Collaborate ’10 Wrap Up

In This Issue
Collaborate ‟10 Wrap Up
Karen Brownfield Receives OAUG Lifetime
Achievement Award
Technical Foundation for Oracle Benefits
How Do I Add DFF to an HTML Form?
Solution Beacon Upcoming Events
By Alyssa Johnson
1
COLLABORATE 10, held April 18-22 at the Mandalay
2 Bay Convention Center West in Las Vegas delivered
3 on its promise of education, networking, and global
13 community. With this year‟s attendance up more than
19 15 percent from last year, more members were
present and took advantage of all that Collaborate
had to offer.

The contents of this newsletter were contributed by
Solution Beacon consultants who have accumulated
extensive experience during the numerous installations,
implementations, and upgrades of the various releases of
the Oracle E-Business Suite of Applications that we have
performed for our clients. We welcome your participation in
this newsletter. To contribute on any E-Business Suite of
Applications topic, please send your contact information,
topic, and a short abstract to
SBNewsletter@solutionbeacon.com.
We also appreciate feedback from our readers if you have
successfully or unsuccessfully implemented one of the
suggestions from any of the newsletters. Comments or
suggestions are always appreciated. Please send them via
email to SBNewsletter@solutionbeacon.com.
Prior editions of the Solution Beacon Newsletters are
available for review at
:http://www.solutionbeacon.com/tool_news.htm
Special thanks to contributors Alyssa Johnson, Saray
Rodriquez, Lisa Laine, Randy Giefer, and Susan Behn.
Editors: Alysha Behn and Mary Lou Weiss.
For the embedded links to work properly, this newsletter is
best viewed using Adobe Reader Version 7 or higher.
Solution Beacon, LLC
14419 Greenwood Ave N #332
Seattle, WA 98133
206-366-6606
The conference began on Sunday, April 18, and
Solution Beacon kicking off with one its hot topics,
“Release 12 E-Business Tax Engine”. Next on our
agenda was, Randy Giefer, who led the SysAdmin
SIG meeting. Other Sunday highlights included the
well-attended OAUG & IT Convergence Boot Camp
Primer Workshops, and the Oracle Fusion
Architecture: “Soup to Nuts” full-day symposium. The
first day ended with OAUG‟s 20th Anniversary
Celebration where our own Karen Brownfield
received a Lifetime OAUG Service Award for 20 years
of outstanding service and devotion to the OAUG.
Congratulations Karen!
Monday was a full day for Solution Beacon with 5
presentations ranging from “XML Publisher and FSG
for Beginners” to “You vs The Bad Guys - The Top 10
List For Securing R12”, as well as Alyssa Johnson
participating in the R12 Upgrade vs. Re-
Implementation panel. The opening keynote was
delivered by Oracle‟s President Charles Phillips (via
satellite) and Oracle Executive Vice President,
Product Development, Thomas Kurian on topics
including improved functionality for existing
applications, and vertically integrated technology from
storage to applications. Monday evening, attendees
got their first look at over 250 exhibitors in the
Exhibitor Showcase. The Solution Beacon
Relaxation Booth was hit with attendees as it helped
relieve some of the stress from a full-week of classes,
walking, and fun.
Lisa Laine presented “How to Implement R11 and
R12 Goodies: Documents of Record and Checklists”.

www .solutionbeacon.com Continued on Next Page

Page 1
Collaborate ’10, Continued from Page 1

This provided one of many aha moments attendees experienced throughout the conference. Many attendees at
this session were not aware that documents of record functionality was available in R11.5.10 and was so easy to
configure. Traffic continued to flow past the Solution Beacon booth with many attendees taking advantage of our
FREE scorecard offering. Through a series of questions, attendees were able to take home with them an
analysis of next steps for their organizations in areas such as Competitive Optimization, Functional and Process
Issues, Customization Reduction, and System Optimization.

Wednesday, we wrapped up our educational offerings with 4 presentations and 1 panel with titles ranging from
“Planning for Release 12” to “Release 12 – A Technical Introduction”. We enjoyed the opportunity to meet many
of you face-to-face and to discuss your E-Business Suite challenges and successes. For those that were unable
to join us at Collaborate 10, all of our presentations are available on our website at
http://solutionbeacon.com/ind_pres.htm. Our free scorecard offering is also still available via WebEx by
contacting sales@solutionbeacon.com.

Karen Brownfield Receives OAUG Lifetime Achievement Award

Congratulations to Karen Brownfield on her recent Lifetime

OAUG Service Award which was presented at Collaborate 2010.
This award recognizes people who have provided 20 or more
years of outstanding service and devotion to the membership of
the Oracle Applications Users Group.

OAUG commented, “Since 1990, Karen Brownfield has served

as a volunteer in one capacity or another without interruption.
She is a past president and board member and was so
committed to the OAUG, she got married at the Hawaii
conference as opposed to missing the event for her wedding!”

Karen Brownfield has been with Solution Beacon since 2001 and
has been recognized a number of times by Oracle and OAUG
(including receiving the Oracle ACE award in 2009). Karen has
made significant contributions at Solution Beacon in a multitude
of projects. In fact, at the time of this award, Karen was currently
in England on a project and unable to get to Collaborate because
of airline delays with the volcano. No worries though! Solution
Beacon was cheering you from across the world!

GREAT JOB Karen!! We’re very proud of you!!

Page 2
Technical Foundation for Oracle Benefits
By Lisa Laine

Making the transition from Oracle screens to Oracle tables can challenging. Beginners often spend hours with
trial and error trying to relate the „front end‟ to the „back end.‟ This should help make that transition easier and
highlights the items that I‟ve spent figuring out. In addition, although I‟m focusing on Benefits, the same concepts
can be applied to Compensation Workbench plans and performance plans.

Benefits can be broken down into 5 areas:

 Date tracking
 Understanding Benefits Terminology
 Compensation objects
 Enrollment information
 Life events

Date Tracking
It isn‟t long until Oracle HR users understand that date tracking is a key component of the eBusiness suite HR
module. This concept carries through to the underlying tables. Analysts and developers unfamiliar with the HR
module are initially usually thrown off by the table structure of date tracked tables. Date tracked tables have
three columns that serve as the primary key. Date tracked tables usually end in an „_F‟ and consist of a primary
key, an effective start date and an effective end date. Queries need to use all three columns in order to ensure a
unique records are retrieved. When creating queries in HR module, this is pretty manageable, but the large
number of tables in the benefits application makes pulling queries pretty confusing.

Let‟s look at an example of a date-tracked table. An employee has a person id, but then gets‟ married. We don‟t
change the person id in HR, we annotate the date the change occurred and a new record is created. The
„single‟ record is end dated the day before they got married and a new, „married‟ record is created using the date
they did get married. So a person‟s date tracked record resembles the following:

Person_id Effective_start_date Effective_end_date Last Name Status

1234 1-Jun-05 7-Jul-05 Smith Single
1234 8-Jul-05 31-Dec-4712 Smith-Cox Married

Understanding Benefits Terminology

The benefits tables are located in the BEN schema and have a lot of abbreviations that are not intuitive to the
first time viewer. Understanding the abbreviations helps identify the purpose of the tables. Below is a list of
terms that I found helpful to understand when I first started working with the benefits module.

Abbreviation Meaning Example

Opt Option EE Only, EE + 1
PL Plan Kaiser HMO
PL_type Plan Type Medical, Dental
PTIP Plan Type in Program Kaiser HMO in Healthy Benefits Program
OIPL Option in Plan EE Only in Kaiser HMO
OIPLIP Option in plan in program EE Only in Kaiser HMO in Healthy Benefits Program

Continued on next Page

Page 3
Technical Foundation for Oracle Benefits, continued

Abbreviation Meaning Example

PRTT Participant A person in a program
LER Life Event Reason Married, New Hire
PER_IN_LER Person in Life Event Reason Jane Doe, Married Life event
ENRT Enrollment Kaiser Medical EE Only
ELIG, ELIGY Eligibility Full-time EE
PTNL_LER Potential Life event reason Married, New Hire
PRTT_ENRT_RSLT Participant Enrollment Result Jane elects Kaiser Medical EE Only
RT Rate Kaiser EE Only EE - $100/mo
CVRD Covered (usually dependent) Insurance covers Spouse, etc..
DPNT Dependent Spouse, child, etc
BNF Beneficiary
Compensation Objects
In my experience in working with Oracle Benefits, I‟ve found that most of my time looking at tables is for one of
three purposes/reports: participant enrollment and costs, process related reports, and setup documentation.
We‟ve created queries to create & maintain our setup documentation (BR100) in Discoverer or Excel. If an
organization has over 50 plans, it is easier to run queries rather than trying to maintain a single document.
To simplify Oracle‟s data model I like to think of the organization in functional terms. I usually prepare a Visio
diagram of the entire benefits program with eligibility profiles attached.

Underlying each one of these compensation objects are tables. Continued on Next Page
Page 4
Technical Foundation for Oracle Benefits, continued

Eligibility To
Medical
Full-time 32 hrs, Non-union Page 3
-benefits eligibility override Benefits Program
group
To
Page 2

Ben_eligy_prfl_f
Plan
Type
Medical
Ben_pl_type_f
Ben_pgm_f

Plan / BC
Eligibility BC HMO Pacific Care PacifiCare PacifiCare
PPO
HMO CO HMO CA HMO AZ Waived
(may roll in elsewhere)

Eligibility
Eligibility

Plan Eligibility
Eligibility
Ben_pl_f,
HMO CA
Options/
Premium/
HMO CO
ben_plip_f
CompanyPortion/
AssociateContribution
Associate Only Associate Only Associate Only Associate Only Associate Only

Associate + Associate + Associate + Associate + Associate +

Ben_opt_f
One
One One One One
Ben_oipl_f
Family Family
(Ben_acty_base_rt_f)
Family Family Family

Enrollment

Start: First of the month on or after event

following completion of waiting period
exception Birth of child
Coverage End: End of the month

Part of Initial
Start: First of the month on or after LE Recommendation Exploring options Out of Scope
wave
following completion of waiting period
exception Birth of child
End: End of the month
Copyright © 2007 by People ROA, Inc

Although I‟ve listed the base tables here, I prefer using the views because they already handle the complexity
associated with the joining various comp objects.

The eligibility profile screen has a lot of tabs on it and each tab and alternate region (drop down) has a table
associated with it. This makes it very difficult to build queries. Here are a few tables. So I think of is almost a
parent child relationship. The eligibility profile table is ben_eligy_prfl_f. Some of the tables that hold the details
are:
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELCTBL_CHC_CTFN
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_AGE_CVG_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_AGE_PRTE_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_ANTHR_PL_PRTE_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_ASNT_SET_PRTE_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_BENFTS_GRP_PRTE_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_BRGNG_UNIT_PRTE_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_CBR_QUALD_BNF_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_CMBN_AGE_LOS_PRTE_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_COMP_LVL_PRTE_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_COMPTNCY_PRTE_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_CVRD_DPNT_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_DPNT
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_DPNT_CVRD_OTHR_OIPL_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_DPNT_CVRD_OTHR_PGM_F

Page 5
 TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIG_DPNT_CVRD_OTHR_PL_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIGY_PRFL_F
TABLE - BEN.BEN_ELIGY_PRFL_RL_F

Some of the tables hold the specific details such as ben_elig_enrld_anthr_pgm_f. While other serve as an
intersection between the eligibility factors and the derived factors, such as age, length of service and
compensation. An example of this is BEN.BEN_ELIG_LOS_PRTE_F, which connected the length of service
derived factor to the table.

Enrollment information
The enrollment results are the most important tables to become familiar with. This is where the coverage and
rates are stored for a person. The entity relationship diagram is located below.

Continued on Next Page

Page 6
Technical Foundation for Oracle Benefits, continued

The tables critical to tracking to look out for are

1. BEN_PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_F – Stores enrollment results for a person -

Oracle definition - BEN_PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_F identifies the plans or option in plans in which a participant is
enrolled, either through explicit election or due to system default/automatic enrollments. It always identifies a plan
and the life event reason, which, in this context may be an open enrollment that caused the enrollment. Also,
where applicable, the elected program and option are identified.

2. BEN_PER_IN_LER – Person in life event reason (Voided)

3. BEN_PTNL_LER_FOR_PER – Potential life events for a person
4. BEN_PRTT_RT_VAL – Rate person enrolled in compensation object ** not date tracked and can
result in overlapping rates **
1. Rate Name stored in BEN_ACTY_BASE_RT_F

The participant enrollment result table BEN_PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_F has 3 important pieces of information. First,
it connects the person to the life event, the comp object, and the compensation level. Second it contains the
coverage start, coverage end date and the benefit amount. Third, critical enrollment information can be found in
the table as well. Some information that is critical to note for reports are the suspended enrollment flag, no
longer eligible, override information (key for open enrollment), and the enrollment method.

Regarding the rates table, a couple of things to look out for are:

When rates and eligibility are defined, the user has the option of determining whether these are at the plan level,
plan in program, option in plan, or option in plan in program. These are all different columns in the table. So a
query for rates your query has to pull all of these factors if you want to replace the id numbers with more user
friendly names.

Here is one a basic troubleshooting query for enrollment information.

SELECT bnft_amt , perf.person_id, perf.*

FROM BEN_PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_F perf
,PER_ALL_ASSIGNMENTS_F paaf
WHERE perf.business_group_id = 101
and paaf.ASSIGNMENT_ID = 31809
and paaf.PERSON_ID = perf.PERSON_ID
and sysdate between paaf.EFFECTIVE_START_DATE
and paaf.EFFECTIVE_END_DATE
and pl_typ_id = 2
and sysdate between perf.effective_start_date
and perf.EFFECTIVE_END_DATE
and sysdate between perf.ENRT_CVG_STRT_DT
and perf.ENRT_CVG_THRU_DT
ORDER BY perf.person_id, prtt_enrt_rslt_id

This query gets to a more complex view of the data, but provides much more detail. Some interesting things to
note are the use of CASE and the hr_bis.bis_decode lookup function.

SELECT prv.rt_strt_dt prtt_rate_start_date, prv.rt_end_dt, prv.rt_ovridn_thru_dt,

Continued on Next Page

Page 7
Technical Foundation for Oracle Benefits, continued

prv.elctns_made_dt, prv.rt_val mo_rate, prv.ann_rt_val, prv.cmcd_rt_val ppd_rate,

prv.pp_in_yr_used_num,
--prv.ordr_num,

--prv.pk_id_table_name,
--hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('BEN_PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_STAT', prv.prtt_rt_val_stat_cd)
prtt_rt_val_stat_cd,
--hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('BEN_RT_TYP', prv.rt_typ_cd) rt_typ_cd,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('BEN_TX_TYP', prv.tx_typ_cd) tx_typ_cd,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('BEN_ACTY_TYP', prv.acty_typ_cd) acty_typ_cd,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('BEN_MLT', prv.mlt_cd) mlt_cd,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('BEN_ACTY_REF_PERD', prv.acty_ref_perd_cd) acty_ref_perd_cd,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('BEN_ENRT_INFO_RT_FREQ', prv.cmcd_ref_perd_cd)
cmcd_ref_perd_cd,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('YES_NO', prv.dsply_on_enrt_flag) dsply_on_enrt_flag,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('YES_NO', prv.rt_ovridn_flag) rt_ovridn_flag_m,
/* id columns */
prv.prtt_rt_val_id, prv.business_group_id, prv.prtt_enrt_rslt_id,
prv.element_entry_value_id, prv.cvg_amt_calc_mthd_id,
prv.actl_prem_id, prv.comp_lvl_fctr_id, prv.acty_base_rt_id,
prv.per_in_ler_id, prv.ended_per_in_ler_id,
pen.PTIP_ID, pen.PER_IN_LER_ID, PL_TYP_ID,
ecd.DPNT_PERSON_ID, RPLCS_SSPNDD_RSLT_ID,
/* who columns */
prv.last_update_date prtt_rt_update_date, prv.last_updated_by prtt_rt_update_by,
pen.LAST_UPDATE_DATE enrt_update_date,
pen.LAST_UPDATED_BY enrt_rt_update_by,
/* datetrack columns */
pen.EFFECTIVE_START_DATE Enrollment_start_date,
pen.EFFECTIVE_END_DATE enrollment_end_date,
paf.effective_start_date assignment_start_date,
paf.effective_end_date assignment_end_date,
ppf.effective_start_date person_start_date,
ppf.effective_end_date person_end_date,
ppf2.effective_start_date contact_start_date,
ppf2.effective_end_date contact_end_date,
abr.effective_start_date rate_start_date, abr.effective_end_date rate_end_date,
ecd.effective_start_date elig_dpnd_start_date,
ecd.effective_end_date elig_dpnd_end_date,
ENRT_CVG_STRT_DT,
ENRT_CVG_THRU_DT, pen.PROGRAM_UPDATE_DATE,
BNFT_AMT,
ORGNL_ENRT_DT, ENRT_OVRID_THRU_DT, BNFT_ORDR_NUM,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('BEN_BNFT_TYP', pen.bnft_typ_cd)
BNFT_TYP_CD_M,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('BEN_OVRID_RSN', pen.enrt_ovrid_rsn_cd)
ENRT_OVRID_RSN_CD_M,

hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('BEN_PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_STAT', Continued on Next Page

Page 8
Technical Foundation for Oracle Benefits, continued

pen.prtt_enrt_rslt_stat_cd
) PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_STAT_CD_M,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('BEN_COMP_LVL', pen.comp_lvl_cd)
COMP_LVL_CD_M,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('YES_NO', pen.sspndd_flag) SSPNDD_FLAG_M,

hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('YES_NO', pen.prtt_is_cvrd_flag)

PRTT_IS_CVRD_FLAG_M,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('YES_NO', pen.enrt_ovridn_flag )
ENRT_OVRIDN_FLAG_M,
hr_bis.bis_decode_lookup ('YES_NO', pen.no_lngr_elig_flag) no_lngr_elig_flag_M,
pen.PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_ID,
pen.PERSON_ID, ppf.last_name, ppf.first_name, ppf.employee_number,
CASE
WHEN (pen.pl_id IS NOT NULL)
THEN ben_bis_utils.get_pl_name
(pen.pl_id,
0,
pen.effective_start_date
)
ELSE NULL
END PL_Name,
CASE “The participant enrollment result
WHEN (pen.pgm_id IS NOT NULL)
THEN ben_bis_utils.get_pgm_name
table BEN_PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_F
(pen.pgm_id, has 3 important pieces of
0,
pen.effective_start_date information. First, it connects the
)
ELSE 'Not In Program'
person to the life event, the comp
END program_name, object, and the compensation level.
CASE
WHEN (pen.oipl_id IS NOT NULL)
Second it contains the coverage
THEN ben_bis_utils.get_oipl_name start, coverage end date and the
(pen.oipl_id,
0, benefit amount. Third, critical
)
pen.effective_start_date enrollment information can be found
ELSE NULL in the table as well.”
END Option_Name,
CASE
WHEN (pen.ptip_id IS NOT NULL)
THEN ben_bis_utils.get_ptip_name
(pen.ptip_id,
0,
pen.effective_start_date
)

ELSE NULL
END Plan_type_Name, Continued on Next Page

Page 9
 abr.name,
paf.organization_Id, hou.name org_name,
ppf2.FULL_NAME contact_name
FROM ben_prtt_enrt_rslt_f pen
,per_all_people_f ppf

,per_all_assignments_f paf “It’s not critical to report on life

,hr_all_organization_units hou
,ben_prtt_rt_val prv
event tables but they are
,ben_acty_base_rt_f abr sometimes helpful.”
,ben_elig_cvrd_dpnt_x ecd
,per_all_people_f ppf2
Where
ppf.person_id = pen.person_id
AND ppf.person_id = paf.person_id
AND paf.organization_id = hou.organization_id
AND SYSDATE between paf.effective_start_date and paf.effective_end_date
AND prv.PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_ID = pen.PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_ID
AND SYSDATE between ppf.effective_start_date and ppf.effective_end_date
--AND ppf.PERSON_ID = 5093
--and pen.ptip_id =2
AND abr.ACTY_BASE_RT_ID = prv.ACTY_BASE_RT_ID
AND ppf2.PERSON_ID (+) = ecd.DPNT_PERSON_ID
AND ecd.prtt_enrt_rslt_id (+) = pen.prtt_enrt_rslt_id
--and pen.prtt_enrt_rslt_id = 8506
AND nvl(PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_STAT_CD, 'x') <> 'VOIDD'
AND pen.ler_id=17

Life Events
When working with benefits or compensation workbench life events information is being populated. With
Standard Benefits and compensation workbench, I‟ve not found it critical to report on the life event tables, but
they sometimes are helpful. Below is the ERD for the life events model. (Continued on Page 11)

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OAUG continued it‟s tradition for the “OAUG Best of Show” award for
COLLABORATE 10 exhibit booths and for the second year in a row, Solution
Beacon was selected as Best Traffic Stopper for booths less than 200 SF. At the
booth we received numerous compliments about the quality of our presentations.
Our cohesive marketing message focused on updated service offerings that
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relaxation room, which was quite popular and added to booth traffic!

Page 10
 Technical Foundation for Oracle Benefits, continued

The core tables in the life event model are:

1. BEN_PER_IN_LER – (Oracle definition) - identifies all life events for a person, including identifying
which life event, if any, is currently in progress for the specified person. This table differs from
BEN_PTNL_LER_FOR_PER in that it identifies persons whose detected life events have been scrubbed
by the manage life event processes and classified as legitimate or, through user input, have been
created.
2. BEN_LER_F – Life event reason setup

3. BEN_LER_RQRS_ENRT_CTFN_F – Identifies those certifications required if a person experiences a life

event.

4. BEN_LER_ENRT_CRTFN_F - identifies the types of certifications that may be required in order to enroll
in a plan as a result of a specified life event.

Continued on Next Page

Page 11
Technical Foundation for Oracle Benefits, continued

The life event triggers can be based off of any of the following tables:

Court Orders (BEN_CRT_ORDR)

Covered Dependents (BEN_ELIG_CVRD_DEP_F)
Eligible Dependents (BEN_ELIG_DEP)
Benefit Balances (BEN_PER_BENFT_BAL_F)
Enrollment Results (BEN_PRTT_ENRT_RSLT_F)
Participant Rate (Enrolled) (BEN_PRTT_RT_VAL)
Participant Leave of Absences (PER_ABSENCE_ATTENDENCES
Participant Address (PER_ADDRESSES)
Participant Assignment (PER_ALL_ASSIGNMENTS_F)
Participant General Information (PER_ALL_PEOPLE_F)
PER_ASSIGNMENT_BUDGET_VALUES_F
Participant Contact Information (PER_CONTACT_RELATIONSHIPS)
Participant Period of Service (PER_PERIODS_OF_SERVICE)
Participant Person Type (PER_PERSON_TYPE_USAGES_F)

Conclusion
There is a lot to consider when querying benefits information. Some key tips to remember are just about every
enrollment table is date tracked or dated, so your reports need to narrow this information down. Watch out for
the enrollment results that have been overridden or voided. There are views that take out the complexity of
joining tables, but those come with a price.

Bytes of information to help make Oracle easier

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on this patch. Click here for the full article

Page 12
How Do I Add DFF to an HTML Form?

By Saray Rodriguez
A recent project taught us that the simplest of solutions are often hard to find. We came
across the need to add DFF (Descriptive Flex Field) to an internally used HTML OAF form.
We spoke with Oracle, DB Managers and numerous levels of technical staff with no results.
Solution Beacon consultant Kymberli Johnson provided a tip that the resolution probably
involved something in the back end. Ultimately, it was Solution Beacon Consultant Jeff
Holt who saved the day.

Jeff advised to turn off Personalizations (Profile Option: Disable Self-Service Personal), bounced the DB, and
turn ON Personalizations. The DFF was there as if it was a no-brainer! Most likely, in the end, bouncing the DB
was not required but the profile option was the final step in making the darn thing actually show up!

The following shows a step by step process.

1. Sign on as ARC-Payables
Navigator: Suppliers > Entry

“…the simplest of
solutions are
often the hardest
to find!”

2. Select Open (Button)

Continued on Next Page

Page 13
Adding DFF to HTML Form, continued:

3. Query Suppliers > Select Go (Button)

4. Select the Update icon for the specific Supplier

5. To Personalize select the link Personalize “Key Purchasing Setups”

Continued on Next Page

Page 14
6. Select Create Item (to correspond to where DFF should be located – in this case, select first one (Default
Single Column: Key Purchasing Setups)

7. Choose Item Style of Flex (to add Key or Descriptive Flexfields)

Continued on Next Page

Page 15
8. Enter required fields

a. ID – Field Name (The name you want the field to be called – Site DFF in this case)
b. Appl Short Name – PO
c. Name – PO_VENDOR_SITES [THIS IS THE REGISTERED NAME FOR THE DFF]
Navigator: Setup > Flexfield > Descriptive > Register

d. View Instance – SitesVO

Navigator: Suppliers > Entry > Go > Update Supplier > About This Page [Link is at the bottom of
the page] > Open Business Component References Details (expand) > View Objects

Continued on Next Page

Page 16
 NOTE: Only copy and paste: SitesVO (see red arrows above)
DO NOT paste the complete value (i.e. oracle.apps.pos.supplier.server.SitesVO) – this complete value
will cause the page/form to not publish and the form will no longer be available at all. If this occurs in
error, do the following:
 Login as System Administrator
 Navigator: Profile > System
 Enter the profile: Disable%Per%

9. Select Find (Button)

Continued on Next Page

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 

 Change at the Site Level

1. No – Personalization is turned on
2. Yes – Personalization is turned off
 Once turned off, Navigate back to the page/form – the original page/form should now
be published
 Make the change(s) required
 Turn personalization back on

10. Select Apply (Button)

11. Select Return to Application [Link]

DFF Fields should now be visible on form.

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Solution Beacon Upcoming Events

SCOUG - Summer Training Day OHUG – Oracle HCM Users Group

When: Monday June 7, 2010 8:30-3:45pm Booth #106 & #108
Where: Houston, TX – Marriott Houston North at Greenspoint When: June 13 – 16, 2010
Alyssa Johnson will be presenting “Release 12 Payments”, at this event, Where: The Mirage Hotel, Las Vegas Nevada
so don‟t miss it. Solution Beacon will also have a booth/table – please Lisa Laine will be co-presenting with Tetra Tech, Inc. - OAB Lessons
stop by. Learned – How to Improve an Existing Set Up and Increase the
th
Efficiency. This presentation will take place on Monday June 14 from
2:15 – 3:15pm. Don‟t miss it!

NCOAUG Oracle Open World – Booth #3108

When: June 14, 2010 When: September 19 – 23, 2010
Where: Worcester, MA Where: Moscone Center – West Exhibition Hall Level 1
http://www.neoaug.org/s2010/NEOAUG/NEOAUG_Home.html More to come….. Check the Solution Beacon
(www.solutionbeacon.com) website for more information

Webinar – Oracle E-Business Learning

When: Dates and Time vary- please check the Solution Beacon Website for the most up to date details
Where: Via Oracle E- Business Learning http://archive.oaug.org/communications/publications/ednet/2010/2010-06.htm

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Presentation Title Presenter Time/Location
Release 12 Payments - The Centralization of Payment Processing 11:00-12:00pm PST
This presentation will highlight the Oracle Release module. This new module supports both funds Webinar Link
disbursement and funds capture. The discussion will focus not only on the benefits of Alyssa https://meetingexpectations.webex.com/m
centralization, but will illustrate the new payment factory model and the out-of-the-box support for Johnson eetingexpectations/k2/j.php?ED=1342510
funds capture. Several new user dashboards that will facilitate more efficient processing will be 07&UID=927461632&RT=MiMxMQ%3D%
shown and discussed, as will the new setup form. 3D&FM=1

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Webinar – Oracle E-Business Learning, continued
Thursday, June 10, 2010
BI Publisher Quick Start Guide 11:00-12:00pm PST
Reports provided with E-Business are not often in the ideal format. The data is available but the Webinar Link
users need different sorting or need to add logos, grafts and/or other data not included in the
https://meetingexpectations.webex.com/
seeded report. Modifying the underlying Oracle Report code is difficult and time consuming. This Susan Behn
meetingexpectations/k2/j.php?ED=1342
presentation will focus on using a standard report from Oracle EBS and using BI Publisher to
tailor the look of the report without customizing Oracle’s code. Bursting functionality will also be
52467&UID=927461677&RT=MiMxMQ
covered. %3D%3D&FM=1
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Performance Management Trifecta! (Performance Appraisals, Compensation
Workbench, and Total Compensation Statements)
Are you leveraging you’re your Oracle E-Business suite investment by using the "Performance 11:00-12:00pm PST
Management Trifecta" which consists of Performance Appraisals, Compensation Workbench, Webinar Link
and Total Compensation Statements? The “Performance Management Trifecta” helps https://meetingexpectations.webex.com/
Lisa Laine
companies align, review, reward performance and then communicate the compensation results meetingexpectations/k2/j.php?ED=1342
to their employees. This session will demonstrate how Oracle’s three 3 pieces of functionality: 53637&UID=927461717&RT=MiMxMQ
performance management plans and appraisals, compensation workbench and total %3D%3D&FM=1
compensation statements work together to help companies align, review, reward and retain
employees.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Competitive Optimization
Get fresh ideas for optimizing Oracle E-Business Suite to help you increase your competitive
advantage, improve sales, and cut costs with increased efficiencies. Join us and learn how to 11:00-12:00pm PST
make a smaller yet smarter investment in your Oracle applications for a bigger return. Topics Webinar Link
include improving cycle time such as quote to order, manufacturing and supply chain. Enhance Alyssa https://meetingexpectations.webex.com/
cash flow management by converting quotes to sales faster, reducing accounts receivable Johnson meetingexpectations/k2/j.php?ED=1343
outstanding by expediting billing and collections, and negotiating better terms by enhancing the 29732&UID=927461752&RT=MiMxMQ
payables and collections process. Provide expedited promise dates to customers with more %3D%3D&FM=1
accuracy, and gain greater visibility to order status and customer history. These are just a few of
the scenarios that will be covered in the presentation.

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Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Customization Reduction with Forms and OA Framework Personalizations – R11i/R12 11:00-12:00pm PST
Learn how to reduce customizations by utilizing personalizations. Form Personalizations and OA Webinar Link
Framework Personalizations allow E-Business Suite users to tailor the applications to meet https://meetingexpectations.webex.com/
specific business needs such as protecting sensitive data, validations, modified value lists and Susan Behn
meetingexpectations/k2/j.php?ED=1343
more. Specific examples and recommendations implemented at multiple client sites will be 30057&UID=927461767&RT=MiMxMQ
presented for both types of personalizations. %3D%3D&FM=1
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
11:00-12:00pm PST
Planning for Release 12 Webinar Link
Join us for this session as we explore what companies can do NOW to plan for a Release 12
Alyssa https://meetingexpectations.webex.com/
upgrade or re-implementation. With 11i10 Premier Support ending November 2010, it is not too
Johnson meetingexpectations/k2/j.php?ED=1343
early to be drawing your company's roadmap to Release 12. Practical tips will be given to help
you stay current, stay competitive, and stay connected.
31877&UID=927461787&RT=MiMxMQ
%3D%3D&FM=1
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Maximize Efficiency of Oracle E-Business Suite Release 11i/R12 through Diagnostics 11:00-12:00pm PST Webinar Link
The Diagnostic Tool includes tests to for users in virtually every area of the organization - https://meetingexpectations.webex.com/
functional (setups, processes, month end close), technical (analyze data integrity issues, data meetingexpectations/k2/j.php?ED=1344
Susan Behn
validation, purge opportunities), DBAs (security best practices, setup.) There is much more. 93747&UID=927823027&RT=MiMxMQ
Since troubleshooting scripts previously available only through SQL scripts are now part of the %3D%3D&FM=1
Diagnostic Tool, they can be run without technical assistance.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
You vs. The Bad Guys – The Top 10 List For Securing R12 11:00-12:00 PST Webinar Link
There are many, many things to consider when securing your organization’s crown jewels (your https://meetingexpectations.webex.com/
data) within the E-Business Suite R12, but which ones do you focus on first? From architecture meetingexpectations/k2/j.php?ED=1344
Randy Giefer
and technology controls, to policies, processes and procedures, this presentation is based on the 99647&UID=927842877&RT=MiMxMQ
author's ten most important things you can do to protect your R12 environment given the type of %3D%3D&FM=1
attacks that are most common and prevalent in today’s world.

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Thursday, July 15, 2010
Release 12 Technical Introduction – Intermediate 11:00-12:00 PST Webinar Link
This presentation will cover the different technical components and tiers included in the Release 12 https://meetingexpectations.webex.com/
Application technology stack. We will outline the technology features that comprise the underlying
meetingexpectations/k2/j.php?ED=1345
technology stack along with the layout of the application file system. AutoConfig, cloning, the Oracle Kevin Dahl
01542&UID=927847787&rid=1&RT=Mi
Applications Manager (OAM), as well as E-Business Diagnostics will also be covered. Finally, we
will cover the iRepository functionality that outlines all inbound and outbound interfaces available in
MxMQ%3D%3D
Release 12.
Tuesday, July 22, 2010
Oracle Approvals Management (AME) Case Studies for AP, PO and HR 11:00-12:00 PST Webinar Link
AME is a self-service web application that allows users to define rules for administering approvals of Click here to find link:
various types of transactions. Learn how easy it is to use this powerful functionality to create Susan Behn http://archive.oaug.org/communications/
complex approval scenarios that meet your unique business requirements. Case studies of recent publications/ednet/2010/2010-06.htm
successful implementations will be presented for PO, AP, HR and AR .
Thursday, July 27, 2010
R12 Function and Data Security - UMX and Role Based Access Control 11:00-12:00 PST Webinar Link
Release 12 includes stronger controls across the application modules for limiting access to both Click here to find link:
functions and data. This presentation will discuss these controls and focus on how Oracle User Susan Behn http://archive.oaug.org/communications/
Management (UMX) and the Role Based Access Control (RBAC) standard work to mitigate security publications/ednet/2010/2010-06.htm
risks.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
What's New in Workflow: 11i RUP5, RUP6 and R12 11:00-12:00 PST Webinar Link
Oracle has already released 6 major patches on top of Release 11.5.10 that have added to the Click here to find link:
capabilities of administering workflow and the 7th is in the development stage. This presentation will Susan Behn http://archive.oaug.org/communications/
focus on new administration functionality added by these patches in 11i and R12 such as Junior publications/ednet/2010/2010-06.htm
Administrator and programs for retrying errored activities or notifications
Thursday, August 5, 2010
You vs. The Bad Guys – The Top 10 List For Securing R12 11:00-12:00 PST Webinar Link
There are many, many things to consider when securing your organization’s crown jewels (your Click here to find link:
data) within the E-Business Suite R12, but which ones do you focus on first? From architecture and Randy
http://archive.oaug.org/communications/
technology controls, to policies, processes and procedures, this presentation is based on the Giefer
publications/ednet/2010/2010-06.htm
author's ten most important things you can do to protect your R12 environment given the type of
attacks that are most common and prevalent in today’s world.

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Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Release 12 Best Practices for Financials - MOAC and Subledger Processing 11:00-12:00 PST Webinar Link
Grab a front row seat for a look at the Best Practices when utilizing your R12 Financials Subledgers. Click here to find link:
Find out how to utilize the new Multi-Org Access Control (MOAC) functionality to improve Alyssa
http://archive.oaug.org/communications/
processing efficiencies. Also discover how your organization can best leverage new R12 Subledger Johnson
publications/ednet/2010/2010-06.htm
features and functionalities to optimize your business processes. Topics will also include E-
Business Tax implications.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Creating your HR Business Case for Implementing Performance Management
Functionality 11:00-12:00 PST Webinar Link
Do you feel that Performance Management is for you but aren't sure how to get the project Click here to find link:
approved? This session is for those planning to incorporate additional HR functionaltiy but aren't
Lisa Laine http://archive.oaug.org/communications/
sure how to prove the value to the rest of the organization. We will discuss the fundamentals of
publications/ednet/2010/2010-06.htm
creating the business case, the typical assumptions, ROI calculations, and a couple of other tricks to
get improve the value.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Release 12 Best Practices for Financials - Subledger Accounting and the General Ledger 11:00-12:00 PST Webinar Link
Grab a front row seat for a look at the Best Practices when structuring your R12 Financials Click here to find link:
Subledgers. Discover how your organization can best leverage new R12 Subledger Accounting Alyssa
http://archive.oaug.org/communications/
features and functionalities to meet your accounting needs. Also find out the new R12 features in Johnson
publications/ednet/2010/2010-06.htm
the General Ledger your organization could leverage. Topics will also include highlights of the
Advance Global Intercompany System.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Transitioning from Account Generators to the R12 Subledger Accounting Engine 11:00-12:00 PST Webinar Link
Join us for a step-by-step workshop on moving your customized Account Generation Rules from the Click here to find link:
Account Generators to the new R12 Subledger Accounting Engine. Discussion will focus on Alyssa
http://archive.oaug.org/communications/
deriving accounts using the Accounting Methods Builder. Moving account generation rules to SLA Johnson
publications/ednet/2010/2010-06.htm
enables users to maintain their rules through the forms and preserves those rules during future
upgrades.

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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Workflow Troubleshooting in Release 12 11:00-12:00 PST Webinar Link
Oracle provides multiple ways to troubleshoot workflow errors in the latest 11i releases and Release
Click here to find link:
12 including Oracle Applications Manager, Workflow Administration and Diagnostic Reports. Learn Susan Behn
http://archive.oaug.org/communications/
the most effective way for both the functional and technical users to resolve workflow issues and
keep the applications running smoothly.
publications/ednet/2010/2010-06.htm

Please check our website for more upcoming sessions, dates and times

Solution Beacon Newsletters are designed to help users of Oracle Applications and Solution Beacon makes no warranty for the accuracy, veracity, or completeness of
any information herein, nor do they have any responsibility or liability for any losses or damages incurred as a result of reliance on any information provided herein or from
the use of any program or program segment discussed herein. Solution Beacon assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear herein. The information
published herein is subject to change without notice.

Copyright  2003-2010 Solution Beacon, LLC. All rights reserved. Any trademarks cited herein are the property of its owner. No part of this publication may be reprinted
or reproduced without the prior written consent of Solution Beacon, LLC

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