ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 1 ActiveReports for .NET User Guide ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 2 Table Of Contents ActiveReports for .NET User Guide Introducing ActiveReports for .NET ActiveReports Editions Standard Edition Features Professional Edition Features Data Dynamics Copyright Notice ActiveReports for .NET License Agreement and Limited Warranty Frequently Asked Questions Installation and Setup Hardware and Software Requirements Installed Files Troubleshooting Installation Verifying Package Installation Upgrading Reports Changes Between ActiveReports 2.0 and ActiveReports for .NET Converting Microsoft Access Reports Migrating from ActiveReports 2.0 Architecture and Concepts Events Hyperlinks Layout Files Localization OutputFormat Strings Parameters Report and Page Settings Report Execution Report Structure Scripting Getting Started ActiveReports Designer Using the ActiveReports WinForm Viewer 8 8 8 8 9 9 10 11 12 12 13 14 14 14 14 15 15 15 16 16 17 17 17 18 19 22 23 23 24 25 25 ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 3 Adding a Report to Your Project Design Surface Loading an Existing Report Layout Report Menu Toolbars Toolbox Adding ActiveReports Controls to the Visual Studio Toolbox Adding an ActiveReport to a Visual Studio .NET Project Adding Field Expressions Binding Reports to a Data Source Using a Data Set Using a Data View Using the DataSource Icon Grouping Data Licensing Applications Localizing the Viewer Control Using Metric Units Saving and Loading RDF Files Saving and Loading RPX Files ActiveReports and the Web ActiveX Viewer Control Manually Configuring Web Samples Using Export Filters Getting Assistance Readme File Product Support Product Registration Technical Support Samples and Walkthroughs Samples Standard Edition Samples Annual Report Sample 26 27 28 28 29 29 30 31 33 33 33 34 34 35 36 36 38 38 39 40 40 43 46 47 47 48 48 48 49 49 49 50 ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 4 ASP.NET Standard Edition Web Sample Category Selection Sample Cross-Tab Sample Custom Preview Sample Data Reader Binding Sample Data View Binding Sample DataGrid Printing Sample E-mail Sample Hyperlinks and Drill-Down Sample RDF File Viewer Sample Report Assemblies Sample Unbound From Array Sample Unbound From Text File Sample XML Data Sample Professional Edition Samples ASP.NET Web Sample End-User Report Designer Sample Walkthroughs Standard Edition Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Data Bound Reports Walkthrough: Unbound Reports Grouping Data Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Conditional Show-Hide Detail Walkthrough: Group on Simple Fields Group on Unbound Fields Walkthrough: KeepTogether Options Page Numbering Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Page Numbering in the Group Header Walkthrough: Page Numbering in the Page Footer Walkthrough: Summary Fields Walkthrough: Calculated Fields Bookmarks Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Bookmarks with Grouping 50 51 51 51 51 51 52 52 52 52 52 53 53 53 53 53 53 54 54 55 57 61 61 64 66 71 73 73 76 79 81 83 84 ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 5 Walkthrough: Bookmarks with Simple Reports Walkthrough: Bookmarks with Subreports Walkthrough: Rich Text and Field Merging Master Detail Reports Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Master Detail Reports with Grouping Walkthrough: Master Detail Reports with Subreports Walkthrough: Master Detail Reports with XML Data Subreports Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Hierarchical Subreports Nested Subreports Walkthrough: Simple Subreports Parameters Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Parameters with Simple Reports Walkthrough: Parameters with Subreports Hyperlinks Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Hyperlinks Walkthrough: Hyperlinks and Bookmarks Walkthrough: Hyperlinks and Simulated Drill-Down Reporting Walkthrough: Conditional Formatting Walkthrough: Using Data Sets Containing Relationships with Subreports Run-Time Reporting Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Creating and Modifying Report Layouts at Run Time Walkthrough: Modifying the Report Data Source at Run Time Walkthrough: Creating Advanced Report Layouts Modifying Report Documents Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Adding Pages Walkthrough: Applying Page Templates Walkthrough: Merging Reports Walkthrough: Style Sheets Scripting Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Scripting and Simple Reports Walkthrough: Scripting and Subreports 87 89 94 99 100 102 105 107 107 110 114 117 118 119 122 123 125 130 136 139 144 144 153 155 157 157 161 164 167 169 169 172 ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 6 Printing Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Duplexing Walkthrough: Multiple Copies Walkthrough: Orientation Walkthrough: Scaling Pages Walkthrough: Customizing the Viewer Control Walkthrough: Using ActiveX Viewer Control on the Web Walkthrough: Exporting Output Walkthrough: Saving and Loading to a Memory Stream Web Custom Exporting Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Custom Exporting with HTML Walkthrough: Custom Exporting with PDF Walkthrough: Custom Exporting with Excel Walkthrough: Custom Exporting with TIFF Walkthrough: Custom Exporting with RTF Custom Exporting with Plain Text Walkthrough: Deploying Compiled Reports Custom Controls and ChartFX Web Services Walkthroughs Data Set Web Service Data Set Windows Application ActiveReports Document Web Service ActiveReports Document Windows Application Localization Walkthroughs Localizing the Active Reports Viewer control Localizing the ActiveReports Designer Localizing the ActiveReports Engine Professional Edition Walkthroughs Creating an End-User Report Designer Walkthroughs Walkthrough: Creating the Basic Layout for an End-User Report Designer Walkthrough: Adding Code for the End-User Report Designer Walkthrough: Adding Code for the Main Menu Walkthrough: Adding Code for the Property Grid 176 177 178 179 181 183 185 188 190 193 193 199 202 205 208 210 213 214 216 216 217 219 221 223 223 227 231 234 234 235 237 239 241 ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 7 Walkthrough: Configuring the ActiveReports Toolbox Walkthrough: Adding Code for the ActiveReports Toolbox Walkthrough: Configuring the Layout Toolbar Walkthrough: Adding Code for the Layout Toolbar Walkthrough: Configuring the Report Toolbar Walkthrough: Adding Code for the Combo Boxes Walkthrough: Adding Code for the Report Toolbar Walkthrough: Adding a Viewer Control for the End-User Report Designer Walkthrough: Deploying ActiveReports Web Applications Configuring the HTTP Handlers Walkthrough: HTTP Handlers Walkthrough: Web Viewer Control 242 244 245 248 255 258 263 271 273 274 277 279 ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 8 ActiveReports for .NET User Guide ActiveReports for .NET is a fully-integrated product which combines the features of the Visual Studio programming languages with user-friendly controls to provide a powerful report designer. In the ActiveReports for .NET Documentation Introducing ActiveReports for .NET Find out more about ActiveReports for .NET, installation and setup information and the features of the standard and professional editions. Getting Assistance Find out the location of the Readme file and how to obtain product support. Samples and Walkthroughs Find out how to use different features of ActiveReports in the available samples and walkthroughs. Introducing ActiveReports for .NET ActiveReports leverages the latest technologies including XML, scripting and CSS along with open architecture to provide you with a fully-integrated and user-friendly report designer. This topic contains information about: ActiveReports Editions Find out about the different features of the Standard and Professional editions. Data Dynamics Copyright Notice Find out about Data Dynamics copyright information. ActiveReports License Agreement Find out about the terms of the ActiveReports License Agreement and Limited Warranty. Frequently Asked Questions Find out about Frequently Asked Questions. Installation and Setup Learn the details of ActiveReports installation and setup. Upgrading Reports Find out about upgrading reports in previous versions of ActiveReports and other report programs. Architecture and Concepts Find out about the structure and concepts of report design. Getting Started Learn the basics of using ActiveReports for .NET. ActiveReports Editions Standard Edition Features Find out about the features of ActiveReports for .NET Standard Edition. Professional Edition Features Find out about the features of ActiveReports for .NET Professional Edition. Standard Edition Features ActiveReports for .NET is a complete rewrite of the popular ActiveReports engine and report viewer. It includes the same power and flexibility of ActiveReports 2.0 and provides complete integration with the Visual Studio .NET Environment. ActiveReports for .NET Standard Edition supports the following features: Designer l Full integration with the .NET environment ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 9 l Familiar user interface l Use with C# and VB.NET l Compilation of reports included as part of the application for speed and security or included separately l Designer hosting of .NET and user controls Reporting Engine l Managed code l Binding to ADO.NET, XML and custom data sources l Easy deployment with the report processing engine as a single assembly dll l All of ActiveReports 2.0 features Report Viewer l Managed C# code l Very small deployment assembly, suitable for use on the Internet l Table of Contents/Bookmarks l Hyperlinking Export Filters ActiveReports includes export filters to generate output into Rich Text Format (RTF) for word-processing, Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Excel worksheets, HTML and DHTML for publishing your reports to the internet, TIFF for optical archiving and faxing and delimited text for spreadsheets and databases. Professional Edition Features ActiveReports for .NET is a complete rewrite of the popular ActiveReports engine and report viewer. It includes the same power and flexibility of ActiveReports 2.0 and provides complete integration with the Visual Studio .NET Environment. ActiveReports for .NET Professional Edition includes all of the features of the Standard Edition and supports the following additional features: End-User Report Designer The control is a run-time designer that may be distributed royalty free. It allows the ActiveReports designer to be hosted in an application and provides end-user report editing capabilities. The control's methods and properties provide easy access to save and load report layouts, monitor and control the design environment, and customize the look and feel to the needs of end users. ASP.NET Integration l Web server control provides convenience for running and exporting reports in ASP.NET. l HTTP Handler extensions allow report files (RPX) or compiled assemblies containing reports to be dropped on the server and hyperlinked. Web Viewer Control l The Web Viewer control allows quick viewing of ActiveReports on the web as well as printing capability with the ActiveXViewer and AcrobatReader ViewerType properties. HTTP Handlers l The RPX HTTP Handler allows hyperlinking of an ActiveReport on a web page to return a HTML format or PDF format of the report for viewing and/or printing. l Compiled Report HTTPHandler allows hyperlinking of an ActiveReport compiled in an assembly on a web page to a HTML format or PDF format of the report for viewing and/or printing. Data Dynamics Copyright Notice Information in this document, including URL and other Internet Web site references, is subject to change without notice. Unless otherwise noted, the example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e- ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 10 mail addresses, logos, people, places and events depicted herein are fictitious, and no association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, e-mail address, logo, person, place or event is intended or should be inferred. Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Data Dynamics, Ltd. ActiveReports and the ActiveReports logo are registered trademarks of Data Dynamics, Ltd. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. ActiveReports for .NET License Agreement and Limited Warranty The product in this package (libraries and object code) is proprietary to Data Dynamics, Ltd. and is protected by Federal Copyright Law. Data Dynamics retains the title to and ownership of the Product. You are licensed to use this Product on the following terms and conditions: LICENSE: The licensee is defined as the individual software developer utilizing the Product. This license is not for an entire company but for a single developer. Data Dynamics hereby grants the licensee a nonexclusive license authorizing the licensee to use the enclosed Product on one computer at a time for development purposes. Distribution o ...