Actuate / BIRT

Actuate data

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Upload Actuate / BIRT files

Guide

Actuate is a business intelligence and reporting platform. Support is planned for extracting embedded datasets from Actuate report files.

Planned Support

Report metadata extraction
Embedded dataset recovery
Data export to CSV/SQL

What You Get Out

Once the parser ships, DataMeans will extract your data into multiple modern formats:

Output	Description
`csv/{TableName}.csv`	One CSV file per table with all row data
`xlsx/{TableName}.xlsx`	Excel workbook per table
`xls/{TableName}.xls`	Legacy Excel format per table
`json/{TableName}.json`	JSON array of records per table
`json/{TableName}.jsonl`	Newline-delimited JSON (streaming-friendly)
`postgres.sql`	PostgreSQL CREATE TABLE + INSERT statements
`schema/schema-graph.json`	Relationship graph for visualization
`schema/er-model.json`	ER model for diagram tools
`report.json`	Structured extraction report
`report.md`	Human-readable extraction summary

File Requirements

Actuate report files
Report metadata containers

Current Status

Parser development is in the planning phase. The focus will be on recovering embedded data rather than report formatting.

Technical Notes

Actuate uses a proprietary serialization format that changed significantly across versions. Extraction will focus on the data layer.

Last updated: January 2026

Technical reference

Overview

Actuate (acquired by OpenText in 2015) is a business intelligence and reporting platform that generates dynamic reports from enterprise data sources. Originally developed by Actuate Corporation and later complemented by BIRT (Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools), an open-source Eclipse project that Actuate founded and co-led, the platform stores report definitions, embedded datasets, and visualization metadata in dedicated report file formats: the classic e.Report line uses compiled binary formats, while BIRT report designs are open XML documents. The BIRT component provides a flexible report designer with scripting capabilities and extensive data source support. Unlike traditional databases, Actuate/BIRT focuses on report generation with complex layouts, charts, and data aggregation capabilities, supporting web-based deployment and integration with enterprise applications.

History and Background

1993: Actuate Corporation founded in November in California, focusing on enterprise reporting software.
1996: First product, the Actuate Reporting System, begins shipping in January with a server-centric architecture.
1998: Actuate goes public on the Nasdaq National Market; Actuate Reporting System 3.1 ships in May.
2004: Actuate joins the Eclipse Foundation as a strategic developer in August; Eclipse approves BIRT as a top-level open-source project in October.
2005: BIRT 1.0 released in June, comprising the initial BIRT Report Designer, Report Engine, and Chart Engine.
2006: Actuate 9 released in June, integrating BIRT into the commercial product line as Actuate BIRT with interactive viewing and ad hoc web reporting.
2010: ActuateOne (Release 11) launched, built around a single BIRT design model with BIRT iServer, mobile viewing, and cloud deployment.
2014: Actuate releases BIRT iHub F-Type, an edition of its iHub deployment server, on July 10.
2015: OpenText completes its acquisition of Actuate in January (announced December 2014 at an equity value of approximately $330 million).
2016: OpenText Release 16 ships with an Analytics suite built around the Actuate-derived Information Hub (iHub).
2018: Eclipse BIRT 4.8 released in June as part of the Eclipse Photon simultaneous release.
2022: Eclipse BIRT 4.9 "Reboot" release in March; quarterly community releases continue alongside the Eclipse release train.

File Format Specifications

BIRT stores report designs as open XML documents, while generated report documents and the classic Actuate e.Report formats use binary serialization.

File Extensions:

.rod - Actuate e.Report Object Design (report layout source)
.rox - Actuate e.Report Object Executable (compiled report)
.roi - Actuate e.Report Object Instance (generated report with data)
.rptdesign - BIRT Report Design (XML)
.rptlibrary - BIRT Report Library (XML, reusable components)
.rpttemplate - BIRT Report Template (XML, starting point for new designs)
.rptdocument - BIRT Report Document (binary, encapsulates design and data)

File Structure:

Report Design: XML document defining layout, data sources, and parameters
Data Sets: Embedded or referenced data queries
Styles: CSS-based styles for formatting
Scripts: JavaScript or Java event handlers for dynamic behavior
Resources: Images, CSS files, and shared libraries
XML Root: report (designs) or library (libraries) element in the namespace http://www.eclipse.org/birt/2005/design
Root Attributes: required version and id; optional author, creation-date, and units (defaulting to inches)

Report Document Streams (.rptdocument):

/core - header stream beginning with the tag reportdocument, followed by version information
/design - the report design as executed; /original_design preserves the design as originally submitted
/design.ir - intermediate representation of the design used by the report engine
/content/content.dat - rendered report content, with page data and its index in /content/page.dat and /content/page.idx
/toc, /bookmark, /pages - table-of-contents structure, bookmark-to-page map, and page hints

Key Elements:

Data Sources: JDBC, XML, web services, and scripted connections
Data Sets: SQL queries, stored procedures, or scripted data
Report Items: Tables, charts, text, images
Parameters: User-defined input controls

Data Types and Structures

Type	Description	Java Class
String	Text data	java.lang.String
Integer	Whole numbers	java.lang.Integer
Float	Floating-point numbers	java.lang.Double
Decimal	High-precision decimal numbers	java.math.BigDecimal
Date Time	Combined date and time values	java.util.Date
Date	Date-only values	java.sql.Date
Time	Time-only values	java.sql.Time
Boolean	True/false values	java.lang.Boolean
Blob	Binary large objects	java.sql.Blob
Java Object	Arbitrary Java objects	java.lang.Object

In the design XML, column data types are serialized as string tokens (string, integer, float, decimal, date-time, date, time, boolean, blob, javaObject); a legacy any type is deprecated and was removed as a column data type in BIRT 2.3.

Report Model:

Report content is laid out in grids, lists, tables, and charts
Master pages define page headers and footers
Data binding connects report elements to data sets
Grouping and aggregation support summary calculations
Parameters enable dynamic filtering and personalization

Version Differences

Version	Year	Key Changes	Compatibility
Actuate Reporting System 1.0	1996	Server-centric report generation, Report Encyclopedia repository	Compiled report designs run on Actuate Report Server
Actuate Reporting System 3.1	1998	HTML report output, web access via Actuate Web Agent	Servers on Windows NT, Solaris, HP-UX, AIX
BIRT 1.0	2005	Initial Report Designer, Report Engine, Chart Engine	XML design format (`.rptdesign`)
BIRT 2.0	2006	Report component libraries, external CSS style sheets, page-on-demand HTML viewing	Introduced the `.rptlibrary` library format
Actuate 9	2006	Commercial Actuate BIRT, interactive viewing, ad hoc web reporting	BIRT designs supported alongside compiled e.reports
BIRT 2.2	2007	Crosstab report item, OLAP-style data cubes	Part of Eclipse Europa simultaneous release
ActuateOne (Release 11)	2010	BIRT iServer, BIRT Mobile, cloud deployment	Single BIRT design model across products
BIRT 4.8	2018	Third-party library upgrades, report engine fixes	Part of Eclipse Photon simultaneous release
BIRT 4.9	2022	"Reboot" release reviving community development	Distributed via GitHub releases and Eclipse update sites
BIRT 4.14	2023	Viewer servlets migrated from Apache Axis/javax to Jakarta EE	Requires Java 17 or higher

Compatibility Notes:

BIRT report designs are XML documents and are generally forward compatible across engine versions
Design files record the model schema version in the root element's required version attribute (for example, 3.2.23), which is numbered independently of the engine release
BIRT report documents (.rptdocument) are binary files that encapsulate the design and data for later rendering
The commercial server line continued under OpenText as the Information Hub (iHub) within the OpenText Analytics suite
The open-source Eclipse BIRT designer and engine are developed independently of the commercial Actuate/OpenText products

Technical References

To learn how to use this format with DataMeans, see the User Guide.

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