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variables in the static HTML file should be removed and replaced with a single space. This worked! The moral of this story is start out simple, and add complexity to the static or cartridge implementation once you get the basics working.

I found the appletviewer to be quite quirky. After making changes to the configuration, I usually had to restart the appletviewer after its initial startup to get it to acknowledge my changes in the configuration. The only sure way to get the appletviewer to recognize my changes on initial startup of the forms applet was to restart the NT workstation.

Setting Up Oracle Reports on the Web

Oracle implements the reports part of Developer 2000 via a reports CGI program loaded onto the Web server CGI directory. This CGI engine working in combination with the reports engine is capable of displaying reports in either HTML or Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If you are planning to implement reports via the PDF format, you will have to ensure your browsers are all configured with the Adobe Acrobat plug-in.

Configuring the Web Server for Web Reports

The first step is to copy the RDF files onto the Web server. The location to which these reports are copied should be included in the REPORTS25_PATH variable that Oracle uses (setup of this variable is detailed later in this section).

Next the CGI engine, R25CGI32.EXE, should be copied from the ORACLE_HOME\bin directory to your Web server's CGI directory. For Oracle Web server v.2.1, the CGI directory was in ORACLE_HOME\ows21\bin and had the virtual directory /ows-bin/ defined.

Now define the necessary variables for the Reports CGI. Following are the variables that are necessary for the CGI and their suggested values:

The first required value, ORACLE_HOME, should already be defined if you have installed any Oracle products (you should have at least installed Developer 2000). This key should point to the directory into which the Oracle products were installed.

The REPORTS25_WEBLOC variable specifies the virtual directory that is set up on the Web server for runtime reports output file. Set this virtual directory up on your Web server like any other virtual directory. For my example, I used /report_out/.

The REPORTS25_WEBLOC_TRANSLATED variable specifies the absolute path of the virtual directory specified by REPORTS25_WEBLOC variable. For my example, I used D:\temp.

The REPORTS25_PATH variable should include an absolute path to the location of the reports files (A:\ for my example).

These variables must be defined in the Windows Registry by adding values under the Oracle key for the local machine key (see Figure 19.8). Following is an outline of the steps necessary to make these modifications:

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CAUTION
Using the Registry editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that can corrupt your Windows NT installation. Microsoft does not guarantee that any problems resulting from use of the Registry editing tools can be corrected (except by reinstall). So the moral of this story is use caution when modifying the Registry.

Under the Software key, there is an Oracle key. Select this key by clicking it once.

Enter or ensure that all variables are defined and then exit out of REGEDT32.

FIG. 19.8
Modifying the Oracle
variables for the
Reports CGI.


Finally, set the Web listener service up to use an account other than the system account. And verify that the account has a default printer defined.

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To redefine the account that executes the Web listener service, start up the Services applet from the NT Control Panel. Select the service for your Web server and select the Startup button to modify the Login account. The login account should be a local account on the NT machine, and this account MUST have a printer defined or the reports will not print. After the login account has been modified, the Web server service must be stopped and started to make the changes effective (see Figure 19.9).

NOTE
The account used here must have the "Log on as a service" right assigned to it. Without this right, the listener will not start. This right is set in the User Manager for NT. For more details on setting rights, see the online help for NT user manager.n

I used the local Administrator account because it already existed, had a printer defined, and I was sure that it would not run into problems with having the proper right to execute the CGI. You may or may not want to use this account for your site. If you use another account, make sure the account has the proper rights to execute the CGI.

FIG. 19.9
Modifying the Web
server service's login account.


Now you must ensure that the account you entered has a default printer. The best way to do this is to log on to the NT machine with the local account that you entered for the Web server service to use to log in and define a default printer for that account.

Running the Reports

To run the reports, enter the path to the reports CGI on your Web server in the URL address space of your Web browser and include at least two parameters (REPORT and USERID are required at a minimum). The parameters are command-line reports parameters; others may be included on the URL in addition to the two required parameters. For the reports part, Java is not required so you may use the Web browsers that are currently available (I used the Microsoft Internet Explorer v.3.02).

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