Enhanced LOV item

Oracle APEX item plugin v2.2.1.

The plugin is Oracle APEX item plugin providing new functionalities within text fields. Basing on APEX list of values the plugin allows to pick values from autofilter and modal popup. The settings of autofilter, popup dialog and others can be configured with 14 the plugin attributes.

“One dictionary and many select possibilities”

Features at a Glance

New features in v2.2.1

  • Support for APEX v5.x
  • Clearing collection requests
  • New bindable change event
  • New column sequences supporting sorting
  • Possibility to use in tabular form with dedicated dynamic action plugin (Read more here)

Compatibility with Oracle APEX

The plugin is compatible with Oracle APEX starting from version 4.1.x. The plugin is compatible with Oracle APEX 5 since version 2.2.1.

Browser support

The plugin was tested under three major browsers: Internet Explorer 8+, Firefox, Chrome.

Auto complete

The plugin provides autocomplete functionality that allows bussiness users to pick value from the list while typing in textfield. The autocomplete can be configured by APEX developer:

  • whether the autocomeplete is available,
  • which column should be used to filter data while typing,
  • type of like clause (left, right both sides) should be used to filter data,
  • delay time (debounce mechanism) to between key up event to start filtering data.

List of values in popup dialog

Popup dialog is easy way to choose multiple values from the list or to check currently selected values. In popup dialog, bussiness user can easly filter data and decide what values should be returned.

APEX developer can configure popup dialog:

  • whether popup dialog is available,
  • is multiple selection available,
  • what character is used to seperate multiple values,
  • the maximum computed length (including separator) of returned values.

Cascading lov

The plugin integrates with Oracle APEX cascading LOV functionalities. The sequence of columns does not matter - APEX developer decides what column should represent return value and which column should be presented to bussiness user.

Globalization

The plugin provides 14 substitution strings that can be easly translated with APEX built-in translation tool or within the plugin PL/SQL code.
Check translate-apex.com for more information about localization issues in APEX.

Large data dictionaries

The plugin was tested with large data dictionaries. It can handle up to 30 000 rows dictionaries with quite fast access to it.

Tabular form

The plugin can be applied to the tabular forms using additional dynamic action plugin.

Versions

 

v2.2.1.

CSS for APEX 4 and APEX 5 are separated
On page load current value in the plugin is displayed till the plugin retrievs display value
event Support for APEX DA events: before and after refresh
Using character '%' in popup search textfields results in fitlering data with LIKE style
First value in autofilter is always highlighted and can be selected with enter key
Requests :REQUEST PAELI_CLEAR and PAELI_CLEAR_<<apex_item_name>> are supported and clears the plugin collection
PL/SQL fixes and support for &nbsp;
Autofilter supports multiple values (values must be separated with defined character)
New event „value changed” can be use to determine type of change in the plugin
Possibility to use the plugin in tabular forms (dynamic action plugin needed)
APEX 5 is supported
New translation string (PAELI_POPUP_SUFIX) is supported to translate „ - POPUP” in popup dialog
Reduced size of the plugin
Attribute „Enable paste event” is independent
Attribute „Max length for multiple values” is independent

v2.2.0.

Rendering results in popup mode is faster – new render / search model
Scrolling autocomplete results with key down event
Dynamic actions are supported (readonly, disable, hide, show, refresh)
Translations are supported
New “Dynamic Action” event is available when plugin finishes retrieving “display value” for “return value” stored in APEX session
Debounce mechanism for autocomplete and searching in popup dialog
Support for showing “selected values only” in popup dialog
Retrieving data from database for autocomplete and popup dialog is faster
Substitution string OWNER in SQL query is supported
Binding variables in SQL query are supported
Semicolon at the end of SQL query is supported
APEX cascading LOV functionality is supported
Customizable “search cases” in autocomplete (left-hand, right-hand, bilateral LIKE clause with optional support for special characters % and _)
Reload dictionary data stored in collection when page loads.
Maximum characters limit for multiple values is customizable.
 

Roadmap

  • Support for handling APEX requests from URL – e.g. clear/reload plugin data collection
  • New custom “dynamic action” events – e.g. after refreshing dictionary
  • APEX 5 compatibility
  • Support for setting independent “order by” clause for autocomplete and popup dialog results
  • New attribute “Maximum number of rows to display” for autocomplete mode
  • New appearance for autocomplete results
  • Switch from JS library Mustache to Hulk
  • Easily accessible clearing plugin value

License

This plugin is currently available for use in all personal or commercial projects under MIT license. License has been included with this software.

Legal Disclaimer

The program(s) and/or file(s) are supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author takes no responsibility, assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of these program(s) and/or file(s).

Live demo

The demo of the plugin is interactive which means its configuration can be easly changed (on this page). After submiting new configuration the plugin "APEX Enhanced LOV item" is generated and ready to use.

Attributes below represents attributes of the plugin available in Oracle APEX Application Builder. In section "Predefined examples and dictionary source" are defined presets of configuration.

Configure the plugin with attributes (or pick example configuration) and press button "Generate plugin instance".

Set your configuration

Autocomplete / textfield

Popup

Common

Download

Please click on the button below

Installation guide

After downloading and unpacking the zip archive please proceed with folowing steps:

  1. Select application you want to install plugin
  2. Go to Shared Components > Plugin-ins
  3. Click import button
  4. Choose installation file and proceed with installation steps.

After installation you are able to create APEX item with the plugin.

About the author


Bartosz Ostrowski

@bostrowsk1
bostrowski@pretius.com

Oracle Application Express, PL/SQL and Frontend developer. IT consultant experienced in developing database and web applications using Oracle Application Express.
Oracle APEX enthusiast, plugin developer and active community member.

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