What is Publishing?"Publishing” is the process of making documents such as Crystal reports, Web Intelligence documents, and Desktop Intelligence documents publicly available for mass consumption. The contents of these documents can be distributed automatically via email or FTP, saved to disk, or managed through the BusinessObjects Enterprise platform for web viewing, archiving, and retrieval, and automated through the use of scheduling. From within InfoView or the CMC, you can take documents and tailor them for different users or recipients; schedule a publication to run at specified intervals; and send it to a number of destinations, including recipients' Business Objects inboxes and email addresses.
System prerequisitesThe following servers must be installed, configured, and running:
• Publication Job Server, especially: Publication Scheduling Service
• Adaptive Processing Server, especially: Publishing Service, Publishing Post Processing Service
• Destination Job Server
• Crystal Reports Job Server
• Report Application Server
Usuful Terms:
Report burstingDuring Publishing, the data in documents is refreshed against data sources and personalized before the publication is delivered to recipients. This combined process is known as
“report bursting”.
Enterprise and Dynamic recipients:There are two types of recipients.
"Enterprise recipients" and
“Dynamic recipients”.
"Enterprise recipients" are managed by BusinessObjects system. Users who can login to BOE systems using their IDs and are listed under
"Users and Groups" area in Central Management Console can be marked as
"Enterprise recipients". On the other hand
"Dyanamic recipients" are publication recipients who exist outside of the BusinessObjects Enterprise system. Dynamic recipients already have user information in an external data source, such as a database or an LDAP or AD directory, but do not have user accounts in BusinessObjects Enterprise.
To distribute a publication to enterprise recipients you have to create either a
"Global Profile" or
"Local Profile". Profiles are objects in the BusinessObjects Enterprise system that let you classify users and groups. They work in conjunction with publications to personalize the content that users see. Profiles link users and groups to profile values, which are values used to personalize data within a report. Profiles can also use profile targets, which describe how a profile is applied to a report. Whereas for dynamic recipients, you can use a “dynamic recipient source”. A dynamic recipient source is a document or custom data provider that provides information about publication recipients outside of the BusinessObjects Enterprise system.
When to use Dynamic or Enterprise recipients?
Enterprise Recipients:For example, a publication is created based on a report which captures
Annual Sales of an organization. for all the regions. There are BusinessObjects users created for the employees who belong to each of those regions. To burst this report based on differnt regions, we will have to create a Profile and add the groups/users for whom we want to burst the data and apply the region filter for them.
Dynamic recipients:Consider a situation in which a billing company distributes bills to customers who are not BusinessObjects Enterprise users. The customer information already exists in an external database. The publisher creates a document based on the external database and uses the document as a dynamic recipient source for a publication. The customers receive the billing publication, and the dynamic recipient source allows the publisher and the system administrator to maintain up-to-date contact information. Dynamic recipient list could a Crystal Report or a Webi/Deski document which has Dynamic Users related information such as Username, Email-ID etc.
Publication processThe publication process consists of various tasks that can be divided roughly into the following categories:
• Creating and designing basic publications.
• Improving performance with advanced features.
• Using design options for specific source document types.
• Post-design publication tasks.
Creating and designing basic publicationsAll publications require you to perform the following basic tasks:
1. Create a new publication object.
2. Select source documents to publish.
3. Specify recipients (Enterprise or dynamic).
4. Personalize the source content.
5. Specify formats and destinations.
6. Specify recurrence (scheduling) information.
7. Set delivery rules.
8. Specify a profile resolution method.
9. Specify a report bursting method.
To select source documentsAfter you enter general properties for the publication, you select source documents to include. Subsequent options vary depending on the dynamic content document type.
1. On the navigation list, click
Source Documents.
2. Click Add.The
"Select Source Documents" dialog box appears.
3. Browse for the source documents you want to include and select them.
4. Click OK. The
"Select Source Documents" dialog box closes. The source documents that you selected appear in the Selected list.
5. Select or clear the
Refresh At Runtime check boxes that are next to the source documents. Your selections determine whether a particular source document is refreshed against the data source when the publication runs.
Selecting recipients and personalizing recipient contentTo select Enterprise recipients:
1. On the navigation list, click
Enterprise Recipients.
2. In the
"Available" area, browse for the users or groups that you want to include or exclude as recipients.
a. On the navigation list, click
User List to display a list of all users in BusinessObjects Enterprise, or click
Group List to display a list of all groups.
b. Select the users and groups in the details pane.
3. If you want to include the recipients you selected, move them to the Selected list.
4. If you want to exclude the recipients you selected, move them to the Excluded list.
To specify dynamic recipientsTo specify dynamic recipients, you must have a dynamic recipient source already designed and ready for use. The dynamic recipient source contains recipient data and can be a Crystal report, Desktop Intelligence document, Web Intelligence document, or custom-coded data provider.
1. On the navigation list, click
Dynamic Recipients.
2. On the Choose the source for the dynamic recipients list, choose the format of the dynamic recipient source.
3. In the right-hand pane, browse for the object you want to use as a dynamic recipient source, select it, and click
OK.
4. If you chose to use a Web Intelligence or Desktop Intelligence document as a dynamic recipient source, on the Select the datasource name for the document list, select a query that appears in the document.
5. On the
Recipient Identifier list, select a field that contains the recipient identity values.
6. If necessary, on the
Full Name list, select a field that contains the full names of recipients.
7. If you intend to deliver the publication to email addresses, on the
Email list, select a field that contains the recipient email addresses.
8. Decide whether you want to distribute the publication to all dynamic recipients listed by the dynamic recipient source.
• If you want to distribute the publication to all dynamic recipients, ensure Use entire list is selected.
• If you want to include or exclude some dynamic recipients:
a.
Clear Use entire list.
b. On the
Available list, select the check boxes next to the recipients you want to include or exclude.
c. If you want to include the recipients you selected, move them to the
Selected list.
d. If you want to exclude the recipients you selected, move them to the
Excluded list.
To specify formats for a Crystal report1. On the navigation list, click
Formats.
2. On the
Title list, select a Crystal report. The
"Format Options" area appears and lets you select the publication formats for the Crystal report you selected.
3. Select a format on the
Format Options list, and click
Add. The format you selected appears in the selected formats list underneath.
4. Select the format on the selected formats list.
5. Enter additional information to customize the appearance of the format
you chose.
6. Repeat steps 4 to 6 for each format in which you want to publish the Crystal report.
To specify formats for a Desktop Intelligence or Web Intelligence document:1. On the navigation list, click
Formats.
2. On the Document list, select a document.
3. On the
Output Format list, select the check boxes for the format or formats in which you want to publish the document.
4. With the format option highlighted on the
Output Format list, in the
"Output Format Details" area, choose whether to publish the entire document or one report tab in the document.
• If you want to publish the entire document, leave All reports selected.
• If you want to publish a single report tab, click Select one report and choose a report tab on the list.
5. Repeat step 4 for every format in which you want to publish the document.
To specify a destination for the publication1. On the navigation list, click
Destinations.
2. In the
"Select Destinations" area, select the check box next to the destination that you want.
3. On the
Show options for selected destinations list, click the destination option that you selected.
4. Enter additional information to customize the delivery of the publication to the destination.
To specify a profile resolution methodThe profile resolution method you specify determines whether instances will be merged or delivered as separate documents if a profile conflict occurs.
1. On the navigation list, expand
Additional Options and click
Advanced.
2. Under
Profile Resolution Method, click
Merge or
Do not merge.
To specify a report bursting methodThe report bursting method you specify determines how the source documents are personalized, processed, and delivered.
Note:• If your publication is intended for dynamic recipients only,
One database fetch per recipient is unavailable.
• If your publication contains
Desktop Intelligence documents for which
Refresh At Runtime is disabled, you cannot use One database fetch per recipient or One database fetch for each batch of recipients.
• For
Desktop Intelligence documents, expression profile values are only compatible with the report bursting method One database fetch for all recipients.
1. On the navigation list, expand
Additional Options and click
Advanced.
2. Click one of the options under
Report Bursting Method.
Personalizing Crystal ReportsTo personalize a Crystal report using parameter valuesThe "Personalization" section lets you personalize a Crystal report for recipients based on the predefined parameter values for each recipient.
1. On the navigation list, click
Personalization.
2. In the
"Parameters" area, ensure the default values for the listed parameters are correct. If you want to change a default value, click the Edit button that is next to the parameter value. Select or enter the parameter value, and click OK.
3. If you want to override the default parameter personalization with Enterprise recipients' profile values, choose a profile from the list in the Enterprise Recipient Mapping column.
4. If you want to override the default parameter personalization with dynamic recipients' personalization values, choose a dynamic recipient source column from the list in the
Dynamic Recipient Mapping column.
To personalize a Crystal report by filtering fieldsPerform this task if you want to personalize a Crystal report by filtering a field in the Crystal report.
1. On the navigation list, click
Personalization.
2. In the
"Filters" area, choose a Crystal report field from the list in the
Report Field column. The list of available fields includes all database fields and recurring formulas in the main report or non-on-demand subreports.
3. Choose a profile from the list in the
Enterprise Recipient Mapping column.
4. Choose a dynamic recipient source column from the list in the
Dynamic Recipient Mapping column.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for every report field that you want to filter.
To set a global delivery rule on a Crystal reportGlobal delivery rules determine whether a publication will be processed and delivered for all recipients. You can set a global delivery rule on any Crystal report in the BusinessObjects Enterprise system.
1. On the navigation list, expand
Additional Options and click
Delivery Rules.
2. In the
"Global Delivery Rule" area, click
Browse.
A dialog box appears and lets you select the Crystal report on which the global delivery rule will be set.
3. Browse for the Crystal report, select it, and click
OK. The dialog box closes.
4. On the
Condition list, select the alert value that the report must have for the global delivery rule to be met.
To set a recipient delivery rule on a Crystal reportRecipient delivery rules determine whether a publication is delivered to a particular recipient after processing and personalization.
1. On the navigation list, expand
Additional Options and click
Delivery Rules.
2. In the
"Recipient Delivery Rule" area, click
Deliver individual document when condition is met or Deliver all documents only when all conditions are met.
3. On the list next to each report, specify a condition that must be met for the publication to be delivered.
PDF merging for Crystal reportsYou can merge PDF instances of Crystal reports and static PDF documents into a single PDF for the convenience of your recipients. Static source documents that are not PDF files are excluded from the merged PDF. All static PDF source documents are included in the merged PDF.
You can also do the following with a merged PDF:
• Add and format a table of contents.
• Insert running page numbers.
• Add user and owner passwords that are required to view and edit the PDF.
• Set restrictions on what recipients can do with the PDF.
To format the merged PDFThe options in the Merged PDF Options section let you customize the merged PDF instance generated from a Crystal report publication.
1. On the navigation list, expand
Additional Options and click
Merged PDF Options.
2. Create and format a table of contents for the merged PDF.
a. Select
Create Table of Contents. The format options for the table of contents are available.
b. In the
Title field, enter a title for the table of contents.
c. Format the font, font size (in points), and font color that the title and the items in the table of contents will have.
3. Set the page number format options for the merged PDF.
a. Select
Apply Running Page Numbers. The format options for page numbers are available.
b. In the
Number Format field, enter the format in which you want the page numbers to appear.
c. On the
Number Location list, choose the page number orientation for the merged PDF.
d. Format the font, font size (in points), and font color that the page numbers will have.
e. If you want the table of contents to have page numbers, select
Apply page numbers to
Table of Contents pages.
4. Set recipient logon credentials and permissions for recipient actions.
a. In the
User Password field, enter a password that recipients must enter to view the merged PDF.
b. In the
Owner Password field, enter a password that recipients must enter to edit the merged PDF.
c. Set permissions for user actions by selecting or clearing the appropriate check boxes.
To personalize a Desktop Intelligence document using a global profile targetThe
"Global Profiles" area of the
"Personalization" section lets you personalize a
Desktop Intelligence document for Enterprise recipients by filtering a global profile target.
1. On the navigation list, click
Personalization.
2. In the
"Global Profiles" area, choose a profile from the list in the
Enterprise Recipient Mapping column. This setting maps the Desktop Intelligence document to the universe field (the global profile target) that is filtered for Enterprise recipients.
Personalizing Desktop Intelligence Reports
To personalize a Desktop Intelligence document by filtering fields1. On the navigation list, click
Personalization.
2. Click
Add, and type a field name in the field in the
Report Field column.
Note:You must type the field name exactly as it appears in the Desktop Intelligence document; otherwise, personalization will fail.
3. Choose a profile from the list in the
Enterprise Recipient Mapping column. This setting maps the field to the profile values that are defined for Enterprise recipients.
4. Choose a dynamic recipient source column from the list in the
Dynamic Recipient Mapping column. This setting maps the field in the Desktop Intelligence document to a column in the dynamic recipient source that contains corresponding values.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for every field that you want to filter
To set a global delivery rule on a Desktop Intelligence document1. On the navigation list, expand
Additional Options and click
Delivery Rules.
2. In the
"Global Delivery Rule" area, click
Browse. A dialog box appears that lets you select a Desktop Intelligence document on which the global delivery rule will be set.
3. Browse for the Desktop Intelligence document, select it in the right-hand pane, and click
OK. The dialog box closes.
4. In the
Condition field, enter a Desktop Intelligence formula expression that must be valid for the global delivery rule to be met.
To set a recipient delivery rule on a Desktop Intelligence document1. On the navigation list, expand
Additional Options and click
Delivery Rules.
2. In the
Condition field, enter a Desktop Intelligence formula expression that must be valid for the global delivery rule to be met
Personalizing Web Intelligence Reports
To personalize a Web Intelligence document using a global profile target1. On the navigation list, click
Personalization.2. In the
"Global Profiles" area, choose a profile from the list in the Enterprise Recipient Mapping column. This setting maps the
Web Intelligence document to the universe field (the global profile target) that is filtered for Enterprise recipients.
To personalize a Web Intelligence document by filtering fields1. On the navigation list, click
Personalization.
2. In the
"Local Profiles" area, choose a field from the list in the Report Field column.
3. Choose a profile from the list in the Enterprise Recipient Mapping column.
This setting maps the report field to the profile values that are defined for Enterprise recipients.
4. Choose a dynamic recipient source column from the list in the
Dynamic Recipient Mapping column. This setting maps the field in the source document to a column in the dynamic recipient source that contains corresponding values.
5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 for every field that you want to filter.
References:SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1 SP3 Publisher Guide:
SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1 SP3 Admin Guide:
Chapter 26 on Pg # 929
