Use more than one submit button

You need this when a form has more than one action, such as “Save” and “Save and close”, or a “Cancel” that must work while the form is still invalid.

Run different code per button

Add a Button per action and override its onSubmit(). The button’s onSubmit() runs after the form has been validated and the models are updated, before the form’s own onSubmit(). Use onAfterSubmit() for code that has to run after the form’s onSubmit(), such as navigating away.

EditArticlePage.java

Form<Article> form = new Form<>("form", articleModel) {
    @Override
    protected void onSubmit() {
        articleService.save(getModelObject());
    }
};
add(form);

form.add(new Button("save"));

Button publish = new Button("publish") {
    @Override
    public void onSubmit() {
        form.getModelObject().setPublished(true);
    }

    @Override
    public void onAfterSubmit() {
        setResponsePage(ArticlesPage.class);
    }
};
form.add(publish);

EditArticlePage.html

<form wicket:id="form">
    ...
    <button type="submit" wicket:id="save">Save</button>
    <button type="submit" wicket:id="publish">Publish</button>
</form>

A Button works on <button> and on <input type="submit">. Give it a model to set the text from Java: the model becomes the body of a <button> or the value of an <input>.

If validation fails, the clicked button’s onError() is called first, then the form’s onError(). Neither onSubmit() runs.

Choose the button for the Enter key

When the user presses Enter in a text field, the browser acts as if the first submit button of the form was clicked. To make Enter act as another button, set it as the default button:

form.setDefaultButton(publish);

Wicket adds a small script to the form that clicks this button when Enter is pressed in an input field.

Add a Cancel button that skips validation

Turn off default form processing on the button. Wicket then skips validation and the model update, and only calls the button’s onSubmit() and onAfterSubmit(). The form’s onSubmit() is not called.

form.add(new Button("cancel") {
    @Override
    public void onSubmit() {
        setResponsePage(ArticlesPage.class);
    }
}.setDefaultFormProcessing(false));

The user’s input is neither validated nor stored.

Since Wicket 11, a Button with default form processing turned off renders formnovalidate, so the browser does not block it on empty required fields either.

Submit a form from a link

A SubmitLink submits the form with JavaScript, so it works on an <a> or any element that can be clicked. It has the same onSubmit(), onAfterSubmit() and onError() as a Button.

Unlike a button, a SubmitLink can sit outside the form. Pass the form to its constructor:

add(new SubmitLink("saveFromToolbar", form));

<nav>
    <a href="#" wicket:id="saveFromToolbar">Save</a>
</nav>
<form wicket:id="form">...</form>

Submit without reloading the page

AjaxButton and AjaxSubmitLink do the same over Ajax and give you an AjaxRequestTarget in onSubmit and onError, so you can update the feedback panel without rendering the whole page. See Ajax components.