Databases Reference
In-Depth Information
User Interface Defaults
After creating the workspace and users, it's the moment to use the User Interface
Defaults possibilities in APEX—do not start building applications immediately.
This option isn't used very much in practice, but it's a very useful utility. With
User Interface Defaults, we populate initial values and control the appearance and
behavior of items when using them in reports and items (in forms). User Interface
Defaults can accelerate your development and result in less repetition of tasks
in APEX. You can compare its possibilities with table and column properties in
Oracle Designer.
User Interface Defaults don't work retroactively; they only apply to newly built
objects. User Interface Defaults can provide consistency across multiple pages for
all the applications in our workspace. It's also possible to export and import the
User Interface Defaults, to use them in another workspace.
APEX provides two types of dictionaries for this purpose:
• Attribute Dictionary
• Table Dictionary
Attribute Dictionary
The Attribute Dictionary consists of a simple set of attributes. The deinitions are
matched only by column name, and a particular deinition can be shared amongst
several columns by creating synonyms.
Table Dictionary
In the Table Dictionary, the defaults are deined by table and column combinations.
The Table Dictionary is more speciic than the Attribute Dictionary, because more
properties can be deined in this one. When processed during the use of a creation
wizard for a region or item, an entry in the Table Dictionary takes priority over an
entry in the Attribute Dictionary. On table level, we can deine some region defaults.
It's also possible to migrate the Table Dictionary to the more generic Attribute
Dictionary. When migrating, you lose some default properties that don't exist in the
Attribute Dictionary (for instance the list of values information).
Another functionality of the Table Dictionary is the use of Column Groups. Related
columns within a table can be grouped together. In forms, these groups appear as
separate regions and in the single row view of interactive reports.
