7

Working with Text Items

Copyright © 2006, Oracle. All rights reserved.

 Objectives

After completing this lesson, you should be able to do

the following:
• Describe text items
• Create a text item
• Modify the appearance of a text item
• Control the data in a text item
• Alter the navigational behavior of a text item
• Enhance the relationship between the text item
and the database
• Add functionality to a text item
• Display helpful messages

7-2 Copyright © 2006, Oracle. All rights reserved.

 Text Item: Overview

What is a text item?

• Default item type
• Interface object for:
– Querying
– Inserting
– Updating
– Deleting
• Behavior defined in
the Property Palette

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 Creating a Text Item
Canvas selection Block selection

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 Modifying the Appearance of a Text Item:
General and Physical Properties

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 Modifying the Appearance of a Text Item:
Records Properties

Orders

Items

Distance
between
records

Number
of items
displayed

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 Modifying the Appearance of a Text Item:
Font and Color Properties

Use properties in the Font

and Color groups to
specify an item’s:
• Visual attributes
• Font name, size,
weight, style,
color, and pattern

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 Modifying the Appearance of a Text Item:
Prompts

• A prompt specifies
the text label that is
associated with an
item.
• Several properties are
available to arrange
and manage prompts.
• Use prompt
properties to change
the appearance of an
item prompt.

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 Associating Text with an Item Prompt

2 4

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 Controlling the Data of a Text Item

Use properties in Data group

to control the data:
• Type
• Length
• Format
• Value

US7ASCII
VARCHAR2(5 CHAR) 1 2 3 4 5
JA16SJIS
VARCHAR2(5 CHAR) 1 2 3 4 5
UTF8
VARCHAR2(5 CHAR) 1 2 3
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 Controlling the Data of a Text Item:
Format

Format masks:
• Standard SQL formats
– Dates FXDD-MON-YY
– Numbers L099G990D99
• Nonstandard formats: Use
double quotation marks for
embedded characters,
“(“099”)”099“-”0999.
Note: Allow for format mask’s
embedded characters when
defining Width property.

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 Controlling the Data of a Text Item:
Values

Initial values:
• Are used for every new record
• Can be overwritten
• Must be compatible with item’s data type
• Use:
– Raw value
– System variable
– Global variable
– Form parameter
– Form item
– Sequence

7-13 Copyright © 2006, Oracle. All rights reserved.

 Controlling the Data of a Text Item:
Copy Value from Item
ORDERS
<data_block_name>.<item_name>
Dept
ID 31 Region ID 1

Name Sales

Employee

ID Last Name First Name Title Dept ID

3 Nagayama Midori VP, Sales 31
11 Magee Colin Sales Rep 31

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 Controlling the Data of a Text Item:
Synchronize with Item

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 Altering Navigational Behavior of
Text Items

• Established by order of
entries in the Object
Navigator
• Alter by:
– Keyboard Navigable
– Previous Navigation Item
– Next Navigation Item

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 Enhancing the Relationship Between Text
Item and Database

Use properties in the Database

group to control:
• Item’s data source—base
table item or control item
• Query, insert, and update
operations on an item
• Maximum query length
• Query case

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 Adding Functionality to a Text Item

Case
Restriction=
Enabled=No Upper
Order
Payment
Order ID 100 Type CREDIT

Item
Justification = Right
ID Product ID Price Quantity Item Total
1 10011 135 500 67,500.00
2 10013 380 400 152,000.00

Justification = Start

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 Adding Functionality to a Text Item:
Conceal Data Property

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 Adding Functionality to a Text Item:
Keyboard Navigable and Enabled

• Set both properties to

allow or disallow
navigation and interaction
with text item.
• When Enabled is set to
Yes, Keyboard Navigable
can be set to Yes or No.
• When Enabled is set to No,
the item is always
nonnavigable.

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 Adding Functionality to a Text Item:
Multi-line Text Items

Total text = Maximum length

Text
Text
Height
Text
Text

Width

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 Displaying Helpful Messages:
Help Properties

Tooltip

Hint

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 Summary

In this lesson, you should have learned that:

• Text items are interface objects that usually
correspond to database columns
• You can create a text item with:
– The Text Item tool in the Layout Editor
– The Create icon in the Object Navigator
– The Data Block Wizard

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 Summary

In this lesson, you should have learned that:

• You can modify a text item in its Property Palette:
– General, Records, and Physical properties control
the appearance of the text item.
– Data properties control the length, data type,
format, and other aspects of the data.
– Navigation properties control how to navigate to
and from a text item.
– Database properties specify the relationship
between the text item and its corresponding
database column.
– Functional properties control how the text item
functions.
– Help properties specify the display of helpful
messages.

7-25 Copyright © 2006, Oracle. All rights reserved.

 Practice 7: Overview

This practice covers the following topics:

• Deleting text items
• Modifying text item properties
• Creating text items

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