Understanding Report Template Types

Template design involves the construction of a report layout in a template file and is dependent upon what the core Oracle BI Publisher engines accept for processing.

The nature of the data plays a role in the selection of a template.

The following table lists and describes supported template types and provides guidelines for you to consider:

Template Type	Description
PDF Template	Reports are prerendered PDF forms that are populated with data at runtime. Starting in PeopleTools 8.50 nested structures are supported. Nested structures should not be used for any reports that need to be backwards compatible. This template type is suitable when you have existing PDF forms that you need to use to generate reports, such as government forms. Generally, using this template type is faster than using RTF templates because no runtime rendering is involved. Use PDF templates when: You already have PDF templates that you must use (for example, government forms). You have simple form-based reporting requirements with no complex formatting, that is, no charting, dynamic tables, dynamic repeated fields, and so forth.
RTF Template	Reports are full rendered, which means that the actual output is generated at runtime using XSLFO technology. Report designers have full control of output formatting and can incorporate charts, dynamic tables, conditional formatting, and so forth. Reports generation is generally slower than PDF-based reports because they involve real-time output rendering.
eText	eText templates are RTF-based templates that are used to generate flat-file text output that can be transmitted to a bank or other customer for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Because the output is intended for electronic communication, these templates must follow specific format instructions for data placement. Note: XML file and Connected Query are the recommended data sources for eText templates because the requirements for eText templates are very specific. XML produced by PS Query data sources lacks the required structure for eText templates and is therefore not available. See Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher, “Creating eText Templates.”
XSL Templates	For more complex design requirements, a number of XSL and XSL-FO elements are supported for use with your XSL templates. See Report Designer's Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher, “Supported XSL-FO Elements.”

Note: Sample report templates are bundled with the BI Publisher Desktop, and available in <Installation Directory>\BI Publisher Desktop\samples.