1. Oracle WebCenter Portal Online Help
  2. Online Help Topics for Tools and Services
  3. Create/Edit Column

Create/Edit Column

This procedure is useful when you create a custom list or you want to alter a list that you created from a template or a spreadsheet. A list supports up to 30 columns.

When you add a column to a list, the new column is added after the selected column. If no column is selected, the new column is added as the first column.

To add columns to a list:

  1. In the Name field, provide a name for this column.
  2. From the Data Type list, select the type of data you want to enter in this column.

    Note:

    The data type you select affects the type of data that can be entered for the column and the way the data is rendered. It also affects the type of validation that is run on column data when you and other authorized users add list rows. For example, if you select a DateTime data type, and a user enters text that is not in the DateTime format, WebCenter Portal displays an error.

    This table lists and describes the data types available to list columns, and provides information about the additional details that appear for each type.

    Data Type Description Comments

    Plain Text

    Unformatted text, provides options for making the text a link

    Additional column details include:

    • Required

    • Default Value

    • Maximum Length

    • Number of Lines for Editing

    • Allow Links

    • Link Window

    • Display Width

    • Hint

    Rich Text

    Rich, formatted text entered through a rich text editor, may include links

    Additional column details include:

    • Required

    • Display Width

    • Hint

    Number

    Numerical values

    Additional column details include:

    • Required

    • Format

    • Default Value

    • Minimum Value

    • Maximum Value

    • Display Width

    • Hint

    For Format, select from:

    • Number—an unformatted number; decimal separator is based on the currently selected locale.

    • Currency—value is formatted as a currency value; the currency symbol and decimal separator are based on the currently selected locale.

    • Percent—value is formatted as a percentage; the value 0.6 is formatted as 0.6%; the value 60 is formatted as 60%.

    The Number data type supports numbers from 1.79769313486231570e+308 with 14 to 15 significant digits.Foot 1

    DateTime

    Dates and times in the format specified in a given user's WebCenter Portal Preferences.

    Additional column details include:

    • Required

    • Format

    • Default Value

    • Display Width

    • Hint

    For Format, select from:

    • Date—For requiring a date.

    • Time—For requiring a time.

    • Date and Time—For requiring a date and a time.

    The way the selected Format is rendered is controlled by the user's date and time preferences.

    The Default Value field includes a date picker, which you can use to select a default date in the correct format. The current date is highlighted, with a box around it.

    This field does not require leading zeroes, for example, for September 9, 2015, it does not require 09/04/2015. Instead, you can use 9/4/2013.

    Boolean

    Either TRUE or FALSE

    Additional column details include:

    • Default Value

    • Display Width

    • Hint

    TRUE or FALSE is rendered as a check box. Selected equals TRUE; deselected equals FALSE.

    Picture

    A URL to an image (the image is rendered in list view mode)

    Additional column details include:

    • Required

    • Display Width

    • Hint

    Person

    A valid user name

    Additional column details include:

    • Required

    • Range of Users

    • Default Value

    • Display Width

    • Hint

    The Range of Users field enables you to limit the valid range of users to the membership of the current portal (or to include all users). The Default Value field includes a Find user icon, which you can use to locate and select a default user.

    The list column contains a presence indicator next to the user name. Click the presence indicator to open a context menu with options for making contact with the person instantly.

    Footnote 1

    Number data-type columns adhere to the range and precision specified for the 8 byte IEEE 754 double data type. When the maximum number of significant digits is exceeded, the number is rounded.

  3. After you select a data type, enter values for the remaining fields.

    This table lists the possible remaining fields and their associated data types.

    Column Detail Description Associated Data Type(s)

    Allow Links

    Specify whether to allow column data to be hyperlinked. Specifying Allow Links enables the user to enter both a column value and a URL. If a URL is specified, the column value is rendered as a hyperlink.

    Plain Text

    Default Value

    Optionally, provide a default value for the column entry, such as a default image, number, user name, and the like.

    • Plain Text

    • Number

    • DateTime

    • Boolean

    • Person

    Display Width

    Enter a value in pixels to set the column width.

    All data types

    Format

    Use this pick list to specify the format for column values.

    • Number

    • DateTime

    Hint

    Enter text to assist the user in understanding the content to enter into the column. This text appears when focus is on this column in edit list data mode.

    All data types

    Link Window

    Indicate how a hyperlink on column data should open.

    Choose from:

    • New Window—The link opens in a new browser tab or window.

    • Current Window—The link opens in the current browser window.

    Plain Text

    Maximum Length

    Enter the maximum number of characters for this column entry. This includes character spaces.

    Plain Text

    Maximum Value

    Indicate the highest number that can be entered in this column.

    Number

    Minimum Value

    Indicate the lowest number that can be entered in this column.

    Number

    Number of Lines for Editing

    Indicate the number of lines to make available for editing. When the value is 1, the user enters data in a single line text field when editing list data. Long values scroll horizontally. When the value is greater than 1, the user enters data in a multiline text field. Long values scroll vertically. This makes entering and viewing large values much easier.

    Plain Text

    Range of Users

    Indicate whether to limit the selection of users to members of the current portal (portal Members) or to allow a selection from all authenticated users (All Users).

    Person

    Required

    Select this check box to require that data is entered in this column.

    • Plain Text

    • Rich Text

    • DateTime

    • Number

    • Picture

    • Person
  4. Click OK to save your changes and exit the dialog.
  5. Click Close to exit List Edit mode.

You can revise every detail of a list column. That is, you can rename the column, change the column data type, require a value, or remove a value requirement. Keep in mind, however, if you change a column data type, any values currently entered in the list column are either converted to the new data type or removed irrevocably.

For example, if you move from a Plain Text data type to a Number data type, values that can be converted to a number are retained; other values are removed. Before any values are removed by the change, you are asked for confirmation. In contrast, if you move from a Number data type to a Plain Text data type, all values are retained.

Note:

Validation occurs only on data entry. If a user changes column details after data has been entered into the column, the existing data is not affected (that is, validated) even if it does not meet the new column detail conditions on the columns.

If you want to validate new list data, you can export the list data to an Excel spreadsheet and then import it. On import, all rows are validated. The rows that fail validation are noted. You can fix invalid rows in the spreadsheet and import again.