a4j: outputPanel ReRender does not work

Question

I have a an a4j:outputPanel that is rendered based on some boolean condition:

<a4j:outputPanel id="someDisplayRegion" rendered="#{doc.ready &amp;&amp someClass.someBooleanMethod}"> 
    // bunch of stuff //
</a4j:outputPanel>

Then on the same .xhtml page, I have a drop-down menu and selecting one of its options should reRender the above region:

<rich:dropDownMenu>                                         
    <f:facet name="label">                                            
        <a4j:commandLink styleClass="btn-pulldown">                                             
            <span><h:outputText value="Export"></h:outputText></span>                                                       
            <span class="opener"></span>                                              
        </a4j:commandLink>                                        
    </f:facet>                                              

    <rich:menuItem  submitMode="none">                                                 
        <s:link                                                 
            rendered="#{someOtherBooleanMethod}"                                    
            value="#exportDoc"                                              
            action="#{runSomething.exportDoc()}"                                                
            reRender="someDisplayRegion"                                                
            target="downloadfile"                                                
       ><s:conversationId /></s:link>                                          
    </rich:menuItem>                                                                                 
</rich:dropDownMenu>

However, when I click on the menu item from the drop-down menu, it does not go into someClass.someBooleanMethod and thus, does not re-render someDisplayRegion. Am I doing something wrong?

Sebi Sebi · Accepted Answer · 2011-07-15T12:30:38

Consider this point of the RichFaces documentation:

As with most Ajax frameworks, you should not attempt to append or delete elements on a page using RichFaces Ajax, but should instead replace them. As such, elements that are rendered conditionally should not be targeted in the render attributes for Ajax controls. For successful updates, an element with the same identifier as in the response must exist on the page. If it is necessary to append code to a page, include a placeholder for it (an empty element).

So add a wrapper around your outputPanel and target the wrapper in the reRender attribute.

<a4j:outputPanel id="wrapper">
    <a4j:outputPanel id="someDisplayRegion" rendered="#{doc.ready && someClass.someBooleanMethod}"> 
        // bunch of stuff //
    </a4j:outputPanel>
</a4j:outputPanel>


<s:link reRender="wrapper" [...] />

a4j: outputPanel ReRender does not work

4 Answers