Seeking Advice on Implementing a Side Panel with TabBar in GWT Using UiBinder

[divyanshu kumar]

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a GWT project and need some advice on creating a side panel using UiBinder. Specifically, I'm aiming for a setup like the one in the attached picture: a bottom TabBar where clicking a tab opens or closes the corresponding left sidebar.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Craig Mitchell]

I'm a little unclear what advice you're after.  I'm not a professional UI designer, and I don't know your requirements, but my initial advice is: Using bottom tabs to open a sidebar is a little out of the ordinary.  But maybe it makes perfect sense in your situation.

Anyway, if you have a GWT question, I'm more than happy to help.

[Craig Mitchell]

Sorry, maybe you're asking, should you use the prebuilt GWT widgets ( https://samples.gwtproject.org/samples/Showcase/Showcase.html#!CwTabLayoutPanel ), or create your own based from HTML/CSS?   Personally, I like creating my own, as I have more control over them.  Or there is a third option and use a 3rd party widgets.

...actually, I'm still just guessing what you're after.  🙂

[Leon Pennings]

What works best for me is to;

1 - first establish the best sematic correct html for the component you want to implement. This is relevant wrt the current accessibility requirements. 

2 - style it with css so it is layed out how you want it (according to the UX best practices). 

3 - Implement Widgets to generate that specific html (using functional classes) and use that css for GWT.

The advantage of using widgets as opposed to uibinder is that you keep all logic and structure in the java domain. I find the java domain more practical to work with and maintain down the lifecycle of the application - but YMMV.

Plus I find it's easier to modify. I recently had to do a redesign of an existing GWT application to comply with the EU accessibility guidelines, and it was done in 2 weeks. None of the widget logic and interaction was changed. Just the tags they generate and a bit of structure rework (like for instance adding <section> tags here and there).

If you have no experience with 1 and 2 - that's where AI can help.

rg,

Leon.

Op zaterdag 2 augustus 2025 om 00:48:21 UTC+2 schreef Craig Mitchell: