Balanced columns (Delphi)

Note

This demo is available in your FlexCel installation at <FlexCel Install Folder>\Demo\Delphi\Modules\20.Reports\57.Balanced Columns and also at https:​//​github.​com/​tmssoftware/​TMS-​FlexCel.​VCL-​demos/​tree/​master/​Delphi/​Modules/​20.​Reports/​57.​Balanced Columns

Overview

The FlexCel reporting engine will automatically balance the ranges that are inside a master range so the master range will stay in place. You can use this feature for creating master detail reports with balanced columns inside (where the master will grow to cover the longest column), or use a fake "master" report to ensure the columns inside the report have the same number of rows.

Concepts

• How to create a master detail report with detail columns, and where the master grows with the biggest of the columns. In columns where the number is less, the last cell of the column will be copied to fill the missing rows, so all columns have the same height.

• How to use Fixed N Bands to avoid having empty rows at the end of each master record.

• How to use the "ROWS" function in the config sheet (see Creating empty datasets with N rows) to create a database with a single row, that you can use as a master from the main report, and so ensure balanced columns.

For more information in balanced columns please take a look at the section Fixed N Bands in the Reports designer's guide.

Files

UMainForm.pas

unit UMainForm;

interface

uses
  Windows, Messages, SysUtils, Variants, Classes, Graphics,
  FlexCel.VCLSupport, FlexCel.Core, FlexCel.XlsAdapter, FlexCel.Report, FlexCel.Render,
  {$if CompilerVersion >= 23.0} System.UITypes, {$IFEND}
  ShellApi,
  Controls, Forms, Dialogs, StdCtrls, ExtCtrls;

type
  TMainForm = class(TForm)
    btnCancel: TButton;
    btnGo: TButton;
    SaveDialog: TSaveDialog;
    Label1: TLabel;
    procedure btnCancelClick(Sender: TObject);
    procedure btnGoClick(Sender: TObject);
  private
    procedure RunReport;
    function GetDataPath: string;
    { Private declarations }
  public
    { Public declarations }
  end;

var
  MainForm: TMainForm;

implementation
uses IOUtils, DemoCustomers;

{$R *.dfm}

procedure TMainForm.btnCancelClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
  Close;
end;

procedure TMainForm.btnGoClick(Sender: TObject);
begin
  RunReport;

end;

function TMainForm.GetDataPath: string;
begin
  Result := TPath.Combine(TPath.GetDirectoryName(ParamStr(0)), '..\..');
end;


procedure TMainForm.RunReport;
var
  Report: TFlexCelReport;
begin
  if not SaveDialog.Execute then exit;

  Report := TFlexCelReport.Create(true);
  try
    Report.AddTable(DemoTables);
    Report.SetValue('Date', Now);
    Report.Run(
      TPath.Combine(GetDataPath, 'Balanced Columns.template.xls'),
      SaveDialog.FileName);
  finally
    Report.Free;
  end;

  if MessageDlg('Do you want to open the generated file?', mtConfirmation, [mbYes, mbNo], 0) = mrYes then
  begin
    ShellExecute(0, 'open', PCHAR(SaveDialog.FileName), nil, nil, SW_SHOWNORMAL);
  end;


end;

end.