APEX PDF Printing using Oracle Reports RDF Files

 

In this tutorial we will explain how to customize pdf printing in Oracle APEX using RDF files that designed in Oracle Report Builder. 

The following topics will be covered:

Reporting Server Installation and configuration.

Run RDF files from APEX Application.

Reporting Server Installation and configuration

In order to customize Oracle APEX with Oracle Reports to run .rdf files that designed in Oracle Report Builder, you have first to install a reporting server; in this guide we use Oracle Application Server 10g 10.1.2.0.2.

In this section the following topics will be covered:

• Downloading Oracle Application Server 10g.
• Installing Oracle Application Server 10g.
• Configuring Oracle Application Server 10g.
• Call .rdf report from APEX using Application Server.

Downloading Oracle Application Server 10g.

You can download Oracle Application Server 10g from this link

Installing Oracle Application Server 10g.

Follow below step by step instructions to install Oracle Application Server:

• Go to the directory on which you downloaded the Application server file and run the setup as administrator
• Once the welcome interface opened click on Next

• Specify the full path where you want to install the Application Server click on Next. For example:

• If a warning popped up as below image, just click Ok

• Select the languages you want to use in your reports and click on Next. For example:

• In Specify Port Configuration Options step, select Automatic and click on Next. For example:

• In Provide Outgoing Mail Server Information step, s click on Next. For example:

• Specify Instance Name and ias_admin password. For example:

• Click on Install

• You may encounter an error like below image. Just click Ok.

• Click on Retry and click on Next after that.

• Save the url to log in to the Application server Enterprise Manager and click on Exit

• Now you can access Application server Enterprise Manager using the Url:

http://Host:APPLICATION_SERVER_PORT

Where:

• HOST: is the machine name or IP address on which the Application Server installed.
• APPLICATION_SERVER_PORT: is the port of the Application Server installed. It is 18100 by default. For example: http://localhost:18100

Configuring Oracle Application Server 10g

In this section we will cover the following topics:

• Connect Application Server to the Database.
• Map APEX Parsing schema with Application Server.
• Run reports from APEX Application.

Connect Application Server to the Database.

To connect the Application server to a database by adding the connection string of the target database to the tnsnames.ora file in the Application Server TNS Directory:

• Go to the Application server TNS Directory:

  Application_Server_Directory\Network\Admin

  In our case Application_Server_Directory is: D:\oracle\FRHome_1 as installed in previous steps:

  D:\oracle\FRHome_1\Network\Admin

• Open tnsnames.ora and add the connection string. For example:

        XE =
        (DESCRIPTION =
          (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = localhost)(PORT = 1521))
          (CONNECT_DATA =
            (SERVER = DEDICATED)
            (SERVICE_NAME = XE)
          )
        )   

Map APEX Parsing schema with Application Server.

To run .rdf report from Apex application, you have to do the following:

• Map Apex parsing schema with the Application server and to do that add the mapping string to the mapping file cgicmd.dat:

  1. Go to the mapping file Directory:

         Application_Server_Directory\reports\conf
         

     In our case Application_Server_Directory is: D:\oracle\FRHome_1 as installed in previous steps. So the directory will be:

         D:\oracle\FRHome_1\reports\conf
         

  2. Open Mapping file: cgicmd.dat and add the mapping string at the last line of the mapping file:

         Key_name: userid=APEX_Parsing_Schema/Schema_Password@Service_Name destype=destype desformat=desformat paramform=no %* 
         

     Where:

     • Key_name: is th key name. It is named as test_key in our demo. You can specify any name you want.
     • APEX_Parsing_Schema/Schema_Password@Service_Name: is the parsing schema connection string. In our demo it is: test_user/123@xe
     • destype: specify it as cache
     • desformat: specify it as pdf
     • paramform: specify it as no
     • %*: means entire contents (all arguments) from orginal rwservlet URL request.

     In our demo the connection string will be:

         test_key: userid=test_user/123@xe destype=cache desformat=pdf paramform=no %*
         

Run reports from APEX Application.

To run .rdf reports from APEX, we have to call the .rdf file using rwservlet url with its parameters. The rwservlet url syntax is:

    APPLICATION_SERVER_IP_ADDRESS:REPORTS_SERVER_PORT/reports/rwservlet?MAPPING_KEY&report=RDF_REPORT_NAME&REPORT_PARAMETER=VALUE
    

Where:

• APPLICATION_SERVER_IP_ADDRESS: is the Application server Machine name or IP Address. In our case it is 10.10.0.100

• REPORTS_SERVER_PORT: is the Report server port which is by default 80.

• reports/rwservlet?: is static word.

  MAPPING_KEY: is the key name that you sepcified in previous steps. In our case it is: test_key.

• RDF_REPORT_NAME: is the .rdf report name. In our case it is: test_1.

• REPORT_PARAMETER: is the parameter name in .rdf report. For example: P_EMP_ID.

• VALUE: is the parameter passed value. It is the APEX Page item. For example: P10_EMP_ID (in the url it will be '+$v('P10_EMP_ID'))

The URL in our case will be:

http://10.10.0.100:80/reports/rwservlet?test_key&report=test_1&P_EMP_ID='+$v('P10_EMP_ID'));

To call the report URL from APEX do the following:

• Create a button in the APEX Page where you want to run the report and give it a name. For example: Print.
• In the Page Property, Go to Function and Global Variable Declaration and add a Javascript Function to call the .rdf report. The Javascript Function will be be like below:

      function runreport(){
      window.open('http://10.10.0.100:80/reports/rwservlet?test_key&report=test_1&P_EMP_ID='+$v('P10_EMP_ID'));
      }

• In the Button Property, go to Behavior and select Redirect to URL from Action Property and specify the Javascript Function Name:

  javascript:runreport();