reports

Siebel Reports Guide

Version 8.1, Rev. BApril 2010

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Siebel Reports Guide Version 8.1, Rev. B 3

Contents

Siebel Reports Guide 1

Chapter 1: What’s New in This Release

Chapter 2: Overview of Siebel ReportsAbout Siebel Reports 15

About Using Siebel Reports 16

Siebel Reports Output File Types 16

Who Can Use Siebel Reports? 17

About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports 17

Chapter 3: Siebel Reports Development EnvironmentAbout the Siebel Reports Architecture 21

Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode 22

Workflow for Generating Reports in Disconnected Mode 23

Siebel Reports Directory Structure 25

Siebel Reports File Types 25

About the Oracle BI Publisher Server in Siebel Business Applications 26

How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact 27

Chapter 4: Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications

About Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications 31Where to Find Integration Instructions for Previous Versions of Siebel Reports 32

Preparing for Integration of Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications 33

Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications 35

Process of Installing and Configuring Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business Applications 35

Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business Applications 36Upgrading to Oracle BI Publisher Version 10.1.3.4.1 from Version 10.1.3.4.0 37Copying JAR Files to the Oracle BI Publisher Server 39

Siebel Reports Guide Version 8.1, Rev. B

Contents ■

4

Enabling External File References for the Oracle BI Publisher Server 39Changing the Location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository for Siebel Reports 40

Process of Configuring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI Publisher 42

Importing an Archive File to Apply the New Siebel Reports Features 43Copying Fonts for Report Generation 44Adding an Explicit Reference to JAR Files for the Oracle BI Publisher Server 44Configuring the Outbound Web Service for the Oracle BI Publisher Server 46Creating Report Responsibilities in the Siebel Application 48

Process of Securing Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server 49Configuring Security and Authentication Using the Siebel Security Model 50Configuring Security and Authentication Using the LDAP Security Model 52

Process of Enabling and Configuring Report Scheduling 53Embedding the Oracle BI Publisher My Jobs View in the Siebel Application 55Configuring the BIPDataService WSDL for the Oracle BI Publisher Server 56

Uploading Preconfigured Report Templates to the Oracle BI Publisher Server 57

Testing Your Siebel Reports Integration Configurations 58

Chapter 5: Administering Siebel ReportsDeploying Reports to the Siebel Web Client from a Disconnected Client 61

Purging Reports from the Siebel File System 62

Purging Scheduled Reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server 64

About Multilingual Reports 65Designing Multilingual Reports 65Adding a Language to a Report 66Deleting a Language from a Report 66

Roadmap for Optimizing the Performance of Siebel Reports 67

Setting the Report Execution Waiting Period for Reports 67

Setting the Server Request Processor Database Polling Interval for Siebel Reports 68

Setting Concurrency Parameters for Siebel Reports 69

Process of Optimizing the Generation Performance of Siebel Reports for Large Data Volumes 70

Enabling Scalable Mode for Siebel Reports 70Configuring a Temporary Directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for Siebel Reports

72Increasing EAI HTTP Transport Sleep Time for Siebel Reports 73

Contents ■


Chapter 6: Generating ReportsAbout Generating Reports 75

Workflow for Generating Reports 76

Scenario for Generating Reports 78

Generating Reports 79

Example of Generating an Opportunity Report 80

Monitoring the Status of Currently Generating Reports 81

Viewing Previously Generated Reports 82

Deleting Reports 83

Chapter 7: Creating ReportsShould You Clone an Existing Report or Create Custom Reports? 85

Scenario for Creating Reports 86

Workflow for Creating Reports 87

About Integration Objects in Siebel Reports 88

About Reporting Across Multiple Siebel Business Objects 89

Workflow for Uploading Oracle BI Publisher Layout Templates to a Siebel Application 90

Process of Creating Custom Reports 92Extending Integration Objects to Add New Fields for Siebel Reports 92Creating New Integration Objects for Siebel Reports 94Generating Sample XML Data Files for Siebel Reports 95Creating Layout Templates Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word 96Previewing Layout Templates 97Registering Layout Templates for Reports 98Adding Multiple Integration Objects to a Report 100Associating Registered Reports with Siebel Application Views 101

Chapter 8: Scheduling ReportsAbout Scheduled Reports 103

Scheduling Reports 104

Example of Scheduling an Opportunity Report 105

Monitoring and Viewing Scheduled Reports 106

Deleting Scheduled Reports 107


Contents ■

6

Chapter 9: Using Master-Detail ReportsAbout Master-Detail Reports 109

How Master-Detail Reports Work 110

Creating a Master-Detail Layout Template in Microsoft Word 114

Chapter 10: Parameterized ReportsAbout Parameterized Reports 117

About Defining Parameters in the Report Template 118

About Referencing Parameters in the Report Template 118

How Parameterized Reports Are Generated 119

Example of Generating a Parameterized Report 120

Chapter 11: Migrating ReportsRequirements for Migrating Reports 121

Process of Packaging and Migrating Reports 122Packaging the Report Files in the Source Environment 122Migrating the Report Files to the Target Environment 123Packaging Report Database Records in the Source Environment 124Migrating Report Database Records to the Target Environment 125Migrating an Integration Object for a Report 126Migrating a New Report after Creating New Integration Objects 127

Appendix A: Troubleshooting Siebel ReportsEnabling Logging for the XMLP Report Server Component 129

About Enabling Logging for the Oracle BI Publisher Server 131

Enabling and Disabling Debugging for Siebel Reports in Disconnected Mode 131

Resolving Class Not Found Errors When Previewing Reports in Microsoft Word 132

Troubleshooting Error Messages for Siebel Reports 134

Appendix B: Report Business ServiceAbout the Report Business Service 141

Configuring the Report Business Service 142

Index


1 What’s New in This Release

What’s New in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. B This guide provides instructions for setting up the Siebel Reports environment and integrating Oracle® Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) with Siebel Business Applications. This guide also provides instructions for administering and troubleshooting Siebel Reports. Additionally, this guide provides instructions for generating, creating, and scheduling reports applicable to all users.

NOTE: For Siebel CRM version 8.1 and later, the reporting module for Siebel Reports is Oracle BI Publisher.

Table 1 lists the changes described in this version of the documentation to support release 8.1 of the software.

Table 1. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. B

Topic Description

“Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode” on page 22

Added a caution about not modifying parameters for the XMLP Report Server component.

“Where to Find Integration Instructions for Previous Versions of Siebel Reports” on page 32

New topic. It provides pointers to integration instructions for other releases of Siebel Reports.

“Preparing for Integration of Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 33

New topic. It provides prerequisites before deploying Siebel Reports.

“Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35

New title for topic. Modified topic to reflect high-level integration tasks.

“Process of Installing and Configuring Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35

New topic. It consolidates several of the Oracle BI Publisher installation and configuration tasks previously located elsewhere in this guide.


What’s New in This Release ■

8

“Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business Applications” on page 36

Modified topic:

■ Added a note to make it clear that the instructions are for a first-time installation rather than an upgrade from a previous version.

■ Removed the optional step of downloading the Business Intelligence Suite Enterprise Edition Documentation Media Library.

■ Added a step to have users download Oracle BI Publisher Desktop.

“Upgrading to Oracle BI Publisher Version 10.1.3.4.1 from Version 10.1.3.4.0” on page 37

New topic. It describes how to upgrade Oracle BI Publisher to version 10.13.4.1 from 10.1.3.4.0. The content was relocated from Appendix C and rewritten to correct inaccuracies and to differentiate from a first-time installation.

“Copying JAR Files to the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 39

Modified topic to remove steps for enabling external file references because those steps belong to another task.

“Enabling External File References for the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 39

New topic. It describes how to enable external file references on the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

“Process of Configuring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI Publisher” on page 42

Modified topic:

■ The tasks in this process were added, removed, and reorganized, as needed.

■ Step 3 of the process was rewritten to make sure the XMLP Report Server component is enabled and a caution was added about not changing this component’s parameters.

“Importing the Siebel CRM 8.1.1.1 Fix Pack SIF File for Use with Siebel Reports”

Removed topic because it is no longer applicable.

“Importing an Archive File to Apply the New Siebel Reports Features” on page 43

New topic. It describes how to import a SIF file using Siebel Tools to apply the new report scheduling and parameterization features.

“Creating Report Responsibilities in the Siebel Application” on page 48

New topic. It describes how to create new report responsibilities that are necessary for report scheduling.

“Configuring the BIPDataService WSDL for the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 56

Modified topic for accuracy, ease of use, and completeness.


Topic Description



“Process of Securing Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 49

Tasks were added, removed, and reorganized as needed. Subtopics were also rewritten.

Process of Enabling and Configuring Report Scheduling

Setting Up the Database Schema for the Oracle BI Publisher Server

Removed topics. Content relocated elsewhere in the guide.

“Testing Your Siebel Reports Integration Configurations” on page 58

New topic. It provides instructions for testing your configurations.

“Deploying Reports to the Siebel Web Client from a Disconnected Client” on page 61

New topic. It provides instructions for moving reports from a disconnected client to a Siebel Web Client so that reports are available for generation in connected mode with the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

“Purging Scheduled Reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 64

Modified topic to make it clear that the purging instructions are for scheduled reports.

“Setting the Report Execution Waiting Period for Reports” on page 67

Modified topic to reflect that this task is applicable to performance optimization of reports with more than 100 records rather than 2000 records.

“Enabling Scalable Mode for Siebel Reports” on page 70

Corrected directory path in Step 1 of the procedure.

“Configuring a Temporary Directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for Siebel Reports” on page 72

Corrected directory path in Step 1 of the procedure.

“Monitoring the Status of Currently Generating Reports” on page 81

Added a tip about the timestamp of a report.

“Extending Integration Objects to Add New Fields for Siebel Reports” on page 92

New topic. It describes how to extend an integration object to add a new field to a report.

“Scheduling Reports” on page 104 Added a note at the end of the procedure advising that the My Jobs view is an embedded Web page from the Oracle BI Publisher Enterprise application.

“About Parameterized Reports” on page 117

Removed the last paragraph in the topic. No preconfigured parameterized reports ship with Siebel Business Applications.

“Enabling Debugging for Siebel Reports in Disconnected Mode” on page 131

Corrected the procedure.


Topic Description



10

Additional Changes■ Replaced references to Oracle application servers with ORACLE_HOME.

■ Replaced references to the Oracle BI Publisher installation directory with ORACLE_HOME/oc4j_bi.

■ Replaced references to OracleMetaLink 3 with My Oracle Support.

■ Retitled Chapter 4, “Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” to clarify that tasks are integration tasks rather than installation and configuration tasks. Also made structural changes to the content, including:

■ Topic additions, deletions, renaming, and reorganization

■ Revisions to procedures

■ New and revised index entries

■ Added new requirements for implementing Siebel Reports.

■ Modified steps in roadmap for integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications.

■ Provided a better example for the “Configuring the Outbound Web Service for the Oracle BI Publisher Server” topic.

■ Reworded note at end of the “Enabling Scalable Mode for Siebel Reports” topic for clarity.

What's New in Siebel Reports, Version 8.1, Rev. ATable 2 lists the changes described in this version of the documentation to support release 8.1 of the software.

“Troubleshooting the CLASSPATH Settings Using Siebel Server Manager” on page 139

Modified topic to correct the command syntax.

Appendix C, “Upgrading to Siebel Reports Version 8.1.1.1”

Removed appendix. Content relocated to the “Upgrading Oracle BI Publisher” topic.

Table 2. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. A

Topic Description

Chapter 4, “Installing and Configuring Siebel Reports”

Modified chapter. It describes how to install and configure Siebel Reports version 8.1.1.1.

“Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business Applications” on page 31

Modified topic. It describes how to install Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) Publisher version 10.1.3.4.1.

“Purging Reports in the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 51

New topic. It describes how to purge reports permanently in the Oracle BI Publisher repository.


Topic Description



Additional ChangesThis version of Siebel Reports Guide includes:

■ Several new preconfigured reports are available in this release. For a comprehensive list of the preconfigured reports that ship with Siebel Business Applications, see 876284.1 (Doc ID) on My Oracle Support.

■ Changes made throughout the guide to reflect the new features and functionality for the current release of Siebel Reports.

■ Structural changes to the content, such as topic organization and heading arrangement, revisions to procedures, and an expanded index.

“Process of Optimizing the Generation Performance of Siebel Reports for Large Data Volumes” on page 57

Modified topic. Added a note about not executing reports with large data volumes as an immediate report request.

“Enabling Scalable Mode for Siebel Reports” on page 58

Modified topic. Added a note advising when not to enable scalable mode.

“Configuring a Temporary Directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for Siebel Reports” on page 60

New topic. It describes how to configure a temporary directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for use with complex reports.

“Increasing EAI HTTP Transport Sleep Time for Siebel Reports” on page 60

New topic. It describes how to increase the default sleep time to improve performance when generating complex reports or against large data sets.

Chapter 7, “Scheduling Reports” New chapter. It describes how to schedule reports to run at a later date and with recurring frequency.

Chapter 9, “Using Master-Detail Reports”

New chapter. Content in this chapter was relocated from Chapter 5, “Administering Siebel Reports.”

Chapter 10, “Parameterized Reports” New chapter. It provides the additional tasks you must perform when creating parameterized reports.

“Resolving Class Not Found Errors When Previewing Reports in Microsoft Word” on page 118

New topic. It describes how to resolve errors encountered when previewing reports in Microsoft Word.

Appendix B, “Report Business Service”

New appendix. It describes the Report Business Service and how it is used.

Appendix C, “Upgrading to Siebel Reports Version 8.1.1.1”

New appendix. It describes how to upgrade to Siebel Reports version 8.1.1.1.

Table 2. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Guide, Version 8.1, Rev. A

Topic Description



12

What's New in Siebel Reports, Version 8.1Table 3 lists the changes described in this version of the documentation to support release 8.1 of the software.

Additional Changes■ Removed all Actuate-related chapters and content.

For information about integrating Siebel reports with Actuate, see Siebel Reports Administration Guide version 8.0 on the Siebel Bookshelf.

NOTE: The Siebel Bookshelf is available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN), Oracle E-Delivery, or it might be installed locally on your intranet, or on a network location.

■ Reports and the Reports Menu are no longer available in Siebel Tools. Siebel Reports are now accessed using the application views in the Siebel clients.

■ Several reports are no longer available. Of particular note, the following reports are no longer available:

■ Application Upgrade Object List. Provided object differences between repository versions.

Table 3. New Product Features in Siebel Reports Administration Guide, Version 8.1

Topic Description

Chapter 2, “Overview of Siebel Reports” New chapter. It describes Siebel Reports.

Chapter 3, “Siebel Reports Development Environment”

New chapter. It describes the Siebel Reports architecture and report generation, the Oracle BI Publisher Server, and how Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) interacts with Siebel Business Applications.

Chapter 4, “Installing Siebel Reports” New chapter. It describes the preinstallation, installation, and postinstallation tasks for Siebel Reports.

Chapter 6, “Administering Siebel Reports” New chapter. It describes how to purge reports and create multilingual reports.

Chapter 8, “Running Reports” New chapter. It describes how to run Siebel Reports from a user perspective.

Chapter 9, “Creating Reports” New chapter. It describes the report layout templates, integration objects, and master-detail reports.

Chapter 12, “Migrating Reports” New chapter. It describes how to migrate reports from one environment to another (applicable only to disconnected clients).

Appendix A, “Troubleshooting Siebel Reports” New appendix. It describes how to enable logging for the various components of Siebel Reports, and how to respond to error messages.



■ Application Upgrade Attributes List. Provided attribute differences between repository versions.

NOTE: The data provided in these reports is still accessible using the Screens menu. For more information about using the Screens menu, see Using Siebel Tools.

■ The following reports have been relocated to the application administration views in the Siebel clients instead of Siebel Tools:

■ Tables. Provides selected properties and lists the columns for each table.

For more information about the Tables report, see Siebel Data Model Reference.

■ EIM Interface Tables. Provides various properties for each EIM interface table.

For more information about the EIM Interface Tables report, see Siebel Enterprise Integration Manager Administration Guide.

■ The location for the follow documentation has changed:

■ Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

■ Siebel Business Applications Third-Party Bookshelf is available on Oracle E-Delivery.

■ Other Siebel CRM documentation (Release Notes, Maintenance Release Guides, Alerts, Technical Notes, Troubleshooting Steps, FAQs, Error Messages) is located on OracleMetaLink 3.



14


2 Overview of Siebel Reports

This chapter provides a brief introduction to Siebel Reports and the reporting tools used to create reports. It includes the following topics:

■ About Siebel Reports on page 15

■ About Using Siebel Reports on page 16

■ Siebel Reports Output File Types on page 16

■ Who Can Use Siebel Reports? on page 17

■ About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports on page 17

About Siebel ReportsOracle’s Siebel Business Applications ship with preconfigured reports and layout templates. You can choose to use these reports, modify these reports, or create your own custom reports. For a comprehensive list of the preconfigured reports that ship with Siebel Business Applications, see 876284.1 (Doc ID) on My Oracle Support.

You work with Siebel Reports in the following locations:

■ In the Siebel application to generate, schedule, and view reports. The views are also used for Siebel application administrative tasks.

For more information about generating reports, see Chapter 6, “Generating Reports.” For information about scheduling reports, see Chapter 8, “Scheduling Reports.”

■ In Microsoft Word by using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word to create and customize layout templates.

For more information about using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, see “About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports” on page 17.

■ In Oracle BI Publisher to manage report scheduling, report users, and other Oracle BI Publisher administration tasks.

Information about these administrative tasks is documented throughout this guide.


Overview of Siebel Reports ■ About Using Siebel Reports

16

About Using Siebel ReportsIn the Siebel clients (Siebel Web Client, Siebel Mobile Web Client, and Siebel Developer Web Client) you use views to generate reports. While in a view, you typically perform a query, and then select the report that you want to generate from the application-level Reports menu. From the Reports menu, you can choose to either generate a report immediately or schedule a report to generate at a later time. You can monitor your long-running and scheduled reports, view previously generated reports, or delete reports from the My Reports and the My Jobs views.

For more information about using Siebel reports from a user perspective, see Chapter 6, “Generating Reports.” For more information scheduling reports from a user perspective, see Chapter 8, “Scheduling Reports.”

NOTE: The new report features (report scheduling, parameterized reports, and the new security protocol) are available only in connected mode.

Siebel Reports Output File TypesSiebel Reports supports the following output file types:

■ PDF (Portable Document Format)

■ HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)

■ RTF (Rich Text Format)

■ EXCEL (Microsoft Excel XLS format)

■ PPT (Microsoft PowerPoint format)

NOTE: The PPT report output file type is available only in connected mode. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 21.

The report output file types that are available to you for a specific report are determined by the report developer when registering a report in the Siebel application. For more information about registering reports, see “Registering Layout Templates for Reports” on page 98.

Overview of Siebel Reports ■ Who Can Use Siebel Reports?


Who Can Use Siebel Reports?This topic describes the users and the tasks they are allowed to perform.

Siebel Reports users include the following:

■ Report user. Users can generate, view, monitor, and schedule reports that they are granted access to in a Siebel application. Users can also delete reports that they have personally generated. Additionally, users who have Microsoft Word and Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word installed on their computers can also modify existing templates or create custom layout templates. For more information about Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, see “About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports” on page 17. In a sales organization, typical report users might be sales representatives, sales managers, and sales executives.

NOTE: Report scheduling is available only in connected mode. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 21.

■ Report developer (or business user). Developers are responsible for determining how best to extract data from various sources and are granted permission to perform administrative tasks. These administrative tasks include generating translatable XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) files, uploading and registering templates in the Siebel clients, associating reports with Siebel application views, and so on. In a sales organization, report developers might be sales managers, business analysts, and so on.

NOTE: A sales manager might be a report user or a report developer depending on the responsibility assigned. Your business requirements determine which views are made available to certain users for reports development and administration. Restrictions are implemented using the standard Siebel access controls. For more information about user management, see “Process of Securing Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 49. For more information about access control in general, see Siebel Security Guide.

■ Report administrator. The report administrator might perform tasks typically performed by report developers, but the administrator is also responsible for installation and configuration tasks, purging reports, and managing the translation of reports from one language to another.

About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel ReportsOracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word (also known as Oracle BI Publisher Desktop) is an authoring tool that allows you to use native formatting features of Microsoft Word to design layout templates for reports. The application includes documentation, demos, and samples.

NOTE: Siebel Reports allows you to use a subset of the functionality and features the Oracle BI Publisher Desktop provides. Only the features documented in this guide are supported.


Overview of Siebel Reports ■ About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports

18

Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word provides separate layout, query, and language capability in one interface. Because data logic is separate from the layout, and the layout is not dependent on the needs of a particular language, this feature allows for flexibility in deployment and reduced maintenance costs.

When you open Microsoft Word after installing Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, the Oracle BI Publisher menu toolbar appears, as shown in Figure 1.

For information about installing Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, see “Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business Applications” on page 36.

NOTE: It is recommended that you not use Oracle BI Publisher Desktop version 10.1.3.4.1 with Oracle BI Publisher version 10.1.3.4.0.

Advantages of Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word as a Report Authoring ToolAdvantages of using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word for creating layout templates and customizing reports include:

■ Users can build the layout and rules for reports themselves or reuse their existing company documents. Even if your users do not have the skills to create their own layout templates, they can begin creating the template in Microsoft Word. Then the report developer can use that same document to finalize the template and report.

■ Deployment is more efficient, because users can build the report that they want without having to depend on an engineer to interpret their requirements.

■ Testing cycles are reduced because users can implement changes to the report rather than tying up valuable development resources.

■ Report developers can concentrate on extracting only data.

■ Report developers can extract data from diverse sources.

■ Both report developers and report administrators can build and maintain reports.

■ Interoperability with other standards-based reporting engines, such as Oracle’s enterprise reporting tool that is used in Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, BI EE (Business Intelligence Suite, Enterprise Edition Plus), and so on.

Figure 1. Example of Oracle BI Publisher Menu and Toolbar in Microsoft Word

Oracle BI Publisher Toolbar

Oracle BI Publisher Menu

Overview of Siebel Reports ■ About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-infor Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports


Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word FeaturesSome of the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word features that are especially helpful in Siebel Reports template creation and customization include:

■ Template Builder. Facilitates the development of RTF (Rich Text Format) layout templates for reports.

Using Template Builder, users create how they want their report to look, and then a report developer can use this same document to determine how to extract data from the database in the most efficient manner. Because both report users and report developers use the same report authoring tool, there is much less chance for misinterpretation of the requirements.

■ Template Viewer. Allows you to preview report layouts with sample data in multiple output formats at any stage of development. Template Viewer is a feature of Template Builder.

■ Excel Analyzer. Oracle BI Publisher Analyzer for Excel facilitates the development of Excel templates that export data to an Excel spreadsheet. It allows you to:

■ Export the results of a report query to an Excel spreadsheet

■ Log in to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word from Excel to refresh your data, apply new parameters, and apply a template to the report data

■ Create templates in Excel, upload them to the Oracle BI Publisher repository, and then access and generate reports from an Excel session

NOTE: The Analyzer for Excel feature is available only in connected mode. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 21.

For more information about using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, see Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Report Designer's Guide available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

NOTE: Not all features mentioned in the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher documentation are currently integrated in the Siebel Reports solution; only the features documented in this guide.


Overview of Siebel Reports ■ About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports

20


3 Siebel Reports Development Environment

This chapter describes the Siebel Reports development environment and how Siebel Reports interacts with Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) to generate reports in Siebel Business Applications. It includes the following topics:

■ About the Siebel Reports Architecture on page 21

■ Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode on page 22

■ Workflow for Generating Reports in Disconnected Mode on page 23

■ Siebel Reports Directory Structure on page 25

■ Siebel Reports File Types on page 25

■ About the Oracle BI Publisher Server in Siebel Business Applications on page 26

■ How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact on page 27

About the Siebel Reports ArchitectureFor Siebel CRM version 8.1 and later, Siebel Reports supports two architectures: one for connected mode, and one for disconnected mode. From the perspective of the end user when requesting reports in the various Siebel clients, there is no apparent difference. However, executing report requests using the Siebel clients differs depending on the connection mode:

■ Disconnected mode. Requesting reports in disconnected mode runs Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) through the XMLP Report Business Service using the embedded Oracle BI Publisher libraries. For more information about the architecture for disconnected mode, see “Workflow for Generating Reports in Disconnected Mode” on page 23.

■ Connected mode. Requesting reports in connected mode to a server or through the Siebel Web Client integrates directly with the Siebel XMLP Report Server component and the Oracle BI Publisher Server. For more information about the architecture for connected mode, the XMLP Report Server component, and the Oracle BI Publisher Server, see “Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode” on page 22.

TIP: For some Siebel Business Applications, the Siebel Web Client is not required. It is possible to generate Oracle BI Publisher reports with the embedded Oracle BI Publisher libraries, such as is the case with Siebel Loyalty. Another instance of when a Siebel Web Client is not required is when report generation is requested using a workflow by way of the business services in the XMLP Report Server Component. These two instances, however, are not documented in this guide. The instances are mentioned so that you know there are other reporting capabilities available for Siebel Reports.


Siebel Reports Development Environment ■ Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode

22

Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected ModeThe Siebel Web Client and other connected clients allow you to generate reports in connected mode. When you select a report from the Reports menu in a Siebel application view, the XMLP Report Server component processes the request and extracts the relevant data from the Siebel Database. The XMLP Report Server component converts the data to XML, then issues an outbound Web service call to a standalone Oracle BI Publisher Server. The Oracle BI Publisher Server accepts the XML data file, generates the layout template, and merges the layout template with the XML data. The Oracle BI Publisher Server then sends the report output file back to the XMLP Report Server component using an outbound Web service call. The report is stored in the Siebel File System and then displayed in the Siebel application.

CAUTION: Do not modify the XMLP Report Server component parameters. Any modification can adversely affect the operation of your Siebel Reports implementation.

Figure 2 illustrates both the architecture and workflow for generating reports in connected mode.

NOTE: Oracle BI Publisher was recently renamed; previously Oracle BI Publisher was called XML Publisher or XMLP. For this reason, some software elements retain the XMLP naming convention.

The following text provides a high-level description of Figure 2:

1 A report generation event is triggered from a Siebel application view.

2 The Siebel Application Object Manager (AOM) routes the event to the Siebel Database.

Figure 2. Siebel Reports Architecture and Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode

Siebel Reports Development Environment ■ Workflow for Generating Reports inDisconnected Mode


3 The Server Request Broker (SRBroker) and the Server Request Processor (SRProc) monitor the request and pass it to the XMLP Report Server component through the XMLP Driver Service.

4 The XMLP Driver Service makes a call to the XMLP Data Service.

5 The XMLP Data Service fetches data from the Siebel Database through the EAI Siebel Adapter, and then returns the control back to the XMLP Data Service.

6 The XMLP Data Service passes control back to the XMLP Driver Service.

7 The XMLP Driver Service makes a call to the XMLP Adapter Service.

8 The XMLP Adapter Service makes a call to the proxy PublicReportService business service.

9 The proxy PublicReportService business service makes a Web service call to the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

10 The Oracle BI Publisher Server executes report generation and returns the generated report binary data by way of a Web service call back to the proxy PublicReportService business service.

11 The proxy PublicReportService business service returns control to the XMLP Adapter Service.

12 The XMLP Adapter Service then downloads the report, and creates the file in the Siebel File System, which is displayed in the Siebel application.

Workflow for Generating Reports in Disconnected ModeThe mobile clients (Siebel Mobile Web Client and Siebel Developer Web Client) allow you to generate reports interactively in disconnected mode.

In disconnected mode, the Oracle BI Publisher Server is a logical component that uses the Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine to manage generating reports. The XMLP Report Business Service is the interface to this logical component that instantiates the EAI Java Business Service to load the JAR files to the JVM (Java Virtual Machine). The Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine then processes the XML data, XSL template, and XLIFF files to generate the report. For more information about the EAI Java Business Service and JVM, see Transports and Interfaces: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration.

The XMLP Report Business Service and the Oracle BI Publisher core libraries (XDO JAR files) are available as part of a Siebel mobile client installation. These core libraries are located in the SIEBEL_CLIENT_ROOT\CLASSES directory. For information about client installation, see Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.


Siebel Reports Development Environment ■ Workflow for Generating Reports in Disconnected Mode

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Figure 3 illustrates both the architecture and workflow for generating reports in disconnected mode.

NOTE: Oracle BI Publisher was previously known as XML Publisher or XMLP. For this reason, some software elements retain the XMLP naming convention.

Figure 3 illustrates the following:

1 A report generation event is triggered from a view in the Siebel application.

2 Data is retrieved from the Siebel Database using the EAI Siebel Adapter and stored as XML in the XMLP\DATA folder in the Siebel client installation (SIEBEL_CLIENT_ROOT\CLASSES) directory.

3 A call is routed to the XMLP Report Java Business Service.

4 The XMLP Report Business Service instantiates the EAI Java Business Service, and loads the JAR files to the JVM (Java Virtual Machine).

5 The Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine loads the XDO classes from the JAR files, and then the XML, XLIFF, and XSL template are given as input to the XDO classes for generating the report. The report is temporarily stored in XMLP\REPORTS, and then sent to the Siebel File System.

6 The control then goes back to the Siebel user interface where the generated report appears.

Figure 3. Siebel Reports Architecture and Workflow for Generating Reports in Disconnected Mode

Siebel Reports Development Environment ■ Siebel Reports Directory Structure


Siebel Reports Directory StructureSiebel Reports files reside in the Siebel Server installation XMLP directory (SIEBSRVR_ROOT\XMLP).

Table 4 provides descriptions of these directories.

Siebel Reports File TypesSiebel Reports uses or generates files of the following types:

■ XML (Extensible Markup Language). XML is a metalanguage that is a simplified version of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) used for describing markup languages. A markup language is a mechanism to identify structures in a document. XML allows you to define a standard way to add markup to documents and provides a facility to define tags and the structural relationships between them.

■ XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language). A language for expressing style sheets. An XSL style sheet is a file that describes how to display an XML document of a given type. Used in disconnected mode only. For more information about the connection modes for Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 21.

Table 4. Siebel Reports XMLP Directory Structure

XMLP Path Description

\DATA Contains the generated XML files from the integration object definition.

\FONTS Contains the prepackaged .ttf (TrueType format) font files.

NOTE: The administrator must copy the font files from the C:\WINDOWS\Fonts directory to the $JRE_HOME\fonts directory to make sure that reports are displayed and print properly. For more information about copying font files, see “Process of Enabling and Configuring Report Scheduling” on page 53.

\REPORTS Contains the temporary files for generating reports.

\TEMPLATES Contains the RTF (Rich Text Format) layout templates. Users can download these report files to a local drive.

This directory also contains the XSL files necessary for disconnected mode. For information about how these files are used for generating reports, see “How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact” on page 27.

\xliff\<lang> Contains the XLIFF files for localization. XLIFF is the XML format for exchanging localization data. If multiple languages are supported, a separate xliff subdirectory is provided for each language and is identified by its language code. For example, XLIFF files for German reside in xliff\deu and XLIFF files for French reside in xliff\fra.

NOTE: Siebel Language Packs are installed as part of the Siebel installation process. For more information about installing languages, see Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.


Siebel Reports Development Environment ■ About the Oracle BI Publisher Server in Siebel Business Applications

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■ XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format). A format to store extracted text and carry the data from one step to another in the localization process.

Siebel Reports uses the following languages for generating reports:

■ XSL-FO (Extensible Stylesheet Language-Formatting Objects). An XML vocabulary for specifying formatting semantics.

■ XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformation). A language for transforming XML documents.

■ XPath (XML Path Language). An expression language used by XSLT to access or refer to parts of an XML document.

Siebel Reports also supports various report output file types. For more information about these report output types, see “Siebel Reports Output File Types” on page 16.

About the Oracle BI Publisher Server in Siebel Business ApplicationsThis topic provides a high-level overview of the how the Oracle BI Publisher Server interacts with Siebel Business Applications to generate and schedule reports in connected mode. For more information about generating reports in connected mode, see “Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode” on page 22.

About the Oracle BI Publisher ServerThe Oracle BI Publisher Server is installed as part of the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) installation. For information about installing Oracle BI Publisher, see “Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business Applications” on page 36.

The Oracle BI Publisher Server uses a push-pull mechanism to transfer XML data between the Siebel application and the Oracle BI Publisher Server. During report generation, which is triggered from the Siebel application, data is pushed from the Siebel Database to the Oracle BI Publisher Server to generate reports. When handling a report request, the Oracle BI Publisher Server merges the data with the report template from the Oracle BI Publisher repository, and then sends the report to the Siebel application.

The following subtopics describe the Oracle BI Publisher Server functionality in greater detail.

About the PublicReportService Web ServiceThe PublicReportService Web service is a Web service that is exposed by Oracle BI Publisher. This service is the mechanism that Siebel Reports uses in connected mode to upload and pass reports to the Siebel application.

The PublicReportService Web service supports the following operations:

■ Validates privileges

■ Gets information about reports and the Oracle BI Publisher repository

Siebel Reports Development Environment ■ How Siebel Business Applications andOracle BI Publisher Interact


■ Generates reports

■ Creates and manages reports

■ Gets information about the Oracle BI Publisher Server

About the Oracle BI Publisher RepositoryThe Oracle BI Publisher repository resides on the Oracle BI Publisher Server. The Oracle BI Publisher repository is a collection of reports that is installed as part of the Oracle BI Publisher Server installation. The repository stores the preconfigured reports that ship with Siebel Business Applications and new reports you create.

In the SharedFolder directory in the Oracle BI Publisher repository, the SIEBELCRMREPORTS directory stores all reports. Each report stored in the SIEBELCRMREPORTS directory has its own folder. The layout template (RTF) and XLIFF files necessary for generating that report are in that folder.

You upload the layout template files (RTF and XLIFF) to the Oracle BI Publisher Server by registering the template in the Siebel application. The Oracle BI Publisher Server then requests report generation using a Web service to generate the report. For more information about uploading layout templates to the Oracle BI Publisher repository and registering layout templates, see “Workflow for Uploading Oracle BI Publisher Layout Templates to a Siebel Application” on page 90.

How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher InteractSiebel Business Applications integrate with Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) for report execution. However, depending on your connection mode, layout templates are merged with XML data differently to render reports in the Siebel user interface.


Siebel Reports Development Environment ■ How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact

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Figure 4 compares report execution in connected mode with disconnected mode.


1 A report generation request is initiated from a Siebel application view, and then routed to one of the following to generate the report:

■ Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine in disconnected mode

■ Oracle BI Publisher Server in connected mode

2 The RTF Processor converts the RTF layout templates to XSL for input to the BI Publisher-FO Processor.

3 The BI Publisher-FO Processor merges the XSL and the XML data files to produce the following output formats:

■ XML and XSL formats are converted to HTML.

■ XML, XSL-FO, are XLIFF formats are converted to: PDF, HTML, RTF, EXCEL, and PPT.

NOTE: The PPT output file type is available only in connected mode.

Figure 4. Comparison of Report Execution in Connected and Disconnected Mode

Siebel Reports Development Environment ■ How Siebel Business Applications andOracle BI Publisher Interact


Template Builder, a feature of Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, is used to modify and customize layout templates. Template Builder uses form fields to encapsulate XSL instructions for parsing XML data. Form fields are a feature of Microsoft Word and are the building blocks for layout templates in Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word. You use form fields in template design wherever data is required. Template Builder generates these form fields using the Siebel application and the information specified in the layout template.

Report Execution in Disconnected ModeThe XMLP Report Business Service provides XML files to the Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine to merge the layout templates with XML data. One of the required inputs for the XDO Engine is an XML file. XML files are generated by way of the EAI Siebel Adapter, using the EAI Java Business Service for connecting a Siebel application to the XDO Engine. The EAI Java Business Service is the JVM (Java Virtual Machine) interface between the XDO Engine and the Siebel application. The XML data file is merged with the layout template, then Oracle BI Publisher exposes the completed report document to the user in the Siebel application after storing the file in the Siebel File System.

Oracle BI Publisher provides the XML file to the engine using the EAI Java Business Service. The XML contains the data that populates the resulting document. The data comes from the results of the internal queries run against various data sources.

Oracle BI Publisher uses XSLT and XPath to extract data from the XML data and incorporates that data into an RTF-formatted layout template during run time. XSL comprises three standards (XSLT, XPath, and XSL- FO) for manipulating XML data. The XMLP Report Server component uses the XDO Engine to convert the RTF templates into XSL format, and then using the BI Publisher-FO Processor, converts the files to the published report formats.

Report Execution in Connected ModeOracle BI Publisher uses XSLT and XPath to extract data from the XML data and incorporates that data into an RTF-formatted layout template during run time. The XMLP Adapter Service invokes the PublicReportService Web service to generate reports. The PublicReportService Web service is the interface between the Siebel application and the Oracle BI Publisher Server.


Siebel Reports Development Environment ■ How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact

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4 Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications

This chapter provides instructions for administrators to integrate Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) with Siebel Business Applications. It includes the following topics:

■ About Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications on page 31

■ Preparing for Integration of Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications on page 33

■ Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications on page 35

■ Process of Installing and Configuring Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business Applications on page 35

■ Process of Configuring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI Publisher on page 42

■ Process of Securing Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server on page 49

■ Process of Enabling and Configuring Report Scheduling on page 53

■ Uploading Preconfigured Report Templates to the Oracle BI Publisher Server on page 57

■ Testing Your Siebel Reports Integration Configurations on page 58

NOTE: The instructions in this chapter might not be applicable to versions of Siebel Reports before 8.1.1.1. For integration instructions for previous Siebel Reports versions, see “Where to Find Integration Instructions for Previous Versions of Siebel Reports” on page 32.

About Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business ApplicationsSiebel Business Applications integrate with Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) for report execution. As of Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.1, report scheduling and parameterization is supported. However, before you can use these features, you must perform several installation and configuration tasks. The tasks you perform are contingent on whether you are deploying Siebel Reports for the first time or you are already using Siebel Reports. This topic describes what you must do for each of these two scenarios.

CAUTION: The integration instructions in this chapter are not applicable to versions of Siebel Reports before 8.1.1.1. For integration instructions for previous Siebel Reports versions, see “Where to Find Integration Instructions for Previous Versions of Siebel Reports” on page 32.

Deploying Siebel Reports for the First TimeIf you are deploying Siebel Reports for the first time, you must do the following:

■ Install Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.

■ Upgrade to Siebel CRM 8.1.1.1.


Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ About Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications

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■ Import an archive file for the new report features.

■ Install Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher version 10.1.3.4.1.

■ Install Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word (also known as Oracle BI Publisher Desktop) version 10.1.3.4.1.

■ Perform postinstallation configuration tasks for both the Siebel application and Oracle BI Publisher.

For detailed information about deploying Siebel Reports for the first time, see “Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35.

Upgrading Siebel Reports to Siebel CRM Version 8.1.1.1If you are currently using Siebel Reports in a Siebel CRM 8.1.1 environment and you want to use the new report scheduling and parameterization features introduced in Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.1, you must do the following:

■ Upgrade to Siebel CRM 8.1.1.1.

■ Import an archive file for the new report features.

■ Upgrade to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher version 10.1.3.4.1.

■ Upgrade to Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word (also known as Oracle BI Publisher Desktop) version 10.1.3.4.1.

■ Perform postinstallation configuration tasks for both the Siebel application and Oracle BI Publisher.

For instructions on how to upgrade to Siebel CRM 8.1.1.1, see Siebel Maintenance Release Guide on My Oracle Support. For instructions for the other tasks listed above, see the applicable topics in this guide.

NOTE: It is recommended that you upgrade to Siebel CRM 8.1.1.1. You can, however, continue to use an existing Siebel CRM 8.1.1 environment, but you will not be able to use the new report scheduling and parameterization features.

For more information about Oracle BI Publisher integration with Siebel Business Applications, see “About the Oracle BI Publisher Server in Siebel Business Applications” on page 26 and “How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact” on page 27.

Where to Find Integration Instructions for Previous Versions of Siebel ReportsIntegration instructions for previous versions of Siebel Reports are different from those provided in this guide.

For integration instructions for:

■ Siebel CRM version 8.1.1, see 1076966.1 (Doc ID) on My Oracle Support. This document was previously published as Siebel Reports Guide version 8.1 on Siebel Bookshelf.

Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ Preparing forIntegration of Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications


■ Siebel CRM version 8.0, 7.8, and 7.7, see the appropriate Siebel Maintenance Release Guide on My Oracle Support.

Preparing for Integration of Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business ApplicationsFor Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.1, the reporting module for Siebel Reports is Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher). To deploy Siebel Reports, you must install and configure both Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher. This topic provides the necessary preparation tasks for a new deployment.

To prepare for integration of Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications:

1 Review Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network. Also check for applicable alerts, bulletins, or other documents on My Oracle Support.

2 Install Java Development Kit (JDK) version 1.5 or later and point the JAVA_HOME system environment variable to the JDK, if you have not already performed this task.

3 Make sure that you have an existing installation of Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.1. If not, upgrade using the Siebel CRM 8.1.1.1 Fix Pack as described in Siebel Maintenance Release Guide on My Oracle Support.

Some of the requirements for Siebel Reports include:

■ Siebel Server (or servers)

■ Siebel Server components enabled:

❏ Siebel Application Object Manager (AOM), for example, Call Center Object Manager (ENU)

❏ Siebel Enterprise Integration (EAI)

❏ XMLP Report Server component

■ A Siebel client using one of the following:

❏ A Siebel Web Client (or other connected client) for connected mode

NOTE: For connected mode, a Siebel Web Client is not necessarily a requirement for some Siebel Business Applications. Siebel Reports supports environments that have either: 1) a Siebel Server (or servers), the Oracle BI Publisher Server, and a Siebel Web Client, or 2) a Siebel Server (or servers), and the Oracle BI Publisher Server. For more information about connected mode, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 21.

❏ A Siebel mobile client (Mobile Web Client or Developer Web Client) for disconnected mode

NOTE: The Siebel mobile clients do not require that the Siebel XMLP Report Server, AOM, or EAI server components be enabled.


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■ Siebel Tools to create new or edit existing integration objects

If you need to modify an integration object in the Siebel Repository or you require an integration object that is not available in the Siebel Repository, you must have Siebel Tools installed. For more information about:

❏ Installing Siebel Tools, see Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.

❏ Using Siebel Tools, see Using Siebel Tools.

❏ Extending an integration object to add new report fields, see “Extending Integration Objects to Add New Fields for Siebel Reports” on page 92.

❏ Creating a new integration object for Siebel Reports, see “Creating New Integration Objects for Siebel Reports” on page 94.

■ (Optional) Application Deployment Manager (ADM)

You might want to use ADM to migrate reports from one Siebel environment to another (for example, migrating reports from the development to the production environment). For more information about ADM, see Siebel Application Deployment Manager Guide.

4 Make sure that you have an existing installation of Oracle BI Publisher version 10.1.3.4.1.

The required Oracle BI Publisher software includes:

■ Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher version 10.1.3.4.1

OC4J (Oracle Application Server Containers for Java Platform, Enterprise Edition) is installed as part of this installation. For more information about OC4J, see Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Installation Guide, Release 10.1.3 available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

The Oracle BI Publisher Server is also installed as part of this installation. During report generation, which is triggered from the Siebel application, data is pushed from the Siebel Database to the Oracle BI Publisher Server to generate reports. When handling a report request, the Oracle BI Publisher Server merges the data with the report template from the Oracle BI Publisher repository, and then sends the report to the Siebel application.

■ Oracle BI Publisher Add-In for Microsoft Word (also known as Oracle BI Publisher Desktop) version 10.1.3.4.1

Oracle BI Publisher Desktop is a report authoring tool, which allows you to author and preview layout templates using Microsoft Word.

For information about installing Oracle BI Publisher as a first-time installation, see “Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business Applications” on page 36. For information about upgrading from an existing version 10.1.3.4.0 installation, see “Upgrading to Oracle BI Publisher Version 10.1.3.4.1 from Version 10.1.3.4.0” on page 37.

Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ Roadmap forIntegrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications


Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business ApplicationsThis topic provides a roadmap for integrating Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) with Siebel Business Applications. To work with reports, you must install and configure both the Siebel application and Oracle BI Publisher. An administrator performs these integration tasks, often in coordination with a Siebel Tools developer.

To integrate Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications, perform the following processes and tasks:

1 Verify that you have installed Siebel CRM versions 8.1.1 and 8.1.1.1.

For installation information for Siebel CRM version 8.1.1, see Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using. For upgrade information to Siebel CRM version, 8.1.1.1, see Siebel Maintenance Release Guide on My Oracle Support.

2 “Process of Installing and Configuring Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35

3 “Process of Configuring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI Publisher” on page 42

4 “Process of Securing Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 49

5 “Process of Enabling and Configuring Report Scheduling” on page 53

6 “Uploading Preconfigured Report Templates to the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 57

For more information about integration of Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications, see “About Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 31.

Process of Installing and Configuring Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business ApplicationsThis topic provides instructions for installing and configuring Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) for integration with Siebel Business Applications.

This process is a step in “Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35.

To install and configure Oracle BI Publisher for integration with Siebel Business Applications, perform the following tasks:

1 Perform one of the following:

■ For a first-time installation, see “Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business Applications” on page 36.

■ If you are upgrading to Oracle BI Publisher version 10.1.3.4.1 from version 10.1.3.4.0, see “Upgrading to Oracle BI Publisher Version 10.1.3.4.1 from Version 10.1.3.4.0” on page 37.


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2 “Copying JAR Files to the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 39

3 “Enabling External File References for the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 39

4 (Optional) “Changing the Location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository for Siebel Reports” on page 40

For more information about working with Oracle BI Publisher in Siebel Business Applications, see “About the Oracle BI Publisher Server in Siebel Business Applications” on page 26 and “How Siebel Business Applications and Oracle BI Publisher Interact” on page 27.

Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business ApplicationsThis topic describes how to install Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) as a first-time installation for integration with Siebel Business Applications.

NOTE: The instructions in this topic are not applicable if you already have an existing Oracle BI Publisher installation. To upgrade to Oracle BI Publisher version 10.1.3.4.1 from version 10.1.3.4.0, see “Upgrading to Oracle BI Publisher Version 10.1.3.4.1 from Version 10.1.3.4.0” on page 37.

This task is one step in “Process of Installing and Configuring Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35.

TIP: You can install the Oracle BI Publisher software anytime before or after the Siebel Server installation.

To install Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business Applications

1 Log in to Oracle E-Delivery available at:

http://edelivery.oracle.com

2 Choose a language, or click Continue to download with English (US) as the default language.

3 Enter the export validation information, accept the license terms and export restrictions, and then click Continue.

4 Select Oracle Business Intelligence as the product pack, and an operating system (for example, Microsoft Windows [32-bit]). Then click Go.

NOTE: You must select an operating system compatible with the computer on which the Oracle BI Publisher Server is installed. For information about which platforms are supported for Siebel Reports, see Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network.

5 Select the Oracle Business Intelligence 10.1.3 Media Pack for your operating system, and then click Continue.

For example, you might select Oracle Business Intelligence (10.1.3) Media Pack for Microsoft Windows (32-bit).

Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ Process ofInstalling and Configuring Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business


6 Download the Oracle BI Publisher 10.1.3.4.1 installers. For example, if you chose Oracle Business Intelligence (10.1.3) Media Pack for Microsoft Windows (32-bit) in Step 5, you download the following:

■ Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Enterprise 10.1.3.4.1 for Microsoft Windows.

■ Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Desktop 10.1.3.4.1 for Microsoft Windows.

NOTE: Typically administrators download and install Oracle Business Intelligence Desktop (also known as Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word) during the Oracle BI Publisher Enterprise installation, however, you can install it any time.

7 Install Oracle BI Publisher by doing the following:

a Decompress the installer into a directory of your choice.

If you chose Oracle Business Intelligence (10.1.3) Media Pack for Microsoft Windows (32-bit) in Step 4, you decompress the V16384-01.zip file.

CAUTION: You must extract the .zip file to a directory whose name does not contain spaces. If the directory name contains spaces, the installation fails.

b Follow the instructions provided in Installing BI Publisher into Oracle Application Server for OC4J 10.1.3.1 in Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Installation Guide, Release 10.1.3 available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

NOTE: OC4J is installed and the Oracle BI Publisher Server starts automatically as part of this installation.

8 Install Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word (also known as Oracle BI Publisher Desktop) by doing the following:

a Decompress the appropriate .zip file according to the Media Pack you chose in Step 4.

For example, if you chose Oracle Business Intelligence (10.1.3) Media Pack for Microsoft Windows (32-bit) in Step 5, you decompress the V16380-01.zip file.

CAUTION: You must extract the .zip file to a directory whose name does not contain spaces. If the directory name contains spaces, the installation fails.

b Run the installer.

9 Make sure that applicable users install Oracle BI Publisher Desktop on a computer where Microsoft Word for Windows is installed.

Upgrading to Oracle BI Publisher Version 10.1.3.4.1 from Version 10.1.3.4.0If you are currently working with Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) version 10.1.3.4.0 and you want to use the new report features (scheduling and parameterization), you must upgrade to Oracle BI Publisher version 10.1.3.4.1 and Oracle BI Publisher Add-In for Microsoft Word (also known as Oracle BI Publisher Desktop) version 10.1.3.4.1.



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This task is a step in “Process of Installing and Configuring Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35.

NOTE: The instructions in this topic are not applicable if you are installing Oracle BI Publisher for the first time. To install Oracle BI Publisher as a first-time installation, see “Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business Applications” on page 36.

You upgrade the Oracle BI Publisher Server by deploying a new Enterprise Archive (EAR) file. An EAR file represents a Java EE application that is deployed in an application server. EAR files are standard Java Archive (JAR) files. A JAR file aggregates many files into one, for example, JAR files are used to distribute Java classes and associated metadata. A Web Application Archive (WAR) file is a file used to distribute a collection of JavaServer Pages (JSP), servlets, Java classes, XML files, tag libraries, and static Web pages (HTML and related files) that together constitute a Web application. Java EE bundles applications into EAR files for distribution. The EAR files contain JAR files and WAR files but might also contain:

■ One or more Web modules

■ One or more Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) modules

■ One or more application client modules

■ Additional JAR files required by the application

■ Any combination of the above

To upgrade to Oracle BI Publisher version 10.1.3.4.1 from version 10.1.3.4.0

1 Upgrade Oracle BI Publisher by doing the following:

a Follow the instructions as described in the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Installation Guide Release 10.1.3.4 Web site at

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E12844_01/doc/bip.1013/e12690/T434820T524414.htm

NOTE: The steps are the same for upgrading to version 10.1.3.4.1 from version 10.1.3.4.0 with the exception that you do not need to test the login page or install the fonts.

b Follow the instructions in the Upgrading to this Release topic in the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Release Notes Release 10.1.3.4.1 Web site at

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E12844_01/doc/bip.1013/e12691/toc.htm#T539006

2 Upgrade to Oracle BI Publisher Desktop version 10.1.3.4.1 by following the instructions at

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E12844_01/doc/bip.1013/e12690/T434820T487784.htm#4729768

The instructions contain information for uninstalling current installations.

NOTE: It is recommended that you do not use Oracle BI Publisher Desktop version 10.1.3.4.0 with Oracle BI Publisher version 10.1.3.4.1.

3 Make sure that your users upgrade to Oracle BI Publisher Desktop version 10.1.3.4.1.

For information about using Oracle BI Publisher Desktop with Siebel Reports, see “About Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word with Siebel Reports” on page 17.



Copying JAR Files to the Oracle BI Publisher ServerThis topic describes how to add custom Siebel Java archive (JAR) files to the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) Server. To successfully generate reports, you must copy the custom Siebel Java classes associated with individual reports to the corresponding directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server. By default, these Java functions are not available on the Oracle BI Publisher Server.


To copy JAR files to the Oracle BI Publisher Server

1 Copy the following files from the SIEBSRVR_ROOT\CLASSES directory to the ORACLE_HOME/oc4j_bi/j2ee/home/applications/xmlpserver/xmlpserver/WEB-INF/lib directory where ORACLE_HOME is an Oracle application server:

■ XSLFunctions.JAR

■ SiebelCustomXMLP.JAR

■ SiebelCustomXMLP_SIA.JAR

NOTE: Typically, ORACLE_APPSRVR_HOME is located in the C:\OraHome_X\oc4j_bi directory for an Oracle BI Publisher installation.

2 If there are additional custom Java extensions, you must copy those JAR files as well.

Enabling External File References for the Oracle BI Publisher ServerThis topic describes how to enable external file references on the Oracle BI Publisher Server.


To enable external file references on the Oracle BI Publisher Server

1 Start Oracle Application Server Containers for Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (OC4J) by doing the following:

a Select Start, Programs, Oracle - BIPHomeX (where X is a system-assigned number when you install Oracle BI Publisher), and then Start BI Publisher.

A command window appears.

NOTE: You must leave this command window open while the Oracle BI Publisher Server is running.



40

b Confirm the Oracle BI Publisher Server is started.

When the server is started an Oracle Containers are initialized statement appears in the command window.

2 Log in to the Oracle BI Publisher Server with administrator privileges by doing the following:

a Select Start, Programs, Oracle - BIPHomeX, and then BI Publisher Server.

b Enter your administrator credentials (such as Administrator for the login and Administrator for the password).

NOTE: Administrator credentials for the Oracle BI Publisher Server are established during installation and are case sensitive.

3 Click the Admin tab, and then select Properties under Runtime Configuration.

4 Change the default value for the Disable External Reference attribute to FALSE, and then click Apply.

5 Restart the Oracle BI Publisher Server to make the changes take effect by doing the following:

a Select Start, Programs, and then Oracle - BIPHomeX.

b Choose Stop BI Publisher.

c Choose Start BI Publisher.

Changing the Location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository for Siebel ReportsThis topic describes how to change the location of the Oracle BI Publisher repository for use with Siebel Reports.

By default, the location of the Oracle BI Publisher repository is stored in the Oracle home JVM property with a value of ${oracle.home}/xdo/repository. The Siebel application uses this JVM property to access the Oracle BI Publisher repository. If Oracle BI Publisher is running on an Oracle Application server or an Oracle Application Server Containers for Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (OC4J) standalone, this oracle.home property value is automatically set by the OC4J container. For more information about OC4J, see Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Installation Guide, Release 10.1.3 available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

This task is an optional step in “Process of Installing and Configuring Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35.

If you do not want to use ${oracle.home}/xdo/repository as the location of your Oracle BI Publisher repository, there are three different ways you can change it:

■ Create a custom XML file

■ Replace a JVM property name

■ Change the absolute path to the repository



Changing the Location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository by Creating a Custom XML FileUse the following procedure to change the location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository by creating a custom XML file.

To create a custom XML file to change the location of the Oracle BI Publisher repository

1 Copy the xmlp-server-config.xml file and paste it to a folder where Oracle BI Publisher can read it.

For example, in an Oracle AS/OC4J 10.1.3 deployment, you copy the configuration file from:

OC4J_HOME/j2ee/home/applications/xmlpserver/xmlpserver/WEB-INF/xmlp-server-config.xml

2 Edit the newly created .xml file to reflect the new path.

The default configuration for the xmlp-server-config.xml file is:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<xmlpConfig xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/xmlp">

<resource>

<file path="${oracle.home}/xdo/repository"/>

</resource>

</xmlpConfig>

3 Start the application server by adding the following JVM option:

-Dxdo.server.config.dir=/home/BIP

Changing the Location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository by Replacing a JVM Property NameUse the following procedure to change the location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository by replacing a JVM property name.

To change the location of the Oracle BI Publisher repository by replacing a JVM property name■ In the WEB-INF/xmlp-server-config.xml file, replace oracle.home with some other JVM property

name.

NOTE: You must set the value of the new JVM property to the correct repository path.


Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ Process of Configuring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI Publisher

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Changing the Location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository by Changing the Absolute Path to the RepositoryUse the following procedure to change the location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository by changing the absolute path to the repository.

To change the location of the Oracle BI Publisher repository by changing the absolute path to the repository■ In the WEB-INF/xmlp-server-config.xml file, change the absolute path to the repository that you

want.

Process of Configuring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI PublisherThis topic provides instructions for configuring your Siebel application for integration with Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher).


To configure the Siebel application for integration with Oracle BI Publisher, perform the following tasks:

1 Make sure that you have an existing installation of Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.1.

2 Using Siebel Tools, import an archive file to apply the new report scheduling and parameterization features.

For instructions, see “Importing an Archive File to Apply the New Siebel Reports Features” on page 43.

3 Make sure that the following components are enabled on the Siebel Server:

■ Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)

■ The applicable Siebel AOM (Application Object Manager), for example, SCCObjMgr_enu for Siebel Call Center

■ Make sure that the XMLP Report Server Component on the Siebel Server is enabled.

NOTE: The XMLP Report Server component might already be enabled depending on how you configured your original Siebel Server installation.

CAUTION: Do not change the XMLP Report Server component parameters. Any modification can adversely affect performance and operation.

For information about enabling component on the Siebel Server, see Siebel System Administration Guide.

4 Make sure that the Siebel Server is running and the Siebel Mobile Web Client and Siebel Tools can connect to the server data source.

Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ Process ofConfiguring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI Publisher


5 “Copying Fonts for Report Generation” on page 44

6 “Adding an Explicit Reference to JAR Files for the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 44

7 “Configuring the Outbound Web Service for the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 46

8 Create four report responsibilities in the Siebel application that correlate with roles in the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

For instructions for these tasks, see “Creating Report Responsibilities in the Siebel Application” on page 48.

9 Enable logging for Siebel Reports.

For information about enabling logging for Siebel Reports, see “Enabling Logging for the XMLP Report Server Component” on page 129.

Importing an Archive File to Apply the New Siebel Reports FeaturesThis topic describes how to import the Siebel 8.1.1.1 Fix Pack archive file to update the Siebel repository.

This task is a step in “Process of Configuring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI Publisher” on page 42 on page 30.

To import an archive file to apply the new Siebel Reports features

1 Make sure that you have an existing installation Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.1 environment.

For more information about this environment, see “Preparing for Integration of Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 33.

2 Log in to Siebel Tools.

3 From the application-level menu, select Tools, and then the Import from Archive menu item.

4 In the file browser dialog window, choose 8111FP_new_feature.sif from the D:\SIEBEL_TOOLS_ROOT\REPPATCH directory (where Siebel Tools is installed).

5 Follow the import wizard prompts to import the SIF file.

6 Compile the repository file.



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Copying Fonts for Report GenerationFonts used in reports are obtained from the computer on which the report is generated. If a report is generated from a computer where the fonts in the report are not available, the output might not be as expected when trying to generate, view, preview, or schedule reports. This topic describes how to resolve this unexpected behavior.

NOTE: It is the responsibility of the report designer to make sure that fonts are selected that match the data that is likely to be included in a report. For more information about fonts in Siebel Business Applications, see Siebel Global Deployment Guide.

This task is a step in “Process of Configuring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI Publisher” on page 42.

To copy fonts■ On the Siebel Server where the XMLP Report Server component is enabled, do one of the

following:

■ For Windows, copy the fonts in C:\WINDOWS\Fonts directory to the fonts directory in the Java installation directory for your deployment (typically this is JAVA_HOME\lib\fonts).

■ For UNIX, copy the fonts in the /Fonts directory to the fonts directory in the Java installation directory for your deployment.

NOTE: This task is typically performed as part of the Siebel application installation. However, administrators can perform this task at any time.

Adding an Explicit Reference to JAR Files for the Oracle BI Publisher ServerTo enable report scheduling, you must add an explicit reference to the Siebel JAR files for the Oracle BI Publisher Server. This is because when a report is scheduled, a new .xdo file is sent to the Oracle BI Publisher Server that contains the schedule job information.


To add an explicit reference to JAR files for the Oracle BI Publisher Server

1 Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration screen, Enterprises, and then the Profile Configuration view.

2 Select the XMLPJvmSubsys profile.



3 In the Profile Parameters subview, provide the appropriate values. Some of the values are provided in the following table. Make sure that the paths correctly locate the required files.

For more information on setting the values of the JVM DLL Name and JVM Options parameters, see Transports and Interfaces: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration.

4 For UNIX, the following steps are required:

a Set the JVM DLL Name as:

/usr/jdk1.5.0_06/jre/lib/i386/client/libjvm.so

b Set the JAVA_HOME environment variable as:

/usr/java

c Set the LIBPATH ${LIBPATH} environment variable as:

/usr/jdk1.5.0_06/jre/bin/usr/jdk1.5.0_06/jre/bin/j9vm

Parameter Value

JVM Classpath

<SIEBSRVR_ROOT>/ses/siebsrvr/Classes/Siebel.jar;<SIEBSRVR_ROOT>/ses/siebsrvr/Classes/SiebelXMLP.jar

For example, for UNIX you might enter the following value:

${SIEBEL_HOME}/classes/SiebelXMLP.jar:${SIEBEL_HOME}/classes/Siebel.jar:${SIEBEL_HOME}/classes/XSLFunctions.jar

where:

${SIEBEL_HOME} is the actual path where the Siebel application is installed.

CAUTION: An error might occur if the value of the CLASSPATH parameter is too long (must be less than 1024 characters). To avoid this, copy the CLASSPATH folder to the root directory, and then point CLASSPATH to this path. Alternatively, you can set the CLASSPATH using the Siebel Server Manager (srvrmgr program). For information about using the srvrmgr program to set the CLASSPATH, see “Troubleshooting the CLASSPATH Settings Using Siebel Server Manager” on page 139.

JVM DLL Name

For Windows:<path to jvm.dll_file>

For AIX, Linux, and Solaris:<path to libjvm.so_file>

For HP-UX:<path to libjvm.sl_file>



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Configuring the Outbound Web Service for the Oracle BI Publisher ServerThe PublicReportService outbound Web service is the mechanism that uploads reports from the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) Server and passes the reports to the Siebel application in connected mode. For this functionality to work, you must set a WSDL (Web Service Definition Language) definition for the Siebel outbound Web service to the actual address of the Oracle BI Publisher Server. As of Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.1, you must first make changes to some of the object definitions in the base 8.1.1 repository using Siebel Tools and generate an updated PublicReportService Web service from the Siebel application before you can set the WSDL.


To configure the outbound Web service for the Oracle BI Publisher Server

1 Generate a new WSDL file by doing the following:

a Start up the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

b Using your browser, enter the following URL to retrieve the Web service definition.

http://<host>:<port>/xmlpserver/services/PublicReportService_v11?wsdl

where:

❏ host is the full path for your Oracle BI Publisher Server

❏ port is the port that the Oracle BI Publisher Server uses

c Save the definition as PublicReportService_v11.WSDL.

2 Using Siebel Tools, delete the PublicReportService outbound Web service and related integrated objects by doing the following:

a Log in to Siebel Tools.

b Query for the PublicReportService business service, and then remove this object.

c Select Integration Object, query for the XMLP Integration project, and then remove all selected objects.

3 Create the updated PublicReportService by doing the following:

a In Siebel Tools, choose File, New Objects, the EAI tab, Web Service, and then click OK.

b Select the XMLP Integration project.

c Browse to import the PublicReportService_v11.WSDL document file (the file you created in Step 1 on page 46), and then click Next.

d Check the Deploy Integration Object(s) and Proxy Business Service(s) checkbox, and then click Finish.

4 Check your results by doing the following:

a In Siebel Tools, select the Business Service object type.

b Perform a query with the following criteria:



❏ Project is XMLP Integration

❏ Name is PublicReportService

c Verify that the user properties are as follows:

❏ siebel_port_name is PublicReportService_v11

❏ siebel_web_service_name is PublicReportServiceService

❏ siebel_web_service_namespace ishttp://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/service/v11/PublicReportService

5 In the Object Explorer, select Integration Object, query for the XMLP Integration project, and then verify that 128 objects are returned.

6 Compile the XMLP Integration project.

For information about compiling SRFs, see Using Siebel Tools.

7 Change the Address field on the Service Port so that it reflects the name of the computer hosting the Oracle BI Publisher Server by doing the following:

a Log in to the Siebel application as a Siebel administrator.

b Navigate to the Administration - Web Services screen, then the Outbound Web Services view.

c In the Name field, query for PublicReportServiceService.

d Inactivate the original Web service that was replaced with the v11 version.

e Make sure that the service port address corresponds to the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

The format is:

http://<host.domain>:<port>/xmlpserver/services/PublicReportService_v11

where:

❏ host.domain is the full path for the Oracle BI Publisher Server

❏ port is the port that the Oracle BI Publisher Server uses

For example, the address might be:

http://BIPhost:9704/xmlpserver/services/PublicReportService_v11

NOTE: Typically, there is no need to change this address because it is automatically populated when you configure the business service and Web service in Siebel Tools using the Web service wizard.

8 Click Clear Cache to make sure that the changes are propagated to runtime memory.



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Creating Report Responsibilities in the Siebel ApplicationSiebel Business Applications allows different users to have different report access rights to the Oracle BI Publisher Server. User rights to reports are accomplished by creating and assigning responsibilities in the Siebel application and by using roles and permissions on the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

This topic describes how to create four new report responsibilities in the Siebel application and how to create and associate a new Siebel view to one of these responsibilities for use with report scheduling.

This task is one step in “Process of Configuring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI Publisher” on page 42.

To create new report responsibilities in the Siebel application

1 Register the new report view by doing the following:

a Navigate to the Administration - Application screen, then the Views view.

b In the Views list, create a new view entitled Report Job List View, and complete the necessary fields.

NOTE: The name of this view should match the name of the view in Siebel Tools. This view is required for report scheduling and is packaged in the 8111FP_new_feature.sif file that you imported in “Importing an Archive File to Apply the New Siebel Reports Features” on page 43.

2 Create four new responsibilities by doing the following:

a Navigate to the Administration - Application screen, then the Responsibilities view.

b Create the following new responsibilities, making sure to add appropriate users to each:

NOTE: The reporting responsibilities in the Siebel application correspond to roles and permissions on the Oracle BI Publisher Server. The names of these responsibilities must exactly match the corresponding set of roles on the Oracle BI Publisher Server. For information about how the Siebel application recognizes these roles and permissions, see “Configuring Security and Authentication Using the Siebel Security Model” on page 50.

c Associate the Report Job List View view with the XMLP_SCHEDULER responsibility.

Responsibility Description

XMLP_ADMIN Administrator role for the Oracle BI Publisher Server with no access limitations.

XMLP_DEVELOPER Assign this responsibility to allow for uploading reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server to the Siebel application.

XMLP_SCHEDULER Assign this responsibility to allow for scheduling of reports.

XMLP_SIEBEL_GUEST Assign this responsibility to limit access to reports. This responsibility only allows for generation, viewing, and deletion of user’s own reports.

Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ Process ofSecuring Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server


d Log out of the Siebel application, then log back in to have the new responsibilities take effect.

3 Verify your configurations by doing the following:

a From the Reports menu, select My BI Publisher Reports.

b Confirm a new My Jobs link was added to the My BI Publisher Reports screen.

The My Jobs link in the Siebel application is an embedded user interface to the Oracle BI Publisher Server that allows users to view their scheduled reports. Before you can use this link, you must perform further configuration to embed the My Jobs view in the Siebel application. However, you must first secure user access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server and enable and configure report scheduling.

4 Proceed to “Process of Securing Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 49.

Process of Securing Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher ServerThis topic describes the security models for authenticating Siebel users to the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

When the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) Server receives a request from a Siebel user to perform report functionality on the server, the Oracle BI Publisher Server queries the Siebel application to retrieve the user privileges associated with that particular user from the Siebel application. This retrieval is accomplished by invoking a Web service that is exposed by the Siebel application. You must configure this Web service so that it Oracle BI Publisher Server can call the Web service.

This task is a step in “Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35.

The following security models are available for authenticating user access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server in a Siebel Reports connected environment:

■ Siebel Security

NOTE: It is recommended that you use the Siebel Security model if you plan to implement report scheduling and parameterization. This security model was created for use with this functionality.

■ LDAP

For more information about the Siebel Reports environments, see Chapter 3, “Siebel Reports Development Environment.”

To secure user access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server, perform one of the following tasks:

■ “Configuring Security and Authentication Using the Siebel Security Model” on page 50

■ “Configuring Security and Authentication Using the LDAP Security Model” on page 52


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Configuring Security and Authentication Using the Siebel Security ModelThe Siebel Security model retrieves authentication information through the Siebel EAI Object Manager (EAIObjMgr) and authenticates logins for report users against the Siebel Database one time only, then a session token is provided for the Oracle BI Publisher Server authentication. Because every user executing reports has their own credentials and roles, users have private visibility on the Oracle BI Publisher Server when scheduling reports.

This topic describes how to implement the Siebel Security model to manage user access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server in a Siebel Reports connected environment.

This task is a step in “Process of Securing Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 49.

To configure security and authentication using the Siebel Security Model

1 Import and administer the Web service used by the Siebel Security Model by doing the following:

a Navigate to the Administration - Web Services screen, then the Inbound Web Services view.

b Import the BIPSiebelSecurityWS.XML file from the SIEBEL_TOOLS_ROOT\REPPATCH directory (where Siebel Tools is installed).

c In the Address field of the Service Ports subview, replace the existing address with the specific address of the Siebel Server.

NOTE: You will copy this address into the Oracle BI Publisher Server in Step 3 of this procedure.

d Clear the cache.

2 Create a local Superuser for the Oracle BI Publisher Server by doing the following:

a Launch Oracle BI Publisher (for example, http://<BIPServerHost>:9704/xmlpserver), and then log in to the Oracle BI Publisher Server with administrator credentials.

NOTE: The URL for launching Oracle BI Publisher resides in the BI_Publisher_readme.txt file located in the Oracle BI Publisher installation folder. Administrator credentials are case sensitive.

b Click the Admin tab, and then select Security Configuration (in the Security Center section).

c Check the Enable Local Superuser checkbox, enter a Superuser name and password of your choice, and then click Apply.

NOTE: It is recommended that you create a local Superuser because it allows an administrator to log in directly to the Oracle BI Publisher Server when the Siebel Server is not running.

3 Enable the Siebel Security model on the Oracle BI Publisher Server by doing the following:

a In the Security Model section, choose Siebel Security Model from the Security Model dropdown list.

Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ Process ofSecuring Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server


b Copy the address of the BIPSiebelSecurityWS Web service (that you entered in the Siebel application in Step 1) and paste it into the Siebel Web Service Endpoint field.

NOTE: The address of the Web Service Endpoint parameter in the Oracle BI Publisher Server is the same address as the inbound Web service used by the Siebel Server.

c Enter the Siebel administrator credentials (for example, SADMIN/SADMIN), and then click Apply.

The following table provides sample parameter values for a Siebel Security model configuration.

NOTE: Siebel administrator credentials are necessary for the Oracle BI Publisher application to log into the Siebel EAI object manager. These credentials are case sensitive and must match the Siebel database specifications.

4 Verify that Siebel Security has been implemented by doing the following:

a Restart the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

b Start the Oracle BI Publisher Enterprise application (from the Start Menu, choose BI Publisher Server).

c Log in to the Oracle BI Publisher Enterprise application using the Siebel administrator credentials you entered in Step 3.

The Siebel Security model was successfully implemented if you are able to login using the Siebel credentials.

5 Click the Admin tab, select Roles and Permissions (in the Security Center section), and then add the SiebelCRMReports folder to the following roles:

■ XMLP_ADMIN

■ XMLP_SCHEDULER

■ XMLP_DEVELOPER

■ XMLP_SIEBEL_GUEST

6 Log out of the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

Parameter Value

Security Model Siebel Security

Siebel Web Service Endpoint

http://localhost/eai_enu/start.swe?SWEExtSource=WebService&SWEExtCmd=Execute

Administrator Username SADMIN

Administrator Password SADMIN


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Configuring Security and Authentication Using the LDAP Security ModelThis topic describes how to implement LDAP security adapter authentication to manage user access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server in a Siebel Reports connected environment.

This task is a step in “Process of Securing Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 49.

To implement LDAP authentication for Siebel user access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server, you implement LDAP authentication for your Siebel application, and you must use the same LDAP directory for the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

In an implementation using LDAP authentication, an LDAP security adapter provided with Siebel Business Applications authenticates users against an LDAP-compliant directory. The directory stores information that is required to allow users to connect to the database and the Oracle BI Publisher Server and this information is retrieved by the security adapter when users try to run a report. When users log into a Siebel application that uses LDAP authentication, they are already authenticated for the current session.

NOTE: Using the LDAP security adapter to connect to a Microsoft Active Directory Server (ADS) directory has not been certified for use with Oracle BI Publisher.

To implement LDAP authentication for the Oracle BI Publisher Server

1 Configure the LDAP Server by doing the following:

a Make sure that there is an XMLP_ADMIN group for the LDAP Server.

b Log in to the LDAP Server.

c Create a new LDAP user with which to authenticate the Oracle BI Publisher Server. For example, uid=appsuser,ou=people,o=siebel.com, where appsuser is a name of your choice.

d Add this new user to the XMLP_ADMIN group.

e Add users who schedule reports to the XMLP_ADMIN group.

For more information on this step, see the topic on configuring LDAP or ADSI security adapters using the Siebel Configuration Wizard in Siebel Security Guide.

2 Set the user credentials for the Oracle BI Publisher Server by doing the following:

a Log in to the Oracle BI Publisher Server with administrator privileges, and specify LDAP as the security model you want to implement for Oracle BI Publisher. Then specify the user credentials for your directory.

For example, you might set the credentials for a SunOne LDAP Server as follows:

❏ Security Model is LDAP.

❏ URL is ldap://<ldap_host_name>:<ldap_port>.

❏ Administrator Username is uid=appuser,ou=people,o=siebel.comwhere appuser is the authentication user created in the LDAP Server Directory. This is a fully qualified username with LDAP connect string.

Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ Process ofEnabling and Configuring Report Scheduling


❏ Administrator Password is the password for the user you created for authentication (in this example, that is uid=appsuser,ou=people,o=siebel.com).

❏ Distinguished Name for Users is based on the LDAP Server value.

❏ Distinguished Name for Groups is based on the LDAP Server value.

❏ Group Search Filter is a value of your choice. The default value is (&(objectclass=groupofuniquenames)(cn=*)).

❏ Group Attribute Name is a value of your choice. The default value is cn.

❏ Group Member Attribute Name is a value of your choice. The default value is uniquemember.

❏ Group Description Attribute Name is a value of your choice. The default value is description.

❏ attribute used for RDN is based on the LDAP Server value (in this example, uid).

❏ Ldap Cache Interval is based on your specific deployment.

❏ Ldap Cache Interval Unit is based on your specific deployment.

b Stop and restart the OC4J environment.

c Log in to the Oracle BI Publisher Server using the LDAP directory user name and password.

For more information on implementing LDAP for Oracle BI Publisher, refer to the Oracle BI Publisher documentation. For information on setting up an LDAP directory, see the topic on setting up the LDAP or ADS Directory in Siebel Security Guide.

Process of Enabling and Configuring Report SchedulingBefore you can use report scheduling, you must perform several configuration tasks. For information about how to schedule reports, see “Scheduling Reports” on page 104.


To enable and configure report scheduling, perform the following:

1 Make sure have performed the tasks as described in the following processes:

a “Process of Installing and Configuring Oracle BI Publisher for Integration with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35

b “Process of Configuring the Siebel Application for Integration with Oracle BI Publisher” on page 42

c “Process of Securing Siebel User Access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 49


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2 Create the scheduling database on the Oracle BI Publisher Server by following the instructions in Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Administrator's and Developer's Guide, Release 10.1.3.4 available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN) to:

■ Set up a new database instance.

■ Create a user with privileges to add tables.

■ Create the database connection.

■ Install the schema.

3 Create the scheduling tables by doing the following:

a Log in to the Oracle BI Publisher Enterprise application with administrator privilege.

b Click the Admin tab, and then select Scheduler Configuration.

c Click Test Connection to make sure that the connection works.

d Click Install Schema.

The tables are automatically created.

4 Create new scheduling List of Values (LOVs).

a Log in to the Siebel application as a Siebel administrator.

b Navigate to the Administration - Data screen, then the LOV Explorer view.

c Add a new XMLP_RPT_SCHEDULE_MODE type.

NOTE: The Replication Level field is automatically populated to All. Keep the default values for the other fields.

d Navigate to the List of Values view.

e Create three new LOV records with the following values:

f Click Clear Cache to update runtime memory with the new LOV values.

The display values are now available as choices for the Time field in the Schedule a Report dialog box. For more information about this field, see “Scheduling Reports” on page 104.

5 Embed the MyJobs view in the Siebel Application.

For instructions, see “Embedding the Oracle BI Publisher My Jobs View in the Siebel Application” on page 55.

Type Display Value Translate Order

XMLP_RPT_SCHEDULE_MODE Run Immediately Y 1

XMLP_RPT_SCHEDULE_MODE Run Once Y 2

XMLP_RPT_SCHEDULE_MODE Run Daily/Weekly Y 3

Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ Process ofEnabling and Configuring Report Scheduling


6 Modify the command file that you use to start the Oracle BI Publisher Server to include the location of the BIPDataService Web service.

For information about modifying this file, see “Configuring the BIPDataService WSDL for the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 56.

Embedding the Oracle BI Publisher My Jobs View in the Siebel ApplicationThe My Jobs view in the Siebel application is for managing scheduled reports. This view is an embedded Web page from the Oracle BI Publisher Enterprise application. To configure this view, you implement a symbolic URL to display external contents in the Siebel user interface by specifying how to construct the external application and define arguments and values that are passed to the Siebel client.

This task is a step in “Process of Enabling and Configuring Report Scheduling” on page 53.

For more information about working with symbolic URLs, see Siebel Portal Framework Guide. For information about how to schedule reports, see Chapter 8, “Scheduling Reports.”

To embed the My Jobs view in the Siebel application

1 Log in to the Siebel application as a Siebel administrator.

2 Create a host reference by doing the following:

a Navigate to the Administration - Integration screen, WI Symbolic URL List, and then the Host Administration view.

b Create a new host with the following settings:

❏ Name is BIPHostName:Port

❏ Virtual Name is biphost

3 Create the symbolic URL by doing the following:

a Navigate to the Administration - Integration screen, WI Symbolic URL List, and then the Symbolic URL Administration view.

b Create a new record with the following settings:

❏ Name is BIPReportJobListPage

❏ URL is http://biphost/xmlpserver/servlet/myjob

❏ Host Name is host:port

❏ Fixup Name is Default

❏ SSO Disposition is IFrame

where host:port is the Oracle BI Publisher host address you choose from a picklist.


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c In the Symbolic URL Arguments subview, add the following arguments to the symbolic URL:

Configuring the BIPDataService WSDL for the Oracle BI Publisher ServerThe Oracle BI Publisher Server uses a Web service to pull data from the Siebel application when a report is scheduled and executed. The WSDL (Web Service Definition Language) provides a definition of this Web service. The Oracle BI Publisher Server must know where this WSDL file is located.

You must edit the command file that points to the WSDL location so that it is read when the Oracle BI Publisher Server starts. The command file is typically located in the bin directory of the OC4J application server. Modify the command file to include the path to where the WSDL is stored using the following syntax:

-Duser.dir=<some path>

This task is a step in “Process of Enabling and Configuring Report Scheduling” on page 53.

To configure the BIPDataService WSDL for the Oracle BI Publisher Server

1 Import the BIPDataService Web service by doing the following:


b Import the BIPDataService.xml file.

c Configure the address for the Web service with the host name of the Siebel Server.

d Modify the credentials to correspond to the username, login, and password used for logging in to the Siebel EAI object manager.

2 Post the BIPDataService WSDL file by doing the following:


b Select BIPDataService, click Generate WSDL.

NameRequired Argument

Argument Type Argument Value

passwd Yes Field BIPPassword

id Yes Field BIPUser

anyname Yes Command PostRequest

PreloadUrlPerSession Yes Command True

PreloadUrl Yes Command http://biphost/xmlpserver/login.jsp

Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ UploadingPreconfigured Report Templates to the Oracle BI Publisher Server


c Save the WSDL as dataservice.wsdl in the oc4j_bi\bin directory in the Oracle BI Publisher home directory.

For example, you might save the file as:

D:\OraHome_1\oc4j_bi\bin\dataservice.wsdl

NOTE: You must name the file dataservice.wsdl (lowercase) to match existing references.

d Modify the oc4j and admin sections of the oc4j.cmd file with the following agrument to add a property that identifies to the Oracle BI Publisher Server the default location of the WSDL file:

-Duser.dir=D:\OraHome_1\oc4j_bi\bin

For example:

"C:\OraHome_1\jdk\bin\java" -XX:MaxPermSize=128m -Xmx512m -Duser.dir=C:\OraHome_1\oc4j_bi\bin -Duser.language=en -Duser.country=US -jar "%ADMIN_JAR%" %CMDARGS%

NOTE: The oc4j.cmd file is located in ORACLE_HOME\oc4j_bi\bin directory. The oc4j.cmd script invokes the Java that starts the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

Uploading Preconfigured Report Templates to the Oracle BI Publisher ServerSiebel Business Applications ship with preconfigured report layout templates. To make these report layout templates accessible to users in connected mode, you must upload them to the Oracle BI Publisher Server. For a comprehensive list of the preconfigured reports that ship with Siebel Business Applications, see 876284.1 (Doc ID) on My Oracle Support.

NOTE: The instructions in this topic are not applicable for new reports you create or modify while in disconnected mode. Such reports require deployment to the Siebel Web Client. For instructions, see “Deploying Reports to the Siebel Web Client from a Disconnected Client” on page 61.

This task is a step in “Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35.

CAUTION: If the report templates are not uploaded to the Oracle BI Publisher Server, when a user attempts to run a report, an error occurs and the report fails. For more information about this failure, see Error Message SBL-OMS-00203 in “Troubleshooting Error Messages for Siebel Reports” on page 134.

TIP: If you are upgrading to Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.1 from version 8.1.1, you must first delete the reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server, then upload them again. This reregistration regenerates the .xdo file for each report with additional information to support report scheduling.

To upload preconfigured report templates to the Oracle BI Publisher Server

1 If you are upgrading to Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.1 from version 8.1.1, do the following:


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a Make a copy of your existing reports (both standard and custom) that reside on the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

b Delete the existing reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server either through the administration console or at the operating system level. By default, reports are located in C:\OraHome_1\xmlp\XMLP\Reports\SiebelCRMReports.

2 Navigate to the BIP Reports - Administration screen, then the Report Template Registration view.

3 From the application-level menu, select Edit, and then Select All.

4 Click Upload Files.

5 Verify the report templates were successfully uploaded by doing the following:

a Navigate to the Oracle BI Publisher Enterprise application.

b Click the Reports tab, and then click Shared Folders.

c Verify a SiebelCRMReports folder exists and that the uploaded reports appear in this folder.

Testing Your Siebel Reports Integration ConfigurationsIt is recommended that you test your integration configurations by registering a preconfigured Oracle BI Publisher report layout template in the Siebel application, then generating a report for that template.

NOTE: You must complete all configuration tasks as described in “Roadmap for Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications” on page 35 before performing the following procedure.

To test your configurations

1 Register a preconfigured Oracle BI Publisher report template.

a Navigate to the Administration - BIP Reports screen, then the Report Template Registration view.

b Select the Account List report template, and then click Upload Files to upload this template to the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

c Navigate to the View Association view to associate the Account List report to the Account List view.

The Account List report template is now available to the Siebel application for use in generating reports.

2 Generate an Oracle BI Publisher report (or reports) by doing the following:

a Navigate to the Accounts screen, then the Accounts List view.

b Perform a query that returns approximately 30 records, and then click Reports.

c In the BI Publisher section, choose Account List.

d Select the report output type, and then click Submit.

The report is generated after you choose to open the report.

Integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel Business Applications ■ Testing YourSiebel Reports Integration Configurations


e Generate the report in a different format or click Close to close the output type dialog box.

NOTE: To generate a report other than the Account List report, you must first register the report template to the Oracle BI Publisher Server, and then associate the report with the appropriate view or views in the Siebel application. For more information about generating reports, see Chapter 6, “Generating Reports.”


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5 Administering Siebel Reports

This chapter describes some of the administrative tasks for Siebel Reports. It includes the following topics:

■ Deploying Reports to the Siebel Web Client from a Disconnected Client on page 61

■ Purging Reports from the Siebel File System on page 62

■ Purging Scheduled Reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server on page 64

■ About Multilingual Reports on page 65

■ Roadmap for Optimizing the Performance of Siebel Reports on page 67

■ Setting the Report Execution Waiting Period for Reports on page 67

■ Setting the Server Request Processor Database Polling Interval for Siebel Reports on page 68

■ Setting Concurrency Parameters for Siebel Reports on page 69

■ Process of Optimizing the Generation Performance of Siebel Reports for Large Data Volumes on page 70

The tasks in this chapter are for administrators only and are applicable to both connected and disconnected modes unless otherwise indicated.

Deploying Reports to the Siebel Web Client from a Disconnected ClientSiebel reports are typically developed on a disconnected client, such as the Siebel Developer Web Client. After you test and verify a report, you must move that report to the Siebel Server to deploy the report to the Siebel Web Client. The report is then available for generation in connected mode with the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) Server. This topic describes how to deploy reports to the Siebel Web Client from a disconnected client.

To deploy a report to the Siebel Web Client from a disconnect client

1 Copy the following report files from the Siebel Developer Web Client (or other disconnected client) directory to the Siebel Server directory:

■ Report template file (.rtf)

■ XLIFF (.xlf) files

NOTE: It is recommended that you locate your template files in the XMLP\Templates directory and the XLIFF files in the XMLP\xliff\<language> directory.

2 Register the report by doing the following:


Administering Siebel Reports ■ Purging Reports from the Siebel File System

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a Navigate to the Administration - BIP Reports screen, Report Template Registration view.

b Create a new record and assign the template and integration object to the record.

c In the XLIFF field, assign the associated .xlf file to the report.

NOTE: The Generate XLIFF button is disabled in the Siebel Web Client and that is why you must explicitly select the .xlf file.

3 Assign the report to a Siebel view or views.

For information about assigning reports to Siebel views, see “Associating Registered Reports with Siebel Application Views” on page 101.

4 Upload the report to the Oracle BI Publisher Server by doing the following:

a Navigate back to the Report Template Registration view.

b Click Upload Files.

CAUTION: If the report already exists on the Oracle BI Publisher Server, an error occurs. You must delete the report from the Oracle BI Publisher Server before uploading to avoid the error. Delete existing reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server either through the administration console or at the operating system level. By default, reports are located in C:\ORACLE_HOME\xmlp\XMLP\Reports\SiebelCRMReports.

5 Verify the report was successfully uploaded by doing the following:

a Log in to the Oracle BI Publisher Server with administrator privilege.

b Click the Reports tab, expand Shared Folders, and then click SiebelCRMReports.

c Verify the new report template and associated files were uploaded.

Purging Reports from the Siebel File SystemAdministrators must periodically purge reports from the Siebel File System. You purge reports by using filters or by running a workflow process. For more information about workflow processes, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.

NOTE: Administrators are also responsible with for purging reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server. For information about this purging, see “Purging Scheduled Reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 64.

This topic describes how to manually purge reports and how to set up reports to automatically purge after the reports meet certain criteria.

CAUTION: It is recommended that only administrators perform the tasks described in this topic, because you run the risk of inadvertently depleting or contaminating the report repository. Report developers and other users can delete reports, but they cannot purge reports. For information about deleting reports, see “Deleting Reports” on page 83.

Administering Siebel Reports ■ Purging Reports from the Siebel File System


Manually Purging Reports from the Siebel File SystemWhen manually purging reports, you can specify the criteria according to which the reports are purged. Reports meeting those criteria are removed from the Siebel File System.

You can purge multiple reports using a multiselect pick list, or by selecting a date range. By selecting a date range, the reports that were generated within the specified date range are purged. If the report name and the date range are entered, then only those reports with that name and that were generated within the specified date range are purged. You can also purge reports for a specific user by entering a user ID as the criterion. Or, you can enter various values for the criteria, and the reports that meet those criteria are purged.

Use the following procedure to manually purge reports.

To manually purge a report from the Siebel File System


2 Navigate to the Administration - BIP Reports screen, then the Purge Administration view.

3 In the Purge Administration form, fill in the fields.

Some of the fields are described in the following table.

4 Click Run.

The reports that meet the specified criteria are purged.

Optionally, you can make entries in a combination of these fields. For example, if you enter the following:

■ Report Name is Opportunity List

■ User ID is MSTERN

■ Date range is from January 1 to February 1, 2006

The Opportunity List reports that were generated by MSTERN between January 1 and February 1 in 2006 are purged.

NOTE: If you delete a report from the Report List view in the View Association screen, this deletion removes only the association with the report, not the report itself.

Field Description

From Date The beginning date of a date range. You must also specify the To Date for the range, otherwise an error occurs.

To Date The ending date of a date range. You must also specify the From Date for the range, otherwise an error occurs.

User ID The user ID of the person whose reports you want to purge. All reports for that user are purged.


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Automatically Purging Reports from the Siebel File SystemYou can set up Siebel Reports to automatically purge reports from the Siebel Database after a specified time interval. The BIP Delete After Days system preference allows you to specify nonzero positive value that executes the Auto Purge workflow to purge the reports. The reports are purged form the database after the number of days specified.

Use the following procedure to automatically purge reports.

To automatically purge reports from the Siebel File System


2 Navigate to the Administration - Application screen, then the System Preferences view.

3 In the System Preferences list, select BIP Delete After Days, and change the value to a positive nonzero value.

By default, the value is set to -1 (minus 1).

NOTE: It is recommended that you set this value in relation to your daily report volumes, especially for large-scale implementations where many reports are generated. The -1 setting prevents the Siebel File System from increasing to an unmanageable size.

4 Navigate to the Administration - Server Management screen, then the Jobs view.

5 Add a new job entitled Workflow Process Manager.

6 Add a parameter to the job as follows:

a Enter Workflow Process Name as the name.

b Give the parameter a value of XMLP Purge Records.

7 Click Submit.

You can also schedule this job to generate periodically using a workflow. For more information about scheduling workflows, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.

Purging Scheduled Reports from the Oracle BI Publisher ServerScheduled reports that users have generated are stored in the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) scheduling database. Administrators can periodically purge scheduled reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server by removing Oracle Business Intelligence Scheduler job instances from the database.

TIP: You cannot purge scheduled reports from the Siebel application or by using the Oracle BI Publisher administration application.

This topic describes how to purge reports using either the Job Manager Instances List or the Job Manager Purge Instances Window.

Administering Siebel Reports ■ About Multilingual Reports


To purge scheduled reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server■ Follow the instructions provided in the Purging Oracle BI Scheduler Job Instances topic in the

Oracle Business Intelligence Scheduler Guide on Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

CAUTION: It is recommended that only administrators purge scheduled reports, because you run the risk of inadvertently depleting or contaminating the report repository. Report developers and other users can delete reports, but they cannot purge reports. For information about deleting reports, see “Deleting Scheduled Reports” on page 107.

NOTE: Administrators are also responsible for purging reports from the Siebel File System. For information about this purging, see “Purging Reports from the Siebel File System” on page 62.

About Multilingual ReportsThis topic describes multilingual reports. Typically, the administrator manages translations; a third party usually performs the actual translation.

To translate reports, you must externalize the user interface elements for localization in the languages that you want. To externalize the user interface means to separate the localizable attributes from the nonlocalizable attributes of the user interface elements for each translation. In the case of reports, strings are externalized to an XLIFF file. The XLIFF format separates localizable text from formatting, allowing the translator to work only on the text to be translated.

NOTE: For a list of the languages that Siebel Reports supports, see Siebel System Requirements and Supported Platforms on Oracle Technology Network.

For information about:

■ Designing multilingual reports, see “Designing Multilingual Reports” on page 65.

■ Adding a language to a report, see “Adding a Language to a Report” on page 66.

■ Deleting a language from a report, see “Deleting a Language from a Report” on page 66.

Designing Multilingual ReportsDesigning multilingual reports is the same as designing a standard report. The only difference is that you must externalize the user interface elements for localization in the languages that you want. For more information about externalizing the user interface elements, see “About Multilingual Reports” on page 65.

To design a multilingual report

1 Design a report in the default language, for example, ENU (English U.S.).

2 Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, redesign the layout template for the new language.


Administering Siebel Reports ■ About Multilingual Reports

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3 In the Siebel application, register the report.

NOTE: How translation files are uploaded from Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word to generate reports differs depending on the connection mode; that is, whether it uses connected or disconnected mode. For more information about uploading files, see “Workflow for Uploading Oracle BI Publisher Layout Templates to a Siebel Application” on page 90.


■ Multilingual reports, see “About Multilingual Reports” on page 65.

■ Adding a language to your report, see “Adding a Language to a Report” on page 66.

Adding a Language to a ReportThis topic describes how to add a language to a report.

To add a new language to a report


2 Navigate to the Administration - BIP Reports screen, then the Report Template Registration view.

3 In the Report Template Registration list, select the report to which you want to add a language.

4 In the Report Template Translations subview, click New.

5 In the Language field, add a new language, and then click OK.

Deleting a Language from a ReportUse the following procedure to delete a language from a report.

To delete a language from a report


2 Navigate to the Administration - BIP Reports screen, then the Report Template Registration view.

3 In the Report Template Registration list, select the report from which you want to delete a language.

4 In the Report Template Translations list, choose a language, and then click Delete.

NOTE: This step removes only the language from the report; it does not remove the actual report.


■ Multilingual reports, see “About Multilingual Reports” on page 65.

■ Designing multilingual reports, see “Designing Multilingual Reports” on page 65.

Administering Siebel Reports ■ Roadmap for Optimizing the Performance of SiebelReports


Roadmap for Optimizing the Performance of Siebel ReportsThere are several tasks you can perform to optimize the performance of Siebel Reports. It is recommended you perform these tasks as part of the Siebel Reports installation process. However, you can perform them later. These tasks are not implemented in a particular order.

■ “Setting the Report Execution Waiting Period for Reports” on page 67

■ “Setting the Server Request Processor Database Polling Interval for Siebel Reports” on page 68

■ “Setting Concurrency Parameters for Siebel Reports” on page 69

■ “Process of Optimizing the Generation Performance of Siebel Reports for Large Data Volumes” on page 70

NOTE: Most of these tasks are applicable only when the client is in connected mode unless noted otherwise.

Setting the Report Execution Waiting Period for ReportsTo optimize the performance of reports with more than 100 records, it is recommended that you limit the wait time for report execution. The BIP Report Wait Time system preference allows you to set a threshold value in seconds.

When a low waiting period is specified, a message appears soon after report generation begins noting that the time taken to generate the report exceeds the waiting period. To monitor and view the report, go to the My Reports view. For information about the My Reports view, see “Generating Reports” on page 79.

This task is a step in “Roadmap for Optimizing the Performance of Siebel Reports” on page 67.

To set the report execution waiting period for reports

1 Navigate to the Administration - Application screen, then the System Preferences view.

2 In the System Preferences list, select BIP Report Wait Time, and then change the value to a number greater than 100.

Related TopicsSetting the Server Request Processor Database Polling Interval for Siebel Reports

Setting Concurrency Parameters for Siebel Reports

Process of Optimizing the Generation Performance of Siebel Reports for Large Data Volumes


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Setting the Server Request Processor Database Polling Interval for Siebel ReportsTo optimize the performance of Siebel Reports, it is recommended you change the Database Polling Interval parameter for the Server Request Processor (SRProc) server component. This parameter defines how long to wait before SRProc polls the database again when the current polling does not get requests.

NOTE: This parameter is hidden by default and does not appear in either the Siebel Server Manager GUI or the Siebel Server Manager command-line interface program.


Use the following procedure to set the Database Polling Interval server component parameter.

To set the Server Request Processor database polling interval for Siebel Reports

1 Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration screen, Servers, and then the Components view.

2 In the Components list, select Server Request Processor (alias SRProc).

3 Scroll down, click the Parameters subview, and then click Hidden.

4 In the Parameter list, select Database Polling Interval, and change the value from 10 to 1.

The Value on Restart and Default Values are updated as well.

5 Restart the Siebel Server.

Alternatively, you can use the srvrmgr command-line interface to restart the SRProc component

For more information about setting the server component parameters and restarting the Siebel Server and server components, see Siebel System Administration Guide.

Related TopicsSetting the Report Execution Waiting Period for Reports



Administering Siebel Reports ■ Setting Concurrency Parameters for Siebel Reports


Setting Concurrency Parameters for Siebel ReportsTo optimize the performance of Siebel Reports, it is recommended that you change the values of the Maximum Tasks (MaxTasks) and the Maximum MT Servers (MaxMTServers) parameters. Perform one of the following procedures on the computer where the XMLP Report Server component is enabled. You configure the concurrency parameters for Siebel Reports by using the Server Manager GUI or the Server Manager command-line interface program (srvrmgr program).


Setting Concurrency Parameters Using a Siebel ApplicationUse the following procedure to set the concurrency parameters using a Siebel application.

To set concurrency parameters using a Siebel application


2 Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration screen, Servers, and then the Components view.

3 In the Components list, select XMLP Report Server.

4 Click the Parameters view tab, and perform the following:

a For the Maximum Tasks parameter, change the Value on Restart to 100.

b For the Maximum MT Servers parameter, change the Value on Restart to 2.

Setting Concurrency Parameters Using the Server ManagerUse the following procedure to set the concurrency parameters using the Server Manager (srvrmgr).

To set concurrency parameters using Server Manager■ Execute the following Server Manager (srvrmgr) commands to increase the MaxTasks parameter

to 100 and the MaxMTServers parameter to 2:

change param maxtasks=100 for comp xmlpreportserver server XmlpServer

change param maxmtservers=2 for comp xmlpreportserver server XmlpServer

where:

XmlpServer is the name of the Siebel Server.


Setting the Server Request Processor Database Polling Interval for Siebel Reports


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70


Process of Optimizing the Generation Performance of Siebel Reports for Large Data VolumesTo optimize Siebel Reports generation performance with large data volumes (greater than 10,000 records), it is recommended that you adjust the DSMaxFetchArraySize profile parameter.

This task is a step in “Roadmap for Optimizing the Performance of Siebel Reports” on page 67 and is applicable to connected mode.

CAUTION: It is recommended that you perform the following procedure on a separate named subsystem (for example, reportsdatascr) that is used only by the XMLP Report Server component. Otherwise, the Application Object Manager (AOM) on the client computer might fail when retrieving large amounts of data.

To optimize the generation performance of Siebel Reports for large data volumes, perform the following tasks:

1 Set the DSMaxFetchArraySize profile configuration parameter value to -1.

For instructions for setting this parameter, see 1064043.1 (Doc ID) on My Oracle Support.

2 “Enabling Scalable Mode for Siebel Reports” on page 70.

3 “Configuring a Temporary Directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for Siebel Reports” on page 72.

4 “Increasing EAI HTTP Transport Sleep Time for Siebel Reports” on page 73.

For more information about setting server profile parameters, see Siebel System Administration Guide.

NOTE: It is recommended that you not execute reports with large data volumes as an immediate report request. Instead, schedule these reports on the Oracle BI Publisher Server.


Setting the Server Request Processor Database Polling Interval for Siebel Reports


Enabling Scalable Mode for Siebel ReportsTo optimize Siebel Reports generation performance, you can enable the scalable mode parameter by configuring the Oracle BI Publisher xdo.cfg file in the jre\lib directory.

Administering Siebel Reports ■ Process of Optimizing the Generation Performance ofSiebel Reports for Large Data Volumes


This task is a step in “Process of Optimizing the Generation Performance of Siebel Reports for Large Data Volumes” on page 70 and is applicable to connected mode.

NOTE: It is recommended that you only enable scalable mode when viewing large reports online with a high concurrent report usage because this mode consumes more resources and might impact overall performance. If large reports are more common than not in your deployment, then set the scalable mode for all reports. Setting the scalable option prepares the FO processor to handle large data, longer processing times, time-outs, and so on. Although scalable mode is a relatively slower process, this mode makes sure there is no data loss even if the report is complex.

To enable scalable mode for Siebel Reports

1 Navigate to the ORACLE_HOME\xmlp\XMLP\Admin\Configuration directory.

2 Open the xdo.cfg file, and in the <Properties></Properties> tag, use the following syntax to set the Scalable Mode parameter to true (if it is not already set):

<property name="xslt-scalable">true</property>

NOTE: You can set scalable mode to either true or false.

3 Save the xdo.cfg file.

The following is a sample xdo.cfg file:

<config version="1.0.0" xmlns="http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/config/">



<properties>





<property name="system-temp-dir">D:\Temp</property>

<property name="xslt-scalable">true</property>

</properties>



<fonts>



<font family="Arial" style="normal" weight="normal">

<truetype path="/fonts/Arial.ttf" />

</font>

<font family="Default" style="normal" weight="normal">

<truetype path="/fonts/ALBANWTJ.ttf" />

72

</font>



<font-substitute name="MSGothic">

<truetype path="/fonts/msgothic.ttc" ttcno="0" />

</font-substitute>

</fonts>

<currency-formats>

<currency code="USD" mask="FM9G990D00"/>

<currency code="JPY" mask="FMFM9G990"/>

<currency code="ILS" mask="FM9G990D00"/>

<currency code="EUR" mask="FM9G990D00"/>

<currency code="TRK" mask="FM9G990D00"/>

</currency-formats>

</config>

Related TopicsConfiguring a Temporary Directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for Siebel Reports

Increasing EAI HTTP Transport Sleep Time for Siebel Reports

Configuring a Temporary Directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for Siebel ReportsTo benefit reports generation, configure a temporary directory for the Oracle BI Publisher Server. This temporary space allows you to build complex reports that you can clean up after the reports are generated.


To configure a temporary directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for Siebel Reports

1 Navigate to the ORACLE_HOME\xmlp\XMLP\Admin\Configuration directory.

NOTE: The path for the Java installation folder varies depending on where you installed JRE.

2 Open the xdo.cfg file, and in the <Properties></Properties> tag, use the following syntax to set the temporary directory:

Administering Siebel Reports ■ Process of Optimizing the Generation Performance ofSiebel Reports for Large Data Volumes


<property name="system-temp-dir">d:\tmp</property>

NOTE: Make sure the location of the temporary directory has adequate space for the temporary files.

3 Save the xdo.cfg file.

Related TopicsEnabling Scalable Mode for Siebel Reports

Increasing EAI HTTP Transport Sleep Time for Siebel Reports

Increasing EAI HTTP Transport Sleep Time for Siebel ReportsYou can optimize report generation for complex reports by increasing the default sleep time for the EAI HTTP Transport business service. This is especially helpful when generating complex reports or against large data sets, that might take longer than a couple of minutes to generate.


To increase EAI HTTP transport sleep time for Siebel Reports, see 859193.1 (Doc ID) on My Oracle Support.

Related TopicsEnabling Scalable Mode for Siebel Reports

Configuring a Temporary Directory on the Oracle BI Publisher Server for Siebel Reports



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6 Generating Reports

This chapter describes how to generate, monitor, view, and delete reports in Siebel Business Applications from a user perspective. It includes the following topics:

■ About Generating Reports on page 75

■ Workflow for Generating Reports on page 76

■ Scenario for Generating Reports on page 78

■ Generating Reports on page 79

■ Example of Generating an Opportunity Report on page 80

■ Monitoring the Status of Currently Generating Reports on page 81

■ Viewing Previously Generated Reports on page 82

■ Deleting Reports on page 83

For information about scheduling reports, see Chapter 8, “Scheduling Reports.”

About Generating ReportsYou use the Reports menu to generate reports. The Reports menu is a drop-down list that appears after clicking Reports on the Siebel application toolbar while you are in a view. The reports available to you for that view appear in this menu.

NOTE: You also use the Reports menu to schedule reports. Report scheduling is available only in connected mode. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 21. For information about scheduling reports, see Chapter 8, “Scheduling Reports.”

Figure 5 provides a sample Reports menu that might appear when you click Reports while in the Opportunities List view.

Figure 5. Sample Reports Menu


Generating Reports ■ Workflow for Generating Reports

76

Related Topics“Workflow for Generating Reports” on page 76

“Scenario for Generating Reports” on page 78

“Generating Reports” on page 79

“Example of Generating an Opportunity Report” on page 80


“Viewing Previously Generated Reports” on page 82

“Deleting Reports” on page 83

Workflow for Generating ReportsYou generate reports using the Siebel application views and the Reports menu. Figure 6 shows the workflow for generating Siebel Reports.


1 Report requests are initiated from a Siebel application view. Typically, a query is run to limit the number of records before requesting the report.

2 From the Reports menu, you choose to either generate an existing report or schedule a report.

3 If you:

■ Choose a report from the BI Publisher listing, you must first designate a report output file type, and then click Submit.

Figure 6. Workflow for Generating a Report

Generating Reports ■ Workflow for Generating Reports


■ Select My BI Publisher Reports, you choose a report by drilling down on it from the My Reports view.

■ Schedule a report, you choose a report name, output file type, and other scheduling criteria from the Schedule a Report dialog box.

4 If you chose a report from the BI Publisher section or drilled down on a report from the My Reports view, from the File Download dialog box, you can choose to:

■ Open the report. The report downloads and appears in a browser window in the format you chose in Step 3.

The report output file types are: PDF, HTML, RTF, EXCEL, and PPT. The PPT output file type is available only in connected mode. For more information about the report output file types, see “Siebel Reports Output File Types” on page 16.

■ Save the report. You can save the report to a destination of your choosing, and then Open it for viewing.

If you chose to schedule a report, the report is stored in the Oracle BI Publisher repository for future viewing and retrieval.

5 You can continue to download reports in other formats or click Close to end.

NOTE: Report scheduling is available only in connected mode. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 21. For information about scheduling reports, see Chapter 8, “Scheduling Reports.”

Related Topics“About Generating Reports” on page 75








Generating Reports ■ Scenario for Generating Reports

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Scenario for Generating ReportsThis topic gives a scenario of how you might use Siebel Reports in Siebel Business Applications. You might use Siebel Reports differently, depending on your business model.

This scenario describes one example of a sales representative generating reports. In this example, the representative chooses a report and the report output type, then the report generates and appears in the chosen format. While generating, the representative can monitor or view the status of the report and after successful completion, she can access the report immediately or a later time.

NOTE: The process for scheduling reports is similar, however, you choose Schedule Report from the Reports menu instead of selecting a report from the drop-down list. For information about scheduling reports, see Chapter 8, “Scheduling Reports.”

Choosing a Report to GenerateA sales representative generates a series of account and opportunity reports periodically. These reports include: Account List, Pipeline Analysis, and Opportunity Marketing Events Summary. They provide a view of her current pipeline and other account-related activities. Today, the sales representative decides to generate the Account List report. She navigates to the Accounts view, and then clicks Reports. From the resulting Reports menu, she can choose a report. In this case, she chooses Account List in the BI Publisher (BIP) section of the Reports menu.

Choosing the Report Output Type and Monitoring StatusNext, the sales representative is prompted to choose a report output type. In this case, she chooses PDF, which automatically triggers the report to start generating data. After successful completion, the report appears in the chosen format, where she can either open or save the report. However, if the report takes a while to render, a message appears indicating that she must access the report from the My Reports view. From the My Reports view, she can monitor the status of the report and eventually access the report when the status shows Success.

Accessing a Previously Generated ReportAfter several weeks, the sales representative decides she wants to take another look at this Account List report. She accesses the report directly from the My Reports view by drilling down on the report that she wants to see. After she drills down on the Account List report, the File Download dialog box appears from which she can choose to open the report, save the report, or cancel the request. If she chooses to open the report, the report appears.


“Workflow for Generating Reports” on page 76




Generating Reports ■ Generating Reports




Generating ReportsYou use the Reports menu to generate either a preconfigured report (provided with each Siebel application) or a report you have previously generated.

To generate a report

1 Navigate to the Siebel application view from which you want to generate a report, optionally run a query to limit the number of returned records, and then click Reports.

TIP: It is strongly recommended that you perform a query before generating a report to limit the number of returned records for the report.

2 From the Reports menu, select a report from one of the following:

■ BI Publisher section

■ My BI Publisher Reports link


■ If you choose a report from the BI Publisher section, in the Report Output Type dialog box, select the file format for the report, and then click Submit.

The report is generated and appears in a browser window where you can open or save the report. If the report takes a while to render, a message appears indicating that you must view the report from the My Reports view. The amount of time before this message appears is set in the BIP Report Wait Time system preference by the administrator.

NOTE: The file formats available to you are determined by the developer at the time that the report is registered. The output file types include: PDF, HTML, RTF, EXCEL, PPT (PPT is only available in connected mode), or All.

■ If you choose a report from the My BI Publisher Reports link, the My Reports view appears.

The My Reports view shows long-running reports that are currently generating as well as the reports that you have previously generated. The status field indicates whether a report ran successfully (Success), encountered errors (Error), or is still generating (In Progress). When reports are generated successfully, the Status field changes to Success. You can open or save a report that shows a Success status by drilling down on that report.

For information about monitoring reports from the My Reports view, see “Monitoring the Status of Currently Generating Reports” on page 81.

NOTE: If a report encounters errors while generating, a log file is created that the report developers or administrators can use to troubleshoot the problem. For more information about troubleshooting reports, see Appendix A, “Troubleshooting Siebel Reports.”


Generating Reports ■ Example of Generating an Opportunity Report

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“Workflow for Generating Reports” on page 76






Example of Generating an Opportunity ReportThis topic gives one example of generating a Siebel report. You might use this feature differently, depending on your business needs.

In this example, assume you want to generate the By Sales Rep opportunity report in PDF format.

To generate the By Sales Rep Opportunity report

1 Navigate to the Opportunities screen, My Opportunities, and then the Opportunity List view.

TIP: The predefined query for this view shows only your current opportunities. If you want to see all of your opportunities, click Query, and then click Go.

2 Run a query to limit the number of records returned, and then click Reports.

3 From the BI Publisher section of the Reports menu, select the By Sales Rep report.

4 In the Select the Report Output Type dialog box, choose PDF, and then click Submit.

The By Sales Rep report Opportunity appears in a browser window, prompting you to open, save, or cancel the request.

5 Click Open.

The By Sales Rep Opportunity report appears in PDF format in a new browser window, from which you can choose to print, save, or cancel the report.






Generating Reports ■ Monitoring the Status of Currently Generating Reports



Monitoring the Status of Currently Generating ReportsThis topic describes how to monitor the status of currently generating reports, using the My Reports view.

NOTE: This topic is not applicable to scheduled reports. For information about monitoring scheduled reports, see “Monitoring and Viewing Scheduled Reports” on page 106.

To monitor the status of a generated or currently generating report

1 Log in to the Siebel application.

2 Navigate to the BIP Reports Server screen, then the My Reports view.

3 In the My Reports list, look for the report that you want to monitor, and then review the Status field for that report.

The status indicators are: In Progress, Success, and Error as described in the following table.

TIP: The timestamp for a report is the submit time on the Siebel Server. If a user submits a report when the XMLP Report Server component is not enabled, the report appears with a blank status in the My Reports view. Then, when the XLMP Report Server component is enabled, the report immediately shows a status of In Progress. However, the status might not appear long enough for you to view it. This behavior is because typically the In Progress status disappears after only a few seconds and is replaced with a status of Success. The My Reports view allows you to monitor the progress of a currently generating report.

4 If the report shows a status of Success, you can drill down on the report to view it.

5 (Optional) If you want to delete the report, you can do so from the My Reports view.



Field Description

Owner User ID of the person who generated the report.

Status Indicates:

■ In Progress when a report is currently generating.

■ Success when a report generates successfully.

■ Error when a report encounters errors while generating. To troubleshoot, see Appendix A, “Troubleshooting Siebel Reports.”


Generating Reports ■ Viewing Previously Generated Reports

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Viewing Previously Generated ReportsWhen you generate a report, the report is saved in the Siebel File System. The report shows data as of the time the report was run.

NOTE: This topic is not applicable to scheduled reports. For information about viewing scheduled reports, see “Monitoring and Viewing Scheduled Reports” on page 106.

To view your previously generated reports

1 Navigate to the BIP Reports Server screen, then the My Reports view.

2 In the My Reports list, drill down on the report name that you want to view.

3 In the File Download dialog box, do one of the following:

■ Click Open to view the file.

The report appears in a new browser window where you can print or save it.

■ Click Save to save the file.

The Save As dialog box appears where you can browse to find a location to save the file.

■ Click Cancel to cancel the request.

In the My Reports view, you can also monitor long-running reports currently generating or delete the reports you have previously generated. See “Monitoring the Status of Currently Generating Reports” on page 81 and “Deleting Reports” on page 83, respectively.







Generating Reports ■ Deleting Reports


Deleting ReportsThis topic describes how to delete reports that you have generated that you no longer want. For more information about the My Reports view, see “About Using Siebel Reports” on page 16.

NOTE: You can delete only those reports that you have personally generated.

To delete a report

1 Navigate to the BI Publisher Reports Server screen, then the My Reports view.

2 In the My Reports list, select a report, and then click Delete.

NOTE: This step removes the report from the Siebel File System and the report list; it does not remove the record from the Siebel Database. Only administrators can purge report records from the Siebel Database. For more information about purging report records from the Siebel Database, see “Purging Reports from the Siebel File System” on page 62.

In the My Reports view, you can also monitor long-running reports currently generating, or view the reports that you have previously generated. See “Monitoring the Status of Currently Generating Reports” on page 81 and “Viewing Previously Generated Reports” on page 82.

Additionally, you can delete scheduled reports you have personally generated. For information about deleting scheduled reports, see “Deleting Scheduled Reports” on page 107.








Generating Reports ■ Deleting Reports

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7 Creating Reports

This chapter describes how to create reports. It is intended only for those who have report developer or administrator privileges.

NOTE: End users do not typically have access to the administration views in the Siebel application, and as such, are not able to perform the tasks in this chapter. For information about reporting from the user perspective, see Chapter 6, “Generating Reports.”

This chapter includes the following topics:

■ Should You Clone an Existing Report or Create Custom Reports? on page 85

■ Scenario for Creating Reports on page 86

■ Workflow for Creating Reports on page 87

■ About Integration Objects in Siebel Reports on page 88

■ About Reporting Across Multiple Siebel Business Objects on page 89

■ Workflow for Uploading Oracle BI Publisher Layout Templates to a Siebel Application on page 90

■ Process of Creating Custom Reports on page 92

Should You Clone an Existing Report or Create Custom Reports?Siebel Reports provides report developers and business users with the option of adding new reports, based on the existing layout templates, or creating their own custom reports and layout templates. This topic helps you to determine which type of report to create and why.

The following are some situations in which you might want to clone an existing report:

■ When you add new fields to a layout template

■ When differences between your new report and an existing report are minor

■ When you want multiple versions of the same report showing slightly different data to different categories of users

When your requirements are not satisfied by an existing report and there are significant differences between the report that you want and an existing report, create a custom report. The following are some situations in which you must create a custom report:

■ When the report requires a new integration object

■ When the report requires a new integration component for an existing integration object. For example, you create a new report for a view that belongs to the same business object.


Creating Reports ■ Scenario for Creating Reports

86

Scenario for Creating ReportsThis topic gives a scenario of how you might create reports in Siebel Business Applications. You might use reports differently, depending on your business model.

This scenario describes how a sales manager works with a report developer to create a custom opportunity report.

Sales Manager Generates Daily Sales ReportsA sales manager has a team of five sales representatives for the western region of a company. Every day he generates a series of reports, including Opportunity by Sales Rep, Account List, and Forecast Analysis Details to get the latest, current-account activities, and forecasted revenues for his sales representatives. These reports are view-based and available from the Reports menu in the Siebel application.

Sales Manager Modifies an Existing Sales Report to Hand Off to the Report DeveloperThese reports give the sales manager a good understanding of the opportunities in the pipeline for each sales representative on his team, and allows him to monitor how they are progressing through the sales cycle. Towards the end of the quarter, he wants to know how much potential revenue his team might be able to close for the quarter. To learn that information, he wants to see a revenue breakdown for the team’s opportunities by probability and sales stage. He knows, however, that no such report is currently available, but realizes that the reports developer can create such a report for him. Because the sales manager wants the report to have a certain look, he starts creating a preliminary opportunity report himself using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word. When he is satisfied with the layout template design, he hands off the template to the report developer.

Sales Manager Generates the New Sales ReportAfter the reports developer finalizes the custom report, the sales manager can choose the report from the Reports menu while in an Opportunity view. After choosing a report output type, the report appears in a browser window, from which the sales manager can open or save the report. However, if the report takes a while to render, a message appears indicating that he must access the report from the My Reports view. From this view, he can monitor the status of the report and eventually access the report when the status shows Success. For more information about report output file types, see “Siebel Reports Output File Types” on page 16. For more information about the My Reports view, see “About Using Siebel Reports” on page 16.

Creating Reports ■ Workflow for Creating Reports


Workflow for Creating ReportsSiebel Business Applications allow you to create new reports based on preconfigured layout templates, or you can create your own custom reports and layout templates.

Figure 7 shows the workflow for creating custom reports. The workflow is applicable to both connected and disconnected modes. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see Chapter 3, “Siebel Reports Development Environment.”

Figure 7 illustrates the following workflow:

1 (Optional) Create a new integration object using Siebel Tools.

NOTE: You create new integration objects only when no appropriate integration object exists.

2 Create XML data using the Sample Data File Generation view in the Siebel client.

In this step, the following tasks are performed:

a Select an integration object for the report.

b Generate the sample XML data file, and then save it.

NOTE: The XML data file is typically saved to the XMLP\DATA directory in the Siebel File System. You can however, save the XML to another location. For more information about the Siebel Reports directory structure, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 21.

3 Create a new layout template, or modify an existing layout template, using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word. Do the following:

a Assign the Siebel fields in the layout template.

b Save the layout template to RTF.

c Preview the layout template to verify it appears as designed.

Figure 7. Workflow for Creating Reports


Creating Reports ■ About Integration Objects in Siebel Reports

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4 Register the layout template using the Report Template Registration view. Do the following:

a Create a new report.

b Select a layout template.

c Assign an integration object.

d Select an output file type.

5 Associate the report with Siebel application views.

About Integration Objects in Siebel ReportsIntegration objects are metadata objects in Siebel Business Applications that provide the ability to obtain Siebel data in XML format. Typical Siebel integration involves transporting data from an external application to a Siebel deployment, using Siebel EAI and integration objects. In the context of Siebel EAI, data is transported in the form of an integration message. A message, in this context, typically consists of header data that identifies the message type and structure, and a body that contains one or more instances of data, for example, orders, accounts, or employee records.

Siebel integration objects are used to define which Siebel data is integrated. A typical business object contains several business components and fields. In most integrations, only a subset of this data is necessary for generating reports. Siebel integration object definitions specify the components and which fields to integrate, and facilitate the integration by exchanging integration data as XML files. For more information about:

■ Adding custom fields to existing integration objects for Siebel reports, see “Extending Integration Objects to Add New Fields for Siebel Reports” on page 92.

■ Creating new integration objects for Siebel reports, see “Creating New Integration Objects for Siebel Reports” on page 94.

NOTE: It is recommended that you request the assistance of a Siebel Tools developer to create new integration objects for Siebel Reports.

■ Viewing integration object definitions, see Using Siebel Tools.

■ Integration objects in general, see Integration Platform Technologies: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration.

Creating Reports ■ About Reporting Across Multiple Siebel Business Objects


About Reporting Across Multiple Siebel Business ObjectsSiebel Reports provides the ability to generate reports across multiple, unrelated Siebel business objects without having to build the relationships into a single business object. To generate reports across multiple business objects, you create a report based on multiple integration objects.

NOTE: Siebel Business Applications ship with standard integration objects for creating reports. However, if there is no appropriate integration object available, you can create custom integration objects. For more information about creating new integration objects for Siebel Reports, see “Creating New Integration Objects for Siebel Reports” on page 94.

The following conditions and restrictions apply to reporting on multiple integration objects:

■ When specifying the integration objects in the Report Template Integration Objects list, nonprimary integration objects must have a valid search specification value.

For more information about the Report Template Integration Objects list, see “Registering Layout Templates for Reports” on page 98. For more information about nonprimary integration objects, see “Adding Multiple Integration Objects to a Report” on page 100.

■ At run time, the query from the current view in the Siebel application is captured and passed to the primary integration object. However, for integration objects other than the primary (sometimes referred to as secondary integration objects) that are associated with a report, queries are not passed from the user interface. The secondary integration objects are passed according to the expression provided in the object’s search specification. For this reason, a valid search specification value is required to filter the data for nonprimary integration objects.

NOTE: Position-based visibility is automatically applied.

■ If no search specification value is entered for nonprimary integration objects, or the expression is incorrect, the integration object returns all data from the relevant business components. This omission returns potentially unwanted data, and also has a negative impact on performance.

NOTE: It is recommended that you test search specifications for multiple integration objects in a relevant application view to make sure the search specification is valid before applying the specification to a report in the Report Template Registration view.

For information about adding multiple integration objects to reports, see “Adding Multiple Integration Objects to a Report” on page 100.


Creating Reports ■ Workflow for Uploading Oracle BI Publisher Layout Templates to a Siebel Application

90

Workflow for Uploading Oracle BI Publisher Layout Templates to a Siebel ApplicationThis topic describes how Siebel Business Applications support Oracle BI Publisher layout templates for report generation. After a layout template is created using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, the layout template and translation files must be uploaded to generate reports. Figure 8 shows how the uploading of these files differs depending on the type of connection mode (connected or disconnected).

Figure 8. How the Layout Template and Translation Files Are Uploaded from Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word to Generate Reports

Creating Reports ■ Workflow for Uploading Oracle BI Publisher Layout Templates to aSiebel Application



■ From the Report Template Registration view, the RTF layout template and translation files are uploaded using an upload business service to the Oracle BI Publisher repository as follows:

■ In connected mode, the upload service occurs by way of the PublicReportService Web service. For more information about generating reports in connected mode, see “Siebel Reports Architecture and Workflow for Generating Reports in Connected Mode” on page 22.

■ In disconnected mode, the upload service is not applicable. All files (RTF, XLIFF, and XSL) are local to the Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine when generating reports. For more information about generating reports in disconnected mode, see “Siebel Reports Architecture and Workflow for Generating Reports in Disconnected Mode” on page 24.

■ To upload the report to the Oracle BI Publisher repository (connected mode only), the following must occur:

■ The layout template must have been saved in RTF format using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word.

■ You must click Upload Files in the Report Template Registration view in the Siebel application. The RTF and XLIFF files are uploaded and an XDO report definition file is created when the reports are generating.

NOTE: The Generate XLIFF button is disabled (grayed out) in connected mode, and the Upload Files button is disabled (grayed out) in disconnected mode.

■ Before moving to the Oracle BI Publisher repository (connected mode), the layout template (RTF) and XLIFF files are attached to the report during the registration of the layout template.

■ For disconnected mode, you must click Generate XLIFF to create XSL. Whereas in connected mode, XSL is generated at run time by the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

NOTE: The Upload Files button is disabled (grayed out) in disconnected mode, and the Generate XLIFF button is disabled (grayed out) in connected mode.

■ For connected mode, the RTF and XLIFF files are stored in the Oracle BI Publisher repository by way of the PublicReportServiceService Web service. In disconnected mode, the report templates and XLIFF files are stored in the Siebel client installation folder (that is, SIEBEL_ROOT_CLIENT\xmlp\templates and SIEBEL_ROOT_CLIENT\xmlp\XLIFF, respectively).

For information about uploading from Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, see “Registering Layout Templates for Reports” on page 98.


Creating Reports ■ Process of Creating Custom Reports

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Process of Creating Custom ReportsSiebel Business Applications ship with preconfigured reports. However, using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) and Siebel Reports, you can create your own custom reports. This topic describes the process for creating custom reports.

You create custom reports in three locations:

■ In Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word by modifying the existing or creating new layout templates.

■ In the Siebel clients by using the Siebel Reports Administration views to upload and register layout templates, associate reports with Siebel application views, and other administrative tasks.

■ (Optional) In Siebel Tools by either extending an existing integration object or creating new integration object definitions that execute at run time.

NOTE: Siebel Business Applications ship with standard integration objects. You create new integration objects only when existing integration objects do not suffice.

To create custom reports, perform the following tasks:

1 (Optional) “Extending Integration Objects to Add New Fields for Siebel Reports” on page 92

2 (Optional) “Creating New Integration Objects for Siebel Reports” on page 94

3 “Generating Sample XML Data Files for Siebel Reports” on page 95

4 “Creating Layout Templates Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word” on page 96

5 “Previewing Layout Templates” on page 97

6 “Registering Layout Templates for Reports” on page 98

7 (Optional) “Adding Multiple Integration Objects to a Report” on page 100

8 “Associating Registered Reports with Siebel Application Views” on page 101

Extending Integration Objects to Add New Fields for Siebel ReportsSiebel Business Applications ship with preconfigured reports and each of these reports references an integration object that serves as the report schema. This topic describes how to extend an existing integration object to add new fields for a report.

NOTE: It is recommended that you seek the assistance of a Siebel Tools configurator for integration object modification. It is also recommended that you consider this option before creating new integration objects for your reports. For information about creating new integration objects for Siebel reports, see “Creating New Integration Objects for Siebel Reports” on page 94.

This task is an optional step in “Process of Creating Custom Reports” on page 92.



To extend an integration object to add a new field

1 In the Siebel client, identify the integration object by doing the following:

a Navigate to the Administration - BIP Reports screen, then the Report Template Registration view.

b Select the report for which you want to add a new field.

c In the Primary Integration Object Name column, identify and make note of the integration object for this report.

NOTE: Integration objects for reports begin with BIP.

2 Add a new field to the integration object by doing the following:

a Log in to Siebel Tools.

b In the Object Explorer, select and expand Integration Object.

TIP: Integration objects do not appear in the Object Explorer by default. Click the View menu, Options, and then the Object Explorer tab to add the integration objects to the Object Explorer view.

c Query for the integration object associated with the report.

d Expand the Integration Component and Integration Component Field object types to view the existing fields associated with this integration component.

e Create a new integration component field record and copy the Name, Data Type, and Length properties from the underlying business component field whose data you want to display in the report.

f Set the XML-related properties to construct the XML file when data is extracted.

NOTE: You must follow the convention for naming XML tags, that is, remove all spaces and special characters. However, it is not a requirement that you use the ss_ prefix convention.

3 Deploy the modified integration object by doing the following:

a While still in Siebel Tools, navigate to the Integration Objects List.

b Right-click the integration object you want to deploy, and then select Deploy to Runtime Database.

NOTE: This action overrides the object definition in the SRF file.

c In the Siebel client, Navigate to the Administration - Web Services screen, then the Deployed Integration Objects view.

d Query for the integration object to verify it was deployed.

e Navigate to the Administration - Web Services screen, Inbound Web Services view.

f Click Clear Cache to update the run-time database.

The extended integration object is now available for generating a new sample data file.

For information about generating sample data files, see “Generating Sample XML Data Files for Siebel Reports” on page 95. For more information about working with and deploying integration objects, see Integration Platform Technologies: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration.



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Creating New Integration Objects for Siebel ReportsSiebel Business Applications ship with preconfigured integration objects that you can use for customizing your reports. However, you might want to create new integration objects, given no applicable integration objects are available in the Siebel Repository. Using Siebel Tools, you can create new integration objects. For more information about the role of integration objects in Siebel Reports, see “About Integration Objects in Siebel Reports” on page 88.

NOTE: It is strongly recommended you seek the assistance of a Siebel Tools developer for integration object creation. It is also recommended that you consider extending an existing integration object to add new fields before creating new integration objects for your reports. For information about extending existing integration objects, see “Extending Integration Objects to Add New Fields for Siebel Reports” on page 92.


After new integration objects are created and deployed, you can use the integration objects to register a layout template. For more information about registering a layout template, see “Registering Layout Templates for Reports” on page 98.

NOTE: When creating custom integration objects for Siebel Reports, make sure that the fields used for dynamic queries in the applet of the master business component are also contained in the integration component. Dynamic queries are specific, customized queries that you create.

To create a new integration object for Siebel Reports


2 Use the Integration Object Builder wizard to create the new integration object, making sure to name the new object definition with the prefix, BIP.

You must add the BIP prefix so that integration objects appear in the Sample Data File Generation view.

NOTE: It is recommended that if you use this wizard for creating integration objects, that you inactivate only the required business component fields for the report. By default, the wizard automatically adds all business component fields in the integration component. A large amount of fields in an integration component might affect performance.

Typically, you add to an integration component only the fields that are required in the report. You must also add to the integration component fields in the user interface that are required for querying and filtering the data before executing the report.

3 Deploy the integration object to the run-time database by doing the following:

a In the Object Explorer in Siebel Tools, select Integration Object.

b In the Integration Object list, right-click the integration object you want to deploy, and then select Deploy to Runtime Database.

c In the Siebel client, navigate to the Administration - Web Services screen, then the Inbound Web Services view.

d Click Clear Cache to invalidate the integration object and Web services definitions in the run-time database.



This newly created integration object is now available in the Sample Data File Generation view for your use when creating custom reports.

For information about generating sample data files, see “Generating Sample XML Data Files for Siebel Reports” on page 95. For more information about integration objects and deploying an integration object without compiling an SRF, see Integration Platform Technologies: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration.

Generating Sample XML Data Files for Siebel ReportsThis topic describes how to generate and save XML files for use in a report. You use the Sample Data File Generation view in the Siebel application to choose an integration object that seeds the data for a new report. Integration objects are metadata objects in Siebel Business Applications that provide the ability to obtain Siebel data in XML format. XML data is used to create the layout templates in RTF format and to generate reports at run time. When an XML data file generates successfully, it is used by the Siebel XMLP Report Server component in connected mode, and by the Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine in disconnected mode to merge with the layout template to construct the report. The produced document is then stored in the Siebel File System.

NOTE: It is recommended that you consider extending an existing integration object to add new fields before creating new integration objects for your reports. For information about extending existing integration objects, see “Extending Integration Objects to Add New Fields for Siebel Reports” on page 92. If, however, there is no existing integration object that fits your requirements, you can create new integration objects using Siebel Tools. For more information about creating new integration objects for reports, see “Creating New Integration Objects for Siebel Reports” on page 94.

This task is a step in “Process of Creating Custom Reports” on page 92.

To generate an XML data file for a report

1 Navigate to the Administration - BIP Reports screen, then the Sample Data File Generation view.

2 In the Sample Data File Generation list, select the integration object for which you want to generate a data file, and then click Generate Data File.

An XML file is generated with the name of the integration object followed by .xml and saved to the SIEBSRVR_ROOT\XMLP\DATA directory. For example, if the integration object name is BIPLiteratureFulfillment, the file name for the XML file is BIPLiteratureFulfillment.xml.

NOTE: When you generate sample XML data, only a subset of the I/O data is exported into the XML file. If some fields (such as multivalue fields) are not populated, these fields do not appear when loaded into Microsoft Word using Oracle BI Publisher Add-In for Microsoft Word (also known as Oracle BI Publisher Desktop). If this occurs, export the schema using Siebel Tools (from the Tools menu, select Integration Object, and then Generate Schema). Rename the file with an .xsd extension, and then load this schema into Microsoft Word using the Oracle BI Publisher menu. All fields are now available for use in the template. For more information about XML schema generation, see Transports and Interfaces: Siebel Enterprise Application Integration.

You can now create layout templates based on this XML data using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word.



96

For information about creating layout templates, see “Creating Layout Templates Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word” on page 96.

Creating Layout Templates Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft WordThis topic describes how to create layout templates for reports using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word.


NOTE: It is recommended that you use Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word to create your custom RTF-formatted layout templates. If you use other RTF-formatted templates for creating your reports, you must manually code the XSL statements and references to the data fields. Coding XSL is out of scope for this documentation.

CAUTION: Oracle BI Publisher does not support report names containing special characters.

The following are some situations in which you must create a new layout template:

■ When a layout template requires that you add new fields or design a different layout

■ When a layout template requires association with a different integration component for the specified integration object

■ When a layout template requires association with a different or multiple integration objects

The following procedure assumes you have installed Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word. This procedure provides only quick reference information for creating layout templates. For detailed information, see Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher User’s Guide, which is available from the Oracle BI Publisher Desktop program menu (select Start, Programs, Oracle BI Publisher Desktop, and then BI Publisher Users Guide).

To create a layout template using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word

1 Start Microsoft Word.

2 From the application-level menu in Microsoft Word, select Oracle BI Publisher, Data, and then Load Sample XML Data.

3 In the Select XML Data window, select the XML data file.

NOTE: Typically, the XML data files reside in the XMLP\DATA directory on which the Siebel Server is running.

4 Define the format of the report and the Siebel fields that you want to appear in the report, using the Template Wizard as follows:

a From the Microsoft Word toolbar, choose Insert, Table/Form, and then Wizard.

b In the Template Wizard, choose the report format, and then click Next.

You can choose one of the following: Table, Form, or Free Form.



c (Optional) Change the XML data grouping, and then click Next.

d Select the Siebel fields that you want to appear in your report, and then click Next.

e If the data is to appear in Table format, decide the grouping and sorting, and then click Next.

f Label the Siebel fields as you want them to appear in the new report, and then click Finish.

g Save the layout template in RTF format.

The following files are created and stored in the Siebel File System for retrieval by the Siebel application as follows:

❏ The layout template (RTF) and XLIFF files in connected mode

❏ The XSL and XLIFF files in disconnected mode

h Preview the layout template.

NOTE: During the layout template creation process, you can preview your work-in-progress templates. For information about previewing layout templates, see “Previewing Layout Templates” on page 97.

If you are currently creating a report for which you want to use this layout template, you must register the layout template in the Siebel application, see “Registering Layout Templates for Reports” on page 98.

NOTE: Additional information is provided in Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Report Designer's Guide in the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Documentation Library 10.1.3.4 available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN). Not all features mentioned in the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher documentation are currently supported in Siebel Reports; only the features documented in this guide.

Previewing Layout TemplatesDuring the report creation process, you can preview Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) layout templates by selecting the preview template option from the Oracle BI Publisher menu item in Microsoft Word.


The following procedure assumes you have installed Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word. For information about installing Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, see “Installing Oracle BI Publisher for Siebel Business Applications” on page 36.

To preview a work-in-progress Oracle BI Publisher layout template

1 In Microsoft Word, open the RTF template file (if not already open).

Typically, the template files are stored in SIEBSRVR_ROOT\XMLP\TEMPLATES.

2 From the application-level menu, select Oracle BI Publisher, Preview Template, and then choose the output file format.

The report appears in the chosen format with the data substituted.



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3 (Optional) Continue to preview different output file formats.

4 Save the file in RTF format.

For more information about creating layout templates, see “Creating Layout Templates Using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word” on page 96.

Registering Layout Templates for ReportsYou register layout templates so that users have access to reports in the Siebel application using the Reports menu. To generate reports, layout template files created using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word, must be uploaded. How these files are uploaded differs depending on connection mode; that is, whether it is connected or disconnected. This topic describes how to upload and register layout templates from Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word for both connection modes.

NOTE: Each report can have only one layout template, but you can register the same layout template for many reports.


In connected mode, the Oracle BI Publisher Server requires the RTF and XLIFF files in its folder structure. If the files are not available, the report is not generated. When the upload is successful, a new folder structure is created in the Oracle BI Publisher repository. This folder has the same name as the report selected and contains the layout template (RTF), XLIFF, and .xdo files. The Oracle BI Publisher Server creates the XSL file during run time.

In disconnected mode, the RTF, XLIFF, and XSL files must be made available (by uploading the files to the Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine) before the reports are generated.

For more information about uploading layout templates to the Siebel application, see “Workflow for Uploading Oracle BI Publisher Layout Templates to a Siebel Application” on page 90.

To register a layout template for a report

1 In the Siebel application, navigate to the Administration - BIP Reports screen, then the Report Template Registration view.

2 In the Report Template Registration view, click New.

3 In the Report Template Registration list, type a report name and optionally a description.



4 Select a layout template and XLIFF file, and then fill in the rest of the fields.

Some of the fields are described in the following table.

5 Associate a primary integration object with the report by doing the following:

a Select the Report Template Integration Objects view tab, and then click New.

Field Description

Template The RTF layout template that is used to generate the report. Templates are stored in the SIEBSRVR_ROOT\XMLP\TEMPLATES folder.

Primary Integration Object

The primary integration object for the report. The Primary Integration Object field is automatically populated when you select an integration object in the Report Template Integration Object list. This field is read-only in the Report Template Registration list.

Output Type The format of the generated report, which can be one of the following: PDF, HTML, RTF, EXCEL, PPT, or All.

NOTE: If a report is saved with only one report output type, the Report Output Type dialog box does not appear when the user selects that report in the Reports menu. Instead, the report begins generating in the assigned format. Typically, the output type is set to All. PPT is applicable only in connected mode.

XLIFF XLIFF files contain the strings of the report column, field labels, and captions that are used for translation purposes.

NOTE: If you change a layout template and upload the template to a Siebel client, you must regenerate the report.

Start Date1

1. The start and end dates determine the period that a report is available for use. If you choose a start date, you must also choose an end date. Conversely, if you choose an end date, you must also choose a start date.

A start date for the report.

NOTE: For preconfigured reports, there is no start date. For reports you create, the start date automatically populates to the current date and time the layout template is registered.

End Date1 An end date for the report. After the end date passes, the report no longer appears in the Reports menu.



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b Fill in the fields in the new record.

The fields are described in the following table.

6 (Optional) If you want to generate reports across multiple business objects, perform the tasks as described in “Adding Multiple Integration Objects to a Report” on page 100.


■ In connected mode, click Upload Files.

The layout template (RTF) and XLIFF files are uploaded.

■ In disconnected mode, click Generate XLIFF.

The layout template (RTF), XLIFF, and XSL files are uploaded.

You must now associate the registered report with the views in which you want the report to be available. For more information on associating reports, see “Associating Registered Reports with Siebel Application Views” on page 101.

Adding Multiple Integration Objects to a ReportThis topic describes how to create a Siebel report that reports across multiple, unrelated Siebel business objects. For more information about reporting across multiple business objects, see “About Reporting Across Multiple Siebel Business Objects” on page 89.


The following procedure assumes you have registered, or in the process of registering, a layout template as described in “Registering Layout Templates for Reports” on page 98.

Field Description

Integration Object Name The name of an integration object.

Search Specification A query data filter. When you create a nonprimary integration object for a report, you must enter a search specification value. For example, the value of the search specification might be the following expression:

[Status] = 'Closed'

NOTE: This field is not required for primary integration objects, because queries are taken from the Siebel application views.

For more information about multiple integration objects with regard to Siebel Reports, see “About Reporting Across Multiple Siebel Business Objects” on page 89.

Primary Indicates that this integration object is the primary integration object.



To add multiple integration objects to a report

1 In the Report Template Registration list, select a report (if not already selected).

2 Click the Report Template Integration Objects view tab, and then click New.

NOTE: Custom integration objects previously created appear as well as the preconfigured integration objects that ship with the Siebel application. One of the integration objects is indicated as primary. This Primary field is automatically indicated when associating an integration object with a report for the first time.

3 Fill in the fields in the new record.

The fields are described in Step 5 in “Registering Layout Templates for Reports” on page 98.

4 Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 of this procedure for each additional integration object that you want to add.

5 Click Generate Sample XML.

One XML data file is generated for the multiple integration objects.

NOTE: This step is similar to what occurs in “Generating Sample XML Data Files for Siebel Reports” on page 95, but in the Sample Data File Generation view, you can generate XML for only one integration object.

If you are creating a report currently, you must now associate the registered report with a Siebel application view. See “Associating Registered Reports with Siebel Application Views” on page 101.

Associating Registered Reports with Siebel Application ViewsAfter registering a report, you associate the report with one or more Siebel application views. The context-sensitive report appears in the Reports menu only in the views that are associated with the report.


To associate a registered report with a Siebel application view

1 Navigate to the Administration - BIP Reports screen, then the View Association view.

2 In the Views list, select a view with which you want to associate a report.

3 In the Reports List subview, click Add.

4 In the Views dialog box, choose a report name, and then click OK.

The report is now available in the Reports menu when you are in a view or views with which the report is associated.



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5 Test the newly created report by generating it.

For information about generating reports, see Chapter 6, “Generating Reports.”

NOTE: If a report encounters errors while generating, a log file is created that report developers and administrators can use to troubleshoot the problem. For more information about troubleshooting reports, see Appendix A, “Troubleshooting Siebel Reports.”


8 Scheduling Reports

This chapter describes how to schedule reports in Siebel Business Applications from a user perspective. It includes the following topics:

■ About Scheduled Reports on page 103

■ Scheduling Reports on page 104

■ Example of Scheduling an Opportunity Report on page 105

■ Monitoring and Viewing Scheduled Reports on page 106

■ Deleting Scheduled Reports on page 107

About Scheduled ReportsYou can schedule reports to generate at a later time using the Schedule Report menu item from the Reports menu. This menu item opens a dialog box from which you select the report you want to schedule. From this dialog box, you assign a job name, the criteria for generating the report (such as time and date you want the report to run, how often you want the report to generate, whether the report generates with a recurring frequency, and so on). After the report job is scheduled, you can view the report using the My Jobs view.

NOTE: Report scheduling requires the Siebel Web Client in connected mode. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 21.

The My Jobs view is an Oracle BI Publisher Web page that is embedded in the Siebel user interface. The Siebel application and Oracle BI Publisher exchange data by way of a Web service to produce the report.

Related Topics“Scheduling Reports” on page 104

“Example of Scheduling an Opportunity Report” on page 105

“Monitoring and Viewing Scheduled Reports” on page 106

“Deleting Scheduled Reports” on page 107


Scheduling Reports ■ Scheduling Reports

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Scheduling ReportsIf granted scheduling privileges, you can schedule reports to generate at a specific time (including immediately) and recurring frequency. While in a Siebel application view, you schedule a report by selecting the Schedule Report menu item from the Reports menu.

CAUTION: If you are unable to schedule reports, you might not have the appropriate access controls assigned. Ask your administrator to grant you the XMLP_SCHEDULER responsibility.

Report scheduling is available only in connected mode. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 21. Additionally, you cannot schedule parameterized reports. For information about parameterized reports, see Chapter 10, “Parameterized Reports.”

To schedule a report

1 Navigate to the Siebel application view from which you want to schedule a report, and click Reports.

NOTE: It is recommended that you perform a query before generating a report to limit the number of returned records for the report.

2 From the Reports menu, select Schedule Report.

3 In the Schedule a Report dialog box, enter the schedule criteria for the report, and then click Schedule.

Some fields are described in the following table.

Field Description

Report Name The report you want to schedule.

Job Name Enter a name for the job you are scheduling.

Output Type The output file format for the report. For information about output types, see “Siebel Reports Output File Types” on page 16.

Time The recurrence of the report. Choices are: Run Immediately, Run Once, or Daily/Weekly.

If you choose to run the report immediately, the job is triggered as soon as you click Schedule. If you choose to run the report only one time, you also enter the exact date and time to run the report. If you choose to run the report daily or weekly, you also enter the day of the week, specify the time for the selected day, and the date range of the occurrence.

Day of the week The day of the week you want the report to generate.

Public If checked, the output of the job is viewable by all users. By default, this field is not checked.

Save Data If checked, the XML data of the job is saved and is viewable in the My Jobs view. By default, this field is checked.

Scheduling Reports ■ Example of Scheduling an Opportunity Report


4 (Optional) Schedule another report with different criteria, and then click Cancel to exit the scheduling dialog box.

5 To view or monitor the scheduled report, navigate to the BIP Reports Server screen, then the My Jobs view.

NOTE: The My Jobs view is an embedded Web page from the Oracle BI Publisher Enterprise application designed for working with scheduled reports.

Related Topics“About Scheduled Reports” on page 103




Example of Scheduling an Opportunity ReportThis topic gives one example of scheduling a Siebel report. You might use this feature differently, depending on your business needs. For more information about report scheduling, see “Scheduling Reports” on page 104.

In this example, assume you want the By Sales Rep opportunity report to generate in HTML format each Tuesday and Thursday at 10:15 a.m. for a two week period from August 2-15, 2009.

To schedule the By Sales Rep Opportunity report

1 Navigate to the Opportunities screen, My Opportunities, and then the Opportunity List view.

2 Run a query to limit the number of records returned, and then click Reports.

3 From the Reports menu, select Schedule Report.

4 In the Schedule a Report dialog box, enter the following schedule criteria for the report, and then click Schedule:

■ Report Name is By Sales Rep Opportunity

Save Output If checked, the output of the job is saved and is viewable in the My Jobs view. By default, this field is checked.

Run Date The date the report generates.

Run Time The time the report generates.

Active Start Date/Active End Date

If a date is set in either of these fields, then it restricts the dates for which scheduling is active. Null by default.

Field Description


Scheduling Reports ■ Monitoring and Viewing Scheduled Reports

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■ Job Name is <Enter a job name>

■ Output Type is HTML

■ Time is Run Daily/Weekly

■ Day of the Week is Check the Tuesday checkbox, hold the CTRL key, and then click the Thursday check box

■ Active Start Date is 8/2/2009

■ Active End Date is 8/15/2009

■ Run Time is 10:15:00 AM

For descriptions of these and other fields in this dialog box, see “Scheduling Reports” on page 104.

5 (Optional) Navigate to the BIP Reports Server screen, then the My Jobs view to monitor the scheduled report.

For information about monitoring and viewing your scheduled reports, see “Monitoring and Viewing Scheduled Reports” on page 106.


“Scheduling Reports” on page 104



Monitoring and Viewing Scheduled ReportsThis topic describes how to monitor the status of scheduled reports using the My Jobs view. The My Jobs View is an embedded Oracle BI Publisher Web page, where you can view completed job history, scheduled jobs, and recurring jobs that you submitted from the Schedule Report menu item in the Reports menu. In this view, you can also delete, suspend, or resume scheduled reports that have not yet generated. For more information about report scheduling, see “About Scheduled Reports” on page 103 and “Scheduling Reports” on page 104.

To monitor the status of a scheduled report

1 Navigate to the BIP Reports Server screen, then the My Jobs view.

2 Monitor the status in Oracle BI Publisher by doing one of the following:

■ Click the History tab to view a history of your report jobs.

Scheduling Reports ■ Deleting Scheduled Reports


■ Click the Schedules tab to view the report jobs you have scheduled and their status. Drill down on a report to view detailed information about the report job.

For more information about viewing scheduled reports, see “Monitoring and Viewing Scheduled Reports” on page 106.





Deleting Scheduled ReportsThis topic describes how to delete reports that you have personally scheduled. You use the My Jobs view to delete the scheduled reports that you no longer want. For more information about the My Jobs view, see “About Scheduled Reports” on page 103.

To delete scheduled reports

1 Navigate to the BIP Reports Server screen, then the My Jobs view.

2 Click the checkbox next to the report you want to delete, and then click Delete.

NOTE: This step removes the report from the report list; it does not remove the report from the Oracle BI Publisher repository. Only administrators can purge Siebel reports from the Oracle BI Publisher repository. For more information about purging scheduled reports, see “Purging Scheduled Reports from the Oracle BI Publisher Server” on page 64.

In the My Jobs view, you can also monitor and view your scheduled reports. See “Monitoring and Viewing Scheduled Reports” on page 106.

Additionally, you can delete non-scheduled reports you have personally generated using the My Reports view. For information about deleting non-scheduled reports, see “Deleting Reports” on page 83.






Scheduling Reports ■ Deleting Scheduled Reports

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9 Using Master-Detail Reports

This chapter describes master-detail reports and how they work, as well as how to create a master-detail layout template. It includes the following topics:

■ About Master-Detail Reports

■ How Master-Detail Reports Work

■ Creating a Master-Detail Layout Template in Microsoft Word

About Master-Detail ReportsThis topic describes master-detail reports in Siebel Business Applications. A master-detail report displays a list of detail business component records for each record in a master business component, to which the master and detail business components have a one-to-many relationship. It is similar to a master-detail view in a Siebel application, in that detail records are displayed for each master record. Unlike a master-detail view, however, a master-detail report lists detail records for all master records at the same time, rather than for one master record at a time.

Figure 9 shows an example of a Service Request Activity - All report in Siebel Service, which is a master-detail report.

In this example, the master-detail reports provide master information for each service request, followed by a list of activities for that service request. Each service request begins on its own page. For further analysis of the Service Request Activity - All master-detail report, see “How Master-Detail Reports Work” on page 110.

A master-detail report can also have multiple detail elements. In this case, a list of detail records appears for several business components for each master record. For example, the Account Service Profile report provides three lists for each account master record: customer survey responses, opportunities, and service requests. A report with two detail elements is described in “Creating a Master-Detail Layout Template in Microsoft Word” on page 114. Many of the preconfigured reports that ship with Siebel Business Applications are master-detail reports.

Figure 9. Example of a Master-Detail Service Request Activity (All) Report


Using Master-Detail Reports ■ How Master-Detail Reports Work

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A master detail report incorporates a parent business component and related child and grandchild business components as defined in the business object definition that the integration object is based on. When executing a report, the UI context is captured and passed to the primary integration component of the integration object.

If a multivalue field (MVF) is included in a report, only the first record is displayed. To display all the records from an MVF in the report, an integration object must have been created in Siebel Tools under the associated integration object based on the business component that contains the MVF to be displayed.

This information is also valid for indirect MVFs. For example, consider the case where the business address (an MVF) of an account associated with an opportunity appears in the report. The business addresses in the MVF are not directly related to the opportunity, but they are related to the account that it is associated with it. To display all the records in the business address MVF as a detail section, first create a link between the Business Address business component and the Opportunity business component using Account Id as the source field. Include the Business Address business component under the Opportunity business object, and then create an integration object with the Business Address business component under the integration object, and include the necessary MVF. For more information about master-detail reports, see “How Master-Detail Reports Work” on page 110 and “Creating a Master-Detail Layout Template in Microsoft Word” on page 114.

How Master-Detail Reports WorkThis topic gives one example of how master-detail reports work by comparing a specific layout template with its corresponding report. You might use the feature differently, depending on your business model. This example compares the Service Request Activity (All) report and its corresponding layout template.

To compare the Service Request Activity (All) report in Siebel Service with its corresponding layout template

1 Generate the Service Request Activity (All) report in Siebel Service by performing the tasks:

a Open the Siebel Service application.

b Navigate to the Service screen, then All Service Requests across Organizations view.

NOTE: My Service Requests is the default view.

c In the All Service Requests across Organizations list, select an account, click Reports, and then from the Reports menu, select Service Request Activity (All).

d Choose a report output type, and then click Submit.

e In the File Download dialog box, select Open.

The Service Request Activity (All) report appears in the browser window. To view this report, see Figure 9 on page 109.



2 Open the layout template for the Service Request Activity (All) report using Microsoft Word:

a Navigate to the \XMLP\TEMPLATES folder (or the equivalent on your computer), and then open srvreqaa.rtf.

Notice the following features of this template as shown in the following figure:

❏ There is a table (form) for the master record

❏ There is a table (list) for each set of child records.

❏ There is a for each loop (over all master records) that includes the parent form and all the child lists.

❏ There is a condition on the IF statement (<?if:current-group()//ssAction?>) for the Activity section, which prevents the Activity section from displaying header information if there are no activities for the service request.

NOTE: To identify the layout template associated with a report, use the Report Template Registration view (in the Administration - BIP Reports screen).

b From the Oracle BI Publisher menu, select Tools, Field Browser, and then Show All.

The Field Browser dialog box appears, which allows you to view and modify the template logic.



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Table 5 provides details of the Oracle BI Publisher syntax and description for the fields defined in the example template.

Table 5. Oracle BI Publisher Syntax and Field Definitions for the Service Request Activity (All) Report Template

Syntax Oracle BI Publisher Code Description

If <?if://ssServiceRequest?> An IF condition that checks for service request records. If there are no service request records, no records are displayed.

for-eachgroup: ssServiceRequest

<?for-each-group:ssServiceRequest;position()?>

The start of a group section which iterates for each record in the Service Request data set.

ssSrNumberssAccountssStatus

<?ssSrNumber?><?ssAccount?><?ssStatus?

Field mappings

If <?if://ssCreated?> If condition that does not display the ssCreated field if null.

ssCreated <?format-date:psfn:totext(ssCreated,"yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss","MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss");'SHORT_TIME'?>

Field formatting

End <?end if?> End of if condition

ssSeverityssDescription

<?ssSeverity?><?ssDescription?>

Field mappings

If <?if://ssClosedDate?> If condition that does not display the ssClosedDate field if null.

ssClosedDate <?format-date:psfn:totext(ssClosedDate,"yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss","MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss");'SHORT_TIME'?>

Field formatting


ssPriorityssCustomerRefNumberssOwner

<?ssPriority?><?ssCustomerRefNumber?><?ssOwner?>

Field mappings

for-each:current-group() <?for-each:current-group()?>

Start of a group section, iterating for each record in the current group (for example, Service Request).



You can view additional information about the integration object definition (and related integration components) in Siebel Tools. For information about viewing integration object definitions in Siebel Tools, see Using Siebel Tools.

If <?if:current-group()//ssAction?>

Condition to check for Action records. If there are no records, do not display the section.

for-each:ssAction <?for-each:ssAction?> Beginning of the repeating element group for Action.

If <?if://ssCreated?> If condition that does not display the ssCreated field if null.

ssCreated <?format-date:psfn:totext(ssCreated,"yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss","MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss");'SHORT_TIME'?>

Field formatting


ssCreatedByNssOwnedBysssStatussTypessDescription

<?ssCreatedByName?><?ssOwnedBy?><?ssType?><?ssStatus?><?ssDescription?>

Field mappings

end for-each:ssAction <?end for-each?> End of the repeating element group for Action.

End if <?end if?> The end of the if condition

end for-each <?end for-each?> End of current-group() repeating group section.

page break <?split-by-page-break:?> Page break after the end of the group section.

end for-each-group: ssServiceRequest

<?end for-each-group?> End of Service Request group section

End <?end if?> End if statement for conditional check on Service Request records

If <?if:not(//ssServiceRequest)?>

If condition that prints "No Data Found" at the bottom of the report if there are no records.

End <?end if?> End if statement for above condition.

Table 5. Oracle BI Publisher Syntax and Field Definitions for the Service Request Activity (All) Report Template

Syntax Oracle BI Publisher Code Description


Using Master-Detail Reports ■ Creating a Master-Detail Layout Template in Microsoft Word

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For more information about Oracle BI Publisher syntax, see Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Report Designer's Guide, Release 10.1.3.4 available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN). For more information about creating master-detail templates, see “How Master-Detail Reports Work” on page 110 and “Creating a Master-Detail Layout Template in Microsoft Word” on page 114.

Creating a Master-Detail Layout Template in Microsoft WordCreating a master-detail report follows the same process as creating a simple report. However, consider the following important points when creating master-detail reports:

■ Make sure that all child integration components in the integration object have the appropriate value in the Parent Integration Component property.

■ In the RTF template, make sure that the correct for-each-group and for-each:current-group elements are placed in the template, see “How Master-Detail Reports Work” on page 110.

■ When creating custom integration objects for Siebel Reports, make sure that the fields used for dynamic queries in the applet of the master component are also contained in the integration component. Dynamic queries are specific, customized queries that you create.

To create a master-detail layout template in Microsoft Word

1 Open Microsoft Word, and create a new document.

2 Using the Oracle BI Publisher Desktop menu, select Data, and then Load XML Data.

3 Select the XML file containing the sample data, and then save the template in RTF format.

4 Add the relevant titles, formatting, page header and footer, and so on to the document.

5 Add the Master data section by doing the following:

a Insert a master data section manually, or by using the Insert menu option from the Oracle BI Publisher Desktop menu.

b Select the master data section, and add a for-each-group section:

❏ Click Insert, Repeating Group, and then the Advanced tab.

NOTE: This process embeds the for loop within the table and does not replicate the location of the controls in the preconfigured examples.

❏ Change the expression:

<?for-each-group:ssServiceRequest;position()?>

c (Optional) If you want to view descriptive text for the inserted sections, click Tools, Options, Build, and then Descriptive.

6 Add the Detail data section by doing the following:

a Select the detail data section.

b From the Oracle BI Publisher menu, click Insert, and then Repeating Group.

Using Master-Detail Reports ■ Creating a Master-Detail Layout Template in MicrosoftWord


c Select the defaults, and then click OK.

7 Insert a page break after the final detail section by doing the following:

a Select the Oracle BI Publisher properties of the entire group.

b Navigate to Create, Group, and then Properties.

c Select a page break option.

8 Add the additional formatting features and conditions.

For more information on adding features, see “How Master-Detail Reports Work” on page 110.

9 After testing the report, deploy the template in the usual manner.

Viewing Descriptive Text for Repeating Group SectionsWhen creating templates with repeating group sections, you might find it useful to view the descriptive text for the inserted sections. Descriptive text allows you to view the Oracle BI Publisher syntax.

To view the descriptive text for the repeating group sections

1 Start Microsoft Word.

2 From the Oracle BI Publisher application-level menu, click Options, Build, and then in the For-each form field box, select Descriptive.

For more information about master-detail reports, see “About Master-Detail Reports” on page 109 and “How Master-Detail Reports Work” on page 110.


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10 Parameterized Reports

This chapter describes parameterized reports and how they work. The topics in this chapter include:

■ About Parameterized Reports on page 117

■ About Defining Parameters in the Report Template on page 118

■ About Referencing Parameters in the Report Template on page 118

■ How Parameterized Reports Are Generated on page 119

■ Example of Generating a Parameterized Report on page 120

For instructions for creating reports and layout templates, see Chapter 7, “Creating Reports.”

About Parameterized ReportsParameterized reports allow you to pass data into an Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) Publisher RTF report template at run time and customize the report output.

NOTE: Parameterized reports are available only in connected mode. For more information about the connection modes in relation to Siebel Reports, see “About the Siebel Reports Architecture” on page 21.

Parameterized reports allow you to:

■ Narrow the query, sort specification, or grouping by a field for report execution.

■ Produce different reports from the same report template.

The administrator defines the parameters and the attributes of the report template during design time. A parameter is a name/value pair that defines certain criteria. Each parameter can have a default value, only one value, or a blank value.

RTF templates can have many parameters of the following two types:

■ Simple string. A user-defined value or default value defined in the template.

■ Pick list. In pick lists, predefined values are available for user selection with no arbitrary input.

NOTE: You cannot schedule parameterized reports.

Related Topics“About Defining Parameters in the Report Template” on page 118

“About Referencing Parameters in the Report Template” on page 118

“How Parameterized Reports Are Generated” on page 119

“Example of Generating a Parameterized Report” on page 120


Parameterized Reports ■ About Defining Parameters in the Report Template

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About Defining Parameters in the Report TemplateParameters are most commonly used for controlling the layout of the report, such as dynamic grouping or dynamic sections, depending on the parameter. You can also use parameters to filter data in the template, but this action is not recommended for performance reasons. It is more efficient to filter records in the Siebel UI using a query than in the report template.

You must define template parameter definitions at the beginning of an RTF report template. When defining a default parameter value that contains a space character, wrap the parameter declaration in both double and single quotes.

<?param@begin: Param1;"'default value'";'string'?>

Table 6 provides the values to use for specific parameter types.

Related Topics“About Parameterized Reports” on page 117




About Referencing Parameters in the Report TemplateYou control the layout of RTF report templates using parameter values. For information about parameter syntax and usage, see about defining parameters topic in the Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Report Designer's Guide Release 10.1.3.4 available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

You use template parameters within a report layout template to dynamically change the layout of the report using conditions based on the parameter value. Some examples are:

Table 6. Template Parameter Value Definitions

Parameter Value

A string parameter with a default value of default_value

<?param@begin: Param1;'default_value';'string'?>

A string parameter without a default value

<?param@begin: Param2?>

A picklist parameter containing the values One and Two, with a default value of One

<?param@begin: Param3;'One';'string';'One,Two'?>

Parameterized Reports ■ How Parameterized Reports Are Generated


■ Control the sorting pattern in a table. You can select a column name for sorting.

■ Control the grouping pattern in a table. You can select a column name for the group.

■ Render data rows in different colors by defining a user-specified field (such as ACTIVE_STATUS).

TIP: To test that the parameters are passed through correctly, you can display user input directly on the report. In this manner, you can verify Oracle BI Publisher received the correct user input, but there is no impact on the report layout controls.

Use the following syntax to display the run-time parameter values on the report output for the example parameters defined in Table 6 on page 118:

Param1 = <?$Param1?>




“About Defining Parameters in the Report Template” on page 118



How Parameterized Reports Are GeneratedParameterized reports allow you to pass data into a report layout template at run time and customize the output of that report. The user can narrow the query, sort specification, or grouping by a field at the report’s execution time. A parameterized report can produce many different reports from the same report template. This topic describes how parameterized reports are generated.

You generate parameterized reports the same as you generate other reports. But, when requesting a parameterized report and the report template contains optional parameters, the parameters appear in the Run Report list applet allowing you to enter those parameters. After entering the parameters and clicking Submit, the report is executed. The parameters you can define include the:

■ Parameter name as defined in the template

■ Pick values. This parameter type allows for user select values, but no free input.

■ Input of string type parameter, but this is only available when this parameter is of string type.





Parameterized Reports ■ Example of Generating a Parameterized Report

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Example of Generating a Parameterized ReportThis topic gives one example of generating a Siebel report. You might use this feature differently, depending on your business needs.

In this example, assume you have created a parameterized report and want to generate that report in pdf format.

To generate a parameterized report

1 Navigate to the application view that the parameterized report is associated with.

2 Run a query to limit the number of records returned, and then click Submit.

3 Select the parameterized report from the Reports menu.

NOTE: If this parameterized report has parameters defined, the Siebel application retrieves them from the template on the Oracle BI Publisher Server at run time.

4 From the pop-up applet, select the output file type, enter the parameters, and then click submit.

The report is generated by the Oracle BI Publisher Server, and then transferred to the Siebel application screen.






11 Migrating Reports

This chapter describes how to migrate reports from a development, test, or production environment to another. The tasks in this chapter are performed by the system administrator and are for disconnected mode only. This chapter includes the following topics:

■ Requirements for Migrating Reports on page 121

■ Process of Packaging and Migrating Reports on page 122

Requirements for Migrating ReportsYou can use Application Deployment Manager (ADM) to migrate reports from one environment to another. When you migrate reports, you are importing data values from a source environment to a target environment. For example, you migrate reports from the development or test environment (source) to the production environment (target).

For more information about ADM, see Siebel Application Deployment Manager Guide. For information about setting up your environment to use ADM for migrating reports, see “Requirements for Migrating Reports” on page 121.

Before migrating reports from one environment to another, perform the following tasks:

1 In the source environment, make sure the reports are finalized and ready to migrate.

2 Perform the following in the source environment:

a Install Perl software (version 5.0 or later).

b Make sure you include the Application Deployment Manager (ADM) component group as part of the Siebel Server installation process.

For more information about installing Siebel Servers, see Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.

c Set up ADM for your particular deployment needs. In particular, you must have a Siebel Management Server and Siebel Management Agents installed.

For more information on setting up ADM, see Siebel Installation Guide for the operating system you are using.


Migrating Reports ■ Process of Packaging and Migrating Reports

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Process of Packaging and Migrating ReportsThe Application Deployment Manager (ADM) packaging process prepares the reports records for migration by consolidating the customization information into a single deployment package. This deployment package is the functional entity used by the ADM framework to stage and execute the deployment. The deployment package is a set of files representing the report files, held in a predefined package directory, together with a package descriptor file holding details of the package contents.

To migrate XML files along with their associated SIF objects, you must specify the repository SIF object and the XML file for packaging. After the migration of the integration objects is called, the SIF objects and the XML files are migrated together.

To migrate reports from one environment to another:

1 Make sure you have met the necessary requirements for migrating reports.

For information about these requirements, see “Requirements for Migrating Reports” on page 121.

2 “Packaging the Report Files in the Source Environment” on page 122

3 “Migrating the Report Files to the Target Environment” on page 123

4 “Packaging Report Database Records in the Source Environment” on page 124

5 “Migrating Report Database Records to the Target Environment” on page 125

Packaging the Report Files in the Source EnvironmentThis topic describes how to package the report files in the source environment.

This task is a step in “Process of Packaging and Migrating Reports” on page 122.

The following procedure assumes that your reports are finalized and available in the source environment.

To package the report files

1 Manually copy the files that you want to migrate from the source environment Siebel Server installation directory (SIEBSRVR_ROOT\XMLP) to the following target environment:

SharedFolder\PackageName\file\siebsrvr\XMLP\<subdirectory_name>

where:

SharedFolder is a shared folder on the deployment computer.

PackageName is the name of the ADM package folder that contains the report files to be migrated.

file is the type of file, such as database, repository, and so on.

siebsrvr\XMLP<subdirectory_name> is the Siebel Server folder structure.



a Copy the XML files to the following directory:

SharedFolder\PackageName\file\AppServer\XMLP\DATA

b Copy the RTF and XSL files to the following directory:

SharedFolder\PackageName\file\AppServer\XMLP\TEMPLATES

c Copy the XLIFF files to the following directory:

SharedFolder\PackageName\file\AppServer\XMLP\enu\xliff

2 Run the following command to generate a descriptor file for the package:

admpkgr generate "shared folder\package name"

where:

SharedFolder\PackageName is the shared folder and package name in which the packages to be migrated reside.

Migrating the Report Files to the Target EnvironmentThis topic describes how to migrate the report files to the target environment.


To migrate the report files to the target environment

1 Navigate to the installation folder where the Siebel Management Server is installed.

2 Run the following command to create a package folder structure:

admpkgr init SharedFolder\PackageName

where:

SharedFolder\PackageName is the shared folder package name in which the packages to be migrated reside.

NOTE: You must specify a path in a shared location.

TIP: If an error occurs, you might have an invalid path to the JAR files. To resolve this error, make sure the CLASSPATH variable points to the exact location of the JAR files in the admpkgr.bat file in the Management Server installation folder.

3 Run the following command to call the deploy.bat file to load the package to the server database:

deploy_enterprise load username password PackageName

where:

■ deploy_enterprise is of the form deploy_enterprise, where enterprise is replaced by the enterprise name given by the user at the time of the configuration.



124

■ username and password are the username and password account of the Siebel user who is deploying the package.

■ PackageName is the name of the package for which the descriptor was created in Step 2 on page 123.

4 Run the following command to create a session for the deployment:

deploy_enterprise create username password PackageName

5 Run the following copy command to complete the deployment of the sample package:

deploy_enterprise copy username password PackageName

6 In the destination Siebel Server folder (siebsrvr\XMLP), verify that the files you placed in the deployment package (as described in Step 1 on page 122) are available in the appropriate folders.

Packaging Report Database Records in the Source EnvironmentThis topic describes how to use Application Deployment Manager (ADM) to package report database records.


To package report database records

1 Navigate to the Application Deployment Manager screen, then the Deployment Projects view.

2 In the Deployment Projects list, create a new project record.

3 Fill in the project fields as necessary, making sure to check the Export to File field to create the export file.

For descriptions of the projects fields, see Siebel Application Deployment Manager Guide.

NOTE: It is recommended that you name your report projects with a BIP prefix. This prefix allows you to search for your report projects.

4 In the Deployment Filter field in the Deployment Project data type list, create search expressions for the data types to filter only those items of a data type that match the condition for migration. Save each filter.

For example, if you create a report in the source environment and that report is:

■ Named Test Account List

■ Based on the BIP Accounts - Current Query integration object



■ Associated with the Account List view

You enter the following filter information to migrate the data types to the target environment:

NOTE: If the data type of interest is not available, it might be set as Inactive. Make sure the Active field for the data type is checked in the Data Type Details view.

This step allows you to query the reports being migrated to the target environment.

5 Enable the report project by performing the following:

a Navigate to the Deployment Projects view.

b In the Deployment Projects list, select the draft deployment.

The Status field of the draft deployment project record appears as Draft.

c Click the Enable button to activate the report project.

ADM populates the Status field with Enabled and the Publication Date/Time field with the date and time of the report project activation.

6 Export the reports by performing the following:

a Navigate to the Application Deployment Manager screen, then the Deployment Sessions view.

b Select the newly enabled report project, and make sure the Export to File and the Deployment Lock fields are checked.

c Enter a shared location to store the XML files that contain the database records.

d Click Deploy.

The database record XML files are exported to the shared location.

Migrating Report Database Records to the Target EnvironmentUse the following procedure to migrate report database records from the source environment to the target environment.

To migrate report database records to the target environment

1 Navigate to the Application Deployment Management screen, then the Deployment Sessions view.

Data Type Filter

BIP Sample Data Generation [Name]=' BIP Accounts - Current Query'

BIP Report Template Registration [Report Name]=' Test Account List'

BIP View Association [Name]=' Account List View'

BIP Report Template Translations [Report Name]=' Test Account List'



126

2 Click the Deployment Sessions Menu button, and select Deploy from File.

3 Enter the XML file names to migrate the database records, making sure to specify the shared location where the database records are stored as follows:

■ XML file that contains the Sample Data Generation File

■ XML file that contains the Report Template Registration file

■ XML file that contains the View Association file

For example, you might enter the following shared locations:

■ \\sharedlocation\88-25ZC7_BIP_Sample_Data_Generation.xml

■ \\sharedlocation\88-25ZC7_BIP_Report_Template_Registration.xml

■ \\sharedlocation\88-25ZC7_BIP_View_Association.xml

4 In the target environment, make sure the data was migrated correctly by verifying that the report appears in the Reports menu.

For example, in Step 4 on page 124 in the “Packaging Report Database Records in the Source Environment” topic, you created the Test would perform the following steps:

a Navigate to the Accounts screen, Account List view, and then click Reports.

b In the Reports menu, verify the Test Account List report appears, and then generate it.

Migrating an Integration Object for a ReportUse the following procedure in the source environment to migrate integration objects for reports. This procedure assumes you have created a new integration object that has yet to be migrated.

To migrate an integration object for a report


2 In the Object Explorer, select Integration Object.

3 In the Integration Object list, right-click the integration object for which you want to create the SIF file, and then click Add to Hot Fix.

4 In the Generate Hot-Fix dialog box, enter a label, and then click Export.

A directory containing this SIF file is placed in the Tools\ADM directory.

5 Copy the SIF and descriptor files in the repository folder of the ADM package that was created when you ran the admpkgr init command.

For more information about generating the command, see “Packaging the Report Files in the Source Environment” on page 122.



6 Perform the steps as described in “Packaging the Report Files in the Source Environment” on page 122.

NOTE: If there is no report for this integration object and there are no plans to move a report for this integration object, you can skip Step 1 on page 122.

7 Verify that the integration object was moved to the target environment, perform the following:

a Log in to the target environment computer.

b Navigate to the Administration - BIP Reports screen, then the Sample Data File Generation view.

c Make sure the integration object appears in the Sample Data File Generation list.

Migrating a New Report after Creating New Integration ObjectsUse the following procedure if you create new reports based on newly created integration objects.

To migrate a new report after creating a new integration object

1 Perform the procedure in “Migrating an Integration Object for a Report” on page 126.

2 Generate the XML data file for the report as described in “Generating Sample XML Data Files for Siebel Reports” on page 95.

3 Copy the database record files in the related package folder along with the SIF file, and then migrate them.



128


A Troubleshooting Siebel Reports

This appendix describes how to enable logging for the various Siebel Reports components and provides common error messages that might occur when generating these reports.

It contains the following topics:

■ Enabling Logging for the XMLP Report Server Component on page 129

■ About Enabling Logging for the Oracle BI Publisher Server on page 131

■ Enabling and Disabling Debugging for Siebel Reports in Disconnected Mode on page 131

■ Resolving Class Not Found Errors When Previewing Reports in Microsoft Word on page 132

■ Troubleshooting Error Messages for Siebel Reports on page 134

NOTE: Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (Oracle BI Publisher) for Siebel Business Applications logs all exceptions and debug level information.

Enabling Logging for the XMLP Report Server ComponentYou can configure Siebel Business Applications to create log files that capture detailed information about errors that occur while generating reports. The reports administrator can use the log files to investigate why the error occurred.

You set the log level for the XMLP Report Server component by using the Server Manager UI or the Server Manager command-line interface program (srvrmgr program).

NOTE: You can adjust the log levels at any time.

Setting the Log Level for the XMLP Report Server Component Using the Server Manager UIUse the following procedure to set the log level for the XMLP Report Server component using the Server Manager UI.

To set the log level for the XMLP Report Server component using the Server Manager UI

1 Navigate to the Administration-Server Configuration screen, Servers, and then the Components view.

2 In the Component field, query for XMLP Report Server, and then click the Events view tab.

3 In Events list, query for XMLP Report Log, and then set the log level value to 5.

4 Click the Component tab.


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130

5 In the Component field, query for Call Center Object Manager (ENU), and then click the Events tab.

6 In the Events list, query for XMLP Report Log, and then set the log level value to 5.

7 Stop and restart the XMLP Report Server and Call Center Object Manager (ENU) server components.

For more information about restarting the Siebel Server, see Siebel System Administration Guide.

Setting the Log Level for the XMLP Report Server Component Using Server ManagerUse the following procedure to set the log level for the XMLP Report Server component using Server Manager (srvrmgr).

To set the log level for the XMLP Report Server component using Server Manager

1 Run the following command to connect to the Siebel Server Manager:

srvrmgr /g <gateway machine name:port number> /s <xmlp siebel server name> /e <enterprise> /u <user name> /p <password>

where:

gateway machine name:port number is the name of the physical computer on which the Siebel Gateway Name Server is running and the port number on which the Gateway Name Server is listening.

NOTE: The colon and port number are optional if using an optional default port.

xmlp siebel server name is the name of the server on which the XMLP Report Server component is enabled.

user name is the login name of the administrator.

password is the password for the administrator.

For example, you might use the following command:

srvrmgr /g <gateway machine name>:2330 /s <xmlp siebel server name> /e Siebel /u SADMIN /p MSSQL

2 Run the following command to change the event log level:

change evtloglvl XMLPReportLog=5 for comp xmlpreportserver

where 5 is the event log level that you want to change.

For example, to get details for a call to a business service, run the following command:

change evtloglvl ObjMgrBusServiceLog=5 for comp xmlpreportserver

3 Shut down the XMLP Report Server component and then restart this component to make sure logging changes take effect.

Troubleshooting Siebel Reports ■ About Enabling Logging for the Oracle BI PublisherServer


About Enabling Logging for the Oracle BI Publisher ServerYou can configure the Oracle BI Publisher Server to create log files that capture detailed information about errors that occur while generating Siebel Reports in connected mode. The administrator can use the log files to understand how much time it takes for a report to render and so on.

For information about enabling logging for the Oracle BI Publisher Server, see the chapter about setting the system maintenance options in Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Administrator's and Developer's Guide, Release 10.1.3.4 available on Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

Enabling and Disabling Debugging for Siebel Reports in Disconnected ModeYou can configure the Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine to create log files that capture detailed information about errors that occur while generating Siebel Reports in disconnected mode. The administrator can use the log files to learn when there are report generation problems with the JAR (Java ARchive) files or the Oracle BI Publisher (RTF) layout templates.

Enabling Debugging for Siebel Reports in Disconnected ModeUse the following procedure to enable debugging for the Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine.

To enable debugging for Siebel Reports in disconnected mode

1 In a text editor such as Notepad, create a new file entitled, xdodebug.cfg, and type in the following for use as a sample file:

LogLevel=STATEMENT

LogDir=<path to logging directory>

2 Place the file in the jre\lib directory used by the Siebel client (for example, C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.6.0_07\lib) and make sure that the directory specified by the LogDir parameter exists. The resulting log files from the report generation will be created at this location.

If an error occurs while generating reports in disconnected mode, an xdo.log file is created and saved to the path specified in the .cfg file. Use this log file for troubleshooting.


Troubleshooting Siebel Reports ■ Resolving Class Not Found Errors When Previewing Reports in Microsoft Word

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Disabling Debugging for Siebel Reports in Disconnected ModeTo optimize the performance of Siebel Reports in disconnected mode, you might want to disable debugging for the Oracle BI Publisher XDO Engine.

To disable debugging for disconnected mode

1 On the computer where Oracle’s Siebel Developer Web Client is installed, copy the xdo.cfg in the jre\lib installation folder to another computer for backup purposes.

2 Remove or rename the xdo.cfg in the jre\lib directory used by the Siebel client.

Resolving Class Not Found Errors When Previewing Reports in Microsoft WordErrors can occur when previewing reports with Microsoft Word that use preconfigured RTF templates.

Resolving Class Not Found Errors When Previewing Reports in Microsoft WordTo resolve the Class not found error when previewing reports in Microsoft Word, you create a custom batch file to launch Microsoft Word and load the required template libraries before opening the RTF template.

NOTE: In your batch file, replace the explicit drive and folder locations with those on your own computer based on where you installed the Siebel Web Client.

Observe and adhere to the following guidelines when resolving Class not found errors:

■ Make sure there are no spaces or new line character after the -Xbootclasspath/a: string. For example, this string might appear as follows:

■ set_JAVA_OPTIONS=-Xbootclasspath/a:C:\81DQSSIA\client\classes…)

■ To check the syntax, turn off word wrapping in the editor you are using so that set _JAVA_OPTIONS is a single line. You must have three distinct lines in your batch file if word wrapping is turned off.

■ Check the path to Microsoft Word that the batch file references.

■ Search for winword.exe from C:\Program Files to find the path.

■ The %1 in the batch file is an argument to represent a document that is typically opened in Microsoft Word (RTF files).

■ Do not use set _JAVA_OPTIONS as a system environment variable because this prevents you from previewing reports in the Siebel client.

To resolve Class not found errors when previewing reports in Microsoft Word

1 Navigate to C:\Program Files.

Troubleshooting Siebel Reports ■ Resolving Class Not Found Errors When PreviewingReports in Microsoft Word


2 Create a MSWordForBIPub.bat file containing the following code to set the _JAVA_OPTIONS environment variable before launching Microsoft Word.

echo %1

set _JAVA_OPTIONS=-Xbootclasspath/a:

C:\81DQSSIA\client\classes\SiebelXMLP.jar;C:\81DQSSIA\client\classes\siebel.jar;C:\81DQSSIA\client\classes\XSLFunctions.jar;C:\81DQSSIA\client\classes\SiebelCustomXMLP.jar;C:\81DQSSIA\client\classes\SiebelCustomXMLP_SIA.jar

"C:\Program Files\microsoft office\Office\Winword.exe" %1

TIP: Create a shortcut to the MSWordForBIPub.bat batch file and move it to your desktop.

3 If you want to make sure this batch file is always executed when opening a preconfigured report template, you associate the RTF files with the .bat file by doing the following:

a Navigate to the template files in your Siebel client environment. (For example, C:\Siebel\client\XMLP\TEMPLATES)

b Sort the templates files by Type.

c Right-click on a RTF file (or select all) and Select Open With to choose an text editor.

d Click Browse to find the .bat file, and then open it.

e Check the Always use the selected program to open this kind of file checkbox, and then click OK.

This associates the selected RTF file or files with the batch file created in Step 2 on page 133. The batch file sets an environment variable needed for publishing Oracle BI Publisher reports from within Microsoft Word.

Additional NotesThe following provides additional information about this topic:

■ There is no requirement to associate .doc extensions with this batch file.

■ This workaround automatically associates the RTF file with the batch file. Now, when you double-click a RTF file, you see a command prompt window (running the batch file) automatically run at the same time. Alternatively, you can go to the desktop shortcut icon and run the shortcut to the .bat file to test the report preview.

■ Many delivered RTF files in the Siebel client Templates directory (C:\siebel\client\XMLP\TEMPLATES) are set to read only. Before previewing reports from this directory, go to Properties for the applicable template and remove the Read-only attribute to avoid run-time errors.


Troubleshooting Siebel Reports ■ Troubleshooting Error Messages for Siebel Reports

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Troubleshooting Error Messages for Siebel ReportsTable 7 contains the error messages that you might encounter when using Siebel Reports and the suggested solutions for resolving the errors.

Table 7. Resolving Siebel Reports Error Messages

Error Message or Symptom Description and SolutionConnectionMode

SBL-OMS-00203: Error <?> invoking method "<?>" for Business Service "<?>"

This error occurs when you fail to upload the template to the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

To resolve, see “Troubleshooting Errors While Running Siebel Reports (SBL-OMS-00203)” on page 137.

Connectedanddisconnected

"Unable to find definition for component XMLPReportServer(SBL-SRQ-00103)" error when I clicked on the Submit button to generate the report."

This error occurs after clicking Submit to generate a report.

To resolve, see “Troubleshooting Error After Clicking Submit to Generate a Report (SBL-SRQ-00103)” on page 138.


The specialized method 'GetFileToDir' is not supported on Business Component 'Report Template BC' used by Business Object 'Report Administration'.(SBL-DAT-00322)

This error occurs when the path settings in the configuration files are incorrect.

To resolve, see “Troubleshooting Errors That Occur Due to Incorrect Configuration File Settings (SBL-DAT-00322)” on page 138.


SBL-RPT-50504: Error occurred while saving the record. No data file provided for XLIFF generation.

This error occurs when users forget to provide a sample XML data file for generating an XLIFF file.

To resolve, see “Troubleshooting XLIFF File Errors” on page 139.

Disconnectedonly

"Class name incorrect" error when generating BI Publisher reports

This error occurs when Oracle BI Publisher or the JAR files are not loaded.

To resolve, set the classpath, see “Troubleshooting the CLASSPATH Settings Using Siebel Server Manager” on page 139.

Disconnectedonly



Reports having custom java class involved are not generating.

Verify that SiebelCustomXMLP.jar, SiebelXMLP.jar are under SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes.

Make sure that the Oracle BI Publisher Server path is:

$OC4J_PATH\j2ee\home\applications\xmlpserver\xmlpserver\WEB-INF\lib.

For Siebel Industry Applications, make sure the following files are in both paths:

■ SiebelCustomXMLP_SIA.jar

■ SiebelXMLP.jar

Connectedonly

][java.lang.String][EXCEPTION] oracle.apps.xdo.XDOException: XSLT10gR1: Failed Secure Java Extensions check.

This error appears in the Oracle BI Publisher log file or console when generating a report when the JAR files have not been copied to the Oracle BI Publisher Server, or the required Disable External Reference parameter attribute has not been set to FALSE.

To resolve, see “Changing the Location of the Oracle BI Publisher Repository for Siebel Reports” on page 40.

Not applicable

Verify the BIP Server Userid and Password. (SBL-RPT-50529) or

Failed to log into BI Publisher: invalid username or password.

This error message appears in the XMLP log file, because the user has not provided the correct User ID and password for the Oracle BI Publisher Server in the XMLP Report Server component parameters.

To resolve, see “Troubleshooting Oracle BI Publisher Server Login Errors” on page 139.

Connectedonly

Generic Error in Compression Routine (SBL-UIF-00227)

Verify whether the temp\xmlp directory exists. If it does not, create one. Also make sure the Siebel File System is set appropriately.






136

PublicReportService::executeCreateReport Failure: due to Report Name contains special characters for report

Make sure that the report name does not contain the following special characters:

■ Forward slash (/)

■ Backslash (\)

■ Double quote (")

■ Single quote (')

■ Tilde (~)

■ Ampersand (&)

■ Asterisk (*)

■ Plus sign (+)

■ Left angle bracket (<)

■ Right angle bracket (>)

■ Percent sign (%)

Connectedonly

SBL-EAI-04308: Operation 'runReport' of Web Service 'http://xmlns.oracle.com/oxp/service/PublicReportService.PublicReportServiceService' at port 'PublicReportService' failed with the following explanation: "oracle.apps.xdo.webservice.exception.OperationFailedException: PublicReportService::generateReport failed: due to oracle.apps.xdo.servlet.CreateException: Report definition not found:/SiebelCRMReports/<Report Name>/<Report Name>.xdo".

This error occurs when you execute a report that has missing bits on the Oracle BI Publisher Server (such as the .xdo file).

To resolve, upload the layout template from Oracle BI Publisher using the Report Template Registration view. For more information about uploading layout templates, see “Registering Layout Templates for Reports” on page 98.

Connectedonly





Troubleshooting Errors While Running Siebel Reports (SBL-OMS-00203)Use the following procedure if errors occur while generating Siebel Reports (error message SBL-OMS-00203).

To troubleshoot errors while generating Siebel Reports

1 Make sure the XMLP Report Server component is enabled.

2 Increase the XMLP Report Server component log level to 5 to create a more detailed log file.

3 Copy the xdodebug.log file to the jre\lib directory.

For information about performing these tasks, see “Enabling Logging for the XMLP Report Server Component” on page 129 and “Enabling and Disabling Debugging for Siebel Reports in Disconnected Mode” on page 131.

Additionally, you might encounter an instance where a layout template was registered with one database, but you generated it with a different database, and the generation fails. If this error happens, you must complete the following task.

To regenerate and rerun the report

1 Regenerate the XML data.

Alignment issues with columns with HTML file output type

The problem occurs when the table header row and the data row are composed of two different tables with no space between them. HTML, and sometimes EXCEL, might generate output with alignment issues.

NOTE: There are two tables, one for Table Header and one for Data Row. But they look like one single table, because there is no space between the two tables.

To resolve, see “Troubleshooting Alignment Problems in HTML Output” on page 140.


Alignment issue with JPN/PSJ environment in the reports.

The PPT output type for Japanese (JPN) is distorted in generated reports. Create the font mappings for the Oracle BI Publisher Server to make sure that the HTML output appears correctly.

To resolve, see “Troubleshooting Japanese Font Errors” on page 140.

Connectedonly





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2 Reregister the layout template.

3 Regenerate the report.

Troubleshooting Error After Clicking Submit to Generate a Report (SBL-SRQ-00103) Use the following procedure if an error occurs after clicking Submit to generate a report (error message SBL-SRQ-00103).

To troubleshoot if an error occurs after clicking Submit to generate a report

1 Enable and synchronize the XMLPReportServer component.

For information about enabling this component, see Siebel System Administration Guide.


For information about restarting the Siebel Server, see Siebel System Administration Guide.

Troubleshooting Errors That Occur Due to Incorrect Configuration File Settings (SBL-DAT-00322)Use one of the following procedures to correct errors that occur due to incorrect configuration file settings (error message SBL-DAT-00322).

To troubleshoot for errors when in connected mode

1 Make sure Siebel File System path is correct by doing the following:

a Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration screen, Servers, and then the Components view.

b Query for the Callcenter Object Manager (or other application specific Object Manager, like Siebel Sales or Siebel Service).

c Click the Parameters view tab, and then query for FileSystemManager, and then click Advanced.

d In Siebel File System field, provide the path as \\<machine name>\fs.

e Make sure that the fs directory exists in the D: drive and also that it is shared.


To troubleshoot for errors when in disconnected mode

1 In the application .cfg file, search for FileSystem, and then add \\<machine name>\fs\att as the value, making sure the fs directory is shared.

2 In the [XMLPReports] section of the .cfg file, make sure this section is defined as follows:



[XMLPReports]XdoDir = /xmlp/templates/ReportOutputDir = /xmlp/reports/ReportDataDir = /xmlp/data/

3 To check whether the file system path is set properly, try to register the template.

If registering the template is successful, you can drill down on the generated XLIFF file. If either browsing the template fails or the drilldown fails, this means that the file system path is not set appropriately.

Troubleshooting XLIFF File ErrorsUse the following procedure when users forget to provide a sample XML data file when generating XLIFF files.

To troubleshoot XLIFF errors

1 Navigate to the Administration - BI Reports screen, then the Sample Data File Generation view.

2 Select the integration object associated with the report, and then click Generate Sample XML.

Troubleshooting the CLASSPATH Settings Using Siebel Server ManagerUse the following procedure to change the CLASSPATH parameter using the Siebel Server Manager utility.

To change the CLASSPATH parameter using Siebel Server Manager

1 Log in to the Server Manager command-line interface (srvrmgr program).

For information on how to start and use the srvrmgr program, see the Siebel System Administration Guide.

■ Execute the following command to change the CLASSPATH:

change param CLASSPATH=SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\SiebelXMLP.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\xdoparser.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\fix6312772.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\ xdocore.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\xmlparserv2-904.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\versioninfo.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\share.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\jewt4.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\jdbc12.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\i18nAPI_v3.jar; SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classesvcollections.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\bipres.jar; SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\bicmn.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\Siebel.jar; SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\XSLFunctions.jar;SIEBSRVR_ROOT\classes\SiebelCustomXMLP.jar for named subsystem XMLPJvmSubsys

Troubleshooting Oracle BI Publisher Server Login ErrorsUse the following procedure when Oracle BI Publisher login errors occur.



140

To troubleshoot Oracle BI Publisher Server login errors

1 Navigate to the Administration - Server Configuration screen, then the Servers view.

2 Click the Component view tab, and query for XMLP Report Server.

3 Click the Parameters view tab, query for BIP Server Login, and then enter the correct login information for the BIP Publisher Server.

4 While still in the Parameters view tab, query for the BIP Server Password, and then enter the correct password for the Oracle BI Publisher Server.

Troubleshooting Alignment Problems in HTML OutputUse the following procedure to troubleshoot alignment problems in HTML output.

To fix alignment problems in HTML output

1 Add a row to the Table Header.

2 Copy the Form fields from the data row in the added row.

3 Delete the previous table that contained the data row.

The single table now contains both header and data row.

Troubleshooting Japanese Font ErrorsUse the following procedure to properly display JPN fonts in Siebel Reports.

To create font mapping to display Japanese fonts properly

1 Search for msgothic.ttc, and then copy the file to the computer on which the Oracle BI Publisher Server is installed:

\Java\jdk\jre\lib\fonts

2 Restart OC4J (Oracle Application Server Containers for Java Platform, Enterprise Edition).

3 Launch the Oracle BI Publisher Server URL.

4 Log in to Oracle BI Publisher Server.

5 Navigate to Admin, Runtime configuration, and then Font Mappings.

6 Create the following two font mappings:

■ Arial, Normal, msgothic.ttc

■ Arial, Bold, msgothic.ttc


B Report Business Service

This appendix describes the Report Business Service and its methods. These methods are used in scripts or workflow processes to automate reporting-related business processes. For example, you can define workflow processes to automate the business processes for generating a report with a specific query, or saving a report in a specific format, or emailing a report to a customer.

This appendix is intended for Siebel configurators. It consists of the following topics:

■ About the Report Business Service on page 141

■ Configuring the Report Business Service on page 142

About the Report Business ServiceMost users are familiar with report generation in the Siebel Business Application views. In these views, users can run a query, and then generate a report interactively or schedule a report for later generation. Subsequently, users can view, print, or share the report with others. This mechanism requires user interaction to accomplish reporting business needs.

Using the Report Business Service business service methods, administrators can generate, share, and print reports automatically without user interaction. Because reports are automatically generated when certain business rules are satisfied, there is no way for the user to pass a query. Therefore, the view mode applied on the report executable is used for obtaining data.

Siebel Business Process Designer, an interactive software tool, lets you automate how your organization handles workflow processes. For more information about Siebel Business Process Designer and workflow processes, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.

NOTE: Currently, the Report Business Service business service methods are supported only on run-time events. Therefore, a user must be logged on to trigger an event that will invoke these methods.

Knowledge of Siebel Tools, scripting, Siebel Business Process Designer, and the Oracle BI Publisher Server is necessary to use the Report Business Service report business service methods. Having an understanding of running the business services is also necessary. Administrators can create as many workflow processes as needed to satisfy their business requirements and include the necessary report business service methods as steps (recall that workflow processes can include one or more business services as steps). The report designers can test these workflow processes in the Business Process simulator. For more information about workflow processes and the Business Process simulator, see Siebel Business Process Framework: Workflow Guide.

NOTE: The Reports Business Service report business service methods are executed only in the Siebel Web Client.


Report Business Service ■ Configuring the Report Business Service

142

Configuring the Report Business ServiceThe Report Business Service enables Oracle BI Publisher reports to be executed from the Siebel application using a workflow process, or through scripting. The report is generated in the background by connecting to the Oracle BI Publisher Server. The report output is stored in the Siebel File System and accessed from the My BI Publisher Reports view.

NOTE: The Reports Business Service can not be executed on the Mobile Web Client.

For detailed information about using the Report Business Service service and its methods, see 823360.1 (Doc ID) on My Oracle Support.


Index

Aadding a language to a report 66adding an explicit reference to JAR files for

the Oracle BI Publisher Server 44administering reports 61

BBIPSiebelSecurityWS.XML file,

importing 50

Cconfiguring security and authentication for

Siebel Reportsusing the LDAP model 52using the Siebel Security model 50

configuring the BIPDataService WSDL 56configuring the outbound Web service for

the Oracle BI Publisher Server 46configuring the Siebel application for

integration with Oracle BI Publisher, process of 42

copying JAR files to the Oracle BI Publisher Server 39

creating custom reportsabout 87creating new integration objects for 94extending integration objects for Siebel

Reports 92custom reports

process of creating 92

Ddebugging

disabling for Siebel Reports in disconnected mode 132

enabling for Siebel Reports in disconnected mode 131

deleting a language from a report 66deleting scheduled reports 107deploying reports to the Siebel Web Client

from a disconnected client 61deploying Siebel Reports for the first

time 31directory structure for Siebel Reports

DATA directory, described 25FONTS directory, described 25

REPORTS, directory described 25TEMPLATES directory, described 25xliff directory, described 25

Eembedding the My Jobs view in the Siebel

application 55enabling and configuring report scheduling,

process of 53enabling external file references for the

Oracle BI Publisher Server 39error messages, troubleshooting for

reports 134Extensible Markup Language

See XMLExtensible Stylesheet Language

See XSLExtensible Stylesheet Language

TransformationSee XSLT

Extensible Stylesheet Language-Formatting Objects

See XSL-FO

Ffonts, copying for report generation 44

Ggenerating reports

about 75example of 80monitoring the status of 81procedure for 79scenario for 78workflow for 76

Iimporting new report features for Siebel

CRM version 8.1.1.1 43installing Oracle BI Publisher 36integrating Oracle BI Publisher with Siebel

Business Applicationsabout 31preparation tasks for 33process of installing and configuring Oracle BI

Publisher 35


Index ■ L

144

roadmap for 35integration instructions for previous

versions of Siebel Reports, finding 32

integration objects for Siebel Reportscreating new 94extending to add new fields to a report 92

Llayout templates

creating using Oracle BI Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word 96

previewing 97registering 98workflow for uploading to a Siebel

application 90LDAP security model, configuring security

and authentication for 52logging for Siebel Reports

enabling logging for the XMLP Report Server component 129

setting log levels for using the GUI 129setting log levels for using the Server Manager

(srvrmgr) 130logging for the Oracle BI Publisher Server

about enabling 131

Mmaster-detail reports

about 109creating master-detail layout templates in

Microsoft Word 114how they work, example of 110using 109

migrating reportsmigrating an integration object for a

report 126migrating new reports after creating new

integration objects 127migrating the report files to the target

environment 123moving database records to the target

environment 125packaging and migrating reports, process

of 122packaging database records in the source

environment 124packaging the report files in the source

environment 122requirements for 121

multilingual reportsabout translatable content for 65adding a language to 66

deleting a language from 66designing 65

My Jobs view, embedding in the Siebel application 55

Ooptimization

enabling scalable mode for Siebel Reports 70increasing EAI HTTP transport sleep time

for 73optimizing performance for large data

volumes, process of 70setting a temporary directory on the Oracle BI

Publisher Server for 72setting concurrency parameters for 69setting the report execution wait time for 67setting the server request processor wait time

for 68Oracle BI Publisher

installing for Siebel Business Applications 36Oracle BI Publisher repository

about 27changing the location of for Siebel

Reports 40Oracle BI Publisher Server

about 26adding an explicit reference to JAR files 44configuring the outbound Web service for 46copying JAR files to 39enabling external file references for 39securing Siebel user access to, process of 49

Oracle BI Publisher-Siebel application interaction 27

Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher Add-in for Microsoft Word

about using with Siebel Reports 17advantages of using 18Excel Analyzer feature 19Template Builder feature 19Template Viewer feature 19using to create layout templates 96

Pparameterized reports

about 117about defining parameters in the report

template 118about referencing parameters in the report

template 118example of generating 120how they are generated 119

PublicReportService outbound Web service, configuring 46

Index ■ R


purging reportsautomatically purging from the Siebel File

System 64from the Oracle BI Publisher Server 64from the Siebel File System 62manually purging from the Siebel File

System 63purging scheduled reports 64

Rreports

about parameterized reports 117adding multiple integration objects to 100associating registered reports with application

views 101creating 85creating new responsibilities in the Siebel

application 48deleting 83determining whether to create new or

custom 85generating 79generating sample XML data files for 95previewing work-in-progress layout

templates 97registering layout templates for 98reporting across multiple Siebel business

objects 89scenario for creating 86troubleshooting 129uploading layout templates to a Siebel

application, workflow for 90using master-detail reports 109viewing previously generated reports 82

Reports Business Serviceabout 141configuring 142

Reports menu, using to generate reports 75

Sscheduled reports

about 103deleting 107enabling and configuring, process of 53example of 105monitoring and viewing 106procedure for 104

securing Siebel user access to the Oracle BI Publisher Server, process of 49

Siebel application-Oracle BI Publisher interaction 27

Siebel Reportsabout 15

about integration objects for 88about using 16architecture, described 21deploying for the first time 31development environment, described 21directory structure, described 25file types, described 25overview of 15report execution in connected mode 29report execution in disconnected mode 29report output files types 16uploading preconfigured reports to the Oracle

BI Publisher Server 57users, described 17using Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher

Add-in for Microsoft Word with 17workflow for generating reports in connected

mode 22workflow for generating reports in

disconnected mode 23Siebel Security model, configuring security

and authentication for 50

Ttesting integration configurations for Siebel

Reports 58troubleshooting

tasks for 129troubleshooting reports

alignment problems in JPN and PSJ environments 137

error messages for 134resolving class errors 134resolving class not found errors when

previewing reports in Microsoft Word 132

resolving column alignment problems in HTML and EXCEL 137

resolving error after clicking Submit to generate a report 134

resolving error due to special character violations 136

resolving errors relating to the Siebel File System or XMLP directory 135

resolving errors while running 134resolving for custom Java classes 135resolving for incorrect path settings in

configuration files 134resolving for Oracle BI Publisher run-time

errors 135resolving Oracle BI Publisher Server login

errors 135resolving report definition errors 136


Index ■ U

146

resolving XLIFF errors 134

Uupgrading

Oracle BI Publisher to version 10.1.3.4.1 from 10.1.3.4.0 37

Siebel Reports to Siebel CRM version 8.1.1.1 from version 8.1.1 32

WWeb service

configuring the PublicReportService outbound Web service 46

PublicReportService Web service, about 26workflow

for generating reports (diagram) 76

generating reports in connected mode 22generating reports in disconnected mode 23

XXLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File

Format), described 26XML (Extensible Markup Language),

described 25XPath (XML Path Language), described 26XSL (Extensible Stylesheet Language),

described 25XSL-FO (Extensible Stylesheet Language-

Formatting Objects), described 26XSLT (Extensible Stylesheet Language

Transformation), described 26

reports

Documents

siebel reports guideversion

oracle bi publisher

oracle bi publisher

siebel application

oracle bi publisher

oracle andor

oracle parkway

oracle usa