Displaying a Report in a Helper Application

How to:

Specify a MIME Type in Microsoft Windows Explorer
Display a Report in a Helper Application

Reference:

Supported MIME Types

A helper application or plug-in is a desktop program used by a browser to open a file with a format other than standard HTML. An example of a helper application is Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, which opens a PDF file.

When a web server sends a special type of file to a browser, it includes MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) information, indicating the file format. WebFOCUS determines which helper application to run based on MIME type. You must associate the content (MIME) type of a file with a helper application using Windows Explorer.

Procedure: How to Specify a MIME Type in Microsoft Windows Explorer

Open Windows Explorer.
Select Folder Options from the Tools menu.
Select the File Types tab.
Select a file type in the Registered File Types list box, then click the New Type button.

The Add New File Type dialog box opens.
Enter the following information.
- In the Description of Type field, enter a description of your choice.
- In the Associated Extension field, enter the extension for the file type.
- In the Content Type (MIME) field, enter the MIME type for the file type and extension.
Click OK to save your changes.

Reference: Supported MIME Types

WebFOCUS supports the following MIME types.

MIME Type	Application	File Extension
application/postscript	GhostView	.PS
application/x-prn	Printer (using PCL printer driver)	.PRN
application/x-dif	Microsoft Excel® or other spreadsheet	.DIF
application/x-doc	Microsoft Word	.DOC
application/x-xls application/vnd.ms-excl	Microsoft Excel	.XLS, .E97, .WK1, .XHT
application/pdf	Adobe Acrobat Reader	.PDF
text/plain	Microsoft Notepad or other text editor	.WP or .HTS
text/html	Native browser format	.HTML
text/htm	Native browser format	.HTM
image/gif	Native browser format	.GIF
image/jpeg	Native browser format	.JPG, .JPEG
XML	Native browser format	.XML

Procedure: How to Display a Report in a Helper Application

Create a procedure that includes the command
```
ON TABLE PCHOLD FORMAT fmt
```
where:

fmt

Is the file format for the data.

For details on formats and complete syntax, see the Creating Reports With TIBCO WebFOCUS® Language manual.

Caution: Keep in mind that a valid format for browser display in a helper application requires a supported MIME type.
Create a launch page from which a user can run the report.
Publish the procedure and launch page using App Studio. When you run the launch page, WebFOCUS returns the data to the browser in the format specified. The browser displays it using the appropriate helper application.

Example: Displaying a Report In Excel and Offering a Choice of Display Formats

The following are examples of displaying a report in an Excel spreadsheet and offering a choice of display formats.

Displaying a Report in an Excel 2000 Spreadsheet

The following is an example of displaying a report in an Excel 2000 spreadsheet.

Create a procedure named HELPER, which generates a report on product orders:

TABLE FILE GGORDER
SUM QUANTITY BY PCD
WHERE PCD IS 'B141' OR 'B142' OR 'F101' OR 'F102'
ON TABLE PCHOLD FORMAT EXL2K
END

Create a launch page from which a user can run the report.
Publish the procedure and launch page using App Studio.
Run the launch page, and click the link. WebFOCUS returns the data to the browser in EXL2K format. The browser calls the helper application, Microsoft Excel 2000, and displays the report:

Offering a Choice of Display Formats

The following is an example of offering a choice of display formats.

Create a procedure named QASTATUS, which generates a quality assurance report on a plant (PLANT) of interest, in a format (FMT) of choice:

TABLE FILE CENTQA
ON TABLE SET PAGE-NUM OFF
SUM CNT.PROBNUM AS 'Total Number,of Problems'
SUM CNT.PROBNUM AS 'Problem by,Product' BY PLANT NOPRINT BY PRODNAME
WHERE PLANT EQ '&PLANT'
HEADING CENTER
"QA Report for &PLANT"
ON TABLE PCHOLD FORMAT &FMT
END

Create a launch page from which a user can run the report. The following sample launch page is named FORMATS. The letter on the left corresponds to the note explaining the code.

    <HTML>
    <HEAD>
    <TITLE>Multiple Display Formats</TITLE>
    </HEAD>
    <BODY BGCOLOR="#E3E3E3">
    <FONT FACE="Arial">
    <CENTER>
    <FONT SIZE="+1">Welcome to the QA Database</FONT>
    <HR WIDTH="45%" NOSHADE>
    </CENTER>
    <FORM ACTION="/ibi_apps/WFServlet" METHOD="get">
    <INPUT NAME="IBIF_ex" VALUE="qastatus" TYPE="hidden">
    <P>
    Select a plant to generate a report on product problems:
    </P>
    <SELECT NAME="PLANT">
    <OPTION>BOS
    <OPTION>DAL
    <OPTION>LA
    <OPTION>ORL
    <OPTION>SEA
    <OPTION>STL
    </SELECT>
    <P>
    <HR> 
a.  <TABLE CELLPADDING="2">
    <TR>
    <TD CLASS="LABEL">Select a display format:</TD>
    <TD><INPUT TYPE="RADIO" NAME="FMT" VALUE="HTML" CHECKED>HTML</TD>
    <TD><INPUT TYPE="RADIO" NAME="FMT" VALUE="PDF">PDF</TD>
    <TD><INPUT TYPE="RADIO" NAME="FMT" VALUE="EXL2K">Excel 2000</TD>
    </TR>
    </TABLE>
    <P>
    <INPUT TYPE="SUBMIT" NAME="SUBMIT" VALUE="Submit">
    <INPUT TYPE="RESET" NAME="RESET" VALUE="Reset">
    </FORM>
    </BODY>
    </HTML>

Radio buttons in a table prompt the user for the format (FMT), and the value is passed to the procedure.

Publish the procedure and launch page using App Studio.
Run the launch page.
Select ORL from the drop-down list. Select PDF for the format. Click Submit.
WebFOCUS returns the data to the browser in PDF. The browser calls the helper application, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and displays the report: