3.5.5.2.4. CreateAction

CreateAction is a list action designed to create new entity instances. It creates a new instance and opens the entity edit screen with the created instance. After the instance is saved to the database by the edit screen, the action adds it to the data container of the UI component.

The action is implemented by com.haulmont.cuba.gui.actions.list.CreateAction class and should be defined in XML using type="create" action’s attribute. You can configure common action parameters using XML attributes of the action element, see Declarative Actions for details. Below we describe parameters specific to the CreateAction class.

The following parameters can be set both in XML and in Java:

  • openMode - the editor screen opening mode as a value of the OpenMode enum: NEW_TAB, DIALOG, etc. By default, CreateAction opens the editor in THIS_TAB mode.

  • screenId - string id of the editor screen to use. By default, CreateAction uses either a screen, annotated with @PrimaryEditorScreen, or having identifier in the format of <entity_name>.edit, e.g. demo_Customer.edit.

  • screenClass - Java class of the editor screen controller to use. It has higher priority than screenId.

For example, if you want to open a specific editor screen as a dialog, you can configure the action in XML:

<action id="create" type="create">
    <properties>
        <property name="openMode" value="DIALOG"/>
        <property name="screenClass" value="com.company.sales.web.customer.CustomerEdit"/>
    </properties>
</action>

Alternatively, you can inject the action into the screen controller and configure it using setters:

@Named("customersTable.create")
private CreateAction customersTableCreate;

@Subscribe
public void onInit(InitEvent event) {
    customersTableCreate.setOpenMode(OpenMode.DIALOG);
    customersTableCreate.setScreenClass(CustomerEdit.class);
}

Now let’s consider parameters that can be configured only in Java code. In order to generate correctly annotated method stubs for these parameters, use Handlers tab of the Component Inspector tool window in Studio.

  • screenOptionsSupplier - a handler that returns ScreenOptions object to be passed to the opened editor screen. For example:

    @Install(to = "customersTable.create", subject = "screenOptionsSupplier")
protected ScreenOptions customersTableCreateScreenOptionsSupplier() {
    return new MapScreenOptions(ParamsMap.of("someParameter", 10));
}

    The returned ScreenOptions object will be available in the InitEvent of the opened screen.

  • screenConfigurer - a handler that accepts the editor screen and can initialize it before opening. For example:

    @Install(to = "customersTable.create", subject = "screenConfigurer")
protected void customersTableCreateScreenConfigurer(Screen editorScreen) {
    ((CustomerEdit) editorScreen).setSomeParameter(10);
}

    Note that screen configurer comes into play when the screen is already initialized but not yet shown, i.e. after its InitEvent and AfterInitEvent and before BeforeShowEvent are sent.

  • newEntitySupplier - a handler that returns a new entity instance to be shown in the editor screen. For example:

    @Install(to = "customersTable.create", subject = "newEntitySupplier")
protected Customer customersTableCreateNewEntitySupplier() {
    Customer customer = metadata.create(Customer.class);
    customer.setName("a customer");
    return customer;
}

  • initializer - a handler that accepts the new entity instance and can initialize it before show in the editor screen. For example:

    @Install(to = "customersTable.create", subject = "initializer")
protected void customersTableCreateInitializer(Customer entity) {
    entity.setName("a customer");
}

  • afterCommitHandler - a handler that is invoked after the created entity instance is committed in the editor screen. It accepts the created entity. For example:

    @Install(to = "customersTable.create", subject = "afterCommitHandler")
protected void customersTableCreateAfterCommitHandler(Customer entity) {
    System.out.println("Created " + entity);
}

  • afterCloseHandler - a handler that is invoked after the editor screen is closed. AfterCloseEvent is passed to the handler. For example:

    @Install(to = "customersTable.create", subject = "afterCloseHandler")
protected void customersTableCreateAfterCloseHandler(AfterCloseEvent event) {
    if (event.closedWith(StandardOutcome.COMMIT)) {
        System.out.println("Committed");
    }
}

If you want to perform some checks or interact with the user before the action is executed, subscribe to the action’s ActionPerformedEvent and invoke execute() method of the action when needed. The action will be invoked with all parameters that you defined for it. In the example below, we show a confirmation dialog before executing the action:

@Named("customersTable.create")
private CreateAction customersTableCreate;

@Subscribe("customersTable.create")
public void onCustomersTableCreate(Action.ActionPerformedEvent event) {
    dialogs.createOptionDialog()
            .withCaption("Please confirm")
            .withMessage("Do you really want to create new customer?")
            .withActions(
                    new DialogAction(DialogAction.Type.YES)
                            .withHandler(e -> customersTableCreate.execute()), // execute action
                    new DialogAction(DialogAction.Type.NO)
            )
            .show();
}

You can also subscribe to ActionPerformedEvent and instead of invoking the action’s execute() method, use ScreenBuilders API directly to open the edit screen. In this case, you are ignoring all specific action parameters and behavior and using only its common parameters like caption, icon, etc. For example:

@Inject
private ScreenBuilders screenBuilders;

@Subscribe("customersTable.create")
public void onCustomersTableCreate(Action.ActionPerformedEvent event) {
    screenBuilders.editor(customersTable)
            .newEntity()
            .withOpenMode(OpenMode.DIALOG)
            .withScreenClass(CustomerEdit.class)
            .withAfterCloseListener(afterScreenCloseEvent -> {
                if (afterScreenCloseEvent.closedWith(StandardOutcome.COMMIT)) {
                    Customer committedCustomer = (afterScreenCloseEvent.getScreen()).getEditedEntity();
                    System.out.println("Created " + committedCustomer);
                }
            })
            .build()
            .show();
}