Refresh view on change to observable list.

Question

I have table view with n columns. The data for the table comes from observable list of Person object. The table view is rendered with all the rows and column populated. Now I want to modify a cells value on click of a button. I am trying to update the new value in observable list for that specific cell, but it doesn't refresh my view. Only when I add or remove a row in the observable list it refreshes and this is not feasible in my application. Is there another way . If yes, can you please provide with a sample code.
When I edit the table cell and press enter, it updates the backing observable list. But When I update the observable list, it doesn't refresh the view.
I had a simple pojo object instead of javafx specific property objects. I also tried with SimpleStringProperty objects, but it didn't work. I heard of binding, but can you provide me with sample code.
thanks.

Answer 1

I had a similar problem with a ListView so I assume that the basic principles will remain the same. Hopefully this will help.
Created custom cells and Custom items which contained Properties rather than simple values.
package com.javainc.dex;
import javafx.beans.property.BooleanProperty;
import javafx.beans.property.DoubleProperty;
import javafx.beans.property.ObjectProperty;
import javafx.beans.property.SimpleBooleanProperty;
import javafx.beans.property.SimpleDoubleProperty;
import javafx.beans.property.SimpleObjectProperty;
import javafx.beans.property.SimpleStringProperty;
import javafx.beans.property.StringProperty;
import org.simpleframework.xml.Attribute;
import org.simpleframework.xml.Element;
import org.simpleframework.xml.Root;
import org.simpleframework.xml.core.Commit;
@Root
public class DataFilterItem implements Comparable
  @Element(name = "dataFilter")
  private DataFilter                 df;
  @Attribute(name = "name")
  private StringProperty             name;
  @Attribute(name = "active")
  private BooleanProperty            active;
  private ObjectProperty<DataFilter> dataFilter = new SimpleObjectProperty<DataFilter>();
  private DoubleProperty             opacity;
  public DataFilterItem()
  public DataFilterItem(@Element(name = "dataFilter") DataFilter df)
    this(df, new SimpleStringProperty(df.getName()), new SimpleBooleanProperty(
        true));
  public DataFilterItem(@Element(name = "dataFilter") DataFilter df,
      @Attribute(name = "name") StringProperty name,
      @Attribute(name = "active") BooleanProperty active)
    //System.out.println("CONSTRUCTING CDFI: " + df);
    this.dataFilter = new SimpleObjectProperty<DataFilter>(df);
    this.df = df;
    this.name = name;
    this.active = active;
    this.opacity = new SimpleDoubleProperty(active.get() ? 1.0 : 0.5);
  public ObjectProperty<DataFilter> getDataFilter()
    return dataFilter;
  public StringProperty getName()
    return name;
  public BooleanProperty getActive()
    return active;
  public void setName(String name)
    this.name.set(name);
  public void setActive(boolean active)
    this.active.setValue(active);
    if (active)
      setOpacity(1.0);
    else
      setOpacity(0.5);
  public DoubleProperty getOpacity()
    return opacity;
  public void setOpacity(double opacity)
    this.opacity.set(opacity);
  @Override
  public int compareTo(Object obj)
    if (obj != null && obj instanceof DataFilterItem)
      if (dataFilter != null)
        DataFilter df1 = dataFilter.get();
        DataFilter df2 = ((DataFilterItem) obj).getDataFilter().get();
        if (df1 != null && df2 != null)
          return df1.compareTo(df2);
    return -1;
  @Commit
  public void build()
    this.dataFilter = new SimpleObjectProperty<DataFilter>(df);
    this.opacity = new SimpleDoubleProperty(active.get() ? 1.0 : 0.5);
}In the class creating the list view:
  private List<DataFilterItem>     activeFilters    = new ArrayList<DataFilterItem>();
  private ListView<DataFilterItem> activeFilterList = new ListView<DataFilterItem>();
// get the filters, etc..
      activeFilterList.setItems(FXCollections
          .observableArrayList(activeFilters));
      activeFilterList
          .setCellFactory(new Callback<ListView<DataFilterItem>, ListCell<DataFilterItem>>()
            @Override
            public ListCell<DataFilterItem> call(ListView<DataFilterItem> list)
              return new DataFilterItemCell();
          });And finally, the custom cell creation routine:
  public class DataFilterItemCell extends ListCell<DataFilterItem>
    private HBox      hbox  = new HBox();
    private ImageView iv    = new ImageView();
    private Label     label = new Label("UNNAMED");
    public DataFilterItemCell()
      this.hbox.getChildren().addAll(iv, label);
    @Override
    public void updateItem(DataFilterItem item, boolean empty)
      super.updateItem(item, empty);
      if (!empty)
        try
          DataFilter df = item.getDataFilter().get();
          // label.setText(df.getName());
          iv.setImage(df.getImage());
          label.textProperty().bind(item.getName());
          hbox.opacityProperty().bind(item.getOpacity());
          setGraphic(hbox);
        catch(Exception ex)
          ex.printStackTrace();
  }Anyway, I know it's a different UI control, but I believe the same principle will apply for you. The answer I believe lies in properties and bindings.
Good luck!
- Pat