What is the reporting tool that you would use?

Question

I need a tool that handle both on-screen and printed reports, via my C# application.

I'm looking for simple, standard and powerful.

I need to be able to give the user the ability to select which columns to display, formatting, etc... with my own GUI and dynamically build the report based upon their choices. Crystal does not fit the bill here because the columns cannot be added on the fly (and the column widths can not be adjusted on the fly).

I'm thinking of using HTML with the WebBrowser control in my app, but I will have very little control over printing and print preview.

Another option is go to .NET 3.5 (I'm using 2.0) and use XAML with Flow Documents.

What would you use?

Answer 1

Crystal = Big footprint, huge deployment, fast, good designer and support MS ReportViewer = small footprint, slow, bad designer, support.. well, not so damn easy to search after reportviewer, a name all uses.. sigh.

Answer 2

We use ActiveReports.net here. They're OK and tend to get the job done pretty well, but I'm not sure if they would fit your definition of "Dynamic". But you can pretty much make them do anything though code.

Answer 3

I'm currently considering DevXpress XtraReports as a replacement for CR. So far I like what I see.

Answer 4

SQL Reporting Services probably aren't flexible enough for what you want as you don't really get a deep level of code manipulation.

Active reports let you get into the binding events and pretty much do whatever you want, however there are a couple of small bugs with active reports (like not being able to bind to a defaultview of a datatable) which make it a pain. Apart from that, it's highly flexible.

XtraReports are awesome but they're a lot pricier than Active Reports. Having said that, their support is fantastic and the reporting package is rock solid. I'd look at forking out the cash for them if possible.

Answer 5

Check out the Report Viewer stuff in studio 2008 / .NET 3.5

This amazing site has the full scoop: GotReportViewer

It's a nice build in reporting system that will show a report and print. It's not full blown like Crystal or SQL Reporting Services. If all you need is some lightweight reporting you can't beat the price.

Answer 6

Also check out FYIReporting.com opensource project.

Answer 7

FastReport.Net

• With FastReport.Net, you can create application-independent .net reports. In other words, FastReport.Net can be used as a standalone reporting tool. See yourself:

  • you can connect to any database, use any table from it or create a query;
  • you can add dialogue form(s) to your report to ask some parameters before running a report;
  • using built-in script, you can manage interaction between dialogue form’s controls, perform complex data handling;
  • finally, you can view the result, print it and export to many common document formats.

  Features:

  • FastReport.Net is written in C# and contains only managed code. It is compatible with .NET Framework 2.0 and higher.
  • Full source code is available. You can customize your copy of FastReport.Net to match your needs.
  • Reasonable price and licensing policy. You get a full-featured reporting solution with runtime royalty-free report engine and designer!
  • Extendable FastReport.Net architecture allows you to create your own objects, export filters, wizards, DB engines. If existing abilities are not enough for you - extend it!