Oracle® Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide

Oracle® Fusion Applications

Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

11g Release 7 (11.1.7)

E16691-12

September 2013

Documentation for business analysts and administrators that

describes how to use runtime tools to customize and extend

the standard functionality provided by Oracle Fusion

Applications.

Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts, 11g Release 7 (11.1.7)

E16691-12

Primary Author: Chris Kutler (lead), Sarah Bernau, Shelly Butcher, Ralph Gordon, Peter Jew, Mark Kennedy,

Steven Leslie, Landon Ott, Leslie Studdard

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iii

Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................................................................. ix

Audience....................................................................................................................................................... ix

Documentation Accessibility..................................................................................................................... ix

Related Documents ..................................................................................................................................... ix

Conventions ................................................................................................................................................. xi

What's New in This Guide...................................................................................................................... xiii

New and Changed Features for 11g Release 7 (11.1.7) ........................................................................ xiii

Other Significant Changes in this Document for 11g Release 7 (11.1.7)............................................ xiv

New and Changed Features for 11g Release 6 (11.1.6) ........................................................................ xiv

Other Significant Changes in this Document for 11g Release 6 (11.1.6)............................................ xv

Part I Introduction to Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications

1 Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications

1.1 Understanding Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications ....................... 1-1

1.1.1 Personalization .......................................................................................................... 1-2

1.1.2 Runtime Customizations and Extensions .................................................................. 1-2

1.1.3 Design Time Customizations and Extensions ............................................................ 1-3

1.2 Understanding Customization Layers .............................................................................. 1-4

1.3 Understanding the Runtime Tools ................................................................................... 1-6

1.3.1 Understanding Role-Based Access to Tools ............................................................... 1-6

1.3.2 Personalizing and Customizing Pages Using Page Composer ................................... 1-6

1.3.3 Customizing Pages Using Application Composer ..................................................... 1-7

1.3.4 Creating and Customizing Objects ............................................................................ 1-8

1.3.5 Creating and Customizing Business Process Flows for Custom Objects ................... 1-9

1.3.6 Defining Security Policies for Custom Objects ........................................................... 1-9

1.3.7 Adding Custom Attributes to Business Components ................................................ 1-9

1.3.8 Customizing Reports and Analytics .......................................................................... 1-9

1.3.9 Performing Design Time Customizations .................................................................. 1-9

1.3.10 What You Can Customize and Extend and with Which Tool .................................. 1-10

2 Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle

2.1 Understanding Typical Customization Workflows .......................................................... 2-1

2.1.1 Runtime Customization Workflow ............................................................................ 2-2

2.1.1.1 Viewing and Diagnosing Runtime Customizations ............................................ 2-4

2.1.1.1.1 Before You Begin Using the Manage Customizations Dialog ....................... 2-5

2.1.1.1.2 Viewing Customizations Using the Manage Customizations Dialog ........... 2-5

2.1.1.1.3 Backing Out Customizations ........................................................................ 2-6

2.1.2 Design Time Customization Workflow ..................................................................... 2-7

2.2 Using the Sandbox Manager ........................................................................................... 2-7

2.2.1 Sandboxes and Concurrent Usage ............................................................................. 2-9

2.2.1.1 Conflicts Within a Sandbox ............................................................................... 2-11

2.2.1.2 Conflicts Between Sandboxes ............................................................................ 2-11

2.2.1.3 Guidelines for One Sandbox, Multiple Users .................................................... 2-12

2.2.1.4 Guidelines for Multiple Sandboxes, Multiple Users .......................................... 2-13

2.2.2 Setting Up Sandboxes .............................................................................................. 2-13

2.2.3 Publishing Sandboxes .............................................................................................. 2-16

2.3 Exporting and Moving Customizations ......................................................................... 2-17

2.3.1 Using Customization Set Migration to Move Customizations ................................. 2-19

2.3.2 Using Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager to Move Customizations ............. 2-30

2.3.3 Using the Manage Customizations Dialog to Download Customizations ............... 2-30

2.3.4 Using WLST Commands to Move Customizations ................................................. 2-31

2.3.5 Using Fusion Applications Control to Move Customizations ................................. 2-32

Part II Runtime Customizations and Extensions

3 Customizing Existing Pages

3.1 About Customizing Existing Pages .................................................................................. 3-1

3.1.1 Page Composer User Interface Overview .................................................................. 3-3

3.1.2 Effects of Editing Objects That Display on Multiple Pages ........................................ 3-4

3.1.3 What You Can Do with Pages at Runtime ................................................................. 3-4

3.1.3.1 Nondashboard Pages in Oracle Fusion CRM Applications ................................. 3-5

3.1.3.2 Dashboard Pages in Oracle Fusion CRM Applications ....................................... 3-5

3.1.3.3 Pages in Non-CRM Applications ........................................................................ 3-5

3.1.3.4 UI Shell Template ................................................................................................ 3-6

3.1.4 What You Cannot Do with Pages at Runtime ............................................................ 3-6

3.1.5 Before You Begin Customizing Existing Pages .......................................................... 3-7

3.2 Editing a Page in Page Composer .................................................................................... 3-9

3.3 Editing Component Properties in Page Composer ......................................................... 3-18

3.4 Editing the UI Shell Template Used by All Pages .......................................................... 3-21

3.5 Editing Pages in Oracle JDeveloper After Using Page Composer .................................. 3-25

4 Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes

4.1 About Using Flexfields ..................................................................................................... 4-1

4.1.1 About the Different Types of Flexfields ..................................................................... 4-2

4.1.2 What You Can Do with Flexfields at Runtime ........................................................... 4-4

4.1.3 What You Cannot Do with Flexfields at Runtime ...................................................... 4-7

4.1.4 What You Cannot Do with Flexfields at Design Time ............................................... 4-8

4.1.5 Before You Begin Using Flexfields to Create Custom Attributes ............................... 4-8

4.1.6 How to Configure Custom Attributes ........................................................................ 4-8

4.2 Finding the Flexfields on a Page ...................................................................................... 4-9

4.3 Planning Your Flexfields ................................................................................................ 4-10

4.3.1 Planning Descriptive Flexfields ............................................................................... 4-10

4.3.2 Planning Extensible Flexfields ................................................................................. 4-16

4.4 Creating Custom Value Sets ........................................................................................... 4-23

4.5 Configuring Flexfields .................................................................................................... 4-31

4.5.1 Configuring Descriptive Flexfields .......................................................................... 4-32

4.5.1.1 Configuring Descriptive Flexfields Using Quick Create Dialogs ...................... 4-32

4.5.1.2 Configuring Descriptive Flexfields Using the Manage Descriptive Flexfields Task

............................................................................................................................ 4-34

4.5.2 Configuring Extensible Flexfields ............................................................................ 4-38

4.6 Validating Flexfield Configurations ............................................................................... 4-41

4.7 Deploying Flexfield Configurations ............................................................................... 4-41

4.8 Integrating Custom Attributes ....................................................................................... 4-45

5 Customizing Menus

5.1 About Menu Configuration .............................................................................................. 5-1

5.1.1 About Navigator Menu Configuration ...................................................................... 5-1

5.1.1.1 What You Can Do with the Navigator Menu at Runtime .................................... 5-3

5.1.1.2 What You Cannot Do with the Navigator Menu at Runtime .............................. 5-3

5.1.2 About Home Page Menu Configuration .................................................................... 5-3

5.1.2.1 What You Can Do with the Home Page Menu at Runtime ................................. 5-4

5.1.2.2 What You Cannot Do with the Home Page Menu at Runtime ............................ 5-4

5.1.3 Before You Begin Customizing a Menu ..................................................................... 5-4

5.2 Adding Navigator Menu Groups ..................................................................................... 5-4

5.3 Adding Menu Items ......................................................................................................... 5-5

5.4 Hiding and Showing Nodes ............................................................................................. 5-8

6 Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes

6.1 About Customizing BPMN Processes .............................................................................. 6-1

6.1.1 Oracle Tools for Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes ................................ 6-2

6.1.2 What You Can Do with BPMN Processes at Runtime ................................................ 6-3

6.1.2.1 What You Can Customize Using Oracle SOA Composer and Oracle BPM Worklist

.............................................................................................................................. 6-3

6.1.2.2 What You Can Customize Using Business Process Composer ............................ 6-4

6.1.3 What You Cannot Do with BPMN Processes at Runtime .......................................... 6-4

6.1.4 Before You Begin Customizing BPMN Processes ...................................................... 6-5

6.2 Creating a BPM Project ..................................................................................................... 6-6

6.3 Customizing BPMN Processes ......................................................................................... 6-6

6.4 Saving a BPM Project to the BPM Repository ................................................................... 6-8

6.5 Deploying a BPM Project .................................................................................................. 6-9

6.6 Configuring Oracle Fusion Applications to Use BPMN Processes ................................. 6-10

6.6.1 Configuring BPMN Processes in CRM Applications ............................................... 6-10

6.6.2 Configuring BPMN Processes in HCM Applications ............................................... 6-10

7 Customizing Reports and Analytics

7.1 About Customizing Reports and Analytics ...................................................................... 7-1

7.2 Customizing Reports ........................................................................................................ 7-1

7.2.1 About Customizing Reports ...................................................................................... 7-2

7.2.1.1 What You Can Customize ................................................................................... 7-2

7.2.1.2 Related Report Customization Tasks .................................................................. 7-3

7.2.1.3 Tools for Customizing Reports ............................................................................ 7-4

7.2.1.4 Using the Customize Feature .............................................................................. 7-4

7.2.1.5 Considerations When Using the Customize Feature ........................................... 7-6

7.2.1.6 Before You Begin Customizing Reports .............................................................. 7-7

7.2.2 Customizing Layouts ................................................................................................. 7-9

7.2.2.1 Customizing RTF Templates ............................................................................. 7-15

7.2.2.1.1 Customizing an RTF Template: Examples .................................................. 7-17

7.2.2.2 Customizing BI Publisher Templates ................................................................ 7-24

7.2.3 Customizing Data Models ....................................................................................... 7-25

7.2.3.1 Editing Existing Data Models ............................................................................ 7-26

7.2.3.2 Creating a New Data Model .............................................................................. 7-27

7.2.4 Creating Custom Reports ........................................................................................ 7-29

7.2.5 Adding Translations ................................................................................................ 7-29

7.2.6 Tasks Required to Run Custom Reports with Oracle Enterprise Scheduler ............ 7-30

7.2.6.1 Creating a New Oracle Enterprise Scheduler Job Definition ............................. 7-30

7.2.6.2 Customizing Parameters for Reports Submitted Through Oracle Enterprise

Scheduler ........................................................................................................... 7-31

7.2.7 Securing Custom Reports and Related Components ............................................... 7-31

7.2.8 Making Reports Available to Users in the Reports and Analytics Pane .................. 7-35

7.2.9 Enabling Reports for Scheduling from the Reports and Analytics Pane .................. 7-35

7.3 Customizing Analytics ................................................................................................... 7-36

7.3.1 About Customizing Analytics ................................................................................. 7-36

7.3.1.1 Maintaining Report Customizations in the Custom Folder ............................... 7-37

7.3.1.2 What You Can Customize in Analytics ............................................................. 7-38

7.3.1.3 Understanding Catalog Security and Allowed Customizations ........................ 7-39

7.3.2 Customizing Analytics ............................................................................................ 7-40

7.3.3 Customizing the Oracle BI Repository (RPD) .......................................................... 7-41

Part III Appendixes

A Troubleshooting Customizations

A.1 Introduction to Troubleshooting Customizations ............................................................A-1

A.2 Getting Started with Troubleshooting and Logging Basics for Customizations ...............A-2

A.2.1 Diagnosing Customization Issues Using the Manage Customizations Dialog ..........A-2

A.2.2 Exporting Customizations .........................................................................................A-3

A.2.3 Troubleshooting Customization Set Migration Issues ...............................................A-3

A.2.4 Deleting Customizations ...........................................................................................A-3

A.2.5 Backing Up and Restoring Customizations ...............................................................A-4

A.2.6 Choosing the Right Customization Layer ..................................................................A-4

A.2.7 Determining the Full Path for a Customizations Document ......................................A-4

A.2.8 Logging Customizations that Are Applied to a Page ................................................A-5

vii

A.2.9 Determining Whether a Page Has Customizations ....................................................A-5

A.2.10 Using Sandboxes for Page Customizations ................................................................A-5

A.2.11 Using Sandboxes for Flexfield Configurations ...........................................................A-5

A.2.12 Troubleshooting Flexfield Deployment .....................................................................A-6

A.2.13 Validating Flexfield Metadata ....................................................................................A-6

A.3 Resolving Common Problems ..........................................................................................A-6

A.3.1 User Interface is not Displaying the Active Sandbox Customizations .......................A-6

A.3.2 Conflict Errors Reported When You Publish a Sandbox ............................................A-7

A.3.3 Dashboard Title Change Does Not Appear in Browser Title Bar, Navigator Link, or

Tab .............................................................................................................................A-8

A.3.4 Cannot Open Page After Personalizations .................................................................A-8

A.3.5 Missing Navigator Menu Item ..................................................................................A-8

A.3.6 Navigator Menu Item Does Not Work .......................................................................A-8

A.3.7 Nothing Changes After Clicking Cancel in Set Preferences Page .............................A-9

A.4 Using My Oracle Support for Additional Troubleshooting Information ..........................A-9

Glossary

viii

Preface

Welcome to Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts.

Audience

This document is intended for business analysts and administrators who want to use

runtime tools to customize and extend the standard functionality provided by Oracle

Fusion Applications. Business analysts and administrators should have a basic

understanding of Oracle Fusion Applications. This book gives an overview of the

customization and extension tasks and provides references to the books that contain

Related Documents

You can also find information about Oracle Fusion Middleware and extending and

customizing Oracle Fusion Applications in the following documents:

■ Oracle Database Security Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Administrator's Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Administrator's Troubleshooting Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Administrator and Implementor Roadmap

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Common Implementation Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Concepts Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Enterprise Deployment Guide for Customer Relationship

Management

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Developer's Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager User's Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager Developer's Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Installation Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Post-Installation Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Master Glossary

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Patching Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Security Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Applications Security Hardening Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite and Oracle

Business Process Management Suite

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Application Security Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Business Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business

Process Management

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Publisher (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition)

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle Enterprise Scheduler

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Error Messages Reference

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development

Framework

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business

Intelligence Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition)

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware XML Schema Reference for Oracle Business Intelligence

Enterprise Edition

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Modeling and Implementation Guide for Oracle Business

Process Management

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Oracle Authorization Policy Manager Administrator's Guide

(Oracle Fusion Applications Edition)

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Patching Guide

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

(Oracle Fusion Applications Edition)

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Publisher

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise

Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition)

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware System Administrator's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Enterprise Edition

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Reference Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Applications

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Security and Administrator's Guide for Web Services

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Rules

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware User Guide for Oracle Enterprise Repository

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Identity Manager

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Technology Adapters

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Web User Interface Developer's Guide for Oracle Application

Development Framework

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool

■ Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference

Conventions

The following text conventions are used in this document:

Convention Meaning

boldface Boldface type indicates graphical user interface elements associated

with an action, or terms defined in text or the glossary.

italic Italic type indicates book titles, emphasis, or placeholder variables for

which you supply particular values.

monospace

Monospace type indicates commands within a paragraph, URLs, code

in examples, text that appears on the screen, or text that you enter.

xii

xiii

What's New in This Guide

The following topics introduce the new and changed customization and extensibility

features of Oracle Fusion Applications and other significant changes that are described

in this guide, and provides pointers to additional information.

New and Changed Features for 11g Release 7 (11.1.7)

Oracle Fusion Applications 11g Release 7 (11.1.7) includes the following new and

changed customization and extensibility features for this document.

■ Customization Set Migration tool, which enables the movement of customizations

and extensions from test environments to production environments. See

Section 2.3.1, "Using Customization Set Migration to Move Customizations."

■ Flexfield enhancements:

– Highlight Flexfields option on the Administration menu, which enables you

to see information about the descriptive flexfields on a page and to access the

Quick Create dialog to add context values, global segments, and

context-sensitive segments. See Section 4.2, "Finding the Flexfields on a Page."

– Show Value Description option on the Manage Contexts page in the Manage

Extensible Flexfields task, which enables the display of a value description

next to an extensible flexfield segment. See Task: Configure the Context in

Section 4.5.2, "Configuring Extensible Flexfields."

– Create Value Sets button in the Manage Descriptive Flexfields and Manage

Extensible Flexfields tasks, which enables you to create a value set at the time

that you create a segment. See Section 4.5, "Configuring Flexfields."

– Ability to add an additional attribute to an independent, dependent, or subset

value set, which can be used to capture additional information about each

valid value, such as its purpose. See Task: Add Attributes to a Value Set in

Section 4.4, "Creating Custom Value Sets."

– Ability to use a segment value from a different context in the WHERE clause

for a table value set. See Task: Create a Table Value Set in Section 4.4, "Creating

Custom Value Sets."

– Ability to use SQL statements to set the initial value of an extensible flexfield

segment. You can also set the initial value to the value of another segment in

the same extensible flexfield. See Task: Define Initial Values for Extensible

Flexfield Custom Attributes in Section 4.3.2, "Planning Extensible Flexfields."

– Non-deployment of extensible flexfield segments if their category is not

enabled. See Section 4.7, "Deploying Flexfield Configurations."

xiv

– Ability to enable flexfields for Oracle Social Network. See Section 4.8,

"Integrating Custom Attributes."

■ Home page menu customization. See Section 5.1.2, "About Home Page Menu

Configuration."

■ Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher customize feature, which simplifies adding

custom layouts to Oracle BI Publisher reports. See Section 7.2.1.4, "Using the

Customize Feature."

Other Significant Changes in this Document for 11g Release 7 (11.1.7)

For 11g Release 7 (11.1.7), this guide has been updated in several ways. Following are

the sections that have been added or changed.

■ Corrected information about what lookups are included in a customization set that

is created by the Customization Set Migration dialog. Only standard lookups are

migrated. See Section 2.3.1, "Using Customization Set Migration to Move

Customizations."

■ Added steps to Section 2.3.1, "Using Customization Set Migration to Move

Customizations" for enabling attachments on runtime pages in the target

environment after a migration.

■ Moved information about Oracle Fusion CRM Application Composer to the Oracle

Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide.

■ Moved information about using design time tools to customize and extend Oracle

Fusion Applications to Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

■ Revised sections throughout the book to note features and functionality that are

not available in Oracle Cloud implementations.

■ Revised tasks in Chapter 3, "Customizing Existing Pages" to account for Design

view being the only mode available for personalization.

■ Added instructions for setting search options for site-level search. See Task: Create

a Site-Level Saved Search for All Users in Chapter 3, "Customizing Existing

Pages."

■ Added instructions for implementing role-based page customizations using Page

Composer. See "Task: Customize a Component Based on Role" in Chapter 3,

"Customizing Existing Pages."

New and Changed Features for 11g Release 6 (11.1.6)

Oracle Fusion Applications 11g Release 6 (11.1.6) includes the following new and

changed customization and extensibility features for this document.

■ Site-level saved searches, which allow you to create searches that can be used by

all users. See Task: Create a Site-Level Saved Search for All Users in Chapter 3,

"Customizing Existing Pages."

■ Custom folder seeded under Shared Folders provides a standard location to

maintain your customized reports. Default permission settings are enhanced to

support user interaction with the new folder. See Section 7.2.1.4, "Using the

Customize Feature."

Other Significant Changes in this Document for 11g Release 6 (11.1.6)

For 11g Release 6 (11.1.6), this guide has been updated in several ways. Following are

the sections that have been added or changed.

■ Revised report customization procedures:

– Section 7.2.1.1, "What You Can Customize"

– Section 7.2.1.4, "Using the Customize Feature"

– Section 7.2.2, "Customizing Layouts"

■ Revised analytics customization procedures:

– Section 7.3.1.3, "Understanding Catalog Security and Allowed

Customizations"

– Section 7.3.2, "Customizing Analytics"

xvi

Part I

Part I Introduction to Customizing and

Extending Oracle Fusion Applications

Part I contains the following chapters:

■ Chapter 1, "Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications"

■ Chapter 2, "Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle"

Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications 1-1

1Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion

Applications

This chapter provides an overview of how to customize and extend Oracle Fusion

applications and introduces Page Composer, Oracle Fusion CRM Application

Composer (Application Composer), Business Process Composer, and Oracle Business

Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher).

Within this guide, the term customize means to change a standard (existing) artifact.

The term extend means to create a completely new artifact, such as a custom object.

This chapter includes the following sections:

■ Section 1.1, "Understanding Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion

Applications"

■ Section 1.2, "Understanding Customization Layers"

■ Section 1.3, "Understanding the Runtime Tools"

1.1 Understanding Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion

Applications

While Oracle Fusion applications provide robust out-of-the-box functionality, there

may be areas of an application that you must change to meet your business needs. This

book guides you through the process of using runtime tools to extend and customize

Oracle Fusion applications.

Oracle Fusion applications are built using a common data model. Because of this

commonality, when you make a customization in one area, that customization is

available to all objects in the application. For example, if you add an attribute to an

object, you can easily add that attribute to the web-based view page, to an associated

mobile page, and to any associated reports.

You can make the customizations in a sandbox so that the changes are isolated. After

validating the changes, you can publish them into a full test environment. For more

information about sandboxes, see Section 2.2, "Using the Sandbox Manager."

For customizations and extensions, there are three basic scenarios:

■ Personalization

Note: For Oracle Cloud implementations, check the Oracle Cloud

documentation to determine which Oracle Fusion Applications

versions are supported by that Oracle Cloud implementation.

Understanding Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications

1-2 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

■ Runtime customizations and extensions

■ Design time customizations and extensions

1.1.1 Personalization

The term personalization refers to the changes that every end user of the Oracle Fusion

Applications product suite makes to certain artifacts in the user interface (UI) at

runtime. These changes remain for that user each time that user logs in to the

application. Personalization includes changes based on user behavior (such as

changing the width of a column in a table), changes the user elects to save, such as

search parameters, or composer-based personalizations, where an end user can

redesign aspects of a page.

For composer-based personalizations, Oracle Fusion Applications includes Page

Composer, which allows end users to change certain UI pages to suit their needs. For

example, they can rearrange certain objects on a page, add and remove designated

content, and save queries. Figure 1–1 shows the Partner Profile page in Page

Composer. An end user can add other content to this page, or change the order of the

current content.

Figure 1–1 End Users Can Personalize UIs with Page Composer

1.1.2 Runtime Customizations and Extensions

Runtime customizations and extensions include those that a business analyst makes to

an Oracle Fusion application at runtime using browser-based composers. These

customizations and extensions are visible and usable by all or by a subset of Oracle

Fusion Applications users. The types of runtime customizations and extensions range

from changing the look and feel of a page, to customizing standard objects, adding a

new object and associated pages and application functionality, changing workflows,

defining security for new objects, and customizing reports. Figure 1–2 shows how you

can customize the fields on a standard object using Application Composer, which is a

runtime tool used to customize and extend certain Oracle Fusion Customer

Relationship Management (Oracle Fusion CRM) applications.

Understanding Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications

Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications 1-3

Figure 1–2 Application Composer Allows You to Customize Objects at Runtime

Customizing and extending Oracle Fusion applications using runtime tools, with the

exception of Application Composer, is covered in this book. For information about

Application Composer, see the "Application Composer: Introduction" chapter in the

Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide.

1.1.3 Design Time Customizations and Extensions

Design time customizations and extensions include more complex changes, such as

creating a SOA composite application or creating a new batch job, and they require

deployment into the runtime environment. These design time customizations and

extensions are most often done by Java developers using Oracle JDeveloper (a

comprehensive integrated development environment), or they may be done in other

tools, such as Oracle SOA Composer. The customizations are then uploaded or

deployed to a running instance of Oracle Fusion Applications.

Design time customizations and extensions are covered in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

Note: This functionality is not available in Oracle Cloud

implementations.

Understanding Customization Layers

1-4 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

1.2 Understanding Customization Layers

Oracle Fusion applications contain built-in customization layers that allow you to

make customizations that affect only certain instances of an application. For example,

the Sales application has a layer for job role. When you customize an artifact, you can

choose to make that customization available only to users of a specific job role, for

example, a sales representative.

Customizations you make are not saved to the base standard artifact. Instead, they are

saved to an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file that is stored in an Oracle

Metadata Services (MDS) repository. This XML file acts like a list of instructions that

determines how the artifact looks or behaves in the application, based on the layer that

is controlling the current context. The customization engine in MDS manages this

process.

For example, say you want to customize the Sales home page by removing the Quick

Create panel, but only for users with the Sales Representative role. Before you make

your customization, you first select the layer in which to make your customization, in

this case the role layer whose value is

Sales Representative

. When you make your

customization by removing that pane from the page, an XML file is generated with the

instructions to remove the pane, but only in the role layer, and only when the value is

Sales Representative

. The original page file remains untouched. The customization

engine in MDS then stores the XML file in an MDS repository.

Now, whenever someone logs in to the application and requests an artifact, the

customization engine in MDS checks the repository for XML files that match the

requested artifact and the given context, and if there is a match, it layers the

instructions on top of the base artifact. In this example, whenever the Sales home page

is requested (the artifact) by someone who is assigned the role of Sales Representative

(the context), before the page is rendered, the customization engine in MDS pulls the

corresponding XML file from the repository, layers it on top of the standard Sales

home page, and removes that pane. Whenever someone who is not a Sales

Representative logs in (for example, someone with the role of Sales Manager), the

XML file with your changes is not layered on top, and so the Quick Create panel is

displayed.

Figure 1–3 shows how the customization XML file is applied to the base document and

is visible only to a sales representative.

Figure 1–3 One Customization Layer Handled by the Customization Engine in MDS

XML

MLML

MLM

XML

MLM

XML

Sales Representative

Role Customization

Sales Home

Page Base

Document

Metadata

Repository-File

or DB

No Customization

Sales

Representative’s

Page

Sales Manager’s

Page

Understanding Customization Layers

Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications 1-5

All users of Oracle Fusion applications can personalize certain pages using the

Personalization menu. Users can move elements around on a page, hide elements, and

even add available elements to their page. When they do this personalization, the

customization engine in MDS creates an XML file specific to that user.

For example, say User 1 (who has the role of Sales Representative) personalizes the

Sales home page. There will then be an XML file stored in the repository, noting the

changes that user made. When User 1 logs in, as in the previous example, the

customization engine in MDS pulls the XML file with the sales representative

customizations from the repository and layers it on top of the standard Sales home

page. In addition, the engine pulls the XML file with the User 1personalizations,

allowing the user to see the personalization changes along with the Sales

Representative changes. When other Sales Representatives log in, they do not see the

User 1 personalization changes, as shown in Figure 1–4.

Figure 1–4 Personalizations Are Also Handled by the Customization Engine in MDS

The exact customization layers available for an application depend on that application

family (see the product-specific documentation from Oracle Enterprise Repository for

Oracle Fusion Applications for details). However, all Oracle Fusion applications have

the following customization layers:

■ Global layer: When customizations are made in the global layer, they affect all

users of the application. This layer's XML files are added for everyone, whenever

the artifact is requested. Customizations made to ADF Business Components in

JDeveloper must be made in the global layer.

■ Site layer: Customizations made in the site layer affect users at a particular

location.

■ User layer: The user layer is where all personalizations are made. Users do not

have to explicitly select this layer. It is automatically selected when you use the

Personalization menu.

These layers are applied in a hierarchy, and the highest layer in that hierarchy in the

current context is considered the tip. Within the default customization layers, the

global layer is the base layer, and the user layer is the tip. If customizations are done to

the same object, but in different layers, at runtime, the tip layer customizations take

precedence. For example, if you customize the label for a field in the site layer using

Page Composer and customize the same label in the global layer using JDeveloper, the

site layer customization will be displayed at runtime.

Because customizations are saved in these XML files, when you patch or upgrade your

Oracle Fusion applications, the base artifacts can be updated without touching your

XML

MLML

XML

MLML

MLM

XML

User 1’s

Personalization

Base

Document

Sales

Representative

Metadata

Repository-File

or DB

No Personalization

User 1’s Page

User 2’s Page

Understanding the Runtime Tools

1-6 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

changes. The base artifact is replaced, and when the application is run after the patch

or upgrade, the XML files are simply layered on top of the new version. You do not

need to redo your customizations.

Before you create customizations, you must select the layer to which you want your

customizations to be applied. Most of the tools that you use to create your

customizations provide a dialog where you can pick the layer for your customizations.

1.3 Understanding the Runtime Tools

Oracle Fusion Applications provides several runtime tools to enable you to customize

and extend Oracle Fusion applications. With these tools, you can perform the

following tasks:

■ Personalize and customize pages using Page Composer

■ Customize pages using Application Composer

■ Create and customize objects using Application Composer

■ Create business process flows for custom objects

■ Define security policies for custom objects

■ Add custom attributes to a business object

■ Customize reports and analytics

For a more detailed description of the workflow you must follow when customizing

and extending Oracle Fusion applications, see Chapter 2, "Understanding the

Customization Development Lifecycle."

1.3.1 Understanding Role-Based Access to Tools

The user interfaces in Oracle Fusion applications are controlled by role-based

authentication, meaning that the information presented in the UI, and what the user

can do in the UI, depends on the role assigned to the currently logged-in user. For

example, if you are assigned a role with an administrative privilege, when you log in

to Oracle Fusion Applications, you will see an Administration menu, as shown in

Figure 1–5. This menu allows you to do things such as customize a page for all users,

or manage customizations.

Figure 1–5 Oracle Fusion Applications Menu Bar

1.3.2 Personalizing and Customizing Pages Using Page Composer

Both personalization and customization use Page Composer to make changes to an

application page. Using personalization, any user can drag and drop fields, rearrange

regions, add approved external content, and save their favorite queries.

Using administration customization, you also use Page Composer to customize pages

for other users. You can add fields, add validation, change defaults, rearrange regions,

and add external content. Page Composer allows you to work in a WYSIWYG view,

and, in some cases, Source view, as shown in Figure 1–6.

Understanding the Runtime Tools

Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications 1-7

Figure 1–6 Page Composer

For more information about customizing pages, see Chapter 3, "Customizing Existing

Pages."

1.3.3 Customizing Pages Using Application Composer

If you want to extend or customize the Sales, Marketing, Customer Center, Trading

Community Architecture (TCA), and Order Capture applications that are part of the

Oracle Fusion CRM product family of Oracle Fusion Applications, you can use

Application Composer to customize your pages, as described in the "Creating a Work

Area: Explained" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide.

You access Application Composer by clicking the Application Composer link from the

Navigator menu of Oracle Fusion Applications, as shown in Figure 1–7.

Note: Only certain pages are available for customization. For a

complete list, see the product-specific documentation from Oracle

Enterprise Repository for Oracle Fusion Applications.

Understanding the Runtime Tools

1-8 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 1–7 Navigator Menu

1.3.4 Creating and Customizing Objects

Application Composer allows business analysts to make more complex runtime

customizations to Oracle Fusion CRM applications. In addition to customizing pages,

business analysts can customize objects and all the artifacts that support them (such as

fields, pages, buttons and links, security, server scripts, and saved searches), and can

also extend Oracle Fusion applications by creating completely new objects and

artifacts, as shown in Figure 1–8. For more information, see the "Defining Objects:

Explained" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide.

Figure 1–8 Application Composer

When new objects are created, you often also create associated Work Area pages for

those objects. You can add those pages to the navigator menu so that they can be

accessed in the same way as standard objects. For more information, see Chapter 5,

"Customizing Menus."

Understanding the Runtime Tools

Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications 1-9

1.3.5 Creating and Customizing Business Process Flows for Custom Objects

When you create a new object that is not a subclass of another object, you can also

create a new object workflow to manage any business processes associated with it. For

example, say you used Application Composer to create a marketing object and you

want to create an associated approval flow. From within Application Composer, you

can access Oracle Business Process Composer and create the process that defines that

flow. For applications outside of Oracle Fusion CRM, you access Business Process

Composer directly from the Navigator menu. For more information about using the

Business Process Composer, see Chapter 6, "Customizing and Extending BPMN

Processes."

1.3.6 Defining Security Policies for Custom Objects

When you create a new object in Application Composer, you can define security

policies for it. A security policy defines the end user's level of access to the data

records of the object. For more information about creating security policies for custom

Oracle Fusion CRM objects, see the "Securing Custom Objects: Explained" section in

the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide.

1.3.7 Adding Custom Attributes to Business Components

If you need to add an attribute to a business component in an application that is not

one of the five Oracle Fusion CRM applications, you can often use flexfields. A

flexfield enables you to define attributes on a business component and then apply

business logic to them. For example, an airline manufacturer might require very

specific attributes for their orders that are not provided by the out-of-the-box

implementation of an order. Because a flexfield exists for the order business

component, you can use it to create and configure the desired attribute. Flexfield

configurations are stored in an MDS repository, and so are safe during patching and

upgrading. You access flexfields from the Setup and Maintenance menu from the

Administration menu. For more information about flexfields, see Chapter 4, "Using

Flexfields for Custom Attributes."

1.3.8 Customizing Reports and Analytics

Oracle Fusion Applications comes with a complete set of reports. You can customize

these reports (for example, change the layout) to fit your particular business needs.

Additionally, if you customize or create a business object, you can create a new report

for that object. For more information, see Chapter 7, "Customizing Reports and

Analytics."

1.3.9 Performing Design Time Customizations

Note: This feature is not available in Oracle Cloud implementations

of Oracle Fusion Human Capital Management.

Note: This functionality is not available in Oracle Cloud

implementations.

Understanding the Runtime Tools

1-10 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Design time customizations and extensions include complex changes that require

deployment into the runtime environment. For information about design time

customizations, see the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

1.3.10 What You Can Customize and Extend and with Which Tool

There are many scenarios for which you can customize Oracle Fusion applications.

The following tables identify for each scenario the artifacts that you can customize or

create in Oracle Fusion Applications, what tool you use, the type of user that can make

the change, and whether the changes are stored in an MDS repository:

■ View page customizations: Table 1–1

■ Branding customizations: Table 1–2

■ Object customization: Table 1–3

■ Business process customizations: Table 1–4

■ Report customizations: Table 1–5

■ Analysis and dashboard customizations: Table 1–6

■ Security customizations: Table 1–7

Note: Application Composer is available only if you want to make

changes in the following Oracle Fusion CRM applications:

■ Marketing

■ Sales

■ Customer Center

■ Trading Community Architecture (TCA)

■ Order Capture

Some features described in this section are not available in Oracle

Cloud implementations

Note: While you can customize view pages in Page Composer and

Application Composer, only certain pages are configured to allow it. If

the customization that you want to make is not available in Page

Composer, then you must use JDeveloper to make the customization.

Table 1–1 View Page Customization Scenarios in Oracle Fusion Applications

Customization/

Extension Tool Type of User MDS? Where to Find Information

Add, move, delete,

show, or hide

components on a

page.

Page Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 3.2, "Editing a Page in

Page Composer"

Change a page layout. Page Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 3.2, "Editing a Page in

Page Composer"

Create a site-level

search for all users.

Page Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 3.2, "Editing a Page in

Page Composer"

Understanding the Runtime Tools

Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications 1-11

Customize a page

title.

Page Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 3.2, "Editing a Page in

Page Composer"

Customize a task list

menu.

Page Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 3.2, "Editing a Page in

Page Composer"

Customize popup

window content.

Page Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 3.2, "Editing a Page in

Page Composer"

Add fields, buttons,

links, to a standard

page (Oracle Fusion

CRM).

Application Composer Business Analyst Yes "Application Composer: Using

the Application Composer"

chapter in the Oracle Fusion

Applications CRM Extensibility

Guide

Customize attributes

for a flexfield on a

page.

Page Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 3.2, "Editing a Page in

Page Composer"

Customize properties

for UI components on

a standard page.

Page Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 3.3, "Editing Component

Properties in Page Composer"

Customize properties

for UI components on

a standard page

(Oracle Fusion CRM).

Application Composer Business Analyst Yes "Editing an Object: Explained"

section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications CRM Extensibility

Guide

Customize the UI

Shell template.

Page Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 3.4, "Editing the UI Shell

Template Used by All Pages"

Table 1–2 Branding Customization Scenarios in Oracle Fusion Applications

Customization/

Extension Tool Type of User MDS? Where to Find Information

Customize the UI

Shell template.

Page Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 3.4, "Editing the UI Shell

Template Used by All Pages"

Customize report

layouts.

Oracle BI Publisher Business Analyst No Section 7.2.2, "Customizing

Layouts"

Table 1–3 Object Customization Scenarios in Oracle Fusion Applications

Customization/

Extension Tool Type of User MDS? Where to Find Information

Customize objects

(Oracle Fusion CRM).

Application Composer Business Analyst Yes "Editing an Object: Explained"

section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications CRM Extensibility

Guide

Add an attribute to a

business object using

flexfields (not Oracle

Fusion CRM).

Setup and Maintenance

work area

Business Analyst No Chapter 4, "Using Flexfields for

Custom Attributes"

Create objects (Oracle

Fusion CRM).

Application Composer Business Analyst Yes "Editing an Object: Explained"

section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications CRM Extensibility

Guide

Table 1–1 (Cont.) View Page Customization Scenarios in Oracle Fusion Applications

Customization/

Extension Tool Type of User MDS? Where to Find Information

Understanding the Runtime Tools

1-12 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Add a business object

page to the navigator

Setup and Maintenance

work area

Business Analyst No Chapter 5, "Customizing Menus"

Add custom object

work area pages to

the navigator menu

(Oracle Fusion CRM)

Application Composer Business Analyst No Chapter 5, "Customizing Menus"

Add validation to an

object (Oracle Fusion

CRM).

Application Composer Business Analyst Yes "Groovy Scripting: Explained"

section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications CRM Extensibility

Guide"

Customize saved

searches for a custom

object (Oracle Fusion

CRM).

Application Composer Business Analyst Yes "Saved Searches for CRM

Objects: Explained" section in the

Oracle Fusion Applications CRM

Extensibility Guide"

Customize object

workflows for an

object (Oracle Fusion

CRM).

Application Composer Business Analyst Yes "Object Workflows: Explained"

section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications CRM Extensibility

Guide

Create object

workflows for an

object (Oracle Fusion

CRM).

Application Composer Business Analyst Yes "Object Workflows: Explained"

section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications CRM Extensibility

Guide

Table 1–4 Business Process Customization Scenarios in Oracle Fusion Applications

Customization/

Extension Tool Type of User MDS? Where to Find Information

Create a BPMN

process in a BPM

project.

Business Process

Composer

Business Analyst Yes Section 6.2, "Creating a BPM

Project"

Create a BPMN

approval process in a

BPM project (Oracle

Fusion CRM).

Application Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 6.2, "Creating a BPM

Project"

Customize custom

BPM projects.

Business Process

Composer

Business Analyst Yes Section 6.3, "Customizing BPMN

Processes"

Customize custom

BPM projects (Oracle

Fusion CRM).

Application Composer Business Analyst Yes Section 6.3, "Customizing BPMN

Processes"

Table 1–5 Report Customization Scenarios in Oracle Fusion Applications

Customization/

Extension Tool Type of User MDS? Where to Find Information

Create report layout. Oracle BI Publisher Business Analyst No Section 7.2.2, "Customizing

Layouts"

Customize report

layouts.

Oracle BI Publisher Business Analyst No Section 7.2.2, "Customizing

Layouts"

Customize style

templates.

Oracle BI Publisher Business Analyst No Section 7.2.2, "Customizing

Layouts"

Table 1–3 (Cont.) Object Customization Scenarios in Oracle Fusion Applications

Customization/

Extension Tool Type of User MDS? Where to Find Information

Understanding the Runtime Tools

Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications 1-13

Create a report. Oracle BI Publisher Business Analyst No Section 7.2.4, "Creating Custom

Reports"

Translate a report. Oracle BI Publisher Business Analyst No Section 7.2.5, "Adding

Translations"

Create a report subject

area (Oracle Fusion

CRM)

Application Composer Business Analyst No "Custom Subject Areas:

Explained" section in the Oracle

Fusion Applications CRM

Extensibility Guide

Table 1–6 Analysis and Dashboard Customization Scenarios in Oracle Fusion Applications

Customization/

Extension Tool Type of User MDS? Where to Find Information

Customize analytics. Reports and Analytics

pane

Business Analyst No Section 7.3.2, "Customizing

Analytics"

Customize and

extend the Oracle BI

repository (RPD file).

JDeveloper, Oracle BI

Administration Tool

Developer No Section 7.3.3, "Customizing the

Oracle BI Repository (RPD)"

Table 1–7 Security Customization Scenarios in Oracle Fusion Applications

Customization/

Extension Tool Type of User MDS? Where to Find Information

Grant access to

custom objects

(Oracle Fusion CRM).

Application Composer Business Analyst No "Securing Custom Objects:

Explained" section in the Oracle

Fusion Applications CRM

Extensibility Guide

Enable elevated

privileges

customization.

Application Composer Business Analyst No "Securing Custom Objects:

Explained" section in the Oracle

Fusion Applications CRM

Extensibility Guide

Table 1–5 (Cont.) Report Customization Scenarios in Oracle Fusion Applications

Customization/

Extension Tool Type of User MDS? Where to Find Information

Understanding the Runtime Tools

1-14 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-1

2Understanding the Customization

Development Lifecycle

This chapter discusses the typical workflow for customizing and extending Oracle

Fusion applications. It describes how to use sandboxes to perform customizations in

an environment that is separate from the full test environment, publish the changes to

a full test environment, and move the changes to other environments.

This chapter includes the following sections:

■ Section 2.1, "Understanding Typical Customization Workflows"

■ Section 2.2, "Using the Sandbox Manager"

■ Section 2.3, "Exporting and Moving Customizations"

2.1 Understanding Typical Customization Workflows

All customizations and extensions to Oracle Fusion Applications should be done in a

full test environment, as shown in Figure 2–1. Typically, this environment contains one

or more Oracle Fusion applications that will then be moved to a production

environment after all customizations and extensions are complete and tested.

As described in Section 2.1.1, "Runtime Customization Workflow," business analysts

using Page Composer and Oracle Fusion CRM Application Composer (Application

Composer) make their application customizations in a sandbox. Sandboxes store the

customizations in isolated, protected Oracle Metadata Services (MDS) labels that are

available only when you work in that particular sandbox. The changes can be done in

a test-only sandbox (that is, the code in the sandbox is for testing only, and is never

deployed), or they can be done in a sandbox that is then published to the full test

environment.

After testing, you can then move the customizations to the mainline code as described

in Section 2.3, "Exporting and Moving Customizations."

Note: For Oracle Cloud implementations, check the Oracle Cloud

documentation to determine which Oracle Fusion Applications

versions are supported by that Oracle Cloud implementation.

Understanding Typical Customization Workflows

2-2 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 2–1 Customization Workflow in a Full Test Environment

2.1.1 Runtime Customization Workflow

When you use Application Composer and Page Composer to make runtime

customizations to Oracle Fusion applications, you use sandboxes to save your changes

in an isolated environment. For example, before you begin making customizations,

you create a sandbox named

MySandbox

and make your customizations in that

sandbox. If others want to see the customizations, then they would use

MySandbox

Tip: When you extend Oracle Fusion applications, you might want

users to be able to configure the extensions using Oracle Fusion

Functional Setup Manager. For more information about creating task

flows for setup activities for extensions, see the Oracle Fusion

Functional Setup Manager Developer's Guide.

Note: There are restrictions for when more than one user is working

in a sandbox. For more information, see Section 2.2.1, "Sandboxes and

Concurrent Usage."

Publish Publish

Quality

Assuranc

Quality

Assuranc

Business Analyst

Using Page

Composer

Business

Analyst Using

CRM Application

Composer

FA Administrator

customizations

using Jdev

Patches and

Upgrades

from Oracle

Fusion

Applications

MDS

Full Test Environment

Understanding Typical Customization Workflows

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-3

You also use a sandbox when you define security policies for custom objects that you

have created using Application Composer. A security sandbox stores the security

information in new database tables that are available only when you choose to work in

that sandbox.

After you complete your customizations, others can review and validate the sandbox.

Then you can publish the sandbox to the full test environment where your

customizations become part of that repository. For more information about sandboxes,

see Section 2.2, "Using the Sandbox Manager."

When you publish a sandbox, the published customizations are labeled. Labeling can

act as a save point, meaning that if a future customization causes issues, you can use

the Manage Customizations dialog to remove all customizations done after that point

by promoting the last known good label back to the tip as described in

Section 2.1.1.1.3, "Backing Out Customizations."

You can also use the Manage Customizations dialog to view others' customization

metatdata files, and to download those files to diagnose any issues. For more

information, see Section 2.1.1.1, "Viewing and Diagnosing Runtime Customizations."

Figure 2–2 illustrates the use of sandboxes when customizing pages, objects, and

security using Page Composer and Application Composer and when configuring

flexfields.

Note: A flexfield sandbox is for testing only and cannot be

published. Instead, you deploy a flexfield to the full test environment

using the flexfield UI. To test a flexfield configuration before

deploying it to the full test environment, deploy it to a flexfield

sandbox, as described in Section 4.7, "Deploying Flexfield

Configurations." The changes that you deploy to a sandbox are

isolated from the full test environment and can be seen only by those

who make the flexfield sandbox active in their session. After you are

satisfied with the changes in the sandbox, you can deploy the changes

to the full test environment.

Note: The navigator menu, Business Process Modeling Notation

(BPMN) process flows, and report customizations do not use an MDS

repository. See Chapter 5, "Customizing Menus," Chapter 6,

"Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes," and Chapter 7,

"Customizing Reports and Analytics" for more information.

Understanding Typical Customization Workflows

2-4 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 2–2 Typical Runtime Customization Workflow

2.1.1.1 Viewing and Diagnosing Runtime Customizations

Use the Manage Customizations dialog to view and diagnose runtime customizations

that have been made to application pages.

By default, the Manage Customizations dialog displays the customizations that have

been performed by the logged-in user. Administrators can optionally see the

customizations made by other users.

Tip: You can also use the Manage Customizations dialog to export

customizations for diagnostic purposes. For more information, see

Section 2.3.3, "Using the Manage Customizations Dialog to Download

Customizations."

Start

Use JDeveloper

to customize

object or security

Configure

flexfields

FlexfieldsPage or object

Yes

Data security

Create a metadata

sandbox

Create a security

sandbox

Deploy to a flexfield

sandbox

What

are you

customizing?

Yes

CRM

application?

Customizations

complete?

Download other

customizations?

Use Page

Composer to

make changes

Use Customization

Set Migration to

move customizations

to the production

environment

If used, publish

sandbox to test

environment

Upload fixed

files to test

environment

Fix customization

issues manually

or with help from

Oracle Support

Services

Yes

Customize

page?

Fix

issues

using tools?

Issues

with

customizations?

Use CRM

Application

Composer to

make changes

Use Manage

Customizations

task to view

customizations

and download

customization files

Understanding Typical Customization Workflows

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-5

2.1.1.1.1 Before You Begin Using the Manage Customizations Dialog You must do the

following before you can use the Manage Customizations dialog:

■ You must have specific privileges to access the Manage Customizations dialog.

Contact your security administrator for details.

■ To access the Manage Customizations dialog, choose Manage Customizations

from the Administration menu in the global area.

2.1.1.1.2 Viewing Customizations Using the Manage Customizations Dialog Figure 2–3 shows

the Manage Customizations dialog on a desktop page with all artifacts related to the

CustomerCtrWorkarea.jsp

file.

Figure 2–3 Manage Customizations Dialog

As shown in Figure 2–3, a customization was made to a page fragment file in the site

layer, and a customization was made to the UIShell Page Template in the external

layer (the external layer is a layer that is specific to Oracle Fusion Customer

Relationship Management applications). By default, the customizations in the Current

Context column show the customizations that the currently logged-in user would see

in a running version of the application. All customizations, including those the

currently logged-in user might not see (perhaps because of security policies), are listed

in the All Layers column.

For example, say you are a customization developer. Because you as a user have been

assigned a particular role, the page that you see will display only those customizations

appropriate for your role. Those customizations will be listed in the Current Context

column (provided you chose the proper layer from the Layer Name dropdown menu).

This helps you to determine what customizations are affecting what you are seeing.

Note: When viewing the Manage Customizations dialog from a

simplified page, you can see only the top-level nodes and you cannot

expand them.

Understanding Typical Customization Workflows

2-6 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

There may, however, be customizations that you do not see. You can view those

customizations from the All Layers column.

Sometimes, an administrator might need to view a personalization that was made by

another end user. For example, a user might have made an error while personalizing a

page and that page is no longer displayed for the user. Because the user cannot access

the page, the user cannot correct the error. In this case, the administrator can access the

page, request to see the user's changes, and delete those changes to restore the page to

its original settings.

To view customizations:

1. Go to the page for which you wish to view customizations.

2. Select the task flow or page fragment that contains the customizations.

3. From the Administration menu in the global area of Oracle Fusion Applications,

choose Manage Customizations.

4. From the Layer Name dropdown list for the Current Context column, select the

customization layer for which you want to see the customizations as the user (or

users) see it. For more information about customization layers, see Section 1.2,

"Understanding Customization Layers."

5. If you have administrator privileges and you want to see the customizations for a

user other than yourself, then select Select User from the Layer Name dropdown

list for the All Layers column, and select the user. You can select multiple users by

repeating this step.

2.1.1.1.3 Backing Out Customizations Metadata labels identify the state of the objects in

an MDS repository at a given point in time. Labels can serve as save points to which

you can roll back your customizations if the customizations create problems. You roll

back to a label by making that label become the latest version. This action is often

referred to as promoting the label to the tip.

To create a label across the entire MDS repository, use the

createMetadataLabel

Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) command as described in the "Creating

Metadata Labels" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide. You can

also create a label when you save a customization in Page Composer.

To roll back all customizations, use the

promoteMetadataLabel

WLST command as

described in the "Promoting Metadata Labels" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware

Administrator's Guide.

To roll back the customizations for a specific page, use the Manage Customizations

dialog accessed from Page Composer as described in the following steps. Note that

Tip: After you are in the Manage Customizations dialog, you can

change the page, page fragment, or task flow for which you are

viewing customizations using the Search field.

Note: You cannot promote design time customizations. If a design

time customization is causing a problem, you must undeploy the

changes, fix the issues, and then redeploy to a sandbox.

Note: WLST is not available in Oracle Cloud implementations.

Using the Sandbox Manager

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-7

when you use the Manage Customizations dialog, you are rolling back only the

customizations for the page and its

pageDef

file. You are not rolling back the other

customizations made at the label's save point.

To promote a page's customizations to the tip:

1. Go to the page for which you wish to view customizations.

2. From the Administration menu in the global area of Oracle Fusion Applications,

choose Customize page_name Pages to open the page in Page Composer.

3. In the tool bar, click Manage Customizations.

4. To promote a customization to the tip, click Promote for the corresponding

artifact.

5. In the Promote Documents dialog, select the label that you want to promote to the

tip and click OK.

2.1.2 Design Time Customization Workflow

For information about the design time customization workflow, see the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

2.2 Using the Sandbox Manager

The sandbox manager is a tool for managing the different types of customization

changes that can be applied to an application. The different types of sandboxes are:

■ Metadata

The metadata sandbox supports making changes to the application's metadata

stored in the MDS repository.

■ Security

The security-enabled sandbox supports making data security changes.

■ Flexfield

The flexfield sandbox is not created using the sandbox manager. Use the flexfield

UI to make changes to the flexfields and then deploy them to the sandbox. The

flexfield deployment process manages the creation of the sandbox. For more

information about flexfields, see Section 4.7, "Deploying Flexfield Configurations."

To customize an Oracle Fusion application in runtime, you must first create a sandbox

and then use Page Composer or Application Composer to make the customizations.

Note: Some labels are created automatically. For example,

customizations that are created in a sandbox are automatically labeled

when the sandbox is published. You can identify an automatically

created label by its prefix. For a list of these prefixes, see the

"Managing Oracle Fusion Applications-Specific Labels in the Oracle

Metadata Repository" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications

Administrator's Guide.

Note: The functionality described in this section is not available in

Oracle Cloud implementations.

Using the Sandbox Manager

2-8 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

These changes will be contained within the sandbox so they do not affect the mainline

code. You then test and validate the changes by publishing the sandbox to the full test

environment. After the application has been tested, it can then be moved to the

production environment. The customizations created in the sandbox will be migrated

to the production environment and will be available to users of the system.

You make changes to an application at runtime in a sandbox so that the changes are

isolated from the mainline code. The mainline code is a branch of data that serves as a

single source. After you are satisfied with the changes in the sandbox and want to

commit them, you can publish the metadata or security-enabled sandbox to the

mainline code. If customizations existed in the mainline code before the sandbox was

created, you will see the customization information in the sandbox. If you add

customizations to the mainline code after a sandbox has been created, you will not see

the newly added customizations in the sandbox. You will need to exit, publish, or

destroy the sandbox and create a new sandbox to see the customizations that were

newly added to the mainline code.

Flexfield sandboxes are for testing only and cannot be published. You make flexfield

configurations that are then stored in a database, and then deploy those configurations

to a sandbox to see the resulting deployment artifacts in a sandbox environment.

Flexfields are deployed directly to the mainline code using the flexfield UI. For more

information about flexfields, see Section 4.7, "Deploying Flexfield Configurations."

You can use runtime tools to customize the application. The sandbox manager works

with Application Composer and Page Composer to customize objects and pages:

■ For information about using Application Composer, see the "Application

Composer: Introduction" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM

Extensibility Guide.

■ For information about using Page Composer, see Chapter 3, "Customizing

Existing Pages."

Oracle Business Process Composer and Oracle SOA Composer are also runtime

customization tools, but they do not use the sandbox manager. They have their own

mechanisms for handling customization changes:

■ For information about using Oracle Business Process Composer, see Chapter 6,

"Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes."

■ For information about using Oracle SOA Composer, see the "Customizing and

Extending SOA Components" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility

Guide for Developers.

For non-Cloud implementations, a metadata sandbox that you create using the

sandbox manager is available in JDeveloper when you are creating and deploying

customizations intended for a deployed Oracle Fusion application in Oracle WebLogic

Server. The available sandboxes will appear in a selection list in JDeveloper during

deployment. For more information, see the "Deploying Oracle ADF Customizations

and Extensions" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for

Developers. Note that the security sandboxes created using the sandbox manager are

not available in JDeveloper.

In Application Composer, you customize security policies using a sandbox specifically

for editing them. When you enable the security sandbox, the operation will duplicate

the schema for Oracle Fusion Data Security tables, which is a lengthy setup operation.

Therefore, ensure that you are fully ready to customize the security policies before you

enable the security sandbox.

The security policy customizations that you publish from a sandbox will be merged

into the Oracle Fusion security policy repository as part of the native application, and

Using the Sandbox Manager

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-9

will overwrite any previous customizations. Ensure that you are not editing the same

object concurrently with another user to avoid inconsistencies that can result when

multiple users edit the security policies associated with the same object in different

sandboxes.

The metadata and security sandbox sessions can be saved, downloaded, and imported

as files into other Oracle Fusion applications.

2.2.1 Sandboxes and Concurrent Usage

In the customization runtime workflow, you use sandboxes to isolate the changes from

the mainline code for testing and validating. After you are satisfied with the changes,

you can publish the changes back to the mainline code. You can also create sandboxes

for testing purposes only, and not publish them.

There are two types of sandboxes:

■ Sandboxes intended to be published.

These sandboxes will be merged back to the mainline code.

■ Sandboxes intended for test-only purposes.

These test-only sandboxes will not be published and therefore produce no

concurrency conflicts between sandboxes. You can have many test-only sandboxes

at the same time. But if you have multiple users working on the same test-only

sandbox, then they must adhere to the guidelines described in Section 2.2.1.3,

"Guidelines for One Sandbox, Multiple Users."

Figure 2–4 illustrates the two types of sandboxes and their relationship to the mainline

code.

Figure 2–4 Two Types of Sandboxes

Using the Sandbox Manager

2-10 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

When multiple users can customize an application using sandboxes, there are two

types of concurrency conflicts:

■ Conflicts within a sandbox: Users overwriting changes created by other users,

either directly by changing the same artifact, or indirectly by affecting files that are

shared between the artifacts. For more information, see Section 2.2.1.3, "Guidelines

for One Sandbox, Multiple Users."

■ Conflicts between sandboxes (intended for publishing only): Multiple sandboxes

with the same customized artifact publishing to the mainline code. For more

information, see Section 2.2.1.4, "Guidelines for Multiple Sandboxes, Multiple

Users."

An application artifact typically includes several metadata files. Therefore, creating or

editing an artifact usually means making changes, whether directly or indirectly, to

more than one file. Some of these metadata files may be shared between artifacts.

2.2.1.1 Conflicts Within a Sandbox

Conflicts within a sandbox can arise when multiple users are customizing an

application using the same sandboxes at the same time, because more than one user

may be attempting to customize the same artifact, or performing a customization task

that indirectly affects other shared files. An example of a direct conflict is when

different users attempt to customize the same page, the same fragment, or the same

metadata file within the same layer. An example of an indirect conflict is when two

Note: Many customization scenarios, including customizing security

policies, involve editing the same underlying artifacts. The only way

to be certain of eliminating the possibility of any concurrency conflicts

is to allow only one user at a time in an active sandbox. If you must

have multiple users or multiple sandboxes, then follow the usage

guidelines described in Section 2.2.1.3, "Guidelines for One Sandbox,

Multiple Users," and Section 2.2.1.4, "Guidelines for Multiple

Sandboxes, Multiple Users."

Note: Features or functionality described in this note are not

available in Oracle Cloud implementations.

When a sandbox intended for publishing is active, do not use Oracle

Enterprise Manager Fusion Applications Control or Oracle WebLogic

Scripting Tool (WLST) commands to import any metadata documents

into the mainline code. The imported metadata may be in conflict with

the changes made in the sandbox. For more information, see the

"Transferring Metadata Using Fusion Middleware Control" section of

the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.

If you need to import multiple customizations available in the

metadata repository for an application, you can use the

exportMetadata

WLST command. For more information, see the

"Application Metadata Management Commands" section of Oracle

Fusion Middleware WebLogic Scripting Tool Command Reference. This

command saves the customization files in a JAR file that you can

import into your workspace. For more information about procedures,

see the "Viewing ADF Library Runtime Customizations from

Exported JARs" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion

Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

Using the Sandbox Manager

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-11

users, each creating their own object, cause a conflict in the metadata file that tracks

which new objects have been created by both saving their changes around the same

time.

Conflicts may also arise when users are editing a shared artifact, such as when a user

performs an operation that adds or edits a translatable string. For example, a user edits

a field's display label or help text, or a validation rule's error message, while another

user performs an operation around the same time that similarly affects translatable

strings. Another example of a shared artifact conflict is when two or more users are

working in navigator menus that are shared across applications.

When you are using Page Composer, you must use a sandbox. Page Composer

provides concurrency warning messages when there is a potential customization

conflict with another user. For Page Composer, these warning messages help prevent

conflicts. For more information, see the "A Few Notes About Concurrent Users"

section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

When you are using Application Composer, you must also use a sandbox. Application

Composer provides error messages when there is a concurrency conflict. If multiple

users in a single sandbox attempt to edit the same artifact, then an error message is

displayed. For example, if two users are editing the label of the same attribute, then

Application Composer will display an error message.

2.2.1.2 Conflicts Between Sandboxes

Conflicts between sandboxes can arise when there is more than one sandbox intended

for publishing in use. If two sandboxes contain customization changes to the same

artifact and both are being published, then the sandbox that is being published last is

given an option (by the sandbox manager) to overwrite the changes for that artifact

from the sandbox that was published first. If the user working in the second sandbox

decides to force the publication of the second sandbox, then the changes published by

the first sandbox are overwritten. For example, these types of conflicts can also occur

with shared metadata files such as a resource bundle that stores translatable strings.

If there is a concurrent change made in the mainline code after the sandbox was

created and the user attempts to publish that sandbox, then such conflicts are detected

at publication time and error messages occur.

2.2.1.3 Guidelines for One Sandbox, Multiple Users

Regardless of whether the sandbox is intended for publishing or for test-only, if

multiple users are allowed to work in a single sandbox simultaneously, follow these

guidelines:

Note: You should force-publish a sandbox only when there is no

other option available. Typically, if you encounter a conflict during

publishing, you should delete the sandbox, create a new sandbox,

re-enter your changes and try publishing again.

Tip: If you encounter a message showing a conflict on

oracle/apps/menu/fnd/applcore/dataSecurity/dataSecurityServi

ce/mds/DSMO.xml

when you publish your sandbox, this means the

security changes that you made in your sandbox conflict with other

security changes in the mainline code. Abort the sandbox and recreate

your changes in a new sandbox.

Using the Sandbox Manager

2-12 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

■ Multiple concurrent users in the same sandbox must operate only on different and

unrelated objects.

For example, if

user1

updates

object1

, then

user2

can update

object2

but should

not update

object1

. Be aware that if both modifications involve changes to

translatable strings, then saving changes to separate objects around the same time

may still cause a conflict in the resource bundle that stores the translatable strings.

■ If multiple users update the same artifact concurrently (either the same object or

the same underlying frequently modified file), then they will get a concurrent

update error. In this case, the second user's changes will not be saved (the Save

button will be disabled) and one of the users will have to cancel and try again.

Application Composer retains any uncommitted changes in the UI. For example, if

the user is editing a Groovy expression when the error is encountered, then the

expression is retained in the editor so the user can copy and paste the expression

to try customizing again. (No metadata corruption or partial transactional commit

operations will happen.)

■ Users in the same sandbox will see the changes created by one another. The latest

version of each object gets loaded on-demand the first time it is viewed in

Application Composer. Users can refresh their view to the latest definition from

MDS and see the changes listed in the tree structure at the left-hand side of the

Application Composer UI. However, if there are ADF Business Components

customizations, then users might need to sign out and sign back in to see those

changes reflected in the UI.

2.2.1.4 Guidelines for Multiple Sandboxes, Multiple Users

If multiple users are permitted to work in multiple sandboxes, the guidelines in

Section 2.2.1.3, "Guidelines for One Sandbox, Multiple Users," and follow these

guidelines:

■ There can be any number of test-only sandboxes operating concurrently. That is,

multiple users can use multiple sandboxes concurrently for testing if these

sandboxes will never be published. Sandboxes that are used for testing only, and

that are not published, cause no conflicts with each other. Be aware, however, that

all modifications will be lost when the sandboxes are destroyed.

■ For sandboxes that are not for test-only and will be published, multiple concurrent

sandboxes can be used only if they operate on mutually exclusive artifacts. For

example, you can have one sandbox that contains a page that is being customized

to add a task flow, and another sandbox that contains a different page from a

different application.

Note: Even though sandboxes that are for test-only cause no conflicts

with each other because they are not published, multiple users who

work in the same test-only sandbox still must follow the guidelines in

Section 2.2.1.3, "Guidelines for One Sandbox, Multiple Users."

Note: For Application Composer, use only one sandbox at a time

that is intended for publishing. You cannot have multiple concurrent

sandboxes that are intended for publishing. You can still have other

sandboxes that are test-only.

Using the Sandbox Manager

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-13

■ If an artifact is updated in both the mainline code and in the sandbox (or in two

different sandboxes), when the sandbox is published, such conflicts are detected

and an error is raised. At this point, cancel publishing of the sandbox to avoid

overwriting previous changes.

2.2.2 Setting Up Sandboxes

When you create a sandbox, the currently available metadata is gathered into a

sandbox session. You designate a sandbox to be the active sandbox by choosing either

the newly created sandbox or selecting from a list of existing sandboxes in a table. The

active sandbox is the context for all changes. After you activate the sandbox, you can

make customization changes to the application artifacts and these changes will be

stored in the sandbox. The sandbox uses a database to store the actual change

information. After you are satisfied with the changes, you can publish the sandbox, or

deploy the flexfield, and the changes will be merged into the mainline code and the

sandbox will be archived.

To set up a sandbox:

1. Access the sandbox manager.

For nonflexfield sandboxes, you can access the sandbox manager by selecting the

Manage Sandboxes menu item from the Administration menu in the global area

of Oracle Fusion Applications.

Figure 2–5 shows the Manage Sandboxes menu selection from the Administration

dropdown list.

Figure 2–5 Accessing the Sandbox Manager

For flexfields, you must be in the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task or the

Manage Extensible Flexfields task and then select the Deploy Flexfield to

Sandbox menu item to deploy the customizations to a flexfield sandbox. Flexfield

changes are stored in flexfield metadata in the database and are available to users

only when the flexfield is deployed, as described in Section 4.7, "Deploying

Note: For a sandbox that contains ADF Business Components

customizations, sign out and sign back in after switching in or out of

this sandbox to avoid any inconsistencies between the runtime caches

and the ADF Business Components definitions.

Sign out and sign back in when you are performing any of the

following sandbox-related actions:

■ Before entering a sandbox

■ After exiting a sandbox

■ After publishing a sandbox

■ After destroying a sandbox

Using the Sandbox Manager

2-14 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Flexfield Configurations." Thus for flexfields, the remaining steps in this

procedure do not apply.

2. In the Manage Sandboxes dialog, you can create a new sandbox, select from a list

of sandboxes in the Available Sandboxes page, import a sandbox as a file, or

perform other sandbox functions. Figure 2–6 shows a Manage Sandbox dialog

with one available sandbox.

Figure 2–6 Manage Sandboxes Dialog

3. Create a new sandbox by clicking the New icon or selecting Actions then New

4. In the Create Sandbox dialog, enter a name for the sandbox. If you want a

security-enabled sandbox, then select Create Data Security Sandbox and click

Save and Close. Figure 2–7 shows the dialog with security enabled.

Figure 2–7 Create Sandbox Dialog

When the sandbox has been created successfully, a confirmation dialog appears.

Click OK to dismiss the dialog.

5. Identify the active sandbox. You can make the newly created sandbox or an

existing sandbox the active sandbox.

Note: Because setting up the security sandbox requires duplicating

the schema for Oracle Fusion Data Security tables, this will always be

a lengthy operation in Application Composer. Allow sufficient time

for the process to be completed and do not terminate it early. You may

want to defer customizing security and enabling the security sandbox

until you are sure that customizations are required.

Using the Sandbox Manager

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-15

In the Manage Sandboxes dialog, in the Available Sandboxes page, select the

sandbox you want to make active and click Set as Active as shown in Figure 2–8.

Figure 2–8 Manage Sandboxes Dialog

Only one sandbox can be active at one time. The customization changes are

captured in the active sandbox.

6. Export a sandbox.

A sandbox can be exported as a file for transporting, sharing, and other uses

where packaging it as a file is required. Consequently, a sandbox exported as a file

can be imported.

In the Sandbox Details dialog, click Download All. Enter the location and file

name for the exported sandbox.

7. Import a sandbox.

In the Manage Sandboxes dialog, click Import.

In the Import dialog, click Browse to navigate to the file or enter the fully qualified

file name.

8. Exit the sandbox.

Mouse over the sandbox name next to the Session Sandbox label in the global

area of the Oracle Fusion application to open a popup dialog, as shown in

Figure 2–9. Click Exit Sandbox.

Figure 2–9 Sandbox Popup Dialog

Using the Sandbox Manager

2-16 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

In the Exit Sandbox dialog, click Yes, as shown in Figure 2–10.

Figure 2–10 Exit Sandbox Dialog

2.2.3 Publishing Sandboxes

If there are changes to the mainline code from another source and you publish your

sandbox, then the mainline code is not overwritten. If there are conflicts, then you will

be warned and given a chance to fix the conflicts.

To publish a sandbox:

1. Make the customization changes to the application by going to the various

customization environments. For example, you can create new objects and

customize the objects in Application Composer.

You can make metadata changes in the sandbox. Metadata changes are usually

associated with MDS. These include making changes to a page, to Oracle ADF

customization, and to objects. For more information about making changes to the

page, see Chapter 3, "Customizing Existing Pages." For more information about

making changes to objects, see the "Defining Objects: Explained" section in the

Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide.

You make security changes by applying your changes to a security-enabled

sandbox. Test your security changes and policies in the sandbox before you

commit the changes by publishing the sandbox. For more information about

customizing security policies, see the "Securing Custom Objects: Explained"

section in the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide.

For more information about security in custom business components in non-Cloud

implementations, see the "Customizing Security for Oracle ADF Application

Artifacts" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

2. Test or validate the changes at runtime using test or production systems and any

combination of validation setups.

In the Manage Sandboxes dialog, click the sandbox link to open the Sandbox

Details dialog. You can view the layers and objects where you have made

customization changes, as shown in Figure 2–11.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-17

Figure 2–11 Sandbox Details Dialog

Publish the sandbox to the mainline code.

After you are satisfied with the changes, select the sandbox and click Publish in

the Manage Sandbox dialog or in the Sandbox Detail dialog to commit the changes

to the mainline code.

2.3 Exporting and Moving Customizations

There are several tools available for exporting and moving customizations. These tools

enable you to perform the following tasks:

■ Move customizations and extensions to another Oracle Fusion Applications

environment, such as the production environment.

■ Diagnose issues seen in the test environment.

■ Send files to Oracle Support Services for further diagnosing.

■ Import a customization into another environment. For example, a customization

developer using JDeveloper might need to see customizations done by someone

else.

Table 2–1 lists the tools to use to export and move customizations and extensions.

Note: Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) and Oracle Enterprise

Manager Fusion Applications Control (Fusion Applications Control)

are not available in Oracle Cloud implementations. For Oracle Cloud

implementations, to complete the tasks in Table 2–1 that require use of

WLST commands or Fusion Applications Control, log a service

request using My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

2-18 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

2.3.1 Using Customization Set Migration to Move Customizations

The Customization Set Migration dialog enables you to move customizations and

extensions from one Oracle Fusion Applications environment to another. You create a

set of all customizations and extensions that have been made to the source

environment, download the customization set, upload it into another (target)

environment, and then apply the customizations that are in the set to that

environment. Should you need to back out the customizations that you have applied,

you can restore the environment to the state that it was in before you applied the

customizations.

Table 2–1 Tools to Use for Exporting and Moving Customizations

Task Tools to Use

Move all customizations

described in Section 2.3.1,

"Using Customization Set

Migration to Move

Customizations" to another

Oracle Fusion Applications

environment.

Customization Set Migration.

Move only MDS

customizations made to

pages and the user interface

to another Oracle Fusion

Applications environment.

WLST commands or Fusion Applications Control.

Move only descriptive

flexfield configurations to

another Oracle Fusion

Applications environment.

Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager (Functional Setup

Manager). Moves configurations for a specified module. To

move configurations for all modules, use Customization Set

Migration.

Move only extensible

flexfield configurations to

another Oracle Fusion

Applications environment.

Functional Setup Manager. Moves configurations for a specified

module. To move configurations for all modules, use

Customization Set Migration.

Move only value set

configurations to another

Oracle Fusion Applications

environment.

Functional Setup Manager. Moves configurations for a specified

module. To move configurations for all modules, use

Customization Set Migration.

Move only lookups to

another Oracle Fusion

Applications environment

Functional Setup Manager. Move application standard lookups,

application common lookups, or both.

Move only data security

policies to another Oracle

Fusion Applications

environment.

Functional Setup Manager. Note that this does not move Oracle

Fusion Human Capital Management roles.

Export customizations to a

file to help diagnose an

issue.

WLST commands or Manage Customizations dialog.

Export customizations for

import into an application

workspace in JDeveloper.

WLST commands or Manage Customizations dialog.

Note: The Customization Set Migration dialog is to be used to move

customizations from one environment to another. It is not a tool for

backing up and restoring customizations in the same environment.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-19

After you have downloaded a customization set from the source environment, you

must compact the set to remove the temporary files that were created during the create

process. After you apply a customization set on the target environment, you must

compact it to remove the temporary files that were created when you uploaded it into

the target environment.

The customization set includes customizations across all Oracle Fusion Applications

product families, such as Oracle Fusion Financials, Oracle Fusion Customer

Relationship Management (Oracle Fusion CRM), and Oracle Fusion Human Capital

Management (Oracle Fusion HCM).

The customization set includes only the customizations and extensions that you make

using the following tools and features. Personalizations are not included in the set.

(For the definitions of customization, extension, and personalization, see Section 1.1,

"Understanding Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications.")

■ Application Composer, with the exception of the following customizations:

– Object artifacts that were generated from the Import and Export page in

Application Composer to make extensions available for importing and

exporting as described in the "Importing and Exporting Custom Objects:

Explained" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide.

– Email templates, as described in the "E-Mail Templates: Explained" section in

the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide

– Submitted custom subject areas that are available from Oracle BI Composer

and Oracle Business Intelligence Answers, as described in the "Publishing

Custom Subject Areas: Explained" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications

CRM Extensibility Guide.

– User names and passwords for secured SOAP web service connections.

– The enabling of the attachment feature for custom objects.

■ Page Composer

■ Tasks and dialogs for configuring descriptive and extensible flexfields and value

sets

■ Manage Menu Customizations task

■ Manage Oracle Social Network Objects task

■ Manage Standard Lookups task

■ Data security policies created or customized using Oracle Authorization Policy

Manager

■ For non-Cloud implementations, customization metadata that is created from

JDeveloper using the Oracle Fusion Applications Administrator Customization

role and then packaged and deployed to the source Oracle Fusion Applications

environment as described in the "Using Oracle JDeveloper for Customizations"

chapter in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

Note: The steps in this section include steps for manually moving

the customizations and extensions that are described in the preceding

bulleted list.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

2-20 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

While you can use the Customization Set Migration dialog to move customizations

and extensions from any source environment to any target environment, you should

always perform your customizations and extensions in a full test environment and use

the Customization Set Migration dialog to move these changes to a production

environment, as illustrated in Figure 2–1 and Figure 2–2. Because customization set

migration does not provide a merge capability, never customize or extend a

production environment unless you are performing steps in this section that explicitly

instruct you to manually move certain customizations and extensions. When you

import a customization set, the rows in the database that are not preconfigured are

updated if a matching record exists. Otherwise a record is inserted.

Before you begin:

You will need to do the following before you can begin migrating a customization set:

■ Ensure that the source and target Oracle Fusion Applications environments are of

the same release and that the same standard and one-off patches have been

applied to both environments. For Oracle Cloud implementations, log a service

request using My Oracle Support at https://support.oracle.com and

request a production-to-test movement, a reprovisioning of the test environment,

or an upgrade of the production environment, whichever is appropriate.

Notes: The Customization Set does not include code extensions,

such as managed beans, that you implement in JDeveloper using the

Oracle Fusion Applications Developer role. These code extensions are

deployed into the application as a library JAR file and must be

redeployed manually into each target environment.

Tip: To prevent including in-progress customizations in the

customization set, always make Application Composer, Page

Composer, and JDeveloper customizations in a sandbox. The

customization set does not include customizations that are in

sandboxes.

WARNING: During the time that an apply or restore is processing

Oracle Fusion CRM customizations and extensions, the following

issues can occur for approximately 5 minutes of the processing time:

■ End users can sign in, but they might receive page-not-found

(404) errors when they access dashboard and work area pages.

■ Oracle Enterprise Scheduler jobs that are running or scheduled

to run during that time might fail. For information about

viewing scheduled processes, see Before you begin: in this

section.

Note: The customization set does not include all deletions. For

example, the set does not include the removal of a customization

document using the Manage Customizations dialog. After you import

a customization set into the target environment, you must examine the

environment for any deletions that you must make manually.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-21

■ If you are moving Oracle Fusion CRM customizations, ensure that there are no

Oracle Enterprise Scheduler jobs that are running or scheduled to run during the

time that customizations are being applied to the target environment. The apply

process takes approximately 25 minutes. To view the Oracle Enterprise Scheduler

jobs choose Tools from the Navigator menu, and then choose Scheduled

Processes. If there is a job that is running or is scheduled to run during the apply

process, either cancel the job or put it on hold, as shown in Figure 2–12.

Figure 2–12 Scheduled Processes Dialog

■ To prevent the movement of incomplete customizations, perform the following

tasks:

– Ensure that all Application Composer, Page Composer, and JDeveloper

customizations are made in sandboxes and are not published until they are

complete, as described in Section 2.2, "Using the Sandbox Manager."

– Ensure that all other customizations and extensions, such as customizations

made using the Manage Menu Customizations task, the Manage Standard

Lookups task, and Oracle Authorization Policy Manager, are complete.

– Do not allow customizations in the source environment during the export

process.

– Do not allow users to publish sandboxes during the export process.

■ Ensure that users do not make customizations in the target environment during

the apply process because the results of doing so are unpredictable. As stated

previously, with the exception of customizations that must be moved manually,

never make customizations in production environments. However, if you must

make emergency customizations to the production environment, you must also

make the same customizations to the test environment to ensure that they are

included in the next customization set migration.

■ Ensure that you have been granted access to the FND_CUSTOMIZATION_SET_

MANAGEMENT_DUTY role, which enables you to access the Customization Set

Migration dialog. Contact your security administrator for details.

■ For the following reasons, ensure that you apply and restore customizations only

when few people are signed in:

– The users might encounter the problems listed in the warning at the beginning

of this section.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

2-22 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

– Anyone who is signed in when the migration occurs must sign out and sign

back in to see the changes that are made by the process.

To migrate customizations using the Customization Set Migration dialog:

1. From the source environment, choose Customization Migration from the Tools

section in the Navigator menu.

2. Click the Outgoing tab.

3. If the Create Customization Set button is disabled as shown in Figure 2–13, click

the Compact button for the previous customization set. This removes the

temporary files that are on the server from the previous customization set creation.

You will not be able to create a customization set until the previous set has been

compacted

Figure 2–13 Customization Set Migration Outgoing Tab

From the Outgoing tab of the Customization Set Migration dialog, click Create

Customization Set.

5. Provide a name for the customization set.

6. Optionally, type a description of the set.

7. Click Save and Close.

8. (Optional) Click Log to view the process status details as shown in Figure 2–14.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-23

Figure 2–14 Customization Set Migration Create Process Log

9. Periodically, click Refresh to view the current status of the set creation. When the

status changes to Ready for Download, proceed to the next step.

This process takes approximately 15 minutes. If, when you click Refresh, the

export has not progressed for over one hour, a dialog box appears with the

following message. If there is a reason for the stalled process, such as a slow

server, click Continue. Otherwise, click Restart to restart the export process.

The process might have stalled due to unexpected issues, possibly with the

server. Do you want to restart the process or continue with this process?

10. When the customization set is ready for download, click Download, specify the

name and location for the file that will be created, and click Save.

11. After the download file is successfully created on your local file system, click

Compact to remove the temporary files that were created on the server.

12. Open the Customization Set Migration dialog in the target environment.

13. From the Incoming tab, click Browse, specify the name and location of the

customization set file, and click Open.

Note: The process runs asynchronously. You can exit the dialog and

return to it at a later time.

Note: If the Browse button is not enabled, you must first apply the

previously uploaded customization set, or, if you do not intend to

apply the set, you must first compact it to enable the Browse button.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

2-24 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

14.

When the status for the customization set is Ready to Apply Customizations as

shown in Figure 2–15, click Apply.

Figure 2–15 Customization Set Migration Incoming Tab

15. (Optional) Click Log to view the process status details as shown in Figure 2–16.

Figure 2–16 Customization Set Migration Apply Process Log

16.

Periodically, click Refresh to view the current status of the apply action. When the

apply process has completed, proceed to the next step.

This process takes approximately 25 minutes. If, when you click Refresh, the

process has not progressed for over one hour, a dialog box appears with the

WARNING: Always upload the most recent customization set from

the source environment. Never upload a customization set into the

same environment from which it was created.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-25

following message. If there is a reason for the stalled process, such as a slow

server, click Continue. Otherwise, click Restart to restart the apply process.

The process might have stalled due to unexpected issues, possibly with the

server. Do you want to restart the process or continue with this process?

17. Access the target environment and examine the environment for any deletions that

you must make manually.

18. Deploy all flexfields that have a status of Patched as described in Section 4.7,

"Deploying Flexfield Configurations."

In non-Cloud environments, you can also use the

deployPatchedFlex

WLST

command as described in the "Deploying Flexfields Using the Command Line:

Explained" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Common Implementation Guide.

19. Complete the following substeps to send the newly created and newly updated

Oracle Social Network definitions to the Oracle Social Network server:

a. Access the Manage Oracle Social Network Objects task by choosing Setup and

Maintenance from the Administration menu in the global area of Oracle

Fusion Applications and searching for the task.

b. For each object that was created or updated by the apply process, if its

Enabled value is other than

, trigger the sending of its definition to the

Oracle Social Network server by changing its Enabled value, resetting it back

to the original Enabled value, and then saving the change. For example, if the

Enabled value is

Manual

, click Disable Object, click Enable Object, select

Manual, click OK, and then click Save.

20. If you applied Oracle Fusion CRM application customizations, you must submit

all custom subject areas for publishing as described in the "Publishing Custom

Subject Areas: Explained" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM

Extensibility Guide. Note that you must submit all custom subject areas, including

those that were previously published after applying earlier customization

migration sets.

21. If you applied Oracle Fusion CRM application customizations, perform the

following tasks from Application Composer to complete the movement of Oracle

Fusion CRM customizations and extensions:

■ Generate the artifacts that are required to register the migrated extensions by

clicking Import and Export in the Common Setup pane and then clicking

Generate. This makes the migrated extensions available for importing and

exporting. For more information, see the "Importing and Exporting Custom

Tip: The process runs asynchronously. You can exit the dialog and

return to it at a later time.

Note: For Oracle Cloud implementations, if problems occur during

an apply action, log a service request using My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com. For non-Cloud implementations,

if problems occur, see Section A.2.3, "Troubleshooting Customization

Set Migration Issues" for information about diagnosing issues.

Tip: Click the header in the Status column to sort the flexfields by

status.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

2-26 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Objects: Explained" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility

Guide.

■ Create the same email templates that were created in the source environment.

For information about creating email templates, see the "E-Mail Templates:

Explained" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide.

■ From the Common Setup region, click Web Services and complete the

following substeps for every secured SOAP web service connection that uses

either of the following authentication schemes to manually migrate the user

names and passwords:

– Invoke with separate user credentials over SSL

– Invoke with separate user credentials and message protection

a. Make a note of the name and WSDL URL for the web service.

b. Delete the secured web service.

c. Click the Create icon to re-create the secured web service that you just

deleted.

d. In the Create SOAP Web Service Connection dialog, type the name and

WSDL URL for the service that you just deleted. These values must match

the values that you noted in Step a.

e. Click Read WSDL.

f. Ensure that the appropriate authentication scheme is selected.

g. Click the New icon for the Credential Key field.

h. In the Create Key dialog, type the credential key, user name, and

password, and then click OK.

i. Click Save and Close.

22. If attachments were enabled on runtime pages using Application Composer,

complete the following steps to enable attachments for those pages in the target

environment:

a. From the source environment, choose Setup and Maintenance from the

Navigator menu.

b. In the Tasks region, click Manage Implementation Projects.

c. On the Manage Implementation Projects page, choose Create from the Actions

menu.

d. On the Enter Basic Information page, specify the project details.

You can accept the defaults that are supplied. If you change the Code value,

you must specify a unique code. Use the default value for the Start Date and

leave the Finish Date blank. The Assigned To user must have access to

Customization Set Migration.

e. Click Save and Open Project.

f. On the Implementation Project page, choose Select and Add from the Actions

menu.

Tip: Use the Name field to specify a meaningful project name. When

you change the name, the code and description fields change

automatically.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-27

Select Tasks from the Search dropdown list.

h. Search for and select the Manage Attachment Categories task and the

Manage Attachment Entities task, as shown in Figure 2–17, and then click

Apply.

Figure 2–17 Selection of Manage Attachment Tasks

Click Done and click Done again.

j. In the Ta sk s region on the Setup and Maintenance page, click Manage

Configuration Packages.

k. On the Manage Configuration Packages page, choose Create from the Actions

menu.

l. From the Name dropdown list in the Source Implementation Project region

on the Create Configuration Package page, select the implementation project

that you just created.

m. Click Next and click Next again.

n. On the Create Configuration Package: Schedule and Notifications page, click

Submit.

o. When the Warning dialog appears, click Yes to continue the export process.

p. Periodically, click the Refresh icon to display the current status.

q. After the process has completed, download the configuration package.

r. On the target environment, create an implementation project that is similar to

the one that you created on the source environment.

s. Create a configuration project similar to the one that you created on the source

environment. Do not submit the project. Click Save and Close.

t. On the Manage Configuration Packages page, select the configuration package

that you just created, and click Upload.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

2-28 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Select the configuration package that you just downloaded from the source

environment and click Open.

v. Click Details and then click Submit.

w. Select the configuration package and click Import Setup Data.

x. Click Submit.

y. Periodically, click the Refresh icon to display the current status.

z. After the job completes, click Done.

23. (Optionally) From the Navigator menu, choose Tools and then choose Scheduled

Processes to identify and reschedule any Oracle Fusion CRM processes that failed

during the apply process. Look for processes with the following statuses:

■ Blocked

■ Error

■ Error Auto-Retry

■ Error Manual Recovery

■ Paused

■ Validation Failed

As shown in Figure 2–18, you can choose a value from the Status field in the

Search region to filter the search results by status. Alternatively, you can click the

Status column header in the Search Results table to sort the search results by

status.

Figure 2–18 Searching Scheduled Processes by Status

24.

Perform functional testing to verify the changes. If testing exposes problems with

the customizations, such as importing more than you intended, or the changes

were not what you expected, access the customization set in the Incoming tab of

the Customization Set Migration dialog, and click Restore to revert back to the

state before the customization set was applied. Skip the next step.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-29

Figure 2–19 shows the Log dialog box for a restore that is in progress.

Figure 2–19 Customization Set Migration Restore Process Log

25.

Broadcast information to the users that they must sign out and sign back in to see

the changes.

2.3.2 Using Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager to Move Customizations

You can use the Functional Setup Manager to move common reference objects, such as

application data security policies, application extensible flexfields, application

descriptive flexfields, and application value sets from one Oracle Fusion Applications

environment to another. For more information, see "Importing and Exporting Setup

Data" in the Oracle Fusion Applications Common Implementation Guide.

2.3.3 Using the Manage Customizations Dialog to Download Customizations

The Manage Customizations dialog enables you to download customization files for a

given page. You can use this downloaded file for diagnosing customization issues.

To download customizations using the Manage Customizations dialog:

1. Go to the page for which you wish to download or upload customizations.

2. Select the page, task flow, or page fragment that contains the customizations.

WARNING: All user personalizations that are performed after a

customization set is applied are lost when you perform a restore on

that customization set.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

2-30 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

From the Administration menu in the global area of Oracle Fusion Applications,

choose Manage Customizations.

4. To download a file, click the Download link for the corresponding customization.

The file will be downloaded to your local machine.

2.3.4 Using WLST Commands to Move Customizations

You can use WLST commands to upload and download customization files for one

page, multiple pages, the navigator menu, and Oracle Application Development

Framework (ADF) Business Components.

Example 2–1 shows how to export all customizations for a specific application.

Example 2–1 WLST Command to Export All Customizations for an Application

exportMetadata (application='application name',

server='server name', docs='/**',

excludeBaseDocs='true',

toLocation='temp location')

Example 2–2 shows how to export the site layer customizations of the navigator menu.

Example 2–2 WLST Command to Export Site Layer Customizations of the Navigator

exportMetadata (application='application name',

server='server name', docs='oracle/apps/menu/mdssys/Site/SITE/root_menu.xml.xml',

toLocation='temp location')

Tip: After you are in the Manage Customizations dialog, you can

change the page, task flow, or page fragment for which you are

viewing customizations using the Search field.

Note: To download all customizations of the page for all layers, click

the Download Customizations for All Layers link, located at the

bottom of the window. This will download the

AllCustomization.zip

file, which contains all the customization XML files for the page.

Note: WLST is not available in Oracle Cloud implementations.

Note: You can also use Fusion Applications Control to move

customizations as described in Section 2.3.5, "Using Fusion

Applications Control to Move Customizations."

Exporting and Moving Customizations

Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle 2-31

For more information about uploading and downloading customization files, see the

"Importing Customizations into Your Application Workspace" section in the Oracle

Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers. For information about uploading

and downloading the customizations of resources, see the "Translating Resource

Bundles from an MDS Repository" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility

Guide for Developers

For more information about the

exportMetadata

command, see the "Managing the

Metadata Repository" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.

2.3.5 Using Fusion Applications Control to Move Customizations

Use Fusion Applications Control to move MDS customizations made to a page or

other UI from one environment to another. For more information, see the "Transferring

Metadata Using Fusion Middleware Control" section of the Oracle Fusion Middleware

Administrator's Guide. The referenced procedure describes using Fusion Middleware

Control, but also applies to Fusion Applications Control.

Tip: If you are not sure of the document name, append

'/*'

to the

path in the

docs

argument to include all customization documents in

the directory. Append

'/**'

to the path in the

docs

argument to also

include the customization documents in the subdirectories. For

example, use

'/oracle/apps/hcm/dashboard/hrSpecialist/publicUi/**'

import or export all documents under the

publicUi

directory and its

subdirectories.

Note: Fusion Applications Control is not available in Oracle Cloud

implementations.

Exporting and Moving Customizations

2-32 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Part II

Part II Runtime Customizations and Extensions

Part II contains the following chapters:

■ Chapter 3, "Customizing Existing Pages"

■ Chapter 4, "Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes"

■ Chapter 5, "Customizing Menus"

■ Chapter 6, "Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes"

■ Chapter 7, "Customizing Reports and Analytics"

Customizing Existing Pages 3-1

3Customizing Existing Pages

This chapter describes how administrative users can customize pages in Oracle Fusion

applications at runtime using Page Composer.

This chapter includes the following sections:

■ Section 3.1, "About Customizing Existing Pages"

■ Section 3.2, "Editing a Page in Page Composer"

■ Section 3.3, "Editing Component Properties in Page Composer"

■ Section 3.4, "Editing the UI Shell Template Used by All Pages"

■ Section 3.5, "Editing Pages in Oracle JDeveloper After Using Page Composer"

3.1 About Customizing Existing Pages

The pages in Oracle Fusion applications provide content and functionality to users

that enable them to complete their tasks (for example, learning about a product or

service, keeping up with sales data, or submitting an order) as easily and efficiently as

possible. Because different users have different needs, Oracle Fusion applications

enable you to customize pages to fit those needs using Page Composer. End users can

use Page Composer for personalization of pages. For example, end users can

reorganize content in dashboards to place the content they use most frequently at the

top of the page. Administrative users can use Page Composer to customize pages in

any layer of the application or to customize the UI Shell template used by Oracle

Fusion Customer Relationship Management (Oracle Fusion CRM) applications—the

template used for the base UI for all Oracle Fusion CRM application pages. For

example, administrative users can add a logo or contact information to the header and

footer of the application.

Most of what you do in Page Composer is perform actions on a UI object, or UI

component, on a page. Components are grouped together on the page into boxes to

simplify management of related components. For example, you might group

components relating to a particular project or to a particular subject. The grouped

components are referred to as Child Components. Page Composer enables you to edit

Notes:

■ Features and functionality involving Oracle JDeveloper, as

described in this chapter, are not available in Oracle Cloud

implementations.

■ Images in this chapter might not accurately represent the user

interface in Oracle Cloud implementations.

About Customizing Existing Pages

3-2 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

an individual child component or manage all the grouped child components at one

time by editing the box containing the child components. For example, you might

want all the related child components to have the same style (background color, font,

and such) so that users can more easily see their relationship.

Figure 3–1 shows an application page as the user sees it. The outlined components (in

red) are grouped together. Figure 3–2 shows the same application page in Page

Composer, where you can see the dashed outline of the box containing the grouped

components.

Figure 3–1 Components in an Application Page

Figure 3–2 Components in Page Composer

About Customizing Existing Pages

Customizing Existing Pages 3-3

3.1.1 Page Composer User Interface Overview

Page Composer provides two views for working with page content:

■ Design view (Figure 3–3) provides a WYSIWYG rendering of the page and its

content, where controls can be selected directly on each component. Design view

is available in Oracle Fusion CRM and non-CRM applications, for both

personalization and customization.

Figure 3–3 Page Composer's Design view

■ Source view (Figure 3–4) provides a combined WYSIWYG and hierarchical

rendering of page components for advanced users (such as developers or users

with knowledge of ADF artifacts, JavaScript, and Expression Language (EL)).

Source view is available for non-CRM applications and when customizing the UI

Shell template in Oracle Fusion CRM applications. Source view is available only

for customization (not personalization).

Note: The user interface and capabilities of Page Composer differ

depending on the product family and how Page Composer is

accessed. See the product-specific documentation for more

information.

About Customizing Existing Pages

3-4 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 3–4 Page Composer's Source view

For more information, see the "Introducing Design View and Source View" section in

the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

3.1.2 Effects of Editing Objects That Display on Multiple Pages

Sometimes objects are included on multiple pages. The effect of changing such an

object depends on how the object is included on the page and whether you are

working with a Oracle Fusion CRM or non-CRM application.

■ If you use Page Composer to make changes to an object that is displayed on

multiple pages (and is not part of a shared task flow), then only the object on the

page you edit is affected.

■ If the object is part of a shared task flow, then the change will affect the object on

all pages that include the shared task flow, with one exception. If the shared task

flow includes embedded logic that uses data from the page, then the embedded

logic might override the changes you make in Page Composer.

■ For Oracle Fusion CRM applications, you can change objects globally (on all pages

that display the object) by editing them through Oracle Fusion CRM Application

Composer. For information, see the "Application Composer: Using the Application

Composer" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide.

3.1.3 What You Can Do with Pages at Runtime

Depending on your role, the type of page, and the type of application, you can

perform different actions in Page Composer.

About Customizing Existing Pages

Customizing Existing Pages 3-5

3.1.3.1 Nondashboard Pages in Oracle Fusion CRM Applications

Sales Administrators, Marketing Operations Managers, and Channel Managers can

customize nondashboard pages in the following ways:

■ By adding task flows, portlets, documents, layout components, and other objects

to a page

Refer to Task: Add Components to a Page.

■ By creating site-level saved searches that can be used by all users

Refer to Task: Create a Site-Level Saved Search for All Users.

■ By changing a page layout

Refer to Task: Change the Layout of a Page.

■ By moving objects on a page

Refer to Task: Move Components on a Page.

■ By changing the display of the object using the tools in the object header (for

example, expand or collapse an object; hide, show, or reorder columns in a table)

3.1.3.2 Dashboard Pages in Oracle Fusion CRM Applications

Users can personalize their dashboard pages and administrators can customize site,

internal or external, and job-role dashboard pages with the tasks mentioned in

Section 3.1.3.1, "Nondashboard Pages in Oracle Fusion CRM Applications" and in the

following additional ways:

■ By showing or hiding objects on a page

Refer to Task: Show and Hide Components on a Page.

■ By removing objects from a page

Refer to Task: Delete Components from a Page.

3.1.3.3 Pages in Non-CRM Applications

Administrators can customize pages in non-CRM applications with the tasks

mentioned in Section 3.1.3.1, "Nondashboard Pages in Oracle Fusion CRM

Applications," Section 3.1.3.2, "Dashboard Pages in Oracle Fusion CRM Applications,"

and in the following additional ways:

■ By customizing a page title

Refer to Task: Customize a Page Title.

■ By customizing a task list menu

Refer to Task: Customize a Task List Menu.

■ By customizing attributes for a flexfield on a page

Refer to Task: Customize Attributes for a Flexfield on a Page.

About Customizing Existing Pages

3-6 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

■ By customizing popup window content

Refer to Task: Customize Popup Window Content.

■ By providing values for the properties associated with pages and the objects the

pages contain

Refer to Section 3.3, "Editing Component Properties in Page Composer."

■ By editing the component header and other display options

Refer to Task: Edit Component Header and Other Display Options.

■ By editing the look and feel of the component

Refer to Task: Edit Component and Content Style.

■ By editing the component's unique parameters

Refer to Task: Edit Component Parameters.

■ By rolling back changes to a page or task flow

Refer to Task: Reset a Page or Task Flow to a Previously Saved Version.

■ By wiring pages, task flows, and portlets to each other

Refer to Task: Allow Certain Component Property Values to Persist Across

Sessions.

3.1.3.4 UI Shell Template

Application administrators can customize the UI Shell template used by all pages in

the application. See Section 3.4, "Editing the UI Shell Template Used by All Pages."

3.1.4 What You Cannot Do with Pages at Runtime

Business users cannot perform the following tasks in a runtime environment with

Page Composer:

■ Change an object globally (change an object on every page on which it is

displayed)

For Oracle Fusion CRM applications, you can change objects globally by editing

them through Application Composer. For information, see the "Application

Composer: Using the Application Composer" chapter in the Oracle Fusion

Applications CRM Extensibility Guide.

■ Add a custom attribute to a page using the flexfield feature

Notes: Many pages in Oracle Fusion applications include a flexfield.

Flexfields allow you to add custom attributes to a page. You add

flexfields to a page using the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task and

the Manage Extensible Flexfields task, then customize the attributes

through Page Composer. For more information about adding

flexfields to a page, see Chapter 4, "Using Flexfields for Custom

Attributes."

Note: Features and functionality involving JDeveloper, as described

in this section, are not available in Oracle Cloud implementations.

About Customizing Existing Pages

Customizing Existing Pages 3-7

If a flexfield exists on a page, you must use the appropriate manage flexfield task

to add the custom attributes to the page before working with them in Page

Composer. For more information, see Chapter 4, "Using Flexfields for Custom

Attributes."

■ Make a page personalizable

To permit end users to edit a page, a developer must use JDeveloper to enable

personalization. For more information, see the "Allowing Pages to Be Personalized

by End Users in Page Composer" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications

Extensibility Guide for Developers.

■ Edit user interface text that is part of a skin

To edit user interface text that is part of a skin, a developer must use JDeveloper to

change the resource bundle used by the skin. For more information, see the "How

to Apply Skins to Text" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Web User Interface

Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

■ Edit text that is part of the embedded help on the page

To edit text that is part of the embedded help on a page, a developer must use

JDeveloper. For more information, see the "Customizing or Adding Static

Instructions, In-Field Notes, and Terminology Definitions" section in the Oracle

Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

■ Change ADF task flows

To edit ADF task flows, a developer must use JDeveloper. For more information,

see the "Customizing and Extending Oracle ADF Application Artifacts" chapter in

the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

■ Change ADF Business Components objects

To edit the ADF Business Components objects (for example, to add validation to

an ADF Business Components object), a developer must use JDeveloper. For more

information, see the "Customizing and Extending Oracle ADF Application

Artifacts" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

■ Change Oracle Fusion CRM administrative pages (such as Set Up and Look Up

Management)

To edit the Oracle Fusion CRM administrative pages, a developer must use

JDeveloper.

■ Change mobile web pages (pages built using Trinidad components for mobile

clients)

To edit mobile web pages, a developer must use JDeveloper. For more

information, see the "Editing Pages" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications

Extensibility Guide for Developers.

3.1.5 Before You Begin Customizing Existing Pages

As an administrative user, before you implement customizations in applications, you

should be familiar with the Oracle Fusion application architecture that enables

customization, as described in Chapter 1, "Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion

Applications." You should also understand the typical workflows for working with

runtime customizations, as described in Chapter 2, "Understanding the Customization

Development Lifecycle."

You must do the following before you can begin customizing existing pages:

About Customizing Existing Pages

3-8 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

■ Confirm that the page is customizable.

For Oracle Fusion CRM applications:

– Any user can personalize dashboard pages.

– Sales Administrator, Marketing Operations Manager, and Channel Manager

users can customize transactional pages (such as Edit).

For HCM applications, all pages are customizable.

For non-CRM applications, see product-specific documentation in Oracle Fusion

Applications Help for information about which pages are customizable.

■ Set up a sandbox.

Page Composer uses sandboxes to manage your customizations. For more

information, see Section 2.2, "Using the Sandbox Manager."

■ Access Page Composer.

– To access Page Composer, go to the page you want to edit, then, from the

Administration menu in the global area of Oracle Fusion applications, choose

Customize page_name Pages.

– To customize existing pages, you must have specific privileges. Contact your

security administrator for details.

■ If you have more than one layer available for customization, then when you open

Page Composer, the UI displays the Layer Picker dialog (Figure 3–5), which you

use to specify the layer that you want to edit and its customization context. In the

Edit column, select the layer you want to edit. The layers that are selected in the

Include column will inherit any changes you make to the layer you edit.

Figure 3–5 Layer Picker Dialog

For more information about customization layers, including selecting a layer and

customization context, see Section 1.2, "Understanding Customization Layers."

Editing a Page in Page Composer

Customizing Existing Pages 3-9

3.2 Editing a Page in Page Composer

You can use Page Composer to perform basic editorial tasks, such as editing page

components, changing the layout of the page, and the like. The tasks available to you

depend on your role, the type of page, and the type of application. For details, see

Section 3.1.3, "What You Can Do with Pages at Runtime."

Task: Add Components to a Page

To add components to a page, in Design view, click Add Content at the top of the

container component to which you want to add the new component.

For non-CRM pages, you can also add components in Source view (where UI widgets

are available). To add components in Source view, you select the container component,

then, in the Source view toolbar, click Add Content.

In either mode (Design view or Source view), clicking Add Content opens the

Resource Catalog, enabling you to select from a wide range of task flows, portlets,

layout components, and other types of resources. For more information about adding

components to a page, see the "Adding a Component to a Page" section in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

Task: Create a Site-Level Saved Search for All Users

You can use Page Composer to create a saved search that can be used by all users. To

create a site-level (or global) saved search, perform the following steps:

1. In Design view, locate the Search component, and perform a search.

2. In the Search component, click Save.

3. In the Create Saved Search dialog, type a name for your saved search and select

any search options you want:

■ To make the selected search criteria appear each time a user views the Search

component, select Set as Default.

■ To make the results of the selected search appear each time a user views the

Search component, select Run Automatically.

When you are done, click OK.

4. In Page Composer, click Save.

5. Log out and log back in to make sure the current list of site-level saved searches

gets refreshed.

To delete, rename, or change the search options for a site-level saved search:

1. In Design view, locate the Search component. In the Saved Search drop-down list,

select Personalize.

Note: If the object you want to edit is included on multiple pages,

then see Section 3.1.2, "Effects of Editing Objects That Display on

Multiple Pages," before editing the object.

Note: If you want to display custom attributes, then you may be able

to use a flexfield that has been defined for the page. Flexfields are

available for many pages in Oracle Fusion applications, except for the

Oracle Fusion CRM applications. For more information, see Chapter 4,

"Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes."

Editing a Page in Page Composer

3-10 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

In the Personalize Saved Searches dialog, select the saved search you want to edit,

and make the desired changes:

■ To make the selected search criteria appear each time a user views the Search

component, select Set as Default.

■ To make the results of the selected search appear each time a user views the

Search component, select Run Automatically.

■ To display the selected search in the Saved Search drop-down list, select Show

in Search List.

3. In Page Composer, click Save.

4. Log out and log back in to make sure the current list of site-level saved searches

gets refreshed.

Task: Change the Layout of a Page

Page layout defines the number, placement, and orientation of content regions on a

page. A page's initial layout style is selected when the page is created. Some style

selections can be switched even after you have added content to the page, others do

not support layout changes after creation.

To change the layout of a page, in Design view, click Change Layout. For more

information, see the "Changing the Page Layout" section in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

Task: Move Components on a Page

To move components on a page, in Design view, drag and drop the component.

For non-CRM pages, you can also cut and paste or drag and drop components in

Source view, or you can access the Component Properties for the container component

and rearrange the components on the Child Components tab. For more information,

see the "Rearranging Child Components" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's

Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

Task: Show and Hide Components on a Page

You can control whether to show or hide a component on a page. For example, you

have a list of checkboxes, and if a user selects checkbox B, you want a button to be

displayed. You could set the Show Component property on the button to be an EL

expression that says

#{if checkboxB.selected = true}

, meaning that if the checkbox

B is selected, then display the button.

There are two ways to hide a component—hide the individual component or hide the

box containing the component.

To hide an individual component, click the Edit icon in the component header, click

the Display Options tab, deselect the Show Component box, and click OK. For more

information, see the "Working with Component Display Options" section in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces. You can instead,

click the Edit icon on the containing box's toolbar, then, on the Child Components tab,

deselect the box next to the component you want to hide, and click OK. For more

Note: You can perform this task only on dashboard pages in Oracle

Fusion CRM applications, on nondashboard pages in Oracle Fusion

CRM applications if you have the proper job role, or in non-CRM

applications.

Editing a Page in Page Composer

Customizing Existing Pages 3-11

information, see the "Hiding and Showing Child Components" section in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

To hide the box and all its child components, click the Edit icon in the box's header,

click the Display Options tab, deselect the Show Component box, and click OK. For

more information, see the "Working with Component Display Options" section in the

Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

Task: Delete Components from a Page

If you are sure no other components or processes are dependent on a component, you

can delete the component from a page by clicking the Delete icon in the component

header.

If you delete a box, all of the child components—any components contained in the

box—are also deleted.

For more information about deleting components, see the "Deleting a Component

from a Page" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter

Portal: Spaces.

Task: Customize a Page Title

The page title is specified in three places:

■ The Page Title property on the Task List Properties tab in Page Composer, which

affects the browser title

■ The Label property on the Task List Task Properties tab in Page Composer, which

affects the task lists menu entry, page heading, and tab title

■ The Label property for the navigator menu item in the Manage Menu

Customizations task, which affects the navigator menu entry

You must change all three entries to change the page title. To change the first two

entries in Page Composer, complete the following steps. To change the navigator

menu entry, see Chapter 5, "Customizing Menus."

Note: You can perform this task only on dashboard pages in Oracle

Fusion CRM applications, on nondashboard pages in Oracle Fusion

CRM applications if you have the proper job role, or in non-CRM

applications.

WARNING: Delete a component only if you are positive that no

other components or processes are dependent on the component you

delete. If you are uncertain about any dependencies, then hide the

component instead of deleting it.

Note: Some components might not be able to be deleted, such as

mandatory or indexed fields or components that are installed as part

of the Oracle Fusion applications.

Note: You can perform this task only in non-CRM applications.

Editing a Page in Page Composer

3-12 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

If Source view is not already displayed, switch to Source view. From the View

menu, select Source.

2. In the Design region (at the bottom of the page), click the task list as shown in

Figure 3–6.

Figure 3–6 Selecting a Task List in the Design Region

When asked to confirm that you want to edit the task flow, click Edit.

This selects the task list entry in the Source region.

4. In the Source region, click Edit Task Flow next to the task list as shown in

Figure 3–7.

Figure 3–7 Opening the Task Flow Editor

Again, when asked to confirm that you want to edit the task flow, click Edit.

6. In the Source region, right-click the

panelFormLayout

node, and select Edit as

shown in Figure 3–8.

Figure 3–8 Editing the panelFormLayout Node

The Component Properties dialog for

panelFormLayout

is displayed.

Editing a Page in Page Composer

Customizing Existing Pages 3-13

On the Tasks List Properties tab, in the Page Title box, type the title for the page,

then click OK to save your changes and close the Component Properties dialog.

8. Click the Tasks List Task Properties tab.

9. Expand the tree to display the items in the task list as shown in Figure 3–9.

Figure 3–9 Component Properties — Tasks List Task Properties Task List Items

10.

In the tree hierarchy, click the first child item ("Tasks" in Figure 3–9), then click the

Edit icon in the toolbar.

11. In the Label box, type the title for the page, then click OK to save your changes

and close the Component Properties dialog.

Task: Customize a Task List Menu

Task lists enable you to provide links to task flows in your application or web pages

outside your application. For example, you can add links to frequently used task

flows, so that users can quickly perform the most common tasks.

1. If Source view is not already displayed, switch to Source view. From the View

menu, select Source.

2. In the Design region (at the bottom of the page), click the task list as shown in

Figure 3–10.

Note: You can perform this task only in non-CRM applications.

Editing a Page in Page Composer

3-14 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 3–10 Selecting a Task List in the Design Region

When asked to confirm that you want to edit the task flow, click Edit.

This selects the task list entry in the Source region.

4. In the Source region, click Edit Task Flow next to the task list as shown in

Figure 3–11.

Figure 3–11 Opening the Task Flow Editor

Again, when asked to confirm that you want to edit the task flow, click Edit.

6. In the Source region, right-click the

panelFormLayout

node, and select Edit as

shown in Figure 3–12.

Figure 3–12 Editing the panelFormLayout Node

The Component Properties dialog for

panelFormLayout

is displayed.

7. Click the Tasks List Task Properties tab.

8. Expand the tree to display the items in the task list, as shown in Figure 3–13.

Editing a Page in Page Composer

Customizing Existing Pages 3-15

Figure 3–13 Component Properties — Tasks List Task Properties Task List Items

9. In the tree hierarchy, select an item and customize the task list by inserting a new

item above, inserting a new item below, inserting a child item, or editing the

current item by clicking the appropriate icon in the toolbar, as shown in

Figure 3–14.

Editing a Page in Page Composer

3-16 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 3–14 Component Properties — Tasks List Task Properties Toolbar

10. Enter or edit the following values:

■ Web Application: Use the dropdown list to select the target web application.

This list contains web applications that are defined in the deployments tables.

■ Focus View Id: Enter the

focusViewId

value of the target page, for example,

/ServiceRequest.

■ Action: Enter the action that is taken when this item is selected by the user.

Pages with actions are defined in the

adfc-config.xml

file, and these actions

can take the user to a particular page. If you specify an action here, then the

Note: For Oracle Cloud implementations: to obtain a list a valid

values, log a service request using My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com.

Caution: If you enter a value for Web Application then you must

enter a value for Focus View Id.

Caution: If you enter values for Web Application and Focus View

Id, do not enter a value for Destination and vice versa.

Editing a Page in Page Composer

Customizing Existing Pages 3-17

Web Application and Focus View Id values are ignored. This Action attribute

is used in an ADF Controller navigation.

■ Label: Enter the label name for this new item. This is the name that appears on

the task list menu. This label name also appears on the Tas k tab when opened

if the page's

isDynamicTabNavigation="true"

■ Rendered: Select this to display the item in the task list. Deselect to hide the

item.

■ Destination: Enter the full URL for this item, such as http://www.example.com.

The Destination attribute is used for navigation outside of the Oracle Fusion

Middleware UI Shell pages. It opens in a new window.

■ Task Type: Choose the required task type for newly created items. Use the

dropdown menu to select

dynamicMain

defaultMain

defaultRegional

, or

taskCategory

Figure 3–15 lists the properties that are applicable based on the task type of the

currently edited item node.

Figure 3–15 Tasks List Task Properties — Task Types

11.

Click Apply to save your changes, then click OK to save your changes and close

the Component Properties dialog.

Note: When deselected, the item is displayed in italics on the

customization dialog. This allows you to identify items that are

currently hidden from users.

Note: Destination takes precedence over any specified Web

Application value.

Caution: The task type can be specified by the administrator for the

newly inserted item nodes only. It cannot be updated for an existing

item node.

Editing Component Properties in Page Composer

3-18 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Task: Customize Attributes for a Flexfield on a Page

After you deploy an extensible flexfield or descriptive flexfield, you can use Page

Composer to further control the custom attribute properties on a page-by-page basis.

For example, you can hide some custom attributes or reorder how they appear on the

page.

To customize flexfield values, edit the page in Source view. In Source view, navigate

through the tree and expand the flexfield component (for example

descriptiveFlexfield

) to see the custom attributes. Click the flexfield component to

display the Component Properties dialog box, where you can edit the values for the

attributes.

Task: Customize Popup Window Content

You can use Page Composer to customize the content in popup windows as follows:

1. If Source view is not already displayed, switch to Source view. From the View

menu, select Source.

2. Select the button that brings up the popup window.

3. In the Source region, right-click the

popup

node, and select Edit.

4. In the Component Properties dialog, edit the popup window properties as desired.

For information about popup window properties, see the "Using Popup Dialogs,

Menus, and Windows" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Web User Interface

Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

5. Click Apply to save your changes, then click OK to save your changes and close

the Component Properties dialog.

3.3 Editing Component Properties in Page Composer

Components, such as task flows, portlets, documents, and layout components, carry

with them a set of configurable properties that control the appearance and behavior of

a particular component instance.

To edit component properties:

1. In Design view, click the Edit icon in the component header.

2. Click the appropriate tab in the Component Properties dialog.

Note: You can perform this task only in non-CRM applications.

Note: For information about flexfields, see Chapter 4, "Using

Flexfields for Custom Attributes."

Note: You can perform this task only in non-CRM applications.

Note: You can perform these tasks only in non-CRM applications.

Editing Component Properties in Page Composer

Customizing Existing Pages 3-19

Edit the properties.

4. Click Apply to save your changes, then click OK to save your changes and close

the Component Properties dialog.

For more information, see the "Setting Properties on a Component" section in the

Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

Task: Edit Component Header and Other Display Options

Typically, the Display Options tab presents settings that affect the display elements

surrounding component content (that is, its chrome). Chrome includes the header, the

Actions menu, Expand and Collapse icons, and the like. For example, use the display

options on a task flow to hide or show a header, change the text in the header, enable

or disable menus, show a tooltip for the component, and other options. Use the

display options on an Image layout component to specify the image source URL and

its optional link target. For more information, see the "Working with Component

Display Options" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle

WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

Task: Edit Component and Content Style

Style and Content Style properties provide an opportunity to fine-tune your

application look-and-feel at the component level. You can specify color, style, and

margin settings on the selected component instance. For more information, see the

"Working with Style and Content Style Properties" section in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

Task: Edit Component Parameters

Component parameters are settings, unique to the component type, that can control

such things as the source of the component's content. Component parameters vary

from component to component. For example, on some components, they provide the

opportunity to specify the source of task flow content; on other components, they

present read-only, application-generated identifiers that are used in maintaining a task

flow instance's association with its customizations. For more information, see the

"Working with Component Parameters" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's

Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal: Spaces.

Task: Customize a Component Based on Role

Role level customization allows you to display a component only if the user has the

specified role. For example, you might want to show a "Reports" button only if the

user has a manager role.

If you are customizing a CRM application, you can select CRM's

Role

layer in the

Layer Picker dialog, which appears when you open Page Composer.

If you are customizing a non-CRM based application, there is no

Role

layer to

customize. Instead you could do the following:

■ Use JDeveloper to customize the application, as described in the "Customizing at

the Role Level" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for

Developers.

Note: If the object you want to edit is included on multiple pages,

then see Section 3.1.2, "Effects of Editing Objects That Display on

Multiple Pages," before editing the object.

Editing Component Properties in Page Composer

3-20 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

■ Use an EL expression in the component property to conditionally render the

component based on a specified security level associated with a role:

1. Define a privilege to use to determine whether to render the component. For

example, create a privilege called

MANAGER_REPORTS_BUTTON_PRIV

2. Grant the privilege to the role the user requires to see the conditionally

rendered component.

For more information on defining privileges and granting them to roles, see

the "Enabling ADF Security in a Fusion Web Application" chapter in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development

Framework.

3. Make sure the users you want to see the conditionally rendered component

are assigned the required role.

4. Edit the component properties for the component you want to conditionally

render (for example, the "Reports" button). On the Display Options tab, set

the Show Component property to be an EL expression that verifies whether

the user is granted the appropriate privilege. For example, use the following

expression:

#{securityContext.userGrantedPermission['MANAGER_REPORTS_BUTTON_PRIV']}

Task: Reset a Page or Task Flow to a Previously Saved Version

Page Composer provides controls for resetting a page or task flow to a previously

saved version or to its original out-of-the-box state.

The Reset Page button is available on the page in both Design view and Source view.

For more information, see the "Reset Page" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware

Developer's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal.

The Reset Task Flow button on the Source view toolbar is rendered only when editing

a task flow. For more information, see the "Reset Task Flow" section in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle WebCenter Portal.

Task: Allow Certain Component Property Values to Persist Across Sessions

Certain attribute values of ADF Faces components can be persisted for end users. For

example, on the column component, an end user can change the width of a column,

and that width will still be in effect when the user logs back in to the application. For

information about which component properties can persist, see the "Introduction to

Allowing User Customizations" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion

Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

To enable a property to be persistent, list that property as a value for the persist

parameter, using the procedures in the "Working with Style and Content Style

Properties" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle WebCenter

Portal: Spaces.

For more information about user personalization of components, see the "Configuring

End-User Personalization for Components" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications

Extensibility Guide for Developers.

Editing the UI Shell Template Used by All Pages

Customizing Existing Pages 3-21

3.4 Editing the UI Shell Template Used by All Pages

The UI Shell template provides the global or header area (shown in Figure 3–16) and

the footer panel (shown in Figure 3–17, highlighted in red) for all pages in your

application.

Figure 3–16 UI Shell Template — Global Area

Notes:

■ To customize the Oracle Fusion Applications skin (for example, to

change the logo or change colors), follow the steps described in

the "Customizing the Oracle Fusion Applications Skin" chapter in

the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

■ In non-Cloud implementations, you can also use JDeveloper to

edit the UI Shell template (for example, to make customizations

that cannot be done through Page Composer). For more

information, see the "Editing the UI Shell Template" section in the

Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers or the

"Introduction to Implementing the UI Shell" section in Oracle

Fusion Applications Developer's Guide.

Editing the UI Shell Template Used by All Pages

3-22 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 3–17 UI Shell Template — Footer

You can use Page Composer to edit the UI Shell template. For example, you might

want to edit the links available in the global area (such as removing the Tags link from

the header area) or add company contact information to the footer.

To open the UI Shell template in Page Composer (shown in Figure 3–18), use one of

the following methods:

■ In the Administration menu, click Customize Global Page template.

■ Open the UI Shell Template task flow.

Note: If the footer does not contain any content it appears as a thin

bar at the bottom of the browser window. The area highlighted in red

in Figure 3–17 shows the footer ready to be selected.

Editing the UI Shell Template Used by All Pages

Customizing Existing Pages 3-23

Figure 3–18 UI Shell Template in Page Composer

Task: Add a Component to the UI Shell Template

1. If you have not already opened the UI Shell template in Page Composer, open it

now as previously described.

2. Select the portion of the global area to which you want to add a component, or

select the footer, and click Add Content.

3. In the component catalog, select ADF Faces Components to display the list of

available components, as shown in Figure 3–19.

Note: Editable areas display a blue outline when you place your

cursor over them.

Editing the UI Shell Template Used by All Pages

3-24 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 3–19 ADF Faces Components Catalog

Next to the component that you want to add, click the associated Add icon.

The component is appears in the global area or footer. If necessary, edit the

component. For example, if you added the Text component, you can enter the text

that you want displayed.

5. If you are done making changes to the UI Shell template, click Close. When

prompted, click Save to save your changes.

Task: Edit a Component in the UI Shell Template

1. If you have not already opened the UI Shell template in Page Composer, open it

now as previously described.

2. Select the component that you want to edit.

3. Click Edit.

4. Edit the component, then click OK to save your changes.

5. If you are done making changes to the UI Shell template, click Close. When

prompted, click Save to save your changes.

Task: Delete a Component in the UI Shell Template

1. If you have not already opened the UI Shell template in Page Composer, open it

now as previously described.

2. Select the component that you want to delete.

3. Click Delete. When prompted, click Delete to delete the component.

Note: Editable components display a blue outline when you place

your cursor over them.

Note: Editable components display a blue outline when you place

your cursor over them.

Editing Pages in Oracle JDeveloper After Using Page Composer

Customizing Existing Pages 3-25

If you are done making changes to the UI Shell template, click Close. When

prompted, click Save to save your changes.

3.5 Editing Pages in Oracle JDeveloper After Using Page Composer

Using Page Composer, you (the administrative user) can implement a variety of

customizations on an application's pages. Pages that were created or customized in

JDeveloper are further customizable in Page Composer, and page customizations that

were implemented in Page Composer can be viewed in JDeveloper.

To view Page Composer customizations in JDeveloper, and potentially further

customize the pages, you must export the customizations from the runtime

environment and import them into the JDeveloper customization application

workspace. For more information, see the "Viewing ADF Library Runtime

Customizations from Exported JARs" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion

Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

It is important to note that you cannot customize a given artifact at the same layer in

both JDeveloper and Page Composer. You can, however, customize a given artifact in

both tools provided the customizations are made at different layers. At run time, the

tip layer customizations take precedence. For example, if you customize the label for a

field in the site layer using Page Composer and customize the same label in the global

layer using JDeveloper, the site layer customization will be displayed at run time.

Note: This section does not apply to Oracle Cloud implementations.

Editing Pages in Oracle JDeveloper After Using Page Composer

3-26 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-1

4Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes

This chapter describes how to use descriptive and extensible flexfields to add

additional attributes to your Oracle Fusion applications. You create these custom

attributes using runtime tasks in the Setup and Maintenance work area.

This chapter includes the following sections:

■ Section 4.1, "About Using Flexfields"

■ Section 4.2, "Finding the Flexfields on a Page"

■ Section 4.3, "Planning Your Flexfields"

■ Section 4.4, "Creating Custom Value Sets"

■ Section 4.5, "Configuring Flexfields"

■ Section 4.6, "Validating Flexfield Configurations"

■ Section 4.7, "Deploying Flexfield Configurations"

■ Section 4.8, "Integrating Custom Attributes"

4.1 About Using Flexfields

If you need to add company-specific attributes to a business object, such as size and

color attributes for the product business object, then you can often use flexfields to add

the desired custom attributes. A flexfield is a set of placeholder fields that is

associated with a business object. With flexfields, a field is called a segment.

Oracle Fusion Applications provides three types of flexfields — descriptive flexfield,

extensible flexfield, and key flexfield. This chapter discusses how you can use

descriptive and extensible flexfields to add additional attributes to Oracle Fusion

applications. This chapter refers to these attributes as custom attributes.

Descriptive and extensible flexfields enable you to configure your applications to

capture additional pieces of information (attributes) without having to perform

custom development. The attributes that you add by configuring flexfields are

available throughout the Oracle Fusion Middleware technology stack, allowing

custom attributes to be used in user interface pages, incorporated into the

Note: This chapter does not discuss key flexfields, which you use to

define keys such as part numbers, as explained in the product-specific

documentation in Oracle Fusion Applications Help. In this chapter,

the term flexfield applies to descriptive and extensible flexfields only.

About Using Flexfields

4-2 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

service-oriented architecture (SOA) infrastructure, and, in the case of descriptive

flexfields, integrated with Oracle Business Intelligence.

4.1.1 About the Different Types of Flexfields

Many business objects in Oracle Fusion applications have an associated descriptive or

extensible flexfield with which you can create custom attributes for the business object.

A descriptive flexfield is the more basic of the two and is more commonly used. As

explained later in this section, extensible flexfields offer more advanced features, such

as hierarchical configurations.

The flexfield type determines how you configure the custom attributes.

■ Descriptive flexfield configuration: A descriptive flexfield enables you to add three

types of custom attributes to a page — global, context, and context-sensitive.

Global attributes are always available as fields in the UI. Context-sensitive

attributes appear on a UI page only under a certain condition or circumstance (the

context).

An example of where you would use context-sensitive attributes is for a job

business object, as illustrated in Figure 4–1. Where some attributes are common to

all jobs, such as whether the job is off site, some job attributes depend upon the job

type. For example, you might want to store the service type for a service

technician, and for a driver, you might want to store the required commercial

driver's license (CDL) class.

Figure 4–1 Example of Descriptive Flexfield Global and Context-Sensitive Attributes

■ Extensible flexfield configuration: An extensible flexfield enables you to add

attributes to a page by configuring categories, logical pages, and contexts.

Extensible flexfield contexts are somewhat different from descriptive flexfield

contexts in that extensible flexfields enable you to configure multiple contexts, and

you can group the contexts into categories. All extensible flexfields have at least

Note: For Sales, Marketing, Customer Center, Trading Community

Architecture, and Order Capture applications, use Oracle Fusion CRM

Application Composer (Application Composer) to add custom

attributes instead of using descriptive and extensible flexfields. For

more information, see the "Application Composer: Introduction"

chapter in the Oracle Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide

Job Attributes

Descriptive Flexfield

Context Attribute

Job Type

Context

Service Technician

Context

Driver

Context-Sensitive

Attributes for

Context

Service Technician

Context-Sensitive

Attributes for

Context

Driver

Global

Attributes

About Using Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-3

one category (often referred to as the root category), and some extensible flexfields

enable you to configure a hierarchy of categories, where a given category can

inherit contexts from its parent categories. For more information about categories,

see Task: Identify the Extensible Flexfield's Category Hierarchy Structure in

Section 4.3.2, "Planning Extensible Flexfields."

You use logical pages to arrange how the contexts appear in the user interface. For

example, the extensible flexfield in Figure 4–2 has been configured to include a

Technical Specifications logical page in the user interface for the Electronics and

Computers category. The Technical Specifications logical page contains the

attributes for four contexts — Recovery and Recycling, Compliance and

Certification, Operating Conditions, and Materials and Substances. Figure 4–3

shows the user interface for the Technical Specifications logical page.

As shown in Figure 4–2, the user interface for the Furniture category has been

configured to include a Furniture Specifications logical page and an Assembly

Instructions logical page. Note that the two categories (Electronics & Computers

and Furniture) share the Materials & Substances context.

Figure 4–2 Example of Extensible Flexfield Categories, Pages, and Contexts

Another extensible flexfield feature is the ability to configure a context to store

multiple rows per entity. For example, you can use a context to store all the

materials and substances required to make a single product. The Materials and

Substances context in Figure 4–3 has been configured for multiple rows, and is

thus displayed as a table.

About Using Flexfields

4-4 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 4–3 Technical Specifications Page with Associated Contexts

Extensible flexfields also enable you to specify view and edit privileges. For

example, you can set the privileges so that everyone can view the attributes but

only managers can make changes.

4.1.2 What You Can Do with Flexfields at Runtime

Using the runtime tools, you can perform the following flexfield tasks:

■ Find the flexfields on a page.

■ Manage flexfields.

■ Specify flexfield validation.

■ Deploy flexfields.

■ Integrate flexfields into the technology stack.

■ Customize the attributes on a per-page basis using Page Composer.

■ Create translations of the value sets and the custom attributes for different locales.

You can use the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task, shown in Figure 4–4, and the

Manage Extensible Flexfields task, shown in Figure 4–5, to create your custom

attributes. You can also configure descriptive flexfields by using the three Quick Create

dialogs — Create Context Value, Quick Create: Global Segment, and Quick Create:

Context-Sensitive Segment. The Quick Create: Context-Sensitive Segment dialog is

shown in Figure 4–6. For more information, see Section 4.5.1, "Configuring Descriptive

Flexfields" and Section 4.5.2, "Configuring Extensible Flexfields."

Note: Some setup activities enable you to complete product-specific

flexfield configuration. For example, you can use the Manage Item

Classes task in the Product and Catalog Management application to

manage a hierarchy of custom attributes for catalog items. For more

information, see the product-specific documentation in Oracle Fusion

Applications Help.

About Using Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-5

Figure 4–4 Manage Descriptive Flexfields Task

Figure 4–5 Manage Extensible Flexfields Task

About Using Flexfields

4-6 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 4–6 Descriptive Flexfield Quick Create: Context-Sensitive Segment Dialog

As shown in Figure 4–7, use the Manage Value Sets task to specify validation rules for

your custom attributes, such as minimum and maximum values or a list of valid

values.

Note: If you use the Quick Create dialogs to configure the attributes,

the value sets are created automatically when you add the segments.

You cannot use an existing value set.

About Using Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-7

Figure 4–7 Manage Value Sets Task

You must deploy a flexfield as described in Section 4.7, "Deploying Flexfield

Configurations" before you can access the custom attributes from the user interface

and the technology stack. After you deploy the flexfield, you can use Page Composer

to configure the attributes on a per-page basis, and you can incorporate the custom

attributes into Oracle Business Intelligence, web services, the SOA infrastructure, and

Oracle Social Network, as described in Section 4.8, "Integrating Custom Attributes."

You can create translations of the value sets and the custom attributes for different

locales as described in the "Translating Custom Text" chapter in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

4.1.3 What You Cannot Do with Flexfields at Runtime

You cannot use flexfields for the following tasks:

■ You cannot use the flexfield feature to add attributes to business objects that do

not have a descriptive or extensible flexfield as described in the "Getting Started

with Flexfields" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Applications Developer's Guide.

■ You cannot use key flexfields to add custom attributes.

■ You cannot use flexfields to add attributes for the following applications, which

are part of the Oracle Fusion Customer Relationship Management product family.

With those applications, you must use Application Composer to add custom

attributes.

About Using Flexfields

4-8 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

– Sales

– Marketing

– Customer Center

– Trading Community Architecture

– Order Capture

For more information, see the "Editing an Object: Explained" section in the Oracle

Fusion Applications CRM Extensibility Guide

4.1.4 What You Cannot Do with Flexfields at Design Time

Do not use Oracle JDeveloper to customize flexfields. If you require flexfield changes

that you cannot accomplish using the tasks and UI that are described in this chapter,

contact My Oracle Support at

http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=info or visit

http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=trs if you are

hearing impaired.

4.1.5 Before You Begin Using Flexfields to Create Custom Attributes

Before you use flexfields to create custom attributes, you should be familiar with the

Oracle Fusion application architecture that enables customization, as described in

Chapter 1, "Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications." You should also

understand the typical workflows for working with customizations, as described in

Chapter 2, "Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle."

4.1.6 How to Configure Custom Attributes

Perform the following steps to configure custom attributes. These steps are described

in detail in the remaining sections of this chapter.

1. Find the flexfield on the page.

2. Plan the flexfield configuration.

3. Plan flexfield validation.

4. Define the attributes.

For a simple descriptive flexfield configuration, such as adding a format-only field

or adding a field with a basic list of values, you can use the Quick Create dialogs.

For other configurations, complete the following tasks.

a. Define the attributes using the appropriate task — Manage Extensible

Flexfields or Manage Descriptive Flexfields

b. Optionally, validate the flexfield configuration.

c. Deploy the flexfield to the flexfield sandbox and test the configuration.

d. After testing, deploy the flexfield to display the custom attributes on the

application pages in the full test environment and to make them available for

integration into the Oracle Fusion Middleware technology stack. The flexfield

artifacts that are generated during deployment are saved to an Oracle

Metadata Services (MDS) repository.

5. Perform the necessary steps to integrate the custom attributes into the technology

stack.

Finding the Flexfields on a Page

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-9

4.2 Finding the Flexfields on a Page

Before you begin the planning stage, you must first determine what type of flexfields

— extensible or descriptive — are available for customizing. You also need the

flexfield codes. You can choose Highlight Flexfields from the Administration menu

or you can use Page Composer to find the flexfields on a page.

Task: Use Highlight Flexfields to Find the Flexfields on a Page

To obtain information about the flexfields on a page, open the page and choose

Highlight Flexfields from the Administration menu. Hover over the Information

icon next to the highlighted fields to display information about the flexfield, as shown

in Figure 4–8. Choose Unhighlight Flexfields from the Administration menu when

you no longer want to see the highlighted flexfields.

Figure 4–8 Highlight Flexfields UI

Tip: When you click the wrench icon for a highlighted flexfield, the

applicable Manage Flexfields task is displayed for that flexfield. If the

flexfield is a descriptive flexfield, you can click the appropriate Add

icon to add a context value, a global segment, or a context-sensitive

segment that does not require advanced configurations. For more

information, see Section 4.5.1, "Configuring Descriptive Flexfields,"

Note: Not all flexfields are available for creating custom attributes.

Consult the product-specific documentation in Oracle Fusion

Applications Help to verify whether there are any restrictions on

using the flexfield.

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4-10 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Task: Use Page Composer to Find the Flexfields on a Page

Use Page Composer to get information about the flexfields on a page. Open the page

in Source view and look for the following:.

■ A region that is bound to an EffContextsPageContainer task flow. Open the

properties panel for the region to view the flexfield name, flexfield code, and,

optionally, the usage.

■

elements. Open the properties panel for the element to

view the flexfield name and flexfield code.

4.3 Planning Your Flexfields

The planning of your custom attributes is an important activity in preparation for

flexfield configuration. The way in which you plan and configure a flexfield depends

on whether it is descriptive or extensible.

4.3.1 Planning Descriptive Flexfields

If you are configuring a descriptive flexfield, complete the following tasks:

1. Identify existing context values.

2. Identify whether the context value is derived.

3. Identify available parameters.

4. List custom attributes.

5. Plan the descriptive flexfield structure.

6. Define attribute properties.

7. Define validation rules.

8. Define initial values.

9. Plan attribute mapping to Oracle Business Intelligence objects.

Task: Identify Existing Descriptive Flexfield Context Values

To identify existing context values, access the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task by

completing one of the following steps:

■ Choose Setup and Maintenance from the Administration menu in the global area

of Oracle Fusion Applications and search for the Manage Descriptive Flexfields

task. Next, search for and edit the flexfield to view the list of configured context

values.

■ Access the page that contains the flexfield, choose Highlight Flexfields from the

Administration menu, click the Edit Descriptive Flexfield (wrench) icon for the

highlighted flexfield, and view the list of configured context values.

If context values have been preconfigured, you should consult the product-specific

documentation in Oracle Fusion Applications Help for information about the use of

those values.

Note: Not all flexfields are available for creating custom attributes.

Consult the product-specific documentation in Oracle Fusion

Applications Help to verify whether there are any restrictions on

using the flexfield.

Planning Your Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-11

Task: Evaluate Whether the Context Value Is Derived

The context value for a descriptive flexfield might have been preconfigured to be

derived from an external reference. For example, if the context is Marriage Status, then

the value might be derived from an attribute in the employee business object. When

the context value is derived, you might need to take the derived values and their

source into consideration in your plan. To determine whether the context value is

derived, look at the Derivation Value field in the Context Segment region in the Edit

Descriptive Flexfields window for the flexfield. The dropdown list displays a list of

available parameters. For more information about derived values, see Task: Identify

Available Descriptive Flexfield Parameters.

Task: Identify Available Descriptive Flexfield Parameters

Some descriptive flexfields provide parameters, which enable you to set the initial

value of an attribute from external reference data, such as a column value or a session

variable. For example, if a flexfield has a user email parameter, then you would be able

to configure the initial value for a customer email attribute to be derived from the

parameter. You can view the Derivation Value dropdown list in the Create Segment

window for the flexfield to see what parameters are available for a descriptive

flexfield. If you decide to use one of the parameters to set an initial value, then you

would select that parameter from the dropdown list when you add the attribute

during the flexfield configuration process described in Section 4.5.1, "Configuring

Descriptive Flexfields."

Task: List Custom Attributes

List all the custom attributes that you want to add. Later, as described in Task: Define

Attribute Properties, you define the attribute details.

Task: Plan the Descriptive Flexfield Structure

When you configure the flexfield, you will use the flexfield's global, context, and

context-sensitive segments to structure your custom attributes. For the custom

attributes that you want to store for every instance of the business object, you will add

them as global segments. For example, in Figure 4–9, the Offsite attribute is a global

attribute that is stored for every job

Figure 4–9 Job Attributes Flexfield with Context-Sensitive and Global Attributes

For the custom attributes that you want to store based on a context (a condition or

situation), define the context and list the valid values for the context. For example, you

might want to use the Job Attributes descriptive flexfield on the Manage Jobs page to

display different custom attributes depending on whether the job is for a service

technician, an engineer, or a driver, as shown in Figure 4–9. You would define the

context as Job Type, and you would list Service Technician, Engineer, and Driver as the

list of valid values for the Job Type context. Next, list the custom attributes that you

Planning Your Flexfields

4-12 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

want to store for each of the valid values. For example, you might store the service

type custom attribute for a service technician job and you might store the commercial

driver's license (CDL) class for a driver job. Later, when you configure the flexfield,

you would set the prompt for the context segment to Job Type, you would create the

Service Technician, Engineer, and Driver context values, and you would define the

context-sensitive segments for each of the three context values. For example, you

would create a service type context-sensitive segment for the Service Technician

context value and you would create a commercial driver's license (CDL) class

context-sensitive segment for the Driver context value.

There is only one context segment available for descriptive flexfields. If you have more

than one group of custom attributes where you could use the context segment, you

will have to pick one group over the others, based on your company's needs and

priorities, and add the other custom attributes as global segments.

The following list shows an example of a structural plan for the Job Attributes

descriptive flexfield:

■ Global segments

– Offsite: YES or NO

■ Context segment

– Prompt: Job Type

– Value set: JOB_TYPE

– Context values:

* Service Technician

* Engineer

* Driver

■ Context-sensitive segments for Service Technician

– Service type: such as appliance, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning

(HVAC), facilities maintenance, and vehicle maintenance

■ Context-sensitive segments for Engineer

– Regulations: such as building codes and Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA) regulations

■ Context-sensitive segments for Driver

– Commercial driver's license (CDL) class: such as A and B

Task: Define Attribute Properties

For each custom attribute that you want to add, define the attribute properties that are

listed in Table 4–1.

Table 4–1 Attribute Properties

Property Description

Sequence The order the attribute appears in relation to the other

configured attributes.

Enabled Whether the attribute can be used.

Data type Character, date, date and time, or number.

Planning Your Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-13

Table 4–2 describes the display types that you can use for a segment.

Range type If the attribute is part of a range specification, whether the

attribute is the low value or the high value. For example, if

adding minimum height and maximum height attributes, then

the minimum height attribute has a range type of low.

Required Whether the end user is required to provide a value.

Initial value The initial default value for an attribute when the row is created.

You can specify a constant value for both descriptive flexfields

and extensible flexfields. You can specify a SQL statement for

extensible flexfields, and for descriptive flexfields, you can

specify a flexfield parameter. For more information, see Task:

Define Initial Values for Descriptive Flexfield Custom Attributes

and Task: Define Initial Values for Extensible Flexfield Custom

Attributes.

Derivation value The flexfield parameter from which to derive the attribute's

value. Whenever the parameter value changes, the attribute's

value is changed to match. If you derive an attribute value from

a descriptive flexfield parameter, then consider making the

attribute read-only, because user-entered values are lost

whenever the parameter value changes.

Prompt The string to be used for the attribute's label in the user

interface.

Display type The type of field in which to display the attribute. The available

display types are described in Table 4–2.

Checked and unchecked

values

If the display type is chooser (checkbox), the actual values to

save. For example, Y and N or 0 and 1.

Display size The character width of the field.

Display height The height of the field.

Read only Whether the field should display as read-only (noneditable) text.

Table 4–2 Display Types

Display Type Description

Checkbox The field is displayed as a checkbox. If the

end user selects the checkbox, the checked

value is used. Otherwise, the unchecked

value is used.

Drop-down List The field displays a dropdown list of values

from which the end user can select a value.

List of Values The field displays a dropdown list of values

from which the end user can select a value.

The user can also click Search to find more

values.

Table 4–1 (Cont.) Attribute Properties

Property Description

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4-14 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Task: Define Validation Rules for Descriptive Flexfield Custom Attributes

Define the validation rules for the custom attributes. For example, one attribute might

need to match a specified format, while another attribute might be restricted to a list of

values. You use a value set to specify the validation rules for an attribute, as described

in Section 4.4, "Creating Custom Value Sets." Define each attribute's validation rules

and check if value sets exist for those rules or you must create new ones. If you must

create a value set, you can either create it before you configure the flexfield or you can

create it at the same time that you create or edit a segment.

Note that validation for a descriptive flexfield context attribute is somewhat different

from validation of global and context-sensitive attributes. While value sets are

required for global and context-sensitive attributes, a value set is optional for

descriptive flexfield context attributes. If a value set is not defined for a context

attribute, then the application validates an input value against the context attribute's

values. For example, if you created YES and NO context-attribute values, then you do

not need an associated value set if YES and NO are the only valid values. However, if

the list of valid values for a context is a superset of the context attribute's values, then a

value set is required. For example, suppose that you need custom context-sensitive

attributes for a YES value, but you do not need any custom attributes for a NO value.

You need to add only a YES context attribute value. Because you do not have a NO

context value, the context attribute requires a value set of YES and NO, as both values

Pop-up List of

Values

The field displays as a text field with a

Search icon. The end users can type a value

in the text field or they can click the Search

icon to open a dialog for searching.

Radio Button Group The field is displayed as a set of radio

buttons. The end user can select one button.

Selecting a button deselects any previously

selected button in the set.

Text Area The field is displayed as a text area in which

the end user can type multiple lines of text.

The display width specifies the visible width

of the text area. The display height specifies

the visible number of lines in the text area.

Text Box The field is displayed as a text field in which

the end user can type a single line of text.

The display width controls the width of the

text box.

Date/Time The field enables the end user to enter a date

if the data type is Date, or a date and time if

the data type is Date Time. The user can

select the date from a calendar. If the data

type is Date Time, the field also displays

fields for specifying the hour, minutes,

seconds, AM or PM, and time zone.

Hidden The field is not displayed.

Note: If you use the Quick Create dialogs to configure the flexfield,

the value sets are created automatically. You cannot use existing value

sets.

Table 4–2 (Cont.) Display Types

Display Type Description

Planning Your Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-15

are valid. A value set is also required when the valid values are a subset of the context

values. For example, you might have contexts for several countries, but the list of

values from which the end user selects the context value might be confined to the

countries in the user's region.

You can use only a table value set or an independent value set to validate context

values. If you use a table value set, then you cannot reference other flexfield segments

in the value set's

WHERE

clause. That is, the

WHERE

clause cannot reference

SEGMENT

.segment_code or

VALUESET

.value_set_code. For information about table and

independent value sets, see Section 4.4, "Creating Custom Value Sets."

When determining an attribute's validation rules, consider the following questions:

■ What is the data type — character, date, date and time, or number?

■ Does the attribute require any validation beyond data type and maximum length?

■ If the data type is character, should the value be restricted to digits, or are

alphabetic characters allowed? If a number, should the value be zero-filled?

■ If alphabetic characters are allowed, should they automatically be changed to

uppercase?

■ For numeric values, how many digits can follow the radix separator (in base ten

numerical systems, the radix separator is often referred to as the decimal point)?

■ Do you want to provide a list of values from which to select a valid value for the

attribute? If so, consider the following questions:

– Can you use an existing application table from which to obtain the list of valid

values, or do you need to create a custom list?

– If you are using an existing table, do you need to limit the list of values using a

WHERE

clause?

– Does the list of valid values depend on the value in another flexfield attribute?

– Is the list of valid values a subset of another flexfield attribute's list of values?

■ Does the value need to fall within a range?

Task: Define Initial Values for Descriptive Flexfield Custom Attributes

When you configure a flexfield segment for a descriptive flexfield attribute, you can

specify a constant to use for setting the initial value. If, in Task: Identify Available

Descriptive Flexfield Parameters you identified available parameters, you can use

those parameters to set initial values. For every custom attribute, list the constant

value or parameter, if any, to use for the initial value.

Task: Plan Attribute Mapping to Oracle Business Intelligence Objects

If a descriptive flexfield has been enabled for Oracle Business Intelligence, then you

can use segment labels to map attributes to logical objects. By mapping the attributes

to logical objects before you deploy the flexfield, you minimize the steps for importing

the flexfield into Oracle Business Intelligence. This mapping also equalizes similar

context-sensitive attributes that are from different contexts but are mapped to a single

logical object, as described in Task: Incorporate Custom Attributes into Oracle

Business Intelligence in Section 4.8, "Integrating Custom Attributes." For information

about objects in the logical model, see the "Working with Logical Tables, Joins, and

Columns" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide

for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition).

Planning Your Flexfields

4-16 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Use the Manage Segment Labels page to view the preconfigured segment labels and to

create new ones, as described in Task: Create Segment Labels in Section 4.5.1,

"Configuring Descriptive Flexfields."

For each attribute that you want to make accessible to Oracle Business Intelligence,

decide whether you want to map the attribute to a logical object. If a segment label

does not exist for the logical object, then decide on a code, name, and description in

preparation for adding that label. Choose a code, name, and description that will help

end users select the correct label for any attribute that should be mapped to a logical

object.

4.3.2 Planning Extensible Flexfields

If you are configuring an extensible flexfield, complete the following tasks:

1. Identify the extensible flexfield's category hierarchy structure.

2. Identify existing context values.

3. List custom attributes.

4. Plan categories.

5. Plan the extensible flexfield structure.

6. Define attribute properties.

7. Define validation rules.

8. Define initial values.

9. Plan extensible flexfield security.

Task: Identify the Extensible Flexfield's Category Hierarchy Structure

Most extensible flexfields are shipped with only one category, which is often referred

to as the root category, but there are a few extensible flexfields that are preconfigured

with category hierarchies. In addition, some Oracle Fusion applications provide user

interfaces to create and manage an extensible flexfield's category hierarchy, as

described in the product-specific documentation in the Oracle Fusion Applications

Help. If a category hierarchy exists for the flexfield, then you can take advantage of the

hierarchy to reuse contexts for similar entities, such as similar items in a product

catalog.

The Item Extended Attributes flexfield shown in Figure 4–11 is an example of a

flexfield that uses the category hierarchy feature to reuse contexts. The flexfield's

Electronics and Computers category has been customized to contain contexts for

compliance and certification, voltage, and materials and substances, as shown in

Figure 4–10. The TV and Video subcategory and the Computer Products subcategory

inherit the Electronics and Computer contexts in addition to having their own

contexts.

Note: You are not required to map attributes to logical objects, but

doing so minimizes the steps for importing the flexfield into Oracle

Business Intelligence and helps to equalize context-sensitive segments

across contexts, as described in Task: Incorporate Custom Attributes

into Oracle Business Intelligence in Section 4.8, "Integrating Custom

Attributes."

Planning Your Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-17

Figure 4–10 Category Hierarchy

Contexts are reusable within a given extensible flexfield. For example, in Figure 4–10

the Materials and Substances context belongs to both the Electronics and Computer

Products category and the Tools, Auto, and Industrial Products category.

If you were adding custom attributes to the Item Extended Attributes flexfield, then

you would plan how to work them into the existing category hierarchy.

You can use the category hierarchy feature in your flexfield plan, as described in Task:

Plan Extensible Flexfield Categories, only if a category hierarchy exists for the

flexfield. For example, Figure 4–11 shows the Category region for the Item Extended

Attributes flexfield.

Figure 4–11 Category Region

To view whether a category hierarchy exists for an extensible flexfield, complete one of

the following steps:

■ Choose Setup and Maintenance from the Administration menu in the global area

of Oracle Fusion Applications and search for the Manage Extensible Flexfields

task. Next, search for and edit the flexfield to see its categories.

■ Access the page that contains the flexfield, choose Highlight Flexfields from the

Administration menu, click the Configure Flexfield (wrench) icon for the

highlighted flexfield, and view the list of categories.

Task: Identify Existing Context Values

Some extensible flexfields have preconfigured context values. To identify an extensible

flexfield's existing context values, display the user interface page or pages that contain

the flexfield segments and look for region headers, which identify existing contexts.

For example, the first region in Figure 4–3 contains the attributes that belong to the

Recovery and Recycling context value.

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4-18 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

You can also use the Manage Extensible Flexfields task to view the list of configured

context values.

If context values have been preconfigured, then consult the product-specific

documentation in Oracle Fusion Applications Help for information about the use of

these contexts.

Task: List Custom Attributes

List all the custom attributes that you want to add using the extensible flexfield. Later,

as described in Task: Define Attribute Properties, you define the attribute details.

Task: Plan Extensible Flexfield Categories

All extensible flexfields have at least one category, but some flexfields have been set up

with a hierarchy of categories, as described in Task: Identify the Extensible Flexfield's

Category Hierarchy Structure.

How you structure the flexfield configuration depends upon the way in which

categories are defined for the flexfield. Most extensible flexfields are preconfigured

with one category, and you associate all your contexts and pages with that category.

Other extensible flexfields are preconfigured with several categories and you associate

your contexts and pages with those categories as instructed by the product-specific

documentation in Oracle Fusion Applications Help. A small number of extensible

flexfields enable you to configure multiple categories by using provided user

interfaces. In these cases, you can take advantage of the inheritance feature described

in Task: Identify the Extensible Flexfield's Category Hierarchy Structure to associate a

context with more than one category. For example, the Item Extended Attributes

flexfield might be set up with the following category hierarchy:

■ Electronics and Computers

– TV and Video

– Computers

Suppose you want to store voltage information for all electronic and computer items.

If you associate a Voltage context with the Electronics and Computers category, then

both the TV and Video subcategory and the Computers subcategory inherit the

Voltage context from the parent Electronics and Computers category. Figure 4–12

shows the contexts that have been associated with a Computers subcategory. Three of

the contexts are inherited from the parent category.

Planning Your Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-19

Figure 4–12 Contexts Associated with the Computer Category

Task: Plan the Extensible Flexfield Structure

Extensible flexfields enable you to group similar custom attributes into contexts, as

illustrated in Figure 4–2. A context's attributes are displayed together in a region, and

the region's header is the context value. For example, the Item Extended Attributes

flexfield might have the following contexts:

■ Materials and Substances

■ Compliance and Certification

■ Voltage

However, for the Position EIT Information flexfield, you might group your custom

attributes into the following contexts:

■ Educational Requirements

■ Certification and License Requirements

■ Travel Requirements

To begin the planning process, group the custom attributes into contexts and

determine the order in which the attributes should appear.

A context can optionally store multiple rows of data for a single entity, such as a

specific job or position. For example, with the Certification and License Requirements

context for the Position EIT Information flexfield, you might want to store values for

all the certificates and licenses that are required to perform each position. For contexts

that store multiple rows, decide how to uniquely identify each row. That is, identify

which attributes form a unique key. For example, you might decide that the

combination of certificate type and certificate name uniquely identifies a given row for

the Certification and License Requirements context.

Next, for each category (or for the single category if the flexfield was not set up with

multiple categories), group the category's contexts into logical pages and determine

the sequence in which the logical pages should appear.

Note: For hierarchical categories, the child categories inherit the

logical pages that are defined for the parent categories.

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4-20 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

The following list shows an example plan for custom computer attributes for the Item

Extended Attributes flexfield. In this example, the Electronics Information page is

inherited from the parent Electronics and Computers category.

■ Page: Electronics Information

– Context: Compliance and Certification, single row

* ISO 14001 (International Organization for Standardization for an

Environmental Management System)

* ENERGY STAR (energy efficiency guidelines)

* ROHS (Restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical

and electronic equipment)

– Context: Voltage, single row

* Minimum voltage

* Maximum voltage

* Current type

– Context: Materials and Substances, multiple rows

* Material

* Contain recyclate

* Percent unit mass

■ Page: Computer Information

– Context: Processor Specifications, single row

* Manufacturer

* CPU type

* Processor interface

* Processor class

* Processor speed

* Cores

The following list shows a sample plan for the Position EIT Information flexfield:

■ Page: Additional Position Information

– Context: Educational Requirements, single row

* Level (high school, bachelor, master, MD, Ph.D.)

– Context: Certification and License Requirements, multiple rows

* Type (certificate or license)

* Name (for example, Automotive Service Excellence, NACE International

Level II Coating Inspector, Cathodic Protection Specialist)

– Context: Travel Requirements, single row

* Overnight travel required

* International travel required

Planning Your Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-21

Task: Define Attribute Properties

For each custom attribute that you want to add, define the attribute properties that are

listed in Table 4–1.

Also define the indexed property for each attribute. This indicates whether the

attribute should be marked as selectively required in search panels. That is, whether it

is one of the attributes for which an end user must enter a value before conducting a

search. Note that if you mark an attribute as indexed, you must ask your database

administrator to create an index on the segment column that you configure for that

custom attribute as described in Section 4.5.2, "Configuring Extensible Flexfields."

Task: Define Validation Rules for Extensible Flexfield Custom Attributes

Define the validation rules for every attribute as described in Task: Define Validation

Rules for Descriptive Flexfield Custom Attributes in Section 4.3.1, "Planning

Descriptive Flexfields."

Task: Define Initial Values for Extensible Flexfield Custom Attributes

When you configure a flexfield segment for an extensible flexfield attribute, you can

specify a constant or a SQL statement to use for setting the initial value. For every

custom attribute, list the constant value or SQL statement, if any, to use for the initial

value.

If you use an SQL statement, it must be a valid statement that returns only one row

and that returns a value of the correct type. You can use two types of SQL statements:

■ SQL statement with no binding. For example, select MIN(SALARY) from

EMPLOYEES.

■ SQL statement with bind variables. You can use the following bind variables in the

WHERE

clause of the SQL statement.

– :{SEGMENT.

segment_code

}: Identifies a segment in the same context.

– :{CONTEXT.

context_code

;SEGMENT.

segment_code

}: Identifies a segment

in a different context. The context must be in the same category or in an

ancestor category, and it cannot be a multiple-row context.

– :{VALUESET.

value_set_code

}: Identifies the closest prior segment in the

same context that is assigned to the specified value set.

– :{FLEXFIELD.

internal_code

}: Identifies a flexfield.

For information about how to use these bind variables, see Task: Create a Table Value

Set in Section 4.4, "Creating Custom Value Sets."

Task: Plan Extensible Flexfield Security

Extensible flexfields enable you to specify view and edit privileges for a context's

attributes. If an end user has a view privilege for a context, then the context's task flow

and region appear in the user interface. Edit privileges enable an end user to edit the

context's attribute values. If a user has view privileges but does not have edit

privileges, then the context's attribute values are displayed, but the user cannot

modify the values or add new rows. For example, you can set the privileges such that

everyone can view the attributes but only managers can make changes.

When an end user performs a search, the user interface displays only the attribute

values of the contexts for which the user has view privileges. The user is able to

perform a search using all attributes for all contexts, regardless of view privileges.

If end users access a context through a web service, an exception is thrown if they

perform an action for which they do not have privileges.

Planning Your Flexfields

4-22 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Some data security resources for extensible flexfields are preconfigured with actions

that you can use to specify access privileges. If not, or if you need additional actions,

then create the actions as described in the "Managing Oracle Fusion Applications Data

Security Policies" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Oracle Authorization Policy

Manager Administrator's Guide (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition). You must create a

policy to grant an action to a job role. You can optionally create a condition (rule) to

filter the instance sets to which the action is granted.

All extensible flexfields have a base data security resource, which typically has a name

with an _B suffix. Some extensible flexfields have a translatable option; these flexfields

also have a translation data security resource. The translation data security resource,

which is a view of a translation table, typically has a name with an _VL suffix. If a

flexfield supports the translatable option and has a translation data security resource,

you must ensure that you create the action for the appropriate data security resource.

If you create a context-specific action for a nontranslatable context, add it to the base

data security resource. If you create a context-specific action for a translatable context,

add it to the translation data security resource. For information about the translatable

option, see Task: Configure the Context in Section 4.5.2, "Configuring Extensible

Flexfields."

If your security restrictions apply to several contexts, you can create generic actions. At

a minimum, create the generic actions for the base data security resource. If the

flexfield has a translatable option and you plan to use translatable contexts, then also

create the generic actions for the translation data security resource. For example, if the

Item flexfield supports the translatable option and has a data security resource ITEM_

EFF_VL in addition to the base data security resource ITEM_EFF_B, then create actions

for both data security resources, such as EDIT_NONTRANS_ATTRS for ITEM_EFF_B

and EDIT_TRANS_ATTRS for ITEM_EFF_VL.

If your security restrictions are more fine-grained, for example, if you would like to

secure each context with a different privilege, then you can create more fine-grained

actions.

Table 4–4 shows an example of data security policies for the Item flexfield and

Table 4–5 shows the privileges for three of the flexfield's contexts. In this example,

anyone can view the contexts' attributes, but the edit privileges are restricted as

follows:

■ Voltage: Editable only by voltage specialists.

■ Compliance and Certification: Editable only by compliance specialists.

■ Materials and Substances: Only computer specialists can edit these attributes for

items in the computer category. Only television specialists can edit these attributes

for items in the TV category.

Tip: As shown in Table 4–3, the name of the base data security

resource matches the name of the extensible flexfield's base extension

table, which typically has an _B suffix. The name of the translation

data security resource matches the name of the translation extension

table, but with an _VL suffix instead of the table's _TL suffix. To find

the names of the extension tables, view the flexfield in the Search

Results region in the Manage Extensible Flexfields task and click the

Show Entity Usages icon in the Entity Usages column. For example,

the entity usages displayed for the ITEM_EFF flexfield would include

ITEM_EFF_B, and ITEM_EFF_TL. Therefore, you would create actions

for the ITEM_EFF_B and ITEM_EFF_VL data security resources.

Creating Custom Value Sets

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-23

In this example, Materials and Substances is secured by a generic action with a

condition applied to restrict access by category. Voltage and Compliance and

Certification are secured by actions specific to each context.

When you configure a flexfield, you set the privileges for a context at the usage level

by selecting actions from the View Privileges and Edit Privileges dropdown lists as

described in Task: Configure Context Usages and Usage Security in Section 4.5.2,

"Configuring Extensible Flexfields." By selecting an action from the View Privileges

dropdown list, you are associating that action with the view operation. Selecting an

action from the Edit Privileges dropdown list associates that action with the edit

operation.

4.4 Creating Custom Value Sets

You use the following types of value sets to control the values that can be stored for

the custom attributes:

■ Table

■ Independent

■ Dependent

Table 4–3 Data Security Resources for the Item Flexfield

Extension Table Data Security Resource

ITEM_EFF_B ITEM_EFF_B

ITEM_EFF_TL ITEM_EFF_VL (defined for the view of the extension table)

Table 4–4 Example Security Policies for the Item Flexfield

Data Security

Resource Policy Role Actions Condition

ITEM_EFF_B A VOLTAGE_SPEC edit_nontrans_

voltage_ctx

All values

ITEM_EFF_VL B COMPLIANCE_

SPEC

edit_trans_

compliance_ctx

All values

ITEM_EFF_VL C COMPUTER_SPEC edit_trans_attrs ComputerCategoryFilter

ITEM_EFF_VL D TELEVISION_SPEC edit_trans_attrs TVCategoryFilter

Table 4–5 Example Context Privileges for the Item Flexfield

Context Edit Privilege View Privilege

Voltage edit_nontrans_voltage_ctx NONE

Compliance and Certification edit_trans_compliance_ctx NONE

Materials and Substances edit_trans_attrs NONE

Note: An extensible flexfield context can be associated with one or

more flexfield usages. For example, a flexfield might be associated

with an ITEM usage, an ITEM_REVISION usage, and an ITEM_

SUPPLIER usage. Consult the product-specific documentation to

understand the purpose of each usage.

Creating Custom Value Sets

4-24 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

■ Subset

■ Format only

A value set is a predefined group of values that you can use to validate custom

attributes. Different custom attributes in the same flexfield can use the same value set,

and custom attributes in different flexfields can share value sets.

Value sets enable you to enforce the following types of data validation:

■ List of values: You can use one of the following types of lists to specify the valid

values for an attribute:

– Table column: If the valid values exist in a table column, use a table value set

to specify the list of values. To limit the valid values to a subset of the values in

the table, use a SQL

WHERE

clause. Table value sets also provide some

advanced features, such as enabling validation to depend upon custom

attributes in the same structure.

– Custom list: Use an independent value set to specify a custom set of valid

values. For example, you can use an independent value set of Mon, Tue, Wed,

and so forth to validate the day of the week.

– Dependent custom list: Use a dependent value set when the available values

in the list and the meaning of a given value depend on which independent

value was selected for a prior custom attribute. For example, the valid

holidays depend on which country you are in. A dependent value set is a

collection of value subsets, with one subset for each value in a corresponding

independent value set.

You can further limit the valid values that an end user can select or enter by

specifying format, minimum value, and maximum value.

■ Subset: Use a subset value set when you want to use a subset of values from an

existing independent value set. For example, if you have an independent value set

for the days of the week, then a weekend subset can be composed of entries for

Saturday and Sunday.

■ Format: Use a format-only value set when you want to allow end users to enter

any value so long as that value conforms to formatting rules. For example, if you

specify a maximum length of 3 and numeric-only, then end users can enter 456,

but not 4567 nor 45A. You can also specify the minimum and maximum values,

whether to right-justify, and whether to zero-fill. With a format-only value set, no

other types of validation are applied.

■ Range of values: You can use either a format-only, independent, or dependent

value set to specify a range of values. For example, you might create a format-only

value set with format type of Number where the end user can enter only the

values between 0 and 100. Or, you might create a format-only value set with

format type of Date where the end user can enter only dates for a specific year (a

range of 01–JAN–93 to 31–DEC–93, for example). Because the minimum and

maximum values enforce these limits, you need not define a value set that

contains each of these individual numbers or dates.

Creating Custom Value Sets

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-25

If you are creating an independent, dependent, or subset value set, you must also

define the set of valid values. For table, independent, dependent, and subset value

sets, you can optionally implement value set data security. If the Oracle Fusion

applications are running in different locales, you might need to provide different

translations for the values and descriptions. For more information, see the "Translating

Flexfield and Value Set Configurations" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications

Extensibility Guide for Developers.

For independent, dependent, and subset value sets, if you need to capture additional

information about each valid value, such as its purpose, you can configure the value

set to add additional attributes, as described in Task: Add Attributes to a Value Set.

Use the Manage Value Sets task as shown in Figure 4–13 to create and manage value

sets.

For more information, see the "Manage Value Sets" section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Common Implementation Guide. In Section 4.5, "Configuring Flexfields" you

learn how to assign the value sets to the flexfield segments that you preconfigure for

your custom attributes as well as how to create value sets at the same time that you

create segments for the custom attributes.

Note: You can use only table and independent value sets to validate

context values. The data type must be character and the maximum

length of the values being stored must not be larger than the context's

column length. If you use a table value set, the value set cannot

reference flexfield segments in the value set's

WHERE

clause other than

the flexfield segment to which the value set is assigned. You learn

about assigning value sets to flexfield segments in Section 4.5,

"Configuring Flexfields."

Note: If you use the Quick Create dialogs to configure a flexfield, a

value set is created automatically. If the display type is a checkbox,

radio button group, dropdown list, list of values, or pop-up list of

values, an independent value set is created and you specify its values

and descriptions (the set of valid values) using the Quick Create UI. If

the display type is text field, multi-line text area, or date picker, a

format-only value set is created and you specify the format rules, such

as length, minimum value, and maximum value, using the Quick

Create UI.

Creating Custom Value Sets

4-26 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 4–13 Edit Value Set Page in the Manage Value Sets Task

When you change an existing value set, the deployment status for all affected

flexfields changes to Edited. You must redeploy all flexfields that use that value set to

make the flexfields reflect the changes. The Usages tabs show which flexfields are

affected by the value set changes. You learn about deploying flexfields in Section 4.7,

"Deploying Flexfield Configurations."

Before you begin:

You will need to do the following before you can begin creating custom value sets:

■ Ensure that you have specific privileges to access the Manage Value Sets task.

Contact your security administrator for details.

■ Access the Manage Value Sets task by completing one of the following steps:

– Choose Setup and Maintenance from the Administration menu in the global

area of Oracle Fusion Applications and search for the task.

– In the Manage Descriptive Flexfield task or the Manage Extensible Flexfield

task, click Create Value Set from either the Edit Segment or Create Segment

window.

Task: Define Format Specifications

Regardless of which type of validation you use for an attribute, the attribute will most

likely require some sort of format specification. Before you create a value set, consider

how you will specify the required format. Depending on the validation type and the

value data type, you will be able to specify one or more of the options shown in

Table 4–6.

Note: The management of value sets cannot be performed in a

sandbox. For a list of the customizations that can be performed in a

sandbox, see Chapter 2.2, "Using the Sandbox Manager."

Table 4–6 Format Options

Option Description

Value data type Character, Number, Date, Date Time.

Creating Custom Value Sets

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-27

Task: Create a Format-Only Value Set

If you do not need to validate input against a list of valid values, then create a value

set with the Validation Type of Format. You can also use this validation type to create

a range specification, such as all numbers between 1 and 100.

Task: Create an Independent Value Set

If you need to validate the input against a custom list of values, where the list is not

stored in an application table and the values are not dependent upon nor a subset of

another independent value set, then create a value set with a Validation Type of

Independent.

After you create the value set, define the set of valid values as described in Task:

Define the Set of Valid Values.

Task: Create a Dependent or Subset Value Set

If you need to validate the input against a custom list of values where the values are

dependent upon or are members of an independent value set, then create a value set

with a Validation Type of Dependent or Subset, as appropriate. You must specify the

independent value set on which dependent or subset value set depends.

After you create the value set, define the set of valid values as described in Task:

Define the Set of Valid Values.

Value subtype Text, Translated text, Numeric digits only, Time (20:08), Time

(20:08:08). An additional data type specification for the

Character data type for the Dependent, Independent, and

Format validation types. See the Caution note following this

table for information about the Text and Translated text

subtypes.

Maximum length Maximum number of characters or digits for Character data

type.

Precision Maximum number of digits the user can enter.

Scale Maximum number of digits that can follow the decimal point.

Uppercase only Lowercase characters automatically changed to uppercase.

Zero fill Automatic right-justification and zero-filling of entered numbers

(affects values that include only the digits 0-9).

Caution: When choosing between a value subtype of Text or

Translated text, choose Translated text if your application has more

than one language installed, or there is any possibility that you might

install additional languages, and you might want to translate the

displayed values into the other languages. Choosing the Translated

text subtype does not require you to provide translated values now,

but you cannot change this option if you decide to provide them later.

Note: If the independent value set has dependent value sets, then

define the dependent values sets before you define the valid values for

the independent value set.

Table 4–6 (Cont.) Format Options

Option Description

Creating Custom Value Sets

4-28 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Task: Define the Set of Valid Values

Independent, dependent, and subset value sets require a customized list of valid

values. Use the Manage Values page as shown in Figure 4–14 to create and manage a

value set's valid values and the order in which they appear. To access the Manage

Values page, select the value set from the Manage Value Sets page and click Manage

Values. Alternatively, click Manage Values from the Edit Value Set page.

Figure 4–14 Manage Values Page

If you are adding a value to a dependent value set, then you must associate it with a

value from the parent independent value set.

If you are adding a value to a subset value set, then you must select it from the parent

independent set.

If the value set's subtype is Translated text, then you can enter a translated value for a

locale by logging in using that locale (or choosing Set Preferences from the

Personalization menu in the global area) and entering the translated value. If you do

not provide a translation for a given locale, then the value that was first entered is

used for that locale.

Task: Create a Table Value Set

If you need to validate the input against a list of values from an application table, then

create a value set with the Table validation type. You define which table you want to

use and you specify the column that contains the valid value. You can optionally

specify the description and ID columns, a

WHERE

clause to limit the values to use for

your set, and an

ORDER BY

clause.

If you specify an ID column, then the flexfield saves the ID value, instead of the value

from the value column, in the associated flexfield segment. You learn about assigning

value sets to flexfield segments in Section 4.5, "Configuring Flexfields."

If the underlying table supports translations, you can enable the display of translated

text by basing the value set's value column on a translated attribute of the underlying

table. You should also define an ID column that is based on an attribute that is not

Note: If the independent value set has dependent value sets, then

define the dependent values sets before you define the valid values for

the independent value set.

Creating Custom Value Sets

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-29

language-dependent so that the value's invariant ID (an ID that does not change) is

saved in the transaction table. This allows the runtime to display the corresponding

translated text from the value column for the runtime session's locale. For more

information, see the "Using Multi-Language Support Features" section in the Oracle

Fusion Applications Developer's Guide.

After you assign a value set to a flexfield, you can use the following bind variables in

the

WHERE

clause.

■ :{SEGMENT.

segment_code

}

This bind variable refers to the ID (if the value set is ID-validated) or value (if not

ID-validated) of a segment where

segment_code

identifies the segment. The data

type of the bind value is the same as the data type of the segment's column.

For descriptive flexfields, if the segment is global, then the source segment (the

segment with the WHERE clause) must be global. Otherwise, it must be in the

same context as the source segment. For extensible flexfields, the segment must be

in the same context as the source segment.

The source segment must have a sequence number that is less than the sequence

number of the target segment (segment with this bind variable).

This bind variable is useful when the set of valid values depends on the value in

another segment. For example, the values to select from a CITIES table might

depend upon the selected country. If SEGMENT1 contains the country value, then

the

WHERE

clause for the CITIES table might be

country_code =

:{SEGMENT.SEGMENT1}

■ :{CONTEXT.

context_code

;SEGMENT.

segment_code

}

This bind variable, which is valid only for extensible flexfields, refers to the ID (if

the value set is ID-validated) or value (if not ID-validated) of a segment that is in a

different context than the target segment (the segment with the

WHERE

clause). The

context_code

identifies the context and

segment_code

identifies the segment. The

data type of the bind value is the same as the data type of the segment's column.

The source context must be a single-row context that is in the same category or

ancestor category as the target segment.

This bind variable is useful when the set of valid values depends on the value of a

segment in another context. For example, the values to select from a

CERTIFICATION table for a segment in the Compliance and Certification context

might depend on the value of the country segment in the Manufacturing context.

■ :{VALUESET.

value_set_code

}

This bind variable refers to the ID (if the value set is ID-validated) or value (if not

ID-validated) of the segment that is assigned to the value set that is identified by

the

value_set_code

. The data type of the bind value is the same as the data type

of the segment's column.

The segment must have a sequence number that is less than the sequence number

of the segment with this bind variable. If more than one segment is assigned to the

Tip: The target segment should appear in the UI after the source

segment to ensure the source segment has a value. If the target

segment's context is a single-row context, the source and target

segments must be on separate pages and the target page must follow

the source page.

Creating Custom Value Sets

4-30 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

value set, the closest prior matching segment will be used to resolve the bind

expression. A matching segment must exist in the current flexfield context.

This bind variable is useful when the set of valid values depends on the value in

another segment and that segment code can vary, such as when the value set is

used for more than one context or flexfield. For example, the values to select from

a CITIES table might depend upon the selected country. If the value set for the

segment that contains the country value is COUNTRIES, then the

WHERE

clause for

the CITIES table might be

country_code = :{VALUESET.COUNTRIES}

■ :{FLEXFIELD.

internal_code

}

This bind variable refers to an internal code of the flexfield in which the value set

is used, or to a validation date. The

internal_code

must be one of the following:

–

APPLICATION_ID

— the application ID of the flexfield in which this value set is

used. The data type of

APPLICATION_ID

and its resulting bind value is

NUMBER.

–

DESCRIPTIVE_FLEXFIELD_CODE

— the identifying code of the flexfield in which

this value set is used. The data type of

DESCRIPTIVE_FLEXFIELD_CODE

and its

resulting bind value is VARCHAR2. Note that you use this string for both

descriptive and extensible flexfields.

–

CONTEXT_CODE

— the context code of the flexfield context in which this value

set is used. The data type of

CONTEXT_CODE

and its resulting bind value is

VARCHAR2.

–

SEGMENT_CODE

— the identifying code of the flexfield segment in which this

value set is used. The data type of

SEGMENT_CODE

and its resulting bind value is

VARCHAR2.

–

VALIDATION_DATE

— the current database date. The data type of

VALIDATION_

DATE

and its resulting bind value is DATE.

■ :{PARAMETER.

parameter_code

}

This bind variable refers to the value of a flexfield parameter where

parameter_

code

identifies the parameter. The data type of the resulting bind value is the same

as the parameter's data type.

Task: Add Attributes to a Value Set

For independent, dependent, and subset value sets, you can use the FND_VS_

VALUES_B descriptive flexfield to add the attributes to a value set. The additional

attributes appear in the Manage Value Sets UI, and can be used to capture additional

information about each valid value, such as its purpose. These attributes are typically

used to capture internal information. If you need to display the attributes on an

application page, you must modify the application to programmatically access them.

To add attributes to a value set, edit the FND_VS_VALUES_B flexfield from the

Manage Descriptive Flexfields task, and then click Manage Contexts. Create a new

context and use the value set code for the context code. Add the desired attributes as

context-sensitive segments. Next, deploy the FND_VS_VALUES_B flexfield, sign out,

and then sign back in to see the new attributes for that value set in the Manage Value

Sets UI.

Note: You cannot assign a table value set to a context segment if the

WHERE

clause uses

VALUESET

.value_set_code or

SEGMENT

.segment_code

bind variables.

Configuring Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-31

Task: Implement Value Set Data Security

If you need to control end user access to the values in an independent, dependent,

subset, or table value set, then you can create data security policies for that value set.

These policies enable you to specify what values each end user can enter and view,

based on that user's role. End users will not be able to enter values for which they do

not have access, and only the values they have access to appear in the list of values for

the associated segments. Any security rules that you define for a value set affect every

segment that uses the value set.

A data security resource identifies the data that must be secured by the policies, which

in this case is the value set. Value set data security follows a "deny all, allow some"

approach. This means that access to all of a resource's data is denied by default and,

based on policies, end users have access only to the data that is appropriate for their

role. Use conditions to define the data that can be accessed and use policies to identify

the roles that have the authority to access the data that is identified by the condition.

You can implement value set security after you create the value set, or you can

implement it later by editing the value set. To implement security, select the Security

Enabled checkbox and then provide the data security resource name. You can enter

the name of an existing resource or type the name of a data security resource that you

want to create. This will be the name used for the data security resource in the data

security system. The name typically matches the code value for the value set.

After you save your changes to the data security resource name, you can optionally

click the Edit Data Security button to access the Edit Data Security page, provided that

you have access to the Manage Database Security Policies task. On the Edit Data

Security page, you can specify conditions, such as filters or SQL predicates, and you

can define policies where you associate roles with conditions. You can use a filter for

simple conditions. For more complex conditions, use a SQL predicate.

The data security conditions and policies that you define are similar to those that you

can define for business objects. Value set data security policies differ in the following

ways:

■ You can grant only read access to end users.You cannot specify any other action.

■ When defining a condition that is based on a SQL predicate, use

VALUE

VALUE_

NUMBER

VALUE_DATE

VALUE_TIMESTAMP

, or

VALUE_ID

to reference the value from a

dependent, independent, or subset value set. For table value sets, use a table alias

to define the table, such as

&TABLE_ALIAS.category_id=70

For more information about data security resources, roles, conditions, and policies, see

the "Managing Oracle Fusion Applications Data Security Policies" chapter in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Oracle Authorization Policy Manager Administrator's Guide (Oracle

Fusion Applications Edition).

4.5 Configuring Flexfields

Use the Manage Extensible Flexfields task to configure an extensible flexfield. For

descriptive flexfields, use either the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task or the Quick

Create dialogs.

Note: You cannot edit the data security resource name after you save

your changes.

Configuring Flexfields

4-32 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

4.5.1 Configuring Descriptive Flexfields

Use the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task or the Quick Create dialogs to configure a

descriptive flexfield. Both the Manage Descriptive Flexfield task and the Quick Create

dialogs are available from the Highlight Flexfields UI. The Manage Descriptive

Flexfields task is also available from the Setup and Maintenance work area.

When you configure a descriptive flexfield, you define the global segments, the

context segment, and the context-sensitive segments. For each segment, you define its

display properties and you specify how to validate its values.

If the descriptive flexfield has been enabled for Oracle Business Intelligence, you can

enable segments for Oracle Business Intelligence and you can select segment labels for

the segments. For more information, see Task: Plan Attribute Mapping to Oracle

Business Intelligence Objects in Section 4.3.1, "Planning Descriptive Flexfields."

If the Oracle Fusion applications are running in different locales, then you might want

to provide different translations for the translatable text, such as prompts and

descriptions. To create the translations, log in with each of the different locales (or

choose Set Preferences from the Personalization menu in the global area to set the

locale) and change the text to the translated text for that locale. For more information,

see the "Translating Flexfield and Value Set Configurations" section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

For more information about using the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task, see the

"Manage Descriptive Flexfields" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Common

Implementation Guide.

4.5.1.1 Configuring Descriptive Flexfields Using Quick Create Dialogs

For basic configurations, you can use the three Quick Create dialogs — Create Context

Value, Quick Create: Global Segment, and Quick Create: Context-Sensitive Segment —

to quickly add and configure a context value or segment from the page on which the

flexfield appears. Figure 4–15 shows the Quick Create: Global Segment dialog.You

access the Quick Create dialogs from the Highlight Flexfields UI.

Note: Do not use JDeveloper to customize flexfields. If you require

flexfield changes that you cannot accomplish using the Manage

Flexfields tasks or the Manage Value Sets tasks as described in this

chapter, contact My Oracle Support at

http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=in

fo or visit

http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=tr

s if you are hearing impaired.

Note: A descriptive flexfield might be used for more than one

application table. For example, a flexfield might be associated with a

USER table and a USER_HISTORY table. These associations are called

flexfield usages. When you configure a flexfield, the configuration

applies to all its usages.

Configuring Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-33

Figure 4–15 Quick Create: Global Segment Dialog

When you use a Quick Create dialog to create a segment, the segment code, name,

description, table column, and sequence number are set automatically.

To change any default configuration that is editable, such as sequence number, name,

and description, or to configure advanced options such a business-intelligence label,

click the segment's Edit Descriptive Flexfield (wrench) icon in the Highlight Flexfields

UI to access the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task for the segment.

Before you begin:

You will need to do the following before you can begin configuring the descriptive

flexfield:

■ Plan your flexfield configuration as described in Section 4.3.1, "Planning

Descriptive Flexfields."

■ Compile a list of the UI pages that are affected by the descriptive flexfield as well

as other artifacts in the Oracle Fusion Middleware technology stack. See

Section 4.8, "Integrating Custom Attributes" for more information about how

flexfield configuration affects these artifacts. Using this list, plan how you will

integrate and test your flexfield configuration

■ Ensure that you have the necessary privileges to access the Highlight Flexfields UI.

Contact your security administrator for details.

■ Open the page that contains the flexfield and choose Highlight Flexfields from

the Administration menu to identify the flexfield and to display the Add global

segment, Add new context, and Add context-sensitive segment icons, as shown

in Figure 4–16.

Configuring Flexfields

4-34 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 4–16 Page After Highlight Flexfields is Chosen From the Administration Menu

Task: Use the Quick Create Dialogs to Add Basic Segments

To add a context value, click the Add new context icon that appears next to the

Context field. To add a global segment, click the Add global segment icon. Click the

Add context-sensitive segment icon to add a context sensitive segment.

A value set is created automatically for a segment. The type of value set that is created

depends upon the display component that you select.

■ Radio button group, checkbox, dropdown list, list of values, or pop-up list of

values: An independent value set is created for the segment. You can enter the

valid values, their descriptions, and the default value for the set.

■ Text field, multi-line text area, or date picker: A format-only value set is created for

the segment. You can specify the formatting constraints, such as minimum and

maximum values.

Click Save and Deploy to save your changes and to deploy the flexfield configuration.

Use the Manage Descriptive Flexfield task to edit the segments that you create using

Quick Create dialogs.

4.5.1.2 Configuring Descriptive Flexfields Using the Manage Descriptive Flexfields

Task

The Manage Descriptive Flexfields task enables you to define the global segments, the

context segment, and the context-sensitive segments. For each segment, you can define

Note: Some Oracle Fusion applications provide product-specific

tasks for configuring and managing certain flexfields, such as the

Manage Purchasing Descriptive Flexfields task. See the

product-specific documentation in Oracle Fusion Applications Help

for information about product-specific flexfield management tasks.

Tip: After you add a context value, refresh the page to see the new

value.

Note: You must log out and log in again to see your changes.

Configuring Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-35

its display properties, its initial default value, and how to validate its values. You can

also use this task to business-intelligence enable the flexfield and to configure BI

labels.

You can access the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task from either the Highlight

Flexfields UI or from the Setup and Maintenance work area.

Figure 4–17 shows the Edit Descriptive Flexfield page, which you use to define the

context, add segments, and manage contexts, and manage segment labels.

Figure 4–17 Edit Descriptive Flexfield Page in the Manage Descriptive Flexfields Task

Before you begin:

You will need to do the following before you can begin configuring the descriptive

flexfield:

■ Plan your flexfield configuration as described in Section 4.3.1, "Planning

Descriptive Flexfields."

■ Optionally, create the required value sets as described in Section 4.4, "Creating

Custom Value Sets." If you do not create the value sets before hand, you can create

them at the time that you add the segments.

■ Compile a list of the UI pages that are affected by the descriptive flexfield as well

as other artifacts in the Oracle Fusion Middleware technology stack. See

Section 4.8, "Integrating Custom Attributes" for more information about how

flexfield configuration affects these artifacts. Using this list, plan how you will

integrate and test your flexfield configuration

Configuring Flexfields

4-36 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

■ Ensure that you have the necessary privileges to access the Manage Descriptive

Flexfields task. Contact your security administrator for details.

■ Access the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task by completing one of the following

steps:

– Choose Setup and Maintenance from the Administration menu in the global

area of Oracle Fusion Applications and search for the Manage Descriptive

Flexfields task.

– Access the page that contains the flexfield, choose Highlight Flexfields from

the Administration menu, and click the Edit Descriptive Flexfield (wrench)

icon for the highlighted flexfield.

Task: Create Segment Labels

If the descriptive flexfield has been enabled for Oracle Business Intelligence and you

want to create segment labels for the flexfield, click Manage Segment Labels to create

the labels. For more information, see Task: Plan Attribute Mapping to Oracle Business

Intelligence Objects in Section 4.3.1, "Planning Descriptive Flexfields."

Task: Configure Global Segments

Using the information that you gathered in your planning stage, configure a global

segment for every global attribute that you identified in Task: Plan the Descriptive

Flexfield Structure in Section 4.3.1, "Planning Descriptive Flexfields." For each

segment, provide the identifying information, the initial default value, and the display

properties.

If the value set to be used to validate the segment already exists, select it from the

dropdown list. Otherwise, click Create Value Set and configure it.

Select BI Enabled if you want to make the segment available to Oracle Business

Intelligence. Select a label from the BI Label dropdown list if you want to equalize the

segment with segments in other contexts or you want to map the segment to a logical

object as described in Task: Plan Attribute Mapping to Oracle Business Intelligence

Objects in Section 4.3.1, "Planning Descriptive Flexfields."

Note: Some Oracle Fusion applications provide product-specific

tasks for configuring and managing certain flexfields, such as the

Manage Purchasing Descriptive Flexfields task. See the

product-specific documentation in Oracle Fusion Applications Help

for information about product-specific flexfield management tasks.

Tip: A flexfield column is assigned to a new segment automatically,

but you can change the assignment. If you need to set a specific

column assignment for a segment, create that segment first to ensure

that the intended column is not automatically assigned to a different

segment.

Configuring Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-37

Task: Configure the Context Segment

On the Edit Descriptive Flexfield page, specify the prompt for the context segment,

whether the context segment should be displayed, and whether a value is required.

Select BI Enabled if you want to make the context segment available to Oracle

Business Intelligence. Select a label from the BI Label dropdown list if you want to

map the segment to a logical object as described in Task: Plan Attribute Mapping to

Oracle Business Intelligence Objects in Section 4.3.1, "Planning Descriptive Flexfields."

As explained in Task: Define Validation Rules for Extensible Flexfield Custom

Attributes in Section 4.3, "Planning Your Flexfields," you do not need to specify a value

set if the set of valid values is the same as the set of context values. If you need to

associate a context with a value set, then the value set must be an independent or table

value set. The data type must be Character and the maximum length of the values

being stored must not be larger than the context's column length.

If the value set to be used to validate the segment already exists, select it from the

dropdown list. Otherwise, to create a value set, click Create Value Set and configure it.

Task: Configure Contexts

Using the list of valid context values that you prepared in the planning stage, access

the Manage Contexts page and specify for each context value a context code,

description, and name, and add its context-sensitive segments.

For each context-sensitive segment that you add, provide the identifying information,

the column assignment, the initial default value, and the display properties.

If the value set to be used to validate the segment already exists, select it from the

dropdown list. Otherwise, click Create Value Set and configure it.

Note: The segment code is used in the flexfield's element in the XML

schema for web services. You can maximize the readability of the

schema by naming segment codes with a leading alphabetic character

followed by alphanumeric characters. The use of spaces, underscores,

multibyte characters, and leading numeric characters, which are all

encoded in XML schemas, make the codes in the schema element

difficult to read.

Tip: When you create segments for your attributes, you specify the

sequence number for the segment. This sequence affects the order in

which the attribute is displayed on the page. Consider numbering the

segments in multiples, such as 4, 5, or 10, to make it easy to insert new

attributes.

Note: You cannot assign a table value set to a context segment if the

WHERE

clause uses

VALUESET

.value_set_code or

SEGMENT

.segment_code

bind variables.

Tip: A flexfield column is assigned to a new segment automatically,

but you can change the assignment. If you need to set a specific

column assignment for a segment, create that segment first to ensure

that the intended column is not automatically assigned to a different

segment.

Configuring Flexfields

4-38 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Select BI Enabled if you want to make the segment available to Oracle Business

Intelligence. Select a label from the BI Label dropdown list if you want to equalize the

segment with segments in other contexts or you want to map the segment to a logical

object as described in Task: Plan Attribute Mapping to Oracle Business Intelligence

Objects in Section 4.3.1, "Planning Descriptive Flexfields."

4.5.2 Configuring Extensible Flexfields

Use the Manage Extensible Flexfields task shown in Figure 4–18 to configure an

extensible flexfield. You can access the Manage Extensible Flexfields task from the

Highlight Flexfields UI as well as from the Setup and Maintenance work area.

Configure an extensible flexfield by defining its contexts and associated

context-sensitive segments and usages, defining the access privileges for each usage,

associating the context with categories and pages, and defining the display properties,

initial value, and value validation for each context-sensitive segment.

If the Oracle Fusion applications are running in different locales, you might want to

provide different translations for the translatable text, such as prompts and

descriptions. To create the translations, log in with each of the different locales (or

choose Personalization from the Set Preferences menu in the global area to set the

locale) and change the text to the translated text for that locale. For more information,

see the "Translating Flexfield and Value Set Configurations" section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

Note: The context and segment codes are used in the flexfield's

element in the XML schema for web services. You can maximize the

readability of the schema by naming context and segment codes with

a leading alphabetic character followed by alphanumeric characters.

The use of spaces, underscores, multibyte characters, and leading

numeric characters, which are all encoded in XML schemas, make the

codes in the schema element difficult to read.

Tip: When you create segments for your attributes, you specify the

sequence number for the segment. This sequence affects the order in

which the attribute is displayed on the page. Before you begin creating

segments, you might want to plan how you will number sequences.

Consider numbering the segments in multiples, such as 4, 5, or 10, to

make it easy to insert new attributes.

Configuring Flexfields

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-39

Figure 4–18 Edit Context Page in the Manage Extensible Flexfields Task

For more information, see the "Manage Extensible Flexfields" section in the Oracle

Fusion Applications Common Implementation Guide.

Before you begin:

You will need to do the following before you can begin configuring an extensible

flexfield:

■ Plan your flexfield configuration as described in Section 4.3.2, "Planning

Extensible Flexfields."

■ Optionally, create the required value sets as described in Section 4.4, "Creating

Custom Value Sets." If you do not create the value sets before hand, you can create

them at the time that you add the segments.

■ Compile a list of the UI pages that are affected by the extensible flexfield as well as

other artifacts in the Oracle Fusion Middleware technology stack. See Section 4.8,

"Integrating Custom Attributes" for more information about how flexfield

configuration affects these artifacts. Using this list, plan how you will integrate

and test your flexfield configuration

■ Ensure that you have the necessary privileges to access the Manage Extensible

Flexfields task. Contact your security administrator for details.

■ Access the Manage Extensible Flexfields task by completing one of the following

steps:

■ Choose Setup and Maintenance from the Administration menu in the global

area of Oracle Fusion Applications and search for the Manage Extensible

Flexfields task.

■ Access the page that contains the flexfield, choose Highlight Flexfields from

the Administration menu, and click the Configure Flexfield (wrench) icon for

the highlighted flexfield.

Configuring Flexfields

4-40 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Task: Configure the Context

Using the list of contexts that you prepared in the planning stage, access the Manage

Contexts page and create the desired contexts. Create the context-sensitive segments

for each context and provide the identifying information, the column assignment, the

initial default value, and the display properties.

If the value set to be used to validate a segment already exists, select it from the

dropdown list. Otherwise, click Create Value Set and configure it. If the value set is a

table value set, independent value set, dependent value set, or subset value set,

optionally select Show Value Description to display the description of the selected

value to the right of the segment.

Some extensible flexfields have a Translatable option. If the context will be used to

store free-form user-entered text in the language of the user's locale, and if different

translations of that text can be stored for other languages, then select Translatable. If

you select Translatable, then the context can have only format-only validated

segments.

Task: Configure Context Usages and Usage Security

Typically, an extensible flexfield has one usage. If a flexfield has more than one usage,

you can associate a context with several usages. Consult the product-specific

documentation in Oracle Fusion Applications Help to understand the purpose of each

usage.

Using the usage security information that you gathered from Task: Plan Extensible

Flexfield Security in Section 4.3, "Planning Your Flexfields," select the appropriate

actions from the View Privileges and Edit Privileges dropdown lists for each usage

Note: Some Oracle Fusion applications provide product-specific

tasks for configuring and managing certain flexfields, such as the

Manage Orchestration Extensible Flexfields task. See the

product-specific documentation in Oracle Fusion Applications Help

for information about product-specific flexfield management tasks.

Tip: A flexfield column is assigned to a new segment automatically,

but you can change the assignment. If you need to set a specific

column assignment for a segment, create that segment first to ensure

that the intended column is not automatically assigned to a different

segment.

Note: The context and segment codes are used in the flexfield's

element in the XML schema for web services. You can maximize the

readability of the schema by naming context and segment codes with

a leading alphabetic character followed by alphanumeric characters.

The use of spaces, underscores, multibyte characters, and leading

numeric characters, which are all encoded in XML schemas, make the

codes in the schema element difficult to read.

Tip: When you create segments for your attributes, you specify the

sequence number for the segment. This sequence affects the order in

which the attribute is displayed on the page. Consider numbering the

segments in multiples, such as 4, 5, or 10, to make it easy to insert new

attributes.

Deploying Flexfield Configurations

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-41

that you associated with the context. Select None to specify that no special privileges

should be enforced.

Some flexfields might have other usage fields. Consult the product-specific

documentation from Oracle Enterprise Repository for Oracle Fusion Applications for

more information about the additional usage fields.

Task: Configure Categories and Category Details

While most extensible flexfields have a single category, some extensible flexfields have

multiple categories. When an extensible flexfield has multiple categories, you can

further group the contexts into categories. Some flexfields provide an activity or task

for creating your own categories. Consult the product-specific documentation in

Oracle Fusion Applications Help to determine whether you can create categories for

the flexfield.

Task: Associate Contexts with a Category

Most extensible flexfields have a single category that contains all the flexfield's

contexts. Some flexfields enable you to work with multiple categories. To associate

contexts with a category, select the category on the Edit Extensible Flexfield page.

Then, in the Associated Contexts tab, add the desired contexts to the selected category.

Task: Create Logical Pages for a Category

Using the information from your plan, group the contexts into logical pages and

determine the sequence in which the logical pages should appear. To build the logical

pages, select the category on the Edit Extensible Flexfield page. Then, in the Pages tab,

add the desired contexts and specify their sequence.

4.6 Validating Flexfield Configurations

You can verify that a flexfield's metadata is complete and correctly configured by

choosing Val id at e Metadata from the Actions menu in either the Maintain Extensible

Flexfields task or the Maintain Descriptive Flexfields task. The validations that this

action performs are the same validations that are performed when you deploy a

flexfield.

4.7 Deploying Flexfield Configurations

You must deploy a flexfield before you can access the custom attributes from the user

interface and other parts of the Oracle Fusion Middleware technology stack. You use

the appropriate flexfield management task — Manage Descriptive Flexfields or

Manage Extensible Flexfields — to deploy a flexfield.

When you deploy descriptive or extensible flexfields, the following occurs:

■ The deployment process validates the flexfield metadata. If any errors are found,

then a popup window is displayed with a list of the errors that were encountered,

Note: If you change a privilege for a usage after you deploy the

flexfield, you must redeploy the flexfield for the change to take place.

Note: If you use the Quick Create dialogs to configure a flexfield, the

flexfield is deployed when you click Save and Deploy.

Deploying Flexfield Configurations

4-42 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

and the flexfield is not deployed. Note that the flexfield's status is not changed if

metadata errors are encountered.

■ The deployment process generates ADF Business Components and ADF Faces

runtime artifacts that are based on the flexfield configurations.

■ The deployment process adds the custom attributes to the Web Services

Description Language (WSDL) schemas that are exposed by Oracle ADF services

and that are used by SOA composites. For information about SOA, see Oracle

Fusion Middleware Developer's Guide for Oracle SOA Suite.

■ If the flexfield is enabled for business intelligence, the deployment process

redeploys the flexfield's business intelligence artifacts.

■ The web services that expose the business object's data also expose the business

object's flexfield segment data.

■ End users see the new custom attributes the next time they log in to the

application. The custom attributes will appear on all user interface pages that

contain the flexfield, and in the search screens and Excel worksheets with ADF

Desktop Integration in which they have been integrated.

Before you deploy the flexfield to the full test environment, deploy the flexfield

configurations to the flexfield sandbox by choosing the Deploy Flexfield to Sandbox

action. The changes that you deploy to a sandbox are isolated from the full test

environment and can be seen only by those who make the flexfield sandbox active in

their session. After you are satisfied with the changes in the sandbox, deploy the

changes to the full test environment. Note that this feature if not available if you use

the Quick Create dialogs to deploy the flexfield.

In addition to the Deploy Flexfield and Deploy Flexfield to Sandbox actions, extensible

flexfields provide a Deploy Offline action. You must use this action to deploy

extensible flexfields that have more than 30 categories. You can also use this action if

you want to deploy several extensible flexfields, or if you want to continue working in

your session without having to wait for a deployment to complete.

After deployment, the custom attributes are available for incorporating into the SOA

infrastructure, such as business process and business rule integration. For example,

you can now write business rules that depend on the custom attributes.

Descriptive flexfields that are enabled for business intelligence are available for

integrating with business intelligence (BI) technology, such as Oracle BI Enterprise

Edition (Oracle BI EE) and Oracle Essbase.

For more information about flexfield deployment and flexfield sandboxes, see the

"Flexfield Deployment" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Common Implementation

Guide. For more information about integrating the deployed flexfield into the Oracle

Fusion Middleware technology stack, see Section 4.8, "Integrating Custom Attributes."

Note: Some products provide tasks for creating and maintaining

categories for an extensible flexfield. Some of these tasks enable the

end user to disable a category while they are setting it up. In the Edit

Extensible Flexfield page, the Enabled column in the Category table

indicates which categories are enabled. When you deploy an

extensible flexfield that has a disabled category, that category and its

descendant categories are not deployed. Contexts and their segments

are deployed only if they belong to at least one enabled category.

Deploying Flexfield Configurations

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-43

Before you begin:

You will need to do the following before you can begin deploying a descriptive or

extensible flexfield:

■ Configure the flexfield as described in Section 4.5, "Configuring Flexfields."

■ Ensure that you have the necessary privileges to access the flexfield management

task. Contact your security administrator for details.

■ Access the appropriate flexfield management task — Manage Descriptive

Flexfields or Manage Extensible Flexfields — by choosing Setup and Maintenance

from the Administration menu in the global area of Oracle Fusion Applications

and searching for the task.

■ Use the Search region to access the desired flexfield.

Task: Deploy a Flexfield to a Sandbox

Before you deploy the flexfield configuration to the full test environment, deploy the

flexfield to the flexfield sandbox and test the configuration. To deploy a flexfield to a

sandbox, select the flexfield in the Search Results region, and choose Deploy Flexfield

to Sandbox from the Actions menu, as shown in Figure 4–19. A progress window

shows when the process has completed and the completion status.

Figure 4–19 Deploying a Flexfield to a Sandbox

The sandbox to which you deploy the flexfield is different from the standard

sandboxes that are described in Section 2.2, "Using the Sandbox Manager." Each

flexfield has its own sandbox. You do not need to create a flexfield sandbox because

the deployment process manages flexfield sandbox creation. When you deploy to the

flexfield sandbox, a dialog box shows the name of the flexfield sandbox, and that

flexfield sandbox is set as your current active sandbox.

When you next log in to the application, you can see the updated flexfield

configurations (you must log out and log back in to see the changes). The Oracle

Fusion Applications global area displays your current session sandbox. When you

hover over the sandbox name, the sandbox details appear. To exit a sandbox, hover

over the sandbox name and click Exit Sandbox. To view additional details about the

sandbox, hover over the sandbox name and click More Details.

To make an existing flexfield sandbox active for your session, access the flexfield

sandbox from the Manage Sandboxes page, select the flexfield sandbox, and click Set

as Active. For information about accessing this page, see Section 2.2, "Using the

Sandbox Manager."

After you are satisfied with the changes, deploy the flexfield to the full test

environment as described in Task: Deploy a Flexfield to the Full Test Environment.

Note: When you deploy to the flexfield sandbox, the

CreatedBy

value is set to

FlexfieldDeployment

Deploying Flexfield Configurations

4-44 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Task: Deploy a Flexfield to the Full Test Environment

To deploy a flexfield to the full test environment, select the flexfield in the Search

Results region, and choose Deploy Flexfield from the Actions menu.

A progress window shows when the process has completed and the completion status.

If a sandbox exists for the flexfield, then this sandbox is deleted automatically after the

flexfield successfully deploys to the full test environment.

When you next log in to the application, you can see the updated flexfield

configurations (you must log out and log back in to see the changes).

Task: Deploy Extensible Flexfields Offline

When an extensible flexfield has more than 30 categories, you must deploy the

flexfield offline. You can also use this action if you want to deploy several extensible

flexfields, or if you want to continue working in your session without having to wait

for a deployment to complete.

To add an extensible flexfield to your offline deployment queue, select the flexfield

and click Deploy Offline. The Queued icon appears in the Offline Status column, as

shown in the second row in Figure 4–20. You can add several flexfields to your queue,

one after the other. The flexfields are deployed, one at a time, in the order that you

deploy them to the queue. To remove an extensible flexfield from your queue, select

the queued flexfield and click Cancel Offline. You cannot remove flexfields from other

users' queues.

While an extensible flexfield is in an offline deployment process, the Deploying icon

displays in the Offline Status column, as shown in the first row in Figure 4–20. After an

extensible flexfield completes the offline deployment process, its offline status

becomes blank and its deployment status indicates if the deployment was successful

or not.

Figure 4–20 Offline Status Icons

Task: Check Deployment Status

The Deployment Status column in the Search Results region shows the current status

for each flexfield.

If a deployment error occurs, then the Deployment Error Message column in the

Search Results region provides details about the error, as shown in Figure 4–21.

Note: The Offline Status column does not refresh automatically

when a queued flexfield begins the offline deployment process or

when its offline deployment process completes. To display the current

offline status, you must perform a new search in the Manage

Extensible Flexfields task, or exit and reenter the task.

Integrating Custom Attributes

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-45

Figure 4–21 Deployment Error Message

4.8 Integrating Custom Attributes

After you have deployed a flexfield, you can begin incorporating its custom attributes

into the Oracle Fusion Middleware technology stack.

For information about the technology stack, see the "Oracle Fusion Middleware

Components" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Applications Concepts Guide.

Task: Customize Flexfield Pages

After you deploy an extensible or descriptive flexfield, the new attributes appear on all

pages that contain the flexfield. You can use Page Composer to configure the custom

attribute properties on a page-by-page basis. For example, you can hide some custom

attributes. For more information, see Chapter 3, "Customizing Existing Pages."

Task: Incorporate Custom Attributes into Oracle Business Intelligence

If a descriptive flexfield is enabled for Oracle Business Intelligence, the Manage

Descriptive Flexfields task displays a Manage Segment Labels button and displays BI

Enabled checkboxes for the global, context, and context-sensitive segments. Select a

segment's BI Enabled checkbox to specify that the segment is available for use in

Oracle Business Intelligence. You can optionally select a value from the BI Label

dropdown list to specify the logical object to which the segment should be mapped

when the flexfield is imported into Oracle Business Intelligence. This mapping also

equalizes context-sensitive segments across contexts, as explained later in this section.

For more information, see Task: Plan Attribute Mapping to Oracle Business

Intelligence Objects in Section 4.3.1, "Planning Descriptive Flexfields."

When you deploy a flexfield with business intelligence-enabled segments, the

deployment process generates a set of flattened ADF Business Components in

addition to the usual ADF Business Components and ADF Faces runtime artifacts that

are generated during deployment. A flattened business component includes a single

attribute for the context segment if it is business intelligence-enabled, as well as one

attribute for each business intelligence-enabled global segment. For the business

intelligence-enabled context-sensitive segments that have labels, the segments are

equalized across contexts. That is, the flattened business component includes one

Note: The custom attributes appear only on pages that include the

flexfield. For information about adding flexfields to a page, see the

"Adding Descriptive Flexfield UI Components to a Page" section or

the "Employing an Extensible Flexfield on a User Interface Page"

section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Developer's Guide.

Integrating Custom Attributes

4-46 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

attribute for each label. For example, a United States context might have a Passport

segment and a Canada context might have Visa segment. If you assign the NationalID

segment label to both the Passport and Visa segments, they are equalized into the

same NationalID attribute in the flattened business component.

For the business intelligence-enabled context-sensitive segments that do not have

labels, the business component includes a separate attribute for each non-labeled

context-sensitive segment for each context value. Non-labeled context-sensitive

segments are not equalized across context values.

After you deploy a business intelligence-enabled flexfield, import the flexfield changes

into the Oracle Business Intelligence repository to make use of the newly flattened

business components in business intelligence and then propagate the flex object

changes. When you import the metadata into the Oracle Business Intelligence

repository, you must do so as the

FUSION_APPS_BI_APPID

user.

For more information about importing and propagating your flexfield changes, see

Task: Configuring Descriptive Flexfields and Key Flexfields for Oracle Business

Intelligence in Section 7.3.3, "Customizing the Oracle BI Repository (RPD)." For

information about adding flexfields to an Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher data

model, see the "Adding Flexfields" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Data

Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle Fusion Applications

Edition).

Task: Incorporate Custom Attributes into Web Services and SOA Infrastructure

When an extensible or descriptive flexfield is deployed, the deployment process

regenerates the XML schema definition (XSD), which makes the custom attributes

available to web services and the SOA infrastructure.

After deploying a flexfield configuration, you must synchronize the updated XSD files

in the MDS repositories for each SOA application. For more information, see

"Customizing SOA Composite Applications" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications

Extensibility Guide for Developers.

Task: Enable the Custom Attributes for Oracle Social Network

Use the Manage Oracle Social Network Objects task to enable the flexfield attributes

for Oracle Social Network. To access the task, choose Setup and Maintenance from the

Note: To import flexfield changes into the Oracle Business

Intelligence repository in Oracle Cloud implementations, log a service

request using My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com.

Tip: When you import a flexfield into the Oracle Business

Intelligence repository, you see both name_ and name_c attributes for

each segment, along with some other optional attributes. The name_

attribute contains the value. The name_c attribute contains the code of

the value set that the value comes from, and is used for linking to

"value dimension." You must import both attributes.

Note: To synchronize the updated XSD files in the MDS repositories

in Oracle Cloud implementations, log a service request using My

Oracle Support at https://support.oracle.com.

Integrating Custom Attributes

Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes 4-47

Administration menu in the global area of Oracle Fusion Applications and search for

the task. Next, search for the business object and select the attributes that you want to

enable.

Integrating Custom Attributes

4-48 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Customizing Menus 5-1

5Customizing Menus

This chapter describes how to use the Manage Menu Customizations task to customize

the navigator menu and the home page menu in Oracle Fusion Applications.

This chapter includes the following sections:

■ Section 5.1, "About Menu Configuration"

■ Section 5.2, "Adding Navigator Menu Groups"

■ Section 5.3, "Adding Menu Items"

■ Section 5.4, "Hiding and Showing Nodes"

5.1 About Menu Configuration

You use the Manage Menu Customizations task to customize the navigator and home

page menus. This task is available from the Setup and Maintenance work area, which

is accessible from the Administration menu in the Oracle Fusion Applications global

area.

You customize the menus at the site level and your changes affect all users (or all users

of a tenant if in a multi-tenant environment).

In non-Cloud implementations, you can localize menu customizations. For more

information, see the "Translating Menu Customizations" section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

5.1.1 About Navigator Menu Configuration

The navigator menu is the global menu that is accessible from the Oracle Fusion

Applications global area. It allows an end user to navigate directly to pages inside of

Oracle Fusion Applications as well as to outside web pages. The menu is composed of

links (items) that are organized in a hierarchy of groups.

You can customize the navigator menu to address needs that are specific to your

organization. For example, you might want to add specialized groupings for

Note: While you can customize the navigator menu and the home

page menu at runtime, you cannot customize the global preferences

menu at runtime.

For information about customizing the navigator and home page

menus using Oracle JDeveloper, see the "Customizing Menus" section

in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers. This

functionality is not available in Oracle Cloud implementations.

About Menu Configuration

5-2 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

cross-functional teams or add links to web pages or external applications. You can add

groups and links to the navigator menu, as well as hide and show them.

The navigator menu typically appears when the end user clicks the Navigator link, as

shown in Figure 5–1. However, in some non-Cloud applications, the page template can

be customized to present the top level groups and items as dropdown buttons, as

shown in Figure 5–2, in place of the single Navigator link. For information about how

to display the navigator menu as a series of dropdown buttons see the "Rendering the

Navigator Menu as Dropdown Buttons" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications

Developer's Guide.

Figure 5–1 Navigator Menu Example — Navigator Link

Figure 5–2 Navigator Menu Example — Navigator Dropdown Buttons

The Manage Menu Customizations task displays the menu groups as expandable

nodes, as shown in Figure 5–3, with which you can traverse the menu hierarchy.

Figure 5–3 Expandable Group Nodes in Manage Menu Customizations Task

About Menu Configuration

Customizing Menus 5-3

In non-Cloud implementations you can also customize the navigator menu from

Oracle JDeveloper. For more information, see the "Customizing Menus" section in the

Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers

5.1.1.1 What You Can Do with the Navigator Menu at Runtime

If you have the required privileges, you can perform the following tasks to customize

the menu:

■ Add and delete custom groups.

■ Edit any group.

■ Add and delete custom items.

■ Edit any item.

■ Specify navigation for an item:

– Specify navigation to a UI Shell page in an Oracle Fusion application.

– Specify navigation to an external web page using either a dynamic URL or a

static URL.

■ Hide or show groups and items.

5.1.1.2 What You Cannot Do with the Navigator Menu at Runtime

You cannot make the following menu customizations at runtime:

■ You cannot add menu items (links) as top-level nodes. You can add nodes to only

the groups in the top level and subgroups.

■ You cannot delete nodes that are delivered with the product.

■ You cannot move nodes. Instead, you must duplicate the node and hide the

original node.

5.1.2 About Home Page Menu Configuration

The home page menu is the set of tabs that are displayed in the Oracle Fusion

Applications global area at the top of a desktop page, as shown in Figure 5–4. The

home page menu displays tabs for all the items in the menu for which the end user has

access privileges. You can add tabs to the home page menu, as well as hide and show

them.

Figure 5–4 Home Page Menu Tabs

In a multi-tenant environment, you customize the home page menu at the site level

and your changes affect the tenant at that site level. Otherwise, you customize the

home page menu at the site level and your customizations affect all end users.

In non-Cloud implementations you can also customize the home page menu from

Oracle JDeveloper. For more information, see the "Customizing Menus" section in the

Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers

Adding Navigator Menu Groups

5-4 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

5.1.2.1 What You Can Do with the Home Page Menu at Runtime

If you have the required privileges, you can perform the following tasks to customize

the menu:

■ Add and delete custom items.

■ Edit any item.

■ Specify navigation to a home page in an Oracle Fusion application.

■ Hide or show items.

In non-Cloud implementations, you can localize home page menu customizations. For

more information, see the "Customizing Menus" section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers

5.1.2.2 What You Cannot Do with the Home Page Menu at Runtime

You cannot make the following menu customizations at runtime:

■ You cannot add menu items (links) as sub-nodes. All nodes are top-level nodes.

■ You cannot delete nodes that are delivered with the product.

■ You cannot move nodes. Instead, you must duplicate the node and hide the

original node.

5.1.3 Before You Begin Customizing a Menu

Before you customize a menu, you should be familiar with the Oracle Fusion

application architecture that enables customization, as described in Chapter 1,

"Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications." You should also

understand the typical workflows for working with customizations, as described in

Chapter 2, "Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle."

You will need to do the following before you can begin customizing a menu:

■ If you are making minor changes, such as adding or editing one or two nodes,

then you can hide the changes until you have completed your customizations.

However, if you are making more than minor changes, such as rearranging several

nodes, you might want to instead create a sandbox and make your changes in the

sandbox. For more information see Section 2.2, "Using the Sandbox Manager."

■ You must have specific privileges to access the Manage Menu Customizations

task. Contact your security administrator for details.

■ Open the Manage Menu Customizations task. To access this task, choose Setup

and Maintenance from the Administration menu in the Oracle Fusion

Applications global area and search for the task.

■ Select the menu type — Navigator Menu or Homepage Menu — from the

Customize dropdown list.

5.2 Adding Navigator Menu Groups

You arrange the navigator menu by building a hierarchy of nested groups. For

example, in Figure 5–3 the Manager Resources group contains the Career group.

Task: Navigate the Menu Hierarchy

Use the View menu to expand or collapse a group of nodes. You can also right-click a

node and access similar actions to facilitate tree navigation.

Adding Menu Items

Customizing Menus 5-5

Task: Add a Group

As shown in Figure 5–5, you can insert a group above or below a peer group or insert

a child group. You edit a group by defining a label and specifying whether the group

should be rendered. You typically hide the group until all changes have been

completed.

Figure 5–5 Actions Menu

5.3 Adding Menu Items

The home page menu items are URL links to Oracle Fusion Applications home pages.

Navigator menu items can be links to UI Shell pages or links to external applications

and web sites.

You can add navigator menu items to top-level groups and to their subgroups. You

cannot add navigator menu items as top-level nodes. Home page menu items are

always top-level items.

Task: Adding a Home Page Menu Item

To add a home page menu item, navigate to the place where you want the item to

appear and choose Insert Above or Insert Below from the Actions menu. You can also

choose to duplicate an existing item. You must supply the menu label and a link to a

UI Shell page as described Task: Linking to a UI Shell Page. The Create Item Node

dialog for the home page menu is shown in Figure 5–7.

Adding Menu Items

5-6 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 5–6 Create Item Node Dialog for the Home Page Menu

Task: Adding a Navigator Menu Item

To add a navigator menu item, navigate to the item's group and insert the item above

or below another item, as shown in Figure 5–5. You can also choose to duplicate an

existing item. When the Create Item Node dialog appears, as shown in Figure 5–7,

select the type of link that you want to create.

■ Application Page: Use this choice to link to a UI Shell page in an Oracle Fusion

application.

■ Dynamic URL: Use this choice to link to a page outside of Oracle Fusion

Applications where the host, port, or context root might change. To use this choice,

you must first register the application in the topology using the Register

Enterprise Applications task. The advantage of using a dynamic URL is that when

the host, port, or context root changes, you can make the change to the web

application in the topology registration and the change affects all menu items that

have dynamic links to that web application. An example of a need for a dynamic

URL is when you need to link to a test version of an application and you will need

to change the host and port when you move the application to production.

■ Static URL: Use this choice to link to a page outside of Oracle Fusion Applications

where you do not expect the host, port, or context root to change. For example,

you can use a static URL to link to http://www.oracle.com.

Figure 5–7 Create Item Node Dialog for the Navigator Menu

Adding Menu Items

Customizing Menus 5-7

Task: Linking to a UI Shell Page

To add a menu item that links to a UI Shell page, create a new item to display the

Create Item Node dialog shown in Figure 5–7. Select Application Page, select the web

application from the dropdown list, and provide the view ID of the target page.

The quickest way to obtain the web application name and view ID is to copy them

from an existing menu item that links to the same page. In a non-Cloud

implementation, you also can obtain the web application name from the context root

for the application, and you can obtain the view ID from the

attribute for the page's

<view>

tag in the product's

public_html/WEB-INF/adfc-config.xml

file.

If you want to secure access to the target UI Shell page from the menu item, then you

must provide the name of the secured resource and the name of the policy store's

application stripe. When an end user clicks the link, Oracle Fusion Applications

checks the secured resource and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) policy

store to determine whether the user the privilege to view the page.

If there is another menu item that points to the same page, then you can get the

secured resource name and application stripe from that item. In a non-Cloud

implementation, you also can obtain the application stripe from the

jps.policystore.applicationid

parameter in the application's

weblogic-application.xml

file. Examples of application stripes are

crm

fscm

, and

hcm

For non-Cloud applications, you can determine the secured resource name by

obtaining the name of the web page's page definition file. By default, the page

definition files are located in the

view.PageDefs

package in the Application Sources

directory of the view project. If the corresponding JavaServer Faces (JSF) page is saved

to a directory other than the default (

public_html

), or to a subdirectory of the default,

then the page definition will also be saved to a package of the same name. An example

of a secured resource name is

oracle.apps.view.pageDefs.CaseList_Form_Attach_

UIShellPagePageDef

A UI Shell page might take parameters and display or act differently based on the

parameters that are passed in. For example, if accessing a page from one group in the

menu hierarchy, the parameter might be set to

status="Open

" and if accessing the page

from a different group, the parameter might be set to

status="Closed"

. If the page

takes parameters, you can use the Page Parameters List text box to provide a

semicolon-delimited string of name-value pairs, such as

org=m1;context=s1

. You can

use expression language (EL) to specify the parameters. If the EL evaluates to an

Object, the

toString

value of that Object is passed as the value of the parameter.

Task: Dynamically Linking to an External Web Site or Application

To link to a page outside of Oracle Fusion Applications where the host, port, or context

root might change, first use the Register Enterprise Applications task to add the web

application to the topology.

Next, create a new menu item, and, in the Create Item Node dialog, select Dynamic

URL as shown in Figure 5–8. From the Web Application dropdown list, select the web

application that you added to the topology. In the Destination for Web Application

text box, type the remainder of the URL. For example, if you wanted to link to

http://example:9011/myApp/faces/Page1

, you would add MyApp to the topology

with a protocol, host, port, and context root of

http://example:9011/myApp

. In the

Create Item Node dialog, you would select MyApp from the dropdown list, and you

would type

/faces/Page1

in the Destination for Web Application text box.

Hiding and Showing Nodes

5-8 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 5–8 Creating an Item Node with a Dynamic URL

Task: Statically Linking to an External Web Site or Application

To link to a page outside of Oracle Fusion Applications where the host, port, or context

will not change, create a new menu item, and, in the Create Item Node dialog, select

Static URL as shown in Figure 5–8. Next, type the full URL, for example

http://www.oracle.com

, in the Destination text box.

Figure 5–9 Creating an Item Node with a Static URL

5.4 Hiding and Showing Nodes

While you are creating or working with a group or item, you might want to prevent

end users from accessing the node. You can hide the group or item while you are

working with it, and then show the node when you have completed the task.

If you want a group or item to appear only if certain conditions are met, you can use

an EL expression to indicate when the node should appear.

The Manage Menu Customizations page shows all nodes. A node that appears in

italics either has an EL expression or the Rendered check box was deselected, as

shown in Figure 5–10.

Tip: For major changes that need to be tested and approved, you

might want to use the sandbox manager instead of hiding and

showing nodes. For more information, see Section 2.2, "Using the

Sandbox Manager."

Hiding and Showing Nodes

Customizing Menus 5-9

Figure 5–10 Hidden Node Shown in Italics

Task: Hiding or Showing a Node

When you add a node, the Rendered check box is selected by default. To hide the

node, deselect the check box. You can edit the node later to change how it is rendered.

If you want the node to appear only if certain conditions exist, click the down arrow

on the right side of the Rendered check box to open the EL Expression Editor dialog.

Type the expression that must be met for the node to appear, such as

#{securityContext.userInRole['ADMIN']}

Hiding and Showing Nodes

5-10 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes 6-1

6Customizing and Extending BPMN

Processes

This chapter describes how to use Oracle Business Process Composer (Business

Process Composer)to customize and extend Business Process Modeling Notation

(BPMN) processes. Several Oracle Fusion applications use BPMN processes to define

process flows within the application. This chapter also describes how to edit BPMN

processes by creating and modifying BPM projects based on project templates and

deploying those projects at runtime.

This chapter includes the following sections:

■ Section 6.1, "About Customizing BPMN Processes"

■ Section 6.2, "Creating a BPM Project"

■ Section 6.3, "Customizing BPMN Processes"

■ Section 6.4, "Saving a BPM Project to the BPM Repository"

■ Section 6.5, "Deploying a BPM Project"

■ Section 6.6, "Configuring Oracle Fusion Applications to Use BPMN Processes"

6.1 About Customizing BPMN Processes

The Oracle Fusion CRM Application Composer (Application Composer) and Oracle

Fusion Human Capital Management product families of Oracle Fusion Applications

use Business Process Management Notation (BPMN) processes to define some of the

process flows used within their applications.

BPMN is a standard notation for modeling the behavior of business processes. It

enables process analysts to create graphical models of a business process. Oracle

Business Process Management Suite provides an environment for implementing

BPMN processes by enabling process developers to integrate them with other systems

and services. Oracle BPM Suite also provides a runtime environment for integrating

the running processes within Oracle Fusion Applications. For general information

about BPMN, see the "Modeling and Testing Business Processes" part in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Business Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process

Management.

Note: The Business Process Composer and Oracle Business Process

Management Studio functionality described in this chapter is not

available in Oracle Cloud implementations of Oracle Fusion Human

Capital Management.

About Customizing BPMN Processes

6-2 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Business Process Composer enables you to customize the BPMN processes used

within Application Composer and Oracle Fusion Human Capital Management. To

customize these processes you must create, modify, and deploy Oracle BPM projects

created from a project template. BPMN processes are contained within a BPM project.

BPM projects contain all of the resources required for a functioning BPM application,

including BPMN processes and Service Oriented Architecture artifacts such a business

rule or human task.

Oracle Fusion applications provide default project templates that you can use to create

new process flows. See the product-specific documentation in Oracle Fusion

Applications Help for more information about the default BPM project templates

provided by Oracle Fusion Applications.

For general information about working with project templates, see the "Working with

BPM Projects" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business Process Composer User's

Guide for Oracle Business Process Management.

A BPM project template is prepopulated with all of the required resources for

implementing BPMN processes within an Oracle Fusion application. This includes the

BPMN processes that define the process flow as well as the necessary implementation

details that enable the processes to communicate with other parts of the application.

After customizing a BPM project, you can deploy it to runtime in one of several ways.

See Section 6.5, "Deploying a BPM Project" for more information.

The reusable elements contained within a BPM project are called the business catalog.

The business catalog contains different reusable services that a BPMN process can use

to connect to other components of the application, including other processes, systems,

and databases.

Table 6–1 lists the reusable components of the business catalog.

6.1.1 Oracle Tools for Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes

Oracle Fusion applications provide multiple tools for customizing and extending

BPMN processes. These tools are described in Table 6–2.

Table 6–1 Business Catalog Components Available in Business Process Composer

Business Catalog

Component Description

Services Use services to connect a BPMN process with other processes,

systems, and services, including a BPEL process, and databases.

See the "Working with Services" section in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware Business Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle

Business Process Management for more information.

Human tasks Human tasks enable you to define how end users interact with

your BPMN processes. Human tasks are implemented in a

BPMN process using the user task.

See the "Working with Human Tasks" chapter in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Business Process Composer User's Guide for

Oracle Business Process Management.

Business rules Oracle business rules are statements that describe business

policies or describe key business decisions.

See the "Using Oracle Business Rules" chapter in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Business Process Composer User's Guide for

Oracle Business Process Management for information on

implementing business rules within a BPMN process.

About Customizing BPMN Processes

Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes 6-3

6.1.2 What You Can Do with BPMN Processes at Runtime

There are two types of runtime customization that you can make to BPMN processes.

These are described in the following sections.

6.1.2.1 What You Can Customize Using Oracle SOA Composer and Oracle BPM

Worklist

BPMN processes use multiple SOA components, including business rules and

approval workflow. Using Oracle SOA Composer and Oracle BPM Worklist, you can

customize the following components used by the BPMN processes of a running Oracle

Fusion application:

■ Oracle business rules

■ Domain value maps

■ Approval assignment rules in human workflows such as customizing the approval

flow for a specific customer

These customizations can be made directly to a running Oracle Fusion application

without having to redeploy the BPM project. See the "Customizing SOA Composite

Applications" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers

for information about using Oracle SOA Composer or Oracle BPM Worklist to make

these customizations.

Table 6–2 Oracle Tools for Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes

This tool... Enables you to...

Business Process

Composer

Customize BPMN processes by creating and deploying BPM projects

based on project templates. This functionality is described in the

current chapter.

Oracle BPM Studio

(Oracle JDeveloper)

Customize project templates. See the "Customizing and Extending

Oracle BPM Project Templates" chapter in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

Oracle SOA Composer Customize a business rule, domain value map, or approval

configuration and assignment rules at runtime. See the "Customizing

SOA Composite Applications" section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers for more information.

These customizations are performed directly on a running

application. They do not require redeployment of the BPM project

containing the BPMN process.

Oracle BPM Worklist Customize approval configuration and assignment rules. See the

"Customizing SOA Composite Applications" section in the Oracle

Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers for more

information.

These customizations are performed directly on a running

application. They do not require redeployment of the BPM project

containing the BPMN process.

Note: Any changes you make to the deployed, running BPMN

processes of an Oracle Fusion Customer Relationship Management

application will not be preserved if you later redeploy the BPM project

that contains them.

About Customizing BPMN Processes

6-4 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

6.1.2.2 What You Can Customize Using Business Process Composer

Using Business Process Composer, you can make the following customizations to a

BPM project created from a project template:

■ Customize an existing BPMN process.

■ Create new BPMN processes.

■ Create simple data objects.

■ Create and modify some business catalog components.

Table 6–3 lists which business catalog components can be customized or created

using Business Process Composer.

See Section 6.2, "Creating a BPM Project" for information about creating a new

BPM project based on a project template.

Changes to the business catalog that cannot be made using Business Process

Composer must be made to the project template using Oracle BPM Studio. See

Section 6.1.3, "What You Cannot Do with BPMN Processes at Runtime" for more

information.

6.1.3 What You Cannot Do with BPMN Processes at Runtime

Often, it is necessary to make changes to a BPMN process that cannot be performed

using Business Process Composer. The following tasks must be performed using

JDeveloper:

■ Modify project templates.

■ Create or customize some business catalog components, including:

– Configuring advanced properties of web services

– Creating new adapters and mediators

– Creating or customizing error messages

– Configuring advanced features of human tasks, including:

* Complex assignment support

* Automatically generated task flow

* Business rules within human tasks

To create or customize these components, process developers must modify the project

template and republish it to the Oracle BPM repository. After a project template is

Table 6–3 List of Business Catalog Components

Business Catalog

Component

Can be created using

Business Process Composer?

Can be customized using

Business Process Composer?

Business rules Yes Yes

Human tasks Yes

You can create human tasks

using Business Process

Composer, however not all

functionality of a human task

can be customized.

Yes

Services Yes Yes

About Customizing BPMN Processes

Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes 6-5

revised, you can use Business Process Composer to create and deploy BPM projects.

See the "Customizing and Extending Oracle BPM Project Templates" chapter in the

Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers for more information.

6.1.4 Before You Begin Customizing BPMN Processes

Before customizing BPMN processes using Business Process Composer, you should be

familiar with the Oracle Fusion application architecture that enables customization, as

described in Chapter 1, "Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications."

You should also understand the typical workflows for customization and extensibility,

as described in Chapter 2, "Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle."

You should be familiar with how to model business processes using the Business

Process Modeling and Notation (BPMN) standard. See the "Modeling and Testing

Business Processes" part in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business Process Composer

User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management.

To create and deploy projects based on project templates, you must have specific

privileges. Contact your security administrator for details. See the "Performing

Administrative Tasks" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business Process

Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management for more information.

How you access Business Process Composer depends on which Oracle Fusion

application you are using:

■ To access Business Process Composer from Oracle Fusion Human Capital

Management, access the Business Process Composer task by choosing Setup and

Maintenance from the Administration menu in the global area of Oracle Fusion

Applications and searching for the task.

■ To access Business Process Composer from Oracle Fusion Customer Relationship

Management:

1. Access Application Composer.

To access Application Composer, in the Navigator menu, choose Application

Composer.

To edit or create business processes, you will need specific privileges. Contact

your security administrator for details.

2. From the Application Composer navigator, click Business Processes.

A page displays showing a list of BPMN processes.

3. From the Actions menu, select Create.

To create a new business process choose Create from the Actions menu.

To modify an existing business process, choose a process from the list, then

choose Update from the Actions menu.

4. Sign on to Business Process Composer.

After selecting one of the preceding steps, the Business Process Composer

Business Process Composer" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business

Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management.

Creating a BPM Project

6-6 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

6.2 Creating a BPM Project

You can use Business Process Composer to customize or extend BPMN processes.

BPMN processes are contained within a BPM project. After launching Business Process

Composer the first step in modifying a BPMN process is to create a new project based

on a project template or to open an existing BPM project.

Task: Create a New BPM Project Based on a Project Template

Oracle Fusion applications do not ship with running BPMN processes out-of-the-box.

To integrate BPMN processes within Oracle Fusion applications, you must create a

new BPM project based on a project template, deploy the project to runtime, and then

configure the Oracle Fusion application to use the BPMN processes of the deployed

BPM project.

Business Process Composer enables you to create new BPM projects based on project

templates. For information about creating a new BPM project, see the "How to Create a

New Project from a Project Template" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business

Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management.

See the product-specific documentation in Oracle Fusion Applications Help for a list of

the default BPM project templates provided by Oracle Fusion Applications. By default,

project templates are stored in the Templates folder of the BPM repository.

Task: Open an Existing BPM Project

If you have already created a new BPM project based on a template, you can continue

to customize the project before deploying it to runtime.

For information about opening an existing BPM project, see the "How to Open a

Project Using the Application Welcome Page" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware

Business Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management.

6.3 Customizing BPMN Processes

After creating a new BPM project based on a project template, you can modify the

BPMN processes within the project. Additionally, you can customize the business

catalog components within the BPM project.

Task: Open a BPMN Process

See "How to Open a Business Process" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business Process

Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management for information about

opening a BPMN process.

Task: Customize a BPMN Process

You can alter the flow of your BPMN process by adding, removing, or modifying

BPMN flow objects.

See the "Working with Flow Elements" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business

Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management for more

information about using the process editor to modify BPMN processes.

See the "Modeling and Testing Business Processes " part in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware Business Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process

Management for specific information about BPMN flow objects.

Customizing BPMN Processes

Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes 6-7

Task: Assign Business Catalog Components to a BPMN Flow Object

You can use Business Process Composer to assign reusable services from the business

catalog to different BPMN flow objects.

The business catalog components and their corresponding flow objects are shown in

Table 6–4.

See the "The Business Catalog" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business Process

Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management for more information

about working with reusable services and the business catalog.

Task: Add Milestones to the Activity Guide

The activity guide of a BPM project defines a set of milestones. Each BPM project

contains one activity guide. An activity guide can contain multiple milestones.

A milestone is a specific set of tasks that the process participant has to complete. A

milestone is complete when the participant successfully runs a specific set of tasks in

the milestone.

Each milestone is a defined by a set of human workflow tasks. Each human workflow

task is itself a task flow that may require the collaboration of multiple participants in

various roles.

See the "Using Guided Business Processes to Set Project Milestones" section in the

Oracle Fusion Middleware Business Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business

Process Management. for information about creating milestones.

Task: Customize Business Rules

Business rules enable dynamic decisions to be made at runtime that allow you to

automate policies, computations, and reasoning while separating rule logic from the

underlying application code.

For more information about customizing rules using Business Process Composer, see

the "Using Oracle Business Rules" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business

Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management.

Table 6–4 BPMN Flow Objects and Their Corresponding Services

BPMN Flow Object Business Catalog Component

User task Human tasks

Service task Services, including web services and adapters

Business rules task Business rules

Note: You can use Business Process Composer to modify business

rules within a BPM project. These changes are made to the runtime

application when the project is deployed.

You can use Oracle SOA Composer to make runtime changes directly

to the runtime environment, without deploying a project. See the

"Customizing SOA Composite Applications" section in the Oracle

Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers for more

information about making runtime changes to a BPMN process.

Saving a BPM Project to the BPM Repository

6-8 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Task: Create or Customize Human Tasks

Human tasks enable you to integrate human interaction with connectivity to systems

and services as part of an end-to-end process flow. Human tasks are responsible for

handling all interactions with the users or groups participating in the business process.

Using Business Process Composer, you can create and customize human tasks. See the

"Working with Human Tasks" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business Process

Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management for information about

creating and configuring human tasks.

Task: Customize Expressions

Expressions are used to evaluate the data used within your process. Different flow

objects use expressions to determine which path within the process to follow.

Expressions are used to configure the following BPMN elements:

■ Conditional Sequence Flows

■ Complex Gateways

■ Timer Events

■ Data Associations

■ Loop Markers

■ Multi-Instance Markers

■ User Task Advanced Properties

You can customize the expressions used within a BPMN process using Business

Process Composer.

See the "Working with Expressions" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business

Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management.

6.4 Saving a BPM Project to the BPM Repository

You can save the changes you make to a BPM project to the BPM repository. In

addition to saving your work in progress, saving a project in the repository enables

you to share BPM projects with process developers using Business Process Composer

and Oracle BPM Studio.

The BPM repository can also be used to share project templates created in Oracle BPM

Studio. In the BPM repository, projects and project templates are stored in a default

folder as shown in Table 6–5.

Within these default folders, you can create additional subfolders to organize your

projects and project templates.

Table 6–5 Default Location of BPM Projects and Project Templates in the BPM

Repository

Type Location

BPM Projects /bpm/drafts

BPM Project Templates /bpm/templates

Deploying a BPM Project

Customizing and Extending BPMN Processes 6-9

Task: Save a Project

See the "How to Save Changes to a Project" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware

Business Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management for

information about how to save a project to the BPM repository.

6.5 Deploying a BPM Project

After creating a new BPM project, you must deploy it to runtime to make the BPMN

processes contained within it accessible to Oracle Fusion applications.

After customizing a project and publishing it, you must deploy the project to runtime.

After the project is deployed, the BPMN processes within it are accessible to the Oracle

Fusion applications that implement them.

Task: Deploy a BPM Project

There are three methods of deploying a BPM project to Oracle Fusion applications

using Business Process Composer. The specific method you use depends on whether

you are in a production or test environment:

■ Using a SAR file

This is the recommended deployment method if you are deploying a BPM project

to a production environment. A SAR file is an archive of a SOA composite

application that, like a BPM project, contains all of the required resources of a

deployable application.

You can use Business Process Composer to export a BPM project as a SAR file. See

the "Deploying a BPM Project" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Business

Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process Management.

After the project is exported as a SAR file, your system administrator must deploy

it to runtime using Oracle Enterprise Manager.

■ Using a deployment plan

You can use Business Process Composer to generate a deployment plan for your

project. Like a SAR file, system administrators can use a deployment plan to

deploy a BPM project to runtime.

See the "How to Generate a Deployment Plan" section in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware Business Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process

Management for information about generating a deployment plan using Business

Process Composer.

■ Directly from Business Process Composer

You can deploy a BPM project to runtime directly from Business Process

Composer. See the "How to Deploy a Project to Run Time" section in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Business Process Composer User's Guide for Oracle Business Process

Management for information about deploying a BPM project to runtime.

To deploy project using Business Process Composer you must have specific

privileges. Contact your system administrator for details.

You may want to deploy a BPM project using the same name as the project and

project template to make it easier to associate the deployed project with its design

time version

Configuring Oracle Fusion Applications to Use BPMN Processes

6-10 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Task: Configure Oracle Fusion Applications to Use BPMN Processes

After deploying a BPM project, you must configure the Oracle Fusion application to

use the BPMN processes within the application. See Section 6.6, "Configuring Oracle

Fusion Applications to Use BPMN Processes" for more information.

6.6 Configuring Oracle Fusion Applications to Use BPMN Processes

After deploying a BPM project to runtime, you must configure your Oracle Fusion

applications to use the BPMN processes.

6.6.1 Configuring BPMN Processes in CRM Applications

After deploying a BPM project, you must use Application Composer to add an object

workflow that conditionally responds to a record modification event for the business

object.

6.6.2 Configuring BPMN Processes in HCM Applications

After deploying your BPM project to Oracle BPM runtime, you must register the

BPMN processes using the Register Workforce Process page in Oracle Fusion

Workforce Lifecycle Manager. When you register a process, you must provide the

name of the process as it appears in the Start menu of the Manage Workforce Process

page. Depending on how your process is designed, you may also need to specify the

parameters that are passed to the workforce process on startup.

For more information, see product-specific documentation in Oracle Fusion

Applications Help.

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-1

Customizing Reports and Analytics

This chapter describes how to use Oracle Business Intelligence Suite (Oracle BI Suite)

to customize and extend reports and analytics for Oracle Fusion Applications,

including customizing Oracle BI Publisher layouts and data models, customizing

Oracle BI Enterprise Edition analyses and dashboards, and extending the Oracle BI

repository.

This chapter includes the following sections:

■ Section 7.1, "About Customizing Reports and Analytics"

■ Section 7.2, "Customizing Reports"

■ Section 7.3, "Customizing Analytics"

7.1 About Customizing Reports and Analytics

In Oracle Fusion Applications, reports and analytics are built using Oracle Business

Intelligence:

■ Reports are built with Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher)

and are usually highly-formatted, detailed documents. Oracle BI Publisher is also

better suited for reports with substantial volume (more than a few hundred rows

of data).

■ Analytics are analyses and dashboards built with Oracle Business Intelligence

Presentation Services. Analyses are queries based on real-time, transactional or

operational data that provide answers to business questions. Dashboards provide

personalized views of corporate and external information. A dashboard consists of

one or more pages that contain content, such as analyses, links to websites, BI

Publisher reports, and so on.

7.2 Customizing Reports

This section describes how to use Oracle BI Publisher to customize and extend reports

for Oracle Fusion Applications. It includes the following sections:

■ Section 7.2.1, "About Customizing Reports"

■ Section 7.2.2, "Customizing Layouts"

■ Section 7.2.3, "Customizing Data Models"

■ Section 7.2.4, "Creating Custom Reports"

■ Section 7.2.5, "Adding Translations"

Customizing Reports

7-2 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

■ Section 7.2.6, "Tasks Required to Run Custom Reports with Oracle Enterprise

Scheduler"

■ Section 7.2.7, "Securing Custom Reports and Related Components"

■ Section 7.2.8, "Making Reports Available to Users in the Reports and Analytics

Pane"

■ Section 7.2.9, "Enabling Reports for Scheduling from the Reports and Analytics

Pane"

7.2.1 About Customizing Reports

Reports extract the data from your applications and present it in the formats required

for your enterprise. Reports provide the information you need for internal operations

and statutory compliance; reports also provide the business documents for

communicating with your customers. Many product-specific reports are provided

with Oracle Fusion Applications; for example, the invoice register, the pick slip report,

the payroll summary, the journals report, and the customer credit memo. To meet the

specific needs of your enterprise, you may need to customize the reports provided or

you may need to create new reports to capture and present different data.

Understanding the BI Publisher reporting architecture will help you to understand the

report customization scenarios and tasks. A report in Oracle BI Publisher consists of

the following components:

■ A data model that defines the data source, data structure, and parameters for the

report. A data model can be used by multiple reports. Each report has one data

model.

■ One or more layouts to define the presentation, formatting, and visualizations of

the data. A report may have multiple layouts of the data model.

■ A set of properties that specify runtime and formatting options.

Optionally, a report may also include:

■ Translations to provide localized versions of a report.

7.2.1.1 What You Can Customize

In many cases, Oracle BI Publisher reports delivered with Oracle Fusion applications

contain the appropriate data elements you expect, but may not provide the

presentation of the data just as you would like it. Oracle BI Publisher enables you to

customize the layouts for reports leveraging the prebuilt data models. If the reports

provided by Oracle Fusion applications do not include the data you require, you can

create a new report based on a custom data model.

Important: Oracle recommends that you do not directly edit the

predefined report objects. If you change a report and a subsequent

patch includes a new version of the report object, the patch overwrites

any customizations. When customizing reports, use the Customize

feature to seamlessly create the copy for you. See Section 7.2.1.4,

"Using the Customize Feature."

If you choose not to use the Customize feature or you are creating new

reports, place your custom report objects in the Shared/Custom folder

in the catalog.

Customizing Reports

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-3

Some common report customization scenarios are shown in the following table.

7.2.1.2 Related Report Customization Tasks

Depending on how a report is implemented in Oracle Fusion Applications and the

type of customization you make you may also have to perform additional tasks to

implement your custom report in the system.

When you create a new report and you wish to schedule this report through Oracle

Enterprise Scheduler, you must create an Oracle Enterprise Scheduler job for the

report. If you require Oracle Enterprise Scheduler to send parameter values to the

Oracle BI Publisher report you must also create a parameter view object to pass the

values.

If you create a custom layout and you require translations of the layout, you must also

provide the translations. Oracle BI Publisher provides a tool for extracting the

translation file for some layout types. The translation file can be translated into the

required languages then uploaded to the report.

You must also ensure that the proper security settings are applied to the report and

data model to enable the intended report consumers to run the report.

Table 7–1 provides links to related report customization tasks.

Customization Use Case Described in

Edit the layout of a report provided with an

application

For example: Add your company logo to the

Receivables Credit Memo report

"Customizing Layouts" on page 7-9

Add a new layout to a report provided with

an application

For example: Design a new form letter users

can select when they run the Receivables

Credit Memo

"Customizing Layouts" on page 7-9

Create a new report based on a data model

provided with an application

"Creating Custom Reports" on page 7-29

Edit a data model provided with an

application

For example: Add a field to a data model

"Editing Existing Data Models" on page 7-26

Create a new data model

For example: Define a new query against

Oracle Fusion applications tables

"Creating a New Data Model" on page 7-27

Create a new report based on a custom data

model

"Creating Custom Reports" on page 7-29

Table 7–1 Related Report Customization Tasks

Related Report Customization Task Described in

Create the Parameter View Object for Oracle

Enterprise Scheduler

"Customizing Parameters for Reports

Submitted Through Oracle Enterprise

Scheduler" on page 7-31

Create the Oracle Enterprise Scheduler job

definition and job

"Tasks Required to Run Custom Reports

with Oracle Enterprise Scheduler" on

page 7-30

Provide translations "Adding Translations" on page 7-29

Customizing Reports

7-4 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

7.2.1.3 Tools for Customizing Reports

Customize reports either within the Oracle BI Publisher application or using one of the

tools or applications listed in Table 7–2. For the list of certified versions of third-party

applications, see the "System Requirements and Certification" section in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

Table 7–3 shows the tools required to customize each layout type.

7.2.1.4 Using the Customize Feature

To facilitate the customization of Oracle Fusion Applications reports, BI Publisher

provides the Customize feature. When you select the Customize option for a report, BI

Publisher creates a copy of the report in the "Custom" folder. This custom copy is

linked internally to the original report. You can customize the custom copy of the

report, leaving the original report intact. When users initiate a request to run the

original report, whether from Oracle Enterprise Scheduler, from the BI catalog or

through an application process, BI Publisher detects the customized version and runs

your custom version instead.

Figure 7–1 shows the Customize task available from the report More menu. In this

example, the Payables Invoice Register is automatically copied to Shared

Folders/Custom/Financials/Payables/Invoices.

Secure reports and related components "Securing Custom Reports and Related

Components" on page 7-31

Table 7–2 Tools for Customizing Report Components

Component Tool for Customizing

Report Data Model BI Publisher's data model editor

Report properties BI Publisher's report editor

Layout See Table 7–3, " Tools for Customizing Layouts"

Table 7–3 Tools for Customizing Layouts

Layout Template Type Tool for Customizing

RTF template Microsoft Word with BI Publisher's Template Builder

for Word (see Section 7.2.2.1, "Customizing RTF

Templates")

BI Publisher template (XPT) BI Publisher's layout editor (see Section 7.2.2.2,

"Customizing BI Publisher Templates")

PDF template Adobe Acrobat Professional

Excel template Microsoft Excel with BI Publisher's Template Builder

for Excel

eText Template Microsoft Word

Table 7–1 (Cont.) Related Report Customization Tasks

Related Report Customization Task Described in

Customizing Reports

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-5

Figure 7–1 Selecting the Customize Feature for a Report

The Customize feature provides the following benefits:

■ Enables a customization process that mimics the convenience of an "in-place"

customization. BI Publisher automatically creates the copy and the mapping to the

original report.

■ Removes the requirement to edit calling processes or applications to execute the

custom report. BI Publisher automatically sends all requests to run the original

report to the custom copy. Therefore Oracle Enterprise Scheduler jobs that point to

the original report or applications that call the original report will automatically

run your custom report with no additional configuration required.

■ Automatically copies the security settings of the original report.

■ Removes the risk of patches overwriting your customizations of Oracle-provided

reports.

User Requirements

Following are requirements for a user to customize a report:

■ A user must be granted the BI Author role (or a role that includes the permission

oracle.bi.publisher.developReport). For more information, see "Permissions

Required to Edit Reports, Style Templates, and Subtemplates."

■ A user must be granted these permissions on the original report in the catalog:

– Read

– Run Publisher Report

■ A user must be granted these permissions on the Custom folder in the catalog:

– Read

– Write

Following are requirements for a user to view a report in the Custom folder:

■ A user must be granted the BI Consumer role

■ A user must be granted these permissions on the original report in the catalog:

Customizing Reports

7-6 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

– Read

– Run Publisher Report

■ A user must be granted these permissions on the Custom report in the catalog:

– Read

– Run Publisher Report

■ The user must be granted access to the data source and be granted these

permissions on the data model of the original report:

– Read

– Traverse

Limitations

Following are limitations of the Customize report option:

■ The Customize option is only available through direct access to the BI Publisher

server using the

/xmlpserver

URL (for example:

http://hostname.com:7001/xmlpserver

). The Customize option is not available

through the

/analytics

URL used to access Oracle Business Intelligence

Enterprise Edition.

■ The Customize option is available only for reports. The Customize option is not

available for data models, style templates, or sub templates.

To customize data models, style templates or sub templates and insulate them

from potential changes from patching: Make a copy of the data model, style

template, or sub-template and either rename it or place it in a custom folder.

Ensure that you update any reports to point to the customized data model, style

template, or sub template.

7.2.1.5 Considerations When Using the Customize Feature

When you click the Customize link, the report, folder structure, and original report

permissions are copied to the Custom folder. The custom report still references the

original data model. The data model is not copied. Because the data model referenced

by the custom report is the original data model, an Oracle patch that updates the data

model may impact the running of your custom report if the data structure is changed.

When an Oracle patch is applied that updates the original report, the custom report is

not updated in any way.

When a custom version of a report exists, performing tasks on the original report have

the following results:

Task Performed on

the Original Report Behavior When a Custom Report Is Present

Open Opens the custom report.

Schedule Creates a report job for the custom report.

Edit Edits the custom report.

Delete Deletes the original report (only).

Copy Copies the original report.

Cut/Paste Cuts and pastes the original report.

Customizing Reports

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-7

The Job History for the custom report is maintained under the original report.

To apply further edits to a report in the Custom folder perform one of the following

■ Select the Customize or Edit option for the original report; this action opens the

existing customized report.

■ Navigate to the custom report in the Custom folder and select Edit.

If you manually create the identical folder path to a report under the Custom folder

and create a report with the same name, BI Publisher treats the identically named

report as a customized report and will run this report instead of the original report, as

if you had used the Customize option to create it.

If you delete the original report, the custom report is not deleted. If you delete the

custom report, the original report is not deleted.

7.2.1.6 Before You Begin Customizing Reports

Before you customize reports, you should be familiar with the Oracle Fusion

application architecture that enables customization, as described in Chapter 1,

"Customizing and Extending Oracle Fusion Applications." You should also

understand the typical workflows for working with runtime customizations, as

described in Chapter 2, "Understanding the Customization Development Lifecycle."

In addition, be familiar with the following Oracle BI Publisher-specific requirements:

Ensure that you have proper permissions for editing and creating Oracle

Business Intelligence Publisher objects

To view and perform actions on report objects in the BI Presentation catalog your role

must be granted the appropriate combination of functional permissions to enable the

actions and access permissions to the object in the catalog. The functional permissions

are granted in the definition of the role; the access permissions are granted in the

catalog.

Permissions Required to Edit Reports, Style Templates, and Subtemplates

To edit, create, or copy reports, style templates, and subtemplates you must be granted

the BI Author role. You must be granted additional permissions on the objects in the

catalog to enable the actions on the specific objects.

The following security settings are configured by default in the BI Presentation

catalog:

■ All roles are granted the Traverse permission on all reports.

■ The BI Author role is granted Full Control on the Custom folder and product

family subfolders to enable editing and deleting of the objects copied there to

customize.

The preceding settings are configured to enable users with the BI Author role and

Read permission to copy seeded reports, subtemplates, and style templates to the

Rename Renames the original report. The custom report name is not

changed.

Download Downloads the custom report.

Customize Edits the custom report.

Task Performed on

the Original Report Behavior When a Custom Report Is Present

Customizing Reports

7-8 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Custom folder and to edit these objects. These settings also enable BI Author to

create new reports, subtemplates, and style templates under the Custom folder.

Permissions Required to Customize Data Models

Creating and editing data models requires a role that includes the BI Author role and

the BI Publisher Data Model Developer role. The BI Publisher Data Model Developer

role is included in the Application Developer role. Note that the ability to create Oracle

BI Publisher data models enables the user to write and execute SQL, therefore

implementors must consider carefully to whom they grant the BI Publisher Data

Model Developer role.

To grant the role for editing data models, follow the guidelines in the "Configuring

Roles" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Administrator's Guide in conjunction

with the guidelines in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Security Guide for Oracle Business

Intelligence Enterprise Edition. For Oracle Cloud implementations, request this role by

logging a service request using My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com

For more information about setting permissions in the catalog, see the "Managing

Objects in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware

User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications

Edition).

Understand how the patching process for catalog objects impacts

customizations

If a patch includes an update to a catalog object that was delivered with an Oracle

Fusion application (for example, the Payables Invoice Register report) the patch will

overwrite any customizations applied to the original report. To avoid overwriting a

customization, do not customize a predefined Oracle Fusion application object in

place, instead use the Customize option see Section 7.2.1.4, "Using the Customize

Feature."

Be aware of any application-specific guidelines for customizing reports

See application-specific documentation in the Oracle Enterprise Repository for Oracle

Fusion Applications.

Be aware of property settings that determine how the report can be run and

viewed

Some reports are configured to run only through an external application or through

Oracle Enterprise Scheduler. While customizing a report, you may want to configure it

temporarily for viewing online to facilitate testing. See Task: Review Report Settings

for Online Viewing for information about these settings.

Know how to access Oracle BI Publisher report components

Your entry point to customize report components will depend on what report

component you are customizing.

Important: Because this role enables the ability to write SQL, it

carries substantial access privileges and should, therefore, only be

assigned when needed. As a guideline: Developers should be granted

this access in development environments; only trusted individuals

should be granted this access in test environments. Implementers

should consider not extending this privilege to any user in a

production environment.

Customizing Reports

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-9

Navigate to the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog as follows:

On the Navigator, under Tools, click Reports and Analytics. In the Reports and

Analytics pane, click Browse Catalog.

Alternatively, log in to Oracle Business Intelligence directly (example:

http://host:port/analytics/saw.dll).

Oracle Fusion Applications reporting objects are organized by product family in the

catalog typically as follows:

■ Top Level: Shared Folders

– Product Family Folder (example: Financials)

* Product folder (example: Payables)

--Report group folders (example: Invoices)

-- Reports

-- Data Model folder

Figure 7–2 shows the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog.

Figure 7–2 Oracle BI Presentation Catalog

If you are customizing a data model, sub template or style template, initiate the

customization from this entry point.

The Customize option for BI Publisher layouts is only available through direct access

to the BI Publisher server using the

/xmlpserver

URL (for example:

http://hostname.com:7001/xmlpserver

7.2.2 Customizing Layouts

The layout defines the presentation of the report data. All reports delivered with

Oracle Fusion Applications include at least one predefined layout template file that

defines the presentation components (such as tables and labeled fields) and maps the

elements from the data model to these components. The layout also defines font sizes,

styles, borders, shading, and can also include images, such as a company logo.

Customizing Reports

7-10 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

To customize a layout, you edit the layout template. Oracle BI Publisher supports

several types of templates to support different report layout requirements. Most of the

templates delivered with Oracle Fusion Applications are rich text format (RTF)

templates created using Microsoft Word. Some predefined templates are BI Publisher

layout templates created using Oracle BI Publisher's layout editor. These are for

interactive and more visually appealing layouts. A third type is the eText template,

which is used specifically for electronic data interchange (EDI) and electronic funds

transfer (EFT).

Oracle BI Publisher templates can also be created using Adobe PDF, Microsoft Excel,

Adobe Flash, and XSL-FO.

Some examples of layout customizations are:

■ Style changes only, no changes to data mapping

This is the simplest type of customization. Examples are removing the predefined

logo from the report and inserting your own or simply modifying colors and font

styles. For these changes you can download the predefined template and edit it.

Because there are no changes to the data mapping, style changes do not require

sample data from your report; however, having sample data available will enable

testing of the template from your desktop.

■ Changes to mapped data elements within the existing layout

An example of this type of customization is adding or removing a table column or

data field from the report layout. For these changes you must have sample data to

load to the layout editing tool. You can download the predefined template, load

your sample data, insert the required elements, preview your template, then

upload your customized template back to the report definition.

■ New presentation of the data

To create a new layout, start by opening the layout editing tool and loading the

sample data to begin designing your custom layout.

Customizing a layout consists of the following tasks:

1. Task: Create a Custom Copy of the Original Report

2. Task: Review Report Settings for Online Viewing

3. Task: Generate Sample Data from the Report

4. Task: Edit or Create the Layout

5. Task: Upload the Template File to the Report Definition

6. Task: Configure the Layout Settings

Task: Create a Custom Copy of the Original Report

To create the custom copy using the Customize feature:

1. Log in to BI Publisher Enterprise through the /xmlpserver URL.

One method of navigation to the BI Publisher server is: On the Navigator, under

Tools, click Reports and Analytics. In the Reports and Analytics pane, click

Browse Catalog. This opens Oracle Business Intelligence

(http://host:port/analytics/saw.dll). Change the final node of the URL to

xmlpserver

http://host:port/xmlpserver.

2. Navigate to your report in the catalog. Click More and then click Customize, as

shown in Figure 7–3.

Customizing Reports

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-11

Figure 7–3 The Customize Task Option

BI Publisher creates a copy of the report in the Custom folder, under the identical

folder hierarchy and opens the report copy in the report editor. In this example the

report is created under: Shared Folders/Custom/Financials/Payables/Invoices.

Figure 7–4 shows the custom report in the report editor. Notice that the report

URL now references the report in the Custom folder.

Figure 7–4 Custom Copy Opened in the Report Editor

Task: Review Report Settings for Online Viewing

Some reports are configured to view only through an external application or through

Oracle Enterprise Scheduler. To view your report online while you are customizing it,

ensure that the following properties are set as shown in this section. When finished

customizing your report, ensure that you reset these properties appropriately for

production.

■ Report Properties Settings

Customizing Reports

7-12 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

■ Run Report Online - must be enabled

■ Report is Controlled by External Application - must be disabled

To navigate to the report Properties dialog:

1. Navigate to your report copy in the catalog and click Edit.

2. In the report editor, click the Properties link at the top of the page.

3. In the Properties dialog, select Run Report Online and clear Report is

Controlled by External Application. These properties are shown in

Figure 7–5.

Figure 7–5 Report Properties Dialog

■ Layout Setting

The layout setting View Online must be enabled.

To view the layout settings:

In the report editor, click View a List. Ensure that the View Online property is

enabled.

Task: Generate Sample Data from the Report

The layout tools require sample data to enable the mapping of data fields to layout

components in the report. You can generate sample data in the following ways:

■ From the report data model

■ From the report viewer

■ From the scheduler

To generate sample data from the data model:

This procedure requires the BI Publisher Data Model Developer to open the data

model.

Customizing Reports

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-13

Navigate to the report data model in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog and click

Edit.

2. In the data model editor, click View Data as shown in Figure 7–6.

Figure 7–6 Getting XML Output from a Data Model

Enter values for any required parameters, select the Number of rows to return,

and click View.

4. To save the sample data to the data model click Save As Sample Data.

If you are designing an RTF template, click Export to save the file to a local client

for use with the Template Builder for Microsoft Word.

5. Click Save. To save the data model.

To save sample data from the report viewer:

This procedure requires that the report is enabled for online viewing. For information

on enabling a report for online viewing, see Task: Review Report Settings for Online

Viewing.

1. Navigate to the report in the Business Intelligence catalog.

2. Click Open to run the report in the report viewer with the default parameters.

3. On the Actions menu, click Export, then click Data.

4. Save the data file.

To save sample data from the scheduler:

This procedure requires that the report is enabled for scheduling through BI Publisher.

For information, see Task: Review Report Settings for Online Viewing.

1. Navigate to the report in the Business Intelligence catalog.

2. Click Schedule to open the BI Publisher scheduler.

3. On the General tab, enter values for any report parameters.

4. On the Output tab, ensure that Save Data for Republishing is selected.

5. Click Submit.

6. Navigate to the Report Job History page: On the global header click Open, then

click Report Job History.

Tip: If you are not sure which data model is the source for a

particular report, click the report Edit link. The data model is

displayed in the upper left corner of the report editor.

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Locate your report job in the Report Job Histories table and click the job name. On

the details page, under Output and Delivery click the XML Data download icon.

Task: Edit or Create the Layout

To design an RTF layout, see Section 7.2.2.1, "Customizing RTF Templates."

To design a layout using the Oracle BI Publisher layout editor, see Section 7.2.2.2,

"Customizing BI Publisher Templates."

To design one of the other supported layout types, see the corresponding chapter in

the Oracle Fusion Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Publisher:

■ Creating PDF Templates

■ Creating Excel Templates

■ Creating eText Templates

Task: Upload the Template File to the Report Definition

If you created a layout using the layout editor, the layout is automatically saved to the

report definition and you can skip this step. For all other layout types upload the

template file to the report definition.

To upload the template file to the report definition:

1. Navigate to your custom report under the Custom folder in the catalog and click

Edit.

2. On the report definition page, click View a List. On the table that lists the layouts,

click Create (the "+" button).

3. Under Upload or Generate Layout, click Upload.

4. In the Upload Template dialog perform the following:

■ Enter a Layout Name.

■ Browse for and select the Template File.

■ Select the template file Type.

■ Select the Locale. The locale is not editable once the template file is saved to

the report definition.

■ Click Upload.

5. Save the report definition.

Task: Configure the Layout Settings

To edit the layout settings:

1. In the report editor, click View a List. The List View is shown in Figure 7–7.

Tip: To hide the original layout from users, clear the Active box.

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Figure 7–7 Report Layouts Shown in the List View

Set the following properties for your custom layout:

■ Output Formats

Output formats are the file formats available for the generated report, such as PDF,

HTML, RTF, Excel. Depending on the requirements of a report you may want to

limit the output formats available to users. The output formats available vary

according to the template file type.

■ Default Output Format

When multiple output formats are available for the report, the default output

format is generated by default when the report is run in the report viewer.

■ Default Layout

When multiple layouts are available for the report, the default layout is presented

first in the report viewer. Select this box for your custom layout when you want it

displayed first. One layout must be selected as the default layout.

■ Apply Style Template

If a style template is assigned to this report, use this field to apply the style

template to the layout.

■ Active

Active layouts are displayed to report consumers. Inactivate the layout to make it

unavailable to report consumers.

■ View Online

Layouts that can be viewed online are available to report consumers from the

report viewer. If this property is not checked, the layout is available only for

scheduled jobs.

Task: Delete a Layout

To delete a layout from the report:

1. In the report editor, click View a List.

2. Locate the layout that you wish to delete in the table and click anywhere within its

row to select it.

3. Click the Delete toolbar button. Click OK in the confirmation dialog.

7.2.2.1 Customizing RTF Templates

Most templates delivered with Oracle Fusion Applications are RTF templates. An RTF

template is a rich text format file that contains the layout instructions for BI Publisher

to use when generating the report. RTF templates are created using Microsoft Word.

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Oracle BI Publisher provides an add-in to Microsoft Word to facilitate the coding of

layout instructions. For more information see the "Creating RTF Templates Using the

Template Builder for Word" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Report Designer's

Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

Before you begin:

Ensure that your local client has a supported version of Microsoft Word. Oracle BI

Publisher provides the Template Builder for Microsoft Word to facilitate RTF template

design. Download the tool from the Oracle Business Intelligence home page. For more

information see the "Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word"

chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business

Intelligence Publisher.

Task: Download the Template File

If you are creating a new layout, skip this step.

If you are modifying a predefined layout, navigate to the copy of the report under

Custom in the catalog and click Edit. In the report editor, click the Edit link of the

layout to download the RTF file to your local client, as shown in Figure 7–8.

Figure 7–8 Downloading the Predefined Layout

Task: Edit the RTF File in Microsoft Word

Open the downloaded RTF template file in Microsoft Word; or, if you are creating a

new template, open Microsoft Word.

Load the sample data to the Template Builder for Word Add-in.

Edit or create the layout following the guidelines in the Template Builder help or in the

"Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word" chapter in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

Note: If you are designing a new layout for the report, consider

using the BI Publisher layout editor. The layout editor is an online

layout editing tool launched from the report editor. See Section 7.2.2.2,

"Customizing BI Publisher Templates."

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Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-17

Ensure that you save the file as Rich Text Format (rtf).

Task: Upload the Template File to the Report Definition

In the catalog, open the report in the report editor and click Add New Layout. Click

Upload to upload the RTF file from your local directory. Enter the fields in the Upload

Template File dialog as shown in Figure 7–9.

Figure 7–9 Uploading the Template File

Task: Add Translations for the Layout

If this report requires translations, see Section 7.2.5, "Adding Translations."

7.2.2.1.1 Customizing an RTF Template: Examples This section includes two examples of

RTF template customizations:

■ Changing the Inserted Logo in a Predefined Template

■ Customizing an RTF Template Using an Existing Data Model

Example 7–1 Changing the Inserted Logo in a Predefined Template

The Payables Invoice Register report layout includes a standard logo in the report

header. To change the inserted logo using Microsoft Word 2007:

1. In Microsoft Word, delete the Oracle logo as shown in Figure 7–10.

Figure 7–10 Selecting the Oracle Logo Prior to Deletion

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On the Insert tab in the Illustrations group click Picture. Select your company

logo image file to insert it to the Word document. Resize the image as necessary.

An example is shown in Figure 7–11.

Figure 7–11 Inserting the Logo in Microsoft Word

If you downloaded sample data, you can test the template on your desktop: On

the Oracle BI Publisher tab, in the Preview group click PDF. The Template Builder

will apply the sample data you loaded and generate a PDF output document, as

shown in Figure 7–12.

Figure 7–12 Preview of Custom Layout Template

Tip: If the template file includes section breaks, you must insert the

new logo for each section header.

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Example 7–2 Customizing an RTF Template Using an Existing Data Model

This example demonstrates the general steps for customizing an RTF template using

an existing data model. In this example, the Payables Invoice Register data model is

used to create a new layout to display a summary for each currency. This example

demonstrates general report layout concepts and features of the Oracle BI Publisher

Template Builder for Microsoft Word. Follow the steps in this topic and the guidelines

in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Publisher.

The final report layout is shown in the following figure:

To create this layout:

1. Download to your local client sample data from the Payables Invoice Register data

model (InvoiceRegisterDM).

2. In Microsoft Word, on the BI Publisher tab, in the Load Data group, click Sample

Data. Select your downloaded file and click OK.

3. Using Microsoft Word functionality, insert the page header. Type the text for the

header, and insert the field for the Business Unit as shown in Figure 7–13.

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Figure 7–13 Inserting the Header to the RTF Template

In this example, the report will repeat the table of invoices for each occurrence of

the currency code. To create this behavior, insert a repeating group based on the

element C_CURRENCY_CODE. To insert the repeating group:

a. On the BI Publisher tab, in the Insert group, click Repeating Group.

b. In the BI Publisher Properties dialog, select the G_CURRENCY group as

shown in Figure 7–14.

Figure 7–14 Selecting a Repeating Group

To display the field value, type the text "Currency:" after the for-each tag. To

insert the element from the data: On the BI Publisher tab, in the Insert group,

click Field. The Field dialog will display. Select the C_CURRENCY_CODE

element, as shown in Figure 7–15.

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Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-21

Figure 7–15 Inserting the Currency Code Field

Use the table wizard to insert the table: On the BI Publisher tab in the Insert

group, click Table Wizard. Make the following selections:

■ For the report format, select Tab le .

■ For the Data Set select the VENDOR group.

■ Select the fields to display in your table: C Vendor Name, C Invoice Num, C

Invoice Date, C Invoice Amount, and C Amount Rem, as shown in

Figure 7–16.

Figure 7–16 Selecting Fields for the Table

■ Click Finish. The inserted table will display with the column names from the

data; also, if you preview the report, you will notice that no formatting is

applied to number and date fields.

6. Edit the column names by simply editing the text in the column header row.

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7-22 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Apply formatting to the date and number fields. To apply formatting to the date

field:

a. Right-click the date field in the table and select BI Publisher then Properties

from the menu.

b. In the BI Publisher Properties dialog, update the following (shown in

Figure 7–17):

Set the Type to Date.

Select the date Format from the list.

Enter Text to display, for example: 8/7/2011.

Figure 7–17 Formatting the Date Field

To apply formatting to a number field:

a. Right-click the amount field in the table and select BI Publisher then

Properties from the menu.

b. In the BI Publisher Properties dialog, update the following (shown in

Figure 7–18):

Set the Type to Number

Select the number Format from the list.

Enter Text to display, for example: 999.00.

Note: This example shows simple number formatting. If your report

requires locale-driven number and date formatting, see the topic

"Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies" in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Publisher.

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Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-23

Figure 7–18 Formatting the Number Field

To display the total for each currency, enter the text: "Currency Total Remaining:"

beneath the table, but inside the for-each / end tags. Insert the field as follows:

a. On the BI Publisher tab, in the Insert group, click Field.

b. In the Insert Field dialog, click the "C Amount Rem" field (under the G

Vendor group).

c. In the Calculation field, select Sum from the list as shown in Figure 7–19.

Figure 7–19 Inserting and Summing the Total Field

Click Insert.

e. Format the field as a number, as described in Step 7.

9. Perform any additional formatting of colors, fonts, borders, and text strings using

Microsoft Word functionality.

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7-24 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

The completed template will appear as shown in Figure 7–20. To preview the template,

click the PDF button in the Oracle BI Publisher Preview group.

Figure 7–20 Finished RTF Template

7.2.2.2 Customizing BI Publisher Templates

BI Publisher templates are created using the BI Publisher Layout Editor - a design tool

that provides an intuitive, drag-and-drop interface for creating pixel perfect reports in

PDF, RTF, Excel, PowerPoint, and HTML. It also provides dynamic HTML output that

supports lightweight interaction through a browser.

BI Publisher layouts are best suited for reports of simple to medium complexity. The

interactive view is only available for BI Publisher layouts, therefore choose this layout

type when you want your report consumers to interact with the report (change

sorting, apply filters, and so on).

Before you begin:

The BI Publisher layout editor requires the data model to include sample data. To save

sample data to the data model, you must generate data according to the first option

described in "Task: Generate Sample Data from the Report".

Task: Launch the Layout Editor from the Report Definition

Navigate to the report and click Customize. Click Add New Layout. Under the Create

Layout region, click one of the Basic Templates or Shared Templates to launch the

layout editor, as shown in Figure 7–21.

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Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-25

Figure 7–21 Selecting a Boilerplate to Launch the Layout Editor

Task: Create and Save the Layout

Create the layout using the guidelines in the online help or in the "Creating BI

Publisher Layout Templates" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Report Designer's

Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher. Click Save to save the layout to the

report definition.

Task: Add Translations for the Layout

If this report requires translations, see Section 7.2.5, "Adding Translations."

7.2.3 Customizing Data Models

A data model defines the source and structure of the data for a report. At runtime

Oracle BI Publisher executes the data model to supply the XML data for a report.

Create a custom data model when the data models supplied by your application do

not provide the data required in your report. If you need to customize the data that is

Note: To create or edit data models you must be granted a role that

includes the BI Publisher Data Model Developer role. To assign this

role for editing data models, follow the guidelines in the "Configuring

Roles" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Administrator's Guide.

For Oracle Cloud implementations, request this role by logging a

service request using My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com

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7-26 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

captured by the report data model, you can either copy and edit an existing data

model or create a new data model.

In BI Publisher the Oracle Fusion Applications tables are provisioned as follows:

■ ApplicationDB_FSCM - includes the Oracle Fusion Financials applications data

■ ApplicationDB_CRM - includes the Oracle Fusion Customer Relationship

Management applications data

■ ApplicationDB_HCM - includes the Oracle Fusion Human Capital Management

applications data

Before You Begin: Understand the Use of Parameter View Objects with Oracle

Enterprise Scheduler

Editing Oracle Enterprise Scheduler jobs is not supported in Oracle Cloud

implementations.

If the report requires user input for parameter values and the report is submitted by

Oracle Enterprise Scheduler to Oracle BI Publisher, Oracle Enterprise Scheduler uses a

parameter view object to present and validate parameter values in the Oracle Fusion

application. The values are then sent by Oracle Enterprise Scheduler to BI Publisher

for execution of the data model.

In the parameter view object the parameters are defined as attributes and must be

named incrementally as ATTRIBUTE1, ATTRIBUTE2, and so on. In the BI Publisher

data model, you must define the parameters in the same order as they are defined in

the parameter view object. The mapping of the value passed by Oracle Enterprise

Scheduler to the BI Publisher data model is by order alone.

For example, in a BI Publisher data model assume you have defined the following

parameters in this order:

■ P_BUSINESS_UNIT

■ P_VENDOR_ID

■ P_INVOICE_TYPE

In the parameter view object you must define ATTRIBUTE1 to retrieve the value for P_

BUSINESS_UNIT; ATTRIBUTE2 to retrieve the values for P_VENDOR_ID; and

ATTRIBUTE3 to retrieve the values for P_INVOICE_TYPE.

Ensure that any edits you make to the ordering of parameters in the parameter view

object, the BI Publisher data model, or the Oracle Enterprise Scheduler job definition

are reflected in all places. See Section 7.2.6.2, "Customizing Parameters for Reports

Submitted Through Oracle Enterprise Scheduler."

7.2.3.1 Editing Existing Data Models

Do not directly edit a data model delivered with an Oracle Fusion application. Instead,

copy the data model into the Custom folder and edit the copy.

Task: Copy the Existing Data Model

Navigate to the data model in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog. To make a copy:

1. Click anywhere in the object's row to select the data model.

2. On the catalog toolbar, click the Copy toolbar button; then navigate to the

destination location in the Custom folder and click the Paste toolbar button to

paste the copy into the folder.

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Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-27

To rename the copy, click the More link, and then click Rename. Enter the new

name, for example: InvoiceRegisterDM Custom.

Task: Customize the Data Model in the Data Model Editor

Click the Edit link in the catalog to open the data model in the data model editor. See

the "Using the Data Model Editor" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Data

Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle Fusion Applications

Edition) for general information about using the data model editor and the specific

chapter for the component you wish to edit, for example:

■ To add or delete a field from the SQL query, see the topic "Editing an Existing Data

Set" in the chapter "Creating Data Sets."

■ To add or delete a bursting definition, see the chapter "Adding Bursting

Definitions."

■ To edit parameters, see "Adding Parameters and Lists of Values."

7.2.3.2 Creating a New Data Model

To create a data model:

1. Open the Data Model editor.

On the global header, click New, then click Data Model to open the data model

editor.

2. Configure the data model properties. For more information see the "Setting Data

Model Properties" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Data Modeling Guide for

Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition).

3. If your data model will include event triggers you must enter the Oracle DB

Default Package.

4. Create the data set.

Important: If the report will use Oracle Enterprise Scheduler to

collect parameter values from end users, then the parameter logic, list

of values and display attributes that are presented in the application

interface are defined in a parameter view object and the Oracle

Enterprise Scheduler job definition. The parameter values are then

passed to BI Publisher when the job is submitted.

In this case, edit the parameters in the parameter view object then

ensure that the parameters in the BI Publisher data model are in the

same order as they are defined in the parameter view object. Do not

create the list of values in the BI Publisher data model for reports

submitted via Oracle Enterprise Scheduler.

Note: To create or edit data models you must be granted a role with

the BI Author role and the developDataModel permission. To create

the custom role for editing data models, follow the guidelines in the

"Configuring Roles" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications

Administrator's Guide. For Oracle Cloud implementations, request this

role by logging a service request using My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com

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Typically, you create data sets from SQL queries against your Oracle Fusion

application data tables. The data model editor also supports using an Oracle BI

analysis as its source of data as well as entity view objects created in Oracle

JDeveloper. See the "Creating Data Sets" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware

Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle Fusion

Applications Edition) for more information about all supported data set types and

how to create them. Figure 7–22 shows the menu of data set types available.

Figure 7–22 Creating a SQL Data Set

Create the optional components.

A data model can include the following components:

■ Event triggers

■ Flexfields

■ Lists of values

■ Parameters

■ Bursting definition

See the Oracle Fusion Middleware Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Publisher (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition) for details on creating these

components.

6. Add sample data to your data model. See "Task: Generate Sample Data from the

Report" for the steps for adding sample data to a data model.

7. Save your data model to the Custom folder.

Important: See "Before You Begin: Understand the Use of Parameter

View Objects with Oracle Enterprise Scheduler" for information about

how to define parameters in the BI Publisher data model when the

report is submitted by Oracle Enterprise Scheduler. This functionality

is not available in Oracle Cloud implementations.

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Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-29

7.2.4 Creating Custom Reports

Create a custom report when the reports delivered with your Oracle Fusion

application do not provide the data you need; or, if you want to use a predefined data

model but change other properties of the report. Save your custom report to the

Custom folder.

Task: Create the Data Model

If you are using a predefined data model, skip this step.

To create a data model, see Section 7.2.3.2, "Creating a New Data Model."

Task: Create the Report Definition in the Catalog and Choose the Data Model

On the global header, click New, click Report., then click Use Existing Data Model.

Select the data model to use for the data source for this report.

Task: Create and Add the Layout

Follow the tasks described in the section "Creating Custom Layouts" beginning with

"Task: Edit or Create the Layout".

Task: Configure Report Properties

You can configure a variety of properties to set specific formatting, caching, and

processing options for your report. To access the Properties dialog, click Properties in

the report editor. For information on report properties see the "Configuring Report

Properties" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle

Business Intelligence Publisher.

Task: (Conditional) Create an Oracle Enterprise Scheduler Job to Run the

Custom Report

This task does not apply to Oracle Cloud implementations.

To schedule this report from an Oracle Fusion application, you must create an Oracle

Enterprise Scheduler job and job definition. This may also require creating a parameter

view object. See Section 7.2.6, "Tasks Required to Run Custom Reports with Oracle

Enterprise Scheduler."

Task: (Conditional) Enable Access to the Report Through the Reports and

Analytics Pane

See Section 7.2.8, "Making Reports Available to Users in the Reports and Analytics

Pane."

7.2.5 Adding Translations

Template translation is a feature of BI Publisher that enables the extraction of

translatable strings from a single RTF-based template or a single BI Publisher layout

template. Use this option when you need multiple translations of the final report

document; for example, you need to generate invoices for both German and French

customers.

For information on adding translations for your custom report layouts, see the

"Translating Individual Templates" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Report

Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

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7.2.6 Tasks Required to Run Custom Reports with Oracle Enterprise Scheduler

Many Oracle Fusion applications use Oracle Enterprise Scheduler to submit report

requests to Oracle BI Publisher. For reports that require parameter value input from

users, Oracle Enterprise Scheduler uses a parameter view object to collect and validate

parameter values to send to BI Publisher.

When you create a new report in Oracle BI Publisher, additional tasks are required to

set up the Oracle Enterprise Scheduler job definition to run your report from Oracle

Fusion applications. If your report customization includes customizing parameters

that are passed to Oracle BI Publisher, you will likely need to customize the parameter

view object.

This section highlights the additional tasks required for these related components. You

must also reference the following documents for full descriptions of how to customize

them and how to configure the Oracle Enterprise Scheduler job definition to integrate

the parameter view object:

■ For customizing Oracle Enterprise Scheduler job definitions, see the "Customizing

and Extending Oracle Enterprise Scheduler Jobs" chapter in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

■ For information on how to customize view objects in Oracle Fusion Applications,

see the "Customizing and Extending Oracle ADF Application Artifacts" chapter in

the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

■ For the full description of view objects and creating them in JDeveloper, see the

"Defining SQL Queries Using View Objects" chapter in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework.

7.2.6.1 Creating a New Oracle Enterprise Scheduler Job Definition

To create an Oracle Enterprise Scheduler Job Definition:

Follow the instructions for creating a job definition in the "Customizing and Extending

Oracle Enterprise Scheduler Jobs" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility

Guide for Developers. Note the following for Oracle BI Publisher jobs:

■ Job Type: Select BIPJobType

■ ReportID: Enter the path to the report in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog,

starting with the folder beneath Shared Folders; for example:

Custom/Financials/Payables/Payables InvoiceRegisterCustom.xdo

Note: When you use the Customize feature to add a custom layout

to an existing report, you do not need to edit the Oracle Enterprise

Scheduler job.

Note: Oracle Enterprise Scheduler jobs are not customizable for

Oracle Cloud implementations. Instead, schedule custom reports

using the Oracle BI Publisher scheduler. For reports appropriate to run

online, you can also run them on demand through the Reports and

Analytics pane or from the Oracle Business Intelligence catalog.

Tip: Ensure that you include the .xdo extension for the report object.

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Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-31

■ Default Output: Select a default output format.

■ Bursting Job: If the output from this job is to be burst, select this box. The BI

Publisher report must have a bursting definition to use this option. When the

report is executed, the output and delivery options are determined by the bursting

definition. For information on setting up a bursting definition, see the "Adding

Bursting Definitions" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Data Modeling Guide

for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition).

■ Define the property

parametersVO

to point to the parameter view object you

defined, if your custom job requires parameter input.

7.2.6.2 Customizing Parameters for Reports Submitted Through Oracle Enterprise

Scheduler

The parameter view object is a view object used by Oracle Enterprise Scheduler to

collect user input for report parameters that Oracle Enterprise Scheduler then sends to

BI Publisher. The parameter view object defines the display of the parameters in the

Oracle Enterprise Scheduler interface and performs validation of the input. Use

JDeveloper to edit the parameter view object.

Task: Create or Customize the Parameter View Object

To customize a parameter view object, see the following information:

■ The "Customizing and Extending Oracle ADF Application Artifacts" chapter in the

Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers for information about

how to customize view objects in Oracle Fusion Applications.

■ "Defining SQL Queries Using View Objects" chapter in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle Application Development Framework

for the full description view objects and creating them in JDeveloper.

Task: Align Parameter Order in the BI Publisher Data Model

Ensure that the attributes defined for the parameters in the view object are in the same

order as the parameters in the BI Publisher data model. See "Before You Begin:

Understand the Use of Parameter View Objects with Oracle Enterprise Scheduler" for

more information.

Task: Integrate the Parameter View Object in the Oracle Enterprise Scheduler

Job Definition

Follow the instructions for creating a job definition in the "Extending Custom Oracle

Enterprise Scheduler Jobs Using Existing Oracle Fusion Applications" section in the

Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

7.2.7 Securing Custom Reports and Related Components

When you create a custom report you must secure it so that only users with

appropriate privileges can run it. You have two options for securing it:

■ Use an existing role

■ Create a new custom role

Use an existing role when a custom report is functionally aligned with an

Oracle-delivered report. In this case simply use the roles and entitlements that secure

the associated Oracle-delivered report. For example, if a functional user who runs the

Account Analysis report should also run or have access to the custom report, then you

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can use the same role and entitlements from the Account Analysis report rather than

creating a custom role.

If you choose to enable the custom report for an existing role, the only actions required

are to grant this role permissions on the objects in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog

and on the Oracle Enterprise Scheduler job definition. Perform the tasks: Task:

Configure Permissions in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog and Task: Grant

Permissions to the Oracle Enterprise Scheduler Job Definition.

If you choose to create a custom role, keep the following in mind:

■ Application roles and entitlements are administered through Oracle Authorization

Policy Manager.

■ You must add custom roles and entitlements to both the appropriate Fusion

application stripe (FSCM, HCM, or CRM) and the Business Intelligence stripe

(called "OBI") in Oracle Authorization Policy Manager.

■ If you have also created an Oracle Enterprise Scheduler job to run the report, your

users must also be assigned execution permissions for the job.

■ All the tasks in this section are required when you create a custom role.

Task: Create the Custom Report Role in the OBI Stripe

Only a system administrator can create a new application role, and optionally include

the role in an existing role hierarchy. For information about creating application roles,

see the "Managing Policies and Policy Objects" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware

Oracle Authorization Policy Manager Administrator's Guide (Oracle Fusion Applications

Edition).

For Oracle Cloud implementations, request a new role by logging a service request

using My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com

Task: Configure Permissions in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog

For a user to run a report, Read permissions must be granted to that user's role on

every object in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog that is used in the report. This will

always include at least two objects: the report and the data model. If your report also

references a subtemplate or a style template, you must also grant Read permissions on

those objects. The report object requires additional grants to run, schedule, and view

output.

See "Managing Objects in the BI Presentation Catalog" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware

User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications

Edition) for more information about catalog permissions.

Configuring permissions in the BI Presentation catalog consists of the following

subtasks:

■ "Grant the Role Permissions to the Report"

■ "Grant the Role Permissions to the Data Model and Other Referenced Objects"

■ "Delete Permissions"

Grant the Role Permissions to the Report

To grant permissions in the catalog:

1. Navigate to the report in the catalog and click More and then click Permissions.

The Permissions dialog launches and the inherited permissions are shown.

2. In the Permissions dialog, click Add users/roles as shown in Figure 7–23.

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Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-33

Figure 7–23 Detail of Add Users/ Roles in the Permission Dialog

In the Add Application Roles, Catalog Groups and Users dialog, search for your

custom role and use the shuttle buttons to move it to the Selected Members list. In

the Set Permission to list, select Custom, as shown in Figure 7–24 and then click

OK.

Figure 7–24 Adding a Role to the Selected Members List

In the Permissions dialog, locate the role you added and click Edit as shown in

Figure 7–25.

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Figure 7–25 Editing the Permissions Assigned to a Role

In the Custom Permissions dialog, select the permissions to enable. Typically, you

will enable the following for a BI Publisher report:

■ Read - gives authority to access, but not modify, the report

■ Traverse - gives the authority to copy the report

■ Run Publisher Report - gives authority to read, traverse the folder that

contains the report, and run the report.

■ Schedule Publisher Report - gives authority to read, traverse the folder that

contains the report, and schedule the report

■ View Publisher Output - enables the user to view the report output generated

by the scheduler

The Custom Permissions dialog is shown in Figure 7–26.

Figure 7–26 Setting Custom Permissions on the Report

Grant the Role Permissions to the Data Model and Other Referenced Objects

1. Navigate to the data model in the catalog and click More and then click

Permissions. The Permissions dialog launches and the inherited permissions are

shown.

2. Follow the instructions in "Grant the Role Permissions to the Report" but in the

Custom Permissions dialog, enable the Read and Tr av erse permissions, as shown

in Figure 7–27.

Customizing Reports

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-35

Figure 7–27 Setting Custom Permissions on the Data Model

Repeat this procedure for any other referenced objects (subtemplates or style

templates).

Delete Permissions

If the custom report inherited permissions that you want to remove from the report,

you can delete permissions as follows:

1. Navigate to the object in the catalog and click More and then click Permissions.

The Permissions dialog launches and the inherited permissions are shown.

2. Select the permission to delete and click the Delete toolbar button.

Task: Grant Permissions to the Oracle Enterprise Scheduler Job Definition

This task does not apply to Oracle Cloud implementations.

If the custom report is to be scheduled through Oracle Enterprise Scheduler, execution

permissions must also be granted to enable users belonging to the role to submit the

job. See the "Extending Custom Oracle Enterprise Scheduler Jobs Using Existing

Oracle Fusion Applications" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide

for Developers

7.2.8 Making Reports Available to Users in the Reports and Analytics Pane

To make a report available to users through the Reports and Analytics pane, map the

report to the work areas of the user roles that need access. For the procedure to map

reports to work areas, see "Define Application Toolkit Configuration" in the Oracle

Fusion Applications Common Implementation Guide.

7.2.9 Enabling Reports for Scheduling from the Reports and Analytics Pane

To enable scheduling through the Reports and Analytics pane, configure the report

properties:

1. Navigate to the report in the Business Intelligence catalog and click Edit.

2. In the report editor, click Properties.

3. On the Properties dialog enter the following fields:

– Enterprise Scheduler Job Package Name

Enter the Path for the Job Definition. For example:

/oracle/apps/ess/financials/payables/invoices/transactions/Jobs

– Enterprise Scheduler Job Definition Name

Enter the Name for the Job Definition. For example: APXINRIR

Customizing Analytics

7-36 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

The Report Properties dialog is shown in Figure 7–28:

Figure 7–28 Report Properties to Enable Scheduling Through the Reporting Pane

7.3 Customizing Analytics

This section describes how to use Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition to

customize and extend analytics for Oracle Fusion Applications.

7.3.1 About Customizing Analytics

Analytics are analyses and dashboards built with Oracle Business Intelligence

Presentation Services, based on objects in the Oracle BI repository. Analyses are

queries based on real-time, transactional or operational data that provide answers to

business questions. Dashboards provide personalized views of corporate and external

information. A dashboard consists of one or more pages that contain content, such as

analyses, links to Web sites, BI Publisher reports, and so on.

You can customize analyses using the Oracle BI Composer interface from within

Oracle Fusion Applications. You can customize dashboards using Oracle Business

Intelligence Enterprise Edition.

You can also customize objects in the Oracle BI repository (RPD) using the Oracle BI

Administration Tool in either online or offline mode. Use online mode only for small

changes that do not require running consistency checks. Running consistency checks

against the full online repository can take a long time. Instead, make more complex

changes that require consistency checks in offline mode against a project extract of the

repository.

Table 7–4 provides guidelines for when to perform online and offline edits. See the

Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business

Intelligence Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition) for full information

about how to use the Administration Tool to edit RPD files.

Customizing Analytics

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-37

7.3.1.1 Maintaining Report Customizations in the Custom Folder

The Oracle BI Presentation catalog includes a Custom folder under Shared Folders.

The Custom folder contains a subfolder for each product family, similar to the product

family subfolder structure under Shared Folders. The structure of the Custom folder is

shown in Figure 7–29.

Table 7–4 Guidelines for Online and Offline RPD Edits

Mode Use This Mode For: Example Use Cases

Example Operations

Information

Online

■ Changes that do not require

running a consistency check

■ Small changes that are

required to fix things in a

running system

■ Changes that need to be

deployed quickly

■ Renaming Presentation

Layer metadata

■ Reorganizing

Presentation Layer

metadata

1. Connect to the RPD in

online mode.

2. Check out, modify, then

check in the appropriate

objects.

3. In a clustered system,

restart all Oracle BI Servers

except for the master server

to propagate the changes.

You can use the Cluster

Manager in the

Administration Tool to

identify the master Oracle

BI Server.

4. Reload metadata in Oracle

BI Presentation Services by

clicking the Reload Files

and Metadata link from the

Administration page.

Offline

■ Full-scale development or

customization activities that

require running consistency

checks multiple times and

iterating

■ Configuring a

descriptive flexfield or

a key flexfield for

Oracle Business

Intelligence

■ Customizing existing

fact or dimension tables

■ Adding new fact or

dimension tables

1. Copy the RPD from the

production computer to the

Windows development

computer.

2. Open the RPD in offline

mode and make the

appropriate changes.

3. Upload the repository using

Fusion Applications Control

and restart all Oracle

Business Intelligence system

components.

Customizing Analytics

7-38 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Figure 7–29 Structure of the Custom Folder

By default, the BI Platform Author Role is granted Full Control permissions to the

product family subfolders, enabling users with this role to edit and delete the report

objects that are copied to or created in the Custom folders, as well as set permissions

on those objects. Oracle recommends that you copy the report objects that you wish to

customize into the corresponding product family folder under the Custom folder.

Maintaining custom objects in the Custom folder has the following benefits:

■ Oracle patches that update the original object will not overwrite customizations in

the Custom folder.

■ Customized objects are easily located and identified.

■ Default security facilitates the editing of objects in the Custom folder without

compromising security on the original objects.

Security Considerations When Copying Objects into the Custom Folder

When you copy an object, the copied object inherits the permission settings of the

folder into which it is copied. You must manually reset the permissions on the object

and product subfolder structure that you create under the Custom folder to reestablish

the security settings of the original object. For information on setting permissions in

the catalog see Section 7.2.7, "Securing Custom Reports and Related Components."

7.3.1.2 What You Can Customize in Analytics

You can customize analyses and dashboards, as well as objects in the Oracle BI

repository (RPD). In Oracle Cloud implementations you can customize analyses and

edit dashboards; you cannot create new dashboards or make changes to the Oracle BI

repository (RPD).

Customizations to analyses and dashboards result in changes to the Oracle BI

Presentation Catalog. Be aware that some patches include updates to the Oracle BI

Presentation Catalog. All new objects are preserved during the patch process; in

addition, changes to existing objects are preserved when the patch does not include a

new version of that object.

Customizing Analytics

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-39

If you change an existing presentation catalog object and subsequent patches do

include a new version of the object, the patch process detects and logs conflicts, and

patching will stop. The catalog administrator must resolve any conflicts manually

using Catalog Manager and then rerun the patch.

In the Oracle BI repository, non-Cloud implementations can create new repository

objects such as physical columns, logical table sources, logical columns, and

presentation columns. Be aware that some patches include updates to the Oracle BI

repository. New objects are preserved during the patch process; in addition, changes to

existing objects are preserved when the patch does not include a new version of that

object.

If you change an existing object and subsequent patches do include a new version of

the object, the Merge Wizard in the Administration Tool provides a method to merge

the changes. For most typical customizations, the merge process is straightforward.

The exception is when presentation columns have been moved across presentation

tables; in this situation, it is important to plan ahead and track the changes carefully to

ensure your changes are preserved during the merge.

See the "Oracle BI Applications Patching" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware

Reference Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Applications for more information about

patching the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog and Oracle BI repository.

7.3.1.3 Understanding Catalog Security and Allowed Customizations

Before you customize analytics, ensure that you have proper permissions for editing

and creating Oracle Business Intelligence Presentation Catalog objects and understand

how to set permissions in the catalog. For more information about setting permissions

in the catalog, see the "Managing Objects in the Oracle BI Presentation Catalog"

chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition).

Only users with the BI Platform Administrator role (not available in Oracle Cloud

implementations) can directly edit objects delivered by Oracle in the BI Presentation

catalog. Edit Oracle-delivered objects directly only when necessary to maintain the

proper functioning of applications or processes that reference the original objects (such

as embedded dashboards or targets of navigation actions). Ensure that you understand

patching implications described in the previous section.

Users with the BI Author role have full control permissions to the Custom folder

located under Shared Folders. Oracle provides the Custom folder with default

permissions for BI Author to facilitate customizations in a centralized location while

maintaining security on the original objects. Table 7–5 summarizes the actions allowed

for BI Authors.

Table 7–5 Allowed Actions for BI Author

Customization Action Allowed for BI Author

Edit analysis Can edit analysis but cannot save to original folder. Must save

the edited version to the Custom folder or My Folders.

Copy analysis Can copy analysis and save to the Custom folder or My

Folders. Cannot save the copy to original folder.

Create new analysis Can create a new analysis and save to the Custom folder or My

Folders.

Edit dashboard Not allowed for Oracle predefined dashboards. Use Copy

dashboard.

Customizing Analytics

7-40 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

7.3.2 Customizing Analytics

You can customize analytics from the Reports and Analytics pane in Oracle Fusion

Applications.

Task: Customize Analyses

To work with analyses, use one of the following editors:

■ The "BI Composer wizard" — A simple-to-use wizard that allows you to quickly

and easily create, edit, or view analyses without the complexities of the Analysis

editor. For more information, see the "Using BI Composer to Work with Analyses"

chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition).

You have access to this editor only if you have been granted the Access to BI

Composer privilege by the administrator.

■ The "Analysis editor" — A more complex editor that allows you to explore and

interact with information by visually presenting data in tables, graphs, pivot

tables, and so on. For more information, see the chapter "Creating Analyses" in the

Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise

Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition)

You have access to this editor only if you have been granted the Access to Analysis

privilege by the administrator.

To customize existing analyses using BI Composer:

1. From the Navigator, go to the Reports and Analytics pane and locate the analysis

you want to customize.

2. Click the object and then select Edit to use the Oracle BI Composer to edit the

object.

3. Make the changes to the analysis by navigating the steps of the wizard using the

buttons in the BI Composer train at the top of the wizard.

4. When finished editing, click the Save button in the BI Composer train.

5. Select the desired location to save the customized analysis and click Submit.

Oracle recommends saving customizations to the appropriate application folder

under Shared Folders/Custom. You can only save to folders to which you have

Write permissions.

To create new analyses using BI Composer:

1. From the Navigator, go to the Reports and Analytics pane.

2. Click Create and then select Analysis.

3. Select a subject area. The BI Composer wizard displays.

4. Create the analysis by navigating the steps of the wizard using the buttons in the

BI Composer train at the top of the wizard.

Copy dashboard Can copy dashboard and save to the Custom folder or My

Folders. In the Custom folder the copy can be edited. Cannot

save the copy to original folder.

Create new dashboard Not allowed.

Table 7–5 (Cont.) Allowed Actions for BI Author

Customization Action Allowed for BI Author

Customizing Analytics

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-41

When finished, click the Save button in the BI Composer train.

6. Select the desired location to save the new analysis and click Submit. Oracle

recommends saving customizations to the appropriate application folder under

Shared Folders/Custom. You can only save to folders to which you have Write

permissions.

Task: Customize Dashboards

To customize dashboards:

1. From the Navigator, go to the Reports and Analytics pane and locate the

dashboard you want to customize.

2. Click the dashboard name and then select More to go to the catalog page in Oracle

Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition.

3. Copy the dashboard to a folder in the catalog to which you have Write

permissions as follows:

In the catalog, click the dashboard's More link and then click Copy. Navigate to

the destination folder and click the Paste catalog toolbar button. Oracle

recommends saving customizations to the appropriate application folder under

Shared Folders/Custom. You can only save to folders to which you have Write

permissions.

4. Select the dashboard copy in the saved location and click Edit (or if the Edit link is

not visible, first click More, then Edit). Edit the dashboard copy and click Save.

For information about customizing dashboards in the catalog page, see the "Building

and Using Dashboards" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware User's Guide for Oracle

Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition).

7.3.3 Customizing the Oracle BI Repository (RPD)

You can customize and extend the Oracle BI repository (RPD file).

Task: Create BI View Objects for Custom Fact and Dimension Tables

Whenever you create a custom fact or dimension table, you must create a BI view

object for that table and incorporate it into the Oracle Fusion application before you

can import it into the Oracle BI repository. To do this, follow these steps:

1. From a JDeveloper application workspace in the developer role, define the custom

view object for the custom table. You must follow the view object guidelines for

Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence as described in "Designing and Securing

View Objects for Oracle Business Intelligence Applications" in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Developer's Guide. For information about creating view objects from an

application workspace, see the "Creating Custom Business Components" section in

the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

Note: Only BI Administrators can create new dashboards or edit an

Oracle predefined dashboard in place. The BI Administrator role is not

available in Oracle Cloud implementations.

Note: Customizing the Oracle BI repository is not available in Oracle

Cloud implementations.

Customizing Analytics

7-42 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Create an application module (AM), as described in the "Creating Custom

Business Components" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide

for Developers, and add the custom BI view object instance to the application

module.

3. Create an ADF Library JAR for the custom artifacts as described in the "Deploying

Oracle ADF Customizations and Extensions" section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers

4. From a customization workspace, import the ADF Library JAR for the custom

artifacts into the Oracle Fusion application and restart the host server for the

application so that the customizations are picked up. For more information, see the

"Customizing Oracle ADF Artifacts with JDeveloper" section in the Oracle Fusion

Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers.

5. Continuing in the customization role, nest the BI application module in the root

application module as described in the "Defining Nested Application Modules"

section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Fusion Developer's Guide for Oracle

Application Development Framework.

6. In the customization role, create a MAR file and load the MAR file using WLST

commands or the Oracle WebLogic Server Administration Console as described in

the "Deploying Oracle ADF Customizations and Extensions" section in the Oracle

Fusion Applications Extensibility Guide for Developers and restart the host server for

the application so that the customizations are picked up.

Task: Modifying Existing Fact or Dimension Tables

In some cases, you might want to modify existing fact or dimension tables in the

Oracle BI repository. For example, assume you want to deploy Oracle Fusion Project

Portfolio Management, but use the PeopleSoft Procurement application as a source. In

this situation, you would set up a custom table in Oracle Fusion Applications that

populates Commitments data from PeopleSoft. Then, you would need to change the

Commitments fact table in the Oracle BI repository (RPD file) to point to the new

custom table.

To accomplish the task described in this example:

1. Create a custom BI view object for the custom table and incorporate it into the

application as described in Task: Create BI View Objects for Custom Fact and

Dimension Tables.

2. Use the Import Metadata Wizard in the Administration Tool to import the new

view object into the Physical layer of the RPD under the appropriate database

object. Then, join the new view object to the existing dimension view objects. You

must connect as the FUSION_APPS_BI_APPID user in the Select Data Source

screen of the Import Metadata Wizard.

See the "Importing Metadata from ADF Data Sources" and "Working with Physical

Foreign Keys and Joins" sections in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata

Tip: When you create the custom table, you must grant the necessary

privileges (such as

SELECT

) to the FUSION_BI schema user in addition

to the FUSION_RUNTIME schema user. Otherwise, queries against

the new table will fail.

See also the "Customizing and Extending the Oracle Fusion

Applications Schemas" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications

Extensibility Guide for Developers for guidelines on creating custom

tables.

Customizing Analytics

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-43

Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (Oracle

Fusion Applications Edition) for more information.

3. Create a new logical table source under the existing Commitment logical fact table,

and map all metrics to the physical columns from the new view object. Then,

deactivate the existing Commitments logical table source.

See the "Managing Logical Table Sources (Mappings)" chapter in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition) for more information.

Using this approach, all Presentation layer metadata, analyses, and dashboards will

continue to work with data coming from the new physical columns.

In other cases, you might want to extend existing fact or dimension tables using

existing view objects that have new attributes. For example, you might want to

incorporate fields on standard Oracle Fusion Applications pages that are not currently

being used for analysis into the Oracle BI repository.

To extend existing fact or dimension tables for existing view objects that have new

attributes:

1. Use the Import Metadata Wizard in the Oracle BI Administration Tool to import

the view objects that correspond to the Oracle Fusion Applications fields into the

Physical layer of the RPD. You must connect as the FUSION_APPS_BI_APPID

user in the Select Data Source screen of the Import Metadata Wizard.

See the "Importing Metadata from ADF Data Sources" section in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition) for more information.

2. Drag and drop the new physical columns into the Business Model and Mapping

layer.

See the "Working with Logical Tables, Joins, and Columns" chapter in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition) for more information.

3. Drag and drop the new logical columns into the Presentation layer.

See the "Creating and Maintaining the Presentation Layer" chapter in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition) for more information.

Task: Adding New Fact or Dimension Tables

In some cases, you might want to add new fact or dimension tables to your Oracle BI

repository. Possible sources include custom tables in Oracle Fusion Applications,

additional tables in the data warehouse, or new physical data sources.

To add new fact or dimension tables to your RPD:

1. For Oracle Fusion Applications sources, create a custom BI view object for the

custom table and incorporate it into the application as described in Task: Create BI

View Objects for Custom Fact and Dimension Tables.

2. Use the Import Metadata Wizard in the Oracle BI Administration Tool to import

the new view object (for Oracle Fusion Applications) or physical table (for

warehouse or other physical sources) into the Physical layer of the RPD. For

non-warehouse physical sources, you must create a new connection pool as part of

the import process. You must connect as the FUSION_APPS_BI_APPID user in the

Select Data Source screen of the Import Metadata Wizard.

Customizing Analytics

7-44 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

For more information, see the following resources in the Oracle Fusion Middleware

Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition

(Oracle Fusion Applications Edition):

■ Oracle Fusion Applications sources: The "Importing Metadata from ADF

Data Sources" section

■ Other physical sources: The "Importing Metadata and Working with Data

Sources" chapter

3. Define new logical dimensions and measures to extend the semantic model, and

add physical and logical joins.

See the "Working with Logical Tables, Joins, and Columns" and "Working with

Physical Foreign Keys and Joins" sections in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata

Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (Oracle

Fusion Applications Edition) for more information.

4. Add corresponding Presentation layer metadata.

See the "Creating and Maintaining the Presentation Layer" chapter in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications Edition) for more information.

Task: Changing How Metadata Is Displayed in Answers Reports

In some cases, you might want to change how the names of facts and dimensions in

the Presentation layer appear in Answers reports, to comply with naming standards or

for other reasons. Table 7–6 summarizes considerations for different use cases.

Table 7–6 Use Cases for Changing How Metadata Is Displayed

Use Case For More Information

For warehouse sources, display names

are typically externalized into a database

table. To customize the names, you can

change them in the externalized tables

with no impact to the metadata itself.

Note that for situations where display

names are externalized into a database

table, changing the names of

Presentation layer objects in the RPD has

no impact on the names displayed in

Answers reports.

See the "Localizing Metadata Names in the

Repository" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware

System Administrator's Guide for Oracle Business

Intelligence Enterprise Edition for more information

about externalizing display names.

For Oracle Transactional Business

Intelligence sources, display names are

typically customized using UI hints

(labels and tooltips) within Oracle Fusion

Applications. Changing the UI hint name

does not impact metadata.

Note that for situations where display

names are customized using UI hints,

changing the names of Presentation layer

objects in the RPD has no impact on the

names displayed in Answers reports.

See the "Propagating Labels and Tooltips from ADF

Data Sources" section in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for

Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (Oracle

Fusion Applications Edition) for more information

about how UI hints are propagated in the RPD.

For situations where Presentation layer

names are not externalized or tied to UI

hints, display names must be modified

directly in the RPD. Existing reports will

continue to work because the old names

are stored as aliases.

See the "Renaming Presentation Columns to

User-Friendly Names" section in the Oracle Fusion

Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's Guide for

Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (Oracle

Fusion Applications Edition) for more information.

Customizing Analytics

Customizing Reports and Analytics 7-45

Task: Reorganizing Presentation Layer Metadata

Note the following about reorganizing Presentation layer metadata in the RPD:

■ Reordering presentation columns within a presentation table will not cause

existing reports to break. When subsequent patches are applied, the new custom

order is preserved when the patch does not include changes to the column order

for that table.

■ Moving presentation columns across different presentation tables can cause

existing reports to break and is not recommended. If you do move presentation

columns across tables, it is important to plan ahead and track the changes

carefully.

Task: Configuring Descriptive Flexfields and Key Flexfields for Oracle Business

Intelligence

You can use the Import Metadata Wizard in the Administration Tool to incrementally

import flexfield changes to the Physical layer of the Oracle BI repository (RPD).

In addition, you can use the Map to Logical Model screen of the Import Metadata

Wizard to automatically propagate the flexfield changes to the Business Model and

Mapping layer.

Finally, for Oracle BI Applications customers, you can configure and enable the BI

Extender functionality to propagate flexfield changes to the data warehouse.

See the following sections in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Metadata Repository Builder's

Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (Oracle Fusion Applications

Edition) for more information about these topics:

■ "Using Incremental Import to Propagate Flex Object Changes"

■ "Automatically Mapping Flex Object Changes to the Logical Model"

■ "Using the BI Extender to Propagate Flex Object Changes"

Task: Moving RPD Changes to Production Systems

Typically, data source connection pool settings are different in production repositories.

You can use the Oracle BI Server XML API to programmatically update these settings

in the repository when moving changes to production systems. See the "Moving from

Test to Production Environments" section in the Oracle Fusion Middleware XML Schema

Reference for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition for more information.

Tip: See Chapter 4, "Using Flexfields for Custom Attributes" for

information about changing flexfields. In particular, see "Task:

Incorporate Custom Attributes into Oracle Business Intelligence" for

information about enabling flexfields for BI.

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7-46 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Part III

Part III Appendixes

This part contains information about troubleshooting Oracle Fusion Applications

extensions and customizations. It contains the following appendix:

■ Appendix A, "Troubleshooting Customizations"

Troubleshooting Customizations A-1

ATroubleshooting Customizations

This appendix describes common problems that you might encounter when extending

and customizing Oracle Fusion Applications and explains how to solve them.

This appendix contains the following topics:

■ Section A.1, "Introduction to Troubleshooting Customizations"

■ Section A.2, "Getting Started with Troubleshooting and Logging Basics for

Customizations"

■ Section A.3, "Resolving Common Problems"

■ Section A.4, "Using My Oracle Support for Additional Troubleshooting

Information"

In addition to this appendix, review Oracle Fusion Middleware Error Messages Reference

for information about the error messages you may encounter.

A.1 Introduction to Troubleshooting Customizations

Use the following guidelines and process within this appendix to help focus and

minimize the time you spend resolving problems.

Guidelines

When using the information in this appendix, consider the following guidelines:

■ After performing any of the solution procedures in this appendix, immediately

retry the failed task that led you to this troubleshooting information. If the task

still fails when you retry it, perform a different solution procedure in this

appendix and then try the failed task again. Repeat this process until you resolve

the problem.

■ Make notes about the solution procedures you perform, symptoms you see, and

data you collect while troubleshooting. If you cannot resolve the problem using

the information in this appendix and you must log a service request, the notes will

expedite the process of solving the problem.

Note: Some features and functionality described in this chapter are

not available in Oracle Cloud implementations.

Getting Started with Troubleshooting and Logging Basics for Customizations

A-2 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Process

Follow the process outlined in Table A–1 when using the information in this appendix.

If the information in a particular section does not resolve your problem, proceed to the

next step in this process.

A.2 Getting Started with Troubleshooting and Logging Basics for

Customizations

This section provides the following general approaches for managing and diagnosing

customization issues:

■ Diagnosing Customization Issues Using the Manage Customizations Dialog

■ Exporting Customizations

■ Troubleshooting Customization Set Migration Issues

■ Deleting Customizations

■ Backing Up and Restoring Customizations

■ Choosing the Right Customization Layer

■ Determining the Full Path for a Customizations Document

■ Logging Customizations that Are Applied to a Page

■ Determining Whether a Page Has Customizations

■ Using Sandboxes for Page Customizations

■ Using Sandboxes for Flexfield Configurations

■ Troubleshooting Flexfield Deployment

■ Validating Flexfield Metadata

A.2.1 Diagnosing Customization Issues Using the Manage Customizations Dialog

The Manage Customizations dialog displays the customizations of the task flows in a

page. You can access the Manage Customizations dialog from Page Composer and

from the Administration menu in the global area of Oracle Fusion Applications. You

Table A–1 Process for Using the Information in this Appendix

Step Section to Use Purpose

1 Section A.2 Get started troubleshooting customizations. The procedures in this

section quickly address a wide variety of problems.

2 Section A.3 Perform problem-specific troubleshooting procedures for

customizations. This section describes:

■ Common problems

■ Solution procedures corresponding to each of the possible

problems

3 Section A.4 Use My Oracle Support to get additional troubleshooting information

about Oracle Fusion Applications or Oracle Business Intelligence. My

Oracle Support provides access to several useful troubleshooting

resources, including Knowledge Base articles and Community

Forums and Discussions.

4 Section A.4 Log a service request if the information in this appendix and My

Oracle Support does not resolve your problem. You can log a service

request using My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com

Getting Started with Troubleshooting and Logging Basics for Customizations

Troubleshooting Customizations A-3

can also use this dialog to delete page customizations, and to upload and download

page customization files. For more information, see Section 2.1.1.1, "Viewing and

Diagnosing Runtime Customizations."

A.2.2 Exporting Customizations

Customizations are stored in XML files. You can export the customizations for

diagnosing issues in a number of ways, as described in Section 2.3, "Exporting and

Moving Customizations."

A.2.3 Troubleshooting Customization Set Migration Issues

The logging functionality for customization set migration is different from the

standard logging functionality for Oracle Fusion Applications. The Customization Set

Migration dialog uses Oracle Fusion Middleware logging functionality, which lets you

adjust the amount of detail to log for customization set migration without requiring a

server restart. You can use Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Applications Control to

view the log messages. For more information about Oracle Fusion Middleware logging

functionality, see the "Managing Log Files and Diagnostic Data" chapter in the Oracle

Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.

To generate diagnostic information, select the desired level for the

oracle.adf.share.customizationset logger as described in the "Adjusting ApplSession

Log Levels for Troubleshooting" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications

Administrator's Guide and rerun.

When requesting assistance from My Oracle Support, provide the log files and the

customization set JAR file.

A.2.4 Deleting Customizations

You can use the Manage Customizations UI to delete customizations. In the page that

contains the customizations, select the page fragment or task flow and choose Manage

Customizations from the Administration menu. In the Name list, select the correct

layer, find the page, task flow, or fragment that contains the customizations, and click

Delete for the customization document that you want to delete.

If the customizations were made by someone other than the logged-in user, and you

have administrator privileges, you can display that person's customizations by

selecting Select User from the Layer Name dropdown list.

For more information about the Manage Customizations dialog, see Section 2.1.1.1,

"Viewing and Diagnosing Runtime Customizations."

In non-Cloud implementations, you can also use Oracle WebLogic Scripting Tool

(WLST) commands to delete customizations, as shown in Example A–1.

Note: The functionality described in this section is not available in

Oracle Cloud implementations.

Tip: If you are unable to display the page that contains the

customizations, choose Manage Customizations from the

Administration menu, and then, in the Manage Customizations

dialog, type the page, page fragment, or task flow in the Search text

field, and click the Search icon.

Getting Started with Troubleshooting and Logging Basics for Customizations

A-4 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Example A–1 WLST Command to Delete a Customization Document

deleteMetadata (application='application name',

server='server name',

docs=

'/oracle/apps/hcm/dashboard/hrSpecialist/publicUi/page/mdssys/Site/SITE/VisaWorkPe

rmitExpirationRegion.jsff.xml');

For more information about the

deleteMetadata

command, see the "Application

Metadata Management Commands" section of Oracle Fusion Middleware WebLogic

Scripting Tool Command Reference.

Alternatively, in non-Cloud implementations you can use Fusion Applications Control

to delete an application's metadata. For more information, see the "Managing the

Metadata Repository" chapter in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's Guide.

A.2.5 Backing Up and Restoring Customizations

Before you make customizations, you can create a backup of a known good state by

creating a label. If an issue occurs after creating the label, you can revert back to that

label by promoting it to the tip as described in the "Creating Metadata Labels" and

"Promoting Metadata Labels" sections of the Oracle Fusion Middleware Administrator's

Guide.

Another way to back up and restore customizations is by exporting and importing

customization files, as described in Section A.2.2, "Exporting Customizations."

A.2.6 Choosing the Right Customization Layer

When you make customizations, be careful to choose the correct layer:

■ Use the site layer for customizations that affect all end users.

■ Use the global layer for ADF Business Components customizations.

■ Use product-specific layers appropriately as documented.

A.2.7 Determining the Full Path for a Customizations Document

The following string shows the structure of the full document path for a customization

document:

/package/mdssys/cust/layer-name/layer-value/document-name.suffix.xml

For example, the full document path for the Visa Work Permit Expiration region is

/oracle/apps/hcm/dashboard/hrSpecialist/publicUI/page/mdssys/Site/SITE/Vis

aWorkPermitExpirationRegion.jsf.xml

You can obtain the full document path of a customized region on a page by completing

the following steps:

1. Go to the page that contains the customized region and choose Customize page_

name Pages from the Administration menu in the global area of Oracle Fusion

Applications to open Page Composer.

Note: The functionality described in this section is not available in

Oracle Cloud implementations.

Getting Started with Troubleshooting and Logging Basics for Customizations

Troubleshooting Customizations A-5

If you have more than one layer available for customization, the Layer Picker

dialog is displayed. In the Edit column, select the desired layer.

3. Choose Source from the View menu.

4. In the hierarchical list, drill down to and hover over the customized region to

display the full document path of the JSF fragment that contains the

customization, such as

/oracle/apps/hcm/dashboard/hrSpecialist/publicUI/page/mdssys/Site/SITE/

VisaWorkPermitExpirationRegion.jsf.xml

. Make a note of this path.

For descriptive flexfield configurations, you can use the Register Descriptive Flexfields

task to find the name of the flexfield's package.

A.2.8 Logging Customizations that Are Applied to a Page

To turn on runtime logging for customizations that are applied to a page, set the log

level for the

oracle.mds.custmerge

module to

FINEST

. You can set the application's

log level by choosing Troubleshooting from the Help menu. You might need to ask

your administrator to give you privilege to set the log level.

If you have administration privileges, you can also use Fusion Applications Control to

set the log level in non-Cloud implementations.

A.2.9 Determining Whether a Page Has Customizations

You can use logging, as described in Section A.2.8, "Logging Customizations that Are

Applied to a Page," or you can use the Manage Customizations dialog, as described in

Section A.2.1, "Diagnosing Customization Issues Using the Manage Customizations

Dialog," to determine whether customizations have been applied to a page.

If you suspect that a problem might have been caused by a customization on a page,

such as a user interface component disappearing from a page, you can export the

page's customizations as described in Section A.2.2, "Exporting Customizations" and

examine the document file.

A.2.10 Using Sandboxes for Page Customizations

Perform your page customizations in sandboxes and publish only after full testing.

You can use any number of sandboxes for testing, but you should use just one sandbox

for publishing to prevent merge conflicts, as described in Section 2.2.1, "Sandboxes and

Concurrent Usage." For information about analyzing merge conflicts, see Section A.3.2,

"Conflict Errors Reported When You Publish a Sandbox."

A.2.11 Using Sandboxes for Flexfield Configurations

Before deploying flexfield configurations to the full test environment, first deploy the

configurations to a sandbox so that you can test the configuration without affecting

other end users or risking the inclusion of the untested configuration in customization

set movement to a production environment. A flexfield that is successfully deployed

to a sandbox will have a status of Deployed to Sandbox. After deploying to a sandbox,

log out and log back in. The flexfield's sandbox will be active in your session for you to

test. After testing, deploy to the full test environment so that the changes can be seen

by other users. For more information, see Section 4.7, "Deploying Flexfield

Configurations."

Resolving Common Problems

A-6 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

A.2.12 Troubleshooting Flexfield Deployment

After you deploy a flexfield using the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task or the

Manage Extensible Flexfields task, look at the value in the Deployment Status column

to ensure that its status is Deployed (or Deployed to Sandbox if you are testing in a

sandbox). If not, review the message in the Deployment Error Message column. For

more information, see Section 4.7, "Deploying Flexfield Configurations."

If you successfully deployed a flexfield, but the custom attributes do not appear on the

user interface page, ensure that you signed out and signed back in after deploying the

flexfield. The changes do not appear until you sign back in.

In the case of an extensible flexfield, if a context does not appear in the user interface,

verify that the context is associated with one of the category's pages.

To examine a flexfield's configuration, export the deployed artifacts using the

exportMetadata

WLST command as described in Section A.2.2, "Exporting

Customizations."

A.2.13 Validating Flexfield Metadata

When you deploy a flexfield from the Manage Descriptive Flexfields task or the

Manage Extensible Flexfields task, the metadata is validated and, if errors are found,

the flexfield is not deployed. If you want to check whether a flexfield will pass

validation, choose Validate from the Actions menu.

A.3 Resolving Common Problems

The following are common problems and solutions:

■ User Interface is not Displaying the Active Sandbox Customizations

■ Conflict Errors Reported When You Publish a Sandbox

■ Dashboard Title Change Does Not Appear in Browser Title Bar, Navigator Link, or

Tab

■ Cannot Open Page After Personalizations

■ Missing Navigator Menu Item

■ Navigator Menu Item Does Not Work

■ Nothing Changes After Clicking Cancel in Set Preferences Page

A.3.1 User Interface is not Displaying the Active Sandbox Customizations

Problem

The customizations that were made in the active sandbox are not appearing in the user

interface.

Solution

Sign out and sign back in.

To ensure that the sandbox customization cache is cleared, log out and log back in

before you enter a sandbox and after you perform any of the following

sandbox-related actions:

■ Exit a sandbox

■ Publish a sandbox

Resolving Common Problems

Troubleshooting Customizations A-7

■ Delete a sandbox

A.3.2 Conflict Errors Reported When You Publish a Sandbox

Problem 1

You created customizations in a sandbox using the guidelines suggested in Section 2.2,

"Using the Sandbox Manager." When you published the sandbox, merge conflicts were

detected but not resolved.

Conflicts between sandboxes can arise when there is more than one sandbox that is

intended for publishing in use. If two sandboxes contain customization changes to the

same artifact and both are being published, the sandbox that is published last is given

an option (by the sandbox manager) to overwrite the changes for that artifact from the

sandbox that was published first. If the user working in the second sandbox decides to

force-publish the second sandbox, the changes published by the first sandbox are

overwritten. These types of conflicts can also occur with shared metadata files such as

resource bundles that store translatable strings.

For more information, see Section 2.2.1, "Sandboxes and Concurrent Usage."

Solution 1

Before forcing the publishing of the sandbox, complete the following steps to analyze

the conflicts:

1. Use the Manage Customizations dialog to download the customization document

from the mainline code.

2. Make the sandbox active and use the Manage Customizations dialog to download

the customization document from the sandbox.

3. Compare the two document files to analyze the conflicts.

Problem 2

When you publish a sandbox, you get a message that reports a conflict with

oracle/apps/menu/fnd/applcore/dataSecurity/dataSecurityService/mds/DSMO.xm

Solution 2

The security changes that you made in your sandbox conflict with other security

changes in the mainline code. Cancel the sandbox and recreate the changes in a new

sandbox.

Problem 3

When you publish a sandbox, you get a message that reports a conflict with

/oracle/apps/fnd/applcore/profiles/profileService/mds/ProfileMO.xml

Solution 3

Ignore the message, continue the process, and force the sandbox to be published.

Resolving Common Problems

A-8 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

A.3.3 Dashboard Title Change Does Not Appear in Browser Title Bar, Navigator Link, or

Tab

Problem

After using Page Composer to change a dashboard page title, the old name is still

displayed in the browser title bar, navigator link, or tab.

Solution

In addition to changing the page title property in the Task List Properties tab in Page

Composer, which affects the browser title, you must also make the following changes:

■ Task lists menu entry, page heading, and tab title: Change the label in the Task List

Task Properties tab as described in "Task: Customize a Page Title" in Section 3.2,

"Editing a Page in Page Composer."

■ Navigator menu entry: Use the Manage Menu Customizations task to change the

label for the menu item, as described in Chapter 5, "Customizing Menus."

A.3.4 Cannot Open Page After Personalizations

Problem

After making personalizations to a page, an end-user cannot open that page.

Solution

An administrator can use the Manage Customizations task to display and delete that

user's personalizations for the page as described in Section A.2.4, "Deleting

Customizations."

A.3.5 Missing Navigator Menu Item

Problem

An expected menu item is not appearing in the Navigator menu.

Solution

Verify whether the menu item has been hidden from view as described in Section 5.4,

"Hiding and Showing Nodes."

A.3.6 Navigator Menu Item Does Not Work

Problem 1

A custom menu item was added and the browser is not displaying the page indicated

by the URL.

Solution 1

Open the Manage Menu Customizations task and verify that the web application

name is the same as the context root for the application, and that the view ID is the

attribute for the page's

<view>

tag in the product's

public_

html/WEB-INF/adfc-config.xml

file. The URL should not contain the

.JSPX

suffix.

For more information, see Section 5.3, "Adding Menu Items."

Using My Oracle Support for Additional Troubleshooting Information

Troubleshooting Customizations A-9

Problem 2

When you choose an item in the Navigator menu, you get a "webApp value not

defined" error message.

Solution 2

Verify that the application is in the topology tables, as described in the "Viewing the

Routing Topology of an Oracle Fusion Applications Instance, Product Family, or

Product" section in the Oracle Fusion Applications Administrator's Guide.

A.3.7 Nothing Changes After Clicking Cancel in Set Preferences Page

Problem

You click the Cancel button in the Set Preferences page and nothing changes.

Solution

The cancel action resets the page to the same values that appeared when you accessed

the page. If you have not made any changes, the page appears the same. To navigate

away from the page, select Recent Items or Navigator from the global area of Oracle

Fusion Applications or use the text box to search for a different page.

A.4 Using My Oracle Support for Additional Troubleshooting Information

You can use My Oracle Support (formerly MetaLink) to help resolve Oracle Fusion

Middleware problems. My Oracle Support contains several useful troubleshooting

resources, such as:

■ Knowledge base articles

■ Community forums and discussions

■ Patches and upgrades

■ Certification information

You can access My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com

Note: You can also use My Oracle Support to log a service request.

Using My Oracle Support for Additional Troubleshooting Information

A-10 Extensibility Guide for Business Analysts

Glossary-1

Glossary

application role

A role specific to applications and stored in the policy store.

application stripe

A collection of Oracle Application Server Java Authentication and Authorization

Service (JAAS) Provider policies that are applicable to the application with which it is

associated. Out of the box, an application stripe maps to a Java EE application. Oracle

Platform Security Services also supports mapping multiple Java EE applications to one

application stripe.

artifact (SAR file)

A file included in the SAR file of the SOA composite application. Examples of

artifacts include binding components and service components, references to B2B

agreements, Oracle Web Services Manager (Oracle WSM) policies, human task flows,

and metadata such as WSDL and XSD files.

binding component

A component that establishes the connection between a SOA composite application

and the external world. There are two types of binding components:

■ services: provide the outside world with an entry point to the SOA composite

application

■ references: enable messages to be sent from the SOA composite application to the

external services in the outside world.

BPEL

Business Process Execution Language. An XML-based markup language for

composing a set of discrete web services into an end-to-end process flow.

BPEL process

A service component that integrates a series of business activities and services into an

end-to-end business process flow. See also BPEL.

bucketset

A container for defining a list of values or a range of values of a specified type. After

you create a bucketset, you can associate the bucketset with a fact property of

matching type. Business rules use the bucketsets that you define to specify constraints

on the values associated with fact properties in rules or in decision tables.

business event

Glossary-2

business event

A message sent as the result of an occurrence or situation, such as a new order or

completion of an order. You can raise business events when a situation of interest

occurs. When an event is published, other applications can subscribe to it. Definitions

for business events are stored in an Oracle Metadata Services (MDS) repository, and

then published in the Event Delivery Network (EDN).

business object

A resource in an enterprise database, such as an invoice or purchase order.

Business Process Execution Language (BPEL)

See BPEL.

business rule

A statement that describes business policies or describes key business decisions.

Child Components

The components contained within a parent component. For example, the task flows

contained within a Box layout component are the child components of the Box.

component

An individual piece of an application, for example, a task flow, portlet, page, or layout

element such as a box or image.

configuration plan

As you move projects from one environment to another (for example, from testing to

production), you typically must modify several environment-specific values, such as

JDBC connection strings, hostnames of various servers, and so on. Configuration plans

enable you to modify these values using a single text (XML) file. During process

deployment, the configuration plan searches the SOA project for values that must be

replaced to adapt the project to the next target environment.

custom object

A high-level artifact, which manages data that resides in a database table, that you

create using Oracle Fusion CRM Application Composer.

customize

To change a standard (existing) Oracle Fusion Applications artifact.

data dimension

A stripe of data accessed by a data role, such as the data controlled by a business unit.

data security

The control of access to data. Data security controls what action an end user can take

against which data.

data stripe

A dimensional subset of the data granted by a data security policy and associated with

a data role. The data dimension expresses stripes of data, such as territorial or

geographic information, that you can use to partition enterprise data.

flexfield

Glossary-3

decision table

An alternative business rule format that is more compact and intuitive when many

rules are needed to analyze many combinations of property values. You can use a

decision table to create a set of rules that covers all combinations or when no two

combinations conflict.

dependent value set

A list of values whose availability and meaning depend on the value that the end user

provides for a prior segment, where the prior segment is associated with an

independent value set.

descriptive flexfield

A type of flexfield used to give additional attributes to a data model. A descriptive

flexfield can support only a set amount of segments.

design time customizations and extensions

Customizations and extensions that include more complex changes, such as creating

Oracle SOA Suite composite applications or creating new batch jobs. Design time

customizations are most often done by Java developers using Oracle JDeveloper (a

comprehensive IDE), or may be done in other tools, such as Oracle SOA Composer.

The customizations are then uploaded or deployed to a running instance of Oracle

Fusion Applications.

domain value map

A set of value mappings that enables you to associate values from one application

with values from another. For example, one value can represent a city with a long

name (Boston), while another value can represent a city with a short name (BO). In

such cases, you can directly map the values by using domain value maps.

desktop page

A page in a user interface that is optimized for extended periods of use with monitors.

entitlement

A set of grants of access to functions and data. This is an Oracle Fusion Middleware

term for privilege.

extend

To create a completely new artifact, such as a custom business object or custom view

page.

extensible flexfield

A type of flexfield that is similar to a descriptive flexfield, but does not have a fixed

number of segments, allows grouping of segments into contexts, allows entities to

inherit segments from their parents, and supports one-to-many relationships between

an entity and its extended attribute rows.

flexfield

A set of placeholder fields (segments) that is associated with a business object. Oracle

Fusion Applications provides three types of flexfields: descriptive, extensible, and key.

Implementors use descriptive and extensible flexfields to add custom attributes to

business objects. Implementors use key flexfields to define keys, such as part

numbers.

flexfield sandbox

Glossary-4

flexfield sandbox

A sandbox to which you deploy flexfield configurations for testing purposes before

deploying to the mainline code.

format-only value set

A value set that conforms to formatting rules. This is used when you want to allow

end users to enter any value so long as that value conforms to formatting rules. For

example, if you specify a maximum length of 3 and numeric-only, then users can enter

456 but not 4567 or 45A. Use a format-only value set only when no other types of

validation are required.

function security

The mechanism by which user access to application functionality is controlled.

global layer

A customization layer in which customizations affect all end users of the application.

This layer's XML files are added for everyone, whenever the artifact is requested.

Customizations made to ADF Business Components in Oracle JDeveloper must be

made in the global layer.

human task

A Business Catalog component that enables you to define how end users interact with

your Oracle Business Process Management (Oracle BPM) processes. Human tasks are

implemented in an Oracle BPM process using the user task. Human tasks are also used

in SOA composite applications, where they are known as service components.

independent value set

A predefined list of values for a flexfield segment. These values can have an

associated description. The meaning of a value in this value set does not depend on

the value of any other segment.

key flexfield

A non-optional type of flexfield. This type of flexfield is used to define the parts of a

key structure such as the parts of a product key or the parts of a customer key.

metadata sandbox

The type of sandbox that supports making changes to the application's metadata

stored in an Oracle Metadata Services (MDS) repository.

multi-tenant environment

An environment where a single application instance serves multiple client

organizations by partitioning the data and configurations into separate virtual

application instances.

navigator menu

The global menu that is accessible from the Oracle Fusion Applications global area.

page fragment file

A particular type of file that represents only a fragment of a page, but that is necessary

to properly display the entirety of that page.

runtime customizations and extensions

Glossary-5

partner link

Characterizes the conversational relationship between two services in a BPEL process

by defining the roles played by each service in the conversation and specifying the

port type provided by each service to receive messages within the conversation.

permission

A security artifact in the policy store that maps a specific application resource with an

allowed action. For example, a permission may be granted to a role to confer access

rights to users.

personalization

The changes that every end user of the Oracle Fusion Applications product suite can

make to certain artifacts in the user interface (UI) at runtime. These changes remain for

that user each time that user logs in to the application. Personalization includes

changes based on user behavior (such as changing the width of a column in a table),

changes the user elects to save, such as search parameters, or composer-based

personalizations, where an end user can redesign aspects of a page.

privilege

A grant of access to functions and data. A privilege is a defined by a single, real world

action on a single business object.

production-to-test movement

The process of completely refreshing the test environment by copying configuration

and data from the production system.

resource bundle

A collection of locale-specific objects. When a program needs a locale-specific resource,

String

for example, it can load the resource from the resource bundle appropriate

for the current user's locale. In this way, the program code is largely independent of

the user's locale, isolating most, if not all, of the locale-specific information in resource

bundles.

role

An identity that determines permitted access to application functions and data.

rule dictionary

A business rules container for facts, functions, globals, bucketsets, links, decision

functions, and rulesets. A dictionary is an XML file that stores the application's

rulesets and the data model. Dictionaries can link to other dictionaries.

ruleset

A business rules container for rules and decision tables. A ruleset provides a

namespace, similar to a Java package, for rules and decision tables.

runtime customizations and extensions

Customizations and extensions that can be made to Oracle Fusion Applications at

runtime using browser-based components. These customizations and extensions are

available to all or to a subset of Oracle Fusion Applications end users, and range from

changing the look and feel of a page, to customizing standard business objects,

adding a new business object and associated pages and application functionality,

changing workflows, defining security for new objects, and customizing reports.

sandbox

Glossary-6

sandbox

A testing environment that separates sections of an application so that changes and

modifications are kept within the sandbox and do not affect the mainline code or other

sandboxes. Different users can create their own sandboxes to test their own sections.

After the changes made in the sandbox have been tested, the sandbox user has the

option to publish the changes to the mainline code.

SAR file

A SOA archive deployment unit. A SAR file is a special JAR file that requires a prefix

of sca_. (For example, sca_OrderBookingComposite_rev1.0.jar). The SAR file packages

binding components and service components, such as BPEL processes, business

rules, human tasks, and mediator routing services, into a SOA composite application.

security reference implementation

Provides role-based access control in Oracle Fusion Applications, and is composed of

predefined security policies that protect functions, data, and segregation of rules. The

reference implementation supports identity management, access provisioning, and

security enforcement across the tools, data transformations, access methods, and the

information lifecycle of an enterprise.

security sandbox

The type of sandbox that supports making data security changes.

segment

A subdivision of a flexfield. A segment captures a single atomic value, which is

represented in the application database as a single column. In the application UI,

segments can be presented as individual table columns, as separate fields, or as a

concatenated string of values.

service component

A component that implements the business logic or processing rules of a SOA

composite application. Service components include Oracle Business Process

Execution Language processes, business rules, human tasks, and mediator routing

services.

simplified page

A page in a user interface that is optimized to provide quick access to high-volume,

self-service tasks from any device.

site layer

A customization layer in which customizations affect end users at a particular location.

skin

A style sheet based on the CSS 3.0 syntax and that is specified in one place for an entire

application. Instead of providing a style sheet for each component, or inserting a style

sheet on each page, you can create one skin for the entire application.

SOA composite application

An assembly of service binding components, service components, and reference

binding components designed and deployed in a single application. Wiring between

the components enables message communication. The details for a composite are

stored in the composite.xml file.

wire

Glossary-7

subset value set

A set of values taken from an existing independent value set. For example, if you

have an independent value set for the days of the week, a weekend subset can be

composed of its entries for Saturday and Sunday.

table value set

A value set with the Table validation type. The valid values in the value set are

obtained from a specified column in a database table.

UI Shell template

The template that is use for the base UI for all Oracle Fusion Applications pages.

user layer

The customization layer in which all personalizations are made. The user layer is

automatically selected when you use the Personalization menu.

value set

A list of values used to specify the validation rules for a flexfield segment.

wire

Wires connect service binding components, service components, and reference

binding components into a complete SOA composite application.

wire

Glossary-8