Changes in Release 23.2 for Oracle APEX App Builder User’s Guide

All content in Oracle APEX App Builder User’s Guide has been updated to reflect release 23.2 functionality and user interface changes.

New Features and Updates

The following topics have been added or updated for this release:

Working Copy, Diff, and Merge

Create a special copy (or Working Copy) of an application. Make changes in the Working Copy and then merge, refresh or compare changes.

See Creating a Working Copy to Merge, Refresh, or Compare.
Workflow

Automate business processes by creating workflows, using an intuitive, visual workflow designer built natively into the platform.

See Managing Workflows and Tasks.
New Page Items
- Combobox Page Item Type
  
  New Combobox page item easily converts hand-typed display values into reusable foreign key lookups. The item also supports multiple values that are rendered as "chips" within the field.
  
  See Combobox.
- Image Upload Item
  
  The Image Upload item type makes it easy to crop, resize, and upload images to your application using on-device processing. You can also configure whether to use the main or selfie camera for mobile devices.
  
  See Image Upload and File Upload.
- QR Code Item Type
  
  The QR Code item type enables you to easily embed scannable QR codes that contain text, url, phone, email, SMS, or location data. You can also use the associated QR Code API for embedding QR codes within reports, emails, or other parts of your application.
  
  See QR Code.
Custom Map Background

Maps now support custom background tiles enabling you to visualize your spatial data in more ways than ever before. Define map backgrounds in Shared Components and for use across all map components. Map Backgrounds can be defined as Raster, Vector, and OGC WMS tile layers, and can be further customized with additional parameters to deliver the most appropriate map for your application.

See Creating Custom Map Backgrounds.
Faceted Search Enhancements

This release includes support for arbitrary facets and sort direction provides both developers and users even more control over the filtering and sorting of report data. Flexible filtering of report columns on input-based facets, with support for comparison operators extended to include not equals, does not contain, and does not start with.

See Managing Faceted Search and Search Facet Types
Subscription Functionality Extended to all Shared Components

Numerous improvements to subscriptions within Shared Components make it easier to manage component consistency across applications including:
- Subscribed components are now read-only
- Automatic Dependency Resolution
- Subscription Status
See Using Shared Component Subscriptions.
REST Data Source Enhancements

Numerous enhancements to the REST infrastructure within APEX provides deeper integrations with external applications and expands the reach of your APEX-based solutions. Enhancements include:
- Creating a REST Source Catalog from OpenAPI File
  
  Developers can now create REST Source Catalog from an OpenAPI file.
  
  See Creating a REST Source Catalog from OpenAPI.
- OData REST Service Type Support
  
  REST Data Sources now includes support for the OData REST Service Type. The OData REST Service Type is a REST service which implements the Open Data (OData) protocol, which is an ISO/IEC approved, OASIS standard that defines a set of best practices for building and consuming RESTful APIs.
  
  See Managing REST Data Sources.
REST Data Source Support for Oracle Cloud SaaS Applications

This release simplifies the process of building APEX applications that query, insert, update, and delete data from Oracle Cloud applications (SaaS) REST Service endpoints. This support includes all REST APIs for:
- Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications business objects (possibly customized by Fusion Application business administrators)
- Oracle Visual Builder application business objects
- Custom apps that use Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) business components
See About REST Data Source Support for Oracle Cloud SaaS Applications
App Builder Improvements
- Simplified Create Application Wizard
  
  The Create Application Wizard includes a simplier user interface and supports the creation of a basic application with one click.
  
  See Creating Applications.
- Simplification of the Application Export and Import
  The Import and Export Wizards have been simplified to create a more intuitive, enhanced user experience. Export apps, pages, or components using a new, standardized navigation system for different types of exports, then import them into your workspaces and applications in just a few steps.
  See Exporting Workspaces, Applications, and App Components and Importing an Application, Page or Component Export
- Page Designer - Comment Out / Uncomment Context Menu
  
  Exclude or include page components at runtime using the Comment Out and Uncomment context menu option in Page Designer.
  
  See Commenting Out Page Components in Page Designer
- Application Gallery Improvements
  
  The Application Gallery now supports the background installation of application. The installation process has been streamlined to be faster and require less steps. Users can update a previously installed application without first needing to remove the application.
  
  See Using the App Gallery.
Manage Static Application files in OCI Object Storage

With this release, you can now manage static application files in the Oracle database in Shared Components or the remote storage solution, OCI Object Storage.

See Managing Static Application Files in Remote Storage.
Translatable Default Reports for Interactive Reports and Interactive Grids

Developers can now translate default reports (that is, a Primary Default or Alternative Report) for interactive report and interactive grid regions. Saved default reports can be translated using application translation process. The translatable XLIFF file includes translating default report settings.

See Translating Default Reports for Interactive Reports and Interactive Grids.
Ubiquitous Database Search for Oracle Database 23ai

A new search type in the APEX Search Configuration wizard provides support for the new Oracle Database 23ai feature, Ubiquitous Database Search.

See Creating a Ubiquitous Search.
Populate List Item Sub Entries with List Reference

Child Items of a Static List Item can now be populated by a reference a List, with the ability to nest lists up to 10 levels. The referenced List can be static or Dynamic, and identifying List and Sublist relations can easily be done in the List Utilization report.

See Creating Lists.

Deprecated and Desupported Features

See Deprecated Features and Desupported Features in Oracle APEX Release Notes.