Forms Playback

Exclusive to Oracle E-Business Suite
Very fast loads
Up to 20 times faster than Macro
Excellent reliability
Built-in error handling
Load is built as you work
Available in DataLoad Professional

Forms Playback

Forms Playback is available in DataLoad Professional, where it is the preferred load technology for loading in to core/professional Oracle E-Business Suite forms because of its super fast load speed combined with great reliability and error handling.

All versions of Oracle Forms contain 'record' and 'playback' functionality. When Forms is run in record mode a file is written detailing everything done in the forms session. Run forms in playback mode and the forms will do whatever is specified in the file being played back. For example, if a customer order is entered in the order entry system when in record mode and then that file is played on another system that order will be loaded into the second system. Because the playback is run by the forms software on the server the load runs as fast as the forms can possibly work. This is much faster than is possible with Macro loads because the forms run the load internally and what is seen on screen is the form only displaying what is happening rather than actually driving the load. Apart from the speed, the load is also totally reliable and stops if an error or warning message is shown in the form.

DataLoad can edit the files recorded by Oracle Forms and create a new playback file containing the data to be loaded. To create a load to enter transactions into Oracle the forms are run in record mode and a transaction entered. A playback file is recorded and that is now edited in DataLoad where the new transaction data to be loaded is added. The file is saved and Oracle Forms run in playback mode using the just created. The transactions will now be loaded. Using this technology loads are built in the time it takes a user to manually enter just one or two records in the form(s).

Data entered using forms playback is loaded incredibly quickly. The load runs many times faster than is possible using Macros and is usually only slightly slower than conventional interfaces loading data directly into the database. The data is loaded through the forms so you know it will be entered into the database correctly, in the same way as if you had entered the data in the form yourself. Best of all, this functionality can be used by non-technical users. Now end users can build and run loads that are almost as powerful as those built by developers and in a fraction of the time it takes a developer to build a load.

Forms Playback is provided as a demonstration in DataLoad Classic and loads are restricted to 5 records. However, this functionality is fully enabled and unrestricted in DataLoad Professional.

See the Forms Playback section of the User Guide for more information on setting up and using Forms Playback.

Case Study

Loading Suppliers into Oracle Applications 11i. We frequently use Forms Playback to load Suppliers into Oracle E-Business Suite. The following times are typical for how long it takes to build and test a load then enter data.

These times are for an experienced user of DataLoad Professional and Forms Playback to load suppliers with one site per supplier.