FAQ

1. Why does the Faces Console software change the formatting of my JavaServer Faces config file?



2. Is there anyway to have the Pretty Output feature preserve comments in my JavaServer Faces config file?



3. How do I make the Pretty Output feature work when using Faces Console as a plugin?



4. How do I get the Faces Console to work with config files that don't validate against the XML DTD?



5. What operating systems does the Faces Console software run on?



6. Is the Faces Console software free to use?



7. Is the Faces Console open source software?

1.  Why does the Faces Console software change the formatting of my JavaServer Faces config file?

The Faces Console software uses an XML parser (JDOM + Xerces) to read in JavaServer Faces config files. XML parsers seem to "lose" some of an XML file's orginal formatting when parsing XML documents. This results in poor formatting of generated/saved XML files once they have been manipulated. To get around this limitation the Faces Console has options for how output is generated. Please see the help page for more information on this.


2.  Is there anyway to have the Pretty Output feature preserve comments in my JavaServer Faces config file?

Unfortunately, due to the way XML is structured and how XML parsers work there is no way (at least that I know of) to preserve comments in config files when using the Pretty Output feature. The problem lies in the fact that XML comments can be placed before or after XML tags. So for instance, some people may put comments before a tag starts and some people may put comments after a tag starts or perhaps both. When the Faces Console adds or removes XML tags from files there's no way to know which tag a comment belongs to. Does it belong to the tag above it or below it?


3.  How do I make the Pretty Output feature work when using Faces Console as a plugin?

Currently the Pretty Output feature can only be configured from inside the standalone version of Faces Console. However, once you have configured the Pretty Output options in the standalone version, the options apply to all of the Faces Console plugins. Future versions of Faces Console will support modifying the Pretty Output options directly from the IDE being plugged into.


4.  How do I get the Faces Console to work with config files that don't validate against the XML DTD?

The Faces Console, by default, validates config files against their respecitve XML DTDs. If your config file breaks any of the rules defined by the DTD, the Faces Console will complain and not be able to open the file. In order to work with non-validating config files you will need to disable the Faces Console validation. THIS IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AGAINST. The Faces Console has been programmed to work with config files that validate against their respective DTDs, thus turning off validation may result in the Faces Console not working.

For information on how to turn off config file validation see the help section.


5.  What operating systems does the Faces Console software run on?

The Faces Console software is Java-based software so it should run on any platform that has a modern (1.2+) Sun compatible Java Runtime Environment (JRE).


6.  Is the Faces Console software free to use?

Yes, the Faces Console software is free to use and abuse however you like. Please see the license files in the "license" directory of the distribution for more details.


7.  Is the Faces Console open source software?

The Faces Console is free software, but it is not open source software.