Testing and Editing Converted Reports

After you have successfully converted your reports, created the required PL/SQL packages, and moved the report definition and data model files into Oracle BI Publisher Catalog, test your reports.

Most converted reports will run as expected without further modification of the data model; however, it is likely that the layout will require additional modifications to achieve the desired appearance. The following sections are some common issues that you may encounter with converted reports.

Summary Columns Moved to the Select Clause

Occasionally, when you convert a more complex Oracle Reports report, the data model or PL/SQL may contain minor errors and require manual corrections.

Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant will move all formula columns to the select clause of the SQL query in the data model. In most cases, this will not cause a problem. However, if any argument to the formula is a summary column, this will cause errors because the summary column will not be calculated at the same time as the query is executed.

To correct this problem, remove this formula from the select clause and implement the formula in the data model. For more information on formula columns, see Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.

PL/SQL Format Trigger Logic Not Supported in RTF Layout Templates

Many Oracle Reports use simple "if" formatting logic.

Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant automatically converts this logic into equivalent XSL-FO and inserts the code into form fields in the RTF layout template. However, there is no support for PL/SQL in RTF layout templates. Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant does not convert any PL/SQL format trigger logic present in the report. Instead, Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant writes all the format trigger code to a log file. You will need to implement any corresponding PL/SQL logic as XSL code.

To aid in this process, the resulting RTF template will contain form fields that hold the format trigger names that are called; these fields will be highlighted in red. You can then refer to the log to find the actual PL/SQL code used in the original Oracle Report.

You must rewrite the PL/SQL triggers using BI Publisher code syntax or XSL in the RTF template form fields.