Introduction
In Oracle APEX, managing authentication schemes efficiently is key to maintaining consistent and secure access across multiple applications. Sometimes you need to reuse an existing authentication scheme—either by copying it to create a new variant or by subscribing to a shared scheme to keep it synchronized. Understanding how to copy or subscribe to authentication schemes saves time and helps ensure consistent user authentication behavior across your applications.
How to Copy or Subscribe to an Authentication Scheme in Oracle APEX
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Open Your Application
Log in to Oracle APEX and open the application where you want to copy or subscribe to an authentication scheme. -
Access Authentication Schemes
Navigate to Shared Components and select Authentication Schemes under the Security section. -
Copying an Authentication Scheme
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Select the authentication scheme you want to copy by clicking its name.
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Click the Copy button.
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Provide a new name for the copied scheme.
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Make any necessary changes to the copied scheme’s configuration.
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Save the new scheme.
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You can now activate this copied scheme independently without affecting the original.
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Subscribing to an Authentication Scheme
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Subscription allows your application to use a centrally managed authentication scheme from another application.
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Click Create in the Authentication Schemes page.
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Choose Subscribe to a Scheme.
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Select the application and the authentication scheme you want to subscribe to.
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Save and make the subscribed scheme current if desired.
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Any updates to the original scheme automatically propagate to subscribing applications.
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Oracle APEX allows you to copy an authentication scheme from another application or within the same application. Additionally, you can subscribe to an authentication scheme, enabling centralized management of authentication settings across multiple applications.
Why Copy or Subscribe to an Authentication Scheme?
Copying an authentication scheme creates an independent version in your application, which can be modified without affecting the source application.
Subscribing to an authentication scheme links it to a master authentication scheme, allowing updates from the master to be applied automatically.
Steps to Copy or Subscribe to an Authentication Scheme
Navigate to the Authentication Schemes Page
Log in to your Oracle APEX workspace.
Open App Builder and select the application you want to modify.
Click Shared Components from the application menu.
Under Security, select Authentication Schemes.
Copy an Authentication Scheme
Click Copy Authentication Scheme from the Tasks region.
Under Copy From Application, select the source application.
Choose the authentication scheme you want to copy.
Enter a new Authentication Scheme Name (optional).
Click Copy Authentication Scheme.
Subscribe to an Authentication Scheme
During the copy process, enable the Subscribe option.
Select the source application and the authentication scheme to subscribe to.
Click Copy and Subscribe to establish a subscription.
Manage Subscriptions
If you subscribed to an authentication scheme, updates made to the master scheme can be applied to all subscribed applications.
You can refresh the authentication scheme from the master or unsubscribe if you want to manage it independently.
Test Authentication
Run the application and verify that the authentication scheme is working correctly.
If issues occur, review authentication settings, credentials, and integration configurations.
By copying or subscribing to an authentication scheme, Oracle APEX developers can streamline authentication management across multiple applications, ensuring consistency and reducing administrative overhead.
Best Practices
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Use copying when you want to create a similar scheme but need to customize it independently.
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Use subscription to maintain consistency across multiple applications managed by the same team.
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Document copied and subscribed schemes clearly to avoid confusion.
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Test authentication thoroughly after copying or subscribing to a scheme.
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Keep track of dependencies when using subscription, as changes in the source scheme affect all subscribing apps.
Oracle APEX Documentation
For more detailed information, visit the official Oracle APEX guide:
https://docs.oracle.com/en/database/oracle/apex/23.2/aeapp/copying-and-subscribing-authentication-schemes.html
Conclusion
Copying or subscribing to authentication schemes in Oracle APEX provides flexible ways to manage user authentication across applications. Whether you need to customize a scheme independently or maintain a shared authentication standard, these features help streamline development and improve security consistency. By following best practices, you can leverage these capabilities to build secure and maintainable APEX applications.
