Configuring Report Printing

Oracle Application Express provides several features so that end users can download and print reports in various formats, including PDF. To set up this functionality, different users must configure the following printing settings:

Site Level: Oracle Application Express service administrators must specify the level of functionality (Standard or Advanced) for an entire Oracle Application Express instance, as described in this section.
Application Level: Workspace administrators and developers can define Report Queries and Report Layouts. Report Queries and Report Layouts are stored under Shared Components and are not tied to a specific page.
Page/Region Level: Developers can edit the Report regions on specific pages to enable printing. This, in turn, enables end users to print regions as reports in various formats. See "Configuring Classic Report Region Print Attributes" in Oracle Application Express Application Builder User’s Guide.

Tip:

If you are running Oracle Application Express with Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1), you must enable network services to use report printing. See "Enabling Network Services in Oracle Database 11g" for your configuration scenario in Oracle Application Express Installation Guide.

Topics:

Configuring Report Printing in a Full Development Environment
Configuring Report Printing Settings in a Runtime Environment
Determining Report Printing Settings in a Runtime Environment

Configuring Report Printing in a Full Development Environment

To configure the printing of reports in a full development environment:

Log in to Oracle Application Express Administration Services. See "Logging in to Oracle Application Express Administration Services".
Click Manage Service.
Under Manage Environment Settings, click Instance Settings.
Scroll down to Report Printing:

For Oracle BI Publisher, select one of the following:

Standard Support - This is the default setting. Standard Support enables you to print report regions and report queries using either the built-in templates provided with Oracle Application Express or other XSL-FO compatible formats you provide. This setting does not support RTF (rich text format).

Standard Support provides declarative formatting of report regions and report queries with basic control over page attributes, including orientation, size, column heading formats, page header, and page footer.

Advanced Support - Requires a valid license of Oracle BI Publisher (also known as Oracle XML Publisher). Advanced Support provides you with all the capabilities of the Standard setting plus the ability to define RTF-based report layouts developed using the BI Publisher Word Template Builder.

Configuring Report Printing Settings in a Runtime Environment

To configure report printing settings in a runtime environment:

Start SQL*Plus and connect to the database where Oracle Application Express is installed as SYS. For example:
- On Windows:
```
SYSTEM_DRIVE:\ sqlplus /nolog
connect sys as sysdba
```
- On UNIX and Linux:
```
$ sqlplus /nolog
connect sys as sysdba
```
When prompted enter the appropriate password.

Run the following statement:

ALTER SESSION SET CURRENT_SCHEMA = APEX_030200

Run the following statement:

BEGIN
    APEX_INSTANCE_ADMIN.SET_PARAMETER(PARAMETER_NAME, PARAMETER_VALUE);
END;

For a description of available parameters, see Table: Report Printing Parameters in Runtime Environment.

Report Printing Parameters in Runtime Environment

Parameter Name	Description
`PRINT_BIB_LICENSED`	Specify either standard support or advanced support. Advanced support requires an Oracle BI Publisher license. Valid values include: `STANDARD` `ADVANCED`
`PRINT_SVR_PROTOCOL`	Valid values include: `http` `https`
`PRINT_SVR_HOST`	Specifies the host address of the print server converting engine, for example, `localhost`. Enter the appropriate host address if the print server is installed at another location.
`PRINT_SVR_PORT`	Defines the port of the print server engine, for example `8888`. Value must be a positive integer.
`PRINT_SVR_SCRIPT`	Defines the script that is the print server engine, for example: /xmlpserver/convert

Determining Report Printing Settings in a Runtime Environment

To determine report printing settings in a runtime environment:

Start SQL*Plus and connect to the database where Oracle Application Express is installed as SYS. For example:
- On Windows:
```
SYSTEM_DRIVE:\ sqlplus /nolog
connect sys as sysdba
```
- On UNIX and Linux:
```
$ sqlplus /nolog
connect sys as sysdba
```
When prompted enter the appropriate password.

Run the following statement:

ALTER SESSION SET CURRENT_SCHEMA = APEX_030200

Run the following statement:
```
SELECT 
APEX_INSTANCE_ADMIN.GET_PARAMETER(PARAMETER_NAME)
FROM DUAL;
```
For a description of available parameters, see Table: Report Printing Parameters in Runtime Environment.