Oracle Fast Formulas - Chapter 23: Using Fast Formulas in Value Sets

 

Chapter 23: Using Fast Formulas in Value Sets

🔍 Introduction

Oracle Fusion allows you to enhance Value Sets using Fast Formulas. This is particularly useful when you need dynamic list of values based on certain conditions like business unit, legal employer, or other criteria. This brings a high level of flexibility and personalization to your data entry forms.

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🧠 What Are Value Sets?

Value Sets are used to control the values that users can enter into flexfields or parameters. When enhanced with Fast Formulas, you can make these lists context-sensitive and dynamic.

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🎯 Use Cases

• Showing only active legal entities for a business unit.

• Filtering values based on user role or department.

• Showing only future-dated events.

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🛠️ How It Works

A Formula Type called Value Set is used. You write a formula that returns a character or numeric value. This returned value is used to filter the values in the associated value set.

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✅ Basic Syntax

plsql
DEFAULT FOR <context_variable> IS 'default_value'
<return_variable> = <logic_based_on_context>

RETURN <return_variable>

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📌 Example: Filtering Legal Employers Based on Business Unit

plsql
DEFAULT FOR BU_NAME IS 'DEFAULT_BU'

IF BU_NAME = 'Corporate BU' THEN
   RETURN 'CORP_LE'
ELSIF BU_NAME = 'Retail BU' THEN
   RETURN 'RETAIL_LE'
ELSE
   RETURN 'GENERIC_LE'
ENDIF

This formula ensures that only the relevant legal employers are shown when a user selects a business unit.

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⚙️ Setting It Up in Oracle

1. Go to Setup and Maintenance.

2. Navigate to Manage Value Sets.

3. Select or create a value set.

4. In Validation Type, select Table.

5. Use a SQL query that refers to a Fast Formula result (through bind variables or criteria).

6. Attach your Fast Formula under the “Additional Setup” options.

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📚 Best Practices

• Use meaningful names for context variables.

• Always provide default values.

• Document the logic thoroughly.

• Test the formula in different contexts to ensure consistency.

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🧪 Practice Quiz

1. What type of formula is used for enhancing value sets?

   • a) Payroll

   • b) Element Result

   • ✅ c) Value Set

   • d) Validation

2. What should a value set formula always return?

   • a) Array

   • ✅ b) Character or Number

   • c) Table

   • d) Boolean