Extensibility

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Fusion Applications - Extensibility
Platform Technology Solutions

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Topics
 Extensibility Capabilities
 Sandboxes
 Conflict Resolution
 Customization
 Personalization

Overview: What is Extensibility?
 Modify existing applications
 Extend existing applications
 See modifications immediately
 Add new modules
All within the standards-based Oracle Fusion Middleware Platform

Terminology

Strategy: Layered Customizations
Upgrade-Proof with Metadata Services Repository
Key Capabilities:
 Common metadata store
 Set up personalized content and services
for users
 Stored as layers on top of base
application
Benefits:
 Insulates users from updates and
patches
 Used throughout Oracle stack – business
processes, business intelligence and
applications
1. Base Application
Deployed
2. OnSite Branding
3. LOB Branding
4. User Personalization
and more…

Steps for Customization
1. Create the sandbox in the test environment.
2. Make changes in the sandbox.
3. When satisfied with personalization download the customizations
file. IMPORTANT: This step needs to be completed before you
publish customizations to the sandbox or you will lose all the
changes for migration.
4. Publish changes to the test environment.
5. Import downloaded file to the production environment.

Sandboxes

Sandboxes
 Temporary copies of portions of the MDS that are used to test
customizations before deploying them
– Created by developers to make and test customizations
– Can be published once testing is complete
– Can be discarded if the customizations are unsatisfactory
– Exist until they are explicitly deleted or published
 Start With a “Snapshot" of a point in time
– If another user modifies the mainline, the sandbox will contain stale information.
 IMPORTANT: While sandboxes prevent end users from seeing in-
progress customizations, they do not prevent two developers in two
different sandboxes from working on the same object.

Sandboxes
 Sandboxes intended for migration
 Sandboxes intended for testing only

Sandbox Manager
A tool for managing the different types of customization changes that
can be applied to an application.
The different types of sandboxes are:
• Metadata - The metadata sandbox supports making changes to the
application's metadata stored in the MDS.
• Security - The security-enabled sandbox supports making data
security changes.
• Flexfield - Use the flexfield pages to make changes to flexfields and
deploy the flexfield to the sandbox.

Active Sandboxes
 A developer must activate a sandbox before customizing in it.
– Ensures that all customizations made by the developer are stored in the
sandbox copy of the MDS
 Each developer may have only one sandbox active at a time.
– Any number of sandboxes can be created but not active
 A currently-active sandbox is shown at the top of the application
screen.
An active sandbox
An active sandbox

Publishing Sandboxes
 Copying sandbox metadata to the mainline is referred to as
"publishing" the sandbox:
– Overwrites existing customization files with the sandbox versions of the
files.
– All sandbox customizations are immediately available to all users.
– The sandbox is marked as read-only and is only visible in the list of
published sandboxes.
Publish a sandbox to copy its metadata to
the mainline metadata

Integration Sandboxes
– Created specifically to contain all approved modifications.
 This sandbox is the only sandbox that is published.
Developer 1
Developer 2
Session 1
Session 2
MDS Database
Developer 1 performs
customization 1
Developer 2 performs
customization 2
Both developers migrate their
customizations into the
integration sandbox
Sandbox 2
Sandbox 1
Developer 1 customizes in
Sandbox 1
Developer 2 customizes in
Sandbox 2
Integration
Sandbox
Only the integration sandbox
is published

Working with Integration Sandboxes
 With an integration sandbox:
– Each developer uses a dedicated sandbox to make his or her own
customizations.
– Once those customizations are completed, tested, and approved, each
developer re-keys his or her customizations into the integration
sandbox.
– The integration sandbox is the only sandbox published.

Conflict Resolution
 2 types of conflicts:
– Conflicts within a sandbox:
 Users overwriting changes created by other users, either directly by
changing the same artifact, or indirectly by affecting files that are
shared between the artifacts.
– Conflicts between sandboxes (intended for publishing only):
 Multiple sandboxes with the same customized artifact publishing to
the mainline.

Conflict Resolution
 Managed at several levels:
– If two developers in the same sandbox both try to update the same
object, the second developer is warned that the object is in use and his
or her modifications will not be saved.
 Violated recommended practice of one developer per sandbox
– If one developer publishes a sandbox and a second developer tries to
publish a sandbox that modifies one of the already-modified objects,
that developer receives a warning that the object has been updated
outside of the sandbox.
 The developer can choose to ignore the warning and publish
anyway, overwriting the original developer's modifications.

Tips for Success: Sandboxes
 Create an "Integration Sandbox" before starting development.
– This sandbox will be the "master repository" of approved changes.
 One developer per sandbox.
– Each developer has their own private sandbox that will never be published.
 Everyone works on separate objects.
– Developers working on the same object in different sandboxes will not see each
other's modifications.
 Sandboxes should exist for a short period of time.
– Minimizes the risk of stale data in sandboxes
 Never work against the mainline.

Customization

Customization
 Customize dashboards and some work areas for all or some users
based on a selected customization layer.
– for example, only for users in a specific. Country
 Use Administration menu in the global area
 Menu controlled by Admin Roles such as Application
Implementation Consultant

Customization
 Add Components to a Page.
 Create a Site-Level Saved Search for All Users.
 Change the Layout of a Page.
 Move Components on a Page.
 Customize a Page Title.
 Customize a Task List Menu.
 Customize Attributes for a Flexfield on a Page.
 Customize UI Shell template.

Customization Layers
 Customization layers allow you to make customizations that affect
only certain instances of an application
 Layers within HCM include :
Site - Customizations made in the Site layer affect users all users.
Country - This layer is used to create customizations for all users
of a specific country.
Organization - Customizations made for a particular organization.
(Legal Entity, Business Unit)

Global Page Template
 Use the Page Composer to edit the UI Shell template
– For example, you might want to edit the links available in the global
area (such as removing the Tags link from the header area) or add
company contact information to the footer
 You can add, edit, or delete components on the global template.
Use the component catalog; select ADF Faces Components, to
display the list of available components
– For Example, Box (A box in which content can flow vertically or
horizontally ), Hyperlink (Link to a page or a website ), Text, Webpage
 Editable components display a blue outline when you place your
cursor over them.

Managing Customizations
 Used to view and diagnose runtime customizations that have been
made to application pages
– By default, the Manage Customizations dialog displays the customizations
that have been performed by the logged-in user.
 To view customizations:
1. Go to the page for which you wish to view customizations.
2. From the Administration menu, choose Manage Customizations.
3. Change the page for which you are viewing customizations using the
Search field.
4. From the Layer Name dropdown list for the Current Context column,
select the customization layer for which you want to see the
customizations as the user (or users) see it.

Managing Customizations
 Rolling Back
– To roll back the customizations for a specific page, use the Manage
Customizations dialog.
– You are rolling back only the customizations for the page, you are not
rolling back the other customizations made at the label's save point.
 Downloading and Uploading
– Use the Manage Customizations dialog to download and upload
customization files.
– You may need to download or upload a customization file for the following
reasons
 Diagnose issues seen in the test environment
 Send files to Oracle Support Services for further diagnosing

Personalization

Personalization
 Users can customize dashboard pages, which are visible only to the
user who made them.
 Personalization tasks are available only in Design Edit mode, in the
Page Composer - Personalization menu

Page Composer – What you can do?
– Change the local area layout. For example, change a two-column layout
to a three-column layout. In all, eight layouts are available for selection.
– Add, rename, or remove subtabs. You cannot rename or remove
predefined tabs or home tabs.
– Expand or collapse the dashboard regional pane. You can do this by
moving the page splitter location.
– Add or remove panel boxes from the dashboard local area.
– Edit the dashboard panel box properties: show or hide a box, reorder
child regions, or change the display and style options.
– Add, remove, and edit dashboard ADF components: regions,
hyperlinks, images, text boxes, movable boxes, and Web pages.

Migration

Page Composer Migration
– Migrate from Test to Production
– Use a single sandbox for all customizations that you intend to publish and
migrate.
– Ensure the source and target environments are at the same patch level.
– Ensure you do not publish the sandbox in your test environment before
downloading the customization file for migration.

Page Composer Migration - Steps
1. In the sandbox, select Manage Sandboxes from the Administration menu.
2. Download the unpublished sandbox in which your customizations have
been saved.
3. Save the file to your local drive.
4. Publish the sandbox.
5. Log into the production environment, select Manage Sandboxes from the
Administration menu.
6. Import the sandbox file you just downloaded.
7. Set this sandbox as active, and validate the migration was successful.
8. Publish the sandbox to the production environment.
9. Verify all changes were applied in the production environment.

Customization Set Migration
 Used to move customizations from one environment to another.
 Personalizations are not included.
 Access the Customization Set Migration dialog by navigating to the
Navigation menu, Customization Set Migration menu item under the Tools
work area

Customization Set Migration
– includes only the customizations and extensions that you make using the
following tools and features
 Page Composer
 Tasks and dialogs for configuring descriptive and extensible flexfields
and value sets
 Manage Menu Customizations task
 Manage Oracle Social Network Objects task
 Manage Standard Lookups task
 Manage Common Lookups task
 Data security policies created or customized using Oracle
Authorization Policy Manager

Extensibility

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