Form and Inputs"

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== Label ==
 
A label component represents a piece of text.
 
  
[[Image:FormAndInput_1.png]]
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<window border="normal">
 
Hello World
 
</window>
 
</source>
 
 
If you want to add an attribute to a label, it has to be written as follows:
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_2.png]]
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<window border="normal">
 
<label style="color: red" value="Hello World" />
 
</window>
 
</source>
 
 
'''Tip''': ZUML is XML, not HTML, so it doesn't accept <tt><strong>&amp;</strong>nbsp;</tt>. However, you can use <tt><strong>&amp;</strong>#160;</tt> instead.
 
 
=== The pre, hyphen, maxlength and multiline Properties ===
 
 
[since 5.0.0]
 
 
You can control how a label is displayed using the <tt>pre</tt>, <tt>multiline</tt> and <tt>maxlength</tt> properties. For example, if you specify <tt>pre</tt> to be true, all white spaces, such as new lines, spaces and tabs, are preserved.
 
 
{| border="1px"
 
! <center>pre</center>
 
! <center>multiline</center>
 
! <center>maxlenth</center>
 
! <center>Description</center>
 
 
|-
 
| <center>true</center>
 
| <center>any</center>
 
| <center>any</center>
 
| All white spaces are preserved, including new lines, spaces and tabs.
 
 
|-
 
| <center>false</center>
 
| <center>true</center>
 
| <center>any</center>
 
| New lines are preserved.
 
 
|-
 
| <center>false</center>
 
| <center>false</center>
 
| <center>positive</center>
 
| The label only show its value up to the length of "maxlength".
 
 
|-
 
| <center>false</center>
 
| <center>false</center>
 
| <center>0</center>
 
| The label is displayed regularly.
 
 
|}
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput3_ZK5.PNG]]
 
 
<source lang="xml">
 
<window border="normal" width="300px">
 
<vbox id="result">
 
<label id="lb1" pre="true" />
 
<label id="lb2" multiline="true" />
 
<label id="lb3" maxlength="10" />
 
<zscript><![CDATA[
 
lb1.value = "this  thing  has  spaces.\nnext line.";
 
lb2.value = "this  thing  no  space.\nnext line.";
 
lb3.value = "this is more than 10 chars.";
 
]]></zscript>
 
</vbox>
 
</window>
 
</source>
 
 
[For ZK3 users]
 
 
This displaying rule is slightly different in ZK3.
 
 
{| border="1px"
 
! <center>hyphen</center>
 
! <center>pre</center>
 
! <center>maxlenth</center>
 
! <center>Description</center>
 
 
|-
 
| <center>false</center>
 
| <center>false</center>
 
| <center>positive</center>
 
| Truncated the characters that exceeds the specified <tt>maxlength</tt>.
 
 
|-
 
| <center>true</center>
 
| <center>any</center>
 
| <center>positive</center>
 
| If the length of a line exceeds <tt>maxlength</tt>, the line is hyphenated.
 
 
|-
 
| <center>false</center>
 
| <center>true</center>
 
| <center>any</center>
 
| <tt>maxlength</tt> is ignored.
 
 
|-
 
| <center>any</center>
 
| <center>any</center>
 
| <center>0</center>
 
| <tt>hyphen</tt> is ignored.
 
 
|}
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_3.png]]
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<window border="normal" width="100px">
 
<vbox id="result">
 
</vbox>
 
<zscript><![CDATA[
 
String[] s = {"this is 9", "this is ten more to show",
 
"this framework", "performance is everything"};
 
    for (int j = 0; j < s.length; ++j) {
 
Label l = new Label(s[j]);
 
l.maxlength = 9;
 
l.hyphen = true;
 
l.parent = result;
 
}
 
    ]]>
 
    </zscript>
 
</window>
 
</source>
 
 
The <tt>multiline</tt> property is similar to the <tt>pre</tt> property, except it only preserves new lines and white space at the beginning of each line.
 
 
== Buttons ==
 
There are two types of buttons: <tt>button</tt> and <tt>toolbarbutton</tt>. While the looks of the buttons are different, their behaviors are the same. The <tt>button</tt> component uses the HTML BUTTON tag, while the <tt>toolbarbutton</tt> component uses the HTML Anchor(A) tag.
 
 
You could assign a label and an image to a button by utilizing the <tt>label</tt> and <tt>image</tt> attributes. If both are specified, the <tt>dir</tt> property controls which is displayed first, and the <tt>orient</tt> property controls whether the layout is horizontal or vertical.
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_4.png]]
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<button label="Left" image="/img/folder.gif" width="125px"/>
 
<button label="Right" image="/img/folder.gif" dir="reverse" width="125px"/>
 
<button label="Above" image="/img/folder.gif" orient="vertical" width="125px"/>
 
<button label="Below" image="/img/folder.gif" orient="vertical" dir="reverse" width="125px"/>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
In addition to employing URLs to specify images, you can dynamically assign a generated image to a button using the <tt>setImageContent</tt> method. Refer to the following section for details.
 
 
'''Tip:''' The <tt>setImageContent</tt> method is supplied by all components that have an <tt>image</tt> property. Simply put, <tt>setImageContent</tt> is used for dynamically generated images, while <tt>image</tt> is used for images identifiable by a URL.
 
 
=== The onClick Event and href Property ===
 
There are two ways to add behavior to a <tt>button</tt> and <tt>toolbarbutton</tt>. Firstly, you can specify a listener for the <tt>onClick</tt> event. Secondly, you could specify a URL for the <tt>href</tt> property. If both are specified, the <tt>href</tt> property has the higher priority, i.e., the onClick event won't be sent.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<window title="example">
 
<zscript>
 
void do_something_in_Java()
 
{
 
alert("hello");
 
//redirect to another page
 
}
 
</zscript>
 
 
<button label="click me" onClick="do_something_in_Java()"/>
 
<button label="don't click that one, click me" href="/another_page.zul"/>
 
</window>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
=== The sendRedirect Method of the org.zkoss.zk.ui.Execution Interface ===
 
When processing an event, you can decide to stop processing the current desktop and redirect to another page by using the <tt>sendRedirect</tt> method. In other words, from the user』s viewpoint the following two buttons have exactly the same effect.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<window>
 
<zscript>
 
void sendRedirect(url)
 
{
 
alert("sending redirect");
 
//send redirect url
 
}
 
</zscript>
 
 
<button label="redirect" onClick="sendRedirect(&quot;another.zul&quot;)"/>
 
<button label="href" href="another.zul"/>
 
</window>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
Since the onClick event is sent to the server for processing, you are able to perform additional tasks before invoking <tt>sendRedirect</tt>, such as redirecting to another page only if certain conditions are satisfied.
 
 
On the other hand, the <tt>href</tt> property is processed at the client side. Your application won't be notified when users click the button.
 
 
===Button supports OS mold===
 
 
For those who prefer native Button styling, please use the OS mold as demonstrated below:
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<button mold="os" label="os mold"/>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
 
The difference lies in the generated HTM, OS molds will generate the <button> tag instead of <table> tags.
 
 
== Radio and Radio Group ==
 
A radio button is a component that can be turned on and off. Radio buttons are grouped together using <tt>radiogroup</tt>. Only one radio button in a group may be selected at a time.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<radiogroup onCheck="alert(self.selectedItem.label)">
 
    <radio label="Apple"/>
 
    <radio label="Orange"/>
 
    <radio label="Banana"/>
 
</radiogroup>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
=== Versatile Layouts ===
 
You can add additional controls into <tt>radiogroups</tt> to achieve the desired layout, as illustrated below.
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_5.png]] 
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<radiogroup>
 
    <grid>
 
    <rows>
 
        <row><radio label="Apple" selected="true"/> Fruit, music or computer</row>
 
        <row><radio label="Orange"/><textbox/></row>
 
        <row><radio label="Banana"/><datebox/></row>
 
</rows>
 
    </grid>
 
</radiogroup>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
The radio button belongs to the nearest <tt>radiogroup</tt> ancestor. You can even nest one radio group within another and each of them will operate independently. However, there might be some sort of visual overlap.
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_6.png]] 
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<radiogroup>
 
    <grid>
 
    <rows>
 
        <row>
 
<radio label="Apple" selected="true"/>
 
Fruit, music or computer
 
</row>
 
        <row>
 
        <radio label="Orange"/>
 
           
 
            <radiogroup>
 
            <radio label="Small"/>
 
            <radio label="Large" selected="true"/>
 
            </radiogroup>
 
        </row>
 
        <row>
 
        <radio label="Banana"/><datebox/>
 
        </row>
 
</rows>
 
    </grid>
 
</radiogroup>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
== Comboboxes ==
 
Components: <tt>combobox</tt> and <tt>comboitem</tt>.
 
 
A combobox is a special text box which embeds a drop-down list. Using comboboxes, users are allowed to select items from a drop-down list, in addition to entering text manually.
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_7.png]]
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<combobox>
 
    <comboitem label="Simple and Rich"/>
 
    <comboitem label="Cool!"/>
 
    <comboitem label="Ajax and RIA"/>
 
</combobox>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
'''Mouseless Entry<tt>combobox'''</tt>
 
 
* <tt>Alt+DOWN</tt> to pop up the list.
 
* <tt>Alt+UP</tt> or <tt>ESC</tt> to close the list.
 
* <tt>UP</tt> and <tt>DOWN</tt> to change the selection of the items from the list.
 
 
=== The autodrop Property ===
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_8.png]]
 
 
By default, the drop-down list won't be opened until user clicks the button, or presses <tt>Alt+DOWN</tt>. However, you could set the <tt>autodrop</tt> property to true, meaning as soon as the user types a character the drop-down list will be opened. This is helpful for novice users, but it might be annoying for experienced users.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<combobox autodrop="true"/>
 
</source>
 
 
=== The description Property ===
 
You are able add a description to each combo item to make it more descriptive or assign an image to every item.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<combobox>
 
    <comboitem label="Simple and Rich" image="/img/coffee.gif"
 
    description="The simplest way to make Web applications rich"/>
 
    <comboitem label="Cool!" image="/img/corner.gif"
 
    description="The coolest technology"/>
 
    <comboitem label="Ajax and RIA" image="/img/cubfirs.gif"
 
    description="Rich Internet Application by Ajax"/>
 
</combobox>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_9.png]]
 
 
Akin to other components that support images, you are able to use the <tt>setImageContent</tt> method to assign a dynamically generated image to the <tt>comboitem</tt> component. Please refer to the '''Image''' section for details.
 
 
=== The onOpen Event ===
 
The <tt>onOpen</tt> event is sent to the application when a user opens the drop-down list. To defer the creation of combo items, you can use the <tt>fulfill</tt> attribute as shown below.
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_10.png]]
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<combobox fulfill="onOpen">
 
    <comboitem label="Simple and Rich"/>
 
    <comboitem label="Cool!"/>
 
    <comboitem label="Ajax and RIA"/>
 
</combobox>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
Alternatively, you can listen to the <tt>onOpen</tt> event and prepare the drop-down list or change it dynamically as demonstrated below.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<zscript>
 
void prepare()
 
{
 
if (combo.getItemCount() == 0)
 
{
 
combo.appendItem("Simple and Rich");
 
combo.appendItem("Cool!");
 
combo.appendItem("Ajax and RIA");
 
}
 
}
 
</zscript>
 
<combobox id="combo" onOpen="prepare()" />
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
The <tt>appendItem</tt> method is equivalent to creating a combo item and then setting the combobox as its parent.
 
 
=== The onChanging Event ===
 
Since a combobox is also a text box, you are also able to listen to an <tt>onChanging</tt> event. By listening to this event, you can manipulate the drop-down list as demonstrated by Google Suggests<ref name="ftn42">http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en</ref>. This feature is sometimes called auto-complete.
 
 
As illustrated below, you can populate the drop-down list based on what user is entering.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<zscript>
 
    void suggest()
 
    {
 
        combo.getItems().clear();
 
        if (event.value.startsWith("A")) {
 
            combo.appendItem("Ace");
 
            combo.appendItem("Ajax");
 
            combo.appendItem("Apple");
 
        } else if (event.value.startsWith("B")) {
 
            combo.appendItem("Best");
 
            combo.appendItem("Blog");
 
        }
 
    }
 
</zscript>
 
 
<combobox id="combo" autodrop="true" onChanging="suggest()"/>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
Notice that, when the <tt>onChanging</tt> event is received, the content of the combobox has not changed. Therefore, you cannot use the <tt>value</tt> property of the combobox. Instead, you should use the <tt>value</tt> property of the event (<tt>org.zkoss.zk.ui.event.InputEvent</tt>).
 
 
== Bandboxes ==
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_11.png]]
 
 
Components: <tt>bandbox</tt> and <tt>bandpopup</tt>.
 
 
A bandbox is a special text box that embeds a customizable popup window (AKA a dropdown window). Like comboboxes, a bandbox consists of an input box and a popup window. The popup window is opened automatically, when a user click the button or presses the keys <tt>Alt+DOWN</tt>.
 
 
Unlike comboboxes, the popup window of a bandbox can contain anything as it is designed to give developers maximum flexibility. A typical use is to provide a search dialog.
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_12.png]] 
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<bandbox id="bd">
 
<bandpopup>
 
<vbox>
 
<hbox>
 
Search
 
<textbox />
 
</hbox>
 
<listbox width="200px"
 
onSelect="bd.value=self.selectedItem.label;    bd.closeDropdown();">
 
<listhead>
 
<listheader label="Name" />
 
<listheader label="Description" />
 
</listhead>
 
<listitem>
 
<listcell label="John" />
 
<listcell label="CEO" />
 
</listitem>
 
<listitem>
 
<listcell label="Joe" />
 
<listcell label="Engineer" />
 
</listitem>
 
<listitem>
 
<listcell label="Mary" />
 
<listcell label="Supervisor" />
 
</listitem>
 
</listbox>
 
</vbox>
 
</bandpopup>
 
</bandbox>
 
</source>
 
 
'''Mouseless Entry<tt>bandbox'''</tt>
 
 
* <tt>Alt+DOWN</tt> to pop up the list.
 
* <tt>Alt+UP</tt> or <tt>ESC</tt> to close the list.
 
* <tt>UP</tt> and <tt>DOWN</tt> to change the selection of the items from the list.
 
 
=== The closeDropdown Method ===
 
A popup window could contain any components, so it is the developer’s job to close the popup and copy any needed value from it.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<listbox width="200px"
 
  onSelect="bd.value=self.selectedItem.label; bd.closeDropdown();">
 
</source>
 
 
In the above example, we copy the selected item's label to the bandbox, and then close the popup. 
 
 
=== The autodrop Property ===
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_13.png]]
 
 
By default, the popup window won't be opened until user clicks the button, or presses <tt>Alt+DOWN</tt> on the keyboard. However, you can set the <tt>autodrop</tt> property to true and as soon as the user types a character the popup will be opened. This is helpful for novice users, but it might be annoying for experienced users.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<bandbox id="bd" autodrop="true">
 
<bandpopup>
 
...
 
</bandpopup>
 
</bandbox>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
=== The onOpen Event ===
 
If the user opens the popup window the <tt>onOpen</tt> event is sent to the application. By using the <tt>fulfill</tt> attribute with the <tt>onOpen</tt> value as shown below, you can defer the creation of the popup window.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<bandbox id="test">
 
    <bandpopup fulfill="test.onOpen">
 
    ...
 
    </bandpopup>
 
</bandbox>
 
</source>
 
 
Alternatively, you can prepare the popup window in Java by listening to the <tt>onOpen</tt> event, as depicted below.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<bandbox id="band" onOpen="prepare()"/>
 
 
<zscript>
 
    void prepare()
 
    {
 
        if (band.getPopup() == null) {
 
            //create child elements
 
        }
 
    }
 
</zscript>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
=== The onChanging Event ===
 
Since a bandbox is also a text box, you are also able to listen to an <tt>onChanging</tt> event. By listening to this event, you can manipulate the popup window in any fashion.
 
The code below illustrates capturing the user key and displaying information accordingly.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<zk>
 
<bandbox id="band" autodrop="true" onChanging="suggest()"/>
 
<zscript>
 
    void suggest()
 
    {
 
        if (event.value.startsWith("A")) {
 
            //do something
 
        } else if (event.value.startsWith("B")) {
 
            //do another
 
        }
 
    }
 
</zscript>
 
</zk>
 
</source>
 
 
 
Notice that, when the <tt>onChanging</tt> event is received, the content of the bandbox has not changed. Therefore, you cannot use the <tt>value</tt> property of the bandbox. Instead, you should use the <tt>value</tt> property of the event (<tt>org.zkoss.zk.ui.event.InputEvent</tt>).
 
 
== Input Controls ==
 
 
The following input controls are supported in the XUL component set: <tt>[[Developer_reference_The_XUL_Components_Components_Textbox|textbox]],</tt> <tt>[[Developer_reference_The_XUL_Components_Components_Intbox|intbox]],</tt> <tt>[[Developer_reference_The_XUL_Components_Components_Decimalbox|decimalbox]],</tt>
 
<tt>[[Developer_reference_The_XUL_Components_Components_Doublebox|doublebox]]</tt>, <tt>[[Developer_reference_The_XUL_Components_Components_Datebox|datebox]]</tt>,
 
<tt>[[Developer_reference_The_XUL_Components_Components_Timebox|timebox]]</tt>,
 
<tt>[[Developer_reference_The_XUL_Components_Components_Spinner|spinner]]</tt>,
 
<tt>[[Developer_reference_The_XUL_Components_Components_Combobox|combobox]]</tt>, and <tt>[[Developer_reference_The_XUL_Components_Components_Bandbox|bandbox]]</tt>. These controls allow users to input different types of data.
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<grid fixedLayout="true">
 
<columns>
 
<column label="Type" width="150px" />
 
<column label="Content" />
 
</columns>
 
<rows>
 
<row>
 
<label value="UserName" width="150px" />
 
<textbox value="Jerry" width="150px" />
 
</row>
 
<row>
 
Password
 
<textbox type="password" value="123456789" width="150px" />
 
</row>
 
<row>
 
Re-type Password
 
<textbox type="password" value="123456789" width="150px" />
 
</row>
 
<row>
 
Age:
 
<intbox value="19" constraint="no negative,no zero"
 
width="150px" />
 
</row>
 
<row>
 
Phone:
 
<intbox constraint="no negative,no zero" width="150px"
 
value="12345678" />
 
</row>
 
<row>
 
Weight:
 
<decimalbox format="###.##" value="154.32" width="150px" />
 
</row>
 
<row>
 
Birthday:
 
<hbox>
 
<datebox id="db" width="150px" />
 
</hbox>
 
</row>
 
<row>
 
Address
 
<vbox>
 
<textbox width="250px"
 
value="123 W. 45 Street, New York, NY 10001" />
 
<hbox>
 
<label value="Zip code :" />
 
<intbox constraint="no negative,no zero"
 
width="150px" />
 
</hbox>
 
</vbox>
 
</row>
 
<row>
 
E-mail:
 
<textbox width="150px" value="zk@zkoss.org"
 
constraint="/.+@.+\.[a-z]+/: Please enter an e-mail address" />
 
</row>
 
<row>
 
Introduction:
 
<hbox>
 
<textbox id="intro" rows="3" width="250px">
 
<attribute name="value">I think ZK is the best! </attribute>
 
</textbox>
 
<vbox>
 
More line :
 
<spinner value="3" constraint="no negative,no zero" />
 
</vbox>
 
</hbox>
 
</row>
 
</rows>
 
</grid>
 
 
</source>
 
 
'''Tip:''' The combobox and bandbox are special input boxes and share common properties. These unique features will be discussed later in the '''Combobox''' and '''Bandbox''' sections.
 
 
=== The type Property ===
 
The <tt>type</tt> attribute can be used with the <tt>textbox</tt> based components and can be given the value <tt>password</tt>. By setting the type as password the text that is entered into the box cannot be viewed and is replaced by stars.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
Username: <textbox/>
 
Password: <textbox type="password"/>
 
</source>
 
 
=== The format Property ===
 
You are able to format the field by providing specifying the attribute with a formatting string. The default value is <tt>null</tt>. When the formatting of the <tt>datebox</tt> is null, it means the date will be outputted using the format <tt>yyyy/MM/dd</tt>. With regard to the <tt>intbox</tt> and <tt>decimalbox</tt>, it means no formatting will be applied.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<datebox format="MM/dd/yyyy"/>
 
<decimalbox format="#,##0.##"/>
 
</source>
 
 
Like any other properties, you are able change the format dynamically, as depicted below.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<datebox id="db"/>
 
<button label="set MM-dd-yyyy" onClick="db.setFormat(&quot;MM-dd-yyyy&quot;)"/>
 
</source>
 
 
'''Mouseless Entry <tt>datebox'''</tt>
 
 
* <tt>Alt+DOWN</tt> to show the calendar
 
* <tt>LEFT, RIGHT, UP</tt> and <tt>DOWN</tt> to change the selected day on the calendar
 
* <tt>ENTER</tt> to activate the selection by copying the selected day to the <tt>datebox</tt> control
 
* <tt>Alt+UP</tt> or <tt>ESC</tt> to give up the selection and close the calendar
 
 
=== Constraints ===
 
You could specify what value to accept for input controls by use of the <tt>constraint </tt>property. It could be a combination of <tt>no positive</tt>, <tt>no negative</tt>, <tt>no zero</tt>, <tt>no empty</tt>, <tt>no future</tt>, <tt>no past</tt>, <tt>no today</tt>, and/or a regular expression. The first three constraints are applicable only to the <tt>intbox</tt> and <tt>decimalbox</tt>. The constraints of <tt>no future</tt>, <tt>no past</tt>, and <tt>no today</tt> are only applicable to the <tt>datebox</tt>. The constraint of <tt>no empty</tt> is applicable to any type of component. A regular expressions constraint is only applicable to String-type input components, such as the <tt>textbox</tt>., <tt>combobox</tt> and <tt>bandbox</tt>.
 
 
To specify two or more constraints, use comma to separate them as follows.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<intbox constraint="no negative,no zero"/>
 
</source>
 
 
To specify a regular expression, you may have to use the character <tt>/</tt> to enclose the regular expression as follows.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<textbox constraint="/.+@.+\.[a-z]+/"/>
 
</source>
 
 
Notes:
 
 
* The above statement is XML, so do ''not'' use <tt>\\</tt> to specify a backslash. However typing <tt>\\</tt> is necessary, if writing in Java.
 
 
<source lang="java" >
 
new Textbox().setConstraint("/.+@.+\\.[a-z]+/");
 
</source>
 
 
* You are allowed to mix regular expressions with other constraints by separating them with a comma.
 
 
If you prefer to display different message to the default one, you can append the error message to the constraint with a colon.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<textbox constraint="/.+@.+\.[a-z]+/: e-mail address only"/>
 
<datebox constraint="no empty, no future: now or never"/>
 
</source>
 
 
Notes:
 
 
* The error message, if specified, must be the last element and start with colon.
 
* To support multiple languages, you could use the 「l」 function as depicted in the '''Internationalization''' chapter.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<textbox constraint="/.+@.+\.[a-z]+/: ${c:l('err.email.required')}"/>
 
</source>
 
 
=== Constraints for Datebox ===
 
In addition to the constraints described in the above section (such as <tt>no future</tt> and regular expressions), the <tt>datebox</tt> supports a wide range of dates. For example,
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<datebox constraint="between 20071225 and 20071203"/>
 
<datebox constraint="before 20071225"/>
 
<datebox constraint="after 20071225"/>
 
</source>
 
 
Notices
 
 
# The format of the date in the constraint is <tt>yyyMMdd</tt>. It is independent of the locale.
 
# The date specified in the constraint is ''included''. For example, <tt>"before 20071225"</tt> includes December 25, 2007 and every day before it.
 
# The constraint is actually represented with an instance of the <tt>org.zkoss.zul.SimpleDateConstraint</tt> class. You can retrieve the parsed beginning and ending date with the <tt>getBeginDate</tt> and <tt>getEndDate</tt> methods.
 
 
<source lang="java" >
 
((SimpleDateConstraint)datebox.getConstraint()).getBeginDate();
 
</source>
 
 
=== Custom Constraints ===
 
If you want to use more sophisticated constraints, you can specify an object which implements the <tt>org.zkoss.zul.Constraint</tt> interface.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<window title="Custom Constraint">
 
<zscript><![CDATA[
 
Constraint ctt = new Constraint() {
 
    public void validate(Component comp, Object value) throws WrongValueException {
 
        if (value =e= null || ((Integer)value).intValue() < 100)
 
throw new WrongValueException(comp, "At least 100 must be specified");
 
    }
 
}
 
    ]]>
 
    </zscript>
 
<intbox constraint="${ctt}" />
 
</window>
 
</source>
 
 
You create a Java class to contain your constraint, say <tt>my.EmailValidator</tt>, then reference it in the markup:
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<?taglib uri="http://www.zkoss.org/dsp/web/core" prefix="c"?>
 
<textbox constraint="${c:new('my.EmailValidator')}"/>
 
</source>
 
 
==== org.zkoss.zk.ui.WrongValueException ====
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<textbox>
 
    <attribute name="onChange">
 
        if (!self.value.equals("good")) {
 
            self.value = "try again";
 
            throw new WrongValueException(self, "Not a good answer!");
 
        }
 
    </attribute>
 
</textbox>
 
</source>
 
 
In the above example, we use the class <tt>org.zkoss.zk.ui.WrongValueException</tt> to denote an error. As depicted, you have to specify the first argument, which is the component that caused the error, and the second argument which is the error message.
 
 
You could throw this exception anytime, such as when an <tt>onChange</tt> event is received as shown below.
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_14.png]]
 
 
 
==== Custom Way to Display the Error Messages ====
 
Instead of the default error box, you are able to provide a custom look by implementing the <tt>org.zkoss.zul.CustomConstraint</tt> interface with <tt>Constraint</tt>. <tt>CustomConstraint</tt> has one method, <tt>showCustomError</tt>, which is called when an exception is thrown or when the validation is incorrect. Here is an example,
 
 
[[Image:FormAndInput_15.png]]
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<window title="Custom Constraint" border="normal">
 
<zscript><![CDATA[
 
class MyConst implements Constraint, CustomConstraint {
 
//Constraint//
 
public void validate(Component comp, Object value) {
 
        if (value == null || ((Integer)value).intValue() < 100)
 
throw new WrongValueException(comp, "At least 100 must be specified");
 
}
 
    //CustomConstraint//
 
public void showCustomError(Component comp, WrongValueException ex) {
 
errmsg.setValue(ex != null ? ex.getMessage(): "");
 
}
 
}
 
Constraint ctt = new MyConst();
 
    ]]>
 
    </zscript>
 
<hbox>
 
Enter a number at least 100:
 
<intbox constraint="${ctt}" />
 
<label id="errmsg" />
 
</hbox>
 
</window>
 
</source>
 
 
==== Improve Responsiveness ====
 
Responsiveness can be improved by validating more constraints client side. To do this, you have to implement the <tt>org.zkoss.zul.ClientConstraint</tt> interface with <tt>Constraint</tt>. If you have done all validations client side, you can return true for the <tt>isClientComplete</tt> method, and then there will be no server callback at all.
 
 
You can also customize the display of the error message with pure JavaScript codes a the client by providing a function called <tt>Validate_errorbox</tt>. For example,
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[
 
    //Running at the browser
 
    window.Validate_errorbox = function (id, boxid, msg) {
 
        var html = '<div style="display:none;position:absolute" id="'
 
        +boxid+'">'+zk.encodeXML(msg, true)+'</div>';
 
document.body.insertAdjacentHTML("afterbegin", html);
 
return $e(boxid);
 
    }
 
]]>
 
</script>
 
</source>
 
 
'''Note''': <tt>script</tt> specifies the script codes running at the browser, while <tt>zscript</tt> specifies codes running at the server.
 
 
'''Note''': If <tt>CustomConstraint </tt>is also implemented, <tt>ClientConstraint</tt> will be ignored since all validations are done at the server. In other words, if you want to use <tt>ClientConstraint</tt> to improve responsiveness, overriding <tt>Validate_errorbox</tt> is the only way to customize the display of the error message.
 
 
=== The onChange Event ===
 
An input control notifies the application with the <tt>onChange</tt> event if its content is changed by the user.
 
 
Notice that, when the <tt>onChange</tt>'s event listener is invoked, the value has been set. Thus, it is too late if you want to reject illegal value in the <tt>onChange</tt>'s event listener, unless you restore the value properly. Rather, it is recommended to use a constraint as described in the '''Custom Constraints''' section.
 
 
=== The onChanging event ===
 
An input control also notifies the application with the <tt>onChanging</tt> event, when user is changing the content.
 
 
Notice that, when the <tt>onChanging</tt>'s listener is invoked, the value is not set yet. In other worlds, the <tt>value</tt> property is still the old value. To retrieve what the user is entering, you have to access the <tt>value</tt> property of the event as follows.
 
 
<source lang="xml" >
 
<grid>
 
    <rows>
 
        <row>The onChanging textbox:
 
            <textbox onChanging="copy.value = event.value"/></row>
 
        <row>Instant copy:
 
            <textbox id="copy" readonly="true"/></row>
 
    </rows>
 
</grid>
 
</source>
 
[[Image:inputelements.png]]
 
<br/>
 
It is too early to reject an illegal value in the <tt>onChanging</tt>』s event listener, because the user may not have completed the change. Rather, it is recommended to use a constraint as described in the '''Custom Constraints''' section.
 
 
== See Also ==
 
From ZK Forum:
 
*[http://www.zkoss.org/forum/index.zul#path%3DlistComment%3BdiscussionId%3D5492%3BcategoryId%3D14%3B onChanging event not everytime fired in Combobox]
 
*[http://www.zkoss.org/forum/index.zul#path%3DlistComment%3BdiscussionId%3D5659%3BcategoryId%3D14%3B Datebox Problem in ZK 3.5.0]
 
*[http://www.zkoss.org/forum/index.zul#path%3DlistComment%3BdiscussionId%3D5651%3BcategoryId%3D14%3B onChange-Event in Textbox doesn't get fired]
 
  
 
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Revision as of 03:34, 14 July 2010


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Last Update : 2010/07/14

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