In the Oracle Application Express development environment, developers log in to a shared work area called a workspace. Users are divided into two primary roles: developer and workspace administrator.
Developers can create and edit applications as well as view developer activity, session state, workspace activity, application, and schema reports. Workspace administrators additionally can create and edit user accounts, manage groups, and manage development services. This section describes how to access many of these reports and perform Workspace administrator tasks.
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In an Oracle Application Express development environment, there are two different administrator roles:
A Workspace administrator performs administrator tasks specific to a workspace such as managing user accounts, monitoring workspace activity, and viewing log files. In contrast, an Oracle Application Express administrator is a superuser that manages the entire hosted instance. In order to become a Workspace administrator, an existing administrator must give the developer administrator privileges on the Edit User Page.
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"Managing an Oracle Application Express Hosted Service" for more information on the responsibilities of an Oracle Application Express administratorUse the Application Administration page to manage your application development environment. The Application Administration page contains the following icons:
Manage Services links to the Manage Services page. Use this page to manage services, including session state, log files, service termination, schema requests, storage requests, schema reports, preferences, and application models. See "About the Manage Services Page".
Manage Application Express Users links to the Manage Application Express Users page. Use this page to manage Application Express user accounts and user groups. See "Managing Application Express Users".
Monitor Activity links to the Monitor Activity page. Use this page to monitor changes to page views and entire applications. See "Monitoring Activity".
A Tasks list displays on the right side of the page and displays the following links:
Change Password links to a form you can use to change your password. See Resetting Your Password from Application Administration.
About Application Express links to an About page that lists basic product information. See "Viewing the Application Express Product Information Page".
This section contains the following topics:
Use the Application Administration page to manage your application development environment.
To access the Application Administration page:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
On the Administration list, click Administration.
The Application Administration page appears.
To reset your password from the Application Administration page:
Log in to Oracle Application Express. See "Logging In to Oracle Application Express".
On the Tasks list, click Administration.
The Application Administration page appears.
On the Tasks list, click Change Password.
In Change Password, enter the following:
Enter Current Password - Enter your current password.
Enter New Password - Enter your new password.
Confirm New Password - Enter your new password again.
Click Apply Changes.
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""Changing an End User Password"The About Application Express page lists basic product information. You can access the About Application Express page from either the Workspace home page or the Application Administration page.
The About Application Express page displays the following product information:
Product build
Schema compatibility
Last DDL time
Host schema
Application Owner
Workspace ID
Workspace Name
Current user
Language Preference
Current Time (on server)
To view the About Application Express page:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
On the Administration list, click About Application Express.
The About Application Express page appears.
You can use the Manage Services page to manage session state, log files, service termination, schema requests, storage requests, schema reports, preferences, and application models.
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To access the Manage Services Page:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
The Manage Services pages page contains the following icons:
Workspace Overview. Use the Workspace Overview page to view a summary report about the current workspace. See "Viewing the Workspace Overview Report".
Session State. Use the Session State page to purge session state or user preferences. See "Managing Session State and User Preferences".
Manage Logs. Use the Manage Logs page to purge the Developer Activity and External Count Clicks log. See "Managing Log Files".
Request Service Termination. Use the Request Service Termination page to terminate the current workspace. See "Terminating a Workspace Service".
Request Schema. Use the Request Database Schema page to request a new database schema. See "Requesting a Database Schema".
Request Storage. Use the Request Storage page to submit a request for additional storage space for your workspace. See "Requesting Additional Storage".
Schema Reports. Use the links on the Schema Reports page to view detailed report about the schemas in the current workspace. See "Viewing Schema Reports".
Preferences. Use the Preferences page to disable and enable application preferences such as PL/SQL program unit editing in Object Browser. See "Disabling PL/SQL Program Unit Editing".
Application Models. Use the Application Models page to search for and delete application models. See "Managing Application Models".
Workspace administrators can view a summary report about the current workspace by selecting Workspace Overview on the Manage Services page.
To view a summary report about the current workspace:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Workspace Overview.
Scroll down to view the report.
Terminating a workspace service removes all data, database objects, database schemas, tablespaces, applications, scripts, files from the current Application Express instance.
To submit a request to the Oracle Application Express administrator to terminate workspace service:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Request Service Termination.
Click the Request Termination button.
Confirm your request by clicking Terminate Service.
To submit a request to the Oracle Application Express administrator for a new database schema:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Request Schema.
For Identify Schema:
Specify whether to request a new schema or use an existing schema and then click Next.
For Schema Name, enter a new name or select one from the list.
Click Next.
Review the online instructions and click Finish.
To submit a request to the Oracle Application Express administrator for additional storage space for your workspace:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Request Storage.
Specify the amount of storage to add and click Request Storage.
Schema Reports offer summaries of schema tablespace utilization and database privileges by schema as well as a list of all database schemas available in the current workspace.
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"Viewing Application Reports"To view Schema Reports:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Schema Reports.
Available Schema Reports include:
Schema Tablespace Utilization
Database Privileges by Schema
Workspace Schemas
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"Viewing Application Reports"A session is a logical construct that establishes persistence (or stateful behavior) across page views. Each session is assigned a unique ID, which the Application Express engine uses to store and retrieve an application's working set of data (or session state) before and after each page view. Sessions persist in the database until purged.
Topics in this section include:
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"Understanding Session State Management"A session establishes persistence (or stateful behavior) across page views. You view and purge session state for the current session or purge existing sessions by age. Alternatively, you can first review session details on the Session State page and then purge.
Topics in this section include:
To view session state for the current session:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Session State.
When the Session State page appears, click Current preferences and session state with an option to purge.
From the Currrent Preferences and Session State page:
To view information about the current session, click View Session State.
To reset the session state for the current session, click Purge Session State.
To purge existing sessions by age:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Session State.
Select Purge sessions by age.
Make a selection from the Sessions older than list.
Click one of the following buttons:
Report Session generates a report detailing the total number of sessions for the workspace, the number of users, and the number of old sessions.
Purge Sessions purges existing sessions by age.
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"Viewing Session State"You can determine whether to remove existing sessions by first reviewing session details on the Session State page.
To view session details prior to removing session state:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Session State.
Select Recent sessions with drill down to session details.
To narrow the results, select a time frame, specify a user, and click Go.
To view session details, select the session ID.
The Session Details page appears.
Click one of the following buttons:
Remove Session. Removes the record of the session from the SESSIONS table along with the session state (including collections data) associated with the session.
Any user using a session that is removed will no longer be able to use the session and will be prompted to re-authenticate upon their next page request (in most situations). This option could be used by administrators who might have a need to make sure a specific user could no longer access an Oracle Application Express application.
Remove State. Clears the session data from the session state tables (including collections data) but does not remove the session record. Removing a session is a good approach for developers during debugging.
This is the equivalent of clearing session state for the current session using the Clear Cache argument value SESSION in the f?p URL. This option might also be used by developers during debugging.
You can use preferences to store values for a specific Application Express user across distinct sessions. Once set, these preferences can be removed programatically or manually. You can set user preferences by creating a page process, by the calculation of a preference Item Source Value, or programatically using a PL/SQL API.
Topics in this section include:
To manage user preferences for the current user:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Session State.
When the Session State page appears, click Current preferences and session state with an option to purge.
From the Current Preferences and Session State page:
To view preferences for the current user, click View Preferences.
To reset user preferences for the current user, click Reset Preferences.
You view preferences for a specific user on the Purge Preferences report.
To view the Purge Preferences report:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Session State.
On the Session State page, select Preferences by user.
The Preferences by Users page appears.
Specify a user and click Go.
You can set user preferences within your application through the creation of a page process, by creating a preference item, or programatically.
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To set user preference values by creating a page process:
Navigate to the appropriate Page Definition:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click the Application Builder icon.
Select an application.
Select a page.
The Page Definition appears.
Under Processes, click the Create icon.
The Create Page Process Wizard appears.
For the process category, select Session State.
For the process type, select one of the following:
Set Preference to value of item
Set Preference to value of item if item is not null
Specify a process name, sequence, and processing point.
Specify the preference value in the field provided using the format:
PreferenceName:Item
Click Page Items to see a list of available items.
Click Create Process.
You can set the source of an item based on a user preference by defining the item source type as Preference.
To define the source of item based on a user preference:
Navigate to the appropriate Page Definition:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click the Application Builder icon.
Select an application.
Select a page.
The Page Definition appears.
Under Items, click the Create icon.
The Create Item Wizard appears.
For the item type, select Hidden.
Specify the Item Name, sequence, and region.
From the Item Source list, select Preference.
In Item Source Value, enter the name of the preference.
Click Create Item.
To set or reference user preferences programatically, you must use a PL/SQL API. User-level caching is available programmatically. You can use the set_preference function to set a user level preference called NAMED_PREFERENCE. For example:
APEX_UTIL.SET_PREFERENCE( p_preference=>'NAMED_PREFERENCE', p_value =>:ITEM_NAME);
You can reference the value of a user preference using the function GET_PREFERENCES. For example:
NVL(APEX_UTIL.GET_PREFERENCE('NAMED_PREFERENCE'),15)
In the previous example, the preference would default to the value 15 if the preference contained no value.
To remove user preferences programatically, you must use a PL/SQL API. You can use the REMOVE_PREFERENCE procedure to remove a user level preference called NAMED_PREFERENCE. For example:
APEX_UTIL.REMOVE_PREFERENCE( p_preference=>'NAMED_PREFERENCE', p_value =>:ITEM_NAME);
You can reset user preferences by creating a page process and selecting the process type Reset Preferences.
To reset user preferences using a page process:
Navigate to the appropriate Page Definition:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click the Application Builder icon.
Select an application.
Select a page.
The Page Definition appears.
Under Processes, click the Create icon.
The Create Page Process Wizard appears.
For the process category, select Session State.
From Type, select Reset Preferences.
Specify a process name, sequence, and process point.
Follow the on-screen instructions.
You can purge preferences for a specific user on the Purge Preferences page.
To purge preferences for a specific user:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Session State.
On the Session State page, select Purge preferences by user.
The Purge Preferences page appears.
Select a specific user and click Report.
A report appears at the bottom of the page.
To purge the displayed user preferences, click Purge User Preferences.
Log entries older then one month are automatically deleted. Workspace administrators can manually purge developer logs and the External Count Clicks log on the Log files page.
Topics in this section include:
See Also:
"Managing Log Entries"The Developer Activity Log tracks changes to applications within the current workspace.
To purge the Developer Activity Log:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Manage Logs.
Click Purge Developer Log.
The External Clicks Log counts clicks from an application to an external site. You can implement this functionality using COUNT_CLICK procedure.
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"COUNT_CLICK Procedure"To purge the External Clicks Log:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Manage Logs.
Click Purge Click Log.
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"Monitoring Activity"By default, developers can change and compile PL/SQL source code when browsing database procedures, packages, and functions in Object Browser. You can disable PL/SQL program unit editing by selecting Do not allow PL/SQL program unit editing on the Preferences page.
To disable PL/SQL program unit editing:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Preferences.
The Preferences page appears.
Under PL/SQL Editing, select one of the following:
Allow PL/SQL program unit editing
Do not allow PL/SQL program unit editing
If you select Do not allow PL/SQL program unit editing, developers can still create and replace PL/SQL program units using scripts or SQL Commands.
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"Using SQL Commands"Running the Create Application Wizard creates an application model. This model contains basic application property values, such as the application pages and page definitions, DML processes, and multi-row operation processes. When you create a new application, you can base it on an existing application model, making the creation process more productive.
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"About the Create Application Wizard"This section contains the following topics:
You can remove unwanted application models on the Application Models page.
To delete an application model:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
Click Manage Services on the Administration list.
The Manage Services page appears.
Click Application Models.
The Application Models page appears.
To search for a model, enter a case insensitive query in the Model field and click Go.
Select the models you want to delete and click Delete Checked.
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"Creating an Application"Workspace administrators can create new user accounts, manage existing user accounts, and change user passwords. User accounts are particularly useful if you are using Application Express Authentication. Application Express Authentication checks the username and password against the Oracle Application Express account repository. The Application Express account repository contains account information that developers and administrators when logging in to Oracle Application Express applications.
Topics in this section include:
See Also:
"Exporting Workspace Users", "About Publishing the Application URL" and "About Application Express Account Credentials" for information about implementing Application Express AuthenticationWorkspace administrators can create three different types of user accounts:
Developers create and edit applications.
Workspace administrators perform administrator tasks specific to a workspace such as managing user accounts, monitoring workspace activity, and viewing log files.
End users have no development privileges and are defined to provide access control to applications that do not use an external authentication scheme.
Topics in this section include:
Developers can create and edit applications as well as view developer activity, session state, workspace activity, application, and schema reports.
To create a new developer:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Manage Application Express Users.
The Manage Application Express Users page appears.
Click Create Developer.
The Create User page appears.
Under User Identification, enter the appropriate information. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*).
Under Developer Privileges, specify the following:
Accessible Schemas - Enter a colon-delimited list of schemas for which this developer has permissions when using the SQL Workshop. This list of schemas restricts the user to a subset of the full set of schemas provisioned for the workspace and determines what schema names the user sees in SQL Workshop.
Default Schema - Identifies the default schema used for data browsing, application creation, and SQL script execution.
User is a developer - Select Yes.
Developers can create and edit applications as well as view developer activity, session state, workspace activity, application, and schema reports.
User is a workspace administrator - Select No.
Workspace administrators additionally can create and edit user accounts, manage groups, alter passwords of users within the same workspace, and manage development services.
Under User Groups, select an optional user group.
You can use groups to restrict access to various parts of an application. Groups are primarily useful when using Application Express Authentication.
Click Create User or Create and Create Another.
Workspace administrators perform administrator tasks specific to a workspace such as managing user accounts, managing groups, altering passwords of users within the same workspace, and managing development services.
To create a new workspace administrator:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Manage Application Express Users.
The Manage Application Express Users page appears.
Click Create Workspace Administrator.
The Create User page appears.
Under User Identification, enter the appropriate information. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*).
Under Developer Privileges, specify the following:
Accessible Schemas - Enter a colon-delimited list of schemas for which this developer has permissions when using the SQL Workshop. This list of schemas restricts the user to a subset of the full set of schemas provisioned for the workspace and determines what schema names the user sees in SQL Workshop.
Default Scheme - Identifies the default schema used for data browsing, application creation, and SQL script execution.
User is a developer - Select Yes.
Developers can create and edit applications as well as view developer activity, session state, workspace activity, application, and schema reports.
User is a workspace administrator - Select Yes.
Workspace administrators additionally can create and edit user accounts, manage groups, alter passwords of users within the same workspace, and manage development services.
Under User Groups, select an optional user group.
You can use groups to restrict access to various parts of an application. Groups are primarily useful when using Application Express Authentication.
Click Create User or Create and Create Another.
End users have no development privileges and can only access applications that do not use an external authentication scheme.
To create a new end user:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Manage Application Express Users.
The Manage Application Express Users page appears.
Click Create End User.
The Create User page appears.
Under User Identification, enter the appropriate information. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk (*).
Under Developer Privileges, specify the following:
Accessible Schemas - Enter a colon-delimited list of schemas for which this developer has permissions when using the SQL Workshop. This list of schemas restricts the user to a subset of the full set of schemas provisioned for the workspace and determines what schema names the user sees in SQL Workshop.
Default Schema - Identifies the default schema used for data browsing, application creation, and SQL script execution.
User is a developer - Select No.
User is a workspace administrator - Select No.
Under User Groups, select an optional user group.
You can use groups to restrict access to various parts of an application. Groups are primarily useful when using Application Express Authentication.
Click Create User or Create and Create Another.
Workspace administrators edit existing user accounts on the Edit User page.
To edit an existing user account:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Manage Application Express Users.
The Manage Application Express Users page appears.
Click Existing Users.
The Existing Users page appears. You control how the page displays by making a selection from the View list. Available options include:
Icons (the default) displays each user as a large icon.
Details displays each user as a line in a report.
Select a user.
The Edit User page appears.
Under Password, edit the current password by typing a new password in the Password and Confirm Password fields.
Under Developer Privileges:
Accessible Schemas - Enter a colon-delimited list of schemas for which this developer has permissions when using the SQL Workshop. This list of schemas restricts the user to a subset of the full set of schemas provisioned for the workspace and determines what schema names the user sees in SQL Workshop.
Default Schema - Identifies the default schema used for data browsing, application creation, and SQL script execution.
Specify whether the user is a developer only, or an administrator and a developer. Available options include:.
User is a developer - Developers can create and edit applications as well as view developer activity, session state, workspace activity, application, and schema reports.
User is a workspace administrator - In addition to having developer privileges, workspace administrators can create and edit user accounts, manage groups, alter passwords of users within the same workspace, and manage development services.
Under User Groups, select an optional user group.
You can use groups to restrict access to various parts of an application. Groups are primarily useful when using Application Express Authentication.
Click Apply Changes.
Workspace administrators can delete existing user accounts on the Edit User page.
To edit an existing user account:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Manage Application Express Users.
The Manage Application Express Users page appears.
Click Existing Users.
The Existing Users page appears. You control how the page displays by making a selection from the View list. Available options include:
Icons (the default) displays each user as a large icon.
Details displays each user as a line in a report.
Select a user.
The Edit User page appears.
Click Delete User.
Confirm your selection and click OK.
To change an end user password:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Manage Application Express Users.
The Manage Application Express Users page appears.
Click Existing Users.
The Existing Users page appears.
Select a user.
Tip:
To search for an existing user, enter a query in the Find field and click Go.Under Password, type a new password in the Password and Confirm Password fields.
Click Apply Changes.
You can create groups to restrict access to various parts of an application. Keep in mind, however, that groups are not portable over different authentication schemes. Groups are primarily useful when using Application Express Authentication.
Topics in this section include:
See Also:
"About Application Express Account Credentials" for information about implementing Application Express Authentication and "Managing Application Express Users"Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Manage Application Express Users.
The Manage Application Express Users page appears.
Click Create Group.
The Create/Edit Group page appears.
Specify a group name and description, and click Create Group.
To edit an existing group assignment:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Manage Application Express Users.
The Manage Application Express Users page appears.
Click User Group Assignments.
The User Group Assignments page appears.
Click the Edit icon adjacent to the Group Name.
Scroll down to User Groups, make a new selection, and click Apply Changes.
To view a report of user group assignments:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Manage Application Express Users.
The Manage Application Express Users page appears.
Click User Group Assignments.
The User Groups Assignments report appears.
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Manage Application Express Users.
The Manage Application Express Users page appears.
Click Existing Users.
The Existing Users page appears.
Select a user.
The Edit User page appears.
Scroll down to User Groups.
Select a group from the Groups list.
Click Apply Changes.
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Manage Application Express Users.
The Manage Application Express Users page appears.
Click Existing Users.
The Existing Users page appears.
Select a user.
The Edit User page appears.
Scroll down to User Groups.
Deselect the selected group in the Groups list.
Click Apply Changes.
You can monitor developer activity and changes within your workspace by accessing the Monitor page. The Monitor page contains twenty different reports that track changes to page views and applications.
Topics in this section include:
To access the Monitor page:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Monitor Activity.
The Monitor page features activity reports divided into the following sections:
Page Views - Contains reports of page views by user, by application, by browser, or by operating system.
Application Changes - Features reports that track application changes by developer, by day, and application.
Sessions - Lists active sessions with the current workspace.
Select a report to review.
The Application Changes by Developer report displays the number of pages changed by each developer and offers a graphical representation of the information in either a bar chart or pie chart format.
To view Application Changes by Developer:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Monitor Activity.
Under Application Changes, select By Developer.
Specify a time frame. Make a selection form the Time list and click Go.
To view the data as a bar chart, select Changes by Developer Bar chart. To view the data as pie chart, select Changes by Developer Pie chart.
To view additional details, select a user ID.
A detailed report displays the application, date, component, and action by user.
The Application Changes by Day report displays a summary of the number of application changes by day. You have the option to view this information by month, as a line chart, or by developer.
To view application changes by day:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Monitor Activity.
Under Application Changes, select By Day.
The Application Changes by Day page appears.
Select the appropriate report:
Month View. Offers a listing of application changes by day in a Calendar format.
Report. Includes a report of application changes by day.
Line Chart. Displays a line chart of application changes. By default, all developers are selected. To view only a specific developer, make a selection from the Developer list and click Go.
By Developer Report. Displays application changes by developer. Specify a time frame by making a selection form the Time list and clicking Go. To view additional details, select a developer.
A session is a logical construct that establishes persistence (or stateful behavior) across page views. The Active Sessions report lists active sessions with the current workspace.
Whenever an application is run, the Application Express engine maintains a record in a database table in the Oracle Application Express schema. This table records a numeric identifier (or session ID), the authenticated (or public) user identifier, the creation date, and other information. The session is the key record that enables session state, or persistence, across page requests. By viewing the Active Sessions report, a developer or administrator can see who has been using applications in a workspace. An active session is a session that has not yet been purged from the sessions table. A DBMS job runs every eight hours and purges session records older than 24 hours.
See Also:
"What Is a Session?"To view active session details:
Navigate to the Workspace home page.
From the Administration list, click Monitor Activity.
Under Sessions, select Active Sessions.
Click a session ID to view the Session Details page.