Idea Summary

Oracle APEX provides excellent support for uploading files and images through the File Browse and Image Upload page items. These components make it very easy to store documents, photos, and other binary content directly into database BLOB columns.

However, removing an already uploaded file is not straightforward. Developers currently need to create custom PL/SQL processes to manually set the related columns to NULL, including:

• BLOB content column
• File name column
• MIME type column
• Character set column (if applicable)
• Last updated metadata columns (optional)

This adds unnecessary development effort for a very common requirement.

I would like to suggest adding a built-in Remove/Delete icon or button next to the existing Download link in File Browse and Image Upload items. When the user clicks this option:

1. The uploaded file is marked for deletion.
2. The page item is cleared automatically.
3. During page submission, Oracle APEX sets all associated file-related columns to NULL.
4. The record can then be saved normally, removing the file content from the database.

This enhancement would eliminate the need for custom PL/SQL code and make file management much more intuitive for end users.

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Use Case

This feature would be highly useful in many real-world applications, including:

Document Management

Users may upload invoices, contracts, purchase orders, or supporting documents and later need to remove outdated or incorrect files.

Employee Systems

Employees may upload profile photos, resumes, certificates, or ID documents and want the ability to delete and replace them easily.

Customer Portals

Customers may attach files or images and later decide to remove them before saving updates.

ERP and CRM Applications

Business applications frequently store documents and images in BLOB columns. Developers often need to provide custom deletion logic for every such page.

General Data Maintenance

Whenever a BLOB-based file is optional, users should be able to clear it without requiring developer intervention.

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Preferred Solution (Optional)

Add a new property for File Browse and Image Upload items, such as:

• Allow Remove File = Yes/No
• Show Delete Icon = Yes/No

When enabled:

• A delete/trash icon appears beside the existing Download link.
• Clicking the icon clears the uploaded file after user confirmation.
• On page submit, Oracle APEX automatically sets all mapped file-related columns to NULL.
• No custom PL/SQL process is required.

Example Behavior

Current UI:

• Upload File
• Download File

Proposed UI:

• Upload File
• Download File
• Remove File 🗑️

Automatic Database Update

If the item is mapped to database columns such as:

• DOCUMENT_BLOB
• DOCUMENT_FILENAME
• DOCUMENT_MIME_TYPE

Then APEX would automatically execute logic equivalent to:

DOCUMENT_BLOB      := NULL;
DOCUMENT_FILENAME  := NULL;
DOCUMENT_MIME_TYPE := NULL;

This would greatly simplify development and improve the end-user experience by providing a standard, consistent way to remove uploaded files and images in Oracle APEX.