Customizing views

Each view is represent by an EntityViewFactory. An EntityViewFactory can easily be customized on an EntityConfigurationBuilder through the use of EntityViewFactoryBuilders. They allow for various customizations, such as customizing the property registry and registering view processors. When specifying multiple entity configurers, they will be applied in order.

@Override
public void configure( EntitiesConfigurationBuilder entities ) {
    entities.withType( Book.class )
            .formView( "publication", (1)
                       fvb -> fvb.showProperties( "publication.*" ) (2)
            );
}

1	Configure a form view with name publication.
2	Show all the properties of the `publication` property of the `Book`.

In the following sections, you’ll find more detailed information on global configuration options for view factories.

Configuring properties

Most often, views will render properties for a specific purpose, being the ability to view, modify or delete data. As such, an EntityPropertyRegistry can be attached to a view that holds the metadata for those properties. When a property registry is attached, this registry can be further customized by specificying additional EntityPropertyRegistryBuilders.

A selection of these properties can then be provided which should be rendered by default. Properties are then rendered with a specific purpose in mind. To render properties accordingly, a ViewElementMode can be specified to define how those properties should be rendered by default.

Table 1. Options for configuring properties
Name	Description
`propertyRegistry`	Provide the property registry that should be attached to the view. If configured, an `EntityPropertyRegistryViewProcessor` will be registered automatically.
`properties`	Customize the properties using by providing an `EntityPropertyRegistryBuilder`.
`showProperties`	Specify which properties should be rendered by listing property names or configuring an `EntityPropertySelector`.
`viewElementMode`	Configures which `ViewElementMode` should be used by default when rendering properties for this view.

Customizing request execution

EntityViewProcessors allow you to hook into the lifecycle of the view request. They can easily be registered, removed or customized on an EntityViewFactoryBuilder.

Table 2. Configuring view processors
Name	Description
`viewProcessor`	Register an `EntityViewProcessor` instance on the view. Optionally a name or order can be specified as well.
`removeViewProcessor`	Remove a previously registered view processor.
`postProcess`	Modify a registered view processor. This can be used for example to modify properties of a view processor.

Attributes

Attributes can be registered on an EntityViewFactory which can then be used during the request execution. Each attribute is represented as a key-value pair where the key is a string. See the appendix for a list of available attributes.

Configuring attributes

entities.withType( Book.class )
        .formView( "publication",
            fvb -> fvb.attribute( EntityAttributes.FORM_ENCTYPE, FormViewElement.ENCTYPE_MULTIPART )
        );

Controlling access

Access to views can be restricted by setting a required AllowableAction. If the authenticated principal does not have access to the action, access to the view will be denied. The allowable action that is set on the EntityViewFactory is checked by the ActionAllowedAuthorizationViewProcessor.

Access to the view can also be customized through EntityViewProcessors by implementing the authorizeRequest method.

Configuring the required allowable action

entities.withType( Book.class )
        .formView( "publication",
            fvb -> fvb.requiredAllowableAction( AllowableAction.READ )
        );

Messages & Localization

During the view request various message codes will be resolved. A view allows you to define the prefix that should be used when resolving these message codes.