ActiveReports supports field merged reports using the RichText control. The RichText control can contain field placeholders that are replaceable with their values (merged) at run time.

This walkthrough illustrates how to create a mail-merge report using the RichText control.

This walkthrough is split up into the following activities:

• Adding an ActiveReport to the Visual Studio project
• Connecting the report to a data source
• Adding controls to the report to contain data
• Adding fields to the RichText control
• Using the FetchData event to get information from the data source
• Adding code to update field values in the RichText control for each record
• Adding code to the group header BeforePrint event
• Viewing the report 

To complete the walkthrough, you must have access to the NorthWind database (NWind.mdb).

When you complete this walkthrough, you will have a report that looks similar to the following:

Adding an ActiveReport to the Visual Studio project

To add an ActiveReport to your project

1. Open a new project in Visual Studio.
2. Click on Project > Add New Item.
3. Select ActiveReports file and rename the file rptLetter.
4. Click Open.

Connecting the report to a data source

To connect the report to a data source

1. Click on the yellow report DataSource icon in the Detail section. This brings up the report DataSource dialog box.
2. Click on Build...
3. Select Microsoft Jet 4.0 OLE DB Provider and click Next >>
4. Click on the ellipsis to browse for the access path to NWind.mdb. Click Open once you have selected the appropriate access path.
5. Click OK to continue.
6. In the Query field, type "SELECT
   Customers.CustomerID, Customers.CompanyName,
   Customers.ContactName, Customers.Address,
   Customers.City, Customers.Region, Customers.Country, Customers.PostalCode, Orders.OrderID, Orders.OrderDate, [Order Subtotals].Subtotal
   FROM Customers INNER JOIN ([Order Subtotals] INNER JOIN Orders ON [Order Subtotals].OrderID = Orders.OrderID) ON Customers.CustomerID = Orders.CustomerID".
7. Click OK to return to the report design surface.

Adding controls to the report to contain data

To add controls to the report

1. Add a GroupHeader/Footer section to rptLetter. 
2. Make the following changes to the group header:
   • Change the name to ghCustomerID
   • Change the DataField property to CustomerID
   • Change the ColumnLayout property to False
   • Change KeepTogether property to True
3. Make the following changes to the group footer:
• Change the name to gfCustomerID
• Change the ColumnLayout property to False
• Change KeepTogether property to True
• Change the NewPage property to After.
4. Add the following controls to the PageHeader section:

   Control	Name	Text	Misc Details	Location
   Picture	imgLogo	(Empty string)	Image = Logo	4, 0
   Label	lblNorthWind	NorthWind	Font Size = 14	5, 0
   Label	lblTraders	Traders	Font Size = 14	5, 0.25

5. Add the following controls to the GroupHeader section:

   Control	DataField	Name	Text	Misc Details	Location
   RichText	(Empty string)	rtf	(Empty string)	Size = 6, 2.25 in	0, 0
   Textbox	Subtotal	txtTotalOrders	(Empty string)	Visible = False SummaryType = SubTotal SummaryGroup = ghCustomerID	5, 0
   Label	(Empty string)	lblOrderID	Order ID	BackColor = Black ForeColor = White	0.875, 2.25
   Label	(Empty string)	lblOrderDate	Order Date	BackColor = Black ForeColor = White	1.875, 2.25
   Label	(Empty string)	lblAmount	Amount	BackColor = Black ForeColor = White	4.375, 2.25

6. Add the following controls to the Detail section:

   Control	DataField	Name	Text	Misc Details	Location
   Textbox	OrderID	txtOrderID	Order ID	Align: right	0.875, 0
   Textbox	OrderDate	txtOrderDate	Order Date	OutputFormat = MMMM d, yyyy	1.875, 0
   Textbox	Subtotal	txtSubtotal	Subtotal	OutputFormat = Currency Align: right	4.375, 0

7. Add the following controls to the GroupFooter section:

   Control	Name	Text	Location
   Label	lblYours	Yours,	0, 0
   Label	lblAR	Accounts Receivable	0, 0.5

8. Add the following controls to the PageFooter section:

   Control	Name	Text	Location
   Label	lblNWAddress	NorthWind Traders, One Portals Way, Twin Points WA 98156	0, 0

Adding fields to the RichText control

To add fields to the RichText control

1. Double-click inside the RichText control box to select it.
2. Right-click inside the box and choose Insert Field.
3. Insert the following fields in the following order:
   • Date
   • CompanyName
   • ContactName
   • Address
   • City
   • Region
   • Country
   • PostalCode
   • ContactName
   • TotalOrders
4. Add the following text to the RichText control box: "Dear [!ContactName], Thank you for your business. Below is a list of your orders for the past year with a total of [!TotalOrders]. Please take this opportunity to review each order and total for accuracy. Call us at 1-800-DNT-CALL with any questions or concerns.
5. Arrange your RichText control like the following example.

Using the FetchData event to get information from the data source

To write the code in Visual Basic

• Right-click in any section of the design window of rptLetter, and click on View Code to display the code view for the report. At the top left of the code view for rptLetter, click the drop-down arrow and select (Base Class Events). At the top right of the code window, click the drop-down arrow and select FetchData. This creates an event-handling method for rptLetter's FetchData event. Add code to the handler to:
  • Retrieve information from the data source

To write the code in C#

• Click in the gray area below rptLetter to select the report. Click on the events icon in the Properties window to display available events for the report. Double-click FetchData. This creates an event-handling method for rptLetter's FetchData event. Add code to the handler to:
  • Retrieve information from the data source

  The following example shows what the code for the method looks like.

  ' Visual Basic
  Dim m_companyName As String
  Dim m_contactName As String
  Dim m_address As String
  Dim m_city As String
  Dim m_region As String
  Dim m_country As String
  Dim m_postalCode As String
  Private Sub rptLetter_FetchData(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal eArgs As DataDynamics _
  	.ActiveReports.ActiveReport.FetchEventArgs) Handles MyBase.FetchData
          m_companyName = Fields("CompanyName").Value
          m_contactName = Fields("ContactName").Value
          m_address = Fields("Address").Value
          m_city = Fields("City").Value
          If Fields("Region").Value Is System.DBNull.Value Then
              m_region = ""
          Else
              m_region = Fields("Region").Value
          End If
          m_country = Fields("Country").Value
          m_postalCode = Fields("PostalCode").Value.ToString
  End Sub

  //C#
  string m_companyName;
  string m_contactName;
  string m_address;
  string m_city;
  string m_region;
  string m_country;
  string m_postalCode;
  private void rptLetter_FetchData(object sender, DataDynamics.ActiveReports.ActiveReport _
  		.FetchEventArgs eArgs)
  {
  	m_companyName = Fields["CompanyName"].Value.ToString();
  	m_contactName = Fields["ContactName"].Value.ToString();
  	m_address = Fields["Address"].Value.ToString();
  	m_city = Fields["City"].Value.ToString();
  	if(Fields["Region"].Value is System.DBNull)
  		m_region = "";
  	else
   		m_region = Fields["Region"].Value.ToString();
  		m_country = Fields["Country"].Value.ToString();
  		m_postalCode = Fields["PostalCode"].Value.ToString();
  }

Adding code to update the field values in the Rich Text control

To write the code in Visual Basic

• Right-click in any section of the design window of rptLetter, and click on View Code to display the code view for the report. At the top left of the code view for rptLetter, click the drop-down arrow and select ghCustomerID. At the top right of the code window, click the drop-down arrow and select Format. This creates an event-handling method for rptLetter's ghCustomerID_Format event. Add code to the handler to:
  • Update the field values in the RichText control

To write the code in C#

• Click in the GroupHeader section of rptLetter to select it. Click on the events icon in the Properties window for ghCustomerID to display available events for the section. Double-click Format. This creates an event-handling method for rptLetter's ghCustomerID_Format event. Add code to the handler to:
  • Update the field values in the RichText control

  The following example shows what the code for the method looks like.

  ' Visual Basic
  Private Sub ghCustomerID_Format(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _
  	Handles ghCustomerID.Format
          Me.rtf.ReplaceField("CompanyName", m_companyName)
          Me.rtf.ReplaceField("ContactName", m_contactName)
          Me.rtf.ReplaceField("Address", m_address)
          Me.rtf.ReplaceField("City", m_city)
          Me.rtf.ReplaceField("Region", m_region)
          Me.rtf.ReplaceField("Country", m_country)
          Me.rtf.ReplaceField("PostalCode", m_postalCode)
          Me.rtf.ReplaceField("Date", System.DateTime.Today.Date)
  End Sub

  //C#
  private void ghCustomerID_Format(object sender, System.EventArgs eArgs)
  {
  	this.rtf.ReplaceField("CompanyName", m_companyName);
  	this.rtf.ReplaceField("ContactName", m_contactName);
  	this.rtf.ReplaceField("Address", m_address);
  	this.rtf.ReplaceField("City", m_city);
  	this.rtf.ReplaceField("Region", m_region);
  	this.rtf.ReplaceField("Country", m_country);
  	this.rtf.ReplaceField("PostalCode", m_postalCode);
  	this.rtf.ReplaceField("Date", System.DateTime.Today.Date.ToString());
  }

Adding code to the Group Header BeforePrint Event

To write the code in Visual Basic

• Right-click in any section of the design window of rptLetter, and click on View Code to display the code view for the report. At the top left of the code view for rptLetter, click the drop-down arrow and select ghCustomerID. At the top right of the code window, click the drop-down arrow and select BeforePrint. This creates an event-handling method for rptLetter's ghCustomerID_BeforePrint event.

To write the code in C#

• Click in the GroupHeader section of rptLetter to select it. Click on the events icon in the Properties window for ghCustomerID to display available events for the section. Double-click BeforePrint. This creates an event-handling method for rptLetter's ghCustomerID_BeforePrint event.

  The following example shows what the code for the method looks like.

  ' Visual Basic
  Private Sub ghCustomerID_BeforePrint(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) _
  	Handles ghCustomerID.BeforePrint
          Me.rtf.ReplaceField("TotalOrders", Me.txtTotalOrders.Text)
  End Sub

  //C#
  private void ghCustomerID_BeforePrint(object sender, System.EventArgs eArgs)
  {
  	this.rtf.ReplaceField("TotalOrders",this.txtTotalOrders.Text);
  }

Viewing the report

To view the report

1. Add the ActiveReports viewer control to a Windows Form.
2. Add the code needed to set the viewer document equal to the report document. See Using the ActiveReports WinForm Viewer for help.

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