Oracle Forms Developer – Form Builder Reference, Volume 1

session_mode NO_SESSION (The default.) Specifies that the opened form should
share the same database session as the current form. POST and COMMIT
operations in any form will cause posting, validation, and commit
processing to occur for all forms running in the same session.
SESSION Specifies that a new, separate database session should be
created for the opened form.
data_mode NO_SHARE_LIBRARY_DATA (The default.) At runtime, Form
Builder will not share data between forms that have identical libraries
attached (at design time).
SHARE_LIBRARY_DATA At runtime, Form Builder will share data
between forms that have identical libraries attached (at design time).
paramlist_name The name of a parameter list to be passed to the opened form. Datatype is
VARCHAR2.
paramlist_id The unique ID that Form Builder assigns to the parameter list at the time it
is created. Use the GET_PARAMETER_LIST function to return the ID to
a variable of type PARAMLIST.
Usage Notes
• Whether you open a form with ACTIVATE or NO_ACTIVATE specified, any startup triggers that
would normally fire will execute in the opened form. (However, see the usage note regarding
SESSION-specified below.)
• When you open a form with ACTIVATE specified (the default), the opened form receives focus
immediately; trigger statements that follow the call to OPEN_FORM never execute.
• When you open a form with NO_ACTIVATE specified, trigger statements that follow the call to
OPEN_FORM will execute after the opened form has been loaded into memory and its initial startup
triggers have fired.
• When you open a form with SESSION specified, the PRE-LOGON, ON-LOGON, and POST-
LOGON triggers will not fire.
• If the form that issues the OPEN_FORM built-in is running in QUERY_ONLY mode, then the
opened form will also run in QUERY_ONLY mode.
• On Microsoft Windows, if any window in the form that opens the independent form is maximized,
the first window displayed by the opened form will also be maximized, regardless of its original
design-time setting. (The GUI display state of a window is controlled by the Window_State
property.)
• For most applications, you should avoid using OPEN_FORM with forms that contain root windows.
Because there can be only one root window displayed at a time, canvases that are assigned to the
root window in the current form and in the opened form will be displayed in the same window. This
causes the opened form to "take over" the root window from the original form, thus hiding the
canvases in the original form partially or completely.
OPEN_FORM restrictions
• You can set session On for all Runform invocations by setting the FORMSnn_SESSION
environment variable to TRUE. When you set the FORMSnn_SESSION variable, all Runform
invocations inherit its setting, unless you override the environment variable by setting the Session
option from the Runform command line.
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