Struts 2 <s:checkboxlist> multiple check boxes example

Download It – Struts2-multiple-checkboxes-example.zip

In Struts 2 , you can use the <s:checkboxlist> tag to create multiple check boxes with a same name. The only concern is how to hold the multiple checked values in a variable? For example,

public List<String> getColors() {
	colors = new ArrayList<String>();
	colors.add("red");
	colors.add("yellow");
	colors.add("blue");
	colors.add("green");
	return colors;
}

<s:checkboxlist label="What's your favor color" list="colors" 
name="yourColor" value="defaultColor" />

A multiple check boxes with “red”, “yellow”, “blue” and “green” options. If multiple options are checked, you can store it via a String object.

For example, If “red” and “yellow” options are checked, the checked values will combine with a comma, yourColor = “red,yellow”.

private String yourColor;
 
public void setYourColor(String yourColor) {
	this.yourColor = yourColor;
}

Read this article about how to set the default value for multiple check boxes.

Struts 2 <s:checkboxlist> example

A full Struts 2 example to create multiple check boxes with a same name via <s:checkboxlist>, stored the checked values and display it in another page.

1. Action

Action class to generate and hold the multiple check boxes values.
CheckBoxListAction.java

package com.mkyong.common.action;
 
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
 
import com.opensymphony.xwork2.ActionSupport;
 
public class CheckBoxListAction extends ActionSupport{
 
	private List<String> colors;
 
	private String yourColor;
 
	public String getYourColor() {
		return yourColor;
	}
 
	public void setYourColor(String yourColor) {
		this.yourColor = yourColor;
	}
 
	public CheckBoxListAction(){
		colors = new ArrayList<String>();
		colors.add("red");
		colors.add("yellow");
		colors.add("blue");
		colors.add("green");
	}
 
	public String[] getDefaultColor(){
		return new String [] {"red", "green"};
	}
 
	public List<String> getColors() {
		return colors;
	}
 
	public void setColors(List<String> colors) {
		this.colors = colors;
	}
 
	public String execute() {
		return SUCCESS;
	}
 
	public String display() {
		return NONE;
	}
}

2. Result page

Render the multiple check boxes via “s:checkboxlist” tag.
checkBoxlist.jsp

<%@ taglib prefix="s" uri="/struts-tags" %>
<html>
<head>
</head>
 
<body>
<h1>Struts 2 multiple check boxes example</h1>
 
<s:form action="resultAction" namespace="/">
 
<h4>
	<s:checkboxlist label="What's your favor color" list="colors" 
	   name="yourColor" value="defaultColor" />
</h4> 
 
<s:submit value="submit" name="submit" />
 
</s:form>
 
</body>
</html>

result.jsp

<%@ taglib prefix="s" uri="/struts-tags" %>
<html>
 
<body>
<h1>Struts 2 multiple check boxes example</h1>
 
<h4>
  Favor colors : <s:property value="yourColor"/>
</h4> 
 
</body>
</html>

3. struts.xml

Link all together ~

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<!DOCTYPE struts PUBLIC
"-//Apache Software Foundation//DTD Struts Configuration 2.0//EN"
"http://struts.apache.org/dtds/struts-2.0.dtd">
 
<struts>
 
 <constant name="struts.devMode" value="true" />
 
<package name="default" namespace="/" extends="struts-default">
 
   <action name="checkBoxListAction" 
         class="com.mkyong.common.action.CheckBoxListAction" method="display">
	<result name="none">pages/checkBoxlist.jsp</result>
   </action>
 
   <action name="resultAction" class="com.mkyong.common.action.CheckBoxListAction">
	<result name="success">pages/result.jsp</result>
   </action>
  </package>
 
</struts>