Session state variables across multiple ApEx applications

We have a suite of loosely integrate ApEx applications that all share a common authentication scheme. When you first log in we attempt to load a series of session state variables with temporary data to streamline various logging and authentication related activities for the life of the session.
However, these session variables seem to disappear when you move from one application to another, so they are not truly tied to just the "session" which carries over across all applications, but the application from which the session state is set.
What is the suggested way, keeping in mind that the data being held may have security related context, to preserve values during a session, but regardless of which ApEx application you are in.
The method we are using to share the authentication is using a common "Cookie Name" from a common subscribed authentication scheme as suggested elsewhere on this site and seems to work very well outside of this specific issue.
Thanks in advance,
Barney

Apologies for the delay getting back on this.
My use of the word "disappear" was probably misleading. They were not visible from the second application. When setting "Session State" I was under the impression that it was setting it for the authenticated session, not for the specific application. (I am referring to the: apex_util.set/get_session_state).
Your solution will work fine, as long as I know which application the user last authenticated against. However, it could be one of over 30 (and growing) different applications which would require me writing a program to go through every "p_flow" to try and find a valid value every time I need to reference the field.
It would be really beneficial if you could store true Session variables which stay alive for the life of the authenticated session and is available to anything authenticated against that session id. This would streamline alot of cross-application program development.
The "get/set_session_state" is a misleading as it is not a Session value, but an Application value. The Session exists across multiple applications, while this procedure does not.
Thanks,
Barney

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Session state consistency - how does APEX keep session state across pages

I would like to know how the APEX develper tool keeps session state from being overwritten across mutiltple pages in the same Session. Because this is difficult to explain I'll use an example from withing the APEX dev tool
For Example:
1. I navigate to the page (4150) thet allows me to edit my Page 880 [Window 1]
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5. I click an item in Page 881 to update ie I want to put a comment on the Unconditional Branch so click this to go to the Update page. I see the F4000_P4313_ID is passed in the URL (ie the context, teh UID of the Branch).
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What intrigues me is how the Edit Branch page applied the update to the correct branch [good !]. Why weren't the Branch Session state variables (ie the Branch for Page 880) overwritten with the Branch Session state variables for the Branch from Page 881 ?
Both navigations go to the same Page passing the UID of the branch, hence I would of thought the last navigation is the one that would be persisting (ie from Page 881 Window) ?
Any tips on preventing users updating the wrong record because of the Session State being overwritten would be most welcome.
Look forward to hearing from you.

Let me take a shot at explaining this.
Session state is stored in Oracle database tables. When a APEX page is rendered, those tables are read and the HTML is sent to the browser. When that page is submitted, all the HTML form inputs on the page are saved back into session state over-writing any existing values for that session
So, in your example, since Page 4313 has the hidden page item (the "GUID" of the branch), it doesn't matter if any other window has the same page open with some other GUID. Each page is a self-contained "unit" which has all the information necessary to properly process that page when it is submitted.
Think of it this way...in your example, when you have windows 1 and 2 open (window 2 was opened after window 1), go back to Window 1 and click the browser's Reload/Refresh button. Instead of refreshing the same page (branch 9000000), you will find that it will load branch 8000000! This is because session state is read from the database and when Window 2 was rendered, it has set F4000_P4313_ID in session state to 8000000.
Hope this helps.

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          Senior Systems Anaylst
          MassMutual Financial Group


Hello! I am searching an answer to this question too!!!
Did you get some news regarding this item?
Regards,
C.M.

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Edited by: spuchc on Apr 12, 2013 2:07 PM

Check you are not updating items of type "Display Only".
Denes Kubicek
http://deneskubicek.blogspot.com/
http://www.apress.com/9781430235125
http://apex.oracle.com/pls/apex/f?p=31517:1
http://www.amazon.de/Oracle-APEX-XE-Praxis/dp/3826655494
-------------------------------------------------------------------

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My Blog: http://dbswh.webhop.net/htmldb/f?p=BLOG:HOME:0
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jariolai
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Thanks Raja & Raja...
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Session state variables across multiple ApEx applications

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