Note: The graphics in Learning Oracle Report Builder 3.0 are in grayscale, not color.

Chapter 15: Publishing the Output

The World Wide Web (called the Web) on the Internet is an established vehicle for publishing data. Sometimes the data are private, available only to company employees or members of an organization or subscribers to a site. Sometimes they are public, available to anyone with a web browser. In either case, there are obvious advantages to outputting data to a format that can be viewed on the Web.

First and foremost, many reports need to be generated once a day. In the computer based model of data propagation, each user who needs to see the report output would probably run the report each time he wanted to view the data. This puts a strain on resources. It would be better if the report output could be generated once and read many times. The stk_brk and port_md reports are good examples of that. They would be run once a day after the markets close, and be available to users without needing to regenerate the data. The output would be copied to the server in HTML (HyperText Markup Language, one of the programming languages used for creating Web pages) format, and the copy of the data could be read by anyone with access. A menu selection, for instance, would open the report in the appropriate software tool, such as a web browser.

Another method of publishing reports is through Adobe Acrobat Reader in PDF file format. These files have become a standard for publishing text documents. The PDF file would be generated, copied to the server, and read by anyone with access through Adobe Acrobat Reader.

You'll use the Web Wizard to generate web-readable output. (You'll need Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer or some other browser for the HTML files, and Adobe Acrobat Reader for the PDF files.)

The Web Wizard: HTML File Output

1. Open the port_md report.

2. Run the report.

3. Click on the Web Wizard icon on the top toolbar.

The Web Wizard opens.

4. Click on Next.

The bookmark screen displays. You can use columns of the report as an index to navigate through the report in the browser or Acrobat Reader.

5. Move the column Name from the Available Columns pane to the Bookmarks pane.

6. Click on Next.

This screen lets you add headers or footers to the output (like a letterhead) by including the relevant HTML files.

7. Click on Next.

You can choose the type of output here: HTML or PDF.

8. Click on Generate HTML output now.

9. Click on Generate output to a web browser.

10. Click on Finish.

The Save dialog box opens.

11. Make sure the file name is port_md.htm.

12. Click on Save.

The browser (whichever one is the default for your system) opens with the report output displayed. The left hand frame lists the names of the customers. The Before Report trigger has executed, once for each customer, filling in the ACCOUNT_BALANCE field. The pie chart showing the portfolio proportions has also generated. (The chart is saved as multiple .gif graphics files, one per customer). The report is in HTML format and can be edited.

13. Click on some of the names and check the report content.

When you click on a name the name in the index frame changes color.

There are design considerations about the output. While it may have looked fine in the Report Builder Designer and in the Runtime execution, some of the report's elements may not translate well to HTML without modification. The chart is too small to read. The column headings don't show too well. The report doesn't fit across the browser window completely. This is an iterative process, as is designing the report. Getting the data out is just the first step. Formatting it in the Designer is the second step. Reformatting it for web use is another step in the process. While chart graphics do translate, others graphics don't: The buttons in the stk_brk report, for instance, will appear, but they won't function. They would have to be recoded as web links rather than buttons in the HTML files.

14. Close the browser.

The Live Previewer appears.

The Web Wizard: PDF File Output

15. Click on the Web Wizard icon.

The Web Wizard opens.

16. Click on Next until you reach the final screen (the one with the Finish button).

17. Click on Generate PDF output now.

18. Click on Finish.

The Save dialog box opens.

19. Make sure the file name is port_md.pdf.

20. Click on Save.

The output opens in Adobe Acrobat Reader (the browser may open first, depending on the associations set up for your system).

The same index exists on the left hand pane. Acrobat preserves the colors of the template better than HTML files. Use the Acrobat button palette to navigate from page to page, or use the index and click on names.

21. Close the browser and/or Acrobat.

22. Close the port_md report.