How to create a customized report using .NET and Word?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Albert
  • Start date Start date
A

Albert

Hi guys,
I'm working in a .NET application and I'm using Crystal Reports for creating
the reports. This works, but the reports are static(the user can't customize
the formatting), so I'm thinking to use Word for formatting and to find a
way to communicate with the database. I know that this can be done using
VBA, but I don't have any experience with that, so I'm looking to do that
from .NET. The complete scenario is:
1. The user select the kind of report he wannt to customize.
2. My application open Word with some extra menus or toolbars, to allow the
user to put fields from the database.
3. User save the document and has the option to "run" it and get the data.
I don't know if I was clear enought....
Any idea how to do this is appreciated
Albert
 
I thought of this solution but went to datadynamics solution. Not all the
users I would deal with had Word installed.
 
Any idea how to solve my problem...???
Brian P. Hammer said:
I thought of this solution but went to datadynamics solution. Not all the
users I would deal with had Word installed.
Click to expand...
 
I am not sure exactly what you are trying to accomplish using Word. Graphs
and charts become difficult. The overall formatting is pretty easy. You can
find the MSDN Office reference and that should be a great help . Like I
said, I decided to use Active Reports to make my life easier. Check out the
product by http://www.datadynamics.com/
 
I'm trying to find a way for letting user customize the reports. For example
I have a Invoice report. I have done it with Crysal Reports and the user
cannot customize the interface. I wannt that the user can cutomize the
apperance of the report.
Thank you
 
Maybe I still wasn't clear enought. So I will try to explain from the
beginning:
1. I have a report for the list of customers, let say with 4 fields: first
name, last name, address and phone. I have created the report using Crystal
Reports and the user can see and print it. That's OK.
2. Now, I wannt that the user can customize the apperance of the report, for
example change the colors, backgrounds, and his own logo etc...I think the
best way to do this is using Word. The important aspect is that the user
will change the template for the report, not a specific report. If he
customize the template, every list of customers he will print will be the
same.
3. To do this I must find a way to let the user add the database fields in
the template (first name, last name, phone, address), for example with 4
toolbar buttons. So the user design the report and add the database fields
as placeholders.
4. When the user run the application the report get filled with actual data.
I hope I've been clear eought.
From what I have read, a option is to use XML, and when the user add
database fields, I will add XML tags. In runtime I will have to replace the
XML tags with real data. This may work, but I'm trying to find the best way
to do this.

Any help it's appreciated
Thanks.
 
Hi Albert,

I understand what you are trying to accomplish. I know Crystal cannot do
this unless they have Crystal Reports installed on their machine. The only
reporting software I could find that allowed the user to customize reports
was the ActiveReports. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
 
Thank you,
I will give it a try...

Brian P. Hammer said:
Hi Albert,

I understand what you are trying to accomplish. I know Crystal cannot do
this unless they have Crystal Reports installed on their machine. The only
reporting software I could find that allowed the user to customize reports
was the ActiveReports. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

--
Thanks,
Brian P. Hammer


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