Blitz Report™ User Guide

Introduction

Blitz Report is an Oracle Forms based software, fully integrated with Oracle E-Business Suite. It enables your IT team to easily store and edit SQL scripts for reports, and to make them available to your business users. Blitz Report runs as a concurrent process and generates output files in XLSX or text delimited CSV format. Upon completion, reports automatically download and open in Excel.

With Blitz Report, we created the most efficient and easy to use operational reporting solution for Oracle EBS. Optimized for skilled IT professionals to better organize and maintain their reporting queries, and for business users to quickly access EBS data in a format they love without having to learn new skills.

We hope that you will enjoy working with Blitz Report as much as we do, and we welcome your feedback to [email protected].

1 Getting started

Blitz Report can be used from four places, and this guide has one chapter for each:

• Oracle EBS Forms – the classic run screen opened from the EBS menu or from any form via the Blitz Report toolbar entry.
• Blitz Report Excel Add-in – run, refresh and drill down directly from Microsoft Excel, without opening Oracle EBS.
• Blitz Report Web – the browser based run page for users working in the EBS web applications.
• Scheduled – reports run as concurrent requests on a schedule and deliver their output by email, see the scheduling section of the Forms chapter.

To run your first report: open Blitz Report, pick a report from the list or search it by name, enter restrictive parameter values (for example one period or one operating unit), and click Run. The output opens in Excel when it completes.

Beyond reporting, Blitz Uploads change EBS data from Excel, the Supply Chain Hub provides a planning workbench, and GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG) builds refreshable financial statements in Excel – each covered in its own chapter.

2 Running reports in EBS Forms

Basic steps to run a Blitz Report are:

1. Select a report
2. Select a template (optional)
3. Enter parameters
4. Run the report and review the output

There is a training video available on selecting and running reports.

2.1 Selecting a report

When opening Blitz Report for the first time, a selection of available reports is displayed automatically. The list can be restricted further by typing the first characters of the desired report name.

When subsequently opening Blitz Report, the last report executed will default in the report name field. If you open the reports LOV, all of your “most frequently used” reports will be listed at the top of the list. You can still scroll down, or use the following selection options for finding and selecting reports:

• Perform a text search by typing into the report name field. This executes a full text search on report name and description, parameters, SQL definition, template name and description, enabling you to search by column names, for example. The search is not case sensitive and allows creation of logical expressions using keywords ‘and’ or ‘or’ and use of brackets to group sub-expressions.
• Double click into the report name field
• Use the LOV attached to the report name
• Press the F1-key
• Pick a Category from the dropdown list
• Use the find/torch menu symbol
• Run a query on the report name or description fields via F11, Ctrl+F11

By default, users can select from reports assigned to their current logon responsibility only, but the LOV of reports can be extended by setting profile option Blitz Report Filter Reports by Responsibility to ‘No’. This way, users will see all the reports assigned to them, regardless of their current logon responsibility.

Text search example:

Scrolling further to the right in the search results shows the matching score and fields in which the keywords are found.

When entering multiple keywords, the search matches all keywords by default.

Above example lists all reports containing both words, ‘item’ and ‘invoice’.

To search on either of the keywords, combine them with ‘or’.

To search for an exact match in the order of keywords e.g. ‘item’ directly followed by ‘invoice’, enclose them into quotation marks such as “item invoice”.

2.2 Parameter values

Report parameters filter, limit or define the extracted data. Parameters can have lists of values that either enforce selection of one particular value (e.g. account number) or that allow matching by wildcards such as ’%’ or ‘_’.

To display the LOV for a parameter, double click either into the parameter value field or on the three LOV dots on the right.

Some parameters may allow entry of multiple values, depending on the definition of the parameter (see here for details).

To run a report for a list of account numbers for example, check the ‘Multiple Values’ checkbox next to the parameter and either select account numbers one by one from the LOV or enter a semicolon-separated list of numbers manually.

Larger lists of multiple parameter values up to a length of 32000 characters can be entered using the ‘Edit Field’ menu function.

Multiple values can be separated by semicolon or line feed. Using the ‘Edit Field’ menu icon, you can for example copy and paste a list of parameter values directly from an Excel sheet.

Users can store their own default parameter values using the Actions > Save User Parameter Defaults menu option.

Once a template is selected it is also possible to store default parameter values against a template using the Actions > Save Template Parameter Defaults menu option.

2.3 Running and viewing the output

A click on the ‘Run’ button launches a background concurrent process to extract the report data. The output XLSX file opens automatically upon program completion.

While the report concurrent process is pending or running, the request status is displayed on the output button. Once the report is complete, the output button can also be used to re-download the output file.

2.4 Options

The Options window is accessed by clicking on the grey options field. It allows controlling the report generation process and the output format at run time, for example email delivery and output formats. The Server Output Directory and Server File Name options are only shown to users with ‘Developer’ or ‘System’ access, or to other users if the Blitz Report Server Output Directory Access profile option is set. The runtime options inherit their default values from the Blitz Report Setup Window options with the same names.

User view:

Developer view, which additionally shows the Server Output Directory and Server File Name fields:

Email

Enter an e-mail address that you wish to send the report output to. Multiple email addresses can be entered as a comma-separated list. Developers can define a default email address for individual reports, or you can set up a default email throught profile option Blitz Report Default Email Address.

The default email subject for Blitz Reports is stored in FND message XXEN_REPORT_EMAIL_SUBJECT. To change this text, navigate to Application Developer > Application > Message > query message XXEN_REPORT_EMAIL_SUBJECT and edit the message text.

You can use the following placeholders for automated replacement at run-time:

You can also create new custom messages. Prefix these with XXEN_REPORT_EMAIL and use them as default email subjects by setting the profile option Blitz Report Email Subject Message.

Output Format

Output file format. Possible options: CSV, TSV, XLSX

Row Limit

You can restrict the number of row in the output file by indicating that option.

Time Limit

Indicates timeout in seconds. Program is terminated by the ‘Blitz Report Monitor’ after indicated time. This avoids excessive server loads if e.g. user submits report with insufficient parameter restrictions.A time limit can also be set when running reports or using profile option Blitz Report Time Limit. If there are values set on different levels, the order of precedence is as follows:

1. Run window options time limit
2. Profile option on user level
3. Time limit on report level
4. Profile option on responsibility level
5. Profile option on site level

Disable Column Translations

Disabling translation of the report’s header if multi-language setup is in place. E.g.: interface requirements.

Exclude Column Headers

Removing header column from the output file. E.g. for interface requirements

Custom Postprocess

A custom post-processing shell script can be set up to run after report completion, for example to distribute or transform the output file to a different format, such as generating a report in PDF format.

The script must be placed under the $CUSTOM_TOP/bin/custom/ directory, for example $XXEN_TOP/bin/custom/generate_and_send_pdf.sh, and it allows the use of variables as shown in the following example:

# You can use a custom postprocess script to perform additional actions on the Blitz Report output files, e.g. scp them to a different server, transform them to .pdf via external tools etc.
# This script is called with following parameters:
# $FCP_LOGIN                                      example: APPS/w#*fe=+~12fweDg
# $p_report_name                                  example: AP Suppliers
# $p_template_name                                example: Pivot by supplier type
# $p_request_id                                   example: 6590137
# $outfile_name                                   example: /d01/oracle/VIS/inst/apps/VIS_r12/logs/appl/conc/out/AP_Suppliers_6590142.xlsx
# $output_filename                                example: AP_Suppliers_6590142.xlsx
# $download_filename                              example: AP Suppliers 17-Nov-2019 153012.xlsx (user facing browser download name, as served by Oracle EBS forms)
# $additional_outfile_name                        example: /d01/oracle/VIS/inst/apps/VIS_r12/logs/appl/conc/out/AP_Suppliers_20191117.xlsx
# $parameter1
# $parameter2
# .......
# $parameter87
#
# Example of copying output xlsx file to an interface directory on a remote server:
# scp "$outfile_name" [email protected]:/interface_dir

To add a new custom postprocess script name to the runtime options LOV, add it to lookup XXEN_REPORT_POSTPROCESS_SCRIPT as shown in the following screenshot:

Output File Name

Defines the Excel output file name, downloaded to the client desktop. Tokens can be used to create a filename dynamically, for example based on report parameter values.

Server Output Directory

Saves a copy of the report output file in a directory on the application server. Any network folder mounted on that server can be used as the destination, which is how scheduled reports deliver their output to shared drives. Tokens can be used to create a directory path dynamically, for example based on report parameter values. If the resulting directory does not exist on the filesystem, it is created. Please ensure that the apps owner has the required permissions for the directory creation.

Whether this field is available, and whether a destination can be typed freely, depends on the Blitz Report Server Output Directory Access profile option:

• Not set – the two server output fields are hidden, which is the default. Users with ‘Developer’ or ‘System’ access always see them.
• Unrestricted – the fields are shown and any directory can be entered.
• Restricted – the fields are shown, but the directory has to be selected from the list of approved output locations.

The approved locations are maintained by your own key users in the Blitz Report Output Locations lookup. Each entry pairs a short alias, for example “Sydney – Finance reports”, with the directory path it stands for, and the list of values shows the alias next to the path. Adding a location on a server that is already connected takes effect immediately, without any involvement from IT.

Server File Name

Naming convention for the copy written to the server output directory. Tokens can be used to create a file name dynamically, for example based on report parameter values or on the run date, so that a scheduled report writes a new date stamped file on every run. With Restricted access the file name cannot contain a path, so that the approved directory cannot be circumvented.

Reset button

This button is used to set runtime options to the default values based on the profile option or report level settings.

Freeze flag

When checking the freeze flag, option values are not changed or reset to their defaults when navigating to a different report.

Tokens

You can use any of the below tokens to dynamically generate values for the following runtime options: Output File Name, Server Output Directory, Server File Name.

<report name> – report name
<report_name> – report name, all spaces are replaced to underscores.
<template name> – template name
<template_name> – template name, all spaces are replaced to underscores.
<request_id> – concurrent request id
<parameter name> – value of the specified parameter name
<parameter_name> – value of the specified parameter name, all spaces are replaced to underscores.
<date format string> –  actual run date in the specified Oracle date format string

Here is the example of a filename using all of the above tokens, replacing spaces to underscores.

<report_name>–<template_name>–<request_id>-for-<Operating_Unit>-on-<DD-MM-YYYY>

The resulting filename is:

AP_Suppliers-Operating_unit_only-6317575-for-Vision_Operations-on-06-10-2022.xlsx

Here is the example of the similar filename but without replacing spaces to underscores:

<report name>–<template name>–<request_id> for <Operating Unit> on <DD-MM-YYYY>

The resulting filename is:

AP Suppliers-Operating unit only-6317575 for Vision Operations on 06-10-2022.xlsx

And here is an example of a directory using tokens:

/interface/<report_name>_<DD-MM-YYYY>

It is possible to enter tokens manually or to choose them from the LOVs associated with the runtime option fields.

Manually entered tokens are validated against the LOV values, and an error message is displayed in case a token is not valid.

2.5 Templates

From the options window, you can either select an existing template to edit, or, if the template name is empty, create a new template by clicking on the ‘New’ button. There is a training video available on creating and sharing layout templates.

Template layout

A template allows users to select the data columns, the level of reporting (detail transactional or summarized), aggregation calculations, and to define a pivot table output. Using templates, report columns can be selected and/or de-selected, summarized, and sorted as well as pivoted.

The template window looks slightly different for reports and for uploads, as some of the elements only make sense for one of them.

The following elements are available for both report and upload templates:

• Name – the name of the template.
• Description – the description of the template.
• Global Default – sets the template as the default for all report users (available for developers only).
• Owner – shows who owns the template. Initially, this is the user who created it. Users with Blitz Report Access level Developer or System, or with Blitz Report Template Access level ‘Super User’, can transfer ownership by double-clicking the owner field. Ownership can be transferred to another user or to a responsibility. If a responsibility owns a template, all users of that responsibility can view and modify it, which is useful for templates maintained by a team.
• Available Columns – list of columns that are available for display, but are not selected yet.
• Displayed Columns – list of columns that are selected and included in current report output.
• Column search – can be used to quickly find specific available or displayed columns.
• Freeze – marks the column at which the panes of the generated Excel file are frozen.
• Arrow buttons – move columns between “available” and “displayed”, as well as changing their display order. You can use the Ctrl and Shift keys to select groups of columns (multi-select) and move them simultaneously to and from either column. You can use double-click to move data from one column to the other.
• Reset – button to recover the initial column layout.
• Hide All – button to deselect and move all data off of the “selected” columns and back to the “available” column.

Report templates additionally offer the following column properties, together with the Pivot table and Excel upload tabs described below:

• Distinct – suppresses duplicate rows in the report.
• Aggr. – is used for summary reports and specifies how to aggregate the data (the choices are average, count, min, max, sum).
• Sort Order – determines the order of the output data (ascending / descending).
• Sort Priority – determines the sort priority if more than one sort order is selected.
• Sheet Break – allows splitting the output file into different sheets for every column value change.

Upload templates do not show the properties above, as they do not apply to an upload. They control how the generated spreadsheet is filled in and validated instead:

• Required – makes the column mandatory: the upload is rejected if the cell is empty, and the column cannot be removed from the displayed columns. Columns that are already defined as mandatory in the upload itself are always required, so their checkbox cannot be unticked.
• Read-Only – shows existing values but prevents the user from changing them. Together with a single Default Value the column is fixed to that value; together with a semicolon separated list the column’s list of values is reduced to the allowed values.
• Hidden – keeps the column in the generated Excel file but hides it from the user. The column still pre-fills its Default Value and drives dependent lists of values and validations, which is useful when the value is already determined by the choice of template. Hidden columns are placed at the right end of the sheet.
• Default Value – pre-fills the column in the generated Excel file, so the value is entered into every new row. A semicolon separated list, for example ‘Create;Update’, defines a set of allowed values, of which the first one is used as the default.

Pivot table

The Filters, Columns, Rows and Values fields are used to create and deliver the data in pivot table format with full drill down to details. The data must be selected to print on the report in order to be used in the Pivot table. The pivot table section of the template screen is divided into 4 sections:

• Filters – these are the columns you will use to filter the data. Filters are things like GL account, Department, Subaccount, Customer, Vendor, Project or Product, to name a few popular choices.
• Columns – this will define which data should appear in separate columns. Period, Project, Subaccount, to name a few popular choices.
• Rows – this will define the data summary level for each row in the pivot table.
• Values – this will define the numeric data that will be summarized to provide the totals for the level defined in the Row columns.
• Aggr. – for the information selected in the “values” section, how to aggregate the data (the choices are average, count, min, max, sum).

Sample pivot table output:

Excel upload

The Excel template upload functionality allows creation of additional sheets with graphs, pie charts, macros or any other Excel functionality. To use this feature, execute the following steps:

• Run a report and open the output
• Create sheets with additional pivots, graphs and pie charts or include macros. Place the data sheet as the first sheet in the workbook.

• Upload the saved Excel file including additional sheets or macros to the template

• Run the report again with parameters as required and the output is generated with additional sheets and refreshed with new data

Datasheet

The excel template upload functionality also allows custom template definitions to the datasheet. The excel functions, pictures, screenshots, charts, header footer texts, comments, notes and freeze panes can be defined in the datasheet. Freeze panes can also be defined without uploading an Excel template file, by ticking the Freeze flag on the relevant template column. To use this feature, execute the following steps :

• Run a report and open the output
• Modify the datasheet based on the required template. Examples provided below
  • Datasheet template having
    1. Pictures like company logo,
    2. Modified cell format like font, cell fill color, etc,
    3. Excel functions like Subtotal, Sum, SumIf, etc,
    4. Additional rows added above the data column header,
    5. Freeze pane applied

• • Datasheet template having
    1. Line chart,
    2. Pictures like company logo,
    3. Modified cell format like font, cell fill color, etc,
    4. Excel functions like Subtotal, Sum, SumIf, etc,
    5. Additional rows added above the data column header,
    6. Freeze pane applied

• Upload the saved Excel file including modifications to the datasheets.
• Run the report again with parameters as required. The output is generated with the uploaded datasheet template having refreshed with new data.

Template owner

Every template has an Owner, shown next to the template name. The owner is either the user who created the template, or a responsibility. Only the owner can change a template’s content — its column selection, layout, sharing and default values. Two exceptions apply: users whose Blitz Report Template Access profile option is set to ‘Super User’ can change any template, and developers can always do so.

If a template belongs to someone else, its fields are shown but cannot be changed. To adapt such a template, use Actions > Copy Template to take your own copy: you become the owner of the copy and can change it freely, while the original stays untouched. This is the normal route for a user who wants a variation of a shared template.

Ownership can also be handed over. A developer can set the Owner of a template to another user, or to a responsibility, in which case every user holding that responsibility can maintain the template together. This is how a report developer gives a team the ability to look after the column selection of a template that the developer built. What the new owner may not change are the template’s restrictions — see Template security in the developer guide.

Template sharing

Templates can be shared across the following levels:

• • Site: all users in the system
  • Responsibility: users having the responsibility

Sharing gives other users access to run a template, but not to modify it. To let a group of users maintain a template together, a responsibility can be set as the template owner instead, see the Blitz Report Template Access profile option.

Restricted templates

A shared template can additionally be marked with the Restrict flag for a responsibility or an individual user. Users who are restricted for a report can only see and run the restricted templates of that report: the default layout and all other templates are no longer offered, so the report is always run with the controlled column layout and parameter values. If more than one restricted template is shared with a user, all of them remain available for selection.

This is useful where a report or upload should only ever be used in a particular way, for example an upload template that is restricted to updating existing records.

Excluded parameters

You can exclude certain parameters for a template. When the template is selected on the Run window, the excluded parameters are not displayed. The followings screenshots provide an example:

2.6 Scheduling a report

Blitz Reports can be scheduled as background processes to run at a certain date or time. This feature can be used to run time-consuming reports during non-office hours, or to automatically distribute files by email or place them into a folder on the file system. There is a training video available on scheduling and output file distribution.

The easiest way to schedule a report is to run the Blitz Report first, and to then copy the submitted concurrent request and schedule it:

• • 1. Run a report from the Blitz Report run window with parameter restrictions as required
    2. Navigate to the menu > view > requests > submit a new request > single request > Copy > Find > select the concurrent request submitted in step 1
    3. Update schedule and delivery options as required and re-submit the request

Alternatively, you can submit a new ‘Blitz Report’ concurrent request, populating its parameters manually. Select the required report name from the LOV and populate parameters 1 to 87 with values in exactly the same order as they appear on the Blitz Report run window. For example, if the third parameter is ‘Operating Unit’ with a value of ‘Vision Operations’, then Parameter3 of the concurrent request would need to be populated with this value in order to filter the report data by operating unit.

A multiple values string can be entered by using the keyword (see below).

To schedule the report ‘Customer Sites’ and extract the data as shown in the previous example, concurrent request parameters would need to be entered as follows.

Delivery options and output distribution

Oracle’s delivery options allow sending the report output e.g. as an email attachment, to an FTP location or uploading it to a WebDAV cloud storage.

If a scheduled report does not retrieve any data, Blitz Report does not send an empty output file. In case you also want to send empty output files for scheduled reports, set Blitz Report Suppress Empty File Delivery to ‘No’.

2.7 Saving parameter defaults

The Actions menu of the run screen saves the currently entered parameter values as defaults: ‘Save User Parameter Defaults’ stores them for the current user, and ‘Save Template Parameter Defaults’ stores them for the selected template. The corresponding ‘Clear’ entries remove the saved defaults again.

Template parameter defaults can additionally be marked as Locked, so that they cannot be changed on the run window. This is mainly used for uploads, see locked parameters.

2.8 Copying, exporting and importing templates

Templates can be copied, exported to a file and imported again through the run screen’s Actions menu, for example to move a template to another instance or to create a variant of an existing layout.

3 Excel Add-in

The Blitz Report Excel Add-in runs reports, refreshes data and drills down directly from Microsoft Excel, without opening the Oracle E-Business Suite forms or web user interface. It connects to one or more EBS environments through webservices and respects the same responsibilities, report assignments and data security as all other Blitz Report user interfaces. The server side connectivity is set up during installation, see Configure webservice connectivity (ORDS or ISG) in the Installation Guide.

3.1 Installing the add-in

Download the add-in from the Blitz Report run screen via Actions > Download Blitz Report Add-in. The download is a zip file containing the add-in and an installer script. Extract the zip file, close Excel, and double-click ‘Install Blitz Report Add-in.bat’: the script copies the add-in to your Excel add-ins folder and registers it to load automatically. The next time Excel starts, it shows the Blitz Report ribbon tab.

If the ribbon tab does not appear after restarting Excel, check that the add-in is active under File > Options > Add-ins: select Excel Add-ins in the Manage box, click Go and tick Blitz Report.

3.2 Environments

The add-in can connect to several EBS environments, for example production and test instances. To set them up, run the Blitz Report Add-in Environment Setup report in EBS and open its output file on a PC with the add-in installed: all environment settings from the file are imported automatically. There is no need to enter any connection details manually.

The imported environments can be reviewed via the Environments button, where each environment stores its name, connection URL and settings.

3.3 Logging in

Click Login and select the environment to connect to. Enter your EBS username and password, or use browser based single sign-on if your environment is configured for SSO. After login, select the responsibility to work under. The responsibility can be switched at any time via Choose Responsibility.

After a successful login, the ribbon shows the full set of functions.

After login, the add-in compares its version with the version available on the connected environment and shows a notice when a newer version is available. Download the latest version via Actions > Download Blitz Report Add-in on the Blitz Report form and install it the same way as the first installation.

3.4 Running reports

Click Run Report to open the run screen. Select a category or search for a report by name, then enter the parameter values. The same list of values, validation and parameter dependency logic applies as in the EBS run screen.

List of values fields support wildcard search and multiple value selection, date parameters offer a calendar picker, and the output mode controls where the data goes: ‘Current Sheet’ writes the report data inline on the active sheet as a refreshable result, while ‘New Sheet’ turns the cell into a click-to-run launcher that opens each run on a fresh snapshot sheet. While the report runs, a progress bar shows the elapsed time.

Parameter values can also be taken from worksheet cells. Click the three dots next to a parameter field, or type = into it, then select a cell on the worksheet. The parameter shows a cell reference such as =Parameters!$B$1, and every refresh runs the report with the values currently entered in the referenced cells.

3.5 Refresh and the br_run_report formula

Each report result is anchored by a br_run_report formula in the top left cell of the output range. The formula stores the report name, environment, parameter values and template, which makes the workbook refreshable: the same report can be re-run with the stored parameters at any time.

Refresh re-runs either all reports on the active sheet or in the whole workbook. Saved workbooks open with the last retrieved values, so they can be shared with colleagues: anybody with the add-in and access to the environment can refresh the data, while recipients without the add-in simply see the saved values. Note that drilldown sheets are snapshots of the drilled data and are not refreshed.

3.6 Background and parallel runs

Long running reports do not block Excel. Reports can be sent to the background, and several reports can run in parallel while you continue working in other sheets or workbooks. The progress of all running reports is shown, and each result is written to its target location as soon as it completes.

3.7 Drilldowns

Drilldowns navigate from a summary report to a detail report, for example from account balances to the underlying journal lines. The Drilldowns button opens the setup form, where columns of a parent report are mapped to parameters of a child report. Once configured, the result sheet shows drilldown links, and clicking a link runs the child report for the selected row.

Creating your own drilldowns

As well as mapping columns in the Drilldowns setup form described above, you can build a drilldown by hand on any report result, including a report you have just run yourself. The idea is to run a child report from a cell, pass the current row’s values to its parameters, and have each run open in its own sheet. Because a drilldown is just an ordinary br_run_report formula, once it is created in one cell you can copy it down the whole column.

1. With the parent report already on the sheet, select the cell that will become the drilldown link — here the account value in cell H3 — and click Run Report. In the run screen, choose the child report and template (in this example GL Journals with the Journal Line Detail template) and fill in its parameters. Type fixed values directly, such as Show Attachment Details = No and Balance Type = Actual, and enter the values that should follow the current row as cell references, for example =H3 for Concatenated Segments. Click Insert Function instead of Run so the report is written into the cell as a formula rather than run straight away.

2. The add-in asks where the report output should go. Choose New Sheet – drilldown launcher so that each run opens its results in a fresh sheet, exactly like a built-in drilldown. The cell becomes a click-to-run launcher and its destination is a one-time snapshot rather than a refreshable in-place report, which is what you want when drilling from a single parent row into its own detail report. The Current Sheet option would instead write a normal, refreshable report inline on the active sheet.

3. The add-in writes a br_run_report formula into the cell. It captures everything from the form — the child report and template, the environment and responsibility, the fixed parameter values and the cell references you supplied (here Concatenated Segments = H3) — and shows as a GL Journals hyperlink. You can review or adjust the formula at any time in the formula bar.

4. To turn the single link into a drilldown for the whole report, copy the formula down the column. Drag the fill handle at the bottom-right corner of the formula cell down over all the parent rows. Because the parameter uses a relative reference (H3, H4, H5 and so on), each copied formula automatically points at its own row’s value, so every row gets its own GL Journals link.

5. Double-click any of the drilldown links to run its child report. The add-in runs GL Journals for that row’s account, passing the row’s value as the Concatenated Segments parameter, and shows the usual progress dialog, which can be sent to the background or cancelled.

6. The drilldown output opens in a new sheet — here a GL Journals sheet listing the journal lines for the selected account. Because you chose the New Sheet option, this sheet is a snapshot of the drilled data; to see the latest figures, run the drilldown again from the parent row. You can drill from any row this way, giving each parent record its own detail report on demand.

3.8 Cell lists of values

Any shared Blitz Report list of values can be attached to a worksheet cell for guided data entry, for example when preparing data for an upload. Select a cell and click Create LOV to pick the list from the catalogue. Double-clicking the cell then opens the list of values to select a value. Dependent lists are supported, so a value picked in one cell can filter the list of another. Delete LOV removes the attachment from the active cell.

3.9 Snapshot

Snapshot creates a copy of the workbook with all Blitz Report formulas converted to plain values. Use it to share results with recipients who should see the data exactly as retrieved, without the ability to refresh, or who do not have the add-in or access to the environment.

3.10 Templates

Reports can be run with any of their templates, which control the column layout, formatting and pivot tables of the output. The template is selected on the run screen before running the report, and templates can also be created and edited directly from the add-in, subject to the user’s Blitz Report access level. Where a template has been restricted for the user or their responsibility, only the restricted templates of that report are offered.

3.11 Language

The language for report data and lists of values defaults to Automatic, which uses your EBS session language, and can be set to a specific installed language per environment.

3.12 AI integration

The add-in exposes a set of br_ worksheet functions that allow AI assistants working inside Excel, such as Claude for Excel, to discover environments, reports and parameters and to run Blitz Reports as part of an AI driven analysis. The add-in is also compatible with AI skills that can be used to run Blitz Reports and analyze the results, for example for close readiness checks or duplicate payment analysis. A ready-made library of these skills is available to download from our AI Skills for Blitz Report in Excel blog post.

3.13 About and diagnostics

The About button shows the add-in build date and the Blitz Report version of the connected environment. The Debug flag writes a diagnostic log file, whose location is shown next to the flag, which support may ask for when analyzing an issue. The Confirmation Messages flag shows additional confirmation messages while working with the add-in.

4 Web browser

Blitz Report Web is the browser based user interface for users who work in the Oracle E-Business Suite web applications rather than in Oracle Forms. It is opened through the menu function ‘Blitz Report (Web)’ and offers report execution, templates and Excel file upload.

4.1 Running reports

The Reports page selects reports by Category or by name search, optionally with a Template that defines the column layout or pivot aggregations. The report’s description is shown next to the selection, and the Parameters tab offers the same lists of values and parameter dependencies as the other user interfaces, including a value picker for each list of values parameter. Reports that require an inventory organization show a Choose Org dialog.

The Options tab controls Email delivery, Output Format, Row Limit, Time Limit and further output settings. Run submits the report as a background concurrent request; the Requests tab lists the submitted requests with their phase and status, and View Output opens the finished file.

4.2 Templates

The Templates page creates and edits report templates: it selects and reorders the displayed columns, defines pivot filters, columns, rows and values with their aggregation, and uploads an Excel layout file (.xlsx or .xlsm). Templates can be shared at site, responsibility or user level, parameters can be excluded per template, and a template can be marked as the default. Where a template has been restricted for the user or their responsibility, only the restricted templates of that report are offered.

4.3 Uploading Excel files

The Upload button opens the Upload File page, which submits an Excel file (.xlsx or .xlsm) for processing, for example a filled Blitz Upload workbook or a template layout file.

5 Uploading data

Blitz Uploads create, update and delete Oracle E-Business Suite data from Excel workbooks. Each upload guides data entry with the same lists of values as the corresponding Oracle form and writes the data through standard Oracle APIs, which enforce the same business rules as the form. This chapter describes how to use an existing upload; how to develop new uploads is covered in Upload development in the Developer Guide.

5.1 Upload workflow

Working with an upload always follows the same steps: download the upload’s Excel template, enter or modify the data in the workbook, validate and save the workbook, upload the file, and check the per-row result. The upload workbook carries its own Blitz Upload ribbon tab with the buttons Login, Change Responsibility, Autofill, Validate and Save, and Upload Attachments, and every data row shows its state in the Action, Status and Message columns.

5.2 Downloading the upload template

Uploads are started like reports, from any Blitz Report user interface. The Upload Mode parameter controls what the template is prepared for: ‘Create’ downloads an empty template for entering new records, and ‘Create, Update’ additionally downloads the existing records selected by the other parameters, so they can be modified and uploaded back. Open the downloaded workbook in Excel and enable macros when prompted.

Parameters can be locked by a template. A locked parameter is shown greyed out on the run screen and its value cannot be changed, so the upload always runs with the value defined in the template, for example a fixed Upload Mode so that a template can only be used to update existing records and not to create new ones. A locked value overrides the user’s own saved parameter defaults and it is enforced when the upload is submitted, including from the Excel add-in and through the API, so it cannot be bypassed. Locked values are stored against a template together with its other parameter defaults.

5.3 Entering data

Type new rows, paste them from another file, or modify downloaded rows. The first three columns of every upload sheet, Action, Status and Message, are populated automatically and are never entered manually. Action shows what will happen to each row: Create for newly entered rows, Update for downloaded rows in which a cell was changed, and Delete where the upload supports record deletion. Status and Message carry each row’s validation and processing outcome, for example Valid after a successful validation, or Error together with the reason a value was rejected. Changed cells are tracked automatically so that only modified columns are applied on update.

Required columns must be populated before a row can be processed; their column headers are highlighted in yellow. Rows with missing required values are reported during validation, and the Message column lists the columns that still need to be filled.

Read only columns protect values that cannot be changed on existing records, and their data cells are filled in grey. Their downloaded values cannot be modified, while entering a value on a new row is still possible where the value can be set at creation time. Columns that are derived from other columns, such as an item description, are also read only and are filled in automatically.

The template used to create the workbook can pre-fill columns as well. A column with a default value is populated in every new row, and where the template fixes the value the cell is read only and filled in grey. Where the template defines a set of allowed values, the first value is used as the default and the column’s list of values only offers the allowed values, which keeps the entered data within what the template permits. Panes are frozen at the column marked in the template, so the leading columns stay visible while scrolling to the right.

Many columns show an explanatory comment when hovering over the column header, and technical columns used internally by the upload are hidden at the right end of the sheet.

Columns with a list of values open their picker on double-click. Dependent columns are filtered by the values already entered in the row, for example a subinventory list restricted to the entered organization. The Autofill button fills default values and dependent column values for the entered rows in one call, which saves typing for columns that follow from what is already entered. Date and number columns use the column’s data type and format, and wrong entries are reported during validation.

5.4 Validating the entered data

Log in via the ribbon, then click Validate and Save. This performs a basic validation of the entered rows: it checks that all required columns are populated and runs any additional Excel validations defined for the upload, then saves the workbook. Nothing is written to the database in this step. Each row’s validation outcome is written back to its Status and Message columns, and rows with missing or invalid data show what needs to be corrected.

Correct the reported cells and click Validate and Save again until all rows show Valid.

5.5 Uploading the file

The validated workbook is applied to Oracle EBS by uploading the file: select the upload in Blitz Report, press the Upload button, choose the file and submit it. This starts the upload concurrent program, which processes every row through the upload’s API calls or interface table processing. The full validation against the Oracle business rules happens in this step, going far beyond the basic checks of Validate and Save, and only rows that pass are written to the database. The file does not need to be open in Excel, so a workbook saved earlier or a file prepared while working offline is uploaded the same way.

The result file shows every uploaded row with its Status and Message, for example created documents and rejected rows with the reason a value was not accepted. Rows with errors can be corrected directly in the result file and uploaded again.

5.6 Attachments

For uploads that support attachments, files can be attached to the uploaded records, for example scanned documents to created transactions. Enter the attachment details in the attachment columns, pick the files in the Attachment Content column, and click Upload Attachments. The files are stored against the records in Oracle EBS and the created file ids are written back to the sheet.

5.7 Scheduled uploads as an inbound interface

Besides interactive uploads from Excel, every Blitz Upload can also run unattended as an inbound interface. The Blitz Upload concurrent program can be scheduled with the standard EBS schedule options to pick up files from a server directory and process them automatically, so that other systems or users simply drop their upload files into a folder without logging in to Oracle EBS.

The schedule is defined with the following parameters:

Each run scans the directory for new .xlsm, .xlsx and .csv files and validates and processes them with the same rules as an interactive upload. Values are mapped by column header name, so the files can be workbooks saved from the upload’s Excel template as well as plain .xlsx or .csv files created by another system, as long as their column headers match the upload’s columns.

After processing, each file is renamed in place to show its outcome: the prefix BLITZ_PROCESSED_ is added when processing completed successfully, BLITZ_WARNING_ when it completed with warnings, for example when some records were rejected, and BLITZ_ERROR_ when processing failed. A result file with the prefix BLITZ_RESULT_ is written back to the directory, containing the processed records with their Status and Message columns, so the sending party can check the outcome of every record. Files prefixed BLITZ_ERROR_ are picked up again when the program is scheduled with Reprocess Error Files set to Yes.

6 GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG)

The GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG) Report empowers users to generate comprehensive reports on financial balances while providing detailed insights through drilldown capabilities. This tool allows users to link Excel cells directly to Oracle data via built-in functions, ensuring that data can be refreshed as needed to reflect the most up-to-date information.
Key features include:

1. Balance and Detail Reporting: Generate high-level balance reports and drill down into the details, including journal entries and subledger transactions.
2. Oracle Data Integration: Seamlessly link Excel cells to Oracle data, with the ability to refresh the data for real-time updates.
3. Drilldown Functionality: Access detailed information at various levels, including balances, journal entries, and subledger details.
4. Migration Tools: Converters are available to migrate reports from Oracle FSG, GL Wand, and Spreadsheet Server to this solution.

For a quick demonstration, refer to our YouTube video: https://youtu.be/dsRWXT2bem8

6.1 Accessing Blitz FSG

Running the GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG) report with a blank template

1. Select Report Name GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG).

2. Leave the Template Name blank.

3. The ledger Name is defaulted based on the responsibility. The selected ledger will be defaulted to the output of GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG).

4. Click Run. An empty workbook opens, connected to Oracle, in which you build your financial statement, calculate balances or run account inquiries using the criteria sheet and the Blitz FSG ribbon tools.

5. Build your templates either by converting from legacy tool or by creating a new template using the tools present in Blitz FSG custom ribbons.

Running the GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG) Report for uploaded templates in Blitz Report

1. Select Report Name GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG).
2. Select the previously uploaded Template.
3. The ledger Name is defaulted based on the responsibility. The selected ledger will be defaulted to the output of GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG).
4. Clicking ‘Run’ generates the output with drilldown capabilities to Oracle-linked Excel data.

1. Customize report parameters (e.g., Segment, Company, Period Name) to fit your analysis needs.
2. Update Financial Data Instantly with Blitz FSG’s Refresh Tools.

Running the GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG) Report for templates stored locally

The template can be built and stored locally on your computer or saved to a shared drive for team access. Locate and open the template file.

1. Click on Login button
2. On the Authentication form:
   • Enter the User Name and Password
3. Click on Submit

If the Single Sign On is enabled in the organization and the profile ‘Blitz Report SSO Enabled’ is set to ‘Yes’ then the connection is established by Clicking on Login Button.

Connecting with Single Sign-On

If your organisation uses Single Sign-On and the profile Blitz Report SSO Enabled is set to Yes, no user name and password are entered in Excel. Instead:

1. Click Login. Blitz FSG opens your default browser at the Oracle EBS login page.

2. Sign in through your usual Single Sign-On provider in the browser.

3. Return to Excel and click Connect. This button replaces Login for the duration of the browser sign-in, and completes the connection using the session you have just established.

Connection status and version indicator

The label of the first ribbon group shows which Oracle instance the workbook is connected to, for example Database Name: PROD. Two indicators can be appended to it:

• (Download the latest version!) — the workbook was produced by an older version of the GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG) report than the one now installed on the server. Run the report again to obtain a current workbook.
• (Invalid License) — the Blitz Report licence on the connected instance is missing or expired, or the user is not covered by it. Contact your Blitz Report administrator.

Exit

Click ‘Exit’ to end the connection between Oracle EBS and the Excel workbook template.

6.2 Responsibility, Ledger and Segment Selector

Once logged in, the Ledger and Segment dropdown menus will populate based on your assigned responsibilities. The responsibility is defaulted with the responsibility from which the report was run.

Select Responsibility

The list displays all responsibilities you have access to in Oracle, including those with Account Inquiry functionality. By default, the system selects the responsibility from which the report was launched.

You can:

• Select a different responsibility using the checkboxes
• Choose all responsibilities by clicking the ‘Select All’ button

After making your selection, click OK to load the corresponding ledgers in the dropdown. Your selection will be saved and automatically set as the default for future use.

Ledger

The Ledger dropdown dynamically displays available ledgers according to your access permissions:

1. Single Responsibility Access: Shows only ledgers assigned to your current responsibility
2. Multiple Responsibilities: Lists all ledgers from all responsibilities you’ve selected
3. Oracle R12 Environment: If selected responsibility’s data access set contains multiple ledgers, all will appear.

Segment

The dropdown list displays all available segments for the currently selected ledger. Each segment is labeled with its corresponding segment number in parentheses (e.g., ‘Company (1)’). It also contains the special ‘Period’ value for period name discovery.

6.3 Discover

The Discover Tools enable you to:

• Extract segment information directly from Oracle
• Automatically populate Excel cells with the retrieved data

Key Functionality:

Discover

This feature enables you to:

• Populate Excel spreadsheets directly with chart of accounts values and period name.
• Streamline report building and segment value review processes

Key Features:

• Automatic population of adjacent cells (down or to the right)
• Configurable hierarchy discovery:
  • Child values only
  • Parent values only
    (Adjust via Discover Level setting check the box to decide the level)

Discover Functionality Best Practices:

1. Segment Matching
   Ensure the segment selected in the Ledger and Segment Selector matches the segment in your active Excel cell.
2. Parent Values Identification
   • Parent values appear in bold font
   • Regular font indicates child values

3. Batch Discovery. To discover multiple values simultaneously:
   • Highlight a range of cells
   • Click any discover button

4. Complete Value Discovery. For all available values:
   • Use Discover Down All (vertical)
   • Or Discover Right All (horizontal)

5. Text Format Requirement. All segment values must be in text format to preserve formatting:
   • Option 1: Pre-format cells as Text (Number Format > Text)
   • Option 2: Prefix values with an apostrophe (‘)
   • Example: For “001”, enter ‘001
   • Note: Without this, leading zeros will be lost and discovery may fail

Expand

To expand to child segment values:

1. Select a cell containing a parent segment (e.g., ‘Account(3)’) value
   • Ensure adjacent columns contain related Blitz FSG functions (segment description, balance, etc.)
2. Click ‘Expand > Down’ to reveal all child values in the hierarchy”

When expanded, the child values will be inserted while automatically copying all adjacent formulas and content to the new rows.

Multi-Row Expand Option
You can select multiple rows before executing an Expand operation. Blitz FSG will automatically expand each selected row individually.

Hierarchy Down All
Expands the selected parent value through every level of its hierarchy in one action, inserting a row for each descendant value. Adjacent formulas and content are copied to the new rows in the same way as a single-level Expand.

Undo

Clicking Undo Expand removes the results of the most recent Expand operation.

• Supports multiple undo levels.
• Repeated clicks will step backward through previous Expand results.

Explode

The Explode feature duplicates the current worksheet for each child value of your selection. Your selection can be:

• Parent segment value
• Segment Value range
• Child segment Value
• Any combination of these

1. Select a cell containing a segment value (e.g., a parent account)
2. Choose the corresponding segment from the list (e.g., “Department”)
3. On Click of Explode button, Blitz FSG will –
   • Retrieve all child values from Oracle
   • And create a new worksheet for each child value in the current workbook

6.4 List of Values

The ‘Create’ feature converts a cell into a List of Values (LOV) cell, marked by a note prefixed with the LOV name (e.g., ‘Amount Type LOV’, ‘Company (1) LOV’).

To access the values:

1. Double-click the cell, or
2. Select the cell and click ‘Show’ from List of Values on the ribbon.

The LOV will display values specific to the data type assigned to that LOV cell.

There are 3 different types of List of Values:

Single Value

1. Refine selections using the search field or select from the list.
2. Click OK to apply selections to the cell.

Multiple Value

1. Select values individually or use Add Range for bulk inclusion.
2. Exclude specific entries with Add Exclude.
3. Refine selections using the search field.
4. Click OK to apply selections to the cell.

Segment Values

The Segment List of Values (LOV) enables selecting account ranges or individual values. It supports hierarchical navigation, multi-selection, and exclusions.

1. You could select a hierarchy (e.g., Cash and Short Term Equivalents) to narrow the account list.
2. Select values individually or use Add Range for bulk inclusion.
3. Exclude specific entries with Add Exclude.
4. Refine selections using the search field.
5. Click OK to apply selections to the cell.

Adding Range in Multiple Values and Segment List of Values

1. First select multiple values from the list, then click ‘Add Range’ to form your chosen value range.

2. First select multiple values from the list, then click ‘Add Range’ to form your chosen value range.

3. Select and ‘Add’ the from value, then the to value, click on selected value and finally click on ‘Add Range’ to form your chosen value range.

4. Select and ‘Add Exclude’ the from value, then the to value, click on selected value and finally click on ‘Add Range’ to form your chosen value range.

Delete List of Values

To delete the list of values from the cell then you can click on ‘Delete’ from List of Values on the ribbon.

6.5 Insert Functions

Blitz FSG provides a suite of custom Excel functions that enable dynamic data extraction from Oracle. To use these functions click on dedicated function button like ‘Balance’ or select one from the ‘Functions’ dropdown menu.

Using the Function Form

1. Parameter Selection
   • Choose values from list of values, which are dynamically populated with:
   • Valid options for each parameter pulled directly from Oracle.
   • Cell Referencing
   • Click the Link button to bind a parameter to an Excel cell.
   • For ranges: Press F4 to toggle between absolute/relative referencing (standard Excel behavior).
   • The field highlighted yellow are required parameters.
   • Range: Defined with a hyphen (-).
     Example: 1110-1150
   • Exclusion: Prefix with a tilde (~). Applies to single values or
     Examples:
     • Single: ~1113034
     • Range: ~1110-1120
   • Multiple Values on the cells: Separated by semicolons (;).
   • If you want to choose all the values you could choose to keep the parameter as blank, this is same as passing ‘%’

Balance

As the cornerstone of Blitz FSG, the Balance function retrieves General Ledger balances—either individually or aggregated—based on your specified parameters. To begin, click the Balance button on the Blitz FSG toolbar to open the function form.

Formula : br_balance(“Dec-25″,”PTD”,”USD”,”T”,”A”,,,,”Net”,”1″,,,”01″,,$A3,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,)

Parameters:

Segment Description

Returns the description and corresponding value for the specified segment within the applicable  ledger context.

Formula :  br_segment_description(“Account (3)”,A3,)

Parameters:

Period Offset

Returns the period name located a specified number of periods before (negative values) or after (positive values) a reference point.

Formula : br_period_offset(“Dec-25″,”2″,,”Exclude”,)

Parameters:

Period by Date

Returns the accounting period name corresponding to the specified date.

Options:

• Ledger-specific: Returns period names according to the selected ledger’s calendar
• Period offset: Retrieve future or past periods by specifying a positive/negative offset value

Formula : br_period_from_date(“23-Apr-2025″,,”2”)

Parameters:

Period Name

Returns the accounting period name for a specified year and period number.

Formula : br_period_name(“2025″,”3″,,”2″,”Exclude”)

Parameters:

Daily Rate

Returns the daily currency conversion rate for the selected currencies, date and conversion type.

Formula : br_daily_rate(“USD”,”EUR”,”Corporate”,”23-Apr-2025″)

Parameters:

Date Offset

Shifts a date, a date range, or a list of dates by a given number of days. It is most often used with the journal effective date amount types (JED, JEDP, JEDU), where the period parameter of the Balance function holds dates rather than period names.
Formula : br_date_offset(“01/04/2025-30/04/2025″,”-1″,”All”)

Parameters:

Intersect

Returns the values that two or more segment expressions have in common. It has no button of its own, but you will meet it in templates produced by the Converter: where an Oracle FSG column set overrides a segment that the row set also restricts, the converted template combines the two restrictions with this function, so that the balance honours both.

Formula : br_intersect(“1100-1300″,”1200-1500”)

The example returns 1200-1300.

Parameters:

If the expressions have no values in common, the function returns an empty result and the balance that references it returns no data.

6.6 Refresh

The refresh buttons provide granular control over which cells are updated.

Refreshing Data with Pending Calculations

To refresh only cells requiring recalculation (marked as “(pending)”):

1. Click the Pending refresh button.

Refreshing a Sheet

To calculate an entire sheet:

1. Select the desired sheet
2. Click the Sheet refresh button

Refreshing Specific Ranges

To calculate selected cells:

1. Highlight your target range
   • For multiple ranges: Hold Ctrl while selecting (standard Excel behavior)
2. Click the Range refresh button

Refreshing the Entire Workbook

To refresh all calculations in the workbook:

1. Click the Workbook refresh button

6.7 Drilldown

In Blitz FSG, drilldown data is extracted through Blitz Reports such as GL Journals (Drilldown), GL Balances (Drilldown) and GL Account Analysis (Drilldown). Each of these reports has templates that define which columns are displayed, their sequence, and sorting order. Users can create custom templates to add, remove, sort, or reorder columns as needed. Although the report is designed to be comprehensive and cover all possible data columns, users with developer access can create a custom copy of the drilldown reports to add any missing columns if required.

Drill Criteria

There are two types of drill criteria sheets available:

Balance Drill Criteria
The Balance Criteria Sheet enables rapid extraction of detailed general ledger balances that meet specific criteria. This is particularly useful when working with large volumes of GL data, as it returns values faster than multiple individual Get Balance formulas.

How to Use:

1. Enter Extraction Parameters
   • Criteria mirror the Get Balance function parameters and operate identically.
   • Manually type values or select from a list by double-clicking the target cell.

2. Define Your Criteria
   • Period: Enter the fiscal period.
   • Amount Type:
     • YTD: Extracts all journal lines for the year (drill-down).
     • QTD: Extracts journals for the quarter (drill-down).
   • Currency Code: Enter the currency code.
   • Balance Type:
     • E (Entered) or T (Translated); use Total for Oracle R12.
     • A (Actual), B (Budget), or E (Encumbrance).

• • For B/E, specify the Budget Name or Encumbrance Type.
    • Segment Values: Populate as needed.
    • Ledger: Adjust if required.
    • Journal Source/Category: Optional filter to narrow results.

3. Execute
   • Click Execute Drilldown to run the report.
   • From there, you can further drill down into:
   • Individual journals
   • Related subledger entries
   • Journal attachments

Journal Extract Drill Criteria
The Journal Extract Drill Criteria Sheet enables users to extract journal entries based on specified criteria.

How to Use:

1. Enter Extraction Parameters
   • Manually type values or select from a list by double-clicking the field (where applicable).
   • Single values supported for parameters like Batch and Journal Name.
   • Ranges/lists are supported for journal parameters like Source, Category, Budget Name and Encumbrance.
   • Date Parameters like Date Created / Posted Date: Dates are treated as inclusive (e.g., 01-JAN-2024 includes all entries up to 23:59:59 on that day). Time components are ignored.
   • Created By: Enter a valid Oracle username.

2. Execute
   • Click Execute Drilldown button to run the report.
   • From there, you can further drilldown into:
     • Associated subledger entries
     • Journal attachments

Next Level Drilldown

To drill down to Balance, Journal, or Subledger data from the balance sheet:

1. Single selection:
   • Select one balance
   • Choose Next Level Drilldown > [desired option]

2. Multiple selections:
   • Select multiple balances
   • Click Next Level Drilldown > [desired option]

To drill down further for multiple rows on the Balance/Journal Drilldown sheet:

1. Select the desired cells.
2. Right-click and choose “Journal Drilldown” from the context menu.

Select a Next-Level Drilldown Option from the Journal Drilldown Sheet:

1. Subledger
2. Journal Attachment
3. Full Journal

• For a single-cell drilldown: Click the ‘Execute Drilldown’ hyperlink.
• For multiple-cell drilldown: Select the desired cells, right-click, and choose the next-level drilldown option.

Drill down to transaction details and access the relevant Oracle EBS form for deeper analysis.

Till Journal and Till Subledger

Balance, Journal and Subledger are consecutive levels, so reaching subledger detail from a balance normally means drilling down two or three times, one level at a time. Two options on the Next Level menu run the whole chain in a single action:

• Till Journal — from a selected balance, produces the balance drilldown and then the journal drilldown
• Till Subledger — from a selected balance, produces the balance drilldown, the journal drilldown and then the subledger drilldown

Every level is produced, each on its own sheet in the same workbook, so you keep the full audit trail from the balance down to the transaction rather than only the final level. Both options accept a multiple-cell selection, so several balances can be taken down together.

Both are context sensitive: used on a balance formula they start from the balance, and used on a sheet that is already the result of a drilldown they continue from that level.

Drilldown options

Drilldown Options controls which report and template each drilldown level uses, where the result is placed, and what a double-click on a balance does. In earlier versions this button was labelled Layout Options.

Report and template per drilldown level

The report used for each level is shown but cannot be changed by a normal user: it is an organisation-wide setting that an administrator maintains through the profiles below. The template beside it is yours to choose, and is remembered for your user.

The button beside each template opens the template window directly, so a drilldown template can be created or adjusted without leaving Excel. Users can create custom templates to add, remove, sort, or reorder columns as needed.

Where the drilldown opens

• Drilldown Balance to [Same|New] workbook — whether drilldown results are written into the current workbook or a separate one. A drilldown to a new workbook always starts on a fresh sheet.
• Balance drilldown to [Same|New] sheet — for drilldowns started from a balance formula. Default: New.
• Next level drilldown to [Same|New] sheet — for drilldowns started from a cell on a journal or subledger sheet. Default: Same, so that repeated drilling reuses one sheet instead of leaving a trail of numbered tabs.
• Criteria drilldown to [Same|New] sheet — for drilldowns started from a criteria sheet. Default: Same, and overridable for a single run by the Drilldown to sheet cell on the criteria sheet itself.

Other options

• Double-click on a balance cell — either runs the drilldown, or opens the Balance function form.
• View Transaction responsibility — the responsibility used to open the Oracle EBS transaction form. This can be the responsibility the report was run from, or any GL responsibility with subledger drilldown access.

Click Save to keep your selections.

Creating a Custom Drilldown Template

The drilldown reports (GL Journals (Drilldown), GL Balances (Drilldown) and GL Account Analysis (Drilldown)) use templates to define which columns are displayed, their sequence, and sorting preferences. Users can create custom templates to tailor the drilldown view to their specific needs.
To create a new drilldown template:

1. Navigate to the FSG drilldown report – GL Journals (Drilldown), GL Balances (Drilldown), GL Account Analysis (Drilldown) or custom drilldown report.
2. Create a new or copy existing template

The template window allows you to configure the following elements:
Name – Enter a descriptive name for your template
Description – Optional description of the template’s purpose
Available Columns – List of columns available but not currently displayed
Displayed Columns – Columns included in the drilldown output
Use the arrow buttons to move columns between “Available” and “Displayed” lists, and to change display order. You can use Ctrl and Shift keys for multi-select.
Sort Order – Ascending or descending sort for each column
Sort Priority – Determines sort precedence when multiple columns are sorted

For detailed information on all template options including pivot tables and Excel uploads, refer to 2.5 Templates

6.8 Tools

Under Blitz FSG Tools you can:

Snapshot

Use the Snapshot tool to convert your Blitz FSG report into static values.

This feature:

• • Removes all Blitz FSG functions from the workbook, replacing them with the returned values.
  • Preserves all other Excel formulas and formatting (only Blitz FSG functions are affected).
  • Functions similarly to Excel’s Paste Values, but targets Blitz FSG content exclusively.

Ideal for:

• • Finalizing reports for distribution.
  • Reducing file size or improving performance.
  • Archiving data without live Oracle connections.

Hide Zeros

Hide Zeros allows you to hide rows in a report that contain only zero values. This feature is especially useful for streamlining reports with many empty rows—such as those with no balances in a given period. With just one click, you can instantly remove all zero-value rows, improving readability and presentation.

Unhide Zeros

This will show the rows previously hidden by the Hide Zeros feature.

Comma to Semicolon

Blitz FSG separates list entries with a semicolon, while values copied from another system, from a spreadsheet or from an e-mail are usually separated by commas. Select the cells and click Comma to Semicolon to replace every comma with a semicolon, so that the values are accepted as a list by the Balance function and by the criteria sheets.

Cells containing formulas are left untouched, so the tool is safe to run over a whole column.

6.9 Converter

The Blitz FSG Converter allows you to import Financial Statement Generator (FSG) report definitions from Oracle FSG, as well as third-party tools like GL Wand and Spreadsheet Server.

Oracle FSG

The Oracle FSG converter reads a Financial Statement Generator report definition — its row set, column set and content set — and reproduces it as a Blitz FSG template with live balance formulas.

1. Click Converter > Oracle FSG. The Oracle FSG Batch Converter opens and lists the FSG reports defined in Oracle.

2. Find the reports you want. Type in the search box to narrow the list; the status line shows how many of the total match. For each report the list also shows when it was last run, when it was last updated and how often it has been run, which helps to identify the definitions that are still in use.

3. Tick each report to convert. The order in which you tick them is kept as a sequence number, and the reports are converted in that order, each onto its own worksheet. Selections made while a search filter is active are preserved when the filter changes.

4. Click Convert.

What the converter produces

The converted worksheet reproduces the Oracle definition rather than a skeleton of it:

• Account assignments are converted range by range. Each assignment range keeps its own combination of segment restrictions, together with its sign and its Debit, Credit or Net setting. Ranges are never merged across segments, so a row that Oracle restricts to particular pairings returns the same amount in Blitz FSG.
• The segment values are expanded automatically. A range whose segment display is set to Expand produces one detail row per segment value, with the value’s description alongside it. A range set to Both produces those detail rows and a total row for the range. Rows that Oracle totals without displaying are shown as value rows under a heading, so that the sheet reveals what the axis is made of. This expansion used to be manual work after every conversion — on a large statement, well over a thousand rows — and is now done for you.
• Row set calculations are converted. Calculations that reference a sequence range or a row name become Excel formulas over the corresponding rows, including where an expanded range occupies many rows, and calculations built on other calculations recalculate in the right order.
• Column set overrides are applied. Where a column overrides a segment that the row also restricts, the two restrictions are combined with the Intersect function, and a column level Debit or Credit setting takes precedence over the row’s.

Known limitations

• A segment set to Expand but left unrestricted (%) is not expanded; the row is produced as a single value row under its heading.
• Where a single range sets more than one segment to Expand, only the first is expanded. Totals remain correct, but the grouping is less detailed than Oracle’s.

In both cases you can select the row and use Expand to add the detail rows yourself.

The tables below show how each part of the Oracle definition maps onto the converted worksheet, so that you can check the result against the original.

1. Row set information mapped between Oracle form and Blitz FSG Excel template

2. Column set information mapped between Oracle form and Blitz FSG Excel template

3. Content set information mapped between Oracle form and Blitz FSG Excel template

The balance formula is prepopulated based on the defined row set and column set.

Row set calculations are converted automatically. The examples below show how the Oracle FSG calculation expressions are interpreted, which is useful when checking the converted formulas against the original definition.

Row.

1. Row 27 Column I = +19+10 -> This indicates the row 27 should have sum of calculations of row identified between sequence 10 to 19.
2. Row 30 Column I = +COGS/TRev -> This indicates the row 27 should divide the value present in the row identified with Row Name COGS with Row Name TRev.
3. Row 31 Column I = +TRev+COGS -> This indicates the row 27 should add the value present in the row identified with Row Name COGS with Row Name TRev.
4. Row 37 Column I = 27+22 -> This indicates the row 37 should have sum of calculations of row identified between sequence 22 to 27.
5. Row 46 Column I = 98+29 -> This indicates the row 46 should add row identified by sequence 98 and 29.
6. Row 47 Column I = +COGS+T-OE+T-Employee Exp -> This indicates the row 47 should add row identified by Row Name COGS, T-OE  and T-Employee Exp.
7. Row 48 Column I = +TRev+TExp -> This indicates the row 48 should add row identified by Row Name TRev and TExp.
8. Row 49 Column I = OpenM/TExp -> This indicates the row 49 should divide the value present in the row identified with Row Name OpenM with Row Name TExp.

After checking the converted sheet against the supporting information from Oracle FSG’s Row Set, Column Set, and Content Set, delete any temporary rows and columns that were added solely for reference or template construction.

Complete any remaining modifications, then finalize your templates for future use.

Upload the migrated template to make it available for later use.

1. Open Template screen.
2. Open the Excel Upload tab.
3. Click Upload.
4. Browse and select the migrated template file.
5. The template can also be shared to grant user access.

GL Wand & Spreadsheet Server

Open the workbook which has the legacy template and follow the below:

1. Right Click on Sheet Name and click ‘Select All Sheets’ in the legacy template.
2. Right Click on Sheet Name and click ‘Move or Copy…’
3. Check the box ‘Create a copy’
4. Select the Blitz FSG Workbook in the ‘To book’ list.
5. Click on ‘OK’ button to copy the file from legacy to Blitz FSG Template.

After copying the legacy sheets into GL Financial Statement and Drilldown (FSG) workbook in Blitz FSG:

1. Go to the Converter.
2. Select the source legacy tool (GL Wand, Spreadsheet Server) to start the migration.

7 Supply Chain Hub

Supply Chain Hub is a planning workbench for Oracle EBS that brings item information, supply and demand, planning results and planning actions together in one searchable form. It works with either standard MRP or Advanced Supply Chain Planning (ASCP) as the planning source and is included in the Blitz Report installation package; the setup is described in the Supply Chain Hub setup chapter of the Installation Guide.

Background reading: Oracle Supply Chain Hub that takes simplicity to another level and Getting all horizontal with ASCP planning.

7.1 Search

The Search tab finds items across inventory organizations, including full text search over item information. The matching items are shown in the Items grid.

7.2 Items

The Items tab lists the matching items with their attributes in a grid. Additional item descriptive flexfield columns can be added to the grid, see Update item DFF columns in items grid in the Installation Guide.

7.3 Supply/Demand

The Supply/Demand tab shows the supply and demand records of the selected item with pegging information, including cross organization fulfillment.

7.4 Plan Actions

The Plan Actions tab lists the planning recommendations and exception messages for the selected items, and planned orders can be released directly from the grid. The prerequisites for order release are described in Planned order release requirements in the Installation Guide.

7.5 Details

The Details tab shows further information for the selected item, for example planning attributes such as the safety stock.

7.6 Forecast

The Forecast tab shows the forecast records for the selected item.

7.7 Drilldowns to Oracle EBS forms

Records in the grids drill down into the corresponding standard Oracle EBS forms, for example from a discrete job supply record into the Discrete Jobs form, so that follow-up actions can be taken directly in Oracle EBS.

7.8 Release Transactions

The Release Transaction form is used to action the Planning Recommendations. It is accessed from either the Supply/Demand Tab or the Plan Actions Tab by selecting the planning recommendations to be actioned and then selecting the right click menu option – Release Planned Order. Supported actions are Release (Planned Orders), Reschedule In, Reschedule Out, Cancel (Purchase Requisitions, Purchase Orders and Work Orders).