Part V

Building Reports for Business Cases

The chapters in this Part provide steps to build reports that are intended for specific business purposes. The examples provided include computing values over specified periods of time, collecting data over a specified range, and grading data. Following the steps, you will learn how to print reports on preprinted forms (for checks or invoices), split a report into sections and distribute each section to a different destination, and include a simple table or contents and index, or a multilevel table of contents.

• Chapter 28, "Building a Time Series Calculations Report"

A time series calculations report computes values over a specified period of time. You can use the techniques used for this report to produce other formats of time series calculations. For example, you can build a report that calculates and displays the quarterly average of purchases for each customer.

• Chapter 29, "Building a Report for Spreadsheet Output"

A paper report generated to spreadsheet output can be displayed in your browser. You can integrate the paper layout into a Web layout by modifying the Web source of your report, and then generate the output. You can then deploy this report with the Reports Server under OC4J and display it in a spreasheet utility (such as Microsoft Excel) inside your browser.

• Chapter 30, "Building a Report with Aggregate Data"

A report with aggregate data collects data within a range, retrieves values from the database, and formats them based on an aggregate range defined. You can use parameters to specify the range over which the data should be collected.

• Chapter 31, "Building a Check Printing Report with Spelled-Out Cash Amounts"

A check printing report contains a stub and spelled-out cash amounts. You can create a PL/SQL function that returns spelled-out numerical values, imports an image of a preprinted form (such as a blank check image), and prints your report on the form.

• Chapter 32, "Building a Report Using a Preprinted Form"

A report using a preprinted form enables you to use formatting techniques to print reports on preprinted forms when you do not have access to a computer readable version of the forms. Such reports must be designed so that the data prints in the exact positions on the form.

• Chapter 33, "Building an Invoice Report"

An invoice report displays several distinguishing characteristics of a typical invoice, such as customer name and address, sales order number, billing information, and billing totals. You can import an image and print your report on a preprinted form.

• Chapter 34, "Building a Ranking Report"

A ranking report grades data in two different ways: by count and by percentage. You can set the ranking criteria at runtime or let the criteria default to previously specified values.

• Chapter 35, "Building a Paper Report with a Simple Table of Contents and Index"

Navigational tools, such as a simple table of contents and an index, can be added to a paper report. First, the page numbering must be determined for the entire report, then Reports Builder can generate the table of contents and index based on the established page numbering.

• Chapter 36, "Building a Paper Report with a Multilevel Table of Contents"

A multilevel table of contents can be added to a paper report to facilitate navigation. This table of contents is created similarly to that in Chapter 35, "Building a Paper Report with a Simple Table of Contents and Index", however with a hierarchy that categorizes the information in the table of contents.

• Chapter 37, "Bursting and Distributing a Report"

A report built for bursting and distributing a report enables you to simultaneously deliver a single report to multiple destinations. You can create a single report, burst each section to a separate report, and then send each section in any format (such as, PDF or HTML) to multiple destinations.

• Chapter 38, "Building a Report with Multibyte Characters for PDF Output"

A multibyte character report can display text in virtually any language. You can produce reports that display text in multibyte character sets, such as Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Unicode.