<h:form id="formTree">
<h:panelGrid columns="2" width="100%" columnClasses="col1,col2">
<rich:tree id="formTree" style="width:300px" nodeSelectListener="#{simpleTreeBean.processSelection}"
reRender="selectedNode" ajaxSubmitSelection="true" switchType="client"
value="#{simpleTreeBean.treeNode}" var="item">
</rich:tree>
<h:outputText escape="false" value="Selected Node: #{simpleTreeBean.nodeTitle}" id="selectedNode" />
</h:panelGrid>
</h:form>
i had the same problem, i solved it with simple commandlink and action method, with an additional fparam of the selected item id. The action method then delivers the next page via return "viewid".