Understanding the Page Definition

A Page Definition is the basic building block of a page. You use the Page Definition to view, create, and edit the controls and application logic that define a page. The sections that follow describe the different parts of the Page Definition.

Topics:

Available Navigation Bar Controls and Buttons
About the Action Bar
About Page Rendering, Page Processing, and Shared Components

Available Navigation Bar Controls and Buttons

A navigation bar appears directly beneath the breadcrumb trail.

Description of the illustration pg_def_top.gif

Available controls on the page navigation bar include:

Page. Displays the current page number. To view another page, enter the page number in the Page field and click Go.
Previous and Next. These buttons resemble less than (<) and greater than (>) signs. Click these buttons to move to the previous or next page.
View. Controls the current page view. To view alternative reports, make a selection from the list and click Go. See "Using the View List on the Page Definition".

The following buttons appear to the right of the navigation bar:

Run. Submits the current page to the Application Express engine to render viewable HTML. See "Running a Page or Application".
Copy. Creates a copy of the current page. You specify a page number and page name.
Delete. Deletes the current page.
Create. Links to a wizard for creating a page. See "Creating a Page from the Page Definition".

About the Action Bar

The Run Page, Shared Components, Comment, Lock, Export Page, and Find icons display on the Action bar.

Description of the illustration pg_def_icons.gif

Run Page Icon

The Run Page icon resembles a small, light green traffic light. Click this icon to render the current page into viewable HTML. When you run a page, the Application Express engine dynamically renders the page based on data stored in the database. See "Running a Page or Application".

Shared Components Icon

The Shared Components icon resembles a small mechanical gear. Click this icon to view a list of shared components and user interface controls that can display or be applied on every page within an application. See "Working with Shared Components".

Developer Comment Icon

The Developer Comment icon resembles a green balloon. Use this icon to add comments to an application, a page, or a group of pages. See "Adding Developer Comments".

Lock Icon

The Lock icon indicates whether a page is available for editing. If a page is unlocked, the icon appears as an open padlock. If the page is locked, the icon appears as a locked padlock. Click this icon to change the lock status. See "Locking and Unlocking a Page".

Export Page Icon

The Export Page icon resembles a downward arrow. Click this icon to export the current page. See "Exporting a Page in an Application".

Find Icon

The Find icon resembles a flashlight. Click this icon to search for items, pages, queries, tables, PL/SQL, images, and cascading style sheets (CSS) within the current application or the schemas associated with the workspace. See "Using the Find Icon".

About Page Rendering, Page Processing, and Shared Components

Every Page Definition is divided into three sections:

Page Rendering. Page rendering is the process of generating a page from the database. The Page Rendering section lists user interface controls and logic that execute when a page is rendered. See "About Page Rendering".
Page Processing. Page processing occurs once a page is submitted. Typically a page is submitted when a user clicks a button. The Page Processing section lists logic controls (such as computations and processes) that are evaluated and executed when the page is processed. See "About Page Processing".
Shared Components. The Shared Components section lists common components that can be used by one or more pages within an application. See "About Shared Components".