Oracle® XML Publisher Enterprise

User’s Guide
Release 5.6.2
Part No. B25951-01

June 2006
Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide, Release 5.6.2

Part No. B25951-01

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Primary Author: Leslie Studdard

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 Contents

Send Us Your Comments

Preface

1 Getting Started
Accessing XML Publisher Enterprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Setting Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

2 Viewing and Scheduling Reports

Viewing a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Scheduling a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Managing Your Scheduled Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Viewing Report History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Using the Online Analyzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Using the XML Publisher Analyzer for Excel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

3 Creating a New Report

Process Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Creating a New Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Using the Query Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10
Folder and Report Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
Report Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Rename a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Copy a Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Download a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Delete a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Folder Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
Create a New Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15

4 Translating Reports
Template Translations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Report File Translations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6

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5 Administration
Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Setting Up Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Understanding Users and Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Integrating with LDAP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
Setting Up Delivery Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Setting Up the Server Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Setting Up Oracle Single Sign-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18

6 Creating an RTF Template

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Supported Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Prerequisites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Using the XML Publisher Template Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Associating the XML Data to the Template Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Designing the Template Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Adding Markup to the Template Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Creating Placeholders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Defining Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Defining Headers and Footers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-13
Native Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-13
Images and Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-14
Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-14
Chart Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-16
Drawing, Shape and Clip Art Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-27
Supported Native Formatting Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-38
General Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-38
Alignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-39
Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-39
Date Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-42
Multicolumn Page Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-42
Background and Watermark Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-43
Template Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-45
Page Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-45
Initial Page Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-46
Last Page Only Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-47
End on Even or End on Odd Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-49
Hyperlinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-50
Table of Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-53
Generating Bookmarks in PDF Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-53
Check Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-53
Drop Down Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-55
Conditional Formatting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-57
If Statements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-57

iv
 If Statements in Boilerplate Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-58
If-then-Else Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-59
Choose Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-59
Column Formatting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-61
Row Formatting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-63
Cell Highlighting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-64
Page-Level Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-66
Displaying Page Totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-66
Brought Forward/Carried Forward Totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-69
Running Totals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-72
Data Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-73
Sorting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-73
Checking for Nulls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-73
Regrouping the XML Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-74
Using Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-81
Defining Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-81
Setting Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-83
Advanced Report Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-85
Batch Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-85
Cross-Tab Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-87
Dynamic Data Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-90
Number and Date Formatting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-93
Calendar and Time Zone Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-103
Using External Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-104
Advanced Barcode Formatting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-105
Advanced Design Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-106
XPath Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-106
Namespace Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-109
Using the Context Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-110
Using XSL Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-112
Using FO Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-114

7 XSL, SQL, and XSL-FO Support

Extended SQL and XSL Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1
XSL Equivalents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
Using FO Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5

8 Creating a PDF Template

PDF Template Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Supported Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Designing the Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Adding Markup to the Template Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3
Creating a Placeholder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Defining Groups of Repeating Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6
Adding Page Numbers and Page Breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8

v
 Performing Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-12
Completed PDF Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-13
Runtime Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-14
Creating a Template from a Downloaded PDF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-15

9 Building a Data Template

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
The Data Template Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
Constructing the Data Template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Using the Data Engine Java API. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Calling a Data Template from the Java API . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Sample Data Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24

10 Setting Runtime Properties

Setting Properties in a Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-1
Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
List of Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Font Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12
Locales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Font Fallback Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15
Predefined Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15

11 Using the XML Publisher APIs

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
XML Publisher Core APIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-1
PDF Form Processing Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-2
RTF Processor Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-8
FO Processor Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-9
PDF Document Merger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-20
PDF Book Binder Processor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-27
Document Processor Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-30
Bursting Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-42
XML Publisher Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-52
Advanced Barcode Font Formatting Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-55

A Supported XSL-FO Elements

Supported XSL-FO Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

B Print Server Setup

Setting Up CUPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
Windows XP Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5

vi
Index

vii
 Send Us Your Comments

Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide, Release 5.6.2

Part No. B25951-01

Oracle welcomes customers' comments and suggestions on the quality and usefulness of this document.
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ix
 Preface

Intended Audience
Welcome to Release 5.6.2 of the Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide.
This guide is intended for users who will use XML Publisher Enterprise to perform
one or all of the following:
• View and Schedule reports
• Design report layouts
• Develop report queries and data models
• Translate reports
• Perform administrative tasks including: setting up users, setting up data sources, and
configuring runtime behaviors
For users who will be developing report queries and data models, knowledge of SQL
or your data source is assumed.
For users who will be designing report layouts, some experience with Microsoft Word
is assumed. If you are designing advanced report layouts, you may benefit by using
an XSL reference.
See Related Information Sources on page xii for more Oracle product information.

TTY Access to Oracle Support Services

Oracle provides dedicated Text Telephone (TTY) access to Oracle Support Services
within the United States of America 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For TTY support,
call 800.446.2398.

Documentation Accessibility
Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible,
with good usability, to the disabled community. To that end, our documentation
includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology.
This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate
access by the disabled community. Accessibility standards will continue to evolve over
time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to
address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our
customers. For more information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at
http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/ .

xi
Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation
Screen readers may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The
conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise
empty line; however, some screen readers may not always read a line of text that consists
solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations
that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes any
representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

Structure
1 Getting Started
2 Viewing and Scheduling Reports
3 Creating a New Report
4 Translating Reports
5 Administration
6 Creating an RTF Template
7 XSL, SQL, and XSL-FO Support
8 Creating a PDF Template
9 Building a Data Template
10 Setting Runtime Properties
11 Using the XML Publisher APIs
A Supported XSL-FO Elements
B Print Server Setup

Related Information Sources

To download free release notes, installation documentation, white papers, or other
collateral, please visit the Oracle Technology Network (OTN). You must register online
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http://www.oracle.com/technology/membership/
If you already have a username and password for OTN, then you can go directly to the
documentation section of the OTN Web site at
http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/
Information specifically related to XML Publisher can be found at:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/applications/publishing/index.html

xii
 1
Getting Started

Accessing XML Publisher Enterprise

Logging in with credentials:
1. Navigate to the URL provided by your system administrator.

2. Select the language you prefer for the user interface.

3. Enter your credentials to log in to XML Publisher.
4. Select Accessibility Mode if you wish to render the Reports home page in an
accessible tree structure.
5. Select Sign In.
To view reports, see Viewing and Scheduling Reports, page 2-1.
To set user preferences, see Setting Preferences, page 1-2.

Logging in as Guest:
If your site has enabled a Guest user option, a Guest button will display on the log in
page.

Getting Started 1-1

 A Guest user does not require credentials and has privileges only to view reports
available in the Guest folder.
1. Select the language you prefer for the user interface.
2. Select Guest.
To view reports, see Viewing and Scheduling Reports, page 2-1.

Setting Preferences
Use the Preferences page to set the following:
• UI Language
• Report Locale
• SVG support in HTML
• Password
Access the Preferences page by selecting the Preferences link from any page within
the XML Publisher Enterprise application.

Set UI Language
The UI language is the language that your user interface displays in. The language that
you selected at login will be selected as the default. Choose from the languages that are
available for your installation.

Set Report Locale

A locale is a language and territory combination (for example, English (United States)
or French (Canada)). XML Publisher uses the report locale selection to determine the
following:
• The template translation to apply
• The number formatting and date formatting to apply to the report data
Note that a particular report must have an available template translation for the selected
locale. If not, XML Publisher will apply a locale fallback logic to select the template. For
more information, see Locale Selection Logic, page 4-5.
The appropriate number and date formatting will be applied independently of the
template translation.

Enable SVG for HTML

You can choose to have graphics in your HTML reports displayed using scalable vector
graphics (SVG) technology. Your browser may require a plug-in to enable SVG. If so, you
will be prompted to download this plug-in the first time you attempt to view an HTML
graphic with SVG enabled. If you do not wish to use the SVG plug-in, select No.

Set Your Password

To change your password, select the Account tab of the Preferences page. Enter your
current password then your new password as prompted.

1-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 2
Viewing and Scheduling Reports

Viewing a Report
The Reports home page offers different functionality depending on your user
permissions.
To view a report
1. Navigate to the report.
The Reports home page displays the report folders and the first three reports
contained in the folder. To see additional reports contained in a folder, either
select the folder name, or select the more... link.

Reports Home Page

Viewing and Scheduling Reports 2-1

 2. From the Reports home page, select the report name; or, from the Folder
view, select the View link for the report. This will run the report using the
default options and display it in your browser.
Note: Some reports may not allow online execution. For these
reports, the View link will not display. Select Schedule to
schedule a report run. See Scheduling a Report, page 2-3.

Folder View

Depending on the report definition and your user permissions, you may be
presented with the following options:
• Change parameter values - if the report includes parameters, these are
presented at the top of the View page. To display the report with new
parameter values, enter the desired values and select the View button.

2-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 • Change the report template - if multiple templates are available they will be
displayed in the Template list. Select a new template, then select View.
• Change the output type - if multiple output types are available, select the
desired output type (example: html, pdf, rtf, excel, or xml) from the list and
select View. The output will be rendered in your browser.
• Export the report - select the Export button and you will be prompted to save
the document, or to open the appropriate application for the output type.
• Send the report - select the Send button to invoke the Destination
dialog. Select the delivery method (Email, Printer, Fax, FTP or Web Folder)
and enter the appropriate information for your choice. You can add as many
delivery options as desired.
Access to the following functions must be granted by the System Administrator
and may not be available to all users:
• Schedule a report - see Scheduling a Report, page 2-3.
• Invoke Analyzer - see Using the Online Analyzer, page 2-7.
• Invoke Excel Analyzer - see Using the XML Publisher Analyzer for Excel,
page 2-11.

Scheduling a Report
To schedule a report:
1. Select the name of the folder that contains the report to access the Folder view;
or, select the report name to View the report.

Viewing and Scheduling Reports 2-3

 2. Select the Schedule link.
3. On the Schedule Report page, enter the following:
• Report Parameters (if applicable)
• Template - select the layout template to apply to the report. You can apply one
template per job submission.
• Format - select the output format.
• Job Name - enter a name for your report run.
• Locale - Select the language-territory combination for the report. This field
defaults to the Report Locale defined in the user Preferences (see Setting
Preferences, page 1-2).
Note: A report must have an available template translation for
the selected locale. If not, XML Publisher will apply a locale
fallback logic to select the template. For more information, see
Locale Selection Logic, page 4-5.
The appropriate number and date formatting will be applied
independently of the template translation.

• Save data - select this check box if you want the XML data from the report run
saved.
• Save output - select this check box if you want the report output saved. You
must select this option if you want to view your report from the History page.

Schedule Report Page

2-4 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

4. If you wish to receive notification by e-mail, enter a comma-separated list of
addresses to send the notification to and select the notification criteria.
5. Enter the Time criteria.
• If you select Run Once, select the Run Date and Run Time.
• If you select Run Daily/Weekly select the days of the week, the Run
Time, Active Start Date to begin the recurring job and the Active End Date to
end the recurring schedule.
• If you select Run Monthly, select the month, the day of the month to run the
report, the Run Time, the Active Start Date to begin running the report and the
Active End Date. To select multiple days of the month to run the report, enter
each day separated by a comma (example: 1,15,28).
6. Select the Destination mode and enter the appropriate fields for your selection. To
deliver via multiple channels, select the Add Destination button and continue
adding destinations as needed.
If you do not wish to choose any of these destinations, leave this region blank. Select
the Save output check box in the Job Properties region to view the output from the
History page. See Viewing Report History, page 2-7.
• Email - enter multiple e-mail addresses separated by a comma. Enter any Body
text that you want to include with the report.
• Printer - Select the Printer Group and the Printer, enter the Number of
copies, and select Single sided or Double sided (the printer must support duplex
printing for this option to take effect), the optionally select the printer Tray from
which to print the report, and the Pages to print if you do not wish to print
the entire report.
• Fax - select the Fax server to deliver the report and enter the Fax number to
which to send the report.
• FTP
• FTP Server - select the server to deliver the report.
• Username - enter a valid username for the server.
• Password - enter a valid password for the username.

Viewing and Scheduling Reports 2-5

 • Remote Directory - enter the directory to which to deliver the report file.
• Remote Filename - enter the name to assign to the report file.
• Web Folder
• Web Folder Server - select the server to deliver the report.
• Username - enter a valid username for the server.
• Password - enter a valid password for the username.
• Remote Directory - enter the directory to which to deliver the report file.
• Remote Filename - enter the name to assign to the report file.
7. Select Submit. This will invoke the Schedule and History page where you can
monitor your report. See Managing Your Scheduled Reports, page 2-6.

Managing Your Scheduled Reports

The Schedule and History page displays information about scheduled reports and
reports that have already run.

Schedule and History Page

Navigate to this page by selecting the report folder and then selecting the History link
for the report. Use this page to:
• View current schedules for a report
• Monitor the status of a submitted report
• Delete a scheduled report
• Suspend/Resume a scheduled report

2-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 • View the submission details

Viewing Report History

The page displays information about scheduled reports and reports that have already
run.
Navigate to this page by selecting the report folder and then selecting the History link
for the report. Use this page to:
• View the status of submitted reports
• View start and end processing times
• Download or view the XML data produced from the report (if you selected Save
Data for the report)
• Download or view the report document (if you selected Save output)
• View report submission details
You can sort the table of reports by Job Name, Status, Start Date, or End Date by selecting
the column heading.

Using the Online Analyzer

Note: Your system administrator must assign you access to this feature.

The online Analyzer allows you to create a pivot table of your data. Use the interface
to analyze your report data by dragging and dropping data items into the crosstab
structure. Then quickly rearrange data as desired by dragging items to different
row, column or summary positions.
You can filter the data displayed in your pivot table by defining page-level data
items. Drag and drop the desired field to the Page item area and then choose from the
values that immediately populate the list.
After selecting all the data items for the table, choose whether to view the
Sum, Average, or Count of the data items.
The following example displays the usage of the Analyzer with a simple Sales Analysis
report:
1. Select the Analyzer button from the View Report page.
The Analyzer interface displays the list of data fields on a pane and an empty
crosstab structure on the adjacent pane, as shown in the following figure.

Viewing and Scheduling Reports 2-7

 2. To filter by CATEGORY_NAME, drag the item to the Page Items region, as shown
in the following figure:

Now you can choose a value from the CATEGORY_NAME list to filter the page data:

2-8 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

3. To view product sales by year, drag PRODUCT_NAME into the Row Field area, and
drop ORDER_YEAR into the Column Field area. Drop the SALES data into the table
body area, as shown in the following figure:

You can now see the calculated sales totals as a sum of the data items.

Viewing and Scheduling Reports 2-9

 4. Add the dimension of ORDER_PERIOD to the table by dragging the data item
over the ORDER_YEAR. Now you can click the ORDER_YEAR to open it up to
display each ORDER_PERIOD total. Click again to close the item and view only
the ORDER_YEAR total.

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 The final figure shows how you can arrange the same data differently in the interface
to perform a new analysis.

Using the XML Publisher Analyzer for Excel

Note: Your system administrator must assign you access to this feature.

Prerequisites
• Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
If not installed on your computer, you will be prompted to download it the first time
you use the Analyzer for Excel.
• Microsoft Excel 2000 or later

Features
The Analyzer for Excel allows you to:
• Export the results of the report query to an Excel spreadsheet.
• Log in to XML Publisher Enterprise from Excel to refresh your data, apply new
parameters, and apply a template to the report data.
• Access and run your reports from an Excel session.

Launching the Excel Analyzer

1. Select the Excel Analyzer button from the View report page. You will be prompted
to Save or Open the report .xls file.

Viewing and Scheduling Reports 2-11

 2. When you open the file, select Enable Macros from the Excel dialog.
Note: You must enable macros to use the Analyzer for Excel.

The report data will render in your Excel application window and the Oracle XML
Publisher menu will appear on your Excel menu bar. Note that the data are the
results of the report query with no template and default filtering applied.
You can now manipulate the data as you wish in Excel. If the report has
parameters, the parameter names will appear at the top of the sheet, but you must
log in to apply new parameter values. See Using the Oracle XML Publisher Menu,
page 2-12.

Using the Oracle XML Publisher Menu

You must log in to enable all the menu commands.
Login – allows you to log in to the XML Publisher server.
Note: If you do not have Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 installed on
your computer, you will be prompted to download it. Select the URL
and follow the instructions on the Microsoft Web site to download and
install .NET. If you do not wish to install .NET, click OK to close the
message window.

If this is the first time you have used the Analyzer for Excel, or if you do not have the
latest version of Analyzer for Excel, you will be prompted to install the latest version.
Show Report Parameters – displays the updateable parameters and available templates
for the report in a toolbar.

Analyzer for Excel Toolbar

To update the data, select a new parameter value then select Refresh Data to refresh the
data in the current sheet.
To apply a template, select the template, then select Refresh Formatted Data. This will
download the report as HTML into a new worksheet. Select the new worksheet to see
the data with the new template applied.
Note: The template you select must have HTML as an available output.

2-12 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 To change the parameters from this worksheet, select the new values, then select Refresh
Data, then select Refresh Formatted Data.
Show Report Web Page - launches the View report page.
Browse for Reports Online – opens the Report Browser to display your available
reports in a directory tree structure. Double-click a report icon to run and open it in
your Excel session.
Use the Report Browser’s Up icon to move up the directory structure.
Use the View As menu to view the folder contents as Large Icons, Small Icons, List
or Details.
Preferences - select your locale and proxy settings if required.

Logging in Through Excel

Once you have installed the Analyzer for Excel, you can log in to the XML Publisher
Enterprise server any time from Excel, you do not have to log in to XML Publisher first.
Once you have Excel open, simply select Log in from the Oracle XML Publisher
menu. The XML Publisher Enterprise log in screen will prompt you to enter your
credentials and to select (or enter) the Report Server URL.

Viewing and Scheduling Reports 2-13

 3
Creating a New Report

Process Overview
Note: You must be assigned the XML Publisher Developer Role or
Admin Role to create or edit reports.

Creating a new report consists of the following steps:

1. Create the report entry in the desired folder on the Reports page.
2. Define the data model in the Report Editor.
Your report data may come from a SQL query, an HTTP feed, a Web service, or XML
Publisher’s data template. The Report Editor allows you to define your query, define
the parameters that you want users to pass to the query, and define lists of values for
users to select parameter values.
3. Generate sample data from your query.
4. Design the layout template.
• If you are designing an RTF template, load the data to the Template Builder for
Word. Use the Template Builder in conjunction with the instructions in Creating
an RTF Template, page 6-1 to build your report layout.
• If you are designing a PDF template, follow the instructions in Creating a PDF
Template, page 8-1 to build your report layout.
5. Upload your templates to the Report Editor.
6. (Optional) Add translations for your reports. See Translating Reports, page 4-1.

Creating a New Report

Note: You must be assigned the XML Publisher Developer role or XML
Publisher Administrator Role to create or upload reports.

1. Navigate to the folder in which you want the new report to reside.
To create a new folder for this report, select the Create a new folder link.
2. Select the Create a new report link from the Folder and Report Tasks menu. This
will invoke a text box for you to enter the name of your new report.

Creating a New Report 3-1

 3. Enter the name for your new report and select Create. This creates the listing for
your report within the current folder.
4. Select the Edit link for the new report entry. This invokes the Report Editor.

Report Editor

3-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

5. Enter the Report Properties:
• Description - the description will display beneath the report name within the
report folder.
• Default Data Source - select the data source from the list of values. You
may define multiple data sources for your report when you define the Data
Model. The Default Data Source you select here will be presented as the default
for each new data set you define. Select Refresh Data Source List to see any new
data sources added since your session was initiated.
• Parameters per line - enter the number of parameters that you want to display
before creating a second parameter line for the report. The parameter line is
displayed in the online report View page and the Schedule page.
• Run report online - select this box to enable this report in the online viewer. If
not selected, users will be able to Schedule the report only.
• Show controls - select this box so that all users can see the control region of the
report. Control region consists of the Template list, Output list, and Parameter
lists.
• Open Links in New Window? - select this box to open any links contained in
the report in a new browser window.
6. Define the data sets from which to build your reports.
Dene the Data Model
7. Select Data Model.
Create the Data Model to define the query or data set for your report.

This will display the Main Data Set list. This list will be empty until you define a
data set. To define a data set, select New.

Creating a New Report 3-3

 • Enter a Name and Type for the data set. The Type can be:
• SQL Query
• HTTP (XML Feed)
• Web Service
• Data Template
Use XML Publisher’s data template to create more complex queries. See
Building a Data Template, page 9-1 for features and usage. Please note that
lexical parameters currently are not supported.
Important: If your data set is a Web Service or HTTP (XML Feed)
you must define any parameters before you define the data set.

If you select SQL Query

• Select the Data Source Reference from the list. This will default to the
Default Data Source selected on the Report Properties page.
• Select the Cache result? box to cache the results of the query for your session.
By caching the results of the query, multiple templates can be applied
to these results without requerying the data. This will enhance online
performance. However, if the data is updated during the session, the user
cannot view the new data via the View report page until the cache is cleared.

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 Note: You can control the cache expiration time and the
cache size in the server configuration file. See Setting Up the
Server Configuration File, page 5-13 for more information.

• Enter the SQL query or select Query Builder. See Using the Query Builder,
page 3-10 for information on the Query Builder utility.
If you select HTTP (XML Feed)
• Enter the URL for the XML feed.
• Select the Method: Get or Post.
• Enter the Username, Password, and Realm for the URL.
• To add a parameter, select the Add link. Enter the Name and select the
Value. The Value list is populated by the parameter Identifiers defined in
the Parameters section.
Note: The parameters must already be set up in the
Parameters section of the report definition

If you select Web Service

• Enter the WSDL URL and the Web Service Method.
Important: To use a Web Service as a data source, the Web
Service must return XML as a string.

• To specify a parameter, select the Add link. Select the parameter from the list.
Note: The parameters must already be set up in the
Parameters section of the report definition

Example
1. Enter the WSDL URL in a browser window to see the WSDL
definition. For example: http://xmlme.com/WSCustNews.asmx?WSDL
2. The available methods will be listed in the WSDL definition. For
example: GetCustomNews
3. Once you have the method, you can see the parameters required. For
example: Topic
4. Add the parameters for the WSDL to the report definition.
If you select Data Template
• Copy and paste your data template into the Data Template text box.
Important: The data template must begin with the
<dataTemplate> element. Do not include the XML
declaration.

Use XML Publisher’s data template to create more complex queries. See
Building a Data Template, page 9-1 for features and usage. Please note that
lexical parameters currently are not supported.

Creating a New Report 3-5

 8. After you have defined your data sets, select Data Model. The data sets that you
have defined will now populate the list for Main Data Set. Select the data set that
will be used to generate the report.
9. Define Lists of Values for the report.
• Select List of Values and then select the New icon in the toolbar. This will create
a New List of Values entry.
• Enter a Name for the list and select a Type: SQL Query or Fixed Data.

If you select SQL Query:

• Select a Connection from the data source list.
• Select Cache result? if you want the results of the query cached for the
report session.
• Enter the SQL query or use the Query Builder. See Using the Query Builder,
page 3-10 for information on the Query Builder utility.
If you select Fixed Data:
• Select the Add link to add the Label and Value pairs for the LOV.
10. Select Parameters and then select the New icon to define parameters for the report.

3-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

• Enter a name Identifier and the Data Type (String, Integer, Boolean, Date, or
Float).
• Enter a Default Value for the parameter, if desired. Enter * to pass All as the
default.
Note: Using * passes a null, so you must handle this in your
data source.

• Select the Parameter Type:

• Text - this type allows the user to enter a text entry to pass as the
parameter. Enter the Display Label for the parameter and the Text Field
Size in characters.
• Menu - this type presents an LOV. Enter the Display Label and select
from the LOVs you defined in the previous step. You may also enable the
following options:
• Multiple Selection - allows the user to select multiple entries from the
list.
• Can select all - inserts an "All" option in the list.
• Refresh other parameters on change - performs a partial page refresh
to refresh any other parameters whose values are dependent on the
value of this one.
• Date - passes a date parameter. If you select a Parameter Type of Date, the
Data Type automatically defaults to Date. Enter the following:

Creating a New Report 3-7

 • Display Label and Text Field Size in characters.
• Date Format String
• Date From and Date To
• Hidden - select this option to pass the default value always, without
allowing the user to see or change it.
11. Define Layouts.
Upload Templates
12. Select Layouts to define the layout template for the report. Defining layouts consists
of two steps: Upload a template file, and then assign the template file to a Layout
definition.
Note: To build a template for your report, you must have sample
data. Once you have defined your query, you can select the View
link to generate XML. Select the Export button and save the file
to your local directory. If you are building an RTF template, you
can load this data to the Template Builder for Word. For more
information see the Template Builder for Word online help.

For information on creating template layout files, see Creating an RTF Template,
page 6-1 or Creating a PDF Template, page 8-1.
• Upload your layout template file. Use the Browse button to locate it in your local
file system, then select Upload. The template will now appear in the Manage
Template Files region. You can upload as many templates as you want to make
available to this report.

• Select the New icon to create the definition for the new template.

3-8 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 • Enter a Name for the layout definition. This name will appear in the
Template list on the View report page.
• Select the Template file from the list of uploaded templates to correspond to
this layout definition.
• Select the appropriate template type: RTF or PDF.
• Select the Output Format types to allow for this layout.
If the template type is RTF, you can either select All Formats or limit the
allowed formats by selecting only those desired.
If the template type is PDF, All Formats is automatically selected. The only
allowed output type for a PDF template is PDF.
Note: You can also manage the output types allowed
through the configuration file. However, the setting on the
report definition will override the configuration file. For
more information on the configuration file, see Setting Up
the Configuration File, page 5-13.

13. After you have uploaded all the templates and set up the Layout Definition, select
Layouts to set the Default template. The list will now be populated with the
templates you have defined.
14. Select the Save icon to save your report definition.

Creating a New Report 3-9

Using the Query Builder

About Query Builder

Use the Query Builder to build SQL queries without coding. The Query Builder enables
you to search and filter database objects, select objects and columns, create relationships
between objects, and view formatted query results with minimal SQL knowledge.
The Query Builder page is divided into three sections:
• Object Selection pane contains a list objects from which you can build queries. Only
objects in the current schema display.
• Design pane displays selected objects from the Object Selection pane.
• Output pane allows you to create conditions, view the generated SQL, or view
query results.

Understanding the Query Builder Process

To build a query, perform the following steps:
• Select objects from the Object Selection pane.
• Add objects to the Design pane and select columns.
• Optional: Establish relationships between objects.
• Optional: Create query conditions.
• Execute the query and view results.

Using the Object Selection Pane

In the Object Selection pane you can select a schema and search and filter objects.
To hide the Object Selection pane, select the control bar located between it and the
Design pane. Select it again to unhide it.

Selecting a Schema
The Schema list contains all the available schemas in the data source. Note that you
may not have access to all that are listed.

Searching and Filtering Objects

Use the Search field to enter a search string.

Selecting Objects
The Object Selection pane lists the tables, views, and materialized views from the
selected schema. Select the object from the list and it displays on the Design pane. Use
the Design pane to identify how the selected objects will be used in the query.
Supported Column Types
Columns of all types display as objects in the Design pane. Note the following column
restrictions:
• Each can select no more than 60 columns for each query.
• Only the following column types are selectable:
• VARCHAR2, CHAR

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 • NUMBER
• DATE, TIMESTAMP
• BLOB
Note: The BLOB must be XML or an image. When you execute
the query in the Query Builder, the BLOB will not display in the
Results pane, however, the query will be constructed correctly
when saved to the Report Editor.

• XMLType
Note: When you execute the query in the Query Builder, the
XMLType will display as null. When you save the query to the
Report Builder, you must add the function (such as getClobval())
to extract the XML from the type.

Adding an Object to the Design Pane

1. Select an object.
The selected object displays in the Design pane. An icon representing the datatype
displays next to each column name.
2. Select the check box for each column to include in your query.
When you select a column, it appears on the Conditions tab. Note that the Show
check box on the Conditions tab controls whether a column is included in query
results. Be default, this check box is selected.
To select the first twenty columns, click the small icon in the upper left corner of the
object and then select Check All.
3. To execute the query and view results, select Results.
Tip: You can also execute a query using the key strokes CTRL +
ENTER.

Resizing the Design and Results Pane

As you select objects, you can resize the Design and Results panes by selecting and
dragging the gray horizontal rule dividing the page.
Removing or Hiding Objects in the Design Pane
To remove an object, select the Remove icon in the upper right corner of the object.
To temporarily hide the columns within an object, click the Show/Hide Columns icon.

Specifying Query Conditions

Conditions enable you to filter and identify the data you want to work with. As you
select columns within an object, you can specify conditions on the Conditions tab. You
can use these attributes to modify the column alias, apply column conditions, sort
columns, or apply functions.
When you select a column to include in your query, it appears as a separate row in the
Output pane. The following table describes the attributes available on the Conditions
tab:

Creating a New Report 3-11

Condition Attribute Description

Up and Down Arrows Controls the display order of the columns in the resulting query.

Column Displays the column name.

Alias Specify an optional column alias. An alias is an alternative column name. Aliases
are used to make a column name more descriptive, to shorten the column name, or
prevent possible ambiguous references.

Condition The condition modifies the query’s WHERE clause. When specifying a column
condition, you must include the appropriate operator and operand. All standard SQL
conditions are supported. For example:
>=10
=’VA’
IN (SELECT dept_no FROM dept)
BETWEEN SYSDATE AND SYSDATE + 15

Sort Type Select ASC (Ascending)

or DESC (Descending).

Sort Order Enter a number (1, 2, 3, and so on) to specify the order in which selected columns
should display.

Show Select this check box to include the column in your query results. You do not need to
select Show if you need to add a column to the query for filtering only.
For example, suppose you wish to create following query:
SELECT ename FROM emp WHERE deptno = 10
To create this query in Query Builder:
1. From the Object list, select EMP.

2. In the Design Pane, select ename and deptno.

3. For the deptno column, in Condition enter =10 and uncheck the Show check box.

Function Available argument functions include:

1. Number columns - COUNT, COUNT DISTINCT, AVG, MAXIMUM,. MIN
IMUM, SUM

2. VARCHAR2, CHAR columns - COUNT, COUNT DISTINCT, INITCAP,

LENGTH, LOWER, LTRIM, RTRIM, TRIM, UPPER

3. DATE, TIMESTAMP columns- COUNT, COUNT DISTINCT

Group By Specify columns to be used for grouping when an aggregate function is used. Only
applicable for columns included in output.

Delete Deselect the column, excluding it from the query.

As you select columns and define conditions, Query Builder writes the SQL for you.
To view the underlying SQL, click the SQL tab

Creating Relationships Between Objects

You can create relationships between objects by creating a join. A join identifies a
relationship between two or more tables, views, or materialized views.

3-12 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 About Join Conditions
When you write a join query, you specify a condition that conveys a relationship between
two objects. This condition is called a join condition. A join condition determines how
the rows from one object will combine with the rows from another object.
Query Builder supports inner, outer, left, and right joins. An inner join (also called a
simple join) returns the rows that satisfy the join condition. An outer join extends the
result of a simple join. An outer join returns all rows that satisfy the join condition
and returns some or all of those rows from one table for which no rows from the other
satisfy the join condition.
Note: See Oracle Database SQL Reference for information about join
conditions.

Joining Objects Manually

Create a join manually by selecting the Join column in the Design pane.
1. From the Object Selection pane, select the objects you want to join.
2. Identify the columns you want to join.
You create a join by selecting the Join column adjacent to the column name. The Join
column displays to the right of the datatype. When your cursor is in the appropriate
position, the following help tip displays:
Click here to select column for join
3. Select the appropriate Join column for the first object.
When selected, the Join column is darkened. To deselect a Join column, simply
select it again or press ESC.
4. Select the appropriate Join column for the second object.
When joined, line connects the two columns.
5. Select the columns to be included in your query. You can view the SQL statement
resulting from the join by positioning the cursor over the join line.
6. Click Results to execute the query.

Saving a Query
Once you have built the query and executed it, select the Save button to return to the
Report Editor. The query will appear in the SQL Query box.

Editing a Saved Query

Once you have saved the query from the Query Builder to the Report Editor, you cannot
reopen it for editing in the Query Builder. You must make any edits manually in the
SQL Query box.

Folder and Report Tasks

The Folder and Report Tasks menu is available to users assigned the XML Publisher
Administrator role or the XML Publisher Developer Role.

Creating a New Report 3-13

Report Tasks
Select the Report Actions icon to expand the menu of available report tasks. Report
Tasks include:
• Rename this report
• Copy this report
• Delete this report
• Download this report
Note: The Report Actions menu can be viewed only by the XML
Publisher Administrator role and the XML Publisher Developer role.

Rename a Report
To rename a report:
1. Navigate to the report folder.
2. Select the Report Actions icon. This will activate the Rename this report option
under the Folder and Report Tasks region.
3. Select the option and enter the new name in the text box.

Copy a Report
To copy a report:
1. Navigate to the report folder.

3-14 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 2. Select the Report Actions icon. This will activate the Copy this report option under
the Folder and Report Tasks region.
3. Select the option to copy the report to the clipboard.
4. Navigate to the location you want to copy the report to and select Paste from
clipboard.

Download a Report
To download a report:
1. Navigate to the report folder.
2. Select the Report Actions icon. This will activate the Download this report option
under the Folder and Report Tasks region.
3. Select the option to download and save the report.
Note: The report definition will be downloaded as an XML file.

Delete a Report
To delete a report:
Note: You must be assigned the XML Publisher Developer role or XML
Publisher Administration Role to delete reports.

1. Navigate to the report folder.

2. Select the Report Actions icon. This will activate the Delete this report option under
the Folder and Report Tasks region.
3. Select the Delete this report link and confirm the deletion when prompted.

Folder Tasks
Select the Folder Actions icon to expand the menu of available folder tasks. Folder
Tasks include:
• Create a new folder
• Rename this folder
• Copy this folder
• Delete this folder
Note: The Report Actions menu can be viewed only by the XML
Publisher Administrator role and the XML Publisher Developer role.

Create a New Folder

Note: You must be assigned the XML Publisher Developer role or
Admin Role to create folders.

Creating a New Report 3-15

 1. You can create new folders on your home level, or navigate to the folder in which
you want the new folder to reside.
2. From the Folder and Report Tasks menu, select Create a new folder.
Enter the Folder Name in the text box that launches, and select Create.

Renaming a Folder:
1. Select the Folder icon to view all Folder Actions in the Folder and Report Tasks
menu.

3-16 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

2. Select the Rename this folder link.
3. Enter the new report name in the text box that launches, and select Rename.

Deleting a Folder:
1. Select the Folder icon to view all Folder Actions in the Folder and Report Tasks
menu.
2. Select the Delete this folder link.
3. Confirm the deletion at the prompt.

Creating a New Report 3-17

 4
Translating Reports

This chapter covers the following topics:

• Template Translations
• Report File Translations

Template Translations
There are two options for adding translated templates to your 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.
Important: Regardless of which option you choose, you must name
your translated templates according to the naming standard for
XML Publisher to recognize it at runtime. See Naming Standards for
Translated Files, page 4-5.

The following diagrams illustrate the translation concepts

Translating Reports 4-1

Using the XLIFF Option

To generate an XLIFF le from an RTF template:

1. Open your template in Microsoft Word with the Template Builder for Word installed.
2. From the Template Builder menu, select Tools > Translations > Extract Text.
XML Publisher extracts the translatable strings from the template and exports them
to an XLIFF (.xlf) file.
3. Save the file to the desired location.
This XLIFF file can then 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, page 4-2 for
instructions on how to edit the XLIFF file.
Note: 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

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 then
associate these translations to the original template. See Uploading Translated Files,
page 4-5.

Structure of the XLIFF File

The XLIFF file generated by XML Publisher has the following structure:

4-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <xliff>
<file>
<header>
<body>
<trans-unit>
<source>
<target>
<note>

The following figure 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 International Organization
for Standardization [http://www.iso.org/iso/en/ISOOnline.frontpage].

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 your target language. The following table
shows examples of source-language and target-language attribute values appropriate
for the given translations:

Translating Reports 4-3

 Translation (Language/ source-language value target-language value
Territory)

From English/US en-US en-CA

To English/Canada

From English/US en-US zh-CN

To Chinese/China

From Japanese/Japan ja-JP fr-FR

To French/France

Embedded Data Fields

Some templates contain placeholders for data fields embedded in the text display strings
of the report. For example, the title of the sample report is
Italian Purchase VAT Register - (year)
where (year) is a placeholder in the RTF template that will be 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>

Warning: Do not edit or delete the embedded data field tokens or you
will 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. 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:

4-4 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Naming Standards for Translated Files
Your translated XLIFF and RTF files must be named according to the following standard:
TemplateName_<language code>_<TERRITORY CODE>.xlf or .rtf
or
TemplateName_<language code>.xlf or .rtf
where TemplateName is the original template name
language code is the two-letter ISO language code (in lower case)
TERRITORY CODE is the two-letter ISO country code (must be in upper case)
For example, if your original template is named EmployeeTemplate and you are
uploading a translation for Japanese-Japan, name the file:
EmployeeTemplate_ja_JP.xlf

Uploading Translated Files

In the report Editor, select the Layouts page to upload the translated XLIFF files. See
Define Layouts, page 3-8.

Locale Selection Logic

XML Publisher applies a translation based on the user’s selected Report Locale. XML
Publisher will first try 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, XML
Publisher will try 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), XML Publisher will
select the translation to apply according to the following hierarchy:
EmployeeTemplate_fr_FR.rtf

Translating Reports 4-5

 EmployeeTemplate_fr_FR.xlf
EmployeeTemplate_fr.rtf
EmployeeTemplate_fr.xlf
EmployeeTemplate.rtf
Note that with the same set of translations, if the locale selected is French
(Switzerland), the EmployeeTemplate_fr.rtf would be applied. Now if the available
translations were limited to the following set:
EmployeeTemplate_fr_FR.rtf
EmployeeTemplate_fr_FR.xlf
EmployeeTemplate.rtf
and the locale selected is French (Switzerland), then the EmployeeTemplate.rtf will
be applied. Even though there is a language match, XML Publisher will not match
the different locales.
Therefore, if you want to ensure that a French language translation is used when French
is the selected language, regardless of the selected locale, then you must include either
an rtf or xlf file named for the language only (that is, EmployeeTemplate_fr.rtf or
EmployeeTemplate_fr.xlf).

Report File Translations

You can add translated report description files so that your users can view the report
description and any parameter labels in the language they selected for their UI
preference. Upload translated report description files to the same location as the
translated template files. Note that the translated report description files follow a naming
standard that is slightly different than the translated template file standard.
For information on setting the UI language preference, see Setting Preferences, page 1-2.

To add a report le translation:

1. In the report Editor, select Generate XLIFF.
2. Save the .xlf file to a local directory.
3. Send the file to a localization provider, or add the translated text (see Structure of the
XLIFF File, page 4-2 for information on editing the XLIFF file).
4. Name the translated report file according to the following standard for all languages
except Chinese and Portuguese (Brazil):
ReportName_<language_code>.xlf
Where ReportName is the report file name and
language_code is the two-letter ISO language code (in lower case).
Important: Except for the three locales noted below, do not include
the territory code in the file name.

For Chinese (China), Chinese (Taiwan), and Portuguese (Brazil) you must use the
language code and territory code in the translated file name as follows:
ReportName_zh_CN.xlf

4-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 ReportName_zh_TW.xlf
ReportName_pt_BR.xlf
5. In the report Editor, select the Layouts page to upload the translated XLIFF files. See
Define Layouts, page 3-8.

Translating Reports 4-7

 5
Administration

Administration
The Administration interface allows you to set up the following:
• Data Sources
• Security for Users and Roles
• Delivery Options
This chapter covers these topics as well as:
• Setting up the server configuration file
• Integrating with LDAP
• Setting up Oracle Single Sign-On

Setting Up Data Sources

XML Publisher supports two types of data sources: JDBC database connections and
JNDI connections.

Adding a JDBC Data Source:

1. From the Admin page select JDBC Database Connection. This will display the list
of existing JDBC connections.
2. Select the Add Connection button.
3. Enter the following fields for the new connection:
• Data Source Name - enter a display name for the data source.
• URL - enter the database connect string.
For an Oracle database the connect string will have the following format:
jdbc:oracle:thin@server:port:sid
For example: jdbc:oracle:[email protected]:1521:prod
For a Microsoft SQL Server, the connect string will have the following format:
jdbc:sqlserver://server
For example:
jdbc:sqlserver://myserver.mycompany.com

Administration 5-1
 • User Name - enter the user name required to access the data source on the
database.
• Password - enter the password associated with the user name for access to the
data source on the database.
• Database Driver Class - enter the database driver class for the connection.
For example: oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver or com.microsoft.
jdbc.sqlserver.SQLServerDriver
Important: The JDBC connection library must be placed under
[JRE_TOP]/lib. If you are using OC4J, the Oracle driver library
will be present with your OC4J install. For other JDBC database
libraries you must place them there manually, and bounce the
server to make them available.

4. If you would like to test the connection, select Test Connection. If the test is
successful, the confirmation message, "Connection established successfully" will
display. If connection error occurs, the message "Could not establish connection,"
will display.
5. Select Apply.

Add a JNDI Data Source:

1. From the Admin page select JNDI Connection. This will display the list of existing
JNDI connections.
2. Select the Add Connection button.
3. Enter the following fields for the new connection:
• Data Source Name - enter a display name for the data source.
• JNDI Name - enter the JNDI name of the data source.
4. Select Apply.

View/Update a Data Source:

1. From the Admin page select the Data Source type to update: JDBC Database
Connection or JNDI Connection. This will display the list of existing connections.
2. Select the name of the connection to view or update. All fields are updateable.
3. Select Apply to apply any changes or Cancel to exit the update page.

Understanding Users and Roles

A user is granted one or multiple Roles. A Role defines a user’s access to Folders
and functions. A role can be assigned one or multiple Folders to which access is
granted. Reports are contained within the folders. You can create a hierarchy of roles by
assigning roles to other roles. In this way the privileges of multiple roles can roll up to
higher level roles. The following graphic shows an example of the hierarchy structure of
User, Role, and Folder:

5-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Functional Roles
XML Publisher provides five functional roles to grant access to specific tasks within the
application. Assign these roles to users based on their need to perform the associated
tasks. These roles cannot be updated or deleted.
The following table shows the privileges granted to each functional role:

Administration 5-3
 Role Privileges

no roles assigned View (online reports only)

XML Publisher Excel Analyzer View

Grants access to the Excel Analyzer

XML Publisher Online Analyzer View

Grants access to the Analyzer

XML Publisher Scheduler View

Schedule
History

XML Publisher Developer View

Edit
Folder and Report Tasks

XML Publisher Administrator View

Edit
Schedule
History
Folder and Report Tasks
Excel Analyzer
Online Analyzer
Admin tab and all administration tasks

Setting Up Users and Roles

There are two options for setting up users and roles:
• Set up users and roles in the XML Publisher Enterprise Security Center
For this option, follow the instructions in this section.
• Integrate XML Publisher Enterprise with an existing LDAP server
For this option, See Integrating with LDAP, page 5-5.

Add a User:
1. From the Security Center, select Users. This will invoke the Security Center Users
page. Here you can see the list of existing users.
2. Select Create User.
3. Add the User Name and Password for the user.
4. Select Apply.

Update a User:
1. From the Security Center, select Users. This will invoke the Security Center Users
page. Here you can see the list of existing users.

5-4 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 2. Select the user name. You can update both the user name and the password.
3. Select Apply.

Add a Role to a User:

1. From the Security Center, select Users. This will invoke the Security Center Users
page. Here you can see the list of existing users.
2. Select the Assign Roles icon for the user.
3. From the Assign Roles page, select the role from the Available Roles list and then
select the Move shuttle button to move the role to the Assigned Roles list. When
done assigning all roles, select Apply.

Create a Role:
1. From the Security Center, select Roles and Permissions; this will invoke the
Security Center page. Here you can see the list of existing roles and permissions.
2. Select Create Role.
3. Enter a Role Name and Description and select Apply.

Add a Folder to a Role:

1. From the Security Center, select Roles and Permissions; this will invoke the
Security Center page. Here you can see the list of existing roles and permissions.
2. Select the Add Folders icon.
3. Select the desired folder from the Available Folders list and use the Move shuttle
button to move it to the Allowed Folders list.
Note that the folders are presented as the directory structure is set up in your
system. Selecting the top level folder will grant access to all subfolders. Selecting just
the subfolder entry will allow access only to the subfolder.
4. Select Apply when done.

Add a Role to a Role:

1. From the Security Center, select Roles and Permissions; this will invoke the
Security Center page. Here you can see the list of existing roles and permissions.
2. Select the Add Roles icon for the Role.
3. Select the desired role from the Available Roles list and use the Move shuttle button
to move it to the Included Roles.
4. Select Apply when done.

Integrating with LDAP

XML Publisher Enterprise can be integrated with your LDAP server to manage users
and report access. Create the users and roles within your LDAP server, then configure
the XML Publisher server to access your LDAP server.

Administration 5-5
 In the XML Publisher security center module, assign folders to those roles. When a
user logs into the server they will have access to those folders and reports assigned
to the LDAP roles.
To set up the XML Publisher server with Oracle LDAP you’ll need to carry out the
following steps: Using the Enterprise Security Manager login to your LDAP server:

Setting Up Users and Roles

1. Use the Enterprise Security Manager login to access your LDAP Server.
An example Directory Server Login screen is shown in the following figure:

2. Create Roles.
Navigate to the Enterprise Roles node under the OracleDefaultDomain node.
A sample Enterprise Security Manager screen is shown in the following figure:

5-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

3. To create a role, select the Enterprise Roles node, then select Create Enterprise
Role from the Operations menu.
You must create the following roles to integrate with XML Publisher Enterprise:
• XMLP_ADMIN – this is the administrator role for the XML Publisher server.
• XMLP_DEVELOPER – this is the developer role to allow a user to build reports
in the system.
• XMLP_SCHEDULER – this role allows users to schedule reports.
• XMLP_ANALYZER_EXCEL – this allows users to use the Excel analysis feature.
• XMLP_ANALYZER_ONLINE – this allows users to use the online analysis
feature.
The following figure shows a sample Create Enterprise Role dialog:

Administration 5-7
 4. Create other functional roles as required by your implementation, for example: HR
Manager, Warehouse Clerk, or Sales Manager.
The following figure shows an example Enterprise Security Manager screen with
multiple roles defined:

5-8 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

5. Assign roles to users.
• Select the role you wish to add a user to.
• Select Add.
• Navigate to the Users node and select Search to find users.
The following figure shows an example Add Enterprise Users dialog:

Administration 5-9
 • Select the user(s) you wish to add to the role and select OK.
This action will close the dialog. Select Apply on the main form to save your
changes.
Now if you expand the Users node under the role, the new users will appear.

Conguring the XML Publisher Server to Recognize Your LDAP Server

To configure the XML Publisher server to recognize you LDAP server, update the LDAP
properties in the xmlp-server-config.xml file.
For information about the server configuration file, see Setting Up the Server
Configuration File, page 5-13.
Important: You must bounce the server for changes to the configuration
file to take effect.

For example:
<property name="LDAP_PROVIDER_URL" value="ldap://ldap.server.com:
389/"/>
<property name="LDAP_PROVIDER_ADMIN_USERNAME" value="orcladmin"/>
<property name="LDAP_PROVIDER_ADMIN_PASSWORD" value="welcome"/>
<property name="LDAP_PROVIDER_USER_DN" value="cn=Users,dc=server,d
c=com"/>

5-10 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Assigning Folders to Roles
1. Log in with an Administrator responsibility.
2. Navigate to Admin > Security Center > Roles and Permissions.
You will see the roles you created and assigned in the security manager application;
however, the XMLP_X roles are not shown because these are controlled through
the LDAP interface.
The following figure shows an example Roles and Permissions page.

3. Select Add Folders to add folders to a particular role using the tree shuttle.
Users can now log in using their LDAP username/password and will have access to
reports in the folders assigned to their roles set up in LDAP.

Setting Up Delivery Options

Set Delivery Conguration Options:
1. From the Admin page select Configuration.
2. Enter the following properties:
• Temporary Directory - enter a directory for the delivery server to write
temporary files when in buffering mode.
• SSL Certificate File - enter the location of your Secure Socket Layer Certificate.
• Buffering Mode - Select True or False. Buffering mode allows you to redeliver
documents as many times as you want. The delivery system uses temporary files
to buffer documents, if you specify a temporary directory. If you do not specify a
temporary directory, the delivery system uses the temporary memory buffer. It
is recommended that you define a temporary directory.

Set Up Print or Fax Server:

Printing is only supported through Internet Printing Protocol (IPP). You must set up
CUPS or Windows Print Server for IPP. See Print Server Setup, page B-1.
1. From the Admin page select Printer, or Fax. This will show the list of servers already
added. Select Add Server.
2. Enter the Name and Host for the new server.
3. Optionally enter the following fields if appropriate:
• General fields: Port and URI.

Administration 5-11
 • Filter - enables you to call a conversion utility to convert PDF to Postscript or
PDF to TIFF (for fax) for Windows-based print servers. To specify the filter, pass
the native OS command string with the 2 placeholders for the input and output
filename, {infile} and {outfile}.
This is useful especially if you are trying to call IPP printers directly or IPP
printers on Microsoft Internet Information Service (IIS). Unlike CUPS, those
print servers do not translate the print file to a format the printer can
understand, therefore only limited document formats are supported. With the
filter functionality, you can call any of the native OS commands to transform the
document to the format that the target printer can understand.
For example, to transform a PDF document to a Postscript format, enter the
following PDF to PS command in the Filter field:
pdftops {infile} {outfile}
To call an HP LaserJet printer setup on a Microsoft IIS from Linux, you can
set Ghostscript as a filter to transform the PDF document into the format that
the HP LaserJet can understand. To do this, enter the following Ghostscript
command in the Filter field:
gs -q -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH -sDEVICE=laserjet -sOutputFile={outfile}
{infile}

For fax servers, you can use the filter to transform the file to Tag Image File
Format (TIFF).
Note that this functionality works only if the Buffering Mode is "True" and a
valid Temporary Directory is specified. See Delivery Configuration Options,
page 5-11.
• Security fields: Username and Password required. Authentication Type
(None, Basic, Digest) and Encryption Type (None, SSL).
• Proxy Server fields: Host, Port, User Name, Password, Authentication Type
(None, Basic, Digest)

Set Up WebDAV Server:

1. From the Admin page select WebDAV. This will show the list of servers already
added. Select Add Server.
2. Enter the Name and Host for the new server.
3. Optionally enter the following fields if appropriate:
• General fields: Port
• Security fields: Username and Password required. Authentication Type
(None, Basic, Digest) and Encryption Type (None, SSL).
• Proxy Server fields: Host, Port, User Name, Password, Authentication Type
(None, Basic, Digest)

Set Up Email or FTP Server:

1. From the Admin page select Email or FTP. This will show the list of servers already
added. Select Add Server.
2. Enter the Name and Host for the Email or FTP server.

5-12 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 3. Optionally enter the following fields if appropriate:
• General fields: Port
• Security fields: Username and Password required.

Set Up Common Unix Printing System (CUPS) Server:

1. From the Admin page select CUPS. This will show the list of servers already
added. Select Add Server.
2. Enter the Server Name and Host and Port for the CUPS server.
For more information see Setting Up Cups, page B-1.

Setting Up the Server Conguration File

When you install XML Publisher Enterprise a default configuration file is installed on
your system. This server configuration file is used to define the repository location, the
scheduler location, the LDAP server location (if used), and several other system level
properties.
Important: Whenever you change any of the properties in this
configuration file, you must restart the server in order for the changes to
take effect.

Note: XML Publisher also uses another configuration file (xdo.cfg) to set
runtime behaviors. For information about this file see Setting Runtime
Properties, page 10-1.

Conguration File Name and Location

The configuration file is named xmlp-server-config.xml and can be found
in the WEB-INF\lib directory. The location of this directory depends on where
you have deployed the XML Publisher application. In an OC4J installation, the
directory will be placed under the OC4J home, for example:D:\OraHome_
1111\oc4j\j2ee\home\applications\xmlpserver\xmlpserver\WEB-
INF\lib .
The namespace for the file is http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xmlp.

Conguration File Structure

The file consists of the following sections: XML header, resource, scheduler, and general
properties.

XML Header
The header consists of the XML declaration and the root element with the namespace
attribute:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xmlpConfig xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xmlp">

Administration 5-13
Resource Section
Define the location of your repository in the resource section. The resource section is
mandatory. The resource elements are enclosed within <resource> </resource>
tags.
Within the <resource> tags you must define either the <file> element or the <xdb>
element to specify the path to your reports repository.
The <le> Element
If your reports repository exists on your file system, declare the absolute file path using
the file element with its path attribute as follows:
<file path=""/>
Example: <file path="d:/reports"/>
The <xdb> element
If your reports repository is set up on your database, declare the absolute path using the
xdb element with its path attribute as follows:
<xdb path="">
Example: <xdb path="/public/Reports">
The xdb element requires the <connection> element. Within the <connection>
</connection> tags, define the <connectionType>. Valid values for
<connectionType> are "jdbc" or "jndi".
jdbc connectionType
If the <connectionType> is jdbc, the following elements are required:
<url>
<username>
<password>
<driver>
Example:
<resource>
<xdb path="/public/Reports">
<connection>
<connectionType>jdbc</connectionType>
<url>jdbc:oracle:thin:@rpts.mycompany.com:1525:ora10g</url>
<username>scott</username>
<password>tiger</password>
<driver>oracle.jdbc.driver.oracleDriver</driver>
</connection>
</xdb>
</resource>
jndi connectionType
If the connection type is "jndi", the following element is required:
<jndiName>
Example:

5-14 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <resource>
<xdb path="/public/Reports">
<connection>
<connectionType>jndi</connectionType>
<jndiName>jdbc/pool/mydb</jndiName>
</connection>
</xdb>
</resource>

Scheduler Section
Define the location of the scheduler server within the <scheduler></scheduler>
tags. The scheduler section is mandatory. The scheduler section requires the
<connection> element. Within the <connection> </connection> tags, define the
<connectionType>. Valid values for <connectionType> are "jdbc" or "jndi". These
are defined in the same way as for the <xdb> element in the <resource> section.
Example of jdbc connectionType:
<scheduler>
<connection>
<connectionType>jdbc</connectionType>
<url>jdbc:oracle:thin:@rpts.mycompany.com:1525:ora10g</url>
<username>scott</username>
<password>tiger</password>
<driver>oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver</driver>
</connection>
</scheduler>

Example of jndi connectionType:

<scheduler>
<connection>
<connectionType>jndi</connectionType>
<jndiName>jdbc/pool/mydb</jndiName>
</connection>
</scheduler>

General Properties
The following table lists the general properties that can be specified in the configuration
file. Specify the properties according to the following syntax:
<property name = "PROPERTY_NAME" value="value"/>

Example:
<property name = "CACHE_EXPIRATION" value="120"/>

The properties listed here are not required. If not specified, the default value will be
used. The following table lists the name, valid values, default value, and description of
each property.

Administration 5-15
Property Name Values Description

CACHE_EXPIRATION Default: 30 Enter the expiration period for

the dataset cache in minutes.
For reports that execute a SQL
query, you have the option of
caching the dataset returned
by the query. The returned
dataset will remain in cache
for the period specified by this
property. For more information
about setting this option, see
Create a New Report, page 3-1.

CACHE_SIZE_LIMIT Default: 1000 Sets the maximum number of

datasets that will be maintained
in the cache at a given time.

CACHED_REPORT_LIMIT Default: 50 Specifies the number of reports

that can be cached in memory at
any given time.

OUTPUT_FORMAT html, pdf, rtf, excel, xml The output types specified in
this property will be displayed
to the user by default for every
report (PDF templates will still
only allow PDF output). Enter
each output type separated
by a comma. Valid values
are: html, pdf, rtf, excel, xml.
This value is overridden by the
Output Format types selected in
the report definition. See Create
a New Report, page 3-1.

DEBUG_LEVEL exception (Default), debug Controls the amount of debug

information generated by the
system. If set to exception,
only error information is
generated. If set to debug, all
system output is generated.

GUEST_FOLDER true (Default), false Enables a "guest" folder for your

installation. A guest folder is a
public folder accessible to anyone
who can view the login URL. No
credentials are required to view
the reports in the guest folder.

GUEST_FOLDER_NAME Default: Guest Sets the name of the guest folder.

The following properties must be specified if you are using an LDAP server with XML
Publisher Enterprise. For more information about LDAP integration, see Integrating
with LDAP, page 5-5.

5-16 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Property Name Values Description

LDAP_PROVIDER_URL Example: ldap:// Enter the URL for the

myserver.mycompany. LDAP server.
com:3060/

LDAP_PROVIDER_ADMIN_ Example: Admin Enter the administrator

USERNAME user name for the LDAP
server.

LDAP_PROVIDER_ADMIN_ Example: welcome Enter the administrator

PASSWORD password for the username
entered.

LDAP_PROVIDER_USER_DN Example: cn=xdo,dc= The LDAP distinguished

myserver,dc=com name user suffix that
distinguishes the group
of users to have access to
XML Publisher.

LDAP_PROVIDER_FACTORY Example: com.sun. The value of this property

jndi.ldap.ctl. is the fully qualified class
LdapCtxFactory name of the factory class
which creates the initial
context for the LDAP
service provider. It is
used to select a particular
LDAP service provider; it
is not used by the provider
itself. This property need
not be set when the name
argument to initial context
methods is a URL.

LDAP_PROVIDER_GROUP_SEARCH Example:(& The search criteria to locate

amp;(objectclass= the qualified groups. This
will be based on your
groupofuniquenames)(cn=
*)) LDAP server schema.

LDAP_PROVIDER_GROUP_ Example: cn= Indicates where in the

SEARCH_ROOT OracleDefaultDomain, tree structure to apply the
cn=OracleDBSecurity, group search criteria.
cn=Products,cn=
OracleContext,dc=
mypc11,dc=com

LDAP_PROVIDER_GROUP_ATTR_ Example: Indicates which attribute

NAME contains the Group name.
cn

LDAP_PROVIDER_GROUP_ATTR_ Example: Indicates which attribute

MEMBER contains the member
uniquemember
names of the Group.

LDAP_PROVIDER_GROUP_ATTR_ Example:description Indicates which attribute

DESCRIPTION contains the description of
the Group.

In addition to the preceding properties, the following property must be specified if you
are using Oracle Single Sign-On with XML Publisher Enterprise. For more information
about setting up Single Sign-On, see Setting Up Oracle Single Sign-On, page 5-18.

Administration 5-17
 Property Name Values Description

SINGLE_SIGN_OFF_URL Example: http:// Enter the Single Sign-Off

server1.mycompany. URL retrieved from the
com:7777/pls/orasso/ SSO Partner Application
orasso.wwsso_app_ Login page.
admin.ls_logout

Sample Conguration File

Following is a sample configuration file:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xmlpConfig xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xmlp">
<resource>
<file path="d:/reports"/>
<! - <xdb path="/public/Reports"> - >
<! - <connection> - >
<! - <connectionType>jndi</connectionType> - >
<! - <jndiName>jdbc/pool/mydb</jndiName> - >
<! - </connection> - >
<! - </xdb> - >
</resource>

<scheduler>
<connection>
<connectionType>jdbc</connectionType>
<url>jdbc:oracle:thin:@rpts.mycompany.com:1525:ora10g</url>
<username>admin</username>
<password>welcome</password>
<driver>oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver</driver>
</connection>
</scheduler>

<property name="CACHE_EXPIRATION" value="120"/>

<property name="CACHE_SIZE_LIMIT" value="1000"/>
<property name="OUTPUT_FORMAT" value="html, pdf, rtf, excel, xml"/
>
<property name="DEBUG_LEVEL" value="debug"/>
<property name="CACHED_REPORT_LIMIT" value="10"/>
<property name="LDAP_PROVIDER_URL"
value="ldap://myldapserver.com:3060/"/>
<property name="LDAP_PROVIDER_ADMIN_USERNAME" value="orcladmin"/>
<property name="LDAP_PROVIDER_ADMIN_PASSWORD" value="welcome1"/>
<property name="LDAP_PROVIDER_USER_DN"
value="cn=xdo,dc=myserver,dc=com"/>
</xmlpConfig>

Setting Up Oracle Single Sign-On

This section describes how to set up Oracle Single Sign-On with Oracle 10g Application
Server (OracleAS). These guidelines are written based on the Oracle 10g Application
Server 10.1.2.0.2 release.

5-18 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Prerequisites
• OracleAS 10g Infrastructure installation (including SSO server)
Note: If you want to set up the XML Publisher server on a
different server, that server must also be OracleAS 10g and must
be registered in the main OracleAS 10g Infrastructure. This can be
done by installing the new OracleAS 10g J2EE and Web Cache. The
procedure for this installation is as follows (for AS 10.1.2):,
• Run the AS installer
• Choose Oracle Application Server 10g 10.1.2.0.2
• Choose J2EE and Web Cache
• Follow the installer instructions. In the OID section, point to the
master OracleAS 10g Infrastructure installation on your main
server.

Set Up Procedure
1. Navigate to the SSO Server home page. Select SSO Server Administration.
2. From the SSO Server Administration page, select Administer Partner Applications.
3. From the Administer Partner Applications page, select Add Partner Application.
4. On the Create Partner Application page, enter the following and select OK:
• Name : xmlpserver
• Home URL : http://<xmlpserver host>:<xmlpserver port>/xmlpserver
• Success URL : http://<xmlpserver host>:<xmlpserver port>/xmlpserver/login.jsp
• Logout URL : http://<xmlpserver host>:<xmlpserver port>/xmlpserver/signout.jsp
The following figure shows a sample Create Partner Application page:

Administration 5-19
 5. If the process was successful, you will see the entry "xmlpserver" on the Administer
Partner Applications page. Select the Edit icon
6. From the Edit Partner Application page, note the value of Single Sign-Off URL.
The following figure shows a sample Edit Partner Application page:

5-20 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

7. Modify the application server config file to protect the xmlpserver. The file is located
at $ORACLE_HOME/Apache/Apache/conf/mod_osso.conf
To protect the server, add a new "Location" directive as follows:
LoadModule osso_module libexec/mod_osso.so
<IfModule mod_osso.c>
OssoIpCheck off
OssoIdleTimeout off
OssoConfigFile /......../Apache/Apache/conf/osso/osso.conf

<!-- Protect xmlpserver -->

<Location /xmlpserver>
require valid-user
AuthType Basic
</Location>

</IfModule>

8. Modify the xmlpserver config file to activate SSO by adding the

SINGLE_SIGN_OFF_URL property with the value you wrote down in the preceding
step.
The xmlpserver config file is located:
(.../applications/xmlpserver/xmlpserver/WEB-INF/xmlp-server-
config.xml
A sample entry is as follows:

Administration 5-21
 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xmlpConfig xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xmlp">
:
:
<property name="SINGLE_SIGN_OFF_URL" value="http://server1.mycompa
ny.com:7777/pls/orasso/orasso.wwsso_app_admin.ls_logout"/>
</xmlpConfig>

For more information about the xmlpserver config file, see Setting Up the Server
Configuration File, page 5-13.
9. Restart the server:
% opmnctl stopall
% opmnctl startall

10. Access the XML Publisher Enterprise application, and you will be redirected to
the SSO login page.
A sample SSO login page is shown in the following figure:

5-22 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 6
Creating an RTF Template

Introduction
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 that you select.
XML Publisher’s RTF Template Parser converts documents saved as the RTF file type
to XSL-FO. You can therefore create report designs using many of your standard word
processing application’s design features and XML Publisher will recognize and maintain
the design.
During design time, you add data fields and other markup to your template using XML
Publisher’s simplified tags for XSL expressions. These tags associate the XML report data
to your report layout. If you are familiar with XSL and prefer not to use the simplified
tags, XML Publisher also supports the use of pure XSL elements in the template.
In addition to your word processing application’s formatting features, XML Publisher
supports other advanced reporting features such as conditional formatting, dynamic
data columns, running totals, and charts.
If you wish to include code directly in your template, you can include any XSL
element, many FO elements, and a set of SQL expressions extended by XML Publisher.

Supported Modes
XML Publisher supports two methods for creating RTF templates:
• Basic RTF Method
Use any word processing application that supports RTF version 1.6 writer (or later)
to design a template using XML 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 your template. XML Publisher
supports Microsoft Word 2000 (or later) with Microsoft Windows version 2000 (or
later).
Note: If you use XSL or XSL:FO code rather than the simplified
syntax, you must use the form field method.

This guide describes how to create RTF templates using both methods.

Creating an RTF Template 6-1

Prerequisites
Before you design your template, you must:
• Know the business rules that apply to the data from your source report.
• Generate a sample of your source report in XML.
• Be familiar with the formatting features of your word processing application.

Overview
Creating an RTF template file consists of two basic steps:
1. Design your template layout.
Use the formatting features of your word processing application and save the file as
RTF.
2. Mark up your template layout.
Insert the XML Publisher simplified tags.
When you design your 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.

Using the XML Publisher Template Builder

The Template Builder is an extension to Microsoft Word that simplifies the development
of RTF templates. It automates many of the manual steps that are covered in this
chapter. Use it in conjunction with this manual to increase your productivity.
The Template Builder is tightly integrated with Microsoft Word and allows you to
perform the following functions:
• Insert data fields
• Insert data-driven tables
• Insert data-driven forms
• Insert data-driven charts
• Preview your template with sample XML data
• Browse and update the content of form fields
• Extract boilerplate text into an XLIFF translation file and test translations
Manual steps for performing these functions are covered in this chapter. Instructions
and tutorials for using the Template Builder are available from the readme and help files
delivered with the tool.

Associating the XML Data to the Template Layout

The following is a sample layout for a Payables Invoice Register:

6-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Sample Template Layout

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 will repeat when the report is run.
For example, all the fields on the template will repeat for each Supplier that is
reported. Each row of the invoice table will repeat for each invoice that is reported.

XML Input File

Following is the XML file that will be used as input to the Payables Invoice Register
report template:
Note: To simplify the example, the XML output shown below has been
modified from the actual output from the Payables report.

Creating an RTF Template 6-3

 <?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

Your template content and layout must correspond to the content and hierarchy of
the input XML file. Each data field in your template must map to an element in the
XML file. Each group of repeating elements in your template must correspond to a
parent-child relationship in the XML file.
To map the data fields you define placeholders. To designate the repeating elements, you
define groups.
Note: XML Publisher supports regrouping of data if your report
requires grouping that does not follow the hierarchy of your incoming
XML data. For information on using this feature, see Regrouping the
XML Data, page 6-74.

6-4 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Placeholders
Each data field in your report template must correspond to an element in the XML
file. When you mark up your 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 your template, you create a placeholder
for VENDOR_NAME in the position of the Supplier field. At runtime, this placeholder
will be 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
• 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 XML Publisher that for each occurrence of an
element (parent), you want the included fields (children) displayed. At runtime, XML
Publisher will loop through the occurrences of the element and display the fields each
time.

Designing the Template Layout

Use your word processing application’s formatting features to create the design.
For example:

Creating an RTF Template 6-5

 • 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 autoformatting features
• Insert a header and footer
For additional information on inserting headers and footers, see Defining Headers
and Footers, page 6-13.
For a detailed list of supported formatting features in Microsoft Word, see Supported
Native Formatting Features, page 6-38. Additional formatting and reporting features
are described at the end of this section.

Adding Markup to the Template Layout

XML Publisher converts the formatting that you apply in your word processing
application to XSL-FO. You add markup to create the mapping between your layout and
the XML file and to include features that cannot be represented directly in your format.
The most basic markup elements are placeholders, to define the XML data elements; and
groups, to define the repeating elements.
XML Publisher provides tags to add markup to your template.
Note: For the XSL equivalents of the XML Publisher tags, see XSL
Equivalent Syntax, page 7-4.

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 your document using the following syntax:
<?XML element tag name?>
Note: The placeholder must match the XML element tag name exactly. It
is case sensitive.

There are two ways to insert placeholders in your document:

1. Basic RTF Method: Insert the placeholder syntax directly into your template
document.
2. 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 your template.

Basic RTF Method

Enter the placeholder syntax in your document where you want the XML data value
to appear.

6-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 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 your document, enter:
<?VENDOR_NAME?>
The entry in the template is shown in the following figure:

Form Field Method

Use Microsoft Word’s Text Form Field Options window to insert the placeholder tags:
1. Enable the Forms toolbar in your Microsoft Word application.
2. Position your cursor in the place you want to create a placeholder.
3. Select the Text Form Field toolbar icon. This action inserts a form field area in your
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 will populate 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 figure shows the Text Form Field Options dialog box and the Form
Field Help Text dialog box with the appropriate entries for the Supplier field.
Tip: For longer strings of XML 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.

Creating an RTF Template 6-7

 8. Select OK to apply.
The Default text is displayed in the form field on your template.
The figure below shows the Supplier field from the template with the added form
field markup.

Complete the Example

The following 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
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.

6-8 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Template Field Name Default Text Entry (Form Placeholder Entry (XML Tag
Field Method) Name)

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 column) 1000.00 <?ENT_SUM_VENDOR?>

(Total of Accounted Amt 1000.00 <?ACCTD_SUM_VENDOR?>

column)

The following figure shows the Payables Invoice Register with the completed form
field placeholder markup.
See the Payables Invoice Register with Completed Basic RTF Markup, page 6-10 for the
completed basic RTF markup.

Dening Groups
By defining a group, you are notifying XML Publisher that for each occurrence of an
element, you want the included fields displayed. At runtime, XML Publisher will loop
through the occurrences of the element and display the fields each time.
In the example, for each occurrence of G_VENDOR_NAME in the XML file, we
want the template to display its child elements VENDOR_NAME (Supplier
Name), G_INVOICE_NUM (the Invoices group), Total Entered Amount, and Total
Accounted Amount. And, for each occurrence of G_INVOICE_NUM (Invoices

Creating an RTF Template 6-9

 group), we 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?>

Grouping scenarios
Note that the group element must be a parent of the repeating elements in the XML
input file.
• If you insert the grouping tags around text or formatting elements, the text and
formatting elements between the group tags will be repeated.
• If you insert the tags around a table, the table will be repeated.
• If you insert the tags around text in a table cell, the text in the table cell between
the tags will be repeated.
• If you insert the tags around two different table cells, but in the same table row, the
single row will be repeated.
• If you insert the tags around two different table rows, the rows between the tags will
be repeated (this does not include the row that contains the "end group" tag).

Basic RTF Method

Enter the tags in your 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 figure shows the Payables Invoice Register with the basic RTF grouping
and placeholder markup:

6-10 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Form Field Method
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.

Creating an RTF Template 6-11

Complete 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 will repeat only the row. If you place the tags around the table, then
for each new invoice the entire table with headings will be 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:

6-12 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Dening Headers and Footers

Native Support
XML Publisher supports the use of the native RTF header and footer feature. To create a
header or footer, use the your word processing application’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 your report.

Inserting Placeholders in the Header and Footer

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.

Multiple or Complex Headers and Footers

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

Creating an RTF Template 6-13

 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:

Different First Page and Different Odd and Even Page Support
If your report requires a different header and footer on the first page of your report; or, if
your report requires different headers and footers for odd and even pages, you can
define this behavior using Microsoft Word’s Page Setup dialog.
1. Select Page Setup from the File menu.
2. In the Page Setup dialog, select the Layout tab.
3. In the Headers and footers region of the dialog, select the appropriate check box:
Different odd and even
Different first page
4. Insert your headers and footers into your template as desired.
At runtime your generated report will exhibit the defined header and footer behavior.

Images and Charts

Images
XML Publisher supports several methods for including images in your published
document:

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

URL Reference
URL Reference

6-14 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 1. Insert a dummy image in your template.
2. In the 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.oracle.com/images/ora_log.
gif’}

OA Media Directory Reference

Note: This method only applies to Oracle E-Business Suite installations.

1. Insert a dummy image in your template.

2. In the Format Picture dialog box select the Web tab. Enter the following syntax in
the Alternative text region to reference the OA_MEDIA directory:
url:{’${OA_MEDIA}/image name’}
For example, enter:
url:{’${OA_MEDIA}/ORACLE_LOGO.gif’}

Element Reference from XML File

1. Insert a dummy image in your template.
2. In the 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 your XML file that holds the full
URL to the image.
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)}
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

If your data source is an XML Publisher Data Template, page 9-1 and your results XML
contains image data that had been stored as a BLOB in the database, use the following
syntax in a form field inserted in your 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:instram-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 your XML data.

Creating an RTF Template 6-15

 Note that you can specify height and width attributes for the image to set its size
in the published report. XML Publisher will scale 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:instram-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%">
...

Chart Support
XML Publisher leverages the graph capabilities of Oracle Business Intelligence Beans
(BI Beans) to enable you to define charts and graphs in your RTF templates that will
be populated with data at runtime. XML Publisher supports all the graph types and
component attributes available from the BI Beans graph DTD.
The BI Beans graph DTD is fully documented in the following technical
note available from the Oracle Technology Network [http://www.oracle.com/
technology/index.html] (OTN): "DTD for Customizing Graphs in Oracle Reports
[http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/reports/htdocs/getstart/whitepapers/
graphdtd/graph_dtd_technote_2.html ]."
The following summarizes the steps to add a chart to your template. These steps will be
discussed in detail in the example that follows:
1. Insert a dummy image in your template to define the size and position of your 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 XML Publisher calls the BI Beans applications to render the image that is
then inserted into the final output document.

Adding a Sample Chart

Following is a piece of XML data showing total sales by company division.

6-16 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

<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 will show how to insert a chart into your template to display it as a vertical
bar chart as shown in the following figure:

Creating an RTF Template 6-17

 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 will define how big the chart image will be in the final
document.
Important: You must insert the dummy image as a "Picture" and not any
other kind of object.

The following figure shows an example of a dummy image:

6-18 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

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 will be 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
The following graphic shows an example of the XML Publisher code in the Format
Picture Alternative text box:

Creating an RTF Template 6-19

 The content of the Alternative text represents the chart that will be rendered in the final
document. For this chart, the text is as follows:

6-20 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

chart:
<Graph graphType = "BAR_VERT_CLUST">
<Title text="Company Sales 2004" visible="true" horizontalAlignme
nt="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 your chart text must be the chart: element to inform the RTF
parser that the following code describes a chart object.
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" horizontalAlignme
nt="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="CE
NTER"/>

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:

Creating an RTF Template 6-21

 <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 will be 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 will be 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 will generate the following XML:
<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:

6-22 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <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 will generate 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

You can also display this data in a pie chart as shown in the following figure:

The following is the code added to the template to render this chart at runtime:

Creating an RTF Template 6-23

 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

The following example shows total sales and cost of sales charted in a horizontal bar
format. This example also adds the data from the cost of sales element (<costofsales>)
to the chart:

The following code defines this chart in the template:

6-24 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 chart:
<Graph graphType = "BAR_HORIZ_CLUST">
<Title text="Company Sales 2004" visible="true" horizontalAlignme
nt="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.

Changing the Appearance of Your Chart

There are many attributes available from the BI Beans graph DTD that you can
manipulate to change the look and feel of your 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:

Creating an RTF Template 6-25

 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>

The colors for the bars are defined in the SeriesItems section. The colors are defined
in hexadecimal format as follows:

6-26 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <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>

Drawing, Shape and Clip Art Support

XML Publisher supports Microsoft Word drawing, shape, and clip art features. You can
add these objects to your template and they will be rendered in your final PDF output.
The following AutoShape categories are supported:
• Lines - straight, arrowed, 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 your templates using the Microsoft Clip Art libraries

Freehand Drawing
Use the freehand drawing tool in Microsoft Word to create drawings in your template
to be rendered in the final PDF output.

Creating an RTF Template 6-27

Hyperlinks
You can add hyperlinks to your shapes. See Hyperlinks, page 6-50.

Layering
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 graphic shows
an example of layered shapes:

3-D Effects
XML Publisher does not currently support the 3-D option for shapes.

Microsoft Equation
Use the equation editor to generate equations in your output. The following figure
shows an example of an equation:

Organization Chart
Use the organization chart functionality in your templates and the chart will be rendered
in the output. The following image shows an example of an organization chart:

6-28 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

WordArt
You can use Microsoft Word’s WordArt functionality in your templates. The following
graphic shows a WordArt example:

Note: Some Microsoft WordArt uses a bitmap operation that currently

cannot be converted to SVG. To use the unsupported WordArt in your
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.

Data Driven Shape Support

In addition to supporting the static shapes and features in your templates, XML
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
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.

Creating an RTF Template 6-29

Placement of Commands
Enter manipulation commands for a shape in the Web tab of the shape’s properties
dialog as shown in the following example figure:

Replicate a Shape
You can replicate a shape based on incoming XML data in the same way you replicate
data elements in a for-each loop. To do this, 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 will be 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
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.

6-30 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Add Text to a Shape
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 will be
inserted into the shape.

Add 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 will be 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
To 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 figure shows these valid values:

Creating an RTF Template 6-31

 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 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 the
figure under Rotating a Shape, page 6-31. 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 a Shape

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?>

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:

6-32 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <?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?>

This would generate the output shown in the following figure:

CD Ratings Example
This example demonstrates how to set up a template that will generate a star-rating
based on data from an incoming XML file.
Assume the following incoming XML data:

Creating an RTF Template 6-33

 <CATALOG>
<CD>
<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, we 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 figure:

The values for the fields are shown in the following table:

6-34 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Field Form Field Entry

F <?for-each:CD?>

TITLE <?TITLE?>

ARTIST <?ARTIST?>

E <?end for-each?>

(star shape) Web Tab Entry:

<?for-each@shape:xdoxslt:foreach_number($_XDOCTX,
0,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 we are using a command to create a "for...next loop"
construct. We 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, we create an
inner loop to repeat a star shape for every USER_RATING value (that is, a value of 4
will generate 4 stars). The output from this template and the XML sample is shown
in the following graphic:

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:

Creating an RTF Template 6-35

 <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>

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 wish to manipulate. The following figure shows a composite
shape made up of four components:

The shape consists of three cylinders: red, yellow, and blue. These will 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 will generate 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 will appear in the rectangle.

6-36 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

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*100, 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 100
pixel offset along the x-axis (to the right).
At runtime three sets of shapes will be rendered across the page as shown in the
following figure:

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. We can now generate a visually appealing output for our report as seen
in the following figure:

Creating an RTF Template 6-37

Supported Native Formatting Features
In addition to the features already listed, XML Publisher supports the following features
of Microsoft Word.

General Features
• Large blocks of text
• Page breaks
To insert a page break, insert a Ctrl-Enter keystroke just 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 will start on a new page.
Using this Microsoft Word native feature will cause a single blank page to print at
the end of your report output. To avoid this single blank page, use XML Publisher’s
page break alias. See Special Features: Page Breaks, page 6-45.
• Page numbering
Insert page numbers into your final report by using the page numbering methods of
your word processing application. 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.

6-38 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 At runtime the page numbers will be displayed as selected.
• Hidden text
You can format text as "hidden" in Microsoft Word and the hidden text will be
maintained in RTF output reports.

Alignment
Use your word processor’s alignment features to align text, graphics, objects, and tables.
Note: Bidirectional languages are handled automatically using your
word processing application’s left/right alignment controls.

Tables
Supported table features include:
• Nested Tables
• Cell Alignment
You can align any object in your template using your word processing application’s
alignment tools. This alignment will be reflected in the final report output.
• Row spanning and column spanning
You can span both columns and rows in your template as follows:
1. Select the cells you wish 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 will appear merged.
• Table Autoformatting
XML Publisher recognizes the table autoformats available in Microsoft Word.
1. Select the table you wish to format.
2. From the Table menu, select Autoformat.
3. Select the desired table format.
At runtime, the table will be formatted using your selection.
• Cell patterns and colors
You can 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
If your data is displayed in a table, and you expect the table to extend across multiple
pages, you can define the header rows that you want to repeat at the start of each
page.

Creating an RTF Template 6-39

 1. Select the row(s) you wish 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.
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 your 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.
The following figure shows the Table Properties dialog:

6-40 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

• Text truncation
By default, if the text within a table cell will not fit within the cell, the text will be
wrapped. To truncate the text instead, use the table properties dialog.
1. Place your cursor in the cell in which you want the text truncated.
2. Right-click your mouse 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.
The following figure shows the Cell Options dialog.

An example of truncation is shown in the following graphic:

Creating an RTF Template 6-41

Date Fields
Insert dates using the date feature of your word processing application. Note that this
date will correspond to the publishing date, not the request run date.

Multicolumn Page Support

XML Publisher supports Microsoft Word’s Columns function to enable you to publish
your output in multiple columns on a page.
Select Format > Columns to display the Columns dialog box to define the number of
columns for your template. The following graphic shows the Columns dialog:

Multicolumn Page Example: Labels

To generate address labels in a two-column format:
1. Divide your 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 figure:

6-42 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 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
Prevent rows from breaking across pages, page 6-40.

This template will produce the following multicolumn output:

Background and Watermark Support

XML Publisher supports the "Background" feature in Microsoft Word. You can specify a
single, graduated color or an image background for your template to be displayed in the
PDF output. Note that this feature is supported for PDF output only.
To add a background to your template, use the Format > Background menu option.

Add a Background Using Microsoft Word 2000

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. The Fill Effects dialog is shown
in the following figure:

Creating an RTF Template 6-43

 From this dialog select one of the following supported options:
• Gradient - this can be either one or two colors
• Texture - choose 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

Add 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.
Use the Format > Background > Printed Watermark dialog to select either:
• Picture Watermark - load an image and define how it should be scaled on the
document
• 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 the Printed Watermark dialog completed to display
a text watermark:

6-44 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Template Features

Page Breaks
To create a page break after the occurrence of a specific element use the
"split-by-page-break" alias. This will cause 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:?>
Example
For the following XML, assume you want to create a page break for each new supplier:

Creating an RTF Template 6-45

 <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 figure, 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 will ensure a page break is inserted before the occurrence of each
new supplier. This method avoids the ejection of an extra page at the end of the group
when using the native Microsoft Word page break after the group.

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. XML Publisher allows you to set the page number in the template to support this
requirement.
Use the following syntax in your template to set the initial page number:
<?initial-page-number:pagenumber?>

where pagenumber is the XML element or parameter that holds the numeric value.
Example 1 - Set page number from XML data element
If your XML data contains an element to carry the initial page number, for example:

6-46 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <REPORT>
<PAGESTART>200<\PAGESTART>
....
</REPORT>

Enter the following in your template:

<?initial-page-number:PAGESTART?>

Your initial page number will be 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, you can pass the initial value by calling
the parameter.
Enter the following in your template:
<?initial-page-number:$PAGESTART?>

Note: You must first declare the parameter in your template. See
Defining Parameters in Your Template, page 6-81.

Last Page Only Content

XML Publisher supports the Microsoft Word functionality to specify a different page
layout for the first page, odd pages, and even pages. To implement these options, simply
select Page Setup from the File menu, then select the Layout tab. XML Publisher will
recognize the settings 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.
XML Publisher provides this ability. To utilize this feature, you must:
1. Create a section break in your 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 will appear 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.
Example
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:

Creating an RTF Template 6-47

 <?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>
</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 the following figure:

Template Page One

6-48 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 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 figure:

Last Page Only Layout

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:
<?start@last-page:body?> <?end body?>
to declare the last page layout. Any content above or below this statement will
appear 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 your 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 about headers and
footers see Defining Headers and Footers, page 6-13.
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 XML Publisher
Template Builder for Word installation.
It is important to note that if the report is only one page in length, the first page layout
will be used. If your 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 will result in the last page layout for reports that are only one
page long.

End on Even or End on Odd Page

If your report has different odd and even page layouts, you may want to force your
report to end specifically on an odd or even page. For example, you may include the
terms and conditions of a purchase order in the footer of your report using the different
odd/even footer functionality (see Different First Page and Different Odd and Even Page

Creating an RTF Template 6-49

 Support, page 6-14) and you want to ensure that the terms and conditions are printed
on the final page.
Or, you may have binding requirements to have your 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 your template:
<?section:force-page-count;’end-on-even-layout’?>

To end on an odd page layout:

<?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, use the following syntax:
<?section:force-page-count;’end-on-even’?>

or
<?section:force-page-count;’end-on-odd’?>

Hyperlinks
XML Publisher supports several different types of hyperlinks. 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 your word processing
application’s insert hyperlink feature:
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 screenshot shows the insertion of a static hyperlink using Microsoft
Word’s Insert Hyperlink dialog box.

6-50 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

• If your input XML data includes an element that contains a hyperlink or part of
one, you can create dynamic hyperlinks at runtime. In the Type the file or Web page
name field of the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, 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 your XML data file to
construct the URL, enter the following syntax:
http://www.oracle.com?product={PRODUCT_NAME}
where PRODUCT_NAME is the incoming data element name.
In both these cases, at runtime the dynamic URL will be constructed.
The following figure shows the insertion of a dynamic hyperlink using Microsoft
Word’s Insert Hyperlink dialog box. The data element SUPPLIER_URL from the
incoming XML file will contain the hyperlink that will be inserted into the report at
runtime.

Creating an RTF Template 6-51

 • 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

Inserting Internal Links

Insert internal links into your template using Microsoft Word’s Bookmark feature.
1. Position your cursor in the desired destination in your document.
2. Select Insert > Bookmark...
3. In the Bookmark dialog, enter a name for this bookmark, and select Add.
4. Select the text or shape in your 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. Choose the bookmark you created from the list.
At runtime, the link will be maintained in your generated report.

6-52 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Table of Contents
XML Publisher supports the table of contents generation feature of the RTF
specification. Follow your word processing application’s procedures for inserting a
table of contents.
XML Publisher also provides the ability to create dynamic section headings in your
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 your word processing application’s style feature. You cannot use
form fields for this functionality.
For example, you want your report to display a heading for each company
reported. The XML data element tag name is <COMPANY_NAME>. In your
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 your word processing application’s table of contents
feature.
At runtime the TOC placeholders and heading text will be substituted.

Generating Bookmarks in PDF Output

If you have defined a table of contents in your RTF template, you can use your table of
contents definition to generate links in the Bookmarks tab in the navigation pane of your
output PDF. The bookmarks can be either static or dynamically generated.
For information on creating the table of contents, see Table of Contents, page 6-53.
• To create links for a static table of contents:
Enter the syntax:
<?copy-to-bookmark:?>
directly above your table of contents and
<?end copy-to-bookmark:?>
directly below the table of contents.
• To create links for a dynamic table of contents:
If you have a dynamic table of contents in your, enter the syntax:
<?convert-to-bookmark:?>
directly above the table of contents and
<?end convert-to-bookmark:?>
directly below the table of contents.

Check Boxes
You can include a check box in your template that you can define to display as checked
or unchecked based on a value from the incoming data.
To define a check box in your template:

Creating an RTF Template 6-53

 1. Position the cursor in your template where you want the check box to display, and
select the Check Box Form Field from the Forms tool bar (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 your 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:
<?population>10000?>

This is displayed in the following figure:

6-54 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Note that you do not have to construct an "if" statement. The expression is treated as
an "if" statement.
See the next section for a sample template using a check box.

Drop Down Lists

XML Publisher allows you to use the drop-down form field to create a cross-reference
in your template from your 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>
</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 your template that will cross-reference the <continentindex> value to the
actual continent name. You can then display the name in your published report.
To create the index for the continent example:
1. Position the cursor in your 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 (shown
in the following figure).

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 will be indexed starting from one for the
first, and so on. For example, the list of continents will be stored as follows:

Creating an RTF Template 6-55

 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 will hold 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:

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 is shown in the following figure:

The template to create this report is shown in the next figure:

6-56 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 where the fields have the following values:
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 will display as checked.

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.

Conditional Formatting
Conditional formatting occurs when a formatting element appears only when a certain
condition is met. XML 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 will display shaded in red. Or, you can
use this feature to hide table columns or rows depending on the incoming XML data.

If Statements
Use an if statement to define a simple condition; for example, if a data field is a specific
value.
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 figure below. Note that you can insert the syntax in
form fields, or directly into the template.

Creating an RTF Template 6-57

If Statements in Boilerplate Text
Assume you want to incorporate an "if" statement into the following free-form text:
The program was (not) successful.
You only want the "not" to display if the value of an XML tag called <SUCCESS> equals
"N".
To achieve this requirement, you must use the XML 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 Using Context
Commands, page 6-110.

For example, if you construct the code as follows:

The program was <?if:SUCCESS=’N’?>not<?end if?> successful.

The following undesirable result will occur:

The program was
not
successful.

because XML 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 will result in the following display:

The program was successful.

If SUCCESS does not equal ’N’;

or
The program was not successful.

If SUCCESS equals ’N’.

6-58 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

If-then-Else Statements
XML Publisher supports the common programming construct "if-then-else". This is
extremely useful when you need to 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 your 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?>

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 will be 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).
Use the following syntax for these elements:
<?choose:?>
<?when:expression?>
<?otherwise?>

"Choose" 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 will render light gray. When POSTED_FLAG
equals "*" the row of data will render shaded dark gray. Otherwise, the row of data will
render with no shading.

Creating an RTF Template 6-59

 In the following figure, the form field default text is displayed. The form field help text
entries are shown in the table following the example.

Default Text Entry in Example Form Field Help Text Entry in Form Field

<Grp:VAT <?for-each:VAT?>

<Choose <?choose?>

<When EXEMPT_FLAG=’^’ <?When EXEMPT_FLAG=’^’?>

End When> <?end When?>

<When EXEMPT_FLAG=’^’ <?When EXEMPT_FLAG=’^’?>

End When> <?end When?>

6-60 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Column Formatting
You can conditionally show and hide columns of data in your document output. The
following 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 will show 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 we do not want to show the quantity column in the output, but we
want to develop only one template for both versions based on the list type.
The following figure is a simple template that will conditionally show or hide the
quantity column:

The following table shows the entries made in the template for the example:

Creating an RTF Template 6-61

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/@type=" The opening of the if statement to test

PRIVATE"?> for the attribute value "PRIVATE".
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 your templates, see
XPath Overview, page 6-106.

Quantity N/A Boilerplate heading

end-if <?end if?> Ends the if statement.

20 <?if@column:/items/@type=" The placeholder for the quantity

PRIVATE"?><?quantity?><?end element surrounded by the "if"
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 XML 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 your report as a result
of the if statement, but the column still would because you had drawn it in your template.
Note: The @column clause is an example of a context command. For
more information, see Using Context Commands, page 6-110.

The example will render the output shown in the following figure:

If the same XML data contained the type attribute set to "PRIVATE" the following output
would be rendered from the same template:

6-62 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Row Formatting
XML 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. This is
demonstrated in the following sample template.

Note the following fields from the sample figure:

Default Text Entry Form Field Help Text Description

for-each SALE <?for-each:SALE?> Opens the for-each loop to repeat the

data 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 if <?end if?> Closes the if statement.

end SALE <?end for-each?> Closes the SALE loop.

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:

Creating an RTF Template 6-63

 The following table shows values of the form fields in the template:
Default Text Entry Form Field Help Text Description

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
<xsl:attribute name="background-color" color attribute is set to gray for the row.
xdofo:ctx="incontext">lightgray</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 preceding example, 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
will be set to light gray. This will result in the following output:

Note: For more information about context commands, see Using Context
Commands, page 6-110.

Cell Highlighting
The following example demonstrates how to conditionally highlight a cell based on
a value in the XML file.
For this example we will use the following XML:

6-64 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <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. In the final report we
want to highlight in red any cell whose value is greater than 1000. The template for this
is shown in the following graphic:

The field definitions for the template are shown in the following table:
Default Text Entry Form Field Entry Description

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?><xsl: This field holds the code to highlight

attribute xdofo:ctx= the cell red if the debit amount is
"block" name="background- greater than 1000.
color">red</xsl:
attribute><?end if?>

100.00 <?debit?> The placeholder for the debit

element.

CH2 <?if:credit>1000? This field holds the code to highlight

><xsl:attribute xdofo: the cell red if the credit amount is
ctx="block" name= greater than 1000.
"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.

Creating an RTF Template 6-65

 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 xdo:ctx component is an XML 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).
The output from this template is displayed in the following figure:

Page-Level Calculations

Displaying Page Totals

XML Publisher allows you to display calculated page totals in your 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.

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 your 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 your 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.

6-66 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Then when you want to display the total field, enter the following syntax:
<?show-page-total:TotalFieldName;’Oracle-number-format’?>

where
TotalFieldName is the name you assigned to give the page total field above and
Oracle-number-format is the format you wish to use to for the display, using the
Oracle format mask. For the list of Oracle format mask symbols, see Using the Oracle
Format Mask, page 6-100.
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:
<balance_sheet>
<transaction>
<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 for the example
table:

Creating an RTF Template 6-67

Default Text Entry Form Field Help Text Entry Description

FE <?for-each:transaction?> This field defines the opening

"for-each" loop for the transaction
group.

100.00 <?debit?><?add-page-total: This field is the placeholder for

dt;’debit’?> the debit element from the XML
file. Because we want to total this field
by page, the page total declaration
syntax is added. The field defined to
hold the total for the debit element
is dt.

90.00 <?credit?> <?add-page- This field is the placeholder for the

total:ct;’credit’?> credit element from the XML
file. Because we want to total this field
by page, the page total declaration
syntax is added. The field defined to
hold the total for the credit element
is ct.

Net <add-page-total:net;’debit Creates a net page total by subtracting

- credit’?> the credit values from the debit
values.

EFE <?end for-each?> Closes the for-each loop.

Note that on the field defined as "net" we are actually carrying out 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 your template
where you want the page totals to appear. Reference the calculated fields 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)’?>
Therefore to complete the example, place the following at the bottom of the template
page, or in the footer:
Page Total Debit: <?show-page-total:dt;’C9G990D00’;’(C9G990D00)’?>
Page Total Credit: <?show-page-total:ct;’C9G990D00’;’(C9G990D00)’?>
Page Total Balance: <?show-page-total:net;’C9G990D00’;’(C9G990D00)’?>
The output for this report is shown in the following graphic:

6-68 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Note that this page totaling function will only work if your source XML has raw numeric
values. The numbers must not be preformatted.

Brought Forward/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/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: HTML, RTF, Excel.

An example 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.
This functionality is an extension of the Page Totals, page 6-66 feature. The following
example walks through the syntax and setup required to display the brought forward
and carried forward totals in your published report.
Assume you have the following XML:

Creating an RTF Template 6-69

 <?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 following sample template creates the invoice table and declares a placeholder
that will hold your page total:

The fields in the template have the following values:

Field Form Field Help Text Entry Description

Init PTs <?init-page-total: InvAmt?> Declares "InvAmt" as the placeholder that

will hold 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-total:InvAmt;INVAMT?> Assigns the "InvAmt" page total object to

the INVAMT element in the data.

EFE <?end for-each?> Closes the INVOICE group.

End PTs <?end-page-total:InvAmt?> Closes the "InvAmt" page total.

To display the brought forward total at the top of each page (except the first), use the
following syntax:

6-70 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <xdofo:inline-total
display-condition="exceptfirst"
name="InvAmt">
Brought Forward:
<xdofo:show-brought-forward
name="InvAmt"
format="99G999G999D00"/>
</xdofo:inline-total>

The following table describes the elements comprising the brought forward syntax:
Code Element Description and Usage

inline-total This element has two properties:

• name - 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 - the contents appear only on the first page

• last - the contents appear only on the last page

• exceptfirst - contents appear on all pages except first

• exceptlast - contents appear on all pages except last

• everytime - (default) contents appear 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 will display as the field name on the report.

show-brought-forward Shows the value on the page. It has the following two 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 Using the Oracle Format Mask, page 6-100 .

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, 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 will be. XML
Publisher will recognize any content above the defined body area as header content, and
any content below as the footer. This allows you to use form fields. See Multiple or
Complex Headers and Footers, page 6-13 for details.
Place the carried forward object at the bottom of your template where you want the total
to display. The carried forward object for our example is as follows:

Creating an RTF Template 6-71

 <xdofo:inline-total
display-condition="exceptlast"
name="InvAmt">
Carried Forward:
<xdofo:show-carry-forward
name="InvAmt"
format="99G999G999D00"/>
</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
will display 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 your template, you can create multiple brought
forward/carried forward objects in your template pointing to various numeric elements
in your data.

Running Totals
Example
The variable functionality (see Using Variables, page 6-81) can be used to add a running
total to your invoice listing report. 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>
<INVAMT>150</INVOICEAMT>
</INVOICE>
</INVOICES>

Using this XML, we want to create the report that contains running totals as shown
in the following figure:

6-72 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 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 figure:

The values for the form fields in the template are shown in the following table:
Form Field Syntax Description

RtotalVar <?xdoxslt:set_variable($_ Declares the "RTotalVar"

XDOCTX, ’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($_ Sets the value of RTotalVar to

XDOCTX, ’RTotalVar’, xdoxslt: the current value plus the new
get_variable($_XDOCTX, Invoice Amount.
’RTotalVar’) + INVAMT)?>
Retrieves the RTotalVar value
xdoxslt:get_variable($_ for display.
XDOCTX, ’RTotalVar’)?>

EFE <?end for-each?> Ends the INVOICE group.

Data Handling

Sorting
You can sort a group by any element within the group. Insert the following syntax
within the group tags:
<?sort:element name?>
For example, to sort the Payables Invoice Register (shown at the beginning
of this chapter) by Supplier (VENDOR_NAME), enter the following after the
<?for-each:G_VENDOR_NAME?> tag:
<?sort:VENDOR_NAME?>
To sort a group by multiple fields, just insert the sort syntax after the primary sort
field. To sort by Supplier and then by Invoice Number, enter the following
<?sort:VENDOR_NAME?> <?sort:INVOICE_NUM?>

Checking for Nulls

Within your XML data there are three possible scenarios for the value of an element:
• 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

Creating an RTF Template 6-73

 • The element is not present in the XML data, and therefore there is no value
In your 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 when the element exists
and is not null <?end if?>
• To define behavior when the element is present, but is null, use the following:
<?if:element_name and element_name="?> desired behavior when
the element exists but value is null <?end if?>
• To define behavior when the element is not present, use the following:
<?if:not(element_name)?> desired behavior when the element is
not present <?end if?>

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, your template does not have to follow the hierarchy of the source XML file. You
are therefore no longer limited by the structure of your data source.

XML Sample
To demonstrate the for-each-group standard, the following XML data sample of a CD
catalog listing will be regrouped in a template:

6-74 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <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
To regroup the data, use the following syntax:
<?for-each-group: BASE-GROUP;GROUPING-ELEMENT?>

For example, to regroup the CD listing by COUNTRY, enter the following in your
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, XML Publisher will loop through the occurrences of the new
groupings, displaying the fields that you defined in your template.

Creating an RTF Template 6-75

 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
The following figure shows a template that displays the CDs by Country, then Year, and
lists the details for each CD:

The following table shows the XML Publisher syntax entries made in the form fields of
the preceding template:

6-76 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Default Text Entry Form Field Help Text Entry Description

Group by Country <?for-each-group: The <?for-each-group:

CD;COUNTRY?> 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 Year <?for-each-group: The <?for-each-group:

current-group();YEAR?> current-group();YEAR?>
tag regroups the current group
(that is, COUNTRY), by the
YEAR element.

2000 <?YEAR?> Placeholder to display the data

value of the YEAR tag.

Group: Details <?for-each:current- Once the data is grouped by

group()?> COUNTRY and 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 by Year <?end for-each-group?> Closes out the <?for-

each-group:current-
group();YEAR?> tag.

End Group by Country <?end for-each-group?> Closes out the

<?for-each-group:
CD;COUNTRY?> tag.

This template produces the following output when merged with the XML file:

Creating an RTF Template 6-77

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?>
Example
To demonstrate this feature, an XML data sample that simply contains average
temperatures per month will be used as input to a template that calculates the number of
months having an average temperature within a certain range.
The following XML sample is composed of <temp> groups. Each <temp> group
contains a <month> element and a <degree> element, which contains the average
temperature for that month:

6-78 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

<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>
<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 follows:

Creating an RTF Template 6-79

 Using the for-each-group command you can apply an expression to the <degree>
element that will enable you to group the temperatures by increments of 10 degrees. You
can then display a count of the members of each grouping, which will be the number of
months having an average temperature that falls within each range.
The template to create the above report is shown in the following figure:

The following table shows the form field entries made in the template:
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 will generate 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 will be
created: 0, 1, 2, and 3.

6-80 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 • 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.

Using Variables
Updateable variables differ from standard XSL variables <xsl:variable> in that they are
updateable during the template application to the XML data. This allows you to create
many new features in your templates that require updateable 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($_XDOCTX, ’x’, xdoxslt:get_variable($_XDOC
TX, ’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 the section on Running Totals, page 6-72 for an example of the usage of updateable
variables.

Dening Parameters
You can pass runtime parameter values into your 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 XML Publisher Enterprise users, all name-value parameter
pairs are passed to the template. You must register the parameters that
you wish to utilize in your template using the syntax described below.

Using 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?>

Creating an RTF Template 6-81

 where
parameter_name is the name of the parameter
parameter_value is the default value for the parameter (the parameter_value is
optional)
param@begino: 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 XML Publisher Enterprise, but only the core libraries:
At runtime, pass the parameter to the XML 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 your template that will filter your
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 figure displays a template that accepts a parameter value to limit the
invoices displayed in the final document based on the parameter value.

6-82 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Field Form Field Help Text Entry Description

InvThreshDeclaration <?param@begin:InvThresh?> Declares the parameter InvThresh.

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 will be displayed. If we pass in a parameter value of 1,000, the following
output shown in the following figure will result:

Notice the second invoice does not display because its amount was less than the
parameter value.

Setting Properties
XML Publisher properties that are available in the XML Publisher Configuration file can
alternatively be embedded into the RTF template. The properties set in the template are
resolved at runtime by the XML 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 XML Publisher Configuration File, page 10-1 for more
information about the XML Publisher Configuration file and the
available properties.

For example, if you use a nonstandard font in your template, rather than specify the font
location in the configuration file, you can embed the font property inside the template. If
you need to secure the generated PDF output, you can use the XML Publisher PDF
security properties and obtain the password value from the incoming XML data.
To add an XML Publisher property to a template, use the Microsoft Word Properties
dialog (available from the File menu), and enter the following information:
Name - enter the XML Publisher property name prefixed with "xdo-"
Type - select "Text"

Creating an RTF Template 6-83

 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}
The following figure shows the Properties dialog:

Embedding a Font Reference

For this example, suppose you want to use a font in the template called
"XMLPScript". This font is not available as a regular font on your server, therefore you
must tell XML Publisher where to find the font at runtime. You tell XML 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, XML Publisher will look for
the font in the /tmp/fonts directory. Note that if the template is deployed in multiple
locations, you must ensure that the path is valid for each location.
For more information about setting font properties, see Font Definitions, page 10-12.

6-84 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 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}
Storing the password in the XML data is not recommended if the XML will persist 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 Defining Parameters in Your
Template, page 6-81.

Advanced Report Layouts

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 will require that the page numbering be reset and that page

Creating an RTF Template 6-85

 totals are specific to the document. If the header and footer display fields from the data
(such as customer name) these will have to be reset as well.
XML Publisher supports this requirement through the use of a context command. This
command allows you to define elements of your 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 sample 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>
...
</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 XML 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 will be as follows:
<?for-each@section:G_INVOICE?>
The closing <?end for-each?> tag is not changed.
The following figure shows a sample template. Note that the G_INVOICE group
for-each declaration is still within the body of the report, even though the headers will be
reset by the command.

6-86 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 The following table shows the values of the form fields from the example:
Default Text Entry Form Field Help Text Description

for-each G_INVOICE <?for-each@section:G_INVO Begins the G_INVOICE group,

ICE?> and defines the element as a
Section. For each occurrence
of G_INVOICE, a new section
will be started.

<?TRX_NUMBER?> N/A Microsoft Word does not

support 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 will begin. The
page numbers will restart, and if header or footer information is derived from the data, it
will be reset as well.

Cross-Tab Support
The columns of a cross-tab report are data dependent. At design-time you do not know
how many columns will be reported, or what the appropriate column headings will
be. Moreover, if the columns should break onto a second page, you need to be able to
define the row label columns to repeat onto subsequent pages. The following example
shows how to design a simple cross-tab report that supports these features.
This example uses the following XML sample:

Creating an RTF Template 6-87

 <ROWSET>
<RESULTS>
<INDUSTRY>Motor Vehicle Dealers</INDUSTRY>
<YEAR>2005</YEAR>
<QUARTER>Q1</QUARTER>
<SALES>1000</SALES>
</RESULTS>
<RESULTS>
<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 we will generate a report that shows each industry and totals the sales
by year as shown in the following figure:

6-88 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 The template to generate this report is shown in the following figure. The form field
entries are shown in the subsequent table.

The form fields in the template have the following values:

Default Text Entry Form Field Help Text Description

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, page 6-90.

for: <?for-each-group@column: Uses the regrouping syntax (see Regrouping the XML
RESULTS;YEAR?> Data, page 6-74) 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 Using the Context Commands,
page 6-110.

YEAR <?YEAR?> Placeholder for the YEAR element.

end <?end for-each-group?> Closes the for-each-group loop.

for: <?for-each-group:RESULTS; Begins the group to create a table row for each
INDUSTRY?> INDUSTRY.

INDUSTRY <?INDUSTRY?> Placeholder for the INDUSTRY element.

for: <?for-each-group@cell:current- Uses the regrouping syntax (see Regrouping the XML
group();YEAR?> Data, page 6-74) 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()// Sums the sales for the current group (YEAR).
SALES)

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 need to use the @cell context to create the
table cells for the column. (For more information about context commands, see Using the
Context Commands, page 6-110.)

Creating an RTF Template 6-89

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 will correctly render a table
when the number of columns 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 will 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:
• 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 your column widths are
defined in character cells, then you will need a multiplier value of ~6 to render the
columns to the correct width in points. If the multiplier is not defined, the widths
of the columns are calculated as a percentage of the total width of the table. This is
illustrated in the following table:
Width Denition Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
(Width = 10) (Width = 12) (Width = 14)

Multiplier not present 10/10+12+14*100 28% %Width = 33% %Width =39%

-% width

Multiplier = 6 - width 60 pts 72 pts 84 pts

Dening Columns to Repeat Across Pages

If your 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:

6-90 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <?horizontal-break-table:number?>
where number is the number of columns (starting from the left) to repeat.
Note that this functionality is supported for PDF output only..

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 following table:
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

but you do not know how many Test Score Ranges will be 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> will 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 Splitting" is the dynamic column. At runtime this column
will split according to the data, and the header for each column will be appropriately
populated. The Default Text entry and Form Field Help entry for each field are listed in

Creating an RTF Template 6-91

 the table following the figure. (See Form Field Method, page 6-7 for more information on
using form fields).

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 will also be the row heading.
• The second column is the one to be split dynamically. The width you specify will be
divided by the number of columns of data. In this case, there are 5 data columns.
• The second column will contain the dynamic "range" data. The width of the column
will be divided according to the split column width. Because this example does not
contain the unit value tag (<?split-column-width-unit:value?>), the column
will be split on a percentage basis. Wrapping of the data will occur if required.
Note: If the tag (<?split-column-width-unit:value?>) were
present, then the columns would have a specific width in points. If
the total column widths were wider than the allotted space on the
page, then the table would break 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 will render the output shown in the following figure:

6-92 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Number and Date Formatting

Number Formatting
XML Publisher supports two methods for specifying the number format:
• Microsoft Word’s Native number format mask
• Oracle’s format-number function
Note: You can also use the native XSL format-number function to format
numbers. See: Native XSL Number Formatting, page 6-113.

Use only one of these methods. If the number format mask is specified using both
methods, the data will be formatted twice, causing unexpected behavior.
The group separator and the number separator will be set at runtime based on the
template locale. This is applicable for both the Oracle format mask and the MS format
mask.

Data Source Requirements

To use the Oracle format mask or the Microsoft format mask, the numbers in your 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) the format
will not work.
Note: The XML 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.

Translation Considerations
If you are designing a template to be translatable, using currency in the Microsoft format
mask is not recommended unless you want the data reported in the same currency for
all translations. Using the MS format mask sets the currency in the template so that it
cannot be updated at runtime.
Instead, use the Oracle format mask. For example, L999G999G999D99, where "L" will be
replaced by the currency symbol based on the locale at runtime.
Do not include "%" in the format mask because this will fix 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 box. The following graphic displays an example:

Creating an RTF Template 6-93

 To apply a number format to a form field:
1. Open the Form Field Options dialog box for the placeholder field.
2. Set the Type to Number.
3. Select the appropriate Number format from the list of options.
Supported Microsoft Format Mask Denitions
The following table lists the supported Microsoft format mask definitions:

6-94 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Symbol Location Meaning

0 Number Digit. Each explicitly set 0 will appear, 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 will be determined at runtime based on
template locale.
For 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 will be determined at runtime based on
template locale.
For 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 boundary Separates positive and negative subpatterns. See Note below.

% Prefix or Suffix Multiply by 100 and show as percentage

’ 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"

Creating an RTF Template 6-95

 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

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 graphic shows an example Form Field Help Text dialog entry for the
data element "empno":

The following table lists the supported Oracle number format mask symbols and their
definitions:

6-96 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Symbol Meaning

0 Digit. Each explicitly set 0 will appear, 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 will
be 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 will be 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 number) Displays positive value with a leading "+" and negative values with a leading "-"

S (after number) Displays positive value with a trailing "+" and negative value with a trailing "-"

Date Formatting
XML Publisher supports three methods for specifying the date format:
• Specify an explicit date format mask using Microsoft Word’s native date format mask.

Creating an RTF Template 6-97

 • 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.)
Only one method should be used. If both the Oracle and MS format masks are
specified, the data will be formatted twice causing 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 that if you do not include the time
zone offset, the time will be formatted to the UTC time.

Translation Considerations
If you are designing a template to be translatable, explicitly setting a date format mask
is not recommended. This is because the date format mask is part of the template, and
all published reports based on this template will have the same date format regardless
of locale.
For translatable templates, it is recommended that you use the Oracle abstract date
format.
If it is necessary to explicitly specify a format mask, the Oracle format mask is
recommended over the MS format mask to ensure future compatibility.

Using the Microsoft Date Format Mask

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.

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 If you do not specify the mask in the Date format field, the abstract format mask
"MEDIUM" will be used as default. See Oracle Abstract Format Masks, page 6-103 for
the description.
The following figure shows the Text Form Field Options dialog box with a date format
applied:

The following table lists the supported Microsoft date format mask components:
Symbol Meaning

d The day of the month. Single-digit days will not have a leading zero.

dd The day of the month. Single-digit days will 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 will not have a leading zero.

MM The numeric month. Single-digit months will 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 will not have a leading zero.

hh The hour in a 12-hour clock. Single-digit hours will have a leading zero.

H The hour in a 24-hour clock. Single-digit hours will not have a leading zero.

HH The hour in a 24-hour clock. Single-digit hours will have a leading zero.

Creating an RTF Template 6-99

Symbol Meaning

m The minute. Single-digit minutes will not have a leading zero.

mm The minute. Single-digit minutes will have a leading zero.

s The second. Single-digit seconds will not have a leading zero.

ss The second. Single-digit seconds will 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.

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

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.

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 If no format mask is specified, the abstract format mask "MEDIUM" will be used
as default.
Example form field help text entry:
<?format-date:hiredate;’YYYY-MM-DD’?>
The following table lists the supported Oracle format mask components:
Symbol Meaning

- Punctuation and quoted text are reproduced in the result.

/
,
.
;
:
"text"

AD AD indicator with or without periods.

A.D.

AM Meridian indicator with or without periods.

A.M.

BC BC indicator with or without periods.

B.C.

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).

Creating an RTF Template 6-101

Symbol Meaning

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 Meridian indicator with or without periods.

P.M.

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 don’t 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 Last 2, or 1 digit(s) of year.

Y

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, page 6-103 for the 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:

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 <?format-date:hiredate?>

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
will depend on the locale 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’?>

The following table lists the abstract format masks and the sample output that would be
generated for 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

Calendar and Time Zone Support

Calendar Specication
The term "calendar" refers to the calendar date displayed in the published report. The
following types are supported:
• GREGORIAN
• ARABIC_HIJRAH
• ENGLISH_HIJRAH
• JAPANESE_IMPERIAL
• THAI_BUDDHA
• ROC_OFFICIAL (Taiwan)

Creating an RTF Template 6-103

 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 graphic 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 specified in the template will override the
calendar type set in the profile option.

Time Zone Specication

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, UTC 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 your template:
<?format-date:hiredate;’LONG_TIME_TZ’;’Asia/Shanghai’?>

Using External Fonts

XML Publisher enables you to use fonts in your output that are not normally available
on the server. To set up a new font for your report output, use the font to design your
template on your client machine, then make it available on the server, and configure
XML Publisher to access the font at runtime.
1. Use the font in your template.
1. Copy the font to your <WINDOWS_HOME>/fonts directory.
2. Open Microsoft Word and build your template.
3. Insert the font in your 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 graphic shows an example of the form field method and the text
method:

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 2. Place the font on the server.
Place the font in a directory accessible to the formatting engine at runtime.
3. Set the XML Publisher "font" property.
You can set the font property either in the XML Publisher Configuration file or
directly in the template.
To set the property in the configuration file:
Update the XML 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 XML Publisher Configuration File, page 10-1 for more information.
To set the property in the template:
See Setting Properties, page 6-83.
Now you can run your report and XML Publisher will use the font in the output as
designed. For PDF output, the advanced font handling features of XML 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.
For an example implementation, see the white paper, "Check Printing Using Oracle
XML Publisher," MetaLink note 312353.1. This document describes how to set up the
MICR font used in check printing.

Advanced Barcode Formatting

XML Publisher offers the ability to execute preprocessing on your data prior to applying
a barcode font to the data in the output document. For example, you may 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 XML Publisher that
can then be instantiated at runtime to carry out the formatting in the template. This is
covered in Advanced Barcode Font Formatting Class Implementation, page 11-55.
To enable the formatting feature in your template, you must use two commands in
your template. The first command registers the barcode encoding class with XML

Creating an RTF Template 6-105

 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.

Register the Barcode Encoding Class

Use the following syntax in a form field in your template to register the barcode
encoding class:
<?register-barcode-vendor:java_class_name;barcode_vendor_id?>

This command requires a Java class name (this will carry 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.apps.xdo.template.rtf.util.barc
oder.BarcodeUtil’;’XMLPBarVendor’?>

where
oracle.apps.xdo.template.rtf.util.barcoder.BarcodeUtil is the Java
class and
XMLPBarVendor is the vendor ID that is defined by the class.

Encode the Data

To format the data, use the following syntax in a form field in your template:
<?format-barcode:data;’barcode_type’;’barcode_vendor_id’?>

where
data is the element from your XML data source to be encoded. For example: LABEL_ID
barcode_type is the method in the encoding Java class used to format the data (for
example: Code128a).
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 will then be applied to the data in the final output.

Advanced Design Options

If you have more complex design requirements, XML Publisher supports the use of XSL
and XSL:FO elements, and has also extended a set of SQL functions.
RTF templates offer extremely powerful layout options using XML Publisher’s
syntax. However, because the underlying technology is based on open W3C
standards, such as XSL and XPATH, you are not limited by the functionality described in
this guide. You can fully utilize the layout and data manipulation features available in
these technologies.

XPath Overview
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

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 for addressing the individual pieces of an XML document. You may 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>
<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 you will 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

Creating an RTF Template 6-107

 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 will be returned.
To retrieve the individual TITLE elements, use the following command:
/CATALOG/CD/TITLE

This example will return the following XML:

<CATALOG>
<CD cattype=Folk>
<TITLE>Empire Burlesque</TITLE>
</CD>
<CD cattype=Rock>
<TITLE>Hide Your Heart</TITLE>
</CD>
</CATALOG>

Further limit your 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]

Use the bracket notation to leverage the attribute value in your 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>

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 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, we
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.
A noted earlier, double forward slashes (//) retrieve every matching element regardless
of location in the document.

Context and Parent

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 .. is 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, you
may get erroneous results.
XPath is an extremely powerful standard when combined with RTF templates allowing
you to use conditional formatting and filtering in your template.

Namespace Support
If your 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:

Creating an RTF Template 6-109

 <?namespace:namespace name= namespace url?>
For example:
<?namespace:fsg=http://www.oracle.com/fsg/2002-30-20/?>
Once declared, you can use the namespace in the placeholder markup, for
example: <?fsg:ReportName?>

Using the Context Commands

The XML Publisher syntax is simplified XSL instructions. This syntax, along with any
native XSL commands you may use in your template, is converted to XSL-FO when you
upload the template to the Template Manager. The placement of these instructions
within the converted stylesheet determines the behavior of your template.
XML Publisher’s RTF processor places these instructions within the XSL-FO stylesheet
according to the most common context. However, sometimes you need to define the
context of the instructions differently to create a specific behavior. To support this
requirement, XML 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 XML Publisher
syntax and those using native XSL.
• To specify a context for a processing command using the simplified XML 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@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 your tags to specify the context for the insertion of the instructions. The
value of the context determines where your code is placed.
For example:
<xsl:for-each xdofo:ctx="section" select ="INVOICE">
<xsl:attribute xdofo:ctx="inblock" name="background-
color">red</xsl:attribute>
XML Publisher supports the following context types:

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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.
See Batch Reports, page 6-85 for an example of this usage.

column The statement will affect the whole column of a table. This context is typically used
to show and hide table columns depending on the data.
See Column Formatting, page 6-61 for an example.

cell The statement will affect the cell of a table. This is often used together with @column
in cross-tab tables to create a dynamic number of columns.
See Cross-Tab Support, page 6-87 for an example.

block The statement will affect 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 Cell Highlighting, page 6-64 for an example.

inline The context will become 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 need to 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 will affect multiple complete inline sections. An inline section is text
that uses the same formatting, such as a group of words rendered as bold.
See If Statements in Boilerplate Text, page 6-58.

begin The statement will be placed at the beginning of the XSL stylesheet. This is required
for global variables. See Defining Parameters, page 6-81.

end The statement will be placed at the end of the XSL stylesheet.

The following table shows the default context for the XML Publisher commands:

Creating an RTF Template 6-111

Command Context

apply-template inline

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 XSL Elements

You can use any XSL element in your 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
your template. XML 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 XML Publisher Tag form
of the XSL element. If you are using form fields, use either option.

Apply 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">
XML Publisher Tag: <?apply:name?>
This function applies to <xsl:template-match="n"> where n is the element name.

Copy the Current Node

Use this element to create a copy of the current node.
XSL Syntax: <xsl:copy-of select="name">
XML Publisher Tag: <?copy-of:name?>

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Call 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">
XML Publisher Tag: <?call-template:name?>

Template Declaration
Use this element to apply a set of rules when a specified node is matched.
XSL Syntax: <xsl:template name="name">
XML Publisher Tag: <?template:name?>

Variable Declaration
Use this element to declare a local or global variable.
XSL Syntax: <xsl:variable name="name">
XML 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.

Import Stylesheet
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">

XML Publisher Tag: <?import:url?>

Dene the Root Element of the Stylesheet

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">

XML Publisher Tag: <?namespace:x=url?>
Note: The namespace must be declared in the template. See Namespace
Support, page 6-109.

Native XSL Number Formatting

The native XSL format-number function takes the basic format:

Creating an RTF Template 6-113

 format-number(number,format,[decimalformat])
Parameter Description

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 will be used for positive

numbers and the second for negative numbers)

decimalformat Optional. For more information on the decimal format please

consult any basic XSLT manual.

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 supported by XML Publisher can be found in the
Appendix: Supported XSL-FO Elements, page A-1.

6-114 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 7
XSL, SQL, and XSL-FO Support

Extended SQL and XSL Functions

XML 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.
Note: You cannot mix xdofx statements with XSL expressions in the same
context. For example, assume you had two elements, FIRST_NAME
and LAST_NAME that you wanted 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 XSL Usage Description
Expression

2+3 <?xdofx:2+3?> Addition

2-3 <?xdofx:2-3?> Subtraction

2*3 <?xdofx:2*3?> Multiplication

2/3 <?xdofx:2/3?> Division

2**3 <?xdofx:2**3?> Exponential

3||2 <?xdofx:3||2?> Concatenation

XSL, SQL, and XSL-FO Support 7-1

SQL Statement or XSL Usage Description
Expression

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 will be 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 will be padded to
the right-hand side of string1

decode(’xxx’,’bbb’,’ccc’, <?xdofx:decode(’xxx’,’bbb’,’ccc’,’xxx’, The decode function has the functionality of an

’xxx’,’ddd’) ’ddd’)?> IF-THEN-ELSE statement. The syntax for the
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’,2) <?xdofx:Instr(’abcabcabc’,’a’,2)?> The instr function returns the location of a

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 will start. 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.

7-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

SQL Statement or XSL Usage Description
Expression

substr(’abcdefg’,2,3) <?xdofx:substr(’abcdefg’,2,3)?> The substr function allows you to extract a

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.

replace(name,’John’,’Jon’) <?xdofx:replace(name,’John’,’Jon’)?> The replace function replaces a sequence

of characters in a string with another set of
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 will be
searched for in string1.
replacement_string is optional. All occurrences
of string_to_replace will be 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 containing a number
in the format specified by the optional format
model fmt, to a value of NUMBER datatype.

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,

[, ’nlsparam’]] ) VARCHAR2, 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.

sysdate() <?xdofx:sysdate()?> SYSDATE returns the current date and

time. The datatype of the returned value is
DATE. The function requires no arguments.

minimum <?xdoxslt:minimum(ELEMENT_ Returns the minimum value of the element in

NAME)?> the set.

maximum <?xdoxslt:maximum(ELEMENT_ Returns the maximum value of the element in

NAME)?> the set.

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.

XSL, SQL, and XSL-FO Support 7-3

SQL Statement or XSL Usage Description
Expression

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 <?xdofx:round ( number [, integer ] )?> ROUND returns number rounded to integer
places 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.

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 [, expr]... )?> GREATEST returns the greatest of the list of
exprs. All exprs after the first are implicitly
converted to the datatype of the first expr before
the comparison.

least <?xdofx:least ( expr [, expr]... )?> LEAST returns the least of the list of exprs. All
exprs after the first are implicitly converted
to the datatype of the first expr before the
comparison.

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’)||instr(’321’,1,1) <?xdofx:decode(’a’,’b’,’c’,’d’,’e’,’1’)||instr(’321’,
1,1)?>

XSL Equivalents
The following table lists the XML Publisher simplified syntax with the XSL equivalents.

7-4 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Supported XSL Elements Description XML 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 select="name"> Creates a copy of the current node. <?copy-of:name?>

<xsl:call-template name= Calls a named template to be inserted <?call: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 <?for-each:name?>

a 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 <?when:expression?>

and 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 name="name"> Template declaration <?template:name?>

<xsl:variable name="name"> Local or global variable declaration <?variable: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 xmlns:x= Define the root element of a stylesheet <?namespace:x=url?>

"url">

Using FO Elements
You can use most FO elements in an RTF template inside the Microsoft Word form
fields. The following FO elements have been extended for use with XML Publisher RTF
templates. The XML Publisher syntax can be used with either RTF template method.
The full list of FO elements supported by XML Publisher can be found in the
Appendix: Supported XSL-FO Elements, page A-1.

XSL, SQL, and XSL-FO Support 7-5

 FO Element XML Publisher Syntax

<fo:page-number-citation ref-id= <?fo:page-number-citation:id?>

"id">

<fo:page-number> <?fo:page-number?>

<fo:ANY NAME WITHOUT ATTRIBUTE> <?fo:ANY NAME WITHOUT ATTRIBUTE?>

7-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 8
Creating a PDF Template

PDF Template Overview

To create a PDF template, take any existing PDF document and apply the XML Publisher
markup. Because the source of the PDF document does not matter, you have multiple
design options. For example:
• Design the layout of your template using any application that generates documents
that can be converted to PDF
• Scan a paper document to use as a template
• Download a PDF document from a third-party Web site
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 Template from a Downloaded PDF,
page 8-15.

If you are designing the layout, note that once you have converted to PDF, your layout
is treated like a set background. When you mark up the template, you draw fields on
top of this background. To edit the layout, you must edit your original document and
then convert back to PDF.
For this reason, the PDF template is not recommended for documents that will require
frequent updates to the layout. However, it is appropriate for forms that will have a fixed
layout, such as invoices or purchase orders.

Supported Modes
XML Publisher supports Adobe Acrobat 5.0 (PDF specification version 1.4). If you are
using Adobe Acrobat Professional 6.0 (or later), use the Reduce File Size Option (from
the File menu) to save your file as Adobe Acrobat 5.0 compatible.
For PDF conversion, XML Publisher supports any PDF conversion utility, such as Adobe
Acrobat Distiller.

Designing the Layout

To design the layout of your 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.

Creating a PDF Template 8-1

 The following is the layout for a sample purchase order. It was designed using Microsoft
Word and converted to PDF using Adobe Acrobat Distiller.

The following is the XML data that will be used as input to this template:

8-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <?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_LINE
1>
<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_LIN
E1>
<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>
<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_ROU
ND>
</G_HEADERS>
</POXPRPOP2>

Adding Markup to the Template Layout

After you have converted your document to PDF, you define form fields that will 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: Associating the XML data to the template layout, page 6-2.
When you draw the form fields in Adobe Acrobat, you are drawing them on top of the
layout that you designed. There is not a relationship between the design elements on

Creating a PDF Template 8-3

 your 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: If you are using Adobe Acrobat 5.0, the Form Tool is available
from the standard toolbar. If you are using Adobe Acrobat 6.0 or
later, display the Forms Toolbar from the Tools menu by selecting Tools
> Advanced Editing > Forms > Show Forms Toolbar.

Naming the Placeholder

The name of the placeholder must match the XML source field name.

Creating a Text Placeholder

To create a text placeholder in your PDF document:

Acrobat 5.0 Users:

1. Select the Form Tool from the Acrobat toolbar.
2. Draw a form field box in the position on the template where you want the field to
display. Drawing the field opens the Field Properties dialog box.
3. In the Name field of the Field Properties dialog box, enter a name for the field.
4. Select Text from the Type drop down menu.
You can use the Field 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.
5. If the field is not placed exactly where desired, drag the field for exact placement.

Acrobat 6.0 (and later) Users:

1. Select the Text Field Tool from the Forms Toolbar.
2. Draw a form field box in the position on the template where you want the field to
display. Drawing the field opens the Text Field Properties dialog box.
3. On the General tab, enter a name for the placeholder in the Name field.
You can use the Text Field 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.
4. If the field is not placed exactly where desired, drag the field for exact placement.

Supported Field Properties Options

XML Publisher supports the following options available from the Field Properties dialog
box. For more information about these options, see the Adobe Acrobat documentation.
• General
• Read Only

8-4 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 The setting of this check box in combination with a set of configuration
properties control the read-only/updateable state of the field in the output
PDF. See Setting Fields as Updateable or Read Only, page 8-14.
• Appearance
• Border Settings: color, background, width, and style
• Text Settings: color, font, size
• Common Properties: read only, required, visible/hidden, orientation (in degrees)
(In Acrobat 6.0, these are available from the General tab)
• Border Style
• Options tab
• 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 will cause 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, Sunroof, and Alloy Wheels. Each of these represents a
different element from the XML file. 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.
To create a check box field:

Acrobat 5.0 Users:

1. Draw the form field.
2. In the Field Properties dialog box, enter a Name for the field.
3. Select Check Box from the Type drop down list.
4. Select the Options tab.
5. In the Export Value field enter the value that the XML data field should match to
enable the "checked" state.
For the example, enter "Y" for each check box field.

Acrobat 6.0 (and later) Users:

1. Select the Check Box Tool from the Forms Toolbar.
2. Draw the check box field in the desired position.
3. On the General tab of the Check Box Properties dialog box, enter a Name for the
field.
4. Select the Options tab.

Creating a PDF Template 8-5

 5. In the Export Value field enter the value that the XML data field should match to
enable the "checked" state.
For the example, enter "Y" for each check box field.
Creating a Radio Button Group
A radio button group is used to display options from which only one can be selected.
For example, your XML data file contains a field called <SHIPMENT_METHOD>. The
possible values for this field are "Standard" or "Overnight". You represent this
field in your 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".
To create a radio button group:

Acrobat 5.0 Users:

1. Draw the form field.
2. On the Field Properties dialog box, enter a Name for the field. Each radio button
you define to represent this value can be named differently, but must be mapped to
the same XML data field.
3. Select Radio Button from the Type drop down list.
4. Select the Options tab.
5. In the Export 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". Enter "Overnight"
for the field labeled "Overnight".

Acrobat 6.0 (and later) Users:

1. Select the Radio Button Tool from the Forms Toolbar.
2. Draw the form field in the position desired on the template.
3. On the General tab of the Radio Button Properties dialog, enter a Name for
the field. Each radio button you define to represent this value can be named
differently, but must be mapped to the same XML data field.
4. Select the Options tab.
5. In the Export 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". Enter "Overnight"
for the field labeled "Overnight".

Dening Groups of Repeating Fields

In the PDF template, you explicitly define the area on the page that will contain the
repeating fields. For example, on the purchase order template, 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:

8-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

1. Insert a form field at the beginning of the area that is to contain the group. (Acrobat
6.0 users select the Text Field Tool, then draw the form field.)
2. In the Name field of the Field Properties window, enter any unique name you
choose. This field is not mapped.
3. Acrobat 5.0 users: Select Text from the Type drop down list.
4. In the Short Description field (Acrobat 5.0) or the Tooltip field (Acrobat 6.0) of the
Field Properties window, enter the following syntax:
<?rep_field="BODY_START"?>
5. Define the end of the group area by inserting a form field at the end of the area
the that is to contain the group.
6. In the Name field of the Field Properties window, 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.
7. Acrobat 5.0 users: Select Text from the Type drop down list.
8. In the Short Description field (Acrobat 5.0) or the Tooltip field (Acrobat 6.0) of the
Field Properties window, 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, page 8-14.

2. For each element in the group, enter the following syntax in the Short Description
field (Acrobat 5.0) or the Tooltip field (Acrobat 6.0):
<?rep_field="T1_Gn"?>
where n is the row number of the item on the template.
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 graphic shows the entries for the Short Description/Tooltip field:

Creating a PDF Template 8-7

 3. (Optional) Align your fields. To ensure proper alignment of a row of fields, it is
recommended that you use Adobe Acrobat’s alignment feature.

Adding Page Numbers and Page Breaks

This section describes how to add the following page-features to your PDF template:
• Page Numbers
• Page Breaks

Adding Page Numbers

To add page numbers, define a field in the template where you want the page number to
appear and enter an initial value in that field as follows:
1. Decide the position on the template where you want the page number to be
displayed.
2. Create a placeholder field called @pagenum@ (see Creating a Text Placeholder, page
8-4).
3. Enter a starting value for the page number in the Default field. If the XML data
includes a value for this field, the start value assigned in the template will be
overridden. If no start value is assigned, it will default to 1.
The figure below shows the Field Properties dialog for a page number field:

8-8 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Adding Page Breaks
You can define a page break in your template 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 Short Description field of the Field Properties dialog box (use the Tooltip field for
Acrobat 6.0):
page_break="yes"
For example:
<?rep_field="T1_G3", page_break="yes"?>
The following example demonstrates inserting a page break in a template. The XML
sample contains salaries of employees by department:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<! - Generated by Oracle Reports version 6.0.8.22.0 - >
<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>

Creating a PDF Template 8-9

 <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>
<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>

We want to report the salary information for each employee by department as shown in
the following template:

8-10 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

To insert a page break after each department, insert the page break syntax in the Short
Description (or Tooltip field) for the SUMSALPERDEPTNO field as follows:
<?rep_field="T1_G3", page_break="yes"?>

The Field Properties dialog box for the field is shown in the following figure:

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 a PDF Template 8-11

Performing Calculations
Adobe Acrobat provides a calculation function in the Field Properties dialog box. To
create a field to display a calculated total on your report:
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.

8-12 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 5. Select the radio button next to "Value is the operation of the following fields:"
6. Select sum from the drop down list.
7. Select the Pick... button and select the fields that you want totaled.

Completed PDF Template

The following figure shows the completed PDF template:

Creating a PDF Template 8-13

Runtime Behavior

Placement of Repeating Fields

As already noted, the placement, spacing, and alignment of fields that you create on the
template are independent of the underlying form layout. At runtime, XML Publisher
places each repeating row of data according to calculations performed on the placement
of the rows of fields that you created, as follows:
First occurrence:
The first row of repeating fields will display exactly where you have placed them on
the template.
Second occurrence, single row:
To place the second occurrence of the group, XML 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 will be placed this calculated distance below
the first occurrence.
Second occurrence, multiple rows:
If the first group contains multiple rows, the second occurrence of the group will be
placed the calculated distance below the last row of the first occurrence.
The distance between the rows within the group will be maintained as defined in the
first occurrence.

Setting Fields as Updateable or Read Only

When you define a field in the template you have the option of selecting "Read Only" for
the field, as shown in the following sample Text Field Properties dialog:

8-14 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 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 configuration properties in the
XML Publisher Configuration File, page 10-1:
• all-field-readonly
• all-fields-readonly-asis
• remove-pdf-fields
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 updateable:
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 will override the
settings of "all-field-readonly".
To remove all fields from the output PDF:
Set the property "remove-pdf-fields" to "true".

Overow Data
When multiple pages are required to accommodate the occurrences of repeating rows
of data, each page will display identically except for the defined repeating area, which
will display the continuation of the repeating data. For example, if the item rows of the
purchase order extend past the area defined on the template, succeeding pages will
display all data from the purchase order form with the continuation of the item rows.

Creating a Template from a Downloaded PDF

There are many PDF forms available online that you may want to use as templates for
your report data. For example, government forms that your company is required to
submit. You can use these downloaded PDF files as your report templates, supplying the
XML data at runtime to fill the report out.
Some of these forms already have form fields defined, some do not. If the form fields are
not already defined in the downloaded PDF, you must create them. See Adding Markup
to the Template Layout, page 8-3 for instructions on inserting the form field placeholders.

To Use a Downloaded PDF as a Template

1. Download the PDF file to your local system.
2. Open the file in Adobe Acrobat.

Creating a PDF Template 8-15

 3. Select the Text Field Tool (Acrobat 6.0 users) or the Form Tool (Acrobat 5.0
users). This will highlight text fields that have already been defined.
The following figure shows a sample W-4 PDF form after selecting the Text Field
Tool to highlight the text fields (in Acrobat 6.0).

To map the existing form fields to the data from your incoming XML file, you must
rename the fields to match the element names in your XML file.
4. Open the text form field Properties dialog by either double-clicking the field, or by
selecting the field then selecting Properties from the right-mouse menu.
5. In the Name field, enter the element name from your input XML file.
6. Repeat for all fields that you want populated by your data file.

8-16 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 9
Building a Data Template

Introduction
The XML Publisher data engine enables you to rapidly generate any kind of XML data
structure against any database in a scalable, efficient manner. The data template is the
method by which you communicate your request for data to the data engine. It is an
XML document whose elements collectively define how the data engine will process the
template to generate the XML.
The data engine supports the following functionality:
1. Schema generation
2. Default RTF template generation
3. Flexfields
4. Single and multiple data queries
5. Query links
6. Parameters
7. Aggregate functions (SUM, AVG, MIN, MAX, COUNT)
8. Event triggers
9. Multiple data groups
The XML output generated by the data engine supports the following:
• Unicode for XML Output
Unicode is a global character set that allows multilingual text to be displayed in a
single application. This enables you to develop a single multilingual application
and deploy it worldwide.
• Canonical format
The data engine generates date elements using the canonical ISO date
format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH24:MI:SS.FF3TZH:TZM for a mapped date element, and
######.## for number elements in the data template XML output.

The Data Template Denition

The data template is an XML document that consists of four basic sections: define
parameters, define triggers, define data query, define data structure. This structure is
shown in the following graphic:

Building a Data Template 9-1

 As shown in the sample figure, the data template consists of a <parameters> section
in which parameters are declared in child <parameter> elements; a <dataQuery>
section in which the SQL queries are defined in child <sqlStatement> elements; and a
<dataStructure> section in which the output XML structure is defined.
The table below lists the elements that make up the XML data template. Each element is
described in detail in the following sections. Required elements are noted.
Element Attributes/Description

dataTemplate (Required) Attributes:

• name (Required)

• description

• version (Required)

• defaultPackage - the PL/SQL package name to resolve any lexical

references, group filters, or data triggers defined in the template.

• dataSourceRef - the default data source reference for the entire data
template. Required in the following cases:
• XML Publisher Enterprise implementations: Always required.

• Oracle E-Business Suite implementations: Required only when

performing a distributed query across multiple data sources.

parameters Consists of one or more <parameter> elements.

parameter Attributes:
• name (Required) - the parameter name that will be referenced in the
template.

• dataType - valid values are: "character", "date", "number"

• defaultValue - value to use for the parameter if none supplied from the data

9-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Element Attributes/Description

lexicals Consists of one or more lexical elements to support flexfields.

lexical There are four types of key flexfield-related lexicals as follows:

• oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.segments_metadata

• oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.select

• oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.where

• oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.order_by

dataQuery (Required) Consists of one or more <sqlstatement> elements.

sqlstatement (Required) Attributes:

• name (Required) - the unique query identifier. Note that this name
identifier will be the same across the data template. Enter the query inside
the CDATA section.

• dataSourceRef - (for distributed queries only, not applicable for XML

Publisher Enterprise implementations) specify the database against which
to execute the query. If this attribute is not populated, the default data
source defined in the dataTemplate element will be used.

link Attributes:
• parentQuery - specify the parent query name.

• parentColumn - specify the parent column name.

• childQuery - specify the child query name.

• childColumn - specify the child column name.

• condition - the SQL operator that defines the relationship between the
parent column and the child column. The following values for condition
are supported: =, <, <=, >, >=

dataTrigger Attributes:
• name (Required) - the event name to fire this trigger

• source (Required) - the PL/SQL <package name>.<function name>

dataStructure (Required for multiple queries) Defines the structure of the output
XML. Consists of <group> and <element> elements to specify the
structure. This section is optional for single queries; if not specified, the data
engine will generate flat XML.

Building a Data Template 9-3

Element Attributes/Description

group Consists of one or more <element> elements and sub <group> elements.
Attributes:
• name (Required) - the XML tag name to be assigned to the group.

• source (Required) - the unique query identifier for the corresponding

sqlstatement from which the group’s elements will be derived.

• groupFilter - the filter to apply to the output data group set. Define the
filter as: <package name>.<function name>.
Note: Applying a filter has performance impact. Do not use this
functionality unless necessary. When possible, filter data using a
WHERE clause in your query.

element (Required) Attributes:

• name - the tag name to assign to the element in the XML data output.

• value (Required) - the column name for the SQL statement. Note that for
aggregations in which the column name is in another group, the value
must be defined as <group name>.<column/alias name>.

• function - supported functions are: SUM(), COUNT(), AVG(), MIN(), MAX()

Constructing the Data Template

You can use any text or XML editor to write a data template.

Data Template Declaration

The <dataTemplate> element is the root element. It has a set of related attributes
expressed within the <dataTemplate> tag.
Attribute Name Description

name (Required) Enter the data template name.

description (Optional) Enter a description of this data template.

version (Required) Enter a version number for this data template.

defaultPackage This attribute is required if your data template contains lexical

references or any other calls to PL/SQL.

dataSourceRef The default data source reference for the entire data
template. Required in the following cases:
• XML Publisher Enterprise implementations: Always
required.

• Oracle E-Business Suite implementations: Required only

when performing a distributed query across multiple data
sources.

9-4 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Parameters Section
A parameter is a variable whose value can be set at runtime. Parameters are especially
useful for modifying SELECT statements and setting PL/SQL variables at runtime. The
Parameters section of the data template is optional.

How to Dene Parameters

The <parameter> element is placed between the open and close <parameters>
tags. The <parameter> element has a set of related attributes. These are expressed
within the <parameter> tag. For example, the name, dataType, and defaultValue
attributes are expressed as follows:
<parameters>
<parameter name="dept" dataType="number" defaultValue="10"/>
</parameters>
Attribute Name Description
name Required. A keyword, unique within a given Data
Template, that identifies the parameter.

dataType Optional. Specify the parameter data type as

"character", "date", or "number". Default value is
"character".
For the "date" dataType, the following three formats
(based on the canonical ISO date format) are supported:
• YYYY-MM-DD (example: 1997-10-24)

• YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS (example: 1997-10-24

12:00:00)

• YYYY-MM-DDTHH24:MI:SS.FF3TZH:TZM

defaultValue Optional. This value will be used for the parameter if no

other value is supplied from the data at runtime.

How to Pass Parameters

To pass parameters, (for example, to restrict the query), use bind variables in your
query. For example:
Query:
SELECT * FROM EMP
WHERE deptno=:department

At runtime, the value of department is passed to the query:

SELECT * FROM EMP
WHERE deptno=10

Data Query Section

The <dataQuery> section of the data template is required.

Supported Column Types

The following column types are selectable:
• VARCHAR2, CHAR

Building a Data Template 9-5

 • NUMBER
• DATE, TIMESTAMP
• BLOB
The BLOB must be XML or an image. Images are retrieved into your results XML
as base64 encoding. You can retrieve any image type that is supported in the RTF
template (jpg, gif, or png). You must use specific syntax to render the retrieved image
in your template. See Rendering an Image Retrieved from BLOB Data, page 6-15.
• CLOB
The CLOB must contain text or XML.
• XMLType

How to Dene Queries

The <sqlStatement> element is placed between the open and close dataQuery
tags. The <sqlStatement> element has a related attribute, name. It is expressed
within the <sqlStatment> tag. The query is entered in the CDATA section. For example:
<dataQuery>
<sqlStatement name="Q1">
<![CDATA[SELECT DEPTNO,DNAME,LOC from dept]]>
</sqlStatement>
</dataQuery>
Attribute Name Description

name A unique identifying name for the query. Note

that this name will be referred to throughout
the data template.

dataSourceRef (For E-Business Suite implementations

only, not applicable for XML Publisher
Enterprise). Specify the database against which
to execute the query. If this attribute is not
populated, the default data source defined in
the dataTemplate element will be used.

If your column names are not unique, you must use aliases in your SELECT statements
to ensure the uniqueness of your column names. If you do not use an alias, then the
default column name is used. This becomes important when you specify the XML output
in the dataStructure section. To specify an output XML element from your query you
declare a value attribute for the element tag that corresponds to the source column.
Tip: Performing operations in SQL is faster than performing them in
the data template or PL/SQL. It is recommended that you use SQL for
the following operations:
• Use a WHERE clause instead of a group filter to exclude records.
• Perform calculations directly in your query rather than in the
template.

9-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Lexical References
You can use lexical references to replace the clauses appearing after
SELECT, FROM, WHERE, GROUP BY, ORDER BY, or HAVING. Use a lexical reference
when you want the parameter to replace multiple values at runtime.
Create a lexical reference using the following syntax:
&parametername

Define the lexical parameters as follows:

• Before creating your query, define a parameter in the PL/SQL default package for
each lexical reference in the query. The data engine uses these values to replace
the lexical parameters.
• Create your query containing lexical references.
For example:
Package employee
AS
where_clause varchar2(1000);
.....

Package body employee

AS
.....
where_clause := ’where deptno=10’;
.....

Data template definition:

<dataQuery>
<sqlstatement name="Q1">
<![CDATA[SELECT ENAME, SAL FROM EMP &where_clause]]>
</sqlstatement>
</dataQuery>

How to Dene a Data Link Between Queries

If you have multiple queries, you must link them to create the appropriate data
output. In the data template, there are two methods for linking queries: using bind
variables or using the <link> element to define the link between queries.
Tip: To maximize performance when building data queries in the data
template:
XML Publisher tests have shown that using bind variables is more
efficient than using the link tag.

The following example shows a query link using a bind variable:

<dataQuery>
<sqlstatement name="Q1">
<![CDATA[SELECT EMPNO, ENAME, JOB from EMP
WHERE DEPTNO = :DEPTNO]]>
</sqlstatement>
</dataQuery>

Building a Data Template 9-7

 The <link> element has a set of attributes. Use these attributes to specify the required
link information. You can specify any number of links. For example:
<link name="DEPTEMP_LINK" parentQuery="Q1" parentColumn="DEPTNO"
childQuery="Q_2" childColumn="DEPARTMENTNO"/>
Attribute Name Description

name Required. Enter a unique name for the link.

parentQuery Specify the parent query name. This must be the name that you
assigned to the corresponding <sqlstatement> element. See
How to Define Queries, page 9-6.

parentColumn Specify the parent column name.

childQuery Specify the child query name. This must be the name that you
assigned to the corresponding <sqlstatement> element. See
How to Define Queries, page 9-6.

childColumn Specify the child column name.

Using Data Triggers

Data triggers execute PL/SQL functions at specific times during the execution and
generation of XML output. Using the conditional processing capabilities of PL/SQL
for these triggers, you can do things such as perform initialization tasks and access
the database.
Data triggers are optional, and you can have as many <dataTrigger> elements as
necessary.
The <dataTrigger> element has a set of related attributes. These are expressed within
the <dataTrigger> tag. For example, the name and source attributes are expressed
as follows:
<dataTrigger name="beforeReport" source="employee.beforeReport()"
/>
<dataTrigger name="beforeReport" source="employee.beforeReport(:Pa
rameter)"/>
Attribute Name Description

name The event name to fire this trigger.

source The PL/SQL <package name>.<function name>

where the executable code resides.

The location of the trigger indicate at what point the trigger fires:
• Place a beforeReport trigger anywhere in your data template before the
<dataStructure> section.. A beforeRepot trigger fires before the dataQuery is
executed.
• Place an afterReport trigger after the <dataStructure> section. An afterReport
trigger fires after you exit and after XML output has been generated.

9-8 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Data Structure Section
In the data structure section you define what the XML output will be and how it will
be structured. The complete group hierarchy is available for output. You can specify
all the columns within each group and break the order of those columns; you can use
summaries, and placeholders to further customize within the groups. The dataStructure
section is required for multiple queries and optional for single queries. If omitted for a
single query, the data engine will generate flat XML.

Dening a Group Hierarchy

In the data template, the <group> element is placed between open and close
<dataStructure> tags. Each <group> has a set of related elements. You can define a
group hierarchy and name the element tags for the XML output.

Creating Break Groups

Use a break group to produce subtotals or add placeholder columns. A break group
suppresses duplicate values in sequential records. You should set an Order By clause in
the SQL query to suppress duplicate values.
Assign a name to the group, and declare the source query, then specify the elements you
want included in that group. When you specify the element, you assign it a name that
will be used as the XML output tag name, and you declare the source column as the
value. If you do not assign a name, the value (or source column name) will be used as
the tag name.
For example:
<dataStructure>
<group name="G_DEPT" source="Q1" ">
<element name="DEPT_NUMBER" value="DEPTNO" />
<element name="DEPT_NAME" value="DNAME"/>
<group name="G_EMP" source="Q2">
<element name="EMPLOYEE_NUMBER" value="EMPNO" />
<element name="NAME" value="ENAME"/>
<element name="JOB" value="JOB" />
</group>
</group>
</dataStructure>
The following table lists the attributes for the <group> element tag:
Attribute Name Description

name Specify any unique name for the group. This

name will be used as the output XML tag name
for the group.

source The name of the query that provides the

source data for the group. The source
must come from the name attribute of the
<sqlStatement> element.

The following table lists the attributes for the <element> element tag:

Building a Data Template 9-9

 Attribute Name Description
name Specify any name for the element. This name
will be used as the output XML tag name for
the element. The name is optional. If you do
not specify a name, the source column name
will be used as the XML tag name.

value The name of the column that provides the

source data for the element (from your query).

Applying Group Filters

It is strongly recommended that you use a WHERE clause instead of a group filter to
exclude records from your extract. Filters enable you to conditionally remove records
selected by your queries, however, this approach impacts performance. Groups can
have user-created filters, using PL/SQL.
The PL/SQL function must return a boolean value (TRUE or FALSE). Depending on
whether the function returns TRUE or FALSE, the current record is included or excluded
from the XML data output.
For example, a sample PL/SQL function might be:
function G_EMPFilter return boolean is
begin
if sal < 1000 then
return (FALSE);
else
return (TRUE);
end if;
end;

An example of the group filter in your data template definition would be:
<group name="G_DEPT" source="Q1" groupFilter="empdata.G_EMPFilter
(:DEPTSAL)">
<element name="DEPT_NUMBER" value="DEPTNO" />
<element name="DEPT_NAME" value="DNAME"/>
<element name="DEPTSAL" value="G_EMP.SALARY" function="SUM(
)"/>

Creating a Summary Column

A summary column performs a computation on another column’s data. Using
the function attribute of the <element> tag, you can create the following
summaries: sum, average, count, minimum, and maximum.
To create a summary column, you must define the following three attributes in the
element tag:

9-10 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Attribute Description
name The XML tag name to be used in the XML data
output.

source The name of the column that contains the

data on which the summary calculation is to
be performed. The source column remains
unchanged.

function The aggregation function to be performed. The

type tells the XDO data engine how to compute
the summary column values. Valid values
are: SUM(), AVG(), COUNT(), MAX(), and
MIN().

The break group determines when to reset the value of the summary column. For
example:
<group name="G_DEPT" source="Q1">
<element name="DEPT_NUMBER" value="DEPTNO" />
<element name="DEPTSAL" value="G_EMP.SALARY" function="SUM()"/>
<group name="G_EMP" source="Q2">
<element name="EMPLOYEE_NUMBER" value="EMPNO" />
<element name="NAME" value="ENAME"/>
<element name="JOB" value="JOB" />
<element name="SALARY" value="SAL"/>
</group>
</group>

Flexeld Support
Note: This section applies to data templates written to query the Oracle
Applications database.

Flexfields are defined in the data template using lexical parameters.

How to dene a exeld

1. Define the SELECT statement to use for the report data.
2. Within the SELECT statement, define each flexfield as a lexical. Use the
&LEXICAL_TAG to embed flexfield related lexicals into the SELECT statement.
3. Define the flexfield-related lexicals using XML tags in the data template.

Building a Data Template 9-11

 Example
<dataTemplate ...
<parameters ...
</parameters>

<lexicals ...
<lexical type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff..."
name="<Name of the lexical>"
comment="<comment>"
/>
<lexical type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff..."
name="<Name of the lexical>"
comment="<comment>"
/>
</lexicals>

<dataQuery>
<sqlStatement ...

SELECT &FLEX_SELECT flex_select_alias

FROM some_table st, code_combination_table cct
WHERE st.some_column = ’some_condition’
AND &FLEX_WHERE
ORDER BY st.some_column, &FLEX_ORDER_BY
</sqlStatement>
</dataQuery>
<dataStructure .../>

</dataTemplate>

Flexeld Lexicals
There are four types of KFF-related lexicals. These are:
• oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.segments_metadata
• oracle.apps.fnd.flex.select
• oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.where
• oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.order_by
Following are descriptions of each type of KFF lexical:
oracle.apps.fnd.ex.kff.segments_metadata
Use this type of lexical to retrieve flexfield-related metadata. Using this lexical, you are
not required to write PL/SQL code to retrieve this metadata. Instead, define a dummy
SELECT statement, then use this lexical to get the metadata.
The XML syntax for this lexical is as follows:

9-12 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

<lexicals>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.segments_metadata"
name="Name of the lexical"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="Application Short Name of the KFF"
id_flex_code="Internal code of the KFF"
id_flex_num="Internal number of the KFF structure"
segments="For which segment(s) is this metadata requested?"
show_parent_segments="Should the parent segments be listed?"
metadata_type="Type of metadata requested"/>
</lexicals>

The following table lists the attributes for the segements_metadata lexical:
Attribute Description

application_short_name (Required) The application short name of the key

flexfield. For example: SQLGL.

id_flex_code (Required) the internal code of the key flexfield. For

example: GL#

id_flex_num (Required) Internal number of the key flexfield

structure. For example: 101

segments (Optional) Identifies for which segments this data is

requested. Default value is "ALL". See the Oracle
Applications Developer’s Guide for syntax.

show_parent_segments (Optional) Valid values are "Y" and "N". Default value
is "Y". If a dependent segment is displayed, the parent
segment is automatically displayed, even if it is not
specified as displayed in the segments attribute.

metadata_type (Required) Identifies what type of metadata is

requested. Valid values are:
above_prompt - above prompt of segment(s).
left_prompt - left prompt of segment(s)

Example
This example shows how to request the above_prompt of the GL Balancing
Segment, and the left_prompt of the GL Account Segment.

Building a Data Template 9-13

 SELECT &FLEX_GL_BALANCING_APROMPT alias_gl_balancing_aprompt, &FL
EX_GL_ACCOUNT_LPROMPT alias_gl_account_lprompt
FROM dual

<lexicals>
<lexical type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.segments_metadata"
name="FLEX_GL_BALANCING_APROMPT"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":P_ID_FLEX_NM"
segments="GL_BALANCING"
metadata_type="ABOVE_PROMPT"/>
<lexical type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.segments_metadata"
name="FLEX_GL_ACCOUNT+LPROMPT"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":P_ID_FLEX_NUM"
segments="GL_ACCOUNT"
metadata_type="LEFT_PROMPT"/>
</lexicals>
oracle.apps.fnd.ex.kff.select
This type of lexical is used in the SELECT section of the statement. It is used to retrieve
and process key flexfield (kff) code combination related data based on the lexical
definition.
The syntax is as follows:
<lexicals>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.select"
name="Name of the lexical"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="Application Short Name of the KFF"
id_flex_code="Internal code of the KFF"
id_flex_num="Internal number of the KFF structure"
multiple_id_flex_num="Are multiple structures allowed?"
code_combination_table_alias="Code Combination Table Alias"
segments="Segments for which this data is requested"
show_parent_segments="Should the parent segments be listed?"
output_type="output type"/>
</lexicals>

The following table lists the attributes for this lexical:

9-14 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Attribute Description

application_short_name (Required) The application short name of the key

flexfield. For example: SQLGL.

id_flex_code (Required) the internal code of the key flexfield. For

example: GL#

id_flex_num (Conditionally required) Internal number of the key

flexfield structure. For example: 101. Required if
MULTIPLE_ID_FLEX_NUM is "N".

multiple_id_flex_num (Optional) Indicates whether this lexical supports

multiple structures or not. Valid values are "Y"
and "N". Default is "N". If set to "Y", then flex will
assume all structures are potentially used for data
reporting and it will use <code_combination_
table_alias>.<set_defining_column_name>
to retrieve the structure number.

code_combination_table_alias (Optional) Segment column names will be prepended

with this alias.

segments (Optional) Identifies for which segments this data is

requested. Default value is "ALL". See the Oracle
Applications Developer’s Guide for syntax.

show_parent_segments (Optional) Valid values are "Y" and "N". Default value
is "Y". If a dependent segment is displayed, the parent
segment is automatically displayed, even if it is not
specified as displayed in the segments attribute.

output_type (Required) Indicates what kind of output should be

used as the reported value. Valid values are:
value - segment value as it is displayed to user.
padded_value - padded segment value as it is
displayed to user. Number type values are padded
from the left. String type values are padded on the
right.

description Segment value’s description up to the description size

defined in the segment definition.

full_description Segment value’s description (full size).

security Returns Y if the current combination is secured

against the current user, N otherwise.

Example
This example shows how to report concatenated values, concatenated descriptions, the
value of the GL Balancing Segment, and the full description of the GL Balancing Segment
for a single structure:
SELECT &FLEX_VALUE_ALL alias_value_all,
&FLEX_DESCR_ALL alias_descr_all,
&FLEX_GL_BALANCING alias_gl_balancing,
&FLEX_GL_BALANCING_FULL_DESCR alias_gl_balancing_full_descr,
...
FROM gl_code_combinations gcc,
some_other_gl_table sogt

Building a Data Template 9-15

 WHERE gcc.chart_of_accounts_id = :p_id_flex_num
and sogt.code_combination_id = gcc.code_combination_id
and <more conditions on sogt>

<lexicals>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.select"
name="FLEX_VALUE_ALL"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":P_ID_FLEX_NUM"
multiple_id_flex_num="N"
code_combination_table_alias="gcc"
segments="ALL"
show_parent_segments="Y"
output_type="VALUE"/>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.select"
name="FLEX_DESCR_ALL"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":P_ID_FLEX_NUM"
multiple_id_flex_num="N"
code_combination_table_alias="gcc"
segments="ALL"
show_parent_segments="Y"
output_type="DESCRIPTION"/>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.select"
name="FLEX_GL_BALANCING"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":P_ID_FLEX_NUM"
multiple_id_flex_num="N"
code_combination_table_alias="gcc"
segments="GL_BALANCING"
show_parent_segments="N"
output_type="VALUE"/>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.select"
name="FLEX_GL_BALANCING_FULL_DESCR"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":P_ID_FLEX_NUM"
multiple_id_flex_num="N"
code_combination_table_alias="gcc"
segments="GL_BALANCING"
show_parent_segments="N"
output_type="FULL_DESCRIPTION"/>
</lexicals>

9-16 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

oracle.apps.fnd.ex.kff.where
This type of lexical is used in the WHERE section of the statement. It is used to modify
the WHERE clause such that the SELECT statement can filter based on key flexfield
segment data.
The syntax for this lexical is as follows:
<lexicals>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.where"
name="Name of the lexical"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="Application Short Name of the KFF"
id_flex_code="Internal code of the KFF"
id_flex_num="Internal number of the KFF structure"
code_combination_table_alias="Code Combination Table Alias"
segments="Segments for which this data is requested"
operator="The boolean operator to be used in the condition"
operand1="Values to be used on the right side of the operato
r"
operand2="High value for the BETWEEN operator"/>
</lexicals>

The attributes for this lexical are listed in the following table:
Attribute Description

application_short_name (Required) The application short name of the key

flexfield. For example: SQLGL.

id_flex_code (Required) the internal code of the key flexfield. For

example: GL#

id_flex_num (Conditionally required) Internal number of the key

flexfield structure. For example: 101. Required if
MULTIPLE_ID_FLEX_NUM is "N".

code_combination_table_alias (Optional) Segment column names will be prepended

with this alias.

segments (Optional) Identifies for which segments this data is

requested. Default value is "ALL". See the Oracle
Applications Developer’s Guide for syntax.

operator (Required) Valid values are:

=, <, >, <=, >=, !=, <>, ||, BETWEEN, LIKE

operand1 (Required) Values to be used on the right side of the

conditional operator.

operand2 (Optional) High value for the BETWEEN operator.

full_description Segment value’s description (full size).

security Returns Y if the current combination is secured

against the current user, N otherwise.

Example
This example shows a filter based on the GL Account segment and the GL Balancing
Segment:

Building a Data Template 9-17

 SELECT <some columns>
FROM gl_code_combinations gcc,
some_other_gl_table sogt
WHERE gcc.chart_of_accounts_id = :p_id_flex_num
and sogt.code_combination_id = gcc.code_combination_id
and &FLEX_WHERE_GL_ACCOUNT
and &FLEX_WHERE_GL_BALANCING
and <more conditions on sogt>

<lexicals>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.where"
name="FLEX_WHERE_GL_ACCOUNT"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":P_ID_FLEX_NUM"
code_combination_table_alias="gcc"
segments="GL_ACCOUNT"
operator="="
operand1=":P_GL_ACCOUNT"/>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.where"
name="FLEX_WHERE_GL_BALANCING"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":P_ID_FLEX_NUM"
code_combination_table_alias="gcc"
segments="GL_BALANCING"
operator="BETWEEN"
operand1=":P_GL_BALANCING_LOW"
operand2=":P_GL_BALANCING_HIGH"/>
</lexicals>
oracle.apps.fnd.ex.kff.order_by
This type of lexical is used in the ORDER BY section of the statement. It returns a list of
column expressions so that the resulting output can be sorted by the flex segment values.
The syntax for this lexical is as follows:
<lexicals>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.order_by"
name="Name of the lexical"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="Application Short Name of the KFF"
id_flex_code="Internal code of the KFF"
id_flex_num="Internal number of the KFF structure"
multiple_id_flex_num="Are multiple structures allowed?"
code_combination_table_alias="Code Combination Table Alias"
segments="Segment(s)for which data is requested"
show_parent_segments="List parent segments?"/>
</lexicals>

The attributes for this lexical are listed in the following table:

9-18 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Attribute Description

application_short_name (Required) The application short name of the key

flexfield. For example: SQLGL.

id_flex_code (Required) the internal code of the key flexfield. For

example: GL#

id_flex_num (Conditionally required) Internal number of the key

flexfield structure. For example: 101. Required if
MULTIPLE_ID_FLEX_NUM is "N".

multiple_id_flex_num (Optional) Indicates whether this lexical supports

multiple structures or not. Valid values are "Y"
and "N". Default is "N". If set to "Y", then flex will
assume all structures are potentially used for data
reporting and it will use <code_combination_
table_alias>.<set_defining_column_name>
to retrieve the structure number.

code_combination_table_alias (Optional) Segment column names will be prepended

with this alias.

segments (Optional) Identifies for which segments this data is

requested. Default value is "ALL". See the Oracle
Applications Developer’s Guide for syntax.

show_parent_segments (Optional) Valid values are "Y" and "N". Default value
is "Y". If a dependent segment is displayed, the parent
segment is automatically displayed, even if it is not
specified as displayed in the segments attribute.

Example
The following example shows results sorted based on GL Account segment and GL
Balancing segment for a single structure KFF.

Building a Data Template 9-19

 SELECT <some columns>
FROM gl_code_combinations gcc,
some_other_gl_table sogt
WHERE gcc.chart_of_accounts_id = :p_id_flex_num
and sogt.code_combination_id = gcc.code_combination_id
and <more conditions on sogt>
ORDER BY <some order by columns>,
&FLEX_ORDER_BY_GL_ACCOUNT,
&FLEX_ORDER_BY_GL_BALANCING

<lexicals>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.order_by"
name="FLEX_ORDER_BY_GL_ACCOUNT"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":P_ID_FLEX_NUM"
code_combination_table_alias="gcc"
segments="GL_ACCOUNT"
show_parent_segments="Y"/>
<lexical
type="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.order_by"
name="FLEX_ORDER_BY_GL_BALANCING"
comment="Comment"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":P_ID_FLEX_NUM"
code_combination_table_alias="gcc"
segments="GL_BALANCING"
show_parent_segments="N"/>
</lexicals>

Using the Data Engine Java API

This section describes how to utilize XML Publisher’s data engine outside of the XML
Publisher Enterprise user interface through the Java APIs. Use the descriptions in this
section in conjunction with the Javadocs included with your installation files.

Calling a Data Template from the Java API

The following classes comprise the data engine utility Java API:
• oracle.apps.xdo.oa.util.DataTemplate (OA wrapper API)
• oracle.apps.xdo.dataengine.DataProcessor (Core wrapper API)
The DataProcessor class is the main class to use to execute a data template with the XML
Publisher Data Engine. To use this API, you will need to instantiate this class and set
parameter values for the data template, connection and output destination. Once the
parameters are set, you can start processing by calling processData() method.
Example
This example provides a sample data template file, then shows an annotated Java code
sample of how to call it.
The sample data template is called EmpDataTemplate.xml and is stored as
/home/EmpDataTemplate.xml:

9-20 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="WINDOWS-1252" ?>
<dataTemplate name="EmpData" description="Employee Details" Versi
on="1.0">
<parameters>
<parameter name="p_DeptNo" dataType="character" />
</parameters>
<dataQuery>
<sqlStatement name="Q1">
<![CDATA[
SELECT d.DEPTNO,d.DNAME,d.LOC,EMPNO,ENAME,JOB,MGR,HIREDATE,
SAL,nvl(COMM,0)
FROM dept d, emp e
WHERE d.deptno=e.deptno
AND d.deptno = nvl(:p_DeptNo,d.deptno)
]]>
</sqlStatement>
</dataQuery>
<dataStructure>
<group name="G_DEPT" source="Q1">
<element name="DEPT_NUMBER" value="DEPTNO" />
<element name="DEPT_NAME" value="DNAME" />
<element name="DEPTSAL" value="G_EMP.SALARY"
function="SUM()" />
<element name="LOCATION" value="LOC" />
<group name="G_EMP" source="Q1">
<element name="EMPLOYEE_NUMBER" value="EMPNO" />
<element name="NAME" value="ENAME" />
<element name="JOB" value="JOB" />
<element name="MANAGER" value="MGR" />
<element name="HIREDATE" value="HIREDATE" />
<element name="SALARY" value="SAL" />
</group>
</group>
</dataStructure>
</dataTemplate>

The following code sample is an annotated snippet of the Java code used to process the
data template by the data engine:

Building a Data Template 9-21

 {
try {

//Initialization – instantiate the DataProcessor class//

DataProcessor dataProcessor = new DataProcessor();

//Set Data Template to be executed

dataProcessor.setDataTemplate("/home/EmpDataTemplate.xml");

//Get Parameters – this method will return an array of the

//parameters in the data template
ArrayList parameters = dataProcessor.getParameters();
// Now we have the arraylist we need to iterate over
// the parameters and assign values to them
Iterator it = parameters.iterator();

while (it.hasNext())
{
Parameter p = (Parameter) it.next();
if (p.getName().equals("p_DeptNo"))
// Here we assign the value ‘10’ to the p_DeptNo parameter.
// This could have been entered from a report submission
// screen or passed in from another process.
p.setValue(new "10");
}
// The parameter values now need to be assigned
// to the data template; there are two methods
// available to do this: 1. Use the setParameters
// method to assign the ’parameters’ object to the template:
dataProcessor.setParameters(parameters);

// 2. or you can assign parameter values using a hashtable.

Hashtable parameters = new Hashtable();

parameters.put("p_DeptNo","10");
dataProcessor.setParameters(parameters);

// Now set the jdbc connection to the database that you

// wish to execute the template against.
// This sample assumes you have already created
// the connection object ‘jdbcConnection’
dataProcessor.setConnection(jdbcConnection);
// Specify the output directory and file for the data file
dataProcessor.setOutput("/home/EmpDetails.xml")
// Process the data template
dataProcessor.processData();
} catch (Exception e)
{
}
}

SQL to XML Processor

The data engine not only supports data generation from data templates, but it can also
return data by simply passing it a SQL statement. This functionality is similar to the
native database support for generating XML with the added advantage that you can
retrieve huge amounts of data in a hierarchical format without sacrificing performance

9-22 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 and memory consumption. You SQL statement can also contain parameters that can
be given values prior to final processing.
The processor will generate XML in a ROWSET/ROW format. The tag names can be
overridden using the setRowsetTag and setRowsTag methods.
The following annotated code sample shows how to use the setSQL method to pass a
SQL statement to the data engine and set the element names for the generated data:
Example
//Initialization – instantiate the DataProcessor class
DataProcessor dataProcessor = new DataProcessor();
// Set the SQL to be executed
dataProcessor.setSQL( "select invoicenum, invoiceval
from invoice_table where
supplierid = :SupplID");
//Setup the SuppID value to be used
Hashtable parameters = new Hashtable();
parameters.put("SupplID ","2000");
//Set the parameters
dataProcessor.setParameters(parameters);
//Set the db connection
dataProcessor.setConnection(jdbcConnection);
//Specify the output file name and location
dataProcessor.setOutput("/home/InvoiceDetails.xml")
//Specify the root element tag name for the generated output
dataProcessor.setRowsetTag(“INVOICES”);
//Specify the row elemen tag name for the generated outputt
dataProcessor.setRowsetTag(“INVOICE”);
//Execute the SQL
dataProcessor.processData();

Other Useful Methods

The data engine has several very useful functions that can be used to generate objects or
files that can be used with the other XML Publisher APIs:
writeDefaultLayout – once the DataTemplate has been instantiated you can call this
method to generate a default RTF template that can be used with the RTFProcessor to
create an XSL template to be used with the FOProcessor. Alternatively, the default RTF
can be loaded into Microsoft Word for further formatting. This method can generate
either a String or Stream output.
writeXMLSchema - once the DataTemplate has been instantiated you can call this
method to generate an XML schema representation of your data template. This is very
useful if you are working with PDF templates and need to create mapping from the
PDF document to your XML data.
setScalableModeOn – if you know you are going to return a large dataset or have a
long running query you can specify that the data engine enter scalable mode. This will
cause it to use the disk rather than use memory to generate the output.
setMaxRows – this allows you to specify a fixed number of rows to be returned by
the engine. This is especially useful when you want to generate some sample data to
build a layout template against.

Building a Data Template 9-23

Sample Data Templates
This section contains two sample data templates:
• Employee Listing
• General Ledger Journals Listing
The sample files are annotated to provide a better description of the components of
the data template. To see more data template samples, see the XML Publisher page
on Oracle Technology Network (OTN) [http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/
applications/publishing/index.html]. From here you can copy and paste the samples to
get you started on your own data templates.

Employee Listing Data Template

This template extracts employee data and department details. It has a single
parameter, Department Number, that has to be populated at runtime. The data is
extracted using two joined queries that use the bind variable method to join the parent
(Q1) query with the child (Q2) query. It also uses the event trigger functionality using a
PL/SQL package "employee" to set the where clause on the Q1 query and to provide a
group filter on the G_DEPT group.
The sample data template will generate the following XML:

9-24 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<dataTemplateName>
<LIST_G_DEPT>
<G_DEPT>
<DEPT_NUMBER>10</DEPT_NUMBER>
<DEPT_NAME>ACCOUNTING</DEPT_NAME>
<LOCATION>NEW YORK</LOCATION>
<LIST_G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<EMPLOYEE_NUMBER>7782</EMPLOYEE_NUMBER>
<NAME>CLARK</NAME>
<JOB>MANAGER</JOB>
<MANAGER>7839</MANAGER>
<HIREDATE>1981-06-09T00:00:00.000-07:00</HIREDATE>
<SALARY>2450</SALARY>
</G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<EMPLOYEE_NUMBER>7839</EMPLOYEE_NUMBER>
<NAME>KING</NAME>
<JOB>PRESIDENT</JOB>
<MANAGER/>
<HIREDATE>1981-11-17T00:00:00.000-08:00</HIREDATE>
<SALARY>5000</SALARY>
</G_EMP>
...
</LIST_G_EMP>
<DEPTSAL>12750</DEPTSAL>
</G_DEPT>
<G_DEPT>
<DEPT_NUMBER>20</DEPT_NUMBER>
<DEPT_NAME>RESEARCH</DEPT_NAME>
<LOCATION>DALLAS</LOCATION>
<LIST_G_EMP>
<G_EMP>
<EMPLOYEE_NUMBER>7369</EMPLOYEE_NUMBER>
<NAME>SMITH</NAME>
<JOB>CLERK</JOB>
...
</G_EMP>
</LIST_G_EMP>
<DEPTSAL>10875</DEPTSAL>
</G_DEPT>
</LIST_G_DEPT>
</dataTemplateName>

Following is the data template used to extract this data.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="WINDOWS-1252" ?>
- The template is named, an optional description
- can be provided and the default package, if any, is identified:

<dataTemplate name="Employee Listing" description="List of

Employees" dataSourceRef="ORCL_DB1" defaultPackage="employee"
version="1.0">
<parameters>
- Defines a single parameter for the Department Number

Building a Data Template 9-25

 - with default of 20:
<parameter name="p_DEPTNO" dataType="character"
defaultValue="20"/>
</parameters>
<dataQuery>
<sqlStatement name="Q1">
- This extracts the department information based on a
- where clause from a pl/sql package:
<![CDATA[SELECT DEPTNO,DNAME,LOC from dept
where &pwhereclause
order by deptno]]>
</sqlStatement>
<sqlStatement name="Q2">
- This second query extracts the employee data and joins to
- the parent query using a bind variable, :DEPTNO
<![CDATA[SELECT EMPNO,ENAME,JOB,MGR,HIREDATE,SAL,nvl
(COMM,0) COMM
from EMP
WHERE DEPTNO = :DEPTNO ]]>
</sqlStatement>
</dataQuery>
- A call is made to a before fetch trigger to set the
- where clause variable in the department query, &pwhereclause:

<dataTrigger name="beforeReport"
source="employee.beforeReportTrigger"/>
<dataStructure>
- The following section specifies the XML hierarchy
- for the returning data:
<group name="G_DEPT" source="Q1"
groupFilter="employee.G_DEPTFilter(:DEPT_NUMBER)">
- There is a group filter placed on the DEPT group.
- This is returned from the employee.G_DEPTFilter plsql package.
- It passes the DEPT_NUMBER value ("name" attribute) rather
- than the DEPTNO value ("value" attribute)

<element name="DEPT_NUMBER" value="DEPTNO" />

<element name="DEPT_NAME" value="DNAME"/>
- This creates a summary total at the department level based
- on the salaries at the employee level for each department:

<element name="DEPTSAL" value="G_EMP.SALARY"

function="SUM()"/>
<element name="LOCATION" value="LOC" />
<group name="G_EMP" source="Q2">
<element name="EMPLOYEE_NUMBER" value="EMPNO" />
<element name="NAME" value="ENAME"/>
<element name="JOB" value="JOB" />
<element name="MANAGER" value="MGR"/>
<element name= "HIREDATE" value="HIREDATE"/>
<element name="SALARY" value="SAL"/>
</group>
</group>
</dataStructure>
</dataTemplate>

The PL/SQL Package:

9-26 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 - This is the package specification, it declares the global
- variables and functions contained therein
function BeforeReportTrigger return boolean;
p_DEPTNO NUMBER;
pwhereclause varchar2(3200);
function G_DEPTFilter(deptno number) return boolean;
END;

/
- This is the package body, it contains the code for the
- functions/procedures

create or replace package body employee as

- this is the event trigger called from the data template

- prior to the data fetch. It sets the where clause
- for the department query (Q1) based on the incoming
- data template parameter
FUNCTION BeforeReportTrigger return boolean is
begin
IF (p_DEPTNO=10) THEN
pwhereclause :=’DEPTNO =10’;
elsif (p_DEPTNO=20) THEN
pwhereclause:=’DEPTNO =20’;
elsif (p_DEPTNO=30) THEN
pwhereclause:=’DEPTNO =30’;
elsif (p_DEPTNO=40) THEN
pwhereclause:=’DEPTNO =20’;
else
pwhereclause:=’1=1’;
end if;
end;
RETURN(TRUE);
- This function specifies a group filter on the Q1 group.
- If the department number is 30 then the data is not returned.
FUNCTION G_DEPTFilter(deptno number) return boolean is
BEGIN
if deptno = 30 then
return (FALSE);
end if;

RETURN (TRUE);
end;
END;
/

General Ledger Journals Data Template Example

This data template extracts GL journals data from the E-Business Suite General Ledger
schema. It is based on an existing Oracle Report that has been converted to a data
template format. It follows the same format as the Employee data template but has
some added functionality.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<dataTemplate name="GLRGNJ" dataSourceRef="ORA_EBS"
defaultPackage="GLRGNJ" version="1.0">
<parameters>
- Parameter declaration, these will be populated at runtime.

Building a Data Template 9-27

 <parameter name="P_CONC_REQUEST_ID" dataType = "number"
defaultValue="0"></parameter>
<parameter name="P_JE_SOURCE_NAME" dataType="character">
</parameter>
<parameter name="P_SET_OF_BOOKS_ID" dataType="character"
defaultValue="1"></parameter>
<parameter name="P_PERIOD_NAME" dataType="character">Dec-97
</parameter>
<parameter name="P_BATCH_NAME" dataType="character"></parameter>
<parameter name="P_POSTING_STATUS" dataType="character"
defaultValue="P"></parameter>
<parameter name="P_CURRENCY_CODE" dataType="character"
defaultValue="USD"></parameter>
<parameter name="P_START_DATE" dataType = "date"></parameter>
<parameter name="P_END_DATE" dataType = "date"></parameter>
<parameter name="P_PAGESIZE" dataType = "number"
defaultValue="180"></parameter>
<parameter name="P_KIND" dataType = "character"
defaultValue="L"></parameter>
</parameters>
<lexicals>
- Flexfield lexical declaration, this specifies the setup required
- for these flexfield functions.
- The first will return the full accounting flexfield with
- the appropriate delimiter e.g. 01-110-6140-0000-000
<lexical type ="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.select"
name ="FLEXDATA_DSP"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":STRUCT_NUM"
multiple_id_flex_num="N"
code_combination_table_alias="CC"
segments="ALL"
show_parent_segments="Y"
output_type="VALUE" />
- The second will return ‘Y’ if the current combination is
- secured against the current user, ‘N’ otherwise
<lexical type ="oracle.apps.fnd.flex.kff.select"
name ="FLEXDATA_SECURE"
application_short_name="SQLGL"
id_flex_code="GL#"
id_flex_num=":STRUCT_NUM"
multiple_id_flex_num="N"
code_combination_table_alias="CC"
segments="ALL"
show_parent_segments="Y"
output_type="SECURITY" />
</lexicals>
<dataQuery>
<sqlStatement name="Q_MAIN">
<![CDATA[
SELECT
S.user_je_source_name Source,
B.name Batch_Name,
B.default_effective_date Batch_Eff_date,
B.posted_date Batch_Posted_Date,
B.je_batch_id Batch_Id,
B.running_total_accounted_dr B_TOT_DR,

9-28 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 B.running_total_accounted_cr B_TOT_CR,
D.je_header_id Header_id,
D.name Header_Name,
C.user_je_category_name Category,
D.running_total_accounted_dr H_TOT_DR,
D.running_total_accounted_cr H_TOT_CR,
J.je_line_num Je_Line_Num,
decode(nvl(CC.code_combination_id, -1), -1, ’A’,null)
FLEXDATA_H,
J.effective_date Line_Effective_Date,
J.description Line_Description,
J.accounted_dr Line_Acc_Dr,
J.accounted_cr Line_Acc_Cr,
D.currency_code Currency_Code,
D.external_reference Header_Reference,
&POSTING_STATUS_SELECT Recerence1_4,
nvl(J.stat_amount,0) Line_Stat_Amount,
GLL.description Batch_Type,
B.actual_flag Actual_Flag,
GLL2.meaning Journal_Type,
SOB.consolidation_sob_flag Cons_Sob_Flag,
&FLEXDATA_DSP FLEXDATA_DSP,
&FLEXDATA_SECURE FLEXDATA_SECURE
FROM gl_lookups GLL, gl_je_sources S, gl_je_categories C,
gl_je_lines J, gl_code_combinations CC, gl_je_headers D,
gl_je_batches B, gl_lookups GLL2, gl_sets_of_books SOB
WHERE GLL.lookup_code = B.actual_flag
AND GLL.lookup_type = ’BATCH_TYPE’
AND GLL2.lookup_type = ’AB_JOURNAL_TYPE’
AND GLL2.lookup_code = B.average_journal_flag
AND SOB.set_of_books_id = :P_SET_OF_BOOKS_ID
AND S.je_source_name = D.je_source
AND C.je_category_name = D.je_category
AND J.code_combination_id = CC.code_combination_id(+)
AND J.je_header_id = D.je_header_id
AND &CURRENCY_WHERE
AND D.je_source = NVL(:P_JE_SOURCE_NAME, D.je_source)
AND D.je_batch_id = B.je_batch_id
AND &POSTING_STATUS_WHERE
AND B.name = NVL(:P_BATCH_NAME, B.name)
AND &PERIOD_WHERE
AND B.set_of_books_id = :P_SET_OF_BOOKS_ID
ORDER BY S.user_je_source_name,
B.actual_flag,
B.name,
B.default_effective_date,
D.name,
J.je_line_num
]]>
</sqlStatement>
</dataQuery>
- The original report had an AfterParameter
- and Before report triggers
<dataTrigger name="afterParameterFormTrigger"
source="GLRGNJ.afterpform"/>
<dataTrigger name="beforeReportTrigger"
source="GLRGNJ.beforereport"/>
<dataStructure>

Building a Data Template 9-29

 - A very complex XML hierarchy can be built with summary
- columns referring to lower level elements
<group name="G_SOURCE" dataType="varchar2" source="Q_MAIN">
<element name="Source" dataType="varchar2" value="Source"/>
<element name="SOU_SUM_ACC_DR" function="sum" dataType="number"
value="G_BATCHES.B_TOTAL_DR"/>
<element name="SOU_SUM_ACC_CR" function="sum" dataType="number"
value="G_BATCHES.B_TOTAL_CR"/>
<element name="SOU_SUM_STAT_AMT" function="sum"
dataType="number" value="G_BATCHES.B_TOT_STAT_AMT"/>
<group name="G_BATCHES" dataType="varchar2" source="Q_MAIN">
<element name="Actual_Flag" dataType="varchar2"
value="Actual_Flag"/>
<element name="Batch_Id" dataType="number" value="Batch_Id"/>
<element name="Batch_Name" dataType="varchar2"
value="Batch_Name"/>
<element name="Batch_Eff_date" dataType="date"
value="Batch_Eff_date"/>
<element name="Journal_Type" dataType="varchar2"
value="Journal_Type"/>
<element name="Cons_Sob_Flag" dataType="varchar2"
value="Cons_Sob_Flag"/>
<element name="Batch_Type" dataType="varchar2"
value="Batch_Type"/>
<element name="Batch_Posted_Date" dataType="date"
value="Batch_Posted_Date"/>
<element name="B_TOT_DR" dataType="number" value="B_TOT_DR"/>
<element name="B_TOTAL_DR" function="sum" dataType="number"
value="G_HEADERS.H_Total_Dr"/>
<element name="B_TOT_CR" dataType="number" value="B_TOT_CR"/>
<element name="B_TOTAL_CR" function="sum" dataType="number"
value="G_HEADERS.H_Total_Cr"/>
<element name="B_TOT_STAT_AMT" function="sum" dataType="number"

value="G_HEADERS.H_TOT_STAT_AMT"/>
<element name="B_TOTAL_STAT" function="sum" dataType="number"
value="G_HEADERS.H_Total_Stat"/>
<group name="G_HEADERS" dataType="varchar2" source="Q_MAIN">
<element name="Header_id" dataType="number"
value="Header_id"/>
<element name="Header_Name" dataType="varchar2"
value="Header_Name"/>
<element name="Category" dataType="varchar2"
value="Category"/>
<element name="Header_Reference" dataType="varchar2"
value="Header_Reference"/>
<element name="Currency_Code" dataType="varchar2"
value="Currency_Code"/>
<element name="H_TOT_DR" dataType="number" value="H_TOT_DR"/>
<element name="H_Total_Dr" function="sum" dataType="number"
value="G_LINES.Line_Acc_Dr"/>
<element name="H_TOT_CR" dataType="number" value="H_TOT_CR"/>
<element name="H_Total_Cr" function="sum" dataType="number"
value="G_LINES.Line_Acc_Cr"/>
<element name="H_TOT_STAT_AMT" function="sum"
dataType="number"
value="G_LINES.Line_Stat_Amount"/>
<element name="H_Total_Stat" function="sum" dataType="number"

9-30 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 value="G_LINES.Line_Stat_Amount"/>
<group name="G_LINES" dataType="varchar2" source="Q_MAIN"
groupFilter="GLRGNJ.g_linesgroupfilter(:G_LINES.FLEXDATA_SECURE)">
<element name="Je_Line_Num" dataType="number"
value="Je_Line_Num"/>
<element name="FLEXDATA_H" dataType="varchar2"
value="FLEXDATA_H"/>
<element name="FLEXDATA_DSP" dataType="varchar2"
value="FLEXDATA_DSP"/>
<element name="Line_Description" dataType="varchar2"
value="Line_Description"/>
<element name="Recerence1_4" dataType="varchar2"
value="Recerence1_4"/>
<element name="Line_Acc_Dr" dataType="number"
value="Line_Acc_Dr"/>
<element name="Line_Acc_Cr" dataType="number"
value="Line_Acc_Cr"/>
<element name="Line_Stat_Amount" dataType="number"
value="Line_Stat_Amount"/>
<element name="Line_Effective_Date" dataType="date"
value="Line_Effective_Date"/>
<element name="FLEXDATA_SECURE" dataType="varchar2"
value="FLEXDATA_SECURE"/>
</group>
</group>
</group>
</group>
<element name="R_TOT_DR" function="sum" dataType="number"
value="G_SOURCE.SOU_SUM_ACC_DR"/>
<element name="R_TOT_CR" function="sum" dataType="number"
value="G_SOURCE.SOU_SUM_ACC_CR"/>
<element name="R_TOT_STAT_AMT" function="sum" dataType="number"
value="G_SOURCE.SOU_SUM_STAT_AMT"/>
<element name="JE_SOURCE_DSP" function="first" dataType="number"
value="G_SOURCE.Source"/>
<element name="REP_BATCH_ID" function="first" dataType="number"
value="G_BATCHES.Batch_Id"/>
<element name="C_DATEFORMAT" dataType="varchar2"
value="C_DATEFORMAT"/>
</dataStructure>
- There is an after fetch trigger, this can be used to clean up
- data or update records to report that they have been reported
<dataTrigger name="afterReportTrigger"
source="GLRGNJ.afterreport"/>
</dataTemplate>

Building a Data Template 9-31

 10
Setting Runtime Properties

Setting Properties in a Conguration File

You can customize the behavior of XML Publisher by setting properties in a configuration
file. The configuration file is optional. No default configuration file is provided.
The file is primarily used for:
• Setting a temporary directory
• Setting properties for PDF, RTF, and HTML output files
• Setting PDF security properties
• Setting font locations and substitutions
• Setting translation properties
Important: It is strongly recommended that you set up this configuration
file to create a temporary directory for processing large files. If you do
not, you will encounter "Out of Memory" errors when processing large
files. Create a temporary directory by setting the system-temp-dir
property.
It is also recommended that you secure the configuration file if you use
it to set the PDF security passwords.

File Name and Location

You must name this file xdo.cfg.
Place the configuration file under <JRE_TOP>/jre/lib, for example: jdk/jre/lib.

Namespace
The namespace for this configuration file is:
http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/config/

Conguration File Example

Following is a sample configuration file:

Setting Runtime Properties 10-1

 <config version="1.0.0"
xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/config/">

<!-- Properties -->

<properties>
<!-- System level properties -->
<property name="system-temp-dir">/tmp</property>

<!-- PDF compression -->

<property name="pdf-compression">true</property>

<!-- PDF Security -->

<property name="pdf-security">true</property>
<property name="pdf-open-password">user</property>
<property name="pdf-permissions-password">owner</property>
<property name="pdf-no-printing">true</property>
<property name="pdf-no-changing-the-document">true</property>
</properties>

<!-- Font setting -->

<fonts>
<!-- Font setting (for FO to PDF etc...) -->
<font family="Arial" style="normal" weight="normal">
<truetype path="/fonts/Arial.ttf" />
</font>
<font family="Default" style="normal" weight="normal">
<truetype path="/fonts/ALBANWTJ.ttf" />
</font>

<!--Font substitute setting (for PDFForm filling etc...) -->

<font-substitute name="MSGothic">
<truetype path="/fonts/msgothic.ttc" ttcno="0" />
</font-substitute>
</fonts>
</config>

How to Read the Element Specications

The following is an example of an element specification:
<Element Name Attribute1="value"
Attribute2="value"
AttributeN="value"
<Subelement Name1/>[occurrence-spec]
<Subelement Name2>...</Subelement Name2>
<Subelement NameN>...</Subelement NameN>
</Element Name>

The [occurrence-spec] describes the cardinality of the element, and corresponds

to the following set of patterns:
• [0..1] - indicates the element is optional, and may occur only once.
• [0..n] - indicates the element is optional, and may occur multiple times.

Structure
The <config> element is the root element. It has the following structure:

10-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <config version="cdata" xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/config
/">
<fonts> ... </fonts> [0..n]
<properties> ... </properties> [0..n]
</config>

Attributes
version
The version number of the configuration file format. Specify 1.0.0.
xmlns
The namespace for XML Publisher’s configuration file. Must be http://xmlns.
oracle.com/oxp/config/

Description
The root element of the configuration file. The configuration file consists of two parts:
• Properties (<properties> elements)
• Font definitions (<fonts> elements)
The <fonts> and <properties> elements can appear multiple times. If conflicting
definitions are set up, the last occurrence prevails.

Properties
This section describes the <properties> element and the <property> element.

The <properties> element

The properties element is structured as follows:
<properties locales="cdata">
<property>...
</property> [0..n]
</properties>

Description
The <properties> element defines a set of properties. You can specify the locales
attribute to define locale-specific properties. Following is an example:
Example
<!-- Properties for all locales -->
<properties>
...Property definitions here...
</properties>

<!--Korean specific properties-->

<properties locales="ko-KR">
...Korean-specific property definitions here...
</properties>

The <property> element

The <property> element has the following structure:

Setting Runtime Properties 10-3

 <property name="cdata">
...pcdata...
</property>

Attributes
name
Specify the property name.

Description
Property is a name-value pair. Specify the property name (key) to the name attribute and
the value to the element value.
Example
<properties>
<property name="system-temp-dir">d:\tmp</property>
<property name="system-cache-page-size">50</property>
<property name="pdf-replace-smart-quotes">false</property>
</properties>

List of Properties
The following tables list the available properties. They are organized into the following
groups:
• General Properties
• PDF Output Properties
• PDF Security
• RTF Output
• HTML Output
• FO Processing Properties
• PDF Template Properties
• RTF Template Properties
• PDF Document Merger Property
• XLIFF Extraction Properties

General Properties
General properties are shown in the following table:
Property Name Default Value Description

system-temp-dir N/A Enter the directory path for the temporary directory
to be used by the FO Processor when processing
large files. It is strongly recommended that you set a
temporary directory to avoid "Out of Memory" errors.

PDF Output Properties

The following table shows properties supported for PDF output:

10-4 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Property Name Default Value Description

pdf-compression True Specify "True" or "False" to control compression of the output

PDF file.

pdf-hide-menubar False Specify "True" to hide the viewer application’s menu bar when
the document is active.

pdf-hide-toolbar False Specify "True" to hide the viewer application’s toolbar when
the document is active.

pdf-replace- True Set to "False" if you do not want curly quotes replaced with
smartquotes straight quotes in your PDF output.

PDF Security
Use the following properties to control the security settings for your output PDF
documents:
Property Name Default Value Description

pdf-security False If you specify "True," the output PDF file will be
encrypted. You must also specify the following
properties:
• pdf-open-password

• pdf-permissions-password

• pdf-encryption-level

pdf-open-password N/A This password will be required for opening the

document. It will enable users to open the document
only. This property is enabled only when pdf-security
is set to "True".

pdf-permissions- N/A This password enables users to override the security

password setting. This property is effective only when
pdf-security is set to "True".

Setting Runtime Properties 10-5

Property Name Default Value Description

pdf-encryption-level 0 - low Specify the encryption level for the output PDF file. The
possible values are:
• 0: Low (40-bit RC4, Acrobat 3.0 or later)

• 1: High (128-bit RC4, Acrobat 5.0 or later)

This property is effective only when pdf-security is
set to "True". When pdf-encryption-level is set to
0, you can also set the following properties:
• pdf-no-printing

• pdf-no-changing-the-document

• pdf-no-cceda

• pdf-no-accff
When pdf-encryption-level is set to 1, the following
properties are available:
• pdf-enable-accessibility

• pdf-enable-copying
• pdf-changes-allowed

• pdf-printing-allowed

pdf-no-printing False Permission available when pdf-encryption-level is

set to 0. When set to "True", printing is disabled for the
PDF file.

pdf-no-changing-the- False Permission available when pdf-encryption-level is

document set to 0. When set to "True", the PDF file cannot be edited.

pdf-no-cceda False Permission available when pdf-encryption-level

is set to 0. When set to "True", the context copying,
extraction, and accessibility features are disabled.

pdf-no-accff False Permission available when pdf-encryption-level is

set to 0. When set to "True", the ability to add or change
comments and form fields is disabled.

pdf-enable- True Permission available when pdf-encryption-level is

accessibility set to 1. When set to "True", text access for screen reader
devices is enabled.

pdf-enable-copying False Permission available when pdf-encryption-level is

set to 1. When set to "True", copying of text, images, and
other content is enabled.

10-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Property Name Default Value Description

pdf-changes-allowed 0 Permission available when pdf-encryption-level is

set to 1. 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

pdf-printing-allowed 0 Permission available when pdf-encryption-level is

set to 1. Valid values are:
• 0: None

• 1: Low resolution (150 dpi)

• 2: High resolution

RTF Output
The following properties can be set to govern RTF output files:
Property Name Default Value Description

rtf-track-changes False Set to "True" to enable change tracking in the output RTF
document.

rtf-protect- False Set to "True" to protect the document for tracked changes.
document-for-
tracked-changes

HTML Output
The following properties can be set to govern HTML output files:

Setting Runtime Properties 10-7

Property Name Default Value Description

html-image-base-uri N/A Base URI which is inserted into the src attribute of the
image tag before the image file name. This works only
when the image is embedded in the template.

html-image-dir N/A Enter the directory for XML Publisher to store the image
files that are embedded in the template.

html-css-base-uri N/A Base URI which is inserted into the HTML header to
specify where the cascading stylesheets (CSS) for your
output HTML documents will reside. You must set this
property when make-accessible is true.

html-css-dir N/A The CSS directory where XML Publisher stores the css
file. You must set this property when make-accessible
is true.

html-show-header True Set to "False" to suppress the template header in HTML

output.

html-show-footer True Set to "False" to suppress the template footer in HTML

output.

html-replace- True Set to "False" if you do not want curly quotes replaced
smartquotes with straight quotes in your HTML output.

html-output-charset UTF-8 Specify the output HTML character set.

make-accessible False Specify true if you want to make the HTML output
accessible.

FO Processing Properties
The following properties can be set to govern FO processing:

10-8 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Property Name Default Value Description

digit-substitution None Valid values are "None" and "National". When set to
"None", Eastern European numbers will be used. When
set to "National", Hindi format (Arabic-Indic digits) will
be used. This setting is effective only when the locale is
Arabic, otherwise it is ignored.

system-cache-page- 50 This property is enabled only when you have

size 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.

fo-prevent-variable- False If "True", prevents variable header support. Variable

header header support automatically extends the size of the
header to accommodate the contents.

fo-merge-conflict- False When merging multiple XSL-FO inputs, the FO

resolution Processor automatically adds random prefixes to resolve
conflicting IDs. Setting this property to "True" disables
this feature.

xslt-xdoparser True Controls XML Publisher’s parser usage. If set to

False, XSLT will not be parsed.

xslt-scalable False Controls the scalable feature of the XDO parser. The
property xslt-xdoparser must be set to "True" for
this property to be effective.

rtf-adj-table-border- False Sets the behavior of the top/bottom borders of adjacent

overlap tables. If you want the top and bottom borders of
adjacent tables to overlap (for example, if you want
to repeat a table multiple times and make the whole
repeating area appear to be a single table), set this
property to "true."

RTF Template Properties

The following properties can be set to govern RTF templates:

Setting Runtime Properties 10-9

Property Name Default Value Description

rtf-extract- Auto The RTF processor will automatically extract attribute

attribute-sets 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

rtf-rewrite-path True When converting an RTF template to XSL-FO, the

RTF processor will automatically rewrite the XML tag
names to represent the full XPath notations. Set this
property to "False" to disable this feature.

rtf-checkbox-glyph Default value: Albany WT The XML Publisher default PDF output font does
J;9746;9747/A not include a glyph to represent a checkbox. If your
template contains a checkbox, use this property
to define a Unicode font for the representation of
checkboxes in your 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 XML Publisher at runtime.

PDF Template Properties

The following properties can be set to configure form field behavior in PDF output files
generated from PDF templates:

10-10 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Property Name Default Value Description

remove-pdf-fields false Specify "true" to remove PDF fields from the

output. When PDF fields are removed, data
entered in the fields cannot be extracted. For
more information, see Setting Fields as
Updateable or Read Only, page 8-14.

all-field-readonly true By default, XML 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
updateable, set this property to "false". For
more information, see Setting Fields as
Updateable or Read Only, page 8-14.

all-fields- false Set this property to "true" if you want

readonly-asis to maintain the "Read Only" setting
of each field as defined in the PDF
template. This property overrides the
settings of all-field-readonly. For
more information, see Setting Fields as
Updateable or Read Only, page 8-14.

PDF Document Merger Property

Property Name Default Value Description

pdf-tempfile-max- unlimited This property sets the maximum size for the
size temporary file used during batch processing
by the PDF Document Merger. Enter
the maximum size in bytes. For more
information, see PDF Document Merger,
page 11-30.

XLIFF Extraction
The following properties can be set to govern XLIFF extraction:

Setting Runtime Properties 10-11

Property Name Default Value Description

xliff-trans-expansion 150 (percentage) This property determines the maximum percent

expansion of an extracted translation unit. For
example, if set to 200, the XLIFF extractor will allow
expansion by 200% - that is, a 10-character element
will have a maximum width of 30 characters.

xliff-trans-min-length 15 (characters) Sets a minimum length in characters for the extracted

translation unit. For example, the default expansion
of a 4-character field is 10 characters (based on the
default setting of Translation expansion percentage
of 150). If the Minimum translation length is 15, this
field will be reset to 15 characters.

xliff-trans-max-length 4000 (characters) Sets a limit to the calculated expansion of the

translation unit (in characters). For example, the
default maximum expansion of 100 characters is 250
characters. Setting Maximum translation length to
200 would limit this expansion to 200 characters.

xliff-trans-null False Instructs the XLIFF extractor to create a translation

unit for a record that contains only spaces (is
null). Set to "True" to generate the translation unit.

xliff-trans-symbol False Instructs the XLIFF extractor whether to extract

symbol characters. If set to "False" only A-Z and a-z
will be extracted.

xliff-trans-keyword True If set to "False", words with underscores will not be

extracted.

Font Denitions
Font definitions include the following elements:
• <fonts>
• <font>
• <font-substitute>
• <truetype>
• <type1>
For the list of Truetype and Type1 fonts, see Predefined Fonts, page 10-15.

<fonts> element
The <fonts> element is structured as follows:
<fonts locales="cdata">
<font> ... </font> [0..n]
<font-substitute> ... </font-substitute> [0..n]
</fonts>

Attributes
locales
Specify the locales for this font definition. This attribute is optional.

10-12 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Description
The <fonts> element defines a set of fonts. Specify the locales attribute to define
locale-specific fonts.
Example
<!-- Font definitions for all locales -->
<fonts>
..Font definitions here...
</fonts>

<!-- Korean-specific font definitions -->

<fonts locales="ko-KR">
... Korean Font definitions here...
</fonts>

<font> element
Following is the structure of the <font> element:
<font family="cdata" style="normalitalic"
weight="normalbold">
<truetype>...</truetype>
or <type1> ... <type1>
</font>

Attributes
family
Specify any family name for the font. If you specify "Default" for this attribute, you can
define a default fallback font. The family attribute is case-insensitive.
style
Specify "normal" or "italic" for the font style.
weight
Specify "normal" or "bold" for the font weight.

Description
Defines an XML Publisher font. This element is primarily used to define fonts for
FO-to-PDF processing (RTF to PDF). The PDF Form Processor (used for PDF templates)
does not refer to this element.
Example
<!-- Define "Arial" font -->
<font family="Arial" style="normal" weight="normal">
<truetype path="/fonts/Arial.ttf"/>
</font>

<font-substitute> element
Following is the structure of the font-substitute element:
<font-substitute name="cdata">
<truetype>...</truetype>
or <type1>...</type1>
</font-substitute>

Setting Runtime Properties 10-13

Attributes
name
Specify the name of the font to be substituted.

Description
Defines a font substitution. This element is used to define fonts for the PDF Form
Processor.
Example
<font-substitute name="MSGothic">
<truetype path="/fonts/msgothic.ttc" ttccno=0"/>
</font-substitute>

<type1> element>
The form of the <type1> element is as follows:
<type1 name="cdata"/>

Attributes
name
Specify one of the Adobe standard Latin1 fonts, such as "Courier".

Description
<type1> element defines an Adobe Type1 font.
Example
<!--Define "Helvetica" font as "Serif" -->
<font family="serif" style="normal" weight="normal">
<type1 name="Helvetica"/>
</font>

Locales
A locale is a combination of an ISO language and an ISO country. ISO languages are
defined in ISO 639 and ISO countries are defined in ISO 3166.
The structure of the locale statement is
ISO Language-ISO country
Locales are not case-sensitive and the ISO country can be omitted.
Example locales:
• en
• en-US
• EN-US
• ja
• ko
• zh-CN

10-14 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Font Fallback Logic
XML Publisher uses a font mapping fallback logic so that the result font mappings
used for a template are a composite of the font mappings from the template up to the
site level. If a mapping is found for a font on more than one level, the most specific
level’s value overrides the others.
The resulting font mapping to use in any particular instance is the sum of all the
applicable font mappings. The applicable mappings in order of preference, are:
Language + Territory match, territory null > Language + Territory
null (global value)

For example:
Suppose for a particular template, there are different font mapping sets assigned at the
site and template levels, with the mappings shown in the following table:
Level Font Family Style Weight Language Territory Target Font

Site Times New normal normal (none) (none) Times

Roman

Site Arial normal normal Japanese Japan Times

Template Arial normal normal Japanese (none) Courier

Template Trebuchet normal normal (none) (none) Helvetica

MS

At runtime if the locale of the template file is Japanese/Japan, the following font
mappings will be used:
Font Family Style Weight Target Font

Times New Roman normal normal Times

Arial normal normal Times

Trebuchet MS normal normal Helvetica

Note that even though there is a mapping for Arial at the template level, the site level
value is used because it has a better match for the locale.

Predened Fonts
XML Publisher has several predefined fonts. These fonts do not require any font setting
in the Administration interface.
The Type1 fonts are listed in the following table:

Setting Runtime Properties 10-15

Type 1 Fonts
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

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 will be subsetted
and embedded into PDF.

10-16 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Number Font Family Style Weight Actual Font Actual Font Type
Name

1 Albany WT normal normal ALBANYWT.ttf TrueType (Latin1

only)

2 Albany WT J normal normal ALBANWTJ.ttf TrueType

(Japanese flavor)

3 Albany WT K normal normal ALBANWTK.ttf TrueType (Korean

flavor)

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 Duospace normal normal ADUO.ttf TrueType (Latin1

WT only, Fixed width)

6 Andale Duospace bold bold ADUOB.ttf TrueType (Latin1

WT only, Fixed width)

7 Andale Duospace normal normal ADUOJ.ttf TrueType

WT J (Japanese flavor,
Fixed width)

7 Andale Duospace bold bold ADUOJB.ttf TrueType

WT J (Japanese flavor,
Fixed width)

8 Andale Duospace normal normal ADUOK.ttf TrueType (Korean

WT K flavor, Fixed
width)

8 Andale Duospace bold bold ADUOKB.ttf TrueType (Korean

WT K flavor, Fixed
width)

9 Andale Duospace normal normal ADUOSC.ttf TrueType

WT SC (Simplified
Chinese flavor,
Fixed width)

9 Andale Duospace bold bold ADUOSCB.ttf TrueType

WT SC (Simplified
Chinese flavor,
Fixed width)

10 Andale Duospace normal normal ADUOTC.ttf TrueType

WT TC (Traditional
Chinese flavor,
Fixed width)

10 Andale Duospace bold bold ADUOTCB.ttf TrueType

WT TC (Traditional
Chinese flavor,
Fixed width)

Setting Runtime Properties 10-17

 11
Using the XML Publisher APIs

Introduction
This chapter is aimed at developers who wish to create programs or applications that
interact with XML Publisher through its application programming interface. This
information is meant to be used in conjunction with the Javadocs available from your
installation CD.
This section assumes the reader is familiar with Java programming, XML, and XSL
technologies.

XML Publisher Core APIs

XML Publisher is made up of the following core API components:
• PDF Form Processing Engine
Merges a PDF template with XML data (and optional metadata) to produce PDF
document output.
• RTF Processor
Converts an RTF template to XSL in preparation for input to the FO Engine.
• FO Engine
Merges XSL and XML to produce any of the following output formats: Excel
(HTML), PDF, RTF, or HTML.
• PDF Document Merger
Provides optional postprocessing of PDF files to merge documents, add page
numbering, and set watermarks.
• eText Processor
Converts RTF eText templates to XSL and merges the XSL with XML to produce text
output for EDI and EFT transmissions.
• Document Processor (XML APIs)
Provides batch processing functionality to access a single API or multiple APIs by
passing a single XML file to specify template names, data sources, languages, output
type, output names, and destinations.
The following diagram illustrates the template type and output type options for each
core processing engine:

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-1

PDF Form Processing Engine
The PDF Form Processing Engine creates a PDF document by merging a PDF template
with an XML data file. This can be done using file names, streams, or an XML data string.
As input to the PDF Processing Engine you can optionally include an XML-based
Template MetaInfo (.xtm) file. This is a supplemental template to define the placement of
overflow data.
The FO Processing Engine also includes utilities to provide information about your
PDF template. You can:
• Retrieve a list of field names from a PDF template
• Generate the XFDF data from the PDF template
• Convert XML data into XFDF using XSLT

Merging a PDF Template with XML Data

XML data can be merged with a PDF template to produce a PDF output document
in three ways:
• Using input/output file names
• Using input/output streams
• Using an input XML data string

11-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 You can optionally include a metadata XML file to describe the placement of overflow
data in your template.

Merging XML Data with a PDF Template Using Input/Output File Names
Input:
• Template file name (String)
• XML file name (String)
• Metadata XML file name (String)
Output:
• PDF file name (String)
Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FormProcessor;
.
.
FormProcessor fProcessor = new FormProcessor();

fProcessor.setTemplate(args[0]); // Input File (PDF) name

fProcessor.setData(args[1]); // Input XML data file name
fProcessor.setOutput(args[2]); // Output File (PDF) name
fProcessor.setMetaInfo(args[3]); // Metadata XML File name
You can omit this setting when you do not use Metadata.

fProcessor.process();

Merging XML Data with a PDF Template Using Input/Output Streams

Input:
• PDF Template (Input Stream)
• XML Data (Input Stream)
• Metadata XML Data (Input Stream)
Output:
• PDF (Output Stream)

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-3

 Example
import java.io.*;
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FormProcessor;
.
.
.
FormProcessor fProcessor = new FormProcessor();

FileInputStream fIs = new FileInputStream(originalFilePath); //

Input File
FileInputStream fIs2 = new FileInputStream(dataFilePath); // Inp
ut Data
FileInputStream fIs3 = new FileInputStream(metaData); // Metadat
a XML Data
FileOutputStream fOs = new FileOutputStream(newFilePath); // Out
put File

fProcessor.setTemplate(fIs);
fProcessor.setData(fIs2); // Input Data
fProcessor.setOutput(fOs);
fProcessor.setMetaInfo(fIs3);
fProcessor.process();

fIs.close();
fOs.close();

Merging an XML Data String with a PDF Template

Input:
• Template file name (String)
• XML data (String)
• Metadata XML file name (String)
Output:
• PDF file name (String)
Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FormProcessor;
.
.
.
FormProcessor fProcessor = new FormProcessor();

fProcessor.setTemplate(originalFilePath); // Input File (PDF)

name
fProcessor.setDataString(xmlContents); // Input XML string
fProcessor.setOutput(newFilePath); // Output File (PDF)
name
fProcessor.setMetaInfo(metaXml); // Metadata XML File name
You can omit this setting when you do not use Metadata.
fProcessor.process();

11-4 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Retrieving a List of Field Names
Use the FormProcessor.getFieldNames() API to retrieve the field names from a PDF
template. The API returns the field names into an Enumeration object.
Input:
• PDF Template
Output:
• Enumeration Object
Example
import java.util.Enumeration;
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FormProcessor;
.
.
.
FormProcessor fProcessor = new FormProcessor();
fProcessor.setTemplate(filePath); // Input File (PDF) name
Enumeration enum = fProcessor.getFieldNames();
while(enum.hasMoreElements()) {
String formName = (String)enum.nextElement();
System.out.println("name : " + formName + " , value : " + fProce
ssor.getFieldValue(formName));
}

Generating XFDF Data

XML Forms Data Format (XFDF) is a format for representing forms data and annotations
in a PDF document. XFDF is the XML version of Forms Data Format (FDF), a simplified
version of PDF for representing forms data and annotations. Form fields in a PDF
document include edit boxes, buttons, and radio buttons.
Use this class to generate XFDF data. When you create an instance of this class, an
internal XFDF tree is initialized. Use append() methods to append a FIELD element
to the XFDF tree by passing a String name-value pair. You can append data as many
times as you want.
This class also allows you to append XML data by calling appendXML() methods. Note
that you must set the appropriate XSL stylesheet by calling setStyleSheet() method before
calling appendXML() methods. You can append XML data as many times as you want.
You can retrieve the internal XFDF document at any time by calling one of the following
methods: toString(), toReader(), toInputStream(), or toXMLDocument().
The following is a sample of XFDF data:

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-5

 Example
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xfdf xmlns="http://ns.adobe.com/xfdf/" xml:space="preserve">
<fields>
<field name="TITLE">
<value>Purchase Order</value>
</field>
<field name="SUPPLIER_TITLE">
<value>Supplie</value>
</field>
...
</fields>

The following code example shows how the API can be used:
Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FormProcessor;
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.pdf.xfdf.XFDFObject;
.
.
.
FormProcessor fProcessor = new FormProcessor();
fProcessor.setTemplate(filePath); // Input File (PDF) name
XFDFObject xfdfObject = new XFDFObject(fProcessor.getFieldInfo());
System.out.println(xfdfObject.toString());

Converting XML Data into XFDF Format Using XSLT

Use an XSL stylesheet to convert standard XML to the XFDF format. Following is an
example of the conversion of sample XML data to XFDF:
Assume your starting XML has a ROWSET/ROW format as follows:
<ROWSET>
<ROW num="0">
<SUPPLIER>Supplier</SUPPLIER>
<SUPPLIERNUMBER>Supplier Number</SUPPLIERNUMBER>
<CURRCODE>Currency</CURRCODE>
</ROW>
...
</ROWSET>

From this XML you want to generate the following XFDF format:
<fields>
<field name="SUPPLIER1">
<value>Supplier</value>
</field>
<field name="SUPPLIERNUMBER1">
<value>Supplier Number</value>
</field>
<field name="CURRCODE1">
<value>Currency</value>
</field>
...
</fields>

The following XSLT will carry out the transformation:

11-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

<xsl:stylesheet version="1.0" xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/X
SL/Transform">
<xsl:template match="/">
<fields>
<xsl:apply-templates/>
</fields>
</xsl:template>
<!-- Count how many ROWs(rows) are in the source XML file. -->
<xsl:variable name="cnt" select="count(//row|//ROW)" />
<!-- Try to match ROW (or row) element.
<xsl:template match="ROW/*|row/*">
<field>
<!-- Set "name" attribute in "field" element. -->
<xsl:attribute name="name">
<!-- Set the name of the current element (column name)
as a value of the current name attribute. -->
<xsl:value-of select="name(.)" />
<!-- Add the number at the end of the name attribute v
alue if more than 1 rows found in the source XML file.-->
<xsl:if test="$cnt > 1">
<xsl:number count="ROW|row" level="single" format="
1"/>
</xsl:if>
</xsl:attribute>
<value>
<!--Set the text data set in the current column data a
s a text of the "value" element. -->
<xsl:value-of select="." />
</value>
</field>
</xsl:template>
</xsl:stylesheet>

You can then use the XFDFObject to convert XML to the XFDF format using an XSLT
as follows:
Example
import java.io.*;
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.pdf.xfdf.XFDFObject;
.
.
.
XFDFObject xfdfObject = new XFDFObject();

xfdfObject .setStylesheet(new BufferedInputStream(new FileInputStr

eam(xslPath))); // XSL file name
xfdfObject .appendXML( new File(xmlPath1)); // XML data file nam
e
xfdfObject .appendXML( new File(xmlPath2)); // XML data file nam
e

System.out.print(xfdfObject .toString());

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-7

RTF Processor Engine

Generating XSL
The RTF processor engine takes an RTF template as input. The processor parses the
template and creates an XSL-FO template. This can then be passed along with a data
source (XML file) to the FO Engine to produce PDF, HTML, RTF, or Excel (HTML) output.
Use either input/output file names or input/output streams as shown in the following
examples:

Generating XSL with Input/Output File Names

Input:
• RTF file name (String)
Output:
• XSL file name (String)
Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FOProcessor;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{
RTFProcessor rtfProcessor = new RTFProcessor(args[0]); //input tem
plate
rtfProcessor.setOutput(args[1]); // output file
rtfProcessor.process();
System.exit(0);
}

Generating XSL with Input/Output Stream

Input:
• RTF (InputStream)
Output:
• XSL (OutputStream)

11-8 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FOProcessor;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{
FileInputStream fIs = new FileInputStream(args[0]); //inpu
t template
FileOutputStream fOs = new FileOutputStream(args[1]); // out
put

RTFProcessor rtfProcessor = new RTFProcessor(fIs);

rtfProcessor.setOutput(fOs);
rtfProcessor.process();
// Closes inputStreams outputStream
System.exit(0);
}

FO Processor Engine

Generating Output from an XML File and an XSL File

The FO Processor Engine is XML Publisher’s implementation of the W3C XSL-FO
standard. It does not represent a complete implementation of every XSL-FO
component. For a list of supported XSL-FO elements, see Supported XSL-FO Elements,
page A-1.
The FO Processor can generate output in PDF, RTF, HTML, or Excel (HTML) from either
of the following two inputs:
• Template (XSL) and Data (XML) combination
• FO object
Both input types can be passed as file names, streams, or in an array. Set the output
format by setting the setOutputFormat method to one of the following:
• FORMAT_EXCEL
• FORMAT_HTML
• FORMAT_PDF
• FORMAT_RTF
An XSL-FO utility is also provided that creates XSL-FO from the following inputs:
• XSL file and XML file
• Two XML files and two XSL files
• Two XSL-FO files (merge)
The FO object output from the XSL-FO utility can then be used as input to the FO
processor.

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-9

Major Features of the FO Processor
Bidirectional Text
XML Publisher utilizes the Unicode BiDi algorithm for BiDi layout. Based on specific
values for the properties writing-mode, direction, and unicode bidi, the FO Processor
supports the BiDi layout.
The writing-mode property defines how word order is supported in lines and order of
lines in text. That is: right-to-left, top-to-bottom or left-to-right, top-to-bottom. The
direction property determines how a string of text will be written: that is, in a specific
direction, such as right-to-left or left-to-right. The unicode bidi controls and manages
override behavior.
Font Fallback Mechanism
The FO Processor supports a two-level font fallback mechanism. This mechanism
provides control over what default fonts to use when a specified font or glyph is not
found. XML Publisher provides appropriate default fallback fonts automatically without
requiring any configuration. XML Publisher also supports user-defined configuration
files that specify the default fonts to use. For glyph fallback, the default mechanism will
only replace the glyph and not the entire string.
For more information, see XML Publisher Configuration File, page 10-1.
Variable Header and Footer
For headers and footers that require more space than what is defined in the template, the
FO Processor extends the regions and reduces the body region by the difference between
the value of the page header and footer and the value of the body region margin.
Horizontal Table Break
This feature supports a "Z style" of horizontal table break. The horizontal table break is
not sensitive to column span, so that if the column-spanned cells exceed the page (or
area width), the FO Processor splits it and does not apply any intelligent formatting to
the split cell.
The following figure shows a table that is too wide to display on one page:

The following figure shows one option of how the horizontal table break will handle the
wide table. In this example, a horizontal table break is inserted after the third column.

11-10 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 The following figure shows another option. The table breaks after the third column, but
includes the first column with each new page.

Generating Output Using File Names

The following example shows how to use the FO Processor to create an output file using
file names.
Input:
• XML file name (String)
• XSL file name (String)
Output:
• Output file name (String)

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-11

 Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FOProcessor;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{

FOProcessor processor = new FOProcessor();

processor.setData(args[0]); // set XML input file
processor.setTemplate(args[1]); // set XSL input file
processor.setOutput(args[2]); //set output file
processor.setOutputFormat(FOProcessor.FORMAT_PDF);
// Start processing
try
{
processor.generate();
}
catch (XDOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}

System.exit(0);
}

Generating Output Using Streams

The processor can also be used with input/output streams as shown in the following
example:
Input:
• XML data (InputStream)
• XSL data (InputStream)
Output:
• Output stream (OutputStream)

11-12 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Example
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FOProcessor;
.
.
.
public void runFOProcessor(InputStream xmlInputStream,
InputStream xslInputStream,
OutputStream pdfOutputStream)
{

FOProcessor processor = new FOProcessor();

processor.setData(xmlInputStream);
processor.setTemplate(xslInputStream);
processor.setOutput(pdfOutputStream);
// Set output format (for PDF generation)
processor.setOutputFormat(FOProcessor.FORMAT_PDF);
// Start processing
try
{
processor.generate();
}
catch (XDOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}

System.exit(0);

Generating Output from an Array of XSL Templates and XML Data

An array of data and template combinations can be processed to generate a single
output file from the multiple inputs. The number of input data sources must match
the number of templates that are to be applied to the data. For example, an input of
File1.xml, File2.xml, File3.xml and File1.xsl, File2.xsl, and File3.xsl will produce a single
File1_File2_File3.pdf.
Input:
• XML data (Array)
• XSL data (template) (Array)
Output:
• File Name (String)

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-13

 Example
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FOProcessor;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{

String[] xmlInput = {"first.xml", "second.xml", "third.xml"};

String[] xslInput = {"first.xsl", "second.xsl", "third.xsl"};

FOProcessor processor = new FOProcessor();

processor.setData(xmlInput);
processor.setTemplate(xslInput);

processor.setOutput("/tmp/output.pdf); //set (PDF) ou

tput file
processor.setOutputFormat(FOProcessor.FORMAT_PDF); processor.p
rocess();
// Start processing
try
{
processor.generate();
}
catch (XDOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}

Using the XSL-FO Utility

Use the XSL-FO Utility to create an XSL-FO output file from input XML and XSL files, or
to merge two XSL-FO files. Output from this utility can be used to generate your final
output. See Generating Output from an XSL-FO file, page 11-17.

Creating XSL-FO from an XML File and an XSL File

Input:
• XML file
• XSL file
Output:
• XSL-FO (InputStream)

11-14 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.fo.util.FOUtility;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{
InputStream foStream;

// creates XSL-FO InputStream from XML(arg[0])

// and XSL(arg[1]) filepath String
foStream = FOUtility.createFO(args[0], args[1]);
if (mergedFOStream == null)
{
System.out.println("Merge failed.");
System.exit(1);
}

System.exit(0);
}

Creating XSL-FO from Two XML Files and Two XSL les
Input:
• XML File 1
• XML File 2
• XSL File 1
• XSL File 2
Output:
• XSL-FO (InputStream)

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-15

 Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.fo.util.FOUtility;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{
InputStream firstFOStream, secondFOStream, mergedFOStream;
InputStream[] input = InputStream[2];

// creates XSL-FO from arguments

firstFOStream = FOUtility.createFO(args[0], args[1]);

// creates another XSL-FO from arguments

secondFOStream = FOUtility.createFO(args[2], args[3]);

// set each InputStream into the InputStream Array

Array.set(input, 0, firstFOStream);
Array.set(input, 1, secondFOStream);

// merges two XSL-FOs

mergedFOStream = FOUtility.mergeFOs(input);

if (mergedFOStream == null)
{
System.out.println("Merge failed.");
System.exit(1);
}
System.exit(0);
}

Merging Two XSL-FO Files

Input:
• Two XSL-FO file names (Array)
Output:
• One XSL-FO (InputStream)

11-16 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.fo.util.FOUtility;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{
InputStream mergedFOStream;

// creates Array
String[] input = {args[0], args[1]};

// merges two FO files

mergedFOStream = FOUtility.mergeFOs(input);
if (mergedFOStream == null)
{
System.out.println("Merge failed.");
System.exit(1);
}
System.exit(0);
}

Generating Output from an FO le

The FO Processor can also be used to process an FO object to generate your final
output. An FO object is the result of the application of an XSL-FO stylesheet to XML
data. These objects can be generated from a third party application and fed as input to
the FO Processor.
The processor is called using a similar method to those already described, but a template
is not required as the formatting instructions are contained in the FO.

Generating Output Using File Names

Input:
• FO file name (String)
Output:
• PDF file name (String)

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-17

 Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FOProcessor;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args) {

FOProcessor processor = new FOProcessor();

processor.setData(args[0]); // set XSL-FO input file
processor.setTemplate((String)null);
processor.setOutput(args[2]); //set (PDF) output file
processor.setOutputFormat(FOProcessor.FORMAT_PDF);
// Start processing
try
{
processor.generate();
}
catch (XDOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}

System.exit(0);
}

Generating Output Using Streams

Input:
• FO data (InputStream)
Output:
• Output (OutputStream)

11-18 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Example
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FOProcessor;
.
.
.
public void runFOProcessor(InputStream xmlfoInputStream,
OutputStream pdfOutputStream)
{

FOProcessor processor = new FOProcessor();

processor.setData(xmlfoInputStream);
processor.setTemplate((String)null);

processor.setOutput(pdfOutputStream);
// Set output format (for PDF generation)
processor.setOutputFormat(FOProcessor.FORMAT_PDF);
// Start processing
try
{
processor.generate();
}
catch (XDOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}
}

Generating Output with an Array of FO Data

Pass multiple FO inputs as an array to generate a single output file. A template is not
required, therefore set the members of the template array to null, as shown in the
example.
Input:
• FO data (Array)
Output:
• Output File Name (String)

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-19

 Example
import java.lang.reflect.Array;
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FOProcessor;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{

String[] xmlInput = {"first.fo", "second.fo", "third.fo"};

String[] xslInput = {null, null, null}; // null needs for xs
l-fo input

FOProcessor processor = new FOProcessor();

processor.setData(xmlInput);
processor.setTemplate(xslInput);

processor.setOutput("/tmp/output.pdf); //set (PDF) ou

tput file
processor.setOutputFormat(FOProcessor.FORMAT_PDF); processor.p
rocess();
// Start processing
try
{
processor.generate();
}
catch (XDOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}

PDF Document Merger

The PDF Document Merger class provides a set of utilities to manipulate PDF
documents. Using these utilities, you can merge documents, add page numbering, set
backgrounds, and add watermarks.

Merging PDF Documents

Many business documents are composed of several individual documents that need to
be merged into a single final document. The PDFDocMerger class supports the merging
of multiple documents to create a single PDF document. This can then be manipulated
further to add page numbering, watermarks, or other background images.

Merging with Input/Output File Names

The following code demonstrates how to merge (concatenate) two PDF documents using
physical files to generate a single output document.
Input:
• PDF_1 file name (String)

11-20 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 • PDF_2 file name (String)
Output:
• PDF file name (String)
Example
import java.io.*;
import oracle.apps.xdo.common.pdf.util.PDFDocMerger;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{
try
{
// Last argument is PDF file name for output
int inputNumbers = args.length - 1;

// Initialize inputStreams
FileInputStream[] inputStreams = new FileInputStream[inputNu
mbers];
inputStreams[0] = new FileInputStream(args[0]);
inputStreams[1] = new FileInputStream(args[1]);

// Initialize outputStream
FileOutputStream outputStream = new FileOutputStream(args[2]
);

// Initialize PDFDocMerger
PDFDocMerger docMerger = new PDFDocMerger(inputStreams, outp
utStream);

// Merge PDF Documents and generates new PDF Document

docMerger.mergePDFDocs();
docMerger = null;

// Closes inputStreams and outputStream

}
catch(Exception exc)
{
exc.printStackTrace();
}
}

Merging with Input/Output Streams

Input:
• PDF Documents (InputStream Array)
Output:
• PDF Document (OutputStream)

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-21

 Example
import java.io.*;
import oracle.apps.xdo.common.pdf.util.PDFDocMerger;
.
.
.
public boolean mergeDocs(InputStream[] inputStreams, OutputStrea
m outputStream)
{
try
{
// Initialize PDFDocMerger
PDFDocMerger docMerger = new PDFDocMerger(inputStreams, outp
utStream);

// Merge PDF Documents and generates new PDF Document

docMerger.mergePDFDocs();
docMerger = null;

return true;
}
catch(Exception exc)
{
exc.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
}

Merging with Background to Place Page Numbering

The following code demonstrates how to merge two PDF documents using input streams
to generate a single merged output stream.
To add page numbers:
1. Create a background PDF template document that includes a PDF form field in
the position that you would like the page number to appear on the final output
PDF document.
2. Name the form field @pagenum@.
3. Enter the number in the field from which to start the page numbering. If you do not
enter a value in the field, the start page number defaults to 1.
Input:
• PDF Documents (InputStream Array)
• Background PDF Document (InputStream)
Output:
• PDF Document (OutputStream)

11-22 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Example
import java.io.*;
import oracle.apps.xdo.common.pdf.util.PDFDocMerger;
.
.
.
public static boolean mergeDocs(InputStream[] inputStreams, Input
Stream backgroundStream, OutputStream outputStream)

{
try
{
// Initialize PDFDocMerger
PDFDocMerger docMerger = new PDFDocMerger(inputStreams, outp
utStream);

// Set Background
docMerger.setBackground(backgroundStream);

// Merge PDF Documents and generates new PDF Document

docMerger.mergePDFDocs();
docMerger = null;

return true;
}
catch(Exception exc)
{
exc.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
}

Adding Page Numbers to Merged Documents

The FO Processor supports page numbering natively through the XSL-FO templates, but
if you are merging multiple documents you must use this class to number the complete
document from beginning to end.
The following code example places page numbers in a specific point on the page, formats
the numbers, and sets the start value using the following methods:
• setPageNumberCoordinates (x, y) - sets the x and y coordinates for the page number
position. The following example sets the coordinates to 300, 20.
• setPageNumberFontInfo (font name, size) - sets the font and size for the page
number. If you do not call this method, the default "Helvetica", size 8 is used. The
following example sets the font to "Courier", size 8.
• setPageNumberValue (n, n) - sets the start number and the page on which to begin
numbering. If you do not call this method, the default values 1, 1 are used.
Input:
• PDF Documents (InputStream Arrary)
Output:
• PDF Document (OutputStream)

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-23

 Example
import java.io.*;
import oracle.apps.xdo.common.pdf.util.PDFDocMerger;
.
.
.
public boolean mergeDocs(InputStream[] inputStreams, OutputStrea
m outputStream)
{
try
{
// Initialize PDFDocMerger
PDFDocMerger docMerger = new PDFDocMerger(inputStreams, outp
utStream);

// Calls several methods to specify Page Number

// Calling setPageNumberCoordinates() method is necessary to

set Page Numbering
// Please refer to javadoc for more information
docMerger.setPageNumberCoordinates(300, 20);

// If this method is not called, then the default font"(Helv

etica, 8)" is used.
docMerger.setPageNumberFontInfo("Courier", 8);

// If this method is not called, then the default initial va

lue "(1, 1)" is used.
docMerger.setPageNumberValue(1, 1);

// Merge PDF Documents and generates new PDF Document

docMerger.mergePDFDocs();
docMerger = null;

return true;
}
catch(Exception exc)
{
exc.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
}

Setting a Text or Image Watermark

Some documents that are in a draft phase require that a watermark indicating
"DRAFT" be displayed throughout the document. Other documents might require a
background image on the document. The following code sample shows how to use the
PDFDocMerger class to set a watermark.

Setting a Text Watermark

Use the SetTextDefaultWatermark( ) method to set a text watermark with the following
attributes:

11-24 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

• Text angle (in degrees): 55
• Color: light gray (0.9, 0.9, 0.9)
• Font: Helvetica
• Font Size: 100
• The start position is calculated based on the length of the text
Alternatively, use the SetTextWatermark( ) method to set each attribute separately. Use
the SetTextWatermark() method as follows:
• SetTextWatermark ("Watermark Text", x, y) - declare the watermark text, and set the
x and y coordinates of the start position. In the following example, the watermark
text is "Draft" and the coordinates are 200f, 200f.
• setTextWatermarkAngle (n) - sets the angle of the watermark text. If this method is
not called, 0 will be used.
• setTextWatermarkColor (R, G, B) - sets the RGB color. If this method is not
called, light gray (0.9, 0.9, 0.9) will be used.
• setTextWatermarkFont ("font name", font size) - sets the font and size. If you do not
call this method, Helvetica, 100 will be used.
The following example shows how to set these properties and then call the
PDFDocMerger.
Input:
• PDF Documents (InputStream)
Output:
• PDF Document (OutputStream)

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-25

 Example
import java.io.*;
import oracle.apps.xdo.common.pdf.util.PDFDocMerger;
.
.
.
public boolean mergeDocs(InputStream inputStreams, OutputStream
outputStream)
{
try
{
// Initialize PDFDocMerger
PDFDocMerger docMerger = new PDFDocMerger(inputStreams, outp
utStream);

// You can use setTextDefaultWatermark() without these detai

led setting
docMerger.setTextWatermark("DRAFT", 200f, 200f); //set text
and place
docMerger.setTextWatermarkAngle(80); //set an
gle
docMerger.setTextWatermarkColor(1.0f, 0.3f, 0.5f); // set R
GB Color

// Merge PDF Documents and generates new PDF Document

docMerger.mergePDFDocs();
docMerger = null;

return true;
}
catch(Exception exc)
{
exc.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
}

Setting Image Watermark

An image watermark can be set to cover the entire background of a document, or just to
cover a specific area (for example, to display a logo). Specify the placement and size of
the image using rectangular coordinates as follows:
float[ ] rct = {LowerLeft X, LowerLeft Y, UpperRight
X, UpperRight Y}
For example:
float[ ] rct = {100f, 100f, 200f, 200f}
The image will be sized to fit the rectangular area defined.
To use the actual image size, without sizing it, define the LowerLeft X and LowerLeft
Y positions to define the placement and specify the UpperRight X and UpperRight Y
coordinates as -1f. For example:
float[ ] rct = {100f, 100f, -1f, -1f}

11-26 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Input:
• PDF Documents (InputStream)
• Image File (InputStream)
Output:
• PDF Document (OutputStream)
Example
import java.io.*;
import oracle.apps.xdo.common.pdf.util.PDFDocMerger;
.
.
.
public boolean mergeDocs(InputStream inputStreams, OutputStream
outputStream, String imageFilePath)
{
try
{
// Initialize PDFDocMerger
PDFDocMerger docMerger = new PDFDocMerger(inputStreams, outp
utStream);

FileInputStream wmStream = new FileInputStream(imageFilePath

);
float[] rct = {100f, 100f, -1f, -1f};
pdfMerger.setImageWatermark(wmStream, rct);

// Merge PDF Documents and generates new PDF Document

docMerger.mergePDFDocs();
docMerger = null;

// Closes inputStreams
return true;
}
catch(Exception exc)
{
exc.printStackTrace();
return false;
}
}

PDF Book Binder Processor

The PDFBookBinder processor is useful for the merging of multiple PDF documents into
a single document consisting of a hierarchy of chapters, sections, and subsections and a
table of contents for the document. The processor also generates PDF style “bookmarks”;
the outline structure is determined by the chapter and section hierarchy. The processor is
extremely powerful allowing you complete control over the combined document.
This section provides only an overview of the features and usage of the PDF Book Binder
Processor. For detailed information, please see OracleMetaLink note 358886.1, "Oracle
XML Publisher PDF Binding Examples."

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-27

Usage
The table of contents formatting and style is created through the use of an RTF template
created in Microsoft Word. The chapters are passed into the program as separate PDF
files (one chapter, section, or subsection corresponds to one PDF file). Templates may
also be specified at the chapter level for insertion of dynamic or static content, page
numbering, and placement of hyperlinks within the document.
The templates can be in RTF or PDF format. RTF templates are more flexible by allowing
you to leverage XML Publisher’s support for dynamic content. PDF templates are much
less flexible, making it difficult to achieve desirable effects such as the reflow of text areas
when inserting page numbers and other types of dynamic content.
The templates can be rotated (at right angles) or be made transparent. A PDF template
can also be specified at the book level, enabling the ability to specify global page
numbering, or other content such as backgrounds and watermarks. A title page can also
be passed in as a parameter, as well as cover and closing pages for each chapter or section.

XML Control File

The structure of the book’s chapters, sections, and subsections is represented as XML and
passed in as a command line parameter; or it can also be passed in at the API level. All
of the chapter and section files, as well as all the templates files and their respective
parameters, are specified inside this XML structure. Therefore, the only two required
parameters are an XML file and a PDF output file.
You can also specify volume breaks inside the book structure. Specifying volume breaks
will split the content up into separate output files for easier file and printer management.
The structure of the XML control file is represented in the following diagram:

11-28 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 To specify template and content file locations in your XML structure, you can specify a
path relative to your local file system or you can specify a URL referring to the template
or content location. Secure HTTP protocol is supported, as well as specially recognized
XML Publisher protocols, such as:
• “xdo://” - used to specify XML Publisher Template Manager-specific data.
• “fnd://” - used to specify data located in the FND_LOBS table.
• “blob://” - used for specifying data in any user-defined BLOB table.
The format for the “blob://” protocol is:
blob://[table_name].[blob_column_name]/[pk_datatype]:[pk_name]=[p
k_value]/../../..

Command Line Options

Following is an example of the command line usage:
java oracle.apps.template.pdf.book.PDFBookBinder [-debug <true or
false>] [-tmp <temp dir>] -xml <input xml> -pdf <output pdf>

where

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-29

 -xml <file> is the file name of the input XML file containing the table of contents
XML structure.
-pdf <file> is the final generated PDF output file.
-tmp <directory> is the temporary directory for better memory management. (This
is optional, if not specified, the system environment variable “java.io.tmpdir”
will be used.)
-log <file> sets the output log file (optional, default is System.out).
-debug <true or false> turns debugging off or on.

API Method Call

The following is an example of an API method call:
String xmlInputPath = “c:\\tmp\\toc.xml”;
String pdfOutputPath = “c:\\tmp\\final_book.pdf”;
PDFBookBinder bookBinder = new PDFBookBinder(xmlInputPath,
pdfOutputPath);

bookBinder.setConfig(new Properties());
bookBinder.process();

Document Processor Engine

The Document Processor Engine provides batch processing functionality to access a
single API or multiple APIs by passing a single XML instance document to specify
template names, data sources, languages, output type, output names, and destinations.
This solution enables batch printing with XML Publisher, in which a single XML
document can be used to define a set of invoices for customers, including the preferred
output format and delivery channel for those customers. The XML format is very flexible
allowing multiple documents to be created or a single master document.
This section:
• Describes the hierarchy and elements of the Document Processor XML file
• Provides sample XML files to demonstrate specific processing options
• Provides example code to invoke the processors

Hierarchy and Elements of the Document Processor XML File

The Document Processor XML file has the following element hierarchy:

11-30 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Requestset
request
delivery
filesystem
print
fax
number
email
message
document
background
text
pagenumber
template
data

This hierarchy is displayed in the following illustration:

The following table describes each of the elements:

Element Attributes Description

requestset xmlns Root element must contain

version [xmlns:xapi="http://
xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/
xapi/"] block
The version is not required,
but defaults to "1.0".

request N/A Element that contains the

data and template processing
definitions.

delivery N/A Defines where the generated

output is sent.

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-31

 Element Attributes Description

document output-type Specify one output that

can have several template
elements. The output-type
attribute is optional. Valid
values are:
pdf (Default)
rtf
html
excel
text

filesystem output Specify this element to save

the output to the file system.
Define the directory path in the
output attribute.

print • printer The print element can

occur multiple times under
• server-alias delivery to print one
document to several printers.
Specify the printer attribute
as a URI, such as:"ipp:/
/myprintserver:631/
printers/printername"

fax • server Specify a URI in the server

attribute, for example: "ipp:
• server-alias //myfaxserver1:631/
printers/myfaxmachine"

number The number element can occur

multiple times to list multiple
fax numbers. Each element
occurrence must contain only
one number.

email • server Specify the outgoing mail

server (SMTP) in the server
• port attribute.
• from Specify the mail server port in
the port attribute.
• reply-to

• server-alias

11-32 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Element Attributes Description
message • to The message element can be
placed several times under
• cc the email element. You can
specify character data in the
• bcc message element.
• attachment You can specify multiple e-mail
addresses in the to, cc and
• subject bcc attributes separated by a
comma.
The attachment value is
either true or false (default). If
attachment is true, then a
generated document will be
attached when the e-mail is
sent.
The subject attribute is
optional.

background where If the background text is

required on a specific page,
then set the where value to the
page numbers required. The
page index starts at 1. The
default value is 0, which places
the background on all pages.

text • title Specify the watermark text in

the title value.
• default
A default value of "yes"
automatically draws the
watermark with forward slash
type. The default value is yes.

pagenumber • initial-page-index The initial-page-index

default value is 0.
• initial-value
The initial-value default
• x-pos value is 1.
"Helvetica" is used for the page
• y-pos
number font.
The x-pos provides lower left
x position.
The y-pos provides lower left
y position.

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-33

 Element Attributes Description

template • locale Contains template information.

• location Valid values for the type

attribute are
• type pdf
rtf
xsl-fo
etext
The default value is "pdf".

data location Define the location attribute

to specify the location of the
data, or attach the actual XML
data with subelements. The
default value of location
is "inline". It the location
points to either an XML file or
a URL, then the data should
contain an XML declaration
with the proper encoding.
If the location attribute
is not specified, the data
element should contain the
subelements for the actual
data. This must not include an
XML declaration.

XML File Samples

Following are sample XML files that show:
• Simple XML shape
• Defining two data sets
• Defining multiple templates and data
• Retrieving templates over HTTP
• Retrieving data over HTTP
• Generating more than one output
• Defining page numbers

Simple XML sample

The following sample is a simple example that shows the definition of one template
(template1.pdf) and one data source (data1) to produce one output file
(outfile.pdf) delivered to the file system:

11-34 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Example
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi
">
<xapi:request>
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:filesystem output="d:\tmp\outfile.pdf" />
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="pdf">
<xapi:template type="pdf" location="d:\mywork\template1
.pdf">
<xapi:data>
<field1>data1</field1>
</xapi:data>
</xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
</xapi:requestset>

Dening two data sets

The following example shows how to define two data sources to merge with one
template to produce one output file delivered to the file system:
Example
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi">
<xapi:request>
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:filesystem output="d:\tmp\outfile.pdf"/>
</xapi:delivery>

<xapi:document output-type="pdf">
<xapi:template type="pdf"
location="d:\mywork\template1.pdf">
<xapi:data>
<field1>The first set of data</field1>
</xapi:data>
<xapi:data>
<field1>The second set of data</field1>
</xapi:data>
</xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
</xapi:requestset>

Dening multiple templates and data

The following example builds on the previous examples by applying two data sources to
one template and two data sources to a second template, and then merging the two into a
single output file. Note that when merging documents, the output-type must be "pdf".

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-35

 Example
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi">
<xapi:request>
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:filesystem output="d:\tmp\outfile3.pdf"/>
</xapi:delivery>

<xapi:document output-type="pdf">
<xapi:template type="pdf"
location="d:\mywork\template1.pdf">
<xapi:data>
<field1>The first set of data</field1>
</xapi:data>
<xapi:data>
<field1>The second set of data</field1>
</xapi:data>
</xapi:template>

<xapi:template type="pdf"
location="d:\mywork\template2.pdf">
<xapi:data>
<field1>The third set of data</field1>
</xapi:data>
<xapi:data>
<field1>The fourth set of data</field1>
</xapi:data>
</xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
</xapi:requestset>

Retrieving templates over HTTP

This sample is identical to the previous example, except in this case the two templates
are retrieved over HTTP:

11-36 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi">
<xapi:request>
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:filesystem output="d:\temp\out4.pdf"/>
</xapi:delivery>

<xapi:document output-type="pdf">
<xapi:template type="pdf"
location="http://your.server:9999/templates/template1.pdf">
<xapi:data>
<field1>The first page data</field1>
</xapi:data>
<xapi:data>
<field1>The second page data</field1>
</xapi:data>
</xapi:template>
<xapi:template type="pdf"
location="http://your.server:9999/templates/template2.pdf">
<xapi:data>
<field1>The third page data</field1>
</xapi:data>
<xapi:data>
<field1>The fourth page data</field1>
</xapi:data>
</xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
</xapi:requestset>

Retrieving data over HTTP

This sample builds on the previous example and shows one template with two data
sources, all retrieved via HTTP; and a second template retrieved via HTTP with its
two data sources embedded in the XML:

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-37

 Example
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi">
<xapi:request>
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:filesystem output="d:\temp\out5.pdf"/>
</xapi:delivery>

<xapi:document output-type="pdf">
<xapi:template type="pdf"
location="http://your.server:9999/templates/template1.pdf">
<xapi:data location="http://your.server:9999/data/data_1.xml
"/>
<xapi:data location="http://your.server:9999/data/data_2.xml
"/>
</xapi:template>

<xapi:template type="pdf"
location="http://your.server:9999/templates/template2.pdf">
<xapi:data>
<field1>The third page data</field1>
</xapi:data>
<xapi:data>
<field1>The fourth page data</field1>
</xapi:data>
</xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
</xapi:requestset>

Generating more than one output

The following sample shows the generation of two outputs: out_1.pdf and
out_2.pdf. Note that a request element is defined for each output.

11-38 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Example
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi">
<xapi:request>
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:filesystem output="d:\temp\out_1.pdf"/>
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="pdf">
<xapi:template type="pdf"
location="d:\mywork\template1.pdf">
<xapi:data>
<field1>The first set of data</field1>
</xapi:data>
<xapi:data>
<field1>The second set of data</field1>
</xapi:data>
</xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>

<xapi:request>
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:filesystem output="d:\temp\out_2.pdf"/>
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="pdf">
<xapi:template type="pdf"
location="d:mywork\template2.pdf">
<xapi:data>
<field1>The third set of data</field1>
</xapi:data>
<xapi:data>
<field1>The fourth set of data</field1>
</xapi:data>
</xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>

</xapi:requestset>

Dening page numbers

The following sample shows the use of the pagenumber element to define page
numbers on a PDF output document. The first document that is generated will begin
with an initial page number value of 1. The second output document will begin with an
initial page number value of 3. The pagenumber element can reside anywhere within
the document element tags.
Note that page numbering that is applied using the pagenumber element will not
replace page numbers that are defined in the template.

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-39

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi">
<xapi:request>
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:filesystem output="d:\temp\out7-1.pdf"/>
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="pdf">
<xapi:pagenumber initial-value="1" initial-page-index="1"
x-pos="300" y-pos="20" />
<xapi:template type="pdf"
location="d:\mywork\template1.pdf">
<xapi:data>
<field1>The first page data</field1>
</xapi:data>
<xapi:data>
<field1>The second page data</field1>
</xapi:data>
</xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>

<xapi:request>
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:filesystem output="d:\temp\out7-2.pdf"/>
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="pdf">
<xapi:template type="pdf"
location="d:\mywork\template2.pdf">
<xapi:data>
<field1>The third page data</field1>
</xapi:data>
<xapi:data>
<field1>The fourth page data</field1>
</xapi:data>
</xapi:template>
<xapi:pagenumber initial-value="3" initial-page-index="1"
x-pos="300" y-pos="20" />
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>

</xapi:requestset>

Invoke Processors
The following code samples show how to invoke the document processor engine using
an input file name and an input stream.

Invoke Processors with Input File Name

Input:
• Data file name (String)
• Directory for Temporary Files (String)

11-40 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.batch.DocumentProcessor;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{
.
.
.
try
{
// dataFile --- File path of the Document Processor XML
// tempDir --- Temporary Directory path
DocumentProcessor docProcessor = new DocumentProcessor(data
File, tempDir);
docProcessor.process();
}
catch(Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}
System.exit(0);
}

Invoke Processors with InputStream

Input:
• Data file (InputStream)
• Directory for Temporary Files (String)

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-41

 Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.batch.DocumentProcessor;
import java.io.InputStream;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{
.
.
.
try
{
// dataFile --- File path of the Document Processor XML
// tempDir --- Temporary Directory path
FileInputStream fIs = new FileInputStream(dataFile);

DocumentProcessor docProcessor = new DocumentProcessor(fIs,

tempDir);
docProcessor.process();
fIs.close();
}
catch(Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}
System.exit(0);
}

Bursting Engine
XML Publisher’s bursting engine accepts a data stream and splits it based on multiple
criteria, generates output based on a template, then delivers the individual documents
through the delivery channel of choice. The engine provides a flexible range of
possibilities for document generation and delivery. Example implementations include:
• Invoice generation and delivery based on customer-specific layouts and delivery
preference
• Financial reporting to generate a master report of all cost centers, bursting out
individual cost center reports to the appropriate manager
• Generation of payslips to all employees based on one extract and delivered via e-mail

Usage
The bursting engine is an extension of the Document Processor Engine, page 11-30 and
has its own method be called to invoke it. The Document Processor CML structure
has been extended to handle the new components required by the bursting engine. It
supports all of the delivery functionality that the Document Processor supports using
the same format. It accepts the XML data to be burst and a control file that takes
the Document Processor XML format (see Hierarchy and Elements of the Document
Processor XML File, page 11-30).

11-42 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Control File
The control file takes the same format as the Document Processor XML, page 11-30
with a few extensions:
• Use the attribute select under the request element to specify the element in
the XML data that you wish to burst on.
Example
<xapi:request select="/EMPLOYEES/EMPLOYEE">

• Use the attribute id under the lowest level of the delivery structure (for example, for
the delivery element email, the id attribute belongs to the message element. This
assigns an ID to the delivery method to be referenced later in the XML file.
Example
<xapi:message id="123" to="[email protected]"
• Use the delivery attribute under the document element. This assigns the delivery
method for the generated document as defined in the id attribute for the delivery
element. You can specify multiple delivery channels separated by a comma.
Example
<xapi:document output-type="pdf" delivery="123">

• Use the filter attribute on the template element. Use this to apply a layout
template based on a filter on your XML data.
Example
<xapi:template type="rtf" location="/usr/tmp/empGeneric.rtf">
<xapi:template type="rtf" location="usr\tmp\empDet.rtf" filter="./
/EMPLOYEE[ENAME=’SMITH’]"/>

This will apply the empDet template only to those employees with the name
"SMITH". All other employees will have the empGeneric template applied. This filter
can use any XPATH expression to determine the rules for the template application.

Dynamic Delivery Destination

You can reference elements in the data to derive certain delivery attributes, such as an
e-mail address or fax number. Enter the value for the attribute using the following form:
${ELEMENT}
where ELEMENT is the element name from the XML data that holds the value for the
attribute.
For example:
<xapi:message id="123" to="${EMAIL}"/>

At runtime the value of the to attribute will be set to the value of the EMAIL element
from the input XML file.
You can also set the value of an attribute by passing a parameter to API in a Properties
object.

Dynamic Delivery Content

You can reference information in the XML data to be put into the delivery content. This
takes the same format described above (that is, ${ELEMENT}).

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-43

 For example, suppose you wanted to burst a document to employees via e-mail and
personalize the e-mail by using the employee’s name in the subject line. Assuming the
employee’s name is held in an element called ENAME, you could use ${ENAME} to
reference the employee’s name in the control file as follows:
subject="Employee Details for ${ENAME}"
Sample Control File
The following sample control file shows an example control file to split data based on
an EMPLOYEE element and send an e-mail to each employee with their own data. The
sample file is annotated.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi">
<xapi:request select="/EMPLOYEES/EMPLOYEE">
<! - This sets the bursting element i.e., EMPLOYEE - >
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:email server="rgmamersmtp.oraclecorp.com" port="25"
from="[email protected]" reply-to ="[email protected]">
<xapi:message id="123" to="${EMAIL}" cc="${EMAIL_ALL}"
attachment="true" subject="Employee Details
for ${ENAME}"> Mr. ${ENAME}, Please review the
attached document</xapi:message>
<! - This assigns a delivery id of ’123’. It also sets the e-mail
address of the employee and a cc copy to a parameter value
EMAIL_ALL; this might be a manager’s e-mail. The employee’s
name (ENAME) can also be used in the subject/body
of the email. - >
</xapi:email>
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="pdf" delivery="123">
<xapi:template type="rtf" location="/usr/tmp/empGeneric.rtf">
<xapi:template type="rtf" location="/usr/tmp/empDet.rtf"
filter=".//EMPLOYEE[ENAME=’SMITH’]" >
<! - Employees with the name SMITH will have
the empDet template applied - >
</xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
</xapi:requestset>

Multiple Bursting Options

The bursting engine can support multiple bursting criteria and delivery options. Assume
you have a report that generates data for all employees with their manager’s
information. You can construct a control file that will:
• Burst the employee data to each employee
• Burst a report to each manager that contains the data about his employees
You can provide a different template for each bursting level. You can therefore generate
the employee report based on one template and the summary manager’s report based on
a different template, but still use the same data set.
To achieve this multibursting result, you must add a second request element to the
control file structure.

11-44 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Multibursting Example
The following sample shows how to construct a control file that will burst on the
EMPLOYEE level and the MANAGER level:
?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi">
<! - First request to burst on employee - >
<xapi:request select="/EMPLOYEES/EMPLOYEE">
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:email <<server details removed>> />
<xapi:message id="123" <<message details removed>>
</xapi:message>
</xapi:email>
<xapi:fax server="ipp://mycupsserver:631/printers/fax2">
<xapi:number id="FAX1">916505069560</xapi:number>
</xapi:fax>
<xapi:print id="printer1"
printer="ipp://mycupsserver:631/printers/printer1"
copies="2" />
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="pdf" delivery="123">
<xapi:template type="rtf" location="usr\tmp\empDet.rtf" />
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
<!Second request to burst on department - >
<xapi:request select="/DATA/DEPT/MANAGER">
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:email server="gmsmtp.oraclecorp.com" port=""
from="[email protected]" reply-to="[email protected]">
<xapi:message id="123" to="${MANAGER_EMAIL}"
cc="${MANAGER_EMAIL}" attachment="true"
subject="Department Summary for ${DEPTNO}">Please review
the attached Department Summary for
department ${DEPTNO}</xapi:message>
</xapi:email>
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="rtf" delivery="123">
<xapi:template type="rtf"
location="d:\burst_test\deptSummary.rtf" />
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
</xapi:requestset>

Bursting Listeners
The bursting engine provides a listening interface that allows you to listen to the
various stages of the bursting process. Following are the supported modes that you
can subscribe to:
• beforeProcess() - before the bursting process starts.
• afterProcess() - after the bursting process completes.
• beforeProcessRequest(int requestIndex) - before the bursting request
starts. This interface provides an assigned request ID for the current request.
• afterProcessRequest(int requestIndex)- after the bursting request has
completed; provides the request ID for the current request.

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-45

 • beforeProcessDocument(int requestIndex,int documentIndex,
String deliveryId) - before the document generation starts; provides the
request ID and a document ID.
• afterProcessDocument(int requestIndex,int documentIndex,Vector
documentOutputs) - after the document generation completes; provides the
request ID and document ID, plus a Vector list of the document objects generated
in the request.
• beforeDocumentDelivery(int requestIndex,int documentIndex,
String deliveryId) - before the documents in the request are delivered;
provides the request ID, the document ID, and a delivery ID.
• afterDocumentDelivery(int requestIndex,int documentIndex,
String deliveryId,Object deliveryObject,Vector attachments)
- after the document delivery completes; provides a request ID, document ID, and
delivery ID, plus a Vector list of the documents delivered in the request.
You can subscribe to any of these interfaces in your calling Java class. The listeners are
useful to determine if the processing of individual documents is proceeding successfully
or to start another process based on the successful completion of a request.

Calling the Bursting API

To call the bursting API, instantiate an instance of DocumentProcessor class using on
of the following formats:
DocumentProcessor(xmlCtrlInput, xmlDataInput, tmpDir)

where
xmlCtrlInput - is the control file for the bursting process. This can be a string reference
to a file, an inputStream object, or a Reader object.
xmlDataInput - is the XML data to be burst. This can a string reference to a file, an
inputStream object, or a Reader object.
tmpDir - is a temporary working directory. This takes the format of a String object. This
is optional as long as the main XML Publisher temporary directory has been set.
Simple Example Java Class
The following is a sample Java class:

11-46 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

public class BurstingTest
{
public BurstingTest()
{
try
{
DocumentProcessor dp = new DocumentProcessor
("\burst\burstCtrl.xml", "\\burst\\empData.xml","\\burst");
dp.process();
}
}
catch (Exception e)
{ System.out.println(e);

public static void main(String[] args)

{
BurstingTest burst1 = new BurstingTest();
}

Example Java Class with Listeners

To take advantage of the bursting listeners, add the interface to the class declaration
and use the registerListener method. Then code for the listeners you want to
subscribe to as follows:
public class BurstingTest implements BurstingListener
{
public BurstingTest()
{
try
{
DocumentProcessor dp = new DocumentProcessor
("\burst\burstCtrl.xml", "\\burst\\empData.xml","\\burst");
dp.registerListener(this);
dp.process();
}
}
catch (Exception e)
{ System.out.println(e);

public static void main(String[] args)

{
BurstingTest burst1 = new BurstingTest();
}

public void beforeProcess(){

System.out.println("Start of Bursting Process");
}
public void afterProcess()
{
System.out.println("End of Bursting Process");
}

public void beforeProcessRequest(int requestIndex)

{
System.out.println("Start of Process Request ID"+requestIndex);

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-47

 }
public void afterProcessRequest(int requestIndex)
{
System.out.println("End of Process Request ID"+requestIndex ");

}
public void beforeProcessDocument(int requestIndex,int
documentIndex)
{
System.out.println("Start of Process Document");
System.out.println(" Request Index "+requestIndex);
System.out.println(" Document Index " +documentIndex);

}
public void afterProcessDocument(int requestIndex,int
documentIndex,
Vector documentOutputs)
{
System.out.println(" ========End of Process Document");
System.out.println(" Outputs :"+documentOutputs);
}
public void beforeDocumentDelivery(int requestIndex,int
documentIndex,
String deliveryId)
{
System.out.println(" ========Start of Delivery");
System.out.println(" Request Index "+requestIndex);
System.out.println(" Document Index " +documentIndex);
System.out.println(" DeliveryId " +deliveryId);
}
public void afterDocumentDelivery(int requestIndex,int documentI
ndex,
String deliveryId,Object deliveryObject,Vector attachments)
{
System.out.println(" ========End of Delivery");
System.out.println(" Attachments : "+attachments);

Passing a Parameter
To pass a parameter holding a value to be used in the control file for delivery, add the
following code:
…
Properties prop= new Properties();
prop.put("user-variable:ADMIN_EMAIL","[email protected]");
dp.setConfig(prop);
dp.process();
…

Bursting Control File Examples

All of the examples in this section use the following XML data source:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

11-48 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

<DATA>
<DEPTS>
<DEPT>
<DEPTNO>20</DEPTNO>
<NAME>Accounting</NAME>
<MANAGER_EMAIL>[email protected]</MANAGER_EMAIL>
<EMPLOYEES>
<EMPLOYEE>
<EMPNO>7369</EMPNO>
<ENAME>SMITH</ENAME>
<JOB>CLERK</JOB>
<MGR>7902</MGR>
<HIREDATE>1980-12-17T00:00:00.000-08:00</HIREDATE>
<SAL>800</SAL>
<DEPTNO>20</DEPTNO>
<EMAIL>[email protected]</EMAIL>
</EMPLOYEE>
<EMPLOYEE>
<EMPNO>7566</EMPNO>
<ENAME>JONES</ENAME>
<JOB>MANAGER</JOB>
<MGR>7839</MGR>
<HIREDATE>1981-04-02T00:00:00.000-08:00</HIREDATE>
<SAL>2975</SAL>
<DEPTNO>20</DEPTNO>
<EMAIL>[email protected]</EMAIL>
</EMPLOYEE>
</EMPLOYEES>
</DEPT>
<DEPT>
<DEPTNO>30</DEPTNO>
<NAME>Sales</NAME>
<MANAGER_EMAIL>[email protected]</MANAGER_EMAIL>
<EMPLOYEES>
<EMPLOYEE>
<EMPNO>7788</EMPNO>
<ENAME>SCOTT</ENAME>
<JOB>ANALYST</JOB>
<MGR>7566</MGR>
<HIREDATE>1982-12-09T00:00:00.000-08:00</HIREDATE>
<SAL>3000</SAL>
<DEPTNO>20</DEPTNO>
<EMAIL>[email protected]</EMAIL>
</EMPLOYEE>
<EMPLOYEE>
<EMPNO>7876</EMPNO>
<ENAME>ADAMS</ENAME>
<JOB>CLERK</JOB>
<MGR>7788</MGR>
<HIREDATE>1983-01-12T00:00:00.000-08:00</HIREDATE>
<SAL>1100</SAL>
<EMAIL>[email protected]</EMAIL>
</EMPLOYEE>
</EMPLOYEES>
</DEPT>
</DEPTS>
</DATA>

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-49

 Example 1 - Bursting Employee Data to Employees via E-mail
The following sample shows how to apply a template (empDet.rtf) to every employee’s
data, generate a PDF document, and deliver the document to each employee via e-mail.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi">
<xapi:request select="/DATA/DEPTS/DEPT/EMPLOYEES/EMPLOYEE">
<! - Burst on employee element - >
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:email server="my.smtp.server" port="25"
from="[email protected]" reply-to ="">
<xapi:message id="123" to="${EMAIL}"
<! - Set the id for the delivery method - >
<! - Use the employees EMAIL element to email the document to
the employee - >
cc="${ADMIN_EMAIL}"
<! - Use the ADMIN_EMAIL parameter to CC the document
to the administrator - >
attachment="true" subject="Employee Details for ${ENAME}">
Mr. ${ENAME}, Please review the attached document</xapi:message>
<! - Embed the employees name into the email message - >
</xapi:email>
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="pdf" delivery="123">
<!Specify the delivery method id to be used - >
<xapi:template type="rtf"
location="\usr\empDet.rtf"></xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
</xapi:requestset>
Example 2 - Bursting Employee Data to Employees via Multiple Delivery Channels
and Conditionally Using Layout Templates
This sample shows how to burst, check the employee name, and generate a PDF using
the appropriate template. The documents will then be e-mailed and printed.

11-50 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi" >
<xapi:globalData location="stream">
</xapi:globalData >
<xapi:request select="/DATA/DEPTS/DEPT/EMPLOYEES/EMPLOYEE">
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:email server="my.smtp.server" port=""
from="[email protected]"
reply-to ="[email protected]">
<xapi:message id="123" to="${EMAIL}" cc="" attachment="true"
subject="Employee Details for ${ENAME}"> Mr. ${ENAME},
Please review the attached document</xapi:message>
</xapi:email>
<xapi:print id="printer1"
printer="ipp://ipgpc1:631/printers/printer1" copies="2" />
<! - Add an id for this delivery method i.e. printer1 - >
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="pdf" delivery="printer1,123">
<! - Deliver to printer and email - >
<xapi:template type="rtf" location="/usr/empDetSmith.rtf"
filter=".//EMPLOYEE[ENAME=’SMITH’]">
<!- Specify template to be used for employees called SMITH - >
</xapi:template>
<xapi:template type="rtf" location="/usr/empSummary.rtf">
<! - Default template to be used - >
</xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
</xapi:requestset>
Example 3 - Bursting Employee Data to Employees and Their Manager
This sample shows how to burst an e-mail with a PDF attachment to all employees using
the empDet template. It will also burst an employee summary PDF to the manager
of each department via e-mail.

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-51

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xapi:requestset xmlns:xapi="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xapi">
<xapi:request select="/DATA/DEPTS/DEPT/EMPLOYEES/EMPLOYEE">
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:email server="my.smtp.server" port=""
from="[email protected]" reply-to ="">
<xapi:message id="123" to="${EMAIL}" cc="${EMAIL}"
attachment="true"
subject="Employee Details for ${ENAME}"> Mr. ${ENAME},
Please review the attached document</xapi:message>
</xapi:email>
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="pdf" delivery="123">
<xapi:template type="rtf"
location="/usr/empDet.rtf"</xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
<xapi:request select="/DATA/DEPTS/DEPT">
<! - Second request created to burst the same dataset to the
manager based on the DEPT element - >
<xapi:delivery>
<xapi:email server="my.smtp.server" port=""
from="[email protected]" reply-to ="">
<xapi:message id="456" to="${MANAGER_EMAIL}"
cc="${MANAGER_EMAIL}" attachment="true" subject="Department
Summary for ${DEPTNO}"> Please review the attached
Department Summary for department ${DEPTNO}</xapi:message>
</xapi:email>
</xapi:delivery>
<xapi:document output-type="rtf" delivery="456">
<xapi:template type="rtf"
location="\usr\deptSumm.rtf"></xapi:template>
</xapi:document>
</xapi:request>
</xapi:requestset>

XML Publisher Properties

The FO Processor supports PDF security and other properties that can be applied to
your final documents. Security properties include making a document unprintable and
applying password security to an encrypted document.
Other properties allow you to define font subsetting and embedding. If your template
uses a font that would not normally be available to XML Publisher at runtime, you can
use the font properties to specify the location of the font. At runtime XML Publisher
will retrieve and use the font in the final document. For example, this property might
be used for check printing for which a MICR font is used to generate the account and
routing numbers on the checks.
See XML Publisher Properties, page 10-4 for the full list of properties.

Setting Properties
The properties can be set in two ways:
• At runtime, specify the property as a Java Property object to pass to the FO Processor.

11-52 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 • Set the property in a configuration file.
• Set the property in the template (RTF templates only). See Setting Properties, page
6-83 in the RTF template for this method.

Passing Properties to the FO Engine

To pass a property as a Property object, set the name/value pair for the property prior to
calling the FO Processor, as shown in the following example:
Input:
• XML file name (String)
• XSL file name (String)
Output:
• PDF file name (String)
Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FOProcessor;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{

FOProcessor processor = new FOProcessor();

processor.setData(args[0]); // set XML input file
processor.setTemplate(args[1]); // set XSL input file
processor.setOutput(args[2]); //set (PDF) output file
processor.setOutputFormat(FOProcessor.FORMAT_PDF);
Properties prop = new Properties();
/* PDF Security control: */
prop.put("pdf-security", "true");
/* Permissions password: */
prop.put("pdf-permissions-password", "abc");
/* Encryption level: */
prop.put("pdf-encription-level", "0");
processor.setConfig(prop);
// Start processing
try
{
processor.generate();
}
catch (XDOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}

System.exit(0);
}

Passing a Conguration File to the FO Processor

The following code shows an example of passing the location of a configuration file.
Input:

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-53

 • XML file name (String)
• XSL file name (String)
Output:
• PDF file name (String)
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.FOProcessor;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{
FOProcessor processor = new FOProcessor();
processor.setData(args[0]); // set XML input file
processor.setTemplate(args[1]); // set XSL input file
processor.setOutput(args[2]); //set (PDF) output file
processor.setOutputFormat(FOProcessor.FORMAT_PDF);
processor.setConfig(“/tmp/xmlpconfig.xml”);
// Start processing
try
{
processor.generate();
} catch (XDOException e)
{ e.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}
System.exit(0);
}

Passing Properties to the Document Processor

Input:
• Data file name (String)
• Directory for Temporary Files (String)
Output:
• PDF FIle

11-54 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 Example
import oracle.apps.xdo.batch.DocumentProcessor;
.
.
.
public static void main(String[] args)
{
.
.
.
try
{
// dataFile --- File path of the Document Processor XML
// tempDir --- Temporary Directory path
DocumentProcessor docProcessor = new DocumentProcessor(data
File, tempDir);
Properties prop = new Properties();
/* PDF Security control: */
prop.put("pdf-security", "true");
/* Permissions password: */
prop.put("pdf-permissions-password", "abc");
/* encryption level: */
prop.put("pdf-encription-level", "0");
processor.setConfig(prop);
docProcessor.process();
}
catch(Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
System.exit(1);
}
System.exit(0);
}

Advanced Barcode Font Formatting Implementation

For the advanced formatting to work in the template, you must provide a Java class with
the appropriate methods to format the data at runtime. Many font vendors offer the
code with their fonts to carry out the formatting; these must be incorporated as methods
into a class that is available to the XML Publisher formatting libraries at runtime. There
are some specific interfaces that you must provide in the class for the library to call
the correct method for encoding.
Note: See Advanced Barcode Formatting, page 6-105 for the setup
required in the RTF template.

You must implement the following three methods in this class:

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-55

 /**
* Return a unique ID for this bacode encoder
* @return the id as a string
*/
public String getVendorID();

/**
* Return true if this encoder support a specific type of barcode
* @param type the type of the barcode
* @return true if supported
*/
public boolean isSupported(String type);

/**
* Encode a barcode string by given a specific type
* @param data the original data for the barcode
* @param type the type of the barcode
* @return the formatted data
*/
public String encode(String data, String type);

Place this class in the classpath for the middle tier JVM in which XML Publisher is
running.
Note: For E-Business Suite users, the class must be placed in the
classpath for the middle tier and any concurrent nodes that are present.

If in the register-barcode-vendor command the barcode_vendor_id is not

provided, XML Publisher will call the getVendorID() and use the result of the method
as the ID for the vendor.
The following is an example class that supports the code128 a, b and c encodings:
Important: The following code sample can be copied and pasted for use
in your system. Note that due to publishing constraints you will need
to correct line breaks and ensure that you delete quotes that display as
"smart quotes" and replace them with simple quotes.

11-56 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Example
package oracle.apps.xdo.template.rtf.util.barcoder;

import java.util.Hashtable;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;
import oracle.apps.xdo.template.rtf.util.XDOBarcodeEncoder;
import oracle.apps.xdo.common.log.Logger;
// This class name will be used in the register vendor
// field in the template.

public class BarcodeUtil implements XDOBarcodeEncoder

// The class implements the XDOBarcodeEncoder interface
{
// This is the barcode vendor id that is used in the
// register vendor field and format-barcode fields
public static final String BARCODE_VENDOR_ID = "XMLPBarVendor";
// The hashtable is used to store references to
// the encoding methods
public static final Hashtable ENCODERS = new Hashtable(10);
// The BarcodeUtil class needs to be instantiated
public static final BarcodeUtil mUtility = new BarcodeUtil();
// This is the main code that is executed in the class,
// it is loading the methods for the encoding into the hashtable.
// In this case we are loading the three code128 encoding
// methods we have created.
static {
try {
Class[] clazz = new Class[] { "".getClass() };

ENCODERS.put("code128a",mUtility.getClass().getMethod("code1
28a", clazz));
ENCODERS.put("code128b",mUtility.getClass().getMethod("code1
28b", clazz));
ENCODERS.put("code128c",mUtility.getClass().getMethod("code1
28c", clazz));
} catch (Exception e) {
// This is using the XML Publisher logging class to push
// errors to the XMLP log file.
Logger.log(e,5);
}
}
// The getVendorID method is called from the template layer
// at runtime to ensure the correct encoding method are used
public final String getVendorID()
{
return BARCODE_VENDOR_ID;
}
//The isSupported method is called to ensure that the
// encoding method called from the template is actually
// present in this class.
// If not then XMLP will report this in the log.
public final boolean isSupported(String s)
{
if(s != null)
return ENCODERS.containsKey(s.trim().toLowerCase());
else
return false;

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-57

 }

// The encode method is called to then call the appropriate

// encoding method, in this example the code128a/b/c methods.

public final String encode(String s, String s1)

{
if(s != null && s1 != null)
{
try
{
Method method = (Method)ENCODERS.get(s1.trim().toL
owerCase());
if(method != null)
return (String)method.invoke(this, new Object[
] {
s
});
else
return s;
}
catch(Exception exception)
{
Logger.log(exception,5);
}
return s;
} else
{
return s;
}
}

/** This is the complete method for Code128a */

public static final String code128a( String DataToEncode )

{
char C128_Start = (char)203;
char C128_Stop = (char)206;
String Printable_string = "";
char CurrentChar;
int CurrentValue=0;
int weightedTotal=0;
int CheckDigitValue=0;
char C128_CheckDigit=’w’;

DataToEncode = DataToEncode.trim();
weightedTotal = ((int)C128_Start) - 100;
for( int i = 1; i <= DataToEncode.length(); i++ )
{
//get the value of each character
CurrentChar = DataToEncode.charAt(i-1);
if( ((int)CurrentChar) < 135 )
CurrentValue = ((int)CurrentChar) - 32;
if( ((int)CurrentChar) > 134 )
CurrentValue = ((int)CurrentChar) - 100;

CurrentValue = CurrentValue * i;
weightedTotal = weightedTotal + CurrentValue;

11-58 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 }
//divide the WeightedTotal by 103 and get the remainder,
//this is the CheckDigitValue
CheckDigitValue = weightedTotal % 103;
if( (CheckDigitValue < 95) && (CheckDigitValue > 0) )
C128_CheckDigit = (char)(CheckDigitValue + 32);
if( CheckDigitValue > 94 )
C128_CheckDigit = (char)(CheckDigitValue + 100);
if( CheckDigitValue == 0 ){
C128_CheckDigit = (char)194;
}

Printable_string = C128_Start + DataToEncode + C128_CheckDigit

+ C128_Stop + " ";
return Printable_string;
}
/** This is the complete method for Code128b ***/

public static final String code128b( String DataToEncode )

{
char C128_Start = (char)204;
char C128_Stop = (char)206;
String Printable_string = "";
char CurrentChar;
int CurrentValue=0;
int weightedTotal=0;
int CheckDigitValue=0;
char C128_CheckDigit=’w’;

DataToEncode = DataToEncode.trim();
weightedTotal = ((int)C128_Start) - 100;
for( int i = 1; i <= DataToEncode.length(); i++ )
{
//get the value of each character
CurrentChar = DataToEncode.charAt(i-1);
if( ((int)CurrentChar) < 135 )
CurrentValue = ((int)CurrentChar) - 32;
if( ((int)CurrentChar) > 134 )
CurrentValue = ((int)CurrentChar) - 100;

CurrentValue = CurrentValue * i;
weightedTotal = weightedTotal + CurrentValue;
}
//divide the WeightedTotal by 103 and get the remainder,
//this is the CheckDigitValue
CheckDigitValue = weightedTotal % 103;
if( (CheckDigitValue < 95) && (CheckDigitValue > 0) )
C128_CheckDigit = (char)(CheckDigitValue + 32);
if( CheckDigitValue > 94 )
C128_CheckDigit = (char)(CheckDigitValue + 100);
if( CheckDigitValue == 0 ){
C128_CheckDigit = (char)194;
}

Printable_string = C128_Start + DataToEncode + C128_CheckDigit

+ C128_Stop + " ";
return Printable_string;

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-59

 }

/** This is the complete method for Code128c **/

public static final String code128c( String s )

{
char C128_Start = (char)205;
char C128_Stop = (char)206;
String Printable_string = "";
String DataToPrint = "";
String OnlyCorrectData = "";
int i=1;
int CurrentChar=0;
int CurrentValue=0;
int weightedTotal=0;
int CheckDigitValue=0;
char C128_CheckDigit=’w’;
DataToPrint = "";
s = s.trim();
for(i = 1; i <= s.length(); i++ )
{
//Add only numbers to OnlyCorrectData string
CurrentChar = (int)s.charAt(i-1);
if((CurrentChar < 58) && (CurrentChar > 47))
{
OnlyCorrectData = OnlyCorrectData + (char)s.charAt(i-1);
}
}
s = OnlyCorrectData;
//Check for an even number of digits, add 0 if not even
if( (s.length() % 2) == 1 )
{
s = "0" + s;
}
//<<<< Calculate Modulo 103 Check Digit and generate
// DataToPrint >>>>
//Set WeightedTotal to the Code 128 value of
// the start character
weightedTotal = ((int)C128_Start) - 100;
int WeightValue = 1;
for( i = 1; i <= s.length(); i += 2 )
{
//Get the value of each number pair (ex: 5 and 6 = 5*10+6 =56)
//And assign the ASCII values to DataToPrint
CurrentChar = ((((int)s.charAt(i-1))-48)*10) + (((int)s.charAt(i)
)-48);
if((CurrentChar < 95) && (CurrentChar > 0))
DataToPrint = DataToPrint + (char)(CurrentChar + 32);
if( CurrentChar > 94 )
DataToPrint = DataToPrint + (char)(CurrentChar + 100);
if( CurrentChar == 0)
DataToPrint = DataToPrint + (char)194;
//multiply by the weighting character
//add the values together to get the weighted total
weightedTotal = weightedTotal + (CurrentChar * WeightValue);
WeightValue = WeightValue + 1;
}

11-60 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 //divide the WeightedTotal by 103 and get the remainder,
//this is the CheckDigitValue
CheckDigitValue = weightedTotal % 103;
if((CheckDigitValue < 95) && (CheckDigitValue > 0))
C128_CheckDigit = (char)(CheckDigitValue + 32);
if( CheckDigitValue > 94 )
C128_CheckDigit = (char)(CheckDigitValue + 100);
if( CheckDigitValue == 0 ){
C128_CheckDigit = (char)194;
}
Printable_string = C128_Start + DataToPrint + C128_CheckDigit
+ C128_Stop + " ";
Logger.log(Printable_string,5);
return Printable_string;
}
}

Once you create the class and place it in the correct classpath, your template creators
can start using it to format the data for barcodes. You must give them the following
information to include in the template commands:
• The class name and path.
In this example:
oracle.apps.xdo.template.rtf.util.barcoder.BarcodeUtil
• The barcode vendor ID you created.
In this example: XMLPBarVendor
• The available encoding methods.
In this example, code128a, code128b and code128c They can then use this
information to sucessfully encode their data for barcode output.
They can then use this information to successfully encode their data for barcode output.

Using the XML Publisher APIs 11-61

 A
Supported XSL-FO Elements

Supported XSL-FO Elements

The following table lists the XSL-FO elements supported in this release of XML
Publisher. 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

bidi-override bidi-override inline-properties

external-graphic
instream-foreign-object
inline
leader
page-number
page-number-citation
basic-link

Supported XSL-FO Elements A-1

 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

A-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Element Supported Content Elements Supported Attributes

conditional-page-master- N/A master-reference

reference
page-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

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

Supported XSL-FO Elements A-3

 Element Supported Content Elements Supported Attributes

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-properties

block-container
table
list-block
wrapper

page-number N/A empty-inline-properties

page-number-citation N/A empty-inline-properties

ref-id

page-sequence static-content inheritable-properties

flow id
master-reference
initial-page-number
force-page-count
• auto

• end-on-even

• end-on-odd

• end-on-even-layout

• end-on-odd-layout

• no-force

• inherit
format

A-4 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Element Supported Content Elements Supported Attributes

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- maximum-repeats

alternatives reference

repeatable-page-master- N/A master-reference maximum-

reference repeats

root bookmark-tree inheritable-properties

layout-master-set
page-sequence

simple-page-master region-body margin-properties-CSS

region-before master-name
region-after page-height
region-start page-width
region-end 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

Supported XSL-FO Elements A-5

 Element Supported Content Elements Supported Attributes

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

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

The following table lists the supported properties belonging to the attribute groups
defined in the preceding table.
Property Group Properties

area-properties overflow (visible, hidden)

writing-mode (lr-tb, rl-tb, lr, rl)
baseline-shift (baseline, sub, super)
vertical-align

block-properties inheritable-properties
id

A-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Property Group Properties

border-padding-background-properties background-color
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
Supported XSL-FO Elements A-7
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

inline-properties inheritable-properties
id

keeps-and-breaks-properties-atomic break-after (auto, column, page)

break-before (auto,column)

keeps-and-breaks-properties-block keeps-and-breaks-properties-inline

A-8 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Property Group Properties

keeps-and-breaks-properties-inline keeps-and-breaks-properties-atomic
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

margin-properties-inline margin-properties-block
space-start
space-start.optimum
space-end
space-end.optimum

Supported XSL-FO Elements A-9

Property Group Properties

region-properties border-padding-background-properties
area-properties
region-name

side-region-properties region-properties
extent

A-10 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 B
Print Server Setup

This appendix covers the following topics:

• Setting Up CUPS
• Windows XP Setup

Setting Up CUPS
The delivery manager requires CUPS to print and fax documents. This section describes
how to set up CUPS for printing and faxing on RedHat Linux.
The following diagram shows the integration between XML Publisher and CUPS:

The following procedures describe how to add a printer or fax to CUPS and how to
test your setup. For more information, see the CUPS Software Administrators Manual
(http://www.cups.org/doc-1.1/sam.html) and the Redhat Advanced Server online help.

Prerequisites
• RedHat Advanced Server 3.0
• Fax Modem connected to the Linux box
• Development Tools for the RedHat Advanced Server installed

Print Server Setup B-1

 • CUPS (Installed by default when installing RedHat AS 3.0)

Setting Up a Printer on CUPS

The RedHat Advanced Server provides a configuration wizard to help you set up your
printers. The RedHat process is summarized below:

Using the RedHat Printer Conguration Wizard:

1. Run "redhat-config-printer"
While logged on as the root user, open a terminal and execute "redhat-config-
printer". This invokes the Printer configuration window.
2. Select the New tab to launch the Add a new print queue wizard.
3. Follow the wizard prompts to:
• Enter a queue name.
• Select the queue type.
Select "Networked_JetDirect" to set up a network printer. For this selection, you
must also enter the following:
• Printer - enter a hostname or IP address.
• Port - enter a port.
If the printer driver is installed in Microsoft Windows, the Printer and Port
information is available from the Properties dialog for the printer (Settings >
Printers and Faxes > (select printer) > File > Properties).
• Select the printer model.
If your printer supports PostScript, select the following:
• Manufacturer: "Generic"
• Model: "PostScript Printer"
• Review your selections and select "Apply" to create your new print queue.
4. Your new queue now displays in the Printer configuration window.

Test Your Printer on CUPS:

1. Launch a browser on RedHat and enter the following URL:
http://localhost:631
2. Select the Printers tab. The printer you just created will be listed.
To use your Windows browser to access this page, see Making CUPS Accessible
from Other Machines, page B-4.
3. Select Print Test Page to test your printer setup. If the test page does not print, repeat
the configuration steps. Ensure that your printer type and model selections are
correct.

Installing and Setting Up Fax for CUPS

This section describes how to install efax-0.9 software and configure it for CUPS.

B-2 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

Install the Fax Software:
1. Download efax-0.9 from one of the following locations:
• http://www.cce.com/efax/download/
• ftp://ftp.metalab.unc.edu/pub/Linux/apps/serialcomm/fax/efax-0.9.tar.gz
2. Extract the files to a working directory using the following commands:
• gunzip efax-0.9.tar.gz
• tar xvf efax-0.9.tar
3. Compile and install using the following commands (refer to the Readme for more
information):
• make
• make install
Note: You must have make and gcc installed in your RedHat AS.

4. Test the fax.

Enter the following command:
fax send <fax_number><tiff file>
For example:
fax send 1234567 test.tiff
The fax is successful if you get the return code:
done, returning 0 (success)
5. Download fax4CUPs. It is available from the following site:
• http://www.gnu.org/directory/productivity/special/fax4CUPS.html
6. Install fax4CUPS as follows:
• Extract the tar file to a temporary directory
• Change the directory: cd fax4CUPS-1.23
• Open the INSTALL file and follow all steps.
7. Restart CUPS using the following command:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/cups restart

Setting Up a Fax on CUPS:

1. Launch a browser and go to the following URL: http://localhost:631/admin
2. Enter the admin username and password in the dialog that launches.
3. From the Admin page, select Add Printer.
4. Add a Fax queue as follows:
In the Add New Printer region, enter the following fields:
• Name - enter a meaningful name for the, such as "efaxserver". This will be
referred to as "ipp://serverName:631/printers/efaxserver".

Print Server Setup B-3

 • Location - optional.
• Description - optional.
5. Select a device for the fax queue.
Select "Faxmodem (efax on /dev/modem)". In some cases, "/dev/ttySxx" will be
shown instead.
6. Select a model for the fax queue.
Select "efax". You can also select either "HylaFAX" or "mgetty-fax" if these have
been installed.
7. Select the driver for the fax queue.
Select "efax (en)".
8. Verify that the new fax queue appears on the CUPS Admin Web page.
9. Text the fax on CUPS.
Enter the following command to test the fax:
/usr/bin/lp -d <printer name> -t <phone#> test.pdf

Example:
/usr/bin/lp -d efax1 -t 5556231 myfax.pdf

Making CUPS Accessible from Other Machines

By default, CUPS does not allow access from other network machines. However, it can
be configured to allow access, as follows:
1. Open a CUPS configuration file using the following command:
Open /etc/cups/cupsd.conf

2. Add a "Listen" instruction.

• Scroll to the bottom of the configuration file where the other Listen instructions
are declared.
• Copy "Listen 127.0.0.1:631" and paste it above or below the original.
• Replace "127.0.0.1" with the Linux server’s IP address.
3. Configure each printer.
• In the configuration file, locate:
<Location /printers/your_printer_queue>
• Comment the instruction "Deny From All".
Example:
# Deny From All
• Change "Allow from 127.0.0.1" to "Allow from All"
• Repeat for all printer or fax queues that you wan to make accessible.
4. Save the configuration file and restart CUPS.
• Use the following command to stop CUPS:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/cups stop

B-4 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 • Use the following command to start CUPS:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/cups start
5. Test the accessibility from other machines.
Launch a browser from another machine and enter one of the following URLs to
ensure that the CUPS web page can be accessed:
• http://linux_server_name:631
• http://linux_ip_address:631

Windows XP Setup
This section describes how to set up Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) on a Windows
XP server.

Prerequisite:
Microsoft Windows XP

Setting Up IPP Printers on Windows XP Professional

1. Install Internet Information Services (IIS).
• Open the Control Panel. Select Add or Remove Programs, then Add/Remove
Windows Components.
• Select the check box for Internet Information Services (IIS) from the list of
available Windows Components (shown in the following figure).

Print Server Setup B-5

 • With IIS highlighted, select Details. Ensure that World Wide Web Service is
selected (shown in the following figure).

• With World Wide Web Service highlighted, select Details. Ensure that Printers
virtual directory is selected (shown in the following figure).

2. Restart Windows XP.

B-6 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

3. Share the printers.
• From the Start menu, select Settings, then Printers and Faxes.
• Right-click the printer icon and select Sharing.
• In the printer Properties dialog, select Share this printer and assign a Share
name (for example: myprinter1). An example is shown in the following figure.

4. Configure the Windows Firewall to open a port to your XMLP Server:

• From the Start menu, select Settings, then Control Panel.
• From the Control Panel, select Windows Firewall.
• From the Windows Firewall dialog, select the Exceptions tab.
• Create an entry in the list of Programs and Services as follows:
1. Select Add Port.
2. Enter the Name: for example, Web
Enter the Port number: for example, 80
Select TCP.
An example is shown in the following figure:

Print Server Setup B-7

 • To allow access from a specific IP address only:
1. Select your entry, then select Edit.
2. From the Edit a Program dialog, select Change Scope.
3. Choose Custom list, and enter the IP address of the XMLP Server.
Note that if you use the HTTP proxy server in XML Publisher Server, you
must enter the IP address of the proxy server.
An example is shown in the following figure.

5. Change the virtual directory security setting.

• From the Control Panel, select Administrative Tools, then Internet Information
Service.

B-8 Oracle XML Publisher Enterprise User’s Guide

 • Navigate the Internet Information Service directory hierarchy as follows: Internet
Information Services > [your server name] > Web Sites > Default Web Site >
Printers. Right-click Printers and choose Properties.
• From the Printers Properties dialog, select the Directory Security tab.
• In the Anonymous access and authentication control region, select Edit.
• In the Authentication Methods dialog, select the Anonymous access check
box. An example is shown in the following figure.

6. Open a browser in a remote machine and enter the following URL: http://<your
server name>/printers
You will see the list of shared printers.

Print Server Setup B-9

 Index

A configuration file
administration interface, 5-1 <properties> element, 10-3
alignment <root> element, 10-2
RTF template, 6-39 structure, 10-2
Analyzer for Excel, 2-11 xmlp-server-config.xml, 5-13
context command, 6-110
copy report, 3-14
B cross-tab reports, 6-87
background support CUPS setup, B-1
RTF templates, 6-43
barcode formatting, 6-105
D
APIs, 11-55
bidirectional language alignment data engine
RTF template, 6-39 api, 9-20
body tags data sources
PDF template, 8-7 adding, 5-1
RTF template, 6-13 data template
bookmarks calling, 9-20
generating PDF bookmarks from an RTF constructing, 9-4
template, 6-53 data template definition, 9-1
inserting in RTF templates, 6-50 date fields in RTF templates, 6-42
brought forward/carried forward page totals, 6-69 delete report, 3-15
bursting engine, 11-42 display
setting language, 1-2
download report, 3-15
C drawing support, 6-27
calculations in PDF template, 8-12 drop-down form field support
calendar profile option, 6-103 RTF templates, 6-55
calendar specification, 6-103 dynamic data columns, 6-90
cell highlighting example, 6-91
conditional in RTF templates, 6-64 dynamic table of contents in RTF template, 6-53
charts
building in RTF templates, 6-16 E
check box placeholder
creating in PDF template, 8-5 end on even page, 6-49
check box support even page
RTF templates, 6-53 force report to end on, 6-49
choose statements, 6-59 Excel Analyzer, 2-11
clip art support, 6-27 prerequisites, 2-11
columns
fixed width in tables, 6-40 F
conditional columns
fixed-width columns
rtf template, 6-61
RTF templates, 6-40
conditional formatting, 6-57
FO
table rows, 6-63
supported elements, A-1
conditional formatting features, 6-57

Index-1
FO elements L
using in RTF templates, 6-114, 7-5 language
font definitions setting display language, 1-2
configuration file, 10-12 setting report preference, 1-2
font fallback mechanism, 10-15 last page
fonts support for special content, 6-47
external, 6-104 ldap
setting up, 6-104 integration, 5-5
footers locale
RTF template, 6-13 setting report preference, 1-2
for-each-group XSL 2.0 standard, 6-74 locales
form field method configuration file, 10-14
inserting placeholders, 6-7
form field properties options in PDF template, 8-4
form fields in the PDF template, 8-3 M
formatting options in PDF templates, 8-4 markup
adding to the PDF template, 8-3
adding to the RTF template, 6-6
G merging PDF files, 11-27
Generate XLIFF button, 4-6 multicolumn page support, 6-42
groups multiple headers and footers
basic RTF method, 6-10 RTF template, 6-13
defining in PDF template, 8-6
defining in RTF template, 6-9
syntax, 6-10 N
defining in RTF templates, 6-5 Namespace support in RTF template, 6-109
form field method, 6-11 naming standards
grouping scenarios in RTF template, 6-10 translated files, 4-5
in RTF templates, 6-4 native page breaks and page numbering, 6-38
nulls
how to test for in XML data, 6-73
H
headers and footers
different first page , 6-14 O
different odd and even pages, 6-14 Out of memory error
inserting placeholders, 6-13 avoiding, 10-4
multiple, 6-13 overflow data in PDF templates, 8-15
resetting within one output file, 6-85
RTF template, 6-13
hidden text P
support in RTF templates, 6-39 page breaks
horizontal table break, 6-90 PDF templates, 8-8
hyperlinks RTF template, 6-38, 6-45
bookmarks, 6-50 page breaks and page numbering
dynamic, 6-50 native support, 6-38
inserting in RTF template, 6-50 page number
internal, 6-50 setting initial
static, 6-50 RTF templates, 6-46
page numbers
PDF templates, 8-8
I restarting within one output file, 6-85
IF statements RTF template, 6-38
in free-form text, 6-58 page totals
if statements, 6-57, 6-57 brought forward/carried forward, 6-69
if-then-else statements, 6-59 inserting in RTF template, 6-66
images password
including in RTF template, 6-14 changing, 1-2
PDF files

Index-2
 merging, 11-27 rename report, 3-14
PDF template repeating elements
adding markup, 8-3 See groups
placeholders report actions
types of, 8-4 copy, 3-14
PDF templates delete report, 3-15
completed example, 8-13 download, 3-15
creating from downloaded file, 8-15 rename, 3-14
defining groups, 8-6 report actions icon, 3-13
definition of, 8-1 report file, 4-6
overflow data, 8-15 Rich Text Format (RTF)
page breaks, 8-8 definition, 6-1
page numbering, 8-8 row breaking
placeholders preventing in RTF templates, 6-40
check box, 8-5 row formatting
radio button group, 8-6 conditional, 6-63
text, 8-4 RTF placeholders
placement of repeating fields at runtime, 8-14 syntax, 6-6
runtime behaviors, 8-14 RTF template
sample purchase order template, 8-2 adding markup, 6-6
saving as Adobe Acrobat 5.0 compatible, 8-1 applying design elements, 6-5
sources for document templates, 8-1 definition, 6-1
supported modes, 8-1 designing, 6-2
when to use, 8-1 groups, 6-4
placeholders including images, 6-14
basic RTF method, 6-6, 6-6 native formatting features, 6-38
form field RTF method, 6-6, 6-7 placeholders, 6-4
in PDF templates, 8-3 prerequisites, 6-2
in RTF templates, 6-4 sample template design, 6-2
defining, 6-5, 6-6 supported modes, 6-1
inserting in the header and footer of RTF basic method, 6-1
template, 6-13 form field method, 6-1
PDF templates using XSL or XSL:FO, 6-1
check box, 8-5 RTF template design
radio button group, 8-6 headers and footers, 6-13
text, 8-4 RTF template placeholders, 6-6
types of, 8-4 running totals
predefined fonts, 10-15 RTF templates, 6-72
preferences
setting, 1-2
setting display language, 1-2 S
setting passwords, 1-2 sample RTF template
setting report locale, 1-2 completed markup, 6-9
SVG settings, 1-2 section context command, 6-85
printers security
setup model, 5-2
Unix/Linux, B-1 setRowsetTag method, 9-23
Windows XP, B-5 setRowsTag method, 9-23
properties setSQL method, 9-23
setting at template level, 6-83 setting the initial page number
properties element RTF templates, 6-46
configuration file, 10-3 shape support, 6-27
single sign-on
setting up, 5-18
R sorting
radio button group RTF template, 6-73
creating in PDF templates, 8-6 SQL functions
regrouping, 6-74 using in RTF templates, 6-106

Index-3
 XML Publisher syntax for, 7-1 U
SQL functions extended for XML Publisher, 7-1 updateable variables
svg RTF templates, 6-81
enabling and disabling for HTML, 1-2
syntax
RTF template placeholder, 6-6 V
variables
T RTF templates, 6-81
table borders
configure overlapping borders, 10-9 W
table features watermarks
fixed-width columns, 6-40 RTF templates, 6-43
preventing rows breaking across pages
RTF template, 6-40
text truncation, 6-41 X
table features XLIFF files
repeating table headers naming, 4-5
RTF template, 6-39 report file, 4-6
RTF template, 6-39 uploading, 4-5
table of contents support XML data file
RTF template, 6-53 example, 6-3
dynamic TOC, 6-53 XML file
tables how to read, 6-4
horizontal table break, 6-90 XPath Support in RTF Templates, 6-106
Template Builder, 6-2 XSL elements
text placeholder apply a template rule, 6-112
creating in PDF template, 8-4 call template, 6-113
text truncation in tables, 6-41 copy the current node, 6-112
totals define the root element of the stylesheet, 6-113
brought forward/carried forward, 6-69 import stylesheet, 6-113
inserting page totals in RTF template, 6-66 template declaration, 6-113
running using in RTF templates, 6-112
RTF templates, 6-72 variable declaration, 6-113
translating, 4-6 XML Publisher syntax for , 7-4
translations, 4-6 XSL:FO elements
naming standards, 4-5 using in RTF templates, 6-106

Index-4
Index-5