Overview

The Template Builder is an add-in to Microsoft Word that simplifies the development of RTF templates.

While the Template Builder is not required to create RTF templates, it provides many functions that increase productivity.

The Template Builder is tightly integrated with Microsoft Word and enables you to perform the following functions:

• Insert data fields

• Insert tables

• Insert forms

• Insert charts

• Preview the template with sample XML data

• Browse and update the content of form fields

• Extract boilerplate text into an XLIFF translation file and test translations

The Template Builder automates insertion of the most frequently used components of an RTF template. RTF templates also support much more complex formatting and processing.

Before You Get Started

The Template Builder installation provides samples and demo files to help you get started.

The demos can be accessed from the Windows Start menu as follows:

Select Start, Programs, Oracle BI Publisher Desktop, and Demos.

You can also access the demos from the BI Publisher\BI Publisher Desktop\demos folder where you installed BI Publisher Desktop (for example: C:\Program Files\Oracle\BI Publisher\BI Publisher Desktop\demos).

The following demos are provided:

• TemplateBuilderDemo.exe - Demonstrates building a report layout using many key features of the Template Builder, including: connecting to the BI Publisher server, loading data for a report, inserting tables and charts, and defining conditional formatting.

• TemplateBuilderInvoice.exe - Demonstrates how to take a prepared layout and use the Template Builder to insert the required fields to fill the template with data at runtime.

• LocalizationDemo.exe - Demonstrates the localization capabilities of the Template Builder and shows you how to extract an XLIFF file from the base RTF template. The XLIFF file can then be translated and the translations previewed in the Template Builder.

The sample files are located in the BI Publisher\BI Publisher Desktop\Samples folder. The Samples folder contains the subfolders:

• eText templates

• Excel templates

• PDF templates

• RTF templates

The eText, PDF, and Excel template samples can be used as references to create these types of templates. The Template Builder is only available for the RTF templates. The RTF templates folder contains eight subfolders to provide samples of different types of reports. Refer to the TrainingGuide.html located in the RTF templates folder for additional information on what is contained in each sample.

Prerequisites and Limitations

Certain prerequisites and limitations apply to this feature.

• Prerequisites:

  • The report data model has been created and runs successfully.

  • Supported versions of Microsoft Word and Microsoft Windows are installed on the client.

    Note:

    See System Requirements and Certification for the most up-to-date information on supported hardware and software.

  • The BI Publisher Template Builder has been downloaded and installed on the client.

    The Template Builder can be downloaded from the Get Started region of the Home page.

• Limitations:

  • The Template Builder does not support bidirectional display of text in the user interface.