Creation of CSV file on client machine with data from forms

Question

Hi,
My requirement is to generate a CSV file(or .XLS) on the client machine ie local drive with the details shown in a form.
Oracle version -
Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition Release 11.1.0.7.0 - 64bit Production
PL/SQL Release 11.1.0.7.0 - Production
CORE 11.1.0.7.0 Production
TNS for Solaris: Version 11.1.0.7.0 - Production
NLSRTL Version 11.1.0.7.0 - Production.
I have searched the web for last couple of days and got to know that TEXT_IO is to be used to generate files on client machine. However, when I tried TEXT_IO, it was not able to generate the file on client rather it was able to generate on database server. After further browsing on this, there was a link which said that we need to use CLIENT_TEXT_IO to generate file on client side. For this, i was required to subclass the webutil.pll which i did and corrected the code to use CLIENT_TEXT_IO. The form was unable to compile and was not able to find "webutil_core" package.
I am very confused with the disparity in the information available on the web as in what to use to generate a file on client side. If anyone has use it in the past, can he/she please detail what to use to get things sorted.
Thanks,
R

Answer 1

Oracle version - Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition Release 11.1.0.7.0 - 64bit Production
PL/SQL Release 11.1.0.7.0 - Production
CORE 11.1.0.7.0 Production
TNS for Solaris: Version 11.1.0.7.0 - Production
NLSRTL Version 11.1.0.7.0 - Production. >
So, what is your FORMS version. This is more important than your database version.
My requirement is to generate a CSV file(or .XLS) on the client machine ie local drive with the details shown in a form. Depending on your Forms version, you would use TEXT_IO (if Forms 6i running in Client/Server mode) or WebUtil (if Forms 9i or higher).
I'm going to guess that you are at least using Oracle Forms 9i since you stated that your attempt at using TEXT_IO produced a file on the DB server.
There is more to using WebUtil than just attaching the WEBUTIL.PLL. If you had performed a simple search of the Forms Help System would have found numerous WebUtil topics to include: Introduction to WebUtil, Configuring WebUtil, Using WebUtil in Your Applications and the WebUtil User's Guide. If you have Oracle Forms release 10g or higher, WebUtil is included when you installed Forms, however, you do need to configure your installation to use WebUtil and you must download the Java COM Bridge (jacob.jar) from Source Forge. Take a look at the Configuring WebUtil Forms Help topic to find out which version of the Java COM Bridge you will need to download.
After you have successfully configured WebUtil, take a look at the Using WebUtil in Your Applications topic to find out how to implement WebUtil in a form.
Searching the Internet for answers is great, but don't forget the look at the Forms Help System because the majority of your questions can be answered there. :)
Lastly, configuration of WebUtil is primarily done on your Application Server (AS). However, if you plan to perform preliminary runtime testing by running your Form from the Forms Builder, then you will configure your local runtime to support WebUtil as well as configure your AS. The steps are exactly the same. A common mis-step is to skip a step during the configuration because you don't think the step applies. Take a look at the Forms Help Runtime Setup Checklist topic for a list of step you need to complete in order to enable WebUtil.
Hope this helps,
Craig B-)
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