Search icon CANCEL
Subscription
0
Cart icon
Your Cart (0 item)
Close icon
You have no products in your basket yet
Arrow left icon
Explore Products
Best Sellers
New Releases
Books
Videos
Audiobooks
Learning Hub
Conferences
Free Learning
Arrow right icon
Oracle APEX Cookbook : Second Edition
Oracle APEX Cookbook : Second Edition

Oracle APEX Cookbook : Second Edition: Get straight into developing modern web applications, including mobile, using the recipes in this brilliant cookbook for Oracle Application Express (APEX). From the basics to more advanced features, it's a reference book and guide in one.

eBook
$9.99 $39.99
Paperback
$65.99
Subscription
Free Trial
Renews at $19.99p/m

What do you get with Print?

Product feature icon Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped
Product feature icon Paperback book shipped to your preferred address
Product feature icon Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats
Product feature icon Access this title in our online reader with advanced features
Product feature icon DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want
OR
Modal Close icon
Payment Processing...
tick Completed

Shipping Address

Billing Address

Shipping Methods
Table of content icon View table of contents Preview book icon Preview Book

Oracle APEX Cookbook : Second Edition

Chapter 2. Themes and Templates

In this chapter we will cover the following topics:

  • Creating your own theme

  • Importing a theme

  • Creating a custom template

  • Including images in your application

  • Referencing CSS classes in your application

  • Controlling the layout

Introduction


Now that we have an application we would like to give it more looks. Maybe the application has to adhere to certain corporate layout standards. Or maybe you just want to add some more colors. Using themes and templates it is possible to give your application some cosmetic changes. A theme is a collection of templates and a template is a collection of components ranging from pages and reports to controls like calendars. A template consists of a header template, a body template, and a footer template. A template also contains some subtemplates, for example, for the success message.

In this chapter, we will present some recipes which will make your application look better.

Creating your own theme


When working with themes, there are some important things to know. First of all, there is the theme export SQL file in which all templates of the theme are included. Secondly, there are the images that belong to your theme. And thirdly, there are the .css files. CSS is an abbreviation of Cascading Style Sheet and describes the style of the elements in a web page. For example, the font of the text or the color of the background. In the stylesheet there are also references to images. It is important that the references in these files are correct, otherwise you will see no style at all, just plain text.

When you want to create your own theme you can do two things: start from scratch or copy an existing theme and adapt it. Starting from scratch is more work as you have to create all the templates as well. Copying and modifying an existing theme costs less time but if you have to change a lot in order to get the desired layout, you might as well start from scratch.

Getting...

Importing a theme


The themes that come with APEX offer enough different styles and layouts to give your application a unique and satisfying look. However, if your application must conform to a specific corporate layout or your application must look the same as another APEX application, you can import a theme. APEX offers an easy way to import and use a theme. You can find several themes (free or commercial) on the Internet.

Getting ready

Make sure you have already downloaded the theme and put it on your filesystem.

How to do it...

  1. In the application builder, go to the application you are working on.

  2. Click on the Export/Import button.

    Select Import. In the next step, enter the name and path of the theme. You can also use the Find button to locate the file. An APEX import or export theme file is just a .sql file. You can even view the contents of the file. It should begin with something like this:

  3. In the file type radio group, select Theme Export. Optionally, you can select the file character set...

Creating a custom template


When you create a theme from scratch, you also have to link the templates to the theme. You can copy templates from another theme to your newly created theme. But you can also create new templates from scratch. We will create a new template in this recipe.

Getting ready

We can go on with theme 115 that we made in the first recipe, so make sure you already created this theme.

How to do it...

  1. In Application Builder, go to the application you are working on. After that, go to the Shared components.

  2. In the shared components page, click on Templates.

  3. Click on the Create button to start the wizard.

  4. In the next step you see nine types of templates. Select the Region template.

  5. Click on From scratch and click on the Next button.

  6. Enter a name for this new template, that is, cust_rep_reg. You can also select the theme this new template should be part of. And finally, select the template class. In our case, we select the Reports region. Click the Create button to finish the wizard...

Including images in your application


A web application will look better when you use images. Of course, APEX 4.0 supports the use of images in web pages. You can easily upload images to the APEX host with your FTP client. To connect to the APEX host, see the description at the beginning of this chapter. You should copy your images to the images directory. APEX uses a shortcut or prefix for this path. Mostly it is /i/ but you can change that. Go to shared components and click on the edit definition link on the right side of the screen, under Application. In the name section you can find this image prefix text item where you can modify the prefix. It is advised to always use the substitution string #IMAGE_PREFIX# instead of /i/ when referring to images in templates or button images to safeguard the URI to the images when modifying the virtual directory on the HTTP server (EPG or Apache).

There is another way to upload images to the APEX environment. In the application builder, go to the application...

Referencing CSS classes in your application


Cascading Stylesheets offer an easy way to quickly change the look and feel of a web application. They hold information about colors, sizes, borders, and fonts. Working with stylesheets is a good way to separate the style and the actual content of a webpage. The HTML document should only contain text and HTML tags.

In this recipe, we will make a simple stylesheet, upload it to the APEX environment, and use it in our application. We will change the buttons and the background of the region. All this is done by referencing classes in the stylesheet.

Getting ready

We will use the user profiles page we made in Chapter 1, Creating a Basic APEX Application so make sure this page is ready. For the buttons we will use other background images. You can make them yourself or you can copy some from the Internet (mind the copyrights). You can find them anywhere. Make sure these buttons have the same size as the original buttons. Once you have made the images you...

Controlling the layout


One of the most difficult tasks of web programing is the control of the layout. In previous versions of APEX, tables were used to place the items on the desired positions. You can use an HTML editor to see a preview of the layout. As from APEX 4.0, new themes are introduced that use divs to position the different components. Divs are almost necessary to be able to use dynamic actions layout. The biggest advantage from div-based layout over table-based layout is that you can precisely position components of the web page.

In this recipe, we will create a page with a report region showing the application users and a chart region with the number of roles used. The two regions will be displayed next to each other.

Getting ready

Just make sure that theme 1 is the active theme.

How to do it...

  1. In the application builder, go to your application.

  2. Click on the Create page button.

  3. Select Report and in the next step, select Classic report.

  4. Leave the page number or assign a number yourself...

Left arrow icon Right arrow icon

What you will learn

  • Produce feature-rich web applications in APEX 4.2
  • Create smartphone applications using jQuery Mobile
  • Use HTML5 and CSS3 in APEX
  • Generate RESTful web services
  • Working with the latest available plug-in types
  • Make the development process easier by enhancing error handling
  • Developing HTML5 and CSS3 supported web applications
  • Follow hands-on examples to make the most out of the possibilities that APEX has to offer
Estimated delivery fee Deliver to Turkey

Standard delivery 10 - 13 business days

$12.95

Premium delivery 3 - 6 business days

$34.95
(Includes tracking information)

Product Details

Country selected
Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Oct 25, 2013
Length: 444 pages
Edition :
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781782179672
Vendor :
Oracle
Category :
Languages :

What do you get with Print?

Product feature icon Instant access to your digital eBook copy whilst your Print order is Shipped
Product feature icon Paperback book shipped to your preferred address
Product feature icon Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats
Product feature icon Access this title in our online reader with advanced features
Product feature icon DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want
OR
Modal Close icon
Payment Processing...
tick Completed

Shipping Address

Billing Address

Shipping Methods
Estimated delivery fee Deliver to Turkey

Standard delivery 10 - 13 business days

$12.95

Premium delivery 3 - 6 business days

$34.95
(Includes tracking information)

Product Details

Publication date : Oct 25, 2013
Length: 444 pages
Edition :
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781782179672
Vendor :
Oracle
Category :
Languages :

Packt Subscriptions

See our plans and pricing
Modal Close icon
$19.99 billed monthly
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Simple pricing, no contract
$199.99 billed annually
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just $5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts
$279.99 billed in 18 months
Feature tick icon Unlimited access to Packt's library of 7,000+ practical books and videos
Feature tick icon Constantly refreshed with 50+ new titles a month
Feature tick icon Exclusive Early access to books as they're written
Feature tick icon Solve problems while you work with advanced search and reference features
Feature tick icon Offline reading on the mobile app
Feature tick icon Choose a DRM-free eBook or Video every month to keep
Feature tick icon PLUS own as many other DRM-free eBooks or Videos as you like for just $5 each
Feature tick icon Exclusive print discounts

Frequently bought together


Stars icon
Total $ 186.97
Oracle Advanced PL/SQL Developer Professional Guide
$65.99
Oracle APEX Best Practices
$54.99
Oracle APEX Cookbook : Second Edition
$65.99
Total $ 186.97 Stars icon
Banner background image

Table of Contents

14 Chapters
Creating a Basic APEX Application Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Themes and Templates Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Extending APEX Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Creating Websheet Applications Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
APEX Plug-ins Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Creating Multilingual APEX Applications Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
APEX APIs Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Using Web Services Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Publishing from APEX Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
APEX Environment Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
APEX Administration Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Team Development Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
HTML5 and CSS3 Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Mobile Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Top Reviews
Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.6
(7 Ratings)
5 star 71.4%
4 star 14.3%
3 star 14.3%
2 star 0%
1 star 0%
Filter icon Filter
Top Reviews

Filter reviews by




Cliente Amazon Sep 30, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
O livro atendeu a expectativa. É uma fonte de informação para tirar dúvidas. Principalmente para um iniciante no assunto.Recomendaria.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Surachart Opun Mar 22, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Examples in a book are very useful. Readers can follow each topic (example) and practice it. A book is for some people who are new with Oracle APEX and want to start it. For some people who know and work with Oracle APEX, they can use this book like reference and learn something new in APEX. So, I think it's a good idea to keep this book in your APEX shelf. I still believe a book is easy for reading... and learning in APEX.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Scott Wesley Mar 10, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
The book is aimed at those new to APEX and intermediate developers - a statement I look out for when assessing books so I know what to expect or what I'm in for. Though I think anyone can learn something new, or adapt a technique you may not have seen before.There are some references to 4.0, but I also share duties for updating manuals and understand you can't be expected to tackle every page, every screenshot in a revision. Looking through the contents I quickly picked up plenty of new & expected additions to this edition:Data upload pagesUsing shipped filesAuthorisation plug-insRESTful web servicesUsing Tomcat with APEX ListenerError handlingPackaged applicationsTable APIsHTML5/CSS3MobileI'd recommend it as a reference to any APEX developer.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
srinivas reddy Apr 25, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Oracle APEX is explained in detail with required examples, so that beginners can also understand the topics quickly.I never had chance to implement web service and Websheets in APEX after reading this book I found its very useful features and Author made a best attempt to cover all the features with proper examples.I recommend this book to all oracle/Apex Developers. Very useful, as a quick reference guide.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Amazon Customer Feb 20, 2014
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
This cookbook will help with tasks from daily business. A beginner can lern so many standard things and a pro will get a hint for new ideas. The examples are very helpful and pictured.With the second edition of this book you get information about the first version with an update to the current APEX version. As an extra you will find information about HTML5 and CSS 3 (responsive web design) and the new possibility to create mobile APEX apps.The book is good to read and a must for all APEX developers.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Get free access to Packt library with over 7500+ books and video courses for 7 days!
Start Free Trial

FAQs

What is the delivery time and cost of print book? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Shipping Details

USA:

'

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

Economy: Can deliver to P. O. Boxes and private residences.
Trackable service with delivery to addresses in Australia only.
Delivery time ranges from 7-9 business days for VIC and 8-10 business days for Interstate metro
Delivery time is up to 15 business days for remote areas of WA, NT & QLD.

Premium: Delivery to addresses in Australia only
Trackable delivery to most P. O. Boxes and private residences in Australia within 4-5 days based on the distance to a destination following dispatch.

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Disclaimer:
All orders received before 5 PM U.K time would start printing from the next business day. So the estimated delivery times start from the next day as well. Orders received after 5 PM U.K time (in our internal systems) on a business day or anytime on the weekend will begin printing the second to next business day. For example, an order placed at 11 AM today will begin printing tomorrow, whereas an order placed at 9 PM tonight will begin printing the day after tomorrow.


Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

  1. Afghanistan
  2. American Samoa
  3. Belarus
  4. Brunei Darussalam
  5. Central African Republic
  6. The Democratic Republic of Congo
  7. Eritrea
  8. Guinea-bissau
  9. Iran
  10. Lebanon
  11. Libiya Arab Jamahriya
  12. Somalia
  13. Sudan
  14. Russian Federation
  15. Syrian Arab Republic
  16. Ukraine
  17. Venezuela
What is custom duty/charge? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customs duty are charges levied on goods when they cross international borders. It is a tax that is imposed on imported goods. These duties are charged by special authorities and bodies created by local governments and are meant to protect local industries, economies, and businesses.

Do I have to pay customs charges for the print book order? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The orders shipped to the countries that are listed under EU27 will not bear custom charges. They are paid by Packt as part of the order.

List of EU27 countries: www.gov.uk/eu-eea:

A custom duty or localized taxes may be applicable on the shipment and would be charged by the recipient country outside of the EU27 which should be paid by the customer and these duties are not included in the shipping charges been charged on the order.

How do I know my custom duty charges? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

The amount of duty payable varies greatly depending on the imported goods, the country of origin and several other factors like the total invoice amount or dimensions like weight, and other such criteria applicable in your country.

For example:

  • If you live in Mexico, and the declared value of your ordered items is over $ 50, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 19% which will be $ 9.50 to the courier service.
  • Whereas if you live in Turkey, and the declared value of your ordered items is over € 22, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 18% which will be € 3.96 to the courier service.
How can I cancel my order? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Cancellation Policy for Published Printed Books:

You can cancel any order within 1 hour of placing the order. Simply contact customercare@packt.com with your order details or payment transaction id. If your order has already started the shipment process, we will do our best to stop it. However, if it is already on the way to you then when you receive it, you can contact us at customercare@packt.com using the returns and refund process.

Please understand that Packt Publishing cannot provide refunds or cancel any order except for the cases described in our Return Policy (i.e. Packt Publishing agrees to replace your printed book because it arrives damaged or material defect in book), Packt Publishing will not accept returns.

What is your returns and refunds policy? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Return Policy:

We want you to be happy with your purchase from Packtpub.com. We will not hassle you with returning print books to us. If the print book you receive from us is incorrect, damaged, doesn't work or is unacceptably late, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com with the order number and issue details as explained below:

  1. If you ordered (eBook, Video or Print Book) incorrectly or accidentally, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com within one hour of placing the order and we will replace/refund you the item cost.
  2. Sadly, if your eBook or Video file is faulty or a fault occurs during the eBook or Video being made available to you, i.e. during download then you should contact Customer Relations Team within 14 days of purchase on customercare@packt.com who will be able to resolve this issue for you.
  3. You will have a choice of replacement or refund of the problem items.(damaged, defective or incorrect)
  4. Once Customer Care Team confirms that you will be refunded, you should receive the refund within 10 to 12 working days.
  5. If you are only requesting a refund of one book from a multiple order, then we will refund you the appropriate single item.
  6. Where the items were shipped under a free shipping offer, there will be no shipping costs to refund.

On the off chance your printed book arrives damaged, with book material defect, contact our Customer Relation Team on customercare@packt.com within 14 days of receipt of the book with appropriate evidence of damage and we will work with you to secure a replacement copy, if necessary. Please note that each printed book you order from us is individually made by Packt's professional book-printing partner which is on a print-on-demand basis.

What tax is charged? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Currently, no tax is charged on the purchase of any print book (subject to change based on the laws and regulations). A localized VAT fee is charged only to our European and UK customers on eBooks, Video and subscriptions that they buy. GST is charged to Indian customers for eBooks and video purchases.

What payment methods can I use? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

You can pay with the following card types:

  1. Visa Debit
  2. Visa Credit
  3. MasterCard
  4. PayPal
What is the delivery time and cost of print books? Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Shipping Details

USA:

'

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

Economy: Can deliver to P. O. Boxes and private residences.
Trackable service with delivery to addresses in Australia only.
Delivery time ranges from 7-9 business days for VIC and 8-10 business days for Interstate metro
Delivery time is up to 15 business days for remote areas of WA, NT & QLD.

Premium: Delivery to addresses in Australia only
Trackable delivery to most P. O. Boxes and private residences in Australia within 4-5 days based on the distance to a destination following dispatch.

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Disclaimer:
All orders received before 5 PM U.K time would start printing from the next business day. So the estimated delivery times start from the next day as well. Orders received after 5 PM U.K time (in our internal systems) on a business day or anytime on the weekend will begin printing the second to next business day. For example, an order placed at 11 AM today will begin printing tomorrow, whereas an order placed at 9 PM tonight will begin printing the day after tomorrow.


Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

  1. Afghanistan
  2. American Samoa
  3. Belarus
  4. Brunei Darussalam
  5. Central African Republic
  6. The Democratic Republic of Congo
  7. Eritrea
  8. Guinea-bissau
  9. Iran
  10. Lebanon
  11. Libiya Arab Jamahriya
  12. Somalia
  13. Sudan
  14. Russian Federation
  15. Syrian Arab Republic
  16. Ukraine
  17. Venezuela