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Integration Patterns

When to Use

Use this guide when combining BEF with other Drupal modules — Views AJAX, Facets, Search API, Select2, or Chosen.

Decision

BEF + Views AJAX:

Aspect Behavior
Auto-submit Works — submits via AJAX instead of page reload
Links widget Auto-adds bef-links-use-ajax class when View has AJAX
Sliders Work — slider values trigger AJAX submit
Focus restoration After AJAX refresh, BEF refocuses the last-triggered element

Enable: Views UI → Advanced → Use AJAX: Yes. BEF detects this automatically.

BEF + Facets: Requires the facets_exposed_filters sub-module as a bridge. BEF explicitly supports FacetsFilter in its isApplicable() logic.

BEF + Search API: SearchApiFulltext filters work with BEF widgets. Other Search API filters that extend standard Views filter classes also work.

BEF + Select2 / Chosen: Auto-submit JS excludes .select2-search__field and .chosen-search-input to prevent double-submission.

Companion contrib modules:

Module Integration
Select2 Additional widget options for exposed filters
Selective BEF Show only filter options that have results
Views Dependent Filters Show/hide filters based on other filter values
Token Token replacement in filter descriptions

Pattern

# Enabling AJAX on a View (BEF detects it automatically):
Views UI → Advanced → Use AJAX → Yes

# BEF + Facets setup:
1. Enable facets_exposed_filters sub-module
2. Configure Facets sources as Views exposed filters
3. BEF can then render those as checkboxes, links, etc.

Common Mistakes

  • Wrong: Trying to use BEF widgets on Facets without facets_exposed_filters → Right: Facets uses its own rendering. The bridge sub-module is required.
  • Wrong: Older Select2 versions conflicting with auto-submit → Right: Older Select2 may trigger change events that confuse auto-submit. Update to latest versions.
  • Wrong: AJAX + exposed form as block expecting no layout issues → Right: When the form is a block and the View uses AJAX, layout jumps can occur. AJAX commands target the View's wrapper correctly, but test the UX.

See Also