Reports in Databse and their events.

rbuser

Delphi 6 + IB 6.0x + RB 7.0

I have all my reports saved in a databse table.
At run time I create a ppReport component then load the selected report from
table and print it.
This works fine as far as I do not have any events for any of the components
inside the report, I mean like OnCalc of a ppVariable.

For this sort of reports I already have ppReport inside the form, with a
whole heap of components which is needed for the events, and then I load the
report
into this ppReport component and print them and it works fine. It goes
something like this.

procedure TForm1.ppVariable1Print(Sender: TObject);
begin
if ReportName = 'REPORT-1' then
ppVariable1.Value := ppVariable1.Value +
ppDBCalc1.Value-ppDBCalc2.Value;

if ReportName = 'REPORT-2' then
ppVariable1.Value := ppVariable1.Value -1000;
end;

What I need and want to do is to do away with the ppReport component in the
form, and always create the ppReport and load the Report from the table.

How am I going to Create events, use various variables etc inside each of
these reports for calculation ?

Thanks in Advance

Thatchi
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

nicocizik

Hi Thatchi,

The solution is to keep all your report events local to the template file
using RAP. RAP is available with the Enterprise edition of ReportBuilder.

-------------------------------
Article: RAP Overview
-------------------------------

Question: What is RAP?


Overview of Features
----------------------

1. RAP is Portable Code

RAP allows you to store code with your reports. Until now, ReportBuilder's
powerful events have been available only within Delphi. If you wanted to
load reports at runtime and retain any event handlers, you had to load the
report into a form or datamodule which contained correctly named procedures
in order to ensure that the loaded report "hooked up" successfully to the
event handlers. Now, with RAP, you can code your event handlers within the
Calc workspace and then save them as part of the report in an RTM file. When
you load a report from an RTM or from a database, your event handlers are
loaded as well and are already "hooked up".

2. RAP is EndUser Programming

RAP allows your users to create their own calculations with their reports.
ReportBuilder's award winning end user solution was already powerful,
allowing your users to edit or create new reports, but RAP extends the
solution by giving end users the ability to code their own event handlers
and extended calculations. The Calc workspace is an Object Pascal
development environment that is designed for ease of use by non-developers.
The Code Explorer offers varied views of the report code module; the Code
Editor is a syntax-sensitive Pascal editor; the Code Toolbox serves double
duty, providing both a partial list of supported identifiers as well as a
drag & drop code creation facility.

3. RAP is Scalable

ReportBuilder allows you to scale RAP to the needs of your users. The Calc
workspace has a great deal of functionality, but your users may not need all
of it. You are able to limit RAP to those parts you wish to deploy. Using
the RAPInterface and RAPOptions properties of the Designer component, you
can specify what features to make available to the end user.

3. RAP is Object Pascal

RAP is a subset of Object Pascal so you already know Report Application
Pascal (RAP) and can easily support your users.

4. RAP is extensible.

RAP is extensible. RAP is installed with a large number of standard Delphi
functions, Delphi objects and RCL (Report Component Library) objects already
registered with the compiler and Code Toolbox. However, if you wish to
register your own functions or objects, it is an easy process. Thus you can
build a library of pass-through functions to deploy with your report
applications.

RAP provides a simple, intuitive Pascal development environment. While you
can use the Calc tab to add code to your reports, it is also made for the
end user who may or may not have any experience in development environments.
See the Calc workspace for information about the IDE.


--
Regards,

Nico Cizik
Digital Metaphors
http://www.digital-metaphors.com

rbuser

Thanks Nico !

Im working on it with RAP. One problem I have declared a Global variable in
RAP. How can I set a value for this variable from Delphi unit, I mean
outside RAP ?

Thanks

Thatchi !
~~~~~~~~~~

nicocizik

Hi Thatchi,

Take a look at the Report.Parameters feature. You can assign parameter
values in Delphi and use them in RAP. See the following example.

http://www.digital-metaphors.com/tips/SimpleParameters.zip

--
Regards,

Nico Cizik
Digital Metaphors
http://www.digital-metaphors.com