Save data to compositeData.dataSource - xpages

Question

I'm running around in circles...
I'll try to explain what I'm trying to do: we have an XPage in a Notes database for a specific document (all web). We also have defined our own forms inside the database. When the document is opened in XPages, the form is retrieved and the fields are populated. That works, I'm glad to say.
Then, we defined some kind of subform. The idea is that the subform displays specific fields in a different way. There can be multiple subforms attached to a form. All these elements are stored in custom controls, say ccForm, ccSubform and ccField.
Upon opening the document, I get the NotesXspDocument object which I can pass to ccForm. The custom control fetches the form definition, and uses a repeat control to generate ccField and a few ccSubform controls. These get passed a lot of parameters, e.g. the current document as a dataSource parameter. When there's a subform, data is copied from the main document and stored (differently) in a temporary document, declared inside ccSubform. The subform opens and reads a different form definition and generates its own ccField controls, using yet another repeat control.
So the NotesXspDocument is created at the top and passed to all controls using a DataSource parameter. The data related to the subform however is stored in a temporary NotesDocument.
My problems:
when the Save button is clicked, only the QuerySave event of the main XPage is triggered, and I can't find out how to trigger some sort of Save event for the temporary documents inside the subforms; I want to copy data back to the main document
is there some other event I can use to copy data back to the main document?
I have the usual compositeData issue in afterRestoreView; how can I get around it?
Awaiting your replies...
Thanks!
update
Current ccSubform, with some debugging:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xp:view xmlns:xp="http://www.ibm.com/xsp/core" xmlns:xc="http://www.ibm.com/xsp/custom"
xmlns:xe="http://www.ibm.com/xsp/coreex" enableModifiedFlag="true" id="ccSubForm">
<xp:this.data>
<xp:dominoDocument var="docTemp" ignoreRequestParams="true">
<xp:this.querySaveDocument><![CDATA[#{javascript:dprint("subform qSD")}]]></xp:this.querySaveDocument>
<xp:this.postNewDocument><![CDATA[#{javascript:var sf= new ccAnyForm(docTemp,compositeData.formName);
viewScope.put(compositeData.formName, sf);}]]></xp:this.postNewDocument>
</xp:dominoDocument>
</xp:this.data>
<xp:this.afterRestoreView><![CDATA[#{javascript:try {
dprint("aRV: " + getClientId("ccSubForm"))
var sf= viewScope.get(compositeData.formName);
dprint("sf= " + sf);
if(!sf)
return;
var mdoc:NotesXspDocument= compositeData.dataSource;
var fields= sf.getFields();
for(var fi in fields) {
var fieldName= fields[fi].name;
var values= [];
for(var i= 0; i<rows.size(); i++) {
var tmp= docTemp.getItemValue(fieldName+"$"+i);
values.push(tmp);
dprint(fieldName + "[" + i + "]= " + tmp);
}
mdoc.replaceItemValue(fieldName, values)
}
}catch(e) {
dprint(e);
}}]]></xp:this.afterRestoreView>
<xp:this.beforePageLoad><![CDATA[#{javascript:dprint("bPL: " + getClientId("ccSubForm"))
}]]></xp:this.beforePageLoad>
<xp:tr>
<xp:td styleClass="label">
<xp:text escape="true" value="#{javascript:compositeData.label}"></xp:text>
</xp:td>
<xp:td>
<xp:panel styleClass="subform">
<xp:table style="width:100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0">
<xp:tr>
<xp:repeat var="thisfield" indexVar="coli">
<xp:this.value><![CDATA[#{javascript:var sf= viewScope.get(compositeData.formName);
if(!sf)
return;
var mdoc:NotesXspDocument= compositeData.dataSource;
var fields= sf.getFields();
fields}]]></xp:this.value>
<xp:td styleClass="label">
<xp:text escape="true" value="#{javascript:thisfield.label}"></xp:text>
</xp:td>
</xp:repeat>
</xp:tr>
<xp:repeat rows="#{javascript:compositeData.rows}" disableTheme="true" var="row" indexVar="rowi">
<xp:this.value><![CDATA[#{javascript:var sf= viewScope.get(compositeData.formName);
if(!sf)
return;
var rows= [];
var fields= sf.getFields();
for(var fi in fields) {
var fieldName= fields[fi].name
var values:java.util.Vector= mdoc.getItemValue(fieldName);
if(values) {
for(var i= 0; i<values.size(); i++) {
rows[i]= i+1;
docTemp.replaceItemValue(fieldName+"$"+i, values[i])
}
}
}
return rows;}]]></xp:this.value>
<xp:tr>
<xp:repeat var="currfield" indexVar="coli">
<xp:this.value><![CDATA[#{javascript:var sf= viewScope.get(compositeData.formName);
if(!sf)
return;
var rows= [];
var fields= sf.getFields();
return fields}]]></xp:this.value>
<xp:td>
<xp:this.styleClass><![CDATA[#{javascript:compositeData.dataSource && compositeData.dataSource.isEditable && compositeData.dataSource.isEditable() && !compositeData.isEditable? "data readonly": "data"}]]></xp:this.styleClass>
<xc:ccfieldType="#{javascript:currfield.type}"
fieldLabel="#{javascript:currfield.label}" fieldTitle="#{javascript:currfield.title}"
fieldValue="#{javascript:currfield.value}" fieldIcon="#{javascript:currfield.icon}"
dataSource="#{javascript:docTemp}" formSource="#{javascript:compositeData.formSource}"
<xc:this.rendered><![CDATA[#{javascript:try {
return af? true: false;
} catch(e) {
return false;
}}]]></xc:this.rendered>
<xc:this.fieldName><![CDATA[#{javascript:currfield.name + "$" + rowi}]]></xc:this.fieldName>
<xc:this.fieldIdName><![CDATA[#{javascript:'id'+currfield.name+"$"+rowi}]]></xc:this.fieldIdName>
<xc:this.fieldUniqueName><![CDATA[#{javascript:'unique'+currfield.name+"$"+rowi}]]></xc:this.fieldUniqueName>
</xc:ccDynamicField>
</xp:td>
</xp:repeat>
</xp:tr>
</xp:repeat>
</xp:table>
</xp:panel>
</xp:td>
</xp:tr>
</xp:view>

Answer 1

You need to take one step back and revisit the approach. XPages doesn't limit you to Documents as data sources. It allows binding to Java beans .... and that points to the solution.
Step 1: for each 'special handling' custom control make one bean that gives you exactly what you need.
Step 2: Design one bean to be used as object data source in the main form. The object data source can be designed so you load a document. Don't try to store the document, only the field values and the unid so you can later save it back
Step 3: design properties in that object datasource that return the beans from step 1
Step 4: design your custom controls to take the bean a parmeter. Be specific with the datatype. You can use #{objDatasource.propname} to provide the parameter. Inside the custom controls use standard EL to bind the beans.
Now when you save the data source you have all data inside your main bean and a very clean layout.
Does that work for you?

Answer 2

I'm struggling to see the reason for creating the temp documents, copying the data across, then writing additional data back and not saving the document. I don't think you need to get that complicated because:
You can bind to and from the main document datasource within dependent custom controls. The currentDocument variable gets the nearest dominoDocument datasource, navigating back up the component tree. Alternatively, if your main datasource is always called document1, you can use that. All you need to ensure is that the relevant dominoDocument datasource is defined at a level above the custom control (if you visualise your components in a tree, with parents and children). You just won't be able to select fields in the drop-down.
If you set a value that's not in the main document, that can be computed on the defaultValue property of any controls on the custom control. Or you could set the relevant field on your main document during beforePageLoad / beforeRenderResponse etc.
Dynamic Content Control can be used to programmatically load only the relevant custom control(s).
Alternatively, if you want the temporary document approach, I'd recommend actually saving those documents with some key back to the main document. Then using a Save All Documents action, so you have them in the database, and retrieve them in postSaveDocument of the main document (personally I'd use script in the button instead) to retrieve the documents, write the values back to the main document and delete / flag so an agent can delete them. sessionAsSigner will get past any access limitations here.
If you have a reason for not wanting to clutter the database, don't forget XPages allows you to edit data from multiple databases, so you can always have a "temp store" where these sub-documents get created, edited and stored. The database can be computed, so it can be agnostic of the environment - dev, test, prod. Access can be set separately on that database, if you need to (e.g. allowing the users to delete from that temp store).

Answer 3

Every document data source has its own set of query type events. You could use those to get the data and then write it back to the main document.
Howard