Multiple ReportViewers in application?

Question

Hi All,

I am developing a WinForms application and starting to dig into the reporting functionality. This is a smart client app, using SQL Server Compact Edition, which will be used both on and offline.

From what little I have read, since this will be used offline, I will need to add a ReportViewer control to my app to display reports when disconnected from the network. To add this control, I must configure it for either Local Processing or Remote Processing.

When users are offline, they will need access to a small set of local reports; meanwhile, managers back in the office may like to take a look at reports hosted on our report server.

What is the best way to handle this? Is there a way to configure the control to handle both types? Can I have both type of control? Am I doing things waaaaay wrong?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

A ReportViewer control can be set to either Local or Remote reports, I prefer to avoid Remote reports as they require a Report Server which can be a real pain to setup and maintain if you dont have staff who can take on that role.

Ignoring my personal preference you can use a single ReportViewer control and change it's properties and source at runtime quite easily. Take a look at the GotReportViewer site, there's a bunch of samples there.

You can also use multiple ReportViewer, think of it like a TextBox control, you can put as many as you like on a form if it makes sense, or even put one per tab in a tabbed control, or have a single form per report viewer with extra controls specific to the report (e.g. criteria). All these work well, it just depends what's easiest and most appropriate to your needs.