Previewing a document

For documents with large amounts of data, you can generate a document from the Launcher and Document Studio applications with only a subset of the data to decrease generation time.

About this task

In the Launcher or Document Studio, click Publish > Generate Document.
The subset of data that is included in the preview is the first ten data entries by default. You can change this number in the Engine Preferences:
  1. Click Window > Preferences > RPE > Engine preferences.
  2. In the Preview query results limit, enter the number of data entries to include in the preview.

Procedure

  1. In the Launcher or Document Studio, click Document Specification > Preview.
  2. Select one of these options:
    • Preview icon Preview Document: The preview is generated immediately without requirement any of the additional selections that are outlined in this task. Only a subset of the data displays in the output.
    • Configure and preview icon Configure and Preview Document: A configuration wizard opens to allow you to make additional selections for the preview before it is generated. Continue through the remaining steps in this task.
  3. Review the existing details for each data source in the document specification and click Next.
  4. For each data source:
    1. From the drop-down menu, select one of the following options:
      • From local or remote file: To select a local or remote data source, click Browse to select a file or enter a URL to the data source
      • From Configuration Layer: To select a value from the configuration metadata you entered for the data source in your template
      • Using data source labels from the central library: To select a data source stored in the Central Management component
    2. Select a value for the configuration.
    3. If there are additional configuration options for your data source, click Configure to enter them. For example, if your data source is Rational® DOORS®, click Configure to enter the connection details.
    4. Click Next
  5. For each variable:
    1. From the drop-down menu, select one of the following options:
      • Manual configuration: To enter a value only for this document generation to be used in place of the variable
      • From Configuration Layer: To select a value from the configuration metadata you entered for the variable in your template
      • Using variable values from the central library: To select a variable stored in the Central Management component
    2. Enter or select a value for the configuration.
    3. Click Next.
  6. In the Configure Document Output Formats window, add or remove output types with the arrows.
  7. Optional: If the document must be saved, enter a location and filename for the output. If the name and location for the output is not specified, the file is generated in the temporary location. Click Next.
  8. In the Configure the style options for document output formats window, select each output format and configure the options for each.
  9. Verify that the template and output information in the summary window is correct.
  10. Optional: To enter additional metadata or configure other document properties that are not included in the wizard, click Edit advanced properties.
  11. Select which action to take when you click Finish:
    • Run the document generation: Generates the output types you specified.
    • Run the document generation and close RPE: Generates the output types you specified and closes the Rational Publishing Engine application after you exit the Results window.
    • Close this wizard and open the RPE client: Opens the document specification with the details you entered in the Launcher application.
  12. Click Finish.
    Tip: If you are generating the document remotely, you can close the Document Studio or Launcher application before the document generation completes without interrupting the generation process. If you are generating the document locally, do not close the Document Studio or Launcher application until the document generation completes.

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