1. 3 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Working in the Forms Developer Environment

2. 3-2 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Objectives After completing this lesson, you should be able to do the following: Describe Forms Builder components Navigate the Forms Builder interface Identify the main objects in a form module Customize the Forms Builder session Use the online help facilities Identify the main Forms executables Describe the Forms module types Set environment variables for design and run time Run a form from within Forms Builder

3. 3-3 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Forms Builder Key Features With Forms Builder you can: Provide an interface for users to insert, update, delete, and query data Present data as text, image, and custom controls Control forms across several windows and database transactions Use integrated menus Send data to Oracle Reports

4. 3-4 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Copy and paste properties Fast search feature Forms Builder Components: Property Palette

5. 3-5 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Toolbar Tool palette Forms Builder Components: Layout Editor

6. 3-6 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. With the PL/SQL Editor you can: Use PL/SQL in Forms. Enter and compile code. Forms Builder Components: PL/SQL Editor

7. 3-7 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Getting Started in the Forms Builder Interface Start Forms Builder Connect to the database: –Menu: Select File > Connect Or –Toolbar: Click Connect

8. 3-8 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Blocks, Items, and Canvases Canvas 1 Canvas 2 Items Block ABlock B

9. 3-9 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Forms Builder Components –Items: These are interface objects that present data values to the user or enable the user to interact with the form, depending upon the item type. There are several different types of items. Items are logically grouped into blocks and visibly arranged on canvases. –Blocks: A block is the intermediate building unit for forms. Each form consists of one or more blocks. A block is the logical owner of items, and each item in a form belongs to a block. Items in one block are logically related; for example, they may correspond to columns in the same database table or may need to be part of the same navigation cycle. Blocks therefore provide a mechanism for grouping related items into a functional unit for storing, displaying, and manipulating records.

10. 3-10 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Forms Builder Components (continued) Canvases: A canvas is a “surface” where visual objects, such as graphics and items, are arranged. A form module can have several canvases (like the pages of a paper form). A canvas can display items from one or more blocks. To see a canvas and its items, you must display the canvas in a window. By default, all canvases in a form appear in the same window (which could mean you see only one canvas at a time), but you can assign separate windows for each canvas so that several canvases can be viewed at once.

11. 3-11 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Navigation in a Form Module When you run a form, you principally navigate by way of items and blocks, not by canvases. Each item has a sequenced position within its block, and each block has a sequenced position in the form. When a user requests to move to the next item in a block, focus will be set on the next item in sequence, wherever that may be. If the next item is on a different canvas, Oracle Forms Developer displays that canvas automatically. Similarly, users can request to move to the next block (or previous block). If the first item in this block resides on another canvas, then that canvas is displayed automatically.

12. 3-12 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Data Blocks ABC ABC Master Data Block D XYZ Detail Data Block XYZ Table 4 3 6 2 1 5

13. 3-13 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Types of Blocks Data Blocks When you build database applications with Forms Builder, many of the blocks will be data blocks. A data block is associated with a specific database table (or view), a stored procedure, a FROM clause query, or transactional triggers. Control Blocks A control block is not associated with a database, and its items do not relate to any columns within any database table. Its items are called control items. For example, you can create many buttons in your module to initiate certain actions and to logically group these buttons in a control block.

14. 3-14 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Master Versus Detail Blocks To support the relationship between data blocks and their underlying base tables, you can define one data block as the detail (child) of a master (parent) data block. This links primary key and foreign key values across data blocks, and synchronizes the data that these data blocks display. Forms Builder automatically generates the objects and code needed to support master-detail relationships. As the designer, you need only request it. Note: If your application requires it, you can also create independent data blocks in which there is no relationship between the two data blocks.

15. 3-15 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Forms and Data Blocks Block 1 Block 4 Block 1 Block 2 Block 1 Single Form Module Multiple Form Modules Form AForm B Open Form Open Form Form C Block 2 Block 3

16. 3-16 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Form Module Hierarchy Module Database Table Column Canvas Window Trigger Program Units Program units Trigger Blocks Frame Item

17. 3-17 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Multi-Block and Multi-Form Applications A form module is made up of one or more blocks. A data block is based on a database object, such as a table or a view. A data block can contain both data items and control items. A frame can be created to arrange data block items. Each item in a block must appear on a canvas, and each canvas must appear in a window. A form module can have one or more canvases and windows. Using triggers, you can add functionality to your form. Triggers can be written at different levels in a form module. User-named program units enable you to write additional PL/SQL code through procedures, functions, and packages.

18. 3-18 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Customizing Your Forms Builder Session

19. 3-19 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. What Are Oracle Forms Developer Preferences? You can use preferences to customize some aspects of your Forms Builder session. To modify preferences, perform the following steps: 1.Select Edit > Preferences. 2.Specify any options that you require. 3.Click OK to save changes, or Cancel to cancel changes.

20. 3-20 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Testing a Form: The Run Form Button With the Run Form menu command or button, you can: –Run a form from Forms Builder –Test the form in a three-tier environment The Run Form command takes its settings from Preferences: –Edit > Preferences –Runtime tab –Set Web Browser Location if desired –Set Application Server URL to point to Forms Servlet: http://127.0.0.1:8889/forms90/f90servlet

21. 3-21 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. To Exit a session The correct way to exit a Forms session is to exit the form (File > Exit, or click Exit), then close the browser. If you close the browser without first exiting the form, your session may hang. You will notice this because you may not be able to recompile the same form, but will receive the error: FRM-30087: Unable to create form file. If this happens, you will need to open Task Manager and end the ifweb90 process manually.

22. 3-22 Copyright © 2004, Oracle. All rights reserved. Practice 3 Overview This practice covers the following topics: Becoming familiar with the Object Navigator Setting Forms Builder preferences Using the Layout Editor to modify the appearance of a form Setting run-time preferences to use OC4J to test applications Running a form application from within Forms Builder