ActiveReports 14 .NET Edition
ActiveReports 14 User Guide / Samples and Walkthroughs / Walkthroughs / Page Report/RDL Report Walkthroughs / Layout / Columnar Layout Reports (RDL)
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    Columnar Layout Reports (RDL)
    In This Topic

    In RDL report, you can create a columnar report layout by using the Columns property of the report. This walkthrough illustrates how to create a RDL report using columns, and is split up into the following activities:

    Note: This walkthrough uses the CustomerMailingList table from the Reels database. The Reels.mdb file can be downloaded from GitHub: ..\Samples14\Data\Reels.mdb.

    When you complete this walkthrough you get a layout that looks similar to the following at design time and at run time.

    Design-Time Layout

    Columnar Layout Reports at design time

    Columnar Layout Reports at design time

    Run-Time Layout

    Columnar Layout Reports at run time

    Columnar Layout Reports at run time

    To add an ActiveReport to the Visual Studio project

    1. Create a new Visual Studio project.
    2. From the Project menu, select Add New Item.
    3. In the Add New Item dialog that appears, select ActiveReports 14 RDL Report and in the Name field, rename the file as rptRDLColumnLayout.
    4. Click the Add button to open a new RDL report in the designer.

    See Quick Start for information on adding different report layouts.

    To connect the report to a data source

    1. In the Report Explorer, right-click the Data Sources node and select the Add Data Source option or select Data Source from the Add button.
      Adding a datasource
    2. In the Report Data Source Dialog that appears, select the General page and in the Name field, enter a name like ReportData.
    3. On this page, create a connection to the Reels database. See Connect to a Data Source for information on connecting to a data source.

    To add a dataset

    1. In the Report Explorer, right-click the data source node and select the Add Data Set option or select Data Set from the Add button.
    2. In the DataSet Dialog that appears, select the General page and enter the name of the dataset as CustomerList. This name appears as a child node to the data source icon in the Report Explorer.
    3. On the Query page of this dialog, in the Query field enter the following SQL query.
      SQL Query
      Copy Code
      SELECT TOP 100 * FROM CustomerMailingList
      UNION
      SELECT TOP 100 * FROM CustomerMailingList WHERE Country = "USA"
      ORDER BY 8 DESC                                 
      
    4. Click the Validate DataSet icon at the top right hand corner above the Query box to validate the query.
      Validate DataSet icon
    5. Click OK to close the dialog. Your data set and queried fields appear as nodes in the Report Explorer.

    To create a column layout for the report

    1. In the Report Explorer, select Body and set the following properties in the properties window.
      Property Name Property Value
      Columns 2
      ColumnSpacing 0.25in
      Size 2.625in, 1in
    2. In the Visual Studio toolbox, go to the ActiveReports 14 Page Report tab and drag the List data region onto the design surface.
    3. In the Properties Window, set the following properties for the List.
      Property Name Property Value
      DataSetName CustomerList
      Size 2.5in, 1in
    4. In the Visual Studio toolbox, go to the ActiveReports 14 Page Report tab and drag three TextBox controls onto the List data region added above.
    5. In the Properties Window, set the following properties for TextBox1.
      Property Name Property Value
      Location 0in, 0in
      Size 2.5in, 0.25in
      DataElementName FirstName
      Name FirstName
      Value =Fields!FirstName.Value & IIF( Fields!MiddleInitial.Value Is Nothing, "", " " & Fields!MiddleInitial.Value ) & " " & Fields!LastName.Value
      CanGrow False
    6. In the Properties Window, set the following properties for TextBox2.
      Property Name Property Value
      Location 0in, 0.25in
      Size 2.5in, 0.25in
      DataElementName CustomerAddress1
      Name CustomerAddress1
      Value =Fields!Address1.Value & IIF( Fields!Address2.Value is Nothing, "", vbCrLf & Fields!Address2.Value )
      CanGrow False
      CanShrink True
    7. In the Properties window, set the following properties for TextBox3.
      Property Name Property Value
      Location 0in, 0.50in
      Size 2.5in, 0.25in
      DataElementName CustomerCity
      Name CustomerCity
      Value =Fields!City.Value & ", " & Fields!Region.Value & "  " & Fields!PostalCode.Value & "   " & IIf( Fields!Country.Value = "USA", "", Fields!Country.Value )
      CanGrow False

    To view the report

    • Click the preview tab to view the report at design time.

    OR

    If you want to create a similar layout in Page report, see Overflow Data in a Single Page(Page Report).
    See Also