The Feature

How to Create Custom WebADI Integrators

November 11, 2008 on 10:40 pm | by Marian Crkon | In How To Guides | 15 Comments |  Print |  Email

Web Applications Desktop Integrator (Web ADI) is a self-service Oracle application, accessed using a browser. Unlike ADI, the  Web ADI software is not installed on individual client machines, as the processing takes place on the server rather than on individual client PCs.

Web ADI generates Microsoft Excel or Word documents on your desktop, and downloads the data you have selected from the application. You can modify the data in the Microsoft Excel or Word documents, working either online or offline, and upload the data using Web ADI. In addition to the Web ADI integrators supplied with Oracle Applications, you can create your own integrators to allow download and upload data from Oracle windows or direct from Web ADI.

Except for HRMS, it seems to me that other Oracle Development teams have not utilized Web ADI to its full potential.  There were some discussions in forums and Oracle blogs on whether this approach is even needed. I feel like every available interface and API that let you integrate with legacy or 3rd party applications should come with a standard Web ADI integrator.

Creating Custom Integrators

Thanks to the HRMS Web ADI, you can define your own custom HRMS and non-HRMS integrators and in a combination with the seeded Oracle APIs and interfaces, implement elegant solutions for downloading or uploading data. Examples for frequently used custom integrators include upload of employees, users, POs and requisitions, AP invoices, project events, AR transactions, etc.

Creating custom integrators is done by a system administrator. Let’s define an integrator to create employees to explain how to create custom integrators. Employees and employee assignments can be created using the standard HR_EMPLOYEE_API. Our custom integrator will upload data to this API.

Grant Access to Required Functions

As System Administrator, navigate to Application > Menu, and query up ‘Desktop Integration Menu’. Make sure to include functions required for respective integrators. In case of custom Create Employee integrator, you’ll need to include the following functions (no prompts are necessary):

• HR Integrator Setup Integrator
• HR Maintain Integrator Form Functions Integrator

Create ‘HR Integrator Setup’ Web ADI Document

• Log in as Desktop Integration responsibility. Select Create Document from the menu. The Settings page of the Web ADI wizard appears.
• In the Settings page, select a spreadsheet viewer in the Viewer field. Keep the Reporting check box unchecked, as this integrator is used to upload data to the database.
• In the Integrator page, select the seeded integrator “HR Integrator Setup”.
• In the Layout page, select the default layout “HR Integrator Setup”.
• In the Content page, select None.
• In the Review page, you can see full details of the document that will be created. Choose the Back button if you want to change any of the information, or choose the Create Document button to continue.
• A spreadsheet document is created, containing all the fields you need to enter to create your own integrator.

• Define all fields to create your Create Employee integrator and upload it to the database.

Controlling Access to Custom Integrators

Custom integrators, like predefined integrators, must be associated with form functions. Follow the steps below to associate your Create Employee integrator with the functions required to define Web ADI layout and Web ADI document.

• Select Create Document from the Web ADI menu.
• Select a spreadsheet viewer. Leave the Reporting check box unselected to download data for updating.
• Select HR Maintain Integrator Form Functions Integrator.
• Enter the Application Short Name (for example, your custom application name). Optionally, enter the integrator name.
• The displayed spreadsheet shows your selected custom integrators, and has a column for associating form functions. Enter the form function required for controlling access to the integrator.
• Upload your changes to the database.

Define Layout of Custom Integrator

Each integrator must have at least one layout specifying the columns to appear in the spreadsheet. To define a layout:

• Choose Define Layout from the Web ADI menu. The Layout page appears.
• Select the integrator for which you want to define the layout, and choose Go.
• Choose the Define Layout button to define a new layout.
• In the Define Layout page, enter a unique name for the layout. This appears whenever the user is required to select the layout, so should clearly indicate the purpose of the layout.
• Enter a unique key. The key is used internally by the system to identify the mapping.
• The Field List defaults to the complete list of columns available in the view or API.
• Choose Continue. In case of Create Employee integrator, the layout is based on the the HR_EMPLOYEE_API columns. In the next page, you select a subset of these fields to include in your layout.

Create ‘Create Employee’ Spreadsheet

And finally, using the custom integrator and layout defined above, create a new ‘Create Employee’ WebADI upload spreadsheet:

• From the Navigator window (Oracle Personal Home Page), click on ‘Desktop Integration’ responsibility. The Settings page of the Web ADI wizard appears.
• In the Settings page, select a spreadsheet viewer in the Viewer field. Keep the Reporting check box unchecked, as this integrator is used to upload data to the database.
• In the Integrator page, select your new integrator ‘Create Employee’.
• In the Layout page, select the default layout “Create Employee”.
• In the Content page, select None.
• In the Review page, you can see full details of the document that will be created. Choose the Back button if you want to change any of the information, or choose the Create Document button to continue.

• A spreadsheet document is created and ready to use for creating employees.
• Save a local copy to your PC.