Defining a New Menu Structure (User, System Administrator, and Flexfields Help)


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Defining a New Menu Structure

When defining a new menu structure:

Create a logical, hierarchical listing of functions. This allows for easy exclusion of functions when customizing the menu structure for different responsibilities.

Create a logical, hierarchical menu that guides users to their application forms.

Tasks for Defining a Custom Menu Structure

Determine the application functionality required for different job responsibilities.

Identify predefined menus, forms, and form subfunctions to use as entries when defining a new menu. Understand predefined menus by printing Menu Reports using the Submit Requests window.

Suggestion: To simplify your work, use predefined menus for your menu entries. You can exclude individual functions after a menu structure is assigned to a responsibility.

Plan your menu structure. Sketch out your menu designs.

Define the lowest-level menus first. A menu must be defined before it can be selected as an entry on another menu.

Assign menus and functions to higher-level menus.

Assign menus and functions to a top-level menu (root menu).

Document your menu structure by printing a Menu Report.

Warning: Start with a blank Menus form (blank screen). Menus cannot be copied. A menu saved under a different name overwrites the original menu (there is no "Save As" feature).

Notes About Defining Menus

Build Menus From Scratch

Menus cannot be copied. Menu definitions cannot be saved under a different name (i.e., there is no "Save As" capability).

When a menu name displays in the Menus form, be sure you are in Query mode before overwriting the menu's name.

Define Menus for Fast and Easy Keyboard Use

Design menu prompts with unique first letters, so typing the first letter automatically selects the form or menu

Design the sequence of menu prompts with the most frequently used functions first (i.e., lower sequence numbers).

Entries cannot be copied from one menu definition to another.

Note when Changing Menu Names or Modifying Entries

When you change a menu's name, the menu entries are not affected. The menu's definition exists under the new name.

Other menus calling the menu by its old menu name, automatically call the same menu by its new (revised) name.

When defining menus or selecting a "root" menu to assign to a responsibility, the old menu name is not in a list of values.

When modifying a predefined menu, all other menus that call that menu display the menu's modifications.

For example, if you modify GL_TOP by adding another prompt that calls a form function, all menus that call GL_TOP will display the additional prompt when GL_TOP displays.

Preserving Custom Menus Across Upgrades

Preserve custom menus during upgrades of Oracle Applications by using unique names for your custom menus. For example, you can start the menu's name with the application short name of a custom application. Define a custom application named Custom General Ledger, whose application short name is CGL. Define your custom menu names to start with CGL, for example, CGL_MY_MENU.

Remember that the Oracle Applications standard menus may be overwritten with upgrade versions. Therefore, if you attached your custom menu as a submenu to one of the preseeded Oracle Applications menus, recreate the attachment to it following an upgrade. An alternative is to attach a standard Oracle Applications menu as a submenu to your custom mnu; the link from your custom menu to the standard menu should survive the upgrade.