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Siebel Reports Guide 1
Chapter 1: What’s New in This Release
Chapter 2: Overview of Siebel Reports
About Siebel Reports 21
About Using Siebel Reports 22
Siebel Reports Output File Types 22
Who Can Use Siebel Reports? 23
About Controlling Access to Reports 23
About Oracle BI Publisher 24
About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with
Siebel Reports 24
Chapter 3: Siebel Reports Development Environment
About the Siebel Reports Architecture 27
Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode 28
Workflow for Generating Reports in Disconnected Mode 29
Siebel Reports Directory Structure 31
Siebel Reports File Types 32
About the Oracle BI Publisher Server in Siebel Business Applications 32
How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact 33
Chapter 4: Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel
Business Applications
About Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications 37
About Upgrading Siebel Reports 38
Where to Find Documentation for Previous Versions of Siebel Reports 38
Requirements for Using Siebel Reports 38
Preparing for Integration of Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications 43
Process of Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business
Applications 44
Installing Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Enterprise for Integration with Siebel Business Applications 44
Installing Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word 46 Copying JAR Files to the Oracle BI Publisher Server 47
Disabling External File References on the Oracle BI Publisher Server 48 Starting and Stopping OC4J and Oracle BI Publisher 49
Upgrading to the Latest Oracle BI Publisher Patch 50
Configuring an Outbound Web Service for the Siebel Application 50
Enabling Siebel Server Components for Siebel Reports 51
About Security and Authentication for Siebel Reports 52
Configuring Security and Authentication for Siebel Reports 53
Setting Up and Enabling the Siebel Security Model for Siebel Reports 53 Configuring Security and Authentication for Siebel Reports Using LDAP 58 Configuring Siebel Reports in a Web Single Sign-On Environment 58
Adding an Explicit Reference to JAR Files for the Oracle BI Publisher Server 58
Uploading Preconfigured Report Layout Templates to the Oracle BI Publisher Server
60
Process of Enabling and Configuring Report Scheduling 61
Setting Up the Database Schema for the Oracle BI Publisher Server 61 Configuring the Data Service WSDL for the Oracle BI Publisher Server 62
Verifying Symbolic URL Arguments That Embed the Oracle BI Publisher Scheduling Views in the Siebel Application 63
Testing Your Siebel Reports Integration Configurations 64
Roadmap for Upgrading Siebel Reports 65
Upgrading to Oracle BI Publisher Version 10.1.3.4.1 from Version 10.1.3.4.0 66
Chapter 5: Administering Siebel Reports
Deploying Report Layout Templates to the Siebel Web Client from a Disconnected
Client 69
Uploading New or Modified Report Layout Templates for Multiple Siebel Server
Environments 70
Automatically Purging Reports from the Siebel File System 71
Purging Scheduled Reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server 72
Changing the Location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository by Creating a Custom XML File 73
Changing the Location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository by Replacing a JVM Property Name 74
Changing the Location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository by Changing the Absolute Path to the Repository 75
Copying Fonts for Report Generation 75
About Working with Multilingual Reports 75
Designing Multilingual Reports 77
Example of Uploading Multilingual Reports to the Siebel Application 78
Adding and Deleting Languages from Report Templates 79
About Report Translation 80
Roadmap for Optimizing the Performance of Siebel Reports 80
Setting the Report Execution Waiting Period for Reports 81
Setting the Server Request Processor Database Polling Interval for Siebel Reports
82
Setting Concurrency Parameters for Siebel Reports 82
Process of Optimizing the Generation Performance of Siebel Reports for Large Data
Volumes 84
Enabling Scalable Mode for Siebel Reports 84
Configuring a Temporary Directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for Siebel Reports 86
Increasing EAI HTTP Transport Sleep Time for Siebel Reports 87
Chapter 6: Generating Reports
About Generating Reports 89
Scenario for Generating Reports 90
Generating Reports 92
Example of Generating an Opportunity Report 94
Monitoring the Status of Currently Generating Reports 94
Viewing Generated Reports 96
Deleting Reports 97
Setting Language and Locale User Preferences for Reports 97
Chapter 7: Creating Reports
About Integration Objects in Siebel Reports 100
About Reporting Across Multiple Siebel Business Objects 101
Workflow for Uploading Report Layout Templates to a Siebel Application 102
About Registering and Sharing Report Layout Templates 104
About Multiorganizational Report Templates 104
Scenario for Report Template Visibility Across Organizations 105
Should You Clone an Existing Report or Create Custom Reports? 105
Process of Creating Custom Reports 106
Extending Integration Objects to Add New Fields for Siebel Reports 109 Creating New Integration Objects for Siebel Reports 110
Generating Sample XML Data Files for Siebel Reports 112
Creating Report Layout Templates Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word 113
Registering Report Layout Templates 114
Adding Multiple Integration Objects to a Report 117 Sharing Report Layout Templates 118
Defining Report Layout Templates for Selected Records 119 Associating Registered Reports with Siebel Application Views 120 Changing the Report Sequence Order in the Reports Menu 120
Chapter 8: Scheduling Reports
About Scheduled Reports 123
Scheduling Reports 124
Example of Scheduling an Opportunity Report 126
Monitoring and Viewing Scheduled Reports 127
Suspending and Resuming Scheduled Reports 128
Deleting Scheduled Reports 129
Chapter 9: Using Master-Detail Reports
About Master-Detail Reports 131
Example of Comparing the Service Request Activity (All) Report with its
Corresponding Layout Template 132
Creating a Master-Detail Layout Template in Microsoft Word 136
Chapter 10: Migrating Reports
Process of Packaging and Migrating Reports 140
Packaging the Report Files in the Source Environment 140 Migrating the Report Files to the Target Environment 141
Packaging Report Database Records in the Source Environment 142 Migrating Report Database Records to the Target Environment 143
Process of Migrating an Integration Object for a Report 144
Process of Migrating New Reports after Creating New Integration Objects 145
Chapter 11: Parameterized Reports
About Parameterized Reports 147
About Report Parameter Types and Attributes 148
About Referencing Parameters in the Report Layout Template 149
About Defining Report Parameters in the Siebel Application 150
About Report Parameter Validation 152
Process of Creating Parameterized Reports 152
Defining Report Parameters in the Siebel Application 153
Example of Generating a Parameterized Report 155
Chapter 12: Troubleshooting Siebel Reports
Enabling Logging for Siebel Reports in the Siebel Application 157
About Enabling Logging for the Oracle BI Publisher Server 159
Enabling and Disabling Debugging for Siebel Reports in Disconnected Mode 159
Guidelines for Resolving Class Not Found Errors When Previewing Reports in Microsoft
Word 160
Resolving Class Not Found Errors When Previewing Reports in Microsoft Word 161
Troubleshooting Error Messages for Siebel Reports 162
Chapter 13: Report Business Service
About the Report Business Service 171
Configuring the Report Business Service 172
Index
What’s New in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. D
Table 1 lists the changes described in this version of the documentation to support this release of the software.
Table 1. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. D
Topic Description
Chapter 4, “Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications”
New chapter. It provides updated content and reorganized topics to reflect the latest integration and configuration tasks.
Chapter 8, “Scheduling Reports” Chapter 11, “Parameterized Reports”
Modified chapters. They reflect the latest report features and topics have been reorganized accordingly.
“About Controlling Access to Reports” on page 23
New topic. Reports access is based on standard Siebel responsibility-based visibility as well as access granted by others.
“About Oracle BI Publisher” on page 24
New topic. It describes the Oracle BI Publisher, OC4J (Oracle Application Server Containers for Java Platform, Enterprise Edition), and Oracle BI Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word (also known as Oracle BI Publisher Desktop).
“Siebel Reports Directory Structure” on page 31
Modified topic. The naming convention for XLIFF files requires that all languages have the same file name as the report layout template, only the extension differs.
“About Upgrading Siebel Reports” on page 38
New topic. Provides an overview of Siebel Reports upgrades.
“Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 40
New topic. It provides a high-level roadmap for integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications.
“Setting Up and Enabling the Siebel Security Model for Siebel Reports” on page 53
Modified topic. You replace the existing address of the Service Ports subview with the URL used to access the EAI Object Manager.
“About Security and Authentication for Siebel Reports” on page 52
New topic. Describes the various security models available for Siebel Reports.
“Roadmap for Upgrading Siebel Reports” on page 65
New topic. It provides instructions for upgrading to the latest Siebel Reports features.
“Example of Uploading Multilingual Reports to the Siebel Application” on page 78
New topic. It describes how to upload multilingual reports to a Siebel application.
“About Report Translation” on page 80
Modified topic. Added a caution that each translated report must have a unique name, otherwise errors can occur.
“Setting Language and Locale User Preferences for Reports” on page 97
New topic. It describes how to set the default report language and locale by setting user preferences.
“About Multiorganizational Report Templates” on page 104
New topic. It describes the logic for how an organization-specific report template appears in the Reports menu.
“Scenario for Report Template Visibility Across Organizations” on page 105
New topic. It provides an example of how you might use report template visibility across organizations.
“Suspending and Resuming Scheduled Reports” on page 128
New topic. It describes how to suspend and resume scheduled reports.
“Example of Comparing the Service Request Activity (All) Report with its Corresponding Layout Template” on page 132
New topic. It provides an example of using a master-detail report.
“Syntax and Description of the Fields for an Example Template” on page 134
New topic. It provides additional information for the example of using a master-detail report.
“About Parameterized Reports” on page 147
Modified topic. It describes how parameterized reports are generated.
“About Report Parameter Types and Attributes” on page 148
New topic. It provides a description of the report parameter types and attributes.
“About Defining Report Parameters in the Siebel Application” on page 150
New topic. It provides information about parameter definitions and how to use them.
“About Report Parameter Validation” on page 152
New topic. It provides an overview for checking for report parameter inconsistencies between the report layout template and definitions for the template in the Siebel application.
“Process of Creating Parameterized Reports” on page 152
New topic. It provides instructions for defining report parameters.
“Defining Report Parameters in the Siebel Application” on page 153
New topic. It describes how to define report parameters in the Siebel application. The parameters govern how the reports appear so that users have options when generating reports.
Table 1. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. D
Additional Changes
This version of Siebel Reports Guide includes:
■ The following screen names and other user interface (UI) elements have changed:
■ The Administration - BIP Reports screen is now the Administration - BI Publisher Reports screen.
■ The BIP Reports Server is now BI Publisher Reports.
■ The Purge Administration view is no longer available in the UI. ■ The My Jobs view is now the Scheduled Reports view.
■ The Report Template Registration view is replaced with two new template views: ❏ Reports - Customer Templates
❏ Reports - Standard Templates
■ The Generate Sample Data File button in the Integration Objects list of the template views is now Generate Sample XML.
■ Start Date and End Date replace Active Start Date and End Date, respectively. ■ The following view names have changed:
■ All Template View is now All Report Template View
■ Manager’s Template View is now Manager’s Report Template View
■ Several topics in Chapter 4, “Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” were relocated to either other chapters or 880452.1 (Article ID) Siebel Maintenance Release Guide on My Oracle Support.
■ The procedures in Chapter 4, “Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications”
now indicate which steps are applicable to a first-time installation or upgrades (or both). ■ The following topics were relocated to Chapter 5, “Administering Siebel Reports”:
■ “Uploading New or Modified Report Layout Templates for Multiple Siebel Server Environments” on page 70
■ “Changing the Location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository for Siebel Reports” on page 73
■ “Copying Fonts for Report Generation” on page 75
■ Updated diagram and steps in “Generating Reports” on page 92.
■ You can generate reports in MHTML (MIME HTML) format in connected mode only. ■ A diagram was added to “Process of Creating Custom Reports” on page 106.
■ Mentions of upgrading to Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.1 from Siebel CRM version 8.1.1 were removed because they are no longer applicable.
What’s New in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. C
Table 2 lists the changes described in this version of the documentation to support this release of the software.
Table 2. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. C
Topic Description
Chapter 6, “Generating Reports” Chapter 7, “Creating Reports” Chapter 8, “Scheduling Reports”
Modified chapters. Topics in these chapters were modified to reflect the new user interface that allows for sharing of reports and includes other new features. “About Using Siebel Reports” on
page 12
Modified topic. Access control to generated reports is based on standard Siebel responsibility-based visibility. “Copying JAR Files to the Oracle BI
Publisher Server” on page 37
Modified topic. Two additional JAR files must be copied. “Adding an Explicit Reference to JAR
Files for the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 56
Modified topic as follows:
■ Added a note advising that the path of the JVM DLL Name parameter is automatically read from the Windows registry.
■ Corrected the JVL DLL Name setting for UNIX. ■ Corrected the path for the LIBPATH environment
variable for UNIX.
■ Corrected the JVM classpaths for UNIX and Windows. “Configuring Security and
Authentication Using the Siebel Security Model” on page 67
Modified topic. You replace the existing address of the Service Ports subview with the URL used to access the EAI Object Manager.
“Configuring Security and
Authentication Using the LDAP Security Model” on page 70
Modified topic. Replaced procedure with a cross
reference to 974509.1 (Article ID) on My Oracle Support. “Configuring Siebel Reports in a Web
Single Sign-On Environment” on page 71
New topic. It describes how to configure Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher in a Web Single Sign-On (SSO) environment.
“Uploading New or Modified Report Layout Templates for Multiple Siebel Server Environments” on page 78
New topic. It describes how to register new or modified report definitions for multiple Siebel Server
environments. “Purging Reports from the Siebel File
System” on page 66
Removed topic. This feature is no longer applicable. “Automatically Purging Reports from
the Siebel File System” on page 59
New topic. It provides instructions for administrators to set up an automated process for purging reports from the Siebel File System.
Additional Changes
This version of Siebel Reports Guide includes:
■ The following screen names and other user interface (UI) elements have changed:
■ The Administration - BIP Reports screen is now the Administration - BI Publisher Reports screen.
■ The BIP Reports Server is now BI Publisher Reports.
■ The Purge Administration view is no longer available in the UI. ■ The My Jobs view is now the Scheduled Reports view.
■ The Report Template Registration view is replaced with two new template views: ❏ Reports - Customer Templates
❏ Reports - Standard Templates
■ The Generate Sample Data File button in the Integration Objects list of the template views is now Generate Sample XML.
■ You can generate reports in MHTML format in connected mode only. “About Working with Multilingual
Reports” on page 63
New topic. It describes how Siebel Reports determines the report language at run time.
“About Report Translation” on page 65 New topic. It describes report translation. “Designing Multilingual Reports” on
page 65
Modified topic. Added an optional step to the procedure. Chapter 6, “Generating Reports” Modified topic. Added a note advising this chapter is not
applicable to scheduled reports.
“About Generating Reports” on page 75 Modified topic. Access to reports is based on standard Siebel responsibility-based visibility.
“Workflow for Generating Reports” on page 77
Modified topic. You can choose a different language and locale rather than accept the default choices when generating a report.
“Generating Reports” on page 80 Modified topic. You can:
■ Grant others access to your reports.
■ Select multiple records when generating reports. ■ Override the default report language and locale
settings. “Setting Language and Locale User
Preferences for Reports” on page 85
New topic. It describes how to override the default report language and locale by setting user preferences. Table 2. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. C
What’s New in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. B
Table 3 lists the changes described in this version of the documentation to support this release of the software.
Table 3. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. B
Topic Description
“Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode” on page 18
Added a caution about not modifying parameters for the XMLP Report Server component.
“Where to Find Documentation for Previous Versions of Siebel Reports” on page 28
New topic. It provides pointers to integration instructions for other releases of Siebel Reports.
“Requirements for Using Siebel Reports” on page 28
New topic. It provides prerequisites before deploying Siebel Reports.
“Preparing for Integration of Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 33
New title for topic. Modified topic to reflect high-level integration tasks.
“Process of Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business Applications” on page 34
New topic. It consolidates several of the Oracle BI Publisher installation and configuration tasks previously located elsewhere in this guide.
“Installing Oracle Business
Intelligence Publisher Enterprise for Integration with Siebel Business Applications” on page 34
Modified topic:
■ Added a note to make it clear that the instructions are for a first-time installation rather than an upgrade from a previous version.
■ Removed the optional step of downloading the Business Intelligence Suite Enterprise Edition Documentation Media Library.
■ Added a step to have users download Oracle BI Publisher Desktop.
“Upgrading to Oracle BI Publisher Ver-sion 10.1.3.4.1 from VerVer-sion
10.1.3.4.0” on page 42
New topic. It describes how to upgrade Oracle BI Publisher to version 10.13.4.1 from 10.1.3.4.0. The content was relocated from Appendix C and rewritten to correct inaccuracies and to differentiate from a first-time installation.
“Copying JAR Files to the Oracle Publisher Server”
Modified topic to remove steps for enabling external file references because those steps belong to another task. “Disabling External File References
on the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 38
New topic. It describes how to enable external file references on the Oracle BI Publisher Server.
“Process of Configuring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI Publisher” on page 53
Modified topic:
■ The tasks in this process were added, removed, and reorganized, as needed.
■ Step 3 of the process was rewritten to make sure the XMLP Report Server component is enabled and a caution was added about not changing this component’s parameters.
“Process of Authenticating User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 66
Tasks were added, removed, and reorganized as needed. Subtopics were also rewritten.
“Testing Your Siebel Reports Integration Configurations”
New topic. It provides instructions for testing your configurations.
“Deploying Report Layout Templates to the Siebel Web Client from a Disconnected Client” on page 57
New topic. It provides instructions for moving reports from a disconnected client to a Siebel Web Client so that reports are available for generation in connected mode with the Oracle BI Publisher Server.
“Purging Scheduled Reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 60
Modified topic to make it clear that the purging instructions are for scheduled reports.
“Setting the Report Execution Waiting Period for Reports” on page 67
Modified topic to reflect that this task is applicable to performance optimization of reports with more than 100 records rather than 2000 records.
“Enabling Scalable Mode for Siebel Reports” on page 70
Corrected directory path in Step 1 of the procedure. “Configuring a Temporary Directory
on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for Siebel Reports” on page 72
Corrected directory path in Step 1 of the procedure.
“Monitoring the Status of Currently Generating Reports” on page 82
Added a tip about the timestamp of a report. “Extending Integration Objects to
Add New Fields for Siebel Reports” on page 97
New topic. It describes how to extend an integration object to add a new field to a report.
“Scheduling Reports” on page 112 Added a note at the end of the procedure advising that the My Jobs view is an embedded Web page from the Oracle BI Publisher Enterprise application.
“About Parameterized Reports” on page 135
Removed the last paragraph in the topic. No preconfigured parameterized reports ship with Siebel Business
Applications.
Table 3. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. B
Additional Changes
■ Replaced references to Oracle application servers with ORACLE_HOME.
■ Replaced references to the Oracle BI Publisher installation directory with ORACLE_HOME/oc4j_bi. ■ Replaced references to OracleMetaLink 3 with My Oracle Support.
■ Retitled Chapter 4, “Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” to clarify that tasks are integration tasks rather than installation and configuration tasks. Also made structural changes to the content, including:
■ Topic additions, deletions, renaming, and reorganization ■ Revisions to procedures
■ New and revised index entries
■ Added new requirements for implementing Siebel Reports.
■ Modified steps in roadmap for integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications. ■ Provided a better example for the “Configuring the Outbound Web Service for the Oracle BI
Publisher Server” topic.
■ Reworded note at the end of the “Enabling Scalable Mode for Siebel Reports” topic for clarity.
What's New in Siebel Reports, Version 8.1, Rev. A
Table 4 lists the changes described in this version of the documentation to support this release of the software.
“Enabling Debugging for Siebel Reports in Disconnected Mode” on page 145
Corrected the procedure.
“Troubleshooting the CLASSPATH Settings Using Siebel Server Manager” on page 155
Modified topic to correct the command syntax.
Table 4. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. A
Topic Description
Chapter 4, “Installing and Configuring Siebel Reports”
Modified chapter. It describes how to install and configure Siebel Reports version 8.1.1.1.
“Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business Applications” on page 31
Modified topic. It describes how to install Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) Publisher version 10.1.3.4.1.
Table 3. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. B
Additional Changes
This version of Siebel Reports Guide includes:
■ Several new preconfigured reports are available in this release. For a comprehensive list of the preconfigured reports that ship with Siebel Business Applications, see 876284.1 (Article ID) on My Oracle Support.
■ Changes made throughout the guide to reflect the new features and functionality for the current release of Siebel Reports.
■ Structural changes to the content, such as topic organization and heading arrangement, revisions to procedures, and an expanded index.
“Purging Reports in the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 51
New topic. It describes how to purge reports permanently in the Oracle BI Publisher repository.
“Process of Optimizing the Generation Performance of Siebel Reports for Large Data Volumes” on page 57
Modified topic. Added a note about not executing reports with large data volumes as an immediate report request.
“Enabling Scalable Mode for Siebel Reports” on page 58
Modified topic. Added a note advising when not to enable scalable mode.
“Configuring a Temporary Directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for Siebel Reports” on page 60
New topic. It describes how to configure a temporary directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for use with complex reports.
“Increasing EAI HTTP Transport Sleep Time for Siebel Reports” on page 60
New topic. It describes how to increase the default sleep time to improve performance when generating complex reports or against large data sets.
Chapter 7, “Scheduling Reports” New chapter. It describes how to schedule reports to run at a later date and with recurring frequency.
Chapter 9, “Using Master-Detail Reports”
New chapter. Content in this chapter was relocated from Chapter 5, “Administering Siebel Reports.”
Chapter 10, “Parameterized Reports” New chapter. It provides the additional tasks you must perform when creating parameterized reports.
“Resolving Class Not Found Errors When Previewing Reports in Microsoft Word” on page 118
New topic. It describes how to resolve errors encountered when previewing reports in Microsoft Word.
Appendix B, “Report Business Service”
New appendix. It describes the Report Business Service and how it is used.
Appendix C, “Upgrading to Siebel Reports Version 8.1.1.1”
New appendix. It describes how to upgrade to Siebel Reports version 8.1.1.1.
Table 4. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. A
What's New in Siebel Reports, Version 8.1
Table 5 lists the changes described in this version of the documentation to support release 8.1 of the software.
Additional Changes
■ Removed all Actuate-related chapters and content.
For information about integrating Siebel reports with Actuate, see Siebel Reports Administration Guide version 8.0 on the Siebel Bookshelf.
NOTE: The Siebel Bookshelf is available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN), Oracle E-Delivery, or it might be installed locally on your intranet, or on a network location.
■ Reports and the Reports Menu are no longer available in Siebel Tools. Siebel Reports are now accessed using the application views in the Siebel clients.
■ Several reports are no longer available. Of particular note, the following reports are no longer available:
Table 5. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Administration Guide, Version 8.1
Topic Description
Chapter 2, “Overview of Siebel Reports” New chapter. It describes Siebel Reports. Chapter 3, “Siebel Reports Development
Environment”
New chapter. It describes the Siebel Reports architecture and report generation, the Oracle BI Publisher Server, and how Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) interacts with Siebel Business Applications. Chapter 4, “Installing Siebel Reports” New chapter. It describes the preinstallation,
installation, and postinstallation tasks for Siebel Reports.
Chapter 6, “Administering Siebel Reports” New chapter. It describes how to purge reports and create multilingual reports.
Chapter 8, “Running Reports” New chapter. It describes how to run Siebel Reports from a user perspective.
Chapter 9, “Creating Reports” New chapter. It describes the report layout templates, integration objects, and master-detail reports.
Chapter 12, “Migrating Reports” New chapter. It describes how to migrate reports from one environment to another (applicable only to disconnected clients).
Appendix A, “Troubleshooting Siebel Reports” New appendix. It describes how to enable logging for the various components of Siebel Reports, and how to respond to error messages.
■ Application Upgrade Attributes List. Provided attribute differences between repository
versions.
NOTE: The data provided in these reports is still accessible using the Screens menu. For more information about using the Screens menu, see Using Siebel Tools.
■ The following reports have been relocated to the application administration views in the Siebel clients instead of Siebel Tools:
■ Tables. Provides selected properties and lists the columns for each table.
For more information about the Tables report, see Siebel Data Model Reference. ■ EIM Interface Tables. Provides various properties for each EIM interface table.
For more information about the EIM Interface Tables report, see Siebel Enterprise Integration Manager Administration Guide.
■ The location for the follow documentation has changed:
■ Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network (OTN). ■ Siebel Business Applications Third-Party Bookshelf is available on Oracle E-Delivery.
■ Other Siebel CRM documentation (Release Notes, Maintenance Release Guides, Alerts, Technical Notes, Troubleshooting Steps, FAQs, Error Messages) is located on My Oracle Support.
The reporting module for Siebel Business Applications is Oracle® Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher). This chapter provides a brief introduction to Siebel Reports and the reporting tools used to create reports. It includes the following topics:
■ About Siebel Reports on page 21
■ About Using Siebel Reports on page 22
■ Siebel Reports Output File Types on page 22
■ Who Can Use Siebel Reports? on page 23
■ About Controlling Access to Reports on page 23
■ About Oracle BI Publisher on page 24
■ About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports on page 24
About Siebel Reports
Oracle’s Siebel Business Applications ship with preconfigured reports and layout templates. You can choose to use these reports, modify these reports, or create your own custom reports. For a comprehensive list of the preconfigured reports that ship with Siebel Business Applications, see 876284.1 (Article ID) on My Oracle Support.
You work with Siebel Reports in the following locations:
■ In the Siebel application to generate, schedule, and view reports. The views are also used for Siebel application administrative tasks.
For more information about generating reports, see Chapter 6, “Generating Reports.” For information about scheduling reports, see Chapter 8, “Scheduling Reports.”
■ In Microsoft Word by using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word to create and customize layout templates.
For more information about using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, see “About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports” on page 24.
■ In Oracle BI Publisher to manage report scheduling, report users, and other Oracle BI Publisher administration tasks.
About Using Siebel Reports
In the Siebel clients (Siebel Web Client, Siebel Mobile Web Client, and Siebel Developer Web Client) you use views to generate reports. While in a view, you typically perform a query, and then select the report that you want to generate from the application-level Reports menu. From the Reports menu, you can choose to either generate a report immediately or schedule a report to generate at a later time. You can monitor your long-running and scheduled reports, view previously generated reports, or delete reports from the Reports and the Scheduled Jobs views.
TIP: The reports that are available to you while in a Siebel view are based on standard Siebel position-based visibility.
For more information about using Siebel reports from a user perspective, see Chapter 6, “Generating Reports.” For more information scheduling reports from a user perspective, see Chapter 8,
“Scheduling Reports.” For information about positions and visibility, see Siebel Security Guide. NOTE: The new report features (report scheduling, parameterized reports, and the new security protocol) are available only in connected mode.
Siebel Reports Output File Types
Siebel Reports supports the following output file types: ■ PDF (Portable Document Format)
■ HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) ■ RTF (Rich Text Format)
■ XLS (Microsoft Excel format) ■ PPT (Microsoft PowerPoint format) ■ MHTML (MIME HTML)
NOTE: The PPT and MHTML report output file types are available only in connected mode. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 27.
The report output file types that are available to you for a specific report are determined by the report developer when registering a report in the Siebel application. For more information about registering reports, see “Registering Report Layout Templates” on page 114.
Who Can Use Siebel Reports?
This topic describes the users and the tasks they are allowed to perform. Siebel Reports users include the following:
■ Report user. Users can generate, view, monitor, and schedule reports that they are granted
access to in a Siebel application. Users can also delete reports that they have personally generated. Additionally, users who have Microsoft Word and Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word installed on their computers can also modify existing templates or create custom layout templates. For more information about Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, see “About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports” on page 24. In a sales organization, typical report users might be sales representatives, sales managers, and sales executives.
NOTE: Report scheduling is available only in connected mode. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 27.
■ Report developer (or business user). Developers are responsible for determining how best
to extract data from various sources and are granted permission to perform administrative tasks. These administrative tasks include generating translatable XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) files, uploading and registering templates in the Siebel clients, associating reports with Siebel application views, and so on. In a sales organization, report developers might be sales managers, business analysts, and so on.
NOTE: A sales manager might be a report user or a report developer depending on the
responsibility assigned. Your business requirements determine which views are made available to certain users for reports development and administration. Restrictions are implemented using the standard Siebel access controls. For more information about access control in general, see Siebel Security Guide.
■ Report administrator. The report administrator might perform tasks typically performed by
report developers, but the administrator is also responsible for installation and configuration tasks, purging reports, and managing the translation of reports from one language to another.
About Controlling Access to Reports
Standard Siebel Business Applications access controls apply to Siebel Reports, that is, position-based visibility. However, visibility to reports might also be based on access granted by others. For more information about user access in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About Security and Authentication for Siebel Reports” on page 52. For more information about access granted by others, see “Sharing Report Layout Templates” on page 118. For general information about access controls, see Siebel Security Guide.
About Oracle BI Publisher
Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) is the reporting module for Siebel Reports. Siebel Business Applications integrate with Oracle BI Publisher for report generation and management. For more information about Oracle BI Publisher, see the documentation suite available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN). For more information about Oracle BI Publisher and Siebel Business Applications integration, “How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact” on page 33.
Oracle BI Publisher Server and OC4J
When you install Oracle BI Publisher, OC4J (Oracle Application Server Containers for Java Platform, Enterprise Edition) and the Oracle BI Publisher Server are installed as part of this installation. During report generation, which is triggered from the Siebel application, data is pushed from the Siebel Database to the Oracle BI Publisher Server to generate reports. When handling a report request, the Oracle BI Publisher Server merges the data with the report layout template from the Oracle BI Publisher repository, and then sends the report to the Siebel application. For more information about OC4J, see Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Installation Guide, Release 10.1.3 available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN). For more information about the Oracle BI Publisher Server, see “About the Oracle BI Publisher Server in Siebel Business Applications” on page 32.
Oracle BI Publisher Add-In for Microsoft Word
Oracle BI Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word (also known as Oracle BI Publisher Desktop) is the report authoring tool for Siebel Reports, which allows you to author and preview layout templates using Microsoft Word. For more information about using this tool, see “About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports” on page 24.
About Using Oracle Business
Intelligence Publisher Add-in for
Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports
Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word (also known as Oracle BI Publisher Desktop) is an authoring tool that allows you to use native formatting features of Microsoft Word to design layout templates for reports. The application includes documentation, demos, and samples. NOTE: Siebel Reports allows you to use a subset of the functionality and features the Oracle BI Publisher Desktop provides. Only the features documented in this guide are supported.
Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word provides separate layout, query, and language capability in one interface. Because data logic is separate from the layout, and the layout is not dependent on the needs of a particular language, this feature allows for flexibility in
When you open Microsoft Word after installing Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, the Oracle BI Publisher menu toolbar appears, as shown in Figure 1.
For information about installing Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, see
“Installing Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Enterprise for Integration with Siebel Business Applications” on page 44.
NOTE: It is recommended that you not use Oracle BI Publisher Desktop version 10.1.3.4.1 with Oracle BI Publisher version 10.1.3.4.0.
Advantages of Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for
Microsoft Word as a Report Authoring Tool
Advantages of using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word for creating layout templates and customizing reports include:
■ Users can build the layout and rules for reports themselves or reuse their existing company documents. Even if your users do not have the skills to create their own layout templates, they can begin creating the template in Microsoft Word. Then the report developer can use that same document to finalize the template and report.
■ Deployment is more efficient, because users can build the report that they want without having to depend on an engineer to interpret their requirements.
■ Testing cycles are reduced because users can implement changes to the report rather than tying up valuable development resources.
■ Report developers can concentrate on extracting only data. ■ Report developers can extract data from diverse sources.
■ Both report developers and report administrators can build and maintain reports.
■ Interoperability with other standards-based reporting engines, such as Oracle’s enterprise reporting tool that is used in Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, BI EE (Business Intelligence Suite, Enterprise Edition Plus), and so on.
Figure 1. Example of Oracle BI Publisher Menu and Toolbar in Microsoft Word Oracle BI
Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word
Features
Some of the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word features that are especially helpful in Siebel Reports template creation and customization include:
■ Template Builder. Facilitates the development of RTF (Rich Text Format) layout templates for
reports.
Using Template Builder, users create how they want their report to look, and then a report developer can use this same document to determine how to extract data from the database in the most efficient manner. Because both report users and report developers use the same report authoring tool, there is much less chance for misinterpretation of the requirements.
■ Template Viewer. Allows you to preview report layouts with sample data in multiple output
formats at any stage of development. Template Viewer is a feature of Template Builder. ■ Excel Analyzer. Oracle BI Publisher Analyzer for Excel facilitates the development of Excel
templates that export data to an Excel spreadsheet. It allows you to: ■ Export the results of a report query to an Excel spreadsheet
■ Log in to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word from Excel to refresh your data, apply new parameters, and apply a template to the report data
■ Create templates in Excel, upload them to the Oracle BI Publisher repository, and then access and generate reports from an Excel session
NOTE: The Analyzer for Excel feature is available only in connected mode. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports
Architecture” on page 27.
For more information about using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, see Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Report Designer's Guide available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN).
NOTE: Not all features mentioned in the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher documentation are currently integrated in the Siebel Reports solution; only the features documented in this guide.
This chapter describes the Siebel Reports development environment and how Siebel Reports interacts with Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) to generate reports in Siebel Business Applications. It includes the following topics:
■ About the Siebel Reports Architecture on page 27
■ Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode on page 28
■ Workflow for Generating Reports in Disconnected Mode on page 29
■ Siebel Reports Directory Structure on page 31
■ Siebel Reports File Types on page 32
■ About the Oracle BI Publisher Server in Siebel Business Applications on page 32
■ How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact on page 33
About the Siebel Reports Architecture
For Siebel CRM version 8.1 and later, Siebel Reports supports two architectures: one for connected mode, and one for disconnected mode. From the perspective of the user when requesting reports in the various Siebel clients, there is no apparent difference. However, executing report requests using the Siebel clients differs depending on the connection mode:
■ Disconnected mode. Requesting reports in disconnected mode runs Oracle Business
Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) through the XMLP Report Business Service using the embedded Oracle BI Publisher libraries. For more information about the architecture for
disconnected mode, see “Workflow for Generating Reports in Disconnected Mode” on page 29. ■ Connected mode. Requesting reports in connected mode to a server or through the Siebel Web
Client integrates directly with the Siebel XMLP Report Server component and the Oracle BI Publisher Server. For more information about the architecture for connected mode, the XMLP Report Server component, and the Oracle BI Publisher Server, see “Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode” on page 28.
TIP: For some Siebel Business Applications, the Siebel Web Client is not required. It is possible to generate Oracle BI Publisher reports with the embedded Oracle BI Publisher libraries, such as is the case with Siebel Loyalty. Another instance of when a Siebel Web Client is not required is when report generation is requested using a workflow by way of the business services in the XMLP Report Server Component. These two instances, however, are not documented in this guide. The instances are mentioned so that you know there are other reporting capabilities available for Siebel Reports.
Workflow for Generating Reports in
Connected Mode
The Siebel Web Client and other connected clients allow you to generate reports in connected mode. When you select a report from the Reports menu in a Siebel application view, the XMLP Report Server component processes the request and extracts the relevant data from the Siebel Database. The XMLP Report Server component converts the data to XML, then issues an outbound Web service call to a standalone Oracle BI Publisher Server. The Oracle BI Publisher Server accepts the XML data file, generates the layout template, and merges the layout template with the XML data. The Oracle BI Publisher Server then sends the report output file back to the XMLP Report Server component using an outbound Web service call. The report is stored in the Siebel File System and then displayed in the Siebel application.
Figure 2 illustrates both the architecture and workflow for generating reports in connected mode. NOTE: Oracle BI Publisher was recently renamed; previously Oracle BI Publisher was called XML Publisher or XMLP. For this reason, some software elements retain the XMLP naming convention.
The following text provides a high-level description of Figure 2:
1 A report generation event is triggered from a Siebel application view.
2 The Siebel Application Object Manager (AOM) routes the event to the Siebel Database.
3 The Server Request Broker (SRBroker) and the Server Request Processor (SRProc) monitor the Figure 2. Siebel Reports Architecture and Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode
4 The XMLP Driver Service makes a call to the XMLP Data Service.
5 The XMLP Data Service fetches data from the Siebel Database through the EAI Siebel Adapter, and then returns the control back to the XMLP Data Service.
6 The XMLP Data Service passes control back to the XMLP Driver Service. 7 The XMLP Driver Service makes a call to the XMLP Adapter Service.
8 The XMLP Adapter Service makes a call to the proxy PublicReportService business service. 9 The proxy PublicReportService business service makes a Web service call to the Oracle BI
Publisher Server.
10 The Oracle BI Publisher Server executes report generation and returns the generated report binary data by way of a Web service call back to the proxy PublicReportService business service. 11 The proxy PublicReportService business service returns control to the XMLP Adapter Service. 12 The XMLP Adapter Service then downloads the report, and creates the file in the Siebel File
System, which is displayed in the Siebel application.
Workflow for Generating Reports in
Disconnected Mode
The mobile clients (Siebel Mobile Web Client and Siebel Developer Web Client) allow you to generate reports interactively in disconnected mode.
In disconnected mode, the Oracle BI Publisher Server is a logical component that uses the Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine to manage generating reports. The XMLP Report Business Service is the interface to this logical component that instantiates the EAI Java Business Service to load the JAR files to the JVM (Java Virtual Machine). The Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine then processes the XML data, XSL template, and XLIFF files to generate the report. For more information about the EAI Java Business Service and JVM, see Transports and Interfaces: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration. The XMLP Report Business Service and the Oracle BI Publisher core libraries (XDO JAR files) are available as part of a Siebel mobile client installation. These core libraries are located in the
SIEBEL_CLIENT_ROOT
\CLASSES directory. For information about client installation, see Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.Figure 3 illustrates both the architecture and workflow for generating reports in disconnected mode. NOTE: Oracle BI Publisher was previously known as XML Publisher or XMLP. For this reason, some software elements retain the XMLP naming convention.
Figure 3 illustrates the following:
1 A report generation event is triggered from a view in the Siebel application.
2 Data is retrieved from the Siebel Database using the EAI Siebel Adapter and stored as XML in the XMLP\DATA folder in the Siebel client installation (SIEBEL_CLIENT_ROOT\CLASSES) directory. 3 A call is routed to the XMLP Report Java Business Service.
4 The XMLP Report Business Service instantiates the EAI Java Business Service, and loads the JAR files to the JVM (Java Virtual Machine).
5 The Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine loads the XDO classes from the JAR files, and then the XML, XLIFF, and XSL template are given as input to the XDO classes for generating the report. The report is temporarily stored in XMLP\REPORTS, and then sent to the Siebel File System.
6 The control then goes back to the Siebel user interface where the generated report appears. Figure 3. Siebel Reports Architecture and Workflow for Generating Reports in Disconnected Mode
Siebel Reports Directory Structure
Siebel Reports files reside in the Siebel Server installation XMLP directory (SIEBSRVR_ROOT\XMLP).
Table 6 provides descriptions of these directories.
Table 6. Siebel Reports XMLP Directory Structure XMLP Path Description
\DATA Contains the generated XML files from the integration object definition. \FONTS Contains the prepackaged .ttf (TrueType format) font files.
NOTE: The administrator must copy the font files from the C:\WINDOWS\Fonts directory to the $JRE_HOME\fonts directory to make sure that reports are displayed and print properly. For more information about copying font files, see
“Copying Fonts for Report Generation” on page 75. \REPORTS Contains the temporary files for generating reports.
\TEMPLATES Contains the RTF (Rich Text Format) layout templates. Users can download these report files to a local drive.
This directory also contains the XSL files necessary for disconnected mode. For information about how these files are used for generating reports, see “How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact” on page 33.
\xliff\lang Contains the XLIFF files for localization. XLIFF is the XML format for exchanging localization data. If multiple languages are supported, a separate xliff
subdirectory is provided for each language and is identified by its language code. For example, XLIFF files for German reside in xliff\deu and XLIFF files for French reside in xliff\fra.
The naming convention for XLIFF files requires that all languages have the same file name as the corresponding report layout template, only the extension differs. For example, if the template name is aclist.rtf, then the XLIFF file must be named aclist.xlf.
NOTE: After a report template is registered, the XLIFF file (or files) is stored in the relevant xliff\lang directory (or directories) on the Siebel Server. When you upload the report template, all the XLIFF files from each language folder and the RTF file are placed on the Oracle BI Publisher Server in their appropriate locations. For more information, see “About the Oracle BI Publisher Server in Siebel Business Applications” on page 32.
TIP: Siebel Language Packs are installed as part of the Siebel installation process. For more information about installing languages, see Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.
Siebel Reports File Types
Siebel Reports uses or generates files of the following types:
■ XML (Extensible Markup Language). XML is a metalanguage that is a simplified version of
SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) used for describing markup languages. A markup language is a mechanism to identify structures in a document. XML allows you to define a standard way to add markup to documents and provides a facility to define tags and the structural relationships between them.
■ XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language). A language for expressing style sheets. An XSL style
sheet is a file that describes how to display an XML document of a given type. Used in
disconnected mode only. For more information about the connection modes for Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 27.
■ XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format). A format to store extracted text and
carry the data from one step to another in the localization process. Siebel Reports uses the following languages for generating reports:
■ XSL-FO (Extensible Stylesheet Language-Formatting Objects). An XML vocabulary for
specifying formatting semantics.
■ XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation). A language for transforming XML
documents.
■ XPath (XML Path Language). An expression language used by XSLT to access or refer to parts
of an XML document.
Siebel Reports also supports various report output file types. For more information about these report output types, see “Siebel Reports Output File Types” on page 22.
About the Oracle BI Publisher Server in
Siebel Business Applications
This topic provides a high-level overview of the how the Oracle BI Publisher Server interacts with Siebel Business Applications to generate and schedule reports in connected mode. For more information about generating reports in connected mode, see “Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode” on page 28.
About the Oracle BI Publisher Server
The Oracle BI Publisher Server is installed as part of the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) installation. For information about installing Oracle BI Publisher, see “Installing Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Enterprise for Integration with Siebel Business Applications” on page 44.
The Oracle BI Publisher Server uses a push-pull mechanism to transfer XML data between the Siebel application and the Oracle BI Publisher Server. During report generation, which is triggered from the Siebel application, data is pushed from the Siebel Database to the Oracle BI Publisher Server to generate reports. When handling a report request, the Oracle BI Publisher Server merges the data with the report layout template from the Oracle BI Publisher repository, and then sends the report to the Siebel application.
The following subtopics describe the Oracle BI Publisher Server functionality in relation to Siebel Reports in greater detail.
About the PublicReportService Web Service
The PublicReportService Web service is a Web service that is exposed by Oracle BI Publisher. This service is the mechanism that Siebel Reports uses in connected mode to upload and pass reports to the Siebel application.
The PublicReportService Web service supports the following operations: ■ Validates privileges
■ Gets information about reports and the Oracle BI Publisher repository ■ Generates reports
■ Creates and manages reports
■ Gets information about the Oracle BI Publisher Server
About the Oracle BI Publisher Repository
The Oracle BI Publisher repository resides on the Oracle BI Publisher Server. The Oracle BI Publisher repository is a collection of reports that is installed as part of the Oracle BI Publisher Server installation. The repository stores the preconfigured reports that ship with Siebel Business Applications and new reports you create.
In the SharedFolder directory in the Oracle BI Publisher repository, the SIEBELCRMREPORTS directory stores all reports. Each report stored in the SIEBELCRMREPORTS directory has its own folder. The layout template (RTF) and XLIFF files necessary for generating that report are in that folder. You upload the layout template files (RTF and XLIFF) to the Oracle BI Publisher Server by registering the template in the Siebel application. The Oracle BI Publisher Server then requests report
generation using a Web service to generate the report. For more information about uploading layout templates to the Oracle BI Publisher repository and registering layout templates, see “Workflow for Uploading Report Layout Templates to a Siebel Application” on page 102.
How Siebel Business Applications and
Oracle BI Publisher Interact
Siebel Business Applications integrate with Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) for report execution. However, depending on your connection mode, layout templates are merged with XML data differently to render reports in the Siebel user interface.
Figure 4 compares report execution in connected mode with disconnected mode.
Figure 4 illustrates the following:
1 A report generation request is initiated from a Siebel application view, and then routed to one of the following to generate the report:
■ Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine in disconnected mode ■ Oracle BI Publisher Server in connected mode
2 The RTF Processor converts the RTF layout templates to XSL for input to the BI Publisher-FO Processor.
3 The BI Publisher-FO Processor merges the XSL and the XML data files to produce the following output formats:
■ XML and XSL formats are converted to HTML.
■ XML, XSL-FO, are XLIFF formats are converted to: PDF, HTML, RTF, EXCEL, PPT, and MHTML. NOTE: The PPT and MHTML output file types are available only in connected mode.
Template Builder, a feature of Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, is used to modify and customize layout templates. Template Builder uses form fields to encapsulate XSL instructions for parsing XML data. Form fields are a feature of Microsoft Word and are the building blocks for layout templates in Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word. You use form fields in template design wherever data is required. Template Builder generates these form fields using the Siebel application and the information specified in the layout template.
Report Execution in Disconnected Mode
The XMLP Report Business Service provides XML files to the Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine to merge the layout templates with XML data. One of the required inputs for the XDO Engine is an XML file. XML files are generated by way of the EAI Siebel Adapter, using the EAI Java Business Service for connecting a Siebel application to the XDO Engine. The EAI Java Business Service is the JVM (Java Virtual Machine) interface between the XDO Engine and the Siebel application. The XML data file is merged with the layout template, then Oracle BI Publisher exposes the completed report document to the user in the Siebel application after storing the file in the Siebel File System.
Oracle BI Publisher provides the XML file to the engine using the EAI Java Business Service. The XML contains the data that populates the resulting document. The data comes from the results of the internal queries run against various data sources.
Oracle BI Publisher uses XSLT and XPath to extract data from the XML data and incorporates that data into an RTF-formatted layout template during run time. XSL comprises three standards (XSLT, XPath, and XSL- FO) for manipulating XML data. The XMLP Report Server component uses the XDO Engine to convert the RTF templates into XSL format, and then using the BI Publisher-FO Processor, converts the files to the published report formats.
Report Execution in Connected Mode
Oracle BI Publisher uses XSLT and XPath to extract data from the XML data and incorporates that data into an RTF-formatted layout template during run time. The XMLP Adapter Service invokes the PublicReportService Web service to generate reports. The PublicReportService Web service is the interface between the Siebel application and the Oracle BI Publisher Server.
Applications
This chapter provides instructions for administrators on how to integrate Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) with Siebel Business Applications for report generation. It includes the following topics:
■ About Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications on page 37
■ About Upgrading Siebel Reports on page 38
■ Where to Find Documentation for Previous Versions of Siebel Reports on page 38
■ Requirements for Using Siebel Reports on page 38
■ Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications on page 40
■ Preparing for Integration of Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications on page 43
■ Process of Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business Applications on page 44
■ Upgrading to the Latest Oracle BI Publisher Patch on page 50
■ Configuring an Outbound Web Service for the Siebel Application on page 50
■ Enabling Siebel Server Components for Siebel Reports on page 51
■ About Security and Authentication for Siebel Reports on page 52
■ Configuring Security and Authentication for Siebel Reports on page 53
■ Adding an Explicit Reference to JAR Files for the Oracle BI Publisher Server on page 58
■ Uploading Preconfigured Report Layout Templates to the Oracle BI Publisher Server on page 60
■ Process of Enabling and Configuring Report Scheduling on page 61
■ Testing Your Siebel Reports Integration Configurations on page 64
■ Roadmap for Upgrading Siebel Reports on page 65
About Integrating Oracle BI Publisher
with Siebel Business Applications
Siebel Business Applications integrate with Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) for report execution. Each new Siebel CRM release typically introduces new report features and functionality. However, before you can use these latest features, you must perform several installation and configuration or upgrade tasks. The tasks you perform are contingent on whether you are deploying Siebel Reports for the first time or you are already using Siebel Reports. If you are deploying Siebel Reports for the first time, see “Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 40. You might also want to review “How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact” on page 33. If you already have a Siebel Reports environment and want to upgrade, see “About Upgrading Siebel Reports” on page 38.
