Dmitry -
Thanks for the response. I am actually using "oncomplete", and the modal does not display. Maybe I've got something else wrong. Here's the markup I'm using to try to do this:

<a4j:commandLink value="My Profile"
oncomplete="Richfaces.showModalPanel('userProfilePanel',{top:50, left:200});blur();"
styleClass="headerText"
style="padding: 0 4px 0 4px; text-decoration: none;"
title="Edit my profile" rendered="#{identity.loggedIn}"
action="#{profileManager.initUser}"
reRender="welcomePanel" >

 <a4j:actionparam name="modalName"
value="userProfile"
assignTo="#{modalManager.modalName}" />

</a4j:commandLink>

<a4j:outputPanel id="welcomePanel">
 <f:subview id="userProfilePage" rendered="#{modalManager.modalName=='userProfile'}">
 <%@include file="admin/userProfile.jsp" %>
 </f:subview>
</a4j:outputPanel>

Dmitry -
Yes, I am sure the modal panel is not inside a form - I have a form inside the modal panel, and I'm aware of the nested form problem. Also, I can debug into my "modalManager" bean, or do a System.out.println, and I see that the modal name is set to its proper value just prior to entering the "initUser" method in the "profileManager" bean. So all looks OK to me at this point. There must be something else - I just can't see it.
- Joe

Dmitry -
Here is the markup in the included file. Notice that I have a few sub-includes in here, but there are no form tags or anything in them. Also, please understand that the jsp markup has worked under different circumstances. I used to include the markup for all the rich:modalPanel pages in the primary page, and everything worked fine, but as the number of modals grew, I wanted to provide a little more efficiency by seeing how it would work to load each one via ajax only when needed. So I created the "modalManager" bean, and added the "modalName" property, and am trying to use the a4j:actionparam approach. Thanks again for your help.

<rich:modalPanel id="userProfilePanel" resizeable="false"
 width="580" minHeight="460" zindex="2000">

 <f:facet name="header">
 <a4j:outputPanel ajaxRendered="true">
 <h:outputText value="User Profile (#{user.fullName})" />
 </a4j:outputPanel>
 </f:facet>

 <f:facet name="controls">
 <h:graphicImage value="/static/img/close.png" style="cursor:pointer"
 onclick="Richfaces.hideModalPanel('userProfilePanel')" >
 </h:graphicImage>
 </f:facet>

 <h:form id="userProfileForm">

 <a4j:outputPanel id="userProfileLinksPanel" style="font: normal 12pt arial; ">
 <a4j:commandLink value="User Information" reRender="infoPanel,userProfileMessages" style="margin-right: 20px;">
 <a4j:actionparam name="profilePanelName" value="profile" assignTo="#{profileManager.panelName}" />
 </a4j:commandLink>
 <a4j:commandLink value="Change Password" reRender="infoPanel,userProfileMessages">
 <a4j:actionparam name="profilePanelName" value="changePassword" assignTo="#{profileManager.panelName}" />
 </a4j:commandLink>
 </a4j:outputPanel>

 <rich:spacer height="2" />


 <a4j:outputPanel id="infoPanel">


 <a4j:outputPanel layout="block" rendered="#{profileManager.panelName == 'profile'}">


 <rich:tabPanel switchType="client" width="100%" height="280">

 <rich:tab label="Name & Contact">
 <f:subview id="userInfoPage">
 <%@include file="userInfo.jsp" %>
 </f:subview>
 </rich:tab>

 <rich:tab label="Account Settings">
 <f:subview id="accountInfoPage">
 <%@include file="accountInfo.jsp" %>
 </f:subview>
 </rich:tab>

 <rich:tab label="My Preferences">
 <f:subview id="userPreferencesPage">
 <%@include file="userPreferences.jsp" %>
 </f:subview>
 </rich:tab>

 </rich:tabPanel>

 <rich:separator height="2" lineType="solid" style="padding: 8px;"></rich:separator>
 <div class="actionButtons" style="text-align: right;">
 <a4j:commandButton action="#{profileManager.cancel}"
 value="Cancel"
 onclick="Richfaces.hideModalPanel('userProfilePanel')"
 style="margin-right: 20px;" />
 <a4j:commandButton action="#{profileManager.savePersonalAndAccountInfo}"
 value="Save Personal & Account Information"
 reRender="userProfileMessages,loginWelcome" />
 </div>

 </a4j:outputPanel>

 <f:subview id="passwordChangePage" rendered="#{profileManager.panelName == 'changePassword'}">
 <%@include file="passwordChange.jsp" %>
 </f:subview>



 </a4j:outputPanel>


 </h:form>
</rich:modalPanel>

Dmitry -
The modalManager bean is SESSION scope, and no, I don't see the markup after rerendering. But since this is an ajax rerendering, I don't think I should be able to see it, should I? Also, I tried simply to use the following markup in the panel to rerender:

<a4j:outputPanel id="welcomePanel">
 <h:outputText value="Modal Name: #{modalManager.modalName}" />
</a4j:outputPanel>

Dmitry -
I tried both of your latest suggestions, and still could not get the rich:modalPanel to appear when the link was clicked. I simplified the page code to the following:

 <h:form id="welcomeForm">
 <a4j:commandLink value="My Profile"
 oncomplete="Richfaces.showModalPanel('userProfilePanel',{top:50, left:200});blur();"
 styleClass="headerText"
 style="padding: 0 4px 0 4px; text-decoration: none; color: blue;"
 title="Edit my profile"
 rendered="#{identity.loggedIn}"
 action="#{profileManager.initUser}"
 reRender="welcomePanel" >

 <a4j:actionparam name="modalName" value="userProfile" assignTo="#{modalManager.modalName}" />

 </a4j:commandLink>
 </h:form>

 <a4j:outputPanel id="welcomePanel" layout="block" style="border: 1px solid red;">
 <h:outputText value="Modal Name: #{modalManager.modalName}" />

 <rich:modalPanel id="userProfilePanel" resizeable="false"
 width="580" minHeight="460"
 rendered="#{modalManager.modalName == 'userProfile'}">

 <f:facet name="header">
 <a4j:outputPanel ajaxRendered="true">
 <h:outputText value="User Profile (#{user.fullName})" />
 </a4j:outputPanel>
 </f:facet>

 <f:facet name="controls">
 <h:graphicImage value="/static/img/close.png" style="cursor:pointer"
 onclick="Richfaces.hideModalPanel('userProfilePanel')" >
 </h:graphicImage>
 </f:facet>

 <h:form id="userProfileForm">
 <f:verbatim>This is a test</f:verbatim>
 </h:form>
 </rich:modalPanel>

 </a4j:outputPanel>