This section describes new features available in Oracle Application Express Release 2.2 (formerly Oracle HTML DB) and points you to additional information.
New name for Oracle HTML DB.
With release 2.2, Oracle HTML DB has been renamed to Oracle Application Express. All APIs have also been renamed using the prefix APEX_. Note that previous API names are still supported. See "Oracle Application Express APIs".
New Item Finder search tool.
Numerous pages in Application Builder contain a new icon, resembling a flashlight. Clicking this icon displays the Item Finder window. You can use this handy tool to search for items, pages, queries, tables, or PL/SQL objects within the pages of an application. See "Searching for Items, Pages, Queries, Tables, or PL/SQL Code".
Component-level Export.
You can now export shared components or components of a page. You can use this new feature to back up a component before editing it or to create an export that functions as a patch to another Oracle Application Express instance. See "Exporting Application Components".
Application packaging capability.
This release includes a new feature that dramatically simplifies the steps needed to export and install an application in another Oracle Application Express workspace or instance. Using the Supporting Objects utility, you can package the application export, its corresponding images, CSS, JavaScript, database object creation scripts, and seed data into a single file. This enables users to install an application and all supporting objects by uploading a single file and then navigating a simple installation wizard. See "How to Create a Packaged Application".
User interface and usability enhancements.
Key components within the user interface have been reorganized and redesigned to enhance work flow and ease-of-use, including:
Application administration tasks now appear on a list on the Workspace home page. See "About the Administration List".
The Application home page also features a new Tasks list. Use these handy links to delete or copy an application, manage page groups, manage page locks, and view application reports. See "About the Tasks List".
The Page Definition page has a new look. You can reduce the amount of information that appears on the page using icons at the top of each section of the page. By clicking an icon, you can focus on specific controls, components, or application logic. Plus, you now have the ability to copy more components of a page including computations, validations, process, and branches. See "About the Page Definition".
Additionally, Page attributes now display directly on the Page Definition. See "About Page Attributes". Also, you can quickly change the order in which regions, buttons, and items display using a new Reorder icon on the Page Definition. This new icon appears as a light green downward arrow and upward arrow. See "Reordering Page Components".
Your workspace name and user name now display at the bottom of each page. In previous releases this information appeared in the upper left corner.
The Workspace home page also features a new Utilities icon. Use Utilities to import and export data from the database, generate DDL, view object reports, and restore dropped database objects. See "Using Application Express Utilities".
New navigation controls on attribute pages.
You can selectively show and hide sections on attributes pages by clicking the navigation buttons at the top of the page. When you select a button at the top of the page, the selected section appears and all other sections are temporarily hidden. To view all sections of the page, click Show All. See "About Navigation Alternatives".
Access Control Wizard.
The Access Control Wizard enables you to create an Access Control List and control access to an application, individual pages, or page components. The Access Control Wizard creates a new page named Access Control Administration. You can use this page to select an application mode and assign privileges to users. See "Controlling Access to Applications, Pages, and Page Components".
Comment on applications, pages, or group of pages.
Use the Developer Comment icon to add comments to an application, a page, or a group of pages. The Developer Comment icon resembles a green balloon and displays on any page in Application Builder that is related to a specific application. See "Adding Developer Comments".
Enhanced and refined application reports.
Application reports have been enhanced and reorganized to make them easier to find and easier to use. See "Viewing Application Reports".
New Shared Components reports.
Release 2.2 includes a number of new and enhanced Shared Component reports. See "Accessing Reports on Shared Components".
Improved Create Page Wizards.
All create page wizards enable you to create the breadcrumb for a page when you create the page. Existing breadcrumbs are displayed in a hierarchal report so you can easily identify a new pages breadcrumb. This new functionality helps you incorporate new pages into existing navigational controls. See "Adding Pages to an Application".
Timestamp datatype support.
In release 2.2, you can build forms and calendars on tables that have columns of type TIMESTAMP.
Option to Copy Region Items When Copying a Region.
When you copy a region, you can now choose to also copy buttons and items within that region. See "Copying a Region".
Improved Popup Lists of Values.
In release 2.2, you can now control Null return values in Popup list of values definitions. The list of values attributes for items with a display type of Popup List of Values now fully supports the Display Null attribute. Note that this may slightly alter the behavior of applications created in previous versions of Oracle Application Express. See Oracle Database Application Express Release Notes.
Enhanced Debugging.
You can now debug Application Express Accept Page processing in addition to Show Page processing. Previously when you posted a page that then did a branch using a redirect, you would lose the debug messages generated by the Application Express engine's Accept Page processing. Now when you branch in this manner, you will see the Accept Page processing debug output available on the next page view. See "Understanding Page Processing and Page Rendering" and "Accessing Debug Mode".
Page Copying from Another Application.
You can now copy a page from one application into another. During the copy process, you can also copy referenced shared components or change the mappings to shared components in the target application. See "Copying a Page".
New online Help user interface.
Procedural Help in this release features an improved user interface. You can browse through topics using an expandable table of contents. In addition, each help topic includes a breadcrumb trail at the top of each page. See "About Procedural Online Help".