The report generation form is used to gather additional report input parameters prior to execution. It consists of two main sections: report parameters and output format.

The report parameters section is built from data specified in the query. Given a report query as an XML source, the ReportTemplateHelper buildParameterTemplates( ) method returns an array of ParameterTemplate instances that represent the parameters of the query. The current client accesses this parameter template data to build the form to prompt the user for input. Note that the processing bypasses any parameter templates if the specified name is included in the HTTP parameters (see the section Customizing the Report Generation URL that follows). This is an indirect way to customize the form. For example, fully specifying all parameter values in the report generation URL would cause no parameter input fields to be generated. Also, the current form processing completely bypasses the form and goes directly to the report execution processing if the XSL specification has been set in the report template and all required parameters (if any) have had values specified in the HTTP parameters.

The output format section is generated based on the XSL specification of the report template object. If one exists, the output format section is bypassed. Otherwise, the input fields for specifying the format are generated. The ReportTemplateHelper getAvailableXSLFormats( ) method is used to build the drop-down choice for the standard XSL.