BIP Reports - Chapter 7: Advanced RTF Layout Techniques (Global HR Examples)

 

🧠 Chapter 7: Advanced RTF Layout Techniques (Global HR Examples)

In this chapter, you'll learn how to enhance your BI Publisher RTF reports using advanced layout features such as:

Conditional logic
Totals and aggregations
Dynamic tables (for-each loops)
Barcodes and images

We'll continue with the Employee Details by Department example from the previous chapter.

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✅ 1. Use Case Recap
Your RTF report shows:
Employee full name, job, position, email, phone, department, and hire date
Grouped by department

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✅ 2. Conditional Formatting (IF Statements)
Use BI Publisher’s <?if:condition?>...<?end if?> syntax inside the template.
🔹 Example 1: Highlight long-tenure employees
Hired over a year ago
<?end if?>
🔹 Example 2: Show message if email is missing
You can also use Word conditional formatting + BI fields inside table cells.

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✅ 3. Totals and Aggregates
To count total employees per department or overall, use BI Publisher functions.
🔹 Example: Count Employees in Each Department
Number of Employees: <?count(full_name)?>
🔹 Example: Total Employees in Report
Outside the loop:

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✅ 4. Using For-Each Loops for Nested Tables
For repeating data, wrap the block in a for-each tag.
🔹 Syntax:
...repeat block...
<?end for-each?>
For our employee dataset:
<?full_name?> - <?job_name?> - <?department_name?>
<?end for-each?>

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✅ 5. Adding Page Breaks by Department
To print each department on a separate page:
<?split-by-page-break:department_name?>
Place it before the group loop to break on department change.

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✅ 6. Adding a Barcode (e.g., Employee ID)
Go to BI Publisher > Insert > Barcode
Choose Code128 (for alphanumeric)
Insert the field:
The barcode will now appear when rendering in PDF.
You can also apply conditional logic to only show barcodes for certain departments or roles.

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✅ 7. Embedding Images (e.g., Oracle logo or dynamic employee photos)
🔹 Static Logo:
Insert using Insert > Picture in Word
🔹 Dynamic Image:
Assume image URLs or base64 values exist in a field called photo_url:
Requires the image field to contain a public image URL or base64 string.

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✅ 8. Styling Tips for a Professional Layout
Use tables instead of tabs for alignment
Align numeric data right
Use section breaks between grouped data
Keep header rows on every page: Table Properties > Row > Repeat as header row

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✅ 9. Summary of Features Covered

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📌 Next Chapter Preview:
Chapter 8: Scheduling BI Publisher Reports
Schedule a report to run daily, weekly, or monthly
Set output format, destination (email, FTP)
Monitor schedules and outputs

<?if:xdoxslt:datediff(hire_date, current_date()) > 365?>

<?if:email_address=''?>No Email Provided<?else:?><?email_address?><?end if?>

Department: <?department_name?>

Total Employees: <?sum(count(full_name))?>

<?for-each:G_1?>

<?for-each:DATA_DS?>

<?department_name?>

1. <?person_number?>
   

<?photo_url?><<?image:photo_url?>>

Feature	Syntax or Method
Conditional logic	<?if:condition?>...<?end if?>
Totals/Counts	<?count(field)?>, <?sum(field)?>
For-each loop	<?for-each:GROUP?>...<?end for-each?>
Page breaks	<?split-by-page-break:field?>
Barcodes	Insert > Barcode > Code128
Dynamic images	<?image:image_url?>