1	Creating Oracle Data Block Forms Chapter 6 Lesson A Dr. Sadhwani
2	Forms Application with a graphical user interface that looks like a paper form (Uses Form Builder Utility) Used to insert, update, delete and view database (Tables) data. User must connect to Database to execute these functions
3	Primary Form Uses Viewing/retrieving records Inserting/updating/deleting records Counting the number of records a query will retrieve
4	Data Block Forms Form associated with a specific Oracle database table Form wizards are used to create Form Blocks (GUI Interface) With Wizards, System automatically creates: Text fields associated with table fields Programs for inserting, modifying, deleting, and viewing data records
5	Data Block Form
6	Form Modes Normal You can view records and sequentially step through records (Like in Access) Enter Query You can enter search parameters in form fields and then retrieve the associated records To place the form in Enter Query mode, click the Enter Query button
7	Inserting New Records (Icons) In Normal mode, click the Insert Record button to insert a new blank record Type the data values in the form fields Click the Save button to save the values in the database
8	Retrieving Records Click the Enter Query button to place the form in Enter Query mode Type a search condition Click the Execute Query button to retrieve selected records If you click , do not enter a search condition, and then click , all table records will be retrieved
9	Form Search Types Exact search: only retrieves records that exactly match the entered search condition Restricted search: retrieves records that fall within a range of values
10	Restricted Search Operators _: wildcard replacing a single character %: wildcard replacing multiple characters >, <: greater than, less than >=, <=: greater than or equal to, less than or equal to <> or !=: not equal to
11	Scrolling Through Retrieved Records To view the next record, click the Next Record button To view the previous record, click the Previous Record button
12	Updating and Deleting Records Retrieve the record to be updated or deleted To update, change the data value and click the Save button To delete, click the Remove Record button
13	Data Block Form File Types .fmb Form design file, used by form programmer in Form Builder .fmx Form executable file, run by form users
14	Form Components Form module: form application Form window Title bar on top Horizontal and vertical scrollbars Can be resized, maximized, minimized
15	Form Components Canvas Surface that displays form items Block Object that contains form items Form items Command buttons, radio (option) buttons, text items Items in the same block can appear on different canvases
16	Form Components
17	Creating a Data Block Form Steps: 1. Create the data block using the Data Block Wizard 2. Create the form layout using the Layout Wizard
18	Data Block Wizard Welcome page (Wizard guides the steps) Type page Select table or view on which to base the block source Table page Select table associated with form Finish page Option to use the Layout Wizard to automate creating the layout
19	Layout Wizard Canvas page Select the canvas where the block is displayed Data Block page Select the fields that are displayed on the layout Items page Specify the column labels, heights and widths Style page Specify to create a form- or tabular-style layout
20	Layout Styles Form style One record appears on the form at a time Tabular style Multiple records display on the form in a table
21	Form Builder Wizards Are Re-entrant You can select a block or layout, then re-enter it and modify its properties using the Wizard A Wizard is in re-entrant mode when its pages appear as tabs
22	Form Builder Object Navigator Window Shows form objects Allows developer to access form objects Object Navigator has 2 views Ownership view: shows form objects as a flat list Visual view: hierarchical relationships between objects
23	Guidelines For Configuring Form Windows Change the window title Allow user to minimize the window Do not allow the user to maximize the window Do not allow the user to resize the window Include horizontal and vertical scrollbars if items appear beyond window boundaries Make the form window fill the Forms Runtime window
24	Configuring Form Windows