1. SQL Workshop Guide
  2. Using Oracle Application Express Utilities
  3. Managing User Interface Defaults

Managing User Interface Defaults

Managing user interface defaults enables you to assign default interface properties, create default wizard, modify the table user interface defaults, add new attributes, and export the user interface defaults.

Parent topic: Using Oracle Application Express Utilities

About User Interface Defaults

User Interface Defaults enable you to assign default user interface properties for regions and items.

This wizard enables you to specify whether you want to use User Interface Defaults if they exist. When you create a form or report using a wizard, the wizard uses this information to create default values for region and item properties. Utilizing user interface defaults can save valuable development time and has the added benefit of providing consistency across multiple pages in an application. User Interface Defaults are divided into two categories, the Table Dictionary and the Attribute Dictionary.

  • The Table Dictionary enables you to specify defaults for tables and columns that are initialized from the database definition.

  • The Attribute Dictionary enables you to create defaults based on attribute or column names, thus being usable across all tables. Attribute definitions can also have synonyms, allowing more than one attribute to share a common definition.

When you use User Interface Defaults during creation of pages and regions, the Table Dictionary takes priority over the Attribute Dictionary. If a table and column combination exists, that is used rather than an attribute definition of the same name. This can be useful, for example, when you want to have a specific label or Help text for the CREATED_BY column in the emp table but then use more generic defaults for CREATED_BY in another table.

Parent topic: Managing User Interface Defaults

Creating User Interface Defaults for a Table

If no defaults have been created for a table, use the Table Dictionary Create Defaults wizard to automatically generate defaults based on the database table and column definitions. After the initial defaults are created, you can modify the individual default values.

To create the initial user interface defaults for tables:

  1. On the Workspace home page, click the SQL Workshop.
  2. Click Utilities.
  3. Click User Interface Defaults.

    The Dashboard page for User Interface Defaults appears.

  4. Click Table Dictionary.

    The Table Dictionary page displays a report of all objects in your workspace that includes a Defaults Exist column indicating whether defaults have been created for each object.

  5. Click the object name for which you want to create defaults.

    The Create Table Dictionary Defaults page appears.

  6. Click Create Defaults.

    The Table Dictionary page displays a report showing that defaults exist for the object you selected.

    Note:

    Synchronizing defaults with the database data dictionary creates table based defaults for any tables in the current schema that do not have defaults yet and adjusts those of tables that do to match the database definition.

    See Also:

    "Modifying Table User Interface Defaults"

Parent topic: Managing User Interface Defaults

Modifying Table User Interface Defaults

Learn how to modify existing table user interface defaults.

To modify existing table defaults:

  1. On the Workspace home page, click the SQL Workshop.
  2. Click Utilities.
  3. Click User Interface Defaults.

    The Dashboard page for User Interface Defaults appears.

  4. Click Table Dictionary.

    The Table Dictionary page displays a report of all objects in your workspace. The Defaults Exist column indicates whether defaults have been created for an object.

  5. Click the object name you want to modify.

    The Table and Column Properties page displays a report of column defaults.

  6. Click the column name you want to modify.

    The Column Defaults page displays.

  7. Make modifications and click Apply Changes.

    See field-level help for a description of the individual settings on this page.

    Note:

    A column can be removed from the Table Dictionary, thus allowing the Attribute Dictionary defaults to be used during the creation process. For example, when you have auditing columns where you may want the exact same labels and help across every instance of CREATED_BY and CREATED_ON, regardless of which table they come from, you could simply remove the column defaults from each table for those columns.

Parent topic: Managing User Interface Defaults

Creating User Interface Attributes

Use the Attribute Dictionary to define and add new attributes.

To create an attribute:

  1. On the Workspace home page, click the SQL Workshop.
  2. Click Utilities.
  3. Click User Interface Defaults.

    The Dashboard page for User Interface Defaults appears.

  4. Click Attribute Dictionary.

    The Attribute Dictionary page displays a report of all attributes in your workspace.

  5. Click Create.

    The Column Details page appears.

  6. Enter attribute specifications and click Create.

    See field-level help for a description of the individual settings on this page.

Parent topic: Managing User Interface Defaults

Modifying User Interface Attributes

Modify existing user interface attributes on the Grid Edit page or by selecting a specific column.

To modify an existing attribute:

  1. On the Workspace home page, click the SQL Workshop.
  2. Click Utilities.
  3. Click User Interface Defaults.

    The Dashboard page for User Interface Defaults appears.

    The current schema displays to the right of the breadcrumb menu.

  4. Click Attribute Dictionary.

    The Attribute Dictionary page displays a report of all attributes in your workspace.

  5. To edit select attributes for all displayed columns:

    1. Click Grid Edit.

    2. Edit the appropriate attributes and click Apply Changes.

  6. To edit a specific column, click the edit icon for the attribute you want to modify.

    The Column Details page displays.

    Note:

    If you select to edit a synonym, identified by having the Synonym of column populated, you are taken to the definition for the base column, because the base column and all synonyms share one definition. To delete the synonym, select the synonym within the Synonyms region. Deleting the base column deletes the column and all synonyms.

  7. Make modifications and click Apply Changes.

    See field-level help for a description of the individual settings on this page.

Parent topic: Managing User Interface Defaults

Exporting and Importing User Interface Defaults

You export user interface defaults in the same way you export any related application file.

Exporting user interface defaults from one development instance to another involves the following steps:

  1. Export the user interface defaults using the Export User Interface Defaults utility.
  2. Import the exported file into the target Oracle Application Express instance.
  3. Install the exported file from Export Repository.

When you export user interface defaults, all user interface defaults for the selected schema are exported to a single script. The file contains an API call to create table hints by making calls to the application PL/SQL API. You can use this file to import user interface defaults to another database and Oracle Application Express instance.

See Also:

Parent topic: Managing User Interface Defaults