Using multiple form elements in jspx

Question

Using jdev 11.1.1.2.0 with jsf/adf. We have a link that we display on every jspx page of our application. That link gets included into all jspx pages via a jsp:include. However, for the purposes of this post, I'm going to be showing the code for the included page as actually being in the same file that normally would use the jsp:include to include this code. This link uses the following code in a backing bean to determine if the transaction is dirty. (the bindings property is defined in the class and is 'injected' with the bindings value via the managed bean reference in the faces-config file. I'm just not showing that code to save space here.) Basically, when the user clicks the link the code below will check if the transaction is dirty and if so a popup dialog will show and give the user a chance to save any pending changes.
protected boolean isDirty() {
Boolean b;
if (bindings == null) {
return false;
b = ((Boolean)JSFUtils.resolveExpression("#{bindings.Commit.enabled}"));
// if there is no commit binding, the form is by definition not dirty
if (b == null) {
return false;
return b.booleanValue();
Here's the code in the jspx:
<! The important thing to note here is that this code is within the including/parent page's <form> tag. When i include this same code via the jsp:include it's inside the including/parent page <form> tag
as well -->
<tr:form>
<!-- this is the jsp code that in reality will be in a separate jsp that will be included via jsp:include in this page -->
<tr:panelHorizontalLayout halign="right" inlineStyle="margin-top:-5px;">
<tr:navigationPane hint="buttons" inlineStyle="width:120px; text-align:right;">
<tr:commandLink text="Home" useWindow="true"
actionListener="#{managedBeanName.returnButtonActionListener}"
returnListener="#{managedBeanName.returnButtonReturnListener}"
partialSubmit="true">
</tr:commandLink>
</tr:navigationPane>
</tr:panelHorizontalLayout>
<!-- this is the rest of the page content -->
<tr:commandButton action="someAction" text="My Button"/>
<!-- there are some bindings for a vo in here but for brevity i'm not showing those as they are not pertinent here. -->
</tr:form>
This setup works fine.
Now here's the problem... I now have a requirement that I add another link to the code that is to be included. This link needs to open a new browser window and navigate to another page within the
same application. So, I'm now wrapping the code that will be included in it's own <tr:form> tag so that I can set it's targetFrame="_blank" so that when the link within it is clicked a new browser window opens. Here's what that jsp code looks like now:
<! The important thing to note here is that the code that ultimately will be included into the parent jsp (but is shown here as actually being in the parent jsp for simplicity) is wrapped in it's own <tr:form>
So, I have now will have two <tr:form> tags within the page. They are NOT nested, so this is ok -->
<tr:form targetFrame="_blank">
<tr:panelHorizontalLayout halign="right" inlineStyle="margin-top:-5px;">
<tr:navigationPane hint="buttons" inlineStyle="width:120px; text-align:right;">
<tr:commandLink text="Home" useWindow="true"
actionListener="#{managedBeanName.returnButtonActionListener}"
returnListener="#{managedBeanName.returnButtonReturnListener}"
partialSubmit="true">
</tr:commandLink>
<!-- this is the new link i've added to the code that I need to open a new browser window when clicked -->
<tr:commandLink action="someaction" text="Open New Window"/>
</tr:navigationPane>
</tr:panelHorizontalLayout>
</tr:form>
<!-- this is the content of the rest of the parent jsp in it's own <tr:form> tag
<tr:form>
<tr:commandButton action="someAction" text="My Button"/>
<!-- there are some bindings for a vo in here but for brevity i'm not showing those as they are not pertinent here. -->
</tr:form>
Now when I run the app and click on the Home link (which is in the included jsp code), I'm getting the wrong answer from the isDirty() method above. I know the transaction is dirty, but the code says it's not. This for sure has to do with the fact that I now have two <tr:form> tags within the same .jspx, but I don't understand why. Maybe the isDirty() method is not working with the 'right' bindings object now that there are two <tr:form>tags in the same jsp?? Anyone have an idea as to why this doesn't work and/or how to fix for my requirement? Thanks.
Edited by: kcjim on May 13, 2010 1:50 PM

Answer 1

I wanted to update this thread with my findings. It seems that if there are two form tags in the same jsp, the bindings object that you can reference (as i have in the isDirty() method mentioned above will be for the form which actually gets submitted. Consider this jspx code:
<!-- the first form tag in this jsp has vo bindings contained within it, along with a command button which ultimately calls the isDirty() method to determine if the transaction is dirty -->
<af:form>
<af:panelHorizontal>
<af:inputText value="#{bindings.ApplicationId.inputValue}"
showRequired="true"
columns="20" label="#{res['application.label.text']}"
id="Application" binding="#{managedBeanName.application}">
<af:validator binding="#{bindings.ApplicationId.validator}"/>
</af:inputText>
</af:panelHorizontal>
<af:commandButton text="Submit" useWindow="true" partialSubmit="true"
actionListener="#{managedBeanName.returnButtonActionListener}"
returnListener="#{managedBeanName.returnButtonReturnListener}">
</af:commandButton>
</af:form>
<!-- the second form tag in this jsp has NO vo bindings contained within it, just a command button which ultimately calls the same isDirty() method to determine if the transaction is dirty -->
<af:form>
<af:commandButton text="Submit" useWindow="true" partialSubmit="true"
actionListener="#{managedBeanName.returnButtonActionListener}"
returnListener="#{managedBeanName.returnButtonReturnListener}">
</af:commandButton>
</af:form>
If the user makes a change to the input (application id) in the first form tag and uses the Submit button within that first form tag, isDirty will return the correct answer, which tells me the transaction is dirty. However, if the user changes the input (application id) in the first form tag and clicks the Submit button that is
within the second form tag, the call to isDirty() now gives me the wrong answer. It says transaction is not dirty but i know that it is because i've made a change. I understand why this doesn't work now, but I'm still looking for a good solution if anyone has any ideas. Thanks