Reports Forms Reference

Manage and reuse report form templates.

Reference → Modules → Reports → UI → Forms Editor | Forms | Monitor | WebData | WebData Editor

Configuration Properties

Creating Report Forms

1. Navigate to Reports → Forms
2. Click first row to create new form
3. Configure:
   • Name: Unique identifier
   • SaveFormat: Select output type
   • SaveFileName: Target file path
4. Double-click to open Forms Editor

Forms Editor

Text Formatting

• Font selection and sizing
• Bold, italic, underline
• Text alignment
• Color selection
• Bullet points and numbering

Dynamic Content

Insert tag values:

Production Report
Date: @Info.Date@
Shift: @Tag.Shift_Number@
Total Units: @Tag.Production_Count@
Quality Score: @Tag.Quality_Score@%

Tables

| Product | Quantity | Status |
|---------|----------|--------|
| @Tag.Product1@ | @Tag.Qty1@ | @Tag.Status1@ |
| @Tag.Product2@ | @Tag.Qty2@ | @Tag.Status2@ |

Output Formats

The formats a report form offers depend on the solution's Target Platform. Windows target solutions save reports as Text, HTML, Unicode, ASCII or PDF. Multiplatform solutions, which also run on Linux, save reports as Text, Unicode or ASCII.

Text Format

Plain ASCII text:

• Fixed-width fonts
• No formatting
• Smallest file size
• Universal compatibility

HTML Format

Web-ready reports:

• Full formatting support
• Images and links
• CSS styling
• Browser viewing

PDF Format

Professional documents:

• Exact layout preservation
• Print-ready output
• Digital signatures
• Security options

File Naming

Static Names

C:\Reports\DailyReport.pdf
\\Server\Reports\Production.txt

Dynamic with Tags

C:\Reports\Report_@Tag.Date@.pdf
C:\Reports\@Tag.Shift@_@Tag.Line@.txt

Using Macros

@ExecutionPath@\Reports\Current.pdf
@SolutionPath@\Output\Report.txt

Runtime Display

Windows WPF Clients

• ReportViewer Control - Native report display
• PdfViewer Control - PDF rendering

Web HTML5 Clients

• PdfViewer Control - Browser-based viewing

Control Configuration

xml

<ReportViewer ReportName="ProductionReport" />
<PdfViewer Source="@Report.Form.DailyReport.FileName" />

Triggering Reports

Manual Generation

csharp

// Generate report on button click
@Report.Form.ProductionReport.Generate();

Scheduled Generation

Using SaveTrigger property:

csharp

// Trigger at shift change
@Tag.ShiftChange = 1;  // Triggers if SaveTrigger = Tag.ShiftChange

Script-Based

csharp

public void GenerateDailyReport()
{
    // Set report data
    @Tag.ReportDate = DateTime.Today;
    @Tag.TotalProduction = CalculateTotal();
    
    // Generate and save
    @Report.Form.DailyReport.Generate();
    @Report.Form.DailyReport.Save();
}

Headers and Footers

Header Template

Create standard header:

========================================
     ACME Corporation
     Production Report
     @Info.Date@ @Info.Time@
========================================

Footer Template

Standard footer:

----------------------------------------
Page @Page.Number@ of @Page.Total@
Generated by: @Client.UserName@
========================================

Linking Templates

1. Create header/footer forms
2. Reference in main report:
   • Header: Select header form
   • Footer: Select footer form

Padding Options

Security Configuration

EditSecurity

Control who can modify reports:

• Set user groups with edit rights
• Restrict runtime modifications
• Protect report templates

File Permissions

Ensure write access to:

• Report output directories
• Network shares
• Temporary folders

Best Practices Checklist 

• Use templates - Create reusable headers/footers
• Test paths - Verify file locations exist
• Handle errors - Check generation status
• Archive reports - Implement retention policy
• Validate data - Check tags before generation
• Schedule wisely - Avoid peak load times
• Monitor disk space - Clean old reports

Troubleshooting

Report not generating:

• Verify form configuration
• Check SaveTrigger conditions
• Confirm file path exists
• Review user permissions

Missing data:

• Check tag names
• Verify tag values populated
• Review timing of generation
• Confirm data availability

Format issues:

• Match SaveFormat to viewer
• Check padding settings
• Verify encoding (ASCII/Unicode)
• Review template formatting

File access errors:

• Check write permissions
• Verify network connectivity
• Close open report files
• Review antivirus settings

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