What’s New in Oracle APEX 26.1

With the release of Oracle APEX 26.1, our development team at Ontoor Solution was eager to explore the new features and understand how they could impact real-world application development. Rather than simply reviewing the release notes, we conducted a hands-on first-look evaluation, testing selected features, exploring the development experience, and discussing potential use cases across the types of applications we build for our customers.

Sohan Dutta:

Application Lock Feature in Oracle APEX 26.1

Oracle APEX 26.1 introduces A Simple Way to Control Access and Protect Apps. Application Locking plays an important role in controlling application availability during development, maintenance, and production updates.

When an application is locked:

Users cannot access it normally
A custom or default lock page is shown
Developers/admins can still unlock it anytime

Application Lock simplifies all of this into a single built-in control.

What’s New in Workflow Management in Oracle APEX 26.1

Oracle has officially released Oracle APEX 26.1, bringing several major improvements to Workflow and Human Task management. These updates focus on enterprise automation, scalability, AI integration, and better workflow administration.

APEX 26.1 introduces features that can significantly improve both performance and user experience.

Parallel Workflow

One of the biggest enhancements in APEX 26.1 is support for Parallel Flows.

Previously, workflow activities were mostly executed sequentially. Now, multiple activities can run simultaneously and merge later after completion.

Example :-

Imagine a Laptop Request Approval process where :

Finance approval
Manager approval

Earlier, these approvals had to happen one after another. With parallel workflows, all approvals can run at the same time, reducing processing delays and improving efficiency.

This feature is especially useful for :

Enterprise approval systems
Procurement workflows
Document management systems
Multi-level approval applications

How to Use Parallel Flow in Workflow :-

Step 1: Create or Copy a Workflow

Start by creating a new workflow or copying an existing one from another application.

Step 2: Add an Activity

Create an activity and set the Type to Execute Code.

Step 3: Add Parallel Flow

Click on the “+” icon and select Parallel Flow from the options.

Step 4: Open the Parallel Flow

Once added, open the Parallel Flow to view its structure.

You will see two activities inside it by default.

Step 5: Add Human Tasks

Inside the Parallel Flow, you can add two Human Task activities.These tasks run together, so both execute at the same time inside the workflow.

What’s New in Dynamic Actions in Oracle APEX 26.1

Oracle APEX 26.1 introduces several improvements in Dynamic Actions, making them more integrated, smarter, and easier to use with less dependency on JavaScript.

Dynamic Actions

In earlier versions of APEX, Dynamic Actions often required combining multiple steps with custom JavaScript to achieve common UI behaviour.

With APEX 26.1, the focus is clearly on reducing custom code. Many UI behaviours that previously required scripting can now be configured directly through declarative actions.

This makes applications:

Easier to maintain
Less dependent on JavaScript
More consistent across pages

Notification Actions

In APEX 26.1, After creating a dynamic action under True event, you can see New built-in Notification Actions.

These allow you to directly show feedback to users without writing any JavaScript.

Invoke Interactive Report Action

With this, you can now :

Refresh or interact with Interactive Reports directly from a Dynamic Action
Update report data dynamically without page reload
Improve user experience in reporting pages

Vibhor Srivastava

Oracle APEX 26.1 – Why I Used Sample Data in Interactive Report

Today I explored one of the most useful features in Oracle APEX — creating an Interactive Report with Modal Dialog Form using Sample Data.

This feature is very helpful for beginners and developers because Oracle APEX automatically provides demo tables and records for testing applications quickly.

Step 1 – Create Interactive Report Page

In Oracle APEX:

Clicked on Create Page
Selected Interactive Report
Enabled Include Form Page
Selected Modal Dialog option
Added page name as Appointments

This automatically creates:
Interactive Report
Create/Edit Form
CRUD Functionality
Modal Popup Form

Step 2 – Select Sample Data as Data Source

Instead of manually creating tables, I selected:

Data Source → Sample Data

Oracle APEX automatically loaded demo tables for testing purposes.

Why Sample Data is Useful

Faster development
Easy learning for beginners
Quick CRUD testing
No manual SQL table creation
Perfect for UI prototyping

Step 3 – Interactive Report Generated Automatically

After clicking Create Page, Oracle APEX automatically generated:

Search Bar
Actions Menu
Interactive Filters
Create Button
Editable Modal Form
Responsive Report Layout

The form popup allows users to:
Add Records
Edit Records
Manage Data Easily

Step 4 – Page Designer View

After page creation, Oracle APEX automatically configured:

Report Region
Columns
Buttons
Layout
Sample Data Source
Interactive Report Settings

This saves a lot of development time in low-code application building.

Final Result

Successfully created a modern Interactive Report with Drawer Page in Oracle APEX 26.1 with CRUD operations, responsive UI, validations, and authentication support.

Oracle APEX 26.1 APEXLang – Export Oracle APEX Applications into VS Code

Today I explored an amazing feature in Oracle APEX called APEXLang.

Using APEXLang, developers can export Oracle APEX applications into a structured code format and open them directly inside VS Code for better version control, editing, and project management.

This is a powerful feature for professional Oracle APEX developers and teams.

Step 1 – Open Export Application Page

Inside Oracle APEX:

Open your application
Click on Export / Import
Go to Export Application

Here Oracle APEX provides multiple export formats.

Selected Format:

APEXLang

This format exports the application in structured code files.

Step 2 – Choose Standard Export

After selecting APEXLang:

Selected Standard Export
Clicked on Export

Oracle APEX generated the application files automatically.

Benefits of Standard Export

Includes Developer Metadata
Better Source Control
Team Collaboration
Easy Backup & Migration

Step 3 – Extract Exported Files

After downloading the exported ZIP file:

Opened Downloads Folder
Clicked on Extract All

The extracted folder contained:

Pages
Shared Components
Deployments
Static Files
Application Metadata

This creates a structured development environment.

Step 4 – Open Project in VS Code

Next step:

Opened PowerShell / Terminal
Ran the command: code .

This opened the complete Oracle APEX project directly inside VS Code.

A very useful workflow for developers.

Step 5 – Install Oracle SQL Developer Extension

Inside VS Code:

Opened Extensions Marketplace
Installed:
Oracle SQL Developer Extension for VS Code

This extension helps developers:

Manage Oracle Database
Work with SQL & PL/SQL
Improve development workflow
Integrate Oracle tools inside VS Code

Step 6 – View Oracle APEX Pages as Code

After opening the project:

All application pages appeared as structured .apx files
Developers can now:
- Edit page code
- Manage components
- Track changes
- Use Git version control

This gives Oracle APEX a more professional development experience.

Step 7 – Access Static Files & Assets

Inside the exported project:

Static Files
Images
Icons
Application Assets

were also available directly in VS Code.

This makes UI customization much easier.

Manage Images
Edit Assets
Organize Project Files
Improve Frontend Workflow

Why APEXLang is Powerful

APEXLang helps developers:

Export Applications as Code
Use VS Code for Development
Manage Source Control Easily
Improve Team Collaboration
Track Application Changes
Create Professional Workflows

Perfect for:

Enterprise Development
Team Collaboration
Git Integration
CI/CD Workflows
Professional Oracle APEX Projects

Now developers can:

Export complete applications into structured code
Open projects in VS Code
Manage applications professionally
Combine low-code + pro-code workflows

A very powerful feature for modern Oracle APEX development.

Oracle APEX 26.1 – AI Interactive Report with Natural Language Search

Today I explored one of the most exciting AI-powered features in Oracle APEX — AI Interactive Report with Natural Language Support.

This feature allows users to search and filter Interactive Reports using simple human language instead of manually applying filters.

Oracle APEX 26.1 is making data analysis smarter and more user friendly.

Step 1 – Create Interactive Report

Inside Oracle APEX Page Designer:

Added a new Interactive Report
Selected:
- Type → Interactive Report
- Table → DOCTORS

This automatically generated a report connected with the DOCTORS table.

Features Generated Automatically

Search Bar
Actions Menu
Interactive Filters
AI Support Integration

Step 2 – Enable Generative AI Support

After creating the Interactive Report:

Opened the Attributes Panel
Enabled:
Natural Language Support
Selected:
Default Search Mode → Search with AI

This activates the AI assistant inside the report.

What This Feature Does

Users can now:

Ask questions in natural language
Apply filters automatically
Search records using plain English
Analyze data faster

Step 3 – Run AI Interactive Report

After enabling AI support:

Ran the application
Interactive Report opened with an AI Assistant Panel

The report displayed:
Search with AI
Interactive Filters
AI Chat Panel
Smart Data Queries

This creates a modern AI-powered reporting experience.

Step 4 – Search Data Using Natural Language

I entered a natural language prompt:

“Show only the record where Doctor_Name is Dr. kapil srivastava”

The AI assistant automatically:
Understood the request
Applied filters
Displayed matching records

No manual filter creation was required.

This is one of the most powerful AI features in Oracle APEX 26.1.

Step 5 – Reset Report Using AI

Next, I asked:

“Show all doctor records from the DOCTORS table”

The AI assistant automatically:
Removed filters
Reset the report
Displayed all records again

This creates a much faster and smarter reporting workflow.

Why AI Interactive Reports in Oracle APEX 26.1 are Powerful

This feature helps developers and users:

Search Data Using Natural Language
Reduce Manual Filtering
Improve User Experience
Analyze Reports Faster
Create Smarter Applications
Build Modern AI-Powered Dashboards

Perfect for:

Enterprise Applications
Reporting Systems
Admin Dashboards
Business Analytics
Healthcare Applications

Oracle APEX 26.1 – Using APEX Assistant in SQL Commands

One of the most impressive features I explored in Oracle APEX is the new APEX Assistant inside SQL Commands.

This AI-powered assistant helps developers quickly generate SQL queries, create tables, and improve productivity directly inside Oracle APEX.

Step 1 – Open SQL Commands

Inside Oracle APEX:

Go to SQL Workshop
Open SQL Commands
Click on the new APEX Assistant button

This feature allows developers to generate SQL queries using simple text prompts.

Step 2 – Ask APEX Assistant to Generate SQL

I asked APEX Assistant to:

“Create a table based on sales and views.”

The assistant automatically generated the SQL query for table creation.

Generated features included:
Table Structure
Columns
Datatypes
SQL Syntax

This makes development much faster for beginners and developers.

Step 3 – Execute and Save SQL Query

After reviewing the generated SQL:

Clicked on Run
Oracle APEX executed the query successfully
Table was created instantly

This helps developers:
Save Time
Reduce Manual Coding
Learn SQL Faster
Improve Productivity

Why APEX Assistant is Powerful

The new APEX Assistant in Oracle APEX 26.1 helps with:

SQL Query Generation
Table Creation
Query Suggestions
Faster Development
Beginner-Friendly Learning
AI-Assisted Database Design

It acts like an AI helper directly inside Oracle APEX.

Oracle APEX 26.1 Introduces New “Sample Data” Feature in Map Component

Oracle APEX 26.1 makes page creation faster and easier with the new Sample Data option inside the Map component.

Now developers can instantly create and preview interactive maps without setting up tables or writing SQL queries manually. Just select Sample Data, and APEX automatically generates demo location data with map markers.

What Makes This Feature Useful?