Bind a Report to an IList (Runtime Sample)

• Aug 28, 2020
• 4 minutes to read

This tutorial demonstrates how to bind a report to data stored in an object that implements the IList interface:

1. Create a new application or open an existing application.

2. Add a new blank report to it.

3. Declare a public AddBoundLabel method in the XtraReport1 class. Refer to the Bind Report Controls to Data topic for information on how to bind report controls.

   C#

   using System.Drawing;
   using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI;
   // ...
   
   public void AddBoundLabel(string bindingMember, Rectangle bounds){
      // Create a label.
      XRLabel label = new XRLabel();
   
      // Add the label to the report's Detail band.
      Detail.Controls.Add(label);
   
      // Set its location and size.
      label.Location = bounds.Location;
      label.Size = bounds.Size;
   
       // Specify the label's binding expression.
       label.ExpressionBindings.Add(new ExpressionBinding("BeforePrint", "Text", bindingMember));
   }
   

   VB.NET

   Imports System.Drawing
   Imports DevExpress.XtraReports.UI
   ' ...
   
   Public Sub AddBoundLabel(ByVal bindingMember As String, ByVal bounds As Rectangle)
      ' Create a label.
      Dim label As New XRLabel()
   
      ' Add the label to the report's Detail band.
      Detail.Controls.Add(label)
   
      ' Set its location and size.
      label.Location = bounds.Location
      label.Size = bounds.Size
   
       ' Specify the label's binding expression.
       label.ExpressionBindings.Add(New ExpressionBinding("BeforePrint", "Text", bindingMember))
   End Sub
   

4. Declare a class for an individual record. The code below declares a class with the ID, Name and Age public properties. These properties become data source fields.

   C#

   public class Record {
      int id, age;
      string name;
      public Record(int id, string name, int age) {
         this.id = id;
         this.name = name;
         this.age = age;
      }
      public int ID { 
         get { return id; }  
         set { id = value; }
      } 
      public string Name {
         get { return name; }
         set { name = value; }
      }
      public int Age {
         get { return age; }
         set { age = value; }
      }
   }
   

   VB.NET

   Public Class Record
      Dim _id, _age As Integer
      Dim _name As String
      Public Sub New(ByVal id As Integer, ByVal name As String, ByVal age As Integer)
         Me._id = id
         Me._name = name
         Me._age = age
      End Sub
   
      Public Property ID() As Integer
         Get
            Return _id
         End Get
         Set(ByVal Value As Integer)
            _ID = Value
         End Set
         End Property
   
      Public Property Name() As String
         Get
            Return _name
         End Get
         Set(ByVal Value As String)
            _name = Value
         End Set
      End Property
   
      Public Property Age() As Integer
         Get
            Return _age
         End Get
         Set(ByVal Value As Integer)
            _age = Value
         End Set
      End Property
   End Class
   

5. Populate the data source object with records and assign it to the report’s XtraReportBase.DataSource property. This tutorial uses an ArrayList as the report’s data source and does not need to create a custom object that implements the IList, ITypedList, or IBindingList interfaces.

   C#

   using System.Collections;
   // ...
   
   // Create a list.
   ArrayList listDataSource = new ArrayList();
   
   // Populate the list with records.
   listDataSource.Add(new Record(1, "Jane", 19));
   listDataSource.Add(new Record(2, "Joe", 30));
   listDataSource.Add(new Record(3, "Bill", 15));
   listDataSource.Add(new Record(4, "Michael", 42));
   
   // Create a report.
   XtraReport1 report = new XtraReport1();
   
   // Bind the report to the list.
   report.DataSource = listDataSource;
   

   VB.NET

   Imports System.Collections
   ' ...
   
   ' Create a list.
   Dim ListDataSource As New ArrayList()
   
   ' Populate the list with records.
   ListDataSource.Add(New Record(1, "Jane", 19))
   ListDataSource.Add(New Record(2, "Joe", 30))
   ListDataSource.Add(New Record(3, "Bill", 15))
   ListDataSource.Add(New Record(4, "Michael", 42))
   
   ' Create a report.
   Dim Report As New XtraReport1()
   
   ' Bind the report to the list.
   Report.DataSource = ListDataSource
   

   The report is bound to runtime-created data. Add three XRLabel objects to the report’s Detail band and bind them to data fields.

   C#

   // Add bounded labels to the Detail band of the report.
   report.AddBoundLabel("ID", new Rectangle(100, 20, 100, 30));
   report.AddBoundLabel("Name", new Rectangle(200, 20, 100, 30));
   report.AddBoundLabel("Age", new Rectangle(300, 20, 100, 30));
   
   // Show the report's print preview.
   ReportPrintTool printTool = new ReportPrintTool(report);
   printTool.ShowPreview();
   

   VB.NET

   ' Add bounded labels to the Detail band of the report.
   report.AddBoundLabel("ID", New Rectangle(100, 20, 100, 30))
   report.AddBoundLabel("Name", New Rectangle(200, 20, 100, 30))
   report.AddBoundLabel("Age", New Rectangle(300, 20, 100, 30))
   
   ' Show the report's print preview.
   Dim printTool As New ReportPrintTool(report)
   printTool.ShowPreview()
   

The report is populated with data.