Expand collapse of table rows in Datatable JSF

Question

I have been trying to achieve this functionality of expand/collapse of table rows using core JSF and also I have to preserve the sorting. Is there a way in core JSF where I can achieve this functionality?

Answer 1

Simple expandable table with RichFaces

We can do Simple expandable table with RichFaces and the code is given below...

<h:form>
   <rich:dataTable value="#{wonderBean.wonders}" var="wonder">
      <rich:column colspan="3">
         <f:facet name="header">Wonder</f:facet>
     <h:outputText value="#{wonder.name}" />
     <a4j:commandLink id="link" value="#{!wonderBean.show?'[+]':'[-]'}"
        reRender="link">
     <a4j:actionparam name="val" value="#{!wonderBean.show}"
        assignTo="#{wonderBean.show}" />
     </a4j:commandLink>
      </rich:column>
      <rich:columnGroup>
         <rich:column>
        <a4j:outputPanel ajaxRendered="true">
             <rich:dataTable value="#{wonder.details}" var="detail"
            rendered="#{wonderBean.show}" style="border: 0px">
                <rich:column>
            <f:facet name="header">Location</f:facet>
            <h:outputText value="#{detail.location}" />
            </rich:column>
            <rich:column>
               <f:facet name="header">Image</f:facet>
               <h:graphicImage value="#{detail.imageUrl}" />
            </rich:column>
         </rich:dataTable>
          </a4j:outputPanel>
       </rich:column>
        </rich:columnGroup>
     </rich:dataTable>
</h:form>

Answer 2

I don't think you can do this with 'core' JSF (by which I assume you mean using only the reference implementation).

As I understand it, you can accomplish subtables with RichFaces subTable

You can also do a similar thing with IceFaces - see the component showcase (it's under Table -> Expandable Table). However either of these would require you adding and setting up another library (RichFaces or IceFaces) which is probably not what you want.

Answer 3

If you insist in using reference implementation only, then you can't go around using a nested h:dataTable and/or h:panelGroup and a good shot of CSS to get it aligned nicely. You can then use JavaScript the smart way to show/hide row details.

Here's a basic kickoff example:

<h:dataTable value="#{bean.orders}" var="order">
    <h:column>
        <h:panelGrid columns="3">
            <h:graphicImage id="expand" value="expand.gif" onclick="toggleDetails(this);" />
            <h:outputText value="#{order.id}" />
            <h:outputText value="#{order.name}" />
        </h:panelGrid>
        <h:dataTable id="details" value="#{order.details}" var="detail" style="display: none;">
            <h:column><h:outputText value="#{detail.date}" /></h:column>
            <h:column><h:outputText value="#{detail.description}" /></h:column>
            <h:column><h:outputText value="#{detail.quantity}" /></h:column>
        </h:dataTable>
    </h:column>
</h:dataTable>

The toggleDetails() function can look like (note that it takes JSF generated client ID into account):

function toggleDetails(image) {
    var detailsId = image.id.substring(0, image.id.lastIndexOf(':')) + ':details';
    var details = document.getElementById(detailsId);
    if (details.style.display == 'none') {
        details.style.display = 'block';
        image.src = 'collapse.gif';
    } else {
        details.style.display = 'none';
        image.src = 'expand.gif';
    }
}