Create a Vue Front-End Application with a Report Designer
- 4 minutes to read
The Web Report Designer is used in applications that contain client and server parts:
- Client
- A Web Report Designer integrated in a client Vue application displays a report provided by the server-side model.
- Server
- The server is an ASP.NET Core application that handles client data requests and provides access to data sources, report storage, and other back-end capabilities.
This tutorial creates and configures a client React application and a server ASP.NET Core backend. The client contains the Web Report Designer control.
#Prerequisites
- Node.js v18.3 or later
- .NET 8 SDK or later
Note the following details about package versions:
- The script version on the client should match the library version on the server.
- DevExpress npm package versions should be identical.
#Server (Back-End) Application
#Use the DevExpress CLI Template
You can use DevExpress CLI Templates to create an ASP.NET Core back-end application. Begin with the steps below:
Install DevExpress ASP.NET Core project templates from nuget.org:
dotnet new install DevExpress.AspNetCore.ProjectTemplates
Create a back-end Reporting application:
consoledotnet new dx.aspnetcore.reporting.backend -n ServerApp
You can use the following parameters to see available command options:
-? | -h | --help
.Enable cross-origin requests (CORS). Specify the policy that allows any local application to access the report’s back-end. Use the SetIsOriginAllowed method to set it up.
Call the UseCors method and pass the policy name as a parameter. The
UseCors
method should be called after theUseRouting
method and before any MVC-related code. Place theUseCors
method before theUseMvc
orUseEndpoints
methods.Open the application startup file and insert the following code:
var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args); builder.Services.AddCors(options => { options.AddPolicy("AllowCorsPolicy", builder => { // Allow all ports on local host. builder.SetIsOriginAllowed(origin => new Uri(origin).Host == "localhost"); builder.AllowAnyHeader(); builder.AllowAnyMethod(); }); }); var app = builder.Build(); app.UseRouting(); app.UseCors("AllowCorsPolicy"); app.UseEndpoints(endpoints => { endpoints.MapControllerRoute( name: "default", pattern: "{controller=Home}/{action=Index}/{id?}"); }); app.Run();
To run the server-side application, run the following command:
consolecd ServerApp dotnet run
#Use Visual Studio Template
To create a back-end application from a Microsoft or DevExpress Template in Visual Studio, review the following help topics:
- Report Designer Server-Side Application (ASP.NET Core)
- Report Designer’s Server-Side Configuration (ASP.NET MVC)
#Client (Front-End) Application
Create a Vue application with a default preset
consolenpm create vue@latest vue-report-designer
Navigate to the project folder and install DevExpress npm packages:
consolecd vue-report-designer npm install devextreme@24.2-stable @devexpress/analytics-core@24.2-stable devexpress-reporting@24.2-stable
Create the src/App.vue file with the following content:
<template> <div ref="designer" style="position: absolute; left: 0; right: 0; top: 0; bottom: 0" data-bind="dxReportDesigner: $data"></div> </template> <script> import * as ko from 'knockout'; import "devexpress-reporting/dx-reportdesigner"; export default { name: "ReportDesignerComponent", mounted() { var designerOptions = { reportUrl: ko.observable("TestReport"), requestOptions: { host: "http://localhost:5000/", getDesignerModelAction: "DXXRD/GetDesignerModel" } }; ko.applyBindings(designerOptions, this.$refs.designer); }, beforeUnmount() { ko.cleanNode(this.$refs.designer); } }; </script>
Add styles to the src/main.js file:
import "ace-builds/css/ace.css"; import "ace-builds/css/theme/dreamweaver.css"; import "ace-builds/css/theme/ambiance.css"; import "devextreme/dist/css/dx.light.css"; import "@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.common.css"; import "@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-analytics.light.css"; import "@devexpress/analytics-core/dist/css/dx-querybuilder.css"; import "devexpress-reporting/dist/css/dx-webdocumentviewer.css"; import "devexpress-reporting/dist/css/dx-reportdesigner.css"; import { createApp } from 'vue' import App from './App.vue' createApp(App).mount('#app')
Remove default project styles to avoid conflicts. To do this, remove the ./assets/main.css import in the main.js file.
#Run the Project
Run the server application.
Make sure to specify the correct server-side port (5000 in this example) and report name (TestReport in this example) in the Designer.vue file.
Run the client application:
consolenpm run dev
Open your browser and navigate to the URL specified in the command output to see the result.
#Troubleshooting
When you start the application, you may encounter the following issues:
#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.
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 back-end application.
- The
reportUrl
value matches an existing report. For the back-end application, ensure that either the Reports folder contains a reportUrl.repx file or the ReportsFactory.Reports dictionary contains the reportUrl entry (if the back-end application originated from the DevExpress template). - The version of DevExpress npm packages should match the version of NuGet packages. Enable Development Mode to check for library version mismatch on every request to the server. For details, review the following help document: Server-Side Libraries Version.
Refer to the following help topic for more information: Troubleshooting.