Adding a New Descriptive Flexfield in Oracle Cloud Financials ERP

Descriptive Flexfields (DFFs) in Oracle Cloud ERP allow organizations to extend Oracle’s standard functionality by adding custom fields to various objects in financial applications. This guide explains how to add a new Descriptive Flexfield (DFF) in the Payables module or other domains like General Ledger.

Accessing the “Manage Payables Descriptive Flexfields” Task

To configure a new DFF, users need to navigate to Setup and Maintenance and search for the task “Manage Payables Descriptive Flexfields.”
To do this:

• Go to Navigator > Setup and Maintenance.
• In the search task field, type Descriptive and select “Manage Payables Descriptive Flexfields” from the results for payables or Manage General Ledger Descriptive Flexfields for GL.

To access this task, a user must have Application Implementation Consultant or IT Security Manager role, which provides access to setup and maintenance functions, including configuring flexfields.

Objects Available for Descriptive Flexfields

Once inside the “Manage Payables Descriptive Flexfields” screen:

• Use the Search function to list all available objects.
• For example if you want to add a flexfield to AP_INVOICE_DISTRIBUTIONS:
  • Select it and click the edit (pencil) icon.
  • Click the “+” button to add a new segment.

Creating a New Segment in a Descriptive Flexfield

Understanding the “Create Segment” Screen

Each field in the “Create Segment” screen serves a specific function. Below is a breakdown:

Field	Description
Flexfield Name	Displays the name of the selected flexfield (e.g., Invoice Distributions).
Flexfield Code	Displays the technical identifier of the flexfield (e.g., AP_INVOICE_DISTRIBUTIONS).
Name	Enter a name for the custom field (e.g., Your Custom Field).
Code	Enter a unique identifier (e.g., XX_YOUR_CUSTOM_FIELD).
API Name	Enter an API reference for the field (e.g., yourCustomField).
Description	Optional description of the field.
Enabled	Checkbox to enable the segment.
Data Type	Select the type of data (Character, Number, Date, etc.).
Table Column	Choose which database column will store the value (e.g., ATTRIBUTE6).
View Value Set	Allows viewing existing value sets.
Create Value Set	Allows creating a new value set for validation.
Value Set	Select a predefined value set if required.
Value Set Description	Displays the description of the selected value set.
Range Type	Defines if the values are limited to a range.
Required	Checkbox to make the field mandatory.
Default Type	Selects how the field is defaulted (Static, Profile, SQL, etc.).
Prompt	Label shown on UI (e.g., Your Custom Field).
Display Type	Select the field type (Text Box, Drop-down, etc.).
Display Size	Set the width of the input field.
Display Height	Set the height of the input field (for multiline text).
Read-only	Checkbox to prevent users from editing the field.
Definition Help Text	Provides guidance when setting up the field.
Instruction Help Text	Provides help for end-users.
BI Enabled	Enables the field for OTBI reports.
BI Label	Defines the label to be used in OTBI.

Manage Segment Labels for OTBI

To make the new flexfield available in Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence (OTBI):

1. Navigate to Setup and Maintenance.
2. Search for “Manage Segment Labels.”
3. Assign an appropriate label to your flexfield to allow reporting.

Deploying the Flexfield

Once the configuration is complete:

1. Click “Deploy Flexfield.”
2. Select the object where the flexfield was added (e.g., AP_INVOICE_DISTRIBUTIONS).
3. Click Deploy Flexfield to deploy the changes.

Adding a Descriptive Flexfield (DFF) in Oracle Cloud ERP enhances system functionality by allowing additional data capture. By following these steps, users can create, configure, validate, and deploy new flexfields for Payables or General Ledger, ensuring flexibility and better data management.