Create Reports in Code

• Sep 03, 2021
• 11 minutes to read

The following steps describe how to create a report in code:

1. Create an instance of the XtraReport class or implement an XtraReport class descendant.
2. Assign a data source to the report: specify the DataSource and DataMember properties.
3. Create bands and add them to the report’s Bands collection (the DetailBand is mandatory).
4. Create report controls and add them to the report’s bands.
5. Create styles for report elements.

Code Samples

The following code samples illustrate how to generate reports in code:

• Create a Simple Static Report
• Create a Simple Data-Bound Report
• Create a Simple Report with a Data-Bound Table
• Create a Master-Detail Report
• Create a Cross-Tab Report
• Create a Report with a Subreport
• Create a Table Report with Dynamic Columns

The following topics describe the report object model and events:

• Report Class Hierarchy
• Report Events

Create a Simple Static Report

The code sample below creates a new report, sets its name, display name, paper kind and margins, and adds the Detail Band band with the XRLabel control on it.

C#

using System.Drawing;
using System.Drawing.Printing;
using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI;
// ...
public static XtraReport CreateReport() {
    XtraReport report = new XtraReport() {
        Name = "SimpleStaticReport",
        DisplayName = "Simple Static Report",
        PaperKind = PaperKind.Letter,
        Margins = new Margins(100, 100, 100, 100)
    };

    DetailBand detailBand = new DetailBand() {
        HeightF = 25
    };
    report.Bands.Add(detailBand);

    XRLabel helloWordLabel = new XRLabel() {
        Text = "Hello, World!",
        Font = new Font("Tahoma", 20f, FontStyle.Bold),
        BoundsF = new RectangleF(0, 0, 250, 50),
    };
    detailBand.Controls.Add(helloWordLabel);

    return report;
}

VB.NET

Imports System.Drawing
Imports System.Drawing.Printing
Imports DevExpress.XtraReports.UI
' ...
Public Shared Function CreateReport() As XtraReport
    Dim report As New XtraReport() With {
        .Name = "SimpleStaticReport",
        .DisplayName = "Simple Static Report",
        .PaperKind = PaperKind.Letter,
        .Margins = New Margins(100, 100, 100, 100)}

    Dim detailBand As New DetailBand() With {
        .HeightF = 25}
    report.Bands.Add(detailBand)

    Dim helloWordLabel As New XRLabel() With {
        .Text = "Hello, World!",
        .Font = New Font("Tahoma", 20.0F, FontStyle.Bold),
        .BoundsF = New RectangleF(0, 0, 250, 50)}
    detailBand.Controls.Add(helloWordLabel)

    Return report
End Function

Create a Simple Data-Bound Report

The following code sample creates a new object data source, creates a report with the XRLabel control at runtime, and binds the label to data.

For information on supported data sources, review the following article: Bind Reports to Data.

C#

using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Drawing;
using DevExpress.XtraPrinting;
using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI;
// ...
    public class ReportCreator {
        class Employee {
            public string Name { get; set; }
        }
        public static XtraReport CreateReport() {
            XtraReport report = new XtraReport() {
                DataSource = CreateDataSource(),
                StyleSheet = {
                    new XRControlStyle() { Name = "Title", Font = new Font("Tahoma", 20f, FontStyle.Bold) },
                    new XRControlStyle() { Name = "Normal", Font = new Font("Tahoma", 10f), Padding = new PaddingInfo(2, 2, 0, 0) },
                }
            };
            var reportHeaderBand = CreateReportHeader("List of employees");
            var detailBand = CreateDetail("[Name]");
            report.Bands.AddRange(new Band[] { reportHeaderBand, detailBand });
            return report;
        }
        static List<Employee> CreateDataSource() {
            return new List<Employee>() {
                new Employee() { Name = "Nancy Davolio" },
                new Employee() { Name = "Andrew Fuller" },
                new Employee() { Name = "Janet Leverling" },
                new Employee() { Name = "Margaret Peacock" },
                new Employee() { Name = "Steven Buchanan" },
                new Employee() { Name = "Michael Suyama" },
                new Employee() { Name = "Robert King" },
                new Employee() { Name = "Laura Callahan" },
                new Employee() { Name = "Anne Dodsworth" }
            };
        }
        static ReportHeaderBand CreateReportHeader(string title) {
            ReportHeaderBand reportHeaderBand = new ReportHeaderBand() {
                HeightF = 50
            };
            XRLabel titleLabel = new XRLabel() {
                Text = title,
                BoundsF = new RectangleF(0, 0, 300, 30),
                StyleName = "Title"
            };
            reportHeaderBand.Controls.Add(titleLabel);
            return reportHeaderBand;
        }
        static DetailBand CreateDetail(string expression) {
            DetailBand detailBand = new DetailBand() {
                HeightF = 25
            };
            XRLabel detailLabel = new XRLabel() {
                ExpressionBindings = { new ExpressionBinding("Text", expression) },
                BoundsF = new RectangleF(0, 0, 300, 20),
                StyleName = "Normal"
            };
            detailBand.Controls.Add(detailLabel);
            return detailBand;
        }
    }

VB.NET

Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Drawing
Imports DevExpress.XtraPrinting
Imports DevExpress.XtraReports.UI
' ...
    Public Class ReportCreator
        Private Class Employee
            Public Property Name() As String
        End Class
        Public Shared Function CreateReport() As XtraReport
            Dim report As New XtraReport() With {
                .DataSource = CreateDataSource(), .StyleSheet = {
                    New XRControlStyle() With {.Name = "Title", .Font = New Font("Tahoma", 20F, FontStyle.Bold)},
                    New XRControlStyle() With {.Name = "Normal", .Font = New Font("Tahoma", 10F), .Padding = New PaddingInfo(2, 2, 0, 0)}
                }
            }
            Dim reportHeaderBand = CreateReportHeader("List of employees")
            Dim detailBand = CreateDetail("[Name]")
            report.Bands.AddRange(New Band() { reportHeaderBand, detailBand })
            Return report
        End Function
        Private Shared Function CreateDataSource() As List(Of Employee)
            Return New List(Of Employee)() From {
                New Employee() With {.Name = "Nancy Davolio"},
                New Employee() With {.Name = "Andrew Fuller"},
                New Employee() With {.Name = "Janet Leverling"},
                New Employee() With {.Name = "Margaret Peacock"},
                New Employee() With {.Name = "Steven Buchanan"},
                New Employee() With {.Name = "Michael Suyama"},
                New Employee() With {.Name = "Robert King"},
                New Employee() With {.Name = "Laura Callahan"},
                New Employee() With {.Name = "Anne Dodsworth"}
            }
        End Function
        Private Shared Function CreateReportHeader(ByVal title As String) As ReportHeaderBand
            Dim reportHeaderBand As New ReportHeaderBand() With {.HeightF = 50}
            Dim titleLabel As New XRLabel() With {.Text = title, .BoundsF = New RectangleF(0, 0, 300, 30), .StyleName = "Title"}
            reportHeaderBand.Controls.Add(titleLabel)
            Return reportHeaderBand
        End Function
        Private Shared Function CreateDetail(ByVal expression As String) As DetailBand
            Dim detailBand As New DetailBand() With {.HeightF = 25}
            Dim detailLabel As New XRLabel() With {.ExpressionBindings = { New ExpressionBinding("Text", expression) }, .BoundsF = New RectangleF(0, 0, 300, 20), .StyleName = "Normal"}
            detailBand.Controls.Add(detailLabel)
            Return detailBand
        End Function
    End Class

Create a Simple Report with a Data-Bound Table

The following code sample creates a new SqlDataSource, creates a report with the XRTable control at runtime, and binds the table to data:

C#

using DevExpress.DataAccess.ConnectionParameters;
using DevExpress.DataAccess.Sql;
using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI;
// ...
private static XtraReport CreateReport()
{
    // Creates a new data source.
    SqlDataSource sqlDataSource = CreateSQLDataSource();

    // Creates a new report and assigns the data source.
    XtraReport report = new XtraReport();
    report.DataSource = sqlDataSource;
    report.DataMember = "selectQuery";

    // Creates a detail band and adds it to the report.
    DetailBand detailBand = new DetailBand();
    report.Bands.Add(detailBand);

    // Creates a table and adds it to the detail band.
    XRTable table = new XRTable();
    detailBand.Controls.Add(table);

    // Creates a row and adds the product name and product price cells to the row.
    table.BeginInit();

    XRTableRow row = new XRTableRow();
    table.Rows.Add(row);

    XRTableCell productName = new XRTableCell();
    XRTableCell productPrice = new XRTableCell();

    row.Cells.Add(productName);
    row.Cells.Add(productPrice);

    // Binds the table cells to the data fields.
    productName.ExpressionBindings.Add(new ExpressionBinding("BeforePrint", "Text", "[ProductName]"));
    productPrice.ExpressionBindings.Add(new ExpressionBinding("BeforePrint", "Text", "[UnitPrice]"));

    // Adjust the table width.
    table.BeforePrint += Table_BeforePrint;

    table.EndInit();
    return report;
}

private static void Table_BeforePrint(object sender, System.Drawing.Printing.PrintEventArgs e)
{
    XtraReport report = (sender as XRTable).RootReport;
    (sender as XRTable).WidthF = report.PageWidth - report.Margins.Left - report.Margins.Right;
}
private static SqlDataSource CreateSQLDataSource()
{
    // Creates a data source. 
    SQLiteConnectionParameters connectionParameters = new SQLiteConnectionParameters("Data/nwind.db", "");
    SqlDataSource dataSource = new SqlDataSource(connectionParameters);

    // Creates a SELECT query.
    SelectQuery query = SelectQueryFluentBuilder
        .AddTable("Products")
        .SelectColumn("ProductName")
        .SelectColumn("UnitPrice")
        .Build("selectQuery");

    // Adds the query to the collection and returns the data source. 
    dataSource.Queries.Add(query);
    dataSource.Fill();
    return dataSource;
}

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.DataAccess.ConnectionParameters
Imports DevExpress.DataAccess.Sql
Imports DevExpress.XtraReports.UI
' ...
Private Shared Function CreateReport() As XtraReport
    ' Creates a new data source.
    Dim sqlDataSource As SqlDataSource = CreateSQLDataSource()

    ' Creates a new report and assigns the data source.
    Dim report As New XtraReport()
    report.DataSource = sqlDataSource
    report.DataMember = "selectQuery"

    ' Creates a detail band and adds it to the report.
    Dim detailBand As New DetailBand()
    report.Bands.Add(detailBand)

    ' Creates a table and adds it to the detail band.
    Dim table As New XRTable()
    detailBand.Controls.Add(table)

    ' Creates a row and adds the product name and product price cells to the row.
    table.BeginInit()

    Dim row As New XRTableRow()
    table.Rows.Add(row)

    Dim productName As New XRTableCell()
    Dim productPrice As New XRTableCell()

    row.Cells.Add(productName)
    row.Cells.Add(productPrice)

    ' Binds the table cells to the data fields.
    productName.ExpressionBindings.Add(New ExpressionBinding("BeforePrint", "Text", "[ProductName]"))
    productPrice.ExpressionBindings.Add(New ExpressionBinding("BeforePrint", "Text", "[UnitPrice]"))

    ' Adjust the table width.
    AddHandler table.BeforePrint, AddressOf Table_BeforePrint

    table.EndInit()
    Return report
End Function

Private Shared Sub Table_BeforePrint(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.Drawing.Printing.PrintEventArgs)
    Dim report As XtraReport = (TryCast(sender, XRTable)).RootReport
    TryCast(sender, XRTable).WidthF = report.PageWidth - report.Margins.Left - report.Margins.Right
End Sub
Private Shared Function CreateSQLDataSource() As SqlDataSource
    ' Creates a data source. 
    Dim connectionParameters As New SQLiteConnectionParameters("Data/nwind.db", "")
    Dim dataSource As New SqlDataSource(connectionParameters)

    ' Creates a SELECT query.
    Dim query As SelectQuery = SelectQueryFluentBuilder.AddTable("Products").SelectColumn("ProductName").SelectColumn("UnitPrice").Build("selectQuery")

    ' Adds the query to the collection and returns the data source. 
    dataSource.Queries.Add(query)
    dataSource.Fill()
    Return dataSource
End Function

Create a Cross-Tab Report

The following code sample creates a new SqlDataSource, creates a report with the XRCrossTab control at runtime, and binds the Cross Tab control to data:

C#

using DevExpress.DataAccess.ConnectionParameters;
using DevExpress.DataAccess.Sql;
using DevExpress.XtraPrinting;
using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI;
using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI.CrossTab;
using System;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Windows.Forms;
// ...
private XtraReport CreateReport() {
    // Creates a blank report.
    XtraReport crossTabReport = new XtraReport() {
        VerticalContentSplitting = VerticalContentSplitting.Smart,
        HorizontalContentSplitting = HorizontalContentSplitting.Smart
    };

    // Creates a detail band and adds it to the report.
    DetailBand detail = new DetailBand();
    crossTabReport.Bands.Add(detail);

    // Creates a cross tab and adds it to the Detail band.
    XRCrossTab crossTab = new XRCrossTab();
    detail.Controls.Add(crossTab);
    crossTab.PrintOptions.RepeatColumnHeaders = true;
    crossTab.PrintOptions.RepeatRowHeaders = true;

    // Creates a data source.
    SQLiteConnectionParameters connectionParameters = new SQLiteConnectionParameters(@"|DataDirectory|\nwind.db", "");
    SqlDataSource ds = new SqlDataSource(connectionParameters);

    // Creates an SQL query to access the SalesPerson view.
    SelectQuery query = SelectQueryFluentBuilder.AddTable("SalesPerson")
                .SelectColumn("CategoryName")
                .SelectColumn("ProductName")
                .SelectColumn("Country")
                .SelectColumn("FullName")
                .SelectColumn("Quantity")
                .SelectColumn("ExtendedPrice").Build("SalesPerson");
    ds.Queries.Add(query);

    // Binds the cross tab to data.
    crossTab.DataSource = ds;
    crossTab.DataMember = "SalesPerson";

    // Generates cross tab fields.
    crossTab.RowFields.Add(new CrossTabRowField() { FieldName = "CategoryName" });
    crossTab.RowFields.Add(new CrossTabRowField() { FieldName = "ProductName" });
    crossTab.ColumnFields.Add(new CrossTabColumnField() { FieldName = "Country" });
    crossTab.ColumnFields.Add(new CrossTabColumnField() { FieldName = "FullName" });
    crossTab.DataFields.Add(new CrossTabDataField() { FieldName = "Quantity" });
    crossTab.DataFields.Add(new CrossTabDataField() { FieldName = "ExtendedPrice" });
    crossTab.GenerateLayout();
// ...
    // Adjusts the generated cells.
    foreach(var c in crossTab.ColumnDefinitions) {
        // Enables auto-width for all columns.
        c.AutoWidthMode = DevExpress.XtraReports.UI.AutoSizeMode.GrowOnly;
    }

    foreach(XRCrossTabCell c in crossTab.Cells) {
        if(c.DataLevel == 1 && c.RowIndex != 2) {
            // Adjusts format string for the "Extended Price" cells.
            c.TextFormatString = "{0:c}";
        }
    }


    // Assigns styles to the cross tab.
    crossTab.CrossTabStyles.GeneralStyle = new XRControlStyle() { 
        Name = "Default",
        Borders = BorderSide.All,
        Padding = new PaddingInfo() { All = 2 }                
    };
    crossTab.CrossTabStyles.DataAreaStyle = crossTab.CrossTabStyles.TotalAreaStyle = new XRControlStyle() {
        Name = "Data",
        TextAlignment = TextAlignment.TopRight
    };
    crossTab.CrossTabStyles.HeaderAreaStyle = new XRControlStyle() {
        Name = "HeaderAndTotals",
        BackColor = Color.WhiteSmoke
    };
    return crossTabReport;
}

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.DataAccess.ConnectionParameters
Imports DevExpress.DataAccess.Sql
Imports DevExpress.XtraPrinting
Imports DevExpress.XtraReports.UI
Imports DevExpress.XtraReports.UI.CrossTab
' ...
Private Function CreateReport() As XtraReport
    ' Creates a blank report.
    Dim crossTabReport As New XtraReport() With {
        .VerticalContentSplitting = VerticalContentSplitting.Smart,
        .HorizontalContentSplitting = HorizontalContentSplitting.Smart
    }

    ' Creates a detail band and adds it to the report.
    Dim detail As New DetailBand()
    crossTabReport.Bands.Add(detail)

    ' Creates a cross tab and add it to the Detail band.
    Dim crossTab As New XRCrossTab()
    detail.Controls.Add(crossTab)
    crossTab.PrintOptions.RepeatColumnHeaders = True
    crossTab.PrintOptions.RepeatRowHeaders = True

    ' Creates a data source
    Dim connectionParameters As New SQLiteConnectionParameters("|DataDirectory|\nwind.db", "")
    Dim ds As New SqlDataSource(connectionParameters)

    ' Creates an SQL query to access the SalesPerson view.
    Dim query As SelectQuery = SelectQueryFluentBuilder.AddTable("SalesPerson").
        SelectColumn("CategoryName").
        SelectColumn("ProductName").
        SelectColumn("Country").
        SelectColumn("FullName").
        SelectColumn("Quantity").
        SelectColumn("ExtendedPrice").
        Build("SalesPerson")
    ds.Queries.Add(query)

    ' Binds the cross tab to data.
    crossTab.DataSource = ds
    crossTab.DataMember = "SalesPerson"

    ' Generates cross tab fields.
    crossTab.RowFields.Add(New CrossTabRowField() With {.FieldName = "CategoryName"})
    crossTab.RowFields.Add(New CrossTabRowField() With {.FieldName = "ProductName"})
    crossTab.ColumnFields.Add(New CrossTabColumnField() With {.FieldName = "Country"})
    crossTab.ColumnFields.Add(New CrossTabColumnField() With {.FieldName = "FullName"})
    crossTab.DataFields.Add(New CrossTabDataField() With {.FieldName = "Quantity"})
    crossTab.DataFields.Add(New CrossTabDataField() With {.FieldName = "ExtendedPrice"})
    crossTab.GenerateLayout()
' ...
    ' Adjusts the generated cells.
    For Each c In crossTab.ColumnDefinitions
        ' Enables auto-width for all columns.
        c.AutoWidthMode = DevExpress.XtraReports.UI.AutoSizeMode.GrowOnly
    Next c

    For Each c As XRCrossTabCell In crossTab.Cells
        If c.DataLevel = 1 AndAlso c.RowIndex <> 2 Then
            ' Adjusts the format string for the "Extended Price" cells.
            c.TextFormatString = "{0:c}"
        End If
    Next c


    ' Assigns styles to the cross tab.
    crossTab.CrossTabStyles.GeneralStyle = New XRControlStyle() With {
        .Name = "Default",
        .Borders = BorderSide.All,
        .Padding = New PaddingInfo() With {.All = 2}
    }

    crossTab.CrossTabStyles.TotalAreaStyle = New XRControlStyle() With {
        .Name = "Data",
        .TextAlignment = TextAlignment.TopRight
    }
    crossTab.CrossTabStyles.DataAreaStyle = crossTab.CrossTabStyles.TotalAreaStyle
    crossTab.CrossTabStyles.HeaderAreaStyle = New XRControlStyle() With {
        .Name = "HeaderAndTotals",
        .BackColor = Color.WhiteSmoke
    }
    Return crossTabReport
End Function

View Example: How to use the XRCrossTab control to create a cross-tab report

Troubleshooting

If a runtime-generated report does not work as expected or you want to know how to implement a particular feature in code, follow these steps:

1. Use the report’s SaveLayoutToXml method to save the generated report as a REPX file.

2. Add a new report to your .NET Framework project, expand the report’s smart tag, and import the generated REPX file.

   

3. Specify the report’s data source and preview the changes.

4. Modify the report layout.
5. The XtraReport.Designer.cs or XtraReport.Designer.vb file contains code that generates the report. Use this code in your application to get a similar result.