Oracle Reports Interview Qs

1.What is the difference between Conditional Formatting and format trigger?
Both provide the similar functionality. They are used to format the output based on particular conditions. Format triggers provide a wide variety of options when compared to conditional formatting(GUI). In format Triggers we have the option to write PL/SQL code where as conditional formatting is GUI based which provide limited options.


2.What is Flex mode and Confine mode?
Confine mode
On: child objects cannot be moved outside their enclosing parent objects.
Off: child objects can be moved outside their enclosing parent objects.
Flex mode:
On: parent borders "stretch" when child objects are moved against them. 


4. What is Page Break? 
To limit the records per page.


5. What is Page Protector property in oracle reports ?
The Page Protect property indicates whether to try to keep the entire object and its contents on the same logical page. Setting Page Protect to Yes means that if the contents of the object cannot fit on the current logical page, the object and all of its contents will be moved to the next logical page. Ex: if you set yes, the object information prints another page.

6.How do you mail the output of a report?
You can use following methogs to mail the output of a report.
1. Use UTL_SMTP (refer to Scripts tab for more details) 
2. Use MAILX called in a shell script registered as a concurrent program with parameters File name and path.


7. What is Print Direction? 
The Print Direction property is the direction in which successive instances of the repeating frame appear.


8. What is Vertical and Horizental Elasticity
The Horizontal Elasticity property is determins how the horizontal size of the object will change at runtime to accommodate the objects or data within it:


9. What is Formula Column?
A formula column performs a user-defined computation on another column(s) data, including placeholder columns.


10. How do you display only one record on each page in a report?
Give Page Break in the Format trigger of the repeating frame.


11. What is Summary columns? 
A summary column performs a computation on another column's data. Using the Report Wizard or Data Wizard, you can create the following summaries: sum, average, count, minimum, maximum, % total. You can also create a summary column manually in the Data Model view, and use the Property Palette to create the following additional summaries: first, last, standard deviation, variance.


12. What is Boilerplate? 
Boilerplate is any text or graphics that appear in a report every time it is run. Report Builder will create one boilerplate object for each label selected in the Report Wizard (it is named B_
Column name). Also, one boilerplate object is sometimes created for each report summary. A boilerplate object is owned by the object surrounding it, unless otherwise noted.

13. What is Data Link
When we join multiple queries in a report the join condition is stored in the data link section
Data links relates the results of multiple queries. A data link (or parent-child relationship) causes the child query to be executed once for each instance of its parent group. When you create a data link in the Data Model view of your report, Report Builder constructs a clause (as specified in the link's Property Palette) that will be added to the child query's SELECT statement at runtime. You can view the SELECT statements for the individual parent and child queries in the Builder, but can not view the SELECT statement that includes the clause created by the data link you define.

14. What is Break Column? 
We can break a column through data model , it is Displayed once for a group

15. How can you grey out/ highlight /hide some records based on conditions in a report?
You can use Conditional formatting to achieve it.

16. How do u call Report from form? 
Use RUN_PRODUCT and RUN_REPORT_OBJECT to call a report from Oracle Forms.

17. What is Report Bursting?The capability of producing multiple copies of a given report or portion of it in different output formats is referred to as report bursting. Reports bursting offers you to deliver a single report to multiple destinations simultaneously. It offers you to create multiple reports out of one single report model. For example, you can create just one employee report for all your departments and send an email with a PDF-attachment containing the report to each manager. Each report would contain only the relevant department information for that particular manager. Using the reports bursting functionality will reduce the overhead since you will only have a single data fetch and report format.

18. What is Additional Layout?
Additional layout is created for two different formats using same query and groups without modifying default layout created by report wizard., we can use both layouts according to user requirement.


19. How do you write the report output to Excel file or text file?
You can use the following methods to write the output of oracle reports to Excel or text file.
1.Use TEXT_IO package 

2.Use SPOOL in After Report trigger 
3.Use UTL Package