Building a web app isn’t just about features. It’s about how users interact with it. A good app should feel natural, predictable, and easy to use. Small usability improvements often make a big difference in how people experience your product.

Navigation Enhancements

Make Pages Easy to Bookmark

Update the URL to reflect the current state when users search, filter, or view specific content. This allows them to return to the same place without repeating steps.

• Example:

  • Before: User searches for “Vehicle XYZ”
  • After: khalil232.com/someapp/search?query=Vehicle+XYZ

This saves time and makes your app feel more reliable.

Support Deep Linking

Allow users to open specific records, sections, or screens directly using a URL. This avoids repetitive navigation.

• Example:

  • khalil232.com/someapp/vehicle/12345

Deep linking is especially useful in business apps where users frequently revisit or share specific records.

Respect User Actions

Avoid Restricting Basic Functionalities

Do not block basic browser actions like cut, copy, or paste. Users expect these to work everywhere.

• Avoid:

  • Disabling right-click
  • Preventing text selection

Blocking these actions creates frustration and breaks normal user behavior.

Non-Blocking Processes

Reduce Blocking Actions

Full-screen loaders and blocking overlays interrupt users and slow them down. Instead, allow them to continue working.

• Better approaches:

  • Run tasks in the background
  • Keep screens interactive
  • Show completion using notifications or toasts

Example

While generating a report, let users continue using the app. Notify them when the report is ready to download.

This keeps the app responsive and efficient.

Visual Clarity

Make Links Visually Distinct

Links should clearly look clickable. Use color, underline, or icons to differentiate them from normal text.

• Example:

  • Blue, underlined text for links

Clear visual cues improve navigation and reduce confusion.

Confirm Difficult Actions

Always confirm actions that cannot be undone, such as deleting data.

• Example:

  • “This action will permanently delete your record. Do you want to continue?”

This prevents mistakes and gives users confidence.

Data Management

Manage Text Length in Tables or Lists

Long text can break layouts and reduce readability. Handle it properly.

• Recommended:

  • Truncate long text
  • Add “Read More” options
  • Use tooltips or modals for full content

This keeps the UI clean without hiding important information.

File Upload Previews

Show a preview before users submit uploaded files. Include key details.

• Display:

  • File name
  • File size
  • File type

Users should be able to remove or replace files easily before submitting.

Conclusion

User-friendly apps are built through small, thoughtful decisions.

Making navigation easier, avoiding unnecessary restrictions, and keeping the interface responsive all contribute to a better experience. These improvements may seem minor, but they significantly reduce user frustration and make your app more enjoyable to use.

Use connections based on backend. Instead of directly using a URL,

This way, when we migrate from one instance to another, we can make changes in backend URL and credentials. This will be one-time setup when me get a new instance and at code level, we don’t have to make many changes

Get Application URL using JS function

For any kind of link to different VBCS application, use JavaScript code to get application URL using

$application.path
// design url -- {{vbcs-cloud-url}}/ic/builder/design/khalil/1.0.0/preview/webApps/demo/
// live url -- {{vbcs-cloud-url}}/ic/builder/rt/khalil/live/webApps/demo/ 

$application.path
// design url -- {{vbcs-cloud-url}}/ic/builder/design/khalil/1.0.0/preview/webApps/demo/
// live url -- {{vbcs-cloud-url}}/ic/builder/rt/khalil/live/webApps/demo/ 

Get SaaS URL using JS function

For any kind of link to different ERP instance for any deep link or report link to get the host name of SaaS application, configure the SaaS application as one of the backend and configure a get API

Using the get API, we can use the below JavaScript code to get full URL of API, from which we can extract the exact host name

Code sample for getting SaaS URL using Rest Helper

define(["vb/helpers/rest"], (Rest) => {
  "use strict";

  class PageModule {
    async getSaaSURL(arg1, arg2) {

      let apiURL = await Rest.get("jsonplaceholderTypicodeCom/getUsers").toUrl();

      // jsonplaceholderTypicodeCom --> this is service name
      // you can find this under Service Connections --> Overview --> Connection name 

      // getUsers --> this is endpoint name 
      // in above tab --> select endpoint and This is endpoint id 
      
      let hostName = new URL(apiURL).origin;

      console.log(apiURL); // https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users
      console.log(hostName); // https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/
    }
  }

  return PageModule;
});

define(["vb/helpers/rest"], (Rest) => {
  "use strict";

  class PageModule {
    async getSaaSURL(arg1, arg2) {

      let apiURL = await Rest.get("jsonplaceholderTypicodeCom/getUsers").toUrl();

      // jsonplaceholderTypicodeCom --> this is service name
      // you can find this under Service Connections --> Overview --> Connection name 

      // getUsers --> this is endpoint name 
      // in above tab --> select endpoint and This is endpoint id 
      
      let hostName = new URL(apiURL).origin;

      console.log(apiURL); // https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/users
      console.log(hostName); // https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/
    }
  }

  return PageModule;
});

Use messages or static status like APPROVED, DONE, or some ID like -1, 0, 1, or 2024 using a constant value at the application level.

This will help to easily see all the values at one time and later, if there is change in actual value, we can change the value at this place with no need to change the code.

{
  "id": "demo",
  "description": "A new VB app",
  "defaultPage": "shell",
  "constants": {
    "SUCCESS_STATUS": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "Successfully Created"
    }
  }
}

{
  "id": "demo",
  "description": "A new VB app",
  "defaultPage": "shell",
  "constants": {
    "SUCCESS_STATUS": {
      "type": "string",
      "defaultValue": "Successfully Created"
    }
  }
}

define(["vb/helpers/rest"], (Rest) => {
  "use strict";

  class PageModule {
    async checkStatus(status, APP_SUCCESS_STATUS) {
     // pass $application.constants.SUCCESS_STATUS
      return ( status === APP_SUCCESS_STATUS )
    }
  }

  return PageModule;
});

define(["vb/helpers/rest"], (Rest) => {
  "use strict";

  class PageModule {
    async checkStatus(status, APP_SUCCESS_STATUS) {
     // pass $application.constants.SUCCESS_STATUS
      return ( status === APP_SUCCESS_STATUS )
    }
  }

  return PageModule;
});

1. Basics of VBCS
   • What is VBCS?
   • Why is it used?
2. What are application, page, and flow scopes?
   • Which scope is used when
   • Identifying default flow / default page
3. How to connect to other systems
   • Using service connections
     • OIC-related connections: call an integration on a button and click from VBCS page
     • SaaS-related connections: call some fusion API on button click and populate in a table
     • Some direct APIs — call some external API to other than OIC or SaaS API
   •  In Service connections, understand different type of authentication methods, like basic authentication / OAuth.
   • Try to call REST APIs with different types of http methods ( GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE )
4. How to store data
   • Import and export data from business object using inbuilt data manager
   • Create business objects with different types of fields
     • generated id
     • number field
     • string field
     • date field
     • calculate field
   • how to write business rules and inside we can write Groovy, and this can be called using API
   • Write some validations using business object trigger (like the salary of person cannot be < 200 ) or (start date should always be less than end date)
   • Understanding how data is stored in development, stage and live applications.
   • Understanding how to copy data (from development to stage) or (from stage to live)
5. Different status of application:
   • Development, Stage and Live mode
   • Understanding when to use which one to use when
   • Generally, when working on application, it will be in Development mode
   • When we want to test the application or if we want to share the application, we can stage and share the URL, or we can publish the application and share the live URL.
6. Understanding different components
   • form-layout
   • oj-input-text
   • oj-bind-text
   • oj-input-date
   • oj-select-single  
   • oj-table
   • template
   • oj-bind-if
   • oj-for-each
7. Understanding actions in Action chain
   • assign variable ( create a variable and assign it using action chain and display using text field )
   • show notification (e.g.: show some message on button click using fire notification action )
   • call component ( e.g.: open dialog / close dialog )
   • call JS function  ( e.g.: create a JS function to find sum of two numbers)
   • if else ( use some condition to show different messages )
   • call rest api ( get / post )
   • navigation ( e.g.: navigate to different page on link click )
   • open URL (e.g.: on link-click, open some external site like google.com )
8. Understanding variables and types
   • How to create variables
   • How to create types
   • How to create types using service endpoints
   • What is ADP ( Array Data Provider)?
   • What is SDP ( Service Data Provider)?
   • Understand scope of variables ( application, flow and page )
9. Events and Event listeners
10. File structure -> Import/Export code -> Show file structure in Explorer.
11. Roles and Security
12. Custom styling using app.css / default themes
13. Deploying applications from one instance to another.

Resources

Official documentation: https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/paas/app-builder-cloud/index.html

VBCS cookbook: https://vbcookbook.oracle.com/ It has a lot of examples where you can download the sample code, import it into an application and modify it according to your needs

Customer Connect for visual builder: https://community.oracle.com/customerconnect/categories/oci-visual-builder-studio Great place to ask or find questions when you get stuck

JET Cookbook: https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jetcookbook.html — There is a lot of documentation of JET components and example, we can check the code from here, tweak it and use in VBCS applications

JS docs: https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jsdocs/oj.ojTable.html — JS documents for jet components can be navigated using left navigation bar to find JS documents for other components

Linkedin group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13630219/

Youtube Videos which I found

Visual Builder: A Crash Course from Oracle Developers — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DNBAh0UTeY

Visual Builder Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3X62LScvI_K1Glab5N9Dvwcervel5e4R

Youtube channels that post content about VBCS and OIC

Shay: https://www.youtube.com/@ShayOracle

Oracle Developers Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdDhYMT2USoLdh4SZIsu_1g

Beenum learning: https://www.youtube.com/@BEENUMLEARNING

Techsupper Ankur: https://www.youtube.com/@TechSupper

Working with raw timestamps is not user-friendly.

Instead of showing dates like “2024-05-10 10:15:43”,
we can display them in a more readable way:

– 5 minutes ago
– 2 days ago
– in 3 months

This is called relative time formatting.

Example Ouput

let us say today is 15-Apr-2026 and we send the input date string, the api will return date readable

Try it yourself

Enter any date and see how it converts into relative time.

How it works

We calculate the difference between the current time and the given date.

Then we convert that difference into units like seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, or years.

Finally, we format it into readable text like “2 hours ago” or “in 5 days”.

Code Example

function getTimeAgo(dateStr) {
  const relativeTime = new RelativeTime(); // defaults to OS localen  
  let dateObj = new Date(dateStr); 
  return relativeTime.from(dateObj);
}

function getTimeAgo(dateStr) {
  const relativeTime = new RelativeTime(); // defaults to OS localen  
  let dateObj = new Date(dateStr); 
  return relativeTime.from(dateObj);
}

We can use JavaScript to convert a date into a readable relative time format.

For example, “2024-05-10T01:25:14.317Z” is less readable than “7 hours ago”.

I have used the relative-time library to simplify this conversion:
https://github.com/yairEO/relative-time

Full code available here:
https://github.com/khalilahmed232/khalilahmed232/tree/main/plain/date-time-ago

This makes date display much more user-friendly in real applications.

Using relative time formatting makes applications feel more modern and user-friendly, especially for feeds, comments, and activity logs.

• Add a file component
• On file select call the below JavaScript function and pass file as parameter
• Assign the result from below function to ADP.data or Array

JavaScript function

PageModule.prototype.getRowsFromCsv = function (file) {
  return new Promise((resolve) => {
    try {
      let fileContent = [];
      const fileReader = new FileReader();
      fileReader.readAsText(file);
      fileReader.onload = (e) => {
        let result = e.target.result;
        let columns = ['employee','name','phone','salary'];
        let size;
        let inputData = [];
        if (result) {
          let lines = result.split("\n");
          for ( let  i = 1 ; i < lines.length ; i++ ) {
            let row = lines[i];
            let rowArray = row.split(",");
            let inputObj = {} ;
            inputObj.employee = rowArray[0];
            inputObj.name = rowArray[1];
            inputObj.phone = rowArray[2];
            inputObj.salary= rowArray[3];
            inputData.push(inputObj);
          }
          resolve({
            success: true,
            inputData: inputData,
            error: ""
          });
        } else {
          resolve({
            success: false,
            inputData: [],
            error: "Empty File : " + result
          });
        }
      };
    } catch (err) {
      resolve({
        success: false,
        inputData: [],
        error: "Error while reading file : " + err.detail
      });
    }
  });
};

Sample CSV data that will work with this code

employee,name,phone,salary
1,khalil,123,3000
2,ahmed,345,4000
3,sayeed,929,25000

Sample file picker html code

<div class="oj-sm-padding-0 oj-md-padding-4x">
    <h4>file-picker sample code</h4>

    <oj-file-picker on-oj-select="[[ fileSelectListener ]]">

    </oj-file-picker>


    <oj-table class="custom-table" id="employeetable" scroll-policy="loadMoreOnScroll"
        class="oj-flex-item oj-sm-12 oj-md-12" data="[[ employeeADP ]]" columns='[
    {"headerText":"employee","field":"employee"},
    {"headerText":"name","field":"name"},
    {"headerText":"phone","field":"phone"},
    {"headerText":"salary","field":"salary"}
    ]'>
    </oj-table>

</div>

Sample working code — iframe

Link to live demo — file-picker

But when using above component only for read-only purpose to show some values in grid or table, it doesn’t make sense to use input fields.

Instead we can use oj-bind-text field and pass data using following JavaScript function.

The JavaScript function will add necessary formatting to the date and return the value as string.

Live code preview

We can use date convertor functions to format the date in required format

JavaScript function

define(["ojs/ojconverter-datetime"], (datetimeConverter) => {
  "use strict";

  class PageModule {
    convertDateToStr(customDate) {
        let dateConvertor = new datetimeConverter.IntlDateTimeConverter({
          pattern: "dd-MMM-yyyy",
        });
      return dateConvertor.format(customDate);
    }
  }

  return PageModule;
});

Patterns examples

References –

jsDoc for IntlDateTimeConverter ( to view all convertor options )

https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jsdocs/oj.IntlDateTimeConverter.html

Live application URL ( to try out few configs )

https://khalil232.com/apps/ojet-apps/?ojr=date-format-sample

“cellContext” will contain the required information. We can use console.log() to identify the structure.

This can be used for other attributes, like “header.column.class-name” as well on oj-data-grid

This can be used when we want show different style for different rows, like

• If we want to highlight top performer in a data set,
• or differently show calculated fields
• or if we want to show different type with a different color

Sample HTML code:

<div class="oj-flex">
  <div class="oj-flex-item oj-sm-12 ">
    <h5>Data grid</h5>
    <oj-data-grid id="datagrid" style="width:100%;height:400px" aria-label="My Data Grid" 
      data='{{ salaryDataADP }}'
      header.column.style="[[ headerColStyle ]]" header.column.resizable.width="enable"
      header.column.resizable.height="enable" header.row.resizable.width="enable"     
      header.row.resizable.height="enable"
      header.column.class-name="oj-helper-justify-content-flex-start" 
      cell.class-name="[[ cellClassNameFunc ]]"
      cell.style="width: 200px;">     
    </oj-data-grid>
  </div>
</div>

Sample JS code:

this.cellClassNameFunc = function (cellContext) {
  let cellRowIndex = cellContext.indexes.row;
  let classNameStr = "oj-helper-justify-content ";
  
  // to do styling based on index 
  // if (cellRowIndex % 3 === 0) {
  //   classNameStr += "oj-bg-success-10 oj-text-color-success";
  // } else if (cellRowIndex % 3 === 1) {
  //   classNameStr += "oj-bg-danger-30	 oj-text-color-danger";
  // } else {
  //   classNameStr += "oj-bg-warning-30 oj-text-color-warning";
  // }
  
  let key = cellContext.key;
  console.log(cellContext);
  console.log(cellContext.datasource.data[cellRowIndex]);
  let rowData = cellContext.datasource.data.find((x) => x.id === key);
  if (rowData.city === "Delhi" || rowData.city === "Banglore") {
    classNameStr += "oj-bg-success-10 oj-text-color-success";
  } else if (rowData.city === "Hyderabad" || rowData.city === "Kolkata") {
    classNameStr += "oj-bg-danger-30	 oj-text-color-danger";
  } else if (rowData.city === "Mumbai" || rowData.city === "Nagpur") {
    classNameStr += "oj-bg-warning-30 oj-text-color-warning";
  }
  
  cellContext.datasource[cellRowIndex];
  
  return classNameStr;
};

Screenshots

Choosing row background color and text color based on city

Choosing row background color and text color based on index

Live application URL ( row style based on city ): https://khalil232.com/apps/ojet-apps/?ojr=data-grid-example

References:

Datagrid js doc for identifying other attributes : https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jsdocs/oj.ojDataGrid.html

CSS helpers used:

Background-color: https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jsdocs/BackgroundColor.html

Font color: https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jsdocs/Text.html

<oj-data-grid
  id="datagrid"
  style="width:100%;height:400px"
  aria-label="My Data Grid"
  data='{{ salaryDataADP }}'
  header.column.style="[[ headerColStyle ]]"
  header.column.resizable.width="enable"
  header.column.resizable.height="enable"
  header.row.resizable.width="enable"
  header.row.resizable.height="enable"
  header.column.class-name="oj-helper-justify-content-flex-start"
  cell.class-name="oj-helper-justify-content-flex-start"
>
  <oj-menu slot="contextMenu" aria-label="Employee Edit">
    <oj-option id="resizeWidth" value="Resize Width"
      data-oj-command="oj-datagrid-resizeWidth"></oj-option>
    <oj-option id="resizeHeight" value="Resize Height"
      data-oj-command="oj-datagrid-resizeHeight"></oj-option>
    <oj-option id="resizeFitToContent" value="Resize Fit To Content"
      data-oj-command="oj-datagrid-resizeFitToContent"></oj-option>
  </oj-menu>
</oj-data-grid>

The following attributes on the header will allow resizing. When hovering on a border, the user can resize the row or column height or width.

<oj-data-grid
  header.column.resizable.width="enable"
  header.column.resizable.height="enable"
  header.row.resizable.width="enable"
  header.row.resizable.height="enable"
>
</oj-data-grid>

To add an additional right-click menu, we can add the below code. The user can right-click and click on Resize width, and enter a desired width, like 100 or 200.

<oj-menu slot="contextMenu" aria-label="Employee Edit">
    <oj-option id="resizeWidth" value="Resize Width"
      data-oj-command="oj-datagrid-resizeWidth"></oj-option>
    <oj-option id="resizeHeight" value="Resize Height"
      data-oj-command="oj-datagrid-resizeHeight"></oj-option>
    <oj-option id="resizeFitToContent" value="Resize Fit To Content"
      data-oj-command="oj-datagrid-resizeFitToContent"></oj-option>
  </oj-menu>

There are other commands available, like below ( see the jsdoc link for more information ). Few features are supported only in latest version of JET

Screenshots

Live application URL: https://khalil232.com/apps/ojet-apps/?ojr=data-grid-example

References:

helper classes: https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jsdocs/Helpers.html

jet cookbook: https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jetCookbook.html?component=dataGrid&demo=resizing

link for oj-data-commands: https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jsdocs/oj.ojDataGrid.html#contextmenu-section

Let us say we are displaying a grid with few rows where the user can edit the data and we are showing few calculated fields (like total or percentage). If we have to refresh the grid cells after updating the cell with the correct value, we can use the following JavaScript code:

// "gridData" is a variable holding grid information. 
// We can pass "gridData" to the JS function and call the below code.

let updateEventDetails = {
"type": "update",
"detail": {
    "ranges": [{
            "rowOffset": 0,      // start of grid row
            "columnOffset": 0,   // start of grid col
            "rowCount":  gridData.counts.row // end of grid row
            "columnCount": gridData.counts.column // end of grid col 
       }]
    }
};
gridData.dispatchEvent(updateEventDetails);

The above code will refresh all the grid cells; if we want to refresh only a particular grid cell, we can set relative rowOffset, columnOffset, rowCount or columnCount.

We can also give multiple ranges if the cells cannot be captured in a single range.

When we use the refresh event on the grid, the grid becomes white and renders again. In order to avoid that, we use the update event. The update event doesn’t remove the focus, and only the cells in range will get refreshed.

If you have a huge amount of data in the grid, use the update event very rarely. It has a huge impact on performance. If you want a large number of cells to be refreshed, use the refresh event instead of the update event.

References:

Data Grid Cookbook: https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jetCookbook.html?component=dataGrid&demo=overView

ojDataGrid JS doc: https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jsdocs/oj.ojDataGrid.html

DataGridProviderUpdateEvent: https://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/jet/jsdocs/DataGridProviderUpdateEvent.html

The function getLineItems() can be called using action chain.

define(["vb/helpers/rest"], (Rest) => {
  "use strict";

  class PageModule {
    getLineItems() {
      let endpointurl = "buinessObjects/getalls_Country";
      let queryString = "id is not null";

      return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
        var ep = Rest.get(endpointurl);
        ep.parameters({
          q: queryString,
          onlyData: true,
          limit: 50,
          orderBy: "id:asc",
        });
        ep.fetch().then(function (result) {
          if (result.response.ok) {
            resolve(result.body.items);
          } else {
            resolve([]);
          }
        });
      });
    }
  }

  return PageModule;
});

We can call the rest API configured in the service connection using Rest Helper in APP UI as well

We have to additional pass extensionId – site_MyExtension. ( id of the APP UI extension.

You can find the extension id from ->

• Open workspace, click on extension name in left hand side
• Go to settings and you will find extension id.

define(["vb/helpers/rest"], (Rest) => {
  "use strict";

  class PageModule {
    getLineItems() {
      let extensionId = "site_MyExtension"
    
      let endpointurl = "site_MyExtension:saasRestApi/getalls_Country";
      let queryString = "id is not null";
 
      return new Promise(function (resolve, reject) {
        var ep = Rest.get(endpointurl, { extensionId: "site_MyExtension" } );
        ep.parameters({
          q: queryString,
          onlyData: true,
          limit: 50,
          orderBy: "id:asc",
        });
        ep.fetch().then(function (result) {
          if (result.response.ok) {
            resolve(result.body.items);
          } else {
            resolve([]);
          }
        });
      });
    }
  }

  return PageModule;
});