JSF unable to set dynamic id for input component

Question

my form looks like this:

When the user clicks \"+ Add\" a new distanc

Answer 1

I need to be able to show individual "required" messages. Any ideas?

For that you don't need to fiddle with IDs. JSF will do it for you. Just do

<h:dataTable id="table" value="#{bean.distances}" var="distance"> 
    <h:column> 
        <h:inputText id="distance" value="#{distance.value}" required="true" />
        <h:message for="distance" />
    </h:column>
</h:dataTable>

This will end up in generated HTML like follows:

<table id="form:table">
    <tr><td><input id="form:table:0:distance" /></td></tr>
    <tr><td><input id="form:table:1:distance" /></td></tr>
    <tr><td><input id="form:table:2:distance" /></td></tr>
    ...
</table>

Rightclick the page in browser and choose View Source to see it yourself.

Any validation error will just be shown in the same row as the input.