apex passing variable through column link interactive report edit link

Question

Is it possible to send data through column [edit] link to another page in APEX Interactive Repport? In standard report I can select item I want to send data from 1st page to 2nd page.

Answer 1

The following solution was developed using Oracle APEX Release 4.2, although it would probably work with any lower version that also features Interactive Reports.

I will describe the setup of passing a persistent parameter value across multiple page navigations by using hidden page items. This example shows how to move through the following pages:

PAGE_100 (Origin) > PAGE_200 (Interactive Report) > PAGE_300 (Destination)

1. Create in your input region of PAGE_100 a ITEM input field (P100_INPUT) and an ITEM submit button.
2. Make the ACTION of the button on PAGE_100 "Redirect to Page in this Application."
3. Create a HIDDEN PAGE ITEM for PAGE_200 (P200_ORIGIN_PARAM)
4. EDIT the Button from PAGE_100 > "Action When Button Clicked" Set the Redirect Page to the page id or alias of PAGE_200. "Set These Items" should be: P200_ORIGIN_PARAM. "With These Values" should be: &P100_INPUT. (Note the enclosing "&" and "." are significant.)
5. Create a receiving Item on the final page PAGE_300 to receive the value from the PAGE_100 (Origin)... P300_DESTINATION.

Go to PAGE_200 where you set up your interactive report. You now have the selected value from PAGE_100 available to you through a hidden item value. When you edit a column attribute on the IR, use the "Column Link" section to populate one of the three available Item parameter settings with a reference to your hidden item (P200_ORIGIN_PARAM).

So, Item 1 (Name) = P300_DESTINATION; Item 1 (Value) = &P200_ORIGIN_PARAM. Make sure to set the Target to PAGE_300 as well.

If you need the value in the hidden parameter item on its current page, you can reference it like any other value carried to that page. For example, the query for the IR on PAGE_200:

    SELECT COL_1, COL_2, COL_3
      FROM EX_TABLE
     WHERE COL_1 = :P200_ORIGIN_PARAM

... As an afterthought, the CLEAR CACHE settings could also be set to reset the receiving page items before you use them. I think it may not matter though.

Also, I used distinct parameter names as they carried the data across, to prevent ambiguity. You may want to use some sort of consistent naming convention in your own app to make it easier to interpret where the values are coming from, and their relevance to the new page you're on.

Answer 2

The standard provided column link in an interactive report is not located on any column, but can be found in the "Report Attributes" of the interactive report, section "Link Column".