DESCRIPTIVE FLEXFIELDS

Overview of Flexfields:

A flexfield is a field made up of sub–fields, or segments. There are two types of flexfields:
key flexfields and descriptive flexfields.

Key Flexfields:
A Key flexfield is a field made up of segments, where each segment has both a value and a
meaning, which appears on your form as a normal text field with an appropriate prompt.
One example of a key flexfield is the Accounting Flexfield. This flexfield can always be
customized to have as many segments as needed like Company, Department, Cost center,
Account etc.

Descriptive flexfields:
Descriptive flexfields lets you add additional fields to the form in order to track additional
information needed by the business, that would not be captured by the standard form.
Descriptive flexfields can be context sensitive, where the information your application stores
depends on other values your users enter in other parts of the form.
A descriptive flexfield appears on a form as a single–character, unnamed field enclosed in
Square Brackets [ ]. Each field or segment in a descriptive flexfield has a prompt and can
have a set of valid values

Descriptive Flexfield Concepts:

 Descriptive Flexfield Segments:
Descriptive flexfields have two different types of
segments, global and context–sensitive.
A global segment is a segment that always appears
in the descriptive flexfield pop–up window.
A context–sensitive segment is a segment that may
or may not appear depending upon what other
information is present in your form.
A descriptive flexfield can get context information
from either a field somewhere on the form, or from
a special field (a context field) inside the descriptive
flexfield pop–up window. If the descriptive flexfield
derives the context information from a form field
(either displayed or hidden from users), that field is
called a reference field for the descriptive flexfield.

 How and where are the segment information is

stored:
A descriptive flexfield uses columns that are added
on to a database table. A descriptive flexfield
requires one column for each possible segment and
one additional column in which to store structure
information (that is, the context value). The
descriptive flexfield columns are usually named
ATTRIBUTEn where n is a number.

For example, if you have a descriptive flexfield on

an Order Entry (Header) form, it populates the
 Structure column with the context field and the
columns ATTRIBUTEn with the flexfield segments of
the table OE_ORDER_HEADERS_ALL.

Example of enabling DFF:

Goal: Enable DFF in Sales Order form in Order Management

Navigation: Go to “Order management super User, Vision Operations” responsibility

Orders, Returns >> Sales Orders
Enable the DFF at right bottom screen.

To know the name of the DFF in a particular form do the following

Navigation: Help Menu >> Diagnostics >> Examine
Select Block Name as $DESCRIPTIVE_FLEXFIELD$
Field as ORDER.DF
Value will be populated and it will be the title of your DFF.
Title: Additional Header Information (Order Management)
Order management in the brackets represent the Application in which this DFF is registered.
To enable this
Navigation: Go to Application Developer >> Flexfield >> Descriptive >> Segments
Query the DFF

Press F11 and enter

Title: Additional Header Information
Application: Order Management
Press CTL + F11 to query the record
Click on Segments

Enter the following information

Number:5
Name: Erp Schools Demo
Window Prompt: Erp Schools Demo
Column: ATTRIBUTE11

Save the record (CTL + S)

Press OK

You can assign any value set if you want, its optional so I am just leaving it as blank

Now check the “Freeze Flexfield Definition” Checkbox

Press OK

Now Click Compile button

Press OK
You will see the confirmation as shown above.

Now to go to Order management super User, Vision Operations” and open the Sales
order Form and click on DFF box.
You can hide the context field by un checking the Displayed Check Box in Context Field
To Make any changes you have to uncheck the “Freeze Flexfield Definition” Checkbox
Press OK

Now uncheck the Displayed Box in Context Field area as shown

Save your Record

Check the “Freeze Flexfield Definition” Checkbox

Press OK

Press Compile Button

Press OK
“Flexfield View Generator” concurrent program will be submitted. To see the status of the
program go to View Menu on top >> Requests >> Find
Once you see the status as completed you can go to Order Management and check for your
changes
Now you should be able to hide the Context.