User manual MICROSOFT ACTIVEREPORTS FOR .NET

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 of the application(s) using ActiveReports is royalty-free, requiring no additional license fees. You may incorporate the sample code into your applications. Use of this product by more than one individual or by anyone other than the licensee terminates, without notification, this license and the right to use this product. YOU MAY NOT: Distribute, rent, sub-license or otherwise make available to others the software or documentation or copies thereof, except as expressly permitted in this License without prior written consent from Data Dynamics. In the case of an authorized transfer, the transferee must agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this License Agreement. RESTRICTIONS: You may use this Product in your business application for sale or distribution as long as: The product that you produce and/or distribute is NOT a software development product, a product that is sold primarily to software developers or system integrators or a development environment of any kind. Please contact Data Dynamics, Ltd. for special commercial licensing provisions in these circumstances. The software serial number and user must be registered with Data Dynamics in order to receive support or distribution rights. You may not remove any proprietary notices, labels, and trademarks on the software or documentation. You may not modify, de-compile, disassemble, reverse engineer or translate the software. FILES THAT MAY BE DISTRIBUTED WITH YOUR APPLICATION: Standard Edition License: ACTIVEREPORTS.DLL, ACTIVEREPORTS.VIEWER.DLL ACTIVEREPORTS.INTEROP.DLL, ACTIVEREPORTS.XLSEXPORT.DLL, ACTIVEREPORTS.HTMLEXPORT.DLL, ACTIVEREPORTS.PDFEXPORT.DLL, ACTIVEREPORTS.RTFEXPORT.DLL, ACTIVEREPORTS.TEXTEXPORT.DLL, ACTIVEREPORTS.TIFFEXPORT.DLL Professional Edition License: ACTIVEREPORTS.DESIGN.DLL and ACTIVEREPORTS.WEB.DLL in addition to the Standard Edition files. US GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS: Use, duplication or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to restrictions as set forth under DFARS 252.227-7013 or in FARS 52.227-19 Commercial Computer Software - Restricted Rights. TERM: ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 11 You may terminate your License and this Agreement at anytime by destroying all copies of the Product and Product Documentation. They will also terminate automatically if you fail to comply with any term or condition in this Agreement. LIMITED WARRANTY: This software and documentation are sold "as is" without any warranty as to their performance, merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. The licensee assumes the entire risk as to the quality and performance of the software. Data Dynamics warrants that the media on which the Program is furnished will be free from any defects in materials. Exclusive remedy in the event of a defect is expressly limited to the replacement of media. In no event shall Data Dynamics or anyone else who has been involved in the creation, development, production, or delivery of this software be liable for any direct, incidental or consequential damages, such as, but not limited to, loss of anticipated profits, benefits, use, or data resulting from the use of this software, or arising out of any breach of warranty. Frequently Asked Questions Is ActiveReports 100% managed? ActiveReports includes the following distributable DLLs: Managed DLLs: l ActiveReports.DLL - This is the reporting engine. Managed and written in C#. l ActiveReports.Design.DLL - This is the run-time end user report designer. Managed and written in C#. l ActiveReports.Viewer.DLL - This is the Windows Forms viewer. Managed and written in C#. l ActiveReports.Web.DLL - This is the Web Forms viewer and RPX handler. Managed and written in C#. l ActiveReports.PdfExport.DLL - This is the PDF export filter. Managed and written in C#. l ActiveReports.HtmlExport.DLL - This is the HTML export filter. Managed and written in C#. Unmanaged DLLs: l ActiveReports.Interop.DLL - This is the auxiliary COM interop DLL. Unsafe C# code for OLE object hosting and other COM functions. l ARExport*.DLL - These are the export filters. Managed wrappers around unmanaged VC++ code. Note The export DLLs will be converted to managed C# after the first release. The above are the only distributable DLLs. The core components are all managed and use all of what .NET has to offer. ActiveReports also includes the following non-distributable DLLs: l ARDBWizard.DLL - This is the design-time Report Wizard. Managed C#. l ARTaskPane.DLL - This is the design-time wizards container. Managed C#. l ARVSPackage.DLL - This is the VS Integration package. Unmanaged VC++ (Since integration with VS requires COM, this cannot be done any other way). Why is the viewer icon grayed out? The icon may be grayed out for 2 reasons: 1. The control selected in the components list was for the wrong viewer control. ActiveReports has two separate viewer controls. One is DataDynamics.ActiveReports.WebViewer, which is a viewer control that only works on Web Forms, and the other is DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Viewer, which is a viewer control that works only on Windows Forms. The correct form is not selected. If a Windows Form or Web Form is not selected in the project, the viewer icon may be grayed out. Verify the correct viewer component is selected for the project: For the Windows Form Viewer - DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Viewer - ActiveReports.Viewer(x.x.x.xxxx) For the WebForm Viewer - DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Web - ActiveReports.WebViewer(x.x.x.xxx) 2. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 12 Why am I getting an ambiguous reference error? This error will occur if the report's class file has "Imports System.Windows.Form" or "using System.Windows.Form;." The reason for the error is the Windows.Forms namespace and the ActiveReports namespace have definitions for Textbox, Label etc. In order to prevent the error, the code will need to use the full System.Windows.Form namespace when referencing Windows.Form objects. Why are my empty controls not moving up? Stacked controls will not move up under the following conditions: 1. 2. The controls overlap: If the controls are overlapping each other this will prevent the controls from moving up when the empty controls shrink. The controls are being intersected by another control: if the stacked controls have another control to the left or right that does not line up, it will stop the controls from moving up. The best solution is to use the Remove Vertical Spacing icon on the .NET layout toolbar. After you place the controls on the report, leaving a little space between each control, select all of the controls in the stack and click the icon to remove the white space between them. How do I distribute the assemblies for ActiveReports for .NET? There are 2 ways the ActiveReports assemblies can be deployed. Each way depends on your installation method. 1. If you are copying your project from the development machine to your server, you should set the ActiveReports references in your project references to CopyLocal = True. This way the ActiveReports DLLs are in the bin folder of the compiled project. If you are making an installer for your software, you will need to include the ActiveReportsDistrib.MSM file included with the installation of ActiveReports for .NET. For example, it may be installed in the C:\Program Files\Data Dynamics\ActiveReports for .NET\Deployment folder. 2. There is a third way to accomplish this which is not recommended because it is not very easy. There is a command line utility that you can use to install each DLL in the GAC. The format is 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio .NET\FrameworkSDK\Bin>gacutil -i assembly'. Installation and Setup This topic will help you find out what is necessary to install ActiveReports and direct you to appropriate help for the installation process. Requirements Find out the hardware and software requirements to install ActiveReports for .NET. Installed Files Find out what files are installed with ActiveReports for .NET. Troubleshooting Installation Find out how to troubleshoot installation issues. Verifying Package Installation Find out how to verify successful installation. Tip Close Visual Studio .NET before running the installation program to allow the help files to be integrated into Visual Studio · s common help collection. Hardware and Software Requirements This topic includes hardware and software requirements for installing and using ActiveReports for .NET. Hardware requirements (minimum) l Processor: PC with a Pentium II-class processor 450 MHz ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 13 l Operating System: Windows® 2000, Windows XP or Windows NT 4.0 Software requirements l Microsoft .NET framework l Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Installed Files Folder/Files Description \Data Dynamics\ActiveReports for .NET ActiveReports.DLL ActiveReports.Design.DLL ActiveReports.Interop.DLL ActiveReports.Viewer.DLL ActiveReports.Web.DLL ActiveReports.Web.Design.DLL ARVSPackage.DLL ActiveReports.HtmlExport.DLL ActiveReports.PdfExport.DLL ARExportTIFF.DLL ARExportExcel.DLL ARExportRTF.DLL ARExportText.DLL ARCol.Hx* ddARRef.HxS ddARUG.HxS License.rtf Run-time engine assembly file Designer assembly file Native functions assembly file Viewer assembly file Web assembly file Web designer assembly file Visual Studio .NET Integration Package HTML Export DLL PDF Export DLL TIFF Export DLL Excel Export DLL RTF Export DLL Text Export DLL ActiveReports Help Integration Collection ActiveReports Help File--Class Library ActiveReports Help File--User Guide Data Dynamics ActiveReports License Agreement and Limited Warranty \Data Dynamics\ActiveReports for .NET\1033 ARVSPackageUI.DLL Visual Studio .NET integration DLL localized UI \Data Dynamics\ActiveReports for .NET\Wizards ARAccessWizard.DLL ARDBWizard.DLL ARInstallExt.DLL arinstallext.InstallState DDAccessHelper.dll WebKey.exe ARTaskPane.DLL Access to ActiveReports wizard New Report Wizard Add-In ActiveReports installation auxiliary file ActiveReports installation auxiliary file Access wizard auxiliary file Web.config key generator Report Wizards IDE Task Pane Data\Nwind.mdb Data\streamSample.mdb Deployment\arview2.cab Introduction\iddlogo.gif Introduction\itopimage1.gif Introduction\itopimage2.gif Samples database file Streaming sample database file ActiveX viewer cab file Readme image file Readme image file Readme image file Deployment\ActiveReportsDistrib.msm ActiveReports merge module file ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 14 Introduction\assemblies.gif Introduction\readme.html Samples\samples.txt Samples\CSharp\*.* Samples\VB\*.* Readme image file ActiveReports Readme file Samples description text file C# sample projects Visual Basic sample projects Troubleshooting Installation Why can't other users access or use ActiveReports on my machine? The installation for ActiveReports for .NET gives the user the option to install the program for everyone or the current user. If it is installed only for the current user, other users on the same machine will not be able to access it or use it. I just installed ActiveReports for .NET. Why can't I see the help files? If the installation was run while Visual Studio was open, the help files will not be integrated until the user exits Visual Studio and reopens it. Why do I get, "The installer was interrupted before Data Dynamics ActiveReports for .NET... could be installed. You need to restart the installer to try again" when I run the ActiveReports Setup? The most likely cause for this error is a permissions issue. Either the folder the setup is pointing to or the folder containing the setup files does not have the correct permissions. The user needs to verify the system account for the local machine has permissions to the folder containing the setup and verify the user installing the program has the appropriate permissions. Verifying Package Installation To verify package installation 1. 2. 3. Open Visual Studio .NET. You should see the ActiveReports logo on the splash screen. Open Help > About Dialog and verify the "Data Dynamics ActiveReports" entry in the installed products list. Upgrading Reports ActiveReports allows you to upgrade your reports from other versions of ActiveReports and other report programs. Changes Between ActiveReports 2.0 and ActiveReports for .NET Find out about changes between ActiveReports 2.0 and ActiveReports for .NET. Converting Microsoft Access Reports Find out about converting Microsoft Access reports to ActiveReports. Migrating From ActiveReports 2.0 Find out how to migrate reports from ActiveReports 2.0. Changes Between ActiveReports 2.0 and ActiveReports for .NET Report Classes Data Dynamics attempted to keep to a minimum the number of changes to the report object model from ActiveReports 2.0. Most of the changes are due to class refactoring and renaming of objects and members to closely match the .NET Framework naming conventions. Listed below are the significant changes in the object model. 1. ActiveReport.Show removed: ActiveReports class is no longer a Window class. This requires using the viewer control to preview the output of a report. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 15 2. Strong-typed Section classes: ActiveReports for .NET includes classes for each of the section types with their own unique properties. The old Section object is still available and the SectionCollection class holds items of the Section type. The new section classes are Detail, GroupHeader, GroupFooter, PageHeader, PageFooter, ReportHeader and ReportFooter. New Stylesheet class: Provides access to the styles defined in the report and allows you to change the individual style item properties. Image control renamed to Picture. Field control renamed to Textbox. Supported justified text alignment option for textboxes and labels. Indirect support of ActiveX controls through .NET wrappers and the new CustomControl class. Three added data source classes which replace the data controls: OleDbDataSource, XmlDataSource and SqlClientDataSource. Split Pages collection: the Pages class from ActiveReports 2.0 is refactored into a PagesCollection class and a Document class. The new Document class has all the members to save/load RDF files and streams. Changed measurements from twips to inches. Frame control has been removed. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Printing 1. 2. Added PrintController and PrintControllerWithStatus classes to make the printing model similar to the .NET Framework. Use of the .NET Framework Printer and PrinterSettings classes by the viewer control. An optional unsafe printer class is also included for advanced printing and print job control similar to the ActiveReports 2.0 class. Viewer 1. 2. 3. 4. A rewritten report viewer control to take full advantage of the .NET framework classes. Complete revision of the Toolbar and Tools classes. Separation of the Table of Contents tree control from the TOC collection (renamed to BookmarksCollection). No binding of the viewer control to an ActiveReport object. Instead, it binds to a Document object. Converting Microsoft Access Reports Access reports can be easily converted to ActiveReports format by running the Access upsizer wizard. Due to differences between products, the extent to which your reports will be converted will depend on your specific report layout. However, since Data Dynamics provides source code, you can modify the resulting ActiveReport to achieve the results you desire. To launch the upsizer, open a project in Visual Studio, click on Tools > ActiveReports Wizard, then click on Access Import. This launches the Access to ActiveReports Wizard. Migrating from ActiveReports 2.0 ActiveReports for .NET can use existing ActiveReports 2.0 report layout files (RPX) after some modifications to the scripting code. ActiveReports 2.0 designer files (DSR/DSX) must be saved as RPX files in the ActiveReports 2.0 Designer before they can be imported into ActiveReports. Since ActiveReports does not import any Visual Basic or scripting code into .NET, the code will need to be rewritten using the appropriate language in the new .NET environment. Architecture and Concepts This topic will introduce you to the basic structure and concepts of ActiveReports for .NET to enable efficient report creation. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 16 Events Learn how events work in ActiveReports. Hyperlinks Learn how hyperlinks can be used in ActiveReports. Layout Files Learn about layout files. OutputFormat Strings Learn about OutputFormat strings. Parameters Learn how parameters function for simple reports and subreports. Report and Page Settings Learn how to access report and page settings in ActiveReports. Report Execution Learn about report execution in ActiveReports. Report Structure Learn about the structure of ActiveReports. Scripting Learn how to use scripting with ActiveReports. Events In a report, regardless of the type or content of the various sections, there are three events for each section: Format, BeforePrint and AfterPrint. Because there are many possible report designs, the event-firing sequence must be dynamic in order to accommodate individual report demands. Out of the three events, the Format event generally is used the most often, followed by the BeforePrint event and, in rare circumstances, the AfterPrint event. Format event This event fires after the data is loaded and bound to the controls contained in a section, but before the section is rendered to a page. The format event is the only event where the section's height may be changed. This section may be used to set or change the properties of any controls or load subreport controls with subreports. If the CanGrow or CanShrink property of any control contained with a section, or the section itself, is set to true, all of the growing and shrinking of controls contained in this section, and the section itself, takes place in the Format event. Because of this, information about a control or a section's height cannot be obtained in this event. BeforePrint event This event fires before the section is rendered to the page. The growing and shrinking of the section and all controls contained in a section have already taken place by the time this event fires. Use this section to resize any controls if needed. Since all controls and section growth have already taken place by the time this event fires, this event may be used to get an accurate height of the section, or, if needed, any controls contained in it. Any controls in the BeforePrint event may be resized but not the height of the section itself. AfterPrint event This event fires after the section is rendered to the page. Although AfterPrint was an important event prior to ActiveReports Version 1 Service Pack 3, it is rarely used in any of the newer builds of ActiveReports. When you place code in the section events, you likely will place your code in either the Format event or the BeforePrint event. This event is still useful for drawing on the page after text has already been rendered to the page. Hyperlinks ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 17 ActiveReports for .NET allows you to add hyperlinks to reports to perform a variety of functions. The hyperlink property can be set to any HTML-style link, items in the Bookmarks collection (TOC) or used to simulate drill-down reporting. By using the Hyperlink property, reports can have "clickable" controls which can be used for many purposes, including the ability to run and display other reports. Layout Files Report layouts in ActiveReports are automatically saved as RPX files. This is an XML-formatted file which contains the layout information and can contain the scripts of the report. RPX files using scripting allow distributed reports to be changed and modified without having to recompile the project. They also make it possible to use a database of report file names to set up a collection of reports to run. An RPX file using scripting also can be used as a stand-alone file in a web project or a stand-alone file for the HTTP handler. Localization The .NET Framework has made it easy for developers to localize their applications and controls. The ActiveReports for .NET Viewer Control uses the Hub and Spoke model for localizing resources. The hub is the main executing assembly. In our case it's the application that hosts the Viewer Control. The spokes are satellite dlls that contain localized resources for the application. The satellite dlls are place in subdirectories under the main executing assembly. When the main executing assembly needs a resource, a ResourceManager object is used to load the required resource. The ResourceManager uses the thread's CurrentUICulture Property. This property is set by the common language runtime or it can be set in your code to force a certain UI Culture. Forcing a certain locale is helpful when you want to test if your satellite dll is loading properly. The ResourceManager class uses the CurrentUICulture Property to locate subdirectories that should contain a satellite dll for the current culture. If no subdirectory exists the ResourceManager will use the resource that was embedded in the assembly. The Viewer Control is built using the default culture of US English. This is the fallback culture for the Viewer Control. For more detailed information about how the framework locates satellite dlls, please reference the help system in Visual Studio .NET or the book Developing International Software, 2nd edition by MS Press that contains information on localizing applications using the .NET Framework. OutputFormat Strings ActiveReports allows you to set formatting strings for date, time, currency, and other numeric values using the OutputFormat property on the textbox control. The OutputFormat dialog also allows you to select international currency values and select from various built-in string expressions. Times: l hh:mm tt = 09:00 AM l HH:mm = 21:00 (twenty-four hour clock) l HH = hours in 24 hour clock l hh = hours in 12 hour clock l mm = minutes l ss = seconds l tt = AM or PM Dates: l dddd, MMMM d, yyyy = Saturday, December 25, 1999 l dd/MM/yyyy = 25/12/1999 l d or dd = day in number format l ddd = day in short string format (Ex. Sat for Saturday) l dddd = day in string format (Ex. Saturday) ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 18 l MM = month in number format l MMM = month in short string format (Ex. Dec for December) l MMMM = month in string format (Ex. December) l y or yy = year in two digit format (Ex. 99 for 1999) l yyy or yyy = year in four digit format (Ex. 1999) Currency and numbers: l $00.00 = $25.50 l $#,##0.00 = $06.25 l 0 = digit or zero l # = digit or nothing l % = percent-multiplies the string expression by 100 Parameters Parameters and Simple Reports The Parameters dialog can be used to prompt the user for input when reports are generated. If you add <% FieldName | PromptString | DefaultValue | Type%> to the report· s SQL string, it will cause the Parameters dialog to be displayed. The Field name is the name of the field you wish to request (e.g. CustomerID or LastName). The Prompt string is a string value indicating text that will appear in the dialog next to the control (e.g. Enter Customer ID: ). Setting the default value will automatically set a default value. For example, if you have a report that generates based on a date, you can have the default for the field set to the current date so users can just hit "Enter", unless they want to generate a report based on a new date. Type indicates what type of data will be requested. The values can be: nothing(string), S for string, D for date, B for Boolean. A string type will give a textbox for input, a D type will give a calendar drop-down control for input and a B type will give a checkbox for input. Note For Strings: If you specify a default value that is enclosed in single or double quotes, it will be recognized and will output the same quotes to SQL when replacing. For Booleans : if you specify true/false for DefaultValue it will generate true/false for SQL output. If you specify 0,1, it will output 0 or 1. Example: "SELECT * FROM products INNER JOIN categories ON products.categoryid = categories.categoryid WHERE products.supplierID =<%SupplierID|Enter supplierID|1000%> and OrderDate=#<%Date|Order date:|1/1/2001|D%># and Discount='<%bool| Is this checked ?|true|B%>'" Note The FieldName is the only required parameter; the rest are optional. Stored procedures can be used the same way as parameters in ActiveReports. The Sql statement would need to have the stored procedure call and placeholders for the parameters: "CustOrderHist '<%ID|Enter Customer ID:|AFLKI%>'". ActiveReports will then replace the parameter text "<%...%>" with whatever the user types into the dialog to create a call like this: CustOrderHist 'AFLKI'. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 19 Parameters and Subreports Parameters can be used with subreports to connect the subreport to the parent report. By setting a parameter for the field that links the parent report to the child subreport, the parent report can pass the information to the child through the parameters. The main differences when working with subreports and parameters are: l The subreport· s ShowParametersUI should be set to False. l The subreport· s SQL query should be set to use the parameter syntax = <%fieldname%>. Note Both report queries must contain the same field (so the main report must have a categoryID field and the subreport also must have a categoryID field. Report and Page Settings The Page (Report) Setup Dialog With ActiveReports, page setup in your report can be modified at design time, as well as at run time. The Page Setup dialog can be accessed by selecting Report > Settings... from the toolbar menu. From the Page Setup dialog, changes can be made to the report margins (left, right, top and bottom), a ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 20 gutter can be specified and the Mirror margins option can be selected. By setting a gutter and selecting Mirror margins, reports can be set up easily for publishing purposes. When Mirror margins is selected, the inner margins in the report are set for opposite pages to be the same width and the outside margins for opposite pages to be the same width. Specifying a gutter gives extra space between the edge of the page and the margins. This allows reports to be bound together. The Printer Settings Dialog With ActiveReports, printer settings can be modified at design time, as well as run time. The Print Settings dialog (shown below) can be accessed by selecting Report > Settings... from the toolbar menu and then selecting the Printer Settings option button from the Report Settings dialog box. From the Printer Settings dialog, changes can be made to the printer paper size and orientation. A custom paper size can be set by selecting Custom paper size from the Paper size drop down box. Once this option has been selected, the width and height options will allow a specific height and width to be set. The Printer Settings dialog also lets the user choose the type of collation to use, whether or not the report should be duplexed and the location of the paper source. The Styles Dialog With ActiveReports, style sheet settings can be created and/or applied. The Styles dialog (shown below) can be accessed by selecting Report > Settings... from the toolbar menu and then selecting the Styles option button from the Report Settings dialog box. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 21 From the Styles dialog, changes can be made to the appearance of text associated with controls, either by applying an existing style sheet, creating and applying a new style sheet or by modifying and applying an existing style. The Global Settings Dialog With ActiveReports, global report settings can be modified at design time. The Global Settings dialog (shown below) can be accessed by selecting Report > Settings... from the toolbar menu and then selecting the Global Settings option button from the Report Settings dialog box. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 22 From the Global Settings dialog, changes can be made to the design surface, including showing or hiding the grid, setting the controls to align to the grid, setting the number of column or rows on the grid and changing the ruler units to inches or centimeters. Report Execution ActiveReports report execution begins by raising the ReportStart event. At this point, accessing data source properties might cause DataInitialize to fire. The report validates any changes made to the report structure in ReportStart. Printer settings are applied next. If DataInitialize is not fired during the ReportStart event, it will be fired. The data source will be opened. If there are any parameters in the data source with unset values and "ShowParameterUI" is set to True, ActiveReports displays a parameters dialog and fires "ParameterUIClosed" when the dialog is closed. If the report is a subreport and requires parameters, ActiveReports binds the subreport parameters to any fields in the parent report. Next, the FetchData event fires. If there is no data, the NoData event is raised. Group sections are bound and sections begin rendering on pages. Events are then fired for processing the report header, followed by page header, groups, detail and page footer for each page in the report. The cancel flag is checked after each event. The speed in processing and output generation of ActiveReports is attributed to its intelligent, multi-threaded, single-pass processing. ActiveReports will process and render each page as soon as the page is ready. If ActiveReports is not able to fully render a page because of unknown data elements or because the layout is not final, it places the page in cache until the data is available. Summary fields and KeepTogether constraints are two reasons that a page might not be rendered completely. The summary field is not complete until all the data needed for calculation is read from the data source. When a summary field such as a grand total is placed ahead of its completion level, such as in the report header, the report header and all following sections will be delayed until all of the data is read. The KeepTogether property determines whether a section should print in its entirety on the same page. When this property is set to True, the section will print on the same page without any page breaks. A False setting ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 23 allows the section to be split across two or more pages. If the KeepTogether property is set to True, but the section is too large for the current page, or to fit fully on the next page, the KeepTogether property will be ignored. The GroupKeepTogether property determines whether group header and footer sections will print as a single block on the same page. The property defaults to None which allows the group block to be split across pages. When you set this property to All, ActiveReports attempts to print the complete block on the same page without any page breaks. When a complete block does not fit on a single page, it will be split across two or more pages. The third option, FirstDetail, prevents any widowed group header sections. The group header will always print with at least one Detail section. Report Structure A report section contains a group of controls that are processed and printed at the same time as a single unit. ActiveReports defines the following section types: Report Header A report can have one report header section that prints at the beginning of the report. This section generally is used to print a report title, a summary table, a chart or any information that needs only to appear once at the report's start. Report Footer A report can have one report footer section that prints at the end of the report. This section is used to print a summary of the report, grand totals or any information that needs to print once at the report's end. Page Header A report can have one page header section that prints at the top of each page. It is the first section that prints on the page except when the page contains a report header section. The page header section is used to print column headers, page numbers, a page title or any information that needs to appear at the top of each page in the report. Note It is not recommended to bind controls to a page header as results may be unpredictable. Page Footer A report can have one page footer section that prints at the bottom of each page. It is used to print page totals, page numbers or any other information that needs to appear at the bottom of each page. Group Header/Footer A report can consist of single or multiple nested groups, with each group having its own header and footer sections. The header section is inserted and printed immediately before the Detail section. The footer section is inserted and printed immediately after the Detail section. Detail A report has one Detail section. The detail section is the body of the report and one instance of the section is created for each record in the report. Scripting ActiveReports allows you to use scripting to provide ease in reporting functionality. Scripting permits reports saved to an RPX file to contain code. This characteristic allows the options of stand-alone reporting and web reporting without requiring .vb or .cs files. By including scripting when the report is saved as an RPX file, it can later by loaded, run and displayed directly to the viewer control without using the designer. Scripting can also be used in conjunction with RPX files to allow distributed reports to be updated without recompiling. Scripting can be used by adding C# code to the script editor at design time or by using rpt.Script at run time. The script is then saved to the RPX file. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 24 The AddNamedItem and AddCode methods are used to add items to the report· s script. By using AddNamedItem or AddCode, code elements from inside the .NET project can be used inside the scripts. By using AddNamedItem, scripts can become aware of functions in a class contained in the .NET project. By using AddCode, actual code segments can be added to the script at run time. Since the RPX file can be read with any text editor, AddCode or AddNamedItem can be used to add secure information to a project, such as a connection string. AddScriptReference can be used to add an assembly reference to the script. This will allow users to add a reference in the script to access assemblies in their projects. AddScriptReference is only needed if the script accesses assemblies that are not already initialized in the project. For example, to access "System.Data.DataSet" inside the script, you would need to add a reference by calling "rpt.AddScriptReference("System.Data.Dll")". Scripting Concepts to Remember: l Controls referenced inside the script must be public l If the RPX file does not have an associated codebehind file, you will need to refer to the controls and sections by calling "rpt.Sections[]" or "rpt.Sections[].Controls []" l The report instance is referred to in the report as "rpt." This is similar to "me" and "this" in the codebehind files. You must use "rpt" to gain access to the report and its controls l The report class has to be public for scripting to access public methods and/or functions (this is done by default) Getting Started This topic will show you how to begin using ActiveReports by explaining different aspects of ActiveReports and showing you how to include it in your Visual Studio .NET IDE (Integrated Development Environment). ActiveReports Designer Learn how to use the ActiveReports designer. Adding ActiveReports Controls to the Visual Studio Toolbox Learn how to add ActiveReports controls to the toolbox in Visual Studio. Adding an ActiveReport to a Visual Studio .NET Project Learn how to add an ActiveReport to a Visual Studio project. Adding Field Expressions Learn how to add field expressions to a text box data field. Binding Reports to a Data Source Learn how to bind reports to various data sources. Grouping Data Learn how to use the GroupHeader to group data in a report. Licensing Applications Learn how to license your ActiveReports Applications. Localizing the Viewer Control Learn how to localize settings for the ActiveReports Viewer control. Metric Units ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 25 Learn how to use metric units with ActiveReports for .NET. Saving and Loading RDF Files Learn how to save and load reports as RDF files at run time. Saving and Loading RPX Files Learn how to save and load reports as RPX files at run time. ActiveReports and the Web Learn about using ActiveReports with the Web. Using Export Filters Learn about using the ActiveReports export filters. Related Sections Samples ActiveReports includes many samples which demonstrate applications the developers created for ActiveReports. These samples show the use of a combination of controls and code to produce various reports. Walkthroughs Learn how to create various types of applications in C# and Visual Basic .NET--one step at a time. Technical Support Technical support is available for ActiveReports for .NET in a variety of media. ActiveReports Designer With its various tools and qualities, ActiveReports for .NET offers great flexibility in constructing report projects. In this section, you will learn how to use the different features of the ActiveReports Designer. ActiveReports WinForm Viewer Learn how to use the WinForm Viewer to preview a report. Adding a Report to your Project Learn how to add a report to a new or existing .NET project. Design Surface Learn more about the features of the design surface. Loading an Existing Report Layout Learn how to load an existing report layout at design time in ActiveReports. Report Menu Learn about the different aspects of the report menu. Toolbars Learn how to use the ActiveReports toolbars. Toolbox Learn about the functions of the controls on the ActiveReports toolbox. Using the ActiveReports WinForm Viewer To use the ActiveReports WinForm Viewer to preview report output 1. 2. 3. 4. Add an ActiveReport to your Visual Studio project and rename it rptMain. Add a new "Windows Form" to your project. Click on the ActiveReports viewer control in the appropriate toolbox and drag it onto Form1. Set the viewer control's Dock property to Fill. To write the code for the viewer in Visual Basic l Right-click on Form1, and click on View Code to display the code view for the form. At the top left of the code view for Form1, click the drop-down arrow and select (Base Class Events). At the top right of the ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 26 code window, click the drop-down arrow and select Load. This creates an event-handling method for the Form1_Load event. Add code to the handler to: l Format the viewer to show the report when it is run To write the code for the viewer in C# l Click on the blue section at the top of Form1 to select the form. Click on the events icon in the Properties window to display available events for Form1. Double-click Load. This creates an eventhandling method for the Form1_Load event. Add code to the handler to: l Format the viewer to show the report when it is run The following example shows what the code for the method looks like: [Visual Basic] Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load Dim rpt As New rptMain() Viewer1.Document = rpt.Document rpt.Run() End Sub [C#] private void Form1_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { rptMain rpt = new rptMain(); this.viewer1.Document = rpt.Document; rpt.Run(); } Adding a Report to Your Project To add a report to your project 1. 2. 3. Open a new or existing project. Click on Project > Add New Item (Ctrl+Shft+A) Select ActiveReports File and rename the file. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 27 4. Click Open to add the report to your project. Design Surface The ActiveReports design surface leverages your current knowledge of Visual Studio .NET's designer interface and provides full integration within the Visual Studio environment. To access the ActiveReports design surface ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 28 1. 2. 3. Open a Visual Studio project. Add an ActiveReport to your project. Once the report is added, you will see the report design surface. The default ActiveReports design surface is made up of the following base components: l PageHeader section--This section can be used to print column headers, page numbers, page titles, or any information that needs to be printed once at the top of each page. l Detail section--This section is the body of the report that prints once for each record in the data source. l DataSource icon--This control can be used to connect the report's data source settings to an existing data source l PageFooter section--This section can be used to print page totals, page numbers or any other information that needs to be printed once at the bottom of each page. Loading an Existing Report Layout To load an existing Report Layout 1. 2. 3. 4. Open a Visual Studio project. Click on File > Open > File... Select the RPX report layout from from the appropriate location. Click Open to load the report layout. -or5. 6. 7. While in an ActiveReport, click Report > Load Layout. Select the RPX file from the appropriate location. Click Open to load the selected report layout. Report Menu The report menu allows access to load report layouts, modify the report data source or modify report settings. To access the report menu 1. 2. 3. Open a new or existing ActiveReport. Click on any section in the report to select it. Click on Report from the main toolbar. The Report Menu allows the following options: l Load Layout The Load Layout option allows access to load an existing report layout into the open ActiveReport. l Data Source The Data Source option allows access to add Data Source parameters or modify existing Data Source settings. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 29 l Settings The Settings option allows access to change printer or page settings, stylesheets or global settings. Toolbars The toolbars in ActiveReports can be easily customized. ActiveReports' toolbars allow developers to rearrange buttons and menu options, as well as hide, display, dock or float toolbars. To access a toolbar's context menu l Right-click anywhere in the toolbar area The context menu allows you to show or hide toolbars by selecting the toolbar name from the menu. In addition, you can customize the toolbars or create a new toolbar from the customize option on the menu. The ActiveReports toolbar is made up of the following components: l Report Explorer--Shows or hides the report explorer tree and the fields list l Style Sheets--Sets the style sheet for a control l Font--Sets the typeface of the selected label, checkbox or textbox control l Size--Sets the font size of the selected label, checkbox or textbox control l View Grid--Turns the grid display on or off l Reorder Groups--Displays the groups order dialog l Edit Script--Starts ActiveReports Script Editor l Bold--Sets the bold typeface on or off l Italic--Sets the italic typeface on or off l Underline--Sets the underline typeface on or off l Align Left--Aligns the text left in the control area l Align Center--Aligns the text centered in the control area l Align Right--Aligns the text right in the control area l Justify--Justifies the text in the control area l Bullets--Adds bullets to the text in the RichText control area l Decrease Indent--Decreases the indent of the text in the RichText control area l Increase Indent--Increases the indent of the text in the RichText control area Toolbox The ActiveReports toolbox displays a variety of controls available for use in ActiveReports. The items available from the toolbox change depending on the designer currently in use. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 30 To access the ActiveReports toolbox 1. 2. 3. 4. Open a Visual Studio project. Add an ActiveReport to the project. Click on View > Toolbox. Click on the ActiveReports tab. The ActiveReports toolbox is made up of the following components: l Pointer--Allows you to select controls or sections of the report l Label--Allows you to insert a new static label control l Textbox--Allows you to insert a textbox, bound to a database field or unbound l Checkbox--Allows you to insert a checkbox, bound to a database field or unbound l Picture--Allows you to insert an image, loaded from a file l Line--Allows you to insert a line control l Shape--Allows you to insert a rectangle, circle or square shape l RichText--Allows you to insert an ActiveReports RichText control l Subreport--Allows you to insert a Subreport control to link to another report l PageBreak--Allows you to insert a page break within a selection l Barcode--Allows you to insert an ActiveReports Barcode control l Ole object--Allows you to insert an OLE object, bound to a database field, or unbound l WebViewer--Allows you to insert a control to view an ActiveReport on the web l Viewer--Allows you to insert an ActiveReports Viewer control l Designer--Allows you to insert an ActiveReports Designer control l ReportExplorer--Allows you to insert an ActiveReports ReportExplorer control Adding ActiveReports Controls to the Visual Studio Toolbox ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 31 Adding the ActiveReports Controls To add the controls 1. 2. 3. 4. Right-click on the toolbox tab where you want to add ActiveReports controls. Select Customize Toolbox. Select .NET Framework Components tab. Select the Designer, ReportExplorer, HtmlExport, PdfExport, Viewer and WebViewer controls in DataDynamics.ActiveReports namespaces in the components list view. 5. Click OK to add the controls to your selected toolbox. Adding an ActiveReport to a Visual Studio .NET Project Creating the Project The first step is creating a new Visual Studio Project. To create the project 1. 2. 3. From the File menu, click on New and choose Project. Select Project, then Add New Item. Select ActiveReports File and name your new report. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 32 4. 5. Click Open to add the report to your project. Visual Studio creates and displays the following ActiveReports designer document. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 33 Adding Field Expressions In ActiveReports, C# expressions can be used in the DataField property to specify textbox output in a report, such as date/time, mathematical calculations or conditional values. Any field expression should begin with the equals (=) sign. Using Field Expressions To use a mathematical expression Change the DataField property for the text box to the mathematical calculation desired: Example: =Quantity*Price To use a substring Change the DataField property for the text box to the substring needed. If setting up grouping, change the GroupHeader's DataField property to the same substring: Example: =ProductName.Substring(0, 1) To use date/time Change the DataField property for the text box to the following: Example: =System.DateTime.Now.ToString() To create a conditional value Change the DataField property for the text box to the conditional statement desired: Example: =(UnitsInStock > 0)?"In Stock":"Backorder" Binding Reports to a Data Source ActiveReports allows much flexibility in binding reports to various kinds of data sources. In this section, you will learn how to use various methods to bind reports to data sources. Note DAO and RDO data controls are no longer supported in ActiveReports for .NET. The ADO data control is converted to an ADO.NET data source. Data controls are removed and replaced with a report data source dialog accessible from the data source icon on the Detail section of the report. The XML Data control is converted into an XML data source. Data Set Learn how to bind a report to a data source using a data set. Data View Learn how to bind a report to a data source using a data view. Data Source Icon Learn how to bind a report to a data source using the DataSource icon in the ActiveReports Designer. Using a Data Set In addition to being able to set the report· s data source at design time, it is also possible to set the report· s data source at run time to a data set. This makes it easy to use data sets created with Microsoft· s data controls in your reports. To use a data set, set the report· s DataSource property to the data set being used and the report· s DataMember property to the table from which the report· s data is derived. The following example shows what the code for the method looks like: [Visual Basic] Dim rpt As New rptDataView() rpt.DataSource = Me.dataSet11 rpt.DataMember = "employees" [C#] ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 34 rptDataView rpt = new rptDataView(); rpt.DataSource = this.dataSet11; rpt.DataMember = "employees"; Using a Data View In addition to using a data set, the report· s data source can be set to a data view. This can be useful for creating reports containing filtered information. To use the data view in the report, set the report· s DataSource property to the data view created from the filtered data set (see Using a Data Set for more information). The following example shows what the code for the method looks like: [Visual Basic] Dim m_dbPath As String Dim usView As New DataView() Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _ Handles MyBase.Load m_dbPath = getDatabasePath() Me.oleDbConnection1.ConnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;_ Data Source=" + m_dbPath + "\\NWIND.MDB;Persist Security Info=False" Me.oleDbDataAdapter1.Fill(Me.dataSet11) usView = me.dataSet11.Tables("employees")) usView.RowFilter = "Country = 'USA'" Me.dataGrid2.DataSource = usView End Sub [C#] DataView usView; private void Form1_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { string m_dbPath = getDatabasePath(); this.oleDbConnection1.ConnectionString = "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0; Data Source=" + m_dbPath + "\\NWIND.MDB;Persist Security Info=False"; this.oleDbDataAdapter1.Fill(this.dataSet11); usView = new DataView(this.dataSet11.Tables["employees"]); usView.RowFilter = "Country ='USA'"; this.dataGrid2.DataSource = usView; } Using the DataSource Icon ActiveReports makes it easy to bind your report to a data source by using the yellow DataSource icon located in the Detail section of the report design surface or by accessing the DataSource dialog from the Report Settings menu. To use the DataSource icon 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open a Visual Studio project. Add an ActiveReport to your project. Once the report is added, you will see the report design surface. Click on the yellow DataSource icon in the Detail section of the report. You will then be prompted to select your data source, connection string and query. To connect to Microsoft Access using Jet 4.0 1. 2. 3. Click on the yellow report DataSource icon in the Detail section. This brings up the report DataSource dialog box. Click on Build... ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 35 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Select "Microsoft Jet 4.0 OLE DB Provider" and click Next >>. Enter a database name or click on the ellipsis to browse for the access path to a database. Click Open once you have entered a database name or selected the appropriate access path. Click OK to continue. Enter a SQL statement in the Query box (e.g. "Select * from products"). Click OK to return to the report design surface. To connect to SQL Server 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Click on the yellow report DataSource icon in the Detail section. This brings up the report DataSource dialog box. Click on the Data Source drop-down arrow and select SqlClient. Click on Build... Select "Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server" and click Next >>. Select a server. Chose Windows integrated security or a specific username and password. Choose the database for connection and click OK. Enter a SQL statement in the Query box (e.g. "Select * from products"). Click OK to return to the report design surface. To connect to a XML database 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Click on the yellow report DataSource icon in the Detail section. This brings up the report DataSource dialog box. Click on the Data Source drop-down arrow and select XML. Click on the ellipsis beside File URL to browse for the access path to Customer.xml. Click Open once you have selected the appropriate access path. In the Recordset Pattern field, enter a pattern (e.g. "//ITEM"). Click OK to return to the report design surface. Note In the report data source dialog, there is a option for the data source drop-down. If this option is chosen, it will clear out the data source code in the auto-generated code section. This option would be used if you had set a data source for the report previously and you no longer want one. Grouping Data In ActiveReports, a report can consist of single or multiple nested groups, with each group having its own header and footer sections. The header section is inserted and printed immediately before the Detail section. The footer section is inserted and printed immediately after the Detail section. Up to 32 nested groups are allowed in a single report. Note ActiveReports does not order records for grouping. It assumes the data is already sorted in the same grouping order. The data source needs to be ordered by the field on which you want your data grouped to achieve the desired results. Grouping Data in a Report To group data in a report 1. 2. 3. 4. Right-click in the Detail section of the report design surface, select Insert, and click on Group Header/Footer. This will insert a new group header/footer section into your report. In the Properties window for the group header, change the DataField property to the field on which you want your data grouped. Change the name of the group header to reflect the field on which data is being grouped. For example, "ghCategories" would be the name of the group header field with the DataField property of "CategoryID". ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 36 Licensing Applications Checking ActiveReports Windows Applications for Licensing To check an existing ActiveReports Windows application for licensing 1. 2. Open an existing ActiveReports Windows application project. In the Solution Explorer window, choose the "Show All Files" icon. 3. 4. If the ActiveReports application is licensed, you will see a file called "licenses.licx". If the "licenses.licx" file is not listed in your application's file list, you will need to manually set up the application for licensing. Manually Licensing Windows Applications To manually set up Windows applications for licensing 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Open an existing ActiveReports project or create a new one. On the Project menu, select Add New Item... In the Templates window, choose Text File. Change the name of the text file to "licenses.licx". This adds the "licenses.licx" file to Solution Explorer. Double-click "licenses.licx" to open the file. Add the following line to the text file: "DataDynamics.ActiveReports.ActiveReport, ActiveReports". Save your project. Your ActiveReports Windows application will now be licensed. Licensing Web Applications To set up Web applications for licensing 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Open an existing ActiveReports Web application From the Start Menu, click All Programs > Data Dynamics > ActiveReports.NET > "Create Web.Config Key" In the Data Dynamics ActiveReports Web Key Generator dialog, enter your name, company and the serial number. Click on "Create Web.Config". Copy the contents of the generated Web key text. In your ActiveReports Web application, double-click the Web.config file to open it. In the XML view of the Web.config file, paste the contents of the generated Web key text between and . Save the project. Your ActiveReports Web application will now be licensed. Localizing the Viewer Control In ActiveReports, you can localize settings for the Windows Forms Viewer control by modifying a provided "strings" text file, generating a resources file, embedding the resources file in your ActiveReports project and adding the localization code needed in your Form_Load event. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 37 Making localization changes to the strings text file To make changes to the text file 1. 2. 3. 4. Click here (Script/Strings.txt) to open the text file in your browser. Right-click on the text and select "View Source." This will open the file in Notepad. Make changes to localize settings for the viewer control. Click on Save As..., rename your text file "localization.txt" and save it to your location of choice. Generating the resources file from the text file To generate the resources file 1. 2. 3. 4. From the Start bar, click on All Programs > Microsoft Visual Studio.NET > Visual Studio .NET Tools > Visual Studio .NET Command Prompt. Change the prompt path to reflect the location of your localization.txt file. Type "resgen localization.txt localization.resources" . This creates a resources file in the same location as the text file. Adding the resources file to your Windows application To add the resources file 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open your ActiveReports Windows application which includes a Windows Form with an ActiveReports Windows Forms Viewer control. In the Solution Explorer window, click on the icon to "Show All Files". Right-click on the name of your project and click Add > Add Existing Item... Select the appropriate file path to the localization.resources file and click Open. This adds the resources file to your application. Adding code to the Form1_Load event To write the code for the viewer in Visual Basic l Right-click on Form1, and click on View Code to display the code view for the form. At the top left of the code view for Form1, click the drop-down arrow and select (Base Class Events). At the top right of the code window, click the drop-down arrow and select Load. This creates an event-handling method for the Form1_Load event. To write the code for the viewer in C# l Click on the blue section at the top of Form1 to select the form. Click on the events icon in the Properties window to display available events for Form1. Double-click Load. This creates an eventhandling method for the Form1_Load event. The following example shows what the code for the method looks like: [Visual Basic] Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Lo Dim res As New ResourceManager("rptLocalize.localization", Me.GetType().Assembly) Me.Viewer1.Localize = res Dim rpt As New rptLocalize() Viewer1.Document = rpt.Document rpt.Run(True) End Sub [C#] private void Form1_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { ResourceManager res = new ResourceManager("rptLocalize.localization", this.GetType().Assemb this.viewer1.Localize = res; rptLocalize rpt = new rptLocalize(); viewer1.Document = rpt.Document; rpt.Run(true); } ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 38 Using Metric Units In ActiveReports, ruler measurements can be changed from inches to centimeters and centimeters to inches from design time. Conversion values for centimeters to inches or inches to centimeters can be called at run time as well. To change ruler measurements at design time 1. 2. 3. In an existing ActiveReports project, click on Report, Settings... In the Report Settings dialog, click on Global Settings. Change Ruler Units from inches to centimeters or centimeters to inches. To call a measurement conversion at run time l Call the CmToInch method or InchToCm method whenever needed. For example, if you were working in centimeters and needed to convert a label's position measurements from centimeters to inches at run time, you would use the following code. [Visual Basic] Me.lblMyLabel.Left = ActiveReport.CmToInch(2) Me.lblMyLabel.Top = ActiveReport.CmToInch(2) [C#] this.lblMyLabel.Left = ActiveReport.CmToInch(2); this.lblMyLabel.Top = ActiveReport.CmToInch(2); Saving and Loading RDF Files ActiveReports allows reports to be saved into their own standard format called an RDF file (Report Document Format). Once a report has been saved to an RDF file, it can be loaded into the viewer control and used to display reports in custom preview applications. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 39 To write the code to save a report as an RDF file in Visual Basic l Right-click in any section of the Windows Form, and click on View Code to display the code view for the Windows Form. Add the following code to create the saveRDF event. To write the code to save a report as an RDF file in C# l Double-click on the Windows Form to see the code view for the Windows form. Add the following code to create the saveRDF event. The following example shows what the code for the method looks like: [Visual Basic] Dim rpt As New ActiveReport1() Private Sub saveRDF() rpt.Run() rpt.Document.Save(Application.StartupPath + "\\NewRDF.RDF" End Sub [C#] private void saveRDF() { ActiveReport1 rpt = new ActiveReport1(); rpt.Run(); rpt.Document.Save(Application.StartupPath + "\\NewRDF.RDF"; } To write the code to load the saved RDF into the ActiveReports viewer in Visual Basic l Right-click in any section of the Windows Form, and click on View Code to display the code view for the Windows Form. Add the following code to create the loadRDF event. To write the code to load the saved RDF into the ActiveReports viewer in C# l Double-click on the Windows Form to see the code view for the Windows form. Add the following code to create the loadRDF event. The following example shows what the code for the method looks like: [Visual Basic] Private Sub loadRDF() rpt.Run() Viewer1.Document.Load(Application.StartupPath + "\\NewRDF.RDF" End Sub [C#] private void loadRDF() { ActiveReport1 rpt = new ActiveReport1(); rpt.Run(); viewer1.Document.Load(Application.StartupPath + "\\NewRDF.RDF"); } Saving and Loading RPX Files To write the code to save a report as an RPX file in Visual Basic l Right-click in any section of the Windows Form, and click on View Code to display the code view for the Windows Form. Add the following code to create the saveRPX event. To write the code to save a report as an RPX file in C# l Double-click on the Windows Form to see the code view for the Windows form. Add the following code to create the saveRPX event. The following example shows what the code for the method looks like: ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 40 [Visual Basic] Dim rpt As New ActiveReport1() Private Sub saveRPX() rpt.Run() rpt.SaveLayout(Application.StartupPath + "\\NewRPX.RPX") End Sub [C#] private void saveRPX() { ActiveReport1 rpt = new ActiveReport1(); rpt.Run(); rpt.SaveLayout(Application.StartupPath + "\\NewRPX.RPX"); } To write the code to load the saved RPX into the ActiveReports viewer in Visual Basic l Right-click in any section of the Windows Form, and click on View Code to display the code view for the Windows Form. Add the following code to create the loadRPX event. To write the code to load the saved RPX into the ActiveReports viewer in C# l Double-click on the Windows Form to see the code view for the Windows form. Add the following code to create the loadRPX event. The following example shows what the code for the method looks like: [Visual Basic] Dim rpt As New ActiveReport1() Private Sub loadRPX() rpt.LoadLayout(Application.StartupPath + "\\NewRPX.RPX") Viewer1.Document = rpt.Document rpt.Run() End Sub [C#] private void loadRPX() { ActiveReport1 rpt = new ActiveReport1(); rpt.LoadLayout(Application.StartupPath + "\\NewRPX.RPX"); viewer1.Document = rpt.Document; rpt.Run(); } Note When saving to an RPX file, make sure you save the report before it runs. Saving the layout after the report runs will result in unwanted data being saved in the layout. If calling saveRPX inside the report, use the ReportStart event. Also, when saving the report layout, the script code is the only code that is saved to the file. The code in the report· s .cs or .vb file will not be saved to the RPX file. ActiveReports and the Web ActiveX Viewer Control Learn about the properties, methods, and events for the ActiveX Viewer Control. Manually Configuring Web Samples Learn how to manually configure ActiveReports Web Samples. ActiveX Viewer Control Properties ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 41 Property AllowSplitter BackColor BorderStyle DataPath Object Pages PaperColor Printer ReportSource RulerVisible Data Type Boolean OLE_COLOR BorderStyle String Object Pages collection OLE_COLOR Printer Object Boolean Description Sets or returns whether or not the viewer can be split into two windows. Sets or returns the background color of the viewer. Sets or returns the border style. Report file (RDF) URL for asynchronous downloads. Returns an object in a collection Returns a reference to the current pages collection displayed in the viewer. Sets or returns the paper background color. Returns a reference to the viewer's printer object. Sets or returns a reference to the linked subreport. Sets or returns whether or not the viewer's top and side rulers are shown at run-time. Returns the status of loading pages into the viewer cache. Returns a reference to the table of contents object. Disables or enables the TOC tree. Determines whether the table of contents tree is visible. Sets or returns the width of the TOC tree when displayed. Returns a reference to the built-in toolbar object. The toolbar object allows you modify the toolbar's icons and tools. Determines whether the built-in toolbar is visible. Sets/return whether the viewer or ReportSource printer is used to print the report. Sets or returns the zoom level of the current page view. Status TOC TOCEnabled TOCVisible TOCWidth Toolbar ViewerStatus TOC Boolean Boolean Single DDToolbar ToolbarVisible UseSourcePrinter Boolean Boolean Zoom Integer Methods Method CopyPageToClipboard Find Description Copies the indicated page to the clipboard. Sub CopyPageToClipboard([Page]) Searches a report for a specified string. Sub Find(View As SplitViewTypes, SearchText As String, Direction As SearchDirectionTypes, MatchCase As Boolean, MatchWord As Boolean) Allows modification of the caption of the string used in the preview window. Localize(index As Integer, str As String) Switches the viewer settings so multiple pages can be displayed at one time. Sub MultiplePage(View As SplitViewTypes, rows As Integer, cols As Integer) Prints the viewer pages collection to the selected device. Sub PrintReport(bDisplayDialog As Boolean) Localize MultiplePage PrintReport ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 42 Refresh SinglePage Refreshes the viewer control. Sub Refresh() Switches the viewer back to displaying a single page. Sub SinglePage(View As SplitViewTypes) Events Event DblClick Error Description Fired when the user double clicks the mouse in the viewer. Sub DblClick() Occurs when an error fires. Sub Error(Number As Integer, ByVal Description As String,ByVal SCode As Long, ByVal Source As String, ByVal HelpFile As String, ByValHelpContext As Long, CancelDisplay As Boolean) This event fires when a search is performed on a report loaded into the viewer. When a search reaches a report's end or beginning, the event will fire. Event FindProgress(ByVal Result As DDActiveReortsViewer2Ctl.FindResults) This event fires when a hyperlink is clicked. The event can be used to redirect the hyperlink or prevent the link from activating. Sub Hyperlink(ByVal Button As Integer, Link As String) Fired when a key is pressed down while the viewer has focus. Sub KeyDown(KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer) Fired When a key is pressed and released while the viewer has focus. Sub KeyPress(KeyAscii As Integer) Fired when a key is released while the viewer has focus. Sub KeyUp(KeyCode As Integer, Shift As Integer) Fired when all the pages in the report source have been loaded into the viewer. Sub LoadCompleted() Fired when a mouse button is pressed down. Sub MouseDown(Button As Integer, Shift As Integer, X As Single,Y As Single) Fired as the mouse moves over the viewer area. Sub MouseMove(Button As Integer, Shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single) This event fires when the mouse moves over a report page. If the mouse moves over a control with a hyperlink, then the link will be returned. Sub MouseOver(ByVal PageX As Long, ByVal PageY As Long, ByVal Hyperlink As String) Fired when a mouse button is released. Sub MouseUp(Button As Integer, Shift As Integer, X As Single, Y As Single) Fired when the viewer switches between displaying a single page and multiple pages. Sub PageModeChanged(ByVal MultiplePage As Boolean) Called in the PrintReport Method when the user cancels a print job before it finishes. Sub PrintAborted() Fired on a mouse click in the TOC treeview window. FindProgress HyperLink KeyDown KeyPress KeyUp LoadCompleted MouseDown MouseMove MouseOver MouseUp PageModeChanged PrintAborted TOCClick ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 43 Sub TOCClick(ByVal Button As Integer, ByVal As Long, ByVal Flags As Long) Fired when the TOC selection changes. Sub TOCSelChange (ByVal ItemIndex As Long) Fired when the user clicks on a tool in the viewer toolbar. Sub ToolbarClick(ByVal Tool As DDTool) Fired when the viewer's zoom percentage changes. Sub ZoomChanged() TOCSelChange ToolbarClick ZoomChanged Manually Configuring Web Samples Installing the Sample Web Application To install the sample web application 1. In the Control Panel, double-click "Administrative Tools." Double-click "Internet Information Services (Internet Services Manager for Windows 2000)" to open its dialog window. 2. 3. 4. Right-click on "Default Web Site" then click New > Virtual Directory... Click Next when you see the "Virtual Directory Creation Wizard." In the Alias field, enter one of the following folder names, depending on which web sample you need to configure: ¡ ArWebSampleStdCs ¡ ArWebSampleStdVb ¡ ArWebSampleProCs ¡ ArWebSampleProVb 5. 6. 7. 8. Click Next to continue. Click Browse... to find the folder in which ActiveReports is installed. Find and select the appropriate folder. Click OK to continue and then click Next. Make sure the "Read" and "Run Scripts" permissions are checked and click Next. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 44 9. The ActiveReports Web sample is now installed. Note If you are only configuring Standard Edition Web Samples, you do not need to complete the following steps. Configuring the ActiveReports HTTPHandlers To configure the HTTPHandler 1. 2. 3. 4. In the Control Panel, double-click "Administrative Tools." Double-click "Internet Information Services" to open its dialog window. Right-click on the website that you need to configure the HTTPHandlers for, then click Properties. Click on the "Home Directory" tab of the "Default Web Site Properties" dialog. Click on the Configuration button. 5. In the "Application Mappings" window of the Application Configuration dialog, select the list item with .aspx in the extension column and click Edit. Note that if your machine does not have the ASP.NET server components installed, the .aspx handler will not show up in the Application Mappings list. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 45 6. 7. 8. Select and copy all of the text in the "Executable" field. Click Cancel to return to the Application Configuration dialog. Click Add in the Application Configuration dialog to add a new Application Mapping. In the Executable field, paste the value copied from Step 6 and enter ".rpx"in the Extension field. 9. Click OK to add the mapping and return to the Application Configuration dialog. To configure the compiled report handler (continuing from Step 9 in "To Configure the HTTPHandler) 1. In the Application Configuration dialog, click Add to add a new Application Mapping. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 46 2. 3. 4. 5. In the Executable field, paste the value copied from Step 6 above. Enter .ActiveReport in the Extension field. Make sure the "Check that file exists" permission is unchecked. Click OK to add the mapping and return to the Application Configuration dialog. To configure the WebCacheAccessHandler (continuing from Step 9 in "To Configure the HTTPHandler) 1. 2. 3. 4. In the Application Configuration dialog, click Add to add a new Application Mapping. In the Executable field, paste the value copied from Step 6 above. Enter .ArCacheItem in the Extension field. Make sure the "Check that file exists" permission is unchecked. 5. 6. Click OK to add the mapping and return to the Application Configuration dialog. Click OK on the remaining open dialogs to exit the IIS Administrative tool. Using Export Filters ActiveReports provides custom components for several formats, including PDF, HTML, RTF, Excel, TIFF and plain text. Please note the following limitations in use for each ActiveReports export filter: HTML Legacy Not 100% WYSIWYG Does not support: l Line control l Control borders l Shapes (other than filled rectangles) l Overlapping controls. DHTML Not 100% WYSIWYG Does not support: l Diagonal line control l Control borders l Shapes (other than filled rectangles) PDF WYSIWYG as long as you use the correct fonts with foreign text. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 47 l Does not support full justification Excel Not 100% WYSIWYG Does not support: l Line control l Shapes (other than filled rectangles) l Overlapping controls l Borders on controls with angled text Tiff Image of page, so it's 100% WYSIWYG. RTF Not WYSIWYG Does not support: l Line control l Backcolors l Shapes l Overlapping controls l Control borders l Angled text Text Not WYSIWYG Supports plain text only. Supports encoding for foreign language support. Getting Assistance This topic will show you how to locate Readme information as well as how to obtain support for ActiveReports for .NET. Readme File Find out how to locate the Readme file. Product Support Find out how to obtain product support for ActiveReports for .NET. Related Sections Introducing ActiveReports for .NET ActiveReports leverages the latest technologies including XML, scripting and CSS along with open architecture to provide a fully-integrated and user-friendly report designer. Frequently Asked Questions This section lists questions and answers about ActiveReports for .NET. Installation and Setup This topic will help you find out what is necessary to install ActiveReports and direct you to appropriate help for the installation process. Samples and Walkthroughs This section contains sample code and applications that illustrate basic techniques and uses of ActiveReports. Readme File ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 48 The file, Readme.html, will be located in the "Introduction" folder of the root ActiveReports for .NET installation folder on your computer once the program is installed. Use your Internet browser to open and view the file. Product Support This topic will explain how to register your ActiveReports for .NET purchase and obtain technical support. In this section Product Registration Learn how to register your product purchase with Data Dynamics. Technical Support Find how to receive technical support for ActiveReports for .NET. Product Registration In order to receive telephone support, product news and upgrade announcements, you must register your product purchase with Data Dynamics. We encourage you to register your purchase as soon as you receive it using any of the following: l Fill out the enclosed registration card and mail it to Data Dynamics, 5870 Cleveland Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43231 l Fax the registration card to Data Dynamics at (614) 899-2943 l Complete the registration form on our website at http://www.datadynamics.com/register/default.htm Technical Support Technical support is available for ActiveReports for .NET in a variety of media. Telephone Support Telephone support is available for registered users of ActiveReports for .NET for up to five support incidents. Additional support requests should be directed to the appropriate newsgroup. If desired, additional telephone support can be acquired by purchasing any of the support packages available through Data Dynamics. Contact sales@datadynamics.com for details. When contacting Data Dynamics with support questions, be prepared to provide a serial number, the full version number of ActiveReports, a complete description of the problem and hardware and operating environment specifications. Support telephone number: (614) 895-3142 (9:00am-5:00pm EST) E-mail Support E-mail support is available for ActiveReports for .NET. Contact activereports.support@datadynamics.com. Website The Data Dynamics website offers the latest product news, white papers, tutorials, report samples and product service packs. Please visit the website for the latest news about ActiveReports for .NET before contacting technical support. Product Upgrades Minor upgrades and service packs will be made available for download from the Data Dynamics website free of charge. http://www.datadynamics.com/downloads.asp Major upgrades will carry an upgrade price that is determined separately for each release. You will be eligible for a free major upgrade if you purchased the product within 30 days of the upgrade release date. ActiveReports for .NET User Guide | 49 KnowledgeBase articles The Data Dynamics KnowledgeBase contains hundreds of helpful articles for all Data Dynamics products. You can search the entire KnowledgeBase for keywords or narrow down your search first by choosing a specific product before submitting your search criteria. KnowledgeBase (http://www.datadynamics.com/kb) Newsgroups The Data Dynamics news server can be used to read and post questions and answers about issues you encounter with ActiveReports for .NET. Tips and tricks can be communicated with other users and access to the Data Dynamics technical support team can be gained in an online community forum. Data Dynamics' technical support engineers monitor the newsgroups constantly and are available to answer questions and assist with any issues encountered using the product. Product announcements will also be posted to the news server. Newsgroup address for ActiveReports for .NET: news://news.datadynamics.com/support.activereports.NET Samples and Walkthroughs This section contains example code and sample applications that illustrate basic techniques and uses of ActiveReports. In This Section Samples Review various samples in C# and Visual Basic .NET. Walkthroughs Learn how to create various reports and report constituents with step-by-step instructions. Related Sections 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. Getting Assistance This topic will show you how to locate Readme information as well as how to obtain support for ActiveReports for .NET. Samples ActiveReports includes many samples which demonstrate applications the developers created for ActiveReports for .NET. These samples show the use of a combination of controls and code to produce various reports. In this section Standard Edition Samples Provides links to samples of Standard Edition applications. Professional Edition Samples Provides links to samples of Professional Edition applications. Additional Information Walkthroughs Walkthroughs give basic step-by-step instructions for common situations in ActiveReports. This feature makes walkthroughs an excellent way to learn more about the basic features of the product. Standard Edition Samples