PowerPoint Presentation

Working with Data Blocks and Frames

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Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to dothe following:

•Identify the components of the Property Palette

•Manage object properties

•Create and use Visual Attributes

•Control the behavior and appearance of datablocks

•Control frame properties

•Create blocks that do not directly correspond todatabase tables

•Delete data blocks and their components

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Managing Object Properties

•Reentrant Wizard

–Data Block Wizard

–Layout Wizard

•Layout Editor

•Property Palette

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Managing Object Properties

•There are three ways to modify properties of Forms Builderobjects:

–Reentrant Wizards: You can modify data block and layoutproperties through the reentrant wizards, as explained inthe previous lesson.

–Layout Editor: If the object appears on a canvas, you canmodify properties by using the graphical Layout Editor.

–Property Palette: You can set individual properties foreach Forms Builder object in its Property Palette.

•The wizards, the Layout Editor, and the Property Palette alldepict object properties. Changes made in one tools arereflected in the others

•You can use the Property Palette to control the behavior andappearance of any Forms Builder object with a greater degreeof granularity. In the Property Palette you can fine-tuneobjects that you have initially created in the wizards or theLayout Editor.

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Displaying the Property Palette

To display the Property Palette, useone of the following methods:

•Select Tools > Property Palette (oruse the shortcut key).

•Double-click the object icon in theObject Navigator.

•Double-click the object in theLayout Editor.

•Right-click the object icon inthe Object Navigator.

•Right-click the object in theLayout Editor.

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Property Palette: Features

Propertyname

Propertyvalue

Toolbar

Expand/collapse

Find field

Searchbackward

Searchforward

Help:Press [F1]to display adescription

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Property Controls

Text field

LOV window

Pop-up list

More button

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Property Controls

Changed

Default

Overridden

Inherited

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Visual Attributes

A Visual Attributeis a named set ofproperties defining:

•Font

•Color

•Pattern

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Visual Attributes

•Visual attributes are the font, color, and pattern propertiesthat you set for form and menu objects.

•A visual attribute is another object that you can create in theObject Navigator with properties such as font, color, andpattern combinations. Set the Visual Attribute Type propertyof the Visual Attribute to Title if you plan to apply it to objectssuch as frame titles, or to Prompt if it will be used forprompts. Otherwise, set Visual Attribute Type to Common,which is the default.

•Every interface object in a forms application has a propertycalled Visual Attribute Group, which determines how theindividual Visual Attribute settings of an object are derived.The Visual Attribute Group property can be set to Default,NULL, or the name of a Visual Attribute object. Blocks have aCurrent Record Visual Attribute Group property that definesthe Visual Attribute to be used for the current record in theblock.

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How to Use Visual Attributes

1.Create a Visual Attribute.

2.Set the Visual Attribute–related property of anobject to the desired Visual Attribute.

3.Run the form to see the effect.

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Using Visual Attributes

•To use a Visual Attribute, perform the following steps:

1.Create the Visual Attribute:

Select the Visual Attributes node in the ObjectNavigator

Click Create

Invoke the Property Palette for the Visual Attributeand set the desired font, color, and patternproperties

2.Set the object properties to use the new VisualAttribute:

For items and canvases, set the Visual AttributeGroup property

For blocks, set the Current Record Visual AttributeGroup property

3.Run the form to see the changes.

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Font, Pattern, and Color Pickers

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Controlling Data Block Behaviorand Appearance

Data Block Property Groups:

•General

•Navigation

•Records

•Database

•Advanced Database

•Scrollbar

•Visual Attributes

•Color

•International

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Navigation Properties

ORDERS

Order

Item

SameRecord

NextRecord

Previous Navigation Data Block

Next Navigation Data Block

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Controlling the Behavior of Data Blocks:Setting Navigation Properties

•Navigation Style

•Normally, when you navigate beyond the last item in a record,Forms returns you to the beginning of the same record. Withthis property you can change this behavior to navigate to thenext record or data block instead. The valid settings are:Same Record (default), Change Record, or Change DataBlock.

•Note: If you want the cursor to move to the next record whenyou reach the end of the current record, set the NavigationStyle property for the block to Change Record.

•Previous/Next Navigation Data Block

•Normally, when you perform an operation to move to theprevious or next data block at run time, Forms moves controlto the previous or next adjacent data block in sequence.These properties enable you to name the previous or nextdata block.

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Records Properties

Item

Number

of Records

Displayed

Current Record

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Controlling the Behavior of Data Blocks:Setting Record Properties

–Current Record Visual Attribute Group: The VisualAttribute that will be used to highlight the current recordin the data block.

–Query Array Size: Specifies the maximum number ofrecords that Forms should fetch from the database at onetime. A lower value in this property value means fasterresponse time; however, a larger value means fewer callsto the database for records, thereby resulting in reducedoverall processing time. When set to 0 this propertydefaults to the Number of Records Displayed.

–Number of Records Buffered: Is the minimum amount ofbuffer space retained for holding queried records in thedata block. The minimum setting allowed is the value ofthe Number of Records Displayed property plus 3. Formsbuffers any additional records to a temporary disk file. Ahigher value improves processing speed, but uses morememory.

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Records Properties

Vertical Record Orientation

Horizontal Record Orientation

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Database Properties

Use properties in the Databasegroup to control:

•Type of block—data orcontrol block

•Query, insert, update, anddelete operations on thedata block

•Data block’s data source

•Query search criteria anddefault sort order

•Maximum query time

•Maximum number ofrecords fetched

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Database Properties

Controlling the Behavior of Data Blocks: Setting DatabaseProperties

•In the Database group of the Property Palette, you can setnumerous properties to control interaction with the databaseserver. Some of these properties are:

–Database Data Block: Set to Yes if the data block is basedon a database object and No if it is a control block.

–Enforce Primary Key: Controls whether Forms checks foruniqueness before inserting or updating records in thebase table, in order to avoid committing duplicate rows inthe database. A value of Yes means that the form checksthat inserted or updated records are unique before anattempt is made to commit possible duplicate rows.

–Query/Insert/Update/Delete Allowed: Control whether theassociated operations can be performed on the datablock records.

–Where condition

–You can select any property and press [F1] to get context-sensitive help about it.

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Controlling Frame Properties

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Displaying Multiple Property Palettes

Two Palettes for Two Items:

Two Palettes for One Item:

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Copying Properties

Copy

Paste

Source objects

Destination objects

Properties

NameITEMS

Query All RecordsYes

Query AllowedYes

Insert AllowedYes

Update AllowedNo

Delete AllowedYes

Query All RecordsNo

Query AllowedYes

Insert AllowedYes

Update AllowedYes

Delete AllowedYes

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Copying Properties

•You can copy the properties and values from the PropertyPalette to a buffer, so that they can be applied (pasted) toother objects in your design session. To copy properties,perform the following steps:

1.In the Property Palette, display and set the properties thatare to be copied. This may be from one object or acombination of objects.

To copy all property settings from the Property Palette,select Edit > Select All.

To copy the selected property settings only, press andhold [Ctrl] while you click each property individually.

2.Click Copy Properties on the toolbar of the PropertyPalette.

3.From the Object Navigator select the object into whichthe properties are to be copied.

4.In the Property Palette, click Paste Properties. Theselected object receives values from all copied propertiesthat are relevant to their object types.

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Creating a Control Block

•Click the Data Blocks node

•Click the Create icon ORSelect Edit > Create.

•Select the “Build a new datablock manually” option in theNew Data Block dialog box.

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Creating Control Blocks

•A control block is a block that is not associated withany database, and its items do not relate to anycolumns within any database table.

•This means that Forms does not perform an automaticquery when the operator issues an Enter Query orExecute Query command, nor does it issue anautomatic Insert, Update, or Delete for the block whenthe operator saves changes to the database.

•How to Create a Control Block

1.Click the Data Blocks node in the Object Navigator.

2.Click the Create icon on the toolbar, or Select Edit >Create from the menu.

3.In the New Data Block dialog box, select the “Builda new data block manually” option.

4.Open the Property Palette of the new data block andchange its name.

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Deleting a Data Block

•Select a data block for deletion

•Click the Delete icon ORPress [Delete]

•Click Yes in the alert box.

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Deleting Data Blocks

•To delete a data block:

1.Select the data block to be deleted in the ObjectNavigator.

2.Click the Delete icon on the toolbar.orPress [Delete].

3.An alert is displayed for delete confirmation. ClickYes to delete the data block.

•Note: Deleting a data block also deletes itssubordinate objects (items and triggers). If thedata block was a master or detail block in arelation, the relation is also deleted. However, theframe border and its title will remain. Delete theframe manually in the Layout Editor.