Save only edited or new records

Question

Hi,
I have a block based on a table and display a few records on the form after retrieving records from the table behind. Now I should be able to edit a record or add a new record to the existing records on the screen. So when i click the save button I only want the rows which are new or have been edited to go back into the db. This is the piece of code I was using for the save button in the on-button-clicked action.
IF alert_button=alert_button1 THEN
GO_BLOCK('my_block');
IF NOT Form_Success THEN RAISE Form_Trigger_Failure;
END IF;
/* ** Commit if anything is changed */
IF :System.record_Status IN ('CHANGED','NEW') THEN Commit_Form;
END IF;
msg_info('Your changes have been saved.');
END IF;
When I do this all the records on the screen gets inserted into the table instead of only the one's I have edited or newly inserted. I only want to insert rows which are new or edited into the table after I click the save button.

Answer 1

If the only reason for your procedure is to filter the records, Forms handles this natively when you place the Form in "Enter Query" mode (Forms 6i = F7, Forms 9i or higher = F11). A user can enter their search criteria in each field displayed (to include Oracle Wildcard charaters) and then execute the query using F8 (Forms 6i) or Ctrl+F11 (Forms 9i or higher). This is one of the great features of Forms is that it doesn't require additionaly programming to accomodate searches. Once has queried the records into the data block, Forms keeps track of which records were modified or are new. When you Save (Commit_Form), Forms will update or insert as needed to save the changes the user made.
As Inol suggested, if you need to gather search criteria fro m your us er a different way, you can use the criteria to change the W here Clause of the data block to display records. In this situation, you would code your "Search" button to modify the w here clause. Here's an example w here a user can search on an employee's first name, last name, employee id or any combination of the three:
First Name [                  ]    Last Name [                      ] Emp ID [                     ]
[SEARCH]
/* Sample When-Button-Pressed trigger for Search button */
/* Example of searching by Last Name */
DECLARE
   v_def_where    VARCHAR2(500);
BEGIN
   IF ( :search_block.first_name IS NOT NULL ) THEN
      v_def_where := 'first_name = :search_block.first_name';
   END IF;  
   IF ( :search_block.last_name IS NOT NULL ) THEN
      IF (v_def_where IS NOT NULL ) THEN
         v_def_where := v_def_where || ' and ';
      END IF;
      v_def_w here := v_def_w here || ' last_name = :search_block.last_name';
   END IF;
   IF ( :search_block.employee_id IS NOT NULL ) THEN
      IF (v_def_where IS NOT NULL ) THEN
         v_def_w here := v_def_w here || ' and ';
      END IF;
      v_def_w here := v_def_w here || ' last_name = :search_block.employee_id';
   END IF;
  IF ( v_def_w here IS NOT NULL ) THEN
      /* Forms 6i */
      S et_B lock_Property('DATA_BLOCK',DEFAULT_W HERE, v_def_w here);
      /* Forms 9i or Higher */
      S et_B lock_Property('DATA_BLOCK',ONETIME_W HERE, v_def_w here);
      Execute_Query;
   ELSE
      Message ('No Search Criteria was entered.');
      Message ('No Search Criteria was entered.');
      RAISE Form_Trigger_Failure;
   END IF;
END;NOTE: As you can see I had to EDIT this post numerous times to get it to save. X-( There are spaces embedded in the code sample.
Hope this helps,
Craig B-)
If a response is helpful or correct, please mark it accordingly.
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:21 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:22 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:23 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:24 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:24 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:24 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:26 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:28 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:29 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:31 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:33 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:34 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:36 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:37 PM
Edited by: CraigB on May 17, 2010 12:37 PM