Customizing Regions

A region is a area on a page that serves as a container for content. Each page can have any number of regions. You control the appearance of a region through a specific region template. The region template controls the look of the region, the size, determines whether or not there will be a border or a background color, and what type of fonts display. A region template also determines the standard placement for any buttons placed in region positions.

You can use regions to group page controls (such as items or buttons). You can create simple regions that do not generate additional HTML, or create elaborate regions that frame content within HTML tables or images.

Regions display in sequence within HTML table columns. You can also explicitly place regions in positions defined in the page template. You can also choose to display regions conditionally.

Topics:

Creating a Region

You create new regions by running the Create Region Wizard.

To create a new region:

Navigate to the appropriate Page Definition:
1. Navigate to the Workspace home page.
2. Click the Application Builder icon.
3. Select an application.
4. Select a page.
  
  The Page Definition appears.
Under Regions, click the Create icon.

The Create Region Wizard appears.
Select a region type and follow the on-screen instructions.

When you create a region you select a region type. The HTML DB engine interprets a region differently based on the type you select. Table 7-1 describes the available region types.

Table 7-1 Region Types

Region Type	Description
HTML	When you select HTML, the wizard prompts you to select one of the following: HTML - Functions as containers for items and contain the HTML you provide. Any HTML you type may contain substitution strings. HTML Text (escape special characters) - Same as HTML region, but the HTML DB engine escapes special characters before they are rendered. HTML Text (with shortcuts) - Same as HTML region, but with support for shortcuts. See Also: "Using Shortcuts"
Report	Report regions can be defined by a SQL query you write, or by using a wizard to guide you through the steps needed to write a query. See Also: "Creating Reports"
Form	Form regions are used to contain a form. See Also: "Creating Forms"
Chart	Chart regions contain line, bar, or pie charts based on SQL queries. See Also: "Creating Charts"
List	List regions contain a shared collection of links called list. See Also: "Creating Lists"
Breadcrumb	Breadcrumb regions contain a hierarchical list of links called a breadcrumb. See Also: "Creating Breadcrumbs"
PL/SQL Dynamic Content	Regions based on PL/SQL enable you to render any HTML or text using the PL/SQL Web Toolkit.
Tree	Trees are a hierarchical navigational control based on a SQL query executed at run time. It enables the user to expand an collapse nodes. See Also: "Creating Trees"
URL	URL based regions obtain their content by calling a Web server using a predefined URL. See Also: "Incorporating Content from Other Web Sites"
Calendar	Calendar regions are used to contain a monthly calendar. See Also: "Creating Calendars"
Multiple HTML	Use this option to create multiple HTML regions at once. In the fields provided, specify the Sequence, Title, Display Point, Report Template, and Column for each region.
Help Text	Help Text regions enable you to provide page-level help. See Also: "Creating a Help Page"

How Region Attributes Affect Page Layout

You can alter the appearance of a page by changing the region attributes.

To edit region attributes:

Navigate to the appropriate Page Definition:
1. Navigate to the Workspace home page.
2. Click the Application Builder icon.
3. Select an application.
4. Select a page.
  
  The Page Definition appears.
Under Regions, select the region name.

The Region Definition appears.

Table 7-2 describes region attributes that affect the layout of a page.

Table 7-2 Region Attributes Affecting Page Layout

Attribute	Description
Conditions	Defines conditions and appropriate expressions that determine if the region displays. Conditions can reference session state, the currently logged in user, or Oracle HTML DB environment preferences (such as whether or not a page is in Print View mode). See Also: "Understanding Conditional Rendering and Processing" and "Optimizing a Page for Printing"
Header and Footer	Specifies HTML text to be displayed at the top of the region (just before the `#BODY#` content).
Customization	Enables end user customization. To utilize this feature, you must include the `#CUSTOMIZE#` substitution string in the Header, Body, or Footer section of the page template. See Also: "Enabling Users to Customize a Page"
User Interface, Column	Determines the column in which the region displays. If two regions are in the same display point, you can place them next to one another by setting the second region to display in column 2. Many regions can display in each column and the display order of the regions within the region display point and column is controlled by the region display sequence number.
User Interface, Template	Determines the look of the region. Select from the region templates defined in the application. To view template attributes, click the template name on the Page Definition. See Also: "Customizing Templates" and "Region Templates"
User Interface, Sequence	Specifies the display order of the regions within the page.
User Interface, Display Point	Identifies where within the page the region displays. Regions are rendered in order of sequence number within a Display Point. Click the View icon to see the page layout and select a position. The possible display points for a region are determined by the page-level template (which is a page attribute). If no page-level template is selected, the default page-level template, defined in the Application Definition is used.
User Interface, Region HTML table cell attributes	Defines additional attributes to be used in the HTML table cells when regions display in multiple columns. The attributes control the cells in the table used to lay out a region in multiple columns.

Controlling Region Positioning

When you create a region, you must specify its position (or Display Point) on the page. You can choose either a default position (such as Page Template Body) or a user-defined position in the template (such as Page Template Region Position 1.)

In addition to Display Point, you can specify the column in which the region will be placed. When you place regions in multiple columns, Oracle HTML DB automatically renders the necessary HTML to produce a multiple column layout.

Specifying a Region Header and Footer

In addition to the body content of a region (which can be a report, a chart, or HTML with form elements), you can specify additional HTML to be placed above and below a region or in its header and footer. The region footer supports the following substitution strings:

#TIMING# shows the elapsed time in seconds used when rendering a region. You cab use this substitution string for debugging purposes.
#ROWS_FETCHED# shows the number of rows fetched by the Oracle HTML DB reporting engine (the page size). You can use these substitution strings to display customized messages to the user. For example:
```
Fetched #ROWS_FETCHED# rows in #TIMING# seconds.
```
#TOTAL_ROWS# displays the total number of rows that satisfy a SQL query used for a report.
#FIRST_ROW_FETCHED# and #LAST_ROW_FETCHED# displays the range of rows displayed. For example:
```
Row(s) #FIRST_ROW_FETCHED# through #LAST_ROW_FETCHED# of #ROWS_FETCHED# displayed
```

Enabling Users to Customize a Page

You can use the Customization attribute to enable users to turn regions on and off in a running application.

To enable end user customization:

Navigate to the appropriate Page Definition:
1. Navigate to the Workspace home page.
2. Click the Application Builder icon.
3. Select an application.
4. Select a page.
  
  The Page Definition appears.
Under Regions, click the region name.

The Region Definition appears.
Scroll down to Customization and select one of the following:
- Customizable and Not Shown By Default
- Customizable and Shown By Default
In Customized Option Name, enter the label that represents this region on the page to the user.
Include the #CUSTOMIZE# substitution string in the Header, Body, or Footer section of the page template.

To utilize this feature, you must include the #CUSTOMIZE# substitution string in the Header, Body, or Footer section of the page template.

If at least one region supports end user customization, a link called Customize appears wherever you include the #CUSTOMIZE# substitution string in the page template. When users click this link, a window displays enabling them to turn on and off regions on the page.