Introduction

This 20-minute tutorial introduces you to Design Time Formatting (DTF). You will navigate to the menus for important user interface elements in Format Rules. You will modify the Format Rules to show Form Data Grids with distinctive display elements. The sections build on each other and should be completed sequentially.

Background

Design Time Formatting (DTF) enables you to combine form design Validation Rules on the web to provide robust formatting capabilities in data forms. You can also combine these with end user formatting capabilities for forms rendered in Oracle Smart View. Both data and metadata can be formatted.

Applies to: Enterprise Profitability and Cost Management, Financial Consolidation and Close, FreeForm, Planning, Tax Reporting

With Design Time Format Rules, forms will now:

  • Support most of the formatting capabilities from Smart View client such as borders, colors, font sizes, fonts, numeric formats, and so on
  • Allow Rules to be created for pure formatting purposes in addition to today’s Data Validation Rules
  • Allow Format Rules to be applied to header and metadata cells in addition to data cells

Prerequisites

Cloud EPM Hands-on Tutorials may require you to import a snapshot into your Cloud EPM Enterprise Service instance. Before you can import a tutorial snapshot, you must request another Cloud EPM Enterprise Service instance or remove your current application and business process. The tutorial snapshot will not import over your existing application or business process, nor will it automatically replace or restore the application or business process you are currently working with.

Before starting this tutorial, you must:

  • Have Service Administrator access to a Cloud EPM Enterprise Service instance.
  • Import this snapshot into your instance. The examples provided in this tutorial use the snapshot.

Note:

If you run into migration errors importing the snapshot, re-run the migration excluding the HSS-Shared Services component, as well as the Security and User Preferences artifacts in the Core component. For more information on uploading and importing snapshots, refer to the Administering Migration for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Cloud documentation.

Assigning values to User Variables

User Variables were added when the business process was created. User variables act as filters in forms, enabling planners to focus only on certain members. In this section, you set values for user variables.

  1. On the home page, click Navigator (Navigator), and under Tools, click User Preferences.
    Navigator menu
  2. Under Preferences, click User Variables.
    Selecting User Variables
  3. Click Member Selector (Member Selector) to select each variable's value.
    User variables with selected Member

    Tip:

    You can also type and enter the values under Member for each Dimension row.
  4. Verify your selections and click Save.
  5. At the information message, click OK.
    Information message

After you define Format Rules for forms at design time, users can apply the Format Rules to forms at runtime using styles. Styles control how Format Rules are displayed for grids, row headings, column headings, and cells. The three style options are:

  • Cell Style icon Cell Style: Applies Web form styles (such as read-only cells, locked cells, supporting detail), Smart View cell styles defined in Smart View 24.200, Data Validation Rules, and Groovy Rules to the form. No custom (Format only) styles are applied.

  • Custom Style icon Custom Style: Applies Format only rules that were defined in the Rule Builder at design-time, and any Excel custom formatting that was added by administrators and users in Smart View. No cell styles are applied.

  • Custom and Cell Style icon Custom and Cell Style: Applies all cell styles and custom styles to the form. This is the default style option.

  1. On the home page, click Data.

    home page
  2. In Data Entry, under Library, expand Workshop.
    expand forms folder

    In this example, the forms displayed are part of the application provided in the Prerequisites section of this tutorial. When you create your business process, the cubes do not contain data.

  3. Click WS1-Dept Income Statement - Plan.

    The form with duly formatted Data Grid is displayed.

    form open

    Note:

    The style selector has switched automatically to the default style - Custom and Cell Style.
  4. On the right, click Actions, then click Edit.
    edit menu

    A Dynamic Tab (with the prefix Edit) opens with Forms Designer for the selected Data Grid.

    form designer
  5. In the right panel, click Format/Validation Rules.
    property panel
  6. In Format/Validation Rules, for Rules for location select All Rules.
    all rules
  7. In Format/Validation Rules, select ValidateMaxAllowedOtherCompensation and then click edit icon(Edit Validation Rule).
    validate edit

    The Format/Validation Rule Builder displays.

    rule builder
  8. In Format/Validation Rule Builder, for Enable format/validation rule select the check box.
    enable rule2
  9. Click OK.
  10. Click Save.
    Save
  11. In Information, click OK.
    information OK
  12. On the top, click Business Rules.
    tab rules
  13. In Business Rules Properties, for Plan1 – Rule – ValidateOtherCompensation, select Run After Load.
    enable rule
  14. Click Save.
  15. In Information, click OK.
    information OK
  16. In the bottom tabs, click WS1-Dept Income Statement - Plan.
    previous tab

    In the runtime form, now all the Rules are enabled. The values for Account 6160: Other Compensation are shown with the background Pink (this is as per the Groovy Business Rule: Plan1 - Rule – ValidateOtherCompensation). Groovy Business Rule takes precedence over all other Rules. Only the Cell Values, which are not impacted by Groovy Business Rule, are shown with the Yellow Background, which is the format as per Data Validation Rule(ValidateMaxAllowedOtherCompensation).

    All Rules enabled form

    Note:

    The style selector has switched automatically to the default style - Custom and Cell Style.
  17. From the quick toolbar that is displayed above the form, click the style icon.
    style icon
  18. From the menu, click Cell Style.

    Cell Style applies only the Groovy Business Rules and Data Validation Rules.

    cell style only
  19. From the quick toolbar that is displayed above the form, click the style icon.
  20. From the menu, click Custom Style.

    Custom Style applies only the Format Rules.

    custom style only

    Note:

    We have covered the order of precedence topic in another tutorial - Data Forms in Web - Format Display in Runtime.

Setting the elements in Format/Validation Rule Builder for enhanced form display

In this section, you will be doing 2 tasks. In the first task, you change the background color for Quarters to distinguish it from other totals and headers. And in the second task, you change the font color for YearTotal to Black and also make the font bold to distinguish it from other totals and headers.

Modifying the cell background color for visual differentiation

In this section, you change the background color for Quarters to distinguish it from other totals and headers.

  1. In the bottom tabs, click Edit WS1-Dept Income Statement - Plan.
    previous tab
  2. In the right panel, click Format/Validation Rules.
    property panel
  3. In Format/Validation Rules, for Rules for location select All Rules.
    all rules
  4. In Format/Validation Rules, select Column A Rule and then click edit icon(Edit Validation Rule).
    Column A edit
  5. In Format/Validation Rule Builder, under Actions click Process Cell icon (Process Cell).
    rule builder

    Note:

    • Enable format/validation rule: Select to make the Format/Validation Rule available in forms. You can temporarily disable a Format/Validation Rule by clearing this checkbox.

    • Format Only: Select to mark a Rule as Format only. This option is automatically enabled when a Format only Rule is created.

    • Cell formatting for each Rule is displayed in the Process column for that Rule.
  6. On the right under Format Cell, for Background Color click Popup selector icon (Popup selector).
    selector popup

    Note:

    • You can add tooltip text to the Message field. At runtime, when you hover the mouse over the location on the form that is formatted, you see the tooltip.
    • The Show in Format/Validation Messages page checkbox is disabled for Format only Rules and, consequently, messages will not appear in the Data Validation Messages pane in forms.
    • The Approvals options are also disabled.
  7. In the Color Picker, select Deep Sky Blue – 00BFFF.
    Color Picker

    Tip:

    Keep the mouse over a color to see its details as tooltip.

    As soon as the new background color is picked, the Current Style displays the newly picked color.

    current style

    Note:

    • Options available for Font and Alignment, including Font, Size, Color, Format, Vertical Alignment, Horizontal Alignment, and Wordwrap.
    • Options available for Border and Shading, including Border (Left, Top, Right, Bottom, and All) and Background Color.
    • As options are selected, the Current Format displays how it would appear when displayed on the form.
  8. Click OK.
  9. In Format/Validation Rule Builder, click OK.
  10. Click Save.
    Save
  11. In Information, click OK.
    information OK
  12. In the bottom tabs, click WS1-Dept Income Statement - Plan.
    previous tab

    In the runtime form, it is now easier to distinguish Quarters with the Deep Sky Blue background color applied.

    Rule enabled form

    Note:

    The style selector has switched automatically to the default style - Custom and Cell Style.

Modifying the font style for visual differentiation

In this section, you change the font color for YearTotal to Black and also make the font bold to distinguish it from other totals and headers.

  1. In the bottom tabs, click Edit WS1-Dept Income Statement - Plan.
  2. In the right panel, click Format/Validation Rules.
    property panel
  3. In Format/Validation Rules, for Rules for location select All Rules.
    all rules
  4. In Format/Validation Rules, select Column B Rule and then click edit icon(Edit Validation Rule).
    Column B edit
  5. In Format/Validation Rule Builder, under Actions click Process Cell icon (Process Cell).
    rule builder
  6. On the right under Format Cell, under Font and Alignment, for Color click Popup selector icon (Popup selector).
    selector popup
  7. In the Color Picker, select Default (Black) color.
    Color Picker

    Tip:

    Keep the mouse over a color to see its details as tooltip.
  8. On the right under Format Cell, under Font and Alignment, for Format click Bold icon (Bold).

    The Current Style displays the new font color and format.

    current style
  9. Click OK.
  10. In Format/Validation Rule Builder, click OK.
  11. Click Save.
    Save
  12. In Information, click OK.
    information OK
  13. In the bottom tabs, click WS1-Dept Income Statement - Plan.
    previous tab

    In the runtime form, it is now easier to distinguish YearTotal with the font formatted.

    Rule enabled form

    Tip:

    You can use the browser zoom function or the scroll bars on the form for better visibility.