Quick Hit: XML Publisher for PeopleSoft

A quick reminder about something useful that many people don’t realize even exists.

There is a nice reporting tool in PeopleSoft which is seldom used, or at very least certainly not used enough.  That tool is PeopleSoft XML Publisher.

This is a user-friendly tool that can generate reports quickly and efficiently with very nice graphic output.  If you typically use Crystal, you can learn XML Publisher in a matter of hours.  I was able to teach myself the basics in just a couple hours with only a little help from PeopleBooks.  It’s a great supplement to your PeopleSoft systems for business intelligence efforts.

XML publisher, like Crystal, utilizes PeopleSoft Query as the data source. Once the query is generated, you can save the data structure as XML. Once you have the XML data source, you then use Microsoft Word as the reporting template and simply pull in the correct data fields and organize the contents, summarize data and add appropriate charts and graphs. Much of the formatting uses native Microsoft Word tools that most people are familiar with. Once this template is complete, you have some minimal setup in PeopleSoft in order to generate the XML reports and provide the ability to schedule and distribute them.

So.

Keeping in mind I was able to generate these XML reports in a couple hours with having never used the tool, here is a sample XML Publisher-generated Maintenance Management report and a sample Crystal report. Both of these reports use the same query in PeopleSoft with the same set of sample data.

Crystal Reports

XML Publisher

Not bad, huh?  Most people don’t know they have a tool like this on hand, and that’s a shame, because it’s more powerful (and simple) than you  might expect.

Want more information about XML Publisher?  Here’s all you need and more in the form of a tutorial.

Questions?  E-mail me and I’ll be happy to help clear up any concerns you may have.

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MIPRO Consulting is a nationally-recognized consulting firm specializing in PeopleSoft Enterprise (particularly Enterprise Asset Management), Workday and Business Intelligence. You’re reading MIPRO Unfiltered, its blog. If you’d like to contact MIPRO, email is a great place to start, or you can easily jump over to its main website. If you’d like to see what MIPRO offers via Twitter or Facebook, we’d love to have you.

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