APEX

Thanks for joining us in the past Office Hour session: Part 1: What's new in Oracle APEX 23.1
Watch the replay of the session: apex.oracle.com/officehours and find below the Q&A for the live session.

• Do y’all have any plans to integrate diagrams to build diagram apps using Apex? Like modeling tools/ architecture diagrams ? Thnx
  Workflow is Multi-release development effort to deliver a complete solution for Digital Process Automation, which will include a full Workflow Designer, Runtime and Management built natively into Oracle APEX.
  While not built-in to the product, this blog article might be of interest in the area of marrying APEX apps with visual data-driven diagrams of many different kinds. https://diveintoapex.com/2023/01/02/data-driven-diagrams/
  With Flows for APEX, there is already a comprehensive Workflow solution available, based on the OMG BPMN 2.0 standard. This product is open-source and is being actively developed and improved with the involvement of Oracle.
  https://flowsforapex.org/
• You mention that the minimum db release is 19c - any specific version of that?
  It's basically 19c - however, the recommendation is a 19c database with a current RU installed.
• Any rough date for when the downloadable version of apex 23.1 might be available
  We never disclose release dates, it is against company policy. Please keep an eye out for the announcement of our APEX 23.1 release soon
• Is there a minimum version of ORDS?
  ORDS 20.2 and above works. but we suggest having the latest ORDS
• Is PWA Push notification supported on iOS devices?
  Yes! As of iOS 16.4. Also on iOS, APEX PWAs need to be installed prior to subscribing and receiving push notifications.
• Is it possible to display badge icons like Whatsapp in PWA?
  APEX 23.1 delegates the badging to the operating system. For example Android will update the badge automatically when receiving push notifications. We hope the extend this in the future and allow developers to control the badging declaratively.
• SQL Web developer is available for apex.oracle.com?
  Not at this time.
• Any plan to make intractive grid like oracle forms for ex. running total and summary column?
  It is possible today with API. I assume your question is about declarative ability for summary and running total. I don't know of specific plans.
• Is there any sample PWA application with push notification?
  The PWA Reference app will be updated to contain push notification info. We hope to offer a Sample PWA in the future.
• As far as I understand, those background processes launched through DBMS_SCHEDULER are automatically purged once they have finished and the output messages are stored to be able to query them with the APEX_APPLICATION_PAGE_BG_PROC, aren’t they?
  The entries are kept in the APEX_APPL_PAGE_BG_PROC_STATUS view as long as both the foreground session (which kicked off the background process) *and* the working session of the background process exist. Once both sessions are finished, the rows will be cleaned up.
• What is the mininum Oracle Version required by this new version of APEX?
  For APEX 23.1 the minimum Database version is 19c
• Can you implement Push Notification so that they show up on Desktop apps or only on PWA/Mobile?
  APEX Push Notifications are supported on all platforms, desktop or mobile. Only iOS requires to have the PWA installed to receive notifications.
• How can I access this session later to get copies of the slides?
  Recording will be available on https://apex.oracle.com/officehours
  Please do visit our New Features page fore more details. https://apex.oracle.com/en/platform/features/whats-new-231/
• Does the open-api-catalog documentation support showing example request bodies for the APIs?
  Note, that APEX supports open API for _consuming_ existing REST APIs by building a REST Data Source based on the OpenAPI document.
  Your question might be related to the open-api-catalog functionality of ORDS - I would reach out to these colleagues on the ORDS forum: https://community.oracle.com/tech/developers/categories/oracle_rest_data_services
• How can a push notification send to all users and not only to a unlike named user when using the new process Send Push Notification?
  You can use the APEX_PWA API and loop through the apex_appl_push_subscriptions view to get the subscribers.
• Any updates on the Treeview functionalities? Right now, selecting the top level, doesn't automatically select the children
  Not in 23.1. for such a use case please use the Fancy Tree Plug-in => https://apex.world/ords/f?p=100:710:::::P710_PLG_ID:APEX.FANCYTREE.SELECT
• Any more features added to the TreeView?
  Not in 23.1
• There will be a VM image with DB 23c and apex 23.1 soon?
  https://www.oracle.com/database/technologies/databaseappdev-vm.html
  Contains APEX 22.2 right now, but is planned to be upgraded after GA.
• Will the ORDS container updated with apex 23.1 in it as soon as apex 23.1 will be released?
  Yes.
• Hi all, will be apex curriculum updated with the last news of apex 23.1?
  The new curriculum is based on APEX 22.2 but will eventually be updated to include features from later versions. There is a natural delay after a new release comes out to be able to add labs and teaching materials related to the very latest release.
• Is org chart built-in in oracle apex?
  Not at the moment. But there are possible solutions on apex.world => plug-ins like the https://apex.world/ords/f?p=100:710:::::P710_PLG_ID:APEX.D3.ORGANIZATION.CHART
• Can we create PWA applications which can run in offline?
  Currently, there is no build in or declarative feature supporting offline functionlity, but you can implement your own by using the Service Worker customization feature we offer
• Which is the link for Documentation (APEX 23.1)?
  APEX 23.1 Documentation will be available after APEX 23.1 GA (General Availability).
• So it won't matter if the user closes the browser and ends the session? The background processes will continue to run?
  Yes, exactly. The background process gets its own "cloned session" which allows it to complete in the background.
• Usually, how long does it take to become a professional in Oracle APEX?
  You can get started easily by going to apex.oracle.com, sign up for a free workspace and go through our hands on labs at https://apex.oracle.com/hols.
  We suggest to enroll for the free Foundations training first: https://apex.oracle.com/go/foundations.
  And then go through the product videos and documentation. Coming up there will be APEX Developer Professional learning path that we will be offering for free.
  To summarize, you need to make yourself comfortable with hands-on and without any prior knowledge of any technology, you will become a pro in weeks!
• When adding a new column to an existing table in Object Browser, the schema is now added, is there a way to turn this off? eg. alter table "MD_TEST"."PMT_ITEMS" add ("AUTO_DISABLE_FLAG" VARCHAR2(1));
  A workspace can have mutliple schemas assign to it. To guide developers better, we display fully qualified object names ( schema.object_name ) in the preview DDL. There is no way to turn this off on demand.
• When will the recording of this session be available?
  Typically it takes about a week to 10 days for an Office Hours session to be put on the office hours site for replay.
• Re. "We are collecting ideas for a future Font APEX update. Feedback is welcome!", where would you like the feedback to be provided? Einstein?
  https://apex.oracle.com/ideas
• Any plans to enable SQL Developer web on apex.oraclecorp.com (Oracle's internal instance)?
  There are no immediate plans but the topic is under review
• For APEX deployment with friendly URL’s on OCI the web conference mentioned not being able to do single DB deployment but have multiple vanity URL’s pointed to it. I did it with two load balancers. Is that not supposed to happen?
  Multiple vanity URLs with a single Autonomous Database are supported. I think what the blog post mentioned is that all apps will be available on both URLs at the same time, which may not be desirable. Currently, you would need special handling in PLSQL if you wish to prevent this behavior.
  It is not a prescribed way of deployment but yes, technically you can redirect multiple vanity URLs pointing to the same database instance.
• Hello, any news on the APEX curriculum update? has that been replaced by the APEX foundation course?
  We are working on the latest APEX Professional curriculum, which will be released soon. Please follow our Social Media pages for more updates.
• Can i write python to make ML model in apex NOTE: not in cloud version ?
  APEX does not currently support Python in the builder, so not directly from within APEX. Working with OML4SQL is possible and easy to then integrate using prediction_probability() and prediction() SQL functions.
• Is there any free host to APEX>>>another oracle cloud
  Could you please clarify your use case? You can develop and run APEX apps on Oracle Autonomous Database for free, see https://oracle.com/free
• Can you make a video describing how we can get chagpt in APEX App?
  We don't have a video for this. But there a blog post on https://laureston.ca
• Or make chatbot using Gpt with oracle database and APEX as a display "ChatGPT offers a REST API that you could configure using APEX.
  We do not have any plans to produce a video on this.
• Will Push Notifications display icon badges?
  It depends on the platform. For now, APEX delegates the icon badge to the operating system. For example, Android will have it automatically when receiving a notifications. We plan to extend more control into the badge number in the future.
• What DB tech is the background task using - dbms_Jobs?
  Yes, it's database jobs - but the package is DBMS_SCHEDULER, not DBMS_JOB
• Is the SQL command still limited to 32K characters?
  that limit was actually lifted with APEX 22.1 so you should be able to run content larger than 32K in SQL Commands now.
• Is there also a standard solution to keep the PWA active when the mobile is in lock/sleep mode?
  There are native web APIs for screen wake lock. Nothing specific or declarative to APEX but we are considering it. It’s rather straightforward if you want to implement this today.
• Any new Font APEX icons planned?
  We are collecting ideas for a future Font APEX update. Feedback is welcome!
• Is there a chance to control the year range in new APEX calender component? Currently it shows previous 10 years in year dropdown list, can we extend it to show more?
  Yes there are improvments made. The Year range now racts on min/max date and you can control the showed years with year-selection-range="20" in custome attributes of the item
• Any enhancements to export and import of applications?
  There is an enhancement (not in APEX), but in t he latest ORDS 23.1 release, which introduces REST APIs to export and import APEX apps - as part of ORDS. Check out the ORDS 23.1 new features for this.
• PWA notifications: does a message still arrive when the browser instance is not running? If so, how does this technically work?
  It depends on the operating system. For example on macOS using Chrome as the PWA engine, it’s possible to kill the Chrome PID completely, therefore you won’t receive the notifications. Assuming you are using your main browser as your PWA engine, it’s not likely to be a problem. For mobile, you don’t need to have anything running, it will work.
• Any reason the 'Data' tab in the new object browser for a table isn't an interactive grid for updating data?
  It is a grid widget. It has editing turned off. Use the dialog for editing.
• Will the PUSH Notification works on the Desktops ?
  Yes absolutely! All platforms supported.
• Is SQL Developer Web available on apex.oracle.com?
  No, it is not available with apex.oracle.com
• Is there way to put multiple recipients for push notification? Like from a SQL query?
  Yes, there are two views available to query.
  1. apex_appl_push_subscriptions: for push subscribers
  2. apex_push_notifications_queue: for push queue
• Aside from the declarative, Is there a pl/sql API to manage the sending of push notification?
  Yes. There is an APEX_PWA package with programmatic API, too.
• Is session state available in page background processes, if so, is that the real-time session state? Or a snapshot/copy of the session state at call-time?
  The session state of the initiating process is cloned into the new process in which the background execution chain's child processes are running. You can control how temporary files are handled during this clone (ignore, copy, or move). Changes made to the background processes copy of the session state are independent of the session state of the initiating process, so background process changes to session state are NOT reflected back in the initiating session.
• Recently I got a chance to work on MS Power Apps and one good feature it has which I would like to see in APEX is Data Connectors. So is there any plan to introduce Data Connectors in APEX?
  APEX supports data connectors today by building a REST data source type plugin. The most recent connector we've added to our GitHub site is the one to talk with PowerApps, Azure, SAP, and other OData-supporting data sources. We hope to offer other built-in ones in the future, but in the meantime it is possible to install new connectors using our plug-in mechanism.
• How to show the number of notifications on application icon? (notification badges)
  APEX 23.1 delegates the badging to the operating system. For example Android will update the badge automatically when receiving push notifications. We hope the extend this in the future and allow developers to control the badging declaratively.
• Could you show us a new features of Admin dashboard in oracle APEX?
  Please attend next week's Office Hours, where Andreea from our team will present on the new Admin Digest feature
• When do we have the Persian Datepicker?
  No in 23.1 but it's still on our idea list for date picker improvements. Some come with 23.1
• ORDS required version?
  Please check the Installation Guide after APEX 23.1 GA for details.
• Can you expand on ATP Upgrade policy?
  The new process for upgrades in Autonomous Database is here: https://blogs.oracle.com/apex/post/enhanced-apex-upgrade-in-oracle-cloud
• What's the plan for enabling sqlweb on apex.oracle.com?
  We do not have plans to enable it for apex.oracle.com at the moment.
  Please note that Oracle employees should not be using our external hosted instance.
• Can we create Template components as Item type instead of Region . This would help create reasuable display items eample disply mail to link wih Name as display
  You can use the Plug-in functionality and possibilities to expand APEX with custom item types
• Can we get rid of the fixed row height in the Data tab of Object Browser?
  There is no current plan to disable fixed row height for the Data tab. Does this prevent in anyway if you use edit row to view the data better?
• When can you download 23.1?
  We are not permitted to disclose our release date. Keep an eye out for the release availability soon! Our hosted instance, apex.oracle.com has already been upgraded to a pre-production version of 23.1. If you don't hae a workspace there already, try it out tomorrow by signing up for a new workspace. We have workspace provisioning temporarily disabled, but should have that back open by tomorrow, hopefully
• Our ERP system consists of many small APEX applications, in this case is it enough to define PUSH once in 1 application?
  In APEX 23.1, the push configuration is done at the application level. The APEX_PWA api will allow you to send notifications cross-applications.
• Does this mean that I can pass the "APP_ID" as a parameter to the APEX_PWA API and call it from another application?
  Correct, given users have subscribed in the other app.
• What version is REST_WORKSHOP available. I am interested in managing OAUTH Clients from the web interface
  OAuth Clients can not be managed in REST Workshop in APEX today. You might use SQL Developer Web, or the OAUTH PL/SQL package for this.
• To clarify, copy page will allow multiple pages to be coppied at the same time?
  No the new copy page available from Create Page wizard is copy page one at a time like before.
• Oracle APEX 22.1.7 Object Browser -Procedures when user click to view the code it shows blank white screen . Due to this issues currently our team using SQL Developer . In new version 23.1 hope this issue might have solved
  The new object browser changed in many ways, this includes how object source is loaded (should be faster to load the source than before) in the editor. Please check using apex.oracle.com. If this is still an issue, please let us know.
• Sure I will check it but currently we are using the 22.1.7 and post it in oracle support as well
  apex.oracle.com is our hosted evaluation site. It is already upgraded to 23.1, so you can try the new object browser. Until your instance gets upgraded, you can try new Object Browser.
• Is there any new utility to do . ipa files and .apk files to upload to apple store /Google playstore
  Not in 23.1. We are considering ways to help in this area in the future.
• Similar to Oracle Data visualization, the way how we can drill down charts and view related charts, any of these features to expect in Oracle apex jet charts in upcoming days?
  It is possible today to drill down from one chart to another, using our declarative chart support in APEX, based on JET Data Visualizations. I suspect you are specifically referring to using the same chart region to handle drilling down into a specific series, and rendering that drilldown in the same region? If so, then no that isn't declaratively supported
• Thank you Hilary for kind response. Yes my question was on the last part your answer i.e., referring to using same chart region to handle drilling down into a specigic series and rending drilldown in the same region. This request comes esp from upper management team when thay want to view KPI metrics from Dashbord so asked this question. Thank you
  No worries, Vasanth - you could achieve this today, but it would involve a level of JavaScript customisations on your part. I don't have any examples in the Sample Charts app or my own sample app currently, but will look to add one. We will take your ER suggestion into consideration though, so thanks for your feedback
• Can we have this week a detailed session without rushing out the practice on how to download Application Express on-prem alongside configuring a connection with Oracle SQL Developer Oracle DB 21c and ORDS on one compartment that has an ATP and APEX Service instances.
  It sounds like we would need three separate sessions to address these topics in good amount of detail. We will review how we can incorporate these topics into future Office Hours. Thank you for the suggestion.
  In the meantime, I recommend to check out the recently released Oracle Database 23c Free VirtualBox applicance, which also includes pre-configured ORDS and APEX. https://www.oracle.com/database/technologies/databaseappdev-vm.html
• Friendly urls are good, but it masks page number. Can we disable friendly urls while installing? is there any option?
  No, this is a permanent change that users can’t opt in or out. The page number still exists in the developer toolbar under the element panel if you really need to know the page number. APEX prioritizes page alias going forward.
  I'd like to add that you can view the APEX.ENV object in developer tools in builder or your apps at any time - which shows the app_id, app_page_id and app_session, etc
• New object browser is looking great and performance is better. but why can't you just embed SQL developer web into APEX?
  There will be a SQL Developer Web link in the APEX Builder menu, that will connect and authenticate Developers directly into SQL Developer web
  ... if
  - SQL Dev Web is installed with ORDS
  - the APEX feature is enabled on instance level
  - min version ORDS is 23.1
• Is SQL Developer Web will be available even on an AWS VM?
  If you have a self managed ORDS, yes, but you will need at least ORDS version 23.1
• I need to create same dynamic action which perform almost same action according to page item in multiple pages
  for this I inserted some rows in apex_220100 user tables
  is this good or not
  You can add this action on gloabal page (page0) and control over server side condition on which page this is shared
  Interacting with internal APEX objects is not supported. So - not good.
• Por favor me indican si hay una sección de estas en español? muchas gracias.
  Si, tendremos una sesión de APEX en Español en Abril 28!
  Join us https://apex.oracle.com/go/apex-espa%C3%B1ol
• Do push notificacions allow refreshing page sections?
  Not declaratively, no. Likely when you are inside an app, you don’t want to spam users with push notifications. Instead a common pattern is to use in-app notifications.
• I mean if you can push code from server to force user refreshing a certain region
  That's only possible with a timer in a dynamic action at the moment, or you use e.g. over node.js websockets to do this. But you need a controller in the client for that
• Do you have any link or note in my oracle support wirh the oracle apex migration process from 21.2 to 23.1?
  Our APEX 23.1 documentation will be made available as soon as we release APEX 23.1. Once available, please refer to the Installation Guide which outlines the installation instructions for installing/upgrading your APEX instance. We would encourage you to also review the Release Notes, to review what's new, what had changed, and what has been desupported in 23.1, as you are moving from 21.2 and may be impacted by some changes coming in our latest release. For your APEX apps, we also encourage you to review the Upgrade section of the User's Guide, advising on refreshing Universal Theme, updating your app compatibility mode, and checking the Upgrade Application wizard. Keep an eye out for when we announce the release, and you can then review its associated documentation
• For task approvals how can a user delegate the workflow to another user who is not a potential owner, I know business administrator can add ad-hoc potential owner, i want the business user or potential owners to add. Is it possible?
  At the moment the business admin for the task instance is the one (or ones) who can invite new task participants. Suggest adding a new idea with more details on your specific use case to a new feature idea on apex.oracle.com/ideas
• How can i have a vacation rule type using task approvals,i.e set all approvals to be delegated to another user during leave?
  Your task definition can invoke a PL/SQL function or execute a SQL query that dynamically determines the appropriate list of task participants (both potential owners and admins). This dynamic logic can be used to pay attention to a vacation schedule as appropriate. There are also PL/SQL APIs that would allow the business admin for a task to delegate an existing task instance.
• Can i add business administrator to workflow through plsql?
  What's the use case? You can create admin workflows as APEX apps.
• Can i link previous task ifd with new create task?
  This happens automatically when a task is renewed. You could do this for arbitrary other use cases by passing in the previous task id as a custom parameter of your new task definition.
• How to link previous task ifd with new task id?
  Pass the previous task id in as a custom task def parameter.
• Any new features to support declarative multi level approvals?
  Not in 23.1. The new features in APEX approvals are listed in the What's New in 23.1 page on apex.oracle.com.
• Can we get the documentation link for 23.1?
  Our APEX 23.1 documentation will be made available as soon as we release APEX 23.1. In the meantime, please take a look at https://apex.oracle.com/en/platform/features/whats-new-231/
  It will be posted on the same day as the 23.1 production download. We're finishing the final edits on the 23.1 edition as we speak
• Does 23.1 include native workflow feature? (https://blogs.oracle.com/apex/post/oracle-apex-workflow-functionality)
  To see What's New in 23.1, please take a look at https://apex.oracle.com/en/platform/features/whats-new-231/. Native Workflow support is a feature we hope to include in a future release of APEX
• I want to build multitenant SaaS application for process automation where customers can author rules (decision tables) and workflow (drag & drop). Is it possible to build such application in APEX?
  You might want to have a look at Flows for APEX: https://flowsforapex.org/