8.7.2 About Creating Faceted Search Pages

Learn about creating faceted search pages.

Running the Create Application Wizard or Create Page Wizard is the easiest way to create a faceted search page. However, you can create a faceted search page manually but the process involves multiple steps. To learn more, see Creating a Faceted Search Manually.

• About Creating Facet Search Pages with a Wizard
  Create a faceted search page by running either the Create Application Wizard or the Create Page Wizard.
• Search Facet Types
  Learn about supported facet types.

8.7.2.1 About Creating Facet Search Pages with a Wizard

Create a faceted search page by running either the Create Application Wizard or the Create Page Wizard.

Both the Create Application Wizard and Create Page Wizard support the creation of a faceted search page which contains a left Search region and a report. You choose if the report is a classic report or a cards report.

About Auto-Discovered Facets

When you build a faceted seach page with either the Create Application Wizard and Create Page Wizard, you can select a table or view on which to build the page. If you create the page based on a table, the facets are auto-discovered using the Data Dictionary Cache. In contrast, if you build the page on a view or a SQL query, the facets are not auto-discovered. Instead, the wizard creates a facet region which only searches VARCHAR2 columns.

About the Data Dictionary Cache

The Data Dictionary Cache report displays statistics and a data analysis of schema tables and caches in a workspace. Both the Create Application Wizard and Create Page Wizard use the Data Dictionary Cache when creating new applications and pages. You can preview how the wizards will render facets on the Data Dictionary Cache page by viewing the Table Column Cache report. The wizard uses the first top five facet search score columns with score greater than or equal to 20.

If a table changes due to DDL or DML modifications, the Oracle APEX nightly job ORACLE_APEX_DICTIONARY_CACHE refreshes the Data Dictionary Cache. However, you can refresh the cache manually by navigating to the Data Dictionary Cache and clicking either Gather Statistics and Refresh Cache or Refresh Cache Only at the workspace or table-level.

See Also:

Accessing the Data Dictionary Cache Report from Workspace Administration or Accessing the Data Dictionary Cache Report from Administration Services in Oracle APEX Administration Guide

8.7.2.2 Search Facet Types

Learn about supported facet types.

Search facets enable users to refine and narrow results by selecting multiple static filters simultaneously.

You specify a search facet type in Page Designer, by selecting the facet in the Rendering tab and configuring the Identification, Type attribute in the Property Editor. Each facet has additional attributes that control behavior. To learn more about a specific attribute, select the attribute and click the Help tab in the central pane.

Tip:

To see an example of manually adding a Search facet, Checkbox Group facets, and a Range faets, see Creating a Faceted Search Manually.

App Builder supports the following search facet Types:

• Checkbox Group - Displays multiple values as check boxes, enabling the end user to select multiple values. A list of values is required for items displayed as check boxes. The values corresponding to the checked boxes are stored in a single colon-delimited string.

• Input Field - Displays a text field that enables the user to filter by text input. The comparison operator is either set by the developer or can be chosen by the end user.

• Radio Group - Displays multiple values as radio group options, enabling the end user to select a single value.

• Range - Displays an item with a built-in list of values selector. Each option represents a range of values, from a lower to an upper boundary. The facet supports single or multiple selection, and manual entry.

  For filtering and count computation, the lower boundary of a specified range is always treated inclusive, and the upper boundary is exclusive. Example LOV Syntax:

  • Less than 100:

    |100

  • Between 100 and 500 (exclusive):

    100|500

  • 500 and more:

    500|

  For DATE or TIMESTAMP values, use the YYYYMMDDHH24MISS canonical format.

• Search - Displays a text field, enabling the end user to search the list entries of the facets in the Faceted Search region. A Faceted Search region supports one Search facet, which will always be at the top of the list of Facets, regardless of its sequence.

• Select List - Displays an item with a built-in list of values selector. When the end user clicks the item, the list of supported values displays directly inline with the current item.

  Select List is best suited for relatively small, discrete lists. End-Users can very quickly select a value from the list without needing to change focus to a popup dialog. For large lists Popup LOV is often better suited.