Siebel Reports Guide > Customizing Siebel CRM Reports > Process of Creating Custom Reports >

Creating Report Templates

This topic describes how to use Oracle BI Publisher Desktop to create a report template. For more information, see About Oracle BI Publisher Desktop.

This task is a step in Process of Creating Custom Reports.

To create report templates

1. Determine if you can use a predefined report template.

   It is recommended that you create a new report template only if no predefined report template meets your report layout requirements. The following are some examples of when you can use a predefined template:

   • You can add new fields to an existing report template.
   • Differences between your new report and an existing report are minor.
   • You require multiple versions of the same report where each version displays slightly different data to different users.

     The following are some situations where you must create a new report template:

   • The report requires a new integration object.
   • The report requires a new integration component. For example, you create a new report for a view that references the same business object.

     For more information, see How Siebel Reports Uses Integration Objects.

2. Install Oracle BI Publisher Desktop.

   NOTE:  It is recommended that you use the same version of of Oracle BI Publisher Desktop as the Oracle BI Server you are running. For example, if you are usng Oracle BI Publisher Desktop 11, then it is recommended that you run it with Oracle BI Publisher Server 11g.

   For detailed information about installing Oracle BI Publisher Desktop and creating a report template, see Fusion Middleware Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher. In the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Documentation Library available on Oracle Technology Network (http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/indexes/documentation/index.html). Siebel CRM does not support all features that the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher documentation describes. It only supports features that this guide describes.

3. Start Microsoft Word.
4. Choose the Oracle BI Publisher menu, Data, and then the Load Sample XML Data menu item.
5. In the Select XML Data window, choose an XML data file.

   XML data files reside in the following folder on the Siebel Server:

   SIEBEL_SERVER_ROOT\XMLP\DATA

   For more information, see Directory Structure That Siebel Reports Uses.

6. Use the Template Wizard to define the report template:
   1. In the Microsoft Word toolbar, choose Insert, Table/Form, and then Wizard.
   2. In the Template Wizard, choose one of the following report formats, and then click Next:
      • Table
      • Form
      • Free Form
   3. (Optional) Change the XML data group, and then click Next.
   4. Choose the Siebel fields that the report must display, and then click Next.
   5. If the report must display data in Table format, then specify the group and sort requirements, and then click Next.
   6. Add labels for the fields that the report displays, and then click Finish.
   7. Save the report template in RTF format.

      Siebel CRM creates the following files in the Siebel File System:

      • The RTF file for the report template and the XLIFF files for a connected client.
      • The XSL and XLIFF files for a disconnected client.
   8. Open the RTF report template in Microsoft Word using the BI Publisher Add-on.
   9. In Microsoft Word, click Translation, and select Extract Text.

      The report template is saved as an XLIFF file.

7. Preview the report template:
   1. In Microsoft Word, open the template file.

      Siebel CRM stores the template files in the following folder:

   SIEBSRVR_ROOT\XMLP\TEMPLATES

   2. Choose the Oracle BI Publisher menu, Preview Template, and then choose the output file format.

      Siebel CRM displays the report in the format that you choose.

   3. Preview different output file formats.
8. Copy the report template files to the Siebel Server:
   • If you are using a disconnected client, then copy the following files from this client to the Siebel Server:
     • Copy Report template files that are in RTF format (.rtf) to the SIEBSRVR_ROOT\XMLP\Templates folder.
     • Copy XLIFF (.xlf) files to the SIEBSRVR_ROOT\XMLP\xliff\language_code folder.
   • If you are using a connected client, then save the template file in RTF format, and then copy this RTF file to the Siebel Server in the following folder:

   SIEBSRVR_ROOT\XMLP\TEMPLATES

   Make sure you do not include any special characters in the report name. For more information about these folders, see Directory Structure That Siebel Reports Uses.