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There are four tabs used to edit the look and feel of the columns in your module: Usage, Column Details, Column Display, and Column Text.

The Usage tab enables you to view and modify the usage of all columns on the screen. (See Figure 33.8.)

Figure 33.8.
The Usage tab.


NOTE
If you have limited the usage at the table level and set it at the column level, the generator will reset the column level to the table level upon generation.

The Column Details tab enables you to edit the usage, sort order, summary information, default, and hints. (See Figure 33.9.)

Figure 33.9.
The Column Details
tab for a screen.


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The Column Details tab is similar to the Usage tab, with the exception that you can view only one column at a time. The Order By box refers to how the information is ordered in the selection from the database. For example, if you place a 1 in the box for the name column, the data will order by the name column. In the lower drop-down list you can select the direction in which to order ” ascending or descending.

Adding a Summary Field

If you want to sum or count a column in a display-only box on the screen, select an additional column from the Column Details tab. (You will have to select any field again, which will result in two instances of the same field.) Next, define its usage by selecting the display and select boxes. Give the column an alias that closely resembles what the column is being used for. Select the function and type for the column. Under the Column Display tab, assign properties for the new object.

The Column Display tab describes how columns will be displayed on the screen. The box contains the prompt that will appear on the screen. You can set the justification of the column (such as right or left). Select Display Datatype. (For char, you can further specify check box, radio group , pop list, and so on.) You can add a display format mask. You can enter the implementation item ”whether the item is OLE or VBX ”in the Implementation Item box. The width and height requirements can be entered for the column.

TIP
If you make the width of the column the same as the width of the field, the generated box for the field will not be wide enough to fit a value that is as wide as the maximum width. Add characters to the width of a field to prevent scrolling within the field.

The Item Group box in the Column Display tab contains the name of the item group. If you have a group of columns that should logically be grouped together in the form and you are creating a single-row form, create an item group and attach all items of the group to that item group. You can set preferences for the display of the item group. I strongly encourage you to use item groups where possible.

TIP
If you have a foreign key ID in the item group, include the ID and the display item in the lookup table in the item group. Do not break the sequence of columns in an item group or the group will be generated in two or more pieces with the same item group name.

The Column Text tab contains any notes that you might want to have on the column, derivation expressions, or formulas for extracting the columns, PL/SQL needed to derive the column, user

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text you might want to supply online, and any conditions for highlighting (a negative number, a yes answer to a question, any date beyond 90 days from the current date, and so on).
NOTE
By using the keyword COMPLEX: followed by PL/SQL code under the PL/SQL option of the Column Text tab, you can include functionality for buttons created using the same methodology described under "Adding a Summary Field."
Editing Columns on a Report

The Column Details tab enables you to edit order by, argument, and summary information for a report. Alias creates table aliases for the SELECT statement generated by the Module Data Diagrammer. Order by refers to how the information is ordered in the selection from the database. The columns are ordered in numerical sequence. The lower drop-down list indicates the direction in which the order is displayed. Argument allows the user to set up an argument for the Parameter form of the report. The operator drop-down list is a list of argument types: =, !=, >, and so on. You enter the comparison value in the Name box. In the Summaries box, list the type of summary calculation you want on a column in the same methodology indicated in the section titled "Adding a Summary Field." Type is a pop-up list of where you want the break to be, such as an item, the page, or the report. Source is a pop-up list of the columns available for summaries.

The Column Display tab allows you to edit the display and grouping characteristics. The display box contains the prompt that will appear on the header of each column. The justification drop-down list allows you to set the justification of a column. Display Datatype allows you to set the display datatype for how the column will appear on the report. Select whether the column should be cut off or wrapped on a page by selecting the option from the Wrap drop-down list. Set the width and height requirements for the column. The Item Group box contains the name of the items group. This works the same way as the form in that it allows you to group items that are logically related together. They appear together in the way indicated in the preference.

The Column Text tab contains any notes you might want to include on the column, derivation expressions, or formulas for extracting the columns, and any conditions for highlighting.

Saving the Diagram

As you have been working in the diagram, your changes have been updating the repository; therefore, it is not necessary for you to save the diagram. If you don't save the diagram and you open it again by opening the Module Data Diagrammer while having the cursor on the module you want to open, all the changes are still there because they were stored in the repository. Some developers like to use the diagrams as training material for new team members and business analysts. Diagrams provide a visual representation for how the information is interconnected to produce the screen for report. If you choose to save the diagram, select File Save

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Oracle Unleashed
Oracle Development Unleashed (3rd Edition)
ISBN: 0672315750
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 1997
Pages: 391

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