How To Use Attachments In Oracle Applications

To illustrate or clarify your application data, you can link non-structured  data such as images, word processing documents, spreadsheets, web pages, or video to more structured application data.

For example, you could attach images to inventory items or video to manufacturing operations.

Invoke the Attachment form to view an attachment by pressing the Attachment toolbar button.

The toolbar Attachment icon indicates whether the Attachments feature is enabled in a form block.

When the button is dimmed, the Attachment feature is not available.

When the Attachment feature is enabled in a form block, the icon becomes a solid paper clip.

The icon switches to a paper clip holding a paper when the Attachment feature is enabled in a form block and the current record has at least one attachment.

There is also a profile option, Indicate Attachments, that allows you to turn off indication of attachments when querying records for performance reasons.

Note: The current version of the Attachments feature supports attachments to a restricted set of applications data.

Check your product-specific documentation to determine if the Attachments feature is enabled for your Oracle Applications product, and if so, for what data

Use the Attachments window to view or delete existing attachments, and create new attachments.

You must provide the following information when you create an attachment:

-- Category

The category controls which forms can access the document.

Each form that enables Attachments must list which document categories it can access.

A "Miscellaneous" category will be assigned to each form registered for Attachments to facilitate "cross-form" visibility of Attachments.

-- Datatype

An attached document can be:

Short Text -- Text stored in the database containing less than 2000 characters.

Long Text -- Text stored in the database containing 2000 characters or more.

Image -- An image that Oracle Forms can display, including: bmp, cals, jfif, jpeg, gif, pcd, pcx, pict, ras, and tif.

OLE Object -- An OLE Object that requires other OLE server applications to view, such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel.

Web Page -- A URL reference to a web page which you can view with your web browser.

-- May be Changed

The May be Changed checkbox indicates if you are able to edit the attachment.

-- Storage

Specify where images are to be stored:

-- Database

Storing images in the database provides centrally-accessible images without special file system setup. However, database storage of images will increase the amount of database space required for applications.

-- File or URL

File system storage of images requires a shared file system that is accessible to all users and looks the same to all users. For example, you should not store an image on your local PC' s C drive as another PC accessing the system will not see your PC's C drive as its C drive.

-- Document Block

The document block is the section of the window below the multi-line attachment block. The document block displays the current document in the attachments

-- block.

To improve performance while scrolling through lists of attachments, uncheck the coordination checkbox. The document block will not update until you turn coordination on again.

Attention: If you maximize the document block window, no other operations can be performed until you restore the block to its original state.

If the attachment is an image datatype, you can use the Magnification poplist to choose from a list of percentages to enlarge or shrink the image, or enter your own percentage sizing.

Adjust to Fit will adjust the image to fit within the form. Move your cursor into another field to see your image in the new scale.

-- Adding an Attachment

You can attach a document to any record for which attachments are enabled, such as a supplier definition or an Order Line.

-- To attach a document to an Oracle Applications .

record:

1. In an application window, query or enter a data record.

2. Choose the Attachment toolbar icon. The Attachments window opens.

3. Enter a category and description.

To attach an image, supply an image format (e.g. TIFF) and a file name, then select Database storage if you want to copy it to the database. Otherwise, that image will be loaded from the file system whenever you view it.

If the document you want to attach already exists within Oracle Applications, choose the Document Catalog... button.

When the Document Catalog window opens, query an existing document, check one or more documents, then choose Attach (1).

4. Save your work.

-- Viewing an Attached Document

To view an attached document:

1. Query a record.

2. Press the Attachment toolbar icon.

3. Move your cursor to the document you want to view. The Attachments appear in the document block.

To see an OLE document, double-click on the OLE object in the document block or move the mouse into the document block then right-click to get the OLE  menu; choose Document Object->Open.

-- Copying an Attachment from Another Record

Oracle Applications keeps a catalog of documents that have been attached to applications data records so far; therefore, you can take advantage of this catalog if you want to attach an existing document to another data record.

-- To copy an attachment from another record

1. In an application window, query the record that you want to attach a document to. (Don''t query the record that already has the attachment.)

2. Choose the Attachments toolbar icon.

3. Choose Document Catalog.

4. Enter query criteria in the Attached To: field for the application object you want to copy attachments from.

5. Choose Find.

6. Check one or more documents.

7. Choose Attach (1).

8. Save your work.