WComponent content models

WComponents by content type

The following lists the allowed content types for container WComponents.

Any content

These WComponents may contain any content including form-bound controls:

• WCollapsible;
• WContainer;
• WPanel;
• WFieldSet;
• WSection;
• WDecoratedLabel if it is the title component of a WSection, the description of a WFigure or a column header in a WTable.

Components which require phrasing content

The WComponents below may have other WComponents added to them but may not contain any of the WComponents which output content which is not phrasing content (see below)

• WDecoratedLabel including:
  • the title component of a WCollapsible;
  • the title component of a WFieldSet;
  • the title component of a WHeading;
  • the title component of a WSection;
  • the title component of a WSubMenu;
  • the title component of a WMenuItem;
  • the title component of a WTab; unless the WDecoratedLabel is the title component of a WSection, the description of a WFigure or a column header in a WTable;
• WLabel.

Components which must not include interactive controls

The following WComponents are able to accept other components as content but which may not contain any of the form bound controls listed on this page.

• the title component of a WSubMenu;
• the title component of a WMenuItem;
• the title component of a WTab;
• WLabel (with some obscure exceptions which are harder to implement than not).

WComponents by category

The following lists WComponents by their category. You should also consult the list of WComponent form controls.

Phrasing content

These WComponents are stand-alone components which output only phrasing content and may, therefore be used anywhere where phrasing content is permitted.

• WAbbrText;
• WContentLink;
• WDecoratedLabel unless it is the titling element of a WSection or a column in a WTable;
• WImage;
• WInternaLink;
• WLabel;
• WLink;
• WProgressBar;
• WStyledText unless the whiteSpace property is PARAGRAPH or PRESERVE;
• WText;
• WComponents which output labelable elements except WDateField and WPartialDateField note that these components may not be used where interactive components are forbidden;
• WComponents which output labelable elements if the readOnly property is true.

Flow content which is not phrasing content

The following WComponents are those which are stand-alone components so can be placed anywhere in the Java tree but output HTML which contains one or more elements which are incompatible with a phrasing content content model. None of these elements may be used where phrasing content is required.

• WAudio;
• WCollapsible;
• WCollapsibleToggle;
• WDateField unless the readOnly property is true;
• WDefinitionList;
• WDialog;
• WDropdown if the type property is COMBO;
• WFieldLayout;
• WFieldSet;
• WFieldWarningIndicator;
• WFigure;
• WHeading;
• WHorizontalRule;
• WMenu;
• WMessageBox;
• WPanel;
• WPartialDateField;
• WRow;
• WSection;
• WSelectToggle unless the renderAs property is CONTROL;
• WStyledText if the whiteSpace property is PARAGRAPH or PRESERVE;
• WTable;
• WTabSet;
• WValidationErrors;
• WVideo;
• All WComponents which output complex form controls.

Sectioning content

The following components will output sectioning content:

• WPanel if the type property is ACTION or CHROME;
• WSection.

Sectioning roots

The following WComponents will output a sectioning root.

• WCollapsible;
• WDialog;
• WFieldSet;
• WFigure.

form-bound controls

• See WComponent form controls.

Further information

• List of WComponents
• WComponent form controls