Setting Up XML Publisher

This chapter provides an overview of XML Publisher Set Up and discusses how to:

Click to jump to parent topicUnderstanding XML Publisher Set Up

Before using XML Publisher, there are some set up tasks necessary to set up the environment and facilitate template design. This table lists the categories for the set up tasks:

Set Up

Description

Properties

Properties for XML Publisher can be set at four levels. System and global properties should be configured as part of the initial set up for XML Publisher.

Security

Security is defined for creating and editing report definitions.

Template Design

Template Builder is an extension to Microsoft Word that simplifies the development of RTF templates. Template Builder can be downloaded from PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture page or Oracle Technical Network (OTN).

XML Publisher Properties

There are two types of properties used in XML Publisher:

System Properties

System level properties are set in the xdo.cfg file. System level properties include:

  • xslt-parser

  • xslt-scalable

  • system-cachepage-size

  • system-temp-dir

  • fonts

 

Non-system Properties

Non-system or functional properties are set in PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture.

Property Definition Levels

There are four levels where properties are defined, this table lists the levels:

Level

Description

Location

System properties and fonts

System properties and fonts.

xdo.cfg file

Global properties

Global properties are shared by all reports and override the xdo engine default property values.

Reporting Tools, XML Publisher, Setup, Global Properties

Report properties

Properties are defined in the report definition and override global properties for a single report.

Reporting Tools, XML Publisher, Report Definition, Properties

See Setting Report Properties.

Runtime properties

Override report properties.

Runtime properties are set at runtime through ReportDefn.SetRuntimeProperties PeopleCode API.

Click to jump to parent topicDefining System Properties and Fonts

This section provides an overview of the xdo.cfg file and discusses how to:

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicUnderstanding xdo.cfg File

XML Publisher system properties settings are defined in the xdo.cfg file. The default xdo.cfg file is located in the $PSHOME/appserver directory, which is shared by all application server and process scheduler domains by default.

Note. In PeopleTools 8.4x, the xdo.cfg file is used to define all types of properties (system and non-system). In PeopleTools 8.50 the file should be used for system properties and fonts only. The result is unpredictable if the same property is defined in xdo.cfg and other levels.

This is an example of the xdo.cfg file:

<config version="1.0.0" xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/config/">

    <properties>
        <!-- System level properties -->
        <property name="xslt-xdoparser">true</property> 
        <property name="xslt-scalable">true</property>
        <property name="system-cachepage-size">50</property>
        <property name="system-temp-dir"></property>
    </properties>


    <!--<fonts>-->
        <!--<font family="3 of 9 Barcode" style="normal" weight="normal">-->
            <!--<truetype path="C:\WINNT\Fonts\3of9.ttf" />-->
        <!--</font>-->
    <!--</fonts>-->

</config>

See Oracle XML Publisher Core Components Guide, Setting Runtime Properties.

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicSetting System Temp Directory

By default, the system-temp-dir property is not set. This property must be set to point to a temp folder on the server. Note that temporary files created in that directory could grow very large in size depending on the size of your reports, so you need to choose your system-temp-dir for optimum system performance.

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicSetting Application Server or Process Scheduler Domain-Specific xdo.cfg File

You can also specify an application server or process scheduler domain-specific xdo.cfg file. To do this, you need to change the application server or process scheduler configuration file to update theJavaVM Options -Dxdo.ConfigFile setting. For example, to specify a separate xdo.cfg file for the application server domain P8488041, change the [PS_HOME]/appserv/P8488041/psappsrv.cfg file as indicated in the following code samples and put the new xdo.cfg into the [PS_HOME]/appserv/P8488041directory.

Original line in psappsrv.cfg:

JavaVM Options=-Xrs -Dxdo.ConfigFile=%PS_HOME%/appserv/xdo.cfg

New line in psappsrv.cfg: 

JavaVM Options=-Xrs -Dxdo.ConfigFile==%PS_HOME%/appserv/P8488041/xdo.cfg

In the preceding code sample, P8488041 is the Application Server domain name.

If you change the content of xdo.cfg, you don't need to restart the application server or the process scheduler domain that uses it. It refreshes automatically the next time you run it. But if you change the application server or process scheduler configuration file, you need to restart the affected domain.

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicCopying Fonts

XMLP Core engine uses default fonts when the corresponding fonts are not available on the system for a particular report template. The engine looks for these fonts under PS_HOME\JRE\lib\fonts folder.

The default fonts are included in BI Publisher Desktop and need to be copied to the JRE directory. The fonts are located under the Desktop Publisher installation folder, the default is: 

C:\Program Files\Oracle\BI Publisher\BI Publisher Desktop\Template Builder for⇒
 Word\fonts

The following files need to be copied to the PS_HOME/JRE/LIB folder:

Click to jump to parent topicSetting Up XML Publisher

This section discusses how to:

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicPages Used to Set Up XML Publisher

Page Name

Definition Name

Navigation

Usage

Report Category

PSXPSETUPRPTCAT

Reporting Tools, XML Publisher, Setup, Report Category

Set up report categories.

Global Properties

PSXPGLBPROP

Reporting Tools, XML Publisher, Setup, Global Properties

Define global properties.

Design Helper

PSXPSETUPDWNLD

Reporting Tools, XML Publisher, Setup, Design Helper

Download plug-ins to facilitate offline template design.

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicSetting Up Report Categories

Access the Report Category page (Select Reporting Tools, XML Publisher, Setup, Report Category.)

Report Category is a required attribute on all report definitions and Content Library sub-templates. By assigning a report category, you are actually applying row level security to the data on those components.

Report Category ID

Enter a report category ID to define a grouping that enables users to control who can access and edit report definitions and Content Library sub-templates.

Description

(Optional) Enter descriptive text that provides more detail about the report category.

Object Owner ID

Indicate which product, feature, or application owns this report category.

ID Type

Select an ID type of either Role or User ID to grant authorization to.

Security ID

Select the authorized editor’s security ID based on the ID type.

Description

A read-only field that indicates the related display value for the security ID.

Read Only

(Optional) Select to indicate that the designated ID is only able to view the report definitions under this category and not update them.

Note. The PeopleCode XML Publisher classes also respect report category settings and read-only access rights.

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicDefining Global Properties

Access the Global Properties page (Select Reporting Tools, XML Publisher, Setup, Global Properties.)

Property Group

Select the property group.

Property

All properties available for the property group selected appear.

Prompt

Select the value for the property.

Default

Displays the default value for the property.

Property Groups

The following property groups are available:

See Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher User's Guide, Setting Runtime Properties for details on the properties.

Note. The Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher User's Guide (XDOUserGuide.pdf) is downloaded with Template Builder for Word and available in the directory selected for download. For example, C:\Program Files\Oracle\BI Publisher\BI Publisher Desktop\Template Builder for Word\doc\XDOUserGuide.pdf.

PeopleTools Settings

The properties in PeopleTools Settings control report attributes that are specific to PeopleSoft implementation of BI Publisher.

psxp_pdf_optimized

This property controls whether or not the core engine uses the "optimized" PDF Form Processing feature. This increases the efficiency and performance of PDF-template based reports, while disabling certain features. Valid values are:

  • True.

    Enables core engine optimization for PDF-based reports. The optimized engine will provide better performance, while disabling certain PDF-template specific features such as repeated fields and editable fields.

    Note. Full path mapping can be used.

  • False

    Uses the unoptimized engine (same as BIP server), which will enable repeated fields and editable fields in a PDF template.

    Note. Full path mapping is not supported.

psxp_debug

This property controls whether or not to leave temporary files on the application server or the process scheduler server for debugging purpose. It is recommended to set this property at the report definition level to debug a specific report. Valid values are:

  • True

    Temporary files will not be deleted from application server or process scheduler server for debugging purpose.

  • False

    Temporary files are deleted from application server or process scheduler server.

Note. If this property is set to true, remember to change it back to False when debugging is completed.

psxp_usedefaultoutdestination

This property is used to indicate that default processing directory is exposed to the OutDestination property even if this value has not been previously set. The default value of is False.

  • True

    A basic tools directory is exposed to the user, without showing an additional RptInst directory. This is the behavior in pre-8.50 XML Publisher.

    If this property is set to True and the user does not set value for OutDestination at runtime, then Tools will create an output file <Domain>\files\XMLP\123456789\RptInst\MyReport.HTM where 123456789 is for a directory name being generated with a random name. In this example the OutDestination property will return the value: <Domain>\files\XMLP\123456789.

    Some directories will not be cleaned up after processing is done and the report is delivered into Report Manager. Any empty directories that are left after the XMLP reports are delivered to the Report Manager will be cleaned up when the regularly scheduled Application Engine process PRCSYSPURGE runs. You can also run the Application Engine program PSXP_DIRCLN to clean up the directories.

  • False

    This is the default value. Querying the OutDestination property without previously setting it at runtime, will cause it to return blank. After the reports have been delivered to the report repository, the temporary files and directories used for processing will be deleted.

Editing PDF Output

In previous releases the ability to edit PDF output was defined on the Report Definition Output page using the PDF report output may be edited check box. Starting with PeopleTools 8.50, the set properties pdf-no-changing-the-docment and pdf-security are set either on the Global Properties page for all reports or on the Report Properties page for a specific report.

To allow editing of PDF reports, the properties for the property group PDF Security should be set as follows:

Property

Value

pdf-security

True

pdf-encryption-level

0

pdf-no-changing-the-docment

False

Note. It is recommended to set these properties at the report definition level.

Click to jump to top of pageClick to jump to parent topicWorking with Template Design Helpers

Access the Design Helper page (Select Reporting Tools, XML Publisher, Setup, Design Helper.)

During template creation, a design helper facilitates the insertion of application data tag placeholders into your templates. A schema or sample data file is required for using a design helper. If you use a sample data file, you can preview your template offline during the design process.

Two template design helpers are available: one for designing RTF reports (MS Word Template Builder) and one for the PDF template that gets embedded as a JavaScript inside the PDF template itself when you upload the template to PeopleTools.

This page enables users to download a plug-in for Microsoft Word to facilitate offline RTF template design. Select the link to download the tool.

The file xmlp_desktop.zip is downloaded. Unzip the file, which will contain a folder XMLP_DESKTOP. In this folder, select BIPublisherDesktop.exe.

Included in the BI Publisher desktop plug-in setup, multiple directories are created that contain documentation, samples, tutorial, and demos. The program is also added to the Start menu.

See Using PDF Templates.

Click to jump to parent topic Assigning XMLP Permissions to Users

XML Publisher menu access is permission-list driven and depends on permission list and role assignment. PeopleTools delivers permission-list security and roles for XML Publisher report developers and XML Publisher power users.

Permission list PTPT2600 is intended for report developers. Users assigned a role with this permission list have access to all XML Publisher components, including setup capability on the advanced feature Report Definition Bursting page.

Permission list PTPT2500 is intended for power users and provides access to Query data sources for ad hoc reporting through Query Report Viewer and Query Report Scheduler. This permission list also provides access to report definitions and to the Content Library, though access to the report definition bursting information is view-only.

Users assigned to other permission lists and roles, such as permission list PTPT1000, can have access only to the XML Publisher Report Repository.

This table illustrates delivered permission-list security for XML Publisher:

Component

XMLP Report Developer

(PTPT2600)

XMLP Power User

(PTPT2500)

PeopleSoft User

(PTPT1000)

Report Category

Yes

No

No

Design Helper

Yes

Yes

No

Global Properties

Yes

No

No

Data Source

Yes

No

No

Report Definition

Yes

Yes

Note. Display-only access for bursting.

Note. Report properties page is not available.

No

Content Library

Yes

Yes

No

Template Translations

Yes

No

No

Query Report Viewer

Yes

Yes

No

Query Report Scheduler

Yes

Yes

No

Report Repository

Yes

Yes

Yes