Global notification message, can't get it to work

Question

Hello,
I was making experiments with the Global Notification message, so I created a page taking a string as input and storing the value in the global variable using the following pl/sql code located in an After-submit process:
HTMLDB_APPLICATION.G_GLOBAL_NOTIFICATION := :P103_MESSAGE;
However the message didn't show up, although I modified my template to display it after the "breadcrumbs" (region position 02).
Then I moved the process in a Before-header position and this time the message displayed as expected (inside the same page).
Since I defined the global message, I expected to see it appear on other pages, as all of them are based on the same template, but it doesn't.
Also, v('GLOBAL_NOTIFICATION') returns null.
I must admit I am puzzled by this behavior.
Please, could someone clarify how this global message is meant to work?
The documentation is not clear on this subject.
Bye,
Flavio

Answer 1

Flavio,
I re-read your original post and the behavior you describe is as expected. Depending on the type of branch you are using, you'll only see the message appear when you set the package global in an OnLoad process (e.g Before Header). If you set the package global onSubmit, its value will be lost on the subsequent page when the branch that follows submits and then redirects. This is because the redirect will cause a whole new database session with new package state to be created. If you set up your branch without a subsequent redirect, the global package variable should still have a value.
Although the global variable is a true global variable in the PL/SQL package sense, it's not a global variable in the HTML DB (logical) session sense. That's what page items and application items are for. The "GLOBAL" in GLOBAL_NOTIFICATION is meant to indicate that anyone running an application which has the appropriate substitution string in its template will see this message. It was really designed to be a broadcast mechanism from the owner of the application to the end users of the application. I hope this clears things up.
Sergio