User defined tables (C# / netframework)
Note
This demo is available in your FlexCel installation at <FlexCel Install Folder>\samples\csharp\VS2022\netframework\20.Reports\91.User Tables and also at https://github.com/tmssoftware/TMS-FlexCel.NET-demos/tree/master/csharp/VS2022/netframework/Modules/20.Reports/91.User Tables
Overview
User defined tables allow you to specify the datasets in the report part of the data layer. Different from Direct SQL, user tables work in a more controlled environment, where you can specifically deny or grant access to the data. User Tables also allow access not SQL databases.
Concepts
To use User Tables you need the following things:
On the config sheet, write "User Table(parameters)" on the "Source Name" column, and something else on the "Table Name" column. What you write on the "Table Name" column is really not important, but you need to write something so FlexCel knows that the row has information. Normally you would use this column to tell FlexCel what is the name of the datatable you want to add, but this is not a requirement.
On the code, you need to define a UserTable event that will actually add the tables to the report base on what you write on the "parameters" and "table name" columns.
On this example, we just use the parameter as the name of the table we want to load, and use the "table name" column as the name of the table we will insert on the report. We could also use the parameter string as parameter to an SQL, but when doing this, please make sure you validate the parameter string against a hashtable of possible values, to avoid SQL injections attacks.
Even when we do not show it here, you could pass many parameters on the "Parameters" string, using your own defined parameter separator, and process this string on the event.
Unrelated to user tables, on this demo we also show how you can delete the categories that have no products, using a <#delete range> tag inside a <#if(<#products.#Rowcount>0 ) = 0> tag. Important note:* As FlexCel already deletes products that have no records, this will interfere with the <#Delete range> tag that will delete whole categories, and it would in fact delete one more row that what we need. So it is important that you make* **genericReport.DeleteEmptyRanges = false on the code before running the report.
Files
AssemblyInfo.cs
using System.Reflection;
using System.Runtime.CompilerServices;
//
// General Information about an assembly is controlled through the following
// set of attributes. Change these attribute values to modify the information
// associated with an assembly.
//
[assembly: AssemblyTitle("")]
[assembly: AssemblyDescription("")]
[assembly: AssemblyConfiguration("")]
[assembly: AssemblyCompany("")]
[assembly: AssemblyProduct("")]
[assembly: AssemblyCopyright("(c) 2002 - 2024 TMS Software")]
[assembly: AssemblyTrademark("")]
[assembly: AssemblyCulture("")]
//
// Version information for an assembly consists of the following four values:
//
// Major Version
// Minor Version
// Build Number
// Revision
//
// You can specify all the values or you can default the Revision and Build Numbers
// by using the '*' as shown below:
[assembly: AssemblyVersion("7.21.0.0")]
//
// In order to sign your assembly you must specify a key to use. Refer to the
// Microsoft .NET Framework documentation for more information on assembly signing.
//
// Use the attributes below to control which key is used for signing.
//
// Notes:
// (*) If no key is specified, the assembly is not signed.
// (*) KeyName refers to a key that has been installed in the Crypto Service
// Provider (CSP) on your machine. KeyFile refers to a file which contains
// a key.
// (*) If the KeyFile and the KeyName values are both specified, the
// following processing occurs:
// (1) If the KeyName can be found in the CSP, that key is used.
// (2) If the KeyName does not exist and the KeyFile does exist, the key
// in the KeyFile is installed into the CSP and used.
// (*) In order to create a KeyFile, you can use the sn.exe (Strong Name) utility.
// When specifying the KeyFile, the location of the KeyFile should be
// relative to the project output directory which is
// %Project Directory%\obj\<configuration>. For example, if your KeyFile is
// located in the project directory, you would specify the AssemblyKeyFile
// attribute as [assembly: AssemblyKeyFile("..\\..\\mykey.snk")]
// (*) Delay Signing is an advanced option - see the Microsoft .NET Framework
// documentation for more information on this.
//
[assembly: AssemblyDelaySign(false)]
[assembly: AssemblyKeyFile("")]
[assembly: AssemblyKeyName("")]
Form1.cs
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Collections;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Data;
using System.IO;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Resources;
using System.Globalization;
using FlexCel.Core;
using FlexCel.XlsAdapter;
using FlexCel.Report;
using FlexCel.Demo.SharedData;
namespace UserTables
{
/// <summary>
/// Using tables that are defined in the template.
/// </summary>
public partial class mainForm: System.Windows.Forms.Form
{
public mainForm()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
AutoRun();
}
public void AutoRun()
{
using (FlexCelReport genericReport = new FlexCelReport(true))
{
genericReport.UserTable += new UserTableEventHandler(genericReport_UserTable);
genericReport.DeleteEmptyRanges = false;
string DataPath = Path.Combine(Path.Combine(Path.GetDirectoryName(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location), ".."), "..") + Path.DirectorySeparatorChar;
if (saveFileDialog1.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
{
genericReport.Run(DataPath + "User Tables.template" + Path.GetExtension(saveFileDialog1.FileName), saveFileDialog1.FileName);
if (MessageBox.Show("Do you want to open the generated file?", "Confirm", MessageBoxButtons.YesNo) == DialogResult.Yes)
{
using (Process p = new Process())
{
p.StartInfo.FileName = saveFileDialog1.FileName;
p.StartInfo.UseShellExecute = true;
p.Start();
}
}
}
}
}
private void genericReport_UserTable(object sender, UserTableEventArgs e)
{
DataSet ds = new DataSet();
//On this example we will just return the table with the name specified on parameters
//but you could return whatever you wanted here.
//As always, remember to *validate* what the user can enter on the parameters string.
switch (e.Parameters.ToUpper(CultureInfo.InvariantCulture))
{
case "SUPPLIERS":
SharedData.Fill(ds, "select * from suppliers", e.TableName);
break;
case "CATEGORIES":
SharedData.Fill(ds, "select * from categories", e.TableName);
break;
case "PRODUCTS":
SharedData.Fill(ds, "select * from products", e.TableName);
break;
default: throw new Exception("Invalid parameter to user table: " + e.Parameters);
}
((FlexCelReport)sender).AddTable(ds, TDisposeMode.DisposeAfterRun);
}
private void btnCancel_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
Close();
}
}
}
Form1.Designer.cs
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Collections;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.Data;
using System.IO;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Reflection;
using System.Resources;
using System.Globalization;
using FlexCel.Core;
using FlexCel.XlsAdapter;
using FlexCel.Report;
namespace UserTables
{
public partial class mainForm: System.Windows.Forms.Form
{
private System.Windows.Forms.Button button1;
private System.Windows.Forms.SaveFileDialog saveFileDialog1;
private System.Windows.Forms.Label label1;
private System.Windows.Forms.Button btnCancel;
/// <summary>
/// Required designer variable.
/// </summary>
private System.ComponentModel.Container components = null;
/// <summary>
/// Clean up any resources being used.
/// </summary>
protected override void Dispose(bool disposing)
{
if (disposing)
{
if (components != null)
{
components.Dispose();
}
}
base.Dispose(disposing);
}
#region Windows Form Designer generated code
/// <summary>
/// Required method for Designer support - do not modify
/// the contents of this method with the code editor.
/// </summary>
private void InitializeComponent()
{
this.button1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
this.saveFileDialog1 = new System.Windows.Forms.SaveFileDialog();
this.label1 = new System.Windows.Forms.Label();
this.btnCancel = new System.Windows.Forms.Button();
this.SuspendLayout();
//
// button1
//
this.button1.Anchor = ((System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles)((System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Top | System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Right)));
this.button1.BackColor = System.Drawing.Color.Green;
this.button1.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.White;
this.button1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(112, 136);
this.button1.Name = "button1";
this.button1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(112, 23);
this.button1.TabIndex = 0;
this.button1.Text = "GO!";
this.button1.UseVisualStyleBackColor = false;
this.button1.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.button1_Click);
//
// saveFileDialog1
//
this.saveFileDialog1.Filter = "Excel Files|*.xls;*.xlsx;*.xlsm|Excel 97/2003|*.xls|Excel 2007|*.xlsx;*.xlsm|All files|*.*";
this.saveFileDialog1.RestoreDirectory = true;
//
// label1
//
this.label1.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(24, 24);
this.label1.Name = "label1";
this.label1.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(288, 24);
this.label1.TabIndex = 2;
this.label1.Text = "A demo on how to use user tables on a report. ";
//
// btnCancel
//
this.btnCancel.Anchor = ((System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles)((System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Top | System.Windows.Forms.AnchorStyles.Right)));
this.btnCancel.BackColor = System.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(((int)(((byte)(192)))), ((int)(((byte)(0)))), ((int)(((byte)(0)))));
this.btnCancel.DialogResult = System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Cancel;
this.btnCancel.ForeColor = System.Drawing.Color.White;
this.btnCancel.Location = new System.Drawing.Point(232, 136);
this.btnCancel.Name = "btnCancel";
this.btnCancel.Size = new System.Drawing.Size(112, 23);
this.btnCancel.TabIndex = 3;
this.btnCancel.Text = "Cancel";
this.btnCancel.UseVisualStyleBackColor = false;
this.btnCancel.Click += new System.EventHandler(this.btnCancel_Click);
//
// mainForm
//
this.AutoScaleDimensions = new System.Drawing.SizeF(6F, 13F);
this.AutoScaleMode = System.Windows.Forms.AutoScaleMode.Font;
this.ClientSize = new System.Drawing.Size(376, 166);
this.Controls.Add(this.btnCancel);
this.Controls.Add(this.label1);
this.Controls.Add(this.button1);
this.Name = "mainForm";
this.Text = "User Tables";
this.ResumeLayout(false);
}
#endregion
}
}
Program.cs
using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
namespace UserTables
{
static class Program
{
/// <summary>
/// The main entry point for the application.
/// </summary>
[STAThread]
static void Main()
{
Application.EnableVisualStyles();
Application.SetCompatibleTextRenderingDefault(false);
Application.Run(new mainForm());
}
}
}