Running Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant

These topics describe how to run the conversion assistant.

Running the Assistant When the Source Report Is an Oracle Reports RDF File

Run the Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant if the source report is an Oracle Reports RDF File.

To run the BI Publisher Conversion Assistant for RDF source files:
  1. Create the JDBC/JNDI Connection data source on the BI Publisher Administration page. This data source connects to the same database as the Oracle Report. You must have the Administrator role to perform this step.
  2. Launch Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant.
  3. Enter the following fields:

    • Source Path — source directory for Oracle Reports files.

    • Oracle Reports Home Path — Oracle Reports directory. For example, C:\Oracle_1\Middleware\OracleFRHome1.

      Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant requires rwconverter from Oracle Reports in order to convert the report from RDF format to XML format. Specify the Oracle Reports home path where Oracle Reports Designer (9i or later version) is installed. Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant assumes that rwconverter is contained in the bin directory beneath the Oracle Reports home path specified.

    • Target Path — location to place the output files. For each converted report, Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant creates the following separate output objects in the Target Path: Oracle BI Publisher Report folder (.xdo) containing the report definition (.xdo) and layout template (.rtf) files, the data model file (.xdm), zipped report definition file (.xdoz) and zipped data model file (.xdmz), the plsql_pkgs folder containing the PL/SQL packages, and bipconvert.log and bipupload.log files.

      Note:

      You can use the zipped report definition file (.xdoz) and the zipped data model file (.xdmz) to manually upload reports to BI Publisher Catalog.

    • Data Source Name — specifies the data source that you created in step 1.

    • Debug — specifies if Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant will run in debug mode, and write debug statements to the log files.

      Select No to write conversion process details and any statement level error messages to a log file at the report level in the target directory.

      Select Yes to write the details of the conversion process, including the complete error stack in case there are exceptions, to a log file at the component level in the target directory.

    • Upload to Catalog — specifies if converted reports are automatically loaded to BI Publisher Catalog.

      Select No to create converted reports only in the Target Path. This is the default option.

      Select Yes to automatically upload the reports to the BI Publisher Server. If you select this option, you must provide the BI Publisher Server URL (http://<server>:<port>/xmlpserver) ,username and password, and the BI Publisher Catalog folder (under the Shared folder) where the converted reports will be stored. If you specify a folder that does not yet exist in BI Publisher Catalog, it will automatically be created during the conversion process.

      Note:

      If you choose to automatically upload the converted reports to the BI Publisher Server, the bipupload.log file is populated with the details in the Target Path. If you do not automatically upload the converted reports, this log file is empty.

  4. Click Run. Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant converts the Oracle Reports and creates a folder for each of the Oracle Reports in the Target Path. If you selected Upload to Catalog, a folder is created for each report in the specified folder under the Shared folder. Each report folder contains the data model and report. The PL/SQL packages are created only in the Target Path.
  5. Compile the PL/SQL packages (.pls files) to the database. The PL/SQL packages are created in the Target Path in Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant. See Compiling the PL/SQL Package to the Database.

    Note:

    Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant populates the Oracle DB Default Package field in the data model with the package name defined in the report.

  6. (Conditional) If you did not select Upload to Catalog, use the Upload Resource feature in BI Publisher Catalog to upload each zipped data model and report file (.xdmz and .xdoz). Ensure that you use the BI Publisher UI (/xmlpserver) to upload both objects to the same folder in BI Publisher Catalog. See Downloading and Uploading Catalog Objects in User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.
  7. View the converted reports in the Report Viewer.
  8. If the reports were not converted as expected, review the log files. See Troubleshooting Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant.

Running the Assistant When the Source Report Is in Oracle Reports XML Format

You can also run the Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant if the source report is in Oracle Reports XML format.

To run the BI Publisher Conversion Assistant if the source report is in XML format:
  1. Create the JDBC/JNDI Connection data source on the BI Publisher Administration page. This data source connects to the same database as the Oracle Report. You must have the Administrator role to perform this step.
  2. Launch Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant.
  3. Enter the following fields:

    • Source Path — source directory for the Oracle Reports files in XML format.

    • Oracle Reports Home Path — this is not applicable for Oracle Reports XML format files.

    • Target Path — location to place the output files. For each converted report, Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant creates the following separate output objects in the Target Path: Oracle BI Publisher Report folder (.xdo) containing the report definition (.xdo) and layout template (.rtf) files, the data model file (.xdm), zipped report definition file (.xdoz) and zipped data model file (.xdmz), the plsql_pkgs folder containing the PL/SQL packages, and bipconvert.log and bipupload.log files.

      Note:

      You can use the zipped report definition file (.xdoz) and the zipped data model file (.xdmz) to manually upload reports to BI Publisher Catalog.

    • Data Source Name — the data source that you created in step 1.

    • Debug — specifies if Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant will run in debug mode, and write debug statements to the log files.

      Select No to write conversion process details and any statement level error messages to a log file at the report level in the target directory.

      Select Yes to write the details of the conversion process, including the complete error stack in case there are exceptions, to a log file at the component level in the target directory.

    • Upload to Catalog — specifies if converted reports are automatically loaded to BI Publisher Catalog.

      Select No to create converted reports only in the Target Path. This is the default option.

      Select Yes to automatically upload the reports to the BI Publisher Server. If you select this option, you must provide the BI Publisher Server URL (http://<server>:<port>/xmlpserver), username and password, and the BI Publisher Catalog folder (under the Shared folder) where the converted reports will be stored. If you specify a folder that does not yet exist in BI Publisher Catalog, it will automatically be created during the conversion process.

      Note:

      If you choose to automatically upload the converted reports to the BI Publisher Server, the bipupload.log file is populated with the details in the Target Path. If you do not automatically upload the converted reports, this log file is empty.

  4. Click Run. Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant converts the Oracle Reports and creates a folder for each of the Oracle Reports in the Target Path. If you selected Upload to Catalog, a folder is created for each report in the specified folder under the Shared folder. Each report folder contains the data model and report. The PL/SQL packages are created only in the Target Path.
  5. Compile the PL/SQL packages (.pls files) to the database. The PL/SQL packages are created in the Target Path in Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant. See Compiling the PL/SQL Package to the Database.

    Note:

    Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant populates the Oracle DB Default Package field in the data model with the package name defined in the report.

  6. (Conditional) If you did not select Upload to Catalog, use the Upload Resource feature in BI Publisher Catalog to upload each zipped data model and report file (.xdmz and .xdoz). Ensure that you use the BI Publisher UI (/xmlpserver) to upload both objects to the same folder in BI Publisher Catalog. See Downloading and Uploading Catalog Objects in User's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.
  7. View the converted reports in the Report Viewer.
  8. If the reports were not converted as expected, review the log files. See Troubleshooting Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant.

Output Files

Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant generates output files in your target directory for each converted report.

Generated output files include:

  • Report definition file (format: REPORT.xdo).

  • Zipped report definition file (for example: REPORT.xdoz).

  • Data model file that defines the data model (format: REPORT.xdm).

  • Zipped data model file (for example: REPORT.xdmz).

  • RTF Layout Template (for example: REPORT.rtf).

  • Default PL/SQL package specification (format: REPORTS.pls).

  • Default PL/SQL package body (format: REPORTB.pls).

  • Log files (format: REPORT.log).

For example, assume that you want to convert a report called invoice.rdf located in the source directory D:\reports\pay and you use Oracle Reports to BI Publisher Conversion Assistant to enter the target directory D:\BIPublisher_reports\invoice.

The following output files are generated:

  • Report definition: C:\BIPublisher_reports\invoice\invoice.xdo\_report.xdo

  • Zipped report definition: C:\BIPublisher_reports\invoice\invoice.xdo\_report.xdoz

  • RTF layout template: C:\BIPublisher_reports\invoice\invoice.xdo\invoice.rtf

  • Data model: C:\BIPublisher_reports\invoice\invoice_template.xdm\_datamodel.xdm

  • Zipped data model C:\BIPublisher_reports\invoice\invoice_template.xdm\_datamodel.xdmz

  • PL/SQL package specification: C:\BIPublisher_reports\plsql_packages\invoice\invoiceS.pls

  • PL/SQL package body: C:\BIPublisher_reports\plsql_packages\invoice\invoiceB.pls

  • Report conversion log file C:\BIPublisher_reports\bipconvert.log

  • Report upload log file C:\BIPublisher_reports\bipupload.log