Types of Flexfields Information
While flexfields do not require programming, they do allow you to perform significant customizations to the Oracle Applications, so they do require enough explanation for you to get the most out of the features they provide. Also, once you learn how to plan and set up one Oracle Applications feature that is built using a flexfield, you will find it much easier to set up any other Oracle Applications feature that uses a flexfield.
There are two main types of flexfield information: generic information on planning for and setting up any flexfield, and specific information on the particular Oracle Applications features that are built using flexfields. For example, the chapter "Planning and Defining Key Flexfields" applies to all key flexfields and describes setup procedures such as which forms you need to use. For specific information on setting up a particular flexfield for a product, see the Oracle [Product] User's Guide. For example, if you are designing and setting up the Accounting Flexfield, refer to the Oracle General Ledger User's Guide. If you have not set up a flexfield before, you should be sure you read and understand both of these types of information thoroughly.
This guide also contains information for more advanced flexfield-related customizations. For example, you may want to write custom reports that access flexfields tables and information using flexfield routines. Or, you may want to write custom reports that use flexfields as report parameters. Finally, you may want to write a Standard Request Submission report that has several special report parameters (Standard Request Submission uses descriptive flexfields to provide pop-up windows for users to enter choices such as values they want to report on).
Note that this guide does not contain information on how to use a flexfield as an end user, such how to enter or query flexfield data or how to set user profile options such as Flexfields:Shorthand Entry that affect the end-user behavior of a flexfield. You should see the Oracle Applications User's Guide for this information.
Concepts and Processes
Several chapters contain general flexfields information such as flexfields concepts and planning and setup procedures. These chapters apply to all (key or descriptive) flexfields. These chapters contain both basic and advanced material. The chapters "Standard Request Submission" and "Reporting on Flexfields Data" contain information you need to build custom reports at your site, while the chapter "Building Key Flexfields into Forms" contains syntax for key flexfields routines.
Specific Flexfields Information
The chapter "Key Flexfields in Oracle Applications" contains specific information about particular flexfields such as the Accounting Flexfield in the Oracle Financials products and the System Items Flexfield (Item Flexfield) used by products such as Oracle Inventory. Most of this material appears in tabular form. For more specific information, see the Oracle [Product] User's Guide for the owning application.
Form Descriptions
The Form Descriptions chapter contains detailed descriptions of all of the flexfield setup forms you need to implement flexfields at your site.
Account Generator
This chapter contains material you need to implement the Account Generator using Oracle Workflow at your site, including conceptual information and the related form description.
Glossary
At the end of the book, we include a Glossary of flexfields terms.
See Also
Warning About Changing Data
Overview of Flexfield Concepts
Key Flexfields
Descriptive Flexfields
Benefits of Flexfields
Basic Flexfields Concepts
Overview of Setting up Flexfields
