Hi I have a form called 'ticket' in which a have some fields with a formula (computed or default formula in editable field). This form is used in an Xpage. In the Xpage I have a custom control with a 'save' button (Type 'Submit') that sets the value of the remaining form fields and then submits the page.
Well, the result is that I get two documents: 1 with the form calculated fields, the other with the oter field set from the cutom control of the Xpage.
In the Xpage 'all properties' under the data section I have computeWithfORM=BOTH, but nothing changes if I set it to onLoad or onSave.
ThankYou!

@John: typeahead in SSJS editor (inside control) shows methods for com.ibm.xsp.model.DocumentDataSource class, but "real" DS is com.ibm.xsp.model.domino.wrapped.DominoDocument. is there any documentation explaining why wrapped doc doesn't work as parameter type?

@Brian, as an additional followup, it would be better to declare doc as a NotesXspDocument. This way you have the typeahead working in the script editor. So like this:

var doc:NotesXspDocument = compositeData.docdatasource;

-John

@Brian, I think you had it correctly. The componentData.docdatasource is a NotesXSPDocument object.

I put together this code for a ComboBox onchange event where I set another field with the value of the "Color" field.

doc=compositeData.docdatasource;
theColor=doc.getItemValueString("Color");
doc.replaceItemValue("ColorSelected",theColor);

or to get the Notes backend document, you can do:
doc=compositeData.docdatasource.getDocument();

Let me know if you still have problems.
-John

Hi John,

Thanks for the tip, works great.

One question, if I want to access the datasource passed to the control this way using Server Side scripts, how can I? I have a control I'm trying to convert to this that has onchange scripts that partial submit and use the datasource class functions. I tried making var obj = componentData.docdatasource but that obviously would have been too easy. Any suggestions?

Hi,

When using this expression
'#{compositeData.docdatasource.'+compositeData.fieldname+'}'
for data binding I couldn't grab the value with getComponent, it returns null.
Instead you can use this:
compositeData.docdatasource[compositeData.fieldname]
under Advanced/EL/Compute dynamically
And it doesnt't disappear after saving :)

Tibor

Hi John,

This works like a charm - fantastic find!
I kept trying to use DocumentDataSource with no luck and would never think that I need ModelDataSource.
Thank you very much!

Irina

@Andreas, yes you can pass the field name so that it is completely dynamic.

Setup a new field property named "fieldname". Set it to a String type. Then change the data binding on the field to use the new property:

'#{compositeData.docdatasource.'+compositeData.fieldname+'}'

Make sure that the Binding is set to "compute on page load". I noticed it reset mine to "compute dynamically". (I had to click off the field and then back on to see that occur).

Then on your XPage pass the field name just by typing it in as a static value with no quotes....or you can even compute that to take it to the next level.

-John

@Irina, good catch....all my examples defaulted to edit mode so I did not notice that. Ok, I took a look at it came up with a new solution. The idea behind my new approach is that instead of passing the notesDocument, I need to pass the notesXSPDocument because that has the Action parameter which contains editDocument or readDocument as a value.

On the custom control select ModelDataSource instead of DocumentDataSource for the property type (don't even ask how I figured that out). Then on your XPage pass the datasource the same way except without the "getDocument()". So this: "OrderDetails.getDocument();" is now just this: "OrderDetails;". That way we are passing the XSPdocument.

That's it. I tested it and it works on an XPage that has datasources in both edit and read modes. Let me know if it fixes your issue and I'll amend the article.

-John

Hi John, thanks for this great article!
Is it possible to specify document mode to dynamic data source?
In my example I have three documents displayed in a single Xpage. Two documents are displayed using Custom Controls and I provide data source the way you defined above. It looks just fine.
But I also need to be able to display those two documents in read or edit mode.
Even if action for those documents is "readDocument" (in the Xpage Data Source definition), on my Custom control they are always in Edit mode.
Do I need to code this into each field or is there an easier way?
Thanks!

@Paul, the repeatControls=true is set when you click on the "create controls at page creation" option for the repeat control properties. The reason I choose that option is due to a bug. I have found that if it is unchecked I have issues adding new documents to the collection that drives to the repeat control, so the Add new Line button on this example does not work properly. This is fixed in 8.5.1.

If you would like a second pair of eyes to look at your problem, please send me an email with a sample of the control and xpage. My email is john.mackey at groupwareinc.com

-John

Found the problem. You have to select "String value" as the editor property while creating the Custom Control property.

So, i want to dynamically set the field level binding also. I would like to pass the fieldname via another property. Is this possible?

Hi!

Which Notes Designer version are you using?

I am using 8.5 FP1 and i cannot pass the NotesDocument to my control. The designer does not show the possibility to enter the code (doc.getDocument();) you show in your screenshot. I see a '+' there and different attributes to enter instead.

Where is the difference to your example?

Regards
Andreas

I tried using this concept because I needed to run some beforePageLoad code for each document used in the repeat. After looking at what you had, modifying my code, still finding it failing and banging my head over and over, I found the key property that was missing in my code was repeatControls="true".
Of course there's nothing in the Help files, and I can't find any reference to this property on the web. Do you have any idea why this is so crucial and what the impact is of setting it true all the time?

@Barry, I don't think you'll encounter any lifespan memory issues with this approach.

Thanks, this is extremely useful. Much cleaner and presumably more efficient than the workaround I've used in the past - passing the document ID from my repeat control to a custom control, and using a datasource on the custom control.

Excellent find John - this is something that had really driven me crazy.

This doesn't have any problems with the object being removed from memory, like how the viewscope works?