Configure Profile Management Notifications Using Reports

This example shows how to configure workflow email and in-app notifications for the profile management business process using Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) Publisher reports. You use Microsoft Word to edit the .rtf template used for notifications. You can modify the BI Publisher templates only

The following table summarizes key decisions for this scenario.

Decisions to Consider

This Example

Which template do I update?

ProfileChangeNotificationReport, for changes to worker profile content

Do I add prompts and headers to the template?

Yes

Do I add data model attributes to the template?

Yes, for Content Type Name

Which language do I use for the .rtf template?

English (United States)

Summary of the Tasks

Configure a profile management notification by:

  1. Exporting the data model XML file.

  2. Downloading the report layout template.

  3. Editing prompts and headers in the template.

  4. Previewing the document.

  5. Adding data model attributes to the template.

  6. Uploading the modified report layout to the BI Publisher catalog.

If you only want to add or edit prompts and headers in the template, use tasks 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6. To only add data model attributes to the template, use tasks 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6.

Prerequisites

  1. Download and install the Oracle BI Publisher Desktop: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bi-publisher/downloads/index.html.

  2. Download and install the Template Builder for Word to use Microsoft Word to edit the layout templates. To download, install, and set up Template Builder for Word, see Creating RTF Templates by Using BI Publisher 11g Template Builder for Word: http://www.oracle.com/webfolder/technetwork/tutorials/obe/fmw/bi/bip/tb4word/tbwordbip.htm.

  3. To preview the configured templates, download a local copy of the subtemplate that applies to your custom own report layout template:

    • Sign in to the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher server with the BI Administrator Role to open the Oracle Business Intelligence Home page.

    • Click Catalog.

    • In the BI catalog, go to Shared Folders > Common Content > Templates for the predefined subtemplate.

    • Click Edit for Workflow Notification Subtemplate.

    • In the Templates section, click the link in the Locale column.

    • Save the subtemplate .rtf file to your computer.

  4. Click Catalog to open the Catalog page.

Exporting the Data Model XML File

In this task, you export the XML file that includes the data model attributes predefined for the notifications. Perform this task to enable previewing your modified template. This task is also required if you intend to add data model attributes to the template.
  1. Sign in to the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher server with the BI Administrator Role to open the Oracle Business Intelligence Home page.

  2. Click Catalog to open the Catalog page.

  3. In the Folders section, expand Shared Folders > Human Capital Management > Workflow Notifications and select Data Models to display the data models in the right pane.

  4. Under ProfileChangeNotification, click Edit to open the Diagram tab on the Profile Change Data Model page.

    Note: To ensure that all data sets include requested elements with null values in the output XML data, do the following:
    Note: To add data model attributes to the template, perform steps 5 and 6. Otherwise, skip to step 7.
  5. Click the Data tab.

  6. Enter the following attributes for an existing worker profile that are key attributes and enable you to pull in all the available profile attributes for changes to worker profile content data:

    • Context Name

    • Profile Item Id

    • Content Item Name

    • Profile Name

    • Content Item Id

    • Content Type Id

    • Notification Name

    Leave any existing sample data in these fields for any other fields.

    Note: To configure a template for worker job profile interest, use the following key attributes:
  7. Click View to see the sample data in the report, and all the available attributes.

  8. Click Export.

  9. Save the ProfileChangeNotification_.xml file to a local drive.

Downloading the Report Layout Template

In this task, you create a copy of the report layout template in the Custom folder, and download a copy of the template to your local hard drive to modify it.
  1. Sign in to the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher server with the BI Administrator role to open the Oracle Business Intelligence Home page.

  2. Click Catalog.

  3. On the Catalog page, in the Folders section, expand Shared Folders > Human Capital Management and select Workflow Notifications to display the templates in the right pane.

  4. Under ProfileChangeNotificationReport, click More, and then select Customize. A copy of the ProfileChangeNotificationReport is created automatically in the Custom folder.

  5. On the ProfileChangeNotificationReport page, under ProfileChangeNotificationReport, click Edit.

  6. On the Opening ProfileChangeNotificationReport.rtf dialog box, select Save File and click OK to save the document to your local hard drive. Save the template with the name UpdatedProfileReport.rtf to distinguish it from the original template.

Editing Prompts and Headers in the Template

To modify workflow email and in-app notifications, you edit a local copy of the .rtf report layout templates in Microsoft Word.
Note: The exact steps can vary depending on your version of Microsoft Word.
  1. Open the UpdatedProfileReport.rtf template in Microsoft Word with the Template Builder installed, if not already open. The document contains all notifications for the profile management business process that involve changes to worker profile content or job profile interest data. It doesn't include approval notifications.

  2. Scroll to the notification with the header CONTENT_TYPE_NAME Added.

  3. Place the cursor at the end of the text A competency was added to PPROFILENAME talent profile by PLOGGEDINPERSONNAME.

  4. Enter to fulfill update job requirements..

  5. Place your cursor in front of the label Competency, and enter New.

  6. Save the document.

  7. Proceed to the task Previewing the Document.

Previewing the Document

Before uploading the .rtf files to the business intelligence (BI) catalog, you should preview the output with the changes you made. You can avoid uploading a broken report that displays an error in the emails sent to users.
  1. In the Ribbon, open the BI Publisher tab and click Sample XML within the Load Data group.

  2. Browse to and select the ProfileChangeNotification_.xml file you downloaded to import sample data from the data model.

  3. In the Data Loaded Successfully dialog box, click OK.

  4. At the top of the document, replace the path with the location of the downloaded subtemplate file on your computer. For example, change <? import:xdoxsl:///Common Content/Templates/Workflow Notification Subtemplate.xsb?> to <?import:file:C:///Template_Directory/Workflow Notification Subtemplate.rtf?>.

  5. From the BI Publisher tab in the Ribbon, click HTML in the Preview group.

  6. If the preview reflects your changes as expected, then change the path back to the original location.

  7. From the BI Publisher tab in the Ribbon, click Validate Template in the Tools group.

  8. Also in the Tools group, click Check Accessibility.

  9. Save your changes in Word.

Adding Data Model Attributes to the Template

In this task, you add to the report template attributes that exist in the predefined data model. You will add the Content Type Name data model attribute to the template.
  1. Open the UpdatedProfileReport.rtf template in Microsoft Word with the Template Builder installed, if not already open.

  2. Select the BI Publisher tab.

  3. In the Load Data section, click Sample XML.

  4. In the dialog box to select XML data that appears, browse to open the ProfileChangeNotification_.xml file you saved in the Exporting the Data Model XML File task and click Open.

  5. In the Data loaded successfully dialog box, click OK.

  6. Scroll to the CONTENT_TYPE_NAME Added notification.

  7. Place the cursor after Description and press the Enter key.

  8. On the new line, enter Content Type.

  9. Place the cursor after the data code DESCRIPTION_COMP and press the Enter key to create a new line.

  10. On the BI Publisher tab, in the Insert section, click the 123 Field button to open the Field dialog box.

  11. In the CONTENT_TYPES folder, select CONTENT_TYPE_NAME and click Insert. The field appears in the document.

  12. Click Close to return to the UpdatedProfileReport.rtf template.

  13. Preview the template using the steps in the Previewing the Document task.

  14. Save and close the document.

  15. Proceed to the task Uploading the Modified Report Layout to the Oracle BI Publisher Catalog.

Uploading the Modified Report Layout to the Oracle BI Publisher Catalog

You must perform this task to use the modified report layout for notifications.
  1. Sign in to the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher server with the BI Administrator Role to open the Oracle Business Intelligence Home page.

  2. Click Catalog to open the Catalog page.

  3. In the Folders section, expand Shared Folders > Custom > Human Capital Management and select Workflow Notifications.

  4. Under the ProfileChangeNotificationReport, click Edit.

  5. On the ProfileChangeNotification Data Model page, on the right side of the page, click Add New Layout to open the page with the Create Layout and Upload or Generate Layout sections.

  6. In the Upload or Generate Layout section, click the Upload icon to open the Upload Template File dialog box.

  7. In the Layout Name field, enter Updated Profile Notifications Template.

  8. In the Template File field, browse for the modified UpdatedProfileReport.rtf template on your local drive, select the template, and click Open.

  9. In the Upload Template File dialog box, from the Type list, select RTF Template.

  10. From the Locale list, select English (United States).

  11. Click Upload to open the Processing dialog box.

  12. On the ProfileChangeNotification Data Model page, on the right side, click View a list to open the Layout page.

  13. In the row for the Updated Profile Notifications Template, select the Default Layout check box.

  14. On the right side of the page, click the Save Report icon.