About MessageLovInput

The messageLovInput component is a combination of the lovInput component (which works with the listOfValues component) and messageLayout component.

Use the messageLovInput component to insert a standard text input field with an associated LOV button (flashlight icon) for launching a List of Values (LOV) window. A prompt and optional message type icon are placed before the text field. The inline message is placed below the text field. To add a component after the LOV button, use the end named child.

messageLovInput text field with flashlight icon

In addition to the general and message attributes, you can also set the primaryClientAction attribute to fire an event when the text in the text input field changes.

When the user clicks the LOV button, an LOV window opens, enabling the user to search and select one or more values. After a selection is made, the LOV window closes and the selected value or values are populated in the text input field.

The messageLovInput component is similar to the messageLovField component, but the messageLovInput component supports partial page rendering (PPR), field level validation, and a multi-select LOV table. When the user clicks the LOV button or when the text is changed in the text input field as a result of a partial page refresh, a sequence of callbacks and events occurs, leading to the validation of the text or launching of the LOV window, or both. Note that if the browser supports PPR, merely changing the text in the text input field and tabbing out will start the validation process. On non-PPR browsers you must click the LOV button to bring up the LOV window.

Another difference between the messageLovInput component and the messageLovField component is that the destination attribute of messageLovInput points to a page containing a listOfValues component (which builds the content of the LOV), and you don't have to write the code for transferring data from the LOV window back to the text input field. In the messageLovField component, you have to provide the code for launching the LOV, and handle the returned result.

The messageLovInput component can provide some basic client side validation, but most validation work is done on the server in response to an lovValidate event. The text input field automatically gets an onChange handler attached to it in PPR. An lovValidate event fires when the text input field loses focus and its value has changed. You are responsible for handling the event, which should check the entered text. If the text is valid, no LOV window need to be raised. Otherwise, set the showWindow flag to true, and messageLovInput will open a new window populated with the page (containing a listOfValues component) specified in the destination attribute.

The messageLovInput component supports the following attributes for specifying partial page rendering behavior:

partialRenderMode - Specifies the type of partial page rendering behavior. Available values are none, self, multiple. By default partial page rendering support is disabled (i.e., partialRenderMode is set to none), thus auto-validation is disabled (i.e., no lovValidate events are sent). If partial page rendering behavior is specified by 'self' or 'multiple', then the lovValidate and lovUpdate events are sent as partial page events, which enable the specified partial targets to be updated without redrawing the entire page. If set to 'multiple', then you must also set the partialTargets attribute. For partial page rendering to work properly, the messageLovInput component ID must be set. If the client does not support partial page rendering, then auto-validation is disabled and full page rendering is used to redraw the page.
partialTargets - Specifies the list of partial target nodes for rendering. The ID of the messageLovInput component is automatically included in the partialTargets list.

The messageLovInput component supports the following attributes for specifying validation behavior:

unvalidated - By default validation is performed. Set to true to inhibit validation, i.e., no lovValidate event will be generated. To bring up the LOV window, the user needs to click the flashlight button, which is the default behavior in clients that do not support partial page refreshes.
validateBlanks - By default no lovValidate event is fired if the text input field is blank or changed to all whitespace. Set to true to cause the lovValidate event to fire even when the input field is blank or all whitespace.

For more information about creating an LOV using lovInput, listOfValues, and lovOpenWindowAction, see the ADF UIX Developer's Guide.