1. Developing with Oracle WebCenter Content
  2. Customizing Records
  3. Creating Custom Reports

23 Creating Custom Reports

This chapter describes how to create custom reports for Oracle WebCenter Content: Records. to tailor data presentation for your site.

This chapter includes the following sections:

23.1 About Creating Custom Reports

Note:

The Rma.Admin.Customization right is required to perform this task. This right is not assigned by default to any of the predefined roles, which means you must assign it to a role before this functionality is exposed. To create custom reports with a report source type of Query, a user must also have the Rma.Admin.NoSecurity right.

To create a custom report for your site, data is gathered for the report, a report template is chosen, the data is populated, and the report is generated. The data is gathered in XML format then formatted for use using a template. This process allows you to keep the data separate from the presentation of the data.

Several default reports and templates are provided when you install the Records system. New reports can be created by using the current reports as a base then editing them, or entirely new reports can be designed.

When creating custom reports, content on Oracle WebCenter Content Server Adapter systems is not included in the report even if the content is managed by the Records system. To generate reports concerning Adapter content, run the reports on the Content Server Adapter system.

This section describes how to create customized reports using Oracle WebCenter Content services and queries. To create reports about users and content using the default reports provided with the software, see Using Default Reports in Oracle Fusion Middleware Managing Oracle WebCenter Content.

To create new templates, the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (BI Publisher) functionality must be purchased and installed. This documentation describes how to use the default templates provided with the system. For details about creating new templates or editing the default templates, see the BI Publisher documentation.

Note:

Before using custom reports, verify that the report library has been configured correctly. For more information, see Oracle Fusion Middleware Installing and Configuring Oracle WebCenter Content.

After creating a new template, it can be added to the list of available templates for others to use. Templates as well as the report (that is, a report with data included) can be checked in as content. These are separate check-ins, thus keeping data separate from the report format.

A similar interface is used to create the different elements of a report (report type, template, report sources).

Choose Browse Content then Custom Physical Reports or Custom Record Reports to access reports that have been created.

Note that user permissions are needed to access the data for a report as well as permissions to the report itself. Therefore, if two different people run a report, they might see different results depending on their rights.

23.1.1 Creating Custom Reports using Default Templates

To create a custom report using default templates and sources:

  1. Choose Records then Configure from the top menu. Choose Reports to create a report for content items. Choose Physical then Configure then Reports to create reports for physical items.

    Click Create New Report and choose a report option:

    • Create New Report: Used to start the process of creating a new report. This option opens a check-in page, used to save the report name and save other detailed report information.

    • Report Sources: Opens the Configure Report Sources page, used to choose the criteria to gather data for the report.

    • Templates: Opens a search results page listing templates for reports.

    • Download BI XML Data: Opens a dialog where a user can choose to open the XML data used for the reports or save the data.

  2. On the Configure Report Element page, choose the type of report to create and click Configure.
  3. On the Report Check-in page, enter content information for the report as required at your site. Also enter the following report-specific information for the report:

    • Report Template

      Choose a template from the list or click Add New to create a new template. For details about creating a new template, Creating Custom Templates.

    • Report Format

      Choose a format from the list, which includes these choices:

      • System

      • User

      • HTML

      • PDF

      • RTF

      • XLS

      If you are creating a bar code report, use PDF as your format type.

    • Report Source Type

      Choose the type of source to use to gather the data for the report, from these options:

      • Service

        Use Oracle WebCenter Content services to build the report data.

      • Query

        Use Oracle WebCenter Content queries to gather data.

      • Dynamic Query

        Use a dynamic query to gather data.

      If you choose Service or Query, the correct service or query must be used to work with the template. A dynamic query will gather the appropriate data for use.

    • Report Source

      Choose a previously configured report source for the data, or click Add New to create a new source using the Configure Report Sources page. For details, see Creating or Editing New Report Sources.

23.2 Creating Custom Templates

Templates are files that can be checked in and checked out of the system. They are treated as content items. For details about creating a new template without using an existing template as a guide, see the BI Publisher documentation.

To edit or create a new custom template:

  1. Choose Records then Configure from the top menu. Choose Reports to create a template for content items. Choose Physical then Configure then Reports to create reports for physical items.

    Click Templates.

  2. On the Configure Report Element page, choose the type of template to create. Click Configure.
  3. The following options are available on the Report Templates page:

    • To create a new template based on an existing template, click Get Native File from the Actions menu of the template to be used. You can then save the file, edit the file as needed, and check it in as a new template.

    • To check out and edit an existing template, click Check Out from the Actions menu of the template to be used. Save the file, edit it, then check it back in to the system.

    • If a template exists and you would like to check it in using similar metadata as another template, click Check In Similar from the Actions menu of the template with metadata to be copied.

The Table menu on this page is used to perform actions for all template files or for selected files. The options shown depend on the configuration of the system and the permissions of the user accessing the page.

  • Select: Allows the selection of all items or the deselection of items.

  • Actions: Used to add items to a Content Basket or to a folio.

  • Edit: Used to freeze or unfreeze selected items.

  • Set Dates: Used to mark dates associated with items such as review dates, rescind dates, and other action dates.

  • Create Reports: Used to create a report using a specified template.

  • Delete Metadata History: Used to clear the metadata history changes.

  • Change view: Used to change the way search results are displayed.

  • Search actions: Used to save the search under a search name.

Additional options on this page are used to freeze or unfreeze template files, add files to a folio or Content Basket for later use, set dates for processing files, or create reports from a template.

23.3 Creating Templates with Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

You can use Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher to create custom report templates. For more information, see the Creating custom report templates with BI Publisher blog.

23.4 Creating or Editing New Report Sources

Note:

Creating custom report sources requires in-depth technical knowledge of services and queries. Contact Consulting Services for further assistance if needed.

To edit report sources:

  1. Choose Records then Configure from the top menu. Choose Reports to edit sources for a report for content items. Choose Physical then Configure then Reports to edit sources for reports for physical items.

  2. Click Report Sources.

    The Configure Report Element page opens.

  3. Choose the report whose sources will be altered, then click Configure.

  4. On the Configure Report Sources page, highlight a query or a service on the left side of the page. Click the right arrow to move the query or service to the right column for use.

    To remove a query or service from use, highlight the name and click the left arrow to move the item to the left column.

  5. Click Update when done. The report sources for that particular type of report are altered and are used the next time the report is run.

Follow this procedure to create a new report source:

  1. Use the previously described procedure to create a new report.
  2. Click Add New in the Report Source section of the Report Check-in page.
  3. A dialog opens. Follow the previously described procedure to add queries and services for the new source.
  4. Click OK when done. The report source is added and is available for use with the new report.

23.5 Downloading a BI XML Data File

The provided XML data files can be used in conjunction with BI Publisher to customize report templates Using the XML data file, you can import data into a Word document and then edit the template to create a specialized report.

To select an XML data file:

  1. Choose Records or Physical then Configure from the top menu. Choose Reports then Download BI XML Data.
  2. On the Configure Report Element page, choose the type of XML data file to download. Click Download.
  3. You can open the data file to examine the contents in a browser window or you can save the file for later use.
  4. Click OK when done.