Appendix: Performing Bulk Operations

This appendix provides an overview of bulk operations and discusses how to perform bulk:

• Insertions

• Modifications

• Deletions

Understanding Bulk Operations

PeopleTools enables administrators to perform bulk operations on fields that might be in many different records or pages.

Note. For security reasons, only those users logged in to PeopleSoft Application Designer under the "PeopleSoft Administrator" role have access to the Bulk Operations menu items. For all other users these menu options are disabled. To gain access, navigate to PeopleTools, Security, User Profiles, User Profiles, Roles tab.

Bulk operations are useful for financial ChartFields.ChartField is an accounting term that describes a small group of character fields, typically 5 to 20, that are present in many records and pages. ChartFields can be between 1 and 30 characters long, with an average length of 10. They often identify organization-wide attributes, such as DEPTID (department identification).

Important! Many PeopleSoft financial applications have created a standardized way to modify ChartFields by using standard pages and their corresponding PeopleCode application programming interfaces (APIs). The financials applications do more than just invoke the bulk operations to modify ChartFields. For this reason, users of these applications should follow the applications guidelines rather than using these bulk operations menu items in PeopleSoft Application Designer. Consult your application to ensure that you are using the appropriate mechanism to update your ChartFields, before using PeopleSoft Application Designer’s Bulk Operations tool.

Performing Bulk Insertions

To perform bulk insertions by using PeopleSoft Application Designer, select Tools, Bulk Operations, Insert.

This section lists common elements and discusses how to insert:

• Fields into records.

• Record fields onto pages.

• Fields into records and onto pages.

Note. If you try to insert a field that is already present in a record or on a page, no processing takes place.

Common Elements Used in This Section

Inserting Fields into Records

You can insert a source field into selected records only if the model field exists in those records. The source field is assigned the same record field properties as the model field in each record and is inserted directly after the model field.

If the model field has a prompt table, a prompt table is created for the source field by using the name of the source field with TBL appended to it.

If the record is either a structured query language (SQL) view or a dynamic view type, the associated SQL is modified by expanding the SELECT clause to include the new field.

If the record is a subrecord, the parent records of the SQL view or dynamic view type that contain this subrecord are updated. If the SQL contains the model field in the WHERE clause or if the SQL is complex, the associated record is inserted into a project called BLK_<SOURCEFIELDNAME> and displays a status message. Examine the contents of that project after the operation completes to verify successful completion.

If the model field has PeopleCode associated with it in the record or in a component, this PeopleCode is copied to the new field with all of the references to the model field changed to refer to the new field.

Note. Because performing this operation changes records that are used to build application tables, you must rebuild (alter) the database before these changes can be used.

Inserting Record Fields onto Pages

This operation inserts the specified record field onto each page that is listed if the model field exists on the page.

If the model field is in a grid, the system inserts the new field into the grid next to the model field and assigns it the same page field properties.

If the model field is not in a grid, the system inserts the new field to the right of the model field (in the first open space) and assigns it the same page field properties. If the system detects a questionable field position, it inserts the page into a project called BLK_<SOURCEFIELDNAME> and displays a status message. Examine that project after the operation completes to verify successful completion.

The page field name property is not cloned if it exists on the model field. Instead, the name of the new field is used, because the page field name should be a unique identifier for page elements.

Note. You do not need to rebuild the database after performing this operation. The changes take affect when you open the page.

Inserting Fields into Both Records and onto Pages

This operation is a combination of inserting fields into records and inserting record fields onto pages. The system examines each record to see if a model field exists. If so, it inserts the source field after the model field, including all field properties, PeopleCode, and SQL additions to itself and parent records. Then, for each record, the system checks all pages to see if the new record field should be inserted.

If the system detects a questionable field position, it inserts the page into a project called BLK_<SOURCEFIELDNAME> and displays a status message. Examine that project after the operation completes.

Performing Bulk Modifications

To perform bulk modifications by using PeopleSoft Application Designer, select Tools, Bulk Operations, Modify.

This section discusses how to:

• Modify record fields.

• Modify page fields.

• Reorder or resize grid fields.

• Change page field attributes.

Modifying Record Fields

Use this operation to modify record fields by applying record field properties to a field in a set of records. All of the properties that are associated with the page are set for the record field in the listed records. Therefore, after this operation completes, the source field in these records contains identical record field properties.

Note. In most cases, you must rebuild the database for these attributes to take effect.

Modifying Page Fields

Use this operation to modify page fields in a variety of ways. You can specify a source field list from a list of fields, records, pages, or projects. You can only modify page field attributes on a single field at a time; therefore, if you do not specify a single field, the Change Attributes button is unavailable.

Reordering or Resizing Grid Fields

You can rearrange columns as needed, and the order is applied on target pages. The reordering algorithm groups the fields together at the first instance of any of the fields in a target page grid and forces the remaining fields into the specified order.

Pages that have these fields outside of grids are not affected by these changes. The resize operation applies only to grid column widths.

Require all fields to be present for reordering	Select if you do not want to modify pages that do not have all of the fields in the grid.
Resize column widths as indicated above	Select to resize the columns to the column widths that are defined.

Note. These changes take effect immediately; no database build is required.

Changing Page Field Attributes

Like record field attributes, you can modify page field attributes for the selected field (on the selected set of pages) by using the Modify Page Field Attribute dialog box. All of the attributes on the screen are applied to the page field on all pages.

Performing Bulk Deletions

To perform bulk deletions by using PeopleSoft Application Designer, select Tools, Bulk Operations, Delete.

Use the delete operation to:

• Remove the field from a list of pages, regardless of where the field exists on the page or whether it is in a grid.

• Remove the field from the list of records.

  This removes associated PeopleCode and modifies associated SQL either in the record or, if the record is a subrecord, in parent records.

  If the field is in the SELECT clause of the SQL, the removal is straightforward. However, if the field is also used in a WHERE clause, or if the field is the only item in the SELECT clause, the record is not modified. Instead, it is inserted into a project called BLK_<SOURCEFIELDNAME> as noted in messages in the status screen.

Note. A project with a targeted field in SQL statements should be examined by hand to delete the field as required from the associated SQL.

Deleting fields from records and pages does not remove the field definition itself and it does not remove the field from other applications, such as Crystal Reports.

Note. Because performing this operation changes records, you must subsequently rebuild the database, because each application data table is based on the record definition.