Student Faculty Information System

Overview 

• What is BI Publisher?
• BI Publisher and Communication Generation
• BI Publisher – Main Steps
• BI Publisher – Menu
  • Key PeopleSoft BI Publisher Menu Items
    • Data Source
    • Report Definition
    • Query Report Viewer
    • Query Report Scheduler
    • Setup (Design Helper)
• Documentation
• Other Resources

Detailed Pages

• BIP Templates
  • BIP – Fields, Tables and Forms
  • BIP – Formatting
  • BIP – Pivot Table and Chart
  • BIP – Tutorials and Demonstrations

---

Now available with the Campus Solutions 9.2 Upgrade!

Be sure to check out the new features of BI Publisher in PeopleTools 8.55. 

Here is a brief overview:

BI Publisher for PeopleSoft BI Publisher for PeopleSoft 8.55.  Enhancements in this release include:

• Changing report definition data sources.
• Copying report definitions.
• Deleting report definitions.
• Emailing reports to external users
• Including external attachments with reports.
• Using submittable PDF reports.
• BI Publisher Report User role.
• Sharing private BI Publisher reports.

 

---

---

What is BI Publisher? 

BI Publisher (formerly XML Publisher or XMLP) is a template-based reporting tool that you can use with PeopleSoft to directly take information from the database (generally through PS Query) to author, manage and deliver reports and forms more easily and faster than traditional reporting tools. 

You can view reports online or schedule and deliver documents to various recipients.  A report can be output to email, a printer, the web, or a file.  With a single template, it can generate reports in many formats, such as PDF, RTF, Excel, and HTML.

Here is an example of the final result of the BI Publisher process as an RTF file.  

This report starts with a query that is used as the data source for the report.  Then the report template is designed, the data source and the template are connected, and the report is published.

Click here to see the PDF output of this BI Publisher Template Example.

 

• A primary feature of Oracle’s BI Publisher product is the separation of the data extraction process from the report/template layout.
  • Sample data can be used to design your RTF template and map your PDF templates.
  • This results in greater flexibility and reduced maintenance.

 

• BI Publisher merges Data Source information with a specified Template to create reports.  In addition, a single Data Source can support multiple reports.

• Select features of Oracle’s BI Publisher product have been integrated into and enhanced for use with PeopleTools.  (Note:  Not all BI Publisher features are available through the PeopleSoft implementation.)

• BI Publisher provides an environment for managing templates, data sources, reports, translations, and content components. It also offers an electronic bursting capability to produce reports according to a user-defined criteria and secure the reports using an application’s security join table.

• MS Word and BI Publisher Template Design Helper:  Before you can utilize BI Publisher Template, a plugin called Oracle BI Publisher Desktop needs to be installed through the use of the Design Helper. 
  • This plugin is an extension to MS Word that can help you develop templates and preview them easily – all from within Word. 
    • During template creation, the Design Helper facilitates the insertion of application data tag placeholders into your templates.
    • A sample data file is required for using a Design Helper. 
    • With the sample data file, you can preview your template offline during the design process.
  • If you need to have the Design Helper added to your individual computer, you should submit a Service Now request to the Desktop Support group.
    
  • The process installs the extension to Microsoft Word with a new tool bar within the Add-Ins menu.

 

• Once the plugin is installed, it can use the formatting features available in MS Word, so it is important that you have some proficiency in MS Word formatting.

• Our current versions are:
  • PeopleSoft Campus Solutions 9.0
  • PeopleTools 8.54
    
  • Oracle BI Publisher Template Builder for Word 10.1.3.4.1.

 

---

---

Go to top

BI Publisher and Communication Generation:

An additional use for BI Publisher is as one of the elements of the Communication Generation process.

With BI Publisher as part of the process, Comm Gen enables a user to manage and merge document templates and communication data source files for the process to generate communications such as letters and emails.

Note that while Communication Generation uses BI Publisher functionality, they do not share the same Data Source.

• • BI Publisher Data Source is set up in Reporting Tools

  • Comm Gen Data Source is set up in Campus Community

---

---

Go to top

BI Publisher – Main Steps:

The following are the major steps of the BI Publisher process.  They fall into these general areas:  Design Time and Run Time.

1. Design: Data Source
   1. Mock Up Report (Offline)
   2. Create or Identify Data Source – PeopleSoft Query
   3. Register Data Source with BI Publisher
2. Design: Template and Report
   1. Download Sample Data (XML File)
      
   2. Create BI Publisher Report Template (Offline) – After the BI Publisher Design Helper has been installed on your computer
      
   3. Preview and Tweak Until Complete (Offline)
   4. Set up Report Definition – Associate Data Source and Template
3. Run Time:   Request and View
   1. Publish BI Publisher Report
   2. View/Post in Report Manager

 

For further details, you can review the document:

Using BI Publisher with PeopleSoft Query for Report Developers .

To see Instructions on working through these steps review these Tutorials.

 

---

Go to top

BI Publisher Menu

To open the BI Publisher menu, the navigation is Main Menu > Reporting > BI Publisher.  The panels/pages you see are determined by your BI Publisher security role.

Report Developer BI Publisher Menu

Power User BI Publisher Menu

 

• Users with the Power User role do not see the Data Source and Translations Menus, or the Setup Report Category and Global Properties options.
• Power Users have access to query data sources and ad hoc reporting capabilities.
• BI Publisher Power Users can start to define a report to download the sample data files to create their templates.

---

Go to top

Key PeopleSoft BI Publisher Menu Items

Data Source

Register sample data files for BI Publisher data sources.

Data Source menu is only seen by users with the Report Developer Role.

Note regarding Power Users:  While Power Users cannot directly create Data Sources through this menu, they can create Data Sources through Report Definition.  Review the Tutorial Create, Format and View a Simple Report Using an Existing Query for details on how to do so.

• PeopleSoft presently offers support for three data source types –
  • Connected Query
  • PeopleSoft Query
  • XML File
• You must provide a Sample XML Data file when creating a new XML/BI Publisher report.
  

Starting with PeopleTools 8.50, XML Publisher does not require a schema file for PDF Template mapping.  Only a sample data file is required.

• Tip:  When using PS Query, you can use real data in your Template. 
  • One of your options in PS Query is saving as XML file – Download to XML. 
  • Note that, while this will not ultimately be your Data Source, you can employ this capability to have real data available when you design and test your BI Publisher Template in Word. 
  • This is not live data; rather it is the data that was displayed by the Query at the time you downloaded it to the XML File.
  • Once you are satisfied with the appearance of the report, you can then create your BI Publisher Report Definition Data Source.
    

Report Definition: 

Define Reports by associating Data Sources with layout Template files.

• Report Definitions associate a Data Source with Template files.
• The extracted fields from the Data Source files are placed into the Template files to create the final report. 
• In order to save the Report Definition, you must associate a Template with it.
  
• Note. When creating a report definition, you can select a PS Query or Connected Query data source that has not yet been registered and that data source is registered automatically when you save the Report Definition.  However, all other types of data sources must be registered before they can be associated with a report definition.

Pages Used to Create Report Definitions:

• Definition – Define reports
• Template – Associate templates
• Output – Set output options
• Properties – Set report properties to override global properties
• Security – Set security options
• Bursting – Set bursting options

Read more in PeopleBooks > PeopleTools 8.52 about Defining Report Definitions

Query Report Viewer:

Run Query-based BIP reports real-time.  View in a window.

One of two methods for running, viewing and saving the Query-based BI Publisher Reports.

Query Report Scheduler:

Schedule Query-based BIP reports.  Use to run bursted reports.

One of two methods for running, viewing and saving the Query-based BI Publisher Reports; can be used to schedule reports.

Setup (Design Helper):

Prepare for using BI Publisher

To add the BI Publisher Design Helper (i.e., to install the Word Add-In on your desktop computer), the BI Publisher Design Helper (formerly XML Publisher) is installed to set up the BI Template Builder for Word (Version 10.1.3.4.1):

• Put in a request to Desktop Support; they will use the instructions within PeopleSoft: Main Menu> Reporting Tools> BI Publisher> Setup> Design Helper.
• Or they can download the appropriate file from the Oracle website:  http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bi-publisher/downloads/index.html

• It may also be necessary to download Java Runtime Environment (JRE) if it is not already installed on your system – http://java.com/en/download/index.jsp
• Included in the BI Publisher desktop plug-in setup, multiple directories are created that contain documentation, samples, and demos.

 

 

---

---

Go to top

Documentation

Wesleyan Documentation/Instructions:

The following documentation contains instructions for users with the Report Developer Role.  Those users with the Power User Role – except for the inability to register Data Sources – can generally perform the tasks below as well.

Once you have had an opportunity to work through these procedures, you should familiarize yourself with the details of using BI Publisher Template in Word.

OUTLINE – BI Publisher Outline of Steps for Report Developer Role:

This is a PDF  of a PowerPoint presentation of the most common steps utilized in setting up a BI Publisher report from the creation of the query to the publication of the report.

The Basic Sequence is:

1.  Create a query
2.  Register Data Source * (only available to users with the Report Developer role)
3.  Create a template in Word
4.  Set up Report Definition – associate with Template
5.  Run, View and Save the BI Publisher Report

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS – Using BI Publisher with PeopleSoft Query for Report Developers:

This is a detailed document on how to use BI Publisher with PS Query.

It is divided into these main sections:

• BI Publisher Overview
• Installing Oracle BI Publisher Desktop
• How to Use BI Publisher through to the Query Viewer process or Query Report Scheduler
• Appendix A: Chart displaying access for Report Developer and Power User
• Appendix B: Links to other documentation

BI Publisher and Templates:

On this page you can read more about working with templates and see screenshots and demonstrations. Overall areas include:

• BI Publisher Template Builder
• Template Documentation
• BIP Template Add-Ins
  • Load XML Data
  • Insert
    • Fields, Tables and Forms
    • Pivot Table and Chart
    • Formatting
  • Preview
  • Tools
  • Help

Connected Query:

Connected Query, new in PeopleTools 8.5, enables you to create a single XML file based on a set of queries with parent-child relationships.  This means you can create multiple queries which are very simple and join them together or connect them.  The XML file is then available to BI Publisher as a data source.

1.   Connected Query enables you to create a single XML file based on a set of queries with parent-child relationships.

2.   Fields in a child query are mapped to related fields in the immediate parent query.

3.   A connected query is a hierarchical object built with existing PeopleSoft queries.

4.   A connected query returns a hierarchical data set in which data returned by child queries is filtered by the results of its immediate parent query.

5.   A parent query can nest n levels of child queries and any child query can have m sibling queries within a hierarchy. No artificial limits exist for n and m, but typical use involves a single parent-child relationship or a few levels of nesting.

 

---

---

Go to top

 

Other Resources:

• ORACLE/PEOPLESOFT Publications and Presentations:  Keep in mind that some of these documents provide a great deal more information than you need or would probably want to utilize.  Note that some portions are intended for the technical user.   As indicated above, some of these documents were written before the change to BI Publisher PeopleSoft 8.52.  However, the core information in these guides has remained the same.

• Outside References (HEUG members – user institutions and vendors): 
  • Navigate to the PROCEDURES ~ General page to see some outside references on the topic of BI Publisher (XML Publisher), including webinar content and Alliance presentations.
  • In addition to the SFIS documentation above, you will find other references to various aspects of working with BI Publisher the following pages.  In addition, you can visit the LISTS OF LINKS page which contains links from throughout the Blog collected on one page.

 

If you are interested in exploring the potential uses of BI Publisher for your office, contact Carolyn Pike at cpike01@wesleyan.edu.