46.2 Set Up the textpds.conf File

Before you can use a text file as a data source, you must set up the Text PDS configuration file (textpds.conf) with your text file's format information. With this data definition in the configuration file, Oracle Reports Builder can recognize your text file as a valid data source.

Note:

You must edit your configuration file before you launch or restart Reports Builder for the changes to take effect.

To set up your textpds.conf:

In a text editor, such as Notepad, open the file textpds.conf, located in the ORACLE_HOME/reports/conf directory.

Note:
ORACLE_HOME is where Reports Builder is installed on your computer.
In another text editor window, open the provided file config.txt file.
Copy the text we have provided in config.txt and paste it into textpds.conf before the </textPDS> entry, so that the resulting textpds.conf file contains an entry like this:

Figure 46-2 Snapshot of the textpds.conf entry

Description of "Figure 46-2 Snapshot of the textpds.conf entry"

Note:
The fileFormat entry in textpds.conf enables Reports Builder to recognize your text file as a data source. When you choose Text PDS in the Report Wizard, the defined format (CensusCSV, in this example) displays as an option. In the fileFormat entry, you also define the properties of each column in the file.
Save the textpds.conf file.

You have set up your textpds.conf file for the character-delimited text data source.