Oracle Forms Developer – Form Builder Reference, Volume 1

DISPLAY_ITEM built-in
Description
Maintained for backward compatibility only. For new applications, you should use the
SET_ITEM_INSTANCE_PROPERTY built-in. DISPLAY_ITEM modifies an item’s appearance by
assigning a specified display attribute to the item. DISPLAY_ITEM has the side-effect of also changing
the appearance of any items that mirror the changed instance. SET_ITEM_INSTANCE_PROPERTY
does not change mirror items.
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You can reference any item in the current form.
Any change made by a DISPLAY_ITEM built-in is effective until:
• the same item instance is referenced by another DISPLAY_ITEM built-in, or
• the same item instance is referenced by the SET_ITEM_INSTANCE_PROPERTY built-in (with
VISUAL_ATTRIBUTE property), or
• the instance of the item is removed (e.g., through a CLEAR_RECORD or a query), or
• you modify a record (whose status is NEW), navigate out of the record, then re-enter the record, or
• the current form is exited
Syntax
PROCEDURE DISPLAY_ITEM
(item_id ITEM,
attribute VARCHAR2);
PROCEDURE DISPLAY_ITEM
(item_name VARCHAR2,
attribute VARCHAR2);
Built-in Type unrestricted procedure
Enter Query Mode yes
Parameters
item_id Specifies the unique ID that Form Builder assigns to the item when it
creates the item. The data type of the ID is ITEM.
item_name Specifies the VARCHAR2 string you gave to the item when you created it.
attribute Specifies a named visual attribute that should exist. You can also specify a
valid attribute from your Oracle*Terminal resource file. Form Builder will
search for named visual attribute first. Note: You can specify Normal as
a method for applying the default attributes to an item, but only if your
form does not contain a visual attribute or logical (character mode or
otherwise) called Normal. You can also specify NULL as a method for
returning an item to its initial visual attributes (default, custom, or named).
DISPLAY_ITEM examples
/*
** Built-in: DISPLAY_ITEM