.jboss.org/maven2/</url>
            <layout>default</layout>
        </repository>
        <repository>
            <releases>
                <enabled>true</enabled>
            </releases>
            <snapshots>
                <enabled>true</enabled>
                <updatePolicy>always</updatePolicy>
            </snapshots>
            <id>repository.jboss.com</id>
            <name>Jboss Repository for Maven</name>
            <url>http://repository.jboss.com/maven2/</url>
            <layout>default</layout>
        </repository>
    </repositories>
</profile>
 

When the profile is added you need to activate it in the <activeProfiles> element. It can be done like this:


...
<activeProfiles>
  <activeProfile>jsf-app-profile</activeProfile>
</activeProfiles>
...

Now you have everything to create the project using the "maven-archetype-jsfwebapp" archetype. Create a folder that will house your project and run the this command in it:


...
mvn archetype:generate -DarchetypeGroupId=org.richfaces.cdk -DarchetypeArtifactId=maven-archetype-jsfwebapp -DarchetypeVersion=3.3.3-SNAPSHOT -DgroupId=org.docs.richfaces -DartifactId=jsf-app
...

You can adjust some parameters of the command.


This command generates a JSF project that has the following structure:



jsf-app
|-- pom.xml
`-- src
    |-- main
    |   |-- java
    |   |   `-- org
    |   |       `-- docs
    |   |           `-- richfaces
    |   |               `-- Bean.java
    |   |-- resources
    |   `-- webapp
    |       |-- WEB-INF
    |       |   |-- faces-config.xml
    |       |   `-- web.xml
    |       |-- index.jsp
    |       `-- pages
    |           |-- index.jsp
    |           `-- index.xhtml
    `-- test
        `-- java
            `-- org
                `-- docs
                    `-- richfaces
                        `-- BeanTest.java
 

Now go to "jsf-app" folder, it contains a project descriptor(pom.xml). Open the project descriptor to edit and add dependencies to the <dependencies> element. Your <dependencies> element content should be the following:


...
<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>junit</groupId>
        <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
        <version>3.8.1</version>
        <scope>test</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
        <artifactId>servlet-api</artifactId>
        <version>2.4</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.servlet</groupId>
        <artifactId>jsp-api</artifactId>
        <version>2.0</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>jstl</groupId>
        <artifactId>jstl</artifactId>
        <version>1.1.2</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.servlet.jsp</groupId>
        <artifactId>jsp-api</artifactId>
        <version>2.1</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.faces</groupId>
        <artifactId>jsf-api</artifactId>
        <version>1.2_12</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.faces</groupId>
        <artifactId>jsf-impl</artifactId>
        <version>1.2_12</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.el</groupId>
        <artifactId>el-api</artifactId>
        <version>1.0</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>el-impl</groupId>
        <artifactId>el-impl</artifactId>
        <version>1.0</version>
        <scope>provided</scope>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>javax.annotation</groupId>
        <artifactId>jsr250-api</artifactId>
        <version>1.0</version>
    </dependency>
    <!-- RichFaces libraries -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.richfaces.framework</groupId>
        <artifactId>richfaces-api</artifactId>
        <version>3.3.3-SNAPSHOT</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.richfaces.framework</groupId>
        <artifactId>richfaces-impl</artifactId>
        <version>3.3.3-SNAPSHOT</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.richfaces.ui</groupId>
        <artifactId>richfaces-ui</artifactId>
        <version>3.3.3-SNAPSHOT</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>
...

The last three dependences add RichFaces libraries to the project. You can now build the project with the mvn install command.

When you see the "BUILD SUCCESSFUL" message, the project is assembled and can be imported to a IDE and run on the server.

The project can be built for Eclipse IDE with mvn eclipse:eclipse -Dwtpversion=2.0 command.

Then you can import the project into Eclipse. After importing to Eclipse open the "jsf-app/src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/web.xml" to configure it according to the listing in the Registering RichFaces in web.xml section of the guide.

The project is configured and now you can start using RichFaces. Open "jsf-app/src/main/webapp/pages/index.jsp" file and add the tag library declaration.


...
<%@ taglib uri="http://richfaces.org/rich" prefix="rich"%>
...

Add some RichFaces component to the "index.jsp" page, for instance <rich:calendar>. Your "index.jsp" page will look like this:


...
<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html" prefix="h" %>
<%@ taglib uri="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core" prefix="f"%>
<%@ taglib uri="http://richfaces.org/rich" prefix="rich"%>
<html>
    <head>
        <title>JSF Application with RichFaces built by Maven</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <f:view>
        <rich:calendar />
        </f:view>
    </body> 
</html>  
...

Now run the application on Tomcat server and open it in your favourite browser by pointing it to "http://localhost:8080/jsf-app/" .

The Photo Album Application is designed and developed with RichFaces.

Maven Resource Dependency Plugin Reference article discusses plugin configuration and usage.

See also the "How to start RichFaces application with NetBeans IDE" article in the RichFaces Cookbook.

JBoss Developer Studio comes with a tight integration with RichFaces component framework. Following links might be useful for those who already use this IDE and RichFaces for developing applications and those who wish to improve their development process:

Read "RichFaces installing and configuration" article to find out how to integrate RichFaces and Trinidad and possible problems that may occur while launching the RichFaces sample on the JBoss server.

Read also the quick overview to "Practical RichFaces " book by Max Katz at his blog.

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RichFaces comes with support for all tags (components) included in the JavaServer Faces specification. To add RichFaces capabilities to the existing JSF project you should just put the RichFaces libraries into the lib folder of the project and add filter mapping. The behavior of the existing project doesn't change just because of RichFaces.

RichFaces doesn't require any parameters to be defined in your web.xml. But the RichFaces parameters listed below may help with development and may increase the flexibility of RichFaces usage.

Table 4.1. Initialization Parameters

NameDefaultDescription
org.richfaces.SKINDEFAULTIs a name of a skin used in an application. It can be a literal string with a skin name, or the EL expression (#{...}) pointed to a String property (skin name) or a property of a org.richfaces.framework.skin type. Skin in last case, this instance is used as a current skin
org.richfaces.LoadScriptStrategyDEFAULTDefines how the RichFaces script files are loaded to application. Possible values are: ALL, DEFAULT, NONE. For more information see "Scripts and Styles Load Strategy".
org.richfaces.LoadStyleStrategyDEFAULTDefines how the RichFaces style files are loaded to application. Possible values are: ALL, DEFAULT, NONE. For more information see "Scripts and Styles Load Strategy".
org.ajax4jsf.LOGFILEnoneIs an URL to an application or a container log file (if possible). If this parameter is set, content from the given URL is shown on a Debug error page in the iframe window
org.ajax4jsf.VIEW_HANDLERSnoneIs a comma-separated list of custom ViewHandler instances for inserting in chain. Handlers are inserted BEFORE RichFaces viewhandlers in the given order. For example, in facelets application this parameter must contain com.sun.facelets.FaceletViewHandler, instead of declaration in faces-config.xml
org.ajax4jsf.CONTROL_COMPONENTSnoneIs a comma-separated list of names for a component as a special control case, such as messages bundle loader, alias bean components, etc. Is a type of component got by a reflection from the static field COMPONENT_TYPE . For components with such types encode methods always are called in rendering Ajax responses, even if a component isn't in an updated part
org.ajax4jsf.ENCRYPT_RESOURCE_DATAfalseFor generated resources, such as encrypt generation data, it's encoded in the resource URL. For example, URL for an image generated from the mediaOutput component contains a name of a generation method, since for a hacker attack, it is possible to create a request for any JSF baked beans or other attributes. To prevent such attacks, set this parameter to "true" in critical applications (works with JRE > 1.4 )
org.ajax4jsf.ENCRYPT_PASSWORDrandomIs a password for encryption of resources data. If isn't set, a random password is used
org.ajax4jsf.COMPRESS_SCRIPTtrueIt doesn't allow framework to reformat JavaScript files (makes it impossible to debug)
org.ajax4jsf.RESOURCE_URI_PREFIXa4j Defines prefix which is added to all URIs of generated resources. This prefix designed to handle RichFaces generated resources requests
org.ajax4jsf.GLOBAL_RESOURCE_URI_PREFIXa4j/g Defines prefix which is added to URIs of global resources. This prefix designed to handle RichFaces generated resources requests
org.ajax4jsf.SESSION_RESOURCE_URI_PREFIXa4j/s Defines prefix which is used for session tracking for generated resources. This prefix designed to handle RichFaces generated resources requests
org.ajax4jsf.DEFAULT_EXPIRE86400 Defines in seconds how long streamed back to browser resources can be cached
org.ajax4jsf.SERIALIZE_SERVER_STATEfalse If enabled the component state (not the tree) will be serialized before being stored in the session. This may be desirable for applications that may have issues with view state being sensitive to model changes. Instead of this parameter can use com.sun.faces.serializeServerState and org.apache.myfaces.SERIALIZE_STATE_IN_SESSION parameters for corresponding environments.



RichFaces now works out-of-the-box with JBoss Seam and Facelets running inside JBoss AS 4.0.4 and higher. There is no more shared JAR files needed. You just have to package the RichFaces library with your application.

Your web.xml for Seam 1.2 must be like this:


<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<web-app xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/j2ee"
                   xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
                   xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/j2ee http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/j2ee/web-app_2_4.xsd"
                   version="2.4">

     <!-- richfaces -->

     <filter>
          <display-name>RichFaces Filter</display-name>
          <filter-name>richfaces</filter-name>
          <filter-class>org.ajax4jsf.Filter</filter-class>
     </filter>

     <filter-mapping>
          <filter-name>richfaces</filter-name>
          <url-pattern>*.seam</url-pattern>
     </filter-mapping>

     <!-- Seam -->

     <listener>
          <listener-class>org.jboss.seam.servlet.SeamListener</listener-class>
     </listener>

     <servlet>
          <servlet-name>Seam Resource Servlet</servlet-name>
          <servlet-class>org.jboss.seam.servlet.ResourceServlet</servlet-class>
     </servlet>

     <servlet-mapping>
          <servlet-name>Seam Resource Servlet</servlet-name>
          <url-pattern>/seam/resource/*</url-pattern>
     </servlet-mapping>

     <filter>
          <filter-name>Seam Filter</filter-name>
          <filter-class>org.jboss.seam.web.SeamFilter</filter-class>
     </filter>

     <filter-mapping>
          <filter-name>Seam Filter</filter-name>
          <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
     </filter-mapping>

     <!-- MyFaces -->

     <listener>
          <listener-class>org.apache.myfaces.webapp.StartupServletContextListener</listener-class>
     </listener>

     <!-- JSF -->

     <context-param>
          <param-name>javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD</param-name>
          <param-value>client</param-value>
     </context-param>

     <context-param>
          <param-name>javax.faces.DEFAULT_SUFFIX</param-name>
         <param-value>.xhtml</param-value>
     </context-param>

     <servlet>
          <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
          <servlet-class>javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet</servlet-class>
          <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
     </servlet>

     <servlet-mapping>
          <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
          <url-pattern>*.seam</url-pattern>
     </servlet-mapping>
</web-app>

Seam 2 supports RichFaces Filter. Thus your web.xml for Seam 2 must be like this:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<web-app version="2.5"
                   xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee"
                   xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
                   xsi:schemaLocation="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_2_5.xsd">

     <context-param>
          <param-name>org.ajax4jsf.VIEW_HANDLERS</param-name>
          <param-value>com.sun.facelets.FaceletViewHandler</param-value>
     </context-param>

     <!-- Seam -->

     <listener>
          <listener-class>org.jboss.seam.servlet.SeamListener</listener-class>
     </listener>

     <servlet>
          <servlet-name>Seam Resource Servlet</servlet-name>
          <servlet-class>org.jboss.seam.servlet.SeamResourceServlet</servlet-class>
     </servlet>

     <servlet-mapping>
          <servlet-name>Seam Resource Servlet</servlet-name>
          <url-pattern>/seam/resource/*</url-pattern>
     </servlet-mapping>

     <filter>
          <filter-name>Seam Filter</filter-name>
          <filter-class>org.jboss.seam.servlet.SeamFilter</filter-class>
     </filter>

     <filter-mapping>
          <filter-name>Seam Filter</filter-name>
          <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
     </filter-mapping>

     <!-- JSF -->

     <context-param>
          <param-name>javax.faces.DEFAULT_SUFFIX</param-name>
          <param-value>.xhtml</param-value>
     </context-param>

     <context-param>
          <param-name>facelets.DEVELOPMENT</param-name>
          <param-value>true</param-value>
     </context-param>

     <servlet>
          <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
          <servlet-class>javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet</servlet-class>
          <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
     </servlet>

     <servlet-mapping>
          <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
          <url-pattern>*.seam</url-pattern>
     </servlet-mapping>
</web-app>

Only one issue still persists while using Seam with MyFaces. Look at myFaces part of this section.

Detailed information on how to integrate Richfaces and Trinidad and how to hide ".seam" postfix in the URL you can find in the RichFaces Cookbook article

expand all
5.1. Introduction
5.2. RichFaces Architecture Overview
5.3. Partial Rendering
5.4. RichFaces Integral Parts
5.5. Limitations and Rules
+5.6. Ajax Request Optimization
5.6.1. Re-Rendering
5.6.2. Queue and Traffic Flood Protection
+5.6.3. Queue Principles
5.6.3.1. Global default queue, defined in the web.xml file
5.6.3.2. View scoped default queue
5.6.3.3. View scoped named queue
5.6.3.4. Form based default queue
+5.6.3.5. Queue functionality
5.6.3.5.1. Events Similarity
5.6.3.5.2. Similar requests during request delay
5.6.3.5.3. JavaScript API
5.6.4. Data Processing Options
5.6.5. Action and Navigation
5.6.6. JavaScript Interactions
5.6.7. Iteration components Ajax attributes
5.6.8. Other useful attributes
5.6.9. Common Ajax Attributes
+5.7. How To...
5.7.1. Send an Ajax request
5.7.2. Decide What to Send
5.7.3. Decide What to Change
5.7.4. Decide what to process
5.8. Filter Configuration
5.9. Scripts and Styles Load Strategy
+5.10. Request Errors and Session Expiration Handling
5.10.1. Request Errors Handling
5.10.2. Session Expired Handling
+5.11. Skinnability
5.11.1. Why Skinnability
5.11.2. Using Skinnability
5.11.3. Example
5.11.4. Skin Parameters Tables in RichFaces
5.11.5. Creating and Using Your Own Skin File
5.11.6. Built-in Skinnability in RichFaces
5.11.7. Changing skin in runtime
+5.11.8. Standard Controls Skinning
5.11.8.1. Standard level
5.11.8.2. Extended level
5.11.9. Client-side Script for Extended Skinning Support
5.11.10. XCSS File Format
+5.11.11. Plug-n-Skin
5.11.11.1. Details of Usage
5.12. Definition of Custom Style Classes
5.13. State Manager API
5.14. Identifying User Roles

Next figure lists several important elements of the RichFaces framework


Ajax Filter.

To get all benefits of RichFaces , you should register a Filter in web.xml file of your application. The Filter recognizes multiple request types. Necessary information about Filter configuration can be found in the "Filter configuration" section. The sequence diagram on Figure 3 shows the difference in processing of a "regular" JSF request and an Ajax request.

In the first case the whole JSF tree will be encoded, in the second one option it depends on the "size" of the Ajax region. As you can see, in the second case the filter parses the content of an Ajax response before sending it to the client side.

Have a look at the next picture to understand these two ways:


In both cases, the information about required static or dynamic resources that your application requests is registered in the ResourseBuilder class.

When a request for a resource comes (Figure 4), the RichFaces filter checks the Resource Cache for this resource and if it is there, the resource is sent to the client. Otherwise, the filter searches for the resource among those that are registered by the ResourceBuilder. If the resource is registered, the RichFaces filter will send a request to the ResourceBuilder to create (deliver) the resource.

Next Figure shows the ways of resource request processing.


AJAX Action Components

There are Ajax Action Components: <a4j:commandButton> , <a4j:commandLink> , <a4j:poll> and <a4j:support> and etc. You can use them to send Ajax requests from the client side.

AJAX Containers

AjaxContainer is an interface that describes an area on your JSF page that should be decoded during an Ajax request. AjaxViewRoot and AjaxRegion are implementations of this interface.

JavaScript Engine

RichFaces JavaScript Engine runs on the client-side. It knows how to update different areas on your JSF page based on the information from the Ajax response. Do not use this JavaScript code directly, as it is available automatically.

The RichFaces comes with a number of integral parts (framework, libraries):

For more information about framework and libraries loading see the following section in the FAQ.

Note:

In order to prevent JavaScript versions conflict you should use only one version of the framework or library. You could find more information about libraries exclusion in the FAQ.

expand all

Ajax attributes are common for Ajax components such as <a4j:support> , <a4j:commandButton> , <a4j:jsFunction> , <a4j:poll> , <a4j:push> and so on. Also, most RichFaces components with built-in Ajax support have these attributes for a similar purpose. Ajax components attributes help RichFaces to expose its features. Most of the attributes have default values. Thus, you can start working with RichFaces without knowing the usage of these attribute. However, their usage allows to tune the required Ajax behavior very smoothly.

"reRender" is a key attribute. The attribute allows to point to area(s) on a page that should be updated as a response on Ajax interaction. The value of the "reRender" attribute is an id of the JSF component or an id list.

A simple example is placed below:


...
<a4j:commandButton value="update" reRender="infoBlock"/>
...
<h:panelGrid id="infoBlock">
    ...
</h:panelGrid>
...

The value of "reRender" attribute of the <a4j:commandButton> tag defines which part(s) of your page is (are) to be updated. In this case, the only part of the page to update is the <h:panelGrid> tag because its ID value matches to the value of "reRender" attribute. As you see, it's not difficult to update multiple elements on the page, only list their IDs as the value of "reRender" .

"reRender" uses UIComponent.findComponent() algorithm (with some additional exceptions) to find the component in the component tree. As can you see, the algorithm presumes several steps. Each other step is used if the previous step is not successful. Therefore, you can define how fast the component is found mentioning it more precisely. The following example shows the difference in approaches (both buttons will work successfully):


...
<h:form id="form1">
    ...
    <a4j: commandButton value="Usual Way" reRender="infoBlock, infoBlock2" />
    <a4j:commandButton value="Shortcut" reRender=":infoBlockl,:sv:infoBlock2" />
    ...
</h:form>
<h:panelGrid id="infoBlock">
    ...
</h:panelGrid>
...
<f:subview id="sv">
    <h:panelGrid id="infoBlock2">
        ...
    </h:panelGrid>
    ...
</f:subview>
...

It's also possible to use JSF EL expression as a value of the reRender attribute. It might be a property of types Set, Collection, Array or simple String. The EL for reRender is resolved right before the Render Response phase. Hence, you can calculate what should be re-rendered on any previous phase during the Ajax request processing.

Most common problem with using reRender is pointing it to the component that has a "rendered" attribute. Note, that JSF does not mark the place in the browser DOM where the outcome of the component should be placed in case the "rendered" condition returns false. Therefore, after the component becomes rendered during the Ajax request, RichFaces delivers the rendered code to the client, but does not update a page, because the place for update is unknown. You need to point to one of the parent components that has no "rendered" attribute. As an alternative, you can wrap the component with <a4j:outputPanel> layout="none" .

"ajaxRendered" attribute of the <a4j:outputPanel> set to "true" allows to define the area of the page that will be re-rendered even if it is not pointed in the reRender attribute explicitly. It might be useful if you have an area on a page that should be updated as a response on any Ajax request. For example, the following code allows to output error messages regardless of what Ajax request causes the Validation phase failed.


...
<a4j:outputPanel ajaxRendered="true">
    <h:messages />
</a4j:outputPanel>
...

"limitToList" attribute allows to dismiss the behavior of the <a4j:outputPanel> "ajaxRendered" attribute. limitToList = "true" means to update only the area(s) that mentioned in the "reRender" attribute explicitly. All output panels with ajaxRendered="true" is ignored. An example is placed below:


...
<h:form>
    <h:inputText value="#{person.name}">
        <a4j:support event="onkeyup" reRender="test" limitToList="true"/>
    </h:inputText>
    <h:outputText value="#{person.name}" id="test"/>
</form>
...

"eventsQueue" attribute defines the name of the queue that will be used to order upcoming Ajax requests. By default, RichFaces does not queue Ajax requests. If events are produced simultaneously, they will come to the server simultaneously. JSF implementations (especially, the very first ones) does not guaranty that the request that comes first will be served or passed into the JSF lifecycle first. The order how the server-side data will be modified in case of simultaneous request might be unpredictable. Usage of eventsQueue attribute allows to avoid possible mess. Define the queue name explicitly, if you expect intensive Ajax traffic in your application.

The next request posted in the same queue will wait until the previos one is not processed and Ajax Response is returned back if the "eventsQueue" attribute is defined. In addition, RichFaces starts to remove from the queue "similar" requests. "Similar'"requests are the requests produced by the same event. For example, according to the following code, only the newest request will be sent to the server if you type very fast and has typed the several characters already before the previous Ajax Response is back.


...
<h:inputText value="#{userBean.name}">
    <a4j:support event="onkeyup" eventsQueue="foo" reRender="bar" />
</h:inputText>
...

"requestDelay" attribute defines the time (in ms) that the request will be wait in the queue before it is ready to send. When the delay time is over, the request will be sent to the server or removed if the newest "similar" request is in a queue already .

"ignoreDupResponses" attribute orders to ignore the Ajax Response produced by the request if the newest "similar" request is in a queue already. ignoreDupResponses"="true" does not cancel the request while it is processed on the server, but just allows to avoid unnecessary updates on the client side if the response loses the actuality.

Defining the "eventsQueue" along with "requestDelay" allows to protect against unnecessary traffic flood and synchronizes Ajax requests order. If you have several sources of Ajax requests, you can define the same queue name there. This might be very helpful if you have Ajax components that invoke request asynchronously from the ones produced by events from users. For example, <a4j:poll> or <a4j:push> . In case the requests from such components modify the same data, the synchronization might be very helpful.

More information can be found on the RichFaces Users Forum .

"timeout" attribute is used for setting response waiting time on a particular request. If a response is not received during this time, the request is aborted.

expand all

Starting from 3.3.0 version RichFaces has an improved queue.

There are some reasons why the queue has been improved. In previous versions the queue had quite simple implementation: it sent to the server only the last Ajax request out of all requests coming in the queue during request delay.

The improved queue allows to

  • Eliminate the possibility of collisions when several JSF requests pass the JSF lifecycle at the same time. The queue prevents sending such requests. Only one request is processed. The rest ones are waiting.

  • Reduce the traffic between browser and the server. The "similar" requests came within request delay are absorbed. Only the last one is actually sent. Reducing the number of request reduces the server load.

There are 4 types of the queue:

  • Global default queue, defined in the web.xml file

  • View scoped default queue

  • View scoped named queue

  • Form-based default queue

In this section we will take a closer look at the listed above types of the queue and see in more detail how they differ. Usage details are covered in the <a4j:queue> chapter.

Design details

The view scoped default, named and formed-based types of queue utilize the <a4j:queue> tag to override the settings of the global queue defined in the web.xml file.

You can also programmatically enable/disable the global queue on a single view using the following:


...
<a4j:queue name="org.richfaces.queue.global" disabled="true"... />
...

Hence, to enable the queue for a single view page you need to define the "disable" attribute with "false".

Now, you can override the default settings using the attributes of the <a4j:queue> component. The full list of attributes is given in the "6.20. <a4j:queue>" chapter of the guide.

Example:


...
<a4j:queue name="org.richfaces.queue.global" requestDelay="1000" />
...

View scoped queue can be also added by just definition of the queue without name specified. In this case it should be placed anywhere outside the forms in order not to be recognized as a form-based queue.


...
<a4j:queue ... />
...
expand all

This section will cover some queue's functionality aspects.

RichFaces uses form based approach for Ajax request sending. This means each time, when you click an Ajax button or <a4j:poll> produces an asynchronous request, the data from the closest JSF form is submitted with the XMLHTTPRequest object. The form data contains the values from the form input element and auxiliary information such as state saving data.

When "ajaxSingle" attribute value is "true" , it orders to include only a value of the current component (along with <f:param> or <a4j:actionparam> values if any) to the request map. In case of <a4j:support> , it is a value of the parent component. An example is placed below:


...
<h:form>
    <h:inputText value="#{person.name}">
        <a4j:support event="onkeyup" reRender="test" ajaxSingle="true"/>
    </h:inputText>
    <h:inputText value="#{person.middleName}"/>
</form>
...

In this example the request contains only the input component causes the request generation, not all the components contained on a form, because of ajaxSingle="true" usage.

Note, that ajaxSingle="true" reduces the upcoming traffic, but does not prevent decoding other input components on the server side. Some JSF components, such as <h:selectOneMenu> do recognize the missing data in the request map value as a null value and try to pass the validation process with a failed result. Thus, use <a4j:region> to limit a part of the component tree that will be processed on the server side when it is required.

"immediate" attribute has the same purpose as any other non-JSF component. The default "ActionListener" should be executed immediately (i.e. during the Apply Request Values phase of a request processing lifecycle), rather than waiting until the Invoke Application phase. Using immediate="true" is one of the ways to have some data model values updated when other cannot be updated because of a problem with passing the Validation phase successfully. This might be important inside the <h:dataTable> like components where using <a4j:region> is impossible due to the <h:dataTable> component architecture.

"bypassUpdates" attribute allows to bypass the Update Model phase. It might be useful if you need to check your input against the available validator, but not to update the model with those data. Note, that an action will be invoked at the end of the Validation phase only if the Validation phase is passed successfully. The listeners of the Application phase will not be invoked in any case.

Ajax component is similar to any other non-Ajax JSF component like <h:commandButton> . It allows to submit the form. You can use "action" and "actionListener" attributes to invoke the action method and define the action event.

"action" method must return null if you want to have an Ajax Response with a partual page update. This is regular mode called "Ajax request generates Non-Ajax Response". In case of action does not return null, but the action outcome that matches one of navigation rules, RichFaces starts to work in "Ajax request generates Non-Ajax Response" mode. This mode might be helpful in two major cases:

RichFaces allows writing Ajax-enabled JSF application without writing any Javascript code. However, you can still invoke the JavaScript code if you need. There are several Ajax attributes that helps to do it.

"onsubmit" attribute allows to invoke JavaScript code before an Ajax request is sent. If "onsubmit" returns "false" , the Ajax request is canceled. The code of "onsubmit" is inserted before the RichFaces Ajax call. Hence, the "onsubmit" should not has a "return" statement if you want the Ajax request to be sent. If you are going to invoke a JavaScript function that returns "true" or "false" , use the conditional statement to return something only when you need to cancel the request. For example:


...
onsubmit="if (mynosendfunct()==false){return false}"
...

"onclick" attribute is similar to the "onsubmit" , but for clickable components such as <a4j:commandLink> and <a4j:commandButton> . If it returns "false" , the Ajax request is canceled also.

The "oncomplete" attribute is used for passing JavaScript that would be invoked right after the Ajax response returns back and DOM is updated. It is not recommended to use use keyword this inside the EL-expression, because it will not always point to the component where Ajax request was initiated.

"onbeforedomupdate" attribute defines JavaScript code for call after Ajax response receiving and before updating DOM on a client side.

"data" attribute allows to get the additional data from the server during an Ajax call. You can use JSF EL to point the property of the managed bean and its value will be serialized in JSON format and be available on the client side. You can refer to it using the "data" variable. For example:


...
<a4j:commandButton value="Update" data="#{userBean.name}" oncomplete="showTheName(data.name)" />
...

RichFaces allows to serialize not only primitive types into JSON format, but also complex types including arrays and collections. The beans should be serializable to be refered with "data" .

There is a number of useful functions which can be used in JavaScript:

"status" attribute for Ajax components (such as <a4j:commandButton> , <a4j:poll> , etc.) points to an ID of <a4j:status> component. Use this attribute if you want to share <a4j:status> component between different Ajax components from different regions. The following example shows it.


...
<a4j:region id="extr">
    <h:form>
        <h:outputText value="Status:" />
        <a4j:status id="commonstatus" startText="In Progress...." stopText=""/>
        <h:panelGrid columns="2">
            <h:outputText value="Name"/>
            <h:inputText id="name" value="#{userBean.name}">
                <a4j:support event="onkeyup" reRender="out" />
            </h:inputText>
            <h:outputText value="Job"/>
            <a4j:region  id="intr">
                <h:inputText id="job" value="#{userBean.job}">
                    <a4j:support event="onkeyup"  reRender="out" status="commonstatus"/>
                </h:inputText>
            </a4j:region>
        </h:panelGrid>
        <a4j:region>
            <h:outputText id="out" value="Name: #{userBean.name}, Job: #{userBean.job}" />
            <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>
...

In the example <a4j:support> and <a4j:commandButton> are defined in different regions. Values of "status" attribute for these components points to an ID of <a4j:support> .Thus, the <a4j:support> component is shared between two components from different regions.

More information could be found on the RichFaces Live Demo .

Other useful attribute is "focus" . It points to an ID of a component where focus will be set after an Ajax request.

This section of the guide summarizes all Ajax-related attributes that both rich and a4j components have.

Table 5.2. Title of the table

AttributeDescriptionA4J ComponentsRich Components
ajaxSingleLimits JSF tree processing (decoding, conversion, validation and model updating) only to a component that sends the request. Boolean. Default value is "false".

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<a4j:push>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:treeNode>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:toggleControl>

<rich:toolTip>

<rich:calendar>

<rich:fileUpload>

<rich:suggestionbox>

bypassUpdatesIf "true", after process validations phase it skips updates of model beans on a force render response. It can be used for validating components input

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<a4j:push>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:scrollableDataTable>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:treeNode>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:calendar>

<rich:suggestionbox>

limitToListIf "true", then of all AJAX-rendered on the page components only those will be updated, which ID's are passed to the "reRender" attribute of the describable component. "false"-the default value-means that all components with ajaxRendered="true" will be updated.

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<a4j:push>

<rich:ajaxValidator>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:dragSupport>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:treeNode>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:toggleControl>

<rich:calendar>

<rich:suggestionbox>

reRenderId['s] (in format of call UIComponent.findComponent()) of components, rendered in case of AjaxRequest caused by this component. Can be single id, comma-separated list of Id's, or EL Expression with array or Collection

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<a4j:push>

<rich:ajaxValidator>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:dataTable>

<rich:extendedDataTable>

<rich:scrollableDataTable>

<rich:dragSupport>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:treeNode>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:calendar>

<rich:suggestionbox>

processId['s] (in format of call UIComponent.findComponent()) of components, processed at the phases 2-5 in case of AjaxRequest caused by this component. Can be single id, comma-separated list of Id's, or EL Expression with array or Collection

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<a4j:push>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:treeNode>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:toggleControl>

<rich:calendar>

<rich:suggestionbox>

statusID (in format of call UIComponent.findComponent()) of Request status component

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<a4j:push>

<a4j:queue>

<rich:ajaxValidator>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:scrollableDataTable>

<rich:dragSupport>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:tree>

<rich:treeNode>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:toggleControl>

<rich:calendar>

<rich:fileUpload>

<rich:suggestionbox>

eventsQueueName of requests queue to avoid send next request before complete other from same event. Can be used to reduce number of requests of frequently events (key press, mouse move etc.)

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<a4j:push>

<rich:ajaxValidator>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:scrollableDataTable>

<rich:dragSupport>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:toggleControl>

<rich:calendar>

<rich:suggestionbox>

requestDelayAttribute defines the time (in ms.) that the request will be wait in the queue before it is ready to send. When the delay time is over, the request will be sent to the server or removed if the newest 'similar' request is in a queue already

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:queue>

<rich:ajaxValidator>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:scrollableDataTable>

<rich:dragSupport>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:calendar>

<rich:suggestionbox>

dataSerialized (on default with JSON) data passed on the client by a developer on AJAX request. It's accessible via "data.foo" syntax

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<a4j:push>

<rich:ajaxValidator>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:scrollableDataTable>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:treeNode>

<rich:paint2D>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:toggleControl>

<rich:calendar>

ignoreDupResponsesAttribute allows to ignore an Ajax Response produced by a request if the newest 'similar' request is in a queue already. ignoreDupResponses="true" does not cancel the request while it is processed on the server, but just allows to avoid unnecessary updates on the client side if the response isn't actual now

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<a4j:push>

<a4j:queue>

<rich:ajaxValidator>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:scrollableDataTable>

<rich:dragSupport>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:treeNode>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:toggleControl>

<rich:calendar>

<rich:suggestionbox>

timeoutResponse waiting time on a particular request. If a response is not received during this time, the request is aborted

<a4j:form>

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<a4j:push>

<a4j:queue>

<rich:ajaxValidator>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:scrollableDataTable>

<rich:dragSupport>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:treeNode>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:toggleControl>

<rich:suggestionbox>

similarityGroupingIdIf there are any component requests with identical IDs then these requests will be grouped.

<a4j:form>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<rich:ajaxValidator>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:scrollableDataTable>

<rich:dragSupport>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:treeNode>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:toggleControl>

<rich:calendar>

<rich:suggestionbox>

<rich:message>

<rich:messages>

keepTransientFlag for mark all child components to non-transient. If "true", all children components will be set to non-transient state and keep in saved components tree. For output in self-renderer region all content (By default, all content in <f:verbatim> tags and non-jsf elements in facelets, marked as transient - since, self-rendered ajax regions don't plain output for ajax processing). The default value is "false".

<a4j:include>

<a4j:outputPanel>

 
ajaxListenerMethodExpression representing an action listener method that will be notified when this component is activated by the ajax Request and handle it. The expression must evaluate to a public method that takes an AjaxEvent parameter, with a return type of void.

<a4j:include>

<a4j:outputPanel>

 
selfRenderedif "true", self-render subtree at InvokeApplication ( or Decode, if immediate property set to true ) phase

<a4j:page>

<a4j:region>

<rich:suggestionbox>

immediateFlag indicating that, if this component is activated by ajaxrequest, notifications should be delivered to interested listeners and actions immediately (that is, during Apply Request Values phase) rather than waiting until Invoke Application phase

<a4j:region>

<a4j:region>

<a4j:support>

<a4j:commandButton>

<a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:jsFunction>

<a4j:poll>

<a4j:push>

<a4j:page>

<a4j:htmlCommandLink>

<rich:dataFilterSlider>

<rich:datascroller>

<rich:dragSupport>

<rich:dropSupport>

<rich:menuItem>

<rich:tree>

<rich:panelBar>

<rich:panelMenu>

<rich:panelMenuGroup>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tabPanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:togglePanel>

<rich:toggleControl>

<rich:toolTip>

<rich:calendar>

<rich:colorPicker>

<rich:comboBox>

<rich:editor>

<rich:inplaceInput>

<rich:inplaceSelect>

<rich:inputNumberSlider>

<rich:inputNumberSpinner>

<rich:suggestionbox>

<rich:listShuttle>

<rich:orderingList>

<rich:pickList>

modeDefines the submission type: Ajax or Sever 

<rich:panelMenu>

<rich:panelMenuItem>

<rich:progressBar>

<rich:toolTip>

<rich:calendar>

switchTypeDefines the re-rendering mode: Ajax, server, client.

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>

<rich:tabPanel>

<rich:tab>

<rich:togglePanel>

<rich:tree>

<rich:simpleTogglePanel>


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RichFaces uses a filter for a correction of code received on an Ajax request. In case of a "regular" JSF request a browser makes correction independently. In case of Ajax request in order to prevent layout destruction it's needed to use a filter, because a received code could differ from a code validated by a browser and a browser doesn't make any corrections.

An example of how to set a Filter in a web.xml file of your application is placed below.

Example:


...
<filter>
    <display-name>RichFaces Filter</display-name>
    <filter-name>richfaces</filter-name>
    <filter-class>org.ajax4jsf.Filter</filter-class>
</filter>
...

From RichFaces 3.2 filter configuration becomes more flexible. It's possible to configure different filters for different sets of pages for the same application.

The possible filter types are:

  • TIDY

"TIDY" filter type based on the Tidy parser. This filter is recommended for applications with complicated or non-standard markup when all necessary code corrections are made by the filter when a response comes from the server.

"NEKO" filter type corresponds to the former "Fast Filter" and it's based on the Neko parser. In case of using this filter code isn't strictly verified. Use this one if you are sure that your application markup is really strict for this filter. Otherwise it could cause lot's of errors and corrupt a layout as a result. This filter considerably accelerates all Ajax requests processing.

No correction.

An example of configuration is placed below.

Example:


...
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.ajax4jsf.xmlparser.ORDER</param-name>
    <param-value>NONE,NEKO,TIDY</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.ajax4jsf.xmlparser.NONE</param-name>
    <param-value>/pages/performance\.xhtml,/pages/default.*\.xhtml</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.ajax4jsf.xmlparser.NEKO</param-name>
    <param-value>/pages/repeat\.xhtml</param-value>
</context-param>
<filter>
    <display-name>RichFaces Filter</display-name>
    <filter-name>richfaces</filter-name>
    <filter-class>org.ajax4jsf.Filter</filter-class>
</filter>
<filter-mapping>
    <filter-name>richfaces</filter-name>
    <servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
    <dispatcher>FORWARD</dispatcher>
    <dispatcher>REQUEST</dispatcher>
    <dispatcher>INCLUDE</dispatcher>
</filter-mapping>
...

The example shows that ORDER parameter defines the order in which particular filter types are used for pages code correction.

First of all "NONE" type is specified for the filter. Then two different sets of pages are defined for which two filter types (NONE and NEKO) are used correspondingly. If a page relates to the first set that is defined in the following way:


<param-value>/pages/performance\.xhtml,/pages/default.*\.xhtml</param-value>

it's not corrected, because filter type for this page is defined as "NONE". If a page is not from the first set, then "NEKO" type is set.

If a page relates to the second set that is defined in the following way:


<param-value>/pages/repeat\.xhtml</param-value>

then "NEKO" filter type is used for correction. If it's not related to the second set, "TIDY" type is set for the filter ("TIDY" filter type is used for code correction).

Before the version 3.1.3, RichFaces loaded styles and script on demand. I.e. files are loaded only if they are required on a particular page. Since RichFaces 3.1.3, it's possible to manage how the RichFaces script and style files are loaded to application.

org.richfaces.LoadScriptStrategy

The following declaration in your web.xml allows loading the integrated script files.


...
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.richfaces.LoadScriptStrategy</param-name>
    <param-value>ALL</param-value>
</context-param>
...

If you do not declare the org.richfaces.LoadScriptStrategy in the web.xml, it equals to:


...
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.richfaces.LoadScriptStrategy</param-name>
    <param-value>DEFAULT</param-value>
</context-param>
...

The third possible value is "NONE". You have no a special reason to use it unless you obtain the newest (or modified) version of the script and want to include it manually in a page header.

org.richfaces.LoadStyleStrategy

The following declaration allows to load only one integrated style sheet file.


...
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.richfaces.LoadStyleStrategy</param-name>
    <param-value>ALL</param-value>
</context-param>
...

The integrated style sheet contains style for all shipped components. The skinnability feature still works.

The "DEFAULT" value is a classical on-demand variant.

The "NONE" stops loading the styles at all. The earlier introduced plain skin resets all color and font parameters to null. The "NONE" value for org.richfaces.LoadStyleStrategy means that predefined styles for RichFaces are not used.

For more information see RichFaces User Forum .

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RichFaces allows to redefine standard handlers responsible for processing of different exceptional situations. It helps to define own JavaScript, which is executed when these situations occur.

Add the following code to web.xml:


<context-param>
    <param-name>org.ajax4jsf.handleViewExpiredOnClient</param-name>
    <param-value>true</param-value>
</context-param>
        
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If you have a look at a CSS file in an enterprise application, for example, the one you're working on now, you'll see how often the same color is noted in it. Standard CSS has no way to define a particular color abstractly for defining as a panel header color, a background color of an active pop-up menu item, a separator color, etc. To define common interface styles, you have to copy the same values over and over again and the more interface elements you have the more copy-and-paste activity that needs to be performed.

Hence, if you want to change the application palette, you have to change all interrelating values, otherwise your interface can appear a bit clumsy. The chances of such an interface coming about is very high, as CSS editing usually becomes the duty of a general developer who doesn't necessarily have much knowledge of user interface design.

Moreover, if a customer wishes to have an interface look-and-feel that can be adjusted on-the-fly by an end user, your work is multiplied, as you have to deal with several CSS files variants, each of which contains the same values repeated numerous times.

These problems can be solved with the skinnability system built into the RichFaces project and implemented fully in RichFaces. Every named skin has some skin-parameters for the definition of a palette and the other parameters of the user interface. By changing just a few parameters, you can alter the appearance of dozens of components in an application in a synchronized fashion without messing up user interface consistency.

The skinnability feature can't completely replace standard CSS and certainly doesn't eliminate its usage. Skinnability is a high-level extension of standard CSS, which can be used together with regular CSS declarations. You can also refer to skin parameters in CSS via JSF Expression Language. You have the complete ability to synchronize the appearance of all the elements in your pages.

RichFaces provides eight predefined skin parameters (skins) at the simplest level of common customization:

To plug one in, it's necessary to specify a skin name in the org.richfaces.SKIN context-param.

Here is an example of a table with values for one of the main skins, "blueSky" .



Skin "plain" was added from 3.0.2 version. It doesn't have any parameters. It's necessary for embedding RichFaces components into existing projecst which have its own styles.

To get detailed information on particular parameter possibilities, see the chapter where each component has skin parameters described corresponding to its elements.

In order to create your own skin file, do the following:

  • Create a file and define in it skin constants which are used by style classes (see section "Skin Parameters Tables in RichFaces" ). The name of skin file should correspond to the following format: <name>.skin.properties . As an example of such file you can see RichFaces predefined skin parameters (skins): blueSky, classic, deepMarine, etc. These files are located in the richfaces-impl-xxxxx.jar inside the /META-INF/skins folder.

  • Add a skin definition <contex-param> to the web.xml of your application. An example is placed below:

    Example:

    
    ...
    <context-param>
         <param-name>org.richfaces.SKIN</param-name>
         <param-value>name</param-value>
    </context-param>
    ...
  • Put your <name>.skin.properties file in one of the following classpath elements: META-INF/skins/ or classpath folder (e.g. WEB-INF/classes).

RichFaces gives an opportunity to incorporate skinnability into UI design. With this framework you can easily use named skin parameters in properties files to control the appearance of the skins that are applied consistently to a whole set of components. You can look at examples of predefined skins at:

http://livedemo.exadel.com/richfaces-demo/

You may simply control the look-and-feel of your application by using the skinnability service of the RichFaces framework. With the means of this service you can define the same style for rendering standard JSF components and custom JSF components built with the help of RichFaces.

To find out more on skinnability possibilities, follow these steps:

Extra information on custom renderers creation can be found at:

http://java.sun.com/javaee/javaserverfaces/reference/docs/index.html

It's possible to change skins in runtime. In order to do that, define the EL-expression in the web.xml. For example:


<context-param>
    <param-name>org.richfaces.SKIN</param-name>
    <param-value>#{skinBean.skin}</param-value>
</context-param>
            

The skinBean code looks as follows:

public class SkinBean {


    private String skin;
    public String getSkin() {
        return skin;
    }
    public void setSkin(String skin) {
        this.skin = skin;
    }
}

Further, it is necessary to set the skin property to the initial value in the configuration file. For example, "classic":


<managed-bean>
    <managed-bean-name>skinBean</managed-bean-name>
    <managed-bean-class>SkinBean</managed-bean-class>
    <managed-bean-scope>session</managed-bean-scope>
    <managed-property>
        <property-name>skin</property-name>
        <value>classic</value>
    </managed-property>
</managed-bean>
            

You can also change the default skin, for instance, change the default color. To do this, edit the file properties of the skin. Here is an example of the code for page:


<h:form>
     <div style="display: block; float: left">
          <h:selectOneRadio value="#{skinBean.skin}" border="0" layout="pageDirection" title="Changing skin" style="font-size: 8; font-family: comic" onchange="submit()">
                <f:selectItem itemLabel="plain" itemValue="plain" />
        <f:selectItem itemLabel="emeraldTown" itemValue="emeraldTown" />
        <f:selectItem itemLabel="blueSky" itemValue="blueSky" />
        <f:selectItem itemLabel="wine" itemValue="wine" />
        <f:selectItem itemLabel="japanCherry" itemValue="japanCherry" />
        <f:selectItem itemLabel="ruby" itemValue="ruby" />
        <f:selectItem itemLabel="classic" itemValue="classic" />
        <f:selectItem itemLabel="laguna" itemValue="laguna" />
        <f:selectItem itemLabel="deepMarine" itemValue="deepMarine" />
        <f:selectItem itemLabel="blueSky Modified" itemValue="blueSkyModify" />
          </h:selectOneRadio>
     </div>
     <div style="display: block; float: left">
          <rich:panelBar height="100" width="200">
               <rich:panelBarItem label="Item 1" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 12;">
         Changing skin in runtime
    </rich:panelBarItem>
    
    <rich:panelBarItem label="Item 2" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 12;">
         This is a result of the modification "blueSky" skin
    </rich:panelBarItem>
          </rich:panelBar>
     </div>
</h:form>

This is result:


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The feature is designed to unify the look and feel of standard HTML element and RichFaces components. Skinning can be applied to all controls on a page basing on elements' name and attribute type (where applicable). Also this feature provides a set of CSS styles so that skinning can be applied assigning rich-* classes to particular elements or to container of elements that nests controls.

Standard controls skinning feature provides 2 levels of skinning: Standard and Extended. The level is based on detecting the browser type. If browser type is not identified, Advanced level is used. However, if you want to explicitly specify the level of skinning you want to be applied, you need to add a context parameter to your web.xml with org.richfaces.CONTROL_SKINNING_LEVEL as the parameter name and value set to either basic or extended.

  • Standard level provides customization for only basic style properties.

    To the following browsers Standard level of skinning is applied:

  • Extended level extends basic level introducing broader number of style properties and is applied to browsers with rich visual styling capability of controls

    The following browsers support Extended level of skinning:

    • Mozilla Firefox

    • Internet Explorer 7 in Standards-compliant mode (CSS1Compat mode)

These are the elements that affected by skinning:

  • input

  • select

  • textarea

  • keygen

  • isindex

  • legend

  • fieldset

  • hr

  • a (together with a:hover, a:visited "pseudo"-elements)

Skinning for standard HTML controls can be initialized in two ways:

  • by adding org.richfaces.CONTROL_SKINNING parameter to web.xml. Values: "enable" and "disable". This way implies that skinning style properties are applied to elements by element name and attribute type (where applicable). No additional steps required. Please find below the table that contains the list of elements to which skinning is applicable.

  • by adding org.richfaces.CONTROL_SKINNING_CLASSES parameter to web.xml file. Possible values "enable" and "disable". When this option is enabled you are provided with a set of predefined CSS classes that you can use for skinning your HTML components.

By setting org.richfaces.CONTROL_SKINNING_CLASSES to "enable" you are provided with style classes applicable to:

  • Basic elements nested inside element having rich-container class, e.g.:

    Example:

    
    ...
    .rich-container select {
       
    //class content
    }
    ...
  • Elements that have class name corresponding to one of the basic elements name/type mapped by the following scheme rich-<elementName>[-<elementType>] . See the example:

    Example:

    
    ...
    .rich-select {
      
    //class content
    }

    .rich-input-text {
      
    //class content
    }

    ...

    Note:

    Elements have classes based on "link" and pseudo class name, e.g.: rich-link, rich-link-hover, rich-link-visited

Additionally, the predefined rich CSS classes that we provide can be used not only as classes for basic HTML elements but also as classes for creation of complex elements .

There is a snippet with some of them for example:


...
<u:selector name=".rich-box-bgcolor-header">
     <u:style name="background-color" skin="headerBackgroundColor" />
</u:selector>
<u:selector name=".rich-box-bgcolor-general">
     <u:style name="background-color" skin="generalBackgroundColor" />
</u:selector>
...
//gradient elements
...
<u:selector name=".rich-gradient-menu">
     <u:style name="background-image">
          <f:resource f:key="org.richfaces.renderkit.html.gradientimages.MenuGradientImage"/>
     </u:style>
     <u:style name="background-repeat" value="repeat-x" />
</u:selector>
<u:selector name=".rich-gradient-tab">
     <u:style name="background-image">
          <f:resource f:key="org.richfaces.renderkit.html.gradientimages.TabGradientImage"/>
     </u:style>
     <u:style name="background-repeat" value="repeat-x" />
</u:selector>
...

To get a better idea of standard component skinning we recommend to explore CSS files located in ui/core/src/main/resources/org/richfaces/ folder of RichFaces svn.
































As it was mentioned earlier in the guide, extended skinning of standard HTML controls is applied automatically: the browser type is detected and if a browser doesn't fully support extended skinning feature, only basic skinning is applied.

However, if you don't want the RichFaces components and standard HTML controls to be skinned automatically and perform the skinnability implementation yourself, you might encounter with a problem, namely standard HTML controls in such browsers as Opera and Safari will be affected by standard controls skinning. ( In this section you can get more details on how to disable skinnability.)

In brief, to disable the skinnability mechanism of RichFaces you need to set the "org.richfaces.LoadStyleStrategy" parameter to "NONE" in the web.xml file.


...
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.richfaces.LoadStyleStrategy</param-name>
    <param-value>NONE</param-value>
</context-param>
...

Additionally, you should include the style sheets that perform skinning of the RichFaces component and standard HTML controls.

In order to resolve the problem with extended skinning in Opera and Safari a client script (skinning.js) is added to the RichFaces library. The script detects the browser type and enables extended skinning only for those browsers that fully support it.

The script can be activated by inserting this JavaScript code to the page:


<script type="text/javascript">
    window.RICH_FACES_EXTENDED_SKINNING_ON = true;
</script>

When NO script loading strategy is used and extended skinning is turned on then corresponding warning message will appears in the console.

You also need to specify "media" attribute in the <link> tag which includes the "extended_both.xcss" style sheet with "rich-extended-skinning".

This is how you can include the style sheets to the page, in case automatic skinnability implementation is disabled.


<link href='/YOUR_PROJECT_NAME/a4j_3_2_2-SNAPSHOTorg/richfaces/renderkit/html/css/basic_both.xcss/DATB/eAF7sqpgb-jyGdIAFrMEaw__.jsf' type='text/css' rel='stylesheet' class='component' />
<link media='rich-extended-skinning' href='/ YOUR_PROJECT_NAME /a4j_3_2_2-SNAPSHOTorg/richfaces/renderkit/html/css/extended_both.xcss/DATB/eAF7sqpgb-jyGdIAFrMEaw__.jsf' type='text/css' rel='stylesheet' class='component' />
<link href='/ YOUR_PROJECT_NAME /a4j_3_2_2-SNAPSHOT/org/richfaces/skin.xcss/DATB/eAF7sqpgb-jyGdIAFrMEaw__.jsf' type='text/css' rel='stylesheet' class='component' />

Note

Now it's necessary to use a4j/versionXXX resources prefix instead of a4j_versionXXX. Base64 encoder changed to use '!' instead of '.'.

XCSS files are the core of RichFaces components skinnability.

XCSS is an XML formatted CSS that adds extra functionality to the skinning process. XCSS extends skinning possibilities by parsing the XCSS file that contains all look-and-feel parameters of a particular component into a standard CSS file that a web browser can recognize.

XCSS file contains CSS properties and skin parameters mappings. Mapping of a CSS selector to a skin parameter is performed using < u:selector > and < u:style> XML tags that form the mapping structure. Please study the example below.


...
<u:selector name=".rich-component-name">
    <u:style name="background-color" skin="additionalBackgroundColor" />
    <u:style name="border-color" skin="tableBorderColor" />
    <u:style name="border-width" skin="tableBorderWidth" />
    <u:style name="border-style" value="solid" />
</u:selector>
...

During processing the code in the shown example is parsed into a standard CSS format.


...
.rich-component-name {
     
background-color: additionalBackgroundColor; /*the value of the constant defined by your skin*/
     
border-color: tableBorderColor; /*the value of the constant defined by your skin*/
     
border-width: tableBorderWidth; /*the value of the constant defined by your skin*/
     
border-style: solid;
}
...

The "name" attribute of <u:selector> tag defines the CSS selector, while "name" attribute of the <u:style> tag defines what skin constant is mapped to a CSS property. The "value" attribute of the <u:style> tag can also be used to assign a value to a CSS property.

CSS selectors with identical skinning properties can be set as a comma separated list.


...
<u:selector name=".rich-ordering-control-disabled, .rich-ordering-control-top, .rich-ordering-control-bottom, .rich-ordering-control-up, .rich-ordering-control-down">
    <u:style name="border-color" skin="tableBorderColor" />
</u:selector>
...
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Plug-n-Skin is a feature that gives you an opportunity to easily create, customize and plug into your project a custom skin. The skin can be created basing on parameters of some predefined RichFaces skin.

The feature also provides an option to unify the appearance of rich controls with standard HTML elements.

In order to create your own skin using Plug-n-Skin feature, you can follow these step by step instructions.

First of all, you need to create a template for the new skin. Creation of the template can be performed using Maven build and deployment tool. More information on how to configure Maven for RichFaces you can find out from JBoss wiki article . You can copy and paste these Maven instructions to command line and execute them.


...
mvn archetype:create -DarchetypeGroupId=org.richfaces.cdk -DarchetypeArtifactId=maven-archetype-plug-n-skin -DarchetypeVersion=RF-VERSION -DartifactId=ARTIFACT-ID -DgroupId=GROUP-ID -Dversion=VERSION
...

Primary keys for the command:

  • archetypeVersion indicates the RichFaces version. For example, "3.3.3-SNAPSHOT"

  • artifactId artifact id of the project

  • groupId group id of the project

  • version the version of the project you create, by default it is "1.0.-SNAPSHOT"

After this operation, a folder with the name of your "ARTIFACT-ID" appears. The folder contains a template of Maven project.

Next steps will guide you though creating of the skin itself.

In the root folder of Maven project (the one that contains "pom.xml" file) you should run the following command in the command line:


...
mvn cdk:add-skin -Dname=SKIN-NAME -Dpackage=SKIN-PACKAGE
...

Primary keys for the command:

  • name defines the name of the new skin

  • package base package of the skin. By default "groupId" of the project is used.

Additional optional keys for the command:

  • baseSkin defines the name of the base skin.

  • createExt if set to "true", extended CSS classes are added. For more information, please, see "Standard controls skinning"

As a result of the performed operations the following files and folders are created:

  • BaseImage.java - the base class to store images. Location: "\src\main\java\SKIN-PACKAGE\SKIN-NAME\images\"

  • BaseImageTest.java - a test version of a class that stores images. Location: "\src\test\java\SKIN-PACKAGE\SKIN-NAME\images\"

  • XCSS files - XCSS files define the new look of RichFaces components affected by the new skin. Location: "\src\main\resources\SKIN-PACKAGE\SKIN-NAME\css\"

  • SKIN-NAME.properties - a file that contains properties of the new skin. Location: "\src\main\resources\SKIN-PACKAGE\SKIN-NAME\css\"

    The following properties are used to configure the SKIN-NAME.properties file:

    • baseSkin – the name of the base skin to be used as basis. The look of the skin you define will be affected by new style properties.

    • generalStyleSheet - a path to the style sheet (SKIN-NAME.xcss) that imports style sheets of the components to be affected by the new skin.

    • extendedStyleSheet - a path to a style sheet that is used to unify the appearance of RichFaces components and standard HTML controls. For additional information please read "Standard controls skinning" chapter.

    • gradientType - a predefined property to set the type of gradient applied to the new skin. Possible values are glass, plastic, plain. More information on gradient implementation you can find further in this chapter.

  • SKIN-NAME.xcss - a XCSS file that imports XCSS files of the components to be affected by the new skin. Location: "src\main\resources\META-INF\skins "

  • XCSS files If the command is executed with the "DcreateExt" key set to "true", the XCSS (extended_classes.xcss and extended.xcss) files that define style for standard controls will be created. Location: "\src\main\resources\SKIN-PACKAGE\SKIN-NAME\css\".

  • SKIN-NAME-ext.xcss If the command is executed with the "DcreateExt" key set to "true", the configuration SKIN-NAME-ext.xcss file that imports XCSS file defining styles for the standard controls will be created. Location: "src\main\resources\META-INF\skins ".

  • SKIN-NAME-resources.xml - the file contains the description of all listed above files. Location: "src\main\config\resources ".

Now you can start editing the XCSS files located in "\src\main\resources\SKIN-PACKAGE\SKIN-NAME\css\". New style properties can be assigned to the selectors (the selectors listed in the XCSS files) in two ways, which are both valid, and it'up to you what way to choose.

  • Standard CSS coding approach, i.e. you can add CSS properties to the given selectors. The only thing, you have to keep in mind is that the selectors must be inside <f:verbatim> <![CDATA[ ...]]> </f:verbatim> tags.

    For example

    
    ...
    .rich-calendar-cell {
         
    background: #537df8;
    }
    ...
  • Using XCSS coding approach, the same way as XCSS files are normally formed in RichFaces. The XCSS tags have to be placed outside <f:verbatim> <![CDATA[ ...]]> </f:verbatim> tags.

    
    ...
    <u:selector name=".rich-calendar-cell">
         <u:style name="border-bottom-color" skin="panelBorderColor"/>
         <u:style name="border-right-color" skin="panelBorderColor"/>
         <u:style name="background-color" skin="tableBackgroundColor"/>
         <u:style name="font-size" skin="generalSizeFont"/>
         <u:style name="font-family" skin="generalFamilyFont"/>
    </u:selector>
    ...

Having performed described above steps and edited the XCSS files you can proceed to building the new skin and to plugging it into the project. Building the new skin can be done by executing the given below command in the command line in the root folder of you skin project (the one that contains pom.xml file).


...
mvn clean install
...

In addition Plug-n-Skin has a number of predefined gradients that you can also use to make your application look nicer. The given below code snippet shows how a gradient can be used


...
<u:selector name=".rich-combobox-item-selected">
    <u:style name="border-width" value="1px" />
    <u:style name="border-style" value="solid" />
    <u:style name="border-color" skin="newBorder" />
    <u:style name="background-position" value="0% 50%" />
    <u:style name="background-image">
        <f:resource f:key="org.richfaces.renderkit.html.CustomizeableGradient">
            <f:attribute name="valign" value="middle" />
            <f:attribute name="gradientHeight" value="17px" />
            <f:attribute name="baseColor" skin="headerBackgroundColor" />
         </f:resource>
    </u:style>
</u:selector>
...

So, as you can see, the background-image CSS property is defined with <f:resource f:key="org.richfaces.renderkit.html.CustomizeableGradient"> that sets the gradient. While the gradient type can be specified in the SKIN-NAME.properties file with gradientType property. The gradientType property can be set to one of the possible values glass, plastic, plain. The gradient in it's turn can be can be adjusted using baseColor, gradientColor, gradientHeight, valign attributes. Their usage is shown in the snippet above.

Now, you can use your newly-created and customized skin in your project by adding your new skin parameters to web.xml file and placing the jar file with your skin ( the jar file is located in "target" folder of your skin project) to "\WebContent\WEB-INF\lib\".


...
<context-param>
    <param-name>org.ajax4jsf.SKIN</param-name>
    <param-value>SKIN-NAME</param-value>
</context-param>
...

This section will cover some practical aspects of Plug-n-Skin implementation. It's assumed that you have read the section of the guide that tells how the new skin using Plug-n-Skin prototype can be created.

Above all, we need to create a new skin, in order to do that we just have to follow the steps described in the previous section.

This command will be used to create a template of the new skin project.



mvn archetype:create -DarchetypeGroupId=org.richfaces.cdk -DarchetypeArtifactId=maven-archetype-plug-n-skin -DarchetypeVersion=3.3.3-SNAPSHOT -DartifactId=P-n-S -DgroupId=GROUPID -Dversion=1.0.-SNAPSHOT 

Now you can browse the "P-n-S" folder to view what files and folders were created there.

Next, we will use Maven to add all needed files to the skin project. This will done by the following command:


mvn cdk:add-skin -DbaseSkin=blueSky  -DcreateExt=true -Dname=PlugnSkinDemo -Dpackage=SKINPACKAGE

As you remember from the previous section "-DbaseSkin" key defines what RichFaces built-in skin to be used as a base one, "-DcreateExt=true" determines that the new skin will come with XCSS files that unify the look of the rich components with standard HTML controls.

So, now the files and folder with all needed resources are created and redefining/editing the new skin can be started.

Now we can start editing XCSS files of the rich components. In order to see how the Plug-n-Skin feature works we will change some style attributes of <rich:calendar> and some basic HTML controls to see how they are affected by standard controls skinning.

Thus, it will be demonstrated how to:

In oder to edit the style properties of <rich:calendar> you need to open the "calendar.xcss" file located in "P-n-S\src\main\resources\skinpackage\plugnskindemo\css\". Once, you have opened the file, please find ".rich-calendar-today" selector and amend it as follows: background-color: #075ad1;. The current day's background color can be considered recolored.

Now we will see how font style of a standard HTML submit button can be changed. Please, open "extended.xcss" file located in "P-n-S\src\main\resources\skinpackage\plugnskindemo\css\" and put in font-weight: bold; inside the curly braces of these coma separated selectors button[type="button"], button[type="reset"], button[type="submit"], input[type="reset"], input[type="submit"], input[type="button"]. So, the CSS code should look like this.



button[type=&quot;button&quot;], button[type=&quot;reset&quot;], button[type=&quot;submit&quot;], input[type=&quot;reset&quot;], input[type=&quot;submit&quot;], input[type=&quot;button&quot;] { font-weight: bold;
}

All the changes that were planned to be preformed are done and now you can proceed to building the new PlugnSkinDemo skin and import it into the project. As you read in the previous section, the skin should be built in the "P-n-S" folder of the skin project by executing mvn clean install command. This procedure results in creating a "target" folder that contains a .jar file with a compiled new skin, it our case the file is named "P-n-S-1.0.-SNAPSHOT.jar". The next step is to import the new PlugnSkinDemo skin into the project.

What you need to do, in order to have the new skin imported to the project is to

Please, do not forget that standard controls skinning has to be enabled in the "web.xml" file, which can be done by adding the following code to the "web.xml" file:


<context-param>
    <param-name>org.richfaces.CONTROL_SKINNING</param-name>
    <param-value>enable</param-value>
</context-param>

The result of both operations is displayed on the figure below.


JSF has an advanced navigation mechanism that allows you to define navigation from view to view. Navigation happens in a Web Application when a user tries to switch from one page to another page either by clicking a button, a hyperlink, or another command component. But there is no switch mechanism between some logical states of the same view. For example in Login/Register dialog an existing user signs in with his user name and password, but if a new user registers an additional field "Confirm" is displayed, buttons labels and methods are changed when the user clicks "To register" link:



RichFaces State API allows easily to define some set of states for the pages and any properties for this states.

Actually States is a map where the entry key is a name of the State and the value is a State map. Particular State map has entries with some names as keys and any objects as values that are used after the state activation. Thus, in the State map you could define any values, method bindings, or just some simple state variables (constants) which have different values for every State.


One of the most convenience features of the RichFaces State API is a navigation between states. The RichFaces State API implements states change as the standard JSF navigation. Action component just returns outcome and the RichFaces State API extension for the JSF navigation handler checks whether this outcome is registered as a state change outcome or not. If the state change outcome is found the corresponding state is activated. Otherwise the standard navigation handling is called.

In order to use RichFaces State API you should follow the next steps:

  • Register State Manager EL resolver and navigation handler in the faces-config.xml:

    
    ...
    <application>
        <navigation-handler>org.richfaces.ui.application.StateNavigationHandler</navigation-handler>
        <el-resolver>org.richfaces.el.StateELResolver</el-resolver>
    </application>
    ...
  • Register an additional application factory in the faces-config.xml:

    
    ...
    <factory>
        <application-factory>org.richfaces.ui.application.StateApplicationFactory</application-factory>
    </factory>
    ...
  • Register two managed beans in the faces-config.xml:

    
    ...
    <managed-bean>
        <managed-bean-name>state</managed-bean-name>
        <managed-bean-class>org.richfaces.ui.model.States</managed-bean-class>
        <managed-bean-scope>request</managed-bean-scope>
        <managed-property>
            <property-name>states</property-name>
            <property-class>org.richfaces.ui.model.States</property-class>
            <value>#{config.states}</value>
        </managed-property>
    </managed-bean>
    <managed-bean>
        <managed-bean-name>config</managed-bean-name>
        <managed-bean-class>org.richfaces.demo.stateApi.Config</managed-bean-class>
        <managed-bean-scope>none</managed-bean-scope>
    </managed-bean>
    ...

    One bean ("config") defines and stores states as it is shown in the following example:

    ...
    
    public class Config {
        /**
         * @return States
         */
        public States getStates() {
            FacesContext facesContext = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
            States states = new States();
            // Registering new User State definition
            states.setCurrentState("register"); // Name of the new state
            // Text labels, properties and Labels for controls in "register" state
            states.put("showConfirm", Boolean.TRUE); // confirm field rendering
            states.put("link", "(To login)"); // Switch State link label
            states.put("okBtn", "Register"); // Login/Register button label
            states.put("stateTitle", "Register New User"); // Panel title
            ExpressionFactory expressionFactory = facesContext.getApplication()
                    .getExpressionFactory();
            // Define "registerbean" available under "bean" EL binding on the page
            ValueExpression beanExpression = expressionFactory
                    .createValueExpression(facesContext.getELContext(),
                            "#{registerbean}", Bean.class);
            states.put("bean", beanExpression);
            // Define "registeraction" available under "action" EL binding on the
            // page
            beanExpression = expressionFactory.createValueExpression(facesContext
                    .getELContext(), "#{registeraction}", RegisterAction.class);
            states.put("action", beanExpression);
            // Define method expression inside registeraction binding for this state
            MethodExpression methodExpression = expressionFactory.createMethodExpression(
                    facesContext.getELContext(), "#{registeraction.ok}",
                    String.class, new Class[] {});
            states.put("ok", methodExpression);
            // Outcome for switching to login state definition
            states.setNavigation("switch", "login");
            // Login Existent User State analogous definition
            states.setCurrentState("login");
            states.put("showConfirm", Boolean.FALSE);
            states.put("link", "(To register)");
            states.put("okBtn", "Login");
            states.put("stateTitle", "Login Existing User");
            beanExpression = expressionFactory.createValueExpression(facesContext
                    .getELContext(), "#{loginbean}", Bean.class);
            states.put("bean", beanExpression);
            beanExpression = expressionFactory.createValueExpression(facesContext
                    .getELContext(), "#{loginaction}", LoginAction.class);
            states.put("action", beanExpression);
            methodExpression = expressionFactory.createMethodExpression(
                    facesContext.getELContext(), "#{loginaction.ok}",
                    String.class, new Class[] {});
            states.put("ok", methodExpression);
            states.setNavigation("switch", "register");
            return states;
        }
    }
    ...

    The other bean ("state") with the type org.richfaces.ui.model.States has the "states" managed property that is bound to the "config" bean which defines states.

  • Use state bindings on the page. See the following example:

    
    ...
    <h:panelGrid columns="3">
        <h:outputText value="username" />
        <h:inputText value="#{state.bean.name}" id="name" required="true" />
        <h:outputText value="password" />
        <h:inputSecret value="#{state.bean.password}" id="password" required="true" />
        <h:outputText value="confirm" rendered="#{state.showConfirm}" />
        <h:inputSecret value="#{state.bean.confirmPassword}" rendered="#{state.showConfirm}" id="confirm" required="true" />
    </h:panelGrid>
    <a4j:commandButton actionListener="#{state.action.listener}" action="#{state.ok}" value="#{state.okBtn}" id="action"/>
    ...

To get full Login/Register dialog example, please, have a look at RichFaces Live Demo.

expand all
+6.1. Ajax Support
+6.1.1. < a4j:ajaxListener > available since 3.0.0
6.1.1.1. Description
6.1.1.2. Details of Usage
6.1.1.3. Reference Data
6.1.1.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.2. < a4j:actionparam > available since 3.0.0
6.1.2.1. Description
6.1.2.2. Details of Usage
6.1.2.3. Reference Data
6.1.2.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.3. < a4j:form > available since 3.0.0
6.1.3.1. Description
6.1.3.2. Details of Usage
6.1.3.3. Reference Data
6.1.3.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.4. < a4j:region > available since 3.0.0
6.1.4.1. Description
6.1.4.2. Details of Usage
6.1.4.3. Reference Data
6.1.4.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.5. < a4j:support > available since 3.0.0
6.1.5.1. Description
6.1.5.2. Details of Usage
6.1.5.3. Reference Data
6.1.5.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.6. < a4j:commandButton > available since 3.0.0
6.1.6.1. Description
6.1.6.2. Details of Usage
6.1.6.3. Reference Data
6.1.6.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.7. < a4j:commandLink > available since 3.0.0
6.1.7.1. Description
6.1.7.2. Details of Usage
6.1.7.3. Reference Data
6.1.7.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.8. < a4j:jsFunction > available since 3.0.0
6.1.8.1. Description
6.1.8.2. Details of Usage
6.1.8.3. Reference Data
6.1.8.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.9. < a4j:poll > available since 3.0.0
6.1.9.1. Description
6.1.9.2. Details of Usage
6.1.9.3. Reference Data
6.1.9.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.10. < a4j:push > available since 3.0.0
6.1.10.1. Description
6.1.10.2. Details of Usage
6.1.10.3. Reference Data
6.1.10.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.11. < a4j:queue > available since 3.3.0
6.1.11.1. Description
6.1.11.2. Details of Usage
6.1.11.3. Reference Data
6.1.11.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.12. < a4j:status > available since 3.0.0
6.1.12.1. Description
6.1.12.2. Details of Usage
6.1.12.3. Reference Data
6.1.12.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.2. Resources/Beans Handling
+6.2.1. < a4j:loadBundle > available since 3.0.0
6.2.1.1. Description
6.2.1.2. Details of Usage
6.2.1.3. Reference Data
6.2.1.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.2.2. < a4j:keepAlive > available since 3.0.0
6.2.2.1. Description
6.2.2.2. Details of Usage
6.2.2.3. Reference Data
6.2.2.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.2.3. < a4j:loadScript > available since 3.0.0
6.2.3.1. Description
6.2.3.2. Details of Usage
6.2.3.3. Reference Data
6.2.3.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.2.4. < a4j:loadStyle > available since 3.0.0
6.2.4.1. Description
6.2.4.2. Details of Usage
6.2.4.3. Reference Data
6.2.4.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.3. Ajax Validators
+6.3.1. < rich:ajaxValidator > available since 3.2.2
6.3.1.1. Description
6.3.1.2. Key Features
6.3.1.3. Details of Usage
6.3.1.4. Reference Data
6.3.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.3.2. < rich:beanValidator > available since 3.2.2
6.3.2.1. Description
6.3.2.2. Key Features
6.3.2.3. Details of Usage
6.3.2.4. Reference Data
6.3.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.3.3. < rich:graphValidator > available since 3.2.2
6.3.3.1. Description
6.3.3.2. Key Features
6.3.3.3. Details of Usage
6.3.3.4. Reference Data
6.3.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.4. Ajax Output
+6.4.1. < a4j:include > available since 3.0.0
6.4.1.1. Description
6.4.1.2. Details of Usage
6.4.1.3. Reference Data
6.4.1.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.4.2. < a4j:mediaOutput > available since 3.0.0
6.4.2.1. Description
6.4.2.2. Details of Usage
6.4.2.3. Reference Data
6.4.2.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.4.3. < a4j:outputPanel > available since 3.0.0
6.4.3.1. Description
6.4.3.2. Details of Usage
6.4.3.3. Reference Data
6.4.3.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.5. Ajax Miscellaneous
+6.5.1. < a4j:page > available since 3.0.0
6.5.1.1. Description
6.5.1.2. Details of Usage
6.5.1.3. Reference Data
6.5.1.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.5.2. < a4j:portlet > available since 3.0.0
6.5.2.1. Description
6.5.2.2. Details of Usage
6.5.2.3. Reference Data
6.5.2.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.5.3. < a4j:htmlCommandLink > available since 3.0.0
6.5.3.1. Description
6.5.3.2. Details of Usage
6.5.3.3. Reference Data
6.5.3.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.5.4. < a4j:log > available since 3.0.0
6.5.4.1. Description
6.5.4.2. Details of Usage
6.5.4.3. Reference Data
6.5.4.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6. Data Iteration
+6.6.1. < rich:column > available since 3.0.0
6.6.1.1. Description
6.6.1.2. Key Features
6.6.1.3. Details of Usage
+6.6.1.4. Sorting and Filtering
6.6.1.4.1. Sorting
6.6.1.4.2. Filtering
6.6.1.5. Reference Data
6.6.1.6. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.2. < rich:columnGroup > available since 3.0.0
6.6.2.1. Description
6.6.2.2. Key Features
6.6.2.3. Details of Usage
6.6.2.4. Reference Data
6.6.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.3. < rich:columns > available since 3.2.0
6.6.3.1. Description
6.6.3.2. Key Features
6.6.3.3. Details of Usage
6.6.3.4. Reference Data
6.6.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.4. < rich:dataDefinitionList > available since 3.0.0
6.6.4.1. Description
6.6.4.2. Key Features
6.6.4.3. Details of Usage
6.6.4.4. Reference Data
6.6.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.5. < rich:dataFilterSlider > available since 3.0.0
6.6.5.1. Description
6.6.5.2. Key Features
6.6.5.3. Details of Usage
6.6.5.4. Reference Data
6.6.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.6. < rich:dataGrid > available since 3.0.0
6.6.6.1. Description
6.6.6.2. Key Features
6.6.6.3. Details of Usage
6.6.6.4. Reference Data
6.6.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.7. < rich:dataList > available since 3.0.0
6.6.7.1. Description
6.6.7.2. Key Features
6.6.7.3. Details of Usage
6.6.7.4. Reference Data
6.6.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.8. < rich:dataOrderedList > available since 3.0.0
6.6.8.1. Description
6.6.8.2. Key Features
6.6.8.3. Details of Usage
6.6.8.4. Reference Data
6.6.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.9. < rich:datascroller > available since 3.0.0
6.6.9.1. Description
6.6.9.2. Key Features
6.6.9.3. Details of Usage
6.6.9.4. Reference Data
6.6.9.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.10. < rich:dataTable > available since 3.0.0
6.6.10.1. Description
6.6.10.2. Key Features
6.6.10.3. Details of Usage
6.6.10.4. Reference Data
6.6.10.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.11. < rich:subTable > available since 3.0.0
6.6.11.1. Description
6.6.11.2. Key Features
6.6.11.3. Details of Usage
6.6.11.4. Reference Data
+6.6.12. < rich:extendedDataTable > available since 3.2.2
6.6.12.1. Description
6.6.12.2. Key Features
6.6.12.3. Details of Usage
6.6.12.4. Reference Data
6.6.12.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.13. < a4j:repeat > available since 3.0.0
6.6.13.1. Description
6.6.13.2. Details of Usage
6.6.13.3. Reference Data
6.6.13.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.14. < rich:scrollableDataTable > available since 3.1.0
6.6.14.1. Description
6.6.14.2. Key Features
6.6.14.3. Details of Usage
6.6.14.4. Reference Data
6.6.14.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.7. Drag-Drop Support
+6.7.1. < rich:dragIndicator > available since 3.0.0
6.7.1.1. Description
6.7.1.2. Key Features
+6.7.1.3. Details of Usage
6.7.1.3.1. Macro definitions
6.7.1.3.2. Predefined macro definitions
6.7.1.3.3. Marker customization
6.7.1.4. Reference Data
6.7.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.7.2. < rich:dragSupport > available since 3.0.0
6.7.2.1. Description
6.7.2.2. Key Features
6.7.2.3. Details of Usage
6.7.2.4. Reference Data
6.7.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.7.3. < rich:dragListener > available since 3.1.0
6.7.3.1. Description
6.7.3.2. Key Features
6.7.3.3. Details of Usage
6.7.3.4. Reference Data
+6.7.4. < rich:dropListener > available since 3.1.0
6.7.4.1. Description
6.7.4.2. Key Features
6.7.4.3. Details of Usage
6.7.4.4. Reference Data
+6.7.5. < rich:dropSupport > available since 3.0.0
6.7.5.1. Description
6.7.5.2. Key Features
6.7.5.3. Details of Usage
6.7.5.4. Reference Data
6.7.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.7.6. <rich:dndParam> available since 3.0.0
6.7.6.1. Description
6.7.6.2. Details of Usage
6.7.6.3. Reference Data
+6.8. Rich Menu
+6.8.1. < rich:contextMenu > available since 3.0.0
6.8.1.1. Description
6.8.1.2. Key Features
6.8.1.3. Details of Usage
6.8.1.4. Reference Data
6.8.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.8.2. < rich:dropDownMenu > available since 3.0.0
6.8.2.1. Description
6.8.2.2. Key Features
6.8.2.3. Details of Usage
6.8.2.4. Reference Data
6.8.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.8.3. < rich:menuGroup > available since 3.0.0
6.8.3.1. Description
6.8.3.2. Key Features
6.8.3.3. Details of Usage
6.8.3.4. Reference Data
6.8.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.8.4. < rich:menuItem > available since 3.0.0
6.8.4.1. Description
6.8.4.2. Key Features
6.8.4.3. Details of Usage
6.8.4.4. Reference Data
6.8.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.8.5. < rich:menuSeparator > available since 3.0.0
6.8.5.1. Description
6.8.5.2. Reference Data
6.8.5.3. Relevant Resources Links
+6.9. Rich Trees
+6.9.1. < rich:tree > available since 3.0.0
6.9.1.1. Description
6.9.1.2. Key Features
6.9.1.3. Details of Usage
6.9.1.4. Built-in Drag and Drop
6.9.1.5. Events Handling
6.9.1.6. Reference Data
6.9.1.7. Relevant Resources Links
+6.9.2. < rich:treeNode > available since 3.0.0
6.9.2.1. Description
6.9.2.2. Key Features
6.9.2.3. Details of Usage
6.9.2.4. Built-in Drag and Drop
6.9.2.5. Events Handling
6.9.2.6. Reference Data
6.9.2.7. Relevant Resources Links
+6.9.3. < rich:treeNodesAdaptor > available since 3.1.0
6.9.3.1. Description
6.9.3.2. Key Features
6.9.3.3. Details of Usage
6.9.3.4. Reference Data
6.9.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.9.4. < rich:recursiveTreeNodesAdaptor > available since 3.1.0
6.9.4.1. Description
6.9.4.2. Key Features
6.9.4.3. Details of Usage
6.9.4.4. Reference Data
6.9.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.9.5. < rich:changeExpandListener > available since 3.1.0
6.9.5.1. Description
6.9.5.2. Key Features
6.9.5.3. Details of Usage
6.9.5.4. Reference Data
+6.9.6. < rich:nodeSelectListener > available since 3.1.0
6.9.6.1. Description
6.9.6.2. Key Features
6.9.6.3. Details of Usage
6.9.6.4. Reference Data
+6.10. Rich Output
+6.10.1. <rich:modalPanel> available since 3.0.0
6.10.1.1. Description
6.10.1.2. Key Features
6.10.1.3. Details of Usage
6.10.1.4. Reference Data
6.10.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.2. < rich:paint2D > available since 3.0.0
6.10.2.1. Description
6.10.2.2. Key Features
6.10.2.3. Details of Usage
6.10.2.4. Reference Data
6.10.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.3. < rich:panel > available since 3.0.0
6.10.3.1. Description
6.10.3.2. Key Features
6.10.3.3. Details of Usage
6.10.3.4. Reference Data
6.10.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.4. < rich:panelBar > available since 3.0.0
6.10.4.1. Description
6.10.4.2. Key Features
6.10.4.3. Details of Usage
6.10.4.4. Reference Data
6.10.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.5. <rich:panelBarItem> available since 3.0.0
6.10.5.1. Description
6.10.5.2. Key Features
6.10.5.3. Details of Usage
6.10.5.4. Reference Data
6.10.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.6. <rich:panelMenu> available since 3.1.0
6.10.6.1. Description
6.10.6.2. Key Features
6.10.6.3. Details of Usage
6.10.6.4. Reference Data
6.10.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.7. <rich:panelMenuGroup> available since 3.1.0
6.10.7.1. Description
6.10.7.2. Key Features
6.10.7.3. Details of Usage
6.10.7.4. Reference Data
6.10.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.8. <rich:panelMenuItem> available since 3.1.0
6.10.8.1. Description
6.10.8.2. Key Features
6.10.8.3. Details of Usage
6.10.8.4. Reference Data
6.10.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.9. < rich:progressBar > available since 3.2.0
6.10.9.1. Description
6.10.9.2. Key Features
6.10.9.3. Details of Usage
6.10.9.4. Reference Data
6.10.9.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.10. < rich:separator > available since 3.0.0
6.10.10.1. Description
6.10.10.2. Key Features
6.10.10.3. Details of Usage
6.10.10.4. Reference Data
6.10.10.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.11. < rich:simpleTogglePanel > available since 3.0.0
6.10.11.1. Description
6.10.11.2. Key Features
6.10.11.3. Details of Usage
6.10.11.4. Reference Data
6.10.11.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.12. < rich:spacer > available since 3.0.0
6.10.12.1. Description
6.10.12.2. Key Features
6.10.12.3. Details of Usage
6.10.12.4. Reference Data
6.10.12.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.13. <rich:tabPanel> available since 3.0.0
6.10.13.1. Description
6.10.13.2. Key Features
6.10.13.3. Details of Usage
6.10.13.4. Reference Data
6.10.13.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.14. <rich:tab> available since 3.0.0
6.10.14.1. Description
6.10.14.2. Key Features
6.10.14.3. Details of Usage
6.10.14.4. Reference Data
6.10.14.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.15. < rich:togglePanel > available since 3.0.0
6.10.15.1. Description
6.10.15.2. Key Features
6.10.15.3. Details of Usage
6.10.15.4. Reference Data
6.10.15.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.16. < rich:toggleControl > available since 3.0.0
6.10.16.1. Description
6.10.16.2. Key Features
6.10.16.3. Details of Usage
6.10.16.4. Reference Data
+6.10.17. < rich:toolBar > available since 3.0.0
6.10.17.1. Description
6.10.17.2. Key Features
6.10.17.3. Details of Usage
6.10.17.4. Reference Data
6.10.17.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.18. < rich:toolBarGroup > available since 3.0.0
6.10.18.1. Description
6.10.18.2. Key Features
6.10.18.3. Details of Usage
6.10.18.4. Reference Data
6.10.18.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.19. < rich:toolTip > available since 3.1.0
6.10.19.1. Description
6.10.19.2. Key Features
6.10.19.3. Details of Usage
6.10.19.4. Reference Data
6.10.19.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11. Rich Input
+6.11.1. < rich:calendar > available since 3.1.0
6.11.1.1. Description
6.11.1.2. Key Features
6.11.1.3. Details of Usage
6.11.1.4. Reference Data
6.11.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.2. < rich:colorPicker > available since 3.3.1
6.11.2.1. Description
6.11.2.2. Key Features
6.11.2.3. Details of Usage
6.11.2.4. Reference Data
6.11.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.3. < rich:comboBox > available since 3.2.0
6.11.3.1. Description
6.11.3.2. Key Features
6.11.3.3. Details of Usage
6.11.3.4. Reference Data
6.11.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.4. < rich:editor > available since 3.3.0
6.11.4.1. Description
6.11.4.2. Key Features
6.11.4.3. Details of Usage
6.11.4.4. Reference Data
6.11.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.5. < rich:fileUpload > available since 3.2.0
6.11.5.1. Description
6.11.5.2. Key Features
6.11.5.3. Details of Usage
6.11.5.4. Reference Data
6.11.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.6. < rich:inplaceInput > available since 3.2.0
6.11.6.1. Description
6.11.6.2. Key Features
6.11.6.3. Details of Usage
6.11.6.4. Reference Data
6.11.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.7. < rich:inplaceSelect > available since 3.2.0
6.11.7.1. Description
6.11.7.2. Key Features
6.11.7.3. Details of Usage
6.11.7.4. Reference Data
6.11.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.8. < rich:inputNumberSlider > available since 3.0.0
6.11.8.1. Description
6.11.8.2. Key Features
6.11.8.3. Details of Usage
6.11.8.4. Reference Data
6.11.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.9. < rich:inputNumberSpinner > available since 3.0.0
6.11.9.1. Description
6.11.9.2. Key Features
6.11.9.3. Details of Usage
6.11.9.4. Reference Data
6.11.9.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.10. < rich:suggestionbox > available since 3.0.0
6.11.10.1. Description
6.11.10.2. Key Features
+6.11.10.3. Details of Usage
6.11.10.3.1. Main attributes
6.11.10.3.2. JavaScript API
6.11.10.3.3. Other attributes and facets
6.11.10.4. Reference Data
6.11.10.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.12. Rich Selects
+6.12.1. < rich:listShuttle > available since 3.1.3
6.12.1.1. Description
6.12.1.2. Key Features
6.12.1.3. Details of Usage
6.12.1.4. Reference Data
6.12.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.12.2. < rich:orderingList > available since 3.1.3
6.12.2.1. Description
6.12.2.2. Key Features
6.12.2.3. Details of Usage
6.12.2.4. Reference Data
6.12.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.12.3. < rich:pickList > available since 3.2.0
6.12.3.1. Description
6.12.3.2. Key Features
6.12.3.3. Details of Usage
6.12.3.4. Reference Data
6.12.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.13. Rich Semantic Layouts
+6.13.1. < rich:page > available since 3.3.1
6.13.1.1. Description
6.13.1.2. Key Features
6.13.1.3. Details of Usage
6.13.1.4. Reference Data
6.13.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.13.2. < rich:layout > available since 3.3.1
6.13.2.1. Description
6.13.2.2. Key Features
6.13.2.3. Details of Usage
6.13.2.4. Reference Data
6.13.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.13.3. < rich:layoutPanel > available since 3.3.1
6.13.3.1. Description
6.13.3.2. Key Features
6.13.3.3. Details of Usage
6.13.3.4. Reference Data
6.13.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14. Rich Miscellaneous
+6.14.1. < rich:componentControl > available since 3.0.0
6.14.1.1. Description
6.14.1.2. Key Features
6.14.1.3. Details of Usage
6.14.1.4. Reference Data
6.14.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.2. <rich:effect> available since 3.1.0
6.14.2.1. Description
6.14.2.2. Key Features
6.14.2.3. Details of Usage
6.14.2.4. Reference Data
6.14.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.3. < rich:gmap > available since 3.0.0
6.14.3.1. Description
6.14.3.2. Key Features
6.14.3.3. Details of Usage
6.14.3.4. Reference Data
6.14.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.4. < rich:virtualEarth > available since 3.1.0
6.14.4.1. Description
6.14.4.2. Key Features
6.14.4.3. Details of Usage
6.14.4.4. Reference Data
6.14.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.5. < rich:hotKey > available since 3.2.2
6.14.5.1. Description
6.14.5.2. Key Features
6.14.5.3. Details of Usage
6.14.5.4. Reference Data
6.14.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.6. < rich:insert > available since 3.1.0
6.14.6.1. Description
6.14.6.2. Key Features
6.14.6.3. Details of Usage
6.14.6.4. Reference Data
6.14.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.7. <rich:message> available since 3.1.0
6.14.7.1. Description
6.14.7.2. Key Features
6.14.7.3. Details of Usage
6.14.7.4. Reference Data
6.14.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.8. <rich:messages> available since 3.1.0
6.14.8.1. Description
6.14.8.2. Key Features
6.14.8.3. Details of Usage
6.14.8.4. Reference Data
6.14.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.9. < rich:jQuery > available since 3.0.0
6.14.9.1. Description
6.14.9.2. Key Features
6.14.9.3. Details of Usage
6.14.9.4. Reference Data
6.14.9.5. Relevant Resources Links

The library encompasses ready-made components built based on the Rich Faces CDK.

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+6.1.1. < a4j:ajaxListener > available since 3.0.0
6.1.1.1. Description
6.1.1.2. Details of Usage
6.1.1.3. Reference Data
6.1.1.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.2. < a4j:actionparam > available since 3.0.0
6.1.2.1. Description
6.1.2.2. Details of Usage
6.1.2.3. Reference Data
6.1.2.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.3. < a4j:form > available since 3.0.0
6.1.3.1. Description
6.1.3.2. Details of Usage
6.1.3.3. Reference Data
6.1.3.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.4. < a4j:region > available since 3.0.0
6.1.4.1. Description
6.1.4.2. Details of Usage
6.1.4.3. Reference Data
6.1.4.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.5. < a4j:support > available since 3.0.0
6.1.5.1. Description
6.1.5.2. Details of Usage
6.1.5.3. Reference Data
6.1.5.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.6. < a4j:commandButton > available since 3.0.0
6.1.6.1. Description
6.1.6.2. Details of Usage
6.1.6.3. Reference Data
6.1.6.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.7. < a4j:commandLink > available since 3.0.0
6.1.7.1. Description
6.1.7.2. Details of Usage
6.1.7.3. Reference Data
6.1.7.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.8. < a4j:jsFunction > available since 3.0.0
6.1.8.1. Description
6.1.8.2. Details of Usage
6.1.8.3. Reference Data
6.1.8.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.9. < a4j:poll > available since 3.0.0
6.1.9.1. Description
6.1.9.2. Details of Usage
6.1.9.3. Reference Data
6.1.9.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.10. < a4j:push > available since 3.0.0
6.1.10.1. Description
6.1.10.2. Details of Usage
6.1.10.3. Reference Data
6.1.10.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.11. < a4j:queue > available since 3.3.0
6.1.11.1. Description
6.1.11.2. Details of Usage
6.1.11.3. Reference Data
6.1.11.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.1.12. < a4j:status > available since 3.0.0
6.1.12.1. Description
6.1.12.2. Details of Usage
6.1.12.3. Reference Data
6.1.12.4. Relevant Resources Links

The component in this section lets you easily add Ajax capabilities to other components as well as manage Ajax requests.

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The <a4j:ajaxListener> component adds an action listener to a parent component. That listener is invoked on each Ajax request during the "Render Response" JSF phase. In comparison with standard JSF <f:actionListener> and <f:valueChangeListener> components the invocation of the <a4j:ajaxListener> is not skipped in case when validation of "Update Model" fails. The <a4j:ajaxListener> is guarantied to be invoked for each Ajax response.

The "type" attribute defines the fully qualified Java class name for the listener. This Java class should implement org.ajax4jsf.event.AjaxListener interface which is base interface for all listeners, capable for receiving Ajax events. The object on which the Event initially occurred could be accessed using the java.util.EventObject.getSource() method.

The <a4j:ajaxListener> is not invoked for non-Ajax requests and when RichFaces works in the "Ajax Request generates Non-Ajax Response" mode, so <a4j:ajaxListener> invocation is a good indicator that Ajax Response is going to be processed. Let's check it in the following example.

Example:


...
<rich:messages/>
<h:form id="form">
    <a4j:commandLink value="Click to send Ajax request">
        <a4j:ajaxListener type="org.docs.richfaces.actionListenerBean"/>
    </a4j:commandLink>
</h:form>
...

Example:

...

public class ActionListenerBean implements org.ajax4jsf.event.AjaxListener {
    public void processAjax(AjaxEvent event) {
        FacesContext.getCurrentInstance().addMessage("form", new FacesMessage("Ajax request is sent"));
    }
}        
...

There is a result:


Visit AjaxListener page at RichFaces Livedemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Check Sun JSF TLD documentation for more information on <f:valueChangeListener> tag.

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The <a4j:actionparam> component has 3 main attributes:

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>
    <br/>
    <h:outputText id="rep" value="Name: #{actionparamBean.name}"/>
</h:form>
...

There is a managed bean:

...

public class ActionparamBean {
    private String name = "John";
    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }
    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }
}
...

You can use <a4j:actionparam> not only with Ajax components, but with non-ajax command component also. This feature allows to update model values without invoking even a single line of Java code on the server side. The usage of this feature you can find at ActionParameter Usage page of RichFaces LiveDemo.

If you need to convert the value before the "Update Model" phase you can specify the converter in the "converter" attribute.

Note:

The property is assigned with a parameter value on the "Update Model" phase. Therefore if the validation of the form is failed, this phase will be skipped and the property won't be updated.

It is possible to use JavaScript expression or function in the "value" attribute. In this case the "noEscape" attribute should be set to "true". The result of this JavaScript invocation is sent to the server as a value of <a4j:actionparam> .

Visit the ActionParameter page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

More information can be found on the Ajax4jsf Users Forum.

More information about <f:param> and <f:actionListener> can be found in Sun JSF TLD documentation.

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Along with a4j:htmlCommandLink , <a4j:form> component fixes the problem of <h:commandLink> component that cannot be re-rendered without re-rendering the whole form it belongs to. For the further details see the Ajax Form Usage page at RichFaces Livedemo.

The <a4j:form> component adds extra functionality to non-Ajax action/command components: submission is performed via Ajax when "ajaxSubmit" attribute set to "true".

If the <a4j:form> component works in an Ajax mode, the standard Ajax attributes such as "reRender" , "limitToList" , "requestDelay" , etc. can be used.

Example:


...
<a4j:form ajaxSubmit="true" reRender="name">
    <h:panelGrid>
        <h:commandButton value="Set Local Name to John (Ajax)" action="#{userBean.nameItJohn}" />
        <h:outputText id="name" value="Name:#{userBean.name}" />
    </h:panelGrid>
</a4j:form>
...

Here is a managed bean:

...

public class UserBean {
    private String name="";
    public String nameItJohn() {
        setName("John");
        return null;
    }
    public String getName() {
        return this.name;
    }
    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }
}
...

In the example above the ajaxSubmit="true", so all standard action components on this form become ajaxable. The "reRender" attribute contains an Id of component for re-rendering after an Ajax response.

Tip:

If you have <h:commandButton> or <h:commandLink> inside a form, they work as <a4j:commandButton> .

Note:

You should not use <a4j:form> component with ajaxSubmit="true" if it contains other Ajax command components. Also, due to the security reason, file upload form element cannot be convertible to the be ajaxable.

Visit Ajax Form page at RichFaces Livedemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

For additional information about attributes of this component read 'Ajax Attribute section.

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The <a4j:region> component specifies the part of the component tree to be processed on server. The processing includes data handling during decoding, conversion, validation and model update. Note that the whole Form is still submitted but only part taken into region will be processed.

Example:


<h:form>
      ...
      <a4j:region>
            <a4j:commandLink/>
      </a4j:region>
      ...
<h:form>

The whole Form on the schematic listing above will be submitted by request invoked with the <a4j:commandLink> . The only part that is going to be processed on the server is enclosed with <a4j:region> and </a4j:region> tags. If no <a4j:region> is defined the whole View functions as a region.

The regions could be nested. Server picks out and decodes only the region, which contains the component that initiates the request.

Example:


<h:form>
       ...
      <a4j:region>
            <a4j:commandLink value="Link 1" id="link1"/>
            <a4j:region>
                 <a4j:commandLink value="Link 2" id="link2"/>
            </a4j:region >
      </a4j:region>
      ...
<h:form>

The external region is decoded for link1 and the internal one is decoded for link2.

The "renderRegionOnly" attribute is used when it is necessary to exclude all the components from the outside of the region from updating on the page during Renderer Response phase. Such manipulation allows region to be passed straight into Encode and reduces performance time. This optimization should be implemented carefully because it doesn't allow data from the outside of active region to be updated.

Example:


<h:form>
       ...
      <a4j:region renderRegionOnly="true">
            <a4j:commandLink value="Link 1" id="link1"/>
      </a4j:region>
       ...
      <a4j:region renderRegionOnly="false">
            <a4j:commandLink value="Link 2" id="link2"/>
      </a4j:region>
       ...
</h:form>

On the example above the first region only will be updated if link1 initiates a request. When a request is initiated by link2 both regions will be updated. In this case search for components to include them into Renderer Response will be performed on the whole component tree.

RichFaces allows setting Ajax responses rendering basing on component tree nodes directly, without referring to the JSP (XHTML) code. This speeds up a response output considerably and could be done by setting the <a4j:region> "selfRendered" attribute to "true". However, this rapid processing could cause missing of transient components that present on view and don't come into a component tree as well as omitting of <a4j:outputPanel> usage described below.

Example:


<a4j:region selfRendered ="true">
      <a4j:commandLink value="Link" id="link"/>
      <!--Some HTML content-->
</a4j:region>

In this case the processing is quicker and going on without referring to the page code. The HTML code is not saved in a component tree and could be lost. Thus, such optimization should be performed carefully and additional RichFaces components usage (e.g. <a4j:outputPanel> ) is required.

Starting from RichFaces 3.2.0 the <a4j:region> can be used together with iterative components (e.g. <rich:column> or <rich:scrollableDataTable> , etc.). It became possible to re-render a particular row in a table without updating the whole table and without any additional listeners.

Example:


<rich:column>
      <a4j:region>
            <a4j:commandLink reRender="out"/>
      </a4j:region>
</rich:column>
<rich:column>
      <h:outputText id="out">
</rich:column>

In most cases there is no need to use the <a4j:region> as ViewRoot is a default one.

Visit <a4j:region> demo page at RichFaces live demo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Useful articles and examples:

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The <a4j:support> component has two key attributes:

As mentioned above, the <a4j:support> component adds Ajax capability to non-Ajax JSF components. Let's create ajaxed <h:selectOneMenu> called "Planets and Their Moons".

We begin with the common behavior description. When a page is rendered you see only one select box with the list of planets. When you select a planet the <h:dataTable> containing moons of the selected planet appears.

In other words we need <h:selectOneMenu> with the nested <a4j:support> component that is attached to the onchange event.

When an Ajax response comes back the <h:dataTable> is re-rendered on the server side and updated on the client.


...
<h:form id="planetsForm">
    <h:outputLabel value="Select the planet:" for="planets" />
    <h:selectOneMenu id="planets" value="#{planetsMoons.currentPlanet}" valueChangeListener="#{planetsMoons.planetChanged}">
        <f:selectItems value="#{planetsMoons.planetsList}" />
        <a4j:support event="onchange" reRender="moons" />
    </h:selectOneMenu>
    <h:dataTable id="moons" value="#{planetsMoons.moonsList}" var="item">
        <h:column>
            <h:outputText value="#{item}"/>
        </h:column>
    </h:dataTable>
</h:form>
...

Finally we need a backing bean:

...

public class PlanetsMoons {
    private String currentPlanet="";
    public List<SelectItem> planetsList = new ArrayList<SelectItem>();
    public List<String> moonsList = new ArrayList<String>();
    private static final String [] EARTH = {"The Moon"};
    private static final String [] MARS = {"Deimos", "Phobos"};
    private static final String [] JUPITER = {"Europa", "Gamymede", "Callisto"};
    
    public PlanetsMoons() {
        SelectItem item = new SelectItem("earth", "Earth");
        planetsList.add(item);
        item = new SelectItem("mars", "Mars");
        planetsList.add(item);
        item = new SelectItem("jupiter", "Jupiter");
        planetsList.add(item);
    }
    
    public void planetChanged(ValueChangeEvent event){
         moonsList.clear();
         String[] currentItems;
         if (((String)event.getNewValue()).equals("earth")) {
             currentItems = EARTH;
         }else if(((String)event.getNewValue()).equals("mars")){
             currentItems = MARS;
         }else{
             currentItems = JUPITER;
         }
         for (int i = 0; i < currentItems.length; i++) {
             moonsList.add(currentItems[i]);
         }       
     }
        
    //Getters and Setters
    ...   
}

There are two properties planetsList and moonsList. The planetsList is filled with planets names in the constructor. After you select the planet, the planetChanged() listener is called and the moonsList is populated with proper values of moons.

With the help of "onsubmit" and "oncomplete" attributes the <a4j:support> component allows to use JavaScript calls before and after an Ajax request respectively. Actually the JavaScript specified in the "oncomplete" attribute will be executed in any case whether the Ajax request is completed successfully or not.

You can easily add confirmation dialog for the planet select box and colorize <h:dataTable> after the Ajax response:


...
<h:form id="planetsForm">
    <h:outputLabel value="Select the planet:" for="planets" />
    <h:selectOneMenu id="planets" value="#{planetsMoons.currentPlanet}" valueChangeListener="#{planetsMoons.planetChanged}">
        <f:selectItems value="#{planetsMoons.planetsList}" />
        <a4j:support event="onchange" reRender="moons" 
                    onsubmit="if(!confirm('Are you sure to change the planet?')) {form.reset(); return false;}" 
                    oncomplete="document.getElementById('planetsForm:moonsPanel').style.backgroundColor='#c8dcf9';" />
    </h:selectOneMenu>
    <h:dataTable id="moons" value="#{planetsMoons.moonsList}" var="item">
        <h:column>
            <h:outputText value="#{item}"/>
        </h:column>
    </h:dataTable>
</h:form>
...

There is the result:


Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find in the " Decide what to process " guide section.

Tip:

The <a4j:support> component created on a page as following


<h:inputText value="#{bean.text}">
      <a4j:support event="onkeyup" reRender="output" action="#{bean.action}"/>
</h:inputText>

is decoded in HTML as


<input  onkeyup="A4J.AJAX.Submit( Some request parameters )"/>

Visit <a4j:support> demo page at RichFaces live demo for examples of component usage and their sources.

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The <a4j:commandButton> component is used in the same way as JSF <h:commandButton> . The difference is that in case of <a4j:commandButton> the components to be updated should be specified.

The example above generates the following HTML code:


<input type="submit" onclick="A4J.AJAX.Submit(request parameters);return false;" value="Button"/>

Сlicking the generated anchor fires the utility method A4J.AJAX.Submit() that perfroms Ajax request.

Note:

The <a4j:commandButton> already has Ajax support built-in and there is no need to add <a4j:support> .

The usage of the keyword 'this' in JavaScript code in the value for "oncomplete" attribute depends on the location of <a4j:commandButton> . If the <a4j:commandButton> is situated outside the re-rendered region it is possible to use keyword 'this' as in the following example:


<h:form>
      <a4j:commandButton action="director.rollCamera" onclick="this.disabled=true" oncomplete="this.disabled=false" /> 
</h:form>

Otherwise, if the <a4j:commandButton> is contained in a re-rendered region than the "oncomplete" attribute has a problem with obtaining a reference of the commandButton object when using the keyword 'this'. In this case use the "oncomplete" attribute as in the following example:


<h:form id="form">
      <a4j:commandButton id="cbutton" action="director.rollCamera" onclick="this.disabled=true" oncomplete="document.getElementById('form:cbutton').disabled=false" /> 
</h:form>

Common JSF navigation could be performed after an Ajax submit and partial rendering, but Navigation Case must be defined as <redirect/> in order to avoid problems with some browsers.

As any Core Ajax component that sends Ajax requests and processes server responses the <a4j:commandButton> has all attributes that provide the required behavior of requests (delay, limitation of submit area and rendering, etc.)

Note:

When attaching a JavaScript API function to the <a4j:commandButton> with the help of the <rich:componentControl> do not use the "attachTo" attribute of the last one. The attribute adds event handlers using Event.observe but <a4j:commandButton> has no such event. The example below will not work:


<a4j:commandButton value="Show Current Selection" reRender="table" action="#{dataTableScrollerBean.takeSelection}" id="button">
      <rich:componentControl attachTo="button" for="panel" event="oncomplete" operation="show" />
</a4j:commandButton>

This one should work properly:


<a4j:commandButton value="Show Current Selection" reRender="table" action="#{dataTableScrollerBean.takeSelection}" id="button">
      <rich:componentControl for="panel" event="oncomplete" operation="show" />
</a4j:commandButton>

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find in the "Decide what to process" guide section.

Visit CommandButton demo page at RichFaces live demo for examples of component usage and their sources.

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The <a4j:commandLink> component is used in the same way as JSF <h:commandLink> . The difference is that in case of <a4j:commandLink> the components to be updated should be specified. In this chapter we will use the code from RichFaces Greeter and change there <a4j:commandButton> to <a4j:commandLink> :


...
<a4j:commandLink value="Get greeting" reRender="greeting" />
...

It's not necessary to add nested <a4j:support> as the <a4j:commandLink> has an Ajax support already built-in. As a result of our changes we will get a form with "Get greeting" link instead of the button:


The example above generates the following HTML code:


<a href="#" onclick="A4J.AJAX.Submit(?"request parameters"); return false;"><span>Get greeting</span></a>

If you click on the generated anchor the utility method A4J.AJAX.Submit() will be fired.

Note:

Common JSF navigation could be performed after Ajax submit and partial rendering, but Navigation Case must be defined as <redirect/> in order to avoid problems with some browsers.

As any Core Ajax component that sends Ajax requests and processes server responses the <a4j:commandLink> has all attributes that provide the required behavior of requests (delay, limitation of submit area and rendering, etc.)

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find "Decide what to process" guide section.

Visit CommandLink demo page at RichFaces live demo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Useful articles:

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As the component uses Ajax request to get data from server it has all common Ajax Action attributes. Hence, "action" and "actionListener" can be invoked, and reRendering some parts of the page fired after calling function.

When using the <a4j:jsFunction> it's possible to initiate the Ajax request from the JavaScript and perform partial update of a page and/or invoke the JavaScript function with data returned by Ajax response.


...
<body onload="callScript()">
      <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>
      ...
</body>
...

The <a4j:jsFunction> allows to use <a4j:actionparam> or pure <f:param> for passing any number of parameters of the JavaScript function into Ajax request. <a4j:jsFunction> is similar to <a4j:commandButton> , but it could be activated from the JavaScript code. It allows to invoke some server-side functionality and use the returned data in the JavaScript function invoked from "oncomplete" attribute. Hence it's possible to use <a4j:jsFunction> instead of <a4j:commandButton> . You can put it anywhere, just don't forget to use <h:form> and </h:form> around it.

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find "Decide what to process" guide section.

Visit the jsFunction page at RichFaces LiveDemo for component usage and sources for the given examples.

Useful articles:

  • "JsFunctionJson" article in the RichFaces Cookbook describes how to use "a4j:jsFunction" to call the jsonTest backing bean that generates some random data in a JSON String;

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The <a4j:poll> componet is used for periodical polling of server data. In order to use the component it's necessary to set an update interval. The "interval" attribute defines an interval in milliseconds between the previous response and the next request. The total period beetween two requests generated by the <a4j:poll> component is a sum of an "interval" attribute value and server response time. Default value for "interval" attribute is set to "1000" milliseconds (1 second). See an example of definition in the "Creating the component with a Page Tag" section.

The "timeout" attribute defines response waiting time in milliseconds. If a response isn't received during this period a connection is aborted and the next request is sent. Default value for "timeout" attribute isn't set.

The "enabled" attribute defines should the <a4j:poll> send request or not. It's necessary to render the <a4j:poll> to apply the current value of "enabled" attribute. You can use an EL-expression for "enabled" attribute to point to a bean property. An example of usage of mentioned above attributes is placed below:

Example:


...
<a4j:region>
      <h:form>
            <a4j:poll id="poll" interval="1000" enabled="#{userBean.pollEnabled}" reRender="poll,grid"/>
      </h:form>
</a4j:region>
<h:form>
      <h:panelGrid columns="2" width="80%" id="grid">
           <h:panelGrid columns="1">
                <h:outputText value="Polling Inactive" rendered="#{not userBean.pollEnabled}" />
                <h:outputText value="Polling Active" rendered="#{userBean.pollEnabled}" />
                <a4j:commandButton style="width:120px" id="control" value="#{userBean.pollEnabled?'Stop':'Start'} Polling" reRender="poll, grid">
                     <a4j:actionparam name="polling" value="#{!userBean.pollEnabled}" assignTo="#{userBean.pollEnabled}"/>
                </a4j:commandButton>
          </h:panelGrid>
          <h:outputText id="serverDate" style="font-size:16px" value="Server Date: #{userBean.date}"/>
    </h:panelGrid>
</h:form>
...

The example shows how date and time are updated on a page in compliance with data taken from a server. The <a4j:poll> componet sends requests to the server every second. "reRender" attribute of the <a4j:poll> contains poll's own Id. Hence, it is self rendered for applying the current value of "enabled" attribute.

Notes:

  • The form around the <a4j:poll> component is required.

  • To make the <a4j:poll> component send requests periodically when it limitToList is set to "true", pass the <a4j:poll> ID to it reRender attribute.

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find "Decide what to process" guide section.

Visit the Poll page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of the component usage and their sources.

Useful examples and articles:

Manage the RichFaces Users Forum for fresh issues about the component usage.

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The <a4j:push> implements reverse Ajax technique.

The bean, for example, could be subscribed to Java Messaging Service (JMS) topic or it could be implemented as Message Driven Bean (MDB) in order to send a message to the <a4j:push> component about an event presence. In the presence of the event some action occurs.

Thus, a work paradigm with the <a4j:push> component corresponds to an anisochronous model, but not to pools as for <a4j:poll> component. See the simplest example below:

Example:

...

class MyPushEventListener implements PushEventListener {
    public void onEvent(EventObject evt) {
        System.out.println(evt.getSource());
            //Some action
    }
}    
...

Code for EventListener registration in the bean is placed below:

Example:

...

public void addListener(EventListener listener) {
        synchronized (listener) {
                if (this.listener != listener) {
                    this.listener = (PushEventListener) listener;
               }
        }
}
...

A page code for this example is placed below.

Example:


...
<a4j:status startText="in progress" stopText="done"/>
<a4j:form>
     <a4j:region>
           <a4j:push reRender="msg" eventProducer="#{pushBean.addListener}" interval="2000"/>
     </a4j:region>
     <a4j:outputPanel id="msg">
          <h:outputText value="#{pushBean.date}">
               <f:convertDateTime type="time"/>
          </h:outputText>
     </a4j:outputPanel>
     <a4j:commandButton value="Push!!" action="#{pushBean.push}" ajaxSingle="true"/>
</a4j:form>
...

The example shows how date is updated on a page in compliance with data taken from a server. In the example "interval" attribute has value "2000". This attribute defines an interval in milliseconds between the previous response and the next request. Default value is set to "1000" milliseconds (1 second). It's possible to set value equal to "0". In this case connection is permanent.

The "timeout" attribute defines response waiting time in milliseconds. If a response isn't received during this period a connection is aborted and the next request is sent. Default value for "timeout" attribute isn't set. Usage of "interval" and "timeout" attributes gives an opportunity to set short polls of queue state or long connections.

Note:

The form around the <a4j:push> component is required.

On RichFaces LiveDemo page you can found some additional information for <a4j:push> component usage.

Refer to Simple IRC Widget with <a4j:push> article to find out real-world usage of the <a4j:push> component.

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The RichFaces Queue has four different types: global default, view scoped default, view scoped named and form-based default queue (general Queue principles are good documented in the "Queue Principles" section). The current section will take closer to the form based queue. The usage of other types is similar.

In order to disable or enable the <a4j:queue> component on the page you can use the "disabled" attribute.

The "requestDelay" attribute defines delay time for all the requests fired by the action components.

The "size" attribute specifies the number of requests that can be stored in the queue at a time. The attribute helps to prevent server overloading. It is also possible to determine queue's behaviour when it's size is exceeded. Use the "sizeExceededBehavior" for this purpose. There are four possible strategies of exceeded queue's behavior:

  • "dropNext" drops next request that should be fired

  • "dropNew" drops the incoming request

  • "fireNext" immediately fires the next request in line to be fired

  • "fireNew" immediately fires the incoming request.

Example:


<h:form>
    <a4j:queue size="2" requestDelay="500" sizeExceededBehavior="dropNext" onsizeexceeded="alert('The size of the queue is exceeded')" />
    <h:inputText value="#{bean.a}">
        <a4j:support event="onkeyup" />
    </h:inputText>
    <h:inputText value="#{bean.b}">
        <a4j:support event="onblur" />
    </h:inputText>
    <h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{bean.check}" id="checkboxID">
        <a4j:support id="checkboxSupport" event="onchange" />
    </h:selectBooleanCheckbox>
</h:form>

In this example if the queue has more than 2 requests waiting to be processed the next event will be dropped and a message (the "onsizeexceeded" attribute fires a JavaScript function) saying that the queues is exceeded will be displayed.

The "ignoreDupResponses" attribute that takes a boolean value can also help optimize your Ajax requests. If set to true, response processing for request will not occur if a similar request is already waiting in the queue. New request will be fired immediately when the response from the previous one returns.

Example:


<h:form>
      <a4j:queue requestDelay="500" ignoreDupResponses="true" />
      <h:inputText value="#{bean.a}">
            <a4j:support event="onkeyup" />
      </h:inputText>
</h:form>

In this example, the requests are glued together and only the last one is submitted.

Another key attribute that easies server load is "timeout" . The attribute specifies the amount of time an item can be in the queue before the sent event is be aborted and dropped from the queue.

If the request is sent and response is not returned within the time frame defined in this attribute - the request is aborted, and the next one is sent.

Example:


<h:form>
      <a4j:queue timeout="1000" />
      <h:inputText value="#{bean.a}">
            <a4j:support event="onkeyup" />
      </h:inputText>
</h:form>

In this case if the sever doesn't respond within a second the request will be aborted.

As you can see the implementation of the queue provides some custom event handlers that you may use to call JavaScript functions.

The "oncomplete" is fired after request completed. In this event handler request object is be passed as a parameter. Thus queue is be accessible using request.queue. And the element which was a source of the request is available using this.

Example:


<h:form>
      <a4j:queue oncomplete="alert(request.queue.getSize())" requestDelay="1000" />
      <h:inputText value="#{bean.a}">
            <a4j:support event="onkeyup" />
      </h:inputText>
      <h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{bean.check}">
            <a4j:support event="onchange"/>
      </h:selectBooleanCheckbox>
</h:form>

In this example you can see how the number of requests waiting in the queue change. You will get a message with the number of the requests in the queue.

The "onbeforedomupdate" event handler called before updating DOM on a client side.

The "onrequestqueue" event handler called after the new request has been added to queue. And the "onrequestdequeue" event handler called after the request has been removed from queue.

The "onsubmit" event handler called after request is completed. This attribute allows to invoke JavaScript code before an Ajax request is sent.

Visit the Queue Page at the RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Useful articles:

"Queue Principles" section of the RichFaces developer guide describes general Queue principles.

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There are two ways for the components or containers definition, which Ajax requests status is tracked by a component.

The component creates two <span> or <div> elements depending on attribute "layout" with content defined for each status, one of the elements (start) is initially hidden. At the beginning of an Ajax request, elements state is inversed, hence the second element is shown and the first is hidden. At the end of a response processing, elements display states return to its initial values.

Example:


<a4j:status startText="Started" stopText="stopped" />

The code shown in the example above is decoded on a page as:


<span id="j_id20:status.start" style="display: none">
     Started
</span>
<span id="j_id20:status.stop">
     Stopped
</span>

and after the generation of an Ajax response is changed to:


<span id="j_id20:status.start">
     Started
</span>
<span id="j_id20:status.stop" style="display: none">
     Stopped
</span>

There is a possibility to group a <a4j:status> elements content into <div> elements, instead of <span> . To use it, just redefine the "layout" attribute from "inline" (default) to "block".

Visit Status page at RichFaces Livedemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Useful articles at JBoss portal:

  • RichFacesPleaseWaitBox describes how to show a "Please Wait" box and block the input while the Ajax request is processed using combination of <a4j:status> and <rich:modalPanel> .

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The main purpose of the components covered in this section is to load resources (style sheets, JavaScript files and resource bundle) and to keep a state of a bean between requests.

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Internationalization and Localization are the processes of adaptation of web applications for different languages and cultures. When you develop English and German versions of a site it can be said that you localize the site for England and Germany. Language is not the only thing that undergoes the localization — dates, times, numbers, currencies, phone numbers, addresses, graphics, icons, colors, personal titles and even favourite sounds are also varies from country to country. It means that an internationalized application may have lots of different types information, which should be changed depending on user location.

There are several approaches of organizing the localization. The JSF <h:loadBundle> loads bundles into the request scope when page is being rendered and updates all the needed areas in a crowd. Bundle information loaded in such way becomes unavailable when dealing with Ajax requests that work in their own request scopes. The approach provided by RichFaces <a4j:loadBundle> component enriches one given by the JSF <h:loadBundle> with Ajax capability: it allows to use reference to a particular bundle item during an Ajax update.

The <a4j:loadBundle> usage is pretty simple. Imagine a small application that says "Hello!" in different languages, where switching between translations (localizations, in our case) occurs when corresponding links are being clicked, like you have used to see on lots of sites. In our JSF with RichFaces application (those who feel not strong with that should better read the "Getting started with RichFaces" chapter) create resource bundles with "Hello!" message for three different languages: English, German and Italian. Resource bundles are represented with *.properties extention files that keep items in key(name) - value pairs. A key for an item should be the same for all locales.


Мessage resource bundles should be registered in the Faces configuration (faces-config.xml) file of your application as <message-bundle> inside the <application> element. Name of a resource should be specified without language or country code and without .properties extension. Supported locales should be specified inside the <supported-locale> element.

Registering resource bundles in the Faces configuration file:


<application>
      <locale-config>
            <default-locale>en</default-locale>
            <supported-locale>en</supported-locale>
            <supported-locale>de</supported-locale>
            <supported-locale>it</supported-locale>
      </locale-config>
      <message-bundle>demo.message</message-bundle>
</application>

For the application we will use JSF javax.faces.component.UIViewRoot.setLocale method that will set a needed Locale (each link will invoke corresponding method — there are, off course, another ways to do that).

ChangeLocale Java class with three methods for setting the correponding Locale:

package demo;


 import java.util.Locale;
 import javax.faces.context.FacesContext;
 public class ChangeLocale {
    public String germanAction() {
       FacesContext context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
       context.getViewRoot().setLocale(Locale.GERMAN);
       return null;
    }
    public String englishAction() {
       FacesContext context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
       context.getViewRoot().setLocale(Locale.ENGLISH);
       return null;
    }
    
    public String italianAction() {
        FacesContext context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
        context.getViewRoot().setLocale(Locale.ITALIAN);
        return null;
     }
}

Recently, the JSP page will look as following:


<h:form>
      <a4j:loadBundle var="msg" basename="demo.message"/>
      <h:outputText id="messageBundle" value="#{msg.greeting}"/>
      <a4j:commandLink value="De" action="#{changeLocale.germanAction}" reRender="messageBundle" />
      <a4j:commandLink value="Eng" action="#{changeLocale.englishAction}" reRender="messageBundle" />
      <a4j:commandLink value="It" action="#{changeLocale.italianAction}" reRender="messageBundle" />
</h:form> 

As an output we will get a simple application with English "Hello!" by default. Clicking on links "De", "Eng" and "It" will show the messages specified within the corresponding *.properties file. To reference to a particular bundle item during an Ajax update it is necessary to point the component(s) that shold be re-rendered (in this example it is done with the help of <a4j:commandLink> "reRender" attribute).


Visit the LoadBundle page at RichFaces LiveDemo for additional information on the component.

More useful examples and articles:

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Visit KeepAlive page at RichFaces Livedemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Search the RichFaces Users forum for some additional information about usage of component.

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RichFaces components library provides 3 components to validate user input data. These components enhance JSF validation capabilities with Ajax support and possibility to use Hibernate validators.

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The <rich:ajaxValidator> component should be added as a child component to an input JSF tag which data should be validated and an event that triggers validation should be specified as well. The component is ajaxSingle by default so only the current field will be validated.

The following example demonstrates how the <rich:ajaxValidator> adds Ajax functionality to standard JSF validators. The request is sent when the input field loses focus, the action is determined by the "event" attribute that is set to "onblur".


...
<rich:panel>
      <f:facet name="header">
            <h:outputText value="User Info:" />
      </f:facet>
      <h:panelGrid columns="3">
            <h:outputText value="Name:" />
            <h:inputText value="#{userBean.name}" id="name" required="true">
                  <f:validateLength minimum="3" maximum="12"/>
                  <rich:ajaxValidator event="onblur"/>
            </h:inputText>
            <rich:message for="name" />
                
            <h:outputText value="Age:" />
                  <h:inputText value="#{userBean.age}" id="age" required="true">
                        <f:convertNumber integerOnly="true"/>
                        <f:validateLongRange minimum="18" maximum="99"/>
                        <rich:ajaxValidator event="onblur"/>
                  </h:inputText>
                  <rich:message for="age"/>
      </h:panelGrid>
</rich:panel>
...

This is the result of the snippet.


In the example above it's show how to work with standard JSF validators. The <rich:ajaxValidator> component also works perfectly with custom validators enhancing their usage with Ajax.

Custom validation can be performed in two ways:

The following example shows how the data entered by user can be validated using Hibernate Validator.


...
<rich:panel>
      <f:facet name="header">
            <h:outputText value="User Info:" />
      </f:facet>
      <h:panelGrid  columns="3">
            <h:outputText value="Name:" />
            <h:inputText value="#{validationBean.name}" id="name" required="true">
                  <rich:ajaxValidator event="onblur" />
            </h:inputText>
            <rich:message for="name" />
            
            <h:outputText value="Email:" />
                  <h:inputText value="#{validationBean.email}" id="email">
                        <rich:ajaxValidator event="onblur" />
                  </h:inputText>
                  <rich:message for="email" />
                  
                  <h:outputText value="Age:" />
                  <h:inputText value="#{validationBean.age}" id="age">
                        <rich:ajaxValidator event="onblur" />
                  </h:inputText>
                  <rich:message for="age" />
      </h:panelGrid>
</rich:panel>
...

Here is the source code of the managed bean.

package org.richfaces.demo.validation;


import org.hibernate.validator.Email;
import org.hibernate.validator.Length;
import org.hibernate.validator.Max;
import org.hibernate.validator.Min;
import org.hibernate.validator.NotEmpty;
import org.hibernate.validator.NotNull;
import org.hibernate.validator.Pattern;
public class ValidationBean {
    private String progressString="Fill the form please";
    
    @NotEmpty
    @Pattern(regex=".*[^\\s].*", message="This string contain only spaces")
    @Length(min=3,max=12)
    private String name;
    @Email
    @NotEmpty
    private String email;
    
    @NotNull
    @Min(18)
    @Max(100)
    private Integer age;
    
    public ValidationBean() {
    }
    /* Corresponding Getters and Setters */
    
}

By default the Hibernate Validator generates an error message in 10 language, though you can redefine the messages that are displayed to a user when validation fails. In the shows example it was done by adding (message="wrong email format") to the @Email annotation.

This is how it looks.


Visit the AjaxValidator page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

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Starting from 3.2.2 GA version Rich Faces provides support for model-based constraints defined using Hibernate Validator. Thus it's possible to use Hibernate Validators the same as for Seam based applications.

The <rich:beanValidator> component is defined in the same way as any JSF validator. Look at the example below.


<rich:panel>
      <f:facet name="header">
            <h:outputText value="#{validationBean.progressString}" id="progress"/>
      </f:facet>
      <h:panelGrid columns="3">
            <h:outputText value="Name:" />
            <h:inputText value="#{validationBean.name}" id="name">
                  <rich:beanValidator summary="Invalid name"/>
            </h:inputText>
            <rich:message for="name" />

            <h:outputText value="Email:" />
            <h:inputText value="#{validationBean.email}" id="email">
                  <rich:beanValidator summary="Invalid email"/>
            </h:inputText>
            <rich:message for="email" />
            
            <h:outputText value="Age:" />
            <h:inputText value="#{validationBean.age}" id="age">
                  <rich:beanValidator summary="Wrong age"/>
            </h:inputText>
            <rich:message for="age" />
            <f:facet name="footer">
                  <a4j:commandButton value="Submit" action="#{validationBean.success}" reRender="progress"/>
            </f:facet>
      </h:panelGrid>
</rich:panel>

Please play close attention on the bean code that contains the constraints defined with Hibernate annotation which perform validation of the input data.




package org.richfaces.demo.validation;
import org.hibernate.validator.Email;
import org.hibernate.validator.Length;
import org.hibernate.validator.Max;
import org.hibernate.validator.Min;
import org.hibernate.validator.NotEmpty;
import org.hibernate.validator.NotNull;
import org.hibernate.validator.Pattern;
public class ValidationBean {
    private String progressString="Fill the form please";
    
    @NotEmpty
    @Pattern(regex=".*[^\\s].*", message="This string contain only spaces")
    @Length(min=3,max=12)
    private String name;
    @Email
    @NotEmpty
    private String email;
    
    @NotNull
    @Min(18)
    @Max(100)
    private Integer age;
    
    public ValidationBean() {
    }
    /* Corresponding Getters and Setters */
    
    public void success() {
        setProgressString(getProgressString() + "(Strored successfully)");
    }
    public String getProgressString() {
        return progressString;
    }
    public void setProgressString(String progressString) {
        this.progressString = progressString;
    }
}

The following figure shows what happens if validation fails


As you can see from the example that in order to validate the <rich:beanValidator> should be nested into a input JSF or RichFaces component.

The component has the only attribute - "summary" which displays validation messages about validation errors.

On RichFaces LiveDemo page you can see an example of <rich:beanValidator> usage and sources for the given example.

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The <rich:graphValidator> component behaves basically the same way as the <rich:beanValidator> The deference between these two components is that in order to validate some input data with a <rich:beanValidator> component, it should be a nested element of an input component, whereas <rich:graphValidator> wraps multiple input components and validates the data received from them.

The following example demonstrates a pattern of how the <rich:graphValidator> can be used:


...
<rich:graphValidator>
     <h:panelGrid columns="3">
          <h:outputText value="Name:" />
          <h:inputText value="#{validationBean.name}" id="name">
               <f:validateLength minimum="2" />
          </h:inputText>
          <rich:message for="name" />
          <h:outputText value="Email:" />
          <h:inputText value="#{validationBean.email}" id="email" />
          <rich:message for="email" />
     </h:panelGrid>
</rich:graphValidator>
...

The data validation can be also performed using Hibernate Validator, the same way as it is done with <rich:beanValidator> .

The components's architecture provides an option to bind the component to a managed bean, which is done with the "value" attribute. The attribute ensures that the entered data is valid after the model is updated by revalidating the bean properties.

Please look at the example below.


...
<rich:graphValidator summary="Invalid values: " value="#{dayStatistics}">
     <a4j:repeat value="#{dayStatistics.dayPasstimes}" var="pt" id="table">
          <h:outputText value="#{pt.title}" />
          <rich:inputNumberSpinner minValue="0" maxValue="24" value="#{pt.time}" id="time" />
          <rich:message for="time" />
     </a4j:repeat>
</rich:graphValidator>
...

Hence, the given above code will provide the functionality that is illustrated on the images below.


As you can see from the picture the "Games" field did not pass validation, as <rich:graphValidator> can be used to perform validation of a single input item.


The figure above shows that the entered data was revalidated after all fields were completed, and the data did not pass revalidation since the total sum was incorrect.

Visit the GraphValidator page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

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The components described in this section render some content dynamically using Ajax capabilities.

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Visit the Include page for examples of component usage and their sources.

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The <a4j:mediaOutput> component is used for generating images, videos or sounds on-the-fly. Let's consider an image creation and generate a JPEG image with verification digits for captcha (the image will include just digits without any graphical noise and distortion).

Write the following line on the page:


<a4j:mediaOutput element="img" cacheable="false" session="false" createContent="#{mediaBean.paint}" value="#{mediaData}" mimeType="image/jpeg"/>

As You see from the example above, first it is necessary to specify the kind of media data You want to generate. This can be done with the help of "element" attribute, which possible values are img, object, applet, script, link or a.

The "cacheable" defines whether the response will be cached or not. In our case we don't need our image to be cached, cause we need it to be changed every time we refresh the page.

The "mimeType" attribute defines the type of output content. It is used to define the corresponded type in the header of an HTTP response.

The <a4j:mediaOutput> attribute has two main attributes:

Now let's create the MediaBean class and specify there a primitive random-number generator and paint method that will convert the generated numbers into an output stream and give a JPEG image as a result. The code for MediaBean class is going to look as following:

Example:

package demo;


import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import java.util.Random;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
public class MediaBean {
    public void paint(OutputStream out, Object data) throws IOException{
        Integer high = 9999;
        Integer low = 1000;
        Random generator = new Random();
        Integer digits = generator.nextInt(high - low + 1) + low;
        if (data instanceof MediaData) {            
            MediaData paintData = (MediaData) data;
            BufferedImage img = new BufferedImage(paintData.getWidth(),paintData.getHeight(),BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_RGB);
            Graphics2D graphics2D = img.createGraphics();
            graphics2D.setBackground(paintData.getBackground());
            graphics2D.setColor(paintData.getDrawColor());
            graphics2D.clearRect(0,0,paintData.getWidth(),paintData.getHeight());
            graphics2D.setFont(paintData.getFont());
            graphics2D.drawString(digits.toString(), 20, 35);
            ImageIO.write(img,"png",out);
        }
    }
}

Now it is necessary to create a class that will keep transmissional data that will be used as input data for a content creation method. The code for MediaData class is going to be as following:

Example:

package demo;


import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.io.Serializable;
public class MediaData implements Serializable{
    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
    Integer Width=110;
    Integer Height=50;
    Color Background=new Color(190, 214, 248);
    Color DrawColor=new Color(0,0,0);
    Font font = new Font("Serif", Font.TRUETYPE_FONT, 30);
    
    /* Corresponding getters and setters */
    
}

As a result the <a4j:mediaOutput> component will generate the following image that will be updated on each page refresh:


Hence, when using the component it's possible to output your data of any type on a page with Ajax requests.

Visit the MediaOutput page at RichFaces LiveDemo for more examples of component usage and their sources.

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The <a4j:outputPanel> component is used when one or more components should be always updated. The component job is similar to that the "reRender" attribute does, but instead of specifying a comma separated list of components it wraps the components to be updated. This could be useful in cases when some components aren't rendered during the primary non-ajax response.

Example:


<a4j:support reRender="mypanel"/>
...
<a4j:outputPanel id="mypanel">
      <h:panelGrid rendered="#{not empty foo.bar}">
       ...
      </h:panelGrid>
</a4j:outputPanel>

By default the <a4j:outputPanel> is rendered as opening and closing HTML <span> tags and functions as container. With the help of the "layout" attribute this output way could be set to any of three variants:

If layout="block" is set, the component is rendered as a pair of opening and closing <div> tags. In this case it is possible to apply available for <div> elements style attributes. layout ="none" helps to avoid an unnecessary tag around a context that is rendered or not according to the "rendered" attribute value. In case an inner context isn't rendered the <a4j:outputPanel> is rendered in a <span> tags with ID equal to ID of a child component and display:none style. If a child component is rendered, <a4j:outputPanel> doesn't present at all in a final code.

Example:


<a4j:support reRender="mypanel"/>
 ...
<a4j:outputPanel layout="none">
      <h:panelGrid id="mypanel" rendered="#{not empty foo.bar}">
       ...
      </h:panelGrid>
</a4j:outputPanel>

As you see, the code is very similar to the one shown above, but "reRender " attribute refers directly to the updating panelGrid and not to the framing outputPanel, and it's more semantically correct.

The <a4j:outputPanel> allows to update a part of a page basing on its own flag. The flag is defined by the "ajaxRendered" attribute. The flag is commonly used when a part of a page must be updated or can be updated on any response.

Example:


<a4j:outputPanel ajaxRendered="true">
      <h:messages/>
</a4j:outputPanel>

The <a4j:outPanel> should be used for non-JSF component part framing, which is to be updated on Ajax response, as RichFaces specifies the list of updating areas as a list of an existing JSF component.

On default non-JSF context isn't saved in a component tree, but is rendered anew every time. To accelerate the processing speed and Ajax response input speed, RichFaces saves non-JSF context in a component tree on default. This option could be canceled by "keepTransient" attribute that cancels transient flag forced setting for child components. This flag setting keeps the current value set by child components.

RichFaces allows setting Ajax responses rendering directly basing on component tree nodes without referring to the JSP (XHTML) page code. It could be defined by "selfRendered" attribute setting to "true" on <a4j:region> and could help considerably speed up a response output. However, if a transient flag is kept as it is, this rapid processing could cause missing of transient components that present on view and don't come into a component tree. Hence, for any particular case you could choose a way for you application optimization: speed up processing or redundant memory for keeping tree part earlier defined a transient.

Visit OutputPanel page at RichFaces Livedemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Useful articles:

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A collection of Ajax Miscellaneous components

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Visit the AjaxPage page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

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Visit the Portlet page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Useful publications:

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On RichFaces LiveDemo page you can found some additional information for <a4j:htmlCommandLink> component usage.

On RichFaces LiveDemo page you can found some additional information about <f:param> component.

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Visit the Log page at RichFaces LiveDemo for example of component usage and their sources.

You can find some cases when <a4j:log> might cause JavaScript error on Ajax Core Components Page.

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+6.6.1. < rich:column > available since 3.0.0
6.6.1.1. Description
6.6.1.2. Key Features
6.6.1.3. Details of Usage
+6.6.1.4. Sorting and Filtering
6.6.1.4.1. Sorting
6.6.1.4.2. Filtering
6.6.1.5. Reference Data
6.6.1.6. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.2. < rich:columnGroup > available since 3.0.0
6.6.2.1. Description
6.6.2.2. Key Features
6.6.2.3. Details of Usage
6.6.2.4. Reference Data
6.6.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.3. < rich:columns > available since 3.2.0
6.6.3.1. Description
6.6.3.2. Key Features
6.6.3.3. Details of Usage
6.6.3.4. Reference Data
6.6.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.4. < rich:dataDefinitionList > available since 3.0.0
6.6.4.1. Description
6.6.4.2. Key Features
6.6.4.3. Details of Usage
6.6.4.4. Reference Data
6.6.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.5. < rich:dataFilterSlider > available since 3.0.0
6.6.5.1. Description
6.6.5.2. Key Features
6.6.5.3. Details of Usage
6.6.5.4. Reference Data
6.6.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.6. < rich:dataGrid > available since 3.0.0
6.6.6.1. Description
6.6.6.2. Key Features
6.6.6.3. Details of Usage
6.6.6.4. Reference Data
6.6.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.7. < rich:dataList > available since 3.0.0
6.6.7.1. Description
6.6.7.2. Key Features
6.6.7.3. Details of Usage
6.6.7.4. Reference Data
6.6.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.8. < rich:dataOrderedList > available since 3.0.0
6.6.8.1. Description
6.6.8.2. Key Features
6.6.8.3. Details of Usage
6.6.8.4. Reference Data
6.6.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.9. < rich:datascroller > available since 3.0.0
6.6.9.1. Description
6.6.9.2. Key Features
6.6.9.3. Details of Usage
6.6.9.4. Reference Data
6.6.9.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.10. < rich:dataTable > available since 3.0.0
6.6.10.1. Description
6.6.10.2. Key Features
6.6.10.3. Details of Usage
6.6.10.4. Reference Data
6.6.10.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.11. < rich:subTable > available since 3.0.0
6.6.11.1. Description
6.6.11.2. Key Features
6.6.11.3. Details of Usage
6.6.11.4. Reference Data
+6.6.12. < rich:extendedDataTable > available since 3.2.2
6.6.12.1. Description
6.6.12.2. Key Features
6.6.12.3. Details of Usage
6.6.12.4. Reference Data
6.6.12.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.13. < a4j:repeat > available since 3.0.0
6.6.13.1. Description
6.6.13.2. Details of Usage
6.6.13.3. Reference Data
6.6.13.4. Relevant Resources Links
+6.6.14. < rich:scrollableDataTable > available since 3.1.0
6.6.14.1. Description
6.6.14.2. Key Features
6.6.14.3. Details of Usage
6.6.14.4. Reference Data
6.6.14.5. Relevant Resources Links

The following components iterate over a collection of data and represent it on the page.

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To output a simple table, the <rich:column> component is used the same way as the standard <h:column> . See the example of the component usage below:

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>
...

The result is:


Now, in order to group columns with text information into one row in one column with a flag, use the "colspan" attribute, which is similar to an HTML one, specifying that the first column contains 3 columns. In addition, it's necessary to specify that the next column begins from the first row with the help of breakBefore="true".

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>
...

As a result the following structure is rendered:


The same way is used for columns grouping with the "rowspan" attribute that is similar to an HTML one responsible for rows quantity definition occupied with the current one. The only thing to add in the example is an instruction to move onto the next row for each next row after the second column.

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>
...

As a result:


Hence, additionally to a standard output of a particular row provided with the <h:column> component, it becomes possible to group easily the rows with special HTML attribute.

The columns also could be grouped in a particular way with the help of the <h:columnGroup> component that is described in the following chapter.

In the Dynamic Columns Wiki article you can find additional information about dynamic columns.

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In order to sort the columns you should use the "sortBy" attribute that indicates what values to be sorted. This attribute can be used only with the <rich:dataTable> component. Expressions in the "sortBy" attribute can refer only to the variable declared with the "var" attribute, not to those declared with other attributes such as the "rowKeyVar" attribute. In order to sort the column you should click on its header. See the following example.

Example:


...
<h:form>
    <rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" width="300px">
        <f:facet name="header">
            <h:outputText value="Sorting Example"/>
        </f:facet>
        <rich:column sortBy="#{cap.state}">
            <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText value="State Name"/>
            </f:facet>
            <h:outputText value="#{cap.state}"/>
        </rich:column> 
        <rich:column sortBy="#{cap.name}">
            <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText value="State Capital"/>
            </f:facet>
            <h:outputText value="#{cap.name}"/> 
        </rich:column>
    </rich:dataTable>
</h:form>
...

This is result:


The "sortExpression" attribute defines a bean property which is used for sorting a column. This attribute can be used only with the <rich:scrollableDataTable> component. See the example of the attribute usage below.

Example:


...
<rich:scrollableDataTable
        value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.allCars}" sortMode="single"
        var="category">
        <rich:column sortExpression="#{category.make}">
            <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText styleClass="headerText" value="Make" />
            </f:facet>
            <h:outputText value="#{category.make}" />
        </rich:column>
        <rich:column>
            <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText styleClass="headerText" value="Model" />
            </f:facet>
            <h:outputText value="#{category.model}" />
        </rich:column>
        <rich:column>
            <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText styleClass="headerText" value="Price" />
            </f:facet>
            <h:outputText value="#{category.price}" />
        </rich:column>
</rich:scrollableDataTable>
...

The "selfSorted" attribute is meant for adding the possibility of automatic sorting by clicking on the column header. Default value is "true". In the example below the second column is unavailable for sorting.

Example:


...
<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap">
        <rich:column>
                <f:facet name="header">
                        <h:outputText value="State Flag"/>
                </f:facet>
                <h:graphicImage value="#{cap.stateFlag}"/> 
        </rich:column>
        <rich:column sortBy="#{cap.state}" selfSorted="false"> 
                <f:facet name="header">
                        <h:outputText value="State Name"/>
                </f:facet>
                <h:outputText value="#{cap.state}"/>
        </rich:column> 
</rich:dataTable>
...

The "sortOrder" attribute is used for changing the sort order of columns by means of external controls.

Possible values are:

  • "ASCENDING" - column is sorted in ascending order

  • "DESCENDING" - column is sorted in descending order

  • "UNSORTED" - column isn't sorted

Example:


...
<h:form>
    <rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" width="300px">
        <f:facet name="header">
            <h:outputText value="Sorting Example"/>
        </f:facet>
        <rich:column sortBy="#{cap.state}" sortOrder="ASCENDING">
            <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText value="State Name"/>
            </f:facet>
            <h:outputText value="#{cap.state}"/>
        </rich:column> 
        <rich:column sortBy="#{cap.name}" sortOrder="DESCENDING">
            <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText value="State Capital"/>
            </f:facet>
            <h:outputText value="#{cap.name}"/> 
        </rich:column>
    </rich:dataTable>
</h:form>
...

Below you can see the result:


In the example above the first column is sorted in descending order. But if recurring rows appear in the table the relative second column are sorted in ascending order.

If the values of the columns are complex, the "sortOrder" attribute should point to a bean property containing the sort order. See how it's done in the LiveDemo for <rich:columns> .

You can customize the sorting's icon element using "rich-sort-icon" class.

Note

In order to sort a column with the values not in English you can add the org.richfaces.datatableUsesViewLocale context parameter in your web.xml. Its value should be "true".

Note:

The "sortBy" and the "selfSorted" attributes used with the <rich:dataTable> component. Also the "selfSorted" can be used with the <rich:extendedDataTable> .

The "sortable" and the "sortExpression" attributes used with the <rich:scrollableDataTable> component.

There are two ways to filter the column value:

Visit the Column page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of the component usage and their sources.

See the example on how to use the "rendered" attribute of <rich:column> in the RichFaces Cookbook article.

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The <rich:columnGroup> component combines columns set wrapping them into the <tr> element and outputting them into one row. Columns are combined in a group the same way as when the "breakBefore" attribute is used for columns to add a moving to the next rows, but the first variant is clearer from a source code. Hence, the following simple examples are very same.

Example:


...
<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" rows="5" id="sublist"> 
        <rich:column colspan="3">
                <f:facet name="header">State Flag</f:facet>
                <h:graphicImage value="#{cap.stateFlag}"/>
        </rich:column>
       <rich:columnGroup>
                <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:columnGroup> 
</rich:dataTable>
...

And here is a representation without a grouping:

Example:


...
<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" rows="5" id="sublist"> 
        <rich:column colspan="3">
                <f:facet name="header">State Flag</f:facet>
                <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>
....

The result is:


It's also possible to use the component for output of complex headers in a table. For example, adding of a complex header to a facet for the whole table looks the following way:

Example:


...
<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 generated table on a page looks as follows:


On the component LiveDemo page you can find the example of the <rich:columnGroup> usage and sources as well.

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The <rich:columns> component gets a list from data model and outputs a corresponding set of columns inside <rich:dataTable> on a page. It is possible to use "header" and "footer" facets with <rich:columns> component.

The "value" and "var" attributes are used to access the values of collection.

The simple example is placed below.

Example:


...
<rich:dataTable value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.model}" var="model" width="750">
            <rich:columns value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.columns}" var="columns"
                index="ind" id="column#{ind}"> 
                <f:facet name="header">
                    <h:outputText value="#{columns.header}" />
                </f:facet>
            
                <h:outputText value="#{model[ind].model} " />
                <h:outputText value="#{model[ind].mileage} miles " />
                <h:outputText value="#{model[ind].price}$" />       
            </rich:columns> 
</rich:dataTable>                       
...

The "columns" attribute defines the count of columns.

The "rowspan" attribute defines the number of rows to be displayed. If the value of this attribute is zero, all remaining rows in the table are displayed on a page.

The "begin" attribute contains the first iteration item. Note, that iteration begins from zero.

The "end" attribute contains the last iteration item.

With the help of the attributes described above you can customize the output, i.e. define which columns and how many rows appear on a page.

The <rich:columns> component does not prevent to use <rich:column> . In the following example one column renders in any way and another columns are picked from the model.

Example:


...
<rich:dataTable value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.model}" var="model" width="500px" rows="5">
        <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText value="Cars Available"></h:outputText>
        </f:facet>
        <rich:columns value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.columns}" var="columns" index="ind">
                <f:facet name="header">
                        <h:outputText value="#{columns.header}" />
                </f:facet>
                <h:outputText value="#{model[ind].model} " />
        </rich:columns>
        <rich:column>
                <f:facet name="header">
                        <h:outputText value="Price" />
                </f:facet>
               <h:outputText value="Price" />
        </rich:column>
        <rich:columns value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.columns}" var="columns" index="ind">
                <f:facet name="header">
                        <h:outputText value="#{columns.header}" />
                </f:facet>
                <h:outputText value="#{model[ind].mileage}$" />
        </rich:columns>
</rich:dataTable>
...                              
                    

The grouping some columns into one column or one row with the help of the "colspan", "rowspan" and "breakBefore" attributes can be perform for <rich:columns> the same way as for the <rich:columnt> component.

Note:

The <rich:columns> tag is initialized during components tree building process. This process precedes page rendering at "Render Response" JSF phase. To be rendered properly the component needs all it variables to be initialized while the components tree is being building. A javax.servlet.jsp.JspTagException occurs if <rich:columns> uses variables passed from other components, if these variables are initialized during rendering. Thus, when <rich:columns> is asking for such variables they do not already exist. Use <c:forEach> JSP standard tag as workaround. Compare two examples below.

This code calls the exception:


...
<rich:dataTable value="#{bean.data}" var="var">
        <rich:columns value="#{var.columns}">
                ...
        </rich:columns>
</rich:dataTable>
...

This code works properly:


...
<c:forEach items="#{bean.data}" var="var">
        <rich:columns value="#{var.columns}">
                ...
        </rich:columns>
</c:forEach>
...

Note:

Since 3.3.0GA <rich:columns> requires explicit definition of "id" for children components to ensure that decode process works properly. The example of how you can define unique "id" for children component:


...
<rich:columns value="#{bean.columns}" var="col" index="ind" ... >
        <h:inputText id="input#{ind}" value="">
                <a4j:support id="support#{ind}" event="onchange" reRender="someId" />
        </h:inputText>
</rich:columns> 
...

Only if "id" defined as shown above Ajax after onchange event will be processed as expected.

Sorting and filtering for the <rich:columns> component works the same as for <rich:column> . See the "Sorting and Filtering" section.

On the component LiveDemo page you can find an additional information on the <rich:columns> component usage.

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The <rich:dataDefinitionList> component allows to generate a definition list from a model.

The component has the "term" facet, which corresponds to the "type" parameter for the <dt> HTML element.

Here is an example:


...
<h:form>
        <rich:dataDefinitionList var="car" value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.allCars}" rows="5" first="4" 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:dataDefinitionList>
</h:form>
...

This is a result:


In the example the "rows" attribute limits a number of output elements of the list.

The "first" attribute defines the first element for output. "title" is used for a popup title.

The <rich:dataDefinitionList> component could be partially updated with Ajax. The "ajaxKeys" attribute points to an Object (java.util.Set) that should contain row keys to be updated after an Ajax request. See an example of usage the "ajaxKeys" attribute for the <rich:dataList> component in the RichFacs Cookbook article.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:dataDefinitionList> usage and sources for the given example.

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The dataFilterSlider component is bound to some UIData component using the "for" attribute and filters data in a table.

Example:


...
<rich:dataFilterSlider sliderListener="#{mybean.doSlide}"
                        startRange="0"
                        endRange="50000"
                        increment="10000"
                        handleValue="1"
                        for="carIndex"
                        forValRef="inventoryList.carInventory" 
                        filterBy="getMileage" />
...
<h:dataTable id="carIndex"> 
        ... 
</h:dataTable>
...

In this example other two attributes are used for filtering:

"handleValue" is an attribute for keeping the current handle position on the dataFilterSlider component. Based on the current value, appropriate values obtained from a getter method defined in "filterBy" are filtered.

One more important attribute is a "storeResults" one that allows the dataFilterSlider component to keep UIData target object in session.

If it's necessary the component submits a form on event of a handle state changing, use the "submitOnSlide" attribute. When the attribute definition is "true", submission on this event is defined.

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find in the "Decide what to process " guide section.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:dataFilterSlider> usage and sources for the given example.

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The component takes a list from a model and outputs it the same way as with <h:panelGrid> for inline data. To define grid properties and styles, use the same definitions as for <h:panelGrid>.

The component allows to:

Here is an example:

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>       
...

This is a result:


The component was created basing on the <a4j:repeat> component and as a result it could be partially updated with Ajax. "ajaxKeys" attribute allows to define row keys that are updated after an Ajax request.

Here is an example:

Example:


...
<rich:dataGrid value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.allCars}" var="car" ajaxKeys="#{listBean.list}" 
                        binding="#{listBean.dataGrid}" id="grid" elements="4" columns="2">
        ...
</rich:dataGrid>
...
<a4j:commandButton action="#{listBean.action}" reRender="grid" value="Submit"/>
...

In the example "reRender" attribute contains value of "id" attribute for <rich:dataGrid> component. As a result the component is updated after an Ajax request.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:dataGrid> usage and sources for the given example.

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The <rich:dataList> component allows to generate a list from a model.

The component has the "type" attribute, which corresponds to the "type" parameter for the <ul> HTML element and defines a marker type. Possible values for "type" attribute are: "disc", "circle", "square".

Here is an example:


...
<h:form>
        <rich:dataList var="car" value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.allCars}" rows="5" type="disc" 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:dataList>
</h:form>
...

This is a result:


In the example the "rows" attribute limits a number of output elements of the list.

The "first" attribute defines the first element for output. "title" is used for a popup title. See the picture below:


The <rich:dataList> component could be partially updated with Ajax. The "ajaxKeys" attribute points to an Object (java.util.Set) that contains row keys to be updated after an Ajax request. See an example of usage the attribute in the Using the ajaxKeys attribute for <rich:dataList> article in the RichFaces Cookbook.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:dataList> usage and sources for the given example.

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The <rich:dataOrderedList> component allows to generate an ordered list from a model.

The component has the "type" attribute, which corresponds to the "type" parameter for the <ol> HTML element and defines a marker type. Possible values for "type" attribute are: "A", "a", "I", "i", "1".

Here is an example:


...
<h:form>
        <rich:dataOrderedList var="car" value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.allCars}" rows="5" type="1"  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:dataOrderedList>
</h:form>
...

This is a result:


In the example the "rows" attribute limits a number of output elements of the list.

The "first" attribute defines the first element for output. "title" is used for a popup title.

The <rich:dataOrderedList> component could be partially updated with Ajax. The "ajaxKeys" attribute points to an Object (java.util.Set) that should contain row keys to be updated after an Ajax request. See an example of usage the "ajaxKeys" attribute for the <rich:dataList> component in the RichFacs Cookbook article.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:dataOrderedList > usage and sources for the given example.

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The <rich:datascroller> component provides table scrolling functionalitity the same as TOMAHAWK scroller but with Ajax requests usage.

The <rich:datascroller> component should be reRendered also with <rich:dataTable> when you changing filter in order to be updated according to the <rich:dataTable> current model.

The component should be placed into the footer of the parent table or be bound to it with the "for" attribute. Note, that "for" is evaluated on view build, not on view render, that is why it will ignore JSTL tags.

The table should also have the defined "rows" attribute limiting the quantity of inputted table rows.

The scroller could limit the maximum quantity of rendered links on the table pages with the help of the "maxPages" attribute.

Component provides two controllers groups for switching:

The controls of fast switching are created adding the facets component with the corresponding name:

Example:


 ...
<rich:datascroller for="table" maxPages="10">
          <f:facet name="first">
                    <h:outputText value="First"/>
          </f:facet>
          <f:facet name="last">
                    <h:outputText value="Last"/>
          </f:facet>
</rich:datascroller>
...

The screenshot shows one controller from each group.

There are also facets used to create the disabled states: "first_disabled", "last_disabled", "next_disabled", "previous_disabled", "fastforward_disabled", "fastrewind_disabled".

For the "fastforward"/"fastrewind" controls customization the additional "fastStep" attribute is used. The attribute indicates pages quantity to switch onto when fast scrolling is used.

The "page" is a value-binding attribute used to define and save the current page number. The example is placed below.

Example:


...
<h:form id="myForm">
    <rich:dataTable id="carList" rows="7" value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.allCars}" var="category">
        <f:facet name="header">
            <rich:columnGroup>
                <h:column>
                    <h:outputText value="Make" />
                </h:column>
                <h:column>
                    <h:outputText value="Model" />
                </h:column>
                <h:column>
                    <h:outputText value="Price" />
                </h:column>
            </rich:columnGroup>
        </f:facet>
        <h:column>
            <h:outputText value="#{category.make}" />
        </h:column>
        <h:column>
            <h:outputText value="#{category.model}" />
        </h:column>
        <h:column>
            <h:outputText value="#{category.price}" />
        </h:column>
    </rich:dataTable>
    <rich:datascroller id="sc2" for="carList" reRender="sc1" maxPages="7" page="#{dataTableScrollerBean.scrollerPage}" />
    <h:panelGrid>
        <h:panelGroup>
            <h:outputText value="Set current page number:" />
            <h:inputText value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.scrollerPage}" id="sc1" size="1"/>
            <h:commandButton value="Set" />
        </h:panelGroup>
    </h:panelGrid>
</h:form>
...

In the example above you can enter the page number you want and set it by clicking on the <h:commandButton> . By the way, if you use <rich:datascroller> page links the input field rerenders and current page number changes.

The result should be like below:


The "pageIndexVar" and "pagesVar" attributes define a request scope variables and provide an ability to show the current page and the number of pages in the <rich:datascroller> .

These attributes are used for definition the names of variables, that is used in the facet with name "pages" . An example can be found below:

Example:


...
<h:form>
    <rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="cap" rows="5">
        <rich:column>
            <h:outputText value="#{cap.name}" />
        </rich:column>
        <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>
</h:form>
...

It's possible to insert optional separators between controls. For this purpose use a "controlsSeparator" facet. An example is placed below.


 ...
<f:facet name="controlsSeparator">
          <h:graphicImage value="/image/sep.png"/>
</f:facet>
...

Starting from 3.2.1 of RichFaces multiple <rich:datascroller> instances behavior and page bindings are corrected. Incorrect page after model changes handling is added. Phase Listener called before RenderResponce scans the page for the <rich:datascroller> and performs the following operations:

  • Checks if the <rich:datascroller> is rendered. (If the checking generates an exception, the <rich:datascroller> is considered to be not rendered )

  • If the <rich:datascroller> is rendered - the table to which the <rich:datascroller> is attached gets the value of the page attribute of <rich:datascroller> .

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find in the " Decide what to process " guide section.

Note:

Make sure, that all <rich:datascroller> components, defined for a table, have same values for all "page" attributes. The page, specified in the last "page" , will be rendered in browser.

Table of <rich:datascroller> attributes.






You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:datascroller> usage and sources for the given example.

The solution about how to do correct pagination using datascroller (load a part of data from database) can be found on the RichFaces Users Forum.

How to use <rich:dataTable> and <rich:datascroller> in a context of Extended Data Model see on the RichFaces Users Forum.

This article describes how to solve <rich:datatable> update problem when <rich:datascroller> used.

Here you can find out how to use pair of <rich:datascrollers> outside the any dataTable.

The solution about how to make <rich:datascroller> be updated after sorting/filtering can be found on Data Iteration Components FAQ.

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Extended table features, such as scrollable data, row selection, and column re-ordering, require the use of the <rich:extendedDataTable> component instead of <rich:dataTable>. Refer to the <rich:extendedDataTable> section for details on the differences between the two components.

The <rich:dataTable> component is similar to the <h:dataTable> one, except Ajax support and skinnability. Ajax support is possible, because the component was created basing on the <a4j:repeat> component and as a result it could be partially updated with Ajax. The "ajaxKeys" attribute allows to define row keys which are updated after an Ajax request. You can find an example which demonstrate the usage of the "ajaxKeys" attributes for data iteration components in the RichFaces Cookbook article.

Note:

If you need to render a table with some extended features like data scrolling, hiding the columns with the help of the context menu and some others, then use the <rich:extendedDataTable> component instead.

The component allows to use "header" , "footer" and "caption" facets for output. See an example below:

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>
...

This is a result:


Information about sorting and filtering you can find in the corresponding section.

You can find information how to remove header's gradient in the "How to remove rich:dataTable header background " article.

Table of <rich:dataTable> attributes.



Table 6.53. Style classes (selectors) with the corresponding skin parameters

Class (selector) nameDescriptionSkin ParametersCSS properties mapped
.rich-tableDefines styles for a tabletableBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-table-cellDefines styles for a table cellgeneralSizeFontfont-size
generalTextColorcolor
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-table-headerDefines styles for a table header rowheaderBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-table-header-continueDefines styles for all header lines after the firstheaderBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-table-headercellDefines styles for a header celltableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-right, border-bottom
headerTextColorcolor
headerWeightFontfont-weight
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-table-subheaderDefines styles for a column headeradditionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-table-thead tableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-bottom
.rich-table-subheadercellDefines styles for a column header celltableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-right
generalTextColorcolor
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-table-footerDefines styles for a footer rowtableFooterBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-table-footer-continueDefines styles for all footer lines after the firsttableFooterBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-table-footercellDefines styles for a footer celltableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-right, border-bottom
generalTextColorcolor
headerWeightFontfont-weight
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-table-subfooterDefines styles for a column footertableSubfooterBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-table-subfootercellDefines styles for a column footer celltableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-right, border-bottom
generalTextColorcolor
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family


You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:dataTable> usage and sources for the given example.

The article about <rich:dataTable> flexibility can be found in the "rich:dataTable Flexibility " article .

Article on dataTable skinability provides you a simple example of skinnability.

More information about using <rich:dataTable> and <rich:subTable> could be found on the RichFaces Users Forum.

How to use <rich:dataTable> and <rich:datascroller> in a context of Extended Data Model see on the RichFaces Users Forum.

From "rich:dataTable border to 0px " article you'll figure out how to set rich:dataTable border to 0px

dataTable Background Out tells you how to remove rich:dataTable header background

"Richfaces Datatable Checkbox" article helps you to create a Richface Datatable with Checkbox Column and an CheckAll Checkbox in Header.

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Table of <rich:subTable> attributes.





You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

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The <rich:extendedDataTable> component is similar to the <rich:dataTable> , but <rich:extendedDataTable> supports some extended features (see the "Key Features" section above). The data in the component is scrollable. You can also set the type of selection ( "none", "single" or "multi" lines). Selection of multiple lines is possible using Shift and Ctrl keys.

Here is an example:

Example:


...
<rich:extendedDataTable id="edt" value="#{extendedDT.dataModel}" var="edt" width="500px" height="500px" selectedClass="dataTableSelectedRow" sortMode="single" selectionMode="multi" selection="#{extendedDT.selection}" rowKeyVar="rkvar" tableState="#{extendedDT.tableState}">
       <rich:column id="id" headerClass="dataTableHeader" width="50" label="Id" sortable="true" sortBy="#{edt.id}" sortIconAscending="dataTableAscIcon" sortIconDescending="dataTableDescIcon">
              <f:facet name="header">
                     <h:outputText value="Id" />
              </f:facet>
              <h:outputText value="#{edt.id}" />
       </rich:column>
       <rich:column id="name" width="300" headerClass="dataTableHeader" label="Name" sortable="true" sortBy="#{edt.name}" sortIconAscending="dataTableAscIcon" sortIconDescending="dataTableDescIcon" filterBy="#{edt.name}" filterEvent="onkeyup" visible="false"> 
              <f:facet name="header"> 
                     <h:outputText value="Name" />
              </f:facet>
              <h:outputText value="#{edt.name}" />
       </rich:column>
       <rich:column id="date" width="100" headerClass="dataTableHeader" label="Date" sortable="true" comparator="#{extendedDT.dateComparator}" sortIconAscending="dataTableAscIcon" sortIconDescending="dataTableDescIcon">
              <f:facet name="header">
                     <h:outputText value="Date" />
              </f:facet>
              <h:outputText value="#{edt.date}"><f:convertDateTime pattern="yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss" />
              </h:outputText>
       </rich:column>
       <rich:column id="group" width="50" headerClass="dataTableHeader" label="Group" sortable="true" sortBy="#{edt.group}" sortIconAscending="dataTableAscIcon" sortIconDescending="dataTableDescIcon">
              <f:facet name="header">
                     <h:outputText value="Group" />
              </f:facet>
              <h:outputText value="#{edt.group}" />
       </rich:column>
</rich:extendedDataTable>
...

Information about sorting and filtering can be found in RichFaces Developer Guide section on sorting.

For external filtering the <rich:extendedDataTable> component supports the "filter" facet for <rich:column> . In this facet you can define your own controls for filtering which will be positioned like built-in filter controls. Rest of the filter scenario is the same as described in the RichFaces Developer Guide section on filtering.

In the example the "selection" attribute contains an object with selected rows.

Note:

The "height" attribute is mandatory. The default value is "500px" .

Menu on the right side of the column header is used to perform actions like sorting, grouping, hiding columns.

This is an example:


After selecting a "Group by this column" option, you can see the data grouped. You can collapse and expand groups by clicking on a group header.

This is an example:


The "label" attribute in <rich:column> sets the name of the column, which is used when dragging columns (in drag window) and in context menu, in "Columns" submenu.

Example:


...
<rich:column id="name" label="#{msg['name']}"
...

The <rich:extendedDataTable> component columns can be hidden:


The "tableState" attribute can be used to bind state of the table (column width, column position, visible, sequence, grouping...) to a backing-bean string property, for a later used. This state can be for example saved to a database, and it is different from standard JSF state saving mechanisms.

Example:


...
<rich:extendedDataTable tableState="#{extendedDT.tableState}">
...

Table of <rich:extendedDataTable> attributes.



Table 6.61. Style classes (selectors) with the corresponding skin parameters

Class (selector) nameDescriptionSkin ParametersCSS properties mapped
.extdt-empty-cellDefines styles for empty cells of the componenttableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-bottom
.extdt-table-layoutDefines styles for the table layouttableBackgroundColorbackground-color
.extdt-cellDefines styles for the table cellstableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-right, border-bottom
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalTextColorcolor
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.extdt-headerDefines styles for the headerheaderBackgroundColorbackground-color
.extdt-header-continueDefines styles for all header lines after the firstheaderBackgroundColorbackground-color
.extdt-headercellDefines styles for the header cellstableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-right, border-bottom
generalSizeFontfont-size
headerTextColorcolor
headerWeightFontfont-weight
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.extdt-subheaderDefines styles for the subheaderadditionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
.extdt-table-filterrowDefines styles for the filter rowadditionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
tableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-top
.extdt-subheadercellDefines styles for the subheader cellstableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-right, border-bottom
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalTextColorcolor
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.extdt-captionDefines styles for the table captiontableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-bottom
generalSizeFontfont-size
headerWeightFontfont-weight
generalTextColorcolor
generalFamilyFontfont-family
additionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
.extdt-footercellDefines styles for the footer celltableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-right, border-bottom
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalTextColorcolor
headerWeightFontfont-weight
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.extdt-subfootercellDefines styles for the subfooter celltableBorderWidth, tableBorderColorborder-right, border-bottom
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalTextColorcolor
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.extdt-row-selectedDefines styles for the selected rowadditionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
.extdt-row-activeDefines styles for the active rowtabDisabledTextColorcolor


You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

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The <a4j:repeat> component is similar to Facelets <ui:repeat> tag, which is used to iterate through a collection of objects binded with JSF page as EL expression. The main difference of the <a4j:repeat> is a possibility to update particular components (it's children) instead of all using Ajax requests. The feature that makes the component different is a special "ajaxKeys" attribute that defines row that are updated after an Ajax request. As a result it becomes easier to update several child components separately without updating the whole page.


...
<table>
      <tbody>
            <a4j:repeat value="#{repeatBean.items}" var="item" ajaxKeys="#{updateBean.updatedRow}">
                  <tr>
                        <td><h:outputText value="#{item.code}" id="item1" /></td>
                        <td><h:outputText value="#{item.price}" id="item2" /></td>
                  </tr>
            </a4j:repeat>
      </tbody>
</table>
 ...

The example above points to a method that contains row keys to be updated.

One more benefit of this component is absence of strictly defined markup as JSF HTML DataTable and TOMAHAWK DataTable have. Hence the components could be used more flexibly anywhere where it's necessary to output the results of selection from some collection.

If you want to output a collection as a plain HTML list, use the following structure:


...
<ul>
      <a4j:repeat ...>
        <li>...<li/>
                   ...
        <li>...<li/>
      </a4j:repeat>
</ul>
...

All other general attributes of the component are defined according to the similar attributes of iterative components ( <h:dataTable> or <ui:repeat> ) and are used in the same way.

Visit the Repeat page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Here you can find information why you can't use <a4j:repeat> to iterate the menuItems, tabs and way to solve this problem.

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<rich:scrollableDataTable> includes the following attributes not included with <rich:dataTable>:

  • activeClass
  • activeRowKey
  • bypassUpdates
  • data
  • eventsQueue
  • frozenColCount
  • height
  • hideWhenScrolling
  • ignoreDupResponses
  • onselectionchange
  • requestDelay
  • scriptVar
  • selectedClass
  • selection
  • selectionMode
  • similarityGroupingId
  • sortOrder
  • status
  • timeout

<rich:scrollableDataTable> does not include the following attributes available with <rich:dataTable>:

  • align
  • bgcolor
  • border
  • captionClass
  • captionStyle
  • cellpadding
  • cellspacing
  • columns
  • columnsWidth
  • dir
  • frame
  • lang
  • onRowContextMenu
  • onRowMouseMove
  • onRowMouseOut
  • onRowMouseOver
  • onclick
  • ondblclick
  • onkeydown
  • onkeypress
  • onkeyup
  • onmousedown
  • onmousemove
  • onmouseout
  • onmouseover
  • onmouseup
  • rules
  • sortPriority
  • title

Using <rich:column>

The relative width of <rich:column> is not supported by <rich:scrollableDataTable>. It is, however, supported by <rich:dataTable> and <rich:extendedDataTable>.

The component represents on a page as a scrollable table with some fixed (non-scrollable) rows ( with header and footer) and columns. Like other tables <rich:scrollableDataTable> also has optional footer and header that could be implemented using the corresponding facets. Columns of the table are optionally resizable. Resizing is available using "drag and drop" of the column vertical borders. You can define the number of the fixed columns from the left side using the "frozenColCount" attribute that is not scrolled via horizontal scroll.

There is possibility to increase component performance using the "hideWhenScrolling" attribute. If the attribute value is "true" data is hidden during scrolling.

It's possible to select the whole row with onclick on the row or some set of rows. Selection is optional and availability of such feature is defined on the component. There are two ways to select a few rows:

It's possible to sort the table content after clicks on the header. The feature is optional (to disable it, use the "sortable" attribute in <rich:column>). Every column should be pointed to the comparator method that is used for sorting the table. In case the <rich:scrollableDataTable> is already sorted by some column and the header of this column has been clicked again - the sorting is reversed.

The typical variant of using:


...
<rich:scrollableDataTable value="#{modelBuilder.model}" var="issues"
            frozenColCount="1"
            first="0"
            rows="40" 
            width="300px"
            height="396px">
    <rich:column width="100px">
        <f:facet name="header" >
            <h:outputText value="State"/>
        </f:facet>
        <h:outputText value="#{issues.cell1}"/>
        <f:facet name="footer">
            <h:outputText value="State"/>
        </f:facet>
    </rich:column>      
    <!--Set of columns and header/footer facets-->
</rich:scrollableDataTable>
...

The "selection" attribute allows to get the row data when using one and multi-selection rows mode.

This attribute is a reference to object to the instance of org.richfaces.model.selection.Selection interface, containing the current collection of objects selected by you.

In the following example when you submit the form, the current collection of the selected objects is placed in the object's property. Then on complete action the <rich:modalPanel> with selected data is shown.

Example:


...
<h:form>
        <rich:spacer height="30" />
                <rich:scrollableDataTable rowKeyVar="rkv" frozenColCount="1" height="200px" 
                        width="300px" id="carList" rows="40" columnClasses="col"
                        value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.allCars}" var="category" sortMode="single"
                        selection="#{dataTableScrollerBean.selection}">
                        <rich:column id="make">
                                <f:facet name="header"><h:outputText styleClass="headerText" value="Make" /></f:facet>
                                <h:outputText value="#{category.make}" />
                        </rich:column>
                        <rich:column id="model">
                                <f:facet name="header"><h:outputText styleClass="headerText" value="Model" /></f:facet>
                                <h:outputText value="#{category.model}" />
                        </rich:column>
                        <rich:column id="price">
                                <f:facet name="header"><h:outputText styleClass="headerText" value="Price" /></f:facet>
                                <h:outputText value="#{category.price}" />
                        </rich:column>
                </rich:scrollableDataTable>
                <rich:spacer height="20px"/>
                <a4j:commandButton value="Show Current Selection" reRender="table" 
                        action="#{dataTableScrollerBean.takeSelection}" 
                        oncomplete="javascript:Richfaces.showModalPanel('panel');"/>
</h:form>
<rich:modalPanel id="panel" autosized="true">
        <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText value="Selected Rows"/>
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="controls">
                <span style="cursor:pointer" onclick="javascript:Richfaces.hideModalPanel('panel')">X</span>
        </f:facet>
        <rich:dataTable value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.selectedCars}" var="sel" id="table">
                <rich:column>
                        <f:facet name="header"><h:outputText value="Make" /></f:facet>
                        <h:outputText value="#{sel.make}" />
                </rich:column>
                <rich:column id="model">
                        <f:facet name="header"><h:outputText value="Model" /></f:facet>
                <h:outputText value="#{sel.model}" />
                </rich:column>
                <rich:column id="price">
                        <f:facet name="header"><h:outputText value="Price" /></f:facet>
                        <h:outputText value="#{sel.price}" />
                </rich:column>
        </rich:dataTable>
</rich:modalPanel>
...

This is a result:


On RichFaces LiveDemo page you can find the fuller example of usage of this attribute as well as the example bean.

The <rich:scrollableDataTable> component has the following extra attributes for event processing on the client:

  • "onselectionchange"

  • "onRowClick"

  • "onRowDblClick"

  • "onRowMouseUp"

  • "onRowMouseDown"

Starting with the 3.3.1 version of the components framework it becomes possible to switch selection mode with the "selectionMode" attribute.

Information about sorting and filtering you can find in the RichFaces Developer guide section about sorting.

Information on the "process" attribute usage you can find in the "Decide what to process" guide section.

Note:

If you want to use specific features such as pagination on database level you should pass to the "value" of the <rich:scrollableDataTable> component an object which class extends org.richfaces.model.ScrollableTableDataModel.

Table of <rich:scrollableDataTable> attributes.





You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:scrollableDataTable> usage.

Cookbook article Scrollable dataTable Selection Usage provides a simple example of how you can use the "selection" attribute in order to get row selection in <rich:scrollableDataTable>.

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In this section you will find components that help you build drag-and-drop controls, manage their behaviour and define the area on the page to be used as a drop zone.

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In the simplest way the component could be defined empty - in that case a default indicator is shown like this:


For indicator customization you need to define one of the following facets:

  • "single" — indicator shown when dragging a single item;

  • "multiple" — indicator shown when dragging several items.

Note:

The current implementation of the <rich:dragIndicator> component does not support multiple items selection. The feature is described for future releases.

Thus for specify a look-and-feel you have to define one of these facets and include into it a content that should be shown in indicator.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:dragIndicator> usage and sources for the given example.

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The dragSupport tag inside a component completely specifies the events and JavaScript required to use the component and it's children for dragging as part of a drag-and-drop operation. In order to work, though, dragSupport must be placed inside a wrapper component that outputs child components and that has the right events defined on it. Thus, this example won't work, because the <h:column> tag doesn't provide the necessary properties for redefining events on the client:

Example:


...
<h:column>
        <rich:dragSupport dragIndicator=":form:iii" dragType="text">
                <a4j:actionparam value="#{caps.name}" name="name"/>
        </rich:dragSupport>
        <h:outputText value="#{caps.name}"/> 
</h:column>
...

However, using a4j:outputPanel as a wrapper inside <h:column> , the following code could be used successfully:

Example:


...
<h:column>
        <a4j:outputPanel>
                <rich:dragSupport dragIndicator=":form:iii" dragType="text">
                        <a4j:actionparam value="#{caps.name}" name="name"/>
                </rich:dragSupport>
                <h:outputText value="#{caps.name}"/> 
        </a4j:outputPanel>
</h:column>
...

This code makes all rows of this column draggable.

One of the main attributes for dragSupport is "dragType" , which associates a name with the drag zone. Only drop zones with this name as an acceptable type can be used in drag-and-drop operations. Here is an example:

Example:


...
<h:panelGrid id="drag1">
        <rich:dragSupport dragType="singleItems" .../>
        <!--Some content to be dragged-->
</h:panelGrid>      
...
<h:panelGrid id="drag2">
        <rich:dragSupport dragType="groups" .../>
        <!--Some content to be dragged-->
</h:panelGrid>      
...
<h:panelGrid id="drop1">
        <rich:dropSupport acceptedTypes="singleItems" .../>
        <!--Drop zone content-->
</h:panelGrid>
...

In this example, the drop1 panel grid is a drop zone that invokes drag-and-drop for drops of items from the first drag1 panel grid, but not the second drag2 panel grid. In the section about dropSupport , you will find an example that shows more detailed information about moving data between tables with drag and drop.

The dragSupport component also has a "value" attribute for passing data into the processing after a drop event.

One more important attribute for <rich:dragSupport> is the "dragIndicator" attribute that point to the component id of the <rich:dragIndicator> component to be used for dragged items from this drag zone. If it isn't defined, a default indicator for drag operations is used.

Finally, the component has the following extra attributes for event processing on the client:

You can use your own custom JavaScript functions to handle these events.

On the component Live Demo page you can see the example of <rich:dragSupport> usage and sources for the given example.

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The <rich:dropListener> is used as a nested tag with components like <rich:dropSupport> , <rich:tree> and <rich:treeNode> .

Attribute "type" defines the fully qualified Java class name for the listener. This class should implement org.richfaces.event.DropListener interface. .

The typical variant of using:


...
<rich:panel style="width:100px;height:100px;">
    <f:facet name="header">Drop Zone</f:facet>
    <rich:dropSupport acceptedTypes="text"> 
        <rich:dropListener type="demo.ListenerBean"/>
    </rich:dropSupport>             
</rich:panel>
...

Java bean source:

package demo;


import org.richfaces.event.DropEvent;
public class ListenerBean implements org.richfaces.event.DropListener{
... 
    public void processDrop(DropEvent arg0){
        //Custom Developer Code 
    }
...
}
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The key attribute for <rich:dropSupport> is "acceptedTypes" . It defines, which types of dragable items (zones) could be accepted by the current drop zone. Check the example below:


<rich:panel styleClass="dropTargetPanel">
     <f:facet name="header">
          <h:outputText value="PHP Frameworks" />
     </f:facet>
     
     <rich:dropSupport id="php" acceptedTypes="PHP" dropValue="PHP" dropListener="#{eventBean.processDrop}" reRender="phptable, src">
     </rich:dropSupport>
     ...
</rich:panel>

and here is what happens on the page:


Using the "typeMapping" attribute. Previous example shows that a drop zone could accept a dragable item or not. Special markers, which are placed at <rich:dragIndicator> , inform user about drop zone’s possible behaviors: "checkmark" appears if drop is accepted and "No" symbol if it is not. Moreover, some extra information (e.g. text message) could be put into the Indicator to reinforce the signal about drop zone’s behavior or pass some other additional sense. This reinforcement could be programmed and attributed to drop zone via "typeMapping" attribute using JSON syntax. The type of dragged zone (dragType) should be passed as "key" and name of <rich:dndParam> that gives needed message to Indicator as "value":


<rich:panel styleClass="dropTargetPanel">
     <f:facet name="header">
          <h:outputText value="PHP Frameworks" />
     </f:facet>
     
     <rich:dropSupport id="php" acceptedTypes="PHP" dropValue="PHP" dropListener="#{eventBean.processDrop}" reRender="phptable, src" 
                              typeMapping="{PHP: text_for_accepting, DNET: text_for_rejecting}">
          <rich:dndParam name="text_for_accepting" value="Drop accepted!" />
          <rich:dndParam name="text_for_rejecting" value="Drop is not accepted!" />
     </rich:dropSupport>
     ...
</rich:panel>

What happens on the page:


Here is an example of moving records between tables. The example describes all the pieces for drag-and-drop. As draggable items, this table contains a list of such items designated as being of type "text" :


<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" var="caps">
        <f:facet name="caption">Capitals List</f:facet>
        <h:column>
                <a4j:outputPanel>
                        <rich:dragSupport dragIndicator=":form:ind" dragType="text">
                                <a4j:actionparam value="#{caps.name}" name="name"/>
                        </rich:dragSupport>
                        <h:outputText value="#{caps.name}"/> 
                </a4j:outputPanel>
        </h:column>
</rich:dataTable>

As a drop zone, this panel will accept draggable items of type text and then rerender an element with the ID of box :


<rich:panel style="width:100px;height:100px;">
        <f:facet name="header">Drop Zone</f:facet>
        <rich:dropSupport acceptedTypes="text" reRender="box" 
                        dropListener="#{capitalsBean.addCapital2}"/>
</rich:panel>

As a part of the page that can be updated in a partial page update, this table has an ID of box :


<rich:dataTable value="#{capitalsBean.capitals2}" var="cap2" id="box">
        <f:facet name="caption">Capitals chosen</f:facet>
        <h:column>
                <h:outputText value="#{cap2.name}"/>
        </h:column>
</rich:dataTable>

And finally, as a listener, this listener will implement the dropped element:

public void addCapital2(DropEvent event) {

        FacesContext context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
        Capital cap = new Capital();
        cap.setName(context.getExternalContext().getRequestParameterMap().get("name").toString());
        capitals2.add(cap);
}

Here is the result after a few drops of items from the first table:


In this example, items are dragged element-by-element from the rendered list in the first table and dropped on a panel in the middle. After each drop, a drop event is generated and a common Ajax request is performed that renders results in the third table.

As with every Ajax action component, <rich:dropSupport> has all the common attributes ( "timeout" , "limitToList" , "reRender" , etc.) for Ajax request customization.

Finally, the component has the following extra attributes for event processing on the client:

  • "ondragenter"

  • "ondragexit"

  • "ondrop"

  • "ondropend"

Developers can use their own custom JavaScript functions to handle these events.

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find in the "Decide what to process" guide section .

On the component Live Demo page you can see the example of <rich:dropSupport> usage and sources for the given example.

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The <rich:dndParam> is used during drag-and-drop operations for passing parameters to an indicator. To use the component it is necessary to set "type" attribute that specifies what kind of functionality the component will provide: dragging or dropping. Attributes "name" and "value" are also should be defiend. Instead of the "value" attribute definition it is possible to define value of the component using nested contents.

Variants of usage:


...
      <rich:dragSupport ... > 
        <rich:dndParam type="drag" name="dragging"> 
                <h:graphicImage value="/img/product1_small.png"/> 
        </rich:dndParam> 
        <h:graphicImage value="product1.png"/> 
</rich:dragSupport>
...

...
<rich:dragSupport ... > 
        <rich:dndParam type="drag" name="label" value="#{msg.subj}"/>
        ...
</rich:dragSupport>
...

...
<rich:dropSupport ... > 
        <rich:dndParam type="drop" name="comp" > 
                <h:graphicImage height="16" width="16" value="/images/comp.png"/> 
        </rich:dndParam>
        ...
</rich:dropSupport >
...
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This section tells how you can create menus on your page: either navigational ones or context.

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<rich:contextMenu> is a support-like component. Context menu itself is an invisible panel that appears after a particular client-side event ( "onmouseover" , "onclick" , etc.) occurred on a parent component. The event is defined with an "event" attribute. The component uses "oncontextmenu" event by default to call a context menu by clicking on the right mouse button.

<rich:menuGroup> , <rich:menuItem> and <rich:menuSeparator> components can be used as nested elements for <rich:contextMenu> in the same way as for <rich:dropDownMenu> .

By default, the <rich:contextMenu> disables right mouse click on a page in the context menu area only. But if you want to disable browser's context menu completely you should set the "disableDefaultMenu" attribute value to "true".

If "attached" value is "true" (default value), component is attached to the parent component or to the component, which "id" is specified in the "attachTo" attribute:


<rich:contextMenu event="oncontextmenu" attachTo="pic1" submitMode="none">
      <rich:menuItem value="Zoom In" onclick="enlarge();" id="zin"/>
      <rich:menuItem value="Zoom Out" onclick="decrease();" id="zout"/>
</rich:contextMenu>
<h:panelGrid columns="1" columnClasses="cent">
      <h:panelGroup id="picture">
            <h:graphicImage value="/richfaces/jQuery/images/pic1.png" id="pic"/>
      </h:panelGroup>
</h:panelGrid>
<h:panelGrid columns="1" columnClasses="cent">
      <h:panelGroup id="picture1">
            <h:graphicImage value="/richfaces/jQuery/images/pic2.png" id="pic1"/>
       </h:panelGroup>
</h:panelGrid>

The "enlarge()" and "decrease()" functions definition is placed below.

&lt;script type="text/javascript"&gt;

        function enlarge(){
                document.getElementById('pic').width=document.getElementById('pic').width*1.1;
               document.getElementById('pic').height=document.getElementById('pic').height*1.1;
        }
        function decrease(){
                document.getElementById('pic').width=document.getElementById('pic').width*0.9;
               document.getElementById('pic').height=document.getElementById('pic').height*0.9;
        }
</script>

In the example a picture zooming possibility with <rich:contextMenu> component usage was shown. The picture is placed on the <h:panelGroup> component. The <rich:contextMenu> component is not nested to <h:panelGroup> and has a value of the "attachTo" attribute defined as "pic1". Thus, the context menu is attached to the component, which "id" is "pic1". The context menu has two items to zoom in (zoom out) a picture by "onclick" event. For earch item corresponding JavaScript function is defined to provide necessary action as a result of the clicking on it. For the menu is defined an "oncontextmenu" event to call the context menu on a right click mouse event.

In the example the context menu is defined for the parent <h:panelGroup> component with a value of "id" attribute equal to "picture" You should be careful with such definition, because a client context menu is looked for a DOM element with a client Id of a parent component on a server. If a parent component doesn't encode an Id on a client, it can't be found by the <rich:contextMenu> and it's attached to its closest parent in a DOM tree.

If the "attached" attribute has "false" value, component activates via JavaScript API with assistance of <rich:componentControl> . An example is placed below.

Example:


<h:form id="form">
      <rich:contextMenu attached="false" id="menu" submitMode="ajax">
            <rich:menuItem ajaxSingle="true">
                  <b>{car} {model}</b> details
                  <a4j:actionparam name="det" assignTo="#{ddmenu.current}" value="{car} {model} details"/>
            </rich:menuItem>
            <rich:menuGroup value="Actions">
                  <rich:menuItem ajaxSingle="true">
                        Put <b>{car} {model}</b> To Basket
                        <a4j:actionparam name="bask" assignTo="#{ddmenu.current}" value="Put {car} {model} To Basket"/>
                  </rich:menuItem>
                  <rich:menuItem value="Read Comments" ajaxSingle="true">
                        <a4j:actionparam name="bask" assignTo="#{ddmenu.current}" value="Read Comments"/>
                  </rich:menuItem>
                  <rich:menuItem ajaxSingle="true">
                        Go to <b>{car}</b> site
                        <a4j:actionparam name="bask" assignTo="#{ddmenu.current}" value="Go to {car} site"/>
                  </rich:menuItem>
            </rich:menuGroup>
      </rich:contextMenu> 

      <h:panelGrid columns="2">
            <rich:dataTable value="#{dataTableScrollerBean.tenRandomCars}" var="car" id="table" onRowMouseOver="this.style.backgroundColor='#F8F8F8'" onRowMouseOut="this.style.backgroundColor='#{a4jSkin.tableBackgroundColor}'" rowClasses="cur">
                  <rich:column>
                        <f:facet name="header">Make</f:facet>
                        <h:outputText value="#{car.make}"/>
                  </rich:column>
                  <rich:column>
                        <f:facet name="header">Model</f:facet>
                        <h:outputText value="#{car.model}"/>
                  </rich:column>
                  <rich:column>
                        <f:facet name="header">Price</f:facet>
                        <h:outputText value="#{car.price}" />
                  </rich:column>
                  <rich:componentControl event="onRowClick" for="menu" operation="show">
                        <f:param value="#{car.model}" name="model"/>
                        <f:param value="#{car.make}" name="car"/>
                  </rich:componentControl>
            </rich:dataTable>
            <a4j:outputPanel ajaxRendered="true">
                  <rich:panel>
                        <f:facet name="header">Last Menu Action</f:facet>
                        <h:outputText value="#{ddmenu.current}"></h:outputText>
                  </rich:panel>
            </a4j:outputPanel>
      </h:panelGrid>
</h:form>

This is a result:


In the example the context menu is activated (by clicking on the left mouse button) on the table via JavaScript API with assistance of <rich:componentControl> . The attribute "for" contains a value of the <rich:contextMenu> Id. For menu appearance Java Script API function "show()" is used. It is defined with "operation" attribute for the <rich:componentControl> component. Context menu is recreated after the every call on a client and new {car} and {model} values are inserted in it. In the example for a menu customization macrosubstitutions were used.

The <rich:contextMenu> component can be defined once on a page and can be used as shared for different components (this is the main difference from the <rich:dropDownMenu> component). It's necessary to define it once on a page (as it was shown in the example above) and activate it on required components via JavaScript API with assistance of <rich:componentControl> .

The <rich:contextMenu> "submitMode" attribute can be set to three possible parameters:

  • Server — default value, uses regular form submition request;

  • Ajax — Ajax submission is used for switching;

  • None — neither Server nor Ajax is used.

The "action" and "actionListener" item's attributes are ignored. Menu items don't fire any submits themselves. The behavior is fully defined by the components nested inside items.

Notes:

  • When nesting <rich:contextMenu> into JSF <h:outputText> , specify an id for <h:outputText> , otherwise, do not nest the <rich:contextMenu> to make it work properly.

  • As the <rich:contextMenu> component doesn't provide its own form, use it between <h:form> and </h:form> tags.

Visit the ContextMenu page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

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All attributes except "value" are optional. The "value" attribute defines text to be represented. If you can use the "label" facet, you can even not use the "value" attribute.

Here is an example:

Example:


...
<f:facet name="label">
    <h:graphicImage value="/images/img1.png"/>
</f:facet>
...

Use the "event" attribute to define an event for the represented element that triggers a menu appearance. An example of a menu appearance on a click can be seen below.

Example:


...
<rich:dropDownMenu event="onclick" value="Item1">
    <!--Nested menu components-->
</rich:dropDownMenu>
...

The <rich:dropDownMenu> "submitMode" attribute can be set to three possible parameters:

Regular form submission request is used.

Ajax submission is used for switching.

The "action" and "actionListener" item's attributes are ignored. Menu items don't fire any submits themselves. The behavior is fully defined by the components nested into items.

The "direction" and "jointPoint" attributes are used for defining aspects of menu appearance.

Possible values for the "direction" attribute are:

Possible values for the "jointPoint" attribute are:

By default, the "direction" and "jointPoint" attributes are set to "auto".

Here is an example:

Example:


...
<rich:dropDownMenu value="File" direction="bottom-right" jointPoint="bl">
    <rich:menuItem submitMode="ajax" value="New" action="#{ddmenu.doNew}"/>
    <rich:menuItem   submitMode="ajax"  value="Open" action="#{ddmenu.doOpen}"/>
    <rich:menuGroup value="Save As...">
        <rich:menuItem   submitMode="ajax" value="Text File"  action="#{ddmenu.doSaveText}"/>
        <rich:menuItem   submitMode="ajax" value="PDF File"  action="#{ddmenu.doSavePDF}"/>
    </rich:menuGroup>
    <rich:menuItem  submitMode="ajax" value="Close" action="#{ddmenu.doClose}"/>
    <rich:menuSeparator id="menuSeparator11"/>
    <rich:menuItem  submitMode="ajax" value="Exit"  action="#{ddmenu.doExit}"/>
</rich:dropDownMenu>
...

This is the result:


You can correct an offset of the pop-up list relative to the label using the following attributes: "horizontalOffset" and "verticalOffset" .

Here is an example:

Example:


...
<rich:dropDownMenu value="File" direction="bottom-right" jointPoint="tr" horizontalOffset="-15" verticalOffset="0">
    <rich:menuItem submitMode="ajax" value="New" action="#{ddmenu.doNew}"/>
    <rich:menuItem   submitMode="ajax"  value="Open" action="#{ddmenu.doOpen}"/>
    <rich:menuGroup value="Save As...">
        <rich:menuItem   submitMode="ajax" value="Text File"  action="#{ddmenu.doSaveText}"/>
        <rich:menuItem   submitMode="ajax" value="PDF File"  action="#{ddmenu.doSavePDF}"/>
    </rich:menuGroup>
    <rich:menuItem  submitMode="ajax" value="Close" action="#{ddmenu.doClose}"/>
    <rich:menuSeparator id="menuSeparator11"/>
    <rich:menuItem  submitMode="ajax" value="Exit"  action="#{ddmenu.doExit}"/>
</rich:dropDownMenu>
...

This is the result:


The "disabled" attribute is used for disabling whole <rich:dropDownMenu> component. In this case it is necessary to define "disabled" attribute as "true". An example is placed below.

Example:


...
<rich:dropDownMenu value="File"  disabled="true">
    ...
</rich:dropDownMenu>
...

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:dropDownMenu> usage and sources for the given example.

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The "value" attribute defines the text representation of a group element in the page.

The "icon" attribute defines an icon for the component. The "iconDisabled" attribute defines an icon for when the group is disabled. Also you can use the "icon" and "iconDisabled" facets. If the facets are defined, the corresponding "icon" and "iconDisabled" attributes are ignored and the facets' contents are used as icons. This could be used for an item check box implementation.

Here is an example:


...
<f:facet name="icon">
        <h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{bean.property}"/>
</f:facet>
...

The "iconFolder" and "iconFolderDisabled" attributes are defined for using icons as folder icons. The "iconFolder" and "iconFolderDisabled" facets use their contents as folder icon representations in place of the attribute values.

The "direction" attribute is used to define which way to display the menu as shown in the example below:

Possible values are:

By default, the "direction" attribute is set to "auto".

Here is an example:


...
<rich:menuGroup value="Save As..." direction="left-down">
        <rich:menuItem   submitMode="ajax" value="Text File"  action="#{ddmenu.doSaveText}"/>
        <rich:menuItem   submitMode="ajax" value="PDF File"  action="#{ddmenu.doSavePDF}"/>
</rich:menuGroup>
...

This would be the result:


Note:

The <rich:menuGroup> component was designed to be used only for pop-up menu list creation.

Table of <rich:menuGroup> attributes.





You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in
Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:menuGroup> usage and sources for the given example.

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The "value" attribute defines the text representation for an item element.

There are two icon-related attributes. The "icon" attribute defines an icon. The "iconDisabled" attribute defines an icon for a disabled item. Also you can use the "icon" and "iconDisabled" facets. If the facets are defined, the corresponding "icon" and "iconDisabled" attributes are ignored and the facets content is shown as an icon. It could be used for an item check box implementation.

Here is an example:


...
<f:facet name="icon">
        <h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{bean.property}"/>
</f:facet>
...

The <rich:menuItem> "submitMode" attribute can be set to three possible parameters:

Regular form submission request is used.

Ajax submission is used for switching.

The "action" and "actionListener" item's attributes are ignored. Menu items don' fire any submits themselves. The behavior is fully defined by the components nested into items.

For example, you can put any content into an item, but, in this case, you should set the "submitMode" attribute as "none" .

Here is an example:


...
<rich:dropDownMenu>
        ...
       <rich:menuItem submitMode="none">
                <h:outputLink value="www.jboss.org"/>
        </rich:menuItem>
        ...
<rich:dropDownMenu>
...

You can use the "disabled" attribute to set the item state.

Here is an example:


...
<rich:dropDownMenu>
        <rich:menuItem value="Disable" disabled="true"/>
<rich:dropDownMenu>
...

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find RichFaces Developer Guide section about "process" attribute .

Table of <rich:menuItem> attributes.





You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in
Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:menuItem> usage and sources for the given example.

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In this section you will learn how to build hierarchical data presentation using the <rich:tree> component.

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As it has been mentioned above the <rich:tree> component allows rendering any tree-like data model.

You can build your <rich:tree> using model (org.richfaces.model.TreeNode or javax.swing.tree.TreeNode). In this case the <rich:tree> component interacts with data model via "TreeNode" interface ( org.richfaces.model.TreeNode ) that is used for the <rich:tree> nodes representation.

Actually you can develop and use your own implementation of the "TreeNode" interface or use a default one, which is defined with a default class "TreeNodeImpl" ( org.richfaces.model.TreeNodeImpl ).

The "value" attribute of the <rich:tree> component contains a nodes structure defined in a bean property.

When the <rich:tree> component is being rendered it iterates over the model nodes and renders them using one of its immediate <rich:treeNode> children. Data property of the current model TreeNode is exposed using "var" attribute, so if var="station" you can refer to that data using #{station} syntax.

In the following example the <rich:tree> is built from a simple org.richfaces.model.TreeNode model:

...

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);
}
...

As it is mentioned before you need to pass #{stations.stationNodes} property to the "value" attribute and define the "var" attribute in order to refer to the data:


...
<rich:tree value="#{stations.stationNodes}" var="station">
    <rich:treeNode>
        <h:outputText value="#{station}" />
    </rich:treeNode>
</rich:tree>
...

This is a result:


Implementation of the <rich:tree> component provides another way to build a tree. This approach implies using a "XmlTreeDataBuilder" class ( org.richfaces.component.xml.XmlTreeDataBuilder ) that allows to transform XML into structures of objects containing "XmlNodeData" ( org.richfaces.component.xml.XmlNodeData ) instances as data, which could be represented by the <rich:tree> component.

Let's try to build a simple <rich:tree> from a local XML file. In the following example a simple XML file (stations.xml) is used as a radio station playlist:


<?xml version="1.0"?>
<station name="KickRadio">
        <feed date="today">
            <song time="07:00">Hall & Oates - Kiss On My List</song>
            <song time="07:03">David Bowie - Let's Dance</song> 
            <song time="07:06">Lyn Collins - Think (About It)</song>
            <song time="07:10">Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes</song>
            <song time="07:15">KC & the Sunshine Band - Give It Up</song>
        </feed>
</station>

Now you need to create a bean that holds a model nodes:

...

private TreeNode data;
    ...
FacesContext context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
data = XmlTreeDataBuilder.build(new InputSource(getClass().getResourceAsStream("stations.xml")));
...

Finally you should set the "value" attribute to the data bean property and define the "var" attribute in order to refer to the data of nodes:


...
<rich:tree id="treeXML" value="#{stations.data}" var="vardata">
    <rich:treeNode>
        <h:outputText value="#{vardata.attributes['name']}" />
        <h:outputText value="#{vardata.attributes['date']}" />
        <h:outputText value="#{vardata.attributes['time']}" />
        <h:outputText value=" #{vardata.text}" />
    </rich:treeNode>
</rich:tree>
...

This is a result:


It's possible to define a visual representation of a node data model (to define a node icon) and its behavior in correspondence with the data contained in this node (with a value of the "var" attribute). The node behavior is defined by the components nested into the <rich:treeNode> (e.g. links or buttons). For these purposes you should use "nodeFace" attribute. For each tree node a value of "nodeFace" attribute is evaluated and <rich:treeNode> with a value of "type" attribute equal to a value of "nodeFace" is used for node representation. See an example below.

Example:


...
<h:form>
    <rich:tree style="width:300px" value="#{library.data}" var="item" nodeFace="#{item.type}">
        <rich:treeNode type="artist" iconLeaf="/images/tree/singer.png" icon="/images/tree/singer.png">
            <h:outputText value="#{item.name}" />
        </rich:treeNode>
        <rich:treeNode type="album" iconLeaf="/images/tree/disc.png" icon="/images/tree/disc.png">
            <h:outputText value="#{item.title}" />
        </rich:treeNode>
        <rich:treeNode type="song" iconLeaf="/images/tree/song.png" icon="/images/tree/song.png">
            <h:outputText value="#{item.title}" />
        </rich:treeNode>
    </rich:tree>
</h:form>
...

This is a result:


In the example above, when each node of data model is processed, data contained in the "data" property of "TreeNode" interface is assigned to a request scope variable, which name is defined with "var" attribute. The value of the "nodeFace" attribute is evaluated in correspondence with the data assigned to the "var" attribute. The corresponding <rich:treeNode> component (with a value of "type" attribute equal to a value of "nodeFace" ) is used for the node representation. For example, during data model processing, an object with a name "Chris Rea" was inserted in the "var" attribute. Then the value of "nodeFace" attribute was evaluated as "artist". Thus, for the node representation the <rich:treeNode> with "type" equal to "artist" was used.

You can also assign an EL-expression as value of the "nodeFace" attribute. See an example below:

Example:



nodeFace="#{data.name != 'param-value' ? 'artist' : 'album'}"
 

There are some essential points in a "nodeFace" attribute usage: you need to define notions for typeless and a default nodes.

The typeless node is the first <rich:treeNode> component (from all children nodes nested to the <rich:tree> component) with not defined "type" attribute and defined "rendered" attribute. The typeless node is used for representation when "nodeFace" attribute is null.

Default node has the following interior presentation:

Example:


...
<h:outputText value="#{varAttributeName}">
...

"varAttributeName" is a value for "var" attribute.

Default node is used in the following cases:

  • "nodeFace" attribute is defined, but its value isn't equal to any "type" attribute value from all children nodes;

  • "nodeFace" attribute is defined and its value is equal to a value of some "type" attribute from all children nodes, but the value of "rendered" attribute for this node is "false".

There is also one thing that has to be remembered using "type" and "rendered" attributes: it's possible to define several <rich:treeNode> components with equal values of "type" attribute and different values of "rendered" attribute. It provides a possibility to define different representation styles for the same node types. In the example with artists and their albums (see above) it's possible to represent albums that are available for sale and albums that are not available. Please study the example below:

Example:


...
<h:form>
    <rich:tree style="width:300px" value="#{library.data}" var="item" nodeFace="#{item.type}">
         ...
        <rich:treeNode type="album" iconLeaf="/images/tree/album.gif" icon="/images/tree/album.gif"
                      rendered="#{item.exist}">
            <h:outputText value="#{item.name}" />
        </rich:treeNode>
        <rich:treeNode type="album" iconLeaf="/images/tree/album_absent.gif" icon="/images/tree/album_absent.gif"
                      rendered="#{not item.exist}">
            <h:outputText value="#{item.name}" />
        </rich:treeNode>
         ...
    </rich:tree>
</h:form>
...

This is a result of the code:


In the example the <rich:treeNode> components has equal values of the "type" attribute. Depending on value of the "rendered" attribute the corresponding <rich:treeNode> component is selected for node representation. If an album is available for sale the value of the "rendered" for the first <rich:treeNode> component is "true", for the second one is "false". Thus, the first <rich:treeNode> is selected for node representation.

Tree node can be run in tree modes. Modes can be specified with "switchType" attribute for <rich:tree> component.

  • Ajax (default value) - Ajax submission is used performing the functionality. Note, that for collapse/expand operations an Ajax request is sent to the server and it can cause a short delay.

  • Server - regular form of submission request is used.

  • Client – all operations are performed totally on the client; no interaction with a server is involved. Full page content is reloaded after every action.

The "icon" , "iconCollapsed" , "iconExpanded" , "iconLeaf" attributes set the icons' images for the component. You can also define icons using facets with the same names. If the facets are defined, the corresponding attributes are ignored and facets' content is used as icons. By default the width of a rendered facet area is 16px.

Example:


...
<rich:tree value="#{library.data}" var="item">
    ...
    <f:facet name="icon">
        <h:graphicImage value="/images/tree/singer.png "/>
    </f:facet>
    <f:facet name="iconCollapsed">
        <h:graphicImage value="/images/tree/singer.png" />
    </f:facet>
    <f:facet name="iconExpanded">
        <h:graphicImage value="/images/tree/singer.png" />
    </f:facet>
    <f:facet name="iconLeaf">
        <h:graphicImage value="/images/tree/song.png" />
    </f:facet>
    ...
</rich:tree>
...

The <rich: tree> component can be used together with <rich: treeNodeAdaptor> . In this case there is no need to specify the attributes "value" and "var" . Besides, visual representation shouldn't be defined right in the tree. In this case a <rich: tree> tag is applied mainly for defining common attributes such as "ajaxSubmitSelection" etc.

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find in the "Decide what to process" guide section.

As it's mentioned before, the <rich:tree> component uses a data model to represent the tree-like nodes structure on the page. To identify a particular node during a client request, the model provides a set of unique keys for tree nodes. The <rich:tree> can use strings as keys values which may contain special characters not allowed by browsers, such as the left angle bracket (<), ampersand (&), ant etc. Thus, to have a possibility to use unallowed characters in the tree nodes keys, the following converters are provided:

  • org.richfaces.TreeRowKeyConverter that is used for "TreeNode" based trees. The key should be of a java.lang.String type.

  • org.richfaces.TreeAdaptorRowKeyConverter that is used for adaptor-based trees (see <rich:treeNodesAdaptor> , <rich:recursiveTreeNodesAdaptor> ). The key should be of a java.lang.String type.

  • org.richfaces.TreeAdaptorIntegerRowKeyConverter which is provided for adaptor-based trees. The key should be of a java.lang.Integer type.

The converters can be extended in order to have a possibility for implementing custom converters.

To apply a converter to the <rich:tree> component, you should define it as a value of the "rowKeyConverter" attribute.

Have a look at the example of a tree which contains the RichFaces components as its nodes and the components attributes as the nodes child elements. As the components have unallowed characters (< and >) in their names, the org.richfaces.TreeRowKeyConverter is used here.

Example:


...
<rich:tree value="#{treeBean.data}" var="node" switchType="ajax"    rowKeyConverter="org.richfaces.TreeRowKeyConverter">
     <rich:treeNode ajaxSingle="true">
          <h:outputText value="#{node}"/>
     </rich:treeNode>
</rich:tree>
...

In the example the tree uses the following data model:

...

String[ ] components = {"< a4j:ajaxListener >", "< a4j:keepAlive >", "< a4j:actionparam >" };
String[ ][ ] attributes = {{"type"},
                                {"ajaxOnly", "beanName"},
                                {"actionListener", "assignTo", "binding", "converter", "id", "name", "noEscape", "value"}};
                               
data = new TreeNodeImpl<String>();
            
for (int i = 0; i < components.length; i++) {
     TreeNode<String> child = new TreeNodeImpl<String>();
     child.setData(components[i]);
     data.addChild(components[i], child);
                
     for (int j = 0; j < attributes[i].length; j++) {
          TreeNode<String> grandChild = new TreeNodeImpl<String>();
          grandChild.setData(attributes[i][j]);
          child.addChild(attributes[i][j], grandChild);
     }
}          
...

Words "built-in" in this context mean, that <rich:tree> component has its own attributes, that provide drag-and-drop capability. These attributes can be divided into two groups: those ones which provide drag and those which provide drop operations (see the tables below).



Consider drag-and-drop inside a tree. All zones, which are assumed to be dragged, must be marked. In terms of <rich:tree> these zones completely correspond to tree nodes. So, all dragging nodes should be marked with "dragType" attribute. Then, to mark zone(-s), where the dragging node could be dropped, pass the type of dragging node to the "acceptedTypes" attribute of the drop zone. It would be good to itemize, that each tree node in the <rich:tree> component’s structure has its own key. Depending on how the component is used, these keys can be generated by the component itself or can be taken from the component’s data model. Keys help to identify each node in a tree; key is what exactly being passing from one node to another in drag-and-drop operations. Finally, the method binding, that will process drag-and-drop operation, should be pointed via "dropListener" attribute of the <rich:tree> .

Chapters "6.40 <dragIndicator>" and "6.39 <dndParam>" describes how to apply visual element, that show some additional information (e.g. dragging item name) while operating with drag-and-drop.

Page code, that describes a tree with built in drag-and-drop in the way it is considered, is shown below.

Example:


...
<h:form>
     <rich:tree style="width:300px" value="#{libraryAjaxTree.data}" nodeFace="#{item.type}" var="item" dragIndicator=":treeDragIndicator" dropListener="#{libraryAjaxTree.processDrop}">
          <rich:treeNode type="artist" icon="/images/tree/group.png" iconLeaf="/images/tree/group.png" acceptedTypes="album">
               <h:outputText value="#{item.name}" />
          </rich:treeNode>
          <rich:treeNode type="album" icon="/images/tree/cd.png" iconLeaf="/images/tree/cd.png" dragType="album" acceptedTypes="song">
               <h:outputText value="#{item.title}" />
               <rich:dndParam name="label" type="drag" value="Album: #{item.title}" />
          </rich:treeNode>
          <rich:treeNode type="song" icon="/images/tree/music.png" iconLeaf="/images/tree/music.png" dragType="song">
               <h:outputText value="#{item.title}" />
               <rich:dndParam name="label" type="drag" value="Song: #{item.title}" />
          </rich:treeNode>
    </rich:tree>
</h:form>
...

This code renders following tree:


Listeners classes that process events on the server side are defined with the help of:

Listener methods can be defined using the following attributes or using nested tags.

Client event attributes are:

  • "onexpand" is a script expression to invoke when a node is expanded

  • "oncollapse" is a script expression to invoke when a node is collapsed

  • "ondragexit" is a script expression to invoke when an element passing out from a tree zone

  • "ondragstart" is a script expression to invoke when dragging starts

  • "ondragend" is a script expression to invoke when dragging ends (a drop event)

  • "ondragenter" is a script expression to invoke when a dragged element appears on a tree

They can be used to add some JavaScript effects.

Standart HTML event attributes like "onclick" , "onmousedown" , "onmouseover" etc. can be also used. Event handlers of a <rich:tree> component capture events occured on any tree part. But event handlers of treeNode capture events occured on treeNode only, except for children events.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:tree> usage and sources for the given example.

How to Expand/Collapse Tree Nodes from code, see in thiswiki article.

Read RichFaces Tree FAQ to know how to avoid problem with showing only two levels of node when tree actually contains more.

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The "icon" , "iconCollapsed" , "iconExpanded" , "iconLeaf" attributes define icons for the component. Also you can define icons using facets with the same names. If the facets are defined, the corresponding attributes are ignored and facets contents are used as icons. The width of a rendered facet area is 16px.


...
<rich:tree ...>
        ...
        <rich:treeNode>
                <f:facet name="icon">
                    <outputText value="A"/>
                </f:facet>
                <f:facet name="iconCollapsed">
                    <outputText value="B"/>
                </f:facet>      
                <f:facet name="iconExpanded">
                    <outputText value="C"/>
                </f:facet>
                <f:facet name="iconLeaf">
                    <outputText value="D"/>
                </f:facet>
        </rich:treeNode>
        ...
</rich:tree>
...

As it has been mentioned above, <rich:treeNode> defines a template for nodes rendering in a tree. Thus, during XML document rendering (a web.xml application) as a tree, the following nodes output (passed via var="data" on a tree) happens:

Example:


...
<rich:tree faceNode="simpleNode" value="#{bean.data}" var="data">
        <rich:treeNode type="simpleNode">
                <h:outputText value="context-param:"/>
                <h:inputText value="#{data.name}"/>
        </rich:treeNode>
</rich:tree>
...

Hence, <h:outputText /> tag outputs the "context-param" string and then the <h:inputText /> outputs the data.name element of this node.

Different nodes for rendering could be defined depending on some conditions on the tree level. Each condition represents some rendering template. To get more information on various treeNodesAdaptorAdaptor definition for nodes, see the tree component chapter.

Switching between expanded/collapsed modes is also managed on the tree level and defined in the corresponding section.

Default nodes of the tree level as well as the ones defined with the treeNodesAdaptorAdaptor component could send Ajax requests when selected with the mouse, it's managed with the "ajaxSubmitSelection" attribute (true/false).

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find " Decide what to process " guide section.

The main information on Drag and Drop operations is given in the corresponding paragraph of the tree component chapter. It's only necessary to mention that each node could also be a Drag element as well as a Drop container, i.e. the container and the element have all attributes, listeners and ways of behavior similar to the ones of the <rich:dragSupport > and <rich:dropSupport > components simultaneously.

Table of <rich:treeNode> attributes.





You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in
Definition of Custom Style Classes section.
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The <rich:treeNodesAdaptor> component has a "nodes" attribute that defines a collection of elements to iterate through.

Collections are allowed to include lists, arrays, maps, XML NodeList and NamedNodeMap either as a single object.

The "var" attribute is used to access to the current collection element.

The <rich:treeNodesAdaptor> component can be nested without any limitations. See the following example.

Example:


...
<rich:tree adviseNodeOpened="#{treeModelBean.adviseNodeOpened}" switchType="client">
    <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>
...

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:treeNodesAdaptor > usage and sources for the given example.

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The <rich:recursiveTreeNodesAdaptor> component has a "roots" attribute that defines collection to use at the top of recursion.

The "nodes" attribute defines collection to use on another recursion levels.

The "var" attribute is used to access to the current collection element.

The <rich:recursiveTreeNodesAdaptor> component can be nested without any limitations. See the following example.

Example:


...
<rich:tree adviseNodeOpened="#{treeModelBean.adviseNodeOpened}" switchType="client">
    <rich:treeNodesAdaptor id="project" nodes="#{loaderBean.projects}" var="project">   
        <rich:treeNode>
            <h:commandLink action="#{project.click}" value="Project: #{project.name}" />
        </rich:treeNode>
        <rich:recursiveTreeNodesAdaptor id="dir" var="dir" root="#{project.dirs}" nodes="#{dir.directories}">
            <rich:treeNode>
                <h:commandLink action="#{dir.click}" value="Directory: #{dir.name}" />
            </rich:treeNode>            
            <rich:treeNodesAdaptor id="file" var="file" nodes="#{dir.files}">
                <rich:treeNode>
                    <h:commandLink action="#{file.click}" value="File: #{file.name}" />
                </rich:treeNode>
            </rich:treeNodesAdaptor>
            <rich:treeNodesAdaptor id="file1" var="file" nodes="#{dir.files}">
                <rich:treeNode>
                    <h:commandLink action="#{file.click}" value="File1: #{file.name}" />
                </rich:treeNode>
            </rich:treeNodesAdaptor>
            <rich:recursiveTreeNodesAdaptor id="archiveEntry" var="archiveEntry"
                            roots="#{dir.files}" nodes="#{archiveEntry.archiveEntries}" 
                            includedRoot="#{archiveEntry.class.simpleName == 'ArchiveFile'}"
                            includedNode="#{archiveEntry.class.simpleName == 'ArchiveEntry'}">      
                <rich:treeNode id="archiveEntryNode">
                    <h:commandLink action="#{archiveEntry.click}" value="Archive entry: #{archiveEntry.name}" />
                </rich:treeNode>
            </rich:recursiveTreeNodesAdaptor>
        </rich:recursiveTreeNodesAdaptor>
    </rich:treeNodesAdaptor>
</rich:tree>
...

On the component Live Demo page you can see the example of <rich:recursiveTreeNodesAdaptor> usage.

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The <rich:changeExpandListener> is used as a nested tag with <rich:tree> and <rich:treeNode> components.

Attribute "type" defines the fully qualified Java class name for the listener. This class should implement org.richfaces.event.NodeExpandedListener interface.

The typical variant of using:


...
<rich:tree switchType="server" value="#{project.data}" var="item" nodeFace="#{item.type}">
    <rich:changeExpandListener type="demo.ListenerBean"/>
    ...
    <!-- Tree nodes --> 
    ...
</rich:tree>
...

Java bean source:

package demo;

import org.richfaces.event.NodeExpandedEvent;
public class ListenerBean implements org.richfaces.event.NodeExpandedListener{
    ... 
    public void processExpansion(NodeExpandedEvent arg0){
        //Custom Developer Code 
    }
    ...
}
...
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The <rich:nodeSelectListener> is used as a nested tag with <rich:tree> and <rich:treeNode> components.

Attribute "type" defines the fully qualified Java class name for listener. This class should implement org.richfaces.event.NodeSelectedListener . interface

The typical variant of using:


...
<rich:tree switchType="server" value="#{project.data}" var="item" nodeFace="#{item.type}">
    <rich:nodeSelectListener type="demo.ListenerBean"/>
    ...
    <!-- Tree nodes --> 
    ...
</rich:tree>
...

Java bean source:

package demo;

import org.richfaces.event.NodeSelectedEvent;
public class ListenerBean implements org.richfaces.event.NodeSelectedListener{
    ... 
    public void processSelection(NodeSelectedEvent arg0){
        //Custom Developer Code 
    }
    ...
}
expand all
+6.10.1. <rich:modalPanel> available since 3.0.0
6.10.1.1. Description
6.10.1.2. Key Features
6.10.1.3. Details of Usage
6.10.1.4. Reference Data
6.10.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.2. < rich:paint2D > available since 3.0.0
6.10.2.1. Description
6.10.2.2. Key Features
6.10.2.3. Details of Usage
6.10.2.4. Reference Data
6.10.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.3. < rich:panel > available since 3.0.0
6.10.3.1. Description
6.10.3.2. Key Features
6.10.3.3. Details of Usage
6.10.3.4. Reference Data
6.10.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.4. < rich:panelBar > available since 3.0.0
6.10.4.1. Description
6.10.4.2. Key Features
6.10.4.3. Details of Usage
6.10.4.4. Reference Data
6.10.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.5. <rich:panelBarItem> available since 3.0.0
6.10.5.1. Description
6.10.5.2. Key Features
6.10.5.3. Details of Usage
6.10.5.4. Reference Data
6.10.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.6. <rich:panelMenu> available since 3.1.0
6.10.6.1. Description
6.10.6.2. Key Features
6.10.6.3. Details of Usage
6.10.6.4. Reference Data
6.10.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.7. <rich:panelMenuGroup> available since 3.1.0
6.10.7.1. Description
6.10.7.2. Key Features
6.10.7.3. Details of Usage
6.10.7.4. Reference Data
6.10.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.8. <rich:panelMenuItem> available since 3.1.0
6.10.8.1. Description
6.10.8.2. Key Features
6.10.8.3. Details of Usage
6.10.8.4. Reference Data
6.10.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.9. < rich:progressBar > available since 3.2.0
6.10.9.1. Description
6.10.9.2. Key Features
6.10.9.3. Details of Usage
6.10.9.4. Reference Data
6.10.9.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.10. < rich:separator > available since 3.0.0
6.10.10.1. Description
6.10.10.2. Key Features
6.10.10.3. Details of Usage
6.10.10.4. Reference Data
6.10.10.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.11. < rich:simpleTogglePanel > available since 3.0.0
6.10.11.1. Description
6.10.11.2. Key Features
6.10.11.3. Details of Usage
6.10.11.4. Reference Data
6.10.11.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.12. < rich:spacer > available since 3.0.0
6.10.12.1. Description
6.10.12.2. Key Features
6.10.12.3. Details of Usage
6.10.12.4. Reference Data
6.10.12.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.13. <rich:tabPanel> available since 3.0.0
6.10.13.1. Description
6.10.13.2. Key Features
6.10.13.3. Details of Usage
6.10.13.4. Reference Data
6.10.13.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.14. <rich:tab> available since 3.0.0
6.10.14.1. Description
6.10.14.2. Key Features
6.10.14.3. Details of Usage
6.10.14.4. Reference Data
6.10.14.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.15. < rich:togglePanel > available since 3.0.0
6.10.15.1. Description
6.10.15.2. Key Features
6.10.15.3. Details of Usage
6.10.15.4. Reference Data
6.10.15.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.16. < rich:toggleControl > available since 3.0.0
6.10.16.1. Description
6.10.16.2. Key Features
6.10.16.3. Details of Usage
6.10.16.4. Reference Data
+6.10.17. < rich:toolBar > available since 3.0.0
6.10.17.1. Description
6.10.17.2. Key Features
6.10.17.3. Details of Usage
6.10.17.4. Reference Data
6.10.17.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.18. < rich:toolBarGroup > available since 3.0.0
6.10.18.1. Description
6.10.18.2. Key Features
6.10.18.3. Details of Usage
6.10.18.4. Reference Data
6.10.18.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.10.19. < rich:toolTip > available since 3.1.0
6.10.19.1. Description
6.10.19.2. Key Features
6.10.19.3. Details of Usage
6.10.19.4. Reference Data
6.10.19.5. Relevant Resources Links

This section covers the components that are designed to be used as output and UI elements.

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Position the <rich:modalPanel> on the screen by specifying coordinates of it's top-left corner. Set values for "top" and "left" attributes in pixels for Y and X coordinates correspondingly. By default the component is autopositionable.

The modal window can be moved and resized by the end user. To disable those features (which are enabled by default) set "moveable" and "resizeable" attributes to false. Resizing may be limited by specifying window's minimal sizes with the "minWidth" and "minHeight" attributes.

To open and close the <rich:modalPanel> use one of three JS API functions (offset to the "Reference Data" below in this chapter):


<a onclick="Richfaces.showModalPanel('pnl');" href="#">Show ModalPanel</a>
<a4j:form>
      <rich:modalPanel id="pnl" >
            <a onclick="Richfaces.hideModalPanel('pnl');" href="#">Hide ModalPanel</a>
      </rich:modalPanel>
</a4j:form>

The result:


Besides client ID it is possible to pass other parameters while opening and closing the <rich:modalPanel> with the JS API function. For example, you can pass top and left indents or panel size:


<a onclick="Richfaces.showModalPanel('pnl', {top:'10px', left:'10px', height:'400px'});">Show ModalPanel</a>

Also the <rich:modalPanel> allows to handle its own opening and closing events on the client side. Custom parameters passed with JS API are also obtained in this case:


<rich:modalPanel onshow="alert(event.parameters.param1)">
      ...
</rich:modalPanel>

The component can restore its previous state (including position on the screen) after submitting and reloading. Set "keepVisualState" to true to submit and pass <rich:modalPanel> current parameters to a new page. The "showWhenRendered" boolean attribute is used in cases when component should be rendered after first page loading.

The "trimOverlayedElements" boolean attribute can be used to determine if the modal panel will expand to show other components inside it. Set the attribute to false to ensure components are not cut off.

To understand sense of the "domElementAttachment" attribute it is necessary to understand what is stacking context and how it works in the HTML makeup. Since each positioned or z-indexed element (CSS position:absolute or relative and z-index:*any integer different from 0*) form their own stacking context the <rich:modalPanel> rendered as a child of such element may be overlapped with an element that appears later in HTML hierarchy or assimilated with <body> stacking context (basic for HTML page). Not so fast! To make the <rich:modalPanel> rendered in "closest" to an observer layer and avoid such overlapping, the component was designed in way when it is always being automatically assimilated with <body> with a very high rendering layer (z-index). But our panel should be assimilated with <body> not always, because of some side effects that take place in this case. The "domElementAttachment" attribute helps to reassign the panel to its parent or form element. If form is used and no parent form is available the panel is functioning as if it is assimilated with <body>.

Notes:

If the "domElementAttachment" value is not body then some overlapping may occur.

To avoid overlapping by an embed object (inserted with HTML <embed> tag) set the "overlapEmbedObjects" to true.

The "label" attribute is a generic one. It provides an association between a component and message the component produces. This attribute defines parameters of localized error and informational messages that occur as a result of conversion, validation or other application actions during the request processing lifecycle. With this attribute you can replace the last parameter substitution token shown in the message. For example, DoubleRangeValidator.MAXIMUM or ShortConverter.SHORT.

The <rich:modalPanel> supports two facets. The header facet defines header and text label on it:


...
<rich:modalPanel id="pnl">
      <f:facet name="header">
            <h:outputText value="I'm panel header" />
      </f:facet>
      <p>The <rich:modalPanel> accepts different types of information: from simple text to iterative components such as <rich:dataTable>, etc.
      </p>
      <a onclick="Richfaces.hideModalPanel('pnl');" href="#">Hide ModalPanel</a>
</rich:modalPanel>
...

The result:


The controls facet places any control on a header, defines image, style and function for it. For example, "Close" control:


<rich:modalPanel id="pnl">
      ...
      <f:facet name="controls">
            <h:graphicImage value="/pages/close.png" style="cursor:pointer" onclick="Richfaces.hideModalPanel('pnl')" />
      </f:facet>
        ...
</rich:modalPanel>

The result:


An example of using <h:commandButton> within the <rich: modalPanel>:


<a4j:form>
      <rich:modalPanel>
            <h:form>
                  <h:commandButton value="Test" action="#{TESTCONTROLLER.test}" />
            </h:form>
      </rich:modalPanel>
</a4j:form>

Table of <rich:modalPanel> attributes.






You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

Visit ModalPanel page at RichFaces Livedemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Useful articles:

If you have any questions or ideas regarding the <rich:modalPanel> tell about them at the RichFaces Users Forum.

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On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:paint2D> usage and sources for the given example.

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Visit Panel page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

If you have any questions or ideas regarding the <rich:panel> tell about them at the RichFaces Users Forum.

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Table of <rich:panelBar> attributes.




You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

Visit PanelBar page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

If you have any questions or ideas regarding the <rich:panel> tell about them at the RichFaces Users Forum.

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Visit PanelBar page at RichFaces LiveDemo for example of the <rich:panelBarItem>component usage and it source.

If you have any questions or ideas regarding the <rich:panel> tell about them at the RichFaces Users Forum.

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Use "event" attribute to define an event for appearance of collapsing/expanding sublevels. Default value is onclick:


<rich:panelMenu event="onmouseover">
      ...
</rich:panelMenu>

Switching mode could be chosen with the "mode" attribute for all panelMenu items except ones where this attribute was redefined. By default all items send traditional request. The "expandMode" attribute defines the submission modes for all collapsing/expanding panelMenu groups except ones where this attribute was redefined. The "mode" and "expandMode" attributes could be used with three possible parameters. The "mode" attribute defines parameters for all included <rich:panelMenuItem> elements.


...
<rich:panelMenu mode="server">
        <rich:panelMenuGroup label="test Group" action="#{bean.action}"> 
                <rich:panelMenuItem label="test" action="#{capitalsBean.action}"> 
                    <f:param value="test value" name="test"/> 
                </rich:panelMenuItem> 
        </rich:panelMenuGroup>
</rich:panelMenu>
...

...
<rich:panelMenu mode="ajax">
        <rich:panelMenuGroup label="test Group" action="#{bean.action}"> 
                <rich:panelMenuItem label="test" reRender="test" action="#{capitalsBean.action}"> 
                        <f:param value="test value" name="test"/> 
                </rich:panelMenuItem> 
        </rich:panelMenuGroup>
</rich:panelMenu>
...

...
<rich:panelMenu event="onclick" submitMode="none">
        <rich:panelMenuItem label="Link to external page">
                <h:outputLink ... >
        <rich:panelMenuItem>
</rich:panelMenu>
...

The "expandSingle" attribute is defined for expanding more than one submenu on the same level. The default value is "false" . If it's true the previously opened group on the top level closes before opening another one. See the picture below.


The "selectedChild" attribute is used for defining the name of the selected group or item. An example for group is placed below:

Here is an example:


...
<rich:panelMenu selectedChild="thisChild">
        <rich:panelMenuGroup label="Group1" name="thisChild">
                <!--Nested panelMenu components-->
        </rich:panelMenuGroup>
</rich:panelMenu>
...

The "label" attribute is a generic attribute. The "label" attribute provides an association between a component, and the message that the component (indirectly) produced. This attribute defines the parameters of localized error and informational messages that occur as a result of conversion, validation, or other application actions during the request processing lifecycle. With the help of this attribute you can replace the last parameter substitution token shown in the messages. For example, {1} for "DoubleRangeValidator.MAXIMUM", {2} for "ShortConverter.SHORT".

Table of <rich:panelMenu> attributes.





You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

Visit panelMenu page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

If you have any questions or ideas regarding the <rich:panelMenu> tell about them at the RichFaces Users Forum.

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All attributes except "label" are optional. The "label" attribute defines text to be represented.

Switching mode could be chosen with the"expandMode" attribute for the concrete panelMenu group. The "expandMode" attribute could be used with three possible parameters:

"Action" and "actionListener" attributes are ignored. Items don't fire any submits itself. Behavior is fully defined by the components nested into items.

There are three icon-related attributes. The "iconExpanded" attribute defines an icon for an expanded state. The "iconCollapsed" attribute defines an icon for a collapsed state. The "iconDisabled" attribute defines an icon for a disabled state. Default icons are shown on the picture below:


Here is an example:


...
<rich:panelMenu>
        <rich:panelMenuGroup label="Group1" iconExpanded="disc" iconCollapsed="chevron">
                <!--Nested panelMenu components-->
        </rich:panelMenuGroup>
</rich:panelMenu>
...

As the result the pictures are shown below. The first one represents the collapsed state, the second one - expanded state:



It's also possible to define a path to the icon. Simple code is placed below.


...
<rich:panelMenu>
        <rich:panelMenuGroup label="Group1" iconExpanded="\images\img1.png" iconCollapsed="\images\img2.png">
                    <!--Nested menu components-->
        </rich:panelMenuGroup>
</rich:panelMenu>
...

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find "Decide what to process" guide section.

Table of <rich:panelMenuGroup> attributes.





You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

Visit panelMenuGroup page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources..

If you have any questions or ideas regarding the <rich:panelMenuGroup> tell about them at the RichFaces Users Forum.

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All attributes except "label" are optional. The "label" attribute defines text to be represented.

The "mode" attribute could be used with three possible parameters:

"Action" and "actionListener" attributes are ignored. Items don't fire any submits itself. Behavior is fully defined by the components nested into items. Here is an example for value none:


...
<rich:panelMenu>
        ...
       <rich:panelMenuItem mode="none" onclick="document.location.href='http://labs.jboss.com/jbossrichfaces/">
                <h:outputLink value="http://labs.jboss.com/jbossrichfaces/">
                    <h:outputText value="RichFaces Home Page"></h:outputText>
                </h:outputLink>
        </rich:panelMenuItem>
        ...
</rich:panelMenu>
...

There are two icon-related attributes. The "icon" attribute defines an icon. The "iconDisabled" attribute defines an icon for a disabled item.

Default icons are shown on the picture below:



...
      <rich:panelMenu>
            ...
            <rich:panelMenuItem value="Item 1.1" icon="chevronUp" />
            ... 
      </rich:panelMenu>
...

As the result the picture is shown below:


It's also possible to define a path to the icon. Simple code is placed below.


...
<rich:panelMenu>
        ...
        <rich:panelMenuItem value="Item 1.1" icon="\images\img1.png" />
        ... 
</rich:panelMenu>
...

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find in the "Decide what to process" guide section.

Visit panelMenuItem page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

If you have any questions or ideas regarding the <rich:panelMenu> tell about them at the RichFaces Users Forum.

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As it was mentioned above, the <rich:progressBar> component displays the status of the ongoing process.

The <rich:progressBar> component can run in two modes: Ajax (default) and Client.

In order to define the mode you need to use "mode" attribute.

One of the key attributes of the component is "interval" which defines the frequency of status polling and rerenders the component when the value is updated.

Polling is active while the "enabled" attribute is "true".

Example:


...
<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue}" id="progrs" interval="900" enabled="true"/>
... 

With the help of "timeout" attribute you can define the waiting time on a particular request. If a response is not received during this time the request is aborted.

Status of the process is calculated basing on values of the following attributes:

Example:


...
<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue}"  minValue="50"  maxValue="400"/>
... 

This is the result


There are two ways to display information on a progress bar:

  • Using "label" attribute

    Example:

    
    ... 
    <rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue}" id="progrs" label="#{bean.incValue}"/>
    ...
  • Using any child(nested) components. One of the components that can be used is <h:outputText />

    Example:

    
    ...
    <rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue}">
        <h:outputText value="#{bean.incValue} %"/>
    </rich:progressBar>
    ... 

The <rich:progressBar> component provides 3 predefined macrosubstitution parameters:

  • {value} contains the current value

  • {minValue} contains min value

  • {maxValue} contains max value

You can use them as follows:

Example:


...
<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue1}" minValue="400" maxValue="900">
        <h:outputText value="Min value is {minValue}, current value is {value}, max value is {maxValue}"/>
</rich:progressBar> 
... 

This is the result:


The "parameters" is also a special attribute which defines parameters that can be to get additional data from server (e.g. additional info about process status). All you need is to define the value of your own parameter (e.g parameters="param:'#{bean.incValue1}'") and you can use it to pass the data.

Example:


...
<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue}" parameters="param:'#{bean.dwnlSpeed}'">
    <h:outputText value="download speed {param} KB/s"/>
</rich:progressBar>
... 

This is the result:


The "progressVar" attribute (deprecated) defines request scoped variable that could be used for substitution purpose. This variable contains the data taken from "value" attribute. Please, study carefully the following example.

Example:


...
<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue1}" enabled="#{bean.enabled1}" id="progrs1" progressVar="progress">
    <h:outputText value="{progress}%"/>
</rich:progressBar>
... 

In the shown example "progressVar" attribute defines a variable "progress" with the value taken from "value" attribute of the <rich:progressBar> component. The "progress" variable performs substitution passing the current progress value to the "value" attribute of the <h:outputText> . This is how the current value of a progress appears on the label of <rich:progressBar> .

As the "progressVar" attribute is deprecated, it's better to use the predefined macrosubstitution parameter {value} instead. See how you can rewrite the above example with the help of {value}.

Example:


...
<rich:progressBar value="#{bean.incValue1}" enabled="#{bean.enabled1}" id="progrs1">
    <h:outputText value="{value}%"/>
</rich:progressBar>
... 

The component can also employ "initial" and "complete" facets to display the states of the process: "initial" facet is displayed when the progress value is less or equal to "minValue" , and the "complete" facet is shown when the value is greater or equal to "maxValue" . Please see an example below.

Example:


...
<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> 
 ... 

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find " Decide what to process " guide section.

Table of <rich:progressBar> attributes.






Note:

It's necessary to define width of the component in pixels only.

You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in
Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On the component Live Demo page you can see the example of <rich:progressBar> usage and sources for the given example.

Read "Simple Ping Application with <rich:progressBar>" article to find out how to show the progress of server ping process.

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On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:separator> usage and sources for the given example.

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On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:simpleTogglePanel> usage and sources for the given example.

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As it was mentioned above, tabPanel groups content on panels and performs switching from one to another. Hence, modes of switching between panels are described first of all.

Note:

All tabPanels should be wrapped into a form element so as content is correctly submitted inside. If a form is placed into each tab, the Action elements of Tab controls appear to be out of the form and content submission inside the panels could be performed only for Action components inside tabs.

Switching mode could be chosen with the tabPanel attribute "switchType" with three possible parameters.

  • server (DEFAULT)

    The common submission is performed around tabPanel and a page is completely rendered on a called panel. Only one at a time tabPanel is uploaded onto the client side.

  • ajax

    AJAX form submission is performed around the tabPanel, content of the called tabPanel is uploaded on Ajax request. Only one at a time tabPanel is uploaded on the client.

  • client

    All tabPanels are uploaded on the client side. The switching from the active to the hidden panel is performed with client JavaScript.

As a result, the tabPanel is switched to the second tab according to the action returning outcome for moving onto another page and switching from the second to the first tab is performed.

There is also the "selectedTab" attribute. The attribute keeps an active tab name; therefore, an active tabPanel could be changed with setting a name of the necessary tab to this attribute.

There is also the "headerAlignment" attribute responsible for rendering of tabPanel components. The attribute has several values: "left" (Default), "right", "center", which specify Tabs components location on the top of the tabPanel.

Example:


...
<rich:tabPanel width="40%" headerAlignment="right">
        <rich:tab label="Canon">
                ...
        </rich:tab>
        <rich:tab label="Nikon">
                ...
        </rich:tab>
        <rich:tab label="Olympus">
                ...
        </rich:tab>
</rich:tabPanel>
...

The "label" attribute is a generic attribute. The "label" attribute provides an association between a component, and the message that the component (indirectly) produced. This attribute defines the parameters of localized error and informational messages that occur as a result of conversion, validation, or other application actions during the request processing lifecycle. With the help of this attribute you can replace the last parameter substitution token shown in the messages. For example, {1} for "DoubleRangeValidator.MAXIMUM", {2} for "ShortConverter.SHORT".

Except the specific attributes, the component has all necessary attributes for JavaScript events definition.

  • "onmouseover"

  • "onmouseout"

  • etc.

Visit TabPanel page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

If you have any questions or ideas regarding the <rich:tab> tell about them at the RichFaces Users Forum.

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The main component function is to define a content group that is rendered and processed when the tab is active, i.e. click on a tab causes switching onto a tab containing content corresponded to this tab.

The "label" attribute defines text to be represented. If you can use the "label" facet, you can even not use the "label" attribute.


<rich:tab>
      <f:facet name="label">
            <h:graphicImage value="/images/img1.png"/>
      </f:facet>
       <!--Any Content inside-->
</rich:tab>

A marker on a tab header defined with the "label" attribute. Moreover, each tab could be disabled (switching on this tab is impossible) with the "disable" attribute.


<rich:tabPanel width="20%">
      <tabs:tab  label="Canon">
            <h:outputText value="Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT" />
             ...
      </tabs:tab>
      <tabs:tab  label="Nikon">
            <h:outputText value="Nikon D70s" />
             ...
      </tabs:tab>
      <tabs:tab label="Olympus">
            <h:outputText value="Olympus EVOLT E-500" />
             ...
      </tabs:tab>
      <tabs:tab disabled="true" name="disabled" label="Disabled"/>
</rich:tabPanel>

With this example it's possible to generate the tab panel with the last disabled and three active tabs (see the picture).


Switching mode could be defined not only for the whole panel tab, but also for each particular tab, i.e. switching onto one tab could be performed right on the client with the corresponding JavaScript and onto another tab with an Ajax request on the server. Tab switching modes are the same as tabPanel ones.

Each tab also has an attribute name (alias for "id" attribute). Using this attribute value it's possible e.g. to set an active tab on a model level specifying this name in the corresponding attribute of the whole tab.

Except the specific component attributes it has all necessary attributes for JavaScript event definition.

  • onmouseover

  • onmouseout

  • etc.

Some event could be performed on the tab which has been entered/left using ""ontabenter"" and "ontableave" attributes. See the example below:


<rich:tabPanel>
      <rich:tab label="Tab1" ontabenter="alert()">
       ...
      </rich:tab>
      ...
</rich:tabPanel>

The following example shows how on the client side to get the names of entered/left tabs.

ontabenter="alert(leftTabName)"

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find in the "Decide what to process" guide section.

Visit TabPanel page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

If you have any questions or ideas regarding the <rich:tab> tell about them at the RichFaces Users Forum.

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As it was mentioned above, togglePanel splits content into named facets that become rendered and processed when a click performed on controls linked to this togglePanel (either switched on the client or send requests on the server for switching).

The initial component state is defined with "initialState" attribute, where a facet name that is shown at first is defined.

Note:

It's also possible to define an "empty" facet to implement the functionality as drop-down panels have and make the facet active when no content is required to be rendered.

Switching mode could be defined with the "switchType" attribute with three possible parameters:

  • Server (DEFAULT)

    The common submission is performed around togglePanel and a page is completely rendered on a called panel. Only one at a time the panel is uploaded onto the client side.

  • Ajax

    AJAX form submission is performed around the panel, content of the called panel is uploaded on an Ajax request . Only one at a time the panel is uploaded on the client side.

  • Client

    All panels are uploaded on the client side. The switching from the active to the hidden panel is performed with client JavaScript.

"Facets" switching order could be defined on the side of <rich:toggleControl> component or on the panel. On the side of the togglePanel it's possible to define facets switching order with the "stateOrder" attribute. The facets names are enumerated in such an order that they are rendered when a control is clicked, as it's not defined where to switch beforehand.

Example:


...
<rich:togglePanel id="panel" initialState="panelB" switchType="client"
                        stateOrder="panelA,panelB,panelC">
        <f:facet name="panelA">
                ...
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="panelB">
                ...
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="panelC">
                ...
        </f:facet>
</rich:togglePanel> 
<rich:toggleControl for="panel" value="Switch"/>
...

The example shows a togglePanel initial state when the second facet (panelB) is rendered and successive switching from the first to the second happens.

The "label" attribute is a generic attribute. The "label" attribute provides an association between a component, and the message that the component (indirectly) produced. This attribute defines the parameters of localized error and informational messages that occur as a result of conversion, validation, or other application actions during the request processing lifecycle. With the help of this attribute you can replace the last parameter substitution token shown in the messages. For example, {1} for "DoubleRangeValidator.MAXIMUM", {2} for "ShortConverter.SHORT".

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:togglePanel> usage and sources for the given example.

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As it was mentioned above, the control could be in any place in layout and linked to a switching panel that is managed with "for" attribute (in the "for" attribute the full component "id" is specified according to naming containers).

The togglePanel could be also switched from the side of the control instead of being strictly defined in "switchOrder" attribute of <rich:togglePanel>.

Example:


...
<rich:togglePanel id="panel" initialState="empty" switchType="client">
        <f:facet name="first">
                <h:panelGroup>
                    <rich:toggleControl for="helloForm:panel" value="Empty" switchToState="empty"/>
                        <rich:toggleControl for="helloForm:panel" value=" Second" switchToState="second"/>
                        <!--Some content-->
                </h:panelGroup>
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="second">
                <h:panelGroup>
                        <rich:toggleControl for="helloForm:panel" value="Empty" switchToState="empty"/>
                        <rich:toggleControl for="helloForm:panel" value=" first" switchToState="first"/>
                        <!--Some content-->
                </h:panelGroup>
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="empty">
                <h:panelGroup>
                    <rich:toggleControl for="helloForm:panel" value="first" switchToState="first"/>
                        <rich:toggleControl for="helloForm:panel" value=" second" switchToState="second"/>
                </h:panelGroup>
        </f:facet>
</rich:togglePanel>
...

In this example the switching is performed on facets specified in the "switchToState" attribute.

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find " Decide what to process " guide section.

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On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:toolBar> usage and sources for the given example.

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Text information, labeled on the <rich:toolTip> , is specified with "value" attribute. Text that is put between tooltip start and end tags will also be rendered as tooltip content and could be marked with HTML tags. Images, links, buttons and other RichFaces components are also may be put and composed inside the <rich:toolTip> . The <rich:toolTip> borders are stretched automatically to enclose the contents.

There are three ways to attach the <rich:toolTip> to a page element. The first and simplest one is when the <rich:toolTip> is nested into a page element the tooltip is applied to. This way is shown on example in the Creating the Component with a Page Tag section. The "attached" attribute is "true" by default in this case, which means that the tolltip will be invoked automatically when the mouse cursor is hovered above the parent component.

The second one uses <rich:toolTip> "for" attribute. In this case the <rich:toolTip> is defined separately from a component it is applied to.

Example:


<rich:panel id="panelId">
...
</rich:panel>
<rich:toolTip value="This is a tooltip." for="panelId"/>

These two ways are also applicable for HTML elements that are not presented in components tree built by facelets. Use "for" attribute to attach the <rich:toolTip> in both cases.

Example:


<!-- The <rich:toolTip> is nested into the parent HTML element -->
<div id="para1">
      <p>This paragraph and tooltip are nested into the same <div> element.</p>
      <rich:toolTip for="para1">This is a tooltip.</rich:toolTip>
</div>

<!-- The <rich:toolTip> is defined separately -->
<div id="para2">
      <p>The tooltip for this paragraph is defined separately.</p>
</div>
<rich:toolTip for="para2">This is a tooltip.</rich:toolTip>

The third way to invoke the <rich:toolTip> uses JS API function. List of JS API functions available for <rich:toolTip> is listed below. JS API functions are defined for a component the <rich:toolTip> is applied to. The <rich:toolTip> "attached" attribute should be set to "false" in this case.

Example:


<rich:panel id="panelId" onclick="#{rich:component("tooltipId")}.show(event);" />
<a4j:form>
      <rich:toolTip id="tooltipId" attached="false" value="This is a tooltip."/>
</a4j:form>

Notes:

To provide <rich:toolTip> component proper work in complex cases do the following:

  • specify "id's" for both <rich:toolTip> and component it is applied to;

  • define the <rich:toolTip> as last child, when nesting it into the component the <rich:toolTip> is applied to;

  • put the <rich:toolTip> into <a4j:form> when invoking it with JS API function.

The "mode" attribute is provided you to control the way of data loading to <rich:toolTip> . The component works properly in client and Ajax modes. In client mode <rich:toolTip> content is rendered once on the server and could be rerendered only via external submit. In Ajax mode <rich:toolTip> content is requested from server for every activation. For Ajax mode there is possibility to define a facet "defaultContent" , which provides default <rich:toolTip> content to be displayed, while main content is loading into the <rich:toolTip> (see the example below).

Example:


...
<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>DEFAULT TOOLTIP CONTENT</f:verbatim>
        </f:facet>
    </rich:toolTip>
</h:commandLink>
...

This is the result:


And after <rich:toolTip> loaded it is changed to next one:


<rich:toolTip> appears attached to the corner dependent on the "direction" attribute. By default it is positioned bottom-right. <rich:toolTip> activation occurs after an event, defined on the parent component, takes into consideration the "delay" attribute or after calling JS API function show(). "hideEvent" attribute defines the way how <rich:toolTip> disappears. It default value is "none", so the <rich:toolTip> does not disappears. Deactivation may be set for example on mouseout event on the parent component (excepting the situation when the mouse is hovered onto the <rich:toolTip> itself) or after calling JS API function hide().

By default, <rich:toolTip> appears smart positioned. But as you can see from the previous example, you can define an appearance direction via the corresponding attribute "direction" . And also it's possible to define vertical and horizontal offsets relatively to a mouse position.

Disabled <rich:toolTip> is rendered to a page as usual but JS that responds for its activation is disabled until enable() is called.

Moreover, to add some JavaScript effects, client events defined on it are used:

Standart:

  • "onclick"

  • "ondblclick"

  • "onmouseout"

  • "onmousemove"

  • "onmouseover"

Special:

  • "onshow" - Called after the tooltip is called (some element hovered) but before its request

  • "oncomplete" - Called just after the tooltip is shown

  • "onhide" - Called after the tooltip is hidden

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:toolTip> usage and sources for the given example.

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+6.11.1. < rich:calendar > available since 3.1.0
6.11.1.1. Description
6.11.1.2. Key Features
6.11.1.3. Details of Usage
6.11.1.4. Reference Data
6.11.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.2. < rich:colorPicker > available since 3.3.1
6.11.2.1. Description
6.11.2.2. Key Features
6.11.2.3. Details of Usage
6.11.2.4. Reference Data
6.11.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.3. < rich:comboBox > available since 3.2.0
6.11.3.1. Description
6.11.3.2. Key Features
6.11.3.3. Details of Usage
6.11.3.4. Reference Data
6.11.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.4. < rich:editor > available since 3.3.0
6.11.4.1. Description
6.11.4.2. Key Features
6.11.4.3. Details of Usage
6.11.4.4. Reference Data
6.11.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.5. < rich:fileUpload > available since 3.2.0
6.11.5.1. Description
6.11.5.2. Key Features
6.11.5.3. Details of Usage
6.11.5.4. Reference Data
6.11.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.6. < rich:inplaceInput > available since 3.2.0
6.11.6.1. Description
6.11.6.2. Key Features
6.11.6.3. Details of Usage
6.11.6.4. Reference Data
6.11.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.7. < rich:inplaceSelect > available since 3.2.0
6.11.7.1. Description
6.11.7.2. Key Features
6.11.7.3. Details of Usage
6.11.7.4. Reference Data
6.11.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.8. < rich:inputNumberSlider > available since 3.0.0
6.11.8.1. Description
6.11.8.2. Key Features
6.11.8.3. Details of Usage
6.11.8.4. Reference Data
6.11.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.9. < rich:inputNumberSpinner > available since 3.0.0
6.11.9.1. Description
6.11.9.2. Key Features
6.11.9.3. Details of Usage
6.11.9.4. Reference Data
6.11.9.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.11.10. < rich:suggestionbox > available since 3.0.0
6.11.10.1. Description
6.11.10.2. Key Features
+6.11.10.3. Details of Usage
6.11.10.3.1. Main attributes
6.11.10.3.2. JavaScript API
6.11.10.3.3. Other attributes and facets
6.11.10.4. Reference Data
6.11.10.5. Relevant Resources Links

In this section you will find the components that help you deal with various kinds of user inputs from picking a date, WYSIWYG text editing to uploading a file.

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The <rich:calendar> component can work properly in two ways of data loading defined by the "mode" attribute. The attribute has two possible values:

The <rich:calendar> could be represented on a page in two ways (a) the calendar itself without input field and button and (b) date input with button and popping-up calendar. This is defined with "popup" attribute, which is "true" by default. For popup rendering a "lazy" loading is implemented: a client side script method builds the popup after request is completed. Such improvement speeds up page loading time.


By default the <rich:calendar> is rendered as input filed with a button and calendar hidden in a pop-up. The button is represented with calendar pictogramm. This pictogramm could be easily changed with the help of "buttonIcon" and "buttonIconDisabled" attributes, which specify the icon for button enabled and disabled states respectively. To change the button appearance from icon to usual button define the value for the "buttonLabel" attribute. In this case "buttonIcon" and "buttonIconDisabled" attributes are ignored.


There are two attributes that specify the place where the popup calendar is rendered relative to the input field and icon: "jointPoint" and "direction" attributes. By default the pop-up calendar appears under input and aligned with it left border (see Fig. 6.211, b). Speaking in terms of RichFaces it means that <rich:calendar> jointPoint="bottom-left" and direction="bottom-right". There are four possible joint-points and four possible directions for each joint-point. Besides that, the values of "jointPoint" and "direction" could be set to "auto" that activates smart pop-up positioning.


Usage "currentDate" attribute isn't available in the popup mode.

With help of the "currentDate" attribute you can define month and year which will be displayed currently.

The "value" attribute stores selected date currently.

The difference between the value and currentDate attributes

The "todayControlMode" attribute defines the mode for "today" control. Possible values are:

  • "hidden" - in this mode "Today" button will not be displayed

  • "select" - (default) in this state "Today" button activation will scroll the calendar to the current date and it become selected date

  • "scroll" - in this mode "Today" activation will simply scroll the calendar to current month without changing selected day.

With the help of the "readonly" attribute you can make date, time and input field unavailable, but you can look through the next/previous month or the next/previous year.

In order to disable the component, use the "disabled" attribute. With its help both controls are disabled in the "popup" mode.


The "onchanged" attribute is used to define an event that is triggered from date selection, as shown in the example below:


...
<rich:calendar id="date" value="#{bean.dateTest}">
          <a4j:support event="onchanged" reRender="mainTable"/>
</rich:calendar>
...

The "ondateselect" attribute is used to define an event that is triggered before date selection. It could be used for possibility of date selection canceling. See an example below:


...
<rich:calendar id="date" value="#{bean.dateTest}" ondateselect="if (!confirm('Are you sure to change date?')){return false;}"/>
...

The "ondateselected" attribute is used to define an event that is triggered after date selection.

"oncurrentdateselected" event is fired when the "next/previous month" or "next/previous year" button is pressed, and the value is applied.

"oncurrentdateselect" event is fired when the "next/previous month" or "next/previous year" button is pressed, but the value is not applied yet (you can change the logic of applying the value). Also this event could be used for possibility of "next/previous month" or "next/previous year" selection canceling. See an example below:

Example:


...
<rich:calendar id="date" value="#{bean.dateTest}" oncurrentdateselect="if (!confirm('Are you sure to change month(year)?')){return false;}"
          oncurrentdateselected="alert('month(year) select:'+event.rich.date.toString());"/>
...

How to use these attributes see also on the RichFaces Users Forum.

Information about the "process" attribute usage you can find in the corresponding section .

The "label" attribute is a generic attribute. The "label" attribute provides an association between a component, and the message that the component (indirectly) produced. This attribute defines the parameters of localized error and informational messages that occur as a result of conversion, validation, or other application actions during the request processing lifecycle. With the help of this attribute you can replace the last parameter substitution token shown in the messages. For example, {1} for "DoubleRangeValidator.MAXIMUM", {2} for "ShortConverter.SHORT".

The "defaultTime" attribute to set the default time value for the current date in two cases:

  • If time is not set

  • If another date is selected and the value of the "resetTimeOnDateSelect" attribute is set to "true"

The "enableManualInput" attribute enables/disables input field, so when enableManualInput = "false" , user can only pick the date manually and has no possibility to type in the date (default value is "false").

The <rich:calendar> component allows to use "header" , "footer" , "optionalHeader" , "optionalFooter" facets. The following elements are available in these facets: {currentMonthControl}, {nextMonthControl}, {nextYearControl}, {previousYearControl}, {previousMonthControl}, {todayControl}, {selectedDateControl}. These elements could be used for labels output.

Also you can use "weekNumber" facet with available {weekNumber}, {elementId} elements and "weekDay" facet with {weekDayLabel}, {weekDayLabelShort}, {weekDayNumber}, {isWeekend}, {elementId} elements. {weekNumber}, {weekDayLabel}, {weekDayLabelShort}, {weekDayNumber} elements could be used for labels output, {isWeekend}, {elementId} - for additional processing in JavaScript code.

These elements are shown on the picture below.


Simple example of usage is placed below.

Example:


...
<!-- Styles for cells -->
<style>
    
.width100{
        
width:100%;
    
}
    
.talign{
        
text-align:center;
    
}
</style>
...

...
<rich:calendar id="myCalendar" popup="true" locale="#{calendarBean.locale}" value="#{bean.date}"
                            preloadRangeBegin="#{bean.date}" preloadRangeEnd="#{bean.date}" cellWidth="40px" cellHeight="40px">

    <!-- Customization with usage of facets and accessible elements -->
    <f:facet name="header">
        <h:panelGrid columns="2" width="100%" columnClasses="width100, fake">
            <h:outputText value="{selectedDateControl}" />
            <h:outputText value="{todayControl}"  style="font-weight:bold; text-align:left"/>
        </h:panelGrid>
    </f:facet>
    <f:facet name="weekDay">
        <h:panelGroup style="width:60px; overflow:hidden;" layout="block">
            <h:outputText value="{weekDayLabelShort}"/>
        </h:panelGroup>
    </f:facet>
    <f:facet name="weekNumber">
         <h:panelGroup>
            <h:outputText value="{weekNumber}" style="color:red"/>
        </h:panelGroup>
     </f:facet>
     <f:facet name="footer">
        <h:panelGrid columns="3" width="100%" columnClasses="fake, width100 talign">
            <h:outputText value="{previousMonthControl}" style="font-weight:bold;"/>
            <h:outputText value="{currentMonthControl}" style="font-weight:bold;"/>
            <h:outputText value="{nextMonthControl}" style="font-weight:bold;"/>
        </h:panelGrid>
    </f:facet>
    <h:outputText value="{day}"></h:outputText>
</rich:calendar>
...

This is a result:


As it's shown on the picture above {selectedDateControl}, {todayControl} elements are placed in the "header" facet, {previousMonthControl}, {currentMonthControl}, {nextMonthControl} - in the "footer" facet, {weekDayLabelShort} - in the "weekDay" facet, {nextYearControl}, {previousYearControl} are absent. Numbers of weeks are red colored.

It is possible to show and manage date. Except scrolling controls you can use quick month and year selection feature. It's necessary to click on its field, i.e. current month control, and choose required month and year.


Also the <rich:calendar> component allows to show and manage time. It's necessary to define time in a pattern (for example, it could be defined as "d/M/yy HH:mm"). Then after you choose some data in the calendar, it becomes possible to manage time for this date. For time editing it's necessary to click on its field (see a picture below). To clean the field click on the "Clean".


It's possible to handle events for calendar from JavaScript code. A simplest example of usage JavaScript API is placed below:

Example:


...
<rich:calendar value="#{calendarBean.selectedDate}" id="calendarID"
                        locale="#{calendarBean.locale}"
                        popup="#{calendarBean.popup}"
                        datePattern="#{calendarBean.pattern}"
                        showApplyButton="#{calendarBean.showApply}" style="width:200px"/>
<a4j:commandLink onclick="$('formID:calendarID').component.doExpand(event)" value="Expand"/>
...

Also the discussion about this problem can be found on the RichFaces Users Forum.

The <rich:calendar> component provides the possibility to use internationalization method to redefine and localize the labels. You could use application resource bundle and define RICH_CALENDAR_APPLY_LABEL, RICH_CALENDAR_TODAY_LABEL, RICH_CALENDAR_CLOSE_LABEL, RICH_CALENDAR_OK_LABEL, RICH_CALENDAR_CLEAN_LABEL, RICH_CALENDAR_CANCEL_LABEL there.

You could also pack org.richfaces.renderkit.calendar resource bundle with your JARs defining the same properties.

Note:

Only for Internet Explorer 6 and later. To make <rich:calendar> inside <rich:modalPanel> rendered properly, enable the standards-compliant mode. Explore !DOCTYPE reference at MSDN to find out how to do this.

Table of <rich:calendar> attributes.




Table 6.165. Style classes (selectors) with the corresponding skin parameters

Class (selector) nameDescriptionSkin ParameterCSS properties mapped
.rich-calendar-exteriorDefines styles for a popup element exteriorpanelBorderColorborder-color
.rich-calendar-header-optionalDefines styles for a headerpanelBorderColorborder-bottom-color
additionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-headerDefines styles for an optional headerpanelBorderColorborder-bottom-color
additionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-cellDefines styles for cells with dayspanelBorderColorborder-bottom-color, border-right-color
tableBackgroundColorbackground-color
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-toolDefines styles for toolbarsheaderBackgroundColorbackground-color
headerSizeFontfont-size
headerFamilyFontfont-family
headerWeightFontfont-weight
headerTextColorcolor
.rich-calendar-monthDefines styles for names of monthsheaderBackgroundColorbackground-color
headerSizeFontfont-size
headerFamilyFontfont-family
headerWeightFontfont-weight
headerTextColorcolor
.rich-calendar-daysDefines styles for names of working days in a headerpanelBorderColorborder-bottom-color, border-right-color
additionalBackgroundColorbackground
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-weekDefines styles for weeks numberspanelBorderColorborder-bottom-color, border-right-color
additionalBackgroundColorbackground
calendarWeekBackgroundColorbackground-color
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-hollyDefines styles for holidaycalendarHolidaysBackgroundColorbackground-color
calendarHolidaysTextColorcolor
.rich-calendar-todayDefines styles for cell with a current datecalendarCurrentBackgroundColorbackground-color
calendarCurrentTextColorcolor
.rich-calendar-selectDefines styles for a selected dayheaderBackgroundColorbackground-color
headerTextColorcolor
.rich-calendar-hoverDefines styles for a hovered daycalendarSpecBackgroundColorbackground-color
calendarSpecTextColorcolor
.rich-calendar-toolfooterDefines styles for a tollbar items in the footeradditionalBackgroundColorbackground
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-tool-btn-hoverDefines styles for a toolbar button hoveredcalendarWeekBackgroundColorbackground-color
generalTextColorcolor
tableBackgroundColorborder-color
panelBorderColorborder-right-color, border-bottom-color
.rich-calendar-tool-btn-pressDefines styles for a toolbar button pressedpanelBorderColorborder-color
tableBackgroundColorborder-right-color, border-bottom-color
.rich-calendar-footerDefines styles for a footerpanelBorderColorborder-right-color, border-top-color
additionalBackgroundColorbackground
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-footer-optionalDefines styles for an optional footerpanelBorderColorborder-right-color, border-top-color
additionalBackgroundColorbackground
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-editor-shadowDefines styles for the calendar editor shadowtableBackgroundColorbackground
.rich-calendar-time-layoutDefines styles for a popup element during time selectionpanelBorderColorborder-color
additionalBackgroundColorbackground
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-date-layoutDefines styles for a popup element during quick month/year selectionpanelBorderColorborder-color
tableBackgroundColorbackground
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-time-layout inputDefines styles for the input fields in the popup element during time selectiongeneralSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-date-layout-cancelDefines styles for the "Cancel" buttonadditionalBackgroundColorbackground
panelBorderColorborder-top-color
.rich-calendar-date-layout-okDefines styles for the "Ok" buttonadditionalBackgroundColorbackground
panelBorderColorborder-top-color
.rich-calendar-date-layout-splitDefines styles for a wrapper <td> element for month items near split linepanelBorderColorborder-right-color
.rich-calendar-time-btnDefines styles for a button in the popup element for time sectiontableBackgroundColorborder-color
panelBorderColorborder-right-color, border-bottom-color
.rich-calendar-time-btn-pressDefines styles for a pressed button in the popup element for time sectiontableBackgroundColorborder-right-color, border-bottom-color
panelBorderColorborder-color
calendarWeekBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-calendar-spinner-buttonsDefines styles for a wrapper <td> element for spinner buttons in the popup element for time selectionheaderBackgroundColorbackground-color, border-color
.rich-calendar-spinner-input-containerDefines styles for a wrapper <td> element of a spinner input field in the popup element for time selectioncontrolBackgroundColorbackground-color
panelBorderColorborder-color
subBorderColorborder-right-color, border-bottom-color
.rich-calendar-spinner-inputDefines styles for a spinner input field in the popup element for time sectionbuttonSizeFontfont-size
buttonFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-calendar-editor-layout-shadowDefines styles for the layout shadow of the calendar editorshadowBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-calendar-editor-btn-overDefines styles for the calendar editor button when the pointer is moved ontopanelBorderColorborder-color
calendarSpecBackgroundColorbackground
.rich-calendar-editor-btn-selectedDefines styles for the calendar editor button selectedcalendarCurrentBackgroundColorbackground-color
calendarCurrentTextColorcolor
.rich-calendar-editor-tool-overDefines styles for a hovered toolbar items in the calendar editoradditionalBackgroundColorbackground
tableBackgroundColorborder-color
panelBorderColorborder-right-color, border-bottom-color
.rich-calendar-editor-tool-pressDefines styles for a pressed toolbar items in the calendar editoradditionalBackgroundColorbackground
panelBorderColorborder-color
tableBackgroundColorborder-right-color, border-bottom-color


You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of <rich:calendar> usage and sources for the given example.

How to use JavaScript API see on the RichFaces Users Forum.

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The <rich:colorPicker> component allows you easily select a color or define it in hex, RGB, or HSB input fields. There are two squares in the widget that help you to compare the currently selected color and the already selected color.

The "value" attribute stores the selected color.

The value of the <rich:colorPicker> component could be saved in hex or RGB color models. You can explicitly define a color model in the "colorMode" attribute.

Example:



...
<rich:colorPicker value="#{bean.color}" colorMode="rgb" />
...
        

This is the result:


The <rich:colorPicker> component has two representation states: flat and inline. With the help of the "flat" attribute you can define whether the component is rendered flat.

Example:



...
<rich:colorPicker value="#{bean.color}" flat="true" />
...
        

The component specific event handler "onbeforeshow" captures the event which occurs before the <rich:colorPicker> widget is opened. The "onbeforeshow" attribute could be used in order to cancel this event. See the example below:



...
<rich:colorPicker value="#{bean.color}" onbeforeshow="if (!confirm('Are you sure you want to change a color?')){return false;}" />
...
     

The "showEvent" attribute defines the event that shows <rich:colorPicker> widget. The default value is "onclick".

The <rich:colorPicker> component allows to use the "icon" facet.

You can also customize <rich:colorPicker> rainbow slider ( ) with the help of the "arrows" facet.



...
<rich:colorPicker value="#{bean.color}">
    <f:facet name="icon">
        <h:graphicImage value="/pages/colorPicker_ico.png" />
    </f:facet>
    <f:facet name="arrows">
        <f:verbatim>        
            <div style="width: 33px; height: 5px; border: 1px solid #bed6f8; background:none;" />
        </f:verbatim>
    </f:facet>
</rich:colorPicker>
...
        

This is the result:


Table of <rich:colorPicker> attributes.



Table 6.169. Style classes (selectors) with the corresponding skin parameters

Class (selector) nameDescriptionSkin ParameterCSS properties mapped
.rich-colorpicker-extDefines styles for the component widgetpanelBorderColorborder-color
generalBackgroundColorbackground-color
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-color-picker-span inputDefines styles for the input field that contains selected colorpanelBorderColorborder-color
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-color-picker-ext inputDefines styles for the input field within the component widgetcontrolTextColorcolor
controlBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-color-picker-ext labelDefines styles for the label within the component widgetgeneralTextColorcolor
generalSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.rich-color-picker-iconDefines styles for the component iconpanelBorderColorborder-color
.rich-color-picker-colorDefines styles for the color palettepanelBorderColorborder-color
.rich-color-picker-new-colorDefines styles for the already selected colorpanelBorderColorborder-color
.rich-color-picker-current-colorDefines styles for the currently selected colorpanelBorderColorborder-color
.rich-color-picker-cancelDefines styles for the "Cancel" buttonbuttonFontSizefont-size
buttonFamilyFont, generalFamilyFontfont-family
headerTextColorcolor
headerBackgroundColor, panelBorderColorborder-color
headerBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-color-picker-submitDefines styles for the "Apply" buttonbuttonFontSize, panelBorderColorfont-size
buttonFamilyFont, generalFamilyFontfont-family
headerTextColorcolor
headerBackgroundColor, panelBorderColorborder-color
headerBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-color-picker-colors-inputDefines styles for the hex, RGB, and HSB input filedsgeneralSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
generalTextColorcolor
panelBorderColorborder-color
controlBackgroundColorbackground-color


You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On the component LiveDemo page you can see the example of the <rich:colorPicker> component usage and sources for the given example.

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The <rich:comboBox> is a simplified suggestion box component, that provides input with client-side suggestions. The component could be in two states:

There are two ways to get values for the popup list of suggestions:

Popup list content loads at page render time. No additional requests could be performed on the popup calling.

The "value" attribute stores value from input after submit.

The "directInputSuggestions" attribute defines, how the first value from the suggested one appears in an input field. If it's "true" the first value appears with the suggested part highlighted.


...
<rich:comboBox value="#{bean.state}" suggestionValues="#{bean.suggestions}" directInputSuggestions="true" />   
...

This is a result:


The "selectFirstOnUpdate" attribute defines if the first value from suggested is selected in a popup list. If it's "false" nothing is selected in the list before a user hovers some item with the mouse.


...
<rich:comboBox value="#{bean.state}" suggestionValues="#{bean.suggestions}" selectFirstOnUpdate="false" />           
...

This is a result:


The "defaultLabel" attribute defines the default label of the input element. Simple example is placed below.


...
<rich:comboBox value="#{bean.state}" suggestionValues="#{bean.suggestions}" defaultLabel="Select a city..." />     
...

This is a result:


With the help of the "disabled" attribute you can disable the whole <rich:comboBox> component. See the following example.


...
<rich:comboBox value="#{bean.state}" suggestionValues="#{bean.suggestions}" defaultLabel="Select a city..." disabled="true" />       
...

This is a result:


The "enableManualInput" attribute enables/disables input field, so when enableManualInput = "false", user can only pick the value manually and has no possibility to type in the value (default value is "false").

The <rich:comboBox> component provides to use specific event attributes:

  • "onlistcall" which is fired before the list opening and gives you a possibility to cancel list popup/update

  • "onselect" which gives you a possibility to send Ajax request when item is selected

The <rich:comboBox> component allows to use sizes attributes:

  • "listWidth" and "listHeight" attributes specify popup list sizes with values in pixels

  • "width" attribute customizes the size of input element with values in pixels.

Table of <rich:comboBox> attributes.



Table 6.173. Style classes (selectors) with the corresponding skin parameters

Class (selector) nameDescriptionSkin ParameterCSS properties mapped
input.rich-combobox-button-background, input.rich-combobox-button-background-disabled, input.rich-combobox-button-background-inactiveDefine styles for a background of the combobox button, disabled button and inactive button respectivelytabBackgroundColorbackground-color
input.rich-combobox-button-pressed-backgroundDefine styles for a background of the pressed buttontabBackgroundColorbackground-color
input.rich-combobox-button, input.rich-combobox-button-inactive, input.rich-combobox-button-disabledDefine styles for the combobox button, disabled button and inactive button respectivelypanelBorderColorborder-top-color
panelBorderColorborder-left-color
.rich-combobox-font, input.rich-combobox-fontDefine styles for a fontgeneralSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
generalTextColorcolor
input.rich-combobox-font-disabled, .rich-combobox-font-disabledDefines styles for a disabled fontheaderFamilyFontfont-family
headerSizeFontfont-size
input.rich-combobox-font-inactive, .rich-combobox-font-inactiveDefines styles for an inactive fontgeneralSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
generalTextColorcolor
.rich-combobox-itemDefines styles for an itemgeneralSizeFontfont-size
generalFamilyFontfont-family
generalTextColorcolor
.rich-combobox-input, .rich-combobox-input-disabled, .rich-combobox-input-inactiveDefine styles for an input field, a disabled input field, an inactive input field respectivelycontrolBackgroundColorbackground-color
panelBorderColorborder-bottom-color
panelBorderColorborder-right-color
.rich-combobox-item-selectedDefines styles for a selected itemheaderBackgroundColorbackground-color, border-color
headerTextColorcolor
.rich-combobox-list-decorationDefines styles for a list decorationpanelBorderColorborder-color
tableBackgroundColorbackground
input.rich-combobox-button-hoveredDefines styles for a hovered buttonselectControlColorborder-color


You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

Visit the ComboBox page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

expand all

The <rich:editor> is fully based on TinyMCE web based Javascript HTML WYSIWYG editor control and supports all of the features it has. The <rich:editor> adapts the TinyMCE editor for JSF environment and adds some functional capabilities.

The easiest way to place the <rich:editor> on a page is as follows:

Example:


<rich:editor value="#{bean.editorValue}" />

Implementation of <rich:editor> provides three ways to define the properties of the component:

The three methods are described in details in the chapter.

The most important properties are implemented as attributes and you can define them as any other attribute. The attributes of the <rich:editor> component match the corresponding properties of TinyMCE editor.

For example, a theme for the editor can be defined using the "theme" attribute like this:

Example:



<rich:editor value="#{bean.editorValue}" theme="advanced" />

Setting a different skin for the editor can be done using the "skin" attribute.

Another useful property that is implemented at attribute level is "viewMode" . The attribute switches between "visual" and "source" modes, toggling between modes is performed setting the attribute to "visual" and "source" respectively. Implementation of <rich:editor> also implies that you can change the modes dynamically setting the value of the "viewMode" attribute using EL-expression.

Example:


...  
<rich:editor value="#{editor.submit}" theme="advanced" viewMode="#{editor.viewMode}" >
    ...
    <h:selectOneRadio value="#{editor.viewMode}" onchange="submit();">
        <f:selectItem itemValue="visual" itemLabel="visual" />
        <f:selectItem itemValue="source" itemLabel="source" />
    </h:selectOneRadio>
    ...
</rich:editor>
...

Most configuration options that TinyMCE provides can be applied using <f:param> JSF tag. The syntax is quite simple: the "name" attribute should contain the option, the "value" attribute assigns some value to the option.

For example, this code adds some buttons to the editor and positions the toolbar.

Example:


...
<rich:editor value="#{bean.editorValue}" theme="advanced" plugins="save,paste" >
          <f:param name="theme_advanced_buttons1" value="bold,italic,underline, cut,copy,paste,pasteword"/>
          <f:param name="theme_advanced_toolbar_location" value="top"/>                               
          <f:param name="theme_advanced_toolbar_align" value="left"/>
</rich:editor>
...

This is what you get as a result:


The third way to configure the <rich:editor> is to use configuration file (.properties)

This method eases your life if you need to configure multiple instances of the <rich:editor> : you configure the editor once and in one spot and the configuration properties can be applied to any <rich:editor> in your application.

To implement this type of configuration you need to take a few steps:

  • Create a configuration file (.properties) in the classpath folder and add some properties to it. Use standard syntax for the .properties files: parameter=value. Here is an example of configuration file:

    Example:

    
    theme="advanced"
    plugins="save,paste"
    theme_advanced_buttons1="bold,italic,underline, cut,copy,paste,pasteword"
    theme_advanced_toolbar_location="top"
    theme_advanced_toolbar_align="left"
  • The properties stored in configuration file are passed to the <rich:editor> via "configuration" attribute which takes the name of the configuration file as a value (with out .properties extension).

    For example, if you named the configuration file "editorconfig", you would address it as follows:

    Example:

    
    ...
    <rich:editor value="#{bean.editorValue}" configuration="editorconfig"/>
    ...
  • Alternately, you can use a EL-expression to define a configuration file. This way you can dynamically change the sets of configuration properties.

    For example, you have two configuration files "configurationAdvanced" and "configurationSimple" and you want them to be applied under some condition.

    To do this you need to bind "configuration" attribute to the appropriate bean property like this.

    Example:

    
    ...
    <rich:editor value="#{bean.editorValue}" configuration="#{editor.configuration}" />
    ...

    Your Java file should look like this.

    ...
    
    String configuration;
    if(some condition){//defines some condition
            configuration = "configurationAdvanced"; //the name on the file with advanced properties    
    }
    else{
            configuration= "configurationSimple"; //the name on the file with simplified properties 
    }
    ...

You also might want to add some custom plug-ins to your editor. You can read about how to create a plugin in TinyMCE Wiki article.

Adding a custom plugin also requires a few steps to take. Though, the procedure is very similar to adding a configuration file.

This is what you need to add a plugin:

  • Create a .properties file and put the name of the plug-in and a path to it into the file. The file can contain multiple plug-in declarations. Your .properties file should be like this.

    Example:

    
    ...
    pluginName=/mytinymceplugins/plugin1Name/editor_plugin.js
    ...
  • Use the "customPlugins" attribute to specify the .properties file with a plugin name and a path to it.

    If your .properties file is named "myPlugins", then your will have this code on the page.

    Example:

    
    ...
    <rich:editor theme="advanced" customPlugins="myPlugins" plugins="pluginName" /> 
    ...

Note:

Some plug-ins which available for download might have some dependencies on TinyMCE scripts. For example, dialog pop-ups require tiny_mce_popup.js script file. Assuming that you will not plug custom plugins to the RF jar with editor component (standard TinyMCE plugins creation implies that plugins are put into TinyMCE's corresponding directory) you should manually add required TinyMCE scripts to some project folder and correct the js includes.

The implementation of the <rich:editor> component has two methods for handling events.

The attributes take some function name as a value with is triggered on the appropriate event. You need to use standard JavaScript function calling syntax.

  • Using attributes ( "onchange" , "oninit" , "onsave" , "onsetup" )

    Example:

    
    ...
    <rich:editor value="#{bean.editorValue}" onchange="myCustomOnChangeHandler()" />
    ...
  • Using <f:param> as a child element defining the "name" attribute with one of the TinyMCE's callbacks and the "value" attribute takes the function name you want to be called on the corresponding event as the value. Note, that the syntax in this case is a bit different: parentheses are not required.

    Example:

    
    ...
    <rich:editor value="#{bean.editorValue}">
            <f:param name="onchange" value="myCustomOnChangeHandler" />
    </rich:editor>
    ...

The <rich:editor> component has a build-in converter that renders HTML code generated by the editor to Seam text (you can read more on Seam in Seam guide.), it also interprets Seam text passed to the <rich:editor> and renders it to HTML. The converter can be enable with the "useSeamText" attribute.

Example:

This HTML code generated by editor


...
<p><a href="http://mysite.com">Lorem ipsum</a> <i>dolor sit</i> amet, ea <u>commodo</u> consequat.</p>
...

will be parsed to the following Seam text:


...
[Lorem ipsum=>http://mysite.com] *dolor sit* amet, ea _commodo_ consequat.
...

Accordingly, if the Seam text is passed to the component it will be parsed to HTML code.

Table of <rich:editor> attributes.


Table 6.176. Style classes (selectors) with the corresponding skin parameters

Class (selector) nameDescriptionSkin ParameterCSS properties mapped
.richfacesSkin a:hover, .richfacesSkin a:link, .richfacesSkin a:visited, .richfacesSkin a:activeDefines styles for links stategeneralTextColorcolor
.richfacesSkin tableDefines styles for the wrapper <table> element of the editoradditionalBackgroundColorbackground
.richfacesSkin iframeDefines styles for the editor text areatableBackgroundColorbackground
.richfacesSkin .mceExternalToolbarDefines styles for the toolbarpanelBorderColorborder-color
.richfacesSkin table.mceLayoutDefines styles for the table layoutpanelBorderColorborder-left-color, border-right-color
.richfacesSkin table.mceLayout tr.mceFirst tdDefines styles for the toolbar elementspanelBorderColorborder-top-color
.richfacesSkin table.mceLayout tr.mceLast tdDefines styles for the editor windowpanelBorderColorborder-bottom-color
.richfacesSkin .mceIframeContainerDefines styles for the editor containerpanelBorderColorborder-top-color, border-bottom-color
.richfacesSkin .mceStatusbarDefines styles for the status bargeneralFamilyFontfont-family
generalTextColorcolor
.richfacesSkin a.mceButtonEnabled:hoverDefines styles for the editor buttons hoveredheaderBackgroundColorbackground-color
.richfacesSkin span.mceButtonLabelDefines styles for the editor buttons labelsgeneralFamilyFontfont-family
.richfacesSkin .mceListBox .mceTextDefines styles for the list boxgeneralFamilyFontfont-family
panelBorderColorborder-color
tableBackgroundColorbackground
.richfacesSkin table.mceListBoxEnabled:hover .mceText, .richfacesSkin .mceListBoxSelected .mceTextDefine styles for the list box hovered, selected respectivelytableBackgroundColorbackground
.richfacesSkin div.mceColorSplitMenu tableDefines styles for the wrapper <table> element of the popup element for color selectingtableBackgroundColorbackground
panelBorderColorborder-color
.richfacesSkin .mceColorSplitMenu aDefines styles for the items in the popup element for color selectingpanelBorderColorborder-color
.richfacesSkin .mceColorSplitMenu a.mceMoreColorsDefines styles for the "More Colors" buttonpanelBorderColorborder-color
generalFamilyFontfont-family
.richfacesSkin .mceColorSplitMenu a.mceMoreColors:hoverDefines styles for the "More Colors" button hoveredpanelBorderColorborder-color
additionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
.richfacesSkin a.mceMoreColors:hoverDefines styles for the "More Colors" button hoveredheaderBackgroundColorborder-color
.richfacesSkin .mceColorPreviewDefines styles for the color previewtableBorderColorbackground
.richfacesSkin .mceMenuDefines styles for the menuspanelBorderColorborder-color
.richfacesSkin .mceMenu tableDefines styles for the wrapper <table> element of the menutableBackgroundColorbackground
.richfacesSkin .mceMenu .mceTextDefines styles for the menus labelsgeneralFamilyFontfont-family
generalTextColorcolor
.richfacesSkin .mceMenu .mceMenuItemActiveDefines styles for the active menu itemsadditionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
.richfacesSkin .mceMenu .mceMenuItemEnabled a:hoverDefines styles for the enabled menu items hoveredadditionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
.richfacesSkin td.mceMenuItemSeparatorDefines styles for the menu items separatorpanelBorderColorbackground
.richfacesSkin .mceMenuItemTitle aDefines styles for the titles of the menu itemsadditionalBackgroundColorbackground
panelBorderColorborder-bottom-color
.richfacesSkin .mceMenuItemDisabled .mceTextDefines styles for the disabled menu itemstabDisabledTextColorcolor
.richfacesSkin .mceBlockerDefines styles for the editor blockertableBackgroundColorbackground
.richfacesSkin .mcePlaceHolderDefines styles for the editor place holdertableBorderColorborder-color


You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

expand all

The <rich:fileUpload> component consists of two parts:

There are two places where the uploaded files are stored:

The "uploadData" attribute defines the collection of files uploaded. See the example below.

Example:


...
<rich:fileUpload uploadData="#{bean.data}"/>
...

The "fileUploadedListener" is called at server side after every file uploaded and used for the saving files from temporary folder or RAM.

Example:


...
<rich:fileUpload uploadData="#{bean.data}" fileUploadListener="#{bean.listener}"/>
 ...

The following methods for processing the uploaded files are available:

Automatically files uploading could be performed by means of the "immediateUpload" attribute. If the value of this attribute is "true" files are uploaded automatically once they have been added into the list. All next files in the list are uploaded automatically one by one. If you cancel uploading process next files aren't started to upload till you press the "Upload" button or clear the list.

Example:


...
<rich:fileUpload uploadData="#{bean.data}" fileUploadListener="#{bean.listener}" immediateUpload="true"/>
 ...

The "autoclear" attribute is used to remove automatically files from the list after upload completed. See the simple example below.

Example:


...
<rich:fileUpload uploadData="#{bean.data}" autoclear="true"/>
...

Each file in list waiting for upload has link "Cancel" opposite its name. Clicking this link invokes JS API remove() function, which gets $('id').component.entries[i] as a parameter and removes the particular file from list and from the queue for upload. After a file has been uploaded the link "Cancel" changes to "Clear". Clicking "Clear" invokes clear() JS API function, which also gets ID of the particular entry and removes it from the list. Uploaded to server file itself is kept untouched.

The <rich:fileUpload> component provides following restrictions:

The <rich:fileUpload> component provides a number of specific event attributes:

The <rich:fileUpload> component has an embedded Flash module that adds extra functionality to the component. The module is enabled with "allowFlash" attribute set to "true".

These are the additional features that the Flash module provides:

Apart from uploading files to the sever without using Ajax, the Flash module provides a number of useful API functions that can be used to obtain information about the uploaded file.

There are 2 ways to obtain the data stored in the FileUploadEntry object.

  • By means of JavaScript on the client side. Use the following syntax for that entries[i].propertyName. For example entries[0].state will return the state of the file that is being processed or has just been processed.

  • The properties of FileUploadEntry object can be retrieved using the entry.propertyName expression in the specific event attributes. For example, onupload="alert(event.memo.entry.fileName);" will display a message with the name of the file at the very moment when upload operation starts. A full list of properties can be found in RichFaces Developer Guide section on properties and their attributes.

The given bellow code sample demonstrates how the properties can be used. Please study it carefully.


...
<head>
        <script>
                function _onaddHandler (e) {
                    var i = 0;
                        for (; i < e.memo.entries.lenghti++) {
                                alert(e.memo.entries[i].creator);  //Shows creators of the added files
                        }
                }

                function _onerrorhandle(e) {
                        alert(e.memo.entry.fileName + "file was not uploaded due  transfer error");
                }
        </script>
</head>
 ...

Moreover, embedded Flash module provides a smoother representation of progress bar during the uploading process: the polling is performed is not by Ajax, but by means of the flash module.


However, the Flash module doesn't perform any visual representation of the component.

In order to customize the information regarding the ongoing process you could use "label" facet with the following macrosubstitution:

  • {B}, {KB}, {MB} contains the size of file uploaded in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes respectively

  • {_B}, {_KB}, {_MB} contains the remain file size to upload in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes respectively

  • {ss}, {mm}, {hh} contains elapsed time in seconds, minutes and hours respectively

Example:


...
<rich:fileUpload uploadData="#{bean.data}" fileUploadListener="#{bean.listener}">
        <f:facet name="label">
                <h:outputText value="{_KB}KB from {KB}KB uploaded --- {mm}:{ss}" />
        </f:facet>
</rich:fileUpload>
...

This is the result:


You could define labels of the component controls with the help of "addControlLabel" , "clearAllControlLabel" , "clearControlLabel" , "stopEntryControlLabel" , "uploadControlLabel" attributes. See the following example.

Example:


...
<rich:fileUpload addControlLabel="Add file..." clearAllControlLabel="Clear all" clearControlLabel="Clear"
                        stopEntryControlLabel="Stop process" uploadControlLabel="Upload file"/>
...

This is the result:


The <rich:fileUpload> component allows to use sizes attributes:

  • "listHeight" attribute specifies a height for list of files in pixels

  • "listWidth" attribute specifies a width for list of files in pixels

In order to disable the whole component you could use the "disabled" attribute. See the following example.

Example:


...
<rich:fileUpload disabled="true"/>
...

This is the result:


It's possible to handle events for fileUpload using JavaScript code. A simplest example of JavaScript API usage is placed below:

Example:


...
<rich:fileUpload  id="upload" disabled="false"/>
<h:commandButton onclick="${rich:component('upload')}.disable();" value="Disable" />
...

The <rich:fileUpload> component also provides a number of JavaScript properties, that can be used to process uploaded files, file states etc. The given below example illustrates how the entries[0].state property can be used to get access to the file state. Full list of JavaScript properties can be found below.


...
<rich:fileUpload fileUploadListener="#{fileUploadBean.listener}"
                maxFilesQuantity="#{fileUploadBean.uploadsAvailable}"
                id="upload"
                immediateUpload="#{fileUploadBean.autoUpload}"
                acceptedTypes="jpg, gif, png, bmp"/>
        <a4j:support event="onuploadcomplete" reRender="info"  />
</rich:fileUpload>
<h:commandButton onclick="if($('j_id232:upload').component.entries[0].state == FileUploadEntry.UPLOAD_SUCCESS) alert ('DONE');" value="Check file state"/>
...

The <rich:fileUpload> component allows to use internationalization method to redefine and localize the labels. You could use application resource bundle and define RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_CANCEL_LABEL, RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_STOP_LABEL, RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_ADD_LABEL, RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_UPLOAD_LABEL, RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_CLEAR_LABEL, RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_CLEAR_ALL_LABEL, RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_PROGRESS_LABEL, RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_SIZE_ERROR_LABLE, RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_TRANSFER_ERROR_LABLE, RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_ENTRY_STOP_LABEL, RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_ENTRY_CLEAR_LABEL, RICH_FILE_UPLOAD_ENTRY_CANCEL_LABEL there.

To make <rich:fileUpload> component work properly with MyFaces extensions, the order in which filters are defined and mapped in web.xml is important. See corresponding FAQ chapter.

Table of <rich:fileUpload> attributes.



Table 6.180. Client-side object properties

PropertyDescription
entriesReturns a array of all files in the list
entries.lengthReturns the number of files in the list
entries[i].fileNameReturns the file name, that is retrieved by the array index
entries[i].state Returns the file state. Possible states are
  • "initialized" - the file is added, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.INITIALIZED constant

  • "progress" - the file is being uploaded, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.UPLOAD_IN_PROGRESS constant

  • "ready" - uploading is in process, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.READY constant The file will be uploaded on queue order.

  • "canceled" - uploading of the file is canceled, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.UPLOAD_CANCELED constant

  • "done" - the file is uploaded successfully, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.UPLOAD_SUCCESS constant

  • "transfer_error" - a file transfer error occurred, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.UPLOAD_TRANSFER_ERROR constant

  • "size_error" - the file exceeded maximum size, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.UPLOAD_SIZE_ERROR constant

entries[i].size Returns the size of the file. Available in flash enabled version only
entries[i].TypeReturns the mime type of the file. Available in flash enabled version only
entries[i].creator Returns the name of the author of the file. Available in flash enabled version only
entries[i].creationDateReturns the date when the file was created. Available in flash enabled version only
entries[i].modificationDateReturns the date of the last file modification. Available in flash enabled version only

Table 6.181. Client-side object properties available with specific event attributes

PropertyDescription
entry.state Returns the file state. Possible states are
  • "initialized" - the file is added, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.INITIALIZED constant

  • "progress" - the file is being uploaded, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.UPLOAD_IN_PROGRESS constant

  • "ready" - uploading is in process, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.READY constant The file will be uploaded on queue order.

  • "canceled" - uploading of the file is canceled, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.UPLOAD_CANCELED constant

  • "done" - the file is uploaded successfully, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.UPLOAD_SUCCESS constant

  • "transfer_error" - a file transfer error occurred, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.UPLOAD_TRANSFER_ERROR constant

  • "size_error" - the file exceeded maximum size, corresponds to FileUploadEntry.UPLOAD_SIZE_ERROR constant

entry.fileName Returns the file's name. This property works with all event handlers except for "onadd".
entry.size Returns the size of the file. Available in flash enabled version only
entry.TypeReturns the mime type of the file. Available in flash enabled version only
entry.creator Returns the name of the author of the file. Available in flash enabled version only
entry.creationDateReturns the date when the file was created. Available in flash enabled version only
entry.modificationDateReturns the date of the last file modification. Available in flash enabled version only


Table 6.183. Style classes (selectors) with the corresponding skin parameters

Class (selector) nameDescriptionSkin ParameterCSS properties mapped
.rich-fileupload-fontDefines styles for a font of buttons and itemsgeneralFamilyFontfont-family
generalSizeFontfont-size
.rich-fileupload-table-tdDefines styles for the <td> elements of the added itemtableBorderColorborder-bottom-color
.rich-fileupload-list-decorDefines styles for a wrapper <div> element of a fileUploadtableBorderColorborder-color
tableBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-fileupload-ancDefines styles for the "Cancel", "Stop", "Clear" linksgeneralLinkColorcolor
.rich-fileupload-toolbar-decorDefines styles for a toolbaradditionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
tableBorderColorborder-bottom-color
tableBackgroundColorborder-top-color, border-left-color
.rich-fileupload-button-borderDefines styles for a border of buttonstableBorderColorborder-color
.rich-fileupload-enrty-disDefines styles for a disabled entrytrimColorbackground-color
.rich-fileupload-button-contentDefines styles for the buttons contentgeneralTextColorcolor
.rich-fileupload-buttonDefines styles for a buttonstrimColorbackground-color
.rich-fileupload-button-lightDefines styles for a highlight of buttontrimColorbackground-color
selectControlColorborder-color
.rich-fileupload-button-pressDefines styles for a pressed buttonselectControlColorborder-color
additionalBackgroundColorbackground-color
.rich-fileupload-ico-add-disDefines styles for a disabled "Add" button icontableBorderColorcolor
.rich-fileupload-ico-start-disDefines styles for a disabled "Upload" button icontableBorderColorcolor
.rich-fileupload-ico-clear-disDefines styles for a disabled "Clear" button icontableBorderColorcolor


You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On RichFaces LiveDemo page you can see an example of <rich:fileUpload> usage and sources for the given example.

<rich:fileUpload> with MyFaces article describes how to avoid problems with <rich:fileUpload> compenent caused by wrong application configuration.

expand all

The <rich:inplaceInput> component was designed to facilitate displaying and inputting (editing) some data.

The "value" attribute is a value-binding expression for the current value of the component.

The component has three functional states:

The "editEvent" attribute provides an option to assign a JavaScript action to initiate the change of the state from view/changed to edit. The default value is "onclick".

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceInput value="#{bean.value}" editEvent="ondblclick"/> 
... 

The <rich:inplaceInput> component provides specific event attributes:

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceInput value="#{bean.value}" oneditactivation="if (!confirm('Are you sure you want to change the value?')){return false;}" />
... 

The given code illustrates how "oneditactivation" attribute works, namely when the state is being changed from view to edit, a confirmation window with a message "Are you sure you want to change value?" comes up.

Using the boolean "selectOnEdit" attribute set to true, the text in the input field will be selected when the change from view/changed state to edit occurs.

This is the result:


If the <rich:inplaceInput> loses focus, input data is saved automatically and the component displays a new value. Additionally, the data is saved when "Enter" is pressed. Nevertheless, you can use the "showControls" attribute, which makes "Save" and "Cancel" buttons appear next to the input field. If the controls are used, data is not saved automatically when the form loses focus: user has to confirm that he/she wants to save/discard the data explicitly. In both cases (with controls or without them) the input data can be discarded by pressing "Esc" key.

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceInput value="#{bean.value}" showControls="true"/>
... 

You can also position the controls relatively to the input field, by means of

  • the "controlsHorizontalPosition" attribute with "left", "right" and "center" definitions

  • the "controlsVerticalPosition " attribute with "bottom", "center" and "top" definitions

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceInput value="#{bean.value}" showControls="true" controlsVerticalPosition="bottom" controlsHorizontalPosition="left"/>
... 

This is the result:


It is also possible to use "controls" facet in order to replace the default controls with facets content. See the example below.

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceInput defaultLabel="Click here to edit" showControls="true" controlsHorizontalPosition="left" controlsVerticalPosition="bottom" id="inplaceInput">
    <f:facet name="controls">
        <h:commandButton value="Save" onclick="#{rich:component('inplaceInput')}.save();" type="button" />
        <h:commandButton value="Cancel" onclick="#{rich:component('inplaceInput')}.cancel();" type="button" />
    </f:facet>
</rich:inplaceInput>
... 

This is the result:


Note:

The "controls" facet also implies using "showControls" attribute and it has to be defined as "true".

Redefinition of the "save" and "cancel" icons can be performed using "saveControlIcon" and "cancelControlIcon" attributes. You need to define the path to where your images are located.

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceInput value="#{bean.value}" defaultLabel='click to edit'
    showControls="true"
    controlsHorizontalPosition="left"
    controlsVerticalPosition="top"
    saveControlIcon="/images/cancel.gif"
    cancelControlIcon="/images/save.gif"/> 
    ... 

The <rich:inplaceInput> component could be rendered with <span> or <div> elements to display its value. In order to change default <span> output, use "layout" attribute with "block" value.

The <rich:inplaceInput> component supports the standard "tabindex" attribute. When the component gets focus the edit mode is activated.

The "inputWidth" , "minInputWidth" , "maxInputWidth" attributes are provided to specify the width, minimal width and maximal width for the input element respectively.


Table of <rich:inplaceInput> attributes.






You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On the component Live Demo page you can see the example of <rich:inplaceIput> usage and sources for the given example.

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The "value" attribute is a value-binding expression for the current value of the component.

The <rich:inplaceSelect> component has three functional states:

You can form the list of the options using <f:selectItem/> and <f:selectItems/> JSF components.

Please, see the example below.

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceSelect value="#{bean.inputValue}" defaultLabel="click to edit">
    <f:selectItems  value="#{bean.selectItems}"/>
    <f:selectItem itemValue="1" itemLabel="factory"/>
    <f:selectItem itemValue="2" itemLabel="newspaper"/>
</rich:inplaceSelect>
...

In the example above the value of the selected item is available via "value" attribute.

The "editEvent" attribute provides an option to assign a JavaScript action that initiates the change of the state from view to edit. The default value is "onclick".

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceSelect value="#{bean.inputValue}" defaultLabel="Double Click to edit" editEvent="ondblclick">
    <f:selectItems value="#{demo.selectItems}" />
</rich:inplaceSelect>
...

The <rich:inplaceSelect> component provides specific event attributes:

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceSelect value="#{bean.inputValue}" oneditactivation="if (!confirm('Are you sure you want to change the value?')){return false;}">
    <f:selectItems value="#{demo.selectItems}" />
</rich:inplaceSelect>
... 

The given code illustrates how "oneditactivation" attribute works, namely when the state is being changed from view to edit, a confirmation window with a message "Are you sure you want to change value?" comes up.

To prevent opening the drop-down list by default, once edit state is activated, set the "openOnEdit" attribute to "false". The default value is "true".

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceSelect value="#{bean.inputValue}" showControls="true" openOnEdit="false">
    <f:selectItems  value="#{bean.selectItems}"/>
</rich:inplaceSelect>
...

This is the result:


Nowever, if you want to confirm the data saving explicitly you can use the "showControls" attribute, which makes "Save" and "Cancel" buttons (displayed as icons) appear next to the input field. Edit state can be deactivated by pressing "Esc" key. An option in the drop-drown list can be also selected by pressing "Enter".

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceSelect value="#{bean.inputValue}" showControls="true">
    <f:selectItems  value="#{bean.selectItems}"/>
</rich:inplaceSelect>
...

This is the result:


You can also position the controls relatively to the input field, by means of

  • the "controlsHorizontalPosition" attribute with "left", "right" and "center" definitions

  • the "controlsVerticalPosition " attribute with "bottom" and "top" definitions

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceSelect value="#{bean.inputValue}" controlsHorizontalPosition="left" controlsVerticalPosition="center" showControls="true">
    <f:selectItems  value="#{bean.selectItems}"/>
</rich:inplaceSelect>
... 

This is the result:


It is also possible to use "controls" facet in order to replace the default controls with facets content. See the example below.

Example:


...
<rich:inplaceSelect value="#{bean.inputValue}" showControls="true">
    <f:facet name="controls">
        <button onclick="#{rich:component('inplaceSelect')}.save();" type="button">Save</button>
        <button onclick="#{rich:component('inplaceSelect')}.cancel();" type="button">Cancel</button> 
    </f:facet>  
    <f:selectItems  value="#{bean.selectItems}"/>
</rich:inplaceSelect>
... 

This is the result:


Note:

The "controls" facet also implies using "showControls" attribute and it has to be defined as "true".

The <rich:inplaceSelect> component could be rendered with <span> or <div> elements to display its value. In order to change default <span> output, use the "layout" attribute with "block" value.

The <rich:inplaceSelect> component supports the standard "tabindex" attribute. When the component gets focus the edit mode is activated and drop-down list is opened.

The "selectWidth" , "minSelectWidth" and "maxSelectWidth" attributes are provided to specify the width, minimal width and maximal width for the input element respectively.

In order to specify the height and width parameters for the list items of the component, you can use "listHeight" and " listWidth" attributes.

Table of <rich:inplaceSelect> attributes.






You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On the component Live Demo page you can see the example of <rich:inplaceSelect> usage and sources for the given example.

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<rich:inputNumberSlider> is used to facilitate your data input with rich UI Controls.

Here is the simplest variant of a slider definition with "minValue" , "maxValue" and "step" (by default is "1") attributes, which define the beginning and the end of a numerical area and a slider property step.

Example:


<rich:inputNumberSlider></rich:inputNumberSlider>

Here is a component generated on a page:


Using "showInput" (default value is "true") and "enableManualInput" (default value is "true") attributes, it's possible to output the input area near the slider, and make it read-only or editable.

To remove input area use showInput = "false" :

Example:


<rich:inputNumberSlider minValue="1"  maxValue="100" showInput="false"/>

It's displayed on a page like this:


It's also possible to switch off displaying of "boundary values" and a toolTip showing on a handle drawing. This could be performed with the help of the component defined attributes: "showBoundaryValues" which is responsible for "boundary values" displaying (default value is "true") and "showToolTip" which is responsible for tooltTip displaying (default value is "true").

Moreover, to add e.g. some JavaScript effects, events defined on it are used.

  • "onchange"

  • "onmouseover"

  • "onclick"

  • "onfocus"

  • "onmouseout"

  • etc.

The "label" attribute is a generic attribute. The "label" attribute provides an association between the component and the message that the component (indirectly) produced. This attribute defines the parameters of a localized error and informational messages that occur as a result of conversion, validation, or other application actions during the request processing lifecycle. With the help of this attribute you can replace the last parameter substitution token shown in the messages. For example, {1} for "DoubleRangeValidator.MAXIMUM" , {2} for "ShortConverter.SHORT".

The "showArrows" boolean attribute when set to "true" enables additional controls for increasing and decreasing slider value. The controls (arrows by default) are placed in the beginning and in the end of a slider track:


Clicking an arrow changes the driven value on the amount defined with "step" attribute. Keepeng an arrow control pressed changes the value continuous. Time that value takes to change from one step to another is definded with "delay" attribute.

Table of <rich:inputNumberSlider> attributes.




You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On the component Live Demo page you can see the example of <rich:inputNumberSlider> usage and sources for the given example.

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<rich:inputNumberSpinner> is used to facilitate your data input with rich UI Controls.

Here is the simplest variant of spinner definition with "minValue" , "maxValue" and "step" (on default is "1") attributes, which define the beginning and the end of numerical area and a spinner step.

Example:


...
<rich:inputNumberSpinner minValue="1" maxValue="100"/>
...

It generates on a page:


There are also several attributes to define functionality peculiarities:

  • "cycled" if the attribute is "true" after the current value reaches the border value it's be reversed to another border value after next increasing/decreasing. In other case possibilities of next increasing/decreasing are locked

  • "disabled" is an attribute that defines whether a component is active on a page

  • "enableManualInput" is an attribute that defines whether a keyboard input is possible or only UI controls could be used

Moreover, to add e.g. some JavaScript effects, events defined on it are used

  • "onchange"

  • "onmouseover"

  • "onclick"

  • "onfocus"

  • "onmouseout"

  • etc.

The "label" attribute is a generic attribute. The "label" attribute provides an association between a component, and the message that the component (indirectly) produced. This attribute defines the parameters of localized error and informational messages that occur as a result of conversion, validation, or other application actions during the request processing lifecycle. With the help of this attribute you can replace the last parameter substitution token shown in the messages. For example, {1} for "DoubleRangeValidator.MAXIMUM" , {2} for "ShortConverter.SHORT" .

On the component Live Demo page you can see the example of <rich:inputNumberSpinner> usage and sources for the given example.

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There are 3 main component attributes:

To create the simplest variant on a page use the following syntax:


...
                <h:inputText id="city" value="#{capitalsBean.capital}" />
                <rich:suggestionbox for="city" var="result"
                suggestionAction="#{capitalsBean.autocomplete}">
                <h:column>
                <h:outputText value="#{result.name}" />
                </h:column>
                </rich:suggestionbox>
                ...

There is a managed bean:

...

                public class SBbean {
                private ArrayList&lt;Capital&gt; capitals = new ArrayList&lt;Capital&gt;();
                private ArrayList&lt;String&gt; capitalsNames = new
                ArrayList&lt;String&gt;();
                private List&lt;SelectItem&gt; capitalsOptions = new
                ArrayList&lt;SelectItem&gt;();
                private String capital = "";
                public List&lt;Capital&gt; autocomplete(Object suggest) {
                String pref = (String) suggest;
                ArrayList&lt;Capital&gt; result = new ArrayList&lt;Capital&gt;();
                Iterator&lt;Capital&gt; iterator = getCapitals().iterator();
                while (iterator.hasNext()) {
                Capital elem = ((Capital) iterator.next());
                if ((elem.getName() != null &amp;&amp; elem.getName().toLowerCase()
                .indexOf(pref.toLowerCase()) == 0)
                || "".equals(pref)) {
                result.add(elem);
                }
                }
                return result;
                }
                public SBbean() {
                URL rulesUrl = getClass().getResource("capitals-rules.xml");
                Digester digester = DigesterLoader.createDigester(rulesUrl);
                digester.push(this);
                try {
                digester.parse(getClass().getResourceAsStream("capitals.xml"));
                } catch (IOException e) {
                throw new FacesException(e);
                } catch (SAXException e) {
                throw new FacesException(e);
                }
                capitalsNames.clear();
                for (Capital cap : capitals) {
                capitalsNames.add(cap.getName());
                }
                capitalsOptions.clear();
                for (Capital cap : capitals) {
                capitalsOptions.add(new SelectItem(cap.getName(), cap.getState()));
                }
                }
                public String addCapital(Capital capital) {
                capitals.add(capital);
                return null;
                }
                }   

In the example above when suggestion item (city) is selected it is set as a value of <h:inputText id="city"/> .

Here is a result:


The <rich:suggestionbox> component could get any collection and outputs it in a popup in several columns. The "fetchValue" attribute points to the data that is inserted into the input field if a particular row is selected or clicked from the suggested list. Therefore when some string is chosen input receives the proper value.


...
                <h:inputText id="city" value="#{capitalsBean.capital}" />
                <rich:suggestionbox for="city" var="result"
                fetchValue="#{result.state}"
                suggestionAction="#{capitalsBean.autocomplete}">
                <h:column>
                <h:outputText value="#{result.name}" />
                </h:column>
                <h:column>
                <h:outputText value="#{result.state}" />
                </h:column>
                </rich:suggestionbox>
                ...

In the example above if you choose any string input will receive the corresponding value from the second column containing #{result.state} .

Here is a result:


There is also one more important attribute named "tokens" that specifies separators after which a set of some characters sequence is defined as a new prefix beginning from this separator and not from the string beginning.

Example:


...
                <h:inputText id="city" value="#{capitalsBean.capital}" />
                <rich:suggestionbox for="city" var="result"
                suggestionAction="#{capitalsBean.autocomplete}"
                tokens=",">
                <h:column>
                <h:outputText value="#{result.name}" />
                </h:column>
                </rich:suggestionbox>
                ...

This example shows that when a city is chosen and a comma and first letter character are input, Ajax request is called again, but it submits a value starting from the last token:


For a multiple definition use either " ,.;[] " syntax as a value for "tokens" attribute or link a parameter to some bean property that transmits separators collection.

There is such feature of the <rich:suggestionbox> component as object selection . If you want to get the selected item as object on the client side you should set the value of the "usingSuggestObjects" attribute to "true". After that you should specify JavaScript method in the "onobjectchange" attribute and pass the suggestion object as a parameter:


...
                <h:inputText id="city" value="#{capitalsBean.capital}" />
                <rich:suggestionbox for="city" var="result"
                suggestionAction="#{capitalsBean.autocomplete}"
                onobjectchange="processObjects(suggestion)"
                usingSuggestObjects="true">
                <h:column>
                <h:outputText value="#{result.name}" />
                </h:column>
                </rich:suggestionbox>
                <h:panelGroup>
                <div id="state"></div>
                </h:panelGroup>
                ...

When the item is selected you can get it as an object on the client side and use getSelectedItems() method to access any object properties:


<script
                type="text/javascript">
                function processObjects(suggestionBox) {
                var items = suggestionBox.getSelectedItems();
                var state;
                if (items &amp;&amp; items.length > 0) {
                for ( var i = 0; i < items.lengthi++) {
                state = items[i].state;
                }
                document.getElementById('state').innerHTML = "State: "+state;
                }else{
                document.getElementById('state').innerHTML = '';
                }
                }
                </script> 

Here is a result:


In addition to attributes common for Ajax action components and limiting requests quantity and frequency, the <rich:suggestionbox> has one more its own attribute limiting requests: the "minChars" attribute. This attribute defines characters quantity inputted into a field after which Ajax requests are called to perform suggestion.

There is possibility to define what is shown if the autocomplete returns empty list. Attribute "nothingLabel" or facet with the same name could be used for this purpose.

Example:


...
                <rich:suggestionbox for="city" var="result"
                suggestionAction="#{capitalsBean.autocomplete}"
                nothingLabel="No cities found">
                <h:column>
                <h:outputText value="#{result.name}" />
                </h:column>
                </rich:suggestionbox>
                ...

Here is a result:


You can also use facets for the further <rich:suggestionbox> customization:


...
                <h:inputText id="city" value="#{capitalsBean.capital}" />
                <rich:suggestionbox for="city" var="result"
                suggestionAction="#{capitalsBean.autocomplete}">
                <f:facet name="nothingLabel">
                <h:outputText value="No cities found" />
                </f:facet>
                <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText value="Select your city" />
                </f:facet>
                <h:column>
                <h:outputText value="#{result.name}" />
                </h:column>
                </rich:suggestionbox>
                ...

Here is a result:


Information about the "process" attribute usage you can findin the "Decide what to process" guide section.

In RichFaces Wiki article about Additional Properties you can find example of getting additional properties.

Table of <rich:suggestionbox> attributes .





You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

Visit <rich:suggestionbox> page at RichFaces Livedemo for examples of component usage and sources.

RichFaces cookbook at JBoss Portal includes some articles that cover different aspects of working with <rich:suggestionbox> :

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RichFaces library provides desktop like complex controls to implement user select functionality.

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The <rich:listShuttle> component consists of the following parts:

The "sourceValue" attribute defines a List or Array of items to be shown in the source list.

The "targetValue" attribute defines a List or Array of items to be shown in the target list.

The "var" attribute could be shared between both Lists or Arrays to define lists on the page.

The "sourceRequired" and "targetRequired" attributes define the case when source and target values are being validated. If the value of both attributes is "true" there should be at least one item in source and target lists. Otherwise validation fails.

Example:


...
<h:form id="myForm">
        <rich:messages>
                <f:facet name="errorMarker">
                        <h:graphicImage value="/images/ajax/error.gif" />   
                </f:facet>
        </rich:messages>
        <rich:listShuttle id="myListShuttle" sourceValue="#{toolBar.freeItems}" targetValue="#{toolBar.items}"  
                                sourceRequired = "true" targetRequired = "true" var="items" converter="listShuttleconverter"
                                sourceCaptionLabel="Source List" targetCaptionLabel="Target List">
                <rich:column>
                        <h:graphicImage value="#{items.iconURI}" />
                </rich:column>
                <rich:column>
                        <h:outputText value="#{items.label}" />
                </rich:column>
        </rich:listShuttle>
        <a4j:commandButton value="Submit" />
</h:form>
...

In the example above the source list is empty. If you submit the form validation fails and error message appears on a page.

This is the result:


The "converter" attribute is used to convert component data to a particular component's value. For example, when you select items in a list, a converter is used to format a set of objects to a strings to be displayed.

The "sourceSelection" attribute stores the collection of items selected by you in the source list. The "targetSelection" attribute stores the collection of items selected by you in the target list.

Captions could be added to a list only after it was defined as a "sourceCaption" and "targetCaption" named facets inside the component or defined with the "sourceCaptionLabel" and "targetCaptionLabel" attribute.


...
<rich:listShuttle var="item" sourceValue="#{bean.source}" targetValue="#{bean.target}" sourceSelection="#{bean.sourceSelection}" 
                        targetSelection="#{bean.targetSelection}" converter="listShuttleconverter">
        <f:facet name="sourceCaption">
                <h:outputText value="Cars Store #1" />
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="targetCaption">
                <h:outputText value="Cars Store #2" />
        </f:facet>
        <rich:column>
                <h:outputText value="#{items.name}" />
        </rich:column>
</rich:listShuttle>
...

The <rich:listShuttle> component provides the possibility to use ordering controls set, which performs reordering in the target item list. Every control has possibility to be disabled.

An ordering controls set could be defined with "topControlLabel" , "bottomControlLabel" , "upControlLabel" , "downControlLabel" attributes.

It is also possible to use "topControl" , "topControlDisabled" , "bottomControl" , "bottomControlDisabled" , "upControl" , "upControlDisabled" , "downControl" , "downControlDisabled" facets in order to replace the default controls with facets content.

Example:


...
<rich:listShuttle var="item" sourceValue="#{bean.source}" targetValue="#{bean.target}" converter="listShuttleconverter">
        ...                  
        <f:facet name="topControl">
                <h:outputText value="Move to top" />
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="upControl">
                <h:outputText value="Move up" />
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="downControl">
                <h:outputText value="Move down" />
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="bottomControl">
                <h:outputText value="Move to bottom" />
        </f:facet>
</rich:listShuttle>
...

The <rich:listShuttle> component also provides 4 predefined controls in move controls set for moving items between source and target lists. Every control has possibility to be disabled.

A move controls set could be defined with "copyControlLabel" , "removeControlLabel" , "copyAllControlLabel" , "removeAllControlLabel" attributes.

It is also possible to use "copyControl" , "removeControl" , "copyAllControl" , "removeAllControl" facets in order to replace the default controls with facets content.


...
<rich:listShuttle var="item" sourceValue="#{bean.source}" targetValue="#{bean.target}" converter="listShuttleconverter"
                        copyControlLabel="Copy" removeControlLabel="Remove"
                        copyAllControlLabel="Copy all" removeAllControlLabel="Remove all">
        <h:column>
                <f:facet name="header">
                        <h:outputText value="Cars" />
                </f:facet>
                <h:outputText value="#{item.name}" />
        </h:column>
</rich:listShuttle>
...

Controls rendering is based on the "controlsType" attribute. Possible types are button and none.

The <rich:listShuttle> component allows to use internationalization method to redefine and localize the labels. You could use application resource bundle and define RICH_SHUTTLES_TOP_LABEL, RICH_SHUTTLES_BOTTOM_LABEL, RICH_SHUTTLES_UP_LABEL, RICH_SHUTTLES_DOWN_LABEL RICH_LIST_SHUTTLE_COPY_ALL_LABEL, RICH_LIST_SHUTTLE_COPY_LABEL, RICH_LIST_SHUTTLE_REMOVE_ALL_LABEL, RICH_LIST_SHUTTLE_REMOVE_LABEL there.

You could also pack org.richfaces.renderkit.listShuttle resource bundle with your JARs defining the same properties.



Table of <rich:listShuttle> attributes.












You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in
Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On RichFaces LiveDemo page you can see an example of <rich:listShuttle> usage and sources for the given example.

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The <rich:orderingList> component consists of

The "value" and "var" attributes are used to access the values of a list.

Controls rendering is based on the "controlsType" attribute. Possible types are button or none.

The information about the "converter" attribute is here.

The "selection" attribute stores the collection of items selected by you. In the example below after submitting the form the current collection is placed in the object's property and then <rich:dataTable> with selected items is shown.

Example:


...
<h:form>
        <rich:orderingList value="#{bean.simpleItems}" var="item" selection="#{bean.selection}" controlsType="button">
                <rich:column>
                    <f:facet name="header">
                            <h:outputText value="Cars" />
                    </f:facet>
                    <h:outputText value="#{item}" />
                </rich:column>
        </rich:orderingList>
        <rich:dataTable id="infoPanelID" value="#{bean.info}" var="info" rendered="true">
                <rich:column>
                            <h:outputText value="#{info}" />
                </rich:column>
        </rich:dataTable>
        <a4j:commandButton value="reRender" reRender="infoPanelID" />
</h:form>
...

The <rich:orderingList> component allows to use "caption" facet. A caption could be also defined with "captionLabel" attribute.

Simple example is placed below.

Example:


...
<rich:orderingList value="#{bean.simpleItems}" var="item" controlsType="button" selection="#{bean.selection}">
        <f:facet name="caption">
                <h:outputText value="Caption Facet" />
        </f:facet>
        <rich:column>
                <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText value="Cars" />
                </f:facet>
                <h:outputText value="#{item.name}" />
        </rich:column>
        <rich:column>
                <f:facet name="header">
                <h:outputText value="Price" />
                </f:facet>
                <h:outputText value="#{item.price}" />
        </rich:column>
</rich:orderingList>
...

The <rich:orderingList> component provides the possibility to use ordering controls set, which performs reordering. Every control has possibility to be disabled.

An ordering controls set could be defined with "topControlLabel" , "bottomControlLabel" , "upControlLabel" , "downControlLabel" attributes.

It is also possible to use "topControl" , "topControlDisabled" , "bottomControl" , "bottomControlDisabled" , "upControl" , "upControlDisabled" , "downControl" , "downControlDisabled" facets in order to replace the default controls with facets content.

Example:


...
<rich:orderingList value="#{bean.simpleItems}" var="item" controlsType="button" selection="#{bean.selection}">
        <f:facet name="topControl">
                <h:outputText value="Move to top" />
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="upControl">
                <h:outputText value="Move up" />
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="downControl">
                <h:outputText value="Move down" />
        </f:facet>
        <f:facet name="bottomControl">
                <h:outputText value="Move to bottom" />
        </f:facet>
<rich:orderingList>
...

The position of the controls relatively to a list could be customized with:

  • "controlsHorizontalAlign" attribute. Possible values:

    • "left" - controls render to the left side of a list

    • "right" (default) - controls render to the right side of a list

    • "center" - controls is centered

  • "controlsVerticalAlign" attribute. Possible values:

    • "top" - controls render aligned to the top side of a list

    • "bottom" - controls render aligned to the bottom side of a list

    • "center" (default) - controls is centered relatively to a list

The <rich:orderingList> component has a possibility to hide any of the controls by pairs using following attributes:

  • "orderControlsVisible" attribute has two values: "true" or "false". If false Up and Down controls are not displayed.

  • "fastOrderControlsVisible" attribute has two values: "true" or "false". If false Top and Bottom controls are not displayed.

The <rich:orderingList> component allows to use internationalization method to redefine and localize the labels. You could use application resource bundle and define RICH_SHUTTLES_TOP_LABEL, RICH_SHUTTLES_BOTTOM_LABEL, RICH_SHUTTLES_UP_LABEL, RICH_SHUTTLES_DOWN_LABEL there.

You could also pack org.richfaces.renderkit.orderingList resource bundle with your JARs defining the same properties.



Table of <rich:orderingList> attributes.










You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in
Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On RichFaces LiveDemo page you can see an example of <rich:orderingList> usage and sources for the given example.

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The <rich:pickList> component consists of

The "value" attribute is the initial value of this component.

The <f:selectItem /> or <f:selectItems /> facets are used to define the values of a source list.

Example:


...
<rich:pickList value="#{pickBean.listValues}">
        <f:selectItem itemValue="Bentley" itemLabel="Bentley"/>
        <f:selectItem itemValue="Audi" itemLabel="Audi"/>
        <f:selectItems value="#{pickBean.sourceList}"/>
</rich:pickList>
...

The "switchByClick" attribute provides an option to copy and remove items between lists by one click. Default value of this attribute is "false", so you need a double click to copy, remove items from one list to another.

Lables of the move controls can be defined with "copyAllControlLabel" , "copyControlLabel" , "removeControlLabel" , "removeAllControlLabel" attributes.

Example:


...
<rich:pickList copyAllControlLabel = "#{pickBean.copyAllLabel}" copyControlLabel = "#{pickBean.copyLabel}" 
                    removeControlLabel = "#{pickBean.removeLabel}" removeAllControlLabel ="#{pickBean.removeAllLabel}" value="#{pickBean.listValues}">
        <f:selectItem itemValue="Bentley" itemLabel="Bentley"/>
        <f:selectItem itemValue="Audi" itemLabel="Audi"/>
        <f:selectItems value="#{pickBean.sourceList}"/>
</rich:pickList>
...

If you don't want to display labels on the buttons you need to set "showButtonsLabel" to "false".


Alternative to the given attributes are the following facets: "copyAllControl" , "removeAllControl" , "copyControl" , "removeControl" , "copyAllControlDisabled" , "removeAllControlDisabled" , "copyControlDisabled" , "removeControlDisabled" , "caption" .

It is an example of usage of the facets and it is identical to the previous example.


...
<rich:pickList value="#{pickBean.listValues}">
    <f:facet name="copyAllControl">
        <h:commandButton value="#{pickBean.copyAllLabel}" />
    </f:facet>
    <f:facet name="copyControl">
        <h:commandButton value="#{pickBean.copyLabel}" />
    </f:facet>
    <f:facet name="removeControl">
        <h:commandButton value="#{pickBean.removeLabel}" />
    </f:facet>
    <f:facet name="removeAllControl">
        <h:commandButton value="#{pickBean.removeAllLabel}" />
    </f:facet>
    <f:selectItem itemValue="Bentley" itemLabel="Bentley"/>
    <f:selectItem itemValue="Audi" itemLabel="Audi"/>
    <f:selectItems value="#{pickBean.sourceList}"/>
</rich:pickList>
...

With the help of "moveControlsVerticalAlign" attribute you can align move controls vertically.

The possible value for "moveControlsVerticalAlign" are "top", "bottom" and "center" (default value).

The <rich:pickList> component provides resizing of lists by using such attributes as:

  • "listsHeight" defines height of the lists.

  • "sourceListWidth" defines width of a source list.

  • "targetListWidth" defines width of a target list.

Example:


...
<rich:pickList listsHeight="#{pickBean.listsHeight}" sourceListWidth="#{pickBean.sourceListWidth}" targetListWidth="#{pickBean.targetListWidth}" value="#{pickBean.listValues}">
        <f:selectItem itemValue="Bentley" itemLabel="Bentley"/>
        <f:selectItem itemValue="Audi" itemLabel="Audi"/>
        <f:selectItems value="#{pickBean.sourceList}"/>
</rich:pickList>
...

The <rich:pickList> component allows to use internationalization method to redefine and localize the labels. You could use application resource bundle and define RICH_PICK_LIST_COPY_ALL_LABEL, RICH_PICK_LIST_COPY_LABEL, RICH_PICK_LIST_REMOVE_ALL_LABEL, RICH_PICK_LIST_REMOVE_LABEL there.


Table of <rich:pickList> attributes.










You can find all necessary information about style classes redefinition in
Definition of Custom Style Classes section.

On RichFaces LiveDemo page you can see an example of <rich:pickList> usage and sources for the given example.

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Layout components enrich RichFaces with functionality that enables you to create the whole page layout and define the parameters of the page. You can also create your custom theme and use it alongside with these components.

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The <rich:page> component together with the <rich:layout> component provides a full-fledged mechanism for markup creation.

First of all, to declare the document type of the page you should use the "markupType" attribute which has the following values:

The default value is "html".

The "contentType" allows to specify the type of the content and encoding for the page.

The title of the page can be set with the "pageTitle" attribute. To place some other page parameters (like meta information, links to CSS style sheets etc.) in the <head> element of an HTML page use "pageHeader" facet.

Example:


...
<rich:page pageTitle="The title of the page" markupType="xhtml">
    <f:facet name="pageHeader">
        <meta content="The rich:page component" name="keywords" />
        <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/images/favicon.ico" />
        <link href="/css/style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
        <script type="text/javascript" src="/js/menu.js"></script>
    </f:facet>
    <!-- page content -->
</rich:page>
...

The implementation of the <rich:page> component provides four facets that you can use to arrange the layout of the page: "header", "subheader", "sidebar" and "footer". Their behavior is quite self-explanatory.

The position of the panel rendered by the "sidebar" facet can be set with the "sidebarPosition" attribute that can take either "right" or "left" as values, you can also specify the width for this facet with the "sidebarWidth" attribute.

Example:


...
<rich:page sidebarPosition="left" sidebarWidth="300">
    <f:facet name="header">
        <!-- header  content -->
    </f:facet>
    <f:facet name="sidebar">
        <!-- side panel content -->
    </f:facet>
    <!-- body content -->
    <f:facet name="footer">
        <!-- footer  content -->
    </f:facet>
</rich:page>
...

The <rich:page> component also provides attributes to define CSS classes for each nested facet as well as a body part of the page created with the component.

Several templates are available for the <rich:page> component. A template can be activated with the "theme" attribute.

The theme defines the way the <rich:page> is rendered. Default renderer (default theme) of the <rich:page> has no mappings to skin parameters and just provides CSS classes for the page part. However, the simple theme, which is an extension of the default theme, has mappings to skin parameters and adds the RichFaces skinning for the page elements.

As a whole, RichFaces provides 4 themes for the <rich:page> component out-of-the-box: "simple", "violetRays", "oldschool", "smooth". The Creating a Theme for <rich:page> article tells how you can create your custom theme for the <rich:page> component.

On the component Live Demo page you can see the example of <rich:page> component usage and sources for the given example.

The Layout components for RichFaces 3.3.1 on the JBoss.org Wiki

Refer to the "Changing the layout of the page dynamically" to find out how to change the layout of a page on the fly with <rich:page>.

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Visit layout page at RichFaces Live Demo for examples of component usage and their sources.

The Layout components for RichFaces on the JBoss.org Wiki

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On RichFaces Live Demo page you can see an example of <rich:layoutPanel> usage and sources for the given example.

See also the <rich:layout> chapter of the guide.

The Layout components for RichFaces 3.3.1 on the JBoss.org Wiki.

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+6.14.1. < rich:componentControl > available since 3.0.0
6.14.1.1. Description
6.14.1.2. Key Features
6.14.1.3. Details of Usage
6.14.1.4. Reference Data
6.14.1.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.2. <rich:effect> available since 3.1.0
6.14.2.1. Description
6.14.2.2. Key Features
6.14.2.3. Details of Usage
6.14.2.4. Reference Data
6.14.2.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.3. < rich:gmap > available since 3.0.0
6.14.3.1. Description
6.14.3.2. Key Features
6.14.3.3. Details of Usage
6.14.3.4. Reference Data
6.14.3.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.4. < rich:virtualEarth > available since 3.1.0
6.14.4.1. Description
6.14.4.2. Key Features
6.14.4.3. Details of Usage
6.14.4.4. Reference Data
6.14.4.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.5. < rich:hotKey > available since 3.2.2
6.14.5.1. Description
6.14.5.2. Key Features
6.14.5.3. Details of Usage
6.14.5.4. Reference Data
6.14.5.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.6. < rich:insert > available since 3.1.0
6.14.6.1. Description
6.14.6.2. Key Features
6.14.6.3. Details of Usage
6.14.6.4. Reference Data
6.14.6.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.7. <rich:message> available since 3.1.0
6.14.7.1. Description
6.14.7.2. Key Features
6.14.7.3. Details of Usage
6.14.7.4. Reference Data
6.14.7.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.8. <rich:messages> available since 3.1.0
6.14.8.1. Description
6.14.8.2. Key Features
6.14.8.3. Details of Usage
6.14.8.4. Reference Data
6.14.8.5. Relevant Resources Links
+6.14.9. < rich:jQuery > available since 3.0.0
6.14.9.1. Description
6.14.9.2. Key Features
6.14.9.3. Details of Usage
6.14.9.4. Reference Data
6.14.9.5. Relevant Resources Links

A collection of Ajax Miscellaneous components

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<rich:componentControl> is a command component, that allows to call JavaScript API function on some defined event. Look at the example:


...
<rich:componentControl attachTo="doExpandCalendarID" event="onclick" operation="Expand" for="ccCalendarID" />
...

In other words it means "clicking on the component with ID doExpandCalendarID expands the component with ID ccCalendarID". It can be said, that <rich:componentControl> makes interact two components with the help of JavaScript API function.

The ID of the component the event that invokes JavaScript API function is applied, is defined with "attachTo" attribute (see the exapmle above). If "attachTo" attribute is not specified, the <rich:componentControl> is supposed to be attached to it's parent.


<h:commandButton value="Show Modal Panel">
      <!--componentControl is attached to the commandButton-->
      <rich:componentControl for="ccModalPanelID" event="onclick" operation="show"/> 
</h:commandButton>

It is possible to invoke the <rich:componentControl> handler operation as usual JavaScript function. For this purpose it is necessary to specify the name of the JS function with the help of the "name" attribute:

Example:

function func (event) {
}

<rich:componentControl name="func" event="onRowClick" for="menu" operation="show" />

An important <rich:componentControl> feature, is that it allows transferring parameters, with the help of special attribute "params" :


...
<rich:componentControl name="func" event="onRowClick" for="menu" operation="show" params="#{car.model}"/>
...

The alternative way for parameters transferring uses <f:param> attribute. As the code above, the following code will represent the same functionality:


...
<rich:componentControl event="onRowClick" for="menu" operation="show">
      <f:param value="#{car.model}" name="model"/>
</rich:componentControl>
...

With the help of the "attachTiming" attribute you can define the page loading phase when <rich:componentControl> is attached to source component. Possible values are:

<rich:componentControl> interacts with such components as: <rich:contextMenu> , <rich:toolTip> , <rich:modalPanel > , <rich:listShuttle> , <rich:orderingList> , <rich:calendar>

In order to use <rich:componentControl> with another component you should place the id of this component into "for" attribute field. All operations with defined component you can find in the JavaScript API section of defined component.


<h:form>
      <rich:toolTip id="toolTip" mode="ajax" value="and then just touch me." direction="top-right" />
</h:form>
<h:commandButton id="ButtonID" value="Push me">
      <rich:componentControl attachTo="ButtonID" event="onmouseover" operation="show" for="toolTip" />
</h:commandButton>

This is a result:


Visit the ComponentControl page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Information on JSF <f:param> component You can find at <f:param> TLD reference in Java Server Faces technology section at Sun portal.

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It is possible to use <rich:effect> in two modes:

Those a the typical variants of using:


<!-- triggered by an event  -->
<rich:panel>
    <rich:effect event="onmouseout" type="Opacity" params="duration:0.8,from:1.0,to:0.3" />
    ...
</rich:panel>

<!--  invoking by JavaScript -->
<div id="contentDiv">...</div>
<input type="button" onclick="hideDiv({duration:0.7})" value="Hide" />
<input type="button" onclick="showDiv()" value="Show" />
<rich:effect  name="hideDiv"  for="contentDiv" type="Fade" />
<rich:effect  name="showDiv"  for="contentDiv" type="Appear" />

<!-- attached to a window onload event and applied to a particular page element -->
<rich:effect for="window" event="onload" type="Appear" params="targetId:'contentDiv',duration:0.8,from:0.3,to:1.0" />


The "name" attribute defines a name of the JavaScript function that will be generated on a page after the component is rendered. This function will activate the needed effect. The function accesses one parameter. It is a set of effect options in JSON format.

The "type" attribute defines the type of an effect that will be applied. Possible values are Fade, Blind, Opacity.

The "for" attribute defines the ID of the component or HTML tag, the effect is attached to. RichFaces converts value of "for" attribute to a component client ID if such component is found. In case if such component is not found the value is left because of possible wirings with some DOM element id on the client side. By default, the target of the effect is the same element that effect is pointed to. Тarget element can be redefined with the "targetId" attribute; new parameters should be passed with the "params" attribute.

The "params" attribute allows to define a set of options (duration, delay, from, to) possible for a particurar effect. Additionally to the options used by the effect itself, there are two option that might override the <rich:effect>attribute:

  • "targetId" allows to re-define the target of effect. The option is override the value of "for" attribute.

  • "type" defines the effect type. The option is override the value of "type" attribute.

Besides all you can load the Scriptaculous library to the page and use it directly without <rich:effect>:


<a4j:loadScript src="resource://scriptaculous/effect.js" />

But if you use the <rich:effect> there is no need to include this library because it's already there.

Visit the Effect page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Useful articels:

Look at Scriptaculous documentation for set of available effect.

Find more information about the compinent at RichFaces Users Forum.

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To use Google Map in your application, generate a key on Google Map official resource . One key could be used for one directory on the server.

Here are the main settings of initial rendering performed with a component map that are accessible with the following attributes:

  • "zoom" defines an approximation size (boundary values 1-18)

  • "lat" specifies an initial latitude coordinate in degrees, as a number between -90 and +90

  • "lng" specifies an initial longitude coordinate in degrees, as a number between -180 and +180

  • "mapType" specifies a type of a rendered map (G_NORMAL_MAP, G_SATELLITE_MAP (DEFAULT), G_HYBRID_MAP)

For example, the city of Paris is shown after rendering with the following initial settings: lat = "48.44" , lng = "2.24" and zoom = "5" .


It's also possible to set accessible controls on the map with the help of the attributes:

  • "showGMapTypeControl" determines whether the controls for a map type definition are switched on

  • "showGScaleControl" determines whether the controls for scaling are switched on

  • "showGLargeMapControl" determines whether the control for map scale rendering is rendered


To set the controls as well as to perform other activities (Zoom In/Out etc.) is possible with your JavaScript, i.e. declare a name of a map object in the "gmapVar" attribute and then call the object directly with Google Maps API.

For instance, if you have gmapVar = "map" declared for your component, to zoom in a map you should call map.zoomIn() on an event. See also an example of <rich:gmap> usage on the RichFaces Live Demo.

Tip:

You do not need to use reRender to perform uptades for the <rich:gmap> component. Use the "gmapVar" attribute and Google Maps native API instead as it's described above.

Moreover, to add e.g. some JavaScript effects, events defined on it are used.

  • "onmouseover"

  • "onclick"

  • "onmouseout"

  • etc.

Note

Google Map does not support XHTML format of the page. Thus, if you use Facelets and JSF 1.2, do not forget to put the following tags somewhere on the page:


...
<f:view contentType="text/html">...</f:view>
...

On the component Live Demo page you can see the example of <rich:gmap> usage and sources for the given example.

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Here are the main settings of initial rendering performed with a component map that are accessible with the following attributes:

For example, the city of Paris is shown after rendering with the following initial settings: lat = "48.833" , lng = "2.40" and zoom = "11" .


Code for this example is placed below:


<rich:virtualEarth  style="width:800px;" id="vm" lat="48.833" lng="2.40" dashboardSize="Normal"  zoom="11" mapStyle="Hybrid" var="map" />

To set all these parameters and perform some activity (Zoom In/Out etc.) is possible with your JavaScript, i.e. declare a name of an object on a map in the "var" attribute and then call the object directly with API Microsoft Virtual Earth map .

For example, to approximate a map for var = "map" declared inside the component, call map.ZoomIn() on an event.

Moreover, to add e.g. some JavaScript effects, events defined on it are used.

  • onmouseover

  • onclick

  • onmouseout

  • etc.

Note

Virtual Earth does not support XHTML format of the page. Thus, if you use Facelets and JSF 1.2, do not forget to put the following tags somewhere on the page:


<f:view contentType="text/html">...</f:view>

Visit the VirtualEarth page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

Useful articles:

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  • Includes all features of the Javascript jQuery Hotkeys Plugin

  • Hot key registration by request through JavaScript API

  • Possibility to attach <rich:hotKey> to a whole page or to a particular element using "selector" attribute

  • Hot key registration timing

  • Enabling/disabling the <rich:hotKey> using JavaScript API

There are two ways to register <rich:hotKey>:

The "key" attribute defines the hot key itself which is processed by the component.

After the hot key has been registered and defined you could set the "handler" attribute which determines a JavaScript function to be called every time when corresponding keys are pressed.


<rich:listShuttle var="cap" sourceValue="#{capitalsBean.capitals}" id="ls">
    <rich:column>
        <f:facet name="header">
            <h:outputText value="State flag"/>
        </f:facet>
        <h:graphicImage value="#{cap.stateFlag}"/>
    </rich:column>
    <rich:column>
        <f:facet name="header">
            <h:outputText value="State name"/>
        </f:facet>
        <h:outputText value="#{cap.name}"/>
    </rich:column>
</rich:listShuttle>
<rich:hotKey selector="#ls" key="right"    handler="#{rich:component('ls')}.copy()"/>
<rich:hotKey selector="#ls" key="left"       handler="#{rich:component('ls')}.remove()"/>
<rich:hotKey selector="#ls" key="end"     handler="#{rich:component('ls')}.copyAll()"/>
<rich:hotKey selector="#ls" key="home" handler="#{rich:component('ls')}.removeAll()"/>

In the example above the "selector" attribute is used. So the keys work only if <rich:listShuttle> component is focused.

You could press Right or Left keys in order to move some selected items between lists. You could press Home or End buttons in order to move all items between lists.

With the help of the "timing" attribute you could manage <rich:hotKey> registration timing. There are three possible values of this attribute:

  • immediate — the component is rendered in browser immediately (default value);

  • onload — the component is rendered after the page is fully loaded;

  • onregistercall — the component is rendered only after JavaScript API for the key registration is used.

The "type" attribute defines the type of keyboard event. Possible values are: onkeyup, onkeypress and onkeydown.

The "disableInInput" attribute disables the <rich:hotKey> if it is activated on input elements and the value of this attribute is true.

The "checkParent" attribute defines the hotkey handling of events generated by child components nested into the parent component to which the <rich:hotKey> is attached.

The <rich:hotKey> component also provides a number of JavaScript API functions. There is an example below.


<h:form id="myForm">
    <rich:hotKey id="myKey" key="ctrl+g" handler="alert('Ctrl+G is pressed')" />
    <button onclick="${rich:component('myKey')}.enable(); return false;">Turn Ctrl+G On</button>
    <button onclick="${rich:component('myKey')}.disable(); return false;">Turn Ctrl+G Off</button>
</h:form>

In the example above the Ctrl+G is registered as a global hotkey, so if you press this key combination the alert window with the "Ctrl+G is pressed" text appears. With the help of enable(), disable() JavaScript API fucntions you could enable or disable registered hotkey.

Visit the HotKey page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

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The are two basic attributes. The "src" attribute defines the path to the file with source code. The "highlight" attribute defines the type of a syntax highlighting.

If "highlight" attribute is defined and JHighlight open source library is in the classpath, the text from the file is formated and colorized.

An example is placed below:


<rich:insert  src="/pages/sourcePage.xhtml" highlight="xhtml"/>

The result of using <rich:insert> component is shown on the picture:


The <rich:insert> component provides the same functionality as JHighlight. Thus, all names of highlight style classes for source code of particular language could be changed to your names, which are used by the JHighlight library.

The "errorContent" attribute defines the alternative content that will be shown in case the <rich:insert> cannot read the resource defined with "src" attribute. If "errorContent" attribute is not defined, the component shown the actual error message in the place where the content is expected.

Visit the Insert page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

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Visit the Message page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

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Visit the Messages page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

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<rich:jQuery> can be used in two main modes:

The mode is chosen with "timing" attribute that has the following options:

Definition of the "name" attribute is mandatory when the value of "timing" attribute is "onJScall". If the "name" attribute is defined when "timing" value equals to "immediate" or "onload", the query is applied according to this value, but you still have an opportunity to invoke it by a function name.

The "selector" attribute defines an object or a list of objects. The query is defined with the "query" attribute.

Here is an example of how to highlight odd rows in a table:


<style>
      
.odd {background-color: #FFC;}
</style>

<rich:dataTable id="customList" ...>
       ...
</rich:dataTable>
<rich:jQuery selector="#customList tr:odd" timing="onload" query="addClass(odd)" />

The "selector" attribute uses defined by w3c consortium syntax for CSS rule selector with some jQuery extensions

Those are typical examples of using selector in the <rich:jQuery> component.


In addition, RichFaces allows using either a component id or client id if you apply the query to a JSF component. When you define a selector, RichFaces examines its content and tries to replace the defined in the selector id with a component id if it's found.

For example, you have the following code:



<h:form id="form">
      <h:panelGrid id="menu">
            <h:graphicImage value="pic1.jpg" />
            <h:graphicImage value="pic2.jpg" />
      </h:panelGrid>
</h:form>

The actual id of the <h:panelGrid> table in the browser DOM is "form:menu". However, you still can reference to images inside this table using the following selector:


...
<rich:jQuery selector="#menu img" query="..." />
...

You can define the exact id in the selector if you want. The following code reference to the same set of a DOM object:


...
<rich:jQuery selector="#form\\:menu img" query="..." />
...

Pay attention to double slashes that escape a colon in the id.

In case when the "name" attribute is defined, <rich:jQuery> generates a JavaScript function that might be used from any place of JavaScript code on a page.

There is an example of how to enlarge the picture smoothly on a mouse over event and return back to the normal size on mouse out:


...
<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" timing="onJScall" query="animate({width:param.pwidth})" />
<rich:jQuery name="releasePic" timing="onJScall" query="animate({width:'50px'})"/> 
...

The JavaScript could use two parameters. The first parameter is a replacement for the selector attribute. Thus, you can share the same query, applying it to the different DOM objects. You can use a literal value or a direct reference for an existing DOM object. The second parameter can be used to path the specific value inside the query. The JSON syntax is used for the second parameter. The "param." namespace is used for referencing data inside the parameter value.

<rich:jQuery> adds styles and behavior to the DOM object dynamically. This means if you replace something on a page during an Ajax response, the applied artifacts is overwritten. But you are allowed to apply them again after the Ajax response is complete.

Usually, it could be done with reRendering the <rich:jQuery> components in the same Ajax interaction with the components these queries are applied to. Note, that queries with "timing" attribute set to "onload" are not invoked even if the query is reRendered, because a DOM document is not fully reloaded during the Ajax interaction. If you need to re-applies query with "onload" value of "timing" attribute, define the "name" attribute and invoke the query by name in the "oncomplete" attribute of the Ajax component.

RichFaces includes jQuery JavaScript framework. You can use the futures of jQuery directly without defining the <rich:jQuery> component on a page if it is convenient for you. To start using the jQuery feature on the page, include the library into a page with the following code:


...
<a4j:loadScript src="resource://jquery.js"/>
...

Refer to the jQuery documentation for the right syntax. Remember to use jQuery() function instead of $(), as soon as jQuery works without conflicts with prototype.js.

Visit the jQuery page at RichFaces LiveDemo for examples of component usage and their sources.

More information about jQuery framework you can find injQuery official documentation.

See also:

RichFaces support is implemented in JBoss Developer Studio 1.0.0 GA and in Jboss Tools. JBoss Developer Studio is a fully packaged IDE that provides full support for Java Server Faces, RichFaces, Facelets, Struts and other Web technologies. In addition to this, it seamlessly combines visual and source-oriented development approaches. One of the special support feature for RichFaces is that it is available as project "capabilitiy" which can be added to any existing JSF project by adding libraries and modifying configuration files as required."