Introduction
Oracle APEX is Oracle’s low-code
application development platform that enables developers to rapidly build
secure, scalable, data-driven web applications directly on Oracle Database. It
reduces development effort while providing powerful features such as
Interactive Reports, Interactive Grids, Workflows, and dashboards.
Organizations worldwide use Oracle
APEX to build enterprise applications, self-service portals, and reporting
systems. One of the key strengths of APEX is its flexible navigation model,
which allows developers to pass values between pages for drill-down reporting
and master-detail application.
Oracle APEX provides several ways to
navigate between pages. One of the most practical techniques is Column Links,
which allow users to click a value in a report and navigate to another page
while automatically passing selected values as parameters.
This
approach is useful when building drill-down reports, dashboards and
master-detail pages where users need to view detailed information related to a
selected record.
Scenario
When a user selects a specific column
(e.g Card No.) and expects to see its detailed transaction history filtered by
a date range. This kind of seamless drill-down experience is a core requirement
in financial dashboards, operations portals, and analytical applications.
In
this article, we will demonstrate how to pass a Card Number and date range
values from one page to another using Column Links within the same Oracle APEX
application.
Prerequisites
The following prerequisites are
required before proceeding:
·
Basic knowledge of Oracle APEX Page Designer.
Overview
Create
a navigation link from Source Page 333 to Target Page 334 and pass
the following values:
·
Card Number
·
From Date
·
To Date
The
passed values will be available on Page 334 and can be used to filter reports,
Interactive Grids, Interactive Reports, or perform page-level processing.
Source Page
Items
The following page items exist on Source Page 333:
|
Item Name |
Type |
|
P333_FROM |
Date Picker |
|
P333_TO |
Date
Picker |
The report region contains the following column
|
Column Name |
Type |
|
FUELCARD_NO |
Link |
Target
Page Items
Create
the following page items on Target Page 334:
The target page items can be created as Hidden items
because the values are only required for filtering and processing and do not
need to be displayed to users.
|
Item Name |
Type |
|
P334_CARD_NO |
Hidden |
|
P334_FROM |
Hidden |
|
P334_TO |
Hidden |
Implementation Steps
With the Target Page items already
created (as defined in the Source and Target Page Items section above), proceed
with the following configuration steps.
Step 1: Configure the Column Link
Open the report column containing FUELCARD_NO on Page 333. Under Column Attributes, configure the Link properties as follows:
|
Property |
Value |
|
Target
Page |
334
|
|
Set Items |
P334_CARD_NO,P334_FROM,P334_TO |
|
Values |
#FUELCARD_NO#,&P333_FROM.,&P333_TO. |
Save the page.
Understanding Set Items and Values
Before
configuring the Column Link, it is important to understand these properties.
Set Items
The
Set
Items property specifies which page items on the target page
will receive values.
Example :
P334_CARD_NO,P334_FROM,P334_TO
This
tells Oracle APEX to populate these three items on Page 334.
Values
The
Values
property specifies the values that will be assigned to the target page items.
Example:
#FUELCARD_NO#,&P333_FROM.,&P333_TO.
These
values map one-to-one with the Set Items order
Oracle APEX Substitution String
Oracle
APEX uses special syntax to reference column values and page item values.
Report Column Reference
#FUELCARD_NO#
Returns
the value of the FUELCARD_NO column from the selected report row.
For example, if the user clicks a row
containing CARD_NO = 123456, then Oracle APEX passes: 123456.
Page Item Reference
&P333_FROM.
Returns the current value stored in
page item P333_FROM. Similarly, &P333_TO. returns the current value stored
in P333_TO.
For example, if the page items hold
the following values:
•
P333_FROM = 01-JUN-2026
•
P333_TO = 02-JUN-2026
Then these values will be passed to
Page 334.
Step 2: Run the Application
1.
Execute Page 333.
2.
Select a date range using the From and To fields.
3.
Click a Card Number link within the report.
4.
Oracle APEX automatically navigates to Page 334 and populates the target
page items.
Result
Page 334 receives the following
values:
|
Page Item |
Value |
|
P334_CARD_NO |
123456 |
|
P334_FROM |
01-JUN-2026 |
|
P334_TO |
02-JUN-2026 |
Example:
----- Filter transactions by card number and date range-----
SELECT *
FROM CARD_DETAILS
WHERE FUELCARD_NO = :P334_CARD_NO
AND (
:P334_FROM IS NULL
OR TRANSACTION_DATE >= :P334_FROM
)
AND (
:P334_TO IS NULL
OR TRANSACTION_DATE <= :P334_TO
)
As a result, Page 334 displays only
the records related to the selected Card Number and date range.
Benefits of Using Column Links
•
Enables drill-down navigation from summary to detailed data
•
Improves user experience by preserving filter context across pages
•
Simplifies report filtering without requiring manual input on the
target page
•
Enhances dashboard interactivity in master-detail applications
Conclusion
Column
Links provide a simple and effective mechanism for passing values between pages
within an Oracle APEX application. By configuring target page items and mapping
them to source values, developers can create intuitive drill-down navigation
and context-sensitive reports.
In
this example, the selected Card Number together with the From and To date
parameters is passed from Page 333 to Page 334. The destination page can then
use these values to display filtered data, creating a more interactive and
user-friendly experience.
This
technique is widely used in Oracle APEX dashboards, master-detail applications,
and analytical reporting solutions where users need to move seamlessly from
summary information to detailed data.
Oracle APEX Learning Material
https://apex.oracle.com/en/learn/training/
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