Using PeopleSoft Application Designer

This chapter provides an overview of PeopleSoft Application Designer and discusses how to:

• Use PeopleSoft Application Designer.

• Work with definitions.

• Work with programming languages.

• Use miscellaneous definitions.

• Use the PeopleSoft Application Designer spell check feature.

• Build and maintain data.

Understanding PeopleSoft Application Designer

Every PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture application contains a collection of related definitions that work together for a specific purpose. Developing and adapting PeopleSoft applications is a step-by-step process in which you define and build the definitions, establish relationships among the definitions, implement security, run your PeopleSoft application in an internet browser, and test every aspect thoroughly. You use one interactive tool, PeopleSoft Application Designer, for the majority of these activities. PeopleSoft Application Designer is an integrated development environment that enables you to work with the numerous definitions of a business application in a single work area.

Note. Your user interface might appear differently than what you see in this PeopleBook. The look and feel of PeopleSoft Application Designer varies based on the release of your Microsoft ® Windows operating system.

Using PeopleSoft Application Designer

This section provides an overview of the eight steps of application development and discusses how to:

• Start PeopleSoft Application Designer.

• Use the PeopleSoft Application Designer window components.

• Set PeopleTools Options

Understanding the Eight Steps of Application Development

Application development is a systematic process. Between the design and implementation of the application, you define and build application definitions, establish relationships, implement security, and test every aspect thoroughly. When developing in the PeopleSoft environment, it is helpful to look at the development phase as an eight step process:

1. Design the application.

2. Create field definitions.

3. Create record definitions.

4. Build application data tables.

5. Create page definitions.

6. Define components.

7. Register components.

8. Test the application.

Step One - Designing the Application

Create a development plan. The first phase of development in any environment is always planning. Designers might spend 80 percent of their time designing a sound plan before they work on the first step. In PeopleSoft applications, you will need to fully understand the other seven steps of development to design a good plan. When you finish the development plan, you should have a business requirements document that specifies the tables required and the relationships among them, a list of required definitions (fields, records, and so on) complete with detailed specifications and naming conventions, mock-ups of page layouts, and a navigational hierarchy that will give users access to the pages you create.

Step Two - Creating Field Definitions

Field definitions in PeopleSoft are slightly different from other environments. Designers define fields apart from any tables they may belong to and ensure that they can be reused in any number of separate database tables. The field definition is the basis for all the steps that follow.

Step Three - Creating Record Definitions

PeopleTools-based applications are table-based systems. When creating a record definition, you are actually defining two layers of information: the record level and the field level. At the record level, you define the structure of the database table, and the ultimate purpose of the record definition, and how the system will use the definition. At the field level, you define the characteristics of the fields and any online processing that you want to occur behind the scenes when a user enters data.

Step Four - Building Application Data Tables

After you define a record definition, you must create or build the underlying SQL tables that house the application data that users will enter online in the production environment. This build process is the centerpiece of the data administration features in PeopleSoft Application Designer. The build process takes all of the properties of a record definition and creates a database table from them. Unless you complete this step, no table will exist in the database to accept the application data.

Step Five - Creating Page Definitions

Pages are the user interface for the application. Pages present data to the users and enable them to enter data into the application data table created in the previous step. In this step, you add page controls to a page, associate the page controls with record fields, and configure appearance of the page. The system displays the page to users in a browser window as HTML.

Step Six - Defining Components

Component definitions represent complete business transactions in PeopleSoft applications and are central to navigation and security access. A component holds one or more pages that the user navigates between using tabs or links. In this step, you define the search record and search attributes, the processing mode, and the toolbar buttons that appear at the bottom of each page in the component.

Step Seven - Registering Components

The Registration Wizard makes registering a component easy. In this step, you attach the component to a menu, assign security access for users, and place navigational links in the registry. After you register a component, the user interface is complete and you can view the application in the browser.

Step Eight - Testing the Application

The final step of application development is to thoroughly test the application before delivering the finished product to users. You must test all aspects of the application by opening a transaction in your browser and entering test data into the application. As issues arise, you can cycle back through each of the previous steps to resolve the issues.

Starting PeopleSoft Application Designer

Open PeopleSoft Application Designer from the Start menu. Alternatively, if you have set up a shortcut on your desktop, you can open the application from there. At the PeopleSoft Signon dialog box, enter the Database Name or Application Server Name (depending on your connection type), User ID, and Password. PeopleTools opens automatically to PeopleSoft Application Designer.

Note. Specific PeopleSoft utilities require you to set an environment variable, PS_SERVER_CFG, to run properly. However, PeopleSoft Application Designer is not compatible if PS_SERVER_CFG is set. Before you start PeopleSoft Application Designer, you must ensure that PS_SERVER_CFG is not set. A convenient way to do this is to use a DOS batch file to unset PS_SERVER_CFG, launch PeopleSoft Application Designer, and then—after PeopleSoft Application Designer exits—reset PS_SERVER_CFG to its previous value.

In addition to launching PeopleSoft Application Designer from the Start menu, you can also do so using the command line syntax and the available parameters listed there.

PeopleSoft Application Designer offers a variety of command line parameters that you can use to control the database to which it connects. By using these parameters, you can automatically navigate to the part of the system that you need.

Use the values from the following tables to specify specific parameters.

Syntax

The following command line syntax applies to all actions identified in this chapter:

PSIDE [-parameter value [-parameter value . . .]]

Use this command line syntax to start PeopleSoft Data Mover:

PSDMT [-parameter value [-parameter value . . .]]

You can include as many or as few parameters as you need.

Each parameter starts with a hyphen (-) or a forward slash (/). The value for each parameter follows the hyphen or slash, separated by zero or more spaces. In general, the value does not need to have quotation marks around it, even if it has internal spaces, because the system treats all text following the parameter as part of the value up to the next parameter or the end of the command line.

Note. You must enclose a value in quotation marks only when it includes a hyphen or forward slash or to include leading or trailing spaces. If the value itself includes a quotation mark character, then precede the double quotation mark with a backslash (\).

Available Parameters

The available parameters for PSIDE.EXE fall into two general categories:

• Parameters that provide login information.

• Parameters that set general options.

If the command line includes login parameters, it uses them only if no PeopleSoft applications are currently running. If a PeopleSoft application is already running, then the system starts a new instance by using the same login information as the active instance.

This table lists all of the available parameters:

Example

This command line statement starts PeopleSoft Application Designer and signs the user in to the DEP7TST database:

PSIDE -CT MICROSFT -CS SEPNTDB05 -CD EP7TST -CO VP1 -CP VP1

Using the PeopleSoft Application Designer User Interface

This table describes the six main elements that comprise the PeopleSoft Application Designer user interface:

Note. You should maximize the PeopleSoft Application Designer window to make optimal use of the different workspaces.

Application Designer Menus

This topic reviews the general PeopleSoft Application Designer menus. Specific menus appear for each definition when it is open and active. Those menus are discussed in the topic about each definition.

Note. The menu items that appear on each menu often depend on the type of definition that is open in the definition workspace. Those menu items are described in the corresponding chapters.

In addition to the standard Microsoft Windows File menu items, several PeopleTools-specific items appear in the File menu. This table lists the PeopleTools-related File menu items:

In addition to the standard Microsoft Windows-based menu items, such as Cut and Paste, two PeopleTools-specific menu items appear in the Edit menu. This table describes their use:

This table describes the use of View menu items:

This table describes the use of Insert menu items:

This table describes the use of Build menu items:

This table describes the use of Debug menu items:

This table describes the use of Tools menu items:

This table describes the use of Window menu items:

This table describes the use of Help menu items:

PeopleSoft Application Designer Toolbars

In addition to the standard Microsoft Windows toolbar button items, such as Cut, Paste, and Save, several items are PeopleTools-specific. The command name appears in parentheses following its description.

Project Workspace

View projects and their associated definitions in the project workspace. A project organizes a collection of definitions in logical groups for easier development, adaptation, maintenance, and upgrade.

Work with a development project or an upgrade project by selecting either the Development tab or the Upgrade tab at the bottom of the project workspace.

The text on the Development and Upgrade tabs might not appear if your monitor is not large enough to display it.

Definition Workspace

Use the definition workspace to create and modify definitions. You can maximize, minimize, cascade, or tile them in the workspace.

Output Window

The output window displays status messages of various PeopleSoft Application Designer operations. The output is organized into different categories by using tabs at the bottom of the window.

The text that appears in the output window is context-sensitive, which enables you to select it and perform related operations. For example, if you have a field definition open, select Edit, Find Definition References to list the definitions that reference the active field definition. The list appears in the output window. Double-click any of the related definitions listed to open them.

The output window has several tabs that relate to numerous functions that you can perform with PeopleSoft Application Designer: This table describes the use of the tabs:

Setting PeopleTools Options

You can set preferences for various features in the Options dialog box. Access the Options dialog box by selecting Tools, Options. Each tab controls options for different areas of PeopleSoft Application Designer. Most of these options are described in further detail in other, more relevant areas of the PeopleBooks documentation. The following table provides a general description of each tab and a link to further details about the options:

See Also

Preventing Translation Buffer Overlap

Working with PeopleCode and Other Programming Languages

This section provides an overview of PeopleCode and discusses how to use the development editors.

Understanding PeopleCode and Other Programming Languages

PeopleCode is the structured programming language built into PeopleTools that extends the functionality of the PeopleTools environment. All PeopleCode programs are associated with a parent definition. PeopleCode programs are considered part of the definitions of their parent components, and you edit them as part of the definitions.

You can associate PeopleCode programs with many items, such as record fields, pages, components, and application messages. You can access any PeopleCode program from its related definition. For example, one of the ways you can access PeopleCode from one of the many places that PeopleCode is stored is to access Record Field PeopleCode from an open record definition.

To view Record Field PeopleCode from PeopleSoft Application Designer, complete these steps:

1. Open a record definition in PeopleSoft Application Designer.

2. Click the View PeopleCode toolbar button to view the PeopleCode display for the record.

3. Select a field containing PeopleCode in the record definition.

4. Double-click the cell under the column heading for the type of PeopleCode that you want to view.

   You can also right-click a definition and use the pop-up menu to access or view the PeopleCode.

See Also

Accessing PeopleCode and Events

Using the Development Editors

This section discusses the development editors:

• PeopleCode editor

• SQL editor

• Application Packages editor

• HTML editor

• Free form style sheet editor

PeopleCode Editor

The PeopleCode editor is a text editor that enables you to construct, modify, and review PeopleCode programs and associate them to PeopleSoft definitions and events. The PeopleCode editor enables you to edit and navigate all PeopleCode programs that belong to the same parent definition.

The user interface of the PeopleCode editor consists of two drop-down lists boxes and an area where you enter text. The drop-down list box that is on the left side of the editor is a displays the current field and other available fields, records, and components. Any field with PeopleCode attached appears in bold. The drop-down list box that is on the right side of the editor displays the current PeopleCode event and other events that are appropriate for that definition. Events already containing PeopleCode for that definition appear in bold. Beneath the drop-down list boxes is where you enter your text. In this area, you can add, delete, and change text and you can use the find and replace function. The PeopleCode editor validates the syntax of your code and the editor automatically formats the code according to PeopleSoft standards when you save the definition.

This example shows the PeopleCode editor:

SQL Editor

The SQL editor is a text editor that enables you to construct, modify, and review a SQL statement and save it as a reusable SQL definition. Using the SQL editor, you can add, delete, and change text and you can use the find and replace function. The SQL editor formats the text, but the editor does not validate the SQL syntax.

You can access the SQL editor from these definitions:

• Record definitions that are based on SQL and dynamic views.

• PeopleSoft Application Engine actions.

• PeopleCode editor.

Application Packages Editor

From an Application Package you can access the PeopleCode programs that are associated with the classes of the package. The Application Packages editor and the PeopleCode editor interfaces are similar. You can add, delete, and change text; you can use the find and replace function; and you can validate the syntax. When you save your application package, the code is automatically formatted, just as it is in the PeopleCode editor.

HTML Editor

The HTML editor interface offers some of the same functionality as the other editors. In the HTML editor you can add, delete, and change text; and you can use the find and replace function. While the editor does format certain elements of your code, such as variables, methods, and strings, the editor does not validate the syntax.

Free Form Style Sheet Editor

The free form style sheet editor interface enables you to create text-based sub style sheets that enable you to take advantage of Cascading Style Sheets - Level 2 (CSS2), AJAX, and DHTML. In the free form style sheet editor you can add, delete, and change text; and you can use the find and replace function. The editor does not format the text or validate the syntax.

See Also

Using the SQL Editor

Using the PeopleCode Editor

Creating Application Packages and Classes

Working with Definitions

This section provides as overview of definitions and discusses how to:

• Open definitions.

• View definitions.

• View and edit definition properties.

• Create definitions.

• Save definitions.

• Close definitions.

• Rename definitions.

• Delete definitions.

• Find definitions.

• Use the Multiple Document interface.

• Use drag-and-drop mouse techniques.

• Use dynamic toolbars and menus.

• Use pop-up menus.

• Configure environments.

• Work with generated files.

Understanding Definitions

You can create or modify many types of definitions in PeopleSoft Application Designer. This table lists development definitions:

Opening Definitions

Use the definition workspace to access or create definitions.

To open a definition:

1. Select File, Open or click the corresponding toolbar button.

   The Open Definition dialog box appears.

2. Select the type of definition that you want to open from the Definition drop-down list box.

3. Provide selection criteria.

   Enter a definition name or description (or the beginning characters of either). Other selection criteria options might be available, depending on the definition type.

4. Click Open, or press ENTER, to display definitions matching the selection criteria that you entered.

   To clear the current selection criteria and start over, click New Search. To change how the system displays the search list, perform one of these actions:

   • Click the List button to see only the names of the definitions.

   • Click the Details button to see the names and descriptions of the definitions. This is the default.

5. Select a definition to open.

6. Double-click the definition that you want to open in the definition workspace, or highlight the definition and click Open.

   You can also use the shift-click selection technique to select more than one definition to open in a single action, or you can right-click to view a pop-up menu, where you can open, print, rename, or delete the selected definition.

   Note. The print menu is disabled when you right-click any of the following definitions: activity, approval rule set, business process, component interface, component, project, and mobile page.

   Note. When the definition is open and able to be modified, "Ready" appears in the lower left-hand corner of the workspace.

Viewing Definitions

In the project workspace, you can view a definition that is referenced by the active definition.

To view a definition, select View, View Definition. You can also right-click the definition you want to view and select View Definition from the pop-up menu.

Viewing and Editing Definition Properties

Properties are associated with each definition type. To view or edit definition properties, select File, Definition Properties. You can also click the toolbar button, press Alt+Enter, or right-click the definition and select Properties from the pop-up menu.

The Definition Properties dialog box almost always includes a General tab that provides a place to display and enter descriptions and comments about the definition. An optional Owner ID drop-down list box designates the owner of an individual definition. This ID helps identify which application team last made a change to a definition. Set the default owner ID for new definitions in the Options dialog box on the Owner ID tab.

With PeopleSoft Application Designer, every definition that you can open (menus, pages, components, records, fields, and so on) has an associated property sheet. Definition properties that are specific to the definition type are grouped together in these definition property sheets. For example:

• Record type and record use properties are found in the Definition Properties sheet for records.

• Translate values are found in the Definition Properties sheet for fields.

• Menu groups and menu labels are found in the Definition Properties sheet for menus.

• Search record, actions, and internet settings are found in the Definition Properties sheet for components.

Creating Definitions

When building or adapting an application, try to use existing definitions as much as possible; when that is not possible, create new definitions.

To create a new definition:

1. Select File, New or click the corresponding toolbar button.

2. Select the definition type.

   The new definition appears in the definition workspace.

Saving Definitions

To retain your changes, you must save the definition. You must name new definitions before you can save them.

To save a definition:

1. Click the Save button on the toolbar or select either File, Save or File, Save As to save a definition.

   The Save and Save As commands save a single definition. Use the File, Save All command or the Save All toolbar button to save all open definitions at once.

2. If you are saving a page or component, specify the language or market.

   For a page definition, the Language drop-down list box appears; for a component, the Market drop-down list box appears.

Definition Naming Conventions

When naming definitions, use the following guidelines:

• Use only uppercase alphabetic characters (A–Z), numeric characters (0–9), or underscore (_). Other special characters, such as the em dash (—), dollar sign, number sign, question mark, and so on, are not permitted.

• Names must begin with an alphabetic character.

• Embedded spaces are not permitted.

  Instead, use an underscore.

• Avoid using accented characters.

  Names containing these characters may not sort consistently, depending on workstation or locale settings, which results in problems during an upgrade.

• System definitions such as records, fields, styles, and so on generally have a name and a label or description. Generally, you should use US-ASCII characters only for the definition name. Labels or descriptions, which appear to the user, can contain non-ASCII characters.

Note. Existing Business Process and Business Process Map definitions may already contain mixed case characters. Nonetheless, newly created definition names must be all uppercase.

Closing Definitions

To close a definition, either select File, Close or click the Close Window icon on the title bar of the window of the active definition. You can also select Window, Close All to close all open definitions.

Renaming Definitions

You can rename existing definitions in a database at any time.

To rename a definition in the database:

1. Select File, Rename.

   The Rename Definition dialog box looks like the Open Definition dialog box, and you select definitions in the same way.

2. Specify the definition type and any selection criteria that are useful in locating the definition that you want to rename.

   The Rename Definition dialog box does not have a Select button. So, after entering either a partial name or description of the definition, press Enter to retrieve a list of definitions matching your selection criteria.

3. Select the definition that you want to rename.

4. Click the Rename button in the dialog box and double-click the selected definition, or right-click to select Rename from the pop-up menu.

   The selected definition name in the Rename Definition dialog box is in edit mode.

5. Change the selected definition name and press Enter.

   When you press Enter, PeopleSoft Application Designer prompts you first, to close any open definitions before you can save the new name, and then to confirm the rename before you can save a change.

6. Click OK to complete the renaming of the selected definition.

Deleting Definitions

Deleting a definition is different from removing a definition from a project. When you remove a definition from a project, the reference to the definition is removed from the project, but the definition still exists in the database and, thus, may be part of another project. Deleting a definition, however, permanently removes the definition from the database. Any projects or other definitions that contain the deleted definition are affected.

Before deleting a definition you should find all references to that definition by running the Find Definition References process. For example, a field definition that you want to delete may be referenced by both record and page definitions.

Note. If you delete a component definition, you must delete all component interfaces that are based on that definition.

Note. A component definition must contain at least one page. If you attempt to delete a page definition that is the only page definition within a component, the system does not allow the delete to occur and displays an error message. If the page definition is the only page within a component, the error message appears during a File, Delete action or during an upgrade copy to database (with a Delete action).

To delete a definition from the database:

1. Select File, Delete.

   The Delete Definition dialog box looks like the Open Definition dialog box, and you select definitions in exactly the same way.

2. Specify the definition type and any selection criteria that are useful in locating the definition that you want to delete.

   After entering either a partial name or description of the definition, press Enter to retrieve a list of definitions matching your selection criteria.

3. Select the definition that you want to delete.

   To select multiple definitions, hold down either Shift or Ctrl while clicking the appropriate definitions.

4. Click the Delete button and confirm that you want to delete the selected definition.

Finding Definitions

Before making significant changes, such as deleting a definition, you must see what other parts of the application might be affected by the change. The Find Definition References feature performs a comprehensive search of the database pinpointing all definitions in which the changed definition is located.

Although a project keeps track of your definitions, the definitions are not actually embedded in the project.

Note. The distinction between related definitions and referenced definitions is significant. A related definition is one that is used by the current definition. A referenced definition is one that uses the current definition. For example, in the case of a record definition, fields in the record are related definitions. The records that use the fields are its definition references.

To find definition references:

1. Open the definition in the definition workspace.

2. Select Edit, Find Definition References, or right-click the definition and select Find Definition References from the pop-up menu.

   After you select this item, a search of the database takes place, and the results appear on the Find Definition References tab of the output window.

3. Select any definition that appears in the output window by double-clicking it.

   The selected definition opens in the definition workspace.

4. After you find a definition, select the definition reference and right-click to view the pop-up menu.

   Note. Double-clicking an entry in the Find Definition References output window opens the appropriate mode of PeopleSoft Application Designer. If you double-click a related record that was found, the record opens and the field for which you were looking is highlighted.

Using the Multiple Document Interface

PeopleSoft Application Designer makes use of multiple document interface (MDI). Consequently, each window in the definition workspace of PeopleSoft Application Designer represents a view of a definition, and you can have multiple windows open at the same time. These definition windows must stay inside the borders of the definition workspace, but you can maximize, minimize, cascade, or tile them in that space.

You can have different types of definition windows open at the same time, such as menu, field, record, and page windows. As a result, you can work with different definitions simultaneously, which simplifies the process of designing a group of related definitions.

Active Windows

Although you can have multiple windows open at the same time, only one window can be active at any moment. Make a window active by selecting it in the definition workspace. The active window always appears on top with the title bar in active window title color.

In addition to clicking a window to make it active, you can also use the Window menu shown in the following example. This menu displays the windows that are currently open by displaying a check mark next to the active one. Change the window that is currently active by selecting it from the menu.

Other commands from the Window menu include Cascade, Tile, Arrange Icons, and Close All windows.

Using Drag-and-Drop Mouse Techniques

PeopleSoft Application Designer makes ample use of drag-and-drop mouse techniques. For example, you can drag a field from a record definition and drop it onto a page definition. You can then drag the page onto a component and drag the component onto a menu. Using the drag-and-drop technique is faster and simpler than using menu commands to manipulate definitions.

To drag and drop a definition:

1. Open the definition in either the project workspace or the definition workspace from which you want to drag.

   For example, to drag a field from an existing record definition to a new page definition, first open the record containing the field. You can open it in the definition workspace or expand the record in the project workspace so that the fields appear. With the appropriate field displayed, you can drag and drop it into another definition.

2. Open the definition to which you want to drag.

3. Drag the definition from one definition to the other.

Using Dynamic Toolbars and Menus

The PeopleSoft Application Designer toolbar and menu change based on the type of definition that is active. For example, when a page definition is active, the toolbar displays buttons that represent the definitions that you can add to a page. This technique is also known as morphing.

The change is so subtle that you can easily miss it. The change is easy to miss because the menu bar names are consistent among definition types. However, if you look at the menu items and toolbars closely, you see a distinct difference. For example, if a page window is active, then the menus and toolbars change to include actions and options applicable to a page definition, as in the Show Grid option on the View menu and the introduction of the Layout menu. In addition, page-specific toolbars appear.

In the same respect, if a record window is active, the menus and toolbars morph to include actions and options applicable to a record definition. For example, different options (such as View, Field Display, and so on) are available in the View menu . Different toolbar buttons for record definition actions also appear.

Using Pop-up Menus

Pop-up menus are context-sensitive menus that appear at the current location of the mouse pointer whenever you click the alternate mouse button (typically, the right mouse button). They provide efficient access to numerous PeopleSoft Application Designer commands. Because pop-up menus appear at the current location of the pointer, they eliminate the need to move the pointer up to the menu bar or to a toolbar. A pop-up menu contains only the commands that apply to the selected definition or the current context. This example shows the Component definition pop-up menu:

Configuring Environments

PeopleSoft Application Designer is highly configurable, enabling you to tailor the tool to your needs or preferences.

Splitter Bars

A splitter bar is a thin vertical or horizontal bar that separates windows inside a parent window. Using the splitter bar enables you to resize two windows at the same time. Splitter bars are used between the project workspace, definition workspace, and output window. This example shows splitter bars:

Drag the splitter bar to change the size of the project workspace, definition workspace, or output window.

Dockable Windows and Toolbars

You can freely move PeopleSoft Application Designer windows and toolbars to either anchor (dock) to parts of the main application window or float freely anywhere that you want them to appear. When you dock a toolbar or window, you anchor it to the top, sides, or bottom of the main window.

To move or dock a PeopleSoft Application Designer window or toolbar, drag the window title bar or the appropriate toolbar to a new location. If you move the window or toolbar near the top, bottom, or sides of the main window, the window or toolbar snaps into place, meaning that it is docked. However, if you press and hold Ctrl and then drag the window or toolbar, you can prevent it from automatically docking when it is near the edge of the window.

Note. Use caution when running the PeopleCode Debugger with undocked windows.

View Menu

The View menu enables you to display or hide different PeopleSoft Application Designer components, such as the project workspace, output window, and toolbar.

Working with Generated Files

When working with PeopleSoft Application Designer, you often generate scripts, logs, reports, and so on. When specifying the full path for a file reference in PeopleSoft Application Designer, you are limited to 100 characters. This limit applies to all file references, which include build scripts, build logs, compare reports, and so on. For example, a reference to a build log, such as c:\temp\...\psbuild.log, cannot exceed 100 characters.

Using Miscellaneous Definitions

Several definition types differ from the standard definitions described in previous sections. These definitions control your work environment or affect other definitions that you create. These miscellaneous definitions are found under the Tools menu and include:

• Field Formats

• System Colors

• Styles

• Access Profiles

• File Type Codes

Field Formats

PeopleTools provides formatting at both the field and page levels. Field format specifications affect internal values that are stored in the database, and page format specifications affect the visual presentation of values. Several formatting options are available for U.S. Social Security Numbers, Canadian Social Insurance Numbers, postal codes, telephone numbers, and various currencies, dates, and times.

Custom field formats extend these formatting provisions to support the same types of data in other countries. They also support other types of formatted information, such as bank codes, credit card numbers, part numbers, and serial numbers.

Custom field formats enable you to create your own format definitions using format notation and apply them to fields. These formats are organized into format families, which can include one or more unique formats.

See Changing Format Families.

System Colors

You can establish definitions for colors that you use in your applications. You define colors by associating a color name either with an existing color in the PeopleSoft Internet Architecture or with a custom color that you define. Since taste in color is subjective, PeopleTools allows individual operators to customize their color settings. Users can use the default color definitions you establish in PeopleSoft Application Designer, or they can override them with their own color definitions.

To modify default system colors:

1. Select Tools, Miscellaneous Definitions, System Colors.

2. Select the Color Name you want to modify.

3. To change the color, click the Choose Color button.

4. Choose from the available colors or click Define Custom Colors to create your own color.

5. Click OK.

   The new color appears in the Sample area of the Set System Default Colors dialog box.

To create new system colors:

1. Type a new name in the Color Name field and click the New button.

2. Select the Use Custom Color radio button to select a custom color.

3. Click the Choose Color button.

4. Choose from the available colors or click the Define Custom Colors button.

5. Click OK in both dialog boxes to accept the new color.

Styles

This feature is deprecated. You set styles using style sheet definitions.

Access Profiles

Access profiles are the security profiles users use to connect to the PeopleSoft database. Detailed information about access profiles is discussed in the Enterprise PeopleTools 8.51 PeopleBook: Security Administration.

See Setting Up Access Profiles.

File Type Codes

You may need to set up file type codes when creating change projects. You create change projects to work with the PeopleSoft Application Designer Change Packager tool to package system customizations in preparation for an upgrade. The file type code stores generic information that is applicable to a group of files within the same target directory.

See Working with Change Packages.

Using the PeopleSoft Application Designer Spell Check Feature

This section provides an overview of the PeopleSoft Application Designer spell check feature and discusses how to:

• Enable the spell check feature.

• Configure browser options.

Understanding the Spell Check Feature

The PeopleSoft Application Designer spell check feature checks the spelling for user-facing labels and text in projects and legacy data. Use this feature before building your application. The spell check feature verifies spelling for these items:

• Message Catalog entries.

• Page definitions (label text).

• XLAT tables.

• Component definitions (tab and menu labels).

• Portal registry (labels and attribute labels).

• Record field labels.

Spell Check Results

The system logs spell check results on the Spell Check tab in the PeopleSoft Application Designer output window. The text Begin Spell Check always appears as the first line on the tab. The first line for each spell check category indicates the total number of entries that were checked for the project. The last line in the output window indicates the total misspelled words encountered during the check.

For each spell check category the results may read differently. This table describes how to read the spell check results for each category:

You can launch an identified definition directly from the output window by double-clicking the error line. PeopleSoft Application Designer launches the appropriate content to correct the misspelling, as described in this table:

Enabling the Spell Check Feature

The spell check feature is turned off by default. You enable the spell check feature in the Options dialog box on the Validate tab. Enabling the spell check option ensures that spell check is run on the designated project when you validate the project.

To enable spell check in PeopleSoft Application Designer:

1. Select Tools, Options from the PeopleSoft Application Designer menu.

2. Select the Validate tab.

3. Select the Validate Spelling check box.

4. (Optional) Select the Log to file check box if you want the spell check results to be saved to a file on your system.

5. Enter a file name in the File name field or click the browse button to search for a specific file.

   Otherwise, the system applies the default file name of spellcheck.log and saves the results to the temp directory. This field is required when the Log to file option is selected.

Configuring Browser Options

The Browser tab on the Options dialog box enables you to specify values that are required to compose a URL for the browser to locate a portal page. The spell check feature uses the information recorded in this dialog box to launch portal pages from the Spell Check tab in the output window when you double-click a portal registry misspelling.

To configure browser options:

1. Select Tools, Options and click the Browser tab.

2. Enter the base URI or use the default setting.

   This value is the URI of the node that hosts the portal.

3. Set the node name to be used with the base URI.

   The Use default local node check box is selected by default. Deselecting this check box enables the Select button, which allows you to set the node name in the Select Node dialog box.

   The Select Node dialog box displays the list of available nodes by project. You can search for the appropriate node by clicking the Select button.

Building and Maintaining Data

This section discusses how to:

• Build and maintain data.

• Create SQL tables.

Building and Maintaining Data

You must keep underlying database definitions synchronized with PeopleSoft definitions. Therefore, from PeopleSoft Application Designer, you must:

• Submit SQL Alter and Create commands for all types of database definitions.

• Manage the database index.

• Manage the table space.

• Manage the DDL model for tables, indexes, and table spaces.

Creating SQL Tables

To access data, you must create a SQL table and then store data in the fields and records. The process of running the SQL to synchronize the database with records, indexes, and DDL is called the Build process.

The Build feature processes definitions at these levels:

• Current record.

• Selected records in the project workspace.

• All records in the project.

See Also

Administering Data