Print and Export Reports without a Preview

• Dec 11, 2023
• 4 minutes to read

Users can print or export a report when it is displayed in the Document Viewer. As an alternative, you can print and export reports without having to display them first, as described in this topic.

Create a Report

You can add a report to your application in Visual Studio. See the Create a Report in Visual Studio topic for information on how to do this.

Reports can also be created in application code. See the XtraReport class description for more information.

Print a Report

Use the PrintToolBase.Print method to print a report, as shown in the following code sample:

C#

using DevExpress.XtraPrinting;
using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI;
using System.Drawing.Printing;
// ...

// Create a simple report in code.
XtraReport report = new XtraReport() {
    Bands = {
        new DetailBand() {
            Name = "DetailBand",
            Controls = {
                new XRLabel() {
                    Text = "Simple Report"
                }
            }
        }
    }
};
// Print the report.
report.CreateDocument();
PrintToolBase tool = new PrintToolBase(report.PrintingSystem);
tool.Print();

VB.NET

Imports DevExpress.XtraPrinting
Imports DevExpress.XtraReports.UI
Imports System.Drawing.Printing
' ...

' Create a simple report in code.
Private report As New XtraReport() With {
    .Bands = {
        New DetailBand() With {
            .Name = "DetailBand", .Controls = {
                New XRLabel() With {.Text = "Simple Report"}
            }
        }
    }
}
' Print the report.
report.CreateDocument()
Dim tool As New PrintToolBase(report.PrintingSystem)
tool.Print()

Note

In a server-side application, (for instance, in a web application), the code above sends a report to the default server-side printer.

The Print Reports section describes how to print reports on different platforms.

Export a Report

The XtraReport class exposes methods to export a report to different file formats. Call these methods to export a report from an application that does not have a GUI.

C#

using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI;
// ...

// Create a simple report in code.
XtraReport report = new XtraReport() {
    Bands = {
        new DetailBand() {
            Name = "DetailBand",
            Controls = {
                new XRLabel() {
                    Text = "Simple Report"
                }
            }
        }
    }
};
// Export the report to PDF.
//Save the export file to the user's Downloads folder.
report.ExportToPdf(
    Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.UserProfile) +
    @"\Downloads\" + report.Name + ".pdf"
);

VB.NET

Private report As New XtraReport() With {
    .Bands = {
        New DetailBand() With {
            .Name = "DetailBand", .Controls = {
                New XRLabel() With {.Text = "Simple Report"}
            }
        }
    }
}
' Export the report to PDF. Save the export file to the user's Downloads folder.
report.ExportToPdf(Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.UserProfile) & "\Downloads\" & report.Name & ".pdf")

Review the following topic for information on how to export a report to different file formats: Document Export Overview.

Print and Export in Web Applications

• Printing and Export in Reporting Tools for Web

Libraries Required to Print and Export Reports

Add the following libraries to your application to print and export reports. Alternatively, you can add the DevExpress.Reporting.Core NuGet package that includes these core libraries.

Assembly	Description
DevExpress.Data.v23.2.dll	Contains base classes for DevExpress controls.
DevExpress.Drawing.v23.2.dll	Implements the basic graphics functionality.
DevExpress.Printing.v23.2.Core.dll	Implements basic DevExpress printing features.
DevExpress.XtraReports.v23.2.dll	Contains the XtraReport class.

Optional Assembly	Description
DevExpress.Charts.v23.2.Core.dll	Required if a report contains XRChart controls.
DevExpress.CodeParser.v23.2.dll	Required to process report scripts.
DevExpress.Data.Desktop.v20.1.dll	Contains base classes for DevExpress controls in .NET Framework and .NET. Includes classes that bind data, print, and export content. This library is required if you use the WinControlContainer class to print WinForms controls.
DevExpress.DataAccess.v23.2.dll	Required when a report is bound to an SQL, Entity Framework, XPO, Excel, JSON, Object, or Federation data source.
DevExpress.Office.v23.2.Core.dll	Required to export reports to DOCX, or when a report contains XRRichText controls.
DevExpress.Pdf.v23.2.Core.dll	Required to export reports to PDF.
DevExpress.Pdf.v20.1.Drawing.dll	Implements PDF-related features. Required to preview reports that are merged with PDF content.
DevExpress.PivotGrid.v23.2.Core.dll	Required if a report contains XRPivotGrid or XRCrossTab controls.
DevExpress.RichEdit.v23.2.Core.dll	Required to export reports to DOCX, or when a report contains at least one XRRichText control.
DevExpress.RichEdit.v23.2.Export.dll	Required to export reports to DOCX.
DevExpress.Sparkline.v23.2.Core.dll	Required if a report contains XRSparkline controls.
DevExpress.Xpo.v23.2.dll	Required if a report is bound to an SQL, XPO, or Entity Framework data source.
DevExpress.XtraCharts.v23.2.dll	Required if a report contains XRChart controls.