![](https://csdnimg.cn/release/download_crawler_static/1552412/bg12.jpg)
2 Timecard Configuration Basics
The fastest mechanism of configuring a time card is to modify the existing set of layouts that are closest to the required functionality.
This white paper describes this process in detail, and illustrates with examples of common modifications. The document covers
the majority of customizations, which are to the timecard header — the comments field, period list control and template control
widgets — and timecard matrix — the time attributes and time entry fields. In summary, the minimal number of steps to configure
a timecard layout are:
1. Use one of the seeded timecard layouts as a basis, or create a new timecard layout.
2. You must rename the timecard layout.
3. You configure the components of the timecard.
4. Upload the timecard layout to the database using FNDLOAD (see section 2.3).
NOTE: Do not use Web Application Dicti onary or the OA Configuration Framework to configure the layouts.
However, there are items on the OTL timecard pages such as the product branding and buttons which are outside the scop e of the
configurable user interface. Thus use the personalization framework to modify to those user interface components, e.g. to change the
branding, or the labels on the buttons.
2.1 The Layout File
As previously mentioned, the timecard layout containing a set of user interface component, and associated qualifer descriptions, is
held in a simple text file. Use FNDLOAD, the generic AOL loader utility, to upload the file data into the OTL Configurable
User Interface database tables. Read the AOL documentation, within the Oracle Applications release 11i documentation, for more
information on FNDLOAD. In common with all FNDLOAD compatible files, OTL delivers a configuration file, which defines the
structure of the layout files. This configuration file defines the entities, and entity attributes that are present within the file, which
are in the form of name value pairs unless part of the developer key for the attribute. For example, the HXC LAYOUT entity has
two keys, the layout name, and the application short name that owns the layout (at the moment this is only OTL) and then a
number of attributes, such as the display layout name and the layout type. In OTL, each of the entities definied in the configuration
file maps to an OTL table, e.g. the HXC LAYOUTS entity maps to the HXC LAYOUTS table. Each of the entity keys, or entity
attributes in the loader file maps directly or via a key to columns in those entities. E.g. DISPLAY LAYOUT NAME maps to the
database column, DISPLAY LAYOUT NAME, while PARENT COMPONENT maps to the column PARENT COMPONENT ID,
as the parent component specifies a key attribute of an entity. The configuration file is:
$APPL TOP/hxc/11.5/patch/115/import/hxclaytlayoutsld.lct
and must be used in conjunction with FNDLOAD when uploading the layout.
2.2 Using an Existing Layout as a Basis for Customization
When creating a custom layout the easiest approach is to select one the delivered layouts, based on which is closest to your require-
ments, and then use it as a starting point for your custom layout. To avoid overwriting the delivered OTL layouts you must give
your new timecard layouts new names. Even if you do not plan to use the delivered layouts this change should still be made to avoid
your custom layout being overwritten when OTL patches are applied to your environment. In order to rename the layout, you need
to change the layout name and description in the loader file. You do this in the section at the top of the data file.
For example:
BEGIN HXC LAYOUTS "EXCEPTION-TIMECARD" "HXC"
OWNER = "CUSTOM"
DISPLAY LAYOUT NAME = "Exception Layout - Timecard Entry Page"
LAYOUT TYPE = "TIMECARD"
18