Search Results ben_custom_region_items




Overview
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Overview

BEN_CUSTOM_REGION_ITEMS is a configuration table in the Oracle Advanced Benefits (BEN) module of Oracle E-Business Suite, valid in both 12.1.1 and 12.2.2. It stores the individual items that make up user-defined custom regions displayed within the Oracle Advanced Benefits self-service and administrative interfaces. A "custom region" is a configurable container that administrators define to capture or display additional participant information beyond the standard delivered fields; BEN_CUSTOM_REGION_ITEMS defines what each such container actually contains.

Each row represents a single custom item belonging to a specific region, identified by a composite business key of REGION_CODE, CUSTOM_KEY, CUSTOM_TYPE, and ITEM_NAME. The table controls presentation attributes such as whether the item is visible and what label is rendered. From a Data Vault modeling perspective, the mined heuristic classifies this object as standalone, meaning it does not participate in the standard hub/link/satellite FK structure and functions as an independent reference or configuration entity keyed by its own composite primary key.

Key Information Stored

The documented physical schema contains 15 columns. The most significant are:

  • REGION_CODE — Identifier of the parent custom region to which the item belongs; part of the composite primary key BEN_CUSTOM_REGION_ITEMS_PK.
  • CUSTOM_KEY — The custom key that ties the item to a specific customization context; also part of the primary key.
  • CUSTOM_TYPE — Classifies the kind of custom item; part of the primary key.
  • ITEM_NAME — The internal name of the individual item; completes the composite primary key.
  • DISPLAY_FLAG — Controls whether the item is rendered in the region.
  • LABEL — The user-facing text displayed for the item.
  • ORDR_NUM — Determines the sequence in which items appear within the region.
  • MONETARY — Indicates whether the item carries a monetary value.
  • UPDATE_ATTR — Flags whether the attribute is updatable.
  • OBJECT_VERSION_NUMBER — Optimistic locking column used by the Oracle framework for concurrent update control.
  • LAST_UPDATE_DATE, LAST_UPDATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_LOGIN, CREATED_BY, CREATION_DATE — Standard WHO audit columns.

There is no separate surrogate single-column primary key; the table relies on the composite unique index BEN_CUSTOM_REGION_ITEMS_PK, which serves as the business-key candidate. A single-column surrogate is notably absent from the documented schema.

Common Use Cases and Queries

Typical uses include auditing which items are configured for a region, verifying display order and labels, and troubleshooting why a custom field does not appear in self-service. A representative query retrieves the ordered, visible items for a region:

  • SELECT item_name, label, ordr_num, display_flag FROM ben.ben_custom_region_items WHERE region_code = :p_region_code AND custom_type = :p_type ORDER BY ordr_num;
  • To find items referencing a specific custom key: SELECT * FROM ben.ben_custom_region_items WHERE custom_key = :p_key;
  • Reporting on configuration completeness: SELECT region_code, COUNT(*) FROM ben.ben_custom_region_items WHERE display_flag = 'Y' GROUP BY region_code;

Because of the composite key and the MONETARY and UPDATE_ATTR flags, the table is also useful when assessing whether captured custom data may require downstream validation or integration into payroll and carrier feeds.

Related Objects

As a standalone configuration table with no documented foreign-key dependencies, relationships are primarily logical rather than enforced:

  • BEN_CUSTOM_REGIONS — Parent region definition; joined on REGION_CODE.
  • BEN_CUSTOM_REGION_ITEM_VALUES — Participant-entered values for each configured item, related via REGION_CODE, CUSTOM_KEY, CUSTOM_TYPE, and ITEM_NAME.
  • BEN_CUSTOM_ROWS / BEN_CUSTOM_COLUMNS — Attribute definitions referenced through CUSTOM_KEY and CUSTOM_TYPE.
  • BEN_PERSON_INFO and related person-level custom data tables — consume the item definitions at runtime.
  • BEN_CUSTOM_REGION_ITEMS_PK — The primary key index enforcing uniqueness.
  • Advanced Benefits self-service and administrative pages, plus the OAF-based BEN configuration setup UI, read this table directly.

Access is restricted to the BEN schema; direct DML should be performed only through supported configuration interfaces to preserve internal consistency across the composite key.