Introduction

 Application Designer is
 an integrated development environment

 Organizes the object definitions of a business application into an Object

Workspace, a Project Workspace and an Output Window

 Advantages of Application Designer

 Ability to access all development definitions in one tool

 Allows the PeopleSoft developer to focus on the relationships among the various
parts of a given application

 provides unrivaled ease and flexibility during the entire development process

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Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
The Application Designer window is divided into three main
areas:
 Project Workspace
 A graphical representation of the objects contained in a project.
 Has two folder tabs representing the Development and Upgrade Views.

 Object Workspace
 The area where you create and modify object definitions.

 Output Window
 Contains various informational messages populated by the application after
certain operations are performed. (Ex. Build SQL - Create and Alter).

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The Nine Steps of Application Development
 Design the Application
 Define Field
 Record Definition
 Build the SQL Table
 Page Definition
 Define Component
 Create Menus
 Enable Security
 Test the Application

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Field Definition
 Fields are the basic building blocks in PeopleSoft system

 In database terms, they represent columns in a table or

view

 Field definitions are standalone development definitions

 Can be shared across multiple record definitions

 Changes to field properties affect all records that include

that field. Contd…

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Field Definition

 Field Specifications

 Field Type

 Field Length

 Field Labels

 Field Format

Contd…

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Field Definition

 Field Types

 Character, Long Character

 Number, Signed Number

 Date, Time, DateTime

 Image, Image Reference

 Attachment

Contd…

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Field Definition

 Label Characteristics
 Label ID

 Long Name

 Short Name

 Default

 Field Format
 Format Type

 Family Name

 Display Name Contd…

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Field Definition

 Translate Values* (for CHARACTER fields with length <= 4)

 Value

 Active

 Effective Date

 Long Name

 Short Name

* aka XLAT Values Contd…

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Field Definition

 Data Type Specific Properties

 Number – Signed, Integer Position, Decimal Position

 Date – Default Century

 Time – Time Format

 DateTime – Default Century, Time Format

 Image – Maximum Length, Image Format

 Attachment – Maximum Length

Contd…

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Definition

 Special Fields

 EFFDT – Effective Date

 EFFSEQ – Effective Sequence

 EFF_STATUS – Effective Status

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Record Definition
 Sets of fields and associated attributes
 Each field in a record definition has two sets of attributes
 Field Attributes

 Record Field Attributes

 Record field properties include three groups

 Use – (Alternate) (Search) Keys, List Items, Field Audits/Defaults

 Edit – Required Field, Table Edits

 PeopleCode - Can contain any online processing to be triggered when user

enters data

Contd…

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Record Definition

 Purpose of Record Definition

 Defines underlying SQL database table structure

 Specifies Online Processing rules

 Can serve as a search record

Contd…

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Record Definition
 Types of Record Definitions
 SQL Table – Global default for new records (physical table in database)

 SQL View – A logical way to view data

 Query View – Similar to SQL View (SQL generated by PS Query tool)

 Dynamic View – Similar to SQL View but not created on the database

 Derived / Work Record – A logical record definition for storing online

processing results and is not stored in the database
 Sub-Record – A logical grouping of related fields that are used/reused in
other record definitions
 Temporary Table – Typically used for batch processing
Contd…

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Record Definition
 The Display Views

 Field Display – Shows global attributes defined for fields

 Use Display – Shows key-related characteristics and default values

 Edits Display – Shows all of the editing options (validation rules)

 PeopleCode Display – Shows all of the event-wise PeopleCode entries

Contd…

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Record Definition
 Creating New Record Defintion
 Adding New Fields
 Defining Keys
 Defining Search Keys
 Defining Alternate Search Keys
 Defining List Box Items
 Defining Default Constants
 Defining Default Record-Field Values
 Default Page Control
 Defining Required Field
 Defining Table Edits (Translate Table Edit, Yes/No Edit, Prompt Table Edit)
 Save Record Definition
Contd…

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Record Definition
 After a new record definition is created, a
corresponding SQL application table must be created to
store the application data.

 Build Settings
 Create

 Alter

 Logging

 Scripts
Contd…

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Table names convention in SQL application

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PS Pages
 Pages are the graphical interface between your users and
your application database.

 Configure or build pages that meet the data requirements

of the application and are easy to use and understand.

 Using PeopleSoft Application Designer, you can create,

modify, and delete page definitions in your PeopleSoft
system.

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Toolbars
The toolbars in PeopleSoft Application Designer change, depending on the active window. When
a page window is active, you see the page definition toolbar and the page controls toolbar.

 Page Properties
 Project Workspace
 Select Group
 Default Ordering Button
 Test Page button
 HTML Browser button
 Align Right button
 Align Left button
 Align Top button
 Align Middle button
 Align Bottom button

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Page Control Toolbar
 Group box.
 Horizontal rule.
 Static text.
 Static image.
 Check box.
 Drop-down
 List box.
 Edit box.
 HTML area.
 Push button
 Radio button
 Secondary page
 Sub page
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Level Based Controls

 Page design hinges on the type of data that you plan to access
and maintain.
 A page refer to a single record definition or might refer to
multiple records.
 To accommodate a variety of page designs, PeopleSoft created
level-based controls.

 Grids
 Scroll Areas
 Scroll Bars

 There are four levels in level-based controls: Level 0, Level 1,

Level 2, and Level 3. These levels are referenced as occurs levels
on the Record tab in the properties dialog box for the level-based
control that you are setting.

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Levels - Overview
Level 0
 This is the non-scrolling area that directly relates to the key information of the underlying
record. Level 0 information is usually display-only with data that the user entered on the
initial search page.

Levels 1— 3
 These levels include the scrolling data that is related to the Level 0, non-scrolling data.
 Level 1 is subordinate to Level 0;
 Level 2 is subordinate to and nested in Level 1;
 Level 3 is subordinate to and nested in Level 2.
 You can nest level-based controls up to 3 levels.

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Page Creation
 Creating a Blank Page
To create a new page without copying an existing page, select File, New, Page.
 Dragging Record Definitions Onto a Page

 Repositioning and Resizing a Control Precisely With the Page Control Inspector

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Setting Page Control Properties

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Page Control Properties - Label

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Page Control Properties - Use

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Display Control and Related Fields
 A related display field is for display purposes only
 It always references a row that's not being updated from the
current page.
 The display control and related display fields must both be
at the same level.
Because of the nature of control fields and related fields,
PeopleSoft recommends that you:
 Place them side-by-side on a page to indicate their relationship.
 Provide adequate space between the fields.
 Do not overlap them; otherwise, they appear skewed when viewed through the browser.
 Change the label type for the related field to None so that it doesn't appear on the page.
 Enter a text description to document the purpose of the field.
 The display control and related fields must be in the correct order on the order page.
 The display control field must be positioned before the associated related field; otherwise, a
warning dialog box appears when you save the page.
 Also, fetching the related field after the control field is entered requires a transmission to
the server at runtime.

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Maximizing Performance
 Page definitions permit controlled access to application data.
 The system can validate the data, write it to the database, and
then retrieve and display it upon request.
Behind the scenes, the component processor
— People Tools runtime processor
— Builds SQL statements that are based on the actions that you
perform on pages.

Following are guidelines for improving page performance.

References to other record definitions can include:
 Related display controls.
 People Code references (such as edits and defaults) to other records.
 Defaults to fields on other record definitions.
 Field controls on derived or work records.
 Put the field control on the appropriate derived or work record, rather than on a regular record.

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Miscellaneous

 Page Properties
 Using Page controls
 Frame
 Radio buttons
 Check boxes
 Grids
 Scroll Area
 Sub pages
 Secondary pages
 HTML Area

 Types of Pages
 Secondary Pages
 Sub Pages

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Component
 They are logical organization of related pages

 It comprises of one or more pages that are meant to be

processed as one

 They are considered as a separate object type in PeopleSoft

 They represent a logical business transaction

 At runtime, a user loads and saves the entire component

and not individual pages.

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Component Properties
 Search Record
 Controls access to rows of data in a table
 Keys and Alternate Search Keys appear on the search page as
criteria
 May also contain logic to refine the search to secure rows of data
(row-level security)
 Search Page

Note: The search record for a component might differ from the primary
record definition for a page and might contain any number of search keys,
but it must contain all of the keys for each main level 0 record for a page.

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Component Properties – Use Tab
 Access

 Search Record - Specify the search record for this

component

 Add search Record - Specify if you want a different

search record specifically for add actions

 Force Search Processing - Select to always run search

logic (SearchInit PeopleCode) for this component.

 Detail page - Specify the page that you want for details

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Component Properties – Use Tab

 Actions

Access Mode Rows to Retrieve Rows to Insert Rows to Update

Add N/A New high-level key N/A

New EFFDT >

Update/Display Current, Future Future only
Current EFFDT
New EFFDT >
Update/Display All Past/Current/Future Future only
Current EFFDT

Correction Past/Current/Future Any EFFDT All rows

 Disable Saving Page - Select when you want to hide the Save button in the
toolbar
 Include in Navigation - Select to include the component in the menu
navigation at runtime

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Component Properties – Internet Tab
 Primary Action - Select the default mode by which the user
accesses the associated page. Select New for Add mode.
 Default Search Action - The default search action
determines the default that users see, but they can select
another option from the toolbar at runtime.
 Default Search/Lookup Type - Select Basic or Advanced.
The basic search page provides a choice of which field to
search (either the primary and alternate search keys).
 Allow Action Mode Selection - Select to display the Include
History and Correct History check boxes on a search page.

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Component Properties – Internet Tab
 Link to Access Add Page - Specify the message set
and number to display on an Add page
 Link to Access Search Page - Specify the message
set and number to display on an Search page
 Instructional Text - This is set to display the "Find
an Existing Value" heading on the search page

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Component Properties – Internet Tab
 Processing Mode
 Interactive - Select to send messages to the server whenever logic must be run.
When the user presses Tab to exit a field level event, a transmission to the
application server occurs to run that field-level event and the page is refreshed.
 Deferred - This is the default processing mode. This mode reduces
transmissions to the application server.
 Allow Expert Entry - This is available for both processing modes

 Multi-Page Navigation
 Display Folder Tabs – Select to display the page names as tabs in the component

 Display Hyperlinks – Select to display the page hyperlinks in the component

 Toolbar
 Select all the required buttons to be displayed in the delivered toolbar.

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Component Buffer
 When you open any page in a component, the system retrieves
all of the data records for the entire component and stores them
in one set of record buffers, organized by scroll level and then by
page level. This component buffer consists of rows of buffer
fields that hold data for the various records that are associated
with page controls, including the primary records, related
display records, derived work records, and translate table
records.

 You can change the records in memory either through the user
actions on the page or through PeopleCode that is associated
with different page controls. At runtime, you open and save the
entire component, not just individual pages. When you save any
page in the component, you automatically save the whole
component

 (Refer to the structure tab of a component)

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