The Oracle Forms Builder environment looks as below,
This screen is called the Object Navigator and displays all of the form elements given below,
- Data blocks,
- Menu items,
- User defined code libraries,
- Built in procedures and functions and
- Database objects (tables, views).
The display is in the form of a collapsible tree. In general, clicking on a '+' will expand the current item to show its details. Clicking on a '–' will collapse the current list details.
The menu bar across the top provides access to almost all of the features of Oracle Forms.
The File menu has options to
- Create,
- Open,
- Save and
- Print forms.
This menu also includes an option to connect to the database and the Administration option that is used to compile forms and menu code. The last option on the File menu is the Exit option that will exit Oracle Forms Builder.
The Edit menu has options to
- Cut,
- Copy and
- Paste objects, to invoke an editor and to undo an operation.
The View menu toggles the object navigator display between visual elements and ownership elements.
The Layout menu has items that control objects on a form much in the way a drawing package does. Objects can be
- Resized,
- Moved,
- Painted and otherwise
- Manipulated using items on this menu.
The Program menu has items that control form
- Compilation,
- Generation and
- Execution (Run).
Triggers, Procedures and other PL/SQL code can also be created from this menu. The Smart Triggers menu option displays the most commonly used triggers according to the type of object currently selected in the object navigator.
The Debug menu has options for debugging forms as they are running. It includes menu items to establish break points and to step over the execution of code one line at a time.
The Tools menu has options to switch between several different screens including the
- Layout editor,
- Menu editor and
- Object Navigator.
There are also several wizards that can be launched from this menu including the
- Data Block wizard,
- Layout wizard, and
- LOV (List of Values) wizard.
The Windows menu displays menu items for each of the windows you have open. By default, only one item – the Object Navigator – is displayed.
Finally, the Help menu can be used to display help topics.
By default, a button bar is provided on the left hand side of the Object Navigator window. Each button duplicates some functionality on the menus.
For example, clicking on the top icon (an opened folder) is the same as pulling down the File menu and choosing the Open option. To see what a button might do if pressed, place the mouse cursor over the button and a short message will appear describing the button’s function.
As with earlier versions of Developer, in Developer 9.0, a form, report or graphic is generally referred to as a Module. When first starting the Forms Builder, a default module is created called: MODULE1
The content of the Object Navigator is broken down into 6 major sections:
- Forms – Contains form objects and all of their sub-objects such as data blocks, triggers, alerts, canvases, program units (procedures and functions), parameters and windows. More than one form can be open at a time.
- Menus – Contains menu objects and all of their sub-objects such as menu items, parameters and program units. More than one menu can be open at a time.
- PL/SQL Libraries – These are libraries of PL/SQL code (stored either in the database or in .plb files). Libraries can be shared among different forms and among different developers.
- Object Libraries – These are libraries containing a collection of objects (anything that can appear on a form).
- Built-in Packages – Lists all of the packages (PL/SQL procedures) available by default to all forms, reports, etc.
- Database Objects – Lists all of the database objects (Tables, Views, PL/SQL Libraries, and Stored Program Units) in the user’s Oracle database schema.
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