Bind a Report to a CSV File (Runtime Sample)

• Oct 12, 2023
• 3 minutes to read

This example demonstrates how to bind a report to a file that contains data in CSV format, and specify the report layout at runtime.

View Example: Reporting for WinForms - Bind a Report to a CSV File at Runtime

C#

using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
// ...
public Form1()
{
    InitializeComponent();
}

private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    // Create an empty report.
    XtraReport report = new XtraReport();

    // Create a new Excel data source.
    ExcelDataSource excelDataSource = new ExcelDataSource();
    excelDataSource.FileName = "..//..//Northwind.csv";

    // Specify import settings.
    CsvSourceOptions csvSourceOptions = new CsvSourceOptions();
    csvSourceOptions.DetectEncoding = true;
    csvSourceOptions.DetectNewlineType = true;
    csvSourceOptions.DetectValueSeparator = true;
    excelDataSource.SourceOptions = csvSourceOptions;

    // Define the data source schema.
    FieldInfo fieldCategoryID = new FieldInfo { Name = "CategoryID", Type = typeof(double), Selected = false };
    FieldInfo fieldCategoryName = new FieldInfo { Name = "CategoryName", Type = typeof(string) };
    FieldInfo fieldDescription = new FieldInfo { Name = "Description", Type = typeof(string) };
    // Add the created fields to the data source schema in the order that matches the column order in the source file.
    excelDataSource.Schema.AddRange(new FieldInfo[] { fieldCategoryID, fieldCategoryName, fieldDescription });

    // Assign the data source to the report.
    report.DataSource = excelDataSource;

    // Add a detail band to the report.
    DetailBand detailBand = new DetailBand();
    detailBand.Height = 50;
    report.Bands.Add(detailBand);

    // Create a new label.
    XRLabel label = new XRLabel();
    // Specify the label's binding depending on the data binding mode.
    if (Settings.Default.UserDesignerOptions.DataBindingMode == DataBindingMode.Bindings)
        label.DataBindings.Add("Text", null, "CategoryName");
    else label.ExpressionBindings.Add(new ExpressionBinding("BeforePrint", "Text", "[CategoryName]"));
    // Add the label to the detail band.

VB.NET

Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports DevExpress.XtraReports.UI
' ...

Private Sub button1_Click(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As EventArgs)
    ' Create an empty report.
    Dim report As XtraReport = New XtraReport()
    ' Create a new Excel data source.
    Dim excelDataSource As ExcelDataSource = New ExcelDataSource()
    excelDataSource.FileName = "..//..//Northwind.csv"
    ' Specify import settings.
    Dim csvSourceOptions As CsvSourceOptions = New CsvSourceOptions()
    csvSourceOptions.DetectEncoding = True
    csvSourceOptions.DetectNewlineType = True
    csvSourceOptions.DetectValueSeparator = True
    excelDataSource.SourceOptions = csvSourceOptions
    ' Define the data source schema.
    Dim fieldCategoryID As FieldInfo = New FieldInfo With {.Name = "CategoryID", .Type = GetType(Double), .Selected = False}
    Dim fieldCategoryName As FieldInfo = New FieldInfo With {.Name = "CategoryName", .Type = GetType(String)}
    Dim fieldDescription As FieldInfo = New FieldInfo With {.Name = "Description", .Type = GetType(String)}
    ' Add the created fields to the data source schema in the order that matches the column order in the source file.
    excelDataSource.Schema.AddRange(New FieldInfo() {fieldCategoryID, fieldCategoryName, fieldDescription})
    ' Assign the data source to the report.
    report.DataSource = excelDataSource
    ' Add a detail band to the report.
    Dim detailBand As DetailBand = New DetailBand()
    detailBand.Height = 50
    report.Bands.Add(detailBand)
    ' Create a new label.
    Dim label As XRLabel = New XRLabel()
    ' Specify the label's binding depending on the data binding mode.
    If Settings.Default.UserDesignerOptions.DataBindingMode = DataBindingMode.Bindings Then
        label.DataBindings.Add("Text", Nothing, "CategoryName")
    Else