Is report builder a solution to me?

rbuser

Hi, i tryied a demo of report builder, made a little project to retrive info
and show it, i'm planning to make a bigger system that will serve reports to
client pcs. The idea is not to be forced to install sql server on the
clientes, so all the work should be done in the server, but also, y want to
set filters for the reports, from the clients. When i make a report builder
app, i put an adoquery component, providing datasets, a dataset component, a
datapipeline and finally the report component, when i press the print
button, i set the query in the adoquery component, open the query and then
call reportbuildercomponent.print and get the report, will it be posible to
have client applications doing that? i mean in any way closing the datasets,
getting new ones and then opening the datasets and get the report in the
client pc?. Besides that, i don't want to create dbtext compoents on the
report at designtime, i want to create them at runtime based on metadata
information, in the detailbandbeforeprint event, will that be posible?

Thanks in advance.
Sergio.

nardmoseley

The Server supports RB's AutoSearch feature, which is our term for
ask-at-runtime parameters. If you are not familiar with this feature,
check RBuilder\Demos\AutoSearch. If you have RB Professional or above,
then the AutoSearch feature is much more powerful because you can use
RB's Visual Query tools to create queries that have AutoSearch
parameters. This requires no code - RB takes care of generating the
dialog and re-generating SQL, etc. (See the article below.)

In a report server application, the report and it's associated
event-handlers execute on the server. The ClientReport object receives
Page objects from the server. One of the AutoSearch demos shows how to
print a description of the search criteria.


A Server Trial Edition can be downloaded from
www.digital-metaphors.com/server/TrialEdition.html


----------------------------------------------------
Tech Tips: Creating AutoSearch parameters via DADE
----------------------------------------------------


1. Access the Data workspace of the Report Designer.

2. Create a DataView using the Query Wizard or Query Designer.

2. A DataView tool window will be displayed in the data workspace.

3. Press the Search button. The Search tab of the Query Designer will be
displayed.

4. Add a search criteria item and select the AutoSearch checkbox. You
can optionally select Mandatory as desired.

5. Close the query designer.

6. Now when you select the Preview tab of the Report Designer. A search
button will appear on the toolbar. This displays the AutoSearch dialog.

7. By calling Report.Print in code, or by selecting print/preview from
the report explorer the AutoSearch dialog will be automatically be
displayed.

rbuser

Sergio:

I think RB Server would serve you well. Have you been to my site and looked
at it:

www.annuitypeople.com/cgi-bin/report.dll

This is straight out of the box.

For selection criteria see the \Report Explorer Database\Accouting\Customer
List report. Adding complexity to the report and criteria is very doable.
Additionally a think client that is more then a browswer, is also avaiable
(I can run it off the same service that is running my report service).

As for criteria, if the feature that you need is not there, you can add it,
and it sounds like DM will be extending this area soon (but I am not DM,
just a volunteer, and have gleaned that information from the newsgroups, not
any private conversation).

HTH,
Ed Dressel
Team DM

rbuser

Sergio,
You do not have to install SQL Server on the clients anyway. All you
need is the mdac components from M$ which ship already in the OS for
NT4/2000/XP. If it is not one of those OS'es, you just click an executable
and it installs..... www.microsoft.com/data

rbuser

Ed,

Thank you for putting up this demonstration of ReportBuilder Server in
action. Your sample reports have been my single biggest incentive to
upgrade ReportBuilder.

When the pricing was initially released, I opted against upgrading at all.
When the price lowered, I figured I could afford to upgrade my RB6 E license
to RB7 E. But I was really interested in / curious about RB7 Server.

Not having a project that demanded web reporting yet, I could see no reason
to purchase it right now - but I did not want to lose out on the discounted
price. However, now that I have seen what it can do (and its speed), I
placed my order for ReportBuilder Server today.

You really SHOULD be asking for a commission.

Thanks for the demo and for donating your bandwidth...

Rich Ackerson