This walkthrough illustrates how to set up a basic layout of an end-user report designer on a Windows Form.

This walkthrough is split up into the following activities:

• Adding a Windows Form to a Visual Studio project
• Adding a status bar, panels, and splitters to the form
• Adding the Report Explorer to the form
• Adding the Property Grid to the form
• Adding the ActiveReports end-user report designer control to the form
• Adding a Reference to the ToolBoxClassLib DLL to enable use of the Toolbox

When you have completed this walkthrough, you will have a basic layout that looks similar to the following.

Adding a Windows Form to a Visual Studio project

To add a Windows Form to a Visual Studio project

1. Open a Visual Studio project.
2. From the Project menu, select Add Windows Form.
3. Name the form formDesigner and click Open.
4. Resize formDesigner to the desired height and width.

Adding a status bar, panels, and splitters to the form

To add a status bar, panels, and splitters to the form

1. Add a status bar to the form. 
   •  Set the Name property to arStatus.
   • Set the Text property to an empty string.
2. Add a panel to the form.
   • Set the Name property to pnlToolbox.
   • Set the Dock property to Left.
3. Add a second panel to the form. 
   • Set the Name property to pnlProperties.
   • Set the Dock property to Right.
4. Add a splitter to the form.
   • Set the Name property to splitterToolbox.
   • Set the BorderStyle property to Fixed3D.
   • Set the Dock property to Left.
5. Add a second splitter to the form.
   • Set the Name property to splitterProperties.
   • Set the BorderStyle property to Fixed3D.
   • Set the Dock property to Right.

Adding the Report Explorer to the form

To add the Report Explorer

1. Select the ReportExplorer control from the ActiveReports toolbox tab and drag it onto pnlProperties.
2. Change the Name property to arReportExplorer.
3. Set the Dock property to Top. 
4. Select a splitter control and drag it onto pnlProperties. 
   • Set the Name property to splitterReportExplorerPropertiesGrid.
   • Set the BorderStyle property to Fixed3D.
   • Set the Dock property to top. This docks the splitter at the bottom of the just added Report Explorer.

Adding the Property Grid to the form

To add the Property Grid

1. Select the PropertyGrid control from the appropriate toolbox tab and drag it onto pnlProperties.
2. Change the Name property to arPropertyGrid.
3. Set the Dock property to Fill

To add the control

1. Select the Designer control from the ActiveReports toolbox tab and drag it onto formDesigner.
2. Change the Name property to arDesigner.
3. Set the Dock property to Fill.
4. Set the PropertyGrid property to arPropertyGrid.
5. Click on arReportExplorer to select it. Set the ReportDesigner property to arDesigner.

To continue creating the End-User Report Designer, please see the next walkthrough, Adding Code for the End-User Report Designer.

See Also

 

 

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