IR WIKI

Custom Reports with DevExpress

5 min read

Overview

This guide introduces the DevExpress Report Designer as used within the Integriti environment. The Report Designer is a WinForms-based tool that allows you to create data-bound reports with a rich set of layout controls, data binding options, and formatting capabilities.

Note: Specific features described here may differ based on your application vendor’s customization of the Report Designer. Always back up your current report before making changes.

The Report Designer provides access to:

  • Field List — data source schema browser
  • Toolbox — report controls to drop onto the design surface
  • Ribbon Toolbar and Property Grid — control configuration
  • Report Explorer — hierarchical view of all report elements
  • Group and Sort Panel — manage grouping and sorting

Prerequisites

  • Integriti software with the DevExpress Report Designer component installed.
  • Access to the Integriti database or data source for binding.
  • Understanding of banded report concepts (Detail, Header, Footer bands).
  • Back up existing reports before editing.

Step-by-Step

Creating a New Report

Create a Blank Report:

  • Ribbon: Home tab → New Report
  • Application Menu: Click the application button → New Report
  • Shortcut: Ctrl+N

Create via Report Wizard:

  • Ribbon: Home tab → New Report → New Report via Wizard…
  • Application Menu: Application button → New Report → New Report via Wizard…
  • Shortcut: Ctrl+W

A blank report contains three bands: Top Margin, Detail, and Bottom Margin.

Opening an Existing Report

  • Application Menu: Click Open…
  • Shortcut: Ctrl+O
  • Reports use the .REPX file extension.

Saving Reports

  • Save: Ctrl+S — saves the current layout.
  • Save As: Ribbon Home tab → Save | Save As — saves a copy with a new name.
  • Reports are saved as .REPX files containing layout information.

Working with Report Bands

Available band types:

BandPurpose
Top/Bottom MarginRepeated once per page (out-of-page zones)
DetailPrinted for every data source record (mandatory, cannot be deleted)
Report Header/FooterFirst/last band of the report (title, logo, summaries)
Page Header/FooterTop/bottom of every page
Group Header/FooterAbove/below each data group (created via Group and Sort panel)
Detail ReportSub-reports for master-detail relationships

Managing Bands:

  • Add a band: Right-click the design surface → Insert Band.
  • Remove a band: Select the band and press Delete.
  • Collapse/Expand: Click the arrow on a band’s title, or use Collapse All / Expand All on the View tab.
  • Hide in document: Set band’s Visible property to False or Height to 0 in the Property Grid.
  • Reorder: Use the Report Explorer to drag bands to new positions.

Vertical Bands: Right-click the report → Insert Vertical Band to switch to vertical record layout (records flow left-to-right).

Binding to Data

  1. Click the report’s smart tag (small arrow at top-left of design surface).
  2. Expand the Data Source dropdown and click Add New DataSource.
  3. In the Data Source Wizard, select your data source type:
    • Database (SQL Server)
    • Stored Procedure
    • Entity Framework
    • Object Data Source
    • Excel File (XLS, XLSX, XLSM)
    • CSV File
    • XML File
    • JSON Data

For a Database connection: 4. Choose to create a new connection or use an existing one. 5. Select the data provider and specify connection parameters (server, authentication, database name). 6. Choose tables, views, and/or stored procedures. 7. For master-detail reports: select two or more tables and click Manage Relations to link key fields via drag-and-drop. 8. Click Finish.

Using Query Parameters

Query parameters allow filtering data at the data source level before report generation:

  1. In the Query Builder, press Edit Parameters… to open the Query Parameters dialog.
  2. For each parameter, configure:
    • Name — parameter identifier
    • Type — data type of the value
    • Expression — whether the value is static or dynamically generated
    • Value — static value or expression
  3. To map a report parameter to a query parameter:
    • Enable the Expression checkbox
    • Expand the Value dropdown → select New Report Parameter (or an existing one)
  4. Multi-value parameters can be passed using the Join() or CreateTable() expression functions.

Preview, Print, and Export

  • Switch to the Preview tab to view the generated report with live data.
  • Switch to the Scripts tab to manage custom report scripts.
  • Use the Zoom panel to adjust the designer’s zoom factor.

Verification

  • Create a simple report bound to a test data source.
  • Add fields from the Field List to the Detail band.
  • Preview the report — verify data appears correctly.
  • Save the report as .REPX and re-open to confirm persistence.
  • Test export functionality (PDF, Excel, etc.) if available.

Troubleshooting

ProblemResolution
Data source not appearing in Field ListVerify the data source was added correctly in the Data Source Wizard. Check database connectivity.
Report shows no data in PreviewConfirm query parameters have valid default values. Check that the data source contains records matching any filters.
Master-detail relationship not workingOpen the Data Source Wizard, select the tables, and use Manage Relations to link the correct key fields.
Vertical bands lost existing controlsAdding vertical bands removes the Detail band and all its controls (and vice versa). This is by design — back up your report first.
Report layout differs from expectedSome features may be customized by the application vendor. Refer to your vendor’s documentation for specific differences.

Graph View

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