Question

When I add a normal <form> element in my xpage, the pager doesn’t work any longer, means I cannot switch to other pages (clicking on “next” or something).

Here is the important part:

<xp:pager id="newsPager" for="newsList" pageCount="4" partialRefresh="true">
    //pager stuff.....
</xp:pager>

<form action="#">
    //form stuff... contents not important for my issue, I tested it
</form>

When I exclude the form entirely, it works

I use Domino Designer 8.5.3 on windows 7

And the “newsList” is an ID of a repeat-control

Answer 1

Instead of using a passthru form, use a form component:

<xp:form action="#">
 // form contents
</xp:form>

This will prevent the rest of the content from being surrounded by a form tag, which also breaks events and data submission, so you’ll need to surround the rest of your content in its own form:

<xp:form>
 <xp:pager id="newsPager" for="newsList" pageCount="4" partialRefresh="true">
    //pager stuff.....
 </xp:pager>
 <xp:repeat id="newsList">
    //repeat contents
 </xp:repeat>
</xp:form>

NOTE: do not nest forms inside each other; this confuses browsers, which is why your current design is not functional. Identify, instead, discrete portions of the page that can be safely treated as separate forms and wrap each portion in its own form component.