Report Designer Integration (Node.js Package Manager)

Feb 08, 2024
5 minutes to read

You can use the End-User Web Report Designer in JavaScript based on the server-side model. You should create two projects: a server (backend) project and a client (frontend) part that includes all the necessary styles, scripts, and HTML-templates.

Important

Perform the steps from one of the following topics to prepare a backend application:

This document describes how to create the client part, install the required npm packages and create a bundle with Webpack:

Install Node.js and npm if they do not exist on your machine.
Open the console window and execute the following command to install the Webpack CLI globally:
```
npm install -g webpack

npm install -g webpack-cli
```
Create a new folder to store all the files related to the client-side functionality (for instance, name it ClientSide).

Add the package.json configuration file to the created folder and list the following third-party packages the Web Report Designer requires:

JSON

{
    "name": "report-designer",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "dependencies": {
        "devextreme": "24.1.*",
        "devexpress-richedit": "24.1.*",
        "@devexpress/analytics-core": "24.1.*",
        "devexpress-reporting": "24.1.*"
    },
    "devDependencies": {
        "webpack": "~4.10.1",
        "file-loader": "~2.0.0",
        "html-loader": "~0.5.4"
    }
}

Note

Frontend and backend applications should use the same version of DevExpress controls.

Tip

Add the devexpress-richedit package if you want to enable the Rich Text Editor for the XRRichText control.

Navigate to your folder, open the console and run the command below to install packages:
```
npm install
```
You can find all the libraries in the node_modules folder after installation is completed.

Create a new webpack.config.js file and specify configuration settings as shown below. Define the index.js file as the bundle’s entry point (this file is created later) and the bundle.js file as the output file.

var path = require('path');
var webpack = require('webpack');

module.exports = {
    entry: './index.js',
    output: {
        filename: 'bundle.js'
    },
    mode: "development",
    module: {
        rules: [
            {
                test: /\.html$/,
                loader: "html-loader" 
            },
            {
                test: /\.css$/,
                loader: "style-loader" 
            }
        ]
    }
};

Create a View file (the index.html file in this example) and specify this View’s HTML template. At the body section, use the dxReportDesigner binding with the designerOptions parameter and link the bundle script file (bundle.js) specified at the previous step.

HTML

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
    <head>
         <!-- ... -->
    </head>

    <body>
        <div style="width:100%; height: 1000px" data-bind="dxReportDesigner: designerOptions"></div>
        <!-- Include the bundle script -->
        <script type="text/javascript" src="dist/bundle.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
    </body>
</html>

Add a new JavaScript file (index.js) to provide data to the View. Link the required modules, create the designerOptions variable and activate the Knockout bindings.

var $ = require('jquery');
var ko = require('knockout');

require('devexpress-reporting/dx-reportdesigner')
require('devexpress-reporting/dx-richedit')

const 
    host = 'https://localhost:5001/', // URI of your backend project.
    reportUrl = "Products";
    var viewModel = {
        designerOptions: {
            reportUrl: reportUrl, // The URL of a report that is opened in the Report Designer when the application starts.
            requestOptions: { // Options for processing requests from the Report Designer. 
                host: host, 
            // If you use the ASP.NET Core backend:
            // getDesignerModelAction: "/DXXRD/GetDesignerModel"
            // If you use the ASP.NET MVC backend:
            getDesignerModelAction: "/ReportDesigner/GetReportDesignerModel"
            },
        }
    };
ko.applyBindings(viewModel);

Create a new style.css file with the following content:

@import url("../node_modules/ace-builds/css/ace.css");  
@import url("../node_modules/ace-builds/css/theme/dreamweaver.css");  
@import url("../node_modules/ace-builds/css/theme/ambiance.css");  
@import url("node_modules/devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css");
@import url("node_modules/devexpress-richedit/dist/dx.richedit.css");
@import url("node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.common.css");
@import url("node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.light.css");
@import url("node_modules/@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-querybuilder.css");
@import url("node_modules/devexpress-reporting/dist/css/dx-webdocumentviewer.css");
@import url("node_modules/devexpress-reporting/dist/css/dx-reportdesigner.css");

Link this file in the index.html file’s head section.

HTML

...
<head>
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="style.css" />
</head>
...

Run the following command in the console to create the bundle:
```
webpack
```
Host your client-side part on the web server.

For instance, start the Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, right-click the Sites item in the Connections section and select Add Website. In the invoked dialog, specify the site name, path to the folder with the client-side functionality, and the website’s IP address.
For the example to work correctly, you should first run a backend project in Visual Studio, and then, run a client part.

Troubleshooting

When you start the application, you may encounter the following problems:

Page is blank

The Report Designer page is blank. The following error message is displayed at the bottom of the page: The page is blank because the Report Designer failed to load the report. Consult the developer for assistance. Use development mode for detailed information. If the page does not display the Document Viewer, press F12 to invoke DevTools and inspect the console messages.

Check the following:

The backend application is up and running.
The specified controller action path matches the back-end application type. If you use the ASP.NET Core backend, specify the /DXXRD/GetDesignerModel path, if you use the ASP.NET MVC backend, specify the /ReportDesigner/GetReportDesignerModel path.
The backend application runs on the port specified in the host setting of the Report Designer component.
The application’s URI satisfies the CORS policy specified in your backend application.
The reportName value matches an existing report. For the backend application it means that the Reports folder contains the reportName.repx file or the ReportsFactory.Reports dictionary contains the reportName entry (if backend application originated from the DevExpress template).
The version of the DevExpress scripts (npm packages) should match the version of the server-side libraries (NuGet packages). You can enable Development Mode to check for library version mismatch on every request to the server. For more information, review the following help topic: Server-Side Libraries Version.

Review the following help topic for more information: Troubleshooting.

Controls

Tools

Controls and Extensions

Tools

Maintenance Mode

Controls

Tools

Controls and Extensions

Tools

Maintenance Mode

Troubleshooting

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