2.8 Using Oracle APEX Documentation

Oracle APEX provides a hosted online documentation library and field-level Help. You can browse or search content or download the entire library by going to the APEX Documentation page in the Oracle Help Center.

2.8.1 Accessing Oracle Help Center

Access Oracle Help Center from by clicking Documentation on the Help menu.

Oracle Help Center publishes a comprehensive library of publications for each Oracle APEX release. Whether you are new to APEX or an advanced user, you can find useful information about building stunning, scalable, secure apps with Oracle APEX.

Access Oracle Help Center by either clicking the Help menu and selecting Documentation, or clicking Learn More... links in the product UI.

When the Oracle Help Center appears, you can:

  • Select a release (if applicable).
  • Browse topics by selecting a subject area.
  • View all publications in the library:
    • In the left navigation menu, select Books.
    • Find and select the appropriate publication.
  • Download the library locally:
    • In the left navigation menu under Books, select Download.

2.8.2 Searching the Oracle Help Center

Search Oracle Help Center by book, product, category, or all publications.

Tip:

Searching a specific publication tends to yield the best results.

To search a specific publication:

  1. Access Oracle Help Center:
    1. Click the Help menu in the upper right corner. The Help menu features a question mark enclosed with a circle.
    2. Select Documentation.

    Oracle Help Center appears, displaying documentation for the current release.

  2. Locate the publication:
    1. From the left navigation menu, select Books.
    2. Locate the publication and click the HTML link.

      The publication appears.

      Note that the Search bar at the top of page displays the title of the selected publication.

  3. To search the publication, enter keywords in the Search bar and press Enter.
    Search results appear.
  4. Select a topic to review.

    The topic appears and the table of contents highlights the selected topic.

    The following icons display to the left side of the table of contents:

    • Table of Contents icon

      Table of Contents - Click the Table of Contents icon to show or hide the table of contents.

    • Search Icon

      Search - Click the Search icon to search the book, product, or category.

2.8.3 Downloading the Documentation Library

Download a ZIP file of the online documentation library.

To download the online documentation library:

  1. Access Oracle Help Center:
    1. Click the Help menu in the upper right corner. The Help menu features a question mark enclosed with a circle.
    2. Select Documentation.

    Oracle Help Center appears, displaying documentation for the current release.

  2. Under Books, select Download.
  3. Save the ZIP file locally.
  4. Download the ZIP file and extract it locally.
  5. Open the extracted folder and click Readme.html.
  6. Click Start Here.

2.8.4 Redirecting the Help Menu

Redirect the Help menu at the instance-level.

Administrators can redirect the Help menu at the instance-level in Manage Instance, Instances Settings in the Oracle APEX Administration Services application. APEX Administration Services is a separate application that enables an Instance administrator to manage an entire APEX hosted instance. This functionality is not available to some customers who are using a hosted instance.

See Also:

Configuring the Help Menu in Oracle APEX Administration Guide

2.8.5 Viewing Field-level and Page Designer Help

Learn about field-level Help and Help in Page Designer.

Most select lists, checkboxes, items, and fields within APEX include field-level Help. Page Designer also includes Help for all Property Editor attributes.

2.8.5.1 Viewing Field-level Help in Oracle APEX

Most select lists, checkboxes, items, and fields within Oracle APEX include field-level Help.

To view field-level help:

  1. Navigate to the attribute you need information about.

    Most attributes in APEX include field-level Help. Attributes with field-level Help have a light gray icon that resembles a question mark (?). Passing your cursor over the icon displays the tooltip, Help Text: ....

  2. To view field-level Help, click the Help Text icon.

    A Help window appears.

    Tip:

    To access field-level help with the keyboard, focus on the correct field and then press Alt+F1.

2.8.5.2 Viewing Help in Page Designer

Page Designer includes Help for all attributes in the Property Editor.

To view Help in Page Designer:

  1. Access Page Designer.

    Page Designer appears.

  2. Select a component or control in either the left pane or the central pane.

    As you change focus in either view, the Property Editor automatically updates to reflect the currently selected component.

  3. In the Property Editor, select an attribute.
  4. To view help for an attribute, select the attribute in the Property Editor and click the Help tab in the central pane.

    Once you activate the Help pane, the content that displays changes every time you select another attribute.

    Tip:

    To view an online summary that describes just the Page Designer window, view a page in Page Designer, click the Help menu at the top of the page, and select Getting Started with Page Designer.