This chapter covers the following topics:
The proposal administrator is the user who is responsible for creating and maintaining proposal templates. This responsibility is not the same as the system administrator responsibility. Proposal administration tasks must be performed before users can create proposals. Administrators must set up:
Template categories
Templates
Components
Dynamic fields (optional)
Prerequisites
Only those users whose responsibility has been assigned the Proposal Main Menu, or have the Oracle Proposals Administrator responsibility, are able to perform the tasks outlined in this chapter.
When configuring Oracle Proposals, there are three phases of development:
Planning
Implementation
Maintenance
Planning
The planning phase involves three major steps:
Review the proposal
Identify the components
Identify the dynamic fields
The Proposals administrator must review the proposal and determine the primary and common elements of the proposals sent out by a company's sales force. These components form a template that a designated group of salespeople can use as their basis for creating proposals for their customers. Within each component, the proposals administrator can also determine if there should be several different versions to use. For example, if the user determines that there are multiple versions of a cover letter, those variations can all be saved under the cover letter component. Also, the proposals administrator can determine which sections of the component can be personalized. For example, in the cover letter version A, the proposals administrator determines the potential customer's address and salutation are customizable areas. The proposals administrator should then mark that this is where dynamic fields should be entered on the RTF file that is created for each component version.
Implementation
Implementation tasks include:
Build content (offline)
Register dynamic fields
Create template category
Create components
Create template
Publish
The implementing phase occurs after the proposals administrator has determined which components should comprise the template, how many versions of each component should be saved, and where the dynamic fields in each component version should be placed. The proposals administrator now creates the pieces of information needed in the Proposals application. First, the dynamic fields that are inserted into RTF file created for each component version should be registered. The component versions should then be created as RTF files. Next, The proposals administrator must associate them with components. For instance, Cover Letter version A must be associated with the Cover Letter component. After the components have been created, the proposals administrator can then create a template and associate the components with the template. The template must also be assigned to a category, which determines access to that particular template. End users can filter groups of proposals by category when they select a template to use to create a proposal.
Maintenance
The maintenance phase includes:
Translation
Modification or Deletion
Publish and Unpublish
As Oracle Proposals is used by the company's sales force, the administrator must be sure to make updates to dynamic fields, components, translated versions and templates as required.
Note: To access Oracle Proposals, you must be a FND user and defined as a Resource in the Resource Manager.
Template categories define groups of templates by purpose or usage, enabling users to select the appropriate template while creating a proposal. Use the Template Categories page to view template category details and to create template categories. Use the Create Template Category page to create template categories. Use the Template Category Detail page to view and modify template category information.
Code: A unique numeric code for the category is auto generated after you have entered all the fields in the Create Template Category Detail page. The code cannot be edited by users, and is not exposed to proposal creators.
Dynamic fields are placeholders for text information that are used in standard RTF files and are substituted with information specified during proposal creation.
There are three types of dynamic fields that are understood by the proposal generator:
These dynamic fields are seeded into the application and reference specific information related to Oracle Quoting and Oracle Proposals. Sales administrators can use these dynamic fields in their component content, but cannot create their own. Dynamic fields that are related to the Quote and Proposal objects within Oracle's eBusiness Suite are exposed as dynamic fields.
These dynamic fields are defined by administrators. Values for these fields are obtained:
Through the user interface. Users provide values for these fields during the proposal generation process.
By calling a Java program. A Java program registered by administrators is called during the proposal generation process to provide the appropriate values. These user-defined dynamic fields are used to access information about objects that reside within or outside the Oracle E-Business Suite. This enables the user to integrate Oracle or non-Oracle objects into Oracle Proposals.
Note: Seeded dynamic field codes are prefixed with PRP. You cannot create user-defined dynamic fields with codes that are prefixed with PRP.
Image dynamic fields are supported. Images can be of the types JPG, JPE, JPEG, JFIF, or PNG. Images can be uploaded from the desktop, OCM folder, or OCM library.
After defining the dynamic fields, the next task is to create the components that use those dynamic fields.
Related Topics
Appendix A Seed Data
Appendix C, Creating Java Program Dynamic Fields
Oracle Proposals exposes quote attributes as seeded dynamic fields. Administrators can insert these fields in the RTF files. Seeded Oracle Quoting dynamic fields include those for items, pricing, customers, product category, charges, attachments, terms and conditions, and tax information.
Oracle Contracts is a conditional dependency for Oracle Proposals if being pulled in as a part of a quote through Oracle Quoting. If Oracle Contracts is enabled, Oracle Proposals does not support table tokens in Contracts templates.
RTF Display: Shows the name of the dynamic field as it must appear within the RTF file that represents the component content. This column is used as a reference for sales administrators to know how they need to represent the dynamic fields within a file.
Oracle Proposals Conditional Dependencies, Oracle Proposals Implementation Guide
You can create dynamic fields any time, but the fields must exist before the RTF file, into which the dynamic field is later inserted, is created. When creating a user defined dynamic field, administrators can register them as:
Text dynamic fields: The Oracle Proposals administrator creates a dynamic field, and the value is provided through the proposal creation user interface by the end user.
Drop-down dynamic fields: The Oracle Proposals administrator defines the drop-down list that are displayed in the proposal creation user interface. Users can only pick from the drop-down values defined by the administrator.
Java program dynamic fields: The Oracle Proposals administrator inserts a Java code program that pulls in data from a repository outside of Oracle Applications.
Image dynamic fields: The Oracle Proposals administrator defines a browse field to enable users to add images to proposal components. Valid image formats include JPG, JPE, PNG, JPEG, or JFIF.
Use the Create Dynamic Field: General Details page to enter general details when creating a user defined dynamic field. Access the Dynamic Field Detail page for the appropriate dynamic field type:
Text
Drop-down
Java Program
Image
Code: Enter a unique alphanumeric code. This code is not translatable, must not exceed 10 Unicode characters, and is not editable after it has been created.
Field Prompt: View or enter a new prompt value. This is used to prompt users to enter a field value when creating a proposal created from a template containing this dynamic field.
Text Dynamic Field Creation:
Data Type: If your data type choice is Character, enter a maximum length between one and two thousand. This value determines how many characters the text field holds. Any decimal values entered are rounded.
Drop-down Dynamic Field Creation:
Add Row: Select to add multiple values
Java Program Dynamic Field Creation:
Program Name: Enter the class and method name of the Java program to be executed.
Example: Class.Method.
The program name is not translatable. Any translations of the value must be handled within a single program. The Java file should already exist and be in CLASSPATH.
Image Dynamic Field Creation: Click Next to access the Review page.
After you create a field, insert the code and field name into the corresponding RTF file for the component. Place your cursor in the exact position in the RTF file where the dynamic field should be inserted. Insert the field by entering: <@DFC123:Author@>, where DFC123 is the dynamic field code, and Author is the field name. The RTF parser understands any string starting with <@ and ending with colon (:) as a code, and replaces the string starting with '<@' and ending with '@>' with its value.
There must not be any spaces between the dynamic field code and the '<@' or colon '(:)'.
Related Topics
The following dynamic field attributes are editable at any time:
Name
Description
Field Prompt
Java program name
The following dynamic field attributes are editable only if not in use (are not referenced by an RTF file):
Type
Data Type
Maximum Display Length
Drop-down value (You can change this attribute, but cannot delete it if it is used.
Notes
Dynamic Field Code: You cannot change the dynamic field code.
Seeded dynamic fields cannot be deleted. You can delete user defined dynamic fields that are not used. Dynamic fields are in use if a component's file references them. You cannot delete drop-down dynamic field values if they are used in a proposal. Dynamic fields are in use whenever an RTF file references them.
Components help administrators divide their proposal content into independent elements, which can then be reused in different proposals.
Components are individual content elements that are combined into a template that is used to generate a comprehensive proposal. Content elements can include a Cover Letter, Cover Sheet, or Data Sheet.
A component can contain multiple files. For example, a component named Cover Letter can contain several types of cover letter files such as Cover Letter - Simple, Cover Letter - Expanded. Each file points to a separate RTF file, with its own individual content style. These files hold the actual content including standard text, graphs, or tables that are used as standard text for the proposal. Each individual file is a separate RTF file that represents a style type for the component.
The RTF files contain dynamic fields. During the component creation process, their corresponding files are associated with RTF files. The RTF files must be uploaded to the component.
When a component is created, it is created in all of the installed languages. For example, if English and Spanish are the installed languages, and you need to create two different versions of a cover letter, you could create the following two files:
Cover Letter Simple
Cover Letter Expanded
Then associate two RTF files for each type of cover letter, one RTF file being in English and one being in Spanish:
Cover Letter Simple (English version)
Cover Letter Simple (Spanish version)
Cover Letter Expanded (English version)
Cover Letter Expanded (Spanish version)
When you upload a new version of a template component file, the end users are notified that there is a new version of the file when they next access a proposal that uses that component. However, this does not affect generated proposals.
Note: If you attempt to upload a proposal component that is in use, you will receive a message to that effect.
Then you translate the file name appropriate to the language (the code is not translatable).
Problems might occur with customized styles when using some word processing programs/editors to create your RTF file content. When the proposal is generated, the parser reads the customized document style definition for the latest document, and then applies it to all components if the customized style names are the same. For example, let us assume you create a customized style named Internal Use for the first component with the specification that it use the Font face Times New Roman and Size 12. The second component also contains a customized style called Internal Use but with a different specification of Font face Arial and Size 10. When the proposal is generated, it overrides the definition in the first component and converts the style Internal Use to have the specification of Font face Arial and Size 10.
Notes
Log in to Oracle Proposals with the Proposals Administrator responsibility.
Navigate to the Components page.
Related Topics
Proposal components are pieces of standard content that are included in templates, such as cover letters and data sheets. Administrators can define components and create multiple files for each component. For example, the component Cover Letter can include the files Simple Cover Letter and Professional Cover Letter.
Components are created and then individual RTF files are associated with them. You can associate files from your desktop, and if the PRP: Use Oracle Content Manager profile option is set to Yes or Optional, you can also associate files from the Oracle Content Manager Folders or Library. In all three flows, you select the file and associate it to a component. You can add only RTF files to a component. Oracle Proposals parses and validates any files before they are added.
Note: Files are parsed to check for all valid dynamic fields and RTF construction.
You can create proposal components by adding files from the desktop, or from Oracle Content Manager Folders or the Oracle Content Manager Library.
Oracle Proposals can only access files in Oracle Content Manager that are of RTF type, live, approved, and in the user's current session language. To associate a file for a different language, change the session language and select the component and associate the file.
Quick Create/Advance Create: Quick Create allows for component creation with one file, while Advance Create allows component creation with multiple files.
Add Alternate File: In the Advance Create flow, select the Add Alternate File button from the Alternate files for this component section to add multiple files from the desktop.
Save in Content Manager: Visible when Content Manager is enabled. The default folder to store files is the seeded administrator folder. Permissions are needed to upload a file from the desktop to Oracle Content Manager Folders. An Oracle Content Manager administrator must grant folder access to the Oracle Proposals administrator at implementation time. Every time a file is uploaded, a new content item is created within Oracle Content Manager. If the content item already exists, the user must create a unique name for the file to be stored. All files are stored as approved, live, and in the user's session language in Oracle Content Manager.
Create Folder: Visible when Oracle Content Manager is enabled, and you have chosen Yes in the Save in Content Manager field. Create a folder in Oracle Content Manager to save the file to, allowing you to reuse the file later for other components. In this section, you can choose the root default folder or choose another folder if you have been given access to it by the administrator.
View Folder: Visible when Oracle Content Manager is enabled, and you have chosen Yes in the Save in Content Manager field. Choose an existing folder in Oracle Content Manager if you have been given access to it by the administrator by selecting the flashlight icon. You can view the content of the chosen folder by selecting the View Folder button, which takes you to the View Folder Contents page.
Simple Search: Allows search on name, keyword and description. Simple search has limited fields to search from. Use Advanced Search to have more options.
Advanced Search: Allows search on the file name, keywords, description, Library Category or Folder, owner, product, and content type. Search for the file by entering the first few characters of the search parameter and using the drop-down LOV beside each search parameter to specify the type of search condition.
Attribute: By selecting a content type, the Attribute section refreshes to display additional fields that the user can search by for that content type.
Focus: Select the Focus icon beside each Library Category or Folder to view only that Category or Folder and files of RTF format within that category. Browse the Oracle Content Manager Library Categories or Folders for which you have permissions in Oracle Content Manager. Select category names or folder names to view the contents.
Navigate to Root Category/Folder: You can go directly to the root Library Category or Folder by selecting the hyperlink.
You can do the following at any time:
Editing component name, component description, or file name
Adding files
Deleting files
Associating alternate versions of a component
Previewing files
To edit proposal components, log in to Oracle Proposals with the Proposals Administrator responsibility and navigate to the Components page.
Add Alternate File: Add files by uploading files for a component from the desktop, Oracle Content Manager Library, or Oracle Content Manager Folders.
Delete: Deleting a file in Oracle Proposals means that it is completely erased from the database. When a file that is stored in Oracle Content Manager is deleted, the file still exists for possible reuse, while the association to the file is deleted.
Associate Version: If the original file was added from an Oracle Content Manager Folder or from the Oracle Content Manager Library, you can select a new version from Oracle Content Manager if one exists. Otherwise you can upload a version from your desktop.
While associating a new version for a component document that is in use, you will get a message indicating that the document is in use.
You cannot delete components that are 'in use' in a proposal. Components included in proposals or templates are considered 'in use'.
Notes
Log in to Oracle Proposals with the Proposals Administrator responsibility.
Navigate to the Components page.
Templates provide a standard structure for proposal generation that users can customize.
Template structure consists of components which in turn point to RTF format content, containing standard text, images, tables, and/or dynamic fields.
Administrators can:
Determine the order in which components appear in a template.
Make some components mandatory.
Enable external files to be added to proposals.
Specify the default file if there are multiple files for a component.
While the creation of all other objects, such as dynamic fields and components automatically makes them available for use, templates are not automatically made available when created. Administrators need to publish templates to make them available for use.
The setup of categories, dynamic fields and components are prerequisites of template setup.
Setting up templates is the last step in the administration process.
Even when published, a template is made available only in the language in which it is published. Publishing criteria for a given language is based on whether all components in the template have files associated with them. Templates are created for all languages. Template names and descriptions are translatable, but template codes, component lists, and structures are common across all languages.
When creating templates, you must decide on the supported language for your templates. Usually, different templates are used for different regions. For example, if you have two corporate regions, North America and Asia-Pacific, you could use different templates for each in a specific set of languages. North America would need templates in English, French, and Spanish, and Asia-Pacific would need templates in Chinese, Japanese, and English.
When you create a template, the components' content must have been created in the same languages as the published template. Templates are published if all the components have content associated with them. For a template to be used in North America, component content is created in English, French, and Spanish so that it is published in these three languages. The Template Detail page displays a list of languages in which a template has been published.
Creating templates is a four-step process:
Entering general information
Adding components
Choosing component order
Reviewing/confirming template information
Notes
Log in to Oracle Proposals with the Proposals Administrator responsibility.
Navigate to the Create Proposals Template page.
Apply and Publish in Current Language: Click to publish the template for current session language.
Users can add files to proposals created from this template: Select check box to enable user to add files to proposals created from the template.
Create New Component: Create a new component and associate it with the template. Create the component utilizing the Quick Create Proposal Component page or the Advance Create Proposal Component page.
Associate Existing Components: Choose existing components from the Search and Select: Proposal Component page.
Change Order: Specify component order in the Change Order: Component page.
You can edit the following template elements at any time:
Template Name
Template Description
Template Category
Component Order
External file addition for proposals created from the template
Notes
Template code: a template code cannot be edited.
The administrator has the option to specify whether users can add external files to proposals created from the template.
Notes
Log in to Oracle Proposals with the Proposals Administrator responsibility.
Navigate to the Personalization section in the Template Detail page.
Users can add files to proposals created from this template: Select this check box to enable users to add external files. The change is reflected immediately for all proposals using this template.
Components can only be added if the template is unpublished in all languages. When a template is unpublished, and components are added, the changes are reflected in all new proposals created using this template. Existing proposals are not affected.
Notes
Mandatory: Users cannot exclude mandatory components from their proposals. Select the Mandatory check box for components requiring that status.
Default Document: A component can have multiple files. You can specify a default file that is selected when users pick this template.
Components can only be deleted from unpublished templates. To delete components from a published template, unpublish it in all languages first. After you have removed the component, the change is reflected only for new proposals. Proposals already using this template are not affected.
When you change the component order in a proposal template, it is applicable only to new proposals. Existing proposals already using this template are not affected.
Changes to default files can only be made if the template is unpublished. If a change must be made to a default file in a published template, you must first unpublish the template in all languages before you can make the change.
Notes
Mandatory: Select this check box for components requiring that status. Users cannot exclude mandatory components from their proposals.
Creating a template does not automatically make it available to users. Administrators must publish a template to make it available. Only unpublished templates display a Publish in Current Language button. After a template is published in a language, the list of languages the template is published in displays on the Template Detail page.
You cannot add a component or change a default file in a template that is published in any language. To add components or change the default file, you must unpublish the template in all languages.
Note: Templates can only be published in a language when all components have an associated file for the default file in that language.
Navigation
Oracle Proposals > Administration > Templates > Templates page > Template Name hyperlink > Template Detail page > Components section > Publish in Current Language button
You can delete only templates that are not used in proposal generation.
Delete proposal templates in the Templates page, by selecting the Delete icon for the template you want to delete.
Navigation
Oracle Proposals > Administration > Templates > Templates page
To perform the procedures listed in this section, you must log into the Campaign Activity Workbench under Oracle Applications' Self-Service mode. Consult the Oracle Marketing User Guide for details.
Notes
Log in to Self-Service mode with the Campaign Workbench Super User responsibility.
Navigate to the Activities List page from the Campaign Dashboard.
A lead from a campaign activity, when executed, might become an opportunity. Campaign managers can associate proposal templates which can later be used by the sales representative when working on an opportunity created from the campaign. Users can publish and associate a template with a campaign activity.
Notes
Log in to Self-Service mode with the Campaign Workbench Super User responsibility.
Click the Campaign Dashboard link.
Select a campaign and view its Activity details.
From the Collaboration tab in the Activity Details page, click Add Proposal Template to add a proposal template to the campaign activity.
You can view any existing proposal templates that are associated with a campaign activity.
Notes
Log in to Self-Service mode with the Campaign Workbench Super User responsibility.
Click the Campaign Dashboard link.
Select a campaign and view its Activity details.
In the Activity Details page, click the Collaboration tab to view the associated proposal template.
Deleting proposal templates in Oracle Proposals that are associated with campaign activities can affect multiple campaigns. Before deleting a template, check to see if it is associated with any campaign. If there is an association, inform users about the association before deleting the template.
If a template that is associated with a campaign activity is unpublished in Oracle Proposals, the template is no longer made available to users through the campaign activity for the language in which it is being unpublished. When such a template is unpublished, it does not impact the campaign activity association and therefore no further action is necessary.
The RTF files are the proposal files that contain the actual content (text, graphics, or tables) that represent proposal components. You create these files in your preferred editor/word processing application and save them as RTF files. After you create the files, upload and map them to individual proposal components. These RTF files make up the individual sections of the proposal.
This section provides guidelines, suggestions, and information on creating RTF files.
Oracle Proposals supports certain features of the RTF 1.8 specification. These features are:
Unicode (16 bit)
Table styles
List pictures
Document properties
See Oracle Proposals Implementation Guide and the Microsoft Word 2003 Rich Text Format (RTF) Specification, version 1.8 for details.
Note: Oracle Proposals supports only RTF files created using Microsoft Word.
Please note the following important guidelines for RTF file creation:
Page setup that distinguishes odd, even, and first pages in a file are not supported. Definitions for these parameters from the individual files are lost when the final file is merged.
Only one section is allowed within a single file. It is not possible to create nested sections in RTF files. Parameter definitions for nested sections are lost in the proposal creation process.
Input headers and footers carefully. These settings are carried over to subsequent files unless they are overwritten and defined.
All images must be anchored. The exact position of an image in the merged file must be set beforehand in the editor you use to create your RTF file.
Oracle Proposals does not support the use of standard Table of Contents styles. You cannot create an RTF file using a word processor and/or editor that uses a specific Table of Content style.
There cannot be any spaces between the inserted dynamic field token code and the character combination that follows the code ("<@") and the colon (":"). For example, the following formats are valid:
<@PRP001: Proposal Name@>
<@PRP001:Proposal Name@>
<@PRP001:Proposal Name @>
The following formats are not valid:
<@PRP001 :Proposal Name@>
< @PRP001:Proposal Name@>
<@ PRP001:Proposal Name@>
<@PRP001: Proposal Name@ >
Invalid entries result in errors during the RTF file upload.
Note: All files must be named with an RTF extension to be correctly processed in Oracle Proposals.
Oracle Proposals provides seeded Structure Dynamic Fields to accommodate the addition of multiple quotes to a proposal as well as those proposals with quotes containing multiple lines. These structure dynamic fields enable users to designate the structure where multiple quotes, lines or any other data must be inserted into the file. These are only used for organizing quote-related information in RTF files.
Any quote related dynamic field placed outside the control structure are substituted using the first quote in the proposal.
Related Topics
Appendix A Seed Data
Appendix B Dynamic Field Structure in RTF Files
When implementing Oracle Proposals, you must set specific profile options. See the Oracle Proposals Implementation Guide for details.
Only users with the appropriate profile option settings can create proposals using unpublished templates. See the Oracle Proposals Implementation Guide for details on profile option settings.
Whether proposals are generated offline or online is determined by thresholds set in profile options. See the Oracle Proposals Implementation Guide for details on profile option settings.