The data model defines the XML format that is merged with the RTF template. The Template Builder requires sample data to build the template. You must load sample data to use most of the template builder functionality.
If you are not connected to BI Publisher, then use the procedure in Loading XML Data from a Local File. If you are connected, then use the procedure in Loading Data from the BI Publisher Catalog.
One method of loading data to the Template Builder is to save a sample of the report data to a local directory.
For information on saving sample data from a report data model, see the Testing Data Models and Generating Sample Data section in Data Modeling Guide for Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher.
If you do not have access to the report data model, but you can access the report, then you can alternatively save sample data from the report viewer.
To save data from the report viewer:
The Load Data group from the Oracle BI Publisher menu enables you to select and load the saved XML file to the Template Builder.
Sample XML - Enables you to load a sample XML file that contains all fields that you want to insert into the template as a data source. If you are not connected to the BI Publisher server, then use this method to load the data.
XML Schema - Enables you to load an XML Schema file (.xsd) that contains the fields available in the report XML data. The XML schema has the advantage of being complete (a sample XML file might not contain all the fields from the data source). For the preview, the Template Builder can generate dummy sample data for an XML Schema. However, the preview works better if you also upload real sample data.
You can connect directly to the BI Publisher Server to load the BI Publisher report data to the Template Builder to use as sample data for designing layouts.
You can also download an existing template to modify it.
To connect to BI Publisher and load a data source: