Oracle® Fusion Middleware

Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence

Publisher
12c (12.2.1.1.0)
E72871-03

November 2016
Explains how to create a report and how to design report
layouts using a variety of template types to display the data
from an Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher data model.
Includes how to create visualizations, set runtime properties,
define subtemplates, and enable translations.
Oracle Fusion Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher, 12c (12.2.1.1.0)

E72871-03

Copyright © 2015, 2016, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Primary Author: Hemala Vivek

Contributors: Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher development, product management, and quality
assurance teams

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 Contents

Preface .............................................................................................................................................................. xix

Audience ..................................................................................................................................................... xix
Documentation Accessibility .................................................................................................................... xx
System Requirements and Certification .................................................................................................. xx
Conventions................................................................................................................................................. xx

New Features for Report Designers ................................................................................................... xxi

New Features and Changes for Release 12c (12.2.1.1.0)....................................................................... xxi

Part I Creating Reports and Layouts

1 Introduction to Designing Reports

Overview for Report Designers .............................................................................................................. 1-1
About the Layout Types .......................................................................................................................... 1-1
About Setting Run-Time Properties....................................................................................................... 1-2
About Translations ................................................................................................................................... 1-2
About Style Templates ............................................................................................................................. 1-3
About Sub Templates ............................................................................................................................... 1-3

2 Creating and Editing Reports

About Report Components ..................................................................................................................... 2-1
Creating Reports: Process Overview .................................................................................................... 2-2
Creating Reports ....................................................................................................................................... 2-3
Selecting a Data Source.................................................................................................................... 2-3
Choosing Guide Me or Use Report Editor.................................................................................... 2-4
Selecting the Report Layout............................................................................................................ 2-4
Choosing Columns for Report Layouts ........................................................................................ 2-5
Saving the Report ............................................................................................................................. 2-9
Creating Reports Using a Direct Connection to a Subject Area......................................................... 2-9
Creating Subject Area Reports...................................................................................................... 2-10
Adding Parameters to Subject Area Reports.............................................................................. 2-10

iii
 Creating a Report Against Multiple Subject Areas ................................................................... 2-12
Editing Reports ....................................................................................................................................... 2-13
Adding Layouts to the Report Definition ........................................................................................... 2-14
Adding a Layout Using the Layout Editor................................................................................. 2-15
Adding a Layout by Uploading a Template File ....................................................................... 2-16
Adding a Layout by Generating a Template File ...................................................................... 2-16
Configuring Layouts Using the List View .......................................................................................... 2-16
Applying a Style Template to the Layout................................................................................... 2-17
About the Layouts Toolbar ........................................................................................................... 2-17
Configuring the Layout Settings Using the List View .............................................................. 2-17
Selecting Output Formats.............................................................................................................. 2-18
Editing a Layout ............................................................................................................................. 2-20
Configuring Parameter Settings for the Report.................................................................................. 2-21
Configuring Report Properties ............................................................................................................. 2-23
Setting the General Properties...................................................................................................... 2-24
Setting the Caching Properties ..................................................................................................... 2-26
Setting the Formatting Properties ................................................................................................ 2-27
Configuring Font Mapping........................................................................................................... 2-28
Configuring Currency Formats .................................................................................................... 2-28
Accessing Reports via a URL ................................................................................................................ 2-29
Security Considerations................................................................................................................. 2-29
Building the URL............................................................................................................................ 2-30
Specifying Parameters in the URL ............................................................................................... 2-30

3 Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates

Overview of BI Publisher Layouts ......................................................................................................... 3-1
When to Use a BI Publisher Layout............................................................................................... 3-2
Prerequisites, Recommendations, and Limitations..................................................................... 3-3
Launching the Layout Editor .................................................................................................................. 3-3
When Creating a New Report ........................................................................................................ 3-3
When Editing a Report .................................................................................................................... 3-3
When Viewing a Report .................................................................................................................. 3-4
Selecting a Predefined Layout ........................................................................................................ 3-4
About the Layout Editor Interface ......................................................................................................... 3-5
About the Data Source Pane ........................................................................................................... 3-7
About the Components Pane.......................................................................................................... 3-7
About the Properties Pane .............................................................................................................. 3-8
About the Tabbed Toolbar .............................................................................................................. 3-9
Page Layout Tab...................................................................................................................................... 3-10
Paper Options ................................................................................................................................. 3-11
Header/Footer Options................................................................................................................. 3-11
View Options .................................................................................................................................. 3-12
Display Unit .................................................................................................................................... 3-12

iv
 Interactivity: Event Configuration ............................................................................................... 3-12
Setting Page Margins ..................................................................................................................... 3-15
Setting Maximum Connections for an Interactive Report........................................................ 3-16
Inserting Layout Components .............................................................................................................. 3-17
Inserting Layout Grids ........................................................................................................................... 3-17
Adding a Border or Background Color....................................................................................... 3-19
About the Insert Options............................................................................................................... 3-19
About the Join and Unjoin Options ............................................................................................. 3-19
Adding an Expand and Collapse Option.................................................................................... 3-19
About Repeating Sections...................................................................................................................... 3-20
Setting Page Break Options for a Repeating Section................................................................. 3-21
How Repeating Sections Display in Interactive Mode ............................................................. 3-22
Showing All Values in a Repeating Section................................................................................ 3-23
About Data Tables .................................................................................................................................. 3-24
Inserting a Data Table.................................................................................................................... 3-25
Setting Alternating Row Colors ................................................................................................... 3-27
About the Table Tab....................................................................................................................... 3-28
About the Table Column Header Tab ......................................................................................... 3-33
About the Column Tab .................................................................................................................. 3-37
About the Total Cell Tab ............................................................................................................... 3-41
Inserting Dynamic Hyperlinks..................................................................................................... 3-42
Applying Custom Data Formatting............................................................................................. 3-43
About Charts ........................................................................................................................................... 3-44
Inserting a Chart ............................................................................................................................. 3-45
Changing the Formula Applied to a Chart Measure Field ...................................................... 3-48
Sorting a Chart Field ...................................................................................................................... 3-49
Using Advanced Chart Features .................................................................................................. 3-49
About Gauge Charts............................................................................................................................... 3-52
Inserting a Gauge Chart ................................................................................................................ 3-52
Applying and Managing Filters ................................................................................................... 3-53
About Pivot Tables ................................................................................................................................. 3-53
Inserting a Pivot Table ................................................................................................................... 3-53
Customizing a Pivot Table Menu................................................................................................. 3-55
About the Pivot Table Tab ............................................................................................................ 3-55
Customizing the Pivot Table Headers......................................................................................... 3-57
Customizing the Pivot Table Data ............................................................................................... 3-57
About Text Items..................................................................................................................................... 3-58
Displaying a Data Field Side-by-Side with a Text Item............................................................ 3-58
About the Text Toolbar.................................................................................................................. 3-59
About Images .......................................................................................................................................... 3-61
About Lists............................................................................................................................................... 3-63
Inserting a List ................................................................................................................................ 3-63
Customizing a List ......................................................................................................................... 3-65

v
 Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas ............................................................................................. 3-68
About the Predefined Formulas................................................................................................... 3-68
Applying a Custom Formula........................................................................................................ 3-69
Applying a Custom Formula: Examples..................................................................................... 3-71
Saving a Layout....................................................................................................................................... 3-77

4 Creating RTF Templates

Getting Started .......................................................................................................................................... 4-2
What Are RTF Templates? .............................................................................................................. 4-2
Prerequisites for Designing Templates ......................................................................................... 4-2
What is XSLT Compatibility? ......................................................................................................... 4-3
Key Concepts .................................................................................................................................... 4-3
Designing the Template Layout ..................................................................................................... 4-3
About Adding BI Publisher Code.................................................................................................. 4-4
Associating the XML Data to the Template Layout............................................................................. 4-4
Using an XML Input File................................................................................................................. 4-5
Identifying Placeholders and Groups ........................................................................................... 4-5
Using Placeholders........................................................................................................................... 4-6
Identifying the Groups of Repeating Elements............................................................................ 4-6
Adding Markup to the Template Layout.............................................................................................. 4-7
Creating Placeholders ...................................................................................................................... 4-7
Defining Groups ..................................................................................................................................... 4-10
Grouping Scenarios........................................................................................................................ 4-11
Using the Basic RTF Method ........................................................................................................ 4-11
Using the Form Field Method ...................................................................................................... 4-12
Completing the Example............................................................................................................... 4-13
Defining Headers and Footers .............................................................................................................. 4-14
Native Support for Headers and Footers.................................................................................... 4-14
Inserting Placeholders in the Headers and Footers................................................................... 4-14
Creating Multiple or Complex Headers and Footers................................................................ 4-14
Defining Different First Page and Different Odd and Even Pages ......................................... 4-15
Inserting Images and Charts ................................................................................................................. 4-16
Directly Inserting Images .............................................................................................................. 4-16
Inserting Images with URL References....................................................................................... 4-16
Inserting Images with an Element Reference from an XML File............................................. 4-16
Rendering an Image Retrieved from BLOB Data ...................................................................... 4-17
Adding Charts to Templates......................................................................................................... 4-17
Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art ............................................................................................ 4-27
Adding Freehand Drawings ......................................................................................................... 4-28
Adding Hyperlinks ........................................................................................................................ 4-28
Layering Shapes.............................................................................................................................. 4-28
Using 3-D Effects ............................................................................................................................ 4-28
Adding Microsoft Equations ........................................................................................................ 4-28

vi
 Adding Organization Charts ........................................................................................................ 4-28
Adding WordArt ............................................................................................................................ 4-29
Adding Data-Driven Shapes......................................................................................................... 4-29
Including Manipulation Commands ........................................................................................... 4-30
Replicating Shapes ......................................................................................................................... 4-30
Adding Text to Shapes................................................................................................................... 4-31
Adding Text Along a Path ............................................................................................................ 4-31
Moving a Shape .............................................................................................................................. 4-31
Rotating a Shape ............................................................................................................................. 4-31
Skewing a Shape............................................................................................................................. 4-32
Changing the Size of Shapes......................................................................................................... 4-32
Combining Commands ................................................................................................................. 4-33
CD Ratings Example ...................................................................................................................... 4-33
Grouped Shape Example............................................................................................................... 4-35
Supported Formatting Features of Microsoft Word .......................................................................... 4-37
General Features of Microsoft Word ........................................................................................... 4-38
Aligning Objects ............................................................................................................................. 4-39
Inserting Tables............................................................................................................................... 4-39
Inserting Date Fields ...................................................................................................................... 4-41
Inserting Multiple Columns on Pages......................................................................................... 4-41
Inserting Backgrounds and Watermarks .................................................................................... 4-42
Microsoft Word Features That Are Not Supported .................................................................. 4-43
Template Features................................................................................................................................... 4-43
Inserting Page Breaks..................................................................................................................... 4-44
Inserting an Initial Page Number................................................................................................. 4-45
Specifying Last Page Only Content ............................................................................................. 4-46
Ending on Even or Odd Pages ..................................................................................................... 4-48
Inserting Hyperlinks ...................................................................................................................... 4-49
Including a Table of Contents....................................................................................................... 4-52
Generating Bookmarks in PDF Output....................................................................................... 4-53
Inserting Check Boxes.................................................................................................................... 4-54
Inserting Drop-Down Lists ........................................................................................................... 4-55
Repeat Row Headers After Page Break....................................................................................... 4-58
Using Conditional Formatting.............................................................................................................. 4-58
Using If Statements ........................................................................................................................ 4-59
Using If Statements in Boilerplate Text....................................................................................... 4-60
Using If-Then-Else Statements ..................................................................................................... 4-61
Inserting Choose Statements ........................................................................................................ 4-61
Formatting Columns ...................................................................................................................... 4-63
Formatting Rows ............................................................................................................................ 4-65
Highlighting Cells .......................................................................................................................... 4-67
Inserting Page-Level Calculations........................................................................................................ 4-68
Displaying Page Totals .................................................................................................................. 4-69

vii
 Inserting Brought Forward and Carried Forward Totals......................................................... 4-71
Inserting Running Totals............................................................................................................... 4-74
Handling Data ......................................................................................................................................... 4-75
Sorting Data..................................................................................................................................... 4-76
Checking for Null Values.............................................................................................................. 4-76
Regrouping the XML Data ............................................................................................................ 4-77
Setting Variables, Parameters, and Properties ................................................................................... 4-82
Setting Variables ............................................................................................................................. 4-83
Setting Parameters.......................................................................................................................... 4-83
Setting Properties ........................................................................................................................... 4-85
Using Advanced Report Layouts ......................................................................................................... 4-87
Creating Batch Reports .................................................................................................................. 4-87
Handling No Data Found Conditions......................................................................................... 4-89
Inserting Pivot Tables .................................................................................................................... 4-89
Constructing Dynamic Data Columns ........................................................................................ 4-91
Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies..................................................................................... 4-94
Formatting Numbers ..................................................................................................................... 4-95
Data Source Requirements............................................................................................................ 4-95
Localization Considerations ......................................................................................................... 4-95
Using the Microsoft Number Format Mask ............................................................................... 4-95
Supported Microsoft Format Mask Definitions ......................................................................... 4-96
Using the Oracle Format Mask..................................................................................................... 4-97
Formatting Dates ............................................................................................................................ 4-98
Data Source Requirements............................................................................................................ 4-99
Using the Microsoft Date Format Mask ...................................................................................... 4-99
Using the Oracle Format Mask................................................................................................... 4-101
Default Format Mask ................................................................................................................... 4-103
Oracle Abstract Format Masks ................................................................................................... 4-104
Displaying the System Date (sysdate) in Reports.................................................................... 4-104
Formatting Currencies................................................................................................................. 4-105
Applying a Currency Format to a Field .................................................................................... 4-105
Example: Displaying Multiple Currency Formats in a Report.............................................. 4-106
Example: Displaying Multiple Currency Codes in a Single Report ..................................... 4-107
Supporting Calendars and Time Zones............................................................................................. 4-107
Calendar Specification ................................................................................................................. 4-107
Specify Time Zone........................................................................................................................ 4-108
Specify No Time Zone Conversion............................................................................................ 4-108
Using External Fonts ............................................................................................................................ 4-109
Testing Fonts ................................................................................................................................. 4-110
Using the Barcode Fonts Shipped with BI Publisher .............................................................. 4-110
Implementing Custom Barcode Formats .................................................................................. 4-112
Controlling the Placement of Instructions Using the Context Commands.................................. 4-113
Using XPath Commands...................................................................................................................... 4-115

viii
 Locating Data ................................................................................................................................ 4-116
Starting Reference......................................................................................................................... 4-117
Specifying Context and Parents ................................................................................................. 4-118
Declaring Namespaces......................................................................................................................... 4-118
Using FO Elements and XSL Elements.............................................................................................. 4-118
Using FO Elements....................................................................................................................... 4-118
Using XSL Elements..................................................................................................................... 4-119
Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft PowerPoint Output ............................. 4-121
Limitations..................................................................................................................................... 4-121
Usage Guidelines.......................................................................................................................... 4-121
About Charts in PowerPoint Output......................................................................................... 4-122
Configuring Fonts for the BI Publisher Server......................................................................... 4-122
Configuring Fonts for the BI Publisher Template Builder ..................................................... 4-123
Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft Excel 2007 Output................................ 4-123
Creating Multiple Sheets ............................................................................................................. 4-123
Specifying a Sheet Name ............................................................................................................. 4-124
Specifying Number and Date Formatting ................................................................................ 4-124
Rendering HTML Formatted Data in a Report ................................................................................ 4-125
Supported HTML Features ......................................................................................................... 4-125
Data Model Requirements .......................................................................................................... 4-125
RTF Template Requirements ...................................................................................................... 4-126
Example ......................................................................................................................................... 4-126
Embedding PCL Commands for Check Printing............................................................................. 4-126
Procedure Overview .................................................................................................................... 4-127
Embedding PCL Commands in RTF Templates...................................................................... 4-127
Specifications and Restrictions ................................................................................................... 4-129

5 Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word

Overview.................................................................................................................................................... 5-1
Before You Get Started .................................................................................................................... 5-2
Prerequisites and Limitations......................................................................................................... 5-2
Getting Started .......................................................................................................................................... 5-3
Features of the Oracle BI Publisher Template Builder for Word .............................................. 5-3
Building and Uploading a Template ............................................................................................. 5-5
Accessing Data for Building Templates ................................................................................................ 5-7
Loading XML Data from a Local File ............................................................................................ 5-7
Loading Data from the BI Publisher Catalog ............................................................................... 5-8
Inserting Components to the Template ................................................................................................. 5-8
Inserting a Field ................................................................................................................................ 5-9
Inserting a Table Using the Table Wizard .................................................................................. 5-11
Inserting a Table or Form Using the Insert Table/Form Dialog ............................................. 5-15
Inserting a Chart ............................................................................................................................. 5-19
Inserting a Repeating Group ........................................................................................................ 5-21

ix
 Creating Grouping Fields Around an Existing Block ............................................................... 5-23
Inserting a Pivot Table ................................................................................................................... 5-23
Manually Editing a Pivot Table.................................................................................................... 5-26
Inserting and Editing Conditional Regions................................................................................ 5-32
Inserting Conditional Formatting ................................................................................................ 5-33
Previewing a Template .......................................................................................................................... 5-35
Template Editing Tools.......................................................................................................................... 5-35
Editing and Viewing Field Properties ......................................................................................... 5-36
Validating a Template.................................................................................................................... 5-38
Using the Field Browser ................................................................................................................ 5-38
Checking Accessibility................................................................................................................... 5-39
Uploading a Template to the BI Publisher Server.............................................................................. 5-39
Using the Template Builder Translation Tools................................................................................... 5-40
About Translations......................................................................................................................... 5-40
Extracting Text to an XLIFF File for Translation ....................................................................... 5-40
Previewing the Template and Translation File .......................................................................... 5-41
Localizing a Template.................................................................................................................... 5-41
Setting Options for the Template Builder ........................................................................................... 5-42
Setting UI Options.......................................................................................................................... 5-42
Setting Preview Options................................................................................................................ 5-42
Setting Build Options..................................................................................................................... 5-43
Setting Connection Options .......................................................................................................... 5-45
Setting Up a Configuration File ............................................................................................................ 5-45
BI Publisher Menu Reference................................................................................................................ 5-46
About the Online Group ............................................................................................................... 5-46
About the Load Data Group ......................................................................................................... 5-47
About the Insert Group ................................................................................................................. 5-47
About the Preview Group ............................................................................................................. 5-48
About the Tools Group.................................................................................................................. 5-49
About the Options Group ............................................................................................................. 5-50

6 Creating Excel Templates

Introduction to Excel Templates............................................................................................................. 6-1
Features of Excel Templates............................................................................................................ 6-1
Limitations of Excel Templates ...................................................................................................... 6-2
Prerequisites...................................................................................................................................... 6-2
Supported Output ............................................................................................................................ 6-2
Desktop Tools for Excel Templates................................................................................................ 6-2
Sample Excel Templates .................................................................................................................. 6-3
Understanding Mappings Between the Template and the Data ....................................................... 6-3
Using the Template Builder for Excel .................................................................................................... 6-3
Working in Connected Mode ......................................................................................................... 6-4
Working in Disconnected Mode .................................................................................................... 6-7

x
 Inserting Fields ................................................................................................................................. 6-8
Inserting Repeating Groups.......................................................................................................... 6-10
Using the Field Browser to View, Edit, and Delete Fields ....................................................... 6-12
Previewing Templates ................................................................................................................... 6-13
Importing Excel Analyzer Templates.......................................................................................... 6-13
Building a Basic Template Using the Template Builder ................................................................... 6-14
Step 1: Load Sample Data to the Template Builder................................................................... 6-14
Step 2: Design the Layout in Excel............................................................................................... 6-15
Step 3: Use the Template Builder to Insert Fields...................................................................... 6-15
Step 4: Use the Template Builder to Insert Repeating Groups ................................................ 6-16
Step 5: Insert the Calculated Salary Field ................................................................................... 6-18
Step 6: Test the Template............................................................................................................... 6-20
Formatting Dates .................................................................................................................................... 6-21
Understanding Excel Template Concepts ........................................................................................... 6-24
Mapping Data Fields and Groups ............................................................................................... 6-25
Use of Excel Defined Names for Mapping ................................................................................. 6-25
Use of "XDO_" Prefix to Create Defined Names........................................................................ 6-26
Using Native Excel Functions with the "XDO_" Defined Names ........................................... 6-26
About the XDO_METADATA Sheet ........................................................................................... 6-26
Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions ............................................................................................ 6-28
Reporting Functions....................................................................................................................... 6-28
Formatting Functions That Rely on Specific Data Attribute Values....................................... 6-36
Grouping Functions ....................................................................................................................... 6-43
Preprocessing the Data Using an XSL Transformation (XSLT) File ................................................ 6-46
XSLT Preprocessing Examples: Splitting Flat Data into Multiple Sheets .............................. 6-47
Using the Template Viewer to Debug a Template............................................................................. 6-50

7 Creating PDF Templates

Overview.................................................................................................................................................... 7-1
Requirements............................................................................................................................................. 7-2
Designing the Template ........................................................................................................................... 7-2
Adding Markup to the Template ........................................................................................................... 7-4
Creating a Placeholder ............................................................................................................................. 7-4
Naming the Placeholder.................................................................................................................. 7-4
Creating a Text Placeholder ............................................................................................................ 7-5
Supported Field Properties Options.............................................................................................. 7-5
Creating a Check Box....................................................................................................................... 7-6
Creating a Radio Button Group ..................................................................................................... 7-6
Defining Groups of Repeating Fields .................................................................................................... 7-7
Repeating a PDF Template by Using the document-repeat-elementname Form Field ................. 7-8
Adding Page Numbers and Breaks...................................................................................................... 7-10
Adding Page Numbers .................................................................................................................. 7-10
Adding Page Breaks....................................................................................................................... 7-11

xi
 Performing Calculations ........................................................................................................................ 7-14
Completed PDF Layout Example......................................................................................................... 7-15
Runtime Behavior ................................................................................................................................... 7-16
Placement of Repeating Fields ..................................................................................................... 7-16
Setting Fields as Updatable or Read Only .................................................................................. 7-17
Overflow Data................................................................................................................................. 7-18
Creating a Layout from a Predefined PDF Form ............................................................................... 7-18
Determining If a PDF Has Form Fields Defined........................................................................ 7-19
Using a Predefined PDF Form as a Layout by Renaming the Form Fields ........................... 7-19
Using the Comb of Characters Option ........................................................................................ 7-20
Adding or Designating a Field for a Digital Signature ..................................................................... 7-21
About Signature Field Options..................................................................................................... 7-22
Adding a Signature Field .............................................................................................................. 7-22
Configuring the Report to Insert the Digital Signature at Runtime........................................ 7-23
PDF Template Limitations..................................................................................................................... 7-24

8 Creating eText Templates

Overview.................................................................................................................................................... 8-1
Prerequisites...................................................................................................................................... 8-2
Structure of eText Templates .................................................................................................................. 8-2
Command Rows, Data Rows, and Data Column Header Rows ............................................... 8-3
Data Column Header Rows ............................................................................................................ 8-4
Data Rows.......................................................................................................................................... 8-4
Constructing the Data Tables.................................................................................................................. 8-4
Command Rows........................................................................................................................................ 8-5
Level Command ............................................................................................................................... 8-5
New Record Command................................................................................................................... 8-8
Sort Ascending and Sort Descending Commands ...................................................................... 8-8
Display Condition Command ........................................................................................................ 8-8
Structure of the Data Rows...................................................................................................................... 8-8
Position .............................................................................................................................................. 8-9
Length/Maximum Length.............................................................................................................. 8-9
Format Column................................................................................................................................. 8-9
Number Data Type......................................................................................................................... 8-10
Date Data Type ............................................................................................................................... 8-10
Mapping EDI Delimiter-Based Data Types to eText Data Types............................................ 8-11
Pad .................................................................................................................................................... 8-12
Data................................................................................................................................................... 8-12
Tag .................................................................................................................................................... 8-12
Comments........................................................................................................................................ 8-12
Setting Up Command Tables ................................................................................................................ 8-12
TEMPLATE TYPE Command....................................................................................................... 8-14
DEFINE LEVEL Command........................................................................................................... 8-15

xii
 DEFINE SEQUENCE Command ................................................................................................. 8-18
Define Concatenation Command................................................................................................. 8-19
Base Level Subcommand............................................................................................................... 8-19
Element Subcommand................................................................................................................... 8-20
Delimiter Subcommand................................................................................................................. 8-20
Using the SUBSTR Function ......................................................................................................... 8-20
Invalid Characters and Replacement Characters Commands ................................................. 8-21
Output Character Set and New Record Character Commands .............................................. 8-21
Output Length Mode ..................................................................................................................... 8-22
Number Thousands Separator and Number Decimal Separator............................................ 8-22
CASE CONVERSION .................................................................................................................... 8-22
Creating a Filler Block ............................................................................................................................ 8-22
Expressions, Control Structures, and Functions ................................................................................ 8-24
Expressions...................................................................................................................................... 8-24
Control Structures .......................................................................................................................... 8-25
Functions ......................................................................................................................................... 8-25
Identifiers, Operators, and Literals ...................................................................................................... 8-27
Key Words ....................................................................................................................................... 8-27
Command and Column Header Key Words.............................................................................. 8-28
Command Parameter and Function Parameter Key Words .................................................... 8-29
Field-Level Key Words .................................................................................................................. 8-29
Expression Key Words .................................................................................................................. 8-30
Operators ......................................................................................................................................... 8-30
Reference to XML Extract Fields and XPATH Syntax .............................................................. 8-31
Notes on Viewing eText Output from a Browser ...................................................................... 8-32

9 Creating Flash Templates

Overview.................................................................................................................................................... 9-1
Prerequisites for Building and Viewing Flash Templates.......................................................... 9-1
Required Configuration Settings for Viewing PDF Output....................................................... 9-2
Building a Flash Template....................................................................................................................... 9-2
Adding the Data Source .................................................................................................................. 9-2
Creating the Layout ......................................................................................................................... 9-6
Binding the Layout Objects to the Data Source ........................................................................... 9-8
Uploading the Flash Template to the Report Definition................................................................... 9-11
Setting Properties for PDF Output ....................................................................................................... 9-12

10 Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties

Overview.................................................................................................................................................. 10-1
PDF Output Properties .......................................................................................................................... 10-2
PDF Security Properties ......................................................................................................................... 10-3
PDF Digital Signature Properties ......................................................................................................... 10-5
PDF/A Output Properties..................................................................................................................... 10-7

xiii
 PDF/X Output Properties ..................................................................................................................... 10-8
RTF Output Properties......................................................................................................................... 10-10
HTML Output Properties .................................................................................................................... 10-10
FO Processing Properties..................................................................................................................... 10-11
DOCX Output........................................................................................................................................ 10-14
RTF Template Properties ..................................................................................................................... 10-14
PDF Template Properties..................................................................................................................... 10-15
Flash Template Properties ................................................................................................................... 10-16
CSV Output Properties ........................................................................................................................ 10-17
Excel 2007 Output Properties.............................................................................................................. 10-17
All Outputs ............................................................................................................................................ 10-18
Defining Font Mappings...................................................................................................................... 10-18
Making Fonts Available to BI Publisher ................................................................................... 10-19
Setting Font Mapping at the Site Level or Report Level......................................................... 10-19
Creating a Font Mapping ............................................................................................................ 10-19
BI Publisher's Predefined Fonts.................................................................................................. 10-20

Part II Creating Style Templates and Subtemplates

11 Creating and Implementing Style Templates

Understanding Style Templates ........................................................................................................... 11-1
About Styles Defined in the Style Template............................................................................... 11-1
Style Template Process .................................................................................................................. 11-2
Creating a Style Template RTF File...................................................................................................... 11-2
Defining Styles for Paragraphs and Headings........................................................................... 11-2
Defining Styles for Tables ............................................................................................................. 11-3
Defining a Header and Footer ...................................................................................................... 11-4
Uploading a Style Template File to the Catalog................................................................................. 11-4
Assigning a Style Template to a Report Layout................................................................................. 11-5
Updating a Style Template .................................................................................................................... 11-6
Adding Translations to a Style Template Definition......................................................................... 11-6

12 Understanding Subtemplates
What is a Subtemplate?.......................................................................................................................... 12-1
About RTF Subtemplates .............................................................................................................. 12-1
About XSL Subtemplates............................................................................................................... 12-2
Supported Locations for Subtemplates ............................................................................................... 12-2
Testing Subtemplates from the Desktop ............................................................................................. 12-2
Uploading a Sub Template.................................................................................................................... 12-2
Calling a Subtemplate from an External Source ................................................................................ 12-4
Importing a Subtemplate Outside the Catalog over HTTP or FTP......................................... 12-4
Importing Subtemplates Outside the Catalog on the Same Server......................................... 12-4
Required Settings To Run Sub Templates Stored Outside the Catalog ................................. 12-4

xiv
13 Designing RTF Subtemplates
Understanding RTF Subtemplates ....................................................................................................... 13-1
Process Overview for Creating and Implementing RTF Sub Templates........................................ 13-1
Creating an RTF Subtemplate File........................................................................................................ 13-2
Calling a Subtemplate from a Main Template.................................................................................... 13-3
Importing the Subtemplate to the Main Template .................................................................... 13-3
Calling the Subtemplate to Render Its Contents........................................................................ 13-3
Importing a Localized Subtemplate ............................................................................................ 13-4
Example ........................................................................................................................................... 13-4
When to Use RTF Subtemplates ........................................................................................................... 13-5
Reusing a Common Layout .......................................................................................................... 13-5
Conditionally Displaying a Layout Based on a Value in the Data.......................................... 13-5
Conditionally Displaying a Layout Based on a Parameter Value........................................... 13-6
Adding Translations to an RTF Subtemplate ..................................................................................... 13-9

14 Designing XSL Subtemplates

Understanding XSL Subtemplates ....................................................................................................... 14-1
Where to Put XSL Code in the RTF Main Template.................................................................. 14-1
Process Overview for Creating and Implementing XSL Sub Templates........................................ 14-1
Creating an XSL Subtemplate File........................................................................................................ 14-2
Calling an XSL Subtemplate from the Main Template ..................................................................... 14-2
Importing the Subtemplate ........................................................................................................... 14-3
Calling the Subtemplate ................................................................................................................ 14-3
Passing Parameters to an XSL Subtemplate ............................................................................... 14-3
Creating the Sub Template Object in the Catalog .............................................................................. 14-4
Example Uses of XSL Subtemplates..................................................................................................... 14-5
Handling XML Data with HTML Formatting............................................................................ 14-5
Dynamically Applying Formatting to a Portion of Data.......................................................... 14-7

Part III Translating Reports and Catalog Objects

15 Translation Support Overview and Concepts

Translation Support Overview ............................................................................................................. 15-1
What Is Catalog Translation?........................................................................................................ 15-1
What Is Template Translation?..................................................................................................... 15-2
About Supported Languages........................................................................................................ 15-2
Working with Translation Files ............................................................................................................ 15-2
What Is an XLIFF? .......................................................................................................................... 15-2
Structure of the XLIFF File ............................................................................................................ 15-2
Locale Selection Logic ............................................................................................................................ 15-5

xv
16 Translating Individual Templates
Overview.................................................................................................................................................. 16-1
Types of Translations ............................................................................................................................. 16-1
Using the XLIFF Option......................................................................................................................... 16-2
Generating the XLIFF from a Template ...................................................................................... 16-2
Translating the XLIFF .................................................................................................................... 16-4
Uploading the Translated XLIFF to BI Publisher ...................................................................... 16-4
Using the Localized Template Option ................................................................................................. 16-4
Designing the Localized Template File ....................................................................................... 16-5
Uploading the Localized Template to BI Publisher .................................................................. 16-5

17 Translating Catalog Objects, Data Models, and Templates

Overview.................................................................................................................................................. 17-1
What Can Be Translated? ...................................................................................................................... 17-1
About Source Language Limitations........................................................................................... 17-2
Exporting the XLIFF File........................................................................................................................ 17-2
Identifying and Updating the Object Tags.......................................................................................... 17-3
Importing the XLIFF File ....................................................................................................................... 17-3

Part IV Reference Information

A Techniques for Handling Large Output Files

Reusing Static Content ..................................................................................................................................... A-1
What Is Static Content Reuse? ................................................................................................................ A-1
Limitations of this Feature....................................................................................................................... A-2
Defining Reusable Content in an RTF Template.................................................................................. A-2
Example...................................................................................................................................................... A-3
Generating Zipped PDF Output ..................................................................................................................... A-3
Limitations and Prerequisites ................................................................................................................. A-3
Design Time Considerations ................................................................................................................... A-4
Selecting the Output Type....................................................................................................................... A-4
Implementing PDF Splitting for an RTF Template ...................................................................................... A-5
Entering the Commands in an RTF Template ...................................................................................... A-5
Example - split by each department....................................................................................................... A-6
Implementing PDF Splitting for a PDF Template ........................................................................................ A-6
Entering the Commands in the PDF Template .................................................................................... A-7

B Extended Function Support in RTF Templates

Extended SQL and XSL Functions.................................................................................................................. B-1
Number-To-Word Conversion ............................................................................................................... B-9
Using XSLT Profiling in Template Viewer.......................................................................................... B-10
XSL Equivalents............................................................................................................................................... B-11

xvi
Using FO Elements.......................................................................................................................................... B-12

C Designing Accessible Reports

Designing for Accessibility .............................................................................................................................. C-1
Obtaining General Information .............................................................................................................. C-1
Avoiding Common Misconceptions ...................................................................................................... C-1
Following General Guidelines for Accessible Content ....................................................................... C-2
Using the Template Builder to Verify Report Accessibility ............................................................... C-3
Designing Accessible Reports Using RTF Templates .................................................................................. C-3
Avoiding Nested Tables or Separated Tables....................................................................................... C-3
Defining a Document Title ...................................................................................................................... C-5
Defining Alternative Text for an Image................................................................................................. C-5
Defining a Table Summary...................................................................................................................... C-5
Defining a Table Column Header .......................................................................................................... C-6
Defining a Table Row Header................................................................................................................. C-6
Sample Supported Tables ........................................................................................................................ C-6
Converting Charts to Tables.................................................................................................................... C-7
Designing Accessible Reports Using BI Publisher Layouts ........................................................................ C-8
Defining Document Titles........................................................................................................................ C-8
Defining Alternative Text for Images .................................................................................................... C-8
Defining Summary Text for Tables ........................................................................................................ C-9
Defining Table Row Headers ............................................................................................................... C-10
Defining Text Header Levels ............................................................................................................... C-10

D Supported XSL-FO Elements

Supported XSL-FO Elements........................................................................................................................... D-1
Property Groups Table............................................................................................................................. D-6

E Generating PDF/A and PDF/X Output

Generating PDF/A Output.............................................................................................................................. E-1
Requirements and Limitations................................................................................................................ E-1
Additional Resources ............................................................................................................................... E-2
Generating PDF/X output ............................................................................................................................... E-2
Prerequisites .............................................................................................................................................. E-2
Requirements and Limitations................................................................................................................ E-2
Additional Resources ............................................................................................................................... E-4

F PDF Version Support

About PDF Version Support............................................................................................................................ F-1
Supported Utilities ............................................................................................................................................ F-1
Limitations ......................................................................................................................................................... F-2
Limitations That Apply to All PDF Utilities ......................................................................................... F-2
FormProcessor Limitations ..................................................................................................................... F-2

xvii
 PDFDocMerger and PDFBookBinder Limitations............................................................................... F-2
PDFSignature Limitations ....................................................................................................................... F-3

G Using the Customize Feature

About Customizing Reports........................................................................................................................... G-1
Prerequisites and Limitations of the Customization Feature .................................................................... G-2
Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................................. G-2
Limitations ................................................................................................................................................ G-3
Using the Customize Feature ......................................................................................................................... G-3
Considerations When Using the Customize Feature.................................................................................. G-4

xviii
 Preface

Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (BI Publisher) is a reporting and publishing

application that enables you to extract data from multiple data sources, create layouts
for report data, and publish the report to numerous output formats. BI Publisher also
enables you to schedule reports and deliver the reports to multiple delivery
destinations required by your business.

Audience
This document is intended for report designers and developers using Oracle Business
Intelligence Publisher to create reports, configure reports, add translations, and use
other BI Publisher report design features.
This guide describes how to create report layouts and use BI Publisher's report editor
to assemble the components of a report. See the guides that are listed in the following
table for more information about using the product for other business roles.

Role Sample Tasks Guide

Administr Configuring Administrator's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence
ator Security Publisher
Configuring
System Settings
Diagnosing and
Monitoring
System
Processes

Applicatio Integrating BI Developer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

n Publisher into
developer existing
or applications
integrator using the
application
programming
interfaces

Report Viewing reports User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher
consumer Scheduling
report jobs
Managing report
jobs

xix
 Role Sample Tasks Guide
Data Fetching and Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence
Model structuring the Publisher
developer data to use in
reports

Documentation Accessibility
For information about Oracle's commitment to accessibility, visit the Oracle
Accessibility Program website at http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?
ctx=acc&id=docacc.

Access to Oracle Support

Oracle customers that have purchased support have access to electronic support
through My Oracle Support. For information, visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/
topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=info or visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/
topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=trs if you are hearing impaired.

System Requirements and Certification

Refer to the system requirements and certification documentation for information
about hardware and software requirements, platforms, databases, and other
information. Both of these documents are available on Oracle Technology Network
(OTN).
The system requirements document covers information such as hardware and
software requirements, minimum disk space and memory requirements, and required
system libraries, packages, or patches:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/ias/downloads/fusion-
requirements-100147.html
The certification document covers supported installation types, platforms, operating
systems, databases, JDKs, and third-party products:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/ias/downloads/fusion-
certification-100350.html

Conventions
The following text conventions are used in this document:

Convention Meaning
boldface Boldface type indicates graphical user interface elements associated
with an action, or terms defined in text or the glossary.

italic Italic type indicates book titles, emphasis, or placeholder variables for
which you supply particular values.

monospace Monospace type indicates commands within a paragraph, URLs, code

in examples, text that appears on the screen, or text that you enter.

xx
 New Features for Report Designers

This preface describes changes to the Oracle BI Publisher report designer.

• New Features and Changes for Release 12c (12.2.1.1.0)

New Features and Changes for Release 12c (12.2.1.1.0)

This section includes new features and changes for Oracle BI Publisher 12c (12.2.1.1.0).
Add XSLT Profiling to Template Viewer
XSL time logging commands are added to the XSL template to enable time
measurements, which acts as a profiling tool. When the template is run, a log.csv file is
generated which measures the time across the XSL code. See Using XSLT Profiling in
Template Viewer.

xxi
 Part I
Creating Reports and Layouts

This part describes how to create reports and layouts.

It includes the following chapters:

• Introduction to Designing Reports

• Creating and Editing Reports

• Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates

• Creating RTF Templates

• Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word

• Creating Excel Templates

• Creating PDF Templates

• Creating eText Templates

• Creating Flash Templates

• Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties

 1
Introduction to Designing Reports

This chapter introduces the components that comprise a BI Publisher report.

This chapter includes the following sections:

• Overview for Report Designers

• About the Layout Types

• About Setting Run-Time Properties

• About Translations

• About Style Templates

• About Sub Templates

Overview for Report Designers

A report consists of a data model, a layout, and a set of properties.
Optionally, a report may also include a style template and a set of translations. A
report designer performs the following tasks:

• Design the layout for the report. The layout can be created using a variety of tools.
The output and design requirements of a particular report determine the best
layout design tool. Options include the Layout Editor, which is a Web-based layout
design tool and enables interactive output, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat,
Microsoft Excel, and Adobe Flexbuilder.

• Set runtime configuration properties for the report.

• Design style templates to enhance a consistent look and feel of reports in your
enterprise.

• Create subtemplates to re-use common functionality across multiple templates.

• Enable translations for a report.

About the Layout Types

BI Publisher offers several options for designing layouts for reports.
The following formats are supported. Note that the layout type determines the types
of output documents supported.

• BI Publisher layout (XPT)

BI Publisher's Layout Editor is a Web-based design tool for creating layouts.
Layouts created with the Layout Editor support interactive viewing as well as the
full range of output types supported by RTF layouts.

Introduction to Designing Reports 1-1

About Setting Run-Time Properties

• Rich Text Format (RTF)

BI Publisher provides a plug-in utility for Microsoft Word that automates layout
design and enables you to connect to BI Publisher to access data and upload
templates directly from a Microsoft Word session. The RTF format also supports
advanced formatting commands providing the most flexible and powerful of the
layout options. RTF templates support a variety of output types including: Excel
(mhtml), Excel (html), Excel (*.xlsx), HTML, MHTML, PDF, PowerPoint, RTF, and
Zipped PDF.

• Portable Document Format (PDF)

PDF templates are used primarily when you must use a predefined form as a
layout for a report (for example, a form provided by a government agency).
Because many PDF forms already contain form fields, using the PDF form as a
template simply requires mapping data elements to the fields that exist on the
form. You can also design PDF templates using Adobe Acrobat Professional. PDF
templates support only PDF output.

• Microsoft Excel (XLS)

Excel templates enable you to map data and define calculations and formatting
logic in an Excel workbook. Excel templates support Microsoft Excel (.xls) output
only.

• XSL Stylesheet
Layouts can also be defined directly in XSL formatting language. Specify whether
the layout is for Data (CSV), Data (XML), FO Formatted XML, HTML, Text, or XML
transformation.

• eText
These are specialized RTF templates used for creating text output for Electronic
Data Interchange (EDI) or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) transactions.

• Flash
BI Publisher's support for Flash layouts enables you to develop Adobe Flex
templates that can be applied to BI Publisher reports to generate interactive Flash
output documents.
For more information about layout types, see Creating and Editing Reports.

About Setting Run-Time Properties

BI Publisher provides a variety of user-controlled settings that are specified using an
easily accessible Properties dialog. These include security settings for individual PDF
reports, HTML output display settings, font mapping, currency formatting, and other
output-specific settings.
For more information, see Setting Report Processing and Output Document
Properties. These settings are also configured at the system-level, but can be
customized per report.

About Translations
BI Publisher provides the ability to create an XLIFF file from RTF templates. XLIFF is
the XML Localization Interchange File Format. It is the standard format used by
localization providers. Using BI Publisher's XLIFF generation tool you can generate
the standard translation file of an RTF template.

1-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 About Style Templates

You can then translate this file (or send to a translation provider). Once translated, the
file can be uploaded to the report definition under the appropriate locale setting so
that at runtime the translated report runs automatically for users who select the
corresponding locale.
For more information, see Translation Support Overview and Concepts.

About Style Templates

A style template is an RTF template that contains style information that can be applied
to layout templates. The style information in the style template is applied to report
layout templates at runtime to achieve a consistent look and feel across your enterprise
reports.
For more information, see Creating and Implementing Style Templates.

About Sub Templates

A Sub Template is a piece of formatting functionality that can be defined once and
used multiple times within a single layout template or across multiple layout template
files.
This piece of formatting can be in an RTF file format or an XSL file format. RTF
subtemplates are easy to design as you can use Microsoft Word native features. XSL
subtemplates can be used for complex layout and data requirements.
For more information, see Understanding Subtemplates.

Introduction to Designing Reports 1-3

About Sub Templates

1-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 2
Creating and Editing Reports

This chapter describes how to create and edit BI Publisher reports.

The chapter includes the following topics:

• About Report Components

• Creating Reports: Process Overview

• Creating Reports

• Creating Reports Using a Direct Connection to a Subject Area

• Editing Reports

• Adding Layouts to the Report Definition

• Configuring Layouts Using the List View

• Configuring Parameter Settings for the Report

• Configuring Report Properties

• Accessing Reports via a URL

About Report Components

The first step in creating a new report is to select the source of the data for the report.
A Data Model defines data that is used by a report.
A report typically consists of the following components:

• Data Model

• Layout

• Properties

• Translations
A Data Model may contain multiple data sets and it defines how data fields are
structured in relation to each other. It may also contain parameters with lists of values,
bursting definitions and other structures or properties that determine how data is
provided to a report. For information on creating a data model, see Data Modeling
Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.
Reports that use Oracle Business Intelligence Subject Areas as the data source do not
require a separate data model. For more information, see Creating Reports Using a
Direct Connection to a Subject Area.
The next step is to design a layout for the report data. The layout defines how the data
is presented in the report. A layout consists of a template file and a set of properties

Creating and Editing Reports 2-1

Creating Reports: Process Overview

for rendering the template file. BI Publisher supports templates created from a variety
of sources including Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Flash,
and BI Publisher's own layout editor. A report can include multiple layouts.
Next, configure properties for the report. The report properties enable you to control
many aspects of the report generation, formatting, and display.
Optionally, add translations for the report. BI Publisher's translation support enables
you to include translations for individual layouts or for all translatable strings in the
layout, data model, and the report metadata.
This chapter describes the process of creating a report by selecting a data model,
adding a layout, and configuring properties using the report editor. For more
information about report components, see the sections that are listed in the following
table:

Topic More Information

Creating a See the Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher
data model

Selecting a About the Layout Types

layout type

Creating Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates

specific Creating RTF Templates
layout
Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word
template
types Creating Excel Templates
Creating PDF Templates
Creating Flash Templates
Creating eText Templates

Translating Translation Support Overview and Concepts

reports

Creating Reports: Process Overview

The Create Report process guides you through the steps to create a basic report. After
creating the basic report, use the report editor to configure the report and create
additional layouts.
The Create Report process guides you through the following steps:

1. Launch the Create Report guide to select a data source, and create a basic report.
You can create a simple layout using the guide or add the layout later.
See Creating Reports.

2. Edit the simple report layout that you created using the Create Report guide, or
create a new layout.
See Adding Layouts to the Report Definition.

3. Configure the properties for the layout.

See Configuring Layouts Using the List View.

4. Configure parameters for the report.

See Configuring Parameter Settings for the Report.

2-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Creating Reports

5. Configure report properties.

See Configuring Report Properties.

6. Add translations for the layouts. Complete this step if the report requires support
for multiple languages.
See Translation Support Overview and Concepts.

Creating Reports
Launch the Create Report guide in one of these ways.

• From the global header, click New and then click Report.

• From the Home page, under the Create region, click Report.

• On the catalog toolbar, click New and then click Report.

• From the Data Model editor page, click Create Report.

Note:

If your user interface preference is set to a bidirectional language, the Create

Report guide does not display all components in right-to-left orientation.

Selecting a Data Source

Building a report begins with selecting a data source.
Choose one of the following options to begin building your report:

• Use Data Model

Select an existing data model from the catalog.
Click Next to proceed to Choosing Guide Me or Use Report Editor.

• Upload Spreadsheet
Upload a Microsoft Excel file (file type.xls or .xlsx). If the uploaded spreadsheet
contains multiple sheets, select the sheet to use as the data source. You can include
data from only one sheet.
To use multiple sheets in a workbook, you first create a data model that includes
each spreadsheet as a data set, and then use that data model as the data source for
the report. For more information, see Creating a Data Set Using a Microsoft Excel
Filein Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.
Click Next to proceed to Choosing Guide Me or Use Report Editor.

• Use Subject Area

Select a subject area from the Oracle BI repository. This option enables you to
directly query the Oracle BI server and eliminates the need to create a data model
in BI Publisher. The Create Report guide limits you to one subject area, however,
you can create a report against multiple subject areas using the report editor. For
more information, see Creating a Report Against Multiple Subject Areas.
Click Next to proceed to Choosing Guide Me or Use Report Editor.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-3

Creating Reports

Choosing Guide Me or Use Report Editor

You have the option either to choose guide or to use the report editor on the Create
Report page.
The following table describes the options on the Create Report page.

Option Description
Guide Me This option guides you through defining the layout of your data in
common predefined report styles. Choose this option to:
• Create a report with simple components
• Select a common report style with basic options
• Quickly view the data in preview mode
Proceed to select the report layout. For more information, see
Selecting the Report Layout.

Use Report Editor This option prompts you to save the report and then opens the report
editor. Choose this option to proceed to configure the report or to
create a more complex layout. For more information, see Editing
Reports.

Selecting the Report Layout

When you choose Guide Me, you are prompted to select the report page options.
After you select the data source for the report, select the report page options and
report layout to define how data is displayed in the report.
To select report layout:

1. Select report page options as follows:

• Select the Portrait or Landscape page option to define the report page
orientation.

• Select the Page Header option to include the date in the report page header.

• Select the Page Footer option to include the page number in the report page
footer.

2. Select one of the following report layouts:

• Table (default)

• Chart

• Pivot Table

• Chart and Table

• Chart and Pivot Table

• Two Charts and Table

3. Click Next to proceed.

2-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Creating Reports

Choosing Columns for Report Layouts

The layout that you select on the Select Layout page drives the remaining pages that
you must complete to create the report.
For example, if you select the Table layout, Create Table is the next page displayed.
After you select a layout, select the data source columns to include in the report. As
you select columns, sample data for the columns displays on the page. The selected
columns display in the order selected.
Keep the following points in mind about sample data:

• For data models: The Create Report process uses the sample data that is saved to
the data model. If sample data is not attached to the data model, the selected
column headings display without data.

• For uploaded spreadsheets: Sample data is displayed from the selected

spreadsheet.

• For subject areas: Sample data is displayed directly from the columns in the subject
area.

Table Layout
On the Create Table page you add columns to the layout by dragging and dropping
them from the Data Source pane to the table area.
The columns are displayed in a simple tabular format and the column widths are
automatically adjusted based on the number of selected columns as shown in the
following illustration.
To remove a column from the table, hover your mouse over the upper-right hand
corner of the column header and click Delete.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-5

Creating Reports

The Show Grand Totals Row option is selected by default to automatically display an
aggregated summary row for all columns. Deselect this option to remove the row from
the table.
Click Preview Report to display the report in the report viewer.
Click Next to proceed to Saving the Report.

Chart Layout
The Chart Layout page supports three types of charts. Choose the chart type by
clicking its icon: Bar, Line, or Pie. Add columns to the chart by dragging and dropping
them from the Data Source pane to the chart area.
The following figure shows the create chart layout. You can specify two values each to
display for the chart Value, Series, and Label.
The layout editor supports a variety of more complex charts. To add more values to
this chart or create another chart type, edit this layout in the layout editor after saving
the report. For more information on creating layout templates, see Creating BI
Publisher Layout Templates.

2-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Creating Reports

To remove a value from the chart, hover your mouse over the upper-right hand corner
of the item label and click Delete.
Click Preview Report to display the report in the report viewer.
Click Next to proceed to Saving the Report.

Chart and Table Layout

When you select the chart and table layout, you add columns to the Create Chart page
first, click Next, and then the Create Table page displays with the columns that you
previously selected for the chart.
You can also add additional columns and remove columns on this page.
Click Next to proceed to Saving the Report.

Pivot Table Layout

When you select columns for the pivot table layout, the columns display on the Create
Table page.
The figure below shows the columns displayed.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-7

Creating Reports

The Show Row Grand Totals option is selected by default. Deselect this option to hide
the row in the table that includes the grand total for each column.
The Show Column Grand Totals option is selected by default. Deselect this option to
hide the column in the table that includes the grand total for each row.
Click Switch Rows and Columns to flip the rows and columns axes.
Click Preview Report to display the report in the report viewer.
Click Next to proceed to Saving the Report.

Chart and Pivot Table Layout

When you select the chart and pivot table layout, you add columns to the Create Chart
page first, click Next, and then the Create Table page displays with the columns that
you previously selected for the chart. You can also add additional columns and
remove columns on this page.
Click Next to proceed to Saving the Report.

Two Charts and Table Layout

When you select the two charts and table layout, you add columns to the Create Chart
page first, click Next, and then Create 2nd Chart.
Once you add columns to the Create 2nd Chart page, click Next to display the Create
Table page. The Create Table page displays with the columns that you already
selected for the first chart. You can also add additional columns and remove columns
on this page.

2-8 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Creating Reports Using a Direct Connection to a Subject Area

Click Next to proceed to Saving the Report.

Saving the Report

You can save the report layout and the columns you added.
Use the Save Report page as shown in the following illustration.

Select one of the following options:

• To run the report you just created, click View Report and then click Finish. The
final page prompts you to save the report. After saving, BI Publisher runs and
displays the report in the report viewer.

• To customize the report layout, click Customize Report Layout and then click
Finish. The final page prompts you to save the report. After saving, the report
opens in the layout editor.
For more information about additional report options and layouts, see Editing
Reports.

Creating Reports Using a Direct Connection to a Subject Area

Subject area reports contain queries that are issued directly to the Oracle BI Server,
therefore the report does not use a BI Publisher data model.

When you run a report that uses a subject area as a data source, the Oracle BI Server
optimizes and determines how many queries are actually issued to the database based
on the columns selected for the report.
Keep the following points in mind when creating a subject area report:

• You must use the Create Report guide to create subject area reports.

• No data model is created for a subject area report. BI Publisher executes the subject
area queries as defined in Oracle BI Enterprise Edition to retrieve the report data.

• In the Create Report guide, you can only select one subject area for a report. To
create a report that uses multiple subject areas, first create a report against a single

Creating and Editing Reports 2-9

Creating Reports Using a Direct Connection to a Subject Area

subject area using the Create Report guide and then edit the report in the report
editor to add subject areas. See Creating a Report Against Multiple Subject Areas
for more information.

• For reports that use a subject area, BI Publisher calculates subtotals and totals based
on the data received from the BI Server, which is already summarized. As BI
Publisher is not performing the summary calculations, certain functions that
require access to the original column data, such as count distinct and average, may
deliver different results in BI Publisher.

• Hierarchical columns that are available in Oracle BI Enterprise Edition are not
available for use in subject area reports in BI Publisher.

• Be aware that if you link multiple fields from unrelated subject areas in a single
report component such as a graph, table, or pivot table, the rendering of the
component may fail because the data cannot be correlated correctly.

Creating Subject Area Reports

You can create a subject area report by launching the create report guide.

To create a subject area report:

1. Launch the Create Report guide.

2. Select a subject area. Only one subject area can be selected.

To report against multiple subject areas, after selecting the first subject area, select
the Use Report Editor option, and click Finish to save the report. Then, use the
report editor to add the additional subject areas. For more information, see
Creating a Report Against Multiple Subject Areas.

3. Follow the prompts to create your report layout as described in Choosing Columns
for Report Layouts.

Adding Parameters to Subject Area Reports

Parameters are usually defined in the data model for BI Publisher reports. Reports that
run directly against a subject area do not use a data model, therefore, you must use the
report editor to set up parameter definitions for subject area reports.
If you intend to use a subject area report in an Oracle BI Enterprise Edition dashboard
and you need to use pass parameters, see 'Using Prompts with Parameterized Reports’
in User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition for more information.

To add parameters to subject area reports:

1. Create and save the report as described in Creating Subject Area Reports.

2. In report editor, click Parameters to launch the Edit Parameters dialog as shown in
the following figure.

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 Creating Reports Using a Direct Connection to a Subject Area

3. Click Add to launch the Select a Column to Define Parameter dialog as shown in
the following figure.

4. Select a parameter column and click OK to launch the Edit Parameter dialog as
shown in the following figure.

The options displayed for selection in the Edit Parameter dialog are driven by the
parameter column data type.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-11

Creating Reports Using a Direct Connection to a Subject Area

5. Enter the parameter label to be displayed in the report.

6. Select a parameter display option:

• Calendar - Provides users with a field into which they can enter a specific date,
as well as a calendar pop-up to select a date. This display option is only
available for selection if the parameter has a date column type.

• Choice List - Provides users with a collapsed list of all prompt values. This
display option is useful for a long list of values where you want to provide the
user with the ability to search for a specific value.

• Checkboxes - Provides users with a visible list of all prompt values where a
small, selectable box displays before each value item. This display option is
suitable for a prompt that contains a smaller set of data.

• Radio Buttons - Provides users with a visible list of all prompt values where a
radio button is displayed before each prompt value. This display option is
useful for short lists of values where the user is to select only one prompt value.

• Text - Provides users with a field into which they can enter a specific prompt
value. This display option cannot be used for multiple prompt values. Only the
field and the field label are displayed for this option.

7. Select the parameter operator. The default value is set to is equal to/is in.

8. Click OK.

Creating a Report Against Multiple Subject Areas

You can use the report editor to link a report to multiple subject areas.

To add multiple subject areas to a report:

1. Use the report editor to open the report. The upper left corner displays the subjects
areas already linked to the report as shown in the following figure:

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 Editing Reports

2. Click Edit Subject Areas to launch the Select Subject Areas dialog as shown in the
following figure:

3. From the Available pane, select one or more subject areas.

4. Click Add to move the subject area(s) to the Selected pane.

5. Click Finish.

Editing Reports
Navigate to the report editor through the Create Report process flow or by clicking a
report's Edit link in the catalog.
The report editor is shown in the following figure:

Creating and Editing Reports 2-13

Adding Layouts to the Report Definition

Use the report editor to:

• Add layouts

• Configure layouts

• Configure the parameters for this report

• Configure the report properties

• Update the data model associated with the report

This procedure addresses these options in the order listed.

Adding Layouts to the Report Definition

You can add a layout to a report by any of the three options.
To add a new layout, from the report editor, click Add New Layout. The Add Layout
page is shown in the following figure.

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 Adding Layouts to the Report Definition

There are three options for adding a layout to a report:

• Create Layout - Select one of the basic or shared templates to launch the Layout
Editor.

• Upload Layout - Upload a template file layout that you have designed in one of the
supported file types.

• Generate Layout - Automatically generate a simple RTF layout.

Adding a Layout Using the Layout Editor

Follow these steps to add a layout using the Layout Editor.

To add a layout using the Layout Editor:

1. Under the Create Layout region, click one of the basic or shared templates to
launch the Layout Editor. The shared templates are preformatted layouts with
common report components already inserted.

2. Design the template. For information on using the Layout Editor, see Creating BI
Publisher Layout Templates.

3. When finished, click Save. In the Save Template dialog enter a name for this layout
and select a locale. Click Save.

4. Click Return to return to the Report Editor.

5. Configure the settings for the layout. See Configuring Layouts Using the List View.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-15

Configuring Layouts Using the List View

Adding a Layout by Uploading a Template File

Uploading a template file assumes that you have followed the instructions in this
guide for creating a template file (RTF, PDF, Excel, Flash, or eText).

To add a layout by uploading a template file:

1. Under the Upload or Generate Layout region, click the Upload icon.

2. In the Upload dialog, perform the following:

• Enter a Layout Name.

• Click Browse to locate the Template File in the local file system.

• Select the Template Type from the list.

• Select the Template Locale from the list.

• Click Upload.

If you are connected to BI Publisher through the Template Builder you can upload the
layout file directly from the client tool.
For more information, see Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for
Word.

Adding a Layout by Generating a Template File

Follow these steps to add a layout by generating a template file.

To add a layout by generating a template file:

1. Under the Upload or Generate Layout region, click the Generate icon.

2. In the Autogenerate Layout dialog, perform the following:

• Enter a Template Name for the layout.

• Click Generate.

The autogenerate feature creates a simple table-based RTF layout that includes all the
fields in the data model.

Note:
The autogenerate layout feature can only be used with data sets for which
metadata is available. Therefore this feature cannot be used with data sets
generated from stored XML files, HTTP feeds, Web services, or migrated data
templates.

Configuring Layouts Using the List View

After creating or uploading the layouts for the report, you can configure settings for
the layout from the List View.
The following figure shows the List View.

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 Configuring Layouts Using the List View

Applying a Style Template to the Layout

A style template contains style definitions that are applied to the paragraphs,
headings, tables, and headers and footers of a report. A style template is optional and
can only be applied to an RTF template file.
For more information on creating a style template, see Creating and Implementing
Style Templates.
To apply a style template to this layout:

1. Click Choose to browse for and select the style template.

2. To apply the style template to an individual layout in the list, select theApply Style
Template box for that layout in the list of properties.

About the Layouts Toolbar

The table explains the actions that you can do with the layout toolbar buttons.
The Layout toolbar buttons are described in the following table.

Toolbar Button Description

Create Launches the add layout page to upload or create a new layout.

Edit Launches the Layout Editor for the selected layout. This button is
enabled for BI Publisher layouts (.xpt) only.

Properties Launches the Properties page to enable the upload of localized

templates and XLIFF files to associate with this layout. This button is
enabled for RTF (.rtf) and BI Publisher layouts (.xpt) only.
For more information on localizing templates, see Translation Support
Overview and Concepts.

Delete Deletes the selected layout.

Configuring the Layout Settings Using the List View

Configure these layout settings using List View.
The settings are described in the following table:

Setting Description
Name Place the cursor in the text box to enter a new name for the layout.

Template File Displays the name of the file that was saved to the report definition. Click the
template file name to download it.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-17

Configuring Layouts Using the List View

Setting Description
Type Displays the template file type.

Output Select the output types to be enabled for this layout. By default, all valid
Formats output types for a layout are enabled. The layout type determines the output
types available. See Selecting Output Formats for the complete list.

Default Format Select the default output format for this layout when viewed or scheduled.

Default Layout Select the layout that this report uses by default when viewed online or
scheduled. Only one box in this column can be checked.

Apply Style Select this box to apply the style template to this layout. Note that a style
Template template can only be applied to RTF template files. For more information, see
Applying a Style Template to the Layout.

Active By default a layout is active. Clear this box when you want to keep the layout
as part of the report definition, but no longer make it available. When a
layout is inactive it does not display in the report viewer or the scheduler.

View Online By default, a layout is available for report consumers who open the report in
the Report Viewer. If this layout is for scheduled reports only, clear this box.

Locale Displays the locale selected when the layout was uploaded. This field is not
updatable.

Selecting Output Formats

BI Publisher supports a wide range of output formats.
Different layout types support different output types. The first table lists all possible
output types. The second table lists valid output formats for each layout type.

Output Format Description

Data (CSV) Enable this option to generate comma separated value output.

Data (XML) Enable this option to generate XML output.

Excel (mhtml) Enable this output type to view the report in Excel when report consumers
have Microsoft Excel 2003. This option generates an MHTML format file
that can be opened in Excel 2003 or later. This option supports embedded
images, such as charts and logos; nested tables are not supported.

Excel (html) Enable this output type only when report consumers are running the
earlier versions of Microsoft Excel 2000 or 2002. This option generates
HTML that can be opened in Excel. It does not support embedded images
or nested tables.

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 Configuring Layouts Using the List View

Output Format Description

Excel (*.xlsx) Enable this option to generate the report in Excel.xlsx (Excel XML format).
If your report consumers have Excel 2007 or later installed, this option
provides the best preservation of layout and formatting.
Note: For this output format BI Publisher does not apply any formatting
for number and date. BI Publisher saves the formatting mask and the
actual value (date or number) into the XLSX output file. The formatting is
handled by Microsoft Excel. For example:
• If the Microsoft Windows Region and Language of the client computer
is set to English (United States), then the numbers and dates are
formatted in en-US locale in the Excel 2007 output file.
• If the Microsoft Windows Region and Language of the client computer
is set to French (France), then the numbers and dates in the same Excel
2007 output file are formatted in fr-FR locale.

FO Formatted This option generates a XSL-FO (Extensible Stylesheet Language

XML Formatting Objects) file. This output type is useful for debugging
templates.

HTML Enable HTML output for reports that require browser viewing.

Interactive This output is only available for layouts designed using BI Publisher's
Layout Editor. Interactive output enables pop-up chart value displays,
scrollable and filterable tables, and other interactive features for a report.

MHTML Enable Mime Hyper Text Markup Language to allow the report consumer
to save a Web page and its resources as a single MHTML file (.mht), in
which all images and linked files are saved as a single entity. A report
consumer would use this option to send or save HTML output and retain
the embedded images and stylesheet formatting.

PDF Portable Document Format is commonly required for reports that require
printing or sharing.

PDF/A Use for reports that require long-term preservation or archiving. PDF/A is
a specialized subset of the PDF standard that prohibits elements that may
interfere with the preservation of the file as a self-contained document.
For more information see Generating PDF/A Output.

PDF/X Use for reports that require formatting for prepress graphics exchange.
PDF/X is a specialized subset of the PDF standard that streamlines
documents for high-quality print production output and restricts content
that does not serve the print production, such as signatures, comments,
and embedded multimedia.
For more information see Generating PDF/X output.

PowerPoint Enable this output type to generate a PowerPoint file compatible with
(mhtml) Microsoft PowerPoint 2003. Note that Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 does not
support this output type. Choose PowerPoint (*.pptx) instead.

PowerPoint Enable this output type to generate a Microsoft PowerPoint file in

(*.pptx) Microsoft Office Open XML format. This output type is supported for
versions of Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 and later.

RTF Rich Text Format. Enable this output for reports that must be opened for
editing.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-19

Configuring Layouts Using the List View

Output Format Description

Text This option generates text output for eText templates. Text output is
available only for eText templates.

Word Generates Microsoft Word .docx file.

Zipped PDFs BI Publisher can generate a zip file containing the report PDF output and
index files. This option is only available for layouts that have been
designed to enable zipped PDF output. For information on designing a
report to generate zipped PDF, see Generating Zipped PDF Output.

Note: Data (CSV) and Data (XML) output formats are available for all layout
types. However, when you select either of these formats, no layout formatting
is applied and only data is included in the output.

Layout Type Valid Output Types

BI Publisher template created using Data (CSV), Data (XML), Excel (mhtml), Excel (html),
the layout editor (XPT) FO Formatted XML, HTML, Interactive, MHTML, PDF,
PDF/A, PDF/X, PowerPoint (mhtml), PowerPoint
(*.pptx), RTF, Word, Zipped PDFs

RTF template (RTF) Data (CSV), Data (XML), Excel (mhtml), Excel (html),
Excel (*.xlsx), FO Formatted XML, HTML, MHTML,
PDF, PDF/A, PDF/X, PowerPoint (mhtml),
PowerPoint (*.pptx), RTF, Word, Zipped PDFs

PDF template (PDF) Data (CSV), Data (XML), PDF, Zipped PDFs

Excel template (XLS) Data (CSV), Data (XML), Excel (*.xls), Excel (html)

Flash template (SWF) Data (CSV), Data (XML), Flash, MHTML, PDF

XSL Stylesheet (FO) (XSL) Same outputs as RTF template

XSL Stylesheet (HTML XML/Text) Data (CSV), Data (XML), HTML, Text
(XSL)

eText template (RTF) Data (CSV), Data (XML), Text

Analyzer template (XPA) (Supported for backward compatibility only.) Analyzer

templates can be uploaded from previous versions of
BI Publisher. The Online Analyzer in current versions
of BI Publisher exports the online analysis to layout
editor templates (.xpt).

Editing a Layout
Follow these steps to edit a BI Publisher layout and other template types.

To edit a BI Publisher layout (.xpt file type):

• Select the report from the list and click Edit.

To edit any other template type:

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 Configuring Parameter Settings for the Report

• Click the File name link to download the layout to a local computer for editing.

Configuring Parameter Settings for the Report

Parameters are defined in the data model. The report editor enables you to configure
the parameter settings specifically for each report that uses the data model.

To configure the parameters for this report:

1. On the Report Editor page, click Parameters. The Parameters dialog is displayed as
shown in the following figure:

2. Customize the parameter settings for this report by making selections for the
following display options:

Parameter Location
This property controls where the parameter region is displayed in the report
viewer. The options are:

• Horizontal Region - displays the parameters horizontally across the top of the
report viewer

• Vertical Region - displays the parameters vertically along the left side of the
report viewer

• Full Page - displays the parameters on a separate page in the report viewer.
After a user enters parameter values, the page is dismissed. To change
parameter values, click the report viewer Parameters button to display the
Parameters page again.

• Dialog - invokes a dialog box to display the parameters. After a user enters
parameter values, the dialog is dismissed. To change parameter values, click the
report viewer Parameters button to display the dialog again.
Parameter Label Location
This property controls where the parameter labels are displayed. The options are:

• Place label on side - places the parameter label to the left side of the entry box.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-21

Configuring Parameter Settings for the Report

• Place label on top - places parameter label on top of the entry box.
Show Apply Button
This property controls the display of the Apply button in the report viewer.
When set to True, reports with parameter options will display the Apply button in
the report viewer. When a user changes the parameter values, he must click Apply
to render the report with the new values.
When set to False, the report viewer does not display the Apply button. Instead,
when a user enters a new parameter value, BI Publisher automatically renders the
report after the new value is selected or entered without further action from the
user.
This property is also set at the server level. To always use the server setting, choose
the Default option. For information about configuring the server setting, see Setting
Report Viewer Properties in Administrator's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence
Publisher.
When deciding whether to remove the Apply button consider the ability of the
underlying data sources to quickly return data. Lists of values that are based on
static lists or very fast data sources are ideally suited to turning off the Apply
button. If the underlying data sources for the lists of values queries are slow, or if
there are many parameter values to set and refine before rendering the report, then
retaining the Apply button is recommended.
Show
This property controls whether the parameter is displayed to the user. Disable the
Show property if you do not want the user to see or change the parameter values
that are passed to the data model.
Type
This property is customizable for menu type parameters only. For menu type
parameters, the following display options are available:

• Check box
If the parameter allows multiple selections, (Multiple = True) this option is
available. The check box type displays all menu options in the parameter region
of the report. Users can make multiple selections, as shown the following figure:

• Radio button
If the parameter allows only a single selection (Multiple = False), this option is
available. The radio button type displays all menu options in the parameter
region of the report. Users can make a single selection as shown in the following
figure:

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 Configuring Report Properties

Note:

The check box and radio button options are best suited for menus when the
list of values is small. These options also display well when the Parameter
Location is the vertical region.

Multiple
This property is display only; it indicates whether multiple values may be selected
for a menu parameter.
Display Label
Use this property to edit the display labels shown for each parameter. The default
values are defined in the data model.
Default Value
Use this property to configure the default value for the parameter specifically for
this report. Choose Default to pass the default value defined in the data model.
Row Placement
Use this property to configure the number of rows for displaying the parameters
and in which row to place each parameter. For example, if your report has six
parameters, you can assign each parameter to a separate row, 1 - 6, with one being
the top row; or, you can assign two parameters each to rows 1, 2, 3. By default, all
parameters are assigned to row 1.
Note that when the Parameter Location property is set to Vertical Region, only one
parameter displays per row. You can use the Row Placement property to order the
rows vertically.

Configuring Report Properties

Launch the Report Properties dialog by clicking Properties in the page header to
configure report properties.
The following figure shows the Report Properties dialog.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-23

Configuring Report Properties

The Report Properties dialog has the following option sets:

• General - Set general properties for the report.

• Caching - Specify caching options for this report.

• Formatting - Set the runtime configuration properties for the report. See Setting
Report Processing and Output Document Properties for information on setting
these properties.

• Font Mapping - Create font mappings for this report.

• Currency Format - Define currency formats for this report.

Setting the General Properties

Set the properties on the General tab as follows:

Description
(Optional) Enter a description to display with the report in the catalog. This text is
translatable.

Run Report Online

Disable this property if you do not want users to view this report in the online Report
Viewer.

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 Configuring Report Properties

When disabled, users can Schedule the report only. For most reports you keep this
enabled. Disable it for long-running, batch, or other reports for which online viewing
is not appropriate. When this property is enabled, you can also set the properties that
are described in the following table.

Property Description Default

Show controls This property controls the display of the control region Enabled
of the report. The Control region consists of the
Template list, Output list, and Parameter lists. Disable
this property if you do not want users to view and
update these options.

Allow Sharing The Actions menu of the Report Viewer includes the Enabled
Report Links option Share Report Link, which enables users to
display the URL for the current report. Disable this
property if you do not want users to see and copy the
report link.

Open Links in This property controls how links contained within a Enabled
New Window report are opened. By default links open in a new
browser window. Disable this property to open links in
the same browser window.

Asynchronous Reports run in asynchronous mode use a unique Not Enabled

Mode thread to execute the report when run in the report
viewer. This allows BI Publisher to cleanly terminate
the thread if a user cancels the report execution. Note
that there are performance implications when enabling
this property.

Auto Run When this property is enabled the report automatically Enabled
runs when the user selects the Open link for the report.
When Auto Run is disabled, selecting the Open link for
the report displays the online viewer but does not run
the report. The user must select an output type from
the View Report menu to run the report.

Advanced Options
The table describes the report properties of advanced options.
The following table describes the Advanced properties.

Property Description
Enable Bursting To enable bursting of the report output, select this box and then
select the appropriate bursting definition from the list. When a
user schedules the report, the selected bursting definition will
be enabled in the Scheduler.
The bursting definition is a component of the data model. For
more information, see Adding Bursting Definitions in Data
Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-25

Configuring Report Properties

Property Description
Report is Controlled by Enable this option when BI Publisher is integrated with another
External Application. application that controls the running of this report and you do
Users cannot run or not want users to run and view this report directly from the
schedule report from catalog. Reports run by BI Publisher are stored in the BI
catalog, can view history Publisher history tables and users can view completed reports
from the Report Job History page.

Enterprise Scheduler Job This property applies to Oracle Fusion Applications

Package Name implementations only.

Enterprise Scheduler Job This property applies to Oracle Fusion Applications

Definition Name implementations only.

Setting the Caching Properties

There are a few options you can set for caching.
The following illustration shows the Caching tab.

The following table describes the properties on the Caching tab.

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 Configuring Report Properties

Variable Description Default

Enable Data When this property is enabled, the data generated by Not Enabled
Caching the online submission of this report is stored in the
cache. Subsequent requests to run this report with the
same parameter selections display the report using the
data that is stored in the cache. This setting enhances
performance by using stored data to generate a report
rather than regenerating the data from the source. The
data remains in the cache according to the time limit
that is specified in the Cache Duration property. You
can control whether the cache for the report is shared
by users by setting the User Level property. When data
caching is enabled, you have the options of setting the
following properties:

Caching Enter the time limit for a report data set or document to 30 minutes
Duration remain in cache. Once the time limit has expired, the
(Minutes) next request for the same report generates a fresh data
set.

User Level This property stores a separate cache for each user. The Enabled
report data shown to each user comes only from the
private cache. When enabled, this property ensures
that each user can only see data that they are
authorized to view. However, user-level cache has less
efficient performance. If the report data is not user
sensitive, you can disable this property to enhance
performance.

Document Enable this property to cache the report document. Enabled

Caching With document cache enabled, when a user views the
report online, the document (data plus layout) is
placed in the cache. When any other user (unless User
Level is enabled) uses the online viewer to view the
exact same report (same layout, same output type,
same parameter selections) the document is retrieved
from the cache. The document remains in the cache
according to the caching duration specified. Note that
scheduled reports do not use document cache.

User Can When this property is enabled, the user can choose to Not Enabled
Refresh Report refresh the data on demand. When the user clicks
Data Refresh in the report viewer, BI Publisher generates a
fresh data set for the report.

Setting the Formatting Properties

The Formatting properties tab enables you to set runtime properties at the report level.
These same properties can also be set at the system level, from the Administration
page. The Formatting properties tab displays both the system-level setting and the
report-level setting for each property. If different values are set at each level, the report
level takes precedence.
For a full description of each property, see Setting Report Processing and Output
Document Properties.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-27

Configuring Report Properties

Configuring Font Mapping

BI Publisher's font mapping feature enables you to map base fonts in RTF or PDF
templates to target fonts to be used in the published document. Font mappings can be
set at the report level or the system level. When you view the report properties Font
Mapping tab, any system level settings are displayed. To change the settings for this
report, edit the font mappings here.
For detailed information on font mapping, see Defining Font Mappings.

To create a font mapping:

1. Under RTF Templates or PDF Templates, select Add Font Mapping.

2. Enter the following on the Add Font Mapping page:

• Base Font: Enter the font family to map to a new font. Example: Arial

• Select the Style: Normal or Italic (Not applicable to PDF Template font
mappings)

• Select the Weight: Normal or Bold (Not applicable to PDF Template font
mappings)

• Select the Target Font Type: Type 1 or TrueType

• Enter the Target Font.

If you selected TrueType, then you can enter a specific numbered font in the
collection. Enter the TrueType Collection (TTC) Number of the desired font.
For a list of the predefined fonts, see BI Publisher's Predefined Fonts.

Configuring Currency Formats

The Currency Format tab enables you to map a number format mask to a specific
currency so that reports can display multiple currencies with their own corresponding
formatting. Currency formatting is only supported for RTF and XSL-FO templates.
Currency formats can be set at the report level or the system level. When you view the
report properties Currency Format tab, any system level settings are displayed. To
change the settings for this report, edit the currency format here.
To apply these currency formats in an RTF template, you must use the format-
currency function. See Formatting Currencies for detailed procedures.

To add a currency format:

1. Click the Add icon.

2. Enter the ISO currency code, for example: USD, JPY, EUR, GBP, INR.

3. Enter the format mask to apply for this currency.

The Format Mask must be in the Oracle number format. The Oracle number format
uses the components "9", "0", "D", and "G" to compose the format, for example:
9G999D00
where

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 Accessing Reports via a URL

9 represents a displayed number only if present in data

G represents the group separator
D represents the decimal separator
0 represents an explicitly displayed number regardless of incoming data
For more information about these format mask components, see Using the Oracle
Format Mask.

The following figure shows sample currency formats:

Accessing Reports via a URL

This section describes how to call a BI Publisher report via a URL from another
application.
For example, from a portal or from an Application Express application. It contains the
following topics:

Security Considerations
In the BI Publisher security model, reports are placed in folders and those folders are
then secured to a role and a role assigned to a user.
For a user to successfully access the report, you must ensure that the user is
credentialed within BI Publisher to see it. There are two options for this:

• Use the Guest folder

Reports in the Guest folder are available to all users to see and run. Use this option
if the report does not contain sensitive data. Enable the Guest folder on the
Security Configuration tab of the Security Center page. For more information, see
Enabling a Guest User in the Administrator's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence
Publisher.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-29

Accessing Reports via a URL

• Use SSO
If both the calling application and BI Publisher are configured as partner
applications in an SSO server, you can call any report via a URL, and, as long as the
user has rights to see or run the report, then BI Publisher will render it without the
need for the user to log in. For more information on setting up security options, see
Configuring BI Publisher with Single Sign-on (SSO) in Administrator's Guide for
Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

Building the URL

You can call a BI Publisher report via a URL, for which you can build the URL.
The basic URL for a report is:
http://<server:port>/xmlpserver/<ReportDirectory>/
<ReportName>.xdo
where
server:port - is the name of the server and port number where BI Publisher is
running
xmlpserver - is a required static string (the name of the application)
ReportDirectory - is the folder path to the report. When the report is under
Shared Folders, do not include "Shared Folders" in the path. If the report is under
My Folders, include the ~username as the first node in the path. See the examples
following.
ReportName.xdo - is the name of the report with the .xdo extension. If the name
contains spaces, replace the space with a "+" character.
Examples:
The following URL launches the North America Sales report. The report resides in the
catalog under Shared Folders/Samples/Sales. Note that Shared Folders is not included
in the path.
http://example.com:7001/xmlpserver/Samples/Sales/North+America
+Sales.xdo
The following URL launches the North America Sales report that resides in the catalog
under My Folders/Samples/Sales. Note that the user name in this case is weblogic,
therefore the first node in the path is ~weblogic.
http://example.com:7001/xmlpserver/~weblogic/Samples/Sales/North
+America+Sales.xdo

Specifying Parameters in the URL

The preceding examples render the complete report inside the BI Publisher report
viewer with all the report controls.
The default layout, default output format, and default parameters are used to render
the report. You can add parameters to the URL to specify how the report renders.
When constructing the URL, note the following standard URL syntax:? - denotes the
first parameter& - denotes each additional parameter
The following table describes more parameters you can add to the URL.

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 Accessing Reports via a URL

Parameter Definition Example Usage

_xpt Specifies whether to render the report in the BI _xpt=0
Publisher report viewer or export the document to a
new window appropriate for the output type. For
example, if the output type specified is html, the report
document (only) will render in a browser window; if
the output type is PDF you will be prompted to save or
open the PDF document. When this parameter is not
specified, the report renders in the BI Publisher report
viewer.
Valid values are:
• 0 - renders the report in the BI Publisher report
viewer
• 1- exports the document to appropriate application
window

_xdo (Optional) Provides the path to the report. _xdo=%2FSamples%2FSalary

+Report.xdo

_xt Specifies the layout to use. Enter the name of the layout _xt=Manager+Summary
as defined in the report definition. If an invalid name is
entered, the default layout is used.

_xf Specifies the output format. If no value is specified, the _xf=pdf

default output format is used. If an invalid value is
specified, or, if a value is specified that is not enabled
for the layout, the report does not render. Valid values
are:
• analyze - use for Interactive output
• rtf
• docx
• pdf
• html
• pptx - use for PowerPoint 2007
• ppt - use for PowerPoint
• xml - use for Data
• excel - use for Excel
• excel2000 - use for Excel 2000
• xslx - use for Excel 2007
• csv

Report parameters Specify name-value pairs for the parameters specific to dept=10
as named in the data the report. You must use the parameter name as
model defined in the data model.

Creating and Editing Reports 2-31

Accessing Reports via a URL

Parameter Definition Example Usage

_xmode Specifies the report viewer mode. If not specified, _xmode=1
defaults to view in the full report viewer. Valid values
are:
• 0 - view in the full report viewer.
• 1 - hide BI Publisher banner, hide parameters, can
change layout, other actions: export only.
• 2 - hide BI Publisher banner. (No Header)
• 3 - hide BI Publisher banner, hide parameters (No
Parameters)
• 4 - report document only: hide BI Publisher banner,
hide parameters, hide other actions, hide layouts.
(Document Only)

Example:
http://example.com:7001/xmlpserver/Samples/Salary+Report.xdo?
_xpt=0&_xdo=%2FSamples%2FSalary
%20Report.xdo&_xmode=4&dept=10&_xt=Simple&_xf=html
This URL runs the report "Salary Report" located under Shared Folders/Samples. Note
the following:
_xpt=0 renders the document in the report viewer
_xdo=%2FSamples%2FSalary%20Report.xdo defines the report path
_xmode=4 renders the document only
dept=10 sets the report-specific parameter "dept" to "10"
_xt=Simple uses the layout called "Simple"
_xf=html sets the output format to html

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 3
Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates

This chapter describes creating BI Publisher layout templates using the layout editor.
The chapter includes the following topics:

• Overview of BI Publisher Layouts

• Launching the Layout Editor

• About the Layout Editor Interface

• Page Layout Tab

• Inserting Layout Components

• Inserting Layout Grids

• About Repeating Sections

• About Data Tables

• About Charts

• About Gauge Charts

• About Pivot Tables

• About Text Items

• About Images

• About Lists

• Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas

• Saving a Layout

Overview of BI Publisher Layouts

Release 11g of Oracle BI Publisher introduces a new type of layout template.
The BI Publisher Layout template enables end users to:

• View Dynamic HTML output and perform lightweight interaction with their report
data from within a browser

• Generate high fidelity, pixel perfect reports to PDF, RTF, Excel, PowerPoint, and
static HTML
BI Publisher Layout Templates are created using the BI Publisher Layout Editor - a
design tool that provides a WYSIWIG, drag and drop interface for creating pixel
perfect reports in PDF, RTF, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and HTML. It also provides

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-1

Overview of BI Publisher Layouts

dynamic HTML output that supports lightweight interaction through a browser. This
interactive output is featured in the following illustration.

Notice the following features:

• Pop-up chart details - Hover cursor over chart items to display details of data.

• Group filtering - Grouped regions can be filtered by the grouping element.

• Scrollable tables - Table data can be scrolled while maintaining display of the
headers and totals.

• Table column sorting - Table data can be sorted by different columns from within
the viewer.

• Table column filtering - Table data can be filtered by values in different columns
from within the viewer.

• Automatic table totaling - Table data totals are automatically added to the layout.

• Propagated filtering - Filter other components by clicking on chart areas or by

clicking on pivot table header, column, or elements.

• Collapse and expand areas of the document.

When to Use a BI Publisher Layout

BI Publisher layouts are best suited for reports of simple to medium complexity that
do not require custom coding.

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 Launching the Layout Editor

Because the dynamic HTML view is only available for BI Publisher layouts, BI
Publisher layouts must be used when there is a requirement to enable a report
consumer to interact with the report (change sorting, apply filters, and so on).

Prerequisites, Recommendations, and Limitations

These tips will help you use BI Publisher more effectively.

• To use the layout editor, your account must be granted a role that includes the
appropriate permissions for accessing report layout tools.

• You must attach sample data to the data model before you create a new layout. For
information on adding sample data to the data model, see Testing Data Models and
Generating Sample Data in Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence
Publisher.

• For optimum viewing, set your display resolution to 1024 x 768 or higher.

• BI Publisher can handle a large amount of data for interactive sorting and filtering
and still provide fast response. Still it is a best practice to summarize data in the
Data Model to the level of interest for the consumer for optimal performance. BI
Publisher layouts can generate static output such as PDF or RTF documents up to
50% faster than comparable RTF layouts depending on the data.

• The layout editor does not support namespaces or attributes in the XML data.

Launching the Layout Editor

The layout editor is available in several places.
Launch the layout editor in one of the following ways:

• When Creating a New Report

• When Editing a Report

• When Viewing a Report

When Creating a New Report

You can use the Layout Editor to change the appearance of a report.
To launch the Layout Editor when creating a new report:

1. Select the data model for the new report.

The Report Editor displays the Add Layout page.

2. From the Create Layout region, click a predefined template to launch the Layout
Editor.

When Editing a Report

You can alter the layout of a report using the Layout Editor.
To launch the Layout Editor when editing a report:

1. In the Report Editor:

From the Thumbnail view, click Add New Layout.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-3

Launching the Layout Editor

or
From the List view, click the Create button on the layouts table toolbar.

2. From the Create Layout region, click a predefined template to use to launch the
Layout Editor.

When Viewing a Report

You can change the layout of a report while viewing it.
To launch the Layout Editor when viewing a report:

• Click Actions and then click Edit Layout.

The layout must have been created in the layout editor.

Selecting a Predefined Layout

When you create a new layout, you are given the option of selecting a predefined
layout to help you get started.
The following illustration shows the predefined layouts offered by the Basic and
Shared Templates.

The Basic and Shared Templates offer common layout structures with specific
components already added. Choosing one of the predefined layouts is optional, but
can facilitate layout design. If your enterprise utilizes a common design that is not
available here, then you can add predefined layouts for your own use, or your
Administrator can add more for all users.

Adding Shared Templates for All Users

Follow the steps to add redefined layout files to the shared directory for all users to
access.

3-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 About the Layout Editor Interface

To add predefined layout files to the shared directory for all users to access:

1. Log in with Administrator privileges and navigate to the Catalog.

2. In the Shared Folders directory, open the Components folder.

3. Locate the Boilerplates report and click Edit.

4. Click Add New Layout.

5. Design or upload the layout.

To design the layout: Click an existing boilerplate (or blank) to launch the layout
editor. Insert the components to the layout. When finished, click Save and give the
boilerplate a name. This layout is now displayed to all users in the Shared
Templates region.
To upload a layout: Click Upload to upload a predefined BI Publisher Template
(.xpt file).

6. Save the report.

Any BI Publisher Templates (.xpt) added to this report are displayed to all users as a
Shared Template.

Adding Personal Predefined Layouts

Adding personal predefined layouts are available to your account user only. You can
design the layout by launching the layout editor or you can upload a predefined
template.

To add predefined layouts that are available to your account user only:

1. Navigate to My Folders.

2. Create a new report called "Boilerplates". This report does not have a data model.

3. Click Add New Layout.

4. Design or upload the layout.

To design the layout: Click an existing boilerplate (or blank) to launch the layout
editor. Insert the components to the layout. When finished, click Save and give the
boilerplate a name.
To upload a layout: Click Upload to upload a predefined BI Publisher Template
(.xpt file).

These layouts are presented in the My Templates region when you create a new
layout.

About the Layout Editor Interface

The illustrated figure shows the layout editor interface.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-5

About the Layout Editor Interface

The Layout Editor interface comprises the following:

• The top of the Layout Editor contains two toolbars:

– The Static toolbar is always available and contains common commands such as
save and preview.

– The Tabbed toolbar includes the Insert tab, the Page Layout tab, and a dynamic
tab that shows the most commonly used actions and commands for the selected
layout component. You can collapse this toolbar to make more room to view the
design area. See About the Tabbed Toolbar.

• The accordion pane on the left contains the following:

– Use the Data Source pane to select the data fields to drag to the layout
components.

– Use the Components pane to select layout components and drag them to the
design area. You can also use the Insert tab to insert components when this
pane is collapsed.

– Use the Properties pane to modify properties for the selected layout component.
You can expand and display each control by clicking the title of the control or the
plus sign next to the title of the control. You can collapse the entire accordion pane
to allow more room to view the layout.

• The lower right region is the design area for building the layout.

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 About the Layout Editor Interface

About the Data Source Pane

The Data Source pane displays the structure of the data model and the data elements
that are available to insert into the layout.
To insert a data element, select and drag it from the Data Source pane to the
component in the layout.
The data type for each field is represented by an appropriate icon: number, date, or
text.
The following figure shows the data source pane. The icon beside each element
indicates the data type.

The JOB_TITLE element is shown as text, the SALARY element is shown as a number,
and the HIRE_DATE element is shown as a date data type.

Note:
When you enter dates in the Layout Editor (such as a data comparison for a
filter or for conditional formatting), use one of the following XSL date or time
formats: YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.

About the Components Pane

The Components pane contains the layout components that you can insert into a
report. These components include charts, pivot tables, and images. To insert a
component, simply drag and drop it to the layout.
You can also use the Insert menu to add components to the layout.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-7

About the Layout Editor Interface

About the Properties Pane

The Properties pane displays the properties for the selected component. The
properties displayed are determined by the selected component. Some of the
properties available in the Properties pane are also editable in the dynamic tab for the
component.
Click a property value to edit it. The change is applied to the component when you
move the cursor out of the field. Collapse or expand a property group by clicking the
plus or minus signs beside the group name.
The properties available for each component are discussed in detail in the
corresponding section for that component in this chapter. If a property field is blank,
then the default is used.
The following figure shows a sample Properties pane for a table column header.

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 About the Layout Editor Interface

About the Tabbed Toolbar

The section defines the tabs and their functions in the Tabbed toolbar.
The Tabbed toolbar contains the following tabs:

• The Insert tab provides the components and page elements that can be placed on a
layout. See Inserting Layout Components.

• The Page Layout tab provides common page-level tools and commands. See Page
Layout Tab.

• The component-specific tab provides the most commonly used commands and
properties for the component that is selected in the layout. For example, when you
select a chart, the Chart tab displays. See the section on a specific component for
details on the commands.
To set or control more properties for the selected component, open the Properties
pane in the accordion pane, as described in About the Properties Pane.

Selecting and Deleting Layout Objects

You can select layout objects to set the focus or remove the object entirely
Each of the component-specific tabs include the Select region.

• The Select tool enables you to control precisely which component on the layout has
focus. This ability is particularly helpful when working with a complex layout
where components overlap. For example, to select a table, it is sometimes difficult
to click the correct spot to select the table and not a column, or header cell. To avoid

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-9

Page Layout Tab

unnecessary clicking, use the Select tool to precisely select the Table component
from the list.
The following illustration shows the Select tool.

• The Delete tool provides a similar function to the Select tool to enable you to
precisely select the component to delete.

About the Insert Tab

Use the Insert tab to insert report components and page elements.

The Components group displays the report components that you can insert into the
layout. To insert a component, select and drag the item to the desired location in the
design area. For more information about each component, see its corresponding
section in this chapter.
The Page Elements group contains page-level elements for the report. To insert a page
break, the page number, or the total page number calculation, select and drag the
component to the desired position in the layout.

Note:

Page Elements are intended for paginated output types, such as PDF and RTF.
Using them in interactive or HTML output may have unexpected results.

Page Layout Tab

The Page Layout tab contains commands to set up the layout.
The figure below shows the Page Layout tab.

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 Page Layout Tab

Paper Options
Paper options include Orientation and Paper Size.

Option Description
Orientation Choose Portrait or Landscape.

Paper Size Select from the following paper size options: Letter, Legal, A4, A3,
Executive, B5, Com-10, Monarch DL, or C5. The paper size
determines the dimensions of the layout area.

Header/Footer Options
This table describes the header and footer options.

Option Description
Page Header Click to insert a page header in the layout. By default, the page header
appears on every page of a printed report, but can be configured to
skip the first page. To remove the page header, click Page Header
again.

Page Footer Click to insert a page footer in the layout. By default, the page footer
appears on every page of a printed report, but can be configured to
skip the last page. To remove the page footer, click Page Footer again.

Report Header Click to insert a report header to the layout. The report header appears
only once at the beginning of the report. To remove the report header,
click Report Header again.

Report Footer Click to insert a report footer to the layout. The report footer appears
only once at the end of the report. To remove the report footer, click
Report Footer again.

Setting Properties for Headers and Footers

The Properties pane enables you to set the following properties for headers and
footers.
To access the Properties pane, select the header or footer in the design region, then
click Properties from the accordion pane on the left of the page.
For all report and page headers and footers:

• Height - Set the height of the header region in pixels, points, centimeters, or inches
For headers:

• Show in the first page - Select True to show the header in the first page. Select
False to suppress the header from the first page.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-11

Page Layout Tab

This figure shows the Properties for a report header.

For footers:

• Show in the last page - Select True to show the footer in the last page. Select False
to suppress the footer from the last page.

View Options
The following table describes view options.

Option Description
Grid Click to insert gridlines in the layout design area. The grid unit
size depends on the Display Unit selected. To remove the
gridlines, click Grid again.

Ruler Click to insert a display ruler across the top of the layout design
area. The ruler units depend on the Display Unit. To remove the
ruler, click Ruler again.

Display Unit
Select the unit of measure to display. This unit is used for the ruler and grid view
options, as well as for any other function that displays a measurement, such as setting
border widths and sizing grid cells. Options are: inch, px (pixel), cm (centimeter), and
point (pt).

Interactivity: Event Configuration

The Configure Events feature enables you to configure how components of the layout
respond to events triggered by a user when viewing the report in interactive mode.
The two types of events are:

• Filter - If you click an element in a list, chart, or pivot table, that element is used to
dynamically filter other components defined as targets in the report. The
component being clicked does not change.

• Show Selection Only - If you click an element of a list, chart, or pivot table, the
chart or pivot table (being clicked) shows the results for the selected element only.
This action does not affect other components of the report.

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 Page Layout Tab

Example of Filter Event Configuration

The illustration here shows an example of filter event configuration. The layout
contains two charts and a table. The first chart shows salary totals by department in a
pie chart. The second chart shows salary totals by manager in a bar chart. The table
displays a list of employees and their salaries.
In this report, if a user clicks on a value in the Salary by Department chart, you want
the Salary by Manager chart and the Employees table to automatically filter to show
only the managers and employees in the selected department.

Configuring Automatic Filtering

Follow these steps to know how to configure automatic filtering.

To configure automatic filtering:

1. On the Page Layout tab, click Event Configuration to display the Configure Events
dialog.

The following figure shows the Configure Events dialog.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-13

Page Layout Tab

2. In the Components column, click the layout component (lists, charts, and pivot
tables are available to configure).

3. Select Filter to enable automatic filtering in other report components.

4. Select the report components in the Targets column to enable the automatic
filtering based on interactive events in the selected component. To disable the
automatic filtering for a target component, clear the box.

The preceding figure shows that the Filter event is enabled for Chart 1 in the
layout. Chart 2 and Table 3 are selected as targets to enable automatic filtering
when a selection event occurs in Chart 1.
The Show Selection Only option is not enabled for Chart 1. That means that Chart
1 continues to display all values when one of its elements is selected.

Example: Show Selection Only

The Show Selection Only event displays only the value of the selected element within
the chart or pivot table (being acted on).
In the example shown in the following figure, Chart 2 is configured with Show
Selection Only enabled and Filter enabled with Table 3 as the Target.

This configuration results in the output shown in the following figure. When the user
clicks on Chart 2, only the selected value is shown in Chart 2. Because the Filter event
is enabled for Table 3, the selection is applied as a filter to Table 3.

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 Page Layout Tab

Setting Page Margins

You can set page margins for reports.
To set the page margins for the report:

1. Click anywhere in the design area outside of an inserted component.

2. Click the Properties pane in the lower left of the Layout Editor. The following
illustration shows the Properties for the page.

3. Click the value shown for Margin to launch the Margin dialog.

The following illustration shows the Margin dialog.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-15

Page Layout Tab

4. Select the desired size for the margin. Enter the value for the Top, Left, Right, and
Bottom margins.

To automatically set the same value for all sides, select the box: Use same value for
all sides. This action disables all but the Top margin entry. Enter the value in the
Top to apply to all sides.

Setting Maximum Connections for an Interactive Report

You can limit the connections from the browser to the server for the interactive viewer.
More connections are faster but increase server load. The default is six connections.
Reduce the number to reduce the load on the server for large reports.
To set the maximum connections for this layout:

1. Click anywhere in the design area outside of an inserted component.

2. Click the Properties pane in the lower left of the Layout Editor. The following
illustration shows the Properties for the page.

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 Inserting Layout Components

3. Click the value shown for Max. Connections and select the desired value from the
list, as shown in the following illustration.

Inserting Layout Components

The layout editor supports components that are typically used in reports and other
business documents.
The followings components are described in these sections:

• Inserting Layout Grids

• About Repeating Sections

• About Data Tables

• About Charts

• About Gauge Charts

• About Pivot Tables

• About Text Items

• About Images

• About Lists

Inserting Layout Grids

The layout grid provides a way to divide a layout into sections.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-17

Inserting Layout Grids

It functions similarly to a table in HTML or Word documents to create forms or to

provide sophisticated layouts. Use a layout grid to control the exact placement of all
other components in the layout.
To insert a layout grid:

• Select and drag the Layout Grid component to the design area.
The following illustration shows the Create a Layout Grid dialog.

In the dialog, enter the number of rows and columns for the grid and click OK to
insert the grid to the design area, as shown in the following illustration.

Note the following about a layout grid:

• The grid is created with equidistant columns, and the row size defaults to a
minimum of one row of text.

• Although Font properties are not enabled for a layout grid cell (set font properties
using the individual component properties), the background color and border
properties are enabled.

• When you insert a component to a grid cell, it automatically resizes to

accommodate the component.

• Adjust the column width and height by either positioning the mouse pointer over
the border and dragging the blue bar, or by changing the grid column properties in
the Properties pane.

• The grid supports merging of cells.

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 Inserting Layout Grids

• You can insert a grid inside a grid.

• Similar to Microsoft Word, the grid uses a flow layout that is very convenient for
designing business documents. Components that do not occupy a full paragraph or
block are positioned top-down and left to right.

Adding a Border or Background Color

By default, the gridlines are displayed in the design area only and are not shown
during runtime. If you want to display the gridlines in the finished report, then select
the grid cell and click the Set Border command button to launch the Border dialog.

To add a background color to a cell:

• Click the Background Color command button to launch the Color Picker.

About the Insert Options

When you have inserted a layout grid, you can add additional rows or columns.
Select the layout grid cell that is the focal point, then click the appropriate command
button:

• Add a Row above

• Add a Column to the right

• Add a Row below

• Add a Column to the left

About the Join and Unjoin Options

Follow these steps to know how to join cells and to unjoin cells that have been joined.

To join cells horizontally or vertically:

1. Select multiple adjacent cells by holding down the Ctrl key and clicking each
grid cell.

2. Click the Join command button.

To unjoin cells that have been joined:

• Select the joined cell and click the Unjoin button.

Adding an Expand and Collapse Option

When viewing a report in interactive mode, you can expand and collapse a layout grid
to toggle the display of the grid's contents. Expand and Collapse are supported at the
grid level, (not the cell-level) therefore ensure to insert grids appropriately. For
example, if the report contains a chart in the top portion of the layout and a table in
the bottom and you want to collapse the chart display, you must insert one layout grid
to contain the chart and a second layout grid beneath the first to contain the table. Do
not insert one grid with two rows.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-19

About Repeating Sections

To enable the expand and collapse option:

1. Select the layout grid.

2. Open the Properties pane.

3. Set the Interactive: Expand/Collapse property to True. The following figure shows
this option on the Properties pane.

About Repeating Sections

Repeating sections repeat the components within the section of the layout based on the
occurrence of an element in the data. Repeating sections are used to create classic
banded reports, as well as repeating pages or sections for different data elements (such
as Group Above/Outline).

To create a repeating section:

1. Drag and drop the repeating section component to the layout.

2. In the Repeating Section dialog, select one of the following:

• Element - Specify the element for which the section repeats. For example, if the
dataset contains sales information for several countries. If you select COUNTRY
as the repeat-by element, then the section of the layout repeats for each unique
country occurring in the dataset.

• Group Detail - If you have nested sections, then select this option. To continue
the previous example, assuming there are unique data rows for each city and
grouping by country, then this option creates a section that repeats for each city.

The following figure shows a layout that has a repeating section defined for the
element Department. Within the repeating section are a chart that shows salaries by
manager and a table that shows all employee salaries. So for each occurrence of
department in the dataset, the chart and table are repeated.

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 About Repeating Sections

Setting Page Break Options for a Repeating Section

By default, for paginated output types, the page breaks automatically according to the
amount of content that fits on a page.
It is frequently desirable to have the report break after each occurrence of the repeated
content.
Using the preceding example, it is desirable for the PDF output of this report to break
after each department.
To create a break in the report after each occurrence of the repeating section:

1. Select the repeating section component.

2. Open the Properties pane.

3. Set the Page Break property to Page.

The following illustration shows the Properties for a repeating section.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-21

About Repeating Sections

How Repeating Sections Display in Interactive Mode

In interactive mode, the values for the repeat by element are displayed as a list of
values. This enables the report consumer to dynamically select and view the results.
The following figure shows the repeat by element Department displayed in a list of
values:

By contrast, the below figure shows the same layout displayed in PDF. In this example
the page break option is set so that each new department begins the repeating section
on a new page.

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 About Repeating Sections

Showing All Values in a Repeating Section

You can view all the values in a repeating section.
In interactive mode, the values for the repeat by element are displayed as a list of
values. By default, this list includes only the values present for the element in the data.
Therefore, a report consumer can view results for only one item at a time.
To enable a report consumer to view the results in the repeating section for all values
of the element, the Repeating Section component provides the property: Show All.
When this property is set to true, the value "All" is added to the list to enable the
display of results for all values.
To enable Show All:

1. Select the repeating section component.

2. Open the Properties pane.

3. Set the Show All property to True.

The following illustration shows the Show All setting in the Properties pane.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-23

About Data Tables

When you view the report, the option All is added to the menu of values, as shown in
the following illustration.

About Data Tables

The data table is a standard table that is shown in many layouts. It contains a header,
data columns, and a total row. The table supports "group left" functionality (outlines)

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 About Data Tables

that merges fields with the same values as well as subtotals, grand totals, custom
calculations, and running totals.
Once inserted, you can edit the table properties using the dynamic tabs or the
Properties pane. The following dynamic tabs are available for the table components:

• Table

• Table Column Header

• Column

• Total Cell
This section contains the following topics about working with tables:

• Inserting a Data Table

• Setting Alternating Row Colors

• About the Table Tab

• About the Table Column Header Tab

• About the Column Tab

• About the Total Cell Tab

• Inserting Dynamic Hyperlinks

Inserting a Data Table

Follow these steps to insert a data table and to add data columns to the table.

To insert a data table:

1. From the Insert tab, select and drag the Data Table component to the design area.

The following figure shows an example of an inserted, empty data table. Notice
that the Table tab is now displayed.

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About Data Tables

2. To add data columns to the table, select an element from the Data Source pane and
drag it to the table in the layout.

Note:

You cannot include elements from multiple data models in report components
unless the data models are linked. For more information, see Creating Element
Level Links in Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

The following figure shows the columns being added to the table. Notice that when
you drop a column on the table the sample data is immediately displayed.

3. Continue to drag the elements from the Data Source pane to form the columns of
the table. If you must reposition a column that you have already added, then select
it and drag it to the correct position.

The following figure shows a completed data table:

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Notice the following default behavior:

• A total row is automatically inserted. By default it calculates the sum of the

items in the column. You can remove this row or edit the display and
calculation applied. See About the Total Cell Tab.

• Default date formatting is applied. To change the default formatting, see About
the Column Tab.

• Default number formatting and alignment is applied. To change the default

formatting, see About the Column Tab.

Setting Alternating Row Colors

Some data tables are easier to read when the rows display alternating colors.
An example of alternating colors is shown in the following illustration.

To set an alternating row color:

1. Select the table.

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About Data Tables

2. Open the Properties pane.

3. Click the value shown for Alternate Row Color to launch the color picker. The
following illustration shows the Alternate Row Color option.

4. Choose a color and click OK.

About the Table Tab

The Table tab defines the functions that you can perform to display a table in a
customized manner.
The Table tab enables you to perform the following:

• Set the number of rows displayed

• Define filters for the data displayed in the table

• Define conditions and formats to apply to rows that meet the conditions

• Show or hide the total row for the table

The following figure shows the Table tab.

Setting the Rows to Display Option

The Rows to Display property controls the number of rows of data displayed
The property is set as follows:

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 About Data Tables

• When designing the layout, this property sets the number of rows that are
displayed for the table within the layout editor.

• When viewing this layout in the report viewer in interactive mode, this property
sets the size of the scrollable region for the table.
The default is 10 rows of data. You can select 10, 20, 30, 40, or All rows of data to be
displayed. To set a custom value, open the Properties pane and enter the custom value
for the Rows to Display property.

Note: Displaying more rows of data can impact the performance of the
Layout Editor.

About Filters
A filter refines the displayed items by a condition. This is a powerful feature that
enables you to display only desired elements in the table without having to perform
additional coding.
For example, you could add a filter to meet some of the following report conditions:

• Display only the top 10 salaries

• Display only the bottom 25 store sales

• Display only employees in the IT department

• Display only sales that are between $10,000 and $20,000 and in the Southern region
You can add multiple filters and manage the order in which they are applied to the
table data.

Setting Filters for a Table

You can use a filter to narrow table results.
To set a filter:

1. Click the Filter toolbar button.

2. Enter the fields to define a filter, as described in the following table.

Field Description
Data Field Select the data field to filter the table data by. All elements are
available regardless of whether they are included as table columns.

Operator Select from the following operators: is equal to is not equal to is

less than is greater than is less than or equal to is greater than or
equal to is between is in top is in bottom

Value Enter the value or values appropriate for the operator selected. The
value can be either a text entry, or an element from the data.

Managing Filters
After you have added filters, use the Manage Filters feature to edit, delete, or change
the order that the filters are applied.
To manage filters:

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About Data Tables

1. Click the Manage Filters toolbar button to launch the Manage Filters dialog, as
shown in the following illustration.

2. Hover the cursor over the filter to display the actions toolbar. Use the toolbar
buttons to edit the filter, move the filter up or down in the order of application,
delete, or add another filter.

About Conditional Formats

A conditional format changes the formatting of an element in the table based on a
condition.
This feature is extremely useful for highlighting target ranges of values in the table.
For example, you could create a set of conditional formats for the table that display
rows in different colors depending on threshold values.

Applying Conditional Formats to a Table

This table describes the different fields in the Highlight dialog.

To apply a conditional format:

1. Click the Highlight button. This launches the Highlight dialog, as shown in the
following figure.

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2. Enter the fields to define a condition and format to apply, as described in the
following table.

Field Description
Data Field Select the data field to apply the condition to. All elements are
available regardless of whether they are included as table columns.
For example, you may want to highlight in red all employees with
salaries greater than $10,000, but not actually include the salary
element in the table.

Operator Select from the following operators: is equal to is not equal to is

less than is greater than is less than or equal to is greater than or
equal to is between

Value Enter the value or values appropriate for the operator selected. The
value can be either a text entry, or an element from the data.

Note: If entering a date value, use on

of the following XSL date or time
formats: YYYY-MM-DD or YYYY-MM-
DDTHH:MM:SS.

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About Data Tables

Field Description
Font Family Select the font to apply to the row of data that meets the condition.
You can also apply bold, italic, or underline emphasis.

Size Select the size of the font to apply to the row of data that meets the
condition.

Color Click the color box to open the Color Picker. Choose one of the
predefined colors or click Custom Color to define a color to apply
to the font.

Background Color Click the color box to open the Color Picker. Choose one of the
predefined colors or click Custom Color to define the background
color to apply to the row.

The following figure shows the table in the layout with the condition applied.

Managing Formats
After you have added conditional formats, use the Manage Formats command to edit
or delete a format.
To manage formats:

1. Click the Manage Formats button to launch the Manage Conditional Formats
dialog, as shown in the following illustration.

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2. Hover the cursor over an item to display the actions toolbar. Use the toolbar
buttons to edit the format, move the format up or down in the order of application,
delete, or add another format. The order of the conditions is important because
only the first condition that is met is applied.

Controlling the Display of the Total Row

By default, the layout editor inserts a total row in a table that sums numeric columns.
To remove the total row, click the Show menu and select the table view without the
highlighted total row.
The following figure shows the Show menu options:

The total row can be further customized using the Total Cell tab and the Properties
pane. For more information see About the Total Cell Tab.

About the Table Column Header Tab

The Table Column Header tab defines the functions that you can perform.
The following figure shows the Table Column Header tab.

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About Data Tables

The Table Column Header tab enables you to perform the following:

• Edit the font properties of the table header column

• Edit the cell properties of the table header including border weight, style, and color
and background fill color

• Set the vertical and horizontal alignment of the table header

• Apply grouping

About Grouping
"Grouping" groups together elements in the data of the same value. In a table,
applying grouping can make the table easier to read.
The Grouping option enables you to choose between "Group Left" or "Group Above".
Group left maintains the "group by" element within the table. The following figure
shows a table that has been grouped by Manager using Group Left.

Group above inserts a Repeating Section component, and extracts the grouping
element from the table. The grouping element is instead displayed above the table and
a separate table is displayed for each occurrence of the grouping element. The
following figure shows a table that has been grouped by Manager using Group
Above.

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Example: Group Left

The illustration here shows an example where the table data has been grouped by the
elements of the first two columns, Manager and Title.
Notice that there is only one entry per manager name and one entry for each job title
under that manager name. This organizes the data rows more cleanly in the table.

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About Data Tables

Applying Subtotals
To further enhance a table, you can add a subtotal row to display for each grouped
occurrence of the element.

Example: Group Above

The illustration here shows an example where the table data has been grouped by
Manager.
Notice that in the design pane, the Data Table component has been replaced with a
Repeating Element component that contains the data table. The Manager element is
inserted above the table with a label.

The label is a text item. Edit the text by double-clicking the item to select it, then
single-clicking to edit.
When you run the report, a separate table is created for each occurrence of the
grouping element. In Interactive output mode, the grouping element displayed at the
top of the table is displayed as a filter. Select the value that you want to view from the
list, as shown in the below figure:

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About the Column Tab

The Column tab is enabled when you select a specific column in a table. You can edit
font and cell properties and apply them.

The Column tab allows you to perform the following actions:

• Edit the font properties of the column including style, size, and color

• Edit the cell properties of the column including border weight, style, and color and
background fill color

• Set the vertical and horizontal alignment of the column contents

• Apply formatting to the column data (options depend on the data type)

• Apply grouping

• Apply a running total (or other formula) to the data

• Apply sorting and sort precedence

• Apply conditional formatting to the column

About the Data Formatting Options for Columns

The options available from the Data Formatting region of the tab depend on the data
type of the column selected. The tab provides common options to choose from.

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About Data Tables

If an option is not listed, you can enter a custom Oracle or Microsoft formatting mask
in the Properties pane. You can also set a formatting mask dynamically by including
the mask as an element in your data. These features are described in the following
sections:

• Applying Formatting to Numeric Data Columns

• Applying Formatting to Date Type Data Columns

• Custom and Dynamic Formatting Masks

Applying Formatting to Numeric Data Columns

Follow these formatting options if the column contains numeric data.

• Format - Select one of the common number formats from the list. The format is
applied immediately to the table column. The formats are categorized by Number,
Percent, and Currency, as shown in the following figure:

To apply a format not available from this list, see Applying Custom Data
Formatting.

• Decimal position - Click the Move Left or Move Right to increase or decrease the
decimal positions displayed.

• Show/Hide Grouping Separator - Click this button to hide the grouping separator
(for example, 1,234.00 displays as 1234.00). To show the grouping separator, click
the button again.

Applying Formatting to Date Type Data Columns

Use these formatting options if the column contains dates.

• Format - Select one of the common date formats from the list. The format is applied
immediately to the table column. The formats are categorized by Date and Time, as
shown in the following figure:

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Custom and Dynamic Formatting Masks

You can apply any Microsoft or Oracle (recommended) format mask to a report data
field. You can manually enter the mask in the Formatting Mask property on the
Properties pane.

To enter a custom data formatting mask:

1. Select the data column or field in the layout.

2. On the Properties pane, under the Data Formatting group select the Formatting
Style. Supported styles are Oracle and Microsoft.

3. In the Formatting Mask field, manually enter the format mask to apply.

For more information on Microsoft and Oracle format masks, see Formatting
Numbers, Dates, and Currencies.
Formatting masks can also be applied dynamically by either including the mask in a
data element of your report data, or as a parameter to the report. The mask is passed
to the layout editor based on the value of the data element.
To enter a dynamic formatting mask, in the Formatting Mask field, choose the data
element that defines the formatting mask. The following figure shows an example of
setting a dynamic number format mask. For this example, a parameter called
NumberFormat prompts the user to define a format mask when the report is
submitted. The value is passed to the Formatting Mask property and applied to the
data field in the layout.

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About Data Tables

If you use a parameter to pass the format mask ensure that you select the Include
Parameter Tags option on the data model Properties page.

About the Formula Option

The options available from the Formula region of the Column tab depend on the data
type of the column.
For more information about applying formulas, see Setting Predefined or Custom
Formulas.

About the Sort Option

To sort the data in a column, select the column, then under the Sort group click
Ascending Order or Descending Order.
To sort by more than one column, select the column, the sort order, and then assign a
Priority to each column. The priority list is a list of values beneath the sort order
commands.
For example, in the employee salary table shown in the following figure, assume you
want to sort ascending first by Title then sort descending by Annual Salary:

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To apply the sort order to this table:

1. Select the Title column.

2. On the Column tab, under Sort, click the Ascending Order button.

3. From the Priority list, select 1.

The following figure shows the Priority list.

4. Next select the Annual Salary column.

5. On the Column tab, under Sort, click the Descending Order button.

6. From the Priority list, select 2.

Removing a Sort Order

You can remove the sorting applied to a column.
To remove a sort order applied to a column:

1. Select the column.

2. From the Sort region on the Column tab, click the appropriate button of the sort
order that has been applied. For example, to deselect the ascending order, click the
Ascending Order button to undo the sort.

About the Total Cell Tab

The Layout Editor automatically inserts a grand total row when you insert a data table
to the layout. As shown in the section on grouping, you can also insert subtotal rows
within the table based on a grouping element.
To edit the attributes of the cells in a grand total or subtotal row, select the cell and use
the options in the Total Cell tab shown in the following figure.

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About Data Tables

The Total Cell tab enables you to perform the following:

• Edit the font properties of the total cell

• Edit the cell properties of the total cell including border weight, style, and color
and background fill color

• Set the vertical and horizontal alignment of the table header

• Apply formatting to the cell data

• Apply a formula to the cell

• Apply conditional formatting to the cell

Applying Data Formatting to a Total Cell

The section talks about applying data formatting to a total cell.
See About the Data Formatting Options for Columns.

Applying a Formula
By default, the formula applied to a Total Cell within a numeric column is a sum of the
column items. The Formula option enables you to apply a different formula.
Not all options available from the Formula region of the column tab are applicable to a
Total Cell.
For more information about applying formulas, see Setting Predefined or Custom
Formulas.

Inserting Dynamic Hyperlinks

The layout editor supports dynamic hyperlinks in tables.
To insert a dynamic hyperlink:

1. Select the table column.

2. Click Properties. The column properties include an option for URL, as shown in
the following illustration.

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3. In the URL field, enter the static portion of the URL and embed the absolute path to
the element that provides the dynamic portion of the URL within curly braces {}.
For example:

http://example.com/show_page?id={/DATA/GROUP1/ELEMENT_NAME}
where http://example.com/show_page?id= is the static portion of the URL
and {/DATA/GROUP1/ELEMENT_NAME} is the absolute path to the element in the
data that supplies the dynamic portion.

For example, in the employee salary report, suppose each employee name should
render as a hyperlink to the employee's person record. Assume the static portion of the
URL to each person record is
https://people.hrserver.com/records/show_page?id=
The dynamic portion comes from the data element EMPLOYEE_ID. For this example,
append the full path to the EMPLOYEE_ID element within curly braces and enter this
in the URL field as follows:
https://people.hrserver.com/records/show_page?id={/ROWSET/ROW/
EMPLOYEE_ID}

Applying Custom Data Formatting

BI Publisher supports the use of the Oracle and Microsoft format masks for custom
data formatting. The results of the output depends on the selected locale.
For more information on Microsoft format masks, see Using the Microsoft Number
Format Mask.
For more information on Oracle format masks, see Using the Oracle Format Mask.

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About Charts

To apply custom data formatting:

1. Select a data field or column.

2. Click Properties. The Data Formatting options are displayed as shown in the
following figure:

3. From the Formatting Style drop-down list, select the Oracle or Microsoft
formatting style. The Oracle formatting style is recommended.

4. In the Formatting Mask field, enter a formatting mask. For example, for a column
that contains product totals, you can use the Oracle formatting style, and the
9G999D99 formatting mask to display total values with two zeros to the right of the
decimal place.

About Charts
The layout editor supports a variety of chart types and styles to graphically present
data in the layout.
Once inserted, you can edit the chart properties using the dynamic toolbars or the
Properties pane. The Properties pane extends the options from the Chart tab and
enables you to enter very specific custom settings for the following:

• Chart Effect

• Chart Legend

• Chart Plot Area

• Chart Title

• Chart Label

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Note:

The following Chart Label properties apply to Scatter and Bubble chart types
only: Title Font, Title Horizontal Align, Title Text, and Title Visible.

• Chart Values

Note:

Some font effects such as underline, italic, and bold might not render in PDF
output.

Inserting a Chart
Follow these steps to insert a chart.

To insert a chart:

1. From the Insert menu, select and drag the Chart component to the layout.

By default an empty vertical bar chart is inserted and the Chart dynamic tab is
displayed, as shown in the following figure:

2. To change the chart type, click the Chart Type list to select a different type. In the
following figure, the chart type is changed to Pie.

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About Charts

3. Select and drag the data fields from the Data Source pane to the appropriate areas
in the chart. The chart immediately updates with the preview data, as shown in the
following figure:

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4. To resize the chart, drag and drop the resize handler on the lower right corner of
the chart, as shown in the figure below.

To preserve the aspect ratio when resizing a chart, press and hold the Shift key
before starting to drag the corner.

About the Chart Tab

The Chart tab helps you to apply a different chart type, filter the data, manage
multiple filters.
The Chart tab enables you to perform the following:

• Select a different Chart Type

• Apply a different Chart Style

• Enable 3-D effects

• Filter the data that is displayed in the chart

• Manage multiple filters

• Convert the chart to a pivot table or switch the series and dimensions values

Applying and Managing Filters

This section helps you to know how to apply and manage filters.
See About Filters for information on how to apply and manage filters.

Converting a Chart to a Pivot Table

Follow these steps to convert a chart to a pivot table.

To convert a chart to a pivot table:

1. Select the chart.

2. In the Convert group, click Pivot Table.

The layout editor converts the label, series, and value elements of the chart into the
appropriate rows, columns, and data elements of a pivot table.

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About Charts

Changing the Formula Applied to a Chart Measure Field

By default, the chart displays a sum of the values of the chart measure. You can
change the formula applied to a chart measure field by selecting an option from the
Chart Measure Field tab.

To change the formula:

1. Select the measure field in the chart. This displays the Chart Measure Field tab, as
shown in the following figure:

2. Select from the following options available from the Formula list:

• Count

• Sum

• Running Total

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Sorting a Chart Field

Charts can be sorted by fields.
To sort a field in the chart:

1. Select the field to display the Chart Field tab.

2. On the Chart Field tab select Sort Ascending or Sort Descending.

3. To sort by multiple fields, apply a Priority to each sort field to apply the sort in the
desired order.

Using Advanced Chart Features

Create more useful charts by altering their appearance.
The following features enable you to apply additional formatting to your charts:

• Time Series Axis Formatting

• Hide Axis Option

• Independent Axis Formatting

• Axis Scaling

• Pie Slice Formatting

If you do not select a value for these format options above, the BI Publisher default
system settings are applied.

Time Series Axis Formatting

When the x-axis of your line chart is a date field, BI Publisher applies a time series
format based on the range of the data.
The following illustration shows the time series format options. You can customize the
display of the time series in your chart, or turn it off.

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About Charts

To select time series date formatting options for a chart:

1. Expand the Time Series report properties category.

2. In Day Format field, select one of the following format options for days:

• None to hide the day label.

• Day of Week to display only the names of each day of the week.

• Day Single Letter to display only the first letter of each day of the week.

• Day of Week Number to display only the number assigned to each day of the
week. For example, if Sunday is the first day of the week, it can be displayed as
1, Monday displayed as 2, etc.

• Day of Month to display all days in a month by the actual date. For example,
the first day of the month would be displayed as 1.

3. In Month Format field, select one of the following format options for months:

• None to hide all month labels.

• Month Number to display only a number for each month in the year. For
example, if the first month of the year is January, it is displayed in the chart as 1.

• Month Single Letter to display only the first letter of each month in the year.

• Month Short to display only the short names for each month. For example,
January can be displayed as Jan.

• Month Long to display only the full name of each month.

4. In the Time Format field, select one of the following format options for time
increments:

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• None to hide all time labels.

• Hour to display time in hours.

• Hour24 to display time in 24 hour increments.

• Hour24 Minute to display minutes in 24 hour increments.

• Hour Minute to display time in hours and minutes.

• Second to display time in seconds.

5. In Year Format field, select one of the following format options for years:

• None to hide all year labels.

• Year Short to display only the short names for each year.

• Year Long to display only the full name of each year.

Hide Axis Option

You can hide axis labels in reports for certain situations such as when you are working
with small charts or visualizing data without values. This option is especially useful
for creating reports that evaluate trends.

To hide an axis:

1. On the Properties pane, expand the Chart Label, Chart Value (1) or Chart Value (2)
report properties category.

2. In Axis Visible, select False.

Independent Axis Formatting

You can format decimal digits and numbers for each Y axis in a multiple Y-axis report.

To format decimal digits and number types for an axis:

1. On the Properties pane, expand the Chart Value (1) or Chart Value (2) report
category.

2. To format axis decimals, in the Axis Decimals field, enter the number of decimals to
display for a data element per axis.

3. To format data decimals for an axis where the Data Visible property is set to True,
enter the number of decimals to display on the axis.

4. To apply number formatting to an axis, in the Format field, select one of the
following options: General, Percent, or Currency.

5. If you select Currency, in the Currency Symbol field, manually enter the currency
symbol.

Axis Scaling
You can set chart axis scaling as logarithmic or linear in reports.

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About Gauge Charts

To format axis scaling:

1. On the Properties pane, expand the Chart Value (1) or Chart Value (2) report
properties category.

2. In the Axis Scaling field, select one of the following options: Logarithmic or Linear.

Pie Slice Formatting

You can format pie slice charts to display percentages, total actual values, percentages,
and labels.
To format pie slices:

1. On the Properties pane, expand the Plot Area report property category.

2. In the Pie Slice Format field, select one of the following options: Percent, Value,
Label, or Label and Percent.

About Gauge Charts

A gauge chart is a useful way to illustrate progress or goals. The illustration shows a
report with gauges.
For example, the following figure shows a report with three gauges to indicate the
status of regional sales goals:

Inserting a Gauge Chart

Follow these steps to insert a gauge chart.

To insert a gauge chart in the layout:

1. From the Insert menu, select and drag the Gauge component to the layout. This
inserts an empty gauge chart.

2. Select and drag the data fields from the Data Source pane to the Label, Value, and
Series areas of the chart. The chart immediately updates with the preview data.

Note the following:

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• A separate gauge is created for each occurrence of the Label (that is, each
REGION). One set of properties applies to each occurrence.

• By default, the Value field is a sum. You can change the expression applied to
the value field. See Changing the Formula Applied to a Chart Measure Field.

• You can apply a sort to the other gauge chart fields.

Applying and Managing Filters

Follow this section to know how to apply and manage filters.
See About Filters for information on how to apply and manage filters.

About Pivot Tables

The pivot table provides views of multidimensional data in tabular form. It supports
multiple measures and dimensions and subtotals at all levels.
The following figure shows a pivot table:

Inserting a Pivot Table

Follow the steps in the procedure to insert a pivot table.

To insert a pivot table:

1. From the Insert tab, select and drag the Pivot Table component to the layout. The
following figure shows the empty pivot table structure.

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About Pivot Tables

2. Drag and drop data fields from the Data Source pane to the row, column, and data
positions.

Drag multiple fields to the pivot table and place them precisely to structure the
pivot table, as shown in the following figure:

3. By default the pivot table is inserted with no data formatting applied. To apply a
format to the data, click the first column of data to enable the Pivot Table Data
toolbar. On the Data Formatting group, select the appropriate format as shown in
the following figure:

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4. Optionally resize the pivot table by clicking and dragging the handler in the lower
right corner of the pivot table.

Customizing a Pivot Table Menu

After you insert a pivot table customize the appearance and layout using these
dynamic tabs.

• Pivot Table tab

• Pivot Table Header tab

• Pivot Table Data tab

About the Pivot Table Tab

You can customize the appearance of a pivot table using the Pivot Table tab.
The following figure shows the Pivot Table tab.

Applying Filters
This section describes filters and manage filters features.
See About Filters for a description of the Filter and Manage Filters features.

Customizing the Display of Totals

The Pivot Table tab enables you to quickly customize the display of grand total and
subtotal rows.

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About Pivot Tables

By default, the layout editor inserts the pivot table with the total and subtotal displays
as shown in the tab:

• Row Grand Total - Inserted at the bottom of table

• Row Subtotal - Inserted at the top of each subgroup, with no row header

• Column Grand Total - Inserted at the far right

• Column Subtotal - Inserted to the left of each column subgroup, with no header
Change the positioning and display of totals and subtotals by clicking the appropriate
group in the tab and selecting the desired layout pattern from the menu.

Converting a Pivot Table to a Chart

The Convert Pivot Table to a Chart command converts the pivot table to a default
vertical bar chart.
After conversion, customize the table as described in About Charts.
The following figure shows the pivot table created in the preceding step converted to a
vertical bar chart.

Switching Rows and Columns

Use the Switch Rows and Columns command to see a different view of the same data.
The following illustration shows the pivot table created in the previous step with rows
and columns switched.

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 About Pivot Tables

Customizing the Pivot Table Headers

Use the Pivot Table Header tab to customize the fonts, colors, etc.
The Pivot Table Header tab is shown in the following figure:

Select the column or row header of the pivot table and use the Pivot Table Header tab
to perform the following:

• Customize the fonts, colors, alignment and other display features of the header.

• Apply a sort order (for more information see About the Sort Option).

• Apply data formatting (if the data type is number or date).

Customizing the Pivot Table Data

Select the data area of the pivot table and use the Pivot Table Data tab to perform
these actions. The commands in the Pivot Table Data tab are the same as the
corresponding commands in the table Column tab.
The Pivot Table Data tab is shown in the following figure:

See the references for more information on their use.

• Customize the fonts, colors, alignment and other display features of the data.

• Apply conditional formatting to the data for more information (see About
Conditional Formats).

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-57

About Text Items

• Apply data formatting (see About the Data Formatting Options for Columns).

• Apply a formula (see Applying a Formula).

About Text Items

The text item component allows you to enter free-form text in the layout.

To create a text item component:

1. Drag and drop the text item component to the layout.

2. Double-click the text to enter text editor mode. Select parts of the text to apply
different formatting to different parts.

Displaying a Data Field Side-by-Side with a Text Item

By default, the text item always spawns a complete paragraph. Inserting a data field
next to the text field places the data field beneath the text field.
The data field beneath a text item is shown in the following figure:

To display the data field inline with the text item:

• Set the Display property to Inline in the Properties pane.

This setting enables the positioning of text items and data fields into a single line as
shown in the following figure:

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 About Text Items

About the Text Toolbar

The Text tab defines all the functions that you can do with respect to font and
alignment of text in a report.
The Text tab is shown in the following figure.

The Text tab enables you to perform the following:

• Set the font properties

• Set alignment of the text in the grid cell

• Insert predefined text items: page number, date, and time

• Insert a hyperlink

Editing Font Properties

Use the Font group of commands to set the style, size, emphasis, and color.

• Select a font style

• Select a font size

• Apply emphasis (bold, italic, or underline)

• Insert a border around the text item

• Apply a background color

• Apply a font color

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-59

About Text Items

Inserting Page Numbers

Drag and drop the page number component to the design area.
The following illustration shows the Page # of N construction.

To create the Page # of N construction:

1. From the Insert tab drag and drop a Text Item to the design area where you want
the page numbers to display.

2. Double-click the inserted text to select the text item for editing. Type "Page ".

3. From the Text dynamic tab, drag and drop the Page Number component.

4. Enter a space, and type "of ".

5. From the Text dynamic tab, drag and drop the Page Total component.

Inserting the Date and Time

You can insert time and date variables in a report design.
To insert the date and time in a report:

1. From the tab drag and drop a Text Item to the design area where you want the
date and time to display.

2. Double-click the inserted text to select the text item for editing.

3. Click the Date icon to insert the date icon in the text item. Click the Time icon to
insert the time icon in the text item.

Note: To display the items side-by-side, set the Text Item property to "Inline".

The following illustration shows the insertion of the date and time icons.

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 About Images

When this report is viewed, the date and time are displayed according to the server
time zone if viewed online, or for scheduled reports, the time zone selected for the
schedule job. The following illustration shows the date and time displayed in a report.

Inserting a Hyperlink
Follow these steps to insert a hyperlink.

To insert a hyperlink in a report:

1. From the Insert tab drag and drop a Text Item to the design area where you want
the date and time to display.

2. Double-click the inserted text to select the text item for editing. Enter the text which
you want to convert to a link.

3. Select the text, then click the Link button.

4. In the dialog enter the URL.

About Images
The image component enables you to include a graphic in the layout.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-61

About Images

BI Publisher supports the following methods for including an image:

• Static image: Upload a static image that is saved in the report file. An uploaded
image file must be in one of the following graphic file formats: GIF, JPEG, PNG, or
BMP. The image file cannot be larger than 500 KB.

• Static URL: Specify a static link to a URL where an image is stored.

• Dynamic URL: Include the image URL in an element of the data. The value of the
element is evaluated at runtime enabling dynamic insertion of images.

To insert an image:

1. Drag and drop the image component to the layout.

2. In the Insert an Image dialog, specify one of the following sources for the image:

• Location: Click Browse to specify the file name and directory of the image on a
local or mapped drive to upload the image.

• URL: Enter the URL where the image is stored.

• Field:
Image URL: Select the field from the data that contains a URL to an image.
Alternative Text: If the data includes a field that contains alternative text for the
image, then select that field to display alternative text when the report is viewed
as HTML.
The following figure shows the Insert an Image dialog set up to retrieve an image
URL dynamically from the "Image" data element. The value of the "Name" element
is used as alternative text.

3. Optionally resize the image in one of the following ways:

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 About Lists

• Drag the right bottom corner of the image. To preserve the aspect ratio when
resizing an image, press and hold the Shift key before starting to drag the
corner.

• Modify the width and height in the Properties pane.

About Lists
The list component displays all values of a data element in a vertical or horizontal list.
When viewed in interactive mode, clicking an item in the list updates the results
shown in the linked components of the report.
The following figure shows a report that displays multiple charts based on sales data.
The list component displays each country for which there is sales data. The list enables
the report consumer to quickly see results for each country in the list by clicking the
entry in the list.

Inserting a List
Follow these steps to insert a list.

To insert a list:

1. From the Insert tab, select and drag the List component to the design area.

The following figure shows an inserted, empty list:

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-63

About Lists

2. To create the list, select an element from the Data Source pane and drag it to the
empty list in the layout.

The following figure shows the list component after dragging the element Country
Name to it.

3. Customize the appearance of the list. See Customizing a List.

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 About Lists

4. Configure linked components using the Configure Events command. By default,

all other tables and charts in the layout are configured to filter their results based
on the user selections in the list component. To change this default behavior, see
Interactivity: Event Configuration.

Customizing a List
The List tab helps you to edit the font attributes, define border for the list, set
background color, etc.
Use the List tab to:

• Edit the font size, style, and color

• Define borders for the list

• Set the background color

• Edit the font color and background color for the display of selected items

• Set the orientation of the list

• Specify the sort order

The following figure shows the List tab:

Customizing the Font Style and the Selected Font Style Commands
This figure illustrates default formats. The list on the left shows the default format of
the list. The list on the right shows the Selected Font default format

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-65

About Lists

Edit the font settings by selecting a font family from the list and adjusting the point
size.
By default, the list displays with one point black gridlines. Click the Set Border to
adjust the default borders of the list. Use the Background Color and Font Color
commands to customize the colors.
The Selected Font commands edit the appearance of the item in a list when it is
selected. By default, the selected element is moved to the top of the list, and the
background is changed to light blue. You can edit the font weight, background color,
and font color that are displayed for selected items.

Customizing Behavior of Selected Items

By default, the selected items move to the top of the list and the non-selected items are
hidden by a gray fill. You also have the option of not applying this behavior by setting
the property Hide Excluded.
This property is available from the Properties pane when the List component is
selected. The Hide Excluded property is highlighted in the following figure:

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 About Lists

The following figure shows the difference in the display depending on the setting of
the property:

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-67

Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas

Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas

You can set custom formulas using the Define Custom Formula icon.
The following illustration shows the Define Custom Formula icon.

The Formula group of commands is available from the following tabs:

• Column tab

• Total Cell tab

• Chart Measure Field tab

• Pivot Table Data tab

Note that not all options are applicable to each component type.

About the Predefined Formulas

The table provides definitions of predefined formulas.
The menu provides the predefined formulas that are described in the following table.

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 Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas

Formula Description
No Formula Removes any mathematical formula from a numeric column.

Blank Text Removes all data and inserts blank text.

Count Returns the count of the number of occurrences of the element in the
current group.

Count Distinct Returns a count of the distinct values of an element in the current
group.

Summation Sums the values of the element in the current group.

Average Displays the average of the values in the current group.

Maximum Displays the highest value of all occurrences in the current group.

Minimum Displays the lowest value of all occurrences in the current group.

For non-numeric data, only the following formula options are supported:

• Blank Text

• Count

• Count Distinct

Applying a Custom Formula

Click Define Custom Formula to define your own formula for a component. The
Function dialog enables you to define Basic Math, Context, and Statistical functions in
the layout.
The following figure shows the Function dialog:

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-69

Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas

About the Basic Math Functions

When you click one of the basic math functions, you are prompted to define the
appropriate parameters for the function. You can enter a constant value, select a field
from the data, or create a nested function to supply the value.
In the Function dialog, clicking the Multiplication function displays prompts to enter
the multiplicand and the multiplier. The example shows that the multiplicand is the
value of the Amount Sold field. The multiplier is the constant value.

About the Statistical Math Functions

When you click one of the statistical math functions you are prompted to define the
appropriate parameter for the function. You can select a field from the data, or create a
nested function to supply the values.
In the following figure, clicking the Average function displays prompts for you to
specify the source of the values for which to calculate the average.

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 Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas

Applying a Custom Formula: Examples

Follow these examples to understand custom formula.

Example 1: Subtraction
The following figure shows data for Revenue and Cost for each Office:

Using a custom formula, you can add a column to this table to calculate Profit
(Revenue - Cost).

1. Add another numeric data column to the table. For example, drag another
instance of Revenue to the table, as shown in the following figure:

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-71

Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas

2. With the table column selected, click Define Custom Formula.

3. In the Function dialog select Subtraction from the list, as shown in the following
figure. Because the source data for the column is Revenue, by default the
Minuend and the Subtrahend both show the Revenue element.

4. Select Subtrahend, then in the Parameter region, select Field and choose the Cost
element, as shown in the following figure:

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 Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas

The dialog is updated to show that the formula is now Revenue minus Cost, as
shown in the following figure:

5. Click OK to close the dialog.

6. The table column displays the custom formula. Edit the table column header title,
and now the table has a Profit column, as shown in the following figure:

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-73

Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas

Example 2: Nested Function

This example uses a nested function to create a column that shows Revenue less taxes.

1. Add another numeric data column to the table. For example, drag another instance
of Revenue to the table, as shown in the following figure:

2. With the table column selected, click Define Custom Formula.

3. In the Function dialog select Subtraction from the list. Because the source data for
the column is Revenue, by default the Minuend and the Subtrahend both show the
Revenue element, as shown in the following figure:

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 Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas

4. Select Subtrahend, then in the Parameter region, select Nested Function and click
Edit, as shown in the following figure.

A second Function dialog is displayed to enable you to define the nested function.
In this case the nested function is Revenue times a constant value (tax rate of .23),
as shown in the following figure:

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-75

Setting Predefined or Custom Formulas

5. Click OK to close the dialog. The primary Function dialog now shows the nested
function as the source of the subtrahend, as shown in the following figure:

6. Click OK to close the Function dialog. The table column displays the custom
formula. Edit the table column header label, and now the table displays the custom
function, as shown in the following figure:

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 Saving a Layout

Saving a Layout
You can save a report layout.
To save the layout to the report definition:

1. Click the Save or Save As toolbar button

2. Enter a unique name for this layout.

3. Select a Locale.

Note: When you have saved the layout, the Locale cannot be updated.

Creating BI Publisher Layout Templates 3-77

Saving a Layout

3-78 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 4
Creating RTF Templates

This chapter describes the concepts of associating XML data to layout elements in an
RTF report template. It describes basic and advanced techniques for creating complex
and highly conditionalized report formats.
This chapter includes the following topics:

• Getting Started

• Associating the XML Data to the Template Layout

• Adding Markup to the Template Layout

• Defining Groups

• Defining Headers and Footers

• Inserting Images and Charts

• Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art

• Supported Formatting Features of Microsoft Word

• Template Features

• Using Conditional Formatting

• Inserting Page-Level Calculations

• Handling Data

• Setting Variables, Parameters, and Properties

• Using Advanced Report Layouts

• Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies

• Supporting Calendars and Time Zones

• Using External Fonts

• Controlling the Placement of Instructions Using the Context Commands

• Using XPath Commands

• Declaring Namespaces

• Using FO Elements and XSL Elements

• Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft PowerPoint Output

• Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft Excel 2007 Output

Creating RTF Templates 4-1

Getting Started

• Rendering HTML Formatted Data in a Report

• Embedding PCL Commands for Check Printing

Getting Started
This chapter describes the concepts of associating XML data to layout elements in a
report template. It describes basic techniques as well as advanced techniques for
creating complex and highly conditionalized report formats.
If you are using Microsoft Word to create RTF templates, then see Creating RTF
Templates Using the Template Builder for Word before reading this chapter. The
demos and samples provided in the Template Builder installation can help orient you
to the process of creating templates in Microsoft Word.
It is not required to have Microsoft Word or the Template Builder to create RTF
templates and this chapter describes how to add components without using the
Template Builder. Many of the layout components described in this chapter can also
be inserted in a template using the Template Builder.
This section covers the following topics:

• What Are RTF Templates?

• Prerequisites for Designing Templates

• What is XSLT Compatibility?

• Key Concepts

• Designing the Template Layout

• About Adding BI Publisher Code

What Are RTF Templates?

Rich Text Format (RTF) is a specification used by common word processing
applications, such as Microsoft Word.
When you save a document, RTF is a file type option.
BI Publisher converts documents saved as the RTF file type to XSL-FO enabling you to
create report layouts using many standard word processor features.
During design time, you add data fields and other markup to the template using BI
Publisher's simplified tags for XSL expressions. These tags associate the XML report
data to the report layout and include other processing instructions.
In addition to the word processor's formatting features, BI Publisher supports other
advanced reporting features such as conditional formatting, dynamic data columns,
running totals, and charts.
If you are familiar with XSL and prefer not to use the simplified tags, BI Publisher also
supports the use of pure XSL elements in the template. If you want to include code
directly in the template, then you can include any XSL element, many FO elements,
and a set of SQL expressions that BI Publisher extends.

Prerequisites for Designing Templates

You must perform these tasks before designing a template.
Before you design a template, you must:

4-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Getting Started

• Know the business rules that apply to the data from the source report.

• Generate sample data from the report data model.

For information on generating sample data from a data model, see Testing Data
Models and Generating Sample Data in Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business
Intelligence Publisher.

• Be familiar with the formatting features of Microsoft Word.

What is XSLT Compatibility?

BI Publisher uses the XSLT processor provided by Oracle XDK 11.1.0.7.0, which
supports the W3C XSL Transformations 1.0 recommendation.
The processor also implements the current working drafts of the XSLT and XPath 2.0
standards. For more information about Oracle XDK, see: Oracle XML Developer's Kit
Programmer's Guide.
By default, BI Publisher is compatible with XSLT 1.0. If you want to use XSLT and
XPath 2.0 features in the template, then you must disable XSLT 1.0 compatibility. This
configuration is performed at the template level. The template-level setting overrides
the server setting.
XSLT compatibility is set as a Build Option in the Template Builder for Word. See
Setting UI Options.

Key Concepts
When you design the template layout, you must understand how to associate the XML
input file to the layout.
This chapter presents a sample template layout with its input XML file to illustrate
how to make the proper associations to add the markup tags to the template.

Designing the Template Layout

Use the word processor's formatting features to create the design.
For example:

• Select the size, font, and alignment of text

• Insert bullets and numbering

• Draw borders around paragraphs

• Include a watermark

• Include images (jpg, gif, or png)

• Use table auto formatting features

• Insert a header and footer

For additional information on inserting headers and footers, see Defining Headers
and Footers.
For a detailed list of supported formatting features in Microsoft Word, see Supported
Formatting Features of Microsoft Word.

Creating RTF Templates 4-3

Associating the XML Data to the Template Layout

About Adding BI Publisher Code

When you create an RTF template, you add BI Publisher code to the RTF document.
Follow one of these methods that are supported for adding code.
BI Publisher supports the following methods for adding code:

• Basic RTF Method

Use any word processor that supports RTF version 1.6 writer (or later) to design a
template using BI Publisher's simplified syntax.

• Form Field Method

Using Microsoft Word's form field feature allows you to place the syntax in hidden
form fields, rather than directly into the design of the template.

Note:

If you use XSL or XSL-FO code rather than the simplified syntax, then you
must use the form field method.

This chapter describes how to create RTF templates using the preceding methods.
If you are using Microsoft Word, you can use the BI Publisher Template Builder for
Word to facilitate inserting BI Publisher code fields. For detailed information, see
Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word.

Associating the XML Data to the Template Layout

The figure in this section shows a sample layout for a Payables Invoice Register.

Note the following:

• The data fields that are defined on the template.

For example: Supplier, Invoice Number, and Invoice Date

• The elements of the template that are repeated when the report is run.

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 Associating the XML Data to the Template Layout

For example, all the fields on the template are repeated for each Supplier that is
reported. Each row of the invoice table is repeated for each invoice that is reported.

Using an XML Input File

Following is the XML file that is used as input to the Payables Invoice Register report
template.
To simplify the example, the XML output shown has been modified from the actual
output from the Payables report.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="WINDOWS-1252" ?>
- <VENDOR_REPORT>
- <LIST_G_VENDOR_NAME>
- <G_VENDOR_NAME>
<VENDOR_NAME>COMPANY A</VENDOR_NAME>
- <LIST_G_INVOICE_NUM>
- <G_INVOICE_NUM>
<SET_OF_BOOKS_ID>124</SET_OF_BOOKS_ID>
<GL_DATE>10-NOV-03</GL_DATE>
<INV_TYPE>Standard</INV_TYPE>
<INVOICE_NUM>031110</INVOICE_NUM>
<INVOICE_DATE>10-NOV-03</INVOICE_DATE>
<INVOICE_CURRENCY_CODE>EUR</INVOICE_CURRENCY_CODE>
<ENT_AMT>122</ENT_AMT>
<ACCTD_AMT>122</ACCTD_AMT>
<VAT_CODE>VAT22%</VAT_CODE>
</G_INVOICE_NUM>
</LIST_G_INVOICE_NUM>
<ENT_SUM_VENDOR>1000.00</ENT_SUM_VENDOR>
<ACCTD_SUM_VENDOR>1000.00</ACCTD_SUM_VENDOR>
</G_VENDOR_NAME>
</LIST_G_VENDOR_NAME>
<ACCTD_SUM_REP>108763.68</ACCTD_SUM_REP>
<ENT_SUM_REP>122039</ENT_SUM_REP>
</VENDOR_REPORT>

XML files are composed of elements. Each tag set is an element. For example
<INVOICE_DATE> </INVOICE_DATE> is the invoice date element.
"INVOICE_DATE" is the tag name. The data between the tags is the value of the
element. For example, the value of INVOICE_DATE is "10-NOV-03".
The elements of the XML file have a hierarchical structure. Another way of saying this
is that the elements have parent-child relationships. In the XML sample, some
elements are contained within the tags of another element. The containing element is
the parent and the included elements are its children.
Every XML file has only one root element that contains all the other elements. In this
example, VENDOR_REPORT is the root element. The elements LIST_G_VENDOR_NAME,
ACCTD_SUM_REP, and ENT_SUM_REP are contained between the VENDOR_REPORT
tags and are children of VENDOR_REPORT. Each child element can have child elements
of its own.

Identifying Placeholders and Groups

The template content and layout must correspond to the content and hierarchy of the
input XML file. Each data field in the template must map to an element in the XML
file. Each group of repeating elements in the template must correspond to a parent-
child relationship in the XML file.

Creating RTF Templates 4-5

Associating the XML Data to the Template Layout

To map the data fields you define placeholders. To designate the repeating elements,
you define groups.

Note:

BI Publisher supports regrouping of data if the report requires grouping that

does not follow the hierarchy of the incoming XML data. For information on
using this feature, see Regrouping the XML Data.

Using Placeholders
Each data field in the report template must correspond to an element in the XML file.
When you mark up the template design, you define placeholders for the XML
elements. The placeholder maps the template report field to the XML element. At
runtime the placeholder is replaced by the value of the element of the same name in
the XML data file.
For example, the "Supplier" field from the sample report layout corresponds to the
XML element VENDOR_NAME. When you mark up the template, you create a
placeholder for VENDOR_NAME in the position of the Supplier field. At runtime, this
placeholder is replaced by the value of the element from the XML file (the value in the
sample file is COMPANY A).

Identifying the Groups of Repeating Elements

The sample report lists suppliers and their invoices. There are fields that repeat for
each supplier. One of these fields is the supplier's invoices. There are fields that repeat
for each invoice.
The report therefore consists of two groups of repeating fields:

• Fields that repeat for each supplier

• Fields that repeat for each invoice

The invoices group is nested inside the suppliers group. This can be represented as
follows:
Suppliers

• Supplier Name

• Invoices

– Invoice Num

– Invoice Date

– GL Date

– Currency

– Entered Amount

– Accounted Amount

• Total Entered Amount

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 Adding Markup to the Template Layout

• Total Accounted Amount

Compare this structure to the hierarchy of the XML input file. The fields that belong to
the Suppliers group shown above are children of the element G_VENDOR_NAME.
The fields that belong to the Invoices group are children of the element
G_INVOICE_NUM.
By defining a group, you are notifying BI Publisher that for each occurrence of an
element (parent), you want the included fields (children) displayed. At runtime, BI
Publisher loops through the occurrences of the element and displays the fields each
time.

Adding Markup to the Template Layout

BI Publisher converts the formatting that you apply in the word processor to XSL-FO.
You add markup to create the mapping between the layout and the XML file and to
include features that cannot be represented directly in the format.
The most basic markup elements are placeholders, to define the XML data elements;
and groups, to define the repeating elements.
BI Publisher provides tags to add markup to the template. For the XSL equivalents of
the BI Publisher tags, see XSL Equivalents.

Creating Placeholders
The placeholder maps the template field to the XML element data field. At runtime the
placeholder is replaced by the value of the element of the same name in the XML data
file.
Enter placeholders in the document using the following syntax:
<?XML element tag name?>
The placeholder must match the XML element tag name exactly. It is case sensitive.
There are two ways to insert placeholders in the document, as described in the
following sections:

• Using the Basic RTF Method: Insert the placeholder syntax directly into the
template document.

• Using the Form Field Method: (Requires Microsoft Word) Insert the placeholder
syntax in Microsoft Word's Text Form Field Options window. This method allows
you to maintain the appearance of the template.
For more information, see Inserting a Field.

Using the Basic RTF Method

Enter the placeholder syntax in the document where you want the XML data value to
appear.
Enter the element's XML tag name using the syntax:
<?XML element tag name?>
In the example, the template field "Supplier" maps to the XML element
VENDOR_NAME. In the document, enter:
<?VENDOR_NAME?>
The entry in the template is shown in the following illustration.

Creating RTF Templates 4-7

Adding Markup to the Template Layout

Using the Form Field Method

Placeholder tags can be added using the Form Field method.
To use Microsoft Word's Form Field method to insert the placeholder tags:

1. Enable the Forms toolbar in the Microsoft Word application.

2. Position the cursor in the location where you want to create a placeholder.

3. Select the Text Form Field toolbar icon. This action inserts a form field area in the
document.

4. Double-click the form field area to invoke the Text Form Field Options dialog box.

5. (Optional) Enter a description of the field in the Default text field. The entry in this
field populates the placeholder's position on the template.

For the example, enter "Supplier 1".

6. Select the Add Help Text button.

7. In the help text entry field, enter the XML element's tag name using the syntax:

<?XML element tag name?>

You can enter multiple element tag names in the text entry field.
In the example, the report field "Supplier" maps to the XML element
VENDOR_NAME. In the Form Field Help Text field enter:
<?VENDOR_NAME?>
The following illustration shows the Text Form Field Options dialog and the Form
Field Help Text dialog with the appropriate entries for the Supplier field.

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 Adding Markup to the Template Layout

Tip: For longer strings of BI Publisher syntax, use the Help Key (F1) tab
instead of the Status Bar tab. The text entry field on the Help Key (F1) tab
allows more characters.

8. Click OK to apply.

The Default text is displayed in the form field on the template.

The following illustration shows the Supplier field from the template with the
added form field markup.

Completing the Example

This table shows the entries made to complete the example. The Template Field Name
is the display name from the template. The Default Text Entry is the value entered in
the Default Text field of the Text Form Field Options dialog box (form field method

Creating RTF Templates 4-9

Defining Groups

only). The Placeholder Entry is the XML element tag name entered either in the Form
Field Help Text field (form field method) or directly on the template.

Template Field Name Default Text Placeholder Entry (XML Tag Name)
Entry (Form
Field Method)
Invoice Num 1234566 <?INVOICE_NUM?>

Invoice Date 1-Jan-2004 <?INVOICE_DATE?>

GL Date 1-Jan-2004 <?GL_DATE?>

Curr USD <?INVOICE_CURRENCY_CODE?>

Entered Amt 1000.00 <?ENT_AMT?>

Accounted Amt 1000.00 <?ACCTD_AMT?>

(Total of Entered Amt 1000.00 <?ENT_SUM_VENDOR?>

column)

(Total of Accounted Amt 1000.00 <?ACCTD_SUM_VENDOR?>

column)

This figure shows the Payables Invoice Register with the completed form field
placeholder markup. See Using the Basic RTF Method for the completed basic RTF
markup.

Defining Groups
By defining a group, you notify BI Publisher that for each occurrence of an element,
you want the included fields displayed. At runtime, BI Publisher loops through the
occurrences of the element and displays the fields each time.
In the example, for each occurrence of G_VENDOR_NAME in the XML file, you want
the template to display its child elements VENDOR_NAME (Supplier Name),
G_INVOICE_NUM (the Invoices group), Total Entered Amount, and Total Accounted

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 Defining Groups

Amount. And, for each occurrence of G_INVOICE_NUM (Invoices group), you want
the template to display Invoice Number, Invoice Date, GL Date, Currency, Entered
Amount, and Accounted Amount.
To designate a group of repeating fields, insert the grouping tags around the elements
to repeat.
Insert the following tag before the first element:
<?for-each:XML group element tag name?>

Insert the following tag after the final element:

<?end for-each?>

Note:

For more information, see Inserting a Repeating Group.

Grouping Scenarios
When grouping, note that the group element must be a parent of the repeating
elements in the XML input file. These are some of the grouping scenarios.

• If you insert the grouping tags around text or formatting elements, then the text
and formatting elements between the group tags are repeated.

• If you insert the tags around a table, then the table is repeated.

• If you insert the tags around text in a table cell, then the text in the table cell
between the tags is repeated.

• If you insert the tags around two different table cells, but in the same table row,
then the single row is repeated.

• If you insert the tags around two different table rows, then the rows between the
tags are repeated (this does not include the row that contains the "end group" tag).

Using the Basic RTF Method

Enter the tags in the document to define the beginning and end of the repeating
element group.
To create the Suppliers group in the example, insert the tag:
<?for-each:G_VENDOR_NAME?>
before the Supplier field that you previously created.
Insert <?end for-each?> in the document after the summary row.
The following illustration shows the Payables Invoice Register with the basic RTF
grouping and placeholder markup.

Creating RTF Templates 4-11

Defining Groups

Using the Form Field Method

You can define a group using the Form Field method.
To use Microsoft Word's Form Field method to defining a group:

1. Insert a form field to designate the beginning of the group.

In the help text field enter:

<?for-each:group element tag name?>
To create the Suppliers group in the example, insert a form field before the
Suppliers field that you previously created. In the help text field enter:
<?for-each:G_VENDOR_NAME?>
For the example, enter the Default text "Group: Suppliers" to designate the
beginning of the group on the template. The Default text is not required, but can
make the template easier to read.

2. Insert a form field after the final placeholder element in the group. In the help text
field enter <?end for-each?>.

For the example, enter the Default text "End: Suppliers" after the summary row to
designate the end of the group on the template.
The following figure shows the template after the markup to designate the
Suppliers group was added.

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 Defining Groups

Completing the Example

The second group in the example is the invoices group. The repeating elements in this
group are displayed in the table. For each invoice, the table row should repeat. Create
a group within the table to contain these elements.

Note:

For each invoice, only the table row should repeat, not the entire table. Placing
the grouping tags at the beginning and end of the table row repeats only the
row. If you place the tags around the table, then for each new invoice the
entire table with headings is repeated.

To mark up the example, insert the grouping tag <?for-each:G_INVOICE_NUM?> in

the table cell before the Invoice Num placeholder. Enter the Default text
Group:Invoices to designate the beginning of the group.
Insert the end tag inside the final table cell of the row after the Accounted Amt
placeholder. Enter the Default text End:Invoices to designate the end of the group.
The following figure shows the completed example using the form field method.

Creating RTF Templates 4-13

Defining Headers and Footers

Defining Headers and Footers

You can define headers and footers as part of the template.
This section covers the following topics:

• Native Support for Headers and Footers

• Inserting Placeholders in the Headers and Footers

• Creating Multiple or Complex Headers and Footers

• Defining Different First Page and Different Odd and Even Pages

Native Support for Headers and Footers

BI Publisher supports the use of the native RTF header and footer feature.
To create a header or footer, use the word processor's header and footer insertion
tools. As an alternative, or if you have multiple headers and footers, you can use
start:body and end body tags to distinguish the header and footer regions from the
body of the report.

Inserting Placeholders in the Headers and Footers

At the time of this writing, Microsoft Word does not support form fields in the header
and footer.
You must therefore insert the placeholder syntax directly into the template (basic RTF
method), or use the start body/end body syntax described in the next section.

Creating Multiple or Complex Headers and Footers

If the template requires multiple headers and footers, then create them by using BI
Publisher tags to define the body area of the report. You may also want to use this
method if the header and footer contain complex objects that you want to place in
form fields. When you define the body area, the elements occurring before the
beginning of the body area compose the header. The elements occurring after the body
area compose the footer.

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Use the following tags to enclose the body area of the report:
<?start:body?>
<?end body?>
Use the tags either directly in the template, or in form fields.
The Payables Invoice Register contains a simple header and footer and therefore does
not require the start body/end body tags. However, if you wanted to add another
header to the template, define the body area.

To define the body area:

1. Insert <?start:body?> before the Suppliers group tag:

<?for-each:G_VENDOR_NAME?>

2. Insert <?end body?> after the Suppliers group closing tag:

<?end for-each?>

The following figure shows the Payables Invoice Register with the start body/end
body tags inserted:

Defining Different First Page and Different Odd and Even Pages
If the report requires a different header and footer on the first page of the report; or, if
the report requires different headers and footers for odd and even pages, then you can
define this behavior using Microsoft Word's Page Setup dialog.

Note:
This feature is supported for PDF and RTF output only.

To define different page setups:

1. Select Page Setup from the File menu.

2. In the Page Setup dialog, select the Layout tab.

Creating RTF Templates 4-15

Inserting Images and Charts

3. In the Headers and footers region of the dialog, select the appropriate check box:

Different odd and even

Different first page

4. Insert the headers and footers into the template as desired.

At runtime the generated report exhibits the defined header and footer behavior.

Inserting Images and Charts

BI Publisher supports several methods for including images in the published
document.
The following sections describe these options:

• Directly Inserting Images

• Inserting Images with URL References

• Inserting Images with an Element Reference from an XML File

• Rendering an Image Retrieved from BLOB Data

• Adding Charts to Templates

Directly Inserting Images

Insert the jpg, gif, or png image directly in the template.

Inserting Images with URL References

Include an alternative text link for an image.
To insert images with URL references:

1. Insert a dummy image in the template.

2. In Microsoft Word's Format Picture dialog box select the Web tab. Enter the
following syntax in the Alternative text region to reference the image URL:

url:{'http://<image location>'}
For example, enter:
url:{'http://www.example.com/images/ora_log.gif'}

Inserting Images with an Element Reference from an XML File

Include a link to an XML file for an image.
To insert images with element references:

1. Insert a dummy image in the template.

2. In Microsoft Word's Format Picture dialog box select the Web tab. Enter the
following syntax in the Alternative text region to reference the image URL:

url:{IMAGE_LOCATION}
where IMAGE_LOCATION is an element from the XML file that holds the full URL
to the image.

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You can also build a URL based on multiple elements at runtime. Just use the
concat function to build the URL string. For example:
url:{concat(SERVER,'/',IMAGE_DIR,'/',IMAGE_FILE)}
where SERVER, IMAGE_DIR, and IMAGE_FILE are element names from the XML
file that hold the values to construct the URL.
This method can also be used with the OA_MEDIA reference as follows:
url:{concat('${OA_MEDIA}','/',IMAGE_FILE)}

Rendering an Image Retrieved from BLOB Data

You can include an image stored as a BLOB in a form.
If results XML contains image data that had been stored as a BLOB in the database,
then use the following syntax in a form field inserted in the template where you want
the image to render at runtime:
<fo:instream-foreign-object content-type="image/jpg">
<xsl:value-of select="IMAGE_ELEMENT"/>
</fo:instream-foreign-object>

where
image/jpg is the MIME type of the image (other options might be: image/gif and
image/png)
and
IMAGE_ELEMENT is the element name of the BLOB in the XML data.
Note that you can specify height and width attributes for the image to set its size in the
published report. BI Publisher scales the image to fit the box size that you define. For
example, to set the size of the example above to three inches by four inches, enter the
following:
<fo:instream-foreign-object content-type="image/jpg" height="3 in" width="4 in">
<xsl:value-of select="IMAGE_ELEMENT"/>
</fo:instream-foreign-object>

Specify in pixels as follows:

<fo:instream-foreign-object content-type="image/jpg" height="300 px" width="4 px">
...

or in centimeters:
<fo:instream-foreign-object content-type="image/jpg" height="3 cm" width="4 cm">
...

or as a percentage of the original dimensions:

<fo:instream-foreign-object content-type="image/jpg" height="300%" width="300%">
...

Adding Charts to Templates

Follow these steps to add a chart to the template.
The following list summarizes the steps to add a chart to the template. These steps are
discussed in detail in this section with an example.

Creating RTF Templates 4-17

Inserting Images and Charts

1. Insert a dummy image in the template to define the size and position of the chart.

2. Add the definition for the chart to the Alternative text box of the dummy image.
The chart definition requires XSL commands.

3. At runtime BI Publisher calls the charting engine to render the image that is then
inserted into the final output document.

Note that RTF output is limited to raster images. PDF and HTML output support
raster and vector images.

Note:

For more information, see Inserting a Chart.

Adding a Sample Chart

Follow this illustration to add a sample chart.
Following is a piece of XML data showing total sales by company division.
<sales year=2004>
<division>
<name>Groceries</name>
<totalsales>3810</totalsales>
<costofsales>2100</costofsales>
</division>
<division>
<name>Toys</name>
<totalsales>2432</totalsales>
<costofsales>1200</costofsales>
</division>
<division>
<name>Cars</name>
<totalsales>6753</totalsales>
<costofsales>4100</costofsales>
</division>
<division>
<name>Hardware</name>
<totalsales>2543</totalsales>
<costofsales>1400</costofsales>
</division>
<division>
<name>Electronics</name>
<totalsales>5965</totalsales>
<costofsales>3560</costofsales>
</division>
</sales>

This example describes how to insert a chart into the template to display it as a vertical
bar chart, as shown in the following bar chart.

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 Inserting Images and Charts

Note the following attributes of this chart:

• The style is a vertical bar chart.

• The chart displays a background grid.

• The components are colored.

• Sales totals are shown as Y-axis labels.

• Divisions are shown as X-axis labels.

• The chart is titled.

• The chart displays a legend.

Each of these properties can be customized to suit individual report requirements.

Inserting the Dummy Image

The first step is to add a dummy image to the template in the position you want the
chart to appear.
The image size defines how large the chart image is in the final document.

Note: You must insert the dummy image as a "Picture" and not any other
kind of object.

The following illustration shows an example of a dummy image.

Creating RTF Templates 4-19

Inserting Images and Charts

The image can be embedded inside a for-each loop like any other form field if you
want the chart to be repeated in the output based on the repeating data. In this
example, the chart is defined within the sales year group so that a chart is generated
for each year of data present in the XML file.
Right-click the image to open the Format Picture palette and select the Web tab. Use
the Alternative text entry box to enter the code to define the chart characteristics and
data definition for the chart.

Adding Code to the Alternative Text Box

An Alternative text box is a text field that contains code, the content of which is
rendered as a chart in the final document.
The following figure shows an example of the BI Publisher code in the Format Picture
Alternative text box.

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 Inserting Images and Charts

The content of the Alternative text represents the chart that is rendered in the final
document. For this chart, the text is as follows:
chart:
<Graph graphType = "BAR_VERT_CLUST">
<Title text="Company Sales 2004" visible="true" horizontalAlignment="CENTER"/>
<Y1Title text="Sales in Thousands" visible="true"/>
<O1Title text="Division" visible="true"/>
<LocalGridData colCount="{count(//division)}" rowCount="1">
<RowLabels>
<Label>Total Sales $1000s</Label>
</RowLabels>
<ColLabels>
<xsl:for-each select="//division">
<Label>
<xsl:value-of select="name"/>
</Label>
</xsl:for-each>
</ColLabels>
<DataValues>
<RowData>
<xsl:for-each select="//division">
<Cell>
<xsl:value-of select="totalsales"/>
</Cell>
</xsl:for-each>
</RowData>
</DataValues>
</LocalGridData>
</Graph>

The first element of the chart text must be the chart: element to inform the RTF parser
that the following code describes a chart object.

Creating RTF Templates 4-21

Inserting Images and Charts

Next is the opening <Graph> tag. Note that the whole of the code resides within the
tags of the <Graph> element. This element has an attribute to define the chart type:
graphType. If this attribute is not declared, the default chart is a vertical bar chart. BI
Beans supports many different chart types. Several more types are presented in this
section. For a complete listing, see the BI Beans graph DTD documentation.
The following code section defines the chart type and attributes:
<Title text="Company Sales 2004" visible="true" horizontalAlignment="CENTER"/>
<Y1Title text="Sales in Thousands" visible="true"/>
<O1Title text="Division" visible="true"/>

All of these values can be declared or you can substitute values from the XML data at
runtime. For example, you can retrieve the chart title from an XML tag by using the
following syntax:
<Title text="{CHARTTITLE}" visible="true" horizontalAlighment="CENTER"/>

where "CHARTTITLE" is the XML tag name that contains the chart title. Note that the
tag name is enclosed in curly braces.
The next section defines the column and row labels:
<LocalGridData colCount="{count(//division)}" rowCount="1">
<RowLabels>
<Label>Total Sales $1000s</Label>
</RowLabels>
<ColLabels>
<xsl:for-each select="//division">
<Label>
<xsl:value-of select="name"/>
</Label>
</xsl:for-each>
</ColLabels>

The LocalGridData element has two attributes: colCount and rowCount. These
define the number of columns and rows that are shown at runtime. In this example, a
count function calculates the number of columns to render:
colCount="{count(//division)}"

The rowCount has been hard-coded to 1. This value defines the number of sets of data
to be charted. In this case it is 1.
Next the code defines the row and column labels. These can be declared, or a value
from the XML data can be substituted at runtime. The row label is used in the chart
legend (that is, "Total Sales $1000s").
The column labels for this example are derived from the data: Groceries, Toys, Cars,
and so on. This is done using a for-each loop:
<ColLabels>
<xsl:for-each select="//division">
<Label>
<xsl:value-of select="name"/>
</Label>
</xsl:for-each>
</ColLabels>

This code loops through the <division> group and inserts the value of the <name>
element into the <Label> tag. At runtime, this code generates the following XML:

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 Inserting Images and Charts

<ColLabels>
<Label>Groceries</Label>
<Label>Toys</Label>
<Label>Cars</Label>
<Label>Hardware</Label>
<Label>Electronics</Label>
</ColLabels>

The next section defines the actual data values to chart:

<DataValues>
<RowData>
<xsl:for-each select="//division">
<Cell>
<xsl:value-of select="totalsales"/>
</Cell>
</xsl:for-each>
</RowData>
</DataValues>

Similar to the labels section, the code loops through the data to build the XML that is
passed to the BI Beans rendering engine. This code generates the following XML:
<DataValues>
<RowData>
<Cell>3810</Cell>
<Cell>2432</Cell>
<Cell>6753</Cell>
<Cell>2543</Cell>
<Cell>5965</Cell>
</RowData>
</DataValues>

Additional Chart Samples

Follow the sample pie chart to understand how you can display the data in a pie chart.
You can also display this data in a pie chart as shown in the following figure.

Creating RTF Templates 4-23

Inserting Images and Charts

The following is the code added to the template to render this chart at runtime:
chart:
<Graph graphType="PIE">
<Title text="Company Sales 2004" visible="true"
horizontalAlignment="CENTER"/>
<LocalGridData rowCount="{count(//division)}" colCount="1">
<RowLabels>
<xsl:for-each select="//division">
<Label>
<xsl:value-of select="name"/>
</Label>
</xsl:for-each>
</RowLabels>
<DataValues>
<xsl:for-each select="//division">
<RowData>
<Cell>
<xsl:value-of select="totalsales"/>
</Cell>
</RowData>
</xsl:for-each>
</DataValues>
</LocalGridData>
</Graph>

Horizontal Bar Chart Sample

This example shows total sales and cost of sales charted in a horizontal bar format.
This also adds the data from the cost of sales element (<costofsales>) to the chart.

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The following code defines this chart in the template:

chart:
<Graph graphType = "BAR_HORIZ_CLUST">
<Title text="Company Sales 2004" visible="true" horizontalAlignment="CENTER"/>
<LocalGridData colCount="{count(//division)}" rowCount="2">
<RowLabels>
<Label>Total Sales ('000s)</Label>
<Label>Cost of Sales ('000s)</Label>
</RowLabels>
<ColLabels>
<xsl:for-each select="//division">
<Label><xsl:value-of select="name"/></Label>
</xsl:for-each>
</ColLabels>
<DataValues>
<RowData>
<xsl:for-each select="//division">
<Cell><xsl:value-of select="totalsales"/></Cell>
</xsl:for-each>
</RowData>
<RowData>
<xsl:for-each select="//division">
<Cell><xsl:value-of select="costofsales"/></Cell>
</xsl:for-each>
</RowData>
</DataValues>
</LocalGridData>
</Graph>

To accommodate the second set of data, the rowCount attribute for the
LocalGridData element is set to 2. Also note the DataValues section defines two
sets of data: one for Total Sales and one for Cost of Sales.

Creating RTF Templates 4-25

Inserting Images and Charts

Changing the Appearance of the Chart

There are many attributes available from the BI Beans graph DTD that you can
manipulate to change the look and feel of the chart.
For example, the previous chart can be changed to remove the grid, place a graduated
background, and change the bar colors and fonts, as shown in the following figure:

The code to support this is as follows:

chart:
<Graph graphType = "BAR_HORIZ_CLUST">
<SeriesItems>
<Series id="0" color="#ffcc00"/>
<Series id="1" color="#ff6600"/>
</SeriesItems>
<O1MajorTick visible="false"/>
<X1MajorTick visible="false"/>
<Y1MajorTick visible="false"/>
<Y2MajorTick visible="false"/>
<MarkerText visible="true" markerTextPlace="MTP_CENTER"/>
<PlotArea borderTransparent="true">
<SFX fillType="FT_GRADIENT" gradientDirection="GD_LEFT"
gradientNumPins="300">
<GradientPinStyle pinIndex="1" position="1"
gradientPinLeftColor="#999999"
gradientPinRightColor="#cc6600"/>
</SFX>
</PlotArea>
<Title text="Company Sales 2004" visible="true">
<GraphFont name="Tahoma" bold="false"/>
</Title>
. . .
</Graph>

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The colors for the bars are defined in the SeriesItems section. The colors are defined in
hexadecimal format as follows:
<SeriesItems>
<Series id="0" color="#ffcc00"/>
<Series id="1" color="#ff6600"/>
</SeriesItems>

The following code hides the chart grid:

<O1MajorTick visible="false"/>
<X1MajorTick visible="false"/>
<Y1MajorTick visible="false"/>
<Y2MajorTick visible="false"/>

The MarkerText tag places the data values on the chart bars:
<MarkerText visible="true" markerTextPlace="MTP_CENTER"/>

The PlotArea section defines the background. The SFX element establishes the
gradient and the borderTransparent attribute hides the plot border:
<PlotArea borderTransparent="true">
<SFX fillType="FT_GRADIENT" gradientDirection="GD_LEFT"
gradientNumPins="300">
<GradientPinStyle pinIndex="1" position="1"
gradientPinLeftColor="#999999"
gradientPinRightColor="#cc6600"/>
</SFX>
</PlotArea>

The Title text tag has also been updated to specify a new font type and size:
<Title text="Company Sales 2004" visible="true">
<GraphFont name="Tahoma" bold="false"/>
</Title>

Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art

BI Publisher supports Microsoft Word drawing, shape, and clip art features. You can
add these objects to the template and they are rendered in the final PDF output or
HTML output (not supported for other output types).
The following AutoShape categories are supported:

• Lines - Straight, arrows, connectors, curve, free form, and scribble.

• Connectors - Straight connectors only are supported. Curved connectors can be

achieved by using a curved line and specifying the end styles to the line.

• Basic Shapes - All shapes are supported.

• Block arrows - All arrows are supported.

• Flowchart - All flowchart objects are supported.

• Stars and Banners - All objects are supported.

• Callouts - The "line" callouts are not supported.

• Clip Art - Add images to the templates using the Microsoft Clip Art libraries.

Creating RTF Templates 4-27

Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art

Adding Freehand Drawings

The freehand drawing tool helps you create drawings to the final PDF.
Use the freehand drawing tool in Microsoft Word to create drawings in the template to
be rendered in the final PDF output.

Adding Hyperlinks
This section explains on how to add hyperlinks to shapes.
See Inserting Hyperlinks.

Layering Shapes
You can layer shapes on top of each other and use the transparency setting in
Microsoft Word to allows shapes on lower layers to show through.
The following illustration shows an example of layered shapes.

Using 3-D Effects

BI Publisher does not currently support the 3-D option for shapes.

Adding Microsoft Equations

Use the equation editor to generate equations in the output.
The following figure shows an example of an equation:

Adding Organization Charts

Use the organization chart functionality in the templates and the chart that is rendered
in the output.
The following figure shows an example of an organization chart.

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 Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art

Adding WordArt
You can use Microsoft Word's WordArt functionality in the templates.
The following figure shows a sample WordArt example.

Note:

Some Microsoft WordArt uses a bitmap operation that currently cannot be

converted to SVG. To use the unsupported WordArt in the template, you can
take a screenshot of the WordArt then save it as an image (gif, jpeg, or png)
and replace the WordArt with the image.

Adding Data-Driven Shapes

In addition to supporting the static shapes and features in the templates, BI Publisher
supports the manipulation of shapes based on incoming data or parameters, as well.
The following manipulations are supported:

• Replicate

• Move

• Change size

• Add text

• Skew

• Rotate

Creating RTF Templates 4-29

Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art

These manipulations not only apply to single shapes, but you can use the group
feature in Microsoft Word to combine shapes together and manipulate them as a
group.

Including Manipulation Commands

Enter manipulation commands for a shape in the Web tab of the shape's properties
dialog as shown in this figure.

Replicating Shapes
You can replicate a shape based on incoming XML data in the same way you replicate
data elements in a for-each loop.
To replicate a shape, use a for-each@shape command in conjunction with a shape-
offset declaration. For example, to replicate a shape down the page, use the following
syntax:
<?for-each@shape:SHAPE_GROUP?>
<?shape-offset-y:(position()-1)*100?>
<?end for-each?>

where
for-each@shape opens the for-each loop for the shape context
SHAPE_GROUP is the name of the repeating element from the XML file. For each
occurrence of the element SHAPE_GROUP a new shape is created.
shape-offset-y: is the command to offset the shape along the y-axis.
(position()-1)*100) sets the offset in pixels per occurrence. The XSL position
command returns the record counter in the group (that is 1,2,3,4); one is subtracted
from that number and the result is multiplied by 100. Therefore for the first occurrence

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the offset would be 0: (1-1) * 100. The offset for the second occurrence would be 100
pixels: (2-1) *100. And for each subsequent occurrence the offset would be another 100
pixels down the page.

Adding Text to Shapes

You can add text to a shape dynamically either from the incoming XML data or from a
parameter value.
In the Property dialog enter the following syntax:
<?shape-text:SHAPETEXT?>

where SHAPETEXT is the element name in the XML data. At runtime the text is
inserted into the shape.

Adding Text Along a Path

You can add text along a line or curve from incoming XML data or a parameter.
After drawing the line, in the Property dialog enter:
<?shape-text-along-path:SHAPETEXT?>

where SHAPETEXT is the element from the XML data. At runtime the value of the
element SHAPETEXT is inserted above and along the line.

Moving a Shape
You can move a shape or transpose it along both the x and y-axes based on the XML
data.
For example to move a shape 200 pixels along the y-axis and 300 along the x-axis,
enter the following commands in the property dialog of the shape:
<?shape-offset-x:300?>
<?shape-offset-y:200?>

Rotating a Shape
You can rotate a shape about a specified axis based on the incoming data.
Use the following command:
<?shape-rotate:ANGLE;'POSITION'?>

where
ANGLE is the number of degrees to rotate the shape. If the angle is positive, the
rotation is clockwise; if negative, the rotation is counterclockwise.
POSITION is the point about which to carry out the rotation, for example, 'left/
top'. Valid values are combinations of left, right, or center with center, top, or
bottom. The default is left/top. The following illustration shows these valid values.

Creating RTF Templates 4-31

Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art

To rotate this rectangle shape about the bottom right corner, enter the following
syntax:
<?shape-rotate:60,'right/bottom'?>

You can also specify an x,y coordinate within the shape itself about which to rotate.

Skewing a Shape
You can skew a shape using the skew command.
You can skew a shape along its x or y axis using the following commands:
<?shape-skew-x:ANGLE;'POSITION'?>
<?shape-skew-y:ANGLE;'POSITION'?>

where
ANGLE is the number of degrees to skew the shape. If the angle is positive, the skew
is to the right.
POSITION is the point about which to carry out the rotation, for example, 'left/
top'. Valid values are combinations of left, right, or center with center, top, or
bottom. See Rotating a Shape. The default is 'left/top'.
For example, to skew a shape by 30 degrees about the bottom right hand corner, enter
the following:
<?shape-skew-x:number(.)*30;'right/bottom'?>

Changing the Size of Shapes

You can change the size of a shape using the appropriate commands either along a
single axis or both axes.
To change a shape's size along both axes, use:
<?shape-size:RATIO?>

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 Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art

where RATIO is the numeric ratio to increase or decrease the size of the shape.
Therefore a value of 2 would generate a shape twice the height and width of the
original. A value of 0.5 would generate a shape half the size of the original.
To change a shape's size along the x or y axis, use:
<?shape-size-x:RATIO?>
<?shape-size-y:RATIO?>

Changing only the x or y value has the effect of stretching or shrinking the shape along
an axis. This can be data driven.

Combining Commands
You can also combine these commands to carry out multiple transformations on a
shape at one time. For example, you can replicate a shape and for each replication,
rotate it by some angle and change the size at the same time.
The following example shows how to replicate a shape, move it 50 pixels down the
page, rotate it by five degrees about the center, stretch it along the x-axis and add the
number of the shape as text:
<for-each@shape:SHAPE_GROUP?>
<?shape-text:position()?>
<?shape-offset-y:position()*50?>
<?shape-rotate:5;'center/center'?>
<?shape-size-x:position()+1?>
<end for-each?>

These commands generate the output shown in the following shape transformation
figure:

CD Ratings Example
This example demonstrates how to set up a template that generates a star-rating based
on data from an incoming XML file.
Assume the following incoming XML data:
<CATALOG>
<CD>

Creating RTF Templates 4-33

Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art

<TITLE>Empire Burlesque</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Bob Dylan</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>USA</COUNTRY>
<COMPANY>Columbia</COMPANY>
<PRICE>10.90</PRICE>
<YEAR>1985</YEAR>
<USER_RATING>4</USER_RATING>
</CD>
<CD>
<TITLE>Hide Your Heart</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Bonnie Tylor</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>UK</COUNTRY>
<COMPANY>CBS Records</COMPANY>
<PRICE>9.90</PRICE>
<YEAR>1988</YEAR>
<USER_RATING>3</USER_RATING>
</CD>
<CD>
<TITLE>Still got the blues</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Gary More</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>UK</COUNTRY>
<COMPANY>Virgin Records</COMPANY>
<PRICE>10.20</PRICE>
<YEAR>1990</YEAR>
<USER_RATING>5</USER_RATING>
</CD>
<CD>
<TITLE>This is US</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Gary Lee</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>UK</COUNTRY>
<COMPANY>Virgin Records</COMPANY>
<PRICE>12.20</PRICE>
<YEAR>1990</YEAR>
<USER_RATING>2</USER_RATING>
</CD>
<CATALOG>

Notice there is a USER_RATING element for each CD. Using this data element and the
shape manipulation commands, you can create a visual representation of the ratings
so that the reader can compare them at a glance. A template to achieve this is shown in
the following visual representation of ratings figure:

The values for the fields are shown in the following values for fields table:

Field Form Field Entry

F <?for-each:CD?>

TITLE <?TITLE?>

ARTIST <?ARTIST?>

E <?end for-each?>

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 Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art

Field Form Field Entry

(star shape) Web Tab Entry:
<?for-each@shape:xdoxslt:foreach_number($_XDOCTX,
1,USER_RATING,1)?>
<?shape-offset-x:(position()-1)*25?>
<?end for-each?>

The form fields hold the simple element values. The only difference with this template
is the value for the star shape. The replication command is placed in the Web tab of
the Format AutoShape dialog.
In the for-each@shape command you can use a command to create a "for...next loop"
construct. Specify 1 as the starting number; the value of USER_RATING as the final
number; and 1 as the step value. As the template loops through the CDs, it creates an
inner loop to repeat a star shape for every USER_RATING value (that is, a value of 4
generates 4 stars). The output from this template and the XML sample is shown in the
following figure:

Grouped Shape Example

This example shows how to combine shapes into a group and have them react to the
incoming data both individually and as a group.
Assume the following XML data:
<SALES>
<SALE>
<REGION>Americas</REGION>
<SOFTWARE>1200</SOFTWARE>
<HARDWARE>850</HARDWARE>
<SERVICES>2000</SERVICES>
</SALE>
<SALE>
<REGION>EMEA</REGION>
<SOFTWARE>1000</SOFTWARE>
<HARDWARE>800</HARDWARE>
<SERVICES>1100</SERVICES>
</SALE>
<SALE>
<REGION>APAC</REGION>
<SOFTWARE>900</SOFTWARE>
<HARDWARE>1200</HARDWARE>
<SERVICES>1500</SERVICES>
</SALE>
</SALES>

Creating RTF Templates 4-35

Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art

You can create a visual representation of this data so that users can very quickly
understand the sales data across all regions. Do this by first creating the composite
shape in Microsoft Word that you want to manipulate. The following figure shows a
composite shape comprising four components:

The shape consists of three cylinders: red, yellow, and blue. These represent the data
elements software, hardware, and services. The combined object also contains a
rectangle that is enabled to receive text from the incoming data.
The following commands are entered into the Web tab:
Red cylinder: <?shape-size-y:SOFTWARE div 1000;'left/bottom'?>
Yellow cylinder: <?shape-size-y:HARDWARE div 1000;'left/bottom'?>
Blue cylinder: <?shape-size-y:SERVICES div 1000;'left/bottom'?>
The shape-size command is used to stretch or shrink the cylinder based on the values
of the elements SOFTWARE, HARDWARE, and SERVICES. The value is divided by
1000 to set the stretch or shrink factor. For example, if the value is 2000, divide that by
1000 to get a factor of 2. The shape generates as twice its current height.
The text-enabled rectangle contains the following command in its Web tab:
<?shape-text:REGION?>

At runtime the value of the REGION element is displayed in the rectangle.

All of these shapes were then grouped together and in the Web tab for the grouped
object, the following syntax is added:
<?for-each@shape:SALE?>
<?shape-offset-x:(position()-1)*110?>
<?end for-each?>

In this set of commands, the for-each@shape loops over the SALE group. The
shape-offset command moves the next shape in the loop to the right by a specific
number of pixels. The expression (position()-1) sets the position of the object.
The position() function returns a record counter while in the loop, so for the first
shape, the offset would be 1-1*110, or 0, which would place the first rendering of the
object in the position defined in the template. Subsequent occurrences would be
rendered at a 110 pixel offset along the x-axis (to the right).
At runtime three sets of shapes are rendered across the page, as shown in the
following figure:

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 Supported Formatting Features of Microsoft Word

To make an even more visually representative report, these shapes can be

superimposed onto a world map. Just use the Order dialog in Microsoft Word to layer
the map behind the grouped shapes.

• Microsoft Word 2000 Users: After you add the background map and overlay the
shape group, use the Grouping dialog to make the entire composition one group.

• Microsoft Word 2002/3 Users: These versions of Word have an option under Tools
> Options, General tab to "Automatically generate drawing canvas when inserting
autoshapes". Using this option removes the need to do the final grouping of the
map and shapes. You can now generate a visually appealing output for the report
as seen in the following figure:

Supported Formatting Features of Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word can simplify formatting output.

Creating RTF Templates 4-37

Supported Formatting Features of Microsoft Word

In addition to the features already listed, BI Publisher supports the features of

Microsoft Word that are described in the following sections:

• General Features of Microsoft Word

• Aligning Objects

• Inserting Tables

• Inserting Date Fields

• Inserting Multiple Columns on Pages

• Inserting Backgrounds and Watermarks

• Microsoft Word Features That Are Not Supported

General Features of Microsoft Word

The general features of Microsoft Word are large blocks of text, page breaks, page
numbering, and hidden text.

• Large blocks of text

• Page breaks
(Not supported for HTML output) To insert a page break, press Ctrl+Enter right
before the closing tag of a group. For example if you want the template to start a
new page for every Supplier in the Payables Invoice Register:

1. Place the cursor just before the Supplier group's closing <?end for-each?>
tag.

2. Press Ctrl+Enter to insert a page break.

At runtime each Supplier starts on a new page.
Using this Microsoft Word native feature causes a single blank page to print at the
end of the report output. To avoid this single blank page, use BI Publisher's page
break alias. See Inserting Page Breaks.

• Page numbering
Insert page numbers into the final report by using the page numbering methods of
the word processor. For example, if you are using Microsoft Word:

1. From the Insert menu, select Page Numbers...

2. Select the Position, Alignment, and Format as desired.

At runtime the page numbers are displayed as selected.
Note that page numbering is not supported for HTML output and has limited
support in RTF output. After the RTF report is generated, press F9 to reset the page
numbers.

• Hidden text
You can format text as hidden in Microsoft Word and the hidden text is maintained
in RTF output reports.

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 Supported Formatting Features of Microsoft Word

Aligning Objects
Use the word processor's alignment features to align text, graphics, objects, and tables.
Bidirectional languages are handled automatically using the word processor's left/
right alignment controls.
Note that BI Publisher output documents do not support right and left justification for
symbol-based languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Inserting Tables
Microsoft Word tables are can be used to enhance your reports.
The following Microsoft Word features are supported in BI Publisher:

• Nested Tables

• Cell Alignment
You can align any object in the template using the word processor's alignment
tools. This alignment is reflected in the final report output.

• Row spanning and column spanning

To span both columns and rows in the template:

1. Select the cells that you want to merge.

2. From the Table menu, select Merge Cells.

3. Align the data within the merged cell as you would normally.
At runtime the cells appear merged.

• Table Autoformatting
BI Publisher recognizes the table autoformats available in Microsoft Word.
To autoformat tables:

1. Select the table that you want to format.

2. From the Table menu, select Autoformat.

3. Select the desired table format.

At runtime, the table is formatted using your selection.

• Cell patterns and colors

To highlight cells or rows of a table with a pattern or color:

1. Select the cell(s) or table.

2. From the Table menu, select Table Properties.

3. From the Table tab, select the Borders and Shading... button.

4. Add borders and shading as desired.

• Repeating table headers

Creating RTF Templates 4-39

Supported Formatting Features of Microsoft Word

Note: This feature is not supported for RTF output.

If the data is displayed in a table and you expect the table to extend across multiple
pages, then you can define the header rows that you want to repeat at the start of
each page.
To repeat header rows:

1. Select the row(s) that you want to repeat on each page.

2. From the Table menu, select Heading Rows Repeat.

• Prevent rows from breaking across pages.

If you want to ensure that data within a row of a table is kept together on a page,
you can set this as an option using Microsoft Word's Table Properties.
To keep a row's contents together on one page:

1. Select the row(s) that you want to ensure do not break across a page.

2. From the Table menu, select Table Properties.

3. From the Row tab, deselect the check box Allow row to break across pages.

• Fixed-width columns
To set the widths of table columns:

1. Select a column and then select Table > Table Properties.

2. In the Table Properties dialog, select the Column tab.

3. Enable the Preferred width checkbox and then enter the width as a Percent or
in Inches.

4. Select the Next Column button to set the width of the next column.
Note that the total width of the columns must add up to the total width of the table.

• Text truncation
By default, if the text within a table cell does not fit within the cell, then the text is
wrapped. To truncate the text instead, use the table properties dialog.
Note that table text truncation is supported for PDF and PPT outputs only.
To truncate the text within a table cell:

1. Place the cursor in the cell in which you want the text truncated.

2. Right-click and select Table Properties... from the menu, or navigate to Table
> Table Properties...

3. From the Table Properties dialog, select the Cell tab, then select Options...

4. Deselect the Wrap Text check box.

An example of truncation is shown in the following figure.

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 Supported Formatting Features of Microsoft Word

Note: When using multibyte characters (for example, simplified Chinese) in

tables, ensure that the column widths are large enough to contain the width of
the largest character plus the cell's left and right margins to avoid unexpected
character display in your final output.

Inserting Date Fields

Insert dates using the date feature of the word processor. Note that this date
corresponds to the publishing date, not to the request run date.

Inserting Multiple Columns on Pages

BI Publisher supports Microsoft Word's Columns function to enable you to publish the
output in multiple columns on a page. (Note that this is not supported for HTML
output.)
Select Format, then Columns to display the Columns dialog to define the number of
columns for the template.
To generate address labels in a two-column format:

1. Divide the page into two columns using the Columns command.

2. Define the repeatable group in the first column. Note that you define the repeatable
group only in the first column, as shown in the following illustration.

Tip: To prevent the address block from breaking across pages or columns,
embed the label block inside a single-celled table. Then specify in the Table
Properties that the row should not break across pages. See Inserting Tables.

This template produces the multicolumn output that is shown in the following
illustration.

Creating RTF Templates 4-41

Supported Formatting Features of Microsoft Word

Inserting Backgrounds and Watermarks

BI Publisher supports the Background feature in Microsoft Word. You can specify a
single, graduated color or an image background for the template to be displayed in the
PDF output.

Note: This feature is supported for PDF output and PPT output only.

To add a background to the template, use the Format > Background menu option.

Adding a Background Using Microsoft Word 2000

With the Background support feature in Microsoft Word you can select a color
background and fill effects.
From the Background pop up menu, you can:

• Select a single color background from the color palette.

• Select Fill Effects to open the Fill Effects dialog.

From this dialog, select one of the following supported options:

– Gradient: This can be either one or two colors.

– Texture: Select one of the textures provided, or load your own.

– Pattern: Select a pattern and background/foreground colors.

– Picture: Load a picture to use as a background image.

Adding a Text or Image Watermark Using Microsoft Word 2002 or later

These versions of Microsoft Word allow you to add either a text or image watermark.
Note that the steps you take to add a watermark depend on which version of
Microsoft Word you are using.
You can add the following types of watermarks to documents:

• Picture Watermark - Load an image and define how it should be scaled on the
document.

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 Template Features

• Text Watermark - Use the predefined text options or enter your own, then specify
the font, size and how the text should be rendered.
The following figure shows an example of the Printed Watermark dialog
completed to display a text watermark in Microsoft Word 2010:

Microsoft Word Features That Are Not Supported

Do not use soft returns in your RTF template to achieve specific text placement.
Instead use hard carriage returns.
A soft return may have unexpected results in your generated output.

Template Features
Templates include several features that enhance their formatting and layout.
BI Publisher supports the template features that are described in the following
sections:

• Inserting Page Breaks

• Inserting an Initial Page Number

• Specifying Last Page Only Content

• Ending on Even or Odd Pages

• Inserting Hyperlinks

• Including a Table of Contents

• Generating Bookmarks in PDF Output

• Inserting Check Boxes

• Inserting Drop-Down Lists

• Repeat Row Headers After Page Break

Creating RTF Templates 4-43

Template Features

Inserting Page Breaks

You can create a page break in a few ways.

Note: Page breaks are supported for PDF, RTF, and PPT output. Page breaks
are not supported for HTML output.

To create a page break after the occurrence of a specific element use the "split-by-page-
break" alias. This causes the report output to insert a hard page break between every
instance of a specific element.
To insert a page break between each occurrence of a group, insert the "split-by-page-
break" form field within the group immediately before the <?end for-each?> tag
that closes the group. In the Help Text of this form field enter the syntax:
<?split-by-page-break:?>
For the following XML, assume you want to create a page break for each new supplier:
<SUPPLIER>
<NAME>My Supplier</NAME>
<INVOICES>
<INVOICE>
<INVNUM>10001-1</INVNUM>
<INVDATE>1-Jan-2005</INVDATE>
<INVAMT>100</INVOICEAMT>
</INVOICE>
<INVOICE>
<INVNUM>10001-2</INVNUM>
<INVDATE>10-Jan-2005</INVDATE>
<INVAMT>200</INVOICEAMT>
</INVOICE>
</INVOICES>
</SUPPLIER>
<SUPPLIER>
<NAME>My Second Supplier</NAME>
<INVOICES>
<INVOICE>
<INVNUM>10001-1</INVNUM>
<INVDATE>11-Jan-2005</INVDATE>
<INVAMT>150</INVOICEAMT>
</INVOICE>
…

In the template sample shown in the following illustration, the field called PageBreak
contains the split-by-page-break syntax:

Place the PageBreak field with the <?split-by-page-break:?> syntax

immediately before the <?end for-each?> field. The PageBreak field sits inside the
end of the SUPPLIER loop. This ensures that a page break is inserted before the
occurrence of each new supplier. This method avoids the ejection of an extra page at

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 Template Features

the end of the group when using the native Microsoft Word page break after the
group.

Inserting an Initial Page Number

Some reports require that the initial page number be set at a specified number. For
example, monthly reports may be required to continue numbering from month to
month. BI Publisher allows you to set the page number in the template to support this
requirement.

Note:

Initial page number is supported for PDF and PPT output. It is not supported
for HTML and RTF output.

Use the following syntax in the template to set the initial page number:
<?initial-page-number:pagenumber?>

where pagenumber is the XML element or parameter that holds the numeric value.
BI Publisher also supports continuing the page number from a previous section. The
default behavior of a new section in a document is to reset the page numbering.
However, if the report requires that the page numbering continue into the next
section, use the following command:
<?initial-page-number:'auto'?>

This command allows the continuation of the page numbering from the previous
section.
Example 1 - Set page number from XML data element
If the XML data contains an element to carry the initial page number, for example:
<REPORT>
<PAGESTART>200<\PAGESTART>
....
</REPORT>

Enter the following in the template:

<?initial-page-number:PAGESTART?>

The initial page number is the value of the PAGESTART element, which in this case is
200.
Example 2 - Set page number by passing a parameter value
If you define a parameter called PAGESTART, then you can pass the initial value by
calling the parameter.
Enter the following in the template:
<?initial-page-number:$PAGESTART?>

Note:
You must first declare the parameter in the template. See Setting Parameters.

Creating RTF Templates 4-45

Template Features

Specifying Last Page Only Content

BI Publisher supports the Microsoft Word functionality to specify a different page
layout for the first page, odd pages, and even pages.

Note: This feature is supported for PDF and PPT output only.

To implement these options, simply select Page Setup from the File menu, then select
the Layout tab. BI Publisher recognizes the settings that you make in this dialog.
However, Microsoft Word does not provide settings for a different last page only. This
is useful for documents such as checks, invoices, or purchase orders on which you
may want the content such as the check or the summary in a specific place only on the
last page. BI Publisher provides this ability.
To specify last page only content:

1. Create a section break in the template to ensure the content of the final page is
separated from the rest of the report.

2. Insert the following syntax on the final page:

<?start@last-page:body?>
<?end body?>

Any content on the page that occurs above or below these two tags is displayed only
on the last page of the report. Also, note that because this command explicitly specifies
the content of the final page, any desired headers or footers previously defined for the
report must be reinserted on the last page.
This example uses the last page only feature for a report that generates an invoice
listing with a summary to appear at the bottom of the last page.
Assume the following XML:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="WINDOWS-1252"?>
<INVOICELIST>
<VENDOR>
<VENDOR_NAME>Nuts and Bolts Limited</VENDOR_NAME>
<ADDRESS>1 El Camino Real, Redwood City, CA 94065</ADDRESS>
<INVOICE>
<INV_TYPE>Standard</INV_TYPE>
<INVOICE_NUM>981110</INVOICE_NUM>
<INVOICE_DATE>10-NOV-04</INVOICE_DATE>
<INVOICE_CURRENCY_CODE>EUR</INVOICE_CURRENCY_CODE>
<ENT_AMT>122</ENT_AMT>
<ACCTD_AMT>122</ACCTD_AMT>
<VAT_CODE>VAT22%</VAT_CODE>
</INVOICE>
<INVOICE>
<INV_TYPE>Standard</INV_TYPE>
<INVOICE_NUM>100000</INVOICE_NUM>
<INVOICE_DATE>28-MAY-04</INVOICE_DATE>
<INVOICE_CURRENCY_CODE>FIM</INVOICE_CURRENCY_CODE>
<ENT_AMT>122</ENT_AMT>
<ACCTD_AMT>20.33</ACCTD_AMT>
<VAT_CODE>VAT22%</VAT_CODE>
</INVOICE>

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 Template Features

</VENDOR>
<VENDOR>
...
<INVOICE>
...
</INVOICE>
</VENDOR>
<SUMMARY>
<SUM_ENT_AMT>61435</SUM_ENT_AMT>
<SUM_ACCTD_AMT>58264.68</SUM_ACCTD_AMT>
<TAX_CODE>EU22%</TAX_CODE>
</SUMMARY>
</INVOICELIST>

The report should show each VENDOR and their INVOICE data with a SUMMARY
section that appears only on the last page, placed at the bottom of the page. The
template for this is shown in this figure.

Insert a Microsoft Word section break (type: next page) on the first page of the
template. For the final page, insert new line characters to position the summary table
at the bottom of the page. The summary table is shown in the following illustration.

In this example:

• The F and E components contain the for-each grouping statements.

• The grayed report fields are placeholders for the XML elements.

• The "Last Page Placeholder" field contains the syntax:

Creating RTF Templates 4-47

Template Features

<?start@last-page:body?> <?end body?>

to declare the last page layout. Any content above or below this statement is
displayed on the last page only. The content above the statement is regarded as the
header and the content below the statement is regarded as the footer.
If the reports contains headers and footers that you want to carry over onto the last
page, you must reinsert them on the last page. For more information, see Defining
Headers and Footers.
You must insert a section break (type: next page) into the document to specify the last
page layout. This example is available in the samples folder of the Oracle BI Publisher
Template Builder for Word installation.
Because the default behavior of a new section in a document is to reset the page
numbering the page number on the last page is reset. To continue the page numbering
from the previous section, use the following command:
<?initial-page-number:'auto'?>

This command allows the continuation of the page numbering from the previous
section.
It is important to note that if the report is only one page in length, the first page layout
is used. If the report requires that a single page report should default to the last page
layout (such as in a check printing implementation), then you can use the following
alternate syntax for the "Last Page Placeholder" on the last page:
<?start@last-page-first:body?> <?end body?>
Substituting this syntax results in the last page layout for reports that are only one
page long.

Ending on Even or Odd Pages

If the report has different odd and even page layouts, then you might want to force the
report to end specifically on an odd or even page by following these steps.

Note:

This feature is supported for PDF and PDF output only. It is not supported for
RTF and HTML output.

For example, you may include the terms and conditions of a purchase order in the
footer of the report using the different odd/even footer functionality (see Defining
Different First Page and Different Odd and Even Pages) and you want to ensure that
the terms and conditions are printed on the final page.
Or, you may have binding requirements to have the report end on an even page,
without specific layout.
To end on an even page with layout:

• Insert the following syntax in a form field in the template:

<?section:force-page-count;'end-on-even-layout'?>

To end on an odd page layout:

• Insert the following syntax in a form field in the template:

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 Template Features

<?section:force-page-count;'end-on-odd-layout'?>

If you do not have layout requirements for the final page, but would like a blank page
ejected to force the page count to the preferred odd or even, then use the following
syntax:
<?section:force-page-count;'end-on-even'?>

or
<?section:force-page-count;'end-on-odd'?>

Inserting Hyperlinks
BI Publisher supports several different types of hyperlinks.

Note: Hyperlinks are supported for PDF, RTF, HTML, PPT, and Excel output.

The hyperlinks can be fixed or dynamic and can link to either internal or external
destinations. Hyperlinks can also be added to shapes.

• To insert static hyperlinks to either text or a shape, use the word processor's insert
hyperlink feature.
To insert a static hyperlink to a text or a shape:

1. Select the text or shape.

2. Use the right-mouse menu to select Hyperlink; or, select Hyperlink from the
Insert menu.

3. Enter the URL using any of the methods provided on the Insert Hyperlink
dialog box.
The following illustration shows the insertion of a static hyperlink using Microsoft
Word's Insert Hyperlink dialog.

Creating RTF Templates 4-49

Template Features

• If the input XML data includes an element that contains a hyperlink or part of one,
then you can create dynamic hyperlinks at runtime. In the Type the file or Web
page name field of the Insert Hyperlink dialog, enter the following syntax:
{URL_LINK}
where URL_LINK is the incoming data element name.
If you have a fixed URL that you want to add elements from the XML data file to
construct the URL, enter the following syntax:
http://www.example.com?product={PRODUCT_NAME}
where PRODUCT_NAME is the incoming data element name.
In both these cases, at runtime the dynamic URL is constructed.
The following illustration shows the insertion of a dynamic hyperlink using
Microsoft Word's Insert Hyperlink dialog. The data element SUPPLIER_URL from
the incoming XML file contains the hyperlink that is inserted into the report at
runtime.

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• You can also pass parameters at runtime to construct a dynamic URL.

Enter the parameter and element names surrounded by braces to build up the URL
as follows:
{$SERVER_URL}{$REPORT}/cstid={CUSTOMER_ID}

where SERVER_URL and REPORT are parameters passed to the template at

runtime (note the $ sign) and CUSTOMER_ID is an XML data element. This link
may render as:
http://myserver.domain:8888/CustomerReport/cstid=1234
To add the target attribute to a URL, add the following to the URL string:
??target=_target_value

For example:
http://www.example.com??target=_top

Values for the target attribute are:

• _top

• _blank

• _self

• _parent

• framename
You can pass in the value of target dynamically, using the following syntax:
http://www.example.com/index.html??target={$myTarget}

where myTarget is the name of the parameter that holds the value.

Creating RTF Templates 4-51

Template Features

Inserting Internal Links

Internal links point to a section within a document.
Insert internal links into the template using Microsoft Word's Bookmark feature.
To insert internal links:

1. Position the cursor in the desired destination in the document.

2. From the Insert menu, select Bookmark.

3. In the Bookmark dialog, enter a name for this bookmark, and select Add.

4. Select the text or shape in the document that you want to link back to the
Bookmark target.

5. Use the right-mouse menu to select Hyperlink; or select Hyperlink from the Insert
menu.

6. On the Insert Hyperlink dialog, select Bookmark.

7. Select the bookmark that you created from the list.

At runtime, the link is maintained in the generated report.

Including a Table of Contents

BI Publisher supports the table of contents generation feature of the RTF specification.
Follow the word processor's procedures for inserting a table of contents.

Note:

Table of contents feature is supported for PDF and PPT output. RTF support is
limited: After report generation, the user must press F9 to reset the page
numbers.

BI Publisher also provides the ability to create dynamic section headings in the
document from the XML data. You can then incorporate these into a table of contents.

To create dynamic headings:

1. Enter a placeholder for the heading in the body of the document, and format it as a
"Heading", using the word processor's style feature. You cannot use form fields for
this functionality.

For example, you want the report to display a heading for each company reported.
The XML data element tag name is <COMPANY_NAME>. In the template, enter <?
COMPANY_NAME?> where you want the heading to appear. Now format the text as
a Heading.

2. Create a table of contents using the word processor's table of contents feature.

At runtime, the TOC placeholders and heading text are substituted.

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Generating Bookmarks in PDF Output

If you have defined a table of contents in the RTF template, then you can use the table
of contents definition to generate links in the Bookmarks tab in the navigation pane of
the output PDF.
The bookmarks can be either static or dynamically generated.

Note:

Bookmark support in RTF templates is limited to a single-point bookmark.

This is to allow link (Goto) functionality within the document. Arrays in
bookmarks are not supported.

For information on creating the table of contents, see Including a Table of Contents.

• To create links for a static table of contents:

Enter the syntax:
<?copy-to-bookmark:?>
directly above the table of contents and
<?end copy-to-bookmark:?>
directly below the table of contents.

• To create links for a dynamic table of contents:

Enter the syntax:
<?convert-to-bookmark:?>
directly above the table of contents and
<?end convert-to-bookmark:?>
directly below the table of contents.
To control the initial state of the bookmark when the PDF file is opened, use the
following command:
<?collapse-bookmark:state;level?>

where
the state can have the following values:

• hide - Collapses the table of contents entries

• show - Expands the table of contents entries

and
level sets the table of contents collapse level. For example: "1" collapses the first level
of entries in the table of contents; "2" collapses the first and second level entries.
Use this command with <?copy-to-bookmark:?> and <?convert-to-
bookmark:?> as shown in the following examples:

Creating RTF Templates 4-53

Template Features

• To create a static table of contents that hides level 1 and level 2 of the table of
contents entries, enter the following:
<?copy-to-bookmark:?>
<?collapse-bookmark:hide;2?>

directly above the table of contents and

<?end copy-to-bookmark:?>

directly below the table of contents.

• To create links for a dynamic table of contents that shows levels 1 and 2 of the table
of contents expanded, enter the following:
<?convert-to-bookmark:>
<?collapse-bookmark:show;2?>

directly above the table of contents and

<?end convert-to-bookmark:?>

directly below the table of contents.

Inserting Check Boxes

You can include a check box in the template that you can define to display as checked
or unchecked based on a value from the incoming data.

Note:

Check boxes are supported in PDF output only.

To define a check box in the template:

1. Position the cursor in the template where you want the check box to display, and
select the Check Box Form Field from the Forms tool bar, as shown in the
following figure:

2. Right-click the field to open the Check Box Form Field Options dialog.

3. Specify the Default value as either Checked or Not Checked.

4. In the Form Field Help Text dialog, enter the criteria for how the box should
behave. This must be a boolean expression (that is, one that returns a true or false
result).

For example, suppose the XML data contains an element called <population>. You
want the check box to appear checked if the value of <population> is greater than
10,000. Enter the following in the help text field:

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 Template Features

<?population>10000?>

The help text coding is shown in the following figure:

Note that you do not have to construct an "if" statement. The expression is treated
as an "if" statement.
See Inserting Drop-Down Lists for a sample template using a check box.

Inserting Drop-Down Lists

BI Publisher allows you to use the drop-down form field to create a cross-reference in
the template from the XML data to some other value that you define in the drop-down
form field.
For example, suppose you have the following XML:
<countries>
<country>
<name>Chad</name>
<population>7360000</population>
<continentIndex>5</continentIndex>
</country>
<country>
<name>China</name>
<population>1265530000</population>
<continentIndex>1</continentIndex>
</country>
<country>
<name>Chile</name>
<population>14677000</population>
<continentIndex>3</continentIndex>

Creating RTF Templates 4-55

Template Features

</country>
. . .
</countries>

Notice that each <country> entry has a <continentindex> entry, which is a

numeric value to represent the continent. Using the drop-down form field, you can
create an index in the template that cross-references the <continentindex> value to
the actual continent name. You can then display the name in the published report.

To create the index for the continent example:

1. Position the cursor in the template where you want the value from the drop-down
list to display, and select the Drop-Down Form Field from the Forms tool bar, as
shown in the figure below:

2. Right-click the field to display the Drop-Down Form Field Options dialog.

3. Add each value to the Drop-down item field and the click Add to add it to the
Items in drop-down list group. The values are indexed starting from one for the
first, and so on. For example, the list of continents is stored as shown in the
following table:

Index Value
1 Asia

2 North America

3 South America

4 Europe

5 Africa

6 Australia

4. Now use the Help Text box to enter the XML element name that holds the index for
the drop-down field values.

For this example, enter

<?continentIndex?>

The following figure shows the Drop-Down Form Field Options dialogs for this
example:

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 Template Features

Using the check box and drop-down list features, you can create a report to display
population data with check boxes to demonstrate figures that reach a certain limit. An
example illustrating a report of population data with check boxes is shown in the
following figure:

The template to create this report is shown in the below figure and the fields have the
values shown in the table below.

Field Form Field Entry Description

FE <?for-each:country?> Begins the country repeating group.

China <?name?> Placeholder for the name element.

1,000,000 <?population?> Placeholder for the population element.

(check box) <?population>1000000?> Establishes the condition for the check

box. If the value for the population
element is greater than 1,000,000, the
check box is displayed as checked.

Creating RTF Templates 4-57

Using Conditional Formatting

Field Form Field Entry Description

Asia <?contintentIndex?> The drop-down form field for the

continentIndex element. See the
preceding description for its contents. At
runtime, the value of the XML element is
replaced with the value it is cross-
referenced to in the drop-down form
field.

EFE <?end for-each?> Ends the country group.

Repeat Row Headers After Page Break

If your report includes a row header that spans multiple rows, for example in a group-
left construction, you can specify that the content in the initial cell repeats on the next
page.
See the example shown in the following table.

In the preceding example, if the report breaks across the 04-Dec-12 group, you would
most likely prefer that the cell contents "04-Dec-12" repeat on the next page. To specify
that the cell contents repeat, insert the following code in a form field in the table data
cell that is to repeat:
<?attribute@block:xdofo:rowspancell-repeat-nextpage;'true'?>

This feature is only useful when number-rows-spanned for the table-cell is greater
than one.

Using Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting occurs when a formatting element appears only when a certain
condition is met.

Note: For information about using the Template Builder to insert conditional
regions and conditional formatting, see Inserting and Editing Conditional
Regions and Inserting Conditional Formatting.

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 Using Conditional Formatting

BI Publisher supports the usage of simple "if" statements, as well as more complex
"choose" expressions.
The conditional formatting that you specify can be XSL or XSL:FO code, or you can
specify actual RTF objects such as a table or data. For example, you can specify that if
reported numbers reach a certain threshold, they are displayed shaded in red. Or, you
can use this feature to hide table columns or rows depending on the incoming XML
data.
This section covers the following topics of conditional formatting:

• Using If Statements

• Using If Statements in Boilerplate Text

• Using If-Then-Else Statements

• Inserting Choose Statements

• Formatting Columns

• Formatting Rows

• Highlighting Cells

Using If Statements
Use an if statement to define a simple condition; for example, if a data field is a
specific value.
To use an if statement:

1. Insert the following syntax to designate the beginning of the conditional area.

<?if:condition?>

2. Insert the following syntax at the end of the conditional area: <?end if?>.

For example, to set up the Payables Invoice Register to display invoices only when the
Supplier name is "Company A", insert the syntax <?if:VENDOR_NAME='COMPANY
A'?> before the Supplier field on the template.
Enter the <?end if?> tag after the invoices table.
This example is displayed in the following illustration. Note that you can insert the
syntax in form fields, or directly into the template.

Creating RTF Templates 4-59

Using Conditional Formatting

Using If Statements in Boilerplate Text

You can use “if” statements to change messages presented to users.
Assume that you want to incorporate an "if" statement into the following free-form
text:
The program was (not) successful.
You want the "not" to display only if the value of an XML tag called <SUCCESS>
equals "N".
To achieve this requirement, use the BI Publisher context command to place the if
statement into the inline sequence rather than into the block (the default placement).

Note: For more information on context commands, see Controlling the

Placement of Instructions Using the Context Commands.

For example, if you construct the code as follows:

The program was <?if:SUCCESS='N'?>not<?end if?> successful.

The following undesirable result occurs:

The program was
not
successful.

Because BI Publisher applies the instructions to the block by default. To specify that
the if statement should be inserted into the inline sequence, enter the following:
The program was <?if@inlines:SUCCESS='N'?>not<?end if?>
successful.

This construction results in the following display:

The program was successful.

If SUCCESS does not equal 'N';

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 Using Conditional Formatting

or
The program was not successful.

If SUCCESS equals 'N'.

Note:
If you use @inlines with if syntax, any other if syntax inside the
statement must use the context command @inline.If you use @inlines with
FOR-EACH syntax any other if or FOR-EACH syntax inside the statement
must use the context command @inline.

Using If-Then-Else Statements

BI Publisher supports the common programming construct "if-then-else".
"if-then-else" is extremely useful when you must test a condition and conditionally
show a result. For example:
IF X=0 THEN
Y=2
ELSE
Y=3
END IF

You can also nest these statements as follows:

IF X=0 THEN
Y=2
ELSE
IF X=1 THEN
Y=10
ELSE Y=100
END IF

Use the following syntax to construct an if-then-else statement in the RTF template:
<?xdofx:if element_condition then result1 else result2 end if?>

For example, the following statement tests the AMOUNT element value. If the value is
greater than 1000, show the word "Higher"; if it is less than 1000, show the word
"Lower"; if it is equal to 1000, show "Equal":
<?xdofx:if AMOUNT > 1000 then 'Higher'
else
if AMOUNT < 1000 then 'Lower'
else
'Equal'
end if?>

Inserting Choose Statements

Use the choose, when, and otherwise elements to express multiple conditional tests. If
certain conditions are met in the incoming XML data, then specific sections of the
template are rendered. This is a very powerful feature of the RTF template. In regular
XSL programming, if a condition is met in the choose command then further XSL code
is executed. In the template, however, you can actually use visual widgets in the
conditional flow (in the following example, a table).

Creating RTF Templates 4-61

Using Conditional Formatting

Use the following syntax for these elements:

<?choose:?>
<?when:expression?>
<?otherwise?>

Conditional Formatting Example

This example shows a choose expression in which the display of a row of data
depends on the value of the fields EXEMPT_FLAG and POSTED_FLAG. When the
EXEMPT_FLAG equals "^", the row of data renders light gray. When POSTED_FLAG
equals "*" the row of data renders shaded dark gray. Otherwise, the row of data
renders with no shading.
In the following figure, the form field default text is displayed. The form field help text
entries are shown in the following table:

Default Text Entry in Example Help Text Entry in Form Field

Form Field
<Grp:VAT <?for-each:G_VAT?> starts the G_VAT group

<Choose <?choose:?> opens the choose statement

<When EXEMPT_FLAG='^' <?when: EXEMPT_FLAG='^'?> tests the EXEMPT_FLAG

element, if true, use the first table shown

End When> <?end when?> ends the EXEMPT_FLAG test

<When POSTED_FLAG='*' <?when:POSTED_FLAG='*'?> tests the POSTED_FLAG

element, if true, use the table following

End When> <?end when?> ends the POSTED_FLAG test

Otherwise <?otherwise:?> If none of above are true then use the

following table

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 Using Conditional Formatting

Default Text Entry in Example Help Text Entry in Form Field

Form Field
End Otherwise> <?end otherwise?> ends the otherwise statement

End Choose> <?end choose?> ends the choose statement

End Vat> <?end for-each?> ends the G_VAT group

Formatting Columns
You can conditionally show and hide columns of data in the document output. This
example demonstrates how to set up a table so that a column is only displayed based
on the value of an element attribute.
This example shows a report of a price list, represented by the following XML:
<items type="PUBLIC"> <! - can be marked 'PRIVATE' - >
<item>
<name>Plasma TV</name>
<quantity>10</quantity>
<price>4000</price>
</item>
<item>
<name>DVD Player</name>
<quantity>3</quantity>
<price>300</price>
</item>
<item>
<name>VCR</name>
<quantity>20</quantity>
<price>200</price>
</item>
<item>
<name>Receiver</name>
<quantity>22</quantity>
<price>350</price>
</item>
</items>

Notice the "type" attribute associated with the items element. In this XML it is marked
as "PUBLIC" meaning the list is a public list rather than a PRIVATE list. For the public
version of the list, the quantity column should not be shown in the output, but you
want to develop only one template for both versions based on the list type.
The following figure contains a simple template that conditionally shows or hides the
quantity column.

The following table shows the entries made in the template that is shown in the above
figure:

Creating RTF Templates 4-63

Using Conditional Formatting

Default Text Form Field Entry Description

grp:Item <?for-each:item?> Holds the opening for-each loop for the item
element.

Plasma TV <?name?> The placeholder for the name element from

the XML file.

IF <?if@column:/items/ The opening of the if statement to test for the

@type="PRIVATE"?> attribute value PRIVATE in the column
header. Note that this syntax uses an XPath
expression to navigate back to the items level
of the XML to test the attribute. For more
information about using XPath in templates,
see Using XPath Commands.

Quantity N/A Boilerplate heading

end-if <?end if?> Ends the if statement.

IF <?if@cell:/items/ The opening of the if statement to test for the

@type="PRIVATE"?> attribute value PRIVATE in the column data.

20 <?quantity?> The placeholder for the quantity element.

end-if <?end if?> Ends the if statement.

1,000.00 <?price?> The placeholder for the price element.

end grp <?end for-each?> Closing tag of the for-each loop.

The conditional column syntax is the "if" statement syntax with the addition of the
@column clause. It is the @column clause that instructs BI Publisher to hide or show
the column based on the outcome of the if statement.
If you did not include the @column the data would not display in the report as a result
of the if statement, but the column still would because you had drawn it in the
template.

Note:

The @column clause is an example of a context command. For more

information, see Controlling the Placement of Instructions Using the Context
Commands.

The example renders the output that is shown in the following figure:

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 Using Conditional Formatting

If the same XML data contained the type attribute set to PRIVATE, then the output
that is shown in the below figure is rendered from the same template.

Formatting Rows
BI Publisher allows you to specify formatting conditions as the row-level of a table.
Examples of row-level formatting are:

• Highlighting a row when the data meets a certain threshold.

• Alternating background colors of rows to ease readability of reports.

• Showing only rows that meet a specific condition.

Conditionally Displaying a Row
To display only rows that meet a certain condition, insert the <?if:condition?> <?
end if?> tags at the beginning and end of the row, within the for-each tags for the
group. These tags are demonstrated in the sample template that is shown in the
following figure:

The following table describes the fields from the template in the above figure:

Default Text Form Field Help Text Description

Entry

for-each <?for-each:SALE?> Opens the for-each loop to repeat the data

SALE belonging to the SALE group.

if big <?if:SALES>5000?> If statement to display the row only if the

element SALES has a value greater than 5000.

INDUSTRY <?INDUSTRY?> Data field

YEAR <?YEAR?> Data field

MONTH <?MONTH?> Data field

SALES end <?end if?> Closes the if statement.

if

end SALE <?end for-each?> Closes the SALE loop.

Creating RTF Templates 4-65

Using Conditional Formatting

Conditionally Highlighting a Row

This example demonstrates how to set a background color on every other row. The
template to create this effect is shown in the following figure:

The following table shows values of the form fields from the template in the above
figure:

Default Text Form Field Help Text Description

Entry

for-each SALE <?for-each:SALE?> Defines the opening of the for-each loop for the SALE
group.

format; <?if@row:position() mod 2=0? For each alternate row, the background color attribute
> <xsl:attribute is set to gray for the row.
name="background-color"
xdofo:ctx="incontext">lightg
ray</xsl:attribute><?end if?
>

INDUSTRY <?INDUSTRY?> Data field

YEAR <?YEAR?> Data field

MONTH <?MONTH?> Data field

SALES <?SALES?> Data field

end SALE <?end for-each?> Closes the SALE for-each loop.

In the above table, note the format; field. It contains an if statement with a "row"
context (@row). This sets the context of the if statement to apply to the current row. If
the condition is true, then the <xsl:attribute> for the background color of the row
is set to light gray. This setting results in the output that is shown in the following
figure:

Note:
For more information about context commands, see Controlling the Placement
of Instructions Using the Context Commands.

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Highlighting Cells
This example demonstrates how to conditionally highlight a cell based on a value in
the XML file.
This example uses the following XML code:
<accounts>
<account>
<number>1-100-3333</number>
<debit>100</debit>
<credit>300</credit>
</account>
<account>
<number>1-101-3533</number>
<debit>220</debit>
<credit>30</credit>
</account>
<account>
<number>1-130-3343</number>
<debit>240</debit>
<credit>1100</credit>
</account>
<account>
<number>1-153-3033</number>
<debit>3000</debit>
<credit>300</credit>
</account>
</accounts>

The template lists the accounts and their credit and debit values. The final report will
highlight in red any cell whose value is greater than 1000. The template for this is
shown in the following figure:

The field definitions for the template are shown in the following table:

Default Text Form Field Entry Description

Entry
FE:Account <?for-each:account?> Opens the for each-loop for the element account.

1-232-4444 <?number?> The placeholder for the number element from the XML
file.

CH1 <?if:debit>1000? This field holds the code to highlight the cell red if the
><xsl:attribute debit amount is greater than 1000.
xdofo:ctx="block"
name="background-
color">red</xsl:attribute><?
end if?>

Creating RTF Templates 4-67

Inserting Page-Level Calculations

Default Text Form Field Entry Description

Entry
100.00 <?debit?> The placeholder for the debit element.

Important: The <?debit?

> element must reside in its
own field.

CH2 <?if:credit>1000? This field holds the code to highlight the cell red if the
><xsl:attribute credit amount is greater than 1000.
xdofo:ctx="block"
name="background-
color">red</xsl:attribute><?
end if?>

100.00 <?credit?> The placeholder for the credit element.

EFE <?end for-each?> Closes the for-each loop.

The code to highlight the debit column as shown in the table is:
<?if:debit>1000?>
<xsl:attribute
xdofo:ctx="block" name="background-color">red
</xsl:attribute>
<?end if?>

The "if" statement is testing if the debit value is greater than 1000. If it is, then the next
lines are invoked. Notice that the example embeds native XSL code inside the if
statement.
The "attribute" element allows you to modify properties in the XSL.
The xdofo:ctx component is an BI Publisher feature that allows you to adjust XSL
attributes at any level in the template. In this case, the background color attribute is
changed to red.
To change the color attribute, you can use either the standard HTML names (for
example, red, white, green) or you can use the hexadecimal color definition (for
example, #FFFFF).
This template results in the output that is shown in the following figure:

Inserting Page-Level Calculations

Learn more about the supported page-level calculations for PDFs and PPTs.
BI Publisher supports the page-level calculations that are described in the following
sections for PDF and PPT outputs only:

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 Inserting Page-Level Calculations

• Displaying Page Totals

• Inserting Brought Forward and Carried Forward Totals

• Inserting Running Totals

Displaying Page Totals

BI Publisher allows you to display calculated page totals in the report. Because the
page is not created until publishing time, the totaling function must be executed by the
formatting engine.

Note:

Page totaling is performed in the PDF-formatting layer. Therefore this feature

is not available for other outputs types: HTML, RTF, Excel. This page totaling
function works only if the source XML co6de has raw numeric values. The
numbers must not be preformatted.

Because the page total field does not exist in the XML input data, you must define a
variable to hold the value. When you define the variable, you associate it with the
element from the XML file that is to be totaled for the page. Once you define total
fields, you can also perform additional functions on the data in those fields.
To declare the variable that is to hold the page total, insert the following syntax
immediately following the placeholder for the element that is to be totaled:
<?add-page-total:TotalFieldName;'element'?>

where
TotalFieldName is the name you assign to the total (to reference later) and
'element' is the XML element field to be totaled.
You can add this syntax to as many fields as you want to total.
Then when you want to display the total field, enter the following syntax:
<?show-page-total:TotalFieldName;'Oracle-number-format' number-
separators="{$_XDONFSEPARATORS}"?>

where
TotalFieldName is the name you assigned to give the page total field above and
Oracle-number-format is the format you want to use to for the display, using the
Oracle format mask (for example: 'C9G999D00'). For the list of Oracle format mask
symbols, see Oracle Abstract Format Masks.
number-separators="{$_XDONFSEPARATORS}" is a required attribute to apply the
grouping separator and decimal separator for the format mask you defined.
The following example shows how to set up page total fields in a template to display
total credits and debits that have displayed on the page, and then calculate the net of
the two fields.
This example uses the following XML code:
<balance_sheet>
<transaction>

Creating RTF Templates 4-69

Inserting Page-Level Calculations

<debit>100</debit>
<credit>90</credit>
</transaction>
<transaction>
<debit>110</debit>
<credit>80</credit>
</transaction>
…
<\balance_sheet>

The following figure shows the table to insert in the template to hold the values:

The following table shows the form field entries made in the template whose table is
shown in the previous figure:

Default Text Form Field Help Text Entry Description

Entry
FE <?for-each:transaction? This field defines the opening "for-each" loop
> for the transaction group.

100.00 <?debit?><?add-page- This field is the placeholder for the debit

total:dt;'debit'?> element from the XML file. To total this field
by page, the page total declaration syntax is
added. The variable defined to hold the total
for the debit element is dt.

90.00 <?credit?> <?add-page- This field is the placeholder for the credit
total:ct;'credit'?> element from the XML file. To total this field
by page, the page total declaration syntax is
added. The variable defined to hold the total
for the credit element is ct.

Net <add-page- Creates a net page total by subtracting the

total:net;'debit - credit values from the debit values.
credit'?>

EFE <?end for-each?> Closes the for-each loop.

Note that on the variable defined as "net" you perform a calculation on the values of
the credit and debit elements.
Now that you have declared the page total fields, you can insert a field in the template
where you want the page totals to appear. Reference the calculated variables using the
names you supplied (in the example, ct and dt). The syntax to display the page totals
is as follows:
For example, to display the debit page total, enter the following:
<?show-page-total:dt;'C9G990D00';'(C9G990D00)' number-
separators="{$_XDONFSEPARATORS}"?>

Therefore to complete the example, place the following at the bottom of the template
page, or in the footer:

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Page Total Debit: <?show-page-total:dt;'C9G990D00';'(C9G990D00)'

number-separators="{$_XDONFSEPARATORS}"?>
Page Total Credit: <?show-page-total:ct;'C9G990D00';'(C9G990D00)'
number-separators="{$_XDONFSEPARATORS}"?>
Page Total Balance: <?show-page-total:net;'C9G990D00';'(C9G990D00)'
number-separators="{$_XDONFSEPARATORS}"?>
The output for this report is shown in the following figure:

Inserting Brought Forward and Carried Forward Totals

Many reports require that a page total be maintained throughout the report output
and be displayed at the beginning and end of each page. These totals are known as
"brought forward and carried forward" totals.

Note:

The totaling for the brought forward and carried forward fields is performed
in the PDF-formatting layer. Therefore this feature is not available for other
outputs types such as HTML, RTF, and Excel.

An example of a report with forward totals is displayed in the following figure:

At the end of the first page, the page total for the Amount element is displayed as the
Carried Forward total. At the top of the second page, this value is displayed as the
Brought Forward total from the previous page. At the bottom of the second page, the
brought forward value plus the total for that page is calculated and displayed as the
new Carried Forward value, and this continues throughout the report.

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Inserting Page-Level Calculations

This functionality is an extension of the Displaying Page Totals feature. The following
example walks through the syntax and setup required to display the brought forward
and carried forward totals in the published report.
Assume that you have the following XML code:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="WINDOWS-1252"?>
<INVOICES>
<INVOICE>
<INVNUM>10001-1</INVNUM>
<INVDATE>1-Jan-2005</INVDATE>
<INVAMT>100</INVOICEAMT>
</INVOICE>
<INVOICE>
<INVNUM>10001-2</INVNUM>
<INVDATE>10-Jan-2005</INVDATE>
<INVAMT>200</INVOICEAMT>
</INVOICE>
<INVOICE>
<INVNUM>10001-1</INVNUM>
<INVDATE>11-Jan-2005</INVDATE>
<INVAMT>150</INVOICEAMT>
</INVOICE>
. . .
</INVOICES>

The sample template that is shown in the following figure creates the invoice table and
declares a placeholder that holds the page total.

The following table shows the fields in the template that is shown in the above figure.

Field Form Field Help Text Entry Description

Init PTs <?init-page-total: Declares InvAmt as the placeholder that
InvAmt?> holds the page total.

FE <?for-each:INVOICE?> Begins the INVOICE group.

10001-1 <?INVNUM?> Placeholder for the Invoice Number tag.

1-Jan-2005 <?INVDATE?> Placeholder for the Invoice Date tag.

100.00 <?INVAMT?> Placeholder for the Invoice Amount tag.

InvAmt <?add-page- Assigns the "InvAmt" page total object to the

total:InvAmt;INVAMT?> INVAMT element in the data.

EFE <?end for-each?> Closes the INVOICE group.

End PTs <?end-page- Closes the "InvAmt" page total.

total:InvAmt?>

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To display the brought forward total at the top of each page (except the first), use the
following syntax:
<xdofo:inline-total
display-condition="exceptfirst"
name="InvAmt">
Brought Forward:
<xdofo:show-brought-forward
name="InvAmt"
format="99G999G999D00" number-separators="{$_XDONFSEPARATORS}"/>/>
</xdofo:inline-total>

The following list describes the elements that comprise the brought forward syntax:

• inline-total - This element has two properties:

– name - Specifies the name of the variable you declared for the field.

– display-condition - Sets the display condition. This is an optional property that

takes one of the following values:

⁎ first - Contents are displayed only on the first page.

⁎ last - Contents are displayed only on the last page.

⁎ exceptfirst - Contents are displayed on all pages except first.

⁎ exceptlast - Contents are displayed on all pages except last.

⁎ everytime - (Default) Contents are displayed on every page.

In this example, display-condition is set to "exceptfirst" to prevent the value
from appearing on the first page where the value would be zero.

• Brought Forward: - This string is optional and is displayed as the field name on the
report.

• show-brought-forward - Shows the value on the page. It has the following

properties:

– name - The name of the field to show. In this case, InvAmt. This property is
mandatory.

– format - The Oracle number format to apply to the value at runtime. This
property is optional, but if you want to supply a format mask, you must use the
Oracle format mask. For more information, see Oracle Abstract Format Masks.

– number-separators="{$_XDONFSEPARATORS}" - This attribute is required to

apply the grouping separator and number separator for the format mask you
defined.
Insert the brought forward object at the top of the template where you want the
brought forward total to display. If you place it in the body of the template, then you
can insert the syntax in a form field.
If you want the brought forward total to display in the header, you must insert the full
code string into the header because Microsoft Word does not support form fields in
the header or footer regions. However, you can alternatively use the start body/end
body syntax, which allows you to define what the body area of the report is. BI
Publisher recognizes any content above the defined body area as header content, and

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Inserting Page-Level Calculations

any content below as the footer. This allows you to use form fields. See Creating
Multiple or Complex Headers and Footers for details.
Place the carried forward object at the bottom of the template where you want the
total to display. The carried forward object for our example is as follows:
<xdofo:inline-total
display-condition="exceptlast"
name="InvAmt">
Carried Forward:
<xdofo:show-carry-forward
name="InvAmt"
format="99G999G999D00" number-separators="{$_XDONFSEPARATORS}"/>
</xdofo:inline-total>

Note the following differences with the brought-forward object:

• The display-condition is set to exceptlast so that the carried forward total is

displayed on every page except the last page.

• The display string is "Carried Forward".

• The show-carry-forward element is used to show the carried forward value. It has
the same properties as brought-carried-forward, described above.
You are not limited to a single value in the template, you can create multiple brought
forward/carried forward objects in the template pointing to various numeric elements
in the data.

Note:

Ensure that you do not include the commands <?init-page-

total:invAmnt?> and <?end-page-total:InvAmt?> as shown in the
preceding example. The display-condition logic computation depends on
these commands to function correctly.

Inserting Running Totals

The variable functionality can be used to add a running total to the invoice listing
report.
See Setting Variables for more information. This example assumes the following XML
structure:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="WINDOWS-1252"?>
<INVOICES>
<INVOICE>
<INVNUM>10001-1</INVNUM>
<INVDATE>1-Jan-2005</INVDATE>
<INVAMT>100</INVOICEAMT>
</INVOICE>
<INVOICE>
<INVNUM>10001-2</INVNUM>
<INVDATE>10-Jan-2005</INVDATE>
<INVAMT>200</INVOICEAMT>
</INVOICE>
<INVOICE>
<INVNUM>10001-1</INVNUM>
<INVDATE>11-Jan-2005</INVDATE>

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<INVAMT>150</INVOICEAMT>
</INVOICE>
</INVOICES>

You can use this XML code to create a report that contains running totals as shown in
the following illustration.

To create the Running Total field, define a variable to track the total and initialize it to
0. The template is shown in the following illustration.

The values for the form fields in the template that is shown in the previous illustration
are described in the next table.

Form Field Syntax Description

RtotalVar <?xdoxslt:set_variable($_XDOCTX, Declares the "RTotalVar"
'RTotalVar', 0)?> variable and initializes it
to 0.

FE <?for-each:INVOICE?> Starts the Invoice group.

10001-1 <?INVNUM?> Invoice Number tag

1-Jan-2005 <?INVDATE?> Invoice Date tag

100.00 <?xdoxslt:set_variable($_XDOCTX, Sets the value of

'RTotalVar', RTotalVar to the current
xdoxslt:get_variable($_XDOCTX, value plus the new
'RTotalVar') + INVAMT)?> <? Invoice Amount.
xdoxslt:get_variable($_XDOCTX, Retrieves the RTotalVar
'RTotalVar')?> value for display.

EFE <?end for-each?> Ends the INVOICE group.

Handling Data
These sections describe methods for handling data in templates.

• Sorting Data

• Checking for Null Values

• Regrouping the XML Data

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Handling Data

Sorting Data
You can sort a group by any element within the group. Insert the following syntax
within the group tags:
<?sort:element name; order; data-type?>
where
element name is the name of the element you want the group sorted by
order is 'ascending' or 'descending'
data-type is the element data type. Valid values are: 'text' and 'number'.
If the order is not specified, by default, the sort order is ascending. If the data type is
not specified, the type is assumed to be text.
For example, to sort a data set by an element named SALARY so that the highest
salaries appear first, enter the following:
<?sort:SALARY;'descending';'number'?>

When you are sorting within a for-each group, enter the sort statement after the for-
each statement. For example, to sort the Payables Invoice Register (shown at the
beginning of this chapter) by Supplier (VENDOR_NAME), enter the following:
<?for-each:G_VENDOR_NAME?><?sort:VENDOR_NAME?>
To sort a group by multiple fields, just enter additional sort statements in the
appropriate order. For example, to sort by Supplier and then by Invoice Number, enter
the following
<?sort:VENDOR_NAME?> <?sort:INVOICE_NUM;'ascending';'number'?>

Checking for Null Values

Within the XML data there are three possible scenarios for the value of an element.
They are as follows:

• The element is present in the XML data, and it has a value.

• The element is present in the XML data, but it does not have a value.

• The element is not present in the XML data, and therefore there is no value.
In the report layout, you may want to specify a different behavior depending on the
presence of the element and its value. The following examples show how to check for
each of these conditions using an "if" statement. The syntax can also be used in other
conditional formatting constructs.

• To define behavior when the element is present and the value is not null, use the
following:
<?if:element_name!=' '?> desired behavior <?end if?>

• To define behavior when the element is present, but is null, use the following:
<?if:element_name and element_name="?> desired behavior <?end if?>

• To define behavior when the element is not present, use the following:
<?if:not(element_name)?> desired behavior <?end if?>

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Regrouping the XML Data

The RTF template supports the XSL 2.0 for-each-group standard that allows you to
regroup XML data into hierarchies that are not present in the original data.
With this feature, the template does not have to follow the hierarchy of the source
XML file. You are therefore no longer limited by the structure of the data source.

XML Sample
This XML sample shows a set of data that uses the for-each-group standard.
To demonstrate the for-each-group standard, the following XML data sample of a CD
catalog listing is regrouped in a template:
<CATALOG>
<CD>
<TITLE>Empire Burlesque</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Bob Dylan</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>USA</COUNTRY>
<COMPANY>Columbia</COMPANY>
<PRICE>10.90</PRICE>
<YEAR>1985</YEAR>
</CD>
<CD>
<TITLE>Hide Your Heart</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Bonnie Tylor</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>UK</COUNTRY>
<COMPANY>CBS Records</COMPANY>
<PRICE>9.90</PRICE>
<YEAR>1988</YEAR>
</CD>
<CD>
<TITLE>Still got the blues</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Gary More</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>UK</COUNTRY>
<COMPANY>Virgin Records</COMPANY>
<PRICE>10.20</PRICE>
<YEAR>1990</YEAR>
</CD>
<CD>
<TITLE>This is US</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Gary Lee</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>UK</COUNTRY>
<COMPANY>Virgin Records</COMPANY>
<PRICE>12.20</PRICE>
<YEAR>1990</YEAR>
</CD>

Using the regrouping syntax, you can create a report of this data that groups the CDs
by country and then by year. You are not limited by the data structure presented.

Regrouping Syntax
You can regroup data using the proper syntax
To regroup the data, use the following syntax:
<?for-each-group: BASE-GROUP;GROUPING-ELEMENT?>

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Handling Data

For example, to regroup the CD listing by COUNTRY, enter the following in the
template:
<?for-each-group:CD;COUNTRY?>

The elements that were at the same hierarchy level as COUNTRY are now children of
COUNTRY. You can then refer to the elements of the group to display the values
desired.
To establish nested groupings within the already defined group, use the following
syntax:
<?for-each:current-group(); GROUPING-ELEMENT?>

For example, after declaring the CD grouping by COUNTRY, you can then further
group by YEAR within COUNTRY as follows:
<?for-each:current-group();YEAR?>

At runtime, BI Publisher loops through the occurrences of the new groupings,

displaying the fields that you defined in the template.

Note: This syntax is a simplification of the XSL for-each-group syntax. If you

choose not to use the simplified syntax above, you can use the XSL syntax as
shown below. The XSL syntax can only be used within a form field of the
template.

<xsl:for-each-group
select=expression
group-by="string expression"
group-adjacent="string expression"
group-starting-with=pattern>
<!--Content: (xsl:sort*, content-constructor) -->
</xsl:for-each-group>

Template Example
You can see some features that can be used to enhance templates in this example.
The following illustration shows a template that displays the CDs by Country, then
Year, and lists the details for each CD.

The following table shows the BI Publisher syntax entries made in the form fields of
the template that is shown in the previous illustration.

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Default Text Form Field Help Text Entry Description

Entry
Group by <?for-each- The <?for-each-group:CD;COUNTRY?>
Country group:CD;COUNTRY?> tag declares the new group. It regroups the
existing CD group by the COUNTRY
element.

USA <?COUNTRY?> Placeholder to display the data value of the

COUNTRY tag.

Group by <?for-each- The <?for-each-group:current-

Year group:current- group();YEAR?> tag regroups the current
group();YEAR?> group (that is, COUNTRY), by the YEAR
element.

2000 <?YEAR?> Placeholder to display the data value of the

YEAR tag.

Group: <?for-each:current- Once the data is grouped by COUNTRY and

Details group()?> then by YEAR, the <?for-each:current-
group()?> command is used to loop
through the elements of the current group
(that is, YEAR) and render the data values
(TITLE, ARTIST, and PRICE) in the table.

My CD <?TITLE?> Placeholder to display the data value of the

TITLE tag.

John Doe <?ARTIST?> Placeholder to display the data value of the

ARTIST tag.

1.00 <?PRICE?> Placeholder to display the data value of the

PRICE tag.

End Group <?end for-each?> Closes out the <?for-each:current-

group()?> tag.

End Group <?end for-each-group?> Closes out the <?for-each-

by Year group:current-group();YEAR?> tag.

End Group <?end for-each-group?> Closes out the <?for-each-

by Country group:CD;COUNTRY?> tag.

This template produces the report that is shown in the next illustration when merged
with the XML file.

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Handling Data

Regrouping by an Expression
Regrouping by an expression allows you to apply a function or command to a data
element, and then group the data by the returned result.
To use this feature, state the expression within the regrouping syntax as follows:
<?for-each:BASE-GROUP;GROUPING-EXPRESSION?>

To demonstrate this feature, an XML data sample that simply contains average
temperatures per month is used as input to a template that calculates the number of
months having an average temperature within a certain range.
The following XML code is composed of <temp> groups. Each <temp> group contains
a <month> element and a <degree> element, which contains the average temperature
for that month:
<temps>
<temp>
<month>Jan</month>
<degree>11</degree>
</temp>
<temp>
<month>Feb</month>
<degree>14</degree>
</temp>
<temp>
<month>Mar</month>
<degree>16</degree>
</temp>
<temp>
<month>Apr</month>
<degree>20</degree>
</temp>

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<temp>
<month>May</month>
<degree>31</degree>
</temp>
<temp>
<month>Jun</month>
<degree>34</degree>
</temp>
<temp>
<month>Jul</month>
<degree>39</degree>
</temp>
<temp>
<month>Aug</month>
<degree>38</degree>
</temp>
<temp>
<month>Sep</month>
<degree>24</degree>
</temp>
<temp>
<month>Oct</month>
<degree>28</degree>
</temp>
<temp>
<month>Nov</month>
<degree>18</degree>
</temp>
<temp>
<month>Dec</month>
<degree>8</degree>
</temp>
</temps>

You want to display this data in a format showing temperature ranges and a count of
the months that have an average temperature to satisfy those ranges, as shown in the
following illustration.

Using the for-each-group command you can apply an expression to the <degree>
element that enables you to group the temperatures by increments of 10 degrees. You
can then display a count of the members of each grouping, which is the number of
months having an average temperature that falls within each range.
The next illustration shows the template to create the report that is shown in the
previous illustration.

Creating RTF Templates 4-81

Setting Variables, Parameters, and Properties

The next table shows the form field entries made in the template that is shown in the
previous illustration.

Default Text Entry Form Field Help Text Entry

Group by TmpRng <?for-each-group:temp;floor(degree div 10)?
> <?sort:floor(degree div 10)?>

Range <?concat(floor(degree div 10)*10,' F to

',floor(degree div 10)*10+10, 'F')?>

Months <?count(current-group())?>

End TmpRng <?end for-each-group?>

Note the following about the form field tags:

• The <?for-each-group:temp;floor(degree div 10)?> is the regrouping

tag. It specifies that for the existing <temp> group, the elements are to be
regrouped by the expression, floor(degree div 10). The floor function is an XSL
function that returns the highest integer that is not greater than the argument (for
example, 1.2 returns 1, 0.8 returns 0).
In this case, it returns the value of the <degree> element, which is then divided by
10. This generates the following values from the XML data: 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2,
1, and 0.
These are sorted, so that when processed, the following four groups are created: 0,
1, 2, and 3.

• The <?concat(floor(degree div 10)*10,'F to ', floor(degree div

10)*10+10,'F'?> displays the temperature ranges in the row header in
increments of 10. The expression concatenates the value of the current group times
10 with the value of the current group times 10 plus 10.
Therefore, for the first group, 0, the row heading displays 0 to (0 +10), or "0 F to 10
F".

• The <?count(current-group())?> uses the count function to count the

members of the current group (the number of temperatures that satisfy the range).

• The <?end for-each-group?> tag closes out the grouping.

Setting Variables, Parameters, and Properties

Learn more about setting variables, parameters, and properties.
This section covers the following topics:

• Setting Variables

• Setting Parameters

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• Setting Properties

Setting Variables
Updatable variables differ from standard XSL variables <xsl:variable> in that they are
updatable during the template application to the XML data.
This allows you to create many new features in the templates that require updatable
variables.
The variables use a "set and get" approach for assigning, updating, and retrieving
values.
Use the following syntax to declare/set a variable value:
<?xdoxslt:set_variable($_XDOCTX, 'variable name', value)?>

Use the following syntax to retrieve a variable value:

<?xdoxslt:get_variable($_XDOCTX, 'variable name')?>

You can use this method to perform calculations. For example:

<?xdoxslt:set_variable($_XDOCTX, 'x', xdoxslt:get_variable($_XDOCTX, 'x' + 1)?>

This sets the value of variable 'x' to its original value plus 1, much like using "x = x +
1".
The $_XDOCTX specifies the global document context for the variables. In a multi-
threaded environment there may be many transformations occurring at the same time,
therefore the variable must be assigned to a single transformation.
See Inserting Running Totals for an example of the usage of updatable variables.

Setting Parameters
You can pass runtime parameter values into the template.
These can then be referenced throughout the template to support many functions. For
example, you can filter data in the template, use a value in a conditional formatting
block, or pass property values (such as security settings) into the final document.

Note: For BI Publisher Enterprise users, all name-value parameter pairs are
passed to the template. You must register the parameters that you want to
utilize in the template using the syntax described below.

To use a parameter in a template:

1. Declare the parameter in the template.

Use the following syntax to declare the parameter:

<?param@begin:parameter_name;parameter_value?>

where
parameter_name is the name of the parameter
parameter_value is the default value for the parameter (the parameter_value is
optional)

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Setting Variables, Parameters, and Properties

param@begin: is a required string to push the parameter declaration to the top of

the template at runtime so that it can be referred to globally in the template.
The syntax must be declared in the Help Text field of a form field. The form field
can be placed anywhere in the template.

2. Refer to the parameter in the template by prefixing the name with a "$" character.
For example, if you declare the parameter name to be "InvThresh", then reference
the value using "$InvThresh".

3. If you are not using BI Publisher Enterprise, but only the core libraries:

At runtime, pass the parameter to the BI Publisher engine programmatically.

Prior to calling the FOProcessor API create a Properties class and assign a property
to it for the parameter value as follows:
Properties prop = new Properties();
prop.put("xslt.InvThresh", "1000");

Example: Passing an invoice threshold parameter

This example illustrates how to declare a parameter in the template that filters the data
based on the value of the parameter.
The following XML sample lists invoice data:
<INVOICES>
<INVOICE>
<INVOICE_NUM>981110</INVOICE_NUM>
<AMOUNT>1100</AMOUNT>
</INVOICE>
<INVOICE>
<INVOICE_NUM>981111</INVOICE_NUM>
<AMOUNT>250</AMOUNT>
</INVOICE>
<INVOICE>
<INVOICE_NUM>981112</INVOICE_NUM>
<AMOUNT>8343</AMOUNT>
</INVOICE>
. . .
</INVOICES>

The following illustration shows a template that accepts a parameter value to limit the
invoices displayed in the final document based on the parameter value.

The following table describes the fields for defining parameters as shown in the
template in the previous illustration.

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Field Form Field Help Text Entry Description

InvThreshDeclar <?param@begin:InvThresh?> Declares the parameter InvThresh.

ation

FE <?for-each:INVOICE?> Begins the repeating group for the

INVOICE element.

IF <?if:AMOUNT>$InvThresh?> Tests the value of the AMOUNT

element to determine if it is greater
than the value of InvThresh.

13222-2 <?INVOICE_NUM?> Placeholder for the INVOICE_NUM

element.

$100.00 <?AMOUNT?> Placeholder for the AMOUNT

element.

EI <?end if?> Closing tag for the if statement.

EFE <?end for-each?> Closing tag for the for-each loop.

In this template, only INVOICE elements with an AMOUNT greater than the
InvThresh parameter value are displayed. If you pass in a parameter value of 1,000,
then the report that is shown in the following illustration is produced.

Notice the second invoice does not display because its amount was less than the
parameter value.

Setting Properties
BI Publisher properties that are available in the BI Publisher Configuration file can
alternatively be embedded into the RTF template.
The properties set in the template are resolved at runtime by the BI Publisher engine.
You can either hard code the values in the template or embed the values in the
incoming XML data. Embedding the properties in the template avoids the use of the
configuration file.

Note: See the appendix "Configuration File Reference in Administrator's Guide

for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher for more information about the BI
Publisher Configuration file and the available properties.

For example, if you use a nonstandard font in the template, then rather than specify
the font location in the configuration file, you can embed the font property inside the
template. If you must secure the generated PDF output, then you can use the BI

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Setting Variables, Parameters, and Properties

Publisher PDF security properties and obtain the password value from the incoming
XML data.
To add a BI Publisher property to a template, use the Microsoft Word Properties
dialog (available from the File menu), and enter the following information:

• Name - Enter the BI Publisher property name prefixed with "xdo-"

• Type - Select "Text"

• Value - Enter the property value. To reference an element from the incoming XML
data, enter the path to the XML element enclosed by curly braces. For example: {/
root/password}
Embedding a Font Reference
For this example, suppose you want to use a font in the template called "XMLPScript".
This font is not available on the server; therefore you must tell BI Publisher where to
find the font at runtime. You tell BI Publisher where to find the font by setting the
"font" property. Assume the font is located in "/tmp/fonts", then you would enter the
following in the Properties dialog:

• Name - xdo-font.XMLPScript.normal.normal

• Type - Text

• Value - truetype./tmp/fonts/XMLPScript.ttf
When the template is applied to the XML data on the server, BI Publisher looks for the
font in the /tmp/fonts directory. Note that if the template is deployed in multiple
locations, then you must ensure that the path is valid for each location.
For more information about setting font properties, see the section Font Definitions in
Administrator's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.
Securing a PDF Output
For this example, suppose you want to use a password from the XML data to secure
the PDF output document. The XML data is as follows:
<PO>
<security>true</security>
<password>welcome</password>
<PO_DETAILS>
..
</PO>

In the Properties dialog set two properties: pdf-security to set the security feature as
enabled or not, and pdf-open-password to set the password. Enter the following in the
Properties dialog:

• Name: xdo-pdf-security

• Type: Text

• Value: {/PO/security}

• Name: xdo-pdf-open-password

• Type: Text

• Value: {/PO/password}

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Storing the password in the XML data is not recommended if the XML persists in the
system for any length of time. To avoid this potential security risk, you can use a
template parameter value that is generated and passed into the template at runtime.
For example, you could set up the following parameters:

• PDFSec - To pass the value for the xdo-pdf-security property

• PDFPWD - To pass the value for the password

You would then enter the following in the Properties dialog:

• Name - xdo-pdf-security

• Type - Text

• Value - {$PDFSec}

• Name - xdo-pdf-open-password

• Type - Text

• Value - {$PDFPWD}
For more information about template parameters, see Setting Parameters.

Using Advanced Report Layouts

Learn more about Advanced Report Layouts.
This section describes the following tasks for advanced report layouts:

• Creating Batch Reports

• Handling No Data Found Conditions

• Inserting Pivot Tables

• Constructing Dynamic Data Columns

Creating Batch Reports

It is a common requirement to print a batch of documents, such as invoices or
purchase orders in a single PDF file. Because these documents are intended for
different customers, each document requires that the page numbering be reset and
that page totals are specific to the document. If the header and footer display fields
from the data (such as customer name), then these must be reset as well.
BI Publisher supports this requirement through the use of a context command. This
command allows you to define elements of the report to a specific section. When the
section changes, these elements are reset.
The following example demonstrates how to reset the header and footer and page
numbering within an output file:
The following XML code is a report that contains multiple invoices:
...
<LIST_G_INVOICE>
<G_INVOICE>
<BILL_CUST_NAME>Vision, Inc. </BILL_CUST_NAME>
<TRX_NUMBER>2345678</TRX_NUMBER>
...

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Using Advanced Report Layouts

</G_INVOICE>
<G_INVOICE>
<BILL_CUST_NAME>Oracle, Inc. </BILL_CUST_NAME>
<TRX_NUMBER>2345685</TRX_NUMBER>
...
</G_INVOICE>
...
</LIST_G_INVOICE>
...

Each G_INVOICE element contains an invoice for a potentially different customer. To

instruct BI Publisher to start a new section for each occurrence of the G_INVOICE
element, add the @section command to the opening for-each statement for the group,
using the following syntax:
<?for-each@section:group name?>
where group_name is the name of the element for which you want to begin a new
section.
For example, the for-each grouping statement for this example is as follows:
<?for-each@section:G_INVOICE?>
The closing <?end for-each?> tag is not changed.
The following figure shows a sample template for batch reports:

Note: The G_INVOICE group for-each declaration is still within the body of
the report, even though the headers are reset by the command.

The following table describes the values of the form fields from the template in the
previous figure (that shows a sample template for batch reports):

Default Text Form Field Help Text Description

Entry
for-each <?for- Begins the G_INVOICE group, and
G_INVOICE each@section:G_INVOICE?> defines the element as a Section. For
each occurrence of G_INVOICE, a
new section is started.

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Default Text Form Field Help Text Description

Entry
<? N/A Microsoft Word does not support
TRX_NUMBER?> form fields in the header, therefore
the placeholder syntax for the
TRX_NUMBER element is placed
directly in the template.

end G_INVOICE <?end for-each?> Closes the G_INVOICE group.

Now for each new occurrence of the G_INVOICE element, a new section begins. The
page numbers restart, and if header or footer information is derived from the data, it is
reset as well.

Handling No Data Found Conditions

When you use @section with the BI Publisher commands for-each or for-each-group
(for example: <?for-each@section:ELEMENT_NAME?>), and the input data file has
no data, then an empty or invalid PDF output document may be generated for that
for-each loop. To prevent this from happening, edit the RTF template.

To handle no data found conditions:

1. At the end of the RTF template, add a section break.

2. On the last page (the new section page), add the command <?
if@section:not(ELEMENT_NAME)?>No Data Found<?end if?>

where ELEMENT_NAME is the same data element that you are using in the for-
each@section loop.
Now if no data exists for ELEMENT_NAME, a valid PDF is generated with the text
"No Data Found".

Inserting Pivot Tables

The columns of a pivot table are data dependent.

Note: For more information, see Inserting a Pivot Table.

At design time you do not know how many columns are reported, or what the
appropriate column headings are. Moreover, if the columns should break onto a
second page, you must be able to define the row label columns to repeat onto
subsequent pages. The following example shows how to design a simple pivot tale
report that supports these features.
This example uses the following XML sample:
<ROWSET>
<RESULTS>
<INDUSTRY>Motor Vehicle Dealers</INDUSTRY>
<YEAR>2005</YEAR>
<QUARTER>Q1</QUARTER>
<SALES>1000</SALES>
</RESULTS>
<RESULTS>

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Using Advanced Report Layouts

<INDUSTRY>Motor Vehicle Dealers</INDUSTRY>

<YEAR>2005</YEAR>
<QUARTER>Q2</QUARTER>
<SALES>2000</SALES>
</RESULTS>
<RESULTS>
<INDUSTRY>Motor Vehicle Dealers</INDUSTRY>
<YEAR>2004</YEAR>
<QUARTER>Q1</QUARTER>
<SALES>3000</SALES>
</RESULTS>
<RESULTS>
<INDUSTRY>Motor Vehicle Dealers</INDUSTRY>
<YEAR>2004</YEAR>
<QUARTER>Q2</QUARTER>
<SALES>3000</SALES>
</RESULTS>
<RESULTS>
<INDUSTRY>Motor Vehicle Dealers</INDUSTRY>
<YEAR>2003</YEAR>
...
</RRESULTS>
<RESULTS>
<INDUSTRY>Home Furnishings</INDUSTRY>
...
</RESULTS>
<RESULTS>
<INDUSTRY>Electronics</INDUSTRY>
...
</RESULTS>
<RESULTS>
<INDUSTRY>Food and Beverage</INDUSTRY>
...
</RESULTS>

</ROWSET>

From this XML code, a report is generated that shows each industry and totals the
sales by year as shown in the following illustration.

The following illustration shows the template to generate the report that is shown in
the previous illustration.

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The form fields in the template that is shown in the previous illustration have the
values that are described in the following table.

Default Text Form Field Help Text Description

Entry
header column <?horizontal-break-table:1?> Defines the first column as a header that
should repeat if the table breaks across
pages. For more information about this
syntax, see Defining Columns to Repeat
Across Pages.

for: <?for-each- Uses the regrouping syntax (see

group@column:RESULTS;YEAR?> Regrouping the XML Data) to group the
data by YEAR; and the @column context
command to create a table column for each
group (YEAR). For more information about
context commands, see Controlling the
Placement of Instructions Using the Context
Commands.

YEAR <?YEAR?> Placeholder for the YEAR element.

end <?end for-each-group?> Closes the for-each-group loop.

for: <?for-each-group:RESULTS;INDUSTRY?> Begins the group to create a table row for

each INDUSTRY.

INDUSTRY <?INDUSTRY?> Placeholder for the INDUSTRY element.

for: <?for-each-group@cell:current- Uses the regrouping syntax (see

group();YEAR?> Regrouping the XML Data) to group the
data by YEAR; and the @cell context
command to create a table cell for each
group (YEAR).

sum(Sales) <?sum(current-group()//SALES)?> Sums the sales for the current group

(YEAR).

end <?end for-each-group?> Closes the for-each-group statement.

end <?end for-each-group?> Closes the for-each-group statement.

Note that only the first row uses the @column context to determine the number of
columns for the table. All remaining rows must use the @cell context to create the table
cells for the column. (For more information about context commands, see Controlling
the Placement of Instructions Using the Context Commands.)

Constructing Dynamic Data Columns

The ability to construct dynamic data columns is a very powerful feature of the RTF
template. Using this feature you can design a template that correctly renders a table
when the number of columns that is required by the data is variable.
For example, you are designing a template to display columns of test scores within
specific ranges. However, you do not how many ranges have data to report. You can
define a dynamic data column to split into the correct number of columns at runtime.
Use the following tags to accommodate the dynamic formatting required to render the
data correctly:

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Using Advanced Report Layouts

• Dynamic Column Header

<?split-column-header:group element name?>
Use this tag to define which group to split for the column headers of a table.

• Dynamic Column <?split-column-data:group element name?>

Use this tag to define which group to split for the column data of a table.

• Dynamic Column Width

<?split-column-width:name?> or
<?split-column-width:@width?>
Use one of these tags to define the width of the column when the width is
described in the XML data. The width can be described in two ways:

– An XML element stores the value of the width. In this case, use the syntax <?
split-column-width:name?>, where name is the XML element tag name
that contains the value for the width.

– If the element defined in the split-column-header tag, contains a width attribute,

use the syntax <?split-column-width:@width?> to use the value of that
attribute.

• Dynamic Column Width's unit value (in points) <?split-column-width-

unit:value?>
Use this tag to define a multiplier for the column width. If the column widths are
defined in character cells, then you must use the appropriate multiplier value to
render the columns to the correct width in points. For example, if you are using 10
point courier font in the table, you would use a multiplier of 6, which is the
approximate width of a character displayed in 10 point courier font. If the
multiplier is not defined, then the widths of the columns are calculated as a
percentage of the total width of the table. The column width calculations are
illustrated in the following table:

Width Column 1 (Width = 10) Column 2 (Width = Column 3 (Width =

Definition 12) 14)
Multiplier not 10/10+12+14*100 28% %Width = 33% %Width =39%
present -%
width

Multiplier = 6 - 60 pts 72 pts 84 pts

width

Defining Columns to Repeat Across Pages

If the table columns expand horizontally across more than one page, you can define
how many row heading columns you want to repeat on every page.
Use the following syntax to specify the number of columns to repeat:
<?horizontal-break-table:number?>
where number is the number of columns (starting from the left) to repeat.

Note: This functionality is supported for PDF output only.

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Example of Dynamic Data Columns

A template is required to display test score ranges for school exams. Logically, you
want the report to be arranged as shown in the table here.

Test Score Test Score Test Score Test Score ...Test Score
Range 1 Range 2 Range 3 Range n
Test Category # students in # students in # students in # of students in
Range 1 Range 2 Range 3 Range n

However, you do not know how many Test Score Ranges are reported. The number of
Test Score Range columns is dynamic, depending on the data.
The following XML data describes these test scores. The number of occurrences of the
element <TestScoreRange> determine how many columns are required. In this case
there are five columns: 0-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-80, and 81-100. For each column there is
an amount element (<NumOfStudents>) and a column width attribute (<TestScore
width="15">).
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<TestScoreTable>
<TestScores>
<TestCategory>Mathematics</TestCategory>
<TestScore width ="15">
<TestScoreRange>0-20</TestScoreRange>
<NumofStudents>30</NumofStudents>
</TestScore>
<TestScore width ="20">
<TestScoreRange>21-40</TestScoreRange>
<NumofStudents>45</NumofStudents>
</TestScore>
<TestScore width ="15">
<TestScoreRange>41-60</TestScoreRange>
<NumofStudents>50</NumofStudents>
</TestScore>
<TestScore width ="20">
<TestScoreRange>61-80</TestScoreRange>
<NumofStudents>102</NumofStudents>
</TestScore>
<TestScore width ="15">
<TestScoreRange>81-100</TestScoreRange>
<NumofStudents>22</NumofStudents>
</TestScore>
</TestScores>
<TestScoreTable>

Using the dynamic column tags in form fields, set up the table in two columns as
shown in the following figure. The first column, Test Score is static. The second
column, Column Header and Splittingis the dynamic column. At runtime this column is
split according to the data, and the header for each column is appropriately populated.
The Default Text entry and Form Field Help entry for each field are listed in the
following table. (See Using the Form Field Method for more information on using
form fields).

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Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies

Default Text Entry Form Field Help Text Entry

Group:TestScores <?for-each:TestScores?>

Test Category <?TestCategory?>

Column Header and Splitting <?split-column-header:TestScore?> <?

split-column-width:@width?> <?
TestScoreRange?>%

Content and Splitting <?split-column-data:TestScore?> <?

NumofStudents?>

end:TestScores <?end for-each?>

• Test Score is the boilerplate column heading.

• Test Category is the placeholder for the <TestCategory> data element, that is,
Mathematics, which is also the row heading.

• The second column is the one to be split dynamically. The width you specify is
divided by the number of columns of data. In this case, there are 5 data columns.

• The second column contains the dynamic range data. The width of the column is
divided according to the split column width. Because this example does not contain
the unit value tag (<?split-column-width-unit:value?>), the column is
split on a percentage basis. Wrapping of the data occurs if required.
If the tag (<?split-column-width-unit:value?>) were present, then the
columns have a specific width in points. If the total column widths were wider
than the allotted space on the page, then the table breaks onto another page.
The horizontal-break-table tag could then be used to specify how many columns to
repeat on the subsequent page. For example, a value of 1 would repeat the column
Test Score on the subsequent page, with the continuation of the columns that did
not fit on the first page.
The template renders the output that is shown in the following figure:

Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies

This section provides details for formatting numbers, dates, and currencies.
It contains the following topics:

• Formatting Numbers

• Formatting Dates

• Formatting Currencies

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Formatting Numbers
BI Publisher supports two methods for specifying the number format.

• Oracle's format-number function (recommended).

• Microsoft Word's Native number format mask.

Note:

You can also use the native XSL format-number function to format numbers.
For information, see Formatting Native XSL Numbers.

Use only one of these methods. If the number format mask is specified using both
methods, then the data is formatted twice, causing unexpected behavior.
The group separator and the number separator are set at runtime based on the
template locale. If you are working in a locale other than en-US, or the templates
require translation, use the Oracle format masks.

Data Source Requirements

To use the Oracle format mask or the Microsoft format mask, the numbers in the data
source must be in a raw format, with no formatting applied (for example: 1000.00). If
the number has been formatted for European countries (for example: 1.000,00) then the
format does not work.
The Oracle BI Publisher parser requires the Java BigDecimal string representation.
This consists of an optional sign ("-") followed by a sequence of zero or more decimal
digits (the integer), optionally followed by a fraction, and optionally followed by an
exponent. For example: -123456.3455e-3.

Localization Considerations
If you are working in a locale other than en-US, or the templates require translation,
then use the Oracle format masks.
The Microsoft format masks can generate unexpected results in templates run in
different locale settings.
Do not include "%" in the format mask because this fixes the location of the percent
sign in the number display, while the desired position could be at the beginning or the
end of a number, depending on the locale.

Using the Microsoft Number Format Mask

To format numeric values, use Microsoft Word's field formatting features available
from the Text Form Field Options dialog.
To apply a number format to a form field:

1. Open the Form Field Options dialog for the placeholder field.

2. Set the Type to Number.

3. Select the appropriate Number format from the list of options.

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Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies

Supported Microsoft Format Mask Definitions

Several format mask definitions can be used to standardize output.
The following table lists the supported Microsoft format mask definitions.

Symbol Location Meaning

0 Number Digit. Each explicitly set 0 appears, if no other number
occupies the position.
Example:
Format mask: 00.0000
Data: 1.234
Display: 01.2340

# Number Digit. When set to #, only the incoming data is

displayed.
Example:
Format mask: ##.####
Data: 1.234
Display: 1.234

. Number Determines the position of the decimal separator. The

decimal separator symbol used is determined at
runtime based on template locale.
Example:
Format mask: #,##0.00
Data: 1234.56
Display for English locale: 1,234.56
Display for German locale: 1.234,56

- Number Determines placement of minus sign for negative

numbers.

, Number Determines the placement of the grouping separator.

The grouping separator symbol used is determined at
runtime based on template locale.
Example:
Format mask: #,##0.00
Data: 1234.56
Display for English locale: 1,234.56
Display for German locale: 1.234,56

E Number Separates mantissa and exponent in a scientific

notation.
Example:
0.###E+0 plus sign always shown for positive numbers
0.###E-0 plus sign not shown for positive numbers

; Subpattern Separates positive and negative subpatterns. See the

boundary Note that follows the table.

% Prefix or Suffix Multiply by 100 and show as percentage

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Symbol Location Meaning

' Prefix or Suffix Used to quote special characters in a prefix or suffix.

Note: Subpattern boundary: A pattern contains a positive and negative

subpattern, for example, "#,##0.00;(#,##0.00)". Each subpattern has a prefix,
numeric part, and suffix. The negative subpattern is optional. If absent, the
positive subpattern prefixed with the localized minus sign ("-" in most locales)
is used as the negative subpattern. That is, "0.00" alone is equivalent to
"0.00;-0.00". If there is an explicit negative subpattern, it serves only to specify
the negative prefix and suffix. The number of digits, minimal digits, and other
characteristics are all the same as the positive pattern. That means that
"#,##0.0#;(#)" produces precisely the same behavior as "#,##0.0#;(#,##0.0#)".

Using the Oracle Format Mask

You can use the Oracle format mask in form fields.
To apply the Oracle format mask to a form field:

1. Open the Form Field Options dialog box for the placeholder field.

2. Set the Type to "Regular text".

3. In the Form Field Help Text field, enter the mask definition according to the
following example:

<?format-number:fieldname;'999G999D99'?>

where
fieldname is the XML tag name of the data element you are formatting and
999G999D99 is the mask definition.
The following illustration shows an example Form Field Help Text dialog entry for the
data element "empno".

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The following table lists the supported Oracle number format mask symbols and their
definitions.

Symbol Meaning

0 Digit. Each explicitly set 0 appears, if no other number occupies the

position. Example: Format mask: 00.0000 Data: 1.234 Display: 01.2340

9 Digit. Returns value with the specified number of digits with a leading
space if positive or a leading minus if negative. Leading zeros are blank,
except for a zero value, which returns a zero for the integer part of the
fixed-point number. Example: Format mask: 99.9999 Data: 1.234 Display:
1.234

C Returns the ISO currency symbol in the specified position.

D Determines the placement of the decimal separator. The decimal separator

symbol used is determined at runtime based on template locale. For
example: Format mask: 9G999D99 Data: 1234.56 Display for English locale:
1,234.56 Display for German locale: 1.234,56

EEEE Returns a value in scientific notation.

G Determines the placement of the grouping (thousands) separator. The

grouping separator symbol used is determined at runtime based on
template locale. For example: Format mask: 9G999D99 Data: 1234.56
Display for English locale: 1,234.56 Display for German locale: 1.234,56

L Returns the local currency symbol in the specified position.

MI Displays negative value with a trailing "-".

PR Displays negative value enclosed by <>

PT Displays negative value enclosed by ()

S (before Displays positive value with a leading "+" and negative values with a
number) leading "-"

S (after number) Displays positive value with a trailing "+" and negative value with a
trailing "-"

Formatting Dates
BI Publisher supports three methods for specifying the date format.
They are:

• Specify an explicit date format mask using Microsoft Word's native date format
mask.

• Specify an explicit date format mask using Oracle's format-date function.

• Specify an abstract date format mask using Oracle's abstract date format masks.
(Recommended for multilingual templates.)

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Only one method should be used. If both the Oracle and MS format masks are
specified, the data is formatted twice, which causes unexpected behavior.

Data Source Requirements

To use the Microsoft format mask or the Oracle format mask, the date from the XML
data source must be in canonical format.
This format is:
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss+HH:MM
where

• YYYY is the year

• MM is the month

• DD is the day

• T is the separator between the date and time component

• hh is the hour in 24-hour format

• mm is the minutes

• ss is the seconds

• +HH:MM is the time zone offset from Universal Time (UTC), or Greenwich Mean
Time
An example of this construction is:
2005-01-01T09:30:10-07:00
The data after the "T" is optional, therefore the following date: 2005-01-01 can be
formatted using either date formatting option.

Note:

If the time component and time zone offset are not included in the XML
source date, then BI Publisher assumes it represents 12:00 AM UTC (that is,
yyyy-mm-ddT00:00:00-00:00).

Using the Microsoft Date Format Mask

To format date values, use Microsoft Word's field formatting features available from
the Form Field Options dialog.
To apply a date format to a form field:

1. Open the Form Field Options dialog box for the placeholder field.

2. Set the Type to Date, Current Date, or Current Time.

3. Select the appropriate Date format from the list of options.

If you do not specify the mask in the Date format field, then the abstract format mask
"MEDIUM" is used as default. See Oracle Abstract Format Masks for the description.
The following table lists the supported Microsoft date format mask components.

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Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies

Symbol Meaning

d The day of the month. Single-digit days do not have a leading zero.

dd The day of the month. Single-digit days have a leading zero.

ddd The abbreviated name of the day of the week, as defined in

AbbreviatedDayNames.

dddd The full name of the day of the week, as defined in DayNames.

M The numeric month. Single-digit months do not have a leading zero.

MM The numeric month. Single-digit months have a leading zero.

MMM The abbreviated name of the month, as defined in

AbbreviatedMonthNames.

MMMM The full name of the month, as defined in MonthNames.

yy The year without the century. If the year without the century is less than
10, the year is displayed with a leading zero.

yyyy The year in four digits.

gg The period or era. This pattern is ignored if the date to be formatted does
not have an associated period or era string.

h The hour in a 12-hour clock. Single-digit hours do not have a leading zero.

hh The hour in a 12-hour clock. Single-digit hours have a leading zero.

H The hour in a 24-hour clock. Single-digit hours do not have a leading zero.

HH The hour in a 24-hour clock. Single-digit hours have a leading zero.

m The minute. Single-digit minutes do not have a leading zero.

mm The minute. Single-digit minutes have a leading zero.

s The second. Single-digit seconds do not have a leading zero.

ss The second. Single-digit seconds do have a leading zero.

f Displays seconds fractions represented in one digit.

ff Displays seconds fractions represented in two digits.

fff Displays seconds fractions represented in three digits.

ffff Displays seconds fractions represented in four digits.

fffff Displays seconds fractions represented in five digits.

ffffff Displays seconds fractions represented in six digits.

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Symbol Meaning

fffffff Displays seconds fractions represented in seven digits.

tt The AM/PM designator defined in AMDesignator or PMDesignator, if

any.

z Displays the time zone offset for the system's current time zone in whole
hours only. (This element can be used for formatting only)

zz Displays the time zone offset for the system's current time zone in whole
hours only. (This element can be used for formatting only)

zzz Displays the time zone offset for the system's current time zone in hours
and minutes.

: The default time separator defined in TimeSeparator.

/ The default date separator defined in DateSeparator.

' Quoted string. Displays the literal value of any string between two '
characters.

" Quoted string. Displays the literal value of any string between two "
characters.

Using the Oracle Format Mask

Use the Oracle format mask to specify how date and time displays.
To apply the Oracle format mask to a date field:

1. Open the Form Field Options dialog box for the placeholder field.

2. Set the Type to Regular Text.

3. Select the Add Help Text... button to open the Form Field Help Text dialog.

4. Insert the following syntax to specify the date format mask:

<?format-date:date_string; 'ABSTRACT_FORMAT_MASK';'TIMEZONE'?
>
or
<?format-date-and-calendar:date_string;
'ABSTRACT_FORMAT_MASK';'CALENDAR_NAME';'TIMEZONE'?>
where time zone is optional. The detailed usage of format mask, calendar and time
zone is described below.
If no format mask is specified, then the abstract format mask "MEDIUM" is used as
the default.
Example form field help text entry:
<?format-date:hiredate;'YYYY-MM-DD'?>

The following table lists the supported Oracle format mask components.

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Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies

Note: Excel2007 output (.xlsx) does not support the following format masks:
E, EE, W, WW, X, XX. If you use these in an RTF template and generate
Excel2007 output, the date with any of these formats will not be viewable.
Some combinations of these format masks may result in an error when the
Excel2007 (.xlsx) output is opened.

Symbol Meaning

- / , . ; : "text" Punctuation and quoted text are reproduced in the result.

AD A.D. AD indicator with or without periods.

AM A.M. Meridian indicator with or without periods.

BC B.C. BC indicator with or without periods.

CC Century. For example, 2002 returns 21; 2000 returns 20.

DAY Name of day, padded with blanks to length of 9 characters.

D Day of week (1-7).

DD Day of month (1-31).

DDD Day of year (1-366).

DL Returns a value in the long date format.

DS Returns a value in the short date format.

DY Abbreviated name of day.

E Abbreviated era name.

EE Full era name.

FF[1..9] Fractional seconds. Use the numbers 1 to 9 after FF to specify the number
of digits in the fractional second portion of the datetime value returned.
Example:
'HH:MI:SS.FF3'

HH Hour of day (1-12).

HH12 Hour of day (1-12).

HH24 Hour of day (0-23).

MI Minute (0-59).

MM Month (01-12; JAN = 01).

MON Abbreviated name of month.

MONTH Name of month, padded with blanks to length of 9 characters.

PM P.M. Meridian indicator with or without periods.

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 Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies

Symbol Meaning

RR Lets you store 20th century dates in the 21st century using only two digits.

RRRR Round year. Accepts either 4-digit or 2-digit input. If 2-digit, provides the
same return as RR. If you do not want this functionality, then simply enter
the 4-digit year.

SS Seconds (0-59).

TZD Daylight savings information. The TZD value is an abbreviated time zone
string with daylight savings information. It must correspond to the region
specified in TZR.
Example:
PST (for Pacific Standard Time)
PDT (for Pacific Daylight Time)

TZH Time zone hour. (See TZM format element.)

TZM Time zone minute. (See TZH format element.)

Example:
'HH:MI:SS.FFTZH:TZM'

TZR Time zone region information. The value must be one of the time zone
regions supported in the database.
Example:
PST (Pacific Standard Time)

WW Week of year (1-53) where week 1 starts on the first day of the year and
continues to the seventh day of the year.

W Week of month (1-5) where week 1 starts on the first day of the month and
ends on the seventh.

X Local radix character.

YYYY 4-digit year.

YY Y Last 2, or 1 digit(s) of year.

Default Format Mask

If you do not want to specify a format mask with either the MS method or the Oracle
method, you can omit the mask definition and use the default format mask. The
default format mask is the MEDIUM abstract format mask from Oracle.
See Oracle Abstract Format Masks for definition.
To use the default option using the Microsoft method, set the Type to Date, but leave
the Date format field blank in the Text Form Field Options dialog.
To use the default option using the Oracle method, do not supply a mask definition to
the "format-date" function call. For example:
<?format-date:hiredate?>

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Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies

Oracle Abstract Format Masks

The abstract date format masks reflect the default implementations of date/time
formatting in the I18N library.
When you use one of these masks, the output generated depends on the locale that is
associated with the report.
Specify the abstract mask using the following syntax:
<?format-date:fieldname;'MASK'?>

where fieldname is the XML element tag and

MASK is the Oracle abstract format mask name
For example:
<?format-date:hiredate;'SHORT'?>
<?format-date:hiredate;'LONG_TIME_TZ'?>
<?format-date:xdoxslt:sysdate_as_xsdformat();'MEDIUM'?>

The following table lists the abstract format masks and the sample output that would
be generated for the US locale.

Mask Output for US Locale

SHORT 2/31/99

MEDIUM Dec 31, 1999

LONG Friday, December 31, 1999

SHORT_TIME 12/31/99 6:15 PM

MEDIUM_TIME Dec 31, 1999 6:15 PM

LONG_TIME Friday, December 31, 1999 6:15 PM

SHORT_TIME_TZ 12/31/99 6:15 PM GMT

MEDIUM_TIME_TZ Dec 31, 1999 6:15 PM GMT

LONG_TIME_TZ Friday, December 31, 1999 6:15 PM GMT

Displaying the System Date (sysdate) in Reports

To correctly display the sysdate, use the function xdoxslt:sysdate_as_xsdformat() with
the <?format-date:?> command.
For example:
<?format-date:xdoxslt:sysdate_as_xsdformat();'MEDIUM'?>

<?format-date:xdoxslt:sysdate_as_xsdformat();'LONG'?>

<?format-date:xdoxslt:sysdate_as_xsdformat();'LONG_TIME_TZ'?>

<?format-date-and-calendar:xdoxslt:sysdate_as_xsdformat();
'LONG_TIME';'ROC_OFFICIAL';?>

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 Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies

Formatting Currencies
BI Publisher enables you to define specific currency format masks to apply to the
published data at runtime.

To utilize currency formatting in the RTF template:

1. Set up the currency formats in BI Publisher's runtime configuration properties. The

currency formats can be defined at the system level or at the report level.

When you set up the currency format property, you define the format to be used
for a specified currency, using the International Standards Organization (ISO)
currency code. A sample is shown in the following figure:

See Configuring Currency Formats for more information.

2. Enter the format-currency command in the RTF template to apply the format to the
field at runtime, as described in Applying a Currency Format to a Field.

Applying a Currency Format to a Field

Follow these steps to understand the parameters for the format-currency function and
to apply a currency format to a field.
The parameters for the format-currency function are as follows:
<?format-currency:Amount_Field;CurrencyCode;displaySymbolOrNot?>

where
Amount_Field takes the tag name of the XML element that holds the amount value
in the data.
CurrencyCode can either be set to a static value or it can be set dynamically. If the
value is static for the report, then enter the ISO three-letter currency code in single-
quotes, for example, "USD".

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Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies

To set the value dynamically, enter the tag name of the XML element that holds the
ISO currency code. Note that an element that contains the currency code must be
present in the data.
At runtime, the Amount_Field is formatted according to the format you set up for
the currency code in the report properties.
displaySymbolOrNot takes one of the following values: true or false. When set to
true, the currency symbol is displayed in the report based on the value for
CurrencyCode. If you do not want the currency symbol to be displayed, then you can
either enter false or simply do not specify the parameter.

Example: Displaying Multiple Currency Formats in a Report

The table here provides an example that assumes you have set up the various currency
formats in the report properties.

Currency Code Format Mask

USD 9G999D99

INR 9G99G99G999D99

In this example, you need not set the currency code dynamically. You have the
following elements in the XML data:
<TOTAL_SALES>
<US_SALES>8596526459.56</US_SALES>
<INDIA_SALES>60000000</INDIA_SALES>
</TOTAL_SALES>

You want to display these two total fields in the template.

For US_SALES, the syntax in the BI Publisher properties field is as follows:
<?format-currency:US_SALES;'USD'?>

The following figure shows the two fields in a template with the BI Publisher
Properties dialog displaying the entry for INDIA_SALES:

At runtime, the fields are displayed as shown in the following figure:

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 Supporting Calendars and Time Zones

Example: Displaying Multiple Currency Codes in a Single Report

This simple XML code includes an element that contains the Amount (Trans_amount)
and an element that contains the ISO currency code (Cur_Code).
<ROW>
<Trans_Amount>123</Trans_Amount>
<Cur_Code>USD</Cur_Code>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<Trans_Amount>-456</Trans_Amount>
<Cur_Code>GBP</Cur_Code>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<Trans_Amount>748</Trans_Amount>
<Cur_Code>EUR</Cur_Code>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<Trans_Amount>-987</Trans_Amount>
<Cur_Code>JPY</Cur_Code>
</ROW>

To display each of these amounts with the appropriate currency symbol, enter the
following in the template for the field in which you want the amounts to display:
<?format-currency:Trans_Amount;Cur_Code;'true'?>

The following figure shows the multiple currency report that is generated:

Supporting Calendars and Time Zones

This section describes support for calendars and time zones.

Calendar Specification
The term calendar refers to the calendar date displayed in the published report.
The following types are supported:

• GREGORIAN

• ARABIC_HIJRAH

Creating RTF Templates 4-107

Supporting Calendars and Time Zones

• ENGLISH_HIJRAH

• JAPANESE_IMPERIAL

• THAI_BUDDHA

• ROC_OFFICIAL (Taiwan)
Use one of the following methods to set the calendar type:

• Call the format-date-and-calendar function and declare the calendar type.

For example:<?format-date-and-
calendar:hiredate;'LONG_TIME_TZ';'ROC_OFFICIAL';?>
The following figure shows the output generated using this definition with locale
set to zh-TW and time zone set to Asia/Taipei:

• Set the calendar type using the profile option XDO: Calendar Type
(XDO_CALENDAR_TYPE).

Note:

The calendar type that is specified in the template overrides the calendar type
set in the profile option.

Specify Time Zone

You can specify a time zone using a Java time zone string.
There are two ways to specify time zone information:

• Call the format-date or format-date-and-calendar function with the Oracle format.

• Set the user profile option Client Timezone (CLIENT_TIMEZONE_ID) in Oracle

Applications.
If no time zone is specified, then the report time zone is used.
In the template, the time zone must be specified as a Java time zone string, for
example, America/Los Angeles. The following example shows the syntax to enter in
the help text field of the template:
<?format-date:hiredate;'LONG_TIME_TZ';'Asia/Shanghai'?>

Specify No Time Zone Conversion

You can prevent a time zone from being converted to the user’s local time zone.
To stop timezone conversion truncate the timezone component in the date-time XSD
string. In reports that do not need timezone conversion, <?format-date-nt: ...?
> is a convenient function to achieve no timezone conversion.
Use this RTF template command to prevent any time zone conversion on the date-time
provided.
Syntax: <?format-date-nt:<date_string>;'ABSTRACT_FORMAT_MASK'?>

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 Using External Fonts

Examples:
<?format-date-nt:Hire_Date;'SHORT'?>
<?format-date-nt:xdoxslt:sysdate_as_xsdformat();'MEDIUM'?>
<?format-date-nt:Hire_Date;'MEDIUM_TIME'?>

Using External Fonts

BI Publisher enables you to use external fonts in the output that are not normally
available on the server.
To set up a new font for the report output, use the font to design the template on your
client machine, then make it available on the server, and configure BI Publisher to
access the font at runtime.

Note: External fonts are supported for PDF output only.

To use external fonts:

1. Use the font in the template.

a. Copy the font to the <WINDOWS_HOME>/fonts directory.

b. Open Microsoft Word and build the template.

c. Insert the font in the template: Select the text or form field and then select the
desired font from the font dialog box (Format > Font) or font drop down list.
The following illustration shows an example of the form field method and the
text method.

2. Place the font on the BI Publisher server in the ORACLE_HOME/common/fonts

directory.

Note:
The predefined fonts are located in the Oracle Business Intelligence Oracle
home, in: ORACLE_HOME/common/fonts. The font location is set by the
XDO_FONT_DIR variable. If this variable is not set in your environment, then
the fonts are located in $JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/fonts.

3. Set the BI Publisher "font" property.

You can set the font property for the report in the BI Publisher Font Mappings
page, or in the configuration file.
To set the property in the Font Mappings page:

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Using External Fonts

a. Open the report in the report editor.

b. Click Properties, then click Font Mappings.

c. Enter the font and then select the font to which you want to map it. See
Configuring Report Properties.
To set the property in the configuration file:

a. Update the BI Publisher configuration file "fonts" section with the font name
and its location on the server. For example, the new entry for a TrueType font
is structured as follows:
<font family="MyFontName" style="normal" weight="normal">
<truetype path="\user\fonts\MyFontName.ttf"/>
</font>

See the appendix Configuration File Reference in Administrator's Guide for Oracle
Business Intelligence Publisher for more information.
Now you can run the report and BI Publisher uses the font in the output as designed.
For PDF output, the advanced font handling features of BI Publisher embed the
external font glyphs directly into the final document. The embedded font only
contains the glyphs required for the document and not the complete font definition.
Therefore the document is completely self-contained, eliminating the need to have
external fonts installed on the printer.

Testing Fonts
Use the template viewer to test fonts.

Ensure that the required fonts are mapped correctly to avoid any font related issues
such as Romanian alphabets not being displayed. The font family name in the font
mapping should exactly match the name used in the template.

1. Run the template viewer.

2. Navigate to the Setting tab.

3. Load the xdo.cfg configuration file containing the font mapping.

For example, the Arial font is set in the xdo.cfg file as follows:
<font family="Arial" style="italic" weight="bold">
<truetype path="D:\fonts\arialbi.ttf" />
</font>

4. Reload the xdo.cfg configuration file if you make any changes to it.

5. Run the report.

Using the Barcode Fonts Shipped with BI Publisher

There are several fonts that output barcodes included with BI Publisher.
The following table describes the barcodes that are included with BI Publisher.

Font File Supported Algorithm

128R00.TTF code128a, code128b, and code128c

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 Using External Fonts

Font File Supported Algorithm

B39R00.TTF code39, code39mod43

UPCR00.TTF upca, upce

When you use one of these prepackaged fonts, BI Publisher executes the preprocessing
on the data prior to applying the barcode font to the data in the output document. For
example, to calculate checksum values or start and end bits for the data before
formatting them.
At design time it is not necessary that you apply the barcode font to the field in
Microsoft Word. Instead, you can map the font that you apply to the field using BI
Publisher's font mapping. At runtime, BI Publisher applies the barcode font to any
field using the base font you specified in the font mapping. Be sure to choose a font
that is not used elsewhere in the template. For information on font mapping, see
Configuring Report Properties.
If you want to use the font directly in Microsoft Word, then add the appropriate .TTF
file to the C:\WINDOWS\Fonts directory. To use the Template Builder Preview
function, map the font in the Template Builder configuration file. See Configuring
Fonts for the BI Publisher Template Builder.
To use the barcode fonts in the report output:

1. Insert a field in the template where the barcode is to display in the report output.

2. In the form field, enter the following command:

<?format-barcode:data;'barcode_type'?>
where
data is the element from the XML data source to be encoded. For example:
INVOICE_NO
barcode_type is one of the supported algorithms listed above.
Examples:
<?format-barcode:INVOICE_NO;'code128a'?>

<?format-barcode:INVOICE_NO;'code39mod43'?>

<?format-barcode:INVOICE_NO;'upca'?>

3. In Microsoft Word, apply the font to the field. If you have not installed the barcode
fonts on your client machine, then select a font that is not used elsewhere in the
template, for example, Bookman.

4. Configure the font in the Font Mapping page. For more information about the Font
Mapping page, see Configuring Report Properties.

Note the following:

• Microsoft Word may not render the barcode fonts properly even when they are
installed on your client. To work around this issue, apply a different font to the
field and map the font as described above.

Creating RTF Templates 4-111

Using External Fonts

• The upca algorithm accepts only UPC-A message string and encodes into UPC-A
barcode.

• A string of 12 characters is treated as UPC-A message with a check digit, 11 is

without a check digit.

• The upce algorithm accepts only UPC-E message strings and encodes into UPC-E
barcode.

• A string of 8 characters is treated as a UPC-E message with both a front and end
guard bar; a string of 6 characters is without guard bars.

Implementing Custom Barcode Formats

If you choose to use a custom barcode instead, use this procedure to implement a
custom barcode.
BI Publisher offers the ability to execute preprocessing on the data prior to applying a
barcode font to the data in the output document. For example, you might need to
calculate checksum values or start and end bits for the data before formatting them.
The solution requires that you register a barcode encoding class with BI Publisher that
can then be instantiated at runtime to apply the formatting in the template. For
information, see Advanced Barcode Font Formatting in Developer's Guide for Oracle
Business Intelligence Publisher.
To enable the formatting feature in the template, you must use two commands in the
template. The first command registers the barcode encoding class with BI Publisher.
This must be declared somewhere in the template prior to the encoding command.
The second is the encoding command to identify the data to be formatted.

Registering the Barcode Encoding Class

You can include barcodes in form fields.
Use the following syntax in a form field in the template to register the barcode
encoding class:
<?register-barcode-vendor:java_class_name;barcode_vendor_id?>

This command requires a Java class name (this carries out the encoding) and a barcode
vendor ID as defined by the class. This command must be placed in the template
before the commands to encode the data in the template. For example:
<?register-barcode-
vendor:'oracle.xdo.template.rtf.util.barcoder.BarcodeUtil';'XMLPBarVendor'?>

where
oracle.xdo.template.rtf.util.barcoder.BarcodeUtil is the Java class
and
XMLPBarVendor is the vendor ID that is defined by the class.

Encoding the Data

Use this syntax in a form field in the template to format the data.
<?format-barcode:data;'barcode_type';'barcode_vendor_id'?>

where

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 Controlling the Placement of Instructions Using the Context Commands

the data is the element from the XML data source to be encoded. For example:
LABEL_ID
the barcode_type is the method in the encoding Java class used to format the data (for
example: Code128a).
the barcode_vendor_id is the ID defined in the register-barcode-vendor field of the
first command you used to register the encoding class.
For example:
<?format-barcode:LABEL_ID;'Code128a';'XMLPBarVendor'?>

At runtime, the barcode_type method is called to format the data value and the
barcode font is then applied to the data in the final output.

Controlling the Placement of Instructions Using the Context Commands

The BI Publisher syntax is simplified XSL instructions. This syntax, along with any
native XSL commands you may use in the template, is converted to XSL-FO at
runtime. The placement of these instructions within the converted stylesheet
determines the behavior of the template.
BI Publisher's RTF processor places these instructions within the XSL-FO stylesheet
according to the most common context. However, sometimes you must define the
context of the instructions differently to create a specific behavior. To support this
requirement, BI Publisher provides a set of context commands that allow you to define
the context (or placement) of the processing instructions. For example, using context
commands, you can:

• Specify an if statement in a table to refer to a cell, a row, a column or the whole

table.

• Specify a for-each loop to repeat either the current data or the complete section (to
create new headers and footers and restart the page numbering)

• Define a variable in the current loop or at the beginning of the document.

You can specify a context for both processing commands using the BI Publisher syntax
and those using native XSL.

• To specify a context for a processing command using the simplified BI Publisher

syntax, simply add @context to the syntax instruction. For example:

– <?for-each@section:INVOICE?> - Specifies that the group INVOICE

should begin a new section for each occurrence. By adding the section context,
you can reset the header and footer and page numbering.
If you do not want to restart the page numbering, then add the command: <?
initial-page-number:'auto'?> after the @section command to continue
the page numbering across sections.

– <?if@column:VAT?> - Specifies that the if statement should apply to the

VAT column only.

• To specify a context for an XSL command, add the xdofo:ctx="context" attribute to

the tags to specify the context for the insertion of the instructions. The value of the
context determines where the code is placed.
For example:
<xsl:for-each xdofo:ctx="section" select ="INVOICE">

Creating RTF Templates 4-113

Controlling the Placement of Instructions Using the Context Commands

<xsl:attribute xdofo:ctx="inblock" name="background-

color">red</xsl:attribute>
BI Publisher supports the context types that are described in the following table:

Context Description
section The statement affects the whole section including the header and
footer. For example, a for-each@section context command creates a
new section for each occurrence - with restarted page numbering and
header and footer. Note that you can retain continuous page
numbering across sections by using the <?initial-page-
number:'auto'?> command. See Creating Batch Reports for an
example of this usage.

column The statement affects the whole column of a table. This context is
typically used to show and hide table columns depending on the
data. See Formatting Columns for an example.

cell The statement affects the cell of a table. This is often used together
with @column in pivot tables to create a dynamic number of columns.
See Inserting Pivot Tables for an example.

block The statement affects multiple complete fo:blocks (RTF paragraphs).

This context is typically used for if and for-each statements. It can
also be used to apply formatting to a paragraph or a table cell. See
Highlighting Cells for an example.

inline The context becomes the single statement inside an fo:inline block.
This context is used for variables.

incontext The statement is inserted immediately after the surrounding

statement. This is the default for <?sort?> statements that must
follow the surrounding for-each as the first element.

inblock The statement becomes a single statement inside an fo:block (RTF

paragraph). This is typically not useful for control statements (such as
if and for-each) but is useful for statements that generate text, such
as call-template.

inlines The statement affects multiple complete inline sections. An inline

section is text that uses the same formatting, such as a group of words
rendered as bold. See Using If Statements in Boilerplate Text.
If you use @inlines with if syntax, any other if syntax inside the
statement must use the context command @inline. If you use
@inlines with FOR-EACH syntax any other if or FOR-EACH syntax
inside the statement must use the context command @inline.

begin The statement is placed at the beginning of the XSL stylesheet. This is
required for global variables. See Setting Parameters.

end The statement is placed at the end of the XSL stylesheet.

The following table shows the default context for the BI Publisher commands:

Command Context
apply-template inline

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 Using XPath Commands

Command Context
attribute inline

call-template inblock

choose block

for-each block

if block

import begin

param begin

sort incontext

template end

value-of inline

variable end

Using XPath Commands

XPath is an industry standard developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
It is the method used to navigate through an XML document. XPath is a set of syntax
rules for addressing the individual pieces of an XML document. You might not know
it, but you have already used XPath; RTF templates use XPath to navigate through the
XML data at runtime.
This section contains a brief introduction to XPath principles. For more information,
see the W3C Web site: http://www.w3.org/TR/xpath
XPath follows the Document Object Model (DOM), which interprets an XML
document as a tree of nodes. A node can be one of seven types:

• root

• element

• attribute

• text

• namespace

• processing instruction

• comment
Many of these elements are shown in the following sample XML, which contains a
catalog of CDs:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<! - My CD Listing - >
<CATALOG>
<CD cattype=Folk>
<TITLE>Empire Burlesque</TITLE>

Creating RTF Templates 4-115

Using XPath Commands

<ARTIST>Bob Dylan</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>USA</COUNTRY>
<PRICE>10.90</PRICE>
<YEAR>1985</YEAR>
</CD>
<CD cattype=Rock>
<TITLE>Hide Your Heart</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Bonnie Tylor</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>UK</COUNTRY>
<PRICE>9.90</PRICE>
<YEAR>1988</YEAR>
</CD>
</CATALOG>

The root node in this example is CATALOG. CD is an element, and it has an attribute
cattype. The sample contains the comment My CD Listing. Text is contained within
the XML document elements.

Locating Data
Locate information in an XML document using location-path expressions.
A node is the most common search element that you encounter. Nodes in the example
CATALOG XML include CD, TITLE, and ARTIST. Use a path expression to locate
nodes within an XML document. For example, the following path returns all CD
elements:
//CATALOG/CD

where
the double slash (//) indicates that all elements in the XML document that match the
search criteria are to be returned, regardless of the level within the document.
the slash (/) separates the child nodes. All elements matching the pattern are returned.
To retrieve the individual TITLE elements, use the following command:
/CATALOG/CD/TITLE

This example returns the following XML:

<CATALOG>
<CD cattype=Folk>
<TITLE>Empire Burlesque</TITLE>
</CD>
<CD cattype=Rock>
<TITLE>Hide Your Heart</TITLE>
</CD>
</CATALOG>

Further limit the search by using square brackets. The brackets locate elements with
certain child nodes or specified values. For example, the following expression locates
all CDs recorded by Bob Dylan:
/CATALOG/CD[ARTIST="Bob Dylan"]

Or, if each CD element did not have an PRICE element, you could use the following
expression to return only those CD elements that include a PRICE element:
/CATALOG/CD[PRICE]

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 Using XPath Commands

Use the bracket notation to leverage the attribute value in the search. Use the @
symbol to indicate an attribute. For example, the following expression locates all Rock
CDs (all CDs with the cattype attribute value Rock):
//CD[@cattype="Rock"]

This returns the following data from the sample XML document:
<CD cattype=Rock>
<TITLE>Hide Your Heart</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Bonnie Tylor</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>UK</COUNTRY>
<PRICE>9.90</PRICE>
<YEAR>1988</YEAR>
</CD>

You can also use brackets to specify the item number to retrieve. For example, the first
CD element is read from the XML document using the following XPath expression:
/CATALOG/CD[1]

The sample returns the first CD element:

<CD cattype=Folk>
<TITLE>Empire Burlesque</TITLE>
<ARTIST>Bob Dylan</ARTIST>
<COUNTRY>USA</COUNTRY>
<PRICE>10.90</PRICE>
<YEAR>1985</YEAR>
</CD>

XPath also supports wildcards to retrieve every element contained within the specified
node. For example, to retrieve all the CDs from the sample XML, use the following
expression:
/CATALOG/*

You can combine statements with Boolean operators for more complex searches. The
following expression retrieves all Folk and Rock CDs, thus all the elements from the
sample:
//CD[@cattype="Folk"]|//CD[@cattype="Rock"]

The pipe (|) is equal to the logical OR operator. In addition, XPath recognizes the
logical OR and AND, as well as the equality operators: <=, <, >, >=, ==, and !=. For
example, you can find all CDs released in 1985 or later using the following expression:
/CATALOG/CD[YEAR >=1985]

Starting Reference
The first character in an XPath expression determines the point at which it should start
in the XML tree.
Statements beginning with a forward slash (/) are considered absolute. No slash
indicates a relative reference. An example of a relative reference is:
CD/*

This statement begins the search at the current reference point. That means if the
example occurred within a group of statements the reference point left by the previous
statement would be utilized.

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Declaring Namespaces

As noted earlier, double forward slashes (//) retrieve every matching element
regardless of location in the document, therefore the use of double forward slashes
(//) should be used only when necessary to improve performance.

Specifying Context and Parents

To select current and parent elements, XPath recognizes the dot notation commonly
used to navigate directories.
Use a single period (.) to select the current node and use double periods (..) to return
the parent of the current node. For example, to retrieve all child nodes of the parent of
the current node, use:
../*

Therefore, to access all CDs from the sample XML, use the following expression:
/CATALOG/CD/..

You could also access all the CD tittles released in 1988 using the following:
/CATALOG/CD/TITLE[../YEAR=1988]

The two periods (..) are used to navigate up the tree of elements to find the YEAR
element at the same level as the TITLE, where it is then tested for a match against
"1988". You could also use // in this case, but if the element YEAR is used elsewhere
in the XML document, then you might get erroneous results.
XPath is an extremely powerful standard when combined with RTF templates
allowing you to use conditional formatting and filtering in the template.

Declaring Namespaces
If the XML data contains namespaces, you must declare them in the template prior to
referencing the namespace in a placeholder. Declare the namespace in the template
using either the basic RTF method or in a form field.
Enter the following syntax:
<?namespace:namespace name= namespace url?>
For example:
<?namespace:fsg=http://www.example.com/fsg/2002-30-20/?>
Once declared, you can use the namespace in the placeholder markup, for example: <?
fsg:ReportName?>

Using FO Elements and XSL Elements

This section describes how to use FO elements and XSL elements.

Using FO Elements
You can use the native FO syntax inside the Microsoft Word form fields.
For more information on XSL-FO see the W3C Website at http://www.w3.org/
2002/08/XSLFOsummary.html
The full list of FO elements that BI Publisher supports is in Supported XSL-FO
Elements.

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 Using FO Elements and XSL Elements

Using XSL Elements

You can use any XSL element in the template by inserting the XSL syntax into a form
field.
If you are using the basic RTF method, you cannot insert XSL syntax directly into the
template. BI Publisher has extended the following XSL elements for use in RTF
templates.
To use these in a basic-method RTF template, you must use the BI Publisher Tag form
of the XSL element. If you are using form fields, use either option.

Applying a Template Rule

Use this element to apply a template rule to the current element's child nodes.
XSL Syntax: <xsl:apply-templates select="name">
BI Publisher Tag: <?apply:name?>
This function applies to <xsl:template-match="n">, where n is the element
name.

Copying the Current Node

Use this element to create a copy of the current node.
XSL Syntax: <xsl:copy-of select="name">
BI Publisher Tag: <?copy-of:name?>

Calling a Named Template

Use this element to call a named template to be inserted into or applied to the current
template.
For example, use this feature to render a table multiple times.
XSL Syntax: <xsl:call-template name="name">
BI Publisher Tag: <?call-template:name?>

Declaring a Template
Use this element to apply a set of rules when a specified node is matched.
XSL Syntax: <xsl:template name="name">
BI Publisher Tag: <?template:name?>

Declaring a Variable
Use this element to declare a local or global variable.
XSL Syntax: <xsl:variable name="name">
BI Publisher Tag: <?variable:name?>
Example:
<xsl:variable name="color" select="'red'"/>

Assigns the value red to the color variable. The variable can then be referenced in the
template.

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Using FO Elements and XSL Elements

Importing a Style Sheet

Use this element to import the contents of one style sheet into another.

Note:
An imported style sheet has lower precedence than the importing style sheet.

XSL Syntax: <xsl:import href="url">

BI Publisher Tag: <?import:url?>

Defining the Root Element of the Style Sheet

This and the <xsl:stylesheet> element are completely synonymous elements.
Both are used to define the root element of the style sheet.

Note:

An included style sheet has the same precedence as the including style sheet.

XSL Syntax: <xsl:stylesheet xmlns:x="url">

BI Publisher Tag: <?namespace:x=url?>

Note:

The namespace must be declared in the template. See Declaring Namespaces.

Formatting Native XSL Numbers

The native XSL format-number function takes a basic format.
The basic format is:
format-number(number,format,[decimalformat])

The following list describes the parameters:

• number - Required. Specifies the number to be formatted.

• format - Required. Specifies the format pattern. Use the following characters to
specify the pattern:

– # (Denotes a digit. Example: ####).

– 0 (Denotes leading and following zeros. Example: 0000.00).

– . (The position of the decimal point Example: ###.##).

– , (The group separator for thousands. Example: ###,###.##).

– % (Displays the number as a percentage. Example: ##%).

– ; (Pattern separator. The first pattern is used for positive numbers and the
second for negative numbers).

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 Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft PowerPoint Output

• decimalformat - Optional. For more information on the decimal format, consult any
basic XSLT manual.

Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft PowerPoint Output

BI Publisher can generate the RTF template as PowerPoint output enabling you to get
report data into key business presentations. Currently, the PowerPoint document
generated is a simple export of the formatted data and charts to PowerPoint.

Limitations
PowerPoint output has certain limitations.
Following are limitations when working with PowerPoint as an output:

• When designing tables for a PowerPoint slide, you must define the table border
type as a single line (double border, dash, and other types are not supported).

• Hyperlinks are not supported.

• Shapes are not supported.

• Text position may be slightly incorrect if you use right-align.

• Paper size must be the same on all pages of the RTF template. You cannot have
mixed paper sizes in the same document.

• Bidirectional languages are not supported.

• Text position may be slightly incorrect for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean fonts
when using bold or italic effects on characters. This is because Microsoft uses bold
or italic emulation when there is no bold or italic font.

• All Unicode languages, except bidirectional languages, are supported.

• BI Publisher's font fallback mechanism is not supported for PowerPoint outputs. If

you want to use a font that is not installed, then ensure that you have configured it
with BI Publisher.

Usage Guidelines
When creating a template for PowerPoint output, there are several items to keep in
mind.
Following are guidelines to help you when designing an RTF template intended for
PowerPoint output:

• PowerPoint output preserves the page orientation (portrait or landscape) defined

in the RTF template. Most presentations are oriented in landscape so this is the
recommended orientation of an RTF template.

• A page break in an RTF template generates a new slide.

• The background color of the slides are always generated as white. If you prefer a
different background color, then you must change the color after the PowerPoint
file is generated.

Creating RTF Templates 4-121

Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft PowerPoint Output

• When highlighting characters in the page header or footer, when the font is not
predefined in xdo.cfg, ensure that you specify the font for the whole tag "<?
XXXXXX?>", including the "<?" and "?>" in the template.

• When using multibyte characters (for example, simplified Chinese) in tables,

ensure that the column widths are large enough to contain the width of the largest
character plus the cell's left and right margins to avoid unexpected character
display.

About Charts in PowerPoint Output

BI Publisher supports native PowerPoint charts for certain chart types rendered in
PowerPoint2007 output. When the chart is inserted as a native chart, you can modify it
in PowerPoint. If the chart is not inserted as a native chart, then BI Publisher inserts a
PNG image that cannot be updated.
The following chart types can be rendered as native PowerPoint charts in
PowerPoint2007 output:

• Pie

• Ring

• Line

• Area

• Radar

• Bubble

• Pareto

• Combination

• Stock
Any chart type that is not native to PowerPoint (for example, gauge or funnel) is
converted to a bar chart.
By default, native chart insertion is enabled. To disable native chart insertion for a
report, set the report property Enable PPTX native chart support to false. See Setting
Report Processing and Output Document Properties for more information.

Note: Note that when Enable PPTX native chart support is set to false, all
charts are rendered as images in PowerPoint2007 output. Therefore, set this
option to false only when a report includes the non-native chart types.

Configuring Fonts for the BI Publisher Server

Support for PowerPoint output does not include the font fallback mechanism that is
used for other types of output in BI Publisher. If you are using a nonstandard font in
the template, then you must configure the BI Publisher server for each font used in the
RTF template for generating PowerPoint output.
You must copy these fonts to the BI Publisher server and define the Font Mappings for
RTF templates. This can be done for the entire system or for individual reports. See
Defining Font Mappings for more details.

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 Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft Excel 2007 Output

Configuring Fonts for the BI Publisher Template Builder

When using the BI Publisher Template Builder to design a report, to correctly preview
PPT output that uses non-English or non-standard fonts, you must define the fonts in
the BI Publisher configuration file.
This configuration file is called xdo.cfg and is typically found in:
C:\Oracle\BI Publisher\BI Publisher Desktop\Template Builder for
Word\config\
Note that if you have not used this file yet you might find the "file xdo example.cfg"
instead. This file must be saved with an encoding of UTF-8 and provide a full and
absolute path for each font defined. Otherwise, you will encounter issues such as
characters overlays and wrapping that does not work.

To configure fonts for the BI Publisher Template Builder:

1. Navigate to C:\Oracle\BI Publisher\BI Publisher Desktop\Template

Builder for Word\config\

2. Open the xdo.cfg file and update the font mappings. For information on updating
font mappings directly in the xdo.cfg file, see Font Definitions in Administrator's
Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

3. Save the xdo.cfg in UTF-8 format.

The following figure shows a sample xdo.cfg file:

Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft Excel 2007 Output
This section describes report features specific to designing RTF templates for Excel
2007 output (.xlsx).
It includes the following topics:

• Creating Multiple Sheets

• Specifying a Sheet Name

• Specifying Number and Date Formatting

Creating Multiple Sheets

By default, page breaks and section breaks specified in the RTF template create a new
sheet in the output Excel workbook. You can control whether page breaks create a new

Creating RTF Templates 4-123

Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft Excel 2007 Output

sheet using the property xlsx-page-break-as-new-sheet. Set this property to

false when you do not want page breaks in the RTF template to generate new sheets in
the Excel workbook. A similar control does not exist for section breaks; that is, a
section break in the template will always create a new sheet in the Excel workbook
output.
For information on setting properties in an RTF template, see Setting Properties.

Specifying a Sheet Name

You can specify which sheet to use in an input data phrase.
To specify a sheet name, use the following command in the template:
<?spreadsheet-sheet-name: xpath-expression?>
where xpath-expression is an XPath expression or a string constant.
For example, assume your template uses input data as follows:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<ROWSET>
<ROW>
<CUSTOMER_NAME>Vgpsuwo Fjprpit</CUSTOMER_NAME>
<CUSTOMER_NUMBER>7795</CUSTOMER_NUMBER>
<YEAR>2005</YEAR>
<BRAND>MSPKID</BRAND>
<DIVISION>UWGLERXM</DIVISION>
<STATE>LD</STATE>
<INVOICE_DATE>2004-12-07T07:13:15.379-08:00</INVOICE_DATE>
<INVOICE_NO>806356</INVOICE_NO>
<INVOICE_AMOUNT>8181.704554734346</INVOICE_AMOUNT>
</ROW>
...
</ROWSET>

To generate a sheet name that shows the YEAR and STATE from the data (for
example, "2005 ID") enter the following in a BI Publisher field in your template:
<?spreadsheet-sheet-name: {concat(.//YEAR, ' ',.//STATE)}?>
Ensure that your expression generates unique sheet names within the workbook.

Specifying Number and Date Formatting

For Excel 2007 output format, BI Publisher does not apply any formatting for number
and date.
BI Publisher saves the formatting mask and the actual value (date or number) into the
XLSX output file. The formatting is handled by Microsoft Excel. For example:

• If the Microsoft Windows Region and Language of the client computer is set to
English (United States), then the numbers and dates are formatted in en-US locale
in the Excel 2007 output file.

• If the Microsoft Windows Region and Language of the client computer is set to
French (France), then the numbers and dates in the same Excel 2007 output file are
formatted in fr-FR locale.
Note also that Microsoft Excel 2007 output does not support some Oracle format
masks. See Using the Oracle Format Mask for more information.

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 Rendering HTML Formatted Data in a Report

Rendering HTML Formatted Data in a Report

This section describes how to preserve HTML formatting from a data source in your
final output report.
This section contains the following topics:

• Supported HTML Features

• Data Model Requirements

• RTF Template Requirements

• Example

Supported HTML Features

Using supported HTML features helps you format output for readability and
consistency.
Supported HTML features are:

• Hyperlink

• List

– Bulleted list

– Ordered list

• Paragraph

• Font style (bold, italic, plain, underline, subscript, superscript, strike-through)

• Font size

• Font family

• Background color

• Foreground color

• Paragraph alignment (center, left, right, and justify)

• Paragraph indent
The following HTML features are not supported:

• Nested list (list with indent)

• Any HTML tags or attributes manually inserted by modifying the HTML source
code; for example, inserted tables or images.

Data Model Requirements

The XML data used as input to the report must wrap the HTML portion of the data in
a CDATA section.
See Handling XHTML Data Stored in a CLOB Column in the Data Modeling Guide for
Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher for information about retrieving the HTML data
for display in the report.

Creating RTF Templates 4-125

Embedding PCL Commands for Check Printing

RTF Template Requirements

To render the HTML in your report, use the following tag in the RTF template.
The tag is:
<?html2fo: elementname?>

where elementname is the XML element name that contains the HTML data.

Example
This example uses the mentioned XML data with embedded HTML data.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<RTECODE>
<![CDATA[
<p><font style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" size="3">
<a href="http://www.oracle.com">oracle</a></font> </p>
<p><font size="6"><a href="http://docs.oracle.com/">Oracle Documentation</a>
</font></p>
]]>
</RTECODE>

To render this sample as formatted HTML a report, enter the following in your RTF
template:
<?html2fo: RTECODE?>
The following figure shows how the sample will render in the output report:

Embedding PCL Commands for Check Printing

PCL (Printer Command Language) is a page description language. Like Postscript, it is
widely supported in office printers. To support PCL printers, BI Publisher provides a

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 Embedding PCL Commands for Check Printing

PDF to PCL converter. In addition to translating the PDF document into a sequence of
PCL commands, specific PCL commands can be embedded in an RTF template, so that
when the report output is generated in PDF and then converted to PCL the commands
are maintained in the PCL file. When the PCL printer receives the PCL file, it invokes
the embedded commands.
BI Publisher supports PCL commands to enable font selection commands for secure
check printing; for example, to invoke the MICR font used for the machine-readable
account codes and the custom font used for the check signer's signature. The MICR
font and the custom signature font are stored in hardware cartridges on the printer
and are invoked using PCL escape sequences embedded in the PCL-formatted file.
To embed the PCL commands in the file that is printed, use the BI Publisher
commands described in this section in your RTF template in the specific position on
the page where you want the PCL commands to render.
To use this feature, an administrator must also define the PCL printer in the BI
Publisher printer setup page to use the PDF to PCL filter.

Note:

This feature is provided to support commands for font selection as described

in the chapter, PCL Font Selection of the PCL5 Printer Language Technical
Reference Manual. If you include other PCL commands (such as tray switching)
in the template, the report output may produce the results desired, although
these commands are not strictly supported.

Procedure Overview
This overview discusses how to embed PCL commands in a template
To embed PCL commands in a template to be invoked by your PCL printer, perform
the following:

1. Define the PCL printer in the BI Publisher Administration Delivery options. See
Adding a Printer or Fax Server in Administrator's Guide for Oracle Business
Intelligence Publisher.

2. Include the commands in the RTF template as described in Embedding PCL

Commands in RTF Templates.

3. To generate the output, schedule or run the report selecting PDF as the output
type. Select the PCL printer defined in step 1 as the destination.

Embedding PCL Commands in RTF Templates

BI Publisher supports custom PCL command embedding, which means that in
addition to translating PDF documents into a sequence of PCL commands, BI
Publisher supports specifying exact PCL commands to be included at a specific
position on a PCL page.
To use this feature, include the following syntax in a template or data at the position
where you want to print out the text.
<pcl><control><esc/>(pcl command)</control>(text or data field)<sp/>(text or data
field)</pcl>

where

Creating RTF Templates 4-127

Embedding PCL Commands for Check Printing

<pcl></pcl>: indicates the start and end of the custom PCL command sequence and
the text to print using the custom command. If any text data appears before <pcl> or
after </pcl>, it is printed as regular text using the font and font size in effect.
<control></control>: indicates the start and end of the PCL sequence. The data
inserted after </control> is considered text data. The PCL command included
between <control> and </control> is applied to it. Inserting any data between
<pcl> and <control> is invalid and the data is ignored.
<esc/>: include <esc/> between <control> and </control> to escape character
(ASCII 0x1b) in the output.
<sp/>: inserts a space. Include <sp/> in the text section (after </control> and
before </pcl>) to insert a space character in the output.
The entire command and text sequence between <pcl></pcl> must be entered as a
single line of text rendered by a single text-showing (Tj) operator in PDF. To insert a
space, you must use <sp/> because the inclusion of an actual space in the text or data
would separate the sequence into multiple text sequences in the PDF.
The following figure shows a sample check template with the command sequence:

The PCL command sequence in the example is

<pcl><control><esc/>(70X</control>ROUTING<sp/>ACCOUNT</pcl>

Note that (70X is the font to substitute; ROUTING and ACCOUNT are form fields
mapped to the input XML data and the <sp/> command is used to insert the space
between the routing and account numbers.
This RTF template is merged with data and converted to PDF as shown in the
following figure. The PCL command sequence is displayed as regular text.

Note: You can make the font size smaller to make the line less visible, but you
cannot hide it.

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 Embedding PCL Commands for Check Printing

When this PDF is converted to PCL, <esc/> is converted to the escape character
0x1b; the PCL command is included from the PDF ((70X); <sp/> is converted to a
space character and the text is generated with the PCL absolute cursor positioning
command (&a#v#h#P). The following figure shows the PCL output displayed using a
text editor.

When this PCL file is sent to a printer where the MICR font with font ID 70 is installed,
the printer produces the final printed output as shown in the following figure:

Specifications and Restrictions

BI Publisher's PDF to PCL converter supports input of PDF files up to version 1.7 and
output of PCL 5 (including HP/GL2 and PJL) and PCL 5c.
The converter supports basic text and vector/raster graphic features in PDF that are
required for most business reporting and office printing.
Note the following limitations for documents processed by the PDF to PCL converter:

• SVG graphics, such as graphs, are not supported.

• Embedded objects (such as Flash objects) and file attachments are not supported.

Creating RTF Templates 4-129

Embedding PCL Commands for Check Printing

• Use of Adobe core dingbats and symbol font is not supported. Use TrueType fonts
to print dingbats and symbols and embed the font when generating PDF.

• BI Publisher supports printing of the generated output on any printer that supports
PCL 5/PCL 5c standard. However, the display of the generated output using PCL
viewer applications or any software that re-processes PCL for other than direct
printing purposes is not supported.

• The PDF to PCL converter supports, with limitations, the conversion of PDF
documents generated by BI Publisher's FO processor. Other PDFs, such as PDF files
processed with FormProcessor or PDF documents generated by external
applications may produce the printed results desired, but are not strictly
supported.

• The PDF to PCL converter supports the conversion of PDF documents generated
by the PDFBookBinder and PDFDocMerger utilities so far as all the PDF
documents used for generating the output are originally generated by BI
Publisher's FOProcessor and the documents do not include restricted features.

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 5
Creating RTF Templates Using the
Template Builder for Word

This chapter describes creating RTF templates in BI Publisher using the Template
Builder for Word add-in.
This chapter includes the following sections:

• Overview

• Getting Started

• Accessing Data for Building Templates

• Inserting Components to the Template

• Previewing a Template

• Template Editing Tools

• Uploading a Template to the BI Publisher Server

• Using the Template Builder Translation Tools

• Setting Options for the Template Builder

• Setting Up a Configuration File

• BI Publisher Menu Reference

Overview
The Template Builder is an add-in to Microsoft Word that simplifies the development
of RTF templates.
While the Template Builder is not required to create RTF templates, it provides many
functions that increase productivity.
The Template Builder is tightly integrated with Microsoft Word and enables you to
perform the following functions:

• Insert data fields

• Insert tables

• Insert forms

• Insert charts

• Preview the template with sample XML data

• Browse and update the content of form fields

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-1
Overview

• Extract boilerplate text into an XLIFF translation file and test translations
The Template Builder automates insertion of the most frequently used components of
an RTF template. RTF templates also support much more complex formatting and
processing.

Before You Get Started

The Template Builder installation provides samples and demo files to help you get
started.
The demos can be accessed from the Windows Start menu as follows:
Select Start, Programs, Oracle BI Publisher Desktop, and Demos.
You can also access the demos from the BI Publisher\BI Publisher Desktop\demos
folder where you installed BI Publisher Desktop (for example: C:\Program Files
\Oracle\BI Publisher\BI Publisher Desktop\demos).
The following demos are provided:

• TemplateBuilderDemo.exe - Demonstrates building a report layout using many

key features of the Template Builder, including: connecting to the BI Publisher
server, loading data for a report, inserting tables and charts, and defining
conditional formatting.

• TemplateBuilderInvoice.exe - Demonstrates how to take a prepared layout and use

the Template Builder to insert the required fields to fill the template with data at
runtime.

• LocalizationDemo.exe - Demonstrates the localization capabilities of the Template

Builder and shows you how to extract an XLIFF file from the base RTF template.
The XLIFF file can then be translated and the translations previewed in the
Template Builder.
The sample files are located in the BI Publisher\BI Publisher Desktop\Samples folder.
The Samples folder contains the subfolders:

• eText templates

• Excel templates

• PDF templates

• RTF templates
The eText, PDF, and Excel template samples can be used as references to create these
types of templates. The Template Builder is only available for the RTF templates. The
RTF templates folder contains eight subfolders to provide samples of different types of
reports. Refer to the TrainingGuide.html located in the RTF templates folder for
additional information on what is contained in each sample.

Prerequisites and Limitations

Certain prerequisites and limitations apply to this feature.

• Prerequisites:

– The report data model has been created and runs successfully.

5-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Getting Started

– Supported versions of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Windows are installed on

the client.

Note:

See System Requirements and Certification for the most up-to-date

information on supported hardware and software.

– The BI Publisher Template Builder has been downloaded and installed on the
client.
The Template Builder can be downloaded from the Get Started region of the
Home page.

• Limitations:

– The Template Builder does not support bidirectional display of text in the user
interface.

Getting Started
This section describes how to get started with creating RTF templates using the
Template Builder for Word.
It contains the following topics:

• Features of the Oracle BI Publisher Template Builder for Word

• Building and Uploading a Template

• Working in Connected Mode

Features of the Oracle BI Publisher Template Builder for Word

When you open Microsoft Word after installing the Template Builder, you see the
Oracle BI Publisher menu. Using this you can perform different tasks.
For versions of Microsoft Word prior to 2007, the menu and toolbar are displayed as
shown in the following figure:

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-3
Getting Started

For Microsoft Word 2007 users, the BI Publisher commands are displayed in the
ribbon format, as shown in the following figure:

Use the menu (or toolbar) to perform the following:

• Insert data fields into age RTF templates

• Insert tables, forms, charts, and pivot tables

• Preview the template in multiple outputs

• Browse and update the content of form fields

• Validate the template

• Perform calculations on fields within the template

5-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Getting Started

• Connect to the Oracle BI Publisher catalog to retrieve data to build the template

• Upload the template to the Oracle BI Publisher server

• Extract boilerplate text into an XLIFF translation file and test translations

Building and Uploading a Template

You can build and upload the template using a direct connection with the BI Publisher
server, or you can build and upload the template in disconnected mode.

Working in Connected Mode

Connected mode allows you to make changes directly on the BI Publisher server.
To work in connected mode:

1. Open Microsoft Word.

2. From the Oracle BI Publisher menu, select Log On.

3. Enter your BI Publisher credentials and the URL for the BI Publisher server, for
example: http://www.example.com:7001/xmlpserver. (Contact your system
administrator if you do not know the URL.)

4. The Open Template dialog presents the same folder structure as the BI Publisher
catalog. Select the report or data model for which you want to build a template.

5. If you selected a data model:

Click Create Report to create a report for this data model in the BI Publisher
catalog. This is the report that you upload the template to.
Enter a Report Name and select the folder in which to save it.
Click Save.
The sample data from the data model is loaded to the Template Builder.
If you selected a report:
Click Open Report to load the data to the Template Builder; or double-click Newin
the Layout Templates pane, as shown in the following illustration.
Any existing templates are listed in the Layout Templates pane.

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-5
Getting Started

6. Follow the guidelines in this chapter to insert data fields and design the template
using features such as tables, charts, and graphics. Use Microsoft Word to apply
formatting to fonts and other objects in the template.

For more advanced template options, use the guidelines in Creating RTF
Templates.

7. To upload the template file to the BI Publisher server and add it to the report
definition, select Upload Template As from the Oracle BI Publisher menu.

If you have not saved the template, then you are prompted to save it in Rich Text
Format.

8. Enter a name and select a locale in the Upload as New dialog. This is the name that
is displayed under Layouts in the Report Editor. This is also the layout name that is
displayed when a user runs this report.

9. Configure properties for this layout.

Navigate to the BI Publisher report editor to configure properties for this layout,
such as output formats. See Configuring the Layout Settings Using the List View
for more information.

Working in Disconnected Mode

To work in disconnected mode, you must have a sample data file available in the local
work environment.
To work in disconnected mode:

1. Save a sample data file to your local computer. See Accessing Data for Building
Templates.

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 Accessing Data for Building Templates

2. Open Microsoft Word with the Template Builder installed.

3. On the Oracle BI Publisher menu in the Load Data group select Sample XML.
Locate the sample data file in the local directory and click Open.

Note: The Template Builder also supports using XML Schema to design an
RTF template. However, because the schema contains no data, the preview of
the report also contains no data.

4. Follow the guidelines in this chapter to insert data fields and design the template
using features such as tables, charts, graphics, and other layout components. Use
Microsoft Word to apply formatting to fonts and other objects in the template.

For more advanced template options, use the guidelines in Creating RTF
Templates.

5. Upload the layout template file.

In the BI Publisher catalog, open the report in the Report Editor. Click Add New
Layout.
Complete the fields in the dialog and then select Upload. The template now
appears as a layout for the report.

6. Configure properties for this layout.

See Configuring Layouts Using the List View for more information.

Accessing Data for Building Templates

The data model defines the XML format that is merged with the RTF template. The
Template Builder requires sample data to build the template. You must load sample
data to use most of the template builder functionality.
If you are not connected to BI Publisher, then use the procedure in Loading XML Data
from a Local File. If you are connected, then use the procedure in Loading Data from
the BI Publisher Catalog.

Loading XML Data from a Local File

One method of loading data to the Template Builder is to save a sample of the report
data to a local directory.

For information on saving sample data from a report data model, see the Testing Data
Models and Generating Sample Data section in Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business
Intelligence Publisher.
If you do not have access to the report data model, but you can access the report, then
you can alternatively save sample data from the report viewer.
To save data from the report viewer:

1. In the BI Publisher catalog, navigate to the report.

2. Click Open to run the report in the report viewer.

3. Click the Actions icon, then click Export, then click Data. You are prompted to save
the XML file.

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Inserting Components to the Template

4. Save the file to a local directory.

5. Use the Load Sample XML feature below to load the saved XML file to the
Template Builder.

The Load Data group from the Oracle BI Publisher menu enables you to select and
load the saved XML file to the Template Builder.

• Sample XML - Enables you to load a sample XML file that contains all fields that
you want to insert into the template as a data source. If you are not connected to
the BI Publisher server, then use this method to load the data.

• XML Schema - Enables you to load an XML Schema file (.xsd) that contains the
fields available in the report XML data. The XML schema has the advantage of
being complete (a sample XML file might not contain all the fields from the data
source). For the preview, the Template Builder can generate dummy sample data
for an XML Schema. However, the preview works better if you also upload real
sample data.

Loading Data from the BI Publisher Catalog

You can connect directly to the BI Publisher Server to load the BI Publisher report data
to the Template Builder to use as sample data for designing layouts.
You can also download an existing template to modify it.
To connect to BI Publisher and load a data source:

1. Log on to the BI Publisher Server: From the Oracle BI Publisher menu, select Log
On. For more information on logging in to the BI Publisher server, see Working in
Connected Mode.

2. After you area logged on, you can select Open. The Open Template dialog
launches.

3. Navigate to the folder that contains the report or data model for which you want to
create a template.

When you select a report, you can either select from the Layout Templates to open
an existing template, select Open Report to load just the XML sample data to create
a new layout, or double-click <New> to load the data to the Template Builder to
build a new layout.
When you select a data model, you are prompted to create a report in the catalog.

Inserting Components to the Template

This section includes topics that give more information on inserting components to the
template.

• Inserting a Field

• Inserting a Table Using the Table Wizard

• Inserting a Table or Form Using the Insert Table/Form Dialog

• Inserting a Chart

• Inserting a Repeating Group

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 Inserting Components to the Template

• Creating Grouping Fields Around an Existing Block

• Inserting a Pivot Table

• Manually Editing a Pivot Table

• Inserting and Editing Conditional Regions

• Inserting Conditional Formatting

Inserting a Field
This dialog enables you to select data elements from the data source and insert them
into the template.
In the Insert group select Field to open the Field dialog. The dialog shows the
structure of the loaded data source in a tree view, as shown in the following figure:

Select a field that represents a single data field (a leaf node of the tree) and select Insert
(you can also insert the field by dragging and dropping it into the document, or by
double-clicking the field). A text form field with hidden BI Publisher commands is
inserted at the cursor position in the template. You may either select and insert
additional data fields or close the dialog by clicking the Close button.

About the Insert Field Dialog

The fields in the Field dialog are explained in these sections.
The Insert Field dialog fields are described in the following sections:

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Inserting Components to the Template

Find
For an XML document with a large and complicated structure, use the find
functionality to find a specific field. Enter a partial string of the field name you are
searching into the Find field and click Find Next.
The next occurrence of a data element that includes the search expression is selected.
Click the Find Next button again to see the next occurrence.

Example
When you select a field name in the tree view, an example value for this field is
shown.

Force LTR (Left-to-Right) Direction

Force LTR Direction check box is only needed if you are using the template in a
language that prints the characters from right to left, such as Arabic or Hebrew.
Use this feature to force left-to-right printing for fields such as phone numbers,
addresses, postal codes, or bank account numbers.

Calculation
Calculation feature enables you to perform aggregation functions on data fields, such
as sum, average, count, minimum, and maximum.
For example, if you select sum for a data field, then the field shows the sum of all
occurring values for this data field, depending on the grouping.
It is important to understand the grouping context (marked by G and E form fields) to
know exactly which fields are accumulated. If you insert a data field with an
accumulation function into a repeating section (marked by G and E processing
instruction form fields), you must select On Grouping to accumulate the data for the
occurrences within the group. If you do not want the accumulation to be restricted to
the group, you must place the accumulation field outside the group.
The following figure shows a grouping context example:

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Also note that the data field must be a valid XSL number for the accumulation
functions to work. Formatted numbers cannot be processed by BI Publisher (for
example a number using a thousands separator: 10,000,000.00 cannot be processed).
For more information on groups in a template using the Template Builder, see
Inserting a Repeating Group and Defining Groups.

Inserting a Table Using the Table Wizard

The Insert Table Wizard enables you to create standard reports. On the Insert menu
select Table Wizard and complete these steps.

• Step 1: Select Report Format

• Step 2: Select Table Data

• Step 3: Select Data Fields

• Step 4: Group the Table

• Step 5: Insert a Break for the Group

• Step 6: Sort the Table

• Step 7: Click Finish

• Step 8: Customize the Table Using Microsoft Word Functionality

Step 1: Select Report Format

Start by selecting the basic report format.
Choose from Table, Form, or Free Form. The following illustration shows examples of
each format.

Step 2: Select Table Data

An XML document can include multiple grouped data sets.
For example, a purchase order XML document may contain header level information,
lines, shipments and contacts.
In this step, select the data group that contains the data that is required for the table.
For example, in the Balance Letter sample RTF template (found in the Template
Builder installed files under Oracle\BI Publisher\BI Publisher Desktop

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\samples\RTF Templates), the sample XML file contains three data groups as
follows:

• ARXCOBLX/G_CUSTOMER

• ARXCOBLX/G_CUSTOMER/G_CURRENCY

• ARXCOBLX/G_CUSTOMER/G_CURRENCY/G_INVOICES
The Table Wizard presents a list of the available data groups in the XML data file.
Select the group that contains the data fields for the table.
The following illustration shows the Table Wizard Step 2: Selecting Table Data.

To build a table to list the invoices contained in the data, select:

ARXCOBLX/G_CUSTOMER/G_CURRENCY/G_INVOICES
as the data set.

Step 3: Select Data Fields

The Table Wizard presents the data fields from the selected data set.
The following illustration shows the Table Wizard Step 3: Selecting Data Fields.

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Use the shuttle buttons to select the data fields to show in the table. Use the up and
down arrows to reorder the fields after selecting them.

Step 4: Group the Table

This step enables you to regroup the data by a particular field.
This is optional.
For example, if you are building a table of invoices, you may want to group all
invoices of a particular type or date to be grouped together in the report.
The following illustration shows the Table Wizard Step 4: Grouping the Table.

There are two options for grouping: Group Left or Group Above. Group Left creates a
nested table. The Group By field displays to the left in the outer table. Group Above
creates a new table for each new value of the group by field, displaying the value of
the group by field as a table title.
Examples follow:

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Group Left groups the group by element occurrences together, as shown in the
following illustration.

Group Above shows the result as a table with a header, as shown in the following
illustration.

When you select an element to group by, BI Publisher sorts the data by the grouping
element. If the data is already sorted by the grouping element, then select the Data
already sorted check box. This selection improves performance.

Step 5: Insert a Break for the Group

Use the Break option to insert either a Page break or Section break after each
occurrence of this group.
Note that a Section break can only be created on the top-level group. The subsequent
grouping options only display the Page break option.

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A page break starts the next group on a new page; a section break starts the next
group on a new page, reset page numbering, reset headers and footers, and reset any
running calculations for each occurrence of the group.

Step 6: Sort the Table

You can sort the data in the table by up to four different fields.
Select a field and then define the sorting order (ascending or descending), and select
the correct data type for the field. For example, if text is selected, "12" comes before "2"
(alphanumerical order). If number is selected, "2" comes before "12".
The following illustration shows the Table Wizard Step 6: Sorting the Table.

Step 7: Click Finish

Click Finish to create the table and insert it to the Microsoft Word document.

Step 8: Customize the Table Using Microsoft Word Functionality

Customize the table by changing fonts, colors, column sizing, borders, shading, and so
on, using Microsoft Word formatting commands.

Inserting a Table or Form Using the Insert Table/Form Dialog

The Insert Table/Form dialog is the most flexible tool of the template builder. It allows
you to perform these tasks.

• Create a simple or nested table with a variable number of rows.

• Associate a group of data elements, such as a complete invoice or a purchase order

line, with a form in the document that is repeated for each occurrence of the data
element.

• Select and define a layout for all the data fields in the template.

• Group or re-group the data.

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The Insert Table/Form dialog shows you two tree view panes. The left pane shows the
data source structure, while the right pane shows the elements that are copied to the
template when you click the Insert button.

Selecting Data Fields

First select the data fields to insert in the template and then define how to format
them.
Drag an XML element from the left Data Source pane to the right Template pane. If the
XML element has children, you see a pop-up menu with the following options:

• Drop Single Node

• Drop All Nodes

• Cancel
Select Drop Single Node if you want to move only the selected node or Drop All
Nodes if you want to move the node and all its children.
If you drag an additional data field from the left Data Source pane to the right
Template pane, it is either inserted at the same level (Same Level) or below the node
(Child) where you release the node. The Insert Position box defines where the node is
inserted.

Note: If you use the left mouse button for drag and drop, then the node and
all children are copied. However, if you use the right mouse button for
dragging, a dialog is displayed when you release the mouse button. The
dialog gives you the option to copy either only the selected node or the
selected node and all children.

Defining the Layout

When you select an element in the right Template pane, you see its properties as well
as a preview of how the node is rendered.
There are two kinds of nodes:

• Data Fields

• Data Groups
Data Field nodes (leaf nodes) do not have any child nodes. They represent simple
attributes such as the total amount for an invoice or the subtotal for a purchase order
line.
Data Group nodes (parent nodes) are nodes that do have child nodes. Typically, they
do not represent data attributes, but groups of data - such as an invoice, a purchase
order, a purchase order line or a shipment.

Data Field Properties

If a Data Field node is selected, its properties are shown in the Properties pane. You
have these options to describe how the Template Builder should show the field.

• Calculation

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You can select one of the aggregation functions for the data fields. These functions
(besides count) only have an effect when there is more than one of the data fields in
the context where you use the function.

• Force LTR (Left-to-Right) Direction

This option is only needed if you are using the template in a language that displays
characters from right to left, such as Arabic or Hebrew. Use this option to force left-
to-right printing for fields such as phone numbers, addresses, postal codes, or bank
account numbers.

Data Group Properties

The order in which the data elements are shown reflects the order of the columns in
the table. If you want to reorder the columns, change the Insert Position box from
Child to Same Level. Then drag the elements into the correct order.
If a Data Group node is selected, its properties are shown in the Properties pane. You
have the following options to describe how the Template Builder should render the
group:

• Style
To display the data as a horizontal table with a header, select Table. To display the
fields below each other with labels in a table, use Form. If you want to insert the
fields into a free-form text section that should to repeated for this element select
Free Form.

• Grouping
Grouping is an advanced operation that allows you to group the data by a specific
element in the data. For example, you might want to group all invoices by
customer. You can select a child element of the selected element as a grouping
criterion. For more information, see Grouping.

• Show Grouping Value

This property is shown only if you have selected a node created by the Grouping
functionality. By default, the field you have selected to group the data by is
displayed in the report. If you do not want the grouping data field displayed, then
select No.

• Sort By
Select an element by which the data groups are sorted.

• Sort Order
If you have selected an element for Sort By you can select if the data should be
sorted either ascending or descending.

• Sort Data Type

If you have selected an element for Sort By the data is by default sorted as text.
That means that 12 is shown after 111. If the data is numeric, select Number as the
sort data type.

• Break
This property allows you to insert a page break or a section break between every
data group. If you select New Page per Element, then a page break is inserted
between each element after the first occurrence.

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Tip:

To insert a page break before the first occurrence of an element, use Microsoft
Word's page break command.

If you select New Section per Element, then a section break is created for each data
group. A section break has the following effects: it inserts page break, it resets the
page numbers and new data can be displayed in the header and footer. You
typically use this option if you want to print multiple documents (for example
invoices or purchase orders) to a single PDF file.

Inserting Tables and Forms

Once you have dragged all data fields over and defined the layout, select the Insert
button to place the tables and forms at the cursor position in the document.

Grouping
You can group any Data Group node, by any of its child Data Field Nodes. For
example if you have sales data for multiple quarters, you may want to show the sales
data organized by quarter. In this case you would group the sales data rows by the
quarter element.
Assume the following structure:
Sales Transaction
Quarter
Customer
Amount

To group the child nodes of a node (Sales Transaction), you select one of the child
nodes (Quarter) as the grouping property of the parent node (Sales Transaction). The
Template Builder makes this node (e.g. quarter) the parent of the other child nodes
(Customer and Amount).
The new structure looks like the following:
Sales Transaction
Quarter
Customer
Amount

The grouping criterion (Quarter) now behaves like any other Data Group Node with
children. That means that you can define the layout of its children using the Create As
Table, Style, Label, Grouping, and Show Grouping Value properties.

Understanding Fields Inserted to the Template

There are distinct differences between the types of fields in templates.
The Insert Table/Form Dialog creates two kinds of form fields:

• Form fields representing data elements

• Form fields with processing instructions for repeating table rows or document
sections
Form fields representing data elements are replaced with the data when the template
is processed. Form fields indicating repeating sections are shown as for-each and end
for-each in the document.

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Note: If you have selected the Abbreviated form field display option, then the
for-each and end for-each form fields are displayed as F and E. The section of
the document encapsulated by these two elements is repeated, if the
associated data element is repeated in the data.

Inserting a Chart
Use the Chart dialog to insert a chart into a template.
The following figure shows the Chart dialog.

Chart Type
BI Publisher supports a large variety of chart types. Expand the Type list to select the
chart type for this template.

Values
Drag and drop the data value you want to measure to the Values field (for example,
SALES).
You can select multiple Value elements (measures).
The Values field changes depending on the Chart Type that you select:

• Combination Graph - Enables three fields for the Value selections.

• Scatter Graph - Compares pairs of values. Drag and drop the X and Y data
elements to compare.

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• Bubble Graph - Compares sets of three values. Similar to the scatter graph, the
third value is displayed as the size of the bubble.

• Stock Graph - Drag and drop the elements that represent the Open, High, Low,
Close, and Volume values for the stock graph.

Aggregation
Use the Aggregation option in the Properties pane to do functions such as sum, count,
and average.
You can choose to aggregate the Values data as a sum, a count, or an average.

Labels
Drag and drop the data element for which you want to see the Value charted (for
example, Year).
Select Group Data to group the occurrences of the label element before rendering it in
the chart. For example, if you are charting Sales by Year, then selecting Group Data
accumulates the values for Year, so that only one occurrence of each year is displayed
in the chart. If you do not select Group Data, then the value for every occurrence of
Year in the data is plotted separately.

Color
If you want to add a series element to the chart, then drag and drop the element to
display as a series. Each value is displayed as a new color in the graph.

Chart is Inside Group

Select this box if the chart is inside a grouping and you want the chart to display data
only for the occurrences of the data elements within the group.

Style
Select a color scheme and style for the chart.

Properties
The properties region enables you to change value and label display names, select
color, font, and other display options for the chart.
The properties list changes depending on the chart selection.

Preview
Click Preview to display the chart with the sample data.

Group Data
By default the data is grouped by the Value element and aggregated by sum.
If you deselect the Group Data check box, then each occurrence of the value element is
charted and aggregation functions are not available.

Editing an Inserted Chart

To edit a chart that you have already inserted into the template, right-click the chart
and select BI Publisher Chart from the menu. This invokes the chart dialog to enable
you to edit the chart.

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Inserting a Repeating Group

Follow these steps to insert a repeating group.

To insert a repeating group:

1. Select the section of the template that contains the elements you want repeated.

2. On the Oracle BI Publisher menu, in the Insert group, click Repeating Group.

3. Enter the appropriate fields in the BI Publisher Properties dialog, as shown in the
following figure:

For Each
Select the element that for each occurrence, you want the loop to repeat. When you
select the For Each data field you are telling BI Publisher that for each occurrence of
the selected field in the data you want the elements and processing instructions
contained within the loop to be repeated.
For example, assume that the data contains invoice data for customers and you
want to create a table with each customer's invoices. In this case, for each customer
number you want the table to repeat. You would therefore select the customer
number in the For Each field to create a new loop (or group) for each customer.
Note the following about creating repeating groups:

• For loops and groupings not inside another group (that is, outer groups or
loops) you must select the repeating XML element to be used. For example if the
data set is flat, the only repeatable element is /DATA/ROWSET/ROW. In cases
with multiple data sources or hierarchical XML you can choose the data set.

• If you are creating nested groups (inserting a loop or group inside of another
loop in the template), the For Each field is not updatable because it is already
defined by the preexisting outer loop. The For Each field is displayed as Group
Item to inform you that an outer group is already defined.
Absolute Path

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Select this check box to use the Absolute Path to the element in the XML structure.
This is important if the data contains the same element name grouped under
different parent elements.
Group By
Select a field from the list by which you want to group the data. If you just want to
create a simple loop, do not select a group by element. Selecting a group by
element actually regroups the data into a new hierarchy based on the group by
element.
Break
Use this option to create either a Page break or Section break if you want to insert a
break after each occurrence of this group.
A Section break can only be created on outer groups that surround the whole
document. If the selected field is not an outer group, the Section break option is not
available.
Note also that when you insert a section break, the page numbering is reset,
headers and footers are reset, and any running calculations are reset for each
occurrence of the group.

4. To sort the grouped data, select the Sorting tab. You can select up to four sort-by
fields. For each sort by field, select the following:

Sort order - Select Ascending or Descending.

Data Type - Select Number or Date/Text. It is important that you select the correct
data type to achieve the expected sort order.
If you are sorting by four criteria and the XML data element names are long, then
you might exceed the character length limitation (393 characters) of the Microsoft
Word form field.

5. The Advanced tab enables you to edit the code directly and to enter Text to display
for the field.

The Code region displays the code and processing instructions that the Template
Builder has inserted for the field. You can edit this if you want to change the
processing instructions for this field.
The Text to display field shows how this field displays in the template. You can
choose to enter descriptive text to enable you to understand each field better when
reading the template, or you can enter abbreviated text entries that are less
intrusive to the look and feel of the template.

Note:
You can set the default display text as Descriptive or Abbreviated using the
Options tab.

The following figure shows the Advanced tab of the BI Publisher Properties dialog.

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6. When you have completed the dialog options, click OK. This inserts the form fields
in the template. By default, the beginning for-each form field displays the text "F"
and is inserted at the beginning of the selected template section. At the end of the
selection, an "E" form field is inserted to denote the end of the repeating group.

Creating Grouping Fields Around an Existing Block

Follow these steps to create a group around an existing block of text or elements in a
template.

1. Select the block of text. For example, a table row.

If any preexisting BI Publisher tags are included in the block, then you must
include the beginning and ending tags. For example, if the block contains any
opening for-each, if, or for-each-group tags, then you must include the end for-
each, end-if, and end for-each-group tags in the selection.

2. On the Oracle BI Publisher menu, on the Insert group, click Repeating Group.

3. In the BI Publisher Properties dialog, enter the fields to define the group as
described in Inserting a Repeating Group.

4. Click OK to insert the grouping fields around the block. For example, if the block is
a table row, then the begin field is inserted at the beginning of the first cell and the
end field is inserted at the end of the last field.

Inserting a Pivot Table

Follow these steps to insert a pivot table.

To insert a pivot table:

1. On the BI Publisher menu on the Insert group, click Pivot Table. The Pivot Table
dialog presents the data in the left pane with empty Layout panes on the right for
you to drag and drop data elements. The following figure shows the Pivot Table
dialog.

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2. Drag and drop the elements from the Data pane to the Layout pane to build the
pivot table structure. In the following figure, the layout shows Sales by Industry
accumulated by Year and by Month:

3. Use the Properties pane to select Aggregation. You can choose Sum, Count, or
Average. Then choose a number Format, as shown in the following figure:

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4. By default subtotals for rows and columns are displayed. You can choose not to
display the subtotals by setting the properties to False.

The following figure shows the properties for setting totals and subtotals.

5. Click Preview to see how the pivot table is displayed before you insert it into the
template. Click OK to insert the pivot table into the template. The following figure
shows how the pivot table is displayed in the template.

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At runtime, this pivot table is generated as shown in the following table:

Manually Editing a Pivot Table

This section describes the code inserted by the pivot table builder.
When the Template Builder inserts the pivot table, it inserts a BI Publisher command
of the following structure:
<?crosstab: ctvarname; "data-element"; "rows"; "columns"; "measures"; "aggregation"?>

Parameter Description Example

Ctvarname Crosstab variable name. This is automatically C123
generated by the Add-in.

data-element This is the XML data element that contains the data "//ROW"
elements to include in the pivot table. If the pivot table
is inside a repeating group, this field must be manually
edited to achieve the expected results. See the table
following this section.

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Parameter Description Example

rows This parameter defines the XML elements for row "REGION{,o=a,t=t},
headers. The ordering information is specified within DISTRICT{,o=a,t=t}"
"{" and "}". The first attribute is the sort element. If not In the example, the first row
specified, the row header element is used as the sort header is "REGION". It is sorted
element. by "REGION", order is
Supported attributes are: ascending, and type is text. The
• o - specifies the sort order. Valid values are "a" for second row header is
ascending or "d" for descending. "DISTRICT". It is sorted by
"DISTRICT", order is ascending,
• t - specifies the data type. Valid values are "t" for
and type is text.
text or "n" for numeric.
You can specify more than one sort element, for
example:
"emp-full-name {emp-lastname,o=a,t=n}{emp-
firstname,o=a,t=n}"

sorts employee by last name and first name. Note that

the sort element can be any element in the data set, and
does not have to be included in the pivot table. In the
preceding example, emp-lastname and emp-
firstname do not have to be elements included in the
pivot table.

columns This parameter defines the XML elements for column "ProductsBrand{,o=a,t=t}
headers. The ordering information is specified within , PeriodYear{,o=a,t=t}"
"{" and "}". The first attribute is the sort element. If not In the example, the first column
specified, the column header element is used as the sort header is "ProductsBrand". It is
element. sorted by "ProductsBrand"; the
Supported attributes are: order is ascending, and type is
• o - specifies the sort order. Valid values are "a" for text. The second column header
ascending or "d" for descending. is "PeriodYear". It is sorted by
"PeriodYear"; the order is
• t - specifies the data type. Valid values are "t" for
ascending, and type is text.
text or "n" for numeric.
You can specify more than one sort element, for
example:
"emp-full-name {emp-lastname,o=a,t=n}{emp-
firstname,o=a,t=n}"

sorts employee by last name and first name. Note that

the sort element can be any element in the data set, and
does not have to be included in the pivot table. In the
preceding example, emp-lastname and emp-
firstname do not have to be elements included in the
pivot table.

measures This parameter defines the XML elements used as "Revenue, PrevRevenue"
measures.

aggregation This parameter specifies the aggregation function. "sum"

Currently, the only supported value is "sum".

Example
This example uses the following XML data:

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- <ROWSET>
- <ROW>
<ProductsType>COATINGS</ProductsType>
<ProductsBrand>Enterprise</ProductsBrand> <Region>CENTRAL REGION</Region>
<District>CHICAGO DISTRICT</District>
<PeriodYear>1998</PeriodYear>
<Revenue>1555548.0</Revenue>
<PrevRevenue>125968</PrevRevenue>
<Units>11</Units>
</ROW>
...
</ROWSET>

The full data set includes four values for ProductsBrand, four values for Region, and
two values for PeriodYear to be displayed in the pivot table.
Using the Template Builder for Word and the sample XML file you can create a pivot
table as shown in the following illustration.

The generated XDO command for this pivot tables is as follows:

<?crosstab:c4536;"//
ROW";"Region{,o=a,t=t},District{,o=a,t=t}";"PeriodYear{,o=a,t=t},ProductsBrand{,o=a,t
=t}";"Revenue,PrevRevenue";"sum"?>

Running the command on the given XML data files generates this XML file
"cttree.xml". Each XPath in the "cttree.xml" is described in the following table. The
information in the table is to help you understand how BI Publisher constructs the
pivot table. The generated cttree.xml file is not accessible for viewing or updating.

Element XPath Count Description

C0 /cttree/C0 1 This contains elements which are related to
column.

C1 /cttree/C0/C1 4 The first level column "ProductsBrand". There are

four distinct values. They are shown in the label
H element.

CS /cttree/C0/C1/CS 4 The column-span value. It is used to format the

pivot table.

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Element XPath Count Description

H /cttree/C0/C1/H 4 The column header label. There are four distinct
values "Enterprise", "Magicolor", "McCloskey"
and "Valspar".

T1 /cttree/C0/C1/T1 4 The sum for measure 1, which is Revenue.

T2 /cttree/C0/C1/T2 4 The sum for measure 2, which is PrevRevenue.

C2 /cttree/C0/C1/C2 8 The first level column "PeriodYear", which is the

second group-by key. There are two distinct
values "2001" and "2002".

H /cttree/C0/C1/C2/H 8 The column header label. There are two distinct

values "2001" and "2002". Because it is under C1,
the total number of entries is 4 x 2 = 8.

T1 /cttree/C0/C1/C2/T1 8 The sum for measure 1 "Revenue".

T2 /cttree/C0/C1/C2/T2 8 The sum for measure 2 "PrevRevenue".

M0 /cttree/M0 1 This contains elements that are related to

measures.

M1 /cttree/M0/M1 1 This contains summary for measure 1.

H /cttree/M0/M1/H 1 The measure 1 label, which is "Revenue".

T /cttree/M0/M1/T 1 The sum of measure 1 for the entire Xpath from

"//ROW".

M2 /cttree/M0/M2 1 This contains summary for measure 2.

H /cttree/M0/M2/H 1 The measure 2 label, which is "PrevRevenue".

T /cttree/M0/M2/T 1 The sum of measure 2 for the entire Xpath from

"//ROW".

R0 /cttree/R0 1 This contains elements that are related to row.

R1 /cttree/R0/R1 4 The first level row "Region". There are four

distinct values, they are shown in the label H
element.

H /cttree/R0/R1/H 4 This is the row header label for "Region". There

are four distinct values "CENTRAL REGION",
"EASTERN REGION", "SOUTHERN REGION"
and "WESTERN REGION".

RS /cttree/R0/R1/RS 4 The row-span value. It is used to format the

crosstab table.

T1 /cttree/R0/R1/T1 4 The sum of measure 1 "Revenue" for each distinct

"Region" value.

T2 /cttree/R0/R1/T2 4 The sum of measure 1 "Revenue" for each distinct

"Region" value.

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Inserting Components to the Template

Element XPath Count Description

R1C1 /cttree/R0/R1/R1C1 16 This contains elements from combining R1 and
C1. There are 4 distinct values for "Region", and
four distinct values for "ProductsBrand".
Therefore, the combination is 4 X 4 =16.

T1 /cttree/R0/R1/R1C1/T1 16 The sum of measure 1 "Revenue" for each

combination of "Region" and "ProductsBrand".

T2 /cttree/R0/R1/R1C1/T2 16 The sum of measure 2 "PrevRevenue" for each

combination of "Region" and "ProductsBrand".

R1C2 cttree/R0/R1/R1C1/R1C2 32 This contains elements from combining R1, C1

and C2. There are 4 distinct values for "Region",
and four distinct values for "ProductsBrand", and
two distinct values of "PeriodYear". Therefore,
the combination is 4 X 4 X 2 = 32.

T1 /cttree/R0/R1/R1C1/R1C2/T1 32 The sum of measure 1 "Revenue" for each

combination of "Region", "ProductsBrand" and
"PeriodYear".

T2 /cttree/R0/R1/R1C1/R1C2/T2 32 The sum of measure 2 "PrevRevenue" for each

combination of "Region", "ProductsBrand" and
"PeriodYear".

R2 /cttree/R0/R1/R2 18 This contains elements from combining R1

"Region" and R2 "District". Because the list of
values in R2 has dependency on R1, the number
of entries is not just a simple multiplication.

H /cttree/R0/R1/R2/H 18 The row header label for R2 "District".

R1N /cttree/R0/R1/R2/R1N 18 The R2 position number within R1. This is used

to check if it is the last row, and draw table
border accordingly.

T1 /cttree/R0/R1/R2/T1 18 The sum of measure 1 "Revenue" for each

combination "Region" and "District".

T2 /cttree/R0/R1/R2/T2 18 The sum of measure 2 "PrevRevenue" for each

combination of "Region" and "District".

R2C1 /cttree/R0/R1/R2/R2C1 72 This contains elements from combining R1, R2

and C1.

T1 /cttree/R0/R1/R2/R2C1/T1 72 The sum of measure 1 "Revenue" for each

combination of "Region", "District" and
"ProductsBrand".

T2 /cttree/R0/R1/R2/R2C1/T2 72 The sum of measure 2 "PrevRevenue" for each

combination of "Region", "District" and
"ProductsBrand".

R2C2 /cttree/R0/R1/R2/R2C1/R2C2 144 This contains elements from combining R1, R2,
C1 and C2, which gives the finest level of details.

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Element XPath Count Description

M1 /cttree/R0/R1/R2/R2C1/ 144 The sum of measure 1 "Revenue".
R2C2/M1

M2 /cttree/R0/R1/R2/R2C1/ 144 The sum of measure 2 "PrevRevenue".

R2C2/M2

Inserting a Pivot Table in a Repeating Group

When you create a pivot table inside a repeating group you must manually edit the
pivot table code so that the elements included in the pivot table respect the grouping
context. The edit to the code depends on how you grouped the data.

If your data is flat and you used the Template Builder's Group By feature to group
your data, use the Procedure When Using the Template Builder "Group by" Feature. If
the data is already grouped, use the Example 5-1.

Procedure When Using the Template Builder "Group by" Feature

After inserting the pivot table, open the BI Publisher Properties dialog to view the <?
crosstab...?> code. In the crosstab command, update the data-element
component to current-group().
For example, assume in the preceding example you created a repeating group around
the pivot table that is grouped by the <Region> element.
To edit the pivot table code:
1. Select and right-click the inserted pivot table. From the menu, select BI Publisher
Properties to view the <?crosstab...?> command. Alternatively, open the
Template Builder Field Browser and select the <?crosstab:...?> command.

2. Replace the data-element component with "current-group()". For example, in

the sample, the data-element value is "//ROW". Replace the value "//ROW" with
"current-group()" as follows:

<?crosstab:c4536;"current-
group()";"Region{,o=a,t=t},District{,o=a,t=t}";"PeriodYear{,o=a,t=t},ProductsBran
d{,o=a,t=t}";"Revenue,PrevRevenue";"sum"?>

This applies the XDO crosstab command only across the current group to return
the expected values in the pivot table.

Example 5-1 Procedure When the Data is Already Grouped

If the data input to the Template Builder is already grouped, then you must insert the
appropriate XPath for the data-element component to ensure that the pivot table only
includes the elements in the current group.
For example, assume the data for this report is structured as follows:
<ROWSET> <REGION>
<RegionName>CENTRAL REGION</RegionName>
<ProductList>
<Product>
<ProductsBrand>Enterprise</ProductsBrand>
<District>CHICAGO DISTRICT</District>
<PeriodYear>2001</PeriodYear>
<Revenue>1555548.0</Revenue>

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-31
Inserting Components to the Template

<PrevRevenue>125968</PrevRevenue>
<Units>11</Units>
</Product>

In your template you insert a repeating group based on the <REGION> element.
When you insert the pivot table within the repeating group, the code appears as
<?crosstab:c10959;"//
Product";"District{,o=a,t=t},ProductsBrand{,o=a,t=t}";"PeriodYear{,o=a,t=t}";"Revenue
,PrevRevenue";"sum"?>

In this case, to instruct BI Publisher to use only the elements under the current
REGION grouping, edit the data-element to use the relative XPath as follows: .//
Product. The edited code is:
<?crosstab:c10959;".//
Product";"District{,o=a,t=t},ProductsBrand{,o=a,t=t}";"PeriodYear{,o=a,t=t}";"Revenue
,PrevRevenue";"sum"?>

Inserting and Editing Conditional Regions

A conditional region is an area that is surrounded by a conditional statement. If the
statement tests true, the area is displayed in the report; if the condition tests false, the
area is suppressed from the report.
For example, the data contains sales information. The report contains a table that
displays sales by industry. You want this table in the report to display information for
industries with sales amounts lower than 100,000. Using the insert conditional region
functionality, you can select the region that contains the sales table and insert the
condition that the sales element must be less than 100,000.

1. Select the region that you want to apply the condition to. For example, if you want
to display a table only for a certain condition, then select the region that contains
the table. Note that the region must be inside a loop.

2. On the Oracle BI Publisher menu, on the Insert group, click Conditional Region.
The following figure shows the BI Publisher Properties dialog for a Conditional
region.

3. Enter the following fields:

Data Field - Select the field to test for the condition. Select the data type of the field:
Number or Date/Text.

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(Condition 1) Data field - Select the comparison operator.

Select the value to meet the condition. Note that you can enter an integer, enter
text, or select another data element to define a comparison based on the incoming
values.

4. Click OK. The form fields that contain the conditional logic are inserted around the
region. The beginning form field displays the text "C" and the form field closing the
region displays the text "EC".

To edit the conditional region, double-click the inserted form field to launch the dialog
for editing; or, right-click the form field and select BI Publisher, then Properties.

Inserting Conditional Formatting

Using the Conditional Format feature you can insert simple conditional formats to
apply to table rows or cells. The dialog provides several common options that you can
select and the Template Builder inserts the code automatically. The Conditional
Format dialog supports two conditions per field.

Note:

The Conditional Format dialog cannot be used inside of pivot tables. You
must insert the conditional formatting logic directly to the appropriate form
fields.

To insert a conditional format:

1. Place the cursor in the table cell of the data element for which you want to define
the condition.

2. On the Oracle BI Publisher menu, on the Insert group, click Conditional Format.
The following figure shows the BI Publisher Properties dialog for a Conditional
Format.

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-33
Inserting Components to the Template

3. Enter the following in the Conditional Format dialog

Data Field - Select the element to test for the condition and the data type of the
element (Number or Date/Text).
Apply to Entire Table Row - If you want the format applied to the entire table row,
not just the cell of the selected element, then select this box.
Condition 1) Data field - Select the comparison operator.
Select the value to meet the condition. You can enter an integer, enter text, or select
another data element to define a comparison based on the incoming values.

4. Click Format to define the format you want to apply when the condition is met.
Options are background color, font color, and font style (regular, bold, italic, bold
italic). Select the box and format of each option you want to apply. After you select
the format, the Preview region displays the format chosen.

The following figure shows the Format dialog.

5. Define a second condition if desired.

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 Previewing a Template

6. Click OK. The conditional format field is inserted as a form field with the display
text "C".

To edit the conditional format, double-click the inserted form field to launch the dialog
for editing; or, right-click the form field and select BI Publisher, then Properties.

Previewing a Template
The Preview menu group enables you to preview the RTF template with sample XML
data.
From the Preview group, select the output format. If you have not yet saved the
template as an RTF file, then you are prompted to do so.

Note: If you have not already done so, then you must load sample data to the
Template Builder to preview the report. See Accessing Data for Building
Templates.

• PDF
You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5.0 or higher installed to preview
documents in PDF format.

• HTML
Launches the default browser to display the report.

• EXCEL
To use this option, you must have Microsoft Excel 2003 or later. If you have Excel
2003 this option generates the document in MHTML and opens the document in
Excel. If you have Excel 2007, this option generates the document in .xlsx, the
default Office Excel 2007 XML-based file format.

• EXCEL 2000
Generates HTML and launches Microsoft Excel to render it. Embedded images
such as charts and logos are not supported in this output type. If you do not have
Microsoft Excel 2003 or later, use this option.

• RTF
Generates the report in Rich Text Format.

• PowerPoint
Requires Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 or 2007.

Template Editing Tools

This section describes additional tools provided with the Template Builder to help you
validate and edit the template.
This section includes:

• Editing and Viewing Field Properties

• Validating a Template

• Using the Field Browser

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-35
Template Editing Tools

• Checking Accessibility

Editing and Viewing Field Properties

Once you have inserted a data field you can view or edit the field properties in the BI
Publisher Properties dialog.
For more information, see Inserting a Field.

To invoke the BI Publisher Properties dialog, perform one of the following:

• Double-click the field

• Right-click the field, from the menu select BI Publisher, then Properties
The following figure shows the BI Publisher Properties dialog: note the Properties tab,
the Advanced tab, and the Word Properties button. Some fields might display only the
Advanced tab.

About the Properties Tab

BI Publisher Properties tab defines the different fields and options available in the
General, Formatting, and Data Aggregation panes of the tab.
You can set the following properties for a data field:
Data Field - Select the data field from the list of available fields from the loaded data
source.
Text to Display - Enter the display text for the form field in the template. This text is
replaced at runtime by the value in the data.
Type - Select the type of data. Options are Regular Text, Number, Date, Current Date,
and Current Time. The selection in this field determines the format options.

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 Template Editing Tools

Format - For any data type except Regular Text, you can select from several number or
date display formatting masks or enter your own.
Force LTR - (Force Left-to-Right) Use this check box when you are publishing the
template in a language that prints the characters from right to left, such as Arabic or
Hebrew. Use this option to force left-to-right printing for fields such as phone
numbers, addresses, postal codes, or bank account numbers.
Function - This feature enables you to perform aggregation functions (Sum, Average,
Count, Minimum, Maximum) on data fields. For example, if you select sum for a data
field, then the field shows the sum of all occurring values for this data field depending
on the scope (see below). See also Inserting a Field for information on aggregation
functions.
Scope (informational only) - This field has two possible values:

• Group Item - Indicates that the data field is inside a group. If you choose to
perform a function on the field, then only the occurrences of the field within the
current group are included in the aggregation.

• Normal - Indicates that the field is not inside a group. Aggregation functions are
performed on all occurrences of the field in the data.

About the Advanced Tab

The Advanced tab displays the underlying code.
If the code pattern within the form field is not recognized (for example, because you
added commands manually to the field), then the BI Publisher Properties dialog
displays this tab only.
Use this tab to edit or add code to the form field manually. Click OK to update the
template.

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-37
Template Editing Tools

About the Word Properties Button

The Word Properties button opens the Microsoft Word Text Form Field Options
dialog. You can also use this dialog to set the data type and number format.
The underlying code used by BI Publisher is also available by clicking the Add Help
Text button.

Validating a Template
The Template Builder provides a validation tool to check the template for incorrect use
of BI Publisher commands and unsupported elements in the RTF file.
To validate the template:

• On the BI Publisher menu, on the Tools group, click Validate Template.

If there are no validation errors, then a "No Error found" message is returned. If an
error is found, then an error message is displayed. You can use the Field Browser to
help locate the error.

Using the Field Browser

The Field Browser dialog provides a fast way to review and update the BI Publisher
instructions hidden in the Microsoft Word form fields.
This dialog is particularly useful to understand and modify existing templates.
On the Tools group, click Field Browser.
The following illustration shows the Field Browser dialog.

The Field Browser dialog shows a table with the display text of the form field in the
Text column and the underlying code instructions in the second Code column. When

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 Uploading a Template to the BI Publisher Server

you select a specific row in the dialog, the matching form field is selected in the
Microsoft Word document.
If you select some part of the text before opening the Field Browser, then the dialog
shows only the fields in the selection. If no text is selected, then the field browser
shows all fields in the document.
The options in the Field Browser are described in the following table.

Option Description
Edit You can update processing instructions directly from the Field Browser
dialog. Select a field in the Text table. The Edit box shows the processing
instructions for the field. To change the instructions for the field modify
the text in the Edit field and click Update.

Refresh The Field Browser dialog is not aware of any form fields that you have
added or modified while the dialog is open. Click Refresh to show any
changes to the document since the Field Browser dialog has been opened.

Show All If you opened the browser with a part of the document selected, then you
see only the form fields in the selected area. Click Show All to see all the
form fields in the document.

Close Click Close to close the field property browser. The only button does not
automatically update any changes in the edit field, therefore ensure that
you select Update if you want to save edits.

Checking Accessibility
The Template Builder provides an accessibility checker to check the template for
features to enhance the accessibility of the report for report consumers who may need
assistive technologies to view the report.
To check for the presence of accessibility features: On the BI Publisher tab, in the
Tools group, click Check Accessibility. The tool generates a report that indicates areas
of a template that do not include the following accessibility features:

• document title

• alternative text for images

• table summary for data tables

• column header for data tables

• row header for data tables

In some cases the accessibility checker cannot determine if the accessibility feature is
present and generates a warning. The report designer can then verify that the
accessibility features are present.
For information on how to add these features to the template, see Designing
Accessible Reports.

Uploading a Template to the BI Publisher Server

If you used the Open Template dialog to connect to BI Publisher, and load the data to
the Template Builder, or if you downloaded an existing template from the BI Publisher

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-39
Using the Template Builder Translation Tools

catalog, then you can upload the new or updated layout back to the report definition
on the server.
See Working in Connected Mode.
If you downloaded an existing template and want to upload the modifications to the
template, then select Upload Template from the Oracle BI Publisher menu.
If this is a new template for the report definition, then use the Upload Template As
option to upload the layout to the report definition on the server. Also use this option
to upload modifications to an existing template under a different name.

Using the Template Builder Translation Tools

Translation is simplified by using Template Builder tools.
The Template Builder provides tools to help you create and test translations for
templates.

About Translations
The section describes options for adding translated templates to a report.
There are two options for adding translated templates to a BI Publisher report
definition:

• Create a separate RTF template that is translated (a localized template)

• Generate an XLIFF file from the original template (at runtime the original template
is applied for the layout and the XLIFF file is applied for the translation)
Use the first option if the translated template requires a different layout from the
original template.
If you only require translation of the text strings of the template layout, use the XLIFF
option.
For detailed information, see Translation Support Overview and Concepts.
To use the Template Builder translation tools to create templates for translations, see
the following topics in this section:

• Extracting Text to an XLIFF File for Translation

• Previewing a Translation

• Localizing a Template
For a demo on BI Publisher's localization capabilities, see the LocalizationDemo.exe
demo provided with the Template Builder installation (located in the BI Publisher\BI
Publisher Desktop\demos folder where you installed BI Publisher Desktop).

Extracting Text to an XLIFF File for Translation

This menu item allows you to create a standard XLIFF translation file that contains the
boilerplate text from the template. XLIFF is a standard file format that is understood
by many translation software packages. Since an XLIFF is an XML file, you can
translate the text in a regular text editor.
A translatable string is any text in the template that is intended for display in the
published report, such as table headers and field labels. Text supplied at runtime from

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 Using the Template Builder Translation Tools

the data is not translatable, nor is any text that you supply in the Microsoft Word form
fields.

To extract text to an XLIFF file for translation:

1. From the BI Publisher menu, select Tools, then Translate Template, then Extract
Text.

2. You are prompted to save the extract file as an XML file type. Enter a name for the
extract file and save to the desired location.

3. If you want to translate the template manually, open the .xlf file using a text editor
and enter the translated strings in the file. For a detailed description of working
with the BI Publisher generated .xlf files, see Working with Translation Files.

4. When done, you can preview the translation. Then upload the file to the BI
Publisher report definition.

Previewing the Template and Translation File

You can preview the translation of a template as a PDF file.
To preview the template with the translated XLIFF file applied:

1. From the BI Publisher, in the Tools group, click Translation, then Preview
Translation.

2. You are prompted to select the saved XLIFF file. Locate the file, and click Open.

The Template Builder merges the sample data, the translation file, and the RTF
template to generate a PDF for preview.

Localizing a Template
Localizing a template means that you are creating a template to be used for a specific
language.
Because BI Publisher enables you to extract the boilerplate text strings from a template
into an XLIFF file that can be translated and then applied at runtime, if the reports for
additional languages only require the translation of these text strings, then you only
need to supply translated XLIFF files to accompany the base template.
However, you would localize a template when the requirements for the report in the
specific language go beyond the simple translation of the text in the layout.
To save a template as a localized template:

1. From the Oracle BI Publisher menu, in the Tools group, select Translations, then
Localize Template. This invokes a warning message that localizing the template
overwrites the template. Click OK.

2. You are prompted to select the XLIFF translation file. Locate the appropriate file
and click Open.

The translated XLIFF file is applied to the template that you currently have open in
Microsoft Word.

3. Save the localized template.

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-41
Setting Options for the Template Builder

4. Upload the template file to the appropriate report definition in the BI Publisher
catalog. Select the appropriate locale in the upload dialog.

Setting Options for the Template Builder

Use the Options dialog to specify template settings.
Access the Options dialog as follows: In the Options group, click Options.
The Options dialog contains four tabs: UI, Preview, Build, and Connection, as
described in the following sections.

Setting UI Options
Use the Options dialog: UI tab to set options that influence the look and feel of the
Template Builder.

The following illustration shows the Options dialog: UI tab.

The tree view that shows the data source can show either the correct XML tag names
of the data source or they can show a slightly modified version that is easier to read.
Select the option Element Names for Report XML to show the modified labels. These
labels contain no <> characters, use "Title case" and use spaces (" ") instead of
underscores ("_").

Setting Preview Options

The Options dialog: Preview tab allows you to specify options that influence the
Preview functionality of the Template Builder.
The following illustration shows the Options dialog: Preview tab.

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 Setting Options for the Template Builder

The following table describes the options available from the Preview tab.

Option Description
Style Template If you have a BI Publisher Style Template available locally, then you can
specify it here. A style template is an RTF template that contains style
information that can be applied to RTF layouts, similar to a style sheet. The
style information in the style template is applied to RTF layouts at runtime
to achieve a consistent look and feel across your enterprise reports. For
more information, Creating and Implementing Style Templates.

Locale You can choose the language and territory used for previewing the
template. While this change does not automatically translate any files, it is
important to set the correct locale for the preview to use the correct
direction of the text (left-to-right or right-to-left), and to correctly set
locale-specific date, number, and currency formats.

Java Home The Preview (and export functionality) requires Java code. You can change
the path to the JAVA HOME directory. If this option is not specified, the
Template Builder assumes that the Java virtual machine (java.exe) is
accessible in the PATH specified in the environment variables of
Windows.

Java Option Specify the memory to reserve for the Template Builder to process the
template. The default value is -Xmx256M.

Setting Build Options

Use the Options dialog: Build tab to specify options that influence how the Template
Builder generates tables and forms.
The following illustration shows the Options dialog: Build tab.

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-43
Setting Options for the Template Builder

The following table describes the options available from the Build tab.

Option Description
For-each form field Select how the Template Builder creates the form fields for
processing instructions in the Insert Table/Form dialog.
The Descriptive option (for example: for-each Invoice) renders a
descriptive form field for the processing instructions. This option
makes the layout template easier to understand. However, the
longer fields may distract from the visual layout of the template.
Note that the descriptive option does not apply to fields within
table cells.
The Abbreviated option (for example: F) provides a one letter
abbreviation for each instruction.
Select the Hidden box to generate the processing instruction
form fields using Microsoft Word's hidden font effect. Hidden
text is hidden in the Print Preview and you may display or hide
the hidden text by changing the Hidden Text setting in the
Display group of the Microsoft Word Options.

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Option Description
Form Field Size Large - inserts the BI Publisher code to a document variable. The
document variable field can accommodate approximately 48
kilobytes of code line.
It is important to note that this setting affects only fields that are
created or edited while this option is set. The form fields created
with the Large setting cannot be understood by Oracle BI
Publisher 10g. If the template is intended for use with the 10g
version of BI Publisher, use the Backward Compatibility setting.
Backward Compatible - in previous versions of the Template
Builder the BI Publisher code was inserted to the Microsoft Word
Form Field Help Text box. This limited the length of code that
could be inserted for a single form field. By default, the Large
option is used because it can accommodate much larger code
strings. However, the Large option is not compatible with Oracle
BI Publisher 10g.

Table Header Color When you insert a table using the Table Wizard or the Insert
Table/Form dialog the Template Builder applies the Table
Header Color specified here to the table header background.
Customize the default color for the templates.

Generate XSLT 2.0 BI Publisher uses the XSLT processor provided by Oracle XDK
compliant code 11.1.0.7.0, which supports the W3C XSL Transformations 1.0
recommendation. The processor also implements the current
working drafts of the XSLT and XPath 2.0 standards. For more
information about Oracle XDK, see: Oracle XML Developer's Kit
Programmer's Guide.
By default, BI Publisher is compatible with XSLT 1.0. If you want
to use XSLT and XPath 2.0 features in the template, then enable
this option. This configuration is performed at the template level.
The template-level setting overrides the server setting.

Setting Connection Options

Options on this tab are reserved for a future release.

Setting Up a Configuration File

The Template Builder can be used with a BI Publisher configuration file.
The configuration file must be named xdoconfig.xml and must be stored in the config
directory (example path: C:\Program Files\Oracle\BI Publisher Desktop
\Template Builder for Word\config) under the BI Publisher directory.
Alternatively, you can use the file name xdo.cfg, which is used by the BI Publisher
server. The configuration file allows you to:

• Define additional fonts such as Windings to test the templates

• Use security settings for PDF files

See the appendix Configuration File Reference in Administrator's Guide for Oracle
Business Intelligence Publisher for the syntax of the configuration file.

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-45
BI Publisher Menu Reference

BI Publisher Menu Reference

When you install the Template Builder the next time you open Microsoft Word, you
see the Oracle BI Publisher menu.

Note:
If you are using Microsoft Word 2007, then you might have to modify the
Add-In settings. Click the Office button, click Word options, then click Add-
Ins.

About the Online Group

The Online group of commands enable you to initiate interaction with the BI Publisher
application.
For more information about working with the online commands, see Working in
Connected Mode.
The following figure shows the Online group of commands.

The following table describes the commands available for the Online group.

Command Description
Log on Enables you to log in to BI Publisher. Enter your user name and
password. Select or enter the URL for the BI Publisher Report
Server (see your Administrator if you do not know the URL).
When you log on, the Open Template dialog is displayed.
You must log in directly to the BI Publisher server. For example:
http://www.example.com:7001/xmlpserver.

Open After you log on, this command becomes available to enable you
to open a report in the BI Publisher catalog.

Upload Template If you used the Open Template dialog to download a template
from the BI Publisher catalog, use this option to upload the
updated layout back to the report definition in the catalog.

Upload Template As If you used the Open Template dialog to download a template or
to open a report from the catalog, use this option to upload the
layout to the report definition in the catalog. Also use this option
to upload modifications to an existing template under a different
name.

Save XML Data If you are working in connected mode, then use this command to
save the data to a local directory if you also need access to the
data in disconnected mode.

5-46 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 BI Publisher Menu Reference

About the Load Data Group

The Load Data group of commands enables you to load a saved sample data file or
sample schema to the Template Builder.
You must load data to use most of the Template Builder functionality. See Accessing
Data for Building Templates for more options for loading data to the Template
Builder.
The following figure shows the Load Data group of commands.

The Load Data Group options table below describes the commands available for the
Load Data group.

Command Description
Sample XML This command enables you to load a previously saved sample XML file
from the report data source. If you are not connected to the BI Publisher
server, use this method to load the data.

XML Schema This command enables you to load an XML Schema file (.xsd) that
contains the fields available in the report XML data. The XML schema has
the advantage of being complete (a sample xml file may not contain all the
fields from the data source). For the preview, the Template Builder can
generate dummy sample data for an XML Schema. However, the preview
works better if you also upload real sample data.

About the Insert Group

Use the Insert group of commands to insert the layout components to the template.
For more information, see Inserting Components to the Template.
The following figure shows the Insert group of commands.

Command Description
Table Wizard This function provides a wizard that guides you through the
creation of tables used in typical reports.

Pivot Table The Pivot Table function enables you to drag and drop the data
elements to a pivot table structure.

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-47
BI Publisher Menu Reference

Command Description
Chart BI Publisher does not recognize native Microsoft Word charts.
The Insert Chart function allows you to insert a chart that is
understood by Oracle BI Publisher.

Field This function allows you to select fields from the data source and
insert them into the template.
As a beginner, you should use Insert Fields only for data fields
that are unique - none repeating - in the document. See Inserting
a Table Using the Table Wizard for additional information on
how to insert repetitive fields.

Table/Form Use this function to insert data fields to be organized as a simple

or nested table or as a form that is repeated with different data.
You may even organize all the data fields for the whole
document before inserting them.

Repeating Group Enables you to select or define a group of elements that you
want repeated for each occurrence of an element in the data.

Conditional Format Enables you to define simple conditional formats to apply to

table rows or cells.

Conditional Region Enables you to insert a conditional statement around a region of

the template.

All Fields This function inserts all fields found in the XML data into the
document. It also inserts processing instructions into the
document that repeats a section - such as a table row - when the
associated XML element is repeated.
XML documents often contain a large number of fields in a
deeply nested hierarchy. For example, an Oracle Purchasing
purchase order contains purchase order lines, which contain
shipments, which contain distributions. The purchase order line
alone contains more than 150 data fields. In these cases, you
should use the Insert Table/Form function to have more control
over which fields are inserted.

About the Preview Group

The Preview group of commands enables you to preview the RTF template with the
sample XML data. The preview menu offers PDF, HTML, RTF, PowerPoint, Excel
(MHTML format) and EXCEL2000 as output formats.
When you select any of these output formats, the Template Builder merges the data
into the template and creates the output document.
The following figure shows the Preview group of commands.

5-48 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 BI Publisher Menu Reference

Note:

You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5.0 or higher installed to
preview documents in PDF format.

About the Tools Group

The section describes the commands available for a the Tools group.
For more information about using the commands in the Tools group refer to Template
Editing Tools and Using the Template Builder Translation Tools.
The following figure shows the Tools group of commands.

The table below describes the commands available for the Tools group.

Command Description
Field Browser The field browser is a tool for advanced users who must change
the BI Publisher commands that are hidden in the form fields. It
shows the commands behind each form field and allows you to
change them. Use this tool to correct flawed RTF templates or to
update multiple fields efficiently.

Validate Template The validation function checks the template for incorrect use of
BI Publisher commands and unsupported elements in the Word
file.

Translation Includes the following subcommands:

• Extract Text - Enables you to create a standard XLIFF
translation file that contains the boilerplate text from the
template. XLIFF is a standard file format that is understood
by many translation software packages. Because an XLIFF is
an XML file, you can translate the text in a text editor. For
more information on working with XLIFF files, see Working
with Translation Files.
• Preview Translation - Enables you to preview the template
as a PDF file using a specified XLIFF translation file. This
functionality enables you to test translation files.
• Localize Template - Applies a translation file to an RTF
template. This means that in the current RTF template all
boilerplate text is translated. The main function of this
feature is to create a language-specific version of a template.

Creating RTF Templates Using the Template Builder for Word 5-49
BI Publisher Menu Reference

Command Description
Export Includes the following functions:
• XSL-FO Stylesheet - Allows you to convert the RTF template
into an enhanced XSL-FO stylesheet. This function can be
used to generate XSL-FO for debugging or further
customization.
• Formatted XML - Enables you to apply the XSL-FO
stylesheet generated from the Word document to the sample
data and save the intermediate FO format. This function is
mainly for debugging.
• PDF - Converts the Word document to PDF.

About the Options Group

The Options group of commands allows you to define preferences and options for
using BI Publisher and access online help.
The following figure shows the Options group of commands.

See Setting Options for the Template Builder.

5-50 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 6
Creating Excel Templates

This chapter describes creating report templates for BI Publisher in Microsoft Excel
using the Template Builder for Excel.
This chapter includes the following sections:

• Introduction to Excel Templates

• Understanding Mappings Between the Template and the Data

• Using the Template Builder for Excel

• Building a Basic Template Using the Template Builder

• Formatting Dates

• Understanding Excel Template Concepts

• Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

• Preprocessing the Data Using an XSL Transformation (XSLT) File

• Using the Template Viewer to Debug a Template

Introduction to Excel Templates

An Excel template is a report layout designed in Microsoft Excel for formatting your
enterprise reporting data in Excel spreadsheets.
Excel templates provide a set of special features for mapping data to worksheets and
for performing additional processing to control how the data is output to Excel
workbooks.
This introduction includes the following topics:

• Features of Excel Templates

• Limitations of Excel Templates

• Prerequisites

• Supported Output

• Desktop Tools for Excel Templates

• Sample Excel Templates

Features of Excel Templates

With Excel templates you can format the data in different ways.

Creating Excel Templates 6-1

Introduction to Excel Templates

• Define the format for the data in Excel output.

• Split hierarchical data across multiple sheets and dynamically name the sheets.

• Create sheets of data that have master-detail relationships.

• Use native XSL functions in the data to manipulate it prior to rendering.

• Use native Excel functionality.

Limitations of Excel Templates

The following are limitations of Excel templates.

• For reports that split the data into multiple sheets, images are not supported. If the
template sheet includes images, when the data is split into multiple sheets, the
images are displayed only on the first sheet.

• BI Publisher provides an add-in to Microsoft Excel to facilitate the insertion of

fields and repeating groups. More complex designs require manual coding. Some
features require the use of XSL and XSL Transformation (XSLT) specifications.

Prerequisites
To design Excel templates, you must meet certain prerequisites.

• You must have Microsoft Excel 2003 or later installed. The template file must be
saved as Excel 97-2003 Workbook binary format (*.xls).

Note:

If you are using a version later than Excel 2003 to create your template and
then save as Excel 97-2003, ensure that you do not use any features of the later
version that are not supported in Excel 97-2003. For example, Excel 2003
allows only three conditional formatting rules per cell, but Excel 2007 allows
more. If you apply more than three conditional formatting rules to a cell, only
three are applied. Excel 2007 also provides color support not provided in Excel
2003.

• To use some of the advanced features, you must have knowledge of XSL.

• The data model must be created in BI Publisher with sample data available.

Supported Output
Excel templates generate Excel binary (.xls) output only.

Desktop Tools for Excel Templates

BI Publisher provides a downloadable add-in to Excel that provides these features.

• Connects directly to the BI Publisher server to load sample data and upload and
download templates

• Inserts data field mappings to the template

• Inserts repeating group mappings to the template

6-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Understanding Mappings Between the Template and the Data

• Provides a field browser to review all inserted code and to edit or delete mappings

• Previews the template using the sample data or live data when in connected mode

Installing the Template Builder for Excel

The Template Builder for Excel is installed automatically when you install the BI
Publisher Desktop Tools.
The tools can be downloaded from the Home page of Oracle Business Intelligence
Publisher or Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition, as follows:
Under the Get Started region, click Download BI Publisher Tools, then select the BI
Publisher Desktop option (32bit Office or 64bit Office) appropriate for your version of
Microsoft Office.

Note: The Excel Template Builder is not compatible with the (deprecated)
Analyzer for Excel. If you have the Analyzer for Excel installed from a
previous version, the BI Publisher Tools installer detects its presence and halts
the installation. You must remove the Analyzer for Excel before installing the
BI Publisher Desktop. The Excel Template Builder includes a feature to import
Analyzer for Excel templates to the Excel template format. See Importing
Excel Analyzer Templates.

Sample Excel Templates

The Template Builder installation includes sample Excel templates.
To access the samples from a Windows desktop:

• Click Start, Programs, Oracle BI Publisher Desktop, Samples, then Excel.

This action launches the folder that contains the Excel sample templates.

Understanding Mappings Between the Template and the Data

When you design Excel templates use the Excel Template Builder for inserting fields
and repeating groups to your template.
When the Template Builder inserts a field or repeating group it creates a mapping
between the data and the spreadsheet and writes the mapping to a hidden sheet called
the XDO_METADATA sheet. The Template Builder creates the hidden
XDO_METADATA sheet the first time you insert a field or repeating group.
To view or update the XDO_METADATA sheet unhide the sheet. To add calculations
or more advanced functions, enter the XSL functions directly in the
XDO_METADATA sheet using the named mappings created by the Template Builder.
For more information about template-data mappings, see Understanding Excel
Template Concepts.

Using the Template Builder for Excel

The Excel Template Builder facilitates template design by automating the insertion of
simple mappings, providing preview functionality, and enabling direct connection to
the BI Publisher server from your Excel session.
The BI Publisher tab that displays when you install the Template Builder is shown in
the following illustration.

Creating Excel Templates 6-3

Using the Template Builder for Excel

You can use the Template Builder in connected mode or disconnected mode. In
connected mode, log in to the BI Publisher server from Excel. The connection enables
you to browse the BI Publisher catalog and load sample data from an existing report
or data model. When your template is complete, you can upload it directly to the
report definition in the BI Publisher catalog. In disconnected mode, you must
download a sample data file from the data model to your local client.
This section includes the following topics about using the Template Builder for Excel:

• Working in Connected Mode

• Working in Disconnected Mode

• Inserting Fields

• Inserting Repeating Groups

• Using the Field Browser to View, Edit, and Delete Fields

• Previewing Templates

• Importing Excel Analyzer Templates

Working in Connected Mode

In connected mode you can interact directly with the BI Publisher server.
The process flow for creating or editing a template in connected mode is:

1. Open Excel with the BI Publisher Template Builder for Excel Add-in installed.

2. Log on to the BI Publisher server.

3. Select the report or data model for which you want to create a new layout; or, select
an existing layout to modify.

4. Design your template in Excel.

5. Preview your template using the View Report or Preview command.

6. Use one of the upload template commands to upload your completed template to
the BI Publisher catalog.

The following sections provide more detail on the Template Builder features when
working in connected mode:

• Logging In Through the Template Builder

• Online Features of the Template Builder

• Uploading Templates from the Template Builder

6-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Using the Template Builder for Excel

Logging In Through the Template Builder

The Excel Template Builder enables a direct connection to the BI Publisher server from
your desktop Excel session.
By logging in directly to BI Publisher you can browse the catalog to choose the report
to which to add the Excel template; or, if no report has been created, you can select the
data model and create the report in the catalog from your Excel session.
To log on to the BI Publisher server:

1. In Excel, on the BI Publisher tab in the Online group, click Log On.

2. In the Login dialog, enter your BI Publisher username and password and the URL
to the BI Publisher server. The URL to the BI Publisher server takes the form
http:// www.<host>:<port>/xmlpserver. The Login dialog is shown in the
following illustration.

Note: Log in is supported only for connections directly to the BI Publisher

server. For example: http://www.example.com:7001/xmlpserver. The
Template Builder does not support logging in through the Oracle BI
Enterprise Edition analytics server.

Online Features of the Template Builder

After logging in, the following commands in the Online group become enabled.

Creating Excel Templates 6-5

Using the Template Builder for Excel

• Log Off - ends the connection to the BI Publisher server.

• Open - enables interaction with the BI Publisher catalog. See Accessing the BI
Publisher Catalog from the Template Builder.

• View Report - executes the data model on the server and returns live results to
view in your template. If the data model includes parameters, you are prompted to
enter values.

• Upload Template/Upload Template As - uploads the template to the BI Publisher

catalog. See Uploading Templates from the Template Builder.

Accessing the BI Publisher Catalog from the Template Builder

The Open online command enables interaction with the BI Publisher catalog.
The Open command launches the Open Template dialog to enable access to the BI
Publisher catalog.

Navigate the catalog folders to locate the report, data model, or existing layout
template. From this dialog you can initiate one of the following actions:

• Modify an existing Excel template.

When you select a report in the Reports region, any existing Excel templates or
Excel Analyzer templates (deprecated) are displayed in the lower Layout
Templates region. To modify an existing template, select the template name and
click Open Layout Template. The Template Builder loads the sample data from the
report's data model and opens the existing template in Excel.

• Create a new template for an existing report.

Select the report name in the Reports region and click Open Report. The Template
Builder loads the sample data for this report's data model.

6-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Using the Template Builder for Excel

• Select a data model to create a new report.

When you select a data model from the catalog, the Create Report button is
enabled. Click Create Report and you are prompted to enter a report name and
select the location in the catalog to save the new report.

Uploading Templates from the Template Builder

A link to upload templates is provided if you are online with the server.
If you have maintained the connection during the design process, click one of the
following to upload your completed template to the BI Publisher server:

• Upload Template uploads your edited template and replaces the existing template
in the catalog. Upload Template is enabled only when you have opened an
existing template from the Open Template dialog using the Open Layout Template
button.

• Upload Template As prompts you to assign a Template Name and Locale to the
template then uploads the file to the report in the BI Publisher catalog.

Working in Disconnected Mode

When direct connection to the BI Publisher server is not possible or not desirable, you
can use the Template Builder to design and preview templates in disconnected mode.
In disconnected mode the commands in the Online group are not enabled. The
process flow for working in disconnected mode is:

1. Log in to the BI Publisher server and download sample data from the data model
for which you want to design a template.

2. Open Excel with the BI Publisher Template Builder for Excel Add-in installed.

3. Load the sample data to the Template Builder.

4. Design your template in Excel.

5. Preview your template using the Preview command.

6. Log in to the BI Publisher server and use the report editor to upload your template.

The following sections provide more detail on the Template Builder features when
working in disconnected mode:

• Obtaining Sample Data

• Loading Sample Data in Disconnected Mode

• Uploading Templates to the Report

Obtaining Sample Data

The Template Builder requires sample data to insert the data field mappings to your
template.
For information on saving sample data from the report data model, see Testing Data
Models and Generating Sample Data in Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business
Intelligence Publisher.
If you do not have access to the report data model, but you can access the report, then
you can alternatively save sample data from the report viewer.

Creating Excel Templates 6-7

Using the Template Builder for Excel

To save data from the report viewer:

1. In the BI Publisher catalog, navigate to the report.

2. Click Open to run the report in the report viewer.

3. Click the Actions menu, then click Export, then click Data. You are prompted to
save the XML file.

4. Save the file to a local directory.

Loading Sample Data in Disconnected Mode

You can load sample data into a local directory while offline.
Once you have saved the sample data from the report data model to a local directory,
load it to the Template Builder.

1. Open Excel with the BI Publisher Template Builder for Excel Add-in installed.

2. On the BI Publisher tab, in the Load Data group, click Sample XML. You are
prompted to locate and select the data from its saved location. A confirmation
message confirms the data is loaded.

Uploading Templates to the Report

You can upload report templates while offline.
When working in disconnected mode, upload the template to the report editor
following the instructions in Adding a Layout by Uploading a Template File.

Inserting Fields
The Field command in the Insert group maps data elements from the loaded sample
data to the desired location in the spreadsheet.

To insert a field:

1. In Excel, select the cell to which to map the data element.

2. On the BI Publisher tab, in the Insert group, click Field. The Field dialog launches,
displaying the data elements from your sample data.

3. On the Field dialog select the element to insert to the cell. Notice that as you select
items in the data structure, sample data is displayed in the Example region as
shown in the following illustration.

6-8 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Using the Template Builder for Excel

4. Click Insert to insert the data element to the cell in the spreadsheet. Sample data is
inserted to the cell.

When you insert a field, the Template Builder creates a mapping between the data and
the cell by assigning a unique Excel defined name to the cell and mapping the data
element to that defined name. The mapping is written to the XDO_METADATA sheet
as shown in the following illustration.

Creating Excel Templates 6-9

Using the Template Builder for Excel

Note that the XDO_METADATA sheet is hidden by default.

More Features of the Field Dialog

The Field dialog provides the following features.

Find
For an XML document with a large and complicated structure, use the find
functionality to find a specific field. Enter all or part of the field name into the Find
field and click Find Next.

Business View or XML Tag Name View

When working in connected mode, you can choose whether to view the data structure
using the Business View names or the XML Tag Names as defined in the data model.
Business View names are user-friendly names defined for the data elements in the
data model editor. This option is not available when sample data has been loaded
from a locally stored file or when the data model does not include Business View
names.

Inserting Repeating Groups

You can insert repeating groups of cell elements.
To insert a repeating group:

1. Select the cells in the spreadsheet that contain the elements you want repeated.

2. On the BI Publisher menu, in the Insert group, click Repeating Group.

6-10 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Using the Template Builder for Excel

3. Enter the appropriate fields in the BI Publisher Properties dialog, as shown in the
following illustration.

For Each
Select the element that for each occurrence, you want the loop to repeat. When you
select the For Each data field you are telling BI Publisher that for each occurrence of
the selected field in the data you want the elements and processing instructions
contained within the loop to be repeated.
For example, assume that the data contains invoice data for customers and you
want to create a table with each customer's invoices. In this case, for each customer
number you want the table to repeat. You would therefore select the customer
number in the For Each field to create a new loop (or group) for each customer.
Note the following about creating repeating groups:

• For loops and groupings not inside another group (that is, outer groups) you
must select the repeating data element to be used. For example if the data set is
flat, the only repeatable element is /DATA/ROWSET/ROW. In cases with
multiple data sources or hierarchical XML you can choose the data set.

• If you are creating nested groups (inserting a loop or group inside of another
loop in the template), the On Grouping checkbox is selected and the For Each
field is not editable because it is already defined by the preexisting outer loop.
The For Each field is displayed as "Group Item" to inform you that an outer
group is already defined.
Absolute Path
Select this check box to use the Absolute Path to the element in the XML structure.
This is important if the data contains the same element name grouped under
different parent elements.
Group By
Select a field from the list by which you want to group the data. To create a simple
loop, do not select a group by element. Selecting a group by element regroups the
data into a new hierarchy based on the group by element.
On Grouping

Creating Excel Templates 6-11

Using the Template Builder for Excel

When creating a nested for-each loop, select On Grouping to repeat the for-each
loop only when the element appears within the parent loop. Deselect On Grouping
to repeat global data (outside the parent loop) within the nested loop.

4. When you have completed the dialog options, click OK to insert the BI Publisher
code to define the groupings. An Excel defined name is assigned to the cell range
using the BI Publisher syntax XDO_GROUP_?name? and the code is written to the
XDO_METADATA sheet as shown in the following illustration.

Using the Field Browser to View, Edit, and Delete Fields

The Field Browser enables you to view and edit the code inserted by the Template
Builder and the code you inserted manually into the XDO_METADATA sheet.
When you select a line of code in the Field Browser, the corresponding cells in the
template are highlighted, so you know which field you are editing, deleting, or
viewing.
To edit or delete a field using the Field Browser:

1. On the BI Publisher menu, in the Tools group, click Field Browser.

2. The Field Browser displays the BI Publisher commands that are present in the
template. Select the field or command to view. The code for the selected command
displays in the lower Edit region. Notice that if the code has opening and ending
tags (such as the opening and ending tags of a repeating group) the opening tag
display in the upper code box and the closing tag displays in the lower code box.

When you select a command, the area of the template that corresponds to the code
is highlighted. In the following illustration the repeating group is selected in the
Field Browser and the corresponding fields are highlighted in the template.

6-12 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Using the Template Builder for Excel

3. To delete the code, click Delete. To edit the code, update the code displayed in the
Edit and click Update.

4. When finished, click Close to close the Field Browser.

Previewing Templates
Use the preview feature of the Template Builder to test your template before
uploading it to the BI Publisher server.
To preview a template with the loaded sample data:

• On the BI Publisher tab in the Preview group, click Excel.

The sample data is applied to the template and the output document is opened in a
new workbook.
If you are working in connected mode, you have the option of testing your template
with live data from the report data model using View Report.
To view your template using live data:

• On the BI Publisher tab in the Online group, click View Report.

The Template Builder sends a request to execute the data model on the BI Publisher
server and returns the data to apply to the template. If the data model requires
parameters, you are prompted to enter values. The output document is opened in a
new Excel workbook.

Importing Excel Analyzer Templates

The Excel Analyzer feature of BI Publisher has been deprecated, but if you have Excel
Analyzer templates from previous BI Publisher releases, you can use the Import
command of the Excel Template Builder to import an Excel Analyzer template and
convert it to an Excel template. The Import command supports only Excel Analyzer
templates created using the Offline Mode.

To import an Excel Analyzer template:

1. Open the Excel Analyzer template. If you are working in connected mode, navigate
to the report that contains the template you wish to convert. When you select the

Creating Excel Templates 6-13

Building a Basic Template Using the Template Builder

report in the Open Template dialog, the Excel Analyzer template displays in the
Layout Templates region as type "excel". Click Open Layout Template to open the
Excel Analyzer template in Excel.

2. Click Import. A message notifies you: This feature will overwrite your template.

3. Click OK.

The Template Builder converts the Excel Analyzer template to an Excel template.

Building a Basic Template Using the Template Builder

This section demonstrates the concepts of Excel templates by describing the steps to
create a simple Excel template using the Excel Template Builder.
This procedure follows these steps:
Step 1: Load Sample Data to the Template Builder
Step 2: Design the Layout in Excel
Step 3: Use the Template Builder to Insert Fields
Step 4: Use the Template Builder to Insert Repeating Groups
Step 5: Insert the Calculated Salary Field
Step 6: Test the Template

Step 1: Load Sample Data to the Template Builder

Loading sample data provides a properly formatted base from which to build a
template.
The method you choose for loading sample data depends on whether you are working
in connected or disconnected mode.

• To load data when working in connected mode, see Accessing the BI Publisher
Catalog from the Template Builder.

• To load data when working in disconnected mode, see Loading Sample Data in
Disconnected Mode.
The sample data for this example is a list of employees by department. Note that
employees are grouped and listed under the department.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<! - Generated by Oracle BI Publisher 11.1.1.4.0 - >
<DATA>
<DEPT>
<DEPARTMENT_ID>20</DEPARTMENT_ID>
<DEPARTMENT_NAME>Marketing</DEPARTMENT_NAME>
<EMPS>
<EMPLOYEE_ID>201</EMPLOYEE_ID>
<EMP_NAME>Michael Hartstein</EMP_NAME>
<EMAIL>MHARTSTE</EMAIL>
<PHONE_NUMBER>515.123.5555</PHONE_NUMBER>
<HIRE_DATE>1996-02-17T00:00:00.000+00:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>13000</SALARY>
</EMPS>
<EMPS>
<EMPLOYEE_ID>202</EMPLOYEE_ID>
<EMP_NAME>Pat Fay</EMP_NAME>
<EMAIL>PFAY</EMAIL>
<PHONE_NUMBER>603.123.6666</PHONE_NUMBER>

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 Building a Basic Template Using the Template Builder

<HIRE_DATE>1997-08-17T00:00:00.000+00:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>6000</SALARY>
</EMPS>
</DEPT>
<DEPT>
...
...
</DEPT>
</DATA>

To build the template described in this tutorial, use the sample data available in the
Samples folder installed with BI Publisher Desktop. A very similar data set can be
found in <Install Directory>\BI Publisher Desktop\Template Builder
for Word\samples\Excel templates\Employee By Departments
\EmpByDept Single Sheets\EmpbyDeptExcelData.xml

Step 2: Design the Layout in Excel

Use Excel to simplify a design layout.
In Excel, determine how you want to render the data and create a sample design, as
shown in the following illustration.

The design shows a department name and a row for each employee within the
department. You can apply Excel formatting to the design, such as font style, shading,
and alignment. Note that this layout includes a total field. The value for this field is
not available in the data and requires a calculation.

Step 3: Use the Template Builder to Insert Fields

You can map data to data fields in the template.
In this layout design, the following fields must be mapped to the template from the
data:

Field in Layout Element in Data

Department DEPARTMENT_NAME

Employee Name EMP_NAME

Employee ID EMPLOYEE_ID

Creating Excel Templates 6-15

Building a Basic Template Using the Template Builder

Field in Layout Element in Data

Email EMAIL

Telephone PHONE_NUMBER

Salary SALARY

To insert field mappings using the Template Builder:

1. Select the cell in the spreadsheet where the data field is to display. For example, to
map the DEPARTMENT_NAME element, select cell B5.

2. On the BI Publisher tab, in the Insert group click Field. (Because this is the first
field you are inserting, a message displays stating that the metadata sheet will be
created.) The Field dialog displays showing the data structure, shown in the
following illustration.

3. Select the element in the Field dialog and click Insert. Sample data is inserted to the
cell in the template. For more information about the dialog, see Inserting Fields.

4. Repeat for the Employee Name, Employee ID, Email, Telephone, and Salary fields
in the template.

Step 4: Use the Template Builder to Insert Repeating Groups

A group is a set of data that repeats for each occurrence of a particular element.
In the sample template design, there are two groups:

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 Building a Basic Template Using the Template Builder

• For each occurrence of the <EMPS> element, the employee's data (name, e-mail,
telephone, salary) is displayed in the worksheet.

• For each occurrence of the <DEPT> element, the department name and the list of
employees belonging to that department are displayed.
In other words, the employees are "grouped" by department and each employee's data
is "grouped" by the employee element. To achieve this in the final report, insert a
repeating group around the cells that are to repeat for each grouping element.
Note that the data must be structured according to the groups that you want to create
in the template. The structure of the data for this example
<DATA>
<DEPT>
<EMPS>

establishes the grouping desired for the report.

To insert the repeating group for Employees:

1. Select the cells that make up the group. In this example, the first group is the
Employee data that makes up a row in the table, the cells are A8 - E8.

2. On the BI Publisher tab, in the Insert group, click Repeating Group.

3. In the BI Publisher Properties dialog, select the following:

• From the For Each list, select EMPS.

• From the Group By list, select EMPLOYEE_ID.

The following illustration shows BI Publisher Properties definitions for the
Employees group. Notice that just the row of employee data is highlighted. Do
not highlight the headers. Notice also that the total cell is not highlighted.

To insert the repeating group for Departments:

Creating Excel Templates 6-17

Building a Basic Template Using the Template Builder

1. To define the department group, select the Department name cell and all the
employee fields beneath it (A5-E9) as shown in the following illustration.

2. On the BI Publisher tab, in the Insert group, click Repeating Group. Notice that the
total salary cell is included in the department group to ensure that it repeats at the
department level.

3. In the BI Publisher Properties dialog, select the following:

• From the For Each list, select DEPT.

• From the Group By list, select DEPARTMENT_ID.

The following illustration shows the selections for the BI Publisher Properties dialog.

Step 5: Insert the Calculated Salary Field

Finally, insert the second Salary field that is to be an aggregated sum for each
department.
To insert the calculated field:

1. Select the cell in the spreadsheet where the calculated salary is to display. In this
example, the cell is E9.

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 Building a Basic Template Using the Template Builder

2. On the BI Publisher tab, in the group, click Field to display the dialog.

3. Select the SALARY element and click Insert to insert the mapping in the template.

4. Open the XDO_METADATA sheet.

The Template Builder created a hidden XDO_METADATA sheet when you

inserted the first field. Unhide the sheet in your workbook by right-clicking Sheet1
and selecting Unhide from the menu.
The following illustration shows the XDO_METADATA sheet for the sample
template.

The total salary field maps to the cell named XDO_?XDOFIELD7?.

5. In Column B enter the calculation as an XPATH function. To calculate the sum of

the SALARY element for all employees in the group, enter the following: <?
sum(.//SALARY)?>. The entry is shown in the following illustration.

Creating Excel Templates 6-19

Building a Basic Template Using the Template Builder

Step 6: Test the Template

You can test a template using Preview.
To preview a template with the loaded sample data:

• On the BI Publisher tab in the group, click Excel.

The sample data is applied to the template and the output document is opened in a
new workbook.

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 Formatting Dates

Formatting Dates
Excel cannot recognize canonical date format. If the date format in the XML data is in
canonical format, that is, YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss+HH:MM, you must apply a
function to display it properly.
One option to display a date is to use the Excel REPLACE and SUBSTITUTE functions.
This option retains the full date and timestamp. If you only require the date portion in
the data (YYY-MM-DD), then another option is to use the DATEVALUE function. The
following example shows how to use both options.
Example: Formatting a Canonical Date in Excel
Using the Employee by Department template and data from the first example, this
procedure adds the HIRE_DATE element to the layout and displays the date as shown
in Column E of the following figure:

Creating Excel Templates 6-21

Formatting Dates

To format the date:

1. Add a column to the table in your layout for HIRE_DATE.

2. In the table row where the data is to display, use the Template Builder to insert the
HIRE_DATE field.

Note:

If you are not using the Template Builder, copy and paste a sample value for
HIRE_DATE from the XML data into the cell that is to display the
HIRE_DATE field. For example:
Copy and paste
1996-02-03T00:00:00.000-07:00
into the E8 cell.
Assign the cell the defined name XDO_?HIRE_DATE? to map it to the
HIRE_DATE element in the data.

The inserted field is shown in the following figure:

If you do nothing else, the HIRE_DATE value is displayed as shown. To format the
date as "3-Feb-96", you must apply a function to that field and display the results in
a new field.

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 Formatting Dates

3. Insert a new Hire Date column. This is now column F, as shown in the following
figure:

4. In the new Hire Date cell (F8), enter one of the following Excel functions:

• To retain the full date and timestamp, enter:

=--REPLACE(SUBSTITUTE(E8,"T"," "),LEN(E8)-6,6,"")

• To retain only the date portion (YYY-MM-DD), enter:

=DATEVALUE(LEFT(E8,10))

Notice that in both functions, "E8" refers to the cell that contains the value to
convert.
After you enter the function, it populates the F8 cell as shown in the following
figure:

5. Apply formatting to the cell.

Right-click the F8 cell. From the menu, select Format Cells. In the Format Cells
dialog, select Date and the desired format, as shown in the following figure.

Creating Excel Templates 6-23

Understanding Excel Template Concepts

The sample data in the F8 cell now displays as 3-Feb-96.

6. Hide the E column, so that report consumers do not see the canonical date that is
converted.

The following figure shows the template with column E hidden:

Understanding Excel Template Concepts

Similar to RTF template design, Excel template design follows the paradigm of
mapping fields from the XML data to positions in the Excel worksheet.

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 Understanding Excel Template Concepts

Excel templates make use of features of Excel in conjunction with special BI Publisher
syntax to achieve this mapping. In addition to direct mapping of data elements, Excel
templates support more complex formatting instructions by defining the cell ranges
and the commands in a separate worksheet designated to contain these commands.
This sheet is called the XDO_METADATA sheet.

Mapping Data Fields and Groups

Excel templates use named cells and groups of cells to enable BI Publisher to insert
data elements.
Cells are named using BI Publisher syntax to establish the mapping back to the XML
data. The cell names are also used to establish a mapping within the template between
the named cell and calculations and formatting instructions that are defined on the
XDO_METADATA sheet.
The template content and layout must correspond to the content and hierarchy of the
XML data file used as input to the report. Each group of repeating elements in the
template must correspond to a parent-child relationship in the XML file. If the data is
not structured to match the desired layout in Excel it is possible to regroup the data
using XSLT preprocessing or the grouping functions. However, for the best
performance and least complexity it is recommended that the data model be designed
with the report layout in mind.

Note:

For more information about grouping, see the following:

• Inserting Repeating Groups

• Grouping Functions

• Preprocessing the Data Using an XSL Transformation (XSLT) File

Use of Excel Defined Names for Mapping

BI Publisher uses the Excel defined names feature to identify data fields and repeating
elements.
A defined name in Excel is a name that represents a cell, range of cells, formula, or
constant value.

Tip: To learn more about defined names and their usage in Microsoft Excel
2007, see the Microsoft help topic: "Define and use names in formulas."

The Template Builder for Excel automatically creates the defined names when you use
it to insert fields and repeating groups. You can also insert the defined names
manually. The defined names used in the Excel template must use the syntax
described in this chapter and follow the Microsoft guidelines described in the
Microsoft Excel help document. Note that BI Publisher defined names are within the
scope of the template sheet.

Creating Excel Templates 6-25

Understanding Excel Template Concepts

Note: When you create an Excel Template manually (that is, NOT using the
BI Publisher Desktop Excel Template Builder), you must provide default
values for all marked up cells XDO_?. The default values must match to the
data type of the report data XML file. Without default values for the XDO_?
cells, the output cells generated from those template cells may lose formatting
and the result is unpredictable. If you use BI Publisher Desktop to create an
Excel Template, the default values are automatically supplied with the first
row of sample data in the report data file.

Use of "XDO_" Prefix to Create Defined Names

The BI Publisher defined names are Excel defined names identified by the prefix
"XDO_".
Creating the defined name with the BI Publisher code in the template creates the
connection between the position of the code in the template and the XML data
elements, and also maintains the ability to dynamically grow data ranges in the output
reports, so that these data ranges can be referenced by other formula calculations,
charts, and macros.

Using Native Excel Functions with the "XDO_" Defined Names

You can use the XDO_ defined names in Excel native formulas as long as the defined
names are used in a simple table.
When a report is generated, BI Publisher automatically adjusts the region ranges for
those named regions so that the formulas calculate correctly.
However, if you create nested groups in the template, then the cells generated in the
final report within the grouping can no longer be properly associated to the correct
name. In this case, the use of XDO_ defined names with native Excel functions cannot
be supported.

About the XDO_METADATA Sheet

Each Excel template requires a sheet within the template workbook called
"XDO_METADATA".
BI Publisher uses this sheet in the template in the following ways:

• To identify the template as an Excel template.

• To insert the code for the field and group mappings you create with the Template
Builder.
As the template designer, you also use this sheet to specify more advanced
calculations and processing instructions to perform on fields or groups in the
template. BI Publisher provides a set of functions to provide specific report features.
Other formatting and calculations can be expressed in XSLT.

Note:
For more information see Format of the XDO_METADATA Sheet and Using
Advanced BI Publisher Functions.

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 Understanding Excel Template Concepts

Creating the XDO_METADATA Sheet

When you begin the design of a new Excel template using the Template Builder, the
first time you use one of the Insert functions the Template Builder automatically
creates a hidden XDO_METADATA sheet. A message informs you that the sheet has
been created.
BI Publisher creates the sheet as a hidden sheet. Use the Excel Unhide command to
view and edit the XDO_METADATA sheet.

Format of the XDO_METADATA Sheet

The XDO_METADATA sheet is created with the format shown in this figure. The
format consists of two sections: the header section and the data constraints section.
Both sections are required.

In the header section, all the entries in column A must be listed, but a value is required
for only one: Template Type, as shown. The entries in Column A are:

• Version

• ARU-dbdrv

• Extractor Version

• Template Code

• Template Type

• Preprocess XSLT File

• Last Modified Date

• Last Modified By
The Data Constraints section is used to specify the data field mappings and other
processing instructions. Details are provided in the following sections.

Hiding the XDO_METADATA Sheet

Oracle recommends that you hide the XDO_METADATA sheet before uploading the
completed template to the BI Publisher catalog to prevent its inclusion in the final
report output. Use the Excel Hide command to hide the sheet before uploading the
template to the server.

Creating Excel Templates 6-27

Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

BI Publisher provides a set of functions to achieve additional reporting functionality.
You define these functions in the Data Constraints region of the XDO_METADATA
sheet.
The functions make use of Columns A, B, and C in the XDO_METADATA sheet as
follows:
Use Column A to declare the function or to specify the defined name of the object to
which to map the results of a calculation or XSL evaluation.
Use Column B to enter the special XDO-XSL syntax to describe how to control the data
constraints for the XDO function, or the XSL syntax that describes the special
constraint to apply to the XDO_ named elements.
Use Column C to specify additional instructions for a few functions.
The functions are described in the following sections:

• Reporting Functions

• Formatting Functions That Rely on Specific Data Attribute Values

• Grouping Functions

Reporting Functions
You can add functions to a template using the commands shown and a combination of
BI Publisher syntax and XSL.
A summary list of the commands is shown in the following table. See the
corresponding section for details on usage.

Function Commands
Splitting the Report into Multiple XDO_SHEET_? with XDO_SHEET_NAME_?
Sheets

Declaring and Passing Parameters XDO_PARAM_?n?

Defining a Link XDO_LINK_?link object name?

Importing and Calling a XDO_SUBTEMPLATE_?n?

Subtemplate

Referencing Java Extension XDO_EXT_?n?

Libraries

Splitting the Report into Multiple Sheets

Use this set of commands to define the logic to split the report data into multiple
sheets.

Note: Images are not supported across multiple sheets. If the template sheet
includes images, when the data is split into multiple sheets, the images are
displayed only on the first sheet.

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 Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

The set of commands is described in the following list:

• Use XDO_SHEET_? to define the logic by which to split the data onto a new sheet.

• Use XDO_SHEET_NAME_? to specify the naming convention for each sheet.

The following table describes the column entries.

Column A Entry Column B Entry Column C Entry

XDO_SHEET_? <?xsl_evaluation to split the data?> n/a

Example:
<?.//DEPT?>

XDO_SHEET_NAME_? <?xsl_expression to name the sheet?> (Optional)

Example: <?original sheet name?>
<?concat(.// Example:
DEPARTMENT_NAME,'-',count(.// <?Sheet3?>
EMP_NAME))?>

XDO_SHEET_? must refer to an existing high-level node in the XML data. The example
<?.//DEPT?> creates a new sheet for each occurrence of <DEPT> in the data.
If the data is flat, then you cannot use this command unless you first preprocess the
data to create the desired hierarchy. To preprocess the data, define the transformation
in an XSLT file, then specify this file in the Preprocess XSLT File field of the header
section of the XDO _METADATA sheet. For more information, see Preprocessing the
Data Using an XSL Transformation (XSLT) File.
Use XDO_SHEET_NAME_? to define the name to apply to the sheets. In Column B
enter the XSL expression to derive the new sheet name. The expression can reference a
value for an element or attribute in the XML data, or you can use the string operation
on those elements to define the final sheet name. This example:
<?concat(.//DEPARTMENT_NAME,'-',count(.//EMP_NAME))?>

names each sheet using the value of DEPARTMENT_NAME concatenated with "-" and the
count of employees in the DEPT group.
The original sheet name entry in Column C tells BI Publisher on which sheet to begin
the specified sheet naming. If this parameter is not entered, BI Publisher applies the
naming to the first sheet in the workbook that contains XDO_ names. You must enter
this parameter if, for example, you have a report that contains summary data in the
first two worksheets and the burst data should begin on Sheet3. In this case, you enter
<?SHEET3?> in Column C.
Example: Splitting the data into multiple sheets
Using the employee data shown in the previous example. This example:

• Creates a new worksheet for each department

• Names each worksheet the name of the department with the number of employees
in the department, for example: Sales-21.
To split the data into sheets:

1. Enter the defined names for each cell of employee data and create the group for the
repeating employee data, as shown in the following illustration.

Creating Excel Templates 6-29

Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

Note:

Do not create the grouping around the department because the data is split by
department.

2. Enter the values that are described in the following table in the Data Constraints
section of the XDO_METADATA sheet.

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_SHEET_? <?.//DEPT?>

XDO_SHEET_NAME_? <?concat(.//DEPARTMENT_NAME,'-',count(.//
EMP_NAME))?>

The entries are shown in the following illustration.

The following illustration shows the generated report. Each department data now
displays on its own sheet, which shows the naming convention specified.

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Declaring and Passing Parameters

To define a parameter, use the XDO_PARAM_?n? function to declare the parameter,
then use the $parameter_name syntax to pass a value to the parameter. A parameter
must be defined in the data model.
To declare the parameter, use the command that is described in the following table:

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_PARAM_?n? <?param@begin:parameter_name;parameter_value?>
where n is the unique identifier for the where parameter_name is the name of the parameter from the data
parameter model and parameter_value is the optional default value.
For example:
<?param@begin:Country;US?>

To use the value of the parameter directly in a cell, refer to the parameter as
$parameter_name in the definition for the XDO_ defined name, as described in the
following table:

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_PARAM_?parameter_name? <?$parameter_name?>
For example: For example:
XDO_PARAM_?Country? <?$Country?>

You can also refer to the parameter in other logic or calculations in the
XDO_METADATA sheet using $parameter_name.
Example: Defining and passing a parameter
To declare and reference a parameter named Country:

1. In the template sheet, mark the cell with a defined name. In the following figure,
the cell has been marked with the defined name XDO_?Country?

Creating Excel Templates 6-31

Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

2. In the hidden sheet assign that cell the parameter value, as shown in the following
figure:

Defining a Link
Use the XDO_LINK_? command to define a hyperlink for any data cell, as described in
this table.

Example: Defining a Link

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_LINK_?cell object name? <xsl statement to build the dynamic URL>
For example: For example:
XDO_LINK_?INVOICE_NO? <xsl:value-of select="concat('https://
server.company.com/documents/
invoice_print.show?c_rptno=',./
INVOICE_NO)"/>

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Assume your company generates customer invoices. The invoices are stored in a
central location accessible by a Web server and can be identified by the invoice
number (INVOICE_NO).
To generate a report that creates a dynamic link to each invoice:

1. In the template sheet, assign the cell that is to display the INVOICE_NO the XDO
defined name: XDO_?INVOICE_NO?, as shown in the following figure:

2. In the XDO_METADATA sheet, enter the appropriate values, as described in the

following table:

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_LINK_?INVOICE_NO? <xsl:value-of select="concat('https://

server.company.com/documents/
invoice_print.show?c_rptno=',./
INVOICE_NO)"/>

The entries in the Excel are shown in the following figure:

The report output is displayed as shown in the following figure. The logic that is
defined in the XDO_METADATA sheet is applied to create a hyperlink for each
INVOICE_NO entry.

Creating Excel Templates 6-33

Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

Importing and Calling a Subtemplate

Use these commands to declare XSL subtemplates that you can then call and reference
in any of the XDO_ commands.

Note:

The Template Builder for Excel does not support preview for templates that
import subtemplates.

To import the subtemplate, enter the command shown in the following table:

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_SUBTEMPLATE_?n? where n <xsl:import href="xdoxsl:///path to
is a unique identifier. For example: subtemplate.xsb?"/> For example: <xsl:import
XDO_SUBTEMPLATE_?1? href="xdoxsl:///Shared Folders/Financial
Reports/SubTemplates/
MySubTemplate.xsb?"/>

To call the subtemplate, declare the cell name for which the results should be returned
in Column A, then enter the call-template syntax with any other XSL processing to be
performed. The commands are shown in the following table:

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_?cell object name? <xsl:call-template name="template_name">
</xsl:call-template>

For more information on XSL subtemplates and creating the subtemplate object in the
catalog, see Designing XSL Subtemplates.
Example: Importing and Calling a Subtemplate
Assume you have the following subtemplate uploaded to the BI Publisher catalog as
PaymentsSummary-SubTemplate.xsb. This subtemplate evaluates the value of a

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parameter named pPayType and based on the value, return a string that indicates the
payment type:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="2.0"
xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
<xsl:template match="/">
</xsl:template>
<xsl:template name="BRM_PAY_TYPES">
<xsl:param name="pPayType" select="string('ALL')"/>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$pPayType = '0'">UNDEFINED</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="$pPayType=string('10000')">PREPAID</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="$pPayType=string('10001')">INVOICE</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="$pPayType=string('10003')">CREDIT CARD</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="$pPayType=string('10005')">DIRECT DEBIT</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="$pPayType=string('10011')">CASH</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="$pPayType=string('10012')">CHECK</xsl:when>
<xsl:when test="$pPayType=string('ALL')">ALL</xsl:when>
</xsl:choose>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>

In the Excel template, you have defined a field with the XDO Defined Name XDO_?
TYPE?, which is populated based on the string returned from code performed in the
subtemplate, as shown in the following figure:

Enter the commands shown in the following table in the Data Constraints region.

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_SUBTEMPLATE_?1? <xsl:import href="xdoxsl:///Shared
Folders/Financial Reports/SubTemplates/
PaymentsSummary-SubTemplate.xsb?"/>

XDO_?TYPE? <xsl:call-template name="BRM_PAY_TYPES">

<xsl:with-param name="pPayType"
select="string('10000')"/> </xsl:call-
template>

The XDO_SUBTEMPLATE_?1? function imports the subtemplate from the BI

Publisher catalog.

Creating Excel Templates 6-35

Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

The XDO_?TYPE? cell entry maps the results of the subtemplate processing entered in
Column B.

Referencing Java Extension Libraries

You can include the reference to a Java extension library in the template and then call
methods from this library to perform processing in the template.
Use the command shown in the following table to reference the Java extension
libraries.

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_EXT_?n? where n is a unique <?namespace:xmlns:bipext="extension library"?>
identifier. Example: XDO_EXT?1? Example: <?namespace:xmlns:bipext="http://
www.example.com/XSL/Transform/java/
example.com.xmlpublisher.reports.BIPExtension"?>

You can have multiple extension libraries defined in a single template file.
Example: Calling a Java Extension Library
Assume the extension library includes the following two methods that you want to
call in the template:

• bipext:infTimeToStr()

• bipext:infStrToTimet()
After you have declared the library as shown above, specify the cell to which you
want to apply the method by entering the XDO defined name in Column A and calling
the function in Column B. The following table shows example commands.

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_?PARAM_START_DATE? <xsl:value-of
select="bipext:infTimeToStr(bipext:infStrToTimet((.//
PARAM_START_DATE)[1],2),3)"

The entries in the XDO_METADATA sheet to declare and call the Java extension
libraries are shown in the following illustration.

Formatting Functions That Rely on Specific Data Attribute Values

The commands in this table require that specific formatting attributes be present in the
XML data file.
A summary list of the commands is shown in the following table. See the
corresponding section for details on usage.

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Function Command
Defining Border and Underline XDO_STYLE_n_?cell object name?
Styles

Skipping a Row XDO_SKIPROW_?cell object name?

Defining Border and Underline Styles

While you can define a consistent style in the template using Excel formatting, the
XDO_STYLE command enables you to define a different style for any data cell
dynamically based on the XML data.
With the XDO_STYLE command you specify the cell to which to apply the style, the
logic to determine when to apply the style, and the style type to apply. The style value
must be present in the XML data. The following table provides examples.

Column A Entry Column B Entry Column C Entry

XDO_STYLE_n_?cell_object_name? <xsl evaluation that returns a supported value> Style type
For example: For example: For example:
XDO_STYLE_1_?TOTAL_SALARY? <xsl:value-of select=".// BottomBorderStyle
TOTAL_SALARY/@borderStyle"/>

BI Publisher supports the normal Excel style types and values as shown in the
following table:

Style Type Supported Values (Must be in returned by Supported Types (Enter in

evaluation in Column B) Column C)
Normal BORDER_NONE BottomBorderStyle
BORDER_THIN TopBorderStyle
BORDER_MEDIUM LeftBorderStyle
BORDER_DASHED RightBorderStyle
BORDER_DOTTED DiagonalLineStyle
BORDER_THICK
BORDER_DOUBLE
BORDER_HAIR
BORDER_MEDIUM_DASHED
BORDER_DASH_DOT
BORDER_MEDIUM_DASH_DOT
BORDER_DASH_DOT_DOT
BORDER_MEDIUM_DASH_DOT_DOT
BORDER_SLANTED_DASH_DOT

You can also set a color using one of the types shown in the following table:

Creating Excel Templates 6-37

Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

Style Type Supported Value (Must be in returned by Supported Types (Enter in

evaluation in Column B) Column C)
Normal When you set Color Style, give the value in BottomBorderColor
RRBBGG hex format, for example: TopBorderColor
borderColor="0000FF" LeftBorderColor
RightBorderColor
DiagonalLineColor

BI Publisher also supports the underline type with the values shown in the following
table:

Style Type Supported Values (Must be in returned by Supported Type (Enter in

evaluation in Column B) Column C)
Underline UNDERLINE_NONE UnderlineStyle
UNDERLINE_SINGLE
UNDERLINE_DOUBLE
UNDERLINE_SINGLE_ACCOUNTING
UNDERLINE_DOUBLE_ACCOUNTING

You can have multiple underline styles defined for a single cell.
Example: Defining Styles
To apply a style in a template, the style value must be present in the data. In this
example, a border style and an underline style are applied to the
DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY field shown in the Excel template.
For this example, the following data is used. Note that the DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY
element in the data has these attributes defined:

• borderStyle

• underLineStyle

• borderColor
The value of each of these attributes is used to apply the defined style based on logic
defined in the template.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<EMPLOYEES>
<G_DEPT>
<DEPARTMENT_ID>10</DEPARTMENT_ID>
<DEPARTMENT_NAME>Administration</DEPARTMENT_NAME>
<LIST_G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<EMPLOYEE_ID>200</EMPLOYEE_ID>
<EMP_NAME>Jennifer Whalen</EMP_NAME>
<EMAIL>JWHALEN</EMAIL>
<PHONE_NUMBER>515.123.4444</PHONE_NUMBER>
<HIRE_DATE>1987-09-17T00:00:00.000-06:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>4400</SALARY>
</G_EMP>
</LIST_G_EMP>

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 Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

<DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY borderStyle="BORDER_DOUBLE"
underLineStyle="UNDERLINE_DOUBLE_ACCOUNTING" borderColor="0000FF">4400</
DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY>
</G_DEPT>
<G_DEPT>
<DEPARTMENT_ID>20</DEPARTMENT_ID>
<DEPARTMENT_NAME>Marketing</DEPARTMENT_NAME>
<LIST_G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<EMPLOYEE_ID>201</EMPLOYEE_ID>
<EMP_NAME>Michael Hartstein</EMP_NAME>
<EMAIL>MHARTSTE</EMAIL>
<PHONE_NUMBER>515.123.5555</PHONE_NUMBER>
<HIRE_DATE>1996-02-17T00:00:00.000-07:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>13000</SALARY>
</G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<EMPLOYEE_ID>202</EMPLOYEE_ID>
<EMP_NAME>Pat Fay</EMP_NAME>
<EMAIL>PFAY</EMAIL>
<PHONE_NUMBER>603.123.6666</PHONE_NUMBER>
<HIRE_DATE>1997-08-17T00:00:00.000-06:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>6000</SALARY>
</G_EMP>
</LIST_G_EMP>

<DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY borderStyle="BORDER_DOUBLE"
underLineStyle="UNDERLINE_DOUBLE_ACCOUNTING" borderColor="0000FF">19000</
DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY>
</G_DEPT>

...

</EMPLOYEES>

To define a style:

1. In the Excel template, assign the defined name XDO_?DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY?

to the field that is to display the DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY from the data, as shown
in the following figure:

2. In the XDO_METADATA sheet, enter the following:

Creating Excel Templates 6-39

Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

• To define the top border style, use the entries shown in the following table:

Column A Entry Column B Entry Column C Entry

XDO_STYLE_1_? <xsl:value-of select=".// TopBorderStyle

DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY? DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY/@borderStyle"/>

The entry in Column A maps this style command to the cell assigned the name
XDO_?DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY?
The entry in Column B retrieves the style value from the attribute borderStyle
of the DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY element. Note from the sample data that the
value for borderStyle is "BORDER_DOUBLE".
The entry in Column C tells BI Publisher to apply a TopBorderStyle to the cell.

• To define the top border color, use the entries shown in the following table:

Column A Entry Column B Entry Column C Entry

XDO_STYLE_2_? <?.//DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY/@borderColor?> TopBorderColor

DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY?

The entry in Column A maps this style command to the cell assigned the name
XDO_?DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY?
The entry in Column B retrieves the style value from the attribute borderColor
of the DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY element. Note from the sample data that the
value for borderColor is 0000FF (blue).
The entry in Column C tells BI Publisher to apply a TopBorderColor to the cell.

• To define the underline style, use the entries shown in the following table:

Column A Entry Column B Entry Column C Entry

XDO_STYLE_3_? <?.//DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY/@underLineStyle?> UnderlineStyle

DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY?

The entry in Column A maps this style command to the cell assigned the name
XDO_?DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY?
The entry in Column B retrieves the style value from the attribute
underLineStyle of the DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY element. Note from the sample
data that the value for underLineStyle is
UNDERLINE_DOUBLE_ACCOUNTING.
The entry in Column C tells BI Publisher to apply the UnderLineStyle to the
cell.
The following figure shows the three entries in the Data Constraints region:

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 Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

When you run the report, the style commands are applied to the XDO_?
DEPT_TOTAL_SALARY? cell, as shown in the following figure:

Skipping a Row
Use the XDO_SKIPROW command to suppress the display of a row of data in a table
when the results of an evaluation defined in Column B return the case insensitive
string "True".
Example entries are shown in the following table.

Creating Excel Templates 6-41

Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_SKIPROW_?cell_object_name? <xsl evaluation that returns the string "True"/>
For example: For example:
XDO_SKIPROW_?EMPLOYEE_ID? <xsl:if test="string-length(./EMPLOYEE_ID/@MANAGER) != 0">
<xsl:value-of select="./EMPLOYEE_ID/@MANAGER"/> </
xsl:if>

Example: Skipping a Row Based on Data Element Attribute

In this example, the Excel template suppresses the display of the row of employee data
when the EMPLOYEE_ID element includes a "MANAGER" attribute with the value
"True".
Assume data as shown below. Note that the EMPLOYEE_ID element for employee
Michael Hartstein has the MANAGER attribute with the value "True". The other
EMPLOYEE_ID elements in this set do not have the attribute.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<EMPLOYEES>
<G_DEPT>
<DEPARTMENT_ID>20</DEPARTMENT_ID>
<DEPARTMENT_NAME>Marketing</DEPARTMENT_NAME>
<LIST_G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<EMPLOYEE_ID MANAGER="TRUE">201</EMPLOYEE_ID>
<EMP_NAME>Michael Hartstein</EMP_NAME>
<EMAIL>MHARTSTE</EMAIL>
<PHONE_NUMBER>515.123.5555</PHONE_NUMBER>
<HIRE_DATE>1996-02-17T00:00:00.000-07:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>13000</SALARY>
</G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<EMPLOYEE_ID>202</EMPLOYEE_ID>
<EMP_NAME>Pat Fay</EMP_NAME>
<EMAIL>PFAY</EMAIL>
<PHONE_NUMBER>603.123.6666</PHONE_NUMBER>
<HIRE_DATE>1997-08-17T00:00:00.000-06:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>6000</SALARY>
</G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<EMPLOYEE_ID>652</EMPLOYEE_ID>
<EMP_NAME>William Morgan</EMP_NAME>
<EMAIL>WMORGAN</EMAIL>
<PHONE_NUMBER>219.123.7776</PHONE_NUMBER>
<HIRE_DATE>1994-10-17T00:00:00.000-06:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>8000</SALARY>
</G_EMP>
</LIST_G_EMP>
</G_DEPT>

...

</EMPLOYEES>

To suppress the display of the row of the employee data when the MANAGER
attribute is set to "True", enter the entries shown in the following table in the Data
Constraints section.

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 Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_SKIPROW_?EMPLOYEE_ID? <xsl:if test="string-length(./EMPLOYEE_ID/@MANAGER) != 0">
<xsl:value-of select="./EMPLOYEE_ID/@MANAGER"/> </
xsl:if>

The output from this template is shown in the following illustration. Note that the
employee Michael Hartstein is not included in the report.

Grouping Functions
Use the functions shown in this table to create groupings of data in the template.

Function Command
Grouping the Data XDO_GROUP_?group element?

Regrouping the Data XDO_REGROUP_?

Grouping the Data

Use the XDO_GROUP command to group flat data when the layout requires a specific
data grouping, for example, to split the data across multiple sheets.
Example entries are shown in the following table:

Column A Entry Column B Entry Column C Entry

XDO_GROUP_?group <xsl beginning groupng <xsl ending groupng
element? logic/> tags/>
For example: For example: For example:
XDO_GROUP_? <xsl:for-each-group </xsl:for-each>
STATE_GROUP? select="current-group()" <xsl:for-each-
group-by="./STATE"> group> <xsl:for-
<xsl:for-each-group each-group>
select="current-group()"
group-by="./
RESOURCE_NAME"> <xsl:for-
each select="current-
group()">

Creating Excel Templates 6-43

Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

Define the XSL statements to be placed at the beginning and ending of the section of
the group definition marked up by XDO_?cell object name?. You can mark
multiple groups nested in the template, giving each the definition appropriate to the
corresponding group.

Handling the Generated XDO Define Names in Nested Groups

When XDO_GROUP_? is used in a nested group, the ranges of XDO define names in the
final report become meaningless. In this case, do not refer to the define names in
formulas in the final report. You can disable the XDO markup activity in the final
report using the command XDO_MARKUP_?.
The following table shows the usage of XDO_MARKUP_? in the XDO_METADATA
sheet:

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_MARKUP_? "false" or "FALSE"
(The cell must be formatted as Text in the Excel Format Cells
dialog.)

In addition, if your template includes a large number of defined names and these are
used in multiple levels of nested groups, Excel may not be able to handle the number
of generated defined names. In this case, use the XDO_MARKUP_? command to disable
markup for the generated report.
When set to false, BI Publisher does not produce any defined names for any result
produced by XDO_GROUP_?

Regrouping the Data

The XDO_REGROUP regroups the data by declaring the structure using the defined
names.
The XDO_REGROUP logic is a shortened form of the XDO_GROUP logic and does not
require the XSLTcoding requirements in the XDO_METADATA sheet. The definition
must therefore be directly on XDO_REGROUP_? define names, or on any other
definition on the XDO_METADATA sheet. Entries are shown in the following table.

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 Using Advanced BI Publisher Functions

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_REGROUP_? XDO_REGROUP_?UniqueGroupID?levelName?
groupByName?sortByName?sortByName?
sortByName?
where
• UniqueGroupID is the ID of the group. It can be the
same as the levelName or you can assign it unique
name.
• levelName is the XML level tag name in the XML
data file or XDO_CURRGRP_ that represents the
current-group() in the context of nested grouping.
XDO_CURRGRP_ should be used for all inner
groups when more than one nesting group exists in
your template.
• groupByName is the field name that you want to
use for the GroupBy operation for the current
group. This name can be empty if the
XDO_REGROUP_? command is used for the most
inner group.
• sortByName is the field name that you want to sort
the group by. You can have multiple sortBy fields.
If no sortByName is declared, then the data from
the XML file is not sorted.

The next three tables show an example of how to create three nested groupings.

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_REGROUP_? XDO_REGROUP_?PAYMENTSUMMARY_Q1?
PAYMENTSUMMARY_Q1?PAY_TYPE_NAME?

In the definition shown in the previous table, the most outer group is defined as
PAYMENTSUMMARY_Q1, and it is grouped by PAY_TYPE_NAME

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_REGROUP_? XDO_REGROUP_?COUNTRYGRP?
XDO_CURRGRP_?COUNTRY?

The definition shown in the previous table creates a second outer group. The group is
assigned the name COUNTRY_GRP and it is grouped by the element COUNTRY.

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_REGROUP_? XDO_REGROUP_?STATEGRP?XDO_CURRGRP_?
STATE?

The definition shown in the previous table creates the inner group STATEGRP and it
includes a sortByName parameter: STATE.

Creating Excel Templates 6-45

Preprocessing the Data Using an XSL Transformation (XSLT) File

Preprocessing the Data Using an XSL Transformation (XSLT) File

For the best performance, design the data model to perform as much of the data
processing as possible. When it is not possible to get the required output from the data
engine, you can preprocess the data using an XSLT file that contains the instructions to
transform the data.
Some sample use cases include:

• To create groups to establish the necessary hierarchy to support the desired layout

• To add style attributes to data elements

• To perform complex data processing logic that may be impossible in the Excel
Template or undesirable for performance reasons

Note:

The Template Builder for Excel does not support preview for templates that
require XSLT preprocessing.

To use an XSLT preprocess file:

1. Create the file and save as .xsl.

2. Upload the file to the report definition in the BI Publisher catalog, as you would a
template:

a. Navigate to the report in the catalog.

b. Click Edit.

c. Click Add New Layout.

d. Click Upload.

e. Complete the fields in the Upload dialog and select "XSL Stylesheet
(HTML/XML/Text)" as the template Type.

f. After upload, click View a List. Deselect Active, so that users do not see this
template as an option when they view the report.

Note:
For testing purposes, you might want to maintain the XSL template as active
to enable you to view the intermediate data when the template is applied to
the data. After testing is complete, set the template to inactive.

g. Save the report definition.

3. In the Excel template, on the XDO_METADATA sheet, in the Header section,

enter the file name for the Preprocess XSLT File parameter. For example:
splitByBrand.xsl

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 Preprocessing the Data Using an XSL Transformation (XSLT) File

XSLT Preprocessing Examples: Splitting Flat Data into Multiple Sheets

This topic presents two examples of using an XSLT preprocess file to group flat data
so that it can be split into multiple sheets in Excel.
The examples are:

• Splitting the Data by a Specific Field

• Splitting the Data by Count of Rows

Splitting the data by row count is an option when your report data exceeds the
sheet row size of Excel 2003 (65,536 rows per sheet).
Both examples use the following XML data:
<ROWSET>
<ROW>
<Products.Type>COATINGS</Products.Type>
<Products.Brand>Enterprise</Products.Brand>
<Markets.Region>CENTRAL REGION</Markets.Region>
<Markets.District>CHICAGO DISTRICT</Markets.District>
<Periods.Year>2000</Periods.Year>
<Measures.Dollars>1555548.0</Measures.Dollars>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<Products.Type>COATINGS</Products.Type>
<Products.Brand>Enterprise</Products.Brand>
<Markets.Region>EASTERN REGION</Markets.Region>
<Markets.District>NEW YORK DISTRICT</Markets.District>
<Periods.Year>2000</Periods.Year>
<Measures.Dollars>1409228.0</Measures.Dollars>
</ROW>
...
</ROWSET>

Splitting the Data by a Specific Field

This example demonstrates how to use an XSLT preprocess file to create a grouping in
the data that will enable the splitting of the data across multiple Excel sheets based on
the grouping.
This example groups the sample data by the Products.Brand field.

1. Create an XSLT file to group the data.

The following sample XSLT file groups the data according to <Products.Brand>
and creates a high level element <BrandGroup> for each of those groups.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<xsl:stylesheet version="2.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/
Transform">
<xsl:template match="/">
<ROWSET>
<xsl:for-each-group select="/ROWSET/ROW" group-by="./Products.Brand">
<xsl:variable name="var_brand" select="current-grouping-key()" />
<BrandGroup>
<xsl:attribute name="name">
<xsl:value-of select="$var_brand" />
</xsl:attribute>
<xsl:copy-of select="current-group()" />
</BrandGroup>

Creating Excel Templates 6-47

Preprocessing the Data Using an XSL Transformation (XSLT) File

</xsl:for-each-group>
</ROWSET>
</xsl:template></xsl:stylesheet>

When applied to the data sample, this XSLT file generates intermediate data as
follows:
<ROWSET>
<BrandGroup name="Enterprise">
<ROW>
<Products.Type>COATINGS</Products.Type>
<Products.Brand>Enterprise</Products.Brand>
<Markets.Region>CENTRAL REGION</Markets.Region>
<Markets.District>CHICAGO DISTRICT</Markets.District>
<Periods.Year>2000</Periods.Year>
<Measures.Dollars>1555548.0</Measures.Dollars>
</ROW>
...
</BrandGroup>
... <ROWSET>

2. Save the XSLT file as splitByBrand.xsl and upload the file to the report
definition in the BI Publisher catalog. Select "XSL Stylesheet (HTML/XML/Text)"
as the template Type.

3. In the Excel template file, in the XDO_METADATA sheet, enter the following:

• For the Preprocess XSLT File parameter, enter "splitByBrand.xsl"

• In the Data Constraints region, make the entries shown in the table to split the
data into multiple sheets based on the <BrandGroup> element created by the
results of the XSLT preprocessing.

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_SHEET_? <?//BrandGroup?>

XDO_SHEET_NAME_? <?./@name?>

The sample entries in the XDO_METADATA sheet are shown in this figure.

4. Hide the XDO_METADATA sheet if you do not want your users to see it. Upload
the Excel template file to the report definition in the BI Publisher catalog.

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 Preprocessing the Data Using an XSL Transformation (XSLT) File

Splitting the Data by Count of Rows

This example demonstrates how to use an XSLT preprocess file to group the sample
XML data.
The sample XML data is grouped by the count of occurrences of /ROWSET/ROW and
then configure the Excel template to create a new sheet for each occurrence of the
newly created group

1. Create an XSLT file to create groups in the data according to a size specified in a
variable.

The following sample XSLT file groups the occurrences of /ROWSET/ROW

according to the value of $var_size and creates a high level element
<CountGroup> for each of those groups.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <xsl:stylesheet version="2.0"
xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform">
<xsl:template match="/">
<ROWSET>
<xsl:variable name="var_size" select="3" />
<xsl:for-each select="/ROWSET/ROW">
<xsl:variable name="var_pos" select="position()" />
<xsl:variable name="var_mod" select="$var_pos mod($var_size)" />
<xsl:if test="$var_mod = 1">
<xsl:variable name="var_groupNum" select="($var_pos - $var_mod) div
number($var_size) + 1" />
<xsl:element name="CountGroup">
<xsl:attribute name="name">
<xsl:value-of select="concat('Group', $var_groupNum)" />
</xsl:attribute>
<xsl:for-each select="/ROWSET/ROW[position() > ($var_pos -1) and position()
< ($var_pos + $var_size)]">
<xsl:copy-of select="." />
</xsl:for-each>
</xsl:element>
</xsl:if>
</xsl:for-each>
</ROWSET>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>

When applied to the data sample, this XSLT file generates intermediate data as
follows:
<ROWSET>
<CountGroup name="Group1">
<ROW>
<Products.Type>COATINGS</Products.Type>
<Products.Brand>Enterprise</Products.Brand>
<Markets.Region>CENTRAL REGION</Markets.Region>
<Markets.District>CHICAGO DISTRICT</Markets.District>
<Periods.Year>2000</Periods.Year>
<Measures.Dollars>1555548.0</Measures.Dollars>
</ROW>
...
</CountGroup>
...
<ROWSET>

Creating Excel Templates 6-49

Using the Template Viewer to Debug a Template

2. Save the XSLT file as splitByCount.xsl and upload the file to the report
definition in the BI Publisher catalog. Select "XSL Stylesheet (HTML/XML/Text)"
as the template Type.

3. In the Excel template file, in the XDO_METADATA sheet, enter the following:

• For the Preprocess XSLT File parameter, enter "splitByCount.xsl"

• In the Data Constraints region, make the entries shown in the following table .

Column A Entry Column B Entry

XDO_SHEET_? <?//CountGroup?>

XDO_SHEET_NAME_? <?./@name?>

4. Hide the XDO_METADATA sheet so that it does not display to report consumers.

5. Upload the Excel template file to the report definition in the BI Publisher catalog.

Using the Template Viewer to Debug a Template

If the template preview is not generating the results expected, then you can use the
Template Viewer to enable trace settings to view debug messages.
The Template Viewer also enables you to save and view the intermediate XSL file that
is generated after the sample data and template are merged in the XSL-FO processor.
If you are familiar with XSL, then this can be a very useful debugging tool.
The Template Viewer is installed when you install the Template Builder for Word; see
Desktop Tools for Excel Templates for more information.
To preview with the Template Viewer and view log messages:

1. Open the Template Viewer:

From the Windows desktop, click Start, then Programs, then Oracle BI Publisher
Desktop, then Template Viewer.

2. Click Browse to locate the folder that contains the sample data file and template
file. The data file and template file must reside in the same folder.

3. Select Excel Templates. The Data and Template regions display all .xml files and
all .xls files present in the directory, as shown in the following illustration.

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 Using the Template Viewer to Debug a Template

4. Click the appropriate data and template files to select them.

5. Select the log level.

6. From the Output Format list, select Excel.

7. Click Start Processing.

The Template Viewer merges the selected data with the selected template and
spawn the appropriate viewer. View any log messages in the message box, as
shown in the following illustration.

Creating Excel Templates 6-51

Using the Template Viewer to Debug a Template

To view the generated XSL:

1. In the Template Viewer, select the data and template files and choose Excel output.

2. On the Tools menu, select Generate XSL file from and then choose Excel
Template, as shown in the following illustration.

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 Using the Template Viewer to Debug a Template

3. At the prompt, save the generated XSL file.

4. Navigate to the saved location and open the XSL file in an appropriate viewer.

Creating Excel Templates 6-53

Using the Template Viewer to Debug a Template

6-54 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 7
Creating PDF Templates

This chapter describes creating PDF templates for BI Publisher.

This chapter includes the following sections:

• Overview

• Requirements

• Designing the Template

• Adding Markup to the Template

• Creating a Placeholder

• Defining Groups of Repeating Fields

• Repeating a PDF Template by Using the document-repeat-elementname Form Field

• Adding Page Numbers and Breaks

• Performing Calculations

• Completed PDF Layout Example

• Runtime Behavior

• Creating a Layout from a Predefined PDF Form

• Adding or Designating a Field for a Digital Signature

• PDF Template Limitations

Overview
To create a PDF template, take an existing PDF document and apply the BI Publisher
markup.
Because you can use a PDF from any source, you have multiple design options. For
example:

• Design the template using any application that generates documents that can be
converted to PDF, such as Microsoft Word

• Scan a paper document to use as a template

• Download a PDF document from a third-party website

Creating PDF Templates 7-1

Requirements

Note: The steps required to create a template from a third-party PDF depend
on whether form fields have been added to the document. For more
information, see Creating a Layout from a Predefined PDF Form.

If you are designing the template, then when you have converted to PDF, the template
is treated like a set background. When you mark up the template, you draw fields on
top of this background. To edit the template, you must edit the original document and
then convert back to PDF.
For this reason, the PDF template is not recommended for documents that require
frequent updates. However, it is appropriate for forms that have a fixed template, such
as invoices or purchase orders.

Requirements
To apply or edit form fields in a PDF document, you must have Adobe Acrobat
Professional.
BI Publisher supports Adobe Acrobat 5.0 and later as a tool for updating the template.
BI Publisher generates the output PDF version based on the input PDF version as
follows:

• PDF version 1.4 and earlier generates PDF 1.4

• PDF version 1.5 and later generates the same output version as the input version

Note: BI Publisher supports the PDF 1.7 standard. For more information, see
PDF Version Support.

Designing the Template

To design the template you can use any desktop application that generates documents
that can be converted to PDF. Or, scan in an original paper document to use as the
background for the template.
The following figure shows a template for a sample purchase order. It was designed
using Microsoft Word and converted to PDF using Adobe Acrobat Distiller.

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 Designing the Template

The following is the XML data that is used as input to this template:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<POXPRPOP2>
<G_HEADERS>
<POH_PO_NUM>1190-1</POH_PO_NUM>
<POH_REVISION_NUM>0</POH_REVISION_NUM>
<POH_SHIP_ADDRESS_LINE1>3455 108th Avenue</POH_SHIP_ADDRESS_LINE1>
<POH_SHIP_ADDRESS_LINE2></POH_SHIP_ADDRESS_LINE2>
<POH_SHIP_ADDRESS_LINE3></POH_SHIP_ADDRESS_LINE3>
<POH_SHIP_ADR_INFO>Seattle, WA 98101</POH_SHIP_ADR_INFO>
<POH_SHIP_COUNTRY>United States</POH_SHIP_COUNTRY>
<POH_VENDOR_NAME>Allied Manufacturing</POH_VENDOR_NAME>
<POH_VENDOR_ADDRESS_LINE1>1145 Brokaw Road</POH_VENDOR_ADDRESS_LINE1>
<POH_VENDOR_ADR_INFO>San Jose, CA 95034</POH_VENDOR_ADR_INFO>
<POH_VENDOR_COUNTRY>United States</POH_VENDOR_COUNTRY>
<POH_BILL_ADDRESS_LINE1>90 Fifth Avenue</POH_BILL_ADDRESS_LINE1>
<POH_BILL_ADR_INFO>New York, NY 10022-3422</POH_BILL_ADR_INFO>
<POH_BILL_COUNTRY>United States</POH_BILL_COUNTRY>

Creating PDF Templates 7-3

Adding Markup to the Template

<POH_BUYER>Smith, J</POH_BUYER>
<POH_PAYMENT_TERMS>45 Net (terms date + 45)</POH_PAYMENT_TERMS>
<POH_SHIP_VIA>UPS</POH_SHIP_VIA>
<POH_FREIGHT_TERMS>Due</POH_FREIGHT_TERMS>
<POH_CURRENCY_CODE>USD</POH_CURRENCY_CODE>
<POH_CURRENCY_CONVERSION_RATE></POH_CURRENCY_CONVERSION_RATE>
<LIST_G_LINES>
<G_LINES>
<POL_LINE_NUM>1</POL_LINE_NUM>
<POL_VENDOR_PRODUCT_NUM></POL_VENDOR_PRODUCT_NUM>
<POL_ITEM_DESCRIPTION>PCMCIA II Card Holder</POL_ITEM_DESCRIPTION>
<POL_QUANTITY_TO_PRINT></POL_QUANTITY_TO_PRINT>
<POL_UNIT_OF_MEASURE>Each</POL_UNIT_OF_MEASURE>
<POL_PRICE_TO_PRINT>15</POL_PRICE_TO_PRINT>
<C_FLEX_ITEM>CM16374</C_FLEX_ITEM>
<C_FLEX_ITEM_DISP>CM16374</C_FLEX_ITEM_DISP>
<PLL_QUANTITY_ORDERED>7500</PLL_QUANTITY_ORDERED>
<C_AMOUNT_PLL>112500</C_AMOUNT_PLL>
<C_AMOUNT_PLL_DISP> 112,500.00 </C_AMOUNT_PLL_DISP>
</G_LINES>
</LIST_G_LINES>
<C_AMT_POL_RELEASE_TOTAL_ROUND>312420/<C_AMT_POL_RELEASE_TOTAL_ROUND>
</G_HEADERS>
</POXPRPOP2>

Adding Markup to the Template

After you have converted a document to PDF, you define form fields that display the
data from the XML input file. These form fields are placeholders for the data. The
process of associating the XML data to the PDF template is the same as the process for
the RTF template.
See Associating the XML Data to the Template Layout.
When you draw the form fields in Adobe Acrobat, you are drawing them on top of the
template that you designed. There is not a relationship between the design elements
on the template and the form fields. You therefore must place the fields exactly where
you want the data to display on the template.

Creating a Placeholder
You can define a placeholder as text, a check box, or a radio button, depending on how
you want the data presented.

Note:
The steps for adding a form field depend on the version of Adobe Acrobat
Professional that you are using. See the Adobe documentation for the version.
If you are using Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro, then from the Forms menu, select Add
or Edit Fields.

Naming the Placeholder

The name of the placeholder must match the XML source field name.

7-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Creating a Placeholder

Creating a Text Placeholder

Follow these steps to create a text Form Field placeholder using Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro.
If you are using a different version of Adobe Acrobat Professional, then refer to the
documentation for details.

To create a text placeholder:

1. From the Forms menu, select Add or Edit Fields.

2. From the Add New Field list, choose Text Field. The cursor becomes a crosshair.

3. Place the crosshair in the form where you want the field to reside and click. The
Field Name dialog pops up.

4. Enter the name. The name of the text field must match the name of the XML
element from the data that is to populate this field at runtime.

5. To set more properties, click Show All Properties.

Use the Properties dialog box to set other attributes for the placeholder. For
example, enforce maximum character size, set field data type, data type validation,
visibility, and formatting.

6. If the field is not placed exactly where desired, or is not the correct size, drag the
field for exact placement and resize the field using the handles.

Supported Field Properties Options

BI Publisher supports the following options available from the Field Properties dialog
box.
Note that these options are not available when you use repeating fields. For more
information about these options, see the Adobe Acrobat documentation.

• General

– Read Only
The setting of this check box in combination with a set of configuration
properties controls the read-only/updatable state of the field in the output PDF.
See Setting Fields as Updatable or Read Only.

– Required

– Visible/Hidden

– Orientation (in degrees)

• Appearance

– Border Settings: color, background, width, and style

– Text Settings: color, font, size

– Border Style

• Options tab

Creating PDF Templates 7-5

Creating a Placeholder

– Multi-line

– Scrolling Text

• Format tab - Number category options only

• Calculate tab - all calculation functions

Creating a Check Box

A check box is used to present options from which more than one can be selected.
Each check box represents a different data element. You define the value that causes
the check box to display as checked.
For example, a form contains a check box listing of automobile options such as Power
Steering, Power Windows, and Sunroof. Each of these represents a different element
from the XML file (for example <POWER_STEERING>). If the XML file contains a value
of Y for any of these fields, you want the check box to display as checked. All or none
of these options may be selected.
The following describes how to create a check box field using Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro. If
you are using a different version of Adobe Acrobat Professional, refer to the
documentation for details.

To create a check box:

1. From the Forms menu, select Add or Edit Fields.

2. From the Add New Field list, choose Check Box. The cursor becomes a crosshair.

3. Place the crosshair in the form where you want the field to reside and click. The
Field Name dialog pops up.

4. Enter the name. The name of the check box field must match the name of the XML
element from the data that is to determine its state (checked or unchecked).

5. Click Show All Properties

6. Click the Options tab.

7. Select the Check Box Style type from the list.

8. In the Export Value field enter the value that the XML data field should match to
enable the "checked" state.

For example, enter "Y" for each check box field.

9. Set other Properties as desired.

Creating a Radio Button Group

A radio button group is used to display options from which only one can be selected.
For example, the XML data file contains a field called <SHIPMENT_METHOD>. The
possible values for this field are "Standard" or "Overnight". You represent this field in
the form with two radio buttons, one labeled "Standard" and one labeled "Overnight".
Define both radio button fields as placeholders for the <SHIPMENT_METHOD> data
field. For one field, define the on state when the value is Standard. For the other, define
the on state when the value is Overnight.

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 Defining Groups of Repeating Fields

The following describes how to create a radio button group using Adobe Acrobat 9
Pro. If you are using a different version of Adobe Acrobat Professional, then refer to
the documentation for details.

To create a radio button group:

1. From the Forms menu, select Add or Edit Fields.

2. From the Add New Field list, choose Radio Button. The cursor becomes a
crosshair.

3. Place the crosshair in the form where you want the radio button group to reside
and click. The Radio Group Name dialog pops up.

4. Enter the name. The name of the radio group must match the name of the XML
element from the data that is to determine its state (selected or unselected).

5. In the Button Value field enter the value that the XML data field should match to
enable the on state.

For the example, enter Standard for the field labeled Standard.

6. To enter another radio button to the group, click Add another button to group. The
name of the radio group defaults into the name field.

7. In the Button Value field enter the value that the XML data field should match to
enable the on state for this button.

For example, enter Overnight for the field labeled Overnight.

8. If you want to change any of the properties, then click Show All Properties. To
change the radio button style, click the Options tab.

9. Select Radio Button from the Type drop down list.

10. Set other Properties as desired.

Defining Groups of Repeating Fields

In the PDF layout, you explicitly define the area on the page that contains the
repeating fields. For example, on the purchase order layout, the repeating fields
should display in the block of space between the Item header row and the Total field.

To define the area to contain the group of repeating fields:

1. Insert a Text Field at the beginning of the area that is to contain the group.

2. In the Field Name dialog, enter any unique name you choose. This field is not
mapped.

3. In the Tooltip field of the Text Field Properties dialog, enter the following syntax:
<?rep_field="BODY_START"?>

4. Define the end of the group area by inserting a Text Field at the end of the area the
that is to contain the group.

5. In the Field Name dialog, enter any unique name you choose. This field is not
mapped. Note that the name you assign to this field must be different from the
name you assigned to the body start field.

Creating PDF Templates 7-7

Repeating a PDF Template by Using the document-repeat-elementname Form Field

6. In the Tooltip field of the Text Field Properties dialog, enter the following syntax:
<?rep_field="BODY_END"?>

To define a group of repeating fields:

1. Insert a placeholder for the first element of the group.

Note:

The placement of this field in relationship to the BODY_START tag defines the
distance between the repeating rows for each occurrence. See Placement of
Repeating Fields.

2. For each element in the group, enter the following syntax in the Tooltip field:
<?rep_field="T1_Gn"?>
where n is the number of the element in the group.
For example, the group in the sample report is laid out in three rows.

• For the fields belonging to the row that begins with PO_LINE_NUM enter
<?rep_field="T1_G1"?>

• For the fields belonging to the row that begins with C_FLEX_ITEM_DISP enter
<?rep_field="T1_G2"?>

• For the fields belonging to the row that begins with C_SHIP_TO_ADDRESS
enter
<?rep_field="T1_G3"?>
The following figure shows the entries for the Short Description/Tooltip field:

Repeating a PDF Template by Using the document-repeat-elementname

Form Field
The document-repeat-elementname form field in a PDF template enables
repeating the entire template for a specified group of data elements.
When you want to use the same PDF template for a group of data elements, set the
document-repeat-elementname PDF form field to the group name of the data
elements to be used in the report.

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 Repeating a PDF Template by Using the document-repeat-elementname Form Field

Repeating a PDF Template in a Report

If the document-repeat-elementname PDF form field is set, when you run the
report, the FormProcessor utility sends the PDF template and the associated XML data
to the document repeat engine. The document repeat engine repeats the PDF template
for each element of the group specified by document-repeat-elementname, and
generates the report.
Example 7-1 The Generating Monthly Payslips
To generate the monthly payslips for each employee in a department, set the
document-repeat-elementname form field as shown below to the name of the
group element associated with the data of employees in the department, and provide
the XML data that contains the employee_Data element to the template. The report
will iterate the same template for each employee payslip.
<?set-property: document-repeat-elementname; employee_Data?>

The following figure shows the documents-repeat-elementname field entry in the PDF
template.

The following figure shows the report containing the payslips of the employees.

Creating PDF Templates 7-9

Adding Page Numbers and Breaks

Adding Page Numbers and Breaks

This section describes how to add the following page features to the PDF layout.

• Adding Page Numbers

• Adding Page Breaks

Adding Page Numbers

To add page numbers, define a field in the layout where you want the page number to
appear and enter an initial value in that field.

To add page numbers:

1. Decide the position on the layout where you want the page number to be
displayed.

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 Adding Page Numbers and Breaks

2. Create a placeholder field called @pagenum@ (See Creating a Text Placeholder.)

3. Enter a starting value for the page number in the Default field (Text Field
Properties > Options tab). If the XML data includes a value for this field, then the
start value that is assigned in the layout is overridden. If no start value is assigned,
then it defaults to 1.

Adding Page Breaks

You can define a page break in the layout to occur after a repeatable field.
To insert a page break after the occurrence of a specific field, add the following to the
syntax in the Tooltip field of the Text Field Properties dialog:
page_break="yes"
For example:
<?rep_field="T1_G3", page_break="yes"?>
The following example demonstrates inserting a page break in a layout. The XML
sample contains salaries of employees by department:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<ROOT>
<LIST_G_DEPTNO>
<G_DEPTNO>
<DEPTNO>10</DEPTNO>
<LIST_G_EMPNO>
<G_EMPNO>
<EMPNO>7782</EMPNO>
<ENAME>CLARK</ENAME>
<JOB>MANAGER</JOB>
<SAL>2450</SAL>
</G_EMPNO>
<G_EMPNO>
<EMPNO>7839</EMPNO>
<ENAME>KING</ENAME>
<JOB>PRESIDENT</JOB>
<SAL>5000</SAL>
</G_EMPNO>
<G_EMPNO>
<EMPNO>125</EMPNO>
<ENAME>KANG</ENAME>
<JOB>CLERK</JOB>
<SAL>2000</SAL>
</G_EMPNO>
<G_EMPNO>
<EMPNO>7934</EMPNO>
<ENAME>MILLER</ENAME>
<JOB>CLERK</JOB>
<SAL>1300</SAL>
</G_EMPNO>
<G_EMPNO>
<EMPNO>123</EMPNO>
<ENAME>MARY</ENAME>
<JOB>CLERK</JOB>
<SAL>400</SAL>
</G_EMPNO>
<G_EMPNO>
<EMPNO>124</EMPNO>
<ENAME>TOM</ENAME>

Creating PDF Templates 7-11

Adding Page Numbers and Breaks

<JOB>CLERK</JOB>
<SAL>3000</SAL>
</G_EMPNO>
</LIST_G_EMPNO>
<SUMSALPERDEPTNO>9150</SUMSALPERDEPTNO>
</G_DEPTNO>

<G_DEPTNO>
<DEPTNO>30</DEPTNO>
<LIST_G_EMPNO>
.
.
.

</LIST_G_EMPNO>
<SUMSALPERDEPTNO>9400</SUMSALPERDEPTNO>
</G_DEPTNO>
</LIST_G_DEPTNO>
<SUMSALPERREPORT>29425</SUMSALPERREPORT>
</ROOT>

Suppose the report requirement is to display the salary information for each employee
by department as shown in the following figure:

To insert a page break after each department, insert the page break syntax in the
Tooltip field for the SUMSALPERDEPTNO field as follows:
<?rep_field="T1_G3", page_break="yes"?>
The Text Field Properties dialog for the field is shown in the following figure.

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 Adding Page Numbers and Breaks

Note that in order for the break to occur, the field must be populated with data from
the XML file.
The sample report with data is shown in the following figure:

Creating PDF Templates 7-13

Performing Calculations

The page breaks after each department.

Performing Calculations
Adobe Acrobat provides a calculation function in the Field Properties dialog box.
To create a field to display a calculated total on a report:

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 Completed PDF Layout Example

1. Create a text field to display the calculated total. Give the field any Name you
choose.

2. In the Field Properties dialog box, select the Format tab.

3. Select Number from the Category list.

4. Select the Calculate tab.

5. Select the radio button next to "Value is the <List of operations> of the following
fields:"

6. Select sum (+) from the list.

7. Click the Pick... button and select the fields to be totaled.

Completed PDF Layout Example

The figure gives an illustration of a completed PDF layout.

Creating PDF Templates 7-15

Runtime Behavior

Runtime Behavior
The following sections describe runtime behavior of PDF templates:

• Placement of Repeating Fields

• Setting Fields as Updatable or Read Only

• Overflow Data

Placement of Repeating Fields

As already noted, the placement, spacing, and alignment of fields that you create on
the layout are independent of the underlying form layout.
At runtime, BI Publisher places each repeating row of data according to calculations
performed on the placement of the rows of fields that you created, as follows:

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 Runtime Behavior

First occurrence:
The first row of repeating fields displays exactly where you have placed them on the
layout.
Second occurrence, single row:
To place the second occurrence of the group, BI Publisher calculates the distance
between the BODY_START tag and the first field of the first occurrence. The first field
of the second occurrence of the group is placed this calculated distance below the first
occurrence.
Second occurrence, multiple rows:
If the first group contains multiple rows, then the second occurrence of the group is
placed the calculated distance below the last row of the first occurrence.
The distance between the rows within the group is maintained as defined in the first
occurrence.

Setting Fields as Updatable or Read Only

You can make fields either read only or updatable.
When you define a field in the layout, you have the option of selecting "Read Only" for
the field, as shown in the following illustration:

Regardless of what you choose at design time for the Read-Only check box, the default
behavior of the PDF processing engine is to set all fields to read-only for the output
PDF. You can change this behavior using the following report properties, as described
in Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties:

• all-field-readonly

• all-fields-readonly-asis

• remove-pdf-fields

Creating PDF Templates 7-17

Creating a Layout from a Predefined PDF Form

Note that in the first two options, you are setting a state for the field in the PDF
output. The setting of individual fields can still be changed in the output using Adobe
Acrobat Professional. Also note that because the fields are maintained, the data is still
separate and can be extracted. In the third option, "remove-pdf-fields" the structure is
flattened and no field/data separation is maintained.
To make all fields updatable:
Set the "all-field-readonly" property to "false". This sets the Read-Only state to false for
all fields regardless of the individual field settings at design time.
To make all fields read only:
This is the default behavior. No settings are required.
To maintain the Read-Only check box selection for each field:
To maintain the setting of the Read Only check box on a field-by-field basis in the
output PDF, set the property, all-fields-readonly-asis, to true. This property overrides
the settings of all-field-readonly.
To remove all fields from the output PDF:
Set the property "remove-pdf-fields" to "true".

Overflow Data
When multiple pages are required to accommodate the occurrences of repeating rows
of data, each page displays identically except for the defined repeating area, which
displays the continuation of the repeating data.
For example, if the item rows of the purchase order extend past the area defined on
the layout, succeeding pages displays all data from the purchase order form with the
continuation of the item rows.

Creating a Layout from a Predefined PDF Form

There are many PDF forms available online that you may want to use as layouts for
the report data. For example, government forms that your company is required to
submit. You can use these downloaded PDF files as the report layouts, supplying the
XML data at runtime to fill in the report fields.
Some of these forms already have form fields defined, some do not. See Determining If
a PDF Has Form Fields Defined if you are unsure. If the PDF form already has fields
defined, then you can use one of the following methods to match the form field names
to the data field names:

• Use Adobe Acrobat Professional to rename the fields in the document to match the
names of the elements in the XML data file. See Using a Predefined PDF Form as a
Layout by Renaming the Form Fields.

• Use BI Publisher's Data Model Editor to rename the XML element names in the
data file to match the field names in the PDF form. For information, see Structuring
Data in Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.
If the form fields are not already defined in the downloaded PDF, then you must
create them. See Adding Markup to the Template for instructions on inserting the
form field placeholders.

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 Creating a Layout from a Predefined PDF Form

Determining If a PDF Has Form Fields Defined

Follow these steps to determine if a PDF has form fields defined and to get a list of the
field names.

1. Open the document in Adobe Acrobat Professional.

2. Click Highlight Fields. Form fields that exist in the document are highlighted.

3. From the Form menu, select Add or Edit Fields. The field names display in the
document as well as in the Fields pane.

Using a Predefined PDF Form as a Layout by Renaming the Form Fields

You can use a PDF form as a template for another form.
To use a predefined PDF form as a layout:

1. Download or import the PDF file to the local system.

2. Open the file in Adobe Acrobat Professional.

3. From the Form menu, select Add or Edit Fields. This highlights text fields that
have already been defined.

The following illustration shows a sample W-2 PDF form after selecting Add or
Edit Fields to highlight the text fields.

To map the existing form fields to the data from the incoming XML file, rename the
fields to match the element names in the XML file.

4. Open the form field Text Field Properties dialog by either double-clicking the field,
or by selecting the field then selecting Properties from the right-mouse menu.

Creating PDF Templates 7-19

Creating a Layout from a Predefined PDF Form

5. In the Name field, enter the element name from the input XML file.

6. Repeat for all fields that you want populated by the data file.

7. When all fields have been updated, click Close Form Editing.

8. Save the layout.

Using the Comb of Characters Option

The comb of characters option for a PDF form field in Adobe Acrobat spreads the text
evenly across the width of the text field.
Use this option when the form field requires the characters to be entered in specific
positions, as the Routing number field shown in the following figure:

To use this feature, perform the following:

1. In Adobe Acrobat Professional, add the form field as a text field. An example is
shown in the following figure:

2. Open the Text Field Properties dialog and click the Options tab. Clear all check
boxes and select the Comb of characters check box.

Note: The Comb of characters option is only enabled when all other options
are cleared.

Enter the number of characters in the text field. For the routing number example, a
value of 9 is entered in the Comb of field as shown in the following figure:

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 Adding or Designating a Field for a Digital Signature

If your data may not contain the number of characters specified each time, you can
set the Alignment option to specify whether the value will be aligned to the right,
left, or center within the field.

When you run the report, the characters comprising the value for the routing field will
be spread across the text field as shown in the following figure:

The following figure shows how the data will display in the field when the data for
the routing field does not contain the full nine characters and the Alignment option is
set to left:

Adding or Designating a Field for a Digital Signature

Oracle BI Publisher supports digital signatures on PDF output documents. Digital
signatures enable you to verify the authenticity of the documents you send and
receive. Oracle BI Publisher can access the digital ID file from a central, secure location
and at runtime sign the PDF output with the digital ID. The digital signature verifies
the signer's identity and ensures that the document has not been altered after it was
signed.

Creating PDF Templates 7-21

Adding or Designating a Field for a Digital Signature

Implementing digital signature requires several tasks across the BI Publisherproduct.

This topic describes how to add a new field or configure an existing field in the PDF
template for the digital signature. For more information and a description of the other
required tasks and options, see Implementing a Digital Signature in Administrator's
Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

About Signature Field Options

For PDF templates you have these options for designating a digital signature field for
the output report.

• Add a signature field to the PDF layout.

Use this option if you want the digital signature to appear in a specific field and the
PDF template does not already include a signature field. See Adding a Signature
Field.

• Use an existing signature field in the PDF template.

Use this option if the PDF template already includes a signature field that you want
to use. To designate an existing field for the digital signature, define the field in the
Runtime Configuration page. See Configuring the Report to Insert the Digital
Signature at Runtime.

• Designate the position of the digital signature on the output report by setting x and
y coordinates.
Use this option if you prefer to designate the x and y coordinates for the placement
of the digital signature, rather than use a signature field. You set the position using
runtime properties. For information on setting these properties, see PDF Digital
Signature Properties.
All three options require setting configuration properties for the report in the Report
Properties page after you have uploaded the template.

Adding a Signature Field

Follow these steps to add a signature field.

To add a signature field:

1. Open the template in Adobe Acrobat Professional.

2. From the Form menu, select Add or Edit Fields. Then click Add New Field.
Choose Digital Signature from the list of fields.

3. Draw the signature field in the desired location on the layout. When you release
the mouse button, a dialog prompts you to enter a name for the field.

4. Enter a name for the signature field. The following figure shows an inserted digital
signature field called "My_Signature."

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 Adding or Designating a Field for a Digital Signature

5. Save the template.

6. Proceed to Configuring the Report to Insert the Digital Signature at Runtime.

Configuring the Report to Insert the Digital Signature at Runtime

After you have uploaded the PDF template to the report definition you must enable
digital signature and specify the signature field in the Report Properties.

To configure the report to insert the digital signature:

See Adding a Layout by Uploading a Template File.

1. From the edit report page, click Properties and then click the Formatting tab.

2. Scroll to the PDF Digital Signature group of properties.

3. Set Enable Digital Signature to True.

4. For the property Existing signature field name, enter the field name from the PDF
template.

No other properties are required for this method.

The following figure shows the My_Signature field name entered into the
properties field.

Creating PDF Templates 7-23

PDF Template Limitations

5. Click OK.

Note: The runtime properties that you have just set are at the report level and
not the layout level. Therefore any layouts associated with the report now
include the digital signature as specified in the Report Properties. When an
Existing signature field name is specified, the template must contain the field
for the signature to be applied.

PDF Template Limitations

The PDF template has a few limitations.
The PDF template does not support:

• The field properties mentioned in Supported Field Properties Options for repeating
fields.

• Nested repeating fields.

• Section-wise repeat. The document-repeat-elementname field is used for

repeating the entire template.

• Pixel control.

• Data alignment in fields.

• Large documents. You might experience performance issues when a document is

larger than 250 MB.
To avoid these limitations, use an RTF template instead of a PDF template.

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 8
Creating eText Templates

BI Publisher uses eText templates to generate the flat files for EDI and EFT
transactions. This chapter describes creating the eText templates in Microsoft Word.
The chapter includes the following sections:

• Overview

• Structure of eText Templates

• Constructing the Data Tables

• Command Rows

• Structure of the Data Rows

• Setting Up Command Tables

• Creating a Filler Block

• Expressions, Control Structures, and Functions

• Identifiers, Operators, and Literals

Overview
An eText template is an RTF-based template that is used to generate text output for
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
At runtime, BI Publisher applies this template to an input XML data file to create an
output text file that can be transmitted to a bank or other customer. Because the output
is intended for electronic communication, the eText templates must follow very
specific format instructions for exact placement of data.

Note: An EFT is an electronic transmission of financial data and payments to

banks in a specific fixed-position format flat file (text).

EDI is similar to EFT except it is not only limited to the transmission of payment
information to banks. It is often used as a method of exchanging business documents,
such as purchase orders and invoices, between companies. EDI data is delimiter-
based, and also transmitted as a flat file (text).
Files in these formats are transmitted as flat files, rather than printed on paper. The
length of a record is often several hundred characters and therefore difficult to layout
on standard size paper.
To accommodate the record length, the EFT and EDI templates are designed using
tables. Each record is represented by a table. Each row in a table corresponds to a field

Creating eText Templates 8-1

Structure of eText Templates

in a record. The columns of the table specify the position, length, and value of the
field.
These formats can also require special handling of the data from the input XML file.
This special handling can be on a global level (for example, character replacement and
sequencing) or on a record level (for example, sorting). Commands to perform these
functions are declared in command rows. Global level commands are declared in
setup tables.
At runtime, BI Publisher constructs the output file according to the setup commands
and layout specifications in the tables.

Prerequisites
This section is intended for users who are familiar with EDI and EFT transactions.
Preparers of eText templates require both functional and technical knowledge; that is,
functional expertise to understand bank and country specific payment format
requirements and sufficient technical expertise to understand XML data structure and
eText specific coding syntax commands, functions, and operations.

Structure of eText Templates

There are two types of eText templates: fixed-position based (EFT templates) and
delimiter-based (EDI templates).
The templates are composed of a series of tables. The tables define layout and setup
commands and data field definitions. The required data description columns for the
two types of templates vary, but the commands and functions available are the same.
A table can contain just commands, or it can contain commands and data fields.
The following illustration shows a sample from an EFT template to display the general
structure of command and data rows.

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 Structure of eText Templates

Commands that apply globally, or commands that define program elements for the
template, are "setup" commands. These must be specified in the initial tables of the
template. Examples of setup commands are Template Type and Character Set.
In the data tables you provide the source XML data element name and the specific
placement and formatting definitions required by the receiving bank or entity. You
can also define functions to be performed on the data and conditional statements.
The data tables must always start with a command row that defines the "Level." The
Level associates the table to an element from the XML data file, and establishes the
hierarchy. The data fields that are then defined in the table for the Level correspond to
the child elements of the XML element.
The following graphic illustrates the relationship between the XML data hierarchy and
the template Level. The XML element "RequestHeader" is defined as the Level. The
data elements defined in the table ("FileID" and "Encryption") are children of the
RequestHeader element.

The order of the tables in the template determines the print order of the records. At
runtime the system loops through all the instances of the XML element corresponding
to a table (Level) and prints the records belonging to the table. The system then moves
on to the next table in the template. If tables are nested, the system generates the
nested records of the child tables before moving on to the next parent instance.

Command Rows, Data Rows, and Data Column Header Rows

Command rows are used to specify commands in the template. Command rows
always have two columns: command name and command parameter. Command rows
do not have column headings. The commands control the overall setup and record
structures of the template.
The following figure shows the placement of Command Rows, Data Rows, and Data
Column Header Rows:

Creating eText Templates 8-3

Constructing the Data Tables

Blank rows can be inserted anywhere in a table to improve readability. Most often
they are used in the setup table, between commands. Blank rows are ignored by BI
Publisher when the template is parsed.

Data Column Header Rows

Data column headers specify the column headings for the data fields (such as Position,
Length, Format, Padding, and Comments). A column header row usually follows the
Level command in a table (or the sorting command, if one is used). The data column
header row must come before any data rows in the table. Additional empty column
header rows can be inserted at any position in a table to improve readability. The
empty rows are ignored at runtime.
The required data column header rows vary depending on the template type. See
Structure of the Data Rows.

Data Rows
Data rows provide the values for the data column header attributes for each data field.
The content of the data rows varies depending on the template type. See Structure of
the Data Rows.

Constructing the Data Tables

The data tables contain a combination of command rows and data field rows. Each
data table must begin with a Level command row that specifies its XML element. Each
record must begin with a New Record command that specifies the start of a new
record, and the end of a previous record (if any).

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The required columns for the data fields vary depending on the Template Type.

Command Rows
The command rows always have two columns: command name and command
parameter.
The supported commands are:

• Level Command

• New Record Command

• Sort Ascending and Sort Descending Commands

• Display Condition Command

The usage for each of these commands is described in the following sections.

Level Command
The level command associates a table with an XML element. The parameter for the
level command is an XML element. The level is printed once for each instance the
XML element appears in the data input file.
The level commands define the hierarchy of the template. For example, Payment XML
data extracts are hierarchical. A batch can have multiple child payments, and a
payment can have multiple child invoices. This hierarchy is represented in XML as
nested child elements within a parent element. By associating the tables with XML
elements through the level command, the tables also have the same hierarchical
structure.
Similar to the closing tag of an XML element, the level command has a companion
end-level command. The child tables must be defined between the level and end-level
commands of the table defined for the parent element.
An XML element can be associated with only one level. All the records belonging to a
level must reside in the table of that level or within a nested table belonging to that
level. The end-level command is specified at the end of the final table.
Following is a sample structure of an EFT file record layout:

• FileHeaderRecordA

– BatchHeaderRecordA

– BatchHeaderRecordB
PaymentRecordA
PaymentRecordB

⁎ InvoiceRecordA

– Batch FooterRecordC

– BatchFooterRecordD

• FileFooterRecordB
Following would be its table layout:
The table layout displays the command and its value:

Creating eText Templates 8-5

Command Rows

<LEVEL> : RequestHeader
<NEW RECORD> : FileHeaderRecordA
Data rows for the FileHeaderRecordA

<LEVEL> : Batch
<NEW RECORD> : BatchHeaderRecordA
Data rows for the BatchHeaderRecordA
<NEW RECORD> : BatchHeaderRecordB
Data rows for the BatchHeaderRecordB

<LEVEL> : Payment
<NEW RECORD> : PaymentRecordA
Data rows for the PaymentRecordA
<NEW RECORD> : PaymentRecordB
Data rows for the PaymentRecordB

<LEVEL> : Invoice
<NEW RECORD> : InvoiceRecordA
Data rows for the InvoiceRecordA
<END LEVEL> : Invoice

<END LEVEL>: Payment

<LEVEL> : Batch
<NEW RECORD> : BatchFooterRecordC
Data rows for the BatchFooterRecordC
<NEW RECORD> : BatchFooterRecordD
Data rows for the BatchFooterRecordD
<END LEVEL> : Batch

<LEVEL> : RequestHeader
<NEW RECORD> : FileFooterRecordB
Data rows for the FileFooterRecordB
<END LEVEL> : RequestHeader

Multiple records for the same level can exist in the same table. However, each table
can only have one level defined. In the example above, the BatchHeaderRecordA and
BatchHeaderRecordB are both defined in the same table. However, note that the END
LEVEL for the Payment must be defined in its own separate table after the child
element Invoice. The Payment END LEVEL cannot reside in the same table as the
Invoice Level.
Note that you do not have to use all the levels from the data extract in the template.
For example, if an extract contains the levels: RequestHeader > Batch > Payment >
Invoice, you can use just the batch and invoice levels. However, the hierarchy of the
levels must be maintained.
The table hierarchy determines the order that the records are printed. For each parent
XML element, the records of the corresponding parent table are printed in the order
they appear in the table. The system loops through the instances of the child XML
elements corresponding to the child tables and prints the child records according to
their specified order. The system then prints the records of the enclosing (end-level)
parent table, if any.
For example, given the EFT template structure above, assume the input data file
contains the following:

• Batch1

– Payment1

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 Command Rows

⁎ Invoice1

⁎ Invoice2

– Payment2

⁎ Invoice1

• Batch2

– Payment1

⁎ Invoice1

⁎ Invoice2

⁎ Invoice3
This generates the printed records that are shown in #unique_570/
unique_570_Connect_42_BHBIHBCG.

Record Record Type Description

Order
1 FileHeaderRecordA One header record for the EFT file

2 BatchHeaderRecordA For Batch1

3 BatchHeaderRecordB For Batch1

4 PaymentRecordA For Batch1, Payment1

5 PaymentRecordB For Batch1, Payment1

6 InvoiceRecordA For Batch1, Payment1, Invoice1

7 InvoiceRecordA For Batch1, Payment1, Invoice2

8 PaymentRecordA For Batch1, Payment2

9 PaymentrecordB For Batch1, Payment2

10 InvoiceRecordA For Batch1, Payment2, Invoice1

11 BatchFooterRecordC For Batch1

12 BatchFooterRecordD For Batch1

13 BatchHeaderRecordA For Batch2

14 BatchHeaderRecordB For Batch2

15 PaymentRecordA For Batch2, Payment1

16 PaymentRecordB For Batch2, Payment1

17 InvoiceRecordA For Batch2, Payment1, Invoice1

18 InvoiceRecordA For Batch2, Payment1, Invoice2

19 InvoiceRecordA For Batch2, Payment1, Invoice3

Creating eText Templates 8-7

Structure of the Data Rows

Record Record Type Description

Order
20 BatchFooterRecordC For Batch2

21 BatchFooterRecordD For Batch2

22 FileFooterRecordB One footer record for the EFT file

New Record Command

The new record command signifies the start of a record and the end of the previous
one, if any.
Every record in a template must start with the new record command. The record
continues until the next new record command, or until the end of the table or the end
of the level command.
A record is a construct for the organization of the elements belonging to a level. The
record name is not associated with the XML input file.
A table can contain multiple records, and therefore multiple new record commands.
All the records in a table are at the same hierarchy level. They are printed in the order
in which they are specified in the table.
The new record command can have a name as its parameter. This name becomes the
name for the record. The record name is also referred to as the record type. The name
can be used in the COUNT function for counting the generated instances of the record.
See the COUNT function Functions for more information.
Consecutive new record commands (or empty records) are not allowed.

Sort Ascending and Sort Descending Commands

Use the sort ascending and sort descending commands to sort the instances of a level.
Enter the elements that you want to sort by in a comma-separated list. This is an
optional command. When used, it must come right after the (first) level command and
it applies to all records of the level, even if the records are specified in multiple tables.

Display Condition Command

The display condition command specifies when the enclosed record or data field
group should be displayed. The command parameter is a boolean expression. When it
evaluates to true, the record or data field group is displayed. Otherwise the record or
data field group is skipped.
The display condition command can be used with either a record or a group of data
fields. When used with a record, the display condition command must follow the new
record command. When used with a group of data fields, the display condition
command must follow a data field row. In this case, the display condition applies to
the rest of the fields through the end of the record.
Consecutive display condition commands are merged as AND conditions. The merged
display conditions apply to the same enclosed record or data field group.

Structure of the Data Rows

The output record data fields are represented in the template by table rows.

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In FIXED_POSITION_BASED templates, each row has the following attributes (or

columns):

• Position

• Length/Maximum Length

• Format Column

• Pad

• Data

• Comments
The first five columns are required and must appear in the order listed.
For DELIMITER_BASED templates, each data row has the following attributes
(columns):

• Length/Maximum Length

• Format Column

• Data

• Tag

• Comments
The first three columns are required and must be declared in the order stated.
In both template types, the Comments column is optional and ignored by the system.
You can insert additional information columns, because all columns after the required
ones are ignored.
The usage rules for these columns are as follows:

Position
Specifies the starting position of the field in the record. The unit is in number of
characters.
This column is only used with FIXED_POSITION_BASED templates.

Length/Maximum Length
Specifies the length of the field.
The unit is in number of characters. For FIXED_POSITION_BASED templates, all the
fields are fixed length. If the data is less than the specified length, it is padded. If the
data is longer, it is truncated. The truncation always occurs on the right.
For DELIMITER_BASED templates, this value specifies the maximum length of the
field. If the data exceeds the maximum length, it is truncated. Data is not padded if it
is less than the maximum length.

Format Column
Format Column specifies the data type and format setting.
There are three accepted data types:

Creating eText Templates 8-9

Structure of the Data Rows

• Alpha

• Number

• Date
Refer to Field-Level Key Words for their usage.

Number Data Type

Numeric data has three optional format settings: Integer, Decimal, or you can define a
format mask.
Specify the optional settings with the Number data type as follows:

• Number, Integer

• Number, Decimal

• Number, <format mask>

For example:
Number, ###,###.00

The Integer format uses only the whole number portion of a numeric value and
discards the decimal. The Decimal format uses only the decimal portion of the
numeric value and discards the integer portion.
The following table shows examples of how to set a format mask. When specifying the
mask, # represents that a digit is to be displayed when present in the data; 0 represents
that the digit placeholder is to be displayed whether data is present or not.
When specifying the format mask, the group separator must always be "," and the
decimal separator must always be "." To alter these in the actual output, you must use
the Setup Commands NUMBER THOUSANDS SEPARATOR and NUMBER
DECIMAL SEPARATOR. See Setting Up Command Tables for details on these
commands.
The following table shows sample Data, Format Specifier, and Output. The Output
assumes the default group and decimal separators.

Data Format Specifier Output

123456789 ###,###.00 123,456,789.00

123456789.2 ###.00 123456789.20

1234.56789 ###.000 1234.568

123456789.2 # 123456789

123456789.2 #.## 123456789.2

123456789 #.## 123456789

Date Data Type

The Date data type format setting must always be explicitly stated. The format setting
follows the SQL date styles, such as MMDDYY.

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Mapping EDI Delimiter-Based Data Types to eText Data Types

Some EDI (DELIMITER_BASED) formats use more descriptive data types.
These are mapped to the three template data types as shown in the following table.

ASC X12 Data Type Format Template Data Type

A - Alphabetic Alpha

AN -Alphanumeric Alpha

B - Binary Number

CD - Composite data element N/A

CH - Character Alpha

DT - Date Date

FS - Fixed-length string Alpha

ID - Identifier Alpha

IV - Incrementing Value Number

Nn - Numeric Number

PW - Password Alpha

R - Decimal number Number

TM - Time Date

Assume the setup commands shown in the following table.

Name Command
NUMBER THOUSANDS SEPARATOR .

NUMBER DECIMAL SEPARATOR ,

The following table shows the Data, Format Specifier, and Output for this case. Note
that the Format Specifier requires the use of the default separators, regardless of the
setup command entries.

Data Format Specifier Output

123456789 ###,###.00 123.456.789,00

123456789.2 ###.00 123456789,20

1234.56789 ###.000 1234,568

123456789.2 # 123456789

123456789.2 #.## 123456789,2

Creating eText Templates 8-11

Setting Up Command Tables

Data Format Specifier Output

123456789 #.## 123456789

Pad
Pad applies to FIXED_POSITION_BASED templates only. Specify the padding side (L
= left or R = right) and the character. Both numeric and alphanumeric fields can be
padded. If this field is not specified, Numeric fields are left-padded with "0"; Alpha
fields are right-padded with spaces.
Example usage:

• To pad a field on the left with a "0", enter the following in the Pad column field:
L, '0'

• To pad a field on the right with a space, enter the following the Pad column field:
R, ' '

Data
Specifies the XML element from the data extract that is to populate the field. The data
column can simply contain the XML tag name, or it can contain expressions and
functions.
For more information, see Expressions, Control Structures, and Functions.

Tag
Acts as a comment column for DELIMITER_BASED templates.
It specifies the reference tag in EDIFACT formats, and the reference IDs in ASC X12.

Comments
Use this column to note any free form comments to the template. Usually this column
is used to note the business requirement and usage of the data field.

Setting Up Command Tables

A template always begins with a table that specifies the setup commands.
The setup commands define global attributes, such as template type and output
character set and program elements, such as sequencing and concatenation.
The setup commands are:

• TEMPLATE TYPE Command

• OUTPUT CHARACTER SET

• Output Length Mode

• NEW RECORD CHARACTER

• INVALID CHARACTERS

• REPLACE CHARACTERS

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 Setting Up Command Tables

• NUMBER THOUSANDS SEPARATOR

• NUMBER DECIMAL SEPARATOR

• DEFINE LEVEL

• DEFINE SEQUENCE

• DEFINE CONCATENATION

• CASE CONVERSION
An example setup table is shown in the following figure:

Here is another example setup table:

Creating eText Templates 8-13

Setting Up Command Tables

TEMPLATE TYPE Command

This command specifies the type of template.
There are two types: FIXED_POSITION_BASED and DELIMITER_BASED.
Use the FIXED_POSITION_BASED templates for fixed-length record formats, such as
EFTs. In these formats, all fields in a record are a fixed length. If data is shorter than
the specified length, then it is padded. If longer, it is truncated. The system specifies
the default behavior for data padding and truncation. Examples of fixed position
based formats are EFTs in Europe, and NACHA ACH file in the U.S.
In a DELIMITER_BASED template, data is never padded and only truncated when it
has reached a maximum field length. Empty fields are allowed (when the data is null).
Designated delimiters are used to separate the data fields. If a field is empty, two
delimiters are displayed next to each other. Examples of delimited-based templates are
EDI formats such as ASC X12 820 and UN EDIFACT formats - PAYMUL, DIRDEB,
and CREMUL.
In EDI formats, a record is sometimes referred to as a segment. An EDI segment is
treated the same as a record. Start each segment with a new record command and give
it a record name. You should have a data field specifying the segment name as part of
the output data immediately following the new record command.
For DELIMITER_BASED templates, you insert the appropriate data field delimiters in
separate rows between the data fields. After every data field row, you insert a

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 Setting Up Command Tables

delimiter row. You can insert a placeholder for an empty field by defining two
consecutive delimiter rows.
Empty fields are often used for syntax reasons: you must insert placeholders for empty
fields so that the fields that follow can be properly identified.
There are different delimiters to signify data fields, composite data fields, and end of
record. Some formats allow you to choose the delimiter characters. In all cases you
should use the same delimiter consistently for the same purpose to avoid syntax
errors.
In DELIMITER_BASED templates, the <POSITION> and <PAD> columns do not
apply. They are omitted from the data tables.
Some DELIMITER_BASED templates have minimum and maximum length
specifications. In those cases Oracle Payments validates the length.

DEFINE LEVEL Command

Some formats require specific additional data levels that are not in the data extract. For
example, some formats require that payments be grouped by payment date. Using the
Define Level command, a payment date group can be defined and referenced as a
level in the template, even though it is not in the input extract file.
When you use the Define Level command you declare a base level that exists in the
extract. The Define Level command inserts a new level, one level higher than the base
level of the extract. The new level functions as a grouping of the instances of the base
level.
The Define Level command is a setup command, therefore it must be defined in the
setup table. It has three subcommands:

• BASE LEVEL command - defines the level (XML element) from the extract that the
new level is based on. The Define Level command must always have one and only
one base level subcommand.

• GROUPING CRITERIA - defines the XML extract elements that are used to group
the instances of the base level to form the instances of the new level. The parameter
of the grouping criteria command is a comma-separated list of elements that
specify the grouping conditions.
The order of the elements determines the hierarchy of the grouping. The instances
of the base level are first divided into groups according to the values of the first
criterion, then each of these groups is subdivided into groups according to the
second criterion, and so on. Each of the final subgroups is considered as an instance
of the new level.

• GROUP SORT ASCENDING or GROUP SORT DESCENDING - defines the sorting

of the group. Insert the <GROUP SORT ASCENDING> or <GROUP SORT
DESCENDING> command row anywhere between the <DEFINE LEVEL> and <END
DEFINE LEVEL> commands. The parameter of the sort command is a comma-
separated list of elements by which to sort the group.
For example, the following table shows five payments under a batch.

Payment Instance PaymentDate (grouping PayeeName (grouping

criterion 1) criterion 2)
Payment1 PaymentDate1 PayeeName1

Creating eText Templates 8-15

Setting Up Command Tables

Payment Instance PaymentDate (grouping PayeeName (grouping

criterion 1) criterion 2)
Payment2 PaymentDate2 PayeeName1

Payment3 PaymentDate1 PayeeName2

Payment4 PaymentDate1 PayeeName1

Payment5 PaymentDate1 PayeeName3

In the template, construct the setup table as follows to create a level called
PaymentsByPayDatePayee from the base level "Payment" grouped according to
Payment Date and Payee Name. Add the Group Sort Ascending command to sort each
group by PaymentDate and PayeeName:

Payment Group Level

<DEFINE LEVEL> PaymentsByPayDatePayee

<BASE LEVEL> Payment

<GROUPING CRITERIA> PaymentDate, PayeeName

<GROUP SORT ASCENDING> PaymentDate, PayeeName

<END DEFINE LEVEL> PaymentsByPayDatePayee

The five payments generate the four groups (instances) shown in the following table
for the new level:

Payment Group Instance Group Criteria Payments in Group

Group1 PaymentDate1, PayeeName1 Payment1, Payment4

Group2 PaymentDate1, PayeeName2 Payment3

Group3 PaymentDate1, PayeeName3 Payment5

Group4 PaymentDate2, PayeeName1 Payment2

The order of the new instances is the order in which the records print. When
evaluating the multiple grouping criteria to form the instances of the new level, the
criteria can be thought of as forming a hierarchy. The first criterion is at the top of the
hierarchy, the last criterion is at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Generally there are two kinds of format-specific data grouping scenarios in EFT
formats. Some formats print the group records only; others print the groups with the
individual element records nested inside groups. The following tables are two
examples for these scenarios based on the five payments and grouping conditions
previously illustrated and show the generated output:
Scenario 1: Group Records Only
EFT File Structure:

• BatchRec

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– PaymentGroupHeaderRec

– PaymentGroupFooterRec

Record Record Type Description

Sequence
1 BatchRec NA

2 PaymentGroupHeaderRec For group 1 (PaymentDate1,

PayeeName1)

3 PaymentGroupFooterRec For group 1 (PaymentDate1,

PayeeName1)

4 PaymentGroupHeaderRec For group 2 (PaymentDate1,

PayeeName2)

5 PaymentGroupFooterRec For group 2 (PaymentDate1,

PayeeName2)

6 PaymentGroupHeaderRec For group 3 (PaymentDate1,

PayeeName3)

7 PaymentGroupFooterRec For group 3 (PaymentDate1,

PayeeName3)

8 PaymentGroupHeaderRec For group 4 (PaymentDate2,

PayeeName1)

9 PaymentGroupFooterRec For group 4 (PaymentDate2,

PayeeName1)

Scenario 2: Group Records and Individual Records

EFT File Structure:
BatchRec

• PaymentGroupHeaderRec

– PaymentRec

• PaymentGroupFooterRec

Record Record Type Description

Sequence
1 BatchRec NA

2 PaymentGroupHeaderRec For group 1 (PaymentDate1,

PayeeName1)

3 PaymentRec For Payment1

4 PaymentRec For Payment4

5 PaymentGroupFooterRec For group 1 (PaymentDate1,

PayeeName1)

Creating eText Templates 8-17

Setting Up Command Tables

Record Record Type Description

Sequence
6 PaymentGroupHeaderRec For group 2 (PaymentDate1,
PayeeName2)

7 PaymentRec For Payment3

8 PaymentGroupFooterRec For group 2 (PaymentDate1,

PayeeName2)

9 PaymentGroupHeaderRec For group 3 (PaymentDate1,

PayeeName3)

10 PaymentRec For Payment5

11 PaymentGroupFooterRec For group 3 (PaymentDate1,

PayeeName3)

12 PaymentGroupHeaderRec For group 4 (PaymentDate2,

PayeeName1)

13 PaymentRec For Payment2

14 PaymentGroupFooterRec For group 4 (PaymentDate2,

PayeeName1)

Once defined with the Define Level command, the new level can be used in the
template in the same manner as a level occurring in the extract. However, the records
of the new level can only reference the base level fields that are defined in its grouping
criteria. They cannot reference other base level fields other than in summary functions.
For example, the PaymentGroupHeaderRec can reference the PaymentDate and
PayeeName in its fields. It can also reference thePaymentAmount (a payment level
field) in a SUM function. However, it cannot reference other payment level fields, such
as PaymentDocName or PaymentDocNum.
The DEFINE LEVEL command must always have one and only one grouping criteria
subcommand. The DEFINE LEVEL command has a companion END DEFINE LEVEL
command. The subcommands must be specified between the DEFINE LEVEL and
END DEFINE LEVEL commands. They can be declared in any order.

DEFINE SEQUENCE Command

The DEFINE SEQUENCE command defines a sequence that can be used in
conjunction with the SEQUENCE_NUMBER function to index either the generated
EFT records or the extract instances (the database records). The EFT records are the
physical records defined in the template. The database records are the records from
the extract. To avoid confusion, the term record always refers to the EFT record. The
database record is referred to as an extract element instance or level.
The DEFINE SEQUENCE command has four subcommands: RESET AT LEVEL,
INCREMENT BASIS, START AT, MINIMUM, and MAXIMUM:

RESET AT LEVEL
The RESET AT LEVEL subcommand defines where the sequence resets its starting
number.

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RESET AT LEVE is a mandatory subcommand. For example, to number the payments

in a batch, define RESET AT LEVEL as Batch. To continue numbering across batches,
define RESET AT LEVEL as RequestHeader.
In some cases the sequence is reset outside the template. For example, a periodic
sequence may be defined to reset by date. In these cases, the PERIODIC_SEQUENCE
keyword is used for the RESET AT LEVEL. The system saves the last sequence
number used for a payment file to the database. Outside events control resetting the
sequence in the database. For the next payment file run, the sequence number is
extracted from the database for the start at number (see start at subcommand).

INCREMENT BASIS
The INCREMENT BASIS subcommand specifies if the sequence should be
incremented based on record or extract instances. The allowed parameters for this
subcommand are RECORD and LEVEL.
Enter RECORD to increment the sequence for every record.
Enter LEVEL to increment the sequence for every new instance of a level.
Note that for levels with multiple records, if you use the level-based increment, then
all the records in the level have the same sequence number. The record-based
increment assigns each record in the level a new sequence number.
For level-based increments, the sequence number can be used in the fields of one level
only. For example, suppose an extract has a hierarchy of batch > payment > invoice
and you define the INCREMENT BASIS by level sequence, with reset at the batch
level. You can use the sequence in either the payment or invoice level fields, but not
both. You cannot have sequential numbering across hierarchical levels.
However, this rule does not apply to increment basis by record sequences. Records
can be sequenced across levels.
For both increment basis by level and by record sequences, the level of the sequence is
implicit based on where the sequence is defined.

MINIMUM
Specifies the minimum sequence number.
If MINIMUM is not declared, the minimum sequence number will be set as 1 by
default.
Specify this value when you want the minimum sequence number to be a value other
than 1.

Define Concatenation Command

Use the define concatenation command to concatenate child-level extract elements for
use in parent-level fields.
For example, use this command to concatenate invoice number and due date for all the
invoices belonging to a payment for use in a payment-level field.
The define concatenation command has three subcommands: base level, element, and
delimiter.

Base Level Subcommand

The base level subcommand specifies the child level for the operation.

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Setting Up Command Tables

For each parent-level instance, the concatenation operation loops through the child-
level instances to generate the concatenated string.

Element Subcommand
The element subcommand specifies the operation used to generate each element. An
element is a child-level expression that is concatenated to generate the concatenation
string.

Delimiter Subcommand
The delimiter subcommand specifies the delimiter to separate the concatenated items
in the string.

Using the SUBSTR Function

Use the SUBSTR function to break down concatenated strings into smaller strings that
can be placed into different fields.
For example, the following table shows five invoices in a payment.

Invoice InvoiceNum
1 car_parts_inv0001

2 car_parts_inv0002

3 car_parts_inv0003

4 car_parts_inv0004

5 car_parts_inv0005

Using the concatenation definition shown in the following table:

Level Definition
<DEFINE CONCATENATION> ConcatenatedInvoiceInfo

<BASE LEVEL> Invoice

<ELEMENT> InvoiceNum

<DELIMITER> ','

<END DEFINE CONCATENATION> ConcatenatedInvoiceInfo

You can reference ConcatenatedInvoiceInfo in a payment level field. The string is as

follows:
car_parts_inv0001,car_parts_inv0002,car_parts_inv0003,car_parts_inv0004,car_parts_i
nv0005
If you want to use only the first forty characters of the concatenated invoice
information, then use either TRUNCATE function or the SUBSTR function as follows:
TRUNCATE(ConcatenatedInvoiceInfo, 40)
SUBSTR(ConctenatedInvoiceInfo, 1, 40)

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 Setting Up Command Tables

Either of these statements result in:

car_parts_inv0001,car_parts_inv0002,car_
To isolate the next forty characters, use the SUBSTR function:
SUBSTR(ConcatenatedInvoiceInfo, 41, 40)
to get the following string:
parts_inv0003,car_parts_inv0004,car_par

Invalid Characters and Replacement Characters Commands

Some formats require a different character set than the one that was used to enter the
data in Oracle Applications. For example, some German formats require the output
file in ASCII, but the data was entered in German. If there is a mismatch between the
original and target character sets you can define an ASCII equivalent to replace the
original. For example, you would replace the German umlauted "a" with "ao".
Some formats do not allow certain characters. To ensure that known invalid characters
are not transmitted in the output file, use the invalid characters command to flag
occurrences of specific characters.
To use the replacement characters command, specify the source characters in the left
column and the replacement characters in the right column. You must enter the source
characters in the original character set. This is the only case in a format template in
which you use a character set not intended for output. Enter the replacement
characters in the required output character set.
For DELIMITER_BASED formats, if there are delimiters in the data, you can use the
escape character "?" to retain their meaning. For example,
First name?+Last name equates to Fist name+Last name
Which source?? equates to Which source?
Note that the escape character itself must be escaped if it is used in data.
The replacement characters command can be used to support the escape character
requirement. Specify the delimiter as the source and the escape character plus the
delimiter as the target. For example, the command entry for the preceding examples is
as follows:
<REPLACEMENT CHARACTERS>
+ ?+
? ??
<END REPLACEMENT CHARACTERS>

The invalid character command has a single parameter that is a string of invalid
characters that causes the system to error out.
The replacement character process is performed before or during the character set
conversion. The character set conversion is performed on the XML extract directly,
before the formatting. After the character set conversion, the invalid characters are
checked in terms of the output character set. If no invalid characters are found, then
the system proceeds to formatting.

Output Character Set and New Record Character Commands

Use the new record character command to specify the character(s) to delimit the
explicit and implicit record breaks at runtime.

Creating eText Templates 8-21

Creating a Filler Block

Each new record command represents an explicit record break. Each end of table
represents an implicit record break. The parameter is a list of constant character names
separated by commas.
Some formats contain no record breaks. The generated output is a single line of data.
In this case, leave the new record character command parameter field empty.
If you do not define a "new record character" field in the template, then the system sets
"\n" as default new record character.

Output Length Mode

Output Length Mode can be set to "character" or "byte".
When OUTPUT LENGTH MODE is set to "character", the output record length for
each field is based on character length. When OUTPUT LENGTH MODE is set to
"byte", the output record length for each field is based on byte length.
If no OUTPUT LENGTH MODE is setting is provided, "character" is used.

Number Thousands Separator and Number Decimal Separator

The default thousands (or group) separator is a comma (",") and the default decimal
separator is a period ("."). Use the Number Thousands Separator command and the
Number Decimal Separator command to specify separators other than the defaults.
For example, to define "." as the group separator and "," as the decimal separator, enter
the commands as follows:
<NUMBER THOUSANDS SEPARATOR> .
<NUMBER DECIMAL SEPARATOR> ,

Note that when you set "NUMBER DECIMAL SEPARATOR", you must also set
"NUMBER THOUSANDS SEPARATOR". Ensure to set the appropriate format mask
for the field to be displayed. For more information on formatting numbers, see Format
Column.

CASE CONVERSION
Use CASE CONVERSION to convert strings from lowercase to uppercase for fields
with format type ALPHA. This command is used with FIXED_POSITION_BASED
templates.
Valid values are "UPPER" and "LOWER". Enter the command as follows:
<CASE CONVERSION> : UPPER

Creating a Filler Block

For FIXED_POSITION_BASED templates, you can use a filler block to define a specific
block size for the eText output. When the actual data does not fill the specified block
size, the remainder of the block is filled with a specified filler character.
For example, if you define a BLOCK SIZE of 9, and the eText output generated is only
three lines of text, then the remaining six lines are filled with the specified FILLER
CHARACTER.
The commands used are:

• <BEGIN FILLER BLOCK> - this signifies the beginning of the block. Enter a name
for this block.

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 Creating a Filler Block

• <FILLER CHARACTER> - enter a character or string to use to "fill" the remainder of

the block when the data does not fill it.
Example entries for <FILLER CHARACTER> are:
To fill the block with the ? character, enter the FILLER CHARACTER command as
shown:
<FILLER CHARACTER> : ?

To fill the block with the string abc, enter the FILLER CHARACTER command as
shown:
<FILLER CHARACTER> : abc

To fill the block with empty spaces, enter the FILLER CHARACTER command as
shown:
<FILLER CHARACTER> :

• <BLOCK SIZE> - enter an integer to specify the size of the block in lines of text.
These commands must be used before the template definition starts.
Enter the following command at the end of the block:

• <END FILLER BLOCK> - signifies the end of the block. Enter the name already
specified for this block in the <BEGIN FILLER BLOCK> command.
The following figure shows an example of filler block usage:

Creating eText Templates 8-23

Expressions, Control Structures, and Functions

The following figure shows an example of output generated with FILLER BLOCK:

The following figure shows an example of output generated if FILLER BLOCK is not
used:

Expressions, Control Structures, and Functions

This section describes the rules and usage for expressions in the template. It also
describes supported control structures and functions.

Expressions
Expressions can be used in the data column for data fields and some command
parameters. An expression is a group of XML extract fields, literals, functions, and
operators. Expressions can be nested. An expression can also include the "IF" control
structure. When an expression is evaluated it always generates a result. Side effects are
not allowed for the evaluation.
Based on the evaluation result, expressions are classified into the following three
categories:

• Boolean Expression - an expression that returns a boolean value, either true or

false. This kind of expression can be used only in the IF-THEN-ELSE control
structure and the parameter of the display condition command.

• Numeric Expression - an expression that returns a number. This kind of expression

can be used in numeric data fields. It can also be used in functions and commands
that require numeric parameters.

• Character Expression - an expression that returns an alphanumeric string. This

kind of expression can be used in string data fields (format type Alpha). They can
also be used in functions and command that require string parameters.

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 Expressions, Control Structures, and Functions

Control Structures
The only supported control structure is IF-THEN-ELSE. It can be used in an
expression.
The syntax is:
IF <boolean_expressionA> THEN
<numeric or character expression1>
[ELSIF <boolean_expressionB THEN
<numeric or character expression2>]
...
[ELSE
<numeric or character expression3]
END IF

Generally the control structure must evaluate to a number or an alphanumeric string.

The control structure is considered to a numeric or character expression. The ELSIF
and ELSE clauses are optional, and there can be as many ELSIF clauses as necessary.
The control structure can be nested.
The IN predicate is supported in the IF-THEN-ELSE control structure. For example:
IF PaymentAmount/Currency/Code IN ('USD', 'EUR', 'AON', 'AZM') THEN
PayeeAccount/FundsCaptureOrder/OrderAmount/Value * 100
ELSIF PaymentAmount/Currency/Code IN ('BHD', 'IQD', 'KWD') THEN
PayeeAccount/FundsCaptureOrder/OrderAmount/Value * 1000
ELSE
PayeeAccount/FundsCaptureOrder/OrderAmount/Value
END IF;

Functions
Here is the list of supported functions.

• SEQUENCE_NUMBER - is a record element index. It is used in conjunction with

the Define Sequence command. It has one parameter, which is the sequence
defined by the Define Sequence command. At runtime it increases its sequence
value by one each time it is referenced in a record.

• COUNT - counts the child level extract instances or child level records of a specific
type. Declare the COUNT function on a level above the entity to be counted. The
function has one argument. If the argument is a level, then the function counts all
the instances of the (child) level belonging to the current (parent) level instance.
For example, if the level to be counted is Payment and the current level is Batch,
then the COUNT returns the total number of payments in the batch. However, if
the current level is RequestHeader, the COUNT returns the total number of
payments in the file across all batches. If the argument is a record type, the count
function counts all the generated records of the (child level) record type belonging
to the current level instance.

• INTEGER_PART, DECIMAL_PART - returns the integer or decimal portion of a

numeric value. This is used in nested expressions and in commands (display
condition and group by). For the final formatting of a numeric field in the data
column, use the Integer/Decimal format.

• IS_NUMERIC - boolean test whether the argument is numeric. Used only with the
"IF" control structure.

Creating eText Templates 8-25

Expressions, Control Structures, and Functions

• TRUNCATE - truncate the first argument - a string to the length of the second
argument. If the first argument is shorter than the length specified by the second
argument, the first argument is returned unchanged. This is a user-friendly version
for a subset of the SQL substr() functionality.

• SUM - sums all the child instance of the XML extract field argument. The field must
be a numeric value. The field to be summed must always be at a lower level than
the level on which the SUM function was declared.

• MIN, MAX - find the minimum or maximum of all the child instances of the XML
extract field argument. The field must be a numeric value. The field to be operated
on must always be at a lower level than the level on which the function was
declared.

• FORMAT_DATE - Formats a date string to any desirable date format. For example:
FORMAT_DATE("1900-01-01T18:19:20", "YYYY/MM/DD HH24:MI:SS")
produces the following output:
1900/01/01 18:19:20

• FORMAT_NUMBER - Formats a number to display in desired format. For

example:
FORMAT_NUMBER("1234567890.0987654321", "999,999.99")
produces the following output:
1,234,567,890.10

• MESSAGE_LENGTH - returns the length of the message in the EFT message.

• RECORD_LENGTH - returns the length of the record in the EFT message.

• INSTR - returns the numeric position of a named character within a text field.

• SYSDATE, DATE - gets Current Date and Time.

• POSITION - returns the position of a node in the XML document tree structure.

• REPLACE - replaces a string with another string.s

• CONVERT_CASE - converts a string or a character to UPPER or LOWER case.

• CHR - gets the character representation of an argument, which is an ASCII value.

• LPAD, RPAD - generates left or right padding for string values.

• AND, OR, NOT - operator functions on elements.

• DISTINCT_VALUES - equivalent to the XPATH function DISTINCT-VALUES.

Returns a sequence in which all but one of a set of duplicate values, based on value
equality, have been deleted. Usage: distinct_values(fieldname).

• INCREASE_DATE - increments a date by the number of days specified.

Usage:
increase_date(.//date, 2)
returns a date value two days after the value of .//date

• DECREASE_DATE - decreases a date by the number of days specified.

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 Identifiers, Operators, and Literals

Usage:
decrease_date(.//date, 2)
returns a date value two before the value of .//date

• Other SQL functions include the following. Use the syntax corresponding to the
SQL function.

– TO_DATE

– LOWER

– UPPER

– LENGTH

– GREATEST

– LEAST

– DECODE

– CEIL

– ABS

– FLOOR

– ROUND

– CHR

– TO_CHAR

– SUBSTR

– LTRIM

– RTRIM

– TRIM

– IN

– TRANSLATE

Identifiers, Operators, and Literals

This section lists the reserved key word and phrases and their usage. The supported
operators are defined and the rules for referencing XML extract fields and using
literals.

Key Words
There are several categories of key words and key word phrases.
The categories are:

• Command and column header key words

• Command parameter and function parameter key words

Creating eText Templates 8-27

Identifiers, Operators, and Literals

• Field-level key words

• Expression key words

Command and Column Header Key Words

The command and column header key words must be used in the format shown:
enclosed in <>s and in all capital letters with a bold font.

• <LEVEL> - the first entry of a data table. Associates the table with an XML element
and specifies the hierarchy of the table.

• <END LEVEL> - declares the end of the current level. Can be used at the end of a
table or in a standalone table.

• <POSITION> - column header for the first column of data field rows, which
specifies the starting position of the data field in a record.

• <LENGTH> - column header for the second column of data field rows, which
specifies the length of the data field.

• <FORMAT> - column header for the third column of data field rows, which
specifies the data type and format setting.

• <PAD> - column header for the fourth column of data field rows, which specifies
the padding style and padding character.

• <DATA> - column header for the fifth column of data field rows, which specifies
the data source.

• <COMMENT> - column header for the sixth column of data field rows, which
allows for free form comments.

• <NEW RECORD> - specifies a new record.

• <DISPLAY CONDITION> - specifies the condition when a record should be

printed.

• <TEMPLATE TYPE> - specifies the type of the template, either

FIXED_POSITION_BASED or DELIMITER_BASED.

• <OUTPUT CHARACTER SET> - specifies the character set to be used when

generating the output.

• <NEW RECORD CHARACTER> - specifies the character(s) to use to signify the

explicit and implicit new records at runtime.

• <DEFINE LEVEL> - defines a format-specific level in the template.

• <BASE LEVEL> - subcommand for the define level and define concatenation
commands.

• <GROUPING CRITERIA> - subcommand for the define level command.

• <END DEFINE LEVEL> - signifies the end of a level.

• <DEFINE SEQUENCE> - defines a record or extract element based sequence for

use in the template fields.

• <RESET AT LEVEL> - subcommand for the define sequence command.

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 Identifiers, Operators, and Literals

• <INCREMENT BASIS> - subcommand for the define sequence command.

• <START AT> - subcommand for the define sequence command.

• <MAXIMUM> - subcommand for the define sequence command.

• <MINIMUM> - subcommand for the define sequence command.

• <MAXIMUM LENGTH> - column header for the first column of data field rows,
which specifies the maximum length of the data field. For DELIMITER_BASED
templates only.

• <END DEFINE SEQUENCE> - signifies the end of the sequence command.

• <DEFINE CONCATENATION> - defines a concatenation of child level elements

that can be referenced as a string in the parent level fields.

• <ELEMENT> - subcommand for the define concatenation command.

• <DELIMITER> - subcommand for the define concatenation command.

• <END DEFINE CONCATENATION> - signifies the end of the define

concatenation command.

• <SORT ASCENDING> - format-specific sorting for the instances of a level.

• <SORT DESCENDING> - format-specific sorting for the instances of a level.

Command Parameter and Function Parameter Key Words

The command parameter and function parameter key words must be entered in all
capital letters, non-bold fonts.

• PERIODIC_SEQUENCE - used in the reset at level subcommand of the define

sequence command. It denotes that the sequence number is to be reset outside the
template.

• FIXED_POSITION_BASED, DELIMITER_BASED - used in the template type

command, specifies the type of template.

• RECORD, LEVEL - used in the increment basis subcommand of the define

sequence command. RECORD increments the sequence each time it is used in a
new record. LEVEL increments the sequence only for a new instance of the level.

Field-Level Key Words

This section gives a list of key words and specifies the data type for each.

• Alpha - in the <FORMAT> column, specifies the data type is alphanumeric.

• Number - in the <FORMAT> column, specifies the data type is numeric.

• Integer - in the <FORMAT> column, used with the Number key word. Takes the
integer part of the number. This has the same functionality as the INTEGER
function, except the INTEGER function is used in expressions, while the Integer
key word is used in the <FORMAT> column only.

• Decimal - in the <FORMAT> column, used with the Number key word. Takes the
decimal part of the number. This has the same functionality as the DECIMAL

Creating eText Templates 8-29

Identifiers, Operators, and Literals

function, except the DECIMAL function is used in expressions, while the Decimal
key word is used in the <FORMAT> column only.

• Date - in the <FORMAT> column, specifies the data type is date.

• L, R- in the <PAD> column, specifies the side of the padding (Left or Right).

Expression Key Words

Key words and phrases used in expressions must be in capital letters and bold fonts.

• IF THEN ELSE IF THEN ELSE END IF - these key words are always used as a
group. They specify the "IF" control structure expressions.

• IS NULL, IS NOT NULL - these phrases are used in the IF control structure. They
form part of boolean predicates to test if an expression is NULL or not NULL.

Operators
There are two groups of operators: the boolean test operators and the expression
operators.
The boolean test operators include: "=", "<>", "<", ">", ">=", and "<=". They can be used
only with the IF control structure. The expression operators include: "()", "||", "+", "-",
and "*". They can be used in any expression.
The following table lists the operators and describes their usage.

Symbol Usage
= Equal to test. Used in the IF control structure only.

<> Not equal to test. Used in the IF control structure only.

> Greater than test. Used in the IF control structure only.

< Less than test. Used in the IF control structure only.

>= Greater than or equal to test. Used in the IF control structure only.

<= Less than or equal to test. Used in the IF control structure only.

() Function argument and expression group delimiter. The expression group

inside "()" is always be evaluated first. "()" can be nested.

|| String concatenation operator.

+ Addition operator. Implicit type conversion may be performed if any of

the operands are not numbers.

- Subtraction operator. Implicit type conversion may be performed if any of

the operands are not numbers.

* Multiplication operator. Implicit type conversion may be performed if any

of the operands are not numbers.

DIV Division operand. Implicit type conversion may be performed if any of the
operands are not numbers. Note that "/" is not used because it is part of
the XPATH syntax.

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 Identifiers, Operators, and Literals

Symbol Usage
IN Equal-to-any-member-of test.

NOT IN Negates the IN operator. Not-Equal-to-any-member-of test.

Reference to XML Extract Fields and XPATH Syntax

XML elements can be used in any expression.
At runtime XML elements are replaced with the corresponding field values. The field
names are case-sensitive.
When the XML extract fields are used in the template, they must follow the XPATH
syntax. This is required so that the BI Publisher engine can correctly interpret the XML
elements.
There is always an extract element considered as the context element during the BI
Publisher formatting process. When BI Publisher processes the data rows in a table,
the level element of the table is the context element. For example, when BI Publisher
processes the data rows in the Payment table, Payment is the context element. The
relative XPATH you use to reference the extract elements are specified in terms of the
context element.
For example to refer to the PayeeName element in a Payment data table, specify the
following relative path:
Payee/PayeeInfo/PayeeName
Each layer of the XML element hierarchy is separated by a backslash "/". You use this
notation for any nested elements. The relative path for the immediate child element of
the level is just the element name itself. For example, you can use TransactionID
element name as is in the Payment table.
To reference a parent level element in a child level table, you can use the "../" notation.
For example, in the Payment table if you must reference the BatchName element, you
can specify ../BatchName. The "../" provides Batch as the context; in that context
you can use the BatchName element name directly as BatchName is an immediate
child of Batch. This notation goes up to any level for the parent elements. For example
if you must reference the RequesterParty element (in the RequestHeader) in a Payment
data table, you can specify the following:
../../TrxnParties/RequesterParty
You can always use the absolute path to reference any extract element anywhere in the
template. The absolute path starts with a backslash "/". For the PayeeName in the
Payment table example above, you have the following absolute path: /BatchRequest/
Batch/Payment/Payee/PayeeInfo/PayeeName
The absolute path syntax provides better performance.
The identifiers defined by the setup commands such as define level, define sequence
and define concatenation are considered to be global. They can be used anywhere in
the template. No absolute or relative path is required. The base level and reset at level
for the setup commands can also be specified. BI Publisher can find the correct context
for them.
If you use relative path syntax, then you should specify it relative to the base levels in
the following commands:

Creating eText Templates 8-31

Identifiers, Operators, and Literals

• The element subcommand of the define concatenation command

• The grouping criteria subcommand of the define level command

The extract field reference in the start at subcommand of the define sequence
command should be specified with an absolute path.
The rule to reference an extract element for the level command is the same as the rule
for data fields. For example, if you have a Batch level table and a nested Payment level
table, then you can specify the Payment element name as-is for the Payment table.
Because the context for evaluating the Level command of the Payment table is the
Batch.
However, if you skip the Payment level and you have an Invoice level table directly
under the Batch table, then you must specify Payment/Invoice as the level element for
the Invoice table.
The XPATH syntax required by the template is very similar to UNIX/LINUX
directory syntax. The context element is equivalent to the current directory. You can
specify a file relative to the current directory or you can use the absolute path which
starts with a "/".
Finally, the extract field reference as the result of the grouping criteria sub-command
of the define level command must be specified in single quotes. This tells the BI
Publisher engine to use the extract fields as the grouping criteria, not their values.

Notes on Viewing eText Output from a Browser

If the report data contains Simplified Chinese characters and the <OUTPUT
CHARACTER SET> is set to GBK, then the Chinese characters do not display properly
in Internet Explorer 7 with gbk2312 encoding.
This issue may also occur in other non-English encodings as well, such as native
Japanese and Korean. The output renders appropriately with Firefox 3.5, when setting
the character set to be GBK in the eText template and setting the browser encoding to
be GBK or GB2312. You can work around this issue by setting <OUTPUT
CHARACTER SET> to utf-8. Note that this is a browser display issue only. The text
file is generated correctly.

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 9
Creating Flash Templates

BI Publisher's support for Flash templates enables you to develop Adobe Flex
templates that can be applied to BI Publisher reports to generate interactive Flash
output documents. This chapter describes how to create Flash templates.
This chapter includes the following sections:

• Overview

• Building a Flash Template

• Uploading the Flash Template to the Report Definition

• Setting Properties for PDF Output

Overview
This chapter demonstrates how to build a simple Flex template, but Adobe Flex allows
you to build far more complex interactive reports for your users.
The animation, "wiring" together and formatting of layout objects can be achieved
with Flex. You can also summarize and create calculated fields on the incoming data.
Reference the Flex documentation for these more advanced features.

Note: Adobe Flex is an open-source technology for building interactive cross-

platform applications. Flex applications can be delivered using Adobe Flash
Player.

BI Publisher's integration with Flex enables you to build Flex templates, test them on
your desktop, and deploy them to the BI Publisher server to generate Flash output.
Users are then able to run the reports from the BI Publisher user interface or schedule
them for delivery to report consumers.
This chapter describes how to set up a Flex template with a BI Publisher "flat" data
source (that is, there is no hierarchy in the XML data) and how to include simpler
objects such as tables and charts. For more information about interactivity,
connectivity between components and more advanced topics, refer to Adobe's Flex
documentation.

Prerequisites for Building and Viewing Flash Templates

You must perform the following tasks before using Flash templates.
Following are the prerequisites for building and viewing Flash templates:

• For viewing output:

Creating Flash Templates 9-1

Building a Flash Template

– To view the report output from the Flash Template, you must have Adobe Flash
Player 9 installed on your computer. If viewing reports over the BI Publisher
user interface, the Web browser must also support the Adobe Flash Player 9
plug-in.

• For building templates:

– The FlexBuilder IDE from Adobe

Oracle BI Publisher is currently certified with version 2.0.1. The tool can be
downloaded and purchased from the Adobe website at http://
www.adobe.com/products/flex/.
Note that the charting functionality requires an additional license fee.

– A report data model set up in BI Publisher that generates flat XML. For
information on setting up the data model, see the Data Modeling Guide for Oracle
Business Intelligence Publisher.

Required Configuration Settings for Viewing PDF Output

Tightened security settings in the latest versions of Adobe Reader (9.3) disable
multimedia content like Flash by default.
Because of this change, when accessing PDF report output that contains embedded
Flash objects, users might get an error message such as "Some features are disabled to
avoid potential security risks."
To enable Flash content in PDF output by modifying the Flash configuration settings:

1. In Adobe Acrobat, on the Edit menu, click Preferences.

2. In the Preferences dialog, from the Categories list, click Multimedia Trust (legacy).

3. Select Display Permissions for: Other Documents.

4. Select Permissions for Adobe Flash Player is set to Prompt.

5. Set Change permission for selected multimedia player toto Always, then select all
three check boxes below and click OK.

Building a Flash Template

This section describes how to build a Flash template.
It includes the following topics:

• Adding the Data Source

• Creating the Layout

• Data Binding

Adding the Data Source

Follow these steps to build a flash template and add the data source.

To add the data source:

1. Generate a sample data file from the report data model as follows:

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 Building a Flash Template

From the Data Model Editor, select the Get XML Output toolbar button. From the
Report Viewer, select the number of rows to return and then click Run. From the
Actions toolbar list, select Export XML and save the results as an XML file to a
local directory.
This example is based on the following data:
<ROWSET>
<ROW>
<NAME>Neena Kochhar</NAME>
<FIRST_NAME>Neena</FIRST_NAME>
<LAST_NAME>Kochhar</LAST_NAME>
<SALARY>17000</SALARY>
<ANNUAL_SALARY>204000</ANNUAL_SALARY>
<FED_WITHHELD>57120</FED_WITHHELD>
<JOB_TITLE>Administration Vice President</JOB_TITLE>
<DEPARTMENT_NAME>Executive</DEPARTMENT_NAME>
<MANAGER>Steven King</MANAGER>
</ROW>
<ROW>
...
</ROWSET>

This data is generated from the following simple query-based report:

select
e.first_name || ' ' || e.last_name name,
e.first_name,
e.last_name,
e.salary,
e.salary*12 ANNUAL_SALARY,
e.salary*12*0.28 FED_WITHHELD,
j.job_title,
d.department_name,
m.first_name || ' ' || m.last_name manager
from employees e,
employees m,
departments d,
jobs j
where e.department_id = d.department_id
and j.job_id = e.job_id
and e.manager_id = m.employee_id

2. Open the Flex IDE and create a new Flex Project; select the "Basic" data access
method, as shown in the following example figure.

Creating Flash Templates 9-3

Building a Flash Template

In the next dialog, give the project a name as shown in the following example. The
name that you use here is assigned to the template file name that you create.

Click Finish.
The IDE creates the Flex template definition file, which is an MXML file. An MXML
file is an XML format. Following is a sample:

9-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Building a Flash Template

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute">
</mx:Application>

You can now update it manually or by using the visual builder.

3. Connect the XML you downloaded from the report data model:

To connect the data, use the XML data services that Flex supports and embed the
sample data into the MXML file.
The sample MXML file with the connected data is shown. See the following section
for a description of the file components.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<mx:Application xmlns:mx="http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml" layout="absolute">
<mx:Script>
<![CDATA[
[Bindable]
public var dataXML:XML =
<ROWSET>
<ROW>
<NAME>Neena Kochhar</NAME>
<FIRST_NAME>Neena</FIRST_NAME>
<LAST_NAME>Kochhar</LAST_NAME>
<SALARY>17000</SALARY>
<ANNUAL_SALARY>204000</ANNUAL_SALARY>
<FED_WITHHELD>57120</FED_WITHHELD>
<JOB_TITLE>Administration Vice President</JOB_TITLE>
<DEPARTMENT_NAME>Executive</DEPARTMENT_NAME>
<MANAGER>Steven King</MANAGER>
</ROW>
<ROW>
...
</ROWSET>;
]]>
</mx:Script>
</mx:Application>

The XML portion should look familiar as the data you downloaded. The additional
components to note are:

• <mx:Script> - This denotes the start of the template scripting code. There is
also a closing </mx:Script> statement.

• [Bindable] - This denotes that the following variable is bindable to a layout

component.

• public var dataXML:XML - This is the data variable declaration:

– public - The value of the variable is available to the whole template.

– var - Declares there is a variable in the report.

– dataXML - The name of the variable.

Note: This is a compulsory name. You must use this name to use the template
with BI Publisher.

– :XML - Declares that the variable is an XML type.

Creating Flash Templates 9-5

Building a Flash Template

• ; - Notice the semicolon after the end of the XML data that you provided.
At runtime the BI Publisher server generates the runtime data from the report and
injects it into the Flex template replacing the sample data held within the dataXML
variable. This feature allows the Flex report to be distributed to users without
needing to connect to the server.

Creating the Layout

The Flex IDE creates a default canvas for you to drop objects onto. You can modify the
canvas as required to suit the report.

Important:

If you intend to embed the Flash output in a PDF document, then you must set
the Width and Height of the template in the Size region of the Layout
properties. Even if you want to accept the default size, you must explicitly
enter values in these fields.

Create the layout by adding report objects to the layout palette. This example uses the
Flex Design tab to add the objects to the layout. Click the Design tab to see the
available objects in the Component Navigator pane.
The following figure shows an example of the available objects in the Component
Navigator pane.

These objects can be dragged and dropped to the design palette.

9-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Building a Flash Template

To create the layout:

1. Start by dragging a Panel object from under the Layout node to the design palette.
Notice as you drag the panel around the edge of the palette, the guidelines are
displayed in blue. Use these guides to aid you in aligning objects.

2. Drop the panel onto the top left hand corner of the palette.

3. Now drag the bottom right edge of the panel across to the right hand side of the
palette.

4. Then drag it down to about half the height of the palette. Alternatively, use the
property palette on the right hand side to set the size of the panel.

5. Now select a Datagrid object. This is the object to render the data in a tabular
format. Drop it onto the panel you created in Step 1. The Datagrid is now a child of
the panel; you can resize it as needed. The end result is shown in the following
figure:

By default three columns are generated. In the next section, Binding the Layout
Objects to the Data Source, you override the default in the MXML code.

Adding a Chart
If you have purchased the charting option, then you can add charts to the layout.

To add a chart to the layout:

1. Make some room for the chart in the layout. Highlight the Datagrid object and pull
the top edge down to about half the height of the hosting panel.

2. For this example, select and drag a Column Chart from the design palette and drop
it onto the hosting panel. Use the guidelines to align it.

Creating Flash Templates 9-7

Building a Flash Template

3. When you drop it, notice that the default size overlaps the Datagrid and that the
chart legend is in the top left-hand corner. Resize the chart and move the legend to
the right to look similar as in the following sample chart figure.

This is a sample chart. You bind it to the data in the next section.

Binding the Layout Objects to the Data Source

Once the layout is complete, you can bind the layout objects to the data source. Here,
you can bind the DataGrid and bind the chart.
Flex offers some help through the property palette of the objects to define the binding,
but not enough to complete the task. Therefore you must update the MXML directly
using the Source editor.

Binding the DataGrid

Follow these steps to bind the DataGrid, which is highlighted for you to locate the
code easily.

To bind the DataGrid:

1. Start by highlighting the DataGrid in the design palette, and then click the Source
tab to display the MXML source. You see that the first line of the DataGrid code has
been highlighted for you. This feature is useful if you have built complex Flex
templates and must locate the code easily.

The DataGrid code is as follows:

<mx:DataGrid x="10" y="160" width="476" height="152">
<mx:columns>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Column 1" dataField="col1"/>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Column 2" dataField="col2"/>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Column 3" dataField="col3"/>
</mx:columns>
</mx:DataGrid>

9-8 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Building a Flash Template

Notice that the code defines the relative x,y position of the grid within its parent
container and its width and height. The next element defines the columns with
attributes for the header label and the data fields.
The goal is to achieve a table that looks like the table in the following figure:

2. Make the DataGrid aware of the data source by adding an attribute to the
<mx:DataGrid> element as follows:

dataProvider="{dataXML.ROW}"

This attribute defines the data object to be used at runtime to populate the grid.
Remember that in this example, the XML data variable was defined as "dataXML";
now use that definition followed by "ROW" (that is, dataXML.ROW). ROW is the
repeating group in the data set. Note that the syntax requires the curly braces to let
the Flex engine know it is a data source.

3. Bind the columns. In the basic structure provided, replace the values for dataField
with the appropriate element name from the data source. Also replace headerText
values with the desired column heading names. For example, for the first column,
replace

<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Column 1" dataField="col1"/>

with
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Employee" dataField="NAME" />

This defines the first column header name as "Employee" and binds the column
data to the "NAME" element in the XML data source.
The completed DataGrid sample code follows:
<mx:DataGrid x="10" y="160" width="476" height="152"
dataProvider="{dataXML.ROW}">
<mx:columns>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Employee" dataField="NAME" />
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Title" dataField="JOB_TITLE"/>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Monthly Salary" dataField="SALARY"/>
<mx:DataGridColumn headerText="Annual Salary" dataField="ANNUAL_SALARY"/>
</mx:columns>
</mx:DataGrid>

4. You can now preview the template with sample data. Select Run, then Run
EmployeeReport. This opens a new browser window and renders the table with
the sample data.

Creating Flash Templates 9-9

Building a Flash Template

Binding the Chart

Follow these steps to bind the data source to the chart object.

To bind the chart:

1. From the Design tab, highlight the chart. Next, switch back to the Source view to
find the chart code:

<mx:ColumnChart x="10" y="10" id="columnchart1" width="476" height="142">

<mx:series>
<mx:ColumnSeries displayName="Series 1" yField=""/>
</mx:series>
</mx:ColumnChart>
<mx:Legend dataProvider="{columnchart1}" x="383" y="10"/>

2. To bind the data source to the chart object, add the dataProvider attribute to the
<mx:ColumnChart> element as follows:

dataProvider="{dataXML.ROW}"

3. Next add in the binding for the horizontal axis and the column series. Refer to the
Flex help files for more details.

To create a chart showing salary by employee, similar to the chart in the following
figure:

Make the following updates to the code:

• Add a <horizontalAxis> element to define the element from the data source
that is used for the horizontal axis of the chart. Use the categoryField attribute to
assign the data element value. In this example, the data element NAME is
assigned.

• Modify the <series> group to bind the SALARY value to each employee NAME
to create a bar for each employee.
Following is the sample code:
<mx:ColumnChart x="10" y="10" id="columnchart1" width="476" height="142"
dataProvider="{dataXML.ROW}">
<mx:horizontalAxis>
<mx:CategoryAxis categoryField="NAME" />
</mx:horizontalAxis>
<mx:series >
<mx:ColumnSeries xField="NAME" yField="SALARY" displayName="Salary"/>
</mx:series>
</mx:ColumnChart>
<mx:Legend dataProvider="{columnchart1}" x="383" y="10"/>

9-10 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Uploading the Flash Template to the Report Definition

Note in the preceding sample, the <mx:horizontalAxis> element has been

added and the categoryField attribute has the NAME data element assigned.
This element is required to render the chart.
The <mx:series> element has been updated binding the SALARY value to each
employee NAME to create a bar for each employee.
You do not need to update the legend code. Notice the id attribute of the
<mx:ColumnChart> element matches the dataProvider attribute value of the
<mx:Legend> element.

4. You can now run the template using sample data. You should get an output
showing the chart above the tabulated data as shown in the following figure:

Uploading the Flash Template to the Report Definition

You need to upload the flash template to make it available for report layouts.
To upload the template to the report definition:

1. Navigate to the report in the catalog. Click Edit to launch the Report Editor.

2. Click Add New Layout.

3. Under Upload or Generate New Layout, click Upload.

4. In the Upload Template File dialog:

• Enter a Layout Name.

• Click Browse and navigate to the Flex project directory. Under this directory
open the bin directory and select the EmployeeReport.swf file.

• From the Template Type list, select Flash Template.

• Select the Locale for this template.

5. Click Upload to add the Flash template to the available layouts for the report.

Creating Flash Templates 9-11

Setting Properties for PDF Output

Setting Properties for PDF Output

The Report Properties page includes a set of properties specific to rendering Flash
templates.
These properties enable you to specify the size and placement of the Flash object when
you select PDF as the output type.

Note: To produce PDF output, you must specify the height and width of the
template in the Flex Builder. See Creating the Layout.

To set properties for the PDF output:

1. Navigate to the report in the catalog. Click Edit to launch the Report Editor.

2. In the Report Editor, click Properties to open the Report Properties dialog.

3. Click the Formatting tab and scroll down to the set of properties under the Flash
heading.

The following illustration shows the Flash heading in the Formatting tab.

4. Enter values for the properties. Note that no properties are required. If you do not
enter any values, the default values assume an 11 inch by 8.5 inch document
(standard landscape), with a quarter inch inset from the upper left corner of the
page as the insertion point of the Flash object. The default area in the document is
the size of the SWF object.

• Page width of wrapper document - specify in points the width of the output
PDF document. The default is 792, or 11 inches.

• Page height of wrapper document - specify in points the height of the output
PDF document. The default is 612, or 8.5 inches.

9-12 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Setting Properties for PDF Output

• Start x position of Flash area in PDF - using the left edge of the document as
the 0 axis point, specify in points the beginning horizontal position of the Flash
object in the PDF document. The default is 18, or .25 inch.

• Start y position of Flash area in PDF - using the upper left corner of the
document as the 0 axis point, specify in points the beginning vertical position of
the Flash object in the PDF document. The default is 18, or .25 inch.

• Width of Flash area - enter in points the width of the area in the document for
the Flash object to occupy. The default is the width of the SWF object.

• Height of Flash area - enter in points the height of the area in the document for
the Flash object to occupy. The default is the height of the SWF object.

Creating Flash Templates 9-13

Setting Properties for PDF Output

9-14 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 10
Setting Report Processing and Output
Document Properties

This chapter describes how to configure report processing and output document
properties in BI Publisher.
This chapter includes the following sections:

• Overview

• PDF Output Properties

• PDF Security Properties

• PDF Digital Signature Properties

• PDF/A Output Properties

• PDF/X Output Properties

• RTF Output Properties

• HTML Output Properties

• FO Processing Properties

• DOCX Output

• RTF Template Properties

• PDF Template Properties

• Flash Template Properties

• CSV Output Properties

• Excel 2007 Output Properties

• All Outputs

• Defining Font Mappings

Overview
The Formatting tab of the Report Properties dialog enables you to set runtime
formatting properties at the report level.
These properties are also set at the system level. If conflicting values are set for a
property at each level, the report level takes precedence.
To set a property at the report level:

Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties 10-1

PDF Output Properties

1. Open the report in the Report Editor. and then

2. Click Properties to display the Report Properties dialog.

3. Click the Formatting tab to display the formatting properties.

For each property, Report Value is updatable and the Server Value is shown for
reference.
The Formatting tab of the Report Properties dialog is shown in the following
illustration.

PDF Output Properties

See the table below which describes the properties available for PDF output.

Property Name Description

Compress PDF output Default: true
Description: Specify "true" or "false" to control compression of
the output PDF file.
Internal Name: pdf-compression

Hide PDF viewer's menu Default: false

bars Description: Specify "true" to hide the viewer application's menu
bar when the document is active. The menu bar option is only
effective when using the Export button, which displays the
output in a standalone Acrobat Reader application outside of the
browser.
Internal Name: pdf-hide-menubar

10-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 PDF Security Properties

Property Name Description

Hide PDF viewer's tool Default: false
bars Description: Specify "true" to hide the viewer application's
toolbar when the document is active.
Internal Name: pdf-hide-toolbar

Replace smart quotes Default: true

Description: Set to "false" if you do not want curly quotes
replaced with straight quotes in the PDF output.
Internal Name: pdf-replace-smartquotes

Use only one shared Default: true

resources object for all Description: The default mode of BI Publisher creates one
pages shared resources object for all pages in a PDF file. This mode has
the advantage of creating an overall smaller file size. However,
the disadvantages are the following:
• Viewing may take longer for a large file with many SVG
objects
• If you choose to break up the file by using Adobe Acrobat to
extract or delete portions, then the edited PDF files are larger
because the single shared resource object (that contains all of
the SVG objects for the entire file) is included with each
extracted portion.
Setting this property to "false" creates a resource object for each
page. The file size is larger, but the PDF viewing is faster and the
PDF can be broken up into smaller files more easily.
Internal Name: pdf-use-one-resources

PDF Navigation Panel Default: Bookmarks Open

Initial View Description: Controls the navigation panel view that is
presented when a user first opens a PDF report. The following
options are supported:
• Panels Collapsed - displays the PDF document with the
navigation panel collapsed.
• Bookmarks Open (default) - displays the bookmark links for
easy navigation.
• Pages Open - displays a clickable thumbnail view of each
page of the PDF.
Internal Name: pdf-pagemode

PDF Security Properties

Use the properties described in the table below to control the security settings for the
output PDF documents.

Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties 10-3

PDF Security Properties

Property Name Description

Enable PDF Security Default: false
Description: If you specify "true," then the output PDF file is
encrypted. You can then also specify the following properties:
• Open document password
• Modify permissions password
• Encryption Level
Internal Name: pdf-security

Open document password Default: N/A

Description: This password is required for opening the
document. It enables users to open the document only. This
property is enabled only when "Enable PDF Security" is set to
"true". Note that BI Publisher follows Adobe's password
restrictions. The password must contain only Latin 1 characters
and must be no more than 32 bytes long.
Internal Name: pdf-open-password

Modify permissions Default: N/A

password Description: This password enables users to override the
security setting. This property is effective only when "Enable
PDF Security" is set to "true". Note that BI Publisher follows the
Adobe's password restrictions. The password must contain only
Latin 1 characters and must be no more than 32 bytes long.
Internal Name: pdf-permissions-password

Encryption level Default: 2 - high

Description: Specify the encryption level for the output PDF file.
The possible values are:
• 0: Low (40-bit RC4, Acrobat 3.0 or later)
• 1: Medium (128-bit RC4, Acrobat 5.0 or later)
• 2: High (128-bit AES, Acrobat 7.0 or later)
This property is effective only when "Enable PDF Security" is set
to "true". When Encryption level is set to 0, you can also set the
following properties:
• Disable printing
• Disable document modification
• Disable context copying, extraction, and accessibility
• Disable adding or changing comments and form fields
When Encryption level is set to 1 or higher, the following
properties are available:
• Enable text access for screen readers
• Enable copying of text, images, and other content
• Allowed change level
• Allowed printing level
Internal Name: pdf-encryption-level

Disable document Default: false

modification Description: Permission available when "Encryption level" is set
to 0. When set to "true", the PDF file cannot be edited.
Internal Name: pdf-no-changing-the-document

10-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 PDF Digital Signature Properties

Property Name Description

Disable printing Default: false
Description: Permission available when "Encryption level" is set
to 0. When set to "true", printing is disabled for the PDF file.
Internal Name: pdf-no-printing

Disable adding or Default: false

changing comments and Description: Permission available when "Encryption level" is set
form fields to 0. When set to "true", the ability to add or change comments
and form fields is disabled.
Internal Name: pdf-no-accff

Disable context copying, Default: false

extraction, and Description: Permission available when "Encryption level" is set
accessibility to 0. When set to "true", the context copying, extraction, and
accessibility features are disabled.
Internal Name: pdf-no-cceda

Enable text access for Default: true

screen readers Description: Permission available when "Encryption level" is set
to 1 or higher. When set to "true", text access for screen reader
devices is enabled.
Internal Name: pdf-enable-accessibility

Enable copying of text, Default: false

images, and other content Description: Permission available when "Encryption level" is set
to 1 or higher. When set to "true", copying of text, images, and
other content is enabled.
Internal Name: pdf-enable-copying

Allowed change level Default: 0

Description: Permission available when "Encryption level" is set
to 1 or higher. Valid Values are:
• 0: none
• 1: Allows inserting, deleting, and rotating pages
• 2: Allows filling in form fields and signing
• 3: Allows commenting, filling in form fields, and signing
• 4: Allows all changes except extracting pages
Internal Name: pdf-changes-allowed

Allowed printing level Default: 0

Description: Permission available when "Encryption level" is set
to 1 or higher. Valid values are:
• 0: None
• 1: Low resolution (150 dpi)
• 2: High resolution
Internal Name: pdf-printing-allowed

PDF Digital Signature Properties

The properties described in the table below should only be set at the report level to
enable digital signature for a report and to define the placement of the signature in the
output PDF document.

Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties 10-5

PDF Digital Signature Properties

For more information on how to enable digital signature for the output PDF
documents, see Implementing a Digital Signature in the Administrator's Guide for
Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

Note:
To implement digital signature for a report based on a PDF layout template or
an RTF layout template, you must set the property Enable Digital Signature
to "True" for the report.

You also must set the appropriate properties to place the digital signature in the
desired location on the output report. The choices for placement of the digital
signature depend on the template type. The choices are as follows:

• (PDF only) Place the digital signature in a specific field by setting the Existing
signature field name property.

• (RTF and PDF) Place the digital signature in a general location of the page (top left,
top center, or top right) by setting the Signature field location property.

• (RTF and PDF) Place the digital signature in a specific location designated by x and
y coordinates by setting the Signature field x coordinate and Signature field y
coordinate properties.
If you choose this option, you can also set Signature field width and Signature
field height to define the size of the field in the document.

Property Name Description

Enable Digital Signature Default: false
Description: Set this to "true" to enable digital signature for the
report.
Internal Name: signature-enable

Existing signature field Default: N/A

name Description: This property applies to PDF layout templates only.
If the report is based on a PDF template, then you can enter a
field from the PDF template in which to place the digital
signature.
For more information on defining a field for the signature in a
PDF template, see Adding or Designating a Field for a Digital
Signature.
Internal Name: signature-field-name

Signature field location Default: N/A

Description: This property can apply to RTF or PDF layout
templates. This property provides a list that contains the
following values: Top Left, Top Center, Top Right. Choose one of
these general locations and BI Publisher inserts the digital
signature to the output document, sized and positioned
appropriately. If you choose to set this property, do not enter X
and Y coordinates or width and height properties.
Internal Name: signature-field-location

10-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 PDF/A Output Properties

Property Name Description

Signature field X Default: 0
coordinate Description: This property can apply to RTF or PDF layout
templates. Using the left edge of the document as the zero point
of the X axis, enter the position in points that you want the
digital signature to be placed from the left. For example, if you
want the digital signature to be placed horizontally in the middle
of an 8.5 inch by 11 inch document (that is, 612 points in width
and 792 points in height), enter 306.
Internal Name: signature-field-pos-x

Signature field Y Default: 0

coordinate Description: This property can apply to RTF or PDF layout
templates. Using the bottom edge of the document as the zero
point of the Y axis, enter the position in points that you want the
digital signature to be placed from the bottom. For example, if
you want the digital signature to be placed vertically in the
middle of an 8.5 inch by 11 inch document (that is, 612 points in
width and 792 points in height), enter 396.
Internal Name: signature-field-pos-y

Signature field width Default: 0

Description: Enter in points (72 points equal one inch) the
desired width of the inserted digital signature field. This applies
only if you are also setting the properties Signature field x
coordinate and Signature field Y coordinate.
Internal Name: signature-field-width

Signature field height Default: 0

Description: Enter in points (72 points equal one inch) the
desired height of the inserted digital signature field. This applies
only if you are also setting the properties Signature field x
coordinate and Signature field Y coordinate.
Internal Name: signature-field-height

PDF/A Output Properties

Set properties to configure PDF/A output.
PDF/A output properties are described in the table below. For more information on
PDF/A output see Generating PDF/A Output.

Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties 10-7

PDF/X Output Properties

Property Name Description

PDF/A ICC Profile Data Default: Default profile data provided by JVM
Description: The name of the ICC profile data file, for example:
CoatedFOGRA27.icc
The ICC (International Color Consortium) profile is a binary file
describing the color characteristics of the environment where
this PDF/A file is intended to be displayed. (For more
information, see the article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
ICC_profile).
The ICC profile that you select must have a major version below
4.
To use a specific profile data file other than the default settings
in the JVM, obtain the file and place it under <bi publisher
repository>/Admin/Configuration. When you set this
property, you must also set a value for PDF/A ICC Profile Info
(pdfa-icc-profile-info).
Internal Name: pdfa-icc-profile-data

PDF/A ICC Profile Info Default: sRGB IEC61966-2.1

Description: ICC profile information (required when pdfa-icc-
profile-data is specified)
Internal Name: pdfa-icc-profile-info

PDF/A file identifier Default: Automatically generated file identifier

Description: One or more valid file identifiers set in the
xmpMM:Identifier field of the metadata dictionary. To specify
more than one identifier, separate values with a comma (,).
Internal Name: pdfa-file-identifier

PDF/A document ID Default: None

Description: Valid document ID. The value is set in the
xmpMM:DocumentID field of the metadata dictionary.
Internal Name: pdfa-document-id

PDF/A version ID Default: None

Description: Valid version ID. The value is set in the
xmpMM:VersionID field of the metadata dictionary.
Internal Name: pdfa-version-id

PDF/A rendition class Default: None

Description: Valid rendition class. The value is set in the
xmpMM:RenditionClass field of the metadata dictionary.
Internal Name: pdfa-rendition-class

PDF/X Output Properties

Set properties to configure PDF/X output.
PDF/X output properties are described in the table below. The values that you set for
these properties will depend on the printing device. Note the following restrictions on
other PDF properties:

• pdf-version - value above 1.4 is not allowed for PDF/X-1a output

10-8 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 PDF/X Output Properties

• pdf-security - must be set to False

• pdf-encryption-level - must be set to 0

• pdf-font-embedding - must be set to true

For more information on PDF/X output see Generating PDF/X output.

Property Name Description

PDF/X ICC Profile Data Default: None
Description: (Required) The name of the ICC profile data file,
for example: CoatedFOGRA27.icc.
The ICC (International Color Consortium) profile is a binary file
describing the color characteristics of the intended output
device. (For more information, see the article at http://
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICC_profile). For production
environments, the color profile may be provided by your print
vendor or by the printing company that prints the generated
PDF/X file. The file must be placed under <bi publisher
repository>/Admin/Configuration.
Profile data is also available from Adobe (http://
www.adobe.com/support) or colormanagement.org (http://
www.colormanagement.org/).
Internal Name: pdfx-dest-output-profile-data

PDF/X output condition Default: None

identifier Description: (Required) The name of one of the standard
printing conditions registered with ICC (International Color
Consortium). The list of standard CMYK printing conditions to
use with PDF/X-1a is provided on the following ICC website:
http://www.color.org/chardata/drsection1.xalter. The value
that you enter for this property is a valid "Reference name," for
example: FOGRA43.
Choose the appropriate value for the intended printing
environment. This name is often used to guide automatic
processing of the file by the consumer of the PDF/X document,
or to inform the default settings in interactive applications.
Internal Name: pdfx-output-condition-identifier

PDF/X output condition Default: None

Description: A string describing the intended printing
condition in a form that will be meaningful to a human
operator at the site receiving the exchanged file. The value is set
in OutputCondition field of OutputIntents dictionary.
Internal Name: pdfx-output-condition

PDF/X registry name Default: http://www.color.org

Description: A registry name. Set this property when the
pdfx-output-condition-identifier is set to a
characterization name that is registered in a registry other than
the ICC registry.
Internal Name: pdfx-registry-name

Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties 10-9

RTF Output Properties

Property Name Description

PDF/X version Default: PDF/X-1a:2003
Description: The PDF/X version set in GTS_PDFXVersion and
GTS_PDFXConformance fields of Info dictionary. PDF/X-1a:
2003 is the only value currently supported.
Internal Name: pdfx-version

RTF Output Properties

You can configure RTF output with a number of predetermined properties.
Set the properties described in #unique_628/unique_628_Connect_42_BACHBGIG to
configure RTF output.

Property Name Description

Enable change tracking Default: false
Description: Set to "true" to enable change tracking in the output
RTF document.
Internal Name: rtf-track-changes

Protect document for Default: false

tracked changes Description: Set to "true" to protect the document for tracked
changes.
Internal Name: rtf-protect-document-for-tracked-
changes

Default font Default: Arial:12

Description: Use this property to define the font style and size in
RTF output when no other font has been defined. This is
particularly useful to control the sizing of empty table cells in
generated reports. Enter the font name and size in the following
format <FontName>:<size> for example: Arial:12. Note that the
font you choose must be available to the BI Publisher processing
engine at runtime. See Defining Font Mappings for information
on installing fonts for the BI Publisher server and also for the list
of fonts predefined for BI Publisher.
Internal Name: rtf-output-default-font

HTML Output Properties

The properties described in this table can be set to govern HTML output files.

Property Name Description

Show header Default: true
Description: Set to "false" to suppress the template header in
HTML output.
Internal Name: html-show-header

10-10 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 FO Processing Properties

Property Name Description

Show footer Default: true
Description: Set to false to suppress the template footer in
HTML output.
Internal Name: html-show-footer

Replace smart quotes Default: true

Description: Set to false if you do not want curly quotes
replaced with straight quotes in the HTML output.
Internal Name: html-replace-smartquotes

Character set Default: UTF-8

Description: Specifies the output HTML character set.
Internal Name: html-output-charset

Make HTML output Default: false

accessible Description: Specify true if you want to make the HTML output
accessible.
Internal Name: make-accessible

Use percentage width for Default: true

table columns Description: Set this property to true to render table columns
according to a percentage value of the total width of the table
rather than as a value in points. This property is especially
useful if the browser renders tables with extremely wide
columns. Setting this property to true improves the readability
of the tables.
Internal Name: html-output-width-in-percentage

View Paginated Default: false

Description: When set to true, HTML output will render in the
report viewer with pagination features. These features include:
• Generated table of contents
• Navigation links at the top and bottom of the page
• Ability to skip to a specific page within the HTML document
• Search for strings within the HTML document using the
browser's search capability
• Zoom in and out on the HTML document using the
browser's zoom capability

Note: These features are supported

for online viewing through the
report viewer only.

FO Processing Properties
The properties described in this table can be set to govern FO processing.

Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties 10-11

FO Processing Properties

Property Name Description

Use BI Publisher's XSLT Default: true
processor Description: Controls BI Publisher's parser usage. If set to
false, then XSLT is not parsed.
Internal Name: xslt-xdoparser

Enable scalable feature of XSLT Default: false

processor Description: Controls the scalable feature of the XDO
parser. The property "Use BI Publisher's XSLT processor"
must be set to true for this property to be effective.
Internal Name: xslt-scalable

Enable XSLT runtime Default: true

optimization Description: When set to true, the overall performance of
the FO processor is increased and the size of the temporary
FO files generated in the temp directory is significantly
decreased. Note that for small reports (for example 1-2
pages) the increase in performance is not as marked. To
further enhance performance when you set this property
to true, it is recommended that you set the property
Extract attribute sets to false. See RTF Template Properties.
Internal Name: xslt-runtime-optimization

Enable XPath Optimization Default: false

Description: When set to true, the XML data file is
analyzed for element frequency. The information is then
used to optimize XPath in XSL.
Internal Name: xslt-xpath-optimization

Pages cached during processing Default: 50

Description: This property is enabled only when you have
specified a Temporary Directory (under General
properties). During table of contents generation, the FO
Processor caches the pages until the number of pages
exceeds the value specified for this property. It then writes
the pages to a file in the Temporary Directory.
Internal Name: system-cache-page-size

Bidi language digit substitution Default: National

type Description: Valid values are None and National. When set
to None, Eastern European numbers are used. When set to
National, Hindi format (Arabic-Indic digits) is used. This
setting is effective only when the locale is Arabic,
otherwise it is ignored.
Internal Name: digit-substitution

Disable variable header support Default: false

Description: If true, prevents variable header support.
Variable header support automatically extends the size of
the header to accommodate the contents.
Internal Name: fo-prevent-variable-header

10-12 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 FO Processing Properties

Property Name Description

Add prefix to IDs when Default: false
merging FO Description: When merging multiple XSL-FO inputs, the
FO Processor automatically adds random prefixes to
resolve conflicting IDs. Setting this property to true
disables this feature.
Internal Name: fo-merge-conflict-resolution

Enable multithreading Default: false

Description: If you have a multiprocessor machine or a
machine with a dual-core single processor, you may be
able to achieve faster document generation by setting this
option to True.
Internal Name: fo-multi-threads

Disable external references Default: true

Description: A true setting (default) disallows the
importing of secondary files such as subtemplates or other
XML documents during XSL processing and XML parsing.
This increases the security of the system. Set this to false if
the report or template calls external files.
Internal Name: xdk-secure-io-mode

FO Parsing Buffer Size Default: 1000000

Description: Sets the size of the buffer for the FO
Processor. When the buffer is full, the elements from the
buffer are rendered in the report. Reports with large tables
or pivot tables that require complex formatting and
calculations may require a larger buffer to properly render
those objects in the report. Increase the size of the buffer at
the report level for these reports. Note that increasing this
value affects the memory consumption of the system.
Internal Name: fo-chunk-size

Enable XSLT runtime Default: true

optimization for sub-template

Note: The default is true on

the BI Publisher server. If you
call the FOProcessor directly,
the default is false.

Description: Provides an option to perform XSL import in

FOProcessor before passing only one XSL to XDK for
further processing. This allows xslt-optimization to be
applied to the entire main XSL template which already
includes all its subtemplates.
Internal Name: xslt-do-import

Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties 10-13

DOCX Output

Property Name Description

Enable PPTX native chart Default: false
support Description: This property applies to PowerPoint 2007
output. When set to true, charts in PowerPoint 2007 output
are rendered as native PowerPoint (PPTX) charts. When
set to false, the chart is rendered as an embedded PNG
image.
Internal Name: pptx-native-chart

Report Timezone Default: User

Description: Valid values: User or JVM.
When set to User, BI Publisher uses the User-level Report
Time Zone setting for reports. The User Report Time Zone
is set in the user's Account Settings.
When set to JVM, BI Publisher uses the server JVM
timezone setting for all users' reports. All reports therefore
display the same time regardless of individual user
settings. This setting can be overridden at the report level.
Internal Name: fo-report-timezone

DOCX Output
The properties described in this table can be set to configure Microsoft Word output.

Property Name Description

Enable change tracking Default: False
Description: Set this property to True to enable change
tracking in the Microsoft Word document that is generated
by BI Publisher.

Protect document for tracked Default: False

changes Description: Set this property to True protect the document
from any changes besides tracked changes. All edits are
tracked and no other user can accept tracked changes to alter
the original document.

Default font Default: Arial:12

Description: When the font used in the template is available
in Microsoft Word, the template font is used. If the font used
in the template is unavailable in Microsoft Word, the default
font specified here is used. Enter the default font as follows:
fontname:fontsize
Example: Courier:10

RTF Template Properties

You configure RTF templates with a number of settings.
The properties described in the following table can be set to govern RTF templates.

10-14 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 PDF Template Properties

Property Name Description

Extract attribute sets Default: Auto
Description: The RTF processor automatically extracts attribute
sets within the generated XSL-FO. The extracted sets are placed
in an extra FO block, which can be referenced. This improves
processing performance and reduces file size. Valid values are:
• Enable - extract attribute sets for all templates and
subtemplates
• Auto - extract attribute sets for templates, but not
subtemplates
• Disable - do not extract attribute sets
Internal Name: rtf-extract-attribute-sets

Enable XPath rewriting Default: true

Description: When converting an RTF template to XSL-FO, the
RTF processor automatically rewrites the XML tag names to
represent the full XPath notations. Set this property to "false" to
disable this feature.
Internal Name: rtf-rewrite-path

Characters used for Default: Albany WT J;9746;9747/A

checkbox Description: The BI Publisher default PDF output font does not
include a glyph to represent a checkbox. If the template contains
a checkbox, use this property to define a Unicode font for the
representation of checkboxes in the PDF output. You must define
the Unicode font number for the "checked" state and the Unicode
font number for the "unchecked" state using the following
syntax: fontname;<unicode font number for true
value's glyph >;<unicode font number for false
value's glyph>
Example: Albany WT J;9746;9747/A Note that the font that you
specify must be made available to BI Publisher at runtime.
Internal Name: rtf-checkbox-glyph

PDF Template Properties

The properties described in the table below can be set to govern PDF templates.

Property Name Description

Remove PDF fields Default: false
from output Description: Specify "true" to remove PDF fields from the output.
When PDF fields are removed, data entered in the fields cannot be
extracted.
For repeating fields, the value of this property is set to true by default
and cannot be changed to false.
See Setting Fields as Updatable or Read Only.
Internal Name: remove-pdf-fields

Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties 10-15

Flash Template Properties

Property Name Description

Set all fields as read Default: true
only in output Description: By default, BI Publisher sets all fields in the output PDF
of a PDF template to be read only. If you want to set all fields to be
updatable, set this property to "false".
For more information, see Setting Fields as Updatable or Read Only.
Internal Name: all-field-readonly

Maintain each Default: false

field's read only Description: Set this property to "true" if you want to maintain the
setting "Read Only" setting of each field as defined in the PDF template. This
property overrides the settings of "Set all fields as read only in output."
For more information, see Setting Fields as Updatable or Read Only.
Internal Name: all-fields-readonly-asis

Flash Template Properties

The properties described in this table can be set to govern Flash templates.

Property Name Description

Page width of wrapper Default: 792
document Description: Specify in points the width of the output PDF
document. The default is 792, or 11 inches.
Internal Name: flash-page-width

Page height of wrapper Default: 612

document Description: Specify in points the height of the output PDF
document. The default is 612, or 8.5 inches.
Internal Name: flash-page-height

Start x position of Flash area in Default: 18

PDF Description: Using the left edge of the document as the 0
axis point, specify in points the beginning horizontal
position of the Flash object in the PDF document. The
default is 18, or .25 inch.
Internal Name: flash-startx

Start y position of Flash area in Default: 18

PDF Description: Using the upper left corner of the document
as the 0 axis point, specify in points the beginning vertical
position of the Flash object in the PDF document. The
default is 18, or .25 inch.
Internal Name: flash-starty

Width of Flash area Default: Same as flash width in points in swf

Description: Enter in points the width of the area in the
document for the Flash object to occupy. The default is the
width of the SWF object.
Internal Name: flash-width

10-16 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 CSV Output Properties

Property Name Description

Height of Flash area Default: Same as flash height in points in swf
Description: Enter in points the height of the area in the
document for the Flash object to occupy. The default is the
height of the SWF object.
Internal Name: flash-height

CSV Output Properties

Use the properties described in this table to control comma-separated value output.

Property Name Description

CSV delimiter Default: ,
Description: Specifies the character used to delimit the data in comma-
separated value output. Other options are: Semicolon (;), Tab (\t) and
Pipe (|).

Remove leading and Default: false

trailing white space Description: Specify "True" to remove leading and trailing white space
between data elements and the delimiter.

Excel 2007 Output Properties

Use the properties described in this table to control Excel 2007 output.

Property Name Description

Show grid lines Default: false
Description: Set to true to show the Excel table grid lines in the report
output.

Page break as a new Default: true

sheet Description: When set to True a page break that is specified in the
report template generates a new sheet in the Excel workbook.

Minimum column Default: 3 (in points, 0.04 inch)

width Description: When the column width is less than the specified
minimum and it contains no data, the column is merged with the
preceding column. The value must be set in points. The valid range for
this property is 0.5 to 20 points.

Minimum row Default: 1 (in points, 0.01 inch)

height Description: When the row height is less than the specified minimum
and it contains no data, the row is removed. The value must be set in
points. The valid range for this property is .001 to 5 points.

Keep values in same Default: False

column Description: Set this property to True to minimize column merging.
Column width is set based on column contents using the values
supplied in the Table Auto Layout property. Output may not appear
as neatly laid out as when using the original layout algorithm.

Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties 10-17

All Outputs

Property Name Description

Table Auto Layout Default: N/A
Valid Values: Specify a conversion ratio in points and a maximum
length in points, for example 6.5,150. See example.
Description: For this property to take effect, the property "Keep values
in same column" must be set to True.
This property expands the table column width to fit the contents. The
column width is expanded based on the character count and
conversion ratio up to the maximum specification.
Example: Assume a report with two columns of Excel data -- Column
1 contains a text string that is 18 characters and Column 2 is 30
characters long. When the value of this property is set to 6.5,150, the
following calculations are performed:
Column 1 is 18 characters:
Apply the calculation: 18 * 6.5pts = 117 pts
The column in the Excel output will be 117 pts wide.
Column 2 is 30 characters:
Apply the calculation: 30 * 6.5 pts = 195 pts
Because 195 pts is greater than the specified maximum of 150, Column
2 will be 150 pts wide in the Excel output.

Maximum allowable Default: 20,000

nested table row Description: Specify the maximum allowable row count for a nested
count table. Allowed values are 15000 to 999,999.
During report processing, nested inner table rows cannot be flushed to
the XLSX writer, therefore they stay in-memory, increasing memory
consumption. Set this limit to avoid out-of-memory exceptions. When
this limit is reached for the size of the inner table, generation is
terminated. The incomplete XLSX output file is returned.

All Outputs
The table lists properties applicable to all outputs.
The properties in the following table apply to all outputs:

Property Name Description

Hide version number in Default: false
output Description: Some report output documents display Oracle BI
Publisher in the document properties. For example, PDF
documents identify Oracle BI Publisher as the PDF Producer in
the properties for the document. If you do not want to include
the version of BI Publisher that generated the document (for
example, Oracle BI Publisher 11.1.1.4.0), then set this property to
true.

Use 11.1.1.5 compatibility Reserved. Do not update unless instructed by Oracle.

mode

Defining Font Mappings

BI Publisher's Font Mapping feature enables you to map base fonts in RTF or PDF
templates to target fonts to be used in the published document. Font Mappings can be

10-18 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Defining Font Mappings

specified at the site or report level. Font mapping is performed only for PDF
PowerPoint output.
There are two types of font mappings:

• RTF Templates - for mapping fonts from RTF templates and XSL-FO templates to
PDF and PowerPoint output fonts

• PDF Templates - for mapping fonts from PDF templates to different PDF output
fonts.

Making Fonts Available to BI Publisher

BI Publisher provides a set of Type1 fonts and a set of TrueType fonts.
You can select any of the fonts in these sets as a target font with no additional setup
required. For a list of the predefined fonts, see BI Publisher's Predefined Fonts.
The predefined fonts are located in the Oracle Business Intelligence Oracle home, in:
<OBI_HOME>/common/fonts. If you want to map to another font, then you must
place the font in this directory to make it available to BI Publisher at runtime. If the
environment is clustered, then you must place the font on every server.

Setting Font Mapping at the Site Level or Report Level

A font mapping can be defined at the site level or the report level.
Use the following settings to set the font mapping:

• To set a mapping at the site level, select the Font Mappings link from the Admin
page.

• To set a mapping at the report level, select the Configuration link for the report,
then select the Font Mappings tab. These settings apply to the selected report only.
The report-level settings take precedence over the site-level settings.

Creating a Font Mapping

From the Admin page, under Runtime Configuration, select Font Mappings.

To create a Font Mapping:

1. Under RTF Templates or PDF Templates, select Add Font Mapping.

2. Enter the following on the Add Font Mapping page:

• Base Font - enter the font family that is mapped to a new font. Example: Arial

• Select the Style: Normal or Italic (Not applicable to PDF Template font
mappings)

• Select the Weight: Normal or Bold (Not applicable to PDF Template font
mappings)

• Select the Target Font Type: Type 1 or TrueType

• Enter the Target Font

Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties 10-19

Defining Font Mappings

If you selected TrueType, then you can enter a specific numbered font in the
collection. Enter the TrueType Collection (TTC) Number of the desired
font.
For a list of the predefined fonts, see BI Publisher's Predefined Fonts.

BI Publisher's Predefined Fonts

These Type1 fonts are built-in to Adobe Acrobat and BI Publisher provides a mapping
for these fonts by default. You can select any of these fonts as a target font with no
additional setup required.
The Type1 fonts are listed in the following table:

Number Font Family Style Weight Font Name

1 serif normal normal Time-Roman

1 serif normal bold Times-Bold

1 serif italic normal Times-Italic

1 serif italic bold Times-BoldItalic

2 sans-serif normal normal Helvetica

2 sans-serif normal bold Helvetica-Bold

2 sans-serif italic normal Helvetica-Oblique

2 sans-serif italic bold Helvetica-BoldOblique

3 monospace normal normal Courier

3 monospace normal bold Courier-Bold

3 monospace italic normal Courier-Oblique

3 monospace italic bold Courier-BoldOblique

4 Courier normal normal Courier

4 Courier normal bold Courier-Bold

4 Courier italic normal Courier-Oblique

4 Courier italic bold Courier-BoldOblique

5 Helvetica normal normal Helvetica

5 Helvetica normal bold Helvetica-Bold

5 Helvetica italic normal Helvetica-Oblique

5 Helvetica italic bold Helvetica-BoldOblique

6 Times normal normal Times

6 Times normal bold Times-Bold

10-20 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Defining Font Mappings

Number Font Family Style Weight Font Name

6 Times italic normal Times-Italic

6 Times italic bold Times-BoldItalic

7 Symbol normal normal Symbol

8 ZapfDingbats normal normal ZapfDingbats

The TrueType fonts are listed in the following table. All TrueType fonts are embedded
into the PDF.

Number Font Family Style Weight Actual Font Actual Font Type
Name
1 Albany WT normal normal ALBANYWT.tt TrueType (Latin1 only)
f

2 Albany WT J normal normal ALBANWTJ.ttf TrueType (Japanese flavor)

3 Albany WT K normal normal ALBANWTK.tt TrueType (Korean flavor)

f

4 Albany WT SC normal normal ALBANWTS.ttf TrueType (Simplified

Chinese flavor)

5 Albany WT TC normal normal ALBANWTT.ttf TrueType (Traditional

Chinese flavor)

6 Andale normal normal ADUO.ttf TrueType (Latin1 only,

Duospace WT Fixed width)

6 Andale bold bold ADUOB.ttf TrueType (Latin1 only,

Duospace WT Fixed width)

7 Andale normal normal ADUOJ.ttf TrueType (Japanese flavor,

Duospace WT J Fixed width)

7 Andale bold bold ADUOJB.ttf TrueType (Japanese flavor,

Duospace WT J Fixed width)

8 Andale normal normal ADUOK.ttf TrueType (Korean flavor,

Duospace WT Fixed width)
K

8 Andale bold bold ADUOKB.ttf TrueType (Korean flavor,

Duospace WT Fixed width)
K

9 Andale normal normal ADUOSC.ttf TrueType (Simplified

Duospace WT Chinese flavor, Fixed
SC width)

9 Andale bold bold ADUOSCB.ttf TrueType (Simplified

Duospace WT Chinese flavor, Fixed
SC width)

Setting Report Processing and Output Document Properties 10-21

Defining Font Mappings

Number Font Family Style Weight Actual Font Actual Font Type
Name
10 Andale normal normal ADUOTC.ttf TrueType (Traditional
Duospace WT Chinese flavor, Fixed
TC width)

10 Andale bold bold ADUOTCB.ttf TrueType (Traditional

Duospace WT Chinese flavor, Fixed
TC width)

Included Barcode Fonts

The table lists the barcode fonts, which BI Publisher also includes.

Font File Supported Algorithm

128R00.TTF code128a, code128b, and code128c

B39R00.TTF code39, code39mod43

UPCR00.TTF upca, upce

For information on using barcode fonts in an RTF template, see Using the Barcode
Fonts Shipped with BI Publisher.

10-22 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Part II
Creating Style Templates and Subtemplates

This part describes how to create and implement style templates and subtemplates.
It includes the following chapters:

• Creating and Implementing Style Templates

• Understanding Subtemplates

• Designing RTF Subtemplates

• Designing XSL Subtemplates

 11
Creating and Implementing Style Templates

A style template is an RTF template that contains style information that can be applied
to other RTF layouts to achieve a consistent look and feel across your enterprise
reports.
This chapter describes how to create and implement style templates. It includes the
following sections:

• Understanding Style Templates

• Creating a Style Template RTF File

• Uploading a Style Template File to the Catalog

• Assigning a Style Template to a Report Layout

• Updating a Style Template

• Adding Translations to a Style Template Definition

Understanding Style Templates

A style template is an RTF template that contains style information that can be applied
to RTF layouts.
The style information in the style template is applied to RTF layouts at runtime to
achieve a consistent look and feel across your enterprise reports. You associate a style
template to a report layout in the report definition. Using a style template has the
following benefits:

• Enables the same look and feel across your enterprise reports

• Enables same header and footer content, such as company logos, headings, and
page numbering

• Simplifies changing the elements and styles across all reports

About Styles Defined in the Style Template

Use style template to define paragraph and heading styles, table styles, and header
and footer content.
The styles of the following elements can be defined in the style template:

• Paragraph and Heading Styles

You can create a paragraph style in a style template. When this same named style is
used in a report layout, the report layout inherits the following from the style
template definition: font family, font size, font weight (normal, bold), font style

Creating and Implementing Style Templates 11-1

Creating a Style Template RTF File

(normal, italic), font color, and text decoration (underline, overline, or strike
through).

• Table Styles
Following are some of the style elements inherited from the table style definition:
font style, border style, gridline definition, shading, and text alignment.

• Header and Footer Content

The header and footer regions of the style template are applied to the report layout.
This includes images, dates, page numbers, and any other text-based content. If the
report layout also includes header and footer content, then it is overwritten.

Style Template Process

Following this process for creating style templates helps ensure consistency across
documents.
Design Time
For the Style Template:

1. Open Microsoft Word.

2. Define named styles for paragraphs, tables, headings, and static header and footer
content. This is the style template.

3. Save this document as a .rtf file.

4. To ensure that you do not lose custom styles in Microsoft Word, also save the
document as a Word Template file (.dot) or save the styles to the Normal.dot file.
This file can be shared with other report designers.

5. Upload the RTF style template file to the catalog.

For the layout template using the style template:

1. In the RTF template, use the same named styles for paragraph and table elements
that you want to be inherited from the style template.

2. Open the report in BI Publisher's Report Editor and select the style template to
associate to the report. Then enable the style template for the specific report layout.

Runtime
When you run the report with the selected layout, BI Publisher applies the styles,
header, and footer from the style template.

Creating a Style Template RTF File

These sections describe how to define the style types in the Microsoft Word document.
For more complete information see the Microsoft Word documentation.

Defining Styles for Paragraphs and Headings

Use a paragraph style to define formatting such as font type, size, color, text
positioning and spacing. A paragraph style can be applied to one or more paragraphs.
Use a paragraph style to format headings and titles in the report as well.

To define a paragraph style type:

11-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Creating a Style Template RTF File

1. In the Microsoft Word document, from the Format menu, select Styles and
Formatting.

2. From the Styles and Formatting task pane, select New Style.

3. In the New Styledialog, enter a name for the style. Choose style type: Paragraph.
Format the style using the options presented in the dialog. To see additional
paragraph options (such as font color and text effects), click Format.

4. When finished, click OK and the new style is displayed in the list of available
formats in the Styles and Formatting task pane.

5. Choose the new style and make an entry in the style template to display the style.

To apply the paragraph style type in the document:

1. Position the cursor within the paragraph (or text) to which you want to apply the
style.

2. Select the style from the list of available formats in the Styles and Formatting task
pane. The style is applied to the paragraph.

To modify an existing style type:

1. In the Microsoft Word document, from the Format menu, select Styles and
Formatting.

2. From the Styles and Formatting task pane, select and right-click the style to
modify.

3. From the menu, select Modify.

Defining Styles for Tables

Follow these steps to define styles for tables.

To define a table style type:

1. In the Microsoft Word document, from the Format menu, select Styles and
Formatting.

2. From the Styles and Formatting task pane, select New Style.

3. In the New Style dialog, enter a name for the style. Choose style type: Table.
Format the style using the options presented in the dialog. To see additional table
options (such as Table Properties and Borders and Shading), click Format.

4. When finished, click OK and the new style is displayed in the list of available
formats in the Styles and Formatting task pane.

5. Choose the new style and make an entry in the style template to display the style.

To apply the table style type in the document:

1. Position the cursor within the table to which you want to apply the style.

2. Select the table style from list of available formats in the Styles and Formatting
task pane. The style is applied to the table.

Creating and Implementing Style Templates 11-3

Uploading a Style Template File to the Catalog

Defining a Header and Footer

You can define a header and footer in the style template. The contents and sizing of
the header and footer in the style template are applied to the report layouts.

Note:
If a header and footer have been defined in the report layout, then they are
overwritten. The header and footer from the style template are applied.

To define a header and footer:

1. In the Microsoft Word document, from the View menu, select Header and Footer.

2. Enter header and footer content. This can include a logo or image file, static text,
current date and time stamps, page numbers, or other content supported by
Microsoft Word.

Uploading a Style Template File to the Catalog

You can place a style template in any folder in the catalog to which you have access.
Your organization may have a designated folder for style templates.
To upload a style template file:

1. On the global header click New and then click Style Template. This launches an
untitled Style Template properties page.

2. From the Templates region, click the Upload toolbar button.

3. In the Upload Template File dialog, click Browse to select the Template File. Select
rtf as the Type, and select the appropriate Locale.

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 Assigning a Style Template to a Report Layout

The style template file is displayed in the Templates region as the locale name that
you selected (for example: English-United States).

4. Click Save.

5. In the Save As dialog choose the catalog folder in which to save the style template.
Enter the Name and click Save.

Note: You may only upload one RTF file per locale to a Style Template
definition. If you upload additional template files to this Style Template, each
file is automatically named as the locale regardless of the name that you give
the file before upload.

6. If you are uploading multiple localized files, then select the file that is to be used as
the default. For more information on localization of template files see Adding
Translations to a Style Template Definition.

Assigning a Style Template to a Report Layout

Follow these steps to assign a style template to a report layout.

To assign a style template to a report layout:

1. Navigate to the report in the catalog and click Edit to open the report editor.

2. From the default thumbnail view, select View a List. In the Layout region, click the
Choose icon to search for and select the style template from the BI Publisher
catalog.

Creating and Implementing Style Templates 11-5

Updating a Style Template

3. For the layout templates that you want to use the style template, select the Apply
Style Template box for the template. Note that the box is only enabled for RTF
templates.

The following figure highlights the actions required to enable a style template in the
Report Editor.

Updating a Style Template

You can alter a style template after it has been saved.
To update or edit a saved style template:

1. Navigate to the file in the catalog.

2. Click Edit to open the Style Template properties page.

3. Delete the existing file.

4. Upload the edited file, choosing the same locale.

Adding Translations to a Style Template Definition

Style templates offer the same support for translations as RTF template files.
You can upload multiple translated RTF files under a single Style Template definition
and assign the appropriate locale.
Or you can generate an XLIFF (.xlf) file of the translatable strings, translate the strings,
and upload the translated file. These are displayed in the Translations region, as
shown in the following figure:

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 Adding Translations to a Style Template Definition

At runtime, the appropriate style template is applied based on the user's account
Preference setting for Report Locale for reports viewed online; or, for scheduled
reports, based on the user's selection for Report Locale for the scheduled report.
The XLIFF files for style templates can be generated individually, then translated, and
uploaded individually. Or, if you perform a catalog translation that includes the style
template folders, the strings from the style template files are extracted and included in
the larger catalog translation file. When the catalog translation file is uploaded to BI
Publisher, the appropriate translations from the catalog file are displayed in the
Translations region of the Style Template definition.
For more information on translations, see Translation Support Overview and
Concepts.

Creating and Implementing Style Templates 11-7

Adding Translations to a Style Template Definition

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 12
Understanding Subtemplates

A subtemplate is a piece of formatting functionality that can be defined once and used
multiple times within a single layout template or across multiple layout template files.
This chapter describes concepts for using subtemplates in BI Publisher.
This chapter includes the following sections:

• What is a Subtemplate?

• Supported Locations for Subtemplates

• Testing Subtemplates from the Desktop

• Uploading a Sub Template

• Calling a Subtemplate from an External Source

For information on designing an RTF subtemplate, see Designing RTF Subtemplates.
For information on designing an XSL subtemplate, see Designing XSL Subtemplates.

What is a Subtemplate?
A subtemplate is a piece of formatting functionality that can be defined once and used
multiple times within a single layout template or across multiple layout template files.
This piece of formatting can be in an RTF file format or an XSL file format. RTF
subtemplates are easy to design as you can use Microsoft Word native features. XSL
subtemplates can be used for complex layout and data requirements.
Some common uses for subtemplates include:

• Reusing a common layout or component (such as a header, footer, or address

block)

• Handling parameterized layouts

• Handling dynamic or conditional layouts

• Handling lengthy calculations or reusing formulae

About RTF Subtemplates

An RTF subtemplate is an RTF file that consists of one or more <?template:?>
definitions, each containing a block of formatting or commands.
This RTF file, when uploaded to BI Publisher as a subtemplate object in the Catalog,
can be called from within another RTF Template.

Understanding Subtemplates 12-1

Supported Locations for Subtemplates

About XSL Subtemplates

An XSL subtemplate is an XSL file that contains formatting or processing commands
in XSL for the BI Publisher formatting engine to execute. Use an XSL template to
include complex calculations or formatting instructions not supported by the RTF
standard.
This XSL file, when uploaded to BI Publisher as a Subtemplate object in the Catalog,
can be called from within an RTF Template.

Supported Locations for Subtemplates

It is recommended that you upload subtemplates to the BI Publisher catalog.
The catalog is the most secure location.
For compatibility with older versions of BI Publisher, it is also possible to call a
subtemplate that resides in a file on the local server, or on a different server (that can
be accessed by HTTP protocol). Using one of these methods requires specific import
syntax and server settings to allow the communication. See Calling a Subtemplate
from an External Source for more information.

Testing Subtemplates from the Desktop

If you have the BI Publisher Template Builder installed, you can preview the template
and subtemplate combination before uploading them to the BI Publisher catalog.
To test from your local environment, you must alter the import template syntax to
enable the BI Publisher processor to locate the subtemplate file on a local directory. To
test, enter the import template syntax as follows:
<?import:file:{local_template_path}?>

For example:
<?import:file:C:///Template_Directory/subtemplate_file.rtf?>

or for an XSL subtemplate file:

<?import:file:C:///Template_Directory/subtemplate_file.xsl?>

You can then select the Preview option in the Template Builder and the BI Publisher
processor can locate the subtemplate and render it from your local environment.
Note that before you upload the primary template to the BI Publisher catalog, you
must change the import syntax to point to the appropriate location in the catalog.

Uploading a Sub Template

You can upload one or more sub templates for use with BI Publisher.
To upload a subtemplate file:

1. On the global header click New and then click Sub Template. This launches an
untitled Sub Template page.

2. In the Templates region, click Upload.

3. In the Upload Template File dialog, select the subtemplate file for upload.

• Type: Select rtf for RTF subtemplate files or xsl for XSL subtemplate files.

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 Uploading a Sub Template

• Locale: Select the appropriate locale for the subtemplate file.

4. Click Upload.

The subtemplate file is displayed in the Templates region as the locale name that
you selected (for example: English).

5. Click Save. In the Save As dialog choose the catalog folder in which to save the Sub
Template. Enter the Name and click Save. The following illustration shows a Sub
Template named "My Subtemplate".

6. (RTF Sub Templates only) If you are uploading multiple localized files, then select
the file that is to be used as the default. For more information on localization of
template files, see Adding Translations to an RTF Subtemplate.

Note:
You may upload only one RTF file per locale to a Sub Template definition. If
you upload additional template files to this Sub Template, each file is
automatically named as the locale regardless of the name that you give the file
before upload.

Understanding Subtemplates 12-3

Calling a Subtemplate from an External Source

Note:

Translations are not supported for XSL Sub Templates.

Note that the Sub Template object is saved with the extension ".xsb". You use the
Name that you choose here with the .xsb extension when you import the Sub
Template object (for example: MySubtemplate.xsb).

Calling a Subtemplate from an External Source

This section describes how to call a subtemplate that resides outside the catalog.

Note:

These instructions are provided for backward compatibility only. It is

recommended that you place subtemplates in the catalog.

Note that localization is not supported for subtemplates that are maintained outside
the catalog.

Importing a Subtemplate Outside the Catalog over HTTP or FTP

Use a standard protocol, such as http or ftp and enter the import statement as shown
here.
<?import:http//myhost:8080/subtemplate.rtf?>

Importing Subtemplates Outside the Catalog on the Same Server

If the subtemplate is located on the server, but not in the BI Publisher catalog, then
enter this.
<?import:file://{template_path}?>

where
template_path is the path to the subtemplate file on the server
For example:
<?import:file://c:/Folder/mySubtemplate.rtf?>

Required Settings To Run Sub Templates Stored Outside the Catalog

To run sub templates outside the catalog you must configure the disable external
references property.
Using sub templates requires the following FO processing configuration property
setting for the report:
Disable external references: Must be set to False

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 13
Designing RTF Subtemplates

This chapter describes how to use RTF subtemplates to create and reuse functionality
across multiple BI Publisher reports.
This chapter includes the following sections:

• Understanding RTF Subtemplates

• Process Overview for Creating and Implementing RTF Sub Templates

• Creating an RTF Subtemplate File

• Calling a Subtemplate from a Main Template

• When to Use RTF Subtemplates

• Adding Translations to an RTF Subtemplate

Understanding RTF Subtemplates

An RTF subtemplate is an RTF file that consists of one or more <?template:?>
definitions, each containing a block of formatting or commands.
This RTF file, when uploaded to BI Publisher as a Sub Template object in the Catalog,
can be called from other RTF templates.
The following graphic illustrates the composition of an RTF Sub Template.

Process Overview for Creating and Implementing RTF Sub Templates

You must follow this process to work with RTF sub templates.
Using a sub template consists of the following steps (described in the following
sections):

Designing RTF Subtemplates 13-1

Creating an RTF Subtemplate File

1. Create the RTF file that contains the common components or processing
instructions that you want to include in other templates.

2. Create the calling or "main" layout and include the following two commands:

• import - to import the sub template file to the main layout template.

• call-template - to execute or render the sub template contents in the main layout.

3. Test the template and sub template.

Tip: You can use the BI Publisher Desktop Template Viewer to test the main
layout plus sub template before loading them to the catalog. To do so, you
must alter the import template syntax to point to the location of the sub
template in the local environment. See Testing Subtemplates from the
Desktop.

4. Upload the main template to the report definition and create the Sub Template
object in the catalog. See Uploading a Sub Template.

Creating an RTF Subtemplate File

Enter the components or instructions in an RTF file. To define the instructions as a
subtemplate, enclose the contents in these tags.
<?template:template_name?>
..subtemplate contents...
<?end template?>

where
template_name is the name you choose for the subtemplate.

Note: In a single RTF file, you can have multiple entries, to mark different
subtemplates or segments to include in other files.

<?template:template_name?>
<?end template?>

For example, the following figure shows a sample RTF file that contains two
subtemplates, one named commonHeader and one named commonFooter.

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 Calling a Subtemplate from a Main Template

Calling a Subtemplate from a Main Template

There are two entries that you must make to call a subtemplate from a main template.
To implement the subtemplate in a main template, you must make two entries in the
main template:
First, import the subtemplate file to the main template. The import syntax tells the BI
Publisher engine where to find the Sub Template in the catalog.
Second, enter a call command to render the contents of the subtemplate at the position
desired.

Importing the Subtemplate to the Main Template

Enter the import command anywhere in the main template prior to the call template
command.
If you do not require a locale, enter the following:
<?import:xdoxsl:///path to subtemplate.xsb?>

where
path to subtemplate.xsb is the path to the subtemplate .xsb object in the catalog.
For example:
<?import:xdoxsl:///Executive/HR_Reports/mySubtemplate.xsb?>

Note:

If the subtemplate resides in a personal folder under My Folders, the

command to import the subtemplate is:
<?import:xdoxsl:///~username/path to subtemplate.xsb?>

where username is your user name.

For example, if user myuser uploads a subtemplate called Template1 to a
folder called Subtemplates under My Folders, the correct import statement is:
<?import:xdoxsl:///~myuser/Subtemplates/Template1.xsb?>

Calling the Subtemplate to Render Its Contents

You can also enter a call command to render the contents of the subtemplate at the
position that you desire.

To call the subtemplate to render its contents:

• In the position in the main template where you want the subtemplate to render,
enter the call-template command, as follows:

<?call-template:template_name?>

where

Designing RTF Subtemplates 13-3

Calling a Subtemplate from a Main Template

template_name is the name you assigned to the contents in the template

declaration statement within the subtemplate file (that is, the <?
template:template_name?> statement).
The following figure illustrates the entries required in a main template:

Importing a Localized Subtemplate

To designate the locale of the imported subtemplate, append the locale to the import
statement as shown here.
<?import:xdoxsl:///{path to subtemplate.xsb}?loc={locale_name}?>

where
path to subtemplate.xsb is the path to the subtemplate .xsb object in the catalog
and
locale_name is the language-territory combination which comprises the locale. The
locale designation is optional.
For example:
<?import:xdoxsl:///Executive/HR_Reports/mySubtemplate.xsb?loc=en-US?>

Note that you can also use ${_XDOLOCALE} to import a localized subtemplate based
on the runtime user locale. For example:
<?import:xdoxsl:///Executive/HR_Reports/mySubtemplate.xsb?loc=${_XDOLOCALE}?>

Example
In this example, your company address is a fixed string that is displayed in all your
templates. Rather than reproduce the string in all the templates, you can place it in one
subtemplate and reference it from all the others.

To place the string in a subtemplate and reference it:

1. In an RTF file enter the following template declaration:

<?template:MyAddress?>
My Company
500 Main Street
Any City, CA 98765
<?end template?>

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 When to Use RTF Subtemplates

2. Create a Sub Template in the catalog in the following location: Customer Reports/
Templates.

3. Upload this file to the Sub Template and save it as "Common Components" (BI
Publisher assigns the object the .xsb extension).

4. In the main template, enter the following import statement in a form field or
directly in the template:

<?import:xdoxsl:///Customer Reports/Templates/Common Components.xsb?>

5. In the main template, in the location you want the address to appear, enter:

<?call-template:MyAddress?>

At runtime the contents of the MyAddress subtemplate are fetched and rendered in
the layout of the main template.
This functionality is not limited to just strings, you can insert any valid RTF template
functionality in a subtemplate, and even pass parameters from one to the other. For
examples, see When to Use RTF Subtemplates.

When to Use RTF Subtemplates

RTF subtemplates can be used in various scenarios.
Following are several common use-cases for RTF subtemplates.

Reusing a Common Layout

Frequently multiple reports require the same header and footer content.
By using an RTF subtemplate to contain this content, any global changes are simplified
and require updating only the subtemplate instead of each individual layout.

Conditionally Displaying a Layout Based on a Value in the Data

Subtemplates can also be used to apply conditional layouts based on a value in the
report data.
By using the RTF template "choose" command, you can instruct BI Publisher to apply
a different <?template?> defined in the subtemplate file.

Note:

You cannot conditionalize the import statement for the subtemplate file.
Instead, you import one subtemplate file and conditionalize the call statement.
You define the multiple <?template?> options in the single subtemplate file.

Example
Assume you have a report that is sent to customers in India and the United States. You
must apply a different address layout depending on the country code
(COUNTRY_CODE) supplied in the data. This example uses the RTF templates if
statement functionality to call the subtemplate with the appropriate address format.
The subtemplate file may look as follows:

Designing RTF Subtemplates 13-5

When to Use RTF Subtemplates

<?template:US_Address?>
<?US_Address_Field1?>
<?US_Address_Field2?>
<?US_Address_Field3?>
<?end template?>

<?template:IN_Address?>
<?IN_Address_Field1?>
<?IN_Address_Field2?>
<?IN_Address_Field3?>
<?end template?>

To call the sub template with the appropriate address format:

1. Create a Sub Template in the catalog in the following location:

Customers/Invoice Reports
Upload the RTF file and save the Sub Template as Addresses.

2. In the main template enter the following to import the Sub Template:

<?import:xdoxsl:///Customers/Invoice Reports/Addresses.xsb?>

3. In the location where you want the address to display, enter the following:

<?if:COUNTRY_CODE='USA'?>
<?call:US_Address?>
<?end if?>
<?if:COUNTRY_CODE='IN'?>
<?call:IN_Address?>
<?end if?>

When the report is run, the address format is properly applied, depending on the
value of COUNTRY_CODE in the data.

Conditionally Displaying a Layout Based on a Parameter Value

This example illustrates how to display a different layout based on a user parameter
value or a selection from a list of values. The parameter can be passed to the RTF
template and used to call a different <?template?> within the subtemplate file based
on the value.

Note:

You cannot conditionalize the import statement for the subtemplate file.

Example
Assume in the report data model that you have defined a parameter named
DeptName. Set up this parameter as type Menu and associate it to a list of values,
enabling your user to make a selection from the list when he views the report in the
Report Viewer (or when he schedules the report).
In the RTF main layout template, enter the following command to capture the value
chosen by the user:
<?param@begin:DeptName?>

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 When to Use RTF Subtemplates

To display the layout based on this user selection, you can use an IF statement or a
CHOOSE statement to evaluate the parameter value and call the associated
subtemplate.
Use the CHOOSE statement when there are many conditional tests and a default
action is expected for the rest of the values. For example, the Accounting, Sales, and
Marketing departments each require a different layout. All other departments can use
a default layout.

To display the layout:

1. Create an RTF file and include the following template declarations:

<?template:tAccounting?>
- - - Specific Accounting Layout here - - -
<?end template?>

<?template:tSales?>
- - - Specific Sales Layout here - - -
<?end template?>

<?template:tMark?>
- - - Specific Marketing Layout here - -
<?end template?>

<?template:tDefault?>
- - - Default Layout here - - -
<?end template?>

2. Create a Sub Template in the catalog in the following location:

Shared Folders/Executive/Department Expenses

Upload the RTF file and save the Sub Template as DeptSubtemps.

3. In the main RTF template, include the following commands:

<?import:xdoxsl:///Executive/Department Expenses/DeptSubtemps.xsb?loc=en-US?>

<?param@begin:DeptName?>

<?choose:?>
<?when:$DeptName='Accounting'?>
<?call:tAccounting?>
<?end when?>
<?when:$DeptName='Sales'?>
<?call:tSales?>
<?end when?>
<?when:$DeptName='Marketing'?>
<?call:tMark?>
<?end when?>
<?otherwise:$>
<?call:tDefault?>
<?end otherwise?>
<?end choose:?>

When the user runs the report, the layout applied is determined based on the value of
DeptName. For more information on CHOOSE statements in RTF templates, see
Inserting Choose Statements.

Designing RTF Subtemplates 13-7

When to Use RTF Subtemplates

Handling Simple Calculations or Repeating Formulae

Simple calculations can also be handled using an RTF subtemplate. More complex
formulae should be handled with an XSL subtemplate.

Example
This example illustrates setting up a subtemplate to contain a formula to calculate
interest.
The subtemplate performs the interest calculation on the data in this report and passes
the result back to the main template. The sub template accommodates the possibility
that multiple reports that call this functionality might have different tag names for the
components of the formula.
Assume that you have the following XML data:
<LOAN_DATA>
<LOAN_AMOUNT>6000000</LOAN_AMOUNT>
<INTEREST_RATE>.053</INTEREST_RATE>
<NO_OF_YEARS>30</NO_OF_YEARS>
</LOAN_DATA>

To set up a sub template to contain a formula for calculating interest:

1. In an RTF file, create a template declaration called calcInterest. In this sub template
define a parameter for each of the elements (principal, interest rate, and years) in
the formula. Note that you must set the default value for each parameter.

<?template:calcInterest?>
<?param:principal;0?>
<?param:intRate;0?>
<?param:years;0?>
<?number($principal) * number($intRate) * number($years)?>
<?end template?>

2. Create a Sub Template in the catalog in the following location:

Shared Folders/Subtemplates
Upload the RTF file and save the Sub Template as calculations.

3. In the main template, enter the following to import the sub template:

<?import:xdoxsl:///Subtemplates/calculations.xsb?>

4. In the location where you want the results of the calculation to display, enter the
following in a BI Publisher field:

<?call@inlines:calcInterest?>
<?with-param:principal;./LOAN_AMOUNT?>
<?with-param:intRate;./INTEREST_RATE?>
<?with-param:years;./NO_OF_YEARS?>
<?end call?>

Note the use of the @inlines command here. This is optional. The @inlines
command forces the results to be rendered inline at the location in the template
where the call to the sub template is made. Use this feature, for example, if you
want to keep the results on the same line as a string of text that precedes the call.

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 Adding Translations to an RTF Subtemplate

Adding Translations to an RTF Subtemplate

RTF subtemplates offer the same support for translations as RTF template files.
You can upload multiple translated RTF files under a single Subtemplate definition
and assign the appropriate locale. These are displayed in the Templates region, as
shown in the following figure.
Or you can generate an XLIFF (.xlf) file of the translatable strings, translate the strings,
and upload the translated file. These are displayed in the Translations region, as
shown in the following figure:

At runtime, the appropriate subtemplate localization is applied based on the user's

account Preference setting for Report Locale for reports viewed online; or, for
scheduled reports, based on the user's selection for Report Locale for the scheduled
report.
The XLIFF files for subtemplates can be generated individually, then translated, and
uploaded individually. Or, if you perform a catalog translation that includes the Sub
Template folders, the strings from the subtemplate files are extracted and included in
the larger catalog translation file. When the catalog translation file is uploaded toBI
Publisher, the appropriate translations from the catalog file are displayed in the
Translations region of the Sub Template definition.

Designing RTF Subtemplates 13-9

Adding Translations to an RTF Subtemplate

For more information on translations, see Translation Support Overview and

Concepts.

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 14
Designing XSL Subtemplates

This chapter describes how to create XSL subtemplates to create reusable advanced
functionality for your RTF templates.
This chapter includes the following sections:

• Understanding XSL Subtemplates

• Process Overview for Creating and Implementing XSL Sub Templates

• Creating an XSL Subtemplate File

• Calling an XSL Subtemplate from the Main Template

• Creating the Sub Template Object in the Catalog

• Example Uses of XSL Subtemplates

Understanding XSL Subtemplates

An XSL subtemplate is an XSL file that consists of one or more <xsl:template>
definitions, each containing a block of formatting or processing commands.
When uploaded to BI Publisher as a Sub Template object in the Catalog, this XSL file
can be called from other RTF templates to execute the formatting or processing
commands.
XSL subtemplates can handle complex data and layout requirements. Use XSL
subtemplates to transform the data structure for a section of a report (for example, for
a chart) or to create a style sheet to manage a complex layout.

Where to Put XSL Code in the RTF Main Template

When you call the XSL subtemplate within a main RTF subtemplate, you use XSL
commands.
You must put this code inside a BI Publisher field (or Microsoft Word form field). You
cannot enter XSL code directly in the body of the RTF template.
For more information on inserting form fields in an RTF template see Inserting a Field.

Process Overview for Creating and Implementing XSL Sub Templates

You must follow this process when working with XSL sub templates.
Creating and implementing an XSL sub template consists of the following steps:
1. Create the XSL file that contains the common components or processing
instructions to include in other templates.

An XSL sub template consists of one or more XSL template definitions. These
templates contain rules to apply when a specified node is matched.

Designing XSL Subtemplates 14-1

Creating an XSL Subtemplate File

2. Create the calling or "main" layout that includes a command to "import" the sub
template to the main template and a command to apply the XSL sub template to
the appropriate data element.

3. Upload the main template to the report definition and create the Sub Template
object in the catalog.

Creating an XSL Subtemplate File

Enter the instructions in an editor that enables you to save the file as type ".xsl". An
XSL subtemplate consists of one or more XSL template definitions. These templates
contain rules to apply when a specified node is matched.
The syntax of the subtemplate definition is as follows:
<xsl:template
name="name"
match="pattern"
mode="mode"
priority="number">
<!--Content:(<xsl:param>*,template) -->
</xsl:template>

The following table describes the components of the template declaration.

Component Description
xsl:template The xsl:template element is used to define a template that can be
applied to a node to produce a desired output display.

name="name" Optional. Specifies a name for the template.

If this attribute is omitted, a match attribute is required.

match="pattern" Optional. The match pattern for the template.

If this attribute is omitted, a name attribute is required.

priority="number" Optional. A number which indicates the numeric priority of the

template. It is possible that more than one template can be applied to a
node. The highest priority value template is always chosen. The value
ranges from -9.0 to 9.0.

Example:
<xsl:template match="P|p">
<fo:block white-space-collapse="false" padding-bottom="3pt" linefeed-
treatment="preserve">
<xsl:apply-templates select="text()|*|@*"/>
</fo:block>
</xsl:template>

<xsl:template match="STRONG|B|b">
<fo:inline font-weight="bold">
<xsl:apply-templates/>
</fo:inline>
</xsl:template>

Calling an XSL Subtemplate from the Main Template

To implement the subtemplate in the main template, make two entries in the main
template.

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 Calling an XSL Subtemplate from the Main Template

First, import the subtemplate file to the main template. The import syntax tells the BI
Publisher engine where to find the Sub Template in the catalog.
Second, enter a call command to render the contents of the subtemplate at the position
desired.

Importing the Subtemplate

Enter the import command anywhere in the main template prior to the call template
command as shown here.
<?import:xdoxsl:///{path to subtemplate.xsb}?>

where
path to subtemplate.xsb is the path to the subtemplate .xsb object in the catalog.
For example:
<?import:xdoxsl:///Executive/Financial Reports/mySubtemplate.xsb?>

Calling the Subtemplate

The template statements that you defined within the XSL subtemplate file are applied
to data elements. There are two ways you can call a template defined in the imported
XSL subtemplate.

• By matching the data content with the match criteria:

<xsl:apply-templates select="data_element"/>

This method applies all the templates that are defined in the XSL subtemplate to
the data_element specified. Based on the data content of data_element, appropriate
functions in those templates are applied. See the following use case for a detailed
example: Handling XML Data with HTML Formatting.

• By calling a template by name:

<xsl:call-template name="templateName"/>

This method calls the template by name and the template executes, similar to a
function call. Here also parameters can be passed to the template call, similarly to
an RTF subtemplate. See Passing Parameters to an XSL Subtemplate.
See the following use case for a detailed example: Dynamically Applying
Formatting to a Portion of Data.

Passing Parameters to an XSL Subtemplate

Declare the parameter in the <xsl:template> definition.
To pass parameters to the XSL subtemplate:

1. Declare the parameter in the <xsl:template> definition, as follows:

<xsl:template name="templateName" match="/">

<xsl:param name="name" />
</xsl:template>

2. Then call this template using the following syntax:

Designing XSL Subtemplates 14-3

Creating the Sub Template Object in the Catalog

<xsl:call-template name="templateName">
<xsl:with-param name="name" select="expression">
<?--- Content:template -->
</xsl:with-param>
</xsl:call-template>

Creating the Sub Template Object in the Catalog

Follow these steps to upload the sub template file.

To upload the sub template file:

1. On the global header click New and then click Sub Template. This launches an
untitled Sub Template page.

2. In the Templates region, click Upload to launch the Upload Template File dialog.

3. Browse for and select the sub template file.

• Type: Select xsl for an XSL sub template file.

• Locale: Select the appropriate locale for the sub template file.

4. Click Upload.

The sub template file is displayed in the Templates region as the locale name that
you selected (for example: en_US).

5. Click Save. In the Save As dialog choose the catalog folder in which to save the Sub
Template. Enter the Name and click Save. The following figure shows a Sub
Template named My Subtemplate.

14-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Example Uses of XSL Subtemplates

The Sub Template object is saved with the extension ".xsb". Use the Name that you
choose here with the .xsb extension when you import the Sub Template to the report
(for example: MySubtemplate.xsb).
Translations are not supported for XSL Sub Templates.

Example Uses of XSL Subtemplates

These are examples of formatting that can be achieved in a report by using XSL
subtemplates.

• Handling XML Data with HTML Formatting

• Dynamically Applying Formatting to a Portion of Data

Handling XML Data with HTML Formatting

If you have XML data that already contains HTML formatting and you want to
preserve that formatting in the report, then you can preserve that formatting by using
an XSL subtemplate to map the HTML formatting commands to XSL equivalents that
can be handled by BI Publisher.
Note that the HTML must be in XHTML format. This means that all HTML tags must
have start and end tags in the data. For example, if the data uses a simple <BR> for a
break, then you must add the closing </BR> before you can use this solution.
Following is some sample data with HTML formatting:

Designing XSL Subtemplates 14-5

Example Uses of XSL Subtemplates

<DATA>
<ROW>
<PROJECT_NAME>Project Management</PROJECT_NAME>
<PROJECT_SCOPE>
<p>Develop an application to produce <i>executive-level summaries</i> and
detailed project reports. The application will allow users to: </p>
<p>Import existing MS Project files </p>
<p>Allow the user to map file-specific resources to a central database
entities (i.e., people) and projects; </p>
<p>Provide structured output that can be viewed by staff and executives. </p>
</PROJECT_SCOPE>
<PROJECT_DEFINITION><b>Information about current projects is not readily
available to executives.</b> Providing this information creates a reporting burden
for IT staff, who may already maintain this information in Microsoft Project files.
</PROJECT_DEFINITION>
</ROW>
</DATA>

Note in this sample the following HTML tags:

• <p> - paragraph tag

• <i> - italics tag

• <b> - bold tag

Assume a report requirement to display this to retain the formatting supplied by these
tags as shown in the following figure:

The following subtemplate uses XSL syntax to match the three HTML tags in the XML
data. The template then replaces the matched HTML string with its XSLFO equivalent.
<xsl:template match="P|p">
<fo:block white-space-collapse="false" padding-bottom="3pt" linefeed-
treatment="preserve">
<xsl:apply-templates select="text()|*|@*"/>
</fo:block>
</xsl:template>

<xsl:template match="STRONG|B|b">
<fo:inline font-weight="bold">
<xsl:apply-templates/>
</fo:inline>
</xsl:template>

<xsl:template match="EM|I|i">
<fo:inline font-style="italic">
<xsl:apply-templates/>
</fo:inline>
</xsl:template>

14-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Example Uses of XSL Subtemplates

To use this XSL syntax:

1. Upload this XSL subtemplate file to the BI Publisher catalog location: Shared
Folders/Projects. Save this subtemplate file as htmlmarkup.xsb.

2. In the main template enter the following to import the subtemplate file:

<?import:xdoxsl:///Projects/htmlmarkup.xsb?>

3. For each field that has HTML markup, call the xsl apply-template command. In this
example, there are two fields:

<xsl:apply-templates select="PROJECT_SCOPE"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="PROJECT_DEFINITION"/>

The following figure shows the field definitions in the template:

The command tells the processor to apply all templates to the value of the element
PROJECT_SCOPE and PROJECT_DEFINITION. It then cycles through the
subtemplate functions looking for a match.

Dynamically Applying Formatting to a Portion of Data

This application of subtemplates is useful for documents that require chemical
formulae, mathematical calculations, or superscripts and subscripts.
For example, in the sample XML data below CO2 is expected to display as CO2 and
H2O is expected to display as H2O.
<ROWSET>
<ROW>
<FORMULA>CO2</FORMULA>
</ROW>
<ROW>
<FORMULA>H2O</FORMULA>
</ROW>
</ROWSET>

This can be achieved by using an XSL subtemplate. Using XSL syntax you can define a
template with any name, for example, "chemical_formatter" that accepts the
FORMULA field as a parameter, and then read one character at a time. It compares the

Designing XSL Subtemplates 14-7

Example Uses of XSL Subtemplates

character with 0 - 9 digits, and if there is a match, then that character is subscripted
using the following XSL FO syntax:
<fo:inline baseline-shift="sub" font-size="75%">

Here is sample code for the XSL template statement:

<xsl:template name="chemical_formatter">
<! - accepts a parameter e.g. H2O - >
<xsl:param name="formula"/>
<! - Takes the first character of the string and tests it to see if it is a number
between 0-9 - > <xsl:variable name="each_char"
select="substring($formula,1,1)"/>
<xsl:choose>
<xsl:when test="$each_char='1' or $each_char='2'
or $each_char='3' or $each_char='4' or $each_char='5'
or $each_char='6' or $each_char='7' or $each_char='8'
or $each_char='9' or $each_char='0'">
<! - if it is numeric it sets the FO subscripting properties - >
<fo:inline baseline-shift="sub" font-size="75%">
<xsl:value-of select="$each_char"/>
</fo:inline>
</xsl:when>
<xsl:otherwise>
<! - otherwise the charater is left as is - >
<fo:inline baseline-shift="normal">
<xsl:value-of select="$each_char"/>
</fo:inline>
</xsl:otherwise>
</xsl:choose>
<! - test if there are other chars in the string, if so the recall the template -
>
<xsl:if test="substring-after($formula,$each_char) !=''">
<xsl:call-template name="chemical_formater">
<xsl:with-param name="formula">
<xsl:value-of select="substring-after($formula,$each_char)"/>
</xsl:with-param>
</xsl:call-template>
</xsl:if>
</xsl:template>

To use this XSL template statement:

1. Save this file as chemical.xsl.

2. Follow the instructions in Uploading a Sub Template. Assume that you name the
Sub Template "Chemical" (it is saved as Chemical.xsb) and place it in the following
location: Shared Folders/Subtemplates.

3. In the main RTF template enter the import syntax:

<?import:xdoxsl:///Subtemplates/Chemical.xsb?>

4. To render the XSL code in the report, create a loop over the data and in the VALUE
field use:

<xsl:call-template name="chemical_formatter">
<xsl:with-param name="formula" select="VALUE"/> </xsl:call-template>

This calls the formatting template with the FORMULA value that is, H2O. Once
rendered, the formulae are shown as expected: H2O.

14-8 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Part III
Translating Reports and Catalog Objects

This part provides information about translating reports and catalog objects.
This part includes the following chapters:

• Translation Support Overview and Concepts

• Translating Individual Templates

• Translating Catalog Objects, Data Models, and Templates

 15
Translation Support Overview and
Concepts

This chapter provides an overview of concepts related to report and catalog

translation in BI Publisher.
It includes the following sections:

• Translation Support Overview

• Working with Translation Files

• Locale Selection Logic

Translation Support Overview

You can translate reports and catalogs in BI Publisher.
BI Publisher supports translation in two ways, as described in the following sections:

• What Is Catalog Translation?

• What Is Template Translation?

• About Supported Languages

What Is Catalog Translation?

Catalog translation is a feature of BI Publisher that enables you to extract the
translatable strings from all objects contained in a selected catalog folder into a
separate file.

Note: If BI Publisher is integrated with Oracle Business Intelligence

Enterprise Edition, BI Publisher catalog translation (folder and report, data
model, style template and sub template names) is ignored. The Oracle BI
Enterprise Edition catalog translation mechanism is applied instead. See
"Localizing Oracle Business Intelligence" in System Administrator's Guide for
Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition, for information on components
that can be translated in an integrated catalog.

The separate string file can be translated and uploaded back to BI Publisher and
assigned the appropriate language code.
Catalog translation extracts not only translatable strings from the report layouts, but
also the user interface strings that are displayed to users, such as catalog object
descriptions, report parameter names, and data display names.

Translation Support Overview and Concepts 15-1

Working with Translation Files

Users viewing the catalog see the item translations that are appropriate for the user
interface language that they selected in their My Account preferences. Users see report
translations that are appropriate for the Report Locale that they selected in their My
Account preferences.

What Is Template Translation?

Template translation is a feature of BI Publisher that enables you to extract the
translatable strings from a single RTF-based template (including sub templates and
style templates) or a single BI Publisher layout template (.xpt file).
Use this option when you need only the final report documents translated. For
example, you must generate translated invoices to send to German and Japanese
customers.

About Supported Languages

BI Publisher supports any language that is supported by Unicode and does not require
a special algorithm to render.
Examples of languages that require a special algorithm to render are Hindi and Farsi.
It is the user's responsibility to prepare an appropriate font if the language is not
supported by Albany fonts.
BI Publisher does support Arabic and Hebrew.

Working with Translation Files

When you extract the translatable strings for a catalog or template translation, BI
Publisher creates an XLIFF file that contains the strings.
You can translate these strings within your organization or send the file to a
localization provider. You then upload the translated XLIFF file back to the catalog or
the individual layout and assign it the appropriate locale.
This section describes how to work with an XLIFF file. It contains the following topics:

• What Is an XLIFF?

• Structure of the XLIFF File

What Is an XLIFF?
XLIFF is the XML Localization Interchange File Format.
It is the standard format used by localization providers. For more information about
the XLIFF specification, see http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/xliff/
documents/xliff-specification.htm

Structure of the XLIFF File

XLIFF files must follow a specific structure
The generated XLIFF file has the following structure:
<xliff>
<file>
<header>
<body>
<trans-unit>
<source>

15-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Working with Translation Files

<target>
<note>

The following illustration shows an excerpt from an untranslated XLIFF file.

Source-language and target-language Attributes

The <file> element includes the attributes source-language and target-language.
The valid value for source-language and target-language is a combination of the
language code and country code as follows:

• the two-letter ISO 639 language code

• the two-letter ISO 3166 country code

Note: For more information on the International Organization for

Standardization (ISO) and the code lists, see the International Organization for
Standardization Web site at http://www.iso.org/iso/home.html

For example, the value for English-United States is "en-US". This combination is also
referred to as a locale.
When you edit the exported XLIFF file you must change the target-language attribute
to the appropriate locale value of the target language. The following table shows
examples of source-language and target-language attribute values appropriate for the
given translations.

Translation (Language/Territory) source-language target-language

value value
From English/US To English/Canada en-US en-CA

From English/US To Chinese/China en-US zh-CN

Translation Support Overview and Concepts 15-3

Working with Translation Files

Translation (Language/Territory) source-language target-language

value value
From Japanese/Japan To French/France ja-JP fr-FR

Embedded Data Fields

Some templates contain placeholders for data fields embedded in the text display
strings of the report. To identify the embedded data fields use this token.
For example, the title of the sample report is: Italian Purchase VAT Register - (year)
where (year) is a placeholder in the RTF template that is populated at runtime by data
from an XML element. These fields are not translatable, because the value comes from
the data at runtime.
To identify embedded data fields, the following token is used in the XLIFF file:
[&amp;n]
where n represents the numbered occurrence of a data field in the template.
For example, in the preceding XLIFF sample, the first translatable string is:
<source>Italian Purchase VAT Register - [&amp;1]<source>

Note:

Do not edit or delete the embedded data field tokens or you affect the merging
of the XML data with the template.

<source> and <target> Elements

Each <source> element contains a translatable string from the template in the source
language of the template. Refer to the illustration for information to create a
translation for a source element string.
For example,
<source>Total</source>
When you initially export the XLIFF file for translation, the source and target elements
are all identical. To create the translation for this template, enter the appropriate
translation for each source element string in its corresponding <target> element.
Therefore if you were translating the sample template into German, you would enter
the following for the Total string:
<source>Total</source>
<target>Gesamtbetrag</target>

The following figure shows the sample XLIFF file from the previous figure updated
with the Chinese translation:

15-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Locale Selection Logic

Locale Selection Logic

BI Publisher applies a translation based on the user's selected Report Locale.
BI Publisher first tries to match an RTF template named for the locale, then an XLIFF
file named for the locale. If an exact match on language-territory is not found, then BI
Publisher tries to match on language only.
For example, if you have a report for which the base template is called
EmployeeTemplate.rtf and the locale selected is French (France), then BI Publisher
selects the translation to apply according to the following hierarchy:
EmployeeTemplate.rtf (fr_FR)
EmployeeTemplate.xlf (fr_FR)
EmployeeTemplate.rtf (fr)
EmployeeTemplate.xlf (fr)
EmployeeTemplate.rtf (default)
With the same set of translations, if the locale selected is French (Switzerland), then the
EmployeeTemplate.rtf (fr) is applied. Now if the available translations are limited to
the following set:
EmployeeTemplate.rtf (fr_FR)
EmployeeTemplate.xlf (fr_FR)
EmployeeTemplate.rtf (default)
and the locale selected is French (Switzerland), then the EmployeeTemplate.rtf
(default) is applied. Even though there is a language match, BI Publisher does not
match the different locales.
Therefore, to ensure that a French language translation is used when French is the
selected language, regardless of the selected locale, you must include either an rtf or
xlf file named for the language only (that is, EmployeeTemplate_fr.rtf or
EmployeeTemplate_fr.xlf).

Translation Support Overview and Concepts 15-5

Locale Selection Logic

15-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 16
Translating Individual Templates

This chapter describes how to create and upload translated template files to provide
translations for specific templates.
This chapter includes the following sections:

• Overview

• Types of Translations

• Using the XLIFF Option

• Using the Localized Template Option

Overview
This chapter describes how to create and upload translated template files when you
want to provide translations only for specific templates.
The following template types can be translated individually:

• RTF layout files

• style templates

• subtemplates

• BI Publisher layouts (.xpt)

To translate the layouts within the broader scope of the catalog, see Translating
Catalog Objects, Data Models, and Templates.

Types of Translations
You can add different types of translations to templates.
There are two options for adding translations for templates:

• Create a separate RTF template that is translated (a localized template). This option
is available for RTF templates only.

• Generate an XLIFF from the original template. At runtime the original template is
applied for the layout and the XLIFF is applied for the translation.
Use the first option if the translated template requires a different layout from the
original template
If you require only translation of the text strings of the template layout, then use the
XLIFF option.
The diagrams in the following graphic illustrate the translation concepts.

Translating Individual Templates 16-1

Using the XLIFF Option

Using the XLIFF Option

The XLIFF option is used to translate files.
The following sections describe using the XLIFF option:

• Generating the XLIFF from a Template

• Translating the XLIFF

• Uploading the Translated XLIFF to BI Publisher

Generating the XLIFF from a Template

These sections describe the two methods for generating an XLIFF for a single template
file.

16-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Using the XLIFF Option

• Generating the XLIFF from the Template Builder (not supported for XPT
templates)

• Generating the XLIFF from the Layout Properties Page

Generating the XLIFF from the Template Builder

Follow these steps to generate the XLIFF from the template builder.

Note:

This procedure assumes that you have installed the BI Publisher Template
Builder for Microsoft Word. See Creating RTF Templates Using the Template
Builder for Word for information on downloading the add-in for Microsoft
Word.

To generate an XLIFF from the Template Builder:

1. Open the template in Microsoft Word with the Template Builder for Word
installed.

2. On the Template Builder tab, in the Tools group, click Translation, and then click
Extract Text.

BI Publisher extracts the translatable strings from the template and exports them to
an XLIFF (.xlf file).

3. Save the XLIFF to a local directory.

Generating the XLIFF from the Layout Properties Page

You can generate the XLIFF file for report layout templates or for style templates and
subtemplates.

To generate the XLIFF file for report layout templates:

1. Navigate to the report in the catalog and click Edit to open it for editing.

2. From the thumbnail view of the report layouts, click the Properties link of the
layout (RTF or XPT) to open the Layout Properties page.

3. In the Translations region, click Extract Translation.

BI Publisher extracts the translatable strings from the template and exports them
to an XLIFF (.xlf) file.

4. Save the XLIFF file to a local directory.

To generate the XLIFF file for style templates and subtemplates:

1. Navigate to the style template or sub template in the catalog and click Edit to open
the Template Manager.

2. In the Translations region, click Extract Translation.

BI Publisher extracts the translatable strings from the template and exports them to
an XLIFF (.xlf) file.

Translating Individual Templates 16-3

Using the Localized Template Option

3. Save the XLIFF file to a local directory.

Translating the XLIFF

When you have downloaded the XLIFF file, it can be sent to a translation provider, or
using a text editor, you can enter the translation for each string.
See Structure of the XLIFF File for instructions on how to edit the XLIFF file.
A "translatable string" is any text in the template that is intended for display in the
published report, such as table headers and field labels. Text supplied at runtime from
the data is not translatable, nor is any text that you supply in the Microsoft Word form
fields.
You can translate the template XLIFF file into as many languages as desired and
associate these translations to the original template. See Uploading the Translated
XLIFF to BI Publisher.

Note: Ensure that when you save your translated file, you save it with UTF-8
encoding.

Uploading the Translated XLIFF to BI Publisher

Once a XLIFF file is translated, it needs to be uploaded to BI Publisher.
To upload the translated XLIFF:

1. Navigate to the report, subtemplate, or style template in the catalog and click Edit
to open it for editing.

For reports only:

From the thumbnail view of the report layouts, click the Properties link of the
layout to open the Template Manager.

2. In the Translations region, click the Upload toolbar button.

3. In the Upload Translation File dialog, locate the file in a local directory and select
the Locale for this translation.

4. Click OK to upload the file and view it in the Translations table.

Using the Localized Template Option

If you must design a different layout for the reports that you present for different
localizations, then you can create a new RTF file that is designed and translated for the
locale and upload this file to the Template Manager.

Note: The localized template option is not supported for XPT templates.

The following sections describe using the localized template option:

• Designing the Localized Template File

• Uploading the Localized Template to BI Publisher

16-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Using the Localized Template Option

Designing the Localized Template File

Use the same tools that you used to create the base template file, translating the strings
and customizing the layout as desired for the locale.

Uploading the Localized Template to BI Publisher

Several types of templates can be uploaded to BI Publisher.
To upload the localized template:

1. Navigate to the report, subtemplate, or style template in the catalog and click Edit
to open it for editing.

For reports only:

From the thumbnail view of the report layouts, click the Properties link of the
layout to open the Template Manager.

2. In the Templates region, click the Upload toolbar button.

3. In the Upload Template File dialog, locate the file in a local directory, select rtf as
the Template Type and select the Locale for this template file.

4. Click OK to upload the file and view it in the Templates table.

Translating Individual Templates 16-5

Using the Localized Template Option

16-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 17
Translating Catalog Objects, Data Models,
and Templates

This chapter describes translating BI Publisher catalog objects, data models, and
templates using the Export XLIFF function that is available at the catalog level.
This chapter includes the following sections:

• Overview

• What Can Be Translated?

• Exporting the XLIFF File

• Identifying and Updating the Object Tags

• Importing the XLIFF File

Overview
This chapter describes how to use the Export XLIFF function that is available at the
catalog level.
When you select a folder and choose this option, a single XLIFF file is generated that
contains the translatable strings from the catalog objects contained in the folder; and
the RTF and XPT templates contained in the folder. See the following section for the
detailed list of what is translatable.
The target strings in the generated XLIFF file can be translated into the desired
language. The XLIFF can then be uploaded back to the BI Publisher repository and
assigned the appropriate locale. The translated strings from the XLIFF are displayed
when a user selects the target language as their UI language (for catalog object strings)
or selects the target language as their Report Locale (for report template strings).
If BI Publisher is integrated with Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition, then
BI Publisher catalog object string translation (folder and report, data model, style
template and sub template names) is ignored. The Oracle BI Enterprise Edition catalog
translation mechanism is applied instead. See "Localizing Oracle Business Intelligence"
in System Administrator's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition for
information on components that can be translated in an integrated catalog.

What Can Be Translated?

Specific strings can be translated into different languages.
The following table shows what strings can be translated.

Translating Catalog Objects, Data Models, and Templates 17-1

Exporting the XLIFF File

Object What Can Be Translated Preference That Determines

Translation Displayed
Folder Name Description UI Language (applies to all)

Data Model Name Description Data UI Language (applies to all)

Display Name

Report Name Description Layout UI Language (applies to all)

Names Data Model Reference
Parameter Name

Style Template Name Static text in the UI Language Report Locale

template

Sub Template Name Static text in the UI Language Report Locale

template

BI Publisher Layouts (.xpt) Static text in the layout Report Locale

RTF Layouts Static text in the layout Report Locale

About Source Language Limitations

Translation of BI Publisher catalog objects using the Export XLIFF function is available
at the catalog level.
For catalog translation, the source language is limited to "en". You must create catalog
and data model objects in English locale to be able to translate them.

Exporting the XLIFF File

Follow these steps to export an XLIFF file for a catalog folder.

1. Select the folder in the catalog.

2. Click the Translation toolbar button and then click Export XLIFF, as shown in the
following figure:

BI Publisher extracts the translatable strings from the template and exports them to
an XLIFF (.xlf file).

17-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Identifying and Updating the Object Tags

3. Save the XLIFF file to a local directory.

Identifying and Updating the Object Tags

In the XLIFF file generated for a catalog object, the source-language and target-
language attributes contain values for the two-letter language code only as shown in
this figure.
For information on how to manually update the XLIFF files with translation strings,
see What Is an XLIFF?

Importing the XLIFF File

When the target tags have been translated you are ready to import the XLIFF file back
to BI Publisher.

To import an XLIFF file:

1. Navigate to the folder from which the XLIFF file was generated.

2. From the toolbar, click the Translation button and select Import XLIFF.

3. In the Upload dialog click Browse to locate the translated file and then select the
appropriate locale from the list.

4. Click Upload.

Translating Catalog Objects, Data Models, and Templates 17-3

Importing the XLIFF File

17-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Part IV
Reference Information

This part provides reference information for Oracle BI Publisher.

This part includes the following appendices:

• Techniques for Handling Large Output Files

• Extended Function Support in RTF Templates

• Designing Accessible Reports

• Supported XSL-FO Elements

• Generating PDF/A and PDF/X Output

• PDF Version Support

• Using the Customize Feature

 A
Techniques for Handling Large Output Files

This appendix describes techniques that are available to improve performance when
the report generates very large PDF output files.
It includes the following sections:

• Reusing Static Content

• Generating Zipped PDF Output

• Implementing PDF Splitting for an RTF Template

• Implementing PDF Splitting for a PDF Template

Reusing Static Content

This section describes how to reuse static, repeating content in a PDF report output to
reduce the overall PDF file size.
This section contains the following topics:

• What Is Static Content Reuse?

• Limitations of this Feature

• Defining Reusable Content in an RTF Template

• Example

What Is Static Content Reuse?

If the report contains static content and the placement of that content in the report is
also fixed (for example, a set of instructions on the back of a Federal W-2 form), then
you can use this feature of BI Publisher to reduce the size of the generated PDF file.
Using the W-2 form as an example, the report has the expected output shown in the
following illustration.

Techniques for Handling Large Output Files A-1

Reusing Static Content

For each employee, specific content is rendered, but the back (or second) page of each
contains an identical set of instructions.
This set of instructions can be defined as reusable static content. When content is
identified as reusable static content, BI Publisher includes the static content in the
generated PDF document only once and references it in other places when needed,
thereby reducing the overall output file size.

Limitations of this Feature

This feature has the following limitations.

• The static content to be reused in the generated report must fit onto one page of the
generated PDF output.

• The contents of the report before the static content must have a fixed height. For
example, the W-2 form has a fixed set of fields that occur before the static content is
to be rendered. The reusable static contents are placed in the same position from
the page origin for each occurrence.

• This feature can only be used with RTF templates generating PDF output.

Defining Reusable Content in an RTF Template

To define the static content to be reused, use these tags around the content in the
template.
<?reusable-static-content:?>

… static content here …

<?end reusable-static-content?>

A-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Generating Zipped PDF Output

Inserting these tags around the static content signals BI Publisher to include this
content only once in the generated file and then reference it in the same position for
each occurrence.

Example
This example illustrates an implementation of this feature. The sample report
generates one occurrence per employee. The generated report has employee-specific
information on the front page of each occurrence, and static instructions that print on
the back of each occurrence. A section break occurs after each employee to reset page
numbering.
The following figure illustrates the template structure:

Generating Zipped PDF Output

When generating PDF output, BI Publisher does not limit the size of the output file.
However, when the size of the file approaches 2 GB, Adobe Acrobat Reader may no
longer be able to open or handle the file. BI Publisher provides a feature to split a large
PDF output file into smaller, more manageable files, while still maintaining the
integrity of the report as one logical unit.
When PDF output splitting is enabled for a report, the report is split into multiple files
generated in one zip file. The output type is PDFZ. For easy access to the component
files, BI Publisher also generates an index file that specifies from and to elements
contained in each component PDF file.
To enable this feature, the report designer must set up the report using the methods
described in this section.

Limitations and Prerequisites

Perform these steps before using this feature, and be aware of its functional
limitations.

Techniques for Handling Large Output Files A-3

Generating Zipped PDF Output

• This feature is supported only for PDF output that is generated from an RTF
template or a PDF template.

• Data set input to the report must be flat XML data (that is, ROWSET/ROW). The
data set cannot be hierarchical or concatenated.

• The data set must be sorted by the element designated as the "repeat" element (as
described below).

Design Time Considerations

To enable report splitting, the report designer must determine these steps.

• Select a repeat element to serve as the counter.

• Determine how many instances of the repeat element occur per PDF file.

• Select which data elements to include in the generated index file.

Selecting the Output Type

After uploading the template to the report definition, enable Zipped PDFs as an
output type.
The output type menu is shown in the following illustration.

When scheduling the report, select PDFZ as the output type, as shown in the following
illustration.

A-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Implementing PDF Splitting for an RTF Template

Implementing PDF Splitting for an RTF Template

This section describes how to enable PDF splitting for reports generated from RTF
templates.
This section includes the following topics:

• Entering the Commands in an RTF Template

• Example - split by each department

Entering the Commands in an RTF Template

When you design a template to use this feature, you must add commands to specify
these queries.

• What element in the data is repeated (using the simple for-each command)

• How many occurrences of the element are included in each PDF file

• What information (data elements) to include in the index file

To achieve this, the following two commands must be entered in the template within
the for-each loop of the element by which you want the document to split:

• <?catalog-index-info:name;element_name?>
where
name is the name that you choose that is used in the index file to identify the from
and to records included in each document.
element_name is the XML tag name of the element that provides the value for name
that you identify above.
The catalog-index-info command defines the construction of the index file that is
created.

• <?if:position() mod n = 0?><?document-split:?><?end if?>

where
n is the number of records you want included per PDF file.
This command must be placed within the for-each loop of the element that is to be
counted. This command instructs BI Publisher to split the document after the next
page break when the number of records equals the value you have supplied for n.

Techniques for Handling Large Output Files A-5

Implementing PDF Splitting for a PDF Template

Each time the document-split is performed, the name-value pairs defined in the
catalog-index-info command are written to the index files.

Example - split by each department

This example is based on the XML data given here.
This example is based on the following XML data:
<DATA_DS>
<G_EMP>
<DEPARTMENT_NAME>Sales</DEPARTMENT_NAME>
<FIRST_NAME>Ellen</FIRST_NAME>
<LAST_NAME>Abel</LAST_NAME>
<HIRE_DATE>1996-05-11T00:00:00.000-07:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>11000</SALARY>
</G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<DEPARTMENT_NAME>Sales</DEPARTMENT_NAME>
<FIRST_NAME>Sundar</FIRST_NAME>
<LAST_NAME>Ande</LAST_NAME>
<HIRE_DATE>2000-03-24T00:00:00.000-08:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>6400</SALARY>
</G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<DEPARTMENT_NAME>Shipping</DEPARTMENT_NAME>
<FIRST_NAME>Mozhe</FIRST_NAME>
<LAST_NAME>Atkinson</LAST_NAME>
<HIRE_DATE>1997-10-30T00:00:00.000-08:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>2800</SALARY>
</G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<DEPARTMENT_NAME>IT</DEPARTMENT_NAME>
<FIRST_NAME>David</FIRST_NAME>
<LAST_NAME>Austin</LAST_NAME>
<HIRE_DATE>1997-06-25T00:00:00.000-07:00</HIRE_DATE>
<SALARY>4800</SALARY>
</G_EMP>

...
</DATA_DS>

In this example, the output PDF report includes a document for each employee. You
want a new PDF file generated for each department. You want the index to list the
FIRST_NAME and LAST_NAME from each record that is included in the PDF file.
To achieve this output, enter the following in the template:
<?for-each-group:ROW;./DEPARTMENT_NAME?>
<?for-each:current-group()?>
<?catalog-index-info:'First Name';FIRST_NAME?>
<?catalog-index-info:'Last Name';LAST_NAME?>
...
<?end for-each?>
<?document-split:?>
<?end for-each-group?>

Implementing PDF Splitting for a PDF Template

This section describes the commands required in a PDF template to split the output
into multiple PDF files.

A-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Implementing PDF Splitting for a PDF Template

Entering the Commands in the PDF Template

To enable this feature for a PDF template, enter the three form fields listed in this table
here in the template with the specified commands in the Tooltip field.

Form Field Name Tooltip Command

REPEAT-ELEMENT <?repeat-element:element name?>, where element_name

is the XML tag name of the repeating element that is counted.
Example: <?repeat-element:emp_id?>

CATALOG-INDEX-INFO <?catalog-index-info:'Name';element_name?>, where

Name is the label that appears in the index file for the
element_name that you specify. The index generates a From and
To listing for each file in the zipped set. Example: <?catalog-
index-info:'Last Name';LAST_NAME?>
You can include multiple occurrences of the catalog-index-info
command to include multiple data elements in the index file.

SPLIT-COUNT <?split-count:n?>, wheren is the number of occurrences of

the repeat-element that triggers the creation of a new file.
Example: <?split-count:10000?>

Techniques for Handling Large Output Files A-7

Implementing PDF Splitting for a PDF Template

A-8 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 B
Extended Function Support in RTF
Templates

This appendix describes SQL and XSL functions extended by BI Publisher for use in
RTF templates.
It includes the following sections:

• Extended SQL and XSL Functions

• XSL Equivalents

• Using FO Elements

Extended SQL and XSL Functions

BI Publisher has extended a set of SQL and XSL functions for use in RTF templates.
The syntax for these extended functions is
<?xdofx:expression?>
for extended SQL functions or
<?xdoxslt:expression?>
for extended XSL functions.
You cannot mix xdofx statements with XSL expressions in the same context. For
example, assume that you had two elements, FIRST_NAME and LAST_NAME to
concatenate into a 30-character field and right pad the field with the character "x". You
could not use the following:
Incorrect:
<?xdofx:rpad(concat(FIRST_NAME,LAST_NAME),30, 'x')?>

because concat is an XSL expression. Instead, you could use the following:
Correct:
<?xdofx:rpad(FIRST_NAME||LAST_NAME),30,'x')?>

The supported functions are shown in the following table:

SQL Statement or Usage Description

XSL Expression
2+3 <?xdofx:2+3?> Addition

2-3 <?xdofx:2-3?> Subtraction

Extended Function Support in RTF Templates B-1

Extended SQL and XSL Functions

SQL Statement or Usage Description

XSL Expression
2*3 <?xdofx:2*3?> Multiplication

2 div 3 <?xdofx:2 div 3?> Division

2**3 <?xdofx:2**3?> Exponential

3||2 <?xdofx:3||2?> Concatenation

sdiv() <?xdoxslt:sdiv(num1,num2, Safe divide function returns a specified value if

string)?> the result of the function is not a number (NaN).
In the syntax shown, num1 is the dividend; num2
is the divisor and string is the value to be
returned if NaN is returned.
Examples:
<?xdoxslt:sdiv(10,0, '0')?> would yield
'0'
<?xdoxslt:sdiv(10,0, 'None')?> would
yield 'None'.

lpad('aaa',10,'.') <?xdofx:lpad('aaa',10,'.')?> The lpad function pads the left side of a string
with a specific set of characters. The syntax for
the lpad function is: lpad(string1,padded_length,
[pad_string])string1 is the string to pad characters
to (the left-hand side).padded_length is the number
of characters to return.pad_string is the string that
is padded to the left-hand side of string1 .

rpad('aaa',10,'.') <?xdofx:rpad('aaa',10,'.')?> The rpad function pads the right side of a string
with a specific set of characters. The syntax for
the rpad function is: rpad(string1,padded_length,
[pad_string]).string1 is the string to pad characters
to (the right-hand side).padded_length is the
number of characters to return.pad_string is the
string that is padded to the right-hand side of
string1

trim() <?xdoxslt:trim(' a ')?> Removes spaces in a string. Enter the text to be

trimmed, the function returns the trimmed text.

ltrim() <?xdoxslt:ltrim(' a ')?> Removes the leading white spaces in a string.

rtrim() <?xdoxslt:rtrim(' a ')?> Removes the trailing white spaces in a string.

truncate <?xdoxslt:truncate ( number The truncate function returns number truncated to

[, integer ] )?> integer places right of the decimal point. If integer
is omitted, then number is truncated to the whole
integer value. integer can be negative to truncate
values left of the decimal point. integer must be an
integer. Example: <?
xdoxslt:truncate(-2.3333)?> returns -2
Example: <?xdoxslt:truncate(2.7777,
2)?> returns 2.77 Example: <?
xdoxslt:truncate(27.7777, -1)?> returns
20

B-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Extended SQL and XSL Functions

SQL Statement or Usage Description

XSL Expression
replicate <? The replicate function replicates the specified
xdoxslt:replicate('string', string the specified number of times. Example: <?
integer)?> xdoxslt:replicate('oracle', 3)?>
returns oracleoracleoracle

decode('xxx','bbb','cc <? The decode function has the functionality of an

c','xxx','ddd') xdofx:decode('xxx','bbb','cc IF-THEN-ELSE statement. The syntax for the
c','xxx','ddd')?> decode function is: decode(expression, search,
result [,search, result]...[, default])expression is the
value to compare.search is the value that is
compared against expression.result is the value
returned, if expression is equal to search.default is
returned if no matches are found.

Instr('abcabcabc','a', The instr function returns the location of a

2) <?xdofx:Instr('abcabcabc','a',2)? substring in a string. The syntax for the instr
> function is: instr(string1,string2,[start_position],
[nth_appearance])string1 is the string to
search.string2 is the substring to search for in
string1.start_position is the position in string1
where the search starts. The first position in the
string is 1. If the start_position is negative, the
function counts back start_position number of
characters from the end of string1 and then
searches towards the beginning of string1.nth
appearance is the nth appearance of string2.

substr('abcdefg',2,3) <?xdofx:substr('abcdefg', The substr function allows you to extract a

2,3)?> substring from a string. The syntax for the substr
function is: substr(string, start_position,
length)string is the source string.start_position is
the position for extraction. The first position in
the string is always 1.length is the number of
characters to extract.

left <?xdoxslt:left('abcdefg', Enables you to extract the specified number of

3)?> characters from a string, starting from the left.
The syntax is left(string, Numchars) For example,
<?xdoxslt:left('abcdefg', 3)?> returns
abc

right <?xdoxslt:right('abcdefg', Enables you to extract the specified number of

3)?> characters from a string, starting from the right.
The syntax is right(string, Numchars) For
example, <?xdoxslt:right('abcdefg',
3)?> returns efg

Extended Function Support in RTF Templates B-3

Extended SQL and XSL Functions

SQL Statement or Usage Description

XSL Expression
replace(name,'John',' <? The replace function replaces a sequence of
Jon') xdofx:replace(name,'John','J characters in a string with another set of
on')?> characters. The syntax for the replace function is:
replace(string1,string_to_replace,
[replacement_string])string1 is the string to
replace a sequence of characters with another set
of characters.string_to_replace is the string that is
searched for in string1.replacement_string is
optional. All occurrences of string_to_replace are
replaced with replacement_string in string1.

to_number('12345') <?xdofx:to_number('12345')?> Function to_number converts char, a value of

CHAR, VARCHAR2, NCHAR, or NVARCHAR2
datatype that contains a number in the format
that is specified by the optional format model
fmt, to a value of NUMBER datatype.

format_number <? Converts a number to a string and formats the

xdoxslt:format_number(12345, number according to the locale specified in
n, $_XDOLOCALE)?> $_XDOLOCALE and to the number of decimal
positions specified in n using Java's default
symbols. For example: <?
xdoxslt:format_number(-12345, 2,
'fr-FR')?> returns -12 345,00

format_number <? Converts a number to a string and uses the

xdoxslt:format_number(12345, specified separators: s1 for the thousand
n, s1, s2,$_XDOLOCALE)?> separator and s2 for the decimal separator. For
example: <?
xdoxslt:format_number(12345, 2, 'g',
'd', $_XDOLOCALE)?> returns 12g345d00

pat_format_number <? Returns a number formatted with the specified

xdoxslt:pat_format_number(12 pattern. For example: <?
345, '##,##0.00', xdoxslt:pat_format_number(12345,
$_XDOLOCALE)?> '##,##0.00', $_XDOLOCALE)?> returns
12,345.00

to_char(12345) <?xdofx:to_char('12345')?> Use the TO_CHAR function to translate a value

of NUMBER datatype to VARCHAR2 datatype.

to_date <?xdofx:to_date ( char [, fmt [, TO_DATE converts char of CHAR, VARCHAR2,

'nlsparam']] ) NCHAR, or NVARCHAR2 datatype to a value of
DATE datatype. The fmt is a date format
specifying the format of char. If you omit fmt, then
char must be in the default date format. If fmt is 'J',
for Julian, then char must be an integer.

format_date() <?xdoxslt:format_date(./ Reads date in one format and creates in another

AnyDate,'yyyy-MM-dd','MM/dd/ format.
yyyy', $_XDOLOCALE,
$_XDOTIMEZONE)?>

B-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Extended SQL and XSL Functions

SQL Statement or Usage Description

XSL Expression
sysdate() <?xdofx:sysdate()?> SYSDATE returns the current date and time in
XML canonical date format (for example:
1997-07-16T19:20:30.45+01:00). The datatype of
the returned value is DATE. The function
requires no arguments. See Displaying the
System Date (sysdate) in Reports for information
on properly formatting the sysdate in report
output.

current_date() <? Returns the current date in yyyy-MM-dd format

xdoxslt:current_date($_XDOLO in the given locale and timezone. This function
CALE, $_XDOTIMEZONE)?> supports only the Gregorian calendar.
Example: <?
xdoxslt:current_date('ja-
JP', 'Asia/Tokyo')?>

current_time() <? Returns the current time in the given locale and
xdoxslt:current_time($_XDOLO timezone. This function supports only the
CALE, $_XDOTIMEZONE)?> Gregorian calendar.
Example: <?
xdoxslt:current_time('ja-
JP', 'Asia/Tokyo')?>

minimum <? Returns the minimum value of the element in the

xdoxslt:minimum(ELEMENT_NAME set.
)?>

Extended Function Support in RTF Templates B-5

Extended SQL and XSL Functions

SQL Statement or Usage Description

XSL Expression
date_diff <?xdoxslt:date_diff('y', This function provides a method to get the
'YYYY-MM-DD', 'YYYY-MM-DD', difference between two dates in the given locale.
$_XDOLOCALE, $_XDOTIMEZONE)? The dates must be in "yyyy-MM-dd" format. This
> function supports only the Gregorian calendar.
The syntax is as follows: <?
xdoxslt:date_diff('format', 'YYYY-
MM-DD', 'YYYY-MM-DD', $_XDOLOCALE,
$_XDOTIMEZONE)?> where format is the time
value for which the difference is to be calculated.
Valid values are:
• y - for year
• m - for month
• w - for week
• d - for day
• h - for hour
• mi - for minute
• s - for seconds
• ms - for milliseconds
Example: <?xdoxslt:date_diff('y',
'2000-04-08', '2001-05-01',
$_XDOLOCALE, $_XDOTIMEZONE)?>
returns 1
Example: <?xdoxslt:date_diff('m',
'2001-04-08', '2000-02-01',
$_XDOLOCALE, $_XDOTIMEZONE)?>
returns -14
Example: <?xdoxslt:date_diff('d',
'2006-04-08', '2006-04-01',
$_XDOLOCALE, 'America/Los_Angeles')?
>
returns -7

sec_diff <? This function provides a method to get the

xdoxslt:sec_diff('2000-04-08 difference between two dates in seconds in the
T20:00:00', given locale. The dates must be in "yyyy-MM-
'2000-04-08T21:00:00', dd'T'HH:mm:ss". This function supports only
$_XDOLOCALE, $_XDOTIMEZONE?> Gregorian calendar. Example: <?
xdoxslt:sec_diff('2000-04-08T20:00:0
0', '2000-04-08T21:00:00',
$_XDOLOCALE, $_XDOTIMEZONE?> returns
3600

get_day <? This function provides a method to get the day

xdoxslt:get_day('2000-04-08' value of a date in yyyy-MM-dd format in the
, $_XDOLOCALE)?> given locale. This function supports only the
Gregorian calendar. Example: <?
xdoxslt:get_day('2000-04-08',
$_XDOLOCALE)?> returns 8

B-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Extended SQL and XSL Functions

SQL Statement or Usage Description

XSL Expression
get_month <? This function provides a method to get the month
xdoxslt:get_month('2000-04-0 value of a date in yyyy-MM-dd format in the
8', $_XDOLOCALE)?> given locale. This function supports only the
Gregorian calendar. Example: <?
xdoxslt:get_month('2000-04-08',
$_XDOLOCALE)?> returns 4

get_year <? This function provides a method to get the year

xdoxslt:get_year('2000-04-08 value of a date in yyyy-MM-dd format in the
', $_XDOLOCALE)?> given locale. This function supports only the
Gregorian calendar. Example: <?
xdoxslt:get_year('2000-04-08',
$_XDOLOCALE)?> returns 2000

month_name <?xdoxslt:month_name(1, 0, This function provides a method to get the name

$_XDOLOCALE)?> of the month in the given locale. This function
supports only the Gregorian calendar. The syntax
for this function is: <?
xdoxslt:month_name(month,
[abbreviate?], $_XDOLOCALE)?> where
month is the numeric value of the month
(Januany = 1) and [abbreviate?] is the value 0 for
do not abbreviate or 1 for abbreviate. Example:
<?xdoxslt:month_name(12, 1, 'fr-
FR')?> returns dec. Example" <?
xdoxslt:month_name(1, 0,
$_XDOLOCALE)?> returns January

maximum <? Returns the maximum value of the element in the

xdoxslt:maximum(ELEMENT_NAME set.
)?>

abs <?xdoxslt:abs(-123.45)?> Returns the absolute value of the number

entered. Example: <?xdoxslt:abs(-123.45)?
> Returns: 123.45

chr <?xdofx:chr(n)?> CHR returns the character having the binary

equivalent to n in either the database character
set or the national character set.

ceil <?xdofx:ceil(n)?> CEIL returns smallest integer greater than or

equal to n.

floor <?xdofx:floor(n)?> FLOOR returns largest integer equal to or less

than n.

round (SQL <?xdofx:round ( number [, ROUND returns number rounded to integer places
function) integer ] )?> right of the decimal point. If integer is omitted,
then number is rounded to 0 places. integer can be
negative to round off digits left of the decimal
point. integer must be an integer. Example: <?
xdofx:round (2.777)?> returns 3 Example:
<?xdofx:round (2.777, 2)?> returns 2.78

Extended Function Support in RTF Templates B-7

Extended SQL and XSL Functions

SQL Statement or Usage Description

XSL Expression
round (XSLT <?xdoxslt:round ( number [, ROUND returns number rounded to integer places
function) integer ] )?> right of the decimal point. If integer is omitted,
then number is rounded to 0 places. integer can be
negative to round off digits left of the decimal
point. integer must be an integer. Example: <?
xdoxslt:round (2.777)?> returns 3
Example: <?xdoxslt:round (2.777, 2)?>
returns 2.78

lower <?xdofx:lower (char)?> LOWER returns char, with all letters lowercase.
char can be any of the datatypes CHAR,
VARCHAR2, NCHAR, NVARCHAR2, CLOB, or
NCLOB. The return value is the same datatype as
char.

upper <?xdofx:upper(char)?> UPPER returns char, with all letters uppercase.

char can be any of the datatypes CHAR,
VARCHAR2, NCHAR, NVARCHAR2, CLOB, or
NCLOB. The return value is the same datatype as
char.

length <?xdofx:length(char)?> The "length" function returns the length of char.

LENGTH calculates length using characters as
defined by the input character set.

greatest <?xdofx:greatest ( expr [, GREATEST returns the greatest of the list of

expr]... )?> exprs. All exprs after the first are implicitly
converted to the datatype of the first expr before
the comparison.

least <?xdofx:least ( expr [, LEAST returns the least of the list of exprs. All
expr]... )?> exprs after the first are implicitly converted to the
datatype of the first expr before the comparison.

next_element <? Method to get the next element in the current

xdoxslt:next_element(current group. Returns the element that occurs after the
-group(),.,'<element- element named. For example: <?
name>')?> xdoxslt:next_element(current-
group(),.,'employee')?> returns the
element that occurs in the current group after
"employee".

prev_element <? Method to get the previous element in the current

xdoxslt:prev_element(current group. Returns the element that occurs before the
-group(),..,'<element- element named. For example: <?
name')?> xdoxslt:prev_element(current-
group(),.,'employee')?> returns the
element that occurs in the current group before
"employee".

B-8 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Extended SQL and XSL Functions

SQL Statement or Usage Description

XSL Expression
set_array <? Sets a value in a hash table. Syntax is <?
xdoxslt:set_array($_XDOCTX, xdoxslt:set_array($_XDOCTX, '<name
'<name of hash table>', n, of hash table>', n, '<value>')?>where
'<value>')?> $_XDOCTX is required to set the context, <name
of hash table> is the name that you supply
for your table n is the index of the hash table
<value> is the value to set in the hash table. For
example: <?xdoxslt:set_array($_XDOCTX,
'Employee', 2, 'Jones')?> See get_array
below.

get_array <? Returns the value at the specified index of the

xdoxslt:get_array($_XDOCTX, hash table. Syntax is <?
'<name of hash table>', n)?> xdoxslt:get_array($_XDOCTX, '<name
of hash table>', n)?> where $_XDOCTX is
required to set the context, <name of hash
table> is the name you supplied for your table
in set_array n is the index value of the element
you want returned. For example, used in
conjunction with the set_array example above, <?
xdoxslt:get_array($_XDOCTX,
'Employee', 2)?> returns Jones

The following table shows supported combination functions.

SQL Statement Usage

(2+3/4-6*7)/8 <?xdofx:(2+3/4-6*7)/8?>

lpad(substr('1234567890',5,3),10,'^') <?xdofx:lpad(substr('1234567890',5,3),
10,'^')?>

decode('a','b','c','d','e','1')|| <?xdofx:decode('a','b','c','d','e','1')||
instr('321',1,1) instr('321',1,1)?>

Number-To-Word Conversion
This function enables the conversion of numbers to words for RTF template output.
This is a common requirement for check printing.
The new function is "to_check_number". The syntax of this function is
<?xdofx:to_check_number(amount, precisionOrCurrency, caseType, decimalStyle)?>

The following table describes the function attributes.

Attribute Description Valid Value

amount The number to be transformed. Any number

Extended Function Support in RTF Templates B-9

Extended SQL and XSL Functions

Attribute Description Valid Value

precisionOrCurrency For this attribute you can specify either An integer, such as 2; or a currency code,
the precision, which is the number of such as 'USD'.
digits after the decimal point; or the
currency code, which governs the
number of digits after the decimal point.
The currency code does not generate a
currency symbol in the output.

caseType The case type of the output. Valid values are: 'CASE_UPPER',
'CASE_LOWER', 'CASE_INIT_CAP'

decimalStyle Output type of the decimal fraction area. Valid values are:
'DECIMAL_STYLE_FRACTION1',
'DECIMAL_STYLE_FRACTION2',
'DECIMAL_STYLE_WORD'

The following table displays the example function as entered in an RTF template and
the returned output.

RTF Template Entry Returned Output

<?xdofx:to_check_number(12345.67, 2)?> Twelve thousand three hundred forty-five
and 67/100

<?xdofx:to_check_number(12345.67, 'USD')?> Twelve thousand three hundred forty-five

and 67/100

<?xdofx:to_check_number(12345, 'JPY', TWELVE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED

'CASE_UPPER')?> FORTY-FIVE

<?xdofx:to_check_number(12345.67, 'EUR', twelve thousand three hundred forty-five

'CASE_LOWER', and sixty-seven
'DECIMAL_STYLE_WORDS')?>

Using XSLT Profiling in Template Viewer

XSL time logging commands are added to the XSL template to enable time
measurements, which acts as a profiling tool. When the template is run, a log.csv file is
generated which measures the time across the XSL code.

To add XSLT profiling to template viewer:

The Inject Profiling into XSL check box must be enabled to use the XSL profiling
feature.

1. Select XML data file and RTF template file.

2. Select Tools to turn the feature On.

3. Select Generate XSL file from.

4. Select Inject Profiling into XSL.

The Generate XSL file from check box is enabled.

B-10 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 XSL Equivalents

5. Select RTF Template to generate XSL.

The following text is printed in the Console panel: [120915_155214452]

[oracle.xdo.common.xml.XSLTProfiler][EVENT] XSLTProfiler in:
BUPAY018-fix.xsl', out: 'BUPAY018-fix-prf.xsl'

6. Continue to select the XML data file on the left Data pane and the XSL template in
the right Template pane.

7. Click the Start Processing button.

The PDF file is generated.

Note: The following text is printed in the console: [120915_160303478][]

[EVENT] Output of stopwatch_print is "C:\Users \hlie\cases
\ER22309878\xdoxslt_nioDL8xUgG2597685428907396602_log.csv"
.

8. Open the file using MS Excel.

Note the top three time consuming areas.

XSL Equivalents
BI Publisher provides syntax equivalent with XSL.
The following table lists the BI Publisher simplified syntax with the XSL equivalents.

Extended Function Support in RTF Templates B-11

Using FO Elements

Supported XSL Elements Description BI Publisher Syntax

<xsl:value-of select= Placeholder syntax <?name?>
"name">

<xsl:apply-templates Applies a template rule to the current <?apply:name?>

select="name"> element's child nodes.

<xsl:copy-of Creates a copy of the current node. <?copy-of:name?>

select="name">

<xsl:call-template Calls a named template to be inserted <?call:name?>

name="name"> into/applied to the current template.

<xsl:sort select="name"> Sorts a group of data based on an <?sort:name?>

element in the dataset.

<xsl:for-each select="name"> Loops through the rows of data of a <?for-each:name?>

group, used to generate tabular
output.

<xsl:choose> Used in conjunction with when and <?choose?>

otherwise to express multiple
conditional tests.

<xsl:when test="exp"> Used in conjunction with choose and <?when:expression?>

otherwise to express multiple
conditional tests

<xsl:otherwise> Used in conjunction with choose and <?otherwise?>

when to express multiple conditional
tests

<xsl:if test="exp"> Used for conditional formatting. <?if:expression?>

<xsl:template Template declaration <?template:name?>

name="name">

<xsl:variable Local or global variable declaration <?variable:name?>

name="name">

<xsl:import href="url"> Import the contents of one stylesheet <?import:url?>

into another

<xsl:include href="url"> Include one stylesheet in another <?include:url?>

<xsl:stylesheet Define the root element of a stylesheet <?namespace:x=url?>

xmlns:x="url">

Using FO Elements
You can use most FO elements in an RTF template inside the Microsoft Word form
fields.
The FO elements listed in the following table have been extended for use with BI
Publisher RTF templates. The BI Publisher syntax can be used with either RTF
template method.
The full list of FO elements supported by BI Publisher can be found in the Supported
XSL-FO Elements.

B-12 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Using FO Elements

FO Element BI Publisher Syntax

<fo:page-number-citation ref-id="id"> <?fo:page-number-citation:id?>

<fo:page-number> <?fo:page-number?>

<fo:ANY NAME WITHOUT ATTRIBUTE> <?fo:ANY NAME WITHOUT ATTRIBUTE?>

Extended Function Support in RTF Templates B-13

Using FO Elements

B-14 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 C
Designing Accessible Reports

This appendix describes techniques for designing reports to increase accessibility of

report output for users with disabilities. Accessibility support is for HTML output
only.
This appendix includes the following sections:

• Designing for Accessibility

• Designing Accessible Reports Using RTF Templates

• Designing Accessible Reports Using BI Publisher Layouts

Designing for Accessibility

When creating content for consumption by a wide variety of users, you must plan to
provide support for users with various disabilities. Such support is a legal
requirement in many locations throughout the world.
You can follow several general guidelines when designing content for consumption by
a variety of people with differing abilities. These guidelines apply to any content that
you create for BI Publisher or other applications. You must also be aware of features
that are specific to BI Publisher that ensure that the content that you provide supports
accessibility requirements.
This section contains the following topics on designing for accessibility:

• Obtaining General Information

• Avoiding Common Misconceptions

• Following General Guidelines for Accessible Content

• Using the Template Builder to Verify Report Accessibility

Obtaining General Information

You can locate information about accessibility across the Information Technology
industry in numerous published books.
This guide does not intend to duplicate those works. Various standards and legislation
are documented, especially as part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and
Section 508 of the United States Rehabilitation Act.

Avoiding Common Misconceptions

Many designers make assumptions about technology and accessibility. Some of the
more common misconceptions are listed in this section.

• HTML content automatically equals accessible content.

Designing Accessible Reports C-1

Designing for Accessibility

• Accessible tools automatically create accessible content.

• Automated testing tools can reliably determine accessibility.

None of these assumptions is correct. Developers can create non-accessible content
using HTML. A tool that can produce accessible content might not do so by default, or
might allow a developer to select options that turn off the accessible features within
existing accessible content. Automated testing tools do not always interact with
content the same way that end users do. As a result, the tools can erroneously report
accessible elements as non-accessible. Therefore, accessibility is ultimately the
responsibility of the content designer. When creating content, designers must be aware
of certain common practices to ensure the content is accessible to all users.

Following General Guidelines for Accessible Content

Always consider the fact that multiple disabilities exist and that multiple disabilities
might manifest in the same individual. You must also remember that there are varying
degrees of certain disabilities (such as the various types of color vision deficiency).
Your designs must take all these possibilities into account.
This section contains guidelines on the following general areas of design:

• "Color Selection"

• "Color Contrast"

• "Font Selection"

Color Selection
Many different types of color vision deficiency exist, from an inability to see the
difference between one common color pair such as red-green (the most common
deficiency), all the way to full color blindness where a person can see only varying
shades of gray and black. Using only color to convey critical information means that
certain users are not fully aware of all the pertinent information about a subject. And,
of course, a blind user needs any information conveyed by color to also be present in
an alternate textual format.
As a developer, you must not create any content that provides key information by
color alone. One example of a non-accessible design is to denote negative numbers
solely by coloring the text red. Another example is a typical "stoplight" indicator
where the only context information comes from its color — green for good and red for
bad.

Using Color with Text

You can use color in designs if you also include another indication of the same
information.
For example, you can include a minus sign or parentheses to denote negative numbers
in tables and pivots. For stoplight displays, you can add descriptive text or different
shaped icons in addition to the color. You can include text such as "Status: good." You
can include green circles for "good," yellow triangles for "warning," and red octagons
for "bad."

Color Contrast
Because color vision deficiency can also manifest as an inability to distinguish between
subtle shades of similar colors, overall color design of all screen elements must
provide a large amount of contrast. You should strive to achieve a minimum of a 4.5:1

C-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Designing Accessible Reports Using RTF Templates

color luminosity contrast ratio. For example, use black text on a white background
instead of dark gray text on a light gray background.
You can check the following web sites for assistance:

• This site offers a tool that can test for the proper level of contrast:
http://www.paciellogroup.com/resources/contrast-analyser.html

• This site offers a tool for viewing how a web site is displayed for individuals with
various types of color vision deficiency:
http://colorfilter.wickline.org/

Font Selection
Users with low visual acuity often use screen magnification software to make the
screen easier to read. The fonts that you use should be readable even when magnified
by accessibility tools by as much as 20 times.
Some fonts do not display well when magnified, while others do. For example, the
Tahoma font magnifies well.

Using the Template Builder to Verify Report Accessibility

You use the Template Builder for Word to create RTF templates that can generate
reports with accessibility features.
The Template Builder also provides an accessibility checker to review the template for
features that enhance the accessibility of the report for report consumers who may
need assistive technologies to view the report.
For more information, see Checking Accessibility.

Designing Accessible Reports Using RTF Templates

This section describes the following techniques for designing reports using RTF
templates. Accessibility support is for HTML output only.

• Avoiding Nested Tables or Separated Tables

• Defining a Document Title

• Defining Alternative Text for an Image

• Defining a Table Summary

• Defining a Table Column Header

• Defining a Table Row Header

• Sample Supported Tables

• Converting Charts to Tables

Avoiding Nested Tables or Separated Tables

Avoid using nested tables in a report. For a complex report, try breaking down
complex tables into several simple, straightforward tables.
The following figure shows a simple table.

Designing Accessible Reports C-3

Designing Accessible Reports Using RTF Templates

The following figure shows an example of a nested table: A table is inserted inside a
table-cell.

Examples
These are examples of table structures that BI Publisher does and does not support for
accessibility.

Nested Tables
BI Publisher does not support accessibility when nested tables are used in a report.
In the following illustration, BI Publisher cannot tell to which column data "C1R1data"
belongs.

Remove the nested table as shown in the following illustration.

Table Headers Must Not Be Separated from the Table Body

To ensure accessibility, table headers must be part of the table they belong to.
The example shown in the following illustration is not supported because the header,
table body and accessibility fields exist in three different tables.

C-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Designing Accessible Reports Using RTF Templates

These three tables should be joined into one to support accessibility, as shown in the
following illustration.

Defining a Document Title

You can define a document title. The procedure differs slightly depending on the
version of Microsoft Word.

To define or change a document title in Microsoft Word 2007:

• Click the Office button, click Prepare, and then click Properties.

To define or change a document title in previous versions of Word:

• On the File menu, click Properties, then click the Summary tab.

Defining Alternative Text for an Image

To define alternative text for an image in the template:

1. Right-click the image.

2. On the menu, click Format Picture.

3. On the Alt Text tab, enter "alt:" followed by the alternative text. For example:

alt:flower picture

Note:

In versions of Word prior to 2007, enter the alt:text syntax on the Web tab.

Defining a Table Summary

Add a table summary to a table by inserting this command.
<?table-summary: 'My Table Test '?>

in the first column and first row position of the table.

Designing Accessible Reports C-5

Designing Accessible Reports Using RTF Templates

Defining a Table Column Header

You can define a table column header. The procedure differs slightly depending on the
version of Microsoft Word.

To define a table column header in Word 2007:

1. Select the heading row or rows. The selection must include the first row of the
table.

2. On the Design tab, in the Table Style Options group, select Header Row.

3. Right-click the table and select Table Properties.

4. In the Table Properties dialog, click the Row tab and then select Repeat as Header
row at the top of each page.

To define a table column header in previous versions of Word:

1. Select the heading row or rows. The selection must include the first row of the
table.

2. On the Table menu, click Heading Rows Repeat.

Defining a Table Row Header

To define multiple row headers, use the BI Publisher command.
<?acc-row-header:col_index?>

Example Usage:
<?acc-row-header:'1,2,4'?> ==> column 1, 2 and 4 will be row-headers.

<?acc-row-header:'1,4'?> ==> column 1 and 4 will be row-headers.

In the following figure, the code behind the ACC field is:
ACC Field=<?table-summary:'My Table Test '?><?acc-row-header:'1,2'?>

which defines the first two columns as row headers.

Sample Supported Tables

The following illustrations display sample tables for which accessibility is supported.

C-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Designing Accessible Reports Using RTF Templates

Converting Charts to Tables

Charts and gauges are not readable by the visually impaired. In order to make report
output accessible for visually impaired users, create a table or cross tab that
summarizes the data in the table.
The following figure shows the summarized data in the table. Ideally, the data is
summarized at the same level as it is in the chart. Avoid providing a large table of
detail data that is not summarized appropriately.

Designing Accessible Reports C-7

Designing Accessible Reports Using BI Publisher Layouts

Designing Accessible Reports Using BI Publisher Layouts

This section describes the following techniques for designing accessible reports using
the BI Publisher layout editor.

• "Defining Document Titles"

• "Defining Alternative Text for Images"

• "Defining Summary Text for Tables"

• "Defining Table Row Headers"

• "Defining Text Header Levels"

Defining Document Titles

You define the title of a report at the same time as you save the report layout. You can
also rename the report at a later time.

Defining Alternative Text for Images

You can define alternative text for images so that they are describable in accessibility
mode.

To define alternative text for an image:

1. Select an image such as a chart.

2. On the Properties pane, expand Misc.

3. In the Alternative Text property, enter the alternative text for the image as shown
in the following figure:

C-8 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Designing Accessible Reports Using BI Publisher Layouts

Defining Summary Text for Tables

You can define a text summary to describe a table within a report.
To define summary table text:

1. Select a table.

2. On the Properties pane, expand Misc.

3. In the Summary property, enter the table summary text as shown in the following
figure:

Designing Accessible Reports C-9

Designing Accessible Reports Using BI Publisher Layouts

Defining Table Row Headers

Table row headers summarize each row in a table. The layout editor automatically
includes table row headers on all inserted tables. No further action is required.

Defining Text Header Levels

You can define text header levels to specify structures within a report.
To define text header levels:

1. Select a text item.

2. On the Properties pane, expand Misc.

3. In the Header Level property, select a value 1 to 6 as shown in the following figure:

C-10 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

Designing Accessible Reports Using BI Publisher Layouts

Designing Accessible Reports C-11

Designing Accessible Reports Using BI Publisher Layouts

C-12 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 D
Supported XSL-FO Elements

This appendix lists the XSL-FO elements that are supported by BI Publisher in RTF
templates.

• Supported XSL-FO Elements

Supported XSL-FO Elements

The following table lists the XSL-FO elements supported in this release.
For each element the supported content elements and attributes are listed. If elements
have shared supported attributes, these are noted as a group and are listed in the
subsequent table, Property Groups. For example, several elements share the content
element "inline." Rather than list the inline properties each time, each entry notes that
"inline-properties" are supported. The list of inline-properties can then be found in the
Property Groups table.

Element Supported Content Elements Supported Attributes

basic-link external-graphic inline-properties
inline external-destination
leader internal-destination
page-number
page-number-citation
basic-link
block
block-container
table
list-block
wrapper
marker
retrieve-marker

bidi-override bidi-override inline-properties

external-graphic
instream-foreign-object
inline
leader
page-number
page-number-citation
basic-link

Supported XSL-FO Elements D-1

Supported XSL-FO Elements

Element Supported Content Elements Supported Attributes

block external-graphic block-properties
inline
page-number
page-number-citation
basic-link
block
block-container
table
list-block
wrapper

block-container block block-properties

block-container
table
list-block
wrapper

bookmark-tree bookmark N/A

bookmark bookmark external-destination

bookmark-title internal-destination
starting-state

bookmark-title N/A color

font-style
font-weight

conditional-page-master- N/A master-reference page-

reference position
• first
• last
• rest
• any
• inherit
odd-or-even
• odd
• even
• any
• inherit
blank-or-not-blank
• blank
• not-blank
• any
• inherit

external-graphic N/A graphic-properties

src

D-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Supported XSL-FO Elements

Element Supported Content Elements Supported Attributes

flow block flow-properties
block-container
table
list-block
wrapper

inline external-graphic inline-properties

inline
leader
page-number
page-number-citation
basic-link
block
block-container
table
wrapper

instream-foreign-object N/A graphic-properties

layout-master-set page-sequence-master N/A

simple-page-master
simple-page-master
page-sequence-master

leader N/A inline-properties

list-block list-item block-properties

list-item list-item-label block-properties

list-item-body

list-item-body block block-properties

block-container
table
list-block
wrapper

list-item-label block block-container table list- block-properties

block wrapper

page-number N/A empty-inline-properties

page-number-citation N/A empty-inline-properties

ref-id

Supported XSL-FO Elements D-3

Supported XSL-FO Elements

Element Supported Content Elements Supported Attributes

page-sequence static-content inheritable-properties
flow id
master-reference
initial-page-number
• auto
• <page-number>
force-page-count
• auto
• end-on-even
• end-on-odd
• end-on-even-layout
• end-on-odd-layout
• no-force
• inherit
format

page-sequence-master single-page-master-reference master-name

repeatable-page-master-reference
repeatable-page-master-alternatives

region-after N/A side-region-properties

region-before N/A side-region-properties

region-body N/A region-properties

margin-properties-CSS
column-count

region-end N/A side-region-properties

region-start N/A side-region-properties

repeatable-page-master- conditional-page-master-reference maximum-repeats

alternatives

repeatable-page-master- N/A master-reference

reference maximum-repeats

root bookmark-tree inheritable-properties

layout-master-set
page-sequence

D-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Supported XSL-FO Elements

Element Supported Content Elements Supported Attributes

simple-page-master region-body margin-properties-CSS
region-before master-name
region-after page-height
region-start page-width
region-end reference-orientation
• 0
• 90
• 180
• 270
• -90
• -180
• -270
• 0deg
• 90deg
• 180deg
• 270deg
• -90deg
• -180deg
• -270deg
• inherit
writing-mode
• lr-tb

single-page-master- N/A master-reference

reference

static-content block flow-properties

block-container
table
wrapper

table table-column block-properties

table-header
table-footer
table-body

table-body table-row inheritable-properties

id

table-cell block block-properties

block-container number-columns-spanned
table number-rows-spanned
list-block
wrapper

table-column N/A inheritable-properties

column-number
column-width
number-columns-
repeated

Supported XSL-FO Elements D-5

Supported XSL-FO Elements

Element Supported Content Elements Supported Attributes

table-footer table-row inheritable-properties
id

table-header table-row inheritable-properties

id

table-row table-cell inheritable-properties

id

wrapper inline inheritable-properties

page-number id
page-number-citation
basic-link
block
block-container
table
wrapper

Property Groups Table

These properties support XSL-FO elements.
The following table lists the supported properties belonging to the attribute groups
defined in Supported XSL-FO Elements.

Property Group Properties

area-properties clip
overflow (visible, hidden)
reference-orientation
• 0
• 90
• 180
• 270
• -90
• -180
• -270
• 0deg
• 90deg
• 180deg
• 270deg
• -90deg
• -180deg
• -270deg
• inherit
writing-mode (lr-tb, rl-tb, lr, rl)
baseline-shift (baseline, sub, super)
vertical-align

D-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Supported XSL-FO Elements

Property Group Properties

block-properties inheritable-properties
id

Supported XSL-FO Elements D-7

Supported XSL-FO Elements

Property Group Properties

border-padding- background-color
background-properties background-image
background-position-vertical
background-position-horizontal
border
border-after-color
border-after-style (none, dotted, dashed, solid, double)
border-after-width
border-before-color
border-before-style (none, solid)
border-before-width
border-bottom
border-bottom-color
border-bottom-style (none, dotted, dashed, solid, double)
border-bottom-width
border-color
border-end-color
border-end-style (none, dotted, dashed, solid, double)
border-end-width
border-left
border-left-color
border-left-style (none, dotted, dashed, solid, double)
border-left-width
border-right
border-right-color
border-right-style (none, dotted, dashed, solid, double)
border-right-width
border-start-color
border-start-style (none, dotted, dashed, solid, double)
border-start-width
border-top
border-top-color
border-top-style (none, dotted, dashed, solid, double)
border-top-width
border-width
padding
padding-after
padding-before
padding-bottom
padding-end
padding-left
padding-right
padding-start
padding-top

D-8 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Supported XSL-FO Elements

Property Group Properties

box-size-properties height
width

character-properties font-properties
text-decoration

empty-inline-properties character-properties
border-padding-background-properties
id
color

flow-properties inheritable-properties
id
flow-name

font-properties font-family
font-size
font-style (normal, italic, oblique)
font-weight (normal, bold)
table-omit-header-at-break (TRUE, FALSE, inherit)
table-omit-footer-at-break (TRUE, FALSE, inherit)

graphic-properties border-padding-background-properties
margin-properties-inline
box-size-properties
font-properties
keeps-and-breaks-properties-atomic
id

inheritable-properties border-padding-background-properties
box-size-properties
margin-properties-inline
area-properties
character-properties
line-related-properties
leader-properties
keeps-and-breaks-properties-block
color absolute-position
• auto
• absolute
• fixed
• inherit

inline-properties inheritable-properties id

keeps-and-breaks- break-after (auto, column, page)

properties-atomic break-before (auto,column)
keep-with-next
keep-with-next.within-page

Supported XSL-FO Elements D-9

Supported XSL-FO Elements

Property Group Properties

keeps-and-breaks- keeps-and-breaks-properties-inline
properties-block

keeps-and-breaks- keeps-and-breaks-properties-atomic
properties-inline keep-together
keep-together.within-line
keep-together.within-column
keep-together.within-page

leader-properties leader-pattern (rule, dots)

leader-length
leader-length.optimum (dotted, dashed, solid, double)
rule-thickness

line-related-properties text-align (start, center, end, justify, left, right, inherit)

text-align-last (start, center, end, justify, left, right, inherit)
text-indent
linefeed-treatment (ignore, preserve, treat-as-space, treat-as-zero-
width-space, inherit )
white-space-treatment (ignore, preserve, ignore-if-before-
linefeed, ignore-if-after-linefeed, ignore-if-surrounding-linefeed,
inherit)
white-space-collapse (FALSE, TRUE, inherit)
wrap-option (no-wrap, wrap, inherit)
direction (ltr)

margin-properties-block margin-properties-CSS
space-after
space-after.optimum
space-before
space-before.optimum
start-indent
end-indent

margin-properties-CSS margin
margin-bottom
margin-left
margin-right
margin-top

D-10 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Supported XSL-FO Elements

Property Group Properties

margin-properties-inline margin-properties-block
space-start
space-start.optimum
space-end
space-end.optimum
position
• static
• relative
• absolute
• fixed
• inherit
top
left

region-properties border-padding-background-properties
area-properties
region-name

side-region-properties region-properties
extent

Supported XSL-FO Elements D-11

Supported XSL-FO Elements

D-12 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 E
Generating PDF/A and PDF/X Output

This appendix describes how to generate PDF/A and PDF/X output from BI
Publisher.
This chapter includes the following topics:

• Generating PDF/A Output

• Generating PDF/X output

Generating PDF/A Output

PDF/A is a variation of PDF file format designed for the long-term archiving of
electronic documents. Some governments and standards organizations require PDF/A
to ensure preservation of documents. A PDF/A file is a PDF file viewable by PDF
viewers such as Adobe Reader, but the PDF/A file must follow additional
requirements specified in the ISO standard. These requirements specify both required
objects and features not supported for long-term archiving. BI Publisher generates the
PDF/A-1b variation of the PDF/A standard.

Requirements and Limitations

PDF/A output has specified requirements and limitations
The following lists limitations of and requirements for generating PDF/A output:

• Supported template types: The following template types support the generation of
PDF/A: RTF, FO, XPT, and XSL. There are no additional template requirements to
generate PDF/A.

• Font requirements: By default, all fonts in the template are replaced with Albany
fonts in the output. To use a different font in the output, specify the font mappings
in the report configuration. If Albany fonts are not available in the JVM font
directory and you have not specified a font mapping, the output will not become a
valid PDF/A file. In this case, Helvetica font is used.

• PDF features not supported in PDF/A documents:

– All audio and video content, including Flash embedding

– Transparency (transparent colors render as opaque)

– Encryption

• Reprocessing by BI Publisher utilities is not supported: Reprocessing of the

PDF/A file using the BI Publisher utilities PDFBookBinder, PDFDocMerger, or
PDFSignature (digital signature) is not supported. The reprocessed PDF file may
lose conformance to the PDF/A standard.

Generating PDF/A and PDF/X Output E-1

Generating PDF/X output

• Required report configuration properties: The report run-time properties must be

set as shown in the following table.

Property Required Setting

pdf-version Must be no higher than 1.4

Enable PDF Security Must be set to false

(pdf-security)

Encryption Level Must be set to 0

(pdf-encryption-level)

pdf-font-embedding Must be se to true

Formatting properties specific to PDF/A output can be set in the Report Properties
dialog. For more information, see PDF/A Output Properties.

Additional Resources
For more information about the PDF/A standard, refer to the Adobe website. Refer
also to the iso.org website for articles 'Use of PDF 1.4 (PDF/A-1)' and 'Addendum Cor
1:2007'.

Generating PDF/X output

PDF/X is a collection of ISO standards that defines methods for the exchange of digital
graphic data using PDF to ensure predictable and consistent printing in a professional
print environment.
A PDF/X document is a PDF file viewable by PDF readers such as Adobe Reader, but
it follows an additional set of rules defined by the ISO specifications. These rules
specify both required objects and features not supported for graphics exchange. The
PDF/X standard follows strict rules in color management. BI Publisher supports the
PDF/X-1a:2003 variation of the PDF/X standard.

Prerequisites
The generation of PDF/X output requires that you obtain the International Color
Consortium (ICC) profile data file and place it under <bi publisher
repository>/Admin/Configuration.
The ICC profile is a binary file describing the color characteristics of the intended
output device. For production environments, the color profile may be provided by
your print vendor or by the printing company that prints the generated PDF/X file.
An example of an ICC profile data file is: CoatedFOGRA27.icc.
Profile data is also available from Adobe (http://www.adobe.com/support) or
colormanagement.org (http://www.colormanagement.org/).

Requirements and Limitations

PDF/X output has specified requirements and limitations.
The following lists limitations of and requirements for generating PDF/X output:

E-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Generating PDF/X output

• Supported template types: The following template types support the generation of
PDF/X: RTF, FO, XPT, and XSL. There are no additional template requirements to
generate PDF/X.

• Color requirements: The color data in the template (text color, images, and SVG) is
stored as RGB data, but at the time the PDF/X file is generated, the color data is
converted to CMYK using an ICC profile that you must provide to BI Publisher.
Specify the ICC profile using the PDF/X ICC Profile Data property. See the
following table.

• PDF features not supported in PDF/X documents:

– Transparency (transparent colors render as opaque)

– Encryption

• Font requirements: By default, all fonts are replaced with Albany fonts. To use a
different font in the output, specify the font mappings in the report configuration.
If Albany fonts are not available in the JVM font directory and you have not
specified a font mapping (that is, there is no embeddable font available), the output
will not become a valid PDF/X file. In this case, Helvetica font is used.

• Reprocessing by BI Publisher utilities is not supported: Reprocessing of the

PDF/X file using the BI Publisher utilities PDFBookBinder, PDFDocMerger, or
PDFSignature is not supported. The reprocessed file becomes a regular PDF file
and may lose conformance to the PDF/X standard.

• Required report configuration properties: The report run-time properties must be

set as shown in the following table.

Property Required Setting

pdf-version Must be no higher than 1.4.

Enable PDF Security Must be set to false.

(pdf-security)

Encryption Level Must be set to 0.

(pdf-encryption-level)

pdf-font-embedding Must be se to true.

Formatting properties specific to PDF/X output can be set in the Report Properties
dialog. Of the formatting properties, the following two are required:

Property Description Valid Values

PDF/X ICC Profile Data The name of the ICC profile ICC profile data file name,
data file placed under <BI for example:
Publisher repository>/ CoatedFOGRA27.icc
Admin/Configuration.

Generating PDF/A and PDF/X Output E-3

Generating PDF/X output

Property Description Valid Values

PDF/X output condition The name of one of the A valid "Reference name,"
identifier standard printing for example: FOGRA43
conditions registered with
ICC. The list of standard
CMYK printing conditions
to use with PDF/X-1a is
provided on the following
ICC website: http://
www.color.org/chardata/
drsection1.xalter.

For more information, see PDF/X Output Properties.

Additional Resources
For more information about the PDF/X standard, see these resources.

• Application Notes for PDF/X Standards

• ISO 15930-4:2003 Graphic technology -- Prepress digital data exchange using PDF --
Part 4: Complete exchange of CMYK and spot color printing data using PDF 1.4
(PDF/X-1a)

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 F
PDF Version Support

This chapter describes BI Publisher's support for PDF specification 1.7 in its processing
utilities.
It contains the following sections:

• About PDF Version Support

• Supported Utilities

• Limitations

About PDF Version Support

In versions of BI Publisher earlier than 11.1.1.7, the PDF utilities required that all PDF
input documents be PDF version 1.4. Starting with the 11.1.1.7 release, users can pass
PDF documents of later versions to the BI Publisher PDF utilities.
BI Publisher generates the output PDF version based on the input PDF version as
follows:

• PDF version 1.4 and earlier generates PDF 1.4

• PDF version 1.5 and later generates the same output version as the input version

Note:

The version specification here is referred to as "PDF 1.7," however, there are
very few differences between PDF 1.7 and ISO 32000-1. Therefore BI
Publisher's support for PDF 1.7 can also be considered as support for ISO
32000-1.
For more information about these standards, see the Adobe website at
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/pdf/pdf_reference.html
and the International Organization for Standardization website at
http://www.iso.org/iso/home.html.

Supported Utilities
Several utilities support PDF documents and templates.
The BI Publisher utilities that support PDF 1.7 are:

• FormProcessor – merges a PDF template with XML data to produce PDF document
output.

PDF Version Support F-1

Limitations

• PDFDocMerger – provides optional processing of PDF files to merge documents,

add page numbering, and set watermarks.

• PDFSignature – creates signed PDF documents by processing unsigned PDF

documents with a signature field name and a password-protected Personal
Information Exchange (PFX) file.

Limitations
This section describes the limitations of BI Publisher's support for the PDF 1.7
standard.
It includes the following topics:

• Limitations That Apply to All PDF Utilities

• FormProcessor Limitations

• PDFDocMerger and PDFBookBinder Limitations

• PDFSignature Limitations

Limitations That Apply to All PDF Utilities

PDF utilities have limited functionality in BI Publisher.
Limitations that apply to all the BI Publisher PDF utilities are:

• Secured PDF documents cannot be used as input to any BI Publisher PDF utility.

• PDF documents generated by BI Publisher do not support most accessibility

features.

• Unicode passwords are not supported.

• PDF utilities may not work properly with input PDFs that contain 3-D artwork and
input PDF documents formatted as a presentation (slideshow).

FormProcessor Limitations
Limitations that apply to the FormProcessor utility are listed in this section.

• XFA Forms (Adobe's XML Forms Architecture) is not supported.

• Portable collection (portfolio) is not supported.

• Tagged PDF documents will lose tags after processing.

PDFDocMerger and PDFBookBinder Limitations

Limitations apply to the PDFDocMerger and PDFBookBinder utilities.
Limitations include:

• The output PDF document version is determined based on the first input PDF
document.

• XFA Forms (Adobe's XML Forms Architecture) is not supported.

• Portable collection (portfolio) is not supported.

F-2 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 Limitations

• Tagged PDF documents will lose tags after merging.

• The following objects are preserved in the output, but the navigation panel shows
only objects contained in the first input PDF document.

– Bookmark

– Attachment

– Layer

– Print characteristics (such as paper selection, handling, page range, copies, and
scaling)

PDFSignature Limitations
Limitations apply to the PDFSignature utility.
Limitations include:

• Object signature is not supported.

• Selective encryption of embedded files is not supported.

• AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) is not supported.

• PDFSignature may not work correctly with the digital signature constraints and
certificate constraints described in Section 1.2.5 of the PDF 1.7 specification. For
more information about the PDF 1.7 specification, see the Adobe website at
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/pdf/pdf_reference.html

PDF Version Support F-3

Limitations

F-4 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

 G
Using the Customize Feature

This appendix describes how to use the Customize feature available for reports when
BI Publisher is integrated with Oracle BI Enterprise Edition.
This appendix includes the following sections:

• About Customizing Reports

• Prerequisites and Limitations of the Customization Feature

• Using the Customize Feature

• Considerations When Using the Customize Feature

About Customizing Reports

Many Oracle products integrate with BI Publisher to provide the reporting
functionality needed for the product. Many products also provide prepackaged
reports. You can opt to customize the reports.
To customize the prepackaged reports, you have three options:

• Customize the original report.

Oracle strongly discourages modifying the original reports provided with Oracle
products because any modifications are overwritten when Oracle provides a patch
that updates the original report. If you choose to modify the original report, you
must reapply your report changes when a patch updates the original report.

• Copy the report and customize the copy.

To avoid the risk of overwriting your customizations, an alternative is to make a
copy of the report and customize the copy. With this option, you must also
consider whether the original report is called by an application or process (such as
the Oracle Enterprise Scheduler). These processes are typically coded with the
report catalog path, therefore to enable them to execute your custom report, you
must also make additional customizations to the calling application code to point
to the customized copy of the report in the catalog.

• Use the Customize feature.

To facilitate the customization of prepackaged application reports, BI Publisher
provides the Customize feature. When you select the Customize option for a
report, BI Publisher creates a copy of the report in the "Custom" folder. This custom
copy is linked internally to the original report. You can customize the custom copy
of the report, leaving the original report intact. When users initiate a request to run
the original report, whether from the BI Publisher catalog or through an application
process, BI Publisher detects the customized version and runs your custom version
instead.

Using the Customize Feature G-1

Prerequisites and Limitations of the Customization Feature

The Customize feature provides the following benefits:

• Enables a customization process that mimics the convenience of an "in-place"

customization. BI Publisher automatically creates the copy and the mapping.

• Removes the requirement to edit calling processes or applications to execute the

custom report. Although you customize the copy, BI Publisher automatically sends
all requests to run the original report to the custom copy instead.

• Removes the risk of patches overwriting your customizations.

Prerequisites and Limitations of the Customization Feature

Following are the prerequisites for and limitations of this feature.

Prerequisites
To enable the Customization option for reports, certain requirements must be met.

Catalog Requirements

• BI Publisher must use a shared catalog with Oracle BI Enterprise Edition.

• A folder named "Custom" must exist directly under Shared Folders. If the Custom
folder is not seeded by your application, an Administrator can create it. The
Administrator must grant the Write permission to the BI Author role for the
Custom folder.

• Reports that are to be customized must reside in the folder hierarchy under Shared
Folders. Reports under My Folders cannot be customized using this feature.

User Requirements
Following are requirements for a user to customize a report:

• A user must be granted the BI Author role (or a role that includes the permission
oracle.bi.publisher.developReport)

• A user must be granted these permissions on the original report in the catalog:

– Read

– Run Publisher Report

• A user must be granted these permissions on the Custom folder in the catalog:

– Read

– Write

• The user must be granted access to the data model and data source of the original
report if the same data model is used.
Following are requirements for a user to view a report in the Custom folder:

• A user must be granted the BI Consumer role

• A user must be granted these permissions on the original report in the catalog:

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 Using the Customize Feature

– Read

– Run Publisher Report

• A user must be granted these permissions on the Custom report in the catalog:

– Read

– Run Publisher Report

• The user must be granted access to the data model and data source of the original
report if the same data model is used.

Limitations
You can customize reports within the following parameters.
Following are limitations of the Customize report option:

• The Customize option is not available through the /analytics URL used to
access Oracle BI Enterprise Edition (for example: http://hostname.com:7001/
analytics).
You must access BI Publisher through the /xmlpserver URL (for example:
http://hostname.com:7001/xmlpserver) to see the Customize option.

• The Customize option is available only for reports. The Customize option is not
available for data models, style templates, or sub templates.
To customize data models, style templates or sub templates and insulate them from
potential changes from patching, follow the second approach described in the
preceding section: Make a copy of the data model, style template, or sub-template
and either rename it or place it in a custom directory. Ensure that you update any
reports to point to the customized data model, style template, or sub-template.

• The security grants applied to the original report and folder hierarchy are not
copied to the report created in the Custom folder. You must manually apply the
security settings for the reports and folders that are created by the Customize
feature in the Custom folder. See Using the Customize Feature for details on setting
permissions.

Using the Customize Feature

Use the Customize feature to create custom layouts and processes.
Assume your enterprise uses an Oracle prepackaged report called "Customer Orders"
that resides under Shared Folders/Applications/Financials. Existing
application processes point to this report in its current location in the catalog. Your
organization wants to add a custom layout to this report that displays your company
logo and color schemes. You then want the application processes to run your custom
layout whenever the report is run as part of the business process, run as a separately
scheduled job, or run directly from the catalog.
To use the Customize feature:

1. Log in to BI Publisher Enterprise through the /xmlpserver URL. Navigate to your

report in the catalog. Click the More link for your report to see all options and then
click Customize.

Using the Customize Feature G-3

Considerations When Using the Customize Feature

BI Publisher creates a copy of the report in the Custom folder, under the identical
folder hierarchy: Shared Folders/Custom/Applications/Financials and
opens the report copy in the report editor.

2. Create a custom layout for this report and save it. Use the List View to customize
properties of the layout, enable the custom layout as the default for this report, or
inactivate the original layouts so your users no longer see them. See Configuring
the Layout Settings Using the List View for information on setting the layout
properties.

3. Apply security to the custom report.

Although BI Publisher creates identical folder hierarchy for the custom copy of the
report, the catalog permissions present on the original folders and report are not
copied to the custom report or the folder hierarchy. You must manually reapply the
catalog permissions to secure the custom report identically to the original report.
To apply catalog permissions to reports:

• Use the Oracle Business Intelligence interface by logging in to Oracle Business

Intelligence using the /analytics URL (for example:
http:www.example.com:7001/analytics).

• You must be granted the appropriate permissions for setting permissions on the
objects in the Custom folder. This typically requires having a role that is granted
Full Control on the Custom folder. For more information about setting catalog
permissions, see "Managing Objects in the BI Presentation Catalog" in the User's
Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition.

Considerations When Using the Customize Feature

When you click the Customize link, the report and the folder structure are copied to
the Custom folder. The custom report still references the original data model. The data
model is not copied. Because the data model referenced by the custom report is the
original data model, an Oracle patch that updates the data model may impact the
running of your custom report if the data structure is changed.
When an Oracle patch is applied that updates the original report, the custom report is
not updated in any way.
When a custom version of a report exists, performing tasks on the original report will
have the following results:

Task Performed on Behavior When a Custom Report Is Present

the Original Report

Open Opens the custom report.

Schedule Creates a report job for the custom report.

Edit Edits the custom report.

Delete Deletes the original report (only).

Copy Copies the original report.

Cut/Paste Cuts and pastes the original report.

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 Considerations When Using the Customize Feature

Task Performed on Behavior When a Custom Report Is Present

the Original Report

Rename Renames the original report. The custom report name is not changed.

Download Downloads the custom report.

Customize Edits the custom report.

To apply further edits to a report in the Custom folder perform one of the following

• Select the Customize or Edit option for the original report; this action opens the
existing customized report.

• Navigate to the custom report in the Custom folder and select Edit.
If you manually create the identical folder path to a report under the Custom folder
and create a report with the same name, BI Publisher treats the identically named
report as a customized report and will run this report instead of the original report, as
if you had used the Customize option to create it.
If you delete the original report, the custom report is not deleted. If you delete the
custom report, the original report is not deleted.

Using the Customize Feature G-5

Considerations When Using the Customize Feature

G-6 Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher