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Oracle® Business Intelligence Discoverer Plus User's Guide
10g Release 2 (10.1.2.1)
B13915-04
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19 Exporting data to other applications

This chapter explains how to export worksheet data and graphs in Discoverer Plus Relational, and contains the following topics:

About exporting Discoverer data to other applications

You can share your worksheets and graphs with other people by exporting the worksheets to popular application formats (e.g. Oracle Reports, Microsoft Excel). For example, you might want to:

You can use Discoverer's Export Wizard to export worksheets and graphs in other formats (for more information, see "How to export Discoverer data"). You can also use buttons on the toolbar to export Discoverer data to Microsoft Excel and HTML formats.

When you export a worksheet, you export the data in the worksheet. Depending on the export format you choose, the exported worksheet might also contain its formatting and layout information. In some application formats, the exported worksheet might also contain Discoverer items. For example, if you export to Oracle Reports you export Discoverer calculations and totals. In other words, you can view the exported data in another application, but you cannot apply all Discoverer features to the data in that application.

In Discoverer, you export data for items currently displayed on the worksheet. If you want to export data that is not currently displayed, make sure that you display the items on the worksheet before you start. If you do not want to export data displayed on the worksheet, make sure that you remove the items from the worksheet before you start.

You can export:

Notes:

About exporting worksheets to Oracle Reports

You can export worksheet data from Discoverer to Oracle Reports. You can then use Oracle Report's reporting features (e.g. multi-component reports, break charts) to further enhance the worksheet data.

When you export worksheets to Oracle Reports, the export file includes the Discoverer query definition used to create the worksheets. When Oracle Reports opens the export file, this query is executed and the report is refreshed with up-to-date data. In other words, you do not have to repeat the export from Discoverer to get up-to-date data in Oracle Reports.

When you export Discoverer worksheets to Oracle Reports, worksheet data is exported in the Extensible Markup Language (XML) format used by Oracle Reports. During export, Discoverer populates Oracle Report's data model, reports layout, and previewer.

Exported worksheet data is displayed in Oracle Reports. When you open an exported Discoverer worksheet in Oracle Reports, you have everything that you need to continue to work on the report definition on a standalone machine.

The table below shows Discoverer features that are supported by Oracle Reports:

Discoverer feature How it works in Oracle Reports
calculations Oracle Reports preserves worksheet calculations.
format styles and symbols Oracle Reports preserves the following worksheet formatting:
  • font

  • alignment

  • text color

  • background color

  • NULL value substitution

  • currency symbols

  • format masks

  • text style (e.g. upper/lower case, capitalization)

formatting Oracle Reports users can add, edit, and delete format and exception formats defined on items.
layout Oracle Reports users can move items around.
NLS Oracle Reports must be started using the NLS settings used in the original Discoverer worksheet.
parameters Oracle Reports users can continue to use worksheet parameters.
SQL Discoverer exports an easy-to-read SQL statement for each report that you can edit in Oracle Reports.

For example, you can edit SQL for calculations and totals.

titles Oracle Reports preserves worksheet titles.
totals Oracle Reports preserves worksheet totals, which are mapped to Oracle Reports summaries.
worksheet items Oracle Reports users can edit the conditions and parameters used in the worksheet.

Notes

About exporting worksheets to Microsoft Excel

You can export worksheet data from Discoverer to Microsoft Excel. You can also export formats and formulas to Microsoft Excel. When you export to Excel, your worksheet fonts, colors, and styles are preserved in Excel.

Note: For more information about exporting worksheet data to Microsoft Excel Web Query format, see "About exporting worksheets to Microsoft Excel".

The table below shows how different versions of Microsoft Excel impose limits on the maximum number of Discoverer rows allowed in an Excel sheet.

Microsoft Excel version Maximum number of Discoverer rows per Excel sheet How Microsoft Excel handles additional rows
Excel 97 65,536 Any additional rows are placed on additional Excel sheets.
Excel 2000 65,536 Any additional rows are placed on additional Excel sheets.

Notes

About using Internet Explorer v6.0 when exporting to Microsoft Excel format

If you are exporting from Discoverer Plus Relational to Microsoft Excel using Internet Explorer v6.0, a separate browser window might not launch as expected. This problem is due to a change in behavior in Internet Explorer v6.0.

Follow these instructions to work around the problem by specifying the Discoverer middle tier as a trusted site in Internet Explorer:

  1. Select Tools | Internet Options from the Internet Explorer menu bar to display the Internet Options dialog.

  2. Display the Security tab.

  3. Select the Trusted Sites icon and click the Sites button to display the Trusted sites dialog.

  4. Enter the URL of the Discoverer middle tier in the format: http://<host.domain>:<port>, where:

    • <host.domain> is the server name and domain on which the Oracle HTTP Server is installed

    • <port> is the port number (typically 7777 or 7778) on which Discoverer is installed

    Note: If you do not know the host.domain or port details, contact the Discoverer manager.

About exporting worksheets to Microsoft Excel Web Query format

This section explains how to export worksheet data from Discoverer to Microsoft Excel Web Query format.

Note: Web Query for Microsoft Excel (*.iqy) format is not available in a Single Sign-On environment. Contact the Discoverer manager or Oracle administrator for more information.

About Discoverer support for Microsoft Excel Web Query format

Microsoft Excel Web Query is an external data format in Microsoft Excel that enables you to include dynamic data from an Internet or Intranet URL (e.g. a Discoverer worksheet) in a Microsoft Excel worksheet. For example, you might want to create a Microsoft Excel worksheet that contains a Discoverer sales report for a range of dates that you specify when you open the worksheet in Microsoft Excel. The Microsoft Excel worksheet stores the query used to obtain the Discoverer data, so that the data can be refreshed automatically.

Discoverer enables you to export Discoverer data to Microsoft Excel Web Query format by selecting Web Query for Microsoft Excel 2000+ (*.iqy) from the list of export types. End users can then access dynamic Discoverer worksheets in Microsoft Excel. You can export data to Microsoft Excel Web Query format from both Discoverer Plus Relational and Discoverer Viewer.

Notes

  • To access Discoverer reports exported to Microsoft Excel Web Query format, Microsoft Excel end users require Microsoft Excel 2000 (or later) and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 (or later).

  • You can only export numeric and textual data into Microsoft Excel Web Query format. You cannot export Discoverer graphs into Microsoft Excel Web Query format.

  • Once you have imported a Discoverer report to Microsoft Excel, refresh the sheet in Excel when you want to display up-to-date data. Please refer to Microsoft Excel documentation for more information about how to refresh data in Microsoft Excel.

About Microsoft Excel Web Query format and Discoverer security

Microsoft Excel end users are always prompted for a database password or Oracle Applications password.

If you export data from Discoverer when connecting using a private connection or temporary connection to Microsoft Excel Web Query format, you can specify that you want Microsoft Excel end users to be prompted to enter login details, which include:

  • database user name

  • database name

  • Oracle Applications user name (if in an Oracle Applications environment)

  • Oracle Applications Responsibility (if in an Applications environment)

  • Oracle Applications Security Group (if in an Oracle Applications environment)

When you export data from Discoverer Plus Relational or Discoverer Viewer to Microsoft Excel Web Query format using a public connection, you do not get the prompt Connection Information? in the Export Wizard (i.e. on the "Export Wizard dialog: Format and Name page"). Excel end users accessing the Excel sheet will simply be prompted for a database password. Therefore, you must supply a database password to Excel end users when you export Discoverer worksheet data to Web Query format using a public connection, to enable them to access the Discoverer worksheet data.

If you export Discoverer data in Oracle Applications Suite Secure Invocation mode (e.g. from an Oracle Applications personal home page within Oracle Business Intelligence System or Embedded Data Warehouse), the Discoverer query stored in the Excel sheet runs in 'standalone' Oracle Applications mode.

About how worksheets and graphs are exported

When you export a workbook containing worksheets with associated graphs, Discoverer creates worksheets and their graphs as separate files:

For example, if you export a worksheet called Sales and its graph in HTML format, Discoverer creates the following files (by default):

Notes

About exporting worksheets that contain page items

When you export a worksheet that contains page items, you export exactly what you see on the screen. In other words, you export data for the currently selected page item.

To export other combinations of page items, first pivot the page items and then export the modified worksheet.

If you want to export all page items, pivot the page item to the body of the worksheet so that all page items are visible on the worksheet.

About accessing exported files

When you export data from Discoverer, you can start the application associated with the format of exported data. For example, when you export to Excel format, you can start Microsoft Excel (for more information, see the "Export Wizard dialog: Format and Name page").

How to export Discoverer data

You export worksheet data so that you can use the data in a Discoverer worksheet in a different application. For example, you might want to produce a Discoverer worksheet and graph in HTML format.

To export worksheet data:

  1. Open the worksheet that you want to export.

  2. Choose File | Export to display the "Export Wizard dialog: Select page", which enables you to specify the parts of the workbook you want to export.

    Description of expwiz1.gif follows
    Description of the illustration expwiz1.gif

    Hint: If you export all the worksheets in a workbook, make sure that each worksheet currently displays the combination of page items that you want.

  3. Use the "Export Wizard dialog: Format and Name page" to specify the export format to use and specify where to save the export files.

    Description of expwiz2.gif follows
    Description of the illustration expwiz2.gif

  4. If you are exporting graphs, use the "Export Wizard dialog: Graph page" to specify graph sizing options.

    Description of expwiz3.gif follows
    Description of the illustration expwiz3.gif

    For example, you might want to preserve the graphs' height and width ratios, or the on screen font size.

    Note: If you export more than one graph, these options affect all graphs exported.

  5. If the worksheet contains parameters, use the "Export Wizard dialog: Parameters page" to restrict the data that you export by entering parameter values.

    For example, you might want to export data for a single year, or export data for all years.

  6. Use the "Export Wizard dialog: Supervise page" to choose whether or not to supervise the export to confirm warning messages.

    Description of expwiz4.gif follows
    Description of the illustration expwiz4.gif

    For example, in Supervised mode, if you exceed the maximum number of rows allowed in a query, a warning message is displayed. You can confirm this warning by clicking OK or click Cancel to stop the process.

  7. Click Finish to start the export.

    Discoverer displays the "Export Log dialog", which displays a list of files created during the export.

    Description of expwiz5.gif follows
    Description of the illustration expwiz5.gif

  8. If you want to open the first export file in its associated application, select the Open the first exported sheet check box.

  9. Click OK to close the Export Log.

    If you selected the Open the first exported sheet check box on the "Export Log dialog", the Discoverer data is automatically displayed in an appropriate application. For example, if you export to HTML format, the first sheet is automatically displayed in an Internet browser.

Notes