Each page in an Oracle Application Express application contains one or more regions. Regions function as containers for content. This section explains how to create and manage regions.
When you create a region, you select a region type. The Application Express engine interprets a region differently based on the region type you select. Table 14-1, "Region Types When Running the Create Region Wizard" describes the available region types. The available region types differ depending the selected user interface (for example, Desktop and jQuery Mobile Smartphone).
Table 14-1 Region Types When Running the Create Region Wizard
| Region Type | Description | Desktop | jQuery Mobile Smartphone |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Functions as containers for items and contains the HTML you provide. Any HTML you type may contain substitution strings. |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Use this option to create multiple Static Content regions at once. In the fields provided, specify the Sequence, Title, Display Point, Report Template, and Column for each region. |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Formatted result of a SQL query. You provide a custom SQL SELECT statement or a PL/SQL function returning a SQL Query statement. For assistance in writing the SQL query, click the Query Builder button. Note: jQuery Mobile Smartphone does not support interactive reports. |
Available |
Not available |
|
|
Formatted result of a SQL query. You provide a custom SQL SELECT statement or a PL/SQL function returning a SQL Query. For assistance in writing the SQL query, click the Query Builder button. See Also: "Developing Reports" and |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Creates a report on a Web Service result. See Also: "Implementing Web Services" |
Available |
Available |
|
|
List view is optimized to display data and provide easy navigation on Smartphones. Creates a page that contains the formatted result of a SQL query. You provide a custom SQL SELECT statement or a PL/SQL function returning a SQL Query. Note: Desktop applications do not support list view. |
Not available |
Available |
|
|
Creates a responsive report for mobile applications. By default, column toggle reports are created with all columns set to the same priority. However, the developer can edit the report column attributes and rank columns by importance. Columns with a lesser priority displays at narrower widths. The report includes a Columns button which enables end users to select which columns they want to view. Note: Desktop applications do not support this report format. |
Not available |
Available |
|
|
Creates a responsive report for mobile applications. When there is not enough space available to display the report horizontally, the report works by collapsing the table columns into a stacked presentation that looks like blocks of label and data pairs for each row. Note: Desktop applications do not support this report format. |
Not available |
Available |
|
|
Builds a form based on stored procedure arguments. Use this approach when you have implemented logic or Data Manipulation Language (DML) in a stored procedure or package. |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Creates a form that enables users to update a single row in a database table. You can choose a table on which to build a form. |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Creates a form and list view that enables users to update a single row in a database table. You choose the table on which to build the form and select the column to be used for displaying text in the List View. |
Not available |
Available |
|
|
Creates two pages. One page displays a report. Each row provides a link to the second page to enable users to update each record. You can select the table on which to build the report and form. Tip: This option does not support tables having more than 127 columns. Selecting more than 127 columns generates an error. |
Available |
Not available |
|
|
Creates a form that displays a master row and multiple detail rows within a single HTML form. Users can query, insert, update, and delete values from two tables or views. You choose the tables on which to build the master report and detail form. You choose the tables on which to build the master report and detail form. See Also: "Managing Master Detail Forms" |
Available |
Not available |
|
|
Creates a form to perform update, insert, and delete operations on multiple rows in a database table. You choose the table and columns on which to build the form. See Also: "Managing Tabular Forms" |
Available |
Not available |
|
|
Creates a form based on the columns returned by a SQL query such as an |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Creates a read-only version of a form. Use this option to create a confirmation page at the end of a wizard. |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Creates a page with items based on a Web service definition. This wizard creates a user input form, a process to call the Web service, and a submit button. See Also: "Creating a Form on a Web Service" |
Not available |
Available |
|
|
Creates a page with items based on a Web service definition. This wizard creates a user input form, a process to call the Web service, a submit button, and displays the results returned in a report. See Also: "Creating an Input Form and Report on a Web Service" |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Plug-ins allow developers to declaratively extend the built-in types available with Application Express. See Also: "Implementing Plug-ins" |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Create line, bar, or pie charts based on SQL queries. See Also: "Creating Charts" |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Create declaratively defined Flash maps. See Also: "Creating Maps" |
Available |
Not available |
|
|
Create hierarchical navigational control (or tree) based on a SQL query executed at runtime. See Also: "Creating Trees" |
Available |
Not available |
|
|
Create a region to contain a calendar with monthly, weekly, daily, and list views. See Also: "Creating Calendars" |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Create a list region containing a shared collection of links called list. See Also: "Creating Lists" |
Available |
Not available |
|
|
Create a region to contain a breadcrumb. Breadcrumbs are a hierarchical list of links. See Also: "Creating Breadcrumbs" |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Create a regions based on PL/SQL that enable you to render any HTML or text using the PL/SQL Web Toolkit. |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Create a URL based-regions that obtains content by calling a web server using a predefined URL. See Also: "About Incorporating Content from Other Web Sites" |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Region Display Selector region enables the display of show hide controls for each region on a page for which region display selection has been enabled. See Also: "Creating a Region Display Selector" |
Available |
Available |
|
|
Help Text regions enable you to provide page-level help for your application. See Also: "Creating Help for Your Application" |
Available |
Available |
You create regions by running the Create Region Wizard.
To create a region:
Navigate to the appropriate page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View."
Under Regions, click the Create icon.
Select a region type. See Table 14-1, "Region Types When Running the Create Region Wizard".
Follow the on-screen instructions.
A region is an area of a page that serves as a container for content. This section explains how to alter the appearance of a page by editing region attributes.
To edit region attributes in Component View:
Navigate to the appropriate page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Under Regions, select the region name.
The Edit Region page (or Region Definition page) appears.
Note:
For further information regarding regions that are plug-in type regions, see "Importing a Plug-in from the Plug-in Page."Edit the appropriate attributes.
To learn more about an attribute, see field-level Help. See "Viewing Field-Level Help."
Click Apply Changes.
This section explains how region attributes control the appearance and layout of a page.
Table 14-2, "Region Attributes Affecting Page Layout" describes region attributes that affect the layout of a page.
Table 14-2 Region Attributes Affecting Page Layout
| Region, Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
|
Specifies the display order of the regions within the page. |
|
|
Defines the parent region to which the current region belongs. By selecting a Parent region, you create a parent/child relationship between two regions. See Also: "Managing Subregions in Component View" |
|
|
Identifies where the region displays within the page. Regions are rendered in order of sequence number within a Display Point. Click the View icon to see the page layout and select a position. The possible display points for a region are determined by the page-level template (which is a page attribute). If no page-level template is selected, the default page-level template, defined in the Application Definition, is used. |
|
|
Determines the look of the region. To view template attributes, click the template name on the page. See Also: "Creating Custom Themes" and "Region Templates" |
|
|
Determines if page items are displayed above or below the main region content. |
|
|
Determines whether this region displays in a new grid or in the same grid as the previous region. |
|
|
Determines whether this region displays on the same row as the previous region or whether it displays on the next row. |
|
|
Determines if the region displays in a specific grid column. Select Automatic to automatically determine the next available grid column where the region gets displayed. |
|
|
Determines how many grid columns should be occupied by the region. Select Automatic to balance the available grid columns within all regions in the same grid row. |
|
|
Enter additional CSS classes which are set for the grid column. This value replaces the |
|
|
Enter additional attributes which are set for the grid column. This value replaces the |
|
|
Enter additional CSS classes as space delimited list which are substituted if the region template contains the substitution string |
|
|
Region templates that contain the substitution string |
|
|
Use the region display selector to identify the region to display in a region display selector region type. Region display selectors enable you to hide other regions on the page and just show a specific region. Region display selectors only display regions that have been identified using this attribute. |
|
|
If populated, the identified image displays in the upper left of the region. There is no control over the table tag used to display this image. See Also: "Adding a Region Image" |
|
|
Used with the Region Image attributes. Enter attributes to be included in the image html. For example, use this attribute for height and width. Note: If no ALT is defined in the image tag attributes, Oracle Application Express defaults to rendering the image as a decorative image (for example with an empty ALT tag). See Also: "Adding a Region Image" |
|
|
Specifies HTML text to be displayed at the top of the region (just before the |
|
|
Defines conditions and appropriate expressions that determine if the region displays. Conditions can reference session state, the currently logged in user, or environment preferences (such as whether a page is in Print View mode). See Also: "Understanding Conditional Rendering and Processing" and "Optimizing a Page for Printing" |
|
|
Select a condition type from the list that must be met in order for this region to render page items as a read-only. Not selecting a condition causes the page items to render normally. Note: Set the condition type to Never to always render the items of this region as enterable fields. This overwrites any read-only condition defined at the page-level. |
|
|
Enables end-user customization. To use this feature, you must include the See Also: "Enabling Users to Customize a Page" |
When you create a region, you must specify its position (or Display Point) for this region within the page template. In addition to Display Point, you can specify the column in which the region is placed. When you place regions in multiple columns, Oracle Application Express automatically renders the necessary HTML to produce a multiple column layout.
In addition to the body content of a region (which can be a report, a chart, or HTML with form elements), you can specify additional HTML to be placed above and below a region or in its header and footer.
For all report regions, the substitution string #TIMING# shows the elapsed time in seconds used when rendering a region. You can use this substitution string for debugging purposes.
For classic report regions, the region footer supports the following substitution strings:
#ROWS_FETCHED# shows the number of rows fetched by the Oracle Application Express reporting engine (the page size). You can use these substitution strings to display customized messages to the user. For example:
Fetched #ROWS_FETCHED# rows in #TIMING# seconds.
#TOTAL_ROWS# displays the total number of rows that satisfy a SQL query used for a report.
#FIRST_ROW_FETCHED# and #LAST_ROW_FETCHED# display the range of rows displayed. For example:
Row(s) #FIRST_ROW_FETCHED# through #LAST_ROW_FETCHED# of #ROWS_FETCHED# displayed
You can use the Customization attribute to control whether display attributes in a region can be customized by users. To use this feature, you must include the #CUSTOMIZE# substitution string in the Header, Body, or Footer section of the page template.
If at least one region supports end-user customization, a link called Customize appears wherever you include the #CUSTOMIZE# substitution string in the page template. When users click this link, a window appears, enabling them to display or hide regions on the page.
See Also:
"Creating Custom Themes"To enable end-user customization:
Navigate to the page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Under Regions, select the region name.
The Edit Region page appears.
Scroll down to Customization and select one of the following:
Customizable and Not Shown By Default
Customizable and Shown By Default
Not Customizable By End Users
In Customized Option Name, enter the label that represents this region on the page to the user.
Include the #CUSTOMIZE# substitution string in the Header, Body, or Footer section of the page template.
This section describes the advantages of using caching to improve the performance of pages and regions.
Tip:
Region caching is not available for interactive report regions.See Also:
"Managing Page and Region Caching" in Oracle Application Express Administration GuideEnabling region caching is an effective way improve the performance of static regions such as regions containing lists that do not use conditions, or regions containing static HTML.
When you enable region caching, the Application Express engine renders a region from a cached (or stored) repository instead of rendering it dynamically. Keep in mind that the actual session identifiers are not cached. Instead, the Application Express engine caches a &SESSION. substitution string and the current session rendering the cached region is substituted on display. For example, if a region contains a link and the link includes a session, the exact session is not cached to ensure that the links works for all sessions.
The Application Express engine only renders a region from cache if it meets the defined condition. Additionally, regions can be cached specific to a user or cached independent of a user.
To enable region caching:
Navigate to the page.
Under Regions, select the region name.
The Edit Region page appears.
Scroll down to Caching.
For Caching, select one of the following:
Not Cached - Disables this feature.
Cached - Caches the region independent of the user.
Cached by User - Caches the region specific to a given user.
If you select Cached or Cached by User, specify the following:
Timeout Cache After - Identify how long the cached region remains valid.
Cache Condition Type - Select a condition type from the list. If the condition returns false, the region is rendered dynamically and is not cached. If the condition returns true, the region is cached.
Expression 1 and Expression 2 - Enter values based on the specific condition type selected.
Click Apply Changes.
You can manage cached regions on the Cached Regions page.
To access the Cached Regions page:
Navigate to the page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Click the Utilities menu and select Caching.
Under Region Cache, click Manage.
The Cached Regions page appears.
You can customize the appearance the page using the Search bar at the top of the page.
Select the regions you want to purge and click one of the following:
Purge Expired
Purge Checked
To purge all cached regions, click Purge All.
See Also:
"Managing Page and Region Caching" in Oracle Application Express Administration GuideSpecifying a static region ID is useful when creating custom JavaScript or cascading style sheets. You can use the Static ID attribute on the Edit Region page to uniquely identify a region. You can then reference the region using the #REGION_STATIC_ID# substitution string in a region templates, the header, the footer, or the body.
A static region ID is included by assigning it as an HTML element ID to the region container object (that is, the table or DIV). The ID of an HTML element must be unique for the entire page. For example, to keep the page HTML valid you cannot have a button and region with the same ID.
To specify a static region ID:
Navigate to the appropriate page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Under Regions, select the region name.
The Edit Region page appears.
Scroll down to Attributes.
For Static ID, enter value to identify this region. You can reference this value using the substitution string #REGION_STATIC_ID#.
Click Apply Changes.
Use the Region Image and Image tag attributes to add an image to the upper left side of a region.
To add a region image:
Navigate to the appropriate page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Under Regions, select the region name.
The Edit Region page appears.
Scroll down to Attributes.
Under Attributes, specify the following:
Region Image - Specify an image to display in the upper left of the region.
Image Tag Attributes - Enter attributes to be included in the image html. Use these attributes to specify height and width.
Click Apply Changes.
This section describes ways to edit multiple regions at once.
Using the Regions page you can update multiple region attributes across all regions on a page, including sequence (the order), column, region name, and display point.
See Also:
To learn more about region attributes, go to the Edit Region page. See "Managing Regions in Component View".To edit multiple attributes across all regions:
Navigate to the appropriate page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Under Regions, click the Edit All icon. The Edit All icon resembles a small grid with a pencil on top of it.
Regions page appears.
Update the appropriate attributes.
Click Apply Changes.
Use the Utilities page to access Grid Edit pages and reports across all pages within a selected application.
To access the Region Utilities page:
Navigate to the appropriate page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Under Regions, click the Edit All icon. The Edit All icon resembles a small grid with a pencil on top of it.
Regions page appears.
Click Utilities.
Select a utility and follow the on-screen instructions.
See Also:
"Managing Regions in Component View"Subregions enable you to create a parent/child relationship between two regions. A subregion displays inside of a parent region. You create a subregion by selecting a parent region either when you initially create the region, or when editing region attributes.
You can use this subregions in a variety of ways. One use case would be to create subregions to group information. For example, suppose you have a region with a border. You can use this feature to display two classic reports (or subregions) within it. You can also use subregions to display regions as tabs or as an accordion. You control how parent and subregions display by editing the Sub Region attributes of the region template.
See Also:
"Region Templates"To create a subregion:
Navigate to the appropriate page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Under Regions, click the Create icon.
Select a region type. See Table 14-1, "Region Types When Running the Create Region Wizard".
For Display Attributes:
Title - Enter a title for the region. This title displays if the region template you choose displays the region title.
Region Template - Enter a title for the region. This title displays if the region template you choose displays the region title.
Parent Region - Select the parent region to which the new region belongs.
Display Point - Identify a display point for this region. There are two types of display points: Page template positions and Page body positions.
Page template positions provide for exact placement of a region within a page template. Page template positions are controlled by page template substitution strings (#REGION_POSITION_01#..#REGION_POSITION_08#). Page body positions are displayed where the #BODY# substitution string in the page template indicates.
Click Next.
Follow the on-screen instructions.
To creating a subregion by editing region attributes:
Navigate to the appropriate page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Under Regions, select the region name.
The Edit Region page appears.
Scroll down to User Interface.
For Parent Region, select the parent region to which the region belongs.
If needed, edit additional attributes.
To learn more about an attribute, see field-level Help. See "Viewing Field-Level Help."
Click Apply Changes.
Region Display Selector region enables you to include show and hide controls for each region on a page.
To create a Region Display Selector:
Create the page and regions to be included in the Region Page Selector.
For each region to be included in the selector, edit the Region Display Selector attribute:
Navigate to the appropriate page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View."
Under Regions, select the region name.
The Edit Region page appears.
Under Attributes, change Region Display Selector to Yes.
Click Apply Changes.
Create a region of type Region Display Selector:
Navigate to the page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Under Regions, click the Create icon.
Select the region type Region Display Selector.
Click Create.
Note:
You cannot copy a Tree region since this type of region encompasses more than one region.To copy a region:
Navigate to the page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Under Regions, click the Copy icon. The Copy icon resembles two small overlapping pages.
The Copy Region Wizard appears.
Select the region you want to copy.
For To Page:
From To Page, select the page to which you want to copy the region.
Select the button or region items (if applicable) to be copied by selecting Yes or No.
Click Next.
Click Copy Region.
This section describes how to delete regions.
To delete a region:
Navigate to the appropriate page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Under Regions, select the region name.
The Edit Region page appears.
Click Delete.
To delete multiple regions at once:
Navigate to the appropriate page. See "Viewing a Page in Component View".
Click the Edit All icon. The Edit All icon resembles a small grid with a pencil on top of it.
Regions page appears.
Click the Delete Multiple Regions tab.
Specify the following:
Cascade to Delete Button - Select Yes to delete corresponding region buttons.
Cascade to Delete Items - Select Yes to delete corresponding region items.
Delete associated list and list Entries - Select Yes to delete corresponding lists. This option only displays when the region to be deleted is the only region which references the list.
Cascade to Delete Dynamic Actions - Select Yes to delete corresponding region items.
Select the regions to be deleted.
Click Apply Changes.