Most of system end-users, prefer their report in PDF, Excel or Word format over Crystal Report. The reason is they have more control over the report specially if they need to modify the report and add more information. This is where export facility comes handy. For todays article, you will learn How to export crystal report to PDF, Excel or MS Word document.
First we need to include the following namespaces on your Using directives.
using CrystalDecisions.Shared; using CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports;
Next is to setup the database connection using TableLogOnInfo class.
CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.ReportDocument O_Report = new CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.ReportDocument(); //Load the report O_Report.Load(Server.MapPath(Request.QueryString["file"].ToString())); O_Report.Database.Tables[0].ApplyLogOnInfo(LogInfo);
After loading the report, pass the parameters required.
//pass the parameters ParameterDiscreteValue discreteVal = new ParameterDiscreteValue(); discreteVal.Value = Request.QueryString["parameter1"].ToString(); O_Report.SetParameterValue("parameter1", discreteVal);
Then finally, export the crystal report using ExportToHttpResponse method.
string exportfilename = "DMR" + Request.QueryString["parameter1"].ToString(); switch (cboFormat.Text.ToLower()) { case "microsoft word": O_Report.ExportToHttpResponse(ExportFormatType.WordForWindows, Response, true, exportfilename); break; case "microsoft excel":
Last night, I was looking for a freeware that can convert PDF files to plain TXT and luckily I stumbled with this cool freeware called Zilla PDF to TXT Converter. Although the freeware is limited to converting pdf files to plain text format files only, it is still notable because it can process conversion in batch mode (multiple PDFs). Another important feature is that Zilla PDF to TXT Converter also support conversion of specific pages range to txt files.
I tested converting a 10MB PDF file and the software gave me just 800KB of text file. This is a great tool to extract information from PDF and use it for whatever purpose you want.
You can now see the preview of your message by enabling the new Gmail Labs feature that just launched called Gmail Inbox Preview. As Gmail goes through its initial boot, Inbox Preview will show a plaintext version of your ten most recent message subject lines. The feature is most notable to people who still using quirky mobile connections or dial up service.
Grabbed from GMail Blog
To ease this pain a bit, we created a new feature in Gmail Labs called Inbox Preview. While Gmail is loading, a simple, static preview of your inbox with your ten most recent messages is displayed. Turn it on from the Labs tab under Settings, and if you're on a slow connection you'll know from the start if it's worth the wait.
A Delegate is something like function pointers. It is an object that is created to refer to a static method and then used to call this method. Using a delegate allows the coder to encapsulate a reference to a method inside a delegate object. The delegate object can then be passed to code which can call the referenced method without knowing at compile time which method will be invoked. But Unlike function pointers in C or C++, delegates are object-oriented, type-safe, and secure.
For this article, I will demonstrate How to use delegates using a very simple C# example.
Let's create a sample function and named it as ParseString.
I often often use delegates to encapsulate my libraries so that actual functions names are not visible to other programmers. This is an effective way to standardize coding.
March 21, the search giant released the stable version 2.0 of Google Chrome. According to Google, the newest version can run JavaScript-heavy web pages about 30% faster. It is impressive given that Chrome is already run faster compared to other browser in the web. The stable build is a follow-up on the Chrome developer version which Google released at dev channel earlier this month of May.
Comparison from previous stable version
Google also added other features such as form autofill, full screen mode, and the ability to remove thumbnails from the New Tab page.
On this article, I will show you how to reverse a string in C#. Although this function is not often used in business applications, still you might need it someday. One use of it that I can think of, is including it as part of data encryption process. I'll show you two different functions, first the ReverseWord which will reverse a string by word and the ReverseWordChar that reverse string by each character.
Reverse string by word
public static string ReverseWord(string s) { int length = s.Length; int i = 0;
string[] splittedArray = s.Split(' '); StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder(); for (i = splittedArray.Length - 1; i >= 0; i--) { if (i != 0) sb.Append(splittedArray[i] + ' '); else sb.Append(splittedArray[i]);
}
return sb.ToString(); }
Reverse string by each character
public static string ReverseWordChar(string s) { int length = s.Length; int i = 0,j=0; StringBuilder sb= new StringBuilder(); int startPos = length - 1;
for (i = length-1; i >=0;i--) { if (s[i] == ' ') { for (j = i+1; j <= startPos; j++) { sb.Append(s[j]); } startPos = i; sb.Append(' '); } }
On Wednesday May 20, Microsoft released the Visual Studio 2010 BETA to the public. It was released two days ago (May 18) to TechNet and MSDN subscribers. Now both MSDN/TechNet subscribers and the public can test all edition of the latest version of Visual Studio 2010 which are Professional, Team Suite, Team Foundation Server and including the .Net Framework 4. Although Microsoft has not yet announce their target ship date, several experts predicts that it might be ship before the end of year 2009.
I've been using Crystal Report since VB6 days, the earliest version I handled was Seagate Crystal Report 7.0. Microsoft included the OEM version of Business Objects Crystal Reports on Microsoft Visual Studio as a general purpose reporting tool. Crystal Reports became the de facto report writer when Microsoft released it with Visual Basic. Today, you will learn How to call Crystal Report on your application. This article includes a VB.NET project that you can customize for your own application.
The step-by-step procedure to call Crystal Report 1. Add new form and named it as frmPrinter. This will serve as your Crystal Report Printer module. 2. Add references to CrystalReport.CrystalReport.Engine and CrystalDecisions.Shared 3. Add Crystal Report Viewer on the newly created form. Make sure that the Dock property is set to "Fill"
4. Switch to "View Code" and include the following namespaces required for this project.
5. Inside the form class, declare private variables that will hold as crystal report parameters
Private _Parameter1 As String
6. Modify the form's constructor (new) event to include passing of parameters as shown below.
Public Sub New(ByVal prParameter As String)
' This call is required by the Windows Form Designer. InitializeComponent()
' Add any initialization after the InitializeComponent() call. _Parameter1 = prParameter End Sub
7. Add the "SetConnectionInfo" function which will create the Login connection to your database.
Public Shared Sub SetConnectionInfo(ByVal RptDoc As Engine.ReportDocument, ByVal CnnInfo As [Shared].TableLogOnInfo)
For Each TableReport As CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.Table InRptDoc.Database.Tables TableReport.ApplyLogOnInfo(CnnInfo) Next For Each SectionReport As CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.Section InRptDoc.ReportDefinition.Sections For Each RptObj As CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.ReportObject InSectionReport.ReportObjects If RptObj.Kind = ReportObjectKind.SubreportObject Then Dim SubRptObj As CrystalReports.Engine.SubreportObject = RptObj Dim SubRpt As CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.ReportDocument =SubRptObj.OpenSubreport(SubRptObj.SubreportName) For Each tbl As CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.Table InSubRpt.Database.Tables tbl.ApplyLogOnInfo(CnnInfo) Next End If Next Next End Sub
8. On your the "Shown" event of the frmPrinter, Paste the following codes.
Private Sub frmPrinter_Shown(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Shown 'Prepare Database Login Info Dim LogInfo As New TableLogOnInfo() LogInfo.ConnectionInfo.ServerName = "mnlho8ap33" LogInfo.ConnectionInfo.DatabaseName = "BS" LogInfo.ConnectionInfo.UserID = "sa" LogInfo.ConnectionInfo.Password = "12345678" Dim oReport As New ReportDocument oReport.Load("rptSample.rpt") 'Connect to database SetConnectionInfo(oReport, LogInfo) 'Set Parameters oReport.SetParameterValue("Parameter1", _Parameter1) 'Open preview Me.WindowState = FormWindowState.Maximized CR1.ReportSource = oReport End Sub
9. Lastly on the form caller, put the code that will call the form printer.
Dim frm As New frmPrinter(txtInvoiceNumber.Text) frm.MdiParent = Me.ParentForm frm.Show()
Now Try to run the project, the result should display like the screenshot below.
To customize and make your own Crystal Report printing, download the sample project here.
For more Crystal Reports tips and tricks, subscribe now
There is a new feature in GMail Labs today, user can now understand foreign-language emails by using Google automatic message translation technology. Simply enable "Message Translation" from the Labs tab under Settings, and when you receive a foreign-language email, Gmail can translate it into a language you can understand in one click.
If all parties are using Gmail, you can have entire conversations in multiple languages with each participant reading the messages in whatever language is most comfortable for them. It's not quite the universal translators we're so fond of from science fiction, but thanks to Google Translate, it's an exciting step in the right direction. I use this feature everyday to help me work with teammates around the globe (they think my Japanese is much better than it really is...shhhh!).
I tried it this morning with an email on my Spam folder. It really works!
Now you can impress your foreign email pals, let them write you in their own language.
Microsoft .NET do not have available namespace or command to directly map shared network folder. To map a shared folder you still need to access the WinAPI or use the NET USE command. Today we will explore the usage of WNetAddConnection2A and how we can use it to map any network shared folder. This article also contains a sample project that you can download and study.
To start, you need to include the following namespace in your VB.NET project:
Imports System.Runtime.InteropServices
Then inside your form class, delare the WNetAddConnection2 and WNetCancelConnection2 WINAPIs.
Public Declare Function WNetAddConnection2 Lib "mpr.dll" Alias "WNetAddConnection2A" _ (ByRef lpNetResource As NETRESOURCE, ByVal lpPassword As String, _ ByVal lpUserName As String, ByVal dwFlags As Integer) As Integer
Public Declare Function WNetCancelConnection2 Lib "mpr" Alias "WNetCancelConnection2A" _ (ByVal lpName As String, ByVal dwFlags As Integer, ByVal fForce As Integer) As Integer
Also after the declaration of WINAPIs, create a public structure like the one below:
<structlayout(layoutkind.sequential)>Public Structure NETRESOURCE Public dwScope As Integer Public dwType As Integer Public dwDisplayType As Integer Public dwUsage As Integer Public lpLocalName As String Public lpRemoteName As String Public lpComment As String Public lpProvider As String End Structure
And then defined some constants that will be used later.
Public Const ForceDisconnect As Integer = 1 Public Const RESOURCETYPE_DISK As Long = &H1
Now after we finished declaring the prerequisites, Lets code the functions to Map an UnMap shared folder.
Function to Map a shared Folder
Public Function MapDrive(ByVal DriveLetter As String, ByVal UNCPath As String) As Boolean
Dim nr As NETRESOURCE Dim strUsername As String Dim strPassword As String
nr = New NETRESOURCE nr.lpRemoteName = UNCPath nr.lpLocalName = DriveLetter & ":"
strUsername = Nothing strPassword = Nothing If txtUsername.Text.Length > 0 Then strUsername = txtUsername.Text End If If txtPassword.Text.Length > 0 Then strPassword = txtPassword.Text End If
nr.dwType = RESOURCETYPE_DISK
Dim result As Integer result = WNetAddConnection2(nr, strPassword, strUsername, 0)
If result = 0 Then Return True Else Return False End If End Function
Function to Un-Map shared folder
Public Function UnMapDrive(ByVal DriveLetter As String) As Boolean Dim rc As Integer rc = WNetCancelConnection2(DriveLetter & ":", 0, ForceDisconnect)
If rc = 0 Then Return True Else Return False End If
End Function
Its finished, you application should be able to map shared network folder. To get the Visual Studio 2005 sample project I created, download it here.
Most common problem of a slow windows PC is cause by registry problems such as Registry Errors, Registry Junk, MRU and History Data and Temp Files. I found a freeware registry cleaner created by Macecraft which is called PowerTools Lite. The program will clean out unneeded files, clean left-over data from the registry and fix registry errors. These features are based on the engine of jv16 PowerTools 2009.
It has an expert mode that allows a user to configure some of the scan rules before the scan is conducted. It has four different configuration settings that allows user to change scan performance, words to ignore or search for and advanced options like removing all found errors automatically or ignoring entries that get recreated by the computer system.
For this summer 2009, the firefox creator wants itslatest design Challenge to focus on finding creative solutions on how to reinvent Tabs in the browser. Their theme is to find answer on the question "How can we create, navigate and manage multiple web sites within the same browser instance?"
Tabs worked well on slow machines on a thin Internet, where ten browser sessions were "many browser sessions". Today, 20+ parallel sessions are quite common; the browser is more of an operating system than a data display application; we use it to manage the web as a shared hard drive. However, if you have more than seven or eight tabs open they become pretty much useless. And tabs don’t work well if you use them with heterogeneous information. They’re a good solution to keep the screen tidy for the moment. And that’s just what they should continue doing.
If you want participate in the Design Challenge you need to create a mock-up of your proposed solution. It can be anything from a napkin drawing, to a wireframe, to a polished graphic. You also need to create a video that explains your idea(s), presenting the mock-up and showing how your idea works.
Here are the important dates to watch for: * May 14th, 2009 - Launch of Design Challenge: Summer 09 * June 21st, 2009 - Submission deadline for mockups & videos * July 8th, 2009 - Announcement of "Best in Class" and "People's Choice" selection
A Comma separated values (CSV) file is a computer data file commonly used for exchanging information, for example between a database program and a spreadsheet program. Each line in the CSV file corresponds to a row in the table. Within a line, fields are separated by commas, each field belonging to one table column. Although Comma-separated value lists are very old technology and predate personal computers by more than a decade, it is still widely used today by many applications.
On this article, you will learn how to read a CSV file and put the values in an array. The sample code below uses StreamReader to load the file so you have to include the following imports:
Imports System.IO
Function in reading CSV file using VB.NET
Private Sub ReadCSVFileToArray() Dim strfilename As String Dim num_rows As Long Dim num_cols As Long Dim x As Integer Dim y As Integer Dim strarray(1, 1) As String
' Load the file. strfilename = "test.csv"
'Check if file exist If File.Exists(strfilename) Then Dim tmpstream As StreamReader = File.OpenText(strfilename) Dim strlines() As String Dim strline() As String 'Load content of file to strLines array strlines = tmpstream.ReadToEnd().Split(Environment.NewLine)
' Copy the data into the array. For x = 0 To num_rows strline = strlines(x).Split(",") For y = 0 To num_cols strarray(x, y) = strline(y) Next Next
' Display the data in textbox For x = 0 To num_rows For y = 0 To num_cols TextBox1.Text = TextBox1.Text & strarray(x, y) & "," Next TextBox1.Text = TextBox1.Text & Environment.NewLine Next
End If
End Sub
Here is the result of invoking the VB.NET function:
Aside from storing the CSV into array, you can also directly store the parsed comma-separated values into database. This method is very useful in integrating two or more systems with different platforms.
For Database administrators, keeping track of the last date time when a table got updated is vital for a database audit. If you have an entry date field on your table that contains default value of GETDATE() then you can make use of it by using ORDER BY entrydate query. But of course we can't expect all tables to have such field. No worry because SQL server has Dynamic Management View (DMV), admin can query on sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats and retrieve the datetime when the table was last updated.
To get the last update from sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats, user can retrieve it from last_user_update field as shown in the SQL script below:
SELECT OBJECT_NAME(OBJECT_ID) AS DatabaseName, last_user_update,* FROM sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats WHERE database_id = DB_ID( 'TestDatabase') AND OBJECT_ID=OBJECT_ID('tblTest')
If you want to get the last update on all tables in a database you can use the sys.tables.
SELECT b.name ,user_seeks ,user_scans ,user_lookups ,user_updates ,last_user_seek ,last_user_scan ,last_user_lookup ,last_user_update FROM sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats a JOIN sys.tables b ON (b.object_id = a.object_id) WHERE database_id = db_id()
Please take note that if the SQL Server is restarted all information from DMV will be reset.
I stumbled on this great backup tool for MS SQL Server backup today. It has a free and premium version. SQLBackupAndFTP is MS SQL Server backup software that runs scheduled backups of SQL Server or SQL Server Express databases, zips the backups, stores them on a network or on a FTP server, removes old backups, and sends an e-mail confirmation on job's success or failure. Although it can be used in any SQL Server version, it was especially designed for SQL Server Express 2005 and SQL Server Express 2008, since they don't have built in tools for backup at all.
