ReportDesignerConfigurationBuilder.RegisterDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider<T>() Method

Registers a custom connection string provider that specifies data connections available to the user in the Data Source Wizard.

Namespace: DevExpress.AspNetCore.Reporting

Assembly: DevExpress.AspNetCore.Reporting.v23.2.dll

NuGet Package: DevExpress.AspNetCore.Reporting

Declaration

C#

public ReportDesignerConfigurationBuilder RegisterDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider<T>()
    where T : class, IDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider

VB.NET

Public Function RegisterDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider(Of T As {Class, IDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider}) As ReportDesignerConfigurationBuilder

Type Parameters

Name	Description
T	A custom connection string provider that implements the IDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider interface.

Returns

Type	Description
ReportDesignerConfigurationBuilder	A ReportDesignerConfigurationBuilder that can be used to further configure Report Designer services.

Remarks

A connection string provider defines data connections available in the Web Report Designer.

A custom connection string provider for the Data Source Wizard implements the IDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider interface. To register a custom provider in your application, call the RegisterDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider method with the custom provider as a typed parameter.

Implement and Register the IDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider Service

The following code snippets show service implementation and registration:

Program.cs

using DevExpress.AspNetCore;
using DevExpress.AspNetCore.Reporting;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.AddDevExpressControls();
builder.Services.AddMvc(); 

builder.Services.ConfigureReportingServices(configurator => {
    configurator.ConfigureReportDesigner(designerConfigurator => {
        designerConfigurator.RegisterDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider<MyDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider>();
    });
});        

var app = builder.Build();

CustomService.cs

using DevExpress.DataAccess.ConnectionParameters;
using DevExpress.DataAccess.Native;
using DevExpress.DataAccess.Web;
using System.Collections.Generic;
// ... 

public class MyDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider : IDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider {
    public Dictionary<string, string> GetConnectionDescriptions() {

    }

    public DataConnectionParametersBase GetDataConnectionParameters(string name) {

    }
}

Pass Connection Parameters Securely

Note that data connection parameters are serialized with the report data source when the report is passed to the client. These parameters are encrypted by the default data protection service. For more information about ASP.NET Core data protection services, review the following help topic: Configure ASP.NET Core Data Protection. You can implement a custom data protection mechanism using the ISecureDataConverter or IDataSourceProtectionService interface.

Follow these steps to ensure that the data connection parameters are not saved along with the report layout:

1. Register the IConnectionProviderFactory service that creates an instance of the IConnectionProviderService service.
2. Move connection loading code from the IDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider to the IConnectionProviderService.
3. Modify the GetDataConnectionParameters method in the service implementation to return null.

The following code snippet demonstrates the technique described above and allows you to use dependency injection to pass the IHostingEnvironment service to code that loads connections:

Program.cs

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

builder.Services.ConfigureReportingServices(configurator => {
    configurator.ConfigureReportDesigner(designerConfigurator => {
        designerConfigurator.RegisterDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider<MyDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider>();
    });
    configurator.ConfigureWebDocumentViewer(viewerConfigurator => {
        viewerConfigurator.RegisterConnectionProviderFactory<MyConnectionProviderFactory>();
    });
});

var app = builder.Build();

ConnectionProviders.cs

public class MyDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider : IDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider {
    IHostingEnvironment hosting;
    public MyDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider(IHostingEnvironment hosting) {
        this.hosting = hosting;
    }

    public Dictionary<string, string> GetConnectionDescriptions() {
        //Load list of connections here
        ...
    }

    public DataConnectionParametersBase GetDataConnectionParameters(string name) {
        //Move implementation logic to the IConnectionProviderService.LoadConnection method
        return null;
    }
}

public class MyConnectionProviderFactory : IConnectionProviderFactory {
    IHostingEnvironment hosting;

    public MyConnectionProviderFactory(IHostingEnvironment hosting) {
        this.hosting = hosting;
    }

    public IConnectionProviderService Create() {
        return new MyConnectionProviderService(hosting);
    }
}

public class MyConnectionProviderService : IConnectionProviderService {
    IHostingEnvironment hosting;
    public MyConnectionProviderService(IHostingEnvironment hosting) {
        this.hosting = hosting;
    }

    public SqlDataConnection LoadConnection(string connectionName) {
        return new SqlDataConnection(connectionName, /*Restore connection parameters here*/);
    }
}

Alternatively, you can use another RegisterDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider method overload to avoid saving connection parameters. When the RegisterDataSourceWizardConnectionStringsProvider method is called with the true parameter, only the connection name is serialized into the report definition, rather than the connection parameters.

Use Connection Strings From the Configuration File

The RegisterDataSourceWizardConfigFileConnectionStringsProvider() method enables you to register a predefined connection string provider. In this situation, connection strings from the appsettings.json file are enlisted in the SQL Data Source Wizard.