---
title: Selection Components
order: 5
layout: page
---

[[components.selection]]
= Selection Components

Vaadin offers many alternative ways for selecting one or more items. The core
library includes the following selection components, all based on the
[classname]#AbstractSelect# class:

[classname]#ComboBox# (Section <<dummy/../../../framework/components/components-combobox#components.combobox,"ComboBox">>):: A drop-down list with a text box, where the user can type text to find matching items. The component also provides an input prompt and the user can enter new items.
[classname]#ListSelect# (Section <<dummy/../../../framework/components/components-listselect#components.listselect,"ListSelect">>):: A vertical list box for selecting items in either single or multiple selection mode.
[classname]#NativeSelect# (Section<<dummy/../../../framework/components/components-nativeselect#components.nativeselect,"NativeSelect">>):: Provides selection using the native selection component of the browser, typically a drop-down list for single selection and a multi-line list in multiselect mode. This uses the [literal]#++<select>++# element in HTML.
[classname]#OptionGroup# (Section <<dummy/../../../framework/components/components-optiongroup#components.optiongroup,"OptionGroup">>):: Shows the items as a vertically arranged group of radio buttons in the single selection mode and of check boxes in multiple selection mode.
[classname]#TwinColSelect# (Section <<dummy/../../../framework/components/components-twincolselect#components.twincolselect,"TwinColSelect">>):: Shows two list boxes side by side where the user can select items from a list of available items and move them to a list of selected items using control buttons.


In addition, the [classname]#Tree#, [classname]#Table#, and
[classname]#TreeTable# components allow special forms of selection. They also
inherit the [classname]#AbstractSelect#.

[[components.selection.databinding]]
== Binding Selection Components to Data

The selection components are strongly coupled with the Vaadin Data Model,
described in
<<dummy/../../../framework/datamodel/datamodel-overview.asciidoc#datamodel.overview,"Binding
Components to Data">>. The selectable items in all selection components are
objects that implement the [classname]#Item# interface. The items are contained
in a [classname]#Container#.

All selection components are containers themselves and simply forward all
container operations to the underlying container data source. You can give the
container in the constructor or set it set
[methodname]#setContainerDataSource()#. This is further described in
<<dummy/../../../framework/datamodel/datamodel-container#datamodel.container.intro,"Basic
Use of Containers">>.


[source, java]
----
// Have a container data source of some kind
IndexedContainer container = new IndexedContainer();
container.addContainerProperty("name", String.class, null);
...

// Create a selection component bound to the container
OptionGroup group = new OptionGroup("My Select", container);
----

If you do not bind a selection component to a container data source, a default
container is used. It is usually either an [classname]#IndexedContainer# or a
[classname]#HierarchicalContainer#.

The current selection of a selection component is bound to the
[classname]#Property# interface, so you can get the current selection as the
value of the selection component. Also selection changes are handled as value
change events, as is described later.


[[components.selection.adding]]
== Adding New Items

New items are added with the [methodname]#addItem()# method defined in the
[classname]#Container# interface, described in
<<dummy/../../../framework/datamodel/datamodel-container#datamodel.container.intro,"Basic
Use of Containers">>.


[source, java]
----
// Create a selection component
ComboBox select = new ComboBox("My ComboBox");

// Add items with given item IDs
select.addItem("Mercury");
select.addItem("Venus");
select.addItem("Earth");
----

The [methodname]#addItem()# method creates an empty [classname]#Item#, which is
identified by its __item identifier__ (IID) object, given as the parameter. This
item ID is by default used also as the caption of the item, as described in more
detail later.

We emphasize that [methodname]#addItem()# is a factory method that __takes an
item ID, not the actual item__ as the parameter - the item is returned by the
method. The item is of a type that is specific to the container and has itself
little relevance for most selection components, as the properties of an item may
not be used in any way (except in [classname]#Table#), only the item ID.

The item identifier is typically a string, in which case it can be used as the
caption, but can be any object type. We could as well have given integers for
the item identifiers and set the captions explicitly with
[methodname]#setItemCaption()#. You could also add an item with the
parameterless [methodname]#addItem()#, which returns an automatically generated
item ID.


[source, java]
----
// Create a selection component
ComboBox select = new ComboBox("My Select");

// Add an item with a generated ID
Object itemId = select.addItem();
select.setItemCaption(itemId, "The Sun");

// Select the item
select.setValue(itemId);
----

Some container types may support passing the actual data object to the add
method. For example, you can add items to a [classname]#BeanItemContainer# with
[methodname]#addBean()#. Such implementations can use a separate item ID object,
or the data object itself as the item ID, as is done in [methodname]#addBean()#.
In the latter case you can not depend on the default way of acquiring the item
caption; see the description of the different caption modes later.

The next section describes the different options for determining the item
captions.


[[components.selection.captions]]
== Item Captions

The displayed captions of items in a selection component can be set explicitly
with [methodname]#setItemCaption()# or determined from the item IDs or item
properties. The caption determination is defined with the __caption mode__, any
of the modes in the [classname]#AbstractSelect.ItemCaptionMode# enum, which you
can set with [methodname]#setItemCaptionMode()#. The default mode is
[parameter]#EXPLICIT_DEFAULTS_ID#, which uses the item identifiers for the
captions, unless given explicitly.

In addition to a caption, an item can have an icon. The icon is set with
[methodname]#setItemIcon()#.

The caption modes defined in [classname]#ItemCaptionMode# are the following:

EXPLICIT_DEFAULTS_ID:: This is the default caption mode and its flexibility allows using it in most
cases. By default, the item identifier will be used as the caption. The
identifier object does not necessarily have to be a string; the caption is
retrieved with [methodname]#toString()# method. If the caption is specified
explicitly with [methodname]#setItemCaption()#, it overrides the item
identifier.


+
[source, java]
----
// Create a selection component
ComboBox select = new ComboBox("Moons of Mars");
select.setItemCaptionMode(ItemCaptionMode.EXPLICIT_DEFAULTS_ID);

// Use the item ID also as the caption of this item
select.addItem(new Integer(1));

// Set item caption for this item explicitly
select.addItem(2); // same as "new Integer(2)"
select.setItemCaption(2, "Deimos");
----
EXPLICIT:: Captions must be explicitly specified with [methodname]#setItemCaption()#. If
they are not, the caption will be empty. Such items with empty captions will
nevertheless be displayed in the selection component as empty items. If they
have an icon, they will be visible.

ICON_ONLY:: Only icons are shown, captions are hidden.

ID:: String representation of the item identifier object is used as caption. This is
useful when the identifier is a string, and also when the identifier is an
complex object that has a string representation. For example:


+
[source, java]
----
ComboBox select = new ComboBox("Inner Planets");
select.setItemCaptionMode(ItemCaptionMode.ID);

// A class that implements toString()
class PlanetId extends Object implements Serializable {
    String planetName;

    PlanetId (String name) {
        planetName = name;
    }
    public String toString () {
        return "The Planet " + planetName;
    }
}

// Use such objects as item identifiers
String planets[] = {"Mercury", "Venus", "Earth", "Mars"};
for (int i=0; i<planets.length; i++)
    select.addItem(new PlanetId(planets[i]));
----
INDEX:: Index number of item is used as caption. This caption mode is applicable only to
data sources that implement the [classname]#Container.Indexed# interface. If the
interface is not available, the component will throw a
[classname]#ClassCastException#. The [classname]#AbstractSelect# itself does not
implement this interface, so the mode is not usable without a separate data
source. An [classname]#IndexedContainer#, for example, would work.

ITEM:: [classname]#String# representation of item, acquired with
[methodname]#toString()#, is used as the caption. This is applicable mainly when
using a custom [classname]#Item# class, which also requires using a custom
[classname]#Container# that is used as a data source for the selection
component.

PROPERTY:: Item captions are read from the [classname]#String# representation of the
property with the identifier specified with
[methodname]#setItemCaptionPropertyId()#. This is useful, for example, when you
have a container that you use as the data source for the selection component,
and you want to use a specific property for caption.

+
In the example below, we bind a selection component to a bean container and use
a property of the bean as the caption.


+
[source, java]
----
/** A bean with a "name" property. */
public class Planet implements Serializable {
    int    id;
    String name;

    public Planet(int id, String name) {
        this.id   = id;
        this.name = name;
    }

    ... setters and getters ...
}

public void captionproperty(VerticalLayout layout) {
    // Have a bean container to put the beans in
    BeanItemContainer<Planet> container =
        new BeanItemContainer<Planet>(Planet.class);

    // Put some example data in it
    container.addItem(new Planet(1, "Mercury"));
    container.addItem(new Planet(2, "Venus"));
    container.addItem(new Planet(3, "Earth"));
    container.addItem(new Planet(4, "Mars"));

    // Create a selection component bound to the container
    ComboBox select = new ComboBox("Planets", container);

    // Set the caption mode to read the caption directly
    // from the 'name' property of the bean
    select.setItemCaptionMode(ItemCaptionMode.PROPERTY);
    select.setItemCaptionPropertyId("name");

    ...
----



[[components.selection.getset]]
== Getting and Setting Selection

A selection component provides the current selection as the property of the
component (with the [classname]#Property# interface). The property value is an
item identifier object that identifies the selected item. You can get the
identifier with [methodname]#getValue()# of the [classname]#Property# interface.

You can select an item with the corresponding [methodname]#setValue()# method.
In multiselect mode, the property will be an unmodifiable set of item
identifiers. If no item is selected, the property will be [parameter]#null# in
single selection mode or an empty collection in multiselect mode.

The [classname]#ComboBox# and [classname]#NativeSelect# will show empty
selection when no actual item is selected. This is the __null selection item
identifier__. You can set an alternative ID with
[methodname]#setNullSelectionItemId()#. Setting the alternative null ID is
merely a visual text; the [methodname]#getValue()# will still return
[parameter]#null# value if no item is selected, or an empty set in multiselect
mode.


[[components.selection.valuechange]]
== Handling Selection Changes

The item identifier of the currently selected item will be set as the property
of the selection component. You can access it with the [methodname]#getValue()#
method of the [classname]#Property# interface of the component. Also, when
handling selection changes with a [classname]#Property.ValueChangeListener#, the
[classname]#ValueChangeEvent# will have the selected item as the property of the
event, accessible with the [methodname]#getProperty()# method.


[source, java]
----
// Create a selection component with some items
ComboBox select = new ComboBox("My Select");
select.addItems("Io", "Europa", "Ganymedes", "Callisto");

// Handle selection change
select.addValueChangeListener(event -> // Java 8
    layout.addComponent(new Label("Selected " +
        event.getProperty().getValue())));
----

The result of user interaction is shown in
<<figure.components.selection.valuechange>>.

[[figure.components.selection.valuechange]]
.Selected Item
image::img/select-selected1.png[]


[[components.selection.newitems]]
== Allowing Adding New Items

Some selection components can allow the user to add new items. Currently, only
[classname]#ComboBox# allows it, when the user types in a value and presses
kbd:[Enter]. You need to enable the mode with [methodname]#setNewItemsAllowed(true)#.
Setting the component also in immediate mode may be necessary, as otherwise the
item would not be added immediately when the user interacts with the component,
but after some other component causes a server
request.
// TODO This could be a bug


[source, java]
----
myselect.setNewItemsAllowed(true);
myselect.setImmediate(true);
----

The user interface for adding new items depends on the selection component. The
regular [classname]#ComboBox# component allows you to simply type the new item
in the combo box and hit kbd:[Enter] to add it.

Adding new items is not possible if the selection component is read-only or is
bound to a [classname]#Container# that does not allow adding new items. An
attempt to do so may result in an exception.

[[components.selection.newitems.handling]]
=== Handling New Items

Adding new items is handled by a [interfacename]#NewItemHandler#, which gets the
item caption string as parameter for the [methodname]#addNewItem()# method. The
default implementation, [classname]#DefaultNewItemHandler#, checks for read-only
state, adds the item using the entered caption as the item ID, and if the
selection component gets the captions from a property, copies the caption to
that property. It also selects the item. The default implementation may not be
suitable for all container types, in which case you need to define a custom
handler. For example, a [classname]#BeanItemContainer# expects the items to have
the bean object itself as the ID, not a string.

ifdef::web[]

[source, java]
----
// Have a bean container to put the beans in
final BeanItemContainer<Planet> container =
    new BeanItemContainer<Planet>(Planet.class);

// Put some example data in it
container.addItem(new Planet(1, "Mercury"));
container.addItem(new Planet(2, "Venus"));
container.addItem(new Planet(3, "Earth"));
container.addItem(new Planet(4, "Mars"));

final ComboBox select =
    new ComboBox("Select or Add a Planet", container);
select.setNullSelectionAllowed(false);

// Use the name property for item captions
select.setItemCaptionPropertyId("name");

// Allow adding new items
select.setNewItemsAllowed(true);
select.setImmediate(true);

// Custom handling for new items
select.setNewItemHandler(new NewItemHandler() {
    @Override
    public void addNewItem(String newItemCaption) {
        // Create a new bean - can't set all properties
        Planet newPlanet = new Planet(0, newItemCaption);
        container.addBean(newPlanet);

        // Remember to set the selection to the new item
        select.select(newPlanet);

        Notification.show("Added new planet called " +
                          newItemCaption);
    }
});
----
See the http://demo.vaadin.com/book-examples-vaadin7/book#component.select.combobox.newitemhandler[on-line example, window="_blank"].
endif::web[]



[[components.selection.multiple]]
== Multiple Selection

Some selection components, such as [classname]#OptionGroup# and
[classname]#ListSelect# support a multiple selection mode, which you can enable
with [methodname]#setMultiSelect()#. For [classname]#TwinColSelect#, which is
especially intended for multiple selection, it is enabled by default.


[source, java]
----
myselect.setMultiSelect(true);
----

As in single selection mode, the property value of the component indicates the
selection. In multiple selection mode, however, the property value is a
[classname]#Collection# of the item IDs of the currently selected items. You can
get and set the property with the [methodname]#getValue()# and
[methodname]#setValue()# methods as usual.

A change in the selection will trigger a [classname]#ValueChangeEvent#, which
you can handle with a [classname]#Propery.ValueChangeListener#. As usual, you
should use [methodname]#setImmediate(true)# to trigger the event immediately
when the user changes the selection. The following example shows how to handle
selection changes with a listener.


[source, java]
----
// A selection component with some items
ListSelect select = new ListSelect("My Selection");
select.addItems("Mercury", "Venus", "Earth",
    "Mars", "Jupiter", "Saturn", "Uranus", "Neptune");

// Multiple selection mode
select.setMultiSelect(true);

// Feedback on value changes
select.addValueChangeListener(
    new Property.ValueChangeListener() {
    public void valueChange(ValueChangeEvent event) {
        // Some feedback
        layout.addComponent(new Label("Selected: " +
            event.getProperty().getValue().toString()));
    }
});
select.setImmediate(true);
----


[[components.selection.item-icons]]
== Item Icons

You can set an icon for each item with [methodname]#setItemIcon()#, or define an
item property that provides the icon resource with
[methodname]#setItemIconPropertyId()#, in a fashion similar to captions. Notice,
however, that icons are not supported in [classname]#NativeSelect#,
[classname]#TwinColSelect#, and some other selection components and modes. This
is because HTML does not support images inside the native [literal]#++select++#
elements. Icons are also not really visually applicable.