Search Results hxc_approval_wf_util




Overview
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Overview

HXC_APPROVAL_WF_UTIL is a utility package body in the APPS schema that provides supporting logic for the Oracle Time and Labor approval workflow. In Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.1 and 12.2.2, Time and Labor uses the Oracle Workflow engine to route timecard and time entry approval actions among managers, supervisors, and designated approvers. The HXC_APPROVAL_WF_UTIL package supplies the helper routines that the approval workflow relies upon to preserve and reuse prior approver selections, thereby reducing the manual effort required from approvers each pay period.

As a package body, HXC_APPROVAL_WF_UTIL contains the implementation of the public specification of the same name. It is classified as a utility (UTIL) API rather than a business API, meaning it is not intended as a general-purpose integration interface. Its role is internal to the Time and Labor approval process and it is tightly coupled to the Workflow schema objects that support that process. The package is valid and resides in the APPS schema, which is the standard deployment location for seeded Time and Labor PL/SQL code.

Key Procedures and Functions

The documented interface exposes three program units, each concerned with the carry-forward of approver information between approval cycles.

  • COPY_PREVIOUS_APPROVERS — Copies approver assignments from a previous approval context into the current one. This supports the common business requirement that an approver who was selected for a prior period be automatically proposed or retained for the current period, avoiding repetitive manual selection.
  • GET_PREVIOUS_APPROVER — Retrieves the approver recorded against a prior approval instance or period. This function supplies the value that the copy and retention routines, and the calling workflow, use to determine who previously acted on the timecard.
  • KEEP_PREVIOUS_APPROVER — Determines or applies the decision to retain the previously used approver for the current approval cycle, effectively persisting the prior selection when the retention condition is satisfied.

These three units act together to implement the "same approver as last time" behavior within the Time and Labor approval workflow. Parameter lists are not documented in the available metadata and are therefore not reproduced here.

Tables Accessed

The package accesses its data through APPS synonyms and Workflow base tables. The documented references are:

  • HXC_APP_PERIOD_SUMMARY — The Time and Labor approval period summary table stores summarized timecard and approval information for a period. It is the principal application data source used to identify the prior approver context.
  • WF_ITEM_ATTRIBUTE_VALUES — The Workflow item attribute value table holds the runtime attributes of an approval workflow item, including the approver identity carried on the item. The package reads and updates these attributes to preserve approver selections.
  • WF_ITEM_TYPES — The Workflow item type table defines the approval workflow item type under which approval items are created, and is used to resolve the correct workflow definition during approver processing.

The package also depends on the WF_ENGINE package for Workflow engine operations. No database object is documented as referencing HXC_APPROVAL_WF_UTIL, although it is reported to be referenced by three other packages, which is consistent with its role as a shared utility for the approval workflow.

Usage Notes

HXC_APPROVAL_WF_UTIL is invoked by the seeded Time and Labor approval workflow and by other Time and Labor packages during approval processing. It is exercised automatically when an approver processes or forwards timecards and when the workflow evaluates whether a previously used approver should be carried forward to the next period. Typical entry points include the Time and Labor approval pages and the workflow activities configured for the approval item type.

Because the package is a utility and not an open API, custom code and integrations should not call its procedures directly. Customers requiring changes to approver retention behavior should modify the workflow configuration or use supported Time and Labor setup rather than altering this package. The package is delivered as Oracle proprietary and confidential information and is subject to standard EBS patching, which may overwrite any unauthorized modifications.