How do I Change a Report’s Column Display Name

Changing a report’s column display name in Oracle APEX is a straightforward yet essential step to improve the clarity and professionalism of your data presentations. By customizing the column headers, you ensure that users see meaningful and user-friendly labels instead of raw database column names. This enhances readability and helps tailor reports to meet specific business terminology or user expectations.

 Changing a report’s column display name in Oracle APEX is an important way to improve the readability and professionalism of your application’s data presentation. The column display name is what users see as the header in reports, so customizing it to match business terminology or user expectations helps make your reports clearer and easier to understand.

Here is a detailed step-by-step process for changing a column display name in different types of reports in Oracle APEX:

1. Open Your Application in Oracle APEX Application Builder
   Log in to Oracle APEX and open the Application Builder. Select the application where your report resides.

2. Navigate to the Page with the Report
   Find and open the page containing the Classic Report, Interactive Report, or Interactive Grid you want to edit.

3. Edit the Report Region
   In the Page Designer, locate the report region in the layout tree on the left side. Click on the report region to display its properties.

4. Locate the Columns Section
   Within the report region, find the "Columns" node or section. This lists all columns currently defined in the report.

5. Select the Column to Rename
   Click on the specific column whose display name you want to change. The property editor on the right will show the column’s settings.

6. Change the Column Heading
   In the property editor, look for the "Heading" attribute or "Column Heading" field. This is where you can enter a custom display name. Replace the existing heading with your desired name. For example, change "EMPLOYEE_ID" to "Employee Number" or "STATE_ID" to "State."

7. Save and Run the Page
   After changing the column heading, save your changes. Run the page to see your updated report with the new column display names.

Additional Tips:

• If your report is based on a SQL query, you can also change the column alias directly in the SQL query itself. For example:

  SELECT EMPLOYEE_ID AS "Employee Number", FIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME FROM EMPLOYEES;
  

  This SQL alias will be used as the column header unless overridden in the report attributes.

• In Interactive Reports and Interactive Grids, users can also personalize column headers at runtime. However, setting the display name in the Page Designer ensures a consistent, default experience for all users.

• Make sure the display names are concise but descriptive to avoid clutter and confusion in the report layout.

By following these steps, you can easily customize the display names of columns in your Oracle APEX reports, enhancing the user interface and making your data more accessible and understandable. This small but significant change contributes greatly to the overall usability and professionalism of your applications.

Example

To change the display name of a column in a Classic Report within Oracle Application Express (APEX), follow these steps:

Select the application containing the report you wish to modifyand open the specific page with the Classic Report.

Modify Column Attributes:

• In the Rendering tab, locate the region associated with your Classic Report and expand the Columns node to view all report columns.

• Select the column whose display name you want to change.

• In the Property Editor, under the Heading section, edit the Heading attribute to your desired display name.

This change updates the column's header in the report.

Additional Tips:

• Custom Headings: If you want to define custom headings for your report columns, you can set the Heading attribute to your preferred text.

From:

To: 

• Dynamic Column Names: For dynamic assignment of column names based on certain conditions, consider using a PL/SQL function in the report's SQL query. This approach allows for flexible column naming based on session state or other variables.

Lets make a change to David Martinez’s record and update the state.

You can see here that the change has been applied

The form also allows us to “Create” a new  user

Notice that the fields are empty and that you have a “Create” button instead of an “Update” button.

Lets add “John Doe” to the list:

John Doe is now in our list:

Lets Delete John Doe by Clicking on the “Pencil” Icon on the left.

Notice that there is a “Delete” and a “Apply Changes” button.

Lets “Delete” John Doe. When we press the “Delete” button we get a confirmation message:

Press “ Delete” and “John Doe” disappears from the list.

In conclusion, adjusting the column display names in your Oracle APEX reports is a simple but powerful way to improve user experience. Whether you change the headings directly in the report attributes or use SQL aliases, this customization ensures that your reports communicate information clearly and effectively. Taking the time to set descriptive column names will make your application more intuitive and easier to use.