Oracle® Fusion Middleware

Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application

Development Framework
11g Release 1 (11.1.1)
B31973-05

April 2010
Oracle Fusion Middleware Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework, 11g Release 1 (11.1.1)
B31973-05

Copyright © 2010, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Primary Authors: Robin Whitmore (lead), Peter Jew, Kathryn Munn, Walter Egan, Himanshu Marathe

Contributing Author: Poh Lee Tan and Odile Sullivan-Tarazi

Contributors: ADF Faces development team, Frank Nimphius, Laura Akel, Katia Obradovic-Sarkic

This software and related documentation are provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on
use and disclosure and are protected by intellectual property laws. Except as expressly permitted in your
license agreement or allowed by law, you may not use, copy, reproduce, translate, broadcast, modify, license,
transmit, distribute, exhibit, perform, publish, or display any part, in any form, or by any means. Reverse
engineering, disassembly, or decompilation of this software, unless required by law for interoperability, is
prohibited.

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice and is not warranted to be error-free. If
you find any errors, please report them to us in writing.

If this software or related documentation is delivered to the U.S. Government or anyone licensing it on
behalf of the U.S. Government, the following notice is applicable:

U.S. GOVERNMENT RIGHTS Programs, software, databases, and related documentation and technical data
delivered to U.S. Government customers are "commercial computer software" or "commercial technical data"
pursuant to the applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation and agency-specific supplemental regulations. As
such, the use, duplication, disclosure, modification, and adaptation shall be subject to the restrictions and
license terms set forth in the applicable Government contract, and, to the extent applicable by the terms of
the Government contract, the additional rights set forth in FAR 52.227-19, Commercial Computer Software
License (December 2007). Oracle USA, Inc., 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065.

This software is developed for general use in a variety of information management applications. It is not
developed or intended for use in any inherently dangerous applications, including applications which may
create a risk of personal injury. If you use this software in dangerous applications, then you shall be
responsible to take all appropriate fail-safe, backup, redundancy, and other measures to ensure the safe use
of this software. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates disclaim any liability for any damages caused by use of
this software in dangerous applications.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks
of their respective owners.

This software and documentation may provide access to or information on content, products, and services
from third parties. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates are not responsible for and expressly disclaim all
warranties of any kind with respect to third-party content, products, and services. Oracle Corporation and
its affiliates will not be responsible for any loss, costs, or damages incurred due to your access to or use of
third-party content, products, or services.
 Contents

Preface ............................................................................................................................................................. xxv

Audience................................................................................................................................................... xxv
Documentation Accessibility ................................................................................................................. xxv
Related Documents ................................................................................................................................. xxvi
Conventions ............................................................................................................................................. xxvi

What's New ................................................................................................................................................... xxvii

Documentation Changes for Release 11.1.1.3.0.................................................................................. xxvii

Part I Getting Started with ADF Faces

1 Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client

1.1 Introduction to Oracle ADF Faces Rich Client ....................................................................... 1-1
1.1.1 History of ADF Faces .......................................................................................................... 1-1
1.1.2 ADF Faces as Rich Client Components ............................................................................ 1-2
1.2 Architecture of ADF Faces Components ................................................................................. 1-3
1.2.1 Client-Side Architecture ..................................................................................................... 1-3
1.2.1.1 Client-Side Components.............................................................................................. 1-4
1.2.1.2 JavaScript Library Partitioning................................................................................... 1-4
1.2.2 ADF Faces Architectural Features..................................................................................... 1-5
1.3 ADF Faces Components............................................................................................................. 1-6
1.4 ADF Faces Demonstration Application................................................................................... 1-8
1.4.1 How to Download and Install the ADF Faces Demo Application ............................... 1-8
1.4.2 Using the ADF Faces Demo Application ......................................................................... 1-8
1.4.3 Overview of the File Explorer Application................................................................... 1-15
1.4.4 Viewing the Source Code In JDeveloper ....................................................................... 1-17

2 Getting Started with ADF Faces

2.1 Developing Declaratively in JDeveloper ................................................................................. 2-1
2.2 Creating an Application Workspace ........................................................................................ 2-2
2.2.1 How to Create an Application Workspace ...................................................................... 2-2

iii
 2.2.2 What Happens When You Create an Application Workspace ..................................... 2-3
2.3 Defining Page Flows................................................................................................................... 2-4
2.3.1 How to Define a Page Flow................................................................................................ 2-5
2.3.2 What Happens When You Use the Diagrammer to Create a Page Flow .................... 2-6
2.4 Creating a View Page ................................................................................................................. 2-7
2.4.1 How to Create JSF JSP Pages.............................................................................................. 2-9
2.4.2 What Happens When You Create a JSF JSP Page ........................................................ 2-10
2.4.3 What You May Need to Know About Automatic Component Binding .................. 2-14
2.4.4 How to Create a Facelets XHTML Page ........................................................................ 2-17
2.4.5 What Happens When You Create a JSF XHTML Page ............................................... 2-18
2.4.6 How to Add ADF Faces Components to JSF Pages..................................................... 2-21
2.4.7 What Happens When You Add Components to a Page ............................................. 2-23
2.4.8 How to Set Component Attributes................................................................................. 2-24
2.4.9 What Happens When You Use the Property Inspector .............................................. 2-26
2.5 Creating EL Expressions ......................................................................................................... 2-26
2.5.1 How to Create an EL Expression.................................................................................... 2-27
2.5.2 How to Use EL Expressions Within Managed Beans.................................................. 2-28
2.6 Creating and Using Managed Beans..................................................................................... 2-29
2.6.1 How to Create a Managed Bean in JDeveloper............................................................ 2-30
2.6.2 What Happens When You Use JDeveloper to Create a Managed Bean................... 2-31
2.7 Viewing ADF Faces Source Code and Javadoc ................................................................... 2-31

Part II Understanding ADF Faces Architecture

3 Using ADF Faces Architecture

3.1 Introduction to Using ADF Faces Architecture ...................................................................... 3-1
3.2 Listening for Client Events ........................................................................................................ 3-3
3.3 Adding JavaScript to a Page...................................................................................................... 3-4
3.3.1 How to Use Inline JavaScript ............................................................................................. 3-4
3.3.2 How to Import JavaScript Libraries .................................................................................. 3-5
3.3.3 What You May Need to Know About Accessing Client Event Sources ...................... 3-5
3.4 Instantiating Client-Side Components..................................................................................... 3-6
3.5 Locating a Client Component on a Page ................................................................................. 3-7
3.5.1 What You May Need to Know About Finding Components in Naming Containers .......
3-7
3.6 Accessing Component Properties on the Client..................................................................... 3-9
3.6.1 How to Set Property Values on the Client .................................................................... 3-13
3.6.2 How to Unsecure the disabled Property ....................................................................... 3-13
3.6.3 What Happens at Runtime: How Client Properties Are Set on the Client............... 3-14
3.7 Using Bonus Attributes for Client-Side Components ........................................................ 3-14
3.7.1 How to Create Bonus Attributes .................................................................................... 3-14
3.7.2 What You May Need to Know About Marshalling Bonus Attributes...................... 3-15
3.8 Understanding Rendering and Visibility ............................................................................. 3-15
3.8.1 How to Set Visibility Using JavaScript .......................................................................... 3-16
3.8.2 What You May Need to Know About Visible and the isShowing Function............ 3-17

iv
4 Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces
4.1 Introduction to the JSF Lifecycle and ADF Faces ................................................................... 4-1
4.2 Using the Immediate Attribute ................................................................................................. 4-4
4.3 Using the Optimized Lifecycle.................................................................................................. 4-9
4.3.1 What You May Need to Know About Using the Immediate Attribute and the
Optimized Lifecycle 4-10
4.3.2 What You May Need to Know About Using an LOV Component and the Optimized
Lifecycle 4-11
4.4 Using the Client-Side Lifecycle .............................................................................................. 4-13
4.5 Using Subforms to Create Regions on a Page...................................................................... 4-14
4.6 Object Scope Lifecycles ........................................................................................................... 4-15
4.7 Passing Values Between Pages .............................................................................................. 4-16
4.7.1 How to Use the pageFlowScope Scope Within Java Code ......................................... 4-17
4.7.2 How to Use the pageFlowScope Scope Without Writing Java Code ........................ 4-18
4.7.3 What Happens at Runtime: Passing Values ................................................................. 4-18

5 Handling Events
5.1 Introduction to Events and Event Handling........................................................................... 5-1
5.1.1 Events and Partial Page Rendering................................................................................... 5-2
5.1.2 Client-Side Event Model..................................................................................................... 5-3
5.2 Using ADF Faces Server Events................................................................................................ 5-3
5.3 Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events ....................................................................... 5-5
5.3.1 How to Return the Original Source of the Event ............................................................ 5-9
5.3.2 How to Use Client-Side Attributes for an Event............................................................. 5-9
5.3.3 How to Block UI Input During Event Execution ......................................................... 5-10
5.3.4 How to Prevent Events from Propagating to the Server ............................................ 5-11
5.3.5 How to Trigger Event Handler Execution .................................................................... 5-11
5.3.6 What Happens at Runtime: How Client-Side Events Work ...................................... 5-12
5.3.7 What You May Need to Know About Using Naming Containers............................ 5-13
5.4 Sending Custom Events from the Client to the Server....................................................... 5-14
5.4.1 How to Send Custom Events from the Client to the Server ....................................... 5-15
5.4.2 What Happens at Runtime: How Client and Server Listeners Work Together ...... 5-16
5.4.3 What You May Need to Know About Marshalling and Unmarshalling Data ........ 5-16
5.5 Executing a Script Within an Event Response..................................................................... 5-18
5.6 Using Client Behavior Tags .................................................................................................... 5-20
5.6.1 How to Use the scrollComponentIntoViewBehavior Tag .......................................... 5-20

6 Validating and Converting Input

6.1 Introduction to ADF Faces Converters and Validators......................................................... 6-1
6.2 Conversion, Validation, and the JSF Lifecycle........................................................................ 6-2
6.3 Adding Conversion .................................................................................................................... 6-2
6.3.1 How to Add a Converter .................................................................................................... 6-3
6.3.2 How to Set Attributes on a Converter .............................................................................. 6-4
6.3.3 What Happens at Runtime ................................................................................................. 6-4
6.4 Creating Custom JSF Converters .............................................................................................. 6-5
6.4.1 How to Create a Custom JSF Converter........................................................................... 6-5

v
 6.4.2 What Happens When You Use a Custom Converter ..................................................... 6-9
6.5 Adding Validation ...................................................................................................................... 6-9
6.5.1 How to Add Validation ................................................................................................... 6-10
6.5.1.1 Adding ADF Faces Validation................................................................................. 6-10
6.5.1.2 Using Validation Attributes ..................................................................................... 6-10
6.5.1.3 Using ADF Faces Validators .................................................................................... 6-10
6.5.2 What Happens at Runtime .............................................................................................. 6-11
6.5.3 What You May Need to Know About Multiple Validators........................................ 6-12
6.6 Creating Custom JSF Validation............................................................................................ 6-12
6.6.1 How to Create a Backing Bean Validation Method ..................................................... 6-13
6.6.2 What Happens When You Create a Backing Bean Validation Method.................... 6-13
6.6.3 How to Create a Custom JSF Validator ......................................................................... 6-13
6.6.4 What Happens When You Use a Custom JSF Validator............................................. 6-15

7 Rerendering Partial Page Content

7.1 Introduction to Partial Page Rendering................................................................................... 7-1
7.2 Enabling Partial Page Rendering Declaratively ..................................................................... 7-2
7.2.1 How to Enable Partial Page Rendering ............................................................................ 7-4
7.2.2 What You May Need to Know About Using the Browser Back Button ...................... 7-6
7.2.3 What You May Need to Know About PPR and Screen Readers .................................. 7-6
7.3 Enabling Partial Page Rendering Programmatically ............................................................. 7-6
7.4 Using Partial Page Navigation.................................................................................................. 7-7
7.4.1 How to Use Partial Page Navigation ................................................................................ 7-7
7.4.2 What You May Need to Know About PPR Navigation................................................. 7-8

Part III Using ADF Faces Components

8 Organizing Content on Web Pages

8.1 Introduction to Organizing Content on Web Pages .............................................................. 8-1
8.2 Starting to Lay Out a Page......................................................................................................... 8-5
8.2.1 Geometry Management and Component Stretching ..................................................... 8-6
8.2.2 Nesting Components Inside Components That Allow Stretching ............................... 8-9
8.2.3 Using Quick Start Layouts .............................................................................................. 8-11
8.2.4 Tips for Using Geometry-Managed Components ....................................................... 8-12
8.2.5 How to Configure the document Tag............................................................................ 8-13
8.3 Arranging Contents to Stretch Across a Page...................................................................... 8-14
8.3.1 How to Use the panelStretchLayout Component ........................................................ 8-16
8.3.2 What You May Need to Know About Geometry Management and the
panelStretchLayout Component 8-17
8.4 Using Splitters to Create Resizable Panes ............................................................................ 8-18
8.4.1 How to Use the panelSplitter Component .................................................................... 8-20
8.4.2 What You May Need to Know About Geometry Management and the panelSplitter
Component 8-22
8.5 Arranging Page Contents in Predefined Fixed Areas ........................................................ 8-23
8.6 Arranging Content in Forms .................................................................................................. 8-25
8.6.1 How to Use the panelFormLayout Component........................................................... 8-27

vi
 8.6.2 What You May Need to Know About Using the group Component with the
panelFormLayout Component 8-30
8.7 Arranging Contents in a Dashboard ..................................................................................... 8-34
8.7.1 How to Use the panelDashboard Component ............................................................. 8-36
8.7.2 What You May Need to Know About Geometry Management and the panelDashboard
Component 8-38
8.8 Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically ................................................................... 8-39
8.8.1 How to Use the showDetail Component ...................................................................... 8-43
8.8.2 How to Use the showDetailHeader Component ......................................................... 8-44
8.8.3 How to Use the panelBox Component .......................................................................... 8-46
8.8.4 What You May Need to Know About Disclosure Events........................................... 8-48
8.9 Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels....................... 8-48
8.9.1 How to Use the panelAccordion Component .............................................................. 8-52
8.9.2 How to Use the panelTabbed Component.................................................................... 8-53
8.9.3 How to Use the showDetailItem Component to Display Content in panelAccordion or
panelTabbed Components 8-54
8.9.4 What You May Need to Know About Geometry Management and the showDetailItem
Component 8-57
8.9.5 What You May Need to Know About showDetailItem Disclosure Events ............. 8-58
8.10 Displaying Items in a Static Box ............................................................................................ 8-59
8.10.1 How to Use the panelHeader Component.................................................................... 8-61
8.11 Displaying a Bulleted List in One or More Columns ......................................................... 8-62
8.11.1 How to Use the panelList Component .......................................................................... 8-63
8.11.2 What You May Need to Know About Creating a List Hierarchy ............................. 8-64
8.12 Grouping Related Items .......................................................................................................... 8-65
8.12.1 How to Use the panelGroupLayout Component......................................................... 8-67
8.12.2 What You May Need to Know About Geometry Management and the
panelGroupLayout Component 8-69
8.13 Separating Content Using Blank Space or Lines ................................................................. 8-69
8.13.1 How to Use the spacer Component ............................................................................... 8-70
8.13.2 How to Use the Separator Component.......................................................................... 8-70

9 Using Input Components and Defining Forms

9.1 Introduction to Input Components and Forms ...................................................................... 9-1
9.2 Defining Forms............................................................................................................................ 9-3
9.2.1 How to Add a Form to a Page ........................................................................................... 9-5
9.2.2 How to Add a Subform to a Page...................................................................................... 9-5
9.2.3 How to Add a Reset Button to a Form ............................................................................. 9-5
9.3 Using the inputText Component .............................................................................................. 9-6
9.3.1 How to Add an inputText Component ............................................................................ 9-7
9.3.2 How to Add the Ability to Insert Text into an inputText Component ........................ 9-9
9.4 Using the Input Number Components ................................................................................. 9-10
9.4.1 How to Add an inputNumberSlider or an inputRangeSlider Component ............. 9-11
9.4.2 How to Add an inputNumberSpinbox Component.................................................... 9-11
9.5 Using Color and Date Choosers ............................................................................................ 9-12
9.5.1 How to Add an inputColor Component ....................................................................... 9-13
9.5.2 How to Add an InputDate Component ........................................................................ 9-14

vii
 9.5.3 What You May Need to Know About Selecting Time Zones Without the inputDate
Component 9-15
9.6 Using Selection Components ................................................................................................. 9-16
9.6.1 How to Use Selection Components................................................................................ 9-19
9.7 Using Shuttle Components..................................................................................................... 9-21
9.7.1 How to Add a selectManyShuttle or selectOrderShuttle Component...................... 9-23
9.7.2 What You May Need to Know About Using a Client Listener for Selection Events ........
9-24
9.8 Using the richTextEditor Component................................................................................... 9-26
9.8.1 How to Add a richTextEditor Component ................................................................... 9-28
9.8.2 How to Add the Ability to Insert Text into a richTextEditor Component ............... 9-29
9.8.3 How to Customize the Toolbar....................................................................................... 9-30
9.9 Using File Upload .................................................................................................................... 9-31
9.9.1 How to Use the inputFile Component........................................................................... 9-34
9.9.2 What You May Need to Know About Temporary File Storage................................. 9-34

10 Using Tables and Trees

10.1 Introduction to Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables ................................................................... 10-1
10.1.1 Content Delivery............................................................................................................... 10-4
10.1.2 Row Selection .................................................................................................................... 10-5
10.1.3 Editing Data in Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables ............................................................ 10-5
10.1.4 Using Popup Dialogs in Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables............................................. 10-7
10.1.5 Accessing Client Table, Tree, and Tree Table Components ....................................... 10-9
10.2 Displaying Data in Tables....................................................................................................... 10-9
10.2.1 Columns and Column Data .......................................................................................... 10-11
10.2.2 Formatting Tables ........................................................................................................... 10-11
10.2.3 Formatting Columns ...................................................................................................... 10-13
10.2.4 How to Display a Table on a Page ............................................................................... 10-14
10.2.5 What Happens When You Add a Table to a Page ..................................................... 10-21
10.2.6 What Happens at Runtime: Data Delivery ................................................................. 10-22
10.2.7 What You May Need to Know About Programmatically Enabling Sorting for Table
Columns 10-22
10.2.8 What You May Need to Know About Performing an Action on Selected Rows in
Tables 10-23
10.2.9 What You May Need to Know About Dynamically Determining Values for Selection
Components in Tables 10-24
10.2.10 What You May Need to Know About Using the Iterator Tag ................................. 10-25
10.3 Adding Hidden Capabilities to a Table.............................................................................. 10-25
10.3.1 How to Use the detailStamp Facet ............................................................................... 10-26
10.3.2 What Happens at Runtime: Disclosing Row Data..................................................... 10-27
10.4 Enabling Filtering in Tables.................................................................................................. 10-27
10.4.1 How to Add Filtering to a Table................................................................................... 10-29
10.5 Displaying Data in Trees....................................................................................................... 10-29
10.5.1 How to Display Data in Trees....................................................................................... 10-32
10.5.2 What Happens When You Add a Tree to a Page....................................................... 10-34
10.5.3 What Happens at Runtime: Tree Component Events ............................................... 10-35
10.5.4 What You May Need to Know About Programmatically Expanding and Collapsing
Nodes 10-35

viii
 10.5.5 What You May Need to Know About Programmatically Selecting Nodes ........... 10-37
10.6 Displaying Data in Tree Tables............................................................................................ 10-37
10.6.1 How to Display Data in a Tree Table........................................................................... 10-39
10.7 Passing a Row as a Value...................................................................................................... 10-39
10.8 Displaying Table Menus, Toolbars, and Status Bars ........................................................ 10-40
10.8.1 How to Add a panelCollection with a Table, Tree, or Tree Table ........................... 10-42
10.9 Exporting Data from Table, Tree, or Tree Table................................................................ 10-42
10.9.1 How to Export Table, Tree, or Tree Table Data to an External Format .................. 10-44
10.9.2 What Happens at Runtime: How Row Selection Affects the Exported Data ........ 10-45
10.10 Accessing Selected Values on the Client from Components That Use Stamping ........ 10-45
10.10.1 How to Access Values from a Selection in Stamped Components. ........................ 10-45
10.10.2 What You May Need to Know About Accessing Selected Values .......................... 10-48

11 Using List-of-Values Components

11.1 Introduction to List-of-Values Components ........................................................................ 11-1
11.2 Creating the ListOfValues Data Model................................................................................. 11-6
11.3 Using the inputListOfValues Component............................................................................ 11-8
11.4 Using the InputComboboxListOfValues Component ...................................................... 11-10

12 Using Query Components

12.1 Introduction to Query Components...................................................................................... 12-1
12.2 Implementing the Model for Your Query ............................................................................ 12-3
12.3 Using the quickQuery Component ..................................................................................... 12-10
12.3.1 How to Add the quickQuery Component Using a Model ....................................... 12-11
12.3.2 How to Use a quickQuery Component Without a Model ........................................ 12-12
12.3.3 What Happens at Runtime: How the Framework Renders the quickQuery Component
and Executes the Search 12-13
12.4 Using the query Component ................................................................................................ 12-14
12.4.1 How to Add the Query Component ............................................................................ 12-17

13 Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows

13.1 Introduction to Using Popup Elements ................................................................................ 13-1
13.2 Declaratively Creating Popup Elements .............................................................................. 13-2
13.2.1 How to Create a Dialog.................................................................................................... 13-4
13.2.2 How to Create a Panel Window ..................................................................................... 13-8
13.2.3 How to Create a Context Menu .................................................................................... 13-10
13.2.4 How to Create a Note Window .................................................................................... 13-11
13.2.5 What Happens at Runtime: Popup Component Events ........................................... 13-13
13.3 Invoking Popup Elements .................................................................................................... 13-14
13.3.1 How to Use the af:showPopupBehavior Tag ............................................................. 13-15
13.4 Displaying Contextual Information .................................................................................... 13-16
13.4.1 How to Create Contextual Information....................................................................... 13-17
13.5 Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline Popups .............................................. 13-18
13.5.1 How to Disable the Automatic Cancellation of an Inline Popup ............................ 13-19
13.5.2 What Happens When You Disable the Automatic Cancellation of an Inline Popup ........
13-19

ix
14 Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes
14.1 Introduction to Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes ............................................................... 14-1
14.2 Using Menus in a Menu Bar................................................................................................... 14-2
14.2.1 How to Create and Use Menus in a Menu Bar............................................................. 14-7
14.3 Using Toolbars ....................................................................................................................... 14-13
14.3.1 How to Create and Use Toolbars ................................................................................. 14-15
14.3.2 What Happens at Runtime: Determining the Size of Menu Bars and Toolbars ... 14-19
14.3.3 What You May Need to Know About Toolbars......................................................... 14-19

15 Creating a Calendar Application

15.1 Introduction to Creating a Calendar Application ............................................................... 15-1
15.2 Creating the Calendar ............................................................................................................. 15-4
15.2.1 Calendar Classes ............................................................................................................... 15-4
15.2.2 How to Create a Calendar ............................................................................................... 15-5
15.3 Configuring the Calendar Component................................................................................. 15-6
15.3.1 How to Configure the Calendar Component ............................................................... 15-6
15.3.2 What Happens at Runtime: Calendar Events and PPR .............................................. 15-8
15.4 Adding Functionality Using Popup Components .............................................................. 15-9
15.4.1 How to Add Functionality Using Popup Components ............................................ 15-10
15.5 Customizing the Toolbar ...................................................................................................... 15-12
15.5.1 How to Customize the Toolbar..................................................................................... 15-13
15.6 Styling the Calendar .............................................................................................................. 15-15
15.6.1 How to Style Activities .................................................................................................. 15-15
15.6.2 What Happens at Runtime: Activity Styling .............................................................. 15-17
15.6.3 How to Customize Dates............................................................................................... 15-17

16 Using Output Components

16.1 Introduction to Output Text, Image, Icon, and Media Components ............................... 16-1
16.2 Displaying Output Text and Formatted Output Text ........................................................ 16-2
16.2.1 How to Display Output Text .......................................................................................... 16-3
16.2.2 What You May Need to Know About Allowed Format and Character Codes in the
outputFormatted Component 16-4
16.3 Displaying Icons....................................................................................................................... 16-5
16.4 Displaying Images ................................................................................................................... 16-5
16.5 Using Images as Links............................................................................................................. 16-6
16.6 Displaying Images in a Carousel ........................................................................................... 16-7
16.6.1 How to Create a Carousel................................................................................................ 16-9
16.6.2 What You May Need to Know About the Carousel Component and Different Browsers
16-13
16.7 Displaying Application Status Using Icons ....................................................................... 16-13
16.8 Playing Video and Audio Clips ........................................................................................... 16-14
16.8.1 How to Allow Playing of Audio and Video Clips ..................................................... 16-15

17 Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help

17.1 Introduction to Displaying Tips and Messages................................................................... 17-1
17.2 Displaying Tips for Components .......................................................................................... 17-5

x
 17.3 Displaying Hints and Error Messages for Validation and Conversion ........................... 17-5
17.3.1 How to Define Custom Validator and Converter Messages...................................... 17-7
17.3.2 What You May Need to Know About Overriding Default Messages Globally ...... 17-8
17.3.3 How to Display Component Messages Inline .............................................................. 17-8
17.3.4 How to Display Global Messages Inline ....................................................................... 17-9
17.4 Grouping Components with a Single Label and Message................................................. 17-9
17.5 Displaying Help for Components ....................................................................................... 17-11
17.5.1 How to Create Resource Bundle-Based Help............................................................. 17-14
17.5.2 How to Create XLIFF-Based Help................................................................................ 17-16
17.5.3 How to Create Managed Bean Help ............................................................................ 17-18
17.5.4 How to Use JavaScript to Launch an External Help Window ................................. 17-20
17.5.5 How to Create a Java Class Help Provider ................................................................. 17-21
17.5.6 How to Access Help Content from a UI Component................................................ 17-23
17.5.7 What You May Need to Know About Combining Different Message Types ....... 17-23

18 Working with Navigation Components

18.1 Introduction to Navigation Components ............................................................................. 18-1
18.2 Using Buttons and Links for Navigation.............................................................................. 18-2
18.2.1 How to Use Command Buttons and Command Links ............................................... 18-3
18.2.2 How to Use Go Buttons and Go Links .......................................................................... 18-4
18.3 Configuring a Browser’s Context Menu for Command Links .......................................... 18-5
18.3.1 How to Configure a Browser’s Context Menu for Command Links ........................ 18-6
18.3.2 What Happens When You Configure a Browser’s Context Menu for Command Links ..
18-7
18.4 Using Buttons or Links to Invoke Functionality ................................................................. 18-7
18.4.1 How to Use a Command Component to Download Files .......................................... 18-7
18.4.2 How to Use a Command Component to Reset Input Fields ...................................... 18-9
18.5 Using Navigation Items for a Page Hierarchy..................................................................... 18-9
18.6 Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy............................................................. 18-13
18.6.1 How to Create the Menu Model Metadata ................................................................. 18-14
18.6.2 What Happens When You Use the Create ADF Menu Model Wizard .................. 18-21
18.6.3 How to Bind to the XMLMenuModel in the JSF Page .............................................. 18-22
18.6.4 How to Use the breadCrumbs Component ................................................................ 18-26
18.6.5 What Happens at Runtime ............................................................................................ 18-28
18.6.6 What You May Need to Know About Using Custom Attributes............................ 18-29
18.7 Creating a Simple Navigational Hierarchy........................................................................ 18-31
18.7.1 How to Create a Simple Page Hierarchy..................................................................... 18-32
18.7.2 How to Use the breadCrumbs Component ................................................................ 18-35
18.8 Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process.......... 18-36
18.8.1 How to Create the Train Model.................................................................................... 18-40
18.8.2 How to Configure Managed Beans for the Train Model .......................................... 18-42
18.8.3 How to Bind to the Train Model in JSF Pages ............................................................ 18-46

19 Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components

19.1 Introduction to Reusable Content ......................................................................................... 19-1
19.2 Using Page Fragments............................................................................................................. 19-2

xi
 19.2.1 How to Create a Page Fragment..................................................................................... 19-5
19.2.2 What Happens When You Create a Page Fragment.................................................... 19-6
19.2.3 How to Use a Page Fragment in a JSF Page.................................................................. 19-7
19.2.3.1 Adding a Page Fragment Using the Component Palette..................................... 19-7
19.2.3.2 Adding a Page Fragment Using the Application Navigator............................... 19-7
19.2.4 What Happens at Runtime: Resolving Page Fragments ............................................. 19-7
19.3 Using Page Templates ............................................................................................................. 19-7
19.3.1 How to Create a Page Template ................................................................................... 19-11
19.3.2 What Happens When You Create a Page Template .................................................. 19-15
19.3.3 How to Create JSF Pages Based on Page Templates.................................................. 19-15
19.3.4 What Happens When You Use a Template to Create a Page................................... 19-17
19.3.5 What Happens at Runtime: How Page Templates Are Resolved ........................... 19-18
19.3.6 What You May Need to Know About Page Templates and Naming Containers. 19-18
19.4 Using Declarative Components ........................................................................................... 19-18
19.4.1 How to Create a Declarative Component ................................................................... 19-21
19.4.2 What Happens When You Create a Declarative Component .................................. 19-25
19.4.3 How to Deploy Declarative Components ................................................................... 19-27
19.4.4 How to Use Declarative Components in JSF Pages ................................................... 19-28
19.4.5 What Happens When You Use a Declarative Component on a JSF Page .............. 19-29
19.4.6 What Happens at Runtime ............................................................................................ 19-30
19.5 Adding Resources to Pages .................................................................................................. 19-30
19.5.1 How to Add Resources to Page Templates and Declarative Components ............ 19-31
19.5.2 What Happens at Runtime: Adding Resources to the Document Header............. 19-31

20 Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins

20.1 Introduction to Skins, Style Selectors, and Style Properties .............................................. 20-1
20.1.1 Oracle ADF Faces Skins ................................................................................................... 20-2
20.1.2 Skin Style Selectors ........................................................................................................... 20-4
20.1.3 Component Style Properties ........................................................................................... 20-9
20.2 Applying Custom Skins to Applications.............................................................................. 20-9
20.2.1 How to Add a Custom Skin to an Application .......................................................... 20-10
20.2.2 How to Register the XML Schema Definition File for a Custom Skin .................... 20-10
20.2.3 How to Register a Custom Skin.................................................................................... 20-11
20.2.4 How to Configure an Application to Use a Custom Skin......................................... 20-13
20.3 Defining Skin Style Properties ............................................................................................. 20-14
20.3.1 How to Apply Skins to Text .......................................................................................... 20-16
20.3.2 How to Apply Skins to Icons ........................................................................................ 20-18
20.3.3 How to Apply Skins to Messages................................................................................. 20-18
20.3.4 How to Apply Themes to Components....................................................................... 20-19
20.3.5 How to Create a Custom Alias ..................................................................................... 20-20
20.3.6 How to Configure a Component for Changing Skins Dynamically ....................... 20-21
20.4 Changing the Style Properties of a Component ............................................................... 20-22
20.4.1 How to Set an Inline Style ............................................................................................. 20-22
20.4.2 How to Set a Style Class................................................................................................. 20-23
20.5 Referring to URLs in a Skin’s CSS File................................................................................ 20-23
20.6 Deploying a Custom Skin File in a JAR File ...................................................................... 20-24

xii
21 Internationalizing and Localizing Pages
21.1 Introduction to Internationalization and Localization of ADF Faces Pages ................... 21-1
21.2 Using Automatic Resource Bundle Integration in JDeveloper ......................................... 21-3
21.2.1 How to Set Resource Bundle Options............................................................................ 21-4
21.2.2 What Happens When You Set Resource Bundle Options .......................................... 21-5
21.2.3 How to Create an Entry in a JDeveloper-Generated Resource Bundle .................... 21-6
21.2.4 What Happens When You Create an Entry in a JDeveloper-Generated Resource
Bundle 21-6
21.3 Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales ............................................................ 21-7
21.3.1 How to Define the Base Resource Bundle..................................................................... 21-8
21.3.2 How to Edit a Resource Bundle File ............................................................................ 21-10
21.3.3 How to Register Locales and Resource Bundles in Your Application.................... 21-12
21.3.4 How to Use Resource Bundles in Your Application ................................................. 21-14
21.3.5 What You May Need to Know About Custom Skins and Control Hints............... 21-15
21.4 Configuring Pages for an End User to Specify Locale at Runtime ................................. 21-15
21.4.1 How to Configure a Page for an End User to Specify Locale................................... 21-15
21.4.2 What Happens When You Configure a Page to Specify Locale .............................. 21-16
21.4.3 What Happens at Runtime When an End User Specifies a Locale.......................... 21-17
21.5 Configuring Optional ADF Faces Localization Properties .............................................. 21-17
21.5.1 How to Configure Optional Localization Properties ................................................ 21-18

22 Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages

22.1 Introduction to Accessible ADF Faces Pages ....................................................................... 22-1
22.2 Exposing Accessibility Preferences ....................................................................................... 22-2
22.2.1 How to Configure Accessibility Support in trinidad-config.xml .............................. 22-2
22.3 Specifying Component-Level Accessibility Properties ...................................................... 22-3
22.3.1 ADF Faces Component Accessibility Guidelines......................................................... 22-3
22.3.2 How to Define Access Keys for an ADF Faces Component ....................................... 22-6
22.3.3 How to Define Localized Labels and Access Keys ...................................................... 22-7
22.4 Creating Accessible Pages ...................................................................................................... 22-8
22.4.1 How to Use Partial Page Rendering .............................................................................. 22-8
22.4.2 How to Use Scripting ....................................................................................................... 22-9
22.4.3 How to Use Styles............................................................................................................. 22-9
22.4.4 How to Use Page Structures and Navigation............................................................. 22-10
22.4.5 How to Use WAI-ARIA Landmark Regions .............................................................. 22-11
22.5 Running Accessibility Audit Rules ..................................................................................... 22-11

Part IV Using ADF Data Visualization Components

23 Introduction to ADF Data Visualization Components

23.1 Introduction to ADF Data Visualization Components....................................................... 23-1
23.2 Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components ........................................................... 23-1
23.2.1 Graph .................................................................................................................................. 23-2
23.2.2 Gauge.................................................................................................................................. 23-6
23.2.3 Pivot Table ......................................................................................................................... 23-8
23.2.4 Geographic Map ............................................................................................................... 23-8

xiii
 23.2.5 Gantt Chart ........................................................................................................................ 23-9
23.2.6 Hierarchy Viewer............................................................................................................ 23-10
23.3 Providing Data for ADF Data Visualization Components .............................................. 23-11
23.4 Downloading Custom Fonts for Flash Images .................................................................. 23-11

24 Using ADF Graph Components

24.1 Introduction to the Graph Component................................................................................. 24-1
24.2 Understanding the Graph Tags ............................................................................................. 24-3
24.2.1 Graph-Specific Tags ......................................................................................................... 24-4
24.2.2 Common Graph Child Tags ............................................................................................ 24-5
24.2.3 Graph-Specific Child Tags............................................................................................... 24-6
24.2.4 Child Set Tags.................................................................................................................... 24-7
24.3 Understanding Data Requirements for Graphs .................................................................. 24-7
24.3.1 Area Graphs Data Requirements.................................................................................... 24-8
24.3.2 Bar Graph Data Requirements........................................................................................ 24-9
24.3.3 Bubble Graph Data Requirements ................................................................................. 24-9
24.3.4 Combination Graph Data Requirements..................................................................... 24-10
24.3.5 Funnel Graph Data Requirements ............................................................................... 24-10
24.3.6 Line Graph Data Requirements .................................................................................... 24-10
24.3.7 Pareto Graph Data Requirements ................................................................................ 24-11
24.3.8 Pie Graph Data Requirements ...................................................................................... 24-11
24.3.9 Polar Graph Data Requirements .................................................................................. 24-11
24.3.10 Radar Graph Data Requirements ................................................................................. 24-12
24.3.11 Scatter Graph Data Requirements................................................................................ 24-12
24.3.12 Sparkchart Data Requirements ..................................................................................... 24-12
24.3.13 Stock Graph Data Requirements .................................................................................. 24-13
24.3.13.1 Stock Graphs: High-Low-Close ............................................................................. 24-13
24.3.13.2 Stock Graphs: High-Low-Close with Volume..................................................... 24-13
24.3.13.3 Stock Graphs: Open-High-Low-Close.................................................................. 24-14
24.3.13.4 Stock Graphs: Open-High-Low-Close with Volume.......................................... 24-14
24.3.13.5 Candle Stock Graphs: Open-Close ....................................................................... 24-14
24.3.13.6 Candle Stock Graphs: Open-Close with Volume ............................................... 24-14
24.3.13.7 Candle Stock Graphs: Open-High-Low-Close ................................................... 24-15
24.3.13.8 Candle Stock Graphs: Open-High-Low-Close with Volume ........................... 24-15
24.4 Creating a Graph ................................................................................................................... 24-15
24.4.1 How to Create a Graph Using Tabular Data ............................................................. 24-15
24.4.1.1 Storing Tabular Data for a Graph in a Managed Bean....................................... 24-15
24.4.1.2 Creating a Graph Using Tabular Data.................................................................. 24-17
24.4.2 What Happens When You Create a Graph Using Tabular Data ............................. 24-17
24.5 Changing the Graph Type .................................................................................................... 24-17
24.6 Customizing the Appearance of Graphs ............................................................................ 24-18
24.6.1 Changing the Color, Style, and Display of Graph Data Values............................... 24-19
24.6.1.1 How to Specify the Color and Style for Individual Series Items...................... 24-20
24.6.1.2 How to Control the Number of Different Colors Used for Series Items ......... 24-20
24.6.1.3 How to Enable Hiding and Showing Series Items ............................................. 24-20
24.6.2 Formatting Numbers in Graphs ................................................................................... 24-21
24.6.2.1 How to Format Numbers in the y1-Axis of a Graph.......................................... 24-21

xiv
24.6.2.2 How to Format Numbers for the Marker Text of a Graph ............................... 24-22
24.6.3 Formatting Text in Graphs ............................................................................................ 24-22
24.6.3.1 How to Globally Set Graph Font Using a Skin ................................................... 24-23
24.6.4 Changing Graph Size and Style ................................................................................... 24-24
24.6.4.1 How to Specify the Size of a Graph at Initial Display........................................ 24-24
24.6.4.2 How to Provide for Dynamic Resizing of a Graph ............................................ 24-25
24.6.4.3 How to Use a Specific Style Sheet for a Graph.................................................... 24-25
24.6.5 Changing Graph Background, Plot Area, and Title .................................................. 24-25
24.6.5.1 How to Customize the Background and Plot Area of a Graph ........................ 24-26
24.6.5.2 How to Specify Titles and Footnotes in a Graph ................................................ 24-26
24.6.6 Customizing Graph Axes and Labels .......................................................................... 24-27
24.6.6.1 How to Specify the Title, Appearance, and Scaling of an Axis ........................ 24-28
24.6.6.2 How to Specify Scrolling on an Axis .................................................................... 24-28
24.6.6.3 How to Control the Appearance of Tick Marks and Labels on an Axis.......... 24-29
24.6.6.4 How to Format Numbers on an Axis ................................................................... 24-30
24.6.6.5 How to Set Minimum and Maximum Values on a Data Axis .......................... 24-30
24.6.7 Customizing Graph Legends ........................................................................................ 24-30
24.6.8 Customizing Tooltips in Graphs .................................................................................. 24-31
24.7 Customizing the Appearance of Specific Graph Types ................................................... 24-33
24.7.1 Changing the Appearance of Pie Graphs.................................................................... 24-33
24.7.1.1 How to Customize the Overall Appearance of Pie Graphs .............................. 24-33
24.7.1.2 How to Customize an Exploding Pie Slice .......................................................... 24-33
24.7.2 Changing the Appearance of Lines in Graphs ........................................................... 24-34
24.7.2.1 How to Display Either Data Lines or Markers in Graphs ................................. 24-34
24.7.2.2 How to Change the Appearance of Lines in a Graph Series............................. 24-34
24.7.3 Customizing Pareto Graphs .......................................................................................... 24-35
24.7.4 Customizing Scatter Graph Series Markers ................................................................ 24-35
24.8 Adding Specialized Features to Graphs ............................................................................. 24-36
24.8.1 Adding Reference Lines or Areas to Graphs .............................................................. 24-37
24.8.1.1 How to Create Reference Lines or Areas During Design .................................. 24-37
24.8.1.2 What Happens When You Create Reference Lines or Areas During Design. 24-38
24.8.1.3 How to Create Reference Lines or Areas Dynamically...................................... 24-39
24.8.2 Using Gradient Special Effects in Graphs ................................................................... 24-39
24.8.2.1 How to Add Gradient Special Effects to a Graph............................................... 24-40
24.8.2.2 What Happens When You Add a Gradient Special Effect to a Graph ............ 24-41
24.8.3 Specifying Transparent Colors for Parts of a Graph ................................................. 24-41
24.8.4 Providing Interactive Capability for Graphs .............................................................. 24-41
24.8.4.1 How to Provide Marker and Legend Dimming.................................................. 24-41
24.8.4.2 How to React to Changes in the Zoom and Scroll Levels ................................. 24-42
24.8.5 Providing an Interactive Time Axis for Graphs ......................................................... 24-42
24.8.5.1 How to Define a Relative Range of Time Data for Display............................... 24-42
24.8.5.2 How to Define an Explicit Range of Time Data for Display ............................. 24-43
24.8.6 Adding Alerts and Annotations to Graphs................................................................. 24-43
24.9 Animating Graphs with Active Data .................................................................................. 24-44
24.9.1 How to Configure Graph Components to Display Active Data.............................. 24-45
24.9.2 How to Add Animation Effects that Use Active Data .............................................. 24-45

xv
25 Using ADF Gauge Components
25.1 Introduction to the Gauge Component ................................................................................ 25-1
25.1.1 Types of Gauges................................................................................................................ 25-3
25.1.2 Gauge Terminology.......................................................................................................... 25-5
25.2 Understanding Data Requirements for Gauges .................................................................. 25-6
25.3 Creating a Gauge...................................................................................................................... 25-6
25.3.1 Creating a Gauge Using Tabular Data........................................................................... 25-7
25.3.1.1 Storing Tabular Data for a Gauge in a Managed Bean ........................................ 25-7
25.3.1.2 Structure of the List of Tabular Data ...................................................................... 25-7
25.3.2 How to Create a Gauge Using Tabular Data ................................................................ 25-8
25.3.3 What Happens When You Create a Gauge Using Tabular Data............................... 25-9
25.4 Customizing Gauge Type, Layout, and Appearance ......................................................... 25-9
25.4.1 How to Change the Type of the Gauge ......................................................................... 25-9
25.4.2 How to Determine the Layout of Gauges in a Gauge Set......................................... 25-10
25.4.3 Changing Gauge Size and Style.................................................................................... 25-10
25.4.3.1 Specifying the Size of a Gauge at Initial Display ................................................ 25-10
25.4.3.2 Providing Dynamic Resizing of a Gauge............................................................. 25-11
25.4.3.3 Using a Custom Style Class for a Gauge.............................................................. 25-11
25.4.4 How to Add Thresholds to Gauges ............................................................................. 25-11
25.4.4.1 Adding Static Thresholds to Gauges .................................................................... 25-11
25.4.5 How to Format Numbers in Gauges............................................................................ 25-12
25.4.5.1 Formatting the Number in a Gauge Metric Label .............................................. 25-12
25.4.6 What Happens When You Format the Number in a Gauge Metric Label ............. 25-13
25.4.7 How to Format Text in Gauges..................................................................................... 25-13
25.4.8 How to Specify an N-Degree Dial ................................................................................ 25-14
25.4.9 How to Customize Gauge Labels................................................................................. 25-14
25.4.9.1 Controlling the Position of Gauge Labels ............................................................ 25-14
25.4.9.2 Customizing the Colors and Borders of Gauge Labels...................................... 25-14
25.4.10 How to Customize Indicators and Tick Marks .......................................................... 25-15
25.4.10.1 Controlling the Appearance of Gauge Indicators............................................... 25-15
25.4.10.2 Specifying Tick Marks and Labels ....................................................................... 25-15
25.4.10.3 Creating Exterior Tick Labels ................................................................................ 25-16
25.4.11 Specifying Transparency for Parts of a Gauge ........................................................... 25-16
25.5 Adding Gauge Special Effects and Animation .................................................................. 25-17
25.5.1 How to Use Gradient Special Effects in a Gauge ....................................................... 25-17
25.5.1.1 Adding Gradient Special Effects to a Gauge ....................................................... 25-17
25.5.2 What Happens When You Add a Gradient Special Effect to a Gauge ................... 25-18
25.5.3 How to Add Interactivity to Gauges ........................................................................... 25-18
25.5.4 How to Animate Gauges ............................................................................................... 25-19
25.5.5 How to Animate Gauges with Active Data ................................................................ 25-20
25.5.5.1 Configuring Gauge Components to Display Active Data................................. 25-20
25.5.5.2 Adding Animation to Gauges ............................................................................... 25-21
25.6 Using Custom Shapes in Gauges......................................................................................... 25-21
25.6.1 How to Create a Custom Shapes Graphic File ........................................................... 25-21
25.6.2 How to Use a Custom Shapes File ............................................................................... 25-24
25.6.3 What You May Need to Know About Supported SVG Features ............................ 25-24
25.6.4 How to Set Custom Shapes Styles................................................................................ 25-25

xvi
26 Using ADF Pivot Table Components
26.1 Introduction tithe ADF Pivot Table Component................................................................. 26-1
26.1.1 Pivot Table Elements and Terminology ........................................................................ 26-2
26.2 Understanding Data Requirements for a Pivot Table ........................................................ 26-3
26.3 Pivoting Layers......................................................................................................................... 26-3
26.4 Using Selection in Pivot Tables.............................................................................................. 26-5
26.5 Sorting in a Pivot Table ........................................................................................................... 26-6
26.6 Sizing in a Pivot Table ............................................................................................................. 26-6
26.6.1 How to Set the Overall Size of a Pivot Table ................................................................ 26-6
26.6.2 How to Resize Rows, Columns, and Layers ................................................................. 26-7
26.6.3 What You May Need to Know About Resizing Rows, Columns, and Layers ........ 26-7
26.7 Updating Pivot Tables with Partial Page Rendering.......................................................... 26-7
26.8 Exporting from a Pivot Table ................................................................................................. 26-8
26.9 Customizing the Cell Content of a Pivot Table ................................................................... 26-9
26.9.1 How to Create a CellFormat Object for a Data Cell..................................................... 26-9
26.9.2 How to Construct a CellFormat Object ....................................................................... 26-10
26.9.3 How to Change Format and Text Styles...................................................................... 26-10
26.9.4 How to Create Stoplight and Conditional Formatting in a Pivot Table ................ 26-12
26.10 Pivot Table Data Cell Stamping and Editing ..................................................................... 26-13
26.10.1 How to Specify Custom Images for Data Cells .......................................................... 26-14
26.10.2 How to Specify Images, Icons, Links, and Read-Only Content in Header Cells .. 26-14
26.11 Using a Pivot Filter Bar with a Pivot Table ........................................................................ 26-15
26.11.1 How to Associate a Pivot Filter Bar with a Pivot Table ............................................ 26-16

27 Using ADF Geographic Map Components

27.1 Introduction to Geographic Maps ......................................................................................... 27-1
27.1.1 Available Map Themes .................................................................................................... 27-1
27.1.2 Geographic Map Terminology ....................................................................................... 27-2
27.1.3 Geographic Map Component Tags ................................................................................ 27-4
27.1.3.1 Geographic Map Parent Tags .................................................................................. 27-5
27.1.3.2 Geographic Map Child Tags .................................................................................... 27-5
27.1.3.3 Tags for Modifying Map Themes............................................................................ 27-5
27.2 Understanding Data Requirements for Geographic Maps ................................................ 27-6
27.3 Customizing Map Size, Zoom Control, and Selection Area Totals .................................. 27-6
27.3.1 How to Adjust the Map Size ........................................................................................... 27-6
27.3.2 How to Specify Strategy for Map Zoom Control ......................................................... 27-7
27.3.3 How to Total Map Selection Values............................................................................... 27-7
27.4 Customizing Map Themes...................................................................................................... 27-8
27.4.1 How to Customize Zoom Levels for a Theme.............................................................. 27-8
27.4.2 How to Customize the Labels of a Map Theme ........................................................... 27-9
27.4.3 How to Customize Color Map Themes ......................................................................... 27-9
27.4.4 How to Customize Point Images in a Point Theme................................................... 27-10
27.4.5 What Happens When You Customize the Point Images in a Map ......................... 27-10
27.4.6 How to Customize the Bars in a Bar Graph Theme................................................... 27-11
27.4.7 What Happens When You Customize the Bars in a Map Bar Graph Theme ........ 27-12
27.4.8 How to Customize the Slices in a Pie Graph Theme ................................................. 27-12

xvii
 27.4.9 What Happens When You Customize the Slices in a Map Pie Graph Theme....... 27-13
27.5 Adding a Toolbar to a Map .................................................................................................. 27-14
27.5.1 How to Add a Toolbar to a Map .................................................................................. 27-14
27.5.2 What Happens When You Add a Toolbar to a Map ................................................. 27-14

28 Using ADF Gantt Chart Components

28.1 Introduction to the ADF Gantt Chart Components ............................................................ 28-1
28.1.1 Types of Gantt Charts ...................................................................................................... 28-2
28.1.2 Functional Areas of a Gantt Chart ................................................................................. 28-3
28.1.3 Description of Gantt Chart Tasks ................................................................................... 28-4
28.2 Understanding Gantt Chart Tags and Facets....................................................................... 28-5
28.3 Understanding Gantt Chart User Interactivity.................................................................... 28-6
28.3.1 Navigating in a Gantt Chart............................................................................................ 28-7
28.3.1.1 Scrolling and Panning the List Region or the Chart Region ............................... 28-7
28.3.1.2 How to Navigate to a Specific Date in a Gantt Chart........................................... 28-7
28.3.1.3 How to Control the Visibility of Columns in the Table Region.......................... 28-8
28.3.2 How to Display Data in a Hierarchical List or a Flat List........................................... 28-8
28.3.3 How to Change the Gantt Chart Time Scale................................................................. 28-8
28.4 Understanding Data Requirements for the Gantt Chart ................................................... 28-9
28.4.1 Data for a Project Gantt Chart......................................................................................... 28-9
28.4.2 Data for a Resource Utilization Gantt Chart............................................................... 28-11
28.4.3 Data for a Scheduling Gantt Chart ............................................................................... 28-12
28.5 Creating an ADF Gantt Chart .............................................................................................. 28-13
28.6 Customizing Gantt Chart Legends, Toolbars, and Context Menus ............................... 28-13
28.6.1 How to Customize a Gantt Chart Legend................................................................... 28-13
28.6.2 Customizing Gantt Chart Toolbars .............................................................................. 28-14
28.6.3 Customizing Gantt Chart Context Menus .................................................................. 28-15
28.7 Working with Gantt Chart Tasks and Resources .............................................................. 28-16
28.7.1 How to Create a New Task Type ................................................................................. 28-16
28.7.2 How to Specify Custom Data Filters............................................................................ 28-17
28.7.3 How to Add a Double-Click Event to a Task Bar ...................................................... 28-18
28.8 Specifying Nonworking Days, Read-Only Features, and Time Axes ............................ 28-19
28.8.1 Identifying Nonworking Days in a Gantt Chart ........................................................ 28-19
28.8.1.1 How to Specify Weekdays as Nonworking Days............................................... 28-19
28.8.1.2 How to Identify Specific Dates as Nonworking Days ....................................... 28-19
28.8.2 How to Apply Read-Only Values to Gantt Chart Features...................................... 28-20
28.8.3 Customizing the Time Axis of a Gantt Chart ............................................................. 28-21
28.8.3.1 How to Create and Use a Custom Time Axis...................................................... 28-22
28.9 Printing a Gantt Chart ........................................................................................................... 28-22
28.9.1 Print Options ................................................................................................................... 28-23
28.9.2 Action Listener to Handle the Print Event.................................................................. 28-23
28.10 Using Gantt Charts as a Drop Target or Drag Source ...................................................... 28-24

29 Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components

29.1 Introduction to Hierarchy Viewers ....................................................................................... 29-1
29.1.1 Understanding the Hierarchy Viewer Component ..................................................... 29-1
29.1.2 Hierarchy Viewer Elements and Terminology............................................................. 29-4

xviii
 29.1.3 Available Hierarchy Viewer Layout Options............................................................... 29-6
29.2 Data Requirements for Hierarchy Viewers .......................................................................... 29-8
29.3 Managing Nodes in a Hierarchy Viewer.............................................................................. 29-8
29.3.1 How to Specify Node Content ...................................................................................... 29-10
29.3.2 How to Configure the Controls on a Node................................................................. 29-12
29.3.3 How to Specify a Node Definition for an Accessor ................................................... 29-13
29.3.4 How to Associate a Node Definition with a Particular Set of Data Rows.............. 29-13
29.3.5 How to Specify Ancestor Levels for an Anchor Node .............................................. 29-14
29.4 Navigating in a Hierarchy Viewer ...................................................................................... 29-14
29.4.1 How to Configure Upward Navigation in a Hierarchy Viewer .............................. 29-14
29.4.2 How to Configure Same-Level Navigation in a Hierarchy Viewer ........................ 29-15
29.4.3 What Happens When You Configure Same-Level Navigation in a Hierarchy Viewer ....
29-15
29.5 Adding Interactivity to a Hierarchy Viewer Component................................................ 29-16
29.5.1 How to Configure Node Selection Action .................................................................. 29-16
29.5.2 How to Configure a Hierarchy Viewer to Invoke a Popup Window ..................... 29-16
29.5.3 How to Configure a Hierarchy View Node to Invoke a Menu................................ 29-18
29.6 Using Panel Cards.................................................................................................................. 29-18
29.6.1 How to Create a Panel Card.......................................................................................... 29-19
29.6.2 What Happens at Runtime When a Panel Card Component Is Rendered ............ 29-19
29.7 Customizing the Appearance of a Hierarchy Viewer ...................................................... 29-20
29.7.1 How to Adjust the Size of a Hierarchy Viewer .......................................................... 29-20
29.7.2 How to Include Images in a Hierarchy Viewer.......................................................... 29-20
29.7.3 How to Configure the Display of the Control Panel ................................................. 29-21
29.7.4 How to Configure the Display of Links and Labels .................................................. 29-21
29.8 Adding Search to a Hierarchy Viewer................................................................................ 29-23
29.8.1 How to Configure Searching in a Hierarchy Viewer ................................................ 29-23
29.8.2 What You May Need to Know About Configuring Search in a Hierarchy Viewer...........
29-25

Part V Advanced Topics

30 Creating Custom ADF Faces Components

30.1 Introduction to Custom ADF Faces Components ............................................................... 30-1
30.1.1 Developing a Custom Component with JDeveloper................................................... 30-2
30.1.2 An Example Custom Component .................................................................................. 30-5
30.2 Setting Up the Workspace and Starter Files......................................................................... 30-9
30.2.1 How to Set Up the JDeveloper Custom Component Environment ........................ 30-10
30.2.2 How to Add a Faces Configuration File...................................................................... 30-12
30.2.3 How to Add a MyFaces Trinidad Skins Configuration File..................................... 30-12
30.2.4 How to Add a Cascading Style Sheet .......................................................................... 30-13
30.2.5 How to Add a Resource Kit Loader ............................................................................ 30-13
30.2.6 How to Add a JavaServer Pages Tag Library Descriptor File ................................. 30-13
30.2.7 How to Add a JavaScript Library Feature Configuration File ................................. 30-14
30.2.8 How to Add a Facelets Tag Library Configuration File............................................ 30-14
30.3 Client-Side Development...................................................................................................... 30-15
30.3.1 How to Create a JavaScript File for a Component..................................................... 30-16

xix
 30.3.2 How to Create a Javascript File for an Event.............................................................. 30-17
30.3.3 How to Create a JavaScript File for a Peer .................................................................. 30-19
30.3.4 How to Add a Custom Component to a JavaScript Library Feature Configuration File .
30-20
30.4 Server-Side Development ..................................................................................................... 30-20
30.4.1 How to Create a Class for an Event Listener .............................................................. 30-21
30.4.2 How to Create a Class for an Event ............................................................................. 30-22
30.4.3 Creating the Component ............................................................................................... 30-23
30.4.4 How to Create a Class for a Component..................................................................... 30-25
30.4.5 How to Add the Component to the faces-config.xml File ........................................ 30-27
30.4.6 How to Create a Class for a Resource Bundle ............................................................ 30-28
30.4.7 How to Create a Class for a Renderer.......................................................................... 30-30
30.4.8 How to Add the Renderer to the faces-config.xml File............................................. 30-31
30.4.9 How to Create JSP Tag Properties................................................................................ 30-31
30.4.10 How to Configure the Tag Library Descriptor........................................................... 30-34
30.4.11 How to Create a Resource Loader................................................................................ 30-36
30.4.12 How to Create a MyFaces Trinidad Cascading Style Sheet ..................................... 30-37
30.5 Deploying a Component Library......................................................................................... 30-39
30.6 Adding the Custom Component to an Application ......................................................... 30-39
30.6.1 How to Configure the Web Deployment Descriptor................................................. 30-40
30.6.2 How to Enable JavaScript Logging and Assertions................................................... 30-40
30.6.3 How to Add a Custom Component to JSF Pages....................................................... 30-41
30.6.4 What You May Need to Know About Using the tagPane Custom Component ... 30-41

31 Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages

31.1 Introduction to User Customization ..................................................................................... 31-1
31.2 Implementing Session Change Persistence.......................................................................... 31-4
31.2.1 How to Implement Session Change Persistence .......................................................... 31-4
31.2.2 What Happens When You Configure Your Application to Use Change Persistence .......
31-4
31.2.3 What Happens at Runtime .............................................................................................. 31-4
31.2.4 What You May Need to Know About Using Change Persistence on Templates and
Regions 31-5

32 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality

32.1 Introduction to Drag and Drop Functionality ..................................................................... 32-1
32.2 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Attributes ......................................................... 32-4
32.3 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Objects .............................................................. 32-4
32.3.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality for a Single Object ................................. 32-5
32.3.2 What Happens at Runtime .............................................................................................. 32-7
32.3.3 What You May Need to Know About Using the ClientDropListener ...................... 32-8
32.4 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Collections ....................................................... 32-9
32.4.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality for Collections........................................ 32-9
32.4.2 What You May Need to Know About the dragDropEndListener........................... 32-11
32.5 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Components .................................................. 32-11
32.5.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality for Components................................... 32-12

xx
 32.6 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality Into and Out of a panelDashboard Component..........
32-14
32.6.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality Into a panelDashboard Component . 32-14
32.6.2 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality Out of a panelDashboard Component..........
32-17
32.7 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality to a Calendar ....................................................... 32-19
32.7.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality to a Calendar........................................ 32-19
32.7.2 What You May Need to Know About Dragging and Dropping in a Calendar..... 32-20
32.8 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Graphs................................................... 32-20
32.8.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality for a DVT Graph.................................. 32-21
32.9 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Gantt Charts ......................................... 32-21
32.9.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality for a DVT Component........................ 32-23

33 Using Different Output Modes

33.1 Introduction to Using Different Output Modes .................................................................. 33-1
33.2 Displaying a Page for Print..................................................................................................... 33-1
33.2.1 How to Use the showPrintablePageBehavior Tag ....................................................... 33-2
33.3 Creating Emailable Pages ....................................................................................................... 33-3
33.3.1 How to Create an Emailable Page .................................................................................. 33-4
33.3.2 How to Test the Rendering of a Page in an Email Client............................................ 33-5
33.3.3 What Happens at Runtime: How ADF Faces Converts JSF Pages to Emailable Pages.....
33-6

Part VI Appendixes

A ADF Faces Configuration

A.1 Introduction to Configuring ADF Faces................................................................................. A-1
A.2 Configuration in web.xml......................................................................................................... A-1
A.2.1 How to Configure for JSF and ADF Faces in web.xml.................................................. A-2
A.2.2 What You May Need to Know About Required Elements in web.xml ...................... A-3
A.2.3 What You May Need to Know About ADF Faces Context Parameters in web.xml. A-4
A.2.3.1 State Saving .................................................................................................................. A-4
A.2.3.2 Debugging .................................................................................................................... A-5
A.2.3.3 File Uploading.............................................................................................................. A-6
A.2.3.4 Resource Debug Mode................................................................................................ A-6
A.2.3.5 User Customization..................................................................................................... A-6
A.2.3.6 Assertions ..................................................................................................................... A-7
A.2.3.7 Profiling......................................................................................................................... A-7
A.2.3.8 Facelets Support........................................................................................................... A-7
A.2.3.9 Dialog Prefix................................................................................................................. A-7
A.2.3.10 Compression for CSS Class Names........................................................................... A-7
A.2.3.11 Test Automation .......................................................................................................... A-7
A.2.3.12 UIViewRoot Caching .................................................................................................. A-8
A.2.3.13 Themes and Tonal Styles ............................................................................................ A-8
A.2.3.14 Partial Page Navigation .............................................................................................. A-8
A.2.3.15 JavaScript Partitioning ................................................................................................ A-9

xxi
 A.2.3.16 Framebusting ............................................................................................................... A-9
A.2.3.17 Suppressing Auto-Generated Component IDs ..................................................... A-10
A.2.3.18 ADF Faces Caching Filter ......................................................................................... A-11
A.2.3.19 Configuring Native Browser Context Menus for Command Links................... A-12
A.2.4 What You May Need to Know About Other Context Parameters in web.xml ....... A-12
A.3 Configuration in faces-config.xml ......................................................................................... A-13
A.3.1 How to Configure for ADF Faces in faces-config.xml................................................. A-13
A.4 Configuration in adf-config.xml ............................................................................................ A-14
A.4.1 How to Configure ADF Faces in adf-config.xml.......................................................... A-14
A.4.2 Defining Caching Rules for ADF Faces Caching Filter ............................................... A-15
A.5 Configuration in adf-settings.xml ......................................................................................... A-16
A.5.1 How to Configure for ADF Faces in adf-settings.xml................................................. A-16
A.5.2 What You May Need to Know About Elements in adf-settings.xml ........................ A-17
A.5.2.1 Help System ............................................................................................................... A-17
A.5.2.2 Caching Rules............................................................................................................. A-18
A.6 Configuration in trinidad-config.xml ................................................................................... A-19
A.6.1 How to Configure ADF Faces Features in trinidad-config.xml................................. A-19
A.6.2 What You May Need to Know About Elements in trinidad-config.xml .................. A-20
A.6.2.1 Animation Enabled ................................................................................................... A-20
A.6.2.2 Skin Family ................................................................................................................. A-21
A.6.2.3 Time Zone and Year .................................................................................................. A-21
A.6.2.4 Enhanced Debugging Output.................................................................................. A-21
A.6.2.5 Page Accessibility Level ........................................................................................... A-21
A.6.2.6 Language Reading Direction ................................................................................... A-22
A.6.2.7 Currency Code and Separators for Number Groups and Decimal Points........ A-22
A.6.2.8 Formatting Dates and Numbers Locale ................................................................. A-23
A.6.2.9 Output Mode.............................................................................................................. A-23
A.6.2.10 Number of Active PageFlowScope Instances........................................................ A-23
A.6.2.11 Custom File Uploaded Processor ............................................................................ A-23
A.6.2.12 Client-Side Validation and Conversion.................................................................. A-24
A.7 Configuration in trinidad-skins.xml ..................................................................................... A-24
A.8 Using the RequestContext EL Implicit Object ..................................................................... A-24
A.9 Using JavaScript Library Partitioning................................................................................... A-26
A.9.1 How to Create a JavaScript Feature ............................................................................... A-27
A.9.2 How to Create JavaScript Partitions .............................................................................. A-28
A.9.3 What You May Need to Know About the adf-js-partitions.xml File ........................ A-29
A.9.4 What Happens at Runtime: JavaScript Partitioning.................................................... A-36

B Message Keys for Converter and Validator Messages

B.1 Introduction to ADF Faces Default Messages ....................................................................... B-1
B.2 Message Keys and Setter Methods .......................................................................................... B-1
B.3 Converter and Validator Message Keys and Setter Methods.............................................. B-2
B.3.1 af:convertColor.................................................................................................................... B-2
B.3.2 af:convertDateTime ............................................................................................................ B-2
B.3.3 af:convertNumber............................................................................................................... B-3
B.3.4 af:validateByteLength ........................................................................................................ B-4
B.3.5 af:validateDateRestriction ................................................................................................. B-4

xxii
 B.3.6 af:validateDateTimeRange ................................................................................................ B-5
B.3.7 af:validateDoubleRange..................................................................................................... B-6
B.3.8 af:validateLength ................................................................................................................ B-7
B.3.9 af:validateRegExp ............................................................................................................... B-8

C Keyboard Shortcuts
C.1 About Keyboard Shortcuts ....................................................................................................... C-1
C.2 Tab Traversal .............................................................................................................................. C-1
C.2.1 Tab Traversal Sequence on a Page ................................................................................... C-2
C.2.2 Tab Traversal Sequence in a Table ................................................................................... C-2
C.3 Accelerator Keys ........................................................................................................................ C-4
C.4 Access Keys................................................................................................................................. C-7
C.5 Default Cursor or Focus Placement......................................................................................... C-8
C.6 The Enter Key ............................................................................................................................. C-9

D Quick Start Layout Themes

Index

xxiii
xxiv
 Preface

Welcome to Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework!

Audience
This document is intended for developers who need to create the view layer of a web
application using the rich functionality of ADF Faces Rich Client components.

Documentation Accessibility
Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation
accessible to all users, including users that are disabled. To that end, our
documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive
technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to
facilitate access by the disabled community. Accessibility standards will continue to
evolve over time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading
technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be
accessible to all of our customers. For more information, visit the Oracle Accessibility
Program Web site at http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/.

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

Screen readers may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The
conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an
otherwise empty line; however, some screen readers may not always read a line of text
that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or
organizations that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes
any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

Deaf/Hard of Hearing Access to Oracle Support Services

To reach Oracle Support Services, use a telecommunications relay service (TRS) to call
Oracle Support at 1.800.223.1711. An Oracle Support Services engineer will handle
technical issues and provide customer support according to the Oracle service request
process. Information about TRS is available at
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/trs.html, and a list of phone
numbers is available at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro/trsphonebk.html.

xxv
Related Documents
For more information, see the following related documents:
■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework
■ Oracle JDeveloper 11g Online Help
■ Oracle JDeveloper 11g Release Notes, included with your JDeveloper 11g installation,
and on Oracle Technology Network
■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Java API Reference for Oracle ADF Faces
■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Java API Reference for Oracle ADF Faces Client JavaScript
■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Java API Reference for Oracle ADF Data Visualization
Components
■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Tag Reference for Oracle ADF Faces
■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Data Visualization Tools Tag Reference for Oracle ADF Faces
■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Tag Reference for Oracle ADF Faces Skin Selectors
■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Data Visualization Tools Tag Reference for Oracle ADF Skin
Selectors
■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Desktop Integration Developer's Guide for Oracle Application
Development Framework
■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Mobile Browser Developer's Guide for Oracle Application
Development Framework

Conventions
The following text conventions are used in this document:

Convention Meaning
boldface Boldface type indicates graphical user interface elements (for example,
menus and menu items, buttons, tabs, dialog controls), including
options that you select.
italic Italic type indicates book titles, emphasis, or placeholder variables for
which you supply particular values.
monospace Monospace type indicates language and syntax elements, directory and
file names, URLs, text that appears on the screen, or text that you enter.

xxvi
 What's New

This section identifies the changes made to this guide for this release.

Documentation Changes for Release 11.1.1.3.0

The following table shows the sections that have changed or have been added for this
release.

Chapter Section New Revised

Chapter 10, "Using Tables and Trees"
Section 10.1.3, "Editing Data in Tables, Trees, and Tree X
Tables"
Section 10.2.2, "Formatting Tables" X
Section 11, "Using List-of-Values Components" X
Chapter 13, "Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows" X
Section 13.2, "Declaratively Creating Popup Elements" X
Section 13.5, "Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of X
Inline Popups"
Chapter 18, "Working with Navigation Components"
Section 18.3, "Configuring a Browser’s Context Menu X
for Command Links"
Section 18.6.4, "How to Use the breadCrumbs X
Component"
Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins"
Section 20.1.1, "Oracle ADF Faces Skins" X
Chapter 33, "Using Different Output Modes"
Section 33.1, "Introduction to Using Different Output X
Modes"
Appendix A, "ADF Faces Configuration"
Section A.2.3.19, "Configuring Native Browser Context X
Menus for Command Links"
Appendix C, "Keyboard Shortcuts"
Section C.2, "Tab Traversal" X

xxvii
xxviii
 Part I
Part I Getting Started with ADF Faces

Part I contains the following chapters:

■ Chapter 1, "Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client"
■ Chapter 2, "Getting Started with ADF Faces"
 1
1 Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client

This chapter introduces ADF Faces rich client, providing a history, an overview of the
framework functionality, and an overview of each of the different component types
found in the library. It also introduces the ADF Faces demonstration application that
can be used in conjunction with this guide.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 1.1, "Introduction to Oracle ADF Faces Rich Client"
■ Section 1.2, "Architecture of ADF Faces Components"
■ Section 1.3, "ADF Faces Components"
■ Section 1.4, "ADF Faces Demonstration Application"

1.1 Introduction to Oracle ADF Faces Rich Client

Oracle ADF Faces rich client (known also as ADF Faces) is a set of JavaServer Faces
(JSF) components that include built-in Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX)
functionality. While AJAX brings rich client-like functionality to browser-based
applications, using JSF provides server-side control, which reduces the amount of
JavaScript code that application developers need to write in order to implement
AJAX-based applications.
In addition to providing a rich set of JSF components, the ADF Faces rich client
framework (RCF) provides a client-side programming model familiar to developers
accustomed to the JSF development model. Most of the RCF differs little from any
standard JSF application: the server programming model is still JavaServer Faces, and
the framework still uses the JavaServer Faces lifecycle, server-side component tree,
and the expression language (EL). However, the RCF also provides a client-side
programming model and lifecycle that execute independently of the server.
Developers can find and manipulate components from JavaScript, for example get
and set properties, receive and queue events, and so forth, entirely from JavaScript.
The RCF makes sure that changes to component state are automatically synchronized
back to the server to ensure consistency of state, and that events are delivered, when
necessary, to the server for further processing.
Before providing more detailed information regarding ADF Faces, it may help to have
a brief history of the ADF Faces library and Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) and
AJAX in general.

1.1.1 History of ADF Faces

In the 1990s, software vendors began to see the need for Internet applications to
appear and behave more like desktop applications, and so they developed RIA

Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client 1-1

Introduction to Oracle ADF Faces Rich Client

frameworks on which to build these applications. However, these frameworks

required that users install proprietary plug-ins in order to utilize the functionality. As
web standards developed, and Java web applications became more prevalent, the
development community at large started to recognize the need for a standard
view-layer framework. The Java Community Process (JCP) developed JSF as a user
interface standard for Java web applications. From the formative years of JSR-127 in
2001, through the first release in 2004, and up to the current release, the JCP has
brought together resources from the community, including Oracle, to define the JSF
specification and produce a reference implementation of the specification. JSF is now
part of the Java EE standard.
With JSF being a standard for building enterprise Java view components, vendors
could now develop their own components that could run on any compliant
application server. These components could now be more sophisticated, allowing
developers to create browser-based RIAs that behaved more like thick-client
applications. To meet this need, Oracle developed a set of components called ADF
Faces that could be used on any runtime implementation of JSF. Oracle ADF Faces
provided a set of over 100 components with built-in functionality, such as data tables,
hierarchical tables, and color and date pickers, that exceeded the functionality of the
standard JSF components. To underline its commitment to the technology and the
open source community, Oracle has since donated that version of the ADF Faces
component library to the Apache Software Foundation, and it is now known as
Apache MyFaces Trinidad. This component library is currently available through the
Apache Software Foundation.
ADF Faces not only provided a standard set of complex components, pages were now
able to be partially refreshed using partial page rendering with AJAX. AJAX is a
combination of asynchronous JavaScript, dynamic HTML (DHTML), XML, and the
XmlHttpRequest communication channel, which allows requests to be made to the
server without fully rerendering the page. However, pages built solely using AJAX
require a large amount of JavaScript to be written by the developer.
The latest version of ADF Faces takes full advantage of AJAX, and it also provides a
fully-functioning framework, allowing developers to implement AJAX-based RIAs
relatively easily with a minimal amount of hand-coded JavaScript. Using ADF Faces,
you can easily build a stock trader's dashboard application that allows a stock analyst
to use drag and drop to add new stock symbols to a table view, which then gets
updated by the server model using an advanced push technology. To close new deals,
the stock trader could navigate through the process of purchasing new stocks for a
client, without having to leave the actual page. ADF Faces insulates the developer
from the need to deal with the intricacies of JavaScript and the DHTML differences
across browsers.

1.1.2 ADF Faces as Rich Client Components

ADF Faces rich client framework offers complete RIA functionality, including drag
and drop, lightweight dialogs, a navigation and menu framework, and a complete
JavaScript API. The library provides over 100 RIA components, including hierarchical
data tables, tree menus, in-page dialogs, accordion panels, dividers, and sortable
tables. ADF Faces also includes data visualization components, which are Flash- and
SVG-enabled components capable of rendering dynamic charts, graphs, gauges, and
other graphics that provide a real-time view of underlying data. Each component also
offers customizing and skinning, along with support for internationalization and
accessibility.
To achieve these capabilities, ADF Faces components use a rich JSF render kit. This kit
renders both HTML content as well as the corresponding client-side components. This

1-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Architecture of ADF Faces Components

built-in support enables you to build RIAs without needing extensive knowledge of
the individual technologies.
ADF Faces can also be used in an application that uses the Facelets library. Facelets is a
JSF-centric declarative XML view definition technology that provides an alternative to
using the JSP engine technology for the view. For more details about the architecture of
ADF Faces, see Section 1.2, "Architecture of ADF Faces Components."

Tip: You can use ADF Faces in conjunction with Oracle ADF Model
data binding, allowing you to declaratively bind ADF Faces
components to the business layer. Using ADF Model data binding,
most developer tasks that would otherwise require writing code are
declarative. However, this guide covers only using ADF Faces
components in a standard JSF application. For more information about
using ADF Faces with the ADF Model, see the Oracle Fusion
Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework.

In addition to an extensive library of RIA components, Oracle also offers Oracle

JDeveloper, a full-featured development environment with built-in declarative support
for ADF Faces components, allowing you to quickly and easily build the view layer of
your web application. JDeveloper contains a visual layout editor that displays JSF
pages in a WYSIWYG environment. The Component Palette in JDeveloper holds
visual representations of each of the ADF Faces components, which allows you to drag
and drop a component onto a page in the visual editor, instead of having to manually
add tag syntax to a page. You can use JDeveloper throughout the complete
development lifecycle, as it has integrated features for modeling, coding, debugging,
testing, tuning, and deploying. For more information about using JDeveloper, see
Chapter 2, "Getting Started with ADF Faces."

1.2 Architecture of ADF Faces Components

Unlike frameworks where most of the application logic resides on the client, with ADF
Faces application logic resides mostly on the server, executing in the JSF lifecycle. The
Java data model also remains on the server: the ADF Faces framework performs initial
rendering of its components on the server, generating HTML content that is consumed
directly by browsers. Rendering HTML on the server means that there is less
client-side rendering overhead, which is helpful for complex components.

Note: Because ADF Faces adheres to the standards of the JSF

technology, this guide is mostly concerned with content that is in
addition to, or different from, JSF standards. Therefore, it is
recommended that you have a basic understanding of how JSF works
before beginning to develop with ADF Faces. To learn more about JSF,
visit Sun’s web site at http://java.sun.com.

1.2.1 Client-Side Architecture

JavaScript performance can suffer when too many objects are created. To improve
performance, the RCF minimizes the number of component objects present on the
client, and the number of attributes sent to the client. The framework also has the
JavaScript files that make up the components housed in configurable partitions,
allowing your application to load only the required JavaScript.

Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client 1-3

Architecture of ADF Faces Components

1.2.1.1 Client-Side Components

In JSF, as in most component-based frameworks, an intrinsic property of the
component model is that components can be nested to form a hierarchy, typically
known as the component tree. This simply means that parent components keep track of
their children, making it possible to walk over the component tree to find
all descendents of any given component. While the full component tree still exists on
the server, the ADF Faces client-side component tree is sparsely populated. Client-side
components primarily exist to add behavior to the page by exposing an API contract
for both application developers as well as for the framework itself. It is this contract
that allows, among other things, toggling the enabled state of a button on the client.
Therefore, client-side components are created only for those components that are truly
needed on the client, typically those that have been explicitly configured to have client
representation.
It is also possible for JavaScript components to be present that do not correspond to
any existing server-side component. For example, some ADF Faces components have
client-side behavior that requires popup content. These components may create
AdfRichPopup JavaScript components, even though no Java RichPopup component
may exist.
The JavaScript class that you will interact with most is AdfUIComponent and its
subclasses. An instance of this class is the client-side representation of a server-side
component. Each client component has a set of properties (key/value pairs) and a list
of listeners for each supported event type. All RCF JavaScript classes are prefixed with
Adf to avoid naming conflicts with other JavaScript libraries. For example,
RichCommandButton has AdfRichCommandButton, RichDocument has
AdfRichDocument, and so on.
While the Java UIComponent object represents the state of the component, and this
object is what you interact with to register listeners and set properties, the Renderer
handles producing HTML and receiving postbacks on behalf of the component. In the
RCF client-side JavaScript layer, client-side components have no direct interaction with
the document object model (DOM) whatsoever. All DOM interaction goes through an
intermediary called the peer. Peers interact with the DOM generated by the Java
renderer and handle updating that state and responding to user interactions.
Peers have a number of other responsibilities, including:
■ DOM initialization and cleanup
■ DOM event handling
■ Geometry management
■ Partial page response handling
■ Child visibility change handling

1.2.1.2 JavaScript Library Partitioning

A common issue with JavaScript-heavy frameworks is determining how best to
deliver a large JavaScript code base to the client. On one extreme, bundling all code
into a single JavaScript library can result in a long download time. On the other
extreme, breaking up JavaScript code into many small JavaScript libraries can result in
a large number of roundtrips. Both approaches can result in the end user waiting
unnecessarily long for the initial page to load.
To help mitigate this issue, ADF Faces aggregates its JavaScript code into partitions. A
JavaScript library partition contains code for components and/or features that are
commonly used together. By default, ADF Faces provides a partitioning that is

1-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Architecture of ADF Faces Components

intended to provide a balance between total download size and total number of
roundtrips.
One benefit of ADF Faces's library partitioning strategy is that it is configurable.
Because different applications make use of different components and features, the
default partitioning provided by ADF Faces may not be ideal for all applications. As
such, ADF Faces allows the JavaScript library partitioning to be customized on a
per-application basis. This partitioning allows application developers to tune the
JavaScript library footprint to meet the needs of their application. For more
information about configuring JavaScript partitioning, see Section A.9, "Using
JavaScript Library Partitioning."

1.2.2 ADF Faces Architectural Features

The RCF enables many architectural features that can be used throughout your
application. For example, because processing can be done on the client, small amounts
of data can be exchanged with the server without requiring the whole page to be
rendered. This is referred to as partial page rendering (PPR). Many ADF Faces
components have PPR functionality implemented natively. For example, the
ADF Faces table component comes with built-in AJAX-style functionality that lets you
scroll through the table, sort the table by clicking a column header, mark a row or
several rows for selection, and even expand specific rows in the table, all without
requiring a roundtrip to the server, and with no coding needed. For more information,
see Chapter 7, "Rerendering Partial Page Content."
The RCF also adds functionality to the standard JSF lifecycle. Examples include a
client-side value lifecycle, a subform component that allows you to create independent
submittable regions on a page without the drawbacks of using multiple forms on a
single page, and an optimized lifecycle that can limit the parts of the page submitted
for processing. For more information, see Chapter 4, "Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF
Faces."
The RCF uses the standard JSF event framework. However, events in the RCF have
been abstracted from the standard JavaScript DOM event model. Though the events
share some of the same abstractions found in the DOM event model, they also add
functionality. Consequently, you need not listen for click events on buttons, for
example. You can instead listen for AdfActionEvent events, which may or may not
have been caused by key or mouse events. RCF events can be configured to either
deliver or not deliver the event to the server. For more information, see Chapter 5,
"Handling Events."
ADF Faces input components have built-in validation capabilities. You set one or more
validators on a component by either setting the required attribute or by using the
prebuilt ADF Faces validators. In addition, you can create your own custom validators
to suit your business needs.
ADF Faces input components also have built-in conversion capabilities, which allow
users to enter information as a string and the application can automatically convert the
string to another data type, such as a date. Conversely, data stored as something other
than a string can be converted to a string for display and updating. Many components,
such as the inputDate component, automatically provide this capability. For more
information, see Chapter 6, "Validating and Converting Input."
In addition to these architectural features, the RCF also supports the following:
■ Fully featured client-side architecture: Many of the features you need to create
AJAX-type functionality in your web application are found in the client side of the
architecture. For more information, see Chapter 3, "Using ADF Faces
Architecture."

Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client 1-5

ADF Faces Components

■ Reuse: You can create page templates, as well as page fragments and composite
components made up of multiple components, which can be used throughout
your application. For more information, see Chapter 19, "Creating and Reusing
Fragments, Page Templates, and Components."
■ Skinning: You can globally change the appearance of components. For more
information, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and
Skins."
■ Internationalization: You can change text and other display attributes based on the
user’s locale. For more information, see Chapter 21, "Internationalizing and
Localizing Pages."
■ Accessibility: You can implement accessibility support, including keyboard
shortcuts and text descriptions. For more information, see Chapter 22,
"Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages."
■ Custom component creation: You can create your own components that use the
RCF. For more information, see Chapter 30, "Creating Custom ADF Faces
Components."
■ User customizations: You can create your pages so that they allow users to change
certain display attributes for components at runtime. For more information, see
Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages."
■ Drag and drop: You can allow attribute values, collection values, or complete
components to be dragged from one component to another. For more information,
see Chapter 32, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality."

1.3 ADF Faces Components

ADF Faces components generally fall into two categories. Layout components are
those that are used to organize the contents of the page. Along with components that
act as containers to determine the layout of the page, ADF Faces layout components
also include interactive container components that can show or hide content, or that
provide sections, lists, or empty spaces. Certain layout components support geometry
management, that is, the process by which the size and location of components appear
on a page. The RCF notifies these components of browser resize activity, and they in
turn are able to resize their children. This allows certain components to stretch or
shrink, filling up any available browser space. JDeveloper provides prebuilt
quick-start layouts that declaratively add layout components to your page based on
how you want the page to look. For more information about layout components and
geometry management, see Chapter 8, "Organizing Content on Web Pages."
The remaining components are considered to be in the common category, and are
divided into the following subcategories:
■ Input components: Allow users to enter data or other types of information, such as
color selection or date selection. ADF Faces also provides simple lists from which
users can choose the data to be posted, as well as a file upload component. For
more information about input components, see Chapter 9, "Using Input
Components and Defining Forms."
■ Table and tree components: Display structured data in tables or expandable trees.
ADF Faces tables provide functionality such as sorting column data, filtering data,
and showing and hiding detailed content for a row. Trees have built-in
expand/collapse behavior. Tree tables combine the functionality of tables with the
data hierarchy functionality of trees. For more information, see Chapter 10, "Using
Tables and Trees."

1-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 ADF Faces Components

■ List-of-Values (LOV) components: Allow users to make selections from lists driven
by a model that contains functionality like searching for a specific value or
showing values marked as favorites. These LOV components are useful when a
field used to populate an attribute for one object might actually be contained in a
list of other objects, as with a foreign key relationship in a database. For more
information, see Chapter 11, "Using List-of-Values Components."
■ Query components: Allow users to query data. ADF Faces provides two query
components. The Query component can support multiple search criteria,
dynamically adding and deleting criteria, selectable search operators, match
all/any selections, seeded or saved searches, a basic or advanced mode, and
personalization of searches. The QuickQuery component is a simplified version
of the Query component that allows a search on a single item (criterion). For more
information, see Chapter 12, "Using Query Components."
■ Popup components: Display data in popup windows or dialogs. The dialog
framework in ADF Faces provides an infrastructure to support building pages for
a process displayed in a new popup browser window separate from the parent
page. Multiple dialogs can have a control flow of their own. For more information,
see Chapter 13, "Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows."
■ Explorer-type menus and toolbars: Allow you to create menu bars and toolbars.
Menus and toolbars allow users to select from a specified list of options (in the
case of a menu) or buttons (in the case of a toolbar) to cause some change to the
application. For more information, see Chapter 14, "Using Menus, Toolbars, and
Toolboxes."
■ Calendar component: Displays activities in day, week, month, or list view. You can
implement popup components that allow users to create, edit, or delete activities.
For more information, see Chapter 15, "Creating a Calendar Application."
■ Output components: Display text and graphics, and can also play video and music
clips. ADF Faces also includes a carousel output component that can display
graphics in a revolving carousel. For more information, see Chapter 16, "Using
Output Components."
■ Labels, tips, and messages: Display labels for other components, along with
mouseover tips and error messages. Unlike standard JSF input components, ADF
Faces components that support messages automatically display their own
messages. You can also have components display informational content, for
example contextual help. For more information, see Chapter 17, "Displaying Tips,
Messages, and Help."
■ Navigation components: Allow users to go from one page to the next. ADF Faces
navigation components include buttons and links, as well as the capability to
create more complex hierarchical page flows accessed through different levels of
menus. For more information, see Chapter 18, "Working with Navigation
Components."
■ Data visualization components: Allow users to view and analyze complex data in
real time. ADF data visualization components include graphs, gauges, pivot
tables, geographic maps, Gantt charts, and hierarchy viewers that display
hierarchical data as a set of linked nodes, for example an organization chart. For
more information, see Chapter 23, "Introduction to ADF Data Visualization
Components."

Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client 1-7

ADF Faces Demonstration Application

1.4 ADF Faces Demonstration Application

ADF Faces includes a demonstration application that allows you both to experiment
with running samples of the components and architecture features, and view the
source code.

1.4.1 How to Download and Install the ADF Faces Demo Application
In order to view the demo application (both the code and at runtime), install
JDeveloper, and then download and open the application within JDeveloper.
You can download the ADF Faces demo application from the Oracle Technology
Network (OTN) web site. Navigate to
http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/adf/adffaces/index.htm
l and click the link for installing the ADF Faces Rich Client demo. The resulting page
provides detailed instructions for downloading the WAR file that contains the
application, along with instructions for deploying the application to a standalone
server, or for running the application using the Integrated WebLogic Server included
with JDeveloper.
If you do not want to install the application, you can run the application directly from
OTN by clicking the ADF Faces Rich Client Components Hosted Demo link.

1.4.2 Using the ADF Faces Demo Application

The demo application contains the following:
■ Tag guide: Demonstrations of ADF Faces components, validators, converters, and
miscellaneous tags, along with a property editor to see how changing attribute
values affects the component. Figure 1–1 shows the demonstration of the
selectManyCheckbox component. Each demo provides a link to the associated
tag documentation.

1-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 ADF Faces Demonstration Application

Figure 1–1 Tag Demonstration

■ Skinning: Demonstrations of skinning on the various components. You can see, for
example, how changing style selectors affects how a component is displayed.
Figure 1–2 shows how setting certain style selectors affects the
inputNumberSpinbox component.

Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client 1-9

ADF Faces Demonstration Application

Figure 1–2 Skinning Demonstration

■ Feature demos: Various pages that demonstrate different ways you can use ADF
components. For example, the File Explorer is an application with a live data
model that displays a directory structure and allows you to create, save, and move
directories and files. This application is meant to showcase the components and
features of ADF Faces in a working application, as shown in Figure 1–3. For more
information about the File Explorer application, see Section 1.4.3, "Overview of the
File Explorer Application."

1-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 ADF Faces Demonstration Application

Figure 1–3 File Explorer Application

Other pages demonstrate the main architectural features of ADF Faces, such as
layout components, AJAX postback functionality, and drag and drop. Figure 1–4
shows the demonstration on using the AutoSubmit attribute and partial page
rendering.

Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client 1-11

ADF Faces Demonstration Application

Figure 1–4 Framework Demonstration

■ Visual designs: Demonstrations of how you can use types of components in

different ways to achieve different UI designs. Figure 1–5 shows how you can
achieve different looks for a toolbar.

1-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 ADF Faces Demonstration Application

Figure 1–5 Toolbar Design Demonstration

■ Styles: Demonstration of how setting inline styles and content styles affects
components. Figure 1–6 shows different styles applied to the panelBox
component.

Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client 1-13

ADF Faces Demonstration Application

Figure 1–6 Styles Demonstration

■ Commonly confused components: A comparison of components that provide

similar functionality. Figure 1–7 shows the differences between the various
components that display lists.

1-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 ADF Faces Demonstration Application

Figure 1–7 Commonly Confused Components

1.4.3 Overview of the File Explorer Application

Because the File Explorer is a complete working application, many sections in this
guide use that application to illustrate key points, or to provide code samples. The
source for the File Explorer application can be found in the fileExplorer directory.
The File Explorer application uses the fileExplorerTemplate page template. This
template contains a number of layout components that provide the basic look and feel
for the application. For more information about layout components, see Chapter 8,
"Organizing Content on Web Pages." For more information about using templates, see
Chapter 19, "Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components."
The left-hand side of the application contains a panelAccordion component that
holds two areas: the directory structure and a search field with a results table, as
shown in Figure 1–8.

Figure 1–8 Directory Structure Panel and Search Panel

Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client 1-15

ADF Faces Demonstration Application

You can expand and collapse both these areas. The directory structure is created using
a tree component. The search area is created using input components, a command
button, and a table component. For more information about using
panelAccordion components, see Section 8.9, "Displaying or Hiding Contents in
Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels." For more information about using input
components, see Chapter 9, "Using Input Components and Defining Forms." For more
information about using command buttons, see Chapter 18, "Working with Navigation
Components." For more information about using tables and trees, see Chapter 10,
"Using Tables and Trees."
The right-hand side of the File Explorer application uses tabbed panes to display the
contents of a directory in either a table, a tree table or a list, as shown in Figure 1–9.

Figure 1–9 Directory Contents in Tabbed Panels

The table and tree table have built-in toolbars that allow you to manipulate how the
contents are displayed. In the table an list, you can drag a file or subdirectory from one
directory and drop it into another. In all tabs, you can right-click a file, and from the
context menu, you can view the properties of the file in a popup window. For more
information about using tabbed panes, see Section 8.9, "Displaying or Hiding Contents
in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels." For more information about table and tree
table toolbars, see Section 10.8, "Displaying Table Menus, Toolbars, and Status Bars."
For more information about enabling drag and drop, see Chapter 32, "Adding Drag
and Drop Functionality." For more information about using context menus and popup
windows, see Chapter 13, "Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows."
The top of the File Explorer application contains a menu and a toolbar, as shown in
Figure 1–10.

Figure 1–10 Menu and Toolbar

The menu options allow you to create and delete files and directories and change how
the contents are displayed. The Help menu opens a help system that allows users to
provide feedback in dialogs, as shown in Figure 1–11.

1-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 ADF Faces Demonstration Application

Figure 1–11 Help System

The help system consists of a number of forms created with various input components,
including a rich text editor. For more information about menus, see Section 14.2,
"Using Menus in a Menu Bar." For more information about creating help systems, see
Section 17.5, "Displaying Help for Components." For more information about input
components, see Chapter 9, "Using Input Components and Defining Forms."
Within the toolbar of the File Explorer are controls that allow you navigate within the
directory structure, as well as controls that allow you to change the look and feel of the
application by changing its skin. Figure 1–12 shows the File Explorer application using
the simple skin.

Figure 1–12 File Explorer Application with the Simple Skin

For more information about toolbars, see Section 14.3, "Using Toolbars." For more
information about using skins, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using
Styles and Skins."

1.4.4 Viewing the Source Code In JDeveloper

All the source files for the ADF Faces demo application are contained in one project
(you give this project a name when you create it during installation). The project is
divided into two directories: Application Sources and Web Content. Application
Sources contains the oracle.adfdemo.view package, which in turn contains

Introduction to ADF Faces Rich Client 1-17

ADF Faces Demonstration Application

packages that hold managed beans that provide functionality throughout the
application.

Tip: The managed beans for the component demos are in the
component package and the managed beans for the File Explorer
application are in the explorer package.

The Web Content directory contains all the web resources used by the application,
including JSPX files, JavaScript libraries, images, configuration files, and so on.

Tip: The components subdirectory contains the resources for the

component demos. The docs directory contains the tag and Javadoc
documentation. The fileExplorer directory contains the resources
for the File Explorer application.

1-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 2
2 Getting Started with ADF Faces

This chapter describes how to use JDeveloper to declaratively create ADF Faces
applications.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 2.1, "Developing Declaratively in JDeveloper"
■ Section 2.2, "Creating an Application Workspace"
■ Section 2.3, "Defining Page Flows"
■ Section 2.4, "Creating a View Page"
■ Section 2.5, "Creating EL Expressions"
■ Section 2.6, "Creating and Using Managed Beans"
■ Section 2.7, "Viewing ADF Faces Source Code and Javadoc"

2.1 Developing Declaratively in JDeveloper

Using JDeveloper 11g with Oracle ADF Faces and JSF provides a number of areas
where page and managed bean code is generated for you declaratively, including
creating EL expressions and automatic component binding. Additionally, there are a
number of areas where XML metadata is generated for you declaratively, including
metadata that controls navigation and configuration.
At a high level, the development process for an ADF Faces view project usually
involves the following:
■ Creating an application workspace
■ Designing page flows
■ Designing and creating the pages using either JavaServer Pages (JSPs) or Facelet
pages
Ongoing tasks throughout the development cycle will probably include the following:
■ Creating managed beans
■ Creating and using EL expressions
■ Viewing ADF Faces source code and Javadoc
JDeveloper also includes debugging and testing capabilities. For more information, see
the "Testing and Debugging ADF Components" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware
Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-1

Creating an Application Workspace

2.2 Creating an Application Workspace

The first steps in building a new application are to assign it a name and to specify the
directory where its source files will be saved. By creating an application using
application templates provided by JDeveloper, you automatically get the organization
of your workspace into projects, along with many of the configuration files and
libraries required by the type of application you are creating.

2.2.1 How to Create an Application Workspace

You create an application workspace using the Create Application wizard.

To create an application:
1. In the JDeveloper main menu, choose File > New.
The New Gallery opens, where you can select different application components to
create.
2. In the New Gallery, expand the General node, select Applications and then Java
EE Web Application, and click OK.
This template provides the building blocks you need to create a web application
that uses JSF for the view and Enterprise JavaBean (EJB) session beans and Java
Persistence API (JPA) entities for business services. All the files and directories for
the business layer of your application will be stored in a project that by default is
named Model. All the files and directories for your view layer will be stored in a
project that by default is named ViewController.

Note: This document covers only how to create the ADF Faces
project in an application, without regard to the business services used
or the binding to those services. For information about how to use
ADF Faces with the ADF Model layer, the ADF Controller, and ADF
Business Components, see the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

3. In the Create Java EE Web Application dialog, set a name, directory location, and
package prefix of your choice and click Next.
4. In the Name Your Project page, you can optionally change the name and location
for your web project. On the Project Technologies tab, double-click ADF Faces to
move that technology to the Selected pane. This automatically adds the necessary
libraries and metadata files to your web project. Click Next.
5. In the Configure Java Settings page, optionally change the package name, Java
source path, and output directory for your view layer. Click Next.
6. In the Name Your Project page, you can optionally change the name and location
for your Java project. By default, the necessary libraries and metadata files for Java
EE are already added to your data model project. Click Next.
7. In the Configure Java Settings page, optionally change the package name, Java
source path, and output directory for your model layer. Click Next.
8. Configure the EJB settings as needed. For help on this page, click Help or press F1.
Click Finish.

2-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating an Application Workspace

2.2.2 What Happens When You Create an Application Workspace

When you create an application workspace using the Java EE Web Application
template, JDeveloper creates a project named Model that will contain all the source
files related to the business services in your application. JDeveloper automatically
adds the libraries needed for your EJB project. For example, if you kept the default EJB
settings, JDeveloper adds the EJB 3.0 library.
JDeveloper also creates a project named ViewController that will contain all the
source files for your ADF Faces view layer. JDeveloper automatically creates the JSF
and ADF configuration files needed for the application. Additionally, JDeveloper adds
the following libraries to your view project:
■ JSF 1.2
■ JSTL 1.2
■ JSP Runtime
The ADF Faces and other runtime libraries are added when you create a JSF page in
your project.
Once the projects are created for you, you can rename them. Figure 2–1 shows the
workspace for a new Java EE Web application.

Figure 2–1 New Workspace for an ADF Application

JDeveloper also sets configuration parameters in the configuration files based on the
options chosen when you created the application. In the web.xml file, these are
configurations needed to run a JSF application (settings specific to ADF Faces are

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-3

Defining Page Flows

added when you create a JSF page with ADF Faces components). Example 2–1 shows
the web.xml file generated by JDeveloper when you create a new Java EE application.

Example 2–1 Generated web.xml File

<?xml version = '1.0' encoding = 'windows-1252'?>
<web-app 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" version="2.5"
xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee">
<description>Empty web.xml file for Web Application</description>
<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>/faces/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
</web-app>

Configurations required for specific ADF Faces features are covered in the respective
chapters of this guide. For example, any configuration needed in order to use the
Change Persistence framework is covered in Chapter 31, "Allowing User
Customization on JSF Pages." For comprehensive information about configuring an
ADF Faces application, see Appendix A, "ADF Faces Configuration."

2.3 Defining Page Flows

Once you create your application workspace, often the next step is to design the flow
of your UI. As with standard JSF applications, ADF Faces applications use navigation
cases and rules to define the page flow. These definitions are stored in the
faces-config.xml file. JDeveloper provides a diagrammer through which you can
declaratively define your page flow using icons.
Figure 2–2 shows the navigation diagram created for a simple page flow that contains
two pages: a DisplayCustomer page that shows data for a specific customer, and an
EditCustomer page that allows a user to edit the customer information. There is one
navigation rule that goes from the display page to the edit page and one navigation
rule that returns to the display page from the edit page.

Figure 2–2 Navigation Diagram in JDeveloper

2-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Defining Page Flows

Note: If you plan on using Oracle ADF Model data binding and the
ADF Controller, then instead of using standard JSF navigation rules,
you use task flows. For more information, see the "Getting Started
With ADF Task Flows" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

Best Practice: The ADF Controller extends the JSF default controller.
While you can technically use the JSF controller and ADF Controller in
your application, you should use only one or the other.

For more information on how navigation works in a JSF application, see the Java EE 5
tutorial on Sun’s web site (http://java.sun.com).

2.3.1 How to Define a Page Flow

You use the navigation diagrammer to declaratively create a page flow using JSP or
JSPX pages. When you use the diagrammer, JDeveloper creates the XML metadata
needed for navigation to work in your application in the faces-config.xml file.

Note: The diagrammer supports only pages created as JSP and JSPX
files. If you need to create navigation for XHTML pages, you must
code the XML manually.

To create a page flow:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click the faces-config.xml file for your
application. By default, this is in the Web Content/WEB-INF node.
2. In the editor window, click the Diagram tab to open the navigation diagrammer.
3. If the Component Palette is not displayed, from the main menu choose View >
Component Palette. By default, the Component Palette is displayed in the upper
right-hand corner of JDeveloper.
4. In the Component Palette, use the dropdown menu to choose JSF Diagram
Objects.
The components are contained in two accordion panels: Components and
Diagram Annotations. Figure 2–3 shows the Component Palette displaying JSF
navigation components.

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-5

Defining Page Flows

Figure 2–3 Component Palette in JDeveloper

5. Select the component you wish to use and drag it onto the diagram.
JDeveloper redraws the diagram with the newly added component.

Tip: You can also use the overview editor to create navigation rules
and navigation cases by clicking the Overview tab. Press F1 for details
on using the overview editor to create navigation.
Additionally, you can manually add elements to the
faces-config.xml file by directly editing the page in the source
editor. To view the file in the source editor, click the Source tab.

Once the navigation for your application is defined, you can create the pages and add
the components that will execute the navigation. For more information about using
navigation components on a page, see Chapter 18, "Working with Navigation
Components."

2.3.2 What Happens When You Use the Diagrammer to Create a Page Flow
When you use the diagrammer to create a page flow, JDeveloper creates the associated
XML entries in the faces-config.xml file. Example 2–2 shows the XML generated
for the navigation rules displayed in Figure 2–2.

Example 2–2 Navigation Rules in faces-config.xml

<navigation-rule>
<from-view-id>/DisplayCustomer.jspx</from-view-id>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>edit</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/EditCustomer.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
</navigation-rule>
<navigation-rule>
<from-view-id>/EditCustomer</from-view-id>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>back</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/DisplayCustomer</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
</navigation-rule>

2-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a View Page

2.4 Creating a View Page

From the page flows you created during the planning stages, you can double-click the
page icons to create the actual JSP files. When you create a JSP for an ADF Faces
application, you can choose to create an XML-based JSP document (which uses the
extension *.jspx) rather than a *.jsp file.

Best Practice: Using an XML-based document has the following

advantages:
■ It simplifies treating your page as a well-formed tree of UI
component tags.
■ It discourages you from mixing Java code and component tags.
■ It allows you to easily parse the page to create documentation or
audit reports.

If you want to use Facelets instead of JSP in your application, you can instead create
XHTML files. Facelets is a JSF-centric declarative XML view definition technology that
provides an alternative to using the JSP engine.

Best Practice: Use Facelets to take advantage of the following:

■ The Facelets layer was created specifically for JSF, which results in
reduced overhead and improved performance during tag
compilation and execution.
■ Facelets is considered the primary view definition technology in
JSF 2.0.
■ Some future performance enhancements will only be available
with Facelets

ADF Faces provides a number of components that you can use to define the overall
layout of a page. JDeveloper contains predefined quick start layouts that use these
components to provide you with a quick and easy way to correctly build the layout.
You can choose from one, two, or three column layouts, and then determine how you
want the columns to behave. For example, you may want one column’s width to be
locked, while another column stretches to fill available browser space. Figure 2–4
shows the quick start layouts available for a two-column layout with the second
column split between two panes. For more information about the layout components,
see Chapter 8, "Organizing Content on Web Pages."

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-7

Creating a View Page

Figure 2–4 Quick Layouts

Along with adding layout components, you can also choose to apply a theme to the
chosen quick layout. These themes add color styling to some of the components used
in the quick start layout. To see the color and where it is added, see Appendix D,
"Quick Start Layout Themes." For more information about themes, see Section 20.3.4,
"How to Apply Themes to Components."
When you know you want to use the same layout on many pages in your application,
ADF Faces allows you to create and use predefined page templates. When creating
templates, the template developer can not only determine the layout of any page that
will use the template (either by selecting a quick layout design, as shown in
Figure 2–4, or by building it manually) but can also provide static content that must
appear on all pages, as well as create placeholder attributes that can be replaced with
valid values for each individual page. For example, ADF Faces ships with the Oracle
Three-Column-Layout template. This template provides areas for specific content,
such as branding, a header, and copyright information, and also displays a static logo
and busy icon, as shown in Figure 2–5.

2-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a View Page

Figure 2–5 Oracle Three Column Layout Template

Whenever a template is changed, for example if the layout changes, any page that uses
the template will also be automatically updated. For more information about creating
and using templates, see Section 19.3, "Using Page Templates."
At the time you create a JSF page, you can also choose to create an associated backing
bean for the page. Backing beans allow you to access the components on the page
programmatically. For more information about using backing beans with JSF JSP
pages, see Section 2.4.3, "What You May Need to Know About Automatic Component
Binding."

Best Practice: Create backing beans only for pages that contain com-
ponents that must be accessed and manipulated programmatically.
Use managed beans instead if you need only to provide additional
functionality accessed through EL expressions on component
attributes (such as listeners). :

You can also choose to have your page available for display in mobile devices. Once
your page files are created, you can add UI components and work with the page
source.

2.4.1 How to Create JSF JSP Pages

You create JSF JSP pages using the Create JSF Page dialog.

To create a JSF JSP page:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the directory where you would like the
page to be saved, and choose New. In the New Gallery, expand the Web Tier
node, select JSF and then JSF Page, and click OK.
OR
From a navigation diagram, double-click a page icon for a page that has not yet
been created.

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-9

Creating a View Page

2. Complete the Create JSF Page dialog. For help, click Help in the dialog. For more
information about the Page Implementation option, which can be used to
automatically create a backing bean and associated bindings, see Section 2.4.3,
"What You May Need to Know About Automatic Component Binding."

2.4.2 What Happens When You Create a JSF JSP Page

When you use the Create JSF Page dialog to create a JSF page, JDeveloper creates the
physical file and adds the code necessary to import the component libraries and
display a page. The code created depends on whether or not you chose to create a
.jspx document. Example 2–3 shows a .jspx page when it is first created by
JDeveloper.

Example 2–3 Declarative Page Source Created by JDeveloper

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='windows-1252'?>
<jsp:root xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page" version="2.1"
xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"
xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"
xmlns:af="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich">
<jsp:directive.page contentType="text/html;charset=windows-1252"/>
<f:view>
<af:document id="d1">
<af:form id="f1"></af:form>
</af:document>
</f:view>
</jsp:root>

If you chose to use one of the quick layouts, then JDeveloper also adds the components
necessary to display the layout. Example 2–4 shows the generated code when you
choose a two-column layout, where the first column is locked and the second column
stretches to fill up available browser space, and you also choose to apply themes.

Example 2–4 Two-Column Layout

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='windows-1252'?>
<jsp:root xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page" version="2.1"
xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"
xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"
xmlns:af="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich">
<jsp:directive.page contentType="text/html;charset=windows-1252"/>
<f:view>
<af:document id="d1">
<af:form id="f1">
<af:panelStretchLayout startWidth="100px" id="psl1">
<f:facet name="start"/>
<f:facet name="center">
<!-- id="af_twocol_left_sidebar_stretched" -->
<af:decorativeBox theme="dark" id="db2">
<f:facet name="center">
<af:decorativeBox theme="medium" id="db1">
<f:facet name="center"/>
</af:decorativeBox>
</f:facet>
</af:decorativeBox>
</f:facet>
</af:panelStretchLayout>
</af:form>

2-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a View Page

</af:document>
</f:view>
</jsp:root>

If you chose to automatically create a backing bean using the Page Implementation
section of the dialog, JDeveloper also creates and registers a backing bean for the page,
and binds any existing components to the bean. Example 2–5 shows the code created
for a backing bean for a page.

Example 2–5 Declarative Backing Bean Source Created by JDeveloper

package view.backing;

import oracle.adf.view.rich.component.rich.RichDocument;
import oracle.adf.view.rich.component.rich.RichForm;

public class MyFile {

private RichForm f1;
private RichDocument d1;

public void setF1(RichForm f1) {

this.f1 = f1;
}

public RichForm getF1() {

return f1;
}

public void setD1(RichDocument d1) {

this.document1 = d1;
}

public RichDocument getD1() {

return d1;
}
}

Tip: You can access the backing bean source from the JSF page by
right-clicking the page in the editor, and choosing Go to and then
selecting the bean from the list.

Additionally, JDeveloper adds the following libraries to the view project:

■ ADF Faces Runtime 11
■ ADF Common Runtime
■ ADF DVT Faces Runtime
■ Oracle JEWT
■ ADF DVT Faces Databinding Runtime
JDeveloper also adds entries to the web.xml file, as shown in Example 2–6.

Example 2–6 Code in the web.xml File After a JSF JSP Page is Created
<?xml version = '1.0' encoding = 'windows-1252'?>
<web-app 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"

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-11

Creating a View Page

version="2.5" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee">
<context-param>
<param-name>javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD</param-name>
<param-value>client</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<param-name>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CHECK_FILE_MODIFICATION</param-name>
<param-value>false</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<param-name>oracle.adf.view.rich.versionString.HIDDEN</param-name>
<param-value>false</param-value>
</context-param>
<filter>
<filter-name>trinidad</filter-name>
<filter-class>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.TrinidadFilter</filter-class>
</filter>
<filter-mapping>
<filter-name>trinidad</filter-name>
<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
<dispatcher>FORWARD</dispatcher>
<dispatcher>REQUEST</dispatcher>
</filter-mapping>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet</servlet-class>
<load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>resources</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.ResourceServlet
</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>BIGRAPHSERVLET</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.bi.renderkit.graph.GraphServlet
</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>BIGAUGESERVLET</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.bi.renderkit.gauge.GaugeServlet
</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>MapProxyServlet</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.bi.renderkit.geoMap.servlet.MapProxyServlet
</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>GatewayServlet</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.bi.renderkit.graph.FlashBridgeServlet
</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>

2-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a View Page

<url-pattern>/faces/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>resources</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/adf/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>resources</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/afr/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>BIGRAPHSERVLET</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/servlet/GraphServlet/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>BIGAUGESERVLET</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/servlet/GaugeServlet/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>MapProxyServlet</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/mapproxy/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>resources</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/bi/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>GatewayServlet</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/flashbridge/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
</web-app>

In the faces-config.xml file, when you create a JSF JSP page, JDeveloper creates an
entry that defines the default render kit (used to display the components in an HTML
client) for ADF Faces, as shown in Example 2–7.

Example 2–7 Generated faces-config.xml File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252"?>
<faces-config version="1.2" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee">
<application>
<default-render-kit-id>oracle.adf.rich</default-render-kit-id>
</application>
</faces-config>

An entry in the trinidad-config.xml file defines the default skin used by the user
interface (UI) components in the application, as shown in Example 2–8.

Example 2–8 Generated trinidad-config.xml File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252"?>
<trinidad-config xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/config">
<skin-family>fusion</skin-family>
</trinidad-config>

When the page is first displayed in JDeveloper, it is displayed in the visual editor
(accessed by clicking the Design tab), which allows you to view the page in a
WYSIWYG environment. You can also view the source for the page in the source editor
by clicking the Source tab. The Structure window located in the lower left-hand corner
of JDeveloper, provides a hierarchical view of the page.

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-13

Creating a View Page

2.4.3 What You May Need to Know About Automatic Component Binding
Backing beans are managed beans that contain logic and properties for UI components
on a JSF page (for more information about managed beans, see Section 2.6, "Creating
and Using Managed Beans"). If when you create your JSF JSP page you choose to
automatically expose UI components by selecting one of the choices in the Page
Implementation option of the Create JSF Page dialog, JDeveloper automatically creates
a backing bean (or uses a managed bean of your choice) for the page. For each
component you add to the page, JDeveloper then inserts a bean property for that
component, and uses the binding attribute to bind component instances to those
properties, allowing the bean to accept and return component instances.
Specifically, JDeveloper does the following when you use automatic component
binding:
■ Creates a JavaBean using the same name as the JSP or JSPX file, and places it in the
view.backing package (if you elect to have JDeveloper create a backing bean).
■ Creates a managed bean entry in the faces-config.xml file for the backing
bean. By default, the managed bean name is backing_<page_name> and the
bean uses the request scope (for more information about scopes, see Section 4.6,
"Object Scope Lifecycles").

Note: JDeveloper does not create managed bean property entries in

the faces-config.xml file. If you wish the bean to be instantiated
with certain property values, you must perform this configuration in
the faces-config.xml file manually. For more information, see
Section A.3.1, "How to Configure for ADF Faces in faces-config.xml."

■ On the newly created or selected bean, adds a property and accessor methods for
each component tag you place on the JSP. JDeveloper binds the component tag to
that property using an EL expression as the value for its binding attribute.
■ Deletes properties and methods for any components deleted from the page.
Once the JSP is created and components added, you can then declaratively add
method binding expressions to components that use them by double-clicking the
component in the visual editor, which launches an editor that allows you to select the
managed bean and method to which you want to bind the attribute. When automatic
component binding is used on a JSP and you double-click the component, skeleton
methods to which the component may be bound are automatically created for you in
the page’s backing bean. For example, if you add a command button component and
then double-click it in the visual editor, the Bind Action Property dialog displays the
page’s backing bean along with a new skeleton action method, as shown in Figure 2–6.

Figure 2–6 Bind Action Property Dialog

2-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a View Page

You can select from one these methods, or if you enter a new method name,
JDeveloper automatically creates the new skeleton method in the page's backing bean.
You must then add the logic to the method.

Note: When automatic component binding is not used on a JSP, you

must select an existing managed bean or create a new backing bean to
create the binding.

For example, suppose you created a JSP with the file name myfile.jspx. If you
chose to let JDeveloper automatically create a default backing bean, then JDeveloper
creates the backing bean as view.backing.MyFile.java, and places it in the \src
directory of the ViewController project. The backing bean is configured as a
managed bean in the faces-config.xml file, and the default managed bean name is
backing_myfile.
Example 2–9 shows the code on a JSP that uses automatic component binding, and
contains form, inputText, and commandButton components.

Example 2–9 JSF Page Code with Automatic Component Binding

<f:view>
<af:document id="d1" binding="#{backing_myfile.d1}">
<af:form id="f1" binding="#{backing_myfile.f1}">
<af:inputText label="Label 1" binding="#{backing_MyFile.inputText1}"
id="inputText1"/>
<af:commandButton text="commandButton 1"
binding="#{backing_MyFile.cb1}"
id="cb1"/>
</af:form>
</af:document>
</f:view>

Example 2–10 shows the corresponding code on the backing bean.

Example 2–10 Backing Bean Code Using Automatic Component Binding

package view.backing;

import oracle.adf.view.rich.component.rich.RichDocument;
import oracle.adf.view.rich.component.rich.RichForm;
import oracle.adf.view.rich.component.rich.input.RichInputText;
import oracle.adf.view.rich.component.rich.nav.RichCommandButton;

public class MyFile {

private RichForm f1;
private RichDocument d1;
private RichInputText inputText1;
private RichCommandButton cb1;

public void setForm1(RichForm f1) {

this.form1 = f1;
}

public RichForm getF1() {

return f1;
}

public void setD1(RichDocument d1) {

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-15

Creating a View Page

this.d1 = d1;
}

public RichDocument getD1() {

return d1;
}

public void setIt1(RichInputText inputText1) {

this.inputText1 = inputText1;
}

public RichInputText getInputText1() {

return inputText1;
}

public void setCb1(RichCommandButton cb1) {

this.commandButton1 = commandButton1;
}

public RichCommandButton getCb1() {

return cb1;
}

public String cb1_action() {

// Add event code here...
return null;
}
}

Example 2–11 shows the code added to the faces-config.xml file to register the
page’s backing bean as a managed bean.

Example 2–11 Registration for a Backing Bean

<managed-bean>
<managed-bean-name>backing_MyFile</managed-bean-name>
<managed-bean-class>view.backing.MyFile</managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-scope>request</managed-bean-scope>
</managed-bean>

In addition, when you edit a Java file that is a backing bean for a JSP, a method binding
toolbar appears in the source editor for you to bind appropriate methods quickly and
easily to selected components in the page. When you select an event, JDeveloper
creates the skeleton method for the event, as shown in Figure 2–7.

2-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a View Page

Figure 2–7 You Can Declaratively Create Skeleton Methods in the Source Editor

Once you create a page, you can turn automatic component binding off or on, and you
can also change the backing bean to a different Java class. Open the JSP in the visual
Editor and from the JDeveloper menu, choose Design > Page Properties. Here you can
select or deselect the Auto Bind option, and change the managed bean class. Click
Help for more information about using the dialog.

Note: If you turn automatic binding off, nothing changes in the

binding attributes of existing bound components in the page. If you
turn automatic binding on, all existing bound components and any
new components that you insert are bound to the selected managed
bean. If automatic binding is on and you change the managed bean
selection, all existing bindings and new bindings are switched to the
new bean.

You can always access the backing bean for a JSP from the page editor by right-clicking
the page, choosing Go to, and then choosing the bean from the list of beans associated
with the JSP.

2.4.4 How to Create a Facelets XHTML Page

You use the Create Facelets Page dialog to create the XHTML file.

To create an XHTML page:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the directory where you would like the
page to be saved, and choose New. In the New Gallery, expand the Web Tier
node, select Facelets and then Facelets Page and click OK.

Tip: Click the All Technologies tab in the New Gallery if Facelets is
not a listed technology.

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-17

Creating a View Page

2. Complete the Create Facelets Page dialog. For help, click Help in the dialog.

2.4.5 What Happens When You Create a JSF XHTML Page

When you use the Create Facelets Page dialog to create an XHTML page, JDeveloper
creates the physical file and adds the code necessary to import the component libraries
and display a page. Example 2–3 shows an .xthml page when it is first created by
JDeveloper.

Example 2–12 Declarative Page Source Created by JDeveloper

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EE"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtall-transitional.dtd">
<f:view xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"
xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"
xmlns:af="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich">
<af:document>
<af:form/>
</af:document>
</f:view>

Additionally, JDeveloper adds the following libraries to the view project:

■ Facelets Runtime
■ ADF Faces Runtime 11
■ ADF Common Runtime
■ ADF DVT Faces Runtime
■ Oracle JEWT
■ ADF DVT Faces Databinding Runtime
JDeveloper also adds entries to the web.xml file, as shown in Example 2–13.

Example 2–13 Code in the web.xml File After a JSF XHTML Page is Created
<?xml version = '1.0' encoding = 'windows-1252'?>
<web-app 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"
version="2.5" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee">
<context-param>
<param-name>javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD</param-name>
<param-value>client</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<param-name>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CHECK_FILE_MODIFICATION</param-name>
<param-value>false</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<param-name>oracle.adf.view.rich.versionString.HIDDEN</param-name>
<param-value>false</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<param-name>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.FACELETS_VIEW_MAPPINGS</param-name>
<param-value>*.xhtml</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>

2-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a View Page

<param-name>facelets.SKIP_XML_INSTRUCTIONS</param-name>
<param-value>true</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<param-name>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.ALTERNATE_VIEW_HANDLER</param-name>
<param-value>
org.apache.myfaces.trinidadinternal.facelets.TrinidadFaceletViewHandler
</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<param-name>facelets.DEVELOPMENT</param-name>
<param-value>true</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<param-name>facelets.SKIP_COMMENTS</param-name>
<param-value>true</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<param-name>facelets.DECORATORS</param-name>
<param-value>
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.facelets.rich.AdfTagDecorator
</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<param-name>facelets.RESOURCE_RESOLVER</param-name>
<param-value>
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.facelets.rich.AdfFaceletsResourceResolver
</param-value>
</context-param>
<filter>
<filter-name>trinidad</filter-name>
<filter-class>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.TrinidadFilter</filter-class>
</filter>
<filter-mapping>
<filter-name>trinidad</filter-name>
<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
<dispatcher>FORWARD</dispatcher>
<dispatcher>REQUEST</dispatcher>
</filter-mapping>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet</servlet-class>
<load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>resources</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.ResourceServlet
</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>BIGRAPHSERVLET</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.bi.renderkit.graph.GraphServlet
</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>BIGAUGESERVLET</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.bi.renderkit.gauge.GaugeServlet

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-19

Creating a View Page

</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>MapProxyServlet</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.bi.renderkit.geoMap.servlet.MapProxyServlet
</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>GatewayServlet</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.bi.renderkit.graph.FlashBridgeServlet
</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/faces/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>resources</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/adf/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>resources</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/afr/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>BIGRAPHSERVLET</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/servlet/GraphServlet/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>BIGAUGESERVLET</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/servlet/GaugeServlet/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>MapProxyServlet</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/mapproxy/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>resources</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/bi/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>GatewayServlet</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/flashbridge/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
</web-app>

An entry is also created in the faces-config.xml file for the view handler, as
shown in Example 2–14.

Example 2–14 Generated faces-config.xml File for an XHTML Page

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252"?>
<faces-config version="1.2" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee">
<application>
<default-render-kit-id>oracle.adf.rich</default-render-kit-id>
</application>
</faces-config>

2-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a View Page

An entry in the trinidad-config.xml file defines the default skin used by the user
interface (UI) components in the application, as shown in Example 2–15.

Example 2–15 Generated trinidad-config.xml File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252"?>
<trinidad-config xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/config">
<skin-family>fusion</skin-family>
</trinidad-config>

When the page is first displayed in JDeveloper, it is displayed in the visual editor
(accessed by clicking the Design tab), which allows you to view the page in a
WYSIWYG environment. You can also view the source for the page in the source editor
by clicking the Source tab. The Structure window located in the lower left-hand corner
of JDeveloper, provides a hierarchical view of the page.

2.4.6 How to Add ADF Faces Components to JSF Pages

Once you have created a page, you can use the Component Palette to drag and drop
components onto the page. JDeveloper then declaratively adds the necessary page
code and sets certain values for component attributes.

Tip: For detailed procedures and information about adding and

using specific ADF Faces components, see Part III, "Using ADF Faces
Components".

Note: You cannot use ADF Faces components on the same page as
MyFaces Trinidad components (tr: tags) or other AJAX-enabled
library components. You can use Trinidad HTML tags (trh:) on the
same page as ADF Faces components, however you may experience
some browser layout issues. You should always attempt to use only
ADF Faces components to achieve your layout.
Note that your application may contain a mix of pages built using
either ADF Faces or other components.

To add ADF Faces components to a page:

1. In the Application Navigator, double click a JSF page to open it in the editor.

2. If the Component Palette is not displayed, from the menu choose View >
Component Palette. By default, the Component Palette is displayed in the upper
right-hand corner of JDeveloper.
3. In the Component Palette, use the dropdown menu to choose ADF Faces.
The components are contained in three accordion panels: Common Components,
Layout, and Operations. Figure 2–8 shows the Component Palette displaying the
Common Components for ADF Faces.

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-21

Creating a View Page

Figure 2–8 Component Palette in JDeveloper

4. Select the component you wish to use and drag it onto the page.
JDeveloper redraws the page in the visual editor with the newly added
component. In the visual editor, you can directly select components on the page
and use the resulting context menu to add more components. Figure 2–9 shows a
page in the visual editor.

2-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a View Page

Figure 2–9 Page Displayed in the Visual Editor

Tip: You can also drag and drop components from the palette into
the Structure window or directly into the code in the source editor.
You can always add components by directly editing the page in the
source editor. To view the page in the source editor, click the Source
tab at the bottom of the window.

2.4.7 What Happens When You Add Components to a Page

When you drag and drop components from the Component Palette onto a JSF page,
JDeveloper adds the corresponding code to the JSF page. This code includes the tag
necessary to render the component, as well as values for some of the component
attributes. Example 2–16 shows the code when you drop an Input Text and a Button
component from the palette.

Example 2–16 JDeveloper Declaratively Adds Tags to a JSF Page

<af:inputText label="Label 1" id="it1"/>
<af:commandButton text="commandButton 1" id="cb"/>

Note: If you chose to use automatic component binding, then

JDeveloper also adds the binding attribute with its value bound to
the corresponding property on the page’s backing bean. For more
information, see Section 2.4.3, "What You May Need to Know About
Automatic Component Binding."

When you drop a component that contains mandatory child components (for example
a table or a list), JDeveloper launches a wizard where you define the parent and also
each of the child components. Figure 2–10 shows the Table wizard used to create a
table component and the table’s child column components.

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-23

Creating a View Page

Figure 2–10 Table Wizard in JDeveloper

Example 2–17 shows the code created when you use the wizard to create a table with
three columns, each of which uses an outputText component to display data.

Example 2–17 Declarative Code for a Table Component

<af:table var="row" id="t1">
<af:column sortable="false" headerText="col1" id="c1">
<af:outputText value="#{row.col1}" id="ot1"/>
</af:column>
<af:column sortable="false" headerText="col2" id="c2">
<af:outputText value="#{row.col2}" id="ot2"/>
</af:column>
<af:column sortable="false" headerText="col3" id="c3">
<af:outputText value="#{row.col3}" id="ot3"/>
</af:column>
</af:table>

2.4.8 How to Set Component Attributes

Once you drop components onto a page you can use the Property Inspector (displayed
by default at the bottom right of JDeveloper) to set attribute values for each
component.

Tip: If the Property Inspector is not displayed, choose View >

Property Inspector from the main menu.

Figure 2–11 shows the Property Inspector displaying the attributes for an inputText
component.

2-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a View Page

Figure 2–11 JDeveloper Property Inspector

The Property Inspector has sections that group similar properties together. For
example, the Property Inspector groups commonly used attributes for the inputText
component in the Common section, while properties that affect how the component
behaves are grouped together in the Behavior section. Figure 2–12 shows the Behavior
section of the Property Inspector for an inputText component.

Figure 2–12 Behavior Section of the Property Inspector

To set component attributes:

1. Select the component, in the visual editor, in the Structure window, or by selecting
the tag directly in the source editor.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the section that contains the attribute you wish
to set.

Tip: Some attributes are displayed in more than one section.

Entering or changing the value in one section will also change it in
any other sections. You can search for an attribute by entering the
attribute name in the search field at the top of the inspector.

3. Either enter values directly into the fields, or if the field contains a dropdown list,
use that list to select a value. You can also use the dropdown to the right of the
field, which launches a popup containing tools you can use to set the value. These
tools are either specific property editors (opened by choosing Edit) or the
Expression Builder, which you can use to create EL expressions for the value
(opened by choosing Expression Builder). For more information about using the

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-25

Creating EL Expressions

Expression Builder, see Section 2.5, "Creating EL Expressions." This popup also
displays a description of the property, as shown in Figure 2–13.

Figure 2–13 Property Tools and Help

2.4.9 What Happens When You Use the Property Inspector

When you use the Property Inspector to set or change attribute values, JDeveloper
automatically changes the page source for the attribute to match the entered value.

Tip: You can always change attribute values by directly editing the
page in the source editor. To view the page in the source editor, click
the Source tab at the bottom of the window.

2.5 Creating EL Expressions

You use EL expressions throughout an ADF Faces application to bind attributes to
object values determined at runtime. For example, #{UserList.selectedUsers}
might reference a set of selected users, #{user.name} might reference a particular
user's name, while #{user.role == 'manager'} would evaluate whether a user is
a manager or not. At runtime, a generic expression evaluator returns the List,
String, and boolean values of these respective expressions, automating access to
the individual objects and their properties without requiring code.
At runtime, the value of certain JSF UI components (such as an inputText
component or an outputText component) is determined by its value attribute.
While a component can have static text as its value, typically the value attribute will
contain an EL expression that the runtime infrastructure evaluates to determine what
data to display. For example, an outputText component that displays the name of
the currently logged-in user might have its value attribute set to the expression
#{UserInfo.name}. Since any attribute of a component (and not just the value
attribute) can be assigned a value using an EL expression, it's easy to build dynamic,
data-driven user interfaces. For example, you could hide a component when a set of
objects you need to display is empty by using a boolean-valued expression like #{not
empty UserList.selectedUsers} in the UI component's rendered attribute. If
the list of selected users in the object named UserList is empty, the rendered
attribute evaluates to false and the component disappears from the page.
In a typical JSF application, you would create objects like UserList as a managed
bean. The JSF runtime manages instantiating these beans on demand when any EL

2-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating EL Expressions

expression references them for the first time. When displaying a value, the runtime
evaluates the EL expression and pulls the value from the managed bean to populate
the component with data when the page is displayed. If the user updates data in the
UI component, the JSF runtime pushes the value back into the corresponding managed
bean based on the same EL expression. For more information about creating and using
managed beans, see Section 2.6, "Creating and Using Managed Beans." For more
information about EL expressions, see the Java EE 5 tutorial at
http://java.sun.com.

2.5.1 How to Create an EL Expression

You can create EL expressions declaratively using the JDeveloper Expression Builder.
You can access the builder from the Property Inspector.

To use the Expression Builder:

1. In the Property Inspector, locate the attribute you wish to modify and use the right
most dropdown menu to choose Expression Builder.
2. Create expressions using the following features:
■ Use the Variables tree to select items that you want to include in the
expression. The tree contains a hierarchical representation of the binding
objects. Each icon in the tree represents various types of binding objects that
you can use in an expression.
To narrow down the tree, you can either use the dropdown filter or enter
search criteria in the search field. The EL accessible objects exposed by ADF
Faces are located under the adfFacesContext node, which is under the JSF
Managed Beans node, as shown in Figure 2–14.

Figure 2–14 adfFacesContext Objects in the Expression Builder

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-27

Creating EL Expressions

Tip: For more information about these objects, see the ADF Faces
Javadoc.

Selecting an item in the tree causes it to be moved to the Expression box

within an EL expression. You can also type the expression directly in the
Expression box.
■ Use the operator buttons to add logical or mathematical operators to the
expression.
Figure 2–15 shows the Expression Builder dialog being used to create an
expression that binds to the value of a label for a component to the label
property of the explorer managed bean.

Figure 2–15 The Expression Builder Dialog

2.5.2 How to Use EL Expressions Within Managed Beans

While JDeveloper creates many needed EL expressions for you, and you can use the
Expression Builder to create those not built for you, there may be times when you need
to access, set, or invoke EL expressions within a managed bean.
Example 2–18 shows how you can get a reference to an EL expression and return (or
create) the matching object.

Example 2–18 Resolving an EL Expression from a Managed Bean

public static Object resolveExpression(String expression) {
FacesContext facesContext = getFacesContext();
Application app = facesContext.getApplication();
ExpressionFactory elFactory = app.getExpressionFactory();
ELContext elContext = facesContext.getELContext();
ValueExpression valueExp =

2-28 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating and Using Managed Beans

elFactory.createValueExpression(elContext, expression,
Object.class);
return valueExp.getValue(elContext);
}

Example 2–19 shows how you can resolve a method expression.

Example 2–19 Resolving a Method Expression from a Managed Bean

public static Object resloveMethodExpression(String expression,
Class returnType,
Class[] argTypes,
Object[] argValues) {
FacesContext facesContext = getFacesContext();
Application app = facesContext.getApplication();
ExpressionFactory elFactory = app.getExpressionFactory();
ELContext elContext = facesContext.getELContext();
MethodExpression methodExpression =
elFactory.createMethodExpression(elContext, expression, returnType,
argTypes);
return methodExpression.invoke(elContext, argValues);
}

Example 2–20 shows how you can set a new object on a managed bean.

Example 2–20 Setting a New Object on a Managed Bean

public static void setObject(String expression, Object newValue) {
FacesContext facesContext = getFacesContext();
Application app = facesContext.getApplication();
ExpressionFactory elFactory = app.getExpressionFactory();
ELContext elContext = facesContext.getELContext();
ValueExpression valueExp =
elFactory.createValueExpression(elContext, expression,
Object.class);

//Check that the input newValue can be cast to the property type
//expected by the managed bean.
//Rely on Auto-Unboxing if the managed Bean expects a primitive
Class bindClass = valueExp.getType(elContext);
if (bindClass.isPrimitive() || bindClass.isInstance(newValue)) {
valueExp.setValue(elContext, newValue);
}
}

2.6 Creating and Using Managed Beans

Managed beans are Java classes that you register with the application using various
configuration files. When the JSF application starts up, it parses these configuration
files and the beans are made available and can be referenced in an EL expression,
allowing access to the beans’ properties and methods. Whenever a managed bean is
referenced for the first time and it does not already exist, the Managed Bean Creation
Facility instantiates the bean by calling the default constructor method on the bean. If
any properties are also declared, they are populated with the declared default values.
Often, managed beans handle events or some manipulation of data that is best
handled at the front end. For a more complete description of how managed beans are
used in a standard JSF application, see the Java EE 5 tutorial on Sun’s web site
(http://java.sun.com).

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-29

Creating and Using Managed Beans

Best Practice: Use managed beans to store only bookkeeping

information, for example the current user. All application data and
processing should be handled by logic in the business layer of the
application.

In a standard JSF application, managed beans are registered in the

faces-config.xml configuration file.

Note: If you plan on using Oracle ADF Model data binding and ADF
Controller, then instead of registering managed beans in the
faces-config.xml file, you may need to register them within ADF
task flows. For more information, refer to the "Using a Managed Bean
in a Fusion Web Application" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware
Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

2.6.1 How to Create a Managed Bean in JDeveloper

You can create a managed bean and register it with the JSF application at the same
time using the overview editor for the faces-config.xml file.

To create and register a managed bean:

1. In the Application Navigator, open the faces-config.xml file.

2. In the editor window, click the Overview tab.

3. In the overview editor, click the Managed Beans tab.
Figure 2–16 shows the editor for the faces-config.xml file used by the ADF
Faces demo that contains the File Explorer application.

Figure 2–16 Managed Beans in the faces-config.xml File

4. Click the Add icon to add a row to the Managed Bean table.
5. In the Create Managed Bean dialog, enter values. Click Help for more information
about using the dialog. Select the Generate Class If It Does Not Exist option if
you want JDeveloper to create the class file for you.

2-30 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Viewing ADF Faces Source Code and Javadoc

6. You can optionally add managed properties for the bean. When the bean is
instantiated, any managed properties will be set with the provided value. With the
bean selected in the Managed Bean table, click the New icon to add a row to the
Managed Properties table. In the Property Inspector, enter a property name (other
fields are optional).

Note: While you can declare managed properties using this editor,
the corresponding code is not generated on the Java class. You must
add that code by creating private member fields of the appropriate
type, and then by choosing the Generate Accessors menu item on the
context menu of the code editor to generate the corresponding get
and set methods for these bean properties.

2.6.2 What Happens When You Use JDeveloper to Create a Managed Bean
When you create a managed bean and elect to generate the Java file, JDeveloper
creates a stub class with the given name and a default constructor. Example 2–21
shows the code added to the MyBean class stored in the view package.

Example 2–21 Generated Code for a Managed Bean

package view;

public class MyBean {

public MyBean() {
}
}

You now must add the logic required by your page. You can then refer to that logic
using an EL expression that refers to the managed-bean-name given to the managed
bean. For example, to access the myInfo property on the my_bean managed bean, the
EL expression would be:
#{my_bean.myInfo}

JDeveloper also adds a managed-bean element to the faces-config.xml file.

Example 2–22 shows the managed-bean element created for the MyBean class.

Example 2–22 Managed Bean Configuration on the faces-config.xml File

<managed-bean>
<managed-bean-name>my_bean</managed-bean-name>
<managed-bean-class>view.MyBean</managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-scope>session</managed-bean-scope>
</managed-bean>

2.7 Viewing ADF Faces Source Code and Javadoc

You can view the ADF Faces Javadoc directly from JDeveloper.

To view Javadoc for a class:

1. From the main menu, choose Navigate > Go to Javadoc.

2. In the Go to Javadoc dialog, enter the class name you want to view. If you don’t
know the exact name, you can either begin to type the name and JDeveloper will

Getting Started with ADF Faces 2-31

Viewing ADF Faces Source Code and Javadoc

provide a list of classes that match the name. ADF Faces components are in the
oracle.adf.view.rich package.

Tip: When in a Java class file, you can go directly to the Javadoc for a
class name reference or for a JavaScript function call by placing your
cursor on the name or function and pressing Ctrl+D.

2-32 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Part II
Part II Understanding ADF Faces Architecture

Part II contains the following chapters:

■ Chapter 3, "Using ADF Faces Architecture"
■ Chapter 4, "Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces"
■ Chapter 5, "Handling Events"
■ Chapter 6, "Validating and Converting Input"
■ Chapter 7, "Rerendering Partial Page Content"
 3
3 Using ADF Faces Architecture

This chapter outlines the major ADF Faces architecture features and also provides
information for using different features of the client-side architecture.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 3.1, "Introduction to Using ADF Faces Architecture"
■ Section 3.2, "Listening for Client Events"
■ Section 3.3, "Adding JavaScript to a Page"
■ Section 3.4, "Instantiating Client-Side Components"
■ Section 3.5, "Locating a Client Component on a Page"
■ Section 3.6, "Accessing Component Properties on the Client"
■ Section 3.7, "Using Bonus Attributes for Client-Side Components"
■ Section 3.8, "Understanding Rendering and Visibility"

3.1 Introduction to Using ADF Faces Architecture

The ADF Faces rich client framework (RCF) provides many of the features you need to
create AJAX-type functionality in your web application, all built into the framework. A
key aspect of the RCF is the sparsely populated client-side component model. Client
components exist only when they are required, either due to having a
clientListener handler registered on them, or because the page developer needs
to interact with a component on the client side and has specifically configured the
client component to be available.
The main reason client components exist is to provide an API contract for the
framework and for developers. You can think of a client-side component as a simple
property container with support for event handling. Because client components exist
only to store state and provide an API, they have no direct interaction with the DOM
(document object model) whatsoever. All DOM interaction goes through an
intermediary called the peer. Most of the inner workings of the framework are hidden
from you. Using JDeveloper in conjunction with ADF Faces, you can use many of the
architectural features declaratively, without having to create any code.
For example, because RCF does not create client components for every server-side
component, there may be cases where you need a client version of a component
instance. Section 3.4, "Instantiating Client-Side Components," explains how to do this
declaratively. You use the Property Inspector in JDeveloper to set properties that
determine whether a component should be rendered at all, or simply be made not
visible, as described in Section 3.8, "Understanding Rendering and Visibility."

Using ADF Faces Architecture 3-1

Introduction to Using ADF Faces Architecture

Other functionality may require you to use the ADF Faces JavaScript API. For
example, Section 3.5, "Locating a Client Component on a Page," explains how to use
the API to locate a specific client-side component, and Section 3.6, "Accessing
Component Properties on the Client," documents how to access specific properties.
The following RCF features are more complex, and therefore have full chapters
devoted to them:
■ ADF Faces additions to the lifecycle: The ADF Faces framework extends the JSF
lifecycle, providing additional functionality, including a client-side value lifecycle.
For more information, see Chapter 4, "Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces."
■ Event handling: ADF Faces adheres to standard JSF event handling techniques. In
addition, the RCF provides AJAX-based rich postbacks (called partial page
rendering), as well as a client-side event model. For more information, see
Chapter 5, "Handling Events."
■ Conversion and validation: ADF Faces input components have built-in capabilities
to both convert and validate user entries. You can also create your own custom
converters and validators. For more information, see Chapter 6, "Validating and
Converting Input."
■ Partial page rendering: Partial page rendering (PPR) allows small areas of a page
to be refreshed without the need to redraw the entire page. Many ADF Faces
components have built-in PPR functionality. In addition, you can declaratively
configure PPR so that an action on one component causes a rerender of another.
For more information, see Chapter 7, "Rerendering Partial Page Content."
■ Geometry management: ADF Faces provides a number of layout components,
many of which support geometry management by automatically stretching their
contents to take up available space. For more information, see Chapter 8,
"Organizing Content on Web Pages."
■ Messaging and help: The RCF provides the ability to display tooltips, messages,
and help for input components, as well as the ability to display global messages
for the application. The help framework allows you to create messages that can be
reused throughout the application.You create a help provider using a Java class, a
managed bean, an XLIFF file, or a standard properties file, or you can link to an
external HTML-based help system. For more information, see Chapter 17,
"Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help."
■ Hierarchical menu model: ADF Faces provides navigation components that render
items such as tabs and breadcrumbs for navigating hierarchical pages. The RCF
provides an XML-based menu model that, in conjunction with a metadata file,
contains all the information for generating the appropriate number of hierarchical
levels on each page, and the navigation items that belong to each level. For more
information, see Chapter 18, "Working with Navigation Components."
■ Reusable components: The RCF provides three reusable building blocks that can
be used by multiple pages in your application: page fragments that allow you to
create a part of a page (for example an address input form); page templates that
can provide a consistent look and feel throughout your application that can be
updated with changes automatically propagating to all pages using the template;
and declarative components that are composite components that developers can
reuse, ensuring consistent behavior throughout the application. For more
information, see Chapter 19, "Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates,
and Components."
■ Applying skins: The RCF allows you to create your own look and feel by creating
skins used by the ADF Faces components to change their appearance. For more

3-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Listening for Client Events

information, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and
Skins."
■ Internationalization and localization: You can configure your JSF page or
application to use different locales so that it displays the correct language based on
the language setting of a user’s browser. For more information, see Chapter 21,
"Internationalizing and Localizing Pages."
■ Accessibility: ADF Faces components have built-in accessibility support for user
agents, for example a web browser rendering to nonvisual media such as a screen
reader or magnifier. Accessibility support also includes access keys that allow
users to access components and links using only the keyboard, and audit rules that
provide directions to create accessible images, tables, frames, forms, error
messages, and popup dialogs using accessible HTML markup. For more
information, see Chapter 22, "Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages."
■ User-driven personalization: Many ADF Faces components, such as the
panelSplitter, allow users to change the display of the component at runtime.
By default, these changes live only as long as the page request. However, you can
configure your application so that the changes can be persisted through the length
of the user’s session. For more information, see Chapter 31, "Allowing User
Customization on JSF Pages."
■ Drag and drop capabilities: The RCF allows the user to move (cut and paste), copy
(copy and paste), or link (copy and paste as a link) data from one location to
another. When the drop is completed, the component accepting the drop rerenders
using partial page rendering. For more information, see Chapter 32, "Adding Drag
and Drop Functionality."
The remainder of this chapter focuses on working with the client-side framework.

3.2 Listening for Client Events

In a traditional JSF application, if you want to process events on the client, you must
listen to DOM-level events. However, these events are not delivered in a portable
manner. The ADF Faces client-side event model is similar to the JSF events model, but
implemented on the client. The client-side event model abstracts from the DOM,
providing a component-level event model and lifecycle, which executes independently
of the server. Consequently, you do not need to listen for click events on buttons.
You can instead listen for AdfActionEvent events, which can be caused by key or
mouse events.
Events sent by clients are all subclasses of the AdfBaseEvent class. Each client event
has a source, which is the component that triggered the event. Events also have a type
(for example, action or dialog), used to determine which listeners are interested in
the event. You register a client listener on the component using the
af:clientListener tag.
For example, suppose you have a button that, when clicked, causes a "Hello World"
alert to be displayed. You would first register a listener with the button that will
invoke an event handler, as shown in Example 3–1.

Example 3–1 Registering a Client Listener

<af:commandButton text="Say Hello">
<af:clientListener method="sayHello" type="action"/>
</af:commandButton>

Using ADF Faces Architecture 3-3

Adding JavaScript to a Page

Tip: Because the button has a registered client listener, the

framework will automatically create a client version of the
component.

Next, implement the handler in a JavaScript function, as shown in Example 3–2.

Example 3–2 JavaScript Event Handler

function sayHello(event)
{
alert("Hello, world!")
}

When the button is clicked, because there is a client version of the component, the
AdfAction client event is invoked. Because a clientListener tag is configured to
listen for the AdfAction event, it causes the sayHello function to execute. For more
information about client-side events, see Section 5.3, "Using JavaScript for ADF Faces
Client Events."

3.3 Adding JavaScript to a Page

You can either add inline JavaScript directly to a page or you can import JavaScript
libraries into a page. When you import libraries, you reduce the page content size, the
libraries can be shared across pages, and they can be cached by the browser. You
should import JavaScript libraries whenever possible. Use inline JavaScript only for
cases where a small, page-specific script is needed.

Performance Tip: Including JavaScript only in the pages that need it

will result in better performance because those pages that do not need
it will not have to load it, as they would if the JavaScript were
included in a template. However, if you find that most of your pages
use the same JavaScript code, you may want to consider including the
script or the tag to import the library in a template.
Note, however, that if a JavaScript code library becomes too big, you
should consider splitting it into meaningful pieces and include only
the pieces needed by the page (and not in a template). This approach
will provide improved performance, because the browser cache will
be used and the HTML content of the page will be smaller.

3.3.1 How to Use Inline JavaScript

Create and use inline JavaScript in the same way you would in any JSF application.
Once the JavaScript is on the page, use a clientListener tag to invoke it.

To use inline JavaScript:

1. Add the MyFaces Trinidad tag library to the root element of the page by adding
the code shown in bold in Example 3–3.

Example 3–3 MyFaces Trinidad Tag Library on a Page

<jsp:root xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page" version="2.1"
xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"
xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"
xmlns:af="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich">
xmlns:trh="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/html"

3-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding JavaScript to a Page

2. Create the JavaScript on the page.

For example, the sayHello function shown in Example 3–2 might be included in
a JSF page as shown in Example 3–4.

Example 3–4 Inline JavaScript

<af:resource>
function sayHello()
{
alert("Hello, world!")
}
</af:resource>

Note: Do not use the f:verbatim tag in a page or template to

specify the JavaScript.

3. In the Structure window, right-click the component that will invoke the JavaScript,
and choose Insert inside component > ADF Faces > Client Listener.
4. In the Insert Client Listener dialog, in the Method field, enter the JavaScript
function name. In the Type field, select the event type that should invoke the
function.

3.3.2 How to Import JavaScript Libraries

Use the af:resource tag to access a JavaScript library from a page. This tag should
appear inside the document tag’s metaContainer facet.

To access a JavaScript library from a page:

1. Below the document tag, add the code shown in bold in Example 3–5 and replace
/mySourceDirectory with the relative path to the directory that holds the
JavaScript library.

Example 3–5 Accessing a JavaScript Library

<af:document>
<f:facet name="metaContainer">
<af:resource source="/mySourceDirectory"/>
</facet>
<af:form></af:form>
</af:document>

2. In the Structure window, right-click the component that will invoke the JavaScript,
and choose Insert inside component > ADF Faces > Client Listener.
3. In the Insert Client Listener dialog, in the Method field, enter the fully qualified
name of the function. For example, if the sayHello function was in the
MyScripts library, you would enter MyScripts.sayHello. In the Type field,
select the event type that should invoke the function.

3.3.3 What You May Need to Know About Accessing Client Event Sources
Often when your JavaScript needs to access a client, it is within the context of a listener
and must access the event’s source component. Use the getSource() method to get

Using ADF Faces Architecture 3-5

Instantiating Client-Side Components

the client component. Example 3–6 shows the sayHello function accessing the source
client component in order to display its name.

Example 3–6 Accessing a Client Event Source

function sayHello(actionEvent)
{
var component=actionEvent.getSource();

//Get the ID for the component

var id=component.getId

alert("Hello from "+id);

}

For more information about accessing client event sources, see Section 5.3, "Using
JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events." For more information about accessing
client-side properties, see Section 3.6, "Accessing Component Properties on the Client."
For a complete description of how client events are handled at runtime, see
Section 5.3.6, "What Happens at Runtime: How Client-Side Events Work."

3.4 Instantiating Client-Side Components

The RCF does not make any guarantees about which components will have
corresponding client-side component instances by default. You will usually interact
with client-side components by registering a clientListener handler. When a
component has a registered clientListener handler, it will automatically have
client-side representation. If you have to access another component on the client, then
explicitly configure that component to be available on the client by setting the
clientComponent attribute to true.

Performance Tip: Only set clientComponent to true if you plan

on interacting with the component programmatically on the client.

When you set the clientComponent attribute to true, the framework creates an
instance of an AdfUIComponent class for the component. This class provides the API
that you can work with on the client side and also provides basic property accessor
methods (for example, getProperty() and setProperty()), event listener
registration, and event delivery-related APIs. The framework also provides
renderer-specific subclasses (for example, AdfRichOutputText) which expose
property-specific accessor methods (for example, getText() and setText()). These
accessor methods are simply wrappers around the AdfUIComponent class’s
getProperty() and setProperty() methods and are provided for coding
convenience.
For example, suppose you have an outputText component on the page that will get
its value (and therefore the text to display) from the sayHello function. That function
must be able to access the outputText component in order to set its value. For this to
work, there must be a client-side version of the outputText component. Example 3–7
shows the JSF page code. Note that the outputText component has an id value and
the clientComponent attribute is set to true. Also, note there is no value in the
example, because that value will be set by the JavaScript.

Example 3–7 Adding a Component

<af:commandButton text="Say Hello">
<af:clientListener method="sayHello" type="action"/>

3-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Locating a Client Component on a Page

</af:commandButton>

<af:outputText id="greeting" value="" clientComponent="true">

Because the outputText component will now have client-side representation, the
JavaScript will be able to locate and work with it.

3.5 Locating a Client Component on a Page

When you need to find a client component that is not the source of an event, you can
use the AdfUIComponent.findComponent(expr) method. This method is similar
to the JSF UIComponent.findComponent() method, which searches for and returns
the UIComponent object with an ID that matches the specified search expression. The
AdfUIComponent.findComponent(expr) method simply works on the client
instead of the server.
Example 3–8 shows the sayHello function finding the outputText component
using the component’s ID.

Example 3–8 Finding a Client Component Using findComponent()

function sayHello(actionEvent)
{
var buttonComponent=actionEvent.getSource();

//Find the client component for the "greeting" af:outputText

var greetingComponent=buttonComponent.findComponent("greeting");

//Set the value for the outputText component

greetingComponent.setValue("Hello World")
}

Instead of using the AdfUIComponent.findComponent(expr) method, you can

use the AdfPage.PAGE.findComponentByAbsoluteId(absolute expr)
method when you know the absolute identifier for the component, but you don't have
a component instance to call AdfUIComponent.findComponent(expr) on.
AdfPage.PAGE is a global object that provides a static reference to the page's context
object. However, if the component you are finding is within a naming container, then
you must use AdfUIComponent.findComponent. For more information, see
Section 3.5.1, "What You May Need to Know About Finding Components in Naming
Containers."

Note: There is also a confusingly named

AdfPage.PAGE.findComponent(clientId) method, however
this function uses implementation-specific identifiers that can change
between releases and should not be used by page authors.

3.5.1 What You May Need to Know About Finding Components in Naming Containers
If the component you need to find is within a component that is a naming container
(such as pageTemplate, subform, table, and tree), then instead of using the
AdfPage.PAGE.findComponentByAbsoluteId(absolute expr) method, use
the AdfUIComponent.findComponent(expr) method. The expression can be
either absolute or relative.

Using ADF Faces Architecture 3-7

Locating a Client Component on a Page

Tip: You can determine whether or not a component is a naming

container by reviewing the component tag documentation. The tag
documentation states whether a component is a naming container.

Absolute expressions use the fully qualified JSF client ID (meaning, prefixed with the
IDs of all NamingContainer components that contain the component) with a leading
NamingContainer.SEPARATOR_CHAR character, for example:
":" + (namingContainersToJumpUp * ":") + some ending portion of the
clientIdOfComponentToFind

For example, to find a table whose ID is t1 that is within a panel collection component
whose ID is pc1 contained in a region whose ID is r1 on page that uses the
myTemplate template, you might use the following:

:myTemplate:r1:pc1:t1

Alternatively, if both the components (the one doing the search and the one being
searched for) share the same NamingContainer component somewhere in the
hierarchy, you can use a relative path to perform a search relative to the component
doing the search. A relative path has multiple leading
NamingContainer.SEPARATOR_CHAR characters, for example:
":" + clientIdOfComponentToFind

In the preceding example, if the component doing the searching is also in the same
region as the table, you might use the following:
::somePanelCollection:someTable

Tip: Think of a naming container as a folder and the clientId as a

file path. In terms of folders and files, you use two sequential periods
and a slash (../) to move up in the hierarchy to another folder.
This is the same thing that the multiple colon (:) characters do in the
findComponent() expression. A single leading colon (:) means
that the file path is absolute from the root of the file structure. If there
are multiple leading colon (:) characters at the beginning of the
expression, then the first one is ignored and the others are counted,
one set of periods and a slash (../) per colon (:) character.

When deciding whether to use an absolute or relative path, keep the following in
mind:
■ If you know that the component you are trying to find will always be in the same
naming container, then use an absolute path.
■ If you know that the component performing the search and the component you
are trying to find will always be in the same relative location, then use a relative
path.
There are no getChildren() or getFacet() functions on the client. Instead, the
AdfUIComponent.visitChildren() function is provided to visit all children
components or facets (that is all descendents). See the ADF Faces JavaScript
documentation for more information.

3-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Accessing Component Properties on the Client

3.6 Accessing Component Properties on the Client

For each built-in property on a component, convenience accessor methods are
available on the component class. For example, you can call the getValue() method
on a client component and receive the same value that was used on the server.

Note: All client properties in ADF Faces use the getXyz function
naming convention including boolean properties. The isXyz naming
convention for boolean properties is not used.

Constants are also available for the property names on the class object. For instance,
you can use AdfRichDialog.STYLE_CLASS constant instead of using
"styleClass".

Note: In JavaScript, it is more efficient to refer to a constant than to

code the string, as the latter requires an object allocation on each
invocation.

When a component’s property changes, the end result should be that the component’s
DOM is updated to reflect its new state, in some cases without a roundtrip to the
server. The component's role in this process is fairly limited: it simply stores away the
new property value and then notifies the peer of the change. The peer contains the
logic for updating the DOM to reflect the new component state.

Note: Not all property changes are handled through the peer on the
client side. Some property changes are propagated back to the server
and the component is rerendered using PPR.

As noted in Section 1.2.2, "ADF Faces Architectural Features," most property values
that are set on the client result in automatic synchronization with the server (although
some complex Java objects are not sent to the client at all). There are however, two
types of properties that act differently: secured properties and disconnected properties.
Secured properties are those that cannot be set on the client at all. For example, say a
malicious client used JavaScript to set the immediate flag on a commandLink
component to true. That change would then be propagated to the server, resulting in
server-side validation being skipped, causing a possible security hole (for more
information about using the immediate property, see Section 4.2, "Using the
Immediate Attribute"). Consequently, the immediate property is a secured property.
Attempts to set any other secured property from JavaScript will fail. For more
information, see Section 3.6.2, "How to Unsecure the disabled Property." Table 3–1
shows the secure properties on the client components.

Table 3–1 Secure Client Properties

Component Secure Property
AdfRichChooseColor colorData
AdfRichComboboxListOfValue disabled
readOnly

Using ADF Faces Architecture 3-9

Accessing Component Properties on the Client

Table 3–1 (Cont.) Secure Client Properties

Component Secure Property
AdfRichCommandButton disabled
readOnly
blocking
AdfRichCommandImageLink blocking
disabled
partialSubmit
AdfRichCommandLink readOnly
AdfRichDialog dialogListener
AdfRichDocument failedConnectionText
AdfRichInputColor disabled
readOnly
colorData
AdfRichInputDate disabled
readOnly
valuePassThru
AdfRichInputFile disabled
readOnly
AdfRichInputListOfValues disabled
readOnly
AdfRichInputNumberSlider disabled
readOnly
AdfRichInputNumberSplinBox disabled
readOnly
maximum
minimum
stepSize
AdfRichInputRangeSlider disabled
readOnly
AdfRichInputText disabled
readOnly
secret
AdfRichPopUp launchPopupListener
model
returnPopupListener
returnPopupDataListener
createPopupId
AdfRichUIQuery conjunctionReadOnly
model
queryListener
queryOperationListener

3-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Accessing Component Properties on the Client

Table 3–1 (Cont.) Secure Client Properties

Component Secure Property
AdfRichSelectBooleanCheckbox disabled
readOnly
AdfRichSelectBooleanRadio disabled
readOnly
AdfRichSelectManyCheckbox disabled
readOnly
valuePassThru
AdfRichSelectManyChoice disabled
readOnly
valuePassThru
AdfRichSelectManyListBox disabled
readOnly
valuePassThru
AdfRichSelectManyShuttle disabled
readOnly
valuePassThru
AdfRichSelectOneChoice disabled
readOnly
valuePassThru
AdfRichSelectOneListBox disabled
readOnly
valuePassThru
AdfRichSelectOneRadio disabled
readOnly
valuePassThru
AdfRichSelectOrderShuttle disabled
readOnly
valuePassThru
AdfRichUITable filterModel
AdfRichTextEditor disabled
readOnly
AdfUIChart chartDrillDownListener
AdfUIColumn sortProperty
AdfUICommand actionExpression
returnListener
launchListener
immediate
AdfUIComponentRef componentType

Using ADF Faces Architecture 3-11

Accessing Component Properties on the Client

Table 3–1 (Cont.) Secure Client Properties

Component Secure Property
AdfUIEditableValueBase immediate
valid
required
localValueSet
submittedValue
requiredMessageDetail
AdfUIMessage.js for
AdfUINavigationLevel level
AdfUINavigationTree rowDisclosureListener
startLevel
immediate
AdfUIPage rowDisclosureListener
immediate
AdfUIPoll immediate
pollListener
AdfUIProgress immediate
AdfUISelectBoolean selected
AdfUISelectInput actionExpression
returnListener
AdfUISelectRange immediate
rangeChangeListener
AdfUIShowDetailBase immediate
disclosureListener
AdfUISingleStep selectedStep
maxStep
AdfUISubform default
AdfUITableBase rowDisclosureListener
selectionListener
immediate
sortListener
rangeChangeListener
showAll
AdfUITreeBase immediate
rowDisclosureListener
selectionListener
focusRowKey
focusListener
AdfUITreeTable rowsByDepth
rangeChangeListener
AdfUIValueBase converter

3-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Accessing Component Properties on the Client

ADF Faces does allow you to configure the disabled property so that it can be made
unsecure. This can be useful when you need to use JavaScript to enable and disable
buttons. When you set the unsecure property to true, the disabled property (and
only the disabled property) will be made unsecure.
Disconnected properties are those that can be set on the client, but that do not propagate
back to the server. These properties have a lifecycle on the client that is independent of
the lifecycle on the server. For example, client form input components (like
AdfRichInputText) have a submittedValue property, just as the Java
EditableValueHolder components do. However, setting this property does not
directly affect the server. In this case, standard form submission techniques handle
updating the submitted value on the server.
A property can be both disconnected and secured. In practice, such properties act like
disconnected properties on the client: they can be set on the client, but will not be sent
to the server. But they act like secured properties on the server, in that they will refuse
any client attempts to set them.

3.6.1 How to Set Property Values on the Client

The RCF provides setXYZ convenience functions that provide calls to the
AdfUIComponent setProperty() function. The setProperty() function takes
the following arguments:
■ Property name (required)
■ New value (required)

3.6.2 How to Unsecure the disabled Property

You use the unsecured property to set the disabled property to be unsecure. You
need to manually add this property and the value of disabled to the code for the
component whose disabled property should be unsecure. For example, the code for
a button whose disabled property should be unsecured would be:
<af:commandButton text="commandButton 1" id="cb1" unsecure="disabled"/>

Once you set the unsecure attribute to disabled, a malicious JavaScript could
change the disabled attribute unwittingly. For example, say you have an expense
approval page, and on that page, you want certain managers to be able to only
approve invoices that are under $200. For this reason, you want the approval button to
be disabled unless the current user is allowed to approve the invoice.
If you did not set the unsecured attribute to disabled, the approval button would
remain disabled until a round-trip to the server occurs, where logic determines if the
current user can approve the expense. But because you want the button to display
correctly as the page loads the expense, say you set the unsecure attribute to
disabled. Now you can use JavaScript on the client to determine if the button should
be disabled. But now, any JavaScript (including malicious JavaScript that you have no
control over) can do the same thing.
To avoid this issue, you must ensure that your application still performs the same logic
as if the round-trip to the server had happened. In the expense report approval screen,
you might have JavaScript that checks that the amount is under $200, but you still
need to have the action for the approval button perform the logic on the server.
Adding the logic to the server ensures that the disabled attribute does not get changed
when it should not.

Using ADF Faces Architecture 3-13

Using Bonus Attributes for Client-Side Components

Similarly, if you allow your application to be modified at runtime, and you allow users
to potentially edit the unsecure and/or the disabled attributes, you must ensure
that your application still performs the same logic as if the round-trip to the server had
occurred.

3.6.3 What Happens at Runtime: How Client Properties Are Set on the Client
Calling the setProperty() function on the client sets the property to the new value,
and synchronously fires a PropertyChangeEvent event with the new values (as
long as the value is different). Also, setting a property may cause the component to
rerender itself.

3.7 Using Bonus Attributes for Client-Side Components

In some cases you may want to send additional information to the client beyond the
built-in properties. This can be accomplished using bonus attributes. Bonus attributes
are extra attributes that you can add to a component using the clientAttribute
tag. For performance reasons, the only bonus attributes sent to the client are those
specified by clientAttribute.
The clientAttribute tag specifies a name/value pair that is added to the
server-side component's attribute map. In addition to populating the server-side
attribute map, using the clientAttribute tag results in the bonus attribute being
sent to the client, where it can be accessed through the
AdfUIComponent.getProperty("bonusAttributeName") method.
The RCF takes care of marshalling the attribute value to the client. The marshalling
layer supports marshalling of a range of object types, including strings, booleans,
numbers, dates, arrays, maps, and so on. For more information on marshalling, see
Section 5.4.3, "What You May Need to Know About Marshalling and Unmarshalling
Data."

Performance Tip: In order to avoid excessive marshalling overhead,

use client-side bonus attributes sparingly.

Note: The clientAttribute tag should be used only for bonus

(application-defined) attributes. If you need access to standard
component attributes on the client, instead of using the
clientAttribute tag, simply set the clientComponent attribute
to true. For more information, see Section 3.4, "Instantiating
Client-Side Components."

3.7.1 How to Create Bonus Attributes

You can use the Component Palette to add a bonus attribute to a component.

To create bonus attributes:

1. In the Structure window, select the component to which you would like to add a
bonus attribute.
2. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop a Client
Attribute as a child to the component.
3. In the Property Inspector, set the Name and Value attributes.

3-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding Rendering and Visibility

3.7.2 What You May Need to Know About Marshalling Bonus Attributes
Although client-side bonus attributes are automatically delivered from the server to
the client, the reverse is not true. That is, changing or setting a bonus attribute on the
client will have no effect on the server. Only known (nonbonus) attributes are
synchronized from the client to the server. If you want to send application-defined
data back to the server, you should create a custom event. For more information, see
Section 5.4, "Sending Custom Events from the Client to the Server."

3.8 Understanding Rendering and Visibility

All ADF Faces display components have two attributes that relate to whether or not
the component is displayed on the page for the user to see: rendered and visible.
The rendered attribute has very strict semantics. When rendered is set to false,
there is no way to show a component on the client without a roundtrip to the server.
To support dynamically hiding and showing page contents, the RCF adds the
visible attribute. When set to false, the component's markup is available on the
client but the component is not displayed. Therefore calls to the setVisible(true)
or setVisible(false) method will, respectively, show and hide the component
within the browser (as long as rendered is set to true), whether those calls happen
from Java or from JavaScript.

Performance Tip: You should set the visible attribute to false

only when you absolutely need to be able to toggle visibility without a
roundtrip to the server, for example in JavaScript. Nonvisible
components still go through the component lifecycle, including
validation.
If you do not need to toggle visibility only on the client, then you
should instead set the rendered attribute to false. Making a
component not rendered (instead of not visible) will improve server
performance and client response time because the component will not
have client-side representation, and will not go through the
component lifecycle.

Example 3–9 shows two outputText components, only one of which is rendered at a
time. The first outputText component is rendered when no value has been entered
into the inputText component. The second outputText component is rendered
when a value is entered.

Example 3–9 Rendered and Not Rendered Components

<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal">
<af:inputText label="Input some text" id="input"
value="#{myBean.inputValue}"/>
<af:commandButton text="Enter"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal">
<af:outputLabel value="You entered:"/>
<af:outputText value="No text entered" id="output1"
rendered="#{myBean.inputValue==null}"/>
<af:outputText value="#{myBean.inputValue}"
rendered="#{myBean.inputValue !=null}"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>

Provided a component is rendered in the client, you can either display or hide the
component on the page using the visible property.

Using ADF Faces Architecture 3-15

Understanding Rendering and Visibility

Example 3–10 shows how you might achieve the same functionality as shown in
Example 3–9, but in this example, the visible attribute is used to determine which
component is displayed (the rendered attribute is true by default, it does not need
to be explicitly set).

Example 3–10 Visible and Not Visible Components

<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal">
<af:inputText label="Input some text" id="input"
value="#{myBean.inputValue}"/>
<af:commandButton text="Enter"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal">
<af:outputLabel value="You entered:"/>
<af:outputText value="No text entered" id="output1"
visible="#{myBean.inputValue==null}"/>
<af:outputText value="#{myBean.inputValue}"
visible="#{myBean.inputValue !=null}"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>

However, because using the rendered attribute instead of the visible attribute
improves performance on the server side, you may instead decide to have JavaScript
handle the visibility.
Example 3–11 shows the page code for JavaScript that handles the visiblity of the
components.

Example 3–11 Using JavaScript to Turn On Visibility

function showText()
{
var output1 = AdfUIComponent.findComponent("output1")
var output2 = AdfUIComponent.findComponent("output2")
var input = AdfUIComponent.findComponent("input")

if (input.getValue() == "")
{
output1.setVisible(true);
}
else
{
output2.setVisible(true)
}

3.8.1 How to Set Visibility Using JavaScript

You can create a conditional JavaScript function that can toggle the visible attribute
of components.

To set visibility:
1. Create the JavaScript that can toggle the visibility. Example 3–11 shows a script
that turns visibility on for one outputText component if there is no value;
otherwise, the script turns visibility on for the other outputText component.
2. For each component that will be needed in the JavaScript function, expand the
Advanced section of the Property Inspector and set the ClientComponent

3-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding Rendering and Visibility

attribute to true. This creates a client component that will be used by the
JavaScript.
3. For the components whose visibility will be toggled, set the visible attribute to
false.
Example 3–12 shows the full page code used to toggle visibility with JavaScript.

Example 3–12 JavaScript Toggles Visibility

<f:view>
<af:resource>
function showText()
{
var output1 = AdfUIComponent.findComponent("output1")
var output2 = AdfUIComponent.findComponent("output2")
var input = AdfUIComponent.findComponent("input")

if (input.value == "")
{
output1.setVisible(true);
}
else
{
output2.setVisible(true)
}

}
</af:resource>
<af:document>
<af:form>
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal">
<af:inputText label="Input some text" id="input"
value="#{myBean.inputValue}" clientComponent="true"
immediate="true"/>
<af:commandButton text="Enter" clientComponent="true">
<af:clientListener method="showText" type="action"/>
</af:commandButton>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal">
<af:outputLabel value="You entered:" clientComponent="false"/>
<af:outputText value="No text entered" id="output1"
visible="false" clientComponent="true"/>
<af:outputText value="#{myBean.inputValue}" id="output2"
visible="false" clientComponent="true"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:form>
</af:document>
</f:view>

3.8.2 What You May Need to Know About Visible and the isShowing Function
If the parent of a component has its visible attribute set to false, when the
isVisible function is run against a child component whose visible attribute is set
to true, it will return true, even though that child is not displayed. For example, say
you have a panelGroupLayout component that contains an outputText
component as a child, and the panelGroupLayout component’s visible attribute
is set to false, while the outputText component’s visible attribute is left as the
default (true). On the client, neither the panelGroupLayout nor the outputText

Using ADF Faces Architecture 3-17

Understanding Rendering and Visibility

component will be displayed, but if the isVisible function is run against the
outputText component, it will return true.
For this reason, the RCF provides the isShowing() function. This function will
return false if the component’s visible attribute is set to false, or if any parent of
that component has visible set to false.

3-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 4
Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces
4

This chapter describes the JSF page request lifecycle and the additions to the lifecycle
from ADF Faces, and how to use the lifecycle properly in your application.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 4.1, "Introduction to the JSF Lifecycle and ADF Faces"
■ Section 4.2, "Using the Immediate Attribute"
■ Section 4.3, "Using the Optimized Lifecycle"
■ Section 4.4, "Using the Client-Side Lifecycle"
■ Section 4.5, "Using Subforms to Create Regions on a Page"
■ Section 4.6, "Object Scope Lifecycles"
■ Section 4.7, "Passing Values Between Pages"

4.1 Introduction to the JSF Lifecycle and ADF Faces

Because the ADF Faces rich client framework (RCF) extends the JSF framework, any
application built using the ADF Faces rich client framework uses the standard JSF
page request lifecycle. However, the ADF Faces framework extends that lifecycle,
providing additional functionality, such as a client-side value lifecycle, a subform
component that allows you to create independent submittable regions on a page
without the drawbacks (for example, lost user edits) of using multiple forms on a
single page, and additional scopes.
To better understand the lifecycle enhancements that the RCF delivers, it is important
that you understand the standard JSF lifecycle. This section provides only an overview.
For a more detailed explanation, refer to the JSF specification at
http://java.sun.com.
When a JSF page is submitted and a new page is requested, the JSF page request
lifecycle is invoked. This lifecycle handles the submission of values on the page,
validation for components on the current page, navigation to and display of the
components on the resulting page, as well as saving and restoring state. The JSF
lifecycle phases use a UI component tree to manage the display of the faces
components. This tree is a runtime representation of a JSF page: each UI component
tag in a page corresponds to a UI component instance in the tree. The FacesServlet
object manages the page request lifecycle in JSF applications. The FacesServlet
object creates an object called FacesContext, which contains the information
necessary for request processing, and invokes an object that executes the lifecycle.
Figure 4–1 shows the JSF lifecycle of a page request. As shown, events are processed
before and after each phase.

Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces 4-1

Introduction to the JSF Lifecycle and ADF Faces

Figure 4–1 Lifecycle of a Page Request in an ADF Faces Application

In a JSF application, the page request lifecycle is as follows:

■ Restore View: The component tree is established. If this is not the initial rendering
(that is, if the page was submitted back to server), the tree is restored with the
appropriate state. If this is the initial rendering, the component tree is created and
the lifecycle jumps to the Render Response phase.
■ Apply Request Values: Each component in the tree extracts new values from the
request parameters (using its decode method) and stores the values locally. Most
associated events are queued for later processing. If a component has its
immediate attribute set to true, then the validation, the conversion, and the
events associated with the component are processed during this phase. For more
information, see Section 4.2, "Using the Immediate Attribute."
■ Process Validations: Local values of components are converted from the input type
to the underlying data type. If the converter fails, this phase continues to
completion (all remaining converters, validators, and required checks are run), but
at completion, the lifecycle jumps to the Render Response phase.
If there are no failures, the required attribute on the component is checked. If the
value is true, and the associated field contains a value, then any associated
validators are run. If the value is true and there is no field value, this phase
completes (all remaining validators are executed), but the lifecycle jumps to the
Render Response phase. If the value is false, the phase completes, unless no

4-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to the JSF Lifecycle and ADF Faces

value is entered, in which case no validation is run. For more information about
conversion and validation, see Chapter 6, "Validating and Converting Input."
At the end of this phase, converted versions of the local values are set, any
validation or conversion error messages and events are queued on the
FacesContext object, and any value change events are delivered.

Tip: In short, for an input component that can be edited, the steps for
the Process Validations phase is as follows:
1. If a converter fails, the required check and validators are not run.
2. If the converter succeeds but the required check fails, the validators are
not run.
3. If the converter and required check succeed, all validators are run. Even if
one validator fails, the rest of the validators are run. This is because when
the user fixes the error, you want to give them as much feedback as
possible about what is wrong with the data entered.
For example suppose you have a dateTimeRange validator that
accepted dates only in the year 2010, and you had a
dateRestrictionValidator validator that did not allow the user to
pick Sundays. If the user entered July 5, 2009 (a Sunday), you want
to give the feedback that this fails both validators to maximize the chance
the user will enter valid data.

■ Update Model Values: The component’s validated local values are moved to the
model, and the local copies are discarded.
■ Invoke Application: Application-level logic (such as event handlers) is executed.
■ Render Response: The components in the tree are rendered. State information is
saved for subsequent requests and for the Restore View phase.
To help illustrate the lifecycle, consider a page that has a simple input text component
where a user can enter a date and then click a command button to submit the entered
value. A valueChangeListener method is also registered on the component.
Example 4–1 shows the code for the example.

Example 4–1 Sample Code to Illustrate the JSF Lifecycle

<af:form>
<af:inputText value="#{mybean.date}"
valueChangeListener="#{mybean.valueChangeListener}">
<af:convertDateTime dateStyle="long"/>
</af:inputText>
<af:commandButton text="Save" actionListener="#{mybean.actionListener}"/>
</af:form>

Suppose a user enters the string "June 25, 2005" and clicks the submit button.
Figure 4–2 shows how the values pass through the lifecycle and where the different
events are processed.

Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces 4-3

Using the Immediate Attribute

Figure 4–2 Example of Values and Events in the JSF Lifecycle

4.2 Using the Immediate Attribute

You can use the immediate attribute to allow processing of components to move up
to the Apply Request Values phase of the lifecycle. When actionSource components
(such as a commandButton) are set to immediate, events are delivered in the Apply
Request Values phase instead of in the Invoke Application phase. The
actionListener handler then calls the Render Response phase, and the validation
and model update phases are skipped.
For example, you might want to configure a Cancel button to be immediate, and
have the action return a string used to navigate back to the previous page (for more
information about navigation, see Chapter 18, "Working with Navigation
Components"). Because the Cancel button is set to immediate, when the user clicks
the Cancel button, all validation is skipped, any entered data is not updated to the
model, and the user navigates as expected, as shown in Figure 4–3.

4-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the Immediate Attribute

Figure 4–3 Lifecycle for Command Button Set to Immediate

Note: A command button that does not provide any navigation and
is set to immediate will also go directly to the Render Response
phase: the Validation, Update Model, and Invoke Application phases
are skipped, so any new values will not be pushed to the server.

As with command components, for components that invoke disclosure events, (such
as a showDetail component), and for editableValueHolder components
(components that hold values that can change, such as an inputText component) the
events are delivered to the Apply Request Values phase. However, for
editableValueHolder components, instead of skipping phases, conversion,
validation, and delivery of valueChangeEvents events are done earlier in the
lifecycle, during the Apply Request Values phase, instead of after the Process
Validations phase. No lifecycle phases are skipped.
Figure 4–4 shows the lifecycle for an input component whose immediate attribute is
set to true. The input component takes a date entered as a string and stores it as a
date object when the command button is clicked.

Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces 4-5

Using the Immediate Attribute

Figure 4–4 Immediate Attribute on an Input Component

Setting immediate to true for an input component can be useful when one or more
input components must be validated before other components. Then, if one of those
components is found to have invalid data, validation is skipped for the other input
components in the same page, thereby reducing the number of error messages shown
for the page.

Performance Tip: There are some cases where setting the

immediate attribute to true can lead to better performance:
■ When you create a navigation train, and have a
commandNavigationItem component in a navigationPane
component, you should set the immediate attribute to true to
avoid processing the data from the current page (train stop) while
navigating to the next page. For more information, see
Section 18.8.1, "How to Create the Train Model."
■ If an input component value has to be validated before any other
values, the immediate attribute should be set to true. Any
errors will be detected earlier in the lifecycle and additional
processing will be avoided.

4-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the Immediate Attribute

As another example, suppose you have a form with an input component used to
search for a string with a command button configured to invoke the search execution,
and another input text component used to input a date with an associated command
button used to submit the date. In this example, we want to set the search input
component and its button both to be immediate. This will allow the user to execute a
search, even if an invalid string is entered into the date field, because the date input
component’s converter is never fired. Also, because the search input text is set to
immediate and the date input field is not, only the search input text will be
processed. And because both fields are within the same form, if the user enters a valid
date in the date field, but then performs a search and does not click the Save button,
the entered value will still be displayed when the search results are displayed.
Example 4–2 shows the code used for the two fields and two buttons.

Example 4–2 Input Component and Command Components Using Immediate

<af:form>
<af:inputText immediate="true" label="Search" value="#{mybean.search}"
valueChangeListener="#{mybean.searchValueChangeListener}"/>
<af:commandButton immediate="true" text="search"
actionListener="#{mybean.searchActionListener}"/>
[.... tags to render search result ....]

<af:inputText label="Date" value="#{mybean.date}"

valueChangeListener="#{mybean.valueChangeListener}">
<af:convertDateTime dateStyle="long"/>
</af:inputText>
<af:commandButton text="save" actionListener="#{mybean.actionListener}"/>
</af:form>

Figure 4–5 shows the lifecycle for this page when a user does the following:
■ Enters binky into the Date input field (which is not a valid entry)
■ Enters dress into the Search field
■ Clicks the Search button to execute the search on dress
■ Clicks the Save button to save the value binky as the date

Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces 4-7

Using the Immediate Attribute

Figure 4–5 Immediate Attribute on Both Command Component and Input Component

When using the immediate attribute for editableValueHolder and

actionSource components on the same page, note the following issues:
■ If an editableValueHolder component is marked as immediate, it will
execute before the Update Model Values phase. This could be an issue when an
immediate actionSource component requires data from an
editableValueHolder component, as data entered into an
editableValueHolder component is not available to the model until after the
Update Model Values phase. If you have an immediate actionSource
component, and that component needs data, then set immediate on the
editableValueHolder fields as well. Then, you can call the getValue method
on the editableValueHolder component and the local value will be returned.
It will not have been pushed into the model yet, but it will be available on the
component.
■ If an immediate editableValueHolder component fails validation, any
immediate actionSource component will still execute.

To use the immediate attribute:

1. On the JSF page, select the component that you want to be immediate.

4-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the Optimized Lifecycle

2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Behavior section and set the immediate
attribute to true.

4.3 Using the Optimized Lifecycle

ADF Faces provides an optimized lifecycle that you can use when you want the JSF
page request lifecycle (including conversion and validation) to be run only for certain
components on a page. For example, suppose you have an inputText component on
a page whose required attribute is set to true. On the same page are radio buttons
that when selected cause the page to either show or hide text in an outputText
component, as shown in Figure 4–6.

Figure 4–6 Required Field and Boolean with Auto-Submit

Also assume that you want the user to be able to select a radio button before entering
the required text into the field. While you could set the radio button components to
automatically trigger a submit action and also set their immediate attribute to true
so that they are processed before the inputText component, you would also have to
add a valueChangeEvent listener, and in it call the Render Response phase so that
validation is not run on the input text component.
Instead of having to write this code in a listener, ADF Faces allows you to set
boundaries on the page that allow the lifecycle to run just on components within the
boundary. In order to determine the boundary, the framework must be notified of the
root component to process. This component can be determined in two ways:
■ Components: A region is an example of a component which the framework knows
is a boundary. No matter what event is triggered inside a region, the lifecycle does
not run on components outside the region.
■ Events: Certain events indicate a component as a root. For example, the disclosure
event sent when expanding or collapsing a showDetail component (see
Section 8.8, "Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically") indicates that the
showDetail component is a root, and so the lifecycle is run only on the
showDetail component and any child components. The lifecycle may also be run
on any components configured to listen for that disclosure event. Configuring a
component to listen for events on root components in order to be processed is
called cross-component refresh.
Cross-component refresh allows you to set up dependencies so that the events from
one component act as triggers for another component, known as the target. When any
event occurs on the trigger component, the lifecycle is run on any target components,
as well as on any child components of both the trigger and the target, causing only
those components to be rerendered. This is considered a partial page rendering (PPR).
In the radio button example, you would set the radio buttons to be triggers and the
panelGroupLayout component that contains the output text to be the target, as
shown in Example 4–3.

Example 4–3 Example of Cross-Component Rendering

<af:form>
<af:inputText label="Required Field" required="true"/>

Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces 4-9

Using the Optimized Lifecycle

<af:selectBooleanRadio id="show" autoSubmit="true" text="Show"

value="#{validate.show}"/>
<af:selectBooleanRadio id="hide" autoSubmit="true" text="Hide"
value="#{validate.hide}"/>
<af:panelGroupLayout partialTriggers="show hide" id="panel">
<af:outputText value="You can see me!" rendered="#{validate.show}"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:form>

Because the autoSubmit attribute is set to true on the radio buttons, when they are
selected, a SelectionEvent is fired, for which the radio button is considered the
root. Because the panelGroupLayout component is set to be a target to both radio
components, when that event is fired, only the selectOneRadio (the root), the
panelGroupLayout component (the root’s target), and its child component (the
outputText component) are processed through the lifecycle. Because the
outputText component is configured to render only when the Show radio button is
selected, the user is able to select that radio button and see the output text, without
having to enter text into the required input field above the radio buttons.
For more information about how the ADF Faces framework uses PPR, and how you
can use PPR throughout your application, see Chapter 7, "Rerendering Partial Page
Content."

4.3.1 What You May Need to Know About Using the Immediate Attribute and the
Optimized Lifecycle
There may be cases where PPR will not be able to keep certain components from being
validated. For example, suppose instead of using an outputText component, you
want to use an inputText component whose required attribute is set to true,
inside the panelGroupLayout component, as shown in Example 4–4.

Example 4–4 inputText Component Within a panelGroup Component Will Be Validated

with Cross-Component PPR
<af:form>
<af:selectBooleanRadio id="show2" autoSubmit="true" text="Show"
value="#{validate.show2}"/>
<af:selectBooleanRadio id="hide2" autoSubmit="true" text="Hide"
value="#{validate.hide2}"/>
<af:panelGroupLayout partialTriggers="show2 hide2">
<af:inputText label="Required Field" required="true"
rendered="#{validate.show2}"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:form>

In this example, the inputText component will be validated because the lifecycle
runs on the root (the selectOneRadio component), the target (the
panelGroupLayout component), and the target’s child (the inputText
component). Validation will fail because the inputText component is marked as
required and there is no value, so an error will be thrown. Because of the error, the
lifecycle will skip to the Render Response phase and the model will not be updated.
Therefore, the panelGroupLayout component will not be able to show or hide
because the value of the radio button will not be updated.
For cases like these, you can skip validation using the immediate attribute on the
radio buttons. Doing so causes the valueChangeEvent on the buttons to run before
the Process Validation phase of the inputText component. Then you need to add a
valueChangeListener handler method that would call the Render Response phase

4-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the Optimized Lifecycle

(thereby skipping validation of the input component), and set the values on the radio
buttons and input component. Example 4–5 shows the JSF code to do this.

Example 4–5 Using the immediate Attribute and a valueChangeListener

<af:form>
<af:selectOneRadio immediate="true"
valueChangeListener="#{validate.toggle}"
id="show2" autoSubmit="true" text="Show"
value="#{validate.show2}"/>
<af:selectOneRadio id="hide2" autoSubmit="true" text="Hide"
value="#{validate.hide2}"/>
<af:panelGroupLayout partialTriggers="show2 hide2">
<af:inputText label="Required Field" required="true"
rendered="#{validate.show2}"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:form>

Example 4–6 shows the valueChangeListener code.

Example 4–6 valueChangeListener Sets the Value and Calls Render Response
public void toggle(ValueChangeEvent vce)
{
setShow2(Boolean.TRUE.equals(vce.getNewValue()));
FacesContext.getCurrentInstance().renderResponse();
}

4.3.2 What You May Need to Know About Using an LOV Component and the Optimized
Lifecycle
For the inputListOfValues and inputComboBoxListOfValues components, the
procedures described in Section 4.3.1, "What You May Need to Know About Using the
Immediate Attribute and the Optimized Lifecycle," will not work. Consider the
following example.
Suppose you have an inputListOfValues component from which a user selects an
employee name, and an inputText component whose required attribute is set to
true, which is updated with the employee’s ID number once the employee is selected,
as shown in Figure 4–7.

Figure 4–7 LOV component Updates the Input Component

To achieve this, you might set the Empno field to have the Ename field as a partial
trigger, as shown in Example 4–7.

Example 4–7
<af:inputListOfValues label="Ename" id="lov0"
value="#{validateLOV.ename}" autoSubmit="true"
immediate="true"
popupTitle="Search and Select: Ename"
searchDesc="Choose a name"
model="#{validateLOV.listOfValuesModel}"

Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces 4-11

Using the Optimized Lifecycle

valueChangeListener="#{validateLOV.immediateValueChange}"
validator="#{validateLOV.validate}"/>
<af:inputText label="Empno" value="#{validateLOV.empno}" required="true"
id="lovDependent01" partialTriggers="lov0"/>

As with the radio button and input component example in Section 4.3.1, "What You
May Need to Know About Using the Immediate Attribute and the Optimized
Lifecycle," once the user clicks the search icon, the inputText component will be
validated because the lifecycle runs on both the root (the inputListOfValues
component) and the target (the inputText component). Validation will fail because
the inputText component is marked as required and there is no value, so an error
will be thrown, as shown in Figure 4–8.

Figure 4–8 Validation Error is Thrown Because a Value is Required

However, the solution recommended in Section 4.3.1, "What You May Need to Know
About Using the Immediate Attribute and the Optimized Lifecycle," of setting the
LOV component’s immediate attribute to true and using a ValueChangeListener on
the LOV will not fix the validation error. For LOV components, the
ValueChangeEvent is queued only when the value of the LOV component changes.
For this reason, setting the immediate attribute to true has no effect when the user
clicks the search icon, because at that point the ADF LaunchPopupEvent is queued
for the Invoke Application phase always, regardless of the value of the immediate
attribute. In other words, the optimized lifecycle is run as normal on both the root and
target components and therefore the input component throws a validation error.
When the user selects a new value from the LOV popup, the LOV component queues
two events. One is a ValueChangeEvent to signal a change in value for the
component. The second is a ReturnPopupEvent queued for the Invoke Application
phase, which gives application methods a chance to handle the selection. Both these
events need to occur in order for the LOV to behave as expected.
As mentioned, the LOV component queues a ValueChangeEvent only when the
user selects a new value. If you were to set the immediate attribute to true on the
LOV component, this event would be queued for the Apply Request Values phase and
the new value would be validated. In addition if you were to create a
ValueChangeListener method for the LOV component, and in its implementation
jump to the Render Response phase to avoid validation of the input component, the
selected value would never get pushed to the model, the ReturnPopupListener
would never get called during the Invoke Application phase, and the target input
component would not get updated with new value, as shown in Figure 4–9.

Figure 4–9 Model is Not Updated

To resolve this issue of needing both the ValueChangeEvent and the

ReturnPopupEvent to be queued as part of the same request and to have any target
fields refreshed with newly selected values, instead of declaratively setting the LOV

4-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the Client-Side Lifecycle

component as a partial trigger for the input component and creating a method for the
ValueChangeListener, you need to create a listener for the ReturnPopupEvent.
This listener must programmatically set the input components as partial targets for the
LOV. You do not need to set the LOV’s immediate attribute to true because the
input component is no longer a target for the LOV until the ReturnPopupListener
method is executed, and so it will not fail validation because the lifecycle will not be
run on it. And because a listener method is used for the ReturnPopupEvent instead
of for the ValueChangeEvent, both events can be queued and the model updated
appropriately.
Example 4–8 shows the needed page code for the LOV and input components.

Example 4–8
<af:inputListOfValues label="Ename" id="lov1"
value="#{validateLOV.ename}" autoSubmit="true"
returnPopupListener="#{validate.processReturnPopup}"
Title="Search and Select: Ename" searchDesc="Choose a name"
model="#{validateLOV.listOfValuesModel}"
validator="#{validateLOV.validate}"/>
<af:inputText label="Empno" value="#{validateLOV.empno}" required="true"
id="lovDependent1" binding="#{validate.lovDependent1}"/>

The input component uses its binding attribute to store the instance on a backing
bean, allowing the instance to be accessed by the listener method. The listener method
then accesses the input component and sets it as a partial target for the LOV, as shown
in Example 4–9.

Example 4–9
AdfFacesContext.getCurrentInstance().addPartialTarget(_lovDependent1)

For more information about programmatically setting partial page rendering, see
Section 7.3, "Enabling Partial Page Rendering Programmatically."

4.4 Using the Client-Side Lifecycle

The ADF Faces framework provides client-side conversion and validation. You can
create your own JavaScript-based converters and validators that run on the page
without a trip to the server.
You can use client-side validation so that when a specific client event is queued, it
triggers client validation of the appropriate form or subform (for more information
about subforms, see Section 4.5, "Using Subforms to Create Regions on a Page"). If this
client validation fails, meaning there are known errors, then the events that typically
propagate to the server (for example, a command button's actionEvent when a form
is submitted) do not go to the server. Having the event not delivered also means that
nothing is submitted and therefore, none of the client listeners is called. This is similar
to server-side validation in that when validation fails on the server, the lifecycle jumps
to the Render Response phase; the action event, though queued, will never be
delivered; and the actionListener handler method will never be called.
For example, ADF Faces provides the required attribute for input components, and
this validation runs on the client. When you set this attribute to true, the framework
will show an error on the page if the value of the component is null, without
requiring a trip to the server. Example 4–10 shows code that has an inputText
component’s required attribute set to true, and a command button whose
actionListener attribute is bound to a method on a managed bean.

Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces 4-13

Using Subforms to Create Regions on a Page

Example 4–10 Simple Client-Side Validation Example

<af:form>
<af:inputText id="input1" required="true" value="a"/>
<af:commandButton text="Search" actionListener="#{demoForm.search}"/>
</af:form>

When this page is run, if you clear the field of the value of the inputText component
and tab out of the field, the field will redisplay with a red outline. If you then click into
the field, an error message will state that a value is required, as shown in Figure 4–10.
There will be no trip to the server; this error detection and message generation is all
done on the client.

Figure 4–10 Client-Side Validation Displays an Error Without a Trip to the Server

In this same example, if you were to clear the field of the value and click the Search
button, the page would not be submitted because the required field is empty and
therefore an error occurs; the action event would not be delivered, and the method
bound to the action listener would not be executed. This process is what you want,
because there is no reason to submit the page if the client can tell that validation will
fail on the server.
For more information about using client-side validation and conversion, see Chapter 6,
"Validating and Converting Input."

4.5 Using Subforms to Create Regions on a Page

In the JSF reference implementation, if you want to independently submit a region of
the page, you have to use multiple forms. However multiple forms require multiple
copies of page state, which can result in the loss of user edits in forms that aren't
submitted.
ADF Faces adds support for a subform component, which represents an
independently submittable region of a page. The contents of a subform will be
validated (or otherwise processed) only if a component inside of the subform is
responsible for submitting the page, allowing for comparatively fine-grained control of
the set of components that will be validated and pushed into the model without the
compromises of using entirely separate form elements. When a page using subforms is
submitted, the page state is written only once, and all user edits are preserved.

Best Practice: Always use only a single form tag per page. Use the
subform tag where you might otherwise be tempted to use multiple
form tags.

A subform will always allow the Apply Request Values phase to execute for its child
components, even when the page was submitted by a component outside of the
subform. However, the Process Validations and Update Model Values phases will be
skipped (this differs from an ordinary form component, which, when not submitted,
cannot run the Apply Request Values phase). To allow components in subforms to be
processed through the Process Validations and Update Model Value phases when a
component outside the subform causes a submit action, use the default attribute.
When a subform’s default attribute is set to true, it acts like any other subform in

4-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Object Scope Lifecycles

most respects, but if no subform on the page has an appropriate event come from its
child components, then any subform with default set to true will behave as if one
of its child components caused the submit. For more information about subforms, see
Section 9.2, "Defining Forms."

4.6 Object Scope Lifecycles

At runtime, you pass data to pages by storing the needed data in an object scope
where the page can access it. The scope determines the lifespan of an object. Once you
place an object in a scope, it can be accessed from the scope using an EL expression.
For example, you might create a managed bean named foo, and define the bean to
live in the Request scope. To access that bean, you would use the expression
#{requestScope.foo}.
There are three types of scopes in a standard JSF application:
■ applicationScope: The object is available for the duration of the application.
■ sessionScope: The object is available for the duration of the session.
■ requestScope: The object is available for the duration between the time an
HTTP request is sent until a response is sent back to the client.
In addition to the standard JSF scopes, ADF Faces provides the following scopes:
■ pageFlowScope: The object is available as long as the user continues navigating
from one page to another. If the user opens a new browser window and begins
navigating, that series of windows will have its own pageFlowScope scope.
■ backingBeanScope: Used for managed beans for page fragments and
declarative components only. The object is available for the duration between the
time an HTTP request is sent until a response is sent back to the client. This scope
is needed because there may be more than one page fragment or declarative
component on a page, and to avoid collisions between values, any values must be
kept in separate scope instances. Use backingBeanScope scope for any
managed bean created for a page fragment or declarative component.
■ viewScope: The object is available until the ID for the current view changes. Use
viewScope scope to hold values for a given page.

Note: Because these are not standard JSF scopes, EL expressions

must explicitly include the scope to reference the bean. For example,
to reference the MyBean managed bean from the pageFlowScope
scope, your expression would be #{pageFlowScope.MyBean}.

Object scopes are analogous to global and local variable scopes in programming
languages. The wider the scope, the higher the availability of an object. During their
lifespan, these objects may expose certain interfaces, hold information, or pass
variables and parameters to other objects. For example, a managed bean defined in
sessionScope scope will be available for use during multiple page requests.
However, a managed bean defined in requestScope scope will be available only for
the duration of one page request.
Figure 4–11 shows the time period in which each type of scope is valid, and its
relationship with the page flow.

Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces 4-15

Passing Values Between Pages

Figure 4–11 Relationship Between Scopes and Page Flow

When determining what scope to register a managed bean with or to store a value in,
always try to use the narrowest scope possible. Use the sessionScope scope only for
information that is relevant to the whole session, such as user or context information.
Avoid using the sessionScope scope to pass values from one page to another.

Note: If you are using the full Fusion technology stack, then you
have the option to register your managed beans in various
configuration files. For more information, see the "Using a Managed
Bean in a Fusion Web Application" section of the Oracle Fusion
Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework.

4.7 Passing Values Between Pages

Note: If you are using the full Fusion technology stack and you need
information about passing values between pages in an ADF bounded
task flow, or between ADF regions and pages, refer to the "Getting
Started With ADF Task Flows" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware
Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

The ADF Faces pageFlowScope scope makes it easier to pass values from one page
to another, thus enabling you to develop master-detail pages more easily. Values
added to the pageFlowScope scope automatically continue to be available as the user

4-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Passing Values Between Pages

navigates from one page to another, even if you use a redirect directive. But unlike
session scope, these values are visible only in the current page flow or process. If the
user opens a new window and starts navigating, that series of windows will have its
own process. Values stored in each window remain independent.
Like objects stored in any standard JSF scope, objects stored in the pageFlow scope
can be accessed through EL expressions. The only difference with the pageFlow scope
is that the object names must use the pageFlowScope prefix. For example, to have a
button's label provided by a managed bean stored in the pageFlow scope, and to have
a method on the bean called when the button is selected, you might use the following
code on your page:
<af:commandButton text="#{pageFlowScope.buttonBean.label}"
action="#{pageFlowScope.buttonBean.action}"/>

The pageFlowScope is a java.util.Map object that may be accessed from Java

code. The setPropertyListener tag allows you to set property values onto a
scope, and also allows you to define the event the tag should listen for. For example,
when you use the setPropertyListener tag with the type attribute set to
action, it provides a declarative way to cause an action source (for example,
commandButton) to set a value before navigation. You can use the pageFlowScope
scope with the setPropertyListener tag to pass values from one page to another,
without writing any Java code in a backing bean. For example, you might have one
page that uses the setPropertyListener tag and a command component to set a
value in the pageFlowScope scope, and another page whose text components use the
pageFlowScope scope to retrieve their values.
You can also use the pageFlowScope scope to set values between secondary
windows such as dialogs. When you launch secondary windows from, for example, a
commandButton component, you can use a launchEvent event and the
pageFlowScope scope to pass values into and out of the secondary windows without
overriding values in the parent process.

4.7.1 How to Use the pageFlowScope Scope Within Java Code

You can access pageFlow scope from within any Java code in your application.
Remember to clear the scope once you are finished.

Note: If your application uses Oracle ADF Controller, then you do

not have to manually clear the scope.

To use pageFlowScope in Java code:

1. To get a reference to the pageFlowScope scope, use the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.context.RequestContext.
getPageFlowScope() method.
For example, to retrieve an object from the pageFlowScope scope, you might use
the following Java code:
import java.util.Map;
import org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.context.RequestContext;
. . .
Map pageFlowScope = RequestContext.getCurrentInstance().getPageFlowScope();
Object myObject = pageFlowScope.get("myObjectName");

2. To clear the pageFlowScope scope, access it and then manually clear it.
For example, you might use the following Java code to clear the scope:

Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces 4-17

Passing Values Between Pages

RequestContext afContext = RequestContext.getCurrentInstance();

afContext.getPageFlowScope().clear();

4.7.2 How to Use the pageFlowScope Scope Without Writing Java Code
To use the pageFlowScope scope without writing Java code, use a
setPropertyListener tag in conjunction with a command component to set a
value in the scope. The setPropertyListener tag uses the type attribute that
defines the event type it should listen for. It ignores all events that do not match its
type. Once set, you then can access that value from another page within the page flow.

Tip: Instead of using the setActionListener tag (which may

have been used in previous versions of ADF Faces), use the
setPropertyListener tag and set the event type to action.

To set a value in the pageFlowScope scope:

1. On the page from where you want to set the value, create a command component
using the Component Palette.
2. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag a Set Property
Listener and drop it as a child to the command component.
Or right-click the component and choose Insert inside Button > ADF Faces >
setPropertyListener.
3. In the Insert Set Property Listener dialog, set the From field to the value that will
be set on another component.
For example, say you have a managed bean named MyBean that stores the name
value for an employee, and you want to pass that value to the next page. You
would enter #{myBean.empName} in the From field.
4. Set the To field to be a value on the pageFlowScope scope.
For example, you might enter #{pageFlowScope.empName} in the To field.
5. From the Type dropdown menu, choose Action.
This allows the listener to listen for the action event associated with the command
component.

To access a value from the pageFlowScope scope:

1. On the page from which you want to access the value, drop the component that
you want to display the value.
2. Set the value of the component to be the same value as the To value set on the
setPropertyListener tag.
For example, to have an outputText component access the employee name, you
would set the value of that component to be #{pageFlowScope.empName}.

4.7.3 What Happens at Runtime: Passing Values

When a user clicks a command button that contains a setPropertyListener tag,
the listener executes and the To value is resolved and retrieved, and then stored as a
property on the pageFlowScope scope. On any subsequent pages that access that
property through an EL expression, the expression is resolved to the value set by the
original page.

4-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 5
5 Handling Events

This chapter describes how to handle events on the server as well as on the client.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 5.1, "Introduction to Events and Event Handling"
■ Section 5.2, "Using ADF Faces Server Events"
■ Section 5.3, "Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events"
■ Section 5.4, "Sending Custom Events from the Client to the Server"
■ Section 5.5, "Executing a Script Within an Event Response"
■ Section 5.6, "Using Client Behavior Tags"

5.1 Introduction to Events and Event Handling

In traditional JSF applications, event handling typically takes place on the server. JSF
event handling is based on the JavaBeans event model, where event classes and event
listener interfaces are used by the JSF application to handle events generated by
components.
Examples of user events in an application include clicking a button or link, selecting
an item from a menu or list, and changing a value in an input field. When a user
activity occurs such as clicking a button, the component creates an event object that
stores information about the event and identifies the component that generated the
event. The event is also added to an event queue. At the appropriate time in the JSF
lifecycle, JSF tells the component to broadcast the event to the appropriate registered
listener, which invokes the listener method that processes the event. The listener
method may trigger a change in the user interface, invoke backend application code,
or both.
Like standard JSF components, ADF Faces command components deliver
ActionEvent events when the components are activated, and ADF Faces input and
select components deliver ValueChangeEvent events when the component local
values change.
For example, in the File Explorer application, the File Menu contains a submenu
whose commandMenuItem components allow a user to create a new file or folder.
When users click the Folder commandMenuItem, an ActionEvent is invoked.
Because the EL expression set as the value for the component’s actionListener
attribute resolves to the createNewDirectory method on the headerManager
managed bean, that method is invoked and a new directory is created.

Handling Events 5-1

Introduction to Events and Event Handling

Note: Any ADF Faces component that has built-in event

functionality must be enclosed in the form tag.

While ADF Faces adheres to standard JSF event handling techniques, it also enhances
event handling in two key ways by providing:
■ AJAX-based functionality (partial page rendering)
■ A client-side event model

5.1.1 Events and Partial Page Rendering

Unlike standard JSF events, ADF Faces events support AJAX-style partial postbacks to
enable partial page rendering (PPR). Instead of full page rendering, ADF Faces events
and components can trigger partial page rendering, that is, only portions of a page
refresh upon request.
Certain events indicate a component is an event root component. Event root
components determine boundaries on the page that allow the lifecycle to run just on
components within that boundary (for more information about this aspect of the
lifecycle, see Section 4.3, "Using the Optimized Lifecycle"), and only those components
are refreshed on the page.
For example, the disclosure event sent when a expanding or collapsing a showDetail
component (see Section 8.8, "Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically"), indicates
that the showDetail component is a root. The lifecycle is run only on the
showDetail component (and any child components or other components that point
to this as a trigger), and only they are rerendered when it is expanded or collapsed.
Table 5–1 shows the event types in ADF Faces, and whether or not the source
component is an event root.

Table 5–1 Events and Event Root Components

Event Type Component Trigger Is Event Root
action All command components false
dialog dialog false
disclosure showDetail, showDetailHeader true
disclosure showDetailItem true
focus tree, treeTable true
launch All command components NA
launchPopup inputListOfValues, true
inputComboboxListOfValues
load document NA
poll poll true
popupOpened popup NA
popupOpening popup NA
popupClosed popup NA
propertyChange All components NA
queryEvent query, quickQuery true

5-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using ADF Faces Server Events

Table 5–1 (Cont.) Events and Event Root Components

Event Type Component Trigger Is Event Root
queryOperation query, quickQuery true
rangeChange table NA
regionNavigation region NA
return All command components true
returnPopupData inputListOfValues, true
inputComboboxListOfValues
returnPopup inputListOfValues, true
inputComboboxListOfValues
rowDisclosure tree, treeTable true
selection tree, treeTable, table true
sort treeTable, table true
valueChange All input and select components (components that true
implement EditableValueHolder)

Tip: If components outside of the event root need to be processed

when the event root is processed, then you must set the
partialTrigger attribute on those components to the ID of the
event root component.

5.1.2 Client-Side Event Model

In addition to server-side action and value change events, ADF Faces components also
invoke client-side action and value change events, and other kinds of server and client
events. Some events are generated by both server and client components (for example,
selection events); some events are generated by server components only (for example,
launch events); and some events are generated by client components only (for
example, load events).
By default, most client events are propagated to the server. Changes to the component
state are automatically synchronized back to the server to ensure consistency of state,
and events are delivered, when necessary, to the server for further processing.
However, you can configure your event so that it does not propagate.
In addition, any time you register a client-side event listener on the server-side Java
component, the RCF assumes that you require a JavaScript component, so a client-side
component is created.
Client-side JavaScript events can come from several sources: they can be derived
automatically from DOM events, from property change events, or they can be
manually created during the processing of other events.

5.2 Using ADF Faces Server Events

ADF Faces provides a number of server-side events. Table 5–2 lists the events
generated by ADF Faces components on the server, and the components that trigger
them.

Handling Events 5-3

Using ADF Faces Server Events

Table 5–2 ADF Faces Server Events

Event Triggered by Component...
ActionEvent All command components
DialogEvent dialog
DisclosureEvent showDetail, showDetailHeader, showDetailItem
FocusEvent * tree, treeTable
LaunchEvent All command components
LaunchPopupEvent inputListOfValues, inputComboboxListOfValues
LoadEvent ** document
PollEvent poll
QueryEvent query, quickQuery
QueryOperationEvent query, quickQuery
RangeChangeEvent table
RegionNavigationEvent region
ReturnEvent All command components
ReturnPopupEvent inputListOfValues, inputComboboxListOfValues
RowDisclosureEvent tree, treeTable
SelectionEvent tree, treeTable, table
SortEvent treeTable, table
ValueChangeEvent All input and select components (components that implement
EditableValueHolder)

* This focus event is generated when focusing in on a specific subtree, which is not the
same as a client-side keyboard focus event.
** The LoadEvent event is fired after the initial page is displayed (data streaming
results may arrive later).
All server events have event listeners on the associated component(s). You need to
create a handler that processes the event and then associate that handler code with the
listener on the component.
For example, in the File Explorer application, a selection event is fired when a user
selects a row in the table. Because the table’s selectionListener attribute is bound
to the tableSelectFileItem handler method on the TableContentView.java
managed bean, that method is invoked in response to the event.

To handle server-side events:

1. In a managed bean (or the backing bean for the page that will use the event
listener), create a public method that accepts the event (as the event type) as the
only parameter and returns void. Example 5–1 shows the code for the
tableSelectFileItem handler. (For information about creating and using
managed beans, see Section 2.6, "Creating and Using Managed Beans.")

Example 5–1 Event Listener Method

public void tableSelectFileItem(SelectionEvent selectionEvent)
{
FileItem data = (FileItem)this.getContentTable().getSelectedRowData();

5-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events

setSelectedFileItem(data);
}

Tip: If the event listener code is likely to be used by more than one
page in your application, consider creating an event listener
implementation class that all pages can access. All server event
listener class implementations must override a processEvent()
method, where Event is the event type.
For example, the LaunchListener event listener accepts an instance
of LaunchEvent as the single argument. In an implementation, you
must override the event processing method, as shown in the following
method signature:
public void processLaunch (LaunchEvent evt)
{
// your code here
}

2. To register an event listener method on a component, in the Structure window,

select the component that will invoke the event. In the Property Inspector, use the
dropdown menu next to the event listener property, and choose Edit.
3. Use the Edit Property dialog to select the managed bean and method created in
Step 1.
Example 5–2 shows sample code for registering a selection event listener method
on a table component.

Example 5–2 Registering an Event Listener Method

<af:table id="folderTable" var="file"
. . .
rowSelection="single"
selectionListener="#{explorer.tableContentView.tableSelectFileItem}"
. . .
</af:table>

5.3 Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events

Most components can also work with client-side events. Handling events on the client
saves a roundtrip to the server. When you use client-side events, instead of having
managed beans contain the event handler code, you use JavaScript, which can be
contained either on the calling page or in a JavaScript library.
By default, client events are processed only on the client. However, some event types
are also delivered to the server, for example, AdfActionEvent events, which indicate
a button has been clicked. Other events may be delivered to the server depending on
the component state. For example, AdfValueChangeEvent events will be delivered
to the server when the autoSubmit attribute is set to true. You can cancel an event
from being delivered to the server if no additional processing is needed. However,
some client events cannot be canceled. For example, because the popupOpened event
type is delivered after the popup window has opened, this event delivery to the server
cannot be canceled.

Handling Events 5-5

Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events

Performance Tip: If no server processing is needed for an event,

consider canceling the event at the end of processing so that the event
does not propagate to the server. For more information, see
Section 5.3.4, "How to Prevent Events from Propagating to the Server."

Table 5–3 lists the events generated by ADF Faces client components, whether or not
events are sent to the sever, whether or not the events are cancelable, and the
components that trigger the events.

Table 5–3 ADF Faces Client Events

Propagates Can Be
Event Type Event Class to Server Canceled Triggered by Component
action AdfActionEvent Yes Yes All command components
dialog AdfDialogEvent Yes Yes dialog
When user selects the OK or
Cancel button in a dialog
disclosure AdfDisclosureEvent Yes Yes showDetail,
showDetailHeader,
showDetailItem
When the disclosure state is
toggled by the user
AdfFocusEvent Yes Yes tree, treeTable
AdfLaunchPopupEvent Yes Yes inputListOfValues,
inputComboboxListOfValues
load AdfComponentEvent Yes Yes document
After the document’s contents
have been displayed on the client,
even when PPR navigation is
used. It does not always
correspond to the onLoad DOM
event.
AdfPollEvent Yes Yes poll
popupOpened AdfPopupOpenedEvent No No popup
After a popup window or dialog is
opened
popupOpening AdfPopupOpeningEvent No Yes popup
Prior to opening a popup window
or dialog
popupClosed AdfPopupClosedEvent No No popup
After a popup window or dialog is
closed
propertyChange AdfPropertyChangeEvent No No All components
query AdfQueryEvent Yes Yes query, quickQuery
Upon a query action (that is, when
the user clicks the search icon or
search button)
queryOperation AdfQueryOperationEvent Yes Yes query, quickQuery
AdfReturnEvent Yes Yes All command components

5-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events

Table 5–3 (Cont.) ADF Faces Client Events

Propagates Can Be
Event Type Event Class to Server Canceled Triggered by Component
AdfReturnPopupDataEvent Yes Yes inputListOfValues,
inputComboboxListOfValues
AdfReturnPopupEvent Yes Yes inputListOfValues,
inputComboboxListOfValues
rowDisclosure AdfRowDisclosureEvent Yes Yes tree, treeTable
When the row disclosure state is
toggled
selection AdfSelectionEvent Yes Yes tree, treeTable, table
When the selection state changes
sort AdfSortEvent Yes Yes treeTable, table
When the user sorts the table data
valueChange AdfValueChangeEvent Yes Yes All input and select components
(components that implement
EditableValueHolder)
When the value of an input or
select component is changed

The clientListener tag provides a declarative way to register a client-side event

handler script on a component. The script will be invoked when a supported client
event type is fired. Example 5–3 shows an example of a JavaScript function associated
with an action event.

Example 5–3 clientListener Tag

<af:commandButton id="button0"
text="Do something in response to an action">
<af:clientListener method="someJSMethod" type="action"/>
</af:commandButton>

Tip: Use the clientListener tag instead of the component's

JavaScript event properties.

The type attribute of the clientListener tag specifies the client event type that the
tag will listen for, such as action or valueChange. The method attribute of the
clientListener tag specifies the JavaScript function to call when the corresponding
event is fired. The JavaScript function must take a single parameter, which is the event
object.
The type attribute of the clientListener tag also supports client event types
related to keyboard and mouse events. Table 5–4 lists the keyboard and mouse event
types.

Table 5–4 Keyboard and Mouse Event Types Supported

Event Type Event Fires When...
click User clicks a component
dblclick User double-clicks a component
mousedown User moves mouse down on a component

Handling Events 5-7

Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events

Table 5–4 (Cont.) Keyboard and Mouse Event Types Supported

Event Type Event Fires When...
mouseup User moves mouse up on a component
mousemove User moves mouse while over a component
mouseover Mouse enters a component
mouseout Mouse leaves a component
keydown User presses key down while focused on a component
keyup User releases key while focused on a component
keypress When a successful keypress occurs while focused on a component
focus Component gains keyboard focus
blur Component loses keyboard focus

Best Practice: Keyboard and mouse events wrap native DOM

events using the AdfUIInputEvent subclass of the AdfBaseEvent
class, which provides access to the original DOM event and also offers
a range of convenience functions for retrieval of key codes, mouse
coordinates, and so on. The AdfBaseEvent class also accounts for
browser differences in how these events are implemented.
Consequently, you must avoid invoking the getNativeEvent()
method on the directly, and instead use the AdfUIInputEvent API.

To use client-side events, you need to first create the JavaScript that will handle the
event. For information about creating JavaScript, see Section 3.3, "Adding JavaScript to
a Page." Within that functionality, you can add the following:
■ Locate a client component on a page
If you want your event handler to operate on another component, you must locate
that component on the page. For example, in the File Explorer application, when
users choose the Give Feedback menu item in the Help menu, the associated
JavaScript function has to locate the help popup dialog in order to open it. For
more information about locating client components, see Section 3.5, "Locating a
Client Component on a Page."
■ Return the original source of the event
If you have more than one of the same component on the page, your JavaScript
function may need to determine which component issued the event. For example,
say more than one component can open the same popup dialog, and you want
that dialog aligned with the component that called it. You must know the source of
the AdfLaunchPopupEvent in order to determine where to align the popup
dialog. For more information, see Section 5.3.1, "How to Return the Original
Source of the Event."
■ Add client attributes
It may be that your client event handler will need to work with certain attributes
of a component. For example, in the File Explorer application, when users choose
the About menu item in the Help menu, a dialog launches that allows users to
provide feedback. The function used to open and display this dialog is also used
by other dialogs, which may need to be displayed differently. Therefore, the
function needs to know which dialog to display along with information about how
to align the dialog. This information is carried in client attributes. Client attributes

5-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events

can also be used to marshall custom server-side attributes to the client. For more
information, see Section 5.3.2, "How to Use Client-Side Attributes for an Event."
■ Cancel propagation to the server
Some of the components propagate client-side events to the server, as shown in
Table 5–3. If you do not need this extra processing, then you can cancel that
propagation. For more information, see Section 5.3.4, "How to Prevent Events from
Propagating to the Server."
Once you create the JavaScript function, you must add an event listener that will call
the event method. For more information, see Section 5.3.5, "How to Trigger Event
Handler Execution."

5.3.1 How to Return the Original Source of the Event

The JavaScript method getSource() returns the original source of a client event. For
example, the File Explorer application contains the showAboutFileExplorerPopup
function shown in Example 5–4, that could be used by multiple events to set the
alignment on a given popup dialog or window, using client attributes to pass in the
values. Because each event that uses the function may have different values for the
attributes, the function must know which source fired the event so that it can access
the corresponding attribute values (for more about using client attributes, see
Section 5.3.2, "How to Use Client-Side Attributes for an Event").

Example 5–4 Finding the Source Component of a Client Event

Explorer.showAboutFileExplorerPopup = function(event)
{
var source = event.getSource();
var alignType = source.getProperty("align");
var alignCompId = source.getProperty("alignId");
var popupCompId = source.getProperty("popupCompId");

source.show({align:alignType, alignId:alignCompId});

event.cancel();
}

The getSource() method is called to determine the client component that fired the
current focus event, which in this case is the popup component.

5.3.2 How to Use Client-Side Attributes for an Event

There may be cases when you want the script logic to cause some sort of change on a
component. To do this, you may need attribute values passed in by the event. For
example, the File Explorer application contains the showAboutFileExplorerPopup
function shown in Example 5–5, that can be used to set the alignment on a given
popup component, using client attributes to pass in the values. The attribute values are
accessed by calling the getProperty method on the source component.

Example 5–5 Attribute Values Are Accessed from JavaScript

Explorer.showAboutFileExplorerPopup = function(event)
{
var source = event.getSource();
var alignType = source.getProperty("align");
var alignCompId = source.getProperty("alignId");
var popupCompId = source.getProperty("popupCompId");

Handling Events 5-9

Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events

var aboutPopup = event.getSource().findComponent(popupCompId);

aboutPopup.show({align:alignType, alignId:alignCompId});

event.cancel();
}

The values are set on the source component, as shown in Example 5–6. For more
information about setting components on the JSF page, see Section 5.3.5, "How to
Trigger Event Handler Execution."

Example 5–6 Setting Attributes on a Component

<af:commandMenuItem id="aboutMenuItem"
text="#{explorerBundle['menuitem.about']}"
clientComponent="true">
<af:clientListener method="Explorer.showAboutFileExplorerPopup"
type="action"/>
<af:clientAttribute name="popupCompId" value=":aboutPopup"/>
<af:clientAttribute name="align" value="end_after"/>
<af:clientAttribute name="alignId" value="aboutMenuItem"/>
</af:commandMenuItem>

Using attributes in this way allows you to reuse the script across different components,
as long as they all trigger the same event.

5.3.3 How to Block UI Input During Event Execution

There may be times when you do not want the user to be able to interact with the UI
while a long-running event is processing. For example, suppose your application uses
a button to submit an order, and part of the processing includes creating a charge to
the user’s account. If the user were to inadvertently press the button twice, the account
would be charged twice. By blocking user interaction until server processing is
complete, you ensure no erroneous client activity can take place.
The ADF Faces JavaScript API includes the AdfBaseEvent.preventUserInput
function. To prevent all user input while the event is processing, you can call the
preventUserInput function, and a glass pane will cover the entire browser window,
preventing further input until the event has completed a roundtrip to the server.
You can use the preventUserInput function only with custom events, events raised
in a custom client script, or events raised in a custom client component’s peer.
Additionally, the event must propagate to the server. Example 5–7 shows how you can
use preventUserInput in your JavaScript.

Example 5–7 Blocking UI Input

function queueEvent(event)
{
event.cancel(); // cancel action event
var source = event.getSource();

var params = {};

var type = "customListener";
var immediate = true;
var isPartial = true;
var customEvent = new AdfCustomEvent(source, type, params, immediate);
customEvent.preventUserInput();
customEvent.queue(isPartial);
}

5-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events

5.3.4 How to Prevent Events from Propagating to the Server

By default, some client events propagate to the server once processing has completed
on the client. In some circumstances, it is desirable to block this propagation. For
instance, if you are using a commandButton component to execute JavaScript code
when the button is clicked, and there is no actionListener event listener on the
server, propagation of the event is a waste of resources. To block propagation to the
server, you call the cancel() function on the event in your listener. Once the
cancel() function has been called, the isCanceled() function will return true.
Example 5–8 shows the showAboutFileExplorerPopup function, which cancels its
propagation.

Example 5–8 Canceling a Client Event from Propagating to the Server

Explorer.showAboutFileExplorerPopup = function(event)
{
var source = event.getSource();
var alignType = source.getProperty("align");
var alignCompId = source.getProperty("alignId");
var popupCompId = source.getProperty("popupCompId");

var aboutPopup = event.getSource().findComponent(popupCompId);

aboutPopup.show({align:alignType, alignId:alignCompId});

event.cancel();
}

Canceling an event may also block some default processing. For example, canceling an
AdfUIInputEvent event for a context menu will block the browser from showing a
context menu in response to that event.
The cancel() function call will be ignored if the event cannot be canceled, which an
event indicates by returning false from the isCancelable() function (events that
cannot be canceled show "no" in the Is Cancelable column in Table 5–3). This generally
means that the event is a notification that an outcome has already completed, and
cannot be blocked. There is also no way to uncancel an event once it has been
canceled.

5.3.5 How to Trigger Event Handler Execution

Once you have written the JavaScript methods, you use the clientListener tag on
the JSF page to attach the appropriate JavaScript methods to the components whose
events should trigger the method execution.

To use a client listener to trigger method execution:

1. Select the component to invoke the JavaScript, and in the Property Inspector, set
ClientComponent to true.
2. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag a Client Listener and
drop it as a child to the selected component.
3. In the Insert Client Listener dialog, enter the method and select the type for the
JavaScript function. Be sure to include a library name if the script is not included
on the page. See Table 5–3 and Table 5–4 for a list of the supported client event
types.

Handling Events 5-11

Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events

Example 5–9 shows the code used to invoke the showHelpFileExplorerPopup

function from the Explorer.js JavaScript file.

Example 5–9 clientListener Tags on JSF Page

<af:commandMenuItem id="feedbackMenuItem"
text="#{explorerBundle['menuitem.feedback']}"
clientComponent="true">
<af:clientListener method="Explorer.showHelpFileExplorerPopup"
type="action"/>
</af:commandMenuItem>

4. Add any attributes required by the function by dragging a Client Attribute from
the Operations panel of the Component Palette, and dropping it as a child to the
selected component. Enter the name and value for the attribute in the Property
Inspector. Example 5–10 shows the code used to set attribute values for the
showAboutFileExplorerPopup function.

Example 5–10 Adding Attributes

<af:commandMenuItem id="aboutMenuItem"
text="#{explorerBundle['menuitem.about']}"
clientComponent="true">
<af:clientListener method="Explorer.showAboutFileExplorerPopup"
type="action"/>
<af:clientAttribute name="popupCompId" value=":fe:aboutPopup"/>
<af:clientAttribute name="align" value="end_after"/>
<af:clientAttribute name="alignId" value="aboutMenuItem"/>
</af:commandMenuItem>

Note: If you use the attribute tag (instead of the

clientAttribute tag) to add application-specific attributes or
bonus attributes to a server component, those attributes are not
included on the client component equivalent. You can use the
clientAttribute tag on the JSF page, and the value will then be
available on both the server and client. For information about posting
client values back to the server, see Section 5.4, "Sending Custom
Events from the Client to the Server." For information about bonus
attributes, see Section 3.7, "Using Bonus Attributes for Client-Side
Components."

5.3.6 What Happens at Runtime: How Client-Side Events Work

Event processing in general is taken from the browser's native event loop. The page
receives all DOM events that bubble up to the document, and hands them to the peer
associated with that piece of DOM. The peer is responsible for creating a rich client
JavaScript event object that wraps that DOM event, returning it to the page, which
queues the event (for more information about peers and the ADF Faces architecture,
see Chapter 3, "Using ADF Faces Architecture").
The event queue on the page most commonly empties at the end of the browser's
event loop once each DOM event has been processed by the page (typically, resulting
in a component event being queued). However, because it is possible for events to be
queued independently of any user input (for example, poll components firing their
poll event when a timer is invoked), queueing an event also starts a timer that will
force the event queue to empty even if no user input occurs.

5-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using JavaScript for ADF Faces Client Events

The event queue is a First-In-First-Out queue. For the event queue to empty, the page
takes each event object and delivers it to a broadcast() function on the event source.
This loop continues until the queue is empty. It is completely legitimate (and common)
for broadcasting an event to indirectly lead to queueing a new, derived event. That
derived event will be broadcast in the same loop.
When an event is broadcast to a component, the component does the following:
1. Delivers the event to the peer's DispatchComponentEvent method.
2. Delivers the event to any listeners registered for that event type.
3. Checks if the event should be bubbled, and if so initiates bubbling. Most events do
bubble. Exceptions include property change events (which are not queued, and do
not participate in this process at all) and, for efficiency, mouse move events.
While an event is bubbling, it is delivered to the AdfUIComponent
HandleBubbledEvent function, which offers up the event to the peer's
DispatchComponentEvent function. Note that client event listeners do not
receive the event, only the peers do.
Event bubbling can be blocked by calling an event's stopBubbling() function,
after which the isBubblingStopped() function will return true, and bubbling
will not continue. As with cancelling, you cannot undo this call.

Note: Canceling an event does not stop bubbling. If you want to both
cancel an event and stop it from bubbling, you must call both
functions.

4. If none of the prior work has canceled the event, calls the
AdfUIComponent.HandleEvent method, which adds the event to the server
event queue, if the event requests it.

5.3.7 What You May Need to Know About Using Naming Containers
Several components in ADF Faces are NamingContainer components, such as
pageTemplate, subform, table, and tree. When working with client-side API and
events in pages that contain NamingContainer components, you should use the
findComponent() method on the source component.
For example, because all components in any page within the File Explorer application
eventually reside inside a pageTemplate component, any JavaScript function must
use the getSource() and findComponent() methods, as shown in Example 5–11.
The getSource() method accesses the AdfUIComponent class, which can then be
used to find the component.

Example 5–11 JavaScript Using the findComponent() Method

function showPopup(event)
{
event.cancel();
var source = event.getSource();
var popup = source.findComponent("popup");
popup.show({align:"after_end", alignId:"button"});
}

When you use the findComponent() method, the search starts locally at the
component where the method is invoked. For more information about working with
naming containers, see Section 3.5, "Locating a Client Component on a Page."

Handling Events 5-13

Sending Custom Events from the Client to the Server

5.4 Sending Custom Events from the Client to the Server

While the clientAttribute tag supports sending bonus attributes from the server
to the client, those attributes are not synchronized back to the server. To send any
custom data back to the server, use a custom event sent through the
AdfCustomEvent class and the serverListener tag.
The AdfCustomEvent.queue() JavaScript method enables you to fire a custom
event from any component whose clientComponent attribute is set to true. The
custom event object contains information about the client event source and a map of
parameters to include on the event. The custom event can be set for immediate
delivery (that is, during the Apply Request Values phase), or non-immediate delivery
(that is, during the Invoke Application phase).
For example, in the File Explorer application, after entering a file name in the search
field on the left, users can press the Enter key to invoke the search. As Example 5–12
shows, this happens because the inputText field contains a clientListener that
invokes a JavaScript function when the Enter key is pressed.

Example 5–12 clientListener Invokes JavaScript Function and Causes ServerLIstener to

Be Invoked
//Code on the JSF page...
<af:inputText id="searchCriteriaName"
value="#{explorer.navigatorManager.searchNavigator.
searchCriteriaName}"
shortDesc="#{explorerBundle['navigator.filenamesearch']}">
<af:serverListener type="enterPressedOnSearch"
method="#{explorer.navigatorManager.
searchNavigator.searchOnEnter}"/>
<af:clientListener type="keyPress"
method="Explorer.searchNameHandleKeyPress"/>
</af:inputText>

//Code in JavaScript file...

Explorer.searchNameHandleKeyPress = function (event)
{
if (event.getKeyCode()==AdfKeyStroke.ENTER_KEY)
{
var source = event.getSource();
AdfCustomEvent.queue(source,
"enterPressedOnSearch",
{},
false);
}
}

The JavaScript contains the AdfCustomEvent.queue method that takes the event
source, the string enterPressedOnSearch as the custom event type, a null
parameter map, and False for the immediate parameter.
The inputText component on the page also contains the following
serverListener tag:
<af:serverListener type="enterPressedOnSearch"
method="#{explorer.navigatorManager.
searchNavigator.searchOnEnter}"/>

Because the type value enterPressedOnSearch is the same as the value of the
parameter in the AdfCustomEvent.queue method in the JavaScript, the method that

5-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Sending Custom Events from the Client to the Server

resolves to the method expression

#{explorer.navigatorManager.searchNavigator.searchOnEnter} will be
invoked.

5.4.1 How to Send Custom Events from the Client to the Server
To send a custom event from the client to the server, fire the client event using a
custom event type, write the server listener method on a backing bean, and have this
method process the custom event. Next, register the server listener with the
component.

To send custom events:

1. Create the JavaScript that will handle the custom event using the
AdfCustomEvent.queue() method to provide the event source, custom event
type, and the parameters to send to the server.
For example, the JavaScript used to cause the pressing of the Enter key to invoke
the search functionality uses the AdfCustomEvent.queue method that takes the
event source, the string enterPressedOnSearch as the custom event type, a
null parameter map, and False for the immediate parameter, as shown in
Example 5–13.

Example 5–13 Sample JavaScript for Custom Events

Explorer.searchNameHandleKeyPress = function (event)
{
if (event.getKeyCode()==AdfKeyStroke.ENTER_KEY)
{
var source = event.getSource();
AdfCustomEvent.queue(source,
"enterPressedOnSearch",
{},
false);
}
}

2. Create the server listener method on a managed bean. This method must be public
and take an oracle.adf.view.rich.render.ClientEvent object and return
a void type. Example 5–14 shows the code used in the SearchNavigatorView
managed bean that simply calls another method to execute the search and then
refreshes the navigator.

Example 5–14 Server Listener Method for a Custom Client Event

public void searchOnEnter(ClientEvent clientEvent)
{
doRealSearchForFileItem();

// refresh search navigator

this.refresh();
}

Handling Events 5-15

Sending Custom Events from the Client to the Server

Note: The Java-to-JavaScript transformation can lose type

information for Numbers, chars, Java Objects, arrays, and
nonstring CharSequences. Therefore, if an object being sent to the
server was initially on the server, you may want to add logic to ensure
the correct conversion. See Section 5.4.3, "What You May Need to
Know About Marshalling and Unmarshalling Data."

3. Register the clientListener by dragging a Client Listener from the Operations

panel of the Component Palette, and dropping it as a child to the component that
raises the event.

Note: On the component that will fire the custom client event, the
clientComponent attribute must be set to true to ensure that a
client-side generated component is available.

4. In the Insert Client Listener dialog, enter the method and type for the JavaScript
function. Be sure to include a library name if the script is not included on the page.
The type can be any string used to identify the custom event, for example,
enterPressedOnSearch was used in the File Explorer.
5. Register the server listener by dragging a Server Listener from the Operations
panel of the Component Palette, and dropping it as a sibling to the
clientListener tag.
6. In the Insert Server Listener dialog, enter the string used as the Type value for the
client listener, as the value for this server listener, for example
enterPressedOnSearch.
In the Property Inspector, for the method attribute, enter an expression that
resolves to the method created in Step 2.

5.4.2 What Happens at Runtime: How Client and Server Listeners Work Together
At runtime, when the user initiates the event, for example, pressing the Enter key, the
client listener script executes. This script calls the AdfCustomEvent.queue()
method, and a custom event of the specified event type is queued on the input
component. The server listener registered on the input component receives the custom
event, and the associated bean method executes.

5.4.3 What You May Need to Know About Marshalling and Unmarshalling Data
Marshalling and unmarshalling is the process of converting data objects of a
programming language into a byte stream and back into data objects that are native to
the same or a different programming language. In ADF Faces, marshalling and
unmarshalling refer to transformation of data into a suitable format so that it can be
optimally exchanged between JavaScript on the client end and Java on the server end.
When the client is browser-based, the two common strategies for marshalling are
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and XML. ADF Faces uses a mix of both of these
strategies, with the information sent from the server to the client mostly as JSON and
information sent from the client to the server as XML (for more information about
JSON, see http://www.json.org).
When you send information from JavaScript to Java, the JavaScript data objects are
converted (marshalled) into XML, which is then parsed back or unmarshalled into

5-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Sending Custom Events from the Client to the Server

Java objects at the server-side. For example, consider a JSF page that has a
commandButton component whose ID is cmd. When a user clicks the
commandButton component, the client must communicate to the server that an
actionEvent has been fired by this specific commandButton. In the
requestParameter map, the information is mapped with the key using the format
event + . + id where id is the ID of the component. So the requestParameter
map key for the commandComponent would be the XML string stored as the value of
the key event.cmd.
The XML fragment after marshalling in this example would be:
<m xmlns="http:/oracle.com/richClient/comm"><k v="type"><s>action</s></k></m>

The m in the example means that this should be unmarshalled into a map. The k
denotes the key and the value is of type String. On the server side, this XML
fragment is parsed into a java.util.Map of one entry having type
(java.lang.String) as the key and action (java.lang.String) as the value.
The unmarshalled information is grouped per client ID, stored in the request map, and
used when the components are being decoded. So in this example, when the
commandButton is decoded, it will check for the presence of any client events using
its client ID (event.cmd) and then queue an action event if one is found (the decode
behavior is implemented in the renderer hierarchy for commandButton component).
Table 5–5 shows the mapping between corresponding JavaScript and Java types.

Table 5–5 JavaScript to Java Type Map

JavaScript Type Java Type
Boolean java.lang.Boolean
Number java.lang.Double
String java.lang.String
Date java.util.Date
Array java.util.ArrayList
Object java.util.Map

Marshalling from Java to JavaScript happens mostly through JSON. This type of
marshalling is straightforward as JSON is the object literal notation in JavaScript. The
client-components usually have their properties encoded in JSON. Consider the
following example:
new AdfRichCommandButton(’demoTemplate:richComand’
{’partialSubmit’:true,’useWindow’:false})

The second argument ({’partialSubmit’:true,’useWindow’:false}) is a JSON object.

There is no additional unmarshalling step required at the browser end as JSON can
directly be parsed into the JavaScript environment as an object.
Encoding for a table also uses JSON to pass push messages to the client. The following
is an example of an envelope containing a single encoded push message:
[{'rKey':'0','type':'update','data':[{'val':'Active Data Every Second: on row
0:78','prop':'value','cInd':0},{'val':'Active Data Every Second: on row
0:78','prop':'value','cInd':1}]}]

Handling Events 5-17

Executing a Script Within an Event Response

The envelope is a JavaScript Array with only one object, which describes the message.
This message contains information about the type of change, the actual value of the
data, and so on, that is then used by the client-side table peer to update the table itself.
Table 5–6 shows the mapping between corresponding Java and JavaScript types.

Table 5–6 Java to JavaScript Type Map

Java Type JavaScript Type
java.lang.Boolean Boolean
java.lang.Double Number
java.lang.Integer Number
java.lang.Float Number
java.lang.Long Number
java.lang.Short Number
java.lang.Character String
java.lang.CharSequence String
java.util.Collection Array
java.util.Date Date
java.util.Map Object
Array Array
java.awt.Color TrColor

Note that there could be some loss of information during the conversion process. For
example, say you are using the following custom event to send the number 1 and the
String test, as shown in the following example:
AdfCustomEvent.queue(event.getSource(), "something", {first:1, second:"test"});

In the server-side listener, the type of the first parameter would become a
java.lang.Double because numbers are converted to Doubles when going from
JavaScript to Java. However, it might be that the parameter started on the server side
as an int, and was converted to a number when conversion from Java to JavaScript
took place. Now on its return trip to the server, it will be converted to a Double.

5.5 Executing a Script Within an Event Response

Using the ExtendedRenderKitService class, you can add JavaScript to an event
response, for example, after invoking an action method binding. It can be a simple
message like sending an alert informing the user that the database connection could
not be established, or a call to a function like hide() on a popup window to
programatically dismiss a popup dialog.
For example, in the File Explorer application, when the user clicks the UpOneFolder
navigation button to move up in the folder structure, the folder pane is repainted to
display the parent folder as selected. The HandleUpOneFolder() method is called in
response to clicking the UpOneFolder button event. It uses the
ExtendedRenderKitService class to add JavaScript to the response.
Example 5–15 shows the UpOneFolder code in the page with the actionListener
attribute bound to the HandleUpOneFolder() handler method which will process
the action event when the button is clicked.

5-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Executing a Script Within an Event Response

Example 5–15 Invoking a Method to Add JavaScript to a Response

<af:commandToolbarButton id="upOneFolder"
. . .
actionListener="#{explorer.headerManager.handleUpOneFolder}"/>

Example 5–16 shows the handleUpOneFolder method that uses the

ExtendedRenderKitService class.

Example 5–16 Adding JavaScript to a Response

public void handleUpOneFolder(ActionEvent actionEvent)
{
UIXTree folderTree =
feBean.getNavigatorManager().getFoldersNavigator().getFoldersTreeComponent();
Object selectedPath =
feBean.getNavigatorManager().getFoldersNavigator().getFirstSelectedTreePath();

if (selectedPath != null)
{
TreeModel model =
_feBean.getNavigatorManager().getFoldersNavigator().getFoldersTreeModel();
Object oldRowKey = model.getRowKey();
try
{
model.setRowKey(selectedPath);
Object parentRowKey = model.getContainerRowKey();
if (parentRowKey != null)
{
folderTree.getSelectedRowKeys().clear();
folderTree.getSelectedRowKeys().add(parentRowKey);
// This is an example of how to force a single attribute
// to rerender. The method assumes that the client has an optimized
// setter for "selectedRowKeys" of tree.
FacesContext context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
ExtendedRenderKitService erks =
Service.getRenderKitService(context,
ExtendedRenderKitService.class);
String clientRowKey = folderTree.getClientRowKeyManager().
getClientRowKey(context, folderTree, parentRowKey);
String clientId = folderTree.getClientId(context);
StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
builder.append("AdfPage.PAGE.findComponent('");
builder.append(clientId);
builder.append("').setSelectedRowKeys({'");
builder.append(clientRowKey);
builder.append("':true});");
erks.addScript(context, builder.toString());
}
}
finally
{
model.setRowKey(oldRowKey);
}
// Only really needed if using server-side rerendering
// of the tree selection, but performing it here saves
// a roundtrip (just one, to fetch the table data, instead
// of one to process the selection event only after which
// the table data gets fetched!)
_feBean.getNavigatorManager().getFoldersNavigator().openSelectedFolder();
}

Handling Events 5-19

Using Client Behavior Tags

5.6 Using Client Behavior Tags

ADF Faces client behavior tags provide declarative solutions to common client
operations that you would otherwise have to write yourself using JavaScript, and
register on components as client listeners. By using these tags instead of writing your
own JavaScript code to implement the same operations, you reduce the amount of
JavaScript code that needs to be downloaded to the browser.
ADF Faces provides these client behavior tags that you can use in place of client
listeners:
■ panelDashboardBehavior: Enables the runtime insertion of a child component
into a panelDasboard component to appear more responsive. For details, see
Section 8.7.1, "How to Use the panelDashboard Component."
■ insertTextBehavior: Enables a command component to insert text at the
cursor in an inputText component. For details, see Section 9.3.2, "How to Add
the Ability to Insert Text into an inputText Component."
■ richTextEditorInsertBehavior: Enables a command component to insert
text (including preformatted text) at the cursor in a richTextEditor component.
For details, see Section 9.8.2, "How to Add the Ability to Insert Text into a
richTextEditor Component."
■ showPopupBehavior: Enables a command component to launch a popup
component. For details, see Section 13.3, "Invoking Popup Elements."
■ showPrintablePageBehavior: Enables a command component to generate
and display a printable version of the page. For details, see Section 33.2,
"Displaying a Page for Print."
■ scrollComponentIntoViewBehavior: Enables a command component to
jump to a named component when clicked. For details, see Section 5.6.1, "How to
Use the scrollComponentIntoViewBehavior Tag."
Client behavior tags cancel server-side event delivery automatically. Therefore, any
actionListener or action attributes on the parent component will be ignored.
This cannot be disabled. If you want to also trigger server-side functionality, you
should use either a client-side event (see Section 5.3, "Using JavaScript for ADF Faces
Client Events"), or add an additional client listener that uses AdfCustomEvent and
af:serverListener to deliver a server-side event (see Section 5.4, "Sending Custom
Events from the Client to the Server").

5.6.1 How to Use the scrollComponentIntoViewBehavior Tag

Use the scrollComponentIntoViewBehavior tag when you want the user to be
able to jump to a particular component on a page. This action is similar to an anchor in
HTML. For example, you may want to allow users to jump to a particular part of a
page using a commandLink component. For the richTextEditor and
inlineFrame components, you can jump to a subcomponent. For example,
Figure 5–1 shows a richTextEditor component with a number of sections in its
text. The command links below the editor allow the user to jump to specific parts of
the text.

5-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Client Behavior Tags

Figure 5–1 scrollComponentIntoViewBehavior Tag in an Editor

You can also configure the tag to have focus switched to the component to which the
user has scrolled.

To use the scrollComponentIntoViewBehavior tag:

1. Create a command component that the user will click to jump to the named
component. For procedures, see Section 18.2.1, "How to Use Command Buttons
and Command Links."
2. In the Component Palette, from the Operations section, drag and drop a Scroll
Component Into View Behavior as a child to the command component.
3. In the Insert Scroll Component Into View Behavior dialog, use the dropdown
arrow to select Edit and then navigate to select the component to which the user
should jump.
4. In the Property Inspector, set the focus attribute to true if you want the
component to have focus after the jump.
5. For a richTextEditor or inlineFrame component, optionally enter a value
for the subTargetId attribute. This ID is defined in the value of the
richTextEditor or inlineFrame component.
For example, the value of the subTargetId attribute for the
scrollComponentIntoViewBehavior tag shown in Figure 5–1 is
Introduction. The value of the richTextEditor is bound to the property
shown in Example 5–17. Note that Introduction is the ID for the first header.

Example 5–17 subTargetId Value Defined in a Property

private static final String _RICH_SECTIONED_VALUE =
"<div>\n" +
" <h2>\n" +
" <a id=\"Introduction\"></a>Introduction</h2>\n" +
" <p>\n" +
" The ADF Table component is used to display a list of structured data. For
example,\n" +
" if we have a data structure called Person that has two properties -
firstname and\n" +
" lastname, we could use a Table with two columns - one for firstname, and
the other\n" +
" for lastname - to display a list of Person objects.\n" +
" </p>\n" +
" </div>\n" +
" <div>\n" +
" <h2>\n" +

Handling Events 5-21

Using Client Behavior Tags

" <a id=\"The_Table_Model\"></a>The Table Model</h2>\n" +

" <p>\n" +
. . .
</div>";

5-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 6
Validating and Converting Input
6

This chapter describes how to add conversion and validation capabilities to ADF Faces
input components in your application. It also describes how to handle and display any
errors, including those not caused by validation.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 6.1, "Introduction to ADF Faces Converters and Validators"
■ Section 6.2, "Conversion, Validation, and the JSF Lifecycle"
■ Section 6.3, "Adding Conversion"
■ Section 6.4, "Creating Custom JSF Converters"
■ Section 6.5, "Adding Validation"
■ Section 6.6, "Creating Custom JSF Validation"

6.1 Introduction to ADF Faces Converters and Validators

ADF Faces input components support conversion capabilities. A web application can
store data of many types, such as int, long, and date in the model layer. When
viewed in a client browser, however, the user interface has to present the data in a
manner that can be read or modified by the user. For example, a date field in a form
might represent a java.util.Date object as a text string in the format mm/dd/yyyy.
When a user edits a date field and submits the form, the string must be converted back
to the type that is required by the application. Then the data is validated against any
rules and conditions. Conversely, data stored as something other than a String type
can be converted to a String for display and updating. Many components, such as
af:inputDate, automatically provide a conversion capability.
ADF Faces input components also support validation capabilities. If the required
attribute of an input component is set to true you can set one or more validator
attributes or you can use the ADF Faces validator components. In addition, you can
create your own custom validators to suit your business needs.
Validators and converters have a default hint message that is displayed to users when
they click in the associated field. For converters, the hint usually tells the user the
correct format to use for input values, based on the given pattern. For validators, the
hint is used to convey what values are valid, based on the validation configured for
the component. If conversion or validation fails, associated error messages are
displayed to the user. These messages can be displayed in dialogs, or they can be
displayed on the page itself next to the component whose conversion or validation
failed. For more information about displaying messages in an ADF Faces application,
see Chapter 17, "Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help."

Validating and Converting Input 6-1

Conversion, Validation, and the JSF Lifecycle

6.2 Conversion, Validation, and the JSF Lifecycle

When a form with data is submitted, the browser sends a request value to the server
for each UI component whose editable value attribute is bound. Request values are
decoded during the JSF Apply Request Values phase and the decoded value is saved
locally on the component in the sumbittedValue attribute. If the value requires
conversion (for example, if it is displayed as a String type but stored as a DateTime
object), the data is converted to the correct type during the Process Validation phase on
a per-UI-component basis.
If validation or conversion fails, the lifecycle proceeds to the Render Response phase
and a corresponding error message is displayed on the page. If conversion and
validation are successful, then the Update Model phase starts and the converted and
validated values are used to update the model.
When a validation or conversion error occurs, the component whose validation or
conversion failed places an associated error message in the queue and invalidates
itself. The current page is then redisplayed with an error message. ADF Faces
components provide a way of declaratively setting these messages.
For detailed information about how conversion and validation works in the JSF
Lifecycle, see Chapter 4, "Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces."

6.3 Adding Conversion

A web application can store data of many types (such as int, long, date) in the
model layer. When viewed in a client browser, however, the user interface has to
present the data in a manner that can be read or modified by the user. For example, a
date field in a form might represent a java.util.Date object as a text string in the
format mm/dd/yyyy. When a user edits a date field and submits the form, the string
must be converted back to the type that is required by the application. Then the data is
validated against any rules and conditions. You can set only one converter on a UI
component.
When you create an af:inputText component and set an attribute that is of a type
for which there is a converter, JDeveloper automatically adds that converter’s tag as a
child of the input component. This tag invokes the converter, which will convert the
String type entered by the user back into the type expected by the object.
The JSF standard converters, which handle conversion between String types and
simple data types, implement the javax.faces.convert.Converter interface.
The supplied JSF standard converter classes are:
■ BigDecimalConverter
■ BigIntegerConverter
■ BooleanConverter
■ ByteConverter
■ CharacterConverter
■ DateTimeConverter
■ DoubleConverter
■ EnumConverter
■ FloatConverter
■ IntegerConverter

6-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Conversion

■ LongConverter
■ NumberConverter
■ ShortConverter
Table 6–1 shows the converters provided by ADF Faces.

Table 6–1 ADF Faces Converters

Converter Tag Name Description
ColorConverter af:convertColor Converts java.lang.String
objects to java.awt.Color objects.
You specify a set of color patterns as
an attribute of the converter.
DateTimeConverter af:convertDateTime Converts java.lang.String
objects to java.util.Date objects.
You specify the pattern and style of
the date as attributes of the converter.
NumberConverter af:convertNumber Converts java.lang.String
objects to java.lang.Number
objects. You specify the pattern and
type of the number as attributes of
the converter.

As with validators, the ADF Faces converters are also run on the client side.
if no converter is explicitly added, ADF Faces will attempt to create a converter based
on the data type. Therefore, if the value is bound to any of the following types, you do
not need to explicitly add a converter:
■ java.util.Date
■ java.util.Color
■ java.awt.Color
■ java.lang.Number
■ java.lang.Integer
■ java.lang.Long
■ java.lang.Short
■ java.lang.Byte
■ java.lang.Float
■ java.lang.Double
Unlike the converters listed in Table 6–1, the JavaScript-enabled converters are applied
by type and used instead of the standard ones, overriding the class and id
attributes. They do not have associated tags that can be nested in the component.

6.3.1 How to Add a Converter

You can also manually insert a converter into a UI component.

To add ADF Faces converters that have tags:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the component for which you would like to
add a converter.

Validating and Converting Input 6-3

Adding Conversion

2. In the context menu, choose Insert inside <UI component>, then ADF Faces to
insert an ADF Faces converter, or JSF Core to insert a JSF converter.
3. Choose a converter tag (for example, ConvertDateTime).
4. In the Property Inspector, set values for the attributes, including any messages for
conversion errors. For additional help, right-click any of the attributes and choose
Help.
You can set multiple patterns for some ADF Faces converters. For more
information, see Section 6.3.2, "How to Set Attributes on a Converter".
ADF Faces lets you customize the detail portion of a conversion error message. By
setting a value for a MessageDetailxyz attribute, where xyz is the conversion error
type (for example, MessageDetailconvertDate), ADF Faces displays the
custom message instead of a default message, if conversion fails. For more
information about creating messages, see Chapter 17, "Displaying Tips, Messages,
and Help."

6.3.2 How to Set Attributes on a Converter

Patterns specify the format of data accepted for conversion. Multiple patterns allow for
more than one format. For example, a user could enter dates using a slash (/) or
hyphen (-) as a separator. Not all converters support multiple patterns, although
pattern matching is flexible and multiple patterns may not be needed.
Example 6–1 illustrates the use of a multiple pattern for the af:convertColor tag in
which "255-255-000" and "FFFF00" are both acceptable values.

Example 6–1 af:convertColor Multiple Patterns

<af:inputColor colorData="#{adfFacesContext.colorPalette.default49}" id="sic3"
label="Select a color" value="#{demoColor.colorValue4}" chooseId="chooseId">
<af:convertColor patterns="rrr-ggg-bbb RRGGBB #RRGGBB"
transparentAllowed="false"/>
</af:inputColor>

Example 6–2 illustrates the use of an af:convertDateTime tag in which "6/9/2007"

and "2007/9/6" are both acceptable values.

Example 6–2 af:convertDateTime Multiple Patterns

<af:inputDate id="mdf5" value="2004/09/06" label="attached converter">
<af:convertDateTime pattern="yyyy/M/d" secondaryPattern="d/M/yyyy" />
</af:inputDate>

Example 6–3 illustrates an af:convertNumber tag with the type attribute set to
currency to accepts "$78.57" and "$078.57" as values for conversion.

Example 6–3 af:convertNumber Set to Currency Attribute

<af:inputText label="type=currency" value="#{validate.currency}">
<af:convertNumber type="currency"/>
</af:inputText>

6.3.3 What Happens at Runtime

When the user submits the page containing converters, the ADF Faces validate()
method calls the converter's getAsObject() method to convert the String value to

6-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating Custom JSF Converters

the required object type. When there is not an attached converter and if the component
is bound to a bean property in the model, then ADF checks the model's data type and
attempts to find the appropriate converter. If conversion fails, the component’s value
attribute is set to false and JSF adds an error message to a queue that is maintained
by FacesContext. If conversion is successful and there are validators attached to the
component, the converted value is passed to the validators. If no validators are
attached to the component, the converted value is stored as a local value that is later
used to update the model.

6.4 Creating Custom JSF Converters

You can create your own converters to meet your specific business needs. You can
create custom JSF converters that run on the server-side using Java, and then also
create a JavaScript version that can run on the client-side. However, unlike creating
custom validators, you can create only converter classes. You cannot add a method to a
backing bean to provide conversion.

6.4.1 How to Create a Custom JSF Converter

Creating a custom converter requires writing the business logic for the conversion by
creating an implementation of the Converter interface that contains the
getAsObject() and getAsString() methods, and then registering the custom
converter with the application. You then use the f:converter tag and set the custom
converter as a property of that tag, or you can use the converter attribute on the
input component to bind to that converter.
You can also create a client-side version of the converter. ADF Faces client-side
converters work in the same way standard JSF conversion works on the server, except
that JavaScript is used on the client. JavaScript converter objects can throw
ConverterException exceptions and they support the getAsObject() and
getAsString() methods.

To create a custom JSF converter:

1. Create a Java class that implements the javax.faces.converter.Converter
interface. The implementation must contain a public no-args constructor, a set of
accessor methods for any attributes, and getAsObject and getAsString
methods to implement the Converter interface.
The getAsObject() method takes the FacesContext instance, the UI
component, and the String value to be converted to a specified object, for
example:
public Object getAsObject(FacesContext context,
UIComponent component,
java.lang.String value){
..
}

The getAsString() method takes the FacesContext instance, the UI

component, and the object to be converted to a String value. For example:
public String getAsString(FacesContext context,
UIComponent component,
Object value){
..
}

Validating and Converting Input 6-5

Creating Custom JSF Converters

For more information about these classes, refer to the Javadoc or visit
http://java.sun.com/.
2. Add the needed conversion logic. This logic should use
javax.faces.convert.ConverterException to throw the appropriate
exceptions and javax.faces.application.FacesMessage to generate the
corresponding error messages. For more information about the Converter
interface and the FacesMessage error handlers, see the Javadoc for
javax.faces.convert.ConverterException and
javax.faces.application.FacesMessage, or visit
http://java.sun.com/.
3. If your application saves state on the client, your custom converter must
implement the Serializable interface or the StateHolder interface, and the
saveState(FacesContext) and restoreState(FacesContext, Object)
methods of the StateHolder interface. For more information, see the Javadoc for
the StateHolder interface of javax.faces.component package.
4. Register the converter in the faces-config.xml file.
■ Open the faces-config.xml file and select the Overview tab in the editor
window. The faces-config.xml file is located in the <View_
Project>/WEB-INF directory in the JDeveloper Application Navigator.
■ In the window, select Converters and click New. Click Help or press F1 for
additional help in registering the converter.

To create a client-side version of the converter:

■ Write a JavaScript version of the converter, passing relevant information to a
constructor. Example 6–4 shows the code to implement the interface
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.convert.ClientConverter, which has
two methods. The first method is getClientScript(), which returns an
implementation of the JavaScript Converter object. The second method is
getClientConversion(), which returns a JavaScript constructor that is used to
instantiate an instance of the converter.

Example 6–4 Interface Converter

function TrConverter()
{
}
/**
* Convert the specified model object value, into a String for display
* @param value Model object value to be converted
* @param label label to identify the editableValueHolder to the user
* @return the value as a string or undefined in case of no converter mechanism is
* available (see TrNumberConverter).
*/
TrConverter.prototype.getAsString = function(value, label){}

/**
* Convert the specified string value into a model data object
* which can be passed to validators
* @param value String value to be converted
* @param label label to identify the editableValueHolder to the user
* @return the converted value or undefined in case of no converter mechanism is
* available (see TrNumberConverter).
*/
TrConverter.prototype.getAsObject = function(value, label){}

6-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating Custom JSF Converters

The TrConverter interface can throw a TrConverterException exception, which

should contain a TrFacesMessage error message. Example 6–5 shows the signature
for TrFacesMessage and Example 6–6 shows the signature for
TrFacesException.

Example 6–5 TrFacesMessage Signature

/**
* Message similar to javax.faces.application.FacesMessage
* @param summary - Localized summary message text
* @param detail - Localized detail message text
* @param severity - An optional severity for this message. Use constants
* SEVERITY_INFO, SEVERITY_WARN, SEVERITY_ERROR, and
* SEVERITY_FATAL from the FacesMessage class. Default is
* SEVERITY_INFO
*/
function TrFacesMessage(
summary,
detail,
severity
)

Example 6–6 TrFacesException Signature

/**
* TrConverterException is an exception thrown by the getAsObject() or
getAsString()
* method of a Converter, to indicate that the requested conversion cannot be
performed.
* @param facesMessage the TrFacesMessage associated with this exception
* @param summary Localized summary message text, used to create only if
facesMessage is null
* @param detail Localized detail message text, used only if facesMessage is null
*/
function TrConverterException(
facesMessage,
summary,
detail

Example 6–7 shows an example of a customer converter, SimpleNumberConverter,

written in Java that will run on the server. The custom converter has to implement the
ClientConverter interface.

Example 6–7 Custom Converter SimpleNumberConverter in Java

public class SimpleNumberConverter implements javax.faces.convert.Converter,
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.convert.ClientConverter
{
public SimpleNumberConverter(boolean isInteger)
{
_isInteger = isInteger;
}

// CONVERTER INTERFACE
public Object getAsObject(FacesContext context, UIComponent component,
String value)
{
// convert to object

Validating and Converting Input 6-7

Creating Custom JSF Converters

String getAsString(FacesContext context, UIComponent component, Object value)

{
// convert to string
}
// CLIENTCONVERTER INTERFACE
/**
* Called to retrieve the appropriate client
* conversion code for the node and context.
* For HTML, this will be javascript that will be embedded in a
* script tag. For HTML this method is expected to return a
* constructor of the javascript Converter object
* returned by getClientScript().
*/
public String getClientConversion(FacesContext context, UIComponent component)
{
return "new SimpleNumberConverter(" + Boolean.toString(_isInteger) + ")";
}
public Collection<String> getClientImportNames()
{
// return empty collection
}
public String getClientLibrarySource(FacesContext context)
{
return null;
}

public String getClientScript(FacesContext context, UIComponent component)

{
return null;
}

private boolean _isInteger;

}

You must also create a JavaScript implementation of the custom converter for the
client, as shown in Example 6–8.

Example 6–8 Client-side Implementation of SimpleNumberConverter in JavaScript

/**
* constructor of client side SimpleNumberConverter class
*/
function SimpleNumberConverter(isInteger)
{
this._isInteger = isInteger;
}

// Inherit object properties from base class if desired.

SimpleNumberConverter.prototype = new SimpleConverter();

SimpleNumberConverter.prototype.getAsString = function(number,label)
{
// convert to string
}

SimpleNumberConverter.prototype.getAsObject = function(numberString,label)
{

6-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Validation

// convert to object
}

To use a custom converter on a JSF page:

■ Bind your converter class to the converter attribute of the input component.

Note: If a custom converter is registered in an application under a

class for a specific data type, whenever a component's value
references a value binding that has the same type as the custom
converter object, JSF will automatically use the converter of that class
to convert the data. In that case, you do not need to use the
converter attribute to register the custom converter on a
component, as shown in the following code:
<af:inputText value="#{myBean.myProperty}"/>
The myProperty data type has the same type as the custom
converter.

6.4.2 What Happens When You Use a Custom Converter

When you use a custom converter, the application accesses the converter class
referenced in the converter attribute, and executes the getAsObject or
getAsString method as appropriate. These methods access the data from the
component and execute the conversion logic.

6.5 Adding Validation

You can add validation so that when a user edits or enters data in a field and submits
the form, the data is validated against any set rules and conditions. If validation fails,
the application displays an error message. For example, in Figure 6–1 a specific date
range for user input with a message hint is set by the af:validateDateTimeRange
component and an error message is displayed in the message popup window when an
invalid value is entered.

Figure 6–1 Date Range Validator with Error Message

On the view layer use ADF Faces validation when you want client-side validation. All
validators provided by ADF Faces have a client-side peer. Many components have
attributes that provide validation. For information, see Section 6.5.1.2, "Using
Validation Attributes." In addition, ADF Faces provides separate validation classes
that can be run on both the client and the server. For details, see Section 6.5.1.3, "Using
ADF Faces Validators." You can also create your own validators. For information about
custom validators, see Section 6.6.3, "How to Create a Custom JSF Validator."

Validating and Converting Input 6-9

Adding Validation

6.5.1 How to Add Validation

Set ADF Faces validation on the input component and an error message is displayed
inline or in a popup window on the page. For more information about displaying
messages created by validation errors, see Chapter 17, "Displaying Tips, Messages, and
Help."

6.5.1.1 Adding ADF Faces Validation

By default, ADF Faces syntactic and semantic validation occurs on both the client and
server side. Client-side validation allows validators to catch and display data without
requiring a round-trip to the server.
ADF Faces provides the following types of validation:
■ UI component attributes: ADF Faces input components provide attributes that can
be used to validate data. For example, you can supply simple validation using the
required attribute on ADF Faces input components to specify whether or not a
value must be supplied. When the required attribute is set to true, the
component must have a value. Otherwise the application displays an error
message. For more information, see Section 6.5.1.2, "Using Validation Attributes."
■ Default ADF Faces validators: The validators supplied by the JSF framework
provide common validation checks, such as validating date ranges and validating
the length of entered data. For more information, see Section 6.5.1.3, "Using ADF
Faces Validators."
■ Custom ADF Faces validators: You can create your own validators and then select
them to be used in conjunction with UI components. For more information, see
Section 6.6, "Creating Custom JSF Validation."

6.5.1.2 Using Validation Attributes

Many ADF Faces UI components have attributes that provide simple validation. For
example, the af:chooseDate component is used in conjunction with an
af:inputDate component for easy date selection. The af:chooseDate component
has maxValue and minValue attributes to specify the maximum and minimum
number allowed for the Date value.
For additional help with UI component attributes, in the Property Inspector, right-click
the attribute name and choose Help.

6.5.1.3 Using ADF Faces Validators

ADF Faces Validators are separate classes that can be run on the server or client.
Table 6–2 describes the validators and their logic.

Table 6–2 ADF Faces Validators

Validator Tag Name Description
ByteLengthValidator af:validateByteLength Validates the byte length
of strings when encoded.
The maximumLength
attribute of inputText is
similar, but it limits the
number of characters that
the user can enter.
DateRestrictionValidator af:validateDateRestriction Validates that the entered
date is valid with some
given restrictions.

6-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Validation

Table 6–2 (Cont.) ADF Faces Validators

Validator Tag Name Description
DateTimeRangeValidator af:validateDateTimeRange Validates that the entered
date is within a given
range. You specify the
range as attributes of the
validator.
DoubleRangeValidator af:validateDoubleRange Validates that a
component value is
within a specified range.
The value must be
convertible to a
floating-point type.
LengthValidator af:validateLength Validates that the length
of a component value is
within a specified range.
The value must be of type
java.lang.String.
LongRangeValidator af:validateLongRange Validates that a
component value is
within a specified range.
The value must be any
numeric type or String
that can be converted to a
long data type.
RegExpValidator af:validateRegExp Validates the data using
Java regular expression
syntax.

Note: To register a custom validator on a component, use a standard

JSF f:validator tag. For information about using custom
validators, see Section 6.6, "Creating Custom JSF Validation."

To add ADF Faces validators:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the component for which you would like to
add a validator.
2. In the context menu, choose Insert inside <UI component>, then ADF Faces to
insert an ADF Faces validator, or JSF Core to insert a JSF reference implementation
validator.
3. Choose a validator tag (for example, ValidateDateTimeRange).
4. In the Property Inspector, set values for the attributes, including any messages for
validation errors. For additional help, right-click any of the attributes and choose
Help.
ADF Faces lets you customize the detail portion of a validation error message. By
setting a value for a MessageDetailxyz attribute, where xyz is the validation error
type (for example, MessageDetailmaximum), ADF Faces displays the custom
message instead of a default message, if validation fails.

6.5.2 What Happens at Runtime

When the user submits the page, ADF Faces checks the submitted value and runs
conversion on any non-null value. The converted value is then passed to the

Validating and Converting Input 6-11

Creating Custom JSF Validation

validate() method. If the value is empty, the required attribute of the component
is checked and an error message is generated if indicated. If the submitted value is
non-null, the validation process continues and all validators on the component are
called in order of their declaration.

Note: ADF Faces provides extensions to the standard JSF validators,

which have client-side support.

ADF Faces validation is performed during the Process Validations phase. If any errors
are encountered, the components are invalidated and the associated messages are
added to the queue in the FacesContext instance. Once all validation is run on the
components, control passes to the model layer, which runs the Validate Model
Updates phase. As with the Process Validations phase, if any errors are encountered,
the components are invalidated and the associated messages are added to the queue in
the FacesContext instance.
The lifecycle then goes to the Render Response phase and redisplays the current page.
ADF Faces automatically displays an error icon next to the label of any input
component that generated an error, and displays the associated messages in a popup
window unless the af:message component inline attribute is set to true.
Figure 6–2 shows a server-side validation error.

Figure 6–2 Server-Side Validation Error

6.5.3 What You May Need to Know About Multiple Validators

You can set zero or more validators on a UI component. You can set the required
attribute and use validators on a component. However, if you set the required
attribute to true and the value is null or a zero-length string, the component is
invalidated and any other validators registered on the component are not called.
This combination might be an issue if there is a valid case for the component to be
empty. For example, if the page contains a Cancel button, the user should be able to
click that button and navigate off the page without entering any data. To handle this
case, you set the immediate attribute on the Cancel button’s component to true.
This attribute allows the action to be executed during the Apply Request Values phase.
Then the default JSF action listener calls FacesContext.renderResponse(), thus
bypassing the validation whenever the action is executed. For more information see
Chapter 4, "Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces."

6.6 Creating Custom JSF Validation

You can add your own validation logic to meet your specific business needs. If you
want custom validation logic for a component on a single page, you can create a
validation method on the page’s backing bean.

6-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating Custom JSF Validation

If you want to create logic that will be reused by various pages within the application,
or if you want the validation to be able to run on the client side, you should create a
JSF validator class. You can then create an ADF Faces version, which will allow the
validator to run on the client.

6.6.1 How to Create a Backing Bean Validation Method

When you want custom validation for a component on a single page, create a method
that provides the required validation on a backing bean.

To add a backing bean validation method:

1. Insert the component that will require validation into the JSF page.

2. In the visual editor, double-click the component to open the Bind Validator
Property dialog.
3. In the Bind Validator Property dialog, enter or select the managed bean that will
hold the validation method, or click New to create a new managed bean. Use the
default method signature provided or select an existing method if the logic already
exists.
When you click OK in the dialog, JDeveloper adds a skeleton method to the code
and opens the bean in the source editor.
4. Add the required validation logic. This logic should use the
javax.faces.validator.ValidatorException exception to throw the
appropriate exceptions and the javax.faces.application.FacesMessage
error message to generate the corresponding error messages. For more information
about the Validator interface and FacesMessage, see the Javadoc for
javax.faces.validator.ValidatorException and
javax.faces.application.FacesMessage, or visit
http://java.sun.com/.

6.6.2 What Happens When You Create a Backing Bean Validation Method
When you create a validation method, JDeveloper adds a skeleton method to the
managed bean you selected. Example 6–9 shows the code JDeveloper generates.

Example 6–9 Managed Bean Code for a Validation Method

public void inputText_validator(FacesContext facesContext,
UIComponent uiComponent, Object object) {
// Add event code here...
}

When the form containing the input component is submitted, the method to which the
validator attribute is bound is executed.

6.6.3 How to Create a Custom JSF Validator

Creating a custom validator requires writing the business logic for the validation by
creating a Validator implementation of the interface, and then registering the
custom validator with the application. You can also create a tag for the validator, or
you can use the f:validator tag and the custom validator as an attribute for that
tag.
You can then create a client-side version of the validator. ADF Faces client-side
validation works in the same way that standard validation works on the server, except

Validating and Converting Input 6-13

Creating Custom JSF Validation

that JavaScript is used on the client. JavaScript validator objects can throw
ValidatorExceptions exceptions and they support the validate() method.

To create a custom JSF validator:

1. Create a Java class that implements the javax.faces.validator.Validator
interface. The implementation must contain a public no-args constructor, a set of
accessor methods for any attributes, and a validate method to implement the
Validator interface.
public void validate(FacesContext facesContext,
UIComponent uiComponent,
Object object)
throws ValidatorException {
..
}
For more information about these classes, refer to the Javadoc or visit
http://java.sun.com/.
2. Add the needed validation logic. This logic should use the
javax.faces.validate.ValidatorException exception to throw the
appropriate exceptions and the javax.faces.application.FacesMessage
error message to generate the corresponding error messages. For more information
about the Validator interface and FacesMessage, see the Javadoc for
javax.faces.validate.ValidatorException and
javax.faces.application.FacesMessage, or visit
http://java.sun.com/.
3. If your application saves state on the client, your custom validator must
implement the Serializable interface, or the StateHolder interface, and the
saveState(FacesContext) and restoreState(FacesContext, Object)
methods of the StateHolder interface. For more information, see the Javadoc for
the StateHolder interface of the javax.faces.component package.
4. Register the validator in the faces-config.xml file.
■ Open the faces-config.xml file and select the Overview tab in the editor
window. The faces-config.xml file is located in the <View_
Project>/WEB-INF directory.
■ In the window, select Validators and click New. Click Help or press F1 for
additional help in registering the validator.

To create a client-side version of the validator:

1. Write a JavaScript version of the validator, passing relevant information to a
constructor.
2. Implement the interface
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.ClientValidator, which
has two methods. The first method is getClientScript(), which returns an
implementation of the JavaScript Validator object. The second method is
getClientValidation(), which returns a JavaScript constructor that is used to
instantiate an instance of the validator.
Example 6–10 shows a validator in Java.

Example 6–10 Java Validator

public String getClientValidation(
FacesContext context,
UIComponent component)

6-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating Custom JSF Validation

{
return ("new SSNValidator('Invalid social security number.','Value \"{1}\"
must start with \"123\".')");
}

The Java validator calls the JavaScript validator shown in Example 6–11.

Example 6–11 Client-side JavaScript Validator

function SSNValidator(summary, detail)
{
this._detail = detail;
this._summary = summary;
}

To use a custom validator on a JSF page:

■ To use a custom validator that has a tag on a JSF page, you must manually nest it
inside the component’s tag.
Example 6–12 shows a custom validator tag nested inside an inputText
component. Note that the tag attributes are used to provide the values for the
validator’s properties that were declared in the faces-config.xml file.

Example 6–12 A Custom Validator Tag on a JSF Page

<h:inputText id="empnumber" required="true">
<hdemo:emValidator emPatterns="9999|9 9 9 9|9-9-9-9" />
</h:inputText>

To use a custom validator without a custom tag:

To use a custom validator without a custom tag, nest the validator’s ID (as configured
in faces-config.xml file) inside the f:validator tag. The validator’s ID attribute
supports EL expression such that the application can dynamically determine the
validator to use.
1. From the Structure window, right-click the input component for which you want
to add validation, and choose Insert inside component > ADF Faces Core >
Validator.
2. Select the validator’s ID from the dropdown list and click OK.
JDeveloper inserts code on the JSF page that makes the validator ID a property of
the f:validator tag.
Example 6–13 shows the code on a JSF page for a validator using the f:validator
tag.

Example 6–13 A Custom Validator Nested Within a Component on a JSF Page

<af:inputText id="empnumber" required="true">
<f:validator validatorID="emValidator"/>
</af:inputText>

6.6.4 What Happens When You Use a Custom JSF Validator

When you use a custom JSF validator, the application accesses the validator class
referenced in either the custom tag or the f:validator tag and executes the
validate() method. This method accesses the data from the component in the

Validating and Converting Input 6-15

Creating Custom JSF Validation

current FacesContext and executes logic against it to determine if it is valid. If the

validator has attributes, those attributes are also accessed and used in the validation
routine. Like standard validators, if the custom validation fails, associated messages
are placed in the message queue in the FacesContext instance.

6-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 7
7 Rerendering Partial Page Content

This chapter describes how to use the partial page render features provided with
ADF Faces components to rerender areas of a page without rerendering the whole
page.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 7.1, "Introduction to Partial Page Rendering"
■ Section 7.2, "Enabling Partial Page Rendering Declaratively"
■ Section 7.3, "Enabling Partial Page Rendering Programmatically"
■ Section 7.4, "Using Partial Page Navigation"

7.1 Introduction to Partial Page Rendering

AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a web development technique for
creating interactive web applications, where web pages appear more responsive by
exchanging small amounts of data with the server behind the scenes, without the
whole web page being rerendered. The effect is to improve a web page's interactivity,
speed, and usability.
With ADF Faces, the feature that delivers the AJAX partial page render behavior is
called partial page rendering (PPR). PPR allows certain components on a page to be
rerendered without the need to rerender the entire page. For example, an output
component can display what a user has chosen or entered in an input component, or a
command link or button can cause another component on the page to be rerendered,
without the whole page rerendering.
In order for PPR to work, boundaries must be set on the page that allow the lifecycle to
run just on components within the boundary. In order to determine the boundary, the
framework must be notified of the root component to process. The root component can
be identified in two ways:
■ Events: Certain events indicate a component as a root. For example, the disclosure
event sent when expanding or collapsing a showDetail component (see
Section 8.8, "Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically"), indicates that the
showDetail component is a root. When the showDetail component is
expanded or collapsed, only that component goes through the lifecycle. Other
examples of events identifying a root component are the disclosure event when
expanding nodes on a tree, or the sort event on a table.
■ Components: Certain components are recognized as a boundary, and therefore a
root component. For example, the framework knows a popup dialog is a
boundary. No matter what event is triggered inside a dialog, the lifecycle does not
run on components outside the dialog. It runs only on the popup.

Rerendering Partial Page Content 7-1

Enabling Partial Page Rendering Declaratively

In addition to built-in PPR functionality, you can configure components to use

cross-component rendering, which allows you to set up dependencies so that one
component acts as a trigger and another as the listener. When an event occurs on the
trigger component, the lifecycle is run only on listener components and child
components to the listener, and only the listener components and their children are
rerendered. Cross-component rendering can be implemented declaratively. However,
by default, all events from a trigger component will cause PPR (note that some
components, such as table, trigger partial targets on only a subset of their events). For
these cases where you need strict control over the event that launches PPR, or for cases
where you want to use some logic to determine the target, you can implement PPR
programatically.

Tip: If your application uses the Fusion technology stack, you can
enable the automatic partial page rendering feature on any page. This
causes any components whose values change as a result of backend
business logic to be automatically rerendered. For more information,
see the "What You May Need to Know About Automatic Partial Page
Rendering" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's
Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

Additionally, ADF Faces applications can use PPR for navigation. In standard JSF
applications, the navigation from one page to the next requires the new page to be
rendered. When using AJAX-like components, this can cause overhead because of the
time needed to download the different JavaScript libraries and style sheets. To avoid
this costly overhead, the ADF Faces architecture can optionally simulate full-page
transitions while actually remaining on a single page, thereby avoiding the need to
reload JavaScript code and skin styles.

Note: The browser must have JavaScript enabled for PPR to work.

7.2 Enabling Partial Page Rendering Declaratively

Using the simplest form of cross-component rendering, one component, referred to as
the target component, is rerendered when any event occurs on another component,
referred to as the trigger component.
For example, as shown in Figure 7–1, the File Explorer application contains a table that
shows the search results in the Search panel. This table (and only this table) is
rerendered when the search button is activated. The search button is configured to be
the trigger and the table is configured to be the target.

7-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Enabling Partial Page Rendering Declaratively

Figure 7–1 The Search Button Causes Results Table to Rerender

Note: In some cases, you may want a component to be rerendered

only when a particular event is fired, not for every event associated
with the trigger component, or you may want some logic to determine
whether a component is to be rerendered. In these cases, you can
programatically enable PPR. For more information, see Section 7.3,
"Enabling Partial Page Rendering Programmatically."

Trigger components must inform the framework that a PPR request has occurred. On
command components, this is achieved by setting the partialSubmit attribute to
true. Doing this causes the command component to fire a partial page request each
time it is clicked.
For example, say a page includes an inputText component, a commandButton
component, and an outputText component. When the user enters a value for the
inputText component, and then clicks the commandButton component, the input
value is reflected in the outputText component. You would set the partialSubmit
attribute to true on the commandButton component.
However, components other than command components can trigger PPR. ADF Faces
input and select components have the ability to trigger partial page requests
automatically whenever their values change. To make use of this functionality, use the
autoSubmit attribute of the input or select component so that as soon as a value is
entered, a submit occurs, which in turn causes a valueChangeEvent event to occur.
It is this event that notifies the framework to execute a PPR, as long as a target
component is set. In the previous example, you could delete the commandButton
component and instead set the inputText component’s autoSubmit attribute to
true. Each time the value changes, a PPR request will be fired.

Rerendering Partial Page Content 7-3

Enabling Partial Page Rendering Declaratively

Tip: The autoSubmit attribute on an input component and the

partialSubmit attribute on a command component are not the
same thing. When partialSubmit is set to true, then only the
components that have values for their partialTriggers attribute
will be processed through the lifecycle. The autoSubmit attribute is
used by input and select components to tell the framework to
automatically do a form submit whenever the value changes.
However, when a form is submitted and the autoSubmit attribute is
set to true, a valueChangeEvent event is invoked, and the lifecycle
runs only on the components marked as root components for that
event, and their children. For more information, see Section 4.3,
"Using the Optimized Lifecycle."

Once PPR is triggered, any component configured to be a target will be rerendered.

You configure a component to be a target by setting the partialTriggers attribute
to the relative ID of the trigger component. For information about relative IDs, see
Section 3.5, "Locating a Client Component on a Page."
In the example, to update the outputText in response to changes to the inputText
component, you would set its partialTriggers attribute to the inputText
component’s relative ID.

Note: Certain events on components trigger PPR by default, for

example the disclosure event on the showDetail component and
the sort event on a table. This means that any component configured
to be a target by having its partialTriggers attribute set to that
component’s ID will rerender when these types of events occur.

Note: If your trigger component is an inputLov or an

inputComboBoxLov, and the target component is an input
component set to required, then a validation error will be thrown
for the input component when the LOV popup is displayed. To avoid
this, you must use programmatic partial page rendering. For more
information, see Section 7.3, "Enabling Partial Page Rendering
Programmatically."

7.2.1 How to Enable Partial Page Rendering

For a component to be rerendered based on an event caused by another component, it
must declare which other components are the triggers.

To enable a component to rerender another component:

1. In the Structure window, select the trigger component (that is, the component
whose action will cause the PPR):
■ Expand the Common section of the Property Inspector and set the id attribute
if it is not already set. Note that the value must be unique within that
component’s naming container. If the component is not within a naming
container, then the ID must be unique to the page. For more information about
naming containers, see Section 3.5, "Locating a Client Component on a Page."

7-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Enabling Partial Page Rendering Declaratively

Tip: JDeveloper automatically assigns component IDs. You can

safely change this value. A component’s ID must be a valid XML
name, that is, you cannot use leading numeric values or spaces in the
ID. JSF also does not permit colons ( : ) in the ID.

■ If the trigger component is a command component, expand the Behavior

section of the Property Inspector, and set the partialSubmit attribute to
true.
■ If the trigger component is an input or select component in a form and you
want the value to be submitted, expand the Behavior section of the Property
Inspector, and set the autoSubmit attribute of the component to true.

Note: Set the autoSubmit attribute to true only if you want the
component to submit its value. If you do not want to submit the value,
then some other logic must cause the component to issue a
ValueChangeEvent event. That event will cause PPR by default and
any component that has the trigger component as its value for the
partialTriggers attribute will be rerendered.

2. In the Structure window, select the target component that you want to rerender
when a PPR-triggering event takes place.
3. Expand the Behavior section of the Property Inspector, click the dropdown menu
for the partialTriggers attribute and choose Edit.
4. In the Edit Property dialog, shuttle the trigger component to the Selected panel
and click OK. If the trigger component is within a naming container, JDeveloper
automatically creates the relative path for you.

Tip: The selectBooleanRadio components behave like a single

component with partial page rendering;, however, they are in fact
multiple components. Therefore, if you want other components (such
as inputText components) to change based on selecting a different
selectBooleanRadio component in a group, you must group them
within a parent component, and set the partialTriggers attribute
of the parent component to point to all of the SelectBooleanRadio
components.

Example 7–1 shows a commandLink component configured to execute PPR.

Example 7–1 Code for Enabling Partial Page Rendering Through a Partial Submit
<af:commandLink id="deleteFromCart" partialSubmit="true"
actionListener="#{homeBean...}">

Example 7–2 shows an outputText component that will be rerendered when the
command link with ID deleteFromCart in Example 7–1 is clicked.

Example 7–2 Code for Partial Page Rendering Triggered by Another Component
<af:outputText id="estimatedTotalInPopup"
partialTriggers="deleteFromCart"
value="#{shoppingCartBean...}"/>

Rerendering Partial Page Content 7-5

Enabling Partial Page Rendering Programmatically

Tip: You can use PPR to prevent components from being validated
on a page. For more information, see Section 4.3, "Using the
Optimized Lifecycle."

7.2.2 What You May Need to Know About Using the Browser Back Button
In an ADF Faces application, because some components use PPR (either implicitly or
because they have been configured to listen for a partial trigger), what happens when
a user clicks the browser’s back button is slightly different than in an application that
uses simple JSF components.
In an application that uses simple JSF components, when the user clicks the browser’s
back button, the browser returns the page to the state of the DOM (document object
model) as it was when last rendered, but the state of the JavaScript is as it was when
the user first entered the page.
For example, suppose a user visited PageA. After the user interacts with components
on the page, say a PPR event took place using JavaScript. Let’s call this new version of
the page PageA1. Next, say the user navigates to PageB, then clicks the browser back
button to return to PageA. The user will be shown the DOM as it was on PageA1, but
the JavaScript will not have run, and therefore parts of the page will be as they were
for PageA. This might mean that changes to the page will be lost. Refreshing the page
will run the JavaScript and so return the user to the state it was in PageA1. In an
application that uses ADF Faces, the refresh is not needed; the framework provides
built-in support so that the JavaScript is run when the back button is clicked.

7.2.3 What You May Need to Know About PPR and Screen Readers
Screen readers do not reread the full page in a partial page request. PPR causes the
screen reader to read the page starting from the component that fired the partial page
request. You should place the target components after the component that triggers the
partial request; otherwise, the screen reader would not read the updated target
components.

7.3 Enabling Partial Page Rendering Programmatically

For components such as tables that have many associated events, PPR will happen any
time any event is triggered, causing any component with the table as a partial trigger
to be rerendered each time. If you want the target to be rerendered only for certain
events, or if you want a target to be rerendered based on some other logic, you can
enable partial page rendering programmatically.

How to enable PPR programatically:

1. Create a listener method for the event that should cause the target component to
be rerendered.
Use the addPartialTarget() method to add the component (using its ID) as a
partial target for an event, so that when that event is triggered, the partial target
component is rerendered. Using this method associates the component you want
to have rerendered with the event that is to trigger the rerendering.
For example, the File Explorer application contains the
NavigatorManager.refresh() method. When invoked, the navigator
accordion is rerendered.

7-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Partial Page Navigation

Example 7–3 Rerendering Using Partial Targets

public void refresh()
{
for (BaseNavigatorView nav: getNavigators())
{
nav.refresh();
}

AdfFacesContext adfFacesContext = AdfFacesContext.getCurrentInstance();

adfFacesContext.addPartialTarget(_navigatorAccordion);
}

2. In the JSF page, select the target component. In the Property Inspector, enter a
component ID and set ClientComponent to true.

Note: You must set the clientComponent attribute to true to

ensure that a client ID will be generated.

3. In the Property Inspector, find the listener for the event that will cause the refresh
and bind it to the listener method created in Step 1.

7.4 Using Partial Page Navigation

Instead of performing a full page transition in the traditional way, you can configure
an ADF Faces application to have navigation triggered through a partial page
rendering request. The new page is sent to the client using partial page rendering.
Partial page navigation is disabled by default.
In order to keep track of location (for example, for bookmarking purposes, or when a
refresh occurs), the framework makes use of the hash portion of the URL. This portion
of the URL contains the actual page being displayed in the browser.

7.4.1 How to Use Partial Page Navigation

You can turn partial page navigation on by setting the
oracle.adf.view.rich.pprNavigation.OPTIONS context parameter in the
web.xml file to on.

To use partial page navigation:

1. Double-click the web.xml file.

2. In the source editor, change the

oracle.adf.view.rich.prNavigation.OPTIONS parameter to one of the
following:
■ on: Enables partial page navigation.

Note: If you set the parameter to on, then you need to set the
partialSubmit attribute to true for any command components
involved in navigation.

■ onWithForcePPR: Enables partial page navigation and notifies the

framework to use the PPR channel for all action events, even those that do not
result in navigation. Since partial page navigation requires that the action

Rerendering Partial Page Content 7-7

Using Partial Page Navigation

event be sent over PPR channel, use this option to easily enable partial page
navigation.
When partial page navigation is used, normally only the visual contents of the
page are rerendered (the header content remains constant for all pages).
However, the entire document will be rerendered when an action on the page
is defined to use full page submit and also when an action does not result in
navigation.

7.4.2 What You May Need to Know About PPR Navigation

Before using PPR navigation, you should be aware of the following:
■ When using PPR navigation, all pages involved in this navigation must use the
same CSS skin.
■ Because PPR navigation makes use of the hash portion of the URL, you cannot use
the hash portion for navigation to anchors within the page.
■ Unlike regular page navigation, partial navigation will not result in JavaScript
globals (variables and functions defined in global scope) being unloaded. This
happens because the window object survives partial page transition. Applications
wishing to use page-specific global variables and/or functions must use the
AdfPage.getPageProperty() and AdfPage.setPageProperty() methods
to store these objects.

7-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Part III
Part III Using ADF Faces Components

Part III contains the following chapters:

■ Chapter 8, "Organizing Content on Web Pages"
■ Chapter 9, "Using Input Components and Defining Forms"
■ Chapter 10, "Using Tables and Trees"
■ Chapter 11, "Using List-of-Values Components"
■ Chapter 12, "Using Query Components"
■ Chapter 13, "Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows"
■ Chapter 14, "Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes"
■ Chapter 15, "Creating a Calendar Application"
■ Chapter 16, "Using Output Components"
■ Chapter 17, "Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help"
■ Chapter 18, "Working with Navigation Components"
■ Chapter 19, "Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components"
■ Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins"
■ Chapter 21, "Internationalizing and Localizing Pages"
■ Chapter 22, "Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages"
 8
8Organizing Content on Web Pages

This chapter describes how to use several of the ADF Faces layout components to
organize content on web pages.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 8.1, "Introduction to Organizing Content on Web Pages"
■ Section 8.2, "Starting to Lay Out a Page"
■ Section 8.3, "Arranging Contents to Stretch Across a Page"
■ Section 8.4, "Using Splitters to Create Resizable Panes"
■ Section 8.5, "Arranging Page Contents in Predefined Fixed Areas"
■ Section 8.6, "Arranging Content in Forms"
■ Section 8.7, "Arranging Contents in a Dashboard"
■ Section 8.8, "Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically"
■ Section 8.9, "Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed
Panels"
■ Section 8.10, "Displaying Items in a Static Box"
■ Section 8.11, "Displaying a Bulleted List in One or More Columns"
■ Section 8.12, "Grouping Related Items"
■ Section 8.13, "Separating Content Using Blank Space or Lines"

8.1 Introduction to Organizing Content on Web Pages

ADF Faces provides a number of layout components that can be used to arrange other
components on a page. Usually, you begin building your page with these components.
You then add components that provide other functionality (for example rendering
data or rendering buttons) either inside facets or as child components to these layout
components.

Tip: You can create page templates that allow you to design the
layout of all pages in your application just once. The templates can
then be reused by the pages in your application. For more
information, see Chapter 19, "Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page
Templates, and Components."

In addition to layout components that simply act as containers, ADF Faces also
provides interactive layout components that can display or hide their content, or that

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-1

Introduction to Organizing Content on Web Pages

provide sections, lists, or empty space. Some layout components also provide
geometry management functionality, such as stretching their contents to fit the
browser windows as the window is resized, or the capability to be stretched when
placed inside a component that stretches. For more information about stretching and
other geometry management functionality of layout components, see Section 8.2.1,
"Geometry Management and Component Stretching." Table 8–1 briefly describes each
of the ADF Faces layout components.

Table 8–1 ADF Faces Layout Components

Can Stretch Can Be
Component Description Children Stretched
Page Management Components
document Creates each of the standard root X
elements of an HTML page:
<html>, <body>, and <head>. All
pages must contain this component.
For more information, see
Section 8.2, "Starting to Lay Out a
Page."
form Creates an HTML <form> element.
For more information, see
Section 8.2, "Starting to Lay Out a
Page."
Page Layout Containers
panelStretchLayou Contains top, bottom, start, X X
t center, and end facets where you
can place other components. For
more information, see Section 8.3,
"Arranging Contents to Stretch
Across a Page."
panelSplitter Divides a region into two parts X X
(first facet and second facet)
with a repositionable divider
between the two. You can place
other components within the facets.
For more information, see
Section 8.4, "Using Splitters to Create
Resizable Panes."
panelDashboard Provides a columnar display of child X X
components (usually panelBox
components). For more information,
see Section 8.7, "Arranging Contents
in a Dashboard."
panelBorderLayout Can have child components, which
are placed in its center, and also
contains 12 facets along the border
where additional components can be
placed. These will surround the
center. For more information, see
Section 8.5, "Arranging Page
Contents in Predefined Fixed Areas."

8-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Organizing Content on Web Pages

Table 8–1 (Cont.) ADF Faces Layout Components

Can Stretch Can Be
Component Description Children Stretched
panelFormLayout Positions input form controls, such
as inputText components so that
their labels and fields line up
vertically. It supports multiple
columns, and contains a footer facet.
For more information, see
Section 8.6, "Arranging Content in
Forms."
Components with Show/Hide Capabilities
showDetailHeader Can hide or display contents below X (if the X (if the
the header. Often used as a child to type type
the panelHeader component. For attribute is attribute is
more information, see Section 8.8, set to set to
"Displaying and Hiding Contents stretch) stretch)
Dynamically."
showDetailItem Used to hold the content for the X (if it
different panes of the contains a
panelAccordion or different tabs single child
of the panelTabbed component. component)
For more information, see
Section 8.9, "Displaying or Hiding
Contents in Accordion Panels and
Tabbed Panels."
panelBox Titled box that can contain child X
components. Has a toolbar facet. For
more information, see Section 8.8,
"Displaying and Hiding Contents
Dynamically."
panelAccordion Used in conjunction with X
showDetailItem components to
display as a panel that can be
expanded or collapsed. For more
information, see Section 8.9,
"Displaying or Hiding Contents in
Accordion Panels and Tabbed
Panels."
panelTabbed Used in conjunction with X
showDetailItem components to
display as a set of tabbed panels. For
more information, see Section 8.9,
"Displaying or Hiding Contents in
Accordion Panels and Tabbed
Panels."
If you want the tabs to be used in
conjunction with navigational
hierarchy, for example each tab is a
different page or region that
contains another set of navigation
items, you may instead want to use
a navigationPane component in a
navigational menu. For more
information, see Section 18.5, "Using
Navigation Items for a Page
Hierarchy."

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-3

Introduction to Organizing Content on Web Pages

Table 8–1 (Cont.) ADF Faces Layout Components

Can Stretch Can Be
Component Description Children Stretched
showDetail Hides or displays content through a
toggle icon. For more information,
see Section 8.8, "Displaying and
Hiding Contents Dynamically."
Miscellaneous Containers
panelHeader Contains child components and X (if the X (if the
provides a header that can include type type
messages, toolbars, and help topics. attribute is attribute is
For more information, see set to set to
Section 8.10, "Displaying Items in a stretch) stretch)
Static Box."
panelCollection Used in conjunction with collection X (only a X
components such as table, tree single table,
and treeTable to provide menus, tree, or tree
toolbars, and status bars for those table)
components. For more information,
see Section 10.8, "Displaying Table
Menus, Toolbars, and Status Bars."
decorativeBox Creates a container component X (in the X
whose facets use style themes to Center facet)
apply a bordered look to its children.
This component is typically used as
a container for the
navigationPane component that
is configured to display tabs. For
more information, see Section 18.5,
"Using Navigation Items for a Page
Hierarchy."
inlineFrame Creates an inline iframe tag. X
navigationPane Creates a series of navigation items X (if
representing one level in a configured
navigation hierarchy. For more to display
information, see Section 18.5, "Using tabs)
Navigation Items for a Page
Hierarchy."
panelList Renders each child component as a
list item and renders a bullet next to
it. Can be nested to create
hierarchical lists. For more
information, see Section 8.11,
"Displaying a Bulleted List in One or
More Columns."
panelWindow Displays child components inside a
popup window. For more
information, see Section 13.2,
"Declaratively Creating Popup
Elements."
toolbox Displays child toolbar and menu
components together. For more
information, see Section 14.3, "Using
Toolbars."
Grouping Containers

8-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Starting to Lay Out a Page

Table 8–1 (Cont.) ADF Faces Layout Components

Can Stretch Can Be
Component Description Children Stretched
panelGroupLayout Groups child components either X (only if set
vertically or horizontally. Used in to scroll or
facets when more than one vertical
component is to be contained in a layout)
facet. For more information, see
Section 8.12, "Grouping Related
Items."
group Groups child components without
regard to layout unless handled by
the parent component of the group.
Used in facets when more than one
component is to be contained in a
facet. For more information, see
Section 8.12, "Grouping Related
Items."
Spacing Components
separator Creates a horizontal line between
items. For more information, see
Section 8.13, "Separating Content
Using Blank Space or Lines."
spacer Creates an area of blank space. For
more information, see Section 8.13,
"Separating Content Using Blank
Space or Lines."

8.2 Starting to Lay Out a Page

By default, when you use the New Gallery to create a JSF page in a project that uses
ADF Faces technology, JDeveloper automatically inserts the required tags for a page.
Once those tags are placed in the page, you can use the layout components to control
how and where other components on the page will render. The component that will
hold all other components is considered the root component. Which component you
choose to use as the root component depends on whether you want the contained
components to display their contents so that they stretch to fit the browser window, or
whether you want the contents to flow, using a scrollbar to access any content that
may not fit in the window.

Tip: Instead of creating your layout yourself, you can use

JDeveloper’s quick layout templates, which provide correctly
configured components that will display your page with the layout
you desire. For more information, see Section 8.2.3, "Using Quick Start
Layouts."

All JSF pages that use ADF Faces components must have the document tag enclosed
within a view tag, as shown in the following example:
<f:view>
<af:document/>
</f:view>

All other components that make up the page then go in between <af:document> and
</af:document>. The document tag is responsible for rendering the browser title
text, as well as the invisible page infrastructure that allows other components in the
page to be displayed. At runtime, the document tag creates the root elements for the

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-5

Starting to Lay Out a Page

client page. For example in HTML output, the standard root elements of an HTML
page, namely, <html>, <head>, and <body>, are generated.
By default, the document tag is configured to allow capable components to stretch to
fill available browser space. You can further configure the tag to allow a specific
component to have focus when the page is rendered, or to provide messages for failed
connections or warnings about navigating before data is submitted. For more
information, see Section 8.2.5, "How to Configure the document Tag."
Typically, the next component used is the ADF Faces form component. This
component creates an HTML form element that can contain controls that allow a user
to interact with the data on the page.

Note: Even though you can have multiple HTML forms on a page,
you should have only a single ADF Faces form tag per page.

JDeveloper automatically inserts the view, document, and form tags for you, as
shown in Example 8–1. For more information, see Section 2.4, "Creating a View Page."

Example 8–1 Initial JSF Page Created by JDeveloper Wizard

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='windows-1252'?>
<jsp:root xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page" version="2.0"
xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"
xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"
xmlns:af="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich">
<jsp:directive.page contentType="text/html;charset=windows-1252"/>
<f:view>
<af:document>
<af:form/>
</af:document>
</f:view>
</jsp:root>

8.2.1 Geometry Management and Component Stretching

Geometry management is the process by which the user, parent components, and child
components negotiate the actual sizes and locations of the components in an
application. At the heart of the RCF geometry management solution is a resize
notification mechanism that allows components that support geometry management
to be notified of browser resize activity. The following scenarios trigger the
notification:
■ Load: When the page contents are first loaded, allowing initial sizing to take place.
■ Browser resize: When the browser window is resized.
■ Partial replacement: When a portion of the page is updated through partial page
rendering, any newly inserted components are notified, allowing them to perform
any necessary geometry management.
■ Visibility change: When a component that was initially configured to be invisible
is made visible (components that are initially not visible do not receive
notification).
■ Explicit resize: When components that allow themselves to be resized (for example
the panelSplitter), are resized by the user.

8-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Starting to Lay Out a Page

By default, if there is only a single effective visual root component, that root
component will stretch automatically to consume the browser's viewable area,
provided that component supports geometry management and therefore can stretch its
child components. Examples of geometry management components are
panelStretchLayout and panelSplitter.

Note: The framework does not consider popup dialogs, popup

windows, or non-inline messages as root components. If a form
component is the direct child component of the document
component, the framework will look inside the form tag for the visual
root. For information on sizing a popup, see Chapter 13, "Using
Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows."

When the user resizes the browser window, and when there is a single maximized root
visual component inside of the document component, that visual root component will
also resize along with the browser window. If the root component supports stretching
its child components (and they in turn support being stretched), the size of the child
components will also recompute, and so on down the component hierarchy until a
flowing layout area is reached; that is, an area that does not support stretching of its
child components. You do not have to write any code to enable the stretching.
As shown in Table 8–1, the panelStretchLayout, panelSplitter, and
panelDashboard components are the only components that can be stretched and can
also stretch their child components. Additionally, when the showDetailItem
component is used as a direct child of the panelAccordion or panelTabbed
component, the contents in the showDetailItem component can be stretched.
Therefore, the panelStretchLayout, panelSplitter, panelDashboard,
panelAccordion with a showDetailItem component, and a panelTabbed with a
showDetailItem component, are the components you should use as root
components when you want to make the contents of the page fill the browser window.
For example, Figure 8–1 shows a table placed in the center facet of the
panelStretchLayout component. The table displays all its rows and columns.
When the entire table does not fit in the browser window, scrollbars are added in the
data body section of the table.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-7

Starting to Lay Out a Page

Figure 8–1 Table Inside a Component That Stretches Child Components

Figure 8–2 shows the same table, but nested inside a panelGroupLayout component,
which cannot stretch its child components (for clarity, a dotted red outline has been
placed around the panelGroupLayout component). The table component displays
only a certain number of columns and rows, determined by properties on the table.

Figure 8–2 Table Inside a Component That Does Not Stretch Its Child Components

Performance Tip: The cost of geometry management is directly

related to the complexity of child components. Therefore, try
minimizing the number of child components that are under a parent
geometry-managed component.

8-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Starting to Lay Out a Page

8.2.2 Nesting Components Inside Components That Allow Stretching

Even though you choose a component that can stretch its child components, only the
following components will actually stretch:
■ decorativeBox
■ panelAccordion
■ panelBox
■ panelCollection
■ panelDashboard
■ panelGroupLayout (with the layout attribute set to scroll or vertical)
■ panelSplitter
■ panelStretchLayout
■ panelTabbed
■ region
■ table
■ tree
■ treeTable
The following layout components cannot be stretched when placed inside a facet of a
component that stretches its child components:
■ panelBorderLayout
■ panelFormLayout
■ panelGroupLayout (with the layout attribute set to default or horizontal)
■ panelHeader
■ panelLabelAndMessage
■ panelList
■ showDetail
■ showDetailHeader
■ tableLayout (MyFaces Trinidad component)
Because these components cannot be stretched, you cannot place them in a facet of any
component that stretches its child components. So if you want to use one of these
components within the facet of component that does stretch its child components,
wrap it in a component that can be stretched, but one that does not stretch its child
components. If you do not, you may see unexpected results when the component
renders.
For example, suppose you have a panelStretchLayout as the first component on
your page. You then add a panelSplitter component. Now to the first facet of the
panelSplitter component, say you add a panelGroupLayout component with its
layout attribute set to scroll (which means it can stretch), and inside that, you add
a panelCollection component, and then finally a table component. To the second
facet, suppose you add just the panelCollection and table components, as shown
in Figure 8–3. Components that can stretch their children are green and components
that can be stretched (but cannot stretch their children) are blue.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-9

Starting to Lay Out a Page

Figure 8–3 Layout Using Geometry-Managed Components

As shown in Figure 8–4, when the page is run, the panelCollection and table
components in the panelGroupLayout do not stretch, while the ones directly in the
panelSplitter component do stretch.

Figure 8–4 Geometry-Managed Components Affect the Layout of the Page

8-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Starting to Lay Out a Page

Because the panelStretchLayout component can stretch its child components, and
because the panelSplitter component can be stretched, both stretch to fill up
available browser space. Because panelSplitter component can stretch its child
components and because on the left, panelGroupLayout component with its
layout attribute set to scroll can be stretched, and on the right, the
panelCollection component can be stretched, both of those stretch to fill up
available browser space. However, the panelGroupLayout component cannot
stretch its child components, while the panelCollection component can stretch a
single table. Therefore, the panelCollection component on the left does not stretch,
even though its parent does.

Tip: Do not attempt to stretch any of the components in the list of

components that cannot stretch by setting their width to 100%. You
may get unexpected results. Instead, surround the component to be
stretched with a component that can be stretched. For components
that can be stretched, see Table 8–1.

Now suppose on the left, instead of a table component, you want to add a
panelList component. You would not need the panelCollection component, so
you might also think you would not need to use the panelGroupLayout component
to group the panelList component with another component. However, because the
panelList component would then be a direct child of the panelSplitter
component, and because the panelSplitter component stretches its child
components and the panelList component cannot be stretched, you would need to
keep the panelGroupLayout (set to scroll) and place the panelList component
as a child to the panelGroupLayout component.
This way, the panelSplitter component can stretch the panelGroupLayout
component, but the panelGroupLayout component will not try to stretch the
panelList component. Because the panelGroupLayout component can be
stretched, but does not stretch its child components, it allows the transition between a
layout that stretches and one that flows.

8.2.3 Using Quick Start Layouts

When you use the New Gallery Wizard to create a JSF JSP page (or a page fragment),
you can choose from a variety of predefined quick start layouts. When you choose one
of these layouts, JDeveloper adds the necessary components and sets their attributes to
achieve the look and behavior you want. You can choose from one-, two-, and
three-column formats. Within those formats, you can choose how many separate panes
will be displayed in each column, and if those panes can stretch or remain a fixed size.
Figure 8–5 shows the different layouts available in the two-column format.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-11

Starting to Lay Out a Page

Figure 8–5 Quick Layouts

Along with adding layout components, you can also choose to apply a theme to the
chosen quick layout. These themes add color styling to some of the components used
in the quick start layout. To see the color and where it is added, see Appendix D,
"Quick Start Layout Themes." For more information about themes, see Section 20.3.4,
"How to Apply Themes to Components."
In addition to saving time, when you use the quick layouts, you can be sure that
layout components are used together correctly to achieve the desired outcome. For
more information about creating pages using the quick layouts, see Section 2.4,
"Creating a View Page."

8.2.4 Tips for Using Geometry-Managed Components

To ensure your page is displayed as expected in all browsers, use one of the quick
layouts provided by JDeveloper when you create a page. These ensure that the correct
components are used and configured properly. For more information, see Section 8.2.3,
"Using Quick Start Layouts."

Best Practice: Use quick start layouts to avoid layout display

issues.

However, if you wish to create your layout yourself, follow these tips for creating a
layout that includes both stretched and flowing components:
■ Place the page contents inside a root component that performs geometry
management, either panelStretchLayout, panelSplitter,
panelAccordion with a showDetailItem, or panelTabbed with a
showDetailItem.

8-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Starting to Lay Out a Page

■ Never specify a height value with percent units. Instead, build a component
structure out of components that support being stretched and that stretch their
child components.
■ Inside this stretchable structure, create islands of nonstretched or flowing
components, for example by using the panelGroupLayout component with the
layout attribute set to scroll. This component will provide the transition
between stretched and flowing components because it supports being stretched
but will not stretch its child components.
■ Never try to stretch something vertically inside a nonstretched or flowing
container because it will not act consistently across web browsers.
■ For components contained in a parent flowing component (that is, a component
that does not stretch its children), do not set widths greater than 95%. If you do,
you may get unexpected results.
■ If the parent component is 768 pixels or greater, set the styleClass attribute
on the component to be stretched to AFStretchWidth. This style will stretch
the component to what appears to be 100% of the parent container, taking into
account different browsers and any padding or borders on the parent.
■ If the parent component is 768 pixels or less, set the styleClass attribute on
the component to be stretched to AFAuxiliaryStretchWidth. This style
will stretch the component to what appears to be 100% of the parent container,
taking into account different browsers and any padding or borders on the
parent.

Note: The two different styles are needed due to how Microsoft
Internet Explorer 7 computes widths inside scrolling containers (this
has been resolved in Internet Explorer 8). Unless you can control the
version of browser used to access your application, you should use
these styles as described.

■ Never use the position style.

■ Ensure that the maximized attribute on the document tag is set to true (this is
the default). For more information about setting the attribute, see Section 8.2.5,
"How to Configure the document Tag."
The remainder of this chapter describes the ADF Faces layout components and how
they can be used to design a page. You can find information about how each
component handles stretching in the respective "What You May Need to Know About
Geometry Management" sections.

8.2.5 How to Configure the document Tag

The document tag contains a number of attributes that you can configure to control
behavior for the page. For example, you can configure the tag so that one component
has focus when the page is first rendered. You can also configure the tag to display a
warning message if a user attempts to navigate off the page and the data has not been
submitted.

To configure the document tag:

1. In the Structure window, select the af:document node.

2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following:

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-13

Arranging Contents to Stretch Across a Page

■ InitialFocusId: Use the dropdown menu to choose Edit. In the Edit Property
dialog, select the component that should have focus when the page first
renders.
Because this focus happens on the client, the component you select must have
a corresponding client component. For more information, see Section 3.4,
"Instantiating Client-Side Components."
■ Maximized: Set to true if you want the root component to expand to fit all
available browser space. When the document tag’s maximized attribute is
set to true, the framework searches for a single visual root component, and
stretches that component to consume the browser's viewable area, provided
that the component can be stretched. Examples of components that support
this are panelStretchLayout and panelSplitter. The document tag’s
maximized attribute is set to true by default. For more information, see
Section 8.2.1, "Geometry Management and Component Stretching."
■ Title: Enter the text that should be displayed in the title bar of the browser.
3. Expand the Appearance section and for the FailedConnectionText attribute, enter
the text you want to be displayed if a connection cannot be made to the server.
4. Expand the Other section and for the UncommitedDataWarning attribute, select
one of the following:
■ on: When the application detects that data has not been committed, a warning
message will be displayed to the user. This can happen because either the user
attempts to leave the page without committing data or there is uncommitted
data on the server.
■ off: No message will be displayed. This is the default.

8.3 Arranging Contents to Stretch Across a Page

Use the panelStretchLayout component to arrange content in defined areas on a
page and when you want the content to be able to stretch when the browser is resized.
The panelStretchLayout component is one of the components that can stretch
components placed in its facets. Figure 8–6 shows the component’s facets.

Figure 8–6 Facets in the panelStretchLayout Component

8-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Arranging Contents to Stretch Across a Page

Note: Figure 8–6 shows the facets when the language reading
direction of the application is configured to be left-to-right. If instead
the language direction is right-to-left, the start and end facets are
switched.

When you set the height of the top and bottom facets, any contained components are
stretched up to fit the height. Similarly, when you set the width of the start and end
facets, any components contained in those facets are stretched to that width. If no
components are placed in the facets, then that facet does not render. That is, that facet
will not take up any space. If you want that facet to take up the set space but remain
blank, insert a spacer component. See Section 8.13, "Separating Content Using Blank
Space or Lines." Child Components components in the center facet are then stretched
to fill up any remaining space. For more information about component stretching, see
Section 8.2.1, "Geometry Management and Component Stretching."
Instead of setting the height of the top or bottom facet, or width of the start or end
facet to a dimension, you can set the height or width to auto. This allows the facet to
size itself to use exactly the space required by the child components of the facet. Space
will be allocated based on what the web browser determines is the required amount of
space to display the facet content.

Performance Tip: Using auto as a value will degrade performance

of your page. You should first attempt to set a height or width and use
the auto attribute sparingly.

The File Explorer application uses a panelStretchLayout component as the root

component in the template. Child components are placed only in the center and
bottom facets. Therefore, whatever is in the center facet stretches the full width of
the window, and from the top of the window to the top of the bottom facet, whose
height is determined by the bottomHeight attribute. Example 8–2 shows abbreviated
code from the fileExplorerTemplate file.

Example 8–2 panelStretchLayout in the File Explorer’s Template File

<af:panelStretchLayout
bottomHeight="#{attrs.footerGlobalSize}">
<f:facet name="center">
<af:panelSplitter orientation="vertical" ...>
.
.
.
</af:panelSplitter
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="bottom">
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="vertical">
.
.
.
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</f:facet>
</af:panelStretchLayout>

The template uses an EL expression to determine the value of the bottomHeight

attribute. This expression resolves to the value of the footerGlobalSize attribute
defined in the template, which by default is 0. Any page that uses the template can
override this value. For example, the index.jspx page uses this template and sets

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-15

Arranging Contents to Stretch Across a Page

the value to 30. Therefore, when the File Explorer application renders, the contents in
the panelStretchLayout component begin 30 pixels from the bottom of the page.

8.3.1 How to Use the panelStretchLayout Component

The panelStretchLayout component cannot have any direct child components.
Instead, you place components within its facets. The panelStretchLayout is one of
the components that will stretch any components in its facets to fit the browser. You
can nest panelStretchLayout components. For more information, see Section 8.2.2,
"Nesting Components Inside Components That Allow Stretching."

To create and use the panelStretchLayout component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel Stretch
Layout to the JSF page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the attributes as
needed.

Note: If you set a facet to use auto as a value for the width or height
of that facet, the child component must use a stable, standalone width
that is not dependent upon the width of the facet.
For example, you should not use auto on a facet whose child
component can stretch their children automatically. These components
have their own built-in stretched widths by default which will then
cause them to report an unstable offsetWidth, which is used by the
browser to determine the amount of space.
Additionally, you should not use auto in conjunction with a child
component that uses a percentage length for its width. The facet
content cannot rely on percentage widths or be any component that
would naturally consume the entire width of its surrounding
container.

When there are child components in the top, bottom, start, and end facets,
these components occupy space that is defined by the topHeight,
bottomHeight, startWidth, and endWidth attributes. For example,
topHeight attribute specifies the height of the top facet, and startWidth
attribute specifies the width of the start facet. Child components in top and
bottom facets are stretched up to the height set by topHeight and
bottomHeight attributes, respectively, and child components in start and end
facets are stretched up to the width set by startWidth and endWidth attributes,
respectively. Instead of setting a numeric dimension, you can set the topHeight,
bottomHeight, startWidth and endWidth attributes to auto and the browser
will determine the amount of space required to display the content in the facets.
If you do not explicitly specify a value, by default, the value for the topHeight,
bottomHeight, startWidth, and endWidth attributes is 50 pixels each. The
widths of the top and bottom facets, and the heights of the start and end facets
are derived from the width and height of the parent component of
panelStretchLayout.

Tip: If a facet does not contain a child component, it is not rendered

and therefore does not take up any space. You must place a child
component into a facet in order for that facet to occupy the configured
space.

8-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Arranging Contents to Stretch Across a Page

3. To place content in the component, drag and drop the desired component into any
of the facets. If you want the child component to stretch, it must be a component
that supports being stretched. See Section 8.3.2, "What You May Need to Know
About Geometry Management and the panelStretchLayout Component," for more
details.
Because facets accept one child only, if you want to add more than one child
component, wrap the child components inside a container component, for
example, a panelGroupLayout component. This component must also be able to
be stretched in order for all contained components to stretch.

Tip: If any facet is not visible in the visual editor:

1. Right-click the panelStretchLayout component in the Structure
window.
2. From the context menu, choose Facets - Panel Stretch Layout >facet
name. Facets in use on the page are indicated by a checkmark in front of
the facet name.

8.3.2 What You May Need to Know About Geometry Management and the
panelStretchLayout Component
The panelStretchLayout component can stretch its child components and it can
also be stretched. The following components can be stretched inside the facets of the
panelStretchLayout component:
■ decorativeBox
■ panelAccordion
■ panelBox
■ panelCollection
■ panelDashboard
■ panelGroupLayout (only with the layout attribute set to scroll or
vertical)
■ panelSplitter
■ panelStretchLayout
■ panelTabbed
■ region
■ table
■ tree
■ treeTable
The following components cannot be stretched when placed inside a facet of the
panelStretchLayout component:
■ panelBorderLayout
■ panelFormLayout
■ panelGroupLayout (only with the layout attribute set to default or
horizontal)
■ panelHeader
■ panelLabelAndMessage

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-17

Using Splitters to Create Resizable Panes

■ panelList
■ showDetail
■ showDetailHeader
■ tableLayout (MyFaces Trinidad component)
You cannot place components that cannot stretch into facets of a component that
stretches its child components. Therefore, if you need to place a component that cannot
be stretched into a facet of the panelStretchLayout component, wrap that
component in a transition component that can stretch.
For example, if you want to place content in a panelBox component (which does not
stretch) within a facet of the panelStretchLayout component, you could place a
panelGroupLayout component with its layout attribute set to scroll in a facet of
the panelStretchLayout component, and then place the panelBox component in
that panelGroupLayout component. For more information, see Section 8.2.2,
"Nesting Components Inside Components That Allow Stretching."

8.4 Using Splitters to Create Resizable Panes

When you have groups of unique content to present to users, consider using multiple
panes separated by adjustable splitters. The File Explorer uses a panelSplitter to
separate the navigation tree from the folder contents, as shown in Figure 8–7. Users
can change the size of the panes by dragging the splitter, and can also collapse and
restore the panel that displays the directories. When a panel is collapsed, the panel
contents are hidden; when a panel is restored, the contents are displayed.

Figure 8–7 File Explorer Uses panelSplitter to Separate Contents

The panelSplitter component lets you organize contents into two panes separated
by an adjustable splitter. The panes can either line up on a horizontal line (as does the
splitter shown in Figure 8–7) or on a vertical line. The File Explorer application uses

8-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Splitters to Create Resizable Panes

another panelSplitter component to separate the application’s header contents

from the main body of the page. Figure 8–8 shows the panelSplitter component
expanded to show the header contents, which includes the Oracle logo and the File
Explorer name.

Figure 8–8 panelSplitter with a Vertical Split Expanded

Clicking the arrow button on a splitter collapses the panel that holds the header
contents, and the logo and name are no longer shown, as shown in Figure 8–9.

Figure 8–9 File Explorer Uses panelSplitter with a Vertical Split

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-19

Using Splitters to Create Resizable Panes

You place components inside the facets of the panelSplitter component. The
panelSplitter component uses geometry management to stretch its child
components at runtime. This means when the user collapses one panel, the contents in
the other panel are explicitly resized to fill up available space.

Note: While the user can change the values of the

splitterPosition and collapsed attributes, those values will
not be retained once the user leaves the page unless you configure
your application to use change persistence. For information about
enabling and using change persistence, see Chapter 31, "Allowing
User Customization on JSF Pages."

8.4.1 How to Use the panelSplitter Component

One or more panelSplitter components can be used on a single JSF page to create
multiple groups of panes. The panelSplitter component lets you create two panes
separated by a splitter. Each splitter component has two facets, namely, first and
second, which correspond to the first panel and second panel, respectively. Child
components can reside inside the facets only. To create more than two panes, you nest
the panelSplitter components.

To create and use the panelSplitter component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel Splitter
onto the JSF page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section.
3. Set Orientation to vertical to create two vertical panes (one on top of the other).
By default, the value is horizontal, which means horizontal panes are placed
left-to-right (or right-to-left, depending on the language reading direction).
4. Set SplitterPosition and PositionedFromEnd to determine the initial placement of
the splitter. By default, the value of the splitterPosition attribute is 200
pixels, and the positionedFromEnd attribute is false. This setting means that
ADF Faces measures the initial position of the adjustable splitter from the start or
top panel (depending on the orientation attribute value). For example, if the
orientation attribute is set to horizontal, the splitterPosition attribute
is 200 and the positionedFromEnd attribute is false (all default values), then
ADF Faces places the splitter 200 pixels from the start panel, as shown in
Figure 8–10.

Figure 8–10 Splitter Position Measured from Start Panel

If the positionedFromEnd attribute is set to true, then ADF Faces measures the
initial position of the splitter from the end (or bottom panel, depending on the

8-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Splitters to Create Resizable Panes

orientation value). Figure 8–11 shows the position of the splitter measured 200
pixels from the end panel.

Figure 8–11 Splitter Position Measured from End Panel

5. Set collapsed to determine whether or not the splitter is in a collapsed (hidden)

state. By default, the collapsed attribute is false, which means both panes are
displayed. When the user clicks the arrow button on the splitter, the collapsed
attribute is set to true and one of the panes is hidden.
ADF Faces uses the collapsed and positionedFromEnd attributes to
determine which panel (that is, the first or second panel) to hide (collapse) when
the user clicks the arrow button on the splitter. When the collapsed attribute is
set to true and the positionedFromEnd attribute is false, the first panel is
hidden and the second panel stretches to fill up the available space. When the
collapsed attribute is true and the positionedFromEnd attribute is true,
the second panel is hidden instead. Visually, the user can know which panel will
be collapsed by looking at the direction of the arrow on the button: when the user
clicks the arrow button on the splitter, the panel collapses in the direction of the
arrow.
6. To place content in the component, drag and drop the desired component into the
first and second facets. When you have the orientation set to horizontal, the
first facet is the left facet. When you have the orientation set to vertical, the
first facet is the top facet. If you want the child component to stretch, it must be
a component that supports stretching. For more details, see Section 8.4.2, "What
You May Need to Know About Geometry Management and the panelSplitter
Component."
Because facets accept one child component only, if you want to add more than one
child component, wrap the child components inside a container component. This
component must also be able to be stretched in order for all contained components
to stretch.

Tip: If any facet is not visible in the visual editor:

1. Right-click the panelSplitter component in the Structure window.
2. From the context menu, choose Facets - Panel Splitter >facet name.
Facets in use on the page are indicated by a checkmark in front of the
facet name.

7. To create more than two panes, insert another Panel Splitter component into a
facet to create nested splitter panes (as shown in Figure 8–12).

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-21

Using Splitters to Create Resizable Panes

Figure 8–12 Nested panelSplitter Components

Example 8–3 shows the code generated by JDeveloper when you nest splitter
components.

Example 8–3 Nested panelSplitter Components

<af:panelSplitter ...>
<f:facet name="first">
<!-- first panel child components components here -->
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="second">
<!-- Contains nested splitter component -->
<af:panelSplitter orientation="vertical" ...>
<f:facet name="first">
<!-- first panel child components components here -->
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="second">
<!-- second panel child components components here -->
</f:facet>
</af:panelSplitter>
</f:facet>
</af:panelSplitter>

8. If you want to perform some operation when users collapse or expand a panel,
attach a client-side JavaScript using the clientListener tag for the collapsed
attribute and a propertyChange event type. For more information about
client-side events, see Chapter 5, "Handling Events."

8.4.2 What You May Need to Know About Geometry Management and the panelSplitter
Component
The panelSplitter component can stretch its child components and it can also be
stretched. The following components can be stretched inside the first or second
facet of the panelSplitter component:
■ decorativeBox
■ panelAccordion
■ panelBox
■ panelCollection
■ panelDashboard

8-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Arranging Page Contents in Predefined Fixed Areas

■ panelGroupLayout (only with the layout attribute set to scroll or

vertical)
■ panelSplitter
■ panelStretchLayout
■ panelTabbed
■ region
■ table
■ tree
■ treeTable
The following components cannot be stretched when placed inside a facet of the
panelSplitter component:
■ panelBorderLayout
■ panelFormLayout
■ panelGroupLayout (only with the layout attribute set to default or
horizontal)
■ panelHeader
■ panelLabelAndMessage
■ panelList
■ showDetail
■ showDetailHeader
■ tableLayout (MyFaces Trinidad component)
You cannot place components that cannot stretch into facets of a component that
stretches its child components. Therefore, if you need to place one of the components
that cannot be stretched into a facet of the panelSplitter component, wrap that
component in a different component that does not stretch its child components.
For example, if you want to place content in a panelBox component and have it flow
within a facet of the panelSplitter component, you could place a
panelGroupLayout component with its layout attribute set to scroll in a facet of
the panelSplitter component, and then place the panelBox component in that
panelGroupLayout component. For more information, see Section 8.2.2, "Nesting
Components Inside Components That Allow Stretching."

8.5 Arranging Page Contents in Predefined Fixed Areas

The panelBorderLayout component uses facets to contain components in
predefined areas of a page. Instead of a center facet, the panelBorder layout
component takes 0 to n direct child components (also known as indexed children),
which are rendered consecutively in the center. The facets then surround the child
components.
Figure 8–13 shows the facets of the panelBorderLayout component.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-23

Arranging Page Contents in Predefined Fixed Areas

Figure 8–13 Facets in panelBorderLayout

The 12 supported facets of the panelBorderLayout component are:

■ top: Renders child components above the center area.
■ bottom: Renders child components below the center area.
■ start: Supports multiple reading directions. This facet renders child components
on the left of the center area between top and bottom facet child components, if
the reading direction of the client browser is left-to-right. If the reading direction is
right-to-left, it renders child components on the right of the center area. When
your application must support both reading directions, this facet ensures that the
content will be displayed on the proper side when the direction changes. If you do
not need to support both directions, then you should use either the left or right
facet.
■ end: Supports multiple reading directions. This facet renders child components on
the right of the center area between top and bottom facet child components, if
the reading direction of the client browser is left-to-right. If the reading direction is
right-to-left, it renders child components on the left of the center area. When your
application must support both reading directions, this facet ensures that the
content will be displayed on the proper side when the direction changes. If you do
not need to support both directions, then you should use either the left or right
facet.
■ left: Supports only one reading direction. This facet renders child components
on the left of the center area between top and bottom facet child components.
When the reading direction is left-to-right, the left facet has precedence over the
start facet if both the left and start facets are used (that is, contents in the
start facet will not be displayed). If the reading direction is right-to-left, the
left facet also has precedence over the end facet if both left and end facets are
used.
■ right: Supports only one reading direction. This facet renders child components
on the right of the center area between top and bottom facet child components. If
the reading direction is left-to-right, the right facet has precedence over the end
facet if both right and end facets are used. If the reading direction is right-to-left,
the right facet also has precedence over the start facet, if both right and
start facets are used.
■ innerTop: Renders child components above the center area but below the top
facet child components.

8-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Arranging Content in Forms

■ innerBottom: Renders child components below the center area but above the
bottom facet child components.
■ innerLeft: Renders child components similar to the left facet, but renders
between the innerTop and innerBottom facets, and between the left facet
and the center area.
■ innerRight: Renders child components similar to the right facet, but renders
between the innerTop facet and the innerBottom facet, and between the right
facet and the center area.
■ innerStart: Renders child components similar to the innerLeft facet, if the
reading direction is left-to-right. Renders child components similar to the
innerRight facet, if the reading direction is right-to-left.
■ innerEnd: Renders child components similar to the innerRight facet, if the
reading direction is left-to-right. Renders child components similar to the
innerLeft facet, if the reading direction is right-to-left.
The panelBorderLayout component does not support stretching its child
components, nor does it stretch when placed in a component that stretches its child
components. Therefore, the size of each facet is determined by the size of the
component it contains. If instead you want the contents to stretch to fill the browser
window, consider using the panelStretchLayout component instead. For more
information, see Section 8.3, "Arranging Contents to Stretch Across a Page."
There is no restriction to the number of panelBorderLayout components you can
have on a JSF page.

To create and use the panelBorderLayout component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel Border
Layout onto the JSF page.
2. From the Component Palette, drag and drop the component that will be used to
display contents in the center of the window as a child component to the
panelBorderLayout component.
Child components are displayed consecutively in the order in which you inserted
them. If you want some other type of layout for the child components, wrap the
components inside the panelGroupLayout component. For more information,
see Section 8.12, "Grouping Related Items."
3. To place contents that will surround the center, drag and drop the desired
component into each of the facets.
Because facets accept one child component only, if you want to add more than one
child component, wrap the child components inside a container.

Tip: If any facet is not visible in the visual editor:

1. Right-click the panelBorderLayout component in the Structure
window.
2. From the context menu, choose Facets - Panel Border Layout >facet
name. Facets in use on the page are indicated by a checkmark in front of
the facet name.

8.6 Arranging Content in Forms

The panelFormLayout component lets you lay out multiple form input components
such as input fields and selection list fields in one or more columns. The File Explorer

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-25

Arranging Content in Forms

application uses a panelFormLayout component to display file properties. The

component is configured to have the labels right-aligned, as shown in Figure 8–14.

Figure 8–14 Right-Aligned Labels and Left-Aligned Fields in a Form

Figure 8–15 shows the same page with the component configured to display the labels
above the fields.

Figure 8–15 Labels Above Fields in a Form

You can configure the panelFormLayout component to display the fields with their
labels in one or more columns. Each field in the form is a child component of the
panelFormLayout component. You set the desired number of rows, and if there are
more child components than rows, the remaining child components are placed in a
new column. For example, if there are 25 child components, and you set the
component to display 15 rows, the last 10 components will be displayed in a second
column.
However, the number of rows displayed in each is not solely determined by the
configured number of rows. By default, the panelFormLayout component is set to
render no more than three columns (two for PDA applications). This value is what
actually determines the number of rows. For example, if you have 25 child
components and you set the component to display 5 rows and you leave the default
maximum number of columns set to 3, then the component will actually display 9
rows, even though you have it set to display 5. This is because the maximum number
of columns can override the set number of rows. Because it is set to allow only up to 3
columns, it must use 9 rows in order to display all child components. You would need
to set the maximum number of columns to 5 in order to have the component display
just 5 rows.
ADF Faces uses default label and field widths, as determined by the standard HTML
flow in the browser. You can also specify explicit widths to use for the labels and
fields. Regardless of the number of columns in the form layout, the widths you specify
apply to all labels and fields. You specify the widths using either absolute numbers in
pixels or percentage values. If the length of a label does not fit, the text is wrapped.

8-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Arranging Content in Forms

Tip: If your page will be displayed in languages other than English,

you should leave extra space in the labels to account for different
languages and characters.

8.6.1 How to Use the panelFormLayout Component

You can use one or more panelFormLayout components on a page to create the
desired form layout.

To create and use panelFormLayout:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel Form
Layout onto the JSF page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the label alignment.
By default, field labels on the child input components are displayed beside the
fields. To place the labels above the fields, set the labelAlignment attribute to
top.

Note: When you nest a panelFormLayout component inside

another panelFormLayout component, the label alignment in the
nested layout is top.

3. Set rows and maxColumns to determine the number of rows and columns in the
form.
The rows attribute value is the number that ADF Faces uses as the number of
rows after which a new column will start. By default, it is set to 2147483647
(Integer.MAX_VALUE). This means all the child components that are set to
rendered="true" and visible="true" will render in one, single column.
If you want the form to contain more than one column, set the rows attribute to a
multiple of the number of rendered child components, and then set the
maxColumns attribute to the maximum amount of columns that the form should
display. The default value of maxColumns is 3. (On PDAs, the default is 2).

Note: If the panelFormLayout component is inside another

panelFormLayout component, the inner panelFormLayout
component’s maxColumns value is always 1.

For example, if the rows attribute is set to 6 and there are 1 to 6 rendered child
components, the list will be displayed in 1 column. If there are 7 to 12 rendered
child components, the list will be displayed in 2 columns. If there are 13 or more
child components, the list will be displayed in 3 columns. To display all rendered
child components in 1 column, set the rows attribute back to the default value.
If the number of rendered child components would require more columns than
allowed by the maxColumn attribute, then the value of the rows attribute is
overridden. For example, if there are 100 rendered child components, and the
rows attribute is set to 30 and the maxColumns attribute is 3 (default), the list
will be displayed in 3 columns and 34 rows. If the maxColumns attribute is set to
2, the list will be displayed in 2 columns and 51 rows.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-27

Arranging Content in Forms

Tip: Rendered child components refers only to direct child

components of the form. Therefore, when a component that renders
multiple rows (for example selectManyCheckbox) is a child, all its
rows will be treated as a single rendered child and cannot be split
across separate columns.

4. Set fieldWidth and labelWidth as needed.

ADF Faces uses default label and field widths, as determined by standard HTML
flow in the browser. You can also specify explicit widths to use for the labels and
fields.
The labelWidth attribute on the panelFormLayout component lets you set the
preferred width for labels; the fieldWidth attribute lets you set the preferred
width for fields.

Note: Any value you specify for the labelWidth component is

ignored in layouts where the labelAlignment attribute is set to
top, that is, in layouts where the labels are displayed above the fields.

Regardless of the number of columns in the form layout, the widths you specify
apply to all labels and fields, that is, you cannot set different widths for different
columns. You specify the widths using any CSS unit such as em, px, or %. The unit
used must be the same for both the labelWidth and fieldWidth attribute.
When using percentage values:
■ The percentage width you specify is a percent of the entire width taken up by
the panelFormLayout component, regardless of the number of columns to
be displayed.
■ The sum of the labelWidth and fieldWidth percentages must add up to
100%. If the sum is less than 100%, the widths will be normalized to equal
100%. For example, if you set the labelWidth to 10% and the fieldWidth
to 30%, at runtime the labelWidth would be 33% and the fieldWidth
would be 67%.
■ If you explicitly set the width of one but not the other (for example, you
specify a percentage for labelWidth but not fieldWidth), ADF Faces
automatically calculates the percentage width that is not specified.

Note: If your form contains multiple columns and a footer, you may
see a slight offset between the positioning of the main form items and
the footer items in web browsers that do not honor fractional divisions
of percentages. To minimize this effect, ensure that the percentage
labelWidth is evenly divisible by the number of columns.

Suppose the width of the panelFormLayout component takes up 600 pixels of

space, and the labelWidth attribute is set at 50%. In a one-column display, the
label width will be 300 pixels and the field width will be 300 pixels. In a
two-column display, each column is 300 pixels, so each label width in a column
will be 150 pixels, and each field width in a column will be 150 pixels.
If the length of the label text does not fit on a single line with the given label
width, ADF Faces automatically wraps the label text. If the given field width is
less than the minimum size of the child content you have placed inside the

8-28 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Arranging Content in Forms

panelFormLayout component, ADF Faces automatically uses the minimum size

of the child content as the field width.

Note: If the field is wider than the space allocated, the browser will
not truncate the field but instead will take space from the label
columns. This potentially could cause the labels to wrap more than
you would like. In this case, you may want to consider reducing the
width of the field contents (for example, use a smaller contentStyle
width on an inputText component).

5. Insert the desired child components.

Usually you insert labeled form input components, such as Input Text, Select
Many Checkbox, and other similar components that enable users to provide
input.

Tip: The panelFormLayout component also allows you to use the

iterator, switcher, and group components as direct child
components, providing these components wrap child components
that would typically be direct child components of the
panelFormLayout component.

Example 8–4 shows the panelFormLayout component as it is used on the

properties.jspx page of the File Explorer application, shown in Figure 8–14.

Example 8–4 panelFormLayout Component

<af:panelFormLayout rows="5" labelAlignment="top">
<af:inputText value="#{fileItemProperties.type}"
label="#{explorerBundle['fileproperties.type']}"
readOnly="true"/>
<af:inputText value="#{fileItemProperties.location}"
label="#{explorerBundle['fileproperties.currentpath']}"
readOnly="true"/>
<af:inputText value="#{fileItemProperties.size}"
label="#{explorerBundle['fileproperties.size']}"
readOnly="true"/>
<af:inputText value="#{fileItemProperties.contains}"
label="#{explorerBundle['fileproperties.contains']}"
readOnly="true"/>
</af:panelFormLayout>

Tip: If you use non-input components (which do not have label

attributes) or if you want to group several input components with one
single label inside a panelFormLayout component, first wrap the
components inside a panelLabelAndMessage component. For
information about using the panelLabelAndMessage component,
see Section 17.4, "Grouping Components with a Single Label and
Message."

6. To group semantically related input components in a form layout, use the group
component to wrap those components that belong in a group. Components placed
within a group will cause the panelFormLayout component to draw a separator
line above and below the group.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-29

Arranging Content in Forms

For more information about using the group component, see Section 8.6.2, "What
You May Need to Know About Using the group Component with the
panelFormLayout Component."
7. To add content below the child input components, insert the desired component
into the footer facet.
Facets accept only one child component. If you have to insert more than one
component in the footer facet, use the panelGroupLayout component or the
group component to wrap the footer child components. Example 8–5 shows
sample code that uses the panelGroupLayout component to arrange footer
child components in a panelFormLayout component.

Example 8–5 Footer Child Components in panelFormLayout Arranged Horizontally

<af:panelFormLayout>
<f:facet name="footer">
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal">
<af:commandButton text="Save"/>
<af:commandButton text="Cancel"/>
<f:facet name="separator">
<af:spacer width="3" height="3"/>
</f:facet>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</f:facet>
.
.
.
</af:panelFormLayout>

8.6.2 What You May Need to Know About Using the group Component with the
panelFormLayout Component
While the group component itself does not render anything, when it used as a child in
the panelFormLayout component, visible separators are displayed around the child
components of each group component. For example, you might want to group some
of the input fields in a form layout created by the panelFormLayout component.
Example 8–15 shows sample code that groups two sets of child components inside a
panelFormLayout component.

Example 8–6 Grouping Child Components in panelFormLayout

<af:panelFormLayout binding="#{editor.component}" rows="10" labelWidth="33%"
fieldWidth="67%" testId="panelFormLayout1">
<af:inputText columns="5" label="label 1"/>
<af:group>
<af:inputText columns="5" label="grouped 1" shortDesc="This one is secret!"
secret="true"/>
<af:inputText columns="5" label="grouped 2"/>
<af:inputText columns="5" label="grouped 3"/>
</af:group>
<af:inputDate id="df1" label="label 2"/>
<af:panelLabelAndMessage label="label 3" labelStyle="vertical-align: middle;">
<af:commandButton text="Submit"/>
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>
<af:selectOneListbox id="sol" label="label 4" shortDesc="Select One Option">
<af:selectItem label="option 1"/>
<af:selectItem label="option 2"/>
<af:selectItem label="option 3"/>

8-30 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Arranging Content in Forms

<af:selectItem label="option 4"/>

</af:selectOneListbox>
<af:selectManyListbox id="rs" label="label 5" shortDesc="Select Option">
<af:selectItem label="option 1"/>
<af:selectItem label="option 2"/>
<af:selectItem label="option 3"/>
<af:selectItem label="option 4"/>oiiiik,
</af:selectManyListbox>
</af:panelFormLayout>

Following along with the sample code in Example 8–15, at runtime the
panelFormLayout component renders dotted, separator lines before and after the
first group of child components, as shown in Figure 8–16.

Figure 8–16 Grouped Components in panelFormLayout

As described in Section 8.6, "Arranging Content in Forms," the panelFormLayout

component uses certain component attributes to determine how to display its child
components (grouped and ungrouped) in columns and rows. When using the group
component to group related components in a panelFormLayout component that will
display its child components in more than one column, the child components of any
group component will always be displayed in the same column, that is, child
components inside a group component will never be split across a column.
While the group component does not provide any layout for its child components, the
underlying HTML elements can provide the desired layout for the child components
inside the group component. For example, if you want child button components in a
group component to flow horizontally in a form layout, use the panelGroupLayout
component to wrap the buttons, and set the layout attribute on panelGroupLayout
component to horizontal. Then insert the panelGroupLayout component into
group component, as shown in Example 8–7.

Example 8–7 panelGroupLayout Inside a Group Component

<af:group>

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-31

Arranging Content in Forms

<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal">
<af:commandButton text="Save" ../>
<af:commandButton text="Cancel" ../>
<f:facet name="separator">
<af:spacer width="3"/>
</f:facet>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:group>

When you use the group component to group child components in the footer facet
of the panelFormLayout component, you must place all the group components and
other ungrouped child components in one root group component, as shown in
Example 8–8.

Example 8–8 footer Facet in panelFormLayout with One Root group Component
<af:panelFormLayout ...>
<f:facet name="footer">
<!-- One root group component needed -->
<af:group>
<af:outputText value="Footer item 1"/>
<!-- One group -->
<af:group>
<af:outputText value="Group 1 item 1"/>
<af:outputText value="Group 1 item 2"/>
</af:group>
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal">
<af:commandButton text="Save"/>
<af:commandButton text="Cancel"/>
<f:facet name="separator">
<af:spacer width="3"/>
</f:facet>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:group>
</f:facet>
.
.
.
</af:panelFormLayout>

Like grouped child components in a panelFormLayout component, at runtime the

panelFormLayout component renders dotted, separator lines around the child
components of each group component in the footer facet, as shown in Figure 8–17.

8-32 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Arranging Content in Forms

Figure 8–17 Footer in panelGroupLayout with Grouped Components

Note: The footer facet in the panelFormLayout component

supports only two levels of grouped components, that is, you cannot
have three or more levels of nested group components in the footer
facet. For example, the following code is not valid:
<f:facet name="footer">
<!-- Only one root group -->
<af:group>
<af:outputText value="Footer item 1"/>
<!-- Any number of groups at this level -->
<af:group>
<af:outputText value="Group 1 item 1"/>
<af:outputText value="Group 1 item 2"/>
<!-- But not another nested group. This is illegal. -->
<af:group>
<af:outputText value="Nested Group 1 item 1"/>
<af:outputText value="Nested Group 1 item 2"/>
</af:group>
</af:group>
<af:outputText value="Another footer item"/>
</af:group>
</f:facet>

Whether you are grouping components in the footer facet or in the main body of the
panelFormLayout component, if the first or last child inside the panelFormLayout
component or inside the footer facet is a group component, no separator lines will
be displayed around the child components in that group. For example, both sets of
code examples in Example 8–9 would produce the same visual effect at runtime.

Example 8–9 Code Producing Same Visual Effect

<!-- Example 1: Group of buttons is last child in root group -->
<f:facet name="footer">
<af:group>
<af:outputText value="Footer text item 1"/>
<af:outputText value="Footer text item 2"/>
<af:group>
<af:inputText label="Nested group item 1"/>
<af:inputText label="Nested group item 2"/>

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-33

Arranging Contents in a Dashboard

</af:group>
<af:group>
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal">
<af:commandButton text="Cancel"/>
<af:commandButton text="Save"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:group>
</af:group>
</f:facet>

<!-- Example 2: panelGroupLayout of buttons is last child in root group-->

<f:facet name="footer">
<af:group>
<af:outputText value="Footer text item 1"/>
<af:outputText value="Footer text item 2"/>
<af:group>
<af:inputText label="Nested group item 1"/>
<af:inputText label="Nested group item 2"/>
</af:group>
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal">
<af:commandButton text="Cancel"/>
<af:commandButton text="Save"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:group>
</f:facet>

8.7 Arranging Contents in a Dashboard

The panelDashboard component allows you to arrange its child components in rows
and columns, similar to the panelForm component. However, instead of text
components, the panelDashboard children are panelBox components that contain
content, as shown in Figure 8–18.

Figure 8–18 panelDashboard with panelBox Child Components

The panelDashboard component also supports declarative drag and drop behavior,
so that the user can rearrange the child components. As shown in Figure 8–19, the user

8-34 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Arranging Contents in a Dashboard

can for example, move panelBox 10 between panelBox 4 and panelBox 5. A

shadow is displayed where the box can be dropped.

Figure 8–19 Drag and Drop Capabilities in panelDashboard

Note: You can also configure drag and drop functionality that allows
users to drag components into and out of the panelDashboard
component. For more information, see Section 32.6, "Adding Drag and
Drop Functionality Into and Out of a panelDashboard Component."

When you add a panelDashboard component, you configure the number of columns
it will contain, along with the height of each row. The dashboard stretches its children
to fill up the configured space. If all the child components do not fit within the
specified number of columns and row height, then the panelDashboard component
displays a scroll bar.
Along with the ability to move child components, the panelDashboard component
also provides an API that you can access to allow users to switch child components
from being rendered to not rendered, giving the appearance of panelBoxes being
inserted or deleted. The dashboard uses partial page rendering to redraw the new set
of child components without needing to redraw the entire page.
You can use the panelDashboardBehavior tag to make the rendering of
components appear more responsive. This tag allows the activation of a command
component to apply visual changes to the dashboard before the application code
modifies the component tree on the server. Because this opening up of space happens
before the action event is sent to the server, the user will see immediate feedback while
the action listener for the command component modifies the component tree and
prepares the dashboard for the optimized encoding of the insert.
For example, Figure 8–20 shows a panelDashboard component used in the right
panel of a panelSplitter component. In the left panel, list items displayed as links
represent each panelBox component in the panelDashboard. When all panelBox
components are displayed, the links are all inactive. However, if a user deletes one of
the panelBox components, the corresponding link becomes active. The user can click
the link to reinsert the panelBox. By using the panelDashboardBehavior tag with
the commandLink component, the user sees the inserted box drawing.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-35

Arranging Contents in a Dashboard

Figure 8–20 commandLink Components Use panelDashboardBehavior Tag

If you decide not to use this tag, there will be a slight delay while your action listener
is processing before the user sees any change to the dashboard structure.
Figure 8–21 shows a practical example using a panelDashboard component.
Selecting one of the links at the top of the page changes the panelBoxes displayed in
the dashboard. The user can also add panelBoxes by clicking the associated link on
the left-hand side of the page.

Figure 8–21 Practical Example of panelDashboard

8.7.1 How to Use the panelDashboard Component

After you add the panelDashboard component onto the page, configure the number
of columns and the height of the rows. Then, add child components, and if you want
to allow rearrangement the components, also add a componentDragSource tag to
the child component. If you want to allow insertion and deletion of components,
implement a listener to handle the action. You can also use the
panelDashboardBehavior tag to make the panelDashboard component appear
more responsive to the insertion.

8-36 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Arranging Contents in a Dashboard

To use the panelDashboard component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel drag and drop a Panel
Dashboard onto the page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section.
3. Set columns to the number of columns you want to use to display the child
components. The child components will stretch to fit each column.
4. Set RowHeight to the number of pixels high that each row should be. The child
components will stretch to this height.
5. From the Component Palette, drag and drop child panelBox components.

Tip: The panelDashboard component also supports the region

component as a child component.

6. If you want users to be able to reorder the child components, in the Component
Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop a Component Drag Source as a
child to each of the child components.
7. If you want to be able to add and delete components, create a managed bean and
implement a handler method that will handle reordering children when a child is
added or dropped. This event is considered a drop event, so you must use the
Drag and Drop framework. For more information about creating a handler for a
drop event, see Chapter 32, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality."
To use the optimized lifecycle, have the handler call the panelDashboard
component’s prepareOptimizedEncodingOfInsertedChild() method,
which causes the dashboard to send just the inserted child component to be
rendered.

Note: If you plan on using the panelDashboardBehavior tag,

then this API should be called from the associated command
component’s actionListener handler.

8. If you have added a componentDragSource tag in Step 6, then you must also
implement a DropEvent handler for the panelDashboard. With the
panelDashboard component selected, expand the Behavior section and bind the
DropListener attribute to that handler method.
9. If you wish to use a panelDashboardBehavior tag, drag and drop a command
component that will be used to initiate the insertion.
10. In the Property Inspector, bind the ActionListener for the command component to
a handler on a managed bean that will handle the changes to the component tree.
Have the handler call the panelDashboard component’s
prepareOptimizedEncodingOfInsertedChild() method, which causes the
dashboard to send just the inserted child component to be rendered. Example 8–10
shows code on a managed bean that handles the insertion of child components.

Example 8–10 Action Listener Code for Insert Button

public void handleInsert(ActionEvent e)
{
UIComponent eventComponent = e.getComponent();
String panelBoxId = eventComponent.getAttributes().get("panelBoxId").toString();
UIComponent panelBox = _dashboard.findComponent(panelBoxId);

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-37

Arranging Contents in a Dashboard

// Make this panelBox rendered:

panelBox.setRendered(true);

// Becaue the dashboard is already shown, perform an optimized

// render so the whole dashboard does not have to be re-encoded:
int insertIndex = 0;
List<UIComponent> children = _dashboard.getChildren();
for (UIComponent child : children)
{
if (child.equals(panelBox))
{
// Let the dashboard know that only the one child component should be
// encoded during the render phase:
_dashboard.prepareOptimizedEncodingOfInsertedChild(
FacesContext.getCurrentInstance(),
insertIndex);
break;
}

if (child.isRendered())
{
// Count only rendered children because that is all that the
// panelDashboard can see:
insertIndex++;
}
}
// Add the side bar as a partial target because we need to
// redraw the state of the side bar item that corresponds to the inserted item:
RequestContext rc = RequestContext.getCurrentInstance();
rc.addPartialTarget(_sideBar);
}

11. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag a Panel Dashboard
Behavior tag and drop it as a child to the command component.
12. In the Property Inspector, enter the following:

■ for: Enter the ID for the associated panelDashboard component

■ index: Enter an EL expression that resolves to a method that determines the
index of the component to be inserted. When you use the
panelDashboardBehavior tag, a placeholder element is inserted into the
DOM tree where the actual component will be rendered once it is returned
from the server. Because the insertion placeholder gets added before the
insertion occurs on the server, you must specify the location where you are
planning to insert the child component so that if the user reloads the page, the
children will continue to remain displayed in the same order.

8.7.2 What You May Need to Know About Geometry Management and the
panelDashboard Component
This component organizes its children into a grid based on the number of columns and
the rowHeight attribute. The child components that can be stretched inside of the
panelDashboard include:
■ panelBox
■ region
■ table

8-38 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically

If you try to put any other component as a child component to the panelDashboard
component, then the component hierarchy is not valid.

8.8 Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically

Sometimes you want users to have the choice of displaying or hiding content. When
you do not need to show all the functionality of the user interface at once, you can
save a lot of space by using components that enable users to show and hide parts of
the interface at will.
The showDetail component creates a label with a toggle icon that allows users to
disclose (show) or undisclose (hide) contents under the label. When the contents are
undisclosed (hidden), the default label is Show and the toggle icon is a plus sign in a
box. When the contents are disclosed (shown), the default label is Hide, and the toggle
icon changes to a minus sign.
For example, the newFileItem page of the File Explorer application uses a
showDetail component to hide and display file properties. The component is
configured to hide the properties when the page is displayed, as shown in Figure 8–22.

Figure 8–22 Collapsed showDetail

When the user clicks the toggle icon, the properties are displayed, as shown in
Figure 8–23.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-39

Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically

Figure 8–23 Expanded showDetail

If you want to use something more complex than an outputText component to display
the disclosed and undisclosed text, you can add components to the showDetail
component’s prompt facet. When set to be visible, any contents in the prompt facet
will replace the disclosed and undisclosed text values. To use the showDetail
component, see Section 8.8.1, "How to Use the showDetail Component."
Like the showDetail component, the showDetailHeader component also toggles
the display of contents, but the showDetailHeader component provides the label
and toggle icon in a header, and also provides facets for a menu bar, toolbar, and text.

Tip: The showDetailHeader component is the same as a

panelHeader component, except that it handles disclosure events.
For more information about the panelHeader component, see
Section 8.10, "Displaying Items in a Static Box."

When there is not enough space to display everything in all the facets of the title line,
the showDetailHeader text is truncated and displays an ellipsis. When the user
hovers over the truncated text, the full text is displayed in a tooltip, as shown in
Figure 8–24.

Figure 8–24 Text for the showDetailHeader Is Truncated

When there is more than enough room to display the contents, the extra space is
placed between the context facet and the toolbar, as shown in Figure 8–25.

Figure 8–25 Extra Space Is Added Before the Toolbar

Additionally, you can configure the showDetailHeader component to be used as a

message for errors, warnings, information, or confirmations. The contents are hidden
or displayed below the header. For example, the newFileItem page of the File

8-40 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically

Explorer application uses a showDetailHeader component to display help for

creating a new file. By default, the help is not displayed, as shown in Figure 8–23.
When the user clicks the toggle icon in the header, the contents are displayed, as
shown in Figure 8–26.

Figure 8–26 showDetailHeader Component Used to Display Help

You can also use the showDetailHeader component in conjunction with the
panelHeader component to divide a page into sections and subsections, where some
contents can be hidden. The showDetailHeader component contains a number of
facets, such as a toolbar and menu bar facet. These facets are the same as for the
panelHeader component. For more information about the panelHeader
component, see Section 8.10, "Displaying Items in a Static Box."
You can nest showDetailHeader components to create a hierarchy of content. Each
nested component takes on a different heading style to denote the hierarchy.
Figure 8–27 shows three nested showDetailHeader components, and their different
styles.

Figure 8–27 Nested showDetailHeader Components Create a Hierarchy

You can change the styles used by each header level by applying a skin to the
showDetailHeader component. For details about skinning ADF Faces components,
see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins."

Note: While you can force the style of the text using the size
attribute, (where 0 is the largest text), the value of the size attribute
will not affect the hierarchy. It only affects the style of the text.

Use the panelBox component when you want information to be able to be displayed
or hidden below the header, and you want the box to be offset from other information
on the page. The File Explorer application uses two panelBox components on the
properties.jspx page to display the attributes and history of a file, as shown in
Figure 8–28.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-41

Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically

Figure 8–28 Two panelBox Components

Figure 8–29 shows the same page, but with the History panelBox component in an
undisclosed state.

Figure 8–29 Undisclosed panelBox Component

You can set the background color on a panelBox component so that the contents are
further delineated from the rest of the page. Two color combinations (called ramps) are
offered, and each combination contains four levels of color: none, light, medium, and
dark. Figure 8–30 shows the same panel boxes as in Figure 8–28, but with the bottom
panelBox component configured to show the medium tone of the core ramp.

8-42 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically

Figure 8–30 Panel Boxes Using a Background Color

You can set the size of a panelBox component either explicitly by assigning a pixel
size, or as a percentage of its parent. You can also set the alignment of the title, and
add an icon. In addition, the panelBox component includes the toolbar facet that
allows you to add a toolbar and toolbar buttons to the box.
If you want to show and hide multiple large areas of content, consider using the
panelAccordion and panelTabbed components. For more information, see
Section 8.9, "Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels."

8.8.1 How to Use the showDetail Component

Use the showDetail component to show and hide a single set of content.

To create and use the showDetail component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Show Detail from the Component Palette onto the JSF page.

Tip: This component appears in the Common Components panel of

the Component Palette, and not the Layout panel.

2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the attributes as
needed.
Set Disclosed to true if you want the component to show its child components.

Note: While the user can change the value of the disclosed
attribute by displaying and hiding the contents, the value will not be
retained once the user leaves the page unless you configure your
application to allow user customizations. For information, see
Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages."

Set DisclosedText to the label you want to display next to the toggle icon when the
contents are disclosed (shown). By default, the label is Hide if no value is
specified.
Set UndisclosedText to the label you want to display next to the toggle icon when
the contents are undisclosed (hidden). By default, the label is Show if no value is
specified.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-43

Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically

Note: If you specify a value for disclosedText but not for

undisclosedText, then ADF Faces automatically uses the
disclosedText value for both the disclosed state and undisclosed
state. Similarly, if you specify a value for undisclosedText but not
for disclosedText, the undisclosedText value is used when the
contents are hidden or displayed.
Instead of using text specified in disclosedText and
undisclosedText, you could use the prompt facet to add a
component that will render next to the toggle icon.

3. Expand the Behavior section and set DisclosureListener to a

DisclosureListener method in a backing bean that you want to execute when
the user displays or hides the component’s contents.
For information about disclosure events and listeners, see Section 8.8.4, "What You
May Need to Know About Disclosure Events."
4. To add content, insert the desired child components inside the showDetail
component.

8.8.2 How to Use the showDetailHeader Component

Use the showDetailHeader component when you want to display a single set of
content under a header, or when you want the content to be used as messages that can
be displayed or hidden. You can also use the showDetailHeader component to
create a hierarchy of headings and content when you want the content to be able to be
hidden.

To create and use the showDetailHeader component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Show Detail
Header onto the JSF page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section. Set Text to the text string
you want for the section header label.
3. Set Icon to the URI of the image file you want to use for the section header icon.
The icon image is displayed before the header label.

Note: Because alternative text cannot be provided for this icon, in

order to create an accessible product, use this icon only when it is
purely decorative. You must provide the meaning of this icon in some
accessible manner.

4. If you are using the header to provide specific messaging information, set
MessageType to one of the following values:
■ confirmation: The confirmation icon (represented by a note page overlaid
with a green checkmark) replaces any specified icon image.
■ error: The error icon (represented by a red circle with an x inside) replaces
any specified icon image. The header label also changes to red.
■ info: The info icon (represented by a blue circle with an I inside) replaces any
specified icon image.

8-44 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically

■ warning: The warning icon (represented by a yellow triangle with an

exclamation mark inside) replaces any specified icon image.
■ none: Default. No icon is displayed, unless one is specified for the icon
attribute.
Figure 8–31 shows each of the icons used for message types.

Figure 8–31 Icons Used for Message Types

Note: Because alternative text cannot be provided for this icon, in

order to create an accessible product, use this icon only when it is
purely decorative. You must provide the meaning of this icon in some
accessible manner.

5. Set Disclosed to true if you want the component to show its child components.

Note: While the user can change the value of the disclosed
attribute by displaying and hiding the contents, the value will not be
retained once the user leaves the page unless you configure your
application to allow user customization. For information, see
Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages."

6. Expand the Behavior section and set DisclosureListener to a

disclosureListener method in a backing bean that you want to execute when
the user displays or hides the component’s contents.
For information about disclosure events and listeners, see Section 8.8.4, "What You
May Need to Know About Disclosure Events."
7. If you want to control how the showDetailHeader component handles
geometry management, expand the Other section and set Type. Set it to flow if
you do not want the component to stretch or to stretch its children. The height of
the showDetailHeader component will be determined solely by its children. Set
it to stretch if you want it to stretch and stretch its child (will only stretch a
single child component). Leave it set to the default if you want the parent
component of the showDetailHeader component to determine geometry
management. For more information about geometry management, see
Section 8.2.1, "Geometry Management and Component Stretching."
8. To add buttons or icons to the header, in the Component Palette, from the
Common Components panel, drag and drop the toolbar component into the
toolbar facet. Then add any number of commandToolbarButton or
commandButton components into the newly inserted toolbar component. For
more information about using the toolbar component, see Section 14.3, "Using
Toolbars."

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-45

Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically

Note: Toolbar overflow is not supported in panelHeader

components.

9. To add menus to the header, insert menu components into the menuBar facet. For
more information about creating menus, see Section 14.2, "Using Menus in a Menu
Bar."

Tip: You can place menus in the toolbar facet and toolbars (and
toolboxes) in the menu facet. The main difference between these facets
is location. The toolbar facet is before the menu facet.

10. To create a subsection header, insert another showDetailHeader component

inside an existing showDetailHeader component.
The size attribute specifies the number to use for the header level. The largest
number is 0, and it corresponds to an H1 header level; the smallest is 5, and it
corresponds to an H6 header.
By default, the size attribute is -1. This means ADF Faces automatically
calculates the header number (and thus the header level style to use) from the
topmost, parent component. When you use nested components, you do not have
to set the size attribute explicitly to get the proper header style to be displayed.

Note: While you can force the style of the text using the size
attribute, (where 0 is the largest text), the value of the size attribute
will not affect the hierarchy. It only affects the style of the text.

In the default skin used by ADF Faces, the style used for sizes above 2 will be
displayed the same as size 2. That is, there is no difference in styles for sizes 3, 4, or
5–they all show the same style as size 2. You can change this by creating a custom
skin. For more information, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using
Styles and Skins."
11. To add content to a section or subsection, insert the desired child components
inside the showDetailHeader component.

8.8.3 How to Use the panelBox Component

You can insert any number of panelBox components on a page.

To create and use a panelBox component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel Box to
the JSF page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Appearance section, and for Ramp, select
the ramp you wish to use.
The core ramp uses variations of blue, while the highlight ramp uses
variations of yellow. You can change the colors used by creating a custom skin. For
details, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins."
3. Set Background to one of the following values: light, medium, dark, or
default. The default background color is transparent.
4. Set Text to the text string you want to display as the title in the header portion of
the container.

8-46 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying and Hiding Contents Dynamically

5. Set Icon to the URI of the icon image you want to display before the header text.

Note: If both the text and icon attributes are not set, ADF Faces
does not display the header portion of the panelBox component.

Note: Because alternative text cannot be provided for this icon, in

order to create an accessible product, use this icon only when it is
purely decorative. You must provide the meaning of this icon in some
accessible manner.

6. Set TitleHalign to one of the following values: center, start, end, left, or
right. The value determines the horizontal alignment of the title (including any
icon image) in the header portion of the container.
7. Expand the Behavior section and set DisclosureListener to a
disclosureListener method in a backing bean that you want to execute when
the user shows or hides the component’s contents.
For information about disclosure events and listeners, see Section 8.8.4, "What You
May Need to Know About Disclosure Events."
8. To add toolbar buttons, in the Component Palette, from the Common Components
Panel, drag and drop a Toolbar into the toolbar facet. Then insert the desired
number of commandToolbarButton components into the toolbar component.
For information about using toolbar and commandToolbarButton
components, see Section 14.3, "Using Toolbars."

Tip: If any facet is not visible in the visual editor:

1. Right-click the panelBox component in the Structure window.
2. From the context menu, choose Facets - Panel Box >Toolbar. Facets in use
on the page are indicated by a checkmark in front of the facet name.

9. To add contents to the container for display, insert the desired components as child
components to the panelBox component.
Typically, you would insert one child component into the panelBox component,
and then insert the contents for display into the child component. The child
component controls how the contents will be displayed, not the parent panelBox
component.
10. To change the width of the panelBox component, set the inlineStyle attribute
to the exact pixel size you want. Alternatively, you can set the inlineStyle
attribute to a percentage of the outer element that contains the panelBox
component. Example 8–11 shows the code you might use for changing the width.

Example 8–11 panelBox Component with inlineStyle Attribute Set

<af:panelBox inlineStyle="width:50%;" ...>
<!-- child contents here -->
</af:panelBox>

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-47

Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels

8.8.4 What You May Need to Know About Disclosure Events

Any ADF Faces component that has built-in event functionality, as the showDetail,
showDetailHeader, and panelBox components do, must be enclosed in the form
component.
The disclosed attribute on these components specifies whether to show (disclose) or
hide (undisclose) the contents under its header. By default, the disclosed attribute is
true, that is, the contents are shown. When the attribute is set to false, the contents
are hidden. You do not have to write any code to enable the toggling of contents from
disclosed to undisclosed, and vice versa. ADF Faces handles the toggling
automatically.
The value of the disclosed attribute can be persisted at runtime, that is, when the
user shows or hides contents, ADF Faces can change and then persist the attribute
value so that it remains in that state for the length of the user’s session. For more
information, see Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages."
When the user clicks the toggle icon to show or hide contents, the components deliver
a org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.event.DisclosureEvent event to the
server. The DisclosureEvent event contains information about the source
component and its state: whether it is disclosed (expanded) or undisclosed (collapsed).
The isExpanded() method returns a boolean value that determines whether to
expand (disclose) or collapse (undisclose) the node. If you only want the component to
disclose and undisclose its contents, then you do not need to write any code.
However, if you want to perform special handling of a DisclosureEvent event, you
can bind the component’s disclosureListener attribute to a
disclosureListener method in a backing bean. The disclosureListener
method will then be invoked in response to a DisclosureEvent event, that is,
whenever the user clicks the disclosed or undisclosed icon.
The disclosureListener method must be a public method with a single
disclosureEvent event object and a void return type, shown in Example 8–12.

Example 8–12 disclosureListener Method

public void some_disclosureListener(DisclosureEvent disclosureEvent) {
// Add event handling code here
}

By default, DisclosureEvent events are usually delivered in the Invoke Application

phase, unless the component’s immediate attribute is set to true. When the
immediate attribute is set to true, the event is delivered in the earliest possible
phase, usually the Apply Request Values phase.
On the client-side component, the AdfDisclosureEvent event is fired. The event
root for the client AdfDisclosureEvent event is set to the event source component:
only the event for the panel whose disclosed attribute is true gets sent to the
server. For more information about client-side events and event roots, see Chapter 5,
"Handling Events."

8.9 Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed

Panels
When you need to display multiple areas of content that can be hidden and displayed,
you can use the panelAccordion or the panelTabbed components. Both of these
components use the showDetailItem component to display the actual contents.

8-48 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels

The panelAccordion component creates a series of expandable panes. You can allow
users to expand more than one panel at any time, or to expand only one panel at a
time. When more than one panel is expanded, the user can adjust the height of the
panel by dragging the header of the showDetailItem component.
When a panel is collapsed, only the panel header is displayed; when a panel is
expanded, the panel contents are displayed beneath the panel header (users can
expand the panes by clicking either the panelAccordion component’s header or the
expand icon). The File Explorer application uses the panelAccordion component to
display the Folders and Search panes, as shown in Figure 8–32.

Figure 8–32 panelAccordion Panes

At runtime, when available browser space is less than the space needed to display
expanded panel contents, ADF Faces automatically displays overflow icons that
enable users to select and navigate to those panes that are out of view. Figure 8–33
shows the overflow icon (circled in the lower right-hand corner) displayed in the
Folders panel of the File Explorer application when there is not enough room to
display the Search panel.

Figure 8–33 Overflow Icon In panelAccordion

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-49

Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels

When the user clicks the overflow icon, ADF Faces displays the overflow popup menu
(as shown in Figure 8–34) for the user to select and navigate to.

Figure 8–34 Overflow Popup Menu in panelAccordion

You can also configure the panelAccordion so that the panes can be rearranged by
dragging and dropping, as shown in Figure 8–35.

Figure 8–35 Panes Can Be Reordered by Dragging and Dropping

8-50 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels

When the order is changed, the displayIndex attribute on the showDetailItem

components also changes to reflect the new order.

Note: Items in the overflow cannot be reordered.

To use the panelAccordion component, see Section 8.9.1, "How to Use the
panelAccordion Component."
The panelTabbed component creates a series of tabbed panes. Unlike the
panelAccordion panes, the panelTabbed panes are not collapsible or expandable.
Instead, when users select a tab, the contents of the selected tab take up the entire
display area. The tabs may be positioned above the display area, below the display
area, or both. You can configure a panelTabbed component so that the individual
tabs can be closed. You can have it so that all tabs can be closed, all but the last tab can
be closed, or no tabs can be closed. When tabs are configured to be removed, an X is
displayed at the end of the tab.
The File Explorer application uses the panelTabbed component to display the
contents in the main panel, as shown in Figure 8–36.

Figure 8–36 panelTabbed Panes

To use the panelTabbed component, see Section 8.9.2, "How to Use the panelTabbed
Component."

Tip: If you want the tabs to be used in conjunction with navigational

hierarchy, for example, each tab is a different page or region that
contains another set of navigation items, you may want to use a
navigation panel component to create a navigational menu. For more
information, see Section 18.5, "Using Navigation Items for a Page
Hierarchy."

For both the panelAccordion and panelTabbed components, use one

showDetailItem component to provide the contents for each panel. For example, if
you want to use four panes, insert four showDetailItem components inside the
panelAccordion or panelTabbed components, respectively. To use the
showDetailItem component, see Section 8.9.3, "How to Use the showDetailItem
Component to Display Content in panelAccordion or panelTabbed Components." You
can add a toolbar to the toolbar facet of the showDetailItem component, and the
toolbar will be shown whenever the panel or tab is disclosed. Figure 8–36 shows the
toolbar used by the showDetailItem component in the File Explorer application.
The panelTabbed component also supports an overflow icon if all tabs cannot be
displayed. Figure 8–37 shows the overflow icon in the File Explorer application.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-51

Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels

Figure 8–37 Overflow Icon in panelTabbed Component

Performance Tip: The number of child components within a

panelAccordion or panelTabbed component, and the complexity
of the child components, will affect the performance of the overflow.
Set the size of the panelAccordion or panelTabbed component to
avoid overflow when possible.

While both the panelAccordion and panelTabbed components can be stretched,

by default, the showDetailItem component does not stretch its child components. It
can however, stretch a single child as long as it is the only child of the
showDetailItem component. Therefore, if you want the contents of the
showDetailItem component to stretch to fit the stretched panelAccordion or
panelTabbed component, you must explicitly set certain attributes, as described in
Section 8.9.3, "How to Use the showDetailItem Component to Display Content in
panelAccordion or panelTabbed Components."

8.9.1 How to Use the panelAccordion Component

You can use more than one panelAccordion component in a page, typically in
different areas of the page, or nested. After adding the panelAccordion component,
insert a series of showDetailItem components to provide the panes, using one
showDetailItem for one panel. Then insert components into each
showDetailItem to provide the panel contents. For procedures on using the
showDetailItem component, see Section 8.9.3, "How to Use the showDetailItem
Component to Display Content in panelAccordion or panelTabbed Components."

To create and use the panelAccordion component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel
Accordion onto the JSF page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section.
3. Set DiscloseMany to true if you want users to be able to expand and see the
contents of more than one panel at the same time.
By default, the value is false. This means only one panel can be expanded at any
one time. For example, suppose there is one expanded panel A and one collapsed
panel B when the page first loads. If the user expands panel B, panel A will be
collapsed, because only one panel can be expanded at any time.
4. Set the DiscloseNone to true if you want users to be able to collapse all panes.
By default, the value is false. This means one panel must remain expanded at
any time.
5. If you want users to be able to rearrange the panes by dragging and dropping,
expand the Other section, and set Reorder to enabled. The default is disabled.

8-52 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels

Note: If the panelAccordion has components other than

showDetailItem components (see the tip in Step 6), those
components can be reordered on the client only. Therefore, any new
order will not be preserved.

6. By default, one panel is added for you using a showDetailItem component as a

child component to the panelAccordion component. To add more panes, insert
the showDetailItem component inside the panelAccordion component. You
can add as many panes as you wish.

Tip: Accordion panels also allow you to use the iterator,

switcher, and group components as direct child components,
providing these components wrap child components that would
typically be direct child components of the accordion panel.

To add contents for display in a panel, insert the desired child components into
each showDetailItem component. For procedures, see Section 8.9.3, "How to
Use the showDetailItem Component to Display Content in panelAccordion or
panelTabbed Components."

8.9.2 How to Use the panelTabbed Component

Using the panelTabbed component to create tabbed panes is similar to using the
panelAccordion component to create accordion panes. After adding a
panelTabbed component, you insert a series of showDetailItem components to
provide the tabbed panel contents for display.

To create and use the panelTabbed component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel Tabbed
onto the JSF page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section.
3. Set Position to below if you want the tabs to be rendered below the contents in
the display area.
By default, the value is above. This means the tabs are rendered above the
contents in the display area. The other acceptable value is both, where tabs are
rendered above and below the display area.
4. If you want users to be able to close (remove) tabs, expand the Other section, and
set TabRemoval. You can set it to allow all tabs to be removed, or all but the last
tab. You must implement a handler to do the actual removal and configure the
listeners for the associated showDetailItem components. For more information,
see Section 8.9.3, "How to Use the showDetailItem Component to Display Content
in panelAccordion or panelTabbed Components."
5. By default, one tabbed panel is created for you using a showDetail component
as a child to the panelTabbed component. To add more panes, insert the
showDetailItem component inside the panelTabbed component. You can add
as many tabbed panes as you wish.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-53

Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels

Tip: The panelTabbed component also allow you to use the

iterator, switcher, and group components as direct child
components, providing these components wrap child components
that would typically be direct child components of the panelTabbed
component.

To add contents for display in a panel, insert the desired child components into
each showDetailItem component. For information about using
showDetailItem, see Section 8.9.3, "How to Use the showDetailItem Component
to Display Content in panelAccordion or panelTabbed Components."

8.9.3 How to Use the showDetailItem Component to Display Content in panelAccordion

or panelTabbed Components
Insert showDetailItem components into a panelAccordion or panelTabbed
component only. Each showDetailItem component corresponds to one accordion
panel or tabbed panel. Typically, you insert two or more showDetailItem
components into the parent component. Insert the child components for display into
the showDetailItem components.
The disclosed attribute on a showDetailItem component specifies whether to
show (disclose) or hide (undisclose) the corresponding accordion panel or tab
contents. By default, the disclosed attribute is false, that is, the contents are
hidden (undisclosed). When the attribute is set to true, the contents are shown
(disclosed). You do not have to write any code to enable the toggling of contents from
disclosed to undisclosed, and vice versa. ADF Faces handles the toggling
automatically.
The following procedure assumes you have already added a panelAccordion or
panelTabbed component to the JSF page, as described in Section 8.9.1, "How to Use
the panelAccordion Component," and Section 8.9.2, "How to Use the panelTabbed
Component," respectively.

To add accordion panel or tabbed panel contents using a showDetailItem

component:
1. Insert one or more showDetailItem components inside the parent component,
such as panelAccordion or panelTabbed, by dragging and dropping a Show
Detail Item component from Common Components panel of the Component
Palette.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Appearance section.
3. Set Text to the label you want to display for this panel or tab.
4. To add an icon before the label, set Icon to the URI of the image file to use.

Note: Because alternative text cannot be provided for this icon, in

order to create an accessible product, use this icon only when it is
purely decorative. You must provide the meaning of this icon in some
accessible manner.

5. If the showDetailItem component is being used inside a panelAccordion

component, and the showDetailItem component will contain only one child
component and you need the contents of that component to stretch, set Flex and
the StretchChildren for each showDetailItem component.

8-54 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels

Use the following attributes on each showDetailItem component to control the

flexibility of panel contents:
■ Flex: Specifies a nonnegative integer that determines how much space is
distributed among the showDetailItem components of one
panelAccordion component. By default, the value of the flex attribute is 0
(zero), that is, the panel contents of each showDetailItem component are
inflexible. To enable flexible contents in a panel, specify a flex number larger
than 0, for example, 1 or 2. A larger flex value means that the contents will
be made larger than components with lower flex values. For two flexible
components, their height sizes are exactly proportionate to the flex values
assigned. If component A has flex set to 2 and component B has flex set to
1, then the height of component A is two times the height of component B.
■ InflexibleHeight: Specifies the number of pixels a panel will use. The default
is 100 pixels. This means if a panel has a flex value of 0 (zero), ADF Faces
will use 100 pixels for that panel, and then distribute the remaining space
among the nonzero panes. If the contents of a panel cannot fit within the
panelAccordion container given the specified inflexibleHeight value,
ADF Faces automatically moves nearby contents into overflow menus (as
shown in Figure 8–34). Also, if a panel has a nonzero flex value, this will be
the minimum height that the panel will shrink to before causing other panes to
be moved into the overflow menus.
■ StretchChildren: When set to first, stretches a single child component.
However, the child component must allow stretching. For more information,
see Section 8.9.4, "What You May Need to Know About Geometry
Management and the showDetailItem Component."
For example, the File Explorer application uses showDetailItem components to
display contents in the navigator panel. Because the Search Navigator requires
more space when both navigators are expanded, its flex attribute is set to 2 and
the showDetailItem component for the Folders Navigator uses the default flex
value of 1. This setting causes the Search Navigator to be larger than the Folders
Navigator when it is expanded.

Note: Instead of directly setting the value for the flex attribute, the
File Explorer application uses an EL expression that resolves to a
method used to determine the value. Using an EL expression allows
you to programmatically change the value if you decide at a later
point to use metadata to provide model information.

The user can change the panel heights at runtime, thereby changing the value of
the flex and inflexibleHeight attributes. Those values can be persisted so
that they remain for the duration of the user’s session. For information, see
Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages."
Note the following additional information about flexible accordion panel contents:
■ There must be two or more panes (showDetailItem components) with flex
values larger than 0 before ADF Faces can enable flexible contents. This is
because ADF Faces uses the flex ratio between two components to determine
how much space to allocate among the panel contents. At runtime, two or
more panes must be expanded before the effect of flexible contents can be
seen.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-55

Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels

■ If the showDetailItem component has only one child component and the
flex value is nonzero, and the stretchChildren attribute is set to first,
ADF Faces will stretch that child component regardless of the discloseMany
attribute value on the panelAccordion component.
■ When all showDetailItem components have flex values of 0 (zero) and
their panel contents are disclosed, even though the disclosed contents are set
to be inflexible, ADF Faces will stretch the contents of the last disclosed
showDetailItem component as if the component had a flex value of 1, but
only when that showDetailItem component has one child only, and the
stretchChildren attribute is set to first. If the last disclosed panel has
more than one child component or the stretchChildren attribute is set to
none, the contents will not be stretched.
Even with the flex attribute set, there are some limitations regarding geometry
management. For more information, see Section 8.9.4, "What You May Need to
Know About Geometry Management and the showDetailItem Component."
6. Expand the Behavior section. Set DisclosureListener to the
disclosureListener method in a backing bean you want to execute when this
panel or tab is selected by the user.
For information about server disclosure events and event listeners, see
Section 8.8.4, "What You May Need to Know About Disclosure Events."
7. Set Disabled to true if you want to disable this panel or tab (that is, the user will
not be able to select the panel or tab).
8. Set Disclosed to true if you want this panel or tab to show its child components.
By default, the disclosed attribute is set to false. This means the contents for
this panel or tab are hidden.

Note: Note the difference between the disclosed and rendered

attributes. If the rendered attribute value is false, it means that this
accordion header bar or tab link and its corresponding contents are
not available at all to the user. However, if the disclosed attribute is
set to false, it means that the contents of the item are not currently
visible, but may be made visible by the user because the accordion
header bar or tab link are still visible.

If none of the showDetailItem components has the disclosed attribute set to

true, ADF Faces automatically shows the contents of the first enabled
showDetailItem component (except when it is a child of a panelAccordion
component, which has a setting for zero disclosed panes).

Note: While the user can change the value of the disclosed
attribute by displaying or hiding the contents, the value will not be
retained once the user leaves the page unless you configure your
application to allow user customization. For information, see
Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages."

9. For showDetailItem components used in a panelAccordion component,

expand the Other section, and set DisplayIndex to reflect the order in which the
showDetailItem components should appear. If you simply want them to appear
in the order in which they are in the page’s code, then leave the default, -1.

8-56 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels

Tip: If some showDetailItem components have -1 as the value for

displayIndex, and others have a positive number, those with the -1
value will display after those with a positive number, in the order they
appear in the page’s code.

Tip: This value can be changed at runtime if the parent

panelAccordion component is configured to allow reordering.

10. If you chose to allow tab removal for a panelTabbed component, expand the
Other section and set ItemListener to an EL expression that resolves to a handler
method that will handle the actual removal of a component.
11. To add toolbar buttons to a panel (supported in the panelAccordion component
only), in the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, insert a
Toolbar into the toolbar facet of the showDetailItem component that defines
that panel. Then, insert the desired number of commandToolbarButton
components into the toolbar component. Although the toolbar facet is on the
showDetailItem component, it is the panelAccordion component that
renders the toolbar and its buttons. For information about using toolbar and
commandToolbarButton, see Section 14.3, "Using Toolbars."

Note: When an accordion panel is collapsed, ADF Faces does not

display the toolbar and its buttons. The toolbar and its buttons are
displayed in the panel header only when the panel is expanded.

12. To add contents to the panel, insert the desired child components into each
showDetailItem component.

8.9.4 What You May Need to Know About Geometry Management and the
showDetailItem Component
Both the panelAccordion or panelTabbed components can stretch when they are
placed inside a component that uses geometry management to stretch its child
components. However, for the panelAccordion component, the showDetailItem
component will stretch only if the discloseMany attribute on the panelAccordion
component is set to true (that is, when multiple panes may be expanded to show
their inflexible or flexible contents), the showDetailItem component contains only
one child component, and the showDetailItem component’s stretchChildren
attribute is set to first. By default, panel contents will not stretch. The
showDetailItem component will allow stretching if:
■ It contains only a single child
■ Its stretchChildren attribute is set to first
■ The child has no width, height, border, and padding set
■ The child must be capable of being stretched
When all of the preceding bullet points are true, the showDetailItem component
can stretch its child component. The following components can be stretched inside the
showDetailItem component:
■ decorativeBox
■ panelAccordion
■ panelBox

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-57

Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and Tabbed Panels

■ panelCollection
■ panelDashboard
■ panelGroupLayout (only when the layout attribute is set to scroll or
vertical)
■ panelSplitter
■ panelStretchLayout
■ panelTabbed
■ region
■ table
■ tree
■ treeTable
The following components cannot be stretched when placed inside a
showDetailItem component:
■ panelBorderLayout
■ panelFormLayout
■ panelGroupLayout (only when the layout attribute is set to default or
horizontal)
■ panelHeader
■ panelLabelAndMessage
■ panelList
■ tableLayout (MyFaces Trinidad component)
You cannot place components that cannot stretch as a child to a component that
stretches its child components. Therefore, if you need to place one of the components
that cannot be stretched as a child of a showDetailItem component, you need to
wrap that component in different component that does not stretch its child
components.
For example, if you want to place content in a panelList component and have it be
displayed in a showDetailItem component, you might place a panelGroupLayout
component with its layout attribute set to scroll as the chid of the
showDetailItem component, and then place the panelList component in that
component. For more information, see Section 8.2.1, "Geometry Management and
Component Stretching."

8.9.5 What You May Need to Know About showDetailItem Disclosure Events
The showDetailItem component inside of panelAccordion and panelTabbed
components supports queuing of disclosure events so that validation is properly
handled on the server and on the client.
In general, for any component with the disclosed attribute, by default, the event
root for the client AdfDisclosureEvent is set to the event source component: only
the event for the panel whose disclosed attribute is true gets sent to the server.
However, for the showDetailItem component that is used inside of panelTabbed
or panelAccordion component, the event root is the panelTabbed or
panelAccordion component (that is, the event source parent component, not the

8-58 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Items in a Static Box

event source component). This ensures that values from the previously disclosed panel
will not get sent to the server.
For example, suppose you have two showDetailItem components inside a
panelTabbed or panelAccordion component with the discloseMany attribute
set to false and the discloseNone attribute set to false. Suppose the
showDetailItem 1 component is disclosed but not showDetailItem 2. Given this
scenario, the following occurs:
■ On the client:
– When a user clicks to disclose showDetailItem 2, a client-only disclosure
event gets fired to set the disclosed attribute to false for the
showDetailItem 1 component. If this first event is not canceled, another
client disclosure event gets fired to set the disclosed attribute to true for
the showDetailItem 2 component. If this second event is not canceled, the
event gets sent to the server; otherwise, there are no more disclosure changes.
■ On the server:
– The server disclosure event is fired to set the disclosed attribute to true on
the showDetailItem 2 component. If this first server event is not canceled,
another server disclosure event gets fired to set the disclosed attribute to
false for the showDetailItem 1 component. If neither server event is
canceled, the new states get rendered, and the user will see the newly
disclosed states on the client; otherwise, the client looks the same as it did
before.
For the panelAccordion component with the discloseMany attribute set to false
and the discloseNone attribute set to true, the preceding information is the same
only when the disclosure change forces a paired change (that is, when two disclosed
states are involved). If only one disclosure change is involved, there will just be one
client and one server disclosure event.
For the panelAccordion component with the discloseMany attribute set to true
(and any discloseNone setting), only one disclosure change is involved; there will
just be one client and one server disclosure event.
For additional information about disclosure events, see Section 8.8.4, "What You May
Need to Know About Disclosure Events."

8.10 Displaying Items in a Static Box

You can use the panelHeader component when you want header type functionality,
such as message display or associated help topics, but you do not have to provide the
capability to show and hide content.
The panelHeader component offers facets for specific types of components and the
ability to open a help topic from the header. The following are the facets supported by
the panelHeader component:
■ context: Displays information in the header alongside the header text.
■ help: Displays help information. Use only for backward compatibility. Use the
helpTopicId attribute on the panelHeader component instead.
■ info: Displays information beneath the header text, aligned to the right.
■ legend: If help text is present, displays information to the left of the help content
and under the info facet's content. If help text is not present, the legend content
will be rendered directly under the header.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-59

Displaying Items in a Static Box

■ toolbar: Displays a toolbar, before the menu bar.

■ menuBar: Displays a menu bar, after the toolbar.
Figure 8–38 shows the different facets in the panelHeader component.

Figure 8–38 panelHeader and Its Facets

When there is not enough space to display everything in all the facets of the title line,
the panelHeader text is truncated and displays an ellipsis. When the user hovers
over the truncated text, the full text is displayed in a tooltip, as shown in Figure 8–39.

Figure 8–39 Text for the panelHeader Is Truncated

When there is more than enough room to display the contents, the extra space is
placed between the context facet and the toolbar, as shown in Figure 8–40.

Figure 8–40 Extra Space Is Added Before the Toolbar

You can configure panelHeader components so that they represent a hierarchy of

sections. For example, as shown in Figure 8–41, you can have a main header with a
subheader and then a heading level 1 also with a subheader.

Figure 8–41 Creating Subsections with the panelHeader Component

Create subsections by nesting panelHeader components within each other. When

you nest panelHeader components, the heading text is automatically sized according
to the hierarchy, with the outermost panelHeader component having the largest text.

Note: While you can force the style of the text using the size
attribute (where 0 is the largest text), the value of the size attribute
will not affect the hierarchy. It only affects the style of the text.

8-60 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Items in a Static Box

8.10.1 How to Use the panelHeader Component

You can use one panelHeader component to contain specific information, or you can
use a series of nested panelHeader components to create a hierarchical organization
of content. If you want to be able to hide and display the content, use the
showDetailHeader component instead. For more information, see Section 8.8.2,
"How to Use the showDetailHeader Component."

To create and use a panelHeader component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel Header
onto the page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Appearance section.
3. Set Text to the label you want to display for this panel.
4. To add an icon before the label, set Icon to the URI of the image file to use.

Note: Because alternative text cannot be provided for this icon, in

order to create an accessible product, use this icon only when it is
purely decorative. You must provide the meaning of this icon in some
accessible manner.

5. If you are using the header to provide specific messaging information, set
MessageType to one of the following values:
■ confirmation: The confirmation icon (represented by a note page overlaid
with a green checkmark) replaces any specified icon image.
■ error: The error icon (represented by a red circle with an "x" inside) replaces
any specified icon image. The header label also changes to red.
■ info: The info icon (represented by a blue circle with an "I" inside) replaces any
specified icon image.
■ none: Default. No icon is displayed.
■ warning: The warning icon (represented by a yellow triangle with an
exclamation mark inside) replaces any specified icon image.
Figure 8–42 shows the icons used for the different message types.

Figure 8–42 Icons for Message Types

Note: Because alternative text cannot be provided for this icon, in

order to create an accessible product, use this icon only when it is
purely decorative. You must provide the meaning of this icon in some
accessible manner.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-61

Displaying a Bulleted List in One or More Columns

6. To display help for the header, enter the topic ID for HelpTopicId. For more
information about creating and using help topics, see Section 17.5, "Displaying
Help for Components."
7. If you want to control how the panelHeader component handles geometry
management, expand the Other section and set Type to one of the following. For
more information about geometry management, see Section 8.2.1, "Geometry
Management and Component Stretching."
■ flow: The component will not stretch or stretch its children. The height of the
panelHeader component will be determined solely by its children.
■ stretch: The component will stretch and stretch its child (will only stretch a
single child component).
■ default: if you want the parent component of the panelHeader component to
determine geometry management.
8. To add toolbar buttons to a panel, insert the toolbar component into the
toolbar facet. Then, insert the desired number of commandToolbarButton
components into the toolbar component. For information about using toolbar
and commandToolbarButton, see Section 14.3, "Using Toolbars."

Note: Toolbar overflow is not supported in panelHeader

components.

9. To add menus to a panel, insert menu components into the menuBar facet. For
information about creating menus in a menu bar, see Section 14.2, "Using Menus in
a Menu Bar."

Tip: You can place menus in the toolbar facet and toolbars (and
toolboxes) in the menu facet. The main difference between these facets
is location. The toolbar facet is before the menu facet.

10. Add contents to the other facets as needed.

Tip: If any facet is not visible in the visual editor:

1. Right-click the panelHeader component in the Structure window.
2. From the context menu, choose Facets - Panel Header >facet name.
Facets in use on the page are indicated by a checkmark in front of the
facet name.

11. To add contents to the panel, insert the desired child components into the
panelHeader component.

8.11 Displaying a Bulleted List in One or More Columns

The panelList component is a layout element for displaying a vertical list of child
components with a bullet next to each child, as shown in Figure 8–43. Only child
components whose rendered attribute is set to true and whose visible attribute is
set to true are considered for display by in the list.

8-62 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying a Bulleted List in One or More Columns

Note: To display dynamic data (for example, a list of data

determined at runtime by JSF bindings), use the selection components,
as documented in Section 9.6, "Using Selection Components." If you
need to create lists that change the model layer, see Chapter 11, "Using
List-of-Values Components."

Figure 8–43 PanelList Component with Default Disc Bullet

By default, the disc bullet is used to style the child components. There are other styles
you can use, such as square bullets and white circles. You can also split the list into
columns when you have a very long list of items to display.

8.11.1 How to Use the panelList Component

Use one panelList component to create each list of items.

To create and use the panelList component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel List to
the JSF page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section, and set the listStyle
attribute to a valid CSS 2.1 list style value, such as one of the following:
■ list-style-type: disc
■ list-style-type: square
■ list-style-type: circle
■ list-style-type: decimal
■ list-style-type: lower-alpha
■ list-style-type: upper-alpha
For example, the list-style-type: disc attribute value corresponds to a disc
bullet, and the list-style-type: circle value corresponds to a circle bullet.
For a complete list of the valid style values to use, refer to the CSS 2.1 Specification
for generated lists at
http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS21/generate.html
Example 8–13 shows the code for setting the list style to a circle.

Example 8–13 PanelList Component with ListStyle Attribute Set

<af:panelList listStyle="list-style-type: circle" ...>
<!-- child components here -->
</af:panelList>

3. Insert the desired number of child components (to display as bulleted items) into
the panelList component.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-63

Displaying a Bulleted List in One or More Columns

Tip: Panel lists also allow you to use the iterator, switcher, and
group components as direct child components, providing these
components wrap child components that would typically be direct
child components of the panel list.

For example, you could insert a series of commandLink components or

outputFormatted components.

Note: By default, ADF Faces displays all rendered child components

of a panelList component in a single column. For details on how to
split the list into two or more columns and for information about
using the rows and maxColumns attributes, see Section 8.6,
"Arranging Content in Forms." The concept of using the rows and
maxColumns attributes for columnar display in the panelList and
panelFormLayout components are the same.

8.11.2 What You May Need to Know About Creating a List Hierarchy
You can nest panelList components to create a list hierarchy. A list hierarchy, as
shown in Figure 8–44, has outer items and inner items, where the inner items
belonging to an outer item are indented under the outer item. Each group of inner
items is created by one nested panelList component.

Figure 8–44 Hierarchical List Created Using Nested panelList Components

To achieve the list hierarchy as shown in Figure 8–44, use a group component to wrap
the components that make up each group of outer items and their respective inner
items. Example 8–14 shows the code for how to create a list hierarchy that has one
outer item with four inner items, and another outer item with two inner items.

Example 8–14 Nested PanelList Components

<af:panelList>
<!-- First outer item and its four inner items -->
<af:group>
<af:commandLink text="item 1"/>
<af:panelList>
<af:commandLink text="item 1.1"/>
<af:commandLink text="item 1.2"/>
<af:commandLink text="item 1.3"/>
<af:commandLink text="item 1.4"/>
</af:panelList>
</af:group>
<!-- Second outer item and its two inner items -->

8-64 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Grouping Related Items

<af:group>
<af:commandLink text="item 2"/>
<af:panelList>
<af:commandLink text="item 2.1"/>
<af:commandLink text="item 2.2"/>
</af:panelList>
</af:group>
</af:panelList>

By default, the outer list items (for example, item 1 and item 2) are displayed with the
disc bullet, while the inner list items (for example, item 1.1 and item 2.1) have the
white circle bullet.
For more information about the panelGroupLayout component, see Section 8.12,
"Grouping Related Items."

8.12 Grouping Related Items

To keep like items together within a parent component, use either the group or
panelGroupLayout component. The group component aggregates or groups
together child components that are related semantically. Unlike the
panelGroupLayout component, the group component does not provide any layout
for its child components. Used on its own, the group component does not render
anything; only the child components inside of a group component render at runtime.
You can use any number of group components to group related components together.
For example, you might want to group some of the input fields in a form layout
created by the panelFormLayout component. Example 8–15 shows sample code that
groups two sets of child components inside a panelFormLayout component.

Example 8–15 Grouping Child Components in panelFormLayout

<af:panelFormLayout>
<af:inputDate label="Pick a date"/>
<!-- first group -->
<af:group>
<af:selectManyCheckbox label="Select all that apply">
<af:selectItem label="Coffee" value="1"/>
<af:selectItem label="Cream" value="1"/>
<af:selectItem label="Low-fat Milk" value="1"/>
<af:selectItem label="Sugar" value="1"/>
<af:selectItem label="Sweetener"/>
</af:selectManyCheckbox>
<af:inputText label="Special instructions" rows="3"/>
</af:group>
<!-- Second group -->
<af:group>
<af:inputFile label="File to upload"/>
<af:inputText label="Enter passcode"/>
</af:group>
<af:inputText label="Comments" rows="3"/>
<af:spacer width="10" height="15"/>
<f:facet name="footer"/>
</af:panelFormLayout>

The panelGroupLayout component lets you arrange a series of child components

vertically or horizontally without wrapping, or consecutively with wrapping, as
shown in Figure 8–45. The layout attribute value determines the arrangement of the
child components.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-65

Grouping Related Items

Figure 8–45 panelGroupLayout Arrangements

In all arrangements, each pair of adjacent child components can be separated by a line
or white space using the separator facet of the panelGroupLayout component.
For more information, see Section 8.13, "Separating Content Using Blank Space or
Lines."
When using the horizontal layout, the child components can also be vertically or
horizontally aligned. For example, you could make a short component beside a tall
component align at the top, as shown in Figure 8–46.

Figure 8–46 Top-Aligned Horizontal Layout with panelGroupLayout

Unlike the panelSplitter or panelStretchLayout components, the

panelGroupLayout component does not stretch its child components. Suppose you
are already using a panelSplitter or panelStretchLayout component as the
root component for the page, and you have a large number of child components to
flow, but are not to be stretched. To provide scrollbars when flowing the child
components, wrap the child components in the panelGroupLayout component with
its layout attribute set to scroll, and then place the panelGroupLayout
component inside a facet of the panelSplitter or panelStretchLayout
component.
When the layout attribute is set to scroll on a panelGroupLayout component,
ADF Faces automatically provides a scrollbar at runtime when the contents contained
by the panelGroupLayout component are larger than the panelGroupLayout
component itself. You do not have to write any code to enable the scrollbars, or set any
inline styles to control the overflow.
For example, when you use layout components such as the panelSplitter
component that let users display and hide child components contents, you do not have
to write code to show the scrollbars when the contents are displayed, and to hide the
scrollbars when the contents are hidden. Simply wrap the contents the be displayed
inside a panelGroupLayout component, and set the layout attribute to scroll.
In the File Explorer application, the Search Navigator contains a panelSplitter
component used to hide and show the search criteria. When the search criteria are

8-66 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Grouping Related Items

hidden, and the search results content does not fit into the area, a scrollbar is rendered,
as shown in Figure 8–47.

Figure 8–47 Scrollbars Rendered Using panelGroupLayout

8.12.1 How to Use the panelGroupLayout Component

Any number of panelGroupLayout components can be nested to achieve the desired
layout.

To create and use the panelGroupLayout component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel Group
Layout to the JSF page.
2. Insert the desired child components into the panelGroupLayout component.

Tip: The panelGroupLayout component also allows you to use the

iterator, switcher, and group components as direct child
components, providing these components wrap child components
that would typically be direct child components of the
panelGroupLayout component.

3. To add spacing or separator lines between adjacent child components, insert the
spacer or separator component into the separator facet.
4. In the Property Inspector, expand the Appearance section. To arrange the child
components in the desired layout, set Layout to one of the following values:
■ default: Provides consecutive layout with wrapping.
At runtime, when the contents exceed the browser space available (that is,
when the child components are larger than the width of the parent container
panelGrouplayout), the browser flows the contents onto the next line so
that all child components are displayed.

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-67

Grouping Related Items

Note: ADF Faces uses the bidirectional algorithm when making

contents flow. Where there is a mix of right-to-left content and
left-to-right content, this may result in contents not flowing
consecutively.

■ horizontal: Uses a horizontal layout, where child components are arranged in

a horizontal line. No wrapping is provided when contents exceed the amount
of browser space available.
In a horizontal layout, the child components can also be aligned vertically and
horizontally. By default, horizontal child components are aligned in the center
with reference to an imaginary horizontal line, and aligned in the middle with
reference to an imaginary vertical line. To change the horizontal and vertical
alignments of horizontal components, use the following attributes:
– halign: Sets the horizontal alignment. The default is center. Other
acceptable values are: start, end, left, right.
For example, set halign to start if you want horizontal child compo-
nents to always be left-aligned in browsers where the language reading
direction is left-to-right, and right-aligned in a right-to-left reading direc-
tion.
– valign: Sets the vertical alignment. Default is middle. Other acceptable
values are: top, bottom, baseline.
In output text components (such as outputText) that have varied font
sizes in the text, setting valign to baseline would align the letters of
the text along an imaginary line on which the letters sit, as shown in
Figure 8–48. If you set valign to bottom for such text components, the
resulting effect would not be as pleasant looking, because bottom verti-
cal alignment causes the bottommost points of all the letters to be on the
same imaginary line.

Figure 8–48 Bottom and Baseline Vertical Alignment of Text

Note: The halign and valign attributes are ignored if the layout is
not horizontal.

■ scroll: Uses a vertical layout, where child components are stacked vertically,
and a vertical scrollbar is provided when necessary.
■ vertical: Uses a vertical layout, where child components are stacked vertically.

8-68 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Separating Content Using Blank Space or Lines

8.12.2 What You May Need to Know About Geometry Management and the
panelGroupLayout Component
While the panelGroupLayout component cannot stretch its child components, it can
be stretched when it is the child of a panelSplitter or panelStretchLayout
component and its layout attribute is set to either scroll or vertical.

8.13 Separating Content Using Blank Space or Lines

You can incorporate some blank space in your pages, to space out the components so
that the page appears less cluttered than it would if all the components were presented
immediately next to each other, or immediately below each other. The ADF Faces
component provided specifically for this purpose is the spacer component.
You can include either or both vertical and horizontal space in a page using the
height and width attributes.
The height attribute determines the amount of vertical space to include in the page.
Example 8–16 shows a page set up to space out two lengthy outputText components
with some vertical space.

Example 8–16 Vertical Space

<af:panelGroupLayout layout="vertical">
<af:outputText value="This is a long piece of text for this page..."/>
<af:spacer height="10"/>
<af:outputText value="This is some more lengthy text ..."/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>

Figure 8–49 shows the effect the spacer component has on the page output as viewed
in a browser.

Figure 8–49 Vertical Space Viewed in a Browser

The width attribute determines the amount of horizontal space to include between
components. Example 8–17 shows part of the source of a page set up to space out two
components horizontally.

Example 8–17 Horizontal Space

<af:outputLabel value="Your credit rating is currently:"/>
<af:spacer width="10"/>
<af:outputText value="Level 8"/>

Figure 8–50 shows the effect of spacing components horizontally as viewed in a

browser.

Figure 8–50 Horizontal Space Viewed in a Browser

Organizing Content on Web Pages 8-69

Separating Content Using Blank Space or Lines

The separator component creates a horizontal line. Figure 8–51 shows the
properties.jspx file as it would be displayed with a separator component
inserted between the two panelBox components.

Figure 8–51 Using the separator Component to Create a Line

The spacer and separator components are often used in facets of other layout
components. Doing so ensures that the space or line stays with the components they
were meant to separate.

8.13.1 How to Use the spacer Component

You can use as many spacer components as needed on a page.

To create and use the spacer component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Spacer to the
JSF page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section. Set the width and height
as needed.

Note: If the height is specified but not the width, a block-level HTML
element is rendered, thereby introducing a new line effect. If the width
is specified, then, irrespective of the specified value of height, it may
not get shorter than the applicable line-height in user agents that
strictly support HTML standards.

8.13.2 How to Use the Separator Component

You can use as many separator components as needed on a page.

To create and use the separator component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Separator to
the JSF page.
2. In the Property Inspector, set the properties as needed.

8-70 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 9
9 Using Input Components and Defining
Forms

This chapter describes the input components that are used to enter data, select values,
edit text, and load files.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 9.1, "Introduction to Input Components and Forms"
■ Section 9.2, "Defining Forms"
■ Section 9.3, "Using the inputText Component"
■ Section 9.4, "Using the Input Number Components"
■ Section 9.5, "Using Color and Date Choosers"
■ Section 9.6, "Using Selection Components"
■ Section 9.7, "Using Shuttle Components"
■ Section 9.8, "Using the richTextEditor Component"
■ Section 9.9, "Using File Upload"

9.1 Introduction to Input Components and Forms

Input components accept user input in a variety of formats. The most common formats
are text, numbers, date, and selection lists that appear inside a form and are submitted
when the form is submitted. The entered values or selections may be validated and
converted before they are processed further. For example, the File Explorer application
contains a form that allows users to create a new file. Using input components, users
enter the name, the size, select permissions, and add keywords, and a description, as
shown in Figure 9–1.

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-1

Introduction to Input Components and Forms

Figure 9–1 Form Uses Input Components

In addition to standard input components used to input text, number, date, or color,
ADF Faces includes input type components that provide additional functionality. The
inputFile component allows users to browse for a file to load.
The richTextEditor component provides rich text input that can span many lines
and can be formatted using different fonts, sizes, justification, and other editing
features. The richTextEditor component can also be used with command
components to insert given text into the component. The inserted text can be
preformatted. Additionally, you can customize the buttons that appear in the editor’s
toolbar.
The selection components allow the user to make selections from a list of items instead
of or in addition to typing in values. For example, the selectOneChoice component
lets the user select input from a dropdown list and the selectOneRadio component
lets a user pick from a group of radio buttons.
You can use either selection or list-of-values (LOV) components to display a list. LOV
components should be used when the selection list is large. LOV components are
model-driven using the ListOfValueModel class and may be configured
programmatically using the API. They present their selection list inside a popup
window that may also include a query panel. Selection lists simply display a static list
of values. For more information about using LOV components, see Chapter 11, "Using
List-of-Values Components."
The selectItem component is used within other selection components to represent
the individual selectable items for that component. For example, a selectOneRadio
component will have a selectItem component for each of its radio buttons. If the
radio button selections are coffee, tea, and milk, there would be a selectItem
component for coffee, one for tea, and one for milk.
The form components provide a container for other components. The form
component represents a region where values from embedded input components can
be submitted. Form components cannot be nested. However, the subform component
provides additional flexibility by defining subregions whose component values can be
submitted separately within a form. The resetButton component provides an easy
way for the user to reset input values within a form or subform to their previous state.
All the input and selection components deliver the ValueChangeEvent and
AttributeChangeEvent events. You can create valueChangeListener and
attributeChangeListener methods to provide functionality in response to the
corresponding events.

9-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Defining Forms

All input components, selection components (except selectItem), and the rich text
editor component have a changed attribute that when set to true enables a change
indicator icon to be displayed upon changes in the value field. This indicator allows
the user to easily see which input value has changed, which can be helpful when there
are multiple components on the page. By default, the change indicator usually is
displayed to the left of the component. If the value in a field automatically changes
due to a change in another field’s value, such as an automatically generated postal
code when the city is entered, the postal code field will also display a change indicator.
Figure 9–2 shows changed indicators present for the checkbox and input components.

Figure 9–2 Changed indicators for two components

Tip: You can change the icon or the position of the icon using skins.
For more information, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance
Using Styles and Skins."

Input components can also display tooltips, error and validation messages, and
context-sensitive help. For more information, see Chapter 17, "Displaying Tips,
Messages, and Help."
All input components have JavaScript client APIs that you can use to set or get
property values. For more information, see the ADF Faces JavaScript API
documentation.

9.2 Defining Forms

A form is a component that serves as a container for other components. When a submit
action occurs within the form, any modified input values are submitted. For example,
you can create an input form that consists of input and selection components, and a
submit command button, all enclosed within a form. When the user enters values into
the various input fields and clicks the Submit button, those new input values will be
sent for processing.
By default, when you create a JSF page in JDeveloper, it automatically inserts a form
component into the page. When you add components to the page, they will be inserted
inside the form component.

Tip: If you do not already have an af:form tag on the page, and
you drag and drop an ADF Faces component onto the page,
JDeveloper will prompt you to enclose the component within a form
component.

Example 9–1 shows two input components and a Submit button that when clicked will
submit both input values for processing.

Example 9–1 ADF Faces Form as a Container for Input Components

<af:form>
<af:panelFormLayout>
<af:inputText value="#{myBean.firstName}"
label="#{First Name}"
</af:inputText>

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-3

Defining Forms

<af:inputText value="#{myBean.lastName}"
label="#{Last Name}"
</af:inputText>
<f:facet name="footer">
<af:commandButton text="Submit"/>
</f:facet>
</af:panelFormLayout>
</af:form>

Because there can be only one form component on a page, you can use subforms
within a form to create separate regions whose input values can be submitted. Within
a region, the values in the subform will be validated and processed only if a
component inside the subform caused the values to be submitted. You can also nest a
subform within another subform to create nested regions whose values can be
submitted. For more information about subforms, see Section 4.5, "Using Subforms to
Create Regions on a Page."
Example 9–2 shows a form with two subforms, each containing its own input
components and Submit button. When a Submit button is clicked, only the input
values within that subform will be submitted for processing.

Example 9–2 ADF Faces Subform Within a Form

<af:form>
<af:subform>
<af:panelFormLayout>
<af:inputText value="#{myBean.firstName}"
</af:inputText>
<af:inputText value="#{myBean.lastName}"
</af:inputText>
<f:facet name="footer">
<af:commandButton text="Submit"/>
</f:facet>
</af:panelFormLayout>
</af:subform>
<af:subform>
<af:panelFormLayout>
<af:inputText value="#{myBean.primaryPhone}"
</af:inputText>
<af:inputText value="#{myBean.cellPhone}"
</af:inputText>
<f:facet name="footer">
<af:commandButton text="Submit"/>
</f:facet>
</af:panelFormLayout>
</af:subform>
</af:form>

Aside from the basic Submit button, you can add any other command component
within a form and have it operate on any field within the form. ADF Faces provides a
specialized command component: the resetButton component, which when clicked,
resets all the input and selection components within a form. That is, it updates all
components whose values can be edited with the current values of the model. The
resetButton component is different from HTML reset in that the resetButton
component will reset the input components to their previous state which was partially
or fully submitted successfully to the server without any validation or conversion
error. For example, if a user enters value A and clicks the Submit button, and then

9-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Defining Forms

changes the value from A to B and clicks the resetButton component, the value A
will be restored.

9.2.1 How to Add a Form to a Page

In most cases, JDeveloper will add the form component for you. However, there may
be cases where you must manually add a form, or configure the form with certain
attribute values.

To add a form to a page:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Form onto the page.
2. In the Property Inspector expand the Common section, where you can optionally
set the following:
■ DefaultCommand: Specify the ID attribute of the command component
whose action should be invoked when the Enter key is pressed and the focus
is inside the form.
■ UsesUpload: Specify whether or not the form supports uploading files. For
more information about uploading files, see Section 9.9, "Using File Upload."
■ TargetFrame: Specify where the new page should be displayed. Acceptable
values are any of the valid values for the target attribute in HTML. The default
is _self.

9.2.2 How to Add a Subform to a Page

You should add subform components within a form component when you need a
section of the page to be capable of independently submitting values.

To add subforms to a page:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Subform onto the page as a child to a form component.
2. Use the Property Inspector to set the following:
■ Default: Specify whether or not the subform should assume it has submitted
its values. When set to the default value of false, this subform component
will consider itself to be submitted only if no other subform component has
been submitted. When set to true, this subform component assumes it has
submitted its values.

Tip: A subform is considered submitted if an event is queued by

one of its children or facets for a phase later than Apply Request
Values (that is, for later than decode()). For more information about
lifecycle phases, see Chapter 4, "Using the JSF Lifecycle with ADF
Faces."

■ Default Command: Specify the ID attribute of the command component

whose action should be invoked when the Enter key is pressed and the focus
is inside the subform.

9.2.3 How to Add a Reset Button to a Form

You can add the resetButton component inside a form or a subform. The reset
button will act upon only those components within that form or subform.

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-5

Using the inputText Component

To add a reset button to a page:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Reset Button onto the page.
2. Use the Property Inspector to set the following:
■ Text: Specify the textual label of the button.
■ Disabled: Specify whether or not the button should be disabled. For example,
you could enter an EL expression that determines certain conditions under
which the button should be disabled.

9.3 Using the inputText Component

Although input components include many variations, such as pickers, sliders, and a
spinbox, the inputText component is the basic input component for entering values.
You can define an inputText component as a single-row input field or as a text area
by setting the rows attribute to more than 1. However, if you want to create a multiple
row text input, consider using the richTextEditor component as described in
Section 9.8, "Using the richTextEditor Component."
You can hide the input values from being displayed, such as for passwords, by setting
the secret attribute to true. Like other ADF Faces components, the inputText
component supports label, text, and messages. When you want this component to be
displayed without a label, you set the simple attribute to true. Figure 9–3 shows a
single-row inputText component.

Figure 9–3 Single-Row inputText Component

You can add multiple inputText components to create an input form. Figure 9–4
shows an input form using three inputText components and a Submit command
button.

Figure 9–4 Form Created by inputText Components

You can also configure an insertTextBehavior tag that works with command
components to insert given text into an inputText component. The text to be entered
can be a simple string, or it can be the value of another component, for example the
selected list item in a selectOneChoice component. For example, Figure 9–5 shows
an inputText component with some text already entered by a user.

9-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the inputText Component

Figure 9–5 inputText Component with Entered Text

The user can then select additional text from a dropdown list, click the command
button, and that text appears in the inputText component as shown in Figure 9–6.

Figure 9–6 inputText Component with Inserted Text

9.3.1 How to Add an inputText Component

You can use an inputText component inside any of the layout components described
in Chapter 8, "Organizing Content on Web Pages."

To add an inputText component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop
an Input Text onto the page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following:
■ Label: Enter a value to specify the text to be used as the label.
If the text to be used is stored in a resource bundle, use the dropdown list to
select Select Text Resource. Use the Select Text Resource dialog either to
search for appropriate text in an existing bundle, or to create a new entry in an
existing bundle. For more information about using resource bundles, see
Chapter 21, "Internationalizing and Localizing Pages."
■ Value: Specify the value of the component. If the EL binding for a value points
to a bean property with a get method but no set method, and this is a
component whose value can be edited, then the component will be rendered
in read-only mode.
3. Expand the Appearance section, and set the following:
■ Columns: Specify the size of the text control by entering the maximum
number of characters that can be entered into the field.
■ Rows: Specify the height of the text control by entering the number of rows to
be shown. The default value is 1, which generates a one-row input field. The
number of rows is estimated based on the default font size of the browser. If
set to more than 1, you must also set the wrap attribute.

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-7

Using the inputText Component

■ Secret: Specify this boolean value that applies only to single-line text controls.
When set to true, the secret attribute hides the actual value of the text from
the user.
■ Wrap: Specify the type of text wrapping to be used in a multiple-row text
control. This attribute is ignored for a single-row component. By default, the
attribute is set to soft, which means multiple-row text wraps visually, but
does not include carriage returns in the submitted value. Setting this attribute
to off will disable wrapping: the multiple-row text will scroll horizontally.
Setting it to hard specifies that the value of the text should include any
carriage returns needed to wrap the lines.
■ ShowRequired: Specify whether or not to show a visual indication that the
field is required. Note that setting the required attribute to true will also
show the visual indication. You may want to use the showRequired attribute
when a field is required only if another field’s value is changed.
■ Changed: Specify whether or not to show a blue circle whenever the value of
the field has changed. If you set this to true, you may also want to set the
changedDesc attribute.
■ ChangedDesc: Specify the text to be displayed in a tooltip on a mouseover of
the changed icon. By default, the text is "Changed." You can override this by
providing a different value.
■ AccessKey: Specify the key to press that will access the field.
■ LabelAndAccessKey: Instead of specifying a separate label and access key,
you can combine the two, so that the access key is part of the label. Simply
precede the letter to be used as an access key with an ampersand (&).
For example, if the label of a field is Description and you want the D to be the
access key, you would enter &Description.

Note: Because the value is being stored in the source of the page in
XML, the ampersand (&) character must be escaped, so the value will
actually be represented in the source of the page using the characters
&amp; to represent the ampersand.

■ Simple: Set to true if you do not want the label to be displayed.

4. Expand the Behavior section and set the following:
■ Required: Specify whether or not a value is required. If set to true, a visual
indication is displayed to let the user know a value must be entered. If a value
is not entered, an exception will occur and the component will fail validation.
■ ReadOnly: Specify whether the control is displayed as a field whose value can
be edited, or as an output-style text control.
■ AutoSubmit: Specify whether or not the component will automatically submit
when the value changes. For more information about using the autoSubmit
attribute, see Section 4.3, "Using the Optimized Lifecycle."
■ AutoTab: Specify whether or not focus will automatically move to the next tab
stop when the maximum length for the current component is reached.
■ MaximumLength: Specify the maximum number of characters per line that
can be entered into the text control. This includes the characters representing
the new line. If set to 0 or less, the maximumLength attribute is ignored. Note

9-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the inputText Component

that in some browsers such as Internet Explorer, a new line is treated as two
characters.
■ Converter: Specify a converter object. For more information, see Section 6.3,
"Adding Conversion."
■ Validator: Specify a method reference to a validator method using an EL
expression. For more information, see Section 6.5, "Adding Validation."

9.3.2 How to Add the Ability to Insert Text into an inputText Component
The insertTextBehavior tag works with command components to insert given
text into an inputText component. The text to be entered can be a simple string, or it
can be the value of another component, for example the selected list item in a
selectOneChoice component. To allow text to be inserted into an inputText
component, add the insertTextBehavior tag as a child to a command component
that will be used to insert the text.

Note: The insertTextBehavior tag cancels server-side event

delivery automatically; actionListener or action attributes on
the parent command component will be ignored. If you need to also
trigger server-side functionality, you must add an custom client
listener to deliver the server-side event. For more information, see
Section 5.4, "Sending Custom Events from the Client to the Server."

Before You Begin

Before you add an insertTextBehavior tag, you need to create an inputText
component as described in Section 9.3.1, "How to Add an inputText Component." Set
the clientComponent attribute to true.

To add text insert behavior:

1. Add a command component that the user will click to insert the text. For
procedures, see Section 18.2.1, "How to Use Command Buttons and Command
Links."
2. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop an Insert
Text Behavior as a child to the command component.
3. In the Insert Text Behavior dialog, enter the following:
■ For: Use the dropdown arrow to select Edit and then navigate to select the
inputText component into which the text will be inserted.
■ Value: Enter the value for the text to be inserted. If you want to insert static
text, then enter that text. If you want the user to be able to insert the value of
another component (for example, the value of a selectOneChoice
component), then enter an EL expression that resolves to that value.
Example 9–3 shows page code for an inputText component into which
either the value of a dropdown list or the value of static text can be inserted.

Example 9–3 Using the insertTextBehavior Tag

<af:inputText clientComponent="true" id="idInputText" label="String value"
value="#{demoInput.value}" rows="10" columns="60"/>
<af:selectOneChoice id="targetChoice" autoSubmit="true"
value="#{demoInput.choiceInsertText}"
label="Select text to insert">

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-9

Using the Input Number Components

<af:selectItem label="Some Text." value="Some Text."/>

<af:selectItem label="0123456789" value="0123456789"/>
<af:selectItem label="~!@#$%^*" value="~!@#$%^*"/>
<af:selectItem label="Two Lines" value="\\nLine 1\\nLine 2"/>
</af:selectOneChoice>
<af:commandButton text="Insert Selected Text" id="firstButton"
partialTriggers="targetChoice">
<af:insertTextBehavior for="idInputText"
value="#{demoInput.choiceInsertText}"/>
</af:commandButton>
<af:commandButton text="Insert Static Text">
<af:insertTextBehavior for="idInputText"
value="Some Static Text."/>
</commandButton>

4. By default, the text will be inserted when the action event is triggered by clicking
the command component. However, you can change this to another client event by
choosing that event from the dropdown menu for the triggerType attribute of
the insertTextBehavior component in the Property Inspector.

9.4 Using the Input Number Components

The slider components present the user with a slider with one or two markers whose
position on the slider corresponds to a value. The slider values are displayed and
include a minus icon at one end and a plus icon at the other. The user selects the
marker and moves it along the slider to select a value. The inputNumberSlider
component has one marker and allows the user to select one value from the slider, as
shown in Figure 9–7 in horizontal layout, and in Figure 9–8 in vertical layout.

Figure 9–7 inputNumberSlider in Horizontal Layout

Figure 9–8 InputNumberSlider in Vertical Layout

The inputRangeSlider component has two markers and allows the user to pick the
end points of a range, as shown in Figure 9–9.

Figure 9–9 inputRangeSlider in horizontal layout

9-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the Input Number Components

The inputNumberSpinbox is an input component that presents the user with an

input field for numerical values and a set of up- and down-arrow keys to increment or
decrement the current value in the input field, as shown in Figure 9–10.

Figure 9–10 inputNumberSpinbox

9.4.1 How to Add an inputNumberSlider or an inputRangeSlider Component

When you add an inputNumberSlider or an inputRangeSlider component, you
can determine the range of numbers shown and the increment of the displayed
numbers.

To add an inputNumberSlider or inputRangeSlider component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop
an Input Number Slider or Input Range Slider onto the page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section (and for the
inputRangeSlider component, also expand the Data section) and set the
following attributes:
■ Label: Specify a label for the component.
■ Minimum: Specify the minimum value that can be selected. This value is the
begin value of the slider.
■ Maximum: Specify the maximum value that can be selected. This value is the
end value of the slider.
■ MinimumIncrement: Specify the smallest possible increment. This is the
increment that will be applied when the user clicks the plus or minus icon.
■ MajorIncrement: Specify the distance between two major marks. This value
causes a labeled value to be displayed. For example, the majorIncrement
value of the inputRangeSlider component in Figure 9–9 is 5.0. If set to
less than 0, major increments will not be shown.
■ MinorIncrement: Specify the distance between two minor marks. If less than
0, minor increments will not be shown.
■ Value: Specify the value of the component. If the EL binding for value points
to a bean property with a get method but no set method, the component will
be rendered in read-only mode.
3. Expand the Appearance section and set Orientation to specify whether the
component will be in horizontal or vertical layout. For information about the other
attributes in this section, see Section 9.3.1, "How to Add an inputText Component."

9.4.2 How to Add an inputNumberSpinbox Component

The inputNumberSpinbox component allows the user to scroll through a set of
numbers to select a value.

To add an inputNumberSpinbox component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop
an Input Number Spinbox onto the page.

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-11

Using Color and Date Choosers

2. Expand the Data section of the Property Inspector and set the following:
■ Value: Specify the value of the component. If the EL binding for value points
to a bean property with a get method but no set method, the component will
be rendered in read-only mode.
■ Minimum: Specify the minimum value allowed in the input field.
■ Maximum: Specify the maximum value allowed in the input field.
■ StepSize: Specify the increment by which the spinbox will increase or decrease
the number in the input field.
3. Expand the Appearance section and set the attributes. For more information about
setting these attributes, see Section 9.3.1, "How to Add an inputText Component."

9.5 Using Color and Date Choosers

The inputColor component presents a text input field for entering code for colors
and a button for picking colors from a palette. The default color code format is the
hexadecimal color format. However, you can override the format using a
ColorConverter class.
By default, the inputColor component opens the chooseColor component that
allows users to pick the color from a a palette. Figure 9–11 shows the inputColor
component with the chooseColor component in a popup dialog.

Figure 9–11 inputColor Component with Popup chooseColor Component

The inputDate component presents a text input field for entering dates and a button
for picking dates from a popup calendar, as shown in Figure 9–12. The default date
format is the short date format appropriate for the current locale. For example, the
default format in American English (ENU) is mm/dd/yy. However, you can override
the format using a date-time converter (for more information about using converters,
see Section 6.3, "Adding Conversion").

Figure 9–12 inputDate Component

9-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Color and Date Choosers

When you add a date-time converter and configure it to show both the date and the
time, the date picker is displayed as a modal dialog with additional controls for the
user to enter a time. Additionally, if the converter is configured to show a time zone, a
timezone dropdown list is shown in the dialog, as shown in Figure 9–13.

Figure 9–13 Modal Dialog When Date-Time Converter Is Used

9.5.1 How to Add an inputColor Component

The inputColor component allows users either to enter a value in an input text field,
or to select a color from a color chooser.

To add an inputColor component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop
an Input Color onto the page.
2. In Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following:
■ Label: Specify a label for the component.
■ Compact: Set to true if you do not want to display the input text field, as
shown in Figure 9–14.

Figure 9–14 inputColor Component in Compact Mode

3. Expand the Data section and set the following attributes:

■ Value: Specify the value of the component. If the EL binding for value points
to a bean property with a get method but no set method, the component will
be rendered in read-only mode.
■ ColorData: Specify the list of colors to be displayed in the standard color
palette. The number of provided colors can be 49 (7 colors x 7 colors), 64 (8

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-13

Using Color and Date Choosers

colors x 8 colors), or 121 (11 colors x 11 colors). The number set for this
attribute will determine the valid value for the width attribute. For example,
if you set the colorData attribute to 49, the width must be 7. If the number
does not match the width, extra color elements in the list will be ignored and
missing color elements will be displayed as no-color. The color list must be an
array of type TrColor on the client side.
■ CustomColorData: Specify the list of custom-defined colors. The number of
colors can be 7, 8, or 11. The color list must be an array of type TrColor on
the client side. On the server side, it must be a List of java.awt.Color
objects, or a list of hexadecimal color strings.
■ DefaultColor: Specify the default color using hexadecimal color code, for
example #000000.
4. Expand the Appearance section and set the following attributes:
■ Width: Specify the width of the standard palette in cells. The valid values are
7, 8, and 11, which correspond to the values of the colorData and
customColorData attributes.
■ CustomVisible: Specify whether or not the Custom Color button and custom
color row are to be displayed. When set to true, the Custom Color button
and custom color row will be rendered.
■ DefaultVisible: Specify whether or not the Default button is to be displayed.
When set to true, the Default button will be rendered. The Default button
allows the user to easily select the color set as the value for the
defaultColor attribute.
■ LastUsedVisible: Specify whether or not the Last Used button is to be
displayed. When set to true the Last Used button will be rendered, which
allows the user to select the color that was most recently used.
5. Expand the Behavior section and set the following attribute:
■ ChooseId: Specify the id of the chooseColor component which can be used
to choose the color value. If not set, the inputColor component has its own
default popup dialog with a chooseColor component.

9.5.2 How to Add an InputDate Component

The inputDate component allows the user to either enter or select a date.

To add an inputDate component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop
an Input Date onto the page.
2. In the Property Inspector, in the Common section, set the following:
■ Label: Specify a label for the component.
■ Value: Specify the value of the component. If the EL binding for value points
to a bean property with a get method but no set method, the component will
be rendered in read-only mode.
3. Expand the Data section and set the following attributes:
■ MinValue: Specify the minimum value allowed for the date value. When set
to a fixed value on a tag, this value will be parsed as an ISO 8601 date. ISO
8601 dates are of the form "yyyy-MM-dd" (for example: 2002-02-15). All other
uses require java.util.Date objects.

9-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Color and Date Choosers

■ MaxValue: Specify the maximum value allowed for the date value. When set
to a fixed value on a tag, this value will be parsed as an ISO 8601 date. ISO
8601 dates are of the form "yyyy-MM-dd" (for example: 2002-02-15). All other
uses require java.util.Date objects.
■ DisableDays: Specify a binding to an implementation of the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.DateListProvider interface.
The getDateList method should generate a List of individual
java.util.Date objects which will be rendered as disabled. The dates must
be in the context of the given base calendar.

Performance Tip: This binding requires periodic roundtrips. If you

just want to disable certain weekdays (for example, Saturday and
Sunday), use the disableDaysOfWeek attribute.

■ DisableDaysOfWeek: Specify a whitespace-delimited list of weekdays that

should be rendered as disabled in every week. The list should consist of one or
more of the following abbreviations: sun, mon, tue, wed, thu, fri, sat. By
default, all days are enabled.
■ DisableMonths: Specify a whitespace-delimited list of months that should be
rendered as disabled in every year. The list should consist of one or more of
the following abbreviations: jan, feb, mar, apr, may, jun, jul,
aug, sep, oct, nov, dec. By default, all months are enabled.
4. Expand the Behavior section and set ChooseId. Specify the id of the chooseDate
component which can be used to choose the date value. If not set, the inputDate
component has its own default popup dialog with a chooseDate component.

9.5.3 What You May Need to Know About Selecting Time Zones Without the inputDate
Component
By default, the inputDate component displays a drop down list of time zones if the
associated converter is configured to do so, for example, if you include the timezone
placeholder z in the converter’s pattern. The end user can only modify the timezone
using this list. The list is configured to display the most common time zones.
However, there may be times when you need to display the list of time zones outside
of the inputDate component. For example, on a Application Preferences page, you
may want to use a selectOneChoice component that allows the user to select the
time zone that will be used to display all inputDates in the application. A backing
bean would handle the conversion between the time zone ID and the
java.util.TimeZone object. Converters for the inputDate instances in the
application would then bind the time zone to that time zone object.
You can access this list using either an API on the DateTimeUtils class, or using an
EL expression on a component.
Following are the methods on DateTimeUtils class:
■ getCommonTimeZoneSelectItems (): Returns a list of commonly used time
zones.
■ getCommonTimeZoneSelectItems (String timeZoneId): Returns a list of
commonly used time zones, including the given time zone if it is not part of the
list.
To access this list using EL, use one of the following expressions:
■ af:getCommonTimeZoneSelectItems

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-15

Using Selection Components

For example:
<f:selectItems value="#{af:getCommonTimeZoneSelectItems()}" id="tzones2" />

■ af:getMergedTimeZoneSelectItems (id)
For example:
<f:selectItems
value="#{af:getMergedTimeZoneSelectItems(demoInput.preferredTimeZoneId)}"
id="tzones" />

If you will be using an inputDate component and a selection list for its time zone on
the same page, you must clear out the local value for the inputDate's timezone to
ensure that the value binding for the selection takes precedence. Otherwise, a non-null
local value will take precedence, and the inputDate component will not appear to be
updated.
In Example 9–4, the backing bean has a reference using the binding attribute to the
inputDate component. When the user picks a new time zone, the id is set and the
code gets the converter for the inputDate and clears out its time zone. When the
page is rendered, since the local value for the converter's time zone is null, it will
evaluate #{demoInput.preferredTimeZone} and obtain the updated time zone.

Example 9–4 Using an inputDate and Time Zone Selection List Together
<af:selectOneChoice label="Select a new timezone"
value="#{demoInput.preferredTimeZoneId}" autoSubmit="true">
<f:selectItems
value="#{af:getMergedTimeZoneSelectItems(demoInput.preferredTimeZoneId)}"
id="tzones" />
</af:selectOneChoice>
<af:inputDate label="First inputDate with timezone bound" id="bound1"
partialTriggers="tzpick" binding="#{demoInput.boundDate1}">
<af:convertDateTime type="both" timeStyle="full"
timeZone="#{demoInput.preferredTimeZone}"/>
</af:inputDate>

DemoInputBean.java
public void setPreferredTimeZoneId(String _preferredTimeZoneId)
{
TimeZone tz = TimeZone.getTimeZone(_preferredTimeZoneId);
setPreferredTimeZone (tz);
this._preferredTimeZoneId = _preferredTimeZoneId;
}

public void setPreferredTimeZone(TimeZone _preferredTimeZone)

{
this._preferredTimeZone = _preferredTimeZone;
DateTimeConverter conv1 = (DateTimeConverter)
_boundDate1.getConverter();
conv1.setTimeZone(null);
}

9.6 Using Selection Components

The selection components allow the user to select single and multiple values from a
list or group of items. ADF Faces provides a number of different selection components,
ranging from simple boolean radio buttons to list boxes that allow the user to select

9-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Selection Components

multiple items. The list of items within a selection component is made up of a number
of selectItem components
All the selection components except the selectItem component delivers the
ValueChangeEvent and AttributeChangeEvent events. The selectItem
component only delivers the AttributeChangeEvent event. You must create a
valueChangeListener handler or an attributeChangeListener handler, or
both for them.
The selectOneRadio component creates a component which allows the user to
select a single value from a set of items displayed as a series of radio buttons, as shown
in Figure 9–15.

Figure 9–15 selectOneRadio Component

The selectBooleanRadio component allows you to group selectBooleanRadio

buttons together using the same group attribute. As shown in Figure 9–16, radio
buttons can be placed anywhere on the page, and do not have to be placed together
with other radio buttons that share the same group value. Radio buttons with the
same group value will have mutually exclusive selection, regardless of their physical
placement on the page.

Figure 9–16 selectBooleanRadio Component

As with selectOneRadio, the selectBooleanCheckbox component toggles

between selected and unselected states, as shown in Figure 9–17.

Figure 9–17 selectBooleanCheckbox Component

The selectManyCheckbox component creates a component which allows the user to

select many values from a series of checkboxes, as shown in Figure 9–18.

Figure 9–18 selectManyCheckbox Component

The selectOneListbox component creates a component which allows the user to

select a single value from a list of items displayed in a shaded box, as shown in
Figure 9–19.

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-17

Using Selection Components

Figure 9–19 selectOneListbox Component

The selectManyListbox component creates a component which allows the user to

select many values from a list of items. This component includes an All checkbox that
is displayed at the beginning of the list of checkboxes, as shown in Figure 9–20.

Figure 9–20 selectManyListbox Component

The selectOneChoice component creates a menu-style component, which allows

the user to select a single value from a dropdown list of items. The
selectOneChoice component is intended for a relatively small number of items in
the dropdown list.

Best Practice: If a large number of items is desired, use an

inputComboboxListOfValues component instead. For more
information, see Chapter 11, "Using List-of-Values Components."

The selectOneChoice component is shown in Figure 9–21.

Figure 9–21 selectOneChoice Component

You can configure the selectOneChoice component to display in a compact mode,

as shown in Figure 9–22. When in compact mode, the input field is replaced with a
smaller icon.

Figure 9–22 selectOneChoice Component in Compact Mode

When the user clicks the icon, the dropdown list is displayed, as shown in Figure 9–23.

Figure 9–23 List for selectOneChoice Component in Compact Mode

The selectManyChoice component creates a menu-style dropdown component,

which allows the user to select multiple values from a dropdown list of items. This

9-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Selection Components

component can be configured to include an All selection item that is displayed at the
beginning of the list of selection items. If the number of choices is greater than 15, a
scrollbar will be presented, as shown in Figure 9–24.

Figure 9–24 selectManyChoice Component

For the following components, if you want the label to appear above the control, you
can place them in a panelFormLayout component.
■ selectOneChoice
■ selectOneRadio
■ selectOneListbox
■ selectManyChoice
■ selectManyCheckbox
■ selectManyListbox
For the following components, the attributes disabled, immediate, readOnly,
required, requireMessageDetail, and value cannot be set from JavaScript on
the client for security reasons (for more information, see Section 3.6.1, "How to Set
Property Values on the Client"):
■ selectOneChoice
■ selectOneRadio
■ selectOneListbox
■ selectBooleanRadio
■ selectBooleanCheckbox
■ selectManyChoice
■ selectManyCheckbox
■ selectManyListbox

9.6.1 How to Use Selection Components

The procedures for adding selection components are the same for each of the
components. First, you add the selection component and configure its attributes. Then
you add any number of selectItem components for the individual items in the list,
and configure those.

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-19

Using Selection Components

To use a selection component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop
the selection component onto the page.
2. For all selection components except the selectBooleanCheckbox and
selectBooleanRadio components, a dialog opens where you choose either to
bind to a value in a managed bean, or to create a static list. On the second page of
the dialog, you can set the following properties:
■ Label: Enter the label for the list.
■ RequiredMessageDetail: Enter the message that should be displayed if a
selection is not made by the user. For more information about messages, see
Section 17.3, "Displaying Hints and Error Messages for Validation and
Conversion."
■ Validator: Enter an EL expression that resolves to a validation method on a
managed bean (for more information, see Chapter 6, "Validating and
Converting Input").
■ Value: Specify the value of the component. If the EL binding for the value
points to a bean property with a get method but no set method, the
component will be rendered in read-only mode.
■ ValueChangeListener: Enter an EL expression that resolves to a listener on a
managed bean that handles value change events.
3. Expand the Appearance section of the Property Inspector and set the attributes, as
described in Table 9–1. Note that only attributes specific to the selection
components are discussed here. Many of the attributes are the same as for input
text components. For more information, see Section 9.3.1, "How to Add an
inputText Component."

Table 9–1 Appearance Attributes for Selection Components

Components Attribute
selectOneRadio, Layout: Set to vertical to have the buttons or checkboxes
selectManyCheckbox displayed vertically. Set to horizontal to have them displayed
in a single horizontal line.
selectManyListbox Size: Set to the number of items that should be displayed in the
list. If the number of items in the list is larger than the size
attribute value, a scrollbar will be displayed.
selectManyListbox, SelectAllVisible: Set to true to display an All selection that
selectManyChoice allows the user to select all items in the list.
selectOneChoice Mode: Set to compact to display the component only when the
user clicks the dropdown icon.
selectOneRadio, UnselectedLabel: Enter text for the option that represents a
selectOneListbox, value of null, meaning nothing is selected. If
selectOneChoice unselectedLabel is not set and if the component does not
have a selected value, then an option with an empty string as the
label and value is rendered as the first option in the choice box
(if there is not an empty option already defined). Note that you
should set the required attribute to true when defining an
unselectedLabel value. If you do not, two blank options
will appear in the list. Once an option has been successfully
selected, and if unselectedLabel is not set, then the empty
option will not be rendered.

9-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Shuttle Components

4. Expand the Behavior section of the Property Inspector and set the attributes, as
described in Table 9–2. Note that only attributes specific to the selection
components are discussed here. Many of the attributes are the same as for input
text components. For more information, see Section 9.3.1, "How to Add an
inputText Component."

Table 9–2 Behavior Attributes for Selection Components

Component Attribute
All except the boolean ValuePassThru: Specify whether or not the values are passed
selection components through to the client. When valuePassThru is false, the
value and the options' values are converted to indexes before
being sent to the client. Therefore, when valuePassThru is
false, there is no need to write your own converter when you
are using custom Objects as your values, options, or both. If you
need to know the actual values on the client-side, then you can
set valuePassThru to true. This will pass the values through
to the client, using your custom converter if it is available; a
custom converter is needed if you are using custom objects. The
default is false.
Note that if your selection components uses ADF Model
binding, this value will be ignored.
selectBooleanRadio Group: Enter a group name that will enforce mutual exclusivity
for all other selectBooleanRadio components with the same
group value.

5. For the boolean components, drag and drop any number of selectItem
components as children to the boolean component. These will represent the items
in the list (for other selection components, the dialog in Step 2 automatically
added these for you).
6. With the selectItem component selected, in the Property Inspector, expand the
Common section, and if not set, enter a value for the value attribute. This will be
the value that will be submitted.
7. Expand the Appearance section, and if not set, enter a value for Label. This will be
the text that is displayed in the list.
8. Expand the Behavior section, and set Disabled to true if you want the item to
appear disabled in the list.

9.7 Using Shuttle Components

The selectManyShuttle and selectOrderShuttle components present the user
with two list boxes and buttons to move or shuttle items from one list box to the other.
The user can select a single item or multiple items to shuttle between the leading
(Available values) list box and the trailing (Selected values) list box. For either
component, if you want the label to appear above the control, place them in a
panelFormLayout component.
The selectManyShuttle component is shown in Figure 9–25.

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-21

Using Shuttle Components

Figure 9–25 selectManyShuttle component

The selectOrderShuttle component additionally includes up and down arrow

buttons that the user can use to reorder values in the Selected values list box, as
shown in Figure 9–26. When the list is reordered, a ValueChangeEvent event is
delivered. If you set the readOnly attribute to true, ensure the values to be
reordered are selected values that will be displayed in the trailing list (Selected
values).

Figure 9–26 selectOrderShuttle Component

The value attribute of these components, like any other selectMany component,
must be a List or an Array of values that correspond to a value of one of the
contained selectItem components. If a value of one of the selectItems is in the
List or Array, that item will appear in the trailing list. You can convert a
selectManyListbox component directly into a selectManyShuttle; instead of
the value driving which items are selected in the listbox, it affects which items appear
in the trailing list of the selectOrderShuttle component.
Similar to other select components, the List or Array of items are composed of
selectItem components nested within the selectManyShuttle or
selectOrderShuttle component. Example 9–5 shows a sample
selectOrderShuttle component that allows the user to select the top five file types
from a list of file types.

Example 9–5 selectOrderShuttle JSF Page Code

<af:selectOrderShuttle value="#{helpBean.topFive}"
leadingHeader="#{explorerBundle['help.availableFileTypes']}"
trailingHeader="#{explorerBundle['help.top5']}"
simple="true">
<af:selectItem label="XLS"/>
<af:selectItem label="DOC"/>
<af:selectItem label="PPT"/>
<af:selectItem label="PDF"/>
<af:selectItem label="Java"/>
<af:selectItem label="JWS"/>
<af:selectItem label="TXT"/>
<af:selectItem label="HTML"/>

9-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Shuttle Components

<af:selectItem label="XML"/>
<af:selectItem label="JS"/>
<af:selectItem label="PNG"/>
<af:selectItem label="BMP"/>
<af:selectItem label="GIF"/>
<af:selectItem label="CSS"/>
<af:selectItem label="JPR"/>
<af:selectItem label="JSPX"/>
<f:validator validatorId="shuttle-validator"/>
</af:selectOrderShuttle>

If you set the reorderOnly attribute of a selectOrdershuttle component to

true, the shuttle function will be disabled, and only the Selected Values listbox
appears. The user can only reorder the items in the listbox, as shown in Figure 9–27.

Figure 9–27 selectOrderShuttle Component in Reorder-Only Mode

9.7.1 How to Add a selectManyShuttle or selectOrderShuttle Component

The procedures for adding shuttle components are the same for both components.
First you add the selection component and configure its attributes. Then you add any
number of selectItem components for the individual items in the list, and configure
those.

To add a selectManyShuttle or selectOrderShuttle component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Select Many Shuttle or Select Order Shuttle from the Component Palette onto the
page.
2. A dialog appears where you choose either to bind to a value in a managed bean, or
to create a static list. On the second page of the dialog, you can set the following:
■ Label: Enter the label for the list.
■ RequiredMessageDetail: Enter the message that should be displayed if a
selection is not made by the user. For more information about messages, see
Section 17.3, "Displaying Hints and Error Messages for Validation and
Conversion."
■ Size: Specify the display size (number of items) of the lists. The size specified
must be between 10 and 20 items. If the attribute is not set or has a value less
than 10, the size would have a default or minimum value of 10. If the attribute
value specified is more than 20 items, the size would have the maximum value
of 20.
■ Validator: Enter an EL expression that resolves to a validation method on a
managed bean.

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-23

Using Shuttle Components

■ Value: Specify the value of the component. If the EL binding for the value
points to a bean property with a get method but no set method, the
component will be rendered in read-only mode.
■ ValueChangeListener: Enter an EL expression that resolves to a listener on a
managed bean that handles value change events.
3. In the Property Inspector, expand the Appearance section and set the following:
■ Layout: Specify whether the component will be in horizontal or vertical
layout. The default is horizontal, meaning the leading and trailing list
boxes are displayed next to each other. When set to vertical, the leading list
box is displayed above the trailing list box.
■ LeadingHeader: Specify the header text of the leading list of the shuttle
component.
■ LeadingDescShown: Set to true to display a description of the selected item
at the bottom of the leading list box.
■ TrailingHeader: Specify the header of the trailing list of the shuttle
component.
■ TrailingDescShown: Set to true to display a description of the selected item
at the bottom of the trailing list box.
4. Expand the Behavior section and optionally set the following attributes:
■ ValuePassThru: Specify whether or not the values are passed through to the
client. When valuePassThru is false, the value and the options' values are
converted to indexes before being sent to the client. Therefore, when
valuePassThru is false, there is no need to write your own converter
when you are using custom objects as your values, options, or both. If you
need to know the actual values on the client-side, then you can set
valuePassThru to true. This will pass the values through to the client,
using your custom converter if it is available; a custom converter is needed if
you are using custom objects. The default is false.
■ ReorderOnly (selectOrderShuttle component only): Specify whether or
not the shuttle component is in reorder-only mode, where the user can reorder
the list of values, but cannot add or remove them.
5. In the Structure window, select one of the selectItem components, and in the
Property Inspector, set any needed attributes.

Tip: If you elected to have the leading or trailing list box display a
description, you must set a value for the shortDesc attribute for
each selectItem component.

9.7.2 What You May Need to Know About Using a Client Listener for Selection Events
You can provide the user with information about each selected item before the user
shuttles it from one list to another list by creating JavaScript code to perform
processing in response to the event of selecting an item. For example, your code can
obtain additional information about that item, then display it as a popup to help the
user make the choice of whether to shuttle the item or not. Figure 9–28 shows a
selectManyShuttle component in which the user selects Meyers and a popup
provides additional information about this selection.

9-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Shuttle Components

Figure 9–28 selectManyShuttle with selectionListener

You implement this feature by adding a client listener to the selectManyShuttle or

selectOrderShuttle component and then create a JavaScript method to process
this event. The JavaScript code is executed when a user selects an item from the lists.
For more information about using client listeners for events, see Section 3.2, "Listening
for Client Events."

How to add a client listener to a shuttle component to handle a selection event:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag a Client Listener and
drop it as a child to the shuttle component.
2. In the Insert Client Listener dialog, enter a function name in the Method field (you
will implement this function in the next step), and select propertyChange from
the Type dropdown.
If for example, you entered showDetails as the function, JDeveloper would enter
the code shown in bold in Example 9–6.

Example 9–6 Using a clientListener to Register a Selection

<af:selectManyShuttle value="#{demoInput.manyListValue1}"
valuePassThru="true" ...>
<af:clientListener type="propertyChange" method="showDetails"/>
<af:selectItem label="coffee" value="bean" />
...
</af:selectManyShuttle>

This code causes the showDetails function to be called any time the property
value changes.
3. In your JavaScript, implement the function entered in the last step. This function
should do the following:
■ Get the shuttle component by getting the source of the event.
■ Use the client JavaScript API calls to get information about the selected items.
In Example 9–7, AdfShuttleUtils.getLastSelectionChange is called to get
the value of the last selected item

Example 9–7 Sample JavaScript methods showDetails used to process a selection

function showDetails(event)
{
if(AdfRichSelectManyShuttle.SELECTION == event.getPropertyName())
{
var shuttleComponent = event.getSource();
var lastChangedValue =
AdfShuttleUtils.getLastSelectionChange(shuttleComponent, event.getOldValue());
var side = AdfShuttleUtils.getSide(shuttleComponent, lastChangedValue);

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-25

Using the richTextEditor Component

if(AdfShuttleUtils.isSelected(shuttleComponent, lastChangedValue))
{
//do something...
}
else
{
//do something else
}
if(AdfShuttleUtils.isLeading(shuttleComponent, lastChangedValue))
{
//queue a custom event (see serverListener) to call a java method on the
server
}
}
}

9.8 Using the richTextEditor Component

The richTextEditor component provides an input field that can accept text with
formatting. It also supports label text, and messages. It allows the user to change font
name, size, and style, create ordered lists, justify text, and use a variety of other
features. The richTextEditor component also can be used to edit an HTML source
file. Two command buttons are used to toggle back and forth between editing
standard formatted text and editing the HTML source file. Figure 9–29 shows the rich
text editor component in standard rich text editing Mode.

Figure 9–29 The richTextEditor Component in Standard Editing Mode

Figure 9–30 shows the editor in source code editing mode.

Figure 9–30 The richTextEditor in Source Editing Mode

Other supported features include:

■ Font type
■ Font size
■ Link/unlink
■ Clear styling
■ Undo/redo
■ Bold/italics/underline
■ Subscript/superscript
■ Justify (left, middle, right, full)

9-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the richTextEditor Component

■ Ordered/unordered lists
■ Indentation
■ Text color/background color
■ Rich text editing mode/source code editing mode
The value (entered text) of the rich text editor is a well-formed XHTML fragment.
Parts of the value may be altered for browser-specific requirements to allow the value
to be formatted. Also, for security reasons, some features such as script-related tags
and attributes will be removed. There are no guarantees that this component records
only the minimal changes made by the user. Because the editor is editing an XHTML
document, the following elements may be changed:
■ Nonmeaningful whitespace
■ Element minimization
■ Element types
■ Order of attributes
■ Use of character entities
The editor supports only HTML 4 tags, with the exception of:
■ Script, noscript
■ Frame, frameset, noframes
■ Form-related elements (input, select, optgroup, option, textarea, form, button,
label, isindex)
■ Document-related elements (html, head, body, meta, title, base, link)
The richTextEditor component also supports tags that pull in content (such as
applet, iframe, object, img, and a). For the iframe tag, the content should not be
able to interact with the rest of the page because browsers allow interactions only with
content from the same domain. However, this portion of the page is not under the
control of the application.
While the richTextEditor component does not support font units such as px and
em, it does support font size from 1 to 7 as described in the HTML specification. It does
not support embed or unknown tags (such as <foo>).
On the client, the richTextEditor component does not support getValue and
setValue methods. There is no guarantee the component’s value on the client is the
same as the value on the server. Therefore, the richTextEditor does not support
client-side converters and validators. Server-side converters and validators will still
work.
The rich text editor delivers ValueChangeEvent and AttributeChangeEvent
events. Create valueChangeListener and attributeChangeListener handlers
for these events as required.
You can also configure the richTextEditorInsertBehavior tag, which works
with command components to insert given text into the richTextEditor
component. The text to be entered can be a simple string, or it can be preformatted text
held, for example, in a managed bean.
By default, the toolbar in the richTextEditor component allows the user to change
many aspects of the text, such as the font, font size and weight, text alignment, and
view mode, as shown in Figure 9–31.

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-27

Using the richTextEditor Component

Figure 9–31 Toolbar in richTextEditor Component

Figure 9–32 shows a toolbar that has been customized. Many of the toolbar buttons
have been removed and a toolbar with a custom toolbar button and a menu have been
added.

Figure 9–32 Customized Toolbar for richTextEditor

9.8.1 How to Add a richTextEditor Component

Once you add a richTextEditor component, you can configure it so that text can be
inserted at a specific place, and you can also customize the toolbar. For more
information, see Section 9.8.2, "How to Add the Ability to Insert Text into a
richTextEditor Component," and Section 9.8.3, "How to Customize the Toolbar."

To add a richTextEditor component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Rich Text Editor onto the page.
2. Expand the Common section of the Property Inspector and set the value
attribute.
3. Expand the Appearance section and set the following:
■ Rows: Specify the height of the edit window as an approximate number of
characters shown.
■ Columns: Specify the width of the edit window as an approximate number of
characters shown.
■ Label: Specify a label for the component.
4. Expand the Behavior section and set the following:
■ EditMode: Select whether you want the editor to be displayed using the
WYSIWYG or source mode.
■ ContentDelivery: Specify whether or not the data within the editor should be
fetched when the component is rendered initially. When the
contentDelivery attribute value is immediate, data is fetched and
displayed in the component when it is rendered. If the value is set to lazy,
data will be fetched and delivered to the client during a subsequent request.
For more information, see Section 10.1.1, "Content Delivery."

Tip: You can set the width of a richTextEditor component to full

width or 100%. However, this works reliably only if the editor is
contained in a geometry-managing parent components. It may not
work reliably if it is placed in flowing layout containers such as
panelFormLayout or panelGroupLayout. For more information,
see Section 8.2.1, "Geometry Management and Component
Stretching."

9-28 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the richTextEditor Component

9.8.2 How to Add the Ability to Insert Text into a richTextEditor Component
To allow text to be inserted into a richTextEditor component, add the
richTextEditorInsertBehavior tag as a child to a command component that
will be used to insert the text.

Before you begin

You need to create a richTextEditor component as described in Section 9.3.1, "How
to Add an inputText Component." Set the clientComponent attribute to true.

To add text insert behavior:

1. Add a command component that the user will click to insert the text. For
procedures, see Section 18.2.1, "How to Use Command Buttons and Command
Links."
2. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop a Rich Text
Editor Insert Behavior as a child to the command component.
3. In the Rich Text Editor Insert Behavior dialog, enter the following:
■ For: Use the dropdown arrow to select Edit and then navigate to select the
richTextEditor component into which the text will be inserted.
■ Value: Enter the value for the text to be inserted. If you want to insert static
text, then enter that text. If you want the user to be able to insert the value of
another component (for example, the value of a selectOneChoice
component), then enter an EL expression that resolves to that value. If you
want the user to enter preformatted text, enter an EL expression that resolves
to that text. For example Example 9–8 shows preformatted text as the value for
an attribute in the demoInput managed bean.

Example 9–8 Preformatted Text in a Managed Bean

private static final String _RICH_INSERT_VALUE =
"<p align=\"center\" style=\"border: 1px solid gray;
margin: 5px; padding: 5px;\">" +
"<font size=\"4\"><span style=\"font-family: Comic Sans MS,
Comic Sans,cursive;\">Store Hours</span></font><br/>\n" +
"<font size=\"1\">Monday through Friday 'til 8:00 pm</font><br/>\n" +
"<font size=\"1\">Saturday &amp; Sunday 'til 5:00 pm</font>" +
"</p>";

Example 9–9 shows how the text is referenced from the

richTextEditorInsertBehavior tag.

Example 9–9 Using the richTextEditorInsertBehavior Tag

<af:richTextEditor id="idRichTextEditor" label="Rich text value"
value="#{demoInput.richValue2}"/>
. . .
</af:richTextEditor>
<af:commandButton text="Insert Template Text">
<af:richTextEditorInsertBehavior for="idRichTextEditor"
value="#{demoInput.richInsertValue}"/>
</af:commandButton>

4. By default, the text will be inserted when the action event is triggered by clicking
the command component. However, you can change this to another client event by
choosing that event from the dropdown menu for the triggerType attribute.

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-29

Using the richTextEditor Component

9.8.3 How to Customize the Toolbar

Place the toolbar and toolbar buttons you want to add in custom facets that you create.
Then, reference the facet (or facets) from an attribute on the toolbar, along with
keywords that determine how or where the contained items should be displayed.

To customize the toolbar:

1. In the JSF page of the Component Palette, from the Core panel, drag and drop a
Facet for each section of the toolbar you want to add. For example, to add the
custom buttons shown in Figure 9–32, you would add two <f:facet> tags.
Ensure that each facet has a unique name for the page.

Tip: To ensure that there will be no conflicts with future releases of

ADF Faces, start all your facet names with customToolbar.

2. In the ADF Faces page of the Component Palette, from the Common Components
panel, drag and drop a Toolbar into each facet and add toolbar buttons or other
components and configure as needed. For more information about toolbars and
toolbar buttons, see Section 14.3, "Using Toolbars."
3. With the richTextEditor component selected, in the Property Inspector, in the
Other section, click the dropdown icon for the toolboxLayout attribute and
select Edit to open the Edit Property: ToolboxLayout dialog. The value for this
attribute should be a list of the custom facet names, in the order in which you
want the contents in the custom facets to appear. In addition to those facets, you
can also include all, or portions, of the default toolbar, using the following
keywords:
■ all: All the toolbar buttons and text in the default toolbar. If all is entered,
then any keyword for noncustom buttons will be ignored.
■ font: The font selection and font size buttons.
■ history: Undo and redo buttons.
■ mode: Rich text mode and source code mode buttons.
■ color: Foreground and background color buttons.
■ formatAll: Bold, italic, underline, superscript, subscript, strikethrough
buttons. If formatAll is specified, formatCommon and formatUncommon
will be ignored.
■ formatCommon: Bold, italic, and underline buttons.
■ formatUncommon: Superscript, subscript, and strikethrough buttons.
■ justify: Left, center, right and full justify buttons.
■ list: Bullet and numbered list buttons.
■ indent: Outdent and indent buttons.
■ link: Add and remove Link buttons.
For example, if you created two facets named customToolbar1 and
customToolbar2, and you wanted the complete default toolbar to appear in
between your custom toolbars, you would enter the following list:
■ customToolbar1
■ all
■ customToolbar2

9-30 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using File Upload

You can also determine the layout of the toolbars using the following keywords:
■ newline: Places the toolbar in the next named facet (or the next keyword
from the list in the toolboxLayout attribute) on a new line. For example, if
you wanted the toolbar in the customToolbar2 facet to appear on a new
line, you would enter the following list:
– customToolbar1
– all
– newline
– customToolbar2
If instead, you did not want to use all of the default toolbar, but only the font,
color, and common formatting buttons, and you wanted those buttons to
appear on a new line, you would enter the following list:
– customToolbar1
– customToolbar2
– newline
– font
– color
– formatCommon
■ stretch: Adds a spacer component that stretches to fill all available space so
that the next named facet (or next keyword from the default toolbar) is
displayed as right-aligned in the toolbar.

9.9 Using File Upload

The inputFile component provides users with file uploading and updating
capabilities. This component allows the user to select a local file and upload it to a
selectable location on the server. To download a file from the server to the user, see
Section 18.4.1, "How to Use a Command Component to Download Files."
The inputFile component delivers the standard ValueChangeEvent event as files
are being uploaded, and it manages the loading process transparently. The value
property of an inputFile component is set to an instance of the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.UploadedFile class when a file is
uploaded.
To initiate the upload process, you can create an action component such as a command
button, as shown in Figure 9–33.

Figure 9–33 inputFile Component

If the value of the input field is not null, either after the initial load is successful or it
has been specified as an initial value, you can create an Update button that will be
displayed instead of the Browse button, as shown in Figure 9–34.

Figure 9–34 inputFile Component in Update Mode

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-31

Using File Upload

You can also specify that the component be able to load only a specific file by setting
the readOnly property to true, In this mode, only the specified file can be loaded, as
shown in Figure 9–35.

Figure 9–35 inputFile Component in Read-Only Mode

For security reasons, the following attributes cannot be set from the client:
■ disabled (unless the unsecure property is set. For more information, see
Section 3.6.2, "How to Unsecure the disabled Property.")
■ immediate
■ readOnly
■ requiredMessageDetail
■ value
The inputFile component can be placed in either an h:form tag or an af:form
tag, but in either case, you have to set the form tag to support file upload. If you use
the JSF basic HTML h:form, set the enctype to multipart/form-data. This
would make the request into a multipart request to support file uploading to the
server. If you are using the ADF Faces af:form tag, set usesUpload to true, which
performs the same function as setting enctype to multipart/form-data to support
file upload.
The rich client framework performs a generic upload of the file. You should create an
actionListener or action method to process the file after it has been uploaded (for
example, processing xml files, pdf files, and so on).
The value of an inputFile component is an instance of the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.UploadedFile interface. The API lets
you get at the actual byte stream of the file, as well as the file's name, its MIME type,
and its size.

Note: The API does not allow you to get path information from the
client about from where the file was uploaded.

The uploaded file may be stored as a file in the file system, but may also be stored in
memory; the API hides that difference. The filter ensures that the UploadedFile
content is cleaned up after the request is complete. Because of this, you cannot usefully
cache UploadedFile objects across requests. If you need to keep the file, you must
copy it into persistent storage before the request finishes.
For example, instead of storing the file, add a message stating the file upload was
successful using a managed bean as a response to the ValueChangeEvent event, as
shown in Example 9–10.

Example 9–10 Using valueChangeListener to Display Upload Message

JSF Page Code ----->
<af:form usesUpload="true">
<af:inputFile label="Upload:"
valueChangeListener="#{managedBean.fileUploaded}"/>
<af:commandButton text="Begin"/>
</af:form>

9-32 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using File Upload

Managed Bean Code ---->

import javax.faces.application.FacesMessage;
import javax.faces.context.FacesContext;
import javax.faces.event.ValueChangeEvent;
import org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.UploadedFile;

public class ABackingBean

{
...
public void fileUploaded(ValueChangeEvent event)
{
UploadedFile file = (UploadedFile) event.getNewValue();
if (file != null)
{
FacesContext context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
FacesMessage message = new FacesMessage(
"Successfully uploaded file " + file.getFilename() +
" (" + file.getLength() + " bytes)");
context.addMessage(event.getComponent().getClientId(context), message);
// Here's where we could call file.getInputStream()
}
}
}

You can also handle the upload by binding the value directly to a managed bean, as
shown in Example 9–11.

Example 9–11 Binding the Value to a Managed Bean

JSF Page Code ---->
<af:form usesUpload="true">
<af:inputFile label="Upload:" value="#{managedBean.file}"/>
<af:commandButton text="Begin" action="#{managedBean.doUpload}"/>
</af:form>

Managed Bean Code ---->

import org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.UploadedFile;

public class AManagedBean

{
public UploadedFile getFile()
{
return _file;
}
public void setFile(UploadedFile file)
{
_file = file;
}

public String doUpload()

{
UploadedFile file = getFile();
// ... and process it in some way
}
private UploadedFile _file;

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-33

Using File Upload

9.9.1 How to Use the inputFile Component

A Java class must be bound to the inputFile component. This class will be
responsible for containing the value of the uploaded file.

To add an inputFile component:

1. Create a Java class that will hold the value of the input file. It must be an instance
of the org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.UploadedFile interface.
2. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop
an Input File onto the page.
3. Set value to be the class created in Step 1.
4. From the Component Palette, drag and drop any command component onto the
page. This will be used to initiate the upload process.
5. With the command component selected, set the actionListener attribute to a
listener that will process the file after it has been uploaded.

9.9.2 What You May Need to Know About Temporary File Storage
Because ADF Faces will temporarily store files being uploaded (either on disk or in
memory), by default it limits the size of acceptable incoming upload requests to avoid
denial-of-service attacks that might attempt to fill a hard drive or flood memory with
uploaded files. By default, only the first 100 kilobytes in any one request will be stored
in memory. Once that has been filled, disk space will be used. Again, by default, that is
limited to 2,000 kilobytes of disk storage for any one request for all files combined.
Once these limits are exceeded, the filter will throw an EOFException.
Files are, by default, stored in the temporary directory used by the
java.io.File.createTempFile() method, which is usually defined by the
system property java.io.tmpdir. Obviously, this will be insufficient for some
applications, so you can configure these values using three servlet context
initialization parameters, as shown in Example 9–12.

Example 9–12 Parameters That Define File Upload Size and Directory
<context-param>
<!-- Maximum memory per request (in bytes) -->
<param-name>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_MAX_MEMORY</param-name>
<!-- Use 500K -->
<param-value>512000</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<!-- Maximum disk space per request (in bytes) -->
<param-name>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_MAX_DISK_SPACE</param-name>
<!-- Use 5,000K -->
<param-value>5120000</param-value>
</context-param>
<context-param>
<!-- directory to store temporary files -->
<param-name>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_TEMP_DIR</param-name>
<!-- Use a TrinidadUploads subdirectory of /tmp -->
<param-value>/tmp/TrinidadUploads/</param-value>
</context-param>
<!-- This filter is always required; one of its functions is
file upload. -->
<filter>
<filter-name>trinidad</filter-name>

9-34 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using File Upload

<filter-class>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.TrinidadFilter</filter-class>
</filter>

You can customize the file upload process by replacing the entire
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.UploadedFileProcessor class with
the <uploaded-file-processor> element in the trinidad-config.xml
configuration file. Replacing the UploadedFileProcessor class makes the
parameters listed in Example 9–12 irrelevant, they are processed only by the default
UploadedFileProcessor class.
The <uploaded-file-processor> element must be the name of a class that
implements the oracle.adf.view.rich.webapp.UploadedFileProcessor
interface. This API is responsible for processing each individual uploaded file as it
comes from the incoming request, and then making its contents available for the rest of
the request. For most applications, the default UploadedFileProcessor class is
sufficient, but applications that need to support uploading very large files may
improve their performance by immediately storing files in their final destination,
instead of requiring ADF Faces to handle temporary storage during the request.

Using Input Components and Defining Forms 9-35

Using File Upload

9-36 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 10
10 Using Tables and Trees

This chapter describes how to display tables and trees using the ADF Faces table,
tree and treeTable components. If your application uses the Fusion technology
stack, then you can use data controls to create tables and trees. For more information
see the "Creating ADF Databound Tables" and "Displaying Master-Detail Data"
chapters of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle
Application Development Framework
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 10.1, "Introduction to Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables"
■ Section 10.2, "Displaying Data in Tables"
■ Section 10.3, "Adding Hidden Capabilities to a Table"
■ Section 10.4, "Enabling Filtering in Tables"
■ Section 10.5, "Displaying Data in Trees"
■ Section 10.6, "Displaying Data in Tree Tables"
■ Section 10.7, "Passing a Row as a Value"
■ Section 10.8, "Displaying Table Menus, Toolbars, and Status Bars"
■ Section 10.9, "Exporting Data from Table, Tree, or Tree Table"
■ Section 10.10, "Accessing Selected Values on the Client from Components That Use
Stamping"

10.1 Introduction to Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables

Structured data can be displayed as tables consisting of rows and columns using the
ADF Faces table component. Hierarchical data can be displayed either as tree
structures using ADF Faces tree component, or in a table format, using ADF Faces tree
table component. Instead of containing a child component for each record to be
displayed, and then binding these components to the individual records, table, tree
and tree table components are bound to a complete collection, and they then
repeatedly render one component (for example an outputText component) by
stamping the value for each record. For example, say a table contains two child
column components. Each column displays a single attribute value for the row using
an output component and there are four records to be displayed. Instead of binding
four sets of two output components to display the data, the table itself is bound to the
collection of all four records and simply stamps one set of the output components four
times. As each row is stamped, the data for the current row is copied into the var
attribute on the table, from which the output component can retrieve the correct values
for the row. For more information about how stamping works, especially with client

Using Tables and Trees 10-1

Introduction to Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables

components, see Section 10.1.5, "Accessing Client Table, Tree, and Tree Table
Components."
Example 10–1 shows the JSF code for a table whose value for the var attribute is row.
Each outputText component in a column displays the data for the row because its
value is bound to a specific property on the variable.

Example 10–1 JSF Code for a Table Uses the var Attribute to Access Values
<af:table var="row" value="#{myBean.allEmployees}">
<af:column>
<af:outputText value="#{row.firstname}"/>
</af:column>
<af:column>
af:outputText value="#{row.lastname}"/>
</af:column>
</af:table>

The table component displays simple tabular data. Each row in the table displays one
object in a collection, for example one row in a database. The column component
displays the value of attributes for each of the objects.
For example, as shown in Figure 10–1, the Table tab in the File Explorer application
uses a table to display the contents of the selected directory. The table value attribute
is bound to the contentTable property of the tableContentView managed bean
in the File Explorer demo.

Figure 10–1 Table Component in the File Explorer Application

The table component provides a range of features for end users, such as sorting
columns, and selecting one or more rows and then executing an application defined
action on the selected rows. It also provides a range of presentation features, such as
showing grid lines and banding, row and column headers, column headers spanning
groups of columns, and values wrapping within cells.
Hierarchical data (that is data that has parent/child relationships), such as the
directory in the File Explorer application, can be displayed as expandable trees using
the tree component. Items are displayed as nodes that mirror the parent/child
structure of the data. Each top-level node can be expanded to display any child nodes,
which in turn can also be expanded to display any of their child nodes. Each expanded
node can then be collapsed to hide child nodes. Figure 10–2 shows the file directory in
the File Explorer application, which is displayed using a tree component.

10-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables

Figure 10–2 Tree Component in the File Explorer Application

Hierarchical data can also be displayed using tree table components. The tree table
also displays parent/child nodes that are expandable and collapsible, but in a tabular
format, which allows the page to display attribute values for the nodes as columns of
data. For example, along with displaying a directory’s contents using a table
component, the File Explorer application has another tab that uses the tree table
component to display the contents, as shown in Figure 10–3.

Figure 10–3 Tree Table in the File Explorer Application

Like the tree component, the tree table component can show the parent/child
relationship between items. And like the table component, the tree table component
can also show any attribute values for those items in a column. Most of the features
available on a table component are also available in tree table component.
You can add a toolbar and a status bar to tables, trees, and tree tables by surrounding
them with the panelCollection component. The top panel contains a standard
menu bar as well as a toolbar that holds menu-type components such as menus and
menu options, toolbars and toolbar buttons, and status bars. Some buttons and menus
are added by default. For example, when you surround a table, tree, or tree table with
a panelCollection component, a toolbar that contains the View menu is added.
This menu contains menu items that are specific to the table, tree, or tree table
component.
Figure 10–4 shows the tree table from the File Explorer application with the toolbar,
menus, and toolbar buttons created using the panelCollection component.

Using Tables and Trees 10-3

Introduction to Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables

Figure 10–4 TreeTable with Panel Collection

10.1.1 Content Delivery

The table, tree, and tree table components are virtualized, meaning not all the rows that
are there for the component on the server are delivered to and displayed on the client.
You configure tables, trees, and tree tables to fetch a certain number of rows at a time
from your data source. The data can be delivered to the components either
immediately upon rendering, or lazily fetched after the shell of the component has
been rendered. By default, the components lazily fetch data for their initial request.
When a page contains one or more of these components, the page initially goes
through the standard lifecycle. However, instead of fetching the data during that initial
request, a special separate partial page rendering (PPR) request is run, and the number
of rows set as the value of the fetch size for the table is then returned. Because the page
has just been rendered, only the Render Response phase executes for the components,
allowing the corresponding data to be fetched and displayed. When a user’s actions
cause a subsequent data fetch (for example scrolling in a table for another set of rows),
another PPR request is executed.

Performance Tip: Lazy delivery should be used when the page

contains a number of components other than a table, tree, or tree table.
Doing so allows the initial page layout and other components to be
rendered first before the data is available.
Immediate delivery should be used if the table, tree, or tree table is the
only context on the page, or if the component is not expected to return
a large set of data. In this case, response time will be faster than using
lazy delivery (or in some cases, simply perceived as faster), as the
second request will not go to the server, providing a faster user
response time and better server CPU utilizations. Note however that
only the number of rows configured to be the fetch block will be
initially returned. As with lazy delivery, when a user’s actions cause a
subsequent data fetch, the next set of rows are delivered.

The number of rows that are displayed on the client are just enough to fill the page as
it is displayed in the browser. More rows are fetched as the user scrolls the component
vertically. The fetchSize attribute determines the number of rows requested from
the client to the server on each attempt to fill the component. The default value is 25.
So if the height of the table is small, the fetch size of 25 is sufficient to fill the
component. However, if the height of the component is large, there might be multiple
requests for the data from the server. Therefore, the fetchSize attribute should be set
to a higher number. For example, if the height of the table is 600 pixels and the height
of each row is 18 pixels, you will need at least 45 rows to fill the table. With a
fetchSize of 25, the table has to execute two requests to the server to fill the table.
For this example, you would set the fetch size to 50.

10-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables

However, if you set the fetch size too high, it will impact both server and client. The
server will fetch more rows from the data source than needed and this will increase
time and memory usage. On the client side, it will take longer to process those rows
and attach them to the component.
You can also configure the set of data that will be initially displayed using the
displayRow attribute. By default, the first record in the data source is displayed in
the top row or node and the subsequent records are displayed in the following rows or
nodes. You can also configure the component to first display the last record in the
source instead. In this case, the last record is displayed in the bottom row or node of
the component, and the user can scroll up to view the preceding records. Additionally,
you can configure the component to display the selected row. This can be useful if the
user is navigating to the table, and based on some parameter, a particular row will be
programmatically selected. When configured to display the selected row, that row will
be displayed at the top of the table and the user can scroll up or down to view other
rows.

10.1.2 Row Selection

You can configure selection to be either for no rows, for a single row, or for multiple
rows of tables, trees, and tree tables using the rowSelection attribute. This setting
allows you to execute logic against the selected rows. For example, you may want
users to be able to select a row in a table or a node in a tree, and then to click a
command button that navigates to another page where the data for the selected row is
displayed and the user can edit it.
When the selected row (or node) of a table, tree, or tree table changes, the component
triggers a selection event. This event reports which rows were just deselected and
which rows were just selected. While the components handle selection declaratively, if
you want to perform some logic on the selected rows, you need to implement code
that can access those rows and then perform the logic. You can do this in a selection
listener method on a managed bean. For more information, see Section 10.2.8, "What
You May Need to Know About Performing an Action on Selected Rows in Tables."

Note: If you configure your component to allow multiple selection,

users can select one row and then press the shift key to select another
row, and all the rows in between will be selected. This selection will be
retained even if the selection is across multiple data fetch blocks.
Similarly, you can use the Ctrl key to select rows that are not next to
each other.
For example, if you configure your table to fetch only 25 rows at a
time, but the user selects 100 rows, the framework is able to keep track
of the selection.

10.1.3 Editing Data in Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables

You can choose the component used to display the actual data in a table, tree, or tree
table. For example, you may want the data to be read-only, and therefore you might
use an outputText component to display the data. Conversely, if you want the data
to be able to be edited, you might use an inputText component, or if choosing from
a list, one of the SelectOne components. All of these components are placed as
children to the column component (in the case of a table and tree table) or within the
nodeStamp facet (for a tree).

Using Tables and Trees 10-5

Introduction to Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables

When you decide to use components whose value can be edited to display your data,
you use the editingMode attribute to determine whether the table, tree, or tree table
should display all rows as available for editing at once, or display all but the currently
active row as read-only. For example, Figure 10–5 shows a table whose rows can all be
edited. The page renders using the components that were added to the page (for
example, inputText, inputDate, and inputComboBoxListOfValues
components).

Figure 10–5 Table Whose Rows Can All Be Edited

Figure 10–6 shows the same table (that is, it uses inputText, inputDate, and
inputComboBoxListOfValues components to display the data), but configured so
that only the active row displays the editable components. Users can then click on
another row to make it editable (only one row is editable at a time). Note that
outputText components are used to display the data in the noneditable rows, even
though the same input components as in Figure 10–5 were used to build the page. The
only row that actually renders those components is the active row.

Figure 10–6 Table Allows Only One Row to Be Edited at a Time

The currently active row is determined by the activeRowKey attribute on the table.
By default, the value of this attribute is the first visible row of the table. When the table
(or tree or tree table) is refreshed, the component scrolls to bring the active row into
view, if it is not already visible. When the user clicks on a row to edit its contents, that
row becomes the active row.
When you allow only a single row (or node) to be edited, the table (or tree or tree
table) performs PPR when the user moves from one row (or node) to the next, thereby
submitting the data (and validating that data) one row at a time. When you allow all

10-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables

rows to be edited, data is submitted whenever there is an event that causes PPR to
typically occur, for example scrolling beyond the currently displayed rows or nodes.

Note: You should not use more than one editable component in a
column.

Not all editable components make sense to be displayed in a click-to-edit mode. For
example, those that display multiple lines of HTML input elements may not be good
candidates. These components include:
■ SelectManyCheckbox
■ SelectManyListBox
■ SelectOneListBox
■ SelectOneRadio
■ SelectManyShuttle

Performance Tip: For increased performance during both rendering

and postback, you should configure your table to allow editing only to
a single row.
When you elect to allow only a single row to be edited at a time, the
page will be displayed more quickly, as output components tend to
generate less HTML than input components. Additionally, client
components are not created for the read-only rows. Because the table
(or tree, or tree table) performs PPR as the user moves from one row to
the next, only that row’s data is submitted, resulting in better
performance than a table that allows all cells to be edited, which
submits all the data for all the rows in the table at the same time.
Allowing only a singe row to be edited also provides more intuitive
validation, because only a single row’s data is submitted for
validation, and therefore only errors for that row are displayed.

10.1.4 Using Popup Dialogs in Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables

You can configure your table, tree, or tree table so that popup dialogs will be displayed
based on a user’s actions. For example, you can configure a popup dialog to display
some data from the selected row when the user hovers the mouse over a cell or node.
You can also create popup context menus for when a user right-clicks a row in a table
or tree table, or a node in a tree. Additionally, for tables and tree tables, you can create
a context menu for when a user right-clicks anywhere within the table, but not on a
specific row.
Tables, trees, and tree tables all contain the contextMenu facet. You place your popup
context menu within this facet, and the associated menu will be displayed when the
user right-clicks a row. When the context menu is being fetched on the server, the
components automatically establish the currency to the row for which the context
menu is being displayed. Establishing currency means that the current row in the model
for the table now points to the row for which the context menu is being displayed. In
order for this to happen, the popup component containing the menu must have its
contentDelivery attribute set to lazyUncached so that the menu is fetched every
time it is displayed.

Using Tables and Trees 10-7

Introduction to Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables

Tip: If you want the context menu to dynamically display content

based on the selected row, set the popup content delivery to
lazyUncached and add a setPropertyListener tag to a method
on a managed bean that can get the current row and then display data
based on the current row:
<af:tree value="#{fs.treeModel}"
contextMenuSelect="false" var="node" ..>
<f:facet name="contextMenu">
<af:popup id="myPopup" contentDelivery="lazyUncached">
<af:setPropertyListener from="#{fs.treeModel.rowData}"
to="#{dynamicContextMenuTable.currentTreeRowData}"
type="popupFetch" />
<af:menu>
<af:menu text="Node Info (Dynamic)">
<af:commandMenuItem actionListener=
"#{dynamicContextMenuTable.alertTreeRowData}"
text=
"Name - #{dynamicContextMenuTable.currentTreeRowData.name}" />
<af:commandMenuItem actionListener=
"#{dynamicContextMenuTable.alertTreeRowData}"
text=
"Path - #{dynamicContextMenuTable.currentTreeRowData.path}" />
<af:commandMenuItem actionListener=
"#{dynamicContextMenuTable.alertTreeRowData}"
text="Date -
#{dynamicContextMenuTable.currentTreeRowData.lastModified}" />
</af:menu>
</af:menu>
</af:popup>
</f:facet>
...
</af:tree>

The code on the backing bean might look something like this:
public class DynamicContextMenuTableBean
{
...
public void setCurrentTreeRowData(Map currentTreeRowData)
{
_currentTreeRowData = currentTreeRowData;
}

public Map getCurrentTreeRowData()

{
return _currentTreeRowData;
}

private Map _currentTreeRowData;

}

Tables and tree tables contain the bodyContextMenu facet. You can add a popup that
contains a menu to this facet, and it will be displayed whenever a user clicks on the
table, but not within a specific row.
For more information about creating context menus, see Section 13.2, "Declaratively
Creating Popup Elements."

10-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Tables

10.1.5 Accessing Client Table, Tree, and Tree Table Components

With ADF Faces, the contents of the table, tree, or tree table are rendered on the server.
There may be cases when the client needs to access that content on the server,
including:
■ Client-side application logic may need to read the row-specific component state.
For example, in response to row selection changes, the application may want to
update the disabled or visible state of other components in the page (usually menu
items or toolbar buttons). This logic may be dependent on row-specific metadata
sent to the client using a stamped inputHidden component. In order to enable
this, the application must be able to retrieve row-specific attribute values from
stamped components.
■ Client-side application logic may need to modify row-specific component state.
For example, clicking a stamped command link in a table row may update the
state of other components in the same row.
■ The peer may need access to a component instance to implement event handling
behavior (for more information about peers, see Section 3.1, "Introduction to Using
ADF Faces Architecture"). For example, in order to deliver a client-side action
event in response to a mouse click, the AdfDhtmlCommandLinkPeer class needs
a reference to the component instance which will serve as the event source. The
component also holds on to relevant state, including client listeners as well as
attributes that control event delivery behavior, such as disabled or
partialSubmit.
Because there is no client-side support for EL in the rich client framework (RCF), nor is
there support for sending entire table models to the client, the client-side code cannot
rely on component stamping to access the value. Instead of reusing the same
component instance on each row, a new JavaScript client component is created on each
row (assuming any component must be created at all for any of the rows).
Therefore, to access row-specific data on the client, you need to use the stamped
component itself to access the value. To do this without a client-side data model, you
use a client-side selection change listener. For detailed instructions, see Section 10.10,
"Accessing Selected Values on the Client from Components That Use Stamping."

10.2 Displaying Data in Tables

The table component uses a CollectionModel class to access the data in the
underlying collection. This class extends the JSF DataModel class and adds on
support for row keys and sorting. In the DataModel class, rows are identified entirely
by index. This can cause problems when the underlying data changes from one
request to the next, for example a user request to delete one row may delete a different
row when another user adds a row. To work around this, the CollectionModel class
is based on row keys instead of indexes.
You may also use other model classes, such as java.util.List, array, and
javax.faces.model.DataModel. If you use one of these other classes, the table
component automatically converts the instance into a CollectionModel class, but
without the additional functionality. For more information about the
CollectionModel class, see the MyFaces Trinidad Javadoc at
http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/trinidad-1_
2/trinidad-api/apidocs/index.html.

Using Tables and Trees 10-9

Displaying Data in Tables

Note: If your application uses the Fusion technology stack, then you
can use data controls to create tables and the collection model will be
created for you. For more information see the "Creating ADF
Databound Tables" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Web User
Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

The immediate children of a table component must be column components. Each

visible column component is displayed as a separate column in the table. Column
components contain components used to display content, images, or provide further
functionality. For more information about the features available with the column
component, see Section 10.2.1, "Columns and Column Data."
The child components of each column display the data for each row in that column.
The column does not create child components per row; instead, the table uses
stamping to render each row. Each child is stamped once per row, repeatedly for all the
rows. As each row is stamped, the data for the current row is copied into a property
that can be addressed using an EL expression. You specify the name to use for this
property using the var property on the table. Once the table has completed rendering,
this property is removed or reverted back to its previous value.
Because of this stamping behavior, some components may not work inside the
column. Most components will work without problems, for example any input and
output components. If you need to use multiple components inside a cell, you can
wrap them inside a panelGroupLayout component. Components that themselves
support stamping are not supported, such as tables within a table. For information
about using components whose values are determined dynamically at runtime, see
Section 10.2.9, "What You May Need to Know About Dynamically Determining Values
for Selection Components in Tables."
You can use the detailStamp facet in a table to include data that can be optionally
displayed or hidden. When you add a component to this facet, the table displays an
additional column with an expand and collapse icon for each row. When the user
clicks the icon to expand, the component added to the facet is displayed, as shown in
Figure 10–7.

Figure 10–7 Extra Data Can Be Optionally Displayed

When the user clicks on the expanded icon to collapse it, the component is hidden, as
shown in Figure 10–8.

10-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Tables

Figure 10–8 Extra Data Can Also Be Hidden

For more information about using the detailStamp facet, see Section 10.3, "Adding
Hidden Capabilities to a Table."

10.2.1 Columns and Column Data

Columns contain the components used to display the data. As stated previously, only
one child component is needed for each item to be displayed; the values are stamped
as the table renders. Columns can be sorted and can also contain a filtering element.
Users can enter a value into the filter and the returned data set will match the value
entered in the filter. You can set the filter to be either case-sensitive or case-insensitive.
If the table is configured to allow it, users can also reorder columns. Columns have
both header and footer facets. The header facet can be used instead of using the header
text attribute of the column, allowing you to use a component that can be styled. The
footer facet is displayed at the bottom of the column. For example, Figure 10–9 uses
footer facets to display the total at the bottom of two columns. If the number of rows
returned is more than can be displayed, the footer facet is still displayed; the user can
scroll to the bottom row.

Figure 10–9 Footer Facets in a Column

10.2.2 Formatting Tables

A table component offers many formatting and visual aids to the user. You can enable
these features and specify how they can be displayed. These features include:
■ Row selection: By default, at runtime, users cannot select rows. If you want users
to be able to select rows in order to perform some action on them somewhere else
on the page, or on another page, then enable row selection for the table by setting
the rowSelection attribute. You can configure the table to allow either a single
row or multiple rows to be selected. For information about how to then
programatically perform some action on the selected rows, see Section 10.2.8,
"What You May Need to Know About Performing an Action on Selected Rows in
Tables."
■ Table height: You can set the table height to be absolute (for example, 300 pixels),
or you can determine the height of the table based on the number of rows you

Using Tables and Trees 10-11

Displaying Data in Tables

wish to display at a time by setting the autoHeightRows attribute. However, you

can use this option only if you set the data fetch to be immediate. For more
information about data fetching methods, see Section 10.1.1, "Content Delivery."

Note: When table is placed in a layout-managing container, such as a

panelSplitter component, it will be sized by the container and the
autoHeightRows is not honored.

■ Grid lines: By default, an ADF table component draws both horizontal and vertical
grid lines. These may be independently turned off using the
horizontalGridVisible and verticalGridVisible attributes.
■ Banding: Groups of rows or columns are displayed with alternating background
colors using the columnBandingInterval attribute. This helps to differentiate
between adjacent groups of rows or columns. By default, banding is turned off.
■ Column groups: Columns in a table can be grouped into column groups, by
nesting column components. Each group can have its own column group heading,
linking all the columns together.
■ Editable cells: When you elect to use input text components to display data in a
table, you can configure the table so that all cells can be edited, or so that the user
must explicitly click in the cell in order to edit it. For more information, see
Section 10.1.3, "Editing Data in Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables."

Performance Tip: When you choose to have cells be available for

editing only when the user clicks on them, the table will initially load
faster. This may be desirable if you expect the table to display large
amounts of data.

■ Column stretching: If the widths of the columns do not together fill the whole
table, you can set the columnStretching attribute to determine whether or not
to stretch columns to fill up the space, and if so, which columns should stretch.

Performance Tip: Column stretching is turned off by default.

Turning on this feature may have a performance impact on the client
rendering time when used for complex tables (that is, tables with a
large amount of data, or with nested columns, and so on).

Note: Columns configured to be row headers or configured to be

frozen will not be stretched because doing so could easily leave the
user unable to access the scrollable body of the table.

■ Column selection: You can choose to allow users to be able to select columns of
data. As with row selection, you can configure the table to allow single or multiple
column selection.
■ Column reordering: Users can reorder the columns at runtime by simply dragging
and dropping the column headers. By default, column reordering is allowed, and
is handled by a menu item in the panelCollection component. For more
information, see Section 10.8, "Displaying Table Menus, Toolbars, and Status Bars."

10-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Tables

10.2.3 Formatting Columns

Each column component also offers many formatting and visual aids to the user. You
can enable these features and specify how they can be displayed. These features
include:
■ Column sorting: Columns can be configured so that the user can sort the contents
by a given column, either in ascending or descending order using the sortable
attribute. A special indicator on a column header lets the user know that the
column can be sorted.
When the user clicks on the icon to sort a previously unsorted column, the
column’s content is sorted in ascending order. Subsequent clicks on the same
header sort the content in the reverse order. In order for the table to be able to sort,
the underlying data model must also support sorting. For more information, see
Section 10.2.7, "What You May Need to Know About Programmatically Enabling
Sorting for Table Columns."
■ Content alignment: You can align the content within the column to either the start,
end, left, right, or center using the align attribute.

Tip: Use start and end instead of left and right if your
application supports multiple reading directions.

■ Column width: The width of a column can be specified as an absolute value in

pixels using the width attribute.
■ Line wrapping: You can define whether or not the content in a column can wrap
over lines, using the noWrap attribute. By default, content will not wrap.
■ Row headers: You can define the left-most column to be a row header using the
rowHeader attribute. When you do so, the left-most column is rendered with the
same look as the column headers, and will not scroll off the page. Figure 10–10
shows how a table showing departments appears if the first column is configured
to be a row header.

Figure 10–10 Row Header in a Table

If you elect to use a row header column and you configure your table to allow row
selection, the row header column displays a selection arrow when a users hovers
over the row, as shown in Figure 10–11.

Using Tables and Trees 10-13

Displaying Data in Tables

Figure 10–11 Selection Icon in Row Header

For tables that allow multiple selection, users can mouse down and then drag on the
row header to select a contiguous blocks of rows. The table will also autoscroll
vertically as the user drags up or down.

Tip: While the user can change the way the table displays at runtime
(for example the user can reorder columns or change column widths),
those values will not be retained once the user leaves the page unless
you configure your application to allow user customization. For
information, see Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF
Pages."

10.2.4 How to Display a Table on a Page

You use the Create an ADF Faces Table dialog to add a table to a JSF page. You also use
this dialog to add column components for each column you need for the table. You
can also bind the table to the underlying model or bean using EL expressions.

Note: If your application uses the Fusion technology stack, then you
can use data controls to create tables and the binding will be done for
you. For more information see the "Creating ADF Databound Tables"
chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Web User Interface Developer's
Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

Once you complete the dialog, and the table and columns are added to the page, you
can use the Property Inspector to configure additional attributes of the table or
columns, and add listeners to respond to table events. You must have an
implementation of the CollectionModel class to which your table will be bound.

To display a table on a page:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Table to open the Create ADF Faces Table dialog.
Use the dialog to bind the table to any existing model you have. When you bind
the table to a valid model, the dialog automatically shows the columns that will be
created. You can then use the dialog to edit the values for the columns’ header
and value attributes, and choose the type of component that will be used to
display the data. Alternatively, you can manually configure columns and bind at a
later date. For more information about using the dialog, press F1 or click Help.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section. If you have already bound
your table to a model, the value attribute should be set. You can use this section to
set the following table-specific attributes:
■ RowSelection: Set a value to make the rows selectable. Valid values are: none,
single, and multiple, and multipleNoSelectAll.

10-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Tables

Note: Users can select all rows and all columns in a table by clicking
the column header for the row header if the rowSelection attribute
is set to multiple and that table also contains a row header. If you do
not want users to be able to select all columns and rows, then set
rowSelection to multipleNoSelectAll.

For information about how to then programatically perform some action on

the selected rows, see Section 10.2.8, "What You May Need to Know About
Performing an Action on Selected Rows in Tables."
■ ColumnSelection: Set a value to make the columns selectable. Valid values
are: none, single, and multiple.
3. Expand the Columns section. If you previously bound your table using the Create
ADF Faces Table dialog, then these settings should be complete. You can use this
section to change the binding for the table, to change the variable name used to
access data for each row, and to change the display label and components used for
each column.

Tip: If you want to use a component other than those listed, select
any component in the Property Inspector, and then manually change
it:
1. In the Structure window, right-click the component created by the dialog.
2. Choose Convert from the context menu.
3. Select the desired component from the list. You can then use the Property
Inspector to configure the new component.

Tip: If you want more than one component to be displayed in a

column, add the other component manually and then wrap them both
in a panelGroupLayout component. To do so:
1. In the Structure window, right-click the first component and choose
Insert before or Insert after. Select the component to insert.
2. By default the components will be displayed vertically. To have multiple
components displayed next to each other in one column, press the shift
key and select both components in the Structure window. Right-click the
selection and choose Surround With.
3. Select panelGroupLayout.

4. Expand the Appearance section. You use this section to set the appearance of the
table, by setting the following table-specific attributes:
■ Width: Specify the width of the table. You can specify the width as either a
percentage or as a number of pixels. The default setting is 300 pixels.

Tip: If the table is a child to a component that stretches its children,

then this width setting will be overridden and the table will
automatically stretch to fit its container. For more information about
how components stretch, see Section 8.2.1, "Geometry Management
and Component Stretching."

■ ColumnStretching: If the widths of the columns do not together fill the whole
table, you can set this attribute to determine whether or not to stretch columns
to fill up the space, and if so, which columns should stretch.

Using Tables and Trees 10-15

Displaying Data in Tables

Note: If the table is placed inside a component that can stretch its
children, only the table will stretch automatically. You must manually
configure column stretching if you want the columns to stretch to fill
the table.

Note: Columns configured to be row headers or configured to be

frozen will not be stretched because doing so could easily leave the
user unable to access the scrollable body of the table.

Performance Tip: Column stretching is turned off by default.

Turning on this feature may have a performance impact on the client
rendering time for complex tables.

You can set column stretching to one of the following values:

– none: The default option where nothing will be stretched. Use this for
optimal performance.
– last: If you want the last column to stretch to fill up any unused space
inside of the window.
– blank: If you want to have an empty blank column automatically inserted
and have it stretch (so the row background colors will span the entire
width of the table).

Tip: While the user can change the values of the column width at
runtime, those values will not be retained once the user leaves the
page unless you configure your application to use change persistence.
For information about enabling and using change persistence, see
Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages."

■ HorizontalGridVisible: Specify whether or not the horizontal grid lines are to

be drawn.
■ VerticalGridVisible: Specify whether or not the vertical grid lines are to be
drawn.
■ RowBandingInterval: Specify how many consecutive rows form a row group
for the purposes of color banding. By default, this is set to 0, which displays all
rows with the same background color. Set this to 1 if you want to alternate
colors.
■ ColumnBandingInterval: Specify the interval between which the column
banding occurs. This value controls the display of the column banding in the
table. For example, columnBandingInterval=1 would display alternately
banded columns in the table.
■ FilterVisible: You can add a filter to the table so that it displays only those
rows that match the entered filter criteria. If you configure the table to allow
filtering, you can set the filter to be case-insensitive or case-sensitive. For more
information, see Section 10.4, "Enabling Filtering in Tables."
■ Text attributes: You can define text strings that will determine the text
displayed when no rows can be displayed, as well as a table summary and
description for accessibility purposes.

10-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Tables

5. Expand the Behavior section. You use this section to configure the behavior of the
table by setting the following table-specific attributes:
■ DisableColumnReordering: By default, columns can be reordered at runtime
using a menu option contained by default in the panelCollection
component. You can change this so that users will not be able to change the
order of columns. (The panelCollection component provides default
menus and toolbar buttons for tables, trees, and tree tables. For more
information, see Section 10.8, "Displaying Table Menus, Toolbars, and Status
Bars".)

Note: While the user can change the order of columns, those values
will not be retained once the user leaves the page unless you configure
your application to allow user customization. For information, see
Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages."

■ FetchSize: Set the size of the block that should be returned with each data
fetch. The default is 25.

Tip: You should determine the value of the fetchSize attribute by

taking the height of the table and dividing it by the height of each row
to determine how many rows will be needed to fill the table. If the
fetchSize attribute is set too low, it will require multiple trips to the
server to fill the table. If it is set too high, the server will need to fetch
more rows from the data source than needed, thereby increasing time
and memory usage. On the client side, it will take longer to process
those rows and attach them to the component. For more information,
see Section 10.1.1, "Content Delivery."

■ ContentDelivery: Specify when the data should be delivered. When the

contentDelivery attribute is set to immediate, data is fetched at the same
time the component is rendered. If the contentDelivery attribute is set to
lazy, data will be fetched and delivered to the client during a subsequent
request. For more information, see Section 10.1.1, "Content Delivery."
■ AutoHeightRows: If you want your table to size the height automatically to
fill up available space, specify the maximum number of rows that the table
should display. The height of the rows will then be adjusted to fill the space.
The default value is -1 (no automatic sizing for any number of rows).

Using Tables and Trees 10-17

Displaying Data in Tables

Note: Note the following about setting the autoHeightRows

attribute:
■ In order to use automatic height sizing, you must set the
contentDelivery attribute to immediate, as the height of the
rows must be determined at the same time the data is fetched.
■ Specifying height on the inlineStyle attribute will override
any automatically sized height, however setting the
minimum-height and maximum-height values will provide
limits for automatic sizing results.
■ When a table is placed in a layout-managing container, such as
panelSplitter, the table will be sized by the container
component, and no automatic table sizing will occur. Note that
this is not the case with panelCollection, which does honor
the autoHeightRows setting. For more information, see
Section 8.2.1, "Geometry Management and Component
Stretching."

■ DisplayRow: Specify the row to be displayed in the table during the initial
display. The possible values are first to display the first row at the top of the
table, last to display the last row at the bottom of the table (users will need
to scroll up to view preceding rows) and selected to display the first
selected row in the table.

Note: The total number of rows from the table model must be known
in order for this attribute to work successfully.

■ DisplayRowKey: Specify the row key to display in the table during initial
display. This attribute should be set programmatically rather than
declaratively because the value may not be strings. Specifying this attribute
will override the displayRow attribute.

Note: The total number of rows must be known from the table model
in order for this attribute to work successfully.

■ EditingMode: Specify whether for any editable components, you want all the
rows to be editable (editAll), or you want the user to click a row to make it
editable (clickToEdit). For more information, see Section 10.1.3, "Editing
Data in Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables."

Tip: If you choose clickToEdit, then only the active row can be
edited. This row is determined by the activeRowKey attribute. By
default, when the table is first rendered, the active row is the first
visible row. When a user clicks another row, then that row becomes
the active row. You can change this behavior by setting a different
value for the activeRowKey attribute.

■ ContextMenuSelect: Specify whether or not the row is selected when you

right-click to open a context menu. When set to true, the row is selected. For
more information about context menus, see Chapter 13, "Using Popup
Dialogs, Menus, and Windows."

10-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Tables

■ FilterModel: Use in conjunction with filterVisible. For more information,

see Section 10.4, "Enabling Filtering in Tables."
■ Various listeners: Bind listeners to methods that will execute when the table
invokes the corresponding event. For more information, see Chapter 5,
"Handling Events."
6. In the Structure window, select a column. In the Property Inspector, expand the
Common section, and set the following column-specific attributes:
■ HeaderText: Specify text to be displayed in the header of the column. This is a
convenience that generates output equivalent to adding a header facet
containing an outputText component. If you want to use a component other
than outputText, you should use the column’s header facet instead (for
more information, see Step 11). When the header facet is added, any value for
the headerText attribute will not be rendered in a column header.
■ Align: Specify the alignment for this column. start, end, and center are
used for left-justified, right-justified, and center-justified respectively in
left-to-right display. The values left or right can be used when left-justified
or right-justified cells are needed, irrespective of the left-to-right or
right-to-left display. The default value is null, which implies that it is
skin-dependent and may vary for the row header column versus the data in
the column. For more information about skins, see Chapter 20, "Customizing
the Appearance Using Styles and Skins."
■ Sortable: Specify whether or not the column can be sorted. A column that can
be sorted has a header that when clicked, sorts the table by that column's
property. Note that in order for a column to be sortable, the sortable
attribute must be set to true and the underlying model must support sorting
by this column's property. For more information, see Section 10.2.7, "What You
May Need to Know About Programmatically Enabling Sorting for Table
Columns."

Note: When column selection is enabled, clicking on a column

header selects the column instead of sorting the column. In this case,
columns can be sorted by clicking the ascending/descending sort
indicator.

■ Filterable: Specify whether or not the column can be filtered. A column that
can be filtered has a filter field on the top of the column header. Note that in
order for a column to be filterable, this attribute must be set to true and the
filterModel attribute must be set on the table. Only leaf columns can be
filtered and the filter component is displayed only if the column header is
present. This column's sortProperty attribute must be used as a key for the
filterProperty attribute in the filterModel class.

Note: For a column with filtering turned on (filterable=true),

you can specify the input component to be used as the filter criteria
input field. To do so, add a filter facet to the column and add the input
component. For more information, see Section 10.4, "Enabling
Filtering in Tables."

7. Expand the Appearance section. Use this section to set the appearance of the
column, using the following column-specific attributes:

Using Tables and Trees 10-19

Displaying Data in Tables

■ DisplayIndex: Specify the display order index of the column. Columns can be
rearranged and they are displayed in the table based on the displayIndex
attribute. Columns without a displayIndex attribute value are displayed at
the end, in the order in which they appear in the data source. The
displayIndex attribute is honored only for top-level columns, because it is
not possible to rearrange a child column outside of the parent column.
■ Width: Specify the width of the column.
■ MinimumWidth: Specify the minimum number of pixels for the column
width. When a user attempts to resize the column, this minimum width will
be enforced. Also, when a column is flexible, it will never be stretched to be a
size smaller than this minimum width. If a pixel width is defined and if the
minimum width is larger, the minimum width will become the smaller of the
two values. By default, the minimum width is 10 pixels.
■ ShowRequired: Specify whether or not an asterisk should be displayed in the
column header if data is required for the corresponding attribute.
■ HeaderNoWrap and NoWrap: Specify whether or not you want content to
wrap in the header and in the column.
■ RowHeader: Set to true if you want this column to be a row header for the
table.
8. Expand the Behavior section. Use this section to configure the behavior of the
columns, using the following column-specific attributes:
■ SortProperty: Specify the property that is to be displayed by this column. This
is the property that the framework might use to sort the column’s data.
■ Frozen: Specify whether the column is frozen; that is they can’t be scrolled off
the page. In the table, columns up to the frozen column are locked with the
header, and not scrolled with the rest of the columns. The frozen attribute is
honored only on the top-level column, because it is not possible to freeze a
child column by itself without its parent being frozen.
■ Selected: When set to true, the column will be selected on initial rendering.
9. To add a column to an existing table, in the Structure window, right-click the table
and from the context menu choose Insert Inside Table > Column.
10. To add facets to the table, right-click the table and from the context menu, choose
Facets - Table and choose the type of facet you want to add. You can then add a
component directly to the facet.

Tip: Facets can have only one direct child. If you want the facet to
display more than one component, first insert a group component
(such as panelGroupLayout) and then insert the multiple
components as children to the group component.

11. To add facets to a column, right-click the column and from the context menu,
choose Facets - Column and choose the type of facet you want to add. You can
then add a component directly to the facet.

Tip: Facets can have only one direct child. If you want the facet to
display more than one component, first insert a group component
(such as panelGroupLayout) and then insert the multiple
components as children to the group component.

12. Add components as children to the columns to display your data.

10-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Tables

The component’s value should be bound to the variable value set on the table’s
var attribute and the attribute to be displayed. For example, the table in the File
Explorer application uses file as the value for the var attribute, and the first
column displays the name of the file for each row. Therefore, the value of the
output component used to display the directory name is #{file.name}.

Tip: If an input component is the direct child of a column, be sure its

width is set to a width that is appropriate for the width of the column.
If the width is set too large for its parent column, the browser may
extend its text input cursor too wide and cover adjacent columns. For
example, if an inputText component has its size set to 80 pixels and
its parent column size is set to 20 pixels, the table may have an input
cursor that covers the clickable areas of it neighbor columns.
To allow the input component to be automatically sized when it is not
the direct child of a column, set contentStyle="width:auto".

10.2.5 What Happens When You Add a Table to a Page

When you use JDeveloper to add a table onto a page, JDeveloper creates a table with a
column for each attribute. If you bind the table to a model, the columns will reflect the
attributes in the model. If you are not yet binding to model, JDeveloper will create the
columns using the default values. You can change the default values (add/delete
columns, change column headings, and so on) during in the table creation dialog or
later using the Property Inspector.
Example 10–2 shows abbreviated page code for the table in the File Explorer
application.

Example 10–2 ADF Faces Table in the File Explorer Application

<af:table id="folderTable" var="file"
value="#{explorer.contentViewManager.
tableContentView.contentModel}"
binding="#{explorer.contentViewManager.
tableContentView.contentTable}"
emptyText="#{explorerBundle['global.no_row']}"
rowselection="multiple"
contextMenuId=":context1" contentDelivery="immediate"
columnStretching="last"
selectionListener="#{explorer.contentViewManager.
tableContentView.tableFileItem}"
summary="table data">
<af:column width="180" sortable="true" sortProperty="name"
headerText="" align="start">
<f:facet name="header">
<af:outputText value="#{explorerBundle['contents.name']}"/>
</f:facet>
<af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:image source="#{file.icon}"
inlineStyle="margin-right:3px; vertical-align:middle;"
shortDesc="file icon"/>
<af:outputText value="#{file.name}" noWrap="true"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:column>
<af:column width="70" sortable="true"
sortProperty="property.size">
<f:facet name="header">
<af:outputText value="#{explorerBundle['contents.size']}"/>

Using Tables and Trees 10-21

Displaying Data in Tables

</f:facet>
<af:outputText value="#{file.property.size}" noWrap="true"/>
</af:column>
...
<af:column width="100">
<f:facet name="header">
<af:outputText value="#{explorerBundle['global.properties']}"/>
</f:facet>
<af:commandLink text="#{explorerBundle['global.properties']}"
partialSubmit="true"
action="#{explorer.launchProperties}"
returnListener="#{explorer.returnFromProperties}"
windowWidth="300" windowHeight="300"
useWindow="true"></af:commandLink>
</af:column>
</af:table>

10.2.6 What Happens at Runtime: Data Delivery

When a page is requested that contains a table, and the content delivery is set to lazy,
the page initially goes through the standard lifecycle. However, instead of fetching the
data during that request, a special separate PPR request is run. Because the page has
just rendered, only the Render Response phase executes, and the corresponding data is
fetched and displayed. If the user’s actions cause a subsequent data fetch (for example
scrolling in a table), another PPR request is executed. Figure 10–12 shows a page
containing a table during the second PPR request.

Figure 10–12 Table Fetches Data in a Second PPR Request

When the user clicks a sortable column header, the table component generates a
SortEvent event. This event has a getSortCriteria property, which returns the
criteria by which the table must be sorted. The table responds to this event by calling
the setSortCriteria() method on the underlying CollectionModel instance,
and calls any registered SortListener instances.

10.2.7 What You May Need to Know About Programmatically Enabling Sorting for Table
Columns
Sorting can be enabled for a table column only if the underlying model supports
sorting. If the model is a CollectionModel instance, it must implement the
following methods:
public boolean isSortable(String propertyName)
public List getSortCriteria()
public void setSortCriteria(List criteria)

10-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Tables

For more information, see the MyFaces Trinidad Javadoc at

http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/trinidad-1_
2/trinidad-api/apidocs/index.html.
If the underlying model is not a CollectionModel instance, the table component
automatically examines the actual data to determine which properties can be sorted.
Any column that has data that implements the java.lang.Comparable class is able
to be sorted. Although this automatic support is not as efficient as coding sorting
directly into a CollectionModel (for instance, by translating the sort into an ORDER
BY SQL clause), it may be sufficient for small data sets.

Note: Automatic support provides sorting for only one column.

Multi-column sorting is not supported.

10.2.8 What You May Need to Know About Performing an Action on Selected Rows in
Tables
A table can allow users to select one or more rows and perform some actions on those
rows.
When the selection state of a table changes, the table triggers selection events. A
selectionEvent event reports which rows were just deselected and which rows
were just selected.
To listen for selection events on a table, you can register a listener on the table either
using the selectionListener attribute or by adding a listener to the table using the
addselectionListener() method. The listener can then access the selected rows
and perform some actions on them.
The current selection, that is the selected row or rows, are the RowKeySet object,
which you obtain by calling the getSelectedRowKeys() method for the table. To
change a selection programmatically, you can do either of the following:
■ Add rowKey objects to, or remove rowKey objects from, the RowKeySet object.
■ Make a particular row current by calling the setRowIndex() or the
setRowKey() method on the table. You can then either add that row to the
selection, or remove it from the selection, by calling the add() or remove()
method on the RowKeySet object.
Example 10–3 shows a portion of a table in which a user can select some rows then
click the Delete button to delete those rows. Note that the actions listener is bound to
the performDelete method on the mybean managed bean.

Example 10–3 Selecting Rows

<af:table binding="#{mybean.table}" rowselection="multiple" ...>
...
</af:table>
<af:commandButton text="Delete" actionListener="#{mybean.performDelete}"/>

Example 10–4 shows an actions method, performDelete, which iterates through all
the selected rows and calls the markForDeletion method on each one.

Example 10–4 Using the rowKey Object

public void performDelete(ActionEvent action)
{
UIXTable table = getTable();

Using Tables and Trees 10-23

Displaying Data in Tables

Iterator selection = table.getSelectedRowKeys().iterator();

Object oldKey = table.getRowKey();
while(selection.hasNext())
{
Object rowKey = selection.next();
table.setRowKey(rowKey);
MyRowImpl row = (MyRowImpl) table.getRowData();
//custom method exposed on an implementation of Row interface.
row.markForDeletion();
}
// restore the old key:
table.setRowKey(oldKey);
}

// Binding methods for access to the table.

public void setTable(UIXTable table) { _table = table; }
public UIXTable getTable() { return _table; }
private UIXTable _table;

10.2.9 What You May Need to Know About Dynamically Determining Values for
Selection Components in Tables
There may be a case when you want to use a selectOne component in a table, but
you need each row to display different choices in a component. Therefore, you need to
dynamically determine the list of items at runtime.
While you may think you should use a forEach component to stamp out the
individual items, this will not work because forEach does not work with the
CollectionModel instance. It also cannot be bound to EL expressions that use
component-managed EL variables, as those used in the table. The forEach
component performs its functions in the JSF tag execution step while the table
performs in the following component encoding step. Therefore, the forEach
component will execute before the table is ready and will not perform its iteration
function.
In the case of a selectOne component, the direct child must be the items
component. While you could bind the items component directly to the row variable
(for example, <f:items value="#{row.Items}"/>, doing so would not allow
any changes to the underlying model.
Instead, you should create a managed bean that creates a list of items, as shown in
Example 10–5.

Example 10–5 Managed Bean Returns a List of Items

public List<Item> getItems()
{
// Grab the list of items
FacesContext context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
Object rowItemObj = context.getApplication().evaluateExpressionGet(
context, "#{row.items}", Object.class);
if (rowItemObj == null)
return null;
// Convert the model objects into items
List<SomeModelObject> list = (List<SomeModelObject>) rowItemObj;
List<Item> items = new ArrayList<Item>(list.size());
for (SomeModelObject entry : list)
{
items.add(new Item(entry.getValue(), entry.getLabel());

10-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Hidden Capabilities to a Table

}
// Return the items
return items;
}

You can then access the list from the one component on the page, as shown in
Example 10–6.

Example 10–6 Accessing the Items from a JSF Page

<af:table var="row">
<af:column>
<af:selectOneChoice value="#{row.myValue}">
<f:Items value="#{page_backing.Items}"/>
</af:selectOneChoice>
</af:column>
</af:table>

10.2.10 What You May Need to Know About Using the Iterator Tag
When you do not want to use a table, but still need the same stamping capabilities,
you can use the iterator tag. For example, say you want to display a list of periodic
table elements, and for each element, you want to display the name, atomic number,
symbol, and group. You can use the iterator tag as shown in Example 10–7.

Example 10–7 Using the Iterator Tag

<af:iterator var="row" first="3" rows="3" varStatus="stat"
value="#{periodicTable.tableData}" >
<af:outputText value="#{stat.count}.Index:#{stat.index} of
#{stat.model.rowCount}"/>
<af:inputText label="Element Name" value="#{row.name}"/>
<af:inputText label="Atomic Number" value="#{row.number}"/>
<af:inputText label="Symbol" value="#{row.symbol}"/>
<af:inputText label="Group" value="#{row.group}"/>
</af:iterator>

Each child is stamped as many times as necessary. Iteration starts at the index specified
by the first attribute for as many indexes specified by the row attribute. If the row
attribute is set to 0, then the iteration continues until there are no more elements in the
underlying data.

10.3 Adding Hidden Capabilities to a Table

You can use the detailStamp facet in a table to include data that can be displayed or
hidden. When you add a component to this facet, the table displays an additional
column with a toggle icon. When the user clicks the icon, the component added to the
facet is shown. When the user clicks on the toggle icon again, the component is
hidden. Figure 10–13 shows the additional column that is displayed when content is
added to the detailStamp facet.

Note: When a table that uses the detailStamp facet is rendered in

Screen Reader mode, the contents of the facet appear in a popup
window. For more information about accessibility, see Chapter 22,
"Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages."

Using Tables and Trees 10-25

Adding Hidden Capabilities to a Table

Figure 10–13 Table with Unexpanded DetailStamp Facet

Figure 10–14 shows the same table, but with the detailStamp facet expanded for the
first row.

Figure 10–14 Expanded detailStamp Facet

Note: If you set the table to allow columns to freeze, the freeze will
not work when you display the detailStamp facet. That is, a user
cannot freeze a column while the details are being displayed.

10.3.1 How to Use the detailStamp Facet

To use the detailStamp facet, you insert a component that is bound to the data to be
displayed or hidden into the facet.

To use the detailStamp facet:

1. In the Component Palette, drag the components you want to appear in the facet to
the detailStamp facet folder. Figure 10–15 shows the detailStamp facet folder in
the Structure window.

Figure 10–15 detailStamp Facet in the Structure Window

Tip: If the facet folder does not appear in the Structure window,
right-click the table and choose Facets - Table > Detail Stamp.

10-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Enabling Filtering in Tables

2. If the attribute to be displayed is specific to a current record, replace the JSF code
(which simply binds the component to the attribute), so that it uses the table’s
variable to display the data for the current record.
Example 10–8 shows abbreviated code used to display the detailStamp facet
shown in Figure 10–14, which shows details about the selected row.

Example 10–8 Code for detailStamp Facet

<af:table rowSelection="multiple" var="test1"
value="#{tableTestData}"
<f:facet name="detailStamp">
<af:panelFormLayout rows="4" labelWidth="33%" fieldWidth="67%"
inlineStyle="width:400px">
<af:inputText label="Name" value="#{test1.name}"/>
<af:group>
<af:inputText label="Size" value="#{test1.size}"/>
<af:inputText label="Date Modified" value="#{test1.inputDate}"/>
<af:inputText label="Created by"/>
</af:group>
</af:panelFormLayout>
</f:facet>
</af:table>

Note: If your application uses the Fusion technology stack, then you
can drag attributes from a data control and drop them into the
detailStamp facet. You don’t need to modify the code.

10.3.2 What Happens at Runtime: Disclosing Row Data

When the user hides or shows the details of a row, the table generates a
rowDisclosureEvent event. The event tells the table to toggle the details (that is,
either expand or collapse).
The rowDisclosureEvent event has an associated listener. You can bind the
rowDisclosureListener attribute on the table to a method on a managed bean.
This method will then be invoked in response to the rowDisclosureEvent event to
execute any needed post-processing.

10.4 Enabling Filtering in Tables

You can add a filter to a table that can be used so that the table displays only rows
whose values match the filter. When enabled and set to visible, a search criteria input
field displays above each searchable column.
For example, the table in Figure 10–16 has been filtered to display only rows in which
the Location value is1700.

Using Tables and Trees 10-27

Enabling Filtering in Tables

Figure 10–16 Filtered Table

Filtered table searches are based on Query-by-Example and use the QBE text or date
input field formats. The input validators are turned off to allow for entering characters
for operators such as > and < to modify the search criteria. For example, you can enter
>1500 as the search criteria for a number column. Wildcard characters may also be
supported. Searches can be either case-sensitive or case-insensitive. If a column does
not support QBE, the search criteria input field will not render for that column.
The filtering feature uses a model for filtering data into the table. The table’s
filterModel attribute object must be bound to an instance of the
FilterableQueryDescriptor class.

Note: If your application uses the Fusion technology stack, then you
can use data controls to create tables and filtering will be created for
you. For more information see the "Creating ADF Databound Tables"
chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Web User Interface Developer's
Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework

In Example 10–9, the table filterVisible attribute is set to true to enable the filter
input fields, and the sortProperty attribute is set on the column to identify the
column in the filterModel instance. Each column element has its filterable
attribute set to true.

Example 10–9 Table Component with Filtering Enabled

<af:table value="#{myBean.products}" var="row"
...
filterVisible="true"
...
rowselection="single">
...
<af:column sortProperty="ProductID" filterable="true" sortable="true"
<af:outputText value="#{row.ProductID}">
...
</af:column>
<af:column sortProperty="Name" filterable="true" sortable="true"
<af:outputText value="#{row.Name}"/>
...
</af:column>
<af:column sortProperty="warehouse" filterable="true" sortable="true"
<af:outputText value="#{row.warehouse}"/>
...
</af:column>
</af:table>

10-28 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Trees

10.4.1 How to Add Filtering to a Table

To add filtering to a table, first create a class that can provide the filtering functionality.
You then bind the table to that class, and configure the table and columns to use
filtering. The table that will use filtering must either have a value for its headerText
attribute, or it must contain a component in the header facet of the column that is to
be filtered. This allows the filter component to be displayed. Additionally, the column
must be configured to be sortable, because the filterModel class uses the
sortProperty attribute.

To add filtering to a table:

1. Create a Java class that is a subclass of the FilterableQueryDescriptor class.
For more information about this class, see the ADF Faces Javadoc.
2. Create a table, as described in Section 10.2, "Displaying Data in Tables."
3. Select the table in the Structure window and set the following attributes in the
Property Inspector:
■ FilterVisible: Set to true to display the filter criteria input field above
searchable column.
■ FilterModel: Bind to an instance of the FilterableQueryDescriptor class
created in Step 1.

Tip: If you want to use a component other than an inputText

component for your filter (for example, an inputDate component),
then instead of setting filterVisible to true, you can add the
needed component to the filter facet. To do so:
1. In the Structure window, right-click the column to be filtered and choose
Insert inside af:column > JSF Core > Filter facet.
2. From the Component Palette, drag and drop a component into the facet.
3. Set the value of the component to the corresponding attribute within the
FilterableQueryDescriptor class created in Step 1. Note that the
value must take into account the variable used for the row, for example:
#{af:inputDate label="Select Date" id="name"
value="row.filterCriteria.date"}

4. In the Structure window, select a column in the table and in the Property Inspector,
and set the following for each column in the table:
■ Filterable: Set to true.
■ FilterFeatures: Set to caseSensitive or caseInsensitive. If not
specified, the case sensitivity is determined by the model.

10.5 Displaying Data in Trees

The ADF Faces tree component displays hierarchical data, such as organization charts
or hierarchical directory structures. In data of these types, there may be a series of
top-level nodes, and each element in the structure may expand to contain other
elements. As an example, in an organization chart, each element, that is, each
employee, in the hierarchy may have any number of child elements (direct reports).
The tree component supports multiple root elements. It displays the data in a form
that represents the structure, with each element indented to the appropriate level to
indicate its level in the hierarchy, and connected to its parent. Users can expand and

Using Tables and Trees 10-29

Displaying Data in Trees

collapse portions of the hierarchy. Figure 10–17 shows a tree used to display directories
in the File Explorer application.

Figure 10–17 Tree Component in the File Explorer Application

The ADF Faces tree component uses a model to access the data in the underlying
hierarchy. The specific model class is oracle.adf.view.rich.model.TreeModel,
which extends CollectionModel, described in Section 10.2, "Displaying Data in
Tables."
You must create your own tree model to support your tree. The tree model is a
collection of rows. It has an isContainer() method that returns true if the current
row contains child rows. To access the children of the current row, you call the
enterContainer() method. Calling this method results in the TreeModel instance
changing to become a collection of the child rows. To revert back up to the parent
collection, you call the exitContainer() method.
You may find the oracle.adf.view.rich.model.ChildPropertyTreeModel
class useful when constructing a TreeModel class, as shown in Example 10–10.

Example 10–10 Constructing a TreeModel

List<TreeNode> root = new ArrayList<TreeNode>();
for(int i = 0; i < firstLevelSize; i++)
{
List<TreeNode> level1 = new ArrayList<TreeNode>();
for(int j = 0; j < i; j++)
{
List<TreeNode> level2 = new ArrayList<TreeNode>();
for(int k=0; k<j; k++)
{
TreeNode z = new TreeNode(null, _nodeVal(i,j,k));
level2.add(z);
}
TreeNode c = new TreeNode(level2, _nodeVal(i,j));
level1.add(c);
}
TreeNode n = new TreeNode(level1, _nodeVal(i));
root.add(n);
}
ChildPropertyTreeModel model = new ChildPropertyTreeModel(root, "children");

10-30 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Trees

private String _nodeVal(Integer... args)

{
StringBuilder s = new StringBuilder();
for(Integer i : args)
s.append(i);
return s.toString();
}

Note: If your application uses the Fusion technology stack, then you
can use data controls to create trees and the model will be created for
you. For more information see the "Displaying Master-Detail Data"
chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Web User Interface Developer's
Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework

You can manipulate the tree similar to the way you can manipulate a table. You can do
the following:
■ To make a node current, call the setRowIndex() method on the tree with the
appropriate index into the list. Alternatively, call the setRowKey() method with
the appropriate rowKey object.
■ To access a particular node, first make that node current, and then call the
getRowData() method on the tree.
■ To access rows for expanded or collapsed nodes, call getAddedSet and
getRemovedSet methods on the RowDisclosureEvent. For more information,
see Section 10.5.4, "What You May Need to Know About Programmatically
Expanding and Collapsing Nodes."
■ To manipulate the node’s child collection, call the enterContainer() method
before calling the setRowIndex() and setRowKey() methods. Then call the
exitContainer() method to return to the parent node.
■ To point to a rowKey for a node inside the tree (at any level) use the
focusRowKey attribute. The focusRowKey attribute is set when the user
right-clicks on a node and selects the Show as top context menu item (or the Show
as top toolbar button in the panelCollection component).
When the focusRowKey attribute is set, the tree renders the node pointed to by
the focusRowKey attribute as the root node in the Tree and displays a
Hierarchical Selector icon next to the root node. Clicking the Hierarchical Selector
icon displays a Hierarchical Selector dialog which shows the path to the
focusRowKey object from the root node of the tree. How this displays depends on
the components placed in the pathStamp facet.
As with tables, trees use stamping to display content for the individual nodes. Trees
contain a nodeStamp facet, which is a holder for the component used to display the
data for each node. Each node is rendered (stamped) once, repeatedly for all nodes. As
each node is stamped, the data for the current node is copied into a property that can
be addressed using an EL expression. Specify the name to use for this property using
the var property on the tree. Once the tree has completed rendering, this property is
removed or reverted back to its previous value.
Because of this stamping behavior, only certain types of components are supported as
children inside an ADF Faces tree. All components that have no behavior are
supported, as are most components that implement the ValueHolder or
ActionSource interfaces.

Using Tables and Trees 10-31

Displaying Data in Trees

In Example 10–11, the data for each element is referenced using the variable node,
which identifies the data to be displayed in the tree. The nodeStamp facet displays the
data for each element by getting further properties from the node variable:

Example 10–11 Displaying Data in a Tree

<af:tree var="node">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:outputText value="#{node.firstname}"/>
</f:facet>
</af:tree>

Trees also contain a pathStamp facet. This facet determines how the content of the
Hierarchical Selector dialog is rendered, just like the nodeStamp facet determines how
the content of the tree is rendered. The component inside the pathStamp facet can be
a combination of simple outputText, image, and outputFormatted tags and
cannot not be any input component (that is, any EditableValueHolder component)
because no user input is allowed in the Hierarchical Selector popup. If this facet is not
provided, then the Hierarchical Selector icon is not rendered.
For example, including an image and an outputText component in the pathStamp
facet causes the tree to render an image and an outputText component for each node
level in the Hierarchical Selector dialog. Use the same EL expression to access the
value. For example, if you want to show the first name for each node in the path in an
outputText component, the EL expression would be <af:outputText
value="#{node.firstname}"/>.

Tip: The pathStamp facet is also used to determine how default

toolbar buttons provided by the panelCollection component will
behave. If you want to use the buttons, add a component bound to a
node value. For more information about using the
panelCollection component, see Section 10.8, "Displaying Table
Menus, Toolbars, and Status Bars."

10.5.1 How to Display Data in Trees

To create a tree, you add a tree component to your page and configure the display and
behavior properties.

To add a tree to a page:

1. Create a Java class that extends the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.TreeModel class, as shown in
Example 10–10.
2. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Tree to open the Insert Tree dialog. Configure the tree as needed. Click Help or
press F1 for help in using the dialog.
3. In the Property Inspector, expand the Data section and set the following attributes:
■ Value: Specify an EL expression for the object to which you want the tree to be
bound. This must be an instance of
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.TreeModel as created in Step 1.
■ Var: Specify a variable name to represent each node.
■ VarStatus: Optionally enter a variable that can be used to determine the state
of the component. During the Render Response phase, the tree iterates over

10-32 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Trees

the model rows and renders each node. For any given node, the varStatus
attribute provides the following information:
– model: A reference to the CollectionModel instance
– index: The current row index
– rowKey: The unique key for the current node
4. Expand the Appearance section and set the following attributes:
■ DisplayRow: Specify the node to display in the tree during the initial display.
The possible values are first to display the first node, last to display the
last node, and selected to display the first selected node in the tree. The
default is first.
■ DisplayRowKey: Specify the row key to display in the tree during the initial
display. This attribute should be set only programatically. Specifying this
attribute will override the displayRow attribute.
■ Summary: Optionally enter a summary of the data displayed by the tree.
5. Expand the Behavior section and set the following attributes:
■ InitiallyExpanded: Set to true if you want all nodes expanded when the
component first renders.
■ EditingMode: Specify whether for any editable components used to display
data in the tree, you want all the nodes to be editable (editAll), or you want
the user to click a node to make it editable (clickToEdit). For more
information, see Section 10.1.3, "Editing Data in Tables, Trees, and Tree Tables."
■ ContextMenuSelect: Determines whether or not the node is selected when
you right-click to open a context menu. When set to true, the node is selected.
For more information about context menus, see Chapter 13, "Using Popup
Dialogs, Menus, and Windows."
■ RowSelection: Set a value to make the nodes selectable. Valid values are:
none, single, or multiple. For information about how to then
programatically perform some action on the selected nodes, see Section 10.5.5,
"What You May Need to Know About Programmatically Selecting Nodes."
■ ContentDelivery: Specify whether or not data should be fetched when the
component is rendered initially. When the contentDelivery attribute is
immediate, data is fetched as the component is rendered. If the
contentDelivery attribute is lazy, data will be fetched and delivered to
the client during a subsequent request. For more information, see
Section 10.1.1, "Content Delivery."
■ FetchSize: Specify the number of rows in the data fetch block. For more
information, see Section 10.1.1, "Content Delivery."
■ SelectionListener: Optionally enter an EL expression for a listener that
handles selection events. For more information, see Section 10.5.5, "What You
May Need to Know About Programmatically Selecting Nodes."
■ FocusListener: Optionally enter an EL expression for a listener that handles
focus events.
■ RowDisclosureListener: Optionally enter an EL expression for a listener
method that handles node disclosure events.
6. Expand the Advanced section and set the following attributes:

Using Tables and Trees 10-33

Displaying Data in Trees

■ FocusRowKey: Optionally enter the node that is to be the initially focused

node.
■ DisclosedRowKeys: Optionally enter an EL expression to a method on a
backing bean that handles node disclosure. For more information, see
Section 10.5.4, "What You May Need to Know About Programmatically
Expanding and Collapsing Nodes."
■ SelectedRowKeys: Optionally enter the keys for the nodes that should be
initially selected. For more information, see Section 10.5.5, "What You May
Need to Know About Programmatically Selecting Nodes."
7. To add components to display data in the tree, drag the desired component from
the Component Palette to the nodeStamp facet. Figure 10–18 shows the
nodeStamp facet for the tree used to display directories in the File Explorer
application.

Figure 10–18 nodeStamp Facet in the Structure Window

The component’s value should be bound to the variable value set on the tree’s var
attribute and the attribute to be displayed. For example, the tree in the File
Explorer application uses folder as the value for the var attribute, and displays
the name of the directory for each node. Therefore, the value of the output
component used to display the directory name is #{folder.name}.

Tip: Facets can accept only one child component. Therefore, if you
want to use more than one component per node, place the
components in a group component that can be the facet’s direct child,
as shown in Figure 10–18.

10.5.2 What Happens When You Add a Tree to a Page

When you add a tree to a page, JDeveloper adds a nodeStamp facet to stamp out the
nodes of the tree. Example 10–12 shows the abbreviated code for the tree in the File
Explorer application that displays the directory structure.

Example 10–12 ADF Faces Tree Code in a JSF Page

<af:tree id="folderTree"
var="folder"
binding="#{explorer.navigatorManager.foldersNavigator
.foldersTreeComponent}"
value="#{explorer.navigatorManager.foldersNavigator.
foldersTreeModel}"
disclosedRowKeys="#{explorer.navigatorManager.foldersNavigator.
foldersTreeDisclosedRowKeys}"
rowSelection="single"
contextMenuId=":context2"
selectionListener="#{explorer.navigatorManager.foldersNavigator.
showSelectedFolderContent}">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">

10-34 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Trees

<af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:image id="folderNodeStampImg" source="#{folder.icon}"
inlineStyle="vertical-align:middle; margin-right:3px;
shortDesc="folder icon"/>
<af:outputText id="folderNodeStampText" value="#{folder.name}"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</f:facet>
</af:tree>

10.5.3 What Happens at Runtime: Tree Component Events

The tree is displayed in a format with nodes indented to indicate their levels in the
hierarchy. The user can click nodes to expand them to show children nodes. The user
can click expanded nodes to collapse them. When a user clicks one of these icons, the
component generates a RowDisclosureEvent event. You can register a custom
rowDisclosureListener method to handle any processing in response to the
event. For more information, see Section 10.5.4, "What You May Need to Know About
Programmatically Expanding and Collapsing Nodes."
When a user selects or deselects a node, the tree component invokes a
selectionEvent event. You can register custom selectionListener instances,
which can do post-processing on the tree component based on the selected nodes. For
more information, see Section 10.5.5, "What You May Need to Know About
Programmatically Selecting Nodes."

10.5.4 What You May Need to Know About Programmatically Expanding and Collapsing
Nodes
The RowDisclosureEvent event has two RowKeySet objects: the RemovedSet
object for all the collapsed nodes and the AddedSet object for all the expanded nodes.
The component expands the subtrees under all nodes in the added set and collapses
the subtrees under all nodes in the removed set.
Your custom rowDisclosureListener method can do post-processing, on the tree
component, as shown in Example 10–13.

Example 10–13 Tree Table Component with rowDisclosureListener

<af:treeTable id="folderTree" var="directory" value="#{fs.treeModel}"

binding="#{editor.component}" rowselection="multiple"
columnselection="multiple" focusRowKey="#{fs.defaultFocusRowKey}"
selectionListener="#{fs.Table}"
contextMenuId="treeTableMenu"
rowDisclosureListener="#{fs.handleRowDisclosure}">

The backing bean method that handles row disclosure events is shown in
Example 10–14. The example illustrates expansion of a tree node. For the contraction
of a tree node, you would use getRemovedSet.

Example 10–14 Backing Bean Method for RowDisclosureEvent

public void handleRowDisclosure(RowDisclosureEvent rowDisclosureEvent)
throws Exception {
Object rowKey = null;
Object rowData = null;
RichTree tree = (RichTree) rowDisclosureEvent.getSource();
RowKeySet rks = rowDisclosureEvent.getAddedSet();

Using Tables and Trees 10-35

Displaying Data in Trees

if (rks != null) {
int setSize = rks.size();
if (setSize > 1) {
throw new Exception("Unexpected multiple row disclosure
added row sets found.");
}

if (setSize == 0) {
// nothing in getAddedSet indicates this is a node
// contraction, not expansion. If interested only in handling
// node expansion at this point, return.
return;
}

rowKey = rks.iterator().next();
tree.setRowKey(rowKey);
rowData = tree.getRowData();

// Do whatever is necessary for accessing tree node from

// rowData, by casting it to an appropriate data structure
// for example, a Java map or Java bean, and so forth.
}
}

Trees and tree tables use an instance of the

oracle.adf.view.rich.model.RowKeySet class to keep track of which nodes
are expanded. This instance is stored as the disclosedRowKeys attribute on the
component. You can use this instance to control the expand or collapse state of an node
in the hierarchy programatically, as shown in Example 10–15. Any node contained by
the RowKeySet instance is expanded, and all other nodes are collapsed. The
addAll() method adds all elements to the set, and the and removeAll() method
removes all the nodes from the set.

Example 10–15 Tree Component with disclosedRowKeys Attribute

<af:tree var="node"
inlineStyle="width:90%; height:300px"
id="displayRowTable"
varStatus="vs"
rowselection="single"
disclosedRowKeys="#{treeTableTestData.disclosedRowKeys}"
value="#{treeTableTestData.treeModel}">

The backing bean method that handles the disclosed row keys is shown in
Example 10–16.

Example 10–16 Backing Bean Method for Handling Row Keys

public RowKeySet getDisclosedRowKeys()
{
if (disclosedRowKeys == null)
{
// Create the PathSet that we will use to store the initial
// expansion state for the tree
RowKeySet treeState = new RowKeySetTreeImpl();
// RowKeySet requires access to the TreeModel for currency.
TreeModel model = getTreeModel();
treeState.setCollectionModel(model);

10-36 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Data in Tree Tables

// Make the model point at the root node

int oldIndex = model.getRowIndex();
model.setRowKey(null);
for(int i = 1; i<=19; ++i)
{
model.setRowIndex(i);
treeState.setContained(true);
}
model.setRowIndex(oldIndex);
disclosedRowKeys = treeState;
}
return disclosedRowKeys;
}

10.5.5 What You May Need to Know About Programmatically Selecting Nodes
The tree and tree table components allow nodes to be selected, either a single node
only, or multiple nodes. If the component allows multiple selections, users can select
multiple nodes using Control+click and Shift+click operations.
When a user selects or deselects a node, the tree component fires a selectionEvent
event. This event has two RowKeySet objects: the RemovedSet object for all the
deselected nodes and the AddedSet object for all the selected nodes.
Tree and tree table components keep track of which nodes are selected using an
instance of the class oracle.adf.view.rich.model.RowKeySet. This instance is
stored as the selectedRowKeys attribute on the component. You can use this
instance to control the selection state of a node in the hierarchy programatically. Any
node contained by the RowKeySet instance is deemed selected, and all other nodes
are not selected. The addAll() method adds all nodes to the set, and the and
removeAll() method removes all the nodes from the set. Tree and tree table node
selection works in the same way as table row selection. You can refer to sample code
for table row selection in Section 10.2.8, "What You May Need to Know About
Performing an Action on Selected Rows in Tables."

10.6 Displaying Data in Tree Tables

The ADF Faces tree table component displays hierarchical data in the form of a table.
The display is more elaborate than the display of a tree component, because the tree
table component can display columns of data for each tree node in the hierarchy. The
component includes mechanisms for focusing on subtrees within the main tree, as well
as expanding and collapsing nodes in the hierarchy. Figure 10–19 shows the tree table
used in the File Explorer application. Like the tree component, the tree table can
display the hierarchical relationship between the files in the collection. And like the
table component, it can also display attribute values for each file.

Figure 10–19 Tree Table in the File Explorer Application

Using Tables and Trees 10-37

Displaying Data in Tree Tables

The immediate children of a tree table component must be column components, in the
same way as for table components. Unlike the table, the tree table component has a
nodeStamp facet which holds the column that contains the primary identifier of an
node in the hierarchy. The treeTable component supports the same stamping
behavior as the Tree component (for details, see Section 10.5, "Displaying Data in
Trees").
For example, in the File Explorer application (as shown in Figure 10–19), the primary
identifier is the file name. This column is what is contained in the nodeStamp facet.
The other columns, such as Type and Size, display attribute values on the primary
identifier, and these columns are the direct children of the tree table component. This
tree table uses node as the value of the variable that will be used to stamp out the data
for each node in the nodeStamp facet column and each component in the child
columns. Example 10–17 shows abbreviated code for the tree table in the File Explorer
application.

Example 10–17 Stamping Rows in a TreeTable

<af:treeTable id="folderTreeTable" var="file"
value="#{explorer.contentViewManager.treeTableContentView.
contentModel}"
binding="#{explorer.contentViewManager.treeTableContentView.
contentTreeTable}"
emptyText="#{explorerBundle['global.no_row']}"
columnStretching="last"
rowSelection="single"
selectionListener="#{explorer.contentViewManager.
treeTableContentView.treeTableSelectFileItem}"
summary="treeTable data">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:column headerText="#{explorerBundle['contents.name']}"
width="200" sortable="true" sortProperty="name">
<af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:image source="#{file.icon}"
shortDesc="#{file.name}"
inlineStyle="margin-right:3px; vertical-align:middle;"/>
<af:outputText id="nameStamp" value="#{file.name}"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:column>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="pathStamp">
<af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:image source="#{file.icon}"
shortDesc="#{file.name}"
inlineStyle="margin-right:3px; vertical-align:middle;"/>
<af:outputText value="#{file.name}"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</f:facet>
<af:column headerText="#{explorerBundle['contents.type']}">
<af:outputText id="typeStamp" value="#{file.type}"/>
</af:column>
<af:column headerText="#{explorerBundle['contents.size']}">
<af:outputText id="sizeStamp" value="#{file.property.size}"/>
</af:column>
<af:column headerText="#{explorerBundle['contents.lastmodified']}"
width="140">
<af:outputText id="modifiedStamp"
value="#{file.property.lastModified}"/>
</af:column>
</af:treeTable>

10-38 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Passing a Row as a Value

The tree table component supports many of the same attributes as both tables and
trees. For more information about these attributes see Section 10.2, "Displaying Data in
Tables" and Section 10.5, "Displaying Data in Trees."

10.6.1 How to Display Data in a Tree Table

You use the Insert Tree Table wizard to create a tree table. Once the wizard is complete,
you can use the Property Inspector to configure additional attributes on the tree table.

To add a tree table to a page:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Tree Table onto the page to open the Insert Tree Table wizard. Configure the table
by completing the wizard. If you need help, press F1 or click Help.
2. Use the Property Inspector to configure any other attributes.

Tip: The attributes of the tree table are the same as those on the table
and tree components. Refer to Section 10.2.4, "How to Display a Table
on a Page," and Section 10.5.1, "How to Display Data in Trees" for help
in configuring the attributes.

10.7 Passing a Row as a Value

There may be a case where you need to pass an entire row from a collection as a value.
To do this, you pass the variable used in the table to represent the row, or used in the
tree to represent a node, and pass it as a value to a property in the pageFlow scope.
Another page can then access that value from the scope. The setPropertyListener
tag allows you to do this (for more information about the setPropertyListener
tag, including procedures for using it, see Section 4.7, "Passing Values Between
Pages").
For example, suppose you have a master page with a single-selection table showing
employees, and you want users to be able to select a row and then click a command
button to navigate to a new page to edit the data for that row, as shown in
Example 10–18. The EL variable name emp is used to represent one row (employee) in
the table. The action attribute value of the commandButton component is a static
string outcome showEmpDetail, which allows the user to navigate to the Employee
Detail page. The setPropertyListener tag takes the from value (the variable
emp), and stores it with the to value.

Example 10–18 Using SetPropertyListener and PageFlowScope

<af:table value="#{myManagedBean.allEmployees}" var="emp"
rowSelection="single">
<af:column headerText="Name">
<af:outputText value="#{emp.name}"/>
</af:column>
<af:column headerText="Department Number">
<af:outputText value="#{emp.deptno}"/>
</af:column>
<af:column headertext="Select">
<af:commandButton text="Show more details" action="showEmpDetail">
<af:setPropertyListener from="#{emp}"
to="#{pageFlowScope.empDetail}"
type="action"/>
</af:commandButton>
</af:column>

Using Tables and Trees 10-39

Displaying Table Menus, Toolbars, and Status Bars

</af:table>

When the user clicks the command button on an employee row, the listener executes,
and the value of #{emp} is retrieved, which corresponds to the current row
(employee) in the table. The retrieved row object is stored as the empDetail property
of pageFlowScope with the #{pageFlowScope.empDetail} EL expression. Then
the action event executes with the static outcome, and the user is navigated to a detail
page. On the detail page, the outputText components get their value from
pageFlowScope.empDetail objects, as shown in Example 10–19.

Example 10–19 Retrieving PageFlowScope Objects

<h:panelGrid columns="2">
<af:outputText value="Firstname:"/>
<af:inputText value="#{pageFlowScope.empDetail.name}"/>
<af:outputText value="Email:"/>
<af:inputText value="#{pageFlowScope.empDetail.email}"/>
<af:outputText value="Hiredate:"/>
<af:inputText value="#{pageFlowScope.empDetail.hiredate}"/>
<af:outputText value="Salary:"/>
<af:inputText value="#{pageFlowScope.empDetail.salary}"/>
</h:panelGrid>

10.8 Displaying Table Menus, Toolbars, and Status Bars

You can use the panelCollection component to add menus, toolbars, and status
bars to tables, trees, and tree tables. To use the panelCollection component, you
add the table, tree, or tree table component as a direct child of the panelCollection
component. The panelCollection component provides default menus and toolbar
buttons. Figure 10–20 shows the panelCollection component with the tree table
component in the File Explorer application. The toolbar contains a menu that provides
actions that can be performed on the tree table (such as expanding and collapsing
nodes), a button that allows users to detach the tree table, and buttons that allow users
to change the rows displayed in the tree table. For more information about menus,
toolbars, and toolbar buttons, see Chapter 14, "Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes."

Figure 10–20 Panel Collection for Tree Table with Menus and Toolbar

The panelCollection component contains a menu facet to hold menu components,

a toolbar facet for toolbar components, a secondaryToolbar facet for another set
of toolbar components, and a statusbar facet for status items.

10-40 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Table Menus, Toolbars, and Status Bars

The default top-level menu and toolbar items vary depending on the component used
as the child of the panelCollection component:
■ Table and tree: Default top-level menu is View.
■ Table and tree table with selectable columns: Default top-level menu items are
View and Format.
■ Table and tree table: Default toolbar menu is Detach.
■ Table and tree table with selectable columns: Default top-level toolbar items are
Freeze, Detach, and Wrap
■ Tree and tree table (when the pathStamp facet is used): The toolbar buttons Go
Up, Go To Top, and Show as Top also appear.
Example 10–20 shows how the panelCollection component contains menus and
toolbars.

Example 10–20 The panelCollection Component with Table, Menus, and Toolbars
<af:panelCollection
binding="#{editor.component}">
<f:facet name="viewMenu">
<af:group>
<af:commandMenuItem text="View Item 1..."/>
<af:commandMenuItem text="View Item 2.."/>
<af:commandMenuItem text="View Item 3..." disabled="true"/>
<af:commandMenuItem text="View Item 4"/>
</af:group>
</f:facet>

<f:facet name="menus">
<af:menu text="Actions">
<af:commandMenuItem text="Add..." />
<af:commandMenuItem text="Create.." />
<af:commandMenuItem text="Update..." disabled="true"/>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Copy"/>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Delete"/>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Remove" accelerator="control A"/>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Preferences"/>
</af:menu>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="toolbar">
<af:toolbar>
<af:commandToolbarButton shortDesc="Create" icon="/new_ena.png">
</af:commandToolbarButton>
<af:commandToolbarButton shortDesc="Update" icon="/update_ena.png">
</af:commandToolbarButton>
<af:commandToolbarButton shortDesc="Delete" icon="/delete_ena.png">
</af:commandToolbarButton>
</af:toolbar>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="secondaryToolbar">
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="statusbar">
<af:toolbar>
<af:outputText id="statusText" ... value="Custom Statusbar Message"/>
</af:toolbar>
</f:facet>
<af:table rowselection="multiple" columnselection="multiple"
...

Using Tables and Trees 10-41

Exporting Data from Table, Tree, or Tree Table

<af:column
...
</af:column>

Tip: You can make menus detachable in the panelCollection

component. For more information, see Section 14.2, "Using Menus in a
Menu Bar." Consider using detached menus when you expect users to
do any of the following:
■ Execute similar commands repeatedly on a page.
■ Execute similar commands on different rows of data in a large
table, tree table, or tree.
■ View data in long and wide tables or tree tables, and trees. Users
can choose which columns or branches to hide or display with a
single click.
■ Format data in long or wide tables, tree tables, or trees.

10.8.1 How to Add a panelCollection with a Table, Tree, or Tree Table

You add a panelCollection component and then add the table, tree, or tree table
inside the panelCollection component. You can then add and modify the menus
and toolbars for it.

To create a panelCollection component with an aggregate display component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel
Collection onto the page. Add the table, tree, or tree table as a child to that
component.
Alternatively, if the table, tree, or tree table already exists on the page, you can
right-click the component and choose Surround With. Then select Panel
Collection to wrap the component with the panelCollection component.
2. Add your custom menus and toolbars to the component:
■ Menus: Add a menu component inside the menu facet.
■ Toolbars: Add a toolbar component inside the toolbar or
secondaryToolbar facet.
■ Status items: Add items inside the statusbar facet.
■ View menu: Add commandMenuItem components to the viewMenu facet. For
multiple items, use the group component as a container for the many
commandMenuItem components.
From the Component Palette, drag and drop the component into the facet. For
example, drop Menu into the menu facet, then drop Menu Items into the same
facet to build a menu list. For more instructions about menus and toolbars, see
Chapter 14, "Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes."

10.9 Exporting Data from Table, Tree, or Tree Table

You can export the data in a table, tree, or tree table to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
Create an action source, such as a command button or command link, and add an
exportCollectionActionListener component and associate it with the data you
wish to export. You can configure the table so that all the rows will be exported, or so
that only the rows selected by the user will be exported. For example, Figure 10–21

10-42 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Exporting Data from Table, Tree, or Tree Table

shows the table from the ADF Faces application that includes a command button
component that allows users to export the data to an Excel spreadsheet.

Figure 10–21 Table with Command Button for Exporting Data

When the user clicks the command button, the listener processes the exporting of all
the rows to Excel. As shown in Figure 10–21, you can also configure the
exportCollectionActionListener component so that only the rows the user
selects are exported.
Depending on the browser, and the configuration of the listener, the browser will
either open a dialog, allowing the user to either open or save the spreadsheet as shown
in Figure 10–22, or the spreadsheet will be displayed in the browser. For example, if
the user is viewing the page in Microsoft Internet Explorer, and no file name has been
specified on the exportCollectionActionListener component, the file is
displayed in the browser. In Mozilla Firefox, the dialog opens.

Figure 10–22 Exporting to Excel Dialog

If the user chooses to save the file, it can later be opened in Excel, as shown in
Figure 10–23. If the user chooses to open the file, what happens depends on the
browser. For example, if the user is viewing the page in Microsoft Internet Explorer,
the spreadsheet opens in the browser window. If the user is viewing the page in
Mozilla Firefox, the spreadsheet opens in Excel.

Using Tables and Trees 10-43

Exporting Data from Table, Tree, or Tree Table

Figure 10–23 Exported Data File in Excel

10.9.1 How to Export Table, Tree, or Tree Table Data to an External Format
You create a command component, such as a button, link, or menu item, and add the
exportCollectionActionListener inside this component. Then you associate
the data collection you want to export by setting the
exportCollectionActionListener component’s exportedId attribute to the ID
of the collection component whose data you wish to export.

Before you begin:

You should already have a table, tree, or tree table on your page. If you do not, follow
the instructions in this chapter to create a table, tree, or tree table. For example, to add
a table, see Section 10.2, "Displaying Data in Tables."

Tip: If you want users to be able to select rows to export, then set
your table to allow selection. For more information, see Section 10.2.2,
"Formatting Tables."

To export collection data to an external format:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
command component, such as a button, to your page.

Tip: If you want your table, tree, or tree table to have a toolbar that
will hold command components, you can wrap the collection
component in a panelCollection component. This component
adds toolbar functionality. For more information, see Section 10.8,
"Displaying Table Menus, Toolbars, and Status Bars."

You may want to change the default label of the command component to a
meaningful name such as Export to Excel.
2. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag an Export Collection
Action Listener as a child to the command component.
3. In the Insert Export Collection Action Listener dialog, set the following:
■ ExportedId: Specify the ID of the table, tree, or tree table to be exported. Either
enter it manually or use the dropdown menu to choose Edit. Use the Edit
Property dialog to select the component.
■ Type: Set to excelHTML.

10-44 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Accessing Selected Values on the Client from Components That Use Stamping

4. With the exportCollectionActionListener component still selected, in the

Property Inspector, set the following:
■ Filename: Specify the proposed file name for the exported content. When this
attribute is set, a "Save File" dialog will typically be displayed, though this is
ultimately up to the browser. If the attribute is not set, the content will
typically be displayed inline, in the browser, if possible.
■ Title: Specify the title of the exported document. Whether or not the title is
displayed and how exactly it is displayed depends on Excel.
■ ExportedRows (located in the Other section): Set to all if you want all rows
to be automatically selected and exported. Set to selected if you want only
the rows the user has selected to be exported.
Example 10–21 shows the code for a table and its
exportCollectionActionListener component. Note that the exportedId
value is set to the table id value.

Example 10–21 Using the exportCollectionActionListener to Export a Table

<af:table contextMenuId="thePopup" selectionListener="#{fs.Table}"
rowselection="multiple" columnselection="multiple"
columnBandingInterval="1"
binding="#{editor.component}" var="test1" value="#{tableTestData}"
id="table" summary="table data">
<af:column>
. . .
</af:column>
</af:table>
<af:commandButton text="Export To Excel" immediate="true">
<af:exportCollectionActionListener type="excelHTML" exportedId="table"
filename="export.xls" title="ADF Faces Export"/>

10.9.2 What Happens at Runtime: How Row Selection Affects the Exported Data
Exported data is exported in index order, not selected key order. This means that if you
allow selected rows to be exported, and the user selects rows (in this order) 8, 4, and 2,
then the rows will be exported and displayed in Excel in the order 2, 4, 8.

10.10 Accessing Selected Values on the Client from Components That

Use Stamping
Since there is no client-side support for EL in the rich client framework, nor is there
support for sending entire table models to the client, if you need to access values on
the client using JavaScript, the client-side code cannot rely on component stamping to
access the value. Instead of reusing the same component instance on each row, a new
JavaScript component is created on each row (assuming any component needs to be
created at all for any of the rows), using the fully resolved EL expressions.
Therefore, to access row-specific data on the client, you need to use the stamped
component itself to access the value. To do this without a client-side data model, you
use a client-side selection change listener.

10.10.1 How to Access Values from a Selection in Stamped Components.

To access values on the client from a stamped component, you first need to make sure
the component has a client representation. Then you need to register a selection

Using Tables and Trees 10-45

Accessing Selected Values on the Client from Components That Use Stamping

change listener on the client and then have that listener handle determining the
selected row, finding the associated stamped component for that row, use the stamped
component to determine the row-specific name, and finally interact with the selected
data as needed.

To access selected values from stamped components:

1. In the Structure window for your page, select the component associated with the
stamped row. For example, in Example 10–22 the table uses an outputText
component to display the stamped rows.

Example 10–22 Table Component Uses an outputText Component for Stamped Rows
<af:table var="row" value="#{data}" rowSelection="single">
<af:column headerText="Name">
<af:outputText value="#{row.name}"/>
</af:column>
</af:table>

Set the following on the component:

■ Expand the Common section of the Property Inspector and if one is not
already defined, set a unique ID for the component using the Id attribute.
■ Expand the Advanced section and set ClientComponent to True.
2. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop a Client
Listener as a child to the table.
3. In the Insert Client Listener dialog, enter a function name in the Method field (you
will implement this function in the next step), and select selection from the
Type dropdown.
If for example, you entered mySelectedRow as the function, JDeveloper would
enter the code shown in bold in Example 10–23.

Example 10–23 Using a clientListener to Register a Selection

<af:table var="row" value="#{data}" rowSelection="single">
<af:clientListener type="selection" method="mySelectedRow"/>
...
</af:table>

This code causes the mySelectedRow function to be called any time the selection
changes.
4. In your JavaScript library, implement the function entered in the last step. This
function should do the following:
■ Figure out what row was selected. To do this, use the event object that is
passed into the listener. In the case of selection events, the event object is of
type AdfSelectionEvent. This type provides access to the newly selected
row keys via the getAddedSet() method, which returns a POJSO (plain old
JavaScript object) that contains properties for each selected row key. Once you
have access to this object, you can iterate over the row keys using a "for in"
loop. For example, the code in Example 10–24 extracts the first row key (which
in this case, is the only row key).

Example 10–24 Iterating Over Row Keys Using a "for" in Loop

function showSelectedName(event)
{

10-46 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Accessing Selected Values on the Client from Components That Use Stamping

var firstRowKey;
var addRowKeys=event.getAddedSet();

for(var rowKey in addedRowKeys)

{
firstRowKey=rowKey;
break;
}
}

■ Find the stamped component associated with the selected row. The client-side
component API AdfUIComponent exposes a findComponent() method
that takes the ID of the component to find and returns the AdfUIComponent
instance. When using stamped components, you need to find a component not
just by its ID, but by the row key as well. In order to support this, the
AdfUITable class provides an overloaded method of findComponent(),
which takes both an ID as well as a row key.
In the case of selection events, the component is the source of the event. So
you can get the table from the source of the event and then use the table to
find the instance using the ID and row key. Example 10–25 shows this, where
nameStamp is the ID of the table.

Example 10–25 Finding a Stamped Component Instance Given a Selected Row

// We need the table to find our stamped component.
// Fortunately, in the case of selection events, the
// table is the event source.
var table = event.getSource();

// Use the table to find the name stamp component by id/row key:
var nameStamp = table.findComponent("nameStamp", firstRowKey);

5. Add any additional code needed to work with the component. Once you have the
stamped component, you can interact with it as you would with any other
component. For example, Example 10–26 shows how to use the stamped
component to get the row-specific value of the name attribute (which was the
stamped value as shown in Example 10–22)and then display the name in an alert.

Example 10–26 Retrieving the Name of the Row in a Stamped Component

if (nameStamp)
{
// This is the row-specific name
var name = nameStamp.getValue();

alert("The selected name is: " + name);

}

Example 10–27 shows the entire code for the JavaScript.

Example 10–27 JavaScript Used to Access Selected Row Value

function showSelectedName(event)
{
var firstRowKey;
var addedRowKeys = event.getAddedSet();

for (var rowKey in addedRowKeys)

{

Using Tables and Trees 10-47

Accessing Selected Values on the Client from Components That Use Stamping

firstRowKey = rowKey;
break;
}
// We need the table to find our stamped component.
// Fortunately, in the case of selection events, the
// table is the event source.
var table = event.getSource();

// We use the table to find the name stamp component by id/row key:
var nameStamp = table.findComponent("nameStamp", firstRowKey);

if (nameStamp)
{
// This is the row-specific name
var name = nameStamp.getValue();

alert("The selected name is: " + name);

}
}

10.10.2 What You May Need to Know About Accessing Selected Values
Row keys are tokenized on the server, which means that the row key on the client may
have no resemblance to the row key on the server. As such, only row keys that are
served up by the client-side APIs (like AdfSelectionEvent.getAddedSet()) are
valid.
Also note that AdfUITable.findComponent(id, rowKey)method may return
null if the corresponding row has been scrolled off screen and is no longer available
on the client. Always check for null return values from
AdfUITable.findComponent() method.

10-48 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 11
11 Using List-of-Values Components

This chapter describes how to use a list-of-values component to display a

model-driven list of objects from which a user can select a value.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 11.1, "Introduction to List-of-Values Components"
■ Section 11.2, "Creating the ListOfValues Data Model"
■ Section 11.3, "Using the inputListOfValues Component"
■ Section 11.4, "Using the InputComboboxListOfValues Component"

11.1 Introduction to List-of-Values Components

ADF Faces provides two list-of-values (LOV) input components that can display
multiple attributes of each list item and can optionally allow the user to search for the
needed item. These LOV components are useful when a field used to populate an
attribute for one object might actually be contained in a list of other objects, as with a
foreign key relationship in a database. For example, suppose you have a form that
allows the user to edit employee information. Instead of having a separate page where
the user first has to find the employee record to edit, that search and select
functionality can be built into the form, as shown in Figure 11–1.

Figure 11–1 List-of-Values Input Field

In this form, the employee name field is an LOV that contains a list of employees.
When the user clicks the search icon of the inputListOfValues component, a
Search and Select popup dialog displays all employees, along with a search field that
allows the user to search for the employee, as shown in Figure 11–2.

Using List-of-Values Components 11-1

Introduction to List-of-Values Components

Figure 11–2 The Search Popup Dialog for a List-of-Values Component

When the user returns to the page, the current information for that employee is
displayed in the form, as shown in Figure 11–3. The user can then edit and save the
data.

Figure 11–3 Form Populated Using LOV Component

Other list components, such as selectOneChoice, also allow users to select from a
list, but they do not include a popup dialog and they are intended for smaller lists.
This chapter describes only the inputListOfValues and
inputComboboxListOfValues LOV components. For more information about
select choice components, list box components, and radio buttons, see Chapter 9,
"Using Input Components and Defining Forms."
As shown in the preceding figures, the inputListOfValues component provides a
popup dialog from which the user can search for and select an item. The list is
displayed in a table. In contrast, the inputComboboxListOfValues component
allows the user two different ways to select an item to input: from a simple dropdown
list, or by searching as you can in the inputListOfValues component. Note that the
columns of the table will not stretch to the full width of the dialog.
You can also create custom content to be rendered in the Search and Select dialog by
using the searchContent facet. You define the returnPopupDataValue attribute

11-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to List-of-Values Components

and programmatically set it with a value when the user selects an item from the Search
and Select dialog and then closes the dialog. This value will be the return value from
ReturnPopupEvent to the returnPopupListener. When you implement the
returnPopupListener, you can perform functions such as setting the value of the
LOV component, its dependent components, and displaying the custom content. In the
searchContent facet you can add components such as tables, trees, and inputText to
display your custom content.
If you implement both the searchContent facet and the ListOfValues model, the
searchContent facet implementation will take precedence in rendering the Search
and Select dialog. Example 11–1 show the code to display custom content using a table
component.

Example 11–1 Adding Custom Content to the Search and Select Dialog
<af:inputListOfValues model="#{bean.listOfValuesModel}"
...
returnPopupDataValue="#{bean.returnPopupDataValue}"
returnPopupListener="#{bean.returnPopupListener}">
<f:facet name="searchContent">
<af:table id="t1" value="#{bean.listModel}" var="row"
selectionListener="#{bean.selected}"
...
</f:facet>
</af:inputListOfValues>

If the readOnly attribute is set to true, the input field is disabled. If readOnly is set
to false, then the editMode attribute determines which type of input is allowed. If
editMode is set to select, the value can be entered only by selecting from the list. If
editMode is set to input, then the value can also be entered by typing.
You can also implement the LOV component to automatically display a list of
suggested items when the user types in a partial value. For example, when the user
enters Ca, then a suggested list which partially matches Ca is displayed as a suggested
items list, as shown in Figure 11–4.

Figure 11–4 Suggested Items List for an LOV

The user can select an item from this list to enter it into the input field, as shown in
Figure 11–5.

Figure 11–5 Suggested Items Selected

Using List-of-Values Components 11-3

Introduction to List-of-Values Components

You add the auto suggest behavior by adding the af:autoSuggestBehavior tag
inside the LOV component with the tag’s suggestItems values set to a method that
retrieves and displays the list. You can create this method in a managed bean. If you
are using ADF Model, the method is implemented by default. You also need to set the
component’s autoSubmit property to true.
In your LOV model implementation, you can implement a smart list that filters the list
further. You can implement a smart list for both LOV components. If you are using
ADF Model, the inputComboboxListOfValues allows you declaratively select a
smart list filter defined as a view criteria for that LOV. If the smart list is implemented,
and auto suggest behavior is also used, auto suggest will search from the smart list
first. If the user waits for two seconds without a gesture, auto suggest will also search
from the full list and append the results. Example 11–2 shows the code for an LOV
component with both auto suggest behavior and smart list.

Example 11–2 Auto Suggest Behavior and Smart List

af:autoSuggestBehavior
suggestedItems="#{bean.suggestedItems}"
smartList="#{bean.smartList}"/>

Figure 11–6 shows how a list can be displayed by an inputComboboxListOfValues

component. If the popup dialog includes a query panel, then a Search link is displayed
at the bottom of the dropdown list. If a query panel is not used, a More link is
displayed.

Figure 11–6 InputComboboxListOfValues Displays a List of Employee Names

The dropdown list of the inputComboboxListOfValues component can display the

following:
■ Full list: As shown in Figure 11–6, a complete list of items returned by the
ListOfValuesModel.getItems() method.
■ Favorites list: A list of recently selected items returned by the
ListOfValuesModel.getRecentItems() method.
■ Search link: A link that opens a popup Search and Select dialog. The link is not on
the scrollable region on the dropdown list.
■ customActions facet: A facet for adding additional content. Typically, this
contains one or more commandLink components. You are responsible for

11-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to List-of-Values Components

implementing any logic for the commandLink to perform its intended action, for
example, launching a popup dialog.
The number of columns to be displayed for each row can be retrieved from the model
using the getItemDescriptors() method. The default is to show all the columns.
The popup dialog from within an inputListOfValues component or the optional
search popup dialog in the inputComboboxListOfValues component also
provides the ability to create a new record. For the inputListOfValues component,
when the createPopupId attribute is set on the component, a toolbar component
with a commandToolbarButton is displayed with a create icon. At runtime, a
commandToolbarButton component appears in the LOV popup dialog, as shown in
Figure 11–7.

Figure 11–7 Create Icon in Toolbar of Popup Dialog

When the user clicks the Create button, a popup dialog is displayed that can be used
to create a new record. For the inputComboboxListOfValues, instead of a toolbar,
a commandLink with the label Create is displayed in the customActions facet, at
the bottom of the dialog. This link launches a popup where the user can create a new
record. In both cases, you must provide the code to actually create the new record.

Tip: Instead of having to build your own create functionality, you

can use Oracle ADF Business Components and ADF data binding. For
more information, see the "Creating an Input Table" section of the
Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application
Development Framework.

Like the query components, the LOV components rely on a data model to provide the
functionality. This data model is the ListOfValuesModel class. This model uses a
table model to display the list of values, and can also access a query model to perform
a search against the list. You must implement the provided interfaces for the
ListOfValuesModel in order to use the LOV components.

Using List-of-Values Components 11-5

Creating the ListOfValues Data Model

Tip: Instead of having to build your own ListOfValuesModel

class, you can use Oracle ADF Business Components to provide the
needed functionality. For more information, see the "Creating
Databound Selection Lists and Shuttles" chapter of the Oracle Fusion
Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework.

When the user selects an item in the list, the data is returned as a list of objects for the
selected row, where each object is the rowData for a selected row. The list of objects is
available on the ReturnPopupEvent event, which is queued after a selection is made.
If you choose to also implement a QueryModel class, then the popup dialog will
include a Query component that the user can use to perform a search and to filter the
list. Note the following about using the Query component in an LOV popup dialog:
■ The saved search functionality is not supported.
■ The Query component in the popup dialog and its functionality is based on the
corresponding QueryDescriptor class.
■ The only components that can be included in the LOV popup dialog are query,
toolbar, and table.
When the user clicks the Search button to start a search, the
ListOfValuesModel.performQuery() method is invoked and the search is
performed. For more information about the query model, see Chapter 12, "Using
Query Components."
Both components support the auto-complete feature, which allows the user to enter a
partial value in the input field, tab out, and have the dialog populated with the rows
that match the partial criteria. For this to work, you must implement logic so that
when the user tabs out after a partial entry, the entered value is posted back to the
server. On the server, your model implementation filters the list using the partially
entered value and performs a query to retrieve the list of values. ADF Faces provides
APIs for this functionality.

11.2 Creating the ListOfValues Data Model

Before you can use the LOV components, you must have a data model that uses the
ADF Faces API to access the LOV functionality. Figure 11–8 shows the class diagram
for a ListOfValues model.

11-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating the ListOfValues Data Model

Figure 11–8 Class Diagram for LIstOfValues Model

To create a ListOfValues model and associated events:

1. Create implementations of each of the interface classes shown in Figure 11–8.
Table 11–1 provides a description of the APIs.

Table 11–1 ListOfValues Model API

Method Functionality
autoCompleteValue() Called when the search icon is clicked or the value is changed
and the user tabs out from the input field, as long as
autoSubmit is set to true on the component. This method
decides whether to open the dialog or to auto-complete the
value. The method returns a list of filtered objects.
valueSelected(value) Called when the value is selected from the Search and Select
dialog and the OK button is clicked. This method gives the
model a chance to update the model based on the selected
value.
isAutoCompleteEnabled() Returns a boolean to decide whether or not the auto complete
is enabled.
getTableModel() Returns the implementation of the TableModel class, on
which the table in the search and select dialog will be based
and created.

Using List-of-Values Components 11-7

Using the inputListOfValues Component

Table 11–1 (Cont.) ListOfValues Model API

Method Functionality
getItems() and Return the items and recentItems lists to be displayed in
getRecentItems() the combobox dropdown. Valid only for the
inputComboboxListOfValues component. Returns null
for the inputListOfValues component.
getItemDescriptors() Return the list of columnDescriptors to be displayed in
the dropdown list for an inputComboboxListOfValues
component.
getQueryModel() and Return the queryModel based on which the query
getQueryDescriptor() component inside the Search and Select dialog is created.
performQuery() Called when the search button in the query component is
clicked.

For an example of a ListOfValues model, see the DemoLOVBean and

DemoComboboxLOVBean classes located in the oracle.adfdemo.view.lov
package, found in the Application Sources directory of the ADF Faces application.
2. For the inputListOfValues component, provide logic in a managed bean (it
can be the same managed bean used to create your LOV model) that accesses the
attribute used to populate the list. The inputComboboxListOfValues
component uses the getItems() and getRecentItems() methods to return
the list.
3. For the Search and Select popup dialog used in the InputListOfValues
component, or if you want the InputComboboxListOfValues component to
use the Search and Select popup dialog, implement the
ListOfValuesModel.autoCompleteValue() and
ListOfValuesModel.valueSelected() methods. These methods open the
popup dialog and apply the selected values onto the component.

11.3 Using the inputListOfValues Component

The inputListOfValues component uses the ListOfValues model you
implemented to access the list of items, as documented in Section 11.2, "Creating the
ListOfValues Data Model."

Before you begin:

You should already have a created a page or page fragment. If you also implemented
the search API in the model, the component would also allows the user to search
through the list for the value.

To add an inputListOfValues component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common panel, drag an Input List Of Values
component and drop it onto the page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following
attributes:
■ model: Enter an EL expression that resolves to your ListOfValuesModel
implementation, as created in Section 11.2, "Creating the ListOfValues Data
Model."

11-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the inputListOfValues Component

■ value: Enter an EL expression that resolves to the attribute values used to

populate the list, as created in Section 11.2, "Creating the ListOfValues Data
Model."
3. Expand the Appearance section and set the following attribute values:
■ popupTitle: Specify the title of the Search and Select popup dialog.
■ searchDesc: Enter text to display as a mouseover tip for the component.
The rest of the attributes in this section can be populated in the same manner as
any other input component. For more information, see Section 9.3, "Using the
inputText Component."
4. Expand the Behavior section and set the following attribute values:
■ autoSubmit: Set to true if you want the component to automatically submit
the enclosing form when an appropriate action takes place (a click, text
change, and so on). This will allow the auto-complete feature to work. If you
are adding the auto suggest behavior, you must set autoSubmit to true.
■ createPopupId: If you have implemented a popup dialog used to create a new
object in the list, specify the ID of that popup component. Doing so will
display a toolbar component above the table that contains a
commandToolbarButton component bound to the popup dialog you
defined. If you have added a dialog to the popup, then it will intelligently
decide when to refresh the table. If you have not added a dialog to the popup,
then the table will be always refreshed.
■ launchPopupListener: Enter an EL expression that resolves to a
launchPopupListener that you implement to provide additional
functionality when the popup is launched.
■ returnPopupListener: Enter an EL expression that resolves to a
returnPopupListener component that you implement to provide
additional functionality when the value is returned.
The rest of the attributes in this section can be populated in the same manner as
any other input component. For more information, see Section 9.3, "Using the
inputText Component."
5. If you want users to be able to create a new item, create a popup dialog with the
ID given in Step 4. For more information, see Chapter 13, "Using Popup Dialogs,
Menus, and Windows."
6. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag an Auto Suggest
Behavior and drop it as a child to the inputListOfValues component.
7. In the Insert Auto Suggest Behavior dialog, enter the EL expression that resolves to
a method that takes the submittedValue as the parameter and returns the list of
SelectItem(javax.faces.model.SelectItem) values.
If you are implementing this method in a managed bean, the JSF page entry
should have the format shown in Example 11–3

Example 11–3 autoSuggestBehavior Tag in an LOV

<af:inputListOfValues value="#{bean.value}" id="inputId">
...
<af:autoSuggestBehavior suggestedItems="#{bean.suggestedItems}"/>
</af:inputListOfValues>

Using List-of-Values Components 11-9

Using the InputComboboxListOfValues Component

If the component is being used with a data model such as ADF Model, the
suggestedItem method should be provided by the default implementation.
8. If you are not using ADF Model, create the suggestedItems method to process
and display the list. The suggestedItems method signature is shown in
Example 11–4.

Example 11–4 suggestedItems Method Signature

public List<javax.faces.model.SelectItem> suggestedItems(String submittedValue)

11.4 Using the InputComboboxListOfValues Component

The inputComboboxListOfValues component allows a user to select a value from
a dropdown list and populate the LOV field, and possibly other fields, on a page,
similar to the inputListOfValues component. However, it also allows users to
view the values in the list either as a complete list, or by most recently viewed. You can
also configure the component to perform a search in a popup dialog, as long as you
have implemented the query APIs, as documented in Section 11.2, "Creating the
ListOfValues Data Model."

Before you begin:

You should already have a created a page or page fragment.

To add an inputComboboxListOfValues component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common panel, drag an Input Combobox List
Of Values and drop it onto the page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following
attributes:
■ model: Enter an EL expression that resolves to your ListOfValuesModel
implementation, as created in Section 11.2, "Creating the ListOfValues Data
Model."
■ value: Enter an EL expression that resolves to the attribute values used to
populate the list, as created in Section 11.2, "Creating the ListOfValues Data
Model."
3. Expand the Appearance section and set the following attribute values:
■ popupTitle: Specify the title of the Search and Select popup dialog.
■ searchDesc: Enter text to display as a mouseover tip for the component.
The rest of the attributes in this section can be populated in the same manner as
any other input component. For more information, see Section 9.3, "Using the
inputText Component."
4. Expand the Behavior section and set the following attribute values:
■ autoSubmit: Set to true if you want the component to automatically submit
the enclosing form when an appropriate action takes place (a click, text
change, and so on). This will allow the auto complete feature to work. If you
are adding the auto-suggest behavior, you must set autoSubmit to true.
■ createPopupId: If you have implemented a popup dialog used to create a new
object in the list, specify the ID of that popup component. Doing so will
display a toolbar component above the table that contains a
commandToolbarButton component bound to the dialog you defined. If

11-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the InputComboboxListOfValues Component

you have added a dialog to the popup, then it will intelligently decide when to
refresh the table. If you have not added a dialog to the popup, then the table
will always be refreshed.
■ launchPopupListener: Enter an EL expression that resolves to a
launchPopupListener handler that you implement to provide additional
functionality when the popup dialog is opened.
■ returnPopupListener: Enter an EL expression that resolves to a
returnPopupListener handler that you implement to provide additional
functionality when the value is returned.
The rest of the attributes in this section can be populated in the same manner as
any other input component. For more information, see Section 9.3, "Using the
inputText Component."
5. If you are using a launchPopupListener, you can use the getPopupType()
method of the LaunchPopupEvent class to differentiate the source of the event.
getPopupType() returns DROPDOWN_LIST if the event is a result of the launch
of the LOV Search and Select dialog, and SEARCH_DIALOG if the event is the result
of the user clicking the Search button in the dialog.
6. If you want users to be able to create a new item, create a popup dialog with the
ID given in Step 5. For more information, see Chapter 13, "Using Popup Dialogs,
Menus, and Windows."
7. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag an Auto Suggest
Behavior and drop it as child to the inputComboboxListOfValues component.
8. In the Insert Auto Suggest Behavior dialog, enter the EL expression that resolves to
a method that takes the submittedValue as the parameter and returns the list of
SelectItem(javax.faces.model.SelectItem) values.
If you are implementing this method in a managed bean, the JSF page entry
should have the format shown in Example 11–5.

Example 11–5 autoSuggestBehavior Tag in an LOV

<af:inputListOfValues value="#{bean.value}" id="inputId">
...
<af:autoSuggestBehavior suggestedItems="#{bean.suggestedItems}"/>
</af:inputListOfValues>

If the component is being used with a data model such as ADF Model, the
suggestedItem method should be provided by the default implementation.
9. If you are not using the component with ADF Model, create the
suggestedItems method to process and display the list. The suggestedItems
method signature is shown in Example 11–6.

Example 11–6 suggestedItems Method Signature

public List<javax.faces.model.SelectItem> suggestedItems(String submittedValue)

Using List-of-Values Components 11-11

Using the InputComboboxListOfValues Component

11-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 12
Using Query Components
12

This chapter describes how to use the query and quickQuery search panel
components.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 12.1, "Introduction to Query Components"
■ Section 12.2, "Implementing the Model for Your Query"
■ Section 12.3, "Using the quickQuery Component"
■ Section 12.4, "Using the query Component"

12.1 Introduction to Query Components

The query and quickQuery components are used to search through data sets. The
query component provides a comprehensive set of search criteria and controls, while
the quickQuery component can be used for searching on a single criterion.
The query component supports the following functionality:
■ Selecting and searching against multiple search criteria
■ Dynamically adding and deleting criteria items
■ Selecting search operators (associated to a single criterion)
■ Choosing match all or match any conjunction
■ Displaying in a basic or advanced mode
■ Creating saved searches
■ Personalizing saved searches
By default, the advanced mode of the query component allows the user to add and
delete criteria items to the currently displayed search. However you can implement
your own QueryModel class that can hide certain features in basic mode (and expose
them only in advanced mode). For example, you might display operators only in
advanced mode or display more criteria in advanced mode than in basic mode.
Typically, the results of the query are displayed in a table or tree table, which is
identified using the resultComponentId attribute of the query component.
However, you can display the results in any other output components as well. The
component configured to display the results is automatically rerendered when a
search is performed.
Figure 12–1 shows an advanced mode query component with three search criteria.

Using Query Components 12-1

Introduction to Query Components

Figure 12–1 Query Component with Three Search Criteria

You can create seeded searches, that is, searches whose criteria are already determined
and from which the user can choose, or you can allow the user to add criterion and
then save those searches. For example, Figure 12–1 shows a seeded search for an
employee. The user can enter values for the criteria on which the search will execute.
The user can also choose the operands (greater than, equals, less than) and the
conjunction (matches all or matches any, which creates either an "and" or "or" query).
The user can click the Add Fields dropdown list to add one or more criteria and then
save that search. If the application is configured to use persistence, then those search
criteria, along with the chosen operands and conjunctions, can be saved and
reaccessed using a given search name (for more information about persistence, see
Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages").
The quickQuery component is a simplified version of the query component. The
user can perform a search on any one of the searchable attributes by selecting it from a
dropdown list. Figure 12–2 shows a quickQuery component in horizontal layout.

Figure 12–2 A QuickQuery Component in Horizontal Layout

Both the query and quickQuery components use the QueryModel class to define
and execute searches. Create the associated QueryModel classes for each specific
search you want users to be able to execute.

Tip: Instead of having to build your own QueryModel

implementation, you can use Oracle ADF Business Components,
which provide the needed functionality. For more information, see the
"Creating ADF Databound Search Forms" chapter of the Oracle Fusion
Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework.

The QueryModel class manages QueryDescriptor objects, which define a set of

search criteria. The QueryModel class is responsible for creating, deleting, and
updating QueryDescriptor objects. The QueryModel class also retrieves saved
searches, both those that are seeded and those that the user personalizes. For more
information, refer to the ADF Faces Javadoc.
You must create a QueryDescriptor class for each set of search criteria items. The
QueryDescriptor class is responsible for accessing the criteria and conjunction
needed to build each seeded search. It is also responsible for dynamically adding,
deleting, or adding and deleting criteria in response to end-user's actions. The
QueryDescriptor class also provides various UI hints such as mode, auto-execute,
and so on. For more information, refer to the ADF Faces Javadoc. One QueryModel
class can manage multiple QueryDescriptor objects.
When a user creates a new saved search, a new QueryDescriptor object is created
for that saved search. The user can perform various operations on the saved search,

12-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Implementing the Model for Your Query

such as deleting, selecting, resetting, and updating. When a search is executed or

changed, in addition to calling the appropriate QueryModel method to return the
correct QueryDescriptor object, a QueryOperationEvent event is broadcast
during the Apply Request Values phase. This event is consumed by the
QueryOperationListener handlers during the Invoke Application phase of the JSF
lifecycle. The QueryOperationEvent event takes the QueryDescriptor object as
an argument and passes it to the listener. ADF Faces provides a default
implementation of the listener. For details of what the listener does, see Table 12–2.
For example, updating a saved search would be accomplished by calling the
QueryModel’s update() method. A QueryOperationEvent event is queued, and
then consumed by the QueryOperationListener handler, which performs
processing to change the model information related to the update operation.
The query operation actions that generate a QueryOperationEvent event are:
■ Saving a search
■ Deleting a saved search
■ Toggling between the basic and advanced mode
■ Resetting a saved search
■ Selecting a different saved search
■ Updating a saved search
■ Updating the value of a criterion that has dependent criteria
The hasDependentCriterion method of the AttributeCriterion class can be
called to check to see whether a criterion has dependents. By default, the method
returns false, but it returns true if the criterion has dependent criteria. When that
criterion’s value has changed, a QueryOperationEvent is queued for the Update
Model Values JSF lifecycle phase. The model will need a listener to update the values
of the dependent criterion based on the value entered in its root criteria.

12.2 Implementing the Model for Your Query

Before you can use the query components, you must to create your QueryModel
classes.

Tip: You can use the quickQuery component without

implementing a QueryModel class. However, you will have to add
some additional logic to a managed bean. For more information, see
Section 12.3.2, "How to Use a quickQuery Component Without a
Model."

Figure 12–3 shows the class diagram for a QueryModel class.

Using Query Components 12-3

Implementing the Model for Your Query

Figure 12–3 Class Diagram for QueryModel

To create the model classes:

1. Create implementations of each of the interface classes shown in Figure 12–3.
Implement one QueryModel class and then a QueryDescriptor class with
appropriate criteria (operators and values) for each system-seeded search. For
example implementations of the different model classes for a query, see the classes
located in the oracle.adfdemo.view.query.rich package of the ADF Faces
sample application.

Note: If your query uses composition (for example,

ConjunctionCriterion 1...n with
AttributeCriterion/ConjunctionCriterion), this
relationship is not enforced by the abstract interfaces. Your
implementation must decide whether to use composition over
association, and determine how the lifecyle of these objects are
managed.

2. Create a QueryListener handler method on a managed bean that listens for the
QueryEvent event (this will be referenced by a button on the query component).
This listener will invoke the proper APIs in the QueryModel to execute the query.
Example 12–1 shows the listener method of a basic QueryListener
implementation that constructs a String representation of the search criteria.
This String is then displayed as the search result.

12-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Implementing the Model for Your Query

Example 12–1 A QueryListener Handler Method

public void processQuery(QueryEvent event)
{
DemoQueryDescriptor descriptor = (DemoQueryDescriptor) event.getDescriptor();
String sqlString = descriptor.getSavedSearchDef().toString();
setSqlString(sqlString);
}

Query component has a refresh() method on the UIXQuery component. This

method should be called when the model definition changes and the query component
need to be refreshed (i.e., all its children removed and recreated). When a new criterion
is added to the QueryDescriptor or an existing one is removed, if the underlying
model returns a different collection of criterion objects than what the component
subtree expects, then this method should be called. QueryOperationListener,
QueryListener, and ActionListener should all call this method. The query
component itself will be flushed at the end of the Invoke Application Phase. This
method is a no-op when called during the Render Response Phase.
To better understand what your implementations must accomplish, Table 12–1 and
Table 12–2 map the functionality found in the UI component shown in Figure 12–4
with the corresponding interface.

Figure 12–4 Query Component and Associated Popup Dialog

Table 12–1 shows UI artifacts rendered for the query component, the associated class,
class property, and methods used by the artifact.

Using Query Components 12-5

Implementing the Model for Your Query

Table 12–1 Query UI Artifacts and Associated Model Class Operations and Properties
UI Artifact Class Property/Methods Used Comments
1 Search panel The QueryDescriptor instance Based on a saved search.
provides the items displayed in the
panel.
2 Disclosure icon Opens or closes the search panel
3 Match type radio Available through the Displays the default conjunction to use
button getConjunction() method on the between search fields, when a query is
ConjunctionCriterion class. performed. If a default is set, and it is the
same for all search fields, it appears
selected. If the search fields are configured
such that a mix of different conjunctions
must be used between them, then a value
may not be selected on the UI.
For example, if the All conjunction type is
used between all the search fields, then
All appears selected. If it is a mix of All
and Any, then none of the radio buttons
appears selected.
The Match Type will be read only if the
conjunctionReadOnly property is set to
true. Its not rendered at all when the
displayMode attribute is set to simple.

12-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Implementing the Model for Your Query

Table 12–1 (Cont.) Query UI Artifacts and Associated Model Class Operations and
UI Artifact Class Property/Methods Used Comments
4 Group of search The collection of search fields for a Displays one or more search fields
fields QueryDescriptor object is associated with the currently selected
represented by a search.
ConjunctionCriterion object,
returned by the method
getConjunctionCriterion() on the
QueryDescriptor class. The
getCriterionList() method returns
a List<Criterion> list.
5 Search field An AttributeCriterion class Each search field contains a label, an
provides information specific to a search operator, one or more value components
field instance. An (for example, an input text component),
AttributeCriterion object is an and an optional delete icon. The
item in the List<Criterion> list information required to render these can be
returned by getCriterionList() either specific to an instance of a search
method on the field (in a saved search) or it can be generic
ConjunctionCriterion class (see and unchanging regardless of which saved
#4). search it is part of.
An AttributeDescriptor class For example, assume an Employee
provides static information pertaining to business object contains the search fields
a search field. This is available through Employee Name and Salary.
the method getAttribute(), on the
A user can then configure two different
AttributeCriterion class.
searches: one named Low Salaried
The getConverter() method of the Employees and one named High Salaried
AttributeDescriptor class can be Employees. Both searches contain two
overridden to return a converter object search fields based on the Employee and
of type Salary attributes. Even though both
javax.faces.convert.Converter. saved searches are based on the same
When defined, the attribute value is attributes of the Employee object, the
converted using this converter instance. search field Salary is configured to have its
The default return value is null. default operator as less than and value as
50000.00 for the low Salaried Employees
The hasDependentCriterion
search and for the High Salaried
method in the AttributeCriterion
Employees search, with a default operator
class returns true if the criterion has
of greater than and value of 100000.00.
dependents. If the criterion has
Selecting the saved searches on the UI will
dependents, then the dependent
show the appropriate operator and values
criterion fields are refreshed when the
for that search.
value for this criterion changes. By
default this method returns false. Regardless of the search selected by the
user, the search field for Salary always has
to render a number component, and the
label always has to show Salary.
6 Saved Searches System- and user-saved searches are Displays a list of available system- and
dropdown available through the methods user-saved searches.
getSystemQueries() and
A Personalize option is also added if the
getUserQueries() on the
saveQueryMode property is set to
QueryModel class.
default. Selecting this option opens a
Personalize dialog, which allows users to
personalize saved searches. They can
duplicate or update an existing saved
search.

Table 12–2 shows the behaviors of the different UI artifacts, and the associated
methods invoked to execute the behavior.

Using Query Components 12-7

Implementing the Model for Your Query

Table 12–2 UI Artifact Behaviors and Associated Methods

UI Artifact Class Method Invoked Event Generated Comments
7 Delete icon During the Invoke Application ActionEvent Deletes a search field
phase, the method from the current
removeCriterion() on the QueryDescriptor
QueryDescriptor class is object.
called automatically by an
internal ActionListener
handler registered with the
command component.
8 Search button During the Apply Request QueryEvent Rendered always on the
Values phase of the JSF lifecycle, footer (footer contents
a QueryEvent event is queued, are not rendered at all
to be broadcast during the when the
Invoke Application phase. displayMode attribute
is simple)
During the Update Model
Values phase, the selected Performs a query using
operator and the values entered the select operator and
in the search fields are selected Match radio (if
automatically updated to the no selection is made the
model using the EL expressions default is used), and the
added to the operator and value values entered for every
components (for more search field.
information, see Section 12.4.1,
"How to Add the Query
Component"). These expressions
should invoke the
get/setOperator();
get/setOperators(); and
getValues() methods,
respectively, on the
AttributeCriterion class.
During the Invoke Application
phase, the QueryListener
registered with the query
component is invoked and this
performs the search.
You must implement this
listener.
9 Reset button During the Apply Request QueryOperationEvent Resets the search fields
Values phase of the JSF lifecycle, (an internal to its previous saved
a QueryOperationEvent QueryOperation state.
event is queued with the Listener handler is
operation type registered with the
QueryOperationEvent. query component that in
Operation.RESET, to be turn calls the model
broadcast during the Invoke methods).
Application phase.
During the Invoke Application
phase, the method reset() on
the QueryModel class is called.
This is done automatically by an
internal
QueryOperationListener
handler registered with the
query component. You must
override this method to reset the
QueryDescriptor object to its
original state.

12-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Implementing the Model for Your Query

Table 12–2 (Cont.) UI Artifact Behaviors and Associated Methods

UI Artifact Class Method Invoked Event Generated Comments
10 Save button During the Apply Request QueryOperationEvent Creates a new saved
Values phase of the JSF lifecycle, (an internal search based on the
a QueryOperationEvent QueryOperation current saved search
event is queued with the Listener handler is settings, including any
operation type registered with the new search fields added
QueryOperationEvent. query component that in by the user.
Operation.SAVE, to be turn calls the model
broadcast during the Invoke methods).
Application phase.
During the Invoke Application
phase, the method create()
on the QueryModel class is
called. After the call to the
create() method, the
update() method is called to
save the hints (selected by the
user in the dialog) onto the new
saved search. This is done
automatically by an internal
QueryOperationListener
handler registered with the
query component. You must
override this method to create a
new object based on the
argument passed in.
11 Add Fields During the Invoke Application ActionEvent Adds an attribute as a
dropdown list phase, the method search field to the
addCriterion() on the existing saved search.
QueryDescriptor class is
called automatically by an
internal ActionListener
handler registered with the
command component. You must
override this method to create a
new AttributeCriterion
object based on the
AttributeDescriptor object
(identified by the name
argument).
12 Mode (Basic or During the Apply Request QueryOperationEvent Clicking the mode
Advanced) button Values phase of the JSF lifecycle, (an internal button toggles the
a QueryOperationEvent QueryOperation mode.
event is queued with the Listener handler is
operation type registered with the
QueryOperationEvent. query component that in
Operation.MODE_CHANGE, to turn calls the model
be broadcast during the Invoke methods).
Application phase.
During the Invoke Application
phase, the method
changeMode()on the
QueryModel class is called.

Using Query Components 12-9

Using the quickQuery Component

Table 12–2 (Cont.) UI Artifact Behaviors and Associated Methods

UI Artifact Class Method Invoked Event Generated Comments
13 Delete button During the Invoke Application ActionEvent Deletes the selected
phase, the method delete() saved search, unless it is
on the QueryModel class is the one currently in use.
called. This is done
automatically by an internal
QueryOperationListener
handler registered with the
query component. You must
override this method order to
delete the QueryDescriptor
object.
14 Apply button During the Apply Request QueryOperationEvent Applies changes made
Values phase of the JSF lifecycle, (an internal to the selected saved
a QueryOperationEvent QueryOperation search.
event is queued with the Listener is registered
operation type with the query
QueryOperationEvent. component that in turn
Operation.UPDATE, to be calls the model methods).
broadcast during the Invoke
Application phase.
During the Invoke Application
phase, the method update()
on the QueryModel class is
called. This is done
automatically by an internal
QueryOperationListener
handler registered with the
query component. You must
override this method in order to
update the QueryDescriptor
object using the arguments
passed in.
15 OK button Same as the Apply button. QueryOperationEvent Applies changes made
(an internal to the selected saved
QueryOperation search and the dialog is
Listener handler is closed afterwards.
registered with the
query component that in
turn calls the model
methods).
16 Cancel button No method defined for this QueryOperationEvent Cancels any edits made
action. (an internal in the dialog.
QueryOperation
Listener handler is
registered with the
query component that in
turn calls the model
methods).

12.3 Using the quickQuery Component

The quickQuery component has one dropdown list that allows a user to select an
attribute to search on. The available searchable attributes are drawn from your
implementation of the model or from a managed bean. The user can search against the
selected attribute or against all attributes.
A quickQuery component may be used as the starting point of a more complex
search using a query component. For example, the user may perform a quick query

12-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the quickQuery Component

search on one attribute, and if successful, may want to continue to a more complex
search. The quickQuery component supports this by allowing you to place command
components in the end facet, which you can bind to a method on a managed bean that
allows the user to switch from a quickQuery to a query component.
The quickQuery component renders the searchable criteria in a dropdown list and
then, depending on the type of the criteria chosen at runtime, the quickQuery
component renders different criteria fields based on the attribute type. For example, if
the attribute type is Number, it renders an inputNumberSpinbox component. You
do not need to add these components as long as you have implemented the complete
model for your query. If instead you have the logic in a managed bean and do not
need a complete model, then you create the quickQuery component artifacts
manually. For more information, see Section 12.3.2, "How to Use a quickQuery
Component Without a Model."

12.3.1 How to Add the quickQuery Component Using a Model

Before you begin

Implement a QueryModel class and associated classes. For more information, see
Section 12.2, "Implementing the Model for Your Query."

To add a quickQuery component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag a Quick
Query and drop it onto the page.
2. Expand the Common section of the Property Inspector and set the following
attributes:
■ id: Enter a unique ID for the component.
■ layout: Specify if you want the component to be displayed horizontally with
the criterion and value next to each other, as shown in Figure 12–2, or
vertically as shown in Figure 12–5.

Figure 12–5 A quickQuery Component Set to Display Vertically

■ model: Enter an EL expression that evaluates to the class that implements the
QueryModel class, as created in Section 12.2, "Implementing the Model for
Your Query."
■ value: Enter an EL expression that evaluates to the class that implements the
QueryDescriptor class, as created in Section 12.2, "Implementing the Model
for Your Query."
3. Expand the Behavior section and set the following attributes:
■ conjunctionReadOnly: Specify whether or not the user should be able to set
the Match Any or Match All radio buttons. When set to false, the user can
set the conjunction. When set to true, the radio buttons will not be rendered.
■ queryListener: Enter an EL expression that evaluates to the QueryListener
handler you created in Section 12.2, "Implementing the Model for Your
Query."

Using Query Components 12-11

Using the quickQuery Component

4. Drag and drop a table (or other component that will display the search results)
onto the page. Set the results component’s PartialTriggers with the ID of the
quickQuery component. The value of this component should resolve to a
CollectionModel object that contains the filtered results.
5. If you want users to be able to click the Advanced link to turn the quickQuery
component into a full query component, add a command component to the End
facet of the quickQuery component, and implement logic that will hide the
quickQuery component and display the query component.

12.3.2 How to Use a quickQuery Component Without a Model

You can use the quickQuery component without a model, for example if all your
query logic resides in a simple managed bean, including a QueryListener handler
that will execute the search and return the results. You must to manually add and bind
the components required to create the complete quickQuery component.

To add a quickQuery component:

1. On a managed bean, create a valueChangeListener handler for the
selectOneChoice component that will display the attributes on which the user
can search. The valueChangeListener handler should handle the choice for
which attribute to search on.
2. On a managed bean, create the QueryListener handle to execute the search.
This handle will use the ID of the input component used to enter the search
criterion value, to retrieve the component and the value to execute the query.
3. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag a Quick
Query and drop it onto the page.
4. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section, and set the following
attributes:
■ id: Enter a unique ID for the component.
■ layout: Specify if you want the component to display horizontally with the
criterion and value next to each other, as shown in Figure 12–2, or vertically, as
shown in Figure 12–5.
5. Expand the Behavior section and set the QueryListener attribute to an EL
expression that evaluates to the QueryListener handler created in Step 2.
6. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag a Select
One Choice and drop it onto the criteriaItems facet of the quickQuery
component. In the dialog, choose either to enter an EL expression that evaluates to
the list of attributes on which the user can search, or to enter a static list. For help
with the dialog, press F1 or click Help.
7. In the Structure window, select the selectOneChoice component in the
criteriaItems facet, and set the following attributes:
■ simple: Set to true so that no label for the component displays.
■ valueChangeListener: Enter an EL expression that evaluates to the listener
created in Step 1.
■ autoSubmit: Set to true.
8. From the Component Palette, add select list items as needed. For more
information about using the selectOneChoice and selectItems components,
see Section 9.6, "Using Selection Components."

12-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the quickQuery Component

9. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag an

inputText component as a direct child to the quickQuery component. Set the
following attributes:
■ simple: Set to true so that the label is not displayed.
■ value: Enter an EL expression that evaluates to the property that will contain
the value that the user enters.

Tip: If you do not provide an inputText component, then at

runtime, a disabled inputText component and a disabled Go icon
will be rendered.

10. If you want users to be able to click the Advanced link to turn the quickQuery
component into a full query component, add a command component to the End
facet of the quickQuery component, and implement logic that will hide the
quickQuery component and display the query component.
11. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag a table (or
other component that will display the search results) onto the page. Set the results
component’s PartialTriggers with the ID of the quickQuery component.
The value of this component should resolve to a CollectionModel object that
contains the filtered results.

12.3.3 What Happens at Runtime: How the Framework Renders the quickQuery
Component and Executes the Search
When the quickQuery component is bound to a QueryDescriptor object, the
selectOneChoice and inputText components are automatically added at runtime
as the page is rendered. However, you can provide your own components. If you do
provide both the component to display the searchable attributes and the inputText
components, then you need the QueryListener handler to get the name-value pair
from your components.
If you provide only your own component to show the searchable attributes (and use
the default input text component), the framework will display an input text
component. You must have your QueryListener handler get the attribute name
from the dropdown list and the value from the
QueryDescriptor.getCurrentCriterion() method to perform the query.
If you provide only your own component to collect the searchable attribute value (and
use the default selectOneChoice component to provide the attribute name), then
the framework will display the selectOneChoice component. You must have your
QueryListener handler get the attribute name from the
QueryDescriptor.getCurrentCriterion() method and the value from your
component.
If you choose not to bind the QuickQuery component value attribute to a
QueryDescriptor object, and you provide both components, when the Go button is
clicked, the framework queues a QueryEvent event with a null QueryDescriptor
object. The provided QueryListener handler then executes the query using the
changeValueListener handler to access the name and the input component to
access the value. You will need to implement a QueryListener handler to retrieve
the attribute name from your selectOneChoice component and the attribute value
from your inputText component, and then perform a query.

Using Query Components 12-13

Using the query Component

12.4 Using the query Component

The query component is used for full feature searches. It has a basic and an advanced
mode, which the user can toggle between by clicking a button.
The features for a basic mode query include:
■ Dropdown list of selectable search criteria operators
■ Selectable WHERE clause conjunction of either AND or OR (match all or match any)
■ Saved (seeded) searches
■ Personalized saved searches
The advanced mode query form also includes the ability for the user to dynamically
add search criteria by selecting from a list of searchable attributes. The user can
subsequently delete any criteria that were added.
The user can select from the dropdown list of operators to create a query for the
search. The input fields may be configured to be list-of-values (LOV), number
spinners, date choosers, or other input components.
To support selecting multiple items from a list, the model must expose a control hint
on viewCriteriaItem and the underlying attribute must be defined as an LOV in
the corresponding view object. The hint is used to enable or disable the multiple
selection or "in" operator functionality. When multiple selection is enabled, selecting
the Equals or Does not equal operator will render the search criteria field as a
selectManyChoice component. The user can choose multiple items from the list.
The component for the search criteria field depends on the underlying attribute data
type, the operator that was chosen, and whether multiple selection is enabled. For
example, a search field for an attribute of type String with the Contains operator
chosen would be rendered as an inputText component, as shown in Table 12–3.
If the operator is Equals or Does not equal, but multiple selection is not enabled,
the component defaults to the component specified in the Default List Type hint from
the model.

Table 12–3 Rendered Component for Search Criteria Field of Type String
Component When Multiple
Operator Component Select Is Enabled
Starts with af:inputText af:inputText

Ends with af:inputText af:inputText

Equals Default list type hint af:selectManyChoice

Does not equal Default list type hint af:selectManyChoice

Contains af:inputText af:inputText

Does not contain af:inputText af:inputText

Is blank None None

Is not blank None None

If the underlying attribute is the Number data type, the component that will be
rendered is shown in Table 12–4.

12-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the query Component

Table 12–4 Rendered Component for Search Criteria Field of Type Number
Component When Multiple
Operator Component Select Is Enabled
Equals Default list type hint af:selectManyChoice

Does not equal Default list type hint af:selectManyChoice

Less than af:inputNumberSpinBox af:inputNumberSpinBox

Less than or equal to af:inputNumberSpinBox af:inputNumberSpinBox

Greater than af:inputNumberSpinBox af:inputNumberSpinBox

Greater than or equal af:inputNumberSpinBox af:inputNumberSpinBox

to
Between af:inputNumberSpinBox af:inputNumberSpinBox

Not between af:inputNumberSpinBox af:inputNumberSpinBox

Is blank None None

Is not blank None None

If the underlying attribute is the Date data type, the component that will be rendered
is shown in Table 12–5.

Table 12–5 Rendered Component for Search Criteria Field of Type Date
Component When Multiple
Operator Component Select Is Enabled
Equals Default list type hint af:selectManyChoice

Does not equal Default list type hint af:selectManyChoice

Before af:inputDate af:inputDate

After af:inputDate af:inputDate

On or before af:inputDate af:inputDate

On or after af:inputDate af:inputDate

Between af:inputDate (2) af:inputDate (2)

Not between af:inputDate (2) af:inputDate (2)

Is blank None None

Is not blank None None

If a search criterion's underlying attribute was defined as an LOV, in order for the
auto-complete feature to work, the ListOfValues model instance returned by the
getModelList method of the AttributeCriterion class must return true for its
isAutoCompleteEnabled method. For more information about LOV, see
Chapter 11, "Using List-of-Values Components."
When autoSubmit is set to true, any value change on the search criterion will be
immediately pushed to the model. The query component will automatically flush its
criterion list only when it has dependent criteria. If the criterion instance has no

Using Query Components 12-15

Using the query Component

dependent criteria but autoSubmit is set to true, then the query component will be
only partially refreshed.
A Match All or Match Any radio button group further modifies the query. A Match
All selection is essentially an AND function. The query will return only rows that match
all the selected criteria. A Match Any selection is an OR function. The query will return
all rows that match any one of the criteria items.
After the user enters all the search criteria values (including null values) and selects
the Match All or Match Any radio button, the user can click the Search button to
initiate the query. The query results can be displayed in any output component.
Typically, the output component will be a table or tree table, but you can associate
other display components such as af:forms, af:outputText, and graphics to be
the results component by specifying it in the resultComponentId attribute.
If the Basic or Advanced button is enabled and displayed, the user can toggle between
the two modes. Each mode will display only the search criteria that were defined for
that mode. A search criteria field can be defined to appear only for basic, only for
advanced, or for both modes.
In advanced mode, the control panel also includes an Add Fields button that exposes a
popup list of searchable attributes. When the user selects any of these attributes, a
dynamically generated search criteria input field and dropdown operator list is
displayed. The position of all search criteria input fields, as well as newly added fields,
are determined by the model implementation.
This newly created search criteria field will also have a delete icon next to it. The user
can subsequently click this icon to delete the added field. The originally defined search
criteria fields do not have a delete icon and therefore cannot be deleted by the user.
Figure 12–6 shows an advanced mode query component with a dynamically added
search criteria field named Salary. Notice the delete icon (an X) next to the field.

Figure 12–6 Advanced Mode Query with Dynamically Added Search Criteria

The user can also save the entered search criteria and the mode by clicking the Save
button. A popup dialog allows the user to provide a name for the saved search and
specify hints by selecting checkboxes. A persistent data store is required if the saved
search is to be available beyond the session. For more information about persistence,
see Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages."
A seeded search is essentially a saved search that was created by the application
developer. When the component is initialized, any seeded searches associated with
that query component become available for the user to select.
Any user-created saved searches and seeded system searches appear in the Saved
Search dropdown list. The seeded searches and user-saved searches are separated by a
divider.
Users can also personalize the saved and seeded searches for future use.
Personalization of saved searches requires the availability of a persistent data store.
For more information about persistence, see Chapter 31, "Allowing User
Customization on JSF Pages."

12-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the query Component

Along with the default display described previously, you can also configure the query
component to display in a compact mode or simple mode. The compact mode has no
header or border, and the Saved Search dropdown list moves next to the expand or
collapse icon. Figure 12–7 shows the same query component as in Figure 12–6, but set
to compact mode.

Figure 12–7 Query Component in Compact Mode

The simple mode displays the component without the header and footer, and without
the buttons typically displayed in those areas. Figure 12–8 shows the same query
component set to simple mode.

Figure 12–8 Query Component in Simple Mode

The query component supports toolbar and footer facets that allow you to add
additional components to the query, such as command buttons. For example, you can
create command components to toggle between the quickQuery and query
components and place those in a toolbar in the toolbar facet.

12.4.1 How to Add the Query Component

Before you begin:

Implement a QueryModel class and associated classes. For more information, see
Section 12.2, "Implementing the Model for Your Query."

To add a query component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag a Query
and drop it onto the page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following
attributes:
■ id: Set a unique ID for the component.
■ model: Enter an EL expression that resolves to the QueryModel class, as
created in Section 12.2, "Implementing the Model for Your Query."
■ value: Enter an EL expression that resolves to the QueryDescriptor class, as
created in Section 12.2, "Implementing the Model for Your Query."
3. Expand the Appearance section and set the following attributes:

Using Query Components 12-17

Using the query Component

■ displayMode: Specify if you want the component to display in Default,

Simple, or Compact mode.
■ saveQueryMode: Specify if you want saved searches to be displayed and used
at runtime. Set to default if you want the user to be able to view and edit all
saved searches. Set to readOnly if you want the user to only be able to view
and select saved searches, but not update them. Set to hidden if you do not
want any saved searches to be displayed.
■ modeButtonPosition: Specify if you want the button that allows the user to
switch the mode from basic to advanced to be displayed in toolbar (the
default) or in the footer facet.
■ modeChangeVisible: Set to false if you want to hide the basic or advanced
toggle button.
4. Expand the Behavior section and set the following:
■ conjunctionReadOnly: Set to false if you want the user to be able to select a
radio button to determine if the search should match all criteria (query will
use the AND function) or any criteria (query will use the OR function). When
set to true, the radio buttons will not be rendered.
■ queryListener: Enter an EL expression that evaluates to the QueryListener
handler, as created in Section 12.2, "Implementing the Model for Your Query."
5. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag a table (or
other component that will display the search results) onto the page. Set an ID on
the table. The value of this component should resolve to a CollectionModel
object that contains the filtered results.
6. In the Structure window, select the query component and set the
resultComponentID to the ID of the table.

12-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 13
Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows
13

This chapter describes how to create and use popup elements in secondary windows
including dialogs, menus, and windows on JSF pages. The chapter also describes how
to use the ADF Faces dialog framework to create dialogs with a separate page flow.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 13.1, "Introduction to Using Popup Elements"
■ Section 13.2, "Declaratively Creating Popup Elements"
■ Section 13.3, "Invoking Popup Elements"
■ Section 13.4, "Displaying Contextual Information"
■ Section 13.5, "Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline Popups"

13.1 Introduction to Using Popup Elements

ADF Faces provides a set of rich client components for hiding and showing
information in a secondary window. The popup component is an invisible layout
control, typically used in conjunction with other components to display inline (that is,
belonging to the same page) dialogs, windows, and menus.
For example, Figure 13–1 shows a dialog box created by placing a dialog component
as a child to a popup component. A user can enter search criteria and click OK to
submit the entry, or exit the dialog by clicking Cancel or closing the dialog.

Figure 13–1 af:dialog Component

You can also use components within a popup to display contextual information
related to another component. When so configured, the related component displays a
small square. When moused over, the icon grows and also displays a note icon as
shown in Figure 13–2.

Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows 13-1

Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

Figure 13–2 With Mouseover, Larger Icon with Note is Displayed

When the user clicks the note icon, the associated popup displays its enclosed content.
ADF Faces also provides a dialog framework to support building pages for a process
displayed separate from the parent page. This framework supports multiple dialog
pages with a control flow of their own. For example, say a user is checking out of a
web site after selecting a purchase and decides to sign up for a new credit card before
completing the checkout. The credit card transaction could be launched using the
dialog framework in an external browser window. The completion of the credit card
transaction does not close the checkout transaction on the original page.
This dialog framework can also be used inline as part of the parent page. This can be
useful when you want the pages to have a control flow of their own, but you don’t
want the external window blocked by popup blockers.
If your application uses the full Fusion technology stack, note that this dialog
framework is integrated with ADF Faces Controller for use with ADF task flows. For
more information, see the "Running an ADF Bounded Task Flow as a Modal Dialog"
chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application
Development Framework.

13.2 Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

The dialog, panelWindow, menu, and noteWindow components can all be used
inside the popup component to display inline popup elements, as shown in
Table 13–1. When no child component exists for the popup component, a very simple
inline popup is displayed.

Table 13–1 Components Used with the popup Component

Component Displays at Runtime
dialog Displays its children inside a dialog and delivers events when
the OK, Yes, No, and Cancel actions are activated. For more
information, see Section 13.2.1, "How to Create a Dialog."

13-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

Table 13–1 (Cont.) Components Used with the popup Component

Component Displays at Runtime
panelWindow Displays its children in a window that is similar to a dialog, but
does not support events. For more information, see
Section 13.2.2, "How to Create a Panel Window."

menu Displays a context menu for an associated component. For more

information, see Section 13.2.3, "How to Create a Context Menu."

noteWindow Displays read-only information associated with a particular UI

component. Note windows are used to display help and
messages and are commonly shown on mouseover or on focus
gestures. For more information, see Section 13.2.4, "How to
Create a Note Window."

popup component without Displays content inline.

a parent component

Both the dialog and panelWindow components support definition help, content
displayed when a user moves the cursor over a help icon (a blue circle with a question
mark). For more information, see Section 17.5, "Displaying Help for Components."
Typically, you use a command component in conjunction with the
showPopupBehavior tag to launch a popup element. You associate the
showPopupBehavior tag with the component it should launch. This tag also controls
the positioning of the popup element (when needed).
In addition to being used with action events on command components, the
showPopupBehavior tag can be used in conjunction with other events, such as the
showDetail event and the selection event. For more information, see Section 13.3,
"Invoking Popup Elements."

Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows 13-3

Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

By default, the content of the popup element is not sent from the server until the
popup element is displayed. This represents a trade-off between the speed of showing
the popup element when it is opened and the speed of rendering the parent page.
Once the popup element is loaded, by default the content will be cached on the client
for rapid display.
You can modify this content delivery strategy by setting the contentDelivery
attribute on the popup component to one of the following options:
■ lazy - The default strategy previously described. The content is not loaded until
you show the popup element once, after which it is cached.
■ immediate - The content is loaded onto the page immediately, allowing the
content to be displayed as rapidly as possible. Use this strategy for popup
elements that are consistently used by all users every time they use the page.
■ lazyUncached - The content is not loaded until the popup element is displayed,
and then the content is reloaded every time you show the popup element. Use this
strategy if the popup element shows data that can become stale or outdated.
If you choose to set the popup component’s contentDelivery attribute to lazy or
lazyUncached, you can further optimize the performance of the popup component
and the page that hosts it by setting another popup component attribute
(childCreation) to deferred. This defers the creation of the popup component's
child components until the application delivers the content. The default value for the
childCreation attribute is immediate.

13.2.1 How to Create a Dialog

Create a dialog when you need the dialog to raise events when dismissed. Once you
add the dialog component as a child to the popup component, you can add other
components to display and collect data.
By default, the dialog component can have the following combination of buttons:
■ Cancel
■ OK
■ OK and Cancel
■ Yes and No
■ Yes, No, and Cancel
■ None
These buttons launch a dialogEvent when clicked. You can add other buttons to a
dialog using the buttonBar facet. Any buttons that you add do not invoke the
dialogEvent. Instead, they invoke the standard actionEvent. It is recommended
that any of these buttons that you add have their partialSubmit attribute set to
true. This makes sure that an actionEvent invokes only on components within the
dialog. However, you can add buttons and set their partialSubmit attribute to
false if you set the af:popup component’s autoCancel property’s value to
disabled. Choosing this latter option (partialSubmit set to false) results in
increased wait times for end users because your application reloads the page and
reinitializes components on the page before it restores the popup component’s
visibility (and by extension, the dialog component). Note that you must set the
command component’s partialSubmit attribute to true if the af:popup
component’s autoCancel property’s value is set to enabled (the default value). For
more information about the use of the af:popup component’s autoCancel property,
see Section 13.5, "Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline Popups."

13-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

To create an inline dialog:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Popup onto the JSF page.

Tip: It does not matter where the popup component appears on the
page, as the position is driven by the component used to invoke the
popup. However, the popup component must be within a form
component.

2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following
attributes:
■ ContentDelivery: Select how the content is delivered to the component in the
popup.

Tip: Values of input components in a dialog are not reset when a

user clicks the dialog’s Cancel button. If the user opens the dialog a
second time, those values will still display. If you want the values to
match the current values on the server, then set the
contentDelivery attribute to lazyUncached.

■ Animate: Select true to enable animation. Animation is determined by

configuration in the trinidad-config.xml file and by its skin properties
(for more information, see Section A.6.2.1, "Animation Enabled"). You can
override this setting by selecting false.
■ LauncherVar: Enter a variable to be used to reference the launch component.
This variable is reachable only during event delivery on the popup or its child
components, and only if the EventContext is set to launcher.
■ EventContext: Set to launcher if the popup is shared by multiple objects, for
example if the dialog within the popup will display information for the
selected row in a table. Setting this attribute to launcher makes the row
clicked current before the event listener is called, and returns data only for
that row. For more information, see Section 13.2.5, "What Happens at Runtime:
Popup Component Events."
3. Optionally, in the Property Inspector, expand the Other section and set a value for
the AutoCancel property to determine the automatic cancel behavior. For more
information, see Section 13.5, "Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline
Popups."
4. From the Component Palette, drag and drop a Dialog as a direct child to the
popup component.
5. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following
attributes:
■ Type: Select the built-in partial-submit command buttons you want to display
in your dialog.
For example, if you set the type attribute to yesNoCancel, the dialog will
display Yes, No, and Cancel buttons. When any of these buttons are pressed,
the dialog dismisses itself, and the associated outcome (either ok, yes, no, or
cancel) is delivered with an event. Ok, yes, and no outcomes are delivered
with the dialogEvent. Cancel outcomes are sent with the PopupCanceled
event. You can use the appropriate listener property to bind to a method to
handle the event, using the outcome to determine the logic.

Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows 13-5

Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

Tip: A dialog will not dismiss if there are any ADF Faces messages
with a severity of error or greater.

■ Title: Enter text to be displayed as the title on the dialog window.

■ CloseIconVisible: Select whether or not you want the Close icon to display in
the dialog.
■ Modal: Select whether or not you want the dialog to be modal. Modal dialogs
do not allow the user to return to the main page until the dialog has been
dismissed.
■ Resize: Select whether or not you want users to be able to change the size of
the dialog. The default is off.
■ StretchChildren: Select whether or not you want child components to stretch
to fill the dialog. When set to first, the dialog stretches a single child
component. However, the child component must allow stretching. For more
information, see Section 8.2.1, "Geometry Management and Component
Stretching."

Note: If you set Resize to on or set StretchChildren to first, you

must also set ContentWidth and ContentHeight (see Step 8).
Otherwise, the size will default to 250x250 pixels.

6. Expand the Appearance section and set the text attributes.

Instead of specifying separate button text and an access key, you can combine the
two, so that the access key is part of the button text. Simply precede the letter to be
used as an access key with an ampersand (&).
For example, if you want the text for the affirmative button to be OK, and you
want the O in OK to be the access key, enter &OK.
7. Expand the Behavior section and if needed, enter a value for the dialogListener
attribute. The value should be an EL expression method reference to a dialog
listener method that will handle the event.
For example, suppose you create a dialog to confirm the deletion of an item. You
might then create a method on a managed bean similar to the deleteItem
method shown in Example 13–1. This method accesses the outcome from the
event. If the outcome is anything other than yes, the dialog is dismissed. If the
outcome is yes (meaning the user wants to delete the item), the method then gets
the selected item and deletes it.

Example 13–1 Handler for dialogEvent That Deletes an Item

public void deleteItem(DialogEvent dialogEvent)
{
if (dialogEvent.getOutcome() != DialogEvent.Outcome.yes)
{
return;
}

// Ask for selected item from FileExplorerBean

FileItem selectedFileItem = _feBean.getLastSelectedFileItem();
if (selectedFileItem == null)
{
return;

13-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

}
else
{
// Check if we are deleting a folder
if (selectedFileItem.isDirectory())
{
_feBean.setSelectedDirectory(null);
}
}

this.deleteSelectedFileItem(selectedFileItem);
}

Example 13–2 shows how the dialogListener attribute is bound to the

deleteItem method.

Example 13–2 Binding the dialogListener attribute to a Method

<af:dialog title="#{explorerBundle['deletepopup.popuptitle']}"
type="yesNo"
dialogListener="#{explorer.headerManager.deleteItem}"
id="d1">

The dialogEvent is propagated to the server only when the outcome is ok, yes,
or no. You can block this if needed. For more information, see Section 5.3.4, "How
to Prevent Events from Propagating to the Server.")
If the user instead clicks the Cancel button (or the Close icon), the outcome is
cancel, the popupCancel client event is raised on the popup component, and
any other events (including the dialogEvent) are prevented from getting to the
server. However, the popupCancel event is delivered to the server.
8. If you want to set a fixed size for the dialog, or if you have set resize to on or set
stretchChildren to first, expand the Other section and set the following
attributes:
■ ContentHeight: Enter the desired height in pixels.
■ ContentWidth: Enter the desired width in pixels.

Tip: While the user can change the values of these attributes at
runtime (if the resize attribute is set to on), the values will not be
retained once the user leaves the page unless you configure your
application to use change persistence. For information about enabling
and using change persistence, see Chapter 31, "Allowing User
Customization on JSF Pages."

Note: If a command component without the showPopupBehavior

tag is used to launch the dialog, and if that command component has
values for the windowHeight and windowWidth attributes, the
values on the command component will override the
contentHeight and contentWidth values. For more information
about the showPopupBehavior tag, see Section 13.3, "Invoking
Popup Elements."

9. If needed, add command components to the buttonBar facet. It is recommended

that you set the partialSubmit attribute to true for every added command
component. However, you can set the command component’s partialSubmit

Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows 13-7

Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

attribute to false if the af:popup component’s autoCancel property is set to

disabled. The values an af:popup component’s autoCancel property and a
command component partialSubmit property determine how a command
component dismisses and reloads a dialog. For more information, see Section 13.5,
"Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline Popups."

Tip: If the facet is not visible in the visual editor:

1. Right-click the dialog component in the Structure window.
2. From the context menu, choose Facets - Dialog > ButtonBar. Facets in use
on the page are indicated by a checkmark in front of the facet name.

By default, added command components do not dismiss the dialog. You need to
bind the actionListener on the command component to a handler that
manages closing the dialog, as well as any needed processing. For examples on
how to do this, see the tag documentation.
10. Insert components to display or collect data for the dialog. Use a layout
component like panelGroupLayout to contain the components.

Tip: Normally, clicking a dialog’s Cancel button or Close icon

prevents any data entered into an inputText component from being
submitted. However, setting the autoSubmit attribute to true on an
inputText component in a dialog overrides the dialog's cancel
behavior, as this setting causes a submit.

11. Add logic on the parent page to invoke the popup and dialog. For more
information, see Section 13.3, "Invoking Popup Elements."

13.2.2 How to Create a Panel Window

The panelWindow component is similar to the dialog component, but it does not
allow you to configure the buttons or to add buttons to a facet. If you need some logic
to be invoked to handle data in the panelWindow, then you need to create a listener
for the popup component’s cancel event.
The popup component that contains the panelWindow component must be contained
within a form component.

Tip: If you are using the panelWindow as an inline popup in an

application that uses the Fusion technology stack, and you want to
emulate the look of a dialog, place the panelWindow component in
the center facet of a panelStretchLayout component, and place
command buttons in the bottom facet.

To create an inline window:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Popup onto the JSF page.

Tip: It does not matter where the popup component appears on the
page, as the position is driven by the component used to invoke the
popup. However, the popup component must be within a form
component.

2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following
attributes:

13-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

■ ContentDelivery: Select how the content is to be delivered to the component

in the popup.

Tip: Values of input components are not reset when a user closes the
panelWindow component. If the user opens the window a second
time, those values will still display. If you want the values to match
the current values on the server, then set the contentDelivery
attribute to lazyUncached.

■ Animate: Select true to enable animation. Animation is determined by

configuration in the trinidad-config.xml file and by its skin properties
(for more information, see Section A.6.2.1, "Animation Enabled"). You can
override this setting by selecting false.
■ LauncherVar: Enter a name (for example, source) for a variable. Similar to
the var attribute on a table, this variable is used to store reference in the
Request scope to the component containing the showPopupBehavior tag.
The variable is reachable only during event delivery on the popup or its child
components, and only if EventContext is set to launcher.
■ EventContext: Set to launcher if the popup is shared by multiple objects, for
example if the window within the popup will display information for the
selected row in a table. Setting this attribute to launcher makes the row
clicked current before the event listener is called, and returns data only for
that row. For more information, see Section 13.2.5, "What Happens at Runtime:
Popup Component Events."
■ PopupCancelListener: set to an EL expression that evaluates to a handler with
the logic that you want to invoke when the window is dismissed.
3. Optionally, in the Property Inspector, expand the Other section and set a value for
the AutoCancel property to determine the automatic cancel behavior. For more
information, see Section 13.5, "Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline
Popups."
4. In the Component Palette, from the Layout panel, drag and drop a Panel Window
as a direct child to the popup component.
5. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following
attributes:
■ Modal: Select whether or not you want the window to be modal. Modal
windows do not allow the user to return to the main page until the window
has been dismissed.
■ CloseIconVisible: Select whether or not you want the Close icon to display in
the window.
■ Title: The text displayed as the title in the window.
■ Resize: Select whether or not you want users to be able to change the size of
the dialog. The default is off.
■ StretchChildren: Select whether or not you want child components to stretch
to fill the window. When set to first, the window stretches a single child
component. However, the child component must allow stretching. For more
information, see Section 8.2.1, "Geometry Management and Component
Stretching."

Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows 13-9

Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

Note: If you set Resize to on or set StretchChildren to first, you

must also set ContentWidth and ContentHeight (see Step 6).
Otherwise, the size will default to 250x250 pixels.

6. If you want to set a fix size for the window, or if you have set resize to on or set
stretchChildren to first, expand the Other section and set the following
attributes:
■ ContentHeight: Enter the desired height in pixels.
■ ContentWidth: Enter the desired width in pixels.

Tip: While the user can change the values of these attributes at
runtime (if the resize attribute is set to on), the values will not be
retained once the user leaves the page unless you configure your
application to use change persistence. For information about enabling
and using change persistence, see Chapter 31, "Allowing User
Customization on JSF Pages."

Note: If a command component without the showPopupBehavior

tag is used to launch the dialog, and if that command component has
values for the windowHeight and windowWidth attributes, the
values on the command component will override the
contentHeight and contentWidth values. For more information
about the showPopupBehavior tag, see Section 13.3, "Invoking
Popup Elements."

7. Insert components to display or collect data for the window. Use a layout
component like panelGroupLayout to contain the components.
8. Add logic on the parent page to invoke the popup and panel window. For more
information, see Section 13.3, "Invoking Popup Elements."

13.2.3 How to Create a Context Menu

You create a context menu by using menu components within the popup component.
You can then invoke the context menu popup from another component, based on a
given trigger. If instead, you want toolbar buttons in a toolbar to launch popup menus,
then see Section 14.3, "Using Toolbars."

To create an inline context menu:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Popup onto the JSF page.

Tip: It does not matter where the popup component appears on the
page, as the position is driven by the component used to invoke the
popup. However, the popup component must be within a form
component.

2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following
attributes.
■ ContentDelivery: Determines how the content is delivered to the component
in the popup.

13-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

■ Animate: Select true to enable animation. Animation is determined by

configuration in the trinidad-config.xml file and by its skin properties
(for more information, see Section A.6.2.1, "Animation Enabled"). You can
override this setting by selecting false.
■ LauncherVar: Enter a variable name (for example, source) to be used to
reference the launch component. This variable is reachable only during event
delivery on the popup or its child components, and only if the EventContext
is set to launcher.
■ EventContext: Set to launcher if the popup is shared by multiple objects, for
example if the menu within the popup will display information for the
selected row in a table. Setting this attribute to launcher makes the row
clicked current before the event listener is called, and returns only data for
that row. For more information, see Section 13.2.5, "What Happens at Runtime:
Popup Component Events."
3. Optionally, in the Property Inspector, expand the Other section and set a value for
the AutoCancel property to determine the automatic cancel behavior. For more
information, see Section 13.5, "Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline
Popups."
4. From the Component Palette, drag and drop a Menu as a direct child to the popup
component, and build your menu using commandMenuItem components, as
documented starting with Step 6 in Section 14.2.1, "How to Create and Use Menus
in a Menu Bar."

Tip: Because this is a context menu, you do not need to create a

menu bar or multiple menus, as documented in Steps 1 through 5 in
Section 14.2.1, "How to Create and Use Menus in a Menu Bar."

5. Add logic on the parent page to invoke the popup and context menu. For more
information, see Section 13.3, "Invoking Popup Elements."

13.2.4 How to Create a Note Window

Use the noteWindow component to display read-only text. The popup component
that contains the noteWindow component must be contained within a form
component.

To create an inline window:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Popup onto the JSF page.

Tip: It does not matter where the popup component appears on the
page, as the position is driven by the component used to invoke the
popup. However, the popup component must be within a form
component.

2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the following
attributes.
■ ContentDelivery: Determines how the content is delivered to the component
in the popup.
■ Animate: Select true to enable animation. Animation is determined by
configuration in the trinidad-config.xml file and by its skin properties

Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows 13-11

Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

(for more information, see Section A.6.2.1, "Animation Enabled"). You can
override this setting by selecting false.
■ LauncherVar: Enter a variable to be used to reference the launch component.
This variable is reachable only during event delivery on the popup or its child
components, and only if the EventContext is set to launcher.
■ EventContext: Set to launcher if the popup is shared by multiple objects, for
example if the window within the popup will display information for the
selected row in a table. Setting this attribute to launcher makes the row
clicked current before the event listener is called, and returns only data for
that row. For more information, see Section 13.2.5, "What Happens at Runtime:
Popup Component Events."
■ PopupCancelListener: set to an EL expression that evaluates to a handler with
the logic that you want to invoke when the window is dismissed.
3. Optionally, in the Property Inspector, expand the Other section and set a value for
the AutoCancel property to determine the automatic cancel behavior. For more
information, see Section 13.5, "Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline
Popups."
4. From the Component Palette, drag and drop a Note Window as a direct child to
the popup component.
5. To enter the text to display in the window:
1. Click the Source tab to view the page source code.
2. Remove the closing slash (/) from the af:noteWindow tag.
3. Below the af:noteWindow tag, enter the text to display, using simple
HTML tags, and ending with a closed af:noteWindow tag.
Example 13–3 shows text for a note window.

Example 13–3 Text Within an af:noteWindow Tag

<af:popup id="popupHead" contentDelivery="lazyUncached">
<af:noteWindow inlineStyle="width:200px" id="nw3">
<p>In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part (from
anatomical position) that usually comprises the brain, eyes,
ears, nose, and mouth (all of which aid in various sensory
functions, such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste). Some very
simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally
symmetric forms do.</p>
</af:noteWindow>
</af:popup>

Figure 13–3 shows how the note would display.

Figure 13–3 Text Displayed in a Note Window

13-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Declaratively Creating Popup Elements

6. Add logic on the parent page to invoke the popup and note window. For more
information, see Section 13.3, "Invoking Popup Elements."

13.2.5 What Happens at Runtime: Popup Component Events

When content is delivered to the popup, and the contentDelivery attribute is set to
either lazy or lazyUncached, the popupFetch server-side event is invoked. This
event has two properties, eventContext and launcherVar. The eventContext
property determines the context from which the event is delivered, either from the
context of the popup (self) or from the component that launched the popup
(launcher). Setting the context to launcher can be very useful if the popup is
shared by multiple components, because the framework will behave as though the
component that launched the popup had launched the event, and not the popup. The
launcherVar property is used to keep track of the current launcher, similar to the
way in which variables are used to stamp out rows in a table.
For example, say you have a column in a table that displays a person’s first name
using a command link. When the command link is hovered over, a popup
noteWindow is invoked that shows the person’s full name. Because this noteWindow
will be used by all rows in the table, but it needs to display the full name only for the
row containing the command link that was clicked, you need to use the
eventContext property to ensure that the context is that row, as shown in
Example 13–4.

Example 13–4 Using eventContext for Shared Popup elements

<af:popup id="noteWindow" contentDelivery="lazyUncached" eventContext="launcher"
launcherVar="source">
<af:noteWindow>
<af:outputText value="#{testBean.fullName}"/>
</af:noteWindow>
</af:popup>
<af:table var="person" value="#{testBean.people}">
<af:column id="firstName">
<af:commandLink text="#{person.firstName}">
<af:showPopupBehavior popupId="::noteWindow" triggerType="mouseHover"/>
</af:commandLink>
</af:column>
</af:table>

Using the variable source, you can take values from the source and apply them, or you
can set values. For example, you could get the full name value of the people object
used in the table, and set it as the value of the testBean’s fullName property used
by the window, using a setPropertyListener and clientAttribute tag, as
shown in Example 13–5.

Example 13–5 Setting the Value of a Component in a Popup Using the launcherVar
Property
<af:popup id="noteWindow" contentDelivery="lazyUncached" eventContext="launcher"
launcherVar="source">
<af:noteWindow>
<af:outputText value="#{testBean.fullName}"/>
</af:noteWindow>
<af:setPropertyListener from="#{source.attributes.fullName}"
to="#{testBean.fullName}" type="popupFetch"/>
</af:popup>
<af:table var="person" value="#{testBean.people}">
<af:column id="firstName">

Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows 13-13

Invoking Popup Elements

<f:facet name="header">
<af:outputText value="First Name"/>
</f:facet>
<af:commandLink text="#{person.firstName}">
<af:showPopupBehavior popupId="::noteWindow" triggerType="mouseHover"/>
<af:clientAttribute name="fullName" value="#{person.fullName}"/>
</af:commandLink>
</af:column>
</af:table>

In this example, the launcherVar property source gets the full name for the current
row using the popupFetch event. For more information about using the
setPropertyListener tag, see Section 4.7.2, "How to Use the pageFlowScope
Scope Without Writing Java Code." For more information about using client attributes,
see Section 3.7, "Using Bonus Attributes for Client-Side Components." For more
information about the showPopupBehavior tag, see Section 13.3, "Invoking Popup
Elements."
Popups also invoke the following client-side events:
■ popupOpening: Fired when the popup is invoked. If this event is canceled in a
client-side listener, the popup will not be shown.
■ popupOpened: Fired after the popup becomes visible. One example for using this
event would be to create custom rules for overriding default focus within the
popup.
■ popupCanceled: Fired when a popup is unexpectedly dismissed by
auto-dismissal or by explicitly invoking the popup client component's cancel
method. This client-side event also has a server-side counterpart.
■ popupClosed: Fired when the popup is hidden or when the popup is
unexpectedly dismissed. This client-side event also has a server-side counterpart.
When a popup is closed by an affirmative condition, for example, when the Yes button
is clicked, it is hidden. When a popup is closed by auto-dismissal, for example when
either the Close icon or the Cancel button is clicked, it is canceled. Both types of
dismissals result in raising a popupClosed client-side event. Canceling a popup also
raises a client-side popupCanceled event that has an associated server-side
counterpart. The event will not be propagated to the server unless there are registered
listeners for the event. If it is propagated, it prevents processing of any child
components to the popup, meaning any submitted values and validation are ignored.
You can create a listener for the popupCanceled event that contains logic to handle
any processing needed when the popup is canceled.
If you want to invoke some logic based on a client-side event, you can create a custom
client listener method. For more information, see Section 3.2, "Listening for Client
Events." If you want to invoke server-side logic based on a client event, you can add a
serverListener tag that will invoke that logic. For more information, see
Section 5.4, "Sending Custom Events from the Client to the Server."

13.3 Invoking Popup Elements

With ADF Faces rich client components, JavaScript is not needed to show or hide
popups. The showPopupBehavior client behavior tag provides a declarative
solution, so that you do not have to write JavaScript to open the popup or register the
script with the component. For more information about client behavior tags, see
Section 5.6, "Using Client Behavior Tags."

13-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Invoking Popup Elements

The showPopupBehavior tag listens for a specified event, for example the
actionEvent on a command component, or the disclosureEvent on a
showDetail component. However, the showPopupBehavior tag also cancels
delivery of that event to the server. Therefore, if you need to invoke some server-side
logic based on the event that the showPopupBehavior tag is listening for, then you
need to use either JavaScript to launch the popup, or to use a custom event as
documented in Section 5.4, "Sending Custom Events from the Client to the Server."

13.3.1 How to Use the af:showPopupBehavior Tag

You use the showPopupBehavior tag in conjunction with the component that will
invoke the popup element, for example a commandButton component that will
invoke a dialog, or an inputText component that, when right-clicked, will invoke a
context menu.

Before you begin:

1. Create a popup component and its holder.
2. Create the component that will invoke the popup.

To use the showPopupBehavior tag:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag a Show Popup
Behavior and drop it as a child to the component that will be used to invoke the
popup element.
2. In the Property Inspector, use the dropdown menu for the PopupId attribute to
choose Edit. Use the Edit Property: PopuId dialog to select the popup component
to invoke.
3. From the TriggerType dropdown menu, choose the trigger that should invoke the
popup. The default is action which can be used for command components. Use
contextMenu to trigger a popup when the right-mouse is clicked. Use
mouseHover to trigger a popup when the cursor is over the component. The
popup closes when the cursor moves off the component. For a detailed list of
component and mouse/keyboard events that can trigger the popup, see the
showPopupBehavior tag documentation.

Note: The event selected for the triggerType attribute will not be
delivered to the server. If you need to invoke server-side logic based
on this event, then you must launch the popup using either JavaScript
or a custom event as documented in Section 5.4, "Sending Custom
Events from the Client to the Server."

4. From the AlignId dropdown, choose Edit, and then use the Edit Property: AlignId
dialog to select the component with which you want the popup to align.
5. From the Align dropdown menu, choose how the popup should be positioned
relative to the component selected in the previous step.

Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows 13-15

Displaying Contextual Information

Note: The dialog and panelWindow components do not require

alignId or align attributes, as the corresponding popup can be
moved by the user. If you set AlignId, the value will be overridden by
any manual drag and drop repositioning of the dialog or window. If
no value is entered for AlignId or Align, then the dialog or window is
opened in the center of the browser.
Additionally, if the triggerType attribute is set to contextMenu,
the alignment is always based on mouse position.

Example 13–6 shows sample code that displays some text in the af:popup component
with the id “popup1" when the button "Click Me" is clicked.

Example 13–6 showPopupBehavior Associated with commandButton component

<af:commandButton text="Click me" id="button">
<af:showPopupBehavior popupId="popup1" alignId="button" align="afterEnd"/>
</af:commandButton>

<af:popup id="popup1">
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="vertical">
<af:outputText value="Some"/>
<af:outputText value="popup"/>
<af:outputText value="content"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:popup>

The code in Example 13–6 tells ADF Faces to align the popup contents with the
commandButton that is identified by the id button, and to use the alignment position
of afterEnd, which aligns the popup element underneath the button, as shown in
Figure 13–4.

Figure 13–4 Button and Popup Contents

13.4 Displaying Contextual Information

There may be cases when you think the user may need more information to complete
a task on a page, but you don’t want to clutter the page with information that may not
be needed each time the page is accessed, or with multiple buttons that might launch
dialogs to display information. While you could put the information in a popup
element that was launched with a right-click on a component, the user would have no
way of knowing the information was available in a popup.
The contextInfo component allows you to display additional information in a
popup element and also notifies users that additional information is available. When
you place the contextInfo component into the context facet of a component that
supports contextual information, a small orange square is shown in the upper
left-hand corner of the component, as shown in Figure 13–5.

13-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Contextual Information

Figure 13–5 contextInfo Displays a Square

When the user places the cursor over the square, a larger triangle with a note icon and
tooltip is displayed, indicating that additional information is available, as shown in
Figure 13–6

Figure 13–6 contextInfo Component Indicates Additional Information Is Available

Because a showPopupBehavior tag is a child to the contextInfo component, the

referenced popup will display when the user clicks the information icon, as shown in
Figure 13–7.

Figure 13–7 Dialog launched From contextInfo Component

13.4.1 How to Create Contextual Information

You use the showPopupBehavior component as a child to the contextInfo
component, which allows the popup component to align with the component that
contains the contextInfo component.

Before you begin:

1. Create the component that will be the parent to the contextInfo component.
The following components support the contextInfo component:
■ column
■ commandLink
■ inputComboboxListOfValues
■ inputText
■ outputFormatted
■ outputText
■ selectOneChoice

Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows 13-17

Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline Popups

2. Create the popup element to display, as documented in Section 13.2, "Declaratively

Creating Popup Elements."

To use a contextInfo component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag a Context
Info and drop it into the Context facet of the component that is to display the
additional information icons.

Tip: If the facet is not visible in the visual editor:

1. Right-click the outputText component in the Structure window.
2. From the context menu, choose Facets - component name > Context.
Facets in use on the page are indicated by a checkmark in front of the
facet name.

2. If you need server-side logic to execute when the contextInfo component

displays, bind the contextInfoListener attribute to a handler that can handle
the event.

Note: If you use the showPopupBehavior tag to launch the popup,

then delivery of the contextInfoEvent to the server is cancelled. If you
need to invoke server-side logic based on this event, then you must
launch the popup by using either JavaScript or a custom event as
documented in Section 5.4, "Sending Custom Events from the Client to
the Server."

3. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag a Show Popup
Behavior and drop it as a child to the contextInfo component.
4. With the showPopupBehavior tag selected in the editor, in the Property
Inspector, set the attributes as described in Section 13.3.1, "How to Use the
af:showPopupBehavior Tag." For the triggerType value, be sure to enter
contextInfo.

13.5 Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline Popups

You can use the af:popup component with a number of other components to create
inline popups. That is, inline windows, dialogs, and context menus. These other
components include the:
■ Dialog component to create an inline dialog
For more information, see Section 13.2.1, "How to Create a Dialog."
■ panelWindow component to create an inline window
For more information, see Section 13.2.2, "How to Create a Panel Window."
■ Menu components to create context menus
For more information, see Section 13.2.3, "How to Create a Context Menu."
■ noteWindow component to create a note window
For more information, see Section 13.2.4, "How to Create a Note Window."
By default, a Fusion web application automatically cancels an inline popup if the
metadata that defines the inline popup is replaced. Scenarios where this happens
include the following:

13-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline Popups

■ Invocation of a command component that has its partialSubmit property set to

false. The Fusion web application renders the entire page after it invokes such a
command component. In contrast, a command component that has its
partialSubmit property set to true causes the Fusion web application to
render partial content. For more information about page rendering, see Chapter 7,
"Rerendering Partial Page Content."
■ Browser refresh that restores the application’s component tree and causes the
entire page to reload. The af:popup component or the af:popup component’s
parent is a partial target, as described in Section 7.3, "Enabling Partial Page
Rendering Programmatically."
■ A component that renders a toggle icon for end users to display or hide content
hosts the popup component. Examples include the showDetailItem and
panelTabbed components. For more information about the use of components
that render toggle icons, see Section 8.8, "Displaying and Hiding Contents
Dynamically."
■ Failover occurs when the Fusion web application displays an inline popup.
During failover, the Fusion web application replaces the entire page.
You can change the default behavior described in the previous list by disabling the
automatic cancellation of an inline popup component. This means that the Fusion web
application does not automatically cancel the inline popup if any of the above events
occur. Instead, the Fusion web applications restores the inline popup.

13.5.1 How to Disable the Automatic Cancellation of an Inline Popup

You disable the automatic cancellation of an inline popup by setting the popup
component’s autoCancel property to disabled.

Before you begin:

It may be helpful to understand how other components can affect functionality. For
more information, see Section 13.5, "Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline
Popups."

To control the automatic cancellation of inline popups:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the af:popup component for which you
want to configure the automatic cancellation behavior and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Other section and use the dropdown menu
for the AutoCancel property to choose disabled.

13.5.2 What Happens When You Disable the Automatic Cancellation of an Inline Popup
JDeveloper sets the af:popup component autoCancel property’s value to
disabled, as shown in Example 13–7:

Example 13–7 Metadata to Prevent the Automatic Cancellation of an Inline Popup

<af:popup id="p1" autoCancel="disabled">
...
</af:popup>

At runtime, the Fusion web application restores an inline popup after it rerenders a
page if the inline popup displayed before invocation of the command to rerender the
page.

Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows 13-19

Controlling the Automatic Cancellation of Inline Popups

13-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 14
14 Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes

This chapter describes how to create menu bars and toolbars that contain tool buttons.
For information about creating navigation menus, that is, menus that allow you to
navigate through a hierarchy of pages, see Section 18.5, "Using Navigation Items for a
Page Hierarchy."
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 14.1, "Introduction to Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes"
■ Section 14.2, "Using Menus in a Menu Bar"
■ Section 14.3, "Using Toolbars"

14.1 Introduction to Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes

Menus and toolbars allow users to choose from a specified list of options (in the case
of a menu) or to click buttons (in the case of a toolbar) to effect some change to the
application. The File Explorer application contains both a menu bar and a toolbar, as
shown in Figure 14–1.

Figure 14–1 Menu Bar and Toolbar in File Explorer Application

When a user chooses a menu item in the menu bar, the menu component displays a list
of menu items, as shown in Figure 14–2.

Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes 14-1

Using Menus in a Menu Bar

Figure 14–2 Menu in the File Explorer Application

Note that as shown in Figure 14–3, menus can be nested.

Figure 14–3 Nested Menu Items

Buttons in a toolbar also allow a user to invoke some sort of action on an application
or to open a popup menu that behaves the same as a standard menu.
You can organize toolbars and menu bars using a toolbox. The toolbox gives you the
ability to define relative sizes for the toolbars on the same line and to define several
layers of toolbars and menu bars vertically.

Note: If you want to create menus and toolbars in a table, then

follow the procedures in Section 10.8, "Displaying Table Menus,
Toolbars, and Status Bars."
If you want to create a context menu for a component (that is a menu
that launches when a user right-clicks the component), follow the
procedures in Section 13.2.3, "How to Create a Context Menu."

14.2 Using Menus in a Menu Bar

Use the menuBar component to render a bar that contains the menu bar items (such as
File in the File Explorer application). Each item on a menu bar is rendered by a menu
component, which holds a vertical menu. Each vertical menu consists of a list of
commandMenuItem components that can invoke some operation on the application.
You can nest menu components inside menu components to create submenus. The
different components used to create a menu are shown in Figure 14–4.

14-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Menus in a Menu Bar

Figure 14–4 Components Used to Create a Menu

You can use more than one menu bar by enclosing them in a toolbox. Enclosing them
in a toolbox stacks the menu bars so that the first menu bar in the toolbox is displayed
at the top, and the last menu bar is displayed at the bottom. When you use more than
one menu bar in a single toolbox row (by having them grouped inside the toolbox),
then the flex attribute will determine which menu bar will take up the most space.
If you wish menu bars to be displayed next to each other (rather than being stacked),
you can enclose them in a group component.

Tip: You can also use the toolbox component to group menu bars
with toolbars, or to group multiple menu bars. Use the group
component to group menu bars and toolbars on the same row.

Within a menu bar, you can set one component to stretch so that the menu bar will
always be the same size as its parent container. For example, in Figure 14–5, the menu
bar is set to stretch a spacer component that is placed between the Disabled GMI menu
and the Component Guide button. When the window is resized, that spacer
component either stretches or shrinks so that the menu bar will always be the same
width as the parent. Using a spacer component like this also ensures that any
components to the right of the spacer will remain right-justified in the menu bar.

Figure 14–5 Spacer Component Stretches and Shrinks

When a window is resized such that all the components within the menu bar can no
longer be displayed, the menu bar displays an overflow icon, identified by the arrow
cursor as shown in Figure 14–6.

Figure 14–6 Overflow Icon in a Menu Bar

Clicking that overflow icon displays the remaining components in a popup window,
as shown in Figure 14–7.

Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes 14-3

Using Menus in a Menu Bar

Figure 14–7 menu Component in an Overflow Popup Window

Menus and submenus can be made to be detachable and to float on the browser
window. Figure 14–8 shows the New submenu in the File menu configured to be
detachable. The top of the menu is rendered with a bar to denote that it can be
detached.

Figure 14–8 Detachable Menu

The user can drag the detachable menu to anywhere within the browser. When the
mouse button is released, the menu stays on top of the application until the user closes
it, as shown in Figure 14–9.

Figure 14–9 Floating Detached Menu

14-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Menus in a Menu Bar

Tip: Consider using detachable menus when you expect users to:
■ Execute similar commands repeatedly on a page.
■ Execute similar commands on different rows of data in a large
table, tree table, or tree.
■ View data in long and wide tables, tree tables, or trees. Users can
choose which columns or branches to hide or display with a single
click.
■ Format data in long or wide tables, tree tables, or trees.

The menu and commandMenuItem components can each include an icon image.
Figure 14–10 shows the Delete menu item configured to display a delete icon.

Note: Because alternative text cannot be provided for this icon, in

order to create an accessible product, use this icon only when it is
purely decorative. You must provide the meaning of this icon in some
accessible manner.

Figure 14–10 Icons Can Be Used in Menus

You can configure commandMenuItem components to be specific types that change

how they are displayed when the menu item is chosen. For example, you can
configure a commandMenuItem component to display a checkmark or a radio button
next to the label when the item is chosen. Figure 14–11 shows the View menu with the
Folders menu item configured to use a checkmark when chosen. The Table, Tree
Table, and List menu items are configured to be radio buttons, and allow the user to
choose only one of the group.

Figure 14–11 Square Icon and Radio Button Denote the Chosen Menu Items

You can also configure a commandMenuItem component to have an antonym.

Antonyms display different text when the user chooses a menu item. Figure 14–12
shows an Undo menu item in the Edit menu (added to the File Explorer application
for this example).

Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes 14-5

Using Menus in a Menu Bar

Figure 14–12 The Edit Menu of the File Explorer Application

By configuring the commandMenuItem component for the Undo menu item to be an

antonym and to have alternate text to display, when a user chooses Undo, the next
time the user returns to the menu, the menu item will display the antonym Restore, as
shown in Figure 14–13.

Figure 14–13 Menu Items Can Be Antonyms

Because an action is expected when a user chooses a menu item, you must bind the
action or actionListener attribute of the commandMenuItem component to
some method that will execute the needed functionality.
Along with commandMenuItem components, a menu can also include one or more
goMenuItem components. These are navigation components similar to the goLink
component, in that they perform direct page navigation, without delivering an
ActionEvent event. Figure 14–14 shows three goMenuItem components used to
navigate to external web sites.

Figure 14–14 Menus Can Use goMenuItem Components

Aside from menus that are invoked from menu bars, you can also create context
menus that are invoked when a user right-clicks a UI component, and popup menus
that are invoked when a user clicks a command component. For more information, see
Section 13.2.3, "How to Create a Context Menu."

Note: ADF Faces provides a button with built-in functionality that

allows a user to view a printable version of the current page. Menus
and menu bars do not render on these pages. For more information,
see Section 5.6, "Using Client Behavior Tags.".

By default, the contents of the menu are delivered immediately, as the page is
rendered. If you plan on having a large number of children in a menu (multiple menu

14-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Menus in a Menu Bar

and commandMenuItem components), you can choose to configure the menu to use
lazy content delivery. This means that the child components are not retrieved from the
server until the menu is accessed.

Note: Content delivery for menus used as popup context menus is

determined by the parent popup dialog, and not the menu itself.

You can also create menus that mainly provide navigation throughout the application,
and are not used to cause any change on a selected item in an application. To create
this type of menu, see Section 18.6, "Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy."

14.2.1 How to Create and Use Menus in a Menu Bar

To create a menu, you first have to create a menu bar to hold the menus. You then add
and configure menu and commandMenuItem components as needed.

Note: If you want to create menus in a table, follow the procedures

outlined in Section 10.8, "Displaying Table Menus, Toolbars, and
Status Bars."

To create and use menus in a menu bar:

1. If you plan on using more than one menu bar or a combination of toolbars and
menu bars, create a toolbox component by dragging and dropping a Toolbox
component from the Layout panel of the Component Palette.

Tip: The panelHeader, showDetailHeader, and

showDetailItem components support a toolbar facet for adding
toolboxes and toolbars to section headers and accordion panel
headers.

2. Create a menu bar by dragging and dropping a Panel Menu Layout from the
Layout panel of the Component Palette. If you are using a toolbox component,
the Panel Menu layout should be dropped as a direct child of the toolbox
component.

Tip: Toolboxes also allow you to use the iterator, switcher, and group
components as direct children, providing these components wrap
child components that would usually be direct children of the toolbox.
For more information about toolboxes, see Section 14.3, "Using
Toolbars."

3. If grouping more than one menu bar within a toolbox, for each menu bar, expand
the Appearance section and set the flex attribute to determine the relative sizes
of each of the menu bars. The higher the number given for the flex attribute, the
longer the toolbox will be. For the set of menu bars shown in Example 14–5,
menubar2 will be the longest, menubar4 will be the next longest, and because
their flex attributes are not set, the remaining menu bars will be the same size
and shorter than menubar4.

Example 14–1 Flex Attribute Determines Length of Toolbars

<af:toolbox>
<af:menuBar id="menuBar1" flex="0">

Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes 14-7

Using Menus in a Menu Bar

<af:menu text="MenuA"/>
</af:menBar>
<af:menuBar id="menuBar2" flex="2">
<af:menu text="MenuB"/>
</af:menuBar>
<af:menuBar id="menuBar3" flex="0">
<af:menu text="MenuC"/>
</af:menuBar>
<af:menuBar id="menuBar4" flex="1">
<af:menu text="MenuD"/>
</af:toolbar>
</af:toolbox>

Performance Tip: At runtime, when available browser space is less

than the space needed to display the contents of the toolbox,
ADF Faces automatically displays overflow icons that enable users to
select and navigate to those items that are out of view. The number of
child components within a toolbox component, and the complexity
of the children, will affect the performance of the overflow. You
should set the size of the toolbox component to avoid overflow
when possible. For more information, see Section 14.3.2, "What
Happens at Runtime: Determining the Size of Menu Bars and
Toolbars."

Tip: You can use the group component to group menu bars (or
menu bars and toolbars) that you want to appear on the same row. If
you do not use the group component, the menu bars will appear on
subsequent rows.

For information about how the flex attribute works, see Section 14.3.2, "What
Happens at Runtime: Determining the Size of Menu Bars and Toolbars."
4. Insert the desired number of menu components into the menu bar by dragging a
Menu from the Component Palette, and dropping it as a child to the menuBar
component.
You can also insert commandMenuItem components directly into a menu bar by
dragging and dropping a Menu Item. Doing so creates a commandMenuItem
component that renders similar to a toolbar button.

Tip: Menu bars also allow you to use the iterator, switcher, and
group components as direct children, providing these components
wrap child components that would usually be direct children of the
menu bar.

5. For each menu component, expand the Appearance section in the Property
Inspector and set the following attributes:
■ Text: Enter text for the menu’s label. If you wish to also provide an access key
(a letter a user can use to access the menu using the keyboard), then leave this
attribute blank and enter a value for textAndAccessKey instead.
■ TextAndAccessKey: Enter the menu label and access key, using conventional
ampersand notation. For example, &amp;File sets the menu label to File, and
at the same time sets the menu access key to the letter F. For more information
about access keys and the ampersand notation, see Section 22.3, "Specifying
Component-Level Accessibility Properties."

14-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Menus in a Menu Bar

■ Icon: Use the dropdown list to select the icon. If the icon does not display in
this menu, use the dropdown menu to the right of the list to choose Edit, and
browse to select the icon.

Note: Because alternative text cannot be provided for this icon, in

order to create an accessible product, this icon must only be used
when the use is purely decorative. You must provide the meaning of
this icon using another accessible manner.

6. If you want the menu to be detachable (as shown in Figure 14–8), expand the
Behavior section in the Property Inspector and set the Detachable attribute to
true. At runtime, the user can drag the menu to detach it, and drop it anywhere
on the screen (as shown in Figure 14–9).
7. If you want the menu to use lazy content delivery, expand the Other section in the
Property Inspector and set the ContentDelivery attribute to lazy.

Note: If you use lazy content delivery, any accelerators set on the
child commandMenuItem components will not work because the
contents of the menu are not known until the menu is accessed. If
your menu must support accelerators, then ContentDelivery must be
set to immediate.

Note: If the menu will be used inside a popup dialog or window,

leave ContentDelivery set to immediate, because the popup dialog
or window will determine the content delivery for the menu.

8. To create a menu item that invoke some sort of action along with navigation, drag
a MenuItem from the Component Palette and drop it as a child to the menu
component to create a commandMenuItem component. Create a number of
commandMenuItem components to define the items in the vertical menu.
If necessary, you can wrap the commandMenuItem components within a group
component to display the items as a group. Example 14–2 shows simplified code
for grouping the Folders and Search menu items in one group, the Table, Tree
Table and List menu items in a second group, and the Refresh menu item by itself
at the end.

Example 14–2 Grouping Menu Items

<af:menu id="viewMenu"
<af:group>
<af:commandMenuItem type="check" text="Folders"/>
<af:commandMenuItem type="check" text="Search"/>
</af:group>
<af:group>
<af:commandMenuItem type="radio" text="Table"/>
<af:commandMenuItem type="radio" text="Tree Table"/>
<af:commandMenuItem type="radio" text="List"/>
</af:group>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Refresh"/>
</menu>

Figure 14–15 shows how the menu is displayed.

Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes 14-9

Using Menus in a Menu Bar

Figure 14–15 Grouped commandMenuItem Components in a Menu

Tip: By default, only up to 14 items are displayed in the menu. If

more than 14 items are added to a menu, the first 14 are displayed
along with a scrollbar, which can be used to access the remaining
items. If you wish to change the number of visible items, edit the
af|menu {-tr-visible-items} skinning key. For more
information, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using
Styles and Skins."

You can also insert another menu component into an existing menu component to
create a submenu (as shown in Figure 14–3).

Tip: Menus also allow you to use the iterator and switcher
components as direct children, providing these components wrap
child components that would usually be direct children of the menu.

9. For each commandMenuItem component, expand the Common section in the

Property Inspector and set the following attributes:
■ Type: Specify a type for this menu item. When a menu item type is specified,
ADF Faces adds a visual indicator (such as a radio button) and a toggle
behavior to the menu item. At runtime, when the user selects a menu item
with a specified type (other than the default), ADF Faces toggles the visual
indicator or menu item label. Use one of the following acceptable type values:
– check: In the default FusionFX skin, toggles a square next to the menu
item label. The square is displayed as solid blue when the menu item is
chosen, and greyed out when not.
– radio: Toggles a radio button next to the menu item label. The radio
button is displayed as a solid blue circle when the menu item is chosen,
and greyed out when not.
– antonym: Toggles the menu item label. The value set in the SelectedText
attribute is displayed when the menu item is chosen, instead of the menu
item defined by the value of text or textAndAccessKey attribute
(which is what is displayed when the menu item is not chosen). If you
select this type, you must set a value for SelectedText.
– default: Assigns no type to this menu item. The menu item is displayed in
the same manner whether or not it is chosen.
■ Text: Enter text for the menu item’s label. If you wish to also provide an access
key (a letter a user can use to access the item using the keyboard), then leave

14-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Menus in a Menu Bar

this attribute blank and enter a value for TextAndAccessKey instead. Or, you
can set the access key separately using the accessKey attribute.
■ Selected: Set to true to have this menu item appear to be chosen. The
selected attribute is supported for check-, radio-, and antonym-type menu
items only.
■ SelectedText: Set the alternate label to display for this menu item when the
menu item is chosen. This value is ignored for all types except antonym.
Example 14–3 shows the Special menu with one group of menu items configured
to use radio buttons and another group of menu items configured to show blue
squares when chosen. The last group contains a menu item configured to be the
antonym Open when it is first displayed, and then it toggles to Closed.

Example 14–3 Using the Type Attribute in a commandMenuItem Component

<af:menu text="Special">
<af:group>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Radio 1" type="radio" selected="true"
<af:commandMenuItem text="Radio 2" type="radio"/>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Radio 3" type="radio">
</af:group>
<af:group>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Check 1" type="check" selected="true"
<af:commandMenuItem text="Check 2" type="check"/>
</af:group>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Open (antonym)" type="antonym"
selectedText="Close (antonym)"/>
</af:menu>

Figure 14–16 shows how the menu will be displayed when it is first accessed.

Note: By default, ADF Faces components use the FusionFX skin,

which displays the check type as a square. You can change this by
creating your own skin. For more information, see Chapter 20,
"Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins."

Figure 14–16 Menu Items Using the Type Attribute

10. Expand the Appearance section and set the following attributes:

■ Icon: Use the dropdown list to select the icon. If the icon does not display in
this menu, use the dropdown menu to the right of the list to choose Edit, and
browse to select the icon.

Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes 14-11

Using Menus in a Menu Bar

Note: Because alternative text cannot be provided for this icon, in

order to create an accessible product, this icon must only be used
when the use is purely decorative. You must provide the meaning of
this icon using another accessible manner.

■ Accelerator: Enter the keystroke that will activate this menu item’s command
when the item is chosen, for example, Control O. ADF Faces converts the
keystroke and displays a text version of the keystroke (for example, Ctrl+O)
next to the menu item label, as shown in Figure 14–3.

Note: If you choose to use lazy content delivery, any accelerators set
on the child commandMenuItem components will not work because
the contents of the menu are not known until it is accessed. If your
menu must support accelerator keys, then the contentDelivery
attribute must be set to immediate.

■ TextAndAccessKey: Enter the menu item label and access key, using
conventional ampersand notation. For example, &amp;Save sets the menu
item label to Save, and at the same time sets the menu item access key to the
letter S. For more information about access keys and the ampersand notation,
see Section 22.3, "Specifying Component-Level Accessibility Properties."
11. Expand the Behavior section and set the following attributes:

■ Action: Use an EL expression that evaluates to an action method in an object

(such as a managed bean) that will be invoked when this menu item is chosen.
The expression must evaluate to a public method that takes no parameters,
and returns a java.lang.Object object.
If you want to cause navigation in response to the action generated by
commandMenuItem component, instead of entering an EL expression, enter a
static action outcome value as the value for the action attribute. You then
must either set the partialSubmit attribute to false, or use a redirect. For
more information about configuring navigation in your application, see
Section 2.3, "Defining Page Flows."
■ ActionListener: Specify the expression that refers to an action listener method
that will be notified when this menu item is chosen. This method can be used
instead of a method bound to the action attribute, allowing the action
attribute to handle navigation only. The expression must evaluate to a public
method that takes an ActionEvent parameter, with a return type of void.
12. To create a menu item that simply navigates (usually to an external site), drag and
drop a Go Menu Item from the Component Palette as a child to the menu.
13. In the Property Inspector, expand the Other section and set the following
attributes:
■ Destination: Enter the URI of the page to which the link should navigate. For
example, to navigate to the Oracle Corporation Home Page, you would enter
http://www.oracle.com.
■ Icon: Use the dropdown list to select the icon. If the icon does not display in
this menu, use the dropdown menu to the right of the list to choose Edit, and
browse to select the icon.

14-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Toolbars

Note: Because alternative text cannot be provided for this icon, in

order to create an accessible product, this icon must only be used
when the use is purely decorative. You must provide the meaning of
this icon using another accessible manner.

■ TargetFrame: Use the dropdown list to specify where the new page should
display. Values are
– _blank: The link opens the document in a new window.
– _parent: The link opens the document in the window of the parent. For
example, if the link appeared in a dialog, the resulting page would render
in the parent window.
– _self: The link opens the document in the same page or region.
– _top: The link opens the document in a full window, replacing the entire
page.
■ Text: Enter the text for the link.

Tip: Instead, you can use the textAndAccessKey attribute to

provide a single value that defines the label and the access key to use
for the link. For information about how to define access keys, see
Section 22.3.2, "How to Define Access Keys for an ADF Faces
Component."

14. If you want a menu bar to stretch so that it equals the width of the containing
parent component, set stretchId to be the ID of the component within the menu
bar that should be stretched so that the menu bar is the same size as the parent.
This one component will stretch, while the rest of the components in the menu bar
remain a static size.
You can also use the stretchId attribute to justify components to the left and
right by inserting a spacer component, and setting that component ID as the
stretchId for the menu bar, as shown in Example 14–7.

Example 14–4 Using a Spacer to Justify menuBar Components

<af:menuBar binding="#{editor.component}" id="menuBar1" stretchId="stretch1">
<af:menu text="File" id="m1">
. . .
</af:menu>
. . .
<af:commandMenuItem text="Disabled CMI"/>
<af:goMenuItem textAndAccessKey="O&amp;racle destination="http://www.oracle.com"
id="gmi1"/>
<af:goMenuItem text="Disabled GMI" destination="http://www.gizmo.com"
shortDesc="disabled goMenuItem" id="gmi2"/>
<af:spacer id="stretch1" clientComponent="true"/>
<af:commandMenuItem textAndAccessKey="Component G&amp;uide"
action="guide" id="cmi9"/>
</af:menuBar>

14.3 Using Toolbars

Along with menus, you can create toolbars in your application that contain toolbar
buttons used to initiate some operation in the application. The buttons can display

Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes 14-13

Using Toolbars

text, an icon, or a combination of both. Toolbar buttons can also open menus in a
popup window. Along with toolbar buttons, other UI components, such as dropdown
lists, can be displayed in toolbars. Figure 14–17 shows the toolbar from the File
Explorer application.

Tip: Toolbars can also include command buttons and command links
(including the commandImageLink component) instead of toolbar
buttons. However, toolbar buttons provide additional functionality,
such as opening popup menus. Toolbar buttons can also be used
outside of a toolbar component

Figure 14–17 Toolbar in the File Explorer Application

The toolbar component can contain many different types of components, such as
inputText components, LOV components, selection list components, and command
components. ADF Faces also includes a commandToolbarButton component that
has a popup facet, allowing you to provide popup menus from a toolbar button. You
can configure your toolbar button so that it only opens the popup dialog and does not
fire an action event. As with menus, you can group related toolbar buttons on the
toolbar using the group component.
You can use more than one toolbar by enclosing them in a toolbox. Enclosing toolbars
in a toolbox stacks them so that the first toolbar on the page is displayed at the top,
and the last toolbar is displayed on the bottom. For example, in the File Explorer
application, the currently selected folder name is displayed in the Current Location
toolbar, as shown in Figure 14–17. When you use more than one toolbar, you can set
the flex attribute on the toolbars to determine which toolbar should take up the most
space. In this case, the Current Location toolbar is set to be the longest.
If you wish toolbars to be displayed next to each other (rather than stacked), you can
enclose them in a group component.

Tip: You can also use the toolbox component to group menu bars
with toolbars, or to group multiple menu bars. As with grouping
toolbars, use the group component to group menu bars and toolbars
on the same row.

Within a toolbar, you can set one component to stretch so that the toolbar will always
be the same size as its parent container. For example, in the File Explorer application,
the lower toolbar that displays the current location contains the component that shows
the selected folder. This component is set to stretch so that when the window is
resized, that component and the toolbar will always be the same width as the parent.
However, because no component in the top toolbar is set to stretch, it does not change
size when the window is resized. When a window is resized such that all the
components within the toolbar can no longer be displayed, the toolbar displays an
overflow icon, identified by an arrow cursor in the upper right-hand corner, as shown
in Figure 14–18.

14-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Toolbars

Figure 14–18 Overflow Icon in a Toolbar

Clicking that overflow icon displays the remaining components in a popup window,
as shown in Figure 14–19.

Figure 14–19 Toolbar Component in an Overflow Popup Window

When you expect overflow to occur in your toolbar, it is best to wrap it in a toolbox
that has special layout logic to help in the overflow.

14.3.1 How to Create and Use Toolbars

If you are going to use more than one toolbar component on a page, or if you plan to
use menu bars with toolbars, you first create the toolbox component to hold them.
You then create the toolbars, and last, you create the toolbar buttons.

Tip: If you encounter layout issues with single toolbars or menu

bars, consider wrapping them in a toolbox component, because this
component can handle overflow and layout issues.

To create and use toolbars:

1. If you plan on using more than one toolbar or a combination of toolbars and menu
bars, create a toolbox component by dragging and dropping a Toolbox
component from the Layout panel of the Component Palette.

Tip: The panelHeader, showDetailHeader, and

showDetailItem components support a toolbar facet for adding
toolboxes and toolbars to section headers and accordion panel
headers.

2. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Toolbar onto the JSF page. If you are using a toolbox component, the Toolbar
should be dropped as a direct child of the toolbox component.

Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes 14-15

Using Toolbars

Tip: Toolboxes also allow you to use the iterator, switcher, and group
components as direct children, providing these components wrap
child components that would usually be direct children of the toolbox.

3. If grouping more than one toolbar within a toolbox, for each toolbar, select the
toolbar, expand the Appearance section and set the flex attributes to determine
the relative sizes of each of the toolbars. The higher the number given for the flex
attribute, the longer the toolbox will be. For the set of toolbars shown in
Example 14–5, toolbar2 will be the longest, toolbar4 will be the next longest,
and because their flex attributes are not set, the remaining toolbars will be the
same size and shorter than toolbar4.

Example 14–5 Flex Attribute Determines Length of Toolbars

<af:toolbox>
<af:toolbar id="toolbar1" flex="0">
<af:commandToolbarButton text="ButtonA"/>
</af:toolbar>
<af:toolbar id="toolbar2" flex="2">
<af:commandToolbarButton text="ButtonB"/>
</af:toolbar>
<af:toolbar id="toolbar3" flex="0">
<af:commandToolbarButton text="ButtonC"/>
</af:toolbar>
<af:toolbar id="toolbar4" flex="1">
<af:commandToolbarButton text="ButtonD"/>
</af:toolbar>
</af:toolbox>

Performance Tip: At runtime, when available browser space is less

than the space needed to display the contents of the toolbox,
ADF Faces automatically displays overflow icons that enable users to
select and navigate to those items that are out of view. The number of
child components within a toolbox component, and the complexity
of the children, will affect the performance of the overflow. You
should set the size of the toolbox component to avoid overflow
when possible. For more information, see Section 14.3.2, "What
Happens at Runtime: Determining the Size of Menu Bars and
Toolbars."

Tip: You can use the group component to group toolbars (or menu
bars and toolbars) that you want to appear on the same row. If you do
not use the group component, the toolbars will appear on subsequent
rows.

For information about how the flex attribute works, see Section 14.3.2, "What
Happens at Runtime: Determining the Size of Menu Bars and Toolbars."
4. Insert components into the toolbar as needed. To create a
commandToolbarButton drag a ToolbarButton from the Component Palette
and drop it as a direct child of the toolbar component.

14-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Toolbars

Tip: You can use the group component to wrap related buttons on
the bar. Doing so inserts a separator between the groups, as shown
surrounding the group for the Select Skin dropdown list and Refresh
button in Figure 14–17.
Toolbars also allow you to use the iterator and switcher components
as direct children, providing these components wrap child
components that would usually be direct children of the toolbar.

Tip: You can place other components, such as command buttons and
links, input components, and select components in a toolbar.
However, they may not have the capability to stretch. For details
about stretching the toolbar, see Step 9.

Tip: If you plan to support changing the visible attribute of the

button through active data (for example, data being pushed from the
data source will determine whether nor not the toolbar is displayed),
then you should use the activeCommandToolbarButton
component instead of the commandToolbarButton component.
Create an activeCommandToolbarButton component by dragging
a ToolbarButton (Active) from the Component Palette.

5. For each commandToolbarButton component, expand the Common section of

the Property Inspector and set the following attributes:
■ Type: Specify a type for this toolbar button. When a toolbar button type is
specified, an icon can be displayed when the button is clicked. Use one of the
following acceptable type values:
– check: Toggles to the depressedIcon value if selected or to the default
icon value if not selected.
– radio: When used with other toolbar buttons in a group, makes the button
currently clicked selected, and toggles the previously clicked button in the
group to unselected.

Note: When setting the type to radio, you must wrap the toolbar
button in a group tag that includes other toolbar buttons whose types
are set to radio as well.

– default: Assigns no type to this toolbar button.

■ Selected: Set to true to have this toolbar button appear as selected. The
selected attribute is supported for checkmark- and radio-type toolbar
buttons only.
■ Icon: Use the dropdown list to select the icon. If the icon does not display in
this menu, use the dropdown menu to the right of the list to choose Edit, and
browse to select the icon.

Note: Because alternative text cannot be provided for this icon, in

order to create an accessible product, this icon must only be used
when the use is purely decorative. You must provide the meaning of
this icon using another accessible manner.

Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes 14-17

Using Toolbars

■ Text: Enter the label for this toolbar button.

■ Action: Use an EL expression that evaluates to an action method in an object
(such as a managed bean) that will be invoked when a user presses this
button. The expression must evaluate to a public method that takes no
parameters, and returns a java.lang.Object object.
If you want to cause navigation in response to the action generated by the
button, instead of entering an EL expression, enter a static action outcome
value as the value for the action attribute. You then must set either
partialSubmit to false, or use a redirect. For more information about
configuring navigation, see Section 2.3, "Defining Page Flows."
■ ActionListener: Specify the expression that refers to an action listener method
that will be notified when a user presses this button. This method can be used
instead of a method bound to the action attribute, allowing the action
attribute to handle navigation only. The expression must evaluate to a public
method that takes an ActionEvent parameter, with a return type of void.
6. Expand the Appearance section and set the following properties:
■ HoverIcon: Use the dropdown list to select the icon to display when the
mouse cursor is directly on top of this toolbar button. If the icon is not in this
menu, use the dropdown menu to the right of the list to choose Edit, and
browse to select the icon.
■ DepressedIcon: Use the dropdown list to select the icon to display when the
toolbar button is activated. If the icon is not in this menu, use the dropdown
menu to the right of the list to choose Edit, and browse to select the icon.
7. Expand the Behavior section and set ActionDelivery to none if you do not want
to fire an action event when the button is clicked. This is useful if you want the
button to simply open a popup window. If set to none, you must have a popup
component in the popup facet of the toolbar button (see Step 8), and you cannot
have any value set for the action or actionListener attributes. Set to
clientServer attribute if you want the button to fire an action event as a
standard command component
8. To have a toolbar button invoke a popup menu, insert a menu component into the
popup facet of the commandToolbarButton component. For information, see
Section 14.2.1, "How to Create and Use Menus in a Menu Bar."
9. If you want a toolbar to stretch so that it equals the width of the containing parent
component, set stretchId to be the ID of the component within the toolbar that
should be stretched. This one component will stretch, while the rest of the
components in the toolbar remain a static size.
For example, in the File Explorer application, the inputText component that
displays the selected folder’s name is the one that should stretch, while the
outputText component that displays the words "Current Folder" remains a static
size, as shown in Example 14–6.

Example 14–6 Using the stretchId Attribute

<af:toolbar id="headerToolbar2" flex="2" stretchId="pathDisplay">
<af:outputText id="currLocation" noWrap="true"
value="#{explorerBundle['menuitem.location']}"/>
<af:inputText id="pathDisplay" simple="true" inlineStyle="width:100%"
contentStyle="width:100%"
binding="#{explorer.headerManager.pathDisplay}"
value="#{explorer.headerManager.displayedDirectory}"

14-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Toolbars

="true"
validator="#{explorer.headerManager.validatePathDisplay}"/>
</af:toolbar>

You can also use the stretchId attribute to justify components to the left and
right by inserting a spacer component, and setting that component ID as the
stretchId for the toolbar, as shown in Example 14–7.

Example 14–7 Using a Spacer to Justify Toolbar Components

<af:toolbar flex="1" stretchId="stretch1">
<af:commandToolbarButton text="Forward"
icon="/images/fwdarrow_gray.gif"
disabled="true"></af:commandToolbarButton>
<af:commandToolbarButton icon="/images/uplevel.gif" />

<!-- Insert a stretched spacer to push subsequent buttons to the right -->

<af:spacer id="stretch1" clientComponent="true"/>

<af:commandToolbarButton text="Reports" />

<af:commandToolbarButton id="toggleRefresh"
text="Refresh:OFF" />
</af:toolbar>

14.3.2 What Happens at Runtime: Determining the Size of Menu Bars and Toolbars
When a page with a menu bar or toolbar is first displayed or resized, the space needed
for each bar is based on the value of the bar’s flex attribute. The percentage of size
allocated to each bar is determined by dividing its flex attribute value by the sum of
all the flex attribute values. For example, say you have three toolbars in a toolbox,
and those toolbars are grouped together to display on the same line. The first toolbar is
given a flex attribute value of 1, the second toolbar also has a flex attribute value of
1, and the third has a flex attribute value of 2, giving a total of 4 for all flex
attribute values. In this example, the toolbars would have the following allocation
percentages:
■ Toolbar 1: 1/4 = 25%
■ Toolbar 2: 1/4 = 25%
■ Toolbar 3: 2/4 = 50%
Once the allocation for the bars is determined, and the size set accordingly, each
element within the toolbars are placed left to right. Any components that do not fit are
placed into the overflow list for the bar, keeping the same order as they would have if
displayed, but from top to bottom instead of left to right.

Note: If the application is configured to read right to left, the

toolbars will be placed right to left. For more information, see
Section A.6.2.6, "Language Reading Direction."

14.3.3 What You May Need to Know About Toolbars

Toolbars are supported and rendered by parent components such as panelHeader,
showDetailHeader, and showDetailItem, which have a toolbar facet for
adding toolbars and toolbar buttons to section headers and accordion panel headers.

Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes 14-19

Using Toolbars

Note the following points about toolbars at runtime:

■ A toolbar and its buttons do not display on a header if that header is in a collapsed
state. The toolbar displays only when the header is in an expanded state.
■ When the available space on a header is less than the space needed by a toolbar
and all its buttons, ADF Faces automatically renders overflow icons that allow
users to select hidden buttons from an overflow list.
■ Toolbars do not render on printable pages.

14-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 15
15 Creating a Calendar Application

This chapter describes how to use the ADF Faces calendar component to create a
calendar application.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 15.1, "Introduction to Creating a Calendar Application"
■ Section 15.2, "Creating the Calendar"
■ Section 15.3, "Configuring the Calendar Component"
■ Section 15.4, "Adding Functionality Using Popup Components"
■ Section 15.5, "Customizing the Toolbar"
■ Section 15.6, "Styling the Calendar"

15.1 Introduction to Creating a Calendar Application

ADF Faces includes a calendar component that by default displays created activities in
daily, weekly, monthly, or list views for a given provider or providers (a provider is the
owner of an activity). Figure 15–1 shows an ADF Faces calendar in weekly view
mode with some sample activities.

Figure 15–1 ADF Faces Calendar Showing Weekly View

You can configure the calendar so that it only displays a subset of those views. For
example, you may not want your calendar to use the month and list views. You can

Creating a Calendar Application 15-1

Introduction to Creating a Calendar Application

configure it so that only the day and week views are available, as shown in
Figure 15–2. Because only day and week views are available, those are the only
buttons displayed in the toolbar.

Figure 15–2 Calendar Configured to Use Only Week and Day Views

By default, the calendar displays dates and times based on the locale set in the
trinidad-config.xml file (for example, Section A.6, "Configuration in
trinidad-config.xml"). If a locale is not set in that file, then it is based on the locale sent
by the browser. For example, in the United States, by default, the start day of the week
is Sunday, and 2 p.m. is shown as 2:00 PM. In France, the default start day is Monday,
and 2 p.m. is shown as 14:00. The time zone for the calendar is also based on the
setting in trinidad-config.xml. You can override the default when you configure
the calendar. For more information, see Section 15.3, "Configuring the Calendar
Component."
The calendar uses the CalendarModel class to display the activities for a given time
period. You must create your own implementation of the model class for your
calendar. If your application uses the Fusion technology stack, then you can create
ADF Business Components over your data source that represents the activities, and
the model will be created for you. You can then declaratively create the calendar, and it
will automatically be bound to that model. For more information, see the "Using the
ADF Faces Calendar Component" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.
If your application does not use the Fusion technology stack, then you create your own
implementation of the CalendarModel class and the associated
CalendarActivity and CalendarProvider classes. The classes are abstract
classes with abstract methods. You must provide the functionality behind the methods,
suitable for your implementation of the calendar. For more information, see
Section 15.2, "Creating the Calendar."
The calendar includes a toolbar with built-in functionality that allows a user to change
the view (between daily, weekly, monthly, or list), go to the previous or next day, week,
or month, and return to today. The toolbar is fully customizable. You can choose which
buttons and text to display, and you can also add buttons or other components. For
more information, see Section 15.5, "Customizing the Toolbar."

15-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Creating a Calendar Application

Tip: When these toolbar buttons are used, attribute values on the
calendar are changed. You can configure these values to be persisted
so that they remain for the user during the duration of the session. For
more information, see Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on
JSF Pages."
You can also configure your application so that the values will be
persisted and used each time the user logs into the system. For this
persistence to take place, your application must use the Fusion
technology stack. For more information, see the "Allowing User
Customizations at Runtime" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware
Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

The calendar component displays activities based on those activities and the provider
returned by the CalendarModel class. By default, the calendar component is
read-only. That is, it can display only those activities that are returned. You can add
functionality within supported facets of the calendar so that users can edit, create, and
delete activities. When certain events are invoked, popup components placed in these
corresponding facets are opened, which can allow the user to act on activities or the
calendar.
For example, when a user clicks on an activity in the calendar, the
CalendarActivityEvent is invoked and the popup component in the
ActivityDetail facet is opened. You might use a dialog component that contains a
form where users can view and edit the activity, as shown in Figure 15–3.

Figure 15–3 Dialog Implemented to Edit an Activity

For more information about implementing additional functionality using events,

facets, and popup components, see Section 15.4, "Adding Functionality Using Popup
Components."
The calendar component supports the ADF Faces drag and drop architectural feature.
Users can drag activities to different areas of the calendar, executing either a copy or a
move operation, and can also drag handles on the activity to change the duration of
the activity. For more information about adding drag and drop functionality, see
Section 32.7, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality to a Calendar."
By default, the calendar displays activities using a blue ramp. Color ramps are groups
of colors all based on the same hue, for example, blue. In the default calendar, for a
short-duration activity shown in the daily view, the time of an activity is shown with a
dark blue background, while the title of the activity is shown with a light blue

Creating a Calendar Application 15-3

Creating the Calendar

background, as shown in Figure 15–1. You can customize how the activities are
displayed by changing the color ramp.
Each activity is associated with a provider, that is, an owner. If you implement your
calendar so that it can display activities from more than one provider, you can also
style those activities so that each provider’s activity shows in a different color, as
shown in Figure 15–4.

Figure 15–4 Month View with Activities from Different Providers

15.2 Creating the Calendar

Before you can add a calendar component to a page, you must implement the logic
required by the calendar in Java classes that extend ADF Faces calendar abstract
classes. For an ADF Faces application, create the classes as managed beans. After you
create the classes, you can add the calendar to a page.

Note: If your application uses the Fusion technology stack,

implement the calendar classes using ADF Business Components.
This will allow you to declaratively create and bind your calendar
component. For more information, see the "Using the ADF Faces
Calendar Component" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

Before you implement your logic, it helps to have an understanding of the

CalendarModel and CalendarActivity classes, as described in the following
section.

15.2.1 Calendar Classes

The calendar component must be bound to an implementation of the
CalendarModel class. The CalendarModel class contains the data for the calendar.

15-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating the Calendar

This class is responsible for returning a collection of calendar activities, given the
following set of parameters:
■ Provider ID: The owner of the activities. For example, you may implement the
CalendarModel class such that the calendar can return just the activities
associated with the owner currently in session, or it can also return other owners’
activities.
■ Time range: The expanse of time for which all activities that begin within that time
should be returned. A date range for a calendar is inclusive for the start time and
exclusive for the end time (also known as half-open), meaning that it will return all
activities that intersect that range, including those that start before the start time,
but end after the start time (and before the end time).
A calendar activity represents an object on the calendar, and usually spans a certain
period of time. The CalendarActivity class is an abstract class whose methods you
can implement to return information about the specific activities.
Activities can be recurring, have associated reminders, and be of a specific time type
(for example, hour or minute). Activities can also have start and end dates, a location,
a title, and a tag.
The CalendarProvider class represents the owner of an activity. A provider can be
either enabled or disabled for a calendar.

15.2.2 How to Create a Calendar

Create your own implementations of the CalendarModel and CalendarActivity
classes and implement the abstract methods to provide the logic.

To create the calendar model classes:

1. Create a managed bean that will hold logic for the calendar. This bean must:
■ Extend the oracle.adf.view.rich.model.CalendarModel class.
■ Implement the abstract methods.
For more information about the CalendarModel class, see the ADF Faces
Javadoc.
■ Implement any other needed functionality for the calendar. For example, you
might add logic that sets the time zone, as in the
oracle.adfdemo.view.calendar.rich.model.DemoCalendarBean
managed bean in the ADF Faces demo application (for more information
about the demo application, see Section 1.4, "ADF Faces Demonstration
Application").
For more information about creating managed beans, see Section 2.6, "Creating
and Using Managed Beans."
2. Create a managed bean that will hold logic for the activities. This bean must:
■ Extend the oracle.adf.view.rich.model.CalendarActivity class.
■ Implement the abstract methods.
■ Implement any other required functionality for the calendar. As an example,
see the oracle.adfdemo.view.calendar.rich.model.
■ DemoCalendarActivity managed bean in the ADF Faces demo application.

Creating a Calendar Application 15-5

Configuring the Calendar Component

Tip: If you want to style individual instances of an activity (for

example, if you want each provider’s activities to be displayed in a
different color), then the getTags method must return a string that
represents the activity instance. For more information, see
Section 15.6.1, "How to Style Activities."

3. Create a managed bean that will hold information and logic for providers.
■ Extend the oracle.adf.view.rich.model.CalendarProvider class.
■ Implement the abstract methods.
■ Implement any other required functionality for the provider.

To create the calendar component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components section, drag a
Calendar and drop it onto a JSF page.

Tip: The calendar component can be stretched by any parent

component that can stretch its children. If the calendar is a child
component to a component that cannot be stretched, it will use a
default width and height, which cannot be stretched by the user at
runtime. However, you can override the default width and height
using inline style attributes. For more information about the default
height and width, see Section 15.3, "Configuring the Calendar
Component." For more information about stretching components, see
Section 8.2.1, "Geometry Management and Component Stretching."

2. Expand the Calendar Data section of the Property Inspector, and enter an EL
expression for Value that resolves to the managed bean that extends the
CalendarModel class.

15.3 Configuring the Calendar Component

Configure the many display attributes for the calendar, for example, the day that a
week starts, and the time displayed at the beginning of a day.

15.3.1 How to Configure the Calendar Component

You configure the calendar using the Property Inspector.

To configure a calendar:
1. With the calendar component selected, expand the Common section of the
Property Inspector, and set the following:
■ View: Select the view (either day, list, month, or week) that should be the
default when the calendar is displayed. Users change this value when they
click the corresponding button in the calendar’s toolbar.
■ StartDayOfWeek: Enter the day of the week that should be shown as the
starting day, at the very left in the monthly or weekly view. When not set, the
default is based on the user’s locale. Valid values are:
– sun
– mon
– tue

15-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuring the Calendar Component

– wed
– thu
– fri
– sat
■ StartHour: Enter a number that represents the hour (in 24 hour format, with 0
being midnight) that should be displayed at the top of the day and week view.
While the calendar (when in day or week view) starts the day at 12:01 a.m.,
the calendar will automatically scroll to the startHour value, so that it is
displayed at the top of the view. The user can always scroll above that time to
view activities that start before the startHour value.
■ ListType: Select how you want the list view to display activities. Valid
values are:
– day: Shows activities only for the active day.
– dayCount: Shows a number of days including the active day and after,
based on the value of the listCount attribute.
– month: Shows all the activities for the month to which the active day
belongs.
– week: Shows all the activities for the week to which the active day belongs
■ ListCount: Enter the number of days’ activities to display (used only when the
listType attribute is set to dayCount).
Figure 15–5 shows a calendar in list view with the listType set to dayCount
and the listCount value set to 7.

Figure 15–5 LIst View Using dayCount Type

2. Expand the Calendar Data section of the Property Inspector, and set the following:
■ ActiveDay: Set the day used to determine the date range that is displayed in
the calendar. By default, the active day is today’s date for the user. Do not
change this if you want today’s date to be the default active day when the
calendar is first opened.
Note that when the user selects another day, this becomes the value for the
activeDay attribute. For example, when the user first accesses the calendar,
the current date, February 6, 2009 is the active day. The month view will show
February. If the user uses the next button to scroll to the next month, the active
date will become March 6, 2009.
■ TimeZone: Set the time zone for the calendar. If not set, the value is taken
from AdfFacesContext. The valid value is a java.util.TimeZone object.
3. Expand the Other section of the Property Inspector and set AvailableViews. The
value can be one of or a combination of the following:
■ month
■ week

Creating a Calendar Application 15-7

Configuring the Calendar Component

■ day
■ list
■ all
If you want to enter more than one value, enter the values with a space between.
For example, if you want the calendar to use day and week views, you would
enter the following:
day week

Note: If all is entered, then all views are available, regardless if one
is left out of the list.

The corresponding buttons will automatically be displayed in the toolbar, in the

order they appear in the list.
If you do not enter day as an available view, then activities will be listed as plain
text rather than as links in the list and week views (provided you do not also
enter all).

Note: In order to handle an overflow of tasks for a given day in the

month view, if you enter month and do not also enter all, then you
must also enter day.

4. If you want the user to be able to drag a handle on an existing activity to expand
or collapse the time period of the activity, then implement a handler for
CalendarActivityDurationChangeListener. This handler should include
functionality that changes the end time of the activity. If you want the user to be
able to move the activity (and, therefore, change the start time as well as the end
time), then implement drag and drop functionality. For more information, see
Section 32.7, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality to a Calendar."
You can now add the following functionality:
■ Allow users to create, edit, and delete activities using popup components. For
more information, see Section 15.4, "Adding Functionality Using Popup
Components."
■ Allow users to move activities around on the calendar. For more information, see
Section 32.7, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality to a Calendar."
■ Change or add to the toolbar buttons in the toolbar. For more information, see
Section 15.5, "Customizing the Toolbar."
■ Change the appearance of the calendar and events. For more information, see
Section 15.6, "Styling the Calendar."

15.3.2 What Happens at Runtime: Calendar Events and PPR

The calendar has two events that are used in conjunction with facets to provide a way
to easily implement additional functionality needed in a calendar, such as editing or
adding activities. These two events are CalendarActivityEvent (invoked when an
action occurs on an activity) and CalendarEvent (invoked when an action occurs on
the calendar, itself). For more information about using these events to provide

15-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Functionality Using Popup Components

additional functionality, see Section 15.4, "Adding Functionality Using Popup

Components."
The calendar also supports events that are fired when certain changes occur. The
CalendarActivityDurationChangeEvent is fired when the user changes the
duration of an activity by dragging the box that displays the activity. The
CalendarDisplayChangeEvent is fired whenever the component changes the
value of a display attribute, for example when the view attribute changes from month
to day.
When a CalendarDisplayChangeEvent is fired, the calendar component adds
itself as a partial page rendering (PPR) target, allowing the calendar to be immediately
refreshed. This is because the calendar assumes that if the display changed
programatically, then the calendar must need to be rerendered. For example, if a user
changes the view attribute from day to month, then the calendar is rerendered
automatically.

15.4 Adding Functionality Using Popup Components

When a user acts upon an activity, a CalendarActivityEvent is fired. This event
causes the popup component contained in a facet to be displayed, based on the user’s
action. For example, if the user right-clicks an activity, the CalendarActivityEvent
causes the popup component in the activityContextMenu to be displayed. The
event is also delivered to the server, where a configured listener can act upon the
event. You create the popup components for the facets (or if you do not want to use a
popup component, implement the server-side listener). It is in these popup
components and facets where you can implement functionality that will allow users to
create, delete, and edit activities, as well as to configure their instances of the calendar.
Table 15–1 shows the different user actions that invoke events, the event that is
invoked, and the associated facet that will display its contents when the event is
invoked. The table also shows the component you must use within the popup
component. You create the popup and the associated component within the facet,
along with any functionality implemented in the handler for the associated listener. If
you do not insert a popup component into any of the facets in the table, then the
associated event will be delivered to the server, where you can act on it accordingly by
implementing handlers for the events.

Table 15–1 Calendar Faces Events and Associated Facets

Component
to Use in
User Action Event Associated Facet Popup
Right-click an CalendarActivity activityContextMenu: The menu
activity. Event enclosed popup component can be
used to display a context menu,
where a user can choose some
action to execute against the
activity, for example edit or delete.
Select an activity CalendarActivity activityDelete: The enclosed dialog
and press the Event popup component can be used to
Delete key. display a dialog that allows the user
to delete the selected activity.

Creating a Calendar Application 15-9

Adding Functionality Using Popup Components

Table 15–1 (Cont.) Calendar Faces Events and Associated Facets

Component
to Use in
User Action Event Associated Facet Popup
Click or CalendarActivity activityDetail: The enclosed dialog
double-click an Event popup component can be used to
activity, or select display the activity’s details.
an activity and
press the Enter
key.
Hover over an CalendarActivity activityHover: The enclosed noteWindow
activity. Event popup component can be used to
display high-level information
about the activity.
Right-click the CalendarEvent contextMenu: The enclosed menu
calendar (not an popup component can be used to
activity or the display a context menu for the
toolbar). calendar.
Click or CalendarEvent create: The enclosed popup dialog
double-click any component can be used to display a
free space in the dialog that allows a user to create
calendar (not an an activity.
activity).

15.4.1 How to Add Functionality Using Popup Components

To add functionality, create the popups and associated components in the associated
facets.

To add functionality using popup components:

1. In the Structure window, expand the af:calendar component node so that the
calendar facets are displayed, as shown in Figure 15–6.

Figure 15–6 Calendar Facets in the Structure Window

2. Based on Table 15–1, create popup components in the facets that correspond to the
user actions for which you want to provide functionality. For example, if you want
users to be able to delete an activity by clicking it and pressing the Delete key, you
add a popup dialog to the activityDelete facet.
To add a popup component, right-click the facet in the Structure window and
choose Insert inside facetName > ComponentName.
For more information about creating popup components, see Chapter 13, "Using
Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows."

15-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Functionality Using Popup Components

Example 15–1 shows the JSF code for a dialog popup component used in the
activityDelete facet.

Example 15–1 JSF Code for an Activity Delete Dialog

<f:facet name="activityDelete">
<af:popup id="delete" contentDelivery="lazyUncached">
<!-- don't render if the activity is null -->
<af:dialog dialogListener="#{calendarBean.deleteListener}"
affirmativeTextAndAccessKey="Yes" cancelTextAndAccessKey="No"
rendered="#{calendarBean.currActivity != null}">
<af:outputText value="NOTE: This popup is for demo purposes only,
it is not part of the built in functionality of the calendar."/>
<af:spacer height="20"/>
<af:outputText value="Are you sure you want to delete this activity?"/>
<af:panelFormLayout>
<af:inputText label="Title" value="#{calendarBean.currActivity.title}"
readOnly="true"/>
<af:inputDate label="From" value="#{calendarBean.currActivity.from}"
readOnly="true">
<af:convertDateTime type="date" dateStyle="short"
timeZone="#{calendarBean.timeZone}"
pattern="#{calendarBean.currActivity.dateTimeFormat}"/>
</af:inputDate>
<af:inputDate label="To" value="#{calendarBean.currActivity.to}"
readOnly="true">
<af:convertDateTime type="date" dateStyle="short"
timeZone="#{calendarBean.timeZone}"
pattern="#{calendarBean.currActivity.dateTimeFormat}"/>
</af:inputDate>
<af:inputText label="Location" readOnly="true"
rendered="#{calendarBean.currActivity.location != null}"
value="#{calendarBean.currActivity.location}"/>
</af:panelFormLayout>
</af:dialog>
</af:popup>
</f:facet>

Figure 15–7 shows how the dialog is displayed when a user clicks an activity and
presses the Delete key.

Figure 15–7 Delete Activity Dialog

3. Implement any needed logic for the calendarActivityListener. For

example, if you are implementing a dialog for the activityDeleteFacet, then
implement logic in the calendarActivityListener that can save-off the
current activity so that when you implement the logic in the dialog listener (in the
next step), you will know which activity to delete. Example 15–2 shows the
calendarActivityListener for the calendar.jspx page in the ADF Faces demo
application.

Creating a Calendar Application 15-11

Customizing the Toolbar

Example 15–2 calendarActivityLIstener Handler

public void activityListener(CalendarActivityEvent ae)
{

CalendarActivity activity = ae.getCalendarActivity();

if (activity == null)
{
// no activity with that id is found in the model
System.out.println("No activity with event " + ae.toString());
setCurrActivity(null);
return;
}

System.out.println("providerId is " + activity.getProviderId());

System.out.println("activityId is " + activity.getId());

setCurrActivity(new DemoCalendarActivityBean((DemoCalendarActivity)activity,
getTimeZone()))

4. Implement the logic for the popup component in the handler for the popup event.
For example, for the delete dialog, implement a handler for the dialogListener
that actually deletes the activity when the dialog is dismissed. For more
information about creating dialogs and other popup components, see Chapter 13,
"Using Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows."

15.5 Customizing the Toolbar

By default, the toolbar in the calendar allows the user to change the view between day,
week, month, and list, go to the next or previous item in the view, go to the present
day, and also displays a text description of the current view, for example in the day
view, it displays the active date, as shown in Figure 15–8.

Figure 15–8 Toolbar in Day View of a Calendar

Figure 15–9 shows a toolbar that has been customized. It has added toolbar buttons,
including buttons that are right-aligned on the top toolbar, and buttons in a second
toolbar.

15-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Toolbar

Figure 15–9 Customized Toolbar for a Calendar

15.5.1 How to Customize the Toolbar

Place the toolbar and toolbar buttons you want to add in custom facets that you create.
Then, reference the facet (or facets) from an attribute on the toolbar, along with
keywords that determine how or where the contained items should be displayed.

To customize the toolbar:

1. In the JSF page of the Component Palette, from the Core panel, drag and drop a
Facet for each section of the toolbar you want to add. For example, to add the
custom buttons shown in Figure 15–9, you would add four facet tags. Ensure
that each facet has a unique name for the page.

Tip: To ensure that there will be no conflicts with future releases of

ADF Faces, start all your facet names with customToolbar. For
example, the section of the toolbar that contains the alignment buttons
shown in Figure 15–9 are in the customToolbarAlign facet.

2. In the ADF Faces page of the Component Palette, from the Common Components
panel, drag and drop a Toolbar to each facet and add toolbar buttons and
configure the buttons and toolbar as needed. For more information about toolbars
and toolbar buttons, see Section 14.3, "Using Toolbars."
3. In the Property Inspector, from the dropdown menu next to the toolboxLayout
attribute, choose Edit.
4. In the Edit Property: ToolboxLayout dialog set the value for this attribute. It
should be a list of the custom facet names, in the order in which you want the
contents in the custom facets to appear. In addition to those facets, you can also
include all, or portions of the default toolbar, using the following keywords:
■ all: Displays all the toolbar buttons and text in the default toolbar
■ dates: Displays only the previous, next, and today buttons
■ range: Displays only the string showing the current date range
■ views: Displays only the buttons that allows the user to change the view

Note: If you use the all keyword, then the dates, range, and
views keywords are ignored.

For example, if you created two facets named customToolbar1 and

customToolbar2, and you wanted the complete default toolbar to appear in
between your custom toolbars, the value of the toolboxLayout attribute would
be the following list items:

Creating a Calendar Application 15-13

Customizing the Toolbar

■ customToolbar1
■ all
■ customToolbar2
You can also determine the layout of the toolbars using the following keywords:
■ newline: Places the toolbar in the next named facet (or the next keyword
from the list in the toolboxLayout attribute) on a new line. For example, if
you wanted the toolbar in the customToolbar2 facet to appear on a new
line, the list would be:
– customToolbar1
– all
– newline
– customToolbar2
If instead, you did not want to use all of the default toolbar, but only the views
and dates sections, and you wanted those to each appear on a new line, the list
would be:
– customToolbar1
– customToolbar2
– newline
– views
– newline
– dates
■ stretch: Adds a spacer component that stretches to fill up all available space
so that the next named facet (or next keyword from the default toolbar) is
displayed as right-aligned in the toolbar. Example 15–3 shows the value of the
toolboxLayout attribute for the toolbar displayed in Figure 15–9, along with
the toolbar placed in the customToolbarAlign facet. Note that the toolbar
buttons displayed in the customToolbarBold facet are right-aligned in the
toolbar because the keyword stretch is named before the facet.

Example 15–3 Value for Custom Toolbar

<af:calendar binding="#{editor.component}" id="calendar1"
value="#{calendarBean.calendarModel}"
timeZone="#{calendarBean.timeZone}"
toolboxLayout="customToolbarAlign all customToolbarTZ stretch
customToolbarBold newline customToolbarCreate"
. . .
<f:facet name="customToolbarAlign">
<af:toolbar>
<af:commandToolbarButton id="alignLeft" shortDesc="align left"
icon="/images/alignleft16.png" type="radio"
selected="true"/>
<af:commandToolbarButton id="alignCenter" shortDesc="align center"
icon="/images/aligncenter16.png" type="radio"
selected="false"/>
<af:commandToolbarButton id="alignRight" shortDesc="align right"
icon="/images/alignright16.png" type="radio"
selected="false"/>
</af:toolbar>

15-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Styling the Calendar

</f:facet>
. . .
</af:calendar>

15.6 Styling the Calendar

Like other ADF Faces components, the calendar component can be styled as described
in Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins." However, along
with standard styling procedures, the calendar component has specific attributes that
make styling instances of a calendar easier. These attributes are:
■ activityStyles: Allows you to individually style each activity instance. For
example, you may want to show activities belonging to different providers in
different colors.
■ dateCustomizer: Allows you to display strings other than the calendar date for
the day in the month view. For example, you may want to display countdown or
countup type numbers, as shown in Figure 15–10. This attribute also allows you to
add strings to the blank portion of the header for a day.

Figure 15–10 Customized Display of Dates in a Calendar

15.6.1 How to Style Activities

The activityStyles attribute uses InstanceStyles objects to style specific
instances of an activity. The InstanceStyles class is a way to provide per-instance
inline styles based on skinning keys.
The most common usage of the activityStyles attribute is to display activities
belonging to a specific provider using a specific color. For example, the calendar
shown in Figure 15–11 shows activities belonging to three different providers. The user
can change that color used to represent a provider’s activities in the left panel. The
activityStyles attribute is used to determine the color displayed for each activity,
based on the provider with which it is associated.

Creating a Calendar Application 15-15

Styling the Calendar

Figure 15–11 Activities Styled to Display Color for Different Providers

Note that instead of using a single color, a range of a color is used in the calendar. This
is called a color ramp. A color ramp is a set of colors in a color family to represent the
different states of activities. For example, T.F.’s activities use the Blue ramp. Activities
whose time span is within one day are displayed in medium blue text. Activities that
span across multiple days are shown in a medium blue box with white text. Darker
blue is the background for the start time, while lighter blue is the background for the
title. These three different blues are all part of the Blue color ramp.
The CalendarActivityRamp class is a subclass of InstanceStyles, and can take
a representative color (for example, the blue chosen for T.F.’s activities) and return the
correct color ramp to be used to display each activity in the calendar.
The activityStyles attribute must be bound to a map object. The map key is the set
returned from the getTags method on an activity. The map value is an
InstanceStyles object, most likely an instance of CalendarActivityRamp. This
InstanceStyles object will take in skinning keys, and for each activity, styles will
be returned.

To style activities:
1. In your CalendarActivity class, have the getTags method return a string set
that will be used by the activityStyles attribute to map the returned string to
a specific style. For example, to use the different color ramps for the different
providers shown in Figure 15–11, you must return a string for each provider. In
this case, an activity belonging to the current user might return Me, an activity
belonging to L.E. might return LE, and an activity belonging to T.F. might return
TF. For more information about implementing the CalendarActivity class, see
Section 15.2.2, "How to Create a Calendar."
2. Create a map whose key is the string returned from the getTags method, and
whose value is an InstanceStyles object (for example, a
CalendarActivityRamp instance).
For example, to use the different color ramps shown in Figure 15–11, you would
create a map using the values shown in Table 15–2.

15-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Styling the Calendar

Table 15–2 Map for activityStyles Attribute

Key
(String Set) Value (InstanceStyles Object)
{"Me"} CalendarActivityRamp.getActivityRamp
(CalendarActivityRamp.RampKey.RED)
{"LE"} CalendarActivityRamp.getActivityRamp
(CalendarActivityRamp.RampKey.ORANGE)
{"TF"} CalendarActivityRamp.getActivityRamp
(CalendarActivityRamp.RampKey.BLUE)

3. In the Structure window, select the calendar component, and in the Property
Inspector, bind the activityStyles attribute to the map.

15.6.2 What Happens at Runtime: Activity Styling

During calendar rendering for each activity, the renderer calls the
CalendarActivity.getTags method to get a string set. The string set is then
passed to the map bound to the activityStyles attribute, and an
InstanceStyles object is returned (which may be a CalendarActivityRamp).
Using the example:
■ If the string set {"Me"} is passed in, the red CalendarActivityRamp is
returned.
■ If the string set {"LE"} is passed in, the orange CalendarActivityRamp is
returned.
■ If the string set {"TF"} is passed in, the blue CalendarActivityRamp is
returned.

15.6.3 How to Customize Dates

If you want to display something other than the date number string in the day header
of the monthly view, you can bind the dateCustomizer attribute to an
implementation of a DateCustomizer class that determines what should be
displayed for the date.

To customize the date string:

1. Create a subclass of the oracle.adf.view.rich.util.DateCustomizer
class. This subclass should determine what to display using the following skinning
keys:
■ af|calendar::month-grid-cell-header-misc: Determines what to
display in the left side of the header for a day in the month view.
■ af|calendar::month-grid-cell-header-day-link: Determines the
string to display for the date.
Example 15–4 shows the DemoDateCustomizer class that displays the week
number in the first day of the week, and instead of the day of the month, a
countdown number to a specific date, as shown in Figure 15–10.

Creating a Calendar Application 15-17

Styling the Calendar

Example 15–4 Date Customizer Class

public class MyDateCustomizer extends DateCustomizer
{
public String format(Date date, String key, Locale locale, TimeZone tz)
{

if ("af|calendar::month-grid-cell-header-misc".equals(key))
{

// return appropriate string

}
else if ("af|calendar::month-grid-cell-header-day-link".equals(key))
{

// return appropriate string

}

return null;

}
2. In a managed bean, create an instance of the DateCustomizer class, for example:
private DateCustomizer _dateCustomizer = new DemoDateCustomizer();

3. In the calendar component, bind the dateCustomizer attribute to the

DateCustomizer instance created in the managed bean.

15-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 16
Using Output Components
16

This chapter describes how to display output text, images, and icons using ADF Faces
components, and how to use components that allow users to play video and audio
clips.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 16.1, "Introduction to Output Text, Image, Icon, and Media Components"
■ Section 16.2, "Displaying Output Text and Formatted Output Text"
■ Section 16.3, "Displaying Icons"
■ Section 16.4, "Displaying Images"
■ Section 16.5, "Using Images as Links"
■ Section 16.6, "Displaying Images in a Carousel"
■ Section 16.7, "Displaying Application Status Using Icons"
■ Section 16.8, "Playing Video and Audio Clips"

16.1 Introduction to Output Text, Image, Icon, and Media Components

ADF Faces provides components for displaying text, icons, and images, and for
playing audio and video clips on JSF pages.
Read-only text can be displayed using the outputText or outputFormatted
components. The outputFormatted component enables you to add a limited set of
HTML markup to the value of the component, allowing for some very simple
formatting to the text.
Many ADF Faces components can have icons associated with them. For example, in a
menu, each of the menu items can have an associated icon. You identify the image to
use for each one as the value of an icon attribute for the menu item component itself.
Information and instructions for adding icons to components that support them are
covered in those components’ chapters. In addition to providing icons within
components, ADF Faces also provides icons used when displaying messages. You can
use these icons outside of messages as well.
To display an image on a page, you use the image component. Images can also be
used as links (including image maps) or to depict the status of the server. You can
display a collection of images in a carousel, which allows the users to spin through the
collection to view each image.
The media component can play back an audio clip or a video clip. These components
have attributes so that you can define how the item is to be presented on the page.

Using Output Components 16-1

Displaying Output Text and Formatted Output Text

16.2 Displaying Output Text and Formatted Output Text

There are two ADF Faces components specifically for displaying output text on pages:
outputText, which displays unformatted text, and outputFormatted, which
displays text and can include a limited range of formatting options.
To display simple text specified either explicitly or from a resource bundle or bean,
you use the outputText component. You define the text to be displayed as the value
of the value property. For example:
<af:outputText value="The submitted value was: "/>

Example 16–1 shows two outputText components: the first specifies the text to be
displayed explicitly, and the second takes the text from a managed bean and converts
the value to a text value ready to be displayed (for more information about conversion,
see Section 6.3, "Adding Conversion").

Example 16–1 Output Text

<af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:outputText value="The submitted value was: "/>
<af:outputText value="#{demoInput.date}">
<af:convertDateTime dateStyle="long"/>
</af:outputText>
</af:panelGroupLayout>

You can use the escape attribute to specify whether or not special HTML and XML
characters are escaped for the current markup language. By default, characters are
escaped.
Example 16–2 illustrates two outputText components, the first of which uses the
default value of true for the escape attribute, and the second of which has the
attribute set to false.

Example 16–2 Output Text With and Without the escape Property Set
<af:outputText value="&lt;h3>output &amp; heading&lt;/h3>"/>
<af:outputText value="&lt;h3>output &amp; heading&lt;/h3>"
escape="false"/>

Figure 16–1 shows the different effects seen in a browser of the two different settings of
the escape attribute.

Figure 16–1 Using the escape Attribute for Output Text

You should avoid setting the escape attribute to false unless absolutely necessary.
A better choice is to use the outputFormatted component, which allows a limited
number of HTML tags.
As with the outputText component, the outputFormatted component also
displays the text specified for the value property, but the value can contain HTML
tags. Use the formatting features of the outputFormatted component specifically
when you want to format only parts of the value in a certain way. If you want to use
the same styling for the whole component value, instead of using HTML within the

16-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Output Text and Formatted Output Text

value, apply a style to the whole component. If you want all instances of a component
to be formatted a certain way, then you should create a custom skin. For more
information about using inline styles and creating skins, see Chapter 20, "Customizing
the Appearance Using Styles and Skins."
Example 16–3 shows an outputFormatted component displaying only a few words
of its value in bold.

Example 16–3 Using outputFormatted to Bold Some Text

<af:outputFormatted value="&lt;b>This is in bold.&lt;/b> This is not bold"/>

Figure 16–2 shows how the component displays the text.

Figure 16–2 Text Formatted Using the outputFormatted Component

16.2.1 How to Display Output Text

Before displaying any output text, decide whether or not any parts of the value must
be formatted in a special way.

To display output text:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop
an Output Text onto the page. To create an outputFormatted component, drag
and drop an Output Formatted from the Component Palette.

Tip: If parts of the value require special formatting, use an

outputFormatted component.

Tip: If you plan to support changing the text of the component

through active data (for example, data being pushed from the data
source will determine the text that is displayed), then you should use
the activeOutputText component instead of the outputText
component. Create an activeOutputText component by dragging
an Output Text (Active) from the Component Palette.

2. Expand the Common section of the Property Inspector and set the value attribute
to the value to be displayed. If you are using the outputFormatted component,
use HTML formatting codes to format the text as needed, as described in
Table 16–1 and Table 16–2.
The outputFormatted component also supports the styleUsage attribute
whose values are the following predefined styles for the text:
■ inContextBranding
■ instruction
■ pageStamp
Figure 16–3 shows how the styleUsage values apply styles to the component.

Using Output Components 16-3

Displaying Output Text and Formatted Output Text

Figure 16–3 styleUsage Attribute Values

Note: If the styleUsage and styleClass attributes are both set,

the styleClass attribute takes precedence.

16.2.2 What You May Need to Know About Allowed Format and Character Codes in the
outputFormatted Component
Only certain formatting and character codes can be used. Table 16–1 lists the
formatting codes allowed for formatting values in the outputFormatted component.

Table 16–1 Formatting Codes for Use in af:outputFormatted Values

Formatting Code Effect
<br> Line break
<hr> Horizontal rule
<ol>...</ol><ul>...</ Lists: ordered list, unordered list, and list item
ul><li>...</li>
<p>...</p> Paragraph
<b>...</b> Bold
<i>...</i> Italic
<tt>...</tt> Teletype or monospaced
<big>...</big> Larger font
<small>...</small> Smaller font
<pre>...</pre> Preformatted: layout defined by whitespace and line break
characters preserved
<span>...</span> Span the enclosed text
<a>...</a> Anchor

Table 16–2 lists the character codes for displaying special characters in the values.

Table 16–2 Character Codes for Use in af:outputFormatted Values

Character Code Character
&lt; Less than
&gt; Greater than
&amp; Ampersand
&reg; Registered
&copy; Copyright
&nbsp; Nonbreaking space
&quot; Double quotation marks

16-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Images

The attributes class, style, and size can also be used in the value attribute of the
outputFormatted component, as can href constructions. All other HTML tags are
ignored.

Note: For security reasons, JavaScript is not supported in output

values.

16.3 Displaying Icons

ADF Faces provides a set of icons used with message components, shown in
Figure 16–4.

Figure 16–4 ADF Faces Icons

If you want to display icons outside of a message component, you use the icon
component and provide the name of the icon type you want to display.

Note: The images used for the icons are determined by the skin the
application uses. If you want to change the image, create a custom
skin. For more information, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the
Appearance Using Styles and Skins."

When you use messages in an ADF Faces application, the icons are automatically
added for you. You do not have to add them to the message component. However, you
can use the icons outside of a message component. To display one of the standard
icons defined in the skin for your application, you use the icon component.

To display a standard icon:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop
an Icon onto your page.
2. Expand the Common section and set Name to the name of one of the icon
functions shown in Figure 16–4. For example, if you want to display a red circle
with a white X, you would set Name to error.
3. Expand the Appearance section, and set ShortDesc to the text you want to be
displayed as the alternate text for the icon.

16.4 Displaying Images

To display an image on a page, you use the image component and set the source
attribute to the URI where the file is located. The image component also supports
accessibility description text by providing a way to link to a long description of the
image.

Using Output Components 16-5

Using Images as Links

The image component can also be used as a link and can include an image map,
however, it must be placed inside a goLink component. For more information, see
Section 16.5, "Using Images as Links."

To display an image:
1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop
an Image onto your page.

Tip: If you plan to support changing the source attribute of the

image through active data (for example, data being pushed from the
data source will determine the image that is displayed), then you
should use the activeImage component instead of the image
component. Create an activeImage component by dragging an
Image (Active) from the Component Palette.

2. In the Insert Image dialog, set the following:

■ ShortDesc: Set to the text to be used as the alternate text for the image.
■ Source: Enter the URI to the image file.
3. If you want to include a longer description for the image, in the Property
Inspector, set LongDescURL attribute to the URI where the information is located.

16.5 Using Images as Links

ADF Faces provides the commandImageLink component that renders an image as a
link, along with optional text. You can set different icons for when the user hovers the
mouse over the icon, and for when the icon is depressed or disabled. For more
information about the commandImageLink component, see Section 18.2, "Using
Buttons and Links for Navigation."
If you simply want an image to be used to navigate to a given URI, you can enclose the
image in the goLink component and then, if needed, link to an image map.
You can use an image as a goLink component to one or more destinations. If you
want to use an image as a simple link to a single destination, use a goLink component
to enclose your image, and set the destination attribute of the goLink component
to the URI of the destination for the link.
If your image is being used as a graphical navigation menu, with different areas of the
graphic navigating to different URIs, enclose the image component in a goLink
component and create a server-side image map for the image.

To use an image as one or more goLink components:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Go Link onto the page.
2. Drag and drop an Image as a child to the goLink component.
3. In the Insert Image dialog, set the following:
■ ShortDesc: Set to the text to be used as the alternate text for the image.
■ Source: Enter the URI to the image file.
4. If different areas of the image are to link to different destinations:
■ Create an image map for the image and save it to the server.
■ In the Property Inspector, set ImageMapType attribute to server.

16-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Images in a Carousel

■ Select the goLink component and in the Property Inspector, set Destination to
the URI of the image map on the server.
5. If the whole image is to link to a single destination, select the goLink component
and enter the URI of the destination as the value of Destination.

16.6 Displaying Images in a Carousel

You can display images in a revolving carousel, as shown in Figure 16–5. Users can
change the image at the front either by using the slider at the bottom or by dragging
another image to the front.

Figure 16–5 The ADF Faces Carousel

By default, the carousel displays horizontally. You can configure it so it can be

displayed vertically, as shown in Example 16–6.

Figure 16–6 Vertical Carousel Component

Using Output Components 16-7

Displaying Images in a Carousel

Instead of creating a child carouselItem component for each image to be displayed,

and then binding these components to the individual images, you bind the carousel
component to a complete collection. The component then repeatedly renders one
carouselItem component by stamping the value for each item, similar to the way a
tree stamps out each row of data. As each item is stamped, the data for the current
item is copied into a property that can be addressed using an EL expression using the
carousel component’s var attribute. Once the carousel has completed rendering,
this property is removed or reverted back to its previous value. Carousels contain a
nodeStamp facet, which is both a holder for the carouselItem component used to
display the text and short description for each item, and also the parent component to
the image displayed for each item.
For example, the carouselItem JSF page in the ADF Faces demo shown in
Figure 16–5 contains a carousel component that displays an image of each of the
ADF Faces components. The demoCarouselItem (CarouselBean.java) managed
bean contains a list of each of these components. The value attribute of the carousel
component is bound to the items property on that bean, which represents that list.
The carousel component’s var attribute is used to hold the value for each item to
display, and is used by both the carouselItem component and image component to
retrieve the correct values for each item. Example 16–4 shows the JSF page code for the
carousel. For more information about stamping behavior in a carousel, see
Section 10.5, "Displaying Data in Trees."

Example 16–4 Carousel Component JSF Page Code

<af:carousel id="carousel" binding="#{editor.component}"
var="item"
value="#{demoCarousel.items}"
carouselSpinListener="#{demoCarousel.handleCarouselSpin}">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:carouselItem id="crslItem" text="#{item.title}" shortDesc="#{item.title}">
<af:image id="img" source="#{item.url}" shortDesc="#{item.title}"/>
</af:carouselItem>
</f:facet>
</af:carousel>

A carouselItem component stretches its sole child component. If you place a single
image component inside of the carouselItem, the image stretches to fit within the
square allocated for the item (as the user spins the carousel, these dimensions shrink or
grow).

Best Practice: The image component does not provide any

geometry management controls for altering how it behaves when
stretched. You should use images that have equal width and height
dimensions in order for the image to retain its proper aspect ratio
when it is being stretched.

The carousel component uses a CollectionModel class to access the data in the
underlying collection. This class extends the JSF DataModel class and adds on
support for row keys. In the DataModel class, rows are identified entirely by index.
However, to avoid issues if the underlying data changes, the CollectionModel class
is based on row keys instead of indexes.
You may also use other model classes, such as java.util.List, array, and
javax.faces.model.DataModel. If you use one of these other classes, the
carousel component automatically converts the instance into a CollectionModel
class, but without any additional functionality. For more information about the
CollectionModel class, see the MyFaces Trinidad Javadoc at

16-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Images in a Carousel

http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/trinidad-1_
2/trinidad-api/apidocs/index.html.

Note: If your application uses the Fusion technology stack, you can
create ADF Business Components over your data source that
represents the items, and the model will be created for you. You can
then declaratively create the carousel, and it will automatically be
bound to that model. For more information, see the "Using the ADF
Faces Carousel Component" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware
Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework

The carousel components are virtualized, meaning not all the items that are there for
the component on the server are delivered to and displayed on the client. You
configure the carousel to fetch a certain number of rows at a time from your data
source. The data can be delivered to the component either immediately upon
rendering, or lazily fetched after the shell of the component has been rendered. By
default, the carousel lazily fetches data for the initial request. When a page contains
one or more of these components, the page initially goes through the standard
lifecycle. However, instead of the carousel fetching the data during that initial request,
a special separate partial page rendering (PPR) request is run on the component, and
the number of items set as the value of the fetch size for the carousel is then returned.
Because the page has just been rendered, only the Render Response phase executes for
the carousel, allowing the corresponding data to be fetched and displayed. When a
user does something to cause a subsequent data fetch (for example spinning the
carousel for another set of images), another PPR request is executed.

Performance Tip: You should use lazy delivery when the page
contains a number of components other than a carousel. Using lazy
delivery allows the initial page layout and other components to be
rendered first before the data is available.
Use immediate delivery if the carousel is the only context on the page,
or if the carousel is not expected to return a large set of items. In this
case, response time will be faster than using lazy delivery (or in some
cases, simply perceived as faster), as the second request will not go to
the server, providing a faster user response time and better server
CPU utilizations. Note however that only the number of items
configured to be the fetch block will be initially returned. As with lazy
delivery, when a user’s actions cause a subsequent data fetch, the next
set of items are delivered.

The number of items that are displayed on the client are just enough to fill the page as
it is displayed in the browser. More items are fetched as the user spins the component.
The fetchSize attribute determines the number of items requested from the client to
the server on each attempt to fill the component. The default value is 25.

16.6.1 How to Create a Carousel

To create a carousel, you must first create the data model that contains the images to
display. You then bind a carousel component to that model and insert a
carouselItem component into the nodeStamp facet of the carousel. Lastly, you
insert an image component (or other components that contain an image component)
as a child to the carouselItem component.

Using Output Components 16-9

Displaying Images in a Carousel

To Create a Carousel:
1. Create the data model that will provide the collection of images to display. The
data model can be a List, Array, DataModel or CollectionModel. If the
collection is anything other than a CollectionModel, the framework will
automatically convert it to a CollectionModel. For more information about the
CollectionModel class, see the MyFaces Trinidad Javadoc at
http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/trinidad-1_
2/trinidad-api/apidocs/index.html.
The data model should provide the following information for each of the images
to be displayed in the carousel:
■ URL to the images
■ Title, which will be displayed below the image in the carousel
■ Short description used for text displayed when the user mouses over the
image
For examples, see the CarouselBean.java and the
CarouselMediaBean.java classes in the ADF Faces demo application.
2. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Carousel onto the page.
3. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section, and set the following:
■ Orientation: By default, the carousel displays horizontally. Select vertical if
you want it to display vertically, as shown in Figure 16–6. If you set it to
horizontal, you must configure how the items line up using the halign
attribute. If you set it to vertical, set how the items line up using the
valign attribute.
■ Halign: Specify how you want items in a vertical carousel to display. Valid
values are:
– Center: Aligns the items so that they have the same centerpoint. This is
the default.
– End: Aligns the items so that the right edges line up (when the browser is
displaying a left-to-right language).
– Start: Aligns the items so that the left edges line up (when the browser is
displaying a left-to-right language).
■ Valign: Specify how you want items in a horizontal carousel to display. Valid
values are:
– Bottom: Aligns the items so that the bottom edges line up.
– Middle: Aligns the items so that they have the same middle point. This is
the default.
– Top: Aligns the items so that the top edges line up.
■ Value: Bind the carousel to the model.
4. Expand the Data section and set the following:
■ Var: Enter a variable that will be used in EL to access the individual item data.
■ VarStatus: Enter a variable that will be used in EL to access the status of the
carousel. Common properties of varStatus include:
– model: Returns the CollectionModel for the component.

16-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Images in a Carousel

– index: Returns the zero-based item index.

5. Expand the Appearance section and set EmptyText to text that should display if no
items are returned. If using a resource bundle, use the dropdown menu to choose
Select Text Resource.
6. Expand the Behavior section, and set the following:
■ FetchSize: Set the size of the block that should be returned with each data
fetch.
■ ContentDelivery: Specify when the data should be delivered. When the
contentDelivery attribute is set to immediate, items are fetched at the
same time the carousel is rendered. If the contentDelivery attribute is set
to lazy, items will be fetched and delivered to the client during a subsequent
request.
■ CarouselSpinListener: Bind to a handler method that handles the spinning of
the carousel when you need logic to be executed when the carousel spin is
executed. Example 16–5 shows the handler method on the CarouselBean
which redraws the detail panel when the spin happens.

Example 16–5 Handler for the CarouselSpinEvent

public void handleCarouselSpin(CarouselSpinEvent event)
{
RichCarousel carousel = (RichCarousel)event.getComponent();
carousel.setRowKey(event.getNewItemKey());
ImageInfo itemData = (ImageInfo)carousel.getRowData();
_currentImageInfo = itemData;

// Redraw the detail panel so that we can update the selected details.
RequestContext rc = RequestContext.getCurrentInstance();
rc.addPartialTarget(_detailPanel);
}

7. Expand the Advanced section and set CurrentItemKey. Specify which item is
showing when the carousel is initially rendered. The value should be (or evaluate
to) the item’s primary key in the CollectionModel:
8. From the Component Palette, drag a Carousel Item to the nodeStamp facet of the
Carousel component.
Bind the CarouselItem component’s attributes to the properties in the data
model using the variable value set on the carousel’s var attribute. For example,
the carousel in Example 16–4 uses item as the value for the var attribute. So the
value of the carouselItem’s text attribute would be item.title (given that
title is the property used to access the text used for the carousel items on the
data model).
9. Drag an image from the Component Palette and drop it as a child to the
carouselItem.
Bind the image component’s attributes to the properties in the data model using
the variable value set on the carousel’s var attribute. For example, the carousel in
Example 16–4 uses item as the value for the var attribute. So the value of the
image’s source attribute would be item.url (given that url is the property
used to access the image).
You can surround the image component with other components if you want more
functionality. For example, Figure 16–7 shows a carousel whose images are
surrounded by a panelGroupLayout component and that also uses a

Using Output Components 16-11

Displaying Images in a Carousel

clientListener to call a JavaScript function to show a menu and a navigation

bar.

Figure 16–7 Using a More Complex Layout in a Carousel

Example 16–6 shows the corresponding page code.

Example 16–6 A More Complex Layout for a Carousel

<af:carouselItem id="mainItem" text="#{item.title}" shortDesc="#{item.title}">
<af:panelGroupLayout id="itemPgl" layout="vertical">
<af:image id="mainImg" source="#{item.url}" shortDesc="#{item.title}"
styleClass="MyImage">
<af:clientListener method="handleItemOver" type="mouseOver"/>
<af:clientListener method="handleItemDown" type="mouseDown"/>
<af:showPopupBehavior triggerType="contextMenu" popupId="::itemCtx"/>
</af:image>
<af:panelGroupLayout id="overHead" styleClass="MyOverlayHeader"
layout="vertical" clientComponent="true">
<af:menuBar id="menuBar">
<af:menu id="menu" text="Menu">
<af:commandMenuItem id="menuItem1" text="Menu Item 1"/>
<af:commandMenuItem id="menuItem2" text="Menu Item 2"/>
<af:commandMenuItem id="menuItem3" text="Menu Item 3"/>
</af:menu>
</af:menuBar>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:panelGroupLayout id="overFoot" styleClass="MyOverlayFooter"
layout="vertical" clientComponent="true"
halign="center">
<af:panelGroupLayout id="footHorz" layout="horizontal">
<f:facet name="separator">
<af:spacer id="footSp" width="8"/>
</f:facet>
<af:commandImageLink . . .
/>
<af:outputText id="pageInfo" value="Page 1 of 1"/>
<af:commandImageLink . . .
/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:carouselItem>

Performance Tip: The simpler the structure for the carousel is, the
faster it will perform.

16-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Application Status Using Icons

16.6.2 What You May Need to Know About the Carousel Component and Different
Browsers
In some browsers, the visual decoration of the carousel’s items will be richer. For
example, Safari and Google Chrome display subtle shadows around the carousel’s
items, and the noncurrent items have a brightness overlay to help make clear that the
auxiliary items are not the current item, as shown in Figure 16–8.

Figure 16–8 Carousel Component Displayed in Google Chrome

Figure 16–9 shows the same component in Internet Explorer.

Figure 16–9 Carousel Component Displayed in Microsoft Internet Explorer

16.7 Displaying Application Status Using Icons

ADF Faces provides the statusIndicator component that you can use to indicate
server activity. What displays depends both on the skin your application uses and on
how your server is configured. By default, the following are displayed:
■ When your application is configured to use the standard data transfer service,
during data transfer an animated spinning icon is displayed:

When the server is not busy, a static icon is displayed:

Using Output Components 16-13

Playing Video and Audio Clips

■ When your application is configured to use the Active Data Service (ADS), what
the status indicator displays depends on how ADS is configured.

Note: ADS allows you to bind your application to an active data

source. You must use the Fusion technology stack in order to use ADS.
For more information, see the "Using the Active Data Service" chapter
of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle
Application Development Framework.

ADS can be configured to either have data pushed to the model, or it can be
configured to have the application poll for the data at specified intervals.
Table 16–3 shows the icons that are used to display server states for push and poll
modes (note that the icons are actually animated).

Table 16–3 Icons Used in Status Indicator for ADS

Icon Push Mode Pull Mode
At the first attempt at connecting to At the first attempt at connecting to
the server. server.

When the first connection is When the first connection is

successfully established. successfully established and when a
connection is reestablished.

When subsequent attempts are made Before every poll request.

to reconnect to the server.

When a connection cannot be When the configured number of poll

established or reestablished. attempts are unsuccessful.

After you drop a status indicator component onto the page, you can use skins to
change the actual image files used in the component. For more information about
using skins, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins."

To use the status indicator icon:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Status Indicator onto the page.
2. Use the Property Inspector to set any needed attributes.

Tip: For help in setting attributes, use the field’s dropdown menu to
view a description of the attribute.

16.8 Playing Video and Audio Clips

The ADF Faces media component allows you to include video and audio clips on
your application pages.
The media control handles two complex aspects of cross-platform media display:
determining the best player to display the media, and sizing the media player.
You can specify which media player is preferred for each clip, along with the size of
the player to be displayed for the user. By default, ADF Faces uses the MIME type of
the media resource to determine the best media player and the default inner player

16-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Playing Video and Audio Clips

size to use, although you can specify the type of content yourself, using the
contentType attribute.
You can specify which controls are to be available to the user, and other player features
such as whether or not the clip should play automatically, and whether or not it
should play continuously or a specified number of times.

16.8.1 How to Allow Playing of Audio and Video Clips

Once you add a media component to your page, you can configure the media player to
use by default, the size of the player and screen, the controls, and whether or not the
clip should replay.

To include an audio or video clip in your application page:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Media onto the page.
2. In the Insert Media dialog, set the following attributes:
■ Source: Enter the URI to the media to be played.
■ StandbyText: Enter a message that will be displayed while the content is
loading.
3. Expand the Common section of the Property Inspector and set the following:
■ Player: Select the media player that should be used by default to play the clip.
You can choose from Real Player, Windows Media Player, or Apple Quick
Time Player.
Alternatively, you can create a link in the page that starts the playing of the
media resource based on the user agent's built-in content type mapping. The
media control attempts to pick the appropriate media player using the
following steps:
– If the primary MIME type of the content is image, the built-in user-agent
support is used.
– If a media player has been specified by the player attribute, and that
player is available on the user agent and can display the media resource,
that player is used.
– If one player is especially good at playing the media resource and that
player is available on the user agent, that player is used.
– If one player is especially dominant on the user agent and that player can
play the media resource, that player is used.
– The player connected to the link provided on the page is used.
■ Autostart: Set to True if you want the clip to begin playing as soon as it loads.
■ ContentType: Enter the MIME type of the media to play. This will be used to
determine which player to use, the configuration of the controls, and the size
of the display.
4. Expand the Appearance section of the Property Inspector and set the following:
■ Controls: Select the amount and types of controls you want the player to
display.
Because the set of controls available varies between players, you define what
set of controls to display in a general way, rather than listing actual controls.

Using Output Components 16-15

Playing Video and Audio Clips

For example, you can have the player display all controls available, the most
commonly used controls, or no controls.
As an example, Example 16–7 uses the all setting for a media component.

Example 16–7 Controls for a Media Player

<af:media source="/images/myvideo.wmv" controls="all"/>

Figure 16–10 shows how the player is displayed to the user.

Figure 16–10 Media Player with All Controls

Following values are valid:

– All: Show all available controls for playing media on the media player.
Using this setting can cause a large amount of additional space to be
required, depending on the media player used.
– Minimal: Show a minimal set of controls for playing media on the media
player.
This value gives users control over the most important media playing con-
trols, while occupying the least amount of additional space on the user
agent.
– None: Do not show any controls for the media player and do not allow
control access through other means, such as context menus.
You would typically use this setting only for kiosk-type applications,
where no user control over the playing of the media is allowed. This set-
ting is typically used in conjunction with settings that automatically start
the playback, and to play back continuously.
– NoneVisible: Do not show any controls for the media player, but allow
control access through alternate means, such as context menus.
You would typically use this value only in applications where user con-
trol over the playing of the media is allowed, but not encouraged. As with
the none setting, this setting is typically used in conjunction with settings
that automatically start the playback, and to play back continuously.
– Typical: Show the typical set of controls for playing media on the media
player.
This value, the default, gives users control over the most common media
playing controls, without occupying an inordinate amount of extra space
on the user agent.
■ Width and Height: Define the size in pixels of the complete display, including
the whole player area, which includes the media content area.

16-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Playing Video and Audio Clips

Tip: Using the width and height attributes can lead to unexpected
results because it is difficult to define a suitable width and height to
use across different players and different player control
configurations. Instead of defining the size of the complete display,
you can instead define just the size of the media content area using the
innerWidth and innerHeight attributes.

■ InnerWidth and InnerHeight: Define the size in pixels of only the media
content area. This is the preferred scheme, because you control the amount of
space allocated to the player area for your clip.

Tip: If you do not specify a size for the media control, a default inner
size, determined by the content type of the media resource, is used.
While this works well for audio content, it can cause video content to
be clipped or to occupy too much space.
If you specify dimensions from both schemes, such as a height and
an innerHeight, the overall size defined by the height attribute is
used. Similarly, if you specify both a width and an innerWidth, the
width attribute is used.

5. Expand the Behavior section and set Autostart. By default, playback of a clip will
not start until the user starts it using the displayed controls. You can specify that
playback is to start as soon as the clip is loaded by setting the autostart
attribute to true.
Set PlayCount to the number of times you want the media to play. Once started,
by default, the clip with play through once only. If the users have controls
available, they can replay the clip. However, you can specify that the clip is to play
back a fixed number of times, or loop continuously, by setting a value for the
playCount attribute. Setting the playCount attribute to 0 replays the clip
continuously. Setting the attribute to some other number plays the clip the
specified number of times.
Example 16–8 shows an af:media component in the source of a page. The component
will play a video clip starting as soon as it is loaded and will continue to play the clip
until stopped by the user. The player will display all the available controls.

Example 16–8 Media Component to Play a Video Clip Continuously

<af:media source="/components/images/seattle.wmv" playCount="0"
autostart="true" controls="all"
innerHeight="112" innerWidth="260"
shortDesc="My Video Clip"
standbyText="My video clip is loading"/>

Using Output Components 16-17

Playing Video and Audio Clips

16-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 17
17 Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help

This chapter describes how to define and display tips and messages for ADF Faces
components, and how to provide different levels of help information for users.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 17.1, "Introduction to Displaying Tips and Messages"
■ Section 17.2, "Displaying Tips for Components"
■ Section 17.3, "Displaying Hints and Error Messages for Validation and
Conversion"
■ Section 17.4, "Grouping Components with a Single Label and Message"
■ Section 17.5, "Displaying Help for Components"

17.1 Introduction to Displaying Tips and Messages

ADF Faces provides many different ways for displaying informational text in an
application. You can create simple tip text, validation and conversion tip text,
validation and conversion failure messages, as well as elaborate help systems.
Many ADF Faces components support the shortDesc attribute, which for most
components, displays tip information when a user hovers the cursor over the
component. Figure 17–1 shows a tip configured for a toolbar button. For more
information about creating tips, see Section 17.2, "Displaying Tips for Components."

Figure 17–1 Tip Displays Information

Along with tips, EditableValueHolder components (such as the inputText

component, or the selection components) can display hints used for validation and
conversion. When you configure validation or conversion, a default hint automatically
displays in a note window (for more information, see Chapter 6, "Validating and
Converting Input"). For example, when users click Help > Give Feedback in the File
Explorer application, a dialog displays where they can enter a time and date for a
customer service representative to call. Because the inputDate component contains a

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-1

Introduction to Displaying Tips and Messages

converter, when the user clicks in the field, a note window displays a hint that shows
the expected pattern, as shown in Figure 17–2. If the inputDate component was also
configured with a minimum or maximum value, the hint would display that
information as well. These hints are provided by the converters and validators
automatically.

Figure 17–2 Attached Converters and Validators Include Messages

ADF Faces uses the standard JSF messaging API. JSF supports a built-in framework for
messaging by allowing FacesMessage instances to be added to the FacesContext
object using the addMessage(java.lang.String clientId, FacesMessage
message) method. In general there are two types of messages that can be created:
component-level messages, which are associated with a specific component based on
any client ID that was passed to the addMessage method, and global-level messages,
which are not associated with a component because no the client ID was passed to the
addMessage method.When conversion or validation fails on an
EditableValueHolder ADF Faces component, FacesMessages objects are
automatically added to the message queue on the FacesContext instance, passing in
that component’s ID. These messages are then displayed in the note window for the
component. ADF Faces components are able to display their own messages. You do
not need to add any tags.
For example, if a user enters a date incorrectly in the field shown in Figure 17–2, an
error message is displayed, as shown in Figure 17–3. Note that the error message
appears in the note window along with the hint.

Figure 17–3 Validation and Conversion Errors Display in Note Window

If you want to display a message for a non-ADF Faces component, or if you want the
message to be displayed inline instead of the note window, use the ADF Faces
message component.
Similarly, the document tag handles and displays all global FacesMessages objects
(those that do not contain an associated component ID), as well as component
FacesMessages. Like component messages, you do not need to add any tags for
messages to be displayed. Whenever a global message is created (or more than two
component messages), all messages in the queue will be displayed in a popup
window, as shown in Figure 17–4.

17-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Displaying Tips and Messages

Figure 17–4 Global and Component Messages Displayed by the Document

However, you can use the ADF Faces messages component if you want messages to
display on the page rather than in a popup window. For more information about
displaying hints and messages for components, see Section 17.3, "Displaying Hints and
Error Messages for Validation and Conversion."

Tip: While ADF Faces provides messages for validation and

conversion, you can add your own FacesMessages objects to the
queue using the standard JSF messaging API. When you do so, ADF
Faces will display icons with the message based on the message level,
as follows:

Instead of having each component display its own messages, you can use the
panelLabelAndMessage component to group components and display a message in
one area. This can be very useful when you have to group components together. For
example, the File Explorer application uses a panelLabelAndMessage component
where users enter a telephone number. The telephone number input field is actually
three separate inputText components. The panelLabelAndMessage component
wraps three inputText components. Instead of each having its own label and
message, the three have just one label and one message, as shown in Figure 17–3. For
more information, see Section 17.4, "Grouping Components with a Single Label and
Message."
Instead of configuring messages for individual component instances, you can create a
separate help system that provides information that can be reused throughout the
application.You create help information using different types of providers, and then
reference the help text from the UI components. The following are the three types of
help supported by ADF Faces:
■ Definition: Provides a help icon (question mark in a blue circle) with the help text
appearing when the user mouses over the icon, as shown in Figure 17–5.

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-3

Introduction to Displaying Tips and Messages

Figure 17–5 Definition Messages Display When Mousing Over the Icon

■ Instruction: Depending on the component, this type of help either provides

instruction text within the component (as with panelHeader components), or
displays text in the note window that is opened when the user clicks in the
component, as shown in Figure 17–6. The text can be any length.

Figure 17–6 Instruction Messages Display in a Note Window

■ External URL: You can have a help topic that resides in an external application,
which will open in a separate browser window. For example, instead of displaying
instruction help, Figure 17–7 shows the Select Skin selectOneChoice
component configured to open a help topic about skins. When a user clicks the
help icon, the help topic opens.

Figure 17–7 External URL Help Opens in a New Window

For more information about creating help systems, see Section 17.5, "Displaying
Help for Components."

17-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Hints and Error Messages for Validation and Conversion

17.2 Displaying Tips for Components

ADF Faces components use the shortDesc attribute to display a tip when the user
hovers the mouse over the component. Input components display the tips in their note
window. Other component types display the tip in a standard tip box. This text should
be kept short. If you have to display more detailed information, or if the text can be
reused among many component instances, consider using help text, as described in
Section 17.5, "Displaying Help for Components."
Figure 17–8 shows the effect when the cursor hovers over an inputText component.

Figure 17–8 Tip for an inputText Component

Figure 17–9 shows a tip as displayed for a showDetailItem component.

Figure 17–9 Tip for a showDetailItem Component

To define a tip for a component:

1. In the Structure window, select the component for which you want to display the
tip.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Appearance section and enter a value for the
shortDesc attribute.

Tip: The value should be less than 80 characters, as some browsers

will truncate the tip if it exceeds that length.

If the text to be used is stored in a resource bundle, use the dropdown list to select
Select Text Resource. Use the Select Text Resource dialog to either search for
appropriate text in an existing bundle, or to create a new entry in an existing
bundle. For more information about using resource bundles, see Chapter 21,
"Internationalizing and Localizing Pages."

17.3 Displaying Hints and Error Messages for Validation and Conversion
Validators and converters have a default hint that is displayed to users when they click
in the associated field. For converters, the hint usually tells the user the correct format
to use. For validators, the hint is used to convey what values are valid.
For example, in the File Explorer application, when a user clicks in the input date field
on the Speak with Customer Service page, a tip is displayed showing the correct
format to use, as shown in Figure 17–10.

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-5

Displaying Hints and Error Messages for Validation and Conversion

Figure 17–10 Validators and Converters Have Built-in Messages

When the value of an ADF Faces component fails validation, or cannot be converted
by a converter, the component displays the resulting FacesMessage instance.
For example, entering a date that does not match the dateStyle attribute of the
converter results in an error message, as shown in Figure 17–11.

Figure 17–11 Validation Error at Runtime

You can override the default validator and converter hint and error messages. Each
ADF Faces validator and converter component has attributes you can use to define the
detail messages to be displayed for the user. The actual attributes vary according to the
validator or converter. Figure 17–12 shows the attributes that you can populate to
override the messages for the convertDateTime converter, as displayed in the
Property Inspector.

Figure 17–12 Message Attributes on a Converter

If you do not want messages to be displayed in the note window, you can use the
message component, and messages will be displayed inline with the component.
Figure 17–13 shows how messages are displayed using the message component.

17-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Hints and Error Messages for Validation and Conversion

Figure 17–13 Use the message Component to Display Messages Inline

JSF pages in an ADF Faces application use the document tag, which among other
things, handles displaying all global messages (those not associated with a
component) in a popup window. However, if you want to display global messages on
the page instead, use the messages component.

17.3.1 How to Define Custom Validator and Converter Messages

To override the default validator and converter messages, set values for the different
message attributes.

To define a validator or converter message:

1. In the Structure window, select the converter or validator for which you want to
create the error message.

Note: You can override messages only for ADF Faces components. If
you want to create a message for a non-ADF Faces component (for
example for the f:validator component), then use the message
component. For more information, see Section 17.3.3, "How to Display
Component Messages Inline."

2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Messages section and enter a value for the
attribute for which you want to provide a message.
The values can include dynamic content by using parameter placeholders such as
{0}, {1}, {2}, and so on. For example, the messageDetailConvertDate attribute
on the convertDateTime converter uses the following parameters:
■ {0} the label that identifies the component
■ {1} the value entered by the user
■ {2}an example of the format expected by the component.
Using these parameters, you could create this message:
{1} is not using the correct date format. Please enter the date as follows:
{2}.

The error message would then be displayed as shown in Figure 17–14.

Figure 17–14 Detail Message at Runtime

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-7

Displaying Hints and Error Messages for Validation and Conversion

Tip: Use the dropdown menu to view the property help, which
includes the parameters accepted by the message.

If the text to be used is stored in a resource bundle, use the dropdown list to select
Select Text Resource. Use the Select Text Resource dialog to either search for
appropriate text in an existing bundle, or to create a new entry in an existing
bundle. For more information about using resource bundles, see Chapter 21,
"Internationalizing and Localizing Pages."

Note: The message text is for the detail message of the

FacesMessage object. If you want to override the summary (the text
shown at the top of the message), you can only do this globally. For
more information, see Section 17.3.2, "What You May Need to Know
About Overriding Default Messages Globally."

17.3.2 What You May Need to Know About Overriding Default Messages Globally
Instead of changing the message string per component instance with the
messageDetail[XYZ] attributes, override the string globally so that the string will
be displayed for all instances. To override globally, create a message bundle whose
contents contain the key for the message and the message text you wish to use.
You create and use a message bundle in the same way you create and use resource
bundles for translation, using either Java classes or properties files. For procedures and
information, see Chapter 21, "Internationalizing and Localizing Pages."
For message key information, see Appendix B, "Message Keys for Converter and
Validator Messages."

17.3.3 How to Display Component Messages Inline

Instead of having a component display its messages in the note window, use the
message component to display the messages inline on the page. In order for the
message component to display the correct messages, associate it with a specific
component.

To display component messages inline:

1. In the Structure window, select the component that will display its messages using
the message component. If not already set, enter an ID for the component.
2. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag a Message
and drop it where you want the message to be displayed on the page.
3. Use the dropdown menu for the for attribute to select Edit.
4. In the Edit Property dialog, locate the component for which the message
component will display messages. Only components that have their ID set are
valid selections.

17-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Grouping Components with a Single Label and Message

Note: The message icon and message content that will be displayed
are based on what was given when the FacesMessage object was
created. Setting the messageType or message attributes on the
message component causes the messageType or message attribute
values to be displayed at runtime, regardless of whether or not an
error has occurred. Only populate these attributes if you want the
content to always be displayed when the page is rendered.

17.3.4 How to Display Global Messages Inline

Instead of displaying global messages in a popup window for the page, display them
inline using the messages component.
1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag a Messages
and drop it onto the page where you want the messages to be displayed.
2. In the Property Inspector set the following attributes:
■ globalOnly: By default, ADF Faces displays global messages (messages that
are not associated with components) followed by individual component
messages. If you want to display only global messages in the box, set this
attribute to true. Component messages will continue to be displayed with the
associated component.
■ inline: Set to true to show messages at the top of the page. Otherwise,
messages will be displayed in a dialog.

17.4 Grouping Components with a Single Label and Message

By default, ADF Faces input and select components have built-in support for label and
message display. If you want to group components and use a single label, wrap the
components using the panelLabelAndMessage component.
For example, the File Explorer application collects telephone numbers using four
separate inputText components; one for the area code, one for the exchange, one for
the last four digits, and one for the extension. Because a single label is needed, the four
inputText components are wrapped in a panelLabelAndMessage component,
and the label value is set on that component. However, the input component for the
extension requires an additional label, so an outputText component is used.
Example 17–1 shows the JSF code for the panelLabelAndMessage component.

Example 17–1 panelLabelAndMessage Can Display a Single Label and Help Topic
<af:panelLabelAndMessage labelAndAccessKey="#{explorerBundle['help.telephone']}"
helpTopicId="HELP_TELEPHONE_NUMBER"
labelStyle="vertical-align: top;
padding-top: 0.2em;">
<af:inputText autoTab="true" simple="true" maximumLength="3"
columns="3">
<af:convertNumber type="number" integerOnly="true"/>
</af:inputText>
<af:inputText autoTab="true" simple="true" maximumLength="3"
columns="3">
<af:convertNumber type="number" integerOnly="true"/>
</af:inputText>
<af:inputText autoTab="true" simple="true" maximumLength="4"
columns="4">
<af:convertNumber type="number" integerOnly="true"/>

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-9

Grouping Components with a Single Label and Message

</af:inputText>
<af:outputText value="#{explorerBundle['help.extension']}"/>
<af:inputText simple="true" columns="4">
<af:convertNumber type="number" integerOnly="true"/>
</af:inputText>
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>

Figure 17–15 shows how the panelLabelAndMessage and nested components are
displayed in a browser.

Figure 17–15 Examples Using the panelLabelAndMessage Component

The panelLabelAndMessage component also includes an End facet that can be used
to display additional components at the end of the group. Figure 17–16 shows how the
telephone number fields would be displayed if the End facet was populated with an
outputText component.

Figure 17–16 End Facet in a panelLabelAndMessage Component

Use a panelGroupLayout component within a panelLabelAndMessage

component to group the components for the required layout. For information about
using the panelGrouplayout component, see Section 8.12, "Grouping Related
Items."
You set the simple attribute to true on each of the input components so that their
individual labels are not displayed. However, you may want to set a value for the label
attribute on each of the components for messaging purposes and for accessibility.

Tip: If you have to use multiple panelLabelAndMessage

components one after another, wrap them inside an
af:panelFormLayout component, so that the labels line up
properly. For information about using the panelFormLayout
component, see Section 8.6, "Arranging Content in Forms."

Group and wrap components using the panelLabelAndMessage component. The

panelLabelAndMessage component can be used to wrap any components, not just
those that typically display messages and labels.

To arrange form input components with one label and message:

1. Add input or select components as needed to the page.
For each input and select component:
■ Set the simple attribute to true.
■ For accessibility reasons, set the label attribute to a label for the component.
2. In the Structure window, select the input and/or select components created in Step
1. Right-click the selection and choose Surround With > Panel Label And
Message.
3. With the panelLabelAndMessage component selected, in the Property
Inspector, set the following:

17-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Help for Components

■ label: Enter the label text to be displayed for the group of components.
■ for: Use the dropdown menu to choose Edit. In the Edit Property dialog, select
the ID of the child input component. If there is more than one input
component, select the first component.
Set the for attribute to the first inputComponent to meet accessibility
requirements.
If one or more of the nested input components is a required component and you
want a marker to be displayed indicating this, set the showRequired attribute to
true.
4. To place content in the End facet, drag and drop the desired component into the
facet.
Because facets accept one child component only, if you want to add more than one
child component, you must wrap the child components inside a container, such as
a panelGroupLayout or group component.

Tip: If the facet is not visible in the visual editor:

1. Right-click the panelLabelAndMessage component in the Structure
window.
2. From the context menu, choose Facets - Panel Label And Message >facet
name. Facets in use on the page are indicated by a checkmark in front of
the facet name.

17.5 Displaying Help for Components

ADF Faces provides a framework that allows you to create and display three different
types of help whose content comes from an external source, rather than as text
configured on the component. Because it is not configured directly on the component,
the content can be used by more than one component, saving time in creating pages
and also allowing you to change the content in one place rather than everywhere the
content appears.
The first type of external help provided by ADF Faces is Definition help. Like a
standard tip, the content appears in a message box. However, instead of appearing
when the user mouses over the component, Definition help provides a help icon (a
blue circle with a question mark). When the user mouses over the icon, the content is
displayed, as shown in Figure 17–17.

Figure 17–17 Definition Text for a Component

Table 17–1 shows the components that support Definition help.

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-11

Displaying Help for Components

Table 17–1 Components That Support Definition Help

Supported
Components Help Icon Placement Example
All input Before the label, or if
components, Select no label exists, at the
components, Choose start of the field
Color, Choose Date,
Query components
Panel Header, End of header text
PanelBox, Show
Detail Header

Panel Window, Next to close icon in

Dialog header

Columns in table and Below header text

tree

The second type of help is Instruction help. Where Instruction help is displayed
depends on the component with which it is associated. The panelHeader and Search
panel components display Instruction help within the header. Figure 17–18 shows how
the text that typically is displayed as Definition help as shown in Figure 17–17 would
be displayed as Instruction help within the panelHeader component.

Figure 17–18 Instruction Text for panelHeader

All other components that support Instruction help display the text within a note
window, as shown in Figure 17–19. Note that no help icon is displayed.

Figure 17–19 Instruction Text for a Component

Table 17–2 shows the components that support Instruction help.

17-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Help for Components

Table 17–2 Components That Support Instruction Help

Supported
Components Help Placement Example
Input components, Note window, on
Choose Color, Choose focus only
Date, Quick Query

Select components Note window, on

hover and focus

Panel Header, Panel Text below header text

Box, Query

The last type of help is External URL help. You provide a URL to a web page in an
external application, and when the help icon is clicked, the web page opens in a
separate browser window, as shown in Figure 17–20. Instead of clicking a help icon,
you can use JavaScript to open a help window based on any client-based event.

Figure 17–20 External URL Help

ADF Faces includes a variety of help providers. The

ResourceBundleHelpProvider help provider allows you to create resource
bundles that hold the help content. The ELHelpProvider help provider allows you
to create XLIFF files that get converted into maps, or create a managed bean that
contains a map of help text strings. You can use a combination of the different help
providers. You can also create your own help provider class.
To create help for your application, do the following:
■ Determine the help provider(s) to use and then implement the required artifacts.
■ Register the help provider(s), specifying the prefix that will be used to access the
provider’s help. Each help provider has its own unique prefix, which is used as its
identifier. A particular provider will be called to produce help only for help topic
IDs that start with the prefix under which the provider is registered.

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-13

Displaying Help for Components

■ Have the UI components access the help contained in the providers by using the
component’s helpTopicId attribute. A helpTopicId attribute contains the
following.
■ The prefix that is used by the provider of the help
■ The topic name
For example, the value of the helpTopicId attribute on the inputText
component shown in Figure 17–19 might be RBHELP_FILE_NAME, where RBHELP
is the resource bundle help providers prefix, and FILE_NAME is the help topic
name.

17.5.1 How to Create Resource Bundle-Based Help

You can store help text within standard resource bundle property files and use the
ResourceBundleHelpProvider class to deliver the content.

To create resource bundle-based help:

1. Create a properties file that contains the topic ID and help text for each help topic.
The topic ID must contain the following:
■ The prefix that will be used by this provider, for example, RBHELP.
■ The topic name, for example, TELEPHONE_NUMBER.
■ The help type, for example, DEFINITION.
For example, a topic ID might be RBHELP_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_DEFINITION.

Note: All prefixes under which help providers are registered must be
unique. It is also not permissible for one prefix to begin with the same
characters as another prefix. For example, if help providers have
already been registered for the two prefixes AAB and AC, then the
following prefixes are all invalid and will cause an exception to be
thrown at registration time: AABC, A, AA, AC, ACB. However, the
following are valid: AAD, AB, and so on.
UI components access the help content based on the topic name.
Therefore, if you use the same topic name for two different types of
help (as shown in Example 17–2), then both types of help will be
displayed by the UI component.

Example 17–2 shows an example resource bundle with three topics.

Example 17–2 Resource Bundle Help

RBHELP_CUST_SERVICE_EMAIL_DEFINITION=For security reasons,
we strongly discourage the submission of credit card numbers.
RBHELP_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_DEFINITION=We only support calling telephone numbers
in the United States at this time.
RBHELP_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_INSTRUCTIONS=Enter a telephone number.

Note: If you wish to use an external URL help type, create a subclass
of the ResourceBundleHelpProvider class. For more information,
see Step 3.

17-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Help for Components

2. Register the resource bundle as a help provider in the adf-settings.xml file

(for information on creating the adf-settings.xml file if one does not exist, see
Section A.5.1, "How to Configure for ADF Faces in adf-settings.xml").
To register the provider, open the adf-settings.xml file, click the Source tab,
and add the following elements:
■ <help-provider>: Use the prefix attribute to define the prefix that UI
components will use to access this help provider. This must be unique in the
application, and must match the prefix used in the resource bundle.

Note: If the prefix attribute is missing, or is empty, then the help

provider will be registered as a special default help provider. It will be
used to produce help for help topic IDs that cannot be matched with
any other help provider. Only one default help provider is permitted.

■ <help-provider-class>: Create as a child element to the

<help-provider> element and enter
oracle.adf.view.rich.help.ResourceBundleHelpProvider.
■ <property>: Create as a child element to the <help-provider> element.
The property defines the actual help source.
■ <property-name>: Create as a child element to the <property> element,
and enter a name for the source, for example, baseName.
■ <value>: Create as a child element to the <property> element and enter the
fully qualified class name of the resource bundle. For example, the qualified
class name of the resource bundle used in the ADF Faces demo application is
oracle.adfdemo.view.resource.DemoResources.
Example 17–3 shows how the resource bundle in Example 17–2 would be
registered in the adf-settings.xml file.

Example 17–3 Registering a Resource Bundle as a Help Provider

<adf-settings xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/settings">
<adf-faces-config xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/settings">
<help-provider prefix="RBHELP_">
<help-provider-class>
oracle.adf.view.rich.help.ResourceBundleHelpProvider
</help-provider-class>
<property>
<property-name>baseName</property-name>
<value>oracle.adfdemo.view.resource.DemoResources</value>
</property>
</help-provider>
</adf-faces-config>
</adf-settings>

3. If you want to use External URL help, then you also must extend the
ResourceBundleHelpProvider class and implement the getExternalUrl
method. Example 17–4 shows an example method.

Example 17–4 Overriding the getExternalURL Method

protected String getExternalUrl(FacesContext context, UIComponent component,
String topicId)
{

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-15

Displaying Help for Components

if (topicId == null)
return null;
if (topicId.contains("TOPICID_ALL") ||
topicId.contains("TOPICID_DEFN_URL") ||
topicId.contains("TOPICID_INSTR_URL") ||
topicId.contains("TOPICID_URL"))
return http://www.myURL.com;
else
return null;
}

In Example 17–4, all the topics in the method return the same URL. You would
have to create separate if statements to return different URLs.
If you want the external window to be launched based on a component’s client
event instead of from a help icon, use a JavaScript function. For more information,
see Section 17.5.4, "How to Use JavaScript to Launch an External Help Window."

17.5.2 How to Create XLIFF-Based Help

You can store the help text in XLIFF XML files and use the ELHelpProvider class to
deliver the content. This class translates the XLIFF file to a map of strings that will be
used as the text in the help.

To create XLIFF help:

1. Create an XLIFF file that defines your help text, using the following elements
within the <body> tag:
■ <trans-unit>: Enter the topic ID. This must contain the prefix, the topic
name, and the help type, for example, XLIFFHELP_CREDIT_CARD_
DEFINITION. In this example, XLIFFHELP will become the prefix used to
access the XLIFF file. CREDIT_CARD is the topic name, and DEFINITION is
the type of help.

Note: All prefixes under which help providers are registered must be
unique. It is also not permissible for one prefix to begin with the same
characters as another prefix. For example, if help providers have
already been registered for the two prefixes AAB and AC, then the
following prefixes are all invalid and will cause an exception to be
thrown at registration time: AABC, A, AA, AC, ACB. However, the
following are valid: AAD, AB, and so on.
UI components access the help content based on the topic name.
Therefore, if you use the same topic name for two different types of
help (as shown in Example 17–5), then both types of help will be
displayed by the UI component.

■ <source>: Create as a direct child of the <trans-unit> element and enter a

unique name.
■ <target>: Create as a direct child of the <trans-unit> element and leave it
blank.
■ <note>: Create as a direct child of the <trans-unit> element and enter the
help text.
Example 17–5 shows an example of an XLIFF file that contains two topics.

17-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Help for Components

Example 17–5 XLIFF Help

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<xliff version="1.1" xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:xliff:document:1.1">
<file source-language="en" original="this" datatype="xml">
<body>
<trans-unit id="XLIFF_CREDIT_CARD_DEFINITION">
<source>Credit Card Definition</source>
<target/>
<note>Credit Card definition text.</note>
</trans-unit>
<trans-unit id="XLIFF_CREDIT_CARD_INSTRUCTIONS">
<source>Credit Card Instructions</source>
<target/>
<note>Credit card instruction text.</note>
</trans-unit>
</body>
</file>
</xliff>

2. Register XLIFF as a help provider in the adf-settings.xml file (for information

on creating the adf-settings.xml file if one does not exist, see Section A.5.1,
"How to Configure for ADF Faces in adf-settings.xml").
To register the provider, open the adf-settings.xml file and add the following
elements:
■ <help-provider>: Use the prefix attribute to define the prefix that UI
components will use to access this help provider. This must be unique in the
application, and must match the prefix used in the XLIFF file.

Note: If the prefix attribute is missing, or is empty, then the help

provider will be registered as a special default help provider. It will be
used to produce help for help topic IDs that cannot be matched with
any other help provider. Only one default help provider is permitted.

■ <help-provider-class>: Create as a child element to the

<help-provider> element and enter
oracle.adf.view.rich.help.ELHelpProvider.
■ <property>: Create as a child element to the <help-provider> element.
The property values define the actual help source.
■ <property-name>: Create as a child element to the <property> element
and enter a name for the help, for example, helpSource.
■ <value>: Create as a child element to the <property> element and enter an
EL expression that resolves to the XLIFF file, wrapped in the adfBundle EL
function, for example,
#{adfBundle['project1xliff.view.Project1XliffBundle']}.
Example 17–6 shows how the XLIFF file in Example 17–5 would be registered in
the adf-settings.xml file.

Example 17–6 Registering an XLIFF File as a Help Provider

<adf-settings xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/settings">
<adf-faces-config xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/settings">
<help-provider prefix="XLIFF">
<help-provider-class>

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-17

Displaying Help for Components

oracle.adf.view.rich.help.ELHelpProvider
</help-provider-class>
<property>
<property-name>helpSource</property-name>
<value>#{adfBundle['project1xliff.view.Project1XliffBundle']}</value>
</property>
</help-provider>
</adf-faces-config>
</adf-settings>

17.5.3 How to Create Managed Bean Help

To implement managed bean help, create a managed bean that contains a map of
strings that will be used as the text in the help. Managed bean help providers use the
ELHelpProvider class to deliver the help.

To create managed bean help:

1. Create a managed bean that returns a map of strings, each of which is the ID and
content for a help topic, as shown in Example 17–7.

Example 17–7 Managed Bean that Returns a Map of Help Text Strings
public class ELHelpProviderMapDemo
{
public ELHelpProviderMapDemo()
{
}

/* To use the ELHelpProvider, the EL expression must point to a Map, otherwise

* you will get a coerceToType error. */

public Map<String, String> getHelpMap()

{
return _HELP_MAP;
}

static private final Map<String, String> _HELP_MAP =

new HashMap<String, String>();
static
{
_HELP_MAP.put("MAPHELP_CREDIT_CARD_DEFINITION",
"Map value for credit card definition");
_HELP_MAP.put("MAPHELP_CREDIT_CARD_INSTRUCTIONS",
"Map value for credit card instructions");
_HELP_MAP.put("MAPHELP_SHOPPING_DEFINITION",
"Map value for shopping definition");
_HELP_MAP.put("MAPHELP_SHOPPING_INSTRUCTIONS",
"Map value for shopping instructions");
}

The first string must contain the prefix, the topic name, and the help type, for
example, MAPHELP_CREDIT_CARD_DEFINITION. In this example, MAPHELP
will become the prefix used to access the bean. CREDIT_CARD is the topic name,
and DEFINITION is the type of help. The second string is the help text.

17-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Help for Components

Note: All prefixes under which help providers are registered must be
unique. It is also not permissible for one prefix to begin with the same
characters as another prefix. For example, if help providers have
already been registered for the two prefixes AAB and AC, then the
following prefixes are all invalid and will cause an exception to be
thrown at registration time: AABC, A, AA, AC, ACB. However, the
following are valid: AAD, AB, and so on.
UI components access the help content based on the topic name.
Therefore, if you use the same topic name for two different types of
help (as shown in Example 17–7), then both types of help will be
displayed by the UI component.

Note: If you wish to use external URL help, create a subclass of the
ELHelpProvider class. For more information, see Step 4.

2. Register the managed bean in the faces-config.xml file. Example 17–8 shows
the bean shown in Example 17–7 registered in the faces-config.xml file.

Example 17–8 Managed Bean Registration in the faces-config.xml File.

<managed-bean>
<managed-bean-name>helpTranslationMap</managed-bean-name>
<managed-bean-class>
oracle.adfdemo.view.webapp.ELHelpProviderMapDemo
</managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-scope>session</managed-bean-scope>
</managed-bean>

For more information about using and registering managed beans, see Section 2.6,
"Creating and Using Managed Beans."
3. Register the managed bean as a help provider in the adf-settings.xml file (for
information on creating the adf-settings.xml file if one does not exist, see
Section A.5.1, "How to Configure for ADF Faces in adf-settings.xml").
To register the provider, open the adf-settings.xml file and add the following
elements:
■ <help-provider>: Create and use the prefix attribute to define the prefix
that UI components will use to access this help provider. This must be unique
in the application.

Note: If the prefix attribute is missing, or is empty, then the help

provider will be registered as a special default help provider. It will be
used to produce help for help topic IDs that cannot be matched with
any other help provider. Only one default help provider is permitted.

■ <help-provider-class>: Create as a child element to the

<help-provider> element and enter the fully qualified class path to the
class created in Step 1.
■ <property>: Create as a child element to the <help-provider> element.
The property defines the map of help strings on the managed bean.

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-19

Displaying Help for Components

■ <property-name>: Create as a child element to the <property> element

and enter a property name, for example helpSource.
■ <value>: Create as a child element to the <property> element and enter an
EL expression that resolves to the help map on the managed bean.
Example 17–9 shows how the bean in Example 17–8 would be registered in the
adf-settings.xml file.

Example 17–9 Registering a Managed Bean as a Help Provider

<adf-settings xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/settings">
<adf-faces-config xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/settings">
<help-provider prefix="MAPHELP_">
<help-provider-class>
oracle.adf.view.rich.help.ELHelpProvider
</help-provider-class>
<property>
<property-name>helpSource</property-name>
<value>#{helpTranslationMap.helpMap}</value>
</property>
</help-provider>
</adf-faces-config>
</adf-settings>

4. If you want to use External URL help with the managed bean provider, then
extend the ELHelpProvider class and implement the getExternalUrl
method. Example 17–10 shows an example method.

Example 17–10 Overriding the getExternalURL Method

protected String getExternalUrl(FacesContext context, UIComponent component,
String topicId)
{
if (topicId == null)
return null;
if (topicId.contains("TOPICID_ALL") ||
topicId.contains("TOPICID_DEFN_URL") ||
topicId.contains("TOPICID_INSTR_URL") ||
topicId.contains("TOPICID_URL"))
return http://www.myURL.com;
else
return null;
}

In Example 17–10, all the topics in the method return the same URL. You must
create separate if statements to return different URLs.
If you want the external window to be launched based on a component’s client
event instead of from a help icon, use a JavaScript function. For more information,
see Section 17.5.4, "How to Use JavaScript to Launch an External Help Window."

17.5.4 How to Use JavaScript to Launch an External Help Window

If you want to use external URL help, by default, the user clicks a help icon to launch
the help window. Instead, you can use JavaScript and a client event listener for a
specific component’s event to launch the help window.

17-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Help for Components

To use JavaScript to launch an external help window:

1. Create a JavaScript function that uses the launchHelp API to launch a specific
URL or page.
Example 17–11 shows the launchHelp function used to launch the
helpClient.jspx.

Example 17–11 JavaScript to Launch an External Help Page

<af:resource type="javascript">
function launchHelp(event)
{
AdfPage.PAGE.launchHelpWindow("helpClient.jspx");
}
</af:resource>

2. Drag and drop a component whose client event will cause the function to be
called. You must set the clientId on this component to true.
3. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop a Client
Listener as a child to the component created in Step 2. Configure the
clientListener to invoke the function created in Step 1. For more information
about using the clientListener tag, see Section 3.2, "Listening for Client
Events."
Example 17–12 shows the code used to have a click event on a
commandToolbarButton component launch the helpClient.jspx page.

Example 17–12 Page Code Used to Launch an External Help Window

<af:toolbar id="tb1">
<af:commandToolbarButton text="Launch help window" id="ctb1"
icon="/images/happy_computer.gif">
<af:clientListener method="launchHelp" type="click"/>
</af:commandToolbarButton>
</af:toolbar>
<af:resource type="javascript">
function launchHelp(event)
{
AdfPage.PAGE.launchHelpWindow("helpClient.jspx");
}
</af:resource>

17.5.5 How to Create a Java Class Help Provider

Instead of using one of the ADF Faces help providers, create your own. Create the
actual text in some file that your help provider will be able to access and display. To
create a Java class help provider, extend the HelpProvider class. For more
information about this class, refer to the ADF Faces Javadoc.

To create a Java class help provider:

1. Create a Java class that extends
oracle.adf.view.rich.help.HelpProvider.
2. Create a public constructor with no parameters. You also must implement the logic
to access and return help topics.
3. This class will be able to access properties and values that are set in the
adf-settings.xml file when you register this provider. For example, the ADF

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-21

Displaying Help for Components

Faces providers all use a property to define the actual source of the help strings. To
access a property in the adf-settings.xml file, create a method that sets a
property that is a String. For example:
public void setMyCustomProperty(String arg)

4. To register the provider, open the adf-settings.xml file and add the following
elements:
■ <help-provider>: Use the prefix attribute to define the prefix that UI
components will use to access this help provider. This must be unique in the
application.

Note: If the prefix attribute is missing, or is empty, then the help

provider will be registered as a special default help provider. It will be
used to produce help for help topic IDs that cannot be matched with
any other help provider. Only one default help provider is permitted.
All prefixes under which help providers are registered must be
unique. It is also not permissible for one prefix to begin with the same
characters as another prefix. For example, if help providers have
already been registered for the two prefixes AAB and AC, then the
following prefixes are all invalid and will cause an exception to be
thrown at registration time: AABC, A, AA, AC, ACB. However, the
following are valid: AAD, AB, and so on.

■ <help-provider-class>: Create as a child element to the

<help-provider> element and enter the fully qualified class path to the
class created in Step 1.
■ <property>: Create as a child element to the <help-provider> element
and use it to define the property that will be used as the argument for the
method created in Step 3.
■ <property-name>: Create as a child element to the <property> element
and enter the property name.
■ <value>: Create as a child element to the <property> element and enter the
value for the property.
Example 17–13 shows an example of a help provider class registered in the
adf-settings.xml file.

Example 17–13 Registering a Help Provider Class

<adf-settings xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/settings">
<adf-faces-config xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/settings">
<help-provider prefix="MYAPP">
<help-provider-class>
oracle.adfdemo.view.webapp.MyHelpProvider
</help-provider-class>
<property>
<property-name>myCustomProperty</property-name>
<value>someValue</value>
</property>
</help-provider>
</adf-faces-config>
</adf-settings>

17-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Displaying Help for Components

17.5.6 How to Access Help Content from a UI Component

Use the HelpTopicId attribute on components to access and display the help.

To access help from a component:

1. In the Structure window, select the component to which you want to add help. For
a list of components that support help, see Table 17–1 and Table 17–2.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Appearance section, and enter a value for
the helpTopicId attribute. This should include the prefix to access the correct
help provider and the topic name. It should not include the help type, as all help
types registered with that name will be returned and displayed, for example:
<af:inputText label="Credit Card" helpTopicId="XLIFF_CREDIT_CARD"/>

This example will return both the definition and instruction help defined in the
XLIFF file in Example 17–5.
3. If you want to provide help for a component that does not support help, you can
instead add an outputText component to display the help text, and then bind
that component to the help provider, for example:
<af:outputFormatted
value="#{adfFacesContext.helpProvider['XLIFF_CREDIT_CARD'].instructions}"/>

This will access the instruction help text.

17.5.7 What You May Need to Know About Combining Different Message Types
When you add help messages to input components that may already display messages
for validation and conversion, ADF Faces displays the messages in the following order
within the note window:
1. Validation and conversion error messages.
2. Validation and conversion hints.
3. For input and select components only, Instruction help. For panelHeader
components, Instruction help is always displayed below the header.
4. Value for shortDesc attribute.
Figure 17–21 shows an inputDate component that contains a converter, instruction
help, and a tip message.

Figure 17–21 Different Message Types Can Be Displayed at One Time

Displaying Tips, Messages, and Help 17-23

Displaying Help for Components

17-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 18
Working with Navigation Components
18

This chapter describes how to use ADF Faces navigation components such as
commandButton, navigationPane, and train to provide navigation in web user
interfaces.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 18.1, "Introduction to Navigation Components"
■ Section 18.2, "Using Buttons and Links for Navigation"
■ Section 18.3, "Configuring a Browser’s Context Menu for Command Links"
■ Section 18.4, "Using Buttons or Links to Invoke Functionality"
■ Section 18.5, "Using Navigation Items for a Page Hierarchy"
■ Section 18.6, "Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy"
■ Section 18.7, "Creating a Simple Navigational Hierarchy"
■ Section 18.8, "Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step
Process"

18.1 Introduction to Navigation Components

Like any JSF application, an application that uses ADF Faces components contains a
set of rules for choosing the next page to display when a button or link (or other
navigation component) is clicked. You define the rules by adding JSF navigation rules
and cases in the application’s configuration resource file (faces-config.xml).
JSF uses an outcome string to select the navigation rule to use to perform a page
navigation. ADF Faces navigation components that implement
javax.faces.component.ActionSource interface generate an ActionEvent
event when users activate the component. The JSF NavigationHandler and default
ActionListener mechanisms use the outcome string on the activated component to
find a match in the set of navigation rules. When JSF locates a match, the
corresponding page is selected, and the Render Response phase renders the selected
page. For more information about the JSF lifecycle, see Chapter 4, "Using the JSF
Lifecycle with ADF Faces". Also note that navigation in an ADF Faces application may
use partial page rendering. For more information, see Section 7.4, "Using Partial Page
Navigation".
Command components in ADF Faces include:
■ Button and link components for navigating to another location with or without
server-side actions. See Section 18.2, "Using Buttons and Links for Navigation".

Working with Navigation Components 18-1

Using Buttons and Links for Navigation

■ Components that render items such as tabs and breadcrumbs for navigating
hierarchical pages. See Section 18.5, "Using Navigation Items for a Page
Hierarchy".
■ Train components for navigating a multistep process. See Section 18.8, "Using
Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process".
In addition to using command components for navigation, ADF Faces also includes
listener tags that you can use in conjunction with command components to have
specific functionality execute when the action event fires. For more information, see
Section 18.4, "Using Buttons or Links to Invoke Functionality".

18.2 Using Buttons and Links for Navigation

Buttons and links in ADF Faces include the command components commandButton,
commandLink, and commandImageLink, as well as the go components goButton,
goImageLink, and goLink. The main difference between command components and
go components is that while command components submit requests and fire
ActionEvent events, go components navigate directly to another location without
delivering an action. Visually, the rendered command and go components look the
same, as shown in Figure 18–16.

Figure 18–1 Command Components and Go Components

Tip: ADF Faces also provides specialized command components that

can be used inside menus and toolbars. For more information, see
Chapter 14, "Using Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes".

The commandImageLink and goImageLink components render images as links,

along with optional text, as shown in Figure 18–2. You can determine the position of
the image relative to the optional text by setting a value for the iconPosition
attribute. In addition, you can set different icons for when the user hovers over an
icon, or the icon is depressed or disabled.

18-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Buttons and Links for Navigation

Figure 18–2 Command Image Link and Go Image Link

ADF Faces also includes a toolbar button that provides additional functionality, such
as a popup facet that can open popup menus from a toolbar button. For more
information, see Section 14.3, "Using Toolbars".
You can configure your application to allow end users invoke a browser’s context
menu when they right-click a command component that renders a link. End users who
right-click the link rendered by a command component may use a browser’s context
menu to invoke an action that you do not want them to invoke (for example, open the
link in a new window). For more information, see Section 18.3, "Configuring a
Browser’s Context Menu for Command Links."

18.2.1 How to Use Command Buttons and Command Links

Typically, you use commandButton, commandLink, and commandImageLink
components to perform page navigation and to execute any server-side processing.

To create and use command components:

1. Create a commandButton component by dragging and dropping a Button from
the Component Palette to the JSF page. Create a commandLink component by
dragging and dropping a Link. Create a commandImageLink component by
dragging and dropping an Image Link.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the text attribute.

Tip: Alternatively, you can use the textAndAccessKey attribute to

provide a single value that defines the label along with the access key
to use for the button or link. For information about how to define
access keys, see Section 22.3.2, "How to Define Access Keys for an
ADF Faces Component"

Working with Navigation Components 18-3

Using Buttons and Links for Navigation

3. Set the icon attribute to the URI of the image file you want to use for inside a
commandButton or commandImageLink component (this is not supported for
commandLink). For a commandImageLink component, you can also set the
hoverIcon, disabledIcon, and depressedIcon attributes.

Tip: You can use either the text attribute (or textAndAccessKey
attribute) or the icon attribute, or both.

4. Set the action attribute to an outcome string or to a method expression that

refers to a backing bean action method that returns a logical outcome String. For
more information about configuring the navigation between pages, see Section 2.3,
"Defining Page Flows".
The default JSF ActionListener mechanism uses the outcome string to select
the appropriate JSF navigation rule, and tells the JSF NavigationHandler what
page to use for the Render Response phase. For more information about using
managed bean methods to open dialogs, see Chapter 13, "Using Popup Dialogs,
Menus, and Windows". For more information about outcome strings and
navigation in JSF applications, see the Java EE 5 tutorial on Sun’s web site
(http://java.sun.com).

Tip: The actionListener attribute can also be used for navigation

when bound to a handler that returns an outcome. Usually, you
should use this attribute only to handle user interface logic and not
navigation.
For example, in the File Explorer application, the Search button in
Search panel does not navigate anywhere. Instead, it is used to
perform a search. It has the following value for its actionListener
attribute:
actionListener="#{explorer.navigatorManager.searchNavigator.
searchForFileItem}"
This expression evaluates to a method that actually performs the
search.

5. Expand the Behavior section and set the disabled attribute to true if you want
to show the component as a non-interactive button or link.
6. Set the partialSubmit attribute to true to fire a partial page request each time
the component is activated. For more information, see Section 7.2, "Enabling
Partial Page Rendering Declaratively".
7. Set the immediate attribute to true if you want skip the Process Validations and
Update Model phases. The component’s action listeners (if any), and the default
JSF ActionListener handler are executed at the end of the Apply Request
Values phase of the JSF lifecycle. For more information, see Section 4.2, "Using the
Immediate Attribute".
Command buttons and links can also be used to open secondary windows through
these attributes: useWindow, windowHeight, windowWidth, launchListener,
and returnListener. For information about opening secondary windows, see
Chapter 18, "Working with Navigation Components".

18.2.2 How to Use Go Buttons and Go Links

You use the goButton, goImageLink, and goLink components to perform direct
page navigation, without delivering an ActionEvent event.

18-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuring a Browser’s Context Menu for Command Links

To create and use go buttons and go links:

1. Create a goButton component by dragging and dropping a Go Button from the
Component Palette to the JSF page. Create a goLink component by dragging and
dropping a Go Link. Create a goImageLink component by dragging and
dropping a Go Image Link.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the text attribute
if you created a goButton or goLink component. If you created a goImageLink
component, you set the text attribute in the Other section.

Tip: Instead, you can use the textAndAccessKey attribute to

provide a single value that defines the label and the access key to use
for the button or link. For information about how to define access
keys, see Section 22.3.2, "How to Define Access Keys for an ADF Faces
Component"

3. Set the icon attribute to the URI of the image file you want to use for inside a
goButton or goImageLink component (not supported for goLink). For a
goImageLink component, you can also set the hoverIcon, disabledIcon,
depressedIcon, and iconPosition attributes.
The iconPosition attribute supports two values: leading (default) and
trailing. Set to leading to render the icon before the text. Set to trailing to
render the icon after the text.

Tip: You can use either the text attribute (or textAndAccessKey
attribute) or the icon attribute, or both.

4. Set the destination attribute to the URI of the page to which the link should
navigate.
For example, in the File Explorer application, the goLink component in the
popups.jspx file has the following EL expression set for its destination
attribute:
destination="http://www.oracle.com"

5. Set the targetFrame attribute to specify where the new page should display.
Acceptable values are:
■ _blank: The link opens the document in a new window.
■ _parent: The link opens the document in the window of the parent. For
example, if the link appeared in a dialog, the resulting page would render in
the parent window.
■ _self: The link opens the document in the same page or region.
■ _top: The link opens the document in a full window, replacing the entire
page.
6. Expand the Behavior section and set the disabled attribute to true if you want
to show the component as a non-interactive button or link. You set the disabled
attribute for the goImageLink component in the Other section.

18.3 Configuring a Browser’s Context Menu for Command Links

The command components that render links at runtime allow your end users to invoke
actions. In addition you can configure your application so that the ADF Faces

Working with Navigation Components 18-5

Configuring a Browser’s Context Menu for Command Links

framework allows the end user´s browser to render a context menu for these
command components. The context menu may present menu options that invoke a
different action (for example, open a link in a new window) to that specified by the
command component. The components for which you can configure this behavior
include the following:
■ af:commandLink
■ af:commandImageLink
■ af:commandMenuItem (stand-alone or within an af:menuBar component)
■ af:commandNavigationItem if no value is specified for the destination
attribute, the ADF Faces framework enables the browser context menu in the
following scenarios:
– For the two anchors that af:commandNavigationItem renders when inside
an af:train component
– When an af:commandNavigationItem renders inside an
af:breadCrumbs component
– When an af:commandNavigationItem renders inside an
af:navigationPane component (any hint--tabs, bar, buttons, choice, list)
■ af:panelTabbed: the tabs and overflow indicators
■ af:panelAccordion: the disclosure link and overflow indicators
You cannot configure this behavior for components that specify a destination and do
not invoke an action. Examples of these components include the following:
■ af:goLink
■ af:goImageLink
■ af:commandNavigationItem where you specify a value for the destination
attribute and no value for the action attribute

18.3.1 How to Configure a Browser’s Context Menu for Command Links

Set the value of the oracle.adf.view.rich.ACTION_LINK_BROWSER_CONTEXT_
SUPPRESSION context parameter in your application’s web.xml file to no.

Before you begin:

It may help to understand what command components you can configure this
functionality for. For more information, Section 18.3, "Configuring a Browser’s Context
Menu for Command Links."

To configure a browser’s context menu for a command link:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click web.xml to open the file.
By default, JDeveloper opens the web.xml file in the Overview editor.
2. In the Context Initialization Parameters table, add an entry for the
oracle.adf.view.rich.ACTION_LINK_BROWSER_CONTEXT_SUPPRESSION
parameter and set it to no.
3. Save and close the web.xml file.

18-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Buttons or Links to Invoke Functionality

18.3.2 What Happens When You Configure a Browser’s Context Menu for Command
Links
If you followed the procedure outlined in Section 18.3, "Configuring a Browser’s
Context Menu for Command Links," JDeveloper writes a value to the web.xml file, as
shown in Example 18–1.

Example 18–1 Context Parameter to Configure a Browser’s Context Menu

<context-param>
<param-name>oracle.adf.view.rich.ACTION_LINK_BROWSER_CONTEXT_SUPPRESSION</param-name>
<param-value>no</param-value>
</context-param>

For more information about ADF Faces configuration options in your application’s
web.xml file, see Section A.2, "Configuration in web.xml."
At runtime, end users can invoke a browser’s context menu by right-clicking on the
links rendered by certain components, as described in Section 18.3, "Configuring a
Browser’s Context Menu for Command Links."

18.4 Using Buttons or Links to Invoke Functionality

In addition to using command components for navigation, ADF Faces also includes
listener tags that you can use in conjunction with command components to have
specific functionality execute when the action event fires. Listener tags included with
ADF Faces include:
■ exportCollectionActionListener: Use to export data from an ADF Faces
application to an Excel spreadsheet. For more information, see Section 10.9,
"Exporting Data from Table, Tree, or Tree Table".
■ fileDownloadActionListener: Use to initiate a file download from the server
to the local computer. For more information, see Section 18.4.1, "How to Use a
Command Component to Download Files".
■ resetActionListener: Use to reset submitted values. However, no data model
states will be altered. For more information, see Section 18.4.2, "How to Use a
Command Component to Reset Input Fields". If you want to reset the input
components to their previous state, which was partially or fully submitted
successfully to the server, then you can use a reset button. For more information,
see Section 9.2.3, "How to Add a Reset Button to a Form".

18.4.1 How to Use a Command Component to Download Files

You can create a way for users to download files by creating an action component such
as a command button and associating it with a fileDownloadActionListener tag.
When the user selects or clicks the action component, a popup dialog is displayed that
allows the user to select different download options, as shown in Figure 18–3.

Working with Navigation Components 18-7

Using Buttons or Links to Invoke Functionality

Figure 18–3 File Download Dialog

The fileDownloadActionListener tag is used declaratively to allow an action

component such as command button, command link, or menu item to
programmatically send the contents of a file to the user. You can also declare a specific
content type or file name. Because file download must be processed with an ordinary
request instead of the XMLHttp AJAX requests, the parent component’s
partialSubmit attribute, if supported, must be set to false.

Tip: For information about uploading a file to the server, see

Section 9.9, "Using File Upload".

After the content has been sent to the browser, how that content is displayed or saved
depends on the option selected in the dialog. If the Open with option was selected, the
application associated with that file type will be invoked to display the content. For
example, a text file may result in the Notepad application being started. If the Save to
Disk option was selected, depending on the browser, a popup dialog may appear to
select a file name and a location in which to store the content.
Example 18–2 shows the tags of a command button with the
fileDownloadActionListener tag to download the file content Hi there! to the
user.

Example 18–2 File Download Using Command Button and fileDownloadActionListener

Tag
<af:commandButton value="Say Hello">
<af:fileDownloadActionListener filename="hello.txt"
contentType="text/plain; charset=utf-8"
method="#{bean.sayHello}"/>
</af:commandButton>

Example 18–3 shows the managed bean method used to process the file download.

Example 18–3 Managed Bean Method Used to Process File Download

public void sayHello(FacesContext context, OutputStream out) throws IOException
{
OutputStreamWriter w = new OutputStreamWriter(out, "UTF-8");
w.write("Hi there!");
. . .
}

18-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Navigation Items for a Page Hierarchy

To create a file download mechanism:

1. From the Component Palette, drag and drop any action component to your page
(for more information about action components, see Section 18.2, "Using Buttons
and Links for Navigation").
2. Expand the Operations section of the Component Palette, and drag and drop the
File Download Action Listener tag as a child to the action component.
3. In the Property Inspector set the following attributes:
■ contentType: Specify the MIME type of the file, for example text/plain,
text/csv, application/pdf, and so on.
■ filename: Specify the proposed file name for the object. When the file name
is specified, a Save File dialog will typically be displayed, though this is
ultimately up to the browser. If the name is not specified, the content will
typically be displayed inline in the browser, if possible.
■ method: Specify the method that will be used to download the file contents.
The method takes two arguments, a FacesContext object and an
OutputStream object. The OutputStream object will be automatically
closed, so the sole responsibility of this method is to write all bytes to the
OutputStream object.
For example, the code for a command button would be similar to the following:
<af:commandButton text="Load File">
<af:fileDownloadActionListener contentType="text/plain"
filename="MyFile.txt"
method="#(mybean.LoadMyFile"/>
</af:commandButton>

18.4.2 How to Use a Command Component to Reset Input Fields

You can use the resetActionListener tag in conjunction with a command
component to reset input values. All values will be returned to null or empty. If you
want to reset the input components to their previous state, which was partially or fully
submitted successfully to the server, then you should use a reset button. For more
information, see Section 9.2.3, "How to Add a Reset Button to a Form".

To use the reset tag:

1. Create a command component as documented in Section 18.2, "Using Buttons and
Links for Navigation".
2. Drag and drop a Reset Action Listener from the Component Palette as a child to
the command component.

18.5 Using Navigation Items for a Page Hierarchy

Note: If your application uses the Fusion technology stack with the
ADF Controller, then you should use ADF task flows and an
XMLMenuModel implementation to create the navigation system for
your application page hierarchy. For details, see the "Creating a Page
Hierarchy" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's
Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

Working with Navigation Components 18-9

Using Navigation Items for a Page Hierarchy

An application may consist of pages that are related and organized in a tree-like
hierarchy, where users gain access to specific information on a page by drilling down a
path of links. For example, Figure 18–4 shows a simple page hierarchy with three
levels of nodes under the top-level node, Home. The top-level node represents the root
parent page; the first-level nodes, Benefits and Employee Data, represent parent pages
that contain general information for second-level child nodes (such as Insurance and
View Employee) that contain more specific information; the Insurance node is also a
parent node, which contains general information for third-level child nodes, Health
and Dental. Each node in a page hierarchy (except the root Home node) can be a
parent and a child node at the same time, and each node in a page hierarchy
corresponds to a page.

Figure 18–4 Benefits and Employee Page Hierarchy

Navigation in a page hierarchy follows the parent-child links. For example, to view
Health information, the user would start drilling from the Benefits page, then move to
the Insurance page where two choices are presented, one of which is Health. The path
of selected links starting from Home and ending at Health is known as the focus path in
the tree.
In addition to direct parent-child navigation, some cross-level or cross-parent
navigation is also possible. For example, from the Dental page, users can jump to the
Paid Time Off page on the second level, and to the Benefits page or the Employee Data
page on the first level.
As shown in Figure 18–4, the Help node, which is not linked to any other node in the
hierarchy but is on the same level as the top-level Home node, is a global node. Global
nodes represent global pages (such as a Help page) that can be accessed from any page
in the hierarchy.
Typical widgets used in a web user interface for a page hierarchy are tabs, bars, lists,
and global links, all of which can be created by using the navigationPane
component. Figure 18–5 shows the hierarchy illustrated in Figure 18–4, as rendered
using the navigationPane and other components.

18-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Navigation Items for a Page Hierarchy

Figure 18–5 Rendered Benefits and Employee Pages

In general, tabs are used as first-level nodes, as shown in Figure 18–5, where there are
tabs for the Benefits and Employee Detail pages. Second-level nodes, such as
Insurance and Paid Time Off are usually rendered as bars, and third-level nodes, such
as Health and Dental are usually rendered as lists. However, you may use tabs for
both first- and second-level nodes. Global links (which represent global nodes) are
rendered as text links. In Figure 18–5, the Home and Help global links are rendered as
text links.
One navigationPane component corresponds to one level of nodes, whether they
are first-, second-, or third-level nodes, or global nodes. Regardless of the type of
navigation items the navigationPane component is configured to render for a level,
you always use the commandNavigationItem component to represent each item
within the navigationPane component.
The navigationPane component simply renders tabs, bars, lists, and global links for
navigation. To achieve the positioning and visual styling of the page background, as
shown in Figure 18–10 and Figure 18–11, you use the decorativeBox component as
the parent to the first level navigationPane component. The decorativeBox
component uses themes and skinning keys to control the borders and colors of its
different facets. For example, if you use the default theme, the decorativeBox
component body is white and the border is blue, and the top-left corner is rounded. If
you use the medium theme, the body is a medium blue. For information about using
themes and skins, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and
Skins".

Tip: Because creating a page hierarchy requires that each page in the
hierarchy use the same layout and look and feel, consider using a
template to determine where the navigation components should be
placed and how they should be styled. For more information, see
Section 19.3, "Using Page Templates".

For each page of simpler hierarchies, you first use a series of navigationPane
components to represent each level of the hierarchy. Then you add
commandNavigationItem components as direct children of the navigationPane
components for each of links for each level. For example, to create the Health
insurance page as shown in Figure 18–5, you would first use a navigationPane
component for each level displayed on the page, in this case it would be four: one for
the global links, one for the first-level nodes, one for the second-level nodes, and one

Working with Navigation Components 18-11

Using Navigation Items for a Page Hierarchy

for the third-level nodes. You would then need to add commandNavigationItem
components as children to each of the navigationPane components to represent the
individual links. If instead you were creating the Benefits page, as shown in
Figure 18–6, you would create only three navigationPane components (one each for
the global, first, and second levels), and then create just the
commandNavigationItem components for the links seen from this page.

Figure 18–6 First-Level Page

As you can see, with large hierarchies, this process can be very time consuming and
error prone. Instead of creating each of the separate commandNavigationItem
components on each page, for larger hierarchies you can use an XMLMenuModel
implementation and managed beans to dynamically generate the navigation items on
the pages. The XMLMenuModel class, in conjunction with a metadata file, contains all
the information for generating the appropriate number of hierarchical levels on each
page, and the navigation items that belong to each level. Instead of using multiple
commandNavigationItem components within each navigationPane component
and marking the current items as selected on each page, you declaratively bind each
navigationPane component to the same XMLMenuModel implementation, and use
one commandNavigationItem component in the nodeStamp facet to provide the
navigation items. The commandNavigationItem component acts as a stamp for
navigationPane component, stamping out navigation items for nodes (at every
level) held in the XMLMenuModel object. The JSF navigation model, through the
default ActionListener mechanism, is used to choose the page to navigate to when
users select a navigation item. For more information about the menu model, see
Section 18.6, "Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy".
On any page, to show the user’s current position in relation to the entire page
hierarchy, you use the breadCrumbs component with a series of
commandNavigationItem components or one commandNavigationItem
component as a nodeStamp, to provide a path of links from the current page back to
the root page (that is, the current nodes in the focus path).
For more information about creating a navigational hierarchy using the
XMLMenuModel, see Section 18.6, "Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy".
For more information about manually creating a navigational hierarchy, see
Section 18.7, "Creating a Simple Navigational Hierarchy".

Note: If you want to create menus that can be used to cause some
sort of change in an application (for example, a File menu that
contains the commands Open and Delete), then see Chapter 14, "Using
Menus, Toolbars, and Toolboxes".

18-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

18.6 Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

Note: If your application uses the Fusion technology stack or the
ADF Controller, then you should use ADF task flows and an
XMLMenuModel implementation to create the navigation system for
your application page hierarchy. For details, see the "Creating a Page
Hierarchy" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's
Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

Section 18.5, "Using Navigation Items for a Page Hierarchy" describes how you can
create a navigation menu for a very simple page hierarchy using navigationPane
components with multiple commandNavigationItem children components. Using
the same method for more complex page hierarchies would be time consuming and
error prone. It is inefficient and tedious to manually insert and configure individual
commandNavigationItem components within navigationPane and
breadCrumbs components on several JSF pages to create all the available items for
enabling navigation. It is also difficult to maintain the proper selected status of each
item, and to deduce and keep track of the breadcrumb links from the current page
back to the root page.
For more complex page hierarchies (and even for simple page hierarchies), a more
efficient method of creating a navigation menu is to use a menu model. A menu model
is a special kind of tree model. A tree model is a collection of rows indexed by row keys.
In a tree, the current row can contain child rows (for more information about a tree
model, see Section 10.5, "Displaying Data in Trees"). A menu model is a tree model that
knows how to retrieve the rowKey of the node that has the current focus (the focus
node). The menu model has no special knowledge of page navigation and places no
requirements on the nodes that go into the tree.
The XMLMenuModel class creates a menu model from a navigation tree model. But
XMLMenuModel class has additional methods that enable you to define the
hierarchical tree of navigation in XML metadata. Instead of needing to create Java
classes and configuring many managed beans to define and create the menu model (as
you would if you used one of the other ADF Faces menu model classes), you create
one or more XMLMenuModel metadata files that contain all the node information
needed for XMLMenuModel class to create the menu model.

Performance Tip: Using the navigationPane component with the

menu model results in a full page refresh every time the user switches
the tab. Instead, you can use the panelTabbed component (see
Section 8.9, "Displaying or Hiding Contents in Accordion Panels and
Tabbed Panels". This component has built-in support for partial page
rendering of the tabbed content. However, it cannot bind to any
navigational model and the whole content must be available from
within the page, so it has limited applicability.

To create a page hierarchy using a menu model, you do the following:

■ Create the JSF navigation rule and navigation cases for the page hierarchy and
then create the XMLMenuModel metadata. See Section 18.6.1, "How to Create the
Menu Model Metadata".
■ Configure the managed bean for the XMLMenuModel class. The application uses
the managed bean to build the hierarchy. This configuration is automatically done
for you when you use the Create ADF Menu Model dialog in JDeveloper to create

Working with Navigation Components 18-13

Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

the XMLMenuModel metadata file. See Section 18.6.2, "What Happens When You
Use the Create ADF Menu Model Wizard".
■ Create a JSF page for each of the hierarchical nodes (including any global nodes).

Tip: Typically, you would use a page template that contains a facet
for each level of items (including global items and breadcrumbs) to
create each JSF page. For example, the navigationPane component
representing global items might be wrapped in a facet named
navigationGlobal, and the navigationPane component
representing first level tabs might be wrapped in a navigation1
facet. For information about creating page templates, see Chapter 19,
"Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components".

■ On each page, bind the navigationPane and breadCrumbs components to the

XMLMenuModel class. See Section 18.6.3, "How to Bind to the XMLMenuModel in
the JSF Page" and Section 18.6.4, "How to Use the breadCrumbs Component".

18.6.1 How to Create the Menu Model Metadata

The XMLMenuModel metadata file is a representation of a navigation menu for a page
hierarchy in XML format. In the XMLMenuModel metadata file, the entire page
hierarchy is described within the menu element, which is the root element of the file.
Every XMLMenuModel metadata file is required to have a menu element and only one
menu element is allowed.
The remaining nodes in the hierarchy can be made up of item nodes, group nodes, and
shared nodes. Item nodes represent navigable nodes (or pages) in the hierarchy. For
example, say you wanted to build the hierarchy as depicted in Figure 18–7.

Figure 18–7 Sample Page Hierarchy

If you wanted each node in the hierarchy to have its own page to which a user can
navigate, then you would create an item node in the metadata for each page. You nest
the children nodes inside the parent node to create the hierarchy. However, say you
did not need a page for the Employee Data node, but instead wanted the user to
navigate directly to the View Employee page. You would then use a group node to
represent the Employee Data page and use the group node's idref attribute to
reference the page that opens (the View Employee page) when an end user clicks the
Employee Data tab. The group node allows you to retain the hierarchy without
needing to create pages for nodes that are simply aggregates for their children nodes.
You can also nest menu models using the shared nodes. This approach is
recommended where you have sub trees in the hierarchy (for example, the Benefits
tree) as it makes the page hierarchy easier to maintain. For example, you might create
the entire Benefits tree as its own model so that it could be reused across an
application. Instead of creating the nodes for each use, you could instead create the

18-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

nodes once as a separate menu and then within the different hierarchies, use a shared
node to reference the Benefits menu model.
Example 18–4 shows an XMLMenuModel metadata file for defining a page hierarchy
illustrated in Figure 18–7.

Example 18–4 XMLMenuModel Metadata File Sample

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252" ?>
<menu xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/menu">
<itemNode id="Home" focusViewId="/home.jspx" label="Home" action="goHome">
<itemNode id="benefits" focusViewId="/benefits.jspx" action="goBene"
label="Benefits">
<itemNode id="insurance" focusViewId="/insurance.jspx" action="goIns"
label="Insurance">
<itemNode id="health" focusViewId="/health.jspx" action="goHealth"
label="Health"/>
<itemNode id="dental" focusViewId="/dental.jspx" action="goDental"
label="Dental"/>
</itemNode>
<itemNode id="pto" focusViewId="/pto.jspx" action="goPto"
label="Paid Time Off">
<itemNode id="vacation" focusViewId="/vacation.jspx"
action="goVacation" label="Vacation"/>
<itemNode id="sick" focusViewId="/sick.jspx" action="goSick"
label="Sick Pay"/>
</itemNode>
</itemNode>
<groupNode id="empData" idref="newEmp" label="Employee Data">
<itemNode id="newEmp" focusViewId="/createemp.jspx" action="goCreate"
label="Create New Employee"/>
<itemNode id="viewdata" focusViewId="/viewdata.jspx" action="goView"
label="View Data"/>
</groupNode>
</itemNode>
<itemNode id="Help" focusViewId="/globalhelp.jspx" action="goHelp"
label="Help"/>
<itemNode id="Preferences" focusViewId="/preferences.jspx" action="goPref"
label="Preferences"/>
</menu>

Within the root menu element, global nodes are any types of nodes that are direct
children of the menu element; in other words, the first level of elements under the
menu element are global nodes. For example, the code in Example 18–4 shows three
global nodes, namely, Home, Help, and Preferences. Within a first-level child node,
nodes can be nested to provide more levels of navigation. For example, the code in
Example 18–4 shows two second-level nodes under Home, namely, Benefits and
Employee Data. Within Benefits, there are two third-level nodes, Insurance and Paid
Time Off, and so on.
JDeveloper simplifies creating metadata for an XMLMenuModel class by providing the
Create ADF Menu Model wizard.

To create the XMLMenuModel metadata:

1. Create one global JSF navigation rule that has the navigation cases for all the
nodes in the page hierarchy.
For example, the page hierarchy shown in Figure 18–4 has 10 nodes, including the
global Help node. Thus, you would create 10 navigation cases within one global
navigation rule in the faces-config.xml file, as shown in Example 18–5.

Working with Navigation Components 18-15

Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

For each navigation case, specify a unique outcome string, and the path to the JSF
page that should be displayed when the navigation system returns an outcome
value that matches the specified string.

Example 18–5 Global Navigation Rule for a Page Hierarchy in faces-config.xml

<navigation-rule>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goHome</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/home.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goHelp</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/globalhelp.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goEmp</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/empdata.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goBene</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/benefits.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goIns</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/insurance.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goPto</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/pto.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goView</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/viewdata.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goCreate</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/createemp.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goHealth</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/health.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goDental</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/dental.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
...
</navigation-rule>

For more information about creating navigation cases in JDeveloper, see

Section 2.3, "Defining Page Flows".
2. In the Application Navigator, locate the project where you wish to create the
XMLMenuModel metadata file. Under the project’s Web Content - WEB-INF
folder, right-click the faces-config.xml file, and choose Create ADF Menu
from the context menu.

18-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

Note: If your application uses ADF Controller, then this menu

option will not be available to you. You need to instead use a bounded
task flow to create the hierarchy. See the "Creating a Page Hierarchy"
section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for
Oracle Application Development Framework.

3. In the Create ADF Menu Model dialog, enter a file name for the XMLMenuModel
metadata file, for example, root_menu.
4. Enter a directory for the metadata file. By default, JDeveloper will save the
XMLMenuModel metadata file in the WEB-INF directory of the application.
When you click OK, JDeveloper automatically does the following for you:
■ Creates a managed bean for the model in the faces-config.xml file, using
the name specified in Step 3 for the managed bean name.
■ Sets the value of the managed bean's source managed property to the
XMLMenuModel metadata file, specified in Step 3, for example,
/WEB-INF/root_menu.xml.
■ Displays the source file (that is, /WEB-INF/root_menu.xml) as a blank
XMLMenuModel metadata file in the source editor, as shown in Example 18–6.

Example 18–6 Blank XMLMenuModel Metadata File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252" ?>
<menu xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/menu"></menu>

For more information about the managed bean configuration JDeveloper

automatically adds for you, see Section 18.6.2, "What Happens When You Use the
Create ADF Menu Model Wizard".
5. Select the menu node in the Structure window and enter the appropriate
information in the Property Inspector.
Table 18–1 shows the attributes you can specify for the menu element.

Table 18–1 Menu Element Attributes

Attribute Description
resourceBundle Optional. This is the resource bundle to use for the labels (visible text)
of the navigation items at runtime. For example,
org.apache.myfaces.demo.xmlmenuDemo.resource.MenuBu
ndle.
var If using a resource bundle, specify an ID to use to reference the
bundle in EL expressions for navigation item labels. For example,
#{bundle.somelabel}. See Example 18–7 for a sample
XMLMenuModel metadata file that uses a resource bundle.
xmlns Required. Set to http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/menu

Example 18–7 shows sample XMLMenuModel metadata code that uses EL

expressions to access a resource bundle for the navigation item labels.

Example 18–7 XMLMenuModel Using Resource Bundle

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252" ?>
<menu xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/menu"

Working with Navigation Components 18-17

Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

resourceBundle="org.apache.myfaces.demo.xmlmenuDemo.resource.MenuBundle"
var="bundle">
<itemNode id="in1" label="#{bundle.somelabel1}" ../>
<itemNode id="in2" label="#{bundle.somelabel2}" ../>
</menu>

Note: When you use a sharedNode element to create a submenu

and you use resource bundles for the navigation item labels, it is quite
possible that the shared menu model will use the same value for the
var attribute on the root menu element. The XMLMenuModel class
handles this possibility during parsing by ensuring that each resource
bundle is assigned a unique hash key.

For more information about using resource bundles, see Chapter 21,
"Internationalizing and Localizing Pages".
6. In the Structure window, add the desired elements for the nodes in your
hierarchy, using itemNode, groupNode, or sharedNode as needed. To begin,
right-click menu and choose Insert inside menu, and then choose the desired
element from the context menu, as shown in Figure 18–8.

Figure 18–8 Context Menu for Inserting Elements into Menu

The elements can be one of the following:

■ itemNode: Specifies a node that performs navigation upon user selection.
■ groupNode: Groups child components; the groupNode itself does no
navigation. Child nodes node can be itemNode or another groupNode.
For example, say you did not need a page for the Employee Data node, but
instead, wanted the user to navigate directly to the View Employee page. You
would then use a group node to represent the Employee Data page by
specifying the id attribute of the desired child node as a value for the group
node’s idref attribute. The group node allows you to retain the hierarchy
without needing to create pages for nodes that are simply aggregates for their
children nodes.
■ sharedNode: References another XMLMenuModel instance. A sharedNode
element is not a true node; it does not perform navigation nor does it render
anything on its own.
You can insert a sharedNode element anywhere within the hierarchy. For
example, in the code shown in Example 18–8, the sharedNode element adds
a submenu on the same level as the global nodes.

18-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

Example 18–8 SharedNode Sample Code

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252" ?>
<menu xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/menu"
<itemNode id="in1" label="Home" ../>
<sharedNode ref="#{shared_menu}"/>
<itemNode id="in6" label="Help" ../>
</menu>

As you build the XMLMenuModel metadata file, the tree structure you see in the
Structure window exactly mirrors the indentation levels of the menu metadata, as
shown in Figure 18–9.

Figure 18–9 Tree Structure of XMLMenuModel Metadata in Structure Window

7. For each element used to create a node, set the properties in the Property
Inspector, as described in Table 18–2 for itemNode elements, Table 18–3 for
groupNode elements, and Table 18–4 for sharedNode elements.

Table 18–2 itemNode Element Attributes

Attribute Description
action Specify either an outcome string or an EL method binding
expression that returns an outcome string. In either case, the
outcome string must match the from-outcome value to the
navigation case for that node as configured in the
faces-config.xml file.
destination Specify the URI of the page to navigate to when the node is
selected, for example, http://www.oracle.com. If the
destination is a JSF page, the URI must begin with "/faces".
Alternatively, specify an EL method expression that evaluates to
the URI.
If both action and destination are specified, destination
takes precedence over action.

Working with Navigation Components 18-19

Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

Table 18–2 (Cont.) itemNode Element Attributes

Attribute Description
focusViewId Required. The URI of the page that matches the node’s
navigational result, that is, the to-view-id value of the
navigation case for that node as specified in the
faces-config.xml file.
For example, if the action outcome of the node navigates to
/page_one.jspx (as configured in the faces-config.xml
file), then focusViewId must also be /page_one.jspx.
The focusViewId does not perform navigation. Page
navigation is the job of the action or destination attributes.
The focusViewId, however, is required for the
XMLMenuModel to determine the correct focus path.
id Required. Specify a unique identifier for the node.
As shown in Example 18–4, it is good practice to use "inX" for
the ID of each itemNode, where for example, "inX" could be in1,
in11, in111, in2, in21, in 211, and so on.
label Specify the label text to display for the node. Can be an EL
expression to a string in a resource bundle, for example,
#{bundle.somelabel}, where bundle must match the root
menu element’s var attribute value.

A groupNode element does not have the action or destination attribute that
performs navigation directly, but it points to a child node that has the action
outcome or destination URI, either directly by pointing to an itemNode child
(which has the action or destination attribute), or indirectly by pointing to a
groupNode child that will then point to one of its child nodes, and so on until an
itemNode element is reached. Navigation will then be determined from the action
outcome or destination URI of that itemNode element.
Consider the groupNode code shown in Example 18–9. At runtime, when users
click groupNode id="gn1", or groupNode id="gn11", or itemNode
id="in1", the navigation outcome is "goToSubTabOne", as specified by the first
itemNode reached (that is itemNode id="id1"). Table 18–3 shows the
attributes you must specify when you use a groupNode element.

Example 18–9 groupNode Elements

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252" ?>
<menu xmlns:"http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/menu">
<groupNode id="gn1" idref="gn11" label="GLOBAL_TAB_0">
<groupNode id="gn11" idref="in1" label="PRIMARY_TAB_0">
<itemNode id="in1" label="LEVEL2_TAB_0" action="goToSubTabOne"
focusViewId="/menuDemo/subtab1.jspx"/>
<itemNode id="in2" label="LEVEL2_TAB_1" action="goToSubTabTwo"
focusViewId="/menuDemo/subtab2.jspx"/>
</groupNode>
<itemNode id="in3" label="PRIMARY_TAB_1" focusViewId="/menuDemo/tab2.jspx"
destination="/faces/menuDemo/tab2.jspx"/>
</groupNode>
<itemNode id="gin1" label="GLOBAL_TAB_1" action="goToGlobalOne"
focusViewId="/menuDemo/global1.jspx"/>
<itemNode id="gin2" label="GLOBAL_TAB_2"
destination="/faces/menuDemo/global2.jspx"
focusViewId="/menuDemo/global2.jspx"/>
</menu>

18-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

Table 18–3 GroupNode Element Attribute

Attribute Description
id A unique identifier for the group node.
As shown in Example 18–4, it is good practice to use gnX for the
ID of each groupNode, where for example, gnX could be gn1,
gn2, and so on.
idref Specify the ID of a child node, which can be an itemNode, or
another groupNode. When adding a groupNode as a child
node, that child in turn can reference another groupNode and
so on, but eventually an itemNode child must be referenced as
the last child.
The idref attribute can contain more than one child ID,
separated by spaces; the IDs are processed in the order they are
listed.
label Specify the label text to display for the group node. Can be an
EL expression to a string in a resource bundle, for example,
#{bundle.somelabel}.

Table 18–4 sharedNode Element Attribute

Attribute Description
ref Specify the managed bean name of another XMLMenuModel
class, as configured in the faces-config.xml file, for
example, #{shared_menu}.
At runtime, the referenced navigation menu is created, inserted
as a submenu into the main (root) menu, and rendered.

18.6.2 What Happens When You Use the Create ADF Menu Model Wizard
When you use the Create ADF Menu Model wizard to create an XMLMenuModel
metadata file, JDeveloper automatically configures for you a managed bean for the
metadata file in the faces-config.xml file, using the metadata file name you
provide as the managed bean name.
Example 18–10 shows part of the faces-config.xml file that contains the
configuration of one XMLMenuModel metadata file. By default, JDeveloper uses the
oracle.adf.view.rich.model.MDSMenuModel class as the managed bean class,
and request as the managed bean scope, which is required and cannot be changed.

Example 18–10 Managed Bean Configuration for XMLMenuModel in faces-config.xml

<managed-bean>
<managed-bean-name>root_menu</managed-bean-name>
<managed-bean-class>oracle.adf.view.rich.model.
MDSMenuModel</managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-scope>request</managed-bean-scope>
<managed-property>
<property-name>createHiddenNodes</property-name>
<value>false</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>source</property-name>
<property-class>java.lang.String</property-class>
<value>/WEB-INF/root_menu.xml</value>
</managed-property>
</managed-bean>

Working with Navigation Components 18-21

Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

In addition, the following managed properties are added by JDeveloper for each
XMLMenuModel managed bean:
■ createHiddenNodes: When true, specifies that the hierarchical nodes must be
created even if the component’s rendered attribute is false. The
createHiddenNodes value is obtained and made available when the source
menu metadata file is opened and parsed. This allows the entire hierarchy to be
created, even when you do not want the actual component to be rendered.
The createHiddenNodes property must be placed before the source property,
which JDeveloper does for you when the managed bean is automatically
configured. The XMLMenuModel managed bean must have this value already set
to properly parse and create the menu's XML metadata from the source
managed property.
■ source: Specifies the source metadata file to use.
For each XMLMenuModel metadata file that you create in a project using the wizard,
JDeveloper configures a managed bean for it in the faces-config.xml file. For
example, if you use a sharedNode element in an XMLMenuModel to reference another
XMLMenuModel metadata file (as shown in Example 18–8), you would have created
two metadata files. And JDeveloper would have added two managed bean
configurations in the faces-config.xml file, one for the main (root) menu model,
and a second managed bean for the shared (referenced) menu model, as shown in
Example 18–11.

Example 18–11 Managed Bean for Shared Menu Model in faces-config.xml

<!-- managed bean for referenced, shared menu model -->
<managed-bean>
<managed-bean-name>shared_menu</managed-bean-name>
<managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-class>oracle.adf.view.
rich.model.MDSMenuModel</managed-bean-class>
</managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-scope>request</managed-bean-scope>
<managed-property>
<property-name>createHiddenNodes</property-name>
<value>true</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>source</property-name>
<property-class>java.lang.String</property-class>
<value>/WEB-INF/shared_menu.xml</value>
</managed-property>
</managed-bean>

This means, if you use shared nodes in your XMLMenuModel metadata file, the
faces-config.xml file will have a root menu model managed bean, plus menu
model managed beans for any menu models referenced through shared nodes.

18.6.3 How to Bind to the XMLMenuModel in the JSF Page

Each node in the page hierarchy corresponds to one JSF page. On each page, you use
one navigationPane component for each level of navigation items that you have
defined in your XMLMenuModel metadata file, including global items. Levels are
defined by a zero-based index number: Starting with global nodes in the metadata file
(that is, direct children nodes under the menu element as shown in Example 18–4), the

18-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

level attribute value is 0 (zero), followed by 1 for the next level (typically tabs), 2 for
the next level after that (typically bars), and so on. For example, if you had a page
hierarchy like the one shown in Figure 18–7 and Example 18–4, you would use three
navigationPane components on a page such as Home (for the three levels of
navigation under the Home node), plus one more navigationPane component for
the global nodes.

Tip: Because the menu model dynamically determines the hierarchy

(that is, the links that appear in each navigationPane component)
and also sets the current nodes in the focus path as selected, you can
practically reuse the same code for each page. You need to change
only the page’s document title, and add the specific page contents to
display on that page.
Because of this similar code, you can create a single page fragment
that has just the facets containing the navigationPane components,
and include that fragment in each page, where you change the page’s
document title and add the page contents.

As described in Section 18.7.1, "How to Create a Simple Page Hierarchy", you use the
hint attribute to specify the type of navigation item you want to use for each
hierarchical level (for example, buttons, tabs, or bar). But instead of manually
adding multiple commandNavigationItem components yourself to provide the
navigation items, you bind each navigationPane component to the XMLMenuModel
managed bean, and insert only one commandNavigationItem component into the
nodeStamp facet of each navigationPane component, as shown in Example 18–12.

Example 18–12 navigationPane Component Bound to XMLMenuModel Managed Bean

<af:navigationPane var="menuNode" value="#{root_menu}" level="1"
hint="tabs">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:commandNavigationItem text="#{menuNode.label}"
action="#{menuNode.doAction}"
icon="#{menuNode.icon}"
destination="#{menuNode.destination}"
visible="#{menuNode.visible}"
rendered="#{menuNode.rendered}"/>
</f:facet>
</af:navigationPane>

The nodeStamp facet and its single commandNavigationItem component, in

conjunction with the XMLMenuModel managed bean, are responsible for:
■ Stamping out the correct number of navigation items in a level.
■ Displaying the correct label text and other properties as defined in the metadata.
For example, the EL expression #{menuNode.label} retrieves the correct label
text to use for a navigation item, and #{menuNode.doAction} evaluates to the
action outcome defined for the same item.
■ Marking the current items in the focus path as selected. You should not specify the
selected attribute at all for the commandNavigationItem components.

Note: If there is no node information in the XMLMenuModel object

for a particular hierarchical level (for example, level 3 lists),
ADF Faces does not display those items on the page even though the
page contains the navigationPane code for that level.

Working with Navigation Components 18-23

Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

To bind to the XMLMenuModel managed bean:

1. If you want the menu tabs to be styled, create a decorativeBox component by
dragging and dropping a Decorative Box from the Layout section of the
Component Palette to the JSF page. Set the theme to determine how you want the
tabs to appear. Valid values are:
■ default: Body is white with a blue border. Top-left corner is rounded.
■ light: Body is light blue. Top-left corner is rounded.
■ medium: Body is medium blue. Top-left corner is rounded.
■ dark: Body is dark blue. Top-left corner is rounded.
You can change how the themes are displayed. For more information, see
Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins".
2. Create a navigationPane component by dragging and dropping a Navigation
Pane from the Component Palette to the JSF page. Add a navigationPane
component for each level of the hierarchy.

Tip: The Navigation Pane component can be found in the Layout

pane of the Component Palette.

For example, to create any of the pages as shown in the hierarchy in Figure 18–5,
you would drag and drop four navigationPane components.
3. For each navigationPane component, in the Property Inspector, expand the
Common section and set the Hint attribute to one of the following types of
navigation items to determine how the navigationPane will display the
following:
■ bar: Displays the navigation items separated by a bar, for example the
Insurance and Paid Time Off links in Figure 18–11.
■ buttons: Displays the navigation items separated by a bar in a global area, for
example the Home and Help links in Figure 18–11.
■ choice: Displays the navigation items in a popup list when the associated
dropdown icon is clicked. You must include a value for the navigationPane
component’s icon attribute and you can associate a label to the dropdown list
using the title attribute.
■ list: Displays the navigation items in a bulleted list, for example the Health
and Dental links in Figure 18–11.
■ tabs: Displays the navigation items as tabs, for example the Benefits and
Employee Data tabs in Figure 18–11.
4. Set the level attribute to point to the appropriate level of metadata in the
XMLMenuModel metadata file. The level attribute is a zero-based index number:
Starting with global nodes in the metadata file (that is, direct children nodes under
the menu element as shown in Example 18–4), the level attribute value is 0
(zero), followed by 1 for the next level (typically tabs), 2 for the next level after
that (typically bars), and so on.
The commandNavigationItem component is able to get its metadata from the
metadata file through the level attribute on the parent navigationPane
component. By default, if you do not specify a level attribute value, 0 (zero) is
used, that means the navigationPane component will take the metadata from
the first-level under the menu element for rendering by the
commandNavigationItem component.

18-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

5. In the Property Inspector, expand the Data section. Set the value attribute to the
menu model managed bean that is configured for the root XMLMenuModel class in
the faces-config.xml file.

Note: The value attribute can reference root menu models and
menu models referenced by shared nodes. If you reference a shared
node in the value attribute, the faces-config.xml file needs to
have a new managed bean entry with a different managed bean name
than the one which is used in a root menu model definition in the
menu model metadata file. This promotes the menu model of a shared
node to a root menu model which can then be referred to in the value
attribute.

6. Set the var attribute to text that you will use in the commandNavigationItem
components to get the needed data from the menu model.
As the hierarchy is created at runtime, and each node is stamped, the data for the
current node is copied into the var attribute, which can then be addressed using
an EL expression. You specify the name to use for this property in the EL
expression using the var property.

Tip: You use the same value for the var attribute for every
navigationPane component on the page or in the application.

7. Drag and drop a Navigation Item from the Component Palette to the nodeStamp
facet of the navigationPane component.
8. Set the values for the remaining attributes that have corresponding values in the
metadata using EL expressions that refer to the menu model (whose metadata
contains that information). You access these values using the value of the var
attribute you set for the parent navigationPane component in Step 6 along with
the name of the corresponding itemNode element that holds the value in the
metadata. Table 18–5 shows the attributes on the navigation item that has
corresponding values in the metadata.

Table 18–5 Navigation Item Attributes and the Associated Menu Model Attributes
Navigation Item Attribute Associated Menu Model Element Attribute
text label
action doAction
icon icon
destination destination
visible visible
rendered rendered

For example, if you had set the var attribute on the parent navigationPane
component to menuNode, you would use #{menuNode.doAction} as the EL
expression for the value of the action attribute. This would resolve to the action
property set in the metadata for each node. Example 18–13 shows the JSF code for
binding to a menu model for the HR example.

Working with Navigation Components 18-25

Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

Example 18–13 Binding to the XML Model

<af:form>
<af:navigationPane hint="buttons" level="0" value="#{root_menu}"
var="menuNode">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:commandNavigationItem text="#{menuNode.label}"
action="#{menuNode.doAction}"
icon="#{menuNode.icon}"
destination="#{menuNode.destination}"/>
</f:facet>
</af:navigationPane>
<af:navigationPane hint="tabs" level="1" value="#{root_menu}"
var="menuNode">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:commandNavigationItem text="#{menuNode.label}"
action="#{menuNode.doAction}"
icon="#{menuNode.icon}"
destination="#{menuNode.destination}"/>
</f:facet>
</af:navigationPane>
<af:navigationPane hint="bar" level="2" value="#{root_menu}"
var="menuNode">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:commandNavigationItem text="#{menuNode.label}"
action="#{menuNode.doAction}"
icon="#{menuNode.icon}"
destination="#{menuNode.destination}"/>
</f:facet>
</af:navigationPane>
<af:navigationPane hint="list" level="3" value="#{root_menu}"
var="menuNode">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:commandNavigationItem text="#{menuNode.label}"
action="#{menuNode.doAction}"
icon="#{menuNode.icon}"
destination="#{menuNode.destination}"/>
</f:facet>
</af:navigationPane>
</af:form>

18.6.4 How to Use the breadCrumbs Component

Creating a breadcrumb using the menu model is similar to creating the page
hierarchy; you use the breadCrumbs component with a nodeStamp facet that stamps
a commandNavigationItem component with data from the model.

To create a breadcrumb:
1. Create a breadCrumbs component by dragging and dropping a Bread Crumbs
component from the Component Palette to the JSF page.
2. By default, breadcrumb links are displayed in a horizontal line. To change the
layout to be vertical, in the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and
set the orientation attribute to vertical.
3. In the Property Inspector, expand the Data section. Set the value attribute to the
root menu model managed bean as configured in the faces-config.xml file.
This is the same bean to which the navigationPane component is bound.

18-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

Note: The value attribute should reference only a root menu model
and not any menu models referenced through shared nodes. For
example, if you use a shared node in your main XMLMenuModel
element (as shown in Example 18–8), JDeveloper would have created
managed bean configurations for the shared node and the root
XMLMenuModel bean that consumes the shared model. The shared
model managed bean is automatically incorporated into the root
menu model managed bean as the menu tree is parsed at startup.

4. Set the var attribute to text that you will use in the commandNavigationItem
components to get the needed data from the menu model.
As the hierarchy is created at runtime, and each node is stamped, the data for the
current node is copied into the var attribute, which can then be addressed using
an EL expression. You specify the name to use for this property in the EL
expression using the var property.

Tip: You can use the same value for the var attribute for the
breadCrumbs component as you did for the navigationPane
components on the page or in the application.

5. Add one commandNavigationItem component as a child by dragging and

dropping a Navigation Item from the Component Palette to the nodeStamp facet
of the breadCrumbs component.

Note: The nodeStamp facet of the breadCrumbs component

determines what links appear according to the menu model that you
specify for the value attribute of the breadCrumbs component. If
you do not specify the menu model you want to render for the value
attribute of the breadCrumbs component, no links appear at runtime.
Do not use a nodeStamp facet for the breadCrumbs component if
you do not use a menu model because no stamps will be required.

6. Set the values for the remaining attributes that have corresponding values in the
metadata using EL expressions that refer to the menu model (whose metadata
contains that information). You access these values using the value of the var
attribute you set for the parent breadCrumbs component in Step 4 along with the
name of the corresponding itemNode element that holds the value in the
metadata. Table 18–5 shows the attributes on the navigation item that has
corresponding values in the metadata.
For example, if you had set the var attribute on the breadCrumbs component to
menuNode, you would use #{menuNode.doAction} as the EL expression for the
value of the action attribute. This would resolve to the action property set in the
metadata for each node.

Example 18–14 breadCrumbs Component Bound to a MenuModel

<af:breadCrumbs var="menuNode" value="#{root_menu}">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:commandNavigationItem text="#{menuNode.label}"
action="#{menuNode.doAction}"/>
</f:facet>
</af:breadCrumbs>

Working with Navigation Components 18-27

Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

18.6.5 What Happens at Runtime

The value attribute of navigationPane component references the managed bean
for the XMLMenuModel element. When that managed bean is requested, the following
takes place:
■ The setSource() method of the XMLMenuModel class is called with the location
of the model’s metadata, as specified in the managed-property element in the
faces-config.xml file.
■ An InputStream object to the metadata is made available to the parser
(SAXParser); the metadata for the navigation items is parsed, and a call to
MenuContentHandler method is made.
■ The MenuContentHandler builds the navigation menu tree structure as a List
object in the following manner:
– The startElement() method is called at the start of processing a node in
the metadata.
– The endElement() method is called at the end of processing the node.
– As each node is processed, a List of navigation menu nodes that make up the
page hierarchy of the menu model is created.
■ A TreeModel object is created from the list of navigation menu nodes.
■ The XMLMenuModel object is created from the TreeModel object.
If a groupNode element has more than one child id in its idref attribute, the
following occurs:
■ The IDs are processed in the order they are listed. If no child node is found with
the current ID, the next ID is used, and so on.
■ Once a child node is found that matches the current ID in the idref list, then that
node is checked to see if its rendered attribute is set to true, its disabled
attribute is set to false, its readOnly attribute is set to false, and its visible
attribute is set to true. If any of the criteria is not met, the next ID in the idref
list is used, and so on.
■ The first child node that matches the criteria is used to obtain the action outcome
or destination URI. If no child nodes are found that match the criteria, an error is
logged. However, no error will be shown in the UI.
■ If the first child node that matches the criteria is another groupNode element, the
processing continues into its children. The processing stops when an itemNode
element that has either an action or destination attribute is encountered.
■ When the itemNode element has an action attribute, the user selection initiates
a POST action and the navigation is performed through the action outcome. When
the itemNode element has a destination attribute, the user selection initiates a
GET action and navigation is performed directly using the destination value.
The XMLMenuModel class provides the model that correctly highlights and enables the
items on the navigation menus (such as tabs and bars) as you navigate through the
navigation menu system. The model is also instantiated with values for label,
doAction, and other properties that are used to dynamically generate the navigation
items.
The XMLMenuModel class does no rendering; the navigationPane component uses
the return value from the call to the getFocusRowKey() method to render the
navigation menu items for a level on a page.

18-28 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

The commandNavigationItem component housed within the nodeStamp facet of

the navigationPane component provides the label text and action outcome for each
navigation item. Each time the nodeStamp facet is stamped, the data for the current
navigation item is copied into an EL-reachable property, the name of which is defined
by the var attribute on the navigationPane component that houses the nodeStamp
facet. The nodeStamp displays the data for each item by getting further properties
from the EL-reachable property. Once the navigation menu has completed rendering,
this property is removed (or reverted back to its previous value). When users select a
navigation item, the default JSF actionListener mechanism uses the action
outcome string or destination URI to handle the page navigation.
The XMLMenuModel class, in conjunction with nodeStamp facet also controls whether
or not a navigation item is rendered as selected. As described earlier, the
XMLMenuModel object is created from a tree model, which contains viewId attribute
information for each node. The XMLMenuModel class has a method
getFocusRowKey() that determines which page has focus, and automatically
renders a node as selected if the node is on the focus path. The getFocusRowKey()
method in its most simplistic fashion does the following:
■ Gets the current viewId attribute.
■ Compares the viewId attribute value with the IDs in internal maps used to
resolve duplicate viewId values and in the viewIdFocusPathMap object that
was built by traversing the tree when the menu model was created.
■ Returns the focus path to the node with the current viewId attribute or returns
null if the current viewId attribute value cannot be found.
The viewId attribute of a node is used to determine the focus rowKey object. Each
item in the model is stamped based on the current rowKey object. As the user
navigates and the current viewId attribute changes, the focus path of the model also
changes and a new set of navigation items is accessed.

18.6.6 What You May Need to Know About Using Custom Attributes
Custom attributes that you have created can be displayed, but only for itemNode
elements. To add an itemNode element to access the value of a custom attribute, you
need to get the tree from the menu model by:
■ Calling the menu models getWrappedData() method
■ Calling the getFocusRowKey() method to get the current focus path
■ Using this focus path to traverse the tree and return a list of nodes in the focus
path
■ Testing one or more of these nodes for custom attribute(s) by calling the
getCustomProperty() API
Example 18–15 shows an example of the required code.

Example 18–15 Accessing Custom Attributes from the XMLMenuModel

/**
* Returns the nodes corresponding to a focus path
*
* @param tree
* @param focusPath
*/
public List getNodesFromFocusPath(TreeModel tree, ArrayList focusPath)
{

Working with Navigation Components 18-29

Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy

if (focusPath == null || focusPath.size() == 0)

return null;

// Clone the focusPath cause we remove elements

ArrayList fp = (ArrayList) focusPath.clone();

// List of nodes to return

List nodeList = new ArrayList<Object>(fp.size());

// Convert String rowkey to int and point to the

// node (row) corresponding to this index
int targetNodeIdx = Integer.parseInt((String)fp.get(0));
tree.setRowIndex(targetNodeIdx);

// Get the node

Object node = tree.getRowData()

// put the Node in the List

nodeList.add(node);

// Remove the 0th rowkey from the focus path

// leaving the remaining focus path
fp.remove(0);

// traverse into children

if ( fp.size() > 0
&& tree.isContainer()
&& !tree.isContainerEmpty()
)
{
tree.enterContainer();

// get list of nodes in remaining focusPath

List childList = getNodesFromFocusPath(tree, fp);

// Add this list to the nodeList

nodeList.addAll(childList);

tree.exitContainer();
}

return nodeList;
}

public String getElementLabel(XMLMenuModel model, Object myVal, String myProp)

{
TreeModel tree = model.getWrappedData();

Object node = findNodeByPropertyValue(tree, myVal, myProp);

FacesContext context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();

PropertyResolver resolver = context.getApplication().getPropertyResolver();

String label = (String) resolver.getValue(node, _LABEL_ATTR);

return label;
}

public Object findNodeByPropertyValue(TreeModel tree, Object myVal, String

myProp)

18-30 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a Simple Navigational Hierarchy

{
FacesContext context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
PropertyResolver resolver = context.getApplication().getPropertyResolver();

for ( int i = 0; i < tree.getRowCount(); i++)

{
tree.setRowIndex(i);

// Get a node
Object node = tree.getRowData();

// Get the value of the attribute of the node

Obect propVal = resolver.getValue(node, myProp);

if (propVal == myVal)
{
return node;
}

if (tree.isContainer() && !tree.isContainerEmpty())

{
tree.enterContainer();
node = findNodeByPropertyValue(tree, myVal, myProp);

if (node != null)
return node;

tree.exitContainer();
}guap
}
return null;
}

18.7 Creating a Simple Navigational Hierarchy

Figure 18–10 and Figure 18–11 show an example of what the user interface looks like
when the navigationPane component and individual commandNavigationItem
components are used to create a view for the page hierarchy shown in Figure 18–4.

Figure 18–10 Navigation Items Available from the View Employee Page

When you create the hierarchy manually, first determine the focus path of each page
(that is, where exactly in the hierarchy the page resides) in order to determine the
exact number of navigationPanes and commandNavigationItem components
needed for each page, as well as to determine whether or not each component should
be configured as selected when the user visits the page. For example, in Figure 18–10,

Working with Navigation Components 18-31

Creating a Simple Navigational Hierarchy

which shows the Employee Data page, only the child bars of Employee Data are
needed, and the Employee Data tab renders as selected.
Similarly in Figure 18–11, which shows the Health page, only the child bars of Benefits
are needed, and the Benefits tab must be configured as selected. Additionally for this
page, you would create the child nodes under Insurance, which can be presented as
vertical lists on the side of the page. The contents of the page are displayed in the
middle, to the right of the vertical lists.

Figure 18–11 Navigation Items Available from the Health Page

Regardless of the type of navigation items you use (such as tabs or bars), a series of
commandNavigationItem child components within each navigationPane
component provide the actual navigation items. For example, in Figure 18–11 the
actual link for the Employee Data tab, the Insurance and Paid Time Off bars, and the
Health and Dental links in the list are each provided by a commandNavigationItem
component.

18.7.1 How to Create a Simple Page Hierarchy

When your navigational hierarchy contains only a few pages and is not very deep, you
can elect to manually create the hierarchy. Doing so involves creating the navigation
metadata, using the navigationPane component to create the hierarchy, and using
the commandNavigationItem component to create the links.

To manually create a navigation hierarchy:

1. Create one global JSF navigation rule that has the navigation cases for all the
nodes (that is, pages) in the page hierarchy.
For example, the page hierarchy shown in Figure 18–4 has 10 nodes, including the
global Help node. Thus, you would create 10 navigation cases within one global
navigation rule in the faces-config.xml file, as shown in Example 18–16.
For each navigation case, specify a unique outcome string, and the path to the JSF
page that should be displayed when the navigation system returns an outcome
value that matches the specified string.

Example 18–16 Global Navigation Rule for a Page Hierarchy in faces-config.xml

<navigation-rule>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goHome</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/home.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goHelp</from-outcome>

18-32 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a Simple Navigational Hierarchy

<to-view-id>/globalhelp.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goEmp</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/empdata.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goBene</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/benefits.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goIns</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/insurance.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goPto</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/pto.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goView</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/viewdata.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goCreate</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/createemp.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goHealth</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/health.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
<navigation-case>
<from-outcome>goDental</from-outcome>
<to-view-id>/dental.jspx</to-view-id>
</navigation-case>
</navigation-rule>

For more information about creating navigation cases in JDeveloper, see

Section 2.3, "Defining Page Flows".
2. If you want the menu tabs to be styled, create a decorativeBox component by
dragging and dropping a Decorative Box from the Layout section of the
Component Palette to the JSF page. Set the theme to determine how you want the
tabs to appear. Valid values are:
■ default: Body is white with a blue border. Top-left corner is rounded.
■ light: Body is light blue. Top-left corner is rounded.
■ medium: Body is medium blue. Top-left corner is rounded.
■ dark: Body is dark blue. Top-left corner is rounded.
You can change how the themes are displayed. For more information, see
Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins".
3. Create a navigationPane component by dragging and dropping a Navigation
Pane from the Layout section of the Component Palette as a child to the
decorativeBox component. Add a navigationPane component for each level
of the hierarchy.
For example, to create the Health page as shown in Figure 18–11, drag and drop
four navigationPane components. In the Health page, the components are

Working with Navigation Components 18-33

Creating a Simple Navigational Hierarchy

dropped into specific areas of a template that already contains layout components
to create the look and feel of the page.
4. For each navigationPane component, in the Property Inspector, expand the
Common section and set the Hint attribute to one of the following types of
navigation items to determine how the navigationPane component will be
displayed:
■ bar: Displays the navigation items separated by a bar, for example the
Insurance and Paid Time Off links in Figure 18–11.
■ buttons: Displays the navigation items separated by a bar in a global area, for
example the Home and Help links in Figure 18–11.
■ choice: Displays the navigation items in a popup list when the associated
dropdown icon is clicked. You must include a value for the navigationPane
component’s icon attribute and you can associate a label to the dropdown list
using title attribute.
■ list: Displays the navigation items in a bulleted list, for example the Health
and Dental links in Figure 18–11.
■ tabs: Displays the navigation items as tabs, for example the Benefits and
Employee Data tabs in Figure 18–11.
5. For each navigationPane component, add the needed
commandNavigationItem components to represent the different links by
dragging and dropping a Navigation Item from the Common Components
section of the Component Palette. Drop a Navigation Item as a child to the
navigationPane component for each link needed.
For example, to create the Health page as shown in Figure 18–11, you would use a
total of six commandNavigationItem components, two for each
navigationPane component.

Performance Tip: At runtime, when available browser space is less

than the space needed to display the contents in a tab or bar of a
navigation pane, or the contents of the breadcrumb, ADF Faces
automatically displays overflow icons that enable users to select and
navigate to those items that are out of view. The number of child
components within a navigationPane or breadCrumbs
component, and the complexity of the children, will affect the
performance of the items within the overflow. You should set the size
of the navigationPane or breadCrumbs component to avoid
overflow when possible.

6. For each commandNavigationItem component, set the navigation to the desired

page. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and provide a static
string outcome of an action or use an EL expression to reference an action method
through the action property. If you use a string, it must match the navigation
metadata set up in the navigation rules for the page created in Step 1. If
referencing a method, that method must return the required string.
7. In the Property Inspector, expand the Behavior section and set the selected
attribute. This attribute should be true if the commandNavigationItem
component should be displayed as selected when the page is first rendered, and
false if it should not.
At runtime, when a navigation item is selected by the user, that component’s
selected attribute changes to selected and the appearance changes to indicate to

18-34 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a Simple Navigational Hierarchy

the user that the item has been selected. For example, in Figure 18–11 the Benefits
tab, Insurance bar, and Health list item are shown as selected by a change in either
background color or font style. You do not have to write any code to show the
selected status; the selected attribute on the commandNavigationItem
component for that item takes care of turning on the selected status when the
attribute value is true.
Example 18–17 shows code used to generate the navigation items that are available
when the current page is Health. Because the Health page is accessed from the
Insurance page from the Benefits page, the commandNavigationItem components
for those three links have selected="true".

Example 18–17 Sample Code Using Individual Navigation Items on One Page
<af:navigationPane hint="buttons">
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Home" action="goHome"/>
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Help" action="goHelp"/>
</af:navigationPane>
.
.
.
<af:navigationPane hint="tabs">
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Benefits" action="goBene"
selected="true"/>
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Employee Data" action="goEmp"/>
</af:navigationPane>
.
.
.
<af:navigationPane hint="bar">
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Insurance" action="goIns"
selected="true"/>
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Paid Time Off" action="goPto"/>
</af:navigationPane>
.
.
.
<af:navigationPane hint="list">
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Health" action="goHealth"
selected="true"/>
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Dental" action="goDental"/>
</af:navigationPane>

18.7.2 How to Use the breadCrumbs Component

In both Figure 18–10 and Figure 18–11, the user’s current position in the page
hierarchy is indicated by a path of links from the current page back to the root page.
The path of links, also known as breadcrumbs, is displayed beneath the secondary bars,
above the vertical lists (if any). To create such a path of links, you use the
breadCrumbs component with a series of commandNavigationItem components
as children.

To create a breadcrumb:
1. Create a breadCrumbs component by dragging and dropping a Bread Crumbs
component from the Component Palette to the JSF page.

Working with Navigation Components 18-35

Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process

2. By default, breadcrumb links are displayed in a horizontal line. To change the

layout to be vertical, in the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and
set the orientation attribute to vertical.
3. For each link in the breadcrumb, create a commandNavigationItem component
by dragging and dropping a Navigation Item from the Component Palette as a
child to the breadCrumbs component. The last item should represent the current
page.

Tip: Depending on the renderer or client device type, the last link in
the breadcrumb may not be displayed, but you still must add the
commandNavigationItem component for it. On clients that do
display the last breadcrumb link, the link is always disabled
automatically because it corresponds to the current page.

4. For each commandNavigationItem component (except the last), set the

navigation to the desired page. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common
section and provide a static string outcome of an action or use an EL expression to
reference an action method through the action property. If you use a string, it
must match the navigation metadata set up in the navigation rule for the page
created in Step 1. If referencing a method, that method must return the required
string.
For example, to create the breadcrumb as shown on the Health page in Figure 18–11,
drag and drop four navigationPane components, as shown in Example 18–18.

Example 18–18 BreadCrumbs Component With Individual CommandNavigationItem

Children
<af:breadCrumbs>
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Home" action="goHome"/>
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Benefits" action="goBene"/>
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Insurance" action="goIns"/>
<af:commandNavigationItem text="Health"/>
</af:breadCrumbs>

Note: Similarly, instead of using individual

commandNavigationItem components, you can bind the value
attribute of the breadCrumbs component to an XMLMenuModel
implementation, and use one commandNavigationItem component
in the nodeStamp facet of the breadCrumbs component to stamp out
the items for a page. For information about the XMLMenuModel class,
see Section 18.6, "Using a Menu Model to Create a Page Hierarchy".

18.8 Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step

Process
Note: If your application uses the Fusion technology stack or the
ADF Controller, then you should use ADF task flows to create the
navigation system for your application page hierarchy. For details, see
the "Creating a Train" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

18-36 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process

If you have a set of pages that users should visit in a particular order, consider using
the train component on each page to display a series of navigation items that guide
users through the multistep process. Figure 18–12 shows an example of what a
rendered train component might look like on a page. Not only does a train display
the number of steps in a multistep process, it also indicates the location of the current
step in relation to the entire process.

Figure 18–12 Navigation Items Rendered by a train Component

The train component renders each configured step represented as a train stop, and
with all the stops connected by lines. Each train stop has an image (for example, a
square block) with a label underneath the image.
Each train stop corresponds to one step or one page in your multistep process. Users
navigate the train stops by clicking an image or label, which causes a new page to be
displayed. Typically, train stops must be visited in sequence, that is, a user must start
at step 1, move to step 2, then step 3, and so on; a user cannot jump to step 3 if the user
has not visited step 2.
As shown in Figure 18–12, the train component provides at least four styles for train
stops. The current stop where the user is visiting is indicated by a bold font style in the
train stop’s label, and a different image for the stop; visited stops before the current
stop are indicated by a different label font color and image color; the next stop
immediately after the current stop appears enabled; any other stops that have not been
visited are grayed-out.
A train stop can include a subtrain, that is, you configure a command component (for
example, a commandButton component) to start a child multistep process from a
parent stop, and then return to the correct parent stop after completing the subprocess.
Suppose stop number 3 has a subprocess train containing two stops, when the user
navigates into the first stop in the subprocess train, ADF Faces displays an icon
representation of the parent train before and after the subprocess train, as shown in
Figure 18–13.

Figure 18–13 Parent Train Icons At Start and End of a Subtrain

You can use the trainButtonBar component in conjunction with the train
component to provide additional navigation items for the train, in the form of Back
and Next buttons, as shown in Figure 18–14. These Back and Next buttons allow users
to navigate only to the next or previous train stop from the current stop. You can also
use the trainButtonBar component without a train component. For example, you
may want to display just the Back and Next buttons without displaying the stops
when not all of the stops will be visited based on some conditional logic.

Working with Navigation Components 18-37

Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process

Figure 18–14 Navigation Buttons Rendered by a trainButtonBar Component

Both train components work by having the value attribute bound to a train model of
type org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.MenuModel. The train menu model
contains the information needed to:
■ Control a specific train behavior (that is, how the train advances users through the
train stops to complete the multistep process).
■ Dynamically generate the train stops, including the train stop labels, and the status
of each stop (that is, whether a stop is currently selected, visited, unvisited, or
disabled).

Note: In an application that uses the ADF Model layer and ADF
Controller, this navigation and display is set up and handled in a
different manner. For more information, see the "Creating a Train"
section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for
Oracle Application Development Framework.

Briefly, a menu model for the train is implemented by extending the MenuModel
abstract class, which in turn extends the TreeModel class (for more information, see
Chapter 10, "Using Tables and Trees"). A MenuModel object represents the menu
structure of a page or application or could represent the hierarchy of pages and stops
involved in a flow.
Because an instance of a MenuModel class is a special kind of a TreeModel object, the
nodes in the TreeModel object can represent the stops of a train. The node instance
that represents a train stop within the train component can be of type
TrainStopModel, or it can be any object as long as it provides the same EL structure
as a TrainStopModel object. However, the TrainStopModel class exposes
methods to retrieve the outcome, as well as the label of a stop and its immediate,
disabled, and visited attribute states.
The MenuModel class can also indicate where in the tree the current train stop (page)
is focused. The getFocusRowKey() method in the MenuModel class returns the
rowKey object of the focus page for the current viewId. The menu model
implementation for the train must also have a specific train behavior, which you can
create by extending the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.ProcessMenuModel class. The train
behavior controls what stops along the train users can visit while visiting at a current
train stop.
To create a train stop model, you can either extend the TrainStopModel abstract
class and implement the abstract methods, or you can create your own class with the
same method signatures. Your class must return a rowData object.
Binding a train component to a train menu model is similar to binding a
navigationPane component to an XMLMenuModel class (described in Section 18.6.3,
"How to Bind to the XMLMenuModel in the JSF Page"). However, as long as your
TrainStopModel implementation returns a rowData object, you do not need to

18-38 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process

provide the commandNavigationItem components for each stop. At runtime

ADF Faces dynamically creates the nodeStamp facet and commandNavigationItem
component, and automatically binds the methods in the train stop model to the
appropriate properties on the commandNavigationItem component. Example 18–19
shows the simplified binding for a train.

Tip: If you need to collate information for the train stops from
various places, then you will need to manually create the nodeStamp
facet and the individual commandNavigationItem components that
represent the train stops. For more information, see Section 18.8.3,
"How to Bind to the Train Model in JSF Pages".

Example 18–19 Simplified Train Model Binding

<af:train value="#{simpleTrainModel}"/>

The MenuModel implementation of your train model must provide specific train
behavior. Train behavior defines how you want to control the pages users can access
based on the page they are currently visiting. ADF Faces supports two train behaviors:
Plus One and Max Visited.
Suppose there are 5 pages or stops in a train, and the user has navigated from page 1
to page 4 sequentially. At page 4 the user jumps back to page 2. Where the user can go
next depends on which train behavior is used in the train model.
In Max Visited, from the current page 2 the user can go back to page 1, go ahead to
page 3, or jump ahead to page 4. That is, Max Visited allows the user to return to a
previous page or advance to any page up to the farthest page already visited. The user
cannot jump ahead to page 5 from page 2 because page 5 has not yet been visited.
Given the same situation, in the Plus One behavior the user can only go ahead to page
3 or go back to page 1. That is, Plus One allows the user to return to a previous page or
advance one more stop further than the current stop. The user cannot jump ahead to
page 4 even though page 4 has already been visited.
To define and use a train for all pages in a multistep process:
■ Create a JSF navigation rule and the navigation cases for the train. Creating a
navigation rule and its navigation cases for a train is similar to Section 18.7.1,
"How to Create a Simple Page Hierarchy", where you create one global navigation
rule that has the navigation cases for all the train stops in the train.

Note: You may want to set the value of the redirect element to
true for each navigation case that you define within the JSF
navigation rule if each train stop is an individual page and you want
the client browser’s URL to reference each new page. If you enable
partial page rendering, the displayed URL may be different. For more
information about the redirect element, see the JavaServer Faces
specification. For more information about partial page rendering, see
Chapter 7, "Rerendering Partial Page Content".

■ Create a train model that implements a specific train behavior and provides the
train stop items for stamping. This includes creating a train stop model class and a
menu model class. See Section 18.8.1, "How to Create the Train Model".
■ Configure managed beans for the train model. See Section 18.8.2, "How to
Configure Managed Beans for the Train Model".

Working with Navigation Components 18-39

Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process

■ Create a JSF page for each train stop.

■ On each page, bind the train component to the train model. See Section 18.8.3,
"How to Bind to the Train Model in JSF Pages". Optionally, bind the
trainButtonBar component to the same train model, if you want to provide
additional navigation buttons for the train.

18.8.1 How to Create the Train Model

To define a train menu model, you create:
■ A train stop model that provides data for rendering a train stop.
■ A MenuModel implementation with a specific train behavior (either Max Visited
or Plus One) that controls what stops along the train users can visit while visiting
at a current train stop, which stops should be disabled or whether the train needs
to be navigated sequentially or not, among other things.
ADF Faces makes it easier for you to define a train menu model by providing
additional public classes, such as:
■ The abstract class TrainStopModel for implementing a train stop model
■ The classes ProcessMenuModel and ProcessUtils for implementing a train
behavior for the train model
For examples of train model classes, see the oracle.adfdemo.view.nav.rich
package of the ADF Faces Demonstration application.

To create the train model:

1. Create a train stop model class. A train stop model object holds the row data for
stamping each train stop. The train stop model implementation you create should
set and get the properties for each stop in the train, and define the methods
required to render a train stop. The properties of a train stop correspond to the
properties of the commandNavigationItem component. This will allow you to
use the simplified binding, as shown in Example 18–19.
Alternatively, you can extend the abstract class TrainStopModel, and
implement the abstract methods in the subclass.
The properties on the commandNavigationItem component that will be
automatically EL bound are:
■ action: A static action outcome or a reference to an action method that
returns an action outcome. The outcome is used for page navigation through
the default ActionListener mechanism in JSF.
■ disabled: A boolean value that indicates whether or not the train stop
should be non-interactive. Note that the train behavior you elect to use affects
the value of this property. For more information, see Step 2.
■ immediate: A boolean value that determines whether or not data validations
should be performed. Note that the train behavior you elect to use affects the
value of this property. For more information, see Step 2.
■ messageType: A value that specifies a message alert icon over the train stop
image. Possible values are none, error, warning, and info, and complete.
For more information about messages, see Chapter 17, "Displaying Tips,
Messages, and Help".
■ shortDesc: A value that is commonly used by client user agents to display as
tooltip help text for the train stop.

18-40 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process

■ showRequired: A boolean value that determines whether or not to display

an asterisk next to the train stop to indicate that required values are contained
in that train stop page.
■ textAndAccessKey: A single value that sets both the label text to display for
the train stop, as well as the access key to use.
■ visited: A boolean value that indicates whether or not the train stop has
already been visited. Note that the train behavior you elect to use affects the
value of this property. For more information, see Step 2.
2. Create a class based on the MenuModel class to facilitate the construction of a train
model.
The MenuModel implementation of your train model must have a specific train
behavior. The ProcessMenuModel class in the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model package is a reference
implementation of the MenuModel class that supports the two train behaviors:
Plus One and Max Visited. To implement a train behavior for a train model, you
can either extend the ProcessMenuModel class, or create your own.
In your train model class, you override the getFocusRowKey() method (see the
MenuModel class) and implement a train behavior (see the ProcessMenuModel
and ProcessUtils classes).
The train behaviors provided in the ProcessMenuModel class have an effect on
the visited, immediate, and disabled properties of the
commandNavigationItem component.
The visited attribute is set to true only if that page in the train has been visited.
The ProcessMenuModel class uses the following logic to determine the value of
the visited attribute:
■ Max Visited: A max visited stop is the farthest stop the user has visited in the
current session. visited is set to true for any stop if it is before a max
visited stop, or if it is the max visited stop itself.
■ Plus One: A plus one stop does not keep track of the farthest stop that was
visited. The visited attribute is set to true for the current stop, or a stop
that is before the current stop.
When the data on the current page does not have to be validated, the immediate
attribute should be set to true. Suppose page 4 in the Plus One behavior
described earlier has data that must be validated. If the user has advanced to page
4 and then goes back to page 2, the user has to come back to page 4 again later to
proceed on to page 5. This means the data on page 4 does not have to be validated
when going back to page 1, 2, or 3 from page 4, but the data should be validated
when going ahead to page 5. For more information about how the immediate
attribute works, see Section 4.2, "Using the Immediate Attribute".
The ProcessMenuModel class uses the following logic to determine the value of
the immediate attribute:
■ Plus One: The immediate attribute is set to true for any previous step, and
false otherwise.
■ Max Visited: When the current page and the maximum page visited are the
same, the behavior is the same as the Plus One scenario. If the current page is
before the maximum page visited, then the immediate attribute is set to
false.

Working with Navigation Components 18-41

Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process

Note: In an application that uses the ADF Model layer, the

pageDefinition element in a page definition file supports an
attribute (SkipValidation) that, when set to true, skips data
validation for the page. Set SkipValidation to true if you want
users to navigate from the page without invoking data validation. For
more information, see the "pageNamePageDef.xml" section in the
Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application
Development Framework.

The disabled attribute is set to true only if that page in the train cannot be
reached from the current page. The ProcessMenuModel class uses the following
logic to determine the value of the disabled attribute:
■ Plus One: The disabled attribute will be true for any page beyond the next
available page.
■ Max Visited: When the current stop and the maximum page visited are the
same, the behavior is the same as the Plus One behavior. If the current page is
before the maximum page visited, then disabled is set to true for any page
beyond the maximum page visited.
By default, ADF Faces uses the Max Visited behavior when a non-null maxPathKey
value is passed into the train model, as determined by the managed bean you will
create to support the behavior (for more information, see Section 18.8.2, "How to
Configure Managed Beans for the Train Model"). If the maxPathKey value is null,
then ADF Faces uses the Plus One behavior.

18.8.2 How to Configure Managed Beans for the Train Model

You use managed beans in a train model to gather the individual train stops into an
Arraylist object, which is turned into the tree model that is then injected into a
menu model to create the train model. You must instantiate the beans with the proper
values for injection into the models, and you also have to configure a managed bean
for each train stop or page in the train.

To configure managed beans for the train model:

1. Configure a managed bean for each stop in the train, with values for the properties
that require setting at instantiation, to create the train stops to pass into an
ArrayList.
If a train stop has subprocess train children, there should be a managed bean for
each subprocess train stop as well.
Each bean should be an instance of the train stop model class created in
Section 18.8.1, "How to Create the Train Model". Example 18–20 shows sample
managed bean code for train stops in the faces-config.xml file.

Example 18–20 Managed Beans for All Train Stops

<!-- First train stop -->
<managed-bean>
<managed-bean-name>train1</managed-bean-name>
<managed-bean-class>project1.DemoTrainStopModel</managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-scope>none</managed-bean-scope>
<managed-property>
<property-name>viewId</property-name>
<value>/train.jspx</value>

18-42 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process

</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>outcome</property-name>
<value>guide.train</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>label</property-name>
<value>First Step</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>model</property-name>
<value>trainMenuModel</value>
</managed-property>
</managed-bean>

<!-- Second train stop -->

<managed-bean>
<managed-bean-name>train2</managed-bean-name>
<managed-bean-class>project1.DemoTrainStopModel</managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-scope>none</managed-bean-scope>
<managed-property>
<property-name>viewId</property-name>
<value>/train2.jspx</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>outcome</property-name>
<value>guide.train2</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>label</property-name>
<value>Second Step</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>model</property-name>
<value>trainMenuModel</value>
</managed-property>
</managed-bean>

<!-- And so on -->

.
.
.

The managed properties set the values to the train stop model object (the class
created in Step 1 in Section 18.8.1, "How to Create the Train Model").
The viewId value is the path and file name to the page that is navigated to when
the user clicks a train stop.
The outcome property value is the action outcome string that matches a JSF
navigation case. The default JSF ActionListener mechanism is used to choose
the page associated with the train stop as the view to navigate to when the train
stop is selected.
The label property value is the train stop label text that displays beneath the
train stop image. The value can be static or an EL expression that evaluates to a
string in a resource bundle.
The model property value is the managed bean name of the train model (see
Example 18–24).

Working with Navigation Components 18-43

Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process

If a train stop has subprocess train children, the managed bean configuration
should also include the property (for example, children) that lists the managed
bean names of the subprocess train stops in value expressions (for example,
#{train4a}), as shown in Example 18–21.

Example 18–21 Managed Bean for a Train Stop with Subprocess train Children
<managed-bean>
<managed-bean-name>train4</managed-bean-name>
<managed-bean-class>project1.DemoTrainStopModel</managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-scope>none</managed-bean-scope>
<managed-property>
<property-name>viewId</property-name>
<value>/train4.jspx</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>outcome</property-name>
<value>guide.train4</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>label</property-name>
<value>Fourth Step</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>children</property-name>
<list-entries>
<value-class>project1.DemoTrainStopModel</value-class>
<value>#{train4a}</value>
<value>#{train4b}</value>
<value>#{train4c}</value>
</list-entries>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>model</property-name>
<value>trainMenuModel</value>
</managed-property>
</managed-bean>

2. Configure a managed bean that is an instance of an ArrayList object to create

the list of train stops to pass into the train tree model.
Example 18–22 shows sample managed bean code for creating the train stop list.

Example 18–22 Managed Bean for Train List

<managed-bean>
<managed-bean-name>trainList</managed-bean-name>
<managed-bean-class>
java.util.ArrayList
</managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-scope>
none
</managed-bean-scope>
<list-entries>
<value-class>project1.DemoTrainStopModel</value-class>
<value>#{train1}</value>
<value>#{train2}</value>
<value>#{train3}</value>
<value>#{train4}</value>
<value>#{train5}</value>

18-44 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process

</list-entries>
</managed-bean>

The list-entries element contains the managed bean names for the train stops
(excluding subprocess train stops) in value expressions (for example,
#{train1}), listed in the order that the stops should appear on the train.
3. Configure a managed bean to create the train tree model from the train list.
The train tree model wraps the entire train list, including any subprocess train
lists. The train model managed bean should be instantiated with a
childProperty value that is the same as the property name that represents the
list of subprocess train children (see Example 18–21).

Example 18–23 Managed Bean for Train Tree Model

<managed-bean>
<managed-bean-name>trainTree</managed-bean-name>
<managed-bean-class>
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.ChildPropertyTreeModel
</managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-scope>none</managed-bean-scope>
<managed-property>
<property-name>childProperty</property-name>
<value>children</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>wrappedData</property-name>
<value>#{trainList}</value>
</managed-property>
</managed-bean>

The childProperty property defines the property name to use to get the child
list entries of each train stop that has a subprocess train.
The wrappedData property value is the train list instance to wrap, created by the
managed bean in Step 2.
4. Configure a managed bean to create the train model from the train tree model.
This is the bean to which the train component on each page is bound. The train
model wraps the train tree model. The train model managed bean should be
instantiated with a viewIdProperty value that is the same as the property name
that represents the pages associated with the train stops.
Example 18–24 shows sample managed bean code for a train model.

Example 18–24 Managed Bean for Train Model

<managed-bean>
<managed-bean-name>trainMenuModel</managed-bean-name>
<managed-bean-class>
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.ProcessMenuModel
</managed-bean-class>
<managed-bean-scope>session</managed-bean-scope>
<managed-property>
<property-name>viewIdProperty</property-name>
<value>viewId</value>
</managed-property>
<managed-property>
<property-name>wrappedData</property-name>
<value>#{trainTree}</value>

Working with Navigation Components 18-45

Using Train Components to Create Navigation Items for a Multi-Step Process

</managed-property>
<!-- to enable plusOne behavior instead, comment out the maxPathKey property -->
<managed-property>
<property-name>maxPathKey</property-name>
<value>TRAIN_DEMO_MAX_PATH_KEY</value>
</managed-property>
</managed-bean>

The viewIdProperty property value is set to the property that is used to specify
the page to navigate to when the user clicks the train stop.
The wrappedData property value is the train tree instance to wrap, created by the
managed bean in Step 3.
The maxPathKey property value is the value to pass into the train model for
using the Max Visited train behavior. ADF Faces uses the Max Visited behavior
when a non-null maxPathKey value is passed into the train model. If the
maxPathKey value is null, then ADF Faces uses the Plus One behavior.

18.8.3 How to Bind to the Train Model in JSF Pages

Each stop in the train corresponds to one JSF page. On each page, you use one train
component and optionally a trainButtonBar component to provide buttons that
allow the user to navigate through the train.

To bind the train component to the train model:

1. Create a train component by dragging and dropping a Train from the
Component Palette to the JSF page. Optionally drag and drop a Train Button Bar.
2. Bind the component. If your MenuModel implementation for a train model returns
a rowData object similar to the public abstract class
oracle.adf.view.rich.model.TrainStopModel, you can use the
simplified form of train binding in the train components, as shown in the
following code:
<af:train value="#{trainMenuModel}"/>
<af:trainButtonBar value="#{trainMenuModel}"/>

The trainMenuModel in the EL expression is the managed bean name for the train
model (see Example 18–24).
If you cannot use the simplified binding, you must bind the train value to the train
model bean, manually add the nodeStamp facet to the train, and to that, add a
commandNavigationItem component, as shown in Example 18–25.

Example 18–25 Metadata to Bind a Train Component to the Train Model Bean
<af:train value="#{aTrainMenuModel}" var="stop">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:commandNavigationItem
text="#{stop.label}"
action="#{stop.outcome}"
...
</af:commandNavigationItem>
</f:facet>
</af:train>

18-46 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 19
Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page
19

Templates, and Components

This chapter describes how you can create reusable content and then use that content
to build portions of your JSF pages or entire pages.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 19.1, "Introduction to Reusable Content"
■ Section 19.2, "Using Page Fragments"
■ Section 19.3, "Using Page Templates"
■ Section 19.4, "Using Declarative Components"
■ Section 19.5, "Adding Resources to Pages"

19.1 Introduction to Reusable Content

As you build JSF pages for your application, some pages may become complex and
long, making editing complicated and tedious. Some pages may always contain a
group of components arranged in a very specific layout, while other pages may always
use a specific group of components in multiple parts of the page. And at times, you
may want to share some parts of a page or entire pages with other developers.
Whatever the case is, when something changes in the UI, you have to replicate your
changes in many places and pages. Building and maintaining all those pages, and
making sure that some sets or all are consistent in structure and layout can become
increasingly inefficient.
Instead of using individual UI components to build pages, you can use page building
blocks to build parts of a page or entire pages. The building blocks contain the
frequently or commonly used UI components that create the reusable content for use
in one or more pages of an application. Depending on your application, you can use
just one type of building block, or all types in one or more pages. And you can share
some building blocks across applications. When you modify the building blocks, the
JSF pages that use the reusable content are automatically updated as well. Thus, by
creating and using reusable content in your application, you can build web user
interfaces that are always consistent in structure and layout, and an application that is
scalable and extensible.
ADF Faces provides the following types of reusable building blocks:
■ Page fragments: Page fragments allow you to create parts of a page. A JSF page
can be made up of one or more page fragments. For example, a large JSF page can
be broken up into several smaller page fragments for easier maintenance. For

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-1

Using Page Fragments

details about creating and using page fragments, see Section 19.2, "Using Page
Fragments."
■ Page templates: By creating page templates, you can create entire page layouts
using individual components and page fragments. For example, if you are
repeatedly laying out some components in a specific way in multiple JSF pages,
consider creating a page template for those pages. When you use the page
template to build your pages, you can be sure that the pages are always consistent
in structure and layout across the application. For details about creating and using
page templates, see Section 19.3, "Using Page Templates," and Section 19.3.3, "How
to Create JSF Pages Based on Page Templates."
■ Declarative components: The declarative components feature allows you to
assemble existing, individual UI components into one composite, reusable
component, which you then declaratively use in one or more pages. For example,
if you are always inserting a group of components in multiple places, consider
creating a composite declarative component that comprises the individual
components, and then reusing that declarative component in multiple places
throughout the application. Declarative components can also be used in page
templates. For details about creating and using declarative components, see
Section 19.4, "Using Declarative Components."

Tip: If your application uses the ADF Controller and the ADF Model
layer, then you can also use ADF regions. Regions used in conjunction
with ADF bounded task flows, encapsulate business logic, process
flow, and UI components all in one package, which can then be reused
throughout the application. For complete information about creating
and using ADF bounded task flows as regions, see the "Using Task
Flows as Regions" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

Page templates, declarative components, and regions implement the

javax.faces.component.NamingContainer interface. At runtime, in the pages
that consume reusable content, the page templates, declarative components, or regions
create component subtrees, which are then inserted into the consuming page’s single,
JSF component tree. Because the consuming page has its own naming container, when
you add reusable content to a page, take extra care when using mechanisms such as
partialTargets and findComponent(), as you will need to take into account the
different naming containers for the different components that appear on the page. For
more information about naming containers, see Section 3.5, "Locating a Client
Component on a Page."
If you plan to include resources such as CSS or JavaScript, you can use the
af:resource tag to add the resources to the page. If this tag is used in page
templates and declarative components, the specified resources will be added to the
consuming page during JSP execution. For more information, see Section 19.5,
"Adding Resources to Pages."

19.2 Using Page Fragments

As you build web pages for an application, some pages may quickly become large and
unmanageable. One possible way to simplify the process of building and maintaining
complex pages is to use page fragments.
Large, complex pages broken down into several smaller page fragments are easier to
maintain. Depending on how you design a page, the page fragments created for one
page may be reused in other pages. For example, suppose different parts of several

19-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Page Fragments

pages use the same form, then you might find it beneficial to create page fragments
containing those components in the form, and reuse those page fragments in several
pages. Deciding on how many page fragments to create for one or more complex
pages depends on your application, the degree to which you wish to reuse portions of
a page between multiple pages, and the desire to simplify complex pages.
Page fragments are incomplete JSF pages. A complete JSF page that uses ADF Faces
must have the document tag enclosed within an f:view tag. The contents for the
entire page are enclosed within the document tag. A page fragment, on the other
hand, represents a portion of a complete page, and does not contain the f:view or
document tags. The contents for the page fragment are simply enclosed within a
jsp:root tag.
When you build a JSF page using page fragments, the page can use one or more page
fragments that define different portions of the page. The same page fragment can be
used more than once in a page, and in multiple pages.

Note: The view parts of a page (fragments, declarative components,

and the main page) all share the same request scope. This may result
in a collision when you use the same fragment or declarative
component multiple times on a page and the fragments or
components share a backing bean. For more information about scopes,
see Section 4.6, "Object Scope Lifecycles."

For example, the File Explorer application uses one main page (index.jspx) that
includes the following page fragments:
■ popups.jspx: Contains all the popup code used in the application.
■ help.jspx: Contains the help content.
■ header.jspx: Contains the toolbars and menus for the application.
■ navigators.jspx: Contains the tree that displays the folder hierarchy of the
application.
■ contentViews.jspx: Contains the content for the folder selected in the
navigator pane.
Example 19–1 shows the abbreviated code for the included header.jspx page
fragment. Note that it does not contain an f:view or document tag.

Example 19–1 header.jspx Page Fragment

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>
<jsp:root xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page" version="2.0"
xmlns:af="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich"
xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core">
<af:panelStretchLayout id="headerStretch">
<f:facet name="center">
<!-- By default, every toolbar is placed on a new row -->
<af:toolbox id="headerToolbox"
binding="#{explorer.headerManager.headerToolbox}">
.
.
.
</af:toolbox>
</f:facet>
</af:panelStretchLayout>
</jsp:root>

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-3

Using Page Fragments

When you consume a page fragment in a JSF page, at the part of the page that will use
the page fragment contents, you insert the jsp:include tag to include the desired
page fragment file, as shown in Example 19–2, which is abbreviated code from the
index.jspx page.

Example 19–2 File Explorer Index JSF Page Includes Fragments

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<jsp:root xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page" version="2.0"
xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"
xmlns:af="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich"
xmlns:trh="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/html">
<jsp:directive.page contentType="text/html;charset=utf-8"/>
<f:view>
.
.
.
<af:document id="fileExplorerDocument"
title="#{explorerBundle['global.branding_name']}">
<af:form id="mainForm">
<!-- Popup menu definition -->
<jsp:include page="/fileExplorer/popups.jspx"/>
<jsp:include page="/fileExplorer/help.jspx"/>
.
.
.
<f:facet name="header">
<af:group>
<!-- The file explorer header with all the menus and toolbar buttons -->
<jsp:include page="/fileExplorer/header.jspx"/>
</af:group>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="navigators">
<af:group>
<!-- The auxiliary area for navigating the file explorer -->
<jsp:include page="/fileExplorer/navigators.jspx"/>
</af:group>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="contentViews">
<af:group>
<!-- Show the contents of the selected folder in the folders navigator -->
<jsp:include page="/fileExplorer/contentViews.jspx"/>
</af:group>
</f:facet>
.
.
.
</af:form>
</af:document>
</f:view>
</jsp:root>

When you modify a page fragment, the pages that consume the page fragment are
automatically updated with the modifications. With pages built from page fragments,
when you make layout changes, it is highly probable that modifying the page
fragments alone is not sufficient; you may also have to modify every page that
consumes the page fragments.

19-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Page Fragments

Note: If the consuming page uses ADF Model data binding, the
included page fragment will use the binding container of the
consuming page. Only page fragments created as part of
ADF bounded task flows can have their own binding container. For
information about ADF bounded task flows, see the "Getting Started
With ADF Task Flows" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

Like complete JSF pages, page fragments can also be based on a page template, as
shown in Example 19–3. For information about creating and applying page templates,
see Section 19.3, "Using Page Templates," and Section 19.3.3, "How to Create JSF Pages
Based on Page Templates."

Example 19–3 Page Fragment Based on a Template

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='windows-1252'?>
<jsp:root xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page" version="2.0"
xmlns:af="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich"
xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core">
<af:pageTemplate viewId="/someTemplateDefinition.jspx">
.
.
.
</af:pageTemplate>
</jsp:root>

19.2.1 How to Create a Page Fragment

Page fragments are just like any JSF page, except you do not use the f:view or
document tags in page fragments. You can use the Create JSF Page Fragment wizard
to create page fragments. When you create page fragments using the wizard,
JDeveloper uses the extension .jsff for the page fragment files. If you do not use the
wizard, you can use .jspx as the file extension (as the File Explorer application does);
there is no special reason to use .jsff other than quick differentiation between
complete JSF pages and page fragments when you are working in the Application
Navigator in JDeveloper.

To create a page fragment:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the folder where you wish to create and
store page fragments and choose New.
2. In the Categories tree, select the JSF node, in the Items pane select JSF Page
Fragment, and click OK.
3. Enter a name for the page fragment file.
4. Accept the default directory for the page fragment, or choose a new location.
By default, JDeveloper saves page fragments in the project’s /public_html
directory in the file system. For example, you could change the default directory to
/public_html/fragments.
5. You can have your fragment pre-designed for you by using either a template or a
Quick Start Layout.
■ If you want to create a page fragment based on a page template, select the
Page Template radio button and then select a template name from the

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-5

Using Page Fragments

dropdown list. For more information about using page templates, see
Section 19.3.3, "How to Create JSF Pages Based on Page Templates."
■ If you want to use a Quick Start Layout, select the Quick Start Layout radio
button and then click Browse to select the layout you want your fragment to
use. Quick Start Layouts provide the correctly configured layout components
need to achieve specific behavior and look. For more information, see
Section 8.2.3, "Using Quick Start Layouts."
When the page fragment creation is complete, JDeveloper displays the page
fragment file in the visual editor.
6. To define the page fragment contents, drag and drop the desired components from
the Component Palette onto the page.
You can use any ADF Faces or standard JSF component, for example table,
panelHeader, or f:facet.
Example 19–4 shows an example of a page fragment that contains a menu component.

Example 19–4 Page Fragment Sample

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='windows-1252'?>
<jsp:root xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page" version="2.0"
xmlns:af="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich">
<!-- page fragment contents start here -->
<af:menu id="viewMenu"
<af:group>
<af:commandMenuItem type="check" text="Folders"/>
<af:commandMenuItem type="check" text="Search"/>
</af:group>
<af:group>
<af:commandMenuItem type="radio" text="Table"/>
<af:commandMenuItem type="radio" text="Tree Table"/>
<af:commandMenuItem type="radio" text="List"/>
</af:group>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Refresh"/>
</menu>
</jsp:root>

19.2.2 What Happens When You Create a Page Fragment

In JDeveloper, because page fragment files use a different file extension from regular
JSF pages, configuration entries are added to the web.xml file for recognizing and
interpreting .jsff files in the application. Example 19–5 shows the web.xml
configuration entries needed for .jsff files, which JDeveloper adds for you when
you first create a page fragment using the wizard.

Example 19–5 Entries in web.xml for Recognizing and Interpreting .jsff Files
<jsp-config>
<jsp-property-group>
<url-pattern>*.jsff</url-pattern>
<is-xml>true</is-xml>
</jsp-property-group>
</jsp-config>

By specifying the url-pattern subelement to *.jsff and setting the is-xml

subelement to true in a jsp-property-group element, the application will

19-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Page Templates

recognize that files with extension .jsff are actually JSP documents, and thus must
be interpreted as XML documents.

19.2.3 How to Use a Page Fragment in a JSF Page

To consume a page fragment in a JSF page, add the page using either the Component
Palette or the Application Navigator.

19.2.3.1 Adding a Page Fragment Using the Component Palette

You can use the jsp:include tag to include the desired page fragment file

To add a page fragment using the Component Palette:

1. In the Component Palette, use the dropdown menu to choose JSP.

2. Add a jsp:include tag by dragging and dropping Include from the Component
Palette.
3. In the Insert Include dialog, use the dropdown list to select the JSF page to include.
Optionally, select whether or not to flush the buffer before the page is included.
For more information, click Help in the dialog.

19.2.3.2 Adding a Page Fragment Using the Application Navigator

You can drag and drop the page fragment directly onto the page.

To add a page fragment using the Application Navigator:

1. In the Application Navigator, drag and drop the page fragment onto the page.

2. In the Confirm Add Subview Element dialog, click Yes.

19.2.4 What Happens at Runtime: Resolving Page Fragments

When the page that contains the included page(s) is executed, the jsp:include tag
evaluates the view ID during JSF tree component build time and dynamically adds the
content to the parent page at the location of the jsp:include tag. The fragment
becomes part of the parent page after the component tree is built.

19.3 Using Page Templates

Page templates let you define entire page layouts, including values for certain
attributes of the page. When pages are created using a template, they all inherit the
defined layout. When you make layout modifications to the template, all pages that
consume the template will automatically reflect the layout changes. You can either
create the layout of your template yourself, or you can use one of the many quick
layout designs. These predefined layouts automatically insert and configure the
correct components required to implement the layout look and behavior you want. For
example, you may want one column’s width to be locked, while another column
stretches to fill available browser space. Figure 19–1 shows the quick layouts available
for a two-column layout with the second column split between two panes. For more
information about the layout components, see Chapter 8, "Organizing Content on Web
Pages."

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-7

Using Page Templates

Figure 19–1 Quick Layouts

To use page templates in an application, you first create a page template definition.
Page template definitions must be JSF documents written in XML syntax (with the file
extension of .jspx) because page templates embed XML content. In contrast to
regular JSF pages where all components on the page must be enclosed within the
f:view tag, page template definitions cannot contain an f:view tag and must have
pageTemplateDef as the root tag. Either the template or the page that uses the
template must contain the document tag, but they cannot both contain the tag (by
default, JDeveloper adds the document tag to the consuming page).
A page template can have fixed content areas and dynamic content areas. For example,
if a Help button should always be located at the top right-hand corner of pages, you
could define such a button in the template layout, and when page authors use the
template to build their pages, they do not have to add and configure a Help button.
Dynamic content areas, on the other hand, are areas of the template where page
authors can add contents within defined facets of the template or set property values
that are specific to the type of pages they are building.
The entire description of a page template is defined within the pageTemplateDef
tag, which has two sections. One section is within the xmlContent tag, which
contains all the page template component metadata that describes the template’s
supported content areas (defined by facets), and available properties (defined as
attributes). The second section (anything outside of the xmlContent tag) is where all
the components that make up the actual page layout of the template are defined. The
components in the layout section provide a JSF component subtree that is used to
render the contents of the page template.
Facets act as placeholders for content on a page. In a page that consumes a template,
page authors can insert content for the template only in named facets that have
already been defined. This means that when you design a page template, you must
define all possible facets within the xmlContent tag, using a facet element for each
named facet. In the layout section of a page template definition, as you build the

19-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Page Templates

template layout using various components, you use the facetRef tag to reference the
named facets within those components where content can eventually be inserted into
the template by page authors.
For example, the fileExplorerTemplate template contains a facet for copyright
information and another facet for application information, as shown in Example 19–6.

Example 19–6 Facet Definition in a Template

<facet>
<description>
<![CDATA[Area to put a commandLink to more information
about the application.]]>
</description>
<facet-name>appAbout</facet-name>
</facet>
<facet>
<description>
<![CDATA[The copyright region of the page. If present, this area
typically contains an outputText component with the copyright
information.]]>
</description>
<facet-name>appCopyright</facet-name>
</facet>

In the layout section of the template as shown in Example 19–7, a

panelGroupLayout component contains a table whose cell contains a reference to
the appCopyright facet and another facet contains a reference to the appAbout
facet. This is where a page developer will be allowed to place that content.

Example 19–7 Facet References in a Page Template

<af:panelGroupLayout layout="vertical">
<afh:tableLayout width="100%">
<afh:rowLayout>
<afh:cellFormat>
<af:facetRef facetName="appCopyright"/>
</afh:cellFormat>
</afh:rowLayout>
</afh:tableLayout>
<af:facetRef facetName="appAbout"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>

Note: To avoid component ID collisions at runtime, each named facet

can be referenced only once in the layout section of the page template
definition. That is, you cannot use multiple facetRef tags
referencing the same facetName value in the same template
definition.

While the pageTemplateDef tag describes all the information and components
needed in a page template definition, the JSF pages that consume a page template use
the pageTemplate tag to reference the page template definition. Example 19–7 shows
how the index.jspx page references the fileExplorerTemplate template,
provides values for the template’s attributes, and places content within the template’s
facet definitions.

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-9

Using Page Templates

At design time, page developers using the template can insert content into the
appCopyright facet, using the f:facet tag, as shown in Example 19–8

Example 19–8 Using Page Templates Facets in a JSF Page

<af:pageTemplate id="fe"
viewId="/fileExplorer/templates/fileExplorerTemplate.jspx">
<f:attribute name="documentTitle"
value="#{explorerBundle['global.branding_name']}"/>
<f:attribute name="headerSize" value="70"/>
<f:attribute name="navigatorsSize" value="370"/>
.
.
.
<f:facet name="appCopyright">
<!-- Copyright info about File Explorer demo -->
<af:outputFormatted value="#{explorerBundle['about.copyright']}"/>
</f:facet>
.
.
.
</af:pageTemplate>

At runtime, the inserted content is displayed in the right location on the page, as
indicated by af:facetRef facetName="appCopyright" in the template
definition.

Note: You cannot run a page template as a run target in JDeveloper.

You can run the page that uses the page template.

Page template attributes specify the component properties (for example,

headerGlobalSize) that can be set or modified in the template. While facet
element information is used to specify where in a template content can be inserted,
attribute element information is used to specify what page attributes are available
for passing into a template, and where in the template those attributes can be used to
set or modify template properties.
For the page template to reference its own attributes, the pageTemplateDef tag must
have a var attribute, which contains an EL variable name for referencing each
attribute defined in the template. For example, in the fileExplorerTemplate
template, the value of var on the pageTemplateDef tag is set to attrs. Then in the
layout section of the template, an EL expression such as
#{attrs.someAttributeName} is used in those component attributes where page
authors are allowed to specify their own values or modify default values.
For example, the fileExplorerTemplate template definition defines an attribute
for the header size, which has a default int value of 100 pixels as shown in
Example 19–9.

Example 19–9 Page Template AttributeDefinition

<attribute>
<description>
Specifies the number of pixels tall that the global header content should
consume.
</description>
<attribute-name>headerGlobalSize</attribute-name>
<attribute-class>int</attribute-class>

19-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Page Templates

<default-value>100</default-value>
</attribute>

In the layout section of the template, the splitterPosition attribute of the

panelSplitter component references the headerGlobalSize attribute in the EL
expression #{attrs.headerGlobalSize}, as shown in the following code:
<af:panelSplitter splitterPosition="#{attrs.headerGlobalSize}" ../>

When page authors use the template, they can modify the headerGlobalSize value
using f:attribute, as shown in the following code:
<af:pageTemplate ..>
<f:attribute name="headerGlobalSize" value="50"/>
.
.
.
</af:pageTemplate>

At runtime, the specified attribute value is substituted into the appropriate part of the
template, as indicated by the EL expression that bears the attribute name.

Tip: If you define a resource bundle in a page template, the pages

that consume the template will also be able to use the resource bundle.
For information about using resource bundles, see Section 21.3,
"Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales."

For a simple page template, it is probably sufficient to place all the components for the
entire layout section into the page template definition file. For a more complex page
template, you can certainly break the layout section into several smaller fragment files
for easier maintenance, and use jsp:include tags to include and connect the various
fragment files.
When you break the layout section of a page template into several smaller fragment
files, all the page template component metadata must be contained within the
xmlContent tag in the main page template definition file. There can be only one
xmlContent tag within a pageTemplateDef tag. You cannot have page template
component metadata in the fragment files; fragment files can contain portions of the
page template layout components only.

Note: You cannot nest page templates inside other page templates.

If your template requires resources such as custom styles defined in CSS or JavaScript,
then you need to include these on the consuming page, using the af:resource tag.
For more information, see Section 19.5, "Adding Resources to Pages."

19.3.1 How to Create a Page Template

JDeveloper simplifies creating page template definitions by providing the Create JSF
Page Template wizard, which lets you add named facets and attributes declaratively to
create the template component metadata section of a template. In addition to
generating the metadata code for you, JDeveloper also creates and modifies a
pagetemplate-metadata.xml file that keeps track of all the page templates you
create in a project.

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-11

Using Page Templates

Performance Tip: Because page templates may be present in every

application page, templates should be optimized so that common
overhead is avoided. One example of overhead is round corners, for
example on boxes, which are quite expensive. Adding them to the
template will add overhead to every page.

To create a page template definition:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the folder where you wish to create and
store page templates and choose New.
2. In the Categories tree, select the JSF node, in the Items pane select JSF Page
Template, and click OK.
3. Enter a file name for the page template definition. Page template definitions must
be XML documents (with file extension .jspx) because they embed XML content.

Performance Tip: Avoid long names because they can have an

impact on server-side, network traffic, and client processing.

4. Accept the directory name for the template definition, or choose a new location.
5. Enter a Page Template name for the page template definition.
6. If you want to use one of the predefined quick layouts, select Use a Quick Start
Layout and click Browse to select the one you want to use.
7. To add named facets, click the Facet Definitions tab and click the Add icon.
Facets are predefined areas on a page template where content can eventually be
inserted when building pages using the template. Each facet must have a unique
name. For example, you could define a facet called main for the main content area
of the page, and a facet called branding for the branding area of the page.
8. To add attributes, click the Attributes tab and click the Add icon.
Attributes are UI component attributes that can be passed into a page when
building pages using the template. Each attribute must have a name and class
type. Note that whatever consumes the attribute (for example an attribute on a
component that you configure in Step 12) must be able to accept that type. You can
assign default values, and you can specify that the values are mandatory by
selecting the Required checkbox.
9. If the page template contents use ADF Model data bindings, select the Create
Associated ADFm Page Definition checkbox, and click Model Parameters to add
one or more model parameters. For information about using model parameters
and ADF Model data bindings, see the "Using Page Templates" section of the
Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework.
Once you complete the wizard, JDeveloper displays the page template definition
file in the visual editor. Example 19–10 shows the code JDeveloper adds for you
when you use the wizard to define the metadata for a page template definition.
You can view this code in the source editor.

Tip: Once a template is created, you can add facets and attributes by
selecting the pageTemplateDef tag in the Structure window and
using the Property Inspector.

19-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Page Templates

Note: When you change or delete any facet name or attribute name
in the template component metadata, you have to manually change or
delete the facet or attribute name referenced in the layout section of
the template definition, as well as the JSF pages that consume the
template.

Example 19–10 Component Metadata in Page Template Definition

<af:pageTemplateDef var="attrs">
<af:xmlContent>
<component xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich/component">
<display-name>sampleTemplateDef1</display-name>
<facet>
<facet-name>main</facet-name>
</facet>
.
.
.
<attribute>
<attribute-name>Title</attribute-name>
<attribute-class>java.lang.String</attribute-class>
<default-value>Replace title here</default-value>
<required>true</required>
</attribute>
.
.
.
</component>
</af:xmlContent>
.
.
.
</af:pageTemplateDef>

10. Drag a component from the Component Palette and drop it onto the page in the
visual editor.
In the layout section of a page template definition (or in fragment files that contain
a portion of the layout section), you cannot use the f:view tag, because it is
already used in the JSF pages that consume page templates.

Best Practice Tip: You should not use the document or form tags
in the template. While theoretically, template definitions can use the
document and form tags, doing so means the consuming page
cannot. Because page templates can be used for page fragments,
which in turn will be used by another page, it is likely that the
consuming page will contain these tags.

You can add any number of components to the layout section. If you did not
choose to use one of the quick start layouts, then typically, you would add a panel
component such as panelStretchLayout or panelGroupLayout, and then
add the components that define the layout into the panel component. For more
information, see Chapter 8, "Organizing Content on Web Pages."
Declarative components and databound components may be used in the layout
section. For information about using declarative components, see Section 19.4,
"Using Declarative Components." For information about using databound
components in page templates, see the "Using Page Templates" section of the

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-13

Using Page Templates

Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework.
11. Within those components (in the layout section) where content can eventually be
inserted by page authors using the template, drag FacetRef from the Component
Palette and drop it in the desired location on the page.
For example, if you have defined a main facet for the main content area on a page
template, you might add the facetRef tag as a child in the center facet of
panelStretchLayout component to reference the main facet. At design time,
when the page author drops content into the main facet, the content is placed in
the correct location on the page as defined in the template.
When you use the facetRef tag to reference the appropriate named facet,
JDeveloper displays the Insert FacetRef dialog. In that dialog, select a facet name
from the dropdown list, or enter a facet name. If you enter a facet name that is not
already defined in the component metadata of the page template definition file,
JDeveloper automatically adds an entry for the new facet definition in the
component metadata within the xmlContent tag.

Note: Each facet can be referenced only once in the layout section of
the page template definition. That is, you cannot use multiple
facetRef tags referencing the same facetName value in the same
template definition.

12. To specify where attributes should be used in the page template, use the page
template’s var attribute value to reference the relevant attributes on the
appropriate components in the layout section.
The var attribute of the pageTemplateDef tag specifies the EL variable name
that is used to access the page template’s own attributes. As shown in
Example 19–10, the default value of var used by JDeveloper is attrs.
For example, if you have defined a title attribute and added the panelHeader
component, you might use the EL expression #{attrs.title} in the text
value of the panelHeader component, as shown in the following code, to
reference the value of title:
<af:panelHeader text="#{attrs.title}">

13. To include another file in the template layout, use the jsp:include tag wrapped
inside the subview tag to reference a fragment file, as shown in the following
code:
<f:subview id="secondaryDecoration">
<jsp:include page="fileExplorerSecondaryDecoration.jspx"/>
</f:subview>

The included fragment file must also be an XML document, containing only
jsp:root at the top of the hierarchy. For more information about using
fragments, see Section 19.2.3, "How to Use a Page Fragment in a JSF Page."
By creating a few fragment files for the components that define the template
layout, and then including the fragment files in the page template definition, you
can split up an otherwise large template file into smaller files for easier
maintenance.

19-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Page Templates

19.3.2 What Happens When You Create a Page Template

Note: If components in your page template use ADF Model data

binding, or if you chose to associate an ADF page definition when you
created the template, JDeveloper automatically creates files and
folders related to ADF Model. For information about the files used
with page templates and ADF Model data binding, the "Using Page
Templates" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's
Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

The first time you use the wizard to create a JSF page template in a project, JDeveloper
automatically creates the pagetemplate-metadata.xml file, which is placed in the
/ViewController/src/META-INF directory in the file system.
For each page template that you define using the wizard, JDeveloper creates a page
template definition file (for example, sampleTemplateDef1.jspx), and adds an
entry to the pagetemplate-metadata.xml file. Example 19–11 shows an example
of the pagetemplate-metadata.xml file.

Example 19–11 Sample pagetemplate-metadata.xml File

<pageTemplateDefs xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich/pagetemplate">
<pagetemplate-jsp-ui-def>/sampleTemplateDef1.jspx</pagetemplate-jsp-ui-def>
<pagetemplate-jsp-ui-def>/sampleTemplateDef2.jspx</pagetemplate-jsp-ui-def>
</pageTemplateDefs>

Note: When you rename or delete a page template in the

Application Navigator, JDeveloper renames or deletes the page
template definition file in the file system, but you must manually
change or delete the page template entry in the
pagetemplate-metadata.xml file, and update or remove any
JSF pages that use the template.

The pagetemplate-metadata.xml file contains the names and paths of all the page
templates that you create in a project. This file is used to determine which page
templates are available when you use a wizard to create template-based JSF pages, and
when you deploy a project containing page template definitions.

19.3.3 How to Create JSF Pages Based on Page Templates

Typically, you create JSF pages in the same project where page template definitions are
created and stored. If the page templates are not in the same project as where you are
going to create template-based pages, first deploy the page templates project to an
ADF Library JAR. For information about deploying a project, see the "Reusing
Application Components" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's
Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework. Deploying a page template project
also allows you to share page templates with other developers working on the
application.

Note: If the template uses jsp:include tags, then it cannot be

deployed to an ADF Library to be reused in other applications.

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-15

Using Page Templates

You can use page templates to build JSF pages or page fragments. If you modify the
layout section of a page template later, all pages or page fragments that use the
template are automatically updated with the layout changes.
In the page that consumes a template, you can add content before and after the
pageTemplate tag. In general, you would use only one pageTemplate tag in a
page, but there are no restrictions for using more than one.
JDeveloper simplifies the creation of JSF pages based on page templates by providing
a template selection option in the Create JSF Page or Create JSF Page Fragment wizard.

To create a JSF page or page fragment based on a page template:

1. Follow the instructions in Section 2.4.1, "How to Create JSF JSP Pages" to open the
Create JSF Page dialog. In the dialog, select a page template to use from the Use
Page Template dropdown list.

Tip: Only page templates that have been created using the template
wizard in JDeveloper are available for selection. If the Use Page
Template dropdown list is disabled, this means no page templates are
available in the project where you are creating new pages.

By default, JDeveloper displays the new page or page fragment in the visual
editor. The facets defined in the page template appear as named boxes in the
visual editor. If the page template contains any default values, you should see the
values in the Property Inspector, and if the default values have some visual
representation (for example, size), that will be reflected in the visual editor, along
with any content that is rendered by components defined in the layout section of
the page template definition.
2. In the Structure window, expand jsp:root until you see af:pageTemplate (which
should be under af:form).
Within the form tag, you can drop content before and after the pageTemplate
tag.
3. Add components by dragging and dropping components from the Component
Palette in the facets of the template. In the Structure window, within
af:pageTemplate, the facets (for example, f:facet - main) that have been
predefined in the component metadata section of the page template definition are
shown.
The type of components you can drop into a facet may be dependent on the
location of the facetRef tag in the page template definition. For example, if
you’ve defined a facetRef tag to be inside a table component in the page
template definition, then only column components can be dropped into the facet
because the table component accepts only column components as children.

Tip: The content you drop into the template facets may contain
ADF Model data binding. In other words, you can drag and drop
items from the Data Controls panel. For more information about using
ADF Model data binding, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

4. In the Structure window, select af:pageTemplate. Then, in the Property Inspector,

you can see all the attributes that are predefined in the page template definition.
Predefined attributes might have default values.

19-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Page Templates

You can assign static values to the predefined attributes, or you can use EL
expressions (for example, #{myBean.somevalue}). When you enter a value for
an attribute, JDeveloper adds the f:attribute tag to the code, and replaces the
attribute’s default value (if any) with the value you assign (see Example 19–12).
At runtime, the default or assigned attribute value is used or displayed in the
appropriate part of the template, as specified in the page template definition by
the EL expression that bears the name of the attribute (such as
#{attrs.someAttributeName}).

Note: In addition to predefined template definition attributes, the

Property Inspector also shows other attributes of the pageTemplate
tag such as Id, Value, and ViewId.
The ViewId attribute of the pageTemplate tag specifies the page
template definition file to use in the consuming page at runtime.
JDeveloper automatically assigns the ViewId attribute with the
appropriate value when you use the wizard to create a template-based
JSF page. The ViewId attribute value cannot be removed, otherwise a
runtime error will occur, and the parts of the page that are based on
the template will not render.

5. To include resources, such as CSS or JavaScript, you need to use the

af:resource tag. For more information, see Section 19.5, "Adding Resources to
Pages."

19.3.4 What Happens When You Use a Template to Create a Page

When you create a page using a template, JDeveloper inserts the pageTemplate tag,
which references the page template definition, as shown in Example 19–12. Any
components added inside the template’s facets use the f:facet tag to reference the
facet. Any attribute values you specified are shown in the f:attribute tag.

Example 19–12 JSF Page that References a Page Template

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='windows-1252'?>
<jsp:root xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page" version="2.0"
xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"
xmlns:af="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich">
<jsp:directive.page contentType="text/html;charset=windows-1252"/>
<f:view>
<af:document>
<af:form>
.
.
.
<af:pageTemplate viewId="/sampleTemplateDef1.jspx" id="template1">
<f:attribute name="title" value="Some Value"/>
<f:facet name="main">
<!-- add contents here -->
</f:facet>
</af:pageTemplate>
.
.
.
</af:form>
</af:document>

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-17

Using Declarative Components

</f:view>
</jsp:root>

19.3.5 What Happens at Runtime: How Page Templates Are Resolved

When a JSF page that consumes a page template is executed:
■ The pageTemplate component in the consuming page, using the viewId
attribute (for example, <af:pageTemplate
viewId="/sampleTemplateDef1.jspx"/>), locates the page template
definition file that contains the template component metadata and layout.
■ The component subtree defined in the layout section of the pageTemplateDef
tag is instantiated and inserted into the consuming page’s component tree at the
location identified by the pageTemplate tag in the page.
■ The consuming page passes facet contents into the template using the facet tag.
The facet contents of each facet tag are inserted into the appropriate location on
the template as specified by the corresponding facetRef tag in the layout section
of the pageTemplateDef tag.
■ The consuming page passes values into the template by using the attribute tag.
The pageTemplateDef tag sets the value of the var attribute so that the
pageTemplate tag can internally reference its own parameters. The
pageTemplate tag just sets the parameters; the runtime maps those parameters
into the attributes defined in the pageTemplateDef tag.
■ Using template component metadata, the pageTemplate tag applies any default
values to its attributes and checks for required values.

Note: Page templates are processed during JSP execution, not during
JSF processing (that is, component tree creation). This means that
fragments built from page templates cannot be used within tags that
require the component tree creation. For example, you could not
include a fragment based on a template within an iterator tag and
expect it to be included in a loop.

For information about what happens when the page template uses ADF Model data
binding, see the "Using Page Templates" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

19.3.6 What You May Need to Know About Page Templates and Naming Containers
The pageTemplate component acts as a naming container for all content in the
template (whether it is direct content in the template definition, or fragment content
included using the jsp:include action). When working with client-side events in
template-based pages, you must include the template’s ID when using code to locate a
component. For more details, see Section 5.3.7, "What You May Need to Know About
Using Naming Containers."

19.4 Using Declarative Components

Declarative components are reusable, composite UI components that are made up of
other existing ADF Faces components. Suppose you are reusing the same components
consistently in multiple circumstances. Instead of copying and pasting the commonly

19-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Declarative Components

used UI elements repeatedly, you can define a declarative component that comprises
those components, and then reuse that composite declarative component in multiple
places or pages.

Note: The view parts of a page (fragments, declarative components,

and the main page) all share the same request scope. This may result
in a collision when you use the same fragment or declarative
component multiple times on a page, and when they share a backing
bean. For more information about scopes, see Section 4.6, "Object
Scope Lifecycles."

To use declarative components in an application, you first create an XML-based

declarative component definition, which is a JSF document written in XML syntax
(with a file extension of .jspx). Declarative component JSF files do not contain the
f:view and document tags, and they must have componentDef as the root tag.
The entire description of a declarative component is defined within two sections. One
section is xmlContent, which contains all the page template component metadata
that describes the declarative component’s supported content areas. A declarative
component’s metadata includes the following:
■ Facets: Facets act as placeholders for the content that will eventually be placed in
the individual components that make up the declarative component. Each
component references one facet. When page designers use a declarative
component, they insert content into the facet, which in turn, allows the content to
be inserted into the component.

Tip: Facets are the only area within a declarative component that can
contain content. That is, when used on a JSF page, a declarative
component may not have any children. Create facets for all areas
where content may be needed.

■ Attributes: You define attributes whose values can be used to populate attributes
on the individual components. For example, if your declarative component uses a
panelHeader component, you may decide to create an attribute named Title.
You may then design the declarative component so that the value of the Title
attribute is used as the value for the text attribute of the panelHeader
component. You can provide default values for attributes that the user can then
override.

Tip: Because users of a declarative component will not be able to

directly set attributes on the individual components, you must be sure
to create attributes for all attributes that you want users to be able to
set or override the default value.
Additionally, if you want the declarative component to be able to use
client-side attributes (for example, attributeDragSource), you
must create that attribute and be sure to include it as a child to the
appropriate component used in the declarative component. For more
information, see Section 19.4.1, "How to Create a Declarative
Component."

■ Methods: You can define a method to which you can bind a property on one of the
included components. For example, if your declarative component contains a
button, you can declare a method name and signature and then bind the

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-19

Using Declarative Components

actionListener attribute to the declared method. When page developers use

the declarative component, they rebind to a method on a managed bean that
contains the logic required by the component.
For example, say your declarative component contains a button that you knew
always had to invoke an actionEvent method. You might create a declarative
method named method1 that used the signature void
method(javax.faces.event.ActionEvent). You might then bind the
actionListener attribute on the button to the declared method. When page
developers use the declarative component, JDeveloper will ask them to provide a
method on a backing bean that uses the same signature.
■ Tag library: All declarative components must be contained within a tag library that
you import into the applications that will use them.
The second section (anything outside of the xmlContent tag) is where all the
components that make up the declarative component are defined. Each component
contains a reference back to the facet that will be used to add content to the
component.
To use declarative components in a project, you first must deploy the library that
contains the declarative component as an ADF Library. You can then add the deployed
ADF Library JAR to the project’s properties, which automatically inserts the JSP tag
library or libraries into the project’s properties. Doing so allows the component(s) to be
displayed in the Component Palette so that you can drag and drop them onto a JSF
page.
For example, say you want to create a declarative component that uses a panelBox
component. In the panelBox component’s toolbar, you want to include three buttons
that can be used to invoke actionEvent methods on a backing bean. To do this,
create the following:
■ One facet named Content to hold the content of the panelBox component.
■ One attribute named Title to determine the text to display as the panelBox
component’s title.
■ Three attributes (one for each button, named buttonText1, buttonText2, and
buttonText3) to determine the text to display on each button.
■ Three attributes (one for each button, named display1, display2, display3)
to determine whether or not the button will render, because you do not expect all
three buttons will be needed every time the component is used.
■ Three declarative methods (one for each button, named method1, method2, and
method3) that each use the actionEvent method signature.
■ One panelBox component whose text attribute is bound to the created Title
attribute, and references the Content facet.
■ Three toolbarButton components. The text attribute for each would be bound
to the corresponding buttonText attribute, the render attribute would be
bound to the corresponding display attribute, and the actionListener
attribute would be bound to the corresponding method name.
Figure 19–2 shows how such a declarative component would look in the visual editor.

19-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Declarative Components

Figure 19–2 Declarative Component in the Visual Editor

When a page developer drops a declarative component that contains required

attributes or methods onto the page, a dialog opens asking for values.
If the developer set values where only the first two buttons would render, and then
added a panelGroupLayout component with output text, the page would render as
shown in Figure 19–3.

Figure 19–3 Displayed Declarative Component

Note: You cannot use fragments or ADF databound components in

the component layout of a declarative component. If you think some
of the components will need to be bound to the ADF Model layer, then
create attributes for those component attributes that need to be bound.
The user of the declarative component can then manually bind those
attributes to the ADF Model layer.
Additionally, because declarative components are delivered in
external JAR files, the components cannot use the jsp:include tag
because it will not be able to find the referenced files.

If your declarative component requires resources such as custom styles defined in CSS
or JavaScript, then you need to include these using the af:resource tag on the
consuming page. For more information, see Section 19.5, "Adding Resources to Pages."

19.4.1 How to Create a Declarative Component

JDeveloper simplifies creating declarative component definitions by providing the
Create JSF Declarative Component wizard, which lets you create facets, and define
attributes and methods for the declarative component. The wizard also creates
metadata in the component-extension tile that describes tag library information for
the declarative component. The tag library metadata is used to create the JSP tag
library for the declarative component.
First you add the template component metadata for facets and attributes inside the
xmlContent section of the componentDef tag. After you have added all the
necessary component metadata for facets and attributes, then you add the components
that define the actual layout of the declarative component in the section outside of the
xmlContent section.

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-21

Using Declarative Components

Best Practice Tip: Because the tag library definition (TLD) for the
declarative component must be generated before the component can
be used, the component must be deployed to a JAR file before it can be
consumed. It is best to create an application that contains only your
declarative components. You can then deploy all the declarative
components in a single library for use in multiple applications.

To create a declarative component definition:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the folder where you wish to create and
store declarative components and choose New.
2. In the Categories tree, select the JSF node, in the Items pane select JSF Declarative
Component, and click OK.
3. Enter a name and file name for the declarative component.
The name you specify will be used as the display name of the declarative
component in the Component Palette, as well as the name of the Java class
generated for the component tag. Only alphanumeric characters are allowed in the
name for the declarative component, for example, SampleName or SampleName1.
The file name is the name of the declarative component definition file (for
example, componentDef1.jspx). By default, JDeveloper uses .jspx as the file
extension because declarative component definition files must be XML documents.
4. Accept the default directory name for the declarative component, or choose a new
location.
By default, JDeveloper saves declarative component definitions in the
/ViewController/public_html directory in the file system. For example, you
could save all declarative component definitions in the /View
Controller/public_html/declcomps directory.
5. Enter a package name (for example, dcomponent1). JDeveloper uses the package
name when creating the Java class for the declarative component.
6. Select a tag library to contain the new declarative component. If no tag library
exists, or if you wish to create a new one, click Add Tag Library, and do the
following to create metadata for the tag library:
a. Enter a name for the JSP tag library to contain the declarative component (for
example, dcompLib1).
b. Enter the URI for the tag library (for example, /dcomponentLib1).
c. Enter a prefix to use for the tag library (for example, dc).
7. If you want to be able to add custom logic to your declarative component, select
the Use Custom Component Class checkbox and enter a class name.
8. To add named facets, click the Facet Definitions tab and click the Add icon.
Facets in a declarative component are predefined areas where content can
eventually be inserted. The components you use to create the declarative
component will reference the facets. When page developers use the declarative
components, they will place content into the facets, which in turn will allow the
content to be placed into the individual components. Each facet must have a
unique name. For example, your declarative component has a panelBox
component, you could define a facet named box-main for the content area of the
panelBox component.
9. To add attributes, click Attributes and click Add.

19-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Declarative Components

Attributes are UI component attributes that can be passed into a declarative

component. Each attribute must have a name and class type. Possible class types
to use are: java.lang.String, int, boolean, and float. You can assign
default values, and you can specify that the values are mandatory by selecting the
Required checkbox.

Tip: You must create attributes for any attributes on the included
components for which you want users to be able to set or change
values.
Remember to also add attributes for any tags you may need to add to
support functionality of the component, for example values required
by the attributeDragSource tag used for drag and drop
functionality.

10. To add declarative methods, click the Methods tab and click the Add icon.
Declarative methods allow you to bind command component actions or action
listeners to method signatures, which will later resolve to actual methods of the
same signature on backing beans for the page on which the components are used.
You can click the ellipses button to open the Method Signature dialog, which
allows you to search for and build your signature.
When you complete the dialog, JDeveloper displays the declarative component
definition file in the visual editor.

Tip: Once a declarative component is created, you can add facets and
attributes by selecting the componentDef tag in the Structure
window, and using the Property Inspector.

11. Drag a component from the Component Palette and drop it as a child to the
componentDef tag in the Structure window.
Suppose you dropped a panelBox component. In the Structure window,
JDeveloper adds the component after the xmlContent tag. It does not matter
where you place the components for layout, before or after the xmlContent tag,
but it is good practice to be consistent.
You can use any number of components in the component layout of a declarative
component. Typically, you would add a component such as panelFormLayout
or panelGroupLayout, and then add the components that define the layout into
the panel component.

Note: You cannot use fragments or ADF databound components in

the component layout of a declarative component. If you think some
of the components will need to be bound to the ADF Model layer, then
create attributes for those component attributes. The user of the
declarative component can then manually bind those attributes to the
ADF Model layer. For more information about using the ADF Model
layer, see the "Using Oracle ADF Model in a Fusion Web Application"
chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for
Oracle Application Development Framework.
Additionally, because declarative components are delivered in
external JAR files, the components cannot use the jsp:include tag
because it will not be able to find the referenced files.

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-23

Using Declarative Components

12. Within those components (in the layout section) where content can eventually be
inserted by page authors using the component, use the facetRef tag to reference
the appropriate named facet.
For example, if you have defined a content facet for the main content area, you
might add the facetRef tag as a child in the panelBox component to reference
the content facet. At design time, when the page developer drops components
into the content facet, the components are placed in the panelBox component.
When you drag FacetRef from the Component Palette and drop it in the desired
location on the page, JDeveloper displays the Insert FacetRef dialog. In that dialog,
select a facet name from the dropdown list, or enter a facet name. If you enter a
facet name that is not already defined in the component metadata of the definition
file, JDeveloper automatically adds an entry for the new facet definition in the
component metadata within the xmlContent tag.

Note: Each facet can be referenced only once. That is, you cannot use
multiple facetRef tags referencing the same facetName value in
the same declarative component definition.

13. To specify where attributes should be used in the declarative component, use the
Property Inspector and the Expression Builder to bind component attribute values
to the created attributes.
For example, if you have defined a title attribute and added a panelBox as a
component, you might use the dropdown menu next to the text attribute in the
Property Inspector to open the Expression Builder, as shown in Figure 19–4.

Figure 19–4 Opening the Expression Builder for an Attribute in the Property Inspector

In the Expression Builder, you can expand the JSP Objects > attrs node to select
the created attribute that should be used for the value of the attribute in the
Property Inspector. For example, Figure 19–5 shows the title attribute selected in
the Expression Builder. Click the Insert Into Expression button and then click OK
to add the expression as the value for the attribute.

19-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Declarative Components

Figure 19–5 Expression Builder Displays Created Attributes

14. To specify the methods that command buttons in the declarative component
should invoke, use the dropdown menu next to that component’s
actionListener attribute and choose Edit to open the Edit Property dialog.
This dialog allows you to choose one of the declarative methods you created for
the declarative component.
In the dialog, select Declarative Component Methods, select the declarative
method from the dropdown list, and click OK.

19.4.2 What Happens When You Create a Declarative Component

When you first use the Create JSF Declarative Component wizard, JDeveloper creates
the metadata file using the name you entered in the wizard. The entire definition for
the component is contained in the componentDef tag. This tag uses two attributes.
The first is var, which is a variable used by the individual components to access the
attribute values. By default, the value of var is attrs. The second attribute is
componentVar, which is a variable used by the individual components to access the
methods. By default the value of componentVar is component.
The metadata describing the facets, attributes, and methods is contained in the
xmlContent tag. Facet information is contained within the facet tag, attribute
information is contained within the attribute tag, and method information is
contained within the component-extension tag, as is library information.
Example 19–13 shows abbreviated code for the declarative component shown in
Figure 19–2.

Example 19–13 Declarative Component Metadata in the xmlContent Tag

<af:xmlContent>
<component xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich/component">
<display-name>myPanelBox</display-name>
<facet>
<description>Holds the content in the panel box</description>
<facet-name>Content</facet-name>
</facet>
<attribute>
<attribute-name>title</attribute-name>

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-25

Using Declarative Components

<attribute-class>java.lang.String</attribute-class>
<required>true</required>
</attribute>
<attribute>
<attribute-name>buttonText1</attribute-name>
<attribute-class>java.lang.String</attribute-class>
</attribute>
. . .
<component-extension>
<component-tag-namespace>component</component-tag-namespace>
<component-taglib-uri>/componentLib1</component-taglib-uri>
<method-attribute>
<attribute-name>method1</attribute-name>
<method-signature>
void method(javax.faces.event.ActionEvent)
</method-signature>
</method-attribute>
<method-attribute>
<attribute-name>method2</attribute-name>
<method-signature>
void method(javax.faces.event.ActionEvent)
</method-signature>
</method-attribute>
. . .
</component-extension>
</component>
</af:xmlContent>

Metadata for the included components is contained after the xmlContent tag. The
code for these components is the same as it might be in a standard JSF page, including
any attribute values you set directly on the components. Any bindings you created to
the attributes or methods use the component’s variables in the bindings.
Example 19–14 shows the code for the panelBox component with the three buttons in
the toolbar. Notice that the facetRef tag appears as a child to the panelBox
component, as any content a page developer will add will then be a child to the
panelBox component.

Example 19–14 Components in a Declarative Component

<af:panelBox text="#{attrs.title}" inlineStyle="width:25%;">
<f:facet name="toolbar">
<af:group>
<af:toolbar>
<af:commandToolbarButton text="#{attrs.buttonText1}"
actionListener="#{component.handleMethod1}"
rendered="#{attrs.display1}"/>
<af:commandToolbarButton text="#{attrs.buttonText2}"
rendered="#{attrs.display2}"
actionListener="#{component.handleMethod2}"/>
<af:commandToolbarButton text="#{attrs.buttonText3}"
rendered="#{attrs.display3}"
actionListener="#{component.handleMethod3}"/>
</af:toolbar>
</af:group>
</f:facet>
<af:facetRef facetName="Content"/>
</af:panelBox>

19-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Declarative Components

The first time you use the wizard to create a declarative component in a project,
JDeveloper automatically creates the declarativecomp-metadata.xml file, which
is placed in the /ViewController/src/META-INF directory in the file system.
For each declarative component that you define using the wizard, JDeveloper creates a
declarative component definition file (for example, componentDef1.jspx), and
adds an entry to the declarativecomp-metadata.xml file. Example 19–15 shows
an example of the declarativecomp-metadata.xml file.

Example 19–15 Sample declarativecomp-metadata.xml File

<declarativeCompDefs
xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich/declarativecomp">
<declarativecomp-jsp-ui-def>
/componentDef1.jspx
</declarativecomp-jsp-ui-def>
<declarativecomp-taglib>
<taglib-name>
dCompLib1
</taglib-name>
<taglib-uri>
/dcomponentLib1
</taglib-uri>
<taglib-prefix>
dc
</taglib-prefix>
</declarativecomp-taglib>
</declarativeCompDefs>

Note: When you rename or delete a declarative component in the

Application Navigator, JDeveloper renames or deletes the declarative
component definition file in the file system, but you must manually
change or delete the declarative component entry in the
declarativecomp-metadata.xml file, and update or remove any
JSF pages that use the declarative component.

The declarativecomp-metadata.xml file contains the names, paths, and tag

library information of all the declarative components you create in the project. When
you deploy the project, the metadata is used by JDeveloper to create the JSP tag
libraries and Java classes for the declarative components.

19.4.3 How to Deploy Declarative Components

Declarative components require a tag library definition (TLD) in order to be displayed.
JDeveloper automatically generates the TLD when you deploy the project. Because of
this, you must first deploy the project that contains your declarative components
before you can use them. This means before you can use declarative components in a
project, or before you can share declarative components with other developers, you
must deploy the declarative component definitions project to an ADF Library JAR. For
instructions on how to deploy a project to an ADF Library JAR, see the "Reusing
Application Components" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's
Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.
Briefly, when you deploy a project that contains declarative component definitions,
JDeveloper adds the following for you to the ADF Library JAR:

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-27

Using Declarative Components

■ A component tag class (for example, the componentDef1Tag.class) for each

declarative component definition (that is, for each componentDef component)
■ One or more JSP TLD files for the declarative components, using information from
the project’s declarativecomp-metadata.xml file
To use declarative components in a consuming project, you add the deployed
ADF Library JAR to the project’s properties. For instructions on how to add an ADF
Library JAR, see the "Reusing Application Components" chapter of the Oracle Fusion
Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework. By
adding the deployed JAR, JDeveloper automatically inserts the JSP tag library or
libraries (which contain the reusable declarative components) into the project’s
properties, and also displays them in the Component Palette.

19.4.4 How to Use Declarative Components in JSF Pages

In JDeveloper, you add declarative components to a JSF page just like any other UI
components, by selecting and dragging the components from the Component Palette,
and dropping them into the desired locations on the page. Your declarative
components appear in a page of the palette just for your tag library. Figure 19–6 shows
the page in the Component Palette for a library with a declarative component.

Figure 19–6 Component Palette with a Declarative Component

When you drag a declarative component that contains required attributes onto a page,
a dialog opens where you enter values for any defined attributes.
Once the declarative component is added to the page, you must manually bind the
declarative methods to actual methods on managed beans.
Before proceeding with the following procedure, you must already have added the
ADF Library JAR that contains the declarative components to the project where you
are creating JSF pages that are to consume the declarative components. For
instructions on how to add an ADF Library JAR, see the "Reusing Application
Components" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for
Oracle Application Development Framework.

To use declarative components in a JSF page:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click the JSF page (or JSF page template) to
open it in the visual editor.
2. In the Component Palette, select the declarative components tag library name
from the dropdown list. Drag and drop the desired declarative component onto
the page. You can add the same declarative component more than once on the
same page.
If the declarative component definition contains any required attributes,
JDeveloper opens a dialog for you to enter the required values for the declarative
component that you are inserting.

19-28 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Declarative Components

Note: If you want to use ADF Model layer bindings as values for the
attributes, then to create these bindings manually by using the
Expression Builder to locate the needed binding property.

3. Add components by dragging and dropping components from the Component

Palette in the facets of the template. In the Structure window, expand the structure
until you see the element for the declarative component, for example,
dc:myPanelBox, where dc is the tag library prefix and myPanelBox is the
declarative component name.
Under that are the facets (for example, f:facet - content) that have been
defined in the declarative component definition. You add components to these
facets.
You cannot add content directly into the declarative component; you can drop
content into the named facets only. The types of components you can drop into a
facet may be dependent on the location of the facetRef tag in the declarative
component definition. For example, if you have defined facetRef to be a child of
table in the declarative component definition, then only column components
can be dropped into the facet because table accepts column children only.

Note: You cannot place any components as direct children of a

declarative component. All content to appear within a declarative
component must be placed within a facet of that component.

4. In the Structure window, again select the declarative component element, for
example, dc:myPanelBox. The Property Inspector displays all the attributes and
methods that have been predefined in the declarative component definition (for
example, title). The attributes might have default values.
You can assign static values to the attributes, or you can use EL expressions (for
example, #{myBean.somevalue}). For any of the methods, you must bind to a
method that uses the same signature as the declared method defined on the
declarative component.
At runtime, the attribute value will be displayed in the appropriate location as
specified in the declarative component definition by the EL expression that bears
the name of the attribute (for example, #{attrs.someAttributeName}).
5. If you need to include resources such as CSS or JavaScript, then you need to
include these using the af:resource tag. For more information, see Section 19.5,
"Adding Resources to Pages."

19.4.5 What Happens When You Use a Declarative Component on a JSF Page
After adding a declarative component to the page, the visual editor displays the
component’s defined facets as named boxes, along with any content that is rendered
by components defined in the component layout section of the declarative component
definition.
Like other UI components, JDeveloper adds the declarative component tag library
namespace and prefix to the jsp:root tag in the page when you first add a
declarative component to a page, for example:
<jsp:root xmlns:dc="/dcomponentLib1: ..>

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-29

Adding Resources to Pages

In this example, dc is the tag library prefix, and /dcomponentLib1 is the namespace.
JDeveloper adds the tag for the declarative component onto the page. The tag includes
values for the component’s attributes as set in the dialog when adding the component.
Example 19–16 shows the code for the MyPanelBox declarative component to which a
user has added a panelGroupLayout component that contains three
outputFormatted components.

Example 19–16 JSF Code for a Declarative Component that Contains Content
<dc:myPanelBox title="My Panel Box" buttonText1="Button 1"
display1="true" display2="true" buttonText2="Button 2"
display3="false">
<f:facet name="Content">
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="scroll">
<af:outputFormatted value="outputFormatted1"
styleUsage="instruction"/>
<af:outputFormatted value="outputFormatted2"
styleUsage="instruction"/>
<af:outputFormatted value="outputFormatted3"
styleUsage="instruction"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</f:facet>
</dc:myPanelBox>

19.4.6 What Happens at Runtime

When a JSF page that consumes a declarative component is executed:
■ The declarative component tag in the consuming page locates the declarative
component tag class and definition file that contains the declarative component
metadata and layout.
■ The component subtree defined in the layout section of the componentDef tag is
instantiated and inserted into the consuming page’s component tree at the location
identified by the declarative component tag in the page.
■ The componentDef tag sets the value of the var attribute so that the declarative
component can internally reference its own attributes. The declarative component
just sets the attribute values; the runtime maps those values into the attributes
defined in the componentDef tag.
■ Using declarative component metadata, the declarative component applies any
default values to its attributes and checks for required values.
■ The consuming page passes facet contents into the declarative component by
using the facet tag. The facet contents of each facet tag are inserted into the
appropriate location on the declarative component as specified by the
corresponding facetRef tag in the layout section of the componentDef tag.

19.5 Adding Resources to Pages

You should use the af:resource tag to add CSS or JavaScript to pages, page
templates, or declarative components. This tag is especially useful for page templates
and declarative components because resources can only be added to the page (in the
HTML head element). When you can use this tag in page templates and declarative
components, the resources will be added to the consuming page during JSP execution.
If this tag is not used, browsers may need to re-layout pages that use page templates
and declarative components whenever it encounters a style or link tag. The resources

19-30 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Resources to Pages

can be added to the page during any page request, but they must be added before the
document component is rendered.
The resource tag can be used with PPR. During PPR, the following requirements
apply:
■ URL resources are compared on the client before being added to the page. This
ensures duplicates are not added.
■ CSS resources are removed from the page during a PPR navigation. The new page
will have the new CSS resources.

19.5.1 How to Add Resources to Page Templates and Declarative Components

You use the af:resource tag to define the location of the resource. The resource will
then be added to the document header of the consuming page.

To add resources:
1. From the Operations section of the Component Palette, drag and drop a Resource
tag anywhere onto the consuming page.
2. In the Insert Resource dialog, select either css or javascript.
3. In the Property Inspector, enter the URI of the resource as the value for the
source attribute. Start the URI with a single forward slash (/) if the URI should
be context relative. Start the URI with two forward slashes if the URI should be
server relative. If you start the URI with something other than one or two slashes,
the URI will be resolved relative to URI location in the browser

19.5.2 What Happens at Runtime: Adding Resources to the Document Header

During JSP tag execution, the af:resource tag only executes if its parent component
has been created. When it executes, it adds objects to a set in the RichDocument
component. RichDocument then adds the specified resources (CSS or JavaScript) to the
consuming page.

Creating and Reusing Fragments, Page Templates, and Components 19-31

Adding Resources to Pages

19-32 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 20
Customizing the Appearance Using Styles
20

and Skins

This chapter describes how to change the appearance of your application by changing
style properties using Oracle ADF Faces skins and component style attributes.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 20.1, "Introduction to Skins, Style Selectors, and Style Properties"
■ Section 20.2, "Applying Custom Skins to Applications"
■ Section 20.3, "Defining Skin Style Properties"
■ Section 20.4, "Changing the Style Properties of a Component"
■ Section 20.5, "Referring to URLs in a Skin’s CSS File"
■ Section 20.6, "Deploying a Custom Skin File in a JAR File"

20.1 Introduction to Skins, Style Selectors, and Style Properties

JDeveloper supports two options for applying style information to your ADF Faces
components:
■ Build a skin and a cascading style sheet (CSS) using defined style selectors and
configure your ADF application to use the skin and style sheet.
■ Use style properties to override the style information from the skin CSS to set
specific instances of component display.
ADF Faces components delegate the functionality of the component to a component
class, and the display of the component to a renderer. By default, all tags for ADF
Faces combine the associated component class with an HTML renderer, and are part of
the HTML render kit. HTML render kits are included with ADF Faces for display on
both desktop and PDA. You cannot customize ADF Faces renderers. However, you can
customize how components display using skins.
If you do not wish to change ADF Faces components throughout the entire
application, you can choose to change the styles for the instance of a component on a
page. You can also programmatically set styles conditionally. For example, you may
want to display text in red only under certain conditions. For more information, see
Section 20.4, "Changing the Style Properties of a Component".
The File Explorer application allows you to select several skins from a dropdown list.
It provides several CSS files to support skin selection. For more information, see
Section 1.4.3, "Overview of the File Explorer Application".

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-1

Introduction to Skins, Style Selectors, and Style Properties

It is beyond the scope of this guide to explain the concept of CSS. For extensive
information on style sheets, including the official specification, visit the W3C web site
at:
http://www.w3c.org/

20.1.1 Oracle ADF Faces Skins

A skin is a style sheet based on the CSS 3.0 syntax specified in one place for an entire
application. Instead of providing a style sheet for each component, or inserting a style
sheet on each page, you can create one skin for the entire application. Every
component automatically uses the styles as described by the skin. You do not have to
make design-time changes to JSF pages to change their appearance when you use a
skin. You can use the skins provided by Oracle ADF Faces or extend these skins to
create your own custom skin.
Oracle ADF Faces provides the following skins for use in your applications:
■ blafplus-medium: Provides a modest amount of styling. This style extends the
simple skin.
■ blafplus-rich: This skin extends the blafplus-medium skin. Provides more
styling than the blafplus-medium skin. For example, graphics in the
blafplus-rich skin have rounded corners.
■ fusion: Defines the default styles for ADF Faces components. This skin provides
a significant amount of styling.
■ fusion-11.1.1.3.0: Modifies the fusion skin to make the hierarchy structure
in certain components that render tabs clearer. These components are
panelTabbed, navigationPane (attribute hint="tabs"), and
decorativeBox. This skin also defines a more subtle background image for
disclosed panelAccordion component panes to make text that appears in these
panes easier to read.
■ Projector skins: ADF Faces provides skins that define styles for an application that
you want to demonstrate to an audience using a projector. Each projector skin
modifies a number of elements in a parent skin so that an application renders
appropriately when displayed using table-top projectors (particularly older
models of projector). These skins are useful if the audience is present at the same
location as the projector. They may not be appropriate for an audience that views
an application online through a web conference. ADF Faces provides the following
projector skins:
– fusion-projector: This skin modifies a number of elements in the fusion
skin so that an application renders appropriately on a projector.
– fusion-11.1.1.3.0-projector: This skin modifies a number of elements
in the fusion-11.1.1.3.0 skin so that an application renders appropriately
on a projector.
■ simple: Contains only minimal formatting.
Skins allow you to globally change the appearance of ADF Faces components within
an application. By default, ADF Faces applications use the fusion skin. Components
in the visual editor, as well as in the web page, are displayed using the settings for this
skin. Figure 20–1 shows the default fusion skin applied to the File Explorer
Application index page.

20-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Skins, Style Selectors, and Style Properties

Note: The syntax in a skin style sheet is based on the CSS 3.0
specification. However, many browsers do not yet adhere to this
version. At runtime, ADF Faces converts the CSS to the CSS 2.0
specification.

Figure 20–1 Index Page Using the Fusion Skin

ADF Faces also provides the simple skin, shown in Figure 20–2 as applied to the File
Explorer Application index page.

Figure 20–2 Index Page Using the Simple Skin

Skins provide more options than setting standard CSS styles and layouts. The skin's
CSS file is processed by the skin framework to extract skin properties and icons and

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-3

Introduction to Skins, Style Selectors, and Style Properties

register them with the Skin object. For example, you can customize the skin file using
rules and pseudo classes that are supported by the skinning framework. Supported
rules and pseudo classes include @platform, @agent, @accessibility-profile,
:rtl, :lang, and @locale. For more information, see Section 20.1.2, "Skin Style
Selectors".

20.1.2 Skin Style Selectors

Style sheet rules include a style selector, which identifies an element, and a set of style
properties, which describe the appearance of the components. ADF Faces components
include two categories of skin style selectors:
■ Global selectors
Global selectors determine the style properties for multiple ADF Faces
components. If the global selector name ends in the :alias pseudo-class, then the
selector is most likely included in other component-specific selectors and will
affect the skin for more than one component. For example, most, if not all,
components use the .AFDefaultFontFamily:alias definition to specify the
font family. If your skin overrides this selector with a different font family, that
change will affect all the components that have included it in their selector
definition. Example 20–1 shows the global selector for the default font family for
ADF Faces components in an application.

Example 20–1 Global Selector for Default Font Family

.AFDefaultFontFamily:alias {
font-family: Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif;
}

■ Component selectors
Component-specific selectors are selectors that can apply a skin to a particular
ADF Faces component. Example 20–2 shows the selector set to red as the
background color for the content area of the af:inputText component.

Example 20–2 af:inputText Component Selector

af|inputText::content {
background-color: red;
}

Each category may include one or more of these types of ADF Faces skin selectors:
■ Standard selectors
Standard selectors are those that directly represent an element that can have styles
applied to it. For example, af|body represents the af:body component. You can
set CSS styles, properties, and icons for this type of element.
■ Selectors with pseudo-elements
Pseudo-elements are used to denote a specific area of a component that can have
styles applied. Pseudo-elements are denoted by a double colon followed by the
portion of the component the selector represents. For example,
af|chooseDate::days-row provides the styles and properties for the
appearance of the dates within the calendar grid.
■ Icon selectors

20-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Skins, Style Selectors, and Style Properties

Some components render icons (<img> tags) within them using a set of base icons.
These icons can have skins applied even though they are not rendered with CSS in
the same way as the background-image CSS property. Instead, the icons are
registered with the Skin object for use by the renderer. Icon selectors are denoted
by -icon for component selectors and Icon:alias for global selectors. For
example, the af:inputDate component has a changed icon that can have a skin
using the selector af|inputDate::changed-icon. The changed icon can also
be globally set for all components using that icon with the global selector
.AFChangedIcon:alias. For more information, see Section 20.3.2, "How to
Apply Skins to Icons".
■ Resource strings
The text rendered by ADF Faces components is translatable. The text is abstracted
as a resource string that has skins applied. For example, af_dialog.LABEL_OK
is a resource string for the text label of an af:dialog component when the OK
button has been configured. Resource strings do not have skins in the CSS skin
file, but in a resource bundle referenced from the skin definition file in the
trinidad-skins.xml file using the <bundle-name> parameter. You can also
use the <translation-source> parameter for an EL binding to point to a Map
or ResourceBundle. For more information, see Section 20.3.1, "How to Apply
Skins to Text".
■ Selectors with style properties
Skin style properties allow you to customize the rendering of a component
throughout the application. A CSS property is stored with a value in the Skin
object and is available when the component is being rendered. For example, in
af|breadCrumbs{-tr-show-last-item: false}, the skin property
-tr-show-last-item is set to hide the last item in the af:breadCrumbs
navigation path.
The CSS specification defines pseudo-classes such as :hover and :active that can
apply to almost every component. ADF Faces provides additional pseudo-classes for
specialized functions. Pseudo-classes are denoted in the selector by a colon followed
by the class definition. The following are common pseudo-classes used by ADF Faces
style selectors:
■ Alias: The :alias pseudo-class is a special type of class that serves as a syntax
aid to organize code in your skin file. You can, for example, use it to set styles for
more than one component or more than one portion of a component. You can also
create your own alias classes that you can then include on other selectors. For
example, you can define an alias pseudo-class (.AFLabel:alias) where you
define label colors for a number of form components. Subsequent changes to the
alias pseudo-class impact all components referenced by the alias pseudo-class.
af|inputText::label,
af|inputChoice::label,
af|selectOneChoice::label {-tr-rule-ref: ".AFLabel:alias"}
.AFLabel:alias { color: blue }

The .AFLabel:alias pseudo-class has color set to blue, but you can change all
the component’s label color to red by simply changing .AFLabel:alias:
.AFLabel:alias {color: red}

For more information, see Section 20.3.5, "How to Create a Custom Alias".
■ Drag and drop: The two pseudo-classes available are :drag-source applied to
the component initiating the drag and removed once the drag is over, and

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-5

Introduction to Skins, Style Selectors, and Style Properties

:drop-target applied to a component willing to accept the drop of the current

drag.
■ Standard: In CSS, pseudo-classes like :hover, :active, and :focus are
considered states of the component. This same concept is used in applying skins to
components. Components can have states like read-only or disabled. When
states are combined in the same selector, the selector applies only when all states
are satisfied.
■ Right-to-left: Use this pseudo-class to set a style or icon definition when the
browser is in a right-to-left language. Another typical use case is asymmetrical
images. You will want the image to be flipped when setting skin selectors that use
the image in a right-to-left reading direction. Be sure to append the :rtl
pseudo-class to the very end of the selector and point it to a flipped image file. For
example, the end image of the panelBox component will be the
panelBoxStart.png file when the browser is set to right-to-left. The panelBox
end image in right-to-left is the same as the flipped left-to-right panelBox start
image.
af|panelBox::medium af|panelBox::top-end:rtl {
background-image: url(/https/www.scribd.com/skins/purple/images/panelBoxStart.png);
width:8px;
height:8px
}

You can also use :rtl to apply to skin icons. For more information, see
Section 20.3.2, "How to Apply Skins to Icons".
■ Inline editing: This pseudo-class is applied when the application activates a
component subtree for editing in the browser. For example, :inline-selected
is a pseudo-class applied to currently selected components in the active
inline-editable subtree.
■ Message: This pseudo-class is used to set component-level message styles using
CSS pseudo-classes of :fatal, :error, :warning, :confirmation, and
:info. For more information, see Section 20.3.3, "How to Apply Skins to
Messages".
You may not want your selector's CSS properties to be applied to all browsers, all
platforms, all locales, and both reading-directions. For example, you may need to add
some padding in Internet Explorer that you do not need on any other browser. You
may want the font style to be different on Windows than it is on other platforms. To
style a selector for a particular user environment, put that skinning information inside
a skinning framework rule or :rtl pseudo-class. The skinning framework picks the
styles based on the HTTP request information, such as agent and platform, and merges
them with the styles without rules. Those CSS properties that match the rules get
merged with those outside of any rules. The most specific rules that match a user's
environment take precedence. The skinning framework currently supports these rules
and pseudo-classes:
■ @platform and @agent
Define platform styles using @platform and browser styles using @agent.
The supported values to set a platform-specific style are windows, macos, linux,
solaris, and ppc. For a browser agent-specific style, the supported values are
ie, mozilla, gecko, webkit (maps to safari), ice, and email.
In this example, the content area of the af:inputText component is set to the
color pink for versions 7 and 8 of Internet Explorer, and set to version 1.9 of gecko
on Windows and Linux platforms:

20-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Skins, Style Selectors, and Style Properties

@platform window, linux {

@agent ie and (version: 7) and (version: 8), gecko and (version: 1.9) {
af|inputText::content {background-color:pink
}
}
}

Note that the following syntax examples results in the same behavior:
@agent ie and (version: 7.*)
@agent ie and (version: 7)

In order to specify only version 7.0.x of Internet Explorer, use the following syntax:
@agent ie and (version: 7.0)

There is currently no syntax to specify a range of versions.

■ @accessibility-profile
Define @accessibility-profile, which defines styles for high-contrast and
large-fonts accessibility profile settings from the trinidad-config.xml file.
The high-contrast value would be for cases where background and foreground
colors need to be highly contrasted with each other. The large-fonts value would be
for cases where the user must be allowed to increase or decrease the text scaling
setting in the web browser. Defining large-fonts does not mean that the fonts are
large, but rather that they are scalable fonts or dimensions instead of fixed pixel
sizes.
<!-- Enable both high-contrast and large-fonts content -->
<accessibility-profile>high-contrast large-fonts</accessibility-profile>

■ :rtl
Use the :rtl pseudo-class to create a style or icon definition when the browser is
displaying a right-to-left language.
■ :lang or @locale
■ Suppress skin styles with the -tr-inhibit skin property.
Suppress or reset CSS properties inherited from a base skin with the
-tr-inhibit skin property. For example, the -tr-inhibit:padding property
will remove any inherited padding. Remove (clear) all inherited properties with
the -tr-inhibit:all property. The suppressed property name must be
matched exactly with the property name in the base skin.
■ Merge styles with the -tr-rule-ref property.
Create your own alias and combine it with other style selectors using the
-tr-rule-ref property. For more information, see Section 20.3.5, "How to
Create a Custom Alias".
■ Alter themes of child components with the -tr-children-theme property.
For more information, see Section 20.3.4, "How to Apply Themes to Components".
Example 20–3 shows several selectors in the CSS file that will be merged together to
provide the final style.

Example 20–3 Merging of Style Selectors

/** For IE and Gecko on Windows, Linux and Solaris, make the color pink. **/
@platform windows, linux, solaris

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-7

Introduction to Skins, Style Selectors, and Style Properties

{
@agent ie, gecko
{
af|inputText::content {background-color:pink}
}
}

af|someComponent {color: red; width: 10px; padding: 4px}

/* For IE, we need to increase the width, so we override the width.

We still want the color and padding; this gets merged in. We want to add
height in IE. */

@agent ie
{
af|someComponent {width: 25px; height: 10px}
}
/* For IE 7 and 8, we also need some margins.*/
@agent ie (version: 7) and (version: 8)
{
af|someComponent {margin: 5px;}
}

/* For Firefox 3 (Gecko 1.9) use a smaller margin.*/

@agent gecko (version: 1.9)\
{
af|someComponent {margin: 4px;}
}

/* The following selectors are for all platforms and all browsers. */
/* rounded corners on the top-start and top-end */
/* shows how to use :rtl mode pseudo-class. The start image in ltr mode is the */
/* same as the end image in the right-to-left mode. */
af|panelBox::medium af|panelBox::top-start,
af|panelBox::medium af|panelBox::top-end:rtl {
background-image: url(/https/www.scribd.com/skins/purple/images/panelBoxStart.png);
width:8px;
height:8px
}

af|panelBox::medium af|panelBox::top-end,
af|panelBox::medium af|panelBox::top-start:rtl {
background-image: url(/https/www.scribd.com/skins/purple/images/panelBoxEnd.png);
height: 8px;
width: 8px;
}

The selectors used to apply skins to the ADF Faces components are defined in the
"Skin Selectors for Fusion’s ADF Faces Components" and "Skin Selectors for Fusion’s
Data Visualization Tools Components" topics in JDeveloper’s online help.
You can also apply themes as a way to implement look and feel at the component
level. For information about themes, see Section 20.3.4, "How to Apply Themes to
Components".
For information about defining skin style properties, see Section 20.3, "Defining Skin
Style Properties".

20-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Applying Custom Skins to Applications

20.1.3 Component Style Properties

You can adjust the look and feel of any component at design time by changing the
style-related properties, inlineStyle and styleClass, both of which render on the
root DOM element. Any style-related property you specify at design time overrides the
comparable style specified in the application skin or CSS for that particular instance of
the component.
The inlineStyle attribute is a semicolon-delimited string of CSS styles that can set
individual attributes, for example, background-color:red; color:blue;
font-style:italic; padding:3px. The styleClass attribute is a CSS style
class selector used to group a set of inline styles. The style classes can be defined using
an ADF public style class, for example, .AFInstructionText, sets all properties for
the text displayed in an af:outputText component.
For information about applying component style properties, see Section 20.4,
"Changing the Style Properties of a Component".
Given a specific selector, you can get style properties for a custom component by
creating a class for a renderer. For more information, see Section 30.4.7, "How to Create
a Class for a Renderer".

20.2 Applying Custom Skins to Applications

Custom skins can change the colors, fonts, and even the location of portions of ADF
Faces components to represent your company’s preferred look and feel. You build the
skin by defining style selectors in a CSS file. After you create your custom style sheet,
register it as a valid skin in the application, and then configure the application to use
the skin.
By default, ADF Faces components use the fusion skin. Custom skins can extend to
any of the ADF Faces skins, fusion, blafplus-rich, blafplus-medium, or
simple. To create a custom skin, you declare selectors in a style sheet that override or
inhibit the selectors in the style sheet being extended. Any selectors that you choose
not to override will continue to use the style as defined in that skin.
Extending the simple skin does not require inhibiting as many properties as you
would if you extended the BLAF Plus skins. For example, the BLAF Plus skins use
many different colors for style properties, including text, background, and borders. The
simple skin uses the :alias pseudo-class, as in .AFDarkBackground:alias,
instead of specific colors. Changing a color scheme would require overriding far fewer
global skin selectors than component skin selectors that specify multiple colors.
The text used in a skin is defined in a resource bundle. As with the selectors for the
blafplus-rich skin, you can override the text by creating a custom resource bundle
and declaring only the text you want to change. After you create your custom resource
bundle, register it with the skin.
You can create and apply multiple skins. For example, you might create one skin for
the version of an application for the web, and another for when the application runs
on a PDA. Or you can change the skin based on the locale set on the current user’s
browser. Additionally, you can configure a component, for example an
af:selectOneChoice component, to allow a user to switch between skins.
While you can bundle the custom skin resources and configuration files with the
application for deployment, you can also store skin definitions in a Java Archive (JAR)
file and then add it to the deployed application. The advantages to using a JAR file are
that the custom skin can be developed and deployed separately from the application,
improving consistency in the look and feel, and that skin definitions and image files

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-9

Applying Custom Skins to Applications

can be partitioned into their own JAR files, reducing the number of files that may have
to be deployed to an application.
The steps to apply a custom skin to your application are the following:
1. Add a custom skin to your application. For details, see Section 20.2.1, "How to
Add a Custom Skin to an Application".
2. Register the custom skin. For details, see Section 20.2.2, "How to Register the XML
Schema Definition File for a Custom Skin" and Section 20.2.3, "How to Register a
Custom Skin".
3. Configure the application to use the custom skin. For details, see Section 20.2.4,
"How to Configure an Application to Use a Custom Skin".
4. Deploy a custom skin in a JAR file. For details, see Section 20.6, "Deploying a
Custom Skin File in a JAR File".

20.2.1 How to Add a Custom Skin to an Application

To add a custom skin to your application, create a CSS file within JDeveloper, which
places the CSS in a project’s source file for deployment with the application.

To add a custom skin to an application:

1. In JDeveloper, make sure that CSS Level 3 and ADF Faces are selected. From the
main toolbar, choose Tools > Preferences > CSS Editor. For Support Level, choose
CSS Level 3 from the dropdown menu, and for Supported Components, select
ADF Faces Extension.
2. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project that contains the code for the
user interface and choose New from the context menu.
3. In the New Gallery under Categories, expand Web Tier and select HTML.
4. Double-click the CSS File option.
5. In the Create Cascading Style Sheet dialog, enter a name and path for the CSS.
6. Click OK.
You can now open the CSS in the CSS editor and define styles for your application. For
information about setting ADF Faces component style selectors, see Section 20.3,
"Defining Skin Style Properties".
You can also create a CSS outside the context of Oracle JDeveloper and package the
CSS with the skin resources into a JAR file. For information about this recommended
option, see Section 20.6, "Deploying a Custom Skin File in a JAR File".

20.2.2 How to Register the XML Schema Definition File for a Custom Skin
You need to register the trindidad-skins.xsd file with JDeveloper if you plan to
register a custom skin, as described in Section 20.2.3, "How to Register a Custom Skin".
The trindidad-skins.xsd file defines the valid elements for a custom skin.

To register an XML schema definition file:

1. In JDeveloper, select Tools > Preferences.
2. In the Preferences dialog, select XML Schemas in the left pane and click Add.
3. In the Add Schema dialog, click Browse to navigate to the XML schemas included
in your version of JDeveloper.

20-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Applying Custom Skins to Applications

The directory path to the XML schemas is similar to the following:

JDeveloper_Home/jdeveloper/modules/oracle.adf.view_
11.1.1/trinidad-impl.jar!/org/apache/myfaces/trinidadinternal
/ui/laf/xml/schemas/skin/trinidad-skins.xsd

Note: In the Add Schema dialog, make sure the value in the
Extension input field is .xml. If you change it to .xsd, when you
later create XML files, you will not be able to use the XML schema you
have created.

4. Click OK.

20.2.3 How to Register a Custom Skin

Registering a skin involves creating a file named trinidad-skins.xml and
populating it with values that identify the skin’s ID, family, location, and the custom
resource bundle if you are using one.

Before you begin:

Register the XML schema definition file that defines valid elements for the
trinidad-skins.xml file. For more information, see Section 20.2.2, "How to
Register the XML Schema Definition File for a Custom Skin".

To register a custom skin:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand General and select XML.

3. Select XML Document from XML Schema and click OK.
4. In the Create XML from XML Schema - Step 1 of 2 dialog:
■ XML File: Enter trinidad-skins.xml.
■ Directory: Append \src\META-INF to the end of the Directory entry.
■ Select Use Registered Schemas, and click Next.
5. In the Create XML Schema - Step 2 of 2 dialog:
■ Target Namespace: Select
http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/skin.
■ Root Element: Select skins.
■ Click Finish. The new file automatically opens in the XML Editor.
6. In the XML editor, enter values for the following elements:
■ <id>
A skin is required to have a unique ID. You can also use an EL expression to
reference the skin ID. For example, if you want to have different skins for
different locales, create an EL expression that selects the correct skin based on
its ID. The convention is to put a "desktop" or ".pda" or ".portlet" at the end of
the ID, such as "fusion.desktop".
■ <family>

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-11

Applying Custom Skins to Applications

You configure an application to use a particular family of skins. This allows

you to group skins together for an application, based on the render kit used.
For example, you can define the blafplus-rich.desktop skin and the
blafplus-rich.pda skin to be part of the richDemo family and the system
automatically chooses the right skin based on the render-kit-id.
<skin>
<id>richdemo.desktop</id>
<family>richDemo</family>
<extends>blafplus-rich.desktop</extends>
<render-kit-id>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.desktop</render-kit-id>
<style-sheet-name>skins/richdemo/richdemo.css</style-sheet-name>
</skin>
<skin>
<id>richdemo.pda</id>
<family>richDemo</family>
<extends>blafplus-rich.pda</extends>
<render-kit-id>pda</render-kit-id>
<style-sheet-name>skins/richdemo/richdemo.css</style-sheet-name>
</skin>

■ <extends>
You extend a custom skin by using this element. The default value for this
element is simple.desktop. However, you can extend any skin by using
this element.
For example, you can easily change the font of the entire skin by extending the
skin and creating a CSS with the font alias. For example, extend the
fusion.desktop family as follows:
<extends>fusion.desktop</extends>
<style-sheet-name>skins/fod_skin.css</style-sheet-name>

In the CSS, set the alias to change the font for the entire skin:
.AFDefaultFontFamily:alias {font-family: Tahoma}
.AFDefaultFont:alias {font-size: 16px}

■ <render-kit-id>
This value determines which render kit to use for the skin. You can enter one
of the following:
– org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.desktop: The skin will
automatically be used when the application is rendered on a desktop.
– org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.pda: The skin will be used when the
application is rendered on a PDA.
■ <style-sheet-name>
This is the URL of the custom style sheet. The style sheet name file is retrieved
as a URL object using the following methods:
– For nonstatic URLs, those that could change after the server has started,
the URL is created by calling new
java.new.URL(style-sheet-name) if style-sheet-name starts
with http:, https:, file:, ftp:, or jar:. Otherwise, the URL is
created by calling <FacesContext> <ExternalContext>
getResource<style-sheet-name>. It will add a slash (/) to delimit

20-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Applying Custom Skins to Applications

the URL parts if it is not already present. For example, the slash is added
between skins/bigfont/bigfont.css.
– If still not retrieved, the URL is created using the <ClassLoader>
getResource in a style-sheet-name format similar to
META-INF/purpleSkin/styles/myPurpleSkin.css. Once the URL
is converted to this format, it can be searched for in JAR files that may
contain the style sheet.
■ <bundle-name>
This is the resource bundle created for the skin. If you did not create a custom
bundle, then you do not need to declare this element. For more information,
see Section 20.3.1, "How to Apply Skins to Text".

Note: If you have created localized versions of the resource bundle,

then you need to register only the base resource bundle.

■ <translation-source>
This is an EL binding that can point to a Map or a ResourceBundle. You can
use this instead of the bundle name if you would like to be more dynamic in
your skin translations at runtime. The <bundle-name> tag takes precedence.
Example 20–4 shows the entry in the trinidad-skins.xml file for the mySkin
skin.

Example 20–4 Skin Entry in the trinidad-skins.xml File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<skins xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/skin">
<skin>
<id>
mySkin.desktop
</id>
<family>
mySkin
</family>
<extends>blafplus-rich.desktop</extends>
<render-kit-id>
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.desktop
</render-kit-id>
<style-sheet-name>
skins/mySkin/mySkin.css
</style-sheet-name>
<bundle-name>
myBundle
</bundle-name>
<translation-source></translation-source>
</skin>
</skins>

7. Save the file.

20.2.4 How to Configure an Application to Use a Custom Skin

You set an element in the trinidad-config.xml file that determines which skin to
use, and if necessary, under what conditions.

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-13

Defining Skin Style Properties

Note: If you do not see the skin, check to see whether or not the
af:document tag has been added to the page. The af:document tag
initializes the skin framework to create the CSS and link it to the page.

To configure an application to use a skin:

1. Open the trinidad-config.xml file.

2. Replace the <skin-family> value with the family name for the skin you wish to
use.
Example 20–5 shows the configuration to use for the mySkin skin family.

Example 20–5 Configuration to Use a Skin Family

<trinidad-config xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/config">
<skin-family>mySkin</skin-family>
</trinidad-config>

3. To conditionally set the value, enter an EL expression that can be evaluated to

determine the skin to display.
For example, if you want to use the German skin when the user’s browser is set to
the German locale, and to use the English skin otherwise, you would have the
following entry in the trinidad-config.xml file:
<skin-family>#{facesContext.viewRoot.locale.language=='de' ? 'german' :
'english'}</skin-family>

4. Save the file.

During development, after you make changes to the custom skin, you can see your
CSS changes without restarting the server by setting the web.xml file parameter
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CHECK_FILE_MODIFICATION to true, as
shown in Example 20–6. However, you must always restart the server to see icon and
skin property changes.

Example 20–6 web.xml Parameter to Check Skin Changes

<context-param>
<param-name>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CHECK_FILE_MODIFICATION</param-name>
<param-value>true</param-value>
</context-param>

20.3 Defining Skin Style Properties

The ADF Faces skin style selectors support multiple options for applying skins to a
component to create a custom look and feel to your application. The af:goButton
component skin style selectors are described in Table 20–1.

20-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Defining Skin Style Properties

Table 20–1 af:goButton Component Style Selectors

Name Description
af|goButton Style on the root element of the af:goButton component. You
can use any valid CSS-2.1 pseudo-class, like :hover, :active,
or :focus, as well as :disabled, to style the component for
different states. Note that for buttons, the :active and :focus
pseudo-classes do not work in Internet Explorer 7 (IE7). IE7 also
does not allow disabled buttons to be styled. You should use the
.AFButton*:alias selectors as a shortcut to apply a skin to all
button components in the same manner.
af|goButton::icon-sty Style on the button icon, if the icon attribute is set on the
le af:goButton.
af|goButton::access-k Style on the text of the button. This includes the
ey .AFButtonAccessKeyStyle:alias style.

Figure 20–3 shows the application of the default fusion skin on the af:goButton
component and the component icon.

Figure 20–3 af:goButton Component Default Appearance

Figure 20–4 shows the new appearance of the button and icon by setting the following
style properties in a custom skin:
af|goButton::access-key {color: red;}
af|goButton::icon-style {border: 1px solid black;}

Figure 20–4 af:goButton Component with Custom Skin Applied

The ADF Faces skin style selectors used by the default skin are defined in the "Skin
Selectors for Fusion’s ADF Faces Components" and "Skin Selectors for Fusion’s Data
Visualization Tools Components" topics in JDeveloper’s online help. They are located
in All Online Help > Developing Oracle ADF Faces Applications.
JDeveloper provides coding support while editing your CSS files. You can invoke the
CSS code editor when editing your file directly or when editing an ADF Faces
component in the JSP source editor. Code support is available for the following:
■ Code insight
■ Error highlighting
■ Preview of styles
■ Refactoring
■ Finding usages
■ Quick comment
■ Formatting

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-15

Defining Skin Style Properties

■ Matching tag highlighting

20.3.1 How to Apply Skins to Text

In addition to using a CSS file to determine styles, skins also use a resource bundle to
determine the text within a component. The text that ADF Faces components render
can be translated and abstracted as a resource string. For example,
af_chooseDate.LABEL_SELECT_YEAR is the resource string for the label of the
field used to select the year using an af:chooseDate component. All the ADF Faces
skins use the same resource bundle.
To apply a skin to the text in ADF Faces components, create a custom resource bundle
and override the default resource string values. Then, set the <bundle-name>
property for your custom resource bundle in the trinidad-skins.xml file.

Note: ADF Faces components provide automatic translation. The

resource bundle used for the components’ skin is translated into 28
languages. If a user sets the browser to use the German (Germany)
language, any text contained within the components will
automatically be displayed in German. For this reason, if you create a
resource bundle for a custom skin, you must also create localized
versions of that bundle for any other languages the application
supports.
See Chapter 21, "Internationalizing and Localizing Pages" for more
information.

To create and register a custom resource bundle:

1. In JDeveloper, create a new simple Java class:

■ In the Application Navigator, right-click where you want the file to be placed
and choose New to open the New Gallery.
■ In the Categories tree, select Java, and in the Items list, select Java Class.
■ Enter a name and package for the class. The class must extend
java.util.ListResourceBundle.
2. Add any keys to your bundle that you wish to override and set the text as needed.
Example 20–7 shows the SkinBundle custom resource bundle.

Example 20–7 Resource Strings Set in Custom SkinBundle

public class SkinBundle extends ListResourceBundle {
@Override
public Object[][] getContents() {
return _CONTENTS;
}

static private final Object[][] _CONTENTS = {

{"af_tableSelectMany.SELECT_COLUMN_HEADER", "Select A Lot"},
{"af_tableSelectOne.SELECT_COLUMN_HEADER", "Select Just One"},
{"af_showDetail.DISCLOSED_TIP", "Click to Hide"}
};
}

20-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Defining Skin Style Properties

3. Set the name of your custom resource bundle in the <bundle-name> parameter
of the trinidad-skins.xml file. Example 20–8 shows the custom SkinBundle
set in the trinidad-skins.xml file.

Example 20–8 Custom SkinBundle Set in trinidad-skins.xml

<skin>
<id>
purple.desktop
</id>
<family>
purple
</family>
<render-kit-id>
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.desktop
</render-kit-id>
<style-sheet-name>
skins/purple/purpleSkin.css
</style-sheet-name>
<bundle-name>
org.apache.myfaces.trinidaddemo.resource.SkinBundle
</bundle-name>
</skin>

Another option for applying skins to text is to use the <translation-source>

parameter instead of <bundle-name>. The <translation-source> parameter is
an EL binding that points to a Map or a ResourceBundle. The benefit of this option is
that you can automatically change the translation value based on any logic that you
want at runtime. The <bundle-name> tag takes precedence if both are set.
Example 20–9 shows the code for using an EL expression to set the
<translation-source> parameter in a bundle map.

Example 20–9 Custom Resource Bundle Map

public class SkinTranslationMapDemo
{
/* Test a skin's translation-source EL pointing to a Map */
public Map<String, String> getContents()
{
return _CONTENTS;
}

static private final Map<String, String> _CONTENTS = new HashMap<String,

String>();
static
{
_CONTENTS.put("af_inputDate.LAUNCH_PICKER_TIP", "Launch PickerMap");
_CONTENTS.put("af_showDetail.DISCLOSED_TIP", "Hide Tip Map");
_CONTENTS.put("af_showDetail.DISCLOSED", "Hide Map");

}
}

Example 20–10 shows setting the <translation-source> parameter for the

resource map in the trinidad-skins.xml file.

Example 20–10 Custom Resource Bundle Map Set in trinidad-skins.xml

<skin>

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-17

Defining Skin Style Properties

<id>
purple.desktop
</id>
<family>
purple
</family>
<render-kit-id>
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.desktop
</render-kit-id>
<style-sheet-name>
skins/purple/purpleSkin.css
</style-sheet-name>
<translation-source>
#{skinTranslationMap.resourceBundle}
</translation-source>
</skin>

20.3.2 How to Apply Skins to Icons

You can apply skins to the default icons associated with ADF Faces components by
specifying the URL path to the icon image in the icon style selector.
Note that CSS syntax like pseudo-classes (:hover, and so forth) and descendant
selectors and composite class selectors does not work with icon selectors.

Note: If you are overriding a selector for an icon, use a

context-relative path for the URL to the icon image (that is, start with a
leading slash (/)), and do not use quotation marks.
Also, you must include the width and the height for the icon.

Example 20–11 shows a selector for an icon.

Example 20–11 Selector for an Icon

.AFErrorIcon:alias {
content:url(/https/www.scribd.com/adf/images/error.png);
width:7px; height:18px
}

Icons and buttons can both use the rtl pseudo-class. This defines an icon or button
for use when the application displays in right-to-left mode. Example 20–12 shows the
rtl pseudo-class used for an icon.

Example 20–12 Icon Selector Using the rtl Pseudo-Class

.AFErrorIcon:alias:rtl {
content:url(/https/www.scribd.com/adf/images/error.png);
width:16px; height:16px
}

20.3.3 How to Apply Skins to Messages

You can apply style to ADF Faces input components based on whether or not they
have certain levels of messages associated with them. When a message of a particular
type is added to a component, the styles of that component are automatically modified

20-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Defining Skin Style Properties

to reflect the new status. If styles are not defined for the status in question, then the
default styles are used.
In order to define styles for your input components based on message levels that are
tied to them, you would append a style pseudo-class to your component definition.
For example, to define the base style for the content region of the af:inputText
component to a background color of purple, use the style selector
af|inputText::content{background-color:purple}. To define the content
region of the component when an error message is present, use the skin style selector
af|inputText:error::content.
The valid message properties are :fatal, :error, :warning, :confirmation, and
:info.

20.3.4 How to Apply Themes to Components

Themes are a way of implementing a look and feel at a component level. The purpose
is to provides a consistent look and feel across multiple components for a portion of a
page. A common usage for themes is in a JSF page template where certain areas have a
distinct look. For example, a page may have a branding area at the top with a dark
background and light text, a navigation component with a lighter background, and a
main content area with a light background.
A component that sets a theme exposes that theme to its child components and
therefore the theme is inherited. Themes can be set (started or changed) by the
following components:
■ af:document
■ af:decorativeBox
■ af:panelStretchLayout
■ af:panelGroupLayout
The Fusion and BLAF Plus skins (blafplus-rich and blafplus-medium) support
the following themes:
■ Dark
■ Medium
■ Light
■ None (default)
In the JSPX page, the theme is started by the af:document component, as in:
<af:document theme="dark">
<af:panelTabbed>...</af:panelTabbed>
</af:document>

To set the theme for a component, specify a theme attribute in the skin selector in the
CSS file. For example, the selector to change the text color under an af:panelTabbed
component to a dark theme is:
af|panelTabbed[theme="dark"] {
color: red;
}

If you do not want a child component to inherit modifications made to a parent

component in a JSPX page, set a value for the -tr-children-theme property in the
CSS file. For example, you do not want the af:panelTabbed child component to

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-19

Defining Skin Style Properties

inherit the dark theme defined for the af:document parent component in the JSPX
page. Set the -tr-children-theme property in the CSS file as follows:
af|panelTabbed::content {
-tr-children-theme: default;
}

By default, themes are not set for components or their child components. Because
themes are inherited, the following values are supported when a component has a
theme attribute that is not set:
■ not given - If no theme is given, the theme is inherited, as in
<af:decorativeBox>...
■ #{null}- The theme is inherited; same as not given.
■ inherit - The theme is inherited; same as null.
■ default - The theme is removed for the component and its child components.
■ empty string - If the theme is set to a blank string, it has the same behavior as
default. For example, <af:decorativeBox theme=""> will remove the
theme for the component and its child components.
Because the themes are added to every HTML element of a component that supports
themes and that has style classes, there is no need for containment-style CSS selectors
for themes. With the exception of :ltr and :rtl, all theme selectors should always
appear on the last element of the selector. For example, the selector to apply a dark
theme to each step of an af:breadCrumbs component would be:
af|breadCrumbs::step:disabled[theme="dark"] {
color:#FFFFFF;
}

Color incompatibility may occur if a component sets its background color to a color
that is not compatible with its encompassing theme color. For example, if a
panelHeader component is placed in a dark theme, the CSS styles inside the
panelHeader component will set its component background to a light color without
changing its foreground color accordingly. The result is a component with a light
foreground on a light background. Many other components also set their foreground
color to a light color when placed in a dark theme.
If color incompatibility occurs, you can resolve color incompatibility between parent
and child components by setting a value for the -tr-children-theme property. For
components that do not have a parent-child relationship, you can manually set the
component’s theme color to a color that is compatible with the surrounding theme
color. You do this by inserting the panelGroupLayout or panelStretchLayout
component inside the component and by setting the panelGroupLayout or
panelStretchLayout theme to a compatible color.
<af:panelHeader text="Header Level 0">
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="vertical" theme="default">
...
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:panelHeader>

20.3.5 How to Create a Custom Alias

You can create your own alias that you can then include on other selectors.

20-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Defining Skin Style Properties

To create a custom alias:

1. Create a selector class for the alias. For example, you can add an alias to set the
color of a link when a mouse cursor hovers over it:
.MyLinkHoverColor:alias {color: #CC6633;}

2. To include the alias in another selector, add a pseudo-element to an existing

selector to create a new selector, and then reference the alias using the
-tr-rule-ref:selector property.
For example, you can create a new selector for the
af|menuBar::enabled-link selector to style the hover color, and then
reference the custom alias, as shown in Example 20–13.

Example 20–13 Referencing a Custom Alias in a New Selector

af|menuBar::enabled-link:hover
{
-rt-rule-ref:selector(".MyLinkHoverColor:alias");
}

20.3.6 How to Configure a Component for Changing Skins Dynamically

To configure a component to dynamically change the skin, you must first configure the
component on the JSF page to set a scope value that can later be evaluated by the
configuration file. You then configure the skin family in the trinidad-config file to
be dynamically set by that value.

To conditionally configure a component to set the skin family:

1. Open the main JSF page (such as the index.jspx or a similar file) that contains
the component that will be used to set the skin family.
2. Configure the page to display the skin family by using the sessionScope
component.
Example 20–14 shows an af:selectOneChoice component that takes its
selected value, and sets it as the value for the skinFamily attribute in the
sessionScope component on the index.jspx page.

Example 20–14 Using a Component to Set the Skin Family

<af:selectOneChoice label="Choose Skin:" value="#{sessionScope.skinFamily}"
autoSubmit="true">
<af:selectItem value="blafplus-rich" label="blafplus-rich"/>
<af:selectItem value="blafplus-medium" label="blafplus-medium"/>
<af:selectItem value="simple" label="simple"/>
<af:selectItem value="richDemo" label="richDemo"/>
<af:selectItem value="mySkin" label="mySkin"/>
</af:selectOneChoice>

The Refresh button on the page resubmits the page. Every time the page refreshes,
the EL expression is evaluated and if there is a change, the page is redrawn with
the new skin.

To conditionally configure a component for changing skins at runtime:

In the trinidad-config.xml file, use an EL expression to dynamically evaluate the
skin family:

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-21

Changing the Style Properties of a Component

<skin-family>#{sessionScope.skinFamily}</skin-family>

20.4 Changing the Style Properties of a Component

ADF Faces components use the CSS style properties based on the Cascading Style
Sheet (CSS) specification. Cascading style sheets contain rules, composed of selectors
and declarations, that define how styles will be applied. These are then interpreted by
the browser and override the browser’s default settings.

WARNING: Do not use styles to achieve stretching of components.

Using styles to achieve stretching is not declarative and, in many
cases, will result in inconsistent behavior across different web
browsers. Instead, you can use the geometry management provided
by the ADF Faces framework to achieve component stretching. For
more information about layouts and stretching, see Section 8.2.1,
"Geometry Management and Component Stretching.".

20.4.1 How to Set an Inline Style

Set an inline style for a component by defining the inlineStyle attribute. You can
use inline style to specify the style of a component for that instance of the component.
For more information, see Section 8.3, "Arranging Contents to Stretch Across a Page".

To set an inline style:

1. Set the inlineStyle attribute of the component to the inline style you want to
use.
2. If you use the Property Inspector to set a style, you can select the style features you
want from dropdown lists, as shown in Figure 20–5.

Figure 20–5 Setting an inlineStyle

20-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Referring to URLs in a Skin’s CSS File

JDeveloper adds the corresponding code for the component to the JSF page.
Example 20–15 shows the source for an af:outputText component with an
inlineStyle attribute.

Example 20–15 InlineStyle in the Page Source

<af:outputText value="outputText1"
inlineStyle="color:Red; text-decoration:overline;"/>

3. You can use an EL expression for the inlineStyle attribute itself to

conditionally set inline style attributes. For example, if you want the date to be
displayed in red when an action has not yet been completed, you could use the
code similar to that in Example 20–16.

Example 20–16 EL Expression Used to Set an inlineStyle Attribute

<af:outputText value="#{row.assignedDate eq
null?res['srsearch.unassignedMessage']:row.assignedDate}"
inlineStyle="#{row.assignedDate eq null?'color:rgb(255,0,0);':''}"/>

4. The ADF Faces component may have other style attributes not available for styling
that do not register on the root DOM element. For example, for the
af:inputText component, set the text of the element using the contentStyle
property, as shown in Example 20–17.

Example 20–17 Using the contentStyle Property

<af:inputText value="outputText1"
contentStyle="color:Red;"/>

20.4.2 How to Set a Style Class

You can define the style for a component using a style class. You create a style class to
group a set of inline styles.

To set a style using a style class:

1. Set the styleClass attribute of the component to the style class you want to use.
Example 20–18 shows an example of a style class being used in the page source.

Example 20–18 Page Source for Using a Style Class

<af:outputText value="Text with a style class"
styleClass="overdue"/>

2. You can also use EL expressions for the styleClass attribute to conditionally set
style attributes. For example, if you want the date to be displayed in red when an
action has not yet been completed, you could use code similar to that in
Example 20–16.

20.5 Referring to URLs in a Skin’s CSS File

You can refer to a URL from a skin’s CSS file in a number of different formats. The
supported formats are:
■ Absolute

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-23

Deploying a Custom Skin File in a JAR File

You specify the complete URL to the resource. For example, a URL in the
following format:
http://www.mycompany.com/WebApp/Skin/skin1/img/errorIcon.gif
■ Relative
You can specify a relative URL if the URL does not start with / and no protocol is
present. A relative URL is based on the location of the skin’s CSS file. For example,
if the skin's CSS file directory is WebApp/Skin/skin1/ and the specified URL is
img/errorIcon.gif, the final URL is
/WebApp/Skin/mySkin/img/errorIcon.gif
■ Context relative
This format of URL is resolved relative to the context root of your web application.
You start a context relative root with /. For example, if the context relative root of a
web application is:
/WebApp
and the specified URL is:
/img/errorIcon.gif
the resulting URL is:
/WebApp/img/errorIcon.gif
■ Server relative
A server relative URL is resolved relative to the web server. This differs to the
context relative URL in that it allows you reference a resource located in another
application on the same web server. You specify the start of the URL using //. For
example, write a URL in the following format:
//WebApp/Skin/mySkin/img/errorIcon.gif

20.6 Deploying a Custom Skin File in a JAR File

You may want to store skin definitions in a Java Archive (JAR) file and then add it to
the deployed application. The benefits of packaging skins into a JAR file as compared
to bundling them into the application are the following:
■ A skin can be deployed and developed separately from the application. This also
helps to reduce the number of files to be checked in case some changes must be
applied to the skin. Foremost is that using a skin definition contained in a JAR file
improves consistency in the look and feel of the application.
■ Skin definitions and images can be separated into their own JAR files. Therefore,
you can partition the image base into separate JAR files, so that not all files have to
be deployed with all applications.
To deploy a skin into a JAR file, follow these rules:
■ The trinidad-skins.xml file that defines the skin and that references the CSS
file must be within the META-INF directory.
■ All image resources and CSS files must also be under the META-INF directory. The
images must be in a directory that starts with an adf root directory or any
directory name that is mapped in the web.xml file for the resource servlet, as
shown in Example 20–19.

20-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Deploying a Custom Skin File in a JAR File

■ The JAR file must be placed in the WEB-INF/lib directory of the view layer
project of the application to deploy (or use a shared library at the
application-server level).

Example 20–19 web.xml File with Paths

<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>resources</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/adf/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>resources</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/afr/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

To deploy a skin into a JAR file:

1. Create a directory structure similar to the following:
c:\temp\META-INF\adf\oracle\skin\images
META-INF\skins\fusion.css
META-INF\trinidad-skins.xml

2. Confirm that the directory in the META-INF directory starts with adf. The
images directory contains all the images used within the oracleblaf.css skin.
The CSS reference to the images should have a path similar to this:
af|inputColor::launch-icon:rtl {
content:url(../adf/oracle/skin/images/cfsortl.png);
width: 12; height: 12;
left:-7px;
position:relative;
right:-7px;
top:5px;
}

Note the two leading periods in front of the image path

../adf/oracle/skin/images/cfsortl.png. This allows the search for the
META-INF root to start one directory above the META-INF/skin directory in
which the CSS is located.
3. Check that the trinidad-skins.xml file is located in the META-INF directory
and that it contains content in a format similar to this:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<skins xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/skin">
<skin>
<id>richdemo.desktop</id>
<family>richDemo</family>
<extends>fusion.desktop</extends>
<render-kit-id>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.desktop</render-kit-id>
<style-sheet-name>skins/richdemo/richdemo.css</style-sheet-name>
</skin>
</skins>

This example defines the skin as richdemo.desktop in the richDemo family.

The trinidad-skins.xml file can have more than one skin definition. The
richdemo.css file (or your custom CSS file) is referenced from the
style-sheet-name element.
4. To create the JAR file, issue the following command from the c:\temp directory:

Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins 20-25

Deploying a Custom Skin File in a JAR File

jar -cvf customSkin.jar META-INF/

5. Copy the resulting customSkin.jar file to the WEB-INF/lib directory of the

consuming ADF project. Configure the trinidad-skins.xml file located on the
WEB-INF directory of the ADF project.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252"?>
<trinidad-config xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/config">
<skin-family>oracleblaf</skin-family>
</trinidad-config>

Because the skin can be discovered at runtime, you do not need to code the skin
family name.

Note: The skin definition in the JAR file is not displayed in the
JDeveloper visual editor. You may see a message in the log window
that the skin family could not be found. You can ignore this message.

20-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 21
Internationalizing and Localizing Pages
21

This chapter describes how to configure JSF pages or an application to display text in
the correct language of a user’s browser.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 21.1, "Introduction to Internationalization and Localization of ADF Faces
Pages"
■ Section 21.2, "Using Automatic Resource Bundle Integration in JDeveloper"
■ Section 21.3, "Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales"
■ Section 21.4, "Configuring Pages for an End User to Specify Locale at Runtime"
■ Section 21.5, "Configuring Optional ADF Faces Localization Properties"

21.1 Introduction to Internationalization and Localization of ADF Faces

Pages
Internationalization is the process of designing and developing products for easy
adaptation to specific local languages and cultures. Localization is the process of
adapting a product for a specific local language or culture by translating text and
adding locale-specific components. A successfully localized application will appear to
have been developed within the local culture. JDeveloper supports easy localization of
ADF Faces components using the abstract class java.util.ResourceBundle to
provide locale-specific resources.
When your application will be viewed by users in more than one country, you can
configure your JSF page or application to use different locales so that it displays the
correct language for the language setting of a user’s browser. For example, if you
know your page will be viewed in Italy, you can localize your page so that when a
user’s browser is set to use the Italian language, text strings in the browser page will
appear in Italian.
ADF Faces components may include text that is part of the component, for example
the af:table component uses the resource string af_table.LABEL_FETCHING for
the message text that is displayed in the browser while the table is fetching data
during the initial load of data or while the table is being scrolled. JDeveloper provides
automatic translation of these text resources into 28 languages. These text resources are
referenced in a resource bundle. If you set the browser to use the language in Italy, any
text contained within the components will automatically be displayed in Italian. For
more information on skins and resource bundles, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the
Appearance Using Styles and Skins".

Internationalizing and Localizing Pages 21-1

Introduction to Internationalization and Localization of ADF Faces Pages

For any text you add to a component, for example if you define the label of an
af:commandButton component by setting the text attribute, you must provide a
resource bundle that holds the actual text, create a version of the resource bundle for
each locale, and add a <locale-config> element to define default and support
locales in the application’s faces-config.xml file. You must also add a
<resource-bundle> element to your application’s faces-config.xml file in
order to make the resource bundles available to all the pages in your application. Once
you have configured and registered a resource bundle, the Expression Language (EL)
editor will display the key from the bundle, making it easier to reference the bundle in
application pages.
To simplify the process of creating text resources for text you add to ADF components,
JDeveloper supports automatic resource bundle synchronization for any translatable
string in the visual editor. When you edit components directly in the visual editor or in
the Property Inspector, text resources are automatically created in the base resource
bundle.

Note: Any text retrieved from the database is not translated. This
document explains how to localize static text, not text that is stored in
the database.

For instance, if the title of this page is My Purchase Requests, instead of having My
Purchase Requests as the value for the title attribute of the af:panelPage
component, the value is bound to a key in the UIResources resource bundle. The
UIResources resource bundle is registered in the faces-config.xml file for the
application, as shown in Example 21–1.

Example 21–1 Resource Bundle Element in JSF Configuration File

<resource-bundle>
<var>res</var
<base-name>resources.UIResources</base-name>
</resource-bundle>

The resource bundle is given a variable name (in this case, res) that can then be used
in EL expressions. On the page, the title attribute of the af:panelPage component is
then bound to the myDemo.pageTitle key in that resource bundle, as shown in
Example 21–2.

Example 21–2 Component Text Referencing Resource Bundle

<af:panelPage text="#{res['myDemo.pageTitle']}

The UIResources resource bundle has an entry in the English language for all static
text displayed on each page in the application, as well as for text for messages and
global text, such as generic labels. Example 21–3 shows the keys for the myDemo page.

Example 21–3 Resource Bundle Keys for the myDemo Page Displayed in English
#myDemo Screen
myDemo.pageTitle=My Purchase Requests
myDemo.menubar.openLink=Open Requests
myDemo.menubar.pendingLink=Requests Awaiting customer
myDemo.menubar.closedLink=Closed Requests
myDemo.menubar.allRequests=All Requests
myDemo.menubar.newLink=Create New Purchase Request

21-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Automatic Resource Bundle Integration in JDeveloper

myDemo.selectAnd=Select and
myDemo.buttonbar.view=View
myDemo.buttonbar.edit=Edit

Note that text in the banner image and data retrieved from the database are not
translated.
Example 21–4 shows the resource bundle version for the Italian (Italy) locale,
UIResources_it. Note that there is not an entry for the selection facet’s title, yet it
was translated from Select to Seleziona automatically. That is because this text is part of
the ADF Faces table component’s selection facet.

Example 21–4 Resource Bundle Keys for the myDemo Page Displayed in Italian
#myDemo Screen
myDemo.pageTitle=Miei Ticket
myDemo.menubar.openLink=Ticket Aperti
myDemo.menubar.pendingLink=Ticket in Attesa del Cliente
myDemo.menubar.closedLink=Ticket Risolti
myDemo.menubar.allRequests=Tutti i Ticket
myDemo.menubar.newLink=Creare Nuovo Ticket
myDemo.selectAnd=Seleziona e
myDemo.buttonbar.view=Vedere Dettagli
myDemo.buttonbar.edit=Aggiorna

21.2 Using Automatic Resource Bundle Integration in JDeveloper

By default, JDeveloper supports the automatic creation of text resources in the default
resource bundle when editing ADF Faces components in the visual editor. To treat
user-defined strings as static values, disable Automatically Synchronize Bundle in the
Project Properties dialog, as described in Section 21.2.1, "How to Set Resource Bundle
Options".
Automatic resource bundle integration can be configured to support one resource
bundle per page or project, or multiple shared bundles.
You can edit translatable text strings using any one of the following methods:
■ In the visual editor, enter the new text directly in the component. Click the
component to bring up a text input window, as shown in Figure 21–1.

Figure 21–1 Adding Text to a Component

■ From the text input window, choose Select Text Resource to launch the Select Text
Resource dialog, as shown in Figure 21–2. The dialog can also be accessed by
right-clicking the component and choosing Select Text Resource for, or from the
Property Inspector, by clicking the icon to the right of a translatable property and
selecting Select Text Resource.

Internationalizing and Localizing Pages 21-3

Using Automatic Resource Bundle Integration in JDeveloper

Figure 21–2 Select Text Resource Dialog

■ From the text input window, select Expression Builder to launch the Expression
Builder dialog. The dialog can also be accessed from the Property Inspector by
clicking the icon to the right of a translatable property and selecting Expression
Builder.
■ In the Property Inspector, enter a valid expression language string for a
translatable property.

Note: JDeveloper only writes strings to a resource bundle that you

enter using one of the previously-listed methods.

21.2.1 How to Set Resource Bundle Options

After you have created a project, you can set resource bundle options in the Project
Properties dialog.

To set resource bundle options for a project:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click the project.

2. In the Project Properties dialog, select Resource Bundle to display the resource
bundle options, as shown in Figure 21–3.

21-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Automatic Resource Bundle Integration in JDeveloper

Figure 21–3 Project Properties Resource Bundle dialog

3. If you want JDeveloper to automatically generate a default resource file, select

Automatically Synchronize Bundle.
4. Select one of the following resource bundle file options:
■ One Bundle Per Project - configured in a file named
<ProjectName>.properties.
■ One Bundle Per Page - configured in a file named
<PageName>.properties.
■ Multiple Shared Bundles.
5. Select the resource bundle type from the dropdown list:
■ XML Localization Interchange File Format (XLIFF) Bundle
■ List Resource Bundle
■ Properties Bundle
6. Click OK.

21.2.2 What Happens When You Set Resource Bundle Options

JDeveloper generates one or more resource bundles of a particular type based on the
selections that you make in the resource bundle options part of the Project Properties
dialog, as illustrated in Figure 21–3. It generates a resource bundle the first time that
you invoke the Select Text Resource dialog illustrated in Figure 21–2.
Assume, for example, that you select the One Bundle Per Project checkbox and the
List Resource Bundle value from the Resource Bundle Type dropdown list. The
first time that you invoke the Select Text Resource dialog, JDeveloper generates one
resource bundle for the project. The generated resource bundle is a Java class named
after the default project bundle name in the Project Properties dialog (for example,
ViewControllerBundle.java).
JDeveloper generates a resource bundle as an .xlf file if you select the XML
Localization Interchange File Format (XLIFF) Bundle option and a .properties file
if you select the Properties Bundle option.

Internationalizing and Localizing Pages 21-5

Using Automatic Resource Bundle Integration in JDeveloper

By default, JDeveloper creates the generated resource bundle in the view subdirectory
of the project’s Application Sources directory.

21.2.3 How to Create an Entry in a JDeveloper-Generated Resource Bundle

JDeveloper generates one or more resource bundles based on the values you select in
the resource bundle options part of the Project Properties dialog. It generates a
resource bundle the first time that you invoke the Select Text Resource dialog from a
component property in the Property Inspector.
JDeveloper writes key-value pairs to the resource bundle based on the values that you
enter in the Select Text Resource dialog. It also allows you to select an existing
key-value pair from a resource bundle to render a runtime display value for a
component.

To create an entry in the resource bundle generated by JDeveloper:

1. In the JSF page, select the component for which you want to write a runtime value.
For example, select an af:inputText component.
2. In the Property Inspector, use a property’s dropdown list to select Select Text
Resource to create a new entry in the resource bundle.
The Select Text Resource entry in the dropdown list only appears for properties
that support text resources. For example, the Label property of an af:inputText
component.
3. Write the value that you want to appear at runtime in the Display Value input
field, as illustrated in Figure 21–2.
JDeveloper generates a value in the Key input field.
4. Optionally, write a description in the Description input field.

Note: JDeveloper displays a matching text resource in the Matching

Text Resource field if a text resource exists that matches the value you
entered in the Display Value input field exists.

5. Click Save and Select.

21.2.4 What Happens When You Create an Entry in a JDeveloper-Generated Resource

Bundle
JDeveloper writes the key-value pair that you define in the Select Text Resource dialog
to the resource bundle. The options that you select in the resource bundle options part
of the Project Properties dialog determine what type of resource bundle JDeveloper
writes the key-value pair to. For more information, see Section 21.2.2, "What Happens
When You Set Resource Bundle Options".
The component property for which you define the resource bundle entry uses an EL
expression to retrieve the value from the resource bundle at runtime. For example, an
af:inputText component’s Label property may reference an EL expression similar
to the following:
#{viewcontrollerBundle.NAME}
where viewcontrollerBundle references the resource bundle and NAME is the key
for the runtime value.

21-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales

21.3 Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales

A resource bundle contains a number of named resources, where the data type of the
named resources is String. A bundle may have a parent bundle. When a resource is
not found in a bundle, the parent bundle is searched for the resource. Resource
bundles can be either Java classes, property files, or XLIFF files. The abstract class
java.util.ResourceBundle has two subclasses:
java.util.PropertyResourceBundle and
java.util.ListResourceBundle. A java.util.PropertyResourceBundle
is stored in a property file, which is a plain-text file containing translatable text.
Property files can contain values only for String objects. If you need to store other
types of objects, you must use a java.util.ListResourceBundle class instead.
For more information about using XLIFF, see
http://docs.oasis-open.org/xliff/xliff-core/xliff-core.html
To add support for an additional locale, replace the values for the keys with localized
values and save the property file, appending a language code (mandatory) and an
optional country code and variant as identifiers to the name, for example,
UIResources_it.properties.
The java.util.ListResourceBundle class manages resources in a name and
value array. Each java.util.ListResourceBundle class is contained within a
Java class file. You can store any locale-specific object in a
java.util.ListResourceBundle class. To add support for an additional locale,
you create a subclass from the base class, save it to a file with a locale or language
extension, translate it, and compile it into a class file.
The ResourceBundle class is flexible. If you first put your locale-specific String
objects in a java.util.PropertyResourceBundle file, you can still move them to
a ListResourceBundle class later. There is no impact on your code, because any
call to find your key will look in both the java.util.ListResourceBundle class
and the java.util.PropertyResourceBundle file.
The precedence order is class before properties. So if a key exists for the same language
in both a class file and a property file, the value in the class file will be the value
presented to you. Additionally, the search algorithm for determining which bundle to
load is as follows:
1. (baseclass)+(specific language)+(specific country)+(specific variant)
2. (baseclass)+(specific language)+(specific country)
3. (baseclass)+(specific language)
4. (baseclass)+(default language)+(default country)+(default variant)
5. (baseclass)+(default language)+(default country)
6. (baseclass)+(default language)
For example, if your browser is set to the Italian (Italy) locale and the default locale of
the application is US English, the application attempts to find the closest match,
looking in the following order:
1. it_IT
2. it
3. en_US
4. en
5. The base class bundle

Internationalizing and Localizing Pages 21-7

Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales

Tip: The getBundle method used to load the bundle looks for the
default locale classes before it returns the base class bundle. If it fails
to find a match, it throws a MissingResourceException error. A
base class with no suffixes should always exist as a default. Otherwise,
it may not find a match and the exception is thrown.

21.3.1 How to Define the Base Resource Bundle

You must create a base resource bundle that contains all the text strings that are not
part of the components themselves. This bundle should be in the default language of
the application. You can create a resource bundle as a property file, as an XLIFF file, or
as a Java class. After a resource bundle file has been created, you can edit the file using
the Edit Resource Bundles dialog.

To create a resource bundle as a property file or an XLIFF file:

1. In JDeveloper, create a new file.

■ In the Application Navigator, right-click where you want the file to be placed
and choose New from the context menu to open the New Gallery.

Note: If you are creating a localized version of the base resource

bundle, save the file to the same directory as the base file.

■ In the Categories tree, select General, and in the Items list, select File. Click
OK.
■ In the Create File dialog, enter a name for the file using the convention
<name><_lang>.properties for the using the properties file or <name><_
lang>.xlf for using the XLIFF file, where the <_lang> suffix is provided for
translated files, as in _de for German, and omitted for the base language.

Note: If you are creating a localized version of a base resource

bundle, you must append the ISO 639 lowercase language code to the
name of the file. For example, the Italian version of the UIResources
bundle is UIResources_it.properties. You can add the ISO 3166
uppercase country code (for example it_CH, for Switzerland) if one
language is used by more than one country. You can also add an
optional nonstandard variant (for example, to provide platform or
region information).
If you are creating the base resource bundle, do not append any codes.

2. Enter the content for the file. You can enter the content manually by entering the
key-value pairs. You can use the Edit Resource Bundle dialog to enter the
key-value pairs, as described in Section 21.3.2, "How to Edit a Resource Bundle
File".
■ If you are creating a property file, create a key and value for each string of
static text for this bundle. The key is a unique identifier for the string. The
value is the string of text in the language for the bundle. If you are creating a
localized version of the base resource bundle, any key not found in this
version will inherit the values from the base class.

21-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales

Note: All non-ASCII characters must be UNICODE-escaped or the

encoding must be explicitly specified when compiling, for example:
javac -encoding ISO8859_5 UIResources_it.java

For example, the key and the value for the title of the myDemo page is:
myDemo.pageTitle=My Purchase Requests

■ If you are creating an XLIFF file, enter the proper tags for each key-value pair.
For example:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252" ?>
<xliff version="1.1" xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:xliff:document:1.1">
<file source-language="en" original="myResources" datatype="xml">
<body>
<trans-unit id="NAME">
<source>Name</source>
<target/>
<note>Name of employee</note>
</trans-unit>
<trans-unit id="HOME_ADDRESS">
<source>Home Address</source>
<target/>
<note>Adress of employee</note>
</trans-unit>
<trans-unit id="OFFICE_ADDRESS">
<source>Office Address</source>
<target/>
<note>Office building </note>
</trans-unit>
</body>
</file>
</xliff>

3. After you have entered all the values, click OK.

To create a resource bundle as a Java class:

1. In JDeveloper, create a new Java class:
■ In the Application Navigator, right-click where you want the file to be placed
and choose New to open the New Gallery.

Note: If you are creating a localized version of the base resource

bundle, it must reside in the same directory as the base file.

■ In the Categories tree, select General, and in the Items list, select Java Class.
Click OK.
■ In the Create Java Class dialog, enter a name and package for the class. The
class must extend java.util.ListResourceBundle.

Internationalizing and Localizing Pages 21-9

Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales

Note: If you are creating a localized version of a base resource

bundle, you must append the ISO 639 lowercase language code to the
name of the class. For example, the Italian version of the
UIResources bundle might be UIResources_it.java. You can
add the ISO 3166 uppercase country code (for example it_CH, for
Switzerland) if one language is used by more than one country. You
can also add an optional nonstandard variant (for example, to provide
platform or region information).
If you are creating the base resource bundle, do not append any codes.

2. Implement the getContents() method, which simply returns an array of

key-value pairs. Create the array of keys for the bundle with the appropriate
values. Or use the Edit Resource Bundles dialog to automatically generate the
code, as described in Section 21.3.2, "How to Edit a Resource Bundle File".
Example 21–5 shows a base resource bundle Java class.

Note: Keys must be String objects. If you are creating a localized

version of the base resource bundle, any key not found in this version
will inherit the values from the base class.

Example 21–5 Base Resource Bundle Java Class

package sample;

import java.util.ListResourceBundle;

public class MyResources extends ListResourceBundle {

public Object[][] getContents() {
return contents;
}
static final Object[][] contents {
{"button_Search", Search"},
{"button_Reset", "Reset"},
};
}

21.3.2 How to Edit a Resource Bundle File

After you have created a resource bundle property file, XLIFF file, or Java class file,
you can edit it using the source editor.

To edit a resource bundle after it has been created:

1. In JDeveloper, choose Application > Edit Resource Bundles from the main menu.

2. In the Edit Resource Bundles dialog, select the resource bundle file you want to
edit from the Resource Bundle dropdown list, as shown in Figure 21–4, or click
the Search icon to launch the Select Resource Bundle dialog.

21-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales

Figure 21–4 Edit Resource Bundle Dialog

3. In the Select Resource Bundle dialog, select the file type from the File type
dropdown list. Navigate to the resource bundle you want to edit, as shown in
Figure 21–5. Click OK.

Figure 21–5 Select Resource Bundle Dialog

4. In the Edit Resource Bundles dialog, click the Add icon to add a key-value pair, as
shown in Figure 21–6. When you have finished, click OK.

Internationalizing and Localizing Pages 21-11

Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales

Figure 21–6 Adding Values to a Resource Bundle

21.3.3 How to Register Locales and Resource Bundles in Your Application

You must register the locales and resource bundles used in your application in the
faces-config.xml file.

To register a locale for your application:

1. Open the faces-config.xml file and click the Overview tab in the editor
window. The faces-config.xml file is located in the <View_
Project>/WEB-INF directory.
2. In the editor window, select Application.
3. In the Locale Config area, click Add to open the Property Inspector to add the
code for the locale, as shown in Figure 21–7.

21-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales

Figure 21–7 Adding a Locale to faces-config.xml

After you have added the locales, the faces-config.xml file should have code
similar to the following:
<locale-config>
<default-locale>en</default-locale>
<supported-locale>ar</supported-locale>
<supported-locale>ca</supported-locale>
<supported-locale>cs</supported-locale>
<supported-locale>da</supported-locale>
<supported-locale>de</supported-locale>
<supported-locale>zh_Ch</supported-locale>
</locale-config>

To register the resource bundle:

1. Open the faces-config.xml file and click the Overview tab in the editor
window. The faces-config.xml file is located in the <View_
Project>/WEB-INF directory.
2. In the editor window, select Application.
3. In the Resource Bundle section, click Add to enable editor input. Enter the fully
qualified name of the base bundle that contains messages to be used by the
application and a variable name that can be used to reference the bundle in an EL
expression, as shown in Figure 21–8.

Figure 21–8 Adding a Resource Bundle to faces-config.xml

After you have added the resource bundle, the faces-config.xml file should
have code similar to the following:
<resource-bundle>
<base-name>oracle.fodemo.storefront.StoreFrontUIBundle</base-name>
<var>res</var>

Internationalizing and Localizing Pages 21-13

Manually Defining Resource Bundles and Locales

</resource-bundle>

21.3.4 How to Use Resource Bundles in Your Application

With JSF 1.2 you are not required to load the base resource bundle on each page in
your application with the <f:loadBundle> tag.

To use a base resource bundle on your page:

1. Set your page encoding and response encoding to be a superset of all supported
languages. If no encoding is set, the page encoding defaults to the value of the
response encoding set using the contentType attribute of the page directive.
Example 21–6 shows the encoding for a sample page.

Example 21–6 Page and Response Encoding

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='windows-1252'?>
<jsp:root xmlns:jsp="http://java.sun.com/JSP/Page" version="2.0"
xmlns:h="http://java.sun.com/jsf/html"
xmlns:f="http://java.sun.com/jsf/core"
xmlns:af="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces"
xmlns:afc="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/webcache">
<jsp:output omit-xml-declaration="true" doctype-root-element="HTML"
doctype-system="http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd"
doctype-public="-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"/>
<jsp:directive.page contentType="text/html;charset=UTF-8"/>
<f:view>

Tip: By default JDeveloper sets the page encoding to

windows-1252. To set the default to a different page encoding:
1. From the menu, choose Tools > Preferences.
2. In the left-hand pane, select Environment if it is not already selected.
3. Set Encoding to the preferred default.

2. Bind all attributes that represent strings of static text displayed on the page to the
appropriate key in the resource bundle, using the variable defined in the
faces-config.xml file for the <resource-bundle> element. Example 21–7
shows the code for the View button on the myDemo page.

Example 21–7 Binding to a Resource Bundle

<af:commandButton text="#{res['myDemo.buttonbar.view']}"
. . . />

3. You can also use the adfbundle keyword to resolve resource strings from specific
resource bundles as EL expressions in the JSF page.
The usage format is #{adfBundle[ bundleID ] [ resource_Key ]}, where
bundleID is the fully qualified bundle ID, such as project.EmpMsgBundle,
and resource_Key is the resource key in the bundle, such as Deptno_LABEL.
Example 21–8 shows how adfbundle is used to provide the button text with a
resource strings from a specific resource bundle.

Example 21–8 Binding Using adfbundle

<af:commandButton text="#{adfbundle[’project.EmpMsgBundle’] [’Deptno_LABEL’]}"

21-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuring Pages for an End User to Specify Locale at Runtime

21.3.5 What You May Need to Know About Custom Skins and Control Hints
If you use a custom skin and have created a custom resource bundle for the skin, you
must also create localized versions of the resource bundle. Similarly, if your
application uses control hints to set any text, you must create localized versions of the
generated resource bundles for that text.

21.4 Configuring Pages for an End User to Specify Locale at Runtime

You can configure an application so end users can specify the locale at runtime rather
than the default behavior where the locale settings of the end user’s browser
determine the runtime locale. Implement this functionality if you want your
application to allow end users to specify their preferred locale and save their
preference.

21.4.1 How to Configure a Page for an End User to Specify Locale

Create a new page or open an existing page. Configure it so that:
■ It references a backing bean to store locale information
■ An end user can invoke a control at runtime to update the locale information in
the backing bean
■ The locale attribute of the f:view tag references the backing bean

To configure a page for an end user to specify locale:

1. Create a page with a backing bean to store locale information.
For more information, see Section 2.4.1, "How to Create JSF JSP Pages".
2. Provide a control (for example, a selectOneChoice component) that an end
user can use to change locale.
For example, in the Components Palette, from the Common Components panel,
drag and drop a Select One Choice anywhere onto the page.
3. Bind the control to a backing bean that stores the locale value, as illustrated in the
following example.
<af:selectOneChoice label="Select Locale"
binding="#{backingBeanScope.backing_changeLocale.soc1}"
id="soc1">
<af:selectItem label="French" value="FR"
binding="#{backingBeanScope.backing_changeLocale.si1}"
id="si1"/>
...
</af:selectOneChoice>

4. Bind the locale attribute of the f:view tag to the locale value in the backing
bean.
1. In the Structure window for the JSF page, right-click the f:view tag and
choose Go to Properties.
2. In the Property Inspector, use the dropdown menu next to the locale attribute
to open the Expression Builder.
3. Use the Expression Builder to bind to the locale value in the backing bean, as
shown in Figure 21–9.

Internationalizing and Localizing Pages 21-15

Configuring Pages for an End User to Specify Locale at Runtime

Figure 21–9 Expression Builder Binding the Locale Attribute to a Backing Bean

5. Save the page.

21.4.2 What Happens When You Configure a Page to Specify Locale

JDeveloper generates a reference to the backing bean for the command component that
you use to change the locale. Example 21–9 shows an example using the
selectOneChoice component.

Example 21–9 selectOneChoice Component Referencing a Backing Bean

<af:selectOneChoice label="Select Locale"
binding="#{backingBeanScope.backing_changeLocale.soc1}"
id="soc1">
<af:selectItem label="French" value="FR"
binding="#{backingBeanScope.backing_changeLocale.si1}"
id="si1"/>
...
</af:selectOneChoice>

JDeveloper also generates the required methods in the backing bean for the page.
Example 21–10 shows extracts for the backing bean that correspond to Example 21–9.

Example 21–10 Backing Bean Methods to Change Locale

package view.backing;

...
import oracle.adf.view.rich.component.rich.input.RichSelectOneChoice;

public class ChangeLocale {

...
...
private RichSelectOneChoice soc1;
...

...

21-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuring Optional ADF Faces Localization Properties

...
public void setD2(RichDocument d2) {
this.d2 = d2;
}

...

public void setSoc1(RichSelectOneChoice soc1) {

this.soc1 = soc1;
}

public RichSelectOneChoice getSoc1() {

return soc1;
}

public void setSi1(RichSelectItem si1) {

this.si1 = si1;
}
...
}

21.4.3 What Happens at Runtime When an End User Specifies a Locale

At runtime, an end user invokes the command component you configured to change
the locale of the application. The backing bean stores the updated locale information.
Pages where the locale attribute of the f:view tag reference the backing bean
render using the locale specified by the end user.
The locale specified by the end user must be registered with your application. For
more information about specifying a locale and associated resource bundles, see
Section 21.3.3, "How to Register Locales and Resource Bundles in Your Application".

21.5 Configuring Optional ADF Faces Localization Properties

Along with providing text translation, ADF Faces also automatically provides other
types of translation, such as text direction and currency codes. The application will
automatically be displayed appropriately, based on the user’s selected locale.
However, you can also manually set the following localization settings for an
application in the trinidad-config.xml file:
■ <currency-code>: Defines the default ISO 4217 currency code used by
oracle.adf.view.faces.converter.NumberConverter to format
currency fields that do not specify a currency code in their own converter.
■ <number-grouping-separator>: Defines the separator used for groups of
numbers (for example, a comma). ADF Faces automatically derives the separator
from the current locale, but you can override this default by specifying a value in
this element. If set, this value is used by
oracle.adf.view.faces.converter.NumberConverter while it parses
and formats.
■ <decimal-separator>: Defines the separator used for the decimal point (for
example, a period or a comma). ADF Faces automatically derives the separator
from the current locale, but you can override this default by specifying a value in
this element. If set, this value is used by
oracle.adf.view.faces.converter.NumberConverter while it parses
and formats.

Internationalizing and Localizing Pages 21-17

Configuring Optional ADF Faces Localization Properties

■ <right-to-left>: Defines the direction in which text appears in a page. ADF

Faces automatically derives the rendering direction from the current locale, but
you can explicitly set the default page rendering direction by using the values
true or false.
■ <time-zone>: Defines the time zone appropriate to the selected locale. ADF
Faces automatically uses the time zone used by the client browser. This value is
used by oracle.adf.view.faces.converter.DateTimeConverter when
it converts String to Date.
■ <formatting-locale>: Defines the date and number format appropriate to the
selected locale. ADF Faces and Trinidad, will by default, format dates and numbers
in the same locale used for localized text. If you want dates and numbers
formatted in a different locale, you can use an IANA-formatted locale (for
example, ja, fr-CA). The contents of this element can also be an EL expression
pointing at an IANA string or a java.util.Locale object.

21.5.1 How to Configure Optional Localization Properties

You can configure optional localization properties by entering elements in the
trinidad-config.xml file.

To configure optional localization properties:

1. Open the trinidad-config.xml file. The file is located in the <View_
Project>/WEB-INF directory.
2. From the Component Palette, drag the element you wish to add to the file into the
Structure window. An empty element is added to the page.
3. Enter the desired value.
Example 21–11 shows a sample trinidad-config.xml file with all the optional
localization elements set.

Example 21–11 Configuring Currency Code and Separators for Numbers and Decimal
Point
<!-- Set the currency code to US dollars. -->
<currency-code>USD</currency-code>

<!-- Set the number grouping separator to period for German -->
<!-- and comma for all other languages -->
<number-grouping-separator>
#{view.locale.language=='de' ? '.' : ','}
</number-grouping-separator>

<!-- Set the decimal separator to comma for German -->

<!-- and period for all other languages -->
<decimal-separator>
#{view.locale.language=='de' ? ',' : '.'}
</decimal-separator>

<!-- Render the page right-to-left for Arabic -->

<!-- and left-to-right for all other languages -->
<right-to-left>
#{view.locale.language=='ar' ? 'true' : 'false'}
</right-to-left>

<formatting-locale>
#{request.locale}

21-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuring Optional ADF Faces Localization Properties

</formatting-locale>

<!-- Set the time zone to Pacific Daylight Savings Time -->
<time-zone>PDT</time-zone>

Internationalizing and Localizing Pages 21-19

Configuring Optional ADF Faces Localization Properties

21-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 22
Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages
22

This chapter describes how to add accessibility support to ADF Faces components
with keyboard shortcuts and text descriptions of the component name and state.
Accessibility guidelines for ADF pages that use partial page rendering, scripting,
styles, and certain page and navigation structures are also described.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 22.1, "Introduction to Accessible ADF Faces Pages"
■ Section 22.2, "Exposing Accessibility Preferences"
■ Section 22.3, "Specifying Component-Level Accessibility Properties"
■ Section 22.4, "Creating Accessible Pages"
■ Section 22.5, "Running Accessibility Audit Rules"

22.1 Introduction to Accessible ADF Faces Pages

Accessibility involves making your application usable for persons with disabilities
such as low vision or blindness, deafness, or other physical limitations. This means
creating applications that can be used without a mouse (keyboard only), used with a
screen reader for blind or low-vision users, and used without reliance on sound, color,
or animation and timing.
Oracle software implements the standards of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) 1.0 AA using an interpretation of the standards at
http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/standards.html
Additional framework and platform issues presented by client-side scripting, in
particular using asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) have been addressed in
Oracle’s accessibility strategy.
ADF Faces user interface components have built-in accessibility support for visually
and physically impaired users. User agents such as a web browser rendering to
nonvisual media such as a screen reader can read component text descriptions to
provide useful information to impaired users. Access key support provides an
alternative method to access components and links using only the keyboard. ADF
Faces accessibility audit rules provide direction to create accessible images, tables,
frames, forms, error messages and popup windows using accessible HTML markup.
While following provided ADF Faces accessibility guidelines for components, page,
and navigation structures is useful, it is not a substitute for familiarity with
accessibility standards and performing accessibility testing with assistive technology.

Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages 22-1

Exposing Accessibility Preferences

22.2 Exposing Accessibility Preferences

ADF Faces provides three levels of application accessibility support, configured in the
trinidad-config.xml file using the <accessibility-mode> element. The
acceptable values for <accessibility-mode> are:
■ default: By default, ADF Faces generates HTML code that is accessible to
disabled users.
■ screenReader: ADF Faces generates HTML code that is optimized for the use of
screen readers. The screenReader mode facilitates text usage for disabled users,
but may degrade the output for nondisabled users or users with only some
physical limitations. For example, access keys are disabled in screenReader
mode in order to prevent conflicts with keys used by assistive technology.
■ inaccessible: ADF Faces removes all code that supports assistive technology.
This optimization reduces the size of the generated HTML. The application,
however, is no longer accessible to disabled users.
You can also use the @accessibility-profile element to define finer-grain
accessibility preferences in the style sheet or you can specify the accessibility profile
options in the trinidad-config.xml file.The options are high-contrast, large-fonts,
or both. For more information, see Section 20.1.1, "Oracle ADF Faces Skins."

22.2.1 How to Configure Accessibility Support in trinidad-config.xml

In JDeveloper, when you insert an ADF Faces component into a JSF page for the first
time, a starter trinidad-config.xml file is automatically created for you in the
/WEB-INF/ directory. The file has a simple XML structure that enables you to define
element properties using the JSF expression language (EL) or static values. The order
of elements in the file does not matter. You can configure accessibility support by
editing the XML file directly or by using the Structure window.

To configure accessibility support in trinidad-config.xml in JDeveloper:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click trinidad.xml.

2. In the XML editor, enter the element name <accessibility-mode> and

accessibility support value (default, screenReader, or inaccessible). For
example:
<accessibility-mode>screenReader</accessibility-mode>

This code sets the application’s accessibility support to the screen reader mode.
3. Enter the element name <accessibility-profile> and accessibility profile
value (high-contrast, large-fonts). For example:
<!-- Enable both high-contrast and large-fonts content -->
<accessibility-profile>high-contrast large-fonts</accessibility-profile>

This code sets the application’s profile support to use both high contrast and large
fonts.
4. Alternatively, you can use the Structure window to insert the value:
a. In the Application Navigator, select the trinidad-config.xml file.
b. In the Structure window, right-click the XML file root element, choose the
Insert Inside menu item, and click the <accessibility-mode> element.
c. Double-click the newly inserted element in the Structure window to open the
Property Inspector. Enter a value or select one from the dropdown list.

22-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Specifying Component-Level Accessibility Properties

Once you have configured the trinidad-config.xml file, you can retrieve the
property values programmatically or by using JSF EL expressions.
For example the following code returns nothing if the accessibility mode is not
explicitly set:
String mode=ADFFacesContext.getCurrentInstance().getAccessibilityMode;

In this EL expression example, a null is returned if the accessibility mode is not

explicitly set:
<af:outputText value="*#{requestContext.accessibilityMode}"/>

22.3 Specifying Component-Level Accessibility Properties

Guidelines for component-specific accessibility are provided in Section 22.3.1, "ADF
Faces Component Accessibility Guidelines." The guidelines include a description of
the relevant property with examples and tips. For information about auditing
compliance with ADF Faces accessibility rules, see Section 22.5, "Running Accessibility
Audit Rules."
Access key support for ADF Faces input or command and go components such as
af:inputText, af:commandButton, and af:goLink involves defining labels and
specifying keyboard shortcuts. While it is possible to use the tab key to move from one
control to the next in a web application, keyboard shortcuts are more convenient and
efficient.
To specify an access key for a component, set the component's accessKey attribute to
a keyboard character (or mnemonic) that is used to gain quick access to the
component. You can set the attribute in the Property Inspector or in the page source
using &amp encoding.

Note: Access keys are not displayed if the accessibility mode is set to
screenReader mode. For more information, see Section 22.2,
"Exposing Accessibility Preferences."

The same access key can be bound to several components. If the same access key
appears in multiple locations in the same page, the rendering agent will cycle among
the components accessed by the same key. That is, each time the access key is pressed,
the focus will move from component to component. When the last component is
reached, the focus will return to the first component.
Using access keys on af:goButton and af:goLink components may immediately
activate them in some browsers. Depending on the browser, if the same access key is
assigned to two or more go components on a page, the browser may activate the first
component instead of cycling through the components that are accessed by the same
key.
To develop accessible page and navigation structures follow the additional
accessibility guidelines described in Section 22.4, "Creating Accessible Pages."

22.3.1 ADF Faces Component Accessibility Guidelines

To develop accessible ADF Faces components, follow the guidelines described in
Table 22–1. Components not listed do not have accessibility guidelines.

Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages 22-3

Specifying Component-Level Accessibility Properties

Note: In cases where the label property is referenced in the

accessibility guidelines, the labelAndAccessKey property may be
used where available, and is the preferred option.
Unless noted otherwise, you can also label ADF Faces input and select
controls by:
■ Specifying the for property in an af:outputLabel component
■ Specifying the for property in an af:panelLabelAndMessage
component

Table 22–1 ADF Faces Components Accessibility Guidelines

Component Guidelines
af:chooseColor For every af:chooseColor component, there must be at
least one af:inputColor component with a chooseId
property which points to the af:chooseColor
component.
af:chooseDate For every af:chooseDate component, there must be at
least one af:inputDate component with a chooseId
property which points to the af:chooseDate component
af:commandButton One of the following properties must be specified: text,
textAndAccessKey, or shortDesc. The text should
specify the action to be taken and make sense when read
out of context. For example use "go to index" instead of
"click here."
af:commandLink Specify the text property. The text should specify where
the link will take the user and make sense when read out of
context. For example use "go to index" instead of "click
here." Multiple links that go to the same location must use
the same text and unique links must have unique text.
af:commandMenuItem One of the following properties must be specified: text,
textAndAccessKey, or shortDesc.
af:commandNavigationItem
af:comandToolbarButton
af:dialog Specify the title property.
af:document
af:goButton One of the following properties must be specified: text,
textAndAccessKey, or shortDesc. The text should
specify the action to be taken and make sense when read
out of context. For example use "go to index" instead of
"click here."
af:goLink Specify the text property. The text should specify where
the link will take the user and make sense when read out of
context. For example use "go to index" instead of "click
here." Multiple links that go to the same location must use
the same text and unique links must have unique text.
af:image Specify the shortDesc property. If the image is only
present for decorative purposes and communicates no
information, set shortDesc to the empty string.
Use the longDescURL property for images where a
complex explanation is necessary. For example, charts and
graphs require a description file that includes all details
that make up the chart.

22-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Specifying Component-Level Accessibility Properties

Table 22–1 (Cont.) ADF Faces Components Accessibility Guidelines

Component Guidelines
af:inlineFrame Specify the shortDesc property.
af:inputColor Specify the label property.
af:inputComboboxListOfVal For af:inputComboboxListOfValues and
ues af:inputListOfValues components, the searchDesc
must also be specified.
af:inputDate
af:inputFile
af:inputListOfValues
af:inputNumberSlider
af:inputNumberSpinbox
af:inputRangeSlider
af:inputText
af:outputFormatted The value property must specify valid HTML.
af:outputLabel When using this component to label an ADF Faces input or
select control, the for property must be specified.
af:panelBox Specify the text property.
af:panelHeader
af:panelLabelAndMessage When using this component to label an ADF Faces input or
select control, the for property must be specified.
af:panelSplitter Refer to Section 22.4.4, "How to Use Page Structures and
Navigation."
af:panelStretchLayout
af:panelWindow Specify the title property.
af:poll When using polling to update content, allow end users to
control the interval, or to explicitly initiate updates instead
of polling.
af:query Specify the headerText property.
af:quickQuery Specify the searchDesc property.
af:richTextEditor Specify the label property.
af:selectBooleanCheckbox One of the following properties must be specified: text,
textAndAccessKey, or label.
af:selectBooleanRadio
af:selectItem Specify the label property. Note that using the for
attribute of af:outputLabel and
af:panelMessageAndLabel components is not an
acceptable alternative.
af:selectManyCheckbox Specify the label property.
af:selectManyChoice For the af:selectManyShuttle and
af:selectOrderShuttle components, the
af:selectManyListbox
leadingHeader and trailingHeader properties must
af:selectManyShuttle be specified.
af:selectOneChoice
af:selectOneListbox
af:selectOneRadio
af:selectOrderShuttle
af:showDetailHeader Specify the text property.

Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages 22-5

Specifying Component-Level Accessibility Properties

Table 22–1 (Cont.) ADF Faces Components Accessibility Guidelines

Component Guidelines
af:showDetailItem One of the following properties must be specified: text,
textAndAccessKey, or shortDesc.
af:table Specify the summary property. The summary should
describe the purpose of the table.
af:treeTable
If the table is used for layout purposes, the summary
property must contain an empty string.
All table columns must have column headers.

22.3.2 How to Define Access Keys for an ADF Faces Component

In the Property Inspector of the component for which you are defining an access key,
enter the mnemonic character in the accessKey attribute field. When simultaneously
setting the text, label, or value and mnemonic character, use the ampersand (&)
character in front of the mnemonic character in the relevant attribute field.
Use one of four attributes to specify a keyboard character for an ADF Faces input or
command and go component:
■ accessKey: Use to set the mnemonic character used to gain quick access to the
component. For command and go components, the character specified by this
attribute must exist in the text attribute of the instance component; otherwise,
ADF Faces does not display the visual indication that the component has an access
key.
Example 22–1 shows the code that sets the access key to the letter h for the
af:goLink component. When the user presses the keys ALT+H, the text value of
the component will be brought into focus.

Example 22–1 AccessKey Attribute Defined

<af:goLink text="Home" accessKey="h">

■ textAndAccessKey: Use to simultaneously set the text and the mnemonic

character for a component using the ampersand (&) character. In JSPX files, the
conventional ampersand notation is &amp;. In JSP files, the ampersand notation is
simply &. In the Property Inspector, you need only the &.
Example 22–2 shows the code that specifies the button text as Home and sets the
access key to H, the letter immediately after the ampersand character, for the
af:commandButton component.

Example 22–2 TextAndAccessKey Attribute Defined

<af:commandButton textAndAccessKey="&amp;Home"/>

■ labelAndAccessKey: Use to simultaneously set the label attribute and the

access key on an input component, using conventional ampersand notation.
Example 22–3 shows the code that specifies the label as Date and sets the access
key to a, the letter immediately after the ampersand character, for the
af:selectInputDate component.

Example 22–3 LabelAndAccessKey Attribute Defined

<af:inputSelectDate value="Choose date" labelAndAccessKey="D&amp;ate"/>

22-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Specifying Component-Level Accessibility Properties

■ valueAndAccessKey: Use to simultaneously set the value attribute and the

access key, using conventional ampersand notation.
Example 22–4 shows the code that specifies the label as Select Date and sets
the access key to e, the letter immediately after the ampersand character, for the
af:outputLabel component.

Example 22–4 ValueAndAccessKey Attribute Defined

<af:outputLabel for="someid" valueAndAccessKey="Select Dat&amp;e"/>
<af:inputText simple="true" id="someid"/>

Access key modifiers are browser and platform-specific. If you assign an access key
that is already defined as a menu shortcut in the browser, the ADF Faces component
access key will take precedence. Refer to your specific browser’s documentation for
details.
In some browsers, if you use a space as the access key, you must provide the user with
the information that Alt+Space or Alt+Spacebar is the access key because there is no
way to present a blank space visually in the component's label or textual label. For that
browser you could provide text in a component tooltip using the shortDesc
attribute.

22.3.3 How to Define Localized Labels and Access Keys

Labels and access keys that must be displayed in different languages can be stored in
resource bundles where different language versions can be displayed as needed. Using
the <resource-bundle> element in the JSF configuration file available in JSF 1.2,
you can make resource bundles available to all the pages in your application without
using a f:loadBundle tag in every page.

To define localized labels and access keys:

1. Create the resource bundles as simple .properties files to hold each language
version of the labels and access keys. For details, see Section 21.3.1, "How to
Define the Base Resource Bundle."
2. Add a <locale-config> element to the faces-config.xml file to define the
default and supported locales for your application. For details, see Section 21.3.3,
"How to Register Locales and Resource Bundles in Your Application."
3. Create a key and value for each string of static text for each resource bundle. The
key is a unique identifier for the string. The value is the string of text in the
language for the bundle. In each value, place an ampersand (& or amp) in front of
the letter you wish to define as an access key.
For example, the following code defines a label and access key for an edit button
field in the UIStrings.properties base resource bundle as Edit:
srlist.buttonbar.edit=&Edit

In the Italian language resource bundle, UIStrings_it.properties, the

following code provides the translated label and access key as Aggiorna:
srlist.buttonbar.edit=A&ggiorna

4. Add a <resource-bundle> element to the faces-config.xml file for your

application. Example 22–5 shows an entry in a JSF configuration file for a resource
bundle.

Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages 22-7

Creating Accessible Pages

Example 22–5 Resource Bundle in JSF Configuration File

<resource-bundle>
<var>res</var>
<base-name>resources.UIStrings</base-name>
</resource-bundle>

Once you set up your application to use resource bundles, the resource bundle keys
show up in the Expression Language (EL) editor so that you can assign them
declaratively.
In the following example, the UI component accesses the resource bundle:
<af:outputText value="#{res[’login.date’]}"/

For more information, see Chapter 21, "Internationalizing and Localizing Pages."

22.4 Creating Accessible Pages

In addition to component-level accessibility guidelines, you should also follow
page-level accessibility guidelines when you design your application. While
component-level guidelines may determine how you use a component, page-level
accessibility guidelines are more involved with the overall design and function of the
application as a whole.
The page-level accessibility guidelines are for:
■ Using partial page rendering
■ Using scripting
■ Using styles
■ Using page structures and navigation
■ Using WAI-ARIA landmark regions

22.4.1 How to Use Partial Page Rendering

Screen readers do not reread the full page in a partial page request. Partial page
rendering (PPR) causes the screen reader to read the page starting from the component
that triggered the partial action. Therefore, place the target component after the
component that triggers the partial request; otherwise, the screen reader will not read
the updated target.
For example, the most common PPR use case is the master-detail user interface, where
selecting a value in the master component results in partial page replacement of the
detail component. In such scenarios, the master component must always appear before
the detail component in the document order.
Screen reader or screen magnifier users may have difficulty determining exactly what
content has changed as a result of partial page rendering activity. It may be helpful to
provide guidance in the form of inline text descriptions that identify relationships
between key components in the page. For example, in the master-detail scenario, some
text that indicates that selecting a row on a master component will result in the detail
component being updated could be helpful. Alternatively, a help topic that describes
the structure of the page and the relationships between components may also be
helpful.

22-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating Accessible Pages

22.4.2 How to Use Scripting

Client-side scripting is not recommended for any application problem for which there
is a declarative solution and should be kept to a minimum.
Follow these accessibility guidelines when using scripting:
■ Do not interact with the component DOM (Document Object Model) directly.
ADF Faces components automatically synchronize with the screen reader when
DOM changes are made. Direct interaction with the DOM is not allowed.
■ Do not use JavaScript timeouts.
Screen readers do not reliably track modifications made in response to timeouts
implemented using the JavaScript setTimeout() or setInterval() APIs. Do
not call these methods.
■ Provide keyboard equivalents.
Some users may not have access to a mouse. For example, some users may be
limited to keyboard use only, or may use alternate input devices or technology
such as voice recognition software. When adding functions using client-side
listeners, the function must be accessible in a device-independent way. Practically
speaking this means that:
– All functions must be accessible using the keyboard events.
– Click events should be preferred over mouseover or mouseout.
– Mouseover or mouseout events should additionally be available through a
click event.
■ Avoid focus changes.
Focus changes can be confusing to screen reader users as these involve a change of
context. Applications should avoid changing the focus programmatically, and
should never do so in response to focus events. Additionally, popup windows
should not be displayed in response to focus changes because standard tabbing
will be disrupted.
■ Provide explicit popup triggers.
Screen readers do not automatically respond to inline popup startups. In order to
force the screen reader to read the popup contents when in screen reader mode,
the rich client framework explicitly moves the keyboard focus to any popup
window just after it is opened. An explicit popup trigger such as a link or button
must be provided, or the same information must be available in some other
keyboard or screen reader accessible way.

22.4.3 How to Use Styles

ADF Faces components are already styled and you may not need to make any
changes. If you want to use cascading style sheet (CSS) to directly modify their default
appearance, you should follow these accessibility guidelines:
■ Be aware of accessibility implications when you override default component
appearance.
Using CSS to change the appearance of components can have accessibility
implications. For example, changing colors may result in color contrast issues.
■ Use scalable size units.

Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages 22-9

Creating Accessible Pages

When specifying sizes using CSS, use size units that scale relative to the font size
rather than absolute units. For example, use em, ex or % units rather than px. This
is particularly important when specifying heights using CSS, because low-vision
users may scale up the font size, causing contents restricted to fixed or absolute
heights to be clipped.
■ Do not use CSS positioning.
CSS positioning should be used only in the case of positioning the stretched layout
component. Do not use CSS positioning elsewhere.

22.4.4 How to Use Page Structures and Navigation

Follow these accessibility guidelines when using these page structures and navigation
tools:
■ Use af:panelSplitter component for layouts.
When implementing geometry-managed layouts, using af:panelSplitter
allows users to:
– Redistribute space to meet their needs
– Hide or collapse content that is not of immediate interest.
If you are planning to use af:panelStretchLayout, you should consider using
af:panelStretchLayout instead when is appropriate
These page structure qualities are useful to all users, and are particularly helpful
for low-vision users and screen-reader users
As an example, a chrome navigation bar at the top of the page should be placed
within the first facet of a vertical af:panelSplitter component, rather than
within the top facet of af:panelStretchLayout component. This allows the
user to decrease the amount of space used by the bar, or to hide it altogether.
Similarly, in layouts that contain left, center, or right panes, use horizontal splitters
to lay out the panes.
■ Enable scrolling of flow layout contents.
When nesting flow layout contents such as layout controls inside of
geometry-managed parent components such as af:panelSplitter or
af:panelStretchLayout, wrap af:panelGroupLayout with
layout="scroll" around the flow layout contents. This provides scrollbars in
the event that the font size is scaled up such that the content no longer fits. Failure
to do this can result in content being clipped or truncated.
■ Use header-based components to identify page structure.
HTML header elements play an important role in screen readability. Screen
readers typically allow users to gain an understanding of the overall structure of
the page by examining or navigating across HTML headers. Identify major
portions of the page through components that render HTML header contents
including:
– af:panelHeader
– af:showDetailHeader
– af:showDetailItem in af:panelAccordion (each accordion in a pane
renders an HTML header for the title area)
■ Use af:breadCrumbs component to identify page location.

22-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Running Accessibility Audit Rules

Accessibility standards require that users be able to determine their location

within a web site or application. The use of af:breadCrumbs achieves this
purpose.

22.4.5 How to Use WAI-ARIA Landmark Regions

The WAI-ARIA standard defines different sections of the page as different landmark
regions. Together with WAI-ARIA roles, they convey information about the high-level
structure of the page and facilitate navigation across landmark areas. This is
particularly useful to users of assistive technologies such as screen readers.
ADF Faces includes landmark attributes for several layout components, as listed in
Table 22–2.

Table 22–2 ADF Faces Components with Landmark Attributes

Component Attribute
decorativeBox topLandmark
centerLandmark
panelGroupLayout landmark
panelSplitter firstLandmark
secondLandmark
panelStretchLayout topLandmark
startLandmark
centerLandmark
endLandmark
bottomLandmark

These attributes can be set to one of the WAI-ARIA landmark roles, including:
■ banner
■ complimentary
■ contentinfo
■ main
■ navigation
■ search
When any of the landmark-related attributes is set, ADF Faces renders a role attribute
with the value you specified.

22.5 Running Accessibility Audit Rules

JDeveloper provides ADF Faces accessibility audit rules to investigate and report
compliance with many of the common requirements described in Section 22–1, " ADF
Faces Components Accessibility Guidelines." Running an audit report involves
creating and running an audit profile.

To create an audit profile:

1. From the main menu, choose Tools > Preferences.

Developing Accessible ADF Faces Pages 22-11

Running Accessibility Audit Rules

2. In the Audit: Profiles dialog, deselect all checkboxes except ADF Faces
Accessibility Rules.
3. Save the profile with a unique name and click OK.

To run the audit report:

1. From the main menu, choose Build > Audit target.
2. Select the audit profile you created from the list.
3. Click OK to generate the report.
The audit report results are displayed in the Log window. After the report completes,
you can export the results to HTML by clicking the Export icon in the Log window
toolbar.

22-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Part IV
Part IV Using ADF Data Visualization
Components

Part IV contains the following chapters:

■ Chapter 23, "Introduction to ADF Data Visualization Components"
■ Chapter 24, "Using ADF Graph Components"
■ Chapter 25, "Using ADF Gauge Components"
■ Chapter 26, "Using ADF Pivot Table Components"
■ Chapter 27, "Using ADF Geographic Map Components"
■ Chapter 28, "Using ADF Gantt Chart Components"
■ Chapter 29, "Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components"
 23
Introduction to ADF Data Visualization
23

Components

This chapter highlights the common characteristics and focus of the ADF Data
Visualization components, which are an expressive set of interactive ADF Faces
components. The remaining chapters in this part of the guide provide detailed
information about how to create and customize each component.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 23.1, "Introduction to ADF Data Visualization Components"
■ Section 23.2, "Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components"
■ Section 23.3, "Providing Data for ADF Data Visualization Components"
■ Section 23.4, "Downloading Custom Fonts for Flash Images"

23.1 Introduction to ADF Data Visualization Components

The ADF Data Visualization components provide significant graphical and tabular
capabilities for displaying and analyzing data. These components provide the
following common features:
■ They are full Oracle ADF Faces components that support the use of Oracle ADF
data controls.
■ They provide for declarative design time creation using the Data Controls Panel,
the JSF Visual Editor, Property Inspector, and Component Palette.
■ Each component offers live data preview during design. This feature is especially
useful to let you see the effect of your design as it progresses without having to
compile and run a page.
For information about the data binding of ADF Data Visualization Components, see
the "Creating Databound ADF Data Visualization Components" chapter in the Oracle
Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework.

23.2 Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components

The ADF Data Visualization components include the following: graph, gauge, pivot
table, geographic map, Gantt chart, and hierarchy viewer.

Introduction to ADF Data Visualization Components 23-1

Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components

23.2.1 Graph
The graph component gives you the capability of producing more than 50 types of
graphs, including a variety of bar graphs, pie graphs, line graphs, scatter graphs, and
stock graphs. This component lets you evaluate multiple data points on multiple axes
in many ways. For example, a number of graphs assist you in the comparison of
results from one group against the results from another group.
The following kinds of graphs can be produced by the graph component:
■ Area graph: Creates a graph in which data is represented as a filled-in area. Use
area graphs to show trends over time, such as sales for the last 12 months. Area
graphs require at least two groups of data along an axis. The axis is often labeled
with increments of time such as months.
■ Bar graph: Creates a graph in which data is represented as a series of vertical bars.
Use to examine trends over time or to compare items at the same time, such as
sales for different product divisions in several regions.
■ Bar (horizontal) graph: Creates a graph that displays bars horizontally along the
Y-axis. Use to provide an orientation that allows you to show trends or compare
values.
■ Bubble graph: Creates a graph in which data is represented by the location and
size of round data markers (bubbles). Use to show correlations among three types
of values, especially when you have a number of data items and you want to see
the general relationships. For example, use a bubble graph to plot salaries (X-axis),
years of experience (Y-axis), and productivity (size of bubble) for your work force.
Such a graph allows you to examine productivity relative to salary and experience.
■ Combination graph: Creates a graph that uses different types of data markers
(bars, lines, or areas) to display different kinds of data items. Use to compare bars
and lines, bars and areas, lines and areas, or all three.
■ Funnel graph: Creates a graph that is a visual representation of data related to
steps in a process. The steps appear as vertical slices across a horizontal cylinder.
As the actual value for a given step or slice approaches the quota for that slice, the
slice fills. Typically a funnel graph requires actual values and target values against
a stage value, which might be time. For example, use this component to watch a
process (such as a sales pipeline) move towards a target across the stage of the
quarters of a fiscal year.
■ Line graph: Creates a graph in which data is represented as a line, as a series of
data points, or as data points that are connected by a line. Line graphs require data
for at least two points for each member in a group. For example, a line graph over
months requires at least two months. Typically a line of a specific color is
associated with each group of data such as Americas, Europe, and Asia. Use to
compare items over the same time.
■ Pareto graph: Creates a graph in which data is represented by bars and a
percentage line that indicates the cumulative percentage of bars. Each set of bars
identifies different sources of defects, such as the cause of a traffic accident. The
bars are arranged by value, from the largest number to the lowest number of
incidents. A Pareto graph is always a dual-Y graph in which the first Y-axis
corresponds to values that the bars represent and the second Y-axis runs from 0 to
100% and corresponds to the cumulative percentage values. Use the Pareto graph
to identify and compare the sources of defects.
■ Pie graph: Creates a graph in which one group of data is represented as sections of
a circle causing the circle to look like a sliced pie. Use to show the relationship of
parts to a whole such as how much revenue comes from each product line.

23-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components

■ Radar graph: Creates a graph that appears as a circular line graph. Use to show
patterns that occur in cycles, such as monthly sales for the last three years.
■ Scatter/polar graph: Creates a graph in which data is represented by the location
of data markers. Use to show correlation between two different kinds of data
values such as sales and costs for top products. Scatter graphs are especially useful
when you want to see general relationships among a number of items.
■ Sparkchart: Creates a simple, condensed graph that displays trends or variations,
often in the column of a table or inline with text. Sparkcharts are simple in design,
with limited features and formatting options, showing as much data as possible.
■ Stock graph: Creates a graph in which data shows the high, low, and closing prices
of a stock. Each stock marker displays three separate values.
In JDeveloper, you can create and data bind a graph by dragging a data control from
the Data Controls Panel. A Component Gallery displays available graph categories,
types, and descriptions to provide visual assistance when designing graphs and
defining a quick layout. Figure 23–1 shows the Component Gallery that displays when
creating a graph from a data control.
For information about the data binding of graphs, see the "Creating Databound ADF
Graphs" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle
Application Development Framework.

Figure 23–1 Component Gallery for Graphs from Data Controls Panel

You can also create a graph on your page by dragging a graph component from the
Component Palette. This approach allows you the option of designing the graph user
interface before binding the component to data. Figure 23–2 shows the Component
Gallery that displays when creating a pie graph from the Component Palette.

Introduction to ADF Data Visualization Components 23-3

Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components

Note:The sparkchart component can only be inserted from the

Component Palette and bound to data afterwards.

Figure 23–2 Component Gallery for Pie Graphs from Component Palette

All graphs support Flash, SVG, and PNG rendering. Graph components support
interactivity on initial display and data change including the use of zooming and
scrolling, the use of an adjustable time selector window to highlight specific sections
on a time axis, the use of line and legend highlighting and fading to filter the display
of data points, and the use of dynamic reference lines and areas.
Figure 23–3 show an application dashboard that illustrates:
■ bar graph
■ pie graph with exploded slice

23-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components

Figure 23–3 Dashboard with Bar Graph and Pie Graph

Figure 23–4 shows an application dashboard that illustrates, clockwise from top left:
■ curved line graph with time selector window
■ pie graph with 3D effect and an exploded slice
■ bar graph with 3D effect

Figure 23–4 Dashboard with Line, Pie, and Bar Graphs

Figure 23–5 shows a line sparkchart displaying sales trends in a table column.

Introduction to ADF Data Visualization Components 23-5

Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components

Figure 23–5 Sparkchart of Sales Trends

23.2.2 Gauge
The gauge component renders graphical representations of data. Unlike the graph, a
gauge focuses on a single data point and examines that point relative to minimum,
maximum, and threshold indicators to identify problem areas.
One gauge component can create a single gauge or a set of gauges depending on the
data provided.
The following kinds of gauges can be produced by this component:
■ Dial gauge: Creates a gauge that indicates its metric value along an 180-degree arc.
This type of gauge usually has an indicator in the shape of a line or an arrow that
points to the value that the gauge is plotting.
■ Status meter gauge: Creates a gauge that indicates the progress of a task or the
level of some measurement along a horizontal rectangular bar. An inner rectangle
shows the current level of a measurement against the ranges marked on an outer
rectangle.
■ Status meter gauge (vertical): Creates a gauge that indicates the progress of a task
of the level of some measurement along a vertical rectangular bar.
■ LED (lighted electronic display) gauge: Creates a gauge that depicts graphically a
measurement, such as key performance indicator (KPI). Several styles of graphics
are available for LED gauges such as arrows that indicate good (up arrow), fair
(left- or right-pointing arrow), or poor (down arrow).
You can specify any number of thresholds for a gauge. However, some LED gauges
(such as those with arrow or triangle indicators) support a limited number of
thresholds because there are a limited number of meaningful directions for them to
point. For arrow or triangle indicators, the threshold limit is three.
In JDeveloper, a Component Gallery displays available gauges categories, types, and
descriptions to provide visual assistance when designing gauges and defining a quick
layout. Figure 23–6 shows the Component Gallery for gauges.

23-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components

Figure 23–6 Component Gallery for Gauges

All gauge components can use Flash, SVG, and PNG rendering.
Figure 23–7 shows a set of dial gauges set with thresholds to display warehouse stock
levels.

Figure 23–7 Dial Gauges set with Thresholds

Figure 23–8 shows a set of status meter gauges set with thresholds.

Introduction to ADF Data Visualization Components 23-7

Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components

Figure 23–8 Status Meter Gauges set with Thresholds

23.2.3 Pivot Table

The pivot table produces a grid that supports multiple layers of data labels on rows or
columns. An optional pivot filter bar can be associated with the pivot table to filter
data not displayed in the row or column edge. When bound to an appropriate data
control such as a row set, the component also supports the option of generating
subtotals and totals for grid data, and drill operations at runtime. In JDeveloper, a
Create Pivot Table wizard provides declarative support for databinding and
configuring the pivot table. For more information, see the "Creating Databound ADF
Pivot Tables" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle
Application Development Framework.
Pivot tables let you swap data labels from one edge (row or column) or pivot filter bar
(page edge) to another edge to obtain different views of your data. For example, a
pivot table might initially display total sales data for products within regions on the
row edge, broken out by years on the column edge. If you swap region and year at
runtime, then you end up with total sales data for products within years, broken out
by region.
Pivot tables support horizontal and vertical scrolling, header and cell formatting, and
drag-and-drop pivoting. Pivot tables also support ascending and descending group
sorting of rows at runtime. Figure 23–9 shows an example pivot table with a pivot
filter bar.

Figure 23–9 Pivot Table with Pivot Filter Bar

23.2.4 Geographic Map

The geographic map provides the functionality of Oracle Spatial within the ADF
framework. This component represents business data on a map and lets you
superimpose multiple layers of information on a single map. This component supports

23-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components

the simultaneous display of a color theme, a graph theme (bar or pie graph), and point
themes. You can create any number of each type of theme and you can use the map
toolbar to select the desired themes at runtime.
As an example of a geographic map, consider a base map of the United States with a
color theme that provides varying color intensity to indicate the popularity of a
product within each state, a pie chart theme that shows the stock levels of warehouses,
and a point theme that identifies the exact location of each warehouse. When all three
themes are superimposed on the United States map, you can easily evaluate whether
there is sufficient inventory to support the popularity level of a product in specific
locations. Figure 23–10 shows a geographic map with color theme, pie graph theme,
and point theme.

Figure 23–10 Geographic Map with Color Theme, Pie Graph Theme, and Point Theme

23.2.5 Gantt Chart

The Gantt chart is a type of horizontal bar graph (with time on the horizontal axis) that
is used in planning and tracking projects to show resources or tasks in a time frame
with a distinct beginning and end.
A Gantt chart consists of two ADF Faces tree tables combined with a splitter. The
left-hand table contains a list of tasks or resources while the right-hand table consists
of a single column in which progress is graphed over time.
There are three types of gantt components:
■ Project Gantt: Creates a Gantt chart that shows tasks vertically, and the duration of
the task is represented as a bar on a horizontal timeline.
■ Resource utilization Gantt: Creates a Gantt chart that shows graphically whether
resources are over or under allocated. It shows resources vertically while showing
their allocation and, optionally, capacity on the horizontal time axis.
■ Scheduling Gantt: Creates a Gantt chart that shows resource management and is
based on manual scheduling boards. It shows resources vertically with
corresponding activities on the horizontal time axis.
Figure 23–11 shows a project Gantt view of staff resources and schedules.

Introduction to ADF Data Visualization Components 23-9

Defining the ADF Data Visualization Components

Figure 23–11 Project Gantt

23.2.6 Hierarchy Viewer

The hierarchy viewer component displays hierarchical data as a set of linked nodes in
a diagram. The nodes and links correspond to the elements and relationships to the
data. The component supports pan and zoom operations, expanding and collapsing of
the nodes, rendering of simple ADF Faces components within the nodes, and search of
the hierarchy viewer data. A common use of the hierarchy viewer is to display an
organization chart, as shown in Figure 23–12.

Figure 23–12 Hierarchy Viewer as Organizational Chart

23-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Downloading Custom Fonts for Flash Images

In JDeveloper, a Component Gallery displays available hierarchy viewer types and

descriptions to provide visual assistance when designing the component and defining
a quick layout. Figure 23–13 shows the Component Gallery for the hierarchy viewer.

Figure 23–13 Component Gallery for Hierarchy Viewer

23.3 Providing Data for ADF Data Visualization Components

All data visualization components can be bound to row set data collections in an ADF
data control. For information and examples of data binding these components to data
controls, see the "Creating Databound ADF Data Visualization Components" chapter
in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application
Development Framework.
Graphs and gauges have a tabularData method that lets you provide CSV (Comma
Separated Value) data from a method that is stored in a managed bean.
The Gantt chart component supports the use of a basic tree data control when you
want to provide data not only for tasks and resources but also for subtasks and
subresources.

23.4 Downloading Custom Fonts for Flash Images

Graph and gauge components provide text rotation, high fidelity display, and
embedded fonts using Flash image types. The Flash engine is a prebuilt Shockwave
Flash (SWF) file containing precompiled ActionScript code used to display a graph
or gauge by using an XML definition of a chart. The Flash engine is downloaded and
instantiated by a Flash Player embedded in the client browser at runtime.

Introduction to ADF Data Visualization Components 23-11

Downloading Custom Fonts for Flash Images

Embedded fonts are used for display and printing purposes, they are not installed on
the client, and they cannot be edited. They are used by the Flash Player, in memory,
and are cleared when the player terminates. Although embedded fonts require a
roundtrip to the server to download the font SWF file, they provide a consistent look
across all clients, support text rotation, and minimize distortion or anti-aliasing.
Oracle provides one font, Albany WT, for use in Flash images when necessary. This
font does not provide any non-plain variations such as Bold or Italic. The Albany WT
font is used instead of the default font to support certain animations not supported by
Flash with device fonts, if the application does not specify and provide its own
embedded font to use instead.
Specific fonts and their respective SWF files can be added to your application as
embedded fonts to be passed to the Flash engine. The engine will defer-load any font
specified in the list until that font is required by any text or labels in a graph or gauge
definition. Example 23–1 defines the Georgia font with a Bold and Italic combination.

Example 23–1 SWF File

package
{
import.flash.display.Sprite;
import.flash.text.Font;
public class fGeorgiaBoldItalic extends Srite
(
[Embed (source="c:\\WINDOWS\\Fonts\\GEORGIABI.TTF",
fontName="Georgia Bold Italic",
fontWeight="Bold",
fontStyle="Italic".
mimType="application/x-font-truetype")]
private statis car font1:Class;
public function fGeorgiaBoldItalic() {
Font registerFont(font1);
}
}
}

You can set graph and gauge font attributes as follows:

■ fontEmbedding: Defines whether or not the embedded fonts are used. Some
performance may be gained by setting the attribute to none.
■ fontMap: Contains the actual map of the fonts that should be used for
embedding. The map contains the name of a font and a URL where the custom
font SWF file can be found.

23-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 24
Using ADF Graph Components
24

This chapter describes how to use an ADF graph component to display data, and
provides the options for graph customization.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 24.1, "Introduction to the Graph Component"
■ Section 24.2, "Understanding the Graph Tags"
■ Section 24.3, "Understanding Data Requirements for Graphs"
■ Section 24.4, "Creating a Graph"
■ Section 24.5, "Changing the Graph Type"
■ Section 24.6, "Customizing the Appearance of Graphs"
■ Section 24.7, "Customizing the Appearance of Specific Graph Types"
■ Section 24.8, "Adding Specialized Features to Graphs"
■ Section 24.9, "Animating Graphs with Active Data"
For information about the data binding of ADF graphs, see the "Creating Databound
ADF Graphs" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle
Application Development Framework.

24.1 Introduction to the Graph Component

The graph component gives you the capability of producing more than 50 types of
graphs, including a variety of area, bar, bubble, combination, funnel, line, Pareto, pie,
radar, scatter, sparkchart, and stock graphs. This component lets you evaluate multiple
data points on multiple axes in many ways. For example, a number of graphs assist
you in the comparison of results from one group with the results from another group.
A Component Gallery displays available graph categories, types, and descriptions to
provide visual assistance when you are creating graphs and specifying a quick-start
layout. Figure 24–1 shows the Component Gallery for horizontal bar graphs.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-1

Introduction to the Graph Component

Figure 24–1 Component Gallery for Horizontal Bar Graphs

When a graph is inserted into a JSF page using the Component Gallery, a set of child
tags that support customization of the graph is automatically inserted. Example 24–1
shows the source code for a horizontal bar graph with the quick-start layout selected
in the Component Gallery in Figure 24–1.

Example 24–1 Horizontal Bar Graph Sample Code

<dvt:horizontalBarGraph id="horizontalBarGraph1"
value="#{bindings.SalesStageDataView1.graphModel}"
subType="BAR_HORIZ_CLUST">
customLayout="CL_NONE"
<dvt:background>
<dvt:specialEffects/>
</dvt:background>
<dvt:graphPlotArea/>
<dvt:seriesSet>
<dvt:series/>
</dvt:seriesSet>
<dvt:o1Axis/>
<dvt:y1Axis/>
<dvt:legendArea automaticPlacement="AP_NEVER" position="LAP_BOTTOM"/>
<dvt:legendTitle text="Legend Title"/>
<dvt:graphSubtitle horizontalAlignment="CENTER" text="Subtitle"/>
<dvt:graphTitle horizontalAlignment="CENTER" text="Title"/>
</dvt:horizontalBarGraph>

Figure 24–2 shows the visual editor display of the horizontal bar graph created with
the Component Gallery in Figure 24–1.

24-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding the Graph Tags

Figure 24–2 Horizontal Bar Graph in Visual Editor

When editing a graph in the visual editor, graph components such as the title, legend
area, plot area, background, axis labels, and display of bars can be selected to display a
context menu with editing choices. For more information about editing a graph in the
visual editor, see Section 24.6, "Customizing the Appearance of Graphs."
Graphs are displayed in a default size of 400 X 300 pixels. You can customize the size
of a graph or specify dynamic resizing to fit an area across different browser window
sizes. When graphs are displayed in a horizontally or vertically restricted area, for
example in a web page sidebar, the graph is displayed in a fully featured, although,
simplified display.
To support visually impaired users who read web pages with a screen reader, graphs
are automatically replaced with pivot tables when screen reader mode is enabled for
the application. Screen readers can more easily navigate and read the data in a pivot
table than in a graph. For information about enabling screen reader mode, see
Section 22.2, "Exposing Accessibility Preferences." For information about ADF pivot
tables, see Section 26.1, "Introduction tithe ADF Pivot Table Component."

24.2 Understanding the Graph Tags

Because of the many graph types and the significant flexibility of the graph
components, graphs have a large number of DVT tags. The prefix (dvt:) occurs at the
beginning of each graph tag name indicating that the tag belongs to the ADF Data
Visualization Tools (DVT) tag library. The following list identifies groups of tags
related to the graph component:
■ Graph-specific tags: The 13 graph-specific tags provide a convenient and quick
way to create one commonly used graph type. They are represented in the
Component Gallery as categories of graphs with one or more types, and a variety
of quick-start layout options from which to choose. For a list and description of
these tags, see Section 24.2.1, "Graph-Specific Tags."
■ Common graph child tags: These tags are supported by most graph types to
provide customization. For a list and description of these tags, see Section 24.2.2,
"Common Graph Child Tags."
■ Graph-type child tags: These tags apply either to specific graph types or to specific
parts of a graph. For a list and description of these tags, see Section 24.2.3,
"Graph-Specific Child Tags."

Using ADF Graph Components 24-3

Understanding the Graph Tags

■ Child set tags: These tags wrap a set of an unlimited number of related tags. For a
list and description of these tags, see Section 24.2.4, "Child Set Tags."
■ Graph tag: Although available, but not the preferred method, the dvt:graph tag
lets you create an instance of a graph for any supported graph type. Even though
some graph attributes and some graph child tags are meaningful only for certain
graph types, the graph tag has a complete set of graph attributes and supports the
use of all graph child tags. Therefore, the dvt:graph tag provides full flexibility
for choosing graph types, customizing graphs, and changing from one graph type
to another.

Note: In JDeveloper the dvt:graph tag is not available to

declaratively insert from the Component Palette. The tag and its child
tags must be typed into the source code of a.jspx file.

For complete descriptions of all the tags, their attributes, and a list of valid values,
consult the DVT tag documentation. To access this documentation for a specific tag in
JDeveloper, select the tag in the Structure window and press F1. To access the full ADF
Data Visualization Tools tag library in JDeveloper Help, expand the Javadoc and Tag
Library References node in the online Help Table of Contents and click the link to the
tag library in the JDeveloper Tag Library Reference topic.

24.2.1 Graph-Specific Tags

There are 13 graph-specific tags:
■ dvt:areaGraph: Supports an area graph in which data is represented as a
filled-in area. Use area graphs to show trends over time, such as sales for the last
12 months. Area graphs require at least two groups of data along an axis. The axis
is often labeled with increments of time such as months.
■ dvt:barGraph: Supports a bar graph in which data is represented as a series of
vertical bars. Use bar graphs to examine trends over time or to compare items at
the same time, such as sales for different product divisions in several regions.
■ dvt:horizontalBarGraph: Creates a graph that displays bars horizontally
along the y-axis. Use horizontal bar graphs to provide an orientation that allows
you to show trends or compare values.
■ dvt:bubbleGraph: Creates a graph in which data is represented by the location
and size of round data markers (bubbles). Use bubble graphs to show correlations
among three types of values, especially when you have a number of data items
and you want to see the general relationships. For example, use a bubble graph to
plot salaries (x-axis), years of experience (y-axis), and productivity (size of bubble)
for your work force. Such a graph allows you to examine productivity relative to
salary and experience.
■ dvt:comboGraph: Creates a graph that uses different types of data markers (bars,
lines, or areas) to display different kinds of data items. Use combination graphs to
compare bars and lines, bars and areas, lines and areas, or all three combinations.
■ dvt:funnelGraph: Creates a graph that is a visual representation of data related
to steps in a process. The steps appear as vertical slices across a horizontal
cone-shaped section. As the actual value for a given step or slice approaches the
quota for that slice, the slice fills. Typically, a funnel graph requires actual values
and target values against a stage value, which might be time. For example, use the

24-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding the Graph Tags

funnel graph to watch a process where the different sections of the funnel
represent different stages in the sales cycle.
■ dvt:lineGraph: Creates a graph in which data is represented as a line, as a
series of data points, or as data points that are connected by a line. Line graphs
require data for at least two points for each member in a group. For example, a line
graph over months requires at least two months. Typically a line of a specific color
is associated with each group of data such as the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Use
line graphs to compare items over the same time.
■ dvt:paretoGraph: Creates a graph in which data is represented by bars and a
percentage line that indicates the cumulative percentage of bars. Each set of bars
identifies different sources of defects, such as the cause of a traffic accident. The
bars are arranged by value, from the largest number to the lowest number of
incidents. A Pareto graph is always a dual-Y graph in which the first y-axis
corresponds to values that the bars represent and the second y-axis runs from 0%
to 100% and corresponds to the cumulative percentage values. Use Pareto graphs
to identify and compare the sources of defects.
■ dvt:pieGraph: Creates a graph in which one group of data is represented as
sections of a circle causing the circle to look like a sliced pie. Use pie graphs to
show the relationship of parts to a whole such as how much revenue comes from
each product line.
■ dvt:radarGraph: Creates a graph that appears as a circular line graph. Use
radar graphs to show patterns that occur in cycles, such as monthly sales for the
last three years.
■ dvt:scatterGraph: Creates a graph in which data is represented by the location
of data markers. Use scatter graphs to show correlation between two different
kinds of data values such as sales and costs for top products. Use scatter graphs in
particular to see general relationships among a number of items. A scatter graph
can display data in a directional manner as a polar graph.
■ dvt:sparkChart: Creates a simple, condensed graph that displays trends or
variations in a single data value, typically stamped in the column of a table or in
line with related text. Sparkcharts have basic conditional formatting.

Note: In this release sparkcharts are created by inserting the

dvt:sparkChart tag from the Component Palette and then binding
the component to data. Sparkcharts cannot be created using the Data
Controls panel.

■ dvt:stockGraph: Creates a graph in which data shows the high, low, and
closing prices of a stock. Each stock marker displays two to four separate values
(not counting the optional volume marker) depending on the specific type of stock
graph chosen.

24.2.2 Common Graph Child Tags

Types of common customization and related child tags include:
■ Animation effects for graphs: dvt:animationOnDisplay and
dvt:animationOnDataChange tags.
■ Alerts that highlight a data point with a custom icon: dvt:alertSet and
dvt:alert tags.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-5

Understanding the Graph Tags

■ Annotations that insert notes for specific data points: dvt:annotationSet and
dvt:annotation tags.
■ Appearance and titles for the graph: dvt:background, dvt:graphFont,
dvt:graphFootnote, dvt:graphPlotArea, dvt:graphSubtitle, and
dvt:graphTitle tags.
■ Colors and appearance of bars, areas, lines, and pie slices (also known as series
items): dvt:seriesSet and dvt:series tags.
■ Legend appearance: dvt:legendArea, dvt:legendText, and
dvt:legendTitle tags.
■ Marker customization related to each axis: dvt:markerText, dvt:x1Format,
dvt:y1Format, dvt:y2Format, and dvt:zFormat tags.
■ Reference lines and reference areas: dvt:referenceObjectSet and
dvt:referenceObject tags.
■ Customization for the ordinal axis (also known as the category axis) used with bar,
area, combination, line, radar, and stock graphs with group labels: dvt:o1Axis,
dvt:o1MajorTick, dvt:o1TickLabel, and dvt:o1Title tags.
■ Customization for the x-axis used with scatter and bubble graphs with numerical
labels: dvt:x1Axis, dvt:x1MajorTick, dvt:x1TickLabel,
dvt:x1MinorTick, and dvt:x1Title tags.
■ Customization for the y1-axis: dvt:y1Axis, dvt:y1BaseLine,
dvt:y1MajorTick, dvt:y1TickLabel, dvt:y1MinorTick, and
dvt:y1Title tags.
■ Customization for the y2-axis: dvt:y2Axis, dvt:y2BaseLine,
dvt:y2MajorTick, dvt:y2TickLabel, dvt:y2MinorTick, and
dvt:y2Title tags.

24.2.3 Graph-Specific Child Tags

Types of graph-specific customizations and related child tags include:
■ Gradients that are used for a graph only in conjunction with dvt:background,
dvt:legendArea, dvt:graphPlotArea, dvt:graphPieFrame, dvt:series,
dvt:referenceObject, or dvt:timeSelector subcomponents:
dvt:specialEffects and dvt:gradientStopStyle tags.
■ Interactivity specifications for subcomponents of a graph:
dvt:shapeAttrbutesSet and dvt:shapeAttributes tags.
■ Formatting of numbers for dvt:sliceLabel, dvt:x1Axis, dvt:y1Axis,
dvt:y2Axis, dvt:zFormat, dvt:numberFormat tags, or dvt:markerText
subcomponents: dvt:x1Format, dvt:y1Format, dvt:y2Format, and
dvt:stockVolumeFormat.
■ Time axis customization for area, bar, combination, line, and stacked bar graphs:
dvt:timeAxisDateFormat, and dvt:timeSelector tags.
■ Selection of a range on a time axis for master-detail graphs: dvt:timeSelector
tag.
■ Pareto graphs: dvt:paretoLine and dvt:paretoMarker tags.
■ Pie graphs: dvt:graphPieFrame, dvt:pieFeeler, dvt:slice, and
dvt:sliceLabel tags.
■ Sparkcharts: dvt:sparkItem tag provides data for the sparkchart.

24-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding Data Requirements for Graphs

■ Stock graphs: dvt:stockMarker, dvt:stockVolumeformat, and

dvt:volumeMarker tags.

24.2.4 Child Set Tags

Child set tags include:
■ dvt:alertSet tag: Wraps dvt:alert tags that define an additional data point
that needs to be highlighted with a separate symbol, such as an error or warning.
■ dvt:annotationSet tag: Wraps dvt:annotation tags that define an
annotation on a graph. An annotation is associated with a specific data point on a
graph
■ dvt:referenceObjectSet tag: Wraps dvt:referenceObject tags that
define a reference line or a reference area for a graph. You can define an unlimited
number of reference objects for a given graph.
■ dvt:seriesSet tag: Wraps dvt:series tags that define a set of data markers
or series on a graph.
■ dvt:shapeAttributesSet tag: Wraps dvt:shapeAttributes tags that
specified interactivity properties on a subcomponent of a graph.
In each case, during design, you must create the wrapper tag first, followed by a
related tag for each item in the set. Example 24–2 shows the sequence of the tags when
you create a set of alert tags to define two alert points for an area graph.

Example 24–2 Sample Code for a Set of Alert Tags

<dvt:areaGraph id="areaGraph1" subType="AREA_VERT_ABS">
<dvt:background>
<dvt:specialEffects/>
</dvt:background>
<dvt:graphPlotArea/>
<dvt:alertSet>
<dvt:alert xValue="Boston" yValue="3.50"
yValueAssignment="Y1AXIS" imageSource="myWarning.gif"/>
<dvt:alert xValue="Boston" yValue="5.50"
yValueAssignment="Y1AXIS" imageSource="myError.gif"/>
</dvt:alertSet>
<dvt:o1Axis/>
<dvt:y1Axis/>
<dvt:legendArea automaticPlacement="AP_NEVER"/>
</dvt:areaGraph>

24.3 Understanding Data Requirements for Graphs

Data requirements for graphs differ with graph type. Data requirements can be any of
the following kinds:
■ Geometric: Some graph types need a certain number of data points in order to
display data. For example, a line graph requires at least two groups of data
because a line requires at least two points.
■ Complex: Some graph types require more than one data point for each marker
(which is the component that actually represents the data in a graph). A scatter
graph, for example, needs two values for each group so that it can position the
marker along the x-axis and along the y-axis. If the data that you provide to a
graph does not have enough data points for each group, the graph component
does its best to display a graph.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-7

Understanding Data Requirements for Graphs

■ Logical: Some graph types cannot accept certain kinds of data. The following
examples apply:
– Negative data issues: Do not pass negative data to a pie graph or to a
percentage bar, line, or area graph. Markers will not display for negative data
in percentage graphs.
– Null or zero data: You cannot see markers for null data because markers will
not be produced for null data. Also, if a graph receives zero data and the axis
line is at zero, the marker is not visible. However, if the axis line is at nonzero,
the zero marker is visible.
– Insufficient sets (or series) of data: Dual-Y graphs require a set of data for each
y-axis. Usually, each set represents different information. For example, the
y1-axis might represent sales for specific countries and time periods, while the
y2-axis might represent total sales for all countries. If you pass only one set of
y-axis data, then the graph cannot display data on two different Y-axes. It
displays the data on a single y-axis.
Similar graphs share similar data requirements. For example, you can group the
following graphs under the category of area graphs:
■ Absolute area graph.
■ Stacked area graph.
■ Percentage area graph.

24.3.1 Area Graphs Data Requirements

An area graph is one in which data is represented as a filled-in area. The following
kinds of area graphs are available:
■ Absolute: Each area marker connects a series of two or more data values. This kind
of graph has the following variations: Absolute area graph with a single y-axis and
absolute area graph with a split dual-Y axis.
In a split dual-Y graph, the plot area is split into two sections, so that sets of data
assigned to the different Y-axes appear in different parts of the plot area.
■ Stacked: Area markers are stacked. The values of each set of data are added to the
values for previous sets. The size of the stack represents a cumulative total. This
kind of graph has the following variations: Stacked area graph with a single y-axis
and stacked area graph with a split dual y-axis.
■ Percentage: Area markers show the percentage of the cumulative total of all sets of
data.
Data guidelines for area graphs are:
■ Area graphs require at least two groups of data. A group is represented by a
position along the horizontal axis that runs through all area markers. In a graph
that shows data for a three-month period, the groups might be labeled Jan, Feb,
and Mar.
■ Area graphs require one or more series of data. A filled-in area represents a series
or set of data and is labeled by legend text, such as the continent of the Americas,
Europe, and Asia.
■ Percentage area graphs cannot have negative numbers.
■ Dual-Y graphs require two sets of data.

24-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding Data Requirements for Graphs

24.3.2 Bar Graph Data Requirements

A bar graph is one in which data is represented as a series of bars. The following kinds
of bar graphs are available:
■ Clustered: Each cluster of bars represents a group of data. For example, if data is
grouped by employee, one cluster might consist of a Salary bar and a Commission
bar for a given employee. This kind of graph includes the following variations:
Vertical clustered bar graphs and horizontal clustered bar graphs. All variations of
clustered bar graphs can be arranged as single y-axis, dual y-axis, and split dual
y-axis graphs.
■ Stacked: Bars for each set of data are appended to previous sets of data. The size of
the stack represents a cumulative data total. This kind of graph includes the
following variations: Vertical stacked bar graphs and horizontal stacked bar
graphs. All variations of stacked bar graphs can be arranged as single y-axis, dual
y-axis, and split dual y-axis graphs.
■ Percentage: Bars are stacked and show the percentage of a given set of data
relative to the cumulative total of all sets of data. Percentage bar graphs are
arranged only with a single y-axis.
Data guidelines for bar graphs are:
■ Percentage bar graphs cannot have negative numbers.
■ Dual-Y graphs require two sets of data.

24.3.3 Bubble Graph Data Requirements

A bubble graph is one in which data is represented by the location and size of round
data markers (bubbles). Each data marker in a bubble graph represents three group
values:
■ The first data value is the X value. It determines the marker’s location along the
x-axis.
■ The second data value is the Y value. It determines the marker’s location along the
y-axis.
■ The third data value is the z value. It determines the size of the marker.
The following kinds of bubble graphs are available: Bubble graph with a single y-axis
and bubble graph with a dual y-axis.
Data guidelines for a bubble graph are:
■ Bubble graphs require at least three data values for a data marker.
■ For more than one group of data, bubble graphs require that data must be in
multiples of three. For example, in a specific bubble graph, you might need three
values for Paris, three for Tokyo, and so on. An example of these three values
might be: X value is average life expectancy, Y value is average income, and z
value is population.

Note: When you look at a bubble graph, you can identify groups of
data by examining tooltips on the markers. However, identifying
groups is not as important as looking more at the overall pattern of
the data markers.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-9

Understanding Data Requirements for Graphs

24.3.4 Combination Graph Data Requirements

A combination graph uses different types of data markers to display different sets of
data. The data markers used are bar, area, and line.
Data guidelines for combination graphs are:
■ Combination graphs require at least two sets of data or else the graph cannot show
different marker types.
■ Combination graphs require at least two groups of data or else the graph cannot
render an area marker or a line marker.

24.3.5 Funnel Graph Data Requirements

A funnel graph is a visual representation of data related to steps in a process. As the
value for a given step (or slice) of the funnel approaches the quota for that slice, the
slice fills. A funnel renders a three-dimensional chart that represents target and actual
values, and levels by color. A funnel graph displays data where the target is
considered to be 100%. Therefore, if the actual value is 50 and target is 200, then 25% of
the slice will be filled.
Data guidelines for funnel graphs are:
■ Funnel graphs require two series (or sets of data). These two sets of data serve as
the target and actual data values. Threshold values appear in the graph legend.
Another variation of the funnel graph requires only one set of data, where the data
values shown are percentages of the total values. To produce this type of funnel
graph, you must set the funnelPercentMeasure property on the graph to be
True. This setting should be done in the XML for the graph.
■ Funnel graphs require at least one group of data to be used as a stage.

24.3.6 Line Graph Data Requirements

A line graph represents data as a line, as a series of data points, or as data points that
are connected by a line. The following kinds of line graphs are available:
■ Absolute: Each line segment connects two data points. This kind of graph can have
its axes arranged as single y-axis, dual y-axis, and split dual y-axis.
■ Stacked: Lines for each set of data are appended to previous sets of data. The size
of the stack represents a cumulative data total. This kind of graph can have its axes
arranged as single y-axis, dual y-axis, and split dual y-axis.
■ Percentage: Lines are stacked and each line shows the percentage of a given set of
data relative to the cumulative total of all sets of data. Percentage line graphs are
arranged only with a single y-axis.
Data guidelines for line graphs are:
■ Line graphs require at least two groups of data because lines require at least two
points. A group is represented by a marker of each color. The group has a tick label
such as the name of a month.
■ Percentage line graphs cannot have negative numbers.
■ Dual-Y graphs require two sets of data.

24-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding Data Requirements for Graphs

24.3.7 Pareto Graph Data Requirements

Pareto graphs are specifically designed for identifying sources of defects. In a Pareto
graph, a series of bars identifies different sources of defects. These bars are arranged
by value, from the greatest number to the lowest number. A line shows the percentage
of the cumulative values of the bars to the total values of all the bars in the graph. The
line always ends at 100%.
Pareto graphs are always dual-Y graphs. The y1-axis corresponds to values that the
bars represent. The y2-axis corresponds to the cumulative percentage values.
Data guidelines for Pareto graphs are:
■ Pareto graphs require at least two groups of data.
■ Pareto graphs cannot have negative numbers.
■ If you pass more than one set of data to a Pareto graph, the graph uses only the
first set of data.
■ Do not pass percentage values as part of the data for a Pareto graph. The graph
calculates the percentages based on the data that you pass.

24.3.8 Pie Graph Data Requirements

A pie graph represents data as sections of one or more circles, making the circles look
like sliced pies. The following varieties of pie graphs are available:
■ Pie: The center of each circle is full. Pie graphs can consist of a single pie or
multiple pies.
■ Ring: The center of each circle has a hole in which the total pie value is displayed.
Ring graphs can consist of a single ring or multiple rings.
The data structure of a pie graph follows:
■ Each pie or ring represents one group of data and has a pie or ring label such as
the name of a month. If you have only one group of data, then only one pie or ring
appears even if you selected a multiple pie or ring graph type. Also, if any group
has all zero data, then the pie or ring for that group is not displayed.
■ A series or set of data is represented by all the slices of the same color. You see
legend text for each set of this data. For example, if there is a separate set of data
for each country, then the name of each country appears in the legend text.
Data guidelines for pie graphs are:
■ Pie graphs cannot have negative numbers.
■ Multiple pie graphs require at least two groups of data.

24.3.9 Polar Graph Data Requirements

A polar graph is a circular scatter graph. In a polar graph, as in a scatter graph, data is
represented by the location of data markers. In a polar graph, the plot area, where the
markers appear, is circular. For information about scatter graphs, see Section 24.3.11,
"Scatter Graph Data Requirements."
Like scatter graphs, polar graphs are especially useful when you want to see general
relationships among a number of data items. Use polar graphs rather than scatter
graphs when the data has a directional aspect.
Each data marker in a polar graph represents two data values:

Using ADF Graph Components 24-11

Understanding Data Requirements for Graphs

■ The first data value is the X value. It determines the location of the marker along
the x-axis, which is the location around the circle, clockwise.
■ The second data value is the Y value. It determines the location of the marker
along the y-axis, which is the distance from the center of the graph.
Data guidelines for a polar graph require at least two data values for each marker.

24.3.10 Radar Graph Data Requirements

A radar graph is a polygonal line graph similar to how a polar graph is a circular scatter
graph. Use radar graphs to show patterns that occur in cycles, such as monthly sales
for the last three years.
The data structure of a radar graph follows:
■ The number of sides on the polygon is equal to the number of groups of data. Each
corner of the polygon represents a group.
■ A series or set of data is represented by a line, all the markers of the same color, or
both. It is labeled by legend text.
Data guidelines for radar graphs require at least three groups of data.

24.3.11 Scatter Graph Data Requirements

A scatter graph represents data by the location of data markers. Scatter graphs are
especially useful when you want to see general relationships among a number of data
points. For example, you can use a scatter graph to examine the relationships between
Sales and Profit values for specific products.
Scatter graphs have either a single y-axis or a dual y-axis. Each data marker in a scatter
graph represents two values:
■ The first data value is the X value. It determines the marker’s location along the
x-axis.
■ The second data value is the Y value. It determines the marker’s location along the
y-axis.
Data guidelines for scatter graphs are:
■ Scatter graphs require two data values for each marker.
■ For more than one group of data, the data must be in multiples of two.

24.3.12 Sparkchart Data Requirements

Sparkcharts are used for displaying trends or variations in a single series of data values.
They are condensed, simple visualizations designed to be stamped in a table or used
inline with text. Since sparkcharts contain no labels, the adjacent columns of a table or
surrounding text provide context for sparkchart content.
Sparkcharts do not accept tabular data or graphDataModel. Data guidelines for
sparkcharts are:
■ Line, bar, and area sparkcharts require a single series of data values. Figure 24–3
shows an example of a line sparkchart in a table column.

24-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding Data Requirements for Graphs

Figure 24–3 Line Sparkchart

■ Floating bar sparkcharts require two series of data values, one for the float offset,
and one for the bar value Figure 24–4 shows an example of a floating bar
sparkchart in a table column.

Figure 24–4 Floating Bar Sparkchart

24.3.13 Stock Graph Data Requirements

Stock graphs display stock prices and, optionally, the volume of trading for one or more
stocks in a graph. When any stock or candle stock graph includes the volume of
trading, the volume appears as bars in the lower part of the graph.
Candle stock graphs display stock prices and, optionally, the volume of trading for
only a single stock. When a candle stock graph includes the volume of trading, the
volume appears as bars in the lower part of the graph.
Candle stock graphs also show the lesser of the open and close values at the bottom of
the candle. The greater value appears at the top of the candle. If the closing value is
greater than the opening value, then the candle is green. If the opening value is higher
than the closing value, then the candle is red.

24.3.13.1 Stock Graphs: High-Low-Close

Data requirements for a high-low-close stock graph are:
■ Each stock marker requires a group of three data values in the following sequence:
High, Low, Close. To display stock data for more than one day, data must be in
multiples of three, such as three data values for Monday, three data values for
Tuesday, and so on.
■ A series (or set) of data is represented by markers of the same color that represent
one stock. A series is labeled by legend text such as Stock A. The legend appears
even if you have only one stock with the except of candle stock graphs. Most
high-low-close stock graphs have only one series. If you show more than one
series and the prices of the different stocks overlap, then some stock markers
obscure other stock markers.

24.3.13.2 Stock Graphs: High-Low-Close with Volume

Data requirements for a high-low-close stock graph with volume are:
■ Each stock marker requires a group of four data values in the following sequence:
High, Low, Close, Volume. To display stock data for more than one day, data must
be in multiples of four and sequenced as follows: Monday High, Monday Low,
Monday Close, Monday Volume, and so on for each additional day.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-13

Understanding Data Requirements for Graphs

■ High-low-close stock graphs that also show volume can display the data for only
one stock. The label for this stock appears in the legend of the graph.

24.3.13.3 Stock Graphs: Open-High-Low-Close

Data requirements for an open-high-low-close stock graph are:
■ Each stock marker requires a group of four data values in the following sequence:
Open, High, Low, Close. To display stock data for more than one day, data must be
in multiples of four, such as four data values for Monday, four data values for
Tuesday, and so on.
■ A series (or set) of data is represented by markers that have the same color and
represent one stock. A series is labeled by legend text such as Stock A. The legend
appears even if you have only one stock. Most open-high-low-close stock graphs
have only one series. If you show more than one series and the prices of the
different stocks overlap, then some stock markers obscure other stock markers.

24.3.13.4 Stock Graphs: Open-High-Low-Close with Volume

Data requirements for an open-high-low-close stock graph with volume are:
■ Each stock marker requires a group of five data values in the following sequence:
Open, High, Low, Close, Volume. To display stock data for more than one day,
data must be in multiples of five and sequenced as follows: Monday Open,
Monday High, Monday Low, Monday Close, Monday Volume, and so on for each
additional day.
■ Open-high-low-close stock graphs that also show volume can display the data for
only one stock. The label for this stock appears in the legend of the graph.

24.3.13.5 Candle Stock Graphs: Open-Close

Data requirements for an open-close candle stock graph are:
■ Each stock marker requires a group of two data values in the following sequence:
Open, Close. To display stock data for more than one day, data must be in
multiples of two, such as two data values for Monday, two data values for
Tuesday, and so on.
■ A series (or set of data) is represented by markers for one stock. Candle stock
graphs allow the display of values for only one stock. For this reason, no legend
appears in these graphs and you should show the series label (which is the name
of the stock) in the title of the graph.

24.3.13.6 Candle Stock Graphs: Open-Close with Volume

Data requirements for an open-close candle stock graph with volume are:
■ Each stock marker requires a group of three data values in the following sequence:
Open, Close, Volume. To display stock data for more than one day, data must be in
multiples of three, such as three data values for Monday, three data values for
Tuesday, and so on.
■ A series (or set of data) is represented by markers for one stock. Candle stock
graphs allow the display of values for only one stock. For this reason, no legend
appears in these graphs and you should show the series label (which is the name
of the stock) in the title of the graph.

24-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a Graph

24.3.13.7 Candle Stock Graphs: Open-High-Low-Close

Data requirements for an open-high-low-close candle stock graph are:
■ Each stock marker requires a group of four data values in the following sequence:
Open, High, Low, Close. To display stock data for more than one day, data must be
in multiples of four, such as four data values for Monday, four data values for
Tuesday, and so on.
■ A series (or set) of data is represented by markers for one stock. Candle stock
graphs allow the display of values for only one stock. For this reason, no legend
appears in these graphs and you should show the series label (which is the name
of the stock) in the title of the graph.

24.3.13.8 Candle Stock Graphs: Open-High-Low-Close with Volume

Data requirements for an open-high-low-close candle stock graph with volume are:
■ Each stock marker requires a group of five data values in the following sequence:
Open, High, Low, Close, Volume. To display stock data for more than one day,
data must be in multiples of five, such as five data values for Monday, five data
values for Tuesday, and so on.
■ A series (or set) of data is represented by markers for one stock. Candle stock
graphs allow the display of values for only one stock. For this reason, no legend
appears in these graphs and you should show the series label (which is the name
of the stock) in the title of the graph.

24.4 Creating a Graph

You can use any of the following data sources to create a graph component:
■ ADF Data Controls: You declaratively create a databound graph by dragging and
dropping a data collection from the ADF Data Controls panel. You can create a
graph using a data collection that provides row set data as described in the
"Creating Databound ADF Graphs" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.
■ Hierarchical data: You can create a graph from a data control that provides
hierarchical data. However, the current release does not include an
implementation of a hierarchical data control that is supported by graph.
■ Tabular data: You can provide CSV (comma-separated value) data to a graph
through the tabularData attribute as shown in Section 24.4.1, "How to Create a
Graph Using Tabular Data.".

24.4.1 How to Create a Graph Using Tabular Data

The process of creating a graph from tabular data includes the following steps:
■ Storing tabular data in a method in the graph’s managed bean.
■ Creating a graph that uses the tabular data stored in the managed bean.

24.4.1.1 Storing Tabular Data for a Graph in a Managed Bean

The tabularData attribute of a dvt:graph component lets you specify a list of
data that the graph uses to create a grid and populate itself. To construct this list, you
require an understanding of series and groups of data in a graph as well as knowledge
of the structure of the list.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-15

Creating a Graph

24.4.1.1.1 Series and Groups of Data A graph displays series and groups of data. Series
and groups are analogous to the rows and columns of a grid. Usually the rows in the
grid appear as a series in a graph and the columns in the grid appear as groups in the
graph.
For most graphs, a series appears as a set of markers that are the same color. Usually
the graph legend shows the identification and associated color of each series. For
example, in a bar graph, the yellow bars might represent the sales of shoes and the
green bars might represent the sales of boots.
Groups appear differently in different graph types. In a clustered bar graph, each
cluster is a group. In a stacked bar graph, each stack is a group. In a multiple pie
graph, each pie is a group. A group might represent time periods, such as years. A
group might also represent geographical locations such as regions.
Depending on the data requirements for a graph type, a single group might require
multiple data values. For example, a scatter graph requires two values for each data
marker. The first value determines where the marker appears along the x-axis while
the second value determines where the marker appears along the y-axis.

24.4.1.1.2 Structure of the List of Tabular Data The list that contains the tabular data
consists of a three-member Object array for each data value to be passed to the
graph. The members of each array must be organized as follows:
■ The first member (index 0) is the column label, in the grid, of the data value. This
is generally a String. If the graph has a time axis, then this should be a Java Date.
Column labels typically identify groups in the graph.
■ The second member (index 1) is the row label, in the grid, of the data value. This is
generally a String. Row labels appear as series labels in the graph, usually in the
legend.
■ The third member (index 2) is the data value, which is usually Double.

24.4.1.1.3 Example of a List of Data Figure 24–5 has three columns: 2006, 2007, and 2008.
This graph also has two row: Shoes and Boots. This data produces a graph that
compares annual sales for boots and shoes over a three-year period.

Figure 24–5 Comparison of Annual Sales

Example 24–3 shows code that creates the list of data required for a graph to compare
annual sales of shoes and boots for a three-year period.

Example 24–3 Code to Create a List of Data for a Graph

public List getTabularData()
{
ArrayList list = new ArrayList();
String[] rowLabels = new String[] {"Boots", "Shoes"};
String[] colLabels = new String[] {"2006", "2007", "2008"};
Double [] [] values = new Double[][]{
{120000, 122000, 175000},
{90000, 110000, 150000}
};
for (int c = 0; c < colLabels.length; c++)

24-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Changing the Graph Type

{
for (int r = 0; r < rowLabels.length; r++)
{
list.add (new Object [] {colLabels[c], rowLabels[r],
new Double (values[r][c])});
}
}
return list;
}

24.4.1.2 Creating a Graph Using Tabular Data

Use the tabularData attribute of a graph tag to reference data that is stored in a
method in a managed bean.

To create a graph that uses data from a managed bean:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Go to Properties.

2. In the Data attributes category of the Property Inspector, click the TabularData
attribute dropdown menu and choose Expression Builder.
3. From the ensuing dialog, use the search box to locate the managed bean.
4. Expand the managed bean node and select the method that contains the list of
tabular data.
5. Click OK.
In the Expression Builder, the tabularData attribute is set to reference the method
that you selected in the managed bean. For example, for a managed bean named
named sampleGraph and a method named getTabularData, the tabularData
attribute has the following setting: #(sampleGraph.tabularData).

24.4.2 What Happens When You Create a Graph Using Tabular Data
When you create a graph that is powered by data obtained from a list referenced the
tabulularData attribute a vertical clustered bar graph is created by default. You
have the option of changing the settings of the graphType attribute to any of the
more than 50 graphs that are available as long as the tabular data meets the data
requirements for that graph type. You can also change the settings of the many
additional attributes on the dvt:graph tag.
Customize the graph by dragging any of the graph child tags to the dvt:graph node
in the Structure window and providing settings for the attributes that you want to
specify.

24.5 Changing the Graph Type

When you insert a graph using the Data Controls panel or the Component Palette, the
Component Gallery displays available graph categories, types, and quick-start layout
options from which to choose. Selecting a graph type sets the subType attribute for
that graph. You can change the type for all graphs except the funnel and radar graphs.

To change the type of a graph:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Go to Properties.

2. In the Common attributes category of the Property Inspector, for the SubType
attribute, select the desired type from the attribute dropdown menu. The valid
values will vary depending on the graph.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-17

Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

For example, the valid values for a bar graph are:

■ BAR_VERT_CLUST: Clustered bar graph that has a vertical orientation.
■ BAR_VERT_CLUST_SPLIT2Y: Clustered, vertical, split dual-Y bar graph.
■ BAR_VERT_CLUST2Y: Clustered, vertical, dual-Y bar graph.
■ BAR_VERT_FLOAT_STACK: Floating, vertical, stacked bar graph.
■ BAR_VERT_PERCENT: Percent, vertical bar graph.
■ BAR_VERT_STACK: Stacked, vertical bar graph.
■ BAR_VERT_STACK_SPLIT2Y: Stacked, vertical, split dual-Y bar graph.
■ BAR_VERT_STACK2Y: Stacked, vertical, dual-Y bar graph.

24.6 Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

Most graph types have common features that are available for customization. The
following types of customization are supported by most graph types:
■ Changing the color, style, and display of graph data values. For information, see
Section 24.6.1, "Changing the Color, Style, and Display of Graph Data Values."
■ Formatting numbers in graphs. For information, see Section 24.6.2, "Formatting
Numbers in Graphs."
■ Formatting text in graphs. For information, see Section 24.6.3, "Formatting Text in
Graphs."

Note: In order to avoid invalid color values, JDeveloper provides a

color selection dialog when you specify color-related attributes in
graph elements.

When you edit graph components in the visual editor, specialized context menus and
Property Inspector buttons are available to support the customization of graph
features. Popups in the editor provide confirmation of selection of the graph feature to
be customized. For example, Figure 24–6 shows the popup displayed in the plot area
of a line graph.

Figure 24–6 Visual Editor Popup in Line Graph

24-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

When the graph feature is selected in the visual editor, a specialized editing context
menu is made available. Figure 24–7 shows the line graph plot area context menu from
which you can choose a variety of options including removing the default display of
the horizontal grid marks. You can also use the context menu or the Property Inspector
buttons to configure special fill effects in the plot area. The selection of the graph tags
is synchronized in the visual editor, Structure window, Property Inspector, and source
editor.

Figure 24–7 Line Graph Plot Area Context Menu

For additional information about configuring line graphs, see. Section 24.7.2,
"Changing the Appearance of Lines in Graphs." For additional information about
configuring special fill effects, see Section 24.8.2, "Using Gradient Special Effects in
Graphs."

24.6.1 Changing the Color, Style, and Display of Graph Data Values
For most graph types, an entry appears in the legend for each set of data values
represented as graph bars, lines, areas, points, and slices. This entry identifies a set of
related data values and displays the color that represents the set in the graph. For
example, a bar graph might use yellow bars to represent the sales of shoes and green
bars to represent the sales of boots. The graph component refers to each set of related
data values as a series.
The graph automatically assigns a different color to each set of data values. You can
customize the colors assigned to each series, including the fill color and the border
color. For some graph types, you can enable filtering the display of data values in a
graph by hiding or showing the series from the graph legend.
You can specify additional characteristics for specific graph types such as the width
and style of lines in a line graph with choices including solid lines, dotted lines, lines
with dashes, and so on. For more information, see Section 24.7.2, "Changing the
Appearance of Lines in Graphs."
For scatter graphs you can separate data marker shape and color from the series to
display the interdependence of data values. For more information, see Section 24.7.4,
"Customizing Scatter Graph Series Markers."
You can also customize the colors of each series in a graph by adding gradient special
effects. For more information, see Section 24.8.2, "Using Gradient Special Effects in
Graphs."

Using ADF Graph Components 24-19

Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

24.6.1.1 How to Specify the Color and Style for Individual Series Items
Use one dvt:seriesSet tag to wrap all the individual dvt:series tags for a graph
and set attributes for color and style of graph data markers.

To specify the color and style for series items in a graph:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:seriesSet child tag in the graph node,
and choose Go to Properties.
2. Optionally, use the Property Inspector to specify values for attributes of the
dvt:seriesSet tag.
The attributes of this tag determine default settings for all series tags in the set.
However, you can override these settings for a given series by entering values in
the corresponding attributes of a dvt:series tag.
3. In the Structure window, right-click the seriesSet node and choose Insert inside
dvt:seriesSet > Series.
The first dvt:series tag represents the first series item that appears in the Create
Graph Binding dialog.
4. Use the Property Inspector to specify colors and other characteristics as needed for
the dvt:series tag.
5. Repeat Step 3 and Step 4 for each series item.

24.6.1.2 How to Control the Number of Different Colors Used for Series Items
The graph stores separate properties (such as color) for a specific number of series.
Beyond that number, the graph repeats series properties. By default, a graph allows up
to 30 different series items for which it displays separate properties.
The value in the seriesObjectCount attribute of the graph determines the number
of series before properties are repeated. If seriesObjectCount is set to the value 4,
then series 5 has the same properties as series 1, series 6 has the same properties as
series 2, and so on.

To control the number of different colors used for series items:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Go to Properties.

2. In the Property Inspector, in the Appearance attributes category, specify a

zero-based value for the seriesObjectCount attribute of the graph.

24.6.1.3 How to Enable Hiding and Showing Series Items

For graph types including area, bar, bubble, combination, line, pie, radar, and scatter,
you can enable the hiding or showing of the series in a graph at runtime. Although at
least one series must be displayed in the graph, users can filter the display of data
values by clicking on the corresponding legend item.

To enable hiding and show series items:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Go to Properties.
2. In the Property Inspector, in the Series section of the Appearance attributes
category, set the hideAndShowBehavior attribute of the graph. Valid values
include:
■ none: Default value, no hide and show series behavior is enabled.
■ withRescale: Rescales the graph to show only the visible series.

24-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

■ withoutRescale: Hides the series, but does not rescale the graph.

24.6.2 Formatting Numbers in Graphs

Use the dvt:numberFormat tag to specify formatting for numeric values related to
any of the following graph tags:
■ dvt:sliceLabel
■ dvt:stockVolumeFormat
■ dvt:x1Axis
■ dvt:x1Format
■ dvt:y1Axis
■ dvt:y1Format
■ dvt:y2Axis
■ dvt:y2Format
■ dvt:zFormat
You can specify number formatting directly in the dvt:numberFormat tag or you can
use the af:convertNumber tag as a child tag of dvt:numberFormat.

24.6.2.1 How to Format Numbers in the y1-Axis of a Graph

You can use the af:convertNumber tag within dvt:numberFormat to format
numbers in the y1-axis of a graph. In this sample procedure, the dvt:numberFormat
tag is a child of dvt:y1Axis.

To format numbers in the y1-axis of a graph:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the child dvt:y1Axis tag of the graph tag and
choose Go to Properties.
2. In the Property Inspector, click the Configure Y1 Axis button and choose Number
Values from the dropdown list.
3. In the Property Inspector for the dvt:formatNumber tag, specify values as
needed.
4. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:y1numberFormat tag and choose
Insert inside dvt:numberFormat > af:convertNumber.
5. In the Property Inspector, specify values as needed for the attributes of the
af:convertNumber tag.
Example 24–4 shows the XML code that is generated if you format the numbers in the
y1-axis of a graph to appear as currency, and using the dollar sign symbol.

Example 24–4 Formatting the Numbers in the y1-axis of a Graph

<graph>
<dvt:y1Axis lineColor="#00000" axisMinValue="0.0" axisMaxValue="60.0">
<dvt:numberFormat>
<af:convertNumber type="currency" currencySymbol="$"/>
</dvt:numberFormat>
</dvt:y1Axis>
</graph>

Using ADF Graph Components 24-21

Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

24.6.2.2 How to Format Numbers for the Marker Text of a Graph

You can use the dvt:numberFormat tag directly to format numbers in the marker
text of a graph. The attributes of this tag let you format percents, scale numbers,
control the number of decimal places, placement of signs, and so on.
You can provide different formatting for the marker text of each axis in the graph. In
this procedure, the dvt:numberFormat tag is used to format the marker text on
dvt:y1axis.

To format numbers for the marker text in the y1-axis of a graph:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Marker Text.
2. In the Property Inspector, optionally enter values for attributes of
dvt:markerText.
3. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:markerText node and choose Insert
inside dvt:markerText > Y1 Format.
4. In the Property Inspector, optionally enter values as needed for the
dvt:y1Format attributes.
5. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:y1Format node and choose Insert
inside dvt:y1Format > Number Format.
6. In the Property Inspector, specify values as needed for the attributes of the
dvt:numberFormat tag.
Example 24–5 shows the XML code that is generated when you format the numbers in
the marker text for the y1-axis of a graph. This example specifies that numbers should
be followed by a sign and that the text will appear above the markers. For example, in
a bar graph, the text will appear above the bars.

Example 24–5 Formatting Numbers in Graph Marker Text

<dvt:barGraph>
<dvt:markerText visible="true" markerTextPlace="MTP_OUTSIDE_MAX">
<dvt:y1Format>
<dvt:numberFormat posNumFmt="POS_NUMFMT_NUM_POS"/>
</dvt:y1Format>
</dvt:markerText>
</dvt:barGraph>

24.6.3 Formatting Text in Graphs

You can format text in any of the following subcomponents of a graph:
■ Annotation: Includes only the dvt:annotation tag.
■ Axis title: Includes the dvt:o1Title, dvt:x1Title, dvt:y1Title, and
dvt:y2Title tags.
■ Axis tick label: Includes the dvt:o1TickLabel, dvt:x1TickLabel,
dvt:y1TickLabel, and dvt:y2TickLabel tags.
■ Graph title: Includes the dvt:graphFootnote, dvt:graphSubtitle, and
dvt:graphTitle tags.
■ Legend: Includes only the dvt:legendText tag.
■ Marker: Includes only the dvt:markerText tag.

24-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

Use the dvt:graphFont tag as a child of the specific subcomponent for which you
want to format text. For an example of formatting text in a graph, see Section 24.6.5.2,
"How to Specify Titles and Footnotes in a Graph,".

24.6.3.1 How to Globally Set Graph Font Using a Skin

You can set the font attributes of graph components globally across all pages in your
application by using a cascading style sheet (CSS) to build a skin, and configuring
your application to use the skin. By applying a skin to define the fonts used in graph
components, the pages in an application will be smaller and more organized, with a
consistent style easily modified by changing the CSS file.
You can use the ADF Data Visualization Tools Skin Selectors to define the font styles
for graph components. Graph component skin selectors include the following:
■ af|dvt-graphFootnote
■ af|dvt-graphSubtitle
■ af|dvt-graphTitle
■ af|dvt-o1Title
■ af|dvt-x1Title
■ af|dvt-y1Title
■ af|dvt-y2Title
■ af|dvt-pieLabel
■ af|dvt-legendTitle
■ af|dvt-legendText
■ af|dvt-markerText
■ af|dvt-o1TickLabel
■ af|dvt-x1TickLabel
■ af|dvt-y1TickLabel
■ af|dvt-y2TickLabel
■ af|dvt-annotation
■ af|dvt-sliceLabel
■ af|dvt-tooltips

To use a custom skin to set graph fonts:

1. Add a custom skin to your application containing the defined skin style selectors
for the graph subcomponents. You can specify values for the following attributes:
■ -tr-font-family: Specifies the font family (name). It may not contain more
than one font. If multiple fonts are specified, the first font will be used.
■ -tr-font-size: Specifies the size of the font.
■ -tr-font-style: Specifies the style of the font. Valid values are normal or
italic.
■ -tr-font-weight: Specifies the weight of the font. Valid values are normal
or bold.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-23

Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

■ -tr-text-decoration: Specifies whether or not the underline emphasis is

rendered. Valid values are none or underline.
■ -tr-color: Specifies the color of the font. Valid values are color names for
HTML and CSS, 3 or 6 digits HEX, RGB (or RGBA).
For example, specify the font family for all graph titles in a mySkin.css file as
follows:
af|dvt-graphTitle,
{
-tr-font-family: Comic Sans MS:
}

2. Register the custom skin with the application in the trinidad-skins.xml file.
For example, mySkin.css extends the default blafplus-rich.desktop style
sheet:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
<skins xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/skin">
<skin>
<id>mySkinExtends.desktop</id>
<family>mySkinExtends</family>
<extends>blafplus-rich.desktop</extends>
<render-kit-id>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.desktop</render-kit-id>
<style-sheet-name>skins/mySkin.css</style-sheet-name>
</skin>
</skins>

3. Configure the application to use the custom skin in the trinidad-config.xml

file. For example:
<trinidad-config xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/config">
<skin-family>mySkin</skin-family>
</trinidad-config>

4. Package the custom skin into a jar file to deploy with the application. The
trinidad-skins.xml file that defines the skin and that references the CSS file
must be within the META-INF directory.
For detailed information about applying a custom skin to applications, see Chapter 20,
"Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins."

24.6.4 Changing Graph Size and Style

You can customize the width and height of a graph and you can allow for dynamic
resizing of a graph based on changes to the size of its container. You can also control
the style sheet used by a graph. These two aspects of a graph are interrelated in that
they share the use of the graph inlineStyle attribute.

24.6.4.1 How to Specify the Size of a Graph at Initial Display

You can specify the initial size of a graph by setting values for attributes of the
dvt:<type>Graph tag. If you do not also provide for dynamic resizing of the graph,
then the initial size becomes the only display size for the graph.

To specify the size of a graph at its initial display:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Go to Properties.

2. In the Style attributes category of the Property Inspector, enter a value for the
inlineStyle attribute of the graph tag. For example:

24-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

inlineStyle="width:200px;height:200px"

24.6.4.2 How to Provide for Dynamic Resizing of a Graph

You must enter values in each of two attributes of the dvt:<type>Graph tag to allow
for a graph to resize when its container in a JSF page changes in size. The values that
you specify for this capability also are useful for creating a graph component that fills
an area across different browser window sizes.

To allow dynamic resizing of a graph:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Go to Properties.

2. In the Behavior attributes category of the Property Inspector for the

DynamicResize attribute, select the value DYNAMIC_SIZE.
3. In the Style attributes category of the Property Inspector for the InlineStyle
attribute, enter a fixed number of pixels or a relative percent for both width and
height.
For example, to create a graph that fills its container’s width and has a height of
200 pixels, use the following setting for the inlineStyle attribute:
"width:100%;height:200px;".

24.6.4.3 How to Use a Specific Style Sheet for a Graph

You have the option of selecting any of the standard styles available for the
dvt:<type>Graph tag. You can also specify a custom style sheet for use with a
graph.

To select a specific style sheet for a graph:

1. If you want to use one of the standard style sheets provided with the graph, do the
following:
a. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Go to
Properties.
b. In the Appearance attributes category, select the desired style sheet from the
style attribute dropdown list.
2. If you want to use a custom style sheet, then set the following attributes in the
Style attributes category of the Property Inspector:
a. For the StyleClass attribute, select Edit from the Property menu choices,
and select the CSS style class to use for this gauge.
b. In the InlineStyle attribute, enter a fixed number of pixels or a relative
percent for both width and height.
For example, to create a graph that fills its container’s width and has a height
of 200 pixels, use the following setting for the inlineStyle attribute:
"width:100%;height:200px;"

24.6.5 Changing Graph Background, Plot Area, and Title

The graph automatically provides default settings for its background and plot area
based on the style it is using. You can customize these settings using child tags of the
graph.
The graph also provides title, subtitle, and footnote options that you can specify. By
default, no text is provided for titles and footnotes. When you enter this information,
you can also specify the font and font characteristics that you want to use for the text.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-25

Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

24.6.5.1 How to Customize the Background and Plot Area of a Graph

You can customize the following parts of graphs related to background and plot area:
■ Background: The area on which the graph is plotted.
■ Plot area: A frame in which data is plotted for all graphs other than pie graphs.
Axes are displayed on at least two borders of the plot area.
■ Pie frame: A frame in which pie graphs are plotted without the use of axes.

To customize the background and plot area of a graph:

1. If you want to customize the background of a graph, do the following:
a. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Background.
b. Use the Property Inspector to enter colors in the attributes that you want to
customize in the dvt:background tag.
2. If you want to customize the plot area of any graph other than a pie graph, do the
following:
a. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Plot Area.
b. Use the Property Inspector to enter colors in the attributes that you want to
customize in the dvt:graphPlotArea tag.
3. If you want to customize the plot area of a pie graph, do the following:
a. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Pie Frame.
b. Use the Property Inspector to enter colors in the attributes that you want to
customize in the dvt:graphPieFrame tag.

Note: You can also customize the colors of the background and plot
area in a graph by adding gradient special effects. For more
information, see Section 24.8.2, "Using Gradient Special Effects in
Graphs."

24.6.5.2 How to Specify Titles and Footnotes in a Graph

You have the option of specifying a title, subtitle, and footnote for a graph. You use a
separate child tag of the graph for each of these text entries. The attributes of each of
these child tags let you define the horizontal alignment of the text field, the text
content, and whether or not the text should be rendered.
The tags for title, subtitle, and footnote support the use of a child graph font tag to let
you identify the exact font characteristics to be used for each text field.

To specify titles and a footnote for a graph:

1. If you want to enter a graph title, do the following:
a. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Graph Title.
b. Use the Property Inspector to specify values in the attributes of the
dvt:graphTitle tag.

24-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

c. If you want to provide specific font characteristics for the text, then in the
Structure window, right-click the dvt:graphTitle node and choose Insert
inside dvt:graphTitle > Font.
d. Use the Property Inspector to specify values for the attributes of the
dvt:graphFont tag.
2. If you want to enter a graph subtitle, do the following:
a. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Subtitle.
b. Use the Property Inspector to specify values in the attributes of the
dvt:graphSubtitle tag.
c. If you want to provide specific font characteristics for the text, in the Structure
window, right-click the dvt:graphSubtitle node and choose Insert inside
dvt:graphSubtitle > Font.
d. Use the Property Inspector to specify values for the attributes of the
dvt:graphFont tag.
3. If you want to enter a graph footnote, do the following:
a. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Footnote.
b. Use the Property Inspector to specify values in the attributes of the
dvt:graphFootnote tag.
c. If you want to provide specific font characteristics for the text, then in the
Structure window, right-click the dvt:graphFootnote node and choose Insert
inside dvt:graphFootnote > Font.
d. Use the Property Inspector to specify values for the attributes of the
dvt:graphFont tag.

24.6.6 Customizing Graph Axes and Labels

Graphs can have the following axes:
■ Ordinal axis (also known as the o1-axis): The ordinal (or category) axis of a graph
shows ordered data, such as ratings or stages, or shows nominal data, such as
different cities or different products. The ordinal axis appears on bar, line, area,
combination, or radar graphs. When the ordinal axis is horizontal and contains
time data, it is called a time axis.
An example of an ordinal axis is the horizontal line across the bottom of the plot
area of a vertical bar graph. The values along this axis do not identify the extent of
the data shown. Instead, they identify the different groups to which the data
belongs.
■ x1-axis: The x1-axis shows the values that appear along the horizontal axis in a
graph. This axis has regular intervals of numbers instead of group labels. It is
referred to as the x-axis.
■ y1-axis: The y1-axis is the primary y-axis. It is usually the vertical value axis along
the left side of the plot area. It has regular intervals of numbers.
■ y2-axis: The y2-axis is the secondary y-axis. It is usually the vertical axis along the
right side of the plot area. It has regular intervals of numbers.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-27

Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

For each axis, there are several graph child tags that support customization. The
following sections discuss the options available for various kinds of customization of
an axis.

24.6.6.1 How to Specify the Title, Appearance, and Scaling of an Axis

The following graph child tags support customization of the title, and appearance of
an axis:
■ Title: Specifies the text and alignment for an axis title. Includes the following tags:
dvt:o1Title, dvt:x1Title, dvt:y1Title, and dvt:y2Title. An axis does
not show a title unless you use the appropriate title tag.
■ Axis: Controls the color, line width, scaling, increment between tick marks,
visibility of the axis, and scrolling in specific graph types. Includes the following
tags: dvt:o1Axis, dvt:x1Axis, dvt:y1Axis, dvt:y2Axis.

Note: Scaling attributes are not present on the dvt:o1Axis tag

because the ordinal axis does not display numeric values.

To specify the title and appearance of an x1-axis:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > x1 Title.
2. In the Property Inspector, enter the text for the axis title and optionally specify
values for other attributes of this tag.
3. If you want to specify font characteristics for the title, do the following:
a. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:x1Title node and choose Insert
inside dvt:x1Title > Font.
b. In the Property Inspector, enter the desired values for the characteristics of the
font.
4. Optionally, in the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert
inside dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > x1 Axis.
5. In the Property Inspector, enter the desired values for the attributes of this tag.
The procedure for controlling the title and appearance of any graph axis is similar to
the procedure for the x-axis. However, insert the title and axis tags related to the
specific axis that you want to customize.

24.6.6.2 How to Specify Scrolling on an Axis

Scrolling on a graph axis can be specified for the following graph types:
■ Area, bar, and line graphs for the dvt:o1Axis, dvt:y1Axis, and dvt:y2Axis
tags.
■ Bubble and scatter graphs for the dvt:x1Axis,dvt:y1Axis, and dvt:y2Axis
tags.
By default, a graph axis scrolling attribute is set to off. You can specify these
values for the scrolling attribute:
■ off: Scrolling is disabled (default).
■ on: Scrolling is enabled and the scroll bar is always present.

24-28 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

■ asNeeded: Scrolling is enabled, but the scrollbar is not initially present. After
zooming on the graph, the scrollbar displays and remains visible for the session.
■ hidden: Scrolling is enabled but the scroll bar is always hidden. User may use pan
scrolling.

24.6.6.3 How to Control the Appearance of Tick Marks and Labels on an Axis
Tick marks are used to indicate specific values along a scale on a graph. The following
graph child tags support customization of the tick marks and their labels on an axis:
■ Major tick: Controls the color, width, and style of tick marks on the axis. Includes
the following tags: dvt:o1MajorTick, dvt:x1MajorTick,
dvt:y1MajorTick, and dvt:y2MajorTick. Major tick increments are
calculated automatically by default, or you can specify the tick steps with the
majorIncrement attribute.
■ Minor tick: Controls the color, width, and style of minor tick marks on the axis.
Includes the following tags: dvt:x1MinorTick, dvt:y1MinorTick, and
dvt:y2MinorTick. Minor tick increments are one-half of the major tick
increment by default, or you can specify the tick steps with the minorIncrement
attribute. Minor ticks do not support labels.
■ Tick label: Controls the rotation of major tick label text and lets you specify font
characteristics for the label. Includes the following tags: dvt:o1TickLabel,
dvt:x1TickLabel, dvt:y1TickLabel, and dvt:y2TickLabel. These tags
can also have a dvt:graphFont child tag to change font characteristics of the
label.

To control the appearance of the ordinal axis tick labels:

1. In the visual editor, select the o1 Tick Label element on the graph.
Alternatively, you can select the dvt:o1Axis element in the Structure window,
then in the Property Inspector click the Configure o1Axis button and choose
Value Labels.
2. In the Property Inspector enter values as needed for the following properties:
■ TextRotation: Use to specify the degree of text rotation to improve readability
of the tick labels.
■ TickLabelSkipMode: Use to specify if and how tick labels will be displayed
on the ordinal axis. When you set the value at TLS_MANUAL, you can
optionally use the tickLabelSkipCount to set the number of tick labels to
display between tick labels and tickLabelSkipFirst to set the index of the
first tick label to be skipped.
3. Optionally, in the Property Inspector, click the Configure Font button to set
properties for the child dvt:graphFont tag.

To control the appearance of tick marks and labels on an x-axis:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > X1 Major Tick.
2. In the Property Inspector, enter desired values for the attributes of this tag and
click the Configure Tick Label button to add an X1 Tick Label tag to the graph.
3. In the Property Inspector, enter desired values for the X1 Tick Label and if desired,
click the Configure Font button to specify font characteristics for the tick label.
4. If you want to specify minor ticks in the graph, do the following:

Using ADF Graph Components 24-29

Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

a. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > X1 Minor Tick.
b. In the Property Inspector, enter desired values for the characteristics of the
font.

Note: For the tickStyle attribute you must specify a value other
than GS_NONE or GS_AUTOMATIC.

The procedure for controlling the appearance of tick marks on any graph axis is
similar to the procedure for the x-axis. However, you customize the major tick and
label tags and insert the minor ticks related to the specific axis that you want to
customize.

24.6.6.4 How to Format Numbers on an Axis

The dvt:markerText tag lets you to control the format of numbers on an axis. The
following dvt:markerText child tags wrap the number format for specific axes:
dvt:x1Format, dvt:y1Format, and dvt:y2Format.

Note: There is no format for the ordinal axis because that axis does
not contain numeric values.

To format numbers on these axes, insert child tags for the appropriate axis as shown in
Section 24.6.2, "Formatting Numbers in Graphs."

24.6.6.5 How to Set Minimum and Maximum Values on a Data Axis

The Y-axes have the following graph child tags to support the starting value of the
axis: dvt:y1Axis, and dvt:y2Axis. You have the option of specifying different
scaling on each y-axis in a dual y-axis graph. For example, the y1-axis might represent
units in hundreds while the y2-axis might represent sales in thousands of dollars.
Some graphs, such as scatter and bubble graphs, contain a dvt:x1Axis child tag for
which the minimum and maximum values can also be set.

To specify the starting value on a y1-axis:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > y1 Axis.
2. In the Property Inspector, for the AxisMinValue field, enter the starting value for
the y1-axis.
3. In the AxisMinAutoScaled field, select false from the attribute dropdown list.
You must set this attribute in order for the minimum value to be honored.
To establish the starting value on a y2-axis, use a similar procedure, but insert the
dvt:y2Axis tag as a child of the graph.

24.6.7 Customizing Graph Legends

Graph components provide child tags for the following kinds of customization for the
legend:
■ Specifying the color, border, visibility, positioning, and scrollability of the legend
area relative to the graph, dvt:legendArea tag

24-30 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

■ Specifying the font characteristics and positioning of the text that is related to each
colored entry in the legend, dvt:legendText tag
■ Specifying an optional title and font characteristics for the legend area,
dvt:legendTitle tag

To customize the legend area, legend text, and title:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Legend Area.
2. Use the Property Inspector to specify values for the attributes of this tag. For
example, you can specify the following attributes for the legend area:
■ AutomaticPlacement and Position: Specify automatic positioning of the
legend area on the right or the bottom of the graph with the default value of
AP_ALWAYS. Setting the value at AP_NEVER requires the value of the
position attribute to be used for positioning of the legend area.
■ Scrolling: Specify scrolling in the legend area when required space exceeds
available space using the value asNeeded. By default the value is set to off.
3. If you want to customize the legend text, do the following:
a. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Legend Text.
b. Use the Property Inspector to enter values for the attributes of this tag.
c. Right-click the dvt:legendText node and choose Insert inside dvt:legendText
> Font.
d. Use the Property Inspector to specify values for the attributes of the font tag.
4. If you want to enter a title for the legend, do the following:
a. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization, then Legend Title.
b. Use the Property Inspector to enter values for the attributes of this tag.
c. Right-click the dvt:legendTitle node and choose Insert inside dvt:legendTitle
> Font.
d. Use the Property Inspector to specify values for the attributes of the font tag.

24.6.8 Customizing Tooltips in Graphs

Tooltips are useful to display identification or detail information for data markers.
They can be very useful in smaller graphs without enough space to display
markerText. Graphs automatically displays tooltips for components like title,
subtitle, footnote, legend text, and annotations when their text is truncated.
In most graphs, if you move the cursor over a data marker, then a tooltip is displayed.
In a line or area graph, you must move the cursor over a data marker or at the corners
of the line or area and not merely over the line or area.
You can specify that each graph marker (such as bars) displays a tooltip with
information. The following graph attributes are used together to customize a graph
tooltip:
■ MarkerTooltipType: Specifies whether tooltips are displayed for markers (such as
bars) and identifies the kind of information that appears in the tooltips. You have
the option to display the following information: text only, values only, or text and

Using ADF Graph Components 24-31

Customizing the Appearance of Graphs

values. For specific graph types, options include displaying cumulative data value
for each stacked graph marker or displaying percentage data value for each pie
slice marker.
■ SeriesTooltipLabel: Specifies whether tooltips are displayed for each set of values
that appear in a legend. This attribute also controls the kind of information that
appears in a series tooltip. For example, you could choose to display text that
identifies a general term for the entire series (such as Product) or a specific term
for a given member of the series (such as a specific Product name).

Note: The graph displays series tooltip labels only if the graph’s
markerTooltipType attribute has a setting that includes text.

■ GroupTooltipLabelType: Specifies whether tooltip labels are displayed for data

groups along an axis. For example, sales for specific products might be grouped by
years or quarters. You can choose to display text that identifies a general term for
the entire group (such as Time) or specific terms for each member of the group
(such as Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4 for quarters).
You can quickly format all the marker tooltips in a graph by setting the graph’s
markerTooltipTemplate attribute to a tokenized String. The attribute accepts a
String that may contain any number of a set of predefined tokens. For example:
<dvt:lineGraph markerTooltipTemplate="Template Based Tooltip NEW_LINE SERIES_LABEL
GROUP_LABEL NEW_LINE Value: Y_VALUE"/>

The list of supported tokens is described in Table 24–1.

Table 24–1 markerTooltipTemplate String Tokens

Token Description
NEW_LINE Inserts a new line.
SERIES_LABEL The series label for the series of this marker.
GROUP_LABEL The group label for the group of this marker.
X_VALUE The X value of a scatter or bubble marker or continuous time
axis marker.
Y_VALUE The Y value of this marker (if this marker has a Y value).
Z_VALUE The Z value (bubble size) of a bubble marker.
PIE_VALUE The value of a pie slice.
PIE_PERCENT The pie slice percentage value.
ACTUAL_VALUE The actual value for a funnel slice.
TARGET_VALUE The target value for a funnel slice.
HIGH_VALUE The high value for a stock marker.
LOW_VALUE The low value for a stock marker.
CLOSE_VALUE The close value for a stock marker.
OPEN_VALUE The open value for a stock marker.
VOLUME_VALUE The volume value for a stock volume marker.
CUM_VALUE The cumulative stacked value for a stacked graph.

24-32 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Appearance of Specific Graph Types

Table 24–1 (Cont.) markerTooltipTemplate String Tokens

Token Description
CUM_PERCENT The cumulative percentage value for a stacked percent graph or
Pareto graph.

You can use the graph’s customToolTipCallback attribute to specify tooltips that
vary on an object by object basis. For example:
<dvt:graph id="g2" customToolTipCallback="#{customToolTipCallback.callback}"

24.7 Customizing the Appearance of Specific Graph Types

The graph components support more than 50 graph types. Some of the graph
attributes and several child tags relate only to specific graph types.

24.7.1 Changing the Appearance of Pie Graphs

You can customize the appearance of pie graphs and you can specify that you want
one slice of a pie to be separated from the other slices in the pie.

24.7.1.1 How to Customize the Overall Appearance of Pie Graphs

You can customize the appearance of a pie graph by inserting any of the following
child tags within the graph tag:
■ dvt:pieFeeler tag: Specifies the color of a line, called a pie feeler, that extends
from a pie slice to a slice label.
■ dvt:slice tag: Specifies the location of a label for a pie slice.
■ dvt:sliceLabel tag: Specifies the characteristics of the labels that describe each
slice of a pie or ring graph. Each slice represents a data value. Use the textType
attribute of this tag to indicate whether the slice label should show text only, value
only, percent only, or text and percent. If you want to format numbers or specify
font characteristics, you can add the following tags within the dvt:sliceLabel
tag: dvt:graphFont and dvt:numberFormat.

24.7.1.2 How to Customize an Exploding Pie Slice

When one slice is separated from the other slices in a pie, this display is referred to as
an exploding pie slice. The reason for separating one slice is to highlight that slice
possibly as having the highest value of the quantity being measured in the graph.
The slices of a pie graph are the sets of data that are represented in the graph legend.
As such, the slices are the series items of a pie graph.

Before you begin:

Follow the procedure in Section 24.6.1.1, "How to Specify the Color and Style for
Individual Series Items" to create a series set that wraps individual series items.

To customize one slice in a pie graph:

1. Follow the procedure in Section 24.6.1.1, "How to Specify the Color and Style for
Individual Series Items" to create a series set that wraps individual series items.
2. To separate one slice in a pie graph, in the Property Inspector, for the series tag
that represents the pie slice that you want to separate from the pie, set the

Using ADF Graph Components 24-33

Customizing the Appearance of Specific Graph Types

PieSliceExplode attribute between 0 to 100, where 100 is the maximum exploded

distance available.
3. To animate the slices in a pie graph, in the Property Inspector, set the
InteractiveSliceBehavior attribute on the dvt:pieGraph tag. Valid values are
any combination of the following:
■ none: No interactive slice behavior enabled.
■ explode: User can click to explode the slices in a pie graph.
■ explodeAll: Add Explode All and Unite All options to a context menu.
For example, you can specify that users can explode the slices in a pie graph, and
use a context menu to explode or collapse all the slices in the graph in the code:
<dvt:pieGraph interactiveSliceBehavior="explode explodeAll"/>

Note: The interactiveSliceBehavior attribute is only available

in a Flash image format, while the pieSliceExplode attribute is
available in all image formats.

24.7.2 Changing the Appearance of Lines in Graphs

You can use attributes of the dvt:seriesSet child of a graph tag to change the
appearance of lines in graphs.

24.7.2.1 How to Display Either Data Lines or Markers in Graphs

You have the option of displaying data lines or data markers in a line, combination, or
radar graph. If you display markers rather than data lines, then the markers appear in
the legend automatically.
In the Property Inspector, set the following attributes of the dvt:seriesSet tag to
display data lines or data markers:
■ LineDisplayed: Specifies whether data lines appear in the graph. You can set these
values:
– True indicates that data lines are displayed in the graph.
– False indicates that markers are displayed in the graph rather than data
lines.
■ MarkerDisplayed: Specifies whether markers or data lines appear in graph. You
can set these values:
– True indicates that markers are displayed in a graph.
– False indicates that data lines are displayed in a graph.

Note: Do not set both the lineDisplayed attribute and the

markerDisplayed attribute to False.

24.7.2.2 How to Change the Appearance of Lines in a Graph Series

You can customize the appearance of lines by using the dvt:seriesSet tag and the
dvt:series tag as described in the following list:

24-34 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Appearance of Specific Graph Types

■ On the dvt:seriesSet tag, you can affect all the dvt:series tags within that
set by specifying values for the following attributes:
– defaultMarkerShape: Used only for line, scatter, and combination graphs.
Identifies a default marker shape for all the series in the series set.
– defaultMarkerType: Used only for combination graphs. Valid values
include MT_AREA, MT_BAR, MT_MARKER, and MT_DEFAULT.
■ On the dvt:series tag, you can specify settings for each individual series using
the following line attributes:
– lineWidth: Specifies the width of a line in pixels
– lineStyle: Specifies whether you want the graph to use solid lines, dotted
lines, dashed lines, or dash-dot combination lines.
See the procedures in Section 24.6.1.1, "How to Specify the Color and Style for
Individual Series Items" for more information about using the dvt:seriesSet tag
and the dvt:series tag.

24.7.3 Customizing Pareto Graphs

A Pareto graph identifies the sources of defects using a series of bars. The bars are
arranged by value, from the greatest to the lowest number. The Pareto line shows the
percentage of cumulative values of the bars, to the total values of all the bars in the
graph. The line always ends at 100 percent.
You can customize the Pareto line and the Pareto marker by using the following graph
child tags:
■ dvt:paretoLine tag: Lets you specify the color, line width, and line style (such
as solid, dashed, dotted, or a combination of dash-dot).
■ dvt:paretoMarker tag: Lets you specify the shape of the Pareto markers.

To customize a Pareto graph:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Pareto Line.
2. In the Property Inspector, specify values for the attributes of this tag.
3. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Pareto Marker.
4. In the Property Inspector, select a value for the markerShape attribute.

24.7.4 Customizing Scatter Graph Series Markers

In scatter graphs, related data values in a series are represented by the data marker’s
shape and color. You can separate marker shape and color from the series to display
the interdependence of data values.
For example, Figure 24–8 shows a scatter graph that uses City and Product attributes
collectively to determine the series represented by the data marker’s shape and color.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-35

Adding Specialized Features to Graphs

Figure 24–8 Scatter Graph with Series Marker

The row header attributes can be used to override the default series specification.
Figure 24–9 shows a scatter graph that displays the data values for the City attribute
mapped to shapes and the Product attribute mapped to colors.

Figure 24–9 Scatter Graph with Series Item Markers

Use the following attributes to customize the scatter graph series markers:
■ markerShape - Specifies the row header attribute name to use to set the marker
color. The graph will display the default index based series marker colors if this
attribute is not specified.
■ markerColor - Specifies the row header attribute name to use to set the marker
shape. The graph will display the default index based series marker shapes if this
attribute is not specified.
For example, specify City and Product as separate series item markers using this code:
<dvt:scatterGraph markerColor="Product" markerShape="City"
value="#{bindings.View1.graphModel}"/>

24.8 Adding Specialized Features to Graphs

There are graph customization features that include the ability to define series-related
reference lines and axis-related reference areas, the option of adding gradient special
effects to several parts of a graph, the option of setting some parts of a graph to
transparent colors, and the use of alerts and annotations in graphs. These special
features also let you use interactive capabilities of the graph.

24-36 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Specialized Features to Graphs

24.8.1 Adding Reference Lines or Areas to Graphs

Reference lines and areas can be set to display always, on rollover only, or never,
regardless of how many there are and whether they are associated with a series or an
axis.
You can create reference lines that are associated with a series (that is a set of data
values that appears as a single color in the graph legend). If there are multiple series
with reference lines, then the reference lines show only when you move the cursor
over a series marker or the corresponding series legend item. This is because multiple
reference lines can be confusing to users.
You can also create reference areas that are associated with an axis. Typically, these
areas are associated with a y-axis. If there are multiple reference areas, then these areas
are also displayed when you move the cursor over the related axis.
If your application does not know how many reference lines or areas it will need until
it is running, then you can create reference lines or areas dynamically at runtime.

24.8.1.1 How to Create Reference Lines or Areas During Design

Both reference lines and reference areas are created by the use of the following tags:
■ dvt:referenceObjectSet: Wraps all the reference object tags for reference
lines or reference areas for this graph.
■ dvt:referenceObject: Identifies whether the tag represents a reference line or
a reference area and specifies characteristics for the tag.

To add reference lines or areas to a graph during design:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Reference Object Set.
2. If you are defining reference areas related to specific axes, then specify a value for
the appropriate axis or axes attributes: displayX1, displayY1, or displayY2.
The value RO_DISPLAY_AUTOMATIC enables the display of a reference area only
when the mouse moves over the related axis. This choice prevents the confusion
that might occur if multiple reference areas were displayed all the time.
Optionally, you can apply a gradient special effect to the reference area. For more
information see Section 24.8.2.1, "How to Add Gradient Special Effects to a
Graph."
3. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:referenceObjectSet node and
choose Insert inside dvt:referenceObjectSet > Reference Object.
4. In the Property Inspector, do the following:
a. In the Common attributes category, specify values for the index attribute of
the reference object, the type attribute of the reference object (RO_LINE or
RO_AREA), the associated object in the association attribute (a series for a
reference line or a specific axis for a reference area). Also specify if the object
should be displayed in the legend using the displayedInLegend attribute,
and specify the text, if any, to display in the legend.
b. If you are creating a reference line, then specify values for the attributes
related to the line. This includes specifying the series number of the series to
which the line is related. The series number refers to the sequence in which the
series appear in the Graph data binding dialog.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-37

Adding Specialized Features to Graphs

c. If you are creating a reference area, then specify the low value and the high
value that represent the reference area on the specified axis.
5. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Go To Properties.
6. In the Property Inspector, select the Appearance attributes category and do the
following to control the display of reference lines and reference areas:
a. If you have defined reference lines (which must be related to a series), then
expand the dvt:series node and specify a value for the behavior of the
displaySeries attribute.
The value RO_DISPLAY_AUTOMATIC enables the display of a reference line
only when the cursor moves over a series item (such as a bar) or over the
corresponding series entry in the graph legend. This choice prevents the
confusion that might occur if multiple series reference lines were displayed all
the time.
b. If you have defined reference areas (which must be related to specific axes),
then associate the reference object with the appropriate axis or axes.

24.8.1.2 What Happens When You Create Reference Lines or Areas During Design
When you create reference lines or areas during design, XML code is generated within
the graph XML on the JSF page. The reference objects (both lines and areas) are
wrapped by the dvt:referenceObjectSet tags. Example 24–6 shows the code for
three reference areas associated with the y1-axis, one reference area associated with the
y2-axis, and four reference lines associated with different series.

Example 24–6 XML Code for Reference Lines and Areas in a Graph
<dvt:barGraph value ="#{sampleGraph.graphDataModel}" graphType="BAR_VERT_CLUST2Y"
imageFormat="FLASH">
<dvt:referenceObjectSet
displayX1="RO_DISPLAY_AUTOMATIC"
displayY2="RO_DISPLAY_AUTOMATIC"
<dvt:referenceObject index="1" type="RO_AREA" association="Y1AXIS"
location="RO_BACK" color="#55FF0000" lowValue="0" highValue="4000"
displayedInLegend="true" text="Low"/>
<dvt:referenceObject index="2" type="RO_AREA" association="Y1AXIS"
location="RO_BACK" color="#55FFFF00" lowValue="4000" highValue="10000"
displayedInLegend="true" text="Medium"/>
<dvt:referenceObject index="3" type="RO_AREA" association="Y1AXIS"
location="RO_BACK" color="#5500FF00" lowValue="10000" highValue="18000"
displayedInLegend="true" text="High"/>
<dvt:referenceObject index="4" type="RO_AREA" association="Y2AXIS"
location="RO_FRONT" color="#550000FF" lowValue="300" highValue="700"/>
<dvt:referenceObject index="5" type="RO_LINE" association="SERIES" series="0"
location="RO_FRONT" color="#ffff66" lineValue="5000" lineWidth="3"
lineStyle="LS_SOLID"/>
<dvt:referenceObject index="6" type="RO_LINE" association="SERIES" series="0"
location="RO_FRONT" color="#ffff66" lineValue="16730" lineWidth="3"
lineStyle="LS_SOLID"/>
<dvt:referenceObject index="7" type="RO_LINE" association="SERIES" series="1"
location="RO_BACK" color="#99cc66" lineValue="500" lineWidth="3"
lineStyle="LS_SOLID"/>
<dvt:referenceObject index="8" type="RO_LINE" association="SERIES" series="1"
location="RO_BACK" color="#99cc66" lineValue="1711" lineWidth="3"
lineStyle="LS_SOLID"/>
</dvt:referenceObjectSet>
</dvt:barGraph>

24-38 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Specialized Features to Graphs

24.8.1.3 How to Create Reference Lines or Areas Dynamically

If you want to create reference objects dynamically at runtime, then you use only the
dvt:referenceObjectSet tag. You set the referenceObjectMap attribute on
this tag with a method reference to the code that creates a map of the child component
reference objects. The method that creates this map must be stored in a managed bean.

To create reference lines or areas dynamically:

1. Write a method that creates a map of the child component reference objects that
you want to create during runtime. Example 24–7 shows sample code for creating
this method.
2. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node, then choose Insert inside
dvt:<type>Graph > ADF Data Visualization > Reference Object Set.
3. In the Property Inspector, specify in the referenceObjectMap attribute a
method reference to the code that creates the map of child component reference
objects.
For example, for the managed bean (sampleGraph) and the method
getReferenceObjectMapList, the attribute should be set to the following
value:
referenceObjectMap="#{sampleGraph.referenceObjectMapList}"

Example 24–7 Code for a Map of Child Reference Objects

Managed bean SampleGraph.java :
public Map getReferenceObjectMapList() {
HashMap map = new HashMap();
ReferenceObject referenceObject = new ReferenceObject();
referenceObject.setIndex(1);
referenceObject.setColor(Color.red);
referenceObject.setLineValue(30);
referenceObject.setLineWidth(3);
map.put(new Integer(1), referenceObject);
return map;
}

24.8.2 Using Gradient Special Effects in Graphs

A gradient is a special effect in which an object changes color gradually. Each color in a
gradient is represented by a stop. The first stop is stop 0, the second is stop 1, and so
on. You can specify any number of stops in the special effects for a subcomponent of a
graph that supports special effects.
You can define gradient special effects for the following subcomponents of a graph:
■ Graph background: Use the dvt:background tag.
■ Graph plot area: Use the dvt:graphPlotArea tag.
■ Graph pie frame: Use the dvt:graphPieFrame tag.
■ Legend area: Use the dvt:legendArea tag.
■ Series: Use the dvt:series tag.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-39

Adding Specialized Features to Graphs

Note: By default, a graph’s series gradient is set in the

seriesEffect attribute with a value of SE_AUTO_GRADIENT to
make the data markers appear smoother and apply graphic
antialiasing. You must set the attribute to SE_NONE in order to specify
a custom series gradient.

■ Time selector: Use the dvt:timeSelector tag.

■ Reference area: Use the dvt:referenceObject tag.
The approach that you use to define gradient special effects is identical for each part of
the graph that supports these effects.

24.8.2.1 How to Add Gradient Special Effects to a Graph

For each subcomponent of a graph to which you want to add special effects, you must
insert a dvt:specialEffects tag as a child tag of the subcomponent. For example,
if you want to add a gradient to the background of a graph, then you would create one
dvt:specialEffects tag that is a child of the dvt:background tag.
Then, optionally if you want to control the rate of change for the fill color of the
subcomponent, you would insert as many dvt:gradientStopStyle tags as you
need to control the color and rate of change for the fill color of the component. These
dvt:gradientStopStyle tags then must be inserted as child tags of the single
dvt:specialEffects tag.

To add a gradient special effect to the background of a graph:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:background node that is a child of
the graph node, then choose Insert inside dvt:background, then Special Effects.
2. Use the Property Inspector to enter values for the attributes of the
dvt:specialEffects tag:
a. For fillType attribute, choose FT_GRADIENT.
For gradientDirection attribute, select the direction of change that you
want to use for the gradient fill.
b. For numStops attribute, enter the number of stops to use for the gradient.
3. Optionally, in the Structure window, right-click the dvt:specialEffects node
and choose Insert within dvt:specialEffects > dvt:gradientStopStyle if you want
to control the color and rate of change for each gradient stop.
4. Use the Property Inspector to enter values for the attributes of the
dvt:gradientStopStyle tag:
a. For the stopIndex attribute, enter a zero-based integer as an index within the
dvt:gradientStopStyle tags that are included within the
specialEffects tag.
b. For the gradientStopColor attribute, enter the color that you want to use
at this specific point along the gradient.
c. For the gradientStopPosition attribute, enter the proportional distance
along a gradient for the identified stop color. The gradient is scaled from 0 to
100. If 0 or 100 is not specified, default positions are used for those points.
5. Repeat Step 3 and Step 4 for each gradient stop that you want to specify.

24-40 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Specialized Features to Graphs

24.8.2.2 What Happens When You Add a Gradient Special Effect to a Graph
Example 24–8 shows the XML code that is generated when you add a gradient fill to
the background of a graph and specify two stops.

Example 24–8 XML Code Generated for Adding a Gradient to the Background of a Graph
<dvt:graph >
<dvt:background borderColor="#848284">
<dvt:specialEffects fillType="FT_GRADIENT" gradientDirection="GD_RADIAL"
gradientNumStops="2">
<dvt:gradientStopStyle stopIndex="0" gradientStopPosition="60"
gradientStopColor="FFFFCC"/>
<dvt:gradientStopStyle stopIndex="1" gradientStopPosition="90"
gradientStopColor="FFFF99"/>
</dvt:specialEffects>
</dvt:background>
</dvt:graph>

24.8.3 Specifying Transparent Colors for Parts of a Graph

You can specify that various parts of a graph show transparent colors by setting the
borderTransparent and fillTransparent attributes on the graph child tags
related to these parts of the graph. The following list identifies the parts of the graph
that support transparency:
■ Graph background: Use the dvt:background tag. By default the
fillTransparent attribute is set to true.
■ Graph legend area: Use the dvt:legendArea tag.
■ Graph pie frame: Use the dvt:graphPieFrame tag.
■ Graph plot area: Use the dvt:graphPlotArea tag.

24.8.4 Providing Interactive Capability for Graphs

You can add a number of interactive functions to graphs including:
■ Marker and legend dimming
Markers include lines, bars, areas, scatter markers, bubbles, and pie slices.
■ Zooming and scrolling
■ Changing zoom and scroll levels

24.8.4.1 How to Provide Marker and Legend Dimming

You can force all the data markers for a given set of data to be highlighted when you
move the cursor over one data marker in the set or over the corresponding entry in the
graph legend. The highlighting effect is visually achieved by dimming the other data
markers in the set. For example, if a bar graph displays sales by month for four
products (P1, P2, P3, P4), when you move the cursor over product P2 in January, all the
P2 bars are highlighted, and the P1, P3, and P4 bars are dimmed.
Because the graph refers to all the data markers in a given set of data (such as all the
P2 bars) as a series, then the ability to highlight the data markers in a series is part of
the graph’s series rollover behavior feature.
Series rollover behavior is available only in the following graph types: bar, line, area,
pie, scatter, polar, radar, and bubble graphs.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-41

Adding Specialized Features to Graphs

To dim all the data markers in a series:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Go to Properties.

2. In the Appearance attributes category, in the SeriesRolloverBehavior field,

use the dropdown list to select RB_DIM.

24.8.4.2 How to React to Changes in the Zoom and Scroll Levels

You can provide custom code that will be executed when the zoom and scroll levels
change on a graph. In a managed bean you store methods that takes as input a
ZoomEvent or ScrollEvent. With these events, users can determine which axis is
zoomed, as well as the current extent of the zoomed axes.

To provide custom behavior in response to zooming and scrolling in a graph:

1. In a managed bean, write a custom method that performs the desired behavior
when a zoom or scroll event is triggered. Example 24–9 shows sample code for
creating this method.
2. In the Structure window, right-click the graph node and choose Go to Properties.
3. Select the Behavior attributes category and expand the Advanced node and do
one or both of the following:
■ In the zoomlListener field, specify a reference to the method that you
stored in the managed bean.
For example, if the method setZoom is stored in the managed bean
SampleGraph, then the setting becomes: "#{sampleGraph.zoom)".
■ In the scrollListener field, specify a reference to the method that you
stored in the managed bean.
For example, if the method setScroll is stored in the managed bean
SampleGraph, then the setting becomes: "#{sampleGraph.scroll)".

Example 24–9 Sample Code to Set Zoom and Scroll

Managed bean sampleGraph.java
public void setZoom(ZoomEvent event) {
System.out.println("Start Group: " +
event.getAxisStartGroup(ZoomEvent.O1AXIS));
System.out.println("Group Count: " +
event.getAxisGroupCount(ZoomEvent.O1AXIS));
System.out.println("Start Group Label: " +
event.getAxisStartGroupLabel(ZoomEvent.O1AXIS));
public void setScroll(ScrollEvent event) {
System.out.println("End Group Label: " +
event.getAxisEndGroupLabel(ScrollEvent.O1AXIS));
System.out.println("Axis Min: " +
event.getAxisMin(ScrollEvent.O1AXIS));
System.out.println("Axis Max: " +
event.getAxisMax(ScrollEvent.O1AXIS));

24.8.5 Providing an Interactive Time Axis for Graphs

You can define relative ranges and explicit ranges for the display of time data.

24.8.5.1 How to Define a Relative Range of Time Data for Display

You can define a simple relative range of time data to be displayed, such as the last
seven days. This will force old data to scroll off the left edge of the graph as new data

24-42 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Specialized Features to Graphs

points are added to the display of an active data graph. Relative time range
specifications are not limited to use in active data graphs.

To specify a relative range of time data for display:

1. In the Structure window, right click the graph node and choose Go to Properties.

2. In the Appearance attributes category, expand the dvt:timeAxis node and specify
values for the following attributes:
a. In the timeRangeMode attribute, specify the value TRM_RELATIVE_LAST
or TRM_RELATIVE_FIRST depending on whether the relative range applies
to the end of the time range (such as the last seven days) or to the beginning of
the time range (such as the first seven days).
b. In the timeRelativeRange attribute, specify the relative range in
milliseconds.

24.8.5.2 How to Define an Explicit Range of Time Data for Display

You can define an explicit range of time data to be displayed, such as the period
between March 15 and March 25. In this example, the year, hour, minute, and second
use default values because they were not stated in the start and end values.

To specify an explicit range of time data for display:

1. In the Structure window, right click the graph node and choose Go to Properties.

2. In the Appearance attributes category, specify the values for the following
attributes:
a. In the timeRangeMode attribute, specify the value TRM_EXPLICIT.
b. In the timeRangeStart attribute, enter the initial date for the time range.
c. In the timeRangeEnd attribute, enter the ending date for the time range.

24.8.6 Adding Alerts and Annotations to Graphs

Alerts define a data value on a graph that must be highlighted with a separate symbol,
such as an error or warning. An icon marks the location of the alert. When the cursor
moves over the alert icon, the text of that alert is displayed. An unlimited number of
alerts can be defined for a graph using dvt:alert tags. The alerts are wrapped in a
dvt:alertSet tag, that is a child of graph tag. Example 24–10 shows a set of alerts
for an area graph.

Example 24–10 Sample Code for Set of Graph Alerts

<dvt:areaGraph>
<dvt:alertSet>
<dvt:alert xValue="Boston" yValue="3.50" yValueAssignment="Y1AXIS"
imageSource="myWarning.gif"/>
<dvt:alert xValue="Boston" yValue="5.50" yValueAssignment="Y1AXIS"
imageSource="myError.gif"/>
</dvt:alertSet>
</dvt:areaGraph>

Annotations are associated with a data value on a graph to provide information when
the cursor moves over the data value. An unlimited number of annotations can be
defined for a graph using dvt:annotation tags and multiple annotations can be
associated with a single data value. The annotations are wrapped in a
dvt:annotationSet tag that is a child of the graph tag.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-43

Animating Graphs with Active Data

The data marker associated with the annotation is defined using these attributes of the
dvt:annotation tag:
■ series - Specifies the zero-based index of a series in a graph. In most graphs,
each series appears as a set of markers that are the same color. For example, in a
multiple pie graph, each yellow slice might represent sales of shoes, while each
green slice represents the sales of boots. In a bar graph, all of the yellow bars might
represent the sales of shoes, and the green bars might represent the sales of boots.
■ group - Specifies the zero-based index of a group in a graph. Groups appear
differently in different graph types. In a clustered bar graph, each cluster of bars is
a group. In a stacked bar graph, each stack is a group. In a multiple pie graph,
each pie is a group.
Example 24–11 shows a set of annotations for an area graph.

Example 24–11 Sample Code for a Set of Annotations

<dvt:areaGraph>
<dvt:annotationSet>
<dvt:annotation series="0" group="0" text="annotation #1"/>
<dvt:annotation series="0" group="7" fillColor="#55FFFF00"
borderColor="#55FF0000" text="second annotation"/>
</dvt:annotationSet>
</dvt:areaGraph>

You can control the position of the annotation in the plot area of a graph using these
attributes:
■ position - Specifies the type of positioning to use for the annotation. Valid
values are:
– dataValue (default) - Positions the annotation by the data value defined in
the series and group attributes. Overlap with other annotations is avoided.
– absolute - Positions the annotation at the exact point defined by the xValue
and the yValue in graphs with both those axes. Overlap with other
annotations is not avoided.
– percentage - Positions the annotation at the exact point defined by using the
xValue and yValue as a percentage between 0 and 100 of the plot area of
graphs with both those axes. Overlap with other annotations is not avoided.
■ xValue - Specifies the X value at which to position the annotation. This setting
only applies when the annotation position is absolute or percentage.
■ yValue - Specifies the Y value at which to position the annotation. This setting
only applies when the annotation position is absolute or percentage.
■ horizontalAlignment - Specifies the horizontal positioning of the annotation.
This setting only applies when the annotation position attribute is absolute or
percentage. Valid values are LEFT (default), CENTER, LEADING, or RIGHT.
■ verticalAlignment - Specifies the vertical positioning of the annotation. This
setting only applies when the annotation position attribute is absolute or
percentage. Valid values are CENTER (default), TOP, or BOTTOM.

24.9 Animating Graphs with Active Data

Graph components dvt:areaGraph, dvt:bubbleGraph, dvt:barGraph,
dvt:lineGraph, dvt:comboGraph, dvt:pieGraph, and dvt:scatterGraph

24-44 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Animating Graphs with Active Data

support animation effects for active data. The Active Data Service (ADS) allows you to
bind ADF Faces components to an active data source using the ADF model layer. To
allow this, you must configure the components and the bindings so that the
components can display the data as it is updated in the source.Alternatively, you can
configure the application to poll the data source for changes at prescribed intervals.
To use the Active Data Service, you must have a data source that publishes events
when data is changed, and you must create business services that react to those events
and the associated data controls to represent those services. For more information
about ADS and configuring your application, see the "Using the Active Data Service"
chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application
Development Framework.

24.9.1 How to Configure Graph Components to Display Active Data

Configure databound graphs to display active data by setting a value on the binding
element in the corresponding page definition file.

To configure a graph to display active data:

1. In the Structure window, select the graph node.

2. In the Property Inspector, enter a unique value in the ID field.

If you do not select an identifier, one will be entered for you.
3. Open the page’s associated page definition file.
4. In the Structure window for the page definition file, select the node that represents
the attribute binding for the component. In the Property Inspector, select Push for
the ChangeEventPolicy attribute.

24.9.2 How to Add Animation Effects that Use Active Data

After the graph component has been configured to display active data, set the
following animation attributes for the graph:
■ animationOnDisplay: Optional. Use with or without ADS to specify the type of
initial rendering effect to apply. Valid values are:
– NONE (default): Do not show any initial rendering effect.
– AUTO: Apply an initial rendering effect automatically chosen based on graph
or gauge type.
■ animationOnDataChange: Use to specify the type of data change animation to
apply. Valid values are:
– NONE: Apply no data change animation effects.
– AUTO (default): Apply Active Data Service (ADS) data change animation
events.
– ON: Apply partial page refresh (PPR) data change animation events.
■ animationDuration: Use to specify the animation duration in milliseconds.
■ animationIndicators: Use to specify the type of data change indicators to
show. Valid values are:
– NONE: Show no data change indicators.
– ALL (default): Show all data change indicators.

Using ADF Graph Components 24-45

Animating Graphs with Active Data

■ animationUpColor: Use to specify the RGB hexadecimal color used to indicate

that a data value has increased.
■ animationDownColor: Use to specify the RGB hexadecimal color used to
indicate that a data value has decreased.

24-46 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 25
Using ADF Gauge Components
25

This chapter describes how to use a databound ADF gauge component to display data,
and provides the options for gauge customization.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 25.1, "Introduction to the Gauge Component"
■ Section 25.2, "Understanding Data Requirements for Gauges"
■ Section 25.3, "Creating a Gauge"
■ Section 25.4, "Customizing Gauge Type, Layout, and Appearance"
■ Section 25.5, "Adding Gauge Special Effects and Animation"
■ Section 25.6, "Using Custom Shapes in Gauges"
For information about the data binding of gauges, see the "Creating Databound ADF
Gauges" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle
Application Development Framework.

25.1 Introduction to the Gauge Component

Gauges identify problems in data. A gauge usually plots one data point with an
indication of whether that point falls in an acceptable or an unacceptable range.
Frequently, you display multiple gauges in a single gauge set. The gauges in a set
usually appear in a grid-like format with a configurable layout.
A Component Gallery displays available gauge categories, types, and descriptions to
provide visual assistance when creating gauges and using a quick-start layout.
Figure 25–1 shows the Component Gallery for gauges.

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-1

Introduction to the Gauge Component

Figure 25–1 Component Gallery for Gauges

When a gauge component is inserted into a JSF page using the Component Gallery, a
set of child tags that support customization of the gauge is automatically inserted.
Example 25–1 shows the code inserted in the JSF page for a dial gauge with the
quick-start layout selected in the Component Gallery in Figure 25–1.

Example 25–1 Gauge Sample Code

<dvt:gauge id="gauge2" value="#{bindings.Gaugedemo1View1.gaugeModel}"
gaugeType="DIAL" imageFormat="FLASH">
<dvt:gaugeBackground>
<dvt:specialEffects fillType="FT_GRADIENT">
<dvt:gradientStopStyle/>
</dvt:specialEffects>
</dvt:gaugeBackground>
<dvt:gaugeFrame/>
<dvt:indicator/>
<dvt:indicatorBase/>
<dvt:gaugePlotArea/>
<dvt:tickLabel/>
<dvt:tickMark/>
<dvt:topLabel/>
<dvt:bottomLabel/>
<dvt:metricLabel position="LP_WITH_BOTTOM_LABEL"/>
<dvt:thresholdSet>
<dvt:threshold fillColor="#d62800"/>
<dvt:threshold fillColor="#00ff00"/>
</dvt:thresholdSet>
</dvt:gauge>

25-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to the Gauge Component

Gauges are displayed in a default size of 200 X 200 pixels. You can customize the size
of a gauge or specify dynamic resizing to fit an area across different browser window
sizes. When gauges are displayed in a horizontally or vertically restricted area, for
example in a web page sidebar, the gauge is displayed in a small image size. Although
fully featured, the smaller image is a simplified display.

25.1.1 Types of Gauges

The following types of gauges are supported by the gauge component:
■ Dial: Indicates its metric along a 220 degree arc. This is the default gauge type.
Figure 25–2 shows a dial gauge indicating a Plasma HD TV stock level within an
acceptable range.

Figure 25–2 Dial Gauge with Thresholds

■ Status Meter: Indicates the progress of a task or the level of some measurement
along a rectangular bar. An inner rectangle shows the current level of a
measurement against the ranges marked on an outer rectangle. Figure 25–3 shows
the Plasma HD TV stock level using a status meter gauge.

Figure 25–3 Status Meter Gauge with Thresholds

■ Status Meter (vertical): Indicates the progress of a task or the level of some
measurement along a vertical rectangular bar. Figure 25–4 shows the Plasma HD
TV stock level using a vertical status meter gauge.

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-3

Introduction to the Gauge Component

Figure 25–4 Vertical Status Meter Gauge with Thresholds

■ LED (light-emitting diode): Graphically depicts a measurement, such as a key

performance indicator (KPI). Several styles of graphics are available for LED
gauges, such as arrows that indicate good (up arrow), fair (left- or right-pointing
arrow), or poor (down arrow). Figure 25–5 shows the Plasma HD TV stock level
using a LED bulb indicator.

Figure 25–5 LED Bulb Gauge

Figure 25–6 shows the same stock level using a LED arrow.

Figure 25–6 LED Arrow Gauge

For dial and status meter gauges, a tooltip of contextual information automatically
displays when a users moves a mouse over the plot area, indicator, or threshold
region. Figure 25–7 shows the indicator tooltip for a dial gauge.

Figure 25–7 Indicator Tooltip for Dial Gauge

25-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to the Gauge Component

25.1.2 Gauge Terminology

Gauge terms identify the many aspects of a gauge and gauge set that you can
customize. The gauge component includes approximately 20 child tags that provide
options for this customization.
The parts of a gauge that can be customized are:
■ Overall gauge customization: Each item in this group is represented by a gauge
child tag:
– Gauge Background: Controls border color and fill color for the background of
a gauge.
– Gauge Set Background: Controls border color and fill color for the background
of a gauge set.
– Gauge Frame: Refers to the frame behind the dial gauge.
– Plot Area: Represents the area inside the gauge itself.
– Indicator: Points to the value that is plotted in a dial gauge. It is typically in
the form of a line or an arrow.
– Indicator Bar: The inner rectangle in a status meter gauge.
– Indicator Base: The circular base of a line or needle style indicator in a dial
gauge.
– Threshold Set: Specifies the threshold sections for the metrics of a gauge. You
can create an infinite number of thresholds for a gauge.
■ Data values: These include the metric (which is the actual value that the gauge is
plotting), minimum value, maximum value, and threshold values. Section 25.2,
"Understanding Data Requirements for Gauges" describes these values.
■ Labels: The gauge supports the following elements with a separate child tag for
each item:
– Bottom Label: Refers to an optional label that appears below or inside the
gauge. By default displays the label for the data row.
– Lower Label Frame: Controls the colors for the background and border of the
frame that contains the bottom label. The metric label can also appear inside
the lower label frame, to the right of the bottom label.
– Metric Label: Shows the value of the metric that the gauge is plotting in text.
– Tick Marks: Refers to the markings along the value axis of the gauge. These
can identify regular intervals, from minimum value to maximum value, and
can also indicate threshold values. Tick marks can specify major increments
that may include labels or minor increments.
– Tick Labels: Displays text that is displayed to identify major tick marks on a
gauge.
– Top Label: Refers to the label that appears at the top or inside of a gauge. By
default, a title separator is used with a label above the gauge. By default,
displays the label for the data column.
– Upper Label Frame: Refers to the background and border of the frame that
encloses the top label. You can specify border color and fill color for this frame.
Turn off the default title separator when using this frame.
■ Legend: The gauge supports the gauge legend area, text, and title elements with a
separate child tag for each item.

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-5

Understanding Data Requirements for Gauges

■ Shape Attributes Set: The gauge supports interactivity properties for its child
elements. For example, the alt text of a gauge plot area can be displayed as a
tooltip when the user moves the mouse over that area at runtime. For more
information, see Section 25.5.3, "How to Add Interactivity to Gauges."

25.2 Understanding Data Requirements for Gauges

You can provide the following kinds of data values for a gauge:
■ Metric: The value that the gauge is to plot. This value can be specified as static
data in the Gauge Data attributes category in the Property Inspector. It can also be
specified through data controls or through the tabularData attribute of the
dvt:gauge tag. This is the only required data for a gauge. The number of metric
values supplied affects whether a single gauge is displayed or a series of gauges
are displayed in a gauge set.
■ Minimum and maximum: Optional values that identify the lowest and highest
points on the gauge value axis. These values can be provided as dynamic data
from a data collection. They can also be specified as static data in the Gauge Data
attributes category in the Property Inspector for the dvt:gauge tag. For more
information, see Section 25.4.4, "How to Add Thresholds to Gauges."
■ Threshold: Optional values that can be provided as dynamic data from a data
collection to identify ranges of acceptability on the value axis of the gauge. You
can also specify these values as static data using gauge threshold tags in the
Property Inspector. For more information, see Section 25.4.4, "How to Add
Thresholds to Gauges."
The only required data element is the metric value. All other data values are optional.

25.3 Creating a Gauge

You can use any of the following ways to supply data to a gauge component:
■ ADF Data Controls: You declaratively create a databound gauge by dragging and
dropping a data collection from the ADF Data Controls panel. Figure 25–8 shows
the Create Gauge dialog where you configure the metric value, and optionally the
minimum and maximum and threshold values for a gauge you are creating.

25-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating a Gauge

Figure 25–8 Create Gauge Dialog

For more information, see the “Creating Databound ADF Gauges" section in the
Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework.
■ Tabular data: You can provide CSV (comma-separated value) data to a gauge
through the tabularData attribute of the dvt:gauge tag.

25.3.1 Creating a Gauge Using Tabular Data

The process of creating a gauge from tabular data includes the following steps:
■ Storing the data in a method in the gauge’s managed bean.
■ Creating a gauge that uses the data stored in the managed bean.

25.3.1.1 Storing Tabular Data for a Gauge in a Managed Bean

The tabularData attribute of a gauge component lets you specify a list of metric
values that the gauge uses to create a grid and to populate itself. You can provide only
the metric value through the tabularData attribute. Therefore, you must specify any
desired thresholds and minimum or maximum values through the Property Inspector.
A gauge component displays rows and columns of gauges. The text that you specify as
column labels appears in the top label of the gauges. The text that you specify as row
labels appears in the bottom label of the gauges.

25.3.1.2 Structure of the List of Tabular Data

The list that contains the tabular data consists of a three-member Object array for
each data value to be passed to the gauge. The members of each array must be
organized as follows:
■ The first member (index 0) is the column label, in the grid, of the data value. This
is generally a String.

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-7

Creating a Gauge

■ The second member (index 1) is the row label, in the grid, of the data value. This is
generally a String.
■ The third member (index 2) is the data value, which is usually Double.
Figure 25–9 has five columns: Quota, Sales, Margin, Costs, and Units. The example has
three rows: London, Paris, and New York. This data produces a gauge set with five
gauges in each row and lets you compare values such as sales across the three cities.

Figure 25–9 Comparison of Annual Results

Example 25–2 shows code that creates the list of tabular data required for the gauge
that compares annual results for three cities.

Example 25–2 Code to Create a List of Tabular Data for a Gauge

public List getGaugeData()
{
ArrayList list = new ArrayList();
String[] rowLabels = new String[] {"London", "Paris", "New York"};
String[] colLabels = new String[] {"Quota", "Sales", "Margin", "Costs",
"Units"};
double [] [] values = new double[][]{
{60, 90, 135},
{50, -100, -150},
{130, 140, 150},
{70, 80, -130},
{110, 120, 130}
};
for (int c = 0; c < colLabels.length; c++)
{
for (int r = 0; r < rowLabels.length; r++)
{
list.add (new Object [] {colLabels[c], rowLabels[r],
new Double (values [c][r])});
}
}
return list;
}

25.3.2 How to Create a Gauge Using Tabular Data

Use the tabularData attribute of the gauge tag to reference the tabular data that is
stored in a managed bean.

To create a gauge that uses tabular data from a managed bean:

1. In the ADF Data Visualizations page of the Component Palette, Gauge panel, drag
and drop a Gauge onto the page.
2. In the Component Gallery, select the category, type, and quick-start layout style for
the gauge that you are creating.
3. In the Gauge Data category of the Property Inspector, from the tabularData
attribute dropdown menu, choose Expression Builder.

25-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing Gauge Type, Layout, and Appearance

4. In the Expression Builder dialog, use the search box to locate the managed bean.
5. Expand the managed bean node and select the method that creates the list of
tabular data.
6. Click OK.
The Expression is created.
For example, if the name of the managed bean is sampleGauge and the name of
the method that creates the list of tabular data is getGaugeData, the Expression
Builder generates the code #{sampleGauge.gaugeData} as the value for the
tabularData attribute of the dvt:gauge tag.

25.3.3 What Happens When You Create a Gauge Using Tabular Data
When you create a gauge tag that is powered by data obtained from a list referenced in
the tabularData attribute, the following results occur:
■ A gauge is generated with a setting in its tabularData attribute. The settings for
all other attributes for this gauge are provided by default.
■ You have the option of changing the setting of the gaugeType attribute in the
Property Inspector to DIAL, LED, STATUSMETER, or VERTICALSTATUSMETER.

25.4 Customizing Gauge Type, Layout, and Appearance

Gauge components can be customized in the following ways:
■ Change the gauge type
■ Specify the layout of gauges in a gauge set
■ Change a gauge size and style
■ Add thresholds
■ Format numbers and text
■ Specify an N-degree dial gauge
■ Customize gauge labels
■ Customize indicators and tick marks
■ Specifying transparency in gauges

25.4.1 How to Change the Type of the Gauge

You can change the type of a gauge using the gaugeType attribute of the dvt:gauge
tag. The gauge type is reflected in the visual editor default gauge.

To change the type of a gauge:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:gauge node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Property Inspector, choose a gauge type from the GaugeType attribute
dropdown list. Valid values are DIAL, LED, STATUSMETER, or
VERTICALSTATUSMETER.

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-9

Customizing Gauge Type, Layout, and Appearance

25.4.2 How to Determine the Layout of Gauges in a Gauge Set

A single gauge can display one row of data bound to a gauge component. A gauge set
displays a gauge for each row in multiple rows of data in a data collection.
You can specify the location of gauges within a gauge set by specifying values for
attributes in the dvt:gauge tag.

To specify the layout of gauges in a gauge set:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:gauge node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Property Inspector, select the Common attributes category.
3. To determine the number of columns of gauges that will appear in a gauge set,
specify a value for the gaugeSetColumnCount attribute.
A setting of zero causes all gauges to appear in a single row. Any positive integer
determines the exact number of columns in which the gauges are displayed. A
setting of -1 causes the number of columns to be determined automatically from
the data source.
4. To determine the placement of gauges in columns, specify a value for the
gaugeSetDirection attribute.
If you select GSD_ACROSS, then the default layout of the gauges is used and the
gauges appear from left to right, then top to bottom. If you select GSD_DOWN,
the layout of the gauges is from top to bottom, then left to right.
5. To control the alignment of gauges within a gauge set, specify a value for the
gaugeSetAlignment attribute.
This attribute defaults to the setting GSA_NONE, which divides the available
space equally among the gauges in the gauge set. Other options use the available
space and optimal gauge size to allow for alignment towards the left or right and
the top or bottom within the gauge set. You can also select GSA_CENTER to
center the gauges within the gauge set.

25.4.3 Changing Gauge Size and Style

You can customize the width and height of a gauge, and you can allow for dynamic
resizing of a gauge based on changes to the size of its container. You can also control
the style sheet used by a gauge. These two aspects of a gauge are interrelated in that
they share the use of the gauge inlineStyle attribute.

25.4.3.1 Specifying the Size of a Gauge at Initial Display

You can specify the initial size of a gauge by setting values for attributes of the
dvt:gauge tag. If you do not also provide for dynamic resizing of the gauge, then the
initial size becomes the only display size for the gauge.

To specify the size of a gauge at its initial display:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:gauge node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Style attributes category of the Property Inspector, enter a value for the
InlineStyle attribute of the dvt:gauge tag. For example:
inlineStyle="width:200px;height:200px"

25-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing Gauge Type, Layout, and Appearance

25.4.3.2 Providing Dynamic Resizing of a Gauge

You must enter values in each of two attributes of the dvt:gauge tag to allow for a
gauge to resize when its container in a JSF page changes in size. The values that you
specify for this capability also are useful for creating a gauge component that fills an
area across different browser window sizes.

To allow dynamic resizing of a gauge:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:gauge node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Behavior attributes category of the Property Inspector for the
DynamicResize attribute, select the value DYNAMIC_SIZE.
3. In the Style attributes category of the Property Inspector, for the InlineStyle
attribute, enter a fixed number of pixels or a relative percent for both width and
height.
For example, to create a gauge that fills its container’s width and has a height of
200 pixels, use the following setting for the inlineStyle attribute:
"width:100%;height:200px;"

25.4.3.3 Using a Custom Style Class for a Gauge

You have the option of specifying a custom style class for use with a gauge. However,
you must specify width and height in the inlineStyle attribute.

To specify a custom style class for a gauge:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:gauge node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Style attributes category of the Property Inspector, for the StyleClass
attribute, select Edit from the Property menu choices, and select the CSS style class
to use for this gauge.
3. In the InlineStyle attribute, enter a fixed number of pixels or a relative percent
for both width and height.
For example, to create a gauge that fills its container’s width and has a height of
200 pixels, use the following setting for the inlineStyle attribute:
"width:100%;height:200px;".

25.4.4 How to Add Thresholds to Gauges

Thresholds are data values in a gauge that highlight a particular range of values.
Thresholds must be values between the minimum and the maximum value for a
gauge. The range identified by a threshold is filled with a color that is different from
the color of other ranges.
The data collection for a gauge can provide dynamic values for thresholds when the
gauge is databound. After the gauge is created, you can also insert a
dvt:thresholdSet tag and individual dvt:threshold tags to create static
thresholds. If threshold values are supplied in both the data collection and in threshold
tags, then the gauge honors the values in the threshold tags.

25.4.4.1 Adding Static Thresholds to Gauges

You can create an indefinite number of thresholds in a gauge. Each threshold is
represented by a single dvt:threshold tag. One dvt:thresholdSet tag must
wrap all the threshold tags.

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-11

Customizing Gauge Type, Layout, and Appearance

To add static thresholds to a gauge:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside
dvt:gauge > ADF Data Visualization > Threshold Set.
You do not need to specify values for attributes on the dvt:thresholdSet tag.
2. Right-click the dvt:thresholdSet node and choose Insert inside dvt:thresholdSet >
threshold.
3. In the Property Inspector, enter values for the attributes that you want to
customize for this threshold.
You have the option of entering a specific fill color and border color for the section
of the gauge related to the threshold. You can also identify the maximum value for
the threshold and any text that you want to display in the legend to identify the
threshold.

Note: For the final threshold, the maximum value of the gauge is
used as the threshold maximum value regardless of any entry you
make in the threshold tag for the final threshold.

4. Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 to create each threshold in the gauge from the lowest
minimum value to the highest maximum value.
You have the option of adding any number of thresholds to gauges. However, arrow
and triangle LED gauges support thresholds only for the three directions to which they
point.

25.4.5 How to Format Numbers in Gauges

For gauges, the dvt:metricLabel, dvt:tickLabel, and dvt:legendText tags
may require numeric formatting.

25.4.5.1 Formatting the Number in a Gauge Metric Label

The metric label tag has a numberType attribute that lets you specify whether you
want to display the value itself or a percentage that the value represents. In some
cases, this might be sufficient numeric formatting.
You can also use the dvt:numberFormat tag to specify formatting for numeric
values in the metric label. For example, the dvt:numberFormat tag lets you format
data values as currency or display positive or negative signs.
You can specify number formatting directly in the dvt:numberFormat tag, or you
can use the af:convertNumber tag as a child tag of dvt:numberFormat.

To format numbers in a gauge metric label:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside
dvt:gauge > ADF Data Visualization > metricLabel.
2. If you want to display the metric value as a percentage rather than as a value, then
set the NumberType attribute of the dvt:metricLabel tag to NT_PERCENT.
3. If you want to specify additional formatting for the number in the metric label, do
the following:
a. Right-click the metricLabel node and choose Insert inside dvt:metricLabel >
numberFormat.

25-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing Gauge Type, Layout, and Appearance

b. In the Property Inspector, specify values in the attributes of the

numberFormat tag to produce additional formatting.

Note: The procedure for formatting numbers in gauge tick labels is

similar to that of formatting numbers in the metric label except that
you insert the dvt:tickLabel tag as a child of the gauge.

25.4.6 What Happens When You Format the Number in a Gauge Metric Label
When you add a metric label and number formatting to a gauge, XML code is
generated. Example 25–3 shows a sample of the XML code that is generated.

Example 25–3 XML Code Generated When Formatting a Number in a Metric Label
<dvt:gauge>
<dvt:metricLabel position="LP_BELOW_GAUGE" numberType="NT_PERCENT">
<dvt:numberFormat posNumFmt="POS_NUMFMT_NUM_POS"/>
</dvt:metricLabel>
</dvt:gauge>

25.4.7 How to Format Text in Gauges

You can format text in any of the following gauge tags that represent titles and labels
in a gauge:
■ dvt:bottomLabel
■ dvt:gaugeMetricLabel
■ dvt:gaugeLegendText
■ dvt:gaugeLegendTitle
■ dvt:tickLabel
■ dvt:topLabel
The procedure for formatting text in gauge labels and titles is similar except that you
insert the appropriate child tag that represents the gauge label or title. For example,
you can use a dvt:gaugeFont child tag to a dvt:metricLabel tag to specify gauge
metric label font size, color, and if the text should be bold or italic.

To format text in a gauge metric label:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside
dvt:gauge > ADF Data Visualization > metricLabel.
2. Right-click the metricLabel node and choose Insert inside dvt:metricLabel >
Font.
3. In the Property Inspector, specify values in the attributes of the dvt:gaugeFont
tag to produce the desired formatting.
When you format text in a gauge metric label using the gaugeFont tag, XML code is
generated. Example 25–4 shows a sample of the XML code that is generated.

Example 25–4 XML Code Generated When You Format Text in a Gauge Metric Label
<dvt:gauge>
<dvt:metricLabel>
<dvt:gaugeFont name="Tahoma" size="11" color="#3C3C3C" bold="true"/>

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-13

Customizing Gauge Type, Layout, and Appearance

</dvt:metricLabel>
</dvt:gauge>

25.4.8 How to Specify an N-Degree Dial

You can specify a gauge that sweeps through angles other than the standard
220-degree arc in a dial gauge. Set the angleExtent attribute to specify the range of
degrees in the gauge.
For example, to create a 270 degree dial gauge, set the angleExtent attribute as
follows: <dvt:gauge angleExtent="270"/>.

25.4.9 How to Customize Gauge Labels

You can control the positioning of gauge labels. You can also control the colors and
borders of the gauge label frames.

25.4.9.1 Controlling the Position of Gauge Labels

You can specify whether you want labels to appear outside or inside a gauge by using
the position attribute of the appropriate label tag. The following label tags are
available as child tags of dvt:gauge:
■ dvt:bottomLabel
■ dvt:metricLabel
■ dvt:topLabel
The procedure for controlling the position of gauge labels is similar except that you
insert the appropriate child tag that represents the gauge label. For example, you can
use the dvt:bottomLabel child tag to position the gauge and specify label text.

To specify the position of the bottom label:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside
dvt:gauge > ADF Data Visualization > Bottom Label.
2. In the Property Inspector, for the position attribute, select the desired location of
the label.
3. In the text attribute, enter the text that you want the label to display.

25.4.9.2 Customizing the Colors and Borders of Gauge Labels

You can control the fill color and border color of the frames for the top label and the
bottom label. The dvt:upperLabelFrame and dvt:lowerLabelFrame gauge child
tags serve as frames for these labels.

To customize the color and border of the upper label frame:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside
dvt:gauge > ADF Data Visualization > Upper Label Frame.
2. In the Property Inspector, select the desired colors for the borderColor attribute
and the fillColor attribute.
Use a similar procedure to customize the color and border of the bottom label frame
using the dvt:bottomLabel tag as a child of the gauge node.

25-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing Gauge Type, Layout, and Appearance

25.4.10 How to Customize Indicators and Tick Marks

There are a variety of options available for customizing the indicators of gauges and
the location and labeling of tick marks.

25.4.10.1 Controlling the Appearance of Gauge Indicators

The following gauge child tags are available to customize the indicator of a gauge:
■ dvt:indicator: Specifies the visual properties of the dial gauge indicator needle
or the status meter bar. Includes the following attributes:
– borderColor: Specifies the color of the border of the indicator.
– fillColor: Specifies the color of the fill for the indicator.
– type: Identifies the kind of indicator: a line indicator, a fill indicator, or a
needle indicator.
– useThresholdFillColor: Determines whether the color of the threshold
area in which the indicator falls should override the specified color of the
indicator.
■ dvt:indicatorBar: Contains the fill properties of the inner rectangle (bar) of a
status meter gauge.
■ dvt:indicatorBase: Contains the fill properties of the circular base of a line
and needle style indicator of a dial gauge.

To customize the appearance of gauge indicators:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside
dvt:gauge > ADF Data Visualization > Indicator.
2. In the Property Inspector, specify values for the desired attributes.
3. If you want to customize the fill attributes of the inner bar on a status meter gauge,
in the Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside
dvt:gauge > ADF Data Visualization > Indicator Bar.
4. In the Property Inspector, specify values for the desired attributes.
5. If you want to customize the circular base of a line style indicator on a dial gauge,
in the Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside
dvt:gauge > ADF Data Visualization > Indicator Base.
6. In the Property Inspector, specify values for the desired attributes.

25.4.10.2 Specifying Tick Marks and Labels

The following gauge child tags are available to customize tick marks and tick labels for
a gauge:
■ dvt:tickMark: Specifies the display, spacing, and color of major and minor tick
marks. Only major tick marks can include value labels. Includes the following
attributes:
– majorIncrement and minorIncrement: Sets the distance between two
major tick marks and two minor tick marks, respectively. If the value is less
than zero for either attribute, the tick marks are not displayed.
– majorTickColor and minorTickColor: Sets the hexidecimal color of
major tick marks and minor tick marks, respectively.

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-15

Customizing Gauge Type, Layout, and Appearance

– content: Specifies where tick marks occur within a gauge set. Valid values
are any combination separated by spaces or commas including:
* TC_INCREMENTS: Display tick marks in increments.
* TC_MAJOR_TICK: Display tick marks for minimum, maximum, and
incremental values.
* TC_MIN_MAX: Display tick marks for minimum and maximum values.
* TC_METRIC: Display tick marks for actual metric values.
* TC_NONE: Display no tick marks.
* TC_THRESHOLD: Display tick marks for threshold values.
■ dvt:tickLabel: Identifies major tick marks that will have labels, the location of
the labels (interior or exterior of the gauge), and the format for numbers displayed
in the tick labels.

To customize the tick marks and tick labels of a gauge:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside
dvt:gauge > ADF Data Visualization > Tick Mark.
2. In the Property Inspector, specify values for the desired attributes.
3. In the Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside
dvt:gauge > ADF Data Visualization > Tick Label.
4. In the Property Inspector, specify values for the desired attributes.

25.4.10.3 Creating Exterior Tick Labels

By default, the dial gauge displays interior tick labels to provide a cleaner look when
the gauge is contained entirely within the gauge frame. Because the tick labels lie
within the plot area, the length of the tick labels must be limited to fit in this space.
You can customize your gauge to use exterior labels.

To create interior tick labels on a gauge:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside
dvt:gauge > ADF Data Visualization > Tick Mark.
2. In the Property Inspector, select TLP_POSITION for the Position attribute.

25.4.11 Specifying Transparency for Parts of a Gauge

You can specify that various parts of a gauge show transparent colors by setting the
borderColor and fillColor attributes on the gauge child tags related to these
parts of the gauge. These color properties accept a 6 or 8 RGB hexidecimal value.
When an 8-digit value is used, the first two digits represent transparency. For example,
you can set transparency by using a value of 00FFFFFF.
Any gauge child tag that supports borderColor or fillColor attributes can be set
to transparency. The following list are examples of parts of the gauge that support
transparency:
■ Gauge background: Use the dvt:gaugeBackground tag.
■ Gauge gauge frame: Use the dvt:gaugeFrame tag.
■ Gauge plot area: Use the dvt:gaugePlotArea tag.
■ Gauge legend area: Use the dvt:gaugeLegendArea tag.

25-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Gauge Special Effects and Animation

25.5 Adding Gauge Special Effects and Animation

These gauge features are used less frequently than the common gauge features. These
special features include applying gradient effects to parts of a gauge, adding
interactivity to gauges, animating gauges, and taking advantage of the gauge support
for active data.

25.5.1 How to Use Gradient Special Effects in a Gauge

A gradient is a special effect in which an object changes color gradually. Each color in a
gradient is represented by a stop. The first stop is stop 0, the second is stop 1, and so
on. You must specify the number of stops in the special effects for a subcomponent of a
gauge that supports special effects.
You can define gradient special effects for the following subcomponents of a gauge:
■ Gauge background: Uses the dvt:gaugeBackground tag.
■ Gauge set background: Uses the dvt:gaugeSetBackground tag.
■ Gauge plot area: Uses the dvt:gaugePlotArea tag.
■ Gauge frame: Uses the dvt:gaugeFrame tag.
■ Gauge legend area: Uses the dvt:gaugeLegendArea tag.
■ Lower label frame: Uses the dvt:lowerLabelFrame tag.
■ Upper label frame: Uses the dvt:upperLabelFrame tag.
■ Indicator: Uses the dvt:indicator tag.
■ Indicator bar: Uses the dvt:indicatorBar tag.
■ Indicator base: Uses the dvt:indicatorBase tag.
■ Threshold: Uses the dvt:threshold tag.
The approach that you use to define gradient special effects is identical for each part of
the gauge that supports these effects.

25.5.1.1 Adding Gradient Special Effects to a Gauge

For each subcomponent of a gauge to which you want to add special effects, you must
insert a dvt:specialEffects tag as a child tag of the subcomponent. For example,
if you want to add a gradient to the background of a gauge, then you would create one
dvt:specialEffects tag that is a child of the dvt:background tag. You must also
set the dvt:specialEffects tag fillType property to FT_GRADIENT.
Then, optionally if you want to control the rate of change for the fill color of the
subcomponent, you would add as many dvt:gradientStopStyle tags as you need
to control the color and rate of change for the fill color of the component. These
dvt:gradientStopStyle tags then must be entered as child tags of the single
dvt:specialEffects tag.

Before you begin:

If you have not inserted a dvt:gaugeBackground tag as a child of the gauge, in the
Structure window, right-click the gauge node and choose Insert inside dvt:gauge >
ADF Data Visualization > Gauge Background.

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-17

Adding Gauge Special Effects and Animation

To add a gradient special effect to the background of a gauge:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the gauge background node and choose Insert
inside dvt:gaugeBackground > Special Effects.
2. Use the Property Inspector to enter values for the attributes of the
dvt:specialEffects tag:
a. For fillType attribute, select FT_GRADIENT.
b. For gradientDirection attribute, select the direction of change that you
want to use for the gradient fill.
c. For the numStops attribute, enter the number of stops to use for the gradient.
3. Optionally, in the Structure window, right-click the special effects node and choose
Insert within dvt:specialEffects > dvt:gradientStopStyle if you want to control
the color and rate of change for each gradient stop.
4. Use the Property Inspector to enter values for the attributes of the
dvt:gradientStopStyle tag:
a. For the stopIndex attribute, enter a zero-based integer as an index within the
dvt:gradientStopStyle tags that are included within the
dvt:specialEffects tag.
b. For the gradientStopColor attribute, enter the color that you want to use
at this specific point along the gradient.
c. For the gradientStopPosition attribute, enter the proportional distance
along a gradient for the identified stop color. The gradient is scaled from 0 to
100. If 0 or 100 is not specified, default positions are used for those points.
5. Repeat Step 3 and Step 4 for each gradient stop that you want to specify.

25.5.2 What Happens When You Add a Gradient Special Effect to a Gauge
When you add a gradient fill to the background of a gauge and specify two stops,
XML code is generated. Example 25–5 shows the XML code that is generated.

Example 25–5 XML Code Generated for Adding a Gradient to the Background of a
Gauge
<dvt:gauge >
<dvt:gaugeBackground borderColor="#848284">
<dvt:specialEffects fillType="FT_GRADIENT" gradientDirection="GD_RADIAL">
<dvt:gradientStopStyle stopIndex="0" gradientStopPosition="60"
gradientStopColor="FFFFCC"/>
<dvt:gradientStopStyle stopIndex="1" gradientStopPosition="90"
gradientStopColor="FFFF99"/>
</dvt:specialEffects>
</dvt:gaugeBackground>
</dvt:gauge>

25.5.3 How to Add Interactivity to Gauges

You can specify interactivity properties on subcomponents of a gauge using one or
more dvt:shapeAttributes tags wrapped in a dvt:shapeAttributesSet tag.
The interactivity provides a connection between a specific subcomponent and an
HTML attribute or a JavaScript event. Each dvt:shapeAttributes tag must contain
a subcomponent and at least one attribute in order to be functional.

25-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Gauge Special Effects and Animation

For example, Example 25–6 shows the code for a dial gauge where the tooltip of the
indicator changes from "Indicator" to "Indicator is Clicked" when the user clicks the
indicator, and the tooltip for the gauge metric label displays "Metric Label" when the
user mouses over that label at runtime.

Example 25–6 Sample Code for Gauge shapeAttributes Tag

<dvt:gauge >
<dvt:shapeAttributesSet>
<dvt:shapeAttributes component="GAUGE_INDICATOR" alt="Indicator"
onClick="document.title="onClick";"/>
<dvt:shapeAttributes component="GAUGE_METRICLABEL" alt="Metric Label"
onMouseMove="document.title="onMouseMove";"/>
</dvt:shapeAttributesSet>
</dvt:gauge>

You can also use a backing bean method to return the value of the attribute.
Example 25–7 shows sample code for referencing a backing bean and Example 25–8
shows the backing bean sample code.

Example 25–7 Gauge shapeAttributes Tag Referencing a Backing Bean

<dvt:gauge >
<dvt:shapeAttributesSet>
<dvt:shapeAttributes component="GAUGE_INDICATOR" alt="#{sampleGauge.alt}"
onClick="#{sampleGauge.onClick}"/>
<dvt:shapeAttributes component="GAUGE_METRICLABEL"
alt="#{sampleGauge.alt}" onMouseMove="#{sampleGauge.onMouseMove}"/>
</dvt:shapeAttributesSet>
</dvt:gauge>

Example 25–8 Sample Backing Bean Code

public String alt(oracle.dss.dataView.ComponentHandle handle) {
return handle.getName(); }
public String onClick(oracle.dss.dataView.ComponentHandle handle) {
return ("document.title=\"onClick\";"); }
public String onMouseMove(oracle.dss.dataView.ComponentHandle handle) {
return ("document.title=\"onMouseMove\";"); }

The following gauge subcomponents support the dvt:shapeAttributes tag:

■ GAUGE_BOTTOMLABEL - the label below the gauge
■ GAUGE_INDICATOR - the indicator in the gauge
■ GAUGE_LEGENDAREA - the legend area of the gauge
■ GAUGE_LEGENDTEXT - the text label of the legend area
■ GAUGE_METRICLABEL - the label showing the metric value
■ GAUGE_TOPLABEL - the label above the gauge
■ GAUGE_PLOTAREA - the area inside the gauge
■ GAUGE_THRESHOLD - the threshold area of the gauge

25.5.4 How to Animate Gauges

You can animate gauges (not gauge sets) to show changes in data, for example, a dial
gauge indicator can change color when a data value increases or decreases.

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-19

Adding Gauge Special Effects and Animation

Figure 25–10 shows a dial gauge with the dial indicator animated to display the data
change at each threshold level.

Figure 25–10 Animated Dial Gauge

The attributes for setting animation effects on gauges are:

■ animationOnDisplay: Use to specify the type of initial rendering effect to apply.
Valid values are:
– NONE (default): Do not show any initial rendering effect.
– AUTO: Apply an initial rendering effect automatically chosen based on graph
or gauge type.
■ animationOnDataChange: Use to specify the type of data change animation to
apply. Valid values are:
– NONE: Apply no data change animation effects.
– AUTO (default): Apply Active Data Service (ADS) data change animation
events. For more information about ADS, see Section 25.5.5, "How to Animate
Gauges with Active Data."
– ON: Apply partial page refresh (PPR) data change animation events.Use this
setting to configure the application to poll the data source for changes at
prescribed intervals.

25.5.5 How to Animate Gauges with Active Data

Animation effects using Active Data Service (ADS) can be added to dial and status
meter gauge types. ADS allows you to bind ADF Faces components to an active data
source using the ADF model layer. To allow this, you must configure the components
and the bindings so that the components can display the data as it is updated in the
data source.

Before you begin:

In order to use the Active Data Service, you must:
■ Have a data source that publishes events when data is changed
■ Create business services that react to those events and the associated data controls
to represent those services
For more information about ADS and configuring your application, see the "Using the
Active Data Service" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide
for Oracle Application Development Framework.

25.5.5.1 Configuring Gauge Components to Display Active Data

You configure a databound gauge to display active data by setting a value on the
binding element in the corresponding page definition file.

25-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Custom Shapes in Gauges

To configure a gauge to display active data:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the gauge node, and choose Go To Properties.

2. In the Property Inspector, enter a unique value in the ID field.

If you do not select an identifier, one will be entered for you.
3. Open the page’s associated page definition file.
4. In the Structure window for the page definition file, select the node that represents
the attribute binding for the component. In the Property Inspector, select Push for
the ChangeEventPolicy attribute.

25.5.5.2 Adding Animation to Gauges

After configuring the gauge component to display active data, set animation effects
using the attributes defined in Section 25.5.4, "How to Animate Gauges."

25.6 Using Custom Shapes in Gauges

You can directly specify the graphics for a gauge to create custom gauge shapes. The
customShapesPath attribute is set to point to the vector graphics file that is
processed into graphics used for output. JDeveloper also provides a set of custom
shape styles accessible by using the customShapesPath attribute.

25.6.1 How to Create a Custom Shapes Graphic File

Due to the requirements for rotating and resizing a gauge’s components, such as the
plot area or tick marks, a vector graphics file is required when creating a custom
shapes graphic file. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is the supported file format for
creating custom shapes for gauges.
After designing the gauge and exporting it to an SVG file, a designer can add
information to identify, scale, and position the gauge shapes and components, and to
specify other metadata used in processing.
In the SVG file, gauge components are identified using an ID. For example, an SVG file
with <polygon id="indicator"/> would be interpreted as using a polygon shape
for the indicator component. To specify multiple shapes to create the desired visual
for a component, the ID can be modified as in id="indicator_0",
id="indicator_1", and id="indicator_2".
Table 25–1 shows the gauge component IDs and their descriptions.

Table 25–1 Gauge Component IDs for Custom Shapes

ID Description
indicator Points to the value represented by the gauge. If not specified, the
gauge will use the indicator specified in the application.
For the dial gauge, the indicator must be specified while
pointing up (90 degrees), so that the shape can be properly
rotated.
For the status meter gauge, the indicator should be specified
with its full extent, and the gauge will be cropped to point to the
metric value.
indicatorBase For a dial gauge, refers to the object that appears at the base of
the indicator component. If specified, and the
indicatorCenter is not, then the center of the
indicatorBase will be taken as the indicatorCenter.

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-21

Using Custom Shapes in Gauges

Table 25–1 (Cont.) Gauge Component IDs for Custom Shapes

ID Description
gaugeFrame Refers to the optional component that adds visual distinction to
the plotArea. It can be turned on or off in the application by
setting the rendered property. Used primarily when the user
wants to use the default gauge plotArea. If no plotArea is
specified, then the gauge will insert the default plotArea
within the plotAreaBounds. This provides a quick way to
change the look of the gauge without having to create a custom
plotArea or tickMark.
lowerLabelFrame Refers to the frame that contains the bottomLabel when its
position is LP_BELOW_GAUGE; allows the user to customize the
look of this frame. The gauge will position the
lowerLabelFrame in the same relative position to other gauge
components when it is found in the custom shapes file.
plotArea For the dial gauge, refers to the circular area within which the
indicator moves.
For the status meter gauge, refers to the area that contains the
indicator.
For the LED gauge, refers to the area that contains any graphics
that will not be filled with the LED fill color.
When a plotArea is not specified, the gauge will draw the
default plotArea. For tick marks to be drawn, a specification of
the plotArea also requires either tickMarkPath or a set of
tick marks.
tickMark Used to define increments on the gauge. When a set of tick
marks is specified with no tickMarkPath, the gauge will use
the tick marks exactly where they appear on the plotArea. In
this case, it is up to the user to ensure that the tick marks appear
at equal increments. If a tickMarkPath is specified, the gauge
will accept a single tickMark, at 90 degrees for the dial, and it
will rotate and position the tickMark along the
tickMarkPath.
upperLabelFrame Refers to the frame that contains the topLabel when its
position is LP_ABOVE_GAUGE. Setting the upperLabelFrame
allows the user to customize the look of this frame. The gauge
will position the upperLabelFrame in the same relative
position to other gauge components when it is found in the
custom shapes file.

Table 25–2 shows the metadata IDs and the descriptions used for internal calculations,
not rendered in the gauge.

Table 25–2 Metadata IDs for Custom Shapes

ID Description
indicatorBarBounds Specifies the box containing the minimum and maximum
extent of the indicator bar. If not specified, the bounding box is
taken to be the entire indicator as specified in the input file.
indicatorCenter Specifies the center of rotation for the indicator that rotates
around in a dial gauge. The center of the shape with this ID is
considered to be the indicator center. If not specified, it is
assumed to be the center of the bottom edge of the plot area
for an 180-degree dial gauge, and the center of the plot area for
an N-degree dial gauge.

25-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Custom Shapes in Gauges

Table 25–2 (Cont.) Metadata IDs for Custom Shapes

ID Description
ledFillArea Specifies the area of the LED gauge that should be filled with
the appropriate threshold color. If not specified, then the entire
plotArea shape specified in the graphics file will be filled
with the threshold color.
lowerLabelFrameTextBox For complex lowerLabelFrame shapes, specifies a rectangle
that can be set as the lowerLabelFrameTextBox. This box
determines the position of the bottom label within the
lowerLabelFrame.
plotAreaBounds Specified the bounding box for the plotArea. If no
plotArea has been specified in this file, then a bounding box
is needed for the gauge to draw the plot area of the gauge. If
not specified, then the gaugeFrame will use its own bounding
box for this purpose.
thresholdFillArea Defines the area that will be filled with the threshold colors.
For a dial gauge, specifies the thresholdFillArea that will
be filled by sweeping an arc from the indicatorCenter.
For a status meter gauge, specifies the thresholdFillArea
that will be filled based on the orientation of the status meter
gauge.
tickMarkPath Defines the path in which to draw tick marks. This is necessary
for the gauge to calculate where tick marks should be drawn
on a custom plot area, and the gauge will be unable to change
the majorTickCount if this is not specified.
upperLabelFrameTextBox For complex upperLabelFrame shapes, specifies a rectangle
that can be set as the upperLabelFrameTextBox. This box
determines the position of the topLabel within the
upperLabelFrame.

Example 25–9 shows a sample SVG file used to specify custom shapes for the
components of a gauge.

Example 25–9 Sample SVG File Used for Gauge Custom Shapes
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
version="1.0">

<rect width="264.72726" height="179.18887" rx="8.2879562"

ry="10.368411" x="152.76225" y="202.13995"
style="fill:#c83737;fill-opacity:1;stroke:none"
id="gaugeFrame"/>
<rect width="263.09058" height="42.581127" rx="3.0565372"
ry="3.414634" x="155.11697" y="392.35468"
fill="#c83737"
id="lowerLabelFrame" />
<rect width="241.79999" height="120.13961"
x="164.2415" y="215.94714"
style="fill:#ffeeaa"
id="plotAreaBounds"/>
<rect width="74.516975" height="44.101883"
rx="2.6630435" ry="3.5365853"
x="247.883" y="325.4415"
style="fill:#ffd5d5;fill-opacity:1;stroke:none"
id="indicatorBase"/>

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-23

Using Custom Shapes in Gauges

<rect width="6.0830183" height="98.849045" rx="2.6630435"

ry="2.2987804" x="282.86035" y="237.23772"
style="fill:#00aa00;fill-opacity:1;stroke:none"
id="indicator"/>
</svg>

25.6.2 How to Use a Custom Shapes File

After creating the SVG file to be used to specify the custom shapes for your gauge, set
the customShapesPath attribute to point to the file.

To specify a custom shapes file:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:gauge node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Appearance attributes category of the Property Inspector, for the
CustomShapesPath attribute, enter the path to the custom shapes file. For
example, customShapesPath="/path/customShapesFile.svg".

25.6.3 What You May Need to Know About Supported SVG Features
The custom shapes available to you support the following SVG features:
■ Transformations
■ Paths
■ Basic shapes
■ Fill and stroke painting
■ Linear and radial gradients
SVG features that are not supported by custom shapes in JDeveloper include:
■ Unit Identifiers: All coordinates and lengths should be specified without the unit
identifiers, and are assumed to be in pixels. The parser does not support unit
identifiers, because the size of certain units can vary based on the display used.
For example, an inch may correspond to different numbers of pixels on different
displays. The only exceptions to this are gradient coordinates, which can be
specified as percentages.
■ Text: All text on the gauge is considered data, and should be specified through the
tags or data binding.
■ Specifying Paint: The supported options are none, 6-digit hexadecimal, and a
<uri> reference to a gradient.
■ Fill Properties: The fill-rule attribute is not supported.
■ Stroke Properties: The stroke-linecap, stroke-linejoin,
stroke-miterlimit, stroke-disarray, and stroke-opacity attributes
are not supported.
■ Linear Gradients and Radial Gradients: The gradientUnits,
gradientTransform, spreadMethod, and xlink:href are not supported.
Additionally, the r, fx, and fy attributes on the radial gradient are not supported.
■ Elliptical Arc Out-of-Range Parameters: If rx, ry, and x-axis-rot are too small
such that there is no solution, the ellipse should be scaled uniformly until there is
exactly one solution. The SVG parser will not support this.

25-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Custom Shapes in Gauges

■ General Error Conditions: The SVG input is expected to be well formed and
without errors. The SVG parser will not perform any error checking or error
recovery for incorrectly formed files, and it will stop parsing when it encounters
an error in the file.

25.6.4 How to Set Custom Shapes Styles

In addition to the ability to specify custom shapes for gauges, there are a set of prebuilt
custom shapes styles for use with the gauge components. The available styles are:
■ Rounded rectangle
■ Full circle
■ Beveled circle
Figure 25–11 shows a dial gauge displayed with each of the custom shapes styles
applied.

Figure 25–11 Dial Gauges with Custom Shapes Styles

To apply a custom shapes style to a gauge:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:gauge node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Appearance attributes category of the Property Inspector, select the custom
shapes style from the CustomShapesPath attribute dropdown list.

Using ADF Gauge Components 25-25

Using Custom Shapes in Gauges

25-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 26
Using ADF Pivot Table Components
26

This chapter describes how to use a databound ADF pivot table component to display
data, and provides the options for pivot table customization.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 26.1, "Introduction tithe ADF Pivot Table Component"
■ Section 26.2, "Understanding Data Requirements for a Pivot Table"
■ Section 26.3, "Pivoting Layers"
■ Section 26.4, "Using Selection in Pivot Tables"
■ Section 26.5, "Sorting in a Pivot Table"
■ Section 26.6, "Sizing in a Pivot Table"
■ Section 26.7, "Updating Pivot Tables with Partial Page Rendering"
■ Section 26.8, "Exporting from a Pivot Table"
■ Section 26.9, "Customizing the Cell Content of a Pivot Table"
■ Section 26.10, "Pivot Table Data Cell Stamping and Editing"
■ Section 26.11, "Using a Pivot Filter Bar with a Pivot Table"
For information about the data binding of ADF pivot tables, see the "Creating
Databound ADF Pivot Tables" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

26.1 Introduction tithe ADF Pivot Table Component

The ADF pivot table component displays a grid of data with rows and columns.
Similar to spreadsheets, this component provides the option of automatically
generating subtotals and totals for grid data. The pivot table lets you pivot or move
data labels and the associated data layer from one row or column edge to another to
obtain different views of your data, supporting interactive analysis.
The power of the pivot table’s interactive capability is based in its display of multiple
nested attributes on row and column headers. You can dynamically change the layout
of these attributes using drag-and-drop operations.
Figure 26–1 shows a pivot table with multiple attributes nested on its rows and
columns.

Using ADF Pivot Table Components 26-1

Introduction tithe ADF Pivot Table Component

Figure 26–1 Sales Pivot Table with Multiple Rows and Columns

Pivot tables support on-demand data scrolling for large data sets. Only the data being
viewed in the pivot table is loaded. As the user scrolls vertically or horizontally, data is
fetched or discarded to fill the new pivot table view. Figure 26–2 shows a pivot table
with a large data set using on-demand data scrolling.

Figure 26–2 On-Demand Data Scrolling in a Pivot Table

A pivot filter bar is a component that can be added to a pivot table to provide the user
with a way to filter pivot table data in layers not displayed in one of the other edges of
the pivot table. Users can also drag and drop these layers between the pivot filter bar
and the associated pivot table to change the view of the data. Figure 26–3 shows a
pivot filter bar for a pivot table.

Figure 26–3 Pivot Filter Bar Component

26.1.1 Pivot Table Elements and Terminology

The following list of pivot table terms uses Figure 26–1 as a Sales Pivot Table sample in
its descriptions of terms:
■ Edges: The axes in pivot tables, including:

26-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Pivoting Layers

– Row edge: The vertical axis to the left of the body of the pivot table. In
Figure 26–1, the row edge contains two layers, Year and Product, and each row
in the pivot table represents the combination of a particular year and a
particular product.
– Column edge: The horizontal axis above the body of the pivot table. In
Figure 26–1, the column edge contains three layers, Measure, Channel, and
Geography, and each column in the pivot table represents the combination of a
particular measure value (Sales or Units), a particular channel indicator (All
Channels), and a particular geographic location (World or Boston).
– Page edge: The edge represented by the pivot filter bar, whose layers can be
filtered or pivoted with the layers in the row and column edges.
■ Layers: Nested attributes that appear in a single edge. In Figure 26–1, the
following three layers appear in the column edge: Measure, Channel, and
Geography. The following two layers appear in the row edge: Year and Product.
■ Header cell: The labels that identify the data displayed in a row or column. Row
header cells appear on the row edge, and column header cells appear on the
column edge.
■ Data cell: The cells within the pivot table that contain data values, not header
information. In the sample, the first data cell contains a value of 20,000.000.
■ QDR (Qualified Data Reference): A fully qualified data reference to a row, a
column, or an individual cell. For example, in Figure 26–1, the QDR for the first
data cell in the pivot table must provide the following information:
– Year=2007
– Product=Tents
– Measure=Sales
– Channel=All Channels
– Geography=World

26.2 Understanding Data Requirements for a Pivot Table

The pivot table component uses a model to display and interact with data. The specific
model class used is oracle.adf.view.faces.bi.model.DataModel.
You can use any row set (flat file) data collection to supply data to a pivot table.
During the data binding operation, you have the opportunity to drag each data
element to the desired location on the row edge or column edge of the pivot table in
the data binding dialog.
During data binding, you also have the option of specifying subtotals and totals for
pivot table rows and columns, specifying drill operations at runtime, defining how to
aggregate duplicate records, and setting up initial sort criteria.
For information about the data binding of ADF pivot tables, see the "Creating
Databound ADF Pivot Tables" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

26.3 Pivoting Layers

You can drag any layer in a pivot table to a different location on the same edge or to a
different edge. This operation is called pivoting and is enabled by default.

Using ADF Pivot Table Components 26-3

Pivoting Layers

When you move the mouse over a layer, the layer’s pivot handle and an optional pivot
label are displayed. If you move the mouse over the pivot handle, the cursor changes
to a four-point arrow drag cursor. You can then use the handle to drag the layer to the
new location. If you move the mouse over a layer on the row edge, the pivot handle
appears above the layer, as shown in Figure 26–4.

Figure 26–4 Display of Pivot Handle on the Row Edge

If you move the cursor over a layer in the column edge, the pivot handle appears to
the left of the layer, as shown in Figure 26–5.

Figure 26–5 Display of Pivot Handle on the Column Edge

If, in Figure 26–4, you drag the pivot handle of the Time (Year) layer from the row edge
to the column edge between the Measure (Sales) layer and the Channel layer, the pivot
table will change shape as shown in Figure 26–6.

Figure 26–6 Sales Pivot Table After Pivot of Year

You can customize pivoting to disable pivot labels and pivoting.

To customize pivoting in a pivot table:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:pivotTable component and choose Go
to Properties.
2. Optionally, in the Appearance category of the Property Inspector, in the
PivotLabelVisible field, select false from the dropdown list to disable the
display of the label in the pivot handle.
3. Optionally, in the Behavior category of the Property Inspector, in the
PivotEnabled field, select false from the dropdown list to disable the pivoting.

26-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Selection in Pivot Tables

26.4 Using Selection in Pivot Tables

Selection in a pivot table allows a user to select one or more cells in a pivot table. Only
one of the three areas including the row header, column header, or data cells can be
selected at one time.
An application can implement features such as displaying customized content for a
context menu, based on currently selected cells. Example 26–1 shows sample code for
getting the currently selected header cells.

Example 26–1 Sample Code to Get Selected Header Cells

UIPivotTable pt = getPivotTable()
if (pt == null)
return null;
HeaderCellSelectionSet headerCells = null;
if (pt.getSelection().getColumnHeaderCells().size() > 0) {
headerCells = pt.getSelection().getColumnHeaderCells();
} else if (pt.getSelection().getRowHeaderCells().size() > 0) {
headerCells = pt.getSelection().getRowHeaderCells();
}

At runtime, selection in a data cell highlights the cell, as shown in Figure 26–7.

Figure 26–7 Selected Data Cell

Editable data cells are opened for editing by double-clicking the cell or selecting the
cell and pressing F2. Data cells selected for direct editing are displayed as shown in
Figure 26–8.

Figure 26–8 Data Cell Open for Direct Editing

Data cells selected for dropdown list editing are displayed as shown in Figure 26–9.

Figure 26–9 Data Cell Open for Dropdown List Editing

For more information about enabling data cell editing, see Section 26.10, "Pivot Table
Data Cell Stamping and Editing."

Using ADF Pivot Table Components 26-5

Sorting in a Pivot Table

26.5 Sorting in a Pivot Table

Pivot tables support sorting of data within the pivot table. When sorting is enabled,
ascending and descending sort icons are displayed as the user hovers the cursor over
the innermost layer of the column header. By default, the sortMode attribute of the
dvt:pivotTable component is set to grouped, effectively sorting the data grouped
by the row edge outermost layer. Figure 26–10 shows the sort icons in the World Sales
column of the pivot table, where the data is grouped by the Year row edge outermost
layers.

Figure 26–10 Ascending and Descending Sorting Icons in a Pivot Table

26.6 Sizing in a Pivot Table

When you create a pivot table, default settings determine the overall size of that pivot
table. The pivot table also automatically sizes rows, columns, and layers within the
space allowed for the overall size. You have the option of changing the overall size of
the pivot table, resizing rows and columns, and resizing layers.

26.6.1 How to Set the Overall Size of a Pivot Table

The default size of a pivot table is a width of 300 pixels and a height of 300 pixels.
Instead of entering pixels for width and height, you have the option of specifying a
percentage value for width, height, or both. This percentage value refers to the portion
of the page that you want the pivot table to use.

To customize the default settings of a pivot table:

1. In the visual editor, display the page that contains the pivot table.
2. Click Source to display the XML code on the JSPX page.
3. Enter the following code for the inlineStyle attribute of the pivotTable tag,
where value1 is an integer with the unit type for the width of the pivot table and
value2 is an integer with the unit type for the height of the pivot table:
inlineStyle="width:value1;height:value2".
Example 26–2 shows the setting of the inlineStyle attribute that specifies the width
of the table as 50 percent of the page size and the height of the table as 400 pixels.

Example 26–2 XML Code for Customizing Pivot Table Size

<dvt:pivotTable
.
.
.
inlineStyle="width:50%;height:400px">
</dvt:pivotTable>

26-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Updating Pivot Tables with Partial Page Rendering

26.6.2 How to Resize Rows, Columns, and Layers

The pivot table autosizes rows, columns, and layers when the pivot table is initially
displayed. At runtime, you can change the size of rows, columns, or layers by
dragging the row, column, or layer separator to a new location.

To resize rows, columns, and layers at runtime:

1. If you want to resize a row, do the following:

a. Position the cursor in the row header on the separator between the row you
want to resize and the next row.
b. When the cursor changes to a double-sided arrow, click and drag the row
separator to the desired location.
2. If you want to resize a column, do the following:
a. Position the cursor in the column header on the separator between the column
you want to resize and the next column.
b. When the cursor changes to a double-sided arrow, click and drag the column
separator to the desired location.
3. If you want to resize a layer, do the following:
a. Position the cursor in the row or column header on the separator between the
layer you want to resize and the next layer.
b. When the cursor changes to a double-sided arrow, click and drag the layer
separator to the desired location.

26.6.3 What You May Need to Know About Resizing Rows, Columns, and Layers
When you resize rows, columns, or layers, the new sizes remain until you perform a
pivot operation. After a pivot operation, the new sizes are cleared and the pivot table
rows, columns, and layers return to their original sizes.
If you do not perform a pivot operation, then the new sizes remain for the life of the
session. However, you cannot save these sizes through MDS (Metadata Services)
customization.

26.7 Updating Pivot Tables with Partial Page Rendering

You can update pivot tables, for example, to display the totals in a pivot table when
triggered by a checkbox, by using partial page rendering (PPR). PPR allows only
certain components on a page to be rerendered without the need to refresh the entire
page. For more information about PPR, see Chapter 7.1, "Introduction to Partial Page
Rendering."
For a component to be rerendered based on an event caused by another component, it
must declare which other components are the triggers. Use the partialTriggers
attribute to provide a list of IDs of the components that should trigger a partial update
of the pivot table. The pivot table listens on the trigger components and if one of the
trigger components receives an event that will cause it to update in some way, the
pivot table is also updated.
Example 26–3 shows sample code for updating a pivot table by displaying the totals
when a checkbox is triggered. The triggering component uses the ID as the
partialTriggers value.

Using ADF Pivot Table Components 26-7

Exporting from a Pivot Table

Example 26–3 Partial Update of a Pivot Table

<dvt:pivotTable id="goodPT"
value="#{richPivotTableModel.dataModel}"
partialTriggers="showTotals"/>

<af:selectBooleanCheckbox id="showTotals" autoSubmit="true" label="Show Totals"

value="#{richPivotTableModel.totalsEnabled}"/>

26.8 Exporting from a Pivot Table

You can export the data from a pivot table to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Create an
action source, such as a command button or command link, and add a
dvt:exportPivotTableData component and associate it with the data you wish to
export. You can configure the dvt:exportPivotTableData component so that the
entire pivot table will be exported, or so that only the rows selected by the user will be
exported. For example, Figure 26–11 shows a pivot table that includes command
button components that allow users to export the data to an Excel spreadsheet.

Figure 26–11 Pivot Table with Export to Excel Command Buttons

When the user clicks the command button, by default all the rows and columns are
exported in an Excel format written to the file specified in the filename attribute of
the tag. Alternatively, you can configure the dvt:exportPivotTableData
component so that only the rows the user selects are exported, by setting the
exportedData attribute to selected. Example 26–4 shows the sample code for the
Export to Excel command button.

Example 26–4 Sample Code for Export to Excel Command Button

<af:commandButton text="Export To Excel" immediate="true">
<dvt:exportPivotTableData type="excelHTML" exportedId="goodPT"
filename="updated_export.xls" title="PivotTable export"/>
</af:commandButton>

Figure 26–12 shows the resulting Excel spreadsheet.

26-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Cell Content of a Pivot Table

Figure 26–12 Pivot Table Export to Excel Spreadsheet

26.9 Customizing the Cell Content of a Pivot Table

All cells in a pivot table are either header cells or data cells. Before rendering a cell, the
pivot table calls a method expression. You can customize the content of pivot table
header cells and data cells by providing method expressions for the following
attributes of the dvt:pivotTable tag:
■ For header cells, use one of the following attributes:
– headerFormat: Use to create formatting rules to customize header cell
content.
– headerFormatManager: Use only if you want to provide custom state
saving for the formatting rules of the application’s pivot table header cells.
■ For data cells, use one of the following attributes:
– dataFormat: Use to create formatting rules to customize data cell content.
– dataFormatManager: Use only if you want to provide custom state saving
for the formatting rules of the application’s pivot table data cells.

26.9.1 How to Create a CellFormat Object for a Data Cell

To specify customization of the content of a data cell, you must code a method
expression that returns an instance of
oracle.dss.adf.view.faces.bi.component.pivotTable.CellFormat.

To create an instance of a CellFormat object for a data cell:

1. Construct an
oracle.adf.view.faces.bi.component.pivotTable.DataCellContext
object for the data cells that you want to format. The DataCellContext method
requires the following parameters in its constructor:
– model: The name of the dataModel used by the pivot table.
– row: An integer that specifies the zero-based row that contains the data cell on
which you are operating.
– column: An integer that specifies the zero-based column that contains the
data cell that you want to format.
– qdr: The QDR that is a fully qualified reference for the data cell that you want
to format.

Using ADF Pivot Table Components 26-9

Customizing the Cell Content of a Pivot Table

– value: A java.lang.Object that contains the value in the data cell that
you want to format.
2. Pass the DataCellContext to a method expression for the dataFormat
attribute of the pivot table.
3. In the method expression, write code that specifies the kind of formatting you
want to apply to the data cells of the pivot table. This method expression must
return a CellFormat object.

26.9.2 How to Construct a CellFormat Object

An instance of a CellFormat object lets you specify the following arguments:
■ Converter: An instance of javax.faces.convert.Converter, which is used
to perform number, date, or text formatting of a raw value in a cell.
■ CSS style: Used to change the CSS style of a cell. For example, you might use this
argument to change the background color of a cell.
■ CSS text style: Used to change the CSS style of the text in a cell. For example, you
might use this argument to set text to bold.
■ New raw value: Used to change the cell’s underlying value that was returned from
the data model. For example, you might choose to change the abbreviated names
of states to longer names. In this case, the abbreviation NY might be changed to
New York.

26.9.3 How to Change Format and Text Styles

You can apply formatting and text styles to emphasize aspects of the data displayed in
the pivot table. Figure 26–13 shows a pivot table with sales totals generated for
products and for product categories. In the rows that contain totals, this pivot table
displays bold text (a text style change) against a shaded background (a style change).
These changes show in both the row header cells and the data cells for the pivot table.
The row headers for totals contain the text "Sales Total."
The pivot table also shows stoplight and conditional formatting of data cells. For more
information, see Section 26.9.4, "How to Create Stoplight and Conditional Formatting
in a Pivot Table."

26-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Cell Content of a Pivot Table

Figure 26–13 Sales Data Per Product Category

Example 26–5 shows sample code that produces the required custom formats for the
sales totals, but not for the stoplight formatting. The example includes the code for
method expressions for both the dataFormat attribute and the headerFormat
attribute of the dvt:pivotTable tag. If you want to include stoplight formatting in
the pivot table, you might want to include the code from Example 26–6.

Example 26–5 Sample Code to Change Style and Text Style in a Pivot Table
public CellFormat getDataFormat(DataCellContext cxt)
{
CellFormat cellFormat = new CellFormat(null, null, null);
QDR qdr = cxt.getQDR();
//Obtain a reference to the product category column.
Object productCateg = qdr.getDimMember("ProductCategory");
//Obtain a reference to the product column.
Object product = qdr.getDimMember("ProductId");

if (productCateg != null && productCateg.toString().equals("Sales Total"))

{
cellFormat.setTextStyle("font-weight:bold")
cellFormat.setStyle("background-color:#C0C0C0");
}
else if (product != null && product.toString().equals("Sales Total")
{
cellFormat.setTextStyle("font-weight:bold");
cellFormat.setStyle("background-color:#C0C0C0");
}
return cellFormat;
}

public CellFormat getHeaderFormat(HeaderCellContext cxt)

{
if (cxt.getValue() != null)
{
String header = cxt.getValue().toString();
if (header.equals("Sales Total"))
{

Using ADF Pivot Table Components 26-11

Customizing the Cell Content of a Pivot Table

return new CellFormat(null, "background-color:#C0C0C0",

"font-weight:bold");
}
}
return null;
}

26.9.4 How to Create Stoplight and Conditional Formatting in a Pivot Table

Stoplight and conditional formatting of the cells in a pivot table are examples of
customizing the cell content. For this kind of customization, an application might
prompt a user for a high value and a low value to be associated with the stoplight
formatting. Generally three colors are used as follow:
■ Values equal to and above the high value are colored green to indicate they have
no issues.
■ Values above the low value but below the high value are colored yellow to warn
that they are below the high standard.
■ Values at or below the low value are colored red to indicate that they fall below the
minimum acceptable level.
Figure 26–13 shows data cells with stoplight formatting for minimum, acceptable, and
below standards sales for States.
Example 26–6 shows code that performs stoplight formatting in a pivot table that does
not display totals. If you want to do stoplight formatting for a pivot table that displays
totals, then you might want to combine the code from Example 26–5 (which addresses
rows with totals) with the code for stoplight and conditional formatting.

Example 26–6 Sample Code for Stoplight and Conditional Formatting

public CellFormat getDataFormat(DataCellContext cxt)
{
//Use low and high values provided by the application.
double low = m_rangeValues.getMinimum().doubleValue() * 100;
double high = m_rangeValues.getMaximum().doubleValue() * 100;

CellFormat cellFormat = new CellFormat(null, null, null);

// Create stoplight format

if (isStoplightingEnabled())
{
String color = null;
Object value = cxt.getValue();
if (value != null && value instanceof Number)
{
double dVal = ((Number)value).doubleValue();
if (dVal <= low)
{
color = "background-color:" + ColorUtils.colorToHTML(m_belowColor) + ";";
}
else if (dVal > low && dVal <= high)
{
color = "background-color:" + ColorUtils.colorToHTML(m_goodColor) + ";";
}
else if (dVal > high)
{
color = "background-color:" + ColorUtils.colorToHTML(m_aboveColor) + ";";
}

26-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Pivot Table Data Cell Stamping and Editing

}
cellFormat.setStyle(color);
}
return cellFormat;
}

26.10 Pivot Table Data Cell Stamping and Editing

The content in a pivot table data cell can be stamped using the dvt:dataCell child
component to place a read-only or input component in each data cell. When you use
stamping, child components are not created for every data cell in a pivot table. Rather,
the content of the dvt:dataCell component is repeatedly rendered, or stamped,
once per data attribute, such as the rows in a pivot table. Only certain types of
components are supported, including all components with no activity and most
components that implement the EditableValueHolder or ActionSource
interfaces. You can also use stamping to specify custom CSS styles for the data cell.
Each time a child component is stamped, the data for the current cell is copied into a
var property used by the data cell component in an EL Expression. Once the pivot
table has completed rendering, the var property is removed, or reverted back to its
previous value.
Data cell editing is enabled by using an input component as the child component of
dvt:dataCell. At runtime you can open the cell for editing by double-clicking the
cell in the pivot table, or by selecting the cell and pressing F2.
Example 26–7 shows sample code for data cell stamping.

Example 26–7 Data Cell Stamping Sample Code

<dvt:pivotTable var="cellData" varStatus="cellStatus">
<dvt:dataCell>
<af:switcher defaultFacet="default"
facetName="#{cellStatus.members.MeasDim.value}">
<f:facet name="Sales">
<af:inputText value="#{cellData.dataValue}" />
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="Weight">
<af:outputText value="#{cellData.dataValue}"
inlineStyle="#{cellStatus.cellFormat.textStyle}"/>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="Available">
<af:selectBooleanCheckbox id="idselectbooleancheckbox"
label="Availability" text="Item Available" autoSubmit="true"
value="#{cellData.dataValue}"/>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="default">
<af:outputText value="#{cellData.dataValue}" />
</f:facet>
</af:switcher>
</dvt:dataCell>
</dvt:pivotTable>

Figure 26–14 shows the resulting pivot table.

Using ADF Pivot Table Components 26-13

Pivot Table Data Cell Stamping and Editing

Figure 26–14 Pivot Table Using Data Cell Stamping

Note: In order to temporarily or permanently write values back to a

set of cells within a cube, called a writeback, the pivot table must be
bound to a data control or data model that supports writeback
operations. A row set based data control is transformed into a cube
and therefore cannot support writeback operations.

26.10.1 How to Specify Custom Images for Data Cells

With data cell stamping you can use the dvt:dataCell tag to specify a custom image
for a data cell using af:image, af:icon, or af:commandImageLink as a child tag.
Example 26–8 shows sample code for using an af:commandImageLink as a custom
image in a pivot table data cell.

Example 26–8 Using a Custom Image for a Data Cell

<dvt:pivotTable var="cellData" varStatus="cellStatus">

<!-- This is the default data cell that will be used for all data attributes-->
<dvt:dataCell>
<af:commandImageLink text="Go"
icon="/images/go.gif"
actionListener="#{pivotTableBean.imageLinkClick}"/>
<af:outputText value="#{cellData.dataValue}" />
</dvt:dataCell>
</dvt:pivotTable>

Actions associated with the image are handled through a registered listener,
actionListener. In a bean class you specify the method to be called when the
image link is clicked, for example:
public void imageLinkClick (javax.faces.event.ActionEvent.action)

26.10.2 How to Specify Images, Icons, Links, and Read-Only Content in Header Cells
In the same way that you use stamping in data cells, you can customize the content in
header cells using the dvt:headerCell child component to place a read-only
component in each header cell. Only read-only components or noneditable
components are supported, including af:outputText, af:image, af:icon,
af:commandImageLink, and af:commandLink.
Example 26–9 shows sample code for using an af:commandImageLink as a custom
image and af:icon as a custom icon in pivot table header cells.

Example 26–9 Using Custom Components in Header Cells

<dvt:pivotTable id="goodPT"
binding="#{pivotTableHeaderCellDemo.pivotTable}"
contentDelivery="immediate"
value="#{pivotTableHeaderCellDemo.dataModel}"
var="cellData"
varStatus="cellStatus">
<!-- header cell components -->

26-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using a Pivot Filter Bar with a Pivot Table

<dvt:headerCell>
<af:switcher defaultFacet="default" facetName="#{cellData.layerName}">
<f:facet name="Geography">
<af:outputText value="#{cellData.label}"
shortDesc="#{cellData.label}"/>
<af:icon name="info" shortDesc="#{cellData.indent}" />
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="Channel">
<af:outputText value="#{cellData.label}" />
<af:commandImageLink shortDesc="Sample commandImageLink"
icon="/resources/images/pivotTableCSVDemo/smily-normal.gif"
hoverIcon="/resources/images/pivotTableCSVDemo/smily-glasses.gif"
/>
<af:commandButton text="Go to Tag Guide page" immediate="true"
action="guide" />
</f:facet>

<f:facet name="Product">
<af:outputText value="#{cellData.label}" />
<af:commandButton text="Go to Tag Guide page" immediate="true"
action="guide" />
</f:facet>

<f:facet name ="default">

<af:commandLink text="#{cellData.label}"
immediate="true" action="guide"/>
</f:facet>
</af:switcher>
</dvt:headerCell>
...
</dvt:pivotTable>

Figure 26–15 shows the resulting pivot table.

Figure 26–15 Pivot Table with Customized Header Cells

26.11 Using a Pivot Filter Bar with a Pivot Table

You can enhance the data filtering capacity in a pivot table by adding a pivot filter bar.
Zero or more layers of data not already displayed in the pivot table row edge or
column edge are displayed in the page edge. Figure 26–16 shows a pivot filter bar with
Quarter and Month layers that can be used to filter the data displayed in the pivot
table.

Using ADF Pivot Table Components 26-15

Using a Pivot Filter Bar with a Pivot Table

Figure 26–16 Pivot Filter Bar with Data Layer Filters

You can also change the display of data in the pivot table by pivoting layers between
the row, column, or page edges. Use the pivot handle to drag the layers between the
edges as desired. Figure 26–17 shows the modified pivot table and pivot filter bar
when the Channel data layer is pivoted to the page edge.

Figure 26–17 Pivot Table and Pivot Filter Bar After Pivot

26.11.1 How to Associate a Pivot Filter Bar with a Pivot Table

You associate a pivot filter bar component, dvt:pivotFilterBar, to work with a
pivot table component, dvt:pivotTable, by configuring the data model and
associated properties to work with both components. Example 26–10 shows sample
code for associating a pivot filter bar with a pivot table.

Example 26–10 Sample Code for Pivot Filter Bar

<dvt:pivotFilterBar id="pf1" value="#{binding.pt.pivotFilterBarModel}"
modelName="pt1Model"/>
<dvt:pivotTable id="pt1" value="#{binding.pt.dataModel}" modelName="pt1Model"
partialTriggers="pf1"/>

You can associate a pivot filter bar with a pivot table in any of the following ways:
■ Create a pivot table using the Data Controls Panel.
When you drag a data collection from the Data Controls Panel to create a pivot
table on your page, the Select Display Attributes page of the Create Pivot Table
wizard provides the option to create a pivot filter bar to associate with the pivot
table. You can choose to specify zero or more attributes representing data layers in
the page edge. The data model and associated properties are automatically
configured for you. For detailed information, see the "Creating Databound ADF
Pivot Tables" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for
Oracle Application Development Framework.
■ Add a pivot filter bar to a pivot table bound to data.

26-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using a Pivot Filter Bar with a Pivot Table

From the ADF Data Visualizations page of the Component Palette, Pivot Table
panel, you can drag a dvt:pivotFilterBar element above a dvt:pivotTable
element that has been bound to a data collection. In this instance, you must
configure the data model and associated properties in order for the pivot filter bar
to work with the pivot table.
■ Add a pivot filter bar to a pivot table not bound to data.
From ADF Data Visualizations page of the Component Palette, Pivot Table panel,
you can drag a dvt:pivotFilterBar element above a dvt:pivotTable
element that has not been bound to a data collection. In this instance, you must
configure the data model and associated properties in order for the pivot filter bar
to work with the pivot table.

Using ADF Pivot Table Components 26-17

Using a Pivot Filter Bar with a Pivot Table

26-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 27
27 Using ADF Geographic Map Components

This chapter describes how to use an ADF geographic map component with
databound themes to display data, and provides the options for map customization.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 27.1, "Introduction to Geographic Maps"
■ Section 27.2, "Understanding Data Requirements for Geographic Maps"
■ Section 27.3, "Customizing Map Size, Zoom Control, and Selection Area Totals"
■ Section 27.4, "Customizing Map Themes"
■ Section 27.5, "Adding a Toolbar to a Map"
For information about the data binding of ADF geographic map themes, see the
"Creating Databound ADF Geographic Maps" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware
Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

27.1 Introduction to Geographic Maps

A geographic map component is a data visualization component that provides the
functionality of Oracle Spatial within the framework. This component lets users
represent business data on a geographic map and superimpose multiple layers of
information (known as themes) on a single map.
When you create a map, you are prompted to select a base map that an administrator
has already configured using the Map Builder tool of Oracle Spatial. During
configuration, the map administrator defines the zoom levels that the map supports.
These levels also determine the zoom capability of the ADF geographic map.
Administrators also have the option of creating predefined map themes using the Map
Builder tool. For example, a predefined theme might use specific colors to identify
regions. In the ADF geographic map component, you can select such a predefined map
theme, but you cannot modify it because this theme is part of the base map.
The base map becomes the background on which you build interactive layers of
information in JDeveloper using the ADF geographic map component. The ADF
geographic map requires that you define at least one layer but you can create as many
layers as you wish.

27.1.1 Available Map Themes

The ADF geographic map provides a variety of map themes, each of which must be
bound to a data collection. Figure 27–1 shows a map with several themes. The
following kinds of map themes are available:

Using ADF Geographic Map Components 27-1

Introduction to Geographic Maps

■ Color: Applies to regions. For example, a color theme might identify a range of
colors to represent the population in the states of a region or the popularity of a
product in the states of a region. A map can have multiple color themes visible at
different zoom levels. For example, a color theme at zoom levels 1 to 5 might
represent the population of a state, and the county median income at zoom levels 6
to 10.
■ Point: Displays individual latitude/longitude locations in a map. For example, a
point theme might identify the locations of warehouses in a map. If you customize
the style of the point that is displayed, you might choose to use a different image
for the type of inventory (electronics, housewares, garden supplies) in a set of
warehouses to differentiate them from each other.
■ Graph: Creates any number of pie graph themes and bar graph themes. However,
only one graph theme can be visible at a given time. You select the desired theme
from the View menu of the map toolbar. Graph themes can show statistics related
to a given region such as states or counties. For example, a graph theme could
display the sales values for a number of products in a state.

Figure 27–1 Geographic Map of Southwest US with Color, Point, and Pie Graph Themes

27.1.2 Geographic Map Terminology

The following list gives a brief description of the terminology used in a geographic
map:
■ Base map: Provides the background geographic data, zoom levels, and the
appearance and presence of items such as countries, cities, and roads. The base
map can be any image that can be configured using a map viewer and map
builder, for example, the floor maps of office buildings.
■ Zoom control: Consists of pan icons and a zoom slider that render in the upper
left-hand corner of the map. Figure 27–2 shows a map zoom control that is

27-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Geographic Maps

zoomed-out all the way (that is, the zoom level is set to 0). At zero, the entire map
is displayed.
You can customize the location and the initial setting of the zoom control in the
dvt:map tag. The View menu (which appears in the map toolbar just above the
sample map) lets you determine the visibility of the zoom control. By default, the
initial zoom level for a map is set to 0.

Figure 27–2 Zoom Control of a Map

– Pan icons: Consists of icons (with arrows that point north, south, east, west,
northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest) at the top of the zoom control.
You can use these icons to move the entire map in specific directions.
– Zoom slider: Consists of a slider with a thumb for large scale zooming and
icons for zooming a single level. You can use the plus icon to zoom in and the
minus icon to zoom out one level at a time. When the thumb is at the bottom
of the slider, the zoom level is zero.
■ Scale: Consists of two horizontal bars that display in the lower left-hand corner of
the map below the information panel and above the copyright. Figure 27–3 shows
the scale. The top bar represents miles (mi) and the bottom bar represents
kilometers (km). Labels appear above the miles bar and below the kilometers bar
in the format: [distance] [unit of measure]. The length and distance values of the
bars change as the zoom level changes and as the map is panned.

Figure 27–3 Map Information Panel, Scale, and Copyright

■ Information panel: Displays latitude and longitude in the lower left-hand corner
above the scale. Figure 27–3 shows the information panel. By default, the
information panel is not visible. You can display this panel from the View menu or
by clicking the Information button on the toolbar.
■ Measurement panel: Displays either distance, area, or radius depending on which
tools in the toolbar are currently in use. Text appears in the following format:
[label] [value] [unit of measure] to the right of the information panel. Figure 27–4
shows the measurement panel with a distance measurement. Area measurement
and radius measurement appear in a similar manner with the appropriate labels.

Using ADF Geographic Map Components 27-3

Introduction to Geographic Maps

Figure 27–4 Map Measurement Panel Beside the Information Panel

The following tools provide information in the measurement panel:

– Area measurement: Appears only when the Area, Rectangular Selection, or
Multi-Point Selection tools are active.
– Distance measurement: Appears only when the Distance tool is active.
– Radius measurement: Appears only when the Circular Selection tool is active.
■ Copyright: Appears in the lower left-hand corner of the map and contains text that
you can customize in the dvt:map tag.
■ Overview map: Consists of a miniature view of the main map as shown in
Figure 27–5. This map appears in the lower right-hand corner of the main map and
lets you change the viewable region of the main map without having to use the
pan tool or the pan icons.

Figure 27–5 Overview Map

The following items are part of the overview map:

– Reticule: Appears as a small window that you can move across a miniature
view of the main map. The position of the reticule in the miniature map
determines the viewable area of the main map. As you move the reticule, the
main map is updated automatically.
– Show/Hide icon: Appears in the upper left-hand corner when the overview
map is displayed. When you click the Show/Hide icon, the overview map
becomes invisible and only the icon can be seen in the lower right corner of
the main map.
■ Toolbar: Contains the following elements in the sequence listed:
– View menu: Lets you control which themes are visible, select a specific theme
for display, and determine the visibility of the zoom control, legend, and the
information panel.
– Toolbar buttons: Provide the following tools for interaction with the map: Pan,
Zoom In, Zoom Out, Rectangular Selection, Circular Selection, Polygon
Selection, Point Selection, Distance, Area, Legend, and Information.

27.1.3 Geographic Map Component Tags

The geometric map has parent tags, map child tags, and tags that modify map themes.

27-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Geographic Maps

27.1.3.1 Geographic Map Parent Tags

The map component includes the following parent tags:
■ Map tag dvt:map: The parent tag for the main map component. Unlike other data
visualization parent tags, the map tag is not bound to data. Instead, all the map
theme child tags are bound individually to data collections. The map tag contains
general information about the map including the identification of the base map,
the URL for the remote server that is running Oracle Application Server
MapViewer service and the URL for the Geocoder web service that converts street
addresses into longitude and latitude coordinates for mapping. For a list and
description of the child tags, see Section 27.1.3.2, "Geographic Map Child Tags."
■ Map toolbar dvt:mapToolbar: A parent tag that allows the map toolbar to be
placed in any location on a JSF page that contains a map. This toolbar contains a
mapID attribute that points to the map associated with the toolbar. The toolbar lets
you perform significant interaction with the map at runtime including the ability
to display the map legend and to perform selection and distance measurement.
The map toolbar tag has no child tags.

27.1.3.2 Geographic Map Child Tags

The dvt:map tag has the following child tags:
■ Color theme dvt:mapColorTheme: One of the optional map layers that you bind
to a data collection.
■ Point theme dvt:mapPointTheme: One of the optional map layers that you bind
to a data collection. The point theme identifies individual locations on a map.
■ Bar graph theme dvt:mapBarGraphTheme: One of the optional map layers that
you must bind to a data collection. This theme displays a bar graph at points to
represent multiple data values related to that location. For example, this tag might
be used to display a graph that shows inventory levels at warehouse locations.
■ Pie graph theme dvt:mapPieGraphTheme: One of the optional map layers that
you must bind to a data collection. This theme displays a pie graph at specific
points to represent multiple values at that location. For example, this tag might be
used to display a graph that shows inventory levels at warehouse locations.
■ Map legend dvt:mapLegend: Created automatically when you create a map. Use
this tag to customize the map legend.
■ Overview map dvt:mapOverview: Created automatically when you create a
map. Use this tag to customize the overview map that appears in the lower
right-hand corner of the map.

27.1.3.3 Tags for Modifying Map Themes

The following tags modify various map themes:
■ Point style item dvt:mapPointStyleItem: An optional child tag of the
dvt:mapPointTheme tag. Use this tag only if you want to customize the image
that represents points that fall in a certain data value range. To define multiple
images, create a tag for each image and specify the associated data value range
and image.
■ Pie slice set dvt:mapPieSliceSet: A child of the dvt:mapPieGraphTheme
tag. This is an optional tag that you use to wrap dvt:mapPieSliceItem tags, if
you want to customize the color of the slices in a map pie graph.

Using ADF Geographic Map Components 27-5

Understanding Data Requirements for Geographic Maps

■ Pie slice item dvt:mapPieSliceItem: A child of the dvt:mapPieSliceSet

tag. Each pie slice item tag customizes the color of one slice in a map pie graph.
■ Bar graph series set dvt:mapBarSeriesSet: A child of the
dvt:mapBarGraphTheme tag. This is an optional tag that you use to wrap
dvt:mapBarSeriesItem tags if you want to customize the color of bars in a
map bar graph.
■ Bar graph series item dvt:mapBarSeriesItem: A child of the
dvt:mapBarSeriesSet tag. Each bar graph series item tag customizes the color
of one bar in a map bar graph.

27.2 Understanding Data Requirements for Geographic Maps

The following data requirements apply to the geographic map:
■ Configuration requirements include the following information:
– Map Viewer URL: You must provide a URL for the location of the Oracle
Application Server MapViewer service. This service is required to run the base
map that provides the background for the layers in the ADF geographic map
component. OracleAS MapViewer is a programmable tool for rendering maps
using spatial data managed by Oracle Spatial.
– Geocoder URL: If you want to convert street addresses into coordinates, then
you must provide the URL for the Geocoder for the geographic map. A
Geocoder is a Web service that converts street addresses into longitude and
latitude coordinates for mapping.
■ Base map: You must have a base map created by the Map Builder tool in OracleAS
MapViewer. This base map must define polygons at the level of detail that you
require for your map themes to function as desired. For example, if you have a
map pie graph or bar graph theme that you want to use for creating graphs in each
state of a certain region, then you must have a base map that defines polygons for
all these states at some zoom level. You can display only one graph in a polygon.
■ Data controls for map themes: Each map theme must be bound to a data control.
The data control must contain location information that can be bound to similar
information in the base map.

27.3 Customizing Map Size, Zoom Control, and Selection Area Totals
You can customize the map size, zoom strategy, appearance of selected regions, and
the initial display of the information window and the scale bar.

27.3.1 How to Adjust the Map Size

You can control the width and height of the map by using the inlineStyle attribute
in the dvt:map tag.

To adjust the size of a map:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:map node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Style attributes category of the Property Inspector, enter the width and
height in the inlineStyle attribute.
For example, to specify a width of 600 pixels and a height of 400 pixels, use the
following setting: inlineStyle="width:600px;height:400px".

27-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing Map Size, Zoom Control, and Selection Area Totals

For a width that uses the entire available width of the page and a height of 400
pixels, use the following setting:
inlineStyle="width:600px;height:400px".

27.3.2 How to Specify Strategy for Map Zoom Control

Several attributes on the dvt:map tag let you control the initial zoom level, starting
location, initial map theme, and zoom strategy.

To control the initial zoom and starting location on a map:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:map node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Appearance attributes category of the Property Inspector, enter values for
the following attributes:
a. In AutoZoomThemeID, enter the ID of the first theme that will be displayed.
b. In ZoomBarStrategy, select the default value MAXZOOM to direct the map to
zoom down to the maximum level where all objects in the
autoZoomThemeId are visible, or select CENTERATZOOMLEVEL to direct the
map to center on the theme in autoZoomThemeId and to set the zoom level
to the value in the mapZoom attribute.
c. If you want to change the starting location on the map, enter latitude and
longitude in startingX and startingY respectively.
d. In MapZoom, enter the beginning zoom level for the map. This setting is
required for the zoom bar strategy CENTERATZOOMLEVEL.

Note: The property autoZoomThemeID takes precedence over the

property set in mapZoom.

27.3.3 How to Total Map Selection Values

You can provide a selection listener that totals the values associated with a map area
selected with one of the map selection tools such as the rectangular selection. The total
is displayed in an area under the map. Provide a class that takes
MapSelectionEvent as an argument in a backing bean method. Example 27–1
shows sample code for a backing bean.

Example 27–1 Sample Code in Backing Bean for Selection Listener

package view;

import java.util.Iterator;

import oracle.adf.view.faces.bi.component.geoMap.DataContent;
import oracle.adf.view.faces.bi.event.MapSelectionEvent;

public class SelectionListener {

private double m_total = 0.0;

public SelectionListener() {
}

public void processSelection(MapSelectionEvent mapSelectionEvent) {

// Add event code here...

Using ADF Geographic Map Components 27-7

Customizing Map Themes

m_total = 0.0;
Iterator selIterator = mapSelectionEvent.getIterator();
while (selIterator.hasNext())
{
DataContent dataContent = (DataContent) selIterator.next();
if (dataContent.getValues() != null)
{
Double allData[] = dataContent.getValues();
m_total += allData[0];
}
}
}

public double getTotal () {

return m_total;
}

public void setTotal (double total) {

m_total = total;
}
}

To provide a selection listener to total map values:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the geographic map node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Behavior attributes category, for the SelectionListener field, enter a
method reference that points to the backing bean. For example,

27.4 Customizing Map Themes

You can customize each type of map theme using one or more of the following: the
map theme binding dialogs, the attributes of the theme tag, or the child tags of the
theme tag.

27.4.1 How to Customize Zoom Levels for a Theme

For all map themes, verify that the theme specifies zoom levels that match the related
zoom levels in the base map. For example, if the base map shows counties only at
zoom levels 6 through 8, then a theme that displays points or graphs by county should
be applied only at zoom levels 6 through 8.

To customize the zoom levels of a map theme:

1. In the Structure window, locate the map theme tag (dvt:mapColorTheme,
dvt:mapPointTheme, dvt:mapBarGraphTheme, or
dvt:mapPieGraphTheme) that you want to customize.
2. Right-click the tag and choose Go to Properties.
3. In the Appearance attributes category of the Property Inspector, enter the desired
low and high zoom values for the MinZoom and the MaxZoom attributes
respectively.

27-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing Map Themes

27.4.2 How to Customize the Labels of a Map Theme

By default, the ID of the map theme is used as the label when that theme is displayed
in the legend or in the Theme Selection dialog. However, each map theme tag has the
following attributes that serve as optional labels for the theme:
■ shortLabel: Specifies a label for the theme when displayed in the map legend.
■ menuLabel: Specifies a label for the theme in the Theme Selection dialog.
Use these attributes to create meaningful labels that identify both the theme type
(color, point, bar graph, or pie graph) and the data (such as population, sales, or
inventory) so that users can easily recognize the available themes.

To customize the labels of a map theme:

1. In the Structure Window, locate the map theme tag that you want to customize.

2. Right-click the tag node and choose Go to Properties.

3. In the Appearance attributes category of the Property Inspector, enter text in the
shortLabel attribute (for display in the legend) and in the menuLabel attribute
(for display in the Theme Selection Dialog).
For example, you might want to enter the following text for a color theme that
colors New England states according to population:
shortLabel="Color - Population, NE Region"

27.4.3 How to Customize Color Map Themes

When you create a color map theme, you can customize the colors used for the
coloring of the background layer. You can specify the colors associated with the
minimum and maximum ranges, and then specify the number of color ranges for the
theme. For example, if the colors relate to the population on the map, the least
populated areas display the minimum color and the most populated areas display the
maximum color. Graduated colors between the minimum and maximum color are
displayed for ranges between these values.

To customize the colors of a color map theme:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:mapColorTheme node and choose Go
to Properties.
2. In the Theme Data attributes category of the Property Inspector:
■ If you want to change the default colors associated with the minimum and
maximum range of data values, then select the desired colors for the
MinColor and MaxColor attributes respectively.
■ If you want to change the default number of color ranges for this theme,
change the integer in the bucketCount attribute.
For example, if <dvt:mapColorTheme minColor="#000000" maxColor=
"#ffffff" bucketCount="5"/>, then the color for the five buckets are:
#000000, #444444, #888888, #bbbbbb, #ffffff.
Alternatively, you can specify the color for each bucket. To specify colors for multiple
buckets, for the colorList attribute of dvt:mapColorTheme, bind a color array to
the attribute or use a semicolon-separated string. Color can be specified using RGB
hexadecimal. For example, if the value is
colorList="#ff0000;#00ff00;#0000ff", then the value of the first bucket is
red, the second bucket is green, and the third bucket is blue.

Using ADF Geographic Map Components 27-9

Customizing Map Themes

27.4.4 How to Customize Point Images in a Point Theme

A map point theme uses a default image to identify each point. However, you can
specify multiple custom images for a point theme and identify the range of data values
that each image should represent.
You define a dvt:mapPointStyleItem tag for each custom image that you want to
use in a map point theme.

To customize the images for points in a map point theme:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:mapPointTheme node and select
Insert inside dvt:mapPointTheme > Point Style Item.
2. In the ensuing Insert Point Style Item wizard, provide settings for the data value
range of this custom point by doing the following:
a. In Step 1 of the wizard (Common Properties), you must specify the URL for
the image that should be displayed on the map for a point that falls in the data
value range for this custom image.
b. In Step 2 of the wizard (Advanced Properties), specify the data value range
that this custom image should represent by entering values in MaxValue and
MinValue fields.
c. In the Id field, enter a unique identifier for the custom image that you are
defining.
d. In the Short Label field, specify the descriptive text that you want to display in
front of the actual data value when a user hovers the cursor over a point that
falls in the range represented by this tag.
For example, you might want to enter the following text for a custom point
that falls in the lowest data value range: Low Inventory.
e. Optionally, specify different image URLs for a hover image and a selected
image.
f. Click Finish.
3. Repeat Step 1 and Step 2 for each custom image that you want to create for your
point theme.

27.4.5 What Happens When You Customize the Point Images in a Map
When you use the Insert Point Style Item wizard to specify a custom image
representing a range of data values for a point theme, a child
dvt:mapPointStyleItem tag is defined inside the parent dvt:mapPointTheme
tag. Example 27–2 shows the code generated on a JSF page for a map point theme that
has three custom point images that represent ranges of inventory at each warehouse
point.
The initial point style setting (ps0) applies to values that do not exceed 500. This point
style displays an image for very low inventory and provides corresponding tooltip
information.
The second point style setting (ps1) applies to values between 500 and 1000. This
point style displays an image for low inventory and provides corresponding tooltip
information.
The final point style setting (ps2) applies to values between 1000 and 1600. This point
style displays an image for high inventory and provides corresponding tooltip
information.

27-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing Map Themes

Example 27–2 Map Point Theme Code with Custom Point Images
<dvt:map id="map1"
.
.
.
<dvt:mapPointTheme id="mapPointTheme1"
shortLabel="Warehouse Inventory"
value="{bindings.WarehouseStockLevelsByProduct1.geoMapModel}">
<dvt:mapPointStyleItem id="ps0" minValue="0"
maxValue="500"
imageURL="/images/low.png"
selectedImageURL="/images/lowSelected.png"
shortLabel="Very Low Inventory"/>
<dvt:mapPointStyleItem id="ps1" minValue="500"
maxValue="1000"
imageURL="/images/medium.png"
selectedImageURL="/images/mediumSelected.png"
shortLabel="Low Inventory"/>
<dvt:mapPointStyleItem id="ps2" minValue="1000"
maxValue="1600"
imageURL="/images/regularGreen.png"
selectedImageURL="/images/regularGreenSelected.png"
shortLabel="High Inventory"/>
</dvt:mapPointTheme>
</dvt:map>

27.4.6 How to Customize the Bars in a Bar Graph Theme

When you create a map bar graph theme, default colors are assigned to the bars in the
graph. You can customize the colors of the bars by using the mapBarSeriesSet tag
and the mapBarSeriesItem tag.
Use one mapBarSeriesSet tag to wrap all the mapBarSeriesItem tags for a bar
graph theme and insert a mapBarSeriesItem tag for each bar in the graph.

To customize the color of the bars in a map bar graph theme:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:mapBarGraphTheme tag and choose
Insert inside dvt:mapBarGraphTheme > Map Bar Series Set.
There are no attributes to set for this tag. It is used to wrap the individual bar
series item tags.
2. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:mapBarSeriesSet tag and choose
Insert inside dvt:mapBarSeriesSet > Map Bar Series Item.
3. In the Property Inspector, enter any unique ID and color you want to use for the
first bar that appears in the graph.
To find the sequence of the bars in the graph, examine the Edit Bar Graph Map
Theme Binding dialog. The sequence of the entries in the Series Attribute column
of that dialog determines the sequence that bars appear in the graph. For example,
in Figure 27–6, the first bar in the graph represents Income2000 and the second bar
represents Income2005.

Using ADF Geographic Map Components 27-11

Customizing Map Themes

Figure 27–6 Edit Bar Graph Map Theme Binding Dialog

4. Repeat Step 3 for every bar in the graph.

27.4.7 What Happens When You Customize the Bars in a Map Bar Graph Theme
When you use the Edit Bar Graph Map Theme Binding dialog to customize the bars in
a map bar graph theme, the sequence of the bars reflect the sequence of the entries in
the Series Attribute column in the dialog. Example 27–3 shows sample XML code
generated when you customize the bars in a map bar graph.

Example 27–3 Code for Customizing the Bars in a Map Bar Graph
<dvt:map
.
.
.
<dvt:mapBarGraphTheme
.
.
.
<dvt:mapBarSeriesSet>
<dvt:mapBarSeriesItem color="#333399" id="bar1"/>
<dvt:mapBarSeriesItem color="#0000ff" id="bar2"/>
</dvt:mapBarSeriesSet>
</dvt:mapBarGraphTheme>
</dvt:map>

27.4.8 How to Customize the Slices in a Pie Graph Theme

When you create a map pie graph theme, default colors are assigned to the slices in the
graph. You can customize the colors of the slices by using the mapPieSlicesSet tag
and the mapPieSliceItem tag.
Use one mapPieSliceSet tag to wrap all the mapPieSliceItem tags for a pie
graph theme, and insert a mapPieSliceItem tag for each slice in the graph.

To customize the color of the slices in a map pie graph theme:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:mapPieGraphTheme tag and choose
Insert inside dvt:mapPieGraphTheme > Pie Slice Set.

27-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing Map Themes

There are no attributes to set for this tag. It is used to wrap the individual pie
graph item tags.
2. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:mapPieSliceSet node and choose
Insert inside dvt:mapPieSliceSet > Pie Slice Item.
3. In the Property Inspector, enter any unique ID and color you want to use for the
first slice that appears in the graph.
To find the sequence of the slices in the graph, examine the Edit Pie Graph Map
Theme Binding dialog. The sequence of the entries in the Pie Slices Attribute
column of that dialog determines the sequence that slices appear in the graph. For
example, in Figure 27–7, the first slice in the graph represents Sales, the second
slice represents Profit, and the third slice represents Cost.

Figure 27–7 Edit Pie Graph Map Theme Binding Dialog

4. Repeat Step 3 for every slice in the graph.

27.4.9 What Happens When You Customize the Slices in a Map Pie Graph Theme
When you use the Edit Pie Graph Map Theme Binding dialog to customize the slices
in a map pie graph theme, the sequence of the slices reflect the sequence of the entries
in the Pie Slices Attribute column of the dialog. Example 27–4 shows sample XML
code generated in a JSF page when you customize the slices in a map pie graph.

Example 27–4 Code for Customizing the Slices in a Map Pie Graph
<dvt:map
.
.
.
<dvt:mapPieGraphTheme
.
.
.
<dvt:mapPieSliceSet>
<dvt:mapPieSliceItem color="#ffffff" id="slice1"/>
<dvt:mapPieSliceItem color="#ffff00" id="slice2"/>
<dvt:mapPieSliceItem color="#ff0000" id="slice3"/>
</dvt:mapPieSliceSet>
</dvt:mapPieGraphTheme>

Using ADF Geographic Map Components 27-13

Adding a Toolbar to a Map

</dvt:map>

27.5 Adding a Toolbar to a Map

When you create an ADF geographic map, also create a map toolbar if you want to be
able to display the legend and the information panel, select themes (if you have
multiple themes of the same type), or use any of the distance measurement, area
measurement, or selection tools.

27.5.1 How to Add a Toolbar to a Map

Because the map toolbar is a component that is separate from the map, you can
position the toolbar on the JSF page above or below the map. The following procedure
assumes that a map component exists on the JSF page.

To create a map toolbar:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:map node and choose Insert before
dvt:map or Insert after dvt:map > ADF Data Visualization.
2. From the ADF Data Visualization Item dialog, select Toolbar.
3. In the Insert Toolbar wizard that displays, enter the ID of the map on which this
toolbar will operate and click Next.
4. Enter a unique ID for the toolbar and optionally change the settings that control
the visibility of each tool.

27.5.2 What Happens When You Add a Toolbar to a Map

When you add a toolbar to a map, the following occur:
■ A toolbar appears in the JSF page above or below the map as requested. The
toolbar contains all the tools unless you change the visibility of one or more tools.
■ XML code is generated and appears in the JSF page above or below the code for
the map.
Example 27–5 shows sample code for a toolbar that is associated with a map with the
ID of map_us. It also shows the location of the code for the map.

Example 27–5 Code Generated for a Map Toolbar

<af:form>
<dvt:mapToolbar mapId="map_us" id="T1"/>
<dvt:map id="map_us"
.
.
.
</dvt:map>
</af:form>

27-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 28
Using ADF Gantt Chart Components
28

This chapter describes how to use a databound ADF Gantt chart component to display
data, and provides the options for customizing Gantt charts.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 28.1, "Introduction to the ADF Gantt Chart Components"
■ Section 28.2, "Understanding Gantt Chart Tags and Facets"
■ Section 28.3, "Understanding Gantt Chart User Interactivity"
■ Section 28.4, "Understanding Data Requirements for the Gantt Chart"
■ Section 28.5, "Creating an ADF Gantt Chart"
■ Section 28.6, "Customizing Gantt Chart Legends, Toolbars, and Context Menus"
■ Section 28.7, "Working with Gantt Chart Tasks and Resources"
■ Section 28.8, "Specifying Nonworking Days, Read-Only Features, and Time Axes"
■ Section 28.9, "Printing a Gantt Chart"
■ Section 28.10, "Using Gantt Charts as a Drop Target or Drag Source"
For information about the data binding of ADF Gantt charts, see the "Creating
Databound ADF Gantt Charts" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

28.1 Introduction to the ADF Gantt Chart Components

A Gantt chart is a type of horizontal bar graph that you use to plan and track projects.
It shows resources or tasks in a time frame with a distinct beginning and end. An ADF
Gantt chart component is composed of two regions, one displaying the Gantt chart
data in a table, and the other displaying the Gantt chart data graphically with a
resizable splitter between the two regions. The table and chart regions share the same
data and selection model, supporting and synchronizing scrolling, and expanding and
collapsing of rows between the two regions.
At runtime, Gantt charts provide interaction capabilities in the table region to the user
such as entering data, expanding and collapsing rows, showing and hiding columns,
navigating to a row, and sorting and totaling columns. In the chart region, users can
drag a task to a new date, select multiple tasks to create dependencies, and extend the
task date. A Gantt chart toolbar is available to support user operations such as
changing or filtering the view of the data, and creating, deleting, cutting, copying, and
pasting tasks.

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-1

Introduction to the ADF Gantt Chart Components

Both Gantt chart regions are based on an ADF Faces tree table component. For more
information about ADF tree tables, including virtualization of rows, see Chapter 10,
"Using Tables and Trees".

28.1.1 Types of Gantt Charts

The Gantt chart provides the following components:
■ Project Gantt chart: A project Gantt chart is used for project management. The
chart lists tasks vertically and shows the duration of each task as a bar on a
horizontal time line. It graphs each task on a separate line as shown in Figure 28–1.

Figure 28–1 Project Gantt Chart for a Software Application

■ Resource Utilization Gantt chart: A resource utilization Gantt chart graphically

shows the metrics for a resource, for example, whether resources are over or under
allocated. It shows resources vertically while showing their metrics, such as
allocation and capacity on the horizontal time axis. Figure 28–2 shows a resource
utilization Gantt chart illustrating how many hours are allocated and utilized for a
particular developer resource in a given time period.

Figure 28–2 Resource Utilization Gantt Chart for a Software Application

■ Scheduling Gantt chart: A scheduling Gantt chart is used for resource scheduling.
The chart is based on manual scheduling boards and shows resources vertically,
with corresponding activities on the horizontal time axis. Examples of resources
include people, machines, or rooms. The scheduling Gantt chart uses a single line
to graph all the tasks that are assigned to a resource as shown in Figure 28–3.

28-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to the ADF Gantt Chart Components

Figure 28–3 Scheduling Gantt Chart for a Software Application

28.1.2 Functional Areas of a Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart consists of the following functional areas:
■ Table region: Displays Gantt chart data attributes in a table with columns. The
table region requires a minimum of one column, but you can define attributes for
as many columns as desired in the Gantt chart data binding dialogs.
For example, in Figure 28–1, the table region contains the following columns:
Name (of the task), Priority, Orig. Est., Curr. Est., Elapsed (days), Remaining
(days), and Resources.
■ Chart region: Displays a bar graph of the Gantt chart data along a horizontal time
axis. The time axis provides for major and minor settings to allow for zooming.
The major setting is for larger time increments and the minor setting is for smaller
time increments.
For example, in Figure 28–1, the chart region graphs tasks on a time axis that
shows days within weeks.
■ Information panel: Displays both the information region that displays text about
the selected task or metrics about the selected resource, and the optional legend
that displays task types in the area beneath the table region and the chart region.
Note that the Gantt chart legend is not present unless you insert the legend child
tag inside the parent Gantt chart tag.
■ Toolbar: Lets users perform operations on the Gantt chart. The toolbar is visible in
the Gantt chart by default. You can change the visibility of the toolbar by setting
the ShowToolbar attribute on the Appearance page of the Property Inspector for
the Gantt chart.
The toolbar consists of the following sections:
– Menu bar: The left section of the toolbar contains a set of menus for the Gantt
chart. Each Gantt chart type has a set of default options. Figure 28–4 displays
the menu bar, which is visible in the Gantt chart by default. You can change
the visibility of the menu bar by setting the ShowMenuBar attribute in the
Appearance page of the Property Inspector for the Gantt chart. You can
customize menu items by using the menubar facet.

Note: The View menu items do not require that you write application
code to make them functional. However, you must provide
application code for any items that you want to use on the other
menus.

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-3

Introduction to the ADF Gantt Chart Components

Figure 28–4 Sample Menu Bar for a Gantt Chart

– Toolbar buttons: The right section of the toolbar displays a set of action
buttons for working with the Gantt chart. Each Gantt chart type has a set of
default options. Figure 28–5 shows a sample toolbar for a project Gantt chart.

Figure 28–5 Sample Toolbar for a Project Gantt Chart

You can customize toolbar buttons by using the toolbar facet.

■ Context menu: Right-clicking in the Gantt chart table or chart regions provides a
popup context menu with a standard set of menu items. You can provide your
own set of menu items by using the tablePopupMenu or chartPopupMenu
facet.
■ Printing service: The Gantt chart provides printing capability in conjunction with
XML Publisher by generating PDF files. For more information, see Section 28.9,
"Printing a Gantt Chart".

28.1.3 Description of Gantt Chart Tasks

Project and scheduling Gantt charts use predefined tasks with a set of formatting
properties that describe how the tasks will be rendered in the chart area. All supported
tasks must have a unique identifier. The following describes the supported tasks and
how they appear in a Gantt chart:
■ Normal: The basic task type. It is a plain horizontal bar that shows the start time,
end time, and duration of the task.
■ Summary: The start and end date for a group of subtasks. A summary task cannot
be moved or extended. Instead, it is the responsibility of the application to execute
code to recalculate the start and end date for a summary task when the date of a
subtask changes. Summary tasks are available only for the project Gantt chart.
■ Milestone: A specific date in the Gantt chart. There is only one date associated
with a milestone task. A milestone task cannot be extended but it can be moved. A
milestone task is available only for the project Gantt chart.
■ Recurring: A task that is repeated in a Gantt chart, each instance with its own start
and end date. Individual recurring tasks can optionally contain a subtype. All
other properties of the individual recurring tasks come from the task which they
are part of. However, if an individual recurring task has a subtype, this subtype
overrides the task type.
■ Split: A task that is split into two horizontal bars, usually linked by a line. The time
between the bars represents idle time due to traveling or down time.
■ Scheduled: The basic task type for a scheduling Gantt chart. This task type shows
the starting time, ending time, and duration of a task, as well as startup time if one
is specified.
For normal, summary, and milestone tasks, additional attributes are supported that
would change the appearance and activity of a task. These style attributes include:

28-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding Gantt Chart Tags and Facets

■ percentComplete, completedThrough: An extra bar would be drawn to

indicate how far the task is completed. This is applicable to normal and summary
task types.
■ critical: The color of the bar would be changed to red to mark it as critical. This
is applicable to normal, summary, and milestone task types.
■ actualStart and actualEnd: When these attributes are specified, instead of
drawing one bar, two bars are drawn. One bar indicates the base start and end
date, the other bar indicates the actual start and end date. This is applicable to
normal and milestone task types.
Figure 28–6 displays a legend that shows common task types in a project Gantt chart.

Figure 28–6 Project Gantt Chart Legend for Task Types

28.2 Understanding Gantt Chart Tags and Facets

The three Gantt chart components beginning with the prefix dvt: for each Gantt chart
tag name indicates that the tag belongs to the ADF Data Visualization Tools (DVT) tag
library:
■ dvt:projectGantt
■ dvt:resourceUtilizationGantt
■ dvt:schedulingGantt
All Gantt chart components support the child tag dvt:ganttLegend to provide an
optional legend in the information panel of a Gantt chart. Some menu bar and toolbar
functions may or may not be available depending on whether the Gantt legend is
specified.
In the Gantt chart table region, the ADF Faces af:column tag is used to specify the
header text, icons and alignment for the data, the width of the column, and the data
bound to the column. To display data in hierarchical form, a nodeStamp facet
specifies the primary identifier of an element in the hierarchy. For example, the "Task
Name" column might be used as the nodeStamp facet for a project Gantt chart.
Example 28–1 shows sample code for a project Gantt chart with "Task Name" as the
nodeStamp facet, with columns for Resource, Start Date, and End Date.

Example 28–1 Sample Code for Project Gantt Chart Columns

<dvt:projectGantt startTime="2008-04-12"
endTime="2009-04-12"
value="#{project.model}"
var="task">
<f:facet name="major">
<dvt:timeAxis scale="months"/>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="minor">
<dvt:timeAxis scale="weeks"/>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:column headerText="Task Name">
<af:outputText value="#{task.taskName}"/>
</af:column>

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-5

Understanding Gantt Chart User Interactivity

</f:facet>
<af:column headerText="Resource">
<af:outputText value="#{task.resourceName}"/>
</af:column>
<af:column headerText="Start Date">
<af:outputText value="#{task.startTime}"/>
</af:column>
<af:column headerText="End Date">
<af:outputText value="#{task.endTime}"/>
</af:column>
</dvt:projectGantt>

In addition to the nodeStamp facet, other facets are used for customizations by the
Gantt chart components. Table 28–1 shows the facets supported by Gantt chart
components.

Table 28–1 Facets Supported by Gantt Chart Components

Name Description
chartPopupMenu Specifies the component to use to identify additional controls to
appear in the context menu of the chart region. Must be an
af:popup component.
customPanel Specifies the component to use to identify controls to appear in
the custom tab of the task properties dialog.
major Specifies the component to use to identify the major time axis.
Must be a dvt:timeAxis component.
menuBar Specifies the component to use to identify additional controls to
appear in the Gantt menu bar. Must be an af:menu component
minor Specifies the component to use to identify the minor time axis.
Must be a dvt:timeAxis component.
nodeStamp Specifies the component to use to stamp each element in the
Gantt chart. Only certain types of components are supported,
including all components with no activity and most components
that implement the EditableValueHolder or
ActionSource interfaces. Must be an af:column component.
tablePopupMenu Specifies the component to use to identify additional controls to
appear in the context menu of the table region. Must be an
af:popup component.
toolbar Specifies the component to use to identify additional controls to
appear in the Gantt toolbar. Must be an af:toobar component.

For complete descriptions of all the Gantt chart tags, their attributes, and a list of valid
values, consult the DVT tag documentation. To access this documentation for a specific
tag in JDeveloper, select the tag in the Structure window and press F1. To access the
full ADF Data Visualization Tools tag library in JDeveloper Help, expand the Javadoc
and Tag Library References node in the online Help Table of Contents and click the
link to the tag library in the JDeveloper Tag Library Reference topic.

28.3 Understanding Gantt Chart User Interactivity

At runtime, users can perform a wide range of operations on a Gantt chart, including
navigation and display, as well as actions that change the data in the table or chart
region.

28-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding Gantt Chart User Interactivity

When a user interaction involves a change in data, the Gantt chart processes the
change by performing validation, event handling, and update of the data model.
Validation ensures that the data submitted meets basic requirements, for example, that
a date is valid and does not fall into a nonworking time period. When validation fails,
the update of the data model is omitted, and an error message is returned.
When a Gantt chart server-side event is fired, an event with validated information
about the change is sent to the registered listener. The listener is then responsible for
updating the underlying data model. A customized event handler can be registered by
specifying a method binding expression on the dataChangeListener attribute of
the Gantt chart component.
Server-side events supported by the Gantt chart include:
■ Update of data in the table cells of the Gantt chart table region
■ Create, update, delete, move, cut, copy, paste, indent, outdent of tasks
■ Reassignment of resource by dragging the task bar from one row to another
■ Drag the task bar to another date
■ Extend the duration of a task
■ Link or unlink tasks
■ Select a row or multiple rows in the Gantt chart table region
■ Undo or redo of user actions
■ Double-click on a task bar
Users can filter the data in a Gantt chart using a dropdown list from the toolbar. You
can create a custom filter.

28.3.1 Navigating in a Gantt Chart

You can browse through Gantt chart regions by scrolling, or you can access a specific
date in the chart region. You can also control if columns in the table region are visible.

28.3.1.1 Scrolling and Panning the List Region or the Chart Region
The Gantt chart design lets you perform horizontal scrolling of the table and the chart
regions independently. This is especially helpful when you want to hold specific task
or resource information constant in the table region while scrolling through multiple
time periods of information in the chart region.
Users can also zoom in and out on the time scale of a Gantt chart by holding the Ctrl
key and using the mouse scroll wheel.
In project and scheduling Gantt charts, users can pan the chart area by dragging it
vertically and horizontally using the mouse. A move cursor displays when the user
clicks inside the chart area, other than on a task.

28.3.1.2 How to Navigate to a Specific Date in a Gantt Chart

You can move the chart region of the Gantt chart rapidly to a specific date.

To navigate to a specific date in a Gantt chart:

1. From the View menu, choose Go to Date.

2. In the Go to Date dialog, specify the desired date by clicking the Select Date icon
and indicating the date in the calendar.

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-7

Understanding Gantt Chart User Interactivity

3. Click OK.
The display of the chart region of the Gantt chart begins at the date you requested.

28.3.1.3 How to Control the Visibility of Columns in the Table Region

By default, all the columns that you define when you create a databound Gantt chart
are visible in the table region. You can selectively cause one or more of these columns
to be hidden.

To control the display of columns in the table region of a Gantt chart:

1. From the View menu, select List Pane.

2. From the context menu, select Columns.

3. In the Columns menu, deselect any column that you want to be hidden in the table
region of the Gantt chart. You can also select any column that you want to make
visible in the table region.

Note: You must keep at least one column visible in the table region.

28.3.2 How to Display Data in a Hierarchical List or a Flat List

If a Gantt chart is using a hierarchical data model, then you have the option of
displaying all the Gantt chart data in a collapsed form or in an expanded form.

To control the display of Gantt chart data in a list:

1. From the View menu, select List Pane.

2. From the ensuing menu, select either Show As List, for an expanded list, or Show
As Hierarchy, for a collapsed list.

28.3.3 How to Change the Gantt Chart Time Scale

You can change the time scale display in a Gantt chart and you can zoom in and out on
a time axis to display the chart region in different time units. You can also use a
specialized zoom-to-fit feature in which you select the amount of time that you want
to display in the chart region without a need to scroll the chart.

To change the settings of a time axis:

1. From the View menu, select Time Scale.
2. In the ensuing Time Scale dialog, in the Time Unit column, select a new unit value
for either the major axis, the minor axis, or both axes. A sample box displays
sample settings for the time unit that you select. Figure 28–7 shows the Time Scale
dialog.

28-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding Data Requirements for the Gantt Chart

Figure 28–7 Time Scale Dialog

3. Click OK.

To zoom in or out on a time axis:

1. Optionally, on the toolbar, click the Zoom In icon to display the time axis at a
lower level time unit.
2. Optionally, on the toolbar, click the Zoom Out icon to display the time axis at a
higher level time unit.
3. Optionally, in the box on the toolbar after the zoom icons, select a time period that
represents the amount of time on the chart that you want to display without the
need to scroll.
4. Optionally, right-click the time axis for which you wish to change the scale and
select an available time unit from the submenu.

28.4 Understanding Data Requirements for the Gantt Chart

The data model for a Gantt chart can be either a tree (hierarchical) model or a
collection model that contains a row set or flat list of objects. For more information, see
the "Creating Databound ADF Gantt Charts" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware
Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.
When you bind a Gantt chart to a data control, you specify how the collection in the
data control maps to the node definitions of the Gantt chart.

28.4.1 Data for a Project Gantt Chart

The data model for a project Gantt chart supports hierarchical data and uses
TreeModel to access the data in the underlying list. The specific model class is
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.TreeModel.
The collection of objects returned by the TreeModel must have, at a minimum, the
following properties:
■ taskId: The ID of the task.
■ startTime: The start time of the task.
■ endTime: The end time of the task.
Optionally, the object could implement the
oracle.adf.view.faces.bi.model.Task interface to ensure it provides the
correct properties to the Gantt chart.
When binding the data to an ADF data control, the following node definitions are
available in a project Gantt chart:

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-9

Understanding Data Requirements for the Gantt Chart

■ Task node: Represents a collection of tasks. The task node definition has the
following types of optional accessors:
– subTask (available only for project Gantt chart)
– splitTask
■ Split task node: Represents a collection of split tasks. A split task node definition
does not have accessors.
■ Dependency node: Represents a collection of dependencies for a task. A
dependency node definition does not have accessors.
■ Recurring task node: Represents a collection of recurring tasks. A recurring task
node definition does not have accessors.
Table 28–2 shows a complete list of data object keys for the project Gantt chart.

Table 28–2 Data Object Keys for Project Gantt Chart

Data Object Key Data Type and Description
actualEnd Date. The actual end time for normal and milestone tasks.
actualStart Date. The actual start time for normal and milestone tasks.
completedThrough Date. Completed through for normal and summary tasks.
critical Boolean. Specifies whether or not the task is critical for all tasks.
Dependency (node) A list of dependencies for a task. Data object keys for
dependencies include:
■ fromId: The ID of the task where the dependency begins.
■ toId: The ID of the task where the dependency ends.
■ type: The type of the dependency. Valid values are
start-start, start-finish, finish-finish,
finish-start, start-before, start-together,
finish-after, and finish-together.
endTime (required) Date. The end time for all tasks.
icon1 String. The first icon associated with the task bar for all tasks.
The icon might change depending on other attributes
icon2 String. The second icon associated with the tasks bar for all
tasks.
icon3 String. The third icon associated with the tasks bar for all tasks.
iconPlacement String. The alignment of the icon in the task bar for all tasks.
Valid values are left (default), right, inside, start, end,
innerLeft, innerRight, innerCenter, innerStart,
innerEnd.
isContainer Boolean. Specifies whether or not a node definition is a
container.
label String. The label associated with the task bar for all tasks.
labelPlacement String. The alignment of the label in the task bar for all tasks.
Valid values are left (default), right, inside, start, end,
innerLeft, innerRight, innerCenter, innerStart,
innerEnd.
percentComplete Integer. Percentage completed for normal and summary tasks.
Recurring tasks (node) The list of recurring tasks for all tasks.
Split tasks (node) The list of tasks without a continuous time line for all tasks.

28-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Understanding Data Requirements for the Gantt Chart

Table 28–2 (Cont.) Data Object Keys for Project Gantt Chart
Data Object Key Data Type and Description
startTime (required) Date. The starting time for all tasks.
Subtasks (node) An optional list of subtasks for all tasks.
taskId (required) String. The unique identifier for all tasks.
type Sting. The type of the tasks for all tasks.

28.4.2 Data for a Resource Utilization Gantt Chart

The data model for a resource utilization Gantt chart supports hierarchical data and
uses TreeModel to access the data in the underlying list. The specific model class is
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.TreeModel.
The collection of objects returned by TreeModel must have, at a minimum, the
following properties:
■ resourceId: The ID of the task.
■ timeBuckets: A collection of time bucket objects for this resource.
Optionally, the object could implement the
oracle.adf.view.faces.bi.model.Resource interface to ensure it provides
the correct properties to the Gantt chart.
The collection of objects returned by the timeBuckets property must also have the
following properties:
■ time: The date represented by the time bucket.
■ values: A list of metrics for this resource.
When binding the data to an ADF data control, the following node definitions are
available in a Resource Utilization Gantt chart:
■ Resource node: Represents a collection of resources. The resource node definition
has an optional subResources accessor that returns a collection of subresources
for the current resource.
■ Time bucket node: Represents a collection of time slots with metrics defined.
Table 28–3 shows a complete list of data object keys for the resource utilization Gantt
chart.

Table 28–3 Data Object Keys for the Resource Utilization Gantt Chart
Data Object Key Data Type and Description
label String. The label associated with the task bar.
labelAlign String. The alignment of the label in the task bar. Valid values are
top (default) and inside.
resourceId (required) String. The unique identifier of a resource.
timeBuckets (required) List. The list of tasks associated with a resource.
time (required) Date. The start time of the time bucket.
values (required) Double. The values of the metrics.

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-11

Understanding Data Requirements for the Gantt Chart

28.4.3 Data for a Scheduling Gantt Chart

The data model for a scheduling Gantt chart supports hierarchical data and uses
TreeModel to access the data in the underlying list. The specific model class is
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.TreeModel.
The collection of objects returned by TreeModel must have, at a minimum, the
following properties:
■ resourceId: The ID of the task.
■ tasks: A collection of task objects for this resource.
Optionally, the object could implement the
oracle.adf.view.faces.bi.model.ResourceTask interface to ensure it
provides the correct properties to the Gantt chart.
The collection of objects returned by the tasks property must also have the following
properties:
■ taskId: The ID of the task.
■ startTime: The start time of the task.
■ endTime: The end time of the task.
When binding the data to an ADF data control, the scheduling Gantt chart has a
Resource node definition. The Resource node has the following types of accessors:
■ subResources: Returns a collection of subresources for the current resource. This
accessor is optional.
■ tasks: Returns a collection of tasks for the current resource. This accessor is
required. Tasks can also include a splitTask accessor.
Table 28–4 shows a complete list of data object keys for a scheduling Gantt chart.

Table 28–4 Data Object Keys for Scheduling Gantt Charts

Data Object Key Data Type and Description
Dependency (node) A list of dependencies for a task. Data object keys for
dependencies include:
■ fromId: The ID of the task where the dependency begins.
■ toId: The ID of the task where the dependency ends.
■ type: The type of the dependency. Valid values are
start-start, start-finish, finish-finish,
finish-start, start-before, start-together,
finish-after, and finish-together.
endTime (required) Date. The end time for the all tasks.
icon1 String. The first icon associated with the task bar for all tasks.
The icon might change depending on other attributes.
icon2 String. The second icon associated with the task bar for all tasks.
icon3 String. The third icon associated with the task bar for all tasks.
iconPlacement String. The alignment of the icon in the task bar for all tasks.
Valid values are left (default), right, inside, inside_left,
inside_right, and inside_center.
isContainer Boolean. Specifies whether or not a node definition is a
container.
label String. The label associated with the task bar for all tasks.

28-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing Gantt Chart Legends, Toolbars, and Context Menus

Table 28–4 (Cont.) Data Object Keys for Scheduling Gantt Charts
Data Object Key Data Type and Description
labelPlacement String. The alignment of the label in the task bar for all tasks.
Valid values are left (default), right, inside, inside_left,
inside_right, and inside_center.
Recurring tasks (node) A list of recurring tasks for all tasks.
resourceId (required) String. The unique identifier of a resource.
Split tasks (node) A collection of tasks without a continuous time line for all tasks.
startTime (required) Date. The start time for all tasks.
startupTime Date. The startup time before a task begins.
Tasks (node) (required) A list of tasks associated with a resource.
taskId (required) String. The unique identifier of the task for all tasks.
taskType String. The type of the task for all tasks.
workingDaysOfTheWeek Object. A list of the working days of the week.
workingEndTime Date. The work end time for the resource.
workingStartTime Date. The work start time for the resource.

28.5 Creating an ADF Gantt Chart

You can use any of the following data sources to create an ADF Faces Gantt chart
component:
■ ADF Data Controls: You declaratively create a databound Gantt chart by dragging
and dropping a data collection from the ADF Data Controls panel. You can create
a Gantt chart using a data collection that provides row set data as described in the
"Creating Databound ADF Gantt Charts" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware
Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.
■ Data Model: You programmatically specify the data model for the Gantt chart by
providing an EL expression that references a backing bean method using the
value attribute of the Gantt tag.

28.6 Customizing Gantt Chart Legends, Toolbars, and Context Menus

You can modify default Gantt chart features including the information panel and
legend that are displayed below the Gantt chart, menu bar options and toolbar
buttons, and the popup menu that is displayed when you right-click in the Gantt chart
table or chart regions.

28.6.1 How to Customize a Gantt Chart Legend

The optional Gantt chart legend subcomponent includes an area that displays detailed
information about the selected task, or metrics about the selected time bucket, and a
legend that displays the symbol and color code bar used to represent each type of task
in a Gantt chart. At runtime, users can hide or show the information panel using a
toolbar button.
The dvt:ganttLegend tag must be added as a child of the Gantt chart tag in order to
provide the legend areas. The content of the legend areas is automatically generated
based on the properties for each type of task registered with the
taskbarFormatManager.

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-13

Customizing Gantt Chart Legends, Toolbars, and Context Menus

You can customize the information displayed when a task or time bucket is selected by
using the keys and label attributes on the Gantt chart legend tag. The keys attribute
should specify the data object keys used to retrieve the value to display and the
labels attribute should contain the corresponding labels for the values retrieved with
the keys. If these attributes are not specified, the legend will use the entire space of the
information panel.
You can also add icons to the legend by using the iconKeys and iconLabels
attributes on the Gantt chart legend tag. Icons will be automatically resized to 12 by 12
pixels if the icon size is too large.
Example 28–2 show sample code to display information about an On Hold task in the
legend of a project Gantt chart.

Example 28–2 Adding a Gantt Chart Legend

<dvt:projectGantt var="task">
<dvt:ganttLegend id="gl" keys="TaskName StartTime EndTime" labels="Name Start
Finish" icons="images/wait.png" iconLabels="OnHold"/>
</dvt:projectGantt>

28.6.2 Customizing Gantt Chart Toolbars

The Gantt chart toolbar subcomponent allows users to perform operations on the
Gantt chart. The left section of the toolbar is a menu bar that contains a set of default
menu options for each Gantt chart type. The right section of the toolbar displays a set
of default action buttons for working with each Gantt chart type.
You can supply your own menu items and toolbar buttons by using the menu and
toolbar facets in your Gantt chart. The Gantt chart merges the new menu items with
the standard items in the Gantt chart. Example 28–3 shows sample code for specifying
a new menu item.

Example 28–3 Sample Code for Custom Menu Item

<dvt:projectGantt var="task">
<f:facet name=”menus”>
<af:menu text=”My Menu”>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Add..." />
<af:commandMenuItem text="Create.." />
</af:menu>
</f:facet>
</dvt:projectGantt>

Example 28–4 shows sample code for specifying a new toolbar button.

Example 28–4 Sample Code for Custom Toolbar Button

<dvt:schedulingGantt var="task">
<f:facet name="toolbar">
<af:toolbar>
<af:commandToolbarButton text="Custom" disabled="true"/>
</af:toolbar>
</dvt:schedulingGantt>

Actions initiated on the menu bar and toolbar buttons are handled through a
registered listener, DataChangeListener, on the Gantt chart component. For
example, when a user presses the delete button in the toolbar, a DataChangeEvent
with the ID of the task selected for deletion would be fired on the server. The

28-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing Gantt Chart Legends, Toolbars, and Context Menus

registered listener is then responsible for performing the actual deletion of the task,
and the Gantt chart data model is refreshed with the updated information.
You can register DataChangeListener by specifying a method binding using the
dataChangeListener attribute on the Gantt chart tag. For example, if you put the
code in a backing bean in a method called handleDataChange, then the setting for
the dataChangeListener attribute becomes:
"#{myBackingBean.handleDataChange}".
Example 28–5 shows sample code in a backing bean.

Example 28–5 Backing Bean for Handling Data Change

public void handleDataChanged(DataChangeEvent evt)
{
if (DataChangeEvent.DELETE == evt.getActionType())
…………
}

28.6.3 Customizing Gantt Chart Context Menus

When users right-click in the Gantt chart table or chart regions, a context menu is
displayed to allow users to perform operations on the Gantt chart. A standard set of
options is provided for each region.
You can supply your own menu items using the tablePopupMenu and
chartPopupMenu facets in your Gantt chart. The Gantt chart merges the new menu
items with the standard items in the Gantt chart. Example 28–6 shows sample code for
specifying a custom menu item in the table region context menu.

Example 28–6 Sample Code for Custom Context Menu Item

<dvt:projectGantt startTime="#{test.startTime}" endTime="#{test.endTime}"
value="#{test.treeModel}" var="task">

<f:facet name="tablePopupMenu">
<af:popup>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Custom" disabled="true"/>
</af:popup>
</f:facet>
</dvt:projectGantt>

You can also dynamically change the context menu at runtime. Example 28–7 shows
sample code to update a custom popup menu on a task bar based on which task is
selected in the chart region of a project Gantt chart.

Example 28–7 Sample Code for Dynamic Context Menu

<dvt:projectGantt var="task"
taskSelectionListener="#{backing.handleTaskSelected}">
<f:facet name="chartPopupMenu">
<af:popup id="p1" contentDelivery="lazyUncached">
<af:menu>
</af:menu>
</af:popup>
</f:facet>
</dvt:projectGantt>

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-15

Working with Gantt Chart Tasks and Resources

The handleTaskSelected method is specified in a backing bean. Example 28–8

shows sample code for the backing bean.

Example 28–8 Backing Bean for Handling Task Selection

public void handleTaskSelected(TaskSelectionEvent evt)
{
JUCtrlHierNodeBinding _task = (JUCtrlHierNodeBinding)evt.getTask();
String _type = _task.getAttribute("TaskType");

RichPopup _popup = m_gantt.getFacet("chartPopupMenu");

if (_popup != null)
{
RichMenu _menu = (RichMenu)_popup.getChildren().get(0);
_menu.getChildren().clear();
if ("Summary".equals(_type))
{
RichCommandMenuItem _item = new RichCommandMenuItem();
_item.setId("i1");
_item.setText("Custom Action 1");
_menu.getChildren().add(_item); }
else if ("Normal".equals(_type))
{
RichCommandMenuItem _item = new RichCommandMenuItem();
_item.setId("i1");
_item.setText("Custom Action 2");
_menu.getChildren().add(_item); }
}
}

For more information about using the af:popup components see Chapter 13, "Using
Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows".

28.7 Working with Gantt Chart Tasks and Resources

You can customize Gantt chart tasks to create a new task type, specify a custom data
filter, and add a double-click event to a task bar.

28.7.1 How to Create a New Task Type

A task type is represented visually as a bar in the chart region of a Gantt chart. You can
create a new task type in one of three ways:
■ Defining the task type style properties in the .jspx file or in a separate CSS file.
■ Defining a TaskbarFormat object and registering the object with the
taskbarFormatManager.
■ Modifying the properties of a predefined task type by retrieving the associated
TaskbarFormat object and updating its properties through a set method.
The TaskBarFormat object exposes the following properties:
■ Fill color
■ Fill image pattern
■ Border color
■ Images used for a milestone task
■ Images used for the beginning and end of a summary task

28-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Working with Gantt Chart Tasks and Resources

For tasks that have more than one bar, such as a split or recurring task, properties are
defined for each individual bar.
Example 28–9 shows sample code to define the properties for a custom task type in the
.jspx file.

Example 28–9 Sample Code to Define Custom Task Type Properties

<af:document>
<f:facet name="metaContainer">
<f:verbatim>
<![CDATA[
<style type="text/css">
.onhold
{
background-image:url('images/Bar_Image.png');
background-repeat:repeat-x;
height:13px;
border:solid 1px #000000;
}
</style>
]]>
</f:verbatim>
</f:facet>

shows sample code to define a TaskbarFormat object fill and border color and
register the object with the taskbarFormatManager.

Example 28–10 Custom TaskbarFormat Object Registered with TaskbarFormat Manager

TaskbarFormat _custom = new TaskbarFormat("Task on hold", null, "onhold", null);
// _gantt.getTaskbarFormatManager().registerTaskbarFormat("FormatId", _
custom);
TaskbarFormat _custom = new TaskbarFormat("Task on hold", "#FF00FF", null,
"#00FFDD", 13);
// _gantt.getTaskbarFormatManager().registerTaskbarFormat("FormatId", _custom);

28.7.2 How to Specify Custom Data Filters

You can change the display of data in a Gantt chart using a data filter dropdown list on
the toolbar. Gantt charts manage all predefined and user-specified data filters using a
FilterManager. Filter objects contain information including:
■ A unique ID for the filter
■ The label to display for the filter in the dropdown list
■ An optional JavaScript method to invoke when the filter is selected
You can define your own filter by creating a filter object and then registering the object
using the addFilter method on the FilterManager. Example 28–11 shows sample
code for registering a Resource filter object with the FilterManager.

Example 28–11 Custom Filter Object Registered with FilterManager

FilterManager _manager = m_gantt.getFilterManager();

// ID for filter display label javascript callback (optional)

_manager.addFilter((new Filter(RESOURCE_FILTER, "Resource...",
"showResourceDialog")));

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-17

Working with Gantt Chart Tasks and Resources

When the user selects a filter, a FilterEvent is sent to the registered

FilterListener responsible for performing the filter logic. The filterListener
attribute on the Gantt chart component is used to register the listener. When
implemented by the application, the data model is updated and the Gantt chart
component displays the filtered result. Example 28–12 shows sample code for a
FilterListener.

Example 28–12 FilterListener for Custom Filter

public void handleFilter(FilterEvent event)
{
String _type = event.getType();
if (FilterEvent.ALL_TASKS.equals(_type))
{
// update the gantt model as appropriate
}
}

To specify a custom data filter:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the Gantt chart node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Behavior category of the Property Inspector, in the FilterListener field,
enter a method reference to the FilterListener you defined. For example,
"#{project.handleFilter}".

28.7.3 How to Add a Double-Click Event to a Task Bar

Gantt chart components support a double-click event on a task bar. For example, you
may want to display detailed information about a task in a popup window.
Figure 28–8 shows a project Gantt chart with a double-click event on a task bar.

Figure 28–8 Task Bar with Double-Click Event

Example 28–13 show sample code for adding a double-click event to a task bar.

Example 28–13 Sample Code for Double-Click Event

<dvt:projectGantt id="projectGanttDoubleClick"
startTime="2008-04-01" endTime="2008-09-30"
value="#{projectGanttDoubleClick.model}"

28-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Specifying Nonworking Days, Read-Only Features, and Time Axes

var="task"
doubleClickListener="#{projectGanttDoubleClick.handleDoubleClick}">
</dvt:projectGantt>

Implement the handleDoubleClick method in a backing bean, for example:

public void handleDoubleClick(DoubleClick event)

28.8 Specifying Nonworking Days, Read-Only Features, and Time Axes

You can customize a Gantt chart to display nonworking days of the week, turn off user
interaction features, and specify the time axes.

28.8.1 Identifying Nonworking Days in a Gantt Chart

You can specify nonworking days in a Gantt chart. By default, nonworking days are
shaded gray, but you can select a custom color to be used for nonworking days.

28.8.1.1 How to Specify Weekdays as Nonworking Days

If certain weekdays are always nonworking days, then you can indicate the days of the
week that fall in this category.

To identify weekdays as nonworking days:

1. In the Structure window, right-click a Gantt chart node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Appearance category of the Property Inspector, in the
NonWorkingDaysOfWeek field, enter the string of days that you want to identify
as nonworking days for each week. For example, to specify that Saturday and
Sunday are nonworking days, enter the following string: "sat sun".
Alternatively, you can create a method in a backing bean to programmatically
identify the nonworking days. For example, if you put the code in a backing bean
in a method called getNonWorkingDaysOfWeek, then the setting for the
nonWorkingDaysOfWeek attribute becomes:
"#{myBackingBean.nonWorkingDays}". Example 28–14 shows sample code
in a backing bean.

Example 28–14 Backing Bean to Identify Nonworking Days

public int[] getNonWorkingDaysOfWeek()
{
if (locale == Locale.EN_US
return new int[] {Calendar.SATURDAY, Calendar.SUNDAY};
else
.......
}

3. Optionally, specify a custom color in the NonWorkingDaysColor field. The value

you enter for this attribute must be a hexadecimal color string.

28.8.1.2 How to Identify Specific Dates as Nonworking Days

You can enter specific dates as nonworking days in a Gantt chart when individual
weekdays are not sufficient.

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-19

Specifying Nonworking Days, Read-Only Features, and Time Axes

To identify specific dates as nonworking days:

1. In the Structure Window, right-click a Gantt chart and choose Go to Properties.

2. In the Property Inspector, select the Appearance attributes category.

3. In the nonWorkingDays field, enter the string of dates that you want to identify
as nonworking days. For example: "2008-07-04 2008-11-28 2008-12-25".
Alternatively, for more flexibility, you can create a method in a backing bean to
programmatically identify the nonworking days. For example, if you put the code
in a backing bean in a method called getNonWorkingDays, then the setting for
the nonWorkingDays attribute becomes:
"#{myBackingBean.nonWorkingDays}".
4. Optionally, specify a custom color in the nonWorkingDaysColor field. The value
you enter for this attribute must be a hexadecimal color string.

28.8.2 How to Apply Read-Only Values to Gantt Chart Features

User interactions with a Gantt chart can be customized to disable features by setting
the featuresOff property to specify read-only values. Table 28–5 shows the valid
values and the disabled feature for the Gantt chart types.

Table 28–5 Valid Values for Read-Only Attributes

Value Feature Disabled
clipboard Cut, copy, and paste tasks for all Gantt charts.
edit Changes to the data model for all Gantt charts.
indenting Indent and outdent tasks for project and scheduling Gantts
charts.
legend Hide and show legend and task information for all Gantt charts.
linking Link and unlink tasks for scheduling Gantt charts.
print Print task for all Gantt charts.
properties Show property dialogs for all Gantt charts.
split Split task for project Gantt.
undo Undo and redo tasks for all Gantt charts.
view Show as list, Show as hierarchy, Columns, Expand and Collapse
tasks for all Gantt charts.
zoom Changes to the zoom level for all Gantt charts.

To set read-only values on Gantt chart features:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the Gantt chart node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Behavior attributes category of the Property Inspector, for the
featuresOff attribute, enter one or more String values to specify the Gantt chart
features to disable.
For example, to disable user interactions for editing the data model, printing, or
changing the zoom level of a Gantt chart, use the following setting for the
featuresOff attribute: edit print zoom
Alternatively, you can create a method in a backing bean to programmatically
identify the features to be disabled. For example, if you put the code in a backing

28-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Specifying Nonworking Days, Read-Only Features, and Time Axes

bean in a method called whatToTurnOff that returns a String array of the values,
then the setting for the featuresOff attribute becomes:
"#{BackingBean.whatToTurnOff}".

28.8.3 Customizing the Time Axis of a Gantt Chart

Every Gantt chart is created with a major time axis and a minor time axis. Each time
axis has a facet that identifies the level of the axis as major or minor. The default time
axis settings for all Gantt charts are:
■ Major time axis: Weeks
■ Minor time axis: Days
You can customize the settings of a time axis. However, the setting of a major axis
must be a higher time level than the setting of a minor axis. The following values for
setting the scale on a dvt:timeAxis component are listed from highest to lowest:
■ twoyears
■ year
■ halfyears
■ quarters
■ twomonths
■ months
■ twoweeks
■ weeks
■ days
■ sixhours
■ threehours
■ hours
■ halfhours
■ quarterhours
Example 28–18 shows sample code to set the time axis of a Gantt chart to use months
as a major time axis and weeks as the minor time axis.

Example 28–15 Gantt Chart Time Axis Set to Months and Weeks
<f:facet name="major">
<dvt:timeAxis scale="months"/>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="minor">
<dvt:timeAxis scale="weeks"/>
</f:facet>

The time units you specify for the major and minor axes apply only to the initial
display of the Gantt chart. At runtime, the user can zoom in or out on a time axis to
display the time unit level at a different level.

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-21

Printing a Gantt Chart

28.8.3.1 How to Create and Use a Custom Time Axis

You can create a custom time axis for the Gantt chart and specify that axis in the
scale attribute of dvt:timeAxis. The custom time axis will be added to the Time
Scale dialog at runtime.

To create and use a custom time axis:

1. Implement the CustomTimescale.java interface to call the method
getNextDate(Date currentDate) in a loop to build the time axis.
Example 28–16 show sample code for the interface.

Example 28–16 Interface to Build Custom Dates

public interface CustomTimescale
{
public String getScaleName();
public Date getPreviousDate(Date ganttStartDate);
public Date getNextDate(Date currentDate);
public String getLabel(Date date);
}

2. In the Structure window, right-click a Gantt chart node and choose Go to

Properties.
3. In the Other attributes category of the Property Inspector, for the
CustomTimeScales attribute, register the implementation of the interface for the
custom time axis.
The customTimeScales attribute's value is a java.util.Map object. The
specified map object contains pairs of key/values. The key is the time scale name
(fiveyears), and the value is the implementation of the
CustomTimeScale.java interface. For example:
customTimesScales="#{project.customTimescales}"

4. Also in the Property Inspector, set the Scale attribute for major and minor time
axis, and specify the ZoomOrder attribute to zoom to the custom times scales.
Example 28–17 shows sample code for setting a threeyears minor time axis and
a fiveyears major time axis.

Example 28–17 Custom Time Axis

<f:facet name="major">
<dvt:timeAxis scale="fiveyears" id="ta1" zoomOrder="fiveyears threeyears years
halfyears quarters months weeks days hours"/>
</f:facet>
<f:facet name="minor">
<dvt:timeAxis scale="threeyears" id="ta2"/>
</f:facet>

28.9 Printing a Gantt Chart

The ADF Gantt chart provides a helper class (GanttPrinter) that can generate a
Formatted Object (FO) for use with XML Publisher to produce PDF files.

28-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Printing a Gantt Chart

28.9.1 Print Options

In general, the GanttPrinter class prints the Gantt chart content as it appears on
your screen. For example, if you hide the legend in the Gantt chart, then the legend
will not be printed. Similarly, if you deselect a column in the List Pane section of the
View Menu, then that column will not be visible in the Gantt chart and will not appear
in the printed copy unless you take advantage of the column visibility print option.
You can use the following print options in the GanttPrinter class:
■ Column visibility: The setColumnVisible method lets you control whether
individual columns in the list region of the Gantt chart will appear in the printed
output.
For example, to hide the first column in the list region of a Gantt chart, use the
following code, where the first parameter of the method is the zero-based index of
the column and the second parameter indicates if the column should be visible in
the printed Gantt chart: _printer.setColumnVisible(o, false);
■ Margins: The setMargin method of the GanttPrinter lets you specify the top,
bottom, left, and right margins in pixels as shown in the following code, where _
printer is an instance of the GanttPrinter class:
_printer.setMargin(25, 16, 66, 66);
■ Page size: The setPageSize method of the GanttPrinter class lets you specify
the height and width of the printed page in pixels as shown in the following code,
where _printer is an instance of the GanttPrinter class:
_printer.setPageSize (440, 600);
■ Time period: The setStartTime and setEndTime methods of the
GanttPrinter class let you identify the time period of the Gantt chart that you
want to print.
Example 28–18 shows sample code for setting a specific time period in the Gantt
chart for printing, where startDate and endDate are variables that represent
the desired dates and _printer is an instance of the GanttPrinter class.

Example 28–18 Code for Setting the Time Period Option for Printing a Gantt Chart
_printer.setStartTime(startDate);
_printer.setEndTime(endDate);

28.9.2 Action Listener to Handle the Print Event

The Gantt chart toolbar includes a print button that initiates a print action. To print a
Gantt chart, you must create an ActionListener to handle the print event. The code
in the ActionListener should include the following processes:
1. Access the servlet’s output stream.
2. Generate the FO. This process includes creating an instance of the GanttPrinter
class and entering the code for any print options that you want to use.
3. Generate the PDF.
Example 28–19 shows the code for an ActionListener that handles the print event.
This listener includes settings for all the print options available in the GanttPrinter
helper class.

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-23

Using Gantt Charts as a Drop Target or Drag Source

Example 28–19 Sample ActionListener for Handling the Gantt Chart Print Event
public void handleAction(GanttActionEvent evt)
{
if (GanttActionEvent.PRINT == evt.getActionType())
{
FacesContext _context = FacesContext.getCurrentInstance();
ServletResponse _response = (ServletResponse)
_context.getExternalContext().getResponse();
_response.setContentType("application/pdf");
ServletOutputStream _sos = _response.getOutputStream();
// Generate FO.
GanttPrinter _printer = new GanttPrinter(m_gantt);
// Set column visibility by column index.
_printer.setColumnVisible(0, false);
// Set start and end date.
_printer.setStartTime(startDate);
_printer.setEndTime(endDate);
// Set top, bottom, left, and right margins in pixels.
_printer.setMargin(25, 16, 66, 66);
// Set height and width in pixels.
_printer.setPageSize(440, 660);
File _file = File.createTempFile("gantt", "fo");
OutputStream _out = new FileOutputStream(_file);
_printer.print(_out);
_out.close();
// generate PDF.
FOProcessor _processor = new FOProcessor();
_processor.setData(new FileInputStream(_file),"UTF-8"));
_processor.setOutputFormat(FOProcessor.FORMAT_PDF);
_processor.setOutput(_sos);
_processor.generate();
_context.responseComplete();
}
}

28.10 Using Gantt Charts as a Drop Target or Drag Source

You can add drag and drop functionality that allows users to drag an item from a
collection, for example, a row from a table, and drop it into another collection
component, such as a tree. Project and scheduling Gantt chart components can be
enabled as drag sources as well as drop targets for ADF table or tree table components.
A resource utilization Gantt chart component can be enabled only as a drop target.
The application must register the Gantt chart component as a drag source or drop
target by adding the af:collectionDragSource or af:collectionDropTarget
behavior tags respectively as a child to the Gantt tag. For example, you can use the
af:collectionDragSource to register a drop listener that would be invoked when
a project Gantt chart task is dragged from a table region onto a separate table. shows a
project Gantt chart with tasks dragged from the table region onto a table of tasks.

28-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Gantt Charts as a Drop Target or Drag Source

Figure 28–9 Project Gantt Chart as Drag Source

Example 28–20 shows sample code for adding drag and drop functionality to a
scheduling Gantt chart.

Example 28–20 Sample Code for Adding Drag and Drop Functionality
<dvt:schedulingGantt value="#{test.treeModel}"
.............
<af:schedulingDragSource actions="COPY MOVE" modelName="treeModel" />
</dvt:projectGantt>

Example 28–21 shows sample code for the listener method for handling the drop
event.

Example 28–21 Event Handler Code for a dropListener for a Collection

public DnDAction onTableDrop(DropEvent evt)
{
Transferable _transferable = evt.getTransferable();

// Get the drag source, which is a row key, to identify which row has been
dragged.
RowKeySetImpl _rowKey = (RowKeySetImpl)_
transferable.getTransferData(DataFlavor.ROW_KEY_SET_FLAVOR).getData();

// Set the row key on the table model (source) to get the data.
// m_tableModel is the model for the Table (the drag source).
object _key = _rowKey.iterator().next();
m_tableModel.setRowKey(_key);

// See on which resource this is dropped (specific for scheduling Gantt

chart).
String _resourceId = _transferable.getData(String.class);
Resource _resource = findResourceById(_resourceId);

// See on what time slot did this dropped.

Using ADF Gantt Chart Components 28-25

Using Gantt Charts as a Drop Target or Drag Source

Date _date = _transferable.getData(Date.class);

// Add code to update your model here.

// Refresh the table and the Gantt chart.

RequestContext.getCurrentInstance().addPartialTarget(_evt.getDragComponent());
RequestContext.getCurrentInstance().addPartialTarget(m_gantt);

// Indicate the drop is successful.

return DnDAction.COPY;
}

For a detailed procedure about adding drag and drop functionality for collections, see
Section 32.4, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Collections".

28-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 29
29 Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components

This chapter describes how to use an ADF hierarchy viewer component to display
data, and provides the options for hierarchy view customization.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 29.1, "Introduction to Hierarchy Viewers"
■ Section 29.2, "Data Requirements for Hierarchy Viewers"
■ Section 29.3, "Managing Nodes in a Hierarchy Viewer"
■ Section 29.4, "Navigating in a Hierarchy Viewer"
■ Section 29.5, "Adding Interactivity to a Hierarchy Viewer Component"
■ Section 29.6, "Using Panel Cards"
■ Section 29.7, "Customizing the Appearance of a Hierarchy Viewer"
■ Section 29.8, "Adding Search to a Hierarchy Viewer"
For information about the data binding of ADF hierarchy viewers, see the "Creating
Databound Hierarchy Viewers" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

29.1 Introduction to Hierarchy Viewers

A hierarchy viewer component can be used to visually display hierarchical data.
Hierarchical data contains master-detail relationships within the data. For example,
you could create a hierarchy viewer component that renders an organization chart
from a data collection that contains information about the relationships between
employees in an organization.

29.1.1 Understanding the Hierarchy Viewer Component

JDeveloper generates the following elements in JSF pages when you drag and drop
components from the Component Gallery onto a JSF page or when you use the Create
Hierarchy Viewer dialog to create a hierarchy viewer component as described in the
"Creating Databound Hierarchy Viewers" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware
Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.
■ dvt:hierarchyViewer
This element wraps the dvt:node and the dvt:link elements.
■ dvt:node

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-1

Introduction to Hierarchy Viewers

A node is a shape that references the data in a hierarchy, for example, employees in
an organization or computers in a network. You configure the child elements of
the dvt:node element to reference whatever data you want to display. The
dvt:node element supports the use of one or more f:facet elements that
display content at different zoom levels (100%, 75%, 50%, and 25%). The f:facet
element supports the use of many ADF Faces components, such as
af:outputText, af:image, and af:panelGroupLayout, in addition to the
ADF Data Visualization dvt:panelCard component.
At runtime, the node contains controls that allow users to navigate between nodes
and to show or hide other nodes by default. For information about specifying
node content and defining zoom levels, see Section 29.3.1, "How to Specify Node
Content."
■ dvt:link
You set values for the attributes of the dvt:link element to connect one node
with another node. For information about how to customize the appearance of the
link and add labels, see Section 29.7.4, "How to Configure the Display of Links and
Labels."
■ dvt:panelCard
The panel card element provides a method to dynamically switch between
multiple sets of content referenced by a node element using animation by, for
example, horizontally sliding the content or flipping a node over.
The f:facet tag for each zoom level supports the use of a dvt:panelCard
element that contains one or more af:showDetailItem elements defining the
content to be displayed at the specified zoom level. At runtime, the end user uses
the controls on the node to dynamically switch between the content that the
af:showDetailItem elements reference. For more information, see Section 29.6,
"Using Panel Cards."

Note: Unlike the other elements, the dvt:panelCard element is not

generated if you choose the default quick layout option when using
the Component Gallery to create a hierarchy viewer. For more
information see, Section 29.1.3, "Available Hierarchy Viewer Layout
Options."

The hierarchy viewer component uses elements such as af:panelGroupLayout,

af:spacer, and af:separator to define how content is displayed in the nodes.
Example 29–1 shows the code generated when the component is created by insertion
from the Component Palette. Code related to the hierarchy viewer elements is
highlighted in the example.

Example 29–1 Hierarchy Viewer Sample Code

<dvt:hierarchyViewer id="hierarchyViewer1" layout="hier_vert_top"
inlineStyle="width:100%;height:600px;">
<dvt:link linkType="orthogonalRounded" id="l1"/>
<dvt:node width="233" height="330" id="n1">
<f:facet name="zoom100">
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="vertical"
inlineStyle="width:100%;height:100%;padding:5px"
id="pgl2">
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="horizontal" id="pgl3">
<af:panelGroupLayout inlineStyle="width:85px;height:120px"

29-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Hierarchy Viewers

id="pgl4">
<af:image id="i1"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:spacer width="5" height="5" id="s2"/>
<af:panelGroupLayout layout="vertical" id="pgl1">
<af:outputText value=" attribute value1 "
inlineStyle="font-weight:bold;font-size:20px;color:#383A47"
id="ot5"/>
<af:outputText value=" attribute value2"
inlineStyle="font-size:20px;color:#383A47"
id="ot9"/>
<af:outputText value=" attribute value3"
inlineStyle="font-size:11px;font-style:italic;color:#383A47"
id="ot2"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:spacer height="5" id="s1"/>
<af:separator id="s4"/>
<af:spacer height="5" id="s3"/>
<dvt:panelCard effect="slide_horz"
inlineStyle="border-width:1px;border-color:#CCCCCC;
font-size:16px;font-weight:bold;color:#5a6a7a"
id="pc1">
<af:showDetailItem text="first group title "
inlineStyle="font-weight:bold;font-size:16px;color:#5a6a7a"
id="sdi1">
<af:panelFormLayout inlineStyle="width:100%;height:100%;padding:5px"
id="pfl1">
<af:panelLabelAndMessage label="attribute label4"
labelStyle="font-size:14px;color:#5A6A7A" id="plam2">
<af:outputText value="attribute value4"
inlineStyle="font-size:14px;color:#383A47" id="ot3">
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>
<af:panelLabelAndMessage label="attribute label5"
labelStyle="font-size:14px;color:#5A6A7A" id="plam6">
<af:outputText value="attribute value5"
inlineStyle="font-size:14px;color:#383A47" id="ot8">
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>
<af:panelLabelAndMessage label="attribute label6"
labelStyle="font-size:14px;color:#5A6A7A" id="plam5">
<af:outputText value="attribute value6"
inlineStyle="font-size:14px;color:#383A47" id="ot6">
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>
</af:panelFormLayout>
</af:showDetailItem>
<af:showDetailItem text="second group title "
inlineStyle="font-weight:bold;
font-size:16px;color:#5a6a7a" id=sd12">
<af:panelFormLayout inlineStyle="width:100%;height:100%;padding:5px"
id="pfl2">
<af:panelLabelAndMessage label="attribute label7"
labelStyle="font-size:14px;color:#5A6A7A" id="plam3">
<af:outputText value="attribute value7"
inlineStyle="font-size:14px;color:#383A47" id="ot7"/>
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>
<af:panelLabelAndMessage label="attribute label8"
labelStyle="font-size:14px;color:#5A6A7A"id="plam4">
<af:outputText value="attribute value8"
inlineStyle="font-size:14px;color:#383A47" id="ot1"/>
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-3

Introduction to Hierarchy Viewers

<af:panelLabelAndMessage label="attribute label9"

labelStyle="font-size:14px;color:#5A6A7A" id="plam1">
<af:outputText value="attribute value9"
inlineStyle="font-size:14px;color:#383A47" id="ot4"/>
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>
</af:panelFormLayout>
</af:showDetailItem>
</dvt:panelCard>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</f:facet>
</dvt:node>
</dvt:hierarchyViewer>

29.1.2 Hierarchy Viewer Elements and Terminology

A hierarchy viewer visually displays hiearchical data and the master-detail
relationships. Figure 29–1 shows a segment of a hierarchy viewer component at
runtime that includes a control panel, a number of nodes, and links that connect the
nodes.

Figure 29–1 Hierarchy Viewer Component with Control Panel and Nodes

The Control Panel provides controls so that a user can manipulate the position and
appearance of a hierarchy viewer component at runtime. By default, it appears in a
hidden state in the upper left-hand corner of the hierarchy viewer component, as
illustrated by Figure 29–2.

29-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Hierarchy Viewers

Figure 29–2 Control Panel in Hidden State

You cannot configure the Control Panel to appear in another location. Users click the
Hide or Show Control Panel button shown in Figure 29–2 to hide or expand the
Control Panel. Figure 29–3 shows the expanded Control Panel.

Figure 29–3 Control Panel in Show State

You can configure the hierarchy viewer component so that the Control Panel does not
appear to the user at runtime. For information about the procedure, see Section 29.7.3,
"How to Configure the Display of the Control Panel."
Table 29–1 describes the functionality that the controls in the Control Panel provide to
users. The Panel Selector is automatically enabled if a node in your hierarchy viewer
component contains a dvt:panelCard element with one or more
af:showDetailItem elements. The Layout Selector appears automatically if the
hierarchy viewer component uses one of the following layouts:
■ Vertical top down
■ Horizontal left to right
■ Tree
■ Radial
■ Circle
For more information about layouts for a hierarchy viewer component, see
Section 29.1.3, "Available Hierarchy Viewer Layout Options."

Table 29–1 Elements in the Control Panel

Control Name Description
Pan Control Allows user to reposition the hierarchy viewer
component within the viewport.

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-5

Introduction to Hierarchy Viewers

Table 29–1 (Cont.) Elements in the Control Panel

Control Name Description
Zoom to Fit Allows user to zoom a hierarchy viewer component so
that all nodes are visible within the viewport.

Zoom Control Allows user to zoom the hierarchy viewer component.

Hide or Show Hides or shows the Control Panel.

Panel Selector Displays a list of node panels that you have defined.
Users can use the panel selector to show the same panel
on all nodes at once.

Layout Selector Allows a choice of layouts. Users can change the layout
of the hierarchy viewer component from the layout you
defined to one of the layout options presented by the
component. For more information, see Section 29.1.3,
"Available Hierarchy Viewer Layout Options."

29.1.3 Available Hierarchy Viewer Layout Options

The hierarchy viewer can use any of the following layouts, specified by the
component’s type attribute:
■ hier_vert_top - Vertical top down
■ hier_vert_bottom - Vertical bottom up
■ hier_horz_left - Horizontal left to right
■ hier_horz_right - Horizontal right to left
■ hier_horz_start - Horizontal, direction depends on the locale
■ hier_horz_end - Horizontal, direction depends on the locale
■ tree - Tree, indented tree
■ radial - Radial, root node in center and successive child levels radiating outward
from their parent nodes

29-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Hierarchy Viewers

■ circle - Circle, root node in center and all leaf nodes arranged in concentric
circle, with parent nodes arranged within the circle
Figure 29–4 shows an example of a circle layout for a hierarchy viewer component.

Figure 29–4 Hierarchy Viewer Circle Layout

You can define the initial layout of the hierarchy viewer when you insert the
component on the page from either the Data Controls panel to bind a data collection to
the hierarchy viewer component, or from the Component Palette to insert the
component and bind to data later. The available layouts are displayed in the Hierarchy
Viewer Types area of the Component Gallery, shown in Figure 29–5.

Note: The circle layout is not available in the Component Gallery. In

order to create a hierarchy viewer with a circle layout, you must
specify a circle value in the dvt:hierarchyViewer tag type
attribute in the Property Inspector.

In the Quick Start Layouts area of the Component Gallery you can also choose to
generate the dvt:panelCard element to support multiple sets of content for a node,
the selection shown in Figure 29–5.

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-7

Data Requirements for Hierarchy Viewers

Figure 29–5 Component Gallery for Hierarchy Viewer Components

29.2 Data Requirements for Hierarchy Viewers

A hierarchy viewer component requires data collections where a master-detail
relationship exists between one or more detail collections and a master detail
collection. The hierarchy viewer component uses the same data model as the ADF
Faces tree component. You can test whether it is possible to bind a data collection to
a hierarchy viewer component by first binding it to an ADF Faces tree component. If
you can navigate the data collection using the ADF Faces tree component, it should
be possible to bind it to a hierarchy viewer component.
When you add a hierarchy viewer component to a JSF page, JDeveloper adds a tree
binding to the page definition file for the JSF page. For information about how to
populate nodes in a tree binding with data, see the "Using Trees to Display
Master-Detail Objects" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide
for Oracle Application Development Framework.
The data collections that you bind to nodes in a hierarchy viewer component must
contain a recursive accessor if you want users to be able to navigate downward from
the root node of the hierarchy viewer component. For more information about
navigating a hierarchy viewer component, see Section 29.4, "Navigating in a Hierarchy
Viewer."

29.3 Managing Nodes in a Hierarchy Viewer

A node is a shape that represents the individual elements in a hierarchy viewer
component at runtime. Examples of individual elements in a hierarchy viewer
component include an employee in an organization chart or a computer in a network
diagram. By default, each node in a hierarchy viewer component includes controls that
allows users to do the following:

29-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Managing Nodes in a Hierarchy Viewer

■ Navigate to other nodes in a hierarchy viewer component

The top of each node contains a single Restore or Isolate button to either display
the parent node or single out the node as the anchor node in the hierarchy viewer.
One exception is the node at the very top of the hierarchy viewer component,
because this node has no parent nodes and may not be isolated.
■ Show or hide child nodes of the currently selected node in a hierarchy viewer
component
The single Show or Hide button appears on the bottom of every node that is a not
a leaf node.
If you use a panel card to display different sets of information for the node that the
hierarchy viewer component references, controls at the bottom of the node allow the
user to change the information set in the active node. For more information, see
Section 29.6, "Using Panel Cards."
Figure 29–6 shows an example of a node with controls that allow an end user to isolate
the node as the anchor node, show the child nodes, and change the node to show
different sets of information in the active node. For information about how to
configure the controls on a node, see Section 29.3.2, "How to Configure the Controls on
a Node."

Figure 29–6 Node Controls

There are four basic types of nodes:

■ Root nodes are the uppermost visible nodes in a hierarchy viewer component. A
root node is always the root of the hierarchy returned from the tree component.
Typically, only one root node is visible at a time. However, there could be more
than one root node depending on the use case that you implement (for example, in
a family tree).
■ An anchor node is the node that has focus whenever the hierarchy viewer
component is rendered. There is always just one anchor node visible.
The anchor node may be the same as the root node if child nodes are defined for
the tree node and if the value of the hierarchy viewer component’s
displayLevelsAncestor property is equal to 0. At runtime, if a user
double-clicks another node that has a value specified for its
setAnchorListener property, that node becomes the anchor node. An anchor
node may also be an inner or leaf node, depending on whether or not it has child
nodes. For information about how to specify an anchor node, see Section 29.3.4,
"How to Associate a Node Definition with a Particular Set of Data Rows."
You can specify one or more ancestor levels above the anchor node. For more
information, see Section 29.3.5, "How to Specify Ancestor Levels for an Anchor
Node."

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-9

Managing Nodes in a Hierarchy Viewer

■ Inner nodes are nodes that have child nodes.

■ Leaf nodes are nodes that do not have child nodes.
Figure 29–7 illustrates how a node can be a different type depending on the layout of
the hierarchy viewer component.

Figure 29–7 Node Types and Positions

29.3.1 How to Specify Node Content

Although a node contains controls by default that allow you to navigate to a node and
show or hide nodes, nodes do not by default include content unless you used a quick
start layout when creating the hierarchy viewer component. You must define what
content a node renders at runtime. You can specify node content when you associate
data bindings with the hierarchy viewer component as described in the "Creating
Databound Hierarchy Viewers" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion
Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.
By default, a hierarchy viewer component that you create contains one node with one
facet element that has a zoom level of 100%:
<f:facet name="zoom100"/>
You can insert three more instances of the facet element into the hierarchy viewer
component with the following zoom levels:
■ 25%: zoom25
■ 50%: zoom50
■ 75%: zoom75
Use these zoom level definitions to improve readability of node content when the
hierarchy viewer is zoomed out to display more nodes and less display room is
available in each node. You can define a subset of the available data collection within
one or more of the facet elements. For example, if you have a data collection with node
attributes that references data about a company department such as its name, location,
and number, you can specify a facet element with a zoom level of 50% that references
the node attribute for the department’s name and number.
At runtime, when a user moves the mouse over a node at any zoom level, a hover
window displaying node content at zoom level 100% is automatically displayed,
allowing the user to see the full information regardless of zoom level. The controls on
the hover window are active when the node has been selected in the hierarchy viewer.
Each of the facet elements that you insert can be used to reference other components.
You can use one or more of the following components when you define content for a
node in a hierarchy viewer component. The node component facet’s support the
following components:

29-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Managing Nodes in a Hierarchy Viewer

■ af:commandButton
■ af:commandImageLink
■ af:commandLink
■ af:commandMenuItem
■ af:goButton
■ af:goLink
■ af:image
For information about how to use the af:image component, see Section 29.7.2,
"How to Include Images in a Hierarchy Viewer."
■ af:menu
■ af:outputFormatted
■ af:outputText
■ af:panelFormLayout
■ af:panelGroupLayout
For information about how to use the panelGroupLayout component, see
Section 8.12.1, "How to Use the panelGroupLayout Component."
■ af:panelLabelAndMessage
■ af:separator
■ af:showDetailItem
■ af:showPopupBehavior
For information about how to use the af:showPopupBehavior component, see
Section 29.5.2, "How to Configure a Hierarchy Viewer to Invoke a Popup
Window."
■ af:spacer
■ dvt:panelCard
For more information about how to use the dvt:panelCard component, see
Section 29.6, "Using Panel Cards."

Note: Unsupported components are flagged at design time.

The hierarchy viewer component renders in a Flash Player only. For this reason,
certain properties of ADF Faces components that you specify as node content may not
be supported and the component will not render as you expect.

To add a node to a hierarchy viewer component:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:hierarchyViewer node and choose
Insert inside dvt:hierarchyViewer > Node.
The following entry appears in the JSF page:
<dvt:node>
<f:facet name="zoom100"/>
</dvt:node>

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-11

Managing Nodes in a Hierarchy Viewer

2. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:node and choose Go to Properties.

3. Configure the appropriate properties in the Property Inspector.
For example, set a value for the type property to associate a node component
with an accessor:
<dvt:node type="model.rootEmp model.HvtestView"/>

For more information, see Section 29.3.3, "How to Specify a Node Definition for an
Accessor."

29.3.2 How to Configure the Controls on a Node

The node component (dvt:node) exposes a number of properties that allow you to
determine if controls such as Restore, Isolate, Show or Hide appear at runtime. It also
exposes properties that determine the size and shape of the node at runtime.

To configure the controls on a node:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:node component and choose Go to
Properties.
2. Configure properties in the Appearance section of the Property Inspector for the
dvt:node component, as described in Table 29–2.

Table 29–2 Node Configuration Properties

To do this: Set the following value for this property:
Configure the Hide or Show controls to Set showExpandChildren to False to hide
appear or not on a node. the controls. By default the property is set to
True.
Configure the Restore or Isolate controls to Set the showNavigateUp and showIsolate
appear or not on the node. properties to False to hide these controls on
the node. By default the property is set to
true.
If the showNavigateUp property is set to
true, you must also set a value for the
hierarchy viewer component’s
navigateUpListener property, as
described in Section 29.4.1, "How to Configure
Upward Navigation in a Hierarchy Viewer."
Configure the height and width of a node. Set values for the width and height
properties.
Select the shape of the node. Select a value from the Shape dropdown list.
Available values are:
■ ellipse
■ rect
■ roundedRect (default)

3. For information about configuring the properties in the Style section of the
Property Inspector for the node component, see Section 20.4, "Changing the Style
Properties of a Component."
The hover window is automatically displayed when the user moves the mouse over
the node, reflecting the shape attribute set for the node. A node with the shape
attribute roundedRect, for example, will have a hover window with the same
attribute, as shown in Figure 29–8.

29-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Managing Nodes in a Hierarchy Viewer

Figure 29–8 Hover Window in Hierarchy Viewer Node

29.3.3 How to Specify a Node Definition for an Accessor

By default, you associate a node component with an accessor when you use the Create
Hierarchy Viewer dialog to create a hierarchy viewer component, as described in the
"Creating Databound Hierarchy Viewers" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware
Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework. The Create
Hierarchy Viewer dialog sets the node component’s type property to a specific
accessor.
You can configure a node component’s type property to use one or more specified
accessors. Alternatively, you can configure a node component’s rendered property to
use a node definition across accessors, as described in Section 29.3.4, "How to
Associate a Node Definition with a Particular Set of Data Rows." When the hierarchy
viewer component determines which node definition to use for a particular data row,
it first checks for a match on the type property:
■ If the type property matches and the rendered property value is true (default),
the hierarchy viewer component uses the node definition.
■ If the type property does not match, the hierarchy viewer component checks for a
value of the rendered property that evaluates to true. The result of evaluating
the rendered property does not affect the type property.

29.3.4 How to Associate a Node Definition with a Particular Set of Data Rows
You can use a node component’s rendered property to associate the node with a
particular set of data rows or with a single data row. The rendered property accepts a
boolean value so you can write an EL expression that evaluates to true or false to
determine what data rows you associate with a node definition. For example, assume
that you want a node to display data based on job title. You write an EL expression for
the node component’s rendered property similar to the following pseudo EL
expression that evaluates to true when a job title matches the value you specify (in
this example, CEO):
rendered="#{node.title == 'CEO'}"

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-13

Navigating in a Hierarchy Viewer

When you use the node component’s rendered property in this way, you do not
define a value for the node component’s type property.

29.3.5 How to Specify Ancestor Levels for an Anchor Node

The anchor node of a hierarchy viewer component is the root of the hierarchy returned
by the tree binding. Depending on the use case, there can be multiple root nodes, for
example, a hierarchy viewer component that renders an organization chart with one or
more managers. When a hierarchy viewer component renders at runtime, the node
that has focus is the anchor node. If a user double-clicks another node at runtime that
has a value specified for its setAnchorListener property, that node becomes the
anchor node.
You can configure the hierarchy viewer to display one or more levels above the anchor
node, the ancestor levels. For example, if you search for an employee in a company,
you may wish to display the chain of management above the employee. Specify
ancestor levels using the displayLevelsAncestor property.

To specify the number of ancestor levels for an anchor node:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:hierarchyViewer node and choose Go
to Properties.
2. Expand the Common section of the Property Inspector.
3. Specify the number of levels of ancestor nodes that you want to appear at runtime
above the anchor node in the displayLevelsAncestor property.
For example, the following entry appears in the JSF page if you entered 2 as the
number of ancestor levels for the anchor node.
displayLevelsAncestor="2"
4. Save changes to the JSF page.

29.4 Navigating in a Hierarchy Viewer

By default, a hierarchy viewer component has downward navigation configured for
root and inner nodes. You can configure the hierarchy viewer component to enable
upward navigation and to determine the number of nodes to appear when a user
navigates between nodes on the same level.
For more information about node types, see Section 29.3, "Managing Nodes in a
Hierarchy Viewer."

29.4.1 How to Configure Upward Navigation in a Hierarchy Viewer

If you want to configure upward navigation for a hierarchy view component, you
configure a value for the hierarchy viewer component’s navigateUpListener
property.

To configure upward navigation for a hierarchy viewer component:

1. In the Structure window, select dvt:hierarchyViewer and choose Go to Properties.

2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Behavior section of the Property Inspector
and write a value for the hierarchy viewer component’s navigateUpListener
property that specifies a method to update the data model so that it references the
new anchor node when the user navigates up to a new anchor node.
3. Click OK.

29-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Navigating in a Hierarchy Viewer

29.4.2 How to Configure Same-Level Navigation in a Hierarchy Viewer

Same-level navigation between the nodes in a hierarchy viewer component is enabled
by default. You can configure the hierarchy viewer component to determine how
many nodes to display at a time. When you do this, controls appear that enable users
to navigate to the following:
■ Left or right to view the next set of nodes
■ First or last set of nodes in the collection of available nodes

To configure same-level navigation in a hierarchy viewer component:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:hierarchyViewer node and select Go
to Properties.
2. Expand the Common section of the Property Inspector and specify the number of
nodes that you want to appear at runtime in the Nodes Per Level field
(levelFetchSize).
For example, the following entry appears in the JSF page if you entered 3 as the
number of nodes:
levelFetchSize="3"
3. Click OK.

29.4.3 What Happens When You Configure Same-Level Navigation in a Hierarchy

Viewer
At runtime, the hierarchy viewer component renders the number of nodes that you
specified as a value for the hierarchy viewer component’s levelFetchSize property.
It also renders controls that allow users to do the following:
■ Navigate to the left or right to view the next set of nodes
■ Navigate to the first or last set of nodes in the collection of available nodes
Figure 29–9 shows a runtime example where levelFetchSize="3". When a user
moves the mouse over the control, as shown in the circled area in Figure 29–9, the
control that allows users to navigate to the last set of nodes appears.

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-15

Adding Interactivity to a Hierarchy Viewer Component

Figure 29–9 Hierarchy Viewer Component with Same-Level Navigation

29.5 Adding Interactivity to a Hierarchy Viewer Component

You can configure a hierarchy viewer component to invoke popup windows and
display menus with functionality and data from other pages in your Oracle Fusion
web application.

29.5.1 How to Configure Node Selection Action

By default, clicking a hierarchy viewer node at runtime selects the node. You can
customize this interaction by setting the clickBehavior attribute on the dvt:node
component. Valid values for this property include:
■ focus - The node receives focus and is selected when clicked (default).
■ expandCollapse - Child node elements are either expanded or collapsed,
depending on their current expansion state.
■ isolateRestore - The node is either isolated or restored, depending on its
current state.
■ none - Clicking the node does nothing.

29.5.2 How to Configure a Hierarchy Viewer to Invoke a Popup Window

You can invoke a popup window from a hierarchy viewer node by specifying values
for the af:showPopupBehavior tag and invoking it from a command component,
for example, af:commandButton. You must nest the command component that
invokes the popup inside an f:facet element in a node of the hierarchy viewer
component. The triggerType property of an af:showPopupBehavior tag used in
this scenario supports only the following values:
■ action
■ mouseHover
For example, Figure 29–10 shows a modal popup invoked from an HR Detail link in
the node. Example 29–2 shows sample code for creating the popup. Example 29–3
shows sample code for the invoking the popup from a command component. For

29-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Interactivity to a Hierarchy Viewer Component

brevity, elements such as <af:panelGroupLayout>, <af:spacer>, and

<af:separator> are not included in the sample code.

Figure 29–10 Modal Popup in Hierarchy Viewer Node

Example 29–2 Sample Code to Create the Popup

<af:popup id="popupDialog" contentDelivery="lazyUncached" eventContext="launcher"
launcherVar="source">
<af:setPropertyListener from="#{source.currentRowData}"
to="#{myBean.selectedEmployee}" type="popupFetch"/>
<af:dialog title="Employee HR Detail">

<af:panelFormLayout>

<af:panelLabelAndMessage label="Name" >

<af:outputText value="#{myBean.selectedEmployee.firstName}
#{myBean.selectedEmployee.lastName}"/>
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>

<af:panelLabelAndMessage label="Offical Title" >

<af:outputText value="#{myBean.selectedEmployee.officalTitle}"/>
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>

<af:panelLabelAndMessage label="HR Manager Id" >

<af:outputText value="#{myBean.selectedEmployee.hrMgrPersonId}"/>
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>

<af:panelLabelAndMessage label="HR Rep Id" >

<af:outputText value="#{myBean.selectedEmployee.hrRepPersonId}"/>
</af:panelLabelAndMessage>

</af:panelFormLayout>
</af:dialog>
</af:popup>

Example 29–3 Sample Code to Invoke Popup from Command Component

<f:facet name="zoom100">
...
<dvt:panelCard effect="slide_horz"
...
<af:showDetailItem text="Contact "
...
<af:commandLink text="Show HR Detail" inlineStyle="font-size:14px;color:#383A47" >

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-17

Using Panel Cards

<af:showPopupBehavior popupId="::popupDialog" triggerType="action"

align="endAfter" alignId="pg1" />
</af:commandLink>
</showDetailItem>
</dvt:panelCard>
</f:facet>

For more information about using the af:showPopupBehavior tag, see Section 13.3,
"Invoking Popup Elements."

29.5.3 How to Configure a Hierarchy View Node to Invoke a Menu

You can configure a node component (dvt:node) within a hierarchy viewer to invoke
a menu by using the af:menu component. You can configure one or more
af:commandMenuItem elements for the af:menu component. Nodes within a
hierarchy viewer component do not support the nesting of af:menu components.
Figure 29–11 shows a context menu associated with a node.

Figure 29–11 Hierarchy Viewer Node Context Menu

Example 29–4 shows sample code for creating the context menu

Example 29–4 Context Menu Sample Code

<af:popup id="popupDialog" contentDelivery="lazyUncached" >
<af:menu>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Send an IM"/>
<af:commandMenuItem text="Look at details"/>

</af:menu>
</af:popup>

For more information about using the af:menu component, see Chapter 13, "Using
Popup Dialogs, Menus, and Windows."

29.6 Using Panel Cards

You can use the panel card component in conjunction with the hierarchy viewer
component to hold different sets of information for the nodes that the hierarchy viewer
component references. The panel card component is an area inside the node element
that can include one or more af:showDetailItem elements.
Each of the af:showDetailItem elements references a set of content. For example, a
hierarchy viewer component that renders an organization chart would include a node
for employees in the organization. This node could include a panel card component

29-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using Panel Cards

that references contact information using an af:showDetailItem element and

another af:showDetailItem element that references salary information.
A panel card component displays the content referenced by one
af:showDetailItem element at runtime. The panel card component renders
navigation buttons and other controls that allow the user to switch between the sets of
data referenced by af:showDetailItem elements. The controls that allow users to
switch between different sets of data can be configured with optional transitional
effects. For example, you can configure a panel card to horizontally slide between one
set of data referenced by an af:showDetailItem element to another set of data
referenced by another af:showDetailItem element.

29.6.1 How to Create a Panel Card

You can insert a panel card component into the JSF page that renders the hierarchy
viewer component by using the context menu that appears when you select the Facet
zoom element in the Structure window for the JSF page.

To create a panel card:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the zoom level within the node where you
want to create a panel card.
For example, select f:facet - zoom100.
2. Select Insert inside f:facet -zoom100 > Panel Card.
3. Use the Property Inspector to configure the properties of the panel card
component.
For example, set a value for the Effect property in the Advanced properties for the
panel card component. Valid values are:
■ Horizontal Slide (default)
■ Panel Flip
■ Node Flip
■ No Animation
4. In the Structure window, right-click dvt:panelCard and choose Insert inside
dvt:panelCard > Show Detail Item.
5. Repeat Step 4 as necessary.
6. Use the Property Inspector to configure the properties of the
af:showDetailItem elements that you insert.

29.6.2 What Happens at Runtime When a Panel Card Component Is Rendered

At runtime, a node appears and displays one panel card component. Users can click
the navigation buttons at the bottom of the panel card to navigate to the next set of
content referenced by one of the panel card’s af:showDetailItem child elements.
Figure 29–12 shows a node with a panel card component where two different
af:showDetailItem child elements reference different sets of information (Contact
and Address). The controls in the example include arrows to slide through the panel
cards as well as buttons to directly select the panel card to display. Tooltips display for
both control options.

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-19

Customizing the Appearance of a Hierarchy Viewer

Figure 29–12 Runtime View of a Node with a Panel Card

29.7 Customizing the Appearance of a Hierarchy Viewer

You can customize the hierarchy viewer component size and appearance including
adding images, configuring the display of the control panel, and customizing links
and labels.
You can change the appearance of your hierarchy viewer component by changing
skins and component style attributes, as described in Chapter 20, "Customizing the
Appearance Using Styles and Skins."

29.7.1 How to Adjust the Size of a Hierarchy Viewer

You can adjust the size of the hierarchy viewer component by setting values for a
number of the hierarchy viewer component’s attributes using the Property Inspector.

To adjust the size of a hierarchy viewer:

1. In the Structure window for the JSF page that contains the hierarchy viewer
component, select the dvt:hierarchyViewer node.
2. In the Property Inspector, write the following values for the InlineStyle
property:
■ width
Write a value in percent (%) or pixels (px). The default value for width is 100%.
■ height
Write a value in percent (%) or pixels (px). The default value for height is
600px.
The final value that you enter for the InlineStyle property must use this
syntax:
width:100%;height:600px;
3. Save changes to the JSF page.

29.7.2 How to Include Images in a Hierarchy Viewer

You can configure a hierarchy viewer component to display images in the nodes of a
hierarchy viewer component at runtime. This can be useful where, for example, you
want pictures to appear in an organization chart. Insert an af:image component with

29-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Customizing the Appearance of a Hierarchy Viewer

the source attribute bound to the URL of the desired image. The following code
example renders an image.
<af:panelGroupLayout>
<af:image source="/person_id=#{node.PersonId}"
inlineStyle="width:64px;height:90px;"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>

For more information about the af:panelGroupLayout component, see

Section 8.12.1, "How to Use the panelGroupLayout Component."

29.7.3 How to Configure the Display of the Control Panel

You can configure the hierarchy viewer component so that the Control Panel described
in Section 29.1.2, "Hierarchy Viewer Elements and Terminology," acts as follows when
the hierarchy viewer component renders at runtime:
■ Appears in an expanded or show state
■ Appears in a collapsed or hidden state
■ Does not appear to users

To configure the display of the Control Panel:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:hierarchyViewer node and choose Go
to Properties.
2. Expand the Appearance section and select one of the following values from the
ControlPanelBehavior dropdown list:
■ hidden
Select this value if you do not want the Control Panel to appear at runtime.
■ initCollapsed
This is the default value. The Control Panel appears in a collapsed or hidden
state at runtime.
■ initExpanded
Select this value if you want the Control Panel to appear in an expanded or
show state at runtime.
3. Save changes to the JSF page.

29.7.4 How to Configure the Display of Links and Labels

In a hierarchy viewer the relationships between nodes are represented by lines that
link the nodes. The links can be configured to include labels. Figure 29–13 illustrates
links and labels in a hierarchy viewer.

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-21

Customizing the Appearance of a Hierarchy Viewer

Figure 29–13 Hierarchy Viewer Links and Labels

You can customize the appearance of links and labels by setting properties of the
dvt:link element in a hierarchy viewer. Figure 29–14 illustrates links with a
dashDot value set for the linkStype attribute.

Figure 29–14 Links with dashDot Link Style

To customize the display of links and labels:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:link node and choose Go to
Properties.
2. In the Property Inspector, set the following attributes to customize the appearance
of links between nodes in a hierarchy viewer as desired:
■ linkStyle - Sets the style of the link, for example, dotted or dashed line.
■ linkColor - Sets the color of the link.
■ linkWidth - Sets the width of the link, in pixels.
■ linkType - Sets the type of link, for example, direct line or smooth curved
line fitted to what would have been a single right angle.
■ endConnectorType - Sets the style of the link connection end to none
(default) or arrowOpen.
3. Also in the Property Inspector, enter text for the label associated with the link in
the label property.
Alternatively, specify an EL expression to stamp out the link label based on the
child node. For example, write an EL expression similar to the following where the
node var attribute refers to the child node associated with the link.
label="{node.relationship}"

4. Optionally, also in the Property Inspector, use the rendered property to stamp
the link for a particular relationship between nodes. The property accepts a
boolean value so you can write an EL expression that evaluates to true or false
to determine if the link represents the relationship. For example, assume that you
want a link to display based on reporting relationship. You write an EL expression
for the link component’s rendered property similar to the following EL

29-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Search to a Hierarchy Viewer

expression that evaluates to true when the relationship matches the value you
specify (in this example, CONSULTANT):
rendered="#{node.relationship == "CEO"}

29.8 Adding Search to a Hierarchy Viewer

The hierarchy viewer search functionality looks through the data structure of the
hierarchy viewer and presents matches in a scrollable list. Users can double-click a
search result to display the matching node as the anchor node in the hierarchy viewer.
When enabled, a search panel is displayed in the upper right-hand corner of the
hierarchy viewer, and results are displayed below the search panel. Figure 29–15
shows a sample search panel.

Figure 29–15 Hierarchy Viewer Search Panel

Figure 29–16 shows sample search results.

Figure 29–16 Hierarchy Viewer Sample Search Results

29.8.1 How to Configure Searching in a Hierarchy Viewer

Add the dvt:search tag as a child of the dvt:hierarchyViewer tag to enable
searching, and dvt:searchResults as a child of dvt:search to specify how to
handle the results.

To configure search in a hierarchy viewer:

1. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:hierarchyViewer node and choose
insert inside dvt:hierarchyViewer > dvt:search.
2. In the Property Inspector, set the following attributes to configure the search
functionality:
■ value: Specify the variable to hold the search text.
■ actionListener: Enter the listener called to perform the search.

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-23

Adding Search to a Hierarchy Viewer

■ initialBehavior: Specify how the search panel is initially displayed. Valid

values are initCollapsed for initially collapsed, initExpanded for
initially expanded, or hidden for completely hidden from view.
3. Optionally, add a f:facet with a value of name="end" to specify a component
that will launch an advanced search outside of the hierarchy viewer component.
This facet should contain only a single component, for example
af:commandLink, to launch a comprehensive search of a data set. For more
information, see Section 12.4, "Using the query Component."
4. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:search node and choose insert inside
dvt:search > dvt:searchResults.
5. In the Property Inspector, set the following attributes to configure the display of
the search results:
■ value: Specify the search results data model. This must be an instance of
oracle.adf.view.faces.bi.model.DataModel.
■ var: Enter the name of the EL variable used to reference each element of the
hierarchy viewer collection. Once this component has completed rendering,
this variable is removed, or reverted back, to its previous value.
■ varStatus: Enter the name of the EL variable used to reference the
varStatus information. Once this component has completed rendering, this
variable is removed, or reverted back, to its previous value.
■ resultListener: Specify a reference to an action listener that will be called
after a row in the search results is selected.
■ emptyText: Specify the text to display when no results are returned.
■ fetchSize: Specify the number of result rows to fetch at a time.
6. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:searchResults node and select insert
inside dvt:searchResults, then select ADF Faces, then select
af:setPropertyListener.
7. In the Property Inspector, set the following attributes to map the search results
node from the results model to the corresponding hierarchy viewer model:
■ from: Specify the source of the value, a constant or an EL expression.
■ to: Specify the target of the value.
■ type: Choose action as the value.
8. In the Structure window, right-click the dvt:searchResults node and choose insert
inside dvt:searchResults > f:facet with a value of name="content".
9. In the Structure window, right-click the f:facet content node and do the
following to specify the components to stamp out the search results:
■ Insert an ADF Faces af:panelGroupLayout element to wrap the output of
the search results.
■ Insert the ADF Faces output components to display the search results. For
example:
<af:outputText value="#{resultRow.Lastname} " id="ot1"
inlineStyle="color:blue;"/>
<af:outputText value="#{resultRow.Firstname}" id="ot2"/>

Each stamped row references the current row using the var attribute of the
dvt:searchResults tag.

29-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Search to a Hierarchy Viewer

Example 29–5 shows sample code for configuring search in a hierarchy viewer.

Example 29–5 Sample Hierarchy Viewer Search Code

<dvt:hierarchyViewer>
<dvt:search id="searchId" value="#{bindings.lastNameParam.inputValue}"
actionListener="#{bindings.ExecuteWithParams1.execute}">
<f:facet name="end">
<af:commandLink text="Advanced">
<af:showPopupBehavior popupId="::mypop" triggerType="action"/>
</af:commandLink>
</f:facet>
<dvt:searchResults id="searchResultId"
emptyText="#{bindings.searchResult1.viewable ? 'No match.' : 'Access
Denied.'}"
fetchSize="25"
value="#{bindings.searchResult1.collectionModel}"
resultListener="#{bindings.ExecuteWithParams.execute}"
var="resultRow">
<af:setPropertyListener from="#{resultRow.Id}"
to="#{bindings.employeeId.inputValue}"
type="action"/>
<f:facet name="content">
<af:panelGroupLayout inlineStyle="width:110px;height:20px;">
<af:outputText value="#{resultRow.Lastname} " id="ot1"
inlineStyle="color:blue;"/>
<af:outputText value="#{resultRow.Firstname}" id="ot2"/>
</af:panelGroupLayout>
</f:facet>
</dvt:searchResults>
</dvt:search>
</dvt:hierarchyViewer>

29.8.2 What You May Need to Know About Configuring Search in a Hierarchy Viewer
Search in a hierarchy viewer is based on the searchable attributes or columns of the
data collection that is the basis of the hierarchy viewer data model. Using a query
results collection defined in data controls in Oracle ADF, JDeveloper makes this a
declarative task. For more information, see the "How to Create a Databound Search in
a Hierarchy Viewer" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for
Oracle Application Development Framework.

Using ADF Hierarchy Viewer Components 29-25

Adding Search to a Hierarchy Viewer

29-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Part V
Part V Advanced Topics

Part V contains the following chapters:

■ Chapter 30, "Creating Custom ADF Faces Components"
■ Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages"
■ Chapter 32, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality"
■ Chapter 33, "Using Different Output Modes"
 30
30 Creating Custom ADF Faces Components

This chapter describes how to create custom ADF Faces rich client components.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 30.1, "Introduction to Custom ADF Faces Components"
■ Section 30.2, "Setting Up the Workspace and Starter Files"
■ Section 30.3, "Client-Side Development"
■ Section 30.4, "Server-Side Development"
■ Section 30.5, "Deploying a Component Library"
■ Section 30.6, "Adding the Custom Component to an Application"

30.1 Introduction to Custom ADF Faces Components

The ADF Faces component library provides a comprehensive set of UI components
that covers most of your requirements. However, there are situations when you will
want to create a custom rich component that is specific to your application. A custom
rich component will allow you to have custom behavior and perform actions that best
suit the needs of your application.

Note: Creating custom standard JSF components is covered in many

books, articles, web sites, and the JavaServer Faces specification,
therefore, it is not covered in this guide. This chapter is intended to
describe how to create ADF Faces components.

JSF technology is built to allow self-registering components and other framework

parts. The core JSF runtime at web application startup accomplishes this by inspecting
all JAR files in the class path. Any JAR files whose /META-INF/faces-config.xml
file contains JSF artifacts will be loaded. Therefore, you can package custom ADF
Faces components in a JAR file and simply add it into the web project.
For each ADF Faces component, there is a server-side component and there can also be
a client-side component. On the server, for JSPs, a render kit provides a base to balance
the complex mixture of markup language and JavaScript. The server-side framework
also adds a custom lifecycle to take advantage of the API hooks for partial page
component rendering. On the client, ADF Faces provides a structured JavaScript
framework for handling various nontrivial tasks. These tasks include state
synchronization using partial page rendering. For more information about the ADF
Faces architecture, see Chapter 3, "Using ADF Faces Architecture."

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-1

Introduction to Custom ADF Faces Components

ADF Faces components are derived from the Apache MyFaces Trinidad component
library. Because of this, many of the classes you extend when creating a custom ADF
Faces component are actually MyFaces Trinidad classes. For more information about
the history of ADF Faces, including its evolution, see Chapter 1, "Introduction to ADF
Faces Rich Client."
Between the JSP and the JSF components is the Application class. The tag library
uses a factory method on the application object to instantiate a concrete component
instance using the mnemonic referred to as the componentType.
A component can render its own markup but this is not considered to be a best
practice. The preferred approach is to define a render kit that focuses on a strategy for
rendering the presentation. The component uses a factory method on the render kit to
get the renderer associated with the particular component. If the component is
consumed in an application that uses Facelets, then a component handler creates the
component.
In addition to functionality, any custom component you create must use an ADF Faces
skin to be able to be displayed properly with other ADF Faces components. To use a
skin, you must create and register the skinning keys and properties for your
component. This chapter describes only how to create and register skins for custom
components. For more information about how skins are used and created in general,
see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins."

Tip: To work with ADF Faces components, your custom component

must use at least the ADF Faces simple skin, because the FusionFX,
blafplus-rich, and blafplus-medium skins inherit from the
simple skin. Additionally, if there is any chance your component will
be used in an Oracle WebCenter application, then your skin must also
be registered with the simple.portlet skin.

30.1.1 Developing a Custom Component with JDeveloper

An ADF Faces component consists of both client-side and server-side resources. On
the client side, there is the client component, the component peer (the component
presenter), and any events associated with the client component.
On the server side, there is the server component, server component events, and event
listeners. Also, there is a component renderer, a component JSP tag, a composite
resource loader, a JavaScript resource loader, and a resource bundle.
The component also has several configuration and support files. Together, these
classes, JavaScripts, and configuration files are packaged into a JAR file, which can be
imported as a library into an application and used like other components.
You can use JDeveloper to set up the application workspace and project in which you
develop the custom component. After you have created the workspace and project,
you add starter working files for the required classes, JavaScript files, and
configuration files that make up the custom component. During development, you
edit and add code to each of these files, specific for the custom component.
The development process is as follows:
1. Create an application, workspace, and project as an environment for development.
This includes adding library dependencies and registering XML schemas. You
should not create the component in the same application in which you plan to use
the component.
2. Create a deployment profile for packaging the component into a JAR file.
3. Create the following starter configuration and support files:

30-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Custom ADF Faces Components

– faces-config.xml: Used to register many of the artifacts used by the

component.
– trinidad-skins.xml: Used to register the skins that the component uses.
– Cascading style sheet: Used to define the style properties for the skins.
– Render kit resource loader: Allows the application to load all the resources
required by the component.
– adf-js-features.xml: Allows the component to become part of a
JavaScript partition. For more information about partitions, see Section 1.2.1.2,
"JavaScript Library Partitioning."
– JSP tag library descriptor (TLD) (for JSP): Defines the tag used on the JSF page.
– Component handler (for Facelets): Defines the handler used to render the
component.
4. Create the following client-side JavaScript files:
– Client Component: Represents the component and its attributes on the client.
– Client Peer: Manages the document object model (DOM) for the component.
– Client Event: Invokes processing on the client and optionally propagates
processing to the server.
5. Create the following server-side Java files:
– Server Component class: Represents the component on the server.
– Server Event Listener class: Listens for and responds to events.
– Server Events class: Invokes events on the server.
– Server Renderer class: Determines the display of the component.
– Resource Bundle class: Defines text strings used by the component.
6. Further develop the component by testing and debugging the JavaScript and Java
code. You can use the JDeveloper debugger to set breakpoints and to step through
the code. You can also use Java logging features to trace the execution of the
component.
7. Deploy the component into a JAR file.
8. Test the component by adding it into an application.
Table 30–1 lists the client-side and server-side component artifacts for a custom
component. The configuration and support files are not included in the table.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-3

Introduction to Custom ADF Faces Components

Table 30–1 Client-Side and Server-Side Artifacts for a Custom Component

Client Server
Component class: Component:
oracle.component_ oracle.<component_
package.js.component.prefixComponent_ package>.faces.component.<Component_
name.js name>.java
Extends: Extends:
oracle.adf.view.js.component. org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.component.
AdfUIObject.js UIXObject.java
Event: Event:
oracle.<component_ oracle.<component_
package>.js.event.<prefix><Event_ package>.faces.event.<Event_name> .java
name>.js
Extends:
Extends:
javax.faces.event.FacesEvent.java
oracle.adf.view.js.component.
AdfComponentEvent.js
Event Listener:
oracle.<component_
package>.faces.event<Listener_name>
Extends:
com.faces.event.FacesListener
Component Peer:
com.<component_
package>.js.component.<prefix><Peer_
name>Peer.js
Extends:
oracle.adf.view.js.laf.rich.
AdfRichUIPeer.js.js
Component Renderer:
com.<component_
package>.faces.render.<Renderer_name>.java
Extends:
oracle.adf.view.rich.render.RichRenderer.
java

Component JSP Tag (JSP only):

com.<component_
package>.faces.taglib.<Tagname_
name>Tag.java
Extends:
javax.faces.webapp.UIComponentELTag.java

30-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Custom ADF Faces Components

Table 30–1 (Cont.) Client-Side and Server-Side Artifacts for a Custom Component
Client Server
Composite Resource Loader:
com.<component_
package>.faces.resource.<Loader_
name>ResourceLoader.java
Extends:
org.myfaces.trinidad.resource.
RegxResourceLoader.java
JavaScript Resource Loader:
com.<component_
package>.faces.resource.<Script_Loader_
name>ResourceLoader.java
Extends:
org.myfaces.trinidad.resource.
AggregateingResourceLoader.java
Resource Bundle:
com.<component_
package>.faces.resource.<Bundle_
name>Bundle.java
Extends:
java.util.ListResouceBundle.java

30.1.2 An Example Custom Component

To help illustrate creating a custom component, a custom component named tagPane
will be used as an example throughout the procedures. The tagPane custom
component is created for reuse purposes. Although the tagPane presentation might
have been implemented using a variety of existing components, having a single
custom component simplifies the work of the page developer. In this case, there may
be a trade-off of productivity between the component developer and the page
developers. If this particular view composition were needed more than once, the
development team would reduce costs by reducing the lines of code and simplifying
the task of automating a business process.
The tagPane component displays a series of tags and their weighted occurrences for a
set of files. Tags that are most frequently used are displayed in the largest font size,
while the least used tags are displayed in the smallest font size. Each tag is also a link
that triggers an event, which is then propagated to the server. The server causes all the
files that contain an occurrence of that tag to then be displayed in a table. Figure 30–1
shows how the tagPane component would be displayed if it was added below the
Search pane in the File Explorer application.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-5

Introduction to Custom ADF Faces Components

Figure 30–1 Custom tagPane Component

The tagPane component receives a collection of tags in a Java Map collection. The key
of the map is the tag name. The value is a weight assigned to the tag. In the File
Explorer application, the weight is the number of times the tag occurs and in most
cases, the number of files associated with the tag. The tag name is displayed in the
body text of a link and the font size used to display the name represents the weight.
Each tag’s font size will be proportionally calculated within the minimum and
maximum font sizes based upon the upper and lower weights assigned to all tags in
the set of files. To perform these functions, the tagPane custom component must have
both client-side and server-side behaviors.
On the server side, the component displays the map of tags by rendering HTML
hyperlinks. The basic markup rendering is performed on the server. A custom event
on the component is defined to handle the user clicking a link, and then to display the
associated files. These server-side behaviors are defined using a value expression and
a method expression.
For example, the tagPane component includes:
■ A tag property for setting a Map<String, Number> collection of tags.
■ A tagSelectionListener method-binding event that is invoked on the server
when the user clicks the link for the tag.
■ An orderBy property for displaying the sequence of tags from left to right in the
order of descending by weight or alternatively displaying the tag links ascending
alphabetically.
To allow each tag to be displayed in a font size that is proportional to its weight
(occurrences), the font size is controlled using an inline style. However, each tag and
the component’s root markup node also uses a style class.
Example 30–1 shows how the tagPane component might be used in a JSF page.

Example 30–1 tagPane Custom Component Tag in a JSF Page

<acme:tagPane id="tagPane" tags="#{explorer.navigatorManager.tagNavigator.tags}"
tagSelectListener="#{explorer.navigatorManager.tagNavigator.onTagSelect}"

30-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Custom ADF Faces Components

orderBy="alpha"
partialTriggers="tagCountLabel"/>

Because the tagPane component must be used with other ADF Faces components, it
must use the same skins. Therefore, any styling is achieved through the use of
cascading style sheets (CSS) and corresponding skin selectors. For example, the
tagPane component needs skin selectors to specify the root element, and to define the
style for the container of the links and the way the hyperlinks are displayed.
Example 30–2 shows a sample set of style selectors in the CSS file for the tagPane
component.

Example 30–2 CSS Style Selectors for the Sample Custom Component
acme|tagPane - root element
acme|tagPane::content - container for the links
acme|tagPane::tag - tag hyperlink

You may need to specify the HTML code required for the custom component on the
server side.
Example 30–3 shows HTML server-side code used for the tagPane component.

Example 30–3 HTML Code for the Server Side

<div class=" acme|tagPane">
<span class=" acme|tagPane::content ">
<a class=" acme|tagPane::tag" href="#" style="font-size:9px;">Tag1</a>
<a class=" acme|tagPane::tag" href="#" style="font-size:10px;">Tag2</a>
</span>
</div>

On the client side, the component requires a JavaScript component counterpart and a
component peer that defines client-side behavior. All DOM interaction goes through
the peer (for more information, see Chapter 3, "Using ADF Faces Architecture"). The
component peer listens for the user clicking over the hyperlinks that surround the tag
names. When the links are clicked, the peer raises a custom event on the client side,
which propagates the event to the server side for further processing.
Table 30–2 lists the client-side and server-side artifacts for the tagPane component.
Referencing the naming conventions in Table 30–1, the component_package is
com.adfdemo.acme and the prefix is Acme.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-7

Introduction to Custom ADF Faces Components

Table 30–2 Client-Side and Server-Side Artifacts for the tagPane Custom Component
Client Server
Component: Component
com.adfdemo.acme.js.component. com.adfdemo.acme.faces.component.TagPane.
java
AcmeTagPane.js
Extends:
Extends:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.component.
oracle.adf.view.js.component.
UIXObject.java
AdfUIObject.js
Event: Event:
com.adfdemo.acme.js.event. com.adfdemo.acme.faces.event.
AcmeTagSelectEvent.js TagSelectEvent.java
Extends: Extends:
oracle.adf.view.js.component. javax.faces.event.FacesEvent.java
AdfComponentEvent.js
Event Listener:
com.adfdemo.acme.faces.event.
SelectListener
Extends:
com.faces.event.FacesListener
Component Peer:
com.adfdemo.acme.js.component.
AcmeTagPanePeer.js
Extends:
oracle.adf.view.js.laf.rich.
AdfRichUIPeer.js
Component Renderer:
com.adfdemo.acme.faces.render.
TagPaneRenderer.java
Extends:
oracle.adf.view.rich.render.RichRenderer.
java
Component JSP Tag:
oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.taglib.
TagPaneTag.java
Extends:
javax.faces.webapp.UIComponentELTag.java

30-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Setting Up the Workspace and Starter Files

Table 30–2 (Cont.) Client-Side and Server-Side Artifacts for the tagPane Custom Component
Client Server
Composite Resource Loader:
oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.resource.
AcmeResourceLoader.java
Extends:
org.myfaces.trinidad.resource.
RegxResourceLoader.java
JavaScript Resource Loader:
oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.resource.
ScriptsResourceLoader.java
Extends:
org.myfaces.trinidad.resource.
AggregateingResourceLoader.java
Resource Bundle:
oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.resource.
AcmeSimpleDesktopBundle.java
Extends:
java.util.ListResouceBundle.java

30.2 Setting Up the Workspace and Starter Files

Use JDeveloper to set up an application and a project to develop the custom
component. After your skeleton project is created, you can add a deployment profile
for packaging the component into a JAR file.
During the early stages of development, you create starter configuration and support
files to enable development. You may add to and edit these files during the process.
You create the following configuration files:
■ META-INF/faces-config.xml: The configuration file required for any
JSF-based application. While the component will use the faces-config.xml file
in the application into which it is eventually imported, you will need this
configuration file for development purposes.
■ META-INF/trinidad-skins.xml: The configuration information for the skins
that the component can use. Extend the simple skin provided by ADF Faces to
include the new component.
■ META-INF/package_directory/styles/skinName.css: The style metadata
needed to skin the component.
■ META-INF/servlets/resources/name.resources: The render kit resource
loader that loads style sheets and images from the component JAR file. The
resource loader is aggregated by a resource servlet in the web application, and is
used to configure the resource servlet. In order for the servlet to locate the resource
loader file, it must be placed in the META-INF/servlets/resources directory.
■ META-INF/adf-js-features.xml: The configuration file used to define a
feature. The definition usually includes a component name or description of
functionality that a component provides, and the files used to implement the
client-side component.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-9

Setting Up the Workspace and Starter Files

■ META-INF/prefix_name.tld (for JSP): The tag definition library for the

component. If the consuming web application is using JSP, the custom component
requires a defined TLD. The TLD file will be located in the META-INF folder along
with the faces-config.xml and trinidad-skins.xml files.
■ META-INF/prefix_name.taglib.xml (for Facelets): The tag library definition
for the component when the consuming application uses Facelets. This file defines
the handler for the component.
For example, for the tagPane component, the following configuration files are
needed:
■ META-INF/faces-config.xml
■ META-INF/trinidad-skins.xml
■ META-INF/acme/styles/acme-simple-desktop.css
■ META-INF/servlets/resources/acme.resources
■ META-INF/acme.tld
■ META-INF/acme.taglib.xml
■ META-INF/adf-js-features.xml
After the files are set up in JDeveloper, you add content to them. Then, you create the
client-side files nd server-side files. For more information, see Section 30.3, "Client-Side
Development," and Section 30.4, "Server-Side Development."

30.2.1 How to Set Up the JDeveloper Custom Component Environment

This chapter assumes you have experience using JDeveloper and are familiar with the
steps involved in creating and deploying an application. For more information about
using JDeveloper to create applications, see Chapter 2, "Getting Started with ADF
Faces." For more information about deployment, see the "Deploying Fusion Web
Applications" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for
Oracle Application Development Framework.

To set up the custom component development environment in JDeveloper:

1. Create an application to serve as a development container for the component. Use
JDeveloper to create a workspace and project. For procedures on creating an
application, see Section 2.2, "Creating an Application Workspace." When selecting
an application template, select the Generic Application template.

Note: Do not select any other application template, or add any

technologies to your application. Because the custom component will
be packaged into a JAR file, you do not need to create unnecessary
folders such as public_html that JDeveloper creates by default
when you use a template specifically for web applications, or add web
technologies. Instead, create the starter configuration file from the
XML schemas.

2. Prepare the project to be deployed as a JAR file by creating a new deployment

profile.
a. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and choose New.
b. In the New Gallery, select Deployment Profile and then ADF Library JAR
File, and click OK.

30-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Setting Up the Workspace and Starter Files

c. In the Create Deployment Profile dialog, enter a name for the Deployment
Profile name. For example, the tagPane component might use
adf-richclient-demo-acme.
d. In the Edit JAR Deployment Profile Properties dialog, click OK.
3. In the Project Properties dialog, add library dependencies.
a. Select Libraries and Classpath in the left pane.
b. Click Add Library.
c. In the Add Library dialog, select ADF Faces Runtime 11, Facelets Runtime (if
using Facelets), JSF 1.2, and JSP Runtime, and click OK.
d. Click OK to close the Project Properties dialog.
4. Register XML schemas.
The custom component requires several XML configuration files. You can use
JDeveloper to register the XML schemas associated with these configuration files.
You must add schemas for three configuration files: faces-config.xml,
trinidad-skins.xml, and trinidad-config.xml. By preregistering these
schemas, you can create a template XML configuration file without having to
know the specifics about the markup structure. The names and locations of the
schemas are assumed by the base installation of JDeveloper.
a. Select Tools > Preferences. In the Preferences dialog, select XML Schemas in
the left pane, and click Add.
b. In the Add Schema dialog, click Browse to navigate to the XML schemas
included in your JDeveloper build, as shown in Table 30–3.

Note: In the Add Schema dialog, make sure Extension is set to .xml.
If you change it to XSD, when you later create XML files, you will not
be able to use the XML schema you have created.

Table 30–3 XML Schema Locations

XML Configuration File Schema Location
/META-INF/faces-config.xml JDeveloper_Home/jdeveloper/modules/
oracle.jsf_1.2.9/glassfish.jsf_1.2.9jar!
/com/sun/faces/web-facesconfig_1_2.xsd
/META-INF/trinidad-skins.x JDeveloper_
ml Home/jdeveloper/modules/oralce.adf.view_
11.1.1/trinidad-impl.jar!/org/apache/
myfaces/trinidadinternal/ui/laf/xml/schemas
/skin/trinidad-skins.xsd
/META-INF/trinidad-config. JDeveloper_Home/jdeveloper/modules/
xml
oracle.adf.view_11.1.1/
trinidad-api.jar!/trinidad-config.xsd
/META-INF/adf-js-features. JDeveloper_Home/jdeveloper/modules/
xml
oracle.adf.view_11.1.1/
adf-richclient-api-ll.jar!
/adf-js-features.xsd

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-11

Setting Up the Workspace and Starter Files

30.2.2 How to Add a Faces Configuration File

Although the custom component will be registered in the consuming application’s
faces-config.xml file, during development, the workspace requires a
faces-config.xml file.

Note: Do not use any of JDeveloper’s declarative wizards or dialogs

to create the faces-config.xml file. These declarative methods
assume you are creating a web application, and will add uneccessary
artifacts to your custom component application.

To create a faces-config.xml file for the custom component:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand General, select XML, and then Select XML Document
from XML Schema, and click OK.
3. In the Create XML from XML Schema dialog:
■ XML File: Enter faces-config.xml.
■ Directory: Append \src\META-INF to the end of the directory entry.
■ Select Use Registered Schemas and click Next.
4. Enter the following:
■ Target Namespace: Select http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee.
■ Root Element: Select faces-config.
Leave the defaults for the other fields, and click Finish.
The new file will automatically open in the XML editor.
5. Add the following schema information after the first line in the file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="US-ASCII"?>
<faces-config version="1.2" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee">

Adding a schema provides better WYSIWYG tool support.

30.2.3 How to Add a MyFaces Trinidad Skins Configuration File

Add a MyFaces Trinidad skins file to register the component’s CSS file, which is used
to define the component’s styles.

To create a trinidad-skins.xml file for the custom component:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand General and select XML.

3. Select XML Document from XML Schema and click OK.
4. In the Create XML from XML Schema dialog:
■ XML File: Enter trinidad-skins.xml.
■ Directory: Append \src\META-INF to the end of the Directory entry.
■ Select Use Registered Schemas, and click Next.
5. Enter the following:

30-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Setting Up the Workspace and Starter Files

■ Target Namespace: Select

http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/skin.
■ Root Element: Select skins.
■ Click Finish. The new file will automatically open in the XML editor.

30.2.4 How to Add a Cascading Style Sheet

Add a cascading style sheet to define component’s style.

To create a cascading style sheet for the custom component:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand General, select File and click OK.
3. In the Create File dialog:
■ Enter a file name, for example, acme-simple-desktop.css.
■ Append \src\META-INF\component_prefix\styles to the end of the
Directory entry, where component_prefix is the prefix that will be used in
the component library. For example, for the tagPane component, acme is the
prefix, therefore, the string to append would be \META-INF\acme\styles.

30.2.5 How to Add a Resource Kit Loader

Create an empty file and add the fully qualified classpath to the custom resource
loader.

To create a resource loader for the custom component:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand General and then File, and click OK.
3. In the Create File dialog:
■ Enter component_prefix.resources for File Name, where component_
prefix will be the prefix used in the component library. For example, for the
tagPane component, acme is the prefix, therefore, the string to enter is
acme.resources.
■ Append \src\META-INF\sevlets\resources\ to the end of the
Directory entry.

30.2.6 How to Add a JavaServer Pages Tag Library Descriptor File

You need a JSP TLD file to work with JSF pages.

To create a JavaServer Pages TLD file for the custom component:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand Web Tier and select JSP.

3. Select JSP Tag Library and click OK.
4. In the Create JavaServer Page Tag Library dialog, select Deployable and click
Next.
5. Enter the following:
■ Tag Library Descriptor Version: Select 2.1.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-13

Setting Up the Workspace and Starter Files

■ Short Name: A name. For example, for the tagPane component, you would
enter acme.
■ Tag Library URI: A URI for the tag library. For example, for the tagPane
component, you would enter http://oracle.adfdemo.acme.
6. Click Next and optionally enter additional tag library information, then click
Finish.

30.2.7 How to Add a JavaScript Library Feature Configuration File

Add a features file to define the JavaScript files associated with the custom
component, including the files for the client component, the client peer, and the client
events.

To create an adf-js-features.xml file for the custom component:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand General and select XML.

3. In the right pane, select XML Document from XML Schema and click OK.
4. In the Create XML from XML Schema dialog:
■ XML File: Enter adf-js-features.xml.
■ Directory: Append \src\META-INF to the end of the Directory entry.
■ Select Use Registered Schemas, and click Next.
5. Do the following:
■ Target Namespace: Select
http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/feature.
■ Root Element: Select features.
■ Click Finish. The new file will automatically open in the XML editor.

30.2.8 How to Add a Facelets Tag Library Configuration File

If a consuming application uses Facelets, then you must define the handler for the
component.

To create a Facelets tag library file:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand General and select XML.

3. In the right pane, select XML Document and click OK.
4. In the Create XML file dialog, enter the following:
■ File Name: Enter prefix_name.taglib.xml
■ Directory: Append \src\META-INF to the end of the Directory entry.
5. Copy and paste the code shown in Example 30–4:

Example 30–4 Code for Facelets Tag Library Configuration File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE facelet-taglib
PUBLIC "-//Sun Microsystems, Inc.//DTD Facelet Taglib 1.0//EN"

30-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Client-Side Development

"http://java.sun.com/dtd/facelet-taglib_1_0.dtd">
<facelet-taglib xmlns="http://java.sun.com/JSF/Facelet">

<namespace>http://xmlns.oracle.adfdemo/acme</namespace>

<tag>
<tag-name>tagPane</tag-name>
<handler-class>
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.facelets.rich.RichComponentHandler
</handler-class>
</tag>
</facelet-taglib>

6. Replace the namespace and tag-name code shown in bold with code appropriate
for your application.

30.3 Client-Side Development

After the JDeveloper workspace and configuration files have been created, you can
create and code the client-side JavaScript files. When you have finished with the
client-side development, create the server-side files, as described in Section 30.4,
"Server-Side Development."

Best Practice: Because JavaScript libraries do not have namespaces,

you should create all JavaScript object names for the custom
component using the same prefix. You do not need to do this on the
server because the server-side Java package names will prevent name
collisions. For example, for the tagPane component, the client-side
JavaScript object names all have the acme prefix.

Client components hold state for properties that are not defined within the
corresponding DOM element. These properties are bound to an associated DOM
element using the clientId. The clientId uniquely defines a server-side
component within the component tree representing a page. The DOM element holds
the clientId within the Id attribute.

Note: Place each JavaScript object in its own separate source file for
best practice and consistency.

Developing the client-side component requires creating a JavaScript file for the
component, the peer, and the component event.
In addition to the client component, client-side events must be defined. The tagPane
component’s client-side event is fired and propagated to the server when the user
clicks one of the three file types. The client event passed to the server is queued so that
the target server-side component can take the appropriate action.
Finally, the custom component requires a client peer. The peer is the component
presenter. Peers act as the links between a client component and an associated DOM
element. Client peers add client behaviors. A peer must be bound to a component
through a registration method.
As with the client component, the associated peer is bound to a DOM element using
the component's clientId. There are two types of peers, statefull and stateless.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-15

Client-Side Development

■ Some complex client components require the peer to hold state and thereby need
to use a statefull peer. This type of peer is always bound to a DOM element.
Statefull peers are less common than stateless peers.
■ Stateless peers do not hold state and one peer can be bound to multiple
components. Stateless peers are the best performance option because they reduce
the client footprint. This type of peer performs lazy content delivery to the
component.
Peers add behavior to the component by dynamically registering and listening for
DOM events. Conceptually, a peer’s function is similar to the role of a managed bean.
However, the client component is not bound to the peer using EL like the server-side
component is bound to a view model (#{backingbean.callback}). The peer
registers client component events in the InitSubclass
(AdfRichUIPeer.addComponentEventHandlers("click")) callback method.
The callback is assumed by using a naming convention of
(<Peer>.prototype.HandleComponent<Event>). The peer manages DOM event
callbacks where the server-side component handles the linking using EL bindings to
managed beans. For more information about client-side architecture, including peers,
see Section 3.1, "Introduction to Using ADF Faces Architecture."
The following section assumes you have already set up a custom component
development template environment. This development environment includes the
setting up of application workspace, projects, deployment profiles, and registering
schemas. If you have not done so, see Section 30.2, "Setting Up the Workspace and
Starter Files."

30.3.1 How to Create a JavaScript File for a Component

Use JDeveloper to create a JavaScript file for the component. In it, you will define the
component type for the component.

To create the component JavaScript file:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and click New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand Web Tier and select HTML.

3. Select JavaScript File and click OK.
4. In the Create JavaScript File dialog, do the following:
■ File Name: Enter the name of the client-side component. For example, for the
tagPane component, you might enter AcmeTagPane.js.

Tip: To prevent naming collisions, start the name with the

component prefix.

■ Directory: Enter the directory path of the component in a subdirectory under

the src directory. For example, for the tagPane component, you might enter
adfrichclient-demo-acme\src\oracle\adfdemo\acme\js\compone
nt.
5. Open the JavaScript File in the editor and add the component code to define the
component type. Example 30–5 shows the code that might be used for the
tagPane component.

Example 30–5 tagPane Component JavaScript

AdfUIComponents.createComponentClass(

30-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Client-Side Development

"AcmeTagPane",
{
componentType:"oracle.adfdemo.acme.TagPane",superclass:AdfUIObject
}
);

30.3.2 How to Create a Javascript File for an Event

Use JDeveloper to create a JavaScript file for the event. Add code to the JavaScript to
perform the functions required when a event is fired, such as a mouse click.

To create the JavaScript for the event:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand Web Tier and select HTML.

3. Select JavaScript File and click OK.
4. In the Create JavaScript File dialog, do the following:
■ File Name: Enter the name of the client-side event. For example, for the
tagPane component, you might enter AcmeTagSelectEvent.js.

Tip: To prevent naming collisions, start the name with the

component prefix.

■ Directory: Enter the directory path of the event in a subdirectory under the
src directory. For example, for the tagPane component, you might enter
adf-richclient-demo-acme\src\oracle\adfdemo\acme\js\event.
5. Open the JavaScript File in the editor and add the event code. Example 30–6 shows
the event code that might be added for the tagPane component.

Example 30–6 tagPane Event JavaScript

/**
* Fires a select type event to the server for the source component
* when a tag is clicked.
*/
function AcmeTagSelectEvent(source, tag)
{
AdfAssert.assertPrototype(source, AdfUIComponent);
AdfAssert.assertString(tag); this.Init(source, tag);
}
// make AcmeTagSelectEvent a subclass of AdfComponentEvent

AdfObject.createSubclass(AcmeTagSelectEvent, AdfComponentEvent);
/**
* The event type
*/
AcmeTagSelectEvent.SELECT_EVENT_TYPE = "tagSelect";
/**
* Event Object constructor
*/
AcmeTagSelectEvent.prototype.Init = function(source, tag)
{
AdfAssert.assertPrototype(source, AdfUIComponent);
AdfAssert.assertString(tag);

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-17

Client-Side Development

this._tag = tag;
AcmeTagSelectEvent.superclass.Init.call(this, source, AcmeTagSelectEvent.SELECT_
EVENT_TYPE);}
/**
* Indicates this event should be sent to the server
*/
AcmeTagSelectEvent.prototype.propagatesToServer = function()
{
return true;
}
/**
* Override of AddMarshalledProperties to add parameters * sent server side.
*/
AcmeTagSelectEvent.prototype.AddMarshalledProperties = function( properties)
{
properties.tag = this._tag;

}
/**
* Convenient method for queue a AcmeTagSelectEvent.
*/
AcmeTagSelectEvent.queue = function(component, tag)
{
AdfAssert.assertPrototype(component, AdfUIComponent);
AdfAssert.assertString(tag);
AdfLogger.LOGGER.logMessage(AdfLogger.FINEST,
"AcmeTagSelectEvent.queue(component, tag)");
new AcmeTagSelectEvent(component, tag).queue(true);
}
/**
* returns the selected file type
*/
AcmeTagSelectEvent.prototype.getTag = function()
{
return this._tag;}
/**
* returns a debug string
*/
AcmeTagSelectEvent.prototype.toDebugString = function()
{
var superString = AcmeTagSelectEvent.superclass.toDebugString.call(this);
return superString.substring(0, superString.length - 1)
+ ", tag="
+ this._tag + "]";
}
/*
*
* Make sure that this event only invokes immediate validators
* on the client.
*/
AcmeTagSelectEvent.prototype.isImmediate = function()
{
return true;
}

30-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Client-Side Development

30.3.3 How to Create a JavaScript File for a Peer

Use JDeveloper to create a JavaScript file for the peer. Add code to register the peer
and bind it to the component.

To create the peer JavaScript file:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand Web Tier and select HTML.

3. Select JavaScript File and click OK.
4. In the Create JavaScript File dialog, do the following:
■ File Name: Enter the name of the client-side peer. For example, for the
tagPane component, you might enter AcmeTagPanePeer.js.

Tip: To prevent naming collisions, start the name with the

component prefix.

■ Directory: Enter the directory path of the event in a subdirectory under the
src directory. For example, for the tagPane component, you might enter
adf-richclient-demo-acme\src\oracle\adfdemo\acme\js\compon
ent.
5. Open the JavaScript file in the editor and add code for the peer. In this code, you
must create the peer, add event handling with respect to the DOM, and register the
peer with the component. Example 30–7 shows the code that might be added for
the tagPane component.

Example 30–7 tagPane JavaScript Peer

AdfRichUIPeer.createPeerClass(AdfRichUIPeer, "AcmeTagPanePeer", true);
AcmeTagPanePeer.InitSubclass = function()
{
AdfLogger.LOGGER.logMessage(AdfLogger.FINEST,
"AcmeTagPanePeer.InitSubclass()");
AdfRichUIPeer.addComponentEventHandlers(this,
AdfUIInputEvent.CLICK_EVENT_TYPE);
}

AcmeTagPanePeer.prototype.HandleComponentClick = function(componentEvent)
{
AdfLogger.LOGGER.logMessage(AdfLogger.FINEST,
"AcmeTagPanePeer.HandleComponentClick(componentEvent)");
// if the left mouse button was pressed
if (componentEvent.isLeftButtonPressed())
{
// find component for the peer
var component = this.getComponent();
AdfAssert.assertPrototype(component, AcmeTagPane);
// find the native dom element for the click event
var target = componentEvent.getNativeEventTarget();
if (target && target.tagName == "A")
{
AdfLogger.LOGGER.logMessage(AdfLogger.FINEST, "File type element (A)
found: " + componentEvent.toString());
var tag = target.firstChild.nodeValue;
AdfAssert.assertString(tag);

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-19

Server-Side Development

AdfLogger.LOGGER.logMessage(AdfLogger.FINEST, "tag :" + tag);

// fire a select event
AcmeTagSelectEvent.queue(component, tag);
//cancel the native dom onclick to prevent browser actions based on the
//'#' hyperlink. The event is of type AdfIEUIInputEvent. This event
//will cancle the native dom event by calling
//AdfAgent.AGENT.preventDefault(Event)
componentEvent.cancel();
}
// event has dom node
}
}
// Register the peer with the component. This bit of script must
// be invoked after the AcmeTagPane and AcmeTagSelectEvent objects
// are created. This is enforced by the ordering of the script files
// in the
oracle.asfdemo.acme.faces.resource.AcmeResourceLoader.
AcmeScriptsResourceLoader.AdfPage.PAGE.getLookAndFeel()
.registerPeerConstructor("oracle.adfdemo.acme.TagPane",
"AcmeTagPanePeer");

30.3.4 How to Add a Custom Component to a JavaScript Library Feature Configuration

File
Now that you have created all the JavaScript files for the component, you can add the
component to the adf-js-features.xml file you created. Follow the procedures
documented in Section A.9.1, "How to Create a JavaScript Feature," omitting the steps
for creating the XML files, as you have already done so. Example 30–8 shows the
adf-js-features.xml file used for the tagPane component.

Example 30–8 adf-js-features.xml File for the tagPane Component

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<features xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/feature">
<feature>
<feature-name>AcmeTagPane</feature-name>
<feature-class>
oracle/adfdemo/acme/js/component/AcmeTagPane.js
</feature-class>
<feature-class>
oracle/adfdemo/acme/js/event/AcmeTagSelectEvent.js
</feature-class>
<feature-class>
oracle/adfdemo/acme/js/component/AcmeTagPanePeer.js
</feature-class>
</feature>
</features>

30.4 Server-Side Development

Server-side development involves creating Java classes for:
■ Event listener: This class listens for events and then invokes processing logic to
handle the event.
■ Events: You create an event in order to invoke the logic in the associated listener.

30-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Server-Side Development

■ Component: This class holds the properties that define behavior for the
component.
■ Resource bundle: This class holds text strings for the component.
■ Renderer: This class determines how the component will be displayed in the
client.
■ Resource loader: This class is required only if your component contains images
needed for skinning.
After you have created the classes, add the component class and the renderer class to
the faces-config.xml file. Then, complete the configuration files started in
Section 30.2, "Setting Up the Workspace and Starter Files."

30.4.1 How to Create a Class for an Event Listener

The ADF Faces event API requires an event listener interface to process the event. The
custom component has a dependency with the event and the event has a dependency
with an event listener interface. The Java import statements must reflect these
dependencies. You also must define the componentType for the component.

To create the EventListener class:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand General and select Java.

3. Select Java Interface and click OK.
4. In the Create Java Interface File dialog, do the following:
■ Name: Enter a listener name. For example, for the tagPane component, you
might enter TagSelectListener.
■ Package: Enter a name for the package. For example, for the tagPane
component, you might enter oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.event.
5. Open the Java file in the editor and add the following:
■ Have the listener extend the javax.faces.event.FacesListener
interface.
■ Add an import statement, and import the FacesListener class and any
other classes on which your event is dependent.
■ Add a method signature that will process the new event. Even though you
have not created the actual event, you can enter it now so that you will not
have to enter it later.
Example 30–9 shows the code for the tagPane event listener.

Example 30–9 tagPane Event Listener Java Code

package oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.event;

import javax.faces.event.AbortProcessingException;
import javax.faces.event.FacesListener;

public interface TagSelectListener

extends FacesListener
{
/**
* <p>Process the {@link TagSelectEvent}.</p>

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-21

Server-Side Development

* @param event fired on click of a tag link

* @throws AbortProcessingException error processing {@link TagSelectEvent}
*/
public void processTagSelect(TagSelectEvent event)
throws AbortProcessingException;
}

30.4.2 How to Create a Class for an Event

You must create a server-side event that will be the counter representation of the
JavaScript event created in Section 30.3.2, "How to Create a Javascript File for an
Event." Server-side JSF events are queued by the component during the Apply Request
Values lifecycle phase. Events propagate up to the UIViewRoot class after all the
phases but the Render Response phase. Queued events are broadcast to the associated
component.
The server-side Java component must raise the server-side event, so you must create
the event source file first to resolve the compilation dependency.

To create the server-side event class:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand General and select Java.

3. Select Java Class and click OK.
4. In the Create Java Class File dialog, do the following:
■ Name: Enter an event name. For example, for the tagPane component, you
might enter TagSelectEvent.
■ Package: Enter the package name. For example, for the tagPane component,
you might enter oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.event.
■ Extends: Enter a name for the class that the event class extends. This is usually
javax.faces.event.FacesEvent.
■ In the Optional Attributes section, select the following:.
– In the Access Modifiers section, select public.
– At the bottom, select Constructors from Superclass and Implement
Abstract Methods.
Example 30–10 shows the code for the event class.

Example 30–10 tagPane Event Java Code

package oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.event;
import javax.faces.component.UIComponent;
import javax.faces.event.FacesEvent;
import javax.faces.event.FacesListener;

public class TagSelectEvent

extends FacesEvent
{
/**
* <p>Tag selected on the client.</p>
*/
private String tag = null;
/**

30-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Server-Side Development

* <p>Overloade constructor passing the <code>source</code>

* {@link oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.component.TagPane} component and the
* selected <code>tag</code>.
* </p>
* @param source component firing the event
* @param tag selected tag link type
*/
public TagSelectEvent(UIComponent source,
String tag)
{
super(source);
this.tag = tag;
}

/**
* <p>Returns <code>true</code> if the <code>facesListener</code> is a
* {@link TagSelectListener}.</p>
*
* @param facesListener listener to be evaluated
* @return <code>true</code>
* if <code>facesListener</code> instancof {@link TagSelectListener}
*/
public boolean isAppropriateListener(FacesListener facesListener)
{
return (facesListener instanceof TagSelectListener);
}
/**
* <p>Delegates to the <code>processTagSelect</code>
* method of a <code>FacesListener</code>
* implementing the {@link TagSelectListener} interface.
*
* @param facesListener target listener realizing {@link TagSelectListener}
*/
public void processListener(FacesListener facesListener)
{
((TagSelectListener) facesListener).processTagSelect(this);
}
/**
* @return the tag that was selected triggering this event
*/
public String getTag()
{
return tag;
}
}

30.4.3 Creating the Component

A JSF component can be described as a state holder of properties. These properties
define behavior for rendering and how a component responds to user interface
actions. When you are developing the component class, you identify the types of the
needed properties. You also define the base component that it will extend from the
MyFaces Trinidad Framework. For example, the tagPane component extends the
UIXObject in MyFaces Trinidad.
Most components will have several properties that should be implemented. Some of
the properties are inherited from the base class, and some are required for the rich
client framework. Other properties are required because they are best practice. And
finally, some properties are specific to the functionality of the custom component.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-23

Server-Side Development

For example, the tagPane component has the properties shown in Table 30–4.

Table 30–4 Component Properties for the tagPane Custom Component

Origin Property Data Type Description
Inherited id String.class The identifier for a component.
rendererType String.class The logical identifier registered as a component
renderer.
rendered Boolean.class True or false flag that determines if the component is
rendered.
binding ValueExpression.cl A binding value expression to store a component
ass instance in a managed bean.
Rich Client clientCompone Boolean.class True or false flag that determines whether a client-side
Framework nt component will be generated.
clientListene ClientListenerSet. A binding expression that registers a client listener on
rs class a component.
clientAttribu Set.class A client attribute on a component. The attribute is
tes added both to the server-side JSF component as well as
the client-side equivalent.
Best inlineStyle String.class A CSS style applied to the root component’s class
Practice attribute.
styleClass String.class A CSS style added to the component’s class attribute.
visible Boolean.class True or false flag that returns the visibility of the
component. The visible property is not the same as the
rendered property. The visible attribute affects the CSS
style on the CSS root of the component.
partialTrigge String[].class The IDs of the components that should trigger a partial
rs page update.
Specific to tags Map.class The map of weighted tags. The key represents the tag
tagPane name and the value as a number.
Map<String.Number>.
orderBy String.class The order that the tags are rendered. The valid
enumerations are alpha and weight.
tagSelectList MethodExpression.c The newselectListener method binding expression
ener lass that expects a single parameter of type
oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.event.TagSelec
tEvent. This binding will be when the client-side
oracle.adfdemo.acme.js.event.AcmeTagSele
ctEvent.js event is queued from clicking one of the
tags.

ADF Faces and MyFaces Trinidad component libraries are defined differently from
other libraries. A JSF component has a collection called attributes that provides
access to component properties (using the Java simple beans specification) through a
MAP interface. The collection also holds value pairs that do not correspond to a
component's properties. This concept is called attribute transparency. The JSF runtimes
(both MyFaces Trinidad and the JSF reference implementation) implement this concept
using the Java reflection API.
My Faces Trinidad defines its own internal collection, which does not use the Java
reflection API. This difference means that it is more efficient than the base
implementation. The solution in MyFaces Trinidad collects more metadata about the
component properties. This metadata declares state properties, which allows the base
class to fully implement the StateHolder interface in a base class.

30-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Server-Side Development

My Faces Trinidad extends the javax.faces.component.UIComponent class with

the org.apache.trinidad.component.UIXComponent class, followed by a
complete component hierarchy. To ease code maintenance, the framework has a
strategy for generating code based on configuration files and templates.
This component strategy is a trade-off in terms of development. It requires more
coding for defining properties, but you will not have to code the two methods
(saveState, restoreState) for the StateHolder interface for each component.

Note: Do not have your custom component extend from any ADF
Faces implementation packages. These implementations are private
and might change.

30.4.4 How to Create a Class for a Component

Use JDeveloper to create a Java file for the component. Create a Type bean to hold
property information and define a PropertyKey for each property. Then, generate
accessors for the private attributes.

To create the component class:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand General and select Java.

3. Select Java Class. Click OK.
4. In the Create Java Class File dialog, do the following:
■ Name: Enter a component name. For example, for the tagPane component,
you might enter TagPane.
■ Package: Enter a name for the package. For example, for the tagPane
component, you might enter oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.component.
■ Extends: Enter a name for the class the component class extends. For example,
for the tagPane component, you would enter
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.component.UIXObject.
■ In the Optional Attributes section, select the following:.
– In the Access Modifiers section, select public.
– At the bottom, select Constructors from Superclass, and Implement
Abstract Methods.
5. In the source editor, create a Type bean that contains component property
information. This static class attribute shadows an attribute with the same name in
the superclass. The type attribute is defined once per component class. Through
the Type constructor, you pass a reference to the superclass’s Type bean, which
copies property information. For example, the tagPane class would contain the
following constructor:
static public final FacesBean.Type TYPE = new FacesBean.Type(UIXObject.TYPE);

6. For each property, define a static PropertyKey that is used to access the
properties state. Use the TYPE reference to register a new attribute. Specify the
property type using the class reference. The component data type should
correspond to the component property. There is another overload of the
registerKey method that allows you to specify state information. The default

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-25

Server-Side Development

assumes the property is persistent. Example 30–11 shows the PropertyKey

methods for the tagPane component.

Example 30–11 PropertyKey Definition

/**
* <p>Custom CSS applied to the style attribute of the root markup node.</p>
*/
static public final PropertyKey INLINE_STYLE_KEY =
TYPE.registerKey("inlineStyle", String.class);
/**
* <p>Custom CSS class to the class attribute of the root markup node.</p>
*/
static public final PropertyKey STYLE_CLASS_KEY =
TYPE.registerKey("styleClass", String.class);

7. Right-click in the editor and choose Generate Accessors. In the Generate

Accessors dialog, click Select All, ensure the Scope is set to Public, and click OK.
This allows JDeveloper to generate get and set methods for the private
attributes.
Then, remove the private attribute and replace with calls to
getProperty(PropertyKey) and getProperty(PropertyKey).
Example 30–12 shows the code after replacing the private attribute.

Example 30–12 Component Properties

public void setInlineStyle(String newinlineStyle)
{
// inlineStyle = newinlineStyle;
setProperty(INLINE_STYLE_KEY, newinlineStyle);
}
/**
* <p>CSS value applied to the root component's style attribute.</p>
*
* @return newinlineStyle CSS custom style text
*/
public String getInlineStyle()
{
// return inlineStyle;
return (String) getProperty(INLINE_STYLE_KEY);
}

8. You may need to override any methods to perform specific functions in the
component. For example, to allow your component to participate in partial page
rendering (PPR), you must override the getBeanType method, as shown in
Example 30–13.

Example 30–13
/**
* <p>Exposes the <code>FacesBean.Type</code> for this class through a protected
* method. This method is called but the <code>UIComponentBase</code> superclass
* to setup the components <code>ValueMap</code> which is the container for the
* <code>attributes</code> collection.</p>
*
* @return <code>TagPane.TYPE</code> static property
*/
@Override
protected FacesBean.Type getBeanType()

30-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Server-Side Development

{
return TYPE;
}

Refer to the ADF Faces JavaDoc for more information about the class your
component extends, and the methods you may need to override.
For the tagPane component, the component must act on the event fired from the
client component. A reference to the source component is passed as a parameter to
the event’s constructor.
For the tagPane component, the broadcast method checks if the event passed
in using the formal parameter is a TagSelectEvent. If it is, the broadcast
method invokes the method expression held by the tagSelectListener
attribute.
Most events have an immediate boolean property that specifies the lifecycle
phase in which the event should be invoked. If the immediate attribute is true,
the event is processed in the Apply Values phase; otherwise, the event is processed
in the Invoke Application phase. For more information, see Chapter 4, "Using the
JSF Lifecycle with ADF Faces."
Example 30–14 shows the overwritten broadcast method for the tagPane
component.

Example 30–14 The broadcast Method in the tagPane Component

/**
* @param facesEvent faces event
* @throws AbortProcessingException exception during processing
*/
@Override
public void broadcast(FacesEvent facesEvent)
throws AbortProcessingException
{
// notify the bound TagSelectListener
if (facesEvent instanceof TagSelectEvent)
{
TagSelectEvent event = (TagSelectEvent) facesEvent;
// utility method found in UIXComponentBase for invoking method event
// expressions
broadcastToMethodExpression(event, getTagSelectListener());
}
super.broadcast(facesEvent);
}

30.4.5 How to Add the Component to the faces-config.xml File

After creating the component class, register the component by adding it to the
/META-INF/faces-config.xml file. By defining the component in the faces
configuration file packaged with the JAR project, you ensure that component is
automatically recognized by the JSF runtime during web application startup.
To register the component, enter the component type, which is a logical name used by
the applications factory to instantiate an instance of the component. For example, the
tagPane component’s type is oracle.adfdemo.acme.TagPane. You also need to
add the fully qualified class path for the component, for example
oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.component.TagPane.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-27

Server-Side Development

To register a custom component:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click the faces-config.xml file.

2. Click the Overview tab and click the Components navigation tab.
3. Click the Add icon and enter the type and class for the component.
4. Optionally, add any attributes, properties, or facets.
Example 30–15 shows the tagPane component defined within a faces-config.xml
file.

Example 30–15 tagPane Component Added to the faces-config.xml File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<faces-config version="1.2" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee">
<application>
</application>

<component>
<component-type>oracle.adfdemo.acme.TagPane</component-type>
<component-class>oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.component.TagPane
</component-class>
</component>

30.4.6 How to Create a Class for a Resource Bundle

Resource bundles are used to store information for the component, such as text for
labels and messages, as well as translated text used if the application allows locale
switching. Skins also use resource bundles to hold text for components. Because your
custom component must use at least the simple skin, you must create at least a
resource bundle for that skin. For a custom component, create a Java file for the
resource bundle. For more information about resource bundle classes, see Section 20.3,
"Defining Skin Style Properties."

Tip: You can also use a properties file for your resources.

To create the resource bundle class:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.
2. In the New Gallery, expand General and select Java.
3. Select Java Class and click OK.
4. In the Create Java Class File dialog, do the following:
■ Name: Enter a resource bundle name. The name should reflect the skin with
which it will be used. For example, for the sample component, you might
enter AcmeSimpleDesktopBundle.
■ Package: Enter a name for the package. For example, for the sample
component, you might enter oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.resource.
■ Extends: For resource bundles, you must enter
java.util.ListResourceBundle.
■ In the Optional Attributes section, select the following:.
– In the Access Modifiers section, select public.
– At the bottom, select Constructors from Superclass and Implement
Abstract Methods.

30-28 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Server-Side Development

5. Add any keys and define the text as needed. For more information about creating
resource bundles for skins, see Section 20.3.1, "How to Apply Skins to Text."
Example 30–16 shows the resource bundle code for the tagPane component.

Example 30–16 tagPane Resource Bundle Java Code

package oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.resource;
import java.util.ListResourceBundle;
/**
* <p>Holds properties used by the components bundled in the jar project.
* This bundle is part of the trinidad component skin that is configured
* in the "/META-INF/trinidad-skins.xml" file. Component Renderers
* will use the <code>RenderingContext</code> to lookup a key by calling
* the <code>getTranslatedString(key)</code> method.</p>
*/
public class AcmeSimpleDesktopBundle
extends ListResourceBundle
{
/**
* <p>Returns a two dimensional object array that represents a resource bundle
. * The first
* element of each pair is the key and the second the value.</p>
*
* @return an array of value pairs
*/
protected Object[][] getContents()
{
return new Object[][]
{
{"AcmeTagPane_tag_title","Tag Weight: {0}"}
};
}
}

6. To register the resource bundle for the simple desktop skin and any other desired
skins, double-click the /META-INF/trinidad-skins.xml file to open it and do the
following:
a. In the Structure window, select skin-addition.
b. In the Property Inspector, enter a skin ID. For the simple skin ID, enter
simple.desktop.
c. In the Structure window, right-click skin-addition and choose Insert inside
skin-addition > bundle-name.
d. In the Property Inspector, enter the fully qualified name of the resource bundle
just created.

Note: JDeveloper adds translation-source and bundle-name

elements as comments. Instead of declaratively creating another
bundle-name element, you can manually enter the bundle-name
value in the generated element, and then remove the comment tag.

Example 30–17 shows the code for registering the tagPane resource bundle with
the simple skin (you will add the style-sheet-name element value in a later
step).

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-29

Server-Side Development

Example 30–17 Registering a Resource Bundle with a Skin

<skins xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/skin">
<skin-addition>
<skin-id>simple.desktop</skin-id>
<style-sheet-name></style-sheet-name>
<bundle-name>
oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.resource.AcmeSimpleDesktopBundle
</bundle-name>
</skin-addition>
</skins>

30.4.7 How to Create a Class for a Renderer

ADF Faces components delegate the functionality of the component to a component
class, and when the consuming application uses JSPs, the display of the component to
a renderer. By default, all tags for ADF Faces combine the associated component class
with an HTML renderer, and are part of the HTML render kit. HTML render kits are
included with ADF Faces for display on both desktop and PDA devices.
Renderers are qualified in a render kit by family and renderer type. The family is a
general categorization for a component, and should be the same as the family defined
in the superclass. You do not have to override the getFamily() method in the
component because the component will have the method through inheritance.

To create the renderer class:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.

2. In the New Gallery, expand General then select Java.

3. Select Java Class and click OK.
4. In the Create Java Class File dialog, do the following:
■ Name: Enter a renderer name. For example, for the tagPane component, you
might enter TagPaneRenderer.
■ Package: Enter a name for the package. For example, for the tagPane
component, you might enter oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.render.
■ Extends: Enter oracle.adf.view.rich.render.RichRenderer.
■ In the Optional Attributes section, select the following:.
– In the Access Modifiers section, select public.
– At the bottom, select Constructors from Superclass and Implement
Abstract Methods.
5. Add any needed functionality. For example, the skinning functionality provides an
API you can use to get the CSS style properties for a given CSS selector during
rendering of the component. This API is useful if you need to do conditional
rendering based on what styling is set. For more information, see
RenderingContext#getStyles and Styles#getSelectorStyleMap in the
MyFaces Trinidad Javadoc at
http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/trinidad-1_
2/trinidad-api/apidocs/index.html.

30-30 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Server-Side Development

30.4.8 How to Add the Renderer to the faces-config.xml File

After you create the renderer, register it using the faces-config.xml configuration
file. If you want the custom component to work with the other ADF Faces
components, you must use the same render kit ID that ADF Faces components use.

Tip: The most granular level that JSF allows for defining a render kit
is at the view root.

To register the render kit and renderer:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click the faces-config.xml file to open it
in the editor.
2. Select the Overview tab and then select the Render Kits navigation tab.
3. Click the Add icon for the Render Kits and enter oracle.adf.rich for the
render kit ID.
4. Register your renderer by clicking the Add icon for Renderers and doing the
following:
■ Family: Enter the class that the component extends. For example, for the
tagPane component, you would enter
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.Object.
■ Type: Enter the type for the component. For example, for the tagPane
component, you would enter oracle.adfdemo.acme.TagPane. This must
match the renderer type.
■ Class: Enter the fully qualified class path to the renderer created in
Section 30.4.7, "How to Create a Class for a Renderer." For example, for the
tagPane component, you would enter
oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.render.TagPaneRenderer.
Example 30–18 shows the registration of the tagPane component render kit and
renderer.

Example 30–18 tagPane Renderer Added to the faces-config.xml File

<render-kit>
<render-kit-id>oracle.adf.rich</render-kit-id>
<renderer>
<component-family>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.Object</component-family>
<renderer-type>oracle.adfdemo.acme.TagPane</renderer-type>
<renderer-class>oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.render.TagPaneRenderer
</renderer-class>
</renderer>
</render-kit>

30.4.9 How to Create JSP Tag Properties

To use the component on a JSP page, you create a custom tag that will instantiate the
custom component. The JSP tag has nothing to do with rendering because the
component’s renderer will actually perform that task. In JSF 1.1, the JSP tag would
invoke rendering on the component after creating and adding it to the component tree.
This caused problems because the non-JSF/JSP tags were writing to the same response
writer. The timing of the interleaving did not work out for components that rendered
their own child components.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-31

Server-Side Development

Note: (An application that uses Facelets uses a handler to instantiate

the component. For more information, see Section 30.2.8, "How to Add
a Facelets Tag Library Configuration File")

In JSF 1.2, the target for Java EE 5 (Servlet 2.5, JSP 2.1), most of the JSP problems were
fixed. The JSF/JSP component acts as a component factory that is responsible only for
creating components. This means that the rendering response phase is divided into
two steps. First the component tree is created, and then the tree is rendered, instead of
rendering the components as the component tree was being built. This functionality
was made possible by insisting that the entire view be represented by JSF components.
The non-JSF/JSP generates markup that implicitly becomes a JSF verbatim component.
As a result of changing these mechanics, in JSF 1.2, custom JSP tags extend the
javax.faces.webapp.UIComponentELTag class. The encodeBegin,
encodeChildren, and encodeEnd methods in the JSP tag have been deprecated.
These methods once made corresponding calls to the component. Because the view
root in JSF 1.2 does the rendering, all the work can be done in the doStartTag and
doEndTag methods. MyFaces Trinidad has its own version of this base class that you
will use. The org.apache.myfaces.Trinidad.webapp.UIComponentELTag
hooks into the components property bag and makes coding JSPs simpler.
The tag class includes the creation of the component’s properties. You must choose tag
properties carefully. There are some properties that you can ignore for tag
implementation, but they may be required as TLD attributes.
The following three attributes are implemented by superclasses and shared by many
components through Java inheritance:
■ id
■ binding
■ rendered
Do not implement the id attribute because the id attribute is implemented by the
superclass javax.faces.webapp.UIComponentTagBase. The superclass
javax.faces.webapp.UIComponentELTag implements the other two attributes,
binding and rendered. Therefore, you do not need to add these to your tag class.

To add a JSP tag:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.
2. In the New Gallery, expand General then select Java.
3. Select Java Class and click OK.
4. In the Create Java Class File dialog, do the following:
■ Name: Enter a tag name. For example, for the tagPane component, you
might enter TagPaneTag.
■ Package: Enter a name for the package. For example, for the tagPane
component, you might enter oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.taglib.
■ Class: Enter
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.UIXComponentELTag.
■ In the Optional Attributes section, select the following:.
– In the Access Modifiers section, select public.

30-32 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Server-Side Development

– At the bottom, select Constructors from Superclass and Implement

Abstract Methods.
5. In the source editor, add all the attributes to the file.
Example 30–19 shows the code for the attributes for the TagPaneTag class.

Example 30–19 Attributes in the TagPaneTag Class

public class TagPaneTag
extends UIXComponentELTag
{
private ValueExpression _partialTriggers = null;
private ValueExpression _visible = null;
private ValueExpression _inlineStyle = null;
private ValueExpression _styleClass = null;
private ValueExpression _tags = null;
private ValueExpression _orderBy = null;
private MethodExpression _tagSelectListener = null;

6. To declaratively generate the accessor methods for the attributes, right-click the
file in the source editor and choose Generate Accessors.
7. In the Generate Accessors dialog, click Select All, set the Scope to public and
click OK.
8. Add the render type and component type to the class. The component type will be
used by the superclass to instantiate the component using the application's factory
method, createComponent(componentType).
Example 30–20 shows the code for the TagPaneTag class, where both the
component type and render type are oracle.adfdemo.acme.TagPane.

Example 30–20 Component Type and Render Type for the TagPaneTag Class
public String getComponentType()
{
return COMPONENT_TYPE;
}
public String getRendererType()
{
return RENDERER_TYPE;
}

/**
* <p>This component's type, <code>oracle.adfdemo.acme.TagPane</code></p>
*/
static public final String COMPONENT_TYPE =
"oracle.adfdemo.acme.TagPane";
/**
* <p>Logical name given to the registered renderer for this component.</p>
*/
static public final String RENDERER_TYPE = "oracle.adfdemo.acme.TagPane";

9. Override the setProperties method from the superclass that has a single
formal parameter of type FacesBean. This is a MyFaces Trinidad version on the
base UIComponentELTag, but it is passed the components state holder instead of
the component reference. The job of the setProperties method is to push the
JSP tag attribute values to the component.
Example 30–21 shows the overridden method for the tagPaneTag class.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-33

Server-Side Development

Example 30–21 Overridden setProperties Method in the TagPaneTag Class

@Override
protected void setProperties(FacesBean facesBean) {
super.setProperties(facesBean);

setStringArrayProperty(facesBean, TagPane.PARTIAL_TRIGGERS_KEY,
_partialTriggers);
setProperty(facesBean, TagPane.VISIBLE_KEY, _visible);
setProperty(facesBean, TagPane.INLINE_STYLE_KEY, _inlineStyle);
setProperty(facesBean, TagPane.STYLE_CLASS_KEY, _styleClass);
setProperty(facesBean, TagPane.TAGS_KEY, _tags);
setProperty(facesBean, TagPane.ORDER_BY_KEY, _orderBy);
facesBean.setProperty(TagPane.TAG_SELECT_LISTENER_KEY,
_tagSelectListener);

30.4.10 How to Configure the Tag Library Descriptor

A tag library descriptor (TLD) provides more information on the Java Class to the JSP
compilation engine and IDE tools (TLDs are not used in applications that use Facelets).

Before you begin:

Associate the tag library with a URI, assign a version, and give it a name. You should
have already performed this step when you created the tag library stub file in
Section 30.2.6, "How to Add a JavaServer Pages Tag Library Descriptor File."

To configure the TLD:

1. Open the skeleton TLD file.

2. In the Component Palette, drag and drop a tag element.

3. In the Insert tag dialog, do the following:
■ name: Enter the name of the component. For example, for the tagPane
component, you might enter tagPane.
■ body-content: Enter JSP.
■ tag-class: Click the ellipses button and navigate to the components tag class
file.
4. Define each of the attributes as follows. For each attribute:
a. In the Structure window, right-click the tag element and choose Insert inside
tag > attribute.
b. In the Insert Attribute dialog, enter a value for the name. This should be the
same as the name given in the tag class.
c. In the Structure window, select the attribute and in the Property Inspector, set
any attribute values.
There are three types of elements to define for each attribute. The <id>
element is a simple string. Additionally attributes can be either deferred-value
or deferred-method attributes. These allow late (deferred) evaluation of the
expression. Now that JSP and JSF share the same EL engine, the compiled EL
can be passed directly to the component.
Example 30–22 shows the TLD for the tagPane component.

30-34 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Server-Side Development

Example 30–22 tagPane acme.tld Tag Library Descriptor Code

<?xml version = '1.0' encoding = 'windows-1252'?>
<taglib 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-jsptaglibrary_2_1.xsd"
version="2.1" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee">
<description>Acme Corporation JSF components</description>
<display-name>acme</display-name>
<tlib-version>1.0</tlib-version>
<short-name>acme</short-name>
<uri>http://oracle.adfdemo.acme</uri>
<tag>
<description>
</description>
<name>tagPane</name>
<tag-class>oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.taglib.TagPaneTag</tag-class>
<body-content>JSP</body-content>
<attribute>
<name>id</name>
<rtexprvalue>true</rtexprvalue>
</attribute>
<attribute>
<name>rendered</name>
<deferred-value>
<type>boolean</type>
</deferred-value>
</attribute>
<attribute>
<name>tagSelectListener</name>
<deferred-method>
<method-signature>void
</method-signature>
myMethod(oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.event.TagSelectEvent)
</deferred-method>
</attribute>
<attribute>
<name>visible</name>
<deferred-value>
<type>boolean</type>
</deferred-value>
</attribute>
<attribute>
<name>partialTriggers</name>
<deferred-value>
</deferred-value>
</attribute>
<attribute>
<name>inlineStyle</name>
<deferred-value/>
</attribute>
<attribute>
<name>inlineClass</name>
<deferred-value/>
</attribute>
<attribute>
<name>tags</name>
<deferred-value/>
</attribute>
<attribute>
<name>binding</name>

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-35

Server-Side Development

<deferred-value/>
</attribute>
<attribute>
<name>orderBy</name>
<deferred-value/>
</attribute>
</tag>
</taglib>

30.4.11 How to Create a Resource Loader

A resource loader is required only if the custom component has image files needed for
the component's skinning. The images files are packaged into the JAR project so that
the consumer of the component library will need to include the JAR into the class path
of their web project and add a few entries into their web deployment descriptor file
(web.xml). The rich client framework uses a resource servlet to deliver images. You
need to register this servlet in the web.xml file and then create the resource loader
class. A component library requires a resource loader that is auto-loaded by the
resource servlet. You create a URL pattern folder mapping for the servlet, which will
be used to locate and identify resources within your custom component library.

To create a resource loader class:

1. In the Application Navigator, right-click the project and select New.
2. In the New Gallery, expand General and select Java.
3. Select Java Class and click OK.
4. In the Create Java Class File dialog, do the following:
■ Name: Enter a resource loader name. For example, for the tagPane
component, you might enter AcmeResourceLoader.
■ Package: Enter a name for the package. For example, for the tagPane
component, you might enter oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.resources.
■ Extends: Enter a name for the class that the tag extends. For example, for the
tagPane component, you would enter
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.resource.RegexResourceLoader.
■ In the Optional Attributes section, select the following:.
– In the Access Modifiers section, select public.
– At the bottom, select Constructors from Superclass and Implement
Abstract Methods.
5. In the source editor, register regular expressions that map to more specific resource
loaders. For example, you might create an expression that maps image resources
located under an images directory.
Example 30–23 shows the expression for the tagPane component that maps the
/acme/images/ directory located relative to the /META-INF folder of the
custom component JAR. As a result of the registration, the custom component
images should be located under /META-INF/acme/images.

Example 30–23 Resource Loader for the tagPane Component

public class AcmeResourceLoader
extends RegexResourceLoader
{

30-36 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Server-Side Development

public AcmeResourceLoader()
{
// any resource in "/acme/" with the following suffixes will be
// loaded from the base folder of "META-INF".
// The servlet pattern match "/acme/*" should exist under "META-INF".
// For example URL : context-root/acme/images/type1.gif
// map to: META-INF/acme/images/type1.gif
register("(/.*\\.(jpg|gif|png|jpeg))",
new ClassLoaderResourceLoader("META-INF"));

6. Register the Libraries Resource Loader by opening the

/META-INF/servlet/resources/name.resources file and adding the fully
qualified name of the resource loader class bound to the URI pattern.
The MyFaces Trinidad ResourceServlet uses the servlet context to scan across
all JAR files within the class path of the web application. The servlet looks at its
own URI mappings in the web deployment descriptor to formulate the location of
this resource file. This file must contain the fully qualified name of the Java class
bound to the URI pattern. During startup, the ResourceServlet will locate and
use this file in a manner similar to how FacesServlet locates and uses the
faces-config.xml files.
For the tagPane component, the acme.resources file would contain this entry
for the composite resource loader:
oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.resource.AcmeResourceLoader

30.4.12 How to Create a MyFaces Trinidad Cascading Style Sheet

A skin is a style sheet based on the CSS 3.0 syntax specified in one place for an entire
application. Instead of inserting a style sheet on each page, you use one or more skins
for the entire application. Every component automatically uses the styles as described
by the skin. No design time code changes are required.
Oracle ADF Faces provides three skins for use in your applications:
■ blafplus-rich: Defines the default styles for ADF Faces components. This skin
extends the blafplus-medium skin.
■ blafplus-medium: Provides a modest amount of styling. This style extends the
simple skin.
■ simple: Contains only minimal formatting.
Skins provide more options than setting standard CSS styles and layouts. The skin's
CSS file is processed by the skin framework to extract skin properties and icons and
register them with the Skin object. Style sheet rules include a style selector, which
identifies an element, and a set of style properties, which describes the appearance of
the components.
All ADF Faces components use skins. The default skin is the simple skin. Because your
custom components will be used in conjunction with other ADF Faces components,
you add style selectors to an existing ADF Faces skin. Because the rich and medium
skins inherit styles from the simple skin, you can simply add your selectors to the
simple skin, and it will be available in all skins. However, you may want to style the
selector differently for each skin. You set these styles in the CSS file you created. This
file will be merged with other CSS styles in the application in which the component is
used.
The text used in a skin is defined in a resource bundle. Create the text by creating a
custom resource bundle and declaring the text you want to display. After you create

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-37

Server-Side Development

your custom resource bundle, you register it with the skin. Coupling resource bundles
with your CSS provides a method to make your components support multiple locales.
The /META-INF/trinidad-skins.xml file you created is used to register your CSS
file and your resource bundle with an ADF Faces skin.

To create styles for your component:

1. Open the CSS file you created in Section 30.2.4, "How to Add a Cascading Style
Sheet."
2. Define a root style selector for the component. This style will be associated with
the <DIV> element that establishes the component.
3. Add other style selectors as needed. Example 30–24 shows the CSS file for the
tagPane component.

Example 30–24 CSS File for the tagPane component

acme|tagPane - root element
acme|tagPane::content - container for the links
acme|tagPane::tag - tag hyperlink

For more information about creating CSS for components to be used by skins, see
Section 20.3, "Defining Skin Style Properties."
4. Create any needed resource bundle for your component.
5. To register your CSS with an ADF Faces skin, open the
/META-INF/trinidad-skins.xml file.
6. In the Structure window, select the skin-addition element, and in the Property
Inspector, do the following:
■ skin-id: Enter the ADF Faces skin to which you want to add the custom
component selectors. You must register the selectors at least to the
simple.desktop skin in order for them to be compatible with ADF Faces
components.

Note: If there is a possibility that the component will be used in an

Oracle WebCenter application, then you must also register the
selectors with the simple.portlet skin. Skins are also available for
PDAs (for example, simple.pda). For more information, see
Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins."

■ style-sheet-name: Use the dropdown menu to choose Edit, and navigate to

the CSS file you created.
7. If you created a resource bundle, add the fully qualified path to the bundle as the
value for the <bundle-name> element.
Example 30–25 show the code for the tagPane component.

Example 30–25 tagPane trinidad-skins.xml Code

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<skins xmlns="http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/skin">
<skin-addition>
<skin-id>simple.desktop</skin-id>
<style-sheet-name>acme/styles/acme-simple-desktop.css</style-sheet-name>
<bundle-name>oracle.adfdemo.acme.faces.resource.AcmeSimpleDesktopBundle

30-38 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding the Custom Component to an Application

</bundle-name>
</skin-addition>
</skins>

8. Add an image folder for the images used for the custom component. This folder
should be under the META-INF directory. Place any images used by the custom
component into this folder.
For tagPane, the image folder is /META-INF/acme/images.

30.5 Deploying a Component Library

After creating the custom component library, you must create a deployable artifact that
can be used by a web application. Before you can build a Java archive (JAR) file,
update the project's deployment profile by adding the many resources you created.

To create the JAR file for deployment:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click the project to open the Project
Properties dialog.
2. In the left pane, select Compiler.
3. On the right, ensure that all file types to be deployed are listed in the Copy File
Types to Output Directory text field.

Note: Some file types, such as .css and .js are not included by
default. You will need to add these.

4. In the left pane, select Deployment.

5. On the right, under Deployment Profiles, select the ADF Library JAR file, and
click Edit.
6. In the left pane, select JAR Options.
7. Verify the default directory path or enter a new path to store your ADF Library
JAR file. Ensure that Include Manifest File is selected, and click OK.
8. To deploy, right-click the project and select Deploy >Project_name from the
context menu. By default, the JAR file will be deployed to a deployment directory
within the project directory.

30.6 Adding the Custom Component to an Application

After the component has been created and you have created an ADF Library, you can
proceed to import it and use it in another application. However, before using it in an
application under development, you should use it in a test application to ensure it
works as expected. To do so, import the custom library into your test application. For
procedures, see the "Adding ADF Library Components into Projects" section of the
Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework.
After you add the library, you configure the web deployment descriptor to add a
resource servlet mapping. When you use the component and run your test application,
you may find you need to debug the component. Therefore, it helps to have logging
and assertions enabled for the project.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-39

Adding the Custom Component to an Application

Tip: Importing a library into an application allows the custom

component to appear in JDeveloper’s Component Palette.

30.6.1 How to Configure the Web Deployment Descriptor

You configured the component resource loader to assume a servlet resource mapping
(for example, for the tagPane component, the mapping was acme). Therefore, you
must add the expected resource servlet mappings to the consuming application’s
web.xml file.
By default, MyFaces Trinidad skinning compresses the CSS classes when it normalizes
CSS 3 into CSS 2. Turn off this compression while you are debugging the component.
For a production deployment, toggle off this setting.

To configure the web.xml file:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click the web.xml file to open it.

2. In the overview editor, select the Servlets navigation tab, and click the Add icon to
add a new servlet.
3. In the Servlets table, do the following:
■ Name: Enter resources.
■ Servlet Class: Enter
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.ResourceServlet.
4. Below the table, click the Servlet Mappings tab, then click the Add icon.
5. Enter a URI prefix. Resources beginning with this prefix will be handled by the
servlet. For example, for the tagPane component, you might enter the prefix
/acme/*.
6. To disable compression of the style sheet:
a. Select Application.
b. Click the Add icon for Context Initialization Parameters.
c. For Name, enter org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.DISABLE_CONTENT_
COMPRESSION and for Value enter true.

30.6.2 How to Enable JavaScript Logging and Assertions

JavaScript debugging can be a difficult task. To help debug this dynamic language
with no type checking, the rich client JavaScript libraries provide a logging mechanism
similar to Java logging. There is also an assertion strategy to make the client scripts
more type safe. Both of these features are turned on using configuration parameters in
the web.xml file. The logging and assertion routines are browser specific. The client
JavaScript libraries will support Gecko, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari versions of
browser agents. For more information, see Section A.2.3.4, "Resource Debug Mode."

To turn on logging and assertion:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click the web.xml file.
2. In the overview editor, click the Application navigation tab.
3. On the Application page, click the Add icon for the Context Initialization
Parameters.
4. Add the following parameter to turn on debugging:

30-40 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding the Custom Component to an Application

■ Name: org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.resource.DEBUG
■ Value: true
This setting prevents MyFaces Trinidad from setting the cache headers for
resources like JavaScript. It prevents the browser from caching resources.
5. Add the following parameter to set the debug level for client side JavaScript.
■ Name: oracle.adf.view.rich.LOGGER_LEVEL
■ Value: ALL
The valid values are OFF, SEVERE, WARNING, INFO, CONFIG, FINE, FINER,
FINEST and ALL. The default is OFF.
6. Add the following parameter to turn on client-side script assertions:
■ Name: oracle.adf.view.rich.ASSERT_ENABLED
■ Value: true
This setting works together with logging. Toggling this switch to on will make
debug information available to the browser. The assertions and logging are
displayed differently, depending on the browser. For Internet Explorer, a child
browser window will appear beside the active window. For FireFox with the Fire
Bug plugin, the debug information will be available through the Fire Bug console.

30.6.3 How to Add a Custom Component to JSF Pages

To add the custom component to a JSF page:

1. Open the jspx page in the source editor.

2. Add the TLD namespace to the root tag.

For example, for the tagPane component, because the tag library's URI is:
http://adf-richclient-demo-acme, you would add:
xmlns:acme="http://oracle.adfdemo.acme"

3. Use the Component Palette to add the component to the page. Use the Property
Inspector to set any attributes.

Tip: If you are developing the application outside of JDeveloper,

then on the page, use TLD short name and the component name. Also,
add any values for attributes. For example, for the tagPane, you
might add:
<acme:tagPane>
<visible="true">
<orderBy="alpha">
<tagSelectionListener=#(tagBean.onTagSelect)
</tagPane>

30.6.4 What You May Need to Know About Using the tagPane Custom Component
If you wish to create the tagPane component as described in this chapter, and use it
in an application, you will need to use backing beans to bind the custom component to
the application components.
Example 30–26 shows the backing bean code that is used to bind the tagPane
component to the File Explorer application.

Creating Custom ADF Faces Components 30-41

Adding the Custom Component to an Application

Example 30–26 Backing Bean Logic for the tagPane Custom Component
public Map<String, Number> getTags()
{
if (_tags == null)
{
_tags = new TreeMap<String, Number>();
List<FileItem> nameToFileItems = feBean.getDataFactory().getFileItemList();
_doDeepTagCollection(_tags, nameToFileItems);
}
return _tags;
}
public void onTagSelect(TagSelectEvent event)
{
_selectedTag = event.getTag();
CriteriaFileItemFilter criteria = new CriteriaFileItemFilter(_selectedTag);
List<FileItem> nameToFileItems = _feBean.getDataFactory().getFileItemList();
if (_selectedTagFileItemList == null) {
_selectedTagFileItemList = new ArrayList<FileItem>();
else {
_selectedTagFileItemList.clear();
}
_doDeepTagSearch(criteria, _selectedTagFileItemList, nameToFileItems);
_selectedTagResultsTableModel = new SortableModel(_selectedTagFileItemList);

30-42 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 31
31 Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages

This chapter describes how changes to certain UI components that the user makes at
runtime can persist for the duration of the session.
Alternatively, you can configure your application so that changes persist in a
permanent data repository. Doing so means that the changes remain whenever the
user reenters the application. To allow this permanent persistence, you need to use the
Oracle Metadata Service (MDS), which is part of the full Fusion technology stack.
Using MDS and the full Fusion stack also provides the following additional
persistence functionality:
■ Persisting additional attribute values
■ Persisting search criteria
■ Persisting the results of drag and drop gestures in the UI
■ Reordering components on a page at runtime
■ Adding and removing components and facets from the page at runtime
For information and procedures for using Oracle MDS, see the "Allowing User
Customizations at Runtime" chapter of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's
Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 31.1, "Introduction to User Customization"
■ Section 31.2, "Implementing Session Change Persistence"

31.1 Introduction to User Customization

Many ADF Faces components allow users to change the display of the component at
runtime. For example, a user can change the location of the splitter in the
panelSplitter component or change whether or not a panel displays detail
contents. By default, these changes live only as long as the page request. If the user
leaves the page and then returns, the component displays in the manner it is
configured by default. However, you can configure your application so that the
changes persist through the length of the user’s session. This way the changes will stay
in place until the user leaves the application.
Table 31–1 shows the changes by component that provide default personalization
capabilities:

Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages 31-1

Introduction to User Customization

Table 31–1 Implicitly Persisted Attribute Values

Component Attribute Affect at Runtime
panelBox disclosed Users can display or hide content
using an icon in the header. Detail
showDetail
content will either display or be
showDetailHeader hidden, based on the last action of
the user.
showDetailItem
showDetailItem (used in flex The heights of multiple
a panelAccordion showDetailItem components are
component) determined by their relative value
of the flex attribute. The
showDetailItem components
with larger flex values will be taller
than those with smaller values.
Users can change these
proportions, and the new values
will be persisted.
showDetailItem (used in inflexibleHeight Users can change the size of a
a panelAccordion panel, and that size will remain.
component)
panelSplitter collapsed Users can collapse either side of the
splitter. The collapsed state will
remain as last configured by the
user.
panelSplitter splitterPosition The position of the splitter in the
panel will remain where last
moved by user.
richTextEditor editMode The editor will display using the
mode (either WYSIWYG or source)
last selected by the user.
calendar activeDay The day considered active in the
current display will remain the
active day.
calendar view The view (day, week, month, or list)
that currently displays activities
will be retained.
panelWindow contentHeight Users can change the height of a
panelWindow or dialog popup
dialog
component, and that height will
remain.
panelWindow contentWidth Users can change the width of a
panelWindow or dialog popup
dialog
component, and that width will
remain.
activeCommandToolbar windowHeight When users change the
contentHeight attribute value of
Button
a panelWindow or dialog
commandButton component, any associated
windowHeight value on a
commandImageLink
command component is also
commandLink changed and will remain.
commandMenuItem
commandNavigationItem
commandToolbarButton

31-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to User Customization

Table 31–1 (Cont.) Implicitly Persisted Attribute Values

Component Attribute Affect at Runtime
activeCommandToolbar windowWidth When users change the
contentWidth attribute value of a
Button
panelWindow or dialog
commandButton component, any associated
windowWidth value on a
commandImageLink
command component is also
commandLink changed and will remain.
commandMenuItem
commandNavigationItem
commandToolbarButton
column displayIndex ADF Faces columns can be
reordered by the user at runtime.
The displayIndex attribute
determines the order of the
columns. (By default, the value is
set to -1 for each column, which
means the columns will display in
the same order as the data source).
When a user moves a column, the
value on each column is changed to
reflect the new order. These new
values will be persisted.
column frozen ADF Faces columns can be frozen
so that they will not scroll. When a
column’s frozen attribute is set to
true, all columns before that
column (based on the
displayIndex value) will not
scroll. When you use the table with
a panelCollection component,
you can configure the table so that
a button appears that allows the
user to freeze a column. For more
information, see Section 10.2.4,
"How to Display a Table on a
Page."
column noWrap The content of the column will
either wrap or not. You need to
create code that allows the user to
change this attribute value. For
example, you might create a
context menu that allows a user to
toggle the value from true to
false.
column selected The selected column is based on the
column last selected by the user.
column visible The column will either be visible or
not, based on the last action of the
user. You will need to write code
that allows the user to change this
attribute value. For example, you
might create a context menu that
allows a user to toggle the value
from true to false.
column width The width of the column will
remain the same size as the user
last set it.

Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages 31-3

Implementing Session Change Persistence

Table 31–1 (Cont.) Implicitly Persisted Attribute Values

Component Attribute Affect at Runtime
table filterVisible ADF Faces tables can contain a
component that allows users to
filter the table rows by an attribute
value. For a table that is configured
to use a filter, the filter will either
be visible or not, based on the last
action of the user. You will need to
write code that allows the user to
change this attribute value. For
example, you might create a button
that allows a user to toggle the
value from true to false.

31.2 Implementing Session Change Persistence

In order for the application to persist user changes to the session, you must configure
your project to enable customizations.

31.2.1 How to Implement Session Change Persistence

You configure your application to enable customizations in the web.xml file.

To implement session change persistence:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click the web project.

2. In the Project Properties dialog, select the ADF View node.

3. On the ADF View page, activate the Enable User Customizations checkbox, select
the For Duration of Session radio button, and click OK.

31.2.2 What Happens When You Configure Your Application to Use Change Persistence
When you elect to save changes to the session, JDeveloper adds the CHANGE_
PERSISTENCE context parameter to the web.xml file, and sets the value to session.
This context parameter registers the ChangeManager class that will be used to handle
persistence. Example 31–1 shows the context parameter in the web.xml file.

Example 31–1 Context Parameter in web.xml Used for Change Persistence

<context-param>
<param-name>org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CHANGE_PERSISTENCE</param-name>
<param-value>session</param-value>
</context-param>

31.2.3 What Happens at Runtime

When an application is configured to persist changes to the session, any changes are
recorded in a session variable in a data structure that is indexed according to the view
ID. Every time the page is requested, in the subsequent view or restore view phase, the
tag action classes look up all changes for a given component and apply the changes in
the same order as they were added. This means that the changes registered through
the session will be applied only during subsequent requests in the same session.

31-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Implementing Session Change Persistence

31.2.4 What You May Need to Know About Using Change Persistence on Templates
and Regions
When you use session persistence, changes are recorded and restored on components
against the viewId for the given session. As a result, when the change is applied on a
component that belongs to a fragment or page template, it is applicable only in scope
of the page that uses the fragment or template. It does not span all pages that consume
the fragment or template.
For example, say your project has the pageOne.jspx and pageTwo.jspx JSF pages,
and they both contain the fragment defined in the region.jsff page fragment,
which in turn contains a showDetail component. When the pageOne.jspx JSF
page is rendered and the disclosed attribute on the showDetail component
changes, the implicit attribute change is recorded and will be applied only for the
pageOne.jspx page. If the user navigates to the pageTwo.jspx page, no attribute
change is applied.

Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages 31-5

Implementing Session Change Persistence

31-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 32
Adding Drag and Drop Functionality
32

This chapter describes how to add drag and drop functionality to your pages, which
allows users to drag the values of attributes or objects from one component to another,
or allows users to drag and drop components.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 32.1, "Introduction to Drag and Drop Functionality"
■ Section 32.2, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Attributes"
■ Section 32.3, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Objects"
■ Section 32.4, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Collections"
■ Section 32.5, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Components"
■ Section 32.6, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality Into and Out of a
panelDashboard Component"
■ Section 32.7, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality to a Calendar"
■ Section 32.8, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Graphs"
■ Section 32.9, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Gantt Charts"

32.1 Introduction to Drag and Drop Functionality

The ADF Faces framework provides the ability to drag and drop items from one place
to another on a page. For example, in the File Explorer application, you can drag a file
from the Table tab and drop it into another directory folder, as shown in Figure 32–1.

Figure 32–1 Drag and Drop in the File Explorer Application

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-1

Introduction to Drag and Drop Functionality

In this scenario, you are actually dragging an object from one collection (Folder0) and
dropping it into another collection (Folder3). This is one of the many supported drag
and drop scenarios. ADF Faces supports the following scenarios:
■ Dragging an attribute value from one component instance and copying it to
another. For example, a user might be able to drag an outputText component
onto an inputText component, which would result in the value of the text
attribute of the outputText component becoming the value of the text attribute
on the inputText component.
■ Dragging the value of one object and dropping it so that it becomes the value of
another object. For example, a user might be able to drag an outputText
component onto another outputText component, which would result in an array
of String objects populating the text attribute of the second outputText
component.
■ Dragging an object from one collection and dropping it into another, as shown in
Figure 32–1.
■ Dragging a component from one place on a page to another. For example, a user
might be able to drag an existing panelBox component to a new place within a
panelGrid component.
■ Dragging an activity in a calendar from one start time or date to another.
■ Dragging a component into or out of a panelDashboard component.
■ Dragging a marker in a DVT scatter or bubble graph to change its value.
■ Dragging an object from a DVT Gantt chart to another component.
When users click on a source and begin to drag, the browser displays the element
being dragged as a ghost element attached to the mouse pointer. Once the ghost
element hovers over a valid target, the target component shows some feedback (for
example, it becomes highlighted). If the user drags the ghost element over an invalid
target, the cursor changes to indicate that the target is not valid.
When dragging attribute values, the user can only copy the value to the target. For all
other drag and drop scenarios, on the drop, the element can be copied (copy and
paste), moved (cut and paste), or linked (copy and paste as a link, for example,
copying text and pasting the text as an actual URL).
The component that will be dragged and that contains the value is called the source.
The component that will accept the drop is called the target. You use a specific tag as a
child to the source and target components that tells the framework to allow the drop.
Table 32–1 shows the different drag and drop scenarios, the valid source(s) and
target(s), and the associated tags to be used for that scenario.

Table 32–1 Drag and Drop Scenarios

Scenario Source Target
Dragging an attribute value An attribute value on a An attribute value on
component another component, as
long as it is the same object
type
Tag: Tag:
attributeDragSource attributeDropTarget
Dragging an object from one Any component Any component
component to another
Tag: Tag:
attributeDragSource dropTarget

32-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Introduction to Drag and Drop Functionality

Table 32–1 (Cont.) Drag and Drop Scenarios

Scenario Source Target
Dragging an item from one collection table, tree, and table, tree, and
and dropping it into another treeTable components treeTable components
Tag: Tag:
dragSource collectionDropTarget
Dragging a component from one Any component Any component
container to another
Tag: Tag:
componentDragSource dropTarget
Dragging a calendar activity from calendarActivity calendar component
one start time or date to another object
Tag: Tag:
None needed calendarDropTarget
Dragging a panelBox component panelBox component panelDashboard
into a panelDashboard component. component
Tag: Tag:
componentDragSource dataFlavor
Dragging a panelBox component panelBox component in Any component
out of a panelDashboard a panelDashboard
component. component
Tag: Tag:
componentDragSource dropTarget
Dragging a marker in a DVT graph graph component graph component
Tag: Tag:
dragSource dropTarget
Dragging an object from a DVT Gantt Gantt chart Any component
chart and dropping it on another
component Tag: Tag:
dragSource dropTarget

You can restrict the type of the object that can be dropped on a target by adding a
dataFlavor tag. This helps when the target can accept only one object type, but the
source may be one of a number of different types. The dataFlavor tag also allows
you to set multiple types so that the target can accept objects from more than one
source or from a source that may contain more than one type. Both the target and the
source must contain the dataFlavor tag, and the values must be the same in order
for the drop to be successful.

Note: Drag and drop functionality is not supported between

windows. Any drag that extends past the window boundaries will be
canceled. Drag and drop functionality is supported between popup
windows and the base page for the popup.
Also note that drag and drop functionality is not accessible; that is,
there are no keyboard strokes that can be used to execute a drag and
drop. Therefore, if your application requires all functionality to be
accessible, you must provide this logic. For example, your page might
also present users with a method for selecting objects and a Move
button or menu item that allows them to move those selected objects.

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-3

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Attributes

32.2 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Attributes

You add drag and drop functionality for attributes by defining one component’s
attribute to be a target and another component’s attribute to be a source.

Note: The target and source attribute values must both be the same
data type.

The following procedure assumes you have your target and source components
already on the JSF page.

To add drag and drop functionality for attributes:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop an Attribute
Drop Target as a child to the target component.
2. In the Insert Attribute Drop Target dialog, use the Attribute dropdown to select
the attribute that will be populated by the drag and drop action. This dropdown
list shows all valid attributes on the target component.
3. From the Component Palette, drag and drop an Attribute Drag Source as a child
to the component that can provide a value for the target.
4. In the Insert Attribute Drag Source dialog, use the Attribute dropdown to select
the attribute whose value will be used to populate the target attribute. This
dropdown list shows all valid attributes on the source component.

32.3 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Objects

When you want users to be able to drag things other than attribute values, or you
want users to be able to do something other than copy attributes from one component
to another, you use the dropTarget tag. Additionally, use the DataFlavor object to
determine the valid Java types of sources for the drop target. Because there may be
several drop targets and drag sources, you can further restrict valid combinations by
using discriminant values. You also must implement any required functionality in
response to the drag and drop action.
For example, suppose you have an outputText component and you want the user to
be able to drag the outputText component to a panelBox component and have that
component display an array, as shown in Figure 32–6.

Figure 32–2 Dragging and Dropping an Array Object

The outputText component contains an attributeDragSource tag. However,

because you want to drag an array (and not just the String value of the attribute),
you must use the dropTarget tag instead of the attributeDropTarget tag. Also

32-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Objects

use a dataFlavor tag to ensure that only an array object will be accepted on the
target.
You can also define a discriminant value for the dataFlavor tag. This is helpful if
you have two targets and two sources, all with the same object type. By creating a
discriminant value, you can be sure that each target will accept only valid sources. For
example, suppose you have two targets that both accept an EMPLOYEE object,
TargetA and TargetB. Suppose you also have two sources, both of which are
EMPLOYEE objects. By setting a discriminant value on TargetA with a value of
alpha, only the EMPLOYEE source that provides the discriminant value of alpha
will be accepted.
You also must implement a listener for the drop event. The object of the drop event is
called the transferable, which contains the payload of the drop. Your listener must
access the transferable object, and from there, use the DataFlavor object to
verify that the object can be dropped. You then use the drop event to get the target
component and update the property with the dropped object. More details about this
listener are covered in the procedure in Section 32.9.1, "How to Add Drag and Drop
Functionality for a DVT Component".

32.3.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality for a Single Object
To add drag and drop functionality, first add tags to a component that define it as a
target for a drag and drop action. Then implement the event handler method that will
handle the logic for the drag and drop action. Last, you define the sources for the drag
and drop.
This procedure assumes the source and target components already exist on the page.

To add drag and drop functionality:

1. In the JSF page that contains the target, add a dropTarget tag as a child to the
target component by dragging and dropping a Drop Target tag (located in the
Operations panel) from the Component Palette.
2. In the Insert Drop Target dialog, enter an expression that evaluates to a method on
a managed bean that will handle the event (you will create this code in Step 5).

Tip: You can also intercept the drop on the client by populating the
clientDropListener attribute. For more information, see
Section 32.3.3, "What You May Need to Know About Using the
ClientDropListener".

3. In the Insert Data Flavor dialog, enter the class for the object that can be dropped
onto the target, for example java.lang.Object. This selection will be used to
create a dataFlavor tag, which determines the type of object that can be dropped
onto the target, for example a String or a Date. Multiple dataFlavor tags are
allowed under a single drop target to allow the drop target to accept any of those
types.

Tip: To specify a typed array in a DataFlavor tag, add brackets ([])

to the class name, for example, java.lang.Object[].

4. In the Structure window, select the dropTarget tag. In the Property inspector,
select a value for the actions attribute. This defines what actions are supported
by the drop target. Valid values can be COPY (copy and paste), MOVE (cut and
paste), and LINK (copy and paste as a link), for example:.

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-5

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Objects

MOVE COPY

If no actions are specified, the default is COPY.

Example 32–1 shows the code for a dropTarget component inserted into an
panelBox component that takes an array object as a drop source. Note that
because an action was not defined, the only allowed action will be COPY.

Example 32–1 JSP Code for a dropTarget tag

<af:panelBox text="PanelBox2">
<f:facet name="toolbar"/>
<af:dropTarget dropListener="#{myBean.handleDrop}">
<af:dataFlavor flavorClass="java.lang.Object[]"/>
</af:dropTarget>
</af:panelBox>

5. In the managed bean referenced in the EL expression created in Step 2, create the
event handler method (using the same name as in the EL expression) that will
handle the drag and drop functionality.
This method must take a DropEvent event as a parameter and returns a
DnDAction object, which is the action that will be performed when the source is
dropped. Valid return values are DnDAction.COPY, DnDAction.MOVE, and
DnDAction.LINK, and were set when you defined the target attribute in Step 5.
This method should check the DropEvent event to determine whether or not it
will accept the drop. If the method accepts the drop, it should perform the drop
and return the DnDAction object it performed. Otherwise, it should return
DnDAction.NONE to indicate that the drop was rejected.
The method must also check for the presence for each dataFlavor object in
preference order.

Tip: If your target has more than one defined dataFlavor object,
then you can use the
Transferable.getSuitableTransferData() method, which
returns a List of TransferData objects available in the
Transferable object in order, from highest suitability to lowest.

The DataFlavor object defines the type of data being dropped, for example
java.lang.Object, and must be as defined in the DataFlavor tag on the JSP,
as created in Step 3.

Tip: To specify a typed array in a DataFlavor object, add brackets

([]) to the class name, for example, java.lang.Object[].
DataFlavor objects support polymorphism so that if the drop target
accepts java.util.List, and the transferable object contains a
java.util.ArrayList, the drop will succeed. Likewise, this
functionality supports automatic conversion between Arrays and
Lists.
If the drag and drop framework doesn't know how to represent a
server DataFlavor object on the client component, the drop target
will be configured to allow all drops to succeed on the client.

Example 32–2 shows a private method that the event handler method calls (the
event handler itself does nothing but call this method; it is needed because this
method also needs a String parameter that will become the value of the

32-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Objects

outputText component in the panelBox component). This method copies an

array object from the event payload and assigns it to the component that initiated
the event.

Example 32–2 Event Handler Code for a dropListener

public DnDAction handleDrop(DropEvent dropEvent)
{
Transferable dropTransferable = dropEvent.getTransferable();

Object[] drinks = dropTransferable.getData(DataFlavor.OBJECT_ARRAY_FLAVOR);

if (drinks != null)
{
UIComponent dropComponent = dropEvent.getDropComponent();

// Update the specified property of the drop component with the Object[] dropped
dropComponent.getAttributes().put("value", Arrays.toString(drinks));

return DnDAction.COPY;
}
else
{
return DnDAction.NONE;
}
}

6. Add a clientAttribute tag as a child to the source component by dragging a

Client Attribute (located in the Operations panel), from the Component Palette.
This tag is used to define the payload of the source for the event. Define the
following for the clientAttribute tag in the Property Inspector:
■ Name: Enter any name for the payload.
■ Value: Enter an EL expression that evaluates to the value of the payload. In the
drinks example, this would resolve to the Array that holds the different drink
values.
7. Drag and drop an Attribute Drag Source (located in the Operations panel), from
the palette as another child to the source component. In the Insert Attribute Drag
Source dialog, use the dropdown list to select the name defined for the
clientAttribute tag created in the previous step. Doing so makes the value of
the clientAttribute tag the source’s payload. Example 32–3 shows the code
for an outputText component that is the source of the drag and drop operation.

Example 32–3 JSP Code for a Drag Source

<af:outputText value="Drag to see drinks">
<af:clientAttribute name="drinks" value="#{myBean.drinks}"/>
<af:attributeDragSource attribute="drinks"/>
</af:outputText>

32.3.2 What Happens at Runtime

When performing a drag and drop operation, users can press keys on the keyboard
(called keyboard modifiers) to select the action they wish to take on a drag and drop.
The drag and drop framework supports the following keyboard modifiers:
■ SHIFT: MOVE

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-7

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Objects

■ CTRL: COPY
■ CTRL+SHIFT: LINK
When a user executes the drag and drop operation, the drop target first determines
that it can accept the drag source’s data flavor value. Next, if the source and target are
collections, the framework intersects the actions allowed between the drag source and
drop target and executes the action (one of COPY, MOVE, or LINK) in that order from
the intersection. When there is only one valid action, that action is executed. When
there is more than one possible action and the user's keyboard modifier matches that
choice, then that is the one that is executed. If either no keyboard modifier is used, or
the keyboard modifier used does not match an allowed action, then the framework
chooses COPY, MOVE, LINK in that order, from the set of allowed actions.
For example, suppose you have a drop target that supports COPY and MOVE. First
the drop target determines that drag source is a valid data flavor. Next, it determines
which action to perform when the user performs the drop. In this example, the set is
COPY and MOVE. If the user holds down the SHIFT key while dragging (the
keyboard modifier for MOVE), the framework would choose the MOVE action. If the
user is doing anything other than holding down the SHIFT key when dragging, the
action will be COPY because COPY is the default when no modifier key is chosen (it is
first in the order). If the user is pressing the CTRL key, that modifier matches COPY, so
COPY would be performed. If the user was pressing the CTRL+SHIFT keys, the action
would still be COPY because that modifier matches the LINK action which is not in
the intersected set of allowed actions.

Note: Because information is lost during the roundtrip between Java

and JavaScript, the data in the drop may not be the type that you
expect. For example, all numeric types appear as double objects,
char objects appear as String objects, List and Array objects
appear as List objects, and most other objects appear as Map objects.
For more information, see Section 5.4.3, "What You May Need to
Know About Marshalling and Unmarshalling Data.".

32.3.3 What You May Need to Know About Using the ClientDropListener
The dropTarget tag contains the clientDropListner attribute where you can
reference JavaScript that will handle the drop event on the client. The client handler
should not take any parameters and returns an AdfDnDContext action. For example,
if the method returns AdfDnDContext.ACTION_NONE the drop operation will be
canceled and no server call will be made; if the method returns
AdfDnDContext.ACTION_COPY, a copy operation will be allowed and a server call
will be made which will execute the dropListener method if it exists.
For example, suppose you want to log a message when the drop event is invoked. You
might create a client handler to handle logging that message and then returning the
correct action so that the server listener is invoked. Example 32–4 shows a client
handler that uses the logger to print a message.

Example 32–4 clientDropListener Handler

<script>
/**
* Shows a message.
*/
function showMessage()
{

32-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Collections

AdfLogger.LOGGER.logMessage(AdfLogger.ALL, "clientDropListener handler,

copying...");
return AdfDnDContext.ACTION_COPY;
}
</script>

32.4 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Collections

You.use the collectionDropTarget and dragSource tags to add drag and drop
functionality that allows users to drag an item from one collection (for example, a row
from a table), and drop it into another collection component such, as a tree. For
example, in the File Explorer application, users can drag a file from the table that
displays directory contents to any folder in the directory tree. Figure 32–3 shows the
File0.doc object being dragged from the table displaying the contents of the
Folder0 directory to the Folder3 directory. Once the drop is complete, the object
will become part of the collection that makes up Folder3.

Figure 32–3 Drag and Drop Functionality in the File Explorer Application

As with dragging and dropping single objects, you can have a drop on a collection
cause a copy, move, or copy and paste as a link (or a combination of the three), and use
dataFlavor tags to limit what a target will accept.
When the target source is a collection and it supports the move operation, you may
also want to also implement a method for the dragDropEndListener attribute,
which is referenced from the source component and is used to clean up the collection
after the drag and drop operation. For more information, see Section 32.4.2, "What You
May Need to Know About the dragDropEndListener".

32.4.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality for Collections

To add drag and drop functionality for collections, instead of using the dropTarget
tag, you use the collectionDropTarget tag. You then must implement the event
handler method that will handle the logic for the drag and drop action. Next, you
define the source for the drag and drop operation using the dragSource tag.
This procedure assumes you already have the source and target components on the
page.

To add drag and drop functionality:

1. Add a collectionDropTarget tag as a child to the target collection component
by dragging a Collection Drop Target from the Component Palette.

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-9

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Collections

2. In the Insert Collection Drop Target dialog, enter an expression for the
dropListener attribute that evaluates to a method on a managed bean that will
handle the event (you will create this code in Step 4).
3. In the Property Inspector, set the following:
■ actions: Select the actions that can be performed on the source during the
drag and drop operation.
If no actions are specified, the default is COPY.
■ modelName: Define the model for the collection.
The value of the modelName attribute is a String object used to identify the
drag source for compatibility purposes. The value of this attribute must match
the value of the discriminant attribute of the dragSource tag you will use
in a Step 6. In other words, this is an arbitrary name and works when the
target and the source share the same modelName value or discriminant value.
4. In the managed bean inserted into the EL expression in Step 2, implement the
handler for the drop event.
This method must take a DropEvent event as a parameter and return a
DnDAction. This method should use the DropEvent to get the Transferable
object and from there get the RowKeySet (the rows that were selected for the
drag). Using the CollectionModel obtained through the Transferable object,
the actual rowData can be obtained to complete the drop. The method should
then check the DropEvent to determine whether it will accept the drop or not. If
the method accepts the drop, it should perform the drop and return the
DnDAction it performed -- DnDAction.COPY, DnDAction.MOVE or
DnDAction.LINK, otherwise it should return DnDAction.NONE to indicate that
the drop was rejected.
Example 32–5 shows the event handler method on the CollectionDnd.java
managed bean used in the collectionDropTarget demo that handles the copy
of the row between two tables.

Example 32–5 Event Handler Code for a dropListener for a Collection

public DnDAction handleDrop(DropEvent dropEvent)
{
Transferable transferable = dropEvent.getTransferable();

// The data in the transferable is the row key for the dragged component.
DataFlavor<RowKeySet> rowKeySetFlavor =
DataFlavor.getDataFlavor(RowKeySet.class, "DnDDemoModel");
RowKeySet rowKeySet = transferable.getData(rowKeySetFlavor);
if (rowKeySet != null)
{
// Get the model for the dragged component.
CollectionModel dragModel = transferable.getData(CollectionModel.class);
if (dragModel != null)
{
// Set the row key for this model using the row key from the transferable.
Object currKey = rowKeySet.iterator().next();
dragModel.setRowKey(currKey);

// And now get the actual data from the dragged model.
// Note this won't work in a region.
DnDDemoData dnDDemoData = (DnDDemoData)dragModel.getRowData();

// Put the dragged data into the target model directly.

32-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Components

// Note that if you wanted validation/business rules on the drop,

// this would be different.
getTargetValues().add(dnDDemoData);
}
return dropEvent.getProposedAction();
}
else
{
return DnDAction.NONE;
}
}

5. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop a Drag
Source as a child to the source component.
6. With the dragSource tag selected, in the Property Inspector set the allowed
Actions and any needed discriminant, as configured for the target.

32.4.2 What You May Need to Know About the dragDropEndListener

There may be cases when after a drop event, you have to clean up the source
collection. For example, if the drag caused a move, you may have to clean up the
source component so that the moved item is no longer part of the collection.
The dragSource tag contains the dragDropEndListener attribute that allows you
to register a handler that contains logic for after the drag drop operation ends.
For example, if you allow a drag and drop to move an object, you may have to
physically remove the object from the source component once you know the drop
succeeded. Example 32–6 shows a handler for a dragDropEndListener. attribute

Example 32–6 Handler for dragDropEndListener

public void endListener(DropEvent dropEvent)
{
Transferable transferable = dropEvent.getTransferable();

// The data in the transferrable is the row key for the dragged component.
DataFlavor<RowKeySet> rowKeySetFlavor =
DataFlavor.getDataFlavor(RowKeySet.class, "DnDDemoModel");
RowKeySet rowKeySet = transferable.getData(rowKeySetFlavor);
if (rowKeySet != null)
{
Integer currKey = (Integer)rowKeySet.iterator().next();

// Remove the dragged dta from the source model directly.

Object removed = getSource2Values().remove(currKey.intValue());
}
// Need to add the drag source table so it gets redrawn.

AdfFacesContext.getCurrentInstance().addPartialTarget(dropEvent.getDragComponent()
);

32.5 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Components

You can allow components to be moved from one parent to another, or you can allow
child components of a parent component to be reordered. For example, Figure 32–4

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-11

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Components

shows the darker panelBox component being moved from being the first child
component of the panelGrid component to the last.

Figure 32–4 Drag and Drop Functionality Between Components

Note: If you want to move components into or out of a

panelDashboard component, then you need to use procedures specific
to that component. For more information, see Section 32.6, "Adding
Drag and Drop Functionality Into and Out of a panelDashboard
Component."

32.5.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality for Components

Adding drag and drop functionality for components is similar for objects. However,
instead of using the attributeDragSource tag, use the componentDragSource
tag. As with dragging and dropping objects or collections, you also must implement a
dropListener handler.

To add drag and drop functionality:

1. From the Operations panel of the Component Palette, drag and drop a Drop
Target as a child to the target component.
2. In the Insert Drop Target dialog, enter an expression that evaluates to a method on
a managed bean that will handle the event (you will create this code in Step 4).
3. With the dropTarget tag still selected, in the Property Inspector, select a valid
action set for the action attribute.

32-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for Components

4. In the managed bean referenced in the EL expression created in Step 2 for the
dropListener attribute, create the event handler method (using the same name
as in the EL expression) that will handle the drag and drop functionality.
This method must take a DropEvent event as a parameter and return a
DnDAction, which is the action that will be performed when the source is
dropped. Valid return values are DnDAction.COPY, DnDAction.MOVE, and
DnDAction.LINK, and were set when you defined the target attribute in Step 2.
This handler method should use the DropEvent event to get the transferable
object and its data and then complete the move or copy, and reorder the
components as needed. Once the method completes the drop, it should return the
DnDAction it performed. Otherwise, it should return DnDAction.NONE to
indicate that the drop was rejected.
Example 32–7 shows the handleComponentMove event handler on the
DemoDropHandler.java managed bean used by the componentDragSource
JSF page in the demo application.

Example 32–7 Event Handler Code for a dropListener That Handles a Component Move
public DnDAction handleComponentMove(DropEvent dropEvent)
{
Transferable dropTransferable = dropEvent.getTransferable();
UIComponent movedComponent = dropTransferable.getData
(DataFlavor.UICOMPONENT_FLAVOR);
if ((movedComponent != null) &&
DnDAction.MOVE.equals(dropEvent.getProposedAction()))
{
UIComponent dropComponent = dropEvent.getDropComponent();
UIComponent dropParent = dropComponent.getParent();
UIComponent movedParent = movedComponent.getParent();
UIComponent rootParent;
ComponentChange change;

// Build the new list of IDs, placing the moved component after the dropped
//component.
String movedLayoutId = movedParent.getId();
String dropLayoutId = dropComponent.getId();

List<String> reorderedIdList = new

ArrayList<String>(dropParent.getChildCount());

for (UIComponent currChild : dropParent.getChildren())

{
String currId = currChild.getId();

if (!currId.equals(movedLayoutId))
{
reorderedIdList.add(currId);
if (currId.equals(dropLayoutId))
{
reorderedIdList.add(movedLayoutId);
}
}
}

change = new ReorderChildrenComponentChange(reorderedIdList);

rootParent = dropParent;
// apply the change to the component tree immediately

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-13

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality Into and Out of a panelDashboard Component

// change.changeComponent(rootParent);

// redraw the shared parent

AdfFacesContext.getCurrentInstance().addPartialTarget(rootParent);

return DnDAction.MOVE;
}
else
{
return DnDAction.NONE;
}
}

5. Add a componentDragSource tag to the source component by dragging and

dropping a Component Drag Source from the Component Palette as a child of the
source component.

32.6 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality Into and Out of a

panelDashboard Component
By default the panelDashboard component supports dragging and dropping
components within itself. That is, you can reorder components in a panelDashboard
component without needing to implement a listener or use additional tags. However,
if you want to be able to drag a component into a panelDashboard component, or to
drag a component out of a panelDashboard component, you do need to use tags
and implement a listener. Because you would be dragging and dropping a component,
you use the componentDragSource tag when dragging into the panelDashboard.
However, because the panelDashboard already supports being a drop target, you do
not need to use the dropTarget tag. Instead, you need to use a dataFlavor tag with
a discriminant. The tag and discriminant notify the framework that the drop is from an
external component.
Dragging a component out of a panelDashboard is mostly the same as dragging and
dropping any other component. You use a dropTarget tag for the target and the
componentDragSource tag for the source. However, you must also use the
dataFlavor tag and a discriminant.

32.6.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality Into a panelDashboard Component
Because the panelDashboard component has built-in drag and drop functionality
used to reorder panelBox components within the dashboard, you cannot use a
dropTarget tag, but you do need to use a dataFlavor tag with a discriminant and
implement the dropListener. In that implementation, you need to handle the
reorder of the components.

Before you begin:

1. Create a panelDashboard component. For more information, see Section 8.7,
"Arranging Contents in a Dashboard."
2. Create another component outside of the panelDashboard that contains
panelBox components. For more information about panelBox components, see
Section 8.8.3, "How to Use the panelBox Component."

To add drag and drop functionality into a panelDashboard component:

1. In the Structure window, select the panelDashboard component that is to be the
target component.

32-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality Into and Out of a panelDashboard Component

2. In the Property Inspector, for DropListener, enter an expression that evaluates to a

method on a managed bean that will handle the drop event (you will create this
code in Step 6).
3. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag a Data Flavor and
drop it as a child to the panelDashboard component.
4. In the Insert Data Flavor dialog, enter
javax.faces.component.UIComponent.
5. In the Property Inspector, set Discriminant to a unique name that will identify the
components allowed to be dragged into the panelDashboard component, for
example, dragIntoDashboard.
6. In the managed bean referenced in the EL expression created in Step 2 for the
dropListener attribute, create the event handler method (using the same name
as in the EL expression) that will handle the drag and drop functionality.
This method must take a DropEvent event as a parameter and return a
DnDAction of NONE, because the panelDashboard handles the positioning of its
child components.
This handler method should use the
dropEvent.getTransferable().getData(DataFlavor.UICOMPONENT_
FLAVOR) to get the transferable object and its data. Once the method
completes the drop, you can use the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.change.ReorderChildrenComponent
Change method to preserve the new ordering of the children and the
dropEvent.getDropSiteIndex() method to get the location at which the user
wants the dragged component. You can also use the
dashboardComponent.prepareOptimizedEncodingOfInsertedChild()
method to animate the drop of the component.
Example 32–8 shows the move event handler and helper methods on the
DemoDashboardBean.java managed bean used by the dashboard JSF page in
the ADF Faces demo application.

Example 32–8 Handler for DropListener on a panelDashboard Component

public DnDAction move(DropEvent e)
{
UIComponent dropComponent = e.getDropComponent();
UIComponent movedComponent = e.getTransferable().getData(DataFlavor.UICOMPONENT_FLAVOR);
UIComponent movedParent = movedComponent.getParent();
// Ensure that we are handling the re-order of a direct child of the panelDashboard:
if (movedParent.equals(dropComponent) && dropComponent.equals(_dashboard))
{
// Move the already rendered child and redraw the side bar since the insert indexes have
// changed:
_moveDashboardChild(e.getDropSiteIndex(), movedComponent.getId());
}
else
{
// This isn't a re-order but rather the user dropped a minimized side bar item into the
// dashboard, in which case that item should be restored at the specified drop location.
String panelKey = _getAssociatedPanelKey(movedComponent);
if (panelKey != null)
{
UIComponent panelBoxToShow = _dashboard.findComponent(panelKey);
// Make this panelBox rendered:
panelBoxToShow.setRendered(true);

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-15

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality Into and Out of a panelDashboard Component

int insertIndex = e.getDropSiteIndex();

// Move the already rendered child and redraw the side bar since the insert indexes have
// changed and because the side bar minimized states are out of date:
_moveDashboardChild(insertIndex, panelKey);

// Let the dashboard know that only the one child should be encoded during the render phase:
_dashboard.prepareOptimizedEncodingOfInsertedChild(
FacesContext.getCurrentInstance(),
insertIndex);
}
}

return DnDAction.NONE; // the client is already updated, so no need to redraw it again

}

private void _moveDashboardChild(int dropIndex, String movedId)

{
// Build the new list of IDs, placing the moved component at the drop index.
List<String> reorderedIdList = new ArrayList<String>(_dashboard.getChildCount());
int index = 0;
boolean added = false;

for (UIComponent currChild : _dashboard.getChildren())

{
if (currChild.isRendered())
{
if (index == dropIndex)
{
reorderedIdList.add(movedId);
added = true;
}

String currId = currChild.getId();

if (currId.equals(movedId) && index < dropIndex)
{
// component is moved later, need to shift the index by 1
dropIndex++;
}

if (!currId.equals(movedId))
{
reorderedIdList.add(currId);
}
index++;
}
}

if (!added)
{
// Added to the very end:
reorderedIdList.add(movedId);
}

// Apply the change to the component tree immediately:

ComponentChange change = new ReorderChildrenComponentChange(reorderedIdList);
change.changeComponent(_dashboard);

// Add the side bar as a partial target since we need to redraw the state of the side bar items

32-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality Into and Out of a panelDashboard Component

// since their insert indexes are changed and possibly because the side bar minimized states
// are out of date:
RequestContext rc = RequestContext.getCurrentInstance();
rc.addPartialTarget(_sideBarContainer);
}
7. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag a Component Drag
Source and drop it as a child to the panelBox component that will be the source
component.
8. In the Property Inspector, set Discriminant to be the same value as entered for the
Discriminant on the panelDashboard in Step 5.

32.6.2 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality Out of a panelDashboard Component
Implementing drag and drop functionality out of a panelDashboard component is
similar to standard drag and drop functionality for other components, except that you
must use a dataFlavor tag with a discriminant.

How to add drag and drop functionality out of a panelDashboard component:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop a Drop
Target as a child to the target component.
2. In the Insert Drop Target dialog, enter an expression that evaluates to a method on
a managed bean that will handle the event (you will create this code in Step 5) and
enter javax.faces.component.UIComponent as the FlavorClass.
3. With the dropTarget tag still selected, in the Property Inspector, select MOVE as
the value action attribute.
4. In the Structure window, select the dataFlavor tag and in the Property Inspector,
set Discriminant to a unique name that will identify the panelBox components
allowed to be dragged into this component, for example, dragOutOfDashboard.
5. In the managed bean referenced in the EL expression created in Step 2 for the
dropListener attribute, create the event handler method (using the same name
as in the EL expression) that will handle the drag and drop functionality.
This handler method should use the DropEvent event to get the transferable
object and its data and then complete the move and reorder the components as
needed. Once the method completes the drop, it should return a DnDAction of
NONE.
You can use the
dashboardComponent.prepareOptimizedEncodingOfDeletedChild()
method to animate the removal of the panelBox component.
Example 32–9 shows the handleSideBarDrop event handler and helper
methods on the DemoDashboardBean.java managed bean used by the
dashboard JSF page in the demo application.

Example 32–9 Event Handler Code for a dropListener That Handles a panelBox Move Out of a panelDash-
board Component
public DnDAction handleSideBarDrop(DropEvent e)
{
UIComponent movedComponent = e.getTransferable().getData(DataFlavor.UICOMPONENT_FLAVOR);
UIComponent movedParent = movedComponent.getParent();

// Ensure that the drag source is one of the items from the dashboard:
if (movedParent.equals(_dashboard))

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-17

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality Into and Out of a panelDashboard Component

{
_minimize(movedComponent);
}

return DnDAction.NONE; // the client is already updated, so no need to redraw it again

}

private void _minimize(UIComponent panelBoxToMinimize)

{
// Make this panelBox non-rendered:
panelBoxToMinimize.setRendered(false);

// If the dashboard is showing, let's perform an optimized render so the whole dashboard
doesn't
// have to be re-encoded.
// If the dashboard is hidden (because the panelBox is maximized), we will not do an optimized
// encode since we need to draw the whole thing.
if (_maximizedPanelKey == null)
{
int deleteIndex = 0;
List<UIComponent> children = _dashboard.getChildren();
for (UIComponent child : children)
{
if (child.equals(panelBoxToMinimize))
{
_dashboard.prepareOptimizedEncodingOfDeletedChild(
FacesContext.getCurrentInstance(),
deleteIndex);
break;
}

if (child.isRendered())
{
// Only count rendered children since that's all that the panelDashboard can see:
deleteIndex++;
}
}
}

RequestContext rc = RequestContext.getCurrentInstance();
if (_maximizedPanelKey != null)
{
// Exit maximized mode:
_maximizedPanelKey = null;

_switcher.setFacetName("restored");
rc.addPartialTarget(_switcher);
}

// Redraw the side bar so that we can update the colors of the opened items:
rc.addPartialTarget(_sideBarContainer);
}

6. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop a
Component Drag Source as a child of the source panelBox component within
the panelDashboard component.
7. In the Property Inspector, set Discriminant to be the same value as entered for the
Discriminant on the dataFlavor tag for the target component in Step 4.

32-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality to a Calendar

32.7 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality to a Calendar

The calendar includes functionality that allows users to drag the handle of an activity
to change the end time. However, if you want users to be able to drag and drop an
activity to a different start time, or even a different day, then you implement drag and
drop functionality. Drag and drop allows you to not only move an activity, but also to
copy one.

32.7.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality to a Calendar

You add drag and drop functionality by using the calendarDropTarget tag. Unlike
dragging and dropping a collection, there is no need for a source tag; the target (that is
the object to which the activity is being moved, in this case, the calendar) is responsible
for moving the activities. If the source (that is, the item to be moved or copied), is an
activity within the calendar, then you use only the calendarDropTarget tag. The tag
expects the transferable to be a calendarActivity object.
However, you can also drag and drop objects from outside the calendar. When you
want to enable this, use dataFlavor tags configured to allow the source object
(which will be something other than a calendarActivity object) to be dropped.
For more information about implementing drag and drop functionality in general, see
Chapter 32, "Adding Drag and Drop Functionality."

To add drag and drop functionality to a calendar:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop a Calendar
Drop Target as a child to the calendar component.
2. In the Insert Calendar Drop Target dialog, enter an expression for the
dropListener attribute that evaluates to a method on a managed bean that will
handle the event (you will create this code in Step 4).
3. In the Property Inspector, set Actions. This value determines whether the activity
(or other source) can be moved, copied, or copied as a link, or any combination of
the three. If no action is specified, the default is COPY.
4. In the managed bean inserted into the EL expression in Step 2, implement the
handler for the drop event.
This method must take a DropEvent event as a parameter and return a
DnDAction. The DnDAction is the action that will be performed when the source
is dropped. Valid return values are COPY, MOVE, and LINK, and are set when you
define the actions attribute in Step 3. This method should use the DropEvent to
get the transferable object, and from there, access the CalendarModel object
in the dragged data and from there, access the actual data. The listener can then
add that data to the model for the source and then return the DnDAction it
performed: DnDAction.COPY, DnDAction.MOVE or DnDAction.LINK;
otherwise, the listener should return DnDAction.NONE to indicate that the drop
was rejected.
The drop site for the drop event is an instance of the
oracle.adf.view.rich.dnd.CalendarDropSite class. For an example of a
drag and drop handler for a calendar, see the handleDrop method on the
oracle.adfdemo.view.calendar.rich.DemoCalendarBean managed
bean in the ADF Faces demo application.
5. If the source for the activity is external to the calendar, drag a Data Flavor and
drop it as a child to the calendarDropTarget tag. This tag determines the type
of object that can be dropped onto the target, for example a String or a Date

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-19

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Graphs

object. Multiple dataFlavor tags are allowed under a single drop target to allow
the drop target to accept any of those types.
6. In the Insert Data Flavor dialog, enter the class for the object that can be dropped
onto the target, for example java.lang.Object.

Tip: To specify a typed array in a dataFlavor tag, add brackets ([])

to the class name, for example, java.lang.Object[].

32.7.2 What You May Need to Know About Dragging and Dropping in a Calendar
For dragging and dropping activities within a calendar, users can drag and drop only
within a view. That is, users can drag an activity from one time slot to another in the
day view, but cannot cut an activity from a day view and paste it into a month view.
When the user is dragging and dropping activities in the day or week view, the
calendar marks the drop site by half-hour increments. The user cannot move any
all-day or multi-day activities in the day view.
In the week view, users can move all-day and multi-day activities, however, they can
be dropped only within other all-day slots. That is, the user cannot change an all-day
activity to an activity with start and end times. In the month view, users can move
all-day and multi-day activities to any other day.

32.8 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Graphs

You can configure drag and drop for the DVT bubble and scatter graphs, which allows
the user to change the value of a marker by repositioning it. When you want users to
be able to drag and drop in a graph, you use the dragSource and dropTarget tags.
Additionally, you use the DataFlavor object to determine the valid Java type of the
sources for the drop target, in this case a GraphSelection object. You also must
implement any required functionality in response to the drag and drop action.
For example, you might have a scatterGraph component and you want the user to
be able to drag a human scatter marker to adjust the performance rating of an
employee, as shown in Figure 32–6.

Figure 32–5 Dragging and Dropping an Object

The scatterGraph component contains both a dragSource tag and a dropTarget

tag. You also use a dataFlavor tag to determine the type of object being dropped.
You also must implement a listener for the drop event. The object of the drop event is
called the transferable, which contains the payload of the drop. Your listener must
access the transferable object, and from there, use the DataFlavor object to

32-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Gantt Charts

verify that the object can be dropped. You then use the drop event to get the target
component and update the property with the dropped object.

32.8.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality for a DVT Graph
To add drag and drop functionality, first add source and target tags to the graph. Then
implement the event handler method that will handle the logic for the drag and drop
action. For information about what happens at runtime, see Section 32.3.2, "What
Happens at Runtime."

To add drag and drop functionality:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag a Drop Target tag and
drop it as a child to the graph component.
2. In the Insert Drop Target dialog, enter an expression that evaluates to a method on
a managed bean that will handle the event (you will create this code in Step 6).
3. In the Insert Data Flavor dialog, enter
oracle.adf.view.faces.bi.component.graph.GraphSelection, which
is the class for the object that can be dropped onto the target. This entry will be
used to create a dataFlavor tag, which determines the type of object that can be
dropped onto the target.
4. In the Property Inspector, set a value for Discriminant, if needed. A discriminant
is an arbitrary string used to determine which source can drop on the target. For
example, suppose you have two graphs that both accept an GraphSelection
object, GraphA and GraphB. You also have two sources, both of which are
GraphSelection objects. By setting a discriminant value on GraphA with a
value of alpha, only the GraphSelection source that provides the discriminant
value of alpha will be accepted.
5. In the Structure window, select the dropTarget tag. In the Property inspector,
select MOVE as the value for Actions.
6. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop a Drag
Source as a child to the graph component.
7. With the dragSource tag selected, in the Property Inspector set MOVE as the
allowed Action and add any needed discriminant, as configured for the
dataFlavor tag.
8. In the managed bean referenced in the EL expression created in Step 2, create the
event handler method (using the same name as in the EL expression) that will
handle the drag and drop functionality.
This method must take a DropEvent event as a parameter and return a
DnDAction object, which is the action that will be performed when the source is
dropped, in this case DnDAction.MOVE. This method should check the
DropEvent event to determine whether or not it will accept the drop. If the
method accepts the drop, it should perform the drop and return the DnDAction
object it performed. Otherwise, it should return DnDAction.NONE to indicate that
the drop was rejected. The method must also check for the presence of the
dataFlavor object, in this case
oracle.adf.view.faces.bi.component.graph.GraphSelection.

32.9 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Gantt Charts
When you want users to be able to drag and drop between Gantt charts and other
components, you use the dragSource and dropTarget tags. Additionally, you use

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-21

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Gantt Charts

the DataFlavor object to determine the valid Java types of sources for the drop
target. You also must implement any required functionality in response to the drag
and drop action. Both the projectGantt and schedulingGantt components
support drag and drop functionality.
For example, suppose you have an projectGantt component and you want the user
to be able to drag one timeline to a treeTable component and have that component
display information about the timeline, as shown in Figure 32–6.

Figure 32–6 Dragging and Dropping an Object

The projectGantt component contains a dragSource tag. And because the user
will drag the whole object and not just the String value of the output text that is
displayed, you use the dropTarget tag instead of the attributeDropTarget tag.
You also use a dataFlavor tag to determine the type of object being dropped. On this
tag, you can define a discriminant value. This is helpful if you have two targets and
two sources, all with the same object type. By creating a discriminant value, you can be
sure that each target will accept only valid sources. For example, suppose you have
two targets that both accept an TaskDragInfo object, TargetA and TargetB. Suppose
you also have two sources, both of which are TaskDragInfo objects. By setting a
discriminant value on TargetA with a value of alpha, only the TaskDragInfo source
that provides the discriminant value of alpha will be accepted.
You also must implement a listener for the drop event. The object of the drop event is
called the transferable, which contains the payload of the drop. Your listener must
access the transferable object, and from there, use the DataFlavor object to
verify that the object can be dropped. You then use the drop event to get the target
component and update the property with the dropped object.

32-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Gantt Charts

32.9.1 How to Add Drag and Drop Functionality for a DVT Component
To add drag and drop functionality, first add tags to a component that define it as a
target for a drag and drop action. Then implement the event handler method that will
handle the logic for the drag and drop action. Last, you define the sources for the drag
and drop. For information about what happens at runtime, see Section 32.3.2, "What
Happens at Runtime." For information about using the clientDropListener
attribute, see Section 32.3.3, "What You May Need to Know About Using the
ClientDropListener."

To add drag and drop functionality:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag a Drop Target tag and
drop it as a child to the target component.
2. In the Insert Drop Target dialog, enter an expression that evaluates to a method on
a managed bean that will handle the event (you will create this code in Step 6).

Tip: You can also intercept the drop on the client by populating the
clientDropListener attribute. For more information, see
Section 32.3.3, "What You May Need to Know About Using the
ClientDropListener".

3. In the Insert Data Flavor dialog, enter the class for the object that can be dropped
onto the target, for example java.lang.Object. This selection will be used to
create a dataFlavor tag, which determines the type of object that can be dropped
onto the target. Multiple dataFlavor tags are allowed under a single drop target
to allow the drop target to accept any of those types.

Tip: To specify a typed array in a DataFlavor tag, add brackets ([])

to the class name, for example, java.lang.Object[].

4. In the Property Inspector, set a value for Discriminant, if needed. A discriminant

is an arbitrary string used to determine what sources of the type specified by the
dataFlavor will be allowed as a source.
5. In the Structure window, select the dropTarget tag. In the Property inspector,
select a value for Actions. This defines what actions are supported by the drop
target. Valid values can be COPY (copy and paste), MOVE (cut and paste), and LINK
(copy and paste as a link), for example:.
MOVE COPY

If no actions are specified, the default is COPY.

Example 32–10 shows the code for a dropTarget component that takes a
TaskDragInfo object as a drop source. Note that because COPY was set as the
value for the actions attribute, that will be the only allowed action.

Example 32–10 JSP Code for a dropTarget tag

<af:treeTable id="treeTableDropTarget"
var="task" value="#{projectGanttDragSource.treeTableModel}">
<f:facet name="nodeStamp">
<af:column headerText="Task Name">
<af:outputText value="#{task.taskName}"/>
</af:column>
</f:facet>
<af:column headerText="Resource">
<af:outputText value="#{task.resourceName}"/>

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-23

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Gantt Charts

</af:column>
<af:column headerText="Start Date">
<af:outputText value="#{task.startTime}"/>
</af:column>
<af:column headerText="End Date">
<af:outputText value="#{task.endTime}"/>
</af:column>
<af:dropTarget actions="COPY"
dropListener="#{projectGanttDragSource.onTableDrop}">
<af:dataFlavor flavorClass=
"oracle.adf.view.faces.bi.component.gantt.TaskDragInfo"/>
</af:dropTarget>
</af:treeTable>

6. In the managed bean referenced in the EL expression created in Step 2, create the
event handler method (using the same name as in the EL expression) that will
handle the drag and drop functionality.
This method must take a DropEvent event as a parameter and return a
DnDAction object, which is the action that will be performed when the source is
dropped. Valid return values are DnDAction.COPY, DnDAction.MOVE, and
DnDAction.LINK, and were set when you defined the target attribute in Step 5.
This method should check the DropEvent event to determine whether or not it
will accept the drop. If the method accepts the drop, it should perform the drop
and return the DnDAction object it performed. Otherwise, it should return
DnDAction.NONE to indicate that the drop was rejected.
The method must also check for the presence for each dataFlavor object in
preference order.

Tip: If your target has more than one defined dataFlavor object,
then you can use the
Transferable.getSuitableTransferData() method, which
returns a List of TransferData objects available in the
Transferable object in order, from highest suitability to lowest.

The DataFlavor object defines the type of data being dropped, for example
java.lang.Object, and must be as defined in the DataFlavor tag on the JSP,
as created in Step 3.

Tip: To specify a typed array in a DataFlavor object, add brackets

([]) to the class name, for example, java.lang.Object[].
DataFlavor objects support polymorphism so that if the drop target
accepts java.util.List, and the transferable object contains a
java.util.ArrayList, the drop will succeed. Likewise, this
functionality supports automatic conversion between Arrays and
Lists.
If the drag and drop framework doesn't know how to represent a
server DataFlavor object on the client component, the drop target
will be configured to allow all drops to succeed on the client.

Example 32–11 shows a handler method that copies a TaskDragInfo object from
the event payload and assigns it to the component that initiated the event.

Example 32–11 Event Handler Code for a dropListener

public DnDAction onTableDrop(DropEvent evt)

32-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Gantt Charts

{
// retrieve the information about the task dragged
DataFlavor<TaskDragInfo> _flv = DataFlavor.getDataFlavor(TaskDragInfo.class, null);
Transferable _transferable = evt.getTransferable();

// if there is no data in the transferable, then the drop is unsuccessful

TaskDragInfo _info = _transferable.getData(_flv);
if (_info == null)
return DnDAction.NONE;

// find the task

Task _draggedTask = findTask(_info.getTaskId());
if (_draggedTask != null) {
// process the dragged task here and indicate the drop is successful by returning DnDAction.COPY
return DnDAction.COPY;
}
else
return DnDAction.NONE;
}

7. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag and drop a Drag
Source as a child to the source component.
8. With the dragSource tag selected, in the Property Inspector set the allowed
Actions and any needed discriminant, as configured for the target.

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality 32-25

Adding Drag and Drop Functionality for DVT Gantt Charts

32-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 33
Using Different Output Modes
33

This chapter describes how you can have your pages display in modes suitable for
printing and emailing.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section 33.1, "Introduction to Using Different Output Modes"
■ Section 33.2, "Displaying a Page for Print"
■ Section 33.3, "Creating Emailable Pages"

33.1 Introduction to Using Different Output Modes

ADF Faces allows you to output your page in a simplified mode either for printing or
for emailing. For example, you may want users to be able to print a page (or a portion
of a page), but instead of printing the page exactly as it is rendered in a web browser,
you want to remove items that are not needed on a printed page, such as scroll bars
and buttons. If a page is to be emailed, the page must be simplified so that email
clients can correctly display it.
For displaying printable pages, ADF Faces offers the
showPrintablePageBehavior tag that, when used in conjunction with a command
component, allows users to view a simplified version of the page in their browser,
which they can then print.
For email support, ADF Faces provides an API that can be used to convert a page to
one that is suitable for display in either Microsoft Outlook 2007 or Mozilla
Thunderbird 2.0.

Tip: The current output mode (email or printable) can be

reached from AdfFacesContext. Because this context is EL
reachable, you can use EL to bind to the output mode from the JSP
page. For example, you might allow a graphic to be rendered only if
the current mode is not email using the following expression:
<af:activeImage source="/images/stockChart.gif"
rendered="#{adfFacesContext.outputMode != "email"}"/>

You can determine the current mode using

AdfFacesContext.getOutputMode().

33.2 Displaying a Page for Print

You place the showPrintablePageBehavior tag as a child to a command
component. When clicked, the framework walks up the component tree, starting with

Using Different Output Modes 33-1

Displaying a Page for Print

the component that is the parent to the printableBehavior tag, until it reaches a
panelSplitter or a panelAccordion or the root of the tree (whichever comes
first). The tree is rendered from there. Additionally, certain components that are not
needed in print version (such as buttons, tabs, and scrollbars) are omitted.
For example, in the File Explorer application, you could place a commandButton
component inside the toolbar of the panelCollection component that contains the
table, as shown in Figure 33–1.

Figure 33–1 Button to Print Part of a Page

When the user clicks the button, the page is displayed in a new browser window (or
tab, depending on the browser) in a simplified form, as shown in Figure 33–2.

Figure 33–2 Printable Version of the Page

Only the contents of the table are displayed for printing. All extraneous components,
such as the tabs, the toolbar, and the scroll bars, are not rendered.
When the button is clicked, the action event is canceled. Instead, a request is made to
the server for the printable version of the page.

33.2.1 How to Use the showPrintablePageBehavior Tag

The showPrintablePageBehavior tag is used as a direct child of a command
component.

To use the showPrintablePageBehavior tag:

1. In one of the layout components, add a command component in the facet that
contains the content you would like to print. For procedures, see Section 18.2.1,
"How to Use Command Buttons and Command Links."

33-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating Emailable Pages

Note: While you can insert a showPrintablePageBehavior

component outside of a layout component to allow the user to print
the entire page, the printed result will be roughly in line with the
layout, which may mean that not all content will be visible. Therefore,
if you want the user to be able to print the entire content of a facet, it is
important to place the command component and the
showPrintablePageBehavior component within the facet whose
contents users would typically want to print. If more than one facet
requires printing support, then insert one command component and
showPrintablePageBehavior tag into each facet. To print all
contents, the user then has to execute the print command one facet at a
time.

2. In the Component Palette, from the Operations panel, drag a Show Printable Page
Behavior and drop it as a child to the command component.

33.3 Creating Emailable Pages

There may be occasions when you need a page in your application to be emailed. For
example, purchase orders created on the web are often emailed to the purchaser at the
end of the session. However, because email clients do not support external stylesheets
which we use to render to web browsers, you can’t email the same page, as it would
not be rendered correctly.
The ADF Faces framework provides you with automatic conversion of a JSF page so
that it will render correctly in the Microsoft Outlook 2007 and Mozilla Thunderbird 2.0
email clients.
Not all components can be rendered in an email client. The following components can
be converted so that they can render properly in an email client:
■ document
■ panelHeader
■ panelFormLayout
■ panelGroupLayout
■ panelList
■ spacer
■ showDetailHeader
■ inputText (renders as readOnly)
■ inputComboBoxListOfValues (renders as readOnly)
■ inputNumberSlider (renders as readOnly)
■ inputNumberSpinbox (renders as readOnly)
■ inputRangeSlider (renders as readOnly)
■ outputText
■ selectOneChoice (renders as readOnly)
■ panelLabelAndMessage
■ image

Using Different Output Modes 33-3

Creating Emailable Pages

■ table
■ column
■ goLink (renders as text)

33.3.1 How to Create an Emailable Page

You notify the ADF Faces framework to convert your page to be rendered in an email
client by appending the following the request parameter to the URL for the page to be
emailed:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.agent.email=true

For example, say you have a page that displays a purchase order, as shown in
Figure 33–3.

Figure 33–3 Purchase Order Web Page

When the user clicks the Emailable Page link at the top, an actionListener method
or another service appends
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.agent.email=true to the current URL and
emails the page. Figure 33–4 shows the page as it appears in an email client.

33-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Creating Emailable Pages

Figure 33–4 Page in an Email Client

33.3.2 How to Test the Rendering of a Page in an Email Client

Before you complete the development of a page, you may want to test how the page
will render in an email client. You can easily do this using a goButton component.

To test an emailable page:

1. In the Component Palette, from the Common Components panel, drag and drop a
Go Button anywhere onto the page.
2. In the Property Inspector, expand the Common section and set the Destination to
be the page’s name plus org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.agent.email=true.
For example, if your page’s name is myPage, the value of the destination attribute
should be:
myPage.jspx?org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.agent.email=true

3. Right-click the page and choose Run to run the page in the default browser.
4. Once the page displays in the browser, click the goButton you added to the page.
This will again display the page in the browser, but converted to a page that can
be handled by an email client.
5. In your browser, view the source of the page. For example, in Mozilla Firefox, you
would select View > Page Source. Select the entire source and copy it.
6. Create a new message in your email client. Paste the page source into the message
and send it to yourself.

Using Different Output Modes 33-5

Creating Emailable Pages

Tip: Because you are pasting HTML code, you will probably need to
use an insert command to insert the HTML into the email body. For
example, in Thunderbird, you would choose Insert > HTML.

7. If needed, create a skin specifically for the email version of the page using an
agent. Example 33–1 shows how you might specify the border on a table rendered
in email.

Example 33–1 Skin for Emailable Page

af|table {
border: 1px solid #636661;
}

@agent email {
af|table
{border:none}
}

af|table::column-resize-indicator {
border-right: 2px dashed #979991;
}

For more information about creating skins, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the
Appearance Using Styles and Skins."

33.3.3 What Happens at Runtime: How ADF Faces Converts JSF Pages to Emailable
Pages
When the ADF Faces framework receives the request parameter
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.agent.email=true in the Render Response
phase, the associated phase listener sets an internal flag that notifies the framework to
do the following:
■ Remove any JavaScript from the HTML.
■ Add all CSS to the page, but only for components included on the page.
■ Remove the CSS link from the HTML.
■ Convert all relative links to absolute links.
■ Render images with absolute URLs.

33-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Part VI
Part VI Appendixes

Part VI contains the following appendixes:

■ Appendix A, "ADF Faces Configuration"
■ Appendix B, "Message Keys for Converter and Validator Messages"
■ Appendix C, "Keyboard Shortcuts"
■ Appendix D, "Quick Start Layout Themes"
 A
ADF Faces Configuration
A

This appendix describes how to configure JSF and ADF Faces features in various XML
configuration files, as well as how to retrieve ADF Faces configuration values using
the RequestContext API and how to use JavaScript partitioning.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section A.1, "Introduction to Configuring ADF Faces"
■ Section A.2, "Configuration in web.xml"
■ Section A.3, "Configuration in faces-config.xml"
■ Section A.4, "Configuration in adf-config.xml"
■ Section A.5, "Configuration in adf-settings.xml"
■ Section A.6, "Configuration in trinidad-config.xml"
■ Section A.7, "Configuration in trinidad-skins.xml"
■ Section A.8, "Using the RequestContext EL Implicit Object"
■ Section A.9, "Using JavaScript Library Partitioning"

A.1 Introduction to Configuring ADF Faces

A JSF web application requires a specific set of configuration files, namely, web.xml
and faces-config.xml. ADF applications also store configuration information in
the adf-config.xml and adf-settings.xml files. Because ADF Faces shares the
same code base with MyFaces Trinidad, a JSF application that uses ADF Faces
components for the UI also must include a trinidad-config.xml file, and
optionally a trinidad-skins.xml file. For more information about the relationship
between Trinidad and ADF Faces, see Chapter 1, "Introduction to ADF Faces Rich
Client."

A.2 Configuration in web.xml

Part of a JSF application's configuration is determined by the contents of its Java EE
application deployment descriptor, web.xml. The web.xml file, which is located in
the /WEB-INF directory, defines everything about your application that a server needs
to know (except the root context path, which is automatically assigned for you in
JDeveloper, or assigned by the system administrator when the application is
deployed). Typical runtime settings in the web.xmlfile include initialization
parameters, custom tag library location, and security settings.
The following is configured in the web.xmlfile for all applications that use ADF Faces:

ADF Faces Configuration A-1

Configuration in web.xml

■ Context parameter javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD set to client

■ MyFaces Trinidad filter and mapping
■ MyFacesTrinidad resource servlet and mapping
■ JSF servlet and mapping

Note: JDeveloper automatically adds the necessary ADF Faces

configurations to the web.xml file for you the first time you use an
ADF Faces component in an application.

For more information about the required elements, see Section A.2.2, "What You May
Need to Know About Required Elements in web.xml."
For information about optional configuration elements in web.xml related to
ADF Faces, see Section A.2.3, "What You May Need to Know About ADF Faces
Context Parameters in web.xml."
For information about configuring web.xml outside of ADF Faces, see Developing Web
Applications, Servlets, and JSPs for Oracle.

A.2.1 How to Configure for JSF and ADF Faces in web.xml

In JDeveloper, when you create a project that uses JSF technology, a starter web.xml
file with default servlet and mapping elements is created for you in the /WEB-INF
directory.
When you use ADF Faces components in a project (that is, a component tag is used on
a page rather than just importing the library), in addition to default JSF configuration
elements, JDeveloper also automatically adds the following to the web.xml file for
you:
■ Configuration elements that are related to MyFaces Trinidad filter and MyFaces
Trinidad resource servlet
■ Context parameter javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD with the value of
client
When you elect to use JSP fragments in the application, JDeveloper automatically adds
a JSP configuration element for recognizing and interpreting .jsff files in the
application.
Example A–1 shows the web.xml file with the default elements that JDeveloper adds
for you when you use JSF and ADF Faces and .jsff files.
For information about the web.xml configuration elements needed for working with
JSF and ADF Faces, see Section A.2.2, "What You May Need to Know About Required
Elements in web.xml."

Example A–1 Generated web.xml File

<?xml version = '1.0' encoding = 'windows-1252'?>
<web-app 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" version="2.5"
xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee">
<description>Empty web.xml file for Web Application</description>
<servlet>
<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet</servlet-class>

A-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuration in web.xml

<load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/faces/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
<session-config>
<session-timeout>35</session-timeout>
</session-config>
<mime-mapping>
<extension>html</extension>
<mime-type>text/html</mime-type>
</mime-mapping>
<mime-mapping>
<extension>txt</extension>
<mime-type>text/plain</mime-type>
</mime-mapping>
</web-app>

Note: When you use ADF data controls to build databound web
pages, the ADF binding filter and a servlet context parameter for the
application binding container are added to the web.xml file.

Configuration options for ADF Faces are set in the web.xml file using
<context-param> elements.

To add ADF Faces configuration elements in web.xml:

1. In the Application Navigator, double-click web.xml to open the file.
By default, JDeveloper opens the web.xml file in the overview editor, as indicated
by the active Overview tab at the bottom of the editor window.
When you use the overview editor to add or edit entries declaratively, JDeveloper
automatically updates the web.xml file for you.
2. To edit the XML code directly in the web.xml file, click Source at the bottom of
the editor window.
When you edit elements in the XML editor, JDeveloper automatically reflects the
changes in the overview editor.
For a list of context parameters you can add, see Section A.2.3, "What You May Need
to Know About ADF Faces Context Parameters in web.xml."

A.2.2 What You May Need to Know About Required Elements in web.xml
The required, application-wide configuration elements for JSF and ADF Faces in the
web.xml file are:
■ Context parameter javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD: Specifies where to
store the application’s view state. By default this value is server, which stores the
application's view state on the server. It is recommended that you set
javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD to client when you use ADF Faces, to
store the view state on the browser client. When set to client, ADF Faces then
automatically uses token-based, client-side state saving. You can specify the
number of tokens to use instead of using the default number of 15. For more

ADF Faces Configuration A-3

Configuration in web.xml

information about state-saving context parameters, see Section A.2.3, "What You
May Need to Know About ADF Faces Context Parameters in web.xml."
■ MyFaces Trinidad filter and mapping: Installs the MyFaces Trinidad filter
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.TrinidadFilter, which is a
servlet filter that ensures ADF Faces is properly initialized, in part by establishing
a RequestContext object. TrinidadFilter also processes file uploads. The
filter mapping maps the JSF servlet’s symbolic name to the MyFaces Trinidad
filter. The forward and request dispatchers are needed for any other filter that is
forwarding to the MyFaces Trinidad filter.

Tip: If you use multiple filters in your application, ensure that they
are listed in the web.xml file in the order in which you want to run
them. At runtime, the filters are called in the sequence listed in that
file.

■ MyFaces Trinidad resource servlet and mapping: Installs the MyFaces Trinidad
resource servlet
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.ResourceServlet, which serves
up web application resources (images, style sheets, JavaScript libraries) by
delegating to a resource loader. The servlet mapping maps the MyFaces Trinidad
resource servlet’s symbolic name to the URL pattern. By default, JDeveloper uses
/adf/* for MyFaces Trinidad Core, and /afr/* for ADF Faces.
■ JSF servlet and mapping (added when creating a JSF page or using a template
with ADF Faces components): The JSF servlet servlet
javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet manages the request processing
lifecycle for web applications that utilize JSF to construct the user interface. The
mapping maps the JSF servlet’s symbolic name to the URL pattern, which can use
either a path prefix or an extension suffix pattern.
By default JDeveloper uses the path prefix /faces/*, as shown in the following
code:
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>Faces Servlet</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/faces/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

For example, if your web page is index.jspx, this means that when the URL
http://localhost:8080/MyDemo/faces/index.jspx is issued, the URL
activates the JSF servlet, which strips off the faces prefix and loads the file
/MyDemo/index.jspx.

A.2.3 What You May Need to Know About ADF Faces Context Parameters in web.xml
ADF Faces configuration options are defined in the web.xml file using
<context-param> elements. For example:
<context-param>
<param-name>oracle.adf.view.rich.LOGGER_LEVEL</param-name>
<param-value>ALL</param-value>
</context-param>

The following context parameters are supported for ADF Faces.

A.2.3.1 State Saving

You can specify the following state-saving context parameters:

A-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuration in web.xml

■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CLIENT_STATE_METHOD: Specifies the type

of client-side state saving to use when client-side state saving is enabled by using
javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD. The values for CLIENT_STATE_
METHOD are:
– token: (Default) Stores the page state in the session, but persists a token to the
client. The simple token, which identifies a block of state stored back on the
HttpSession object, is stored on the client. This enables ADF Faces to
disambiguate the same page appearing multiple times. Failover is supported.
– all: Stores all state information on the client in a (potentially large) hidden
form field. It is useful for developers who do not want to use HttpSession.

Performance Tip: Because of the potential size of storing all state

information, it is recommended that you set client-state saving to
token.

■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CLIENT_STATE_MAX_TOKENS: Specifies
how many tokens should be stored at any one time per user, when token-based
client-side state saving is enabled. The default is 15. When the number of tokens is
exceeded, the state is lost for the least recently viewed pages, which affects users
who actively use the Back button or who have multiple windows opened at the
same time. If you are building HTML applications that rely heavily on frames, you
would want to increase this value.
■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.USE_APPLICATION_VIEW_CACHE: Enables
the Application View Cache (AVC), which can improve scalability by caching the
state for the initial renders of the page’s UI at an application scope. However,
every page in the application must by analyzed for support in the AVC to avoid
potential problems with debugging in an unexpected state and information
leakage between users. Additionally, development is more difficult since page
updates are not noticed until the server is restarted, and although initial render
performance is enhanced, session size is not.

CAUTION: The Application View Cache is not supported for this

release. The feature does not work for any page where the rendering
of the component tree causes the structure of the component tree to
change temporarily. Since this is often the case, USE_APPLICATION_
VIEW_CACHE should not be used.

A.2.3.2 Debugging
You can specify the following debugging context parameters:
■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.DEBUG_JAVASCRIPT: ADF Faces, by
default, obfuscates the JavaScript it delivers to the client, stripping comments and
whitespace at the same time. This dramatically reduces the size of the ADF Faces
JavaScript download, but it also makes it tricky to debug the JavaScript. Set to
true to turn off the obfuscation during application development. Set to false for
application deployment.
■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CHECK_FILE_MODIFICATION: By default
this parameter is false. If it is set to true, ADF Faces will automatically check
the modification date of your JSPs and CSS files, and discard the saved state when
the files change.

ADF Faces Configuration A-5

Configuration in web.xml

Performance Tip: When set to true, this CHECK_FILE_

MODIFICATION parameter adds overhead that should be avoided
when your application is deployed. Set to false when deploying
your application to a runtime environment.

■ oracle.adf.view.rich.LOGGER_LEVEL: This parameter enables JavaScript

logging when the default render kit is oracle.adf.rich. The default is OFF. If
you wish to turn on JavaScript logging, use one of the following levels: SEVERE,
WARNING, INFO, CONFIG, FINE, FINER, FINEST, and ALL. Set to INFO if you
have enabled automated profiler instrumentation code (see
oracle.adf.view.rich.profiler.ENABLED in Section A.2.3.7, "Profiling").

Performance Tip: JavaScript logging will affect performance. Set this

value to OFF in a runtime environment.

A.2.3.3 File Uploading

You can specify the following file upload context parameters:
■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_MAX_MEMORY: Specifies the
maximum amount of memory that can be used in a single request to store
uploaded files. The default is 100K.
■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_MAX_DISK_SPACE: Specifies the
maximum amount of disk space that can be used in a single request to store
uploaded files. The default is 2000K.
■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_TEMP_DIR: Specifies the directory
where temporary files are to be stored during file uploading. The default is the
user's temporary directory.

Note: The file upload initialization parameters are processed by the

default UploadedFileProcessor only. If you replace the default
processor with a custom UploadedFileProcessor implementation,
the parameters are not processed.

A.2.3.4 Resource Debug Mode

You can specify the following:
■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.resource.DEBUG: Specifies whether or not
resource debug mode is enabled. The default is false. Set to true if you want to
enable resource debug mode. When enabled, ADF Faces sets HTTP response
headers to let the browser know that resources (such as JavaScript libraries,
images, and CSS) can be cached.

Tip: After turning on resource debug mode, clear your browser

cache to force the browser to load the latest versions of the resources.

Performance Tip: In a production environment, this parameter

should be removed or set to false.

A.2.3.5 User Customization

For more information about enabling and using session change persistence, see
Chapter 31, "Allowing User Customization on JSF Pages."

A-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuration in web.xml

A.2.3.6 Assertions
You can specify whether or not assertions are used within ADF Faces using the
oracle.adf.view.rich.ASSERT_ENABLED parameter. The default is false. Set
to true to turn on assertions.

Performance Tip: Assertions will affect performance. Set this value

to false in a runtime environment.

A.2.3.7 Profiling
You can specify the following JavaScript profiling context parameters:
■ oracle.adf.view.rich.profiler.ENABLED: Specifies whether or not to use
the automated profiler instrumentation code provided with the JavaScript Profiler.
The default is false. Set to true to enable the JavaScript profile. When the
profiler is enabled, an extra roundtrip is needed on each page to fetch the profiler
data. By default, JDeveloper uses the /WEB-INF/profiler.xml configuration
file. To override the location of the profiler.xml file, use the ROOT_FILE
context parameter, as described next. You may also want to set DEBUG_
JAVASCRIPT to true, to turn off JavaScript obfuscation. You also must set the
LOGGER_LEVEL to at least INFO.
■ oracle.adf.view.rich.profiler.ROOT_FILE: Specifies the initial
profiler.xml file to load, if automated profiler instrumentation code is turned
on. By default, JDeveloper uses the /WEB-INF/profiler.xml file if ROOT_FILE
is not specified.

A.2.3.8 Facelets Support

Specify the following if you intend to use Facelets with ADF Faces:
■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.ALTERNATE_VIEW_HANDLER: Install
FaceletsViewHandler by setting the parameter value to
com.sun.facelets.FaceletViewHandler
■ javax.faces.DEFAULT_SUFFIX: Use .xhtml as the file extension for
documents that use Facelets by setting the parameter value to .xhtml.

A.2.3.9 Dialog Prefix

To change the prefix for launching dialogs, set the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.DIALOG_NAVIGATION_PREFIX parameter.
The default is dialog:, which is used in the beginning of the outcome of a JSF
navigation rule that launches a dialog (for example, dialog:error).

A.2.3.10 Compression for CSS Class Names

You can set the org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.DISABLE_CONTENT_
COMPRESSION parameter to determine compression of the CSS class names for
skinning keys.
The default is false. Set to true if you want to disable the compression.

Performance Tip: Compression will affect performance. In a

production environment, set this parameter to false.

A.2.3.11 Test Automation

When you set the oracle.adf.view.rich.automation.ENABLED parameter to
true and when the component ID attribute is null, the component testId attribute

ADF Faces Configuration A-7

Configuration in web.xml

is used during automated testing to ensure that the ID is not null. The testId is an
attribute only on the tag. It is not part of the Java component API.

Note: When this context parameter is set to true, the

oracle.adf.view.rich.security.FRAME_BUSTING context
parameter behaves as though it were set to never. For more
information, see Section A.2.3.16, "Framebusting."

A.2.3.12 UIViewRoot Caching

Use the org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CACHE_VIEW_ROOT parameter to
enable or disable UIViewRoot caching. When token client-side state saving is
enabled, MyFaces Trinidad can apply an additional optimization by caching an entire
UIViewRoot tree with each token. (Note that this does not affect thread safety or
session failover.) This is a major optimization for AJAX-intensive systems, as
postbacks can be processed far more rapidly without the need to reinstantiate the
UIViewRoot tree.
You set the org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CACHE_VIEW_ROOT parameter to
true to enable caching. This is the default. Set the parameter to false to disable
caching.

Note: This type of caching is known to interfere with some other JSF
technologies. In particular, the Apache MyFaces Tomahawk
saveState component does not work, and template text in Facelets
may appear in duplicate.

A.2.3.13 Themes and Tonal Styles

Use the oracle.adf.view.rich.tonalstyles.ENABLED parameter to turn the
use of tonal styles off or on. While the tonal style classes .AFDarkTone,
.AFMediumTone, .AFLightTone and .AFDefaultTone are still available for the
purpose of backward compatibility, themes are provided as a replacement style.
Themes are easier to author than tonal styles; they rely on fewer selectors, and they
avoid CSS containment selectors. For this reason they are less prone to bugs. Due to
the limitation on the number of selectors in one CSS file, both tonal styles and themes
cannot be supported in the same application. Set to false to disable tonal styles.

A.2.3.14 Partial Page Navigation

Use the oracle.adf.view.rich.pprNavigation.OPTIONS parameter to turn
partial page navigation on and off. By default, the value is off. Partial page
navigation uses the same base page throughout the application, and simply replaces
the body content of the page with each navigation. This processing results in better
performance because JavaScript libraries and style sheets do not need to be reloaded
with each new page. For more information, see Section 7.4, "Using Partial Page
Navigation."
Valid values are:
■ on: PPR navigation is turned on for the application.

A-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuration in web.xml

Note: If you set the parameter to on, then you need to set the
partialSubmit attribute to true for any command components
involved in navigation. For more information about partialSubmit,
see Section 5.1.1, "Events and Partial Page Rendering."

■ off: PPR navigation is turned off for the application.

■ onWithForcePPR: When an action on a command component results in
navigation, the action will always be delivered using PPR, as if the component had
partialSubmit set to true. For more information about partialSubmit, see
Section 5.1.1, "Events and Partial Page Rendering." If the component already has
partialSubmit set to true, the framework does nothing. If partialSubmit is
not set to true, the entire document is refreshed to ensure that old page refresh
behavior is preserved. The entire document is also refreshed if the action
component does not contain navigation.

A.2.3.15 JavaScript Partitioning

Use the oracle.adf.view.rich.libraryPartitioning.ENABLED parameter to
turn JavaScript partitioning on and off. By default, the value is true (enabled).
JavaScript partitioning allows a page to download only the JavaScript needed by client
components for that page.
Valid values are:
■ true: JavaScript partitioning is enabled (the default).
■ false: JavaScript partitioning is disabled.
For more information about using and configuring JavaScript partitioning, see
Section A.9, "Using JavaScript Library Partitioning."

A.2.3.16 Framebusting
Use the oracle.adf.view.rich.security.FRAME_BUSTING context parameter
to use framebusting in your application. Framebusting is a way to prevent clickjacking,
which occurs when a malicious web site pulls a page originating from another domain
into a frame and overlays it with a counterfeit page, allowing only portions of the
original, or clickjacked, page (for example, a button) to display. When users click the
button, they in fact are clicking a button on the clickjacked page, causing unexpected
results.
For example, say your application is a web-based email application that resides in
DomainA, and a web site in DomainB clickjacks your page by creating a page with an
IFrame that points to a page in your email application at DomainA. When the two
pages are combined, the page from DomainB covers most of your page in the IFrame,
and exposes only a button on your page that deletes all email for the account. Users,
not realizing they are actually in the email application, may click the button and
inadvertently delete all their email.
Framebusting prevents clickjacking by using the following JavaScript to block the
application’s pages from running in frames:
top.location.href = location.href;

If you configure your application to use framebusting by setting the parameter to

always, then whenever a page tries to run in a frame, an alert is shown to the user
that the page is being redirected, the JavaScript code is run to define the page as
topmost, and the page is disallowed to run in the frame.

ADF Faces Configuration A-9

Configuration in web.xml

If your application needs to use frames, you can set the parameter value to
differentDomain. This setting causes framebusting to occur only if the frame is in a
page that originates from a different domain than your application. This is the default
setting.

Note: The origin of a page is defined using the domain name,

application layer protocol, and in most browsers, TCP port of the
HTML document running the script. Pages are considered to originate
from the same domain if and only if all these values are exactly the
same.

For example, say you have a page named DomainApage1 in your application that
uses a frame to include the page DomainApage2. Say the external DomainBpage1
tries to clickjack the page DomainApage1. The result would be the following window
hierarchy:
■ DomainBpage1
– DomainApage1
* DomainApage2
If the application has framebusting set to be differentDomain, then the framework
walks the parent window hierarchy to determine whether any ancestor windows
originate from a different domain. Because DoaminBpage1 originates from a different
domain, the framebusting JavaScript code will run for the DomainApage1 page,
causing it to become the top-level window. And because DomainApage2 originates
from the same domain as DomainApage1, it will be allowed to run in the frame.
Valid values are:
■ always: The page will show an error and redirect whenever it attempts to run in a
frame.
■ differentDomain: The page will show an error and redirect only when it
attempts to run in a frame on a page that originates in a different domain (the
default).
■ never: The page can run in any frame on any originating domain.

Note: This context parameter is ignored and will behave as if it were

set to never when either of the following context parameters is set to
true:
■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.util.
ExternalContextUtils.isPortlet
■ oracle.adf.view.rich.automation.ENABLED

A.2.3.17 Suppressing Auto-Generated Component IDs

Use the oracle.adf.view.rich.SUPPRESS_IDS context parameter set to auto
when programmatically adding an af:outputText or af:outputFormatted
component as a partial target, that is, through a call to addPartialTarget().
By default, this parameter is set to explicit, thereby reducing content size by
suppressing both auto-generated and explicitly set component IDs except when either
of the following is true:

A-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuration in web.xml

■ The component partialTriggers attribute is set

■ The clientComponent attribute is set to true
In the case of a call to addPartialTarget(), the partialTriggers attribute is not
set and the partial page render will not succeed. You can set the parameter to auto to
suppress only auto-generated component IDs for these components.

A.2.3.18 ADF Faces Caching Filter

The ADF Faces Caching Filter (ACF) is a Java EE Servlet filter that can be used to
accelerate web application performance by enabling the caching (and/or compression)
of static application objects such as images, style sheets, and documents like .pdf and
.zip files. These objects are cached in an external web cache such as Oracle Web
Cache or in the browser cache. With web cache, the cacheability of content is largely
determined through URL-based rules defined by the web cache administrator. Using
ACF, the ADF application administrator or author can define caching rules directly in
the adf-config.xml file. For more information about defining caching rules, see
Section A.4.2, "Defining Caching Rules for ADF Faces Caching Filter."
ADF Faces tag library JARs include default caching rules for common resource types,
such as .js, .css, and image file types. These fixed rules are defined in the
adf-settings.xml file, and cannot be changed during or after application
deployment. In the case of conflicting rules, caching rules defined by the application
developer in adf-config.xml will take precedence. For more information about
settings in adf-settings.xml, see Section A.5.2, "What You May Need to Know
About Elements in adf-settings.xml."
Oracle Web Cache must be configured by the web cache administrator to route all
traffic to the web application through the web cache. In the absence of the installation
of Oracle Web Cache, the caching rules defined in adf-config.xml will be applied
for caching in the browser if the <agent-caching> child element is set to true. To
configure the ACF to be in the URL request path, add the following servlet filter
definitions in the web.xml file:
■ ACF filter class: Specify the class to perform URL matching to rules defined in
adf-config.xml
■ ACF filter mapping: Define the URL patterns to match with the caching rules
defined in adf-config.xml
Example A–2 shows a sample ACF servlet definition.

Example A–2 ACF Servlet Definition

<!- Servlet Filter definition ->
<filter>
<filter-name>ACF</filter-name>
<filter-class>oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.caching.filter.AdfFacesCachingFilter
</filter-class>
</filter>
<!- servlet filter mapping definition ->
<filter-mapping>
<filter-name>ACF</filter-name>
<url-pattern>*</url-pattern>
</filter-mapping>

ADF Faces Configuration A-11

Configuration in web.xml

Note: The ACF servlet filter must be the first filter in the chain of
filters defined for the application.

A.2.3.19 Configuring Native Browser Context Menus for Command Links

Use the oracle.adf.view.rich.ACTION_LINK_BROWSER_CONTEXT_
SUPPRESSION parameter to enable or disable the end user´s browser to supply a
context menu for ADF Faces command components that render a link. The context
menu may present menu options that invoke a different action (for example, open a
link in a new window) to that specified by the command component.
By default, this parameter is set to yes, thereby suppressing the rendering of a context
menu for ADF Faces command components. By setting the parameter to no, you can
disable this suppression and allow the native browser context menu to appear. For
information about the ADF Faces command components for which you can configure
this functionality, see Chapter 18.3, "Configuring a Browser’s Context Menu for
Command Links."

A.2.4 What You May Need to Know About Other Context Parameters in web.xml
Other optional, application-wide context parameters are:
■ javax.faces.CONFIG_FILE: Specifies paths to JSF application configuration
resource files. Use a comma-separated list of application-context relative paths for
the value, as shown in the following code. Set this parameter if you use more than
one JSF configuration file in your application.
<context-param>
<param-name>javax.faces.CONFIG_FILES</param-name>
<param-value>
/WEB-INF/faces-config1.xml,/WEB-INF/faces-config2.xml
</param-value>
</context-param>

■ javax.faces.DEFAULT_SUFFIX: Specifies a file extension (suffix) for JSP pages

that contain JSF components. The default value is .jsp.

Note: This parameter value is ignored when you use prefix mapping
for the JSF servlet (for example, /faces), which is done by default for
you.

■ javax.faces.LIFECYCLE_ID: Specifies a lifecycle identifier other than the

default set by the javax.faces.lifecycle.LifecycleFactory.DEFAULT_
LIFECYCLE constant.

Caution: Setting LIFECYCLE_ID to any other value will break ADF

Faces.

■ org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CHECK_FILE_MODIFICATION: Specifies
whether JSP and CSS files require a restart in order to see changes at runtime. By
default, set to false. Set to true if you want to be able to view changes without
restarting the server.

A-12 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuration in faces-config.xml

A.3 Configuration in faces-config.xml

The JSF configuration file is where you register a JSF application's resources such as
custom validators and managed beans, and define all the page-to-page navigation
rules. While an application can have any JSF configuration file name, typically the file
name is the faces-config.xml file. Small applications usually have one
faces-config.xml file.
When you use ADF Faces components in your application, JDeveloper automatically
adds the necessary configuration elements for you into faces-config.xml. For
more information about the faces-config.xml file, see the Java EE 5 tutorial on
Sun’s web site (http://java.sun.com).

A.3.1 How to Configure for ADF Faces in faces-config.xml

In JDeveloper, when you create a project that uses JSF technology, an empty
faces-config.xml file is created for you in the /WEB-INF directory. An empty
faces-config.xml file is also automatically added for you when you create a new
application workspace based on an application template that uses JSF technology (for
example, the Java EE Web Application template. For more information, see Section 2.2,
"Creating an Application Workspace."
When you use ADF Faces components in your application, the ADF default render kit
ID must be set to oracle.adf.rich. When you insert an ADF Faces component into
a JSF page for the first time, or when you add the first JSF page to an application
workspace that was created using the Fusion template, JDeveloper automatically
inserts the default render kit for ADF components into the faces-config.xml file,
as shown in Example A–3.

Example A–3 ADF Default Render Kit Configuration in faces-config.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252"?>
<faces-config version="1.2" xmlns="http://java.sun.com/xml/ns/javaee">
<application>
<default-render-kit-id>oracle.adf.rich</default-render-kit-id>
</application>
</faces-config>

Typically, you would configure the following in the faces-config.xml file:

■ Application resources such as message bundles and supported locales
■ Page-to-page navigation rules
■ Custom validators and converters
■ Managed beans for holding and processing data, handling UI events, and
performing business logic

Note: If your application uses ADF Controller, these items are

configured in the adfc-config.xml file. For more information, see
the "Getting Started With Task Flows" chapter of the Oracle Fusion
Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development
Framework.

In JDeveloper, you can use the declarative overview editor to modify the
faces-config.xml file. If you are familiar with the JSF configuration elements, you
can use the XML editor to edit the code directly.

ADF Faces Configuration A-13

Configuration in adf-config.xml

To edit faces-config.xml:
1. In the Application Navigator, double-click faces-config.xml to open the file.
By default, JDeveloper opens the faces-config.xml file in the overview editor,
as indicated by the active Overview tab at the bottom of the editor window.
When you use the overview editor to add for example, managed beans and
validators declaratively, JDeveloper automatically updates the
faces-config.xml file for you.
2. To edit the XML code directly in the faces-config.xml file, click Source at the
bottom of the editor window.
When you edit elements in the XML editor, JDeveloper automatically reflects the
changes in the overview editor.

Tip: JSF allows more than one <application> element in a single

faces-config.xml file. The Overview mode of the JSF
Configuration Editor allows you to edit only the first
<application> instance in the file. For any other <application>
elements, you will need to edit the file directly using the XML editor.

A.4 Configuration in adf-config.xml

The adf-config.xml file is used to configure application-wide features, like
security, caching, and change persistence. Other Oracle components also configure
properties in this file.

A.4.1 How to Configure ADF Faces in adf-config.xml

Before you can provide configuration for your application, you must first create the
adf-config.xml file. Then you can add configuration for any application-wide ADF
features that your application will use.

To create and edit adf-config.xml:

1. If not already created, create a META-INF directory for your project.

2. Right-click the META-INF directory, and choose New.

3. In the New Gallery, expand General, select XML and then XML Document, and
click OK.

Tip: If you don’t see the General node, click the All Technologies
tab at the top of the Gallery.

4. Enter adf-config.xml as the file name and save it in the META-INF directory.
5. In the source editor, replace the generated code with the code shown in
Example A–4.

Example A–4 XML for adf-config.xml File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<adf-config xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/config"
xmlns:ads="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/activedata/config">

</adf-config>

A-14 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuration in adf-config.xml

6. You can now add the elements needed for the configuration of features you wish
to use.

A.4.2 Defining Caching Rules for ADF Faces Caching Filter

Caching rules for the ADF Faces Caching Filter (ACF) are defined in the
adf-config.xml file, located in the web-application’s .adf/META-INF directory.
You must configure ACF to be in the request path for these URL matching rules. For
information about adding the ACF servlet filter definition, see Section A.2.3.18, "ADF
Faces Caching Filter."
The single root element for one or more caching rules is <caching-rules>,
configured as a child of the <adf-faces-config> element in the namespace
http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/config.
A <caching-rule> element defines each caching rule, evaluated in the order listed
in the configuration file. Example A–5 shows the syntax for defining caching rules in
adf-config.xml.

Example A–5 ACF Caching Rule Syntax

<adf-config xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/config">
<adf-faces-config xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/config">
<caching-rules xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/rich/acf">
<caching-rule id="cache-rule1">
<cache>true|false</cache>
<duration>3600</duration>
<agent-caching>true|false</agent-caching>
<agent-duration>4800</agent-duration>
<compress>true|false</compress>
<cache-key-pattern>....</cache-key-pattern>
<search-key>
<key>key1</key>
<key>key2</key>
</search-key>
<varyBy>
<vary-element>
<vary-name><cookieName>|<headerName></vary-name>
<vary-type>cookie|header</vary-type>
</vary-element>
</varyBy>
</caching-rule>
</caching-rules>
</adf-faces-config>
</adf-config>

Each caching rule is defined in a <caching-rule> element. An optional id attribute

can be defined to support rule location. Table A–1 describes the <caching-rule>
child elements used to define the parameters for caching or compressing the objects in
the application.

Table A–1 AFC Caching Rule Elements and Attributes

Rule Element Children Attribute Description and Value
<cache> Specifies whether or not the object must be cached in the web
cache. A value of false will ensure the object is never cached.
The default is true.
<duration> Defines the duration in seconds for which the object will be
cached in the web cache. The default is 300 seconds.

ADF Faces Configuration A-15

Configuration in adf-settings.xml

Table A–1 (Cont.) AFC Caching Rule Elements and Attributes

Rule Element Children Attribute Description and Value
<agent-caching> Specify a value of true to use a browser cache in the absence of
a web cache.
<agent-duration> Defines the duration in seconds for which the object is cached in
a browser cache. The default is -1. If <agent-caching> is
true and <agent-duration> is not defined, then the value
for <duration> is used instead.
<compress> Specifies whether or not the object cached in the web cache must
be compressed. The default value is true.
<cache-key-pattern> Determines the URLs to match for the rule. One and only one
<cache-key-pattern> element must be defined for the file
extensions or the path prefix of a request URL. A
<cache-key-pattern> value starting with a "*." value will
be used as a file extension mapping, and others will be used as
path prefix mapping.
<search-key> Defines the search keys tagged to the cached object. Each
<key> <caching-rule> can define one <search-key> element with
one or more child <key> elements. The value of a search key is
used in invalidating cached content. A default <search-key>
is added at runtime for the context root of the application in
order to identify all resources related to an application.
<varyBy> Used for versioning objects cached in the web cache. A
<vary-element> <varyBy> element can have one or more <vary-element>
<vary-name> elements that define the parameters for versioning a cached
<vary-type> object. Most static resources will not require this definition.
Each <vary-element> is defined by:
■ <vary-name>: Valid values are cookieName for the name
of the cookie whose value the response varies on, or
headerName for the name of the HTTP header whose value
determines the version of the object that is cached in the
web cache.
■ <vary-type>: Valid values are cookie or header.
The web cache automatically versions request parameters.
Multiple version of an object will be stored in web cache based
on the request parameter.

A.5 Configuration in adf-settings.xml

The adf-settings.xml file holds project- and library-level settings such as ADF
Faces help providers and caching/compression rules. The configuration settings for
the adf-settings.xml files are fixed and cannot be changed during and after
application deployment. There can be multiple adf-settings.xml files in an
application. ADF settings file users are responsible for merging the contents of their
configurations.

A.5.1 How to Configure for ADF Faces in adf-settings.xml

Before you can provide configuration for your application, you must first create the
adf-settings.xml file. Then you can add the configuration for any project features
that your application will use. For more information about configurations in this file,
see Section A.5.2, "What You May Need to Know About Elements in adf-settings.xml."

To create and edit adf-settings.xml:

1. If not already created, create a META-INF directory for your project.

A-16 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuration in adf-settings.xml

2. Right-click the META-INF directory, and choose New from the context menu.
3. In the New Gallery, expand General, select XML and then XML Document, and
click OK.

Tip: If you don’t see the General node, click the All Technologies
tab at the top of the Gallery.

4. In the source editor, replace the generated code with the code shown in
Example A–6, with the correct settings for your web application root.

Example A–6 XML for adf-settings.xml File

<adf-settings xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/settings"
xmlns:wap="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/share/http/config" >
<wap:adf-web-config xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/share/http/config">
<web-app-root rootName="myroot" />
</wap:adf-web-config>
</adf-settings>

5. You can now add the elements needed for the configuration of features you wish
to use. For more information, see Section A.5.2, "What You May Need to Know
About Elements in adf-settings.xml."

A.5.2 What You May Need to Know About Elements in adf-settings.xml

The following configuration elements are supported in the adf-settings.xml file.

A.5.2.1 Help System

You register the help provider used by your help system using the following elements:
■ <adf-faces-config>: A parent element that groups configurations specific to
ADF Faces.
■ <prefix-characters>: The provided prefix if the help provider is to supply
help topics only for help topic IDs beginning with a certain prefix. This can be
omitted if prefixes are not used.
■ <help-provider-class>: The help provider class.
■ <custom-property> and <property-value>: A property element that defines
the parameters the help provider class accepts.
Example A–7 shows an example of a registered help provider. In this case, there is only
one help provider for the application, so there is no need to include a prefix.

Example A–7 Help Provider Registration

<adf-settings xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/settings">
<adf-faces-config xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/settings">
<help-provider prefix="MYAPP">
<help-provider-class>
oracle.adfdemo.view.webapp.MyHelpProvider
</help-provider-class>
<property>
<property-name>myCustomProperty</property-name>
<value>someValue</value>
</property>
</help-provider>
</adf-faces-config>

ADF Faces Configuration A-17

Configuration in adf-settings.xml

</adf-settings>

A.5.2.2 Caching Rules

Application-specific libraries and JARs contain a variety of resources that may require
caching and/or compression of files. In the event of multiple libraries or JARs, an
application may include one or more adf-setting.xml files that contain various
caching rules based on matching URLs. The caching rules are merged into an ordered
list at runtime. If a request for a resource matches more than one caching rule, the rule
encountered first in the list will be honored.
The ADF Faces JAR includes default caching rules for common resource types, such as
.js, .css, and image file types. These fixed rules are defined in the
adf-settings.xml file, and cannot be changed during or after application
deployment. Application developers can define application caching rules in the
adf-config.xml file that take precedence over the rules defined in
adf-settings.xml. Example A–8 shows the adf-settings.xml file for the ADF
Faces JAR.

Example A–8 ADF Faces adf-settings.xml File

<adf-settings>
<adf-faces-settings>
<caching-rules>
<caching-rule id="cache css">
<duration>99999</duration>
<agent-caching>true</agent-caching>
<cache-key-pattern>*.css</cache-key-pattern>
</caching-rule>
<caching-rule id="cache js">
<duration>99999</duration>
<agent-caching>true</agent-caching>
<cache-key-pattern>*.js</cache-key-pattern>
</caching-rule>
<caching-rule id="cache png">
<compress>false</compress>
<duration>99999</duration>
<agent-caching>true</agent-caching>
<cache-key-pattern>*.png</cache-key-pattern>
</caching-rule>
<caching-rule id="cache jpg">
<compress>false</compress>
<duration>99999</duration>
<agent-caching>true</agent-caching>
<cache-key-pattern>*.jpg</cache-key-pattern>
</caching-rule>
<caching-rule id="cache jpeg">
<compress>false</compress>
<duration>99999</duration>
<agent-caching>true</agent-caching>
<cache-key-pattern>*.jpeg</cache-key-pattern>
</caching-rule>
<caching-rule id="cache gif">
<compress>false</compress>
<duration>99999</duration>
<agent-caching>true</agent-caching>
<cache-key-pattern>*.gif</cache-key-pattern>
</caching-rule>
<caching-rule id="cache html">

A-18 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuration in trinidad-config.xml

<compress>true</compress>
<duration>99999</duration>
<agent-caching>true</agent-caching>
<cache-key-pattern>*.html</cache-key-pattern>
</caching-rule>
</caching-rules>
</adf-faces-settings>
</adf-settings>

A.6 Configuration in trinidad-config.xml

When you create a JSF application using ADF Faces components, you configure ADF
Faces features (such as skin family and level of page accessibility support) in the
trinidad-config.xml file. Like faces-config.xml, the
trinidad-config.xml file has a simple XML structure that enables you to define
element properties using the JSF Expression Language (EL) or static values.

A.6.1 How to Configure ADF Faces Features in trinidad-config.xml

In JDeveloper, when you insert an ADF Faces component into a JSF page for the first
time, a starter trinidad-config.xml file is automatically created for you in the
/WEB-INF directory. Example A–9 shows a starter trinidad-config.xml file.

Example A–9 Starter trinidad-config.xml File Created by JDeveloper

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252"?>
<trinidad-config xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/trinidad/config">

<skin-family>blafplus-rich</skin-family>

</trinidad-config>

By default, JDeveloper configures the blafplus-rich skin family for a JSF

application that uses ADF Faces. You can change this to blafplus-medium, simple,
or use a custom skin. If you wish to use a custom skin, create the
trinidad-skins.xml configuration file, and modify trinidad-config.xml file
to use the custom skin. For more information about creating custom skins, see
Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using Styles and Skins."
Typically, you would configure the following in the trinidad-config.xml file:
■ Page animation
■ Level of page accessibility support
■ Time zone
■ Enhanced debugging output
■ Oracle Help for the Web (OHW) URL
You can also register a custom file upload processor for uploading files.
In JDeveloper, you can use the XML editor to modify the trinidad-config.xml
file.

To edit trinidad-config.xml:
1. In the Application Navigator, double-click trinidad-config.xml to open the file in
the XML editor.

ADF Faces Configuration A-19

Configuration in trinidad-config.xml

2. If you are familiar with the element names, enter them in the editor. Otherwise use
the Structure window to help you insert them.
3. In the Structure window:
a. Right-click an element to choose from the Insert before or Insert after menu,
and click the element you wish to insert.
b. Double-click the newly inserted element in the Structure window to open it in
the Property Inspector. Enter a value or select one from a dropdown list (if
available).
In most cases you can enter either a JSF EL expression (such as
#{view.locale.language=='en' ? 'minimal' :
'blafplus-rich'}) or a static value (for example.,
<debug-output>true</debug-output>). EL expressions are dynamically
reevaluated on each request, and must return an appropriate object (for
example, a boolean object).
For a list of the configuration elements you can use, see Section A.6.2, "What You May
Need to Know About Elements in trinidad-config.xml."
Once you have configured the trinidad-config.xml file, you can retrieve the
property values programmatically or by using JSF EL expressions. For more
information, see Section A.8, "Using the RequestContext EL Implicit Object."

A.6.2 What You May Need to Know About Elements in trinidad-config.xml

All trinidad-config.xml files must begin with a <trinidad-config> element
in the http://myfaces.apache.org/trinidad/config XML namespace. The
order of elements inside of <trinidad-config> does not matter. You can include
multiple instances of any element.

A.6.2.1 Animation Enabled

Certain ADF Faces components use animation when rendering. For example, trees and
tree tables use animation when expanding and collapsing nodes. The following
components use animation when rendering:
■ Table detail facet for disclosing and undisclosing the facet
■ Trees and tree table when expanding and collapsing nodes
■ Menus
■ Popup selectors
■ Dialogs
■ Note windows and message displays
The type and time of animation used is configured as part of the skin for the
application. For more information, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance
Using Styles and Skins."
You can set the animation-enabled element to either true or false, or you can
use an EL expression that resolves to either true or false.

Note: Enabling animation will have an impact on performance. For

more information, see the "Oracle Application Development
Framework Performance Tuning" section in the Oracle Fusion
Middleware Performance Guide.

A-20 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuration in trinidad-config.xml

A.6.2.2 Skin Family

As described in Section A.6.1, "How to Configure ADF Faces Features in
trinidad-config.xml," JDeveloper by default uses the blafplus-rich skin family for
a JSF application that uses ADF Faces. You can change the <skin-family> value to
blafplus-medium, simple, or to a custom skin definition. For information about
creating and using custom skins, see Chapter 20, "Customizing the Appearance Using
Styles and Skins."
You can use an EL expression for the skin family value, as shown in the following
code:
<skin-family>#{prefs.proxy.skinFamily}</skin-family>

A.6.2.3 Time Zone and Year

To set the time zone used for processing and displaying dates, and the year offset that
should be used for parsing years with only two digits, use the following elements:
■ <time-zone>: By default, ADF Faces uses the time zone used by the client
browser. If needed, you can use an EL expression that evaluates to a TimeZone
object. This value is used by
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.converter.DateTimeConverter while
converting strings to Date.
■ <two-digit-year-start>: This defaults to the year 1950 if no value is set. If
needed, you can use a static, integer value or an EL expression that evaluates to an
Integer object. This value is used by
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.converter.DateTimeConverter to
convert strings to Date.

A.6.2.4 Enhanced Debugging Output

By default, the <debug-output> element is false. ADF Faces enhances debugging
output when you set <debug-output> to true. The following features are then
added to debug output:
■ Automatic indenting
■ Comments identifying which component was responsible for a block of HTML
■ Detection of unbalanced elements, repeated use of the same attribute in a single
element, or other malformed markup problems
■ Detection of common HTML errors (for example, <form> tags inside other
<form> tags or <tr> or <td> tags used in invalid locations).

Performance Tip: Debugging impacts performance. Set this

parameter to false in a production environment.

A.6.2.5 Page Accessibility Level

Use <accessibility-mode> to define the level of accessibility support in an
application. The supported values are:
■ default: Output supports accessibility features.
■ inaccessible: Accessibility-specific constructs are removed to optimize output
size.
■ screenReader: Accessibility-specific constructs are added to improve behavior
under a screen reader.

ADF Faces Configuration A-21

Configuration in trinidad-config.xml

Note: Screen reader mode may have a negative effect on other users.
For example, access keys are not displayed if the accessibility mode is
set to screen reader mode.

Use <accessibility-profile> to configure the color contrast and font size used
in the application. The supported values are:
■ high-contrast: Application displays using high-contrast instead of the default
contrast.
■ large-fonts: Application displays using large fonts instead of the default size
fonts.
To use more than one setting, separate the values with a space.

A.6.2.6 Language Reading Direction

By default, ADF Faces page rendering direction is based on the language being used
by the browser. You can, however, explicitly set the default page rendering direction in
the <right-to-left> element by using an EL expression that evaluates to a Boolean
object, or by using true or false, as shown in the following code:
<!-- Render the page right-to-left for Arabic -->
<!-- and left-to-right for all other languages -->
<right-to-left>
#{view.locale.language=='ar' ? 'true' : 'false'}
</right-to-left>

A.6.2.7 Currency Code and Separators for Number Groups and Decimal Points
To set the currency code to use for formatting currency fields, and define the separator
to use for groups of numbers and the decimal point, use the following elements:
■ <currency-code>: Defines the default ISO 4217 currency code used by the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.converter.NumberConverter class to
format currency fields that do not specify an explicit currency code in their own
converter. Use a static value or an EL expression that evaluates to a String object.
For example:
<!-- Set the currency code to US dollars. -->
<currency-code>USD</currency-code>

■ <number-grouping-separator>: Defines the separator used for groups of

numbers (for example, a comma). ADF Faces automatically derives the separator
from the current locale, but you can override this default by specifying a value in
this element. You can use a static value or an EL expression that evaluates to a
Character object. If set, this value is used by the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.converter.NumberConverter class
while parsing and formatting.
For example, to set the number grouping separator to a period when the German
language is used in the application, use this code:
<!-- Set the number grouping separator to period for German -->
<!-- and comma for all other languages -->
<number-grouping-separator>
#{view.locale.language=='de' ? '.' : ','}
</number-grouping-separator>

A-22 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Configuration in trinidad-config.xml

■ <decimal-separator>: Defines the separator (for example, a period or a

comma) used for the decimal point. ADF Faces automatically derives the separator
from the current locale, but you can override this default by specifying a value in
this element. You can use a static value or an EL expression that evaluates to a
Character object. If set, this value is used by the
org.apache.mtfaces.trinidad.converter.NumberConverter class
while parsing and formatting.
For example, to set the decimal separator to a comma when the German language
is used in the application, use this code:
<!-- Set the decimal separator to comma for German -->
<!-- and period for all other languages -->
<decimal-separator>
#{view.locale.language=='de' ? ',' : '.'}
</decimal-separator>

A.6.2.8 Formatting Dates and Numbers Locale

By default, ADF Faces and MyFaces Trinidad will format dates (including the first day
of the week) and numbers in the same locale used for localized text (which by default
is the locale of the browser). If, however, you want dates and numbers formatted in a
different locale, you can use the <formatting-locale> element, which takes an
IANA-formatted locale (for example, ja, fr-CA) as its value. The contents of this
element can also be an EL expression pointing at an IANA string or a
java.util.Locale object.

A.6.2.9 Output Mode

To change the output mode ADF Faces uses, set the <output-mode> element, using
one of these values:
■ default: The default page output mode (usually display).
■ printable: An output mode suitable for printable pages.
■ email: An output mode suitable for emailing a page's content.

A.6.2.10 Number of Active PageFlowScope Instances

By default ADF Faces sets the maximum number of active PageFlowScope instances
at any one time to 15. Use the <page-flow-scope-lifetime> element to change
the number. Unlike other elements, you must use a static value: EL expressions are not
supported.

A.6.2.11 Custom File Uploaded Processor

Most applications do not need to replace the default UploadedFileProcessor
instance provided in ADF Faces, but if your application must support uploading of
very large files, or if it relies heavily on file uploads, you may wish to replace the
default processor with a custom UploadedFileProcessor implementation.
For example, you could improve performance by using an implementation that
immediately stores files in their final destination, instead of requiring ADF Faces to
handle temporary storage during the request. To replace the default processor, specify
your custom implementation using the <uploaded-file-processor> element, as
shown in the following code:
<uploaded-file-processor>
com.mycompany.faces.myUploadedFileProcessor
</uploaded-file-processor>

ADF Faces Configuration A-23

Configuration in trinidad-skins.xml

A.6.2.12 Client-Side Validation and Conversion

ADF Faces validators and converters support client-side validation and conversion, as
well as server-side validation and conversion. ADF Faces client-side validators and
converters work the same way as the server-side validators and converters, except that
JavaScript is used on the client.
The JavaScript-enabled validators and converters run on the client when the form is
submitted; thus errors can be caught without a server roundtrip.
The <client-validation-disabled> configuration element is not supported in
the rich client version of ADF Faces. This means you cannot turn off client-side
validation and conversion in ADF Faces applications.

A.7 Configuration in trinidad-skins.xml

By default, JDeveloper uses the blafplus-rich skin family when you create JSF
pages with ADF Faces components. The skin family is configured in the
trinidad-config.xml file, as described in Section A.6.1, "How to Configure ADF
Faces Features in trinidad-config.xml." If you wish to use a custom skin for your
application, create a trinidad-skins.xml file, which is used to register custom
skins in an application.
For detailed information about creating custom skins, see Chapter 20, "Customizing
the Appearance Using Styles and Skins."

A.8 Using the RequestContext EL Implicit Object

In ADF Faces, you can use the EL implicit object requestContext to retrieve values
from configuration properties defined in the trinidad-config.xml file. The
requestContext implicit object, which is an instance of the
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.context.RequestContext class, exposes
several properties of type java.util.Map, enabling you to use JSF EL expressions to
retrieve context object property values.
For example, the EL expression #{requestContext} returns the RequestContext
object itself, and the EL expression #{requestContext.skinFamily} returns the
value of the <skin-family> element from the trinidad-config.xml file.
You can also use EL expressions to bind a component attribute value to a property of
the requestContext implicit object. For example, in the EL expression that follows,
the <currency-code> property is bound to the currencyCode attribute value of
the JSF ConvertNumber component:
<af:outputText>
<f:convertNumber currencyCode="#{requestContext.currencyCode}"/>
</af:outputText>

You can use the following requestContext implicit object properties:

■ requestContext.accessibilityMode: Returns the value of the
<accessibility-mode> element from the trinidad-config.xml file.
■ requestContext.agent: Returns an object that describes the client agent that is
making the request and that is to display the rendered output. The properties in
the agent object are:
– agentName: Canonical name of the agent browser, (for example, gecko and
ie).
– agentVersion: Version number of the agent browser.

A-24 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using the RequestContext EL Implicit Object

– capabilities: Map of capability names (for example, height, width) and

their values for the current client request.
– hardwareMakeModel: Canonical name of the hardware make and model (for
example, nokia6600 and sonyericssonP900).
– platformName: Canonical name of the platform (for example, ppc,
windows, and mac).
– platformVersion: Version number of the platform.
– type: Agent type (for example, desktop, pda, and phone).
■ requestContext.clientValidationDisabled: Returns the value of the
<client-validation-disabled> element from the trinidad-config.xml
file.
■ requestContext.colorPalette: Returns a Map that takes color palette names
as keys, and returns the color palette as a result. Each color palette is an array of
java.awt.Color objects. Provides access to four standard color palettes:
– web216: The 216 web-safe colors
– default49: A 49-color palette, with one fully transparent entry
– opaque40: A 49-color palette, without a fully transparent entry
– default80: An 80-color palette, with one fully transparent entry
■ requestContext.currencyCode: Returns the value of the <currency-code>
element from the trinidad-config.xml file.
■ requestContext.debugOutput: Returns the value of the <debug-output>
element from the trinidad-config.xml file.
■ requestContext.decimalSeparator: Returns the value of the
<decimal-separator> element from the trinidad-config.xml file.
■ requestContext.formatter: Returns a Map object that performs message
formatting with a recursive Map structure. The first key must be the message
formatting mask, and the second key is the first parameter into the message.
■ requestContext.helpSystem: Returns a Map object that accepts help system
properties as keys, and returns a URL as a result. For example, the EL expression
#{requestContext.helpSystem['frontPage']} returns a URL to the front
page of the help system. This assumes you have configured the
<oracle-help-servlet-url> element in the trinidad-config.xml file.
■ requestContext.helpTopic: Returns a Map object that accepts topic names as
keys, and returns a URL as a result. For example, the EL expression
#{requestContext.helpTopic['foo']} returns a URL to the help topic
"foo". This assumes you have configured the <oracle-help-servlet-url>
element in the trinidad-config.xml file.
■ requestContext.numberGroupingSeparator: Returns the value of the
<number-grouping-separator> element from the trinidad-config.xml
file.
■ requestContext.oracleHelpServletUrl: Returns the value of the
<oracle-help-servlet-url> element from the trinidad-config.xml file.
■ requestContext.outputMode: Returns the value of the <output-mode>
element from the trinidad-config.xml file.

ADF Faces Configuration A-25

Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

■ requestContext.pageFlowScope: Returns a map of objects in the

pageFlowScope object.
■ requestContext.rightToLeft: Returns the value of the <right-to-left>
element from the trinidad-config.xml file.
■ requestContext.skinFamily: Returns the value of the <skin-family>
element from the trinidad-config.xml file.
■ requestContext.timeZone: Returns the value of the <time-zone> element
from the trinidad-config.xml file.
■ requestContext.twoDigitYearStart: Returns the value of the
<two-digit-year-start> element from the trinidad-config.xml file.
For a complete list of properties, refer to the Javadoc for
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.context.RequestContext.

Note: One instance of the

org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.context.RequestContext
class exists per request. The RequestContext class does not extend
the JSF FacesContext class.
To retrieve a configuration property programmatically, first call the
static getCurrentInstance() method to get an instance of the
RequestContext object, and then call the method that retrieves the
desired property, as shown in the following code:
RequestContext context = RequestContext.getCurrentInstance();

// Get the time-zone property

TimeZone zone = context.getTimeZone();

// Get the right-to-left property

if (context.isRightToLeft())
{
.
.
.
}

A.9 Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

ADF Faces groups its components’ JavaScript files into JavaScript features. A
JavaScript feature is a collection of JavaScript files associated with a logical identifier
that describes the feature. For example, the panelStretchLayout client component
is comprised of the following two JavaScript files
■ oracle/adf/view/js/component/rich/layout/
AdfRichPanelStretchLayout.js
■ oracle/adfinternal/view/js/laf/dhtml/rich/
AdfDhtmlPanelStretchLayoutPeer.js
These two files are grouped into the AdfRichPanelStretchLayout feature.
JavaScript features are further grouped into JavaScript partitions. JavaScript partitions
allow you to group JavaScript features into larger collections with the goal of
influencing the download size and number of roundtrips. For example, since the
panelStretchLayout component is often used with the panelSplitter

A-26 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

component, the features for these two components are grouped together in the stretch
partition, along with the other ADF Faces layout components that can stretch their
children. At runtime, when a page is loaded, the framework determines the
components used on the page, and then from that, determines which features are
needed (feature names are the same as the components’ constructor name). Only the
partitions that contain those features are downloaded. For more information about
JavaScript partitioning, see Section 1.2.1.2, "JavaScript Library Partitioning."
Features and partitions are defined using configuration files. ADF Faces ships with a
default features and partitions configuration file. You can overwrite the default
partitions file by creating your own implementation. When you create custom ADF
Faces components, you can create your own features and partition configuration files
for those components.
By default, JavaScript partitioning is turned on. Whether or not your application uses
JavaScript partitioning is determined by a context parameter in the web.xml file. For
more information about enabling or disabling JavaScript partitioning, see
Section A.2.3.15, "JavaScript Partitioning."

A.9.1 How to Create a JavaScript Feature

You create a JavaScript feature by creating an adf-js-features.xml file, and
then adding entries for the features.

Note: You create JavaScript features when you create custom ADF
Faces components. All existing ADF Faces components already have
features created for them, and these cannot be changed.

To create a JavaScript feature:

1. If not already created, create a META-INF directory for your component.

2. Right-click the META-INF directory, and choose New from the context menu.
3. In the New Gallery, expand General, select XML and then XML Document, and
click OK.

Tip: If you don’t see the General node, click the All Technologies
tab at the top of the Gallery.

4. Enter adf-js-features.xml as the file name and save it in the META-INF

directory.
5. In the source editor, replace the generated code with the code shown in
Example A–4.

Example A–10 XML for adf-js-features.xml File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<adf-js-features xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/feature"

</adf-js-features>

6. Add the following elements to populate a feature with the relevant component
files and dependencies.
■ features: The root element of the configuration file.

ADF Faces Configuration A-27

Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

■ feature: Create as a child to the features element. This element must

contain one feature-name child element and can also contain any number
of feature-class, as well as any number of feature-dependency
elements.
■ feature-name: Create as a child to the feature element. Specifies the name
of the feature. You must use the client component’s constructor name for this
value.
■ feature-class: Create as a child to the feature element. Specifies the
location of the single JavaScript file or class to be included in this feature.
There can be multiple feature-class elements.
■ feature-dependency: Create as a child to the feature element. Specifies
the name of another feature that this feature depends on. For example, if one
component B extends component A, then the feature that represents
component A must be listed as a dependency for component B. By noting
dependencies, the framework can ensure that any dependent classes are
available, even if the two features are not in the same partition.
Example A–11 shows the feature element for a fictitious custom component that
uses popup components (and therefore has a dependency to the popup feature).

Example A–11 JavaScript Features Configuration

<features xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/feature">
<feature>
<feature-name>AcmeMyPane</feature-name>
<feature-class>
oracle/adfdemo/acme/js/component/AcmeMyPane.js
</feature-class>
<feature-class>
oracle/adfdemo/acme/js/event/AcmePaneSelectEvent.js
</feature-class>
<feature-class>
oracle/adfdemo/acme/js/component/AcmeMyPanePeer.js
</feature-class>

<!-- Dependencies -->

<!-- Popup hints -->

<feature-dependency>AdfRichPopup</feature-dependency>

</feature>

A.9.2 How to Create JavaScript Partitions

You create a JavaScript partition by creating an adf-js-partitions.xml file,
and then adding entries for the features.

Note: ADF Faces provides a default adf-js-partitions.xml file

(see Example A–14). If you want to change the partition configuration,
you need to create your own complete adf-js-partitions.xml
file. At runtime, the framework will search the WEB-INF directory for
that file. If one is not found, it will load the default partition file.

To create JavaScript partitions:

1. Right-click the WEB-INF directory, and choose New from the context menu.

A-28 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

2. In the New Gallery, expand General, select XML and then XML Document, and
click OK.

Tip: If you don’t see the General node, click the All Technologies
tab at the top of the Gallery.

3. Enter adf-js-partitions.xml as the file name and save it in the WEB-INF

directory.
4. In the source editor, replace the generated code with the code shown in
Example A–4.

Example A–12 XML for adf-js-partitions.xml File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<adf-js-features xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/partition"

</adf-js-partitions>

5. Add the following elements to populate a partition with the relevant features.
■ partitions: The root element of the configuration file.
■ partition: Create as a child to the partitions element. This element must
contain one partition-name child element and one or more feature
elements.
■ partition-name: Create as a child to the partition element. Specifies the
name of the partition. This value will be used to produce a unique URL for
this partition’s JavaScript library.
■ feature: Create as a child to the partition element. Specifies the feature to
be included in this partition. There can be multiple feature elements.

Tip: Any feature configured in the adf-js-features.xml file

that does not appear in a partition is treated as if it were in its own
partition.

Example A–13 shows the partition element for the tree partition that contains
the AdfRichTree and AdfRichTreeTable features.

Example A–13 JavaScript Partition Configuration

<partition>
<partition-name>tree</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUITree</feature>
<feature>AdfUITreeTable</feature>
<feature>AdfRichTree</feature>
<feature>AdfRichTreeTable</feature>
</partition>

A.9.3 What You May Need to Know About the adf-js-partitions.xml File
The default ADF Faces adf-js-partitions.xml file has partitions that you can
override by creating your own partitions file. For more information, see Section A.9.2,
"How to Create JavaScript Partitions." Example A–14 shows the default ADF Faces
adf-js-partitions.xml file.

ADF Faces Configuration A-29

Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

Example A–14 The Default adf-js-partitions.xml File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<partitions xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/faces/partition">

<partition>
<partition-name>boot</partition-name>
<feature>AdfBootstrap</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>core</partition-name>

<feature>AdfCore</feature>

<!-- Behavioral component super classes -->

<feature>AdfUIChoose</feature>
<feature>AdfUICollection</feature>
<feature>AdfUICommand</feature>
<feature>AdfUIDialog</feature>
<feature>AdfUIDocument</feature>
<feature>AdfUIEditableValue</feature>
<feature>AdfUIForm</feature>
<feature>AdfUIGo</feature>
<feature>AdfUIInput</feature>
<feature>AdfUIObject</feature>
<feature>AdfUIOutput</feature>
<feature>AdfUIPanel</feature>
<feature>AdfUIPopup</feature>
<feature>AdfUISelectBoolean</feature>
<feature>AdfUISelectInput</feature>
<feature>AdfUISelectOne</feature>
<feature>AdfUISelectMany</feature>
<feature>AdfUIShowDetail</feature>
<feature>AdfUISubform</feature>
<feature>AdfUIValue</feature>

<!-- These are all so common that we group them with core -->
<feature>AdfRichDocument</feature>
<feature>AdfRichForm</feature>
<feature>AdfRichPopup</feature>
<feature>AdfRichSubform</feature>
<feature>AdfRichCommandButton</feature>
<feature>AdfRichCommandLink</feature>

<!--
Dialog is currently on every page for messaging. No use
in putting these in a separate partition.
-->
<feature>AdfRichPanelWindow</feature>
<feature>AdfRichDialog</feature>

<!-- af:showPopupBehavior is so small/common, belongs in core -->

<feature>AdfShowPopupBehavior</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>accordion</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichPanelAccordion</feature>
</partition>

A-30 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

<partition>
<partition-name>border</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichPanelBorderLayout</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>box</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichPanelBox</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>calendar</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUICalendar</feature>
<feature>AdfRichCalendar</feature>
<feature>AdfCalendarDragSource</feature>
<feature>AdfCalendarDropTarget</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>collection</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIDecorateCollection</feature>
<feature>AdfRichPanelCollection</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>color</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichChooseColor</feature>
<feature>AdfRichInputColor</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>date</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichChooseDate</feature>
<feature>AdfRichInputDate</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>declarativeComponent</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIInclude</feature>
<feature>AdfUIDeclarativeComponent</feature>
<feature>AdfRichDeclarativeComponent</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>detail</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichShowDetail</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>dnd</partition-name>
<feature>AdfDragAndDrop</feature>
<feature>AdfCollectionDragSource</feature>
<feature>AdfStampedDropTarget</feature>
<feature>AdfCollectionDropTarget</feature>
<feature>AdfAttributeDragSource</feature>
<feature>AdfAttributeDropTarget</feature>
<feature>AdfComponentDragSource</feature>
<feature>AdfDropTarget</feature>
</partition>

ADF Faces Configuration A-31

Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

<partition>
<partition-name>detailitem</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichShowDetailItem</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>file</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichInputFile</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>form</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichPanelFormLayout</feature>
<feature>AdfRichPanelLabelAndMessage</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>format</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichOutputFormatted</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>frame</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichInlineFrame</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>header</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichPanelHeader</feature>
<feature>AdfRichShowDetailHeader</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>imagelink</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichCommandImageLink</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>iedit</partition-name>
<feature>AdfInlineEditing</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>input</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichInputText</feature>
<feature>AdfInsertTextBehavior</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>label</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichOutputLabel</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>list</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichPanelList</feature>
</partition>

<partition>

A-32 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

<partition-name>lov</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIInputPopup</feature>
<feature>AdfRichInputComboboxListOfValues</feature>
<feature>AdfRichInputListOfValues</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>media</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichMedia</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>message</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIMessage</feature>
<feature>AdfUIMessages</feature>
<feature>AdfRichMessage</feature>
<feature>AdfRichMessages</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>menu</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichCommandMenuItem</feature>
<feature>AdfRichGoMenuItem</feature>
<feature>AdfRichMenuBar</feature>
<feature>AdfRichMenu</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>nav</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUINavigationPath</feature>
<feature>AdfUINavigationLevel</feature>
<feature>AdfRichBreadCrumbs</feature>
<feature>AdfRichCommandNavigationItem</feature>
<feature>AdfRichNavigationPane</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>note</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichNoteWindow</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>poll</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIPoll</feature>
<feature>AdfRichPoll</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>progress</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIProgress</feature>
<feature>AdfRichProgressIndicator</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>print</partition-name>
<feature>AdfShowPrintablePageBehavior</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>scrollComponentIntoView</partition-name>

ADF Faces Configuration A-33

Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

<feature>AdfScrollComponentIntoViewBehavior</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>query</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIQuery</feature>
<feature>AdfRichQuery</feature>
<feature>AdfRichQuickQuery</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>region</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIRegion</feature>
<feature>AdfRichRegion</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>reset</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIReset</feature>
<feature>AdfRichResetButton</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>rte</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichTextEditor</feature>
<feature>AdfRichTextEditorInsertBehavior</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>select</partition-name>

<feature>AdfRichSelectBooleanCheckbox</feature>
<feature>AdfRichSelectBooleanRadio</feature>
<feature>AdfRichSelectManyCheckbox</feature>
<feature>AdfRichSelectOneRadio</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>selectmanychoice</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichSelectManyChoice</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>selectmanylistbox</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichSelectManyListbox</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>selectonechoice</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichSelectOneChoice</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>selectonelistbox</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichSelectOneListbox</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>shuttle</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUISelectOrder</feature>

A-34 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

<feature>AdfRichSelectManyShuttle</feature>
<feature>AdfRichSelectOrderShuttle</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>slide</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichInputNumberSlider</feature>
<feature>AdfRichInputRangeSlider</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>spin</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichInputNumberSpinbox</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>status</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichStatusIndicator</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>stretch</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichDecorativeBox</feature>
<feature>AdfRichPanelSplitter</feature>
<feature>AdfRichPanelStretchLayout</feature>
<feature>AdfRichPanelDashboard</feature>
<feature>AdfPanelDashboardBehavior</feature>
<feature>AdfDashboardDropTarget</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>tabbed</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIShowOne</feature>
<feature>AdfRichPanelTabbed</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>table</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIIterator</feature>
<feature>AdfUITable</feature>
<feature>AdfUITable2</feature>
<feature>AdfUIColumn</feature>
<feature>AdfRichColumn</feature>
<feature>AdfRichTable</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>toolbar</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichCommandToolbarButton</feature>
<feature>AdfRichToolbar</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>toolbox</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichToolbox</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>train</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUIProcess</feature>

ADF Faces Configuration A-35

Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

<feature>AdfRichCommandTrainStop</feature>
<feature>AdfRichTrainButtonBar</feature>
<feature>AdfRichTrain</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>tree</partition-name>
<feature>AdfUITree</feature>
<feature>AdfUITreeTable</feature>
<feature>AdfRichTree</feature>
<feature>AdfRichTreeTable</feature>
</partition>

<!--
Some components which typically do have client-side representation,
but small enough that we might as well download in a single partition
in the event that any of these are needed.
-->
<partition>
<partition-name>uncommon</partition-name>
<feature>AdfRichGoButton</feature>
<feature>AdfRichIcon</feature>
<feature>AdfRichImage</feature>
<feature>AdfRichOutputText</feature>
<feature>AdfRichPanelGroupLayout</feature>
<feature>AdfRichSeparator</feature>
<feature>AdfRichSpacer</feature>
<feature>AdfRichGoLink</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>eum</partition-name>
<feature>AdfEndUserMonitoring</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>ads</partition-name>
<feature>AdfActiveDataService</feature>
</partition>

<partition>
<partition-name>automation</partition-name>
<feature>AdfAutomationTest</feature>
</partition>

</partitions>

A.9.4 What Happens at Runtime: JavaScript Partitioning

ADF Faces loads the library partitioning configuration files at application initialization
time. First, ADF Faces searches for all adf-js-features.xml files in the META-INF
directory and loads all that are found (including the ADF Faces default feature
configuration file).
For the partition configuration file, ADF Faces looks for a single file named
adf-js-partitions.xml in the WEB-INF directory. If no such file is found, the
ADF Faces default partition configuration is used.
During the render traversal, ADF Faces collects information about which JavaScript
features are required by the page. At the end of the traversal, the complete set of

A-36 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

JavaScript features required by the (rendered) page contents is known. Once the set of
required JavaScript features is known, ADF Faces uses the partition configuration file
to map this set of features to the set of required partitions. Given the set of required
partitions, the HTML <script> references to these partitions are rendered just before
the end of the HTML document.

ADF Faces Configuration A-37

Using JavaScript Library Partitioning

A-38 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 B
B Message Keys for Converter and Validator
Messages

This appendix lists all the message keys and message setter methods for ADF Faces
converters and validators.
This chapter includes the following sections:
■ Section B.1, "Introduction to ADF Faces Default Messages"
■ Section B.2, "Message Keys and Setter Methods"
■ Section B.3, "Converter and Validator Message Keys and Setter Methods"

B.1 Introduction to ADF Faces Default Messages

The FacesMessage class supports both summary and detailed messages. The
convention is that:
■ The summary message is defined for the main key. The key value is of the form
classname.MSG_KEY.
■ The detailed message is of the form classname.MSG_KEY_detail.
In summary, to override a detailed message you can either use the setter method on
the appropriate class or enter a replacement message in a resource bundle using the
required message key.
Placeholders are used in detail messages to provide relevant details such as the value
the user entered and the label of the component for which this is a message. The
general order of placeholder identifiers is:
■ component label
■ input value (if present)
■ minimum value (if present)
■ maximum value (if present)
■ pattern (if present)

B.2 Message Keys and Setter Methods

The following information is given for each of the ADF Faces converter and validators:
■ The set method you can use to override the message.
■ The message key you can use to identify your own version of the message in a
resource bundle.

Message Keys for Converter and Validator Messages B-1

Converter and Validator Message Keys and Setter Methods

■ How placeholders can be used in the message to include details such as the input
values and patterns.

B.3 Converter and Validator Message Keys and Setter Methods

This section gives the reference details for all ADF Faces converter and validator detail
messages.

B.3.1 af:convertColor
Converts strings representing color values to and from java.awt.Color objects. The
set of patterns used for conversion can be overriden.

Convert color: Input value cannot be converted to a color based on the patterns set
Set method:
setMessageDetailConvertBoth(java.lang.String convertBothMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.convert.ColorConverter.CONVERT_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} A date-time example, based on the dateStyle and timeStyle set in the
converter

B.3.2 af:convertDateTime
Converts a string to and from java.util.Date and the converse based on the
pattern and style set.

Convert date and time: Date-time value that cannot be converted to Date object
when type is set to both
Set method:
setMessageDetailConvertBoth(java.lang.String convertBothMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.convert.DateTimeConverter.CONVERT_BOTH_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} Example of the format the converter is expecting

Convert date: Input value cannot be converted to a Date when the pattern or
secondary pattern is set or when type is set to date
Set method:
setMessageDetailConvertDate(java.lang.String convertDateMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.convert.DateTimeConverter.CONVERT_DATE_detail

B-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Converter and Validator Message Keys and Setter Methods

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} Example of the format the converter is expecting

Convert date: Input value cannot be converted to a Date when the pattern or
secondary pattern is set or when type is set to date
Set method:
setMessageDetailConvertTime(java.lang.String convertTimeMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.convert.DateTimeConverter.CONVERT_TIME_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} Example of the format the converter is expecting

B.3.3 af:convertNumber
Provides an extension of the standard JSF
javax.faces.convert.NumberConverter class. The converter provides all the
standard functionality of the default NumberConverter and is strict while converting
to an object.

Convert number: Input value cannot be converted to a Number, based on the

pattern set
Set method:
setMessageDetailConvertPattern(java.lang.String convertPatternMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.convert.NumberConverter.CONVERT_PATTERN_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The specified conversion pattern

Convert number: Input value cannot be converted to a Number when type is set to
number and pattern is null or not set
Set method:
setMessageDetailConvertNumber(java.lang.String convertNumberMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.convert.NumberConverter.CONVERT_NUMBER_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user

Message Keys for Converter and Validator Messages B-3

Converter and Validator Message Keys and Setter Methods

Convert number: Input value cannot be converted to a Number when type is set to
currency and pattern is null or not set
Set method:
setMessageDetailConvertCurrency(java.lang.String convertCurrencyMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.convert.NumberConverter.CONVERT_CURRENCY_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user

Convert number: Input value cannot be converted to a Number when type is set to
percent and pattern is null or not set
Set method:
setMessageDetailConvertPercent(java.lang.String convertPercentMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.convert.NumberConverter.CONVERT_PERCENT_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user

B.3.4 af:validateByteLength
Validates the byte length of strings when encoded.

Validate byte length: The input value exceeds the maximum byte length
Set method:
setMessageDetailMaximum(java.lang.String maximumMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.ByteLengthValidator.MAXIMUM_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} Maximum length

B.3.5 af:validateDateRestriction
Validates that the date is valid with some given restrictions.

Validate date restriction - Invalid Date: The input value is invalid when
invalidDate is set
Set method:
setMessageDetailInvalidDays(java.lang.String invalidDays)

Message key:

B-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Converter and Validator Message Keys and Setter Methods

org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.DateRestrictionValidator.WEEKDAY_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The invalid date

Validate date restriction - Invalid day of the week: The input value is invalid when
invalidDaysOfWeek is set
Set method:
setMessageDetailInvalidDaysOfWeek(java.lang.String invalidDaysOfWeek)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.DateRestrictionValidator.DAY_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The invalid month

Validate date restriction - Invalid month: The input value is invalid when
invalidMonths is set
Set method:
setMessageDetailInvalidMonths(java.lang.String invalidMonths)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.DateRestrictionValidator.MONTH_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The invalid weekday

B.3.6 af:validateDateTimeRange
Validates that the date entered is within a given range.

Validate date-time range: The input value exceeds the maximum value set
Set method:
setMessageDetailMaximum(java.lang.String maximumMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.DateTimeRangeValidator.MAXIMUM_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The maximum allowed date

Message Keys for Converter and Validator Messages B-5

Converter and Validator Message Keys and Setter Methods

Validate date-time range: The input value is less than the minimum value set
Set method:
setMessageDetailMinimum(java.lang.String minimumMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.DateTimeRangeValidator.MINIMUM_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The minimum allowed date

Validate date-time range: The input value is not within the range, when minimum
and maximum are set
Set method:
setMessageDetailNotInRange(java.lang.String notInRangeMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.DateTimeRangeValidator.NOT_IN_RANGE_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The minimum allowed date
{3} The maximum allowed date

B.3.7 af:validateDoubleRange
Validates that the value entered is within a given range.

Validate double range: The input value exceeds the maximum value set
Set method:
setMessageDetailMaximum(java.lang.String maximumMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.DoubleRangeValidator.MAXIMUM_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The maximum allowed value

Validate double range: The input value is less than the minimum value set
Set method:
setMessageDetailMinimum(java.lang.String minimumMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.DoubleRangeValidator.MINIMUM_detail

Placeholders:

B-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Converter and Validator Message Keys and Setter Methods

{0} The label that identifies the component

{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The minimum allowed value

Validate double range: The input value is not within the range, when minimum and
maximum are set
Set method:
setMessageDetailNotInRange(java.lang.String notInRangeMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.DoubleRangeValidator.NOT_IN_RANGE_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The minimum allowed value
{3} The maximum allowed value

B.3.8 af:validateLength
Validates that the value entered is within a given range.

Validate length: The input value exceeds the maximum value set
Set method:
setMessageDetailMaximum(java.lang.String maximumMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.LengthValidator.MAXIMUM_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The maximum allowed length

Validate length: The input value is less than the minimum value set
Set method:
setMessageDetailMinimum(java.lang.String minimumMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.LengthValidator.MINIMUM_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The minimum allowed length

Validate length: The input value is not within the range, when minimum and
maximum are set
Set method:
setMessageDetailNotInRange(java.lang.String notInRangeMessageDetail)

Message Keys for Converter and Validator Messages B-7

Converter and Validator Message Keys and Setter Methods

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.LengthValidator.NOT_IN_RANGE_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The minimum allowed length
{3} The maximum allowed length

B.3.9 af:validateRegExp
Validates an expression using Java regular expression syntax.

Validate regular expression: The input value does not match the specified pattern
Set method:
setMessageDetailNoMatch(java.lang.String noMatchMessageDetail)

Message key:
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.validator.RegExpValidator.NO_MATCH_detail

Placeholders:
{0} The label that identifies the component
{1} Value entered by the user
{2} The expected pattern

B-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 C
CKeyboard Shortcuts

This appendix describes the keyboard shortcuts that can be used instead of pointing
devices.
This appendix includes the following sections:
■ Section C.1, "About Keyboard Shortcuts"
■ Section C.2, "Tab Traversal"
■ Section C.3, "Accelerator Keys"
■ Section C.4, "Access Keys"
■ Section C.5, "Default Cursor or Focus Placement"
■ Section C.6, "The Enter Key"

C.1 About Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts provide an alternative to pointing devices for navigating the page.
There are five types of keyboard shortcuts that can be provided in BLAF Plus
applications:
■ Tab traversal, using Tab and Shift+Tab keys: Moves the focus through UI elements
on a screen.
■ Accelerator keys (hot keys): bypasses menu and page navigation, and performs an
action directly, for example, Ctrl+C for Copy.
■ Access keys: Moves the focus to a specific UI element, for example, Alt+F (in
Windows) for the File menu.
■ Default cursor/focus placement: Puts the initial focus on a component so that
keyboard users can start interacting with the page without excessive navigation.
■ Enter key: Triggers an action when the cursor is in certain fields or when the focus
is on a link or button.
Keyboard shortcuts are not required for accessibility. Users should be able to navigate
to all parts and functions of the application using the Tab and arrow keys, without
using any keyboard shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts merely provide an additional way
to access a function quickly.

C.2 Tab Traversal

Tab traversal allows the user to move the focus through different UI elements on a
page.

Keyboard Shortcuts C-1

Tab Traversal

All active elements of the page are accessible by Tab traversal, that is, by using the Tab
key to move to the next control and Shift+Tab to move to the previous control. In most
cases, when a control has focus, the action can then be initiated by pressing Enter.
Some complex components use arrow keys to navigate after the component receives
focus using the Tab key.

C.2.1 Tab Traversal Sequence on a Page

Default Tab traversal order for a page is from left to right and from top to bottom, as
shown in Figure C–1. Tab traversal in a two-column form layout does not follow this
pattern, but rather follows a columnar pattern. On reaching the bottom, the tab
sequence repeats again from the top.

Figure C–1 Tab Traversal Sequence on a Page

Avoid using custom code to control the tab traversal sequence within a page, as the
resulting pages would be too difficult to manage and would create an inconsistent
user experience across pages in an application and across applications.
To improve keyboard navigation efficiency for users, you should include a skip
navigation link at the top of the page, which should navigate directly to the first
content-related tab stop.

C.2.2 Tab Traversal Sequence in a Table

The Tab traversals in a table establish a unique row-wise navigation pattern when the
user presses the Tab key several times to navigate sequentially from one cell to
another. When the user presses Enter, the focus moves to the next row, to follow the
same pattern. The navigational sequence begins and ends in the same column as in the
previous row.
Figure C–2 shows an example of a tab traversal sequence in a table.

C-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Tab Traversal

Figure C–2 Tab Traversal Sequence in a Table

In Figure C–2, the user has navigated the rows in the following way:
1. The user clicks a cell in the inputText column, giving it focus and making it
editable.
Because the Tab key is used to navigate, the inputText column is recognized as the
starting column for the navigation pattern.
2. The user presses the Tab key and moves the focus in the same row to the cell of
the * Required field column.
3. The user presses the Tab key and moves the focus in the same row to the cell of
the inputComboListOf column.
4. The user presses the Enter key and the focus shifts to the inputText column in the
next row.
Pressing the Enter key sets a navigation pattern, based on the first set of Tab keys,
which is followed in subsequent rows.

Keyboard Shortcuts C-3

Accelerator Keys

Note: The navigational pattern is not recognized if you use arrow

keys to navigate from one cell to another.

C.3 Accelerator Keys

Accelerator keys bypass menu and page navigation and perform actions directly.
Accelerator keys are sometimes called hot keys. Common accelerator keys in a
Windows application, such as Internet Explorer, are Ctrl+O for Open and Ctrl+P for
Print.
Accelerator keys are single key presses (for example, Enter and Esc) or key
combinations (for example, Ctrl+A) that initiate actions immediately when activated.
A key combination consists of a metakey and an execution key. The metakey may be
Ctrl (Command on a Macintosh keyboard), Alt (Option on a Macintosh keyboard), or
Shift. The execution key is the key that is pressed in conjunction with the metakey.
BLAF Plus components have some built-in accelerator keys. Custom accelerator keys
are supported only in menus, as shown in Figure C–3.

Figure C–3 Accelerator Keys in a Menu

When defining accelerator keys, you must follow these guidelines:

■ Accelerator keys must always have alternative interactions, such as direct
manipulation with the mouse (for example, clicking a button, or dragging and
dropping).
■ Because accelerator keys perform actions directly, if a user presses an accelerator
key unintentionally, data may be lost or incorrect data may be entered. To reduce
the likelihood of user error, accelerator keys should be used sparingly, and only
for frequently and repetitively used functions across applications. As a general
rule, less than 25% of available functions should have accelerator keys.
■ Custom accelerator keys must not override accelerator keys that are used in the
menus of BLAF Plus-supported browsers (see the browser and system
requirements for supported operating systems and browsers in BLAF Plus), and
must not override accelerator keys that are used in assistive technologies such as
screen readers.
■ Custom menu accelerator keys must always be key combinations. The metakey
may be Ctrl, Ctrl+Shift, or Ctrl+Alt. Ctrl+Alt is the recommended metakey

C-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Accelerator Keys

because Ctrl and Ctrl+Shift are commonly used by browsers. The execution key
must be a printable character (ASCII code range 33-126).
■ Custom menu accelerator keys must be global to the entire page. If a page were to
have different menus that used the same accelerator, it would be difficult for the
browser to predict which actions would be executed by the accelerator at any
given time.

Note: In Windows, users have the ability to assign a

Ctrl+Alt+character key sequence to an application desktop shortcut.
In this case, the key assignment overrides browser-level key
assignments. However, this feature is rarely used, so it can generally
be ignored.

Certain BLAF Plus components have built-in accelerator keys that apply when the
component has focus. Of these, some are reserved for page-level components, whereas
others may be assigned to menus when the component is not used on a page.
Table C–1 lists the accelerator keys that are already built into page-level BLAF Plus
components. You must not use these accelerator keys at all.

Table C–1 Accelerator Keys Reserved for Page-Level Components

Accelerator Key Used In Function
Ctrl+Alt+R Active Data Check for updated data
Ctrl+Alt+W Menu Toggle focus between popup
and primary window
Messaging
Secondary Windows
Ctrl+Alt+P Splitter Give focus to splitter bar

The menu commands take precedence if they are on the same page as page-level
components, and have the same accelerator keys. For this reason, you must not use the
accelerator keys listed in Table C–2 in menus when the related component also
appears on the same page.

Table C–2 Accelerator Keys Assigned to Optional Components

Accelerator Key Component Function
Ctrl+Alt++ Rich Text Editor Superscript
Ctrl+Alt+- Rich Text Editor Subscript
Ctrl+/ Hierarchy Viewer Switch content panel
Ctrl+Alt+0. . . Hierarchy Viewer Switch diagram layout
Ctrl+Alt+5
Ctrl+5 Rich Text Editor Strikethrough

Keyboard Shortcuts C-5

Accelerator Keys

Table C–2 (Cont.) Accelerator Keys Assigned to Optional Components

Accelerator Key Component Function
Ctrl+A File Upload Select all
Multi-Select Choice List
Multi-Select List Box
Pivot Table
Rich Text Editor
Spin Box
Text Box & Area
Table
Ctrl+B Rich Text Editor Boldface
Ctrl+Alt+C Rich Text Editor Toggle source code editing
Ctrl+E Rich Text Editor Center alignment
Ctrl+H Rich Text Editor Create hyperlink
Ctrl+Shift+H Rich Text Editor Remove hyperlink
Ctrl+I Rich Text Editor Italics
Ctrl+J Rich Text Editor
Ctrl+L Rich Text Editor Full-justified alignment
Ctrl+Shift+L Rich Text Editor Left alignment
Ctrl+Alt+L Rich Text Editor Numbered list
Ctrl+M Rich Text Editor Increase indentation
Ctrl+Shift+M Rich Text Editor Decrease indentation
Ctrl+Alt+M Gantt Launch context menu
Pivot Table
Table
Tree
Tree Table
Ctrl+R Rich Text Editor Right alignment
Ctrl+Alt+R Rich Text Editor Toggle rich text editing
Ctrl+Shift+S Rich Text Editor Clear text styles
Ctrl+U Rich Text Editor Underline
Ctrl+Y Rich Text Editor Redo
Ctrl+Z Rich Text Editor Undo
Ctrl+Shift+^ Hierarchy Viewer Go up one level
Tree
Tree Table
Esc Table Reverse all edits of the row
and disable edit mode
Enter Table Navigate to the next or
previous cell of the column
Shift+Enter

C-6 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Access Keys

C.4 Access Keys

Access keys move the focus to a specific UI element.
Access keys relocate cursor or selection focus to specific interface components. Every
component on the page with definable focus is accessible by tab traversal (using Tab
and Shift+Tab); however, access keys provide quick focus to frequently used
components. Access keys must be unique within a page.
The result of pressing an access key depends on the associated element and the
browser:
■ Buttons: In both Firefox and Internet Explorer, access keys give focus to the
component and directly execute the action.
■ Links: In Firefox, access keys give focus to the component and directly navigate
the link; in Internet Explorer, access keys give focus only to the link.
■ Other Elements: In both browsers, access keys give focus only to the element.
Access keys are triggered with Shift+Alt+mnemonic in Firefox and Alt+mnemonic in
Internet Explorer.
If the mnemonic is present in the text of the component label or prompt (for example,
a menu name, button label, or text box prompt), it is visible in the interface as an
underlined character, as shown in Figure C–4. If the character is not part of the text of
the label or prompt, it is not displayed in the interface.

Figure C–4 Access Key

When defining access keys, you must follow these guidelines:

■ Access keys may be provided for buttons and other components with a high
frequency of use. You may provide standard cross-application key assignments
for common actions, such as Save and Cancel. Each of these buttons is assigned a
standard mnemonic letter in each language, such as S for Save or C for Cancel.
■ A single letter or symbol can be assigned only to a single instance of an action on a
page. If a page had more than one instance of a button with the same mnemonic,
users would have no way of knowing which button the access key would invoke.
■ Focus change initiated through access keys must have alternative interactions,
such as direct manipulation with the mouse (for example, clicking a button).
■ The mnemonic must be an alphanumeric character — not a punctuation mark or
symbol — and it must always be case-insensitive. Letters are preferred over
numbers for mnemonics.
■ In Internet Explorer, application access keys override any browser-specific menu
access keys (such as Alt+F for the File menu), and this can be a usability issue for
users who habitually use browser access keys. Thus, teams must not use access
keys that conflict with the top-level menu access keys in BLAF Plus-supported
browsers (for example, Alt+F, E, V, A, T, or H in the English version of Internet
Explorer for Windows XP).

Keyboard Shortcuts C-7

Default Cursor or Focus Placement

■ You are responsible for assigning access keys to specific components. When
choosing a letter for the access key, there are a few important considerations:
– Ease of learning: Although the underlined letter in the label clearly indicates
to the user which letter is the access key, it is still recommended to pick a letter
that is easy for users to remember even without scanning the label. That is
often the first letter of the label, like Y in Yes, or a letter that has a strong
sound when the label is read aloud, such as x in Next.
– Consistency: It is good practice to use the same access key for the same
command on multiple pages. However, this may not always be possible if the
same command label appears multiple times on a page, or if another, more
frequently used command on the page uses the same access key.
– Translation: When a label is translated, the same letter that is used for the
access key in English might not be present in the translation. Developers
should work with their localization department to ensure that alternative
access keys are present in component labels after translation. For example, in
English, the button Next may be assigned the mnemonic letter x, but that letter
does not appear when the label is translated to Suivantes in French.
Depending on the pool of available letters, an alternative letter, such as S or v
(or any other unassigned letter in the term Suivantes), should be assigned to
the translated term.

Note: For translation reasons, you should specify access keys as part
of the label. For example, to render the label Cancel with the C access
key, it is recommended to use &Cancel in the textAndAccessKey
property (where the ampersand denotes the mnemonic) rather than C
in the accessKey property. Product suites must ensure that access
keys are not duplicated within each supported language and do not
override access keys within each supported browser unless explicitly
intended.

C.5 Default Cursor or Focus Placement

The default cursor puts the initial focus on a component so that keyboard users can
start interacting with the page without excessive navigation.
Focus refers to a type of selection outline that moves through the page when users
press the tab key or access keys. When the focus moves to a field where data can be
entered, a cursor appears in the field. If the field already contains data, the data is
highlighted. In addition, after using certain controls (such as a list of values (LOV) or
date-time picker), the cursor or focus placement moves to specific locations predefined
by the component.
During the loading of a standard BLAF Plus page, focus appears on the first focusable
component on the page — either an editable widget or a navigation component. If
there is no focusable element on the page, focus appears on the browser address field.
When defining default cursor and focus placement, you should follow these
guidelines:
■ BLAF Plus applications should provide default cursor or focus placement on most
pages so that keyboard users have direct access to content areas, rather than
having to tab through UI elements at the top of the page.
■ You can set focus on a different component than the default when the page is
loaded. If your page has a common starting point for data entry, you may change

C-8 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 The Enter Key

default focus or cursor location so that users can start entering data without
excessive keyboard or mouse navigation. Otherwise, do not do this because it
makes it more difficult for keyboard users (particularly screen reader users) to
orient themselves after the page is loaded.

C.6 The Enter Key

The Enter key triggers an action when the cursor is in certain fields or when focus is on
a link or button. You should use the Enter key to activate a common commit button,
such as in a Login form or in a dialog.
Many components have built-in actions for the Enter key. Some examples include:
■ When focus is on a link or button, the Enter key navigates the link or triggers the
action.
■ When the cursor is in a query search region, quick query search, or
Query-By-Example (QBE) field, the Enter key triggers the search.
■ In a table, the Enter key moves focus to the cell below, and pressing Shift+Enter
moves focus to the cell above. When the focus moves, the current cell reverts to the
read-only mode.

Keyboard Shortcuts C-9

The Enter Key

C-10 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 D
Quick Start Layout Themes
D

This appendix shows how each of the quick start layouts are affected when you choose
to apply themes to them. ADF Faces provides a number of components that you can
use to define the overall layout of a page. JDeveloper contains predefined quick start
layouts that use these components to provide you with a quick and easy way to
correctly build the layout. You can choose from one, two, or three column layouts.
When you choose to apply a theme to the chosen quick layout, color and styling are
added to some of the components used in the quick start layout.
Figure D–1 and Figure D–2 show each of the layouts with and without themes applied.
For more information about themes, see Section 20.3.4, "How to Apply Themes to
Components."

Quick Start Layout Themes D-1

 Figure D–1 Quick Start Layouts With and Without Themes

D-2 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
Figure D–2 Quick Start Layouts With and Without Them

Quick Start Layout Themes D-3

D-4 Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework
 Index

A activityHover facet, 15-10

activityStyles attribute
accelerators
defined, 15-15
component-level assignment list, C-5
InstanceStyles class and, 15-15
reserved list, C-5
using, 15-15
access keys
addAll method, 10-36
for accessibility, 22-3
AddedSet objects, 10-35
defining, 22-6
addMessage method, 17-2
described, C-7
addPartialTarget() method, 7-6
accessibility
addselectionListener method, 10-23
access keys for, 22-3
ADF Controller, best practice for using with JSF
in ADF Faces pages, 22-1
controller, 2-5
audit rules, 22-11
ADF Data Visualization components
cascading style sheets for, 22-9
Gantt chart, defined, 23-9
client-side scripting for, 22-9
gauge, defined, 23-6
configuration
geographic map, defined, 23-8
in trinidad-config.xml file, A-21
graph, defined, 23-2
procedures for, 22-2
hierarchy viewer, defined, 23-10
guidelines for ADF Faces components, 22-4
overview, 23-1
keyboard shortcuts for, 22-9
pivot table, defined, 23-8
labelAndAccessKey property, 22-4
providing data for, 23-11
modes, 22-2
types of, 23-1
page structures and navigation, 22-10
ADF Faces
partial page rendering for, 22-8
advantages of, 1-1
screenReader mode, 22-2
AJAX, 1-2
WAI-ARIA standards, 22-11
architecture overview, 1-3
accessibility profile, 20-7
client components described, 1-3
accessor methods for client component
component tree, 1-4
properties, 3-9
components, overview, 1-6
action attribute, 14-6
described, 1-1
actionListener attribute
history of, 1-1
commandMenuItem components, 14-6
Javadoc for, viewing, 2-31
navigation, 18-4
JDeveloper and, 1-3, 2-1
ActionListener class, defined, 18-4
MyFaces Trinidad, 1-2
active data service
performance, JavaScript and, 1-3
animating gauges, 25-20
ADF Faces demo application
animating graphs, 24-44
described, 1-8
status indicators for, 16-14
File Explorer demo application, described, 1-15
activeCommandToolbarButton
installation instructions, 1-8
component, 14-17
ADF Faces rich client. See ADF Faces
activeImage component, 16-6
AdfActionEvent events, 3-3
activeOutputText component, 16-3
AdfBaseEvent class
activeRowKey attribute, 10-6 best practice for using, 5-8
activityContextMenu facet, 15-9 defined, 3-3
activityDelete facet, 15-9 adf-config.xml file
activityDetail facet, 15-10 configuring, A-14

Index-1
 creating, A-14 versus clientAttribute tag, 5-12
editing, A-14 AttributeChangeEvent events
AdfCustomEvent class, 5-14 input components and, 9-2
AdfCustomEvent.queue() method, 5-14 selection components and, 9-17
AdfDisclosureEvent event, 8-48, 8-58 attributes
adf-js-features.xml file bonus attributes, 3-14
creating, A-27 setting using Property Inspector, 2-25
creating for custom component, 30-14 automatic component binding, 2-14
custom components, 30-20 autoSubmit attribute
adf-js-partitions.xml file described when set to true, 4-10
creating, A-28 partial page rendering and, 7-3
default ADF Faces configuration file, A-29 versus partialSubmit attribute, 7-4
AdfPage.PAGE global object, 3-7 auto-suggest behavior, 11-4
AdfPage.PAGE.findComponentByAbsoluteId
method, 3-7
B
adf-settings.xml file
caching rules configuration, A-18 back button and partial page rendering, 7-6
configuring, A-16 backing beans
creating, A-16 automatically creating, 2-14
editing, A-16 best practice for when to create, 2-9
help system configuration, A-17 See also managed beans
AdfUIComponent class, 1-4 backingBeanScope, 4-15
AdfUIComponent.findComponent method, 3-7 bar graphs
AdfUIInputEvent class clustered type, 24-9
best practice for using, 5-8 data requirements for, 24-9
AFAuxiliaryStretchWidth style class, 8-13 defined, 24-4
AFStretchWidth style class, 8-13 percentage type, 24-9
AJAX stacked type, 24-9
ADF Faces and, 1-2 tag, 24-4
described, 7-1 See also graph components
anchor node components barGraph tag, 24-4
ancestor nodes, specifying, 29-14 best practice tips
defined, 29-9 declarative components, 19-22
animation JSPX pages, using, 2-7
configuration in trinidad-config.xml templates and document and form tags, 19-13
file, A-20 best practices
gauges, 25-19 ADF Controller and JSF controller together, 2-5
graphs, 24-45 AdfBaseEvent class, 5-8
antonyms in commandMenuItem components, 14-5 AdfUIInputEvent class, 5-8
Apache MyFaces Trinidad. See MyFaces Trinidad backing beans, when to create, 2-9
application templates, 2-2 custom components
application workspaces JavaScript naming, 30-15
creating, 2-2 properties for, 30-24
data model project, 2-3 form tags and, 4-14
view project, 2-3 image components in a carousel, 16-8
applicationScope, 4-15 JSF and ADF controllers, 2-5
Apply Request Values phase, 4-2 managed beans, 2-30
area graphs page layout, 8-12
absolute type, 24-8 quick layouts, 8-12
data requirements for, 24-8 selectOneChoice and large number of list
defined, 24-4 items, 9-18
percentage type, 24-8 subform components, when to use, 4-14
stacked type, 24-8 XHTML page, using, 2-7
tag, 24-4 blafplus-medium skin, 20-2
See also graph components blafplus-rich skin, 20-2
areaGraph tag, 24-4 blocking UI input, 5-10
assertions bodyContextMenu facet, 10-8
configuration parameters, A-7 bonus attributes
performance tip for setting, A-7 adding to a component, 3-14
attribute tag defined, 3-14

Index-2
 marshalling, 3-15 activityContextMenu facet, 15-9
breadCrumbs components activityDelete facet, 15-9
described, 18-35 activityDetail facet, 15-10
procedures for using, 18-35 activityHover facet, 15-10
XMLMenuModel and, 18-26 contextMenu facet, 15-10
broadcast() function, 5-13 create facet, 15-10
bubble graphs described, 15-3
data requirements for, 24-9 events and, 15-9
defined, 24-4 getTags method, 15-16
tag, 24-4 locale, 15-2
See also graph components popups
bubbleGraph tag, 24-4 creating, 15-10
using, 15-9
procedures for using, 15-5
C
provider for, 15-1
caching at runtime, 15-8
configuring, A-18 styling
caching filter, A-11 described, 15-15
browser caching, A-11 procedures for, 15-16
defining rules, A-15 toolbar
Oracle’s Web Cache, A-11 customizing, 15-12
caching rules described, 15-2
defining, A-15 toolboxLayout attribute, 9-30, 15-13
calendar components views, available
activities, styling, 15-15 described, 15-1
activityContextMenu facet, 15-9 procedures for setting, 15-7
activityDelete facet, 15-9 CalendarAcitivityRamp class, 15-16
activityDetail facet, 15-10 CalendarActivity class
activityHover facet, 15-10 described, 15-5
activityStyles attribute, 15-15 procedures for creating, 15-5
attributes, 15-6 CalendarActivityDurationChangeEvent, 15-
CalendarActivityDurationChangeEvent, 9
15-9 CalendarActivityDurationChangeListener,
CalendarActivityDurationChangeListene 15-8
r, 15-8 CalendarActivityEvent, 15-8, 15-9
CalendarActivityEvent, 15-8, 15-9 CalendarDisplayChangeEvent, 15-9
CalendarActivityRamp class, 15-16 CalendarEvent, 15-8, 15-10
CalendarDisplayChangeEvent, 15-9 CalendarModel class
CalendarEvent, 15-8, 15-10 defined, 15-2
CalendarModel class, 15-2 described, 15-4
CalendarProvider class, 15-5 procedures for creating, 15-5
color ramps, 15-16 CalendarProvider class
configuring, 15-6 defined, 15-5
contextMenu facet, 15-10 procedures for creating, 15-5
create facet, 15-10 carousel components
date customization, 15-17 attributes, 16-11
dateCustomizer attribute browsers and, 16-13
described, 15-15 CarouselSpinEvent, 16-11
using, 15-17 content delivery, 16-9
DateCustomizer class, 15-17 data model for, 16-10
described, 15-1 described, 16-7
drag and drop functionality, adding, 32-19 nodeStamp facet, 16-8
events performance tip for structuring, 16-12
CalendarActivityDurationChangeEvent, procedures for using, 16-9
15-9 stamping, 16-8
CalendarActivityEvent, 15-9 carouselItem components
CalendarDisplayChangeEvent, 15-9 described, 16-8
CalendarEvent, 15-10 procedures for using, 16-11
DropEvent, 32-19 CarouselSpinEvent, 16-11
facets cascading style sheets

Index-3
 accessibilty and, 22-9 bonus attributes, 3-14
configuration for compression of class versus attribute tag, 5-12
names, A-7 clientComponent attribute
creating for custom components, 30-13, 30-37 described, 3-6
performance tip for compression of class performance tip for using, 3-6
names, A-7 clientDropListener attribute, 32-8
CellFormat object clientListener tag
constructing, 26-9 collection components, using with, 10-46
change persistence. See customization, user defined, 5-7
changed attribute, 9-3 procedures for using, 9-25
chartPopupMenu facet, 28-6 triggering event handler execution, 5-11
charts. See Gantt chart components client-side lifecycle, 4-13
CHECK_FILE_MODIFICATION context parameter client-side scripting for accessibility, 22-9
defined, A-5 client-side validation, 4-13
performance tip for usage, A-6 collection components
ChildPropertyTreeModel class, 10-30 accessing values from the client, 10-45
chooseColor components, 9-12 bodyContextMenu facet, 10-8
clickjacking, A-9 client components and, 10-45
client behavior tags exporting data
described, 5-20 described, 10-42
insertTextBehavior tag, 9-6, 9-9 procedures for, 10-44
panelDashboardBehavior tag, 8-35 formatting, 10-11
richTextEditorInsertBehavior tag, 9-29 panelCollection components, 10-40
scrollComponentIntoViewBehavior passing rows as a value, 10-39
tag, 5-20 row selection, 10-5
showPrintablePageBehavior tag, 33-1 stamping, 10-10
client components table components, 10-9
accessing properties on, 3-9 tree components, 10-29
accessing values in collection components, 10-45 treeTable components, 10-37
AdfPage.PAGE.findComponentByAbsoluteI See also table components; tree components;
d method, 3-7 treeTable components
AdfUIComponent.findComponent collectionDropTarget tag, 32-9
method, 3-7 CollectionModel class
behavior, 1-4 carousel components, 16-8
bonus attributes, 3-14 described, 10-9
clientComponent attribute, 3-6 color
defined, 3-1 changing in graph components, 24-19
described, 1-3 customizing map themes, 27-9
instantiating, 3-6 color ramps, 15-16
isShowing function, 3-17 column components
naming containers, finding components, 3-7 attributes, 10-19
at runtime, when created, 3-1 described, 10-11
setting property values on, 3-13 facets
triggering event handlers, 5-11 adding, 10-20
client events described, 10-11
AdfDisclosureEvent event, 8-48, 8-58 formatting, 10-13
clientListener tag, 5-7 performance tip for stretching, 10-12
described, 3-3, 5-5 combination graphs
event source, accessing, 3-5 data requirements for, 24-10
JavaScript and, 5-8 defined, 24-4
performance tip for server processing, 5-6 tag, 24-4
preventing from propagating to the server, 5-11 See also graph components
returning source of, 5-9 comboGraph tag, 24-4
at runtime, 5-12 command components
sending custom events to server action attribute, 18-4
described, 5-14 actionListener attribute, 18-4
procedures, 5-15 attributes, 18-3
table of, 5-6 described, 18-2
triggering handler execution, 5-11 downloadActionListener tag, 18-9
clientAttribute tag exporting data using, 10-44

Index-4
 fileDownloadActionListener tag, 18-7 javax.faces.DEFAULT_SUFFIX
immediate attribute and, 4-4 parameter, A-7, A-12
overview, 18-1 javax.faces.LIFECYCLE_ID parameter, A-12
procedures for using, 18-3 javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD
resetActionListener tag, 18-9 parameter, A-3
versus go components, 18-2 JSF page changes, A-12
commandButton components JSP suffix, A-12
described, 18-2 lifecycle ID, A-12
procedures for using, 18-3 oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.caching
commandImageLink components .filter.AdfFacesCachingFilter
described, 18-2 class, A-11
procedures for using, 18-3 oracle.adf.view.rich.automation.ENABL
commandLink components ED parameter, A-7
described, 18-2 oracle.adf.view.rich.pprNavigation.OP
procedures for using, 18-3 TIONS parameter, A-8
commandMenuItem components oracle.adf.view.rich.security.FRAME_
action attribute, 14-6 BUSTING parameter, A-9
actionListener attribute, 14-6 oracle.adf.view.rich.SUPPRESS_IDS
antonyms, 14-5 parameter, A-10
attributes, 14-10 oracle.adf.view.rich.tonalstyles.ENAB
described, 14-2 LED parameter, A-8
types, 14-5 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CACHE_
commandNavigationItem components VIEW_ROOT parameter, A-8
described, 18-11 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CHECK_
procedures for using, 18-34 FILE_MODIFICATION parameter, A-5, A-12
commandToolbarButton components org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CLIENT_
attributes, 14-17 STATE_MAX_TOKENS parameter, A-5
described, 14-14 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CLIENT_
procedures for using, 14-16 STATE_MEHTOD parameter, A-5
component class for custom components, 30-23 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.DEBUG_
component IDs, A-10 JAVASCRIPT parameter, A-5
Component Palette, 2-21 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.DISABLE_
component peers. See peers CONTENT_COMPRESSION
component tree parameter, A-7
declarative components and, 19-30 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.LOGGER_
described, 1-4 LEVEL parameter, A-6
lifecycle and, 4-1 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.MAX_DISK_
page fragments and, 19-7 SPACE parameter, A-6
page templates and, 19-2 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.oracle.ad
panelDashboardBeahvior tag and, 8-35 f.view.rich.profiler.ENABLED
runtime, when established, 4-2 parameter, A-7
configuration org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.oracle.ad
adding to web.xml file, A-3 f.view.rich.profiler.ROOT_FILE
adf-config.xml file, A-14 parameter, A-7
adf-settings.xml file, A-16 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.resource.
assertions, A-7 DEBUG parameter, A-6
caching, A-18 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_
compressing CSS class names, A-7 MAX_MEMORY parameter, A-6
debugging, A-5 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_
dialog prefix, A-7 TEMP_DIR parameter, A-6
Facelets, A-7 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.Re
faces-config.xml file sourceServlet parameter, A-4
described, A-13 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.Tr
editing, A-13 inidadFilter parameter, A-4
file upload output mode, A-23
context parameters for, A-6 pageFlowScope, A-23
custom processor, A-23 partial page navigation, A-8
framebusting, A-9 profiling, A-7
help system, A-17 resource files, A-12
javax.faces.CONFIG_FILE parameter, A-12 servlets, A-4

Index-5
 state saving, A-4 best practice for properties, 30-24
suppressing component IDs, A-10 cascading style sheets, creating, 30-13, 30-37
test automation, A-7 class for, creating, 30-23
themes, A-8 client-side development, 30-15
tonal styles, A-8 debugging, 30-40
trinidad-config.xml file, A-19 deploying, 30-39
UIViewRoot caching, A-8 deployment descriptors, 30-40
web.xml file, A-1 development process, 30-2
content delivery event class, creating, 30-22
carousel components, 16-9 event JavaScript, creating, 30-17
collection components, 10-4 event listener, creating, 30-21
displayRow attribute, 10-5 faces-config.xml file
fetchSize attribute, 10-4, 16-9 adding components to, 30-27
lazy versus immediate for a carousel, 16-9 creating manually, 30-12
lazy versus immediate for tables, trees, and tree described, 30-3
tables, 10-4 JavaScript for, 30-16
menus, 14-6 JSP tags, creating, 30-31
table context menus, 10-7 overview, 30-1
context menus peer JavaScript, creating, 30-19
contentDelivery attribute for tables, 10-7 renderer, creating, 30-30
creating, 13-10 resource bundles, creating, 30-28
dynamic based on selected row, 10-8 resource kit loader, adding, 30-13
overview, 13-1 resource loader, creating, 30-36
contextInfo components server side development, 30-20
described, 13-16 skins and, 30-2
procedures for using, 13-17 tag libraries
showPopupBehavior components and, 13-17 configuring, 30-34
contextMenu facet creating, 30-13
calendar components, 15-10 trinidad-skins.xml file
collection components, 10-7 creating, 30-12
contextual information, displaying, 13-16 described, 30-3
control panel using in applications, 30-39
configure the display, 29-21 using in JSF pages, 30-41
elements in the hierarchy viewer component workspaces for, 30-9
control panel, 29-5 custom alias in skins, 20-20
hierarchy viewer component, 29-4 custom events
conversion procedures for, 5-15
adding, 6-2, 6-3 sending to server, 5-14
adding attributes, 6-4 custom shapes
convertColor tag, 6-3 gauges, described, 25-21
convertDateTime tag, 6-3 styles for gauges, 25-25
convertNumber tag, 6-3 using with gauges, 25-24
custom, creating, 6-5 customization, user
defined, 6-1 at runtime, 31-4
error messages, displaying, 17-5 implementing, 31-4
error messages, procedures for creating, 17-7 implicitly persisted attribute values, 31-1
hints for, 17-1 overview, 31-1
message queuing, 17-2 regions, 31-5
messages, displaying inline, 17-8 templates, 31-5
overview, 6-1 customPanel facet, 28-6
procedure for creating custom, 6-5
create facet, 15-10
D
cross-component refresh, 4-9
CSS. See cascading style sheets data cells
currency configuration, A-22 specifying custom images, 26-14
currency, establishing, 10-7 data filters
cursor, default, C-8 customizing in Gantt charts, 28-17
custom ADF Faces components data model project, 2-3
adf-js-features.xml file, 30-20 data object keys
best practice for JavaScript naming, 30-15 project Gantt charts, 28-9

Index-6
 resource utilization Gantt chart, 28-11 queuing, 8-58
scheduling Gantt chart, 28-12 showDetail component, 8-48
data visualizaion. See ADF Data Visualization showDetailHeader component, 8-48
components showDetailItem, 8-58
dataFlavor tag, 32-3 disclosureListener attribute, 10-27
dateCustomizer attribute disconnected properties, 3-9, 3-13
defined, 15-15 DispatchComponentEvent, 5-13
using, 15-17 displayLevelsAncestor property, 29-9
DateCustomizer class, 15-17 displayRow attribute, 10-5
debugging document tag
configuration, A-5 best practice tip with templates, 19-13
enhanced output configuration in configuring, 8-13
trinidad-config.xml file, A-21 described, 8-5
performance tip for JavaScript logging, A-6 messages and, 17-2
performance tip for output, A-21 downloadActionListener tag, 18-9
declarative components downloading files
adding resources to, 19-30 described, 18-7
attributes, 19-19 procedures to implement, 18-9
best practice tip for creating, 19-22 drag and drop
component tree and, 19-30 clientDropListener attribute, 32-8
deploying, 19-27 collectionDropTarget tag, 32-9
described, 19-18 dataFlavor tag, 32-3
facetRef tags, 19-24 dragDropEndListener, 32-11
facets, 19-19 event handler code for collection
methods in, 19-19 dropListener, 32-10
overview, 19-2 event handler code for object
page fragments and, 19-21 dropListener, 32-7, 32-24
procedures for creating, 19-21 implementing
procedures for using, 19-28 for attributes, 32-4
at runtime, 19-30 for calendar components, 32-19
tag libraries, 19-20 for collection components, 32-9
declarativecomp-metadata.xml file, 19-27 for components, 32-11
decorativeBox components for single objects, 32-5, 32-21, 32-23
described, 18-11 in general, 32-4, 32-20, 32-21
procedures for using, 18-33 overview, 32-2
default cursor, C-8 at runtime, 32-7
definition help source, defined, 32-2
components supported, 17-12 target, defined, 32-2
defined, 17-3 dragDropEndListener, 32-11
described, 17-11 DropEvent
deploying dragDropEndListener, 32-11
custom ADF Faces components, 30-39 dropListener
declarative components, 19-27 for collections, 32-10
detailStamp facet for objects, 32-7, 32-24
described, 10-25 dvt:hierarchyViewer component. See hierarchy
overview, 10-10 viewer components
procedures for using, 10-26 dvt:link component. See link components, 29-2
RowDisclosureEvent, 10-27 dvt:node component. See node component
dialog framework, overview, 13-2 dvt:panelCard component. See panel card
dialogs component
configuring the prefix for, A-7
overview, 13-1
E
disabled property
making unsecure, described, 3-13 editing modes
procedures for making unsecure, 3-13 activeRowKey attribute, 10-6
disclosedRowKeys attribute, 10-36 described, 10-5
DisclosureEvent performance tip for, 10-7
described, 8-48 editingMode attribute, 10-6
immediate attribute and, 4-5 EL expressions
panelBox component, 8-48 expression builder, using, 2-27

Index-7
 managed beans tree components, 10-35
resolving expressions within, 2-28 selection events
using in, 2-28 client listener, 9-24
method, adding, 2-14 collection components, 10-5
overview, 2-26 exported data and, 10-45
emailable pages listening for on tables, 10-23
described, 33-3 shuttle components and, 9-24
procedures for creating, 33-4 tables and, 10-23
at runtime, 33-6 sending custom to server
testing, 33-5 described, 5-14
enter key, C-9 procedures for, 5-15
enterContainer method, 10-31 server events
escape attribute, 16-2 listed, 5-3
establishing currency, 10-7 procedures for using, 5-4
event roots serverListener tag, 5-14
defined, 5-2 SortEvent, 10-22
partial page rendering and, 7-1 stopBubbling() function, 5-13
events unmarshalling data, 5-16
AdfActionEvent, 3-3 when processed, 4-2
AdfBaseEvent class, 3-3 exitContainer method, 10-31
AdfCustomEvent class, 5-14 exportCollectionActionListener tag, 10-42
AdfCustomEvent.queue() method, 5-14 exporting data
CalendarActivityDurationChangeEvent, described, 10-42
15-9 procedures for, 10-44
CalendarActivityEvent, 15-8 at runtime, 10-45
CalendarDisplayChangeEvent, 15-9 expression builder, 2-27
CalendarEvent, 15-8 ExtendedRenderKitService class, 5-18
CarouselSpinEvent event, 16-11 external URL help
class for custom components, 30-22 defined, 17-4
client events, 5-6 described, 17-13
client handlers, triggering, 5-11
custom components, creating for, 30-17
F
DisclosureEvent
described, 8-48 f:facet element
queuing, 8-58 See facet element
DispatchComponentEvent method, 5-13 Facelets
DropEvent configuration, A-7
dragDropEndListener, 32-11 creating pages with, 2-17
transferable object, 32-5, 32-20, 32-22 defined, 2-7
dropListener tag library configuration file for custom
for collections, 32-10 component, 30-14
for objects, 32-7, 32-24 See also JSF pages
event roots and partial page rendering, 7-1 See also XHTML pages
executing a script within a response, 5-18 faces-config.xml file, 21-12
isBubblingStopped() function, 5-13 configuration in, A-13
keyboard and mouse events, 5-7 creating manually, 30-12
listener for custom components, 30-21 creating page flows, 2-5
marshalling data custom components
defined, 5-16 adding, 30-27
from Java to JavaScript, 5-17 registering, 30-3
from JavaScript to Java, 5-16 diagrammer, using for, 2-4
naming containers and, 5-13 editing, A-13
overview, 5-1 generated code for page flows, 2-6
partial page rendering and, 5-2 generated for JSPX pages, 2-13
preventing client-side from propagating to the generated for XHTML files, 2-20
server, 5-11 renderer, adding, 30-31
returning source of, 5-9 XML menu model managed bean
root components, 5-2 configuration, 18-21
RowDisclosureEvent facet element
table components, 10-27 zoom levels, 29-10

Index-8
facetRef tags Flash images
declarative components, 19-24 custom fonts for, 23-11
page templates, 19-14 Flash player
facets hierarchy viewer component, requirement, 29-11
activityContextMenu, 15-9 flex attribute
activityDelete, 15-9 menuBar components, 14-7
activityDetail, 15-10 at runtime, 14-19
activityHover, 15-10 toolbar components, 14-16
adding to tables, 10-20 focus node, 18-13
bodyContextMenu facet, 10-8 focus placement, C-8
chartPopupMenu, 28-6 focusRowKey attribute, 10-31
column components forEach components, 10-24
adding to, 10-20 form components
described, 10-11 attributes, 9-5
contextMenu best practice tip with templates, 19-13
calendar components, 15-10 creating declaratively, 9-3
collection components, 10-7 defined, 9-3
tables, trees, 10-7 described, 8-6
create, 15-10 procedures for using, 9-5
customPanel, 28-6 forms
declarative components and, 19-19 best practice for using, 4-14
detailStamp facet, 10-10, 10-25 creating, 9-3
displaying in the visual editor, 8-17, 13-8, 13-18 fragments. See page fragments, 19-1
footer facet and the group component, 8-32 framebusting, A-9
menuBar, 28-6 funnel graphs
minor, 28-6 data requirements for, 24-10
nodeStamp, 28-6 defined, 24-4
breadCrumbs component, 18-26 tag, 24-4
carousel, 16-8 See also graph components
navigationPane components, 18-23 funnelGraph tag, 24-4
trees, 10-31 fusion-projector skin, 20-2
page templates, 19-8, 19-12
panelBorderLayout component, 8-23
G
panelCollection component, 10-40
panelHeader component, 8-59 Gantt chart components
panelLabelAndMessage components, 17-10 chart region, defined, 28-3
panelSplitter component, 8-20 context menus
panelStretchLayout component, 8-14 defined, 28-4
pathStamp, 10-32 procedures for customizing, 28-15
prompt facet in the showDetailItem creating, 28-13
component, 8-40 data filters
separator facet in panelGroupLayout procedures for customzing, 28-17
component, 8-66 data requirements for, 28-9
showDetailHeader component, 8-40 drag source, 28-24
tablePopupMenu, 28-6 drop target, 28-24
toolbar, 28-6 facets, 28-5, 28-6
features. See JavaScript features functional areas, 28-3
fetchSize attribute, 10-4, 16-9 information panel, defined, 28-3
File Explorer application legend
described, 1-15 procedures for customizing, 28-13
overview, 1-10 menu bar, defined, 28-3
file upload overview, 23-9, 28-1
configuration parameters, A-6 printing, 28-23
configuring custom, A-23 printing service, 28-4
described, 9-31 project, defined, 28-2
fileDownloadActionListener tags, 18-7 resource utilization, defined, 28-2
FilterableQueryDescriptor class, 10-28 scheduling, defined, 28-2
filtering tables table region, defined, 28-3
described, 10-27 tags, 28-5
procedures for, 10-29 task type, new, 28-16

Index-9
 tasks, described, 28-4 getRemovedSet method, 10-31
time axis getRowData method, 10-31
procedures for customizing, 28-21 getSource method, 3-5, 5-9
toolbar getTags method, 15-16
buttons, defined, 28-4 global messages
defined, 28-3 displaying in popup, 17-2
procedures for customizing, 28-14 displaying inline, 17-9
types of, 23-9, 28-2 global selectors, 20-4
user interactivity, 28-6 go components
gauge components attributes, 18-5
animation, 25-19 procedures for using, 18-4
creating versus command components, 18-2
with data controls, 25-6 goButton components
with tabular data, 25-6 attributes, 18-5
custom fonts for Flash images, 23-11 described, 18-2
custom shapes, 25-21 procedures for using, 18-4
custom style class, 25-11 goImageLink components
data requirements for, 25-6 attributes, 18-5
dial, type, 25-3 described, 18-2
dynamic resizing, 25-11 procedures for using, 18-4
formatting goLink components
numbers, 25-12 attributes, 18-5
text, 25-13 described, 18-2
gauge set layout, 25-10 procedures for using, 16-6, 18-4
gradient special effects, 25-17 goMenuItem components
indicators, customizing, 25-15 described, 14-6
labels procedures for using, 14-12
changing colors and borders, 25-14 gradient
controlling position, 25-14 special effects in graph components, 24-40
customizing, 25-14 graph components
LED, type, 25-4 alerts, 24-43
overview, 23-6, 25-1 annotations, 24-43
size, changing, 25-10 area graph tag, 24-4
specifying degree of arc, 25-14 area graph, defined, 23-2
status meter, type, 25-3 areas, adding, 24-37
style, changing, 25-10 axes, defined, 24-27
thresholds background, changing, 24-25
adding, 25-11 bar graph tag, 24-4
static, 25-11 bar graph, defined, 23-2
tick labels, 25-16 bubble graph tag, 24-4
tick marks, customizing, 25-15 bubble graph, defined, 23-2
type, changing, 25-9 child tags
types of, 23-6, 25-3 common, 24-5
vertical status meter, type, 25-3 graph-specific, 24-6
Geocoder URL for map components, 27-6 set, 24-7
geographic map. See map components color, changing, 24-19
geometry management combination graph tag, 24-4
defined, 8-6 combination graph, defined, 23-2
maximized attribute, 8-13 creating with tabular data, 24-15
nesting components, 8-9 custom fonts for Flash images, 23-11
panelDashboard components, 8-38 customizations, common, 24-18
panelGroupLayout, 8-66 data requirements for, 24-7
panelSplitter component, 8-22 data sources for, creating, 24-15
panelStretchLayout component, 8-17 explicit time axis, 24-42
performance tip for child components, 8-8 footnotes, procedures to specify, 24-26
showDetailItem, 8-57 formatting
tips for, 8-12 numbers, 24-21
triggers, 8-6 text, 24-22
getAddedSet method, 10-31 funnel graph tag, 24-4
getContents() method, 21-10 funnel graph, defined, 23-2

Index-10
 gradient special effects, 24-40 described, 17-11
horizontal bar graph tag, 24-4 described, 17-11
horizontal bar graph, defined, 23-2 external URL help, 17-13
labels, defined, 24-27 instruction help
legend components supported, 17-13
customzing, 24-30 described, 17-12
highlighting, 24-41 Java class help, procedures for creating, 17-21
line graph, defined, 23-2 launching in external window using
lineGraph tag, 24-5 JavaScript, 17-20
marker highlighting, 24-41 managed bean help, procedures for
overview, 23-2, 24-1 creating, 17-18
Pareto graph, defined, 23-2 overview, 17-3
pie graph tag, 24-5 provider types, 17-3
pie graph, defined, 23-2 resource bundle help, procedures for
plot area, changing, 24-25 creating, 17-14
polar graph tag, 24-5 ResourceBundleHelpProvider help
polar graph, defined, 23-3 provider, 17-13
radar graph, defined, 23-3 steps for creating, 17-13
radarGraph tag, 24-5 XLIFF help, procedures for creating, 17-16
reference lines, adding, 24-37 hierarchical menus
relative time axis, 24-42 binding XMLMenuModel class
scatter graph, defined, 23-3 to JSF pages, 18-22
scattter graph tag, 24-5 to managed beans, 18-24
scroll level, 24-42 breadcrumb links for, creating, 18-35
series breadCrumbs components
controlling number of colors, 24-20 procedures for using with a menu
procedures for changing color, 24-20 model, 18-26
procedures for changing style, 24-20 procedures for using without a model, 18-35
size, changing, 24-24 decorativeBox components and, 18-11
sparkchart, defined, 23-3 focus node, 18-13
stock graph tag, 24-5 nodeStamp facet, 18-23
stock graph, defined, 23-3 performance tip for navigation panes and
style, changing, 24-19, 24-24 breadcrumbs, 18-34
tags procedures for creating
defined, 24-3 simple, 18-32
graph-specific, 24-4 using menu model, 18-13
titles simple
changing, 24-25 described, 18-31
procedures to specify, 24-26 procedures for creating, 18-32
tooltips, customzing, 24-31 tree models, 18-13
type, changing, 24-17 XML menu model, 18-13
types of, 23-2 XMLMenuModel class, 18-12
zoom level, 24-42 XMLMenuModel metadata, procedures for
graphics creating, 18-15
custom shapes in gauges, 25-21 hierarchy viewer components
group attribute, 9-17 appearance, customizing, 29-20
group components data requirements, 29-8
described, 8-65 displayLevelsAncestor property, 29-9
footer facet and, 8-32 elements in, 29-1
panelFormLayout component, 8-30 Flash player, 29-11
images, display, 29-20
interactivity, adding, 29-16
H
menu
HandleBubbledEvent function, 5-13 invoking, 29-18
height attribute, 8-13 menus
help systems displaying, 29-16
accessing help from components, 17-23 navigating, 29-14
configuring, A-17 navigation, configure same-level, 29-15
definition help navigation, configure upward, 29-14
components supported, 17-12 node management, 29-8

Index-11
 nodes, adding, 29-11 performance tips
overview, 23-10 for a carousel, 16-9
panel card for tables, trees, and tree tables, 10-4
defined, 29-4 in tables, rees, and tree tables, 10-4
elements in, 29-5 implicitly persisted attribute values, 31-1
popup window, invoking, 29-16 inlineStyle attribute, 20-22
size, adjusting, 29-20 inner node componenst, 29-10
terminology, 29-4 input components
zoom levels, 29-10 change indicator icon, 9-3
horizontal bar graphs changed attribute, 9-3
defined, 24-4 defined, 9-1
tag, 24-4 form components, 9-3
See also graph components immediate attribute and, 4-5
horizontalBarGraph tag, 24-4 inputColor components, 9-12
hot keys, C-4 inputDate components, 9-12
inputFile components, 9-31
inputNumberSlider components, 9-10
I
inputNumberSpinbox components, 9-11
icon components inputRangeSlider components, 9-10
described, 16-5 inputText components, 9-6
procedures for using outside of messages, 16-5 insertTextBehavior tag, 9-6
icon selectors, 20-4 JavaScript and, 9-19
icons panelFormLayout components and, 9-19
change indicator in input components, 9-3 required attribute, 4-13
help icons, 17-12 resetButton components, 9-4
messages, 17-3, 17-9 richTextEditor components, 9-26
overflow secret attribute, 9-6
navigationPane components, 18-34 selectBooleanCheckbox components, 9-17
panelAccordion component, 8-49 selectBooleanRadio components, 9-17
panelTabbed component, 8-51 selection components, 9-16
toolbar, 14-3, 14-14 selectItem components, 9-17
panelHeader component, 8-61 selectManyCheckbox components, 9-17
search forms, 12-5 selectManyChoice components, 9-18
selection in row header of table, 10-14 selectManyListbox components, 9-18
showDetailHeader component and, 8-44 selectOneChoice components, 9-18
skinning, 20-4, 20-18 selectOneListbox components, 9-17
status indicators, 16-13 selectOneRadio components, 9-17
trains, 18-37 simple attribute, 9-6
See also icon components subform components, 9-4
image components inputColor components
attributes, 16-6 attributes, 9-13
best practice for use in a carousel, 16-8 described, 9-12
carousel components and, 16-11 procedures for using, 9-13
described, 16-5 inputComboboxListOfValues components
overview, 16-1 described, 11-2
procedures for using, 16-6 PPR and, 4-11, 7-4
images. See image components procedures for using, 11-10
immediate attribute versus selectOneChoice components, 9-18
affects of, 4-4 inputDate components
command components, 4-4 atributes, 9-14
components with disclosure events, 4-5 described, 9-12
input components, 4-5 locale, 9-12
partial page rendering and, 4-10 performance tip for disabling weekdays, 9-15
performance tip, 4-6 procedures for using, 9-14
procedures for using, 4-8 inputFile components
validation described, 9-31
input components first, 4-6 file storage, 9-34
optimized lifecycle, 4-10 procedures for using, 9-34
immediate delivery inputListOfValues components
in carousel components, 16-9 described, 11-2

Index-12
 PPR and, 4-11, 7-4 inline, using on a page, 3-4
procedures for using, 11-8 input components and, 9-19
inputNumberSlider components Java to JavaScript type map, 5-18
attributes, 9-11 JavaScript library partitioning
described, 9-10 JavaScript partitions, 1-4
procedures for using, 9-11 procedures for using, A-26
inputNumberSpinbox components JavaScript to Java type map, 5-17
attributes, 9-12 launching external help window with, 17-20
described, 9-11 marshalling data from Java to JavaScript, 5-17
procedures for using, 9-11 marshalling data from JavaScript to Java, 5-16
inputRangeSlider components output components and, 16-5
attributes, 9-11 peer, for custom components, 30-19
described, 9-10 performance tip for logging, A-6
procedures for using, 9-11 performance tip for when to include, 3-4
inputText components preventing client events from propagating to the
attributes, 9-7 server, 5-11
described, 9-6 selection components and, 9-19
insertTextBehavior tag, using, 9-9 selection events and, 9-24
procedures for using, 9-7 JavaScript features
secret attribute, 9-6 creating configuration file for, A-27
simple attribute, 9-6 creating configuration file for custom
versus richTextEditor components, 9-6 component, 30-14
insertTextBehavior tag defined, 1-4
attributes, 9-9 described, A-26
described, 9-6 JavaScript library partitioning
events and, 9-9 described, 1-4
procedures for using, 9-9 JavaScript features, 1-4
InstanceStyles class, 15-15 creating configuration file for, A-27
instruction help creating configuration file for custom
components supported, 17-13 component, 30-14
defined, 17-4 described, A-26
described, 17-12 JavaScript partitions, 1-4
internationalization, 21-1 creating configuration file for, A-28
Invoke Application phase, 4-3 described, A-26
isBubblingStopped function, 5-13 procedures for using, A-26
isCanceled function, 5-11 at runtime, A-36
isExpanded method, 8-48 JavaScript partitions
isVisible function, versus isShowing creating configuration file for, A-28
function, 3-17 defined, 1-4
iterator tags, 10-25 described, A-26
javax.faces.CONFIG_FILE parameter, A-12
javax.faces.DEFAULT_SUFFIX parameter, A-7,
J
A-12
Java javax.faces.LIFECYCLE_ID parameter, A-12
Java class help provider javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD
procedures for creating, 17-21 parameter, A-3
Java to JavaScript type map, 5-18 javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet
marshalling data from Java to JavaScript, 5-17 parameter, A-4
marshalling data from JavaScript to Java, 5-16 JDeveloper
Javadoc, ADF Faces, 2-31 ADF Faces and, 2-1
JavaScript Component Palette, 2-21
adding to a JSF page, 3-4 creating
ADF Faces performance and, 1-3 application workspace, 2-2
blocking UI input, 5-10 JSPX pages, 2-9
client events and, 5-7 managed beans, 2-30
custom components, creating for, 30-16 page flows, 2-5
debugging in custom components, 30-40 XHTML pages, 2-17
events and, 5-8 generating backing beans automatically, 2-14
executing a script within an event response, 5-18 JavaDoc, viewing, 2-31
importing libraries on a JSF page, 3-5 overview, 1-3

Index-13
 Property Inspector, 2-24 gauge, customizing, 25-14
JSF controller layout components
best practice for using with ADF Controller, 2-5 decorativeBox component, 18-11
JSF page lifecycle document tag, 8-5
conversion, 6-2 form component, 8-6
described, 4-1 group component, 8-65
example, 4-3 listed, 8-2
validation, 6-2 navigationPane components, 18-11
JSF pages nesting for geometry management, 8-9
adding JavaScript, 3-4 panelAccordion component, 8-48
best practice for layouts, 8-12 panelBorderLayout component, 8-23
configuring suffix, A-12 panelBox component, 8-46
configuring to see changes at runtime, A-12 panelCollection component, 10-3
creating panelDashboard component, 8-34
from page templates, 19-15 panelFormLayout component, 8-25
in JDeveloper, 2-7 panelGroupLayout component, 8-65
with page fragments, 19-4 panelHeader component, 8-59
custom components, using, 30-41 panelList, 8-62
document tag, 8-5 panelSplitter component, 8-18
fragments panelStretchLayout component, 8-14
described, 19-2 panelTabbed component, 8-51
procedures for using, 19-7 separator component, 8-70
generated code for, 8-6 showDetail component, 8-39
importing JavaScript libraries, 3-5 showDetailHeader component, 8-40
pageTemplateDef tags, 19-9 showDetailItem component, 8-51
quick layouts for, 2-7 spacer component, 8-69
templates tips for using, 8-12
described, 2-8 toolbar component, 14-14
user customizations and, 31-5 layouts. See page layouts
using declarative components, 19-28 lazy content delivery
versus page templates, 19-8 carousel, 16-9
See also JSPX pages menus, 14-6
See also XHTML pages performance tip for a carousel, 16-9
JSP tags, creating for custom components, 30-31 performance tip for tables, trees, and tree
JSPX pages tables, 10-4
best practice for why to use, 2-7 tables, trees, and tree tables, 10-4
faces-config.xml file generated for, 2-13 leaf node components, 29-10
generated code for, 2-10 libraries
libraries added for, 2-11 added for JSF pages, 2-11
procedures for creating, 2-9 added for XHTML pages, 2-18
trinidad-config.xml file generated for, 2-13 added when application created, 2-3
web.xml file generated for, 2-11 lifecycle
See also JSF pages autoSubmit attribute, 4-10
client-side, 4-13
configuring ID for, A-12
K
JSF page
key accelerators, C-4 described, 4-1
keyboard events, 5-7 example, 4-3
keyboard shortcuts optimized, 4-9
access keys, C-7 partial page rendering and, 4-9
for accessibility, 22-9 scopes
enter key, C-9 described, 4-15
key accelerators, C-4 illustration of, 4-16
tab traversals, C-1 line graphs
changing the appearance of, 24-34
L data requirements for, 24-10
defined, 24-5
labelAndAccessKey property, 22-4 tag, 24-5
labels See also graph components
defining in resource bundles, 22-7 lineGraph tag, 24-5

Index-14
link components selection values, totaling, 27-7
procedures for using, 29-21 specifying zoom control, 27-7
list-of-values components, 11-1 toolbar, 27-14
data model, 11-6 map themes
data model classes, 11-6 bar graph, 27-11
DemoComboboxLOVBean class example, 11-8 color, customizing, 27-9
DemoLOVBean class example, 11-8 color, defined, 27-2
inputComboboxListOfValues components customizing labels, 27-9
described, 11-2 customizing zoom levels, 27-8
procedures for using, 11-10 graph, defined, 27-2
inputListOfValues components point images, 27-10
described, 11-2 point, defined, 27-2
procedures for using, 11-8 types of, 27-1
ListOfValuesModelclass, 11-5 Map Viewer URL for map components, 27-6
Search and Select popup dialog, 11-1 marshalling data
ListOfValuesModel class defined, 5-16
creating, 11-6 from Java to JavaScript, 5-17
described, 11-5 from JavaScript to Java, 5-16
ListResourceBundle class, 21-7 Max Visited behavior, 18-39
locale maximized attribute, 8-13
calendar component and, 15-2 media
configurating in trinidad-config.xml displaying, 16-14
file, A-23 media components
defining, 21-7 attributes, 16-15
inputDate components and, 9-12 described, 16-14
registering, 21-12 overview, 16-1
resource bundles for, described, 21-2 playing media, 16-17
localization procedures for using, 16-15
described, 21-1 menu components
setting optional ADF Faces properties, 21-17 attributes, 14-8
trinidad-config.xml file options, 21-17 described, 14-2
LOV components. See list-of-values components hierarchy viewer component, invoking a
menu, 29-18
procedures for creating, 14-8
M
See also menus
managed bean help menu models
described, 17-13 performance tips with navigation panes, 18-13
procedures for creating, 17-18 steps for creating hierarchical menus, 18-13
managed beans train models, 18-38
best practice for logic to include, 2-30 menuBar components
binding to XMLMenuModel class, 18-24 attributes, 14-7
creating, 2-30 described, 14-2
described, 2-29 flex attribute, 14-7
EL expressions in, 2-28 performance tip for using in a toolbar
resolving EL expression within, 2-28 component, 14-8
train models, configuring for, 18-42 menuBar facet, 28-6
XML menu models, configuring for, 18-21 menus
See also backing beans components for, illustrated, 14-3
managed-bean element, 2-31 content delivery, 14-6
map components detachable, 14-4
bar graph theme, 27-11 overview, 14-1
base map, 27-6 procedures for creating, 14-7
data requirements for, 27-6 See also menu components
Geocoder URL, 27-6 message components
map themes, 27-1 overview, 17-2
Map Viewer URL, defined, 27-6 procedures for using, 17-8
overview, 23-8, 27-1 messages
pie graph theme, 27-12 accessing help from components, 17-23
point theme, customizing, 27-10 addMessage method, 17-2
procedures for adjusting size, 27-6 combining types, 17-23

Index-15
 definition help in reusable components, 19-2
components supported, 17-12 navigation
defined, 17-3 command components, 18-2
described, 17-11 hierarchical menus using model, 18-13
displaying inline, 17-8 hierarchical menus, procedures for creating
document tag and, 17-2 simple, 18-32
external URL help hierarchical menus, procedures for creating using
defined, 17-4 model, 18-15
described, 17-13 outcomes, 18-4
global overview, 18-1
displaying, 17-2 partial page navigation, 7-7
displaying inline, 17-9 simple hierarchical menus, 18-31
versus component, 17-2 XMLMenuModel class and, 18-12
help systems navigation components
described, 17-11 commandButton components, 18-2
steps for creating, 17-13 commandImageLink components, 18-2
hints for validation and conversion, 17-1 commandLink components, 18-2
icons displayed for, 17-3, 17-9 commandNavigationItem components, 18-11
instruction help goButton components, 18-4
components supported, 17-13 goImageLink components, 18-2
defined, 17-4 goLink components, 18-4
described, 17-12 navigationPane components, 18-11
Java class help, procedures for creating, 17-21 navigation trains. See trains
JSF framework and, 17-2 navigationactionListener attribute, 18-4
managed bean help, procedures for navigationPane components
creating, 17-18 described, 18-11
overriding globally, 17-8 performance tip with menu models, 18-13
overview, 17-1 node components
panelLabelAndMessage components ancestor level for an anchor node,
described, 17-9 specifying, 29-14
overview, 17-3 anchor node component, 29-9
procedures for using, 17-10 associating with a set of data rows, 29-13
resource bundle help, creating, 17-14 content, specifying, 29-10, 29-12
ResourceBundleHelpProvider help, 17-13 controls
shortDesc, 17-1 configuring, 29-12
tips example, 29-9
displaying, 17-5 hide, 29-9
procedures for creating, 17-5 restore, 29-9
validation and conversion messages show, 29-9
displaying, 17-5 hierarchy viewer components, adding to, 29-11
displaying inline, 17-8 inner node component, 29-10
message queuing, 17-2 leaf node component, 29-10
procedures for creating, 17-7 menu, invoking, 29-18
XLIFF help, creating, 17-16 rendered property, 29-13
messages components root node component, 29-9
overview, 17-3 supported components, 29-10
procedures for using, 17-9 nodeStamp facet
method binding expressions, 2-14 breadCrumbs component, 18-26
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, exporting data carousel components, 16-8
to, 10-42 Gantt chart components, 28-6
minor facet, 28-6 hierarchical menus, 18-23
mouse events, 5-7 navigationPane components, 18-23
MyFaces Trinidad, 1-2 tree components, 10-31
treeTable components, 10-38
numbers
N
formatting gauge metric label, 25-12
naming containers formatting in graphs, 24-21
events and, 5-13
finding components, 3-7
page templates and, 19-18

Index-16
O JavaScript and, 16-5
media components, 16-14
optimized lifecycle
outputFormatted components, 16-2
defined, 4-9
outputText components, 16-2
immediate attribute and, 4-10
statusIndicator components, 16-13
list-of-value components and, 4-11
output modes
oracle.adfinternal.view.faces.caching.fi
EL expressions and, 33-1
lter.AdfFacesCachingFilter class, A-11
email, 33-3
oracle.adf.view.rich.automation.ENABLED
print, 33-1
parameter, A-7
outputFormatted components
oracle.adf.view.rich.pprNavigation.OPTIO
attributes, 16-3
NS parameter, A-8
character codes for, 16-4
oracle.adf.view.rich.profiler.ENABLED defined, 16-2
parameter, A-7 formatting codes, 16-4
oracle.adf.view.rich.profiler.ROOT_FILE overview, 16-1
parameter, A-7 procedures for using, 16-3
oracle.adf.view.rich.security.FRAME_ styleUsage attribute, values for, 16-3
BUSTING parameter, A-9 outputText components
oracle.adf.view.rich.SUPPRESS_IDS attributes, 16-3
parameter, A-10 defined, 16-2
oracle.adf.view.rich.tonalstyles.ENABLED overview, 16-1
parameter, A-8 procedures for using, 16-3
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.agent.email=
true parameter, 33-4
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CACHE_VIEW_ P
ROOT parameter, A-8 page flows
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CHECK_FILE_ code generated for, 2-6
MODIFICATION parameter, A-5, A-12 creating, using diagrammer, 2-5
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CLIENT_ page fragments
STATE_MAX_TOKENS parameter, A-5 component tree and, 19-7
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CLIENT_ declarative components and, 19-21
STATE_METHOD parameter, A-5 described, 19-2
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.DEBUG_ including in JSF pages, 19-4
JAVASCRIPT parameter, A-5 overview, 19-1
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.DIALOG_ procedures for creating, 19-5
NAVIGATION_PREFIX parameter, A-7 procedures for using in JSF pages, 19-7
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.DISABLE_ at runtime, 19-7
CONTENT_COMPRESSION parameter, A-7 in templates, 19-14
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.LOGGER_LEVEL web.xml file, 19-6
parameter, A-6 page layouts
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.MAX_DISK_ best practice for acheiving correct design, 8-12
SPACE parameter, A-6 geometry management and, 8-6
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.resource.DEB overview, 8-5
UG table of layout components, 8-2
performance tip, A-6 See also layout components
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.resource.DEB page lifecycle. See lifecycle
UG parameter, A-6 page navigation. See navigation
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_MAX_ page templates
MEMORY parameter, A-6 adding resources to, 19-30
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_TEMP_ attributes in, 19-10
DIR parameter, A-6 component tree and, 19-2
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.Resou creating JSF pages with, 19-15
rceServlet parameter, A-4 described, 2-8, 19-7
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.Trini facetRef tags, 19-14
dadFilter parameter, A-4 facets, 19-8, 19-12
ouput mode configuration, A-23 fragments in, 19-14
output components naming containers and, 19-18
defined, 16-1 overview, 19-2
escape attribute, 16-2 pageTemplateDef tags, 19-9
icon components, 16-5 pagetemplate-metadata.xml file, 19-11
image components, 16-5

Index-17
 performance tip for naming, 19-12 input components and, 9-19
procedures for creating, 19-11 procedures for using, 8-27
resource bundles in, 19-11 panelGroupLayout components
at runtime, 19-18 attributes, 8-67
versus JSF pages, 19-8 described, 8-65
pageFlowScope geometry management, 8-66
accessing values, 4-18 panelLabelAndMessage components
configuration, A-23 and, 17-10
defined, 4-15 procedures for using, 8-67
passing values with, 4-16 panelHeader components
using, 4-16 to 4-17 attributes, 8-61
using declaratively, 4-18 described, 8-59
in Java code facets, 8-59
pages. See JSF pages, 19-1 icons displayed in, 8-61
pageTemplateDef tags, 19-9 procedures for using, 8-61
pagetemplate-metadata.xml file, 19-11 panelLabelAndMessage components
panel card components attributes, 17-10
procedures for using, 29-18 described, 17-9
showDetailItem tag, 29-18 facets, 17-10
panel windows overview, 17-3
creating, 13-8 panelGroupLayout components and, 17-10
overview, 13-1 procedures for using, 17-10
panelAccordion components panelList components
attributes, 8-52 attributes, 8-63
described, 8-48 described, 8-62
overflow icons, 8-49 nesting, 8-64
performance tip, 8-52 procedures for using, 8-63
procedures for using, 8-52 panelSplitter components
panelBorderLayout components attributes, 8-20
described, 8-23 described, 8-18
facets, 8-23 facets, 8-20
procedures for using, 8-25 geometry management, 8-22
panelBox components procedures for using, 8-20
attributes, 8-46 panelStretchLayout components
background color, 8-42 attributes, 8-16
disclosed attribute, 8-48 facets, 8-15
disclosureEvent events, 8-48 geometry management and, 8-17
panelDashboard components and, 8-34 performance tip, 8-15
procedures for using, 8-46 procedures for using, 8-16
showDetailHeader component and, 8-41 when to use, 8-14
toolbar component, 8-47 panelTabbed components
panelCollection components attributes, 8-53
described, 10-40 described, 8-51
facets, 10-40 performance tip, 8-52
menu and toolbar items, 10-41 procedures for using, 8-53
overview, 10-3 Pareto graphs
procedures for using, 10-42 customzing, 24-35
panelDashboard components data requirements for, 24-11
attributes, 8-37 defined, 24-5
described, 8-34 tag, 24-5
geometry management, 8-38 See also graph components
procedures for using, 8-36 paretoGraph tag, 24-5
panelDashboardBehavior tag partial page navigation
component tree and, 8-35 configuration, A-8
described, 8-35 described, 7-7
procedures for using, 8-38 turning on, 7-7
panelFormLayout components partial page rendering
attributes, 8-27 accessibility and, 22-8
described, 8-25 addPartialTarget() method, 7-6
group component and, 8-30 autoSubmit attribute, 7-3

Index-18
 back button and, 7-6 breadcrumbs, 18-34
connecting pivot table components, 26-7 panelAccordion components, 8-52
defined, 1-5, 4-9, 7-1 panelStretchLayout components, 8-15
enabling declaratively, 7-4 panelTabbed components, 8-52
enabling pivot table, 26-7 rendered attribute, 3-15
events and, 5-2 state saving, A-5
immediateattribute and, 4-10 template naming, 19-12
lifecycle and, 4-9 toolbox components, 14-16
partial page navigation, 7-7 visible attribute, 3-15
partialSubmit attribute, 7-3 personalization. See customization, user
programmatic pie graph theme
how to use, 7-6 slices, 27-12
when to use, 7-6 pie graphs
screen readers and, 7-6 changing the appearance, 24-33
selectBooleanRadio components, 7-5 data requirements for, 24-11
target component, 7-2 defined, 24-5
trigger component, 7-2 exploding slice, specifying, 24-33
valueChangeEvent, 7-3 ring type, 24-11
partialSubmit attribute tag, 24-5
partial page rendering and, 7-3 See also graph components
versus autoSubmit attribute, 7-4 pieGraph tag, 24-5
partialTriggers attribute, 7-4, 26-7 pivot table components
partitions. See JavaScript partitions column edges, 26-2
pathStamp facet, 10-32 customizing cell content, 26-9
peers data cell
defined, 1-4, 3-1 defined, 26-3
DispatchComponentEvent method, 5-13 editing, 26-13
JavaScript for custom components, 30-19 stamping, 26-13
updating property values, 3-9 data requirements for, 26-3
performance tips formatting
assertions, A-7 styles, 26-10
carousel components, 16-12 text, 26-10
CHECK_FILE_MODIFICATION context header cells, 26-3
parameter, A-6 layers, 26-3
child components and geometry overview, 23-8, 26-1
management, 8-8 pivoting layers, 26-3
client events, propagating to server, 5-6 procedure for customizing pivoting, 26-4
clientComponent attribute, 3-6 Qualified Data Reference, defined, 26-3
column stretching, 10-12 row edges, 26-2
compression of CSS class names, A-7 selection in, 26-5
editing modes, 10-7 sizing, 26-6
enhanced debugging in trinidad-config.xml sorting in, 26-6
file, A-21 specifying custom images for data cells, 26-14
file modification, checking for, A-6 stoplighting and conditional formatting, 26-12
geometry management and child Plus One behavior, 18-39
components, 8-8 polar graphs
immediate attribute, 4-6 data requirements for, 24-11
inputDate components, 9-15 defined, 24-5
JavaScript, when to include, 3-4 tag, 24-5
lazy delivery versus immediate delivery for a See also graph components
carousel, 16-9 polarGraph tag, 24-5
lazy delivery versus immediate delivery for tables, popups
trees, and tree tables, 10-4 automatic dismissal, 13-18
logging, A-6 calendar components, creating for, 15-10
menuBar components, 14-8 in collection components, 10-7
navigation panes and menu models, 18-13 creating, 13-2
nested components, 8-8 overview, 13-1
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.resource. preventUserInput function, 5-10
DEBUG parameter, A-6 printable pages
overflow with navigation panes and creating, 33-2

Index-19
 described, 33-1 using, 8-11
Gantt charts, 28-23
showPrintablePageBehavior tag, 33-1
R
Process Validations phase, 4-2
ProcessMenuModel class, 18-41 radar graphs
profiling, configuration, A-7 data requirements for, 24-12
programmatic partial page rendering, 7-6 defined, 24-5
project Gantt charts tag, 24-5
data object keys, 28-9 See also graph components
data requirements, 28-9 radarGraph tag, 24-5
See also Gantt chart components ramps
properties calendar component, 15-16
disconnected, defined, 3-9, 3-13 defined, 8-42
secured, defined, 3-9 panelBox component, 8-42
setting values on client components, 3-13 reading direction, configuration, A-22
Property Inspector regions, 4-14
described, 2-24 registering event handlers, 5-7
procedures for using, 2-25 removeAll method, 10-36
provider, calendar RemovedSet objects, 10-35
defined, 15-1 Render Response phase, 4-3
overview, 15-4 rendered attribute
procedures for creating, 15-6 defined, 3-15
pseudo-elements, 20-4 performance tip for when to use, 3-15
versus visible attribute, 3-15
rendered property
Q node components, 29-13
query components renderers
adding components to a page, 12-17 custom components, 30-30
advanced mode, 12-3, 12-16 faces-config.xml file, 30-31
basic mode, 12-3, 12-16 RequestContext EL implicit object, A-24
compact mode, 12-17 requestScope, 4-15
creating query model classes, 12-4 required attribute
described, 12-14 defined, 4-13
LOV components usage in, 12-15 Process Validations phase, 4-2
procedures for using, 12-17 resetActionListener tags, 18-9
query model for, 12-3 resetButton components
QueryEvent eventQueryEvent event, 12-4 described, 9-4
QueryListener handler, 12-4 procedures for using, 9-6
QueryOperationEvent event, 12-3 resetting values, 18-9
QueryOperationListener handler, 12-3 resource bundle help
resultComponentId attribute, 12-1 described, 17-13
saved searches, 12-2 procedures for creating, 17-14
search criteria rendered components, 12-14 resource bundles
seeded searches, 12-2 automatic integration in JDeveloper, 21-3
simple mode, 12-17 custom components, 30-28
QueryDescriptor class, 12-4 defined, 21-7
QueryListener handler, 12-4 defining base bundle, 21-8
QueryModel class, 12-3 defining labels and access keys, 22-7
QueryModel class diagram, 12-4 Java class, 21-9
QueryOperationEvent event, 12-3 in page templates, 19-11
QueryOperationListener handler, 12-3 property file, 21-8
quick query components, 12-10 registering in faces-config.xml file, 21-12
creating the component using a model, 12-11 search algorithm, 21-7
creating the component without a model, 12-12 setting options, 21-4
using managed bean to switch to query in skins, 20-16
components, 12-11 XLIFF file, 21-9
quick start layouts resource debugging
described, 2-7 configuration parameters, A-6
generated code for, 2-10 performance tip for, A-6
themes, shown with, D-1 resource files, configuration, A-12

Index-20
resource kit loader, 30-13 scheduling Gantt chart
resource loader, 30-36 data object keys, 28-12
resource strings, 20-5 data requirements, 28-12
resource utilization Gantt charts See also Gantt chart components
data object keys, 28-11 scopes, 4-15
data requirements, 28-11 screen readers
See also Gantt chart components partial page rendering and, 7-6
ResourceBundle class, 21-7 scroll levels
ResourceBundleHelpProvider help in graphs, 24-42
provider, 17-13 scrollComponentIntoViewBehavior tag, 5-20
resources Search and Select popup dialog, 11-1
adding to declarative components, 19-30 secret attribute, 9-6
adding to templates, 19-30 secured properties, 3-9
Restore View phase, 4-2 seeded searches, 12-2
resultComponentId attribute, 12-1 selectBooleanCheckbox components
ReturnPopupEvent, list-of-value components attributes, 9-20
and, 4-12 described, 9-17
richTextEditor components procedures for using, 9-20
adding insert behavior, 9-29 selectBooleanRadio components
attributes, 9-28 attributes, 9-20
described, 9-26 described, 9-17
overview, 9-2 group attribute and, 9-17
procedures for using, 9-28 partial page rendering and, 7-5
toolbar procedures for using, 9-20
customizing, about, 9-27 selection components
customizing, procedures for, 9-30 described, 9-16
versus inputText components, 9-6 JavaScript and, 9-19
richTextEditorInsertBehavior tag overview, 9-2
described, 9-27 procedures for using, 9-20
procedures for using, 9-29 tables and, 10-24
right-to-left pseudo-class, 20-6 selection events
root components client listener for, 9-24
described, 5-2 clientListener tag, 9-25
partial page rendering and, 7-1 collection components, 10-5
See also visual root components exported data and, 10-45
root node component, 29-9 listening for on tables, 10-23
row selection shuttle components and, 9-24
collection components, 10-5 tables and, 10-23
context menu based on, 10-8 selectItem components
RowDisclosureEvent event defined, 9-2
table components, 10-27 described, 9-17
tree components, 10-35 shuttle components and, 9-22
rowDisclosureListener method, 10-35 selectManyCheckbox components
RowKeySet object attributes, 9-20
table components, 10-23 described, 9-17
tree components, 10-36 procedures for using, 9-20
rowSelection attribute, 10-5 selectManyChoice components
attributes, 9-20
described, 9-18
S
procedures for using, 9-20
saved searches, 12-2 selectManyListbox components
Scalable Vector Graphics attributes, 9-20
gauge custom shapes file, 25-21 described, 9-18
supported features in gauge, 25-24 procedures for using, 9-20
scatter graphs selectManyShuttle components
data requirements for, 24-12 attributes, 9-23
defined, 24-5 described, 9-21
tag, 24-5 procedures for using, 9-23
See also graph components selectOneChoice
scatterGraph tag, 24-5 best practice for large number of items, 9-18

Index-21
selectOneChoice components contextInfo components and, 13-17
attributes, 9-20 hierarchy viewer components, invoking a popup
compact mode, 9-18 window, 29-16
described, 9-18 triggerType property, 29-16
procedures for using, 9-20 showPrintablePageBehavior tag, 33-1
selectOneListbox components procedures for using, 33-2
attributes, 9-20 shuttle components
described, 9-17 attributes, 9-23
procedures for using, 9-20 described, 9-21
selectOneRadio components procedures for using, 9-23
attributes, 9-20 selection events, 9-24
described, 9-17 selectItem components and, 9-22
procedures for using, 9-20 simple attribute, 9-6
selectOrderShuttle components simple skin, 20-2
attributes, 9-23 sizing
described, 9-21 in a pivot table, 26-6
procedures for using, 9-23 procedure for resizing pivot table rows and
separator components columns, 26-7
described, 8-70 procedure for setting pivot table overall size, 26-6
procedures for using, 8-70 skins
server events accessibility profile, 20-7
listed, 5-3 adding, 20-10
procedures for using, 5-4 applying
serverListener tag, 5-14 to icons, 20-18
servlet mapping configuration, A-4 to messages, 20-18
sessionScope, 4-15 to text, 20-16
setPropertyListener tags blafplus-medium, 20-2
rows, passing as a value, 10-39 blafplus-rich, 20-2
setting values with, 4-18 cascading style sheets, 20-1
setRowIndex method, 10-31 changing dynamically, 20-21
setRowKey method, 10-31 configuration in trinidad-config.xml
shortDesc attribute, 17-1 file, 20-7, A-21
showDetail components configuration in web.xml file, 20-14
attributes, 8-43 custom alias, 20-20
described, 8-39 custom components, 30-2
disclosed attribute, 8-48 deploying to a JAR, 20-24
disclosureEvent events, 8-48 fusion-projector, 20-2
facets, 8-40 global selectors, 20-4
procedures for using, 8-43 icon selectors, 20-4
showDetailHeader components icons, 20-18
attributes, 8-44 inlineStyle attributes, 20-22
described, 8-40 pseudo-elements, 20-4
disclosed attribute, 8-48 registering, 20-11
disclosureEvent events, 8-48 resource bundle, 20-16
facets, 8-41 resource strings, 20-5
icons displayed in, 8-44 right-to-left pseudo-class, 20-6
nesting, 8-41 simple, 20-2
panelBox component and, 8-41 style classes, 20-23
panelHeader component and, 8-41 style properties, 20-1
procedures for using, 8-44 style selectors, 20-1
showDetailItem components themes, 20-19
attributes, 8-54 SortEvent, 10-22
configuring flexibility, 8-55 sorting
described, 8-51 column component, 10-13
disclosureEvent, 8-58 data in pivot tables, 26-6
geometry management, 8-57 table component, 10-13
procedures for using, 8-54 source, in drag and drop, 32-2
showDetailItem element spacer components
panel card components, using in, 29-18 described, 8-69
showPopupBehavior tag procedures for using, 8-70

Index-22
stamping exporting data
carousel components, 16-8 described, 10-42
table components, 10-10 procedures for, 10-44
tree components, 10-31 facets, adding, 10-20
state saving FilterableQueryDescriptor class, 10-28
configuration, A-4 filtering
performance tips, A-5 described, 10-27
status indicators. See statusIndicator components procedures for, 10-29
statusIndicator components forEach components and, 10-24
described, 16-13 formatting, 10-11
procedures for using, 16-14 iterator tags and, 10-25
stock graphs menus and toolbars, 10-41
data requirements for, 24-13 overview, 10-1
defined, 24-5 performance tip for column stretching, 10-12
high-low-close type, 24-13 procedures for using, 10-14
high-low-close with volume type, 24-13 row selection
open-close candle type, 24-14 configuring, 10-14
open-close with volume candle type, 24-14 described, 10-5
open-high-low-close candle type, 24-15 rowDisclosureEvent event, 10-27
open-high-low-close type, 24-13, 24-14 RowKeySet object, 10-23
open-high-low-close with volume candle rows, passing as a value, 10-39
type, 24-15 at runtime, 10-22
open-high-low-close with volume type, 24-14 selected rows, performing action on, 10-23
tag, 24-5 selection components and, 10-24
See also graph components sorting programmatically, 10-22
stockGraph tag, 24-5 stamping, 10-10
stopBubbling() function, 5-13 tablePopupMenu facet, 28-6
stoplighting tabular data
in pivot table components, 26-12 creating gauges with, 25-7
style classes creating graphs with, 24-15
custom gauge component, 25-11 tag libraries
procedures for defining, 20-23 custom components
style properties configuration, 30-34
changing in graph components, 24-19 creating for, 30-13
defined, 20-1 declarative components, 19-20
style selectors, 20-1 target component
styleUsage attribute, 16-3 in drag and drop, 32-2
subform components in partial page rendering, 7-2
attributes, 9-5 templates
best practice for using, 4-14 application templates, 2-2
default attribute, 4-14 quick start layouts, 2-7
defined, 9-4 See also page templates
procedures for using, 9-5 test automation, configuration parameters, A-7
text
formatting in gauge, 25-13
T
formatting in graph components, 24-22
tab traversals, C-1 themes
table components configuration parameters, A-8
addselectionListener method, 10-23 described, 20-19
attributes, 10-14 quick start layouts and, D-1
column components, 10-11 tick labels
content delivery, 10-4 gauges, 25-16
context menus, 10-7 time axis in Gantt charts, 28-21
defined, 10-2 time zones
described, 10-9 calendar components, 15-2, 15-7
detailStamp facet configuration in trinidad-config.xml
described, 10-25 file, A-21
procedures for using, 10-26 tips
dialogs in, 10-7 displaying for components, 17-5
editing mode, 10-5 procedures for creating, 17-5

Index-23
tonal styles transferable objects
configuration parameters, A-8 calendar components, 32-19
toolbar buttons drop events for other components, 32-5, 32-20,
described, 14-13 32-22
See also commandToolbarButton components tree components
toolbar components addAll method, 10-36
attributes, 14-16 AddedSet objects, 10-35
described, 14-14 attributes, 10-32
flex attribute, 14-16, 14-19 child components allowed, 10-31
in headers, 14-20 ChildPropertyTreeModel class, 10-30
procedures for using, 14-15 content delivery, 10-4
runtime, determining size, 14-19 context menus, 10-7
See also toolbars described, 10-29
toolbar facet, 28-6 dialogs in, 10-7
toolbars editing mode, 10-5
calendar components enterContainer method, 10-31
customizing, 15-12 exitContainer method, 10-31
described, 15-2 exporting data
described, 14-13 described, 10-42
overview, 14-1 procedures for, 10-44
panelCollection component, 10-40 focusRowKey attribute, 10-31
richTextEditor components formatting, 10-11
customizing, 9-27 getAddedSet method, 10-31
tables, 10-40 getRemovedSet method, 10-31
See also toolbar components getRowData method, 10-31
toolbox components menus and toolbars, 10-41
described, 14-3, 14-14 nodes
performance tip, 14-16 accessing, 10-31
procedures for using, 14-15 expanding and collapsing
toolboxLayout attribute, 9-30, 15-13 programmatically, 10-35
train components making current, 10-31
described, 18-37 manipulating, 10-31
menu models, 18-38 selecting programmatically, 10-37
procedures for using, 18-46 nodeStamp facet, 10-31
train stop, 18-37 overview, 10-2
trainButtonBar component, 18-37 pathStamp facet, 10-32
See also trains procedures for using, 10-32
train models removeAll method, 10-36
binding to JSF pages, 18-46 RemovedSet objects, 10-35
described, 18-38 row selection
managed beans, configuring for, 18-42 described, 10-5
procedures for creating, 18-40 RowDisclosureEvent, 10-35
train stops, 18-37 rowDisclosureListener method, 10-35
trainButtonBar components, 18-37 RowKeySet class, 10-36
trains rows, passing as a value, 10-39
binding train model to JSF page, 18-46 runtime, 10-35
described, 18-37 setRowIndex method, 10-31
managed beans, configuring for, 18-42 setRowKey method, 10-31
Max Visited, 18-39 stamping, 10-10, 10-31
Plus One behavior, 18-39 TreeModel class, 10-30
ProcessMenuModel class, 18-41 tree models
simplified binding, explained, 18-39 defined, 18-13
steps for creating, 18-39 menu models, 18-13
train model, procecdures for creating, 18-40 trains and, 18-38
train stop, 18-37 TreeModel class, 10-30
trainButtonBar component, 18-37 treeTable components
TrainStopModel class, 18-38 column components, 10-11
tree models and, 18-38 content delivery, 10-4
See also train components context menus, 10-7
TrainStopModel class, 18-38 described, 10-37

Index-24
 dialogs in, 10-7 creating a backing bean method, 6-13
editing mode, 10-5 custom, creating, 6-12
exporting data defined, 6-1
described, 10-42 error messages
procedures for, 10-44 displaying, 17-5
formatting, 10-11 procedures for creating, 17-7
menus and toolbars, 10-41 hints for, 17-1
nodeStamp facet, 10-38 message queuing, 17-2
overview, 10-3 messages, displaying inline, 17-8
procedures for using, 10-39 overview, 6-1
row selection validateByteLength tag, 6-10
described, 10-5 validateDateRestriction tag, 6-10
rows, passing as a value, 10-39 validateDateTimeRange tag, 6-11
stamping, 10-10 validateDoubleRange tag, 6-11
trigger component, 7-2 validateLength tag, 6-11
triggerType property validateLongRange tag, 6-11
showPopupBehavior tag, 29-16 validateRegExp tag, 6-11
trinidad-config.xml file ValueChangeEvent
accessibility, A-21 list-of-value components and, 4-12
accessibility profile, defining, 20-7 partial page rendering and, 7-3
animation, A-20 selection components and, 9-17
configuration, A-19 view project, 2-3
configuring for accessibility, 22-2 viewScope, 4-15
currency configuration, A-22 visible attribute
editing, A-19 defined, 3-15
enhanced debugging configuration, A-21 isShowing function, 3-17
file upload processor, A-23 performance tip for when to use, 3-15
generated for JSPX pages, 2-13 using, 3-16
generated for XHTML files, 2-21 versus rendered attribute, 3-15
locale configuration, A-23 visual root components, 8-5
localization properties, 21-17
output mode, A-23
W
pageFlowScope, A-23
reading direction, A-22 WAI-ARIA accessibility standards. See accessbility
RequestContext EL implicit object, A-24 web pages. See JSF pages, 19-1
skin family conifguration, A-21 web.xml file
time zone configuration, A-21 adding configuration elements to, A-3
trinidad-skins.xml file automatic configuration for, A-2
configuration in, A-24 configuring, A-1
creating manually, 30-12 generated, 2-3
custom components, 30-3 generated for JSPX pages, 2-11
generated for XHTML files, 2-18
javax.faces.CONFIG_FILE parameter, A-12
U javax.faces.DEFAULT_SUFFIX
UIViewRoot caching configuration parameters, A-8 parameter, A-7, A-12
unmarshalling data, 5-16 javax.faces.LIFECYCLE_ID parameter, A-12
unsecuring the disabled property javax.faces.STATE_SAVING_METHOD
described, 3-13 parameter, A-3
procedures, 3-13 javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet
Update Model Values phase, 4-3 parameter, A-4
UploadedFile class, 9-32 oracle.adf.view.rich.automation.ENABL
UploadedFileProcessor class, 9-35 ED parameter, A-7
uploaded-file-processor element, 9-35 oracle.adf.view.rich.pprNavigation.OP
user customization. See customization, user TIONS parameter, A-8
oracle.adf.view.rich.profiler.ENABLED
parameter, A-7
V
oracle.adf.view.rich.profiler.ROOT_
validation FILE parameter, A-7
adding, 6-9 oracle.adf.view.rich.tonalstyles.ENAB
client-side and lifecycle, 4-13 LED parameter, A-8

Index-25
 org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CACHE_ procedures for creating, 18-15
VIEW_ROOT parameter, A-8
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CHECK_
Z
FILE_MODIFICATION parameter, A-5, A-12
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CLIENT_ zoom levels
STATE_MAX_TOKENS parameter, A-5 facet element, 29-10
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.CLIENT_ in graphs, 24-42
STATE_METHOD parameter, A-5 hierarchy viewer components, 29-10
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.DEBUG_ map components, 27-7
JAVASCRIPT parameter, A-5 map theme, 27-8
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.DIALOG_
NAVIGATION_PREFIX parameter, A-7
org.apache.myfaces.trinidadinternal.D
ISABLE_CONTENT_COMPRESSION
parameter, A-7
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.LOGGER_
LEVEL parameter, A-6
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.MAX_DISK_
SPACE parameter, A-6
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.resource.
DEBUG parameter, A-6
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_
MAX_MEMORY parameter, A-6
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.UPLOAD_
TEMP_DIR parameter, A-6
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.Re
sourceServlet parameter, A-4
org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.webapp.Tr
inidadFilter parameter, A-4
page fragments and, 19-6
workspaces
application workspace, 2-2
custom components, 30-9

X
XHTML pages
best practice for why to use, 2-7
generated code for, 2-18
libraries added for, 2-18
procedures for creating, 2-17
trinidad-config.xml file generated for, 2-21
web.xml file generated for, 2-18
See also Facelets
See also JSF pages
XLIFF format, 21-7, 21-9
XLIFF help
described, 17-13
procedures for creating, 17-16
XML menu models
binding components to, 18-23
described, 18-13
XMLMenuModel class
binding to JSF pages, 18-22
binding to managed bean, 18-24
custom attributes for, 18-29
described, 18-12, 18-13
XMLMenuModel metadata file
described, 18-14
elements, 18-18

Index-26