In a Page Layout, you can use the Render method in Rendering Extensions of the PageDocument class to render in any one of the following formats.
HTML
HTML, or hypertext markup language, is a format that opens in a Web browser. It is a good format for delivering content because virtually all users have an HTML browser. You can use the HTMLRenderingExtension to render your report in this format.
In order to render your report in HTML, add reference to the following assemblies in the project:
- GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Html.v7.dll
- GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Extensibility.v7.dll
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Note: Rendering to HTML requires the .NET Framework full profile version. To ensure you are using the full profile version, go to the Visual Studio Project menu > Properties > Compile tab > Advanced Compile Options (for Visual Basic projects) or to the Project menu > Properties > Application tab (for C# projects) and under Target framework select a full profile version. |
Limitations
- HTML is not the best format for printing. Use the PDF rendering extension instead.
- Vertical-align style is always Top for text boxes in HTML reports. If Bottom or Middle vertical alignment is an essential style element in your report, it is recommended to use any format other than HTML.
Interactivity
Reports rendered in HTML support a number of interactive features. Hyperlinks, Bookmarks and Drill through links can be rendered to HTML. However, Document Maps are not available in this format. For a drill down report, make sure that the data you want to display is expanded before rendering, otherwise it renders in the hidden state.
Portable Document Format (PDF), is a format recommended for printing and exports. You can use the PDFRenderingExtension to render your report in this format. With the PDF rendering extension, you can use such features as font linking, digital signatures and end-user defined characters.
In order to render your report in PDF, add reference to the following assemblies in the project:
- GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Html.v7.dll
- GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Extensibility.v7.dll
Interactivity
PDF is considered as the best format for printing and it also supports interactive features like Document Map, Bookmarks and Hyperlinks. However, in case you have any data hidden (like in a drill-down report) at the time of rendering, it does not show up in the output. Therefore, it is recommended to expand all toggle items prior to rendering.
PDF/A Support Limitations
- The NeverEmbedFonts property is ignored, so all fonts of a report are embedded into the PDF document.
- The Security.Encrypt property is ignored and the PDF export behaves as if this property is always set to False.
- The OnlyForPrint property is ignored and the PDF export behaves as if this property is always set to False.
- The DocumentToAddBeforeReport and DocumentToAddAfterReport properties of the PDF Rendering Extension settings are ignored.
- Transparent images lose their transparency when exported to PDF/A-1.
- External hyperlinks are exported as plain text.
Image
Image is the format that converts your report to an image file. You can use the ImageRenderingExtension to your render you report in this format. Make sure that you select an ImageType to any of the six different image formats available: BMP, EMF, GIF, JPEG, TIFF, and PNG.
In order to render your report in an Image format, add reference to the following assemblies in the project:
- GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Image.v7.dll
- GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Extensibility.v7.dll
Interactivity
As the output is an image file, reports rendered in this format do not support interactivity. Any hidden data at the time of rendering is rendered as hidden in the image. Therefore, in order to display all hidden data (like in a drill-down report), expand all toggle items prior to rendering.
XML
XML is a useful format for delivering data to other applications as the resulting XML file opens in an internet browser. You can use the XmlRenderingExtension to render your report in this format.
In order to render your report in XML, add reference to the following assemblies in the project:
- GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Xml.v7.dll
- GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Extensibility.v7.dll
Interactivity
XML format does not support interactive features except that when rendering a report to XML, complete drill-down data is shown regardless of whether the data is rendered in expanded state or not.
Word
MS Word is one of the formats to which you can render your report using the WordRenderingExtension.
In order to render your report in MS Word, add reference to the following assemblies in the project:
- GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Word.v7.dll
- GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Extensibility.v7.dll
Limitations
Although background colors for controls export to Word documents, background colors for sections such as Body and Page Header or Footer do not.
Interactivity
Reports rendered in a Word format supports both Bookmarks and Hyperlinks. However, if visibility toggling (like in a drill-down report) is essential to your report, it is recommended to use the HTML rendering extension. And If a Document map is essential to your report, it is recommended to use the PDF rendering extension.