7.9.3 Configuring Globalization Attributes

Configure attributes on the Edit Globalization Attributes to configure application globalization options. In App Builder you can develop applications that can run concurrently in different languages.

A single application can be translated to support different languages. Use the attributes on the Edit Globalization Attributes page to specify globalization options such as the primary application language and defaults for date format, time format, timestamp format, time zone format, and CSV encoding.

• Accessing the Globalization Page
  
• Globalization Page
  

See Also:

"Managing Application Globalization"

7.9.3.1 Accessing the Globalization Page

To access the Globalization page:

1. On the Workspace home page, click the App Builder icon.
2. Select an application.

   The Application home page appears.

3. From Application home page, you can access the application Globalization page in two ways:
   • From Shared Components:

     1. Click Shared Components.

     2. Under Globalization, click Globalization Attributes.

   • Edit Application Properties button:

     1. Click Edit Application Properties to the right of the application name.

     2. Click the Globalization tab.

   The Globalization page appears.

4. Edit the appropriate attributes.
5. Click Apply Changes to save your changes.

7.9.3.2 Globalization Page

The following sections describe the attributes available on the application Globalization page.

Note:

Required values are marked with a red asterisk (*).

• Application Primary Language
  
• Application Language Derived From
  
• Document Direction
  
• Application Date Format
  
• Application Date Time Format
  
• Application Timestamp Format
  
• Application Timestamp Time Zone Format
  
• Character Value Comparison
  
• Character Value Comparison Behavior
  
• Automatic Time Zone
  
• Automatic CSV Encoding
  

See Also:

"Specifying the Primary Language for an Application"

7.9.3.2.1 Application Primary Language

Identifies the language in which an application is developed. This language is the base language from which all translations are made. For example, suppose application 100 was authored in English, translated into French, and published as application 101. English would be the Application Primary Language.

All modifications to the application should be made to the primary language specified here.

7.9.3.2.2 Application Language Derived From

Specifies how Application Express derives the translated application language. The application primary language can be static, derived from the Web browser language, or determined from a user preference or item.

To learn more about the available options, see Field-level Help.

7.9.3.2.3 Document Direction

Sets the document direction. Options include:

• Left-To-Right

• Right-To-Left

7.9.3.2.4 Application Date Format

Determines the date format to be used in the application.

Use this date format to alter the NLS_DATE_FORMAT database session setting before showing or submitting any page in the application. This value can be a literal string containing a valid Oracle date format mask or an item reference using substitution syntax. If no value is specified, the default date format is derived from the database session at runtime. Consider the following examples:

Month DD, YYYY
&MY_DATE_FORMAT.

7.9.3.2.5 Application Date Time Format

Specify the date time format to be used in the application.

This date time format can be referenced in an application using the substitution reference&APP_DATE_TIME_FORMAT., or in PL/SQL using the function v('APP_DATE_TIME_FORMAT'). This attribute does not alter any NLS settings. This value can be a literal string containing a valid Oracle date format mask or an item reference using substitution syntax. If this attribute value is not specified, then a reference to APP_DATE_TIME_FORMAT returns the NLS database session date format and the NLS time format. Consider the following examples:

Month DD, RRRR HH24:MI
&MY_DATE_TIME_FORMAT.

7.9.3.2.6 Application Timestamp Format

Determines the timestamp format to be used in the application. Select a timestamp format from the list of values.

Use this timestamp format to alter the NLS_TIMESTAMP_FORMAT database session setting before showing or submitting any page in the application. This value can be a literal string containing a valid Oracle timestamp format mask or an item reference using substitution syntax. If no value is specified, the default timestamp format is derived from the database session at runtime. Consider the following examples:

DD-MON-RR HH.MI.SSXFF AM
&MY_TIMESTAMP_FORMAT.

7.9.3.2.7 Application Timestamp Time Zone Format

Determines the timestamp with time zone format to be used in the application.

Use this date format to alter the NLS_TIMESTAMP_TZ_FORMAT database session setting before showing or submitting any page in the application. This value can be a literal string containing a valid Oracle timestamp with time zone format mask or an item reference using substitution syntax. If no value is specified, the default timestamp with time zone format is derived from the database session at runtime. Consider the following examples:

DD-MON-RR HH.MI.SSXFF AM TZR
&MY_TIMESTAMP_TZ_FORMAT.

7.9.3.2.8 Character Value Comparison

Determines the collating sequence for character value comparison in various SQL operations and clauses, for example, ORDER BY, LIKE, MIN/MAX.

Use this value to alter NLS_SORT database session parameter for the execution of SQL queries in classic report and interactive report regions. If no value is specified, the default value is derived from the database session at runtime. Consider the following examples:

BINARY
GERMAN
CANADIAN_M

7.9.3.2.9 Character Value Comparison Behavior

Determines the collation behavior of SQL operations, for example, LIKE, MIN/MAX.

This value is used to alter NLS_COMP database session parameter for the execution of SQL queries in classic report, interactive report, and List view regions, as well as in plug-in API. Options include:

• Database session NLS setting (default) - The NLS_COMP value is derived from the database session at runtime.

• Binary - Comparisons in WHERE clauses and other SQL operations are binary.

• Linguistic - Comparisons in WHERE clauses and other SQL operations use the linguistic sort specified in the Character Value Comparison attribute (NLS_SORT).

7.9.3.2.10 Automatic Time Zone

Controls the setting of the database session time zone. When set to On, the client time zone is derived from the client's web browser and set for the duration of the Application Express session.

Subsequent page views have the database session time zone set properly per page view. Once set, this setting can be overridden using APEX_UTIL.SET_SESSION_TIME_ZONE, or reset using APEX_UTIL.RESET_SESSION_TIME_ZONE.

See Also:

Oracle Application Express API Reference

7.9.3.2.11 Automatic CSV Encoding

Automatic CSV Encoding controls the encoding of all comma-delimited (CSV) report output in an application. The default value for Automatic CSV Encoding is On. When Automatic CSV Encoding is set to On, CSV report output is converted to a character set compatible with localized desktop applications. The character set for the CSV encoding is determined by the Application Language Derived From setting.

The encoding of pages in App Builder is determined by the character set of the Database Access Descriptor (DAD) used to access Oracle Application Express. For example, if the character set of the Database Access Descriptor is AL32UTF8, all pages in all applications in the Oracle Application Express user interface are encoded in UTF-8.

By default, the CSV output from report regions is encoded in the same character set as the Database Access Descriptor. However, some desktop spreadsheet applications require that the data is encoded in the client desktop operating system character set. In the case of multibyte data, the CSV output from report regions often appears corrupted when opened by a desktop spreadsheet application. This is because the CSV output from report regions is encoded differently than what is required by the desktop application. Enabling Automatic CSV Encoding resolves this issue.

For example, if the user's language preference for an application is de, the CSV data is encoded in Western European Windows 1252, regardless of the Database Access Descriptor character set setting. If the user's language preference is zh-cn, the CSV data is encoded in Chinese GBK.