Using Vaadin Add-ons

Using add-ons are intended to be as "drop-in packages" for your web project using the Vaadin Framework.

Downloading Add-ons

Downloading Vaadin Add-ons

1 ) You can download the add-on packages from the add-on details page in the Directory (like this one). Simply save the jar or zip file on to your computer.

2 ) Some add-ons have several versions available and you can choose the version to download from the dropdown menu in the header of the add-on details page. The latest version is always selected by default.

3 ) After trying out the add-on you can give some feedback to the add-on author by rating the add-on with one to five stars and optionally leaving also a comment.

Installing Add-ons

The usage depends on the way the add-on is packed as well as the type of project you have.

Zip-files: Extract the zip file and follow the instructions included in the package. Typically you just copy a jar-file from the zip to your web project under WEB-INF/lib folder and recompile the project.
Jar-files: Copy the jar-file to your web project under WEB-INF/lib folder and recompile the project.

Eclipse IDE users use the Vaadin Integration Plugin for Eclipse. The plugin automatically detects any new add-ons in the classpath does a GWT compilation as needed. If you have any problems with automatic compilation, ensure that you are using the most recent plugin version.

NetBeans IDE users can use these step-by-step instructions to setup an Ant script for compiling the client-side widget set.

The widget set compilation is also possible using Maven. See detailed instructions.

Depending on the type of the add-on you can then start using it:

Themes: Add a setTheme("theme-name") into Application init method.
Components and widgets: The components and widgets are Java classes and you can use them right away. Remember that client-side widgets need GWT compilation before they can be deployed.
Tools: Please follow the documentation provided in the zip file.

The add-on information page typically contains helpful information and links to samples and tutorials. Follow these to learn more about the specific add-on.

Step-by-step tutorial

The following video tutorial shows how add-ons are used in practice. In the video we:

Download Vaadin Timeline add-on
Create a new Vaadin project in Eclipse
Add the add-on to our project and recompile the widgetset
Create a simple stock graph viewer application to try out the add-on
Run the application on Apache Tomcat

(it is recommended to watch the video full-screen in HD mode)

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