Oracle Apps Flex Fields (Q & A)

Note: The article named Oracle Apps Flex Fields was taken from www.in-oracle.com.

1. What is a flexfield ?

The values for items are kept in segments. The segments could be combined logically in groups called structures. One flexfield contains one or more structures.  

2. What is a value set ?

A value set is a set of values or a range of values a segment could get values from. 

3. Which are the 2 types of Flexfields ?

The 2 types of flexfields are: 

• Key Flexfields (KFFs): Are used as identifiers of entities. 

• Descriptive Flexfields (DFFs): Are used for gathering more information about the Oracle Apps entities. 

The DFFs are:

- optional

- enclosed in brackets

- in contrast to the KFF, are not shared between applications

4. How could I see which KFFs I have registered in the database ?

If you want to see which KFFs you have registered in the database and the tables which store they code combinations you could run the following SELECT:

SELECT id_flex_name, application_table_name FROM apps.fnd_id_flexs order by application_id;

Example:

SQL> SELECT id_flex_name, application_table_name FROM apps.fnd_id_flexs order by application_id;

ID_FLEX_NAME                         APPLICATION_TABLE_NAME
------------------------------         ------------------------------
Accounting Flexfield                       GL_CODE_COMBINATIONS
Reporting Attributes:Accountin       GL_CODE_COMBINATIONS
Category Flexfield                          FA_CATEGORIES_B
Asset Key Flexfield                        FA_ASSET_KEYWORDS
Location Flexfield                           FA_LOCATIONS
Oracle Service Item Flexfield          MTL_SYSTEM_ITEMS_B
ARTA-Receipt Prof Ident              AR_TA_PROF_ASSGNT_ALL
Territory Flexfield                           RA_TERRITORIES
Sales Tax Location Flexfield           AR_LOCATION_COMBINATIONS
Item Categories                              MTL_CATEGORIES_B
Account Aliases                              MTL_GENERIC_DISPOSITIONS

5. Which are the steeps in creating a KFF layout ?

- identify the structure title

- plan the number and order of segments

- identify the value sets to be used

- choose the segments prompts

- determine which segments are displayed or not

- establish relationships between segments 

Note: The article named Oracle Apps Flex Fields was taken from www.in-oracle.com.

Overview of Flexfield Concepts
 

This chapter provides you with a conceptual overview of flexfields. You will learn about:
   • the general features of flexfields
   • flexfields terminology
   • the benefits of flexfields
   • the distinction between a key and descriptive flexfield
   • the overall setup process for flexfields

A flexfield is a field made up of sub-fields, or segments. There are two types of flexfields: key flexfields and descriptive flexfields. A key flexfield appears on your form
as a normal text field with an appropriate prompt. A descriptive flexfield appears on your form as a two-character-wide text field with square brackets [ ] as its prompt.
When opened, both types of flexfield appear as a pop-up window that contains a separate field and prompt for each segment. Each segment has a name and a set of valid
values. The values may also have value descriptions.

This information was taken from Oracle documentation.