JSF 2 check / uncheck list of h:selectBooleanCheckbox - jsf-2

Question

I have a loop with a bunch of h:selectBooleanCheckboxs inside a ui:repeat and I want to be able to check / uncheck all of them with one click. Following this this is how I try to do it:
<h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{bean.selectAll}" valueChangeListener="#{bean.selectAllCustomers}">
<f:ajax execute="#form" render="entireLoop"/>
</h:selectBooleanCheckbox>
The loop:
<h:panelGroup id="entireLoop">
<ui:repeat var="customer" varStatus="status" value="#{bean.customers}">
<tr>
<td>
<h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{bean.customersMap[customer]}"/>
</td>
<td><h:commandLink value="#{customer.userID}" action="#{navBean.gotoEditCustomer(customer)}"/></td>
<td>#{bean.getContact(user)}</td>
<td>#{customer.companyName}</td>
<td>#{customer.email}</td>
<td>#{customer.phone}</td>
</tr>
</ui:repeat>
</h:panelGroup>
The code in the bean:
public void selectAllCustomers() {
Iterator<User> keys = customersMap.keySet().iterator();
while(keys.hasNext()) {
User user = keys.next();
customersMap.put(user, selectAll);
}
}
When I click to check the "select all" checkbox, I have two problems:
Nothing happens. Only when I click on somewhere else in the page the method is called. How can I get it to go directly?
The entire loop disappears from the page. Why? (I tried to get the ajax to render only the selectBooleanCheckbox by giving it an id, or a name, but I'm getting an error saying this is not a naming component.)

Answer 1

Instead of using valueChangeListener, your method will work if you use the listener attribute of the <f:ajax> tag. It would be something like this:
<h:selectBooleanCheckbox value="#{bean.selectAll}">
<f:ajax listener="#{bean.selectAllCustomers}" render="entireLoop"/>
</h:selectBooleanCheckbox>
Besides, you don't need to submit the whole form with execute="#form". You only need to submit selectAll property and re-render the entireLoop.
If you really want to use valueChangeListener, you must note that your method will be triggered before the new value is applied in the selectAll property. As a result, your entireLoop will not be updated until the next request. To use valueChangeListener, your listener method should look like this:
public void selectAllCustomers(ValueChangeEvent e) {
boolean newSelectAll = (Boolean) e.getNewValue();
Iterator<Users> keys = customersMap.keySet().iterator();
while(keys.hasNext()) {
Users user = keys.next();
customersMap.put(user, newSelectAll);
}
}