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In our previous section, we have seen how to create the entities (tables), now it's time to create a form which will allow you to make entries in that entity.

Create a Service

Before preparing form, let's write a service to create records in database for OfbizDemo entity in service definition xml file ($OFBIZ_HOME/hot-deploy/ofbizdemo/servicedef/services.xml)

Now again have a look at $OFBIZ_HOME/hot-deploy/ofbizdemo/ofbiz-component.xml file. You already have resource entry made in it for loading services defined in this file as:

For this service definition to load you will need to restart OFBiz. To test this service you directly go to webtools --> Run Service option here: https://localhost:8443/webtools/control/runService

Create the add Form

Let's create our first form for this service and for that let's edit the existing file at location $OFBIZ_HOME/hot-deploy/ofbizdemo/widget/OfbizDemoForms.xml and add Create Form for OfbizDemo as shown below:

Here you can notice we have used auto-fields-service to auto generate the form based on service definition IN/OUT attributes. 

Go to Screens xml file(OfbizDemoScreens.xml) add this form location in decorator body to your screen that you used to show the Hello World... text. As shown below

Controller Entry for Form

Before you go to the form and start creating OfbizDemo records from add form, you will need to make an entry in $OFBIZ_HOME/hot-deploy/ofbizdemo/webapp/ofbizdemo/WEB-INF/controller.xml file for the target service which will called when form is submitted. You can do it as shown below under Request Mappings in your ofbizdemo apps controller file:

Everything set, let's have a look into to our recently create form http://localhost:8080/ofbizdemo

Primary key(ofbizDemoId) is not needed to be send in with the form, it will be auto sequenced by OFBiz in db records.

Create a Find Form

Let's create a find form for the entity OfbizDemo, so that you search OfbizDemos being created.

1.) Add the forms (FindOfbizDemo and ListOfbizDemo) in OfbizDemoForms.xml

Form or Screen's action tag is used for data preparation logics for your view.

 

We have used OOTB OFBiz generic service performFind to do the search operations which is easy and efficient to use when you have to perform search on one entity or one view entity.

 

2.) In next step, we will include these form in the screen, let's add these form in OfbizDemoScreens.xml file. For this include the FindOfbizDemo screen defined below in the OfbizDemoScreens.xml

3.) Add request mapping for accessing this new Find Ofbiz Demo page in controller.xml

4.) Now, let's add a new menu for showing find option.
Creating a menu is really simple in OFBiz, all the menus are defined is *menus.xml.
When we create a component from ant target, we get a file named OfbizDemoMenus.xml

Make the following entry in the OfbizDemoMenus.xml file.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<menus xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="http://ofbiz.apache.org/dtds/widget-menu.xsd">

    <menu name="MainAppBar" title="${uiLabelMap.OfbizDemoApplication}" extends="CommonAppBarMenu" extends-resource="component://common/widget/CommonMenus.xml">

        <menu-item name="main" title="${uiLabelMap.CommonMain}"

><link target="main"/></menu-

item>
        <menu-item name="findOfbizDemo" title="${uiLabelMap.OfbizDemoFind}"

><link target="FindOfbizDemo"/></menu-

item>
    </menu>
</menus>

Internationalization of Apache OFBiz is really easy, we define the UI Labels in various languages and on the basis of user's locale, respective label is shown.

Here is the example of UI Labels (while creating component <component-name>UiLabels.xml is created by default, in our case it is OfbizDemoUiLabels.xml)

Now simply restart the server, under ofbizdemo application (https://localhost:8443/ofbizdemo/control/main) you will see the Find menu option.