GWT - Dialog Box with Places/Activities

Question

I have a header bar at the top of the page which contains buttons and anchors. One of the anchors on the header bar opens a dialog doing the following:

The view calls the activity which does a goTo to a new place, in the start method of the activity which is associated with this place, is a call to instantiate a custom dialog box.

Now there are two problems which are occurring here:

1) Because the place is being navigated to from the header bar, the header bar activity is being shut down by the activity manager so the buttons do not work after clicking the anchor. I do not want the header bar activity to be shut down.

2) Upon clicking this anchor, my main panel in the centre of the screen becomes blank. I have no idea why this is happening but obviously dont want it to.

How to fix these two issues?

Answer 1

I do not want the header bar activity to be shut down.

Have a look at David Chandler's Google I/O 2011 GWT session. It touches on the type of master/details architecture you're describing. I highly recommend it in general and for this question specifically the part following the 18th minute, when David begins a thorough overview of Activities and Places.

Just as suggested in the presentation, you might choose changes to your header bar to happen in reaction to PlaceChangeEvents only, without there being a full-fledged header bar activity.