8 Understanding Page Flow & Session State

Your app helps end users get their jobs done, and they expect easy access to all tasks they can perform. Your navigation menu shows them what business functions are available, and your navigation bar list lets them access app options.

Often a task they initiate requires visiting multiple pages to complete. You define this "flow" of pages using branches that link one page to another. Breadcrumbs or a Wizard Progress list help users understand where they are in a flow and how to go back. Modal dialogs provide another option to perform related actions and appear on top of the page that branches to them. In addition to these facilities to define and access page flows, APEX also dramatically simplifies their development by managing user sessions and the temporary storage of data values across pages. To cement your understanding of these fundamental APEX concepts, this section explores a three-step wizard flow and a typical list/edit flow.

  • Navigating to Business Functions
    After end users log in, they expect to see a list of tasks they can do.
  • App Options in the Navigation Bar
    Users look for settings and sign out options in a dropdown menu under their username. Your Navigation Bar List entries define the items that appear there.
  • Configuring a Wizard Page Flow
    A wizard is a multi-step UI pattern that helps users complete a task intuitively.
  • Additional Page Flow Features
    In addition to getting rendered and submitted, APEX pages also uses background data requests and support redirects to navigate without submitting data. Breadcrumbs help visualize the navigation path of drill down page flows. Modal dialogs offer an alternative to present related information without losing the context of the calling page.
  • Understanding Session State Management
    When an end user submits a page, sometimes you save their input to application tables immediately. Other times, to improve usability or manage file uploads, you need to store values temporarily and save them later.
  • Studying a List and Edit Flow
    The Create Page wizard builds list and edit pages for any data source in a few clicks. Understanding how those pages work together helps you use them well.