- •Seagate Crystal Web Reports Server Overview
- •What is the Web Reports Server?
- •Who should use the Web Reports Server?
- •Web Reports Server Features
- •New Features in Version 7
- •The Web Reports Server vs. Active Server Pages
- •Sample Web Sites
- •Implementing the Web Reports Server
- •Choosing a Web Reports Server
- •System Requirements
- •Installing the Web Reports Server
- •Confirming Correct Installation
- •Virtual Directories
- •Creating a Web Site
- •For More Information
- •Crystal Web Reports Server Administration
- •The Web Reports Server Configuration Application
- •Page Server Tab
- •Image Server Tab
- •Report Exporting Tab
- •Server Mappings Tab
- •Report Viewing Tab
- •The Page Server and the Image Server
- •Smart Navigation
- •Drilling Down on Data
- •Database Location
- •Web Reports Server Commands
- •The Crystal Web Reports Server Command Expert
- •Constructing Report Requests
- •Changing Selection Formulas in Web Reports
- •SQL and ODBC Data Sources
- •SQL Stored Procedures and Parameter Fields
- •Report Exporting
- •Refreshing Web Report Data
- •Web Reports Server Architecture
- •The Web Reports Server Extension
- •The Seagate Crystal Web Image Server
- •The Seagate Crystal Web Page Server
- •Report Processing
- •Job Manager Overview
- •Seagate Crystal Report Engine Automation Server
- •Visual InterDev Design-time ActiveX Control
- •Using an Existing Report
- •Building a Report at Runtime
- •Editing Active Server Pages
- •Customizing the Crystal Smart Viewer
- •Modifying the Report
- •Session Timeout
- •Sample Web Site
- •Crystal Smart Viewer Overview
- •Features of the Crystal Smart Viewers
- •Printing from the Crystal Smart Viewers
- •Using Crystal Smart Viewers in Applications
- •Crystal Smart Viewer for HTML
- •Limitations of HTML Reports
- •Crystal Smart Viewer for Java
- •Adding the Viewer to a Web Page
- •Crystal Smart Viewer for ActiveX
- •AuthentiCode Certification
- •Adding the Viewer to a Web Page
- •Downloading the Viewer from the Server
- •ActiveX Viewer Example
- •Introduction to the Crystal Report Engine
- •Before using the Crystal Report Engine in your application
- •Using the Crystal Report Engine
- •Crystal Report Engine API
- •Declarations for the Crystal Report Engine API (REAPI)
- •Using the Crystal Report Engine API
- •The Print-Only Link
- •The Custom-Print Link
- •Working with Parameter Values and Ranges
- •Working with section codes
- •Crystal Report Engine API variable length strings
- •Crystal Report Engine API structures
- •Working with subreports
- •Changing report formats
- •Exporting reports
- •PEExportTo Overview
- •PEExportOptions Structure
- •Considerations when using the export functions
- •Handling Preview Window Events
- •Distributing Crystal Report Engine Applications
- •Additional Sources of Information
- •Using the Crystal Report Engine API in Visual Basic
- •When to Open/Close the Crystal Report Engine
- •Embedded Quotes in Visual Basic Calls to the Crystal Report Engine
- •Passing Dates/Date Ranges in Visual Basic using the Crystal Report Engine API Calls
- •Identifying String Issues in Visual Basic Links to the Crystal Report Engine
- •Hard-coded Nulls in Visual Basic User Defined Types
- •Visual Basic Wrapper DLL
- •Crystal ActiveX Controls
- •Adding the ActiveX Control to your Project
- •Using the ActiveX Controls
- •Upgrading from the Crystal Custom Control
- •Crystal Report Engine Automation Server
- •Adding the Automation Server to your Visual Basic Project
- •Using the Automation Server in Visual Basic
- •Object Name Conflicts
- •Viewing the Crystal Report Engine Object Library
- •Handling Preview Window Events
- •Distributing the Automation Server with Visual Basic Applications
- •Sample Applications
- •Active Data Driver
- •Data Definition Files
- •Using the Active Data Driver
- •Creating Data Definition Files
- •Using ActiveX Data Sources at Design Time
- •Crystal Data Object
- •CDO vs. the Crystal Data Source Type Library
- •Using the Crystal Data Object
- •Crystal Data Object Model
- •Crystal Data Source Type Library
- •Creating a new project and class
- •Adding the type library
- •Implementing the functions
- •Passing the CRDataSource object to the Active Data Driver
- •Crystal Data Source Projects
- •Grid Controls and the Crystal Report Engine
- •Bound Report Driver and Bound Report Files
- •Crystal ActiveX Control Properties
- •Creating a Bound Report using the Crystal ActiveX Control
- •Creating a Formatted Bound Report
- •Creating a Formatted Bound Report at Runtime
- •Sample Application
- •ActiveX designers
- •The Report Designer Component vs. Seagate Crystal Reports
- •Data Access
- •No drag and drop between reports – use copy and paste
- •Conditional Formatting
- •Preview Window
- •Pictures
- •Guidelines
- •Subreports
- •The dual formula environment
- •Application Distribution
- •Installing the Report Designer Component
- •System Requirements
- •Installation
- •Using the Seagate Crystal Report Designer Component
- •Adding the Report Designer Component to a Project
- •Selecting Data
- •The Report Expert
- •Adding the Smart Viewer
- •Running the Application
- •CrystalReport1 - The Report Designer Component
- •CRViewer1 - The Smart Viewer Control
- •The Code
- •Report Packages
- •Working with data
- •ADO and OLEDB
- •Connecting to data with ADO
- •Connecting to data with RDO
- •Connecting to data with DAO
- •Data Environments
- •Data Definition Files
- •Report Templates
- •ODBC, SQL, and PC data sources
- •Report Designer Overview
- •Introduction to the Report Designer Component
- •Report Designer Architecture
- •Report Designer Object Model Programming
- •Report Designer Object Model Introduction
- •Obtaining a Report object
- •Displaying the report in the Smart Viewer
- •Setting a new data source for the report
- •Using ReadRecords
- •Passing fields in the correct order
- •Working with secure data in reports
- •Handling the Format event
- •Changing the contents of a Text object
- •Changing OLE object images
- •Working with Sections
- •Working with the ReportObjects collection
- •Working with the FieldObject object
- •Working with the SubreportObject object
- •Working with the Database and DatabaseTables objects
- •Working with the CrossTabObject object
- •Exporting a report
- •The Application object
- •Report events
- •Microsoft Access Sessions
- •Programmatic ID
- •Report Distribution Considerations
- •Distributing reports as part of the application
- •Saving reports as external files
- •Saving data with reports
- •VCL Component Overview
- •Installation
- •Delphi 2
- •Delphi 3 & 4
- •C++ Builder 3
- •Programming Overview
- •Introduction to the Object Inspector
- •Changing Properties in the Object Inspector
- •Changing Properties at Runtime
- •Delphi Programmers introduction to the SCR Print Engine
- •Dealing with SubClass Objects
- •Consistent Code
- •Using the Retrieve method
- •Working with subreports
- •Other Guidelines
- •Programming Tips
- •Always Set ReportName First
- •Discard Saved Data
- •Verify Database
- •Connecting to SQL Servers
- •Changing Tables & Formulas
- •Changing Groups & Summary fields
- •Using the Send methods
- •Using the JobNumber property
- •TCrpeString
- •Introduction
- •TCrpeString VCL Properties
- •Using the TCrpeString
- •Using Variables with Formulas
- •Introduction
- •Examples
- •About Section Names
- •Introduction
- •Methodology
- •StrToSectionCode
- •C++ Builder 3
- •Introduction
- •Code Syntax
- •Additional Code Examples
- •Known Problems
- •Retrieving ParamFields from a Subreport
- •DialogParent and Temporary Forms
- •Technical Support
report. If you connected to Xtreme sample data, select the Customer table and click Add.
6Continue selecting tables and clicking Add. Click Done when finished. The selected tables appear in the Data Tab of the Create Report Expert. If you selected more than one table, the Linking Tab will appear.
7Proceed to design your report using the selected data.
PC Databases
This tutorial demonstrates how to connect to a Btrieve, xBase, Paradox, or Access database. Assuming you have clicked Custom on the Data Tab of the Create Report Expert:
1From the Log On Server dialog box, click Database File. The Choose Database File dialog box appears.
2Use the Choose Database File dialog box to locate and select the database file you want to use in your report, then click Add.
3Continue selecting database files and clicking Add for every database you wish to use in your report.
4Click Done when finished selecting databases. You will return to the Create Report Expert, and the Linking Tab will be activated.
5Use the Linking Tab to specify links between database tables.
6Continue designing your report.
Report Designer Overview
This section provides a brief explanation of what the Seagate Crystal Report Designer Component is and how it works with Visual Basic. An understanding of this material is not crucial to using the Report Designer Component, but it will help you understand how the designer works with Visual Basic and your data at both design time and runtime.
●What is the Report Designer Component?
●Report Designer Architecture
●Visual Basic Environment (Design Time)
●Visual Basic Environment (Runtime or Application EXE)
●Component Descriptions
●Dual - Interface
Introduction to the Report Designer Component
The Seagate Crystal Report Designer Component is an ActiveX designer which provides a design window inside of the Visual Basic Integrated Development Environment (IDE). An ActiveX designer component has a design window which allows visual modification of the object. At runtime, the object may take on a new appearance and behavior. A good example of a design object is the standard Visual Basic Form designer which
The Report Designer Component |
169 |
provides a rich design time environment where you can add controls and other objects to the Form object to create a more sophisticated object that has a similar look but different behavior at runtime.
ActiveX designers created by Microsoft and other, third-party vendors work much like standard design objects but can be plugged in to Visual Basic or any other development environment that supports such designers. These components help expand what you can do with VB while behaving in a consistent fashion with the rest of the Visual Basic IDE.
The Report Designer Component is an ActiveX designer that specializes in simplifying reporting tasks such as connecting to Visual Basic project data and formatting and modifying report fields. In addition to making reporting in Visual Basic easier, the designer also exposes the Report Designer Component object library. This gives the Report Designer Component a simple design time interface with very powerful runtime capabilities.
Report Designer Architecture
The Seagate Crystal Report Designer Component includes several COM objects that work with the Visual Basic design and runtime environments. The following sections describe this interaction. For complete descriptions of all of the components in the Report Designer architecture, see Component Descriptions, Page 172.
The following topics are discussed in this section:
Design Time, Page 170
Runtime, Page 171
Component Descriptions, Page 172
Dual - Interface, Page 173
Design Time
At design time, the Report Designer Component provides a user interface that closely integrates with the Visual Basic IDE. Through the user interface, you design and manipulate reports and report data. This interface includes events that can be directly programmed from within Visual Basic.
The Report Designer Component uses the Active Data Driver(see Active Data Driver, Page 118) for connecting to ISAM, ODBC, and SQL databases through Data Access Objects (DAO), Remote Data Objects (RDO), ActiveX Data Objects (ADO), and Data Environments (Visual Basic 6.0 only). You can design the data set from within Visual Basic, then apply it to the report contained by the Report Designer Component.
When working in Visual Basic, you will often need to use the Seagate Crystal Report Smart Viewer for ActiveX as a user interface to display reports. The Smart Viewer is an ActiveX control that you can drop right on to a standard Visual Basic Form. The Smart Viewer is, ultimately, where your report is displayed at runtime.
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This is a diagram illustrating design time relationship with Visual Basic. Red arrows (1) indicate methods, properties and events that VB developers can manipulate directly; Green arrows (2) indicate internal communications between Crystal components.
Runtime
The user interface provided by the Report Designer Component at design time does not appear in your application at runtime, or when it is compiled into an executable file. Instead, the Report Designer Component is accessed directly by your Visual Basic code. The Report Designer object model provides a complete object hierarchy for direct manipulation in Visual Basic.
The Active Data Driver is also available at runtime, through the Report object of the Report Designer Component object model, and can be assigned a new set of data based on user interaction with your application. You design a Recordset or Resultset object in Visual Basic using the DAO, RDO, or ADO object model, and pass it to the report.
Finally, the Smart Viewer takes center stage at runtime, connecting to the Report Designer Component and displaying the embedded report. With careful design and placement on the Form, the Smart Viewer appears simply as a window inside your application.
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This is a diagram illustrating the runtime relationship with Visual Basic. Red arrows (1) indicate methods, properties and events that VB developers can manipulate directly; Green arrows (2) indicate internal communications between Crystal components.
Component Descriptions
Component |
Description |
|
|
|
|
Crystal Report Designer |
This is a COM (Component Object Model) component that provides the |
UI Component |
user interface at design time for the user to interact with and create or |
|
modify the report. |
|
|
Crystal Report Designer |
This is an underlying COM component that provides services for the user |
Design Time Component |
interface component. |
Crystal Report Designer |
This is the component that encapsulates all of the report objects and is |
Run Time Component |
responsible for doing all of the data processing and report layout. |
|
|
Active Data Driver |
This is a data access driver that provides access to various types of object |
|
data sources including DAO, RDO, and ADO. |
Crystal Reports Smart |
This component is an Active X control which can be drawn on a form and |
Viewer for ActiveX |
manipulated at design time. It provides a rich object model which can be |
|
used to modify user interaction with the report at runtime. This |
|
component is required only if a developer wants to provide on-screen |
|
display of reports at runtime. |
The Report Designer Component |
172 |