When you create an LOV you specify which columns from the underlying record group should be included in the LOV. You can designate a return item for any column that you include in the LOV. When the end user selects a choice from the LOV, Oracle Forms assigns the values from the columns in the selected record to their corresponding return items.
This feature enables end users to fill in a text item by selecting values from an LOV. Typically, end users navigate to the text item and then press [List of Values] to invoke a List of entries that are valid for that item. When the end user selects a value, Oracle Forms automatically returns that value into the text item. Using an LOV saves keystrokes during data-entry and ensures that the value entered is valid for that item.
This feature can also be used to populate form items with values from hidden columns. A hidden column is any column that was included in the LOV structure but whose values are not displayed in the LOV window. (Remember that you specify which columns from the underlying record group are included in the LOV when you define the LOV.)
Consider an LOV that displays customer names. The LOV is based on a query record group that includes columns from the Customer table, including name, id, phone, and contact. There is a return item for each column in the LOV.
The end user can invoke the LOV by pressing [List of Values] from the cust_block.name text item. When the end user selects a customer name from the LOV, Oracle Forms returns all of the information about that customer into the corresponding return items.
About specifying LOV return items