Use this window to define your descriptive flexfield structures.
To define your descriptive flexfield, you define the segments that make up your descriptive flexfield structures, and the descriptive information and validation information for each segment in a structure. You also determine the appearance of your descriptive flexfield window, including the size of the window, the number and order of the segments, and the segment descriptions and default values. The maximum number of segments you can have within a single structure depends on which descriptive flexfield you are defining.
To take advantage of the flexibility and power of descriptive flexfields in your application, you must define your flexfield structure. If you do not define any descriptive flexfield segments, you cannot use descriptive flexfields within your windows, but there is no other loss of functionality.
Once you define or change your flexfield, you must freeze your flexfield definition and save your changes. When you do, Oracle E-Business Suite automatically compiles your flexfield to improve online performance.
Once you freeze your flexfield definition and save your changes, Oracle E-Business Suite submits a concurrent request to generate a database view of the table that contains your flexfield segment columns. You can use these views for custom reporting at your site. See: Overview of Flexfield Views.
You can see your flexfield changes immediately after you freeze and recompile your flexfield. However, your changes do not affect other users until they change responsibilities or exit the application they are using and sign back on.
Suggestion: Plan your descriptive flexfield structures carefully, including all your segment information such as segment order and field lengths, before you set up your segments using this window. You can define your descriptive flexfields any way you want, but changing your structures once you acquire flexfield data may create data inconsistencies that could have a significant impact on the performance of your application or require a complex conversion program.
Note: When a flexfield is compiled, the system checks segment names to ensure that they follow the Segment Naming Conventions. If they do not follow these rules, you will get a Warning message.
Before defining your descriptive flexfield structures, use the Value Sets window to define any value sets you need. See: Value Sets.
Use View > Find to select the title and application name of the descriptive flexfield you want to define. You cannot create a new flexfield using this window. See: Identifying Descriptive Flexfields in Oracle E-Business Suite.
You can change the flexfield title by typing in a new name over the old name. You see this name whenever you select a descriptive flexfield and as the window title whenever a user enters your descriptive flexfield.
The default value for this field is unchecked (flexfield definition not frozen).
Do not freeze your flexfield if you want to define new structures, set up or modify your flexfield segments, or change the appearance of your descriptive flexfield window. You cannot make most changes while the flexfield is frozen.
Freeze your flexfield after you set it up. Then save your changes. When you do, this window automatically compiles your flexfield. You must freeze and compile your flexfield definition before you can use your flexfield. If you decide to make changes to your flexfield definition, make sure that you freeze and save your flexfield definition again once you have made your changes.
Warning: Do not modify a frozen flexfield definition if existing data could be invalidated. An alteration of the flexfield structure can create data inconsistencies.
Note: When a flexfield is compiled, the system checks segment names to ensure that they follow the Segment Naming Conventions. If they do not follow these rules, you will get a Warning message.
Enter the character you want to use to separate your segments in a concatenated description field.
You should choose your separator character carefully so that it does not conflict with your flexfield data. Do not use a character that is used in your segment values. For example, if your data frequently contains periods ( . ) in monetary or numeric values, do not use a period as your segment separator.
Warning: Some Oracle E-Business Suite tables store the segment separator as part of your flexfield values. Changing your separator once you have data in such tables may invalidate that data and cause application errors.
Enter information for your context field here.
The context field automatically displays any existing context window prompt for this flexfield. You can change this prompt by typing a new prompt over the current prompt. Your flexfield displays this prompt in a flexfield window if you can choose the context-sensitive flexfield structure you want to see when you enter the flexfield (that is, if you have permitted Override).
When you choose a prompt, you should keep in mind that the context field in the flexfield window appears as just a normal field or segment to a user. For example, if you have a Client Type descriptive flexfield with two different segment structures called Customer (for external clients) and Employee (for internal clients), you might define your prompt as "Client Type".
If you have context field values contained in an existing table, you can create a value set that includes those values, and enter the name of that value set here. Using a value set for the context field allows you to have valid context field values without specifically defining context-sensitive segments for those context field values.
For example, if you have a list of countries where you want all the countries to be valid context field values, but only a few of the countries have related context-sensitive segments, you would use a value set that includes your entire list of countries. You would then define context-sensitive segments for just those countries that need context-sensitive segments.
Enter a default context field value for your flexfield to use to determine which descriptive flexfield structure to display. You must define the default context field value as a structure in the Context Field Values zone before you can compile your flexfield. Your flexfield automatically uses this default context field value if you do not define a reference field.
If you do not have any context-sensitive segments, or you want the context field to remain blank unless filled in by a reference field, you should leave this field blank.
Indicate whether a context field value is required. If a context field value is required, your flexfield does not allow you to leave the flexfield window without entering a valid value. Otherwise, you do not have to choose a value for your context field. In this case, you leave the flexfield window without seeing any context-dependent structures.
Enter the name of the reference field from which your flexfield can automatically derive the context field value. You can select from a list of potential reference fields that have been predefined. Some descriptive flexfields may not have any reference fields predefined. See: Reference Fields.
If you have any context-sensitive segments for your flexfield, you should always check the Displayed check box if you do not specify either a default value or a reference field. Without the displayed context field, your flexfield must determine the context field value from the reference field or your default value.
If you check the Displayed check box, a user can see and change the context field value that your flexfield derives from a reference field or obtains as a default value.
Suggestion: You should leave the Displayed check box unchecked only if the context field value derives from a reference field or a default value that you specify using this region, or you have only global segments. If you do derive your context field value from a reference field, however, we recommend that you do not allow your user to see or change that value in the flexfield window.
Note: In earlier versions of Oracle E-Business Suite, you allow users to see and modify the value in the context field by checking the "Override Allowed (Display Context)" check box. This check box is now called "Displayed" though its effect is unchanged.
Check this box if you want the context field value to be synchronized always with the reference field value for this descriptive flexfield.
See: Synchronizing the Context Field Value with the Reference Field Value.
Use this block to define valid context field values (that also serve as structure names) for this descriptive flexfield. You can set up a different descriptive flexfield segment structure for each value you define.
A Global Data Elements value always appears in this block. You use Global Data Elements to set up global segments that you want to use in every segment structure. These segments appear before any context field or context-sensitive segments in the flexfield window.
For example, suppose you have a Client Type flexfield. You have two context-sensitive structures, Employee (internal client), and Customer (external client), for which you want to have different segments to capture different information. However, you also want to capture certain information for both structures. You define global segments for the common information, using the Global Data Elements value. You also define context-sensitive segments for each of your two structures, Employee and Customer, to capture the two sets of different information. See: Planning Your Descriptive Flexfields.
Enter a unique context field value (also known as the flexfield structure name) under the Code column. Your flexfield uses this value, either derived from a reference field or entered by your user in an initial descriptive flexfield window, to determine which flexfield structure to display. This value is written out to the structure column of the underlying table.
This value must be thirty (30) characters or fewer.
Once you save your context field value, you cannot delete or change your context field value because it is referenced elsewhere in the system. You can disable a value, however.
Suggestion: Choose and type your context field values carefully, since once you save them you cannot change or delete them later.
If you are using a reference field, the values you enter here must exactly match the values you expect your reference field to provide, including uppercase and lowercase letters. For example, your reference field may be a displayed field that provides the values "Item" and "Tax", so you would specify those. However, those would not be valid if you were using a corresponding hidden field as your reference field and that field provides the values "I" and "T".
If you are using a value set for the context field, any values you enter here must exactly match the values you expect your context field value set to provide, including uppercase and lowercase letters. All the values you enter in this field must exist in the value set, or they will not be valid context field values, even if you define context-sensitive segments for them. You only need to enter those values that require context-sensitive segments. If the value set is a table-validated value set, the values in this Code field correspond to the values in the ID column of the value set.
Enter a name for this descriptive flexfield context value.
The context code will default in to this field. For a descriptive flexfield that is set up so that the context field is displayed, the context name would be entered in the displayed context field, and the context field value code will be stored in the hidden context field. The list of values on the context field will show the context name and description.
If you use a value set for the context field, the displayed value in the value set overrides the corresponding value name you type in this field (for the same hidden ID value or context code).
Enter a description for this descriptive flexfield context field value. You can use this description to provide a better explanation of the content or purpose of this descriptive flexfield structure. You see this description along with the context name whenever you pick a descriptive flexfield context from inside the flexfield window. When you navigate to the next zone, this window automatically saves your pending changes.
Attention: The width of your descriptive flexfield window depends on the length of the longest description you enter in this field, if this description is longer than the longest description size you choose for any of your segments in a given structure.
You cannot enable new structures if your flexfield definition is frozen.
Choose the Segments button to open the Segments window, and define your flexfield segments. See: Defining Segments.