jsfdatatablemultipleselectionselectbooleancheckbox

How to select multiple rows of <h:dataTable> with <h:selectBooleanCheckbox>


I use <h:dataTable> to list data from database. We have many records in page, now I would like to select multiple records with a checkbox in each row. How can I achieve this?


Solution

  • I assume that your entity is that well-designed that it has an unique technical identifier, for example the auto increment sequence from the DB.

    public class Entity {
    
        private Long id;
        // ...
    }
    

    If not, you'll need to add it.

    Then, add a Map<Long, Boolean> property to the bean which is tied to the table.

    private Map<Long, Boolean> checked = new HashMap<Long, Boolean>();
    

    (preinitialization can also happen in (post)constructor, take your pick, at least JSF won't do it for you; oh, give it a getter as well, a setter is not necessary)

    Then, add a column with a checkbox which maps to the boolean value by entity ID as key.

    <h:dataTable value="#{bean.entities}" var="entity">
        <h:column>
            <h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{bean.checked[entity.id]}" />
        </h:column>
        ...
    </h:dataTable>
    <h:commandButton value="Delete" action="#{bean.delete}" />
    

    Now, in the action method associated with the delete button, you can collect and delete the checked items as follows:

    public void delete() {
        List<Entity> entitiesToDelete = new ArrayList<Entity>();
    
        for (Entity entity : entities) {
            if (checked.get(entity.getId())) {
                entitiesToDelete.add(entity);
            }
        }
    
        entityService.delete(entitiesToDelete);
        checked.clear();
        loadEntities();
    }