title: Oracle 11g Reports and Forms Properties Mass updates
body: <p>Brand new to dealing with Oracle Reports and Forms so forgive any terminology/syntax issues.</p>
  
  <p>Given new assignment to help another developer put new systems into place.  New Systems are essentially COPIES of existing systems.</p>
  
  <p>The process that I've seen involves a LOT of by hand updates of FORM properties (Names and Report Group Sources) and Same is true for REPORTS.  FRM and RDF files.
  This is all done "by hand", open/change/save/next.</p>
  
  <p>(Don't ask, it's one of those "we've always done this" and "we don't have time to look at a better way" kind of things.)</p>
  
  <hr>
  
  <p>But in looking at this I thought surely there is a better way to handle this.
  In my investigation I ran across several scripts that I think would be handy.  I could write a small app that pretty much automated this, but have a couple questions:</p>
  
  <p>1.Would the following be the best process for handling forms?</p>
  
  <p>--Copy forms file to XML process</p>
  
  <pre><code>for %%f IN (*.fmb) do frmf2xml OVERWRITE=YES %%f
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>--Do mass update of XML via some app Search/Replace</p>
  
  <p>--Copy XML files back into FMB format</p>
  
  <pre><code>for %%f IN (*.xml) do frmxml2f OVERWRITE=YES USERID=&lt;usr&gt;/&lt;pass&gt;@&lt;db&gt; %%f
  </code></pre>
  
  <ol start="2">
  <li>For Report Files looked like I had to alter RDF to be REX(?) files, then do the mass updates and reconvert?  For RDFs <strong>I really don't synta</strong>x but it would be something simliar to..</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>--Copy RDFs to REX  </p>
  
  <p><code>for %%f IN (*.rdf) do rwconverter userid=scott/tiger@v817 batch=yes 
  source=%%f ?????</code></p>
  
  <p>(Any help on syntax appreciated or links)</p>
  
  <p>Or should the RDFs go to some other format? JSP?</p>
  
  <p>--Do mass update of REX via some app Search/Replace</p>
  
  <p>Then use rwConverter to copy REX files back to RDF?</p>
  
  <hr>
  
  <p>Will converting to REX then back cause any issue for reports?</p>