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Skip HTML and Default your BIRT Report to PDF

Technical Blog Post


Abstract

Skip HTML and Default your BIRT Report to PDF

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Are you tired of extra clicks?  Have you wondered if it was possible to skip the HTML display page and output your BIRT report directly to PDF?  Well then, you've come to the right place!

In Maximo 7.5, the default is to run the report in HTML browser window, followed by outputting to PDF.  However, I've found in many cases that users want the output in PDF format directly. Now, before we get technical, it is important to note that this change is not officially supported by IBM.

In order to enable this in your Maximo environment, you will need to edit the openreport.jsp which is located in the directory below:

<maximo_home>\maximo\applications\maximo\maximouiweb\webmodule\webclient\common

 

** NOTE ** : In 7.5 versions previous to 7.5.0.3, the file you need to edit is reportrunner.jsp.

Steps:

1) Create a backup copy of the original openreport.jsp file
2) Open the openreport.jsp in a text editor (I prefer Notepad++ as it offers line numbers)
3) Hit enter at the end of Line 16 and add the following entry on Line 17:

String redir = reportParams.get("redir")+"&__format=pdf";

4) Edit Line 30 to resemble the entry below:

<form name="reportForm" id="reportForm" action="<%=redir%>" method="post">

5) Save the file and rebuild/redeploy the Maximo EAR file
6) Test by running a BIRT report

If the changes were implemented correctly, you will see "&__format=pdf" appended to the browser URL when launching the report.
 



If you need to forward this info to a colleague, a simplified set of instructions can be found here.

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please leave your feedback below.

Until next time...

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ibm11131729