jsf - Using regex with p:keyFilter

Question

I have an p:inputMask with a p:keyFilter to match HH:MM as following:

<p:inputMask mask="99:99" ...>
     <p:keyFilter regEx="([0-9]|0[0-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]"/>
</p:inputMask>

But it doesn't work and it accepts all values from 00:00 to 99:99.

How can I solve this?

Answer 1

p:keyFilter versus f:validateRegex – regEx versus inputRegEx

p:keyFilter with the regEx attribute is used to filter characters (on each key stroke), it does not allow you to validate an expression (on the complete inputted value). If you want to validate if your input matches a regular expression, use the inputRegEx attribute or f:validateRegex.

So, in your case you could use:

<p:inputXxx ...>
    <f:validateRegex pattern="([0-9]|0[0-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]"/>
</p:inputXxx>

or:

<p:inputXxx ...>
    <p:keyFilter inputRegEx="/([0-9]|0[0-9]|1[0-9]|2[0-3]):[0-5][0-9]/"/>
</p:inputXxx>

Please note that p:keyFilter requires JavaScript regular expressions, while, while f:validateRegex requires a Java regular expression. And, p:keyFilter inputRegEx is checked on key up, while f:validateRegex is executed when the field is processed. So, in resume:

Property	p:keyFilter inputRegEx="..."	f:validateRegex pattern="..."
Regular expression type	JavaScript	Java
Executed when	Key up JavaScript event is triggered	Component is processed