A training article on Context Sensitive Descriptive flexfields.
IMPORTANT:- You must read Basics Flexfield article . This article is an extension to the work that we did for a simple flexfields. 

First some basic Question and answers, and then we will do screenshots detailing how flexfields are configured.


Question: I want these Flex fields to appear in screen only when certain conditions are met. Is it possible?
Answer: Yes, you can. Lets take an Example. You have a "Bank Branch" screen where you enter the Bank names and their branches . There is a field named Branch Type in that screen. You wish to show & capture following new fields:-
a.    Banks Country of Origin Field ( regardless of bank branch type, we must show this new field). As we configured in earlier training chapter.
b.    If user entered a value of SWIFT in Branch type, then display a new DFF segment "SWIFT Partner field".
c.    If Branch type CHIPS is selected by the user, then display a DFF segment "Chip ID" field.


In Order to do this, we will follow the below steps(screenshots will follow) :-
1.    Navigate to the DFF Registration screen in Oracle Apps and query on Table AP_BANK_BRANCES. Now click on Reference Field, and ensure that “BANK_BRANCH_TYPE” field can be used as a context switch. In our case we add this field as a reference field.
2.    Navigate to DFF Segments screen and query on the Title of the “Bank Branch” and Unfreeze the Flexfield and add segments as in screenshot below. Register the BANK_BRANCH_TYPE field as a reference item.
3. Create the contexts for each possible value of Bank Branch Type field(for which you want conditional display of fields)....

Hmmmm not clear yet, see the the screenshots and you will surely understand......

Find out the table name for Bank Branch screen, this will enable us to find the DFF that is available for Bank Branch

The Bank Branch can have one of the following values.

Given that our DFF will be sensitive to what we enter in Bank Branch, we must find out name of the field(not the display name). This can be done by using examine as shown

We can see that internal name of the Branch Type is "BANK_BRANCH_TYPE". We need to ensure that a DFF can be made sensitive to the value in BANK_BRANCH_TYPE

Lets navigate to DFF registration screen, and using the table name, we query DFF for AP_BANK_BRANCHES.

Alternately you can query using DFF title too.

Now lets add BANK_BRANCH_TYPE as a REFERENCE Field, by clicking on Button Reference

Now we need to define the new fields(segments). This screen is accessed via menu /Descriptive/Segments . In this screen, lets make BANK_BRANCH_TYPE as the context/reference. This means that DFF will become sensitive to values in Branch Type field

IMPORTANT: If your requirement is not to have any conditiional logic, then no need for all the "Reference Field" blaaa. All you need to do is to add your segment to Global Data Elements

When the user selects Type=SWIFT, we see the relevant SWIFT field appear in Flexfield window


When user selects Type=CHIPS, we see CHIP Id field appearing in Flexfield window.

Here we now see that value entered in DFF field gets stored in the database column,
 

Comments (32)

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written by Christopher Joseph , November 01, 2006

Thanks a lot Anil!!
This article was really useful.
Keep on going with http://getappstraining.blogspot.com
Its really one of its kind...

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written by Christopher Joseph , November 01, 2006

Thanks a lot Anil!!
This article was really useful.
Keep on going with http://getappstraining.blogspot.com
Its really one of its kind...

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written by Anil Passi , November 15, 2006

Hey Chris,
Thanks, I will keep working on getappstraining surely..

Cheers
Anil

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written by Anil Passi , November 15, 2006

Hey Chris,
Thanks, I will keep working on getappstraining surely..

Cheers
Anil

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written by Anil Passi , January 11, 2007

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.
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Hi User,
I usually never write about menu path navigation. To access any screen, all you need to do is, when inside a responsibility, on keyboard hit, Control L.

By Control L, all the existing screen name will be and you can search using %Branch%

Thanks,
Anil Passi

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written by User , January 11, 2007

Hi Anil,
The way you explain the things, is very simple and easy to understand. I appreciate your work.
One thing I thought to ask you. You navigated to Bank Branches window in the process of DFF Registration process. Can you please let me know what exactly is the navigation to flow for that Bank Branches? Not only, how can we know the navigation flow in general also. for example transactions, invoices, receipts or sites etc., I think it would be very useful, if u can explain how can we follow the navigation flow, for any particular window.

Thanks!

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written by Anil Passi , January 11, 2007

.
.
.
Hi User,
I usually never write about menu path navigation. To access any screen, all you need to do is, when inside a responsibility, on keyboard hit, Control L.

By Control L, all the existing screen name will be and you can search using %Branch%

Thanks,
Anil Passi

...
written by User , January 11, 2007

Hi Anil,
The way you explain the things, is very simple and easy to understand. I appreciate your work.
One thing I thought to ask you. You navigated to Bank Branches window in the process of DFF Registration process. Can you please let me know what exactly is the navigation to flow for that Bank Branches? Not only, how can we know the navigation flow in general also. for example transactions, invoices, receipts or sites etc., I think it would be very useful, if u can explain how can we follow the navigation flow, for any particular window.

Thanks!

...
written by Anil Passi , January 12, 2007

.
.
Hi User,

Ctrl+L is for finding out the screen name[not responsibility, i think you did a typo].

Anyway, the only other way of knowing navigation path is by reading Oracle Manuals/implementation guide.

Thanks,
Anil Passi

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written by User , January 12, 2007

Anil,

I tried following your reply. You made it much simple! Just out of anxiety, is there any other way, other than Ctrl+L in finding the appropriate responsibility and then reaching to the specified path from the menu?

Thank you!

...
written by Anil Passi , January 12, 2007

.
.
Hi User,

Ctrl+L is for finding out the screen name[not responsibility, i think you did a typo].

Anyway, the only other way of knowing navigation path is by reading Oracle Manuals/implementation guide.

Thanks,
Anil Passi

...
written by User , January 12, 2007

Anil,

I tried following your reply. You made it much simple! Just out of anxiety, is there any other way, other than Ctrl+L in finding the appropriate responsibility and then reaching to the specified path from the menu?

Thank you!

...
written by Swen , January 22, 2007

Good article, keep going

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written by Swen , January 22, 2007

Good article, keep going

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written by artur bakhtriger , January 31, 2007

Anil, I am strugled to implement po_requsions_line dff on iProcurement
they a simle global DFF
I enable Flex: (ReqLineDescFlex) and expect to see them but they not displayed on non-catalog request. Any idea what can I check . Thanks a lot.

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written by Anil Passi , February 02, 2007

Hello Artur,

Many thanks for coming back to share your experience.

Regards,
Anil Passi

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written by Anil Passi , February 21, 2007

Hi Sara

Have a look at this article http://oracle.anilpassi.com/sm...ields.html

This outlines a solution to your requirement, whereby you can create a profile option and set that at responsibility level. The context of your DFF will be the profile option itself.

Thanks,
Anil

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written by Sara , February 21, 2007

Hi Anil,

your site is really good and informative.

We have a requirement where we need to restrict descriptive flex field based on organization.

That is we have a custom form in which we have a descriptive flex field to capture some additional information regarding beneficiary tax id.This form has been shared with different payables responsiblity.The requirement is we need this descriptive flex field to populate for certain Oraganization alone and not for the rest.Currently the descriptive flex field is populating for all the responsibility.Please provide some suggestion.

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written by Jaideep Valani , March 20, 2007

hi anil ,i am unable to get what the reference field is for ,i mean why we need to go to reference fields,plz explain i am a beginner
thanks
jai

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written by Anil Passi , March 24, 2007

Hi
reference field is the field on which DFF context is sensitive.

Lets take an example
If your reference field is ORDER_TYPE

then, lets say you have two possible values
DIRECT ORDER, COMMISSION ORDER

In this case, you will define two different codes beneath global data elements, namely
DIRECT ORDER
COMMISSION ORDER

Next you will define the fields/attributes for each of this context

Thanks,

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written by Anil PAssi , April 04, 2007

If you use a bind variable referencing the D2k form field, then such form field will not exist in OA Fwk Screen, hence the message.

You can ignore this provided:-
1. Its just a warning, and it lets you proceed
AND
2. You have no intention to use OA Fwk couterpart of this screen

When you eventually move to OA Fwk for this functionality, then this DFF can be revisited.

Thanks,
Anil Passi

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written by Prasad , April 05, 2007

Never mind .. I got it finally.. it was my mistake.. I had checked the displayed box. thanks to you again... I got it by following your example again from scratch but this that i didnt use my brain ( act smart) and followed it blindly.

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written by Rasi , June 05, 2007

Hi,
How do you make the flexfield window pop-up as soon as a user tabs out of type field after typing SHIPs or SWIFT.

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written by Arnab , August 14, 2007

Hi Anil
This is the most lucid and clear description of Context Sensitive DFFs I have seen. Please keep up your amazing contribution to the field of Oracle Apps. Three cheers
Warm Regards,
Arnab

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written by sujoy , September 25, 2007

how do i find the dff name if the record history is not available for a particular form????

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written by Anil Passi , September 25, 2007

You can use examine to figure that out.
Have a look at the image below


Thanks,
Anil Passi

Can we get DFF values in FSG Report?
written by Thulasee Ram , December 04, 2007

Hi Anil,

Can we generate the values in FSG Report with DFF Values?
Usually we generate FSG based on the account code combinations in GL(Values given in Key flex field.......). Suppose,there is a DFF at customer information level. From inventory/OM, the sales a/c, COGS A/C etc... will come to GL and based on that we can generate FSG. But at the customer level if there are values given in DFF and those will be related to any particular segment value of the Key flex field (say to a segment - Project)........when we prepare FSG that information can be captured in FSG. If it so could please explain me how that can done?

Thanks and Regards,
Thulasee

Urgent
written by mmmm , December 07, 2007

Hi Anil
I created a flexfiled in the customer site bill_to so the user can specifier if
the invoice for that customer will be e-mail or mail or not print, but know I like to
and I put those in attribute20 in table Hz_cust_site_uses_all, how can I make the autoinvoice
put that attibute20 in global_attribute20 in ar_customer_trx_all for the same site.
Thank you

Reference a contextual flex field to the session use?
written by Joel , January 18, 2008

Hi Anil,
I'm trying to define a context sensitive descriptive flexfield and referencing the session user. Would I use in the reference field?

Thanks in advance

Reference a contextual flex field to the session user?
written by Joel , January 18, 2008

Forget the last message I wrote it wrong.

Hi Anil,
I'm trying to define a context sensitive descriptive flexfield and referencing the session user org id. Would I use $PROFILE$.ORG_ID in the reference field?

Thanks in advance
Joel

Audit Table for Flexfields
written by Anoop Dangui , March 12, 2008

Hi Anil,

Can you please help me to find the audit table for flex field which keep the record for all the changes done to the flex field vlaues. Does some setup need to be done for this to be implemented.

My requirement: I need to generate an outbound interface for all the delta changes of the fnd_flex_values of the GL flex field. So when i run my program it will fetch me the old and the new values of the flex segment which was changed. Could you please help to identify the table which stores the old value. Will be really helpful if you could provide any import.

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written by Anil Passi , March 12, 2008

Hi Anoop

The tables are
FND_FLEX_VALUES
FND_FLEX_VALUES_TL

You may enable auditing on these tables.

Alternately,create custom triggers, but it is not advisable to create DB triggers in Oracle Apps

Thanks
Anil