Setting Personal Profile options

Lesson Overview

Using profile options, you can control the behavior of certain Oracle Applications features. This lesson explains the levels of profile options and how you can change them to suit your personal business requirements.

Overview of User Profiles

A user profile is a collection of changeable options that affect the way your applications run. Oracle Applications establishes a value for each option in a user’s profile when the user logs on or changes responsibility. You can change the value of a user profile option at any time. Oracle Applications provides this and other options so that you can alter the behavior of your applications to suit your own preferences.

Oracle Applications uses a set of user profiles options that are common to all application products. In addition, each application has its own unique set of user profile options.

User profile options can be set at one or more of four levels:

•Site

•Application

•Responsibility

•User

Your system administrator can set default option values at any of these levels.

User Profile Hierarchy

Oracle Applications treats user profile levels as a hierarchy, where User is the highest level of the hierarchy, followed by Responsibility, Application, and at the lowest level, Site. Higher-level option values override lower-level option values.

User Level

User level option values affect the way applications run for a given application user.

Responsibility Level

Responsibility level option values affect the way applications run for all users of a given responsibility.

Application Level

Application level option values affect the way a given application runs.

Site Level

Site level option values affect the way all applications run at a given installation site. Typically, your system administrator will set this option after installing Oracle Applications at a site.

Your Personal User Profile

You can change a user profile option value using the Personal Profile Values window, where you can display all your options and review the values your system administrator has set for them.

If you do not set your own user level option values, your user profile options assume the values your system administrator has set for them at the various levels.

How to Change a Profile Option Value

1. (M) Edit > Preferences > Profiles.

This window displays all your user profile options and their values. If you wish to display only specific user profile options, first choose View > Query By Example > Enter to enter search criteria in the Profile Name field, then choose View > Query By Example > Run to run the search.

The name of the user profile option appears in the Profile Name field while the Default Value field displays the run-time value of that option. The System Administrator sets default values for many of the profile options. Some profile options may not display a default value.

2. Move your cursor to the User Value field of the option whose value you wish to modify.

3. Enter a new value for the option if it is updateable, or if the List icon appears, choose a value from the list of available values.If the profile option is not updateable, the message “Item is protected against update,” appears on the message line when you try to change the value. You can change most of your user profile options; values you enter in the User Value field override values preset by the System Administrator. A few profile options cannot be changed, but are displayed for informational purposes only.

For most personal profile options, Oracle Applications automatically checks the value you enter to ensure it is valid.

Attention: Number or date values are not validated, therefore, you must make sure that you enter a valid value for profile options that require a number or date; otherwise, your personal profile option may not work as you expect.

Though you cannot delete a profile option from your personal profile, you can clear its value (if it is updateable) by highlighting the field and pressing [Backspace] or by choosing Clear, Field from the Edit menu. If you clear the value, the change does not take effect until you sign on again or change responsibilities.

4. (M) File > Save to save your change.

Your change will take effect when you either change responsibilities or log out and log back in.

Defining Personal Profiles Values

All reports and programs in Oracle Applications run as concurrent processes whether you submit them using the Submit Requests window or a product-specific submission window. Submitted reports and programs are referred to as concurrent requests. Each concurrent request runs according to a set of concurrent processing options.

The Personal Profiles Values window sets the defaults for these profiles. If you want to change the value of a default, you must change the value of the corresponding user profile option using the Personal Profiles Values window in your application.

Practice Solution

• Navigate to the Profile Values window, (M) Edit > Preferences > Profiles.

• Find the Profile name of Concurrent:Report Copies.

• Place your cursor in the User Value field and enter 2. Verify that your screen resembles the slide on the following page.

• (M) File > Save.

Profile Definitions & Concurrent Requests

PROFILES – DEFINITIONS

User Profile Options

Changeable options that affect the way your applications run.

User Profile Levels

User profile options exist at four different levels: Site, Application, Responsibility, and User levels. Oracle Applications treats user profile levels as a hierarchy, where User is the highest level of the hierarchy, followed by Responsibility, Application, and at the lowest level, Site. Higher-level option values override lower-level option values.

Site Level

Site is the lowest profile level. Site-level option values affect the way all applications run at a given installation site.

Application Level

Application is the profile level immediately above Site. Application-level option values affect the way a given application runs.

Responsibility Level

Responsibility is the profile level immediately above Application. Responsibility-level option values affect the way applications run for all users of a given responsibility.

User Level

User is the highest profile level and is immediately above Responsibility. User-level option values affect the way applications run for a given application user.

CONCURRENT

Use the Concurrent Requests windows to view a list of submitted requests, see whether a request has run, change a request's processing options, diagnose errors, or find the position of your request in available concurrent manager queues.

VIEWING REQUESTS

Since all reports, programs, and request sets are run as concurrent requests in Oracle Applications, you can use one of the following windows to view the status and output of your requests:


Concurrent Requests View progress and output of all of your concurrent requests, and change a request's processing options.
Requests View the progress and output of your concurrent requests.
Completed Requests View the output of your completed requests.

All reports and programs in Oracle Applications run as concurrent processes whether you submit them using the Submit Requests window, or using a product-specific submission window. Throughout this guide we refer to submitted reports and programs as concurrent requests, or simply as requests. Each concurrent request runs according to a set of concurrent processing options.

Default Values of Concurrent Processing Options

The default values of the concurrent processing options are determined by the values of the following user profile options:

· Concurrent:Hold Requests Specifies whether to hold a request temporarily
· Concurrent:Report Access Level Specifies who has access to report and log files
· Concurrent:Report Copies Specifies the number of copies of a report to print
· Concurrent:Request Priority Specifies the priority of a concurrent request
· Concurrent:Request Start Time Specifies the start date and time for a concurrent request
· Concurrent:Save Output Specifies whether to save report output to a file
· Concurrent:Sequential Requests Specifies whether to run your requests sequentially
· Printer Specifies the printer to print your report output

If you want to change the value of a default, you must change the value of the corresponding user profile option using the Personal Profile Values window in your application. Some profile options, such as Concurrent:Request Priority, can only be changed by your system administrator. See: Setting Your Personal User Profile.

If you submit your report or program using the Submit Requests window, you can also modify most of these concurrent processing options for the request at the time you submit your request. If you use a product-specific window that automatically submits a concurrent request when you save your work or choose a button, Oracle Applications uses the values defined by your user profile options as the concurrent processing options for your request.

Note: You can modify many of your request's concurrent processing options up until it starts running, even if you cannot modify the options at the time you submit the request. The Concurrent Requests window lets you monitor and change the options for your requests.

LIFE CYCLE OF A CONCURRENT REQUEST

A concurrent request proceeds through three, possibly four, life cycle stages or phases:


Pending Request is waiting to be run
Running Request is running
Completed Request has finished
Inactive Request cannot be run

Within each phase, a request's condition or status may change. Below appears a listing of each phase and the various states that a concurrent request can go through.


TYPES OF LOG FILES

Log files contain information about a concurrent program's execution, or a concurrent manager's activities. Log files are helpful when reviewing a problem request.

Log files are generated for all Completed concurrent requests.

There are three types of log files:

1. Request log files that document the execution of a concurrent program running as the result of a concurrent request. Every concurrent request generates a log file.

2. Manager Log files that document the performance of a concurrent manager that is running a request. The Manager Log file lists requests processed by a concurrent manager.

3. The Internal Concurrent Manager Log file that documents the performance of the Internal Concurrent Manager. It displays parameter values that are loaded when the Internal Concurrent Manager is started.

If a concurrent process ends in an error, you should review the log files to help diagnose the problem. You may also want to review the log files if a program's performance is questionable. For example, if a report runs very slowly or if it prints out data that you didn't expect.

The Internal Concurrent Manager Log file also records the time that each concurrent manager is started, and when each process monitor session or pmon cycle is initiated. During each pmon cycle, the Internal Concurrent Manager verifies the correct operation of each defined concurrent manager.

System Administrator Log File Privileges

Both you and your end users can review request log files and manager log files online. Only the System Administrator can display the Internal Concurrent Manager log file.

As System Administrator, you can use the Concurrent Requests and Administer Concurrent Program windows to view request and manager log files.

Operating System Access to Log Files

Log files are stored as standard operating system files in directories defined during the installation of Oracle Applications.

For example, Oracle General Ledger files are located using a path variable called $GL_TOP/$APPLLOG, or $APPLCSF/$APPLLOG, if the APPLCSF variable is set.

The complete path name to access an Oracle Applications log file depends on the operating system you are using. However, there are a number of file name conventions that are standard across all platforms.

For example:

VMS L64225.REQ
Unix l64225.req

Operating System Access to Concurrent Manager Log Files

Concurrent manager log files are located in the log directory under FND_TOP, the variable that contains the path name to Application Object Library Files, or under $APPLTOP/$APPLLOG. The concurrent manager log file naming convention in Unix is wn.mgr, where n is a number with up to 3 digits.

For most platforms, n is the Concurrent Process ID number assigned to the concurrent manager by the Internal Concurrent Manager, and is found in the Internal Concurrent Manager log file. The log file name for the Internal Concurrent Manager is specified when you use the STARTMGR command from the operating system to start the concurrent managers.

Log files contain information about a concurrent program's execution, or a concurrent manager's activities. Log files are helpful when reviewing a problem request. Log files are generated for all Completed concurrent requests.

AuditTrail&Concurrent

AuditTrail:Activate

You can turn AuditTrail on or off (Yes or No). The default setting is No (Off).

When you enter or update data in your forms, you change the database tables underlying the forms you see and use.

AuditTrail tracks which rows in a database table(s) were updated at what time and which user was logged in using the form(s).

• Several updates can be tracked, establishing a trail of audit data that documents the database table changes.

• AuditTrail is a feature enabled on a form-by-form basis by a developer using Oracle's Application Object Library.

• All the forms that support AuditTrail are referred to as an audit set.

• Not all forms may be enabled to support AuditTrail.

• To enable or disable AuditTrail for a particular form, you need access to Oracle Application Object Library's Application Developer responsibility.

Users cannot see nor change this profile option.This profile option is visible and updatable at the site and application levels. 

Level	Visible	Allow Update
Site	Yes	Yes
Application	Yes	Yes
Responsibility	No	No
User	No	No

The internal name for this profile option is AUDITTRAIL:ACTIVATE. 

Concurrent:Active Request Limit

You can limit the number of requests that may be run simultaneously by each user. or for every user at a site. If you do not specify a limit, no limit is imposed. Users cannot see or update this profile option.

This profile option is visible and updatable at all four levels.

NOTE: Above fig as follows.

The internal name for this profile option is CONC_REQUEST_LIMIT.

Concurrent:Attach URL

Setting this option to "Yes" causes a URL to be attached to request completion notifications. When a user submits a request, and specifies people to be notified in the Defining Completion Options region, everyone specified is sent a notification when the request completes. If this profile option is set to Yes, a URL is appended to the notification that enables them to view the request results on-line.

Only the System Administrator can update this profile option.

Users can see but not update this profile option.

This profile options is visible at all levels but can only updated at the Site level.

NOTE: Above fig as follows.

The internal name for this profile option is CONC_ATTACH_URL.

Concurrent:Collect Request Statistics

Set this profile option to "Yes" to have statistics for your runtime concurrent processes collected.

To review the statistics you must run the Purge Concurrent Request and/or Manager Data program to process the raw data and have it write the computed statistics to the FND_CONC_STAT_SUMMARY table. You can then retrieve your data from this table using SQL*PLUS or on a report by report basis using the Diagnostics window from the Requests window.

Users cannot see nor change this profile option.

This profile option is visible at all levels bu can only be updated at the Site level.

NOTE: Above fig as follows.

The internal name for this profile option is CONC_REQUEST_STAT.

Concurrent:Debug Flags

Your Oracle support representative may access this profile option to debug Transaction Managers.

Users cannot see nor change this profile option.This profile option is visible and updatable at all four levels.

NOTE: Above fig as follows.

The internal name for this profile option is CONC_DEBUG.

Concurrent:Hold Requests

You can automatically place your concurrent requests on hold when you submit them.

The default is "No". The concurrent managers run your requests according to the priority and start time specified for each. Changing this value does not affect requests you have already submitted.

"Yes" means your concurrent requests and reports are automatically placed on hold. To take requests off hold, you:

• Navigate to the Requests window to select a request

• Select the Request Control alternative region

• Uncheck the Hold check box

Users can see and update this profile option.This profile option is visible and updatable at all four levels.

NOTE: Above fig as follows.

The internal name for this profile option is CONC_HOLD. 

Concurrent:Multiple Time Zones

"Yes" sets the default value to 'Sysdate-1' for the 'Schedules Start Date' used by request submissions. Sysdate-1 ensures that you request is scheduled immediately regardless of which time zone your client session is running in. You should use this profile option when the client's session is running in a different time zone than the concurrent manager's session.

Users cannot see nor change this profile option.

This profile option is visible at all four levels and updatable at the Site level.

Level	Visible	Allow Update
Site	Yes	Yes
Application	Yes	No
Responsibility	Yes	No
User	Yes	No

The internal name for this profile option is CONC_MULTI_TZ.