How do I embed and retrieve Crystal Reports from my app

Using VB .Net 2005 with Crystal Reports XI Release 2. I have a form that has a CrystalReportViewer control on it. When someone prints I run a sub that create a new instance of the form, creates a new reportdocument, loads the report to the new document, then passes the document to the report viewer on the form. This works great except I would like to either embed my crystal reports directly into my app or better yet embed them into thier own reports dll file. I want to do this so updates are easier and I can use the "Publish" function of VB 05 which doesn't seem to like publishing all the seperate files. The embedding should be the easy part, just set them as embedded resource. But I'm having trouble with the syntax to pull them out. For example you can use this to pull out a embdded icon:
Function GetEmbeddedIcon(ByVal strName As String) As Icon
Return New Icon(System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly.GetManifestResourceStream(strName))
End Function

But I cannot get the syntax right to pull out and return a crystal report. Anyone have any ideas on how to pull the reports back out or a better way to do this. I dont have a lot of reports, about 15 right now, but that could grow.

-AllanWell...I couldn't find the answer anywhere and no one replied here. But I figured it out so I might as well help someone down the road.

Set your crystal reports to "embedded resource" and the copy to "do not copy". Then in your code you can clal them like any other object with a "New (reportname)". For example I have a crystal reports viewer control (apptly named CrystalReportViewer) on a form called ReportViewerForm. I made a small sub to print reports:

Friend Sub PrintReports(ByVal myReportFileName As ReportDocument, Optional ByVal mySQLFormula As String = "")
' Prints out reports pass to it by other procedures and forms.
Dim PrintPreview As New ReportViewerForm
Try
If mySQLFormula <> "" Then myReportFileName.RecordSelectionFormula = mySQLFormula
PrintPreview.CrystalReportViewer.ReportSource = myReportFileName
PrintPreview.ShowDialog()
Catch ex As CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.EngineException
MsgBox("A error was generated by the Crystal Reports engine. Error details: " & ex.Message, MsgBoxStyle.Critical, "Engine Error")
Finally
myReportFileName = Nothing
PrintPreview = Nothing
End Try
End Sub

Then when I need to print a report, for example my Log report (called LogEntryReport.rpt) I call it like this:

PrintReports(New LogEntryReport, "{qLogEntryReport.LogIdNumber} = " & CurrentLogId)

passing my report as a new ReportDocument and my sql command (which is optional for those reports that don't need it). Now I can have one routine that will display reports and call it from anywhere passing the report name. Works dandy and the reports are embedded in the app...less clutter.

Hopefully this helps someone and its not a waste of bandwidth.

-Allan.

How Do I embed a RegEx in a Report Model

I am having trouble figuring out how to create a new expression-based field in a report model that relies upon the result of a regular expression. It looks like I cannot make calls to static methods in the .NET in a report model. Correct?

Here is my attempt at the expression I want:
=IF((System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.IsMatch(PreferedEmail)),True,False)

The error returned when I attempt to save the expression in Report Model Designer is "The following is character is not valid: ."

BTW, the message is copied verbatim. The poor grammer is not my fault.
I take it that no news is very bad news on this front. There is no way to reference a static .NET method/object in a Report Model expression. That's a real shame.
|||

Kevin,

You can use regular expression in reporting services for example:

=System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(Fields!Phone.Value, "(\d{3})[ -.]*(\d{3})[ -.]*(\d{4})", "($1) $2-$3")

Hammer

|||I'm going to go out on a limb here & guess that you've never tried that in a Report Model (SDML). You absolutely can do that in an expression embedded in a Report Definition (RDL). But the Report Model Designer will not allow you to save the expression.|||

You are correct -- referencing .NET methods from a report model expression is not supported. Depending on the report the user creates, report model expressions can potentially end up translated into SQL or MDX and embedded deep in some database query.

If you have VS and you're just using the expression as a surface expression in a particular report, you might save your report out as a file, load it up in Report Designer, and then add the expression there. I realize this doesn't give you anything in the model, however.

|||It's not the answer I wanted but now I understand why I can't have what I want. Thanks for the explanation.

How Do I embed a RegEx in a Report Model

I am having trouble figuring out how to create a new expression-based field in a report model that relies upon the result of a regular expression. It looks like I cannot make calls to static methods in the .NET in a report model. Correct?

Here is my attempt at the expression I want:
=IF((System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.IsMatch(PreferedEmail)),True,False)

The error returned when I attempt to save the expression in Report Model Designer is "The following is character is not valid: ."

BTW, the message is copied verbatim. The poor grammer is not my fault.I take it that no news is very bad news on this front. There is no way to reference a static .NET method/object in a Report Model expression. That's a real shame.|||

Kevin,

You can use regular expression in reporting services for example:

=System.Text.RegularExpressions.Regex.Replace(Fields!Phone.Value, "(\d{3})[ -.]*(\d{3})[ -.]*(\d{4})", "($1) $2-$3")

Hammer

|||I'm going to go out on a limb here & guess that you've never tried that in a Report Model (SDML). You absolutely can do that in an expression embedded in a Report Definition (RDL). But the Report Model Designer will not allow you to save the expression.|||

You are correct -- referencing .NET methods from a report model expression is not supported. Depending on the report the user creates, report model expressions can potentially end up translated into SQL or MDX and embedded deep in some database query.

If you have VS and you're just using the expression as a surface expression in a particular report, you might save your report out as a file, load it up in Report Designer, and then add the expression there. I realize this doesn't give you anything in the model, however.

|||It's not the answer I wanted but now I understand why I can't have what I want. Thanks for the explanation.