2.8 Using Oracle APEX Documentation

Oracle APEX provides field-level help, a hosted online documentation library, and links to the documentation from the product. From the APEX Documentation page in the Oracle Help Center, you can browse content by publication, search content, or download the entire documentation library.

• About Oracle Help Center
  Access Oracle Help Center by clicking Documentation on the Help menu.
• Downloading the Documentation Library
  Download a ZIP file of the online documentation library.
• Redirecting the Help Menu
  Redirect the Help menu at the instance level.
• Viewing Field-Level and Page Designer Help
  Learn about field-level Help and Help in Page Designer.

2.8.1 About Oracle Help Center

Access Oracle Help Center 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.

Using Oracle Help Center

Oracle Help Center contains documentation for allOracle products and includes a dedicated Oracle APEX page.

When viewing a publication on Oracle Help Center, you can access the home page for the current Oracle APEX release by clicking the Release number breadcrumb. When the release page appears, you can:

• Browse topics by selecting a subject area.
• View all publications in the library by selecting Books in the left navigation menu.
• Download the library locally by selecting Download.

Using Documentation Links in Oracle APEX

From Oracle APEX, access Oracle Help Center by selecting Help from the menu bar and selecting Documentation, or clicking a Learn More... link on the side bar on some pages.

Description of the illustration help_ico.png

2.8.2 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. Select Help from the menu bar. The Help menu icon resembles a question mark enclosed with a circle.
   2. Select Documentation.
   The documentation opens.
2. Navigate to the product release page. Click the Release 26.1 breadcrumb.
   The Oracle APEX Release page appears.
3. Under Books, select Download.
4. Save the ZIP file locally.
5. Download the ZIP file and extract it locally.
6. Open the extracted folder and then open Readme.html.
7. Click Start Here.

2.8.3 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

2.8.4 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.

• Viewing Field-Level Help in Oracle APEX
  
• Viewing Help in Page Designer
  

2.8.4.1 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 (?). Hovering over the icon displays a tooltip.

   
   Description of the illustration cv_hlp_item.png
2. To access field-level Help, click the Help for... icon.
   A Help window appears.

   
   Description of the illustration field_hlp.png

   Tip:

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

3. To link to the appropriate publication, click View Documentation button at the bottom of the Help window.

2.8.4.2 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. Click the Help tab in the central pane.
   
   Description of the illustration pd_help.png

   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, click the Help menu at the top of the page and select Getting Started in Page Designer.