Question

I have a problem on my JSF page where I type a name into the first billing first name field. If I click on copy billing address checkbox; this stops rendering the delivery address panel and hides it via ajax, the value I just typed into the first field gets reset to its previous state.

JSF Page

<h:form>
    <p:inputText value="#{addressBean.billingAddress.firstName}" required="true"/ >

    <p:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{addressBean.copyBillingAddress}" id="duplicateBillingDetails">
        <f:ajax render="@form" />
    </p:selectBooleanCheckbox>

    <h:panelGrid rendered="#{not addressBean.copyBillingAddress}" columns="3">
        <p:inputText value="#{addressBean.deliveryAddress.firstName}"/>
    </h:panelGrid>

    <p:commandButton value="Checkout" action="#{addressBean.saveAddress}"/>
</h:form>

Backing Bean

@Component
@Scope("view")
public class AddressBean implements Serializable {
    @Inject
    private CurrentUserBean currentUserBean;
    @Inject
    private UserService userService;
    private Address deliveryAddress = new Address();
    private Address billingAddress = new Address();
    private boolean copyBillingAddress;


    public AddressBean() {

    }

    public boolean isCopyBillingAddress() {
        return copyBillingAddress;
    }

    public void setCopyBillingAddress(boolean copyBillingAddress) {
        this.copyBillingAddress = copyBillingAddress;
    }


    public String saveAddress() {
        if (copyBillingAddress) {
            deliveryAddress = new Address(billingAddress);
        }

        User user = currentUserBean.getUser();
        if (!billingAddress.isSame(user.getBillingAddress())) {
            user.setBillingAddress(billingAddress);
        }
        if (!deliveryAddress.isSame(user.getDeliveryAddress())) {
            user.setDeliveryAddress(deliveryAddress);
        }
        currentUserBean.setUser(userService.save(user));
        return "/checkout.xhtml";
    }

    public CurrentUserBean getCurrentUserBean() {
        return currentUserBean;
    }


    public void setCurrentUserBean(CurrentUserBean currentUserBean) {
        this.currentUserBean = currentUserBean;
    }

    public Address getDeliveryAddress() {
        return deliveryAddress;
    }

    public void setDeliveryAddress(Address deliveryAddress) {
        this.deliveryAddress = deliveryAddress;
    }

    public Address getBillingAddress() {
        return billingAddress;
    }

    public void setBillingAddress(Address billingAddress) {
        this.billingAddress = billingAddress;
    }




}

Answer 1

The <f:ajax> processes by default only the current component as in execute="@this". So the submitted values of all other input components won’t be processed and thus not be updated into the model. However, you’re by render="@form" forcing the entire HTML output of the form to be refreshed with current (non-updated!) model values of all other input components.

Assuming that your intent is to not unnecessarily convert/validate/update all other input components, you’d better make the render attribute more specific. Update only the content which really needs to be updated and not the entire form.

<p:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{addressBean.copyBillingAddress}" id="duplicateBillingDetails">
    <f:ajax render="copyBillingAddress" />
</p:selectBooleanCheckbox>

<h:panelGroup id="copyBillingAddress">
    <h:panelGrid rendered="#{not addressBean.copyBillingAddress}" columns="3">
        <p:inputText value="#{addressBean.deliveryAddress.firstName}"/>
    </h:panelGrid>
</h:panelGroup>

Or, if you really need the render="@form", then you need to add a execute="@form" in order to tell <f:ajax> to process all other input components as well.

<f:ajax execute="@form" render="@form" />

Note that this may unnecessarily trigger conversion/validation on those input components.

See also:

• Why do I need to nest a component with rendered="#{some}" in another component when I want to ajax-update it?