FlexField--1

Administrators configure flexfield segments to capture data that represents the values of attributes. Flexfield segments represent attributes of entities (business objects). Most business objects are enabled for descriptive flexfields. Some business objects are enabled for extensible flexfields.

For example, an airline manufacturer might require very specific attributes for their orders that aren't provided by the out-of-the-box implementation of an order. Because a flexfield exists for the order business object, you can use it to create and configure the desired attribute.

The figure shows the layers of a flexfield: the business entity table and metadata in the database, business components that are Application Development Framework (ADF) objects or ADF business component (ADFbc) objects derived from the metadata and stored in the Metadata Services Repository (MDS), and the user interface where the input fields defined by the flexfield segments are rendered. The flexfield definition consists of all the metadata defined during configuration and stored in the database.

Application developers create a flexfield and register it so that it is available for configuration. Administrators and implementation consultants configure segments and other properties of the available flexfields. This information is stored as additional flexfield metadata in the database. Deploying the flexfield generates ADF business components based on the flexfield metadata in the database.

The following aspects are important in understanding how flexfields and Oracle Fusion Applications architecture work together:

• Integration
• Deployment
• Import and Export
• Runtime
• Patching

Integration

The attributes that you add by configuring flexfields are available throughout the Oracle Fusion Middleware technology stack, allowing the flexfields to be used in user interface pages, incorporated into the service-oriented architecture (SOA) infrastructure, and, in the case of descriptive flexfields, integrated with Oracle Business Intelligence. You identify flexfield segments for integration by the segment's Application Programming Interface (API) name.

A flexfield affects the Web Services Description Language (WSDL) schemas exposed by ADF services and used by SOAcomposites. The Web services that expose base entity data also expose flexfield segment data.

Attributes incorporate into SOA infrastructure (BPEL, Rules) and integrate with business intelligence (Oracle Business Intelligence, Extended Spread Sheet Database (ESSbase)).

Flexfield configurations are preserved across Oracle Fusion Applications updates.

Deployment

The metadata for the flexfield is stored in the application database as soon as you save your configuration changes. Deploying the flexfield generates the ADF business components so that the runtime user interface reflects the latest definition of the flexfield in the metadata.

Importing and Exporting

You can export and import flexfields with a deployment status of Deployed or Deployed to Sandbox across instances of Oracle Fusion Applications using the Setup and Maintenance Overview page. Ensure a flexfield is eligible for migration (by verifying that it has successfully deployed) prior to attempting the migration.

Runtime

For a flexfield to reflect the latest flexfield definition at runtime it must be deployed. The user interface accesses a business object and the deployed flexfield definition indicates which business object attributes the flexfield captures values for. If you add display customizations for a flexfield using Oracle Composer, these are customizations on the page so that the same flexfield segments can appear differently on various different pages.

Values entered for segments are validated using value sets.

Patching

Flexfield configurations are preserved during patching and upgrading.