Updated Oracle Visual Builder Studio

Here are some key things you can now do to extend your application pages using Visual Builder Studio:

  • Manage published extensions

You can now centrally manage published extensions using the new Manage Extension Lifecycle page. You can use this page to deploy a published extension to a new Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications instance, or delete it when no longer needed. For more information, see Manage Your Published Extensions.

This functionality is also supported in Express mode. For more information, see Manage Your Published Extensions.

  • Explore dependencies in other extensions within the same pillar

You can now easily explore extensions that are within the same pillar as your dependent extension. Previously you'd have to install an extension to locate resources you might want to add to your extension. But, now you can see all extensions with extendable resources in the same pillar as your dependent extension in the App UIs pane. You'll also see a similar view in the Services, Layouts, and Translations panes. For more information, see What Are Dependencies.

  • Remove an installed dependency

You can now remove a dependency you'd installed. You can simply hover over the installed dependency in the Dependencies pane and click the Delete icon. For more information, see Add a Dependency.

  • Manage global functions

If you've defined JavaScript modules as global functions, it's now much easier to manage their metadata in functions.json. Instead of updating the file's JSON, you can use a more intuitive interface to manage the existing JS files (and functions) added to the file as well as create new JS files that contain global functions. For more information, see Manage Global Functions.

  • See list of custom pages

You can now see the pages that you've created grouped in a new section in the page navigator pane in Express mode.

  • Add or update dynamic container sections in the Properties pane

In Express mode, you can now add, remove, and change the order of sections in dynamic containers directly from the Properties pane. For more information, see Control the Sections Displayed on the Page.

  • Publish your changes directly to Fusion Applications instance

When you use the Edit Page option in Visual Builder Studio to configure a Fusion Applications page in Express mode for the first time, your changes are now directly published to your Fusion Applications instance, instead of going through the CI/CD pipeline. For more information, see Publish Your Changes.

If you want to change this default setting, you'll need to switch to Advanced mode and update the CI/CD Pipeline setting in the Settings editor.

  • Configure dynamic tables using a new type of business rule

Business rules, which control the logic that determines what's displayed on the page at runtime, are now available for all extensions as well as visual applications. For visual applications, see Use Business Rules With Your Rule Sets. For extensions, see Use Business Rules With Your Rule Sets.

If you already work with business rules, you can now configure dynamic tables using a new type of business rule, called a Collection rule, which allows you to show or hide table columns when the dynamic table is first rendered. For visual applications, see Create a Business Rule for Tables. For extensions, see Create Business Rules for Tables.

You can now also use two special types of nested business rules: If/Else rules and Switch rules. For visual applications, see Use Nested Rules. For extensions, see Use Nested Rules.

  • Drop an action between single line and block statements in custom code

You can now drop an action between single line and block statements in custom code, functionality that can improve productivity. Additionally, you can also take advantage of code completion in the Code Action's Properties pane. For visual applications, see Add a Code Action. For extensions, see Add a Code Action.

  • Use shorthand syntax for variables, constants, functions in current scope

When you create a new JavaScript action chain or add actions to an existing chain, the underlying code now uses shorthand syntax, by default, to retrieve the value of variables, constants, and functions defined in the current scope. So for a page, where previously the syntax was $page.variables.myvar or $page.functions.myfunc, you can now see $variables.myvar or $functions.myfunc instead in your action chain.

NOTE: The option to toggle between JSON and JavaScript action chains in the Action Chains tab is no longer available. This change doesn't impact existing JSON action chains, which you can continue to edit. The change impacts all new action chains defaulted to JavaScript. Further, you can no longer create new tests for JSON action chains, though existing tests will continue to run.

  • Create branch based on remote parent branch

When creating a branch based on a parent branch, you now have the option to pick which branch to use as the parent – either the local branch or the remote branch, if one exists. For visual applications, see Create or Switch a Branch. For extensions, see Create or Switch a Branch.

  • Upgrade support for imported resources

Resources that were using an older set of runtime dependencies when your app was imported can now be made compatible with the app's current runtime version. For visual applications, see Upgrade Imported Resources. For extensions, see Migrate Imported Resources.

  • Use dependent fragment property for display

When curating fragment properties for display in the Properties pane, you can now use an item's Dependent On field in the Design Time tab to specify other items that this item depends on for its data. This way, when the fragment is used on a page or container, the dependent item won't be displayed in the Properties pane until the other items have values added. For visual applications, see Section Fragment Properties for Display in the Properties Pane. For extensions, see Section Fragment Properties for Display in the Properties Pane.

The new Visual Builder Studio functionality provides you with a platform to extend your Fusion Applications extensively.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources