Tips & Tricks in BIP

I have worked with BIP for a few months and I discover some tips & tricks around developing reports. If you develop too fast or you are unattended to some stuff, you would see some of following errors. I will give you a list where you have to be aware of.

Tips & Tricks 1:

If you create a new datasource and you type a new SQL-query, ended with a semicolon.

For example: SELECT * FROM dual ;

You will get an error message:


When you click on ‘Error Detail’, it returns: ORA-00911: invalid character.

Solution for this problem is that you remove your semicolon at the end and render your report again.

Tips & Tricks 2:

If you create a new template name without uploading a RTF-template first. This means that there is no RTF-template available under ‘layouts’. After you created a template name, you will upload your RTF-template into BIP.

In the picture below, you can see that drop-down box for ‘template’ is empty.

Overview Report:


You go back to tab ‘Layouts’ and you upload your RTF-template. Without returning to template name, you run your report and you will get following error.

Error message:

Error detail: Attribute missing in : ‘url’

Solution, you have to go back to edit your report. Go to your template name and assign your RTF-template that you have uploaded into BIP.

The reason why he gives this error is simple. You create a new template name but you didn’t assign a RTF-template to it. Because this was uploaded after you create a new template name. BIP will not automatically assign new RTF-template to your template name. That’s why you see this error. You have to do it manually.

Unless, if you first upload your RTF-template and then create a new template name. Now, he will take first RTF-template in the list and assign it to your template name. You change it if you want.

Next two tips & tricks is dependent on which version of BIP you’re working on. It seems that the problems in 10.1.3.3 were solved or better, they have a workaround to avoid these problems.

Tips & Tricks 3:

This first problem I met, is that you always need to select a ‘default data source’ if you create a LOV (List Of Values). So I will explain the situation.

When you create a parameter in BIP, it is also possible to attach an LOV to this item. The LOV can be used to choose values dependent on tables in your schema. So if you create a new LOV, you have to choose explicitly a connection data source like ‘HR’ or something else you defined by JDBC Connection in the Admin tab.

You may not select ‘Default Data Source’ as connection because this will render following error:

Error detail: Parameter name: p_dual Can not establish database connection(null)

The reason why you would see this message is because the LOV will be build before there was a default data source connection. So you have to define explicitly your data source connection in 10.1.3.2.

I noticed that the problem is fixed in 10.1.3.3 and you don’t have to select explicitly your connection but you can select it as ‘Default Data Source’.

Tips & Tricks 4:

This topic will handle about more data sources concatenated. If you create more than one data source and you want them concatenated with unique row names.

A short explanation of what I have done. I created two data sources:

• Name of 1ste datasource = DS_1


• Name of 2nd datasource = DS 2

Note: In second data source is no ‘underscore’ presented but a space!

I changed the option to ‘Concatenated SQL Data Source’ as Main Data Set on the Data Model Tab. And checked ‘Make row names unique’.

When you run the report, You will get an error message like this:

Error detail: ‘=’ missing in attribute.

The problem is that it is not allowed to use a space in the data source name. So you can change this one or you can obtain to uncheck ‘Make row names unique’. I always choose for the first solution. Also to avoid problems later by the creation of my RTF-template.

Note: If you use a font that is not recognized on the server (where BIP is installed), BIP will use the default font type of Helvetica.