Rep2excel is tool that can convert oracle reports in to native Microsoft excel format. The Win32-Rep2excel support CGI interface, and then customer deploy it in cgi-bin folder of Apache server. The Rep2excel can be called by other computers via browser, and return the excel file.

HTTP 500 Error

Some customers report problem when Rep2excel converts large oracle report file. In the browser, the end users see the http 500 error page:

Internal Server Error

The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.

Please contact the server administrator, user@domain.com and inform them of the time the error occurred, and anything you might have done that may have caused the error.

More information about this error may be available in the server error log.

The administrator of apache check the error log, it shows message similar to:

[Tue Sep 08 16:19:53 2015] [error] [client 172.27.67.113] Premature end of script headers: Rep2excel.exe, referer: http://server-name/cgi-bin/rep2excel.exe?job=getwebpage&pagename=index

Troubleshooting

First I suggest the users run Rep2excel by command line, and convert the same oracle report file. If the excel file is generated without error, and it takes more than 5 minutes to generate the excel file, you are better off configuring the TimeOut directive in httpd.conf of Apache server.

TimeOut Directive

The TimeOut directive defines the length of time Apache will wait for I/O in various circumstances:

1. When reading data from the client, the length of time to wait for a TCP packet to arrive if the read buffer is empty.
2. When writing data to the client, the length of time to wait for an acknowledgement of a packet if the send buffer is full.
3. In mod_cgi, the length of time to wait for output from a CGI script.

Solutions

1. Edit httpd.conf, the file is available in conf folder, for example: C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\conf
2. Add timeout=1500 to httpd.conf under server or virtual host context. 1500 means 25 minutes, please increase it as per your needs.
3. Save httpd.conf and restart Apache.

Other solution

The java edition of Rep2excel runs 5-10 times faster than Win32-Rep2excel. You can upgrade to java-Rep2excel in case your oracle report file is very large, or you want to save time.

The java-Rep2excel works on Windows, Linux and Unix.

Perhaps you are using web-based oracle reports. Generally speaking, you will call Oracle Reports Server from your Web-based Oracle Forms or other application, the oracle form (or your application) will open the http link, then the default browser of client computer will open the link, and the report output is displayed in browser. The http link looks similar to:

• http://server-name:7777/dev60cgi/rwcgi60?….
• http://server-name/reports/rwservlet/getjobid….

As RepExpert is professional printing tool for oracle reports. So you are better off using RepExpert as default viewer/printer of Oracle Report output.

The RepExpert can be launched by web-based forms and web pages.

How it works

The RepExpert contains an add-on for IE named RepExpert IEHelper, you can see this add-on in IE.

Repexpert IEHelper add-on will monitor the navigation activity of IE (Internet Explorer), and analyze the URL and determine whether the URL is link to a file of report output.

If the URL contains all pre-defined keywords, the Repexpert IEHelper add-on will execute RepExpert and it will download the file and open it instead of IE.

Requirements

1. The default browser should be IE (Internet Explorer v6/7/8/9/10/11).
2. The RepExpert IEHelper add-on should be enabled.
3. The URL should contain predefined keywords.

There are 2 ways to configure RepExpert to be launched by URL.

No. 1

1. Execute RepExpert, Click Settings Menu -> URL Keywords Setup -> Group #1/2/3/4

2. Fill in your keywords.

3.Click OK.     

No. 2

The RepExpert contains a built-in keyword: &callrepexpert=yes. So every URL contains this keyword will be used to invoke RepExpert.

So, please just append &callrepexpert=yes to your URL, and then the URL can launch RepExpert.

See the sample below:

declare
v_url varchar2(1000);
begin
v_url:='http://SVR_NAME:7777/dev60cgi/rwcgi60?';
v_url:=v_url||'server=rep_svr&report=test_report.rdf';
v_url:=v_url||'&userid=scott/tiger@test&destype=cache&desformat=HTMLCSS';
v_url:=v_url||'&callrepexpert=yes';
web.show_document(v_url,'_blank');
end;

Troubleshooting

A.

First, please make sure that the IE is default browser of client computer. If you are using Windows 8 or above, please set IE as default browser, other than Microsoft Edge.

B.

If the RepExpert is not launched as you want, you should first check the keyword settings.

The following link contains built-in keyword "&callrepexpert=yes", please click it.

https://www.lv2000.com/examples/getreport.php?file=00001.htm&mime=text/html&callrepexpert=yes

If you want to know whether Repexpert IEHelper works properly, please download the tool from https://www.lv2000.com/products/IeHelperSts.zip

The file is helpful for you diagnosing the error.

How to set Internet Explorer as the default browser:

Internet Explorer is the default browser on Windows computers. If you click a link in another program on your computer, like an email client, it will open in Internet Explorer. If you've set another web browser as the default, you can choose to switch back to Internet Explorer.

1. Click the Tools button in the top-right corner of the browser, then select Internet Options.
2. The Internet Options dialog box will appear. Select the Programs tab.
3. Locate and select Make Internet Explorer the default browser, then click OK. Any link you open on your computer will now open in Internet Explorer.

FAQ

Q: Does RepExpert support Windows 10?

A: RepExpert supports Windows 10 (both 32 & 64bit). However, the default browser should be set as Internet Explorer (IE). Perhaps you use Microsoft Edge as default browser.

Q: Does RepExpert support IE11?

A: Yes.

Q: Does RepExpert support other browser except for IE? Such as Chrome and firefox.

A: Not support other browser till now. You can also contact the vendor support@lv2000.com if you have any special needs. We will develop new features according the customer’s needs.