Using Personalizations and Other Techniques to Give Your Self-Service

Applications a Custom Look and Feel

By Don Driggs, Solution Beacon LLC

Paper Abstract
Release 11.5.10 provides a new, fantastic tool for the self-service applications to give them a custom look
and feel. You can use this tool, personalizations, to change headings, hide fields, move them around, and
more. And the best part of all this is you don’t need to be a techie to use it.

Executive Summary
Carnegie Mellon University recently upgraded their applications from 11.0.3 to 11.5.10 CU2. One of the
significant customizations they were using and didn’t want to carry forward was their integration of the
procurement card to Oracle Grants Accounting. While the procurement card transaction process is not
integrated with Grants in 11.5.10, internet expenses is so they converted all their procurement cards to
travel cards and used iExpenses to process their procurement card transactions.

CMU was already using Internet Expenses or Expense Reporting as it was known in 11.0.3 to handle their
travel-related expense reporting so they made a few adaptations to give iExpenses a look and feel that
would make their Procurement Card users feel at home. They changed the names of page headings,
column headings, removed unwanted web links, hid some columns and moved some others around. They
defaulted in some information to some fields, changed button names, and hid other buttons.

All of this was done using personalizations by a functional user and no technical expertise was necessary.

Paper and Presentation Notes

This training session will demonstrate how you can change the look and feel of your self-service
applications. We will show how you can use personalizations and messages to give your self-service
applications a custom look and feel.

To do this, we will demonstrate some of the things we did at Carnegie Mellon University to use the Internet
Expenses application to process our Procurement Card transactions. CMU developed a stand-alone module
to handle procurement card transactions when they implemented 11.0.3. They needed something that
integrated with Oracle Grants and in 1999 that process wasn’t part of the Oracle applications. During the
upgrade to 11.5.10, CMU re-evaluated this customization.

Let me emphasize that this paper is not about how CMU adapted internet expenses so they could process
procurement card transactions. It is about how CMU used personalizations to help them use internet
expenses to process their procurement card transactions.

The standard Oracle procurement card process in 11.5.10 isn’t integrated with Grants but Internet Expenses
is. So the question was asked, could iExpenses handle procurement card transactions?

There are similarities between the two processes. Both processes download credit card transactions, the
user reviews and verifies the accounts and amounts and submits them for approval. In addition, they found
the benefits of using iExpenses for both sets of transactions were that:
• The users would have the same tool to handle their credit card and travel transactions.
• There would be efficiencies in training and supporting the users.
• The procedures and guidelines for approving travel and procurement card expenses would become
more consistent.
• Policy decisions could be enforced uniformly.

There are differences in the processes too. Procurement card transactions are company paid, there are no
cash or out of pocket transactions. The Expense Report Templates are unique and need to be segregated.

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Procurement polices are different than travel policies and there are differences in terminology. For
example, no travel-related costs are allowed on the procurement card – they are for the procurement of
goods and services. The cards are restricted for travel-related suppliers such as airlines, car rental agencies,
and hotels. There is a monthly limit on the amount that can be charged to a procurement card. No out-of-
pocket charges can be included in the validation of procurement card transactions.

These distinctions required CMU to create a custom look and feel to Internet Expenses for procurement
cards without impacting the travel expense reporting process. Personalizations was the perfect answer to
resolve many of these requirements.

Using personalizations, CMU was able to use the same application for both process but still maintain
separate policies and control. This session will demonstrate on a limited basis how CMU used
personalizations to segregate the two processes. In doing so, it will demonstrate various ways that
personalizations can touch the look and feel of your self-service applications. Even though we are using
Internet Expenses to demonstrate personalizations, they apply to all self-service applications.

Even though we are discussing internet expenses, this demonstration of personalizations applies to any self-
service Oracle application.

What Are Personalizations?

Personalizations refer to the ability to tailor the self-service applications, specifically the look and feel, the
layout and the visibility of the content.

Oracle refers to this technology as the Oracle Applications Framework Personalization. The OA
Framework Release 5.7 is available if you are at 11.5.9 and have applied rollup patch 3323690. It is a
standard feature on 11.5.10.

You can tell that these features are available if in the upper right-hand corner of the home page of the
Oracle E-business suite, you have a Personalize Page link.

There is a profile options that can hide this link. It is called Personalize Self-Service Defn so if you don’t
see the link, you might check the profile option. The value should be set to Yes to see the links. That is the
default value.

Don’t confuse these OAF personalizations with the core application form personalizations. To personalize
a core application form requires the database password and skills typically found in an application
developer. The OAF personalizations allow a somewhat skilled functional user to change screens (or
pages) in the self-service application without impacting the core application forms.

How do I use Personalizations?

EXPENSES HOME PAGE
1. Remove buttons
Change Link Path Level Personalize
Remove the Import Personalize Page Layout: Expenses Home > Responsibility Rendered = False
Spreadsheet button Page Page Button Bar: > Button: Import
Spreadsheet
Remove the Export Page Button Bar: > Button: Export Responsibility Rendered = False
Spreadsheet button Spreadsheet

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Personalizations allow you to make changes at various levels of activity with the lowest level of activity
taking precedence over a higher level of activity. The levels of applying personalizations are:

Function: Admin can define functions and can define granular level personalization based upon these
functions. For example, two functions can be created for same form based upon the functionality of Update
only and one for creating records. And then personalization can be defined for each function.
Site: Personalizations that affect all users with access to the given application component.
Operating Unit: Personalizations that affect all users with access to the given operating unit.
Responsibility: Personalizations that affect all users with access to the given responsibility.

The default values for every personalization are defined in the first column and inherited at every
descending level of activity. If the value is changed at any level, then all lower levels inherit the changed
valued. The term inherit is used frequently and means that the level inherits the definition from the level
immediately above it. Using the above example, a value of false at the site level means that the value will
be false for all operating units and for all responsibilities that access that page. However, I can override
that by setting one value at a high level and a different value at a lower level. If I entered False for
Rendered at the Operating Unit level and True at the Responsibility level, then that responsibility would see
the buttons but no one else in that operating unit would.

This feature of applying personalizations at various levels enabled us to differentiate our travel expense
reporting from our procurement card reporting because we created a unique responsibility for both.

2. Change the button name

Change Link Path Level Personalize
Change button name: From Personalize Page Layout: Expenses Home > Responsibility Prompt = Create
Create Expense Report to Page Page Button Bar: > – Verification Report
Create Credit Card Button: Create Expense Report Procurement
Verification Report. Card

3. Change the Header

Change Link Path Level Personalize
Change Header “Track Personalize Default Single Column > Header: Responsibility Text = Track
Submitted Expense Reports” "OIE Home Track Submitted Expense Reports – Submitted Credit
to “Track Submitted Credit Page Procurement Card Verification
Card Verification Reports” Container" Card Reports
Change Header “Update Default Single Column > Header: Responsibility Text = Update
Expense Reports” to “Update Update Expense Reports – Credit Card
Credit Card Verification Procurement Verification Reports
Reports” Card

4. Hide the Duplicate Column

Change Link Path Level Personalize
Remove Duplicate Option Personalize Page Layout: Procurement Card Responsibility Rendered=False
from the Track Submitted Page Home->Header: Track Submitted –
PCard Verification Report PCard Verification Reports- Procurement
table >Switcher: Duplicate Card

GENERAL INFORMATION PAGE

5. Change a Field Name
Change Link Path Level Personalize
Change Expense Cost Center Personalize Page Layout > Page Button Bar: > Site Prompt = Default
to Default Organization Page Page Button Bar: Actions Region > Organization
Number Message Text Input: Expense Cost Number
Center

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 6. Set the Initial Value
Change Link Path Level Personalize
Default the Purpose to PCard Personalize Page Layout > Page Button Bar: > Responsibility Initial Value =
Verification Page Page Button Bar: Actions Region > – PCard Verification
Message Text Input: Purpose Procurement
Card
And make the purpose read Rendered = True
only

7. Hide one of the Train Links

Change Link Path Level Personalize
Remove the Cash and Other Personalize Page Layout > location > Train: Responsibility Rendered = False
Expenses from the Navigation Page OIE Train > Link: Cash and Other –
Train Expenses Procurement
Card

CREDIT CARD EXPENSES

8. Change date to be non-updatable
Change Link Path Level Personalize
Change the Date to be Non- Personalize Page Layout > Flow Layout: Credit Site Read > Updatable Page Card Expenses > Header: Business
Expenses > Table > Switcher Error
> Message Text Input: Date

Demonstrate the use of

Focus: Displays only those items in that grouping,
Expand All: Display items at all levels,
Collapse All: Hide items at all levels,
Simple View: Display the focused items
Complete View: Display all components
Find (Ctrl F): Browser tool to find key words

9. Change Column Heading

Change Link Path Level Personalize
Change the Heading Itemize Personalize Page Layout > Header: Business Site Prompt = Split
to Split Page Expenses > Table > Switcher Error
> Image: Itemize

10. Reorder the Columns

Change Link Path Level Reorder
Reorder the display of the Personalize Page Layout > Header: Business Site
columns in the Site Page Expenses > Table

Click on the Personalize box

in the Site section
Use the arrows to reorder the
columns

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 11. Create an Item – Add Employee Name to Cash and Other Expenses
Change Link Path Level Reorder
Add a field call Employee Personalize Default Single Column: Receipt-
Name to the Cash and Other “Receipt- Based Expenses
Expenses page Based
Expenses”
Enter the following: *ID: EmloyeeName
CSS Class: OraDataText
Prompt: Employee Name
View Attribute: FullName
View Instance: PersonsVO
Reorder Move Employee Name above Split
and Receipt Based Expenses

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 12. Create an Item – Add a Tip for Cash and Other Expenses
Change Link Path Level Reorder
Add a message using the
Application Developer
Add that message as a tip to
the Cash and Other Expenses
page

Questions:
Are personalizations upgradeable? Yes

Can they be migrated to other instances? Yes

How do you manage personalizations?

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Managing Personalizations
Functional Administrator responsibility
Personalizations Tab

Enter the Document name in the Document Path

Hint: Before switching to the Functional Administrator responsibility, go to the page that’s been
personalized and swipe the Document Name and copy it. Then using the Functional
Administrator responsibility, navigate to the Personalizations tab and paste it into the Document
Path and click Go.

Click the Manage Personalizations icon

Here, you can Deactivate, Activate, or Delete personalizations.

Use the Extract and Upload buttons to migrate personalizations to other instances. Preliminary steps are
required before doing such as defining the common server location where all the personalizations will be
put into and read from. This will take technical expertise beyond the scope of this paper.

About this Page

Find this link in the lower left-hand corner of every self-service page. Click on this link to see
Personalizations, Patches, and lots of useful (depending on who you talk to) stuff.

Items listed in the Manage Personalizations page identify the pages that have been personalized and even
the level to which they were applied but they don’t identify specifically what was personalized. You can
find that information by navigating to that page and clicking on the About this Page link.

Personalizations are cool, easy to use, easy to manage, and upgradeable.

About the Author

Don Driggs is a Senior Consultant at Solution Beacon and is a frequent presenter at OAUG. Don has 23
years experience in supporting financial applications with ten of them using Oracle applications and eight
as a consultant. He also is a Co-Author of Special Edition Using Oracle 11i published by QUE Publishing
in 2001.

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