Idea Summary
In Oracle APEX, while there is an option to create master-detail pages using predefined wizards, there is currently no out-of-the-box support for a layout that combines a Form for the Master table and an Interactive Grid for the Detail table—both editable and submitted together in a single transaction.
Although a “Form and a Report” or “Form and Grid” can be created, the Interactive Grid in the detail region only becomes available after the master record is created, which does not support real-world data entry workflows where both master and detail records are typically entered simultaneously
Use Case
in scenarios like Purchase Orders, Invoices, or Quotations, users expect to:
- See the master (e.g., PO header) and detail (e.g., PO line items) sections at the same time
- Enter data in both regions during the same session
- Submit all data in one action, resulting in insertion of master and detail records in a single transaction
Currently, this has to be custom-developed, requiring workarounds such as APEX collections or custom PL/SQL processing to handle data submission from the Interactive Grid, leading to increased complexity, potential data inconsistency, and additional development time.
Business Impact:
In our application development experience, over 95% of master-detail forms require a Form + Interactive Grid configuration. The lack of native support for this pattern significantly increases the development effort for such a common use case.
Preferred Solution (Optional)
Introduce a new master-detail form layout that allows:
- A Form for the master region
- An Interactive Grid for the detail region
- The ability to display both regions at the same time without requiring the master record to be saved first
- Seamless submission and processing of both regions in a single transaction, ideally with declarative support
Such a feature would drastically reduce development effort, improve user experience, and align APEX with practical enterprise application workflows.