Page 1 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) Oracle Corporation 1998, 1999, 2000. All rights reserved, worldwide. ORACLE FORMS DEVELOPER AND FORMS SERVER 6i (Patch 2) RELEASE NOTES This doc addendum is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of going to press. Information that is discovered subsequent to publication will be available through normal support channels. -------------------------- Table of Contents ------------------------- 1.1 Purpose Of This Document 1.2 Restricted Rights Legend 1.3 Server Licensing 2 G e n e r a l C o n s i d e r a t i o n s 2.1 Name and Packaging Changes 2.2 Relationship of Release 6i Patch 2 to Release 6i 2.3 Release Numbering 2.4 RSF Components Include Additional Bug Fixes 2.5 Date Handling 2.6 Known Limitations 2.6.1 Co-existence in the same $ORACLE_HOME with Previous Releases 2.6.2 PLL File Upgrade Requires .PLL Extension on Command Line 2.6.3 Non-Alphanumeric Characters in Database Objects Names 2.8 Precompilers Compatible With This Release 2.10 Oracle File Packager Not Included 2.11 Sequence of Installing in the Same ORACLE_HOME 2.12 Path Requirement for Multiple ORACLE_HOMEs 2.13 Misleading Installation Message: Acrobat Reader Available 2.14 Misleading Installation Message: Folder Moved 2.15 Database Admin Scripts Require OTM 2.16 Additional Step Required for Installation on Unix 2.17 Module MFC42.DLL Lost After Install and Reboot 2.18 TEMPLATES Directory Is Missing 2.19 Forms Requires WebDB Release 2.2 2.20 WebDB Listener Can Be Installed Only Once per Machine 2.21 Problem Connecting to Oracle 8.1.6 Server 2.22 Problem Connecting to Oracle 8.0.6 Server for Forms-Graphics 2.23 Upgrading Your Database Server Agent 2.24 Custom Install of Wallet Manager Requires Net8 Assistant 2.25 Integration with Oracle Repository 2.26 Client Platform Certifications 2.27 Oracle Forms Server and Firewall/Proxy Servers 2.28 Extras on the CD 2.29 Use Caution If Deinstalling Intersolve Drivers 3 P r o j e c t B u i l d e r 4 F o r m B u i l d e r 4.1 Effect of Fill Patterns on Performance 4.2 Undocumented Error Messages(FRM-99999) 4.2.1 Error Messages 1412 and 1413 Page 2 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4.2.2 Error Messages 10905-10909 4.2.3 Error Messages 13009-13010 4.2.4 Error Messages 18114-18121 4.3 Forms Environment Variable Added 4.4 Java Keybindings API Provided 4.4.1 FormAction.java 4.4.2 KeyBinder.java -- Using the API 4.4.3 Example of KeyBinder.java API 4.5 On Windows, Forms Server and Web Previewer Require NT 4.6 Server Does Not Work If Host and Machine Name Differ 4.7 Requirements for Using Run_Product on the Web 4.8 Database Commands Available on Separate Start Menu 4.9 Using Index-Only Tables 4.10 Forms Server Needs to Access the Wallet File 4.11 Netscape Users Prompted to Save Report HTML File 4.12 Forms-Reports Integration Requires that TMPDIR Not Be Set 4.13 Changing Font Causes Problem in Forms 4.14 Using Oracle Trace Collection 4.15 HTTPS Support and Browser JVMs 4.16 HTTPS Support and Jintiator Release Requirements 4.17 CAB Support in IE and Java Security 4.18 Java Importer 4.19 OEM and Forms Internal Job 4.20 Load Balancing Server Trace Log 5 R e p o r t B u i l d e r 6 G r a p h i c s B u i l d e r 7 Q u e r y B u i l d e r 8 S c h e m a B u i l d e r 9 T r a n s l a t i o n B u i l d e r 10 P r o c e d u r e B u i l d e r 11 D e m o s 12 O p e n C l i e n t A d a p t e r 13 N a t i o n a l L a n g u a g e S u p p o r t 13.1 Known Problems for All Languages 13.1.1 Form Builder User Interface May Not Be Fully Translated 13.1.2 Euro Currency Symbol Has Limited Support 13.1.3 Some Wizard Buttons Have Untranslated Text 13.1.4 Restore Icons During Installation Creates Invalid Menus 13.1.5 Menu Action Not Available Via Keyboard After Print Cancel 13.1.6 FMRWEB.RES Must Be Configured Manually 13.1.7 Information About NLS_LANG Parameter Values 13.1.8 Wallet Manager User Interface Is in English 13.2 Known Problems for Double-Byte Languages 13.2.1 Editing with Single-Byte Font 13.3 Known Problems for Japanese 13.3.1 Cannot Save Modules If Character Set Is JA16EUC 13.3.2 Length Limit Moving From Windows to Solaris 13.3.3 PL/SQL Editor Display Problems 13.3.4 UTF8 Limitation 13.3.5 Multibyte Characters Cannot Be Used for PL/SQL Library Name 13.3.6 Different prefs.ora Files May Be Needed 13.3.7 Message Texts from PL/SQL Interpreter Are Mixed 13.3.8 Storage Requirement for Installing Cue Cards on Unix 13.4 Known Problems for Arabic Page 3 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.4.1 Limitations for Displaying Charts on Solaris Page 4 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.1 Purpose Of This Document This document notes differences between Oracle Forms Developer and Forms Server and their documented functionality. 1.2 Restricted Rights Legend This software contains proprietary information of Oracle Corporation; it is provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and is also protected by copyright law. Reverse engineering of software is prohibited. If this software/documentation is delivered to a U.S. Government Agency of the Department of Defense, then it is delivered with Restricted Rights and the following legend is applicable: RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND: Use, duplication, or disclosure of the Programs by the Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of DFARS 252.227-7013, Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software (October 1988). Oracle Corporation, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065. If this software/documentation is delivered to a U.S. Government Agency not within the Department of Defense, then it is delivered with Restricted Rights as defined in FAR 52.227-14, Rights in Data-General including Alternate II (June 1987). The information in this document is subject to change without notice. If you find any problems in the documentation, please report them to us in writing. Oracle Corporation does not warrant that this document is error free. 1.3 Server Licensing Please note that if you want to deploy your Forms or Graphics to the Internet, you need the Oracle Forms Server, and its associated deployment license. Forms Server is included on the general Forms Developer CD-ROM for demonstration and test purposes, but is licensed separately. Please contact your Oracle Sales Representative to get additional information on Forms Server pricing. 2 G e n e r a l C o n s i d e r a t i o n s 2.1 Name and Packaging Changes In this release, Oracle Developer is two separate products: Oracle Forms Developer and Oracle Reports Developer. Each contains multiple Builders. Similarly, Oracle Developer Server is two separate products: Page 5 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oracle Forms Server and Oracle Reports Server. 2.2 Relationship of Release 6i Patch 2 to Release 6i Release 6i Patch 2 is a "drop-in upgrade" to Release 6i. This means Release 6i Patch 2 is patch-compatible with Release 6i. 2.3 Release Numbering In this 6i release of Oracle Forms Developer, most of the major components (Form Builder, Graphics Builder, etc.) have a 6.0.8 version number. Most of the subcomponents (Toolkit,for example) have a 6.0.5 version number. These are the appropriate versions of the subcomponents for this initial release. 2.4 RSF Components Include Additional Bug Fixes Release 6i includes some RSF components that contain code fixes beyond those in the formal, numbered patches to the component. (These fixes or patch-levels of a component are sometimes referred to as "one-offs.") Specifically, Release 6i includes fixes for bugs 1063571, 1063104, 1028960, 1049171, and 1040536. These bug fixes affect the following components: sqlnet, rdbms, nls and plsql. 2.5 Date Handling For important information about date handling in Oracle Forms Developer, please refer to http://www.oracle.com/year2000/ and follow the link to White Papers and Resources. 2.6 Known Limitations 2.6.1 Co-existence in the same $ORACLE_HOME with Previous Releases Oracle Developer 1.6.1 and Oracle Forms Developer 6i can co- exist in the same $ORACLE_HOME. Oracle Developer 2.1 and Oracle Forms Developer 6i can co-exist in the same $ORACLE_HOME. Oracle Developer 1.6.1 and Oracle Developer 2.1 CANNOT co-exist in the same $ORACLE_HOME. Oracle Developer 6.0 and Oracle Forms Developer 6i CANNOT co- exist in the same $ORACLE_HOME. 2.6.2 PLL File Upgrade Requires .PLL Extension on Command Line If you are using a batch file to upgrade .PLL files, then you have to provide extension .pll in the batch file. Otherwise you get an error "FRM-10043: Could not open file". Page 6 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.6.3 Non-Alphanumeric Characters in Database Objects Names Oracle Forms Developer 6i cannot support Tables, or Columns names that contain non-alphanumeric ASCII characters. 2.8 Precompilers Compatible With This Release If you are developing user-exits for Oracle Forms Developer 6i using the Oracle Precompilers, please use the versions of the Precompilers that are bundled with the Oracle 8.0.6 release. 2.10 Oracle File Packager Not Included The Oracle File Packager (mentioned in the Forms Developer documentation) is not included as part of this 6i product. 2.11 Sequence of Installing in the Same ORACLE_HOME If you choose to install both Forms Developer R6i and the Database Server 8.0.6 in the same ORACLE_HOME, you should install the Database Server first, and then install Forms Developer. This sequence will prevent library linking conflicts. 2.12 Path Requirement for Multiple ORACLE_HOMEs In order for the Forms CGIs (ifcgi60.exe or rwcgi60.exe respectively) to run successfully on NT when there are multiple ORACLE_HOMEs, it is imperative that the %ORACLE_HOME%\bin directory for Forms be in the machine's PATH environment setting, ahead of any other \bin directories. This path setting has to have been in effect WHEN THE MACHINE WAS LAST BOOTED, in order for it to be "seen" by the CGI (assuming that whatever Web Listener the user is using is being run as an NT service, which will usually be the case). If these conditions are not met, there are two possible consequences: 1. The CGI's may fail to run because one or more DLLs on which they depend, such as core40.dll, cannot be found. This occurs if the %ORACLE_HOME%\bin directory is not present in the PATH. 2. The CGI's may crash, because an incompatible version of core40.dll is being used. This can occur in the case of multiple ORACLE_HOMEs, if an ORACLE_HOME other than that into which Forms or Reports was installed appears in the PATH before the Forms or Reports ORACLE_HOME). Of these, situation #1 should not normally be a problem, because the installation process always adds %ORACLE_HOME%\bin to the PATH and instructs the user to reboot the machine if one of the Page 7 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- CGI's was installed. Situation #2 is known to occur if you install Forms into one ORACLE_HOME, then install OEM into a separate ORACLE_HOME (which is in fact mandatory). This second ORACLE_HOME's bin directory will be added into the machine's PATH environment setting, by the installation process, ahead of the first one (giving for example c:\orant2\bin;c:\orant1\bin;c:\winNT\system32;...etc). Once the user reboots, this will cause the Forms CGIs to fail. Workarounds: 1. Install OEM (into its own separate ORACLE_HOME) BEFORE installing Forms (into a different ORACLE_HOME). Then reboot. This works because the "last" ORACLE_HOME installed into is left as the DEFAULT ORACLE_HOME. 2. Use the "ORACLE HOME SELECTOR" to ensure that the ORACLE_HOME where Forms was installed is the DEFAULT ORACLE_ HOME. The "ORACLE HOME SELECTOR" may be found in the Oracle for Windows NT program folder). 3. Manually correct the PATH setting and reboot. 2.13 Misleading Installation Message: Acrobat Reader Available After installing components from the asset manager, you may see the following message: "Installation Successful. Some of the products you have installed require the Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not already have this installed on your machine, you should select it from the 'Products available' list." However, the Acrobat Reader is not in this particular list. Acrobat can be obtained from http://www.adobe.com. 2.14 Misleading Installation Message: Folder Moved When Release 6i is installed, the following message may appear: Oracle Developer 6.0 D:\winnt\Profiles\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\oracle\Oracle Developer 6.0 is not accessible. The folder was moved or removed. Ignore this message. Press OK. There is no impact on the product functionality. 2.15 Database Admin Scripts Require OTM Page 8 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Database Admin build/drop scripts will fail if they do not find Oracle Translation Manager SQL scripts. This problem can be avoided by first explicitly installing Oracle Translation Manager from the product CD. 2.16 Additional Step Required for Installation on Unix In order for the Forms Developer help system to work properly on a Unix system, you must set the ORACLE_AUTOREG variable to the value $ORACLE_HOME/guicommon6/tk60/admin. (The help system requires the autoprefs.oar file, which is the toolkit automation registry.) 2.17 Module MFC42.DLL Lost After Install and Reboot Problem: On Windows 95, after installing and rebooting, module MFC42.DLL is missing. Workaround: Invoke the Installer again. Get to the first dialog. Then exit. Installer will install mfc42.dll if it is not present in the machine. 2.18 TEMPLATES Directory Is Missing In the manual Oracle Forms Developer and Reports Developer: Guidelines for Building Applications, references are made to TEMPLATES/.... However, the TEMPLATES directory is not included with the product. Use a different method to invoke the Oracle Installer. 2.19 Forms Requires WebDB Release 2.2 If you are going to use WebDB with the Forms Server, WebDB 2.2 or higher is required. 2.20 WebDB Listener Can Be Installed Only Once per Machine Only one copy of WebDB Listener can be installed on a machine. If you try to install a second copy in another Oracle_Home on that same machine, the first copy may stop working. 2.21 Problem Connecting to Oracle 8.1.6 Server Customers may not be able to connect to the 8.1.6 database from any of the Oracle Forms Developer products using operating system authentication. (This problem is due to bug 1139334 in the database server.) Page 9 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.22 Problem Connecting to Oracle 8.0.6 Server for Forms-Graphics Problem: Forms-Graphics integration does not work correctly when the connection to a local Oracle 8.0.6 database server is made with only a userid and password (for example, scott/tiger). Workaround: Define the local database in the tnsnames.ora file. Then provide a complete connect string when connecting to the database. (For example, scott/tiger@local806.) 2.23 Upgrading Your Database Server Agent Forms Developer 6i comes with an 8.0.6 agent with a Forms extension in the same Oracle_Home as Forms. If you already have an existing agent installed, or you want to upgrade to a later version of the agent, a manual step is necessary to install the Forms extension to your agent. Please note that any agent other than 8.0.6 cannot be installed in the same Oracle_Home as Forms, and only one agent should be used at a time. Also, we highly recommend staying with the 8.0.6 agent. These installation steps, below, are the same for both Windows NT and UNIX. (Please note that the files are platform-specific, and you should not copy files across platforms.) Follow the steps below to manually install Forms support for your agent. (Currently 8.0.6, 8.1.5, and 8.1.6 are supported). These particular instructions assume that an agent with the Forms extension is installed in Oracle_Home $OH, and you want to copy the Forms extension from $OH to an agent installed in Oracle_Home $OH2. 1. Copy $OH/network/agent/Jobs/Oracle/forms/general/* to the corresponding directory (create one if necessary) in $OH2. 2. Copy $OH/network/agent/Events/Oracle/forms/fault/* to the corresponding directory (create one if necessary) in $OH2. 3. Copy $OH/network/agent/Tcl/frminit.tcl to the corresponding directory in $OH2. 4. Copy $OH/network/agent/config/nmiforms.tcl to the corresponding directory in $OH2. 5. Append this entry "nmiforms.tcl" to the end of nmiconf.lst, located in $OH2/network/agent/config. (nmiconf.lst is a text file). 2.24 Custom Install of Wallet Manager Requires Net8 Assistant Wallet Manager requires Net8 Assistant in order to launch successfully. In the typical, default install of Forms Developer, both these Page 10 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- components will be installed for you. However, if you choose a custom install, where you select specific components, and you install Wallet Manager, then you also need to install Net8 Assistant. 2.25 Integration with Oracle Repository Oracle Forms Developer can be integrated with Oracle Repository. This 6i release is shipped with a d2sc plug-in (similar to those provided for PVCS, Clearcase, and other products) that allows integration with Repository for source control management. Users will be able to check in and check out FMBs, MMBs, and so forth, and can then use Repository's dependency tracking and other advanced functionality. (See the Repository documentation for more information.) This initial feature establishes the potential for enhanced levels of integration in future Forms Developer releases. 2.26 Client Platform Certifications For the latest information regarding supported client platforms and their support level, consult the current version of the Client Platform SOD, available from the Oracle Technology Network (http://technet.oracle.com) website or your Oracle support representative. 2.27 Oracle Forms Server and Firewall/Proxy Servers For the latest information regarding supported firewall/proxy servers and their support level, consult the current version of the Oracle Forms Server 6i Firewall and Proxy Server Information whitepaper, available from the Oracle Technology Network (http://technet.oracle.com) website or your Oracle support representative. 2.28 Extras on the CD The extras directory on the CD (for example, E:\extras, assuming 'E' is your CD drive) has the following contents: extras\forms\ffigen Foreign Function Interface Generator for Forms 6i extras\forms\pjc Sample Pluggable Java Components extras\forms\graphics OG.PLL for use with Forms 6i extras\forms\sql Demo DB object scripts for Forms demos 2.29 Use Caution If Deinstalling Intersolve Drivers Do not deinstall Intersolve drivers (ODBC) from an Oracle_Home if other products on another Oracle_Home on that machine use them. Deinstalling the drivers from one Oracle_Home will remove Page 11 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- them from the entire system. 3 P r o j e c t B u i l d e r No known problems. 4 F o r m B u i l d e r 4.1 Effect of Fill Patterns on Performance Assigning a fill pattern to a large Forms object may degrade runtime performance on the web. Objects are filled in 64x64 pixel increments. Thus, objects larger than 64x64 require multiple operations. (For example, painting a window of size 800x600 would require 120 such operations.) Recommendations: Avoid using fill patterns for large objects unless doing so is a significant user requirement. Also, minimize the number of different patterns. (Each pattern used requires 4K of memory.) 4.2 Undocumented Error Messages(FRM-99999) Any Forms error message not documented in the online help will display a generic message: FRM-99999 Error FRM-nnnnn occurred, please consult the release notes. The details of these error messages are documented in the following subsections. 4.2.1 Error Messages 1412 and 1413 FRM-99999, Error 1412. An attempt was made to set scrollbar position on a block that has no scrollbar. FRM-99999, Error 1413. An attempt was made to get scrollbar position on a block that has no scrollbar. 4.2.2 Error Messages 10905-10909 FRM-10905: The following return values are invalid. Cause: The invalid return values must be corrected before you can leave this page of the wizard. Action: Enter a valid return value. Return values must be one of the following: 1. A fully qualified Item name Page 12 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (.). 2. A Form Parameter (PARAMETER.). 3. A global PL/SQL variable (GLOBAL.). FRM-10906: One or more LOV columns has a negative width. Cause: One or more of the columns in the table has a negative width. Action: Ensure that no columns in the table have a negative width. FRM-10907: The LOV size or position has a negative value. Cause: One or more of the attributes of the LOV size and position is negative. Action: Ensure that none of the LOV size or position attributes is negative. FRM-10908: Number of rows retrieved is less than or equal to zero. Cause: The number of rows retrieved is less than or equal to zero. Action: Enter a value greater than zero for the number of records retrieved. FRM-10909: Old Style LOVs cannot be modified using the LOV wizard. Cause: The LOV Wizard was invoked on an Old-Style LOV. Action: Create a new LOV based on a Record Group. 4.2.3 Error Messages 13009-13010 FRM-13009: The JavaBean does not implement the IView interface. Cause: For Forms to use this JavaBean, it must implement Oracle Forms IView interface. Action: Implement Oracle Forms oracle.forms.ui.IView Interface. FRM-18010: An unknown error occurred when attempting to process the JavaBean. Cause: For Forms to use this JavaBean, it must be able to locate the specified JavaBean and instantiate it. Action: Ensure that the specified JavaBean and supporting classes are installed correctly. Retry the JavaBean after restarting Form Builder. 4.2.4 Error Messages 18114-18121 FRM-18114: FORMS60_JAVADIR not set. Cause: For Web Preview from the Builder to work the Registry variable FORMS60_JAVADIR must point to the location that contains the Forms Java files. This variable should have been set by the Oracle Installer when Oracle Forms Developer was installed. A typical Page 13 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- value for this variable is c:\orant\forms60\java. Action: Create or update the registry variable on NT, FORMS60_JAVADIR, and set its value to the location that contains the Forms Java files. FRM-18115: CLASSPATH variable not set. Cause: For forms to run on the Web the environment variable CLASSPATH must point to the location that contains a valid Java installation. This variable should have been set by the Oracle Installer when Oracle Forms Developer was installed. Action: Create or update the environment variable CLASSPATH and set its value to the location that contains a valid Java installation. FRM-18116: The CLASSPATH does not contain a reference to Forms. Cause: For Forms Server to work, the environment variable CLASSPATH must include an entry that points to a location containing the Java files required by Oracle Forms. An entry should have been added to the existing CLASSPATH variable by the Oracle Installer when Oracle Forms Developer was installed. A typical value for this variable is c:\orant\forms60\java. Action: Create or update the environment variable CLASSPATH and set its value to the location that contains the Java files required by Oracle Forms. FRM-18117: The preferences contains a reference to a non-existent HTML file. Cause: In the 'Runtime' Preferences dialog an HTML file has been specified, but that HTML file does not exist, or the location specified does not exist. Action: In the 'Runtime' Preferences dialog either remove the reference to the offending HTML file, so that the default HTML file is used, or specify an HTML file that exists. Alternatively place the HTML file in the location specified. FRM-18118: Javai.DLL does not exist. Cause: For Forms Server to work in the Microsoft Windows environment, e.g. Windows NT, the DLL 'javai.dll' must exist and be in the %ORACLE_JDK%\bin directory, where %ORACLE_JDK% contains a valid Java installation. Action: Determine whether javai.dll exists in the %ORACLE_JDK%\bin directory, and if necessary, reinstall the Oracle JDK. FRM-18119: ORACLE_JDK variable not set Cause: For Forms Server to work, the environment variable ORACLE_JDK must point to the location that contains a valid Java installation. This variable should have Page 14 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- been set by the Oracle Installer when Oracle Forms was installed. Action: Create or update the environment variable ORACLE_JDK and set its value to the location that contains a valid Java installation. FRM-18120: libjava.so does not exist. Cause: For Forms Server to work in the Solaris environment, a valid JDK installation must exist and be in the path. Action: Determine whether a valid JDK exists in the path, and if necessary, reinstall the JDK. FRM-18121: The JavaBean does not implement the IView interface. Cause: For Forms to use this JavaBean, it must implement Oracle Forms IView interface. Action: Implement Oracle Forms oracle.forms.ui.IView Interface. 4.3 Forms Environment Variable Added A new environment variable is available: FORMS60_WEB_CONFIG_FILE You can use it to specify the full path and name of the Forms CGI configuration file. For example: FORMS60_WEB_CONFIG_FILE=c:\temp\myfile.cfg The default value is \forms60\server\formsweb.cfg 4.4 Java Keybindings API Provided To provide consistent, configurable, and performant keybindings in Forms, a keybinding API is provided. This API first downloads keybindings to the client. The API can then query the key sequence and return the corresponding form action or query the form action and return the corresponding key sequence. See the following subsections for details. 4.4.1 FormAction.java Standard form actions are defined in FormAction.java. These form actions are static instances of the class FormAction. For example, the Next Field form action can be addressed as FormAction.FA_NEXT_FIELD. The constants for the various form actions in FormAction.java are obtained from frmweb.res. The following shows the beginning of the keybinding constants in FormAction.java. Page 15 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- public class FormAction extends Property { /* ** The constants (or id's) for various forms actions have ** been obtained from frmweb.res. These id's will not change. ** New forms actions will be assigned new id's. */ public static final FormAction FA_NEXT_FIELD = new FormAction(1); public static final FormAction FA_PREVIOUS_FIELD = new FormAction(2); public static final FormAction FA_CLEAR_FIELD = new FormAction(3); . . . The following is the list of all the static constants for keybindings included in the FormAction.java class. FA_NEXT_FIELD FA_PREVIOUS_FIELD FA_CLEAR_FIELD FA_UP FA_DOWN FA_SCROLL_UP FA_SCROLL_DOWN FA_EDIT FA_RETURN FA_LIST_OF_VALUES FA_HELP FA_EXIT FA_SHOW_KEYS FA_COMMIT FA_NEXT_PRIMARY_KEY FA_CLEAR_RECORD FA_DELETE_RECORD FA_DUPLICATE_RECORD FA_INSERT_RECORD FA_NEXT_SET_OF_RECORDS FA_NEXT_RECORD FA_PREVIOUS_RECORD FA_CLEAR_BLOCK FA_BLOCK_MENU FA_NEXT_BLOCK FA_PREVIOUS_BLOCK FA_DUPLICATE_FIELD FA_CLEAR_FORM Page 16 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- FA_ENTER_QUERY FA_EXECUTE_QUERY FA_DISPLAY_ERROR FA_PRINT FA_COUNT_QUERY FA_UPDATE_RECORD FA_FUNCTION_0 FA_FUNCTION_1 FA_FUNCTION_2 FA_FUNCTION_3 FA_FUNCTION_4 FA_FUNCTION_5 FA_FUNCTION_6 FA_FUNCTION_7 FA_FUNCTION_8 FA_FUNCTION_9 FA_LIST_TAB_PAGES 4.4.2 KeyBinder.java -- Using the API Use the KeyBinder API to download keybindings and get a requested form action or key sequence. The following is an overview of the process: 1. Execute downloadKeyBindings() in your start-up code. 2. Use isKeyBindingsAvailable() to test if the keybindings are available on the client. 3. If the keybindings are available, use getKeySequence(FormAction action) to get the key sequence for the requested form action, or use getFormAction(KeyEvent event) to get the form action for the requested key sequence. Use the following KeyBinder.java API methods: public synchronized static void downloadKeyBindings() *If the keybindings have not been created on the client, this method requests that the server send the bindings. This is not a blocking call, because we do not want to incur a round-trip for getting keybindings from the server. The next time a round- trip occurs, the server will send the necessary information. public synchronized static Hashtable getKeyBindings() *This method returns a cloned table of all the keybindings. public synchronized static boolean isKeyBindingsAvailable() Page 17 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- *This method checks if the keybindings are available on the client. public synchronized static KeyEvent getKeySequence(FormAction action) *This method gets the key sequence corresponding to a requested form action. public synchronized static FormAction getFormAction(KeyEvent event) *This method gets the form action corresponding to a requested key sequence. 4.4.3 Example of KeyBinder.java API The following example shows programming pertinent to the use of the KeyBinder.java API to get the form action from the keys pressed. KeyBinder.downloadKeyBindings(); // get bindings from server Then in a text field's processKeyEvent(KeyEvent e) implementation, this handles events: // If we have key bindings, see whether this event maps to // one that we care about. // If it does, record which event it is with the name of // the action that goes with it. // Many actions can be invoked by buttons, key presses, // and/or menu selections... if (KeyBinder.isKeyBindingsAvailable()) { String actionName; FormAction fact = KeyBinder.getFormAction(e); if (fact == (FormAction) null) { // if no binding found, issue message. system.out.printer("No binding found."); } else if (fact == FormAction.FA_LIST_OF_VALUES) actionName = "LOV"; else if (fact == FormAction.FA_EDIT) actionName = "FLDEDIT"; else if (fact == FormAction.FA_EXIT) actionName = "CANCEL"; else { Page 18 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- } . . . 4.5 On Windows, Forms Server and Web Previewer Require NT The Forms Server component will not run on Windows 95 or 98. It runs only on the NT version of Windows. Also, because the Forms web-previewing functionality requires the Forms Server, the Web Previewer is available only on Windows NT (not on Windows 95 or 98). 4.6 Server Does Not Work If Host and Machine Name Differ Problem: If the TCP/IP host name and the Windows machine name are different, the Forms Server Service will not work. Workaround: Re-enter your host name by following the path HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> CurrentControlSet -> Services -> OracleFormsServer-Forms60Server. Then double-click on 'Host' and enter your host name. 4.7 Requirements for Using Run_Product on the Web If you use Run_Product in a form to run a report and want to display the output in the browser window, it is necessary to do the following: On Windows NT, remove the TMP user environment variable. On Unix, remove the TMPDIR environment variable. 4.8 Database Commands Available on Separate Start Menu In this release, the database commands Build, Drop, Grant, and Revoke are listed on their own Start Menu, entitled "Oracle Forms 6i Admin," which is separate from the Start Menu for the main Forms product. 4.9 Using Index-Only Tables In order to use an index-only table in Forms, the block's Key Mode should be set to either Updateable or Non-Updateable. Also, a Primary Key should be nominated. 4.10 Forms Server Needs to Access the Wallet File Page 19 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you register the Forms Server as an NT service and configure it with https as the connect mode, launching Forms applets may fail because the service is not able to access the wallet file on the server. To work around this problem, you should either run the Forms Server from the command line (that is, not as a service), or, if you do want to run the Forms Server as a service, do the following: 1. In the services dialog, select the Forms Server service and click the Startup button. 2. In the "Log On As:" section, select the "This Account" radio button. 3. In the "This Account" field, enter the account name under which Forms was installed, and fill in the password information for that account. 4. Click the OK button and restart the Forms Server service. 4.11 Netscape Users Prompted to Save Report HTML File The installation process for Forms Server creates a registry entry named FORMS60_REPFORMAT with value of "HTML" (upper case). If a user is running a Forms applet in a Netscape browser that launches a report, rather than having the report open in the browser window, the user will be prompted to save the report HTML file. You can avoid this situation by setting the FORMS60_REPFORMAT registry entry to "html" (lower case). 4.12 Forms-Reports Integration Requires that TMPDIR Not Be Set In order for Forms-Reports integration to work on the web on a Unix system, the variable TMPDIR must not be set. Unset this environment variable before starting the Forms listener. 4.13 Changing Font Causes Problem in Forms Problem: When using Form Builder, if you draw a text object and subsequently change its font, then the copy, paste, and delete keys will stop working. Workaround: None. 4.14 Using Oracle Trace Collection Oracle Trace Collection is a beta feature in Forms Server Release 6i. 4.15 HTTPS Support and Browser JVMs Page 20 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- If end-users use Internet Explorer with the native JVM, users must download the initial Forms startup HTML page in HTTPS mode. If end-users use Oracle JInitiator (as the browser JVM), users should not download the initial Forms startup HTML page in HTTPS mode. 4.16 HTTPS Support and Jintiator Release Requirements HTTPS connections do not work with Jinitiator releases before 1.1.7.30. 4.17 CAB Support in IE and Java Security The Forms 6i CAB file (f60all.cab) supports default Java security settings (high, medium, and low) in the browser. Because it provides the most secure environment for Java code execution, the high security setting is recommended. If using Custom security settings, the Unsigned content flag must be set to either enabled or run in sandbox. 4.18 Java Importer The Java Importer does not function when the web preview mode of the builder is used. The Java Importer functions as documented in client/server runtime mode and in a deployment environment with Oracle Forms Server. The Java Importer requires a separate, manual installation of JDK 1.2.2 before use. 4.19 OEM and Forms Internal Job In the Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) console, when creating a job under the Developer server node, there may be items listed in the Tasks tab that are labeled "Forms Internal Job." These are Forms internal tasks and must not be scheduled in an OEM job. 4.20 Load Balancing Server Trace Log A load balancing server trace log file is created when the load balancing server--d2ls60--is started with a trace level greater than 0. The default name for the log file is d2lslog.txt. When the d2ls60 load balancing server is started from the command line, the default location for the d2lslog.txt log file is the directory from which the load balancing server was started. If the load balancing server is started as an NT service, the default location for the d2lslog.txt log file is \system32. 5 R e p o r t B u i l d e r (See the separate Release Notes for the Reports Developer Page 21 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- product.) 6 G r a p h i c s B u i l d e r No known problems. 7 Q u e r y B u i l d e r No known problems. 8 S c h e m a B u i l d e r No known problems. 9 T r a n s l a t i o n B u i l d e r No known problems. 10 P r o c e d u r e B u i l d e r No known problems. 11 D e m o s No known problems. 12 O p e n C l i e n t A d a p t e r No known problems. 13 N a t i o n a l L a n g u a g e S u p p o r t 13.1 Known Problems for All Languages 13.1.1 Form Builder User Interface May Not Be Fully Translated Customers who install the Forms Builder with a language other than English may find that the user interface is a mixture of local language and English. The Forms Builder is not translated fully for some languages. For these languages, please use the English language interface. To do this, set DEVELOPER_NLS_LANG=AMERICAN_AMERICA. USER_NLS_LANG=< Language>_. on the workstation that is running the Builder. Substitute < Language> with the Language you want to run your form in. Substitute < Territory> with the Territory you want to run your form in. Page 22 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Substitute for the Oracle character set that you wish to use. 13.1.2 Euro Currency Symbol Has Limited Support There is limited support in this release for the Euro currency symbol. To enable a limited use of the Euro symbol in this release, you must do the following: 1. If you are using Windows 95 or NT, update that operating system with the appropriate Euro-related patch from Microsoft. (Windows 98 already contains the Euro support.) 2. Install Microsoft TrueType fonts that contain the Euro symbol. 3. Verify that your database and client NLS_LANG character sets both support the Euro symbol. If you will print the Euro symbol, Euro support on the printer is also required. Microsoft has reserved hexcode 0x80 for the Euro symbol. To enter the Euro symbol on keyboards without an explicit Euro key, click the NumLock key to enable the Numeric Keypad, then click Alt + 0128. 13.1.3 Some Wizard Buttons Have Untranslated Text In the wizards on Unix systems, some buttons appear with their texts in English. 13.1.4 Restore Icons During Installation Creates Invalid Menus Problem: When using Software Asset Manager during a custom installation and selecting the Restore Icons button, invalid menus are created in 'Start -> Program'. Workaround: Reinstalling the 6i release will correctly reset the icons and menus. 13.1.5 Menu Action Not Available Via Keyboard After Print Cancel Problem: When accessing a form via keyboard commands, and selecting a print dialog and then cancelling that dialog several times, the print dialog could not be brought up again. Page 23 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Workaround: Avoid repeated cancelling. 13.1.6 FMRWEB.RES Must Be Configured Manually The file "fmrweb.res" contains a keyboard map. This map is used by Oracle Forms Server to detect key strokes entered in the user's browser and map them to Forms actions. The map assumes that the keyboard is similar to a VT100 keyboard. If the user has a PC-style keyboard, we recommend that you copy the file "fmrpcweb.res" over the original "fmrweb.res". This will make the server assume that the keyboard is similar to a 101-key "PC" keyboard. By default, the US versions of fmrweb.res and fmrpcweb.res are installed, regardless of language. In addition, for a particular language, the appropriate mapping files for that language's typical keyboard are installed. They are installed to the files "fmrweb.res" and "fmrpcweb.res", where is the Oracle language code. For instance, the Oracle language code for Latin American Spanish is "esa". To use the files for a particular language instead of the US versions, copy the desired file over the file "fmrweb.res". Starting with Oracle Forms Server 6i, the files "fmrweb_utf8.res" and "fmrpcweb_utf8.res" are also installed. These contain the same key mappings as "fmrweb.res" and "fmrpcweb.res", but the files are encoded in the UTF8 character set. These files should be used if the server is using the UTF8 character set (UTF8 is the character set specified in NLS_LANG). 13.1.7 Information About NLS_LANG Parameter Values The manual "Deploying Forms Applications to the Web" refers to a file named \bonus\nls\nlsdrl.wri. However, that file is no longer up-to-date, and is not supplied on the product CD. For information about parameter values for NLS_LANG, consult the documentation for the Oracle8 8.0.6 server. The valid NLS_LANG parameter values are the same for Forms and for that database server. 13.1.8 Wallet Manager User Interface Is in English When you install Wallet Manager from the Forms Developer CD, it will not have a translated user interface. The user interface will be in English. Oracle Wallet Manager translations can be obtained if required. Contact your Oracle representative for more details. Page 24 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.2 Known Problems for Double-Byte Languages 13.2.1 Editing with Single-Byte Font Problem: In any double-byte language implementation of the Builders, editing using a single-byte font face (such as Arial) causes characters to become distorted or unreadable. This occurs in any editing field. Workaround: Use double-byte fonts that display Roman script, instead of using the single-byte font. 13.3 Known Problems for Japanese 13.3.1 Cannot Save Modules If Character Set Is JA16EUC Problem: Cannot save modules in an Oracle Database if the character set is JA16EUC. Workaround: Use the JA16SJIS character set instead. 13.3.2 Length Limit Moving From Windows to Solaris Problem: Cannot take objects with names over 30 bytes in length (using Hankaku-Katakana) from Windows to Solaris. Workaround: No workaround. 13.3.3 PL/SQL Editor Display Problems Problem: Characters entered on a single line are displayed on multiple lines, overlapping. Workaround: None. 13.3.4 UTF8 Limitation Problem: If NLS_LANG is set to American_America.UTF8, you can not create fmx files from fmb files that were created in JA16SJIS. Workaround: None. 13.3.5 Multibyte Characters Cannot Be Used for PL/SQL Library Name Problem: Trying to create a PL/SQL library name using a multibyte character set does not work correctly. Page 25 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Workaround: None. 13.3.6 Different prefs.ora Files May Be Needed Problem: If a customer selects Japanese installation, prefs.ora for the Japanese language in JA16SJIS encoding will be installed. This causes some problems for customers who develop their applications with other NLS_LANG settings such as: - American_America.JA16SJIS (a) or - Japanese_Japan.UTF8 (b) Workarounds: (a) prefs.ora files for the American language are required. They need to be copied from the installation CD. (b) prefs.ora files in UTF8 encoding are required. Convert the prefs.ora files from JA16SJIS encoding to UTF8 encoding. 13.3.7 Message Texts from PL/SQL Interpreter Are Mixed When running Procedure Builder, error messages (for example, ORA-04098) from the PL/SQL Interpreter are sometimes displayed in English and sometimes in Japanese. 13.3.8 Storage Requirement for Installing Cue Cards on Unix If you choose to install the Cue Cards on a Unix system, both the Japanese tar files and the US tar files will be installed. The total storage requirement for these tar files is approximately 275Mb. The Cue Cards are optional. If your storage space is limited, you may choose to not install the Cue Cards. 13.4 Known Problems for Arabic 13.4.1 Limitations for Displaying Charts on Solaris Customers using the Solaris version of Forms Developer 6i who generate charts should note that the Solaris operating system has less support for fonts and locales than Windows NT. Specifically, Solaris does not have an official Arabic locale. Forms Developer 6i for Solaris has only very limited support for the Unicode locale. As a result, charts generated on Solaris will not display text correctly if Arabic or Unicode is used. This will also happen with charts displayed on any Web Client that is accessing a Page 26 Thursday, October 19, 2000 4:29pm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Solaris-based server. This occurs because the chart is rendered into bitmap graphics on the server. If the server is Solaris- based, then Arabic and Unicode fonts are not available. Other text in forms, reports, and graphics is usually sent directly to the client and rendered in the client's locale. The recommended workaround is to select a chart text font that is Western European and not Unicode.