ActiveReports 11
Breaking Changes
ActiveReports 11 > ActiveReports User Guide > Upgrading Reports > Breaking Changes

When you upgrade reports from previous versions of ActiveReports or Data Dynamics Reports, there are several breaking changes.

In ActiveReports 11, data engine has been revamped to improve the data manipulation tasks such as sorting, filtering, and grouping.

Control Changes from Previous ActiveReports Versions to ActiveReports 11

The Excel Transformation Device option, the File menu item Microsoft Excel WorkSheet - Data (XLS), is no longer available for RDL reports in the default export dialogs of the viewer and designer applications shipped with the product. For backward compatibility, the Excel Transformation Device API is still available, but it does not support the new Tablix control. In order to successfully export reports using the new Tablix control, please use the Excel Rendering Extension option, the File menu item Microsoft Excel WorkSheet - Layout (XLS, XLSX).

The Matrix data region has been replaced in the toolbox with the new Tablix data region. However, it is still available in the API for backward compatibility. See the Matrix Class in the Class Library.

The OleObject control is now hidden by default in the toolbox for Section reports. To show this control in Visual Studio, open the GrapeCity.ActiveReports.config file and change the EnableOleObject value to true, and include this file with your application. You can find this file in a path like the following. C:\Program Files (x86)\GrapeCity\ActiveReports 11.

To show the OleObject control in the Designer control in your own end users designer applications, select the Designer control and, in the Properties window, change the EnableOleObject property to True.

The WebViewer control is now AJAX-based, and requires ActiveReports.ReportService.asmx to be in the root of the Web site or Web application. This is added automatically when you drop a WebViewer control on a Web form, or you can add it from the Add New Item dialog by selecting ActiveReports 11 Web Service, or manually by copying it from C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\GrapeCity\ActiveReports 11. ExceptionOccurring, QueuingReport, ReportCreating and ReportDisposing events are no longer available in WebViewer class.

The Viewer control no longer has Annotations turned on by default. To enable Annotations, set the AnnotationDropDownVisible property of the Viewer control to TrueDataDynamics.ActiveReports.Viewer.ReportViewer.MultiplePageMode property is now integrated into ViewType property of Viewer class. Viewer.ReportViewer.PaperColor property has been removed. Viewer.PageOffset property's type has been changed from Integer to System.Drawing.Point.

The Toolbar is now a Windows ToolStrip. Please see the MSDN ToolStrip Class for more information.

In RDL and Page reports, the default behavior of the Series Border Style setting for Area, Pie and Doughnut chart types has been changed. Now, the default value of this setting is None, thus no style formatting is applied.

Other Changes

Rendering Extensions (Image): ColorDepth is an obsolete property of GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Image.Page.Settings class.
 
Expressions: In Page report and RDL report expressions, "True" and "False" values are now handled as String, and not as Boolean values.
For example, =IIF(Fields!FieldName.Value = "True", 1, 0) is now an invalid expression when FieldName.Value returns a Boolean value, instead, use  =IIF(Fields!FieldName.Value = True, 1, 0) expression.

Classes in Different Namespaces

In ActiveReports 11, some classes have been moved to different namespaces from previous versions of ActiveReports and Data Dynamics Reports. Drop down the table below to see some of the most commonly used classes that are in new namespaces.

Classes that are in new namespaces

Class Name New Namespace Former Namespace
Report GrapeCity.ActiveReports.PageReportModel DataDynamics.Reports.ReportObjectModel
SectionReport
(formerly ActiveReport)
GrapeCity.ActiveReports DataDynamics.ActiveReports
PageReport
(formerly ReportDefinition)
GrapeCity.ActiveReports DataDynamics.Reports
SectionDocument
(formerly Document)
GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Document DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Document
SystemPrinter GrapeCity.ActiveReports DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Interop
Printer GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Extensibility.Printing DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Document
Field GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Data.Field DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Field
FieldCollection GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Data.FieldCollection DataDynamics.ActiveReports.FieldCollection
ReportExplorer GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Design.ReportExplorer.ReportExplorer DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Design.ReportExplore
Images GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Design.Resources.Images DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Design.Images
Exports
HtmlExport GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Html.Section DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Html
PdfExport GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf
PdfSignature GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.Signing DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Signing
PdfStamp GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.Signing DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Signing
RtfExport GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Word.Section DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Rtf
TextExport GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Xml.Section DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Text
TiffExport GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Image.Tiff.Section DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Tiff
XlsExport GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Excel.Section DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Xls
ImageRenderingExtension GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Image.Page DataDynamics.Reports.Rendering.Graphics
HtmlRenderingExtension GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Html.Page DataDynamics.Reports.Rendering.Html
PdfRenderingExtension GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Page DataDynamics.Reports.Rendering.Pdf
XmlRenderingExtension GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Xml.Page DataDynamics.Reports.Rendering.Xml
WordRenderingExtension GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Word.Page DataDynamics.Reports.Rendering.Word
ExcelTransformationDevice GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Excel.Page DataDynamics.Reports.Rendering.Excel
Report Controls
Barcode
Chart
CheckBox
CrossSectionBox
CrossSectionLine
Label
Line
OleObject
PageBreak
Picture
ReportInfo
RichTextBox
Shape
SubReport
TextBox
GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReportModel DataDynamics.ActiveReports
Chart
CheckBox
Container
CustomReportItem
Image
Line
List
Tablix
OverflowPlaceHolder
Shape
Table
TextBox
GrapeCity.ActiveReports.PageReportModel DataDynamics.Reports.ReportObjectModel

Namespace Changes and Restructuring

Some of the changes that are not picked up by the upgrade tool may cause some issues in your code. The two most frequently encountered changes are:

These are all of the assemblies and namespaces that have changed, with any major changes noted.

ActiveReports is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.v11

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports
  • GrapeCity.ActiveReports
  • GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReportModel
  • GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Data
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.DataSources GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Data
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Interop GrapeCity.ActiveReports
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Options GrapeCity.ActiveReports.SectionReportModel

ActiveReports.Chart is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Chart.v11

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Chart
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Annotations GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Chart.Annotations
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Chart.Graphics GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Chart.Graphics

ActiveReports.Design is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Design.Win.v11

The Report property is now an Object that gets or sets a GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Document.SectionDocument or GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Document.PageDocument.

The ColorTheme property of the Designer class is deprecated.

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Design GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Design
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Design.ReportExplorer GrapeCity.ActiveReports.ReportExplorer
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Design.Toolbox GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Design.Toolbox

ActiveReports.Document is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Document.v11

The Document class is now called SectionDocument.

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports GrapeCity.ActiveReports
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Document
  • GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Document
  • GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Document.Section
  • GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Extensibility.Printing(GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Extensibility.v11)
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Html GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Html
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Document.Annotations GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Document.Section.Annotations

ActiveReports.HtmlExport is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Html.v11

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Html GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Html.Section

ActiveReports.PdfExport is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.v11

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Signing GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Pdf.Section.Signing

ActiveReports.RtfExport is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Word.v11

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Rtf GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Word.Section

ActiveReports.Silverlight is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Viewer.Silverlight.v11

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports GrapeCity.ActiveReports

ActiveReports.TextExport is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Xml.v11

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Text GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Xml.Section

ActiveReports.TiffExport is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Image.v11

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReportsExport.Tiff GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Image.Tiff.Section

ActiveReports.Viewer is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Viewer.Win.v11

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Toolbar The viewer now uses Visual Studio ToolStrips. Please see MSDN ToolStrip Class for more information.
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Viewer
  • GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Viewer.Win
  • GrapeCity.Viewer.Common
Note: GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Viewer.Win.v11.dll does not get added automatically to the project references when the report layout is added. You need to either add the Viewer control or manually add the reference to this assembly.

ActiveReports.Web is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Web.v11

The Report property is now an Object that gets or sets a SectionDocument or ReportDocument.

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Web GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Web
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Web.Controls GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Web.Controls
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Web.ExportOptions GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Web.ExportOptions
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Web.Handlers GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Web.Handlers

ActiveReports.XlsExport is now GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Excel.v11

ActiveReports Namespace (previous versions) ActiveReports 11 Namespace
DataDynamics.ActiveReports.Export.Xls GrapeCity.ActiveReports.Export.Excel.Section
DataDynamics.SpreadBuilder GrapeCity.SpreadBuilder
DataDynamics.SpreadBuilder.Cells GrapeCity.SpreadBuilder.Cells
DataDynamics.SpreadBuilder.Imaging GrapeCity.SpreadBuilder.Imaging
DataDynamics.SpreadBuilder.Printing GrapeCity.SpreadBuilder.Printing
DataDynamics.SpreadBuilder.Style GrapeCity.SpreadBuilder.Style
See Also