Passing parameters to a visualforce page and between pages

9:31 AM


What is a Parameter?
A parameter is a name value pair that goes into the URL of a page. The first parameter starts with a '?' and the subsequent start with a '&'.
http://www.google.com?browser=chrome&version=12
We have two parameters in this URL. browser with a value of 'chrome', and version with a value of '12'.

Many a times you would want to pass parameters to a visualforce page..
There are a number of Situations in which you would want this. This article covers a few of them.

Scenario 1 - From a Custom Button. 

When you create a custom button on "Account",  you will only have the option of selecting Visualforce pages that have the "standardcontroller="Account"" attribute.

To overcome this restriction, select the content source as URL and not visualforce... Then you could type the URL as \apex\yourpage.. And what more you can now pass parameters as you need using merge fields... This method has got one more advantage.. You are not forced to use a standard controller with an extension just for your page to appear in the list when you actually do not need a standard controller..



Situation 2 - From a Link.

When you want to pass parameters between visualforce pages use the <apex:param> tag....

Here is a small sample program

Step 1: Create a Visualforce page called SamplePage1....

<apex:page >
<apex:outputlink value="/apex/SamplePage2"> Click Here <apex:param name="msg" value="success"/> </apex:outputlink>
</apex:page>

Step2:  Create a Visualforce page called SamplePage2

<apex:page controller="Sampleclass"> </apex:page>

Step 3: On SamplePage1 Click on the " Click Here" link. You will see that when you click on the link you will navigate to the SamplePage2. Check the URL now..


https://na5.salesforce.com/apex/SamplePage2?msg=success

You can see that the parameter " msg" with value "success" has been passed to the new page.


Pagereference().getParameters().put()

PageReference is a type in Apex. Read the documentation here. 


When you click a command button or a command link in a visualforce page, you call a method. The return type 
of this method would be a PageReference meaning that, after clicking the button the user will be redirected to a 
new Page. Below is a sample code, which shows how to pass parameters from a PageReference

public Pagereference gotonewpage()
{     
     PageReference pageRef = Page.existingPageName;
     pageRef.getParameters().put('msg','success');
     return PageRef
}


existingPageName - actual name of a visualforce page


Retrieve Parameter Values in Apex Class:


The Apex Class code would be 

public class Sampleclass
{
Public String message = System.currentPagereference().getParameters().get('msg');
}

So now, the variable "message" would store the value of your parameter "msg"....


How to Cover this code in TEST Method?????


public class Sampleclass
{
Public String message = System.currentPagereference().getParameters().get('msg');
public static testmethod void SampleclassTest()
{
System.currentPagereference().getParameters().put('msg','success');
}
}



And at last some suggestions...


Be careful with the values you pass in the URL.. Special Characters will cause problems
when passed in the URL.. For ex if you pass the Account Name "Shah & shah".. this would'nt
pass properly as the special character "&" can't get into the URL..
So as a best practice always pass ID's.. you could write a query and retrieve any other field 
in the APEX Class


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25 comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 25, 2010 at 8:19 AM

    just what i needed ! thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousAugust 27, 2010 at 9:45 AM

    Nice workaround. I've got an action="{!autoRun}" prop in my VF Page as in:

    apex:page standardController="Task"
    extensions="VFController"
    action="{!autoRun}">





    You tried calling Apex Code from a button. If you see this page, something went wrong. You should have
    been redirected back to the record you clicked the button from.



    Special thanks to Scott Hemmeter for this example. Anyway, I have a button that fires off the event. As long as the button has its Content Source set to Visualforce Page, !auto run triggers. However, if I set Content Source to URL and then point to \apex\VFTaskMachine (which is my VF Page), the browser comes back saying that the URL doesn't exist?! I can't even hit this page manually by entering the full URL in web browser. It's really weird as I can load up my other test apex pages just fine.

    Any ideas??

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 22, 2011 at 12:05 AM

    Thanks dude.I am good to start with it.... :) Keep posting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Edwin RaymondJanuary 27, 2011 at 12:26 PM

    Thanks buddy.. :) will try and post more

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ArrifyMarch 21, 2024 at 10:26 PM

      🚀 Super informative post on passing parameters to and between Visualforce pages! The examples are crystal clear 💎 and cover all the key scenarios like custom buttons 🔘, links between pages 🔗, and using PageReference. The test class example 🧪 is really helpful too. Overall, a fantastic resource for anyone working with Visualforce and parameter passing in Salesforce! 👏🏼👍🌟

      Delete
  5. vvnraoOctober 19, 2011 at 5:08 AM

    Very Clear Explanation..
    Nice post. Thanku so much!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousOctober 22, 2011 at 11:10 AM

    Thankyou!.....Your Article was of immense help in a project I'm trying to do.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ArunDecember 26, 2011 at 11:31 PM

    how to pass a list from one page to another page

    ReplyDelete
  8. MuthuBLJanuary 18, 2012 at 6:07 AM

    Thanks Dude.. but i am still with doubts to get clarified..

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJanuary 29, 2012 at 1:49 PM

    Thankyou....I have passed the parameters using id.....But still not able to retrieve the other fields on the next page. Can you please give me a sample code for this.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AnonymousFebruary 27, 2012 at 6:54 AM

    If you have a Custom Button on a Salesforce "std" page that directs to a VF page that presents a list of records to a user from which they choose one of them, how would you get the selected record ID back into the "std" SF page to populate into a field on the page?

    Can that be done?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Rahul BhattApril 3, 2012 at 9:49 AM

    is there any way to hide this param from the URL ?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Edwin RaymondApril 3, 2012 at 4:34 PM

    Not sure if you could do it.. You might try using the URLENCODE function .. Not sure if Pagereference and SetRedict as false would work but you can try

    ReplyDelete
  13. sureshApril 19, 2012 at 8:52 PM

    how to pass record values between two pages which have one controller 2 pages, records may be more than one

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnonymousApril 25, 2012 at 4:36 PM

      when you have the same controller, then you need not pass values... When you move between the pages set redirect = false in your pagerefernce methods.. This way the methods and variables retain the same value even when you move from one page to another.. You may want to read about "viewstate" if what i said is confusing...

      Delete
  14. AnonymousOctober 17, 2012 at 8:26 PM

    I am trying to pass custom field of ‘currency’ type from Account object to another currency field in a Custom object ‘XYZ’ (related list of Account) through a new custom button. In the URL, the currency value is being passed along with the currecy code.. i.e., SGD 9,000,000. The same is populated in the custom field, so it gives me an error – ‘Invalid currency’ as the currency field only accepts numbers not the text(SGD). If I take out SGD manually after it is populated and save the record, I get no error.

    I need to make sure SGD is not passed in the URL. I tried SUBSTITUTE and others,but nothing worked. Any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
  15. UnknownSeptember 13, 2013 at 4:18 PM

    thanks

    ReplyDelete
  16. AnonymousJanuary 15, 2014 at 2:22 PM

    Awesome Explanation!! I am very new to programming but i can still understand the contnet. Can you please try to post something on Wrapper Classes in a similar way?

    Thank You.

    ReplyDelete
  17. YASHJuly 27, 2014 at 2:11 PM

    How to pass parameter as hidden to VF page

    ReplyDelete
  18. TEJASDecember 17, 2014 at 1:04 AM

    Awesome..but i have exact same use case
    if you pass the Account Name "Shah & shah".. this would'nt
    pass properly as the special character "&" can't get into the URL..
    how do i pass value like "Shah & shah"... Appreciate your help..

    ReplyDelete
  19. amitMay 5, 2015 at 3:54 AM

    Good post but i want to know how to pass list variable from visualforce page to controller class

    ReplyDelete
  20. SantoshJune 12, 2015 at 9:14 PM

    Hi Can you tell how to pass a query sting parameter to custom VF report on dashboard?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousMarch 15, 2016 at 1:49 AM

    thanks very helpfull

    ReplyDelete
  22. AnonymousNovember 25, 2017 at 10:51 PM

    I would like to call the parameter of pagereference method to another class. How can I achive this functionalty?

    Dummy Code-
    public pageReference testmethod(){

    CallingDetails(test, test1);
    pageReference page;
    pageReference pageRef = new PageReference('/apex/test');
    pageRef.getParameters().put('test',test);
    pageRef.getParameters().put('test1',test1);
    if(test == testMap.get(RegId) && test1 == testMap.get(RegId)){
    if(test != null && test1 != null){
    page = new Pagereference('/apex/test1');
    page.setRedirect(true);
    }
    }
    return page;
    }
    public void CallingDetails(String test, String test1){

    System.debug('test--'+test);
    System.debug('test1--'+test1);
    Studentlist = new list();
    for(test t : [Select Id, test, test1 from test where test =:test AND test1=:test1]){
    }
    }

    ReplyDelete
  23. Ankit shArmaJuly 8, 2020 at 10:11 AM

    Hello i have three dropdown and each dropdown have sub menu. How to send in url dropdown value + sub menu value.

    ReplyDelete