Chapter 7:
Creating Database Reports
Guide to Oracle 10g
Lesson A Objectives
After completing this lesson, you should be able to:
• Use the Reports Builder report styles
• Use the Report Wizard to create a report
• Configure the appearance of a report
• View a report in a Web browser
• Create a master-detail report
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Lesson A Objectives (continued)
• Create a custom template
• Apply a custom template to a report
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Introduction to Reports Builder
Database Reports
• Reports Builder
– Allows application developers to create reports that
display data from Oracle 10g database
• Developer10g
– Reports Builder allows developers to preview and
distribute reports in variety of different formats
including:
• Web pages
• Portable document format (.pdf) files
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Introduction to Reports Builder
Database Reports (continued)
• Layout styles:
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Tabular
Form
Mailing label
Form letter
Group left group above
Matrix
Matrix with group
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Using the Report Wizard to Create a
Report
• Steps:
– Specify data that report displays
– Select report style
– Configure report properties and layout
• Report Wizard pages:
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Welcome
Report type
Style
Data source
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Using the Report Wizard to Create a
Report (continued)
• Report Wizard pages (continued):
– Data
– Fields
• Shows data fields that SQL query returns
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Totals
Labels
Template
Finish
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Configuring the Report Appearance
• Use Reports Builder environment to:
– Modify report appearance
– Customize report features
• Paper Design window
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Default editing environment
Refine appearance of reports
Shows how report will appear on paper
Can preview as Web page
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Configuring the Report Appearance
(continued)
• Data Model button
– Modify report data
• Web Source button
– Displays underlying HTML code
• Defines how report will appear in Web browser
• Paper Layout button
– Opens report in Paper Layout view
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Configuring the Report Appearance
(continued)
• Paper Parameter Form button
– View parameter form
– Parameter form
• User selects input parameter values to customize
form appearance and functionality at runtime
• Save report design specification using variety of
formats
– Reports Builder design files
• Rdf extension
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Using the Report Wizard in Reentrant
Mode
• Reentrant mode
– Modify SQL query
• To use ORDER BY clause
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The Reports Builder Object Navigator
Window
• Reports Builder object navigator
– View report components in hierarchical tree
structure
– Access different components in Reports Builder
environment
– Access components of individual report
• Reports
– Top-level node
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The Reports Builder Object Navigator
Window (continued)
• Other objects:
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Templates
PL/SQL libraries
Debug actions
Stack
Built-in packages
Database objects
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Reports Builder Object Navigator
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Modifying the Report Appearance in
the Paper Design Window
• Report title appears in report margin
– Area on page beyond where report data appears
• Adjust column’s width
– Select column
– Drag to make it wider or narrower
• Specify format masks for fields that display
number and date data
• Property Inspector
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Modifying the Report Appearance in
the Paper Design Window (continued)
• Import graphic images into reports
– Same as importing graphic images into forms
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Closing and Reopening Reports
• To close report:
– Click File on menu bar
– Click Close
• To open report:
– On Welcome to Reports Builder dialog
• Click Open an existing report option button
• Click OK
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Viewing the Report as a Web Page
• Preview report as Web page
– Click Run Web Layout button
• Web page source code
– File with .htm extension
– Contains HTML commands and text to represent
report content and formatting
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Viewing the Report as a Web Page
(continued)
• View formatting changes in Web page output
– Preview report using either:
• Paginated HTML
• Paginated HTMLCSS format
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Creating a Master-Detail Report
• One record has many associated detail records
– Through foreign key relationship
• Use Report Wizard to specify report style and data
values
– Report’s SQL query must retrieve all master and
detail values
– Report Wizard displays groups page
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Specifying the Style and Data
• Create new report in object navigator
– Select Reports node
– Click Create button
• Styles for creating master-detail reports
– Group left
– Group above
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Using the Groups Page to Specify
Master-Detail Relationships
• Data in master-detail report has multiple levels
• Each data level represents group
– Top-level (master) group is level 1
• Specify report groups
– Move fields for each group from available fields
list to group fields list
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Report Templates
• Many reports that have similar appearance
– Useful to create custom template to specify report
appearance
– Avoid performing same formatting tasks over and
over again
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Creating a Custom Template
• Custom template defines:
– Font sizes and styles for report’s
• Title
• Column headings
• Data values
– Text and background colors
– Boilerplate objects
• Store template definition in template definition file
that has .tdf extension
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The Paper Layout Template Editor
Window
• Environment within Paper Layout window
– Used for editing templates
• Similar to forms builder layout editor
• Areas within painting region in report template
– Margin
– Body
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Paper Layout Template Editor
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Editing Template Margins
• Open margins for editing
– Click Margin button
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Editing the Template Body
• Report body has two types of attributes:
– Default
– Override
• Frame
– Object that encloses similar objects within report
• Parent frame
– Frame that directly encloses object
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Applying Custom Templates to
Reports
• Modify existing report’s template by
– Opening Report Wizard in reentrant mode
– Changing template specification
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Applying Templates by Specifying the
Template Filename
• Select Template file specification option button on
Report Wizard template page
– Enter full folder path and filename of template file
• Including drive letter
• Quick and easy way to apply custom templates
• Disadvantage
– Template file must be available at specified file
location whenever report file opened
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Registering Custom Templates in
Reports Builder
• Appears in predefined templates list on template
page
• Advantage
– Don’t have to specify path to template file
– File does not always have to be available
• Two-step process:
– Modify developer user preferences file
– Copy template file to Reports Builder templates
folder
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Registering Custom Templates in
Reports Builder (continued)
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•
•
•
User preferences file
Template description
Template filename
Template page displays thumbnail images of
predefined templates
– Create thumbnail image of custom template
– Save screenshot as Bmp file
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Lesson A Summary
• Report
– Summary view of database data that users can view
on screen or print on paper
• Create report
– Specify data to appear in report
– Select report style
– Configure report properties and layout
• Paper design window
• The Reports Builder Object Navigator
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Lesson A Summary (continued)
• Create master-detail report using Report Wizard
• Report template
– Defines report appearance
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