Oracle User Productivity Kit

Documentation on Oracle’s User Productivity Kit or UPK has been (until the publication of this book) almost nonexistent (consisting solely of the Content Development Guide shipped with the software), and training is prohibitively expensive. Oracle’s User Productivity Kit is an interesting product that can change the way developers implement software.

An application is not just developed and shipped to user as developers have to create extensive documentation, user guides and even sample scripts to show how the application was developed. This can take time and resource which could cost a lot in any business setting. Through UPK, software developers should be able to create simulations about the application complete with documentation to guide users and other developers who wanted to adapt their system.

Oracle User Productivity Kit 3.5 book from packtpub fills the documentation gap by providing developer-friendly, visually appealing, and easy-to-read documentation on the core functionality of UPK. It fills the training gap by taking a guided approach to this functionality, introducing new concepts and functionality with each chapter, and building on the knowledge gained in the previous chapters. In this way, readers can start with the basics, and then progress to more advanced topics as they need them, rather than being presented with "everything you need to know" at once, in a dry and difficult-to-digest manner (as is the case with the Oracle-provided documentation).

This book is available for purchase at packtpub.com

Read "Oracle User Productivity Kit 3.5" Book Review

1. Oracle User Productivity Kit Author: Packt Publishing

   This book is a developer s guide to Oracle UPK version 3.5 and its predecessor OnDemand version 9.1 with which it shares 95 of its functionality . It covers all aspects of UPK s functionality and explains how to get the most out of these features in order to build high-quality training exercises that will ensure the most effective knowledge transfer

2. Oracle UPK - Adding Value to Your Topics Author: Packt Publishing

   In Chapter 3 Recording a Simulation we recorded our first simulation. Some developers would have stopped there. In Chapter 4 Editing a Topic we updated our simulation so that it actually worked properly and tidied up some of the Bubble Text so that it made a bit more sense. Most developers would have stopped there. In Chapter 8 Allowing Alternatives

3. Oracle UPK - Providing context through the use of Custom Text Author: Packt Publishing

   The easiest and simplest way to add value to your Topics is to make good use of Custom Text in the Bubbles. We looked at how to influence the Template Text and how to add Custom Text in Chapter 4 Editing a Topic so we will not go over the same information here. Instead we will simply look at what you can and should do with Custom Text. If you

4. Oracle UPK - Introduction Text: Version Differences Author: Packt Publishing

   At this point it is worth highlighting some key differences between the way the Introduction pane was handled prior to UPK 3.5 and the way that the Introduction pane is used in UPK 3.5. If you open an Outline Element in the Outline Editor and select a Topic in the navigation tree you will see that the lower-right portion of the screen is labeled

5. Oracle UPK - Action Frames Author: Packt Publishing

   As we saw in Chapter 4 Editing a Topic it is possible to add Custom Text to the Topic s Bubbles either in addition to or instead of the Template Text. Using the Template Text has several significant advantages especially when localizing your content see Chapter 13 Localizing your Content or providing sound see Chapter 11 Incorporating Sound

6. Oracle UPK - The End Frame Author: Packt Publishing

   The End Frame is always displayed as the final Frame in the simulation. There is no End Frame equivalent of the Show introduction text option to avoid having this Frame displayed. This is a good thing as it means that we can use this Frame to provide some final information to the user. This should be seen as a companion to the Start Frame and should

7. Oracle UPK - Explanation Frames Author: Packt Publishing

   In the previous sections on the Start Frame Action Frames and the End Frame we have looked at ways to provide additional information into the existing Bubbles. In this section we will look at how to provide information on Frames that serve no purpose other than to provide information. These are Explanation Frames. An Explanation Frame is a

8. Oracle UPK - Copying and Pasting Frames Author: Packt Publishing

   Copying and Pasting Frames In the previous section we had a problem where we had a Frame in our Main Path which we also wanted to be available in our Branch. Fortunately UPK 3.5 introduced some new functionality that we can use to resolve or at least work around this problem. This is the ability to copy and paste Frames. For our exercise we

9. Oracle UPK - Putting Web Pages to Good Use Author: Packt Publishing

   A Web Page in UPK terms is a single file that can contain text or images. In this respect Web Pages are very limited. You can perform rudimentary font formatting provide lists and insert images but that s about it. You cannot insert tables or use any HTML tags as you would be able to with real web pages which you can only use via a Package .

10. Oracle UPK - using images in Web Pages Author: Packt Publishing

    As stated above a Web Page can contain an image. This can be instead of or in addition to any text although if you only wanted to include a single image in the Web Page you could always use a Package as explained later in this chapter . Images are a nice way of adding interest to a Web Page and therefore to your training or of providing additional

11. Oracle UPK - Creating Independent Web Pages Author: Packt Publishing

    In the previous section we looked at how to use a Web Page to add information to the Concept pane of a content object. In this section we will look at how to use Web Pages to provide information in other areas. Observant readers will have noticed that a Web Page is in fact an independent content object itself. When you created a Web Page to attach

12. Oracle UPK - using Web Pages in Topics Author: Packt Publishing

    If you recall our long-running exercise on maintaining your SAP user profile you will remember that we ask the user to enter their last name and their first name. These terms may be confusing in some countries— especially in countries where the family name" actually comes before the given name" so we want to provide

13. Oracle UPK - Linking via an Icon Author: Packt Publishing

    It is possible to link a Web Page from an icon a small image that is displayed in the bubble. The primary advantage of this approach is that you do not need to have custom text in the Bubble to link from. To insert a link to a Web Page via an icon carry out the steps described below 1. Open up the topic in the Topic Editor. 2. Navigate to

14. Oracle UPK - Linking Files through the use of Packages Author: Packt Publishing

    UPK allows you to import external files into your Library so that you can then link to these files from your content objects. Technically external files are imported into Packages within UPK although they are always referenced individually. That is links to files are always to the individual file; you cannot create a link to a Package. Packages

15. Oracle UPK - Oracle UCreating a Package Author: Packt Publishing

    In order to be able to link to a file from within UPK you first need to create a Package to contain the file. To create a Package carry out the steps described below 1. In the Library navigate to the folder in which you want to store the Package. For our exercise this will be the Assets sub-folder of our Introduction to SAP course folder. 2.

16. Oracle UPK - Linking a Package into a Content Object Author: Packt Publishing

    The final step is to link the Package into a content object. You can link it via a hyperlink or an icon just as we did for Web Pages above see the section Using Web Pages in Topics but there is something much more interesting that we can do. Essentially we will link the Package or specifically a file within the Package into the Contents pane

17. Oracle UPK - Linking to a URL Author: Packt Publishing

    In the previous section of this chapter we looked at how to link to a presentation included in a Package from the Concept pane of an outline element in our course. We used an example whereby we linked to a PowerPoint presentation that had been converted to Macromedia Flash via Articulate Presenter and saw how this presentation would be launched within

18. Oracle UPK - using a Glossary Author: Packt Publishing

    A Glossary defines terms that are unique to a project or system or new to your users. A Glossary typically consists of a number of term description pairs. The added value that UPK provides is that instances of each term in exercises can be hyperlinked to the relevant entries in the Glossary. A Glossary in UPK effectively associates Web Pages to key

19. Oracle UPK - Creating a Glossary Author: Packt Publishing

    To create a Glossary in UPK follow these steps 1. From the main Library screen click on the folder within which you want to create the Glossary. You can create the Glossary in any folder but it makes sense to have a single folder that contains the Glossary file itself and all of the Web Pages used for the terms. 2. Select menu option File New Glossary. The

20. Oracle UPK - Assigning a Glossary to Content Objects Author: Packt Publishing

    Creating a Glossary is only half the story. You need to manually assign the Glossary to each object that you want to use that Glossary that is for which you want the terms specified in the Glossary to be hyperlinked to the Glossary definitions . Version Difference In OnDemand Version 8.7 and earlier a single Glossary was created for a Title

21. Oracle UPK - Regenerating the Glossary Links Author: Packt Publishing

    Glossary links are not created or updated automatically. You need to tell UPK to go and search through your content objects and turn any instances of the Glossary terms into links to the Glossary definitions. This is good in that you can at least have control over when it does this but bad in that it is easy to forget to do so. Updating Glossary

22. Oracle UPK - Generating a Stand-Alone Glossary Author: Packt Publishing

    After seeing the usefulness of a Glossary you re no doubt wondering if it is possible to either include a complete Glossary in an outline or publish a Glossary to a stand-alone document that you could for example hand out during training. Unfortunately UPK does not provide this capability although it crops up reasonably often on the Feature Request