vaadin-framework/documentation/articles/ChangingTheDefaultConvertersForAnApplication.asciidoc

---
title: Changing The Default Converters For An Application
order: 6
layout: page
---

[[changing-the-default-converters-for-an-application]]
= Changing the default converters for an application

Each Vaadin session instance has a `ConverterFactory` that provides
converters to Fields and Table. The defaults might not be ideal for your
case so it is possible for you to change the defaults by providing your
own ConverterFactory. If you, for instance, want to format all (or most)
doubles from your data model with 3 decimals and no thousand separator
(but still allow the user to input with any number of decimals) you can
do this by first creating your own Converter:

[source,java]
....
public class MyStringToDoubleConverter extends StringToDoubleConverter {

  @Override
  protected NumberFormat getFormat(Locale locale) {
    NumberFormat format = super.getFormat(locale);
    format.setGroupingUsed(false);
    format.setMaximumFractionDigits(3);
    format.setMinimumFractionDigits(3);
    return format;
  }
}
....

and then extending the default converter factory to use your converter
for all `Double` <-> `String` conversions.

[source,java]
....
public class MyConverterFactory extends DefaultConverterFactory {
  @Override
  protected <PRESENTATION, MODEL> Converter<PRESENTATION, MODEL> findConverter(
      Class<PRESENTATION> presentationType, Class<MODEL> modelType) {
    // Handle String <-> Double
    if (presentationType == String.class && modelType == Double.class) {
      return (Converter<PRESENTATION, MODEL>) new MyStringToDoubleConverter();
    }
    // Let default factory handle the rest
    return super.findConverter(presentationType, modelType);
  }
}
....

You still need to tell your application to always use
`MyConverterFactory`:

[source,java]
....
VaadinSession.getCurrent().setConverterFactory(new MyConverterFactory());
....

Now we can test it using

[source,java]
....
public class MyUI extends UI {
  public void init(VaadinRequest request) {
    TextField tf = new TextField("This is my double field");
    tf.setImmediate(true);
    tf.setConverter(Double.class);
    setContent(tf);
    tf.setConvertedValue(50.1);
  }
}
....

This will not enforce the contents of the field to the format specified
by the converter. Only data from the data source is formatted to adhere
to the format set in the converter.

If you want to force the user to enter data with a given number of
decimals you need to create your own converter instead of only
overriding the format for `StringToDoubleConverter`.