RTF and Excel Report Layout Templates

You can use Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel to create or edit RTF and Excel layout templates, in addition to the layout editor in the application. If you use Word or Excel directly, you must download and install the appropriate add-in so that the Microsoft application has the features you need to design report layouts.

Note: If you're designing a new layout for your report, consider using the layout editor instead unless you are an experienced layout designer.

Installing the Add-in

1. Open the Reports and Analytics work area, or the Reports and Analytics pane if available in other work areas.
2. Click the Browse Catalog button.
3. Click Home.
4. Under the Get Started pane, click Download BI Desktop Tools.
5. Select the add-in for the type of template you're working with.
   • Template Builder for Word: RTF templates
   • Analyzer for Excel: Excel templates
6. Save and then run the installer.

Creating and Editing RTF Report Layout Templates

An RTF template is a rich text format file that contains the layout instructions to use when generating the report output. Use Microsoft Word with the Template Builder for Word add-in to design RTF templates.

Prerequisites

Install the Template Builder for Word add-in, and generate sample data.

Using Template Builder for Word

To configure an RTF template:

1. If you are editing an existing layout, select your report in the business intelligence catalog and click Edit.
2. In the report editor, click the Edit link of the layout to download the RTF file. If you are creating a new layout, skip this step.
3. Open the downloaded RTF template file in Microsoft Word. Or, if you're creating a new template, just open Microsoft Word.
4. Load the sample data that you generated.
5. Edit or create the layout template.
6. Save the file as Rich Text Format (RTF).

eText Report Layout Templates

An eText template is an RTF-based report template that is used for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). The template is applied to an input XML data file to create a flat text file that you transmit to a bank or other organizations. Use Microsoft Word to create or edit eText templates.

File Format

Because the output is for electronic communication, not printing, you must follow specific format instructions for exact placement of data on the template. You design eText templates using tables.

• Each record is represented by a table.
• Each row in a table corresponds to a field in a record.
• The columns of the table specify the position, length, and value of the field.

Special Commands

You must set up special handling of the data from the input XML file. This table describes the two levels of handling and where you declare the corresponding commands.

Two Levels of Handling

Level	Example	Setup
Global	Character replacement Sequencing	Declare global commands in separate setup tables.
Record	Sorting	Declare functions in command rows, in the same table as the data.