BI Publisher 11g Tutorial with steps

1.

a.Enter the URL for BI Publisher in the browser window in the following format:http://: /xmlpserver/. The examples covered in this tutorial usehttp:/localhost:7001/xmlpserver/This opens the Oracle BI Publisher Enterprise login page.b.Enter your credentials. ClickSign In. The Oracle BI Publisher Home page is displayed.

2.

The Oracle BI Publisher Home page provides a task-based entry into Oracle BI Publisher's functionalities(greatly enhanced in the 11grelease to enable the users to get started quickly with BI Publisher). It is divided into various sections enabling you to quickly begin a specific task, locate an object, or access help documentation.

You can observe:

Aglobal headercontaining links and options that enable you to quickly begin a task or locate a specific object within BI Publisher. It is always displayed when you are working in BI Publisher. While you are viewing a report or working within one of the task editors, you can use the global header to quickly begin a new task, search the catalog, access product documentation, or view a different object.On the global header, you can see the links to theCatalog, drop-down listsNew,Open, Administration, Help,andSign Indetails.

ACreatesection on the left that has options to help you create reports, data models, and other objects

ABrowse/Managesection on the left that helps you to browse and manage the catalog, jobs, and job history

AGet Startedsection on the left that helps you to get started with BI Publisher, with links to various BI Publisher tools, Online Help, and Oracle Technology Network

ARecentsection on the right, personalized to each user so that the users can open/view the reports that have been accessed recently (when you log in initially, you may not see any objects listed in the Recent section). This section contains the reports and other objects that you have recently viewed, created, or updated. You can take actions on these objects directly from the Recent region. You can open, edit, schedule, and view jobs or job history for a report.

AFavoritessection on the right enabling you to create your own list of objects for quick access. From the Favorites region, you can Schedule, Configure, Remove, and See Job History or Edit the objects that are selected. This is a new feature in the current release.

Browsing the Catalog and Viewing ReportsIt also has links to the Report Jobs and the Report Jobs History pages, where you can view and manage scheduled, running, and completed report jobs.

1 .

The Catalog page is displayed as a tree structure on the left side of the page with the details on the right. The catalog stores the BI Publisher objects, such as reports, data models, and style templates.The catalog page has a tool bar with various task icons such as New, Upload, Copy, Cut, Paste, and other options that can be used when creating or managing the catalog objects such as data models and reports.

2 .

Use the Folders pane of the Catalog page to display and navigate the content.To open the reportSalary Report - No Parameters, select the report under theShared Folders/Sample Lite/Published Reporting/Reportsfolder, and then clickOpen.This will open the selected report in the Report Viewer as shown below.

Managing FavoritesFrom the Favorites region, you can Schedule, Configure, Remove, and See Job History or Edit the objects that you have placed there.

1 .

There are several ways to add objects to the Favorites region:

Use the More menu in the catalog to add the report or objects to the Favorites section.

1. Locate the report or the object in the catalog, click theMorelink, and then, clickAdd To Favoritesin the More Menu.

2. A confirmation message is displayed.

3. The report is added to the Favorites section now.

You can also add a report to the Favorites section from the Report Viewer. Use theActionsmenu, and then clickAdd to My Favorite.

You can also use theManagelink in the Favorites section of the Home page for adding and managing the favorites.

Creating a New FolderTo create a new folder calledLearn, do the following:

1 .

ClickCatalogfrom the global header.This will display the Catalog page.

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Navigate toMy Foldersfolder.

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ClickFolderfrom theNewdrop-down list.Create dialog box is displayed.

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In the Create dialog box, provide a folder name -Learn,and provide the description if necessary. Then, clickCreate.The created folder is displayed in the catalog now. You will use this folder to save the files, reports, and other objects that you create for the tutorial practices.

Uploading a Resource to the CatalogThis example will show how to upload a predefined data model to the catalog.Follow the steps given below to upload the data model from your local machine to theLearnfolder.Now, you will upload the Salary Report Datamodel.xdmz file into theLearnfolder in the catalog. Follow the steps given below:

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On the Catalog page, navigate to theLearnfolder, and then clickUpload Resourceicon.

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In the File Upload dialog box, browse and select theSalary Report Datamodel.xdmzfile from your local machine.

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ClickUploadafter selecting the relevant resource..The uploaded resourceSalary Report Datamodelis available under theLearnfolder now.This concludes the topic of uploading a predefined data model to the catalog folder.This feature is useful if you have to use any predefined object such as data model, template, or report.

Setting My Account Preferences

1 .

To set and view the account preferences for your user credentials, use theMy Accountoption for your login. In this example the user name isweblogic.ClickMy Accountunder theSigned In Asuser account to:

Set general preferences

Change your password

View assigned roles

2 .

By default, theGeneraltab is selected.A locale is a language and territory combination. BI Publisher uses the Report Locale selection to determine translation and currency, date formatting that are to be applied on a report. In this example, the locale is set as English (United States).Note:If a particular report does not have a translation for the selected locale, BI Publisher applies a locale fallback logic to select the most appropriate layout available. BI Publisher applies localized number, date, and currency formatting independently of the layout translation.The UI language is the language in which the user interface displays. The language that you selected at login is selected as the default. Select from the languages that are available for your installation. In this example, it is set asEnglish(United States).Reports display the time according to the time zone preference selected here. You can override this setting when creating a scheduled report job, which is discussed in the later topic. In this example, the Time zone is set to[GMT+00:00] Casablanca.Note:The time displayed on the user interface and reflected in report processing times is governed by the BI Publisher server time zone.When BI Publisher is running in an integrated mode (installed with OBI EE), the Report Local, UI Language, and Time Zone drop-downs are grayed out. If you need to change these preferences for the BI Publisher running in the integrated mode, you should log in from the BI Analytics page.

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Click thePasswordtab to reset the password.Note:If your account password settings are inherited from another application such as Oracle BIEE, then you cannot update your password here.

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Click theMy Groupstab to view a list of the application roles to which you are assigned. You cannot modify this list. ClickOKto close theMy Accountwindow.

Configuring the Data Sources

1 .

To define a JDBC connection, click theAdministrationlink on the global header.In the Administration page, click theJDBC Connectionlink found under theData Sourcessection.

2 .

This displays theData Sourcespage. Observe the available Data Source list. Oracle BI EE is configured out of the box, if Oracle BI Publisher is not a stand-alone install, but part of the OBI EE install.On the JDBC tab, clickAdd Data Sourceto create a JDBC connection to connect to Oracle Database.

3 .

On the Add Data Source page that is displayed, enter the details as given below:

Data Source NameDemo

Driver TypeOracle 11g

Database Driver Classoracle.jdbc.OracleDriver

Connection String Provide the database connection details.For example,db:oracle:thin:@hostname:port:SID

Enter the username and password asOE.

Do not clickApplyorCancelafter defining the above details. ClickTest Connection.

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If the connection to the database is established, a confirmation message is displayed indicating the success.Then, clickApply.You can see the newly defined connection, Demo, in the list.

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BI Publisher ships with a repository of various sample files and reports.You can view these file data sources by clicking theFiletab on the BI PublisherAdministrationpage. The screenshot shows a predefined File data source with the namedemofiles.

Creating a Data Model

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From the global header, clickNewand then selectData Model. You can also use the Create section and Data Model link.The Data Model Editor window is opened.

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In Data Model Editor, observe theData Model Propertiessection that is displayed on the right.Select aDefault Data Source(that points to the database that you have been earlier connected to). In this example, you will use Demo. Optionally, you can add a description to the data model.Note:Ensure that in the XML Output Options, the Include Parameter Tags is checked, and the Include Empty Tags for Null Elements and Include Group List Tag check boxes are not checked.

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In this example, you will create a data set by using a SQL query for the report.a.ClickData Setson the Left side pane. This will display the Data Set Editor section.b.In the Data Set Editor section under the Diagram tab, clickNew Data Set Menuand selectSQL Queryas the type of data set.

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Create Data Set -SQLdialog box is displayed.a.Enter an appropriate name for the data set (in this example, it isemployees).b.Accept the default data set option (as you have already defined it in the Data Model), and clickQuery Builderto create a query.

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TheQuery Builderwindow displays theOEschema objects on the left side.ClickDEPARTMENTSandEMPLOYEEStables to add them to theModelcanvas on the right.

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The selected tables are displayed in the Model section. Now, define a join between these two tables as follows:a.Click the box besideDEPARTMENT_ID columnin theDEPARTMENTStable.b.Similarly, click the box besideDEPARTMENT_IDcolumn in theEMPLOYEEStable. (These boxes, when marked for joins turn light gray.) Also note that a fine line joining the tables appears in the Model canvas.c.Select the following columns from the tables (by selecting the check boxes beside the column names):

SelectDEPARTMENT_NAMEfrom theDEPARTMENTStable.

SelectFIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME, HIRE_DATE, andSALARYcolumns from theEMPLOYEEStable.

7 .

Click theConditionslink. Change the column names and remove "_" to have more appropriate aliases. Change the aliases for the columns as below:

DEPARTMENT_NAMEto DepartmentName

FIRST_NAMEto FirstName

LAST_NAMEto LastName

HIRE_DATEto HireDate

SALARYto Salary

Note:The aliases and display names can be changed in the Data Model page, either in the Diagram or in the Structure.

a.Enter "IN (:Dept)" in theConditionfield for the department name column, as shown in the screen below. This will define aDeptparameteron the department name column.Note:TheINcondition is being used here for the parameter to accept All or Multiple values for the department name column. You will edit this parameter later to add list of values.b.ClickResultsto see how the query results appear in Query Builder.

This will prompt you to enter a department name for the parameter, enterSalesand clickOK.Results are displayed.

View results. ClickSaveto save the query.

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a.This takes you back to theCreate Data Set -SQLdialog box. Observe that the query that you created is reflected in theSQL Queryarea. ClickOKto add this data set to your data model.b.A confirmation message asks whether you want to create a bind variable. ClickOKto create the parameter.c.An informative alert confirms parameter listing. ClickOK.This newly created data set is displayed under theData Setsnode in the left side pane of the Data Model Editor. Also, the Data Set diagram is displayed in the Data Set Editor pane. Observe that theDeptparameteris also listed under the Parameters node.

9 .

You will now add List of Values and add/edit parameters for this data set.

In the Data Model pane, clickList of Valuesnode. In the List of Values pane, click the+sign to create new List of Values.

Select the following Options:

EnterDepNameas theNameof the LOV.

SelectSQL Queryas theTypefrom the drop-down list.

Ensure thatDemois selected as the Data Source.

ClickQuery Builderto define the query that returns department names for the LOV

10.

In the Query Builder page, selectDEPARTMENT_NAMEfrom theDEPARTMENTStable. ClickSave.

The query for the LOV should look like this:

11.

a.Add another LOV (list of values)EmpName, following similar steps.You will use the Employees table from the data, in the query builder.b.After creating the LOV, reorder the list by using the Reorder buttons.

12.

Now, edit the existing parameter, and add another parameter to use the list of values that you have created.

In the Data Model pane, clickDeptunder theParametersnode. In the Parameters pane, edit the properties by providing the following information:

Leave the Name asDeptand the Data Type asString.

Provide Default Value as*,and selectMenuas the Parameter Type.

13.

Ensure thatDepNameLOV is selected as theList of Valuesfor the parameter.Ensure thatMultiple Selection,Can select all,andAll Values Passedoptions are selected.(These options allow you to select all or multiple values for the department.)

Also, change the Display Label as appropriate, such asDepartment Name.

14.

Add another parameterEmp. Use the Add icon to create a new parameter.Follow the previous steps to define the parameter properties.You will need to use theEmpNameLOV created previously for this parameter.Note that the newly added parameter always displayed first. Use the Reorder buttons to list the parameters as shown in the data model pane.

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Click theSaveIcon to save the Data Model.

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Save the Data Model asSalary Report Parametersunder theLearnfolder.

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Click theXMLicon in the Data Model Editor window to run the data as XML output.

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In the XML Output window, observe that the Department and the Employee Parameters are available with the menu options. ClickRun.The XML output is displayed.

19.

To save this as sample data, click theOpen Menudrop-down list icon, and selectSave As Sample Data.

You can see that the sample.xml is listed in the Sample Data section of the Data Model (as shown below):Note:It is very important to save sample data for a data model. Otherwise, when creating Layouts, the previews do not appear correctly.This concludes the topic of creating a new Data Model with Parameters and List of Values. You will use this data model in the next topic to create a new report.

Creating Reports

A BI Publisher report is made of data model, layout, properties, and translation (optional). Creating a New Report involves selecting the source of the data for the report, selecting the data columns to be displayed in the report, and then adding a meaningful layout for this data, defining the properties for the report parameters, and scheduling the report.

A Data Model defines data that is used by a report. Selecting a data model is the first step in creating a new report. You can select the data model with three options. They are:

Select an existing data model from the catalog. Locate the data model by navigating through the catalog or by using the Search option.

You can also upload a Microsoft Excel file (file type.xls). If the uploaded spreadsheet contains multiple sheets, select the sheet to use as the data source. You can include data from one sheet only.

You create a new data model. This option opens the data model editor for you to create a new data model.

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 for rendering the template file. BI Publisher supports templates created from various 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.

Save the Report to view it in Report Viewer. After the report is generated you can schedule it for various destinations.

Creating a New ReportIn the previous topic, you have created and saved this data modelSalary Report Parametersin theLearnfolder.

1 .

ClickNew>>Reportin the global header.You will be asked to select the data source for the new report. Select theUse Existing Data Modeloption.You will use theSalary Report Parametersdata model that you have created previously.

2 .

Select the previously created data modelSalary Report Parametersfrom theLearnfolder. ClickNext.

3 .

Select the option toUse Report Editor, and then, clickFinish.This will lead you to saving the report before proceeding further.Selecting theGuide Meoption guides you through selecting specific columns from your data source for this report and viewing a simple tabular layout. By using this wizard, you can quickly view the data, create a simple tabular report, and be guided to the layout editor.

4 .

Save the Report asSalary Report with Parametersunder theLearnfolder.

5 .

The Report Editor window is displayed with the saved report, where you can edit the layout, parameters, and other properties, and also a link to view the report.BI Publisher Layout Templates are created by 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, Power Point, and HTML.It also provides dynamic HTML output that supports lightweight interaction through a browser.BI Publisher layouts that are created online are best suited for reports of simple to medium complexity that do not require custom coding. Because the dynamic HTML view is only available for BI Publisher layouts, these layouts must be used when there is a requirement to enable a Report Consumer to interact with the report.

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

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

The layout editor does not support name spaces in the XML data.

Select a boilerplate or shared template to create a new layout for this report. SelectChart and Tableunder theShared Templates.Note:Boilerplates or shared templates make creating reports easy and efficient. You can use the standard shared templates or can create your own predefined templates based on your work requirements.

The report is opened with an untitled layout in the Layout Editor. Observe the various sections, Data Source, Components, and Properties, that enable you to create a pixel perfect layout.The Data Source displays the data available. Because this is a predefined layout with a chart and a table structure in place, you will see the grid sections to guide you to add text items, charts, and data tables. You will start adding the data from the data source to make this a meaningful report.

6 .

Change the text items in the layout to suit the Report, Chart, and Table that you are going to create. Double-click the default text item to continue with the same format. You can format the text according to your requirement with the Text properties displayed on top of the editor. In this example, the selected Salary by Departments section title is left aligned.

7 .

Select the default chart object in the layout grid, and choose appropriatetypeandstylefor the chart. This example has usedBar ChartandEarth Style.Cancel the3D effectand keep the chart simple.

8 .

Drag and drop theSalaryandDepartmentNameelements to the chart as shown below:Change the aggregation property of Salary toAverage.A Bar chart is generated for the selected data.

9 .

Now you will add the data table for Salary by Departments. You will use "Repeating Sections" and "Data table" elements.a.Under the Salary by Departments grid cell, clickInsert>Repeating Section.b.In the Insert a Repeating Section editor window, selectElement,Row, andDepartmentName. ClickOK.The Repeating section is inserted.

10.

Select the repeating section area and clickInsert>Data Table.

11.

Drag the data elements from the Data Source to the Layout pane. Observe that DepartmentName is outside the data table.

12.

Adjust the column width by editing the column property as shown in the image. You will have to select the column to be edited, and then change the properties.You can also edit the columns by adjusting the column directly in the table.

13.

a.Format theHire Datecolumn by the Data Formatting option. Select an appropriatedateformat.b.Format theSalarycolumn by using the Data Formatting option. Select theCurrencyformat.c.Format the total row for the salary column with currency formatting. You will have to select this cell separately for the formatting.The formatted table is displayed as shown below.d.Check for any empty data elements that are not defined in the template. In this newly created layout there is an empty data table. Because you have inserted a new data table under the repeating section, the default data table element that was part of the chosen boilerplate template remains empty.Select and delete it from the layout. Empty data elements will result in errors in the report views.

14.

Click theSaveicon to save the layout.Save the layout with the nameNew Formatted.

15.

Observe that the saved Layout is displayed in the Layout Editor with the nameNew Formatted.Click theViewermenu and select theInteractiveview to view the report in a browser window.

16.

The Report is previewed in Interactive Viewer in a browser window. Close the browser window to get back to the Layout Editor.

17.

ClickSaveand then clickReturnto close the Layout Editor.You can create Report templates online as described in this topic.You can also create various other templates such as RTF, EXCEL, PDF, Flash, and eText.Additional information:

RTF templates by using Template Builder for MS Word ( MS Word add in)

Excel templates by using Excel Analyzer ( MS Excel Add in)

PDF templates by using any application that supports PDF conversion, or by scanning a paper document to be used as a template, or, by downloading a PDF document from a third-party source.

Flash Templates by using the FlexBuilder IDE from Adobe

eText Templates by using either EFT or EDI types based on commands.

18.

The Report Editor window displays the newly createdNew FormattedLayout.Click theSaveicon, and then clickView Report.

19.

The report is displayed in the Report Viewer window.Observe that the parameters are displayed horizontally, and with the display type as menus. You will learn to change this display in the next few steps. This is a recently added enhancement.ClickEdit Reportfrom theactionsmenu.

20.

This will bring you back to the Report Editor. Parameters are defined in the data model. The report editor enables you to configure the parameter settings. Click theParameterslink in the report editor window. The Parameters dialog is displayed as shown below.Observe that the parameter display is set toHorizontal Region, label location isPlace label on side, and theShow Apply Buttonis set toDefault.Also, the type of the option for parameters areMenu.

21.

Now, change the display options as shown below and clickOK.Save the report and view it in the Report Viewer.

22.

The Report is displayed in the Report Viewer window with the newly set display options for the parameters.You can select the various departments, and employee name combinations to view the respective report data. This adds greater flexibility and interactivity to the BI Publisher reports.You can also change the display for theShow ApplyButton option to false in the parameter settings for the same report, and observe the change in the display. Use the Report Editor to edit the parameters as explained previously.Now, Return to the Report Editor from the Actions menu, and change the parameter display back to menu. You will use this display and the layout in the next topic of Scheduling Reports.

Creating Report Jobs / Scheduling ReportsThis enables you to select a time and date at which the load on the system is low, to run your daily/weekly and/or monthly reports.In this topic, you will learn to schedule a report job, and view and manage the scheduled jobs and job history.You will also be able to edit a scheduled job and run it or resubmit and run again. This is a new enhancement in the current release.In this topic, you will learn to schedule a report job, and view and manage the scheduled jobs and job history.You will also be able to edit a scheduled job and run it or resubmit and run again. This is a new enhancement in the current release.If no data is returned from the SQL query, the report job is skipped. This feature is not covered in this tutorial.

Creating a Report Job

1 .

You can schedule a Report Job in any of the following ways:

From the Home page: From the Create region selectReport Job

From the global header: ClickNew> Report Job

From the Catalog: Navigate to the report you want to schedule, then select theSchedulelink

From the Report Viewer: ClickActionsand then clickSchedule

2 .

In this example, you will schedule the previously createdSalary Report with Parametersreport.Select the report from the catalog and clickSchedule.The Schedule Report Job window is displayed. It contains four tabs to define the options for your report job: General, Output, Schedule, and Notification.

3 .

The Schedule Report Job window displays the General tab by default. You can either leave the default selected parameters as it is, or change it to suit your requirement. In this example, you can see the selected report for scheduling in the general tab, and default parameters.

4 .

Click theOutputtab.Select the options as shown below.

Select theMake Output Public, andSave Data for Republishingcheck boxes.

Output name isOutput1by default. This refers to the delivery destinations that you have defined.

Leave the default selected layout as is.

The format selected isHTML. The various other formats supported are PDF, RTF, Excel, and Power Point 2007.

Note:Email, a typical destination type, is not configured. This feature is covered in the Advanced Features tutorial.

5 .

a.ClickScheduletab.b.Select the options as given below:

Frequency is set toDaily.

Leave the Start and End Dates as default selection. You can change this based on your requirement.

Note:Do not run the report immediately. Maintain a delay with the submission and the actual schedule time.:You can use theNotificationtab to send notification to the recipient via Email. This is an optional step.c.ClickSubmit.

6 .

Provide an appropriate name to the Report Job in the Submit dialog box, and then clickOK. In this example, the Report Job name isSal Report Job 1.You will get an alert message that the Report Job is successfully submitted. ClickOK.This concludes the topic of Creating a Report Job.

Managing Report Jobs

1 .

The Manage Report Jobs page displays information about future scheduled and recurring report jobs and enables you to take actions on these jobs. You can edit the running or future scheduled report jobs here. For this, you will need a running or future scheduled report job. You will now edit the previously scheduled job, which was set to run daily.ClickOpen>Report Jobsfrom the global header.

2 .

The Manage Report Jobs page is displayed with the scheduled reports.You can delete, pause, resume, or edit report jobs from this page using the icons as shown in the image.Select and click theReport Job Name.In this example, clickSal Report Job 1to view the Report Job details.

3 .

You can also edit the report job from the Report Jobs Detail page.Click theEditicon next to the job name as shown below:This will take you to the Schedule Report Job Page.

4 .

a.Edit the Report Job to change the parameters displayed. SelectShipping, Sales,andFinancedepartments from the Department Name drop-down list. Keep the Employee Name as is wih theAlloption.b.Under theOutputtab, change the format toPDF.c.ClickSubmit.This will submit the same job with the previously set frequency. Keep the name of the job same as before and clickOK.d.After you get the confirmation that the job is submitted successfully, clickReturnto return to the Manage Report Jobs page.

5 .

Observe the changes in theManage Report Jobswindow. The edited and submitted job is listed under the previously chosen Job nameSal Report Job1. Click theJob Nameto view the details as explained at the beginning of this topic. In the displayed reportSal Report Job 1, observe that the values for the departments are reflected as defined by you during the editing. The output format change is reflected too. Scheduling frequency is left unchanged.You will edit this report job again to change the frequency of the schedule and submit the job as a new one and see the scheduled report output.Click theEditicon to edit the report job. You will be taken to the Report Job/Scheduling page.

6 .

a.Now, change Schedule Frequency for the same job toOnce, and select theRun Nowoption. Keep all other criteria unchanged from the previous schedule.b.ClickSubmit As New.Name this Report Job asSal Report Job 2and clickOK.c.ClickOKin the submission confirmation message.

7 .

Now, clickOpen>Report Job Historyfrom the global header. You will need to use the Job History to view the Jobs that are executed already.TheReport Job Historypage displays information about running and completed report jobs.Observe that the newly scheduled report is successfully submitted. Click the report job -Sal Report Job 2to view the details.

8 .

The Report Job History forSal Report Job 2is displayed as shown below. The parameters display and output options are as set by you.ClickOutput 1link in the list to see how the scheduled report is displayed.The report is displayed in the browser window in the PDF format. Use the browser back button to return to the BI Publisher.This concludes the topic Managing Report Jobs.