Saving And Loading RDF Files

ActiveReports allows reports to be saved into their own standard format called an RDF file (Report Document Format). Once a report has been saved to an RDF file, it can be loaded into the viewer control and used to display reports in custom preview applications and on the web. Below is a sample project demonstrating how to save and load these RDF files.

1. Create a new Visual Basic EXE project.
2. Change the name of From1 to frmRDFs.
3. Create a new ActiveReport, as shown in the first tutorial, and set the report's name to rptRDFs (See Chapter 15).

With frmRDFs

1. Add the Data Dynamics ActiveReports Viewer 2.0 control to frmRDFs.
2. Add two command buttons below the viewer control and set their properties as follows:

   Name	cmdSave	cmdLoad
   Caption	Save Report	Load Report
   Enabled	True	False

3. Add the following code to the cmdSave_Click event:

   Private Sub cmdSave_Click()
   	rptRDFs.Run
   	rptRDFs.Pages.Save App.Path & "\SavedRDF.RDF"
   	cmdLoad.Enabled = True
   End Sub

4. Add the following code to the cmdLoad_Click event:

   Private Sub cmdLoad_Click()
   	ARViewer21.Pages.Load App.Path & "\SavedRDF.RDF"
   	frmRDFs.Caption = "RDF File loaded: " & App.Path & "\SavedRDF.RDF"
   End Sub

With rptRDFs

1. Insert a ADO data control in the Detail section.
2. Connect to Nwind.mdb (see Chapter 3 for help with connecting).
3. Set the data control's source property to the following SQL statement:

   SELECT * FROM Employees ORDER BY Title

4. Remove the PageHeader/Footer sections from the report.
5. Add a GroupHeader/Footer to the report.
6. Set the GroupHeader's properties as follows:

   BackColor	Black
   BackStyle	1-Normal
   CanShrink	False
   Height	330
   DataField	EmployeeID
   GrpKeepTogether	2-All
   KeepTogether	True

7. Place three fields in the GroupHeader and set their properties as follows:

   Name	txtEmployeeID	txtFirstName	txtLastName
   Text	EmployeeID	FirstName	LastName
   DataField	EmployeeID	FirstName	LastName
   Height	270	270	270
   Left	0	1440	2880
   Top	0	0	0
   Width	1260	1440	1440

8. Set the GroupFooter's properties as follows:

   BackColor	Black
   BackStyle	1-Normal
   CanGrow	False
   Height	100
   KeepTogether	True

9. Select the Detail section and set the section's properties as follows:

   BackColor	&H00404040&
   BackStyle	Normal
   CanShrink	False
   Height	1650

10. Place a Shape control in the Detail Section and set its properties as follows:

    BackColor	&H00C0C0C0&
    BackStyle	1-ddBKNormal
    Height	720
    Left	0
    Top	450
    Width	9360

11. Right-click on the Shape control and select "Send To Back."
12. Place eight textboxes in the Detail section and set their properties as follows:

    Name	txtTitle	txtHireDate	txtExtension	txtHomePhone	txtAddress	txtCity	txtCountry	txtPostalCode
    Text	Title	HireDate	Extension	HomePhone	Address	City	Country	Postal Code
    DataField	Title	HireDate	Extension	HomePhone	Address	City	Country	Postal Code
    Height	270	270	270	270	270	270	270	270
    Left	90	1620	3150	90	90	90	1620	3060
    Top	90	90	90	1260	540	810	810	810
    Width	1440	1440	1440	1440	9180	1530	1440	6210
    ForeColor	&H00E0E0E0&	&H00E0E0E0&	&H00E0E0E0&	&H00E0E0E0&
    BackColor					&H00E0E0E0&	&H00E0E0E0&	&H00E0E0E0&	&H00E0E0E0&
    BackStyle					1-ddBKNormal	1-ddBKNormal	1-ddBKNormal	1-ddBKNormal

13. Save the project and run it.