Tips and Tricks for Customizing Portal Reports Portlet Modules Peter Koletzke Technical Director & Principal Instructor Visit the Quovera table for more info.

2 If you wish to make an improved product, you must already be engaged in making an inferior one. Second Law of Serendipity

3 Survey Oracle Portal work –Portal reports? –Dynamic pages? –Portal forms? –Calling Oracle Developer forms (FMBs)? –Calling Oracle Developer reports (RDF)? –Calling J2EE apps?

4 Agenda Reports Portlet overview Creating the definition - annotated Tips, gotchas, workarounds Alternatives to Reports Portlet Note: Sample code files available in the presentation zip file on the Quovera and NoCOUG website. Releases: 9i (9.0.2), 10g R1 (9.0.4), 10g R2 (10.1.2)

5 Portal Reports Portlet Basics Call RDF files from a Portal link –“Report Definition File Access” The Portal name –Validates security of user –Presents a parameter form Text fields LOVs (poplists) Report definition created in Portal development screens –Generates PL/SQL package to display parameter form and to call Reports Server

6 Business Database Portal Reports Runtime iAS Database mod_plsql Browser Reports Servlet Portal link Report package Procedure call URL Parameter Form Reports RDF file cgicmd.dat scottcgi: userid= %* Reports Runtime Run Report results (HTML, PDF) Tables and views App Server

7 Creating the Definition Create custom template first –Use your logos and design elements –This is not used at runtime by default Also create LOVs in Portal –Use them on the report Parameters page Two methods for creating the definition –Copy an existing report definition Use the Manage tab of the Manage page Parameter values are not copied –Reset the values on the Customize page –Create one from scratch Screens follow

8 Agenda Reports Portlet overview Creating the definition - annotated Tips, gotchas, workarounds Alternatives to Reports Portlet

9 Creating a Definition Find Reports Definition portlet –In Builder (Reports Security) or in the Portlet list Click Create Reports Definition File Access

10 Creating the Definition – Page 1

11 Creating the Definition – Page 2

12 Creating the Definition – Page 3 Create this beforehand Desformat

13 Creating the Definition – Page 4 Create this beforehand

14 Tips for Creating the LOV This is ignored for reports. Only poplists are available Must be “No” for reports Use this for a “blank” item. Needs a value. NULL won’t work for reports (will work for Portal reports and forms). Do this before starting the Reports definition wizard

15 Creating the Definition – Page 5 Interesting idea

16 Creating the Definition – Page 6 This is ignored Finish generates the report PL/SQL package. Note: Every time you save a report definition, Portal rewrites the PL/SQL package.

17 Creating a Link – Page 1 Click Add Item in a page group page

18 Creating a Link – Page 2 At Runtime

19 Agenda Reports Portlet overview Creating the definition - annotated Tips, gotchas, workarounds Alternatives to Reports Portlet

20 Visit the Customize Page

21 Check the parameters to display. Click Save Parameters (this also saves the values you place here). Be careful of values in non-displayed parameters. LOV Database connection token stored in oracle_ home/ reports/ conf/ cgicmd.dat Desformat? Customize Page Notice the template

22 Click the New Link Where’s my template? How do I get rid of Builder and Navigator links? Can I show the report name? How do I remove the Schedule tab? Can I add a prompt hint? How do I change the buttons? Desformat?

23 Builder

24 Navigator

25 As a Review: The Customize Page

26 Layout Gotchas Layout is very basic –Fields are laid out in a single column –Fields can only be text items or pulldown lists (poplists) –No popup LOV windows or shuttle controls –Field prompts are very basic The template you define will not be used at runtime (only on the Customize page) –Oracle template used (Oracle logos and copyright) –Builder and Navigator links displayed Users can see development areas No declarative way to change the button labels that a user sees –Portlet defaults are Apply, OK, Cancel –Huh? Desformat prompt cannot be defined Still true as of 10g R2

27 Changing The DESFORMAT Prompt Prompt is stored in internal Portal table –WWNLS_STRINGS$ –Protected by a policy (you can’t update it) Technique to make the change –Identify the subscriber ID and ID –Run a procedure that disables policies, updates the table, and enables policies Sample: –desformat_prompt.sql Global to all reports Documented on MetaLink.

28 New Prompt

29 For Other Changes, Modify the Reports Definition Package Code Back up the package code first –If you edit the report definition later, you will need to reapply the modifications Changing code in various procedures –show_tabpage and show_parms_internal –Samples in report_package_edits.txt Also, adding buttons to the template –Sample in industrial_template_buttons.txt Set the access method (item or parent) before starting –This changes the package code

30 New Parameter Form Report title Modified buttons No schedule tab Hints on prompts No Builder and Navigator links Your template No Desformat

31 Validating Parameters Validation Trigger page 6 does not do anything Post-generation change –In the report database package body, find the show procedure –After calls to validity_check(), add a validation block that adds error messages –You need to do your own date format checking –Sample in validity_check.sql If you edit and save a change to the report definition, this is overwritten

32 Tip: Releasing Edit Mode Click Edit from the Manage page Click Back –Report definition is now in Edit mode –No one else can edit it –To fix, click Edit, then click Close –Releases Edit mode

33 Other Methods – JavaScript Self-reducing poplist Auto-selected poplist value. Use this to default a parameter value or to remove a value. Use the same embedded HTML technique for separator lines. Hide and display fields dynamically

34 JavaScript Code Required onLoad() function on the BODY tag in the template –JavaScript added to report package code –Default poplist selection –Disable or hide items Poplist selection changes the display –Self-reducing poplists (country/state-province) – add code to report package –Hide fields and display fields based on poplist value Sample in magic_providers.html

35 Limiting the Query Based on User Database user for Reports connection defined by the cgicmd.dat servlet key To associate a user with the session, get the Portal user –wwctx_api.get_user Pass the user as a Reports parameter Add that parameter to the query –Or set the user name into a context and read the context in a database VPD policy function Sample for setting the parameter in validity_check.sql

36 Agenda Reports Portlet overview Creating the definition - annotated Tips, gotchas, workarounds Alternatives to Reports Portlet

37 Dynamic Page Shuttle control. Same technique used for multi-select control.

38 Code Required Portal dynamic page – not Reports portlet –Calls a package that builds the page a line at a time Layout capabilities are unlimited –Multi-column –Any stylesheet style –Unlimited JavaScript capabilities All code is up to you –Code it in HTML first –Run WebAlchemy for starting code Samples –demo_shuttle.html –demo_dyn_form.txt

39 UIX Form UIX parameter form calling reports server –View object for parameter fields The trick is working out the URL –Examine the URL from other working reports SSO will protect the content –Report package not needed for that Create Struts action to interpret the Run button click –Retrieve elements from binding to get parameter values –Build up the URL with parameter values –Sample URL in sample_url.txt

40 HTML DB Hot new kid on the block You can develop reports with it –PL/SQL based as is Portal reports Same for forms Can call Reports RDF files –No native feature yet –Apparently documented on OTN Anyone done this?

41 Whatever it is that hits the fan will not be evenly distributed. —Anonymous Law of Probable Dispersal

42 Summary The Portal Reports Portlet works but its user interface is very basic If you use it, you need to apply workarounds to the portlet bugs Some customizations require some low- level code modifications –Keep backups of the packages –Don’t tell Oracle Support Consider dynamic pages instead –Or UIX pages or Portal forms or HTML DB

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