7 Building a Form Letter Report

In this chapter, you will learn about form letter reports, one of the standard report styles. By following the steps in this chapter, you can generate the report output shown in Figure 7-1.

Figure 7-1 Form letter report output

Description of "Figure 7-1 Form letter report output"

Concepts

• Form letter reports contain database values embedded in boilerplate text (boilerplate text can be defined as any text that appears each time the report is run). It can be text generated by Oracle Reports, text you create, or text you import from a file.

• A form letter report is useful for printing multiple copies of the same letter addressed to different people.

• A form letter report is similar to a mailing label report, in that it is a simple report with a form letter layout style.

Data Relationships

There are no special restrictions on data relationships for a form letter report.

Layout

• A default form letter layout style is provided by Oracle Reports. It consists of the field names for the columns you have selected, prefixed by ampersands (&). The ampersands indicate that they are hidden fields, and are contained within boilerplate and repeating frame objects. You then add the text of the letter to the layout. Oracle Reports prints one record (that is, one letter) per page.

• Hidden fields, which are the default for a form letter layout, appear in the layout but not the output until referenced. You can do this in the Paper Layout view by typing its name, prefixed by an ampersand (&). Oracle Reports treats the reference as a normal field.

• In general, if you are embedding a field within boilerplate text (as in a form letter), it is best to hide the field and reference it where desired. The field values will then flow with the text. A field can appear in a report both where placed by default in the report layout and where referenced. Fields can also be referenced more than once in the same piece of boilerplate text.

Example Scenario

As you build this example report, you will:

• Use the Report Wizard to create a form letter report with a paper layout that includes one query to select all of the columns displayed in this report. Oracle Reports will create all other necessary objects, for example, groups and columns, by default

To see a sample form letter report, open the examples folder called formletter, then open the Oracle Reports example report called formletter.rdf. For details on how to open it, see "Accessing the Example Reports" in the Preface.

7.1 Prerequisites for this example

To build the example in this chapter, you must have access to the Human Resources sample schema (HR) provided with the Oracle Database. If you do not know if you have access to this sample schema, contact your database administrator.

7.2 Use the Report Wizard to create a form letter report

When you create a report, you can either use the Report Wizard to assist you or create the report yourself. To build the form letter report in this example, you can use the Report Wizard. Using the wizard enables you to define the layout for the report, as well as set the data definition.

In the Report Wizard, on the Text page, you will be able to set up your form letter report exactly the way you want it to appear. On this page of the wizard, you can set up your boilerplate text (for example, the body of the letter), and use the fields from your data tables to fill in the variable data (for example, the addressee's name).

To create a form letter report:

1. Launch Reports Builder (or, if already open, choose File > New > Report)

2. In the Welcome or New Report dialog box, select Use the Report Wizard, then click OK.

3. If the Welcome page displays, click Next.

4. On the Report Type page, select Create Paper Layout Only, then click Next.

5. On the Style page, type a Title for your report, select Form Letter, then click Next.

6. On the Data Source page, click SQL Query, then click Next.

7. On the Data page, enter the following SELECT statement in the Data Source definition field:

   SELECT ALL EMPLOYEES.LAST_NAME, EMPLOYEES.FIRST_NAME, JOBS.JOB_ID, EMPLOYEES.EMPLOYEE_ID, JOBS.JOB_TITLE
   FROM EMPLOYEES, JOBS
   WHERE (EMPLOYEES.JOB_ID = JOBS.JOB_ID)
   ORDER BY EMPLOYEES.EMPLOYEE_ID 
   

   
   

   Note: You can enter this query in any of the following ways: Copy and paste the code from the provided text file called formletter_code.txt into the Data Source definition field. Click Query Builder to build the query without entering any code manually. Type the code in the Data Source definition field.

   
   

8. Click Next.

   
   

   Note: If you are not already connected to a database, you will be prompted to connect to the database when you click Query Builder or Next. Ensure that you connect to a database that has the appropriate schema for this example. Section 7.1, "Prerequisites for this example" describes the sample schema requirements for this example.

   
   

9. On the Text page, format the letter the way you want it to appear. The steps that follow will show you how to make your form letter report look like this:

   Employee: &<FIRST_NAME> &<LAST_NAME>

   Emp. #: &<EMPLOYEE_ID>

   Dear &<FIRST_NAME> &<LAST_NAME>:

   The Human Resources department is updating its records of the company's employees. Currently, our records show your employee number as &<EMPLOYEE_ID>, and that you hold the position of &<JOB_TITLE>. If any of this information is incorrect, please contact the Human Resources department.

   Thank you,

   Human Resources

10. In the Form Letter Text box, type Employee:.

11. Click Space four times to enter four spaces.

12. In the Available Fields list, click FIRST_NAME, then click the right arrow (>) to move this field to the Form Letter Text field.

13. In the Available Fields list, click LAST_NAME, then click the right arrow (>).

14. Click New Line.

15. In the Form Letter Text field, type Emp. #:.

16. Click Space four times to enter four spaces.

17. In the Available Fields list, click EMPLOYEE_ID, then click the right arrow (>).

18. Click New Line twice.

19. In the Form Letter Text field, type Dear.

20. Click Space.

21. In the Available Fields list, click FIRST_NAME, then click the right arrow (>).

22. In the Available Fields list, click LAST_NAME, then click the right arrow (>).

23. In the Form Letter Text field, type a colon (:) next to LAST_NAME, then click New Line twice.

24. Type the body of the letter. For the field names, use the Available Fields list to select the appropriate name, then click the right arrow (>) to insert it into the Form Letter Text field. The result should look like this:

    The Human Resources department is updating its records of the company's employees. Currently, our records show your employee number as &<EMPLOYEE_ID>, and that you hold the position of &<JOB_TITLE>. If any of this information is incorrect, please contact the Human Resources department.

    Thank you,

    Human Resources

25. Click Next.

26. On the Template page, select Predefined Template and click Beige, then click Finish to display your report output in the Paper Design view. It should look something like this:

    Figure 7-2 Paper Design view for the form letter report

    
    Description of "Figure 7-2 Paper Design view for the form letter report"
    
    

27. Save the report as formletterreport_your_initials.rdf.

7.3 Summary

Congratulations! You have successfully created a form letter paper report. You now know how to:

• define a form letter report layout using the Report Wizard.

For more information on any of the wizards, views, or properties used in this example, refer to the Oracle Reports online Help, which is available in Reports Builder or hosted on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN), as described in Section 3.1.1, "Using the Oracle Reports online Help".