Export Reports using ExportFilter Class

As an alternative to using a specific format filter (for example, PdfFilter) for exporting a report to a particular format ( say, PDF format), FlexReport allows you to export a report to different formats using ExportFilter class. The ExportFilter class is an abstract base class for all exporter classes. An object of ExportFilter class is used to export a report to different formats. The ExportFilter class accesses the ExportProvider abstract class which describes supported export formats.

In the following code, we have used the ExportFilter class that accesses the ExportProvider class to list all the export formats in a ComboBox, which are described in the ExportProvider class. To do so, a ComboBox control is added in the design view to show the list of available export formats and its name is set to cbxExportFormat.

Add the reference to the C1.WPF.4.dll, C1.WPF.Document.4.dll, and C1.WPF.FlexReport.4.dll.

Add the following namespaces in the code:

Visual Basic
C#

Visual Basic

Imports C1.WPF.Document.Export
Imports C1.WPF.FlexReport
Imports System.IO

using C1.WPF.Document.Export;
using C1.WPF.FlexReport;
using System.IO;

Add the following code in the code view to create an instance of C1FlexReport:
- Visual Basic
- C#
- Visual Basic
Private _report As New C1FlexReport()
- C#
private C1FlexReport _report = new C1FlexReport();

Add the following code beneath InitializeComponent() method in the interaction logic for XAML:

Visual Basic
C#

Visual Basic

' build list of supported export filters
For Each e In _report.SupportedExportProviders
    cbxExportFormat.Items.Add(e.FormatName)
Next
cbxExportFormat.SelectedIndex = 0

// build list of supported export filters
foreach (var e in _report.SupportedExportProviders)
{
    cbxExportFormat.Items.Add(e.FormatName);
}
cbxExportFormat.SelectedIndex = 0;

Add a Button control to the MainWindow for exporting a FlexReport to different formats using ExportFilter and ExportProvider class, use the following code:

Visual Basic
C#

Visual Basic

Dim reports As String() = C1FlexReport.GetReportList("..\..\FlexCommonTasks_WPF.flxr")
Dim ep As ExportProvider = _report.SupportedExportProviders(cbxExportFormat.SelectedIndex)
Dim ef As ExportFilter = TryCast(ep.NewExporter(), ExportFilter)
If Not Directory.Exists("..\..\ExportResults") Then
    Directory.CreateDirectory("..\..\ExportResults")
End If

For Each reportName As String In reports
    Using rep As New C1FlexReport()
        rep.Load("..\..\FlexCommonTasks_WPF.flxr", reportName)
        ef.FileName = String.Format("..\..\ExportResults\{0}.{1}",
        reportName, ep.DefaultExtension)
        Try
            rep.RenderToFilter(ef)
        Catch ex As Exception
            MessageBox.Show(String.Format("Exception while export [{0}] report:" _
            & vbCr & vbLf & "{1}", reportName, ex.Message), "Error",
            MessageBoxButton.OK, MessageBoxImage.[Error])
        End Try
    End Using
Next

string[] reports = C1FlexReport.GetReportList(@"..\..\FlexCommonTasks_WPF.flxr");
ExportProvider ep = _report.SupportedExportProviders[cbxExportFormat.SelectedIndex];
ExportFilter ef = ep.NewExporter() as ExportFilter;
if (!Directory.Exists(@"..\..\ExportResults"))
    Directory.CreateDirectory(@"..\..\ExportResults");

foreach (string reportName in reports)
{
    using (C1FlexReport rep = new C1FlexReport())
    {
        rep.Load(@"..\..\FlexCommonTasks_WPF.flxr", reportName);
        ef.FileName = string.Format(@"..\..\ExportResults\{0}.{1}",
        reportName, ep.DefaultExtension);
        try
        {
            rep.RenderToFilter(ef);
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            MessageBox.Show(string.Format
            ("Exception while export [{0}] report:\r\n{1}", reportName, ex.Message),
            "Error", MessageBoxButton.OK, MessageBoxImage.Error);
        }
    }
}

You can also use the following properties available in ExportFilter class:

Properties	Description
FileName	Used to name the output file.
MultiFile	Used to indicate whether multiple files were generated during export.
OutputFiles	Used to show the list of files which were generated by the call to Export(string).
PageSettings	Used to specify the settings that apply to a page.
Preview	Used to indicate whether the exported document should be opened after exporting it to a disk file.
Range	Used to represent the range of pages to be exported.
ShowOptions	Used to indicate whether the options dialog should be shown before exporting the document.
Stream	Used to specify the output stream.
UseZipForMultipleFiles	Used to indicate whether the output (stream or file) should be a zipped archive with the generated files, if multiple files are created during export.