The ViewElementMode.VALUE and ViewElementMode.LIST_VALUE are the defaults to provide the output of a property for readonly views. Unless a specific ViewElement is configured, this will always be a String output of the property. By default the mvcConversionService will be used to convert the property value if no type specific builder is provided.

Apart from providing a custom ViewElement you can also modify the rendered output by providing attributes on the EntityPropertyDescriptor. If you provide a org.springframework.format.Printer.class attribute, that implementation will be used for printing the text value. Alternatively you can provide a java.text.Format.class attribute to be used. Note that most default Format implementations are not thread-safe, in that case you should wrap them in a SynchronizedFormat instance.

All standard view elements will use the Printer or Format attribute if one of them is present, instead of the default. A Printer attribute takes precedence over a Format.