What's New

Update 24A

Revision History

This document will continue to evolve as existing sections change and new information is added. All updates appear in the following table:

Overview

HAVE AN IDEA?

We’re here and we’re listening. If you have a suggestion on how to make our cloud services even better then go ahead and tell us. There are several ways to submit your ideas, for example, through the Ideas Lab on Oracle Customer Connect. Wherever you see this icon after the feature name it means we delivered one of your ideas.

GIVE US FEEDBACK

We welcome your comments and suggestions to improve the content. Please send us your feedback at oracle_fusion_applications_help_ww_grp@oracle.com.

DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this document may include statements about Oracle’s product development plans. Many factors can materially affect Oracle’s product development plans and the nature and timing of future product releases. Accordingly, this Information is provided to you solely for information only, is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described remains at the sole discretion of Oracle.

This information may not be incorporated into any contractual agreement with Oracle or its subsidiaries or affiliates. Oracle specifically disclaims any liability with respect to this information. Refer to the Legal Notices and Terms of Use for further information.

Optional Uptake of New Features (Opt In)

Oracle Cloud Applications delivers new updates every quarter. This means every three months you'll receive new functionality to help you efficiently and effectively manage your business. Some features are delivered Enabled meaning they are immediately available to end users. Other features are delivered Disabled meaning you have to take action to make available. Features delivered Disabled can be activated for end users by stepping through the following instructions using the following privileges:

• Review Applications Offering (ASM_REVIEW_APPLICATIONS_OFFERINGS_PRIV)
• Configure Oracle Fusion Applications Offering (ASM_CONFIGURE_OFFERING_PRIV)

Here’s how you opt in to new features:

1. Click Navigator > My Enterprise > New Features.
2. On the Features Overview page, select your offering to review new features specific to it. Or, you can leave the default selection All Enabled Offerings to review new features for all offerings.
3. On the New Features tab, review the new features and check the opt-in status of the feature in the Enabled column. If a feature has already been enabled, you will see a check mark. Otherwise, you will see an icon to enable the feature.
4. Click the icon in the Enabled column and complete the steps to enable the feature.

For more information and detailed instructions on opting in to new features for your offering, see Configure Offerings.

Opt In Expiration

Occasionally, features delivered Disabled via Opt In may be enabled automatically in a future update. This is known as an Opt In Expiration. If your cloud service has any Opt In Expirations in this update, you will see a related tab in this document. Click on that tab to see when the feature was originally delivered Disabled, and when the Opt In will expire, potentially automatically enabling the feature. You can also click here to see features with current Opt In Expirations across all Oracle Cloud Applications. Beyond the current update, the Financials forums on Cloud Customer Connect have details of Opt In Expirations upcoming in future updates.

Feature Summary

Common Technologies and User Experience

User Experience

Updated Oracle ADF Desktop Integration Add-In

You can now download the latest version of the Oracle ADF Desktop Integration add-in, version 5.1.5.26625.

Here are some key things you get with this version:

• The updated version of WebView2 SDK, version 1.0.1774.30.
• Updated translations.

In the future releases of Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications, these changes are expected in the Oracle ADF Desktop Integration Excel add-in installer:

• The add-in installer will check for and require WebView2 Runtime as a prerequisite. You may already have WebView2 installed, especially if you use Excel from Microsoft 365 Apps (Office 365). If you don’t have WebView2 installed currently, we recommend you to evaluate and install WebView2 as soon as possible. For more information, see C Embedded Browsers.

• The add-in installer will check for and require version 4.8.1 of the Microsoft .NET Framework Runtime as a prerequisite. You may already have that version installed. If you don’t have version 4.8.1 of .NET installed currently, we recommend you to evaluate and install it as soon as possible. For more information, see Download .NET Framework 4.8.1.

Steps to Enable

You need to install the new add-in on each desktop. For more information, see How to install the ADF Desktop Integration Add-in for Excel (2681794.1) on My Oracle Support.

Approvals and Notifications

Approvals Work Area with Enhanced User Interface and Adaptive Search

Instead of the Worklist: Approvals and Notifications work area, use the Approvals work area, which provides an enhanced user interface and adaptive search functionality. Tasks can be filtered by approval type, task type, or sender, or be searched by keyword.

The application is limited in functionality and isn’t a complete replacement for the Business Process Management (BPM) Worklist. For this reason, it’s available to set up at a site or user level.

If the application is set up, you can click Navigator > Tools > Approvals to open it, instead of Navigator > Tools > Worklist to open the Worklist: Approvals and Notifications work area.

The Approvals work area has three views.

Approvals Tasks

The Approvals Tasks page shows a list of the tasks assigned to the current user, including business attributes depending on approval type. You can organize your work using supplied filters, search on keywords, and approve or reject approvals.

Supplied filters include:

• Task type, for example Approval, FYI, or Request
• Approval type, for example, expense reports
• From, or the person who sent the approval

You can also search by keywords on other attributes of the tasks. Any combination of search and filters can be bookmarked and shared.

You can quickly address your tasks without waiting for each to complete before moving to the next approval. Supported actions include:

• Approve
• Reject
• Dismiss (FYIs)

You can also comment on approval or rejection actions in a drawer if required.

Quick View

Click a task in the list to open the Quick View, which displays additional information about the approval and allows you to approve or reject it. You can click the arrow to navigate to the next task in the list.

To get more information or take an action that isn’t yet available in the Quick View, click View More Details to open the Analytics Publisher or Application Development Framework (ADF) notification.

Click the Approvals Tasks link to navigate back to the list.

Approvals Status and History

Click Approvals Status and History to view the current status and assignee for approvals that you’ve either submitted or been an approver for.

Use the supplied filters and search by keyword to find historic approval information.

The Approvals work area is designed and built with performance as a priority. The user experience is improved for both desktop and tablet or mobile users, making it easy to act quickly on approval tasks and notifications.

Steps to Enable

1. Ensure that your environment has been patched before enabling the work area.

2. In the Scheduled Processes work area, run the Create Search Index for Worklist scheduled process once and ensure it has completed.

3. In the Setup and Maintenance work area, go to the Manage Applications Core Administrator Profile Values task in the Application Extensions functional area. Set the Approval Requests UI Enabled (ORA_FND_APPROVALS) profile value depending on whether you want the Approvals work area to be available to all users or only some users.

Tips And Considerations

The Approvals work area doesn’t replace the BPM worklist or change the behavior of the Notifications icon. You still click Show All from the notifications list in the global header, then click Worklist to open the BPM Worklist and use these tools with the application. Setting up the application doesn’t impact the BPM Worklist or Notifications icon and data remains consistent.

The Tasks List view isn't currently configurable. It includes two attributes for each approval type, and the remaining attributes are shown in the Quick View.

As a new application, not all BPM Worklist use cases are yet supported. You can choose to set up the application at the site or user level. If you have some users who would benefit from this application, but want to keep others using the existing Worklist for all tasks, you can enable this feature for specific users by setting the profile option at the user level.

Here are some of the uses that aren’t yet met with the Approvals work area.

• Extensively modified approvals in terms of either notification or actions
• Approvals with heavy use of comments and attachments, and Requests for Information (RFIs)
• Managers who manage their teams’ tasks
• Approvals requiring digital signatures
• Support for proxy users
• Support for some workflows

For these uses, wait to set up the application. Here are some examples.

• The Approvals work area shouldn't be enabled if you require Electronic Records and Electronic Signatures (ERES) in industries regulated by the Federal Drug Administration.

• If you’re using Project Management, Channel Claim, or Channel Program approvals, it’s recommended that you wait until the next release.

Only supported actions are currently available. If you have considerable custom actions, you should consider implementing later.

Not all approval types have attributes available. Test to see if it works for your important workflows.

Key Resources

• Set Up the Approvals Work Area (available January 5)
• Use the Approvals Work Area to Manage Approvals (available January 5)
• Update Existing Setup Data
• Set Profile Option Values

Reporting and Analytics

What's Notable and Different in Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence

For new features and release announcements, see What's Notable and Different in Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence.

New OTBI functionality provides you with the ability to expand your data and business analysis.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• What's Notable and Different in Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence

Deprecated and New BI View Objects in Oracle BI Cloud Connector

Business Intelligence View Objects (BIVOs) that are deprecated are no longer available for extraction using BI Cloud Connector (BICC).

If you use BICC to extract data from Oracle Fusion Applications Cloud, review the Deprecated and New BI View Objects spreadsheets to identify deprecated, inactive, and new BIVOs so that you can revise your BICC tasks to omit deprecated BIVOs and include new ones as appropriate.

You can use this information to omit deprecated and inactive BIVOs from your BICC tasks and add new ones as appropriate.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• R13.x Deprecated and New BI View Objects

Extensibility

Updated Oracle Visual Builder Studio

Here are some key things you can now do to extend your application pages using Visual Builder Studio:

• Improvements for Edit Page in Visual Builder Studio workflow

When you use the Edit Page in Visual Builder Studio option to customize Oracle Cloud Applications, you can now take advantage of these enhancements:

• • Option to re-use existing workspaces for multiple extensions

If you have an existing workspace in a project, you can now re-use it, even if it's for a different extension. In fact, VB Studio will automatically open that workspace for you, enabling you to work on multiple extensions in the same workspace. You'll receive a prompt to choose if your workspace is linked to multiple extensions.

• • Prompt to clone Git repository and create workspace

If you want to work on a configuration that someone else has already started, you can now follow the prompt to clone the team member's existing Git repository and create a new workspace. Previously, you had to clone the repository manually to create your workspace.

• • Option to request project membership

You can now request membership to a project directly from the wizard. VB Studio sends a request to the project owners on your behalf and notify you when you're added to the project. Previously, you had to take note of the project owner's email and follow up on your own.

For more information, see Configure an Oracle Cloud Application.

• Support to customize constants or components displayed in Page Designer's properties

You can customize how constants and dynamic components are organized and displayed in the Properties pane of the Page Designer. Instead of an alphabetical list of extendable components and constants that show in separate tabs, you can now use a new page-level Design Time editor to organize items in a particular order, even group them in sections. For more information, see Organize How Constants are Listed in the Properties Pane.

• Business rule enhancements

• • Improved condition builder

You can now select which criteria you want to include in a business rule's conditions and add and remove conditions in the condition builder. You can also now group conditions to create more complex rule conditions. For more information, see Set Conditions for an Extension Rule. This functionality is also supported in Express mode for HCM extensions. For more information, see Set Conditions for an Extension Rule.

• • Ability to nest business rules

It's now possible to nest business rules. Nested rules enable you to use simple conditions to build more complex sets of rule conditions. For more information, see Use Nested Rules. This functionality is also supported in Express mode for HCM extensions. For more information, see Use Nested Rules.

• Role-based security for App UIs

You can now use roles defined in your Oracle Cloud Applications instance to control access to your App UI, as well as to individual flows and pages in the App UI. For more information, see Control Access to Your App UI.

• Local server for backends/service connections

You can now use a local server to override a backend's default server, allowing you to use a server definition more suitable for development. This way, you can connect to a server using (for example) Basic Authentication and add a static Authorization header that's used only during development, without those details going into the source code. For more information, see Add a Local Server to Use a Different Backend Definition During Development.

• Extension ID in the Deployments tab

The Deployments tab now includes the extension ID, which you can use in a build step to delete an extension. Previously, you had to retrieve the identifier from the vb-extension.json file. For more information, see step 12 in Configure a Job to Delete an Extension.

• Classic application extensions are no longer supported

Classic application extensions are no longer supported. With this change, you can no longer create new classic extensions from the Workspaces page or the New Project wizard. If the older version of your Oracle Cloud Application has been migrated to the newer App UI structure, you can find the new version of your app, which typically has a URL in the <hostname>/fscmUI/redwood/<appname> format. Once you find the new version of your app, click the Edit Page in the Visual Builder Studio option to start building and configuring App UIs. Contact Oracle support if you need help.

• Page Designer improvements
  • Option to reopen closed tabs

To reopen recently closed tabs, you can now right-click a space on the tab bar in the Page Designer and select Reopen Closed Tab until you get to the tab you want to reopen. For visual apps, see Tour the Designer. For extensions, see What is the Designer.

• • Live/Design toggle change

To switch between Live and Design modes using the Ctrl key (Cmd on Mac), the cursor must now be on the canvas. This way, the mode won't switch when the canvas is not in focus. Releasing the key to switch the toggle back works anywhere. For visual apps, see Use the Page Designer. For extensions, see Use the Page Designer.

• JavaScript action chain enhancements
  • New options for local functions

You can convert a local function to an action chain that can be used by other action chains. Right-click the local function and then, select the new Convert Function to Chain option. You can also create a local function from an action on the canvas. Drag an action on the canvas onto the Create Function button or onto the green line that appears before or after a local function. For visual apps, see Design Editor. For extensions, see Design Editor.

• • Summary button to simplify action chain view

You can now visually simplify your view of an action chain by hovering over the canvas's upper-left corner and clicking the Summary button. The Summary button hides the input parameter details of each action (except for the Assign Variable and Reset Variables actions). Click the Full button to switch back to the complete view. For visual apps, see Design Editor. For extensions, see Design Editor.

• • Simplified display for action parameters

We've simplified and enhanced the look and feel of how parameters are displayed in different actions. The display of parameters in actions, such as Open URL, Call REST, and Fire Data Provider Event are now grouped. Also, the Store Result In variable has been added to the header to make it more readable.

• New behavior type for custom events

The transform behavior type for custom events is deprecated and replaced by the new tranformPayload behavior type for new event listeners. The change does not impact existing apps with events configured to use the transform type, but the new tranformPayload type addresses issues with invoking event listeners in the correct order. You are, therefore, encouraged to switch to the new behavior type for your existing apps. For visual apps, see Choose How Custom Events Call Event Listeners. For extensions, see Choose How Custom Events Call Event Listeners.

• Fragment improvements
  • Fragments as sections for dynamic containers

It's now possible to add fragments as sections in a dynamic container. By default, all fragments tagged as pageContent become available for selection when you add a section to a dynamic container. You also have the option of indicating a particular fragment as preferred content for all sections in the container. For visual apps, see Add Fragments as Sections in a Dynamic Container. For extensions, see Add Fragments as Sections in a Dynamic Container.

• • InstanceFactory types for fragments

Types from code, known as InstanceFactory types, can now be defined in fragments, making these types accessible to fragments. As with all fragment artifacts, these types are local to the fragment. For visual apps, see Create a Type From Code. For extensions, see Create a Type From Code.

• • New properties for fragment slots

The Fragment Slot component now provides several new properties to help you configure a named slot, including a Preferred Content option that indicates the type of content the slot can contain. For visual apps, see Add Slots to a Fragment. For extensions, see Add Slots to a Fragment.

• • Drag and drop for fragment slots

Fragment consumers can now drag and drop their component of choice onto a fragment slot in the Properties pane of the fragment, in addition to the Insert Component option. For visual apps, see Add Slots to a Fragment. For extensions, see Add Slots to a Fragment.

• • Improvements on customizing fragment variable display in the Properties pane

• • • If your fragment variable uses an array of primitives (for example, string[]), you can now edit the fragment's JSON to display a drop-down menu showing all values for each item in the array. For visual apps, see Subtypes and valueOptions for arrays in Customize How a Fragment Variable is Displayed in the Properties Pane. For extensions, see Subtypes and valueOptions for arrays in Customize How a Fragment Variable is Displayed in the Properties Pane.

• • • When sectioning fragment properties, you can now use the Label field to provide a user-friendly name for the fragment variable. This is particularly useful for dynamic components with data that might take a while to display in the Page Designer. For visual apps, see Section Fragment Properties for Display in the Properties Pane. For extensions, see Section Fragment Properties for Display in the Properties Pane.

The new Visual Builder Studio functionality provides you with a platform to extend your Fusion Applications extensively.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

Key Resources

• Configure an Oracle Cloud Application
• Organize How Constants are Listed in the Properties Pane
• Set Conditions for an Extension Rule
• Set Conditions for an Extension Rule (for extensions)
• Use Nested Rules
• Use Nested Rules (for extensions)
• Control Access to Your App UI
• Add a Local Server to Use a Different Backend Definition During Development
• Configure a Job to Delete an Extension
• Tour the Designer (for visual apps)
• What is the Designer (for extensions)
• Use the Page Designer (for visual apps)
• Use the Page Designer (for extensions)
• Design Editor (for visual apps)
• Design Editor (for extensions)
• Choose How Custom Events Call Event Listeners (for visual apps)
• Choose How Custom Events Call Event Listeners (for extensions)
• Add Fragments as Sections in a Dynamic Container (for visual apps)
• Add Fragments as Sections in a Dynamic Container (for extensions)
• Create a Type From Code (for visual apps)
• Create a Type From Code (for extensions)
• Add Slots to a Fragment (for visual apps)
• Add Slots to a Fragment (for extensions)
• Customize How a Fragment Variable is Displayed in the Properties Pane (for visual apps)
• Customize How a Fragment Variable is Displayed in the Properties Pane (for extensions)
• Section Fragment Properties for Display in the Properties Pane (for visual apps)
• Section Fragment Properties for Display in the Properties Pane (for extensions)

API and Schema

Deprecation of Asterisk (*) as CORS Header Value

Starting from update 24A, you can't use an asterisk (*) as a value to allow access to resources from all origins. Instead, you must specify each of the allowed origins for the profile option Allowed Origins for Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (ORA_CORS_ORIGINS).

It's recommended that you review the following conditions before making any updates to the values that currently exist.

• If asterisk (*) exists as the value for the Allowed Origins for Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (ORA_CORS_ORIGINS) profile option, replace it with a list of allowed origins. Going forward, the use of asterisk (*) won't be supported.

• The value for the Access-Control-Allow-Credentials (CORS_ACCESS_CONTROL_ALLOW_CREDENTIALS) profile option is by default set to False to prevent sending user credentials with the request. While it's not at all recommended that you change this value, if you must set it to True, ensure that the value for the profile option Allowed Origins for Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (ORA_CORS_ORIGINS) is not set to asterisk (*).

Caution: Before you change the value of the Access-Control-Allow-Credentials (CORS_ACCESS_CONTROL_ALLOW_CREDENTIALS) profile option to True, assess the risks associated with exposing the user credentials because the change affects all the Fusion Applications REST endpoints.

This change offers a more secure mechanism for integrating applications.

Steps to Enable

You don't need to do anything to enable this feature.

IMPORTANT Actions and Considerations

NEW ODA PLATFORM FEATURES AND THEIR AVAILABILITY in SAAS SKILLS

When new features are added to the Oracle Digital Assistant (ODA) platform, product development needs to uptake them to add to the certified skill platform version. For example, the installed FADigitalAssistant 22.07.61 version is certified for the new features added in the 22.02 platform version.

• The features added in the 22.02 platform version won't be available in the FADigitalAssistant 22.04.60 version certified for the 21.12 platform version. That’s because the 21.12 platform version is lower than 22.02, and isn't backward compatible. You must upgrade to the latest FADA skill version and incorporate the new features into the skills while upgrading. For more information, see Upgrade Digital Assistant and Add a Skill to a Digital Assistant.

• See this table for the latest ODA skill platform version and the corresponding FADA skill release version.

  Certified ODA Skill Platform Version	New Feature	Skills Supporting New Feature	Certified FADA Skill Release Version
  22.12	None	N/A	23.04.19

NOTE: In the FADA version number, the first four digits correspond to the application release and the last two digits show the FADigitalAssistant version within the release. For example, in the 22.07.48 version, 22 corresponds to the year 2022, and 07 corresponds to the quarterly release (01 = A, 04 = B, 07 = C, 10 = D) of the application version. The last two digits, 48, show the FADigitalAssistant version within the 22.07 release. The platform version is displayed in a four-digit format, the first two digits show the year, and the next two digits show the month. For example, in the 22.02 platform version, 22 corresponds to the year 2022, and 02 corresponds to February.

DEPRECATION OF OLDER DIGITAL ASSISTANT SKILL VERSIONS

The Digital Assistant and its skills continuously receive updates as they get smarter and provide enhanced conversational experiences. In every release, check for updated versions in the Skill Store. When you access a skill that is based on a deprecated platform version, a warning message displays. You can click the Tell me more option to view more information on the platform versions. Versions stop working when the underlying platform version becomes inactive, at the longest 2 years after release.

• The Expenses skill built using Oracle Digital Assistant platform version 20.08 is deprecated and may become obsolete soon. Ensure that you've deployed the appropriate Expenses skill version to align with the quarterly update of Fusion Cloud Applications.

• The Candidate Experience skill built using Oracle Digital Assistant platform version 22.08 is deprecated and may become obsolete soon. Ensure that you've deployed the appropriate Candidate Experience V2 skill version to align with the quarterly update of Fusion Cloud Applications.

It’s recommended to align the delivered SaaS skill version with your Fusion Cloud Applications version. This allows your skill within FADigitalAssistant to be compatible with the new APIs & URLs along with the latest updated ML models.

For more information on the lifecycle phases of skill versions, see Lifecycle Phases of Platform Versions.

For more information on recently-added features and enhancements in the different versions of the ODA platform, see What's New in ODA.

OPEN-SOURCE FONTS TO REPLACE LICENSED MONOTYPE FONTS IN ORACLE TRANSACTIONAL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

In 24A, open-source fonts replace the Monotype fonts previously available in Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence. You can use the open-source fonts available in the current release with your existing reports and edit the layouts as appropriate. For details on this replacement, see Open-Source Fonts to Replace Licensed Monotype Fonts.

Go Noto font is the default fallback font for Publisher, analyses, and dashboards. The following table lists the replacement fonts for the Monotype fonts.

ORACLE SOCIAL NETWORK WILL BE RETIRED FROM RELEASE 24C ONWARDS

Starting from update 24C, you can no longer use Oracle Social Network (OSN) to share, socialize, and update information. This will affect users across all product families who are using OSN. For more information on OSN deprecation, see End of Life (EOL) Details for Oracle Social Network (Doc ID 2675346.1) on My Oracle Support.

ORACLE MOBILE APPLICATION DESIGNER (MAD) DEPRECATION

In 24B, the Oracle Mobile Application Designer (MAD) feature will be disabled in Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence.