3.3 Understanding the Installation Process

Installing Oracle APEX is a multiple step process. You follow the same instructions for new or upgrade installations.

• About Planning Your Installation
  Learn about the steps needed to install Oracle APEX.
• About Patch Sets
  Patch sets provide bug fixes only. A point release includes bug fixes and incorporates all current patch sets.
• About the Installation Scripts
  You can install Oracle APEX or update from previous release using the same installation procedure and the installation scripts.
• About Accessing Oracle APEX
  You access the Oracle APEX development environment, by signing in to a shared work area called a workspace.
• Requesting a Workspace from the Sign In Dialog
  Request a workspace from the Sign In dialog.
• Resetting Your Password from the Sign In Page
  Reset your password by clicking a link on Oracle APEX Sign In page.
• Recovering Your Workspace Name
  Recover your workspace name from the Oracle APEX Sign In page.

See Also:

"Upgrading from a Previous Oracle APEX Release"

3.3.1 About Planning Your Installation

Learn about the steps needed to install Oracle APEX.

Oracle recommends you take the time to carefully plan your installation.

Installing Oracle APEX involves the following steps:

1. Decide on a Full or Runtime Environment - Determine whether to install a full development environment or runtime environment. A full development environment provides complete access to the App Builder development environment to develop applications. A runtime environment is the appropriate choice for production implementations in which you want to run applications that cannot be modified.

   See "About the Oracle APEX Runtime Environment."

2. Verify installation requirements- Before installing, verify your system meets the minimum requirements.

   See "Oracle APEX Installation Requirements."

3. Install the software - Install or upgrade Oracle APEX by downloading a ZIP file from the Oracle APEX download page and then downloading and installing Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS) as described in "Installing and Configuring Oracle APEX and Oracle REST Data Services."

See Also:

"Upgrading from a Previous Oracle APEX Release"

3.3.2 About Patch Sets

Patch sets provide bug fixes only. A point release includes bug fixes and incorporates all current patch sets.

Patch sets are a mechanism for delivering fully tested and integrated product fixes. Patch sets provide bug fixes only. Patch sets typically do not include new functionality and they do not require certification on the target system. Patch sets include all of the libraries that have been rebuilt to implement the bug fixes in the set. All of the fixes in the patch set have been tested and are certified to work with each other.

In between major product releases, Oracle may offer a point release. A point release (for example Oracle APEX release 5.0.3) includes bug fixes and incorporates all current patch sets. Typically, point releases do not introduce new functionality.

See Also:

"Upgrading from a Previous Oracle APEX Release"

3.3.3 About the Installation Scripts

You can install Oracle APEX or update from previous release using the same installation procedure and the installation scripts.

The installation script checks for the latest existing Oracle APEX schema and automatically copies the instance metadata, workspaces, and applications from the previous schema into the current schema. The original schema associated with the previous release is left completely unaltered. Following best practices, Oracle recommends that you create new tablespaces for a new release of Oracle APEX and follow the appropriate installation instructions as outlined in this document.

3.3.4 About Accessing Oracle APEX

You access the Oracle APEX development environment, by signing in to a shared work area called a workspace.

How you sign in and access Oracle APEX depends upon your user role.

A workspace enables multiple users to work within the same Oracle APEX installation while keeping their objects, data, and applications private. Each workspace has a unique ID and name. An instance administrator can create a workspace manually within Oracle APEX Administration Services or have users submit requests. Oracle APEX Administration Services is a separate application for managing an entire Oracle APEX instance.

Users are divided into four primary roles:

• Instance administrators are superusers that manage an entire hosted instance using a separate application called Oracle APEX Administration Services. Instance administrators manage workspace provisioning, configure features and instance settings, and manage security.

• Workspace administrators can perform administrator tasks specific to a workspace such as configuring workspace preferences, managing user accounts, monitoring workspace activity, and viewing log files.

• Developers are users who sign in to a workspace and create and edit applications.

• End users can only run existing applications.

If you are a developer, an administrator must grant you access to shared work area called a workspace. If you are an Instance administrator, you must sign in to Oracle APEX Administration Services, determine whether to specify a provisioning mode, create a workspace, and then sign in to that workspace.

About Specifying a Provisioning Mode

The Instance administrator determines how the process of provisioning (or creating) a workspace works for a specific Oracle APEX instance. To determine how provisioning works, an Instance Administrator selects a Provisioning Methods on the Instance Settings page:

• Manual - An Instance administrator creates new workspaces and notifies the Workspace administrator regarding the Sign In credentials.

• Request - Users request a workspace. Once an administrator approves the request, the user receives an email containing an email verification link. After the user clicks the email verification link, the workspace is created.

• Automatic - Works similar to Request except requests are automatically approved with no administrator review required

See Also:

"About Specifying How Workspaces Are Created" and "Selecting a Workspace Provisioning Mode" in Oracle APEX Administration Guide

About Creating Workspaces and Users

Before you can develop or install applications, an administrator must create a workspace and add Oracle APEX users. To learn more contact your administrator, or see Creating a Workspace and Adding Oracle APEX Users.

See Also:

• "Creating Workspaces in Administration Services" in Oracle APEX Administration Guide

• "Making a Service Request" in Oracle APEX Administration Guide

• "Managing Requests" in Oracle APEX Administration Guide

3.3.5 Requesting a Workspace from the Sign In Dialog

Request a workspace from the Sign In dialog.

Note:

This topic does not apply to Oracle APEX instances running in Oracle Cloud. See the documentation for your Oracle Cloud service.

Your administrator determines how you request a new workspace. If your administrator has set Provisioning Method to either Request or Automatic and has configured email, you can request a workspace on the Sign In dialog.

To request a workspace from the Sign In dialog:

1. Navigate to the Oracle APEX Sign in dialog.
2. Under Sign In, click Request a Workspace.
   The Request a Workspace Wizard appears.
3. For Identification:
   1. First Name - Enter your first name.
   2. Last Name - Enter your last name.
   3. Email - Enter the email address. A link to activate your workspace will be sent to this email address.
   4. Workspace - Enter a workspace name that name uniquely identifies your development environment.
   5. Click Next.
4. If defined, review and accept the service agreement and click Next.
5. Verify your request and click Submit Request.
   Once you complete the Identification form, the following events occur:

   1. You will receive an email containing a verification link.

   2. When you click the verification link, the workspace is created.

   3. You will receive another email containing Sign In credentials (that is, the workspace name, username, and password).

Once you complete the Identification form, the following events occur:

1. You will receive an email containing a verification link.
2. When you click the verification link, the workspace is created.
3. You will then receive another email containing Sign In credentials (that is, the workspace name, username, and password).

See Also:

"About Specifying How Workspaces Are Created" in Oracle APEX Administration Guide

3.3.6 Resetting Your Password from the Sign In Page

Reset your password by clicking a link on Oracle APEX Sign In page.

Tip:

To reset your password from the Sign In page, you must provide your email address and the workspace name.

To reset your password from the Sign In Page:

1. In a web browser, navigate to the Oracle APEX Sign In page.
   The Sign In page appears.
2. Under Sign In, click Reset Password.
3. In the Reset Password form, enter your email address, workspace name, and click Reset Password.

   You will receive an email confirming your workspace name and username and containing a Reset Password URL link.

4. In the email, click the Reset Password URL link.
5. In the Change Password form:
   1. New Password - Enter your new password.

      Tip:

      Passwords are case sensitive.

   2. Confirm Password - Enter your new password again.
   3. Click Apply Changes.

Tip:

You can also reset your password within Oracle APEX. See "Changing Your Profile or Password" in Oracle APEX App Builder User’s Guide

3.3.7 Recovering Your Workspace Name

Recover your workspace name from the Oracle APEX Sign In page.

If you cannot remember your workspace name, you can request a list of all workspace names associated with your email address.

To find your workspace name:

1. In a web browser, navigate to the Oracle APEX Sign In page.
2. On the Sign In page, click Reset Password.
3. Click Find My Workspace.
4. Enter your email address and click Find Workspace.

   You will receive an email listing all workspaces associated with the email address you provided.