Process f:viewParam only on page load
I'm using an <f:viewParam> to pass a parameter as follows. <ui:define name="metaData"> <f:metadata> <f:viewParam name="id" value="#{bean.entity}" converter="#{converter}"/> </f:metadata> </ui:define> Is it possible to process this <f:viewParam> , only when the page is loaded/refreshed? It is just because the converter as specified with the <f:viewParam> is costly that converts the value passed through the query-string to a JPA entity. Hence, it involves an expensive database transaction, even when doing ajaxical postbacks using components like <p:commandButton> , <p:commandLink> which is