FastReport Cloud

ClickHouse is a popular database that is convenient for data analysis. In this article, you will learn how to connect to this database from the FastReport Cloud service for report generation and storage. As an example, the article will use a database of tutorials on working with ClickHouse. In our case, “default” is the name of the database, and “my first table” is the name of the table. To add our database as a data source, select “ClickHouse” when adding a source. You will see the dialog: We don’t need the table name now, just the database name. So, let’s fill out the form: As you can see from the dialog, the connection test was successful. Now just click “Connect,” and the connection will be saved among the existing ones. You can then use this connection in your reports. Now let’s try to make a simple report based on this connection: And, of course, take a look at the report preview: If we compare the data from the original table with our report, it will be quite obvious that the connection is functioning properly.

As we know, our world is constantly evolving, and new technologies emerge almost every day. Nowadays, it is no longer necessary to set up the entire infrastructure in one's office, hire personnel to monitor equipment, and deal with issues that arise with this equipment and other difficulties. Nowadays, more and more services offer business cloud solutions, for example, FastReport Cloud. Our service saves the development team from unnecessary work; you no longer need to think about how to deploy the project, where it would be best and most profitable to rent or buy servers, and what technologies to use for deployment. We have already settled all this, and all you need to do is take advantage of it. How to use FastReport Cloud? In this article, we will look at how to create reports in FastReport Cloud using SDK and export them to any convenient format. First, let's create a project and add the FastReport.Cloud.SDK.Web nuget package to it. Thanks to this package, we will conveniently communicate with FastReport Cloud without an API. We will also need a report template. This example will use Box.frx from our Demo: After creating the project and adding all the necessary dependencies to it, you can move on to analyzing the example. At the very beginning, you need to create an API key in the FastReport Cloud workspace; to do this, follow the link https://fastreport.cloud. Click on the tab with API keys and create a new one. If the key already exists, then you can copy it by right-clicking on it and selecting an action from the drop-down list. After receiving the API key, we return to our application. We write the key into a separate variable as in the example below: private const string ApiKey = "your API key"; Next, we need to create the main objects that we will use in the program: var httpClient = new HttpClient(); httpClient.BaseAddress = new Uri("https://fastreport.cloud"); httpClient.DefaultRequestHeaders.Authorization = new FastReportCloudApiKeyHeader(ApiKey); var subscriptions = new SubscriptionsClient(httpClient); var rpClientTemplates = new TemplatesClient(httpClient); var rpClientExports = new ExportsClient(httpClient); var downloadClient = new DownloadClient(httpClient); var subscription = (await subscriptions.GetSubscriptionsAsync(0, 10)).Subscriptions.First(); var templateFolder = subscription.TemplatesFolder.FolderId; var exportFolder = subscription.ExportsFolder.FolderId; After this, we move on to the stage of creating a report for the cloud. You can do it like this: TemplateCreateVM templateCreateVM = new TemplateCreateVM() { Name = "box.frx", Content = Convert.FromBase64String(TestData.BoxReport) //we send the frx file in byte format }; In the example above, we already have a report in byte format. If you have a file in frx format, then you can use this example: TemplateCreateVM templateCreateVM = new TemplateCreateVM() { Name = "box.frx", Content = File.ReadAllBytes("path to report") //we send the frx file in byte format to the path }; We upload the TemplateCreateVM object along with the report into our FastReport.Cloud workspace: TemplateVM uploadedFile = await rpClientTemplates.UploadFileAsync(templateFolder, templateCreateVM); Now we export the report to the format we need. First, you need to decide on the format and name of the future file. ExportTemplateVM export = new ExportTemplateVM() { FileName = "box", Format = ExportFormat.Pdf //format to be exported }; We export to PDF format: ExportVM exportedFile = await rpClientTemplates.ExportAsync(uploadedFile.Id, export) as ExportVM; string fileId = exportedFile.Id; int attempts = 3; exportedFile = rpClientExports.GetFile(fileId); while (exportedFile.Status != FileStatus.Success && attempts >= 0) { await Task.Delay(1000); exportedFile = rpClientExports.GetFile(fileId); attempts--; } We finished the main part of the work with the report. We received a pdf file from our report: If you want to download the file manually, then go to your workspace and download it as in the following example:  You can also download the file with the SDK using this example: using (var file = await downloadClient.GetExportAsync(fileId)) { using (var pdf = File.Open("report.pdf", FileMode.Create)) { file.Stream.CopyTo(pdf); } } Now you know how to create, export, and download files in FastReport Cloud using the SDK. You can find the example from this article at this link: https://github.com/FastReports/FastReport-Cloud.

The latest update FastReport .NET adds the ability to interact with your reports located on the FastReport Cloud server. Now you can open the file manager in two ways. Through a preview of the prepared report in .fpx format).   Using the raw report designer in .frx format).   You can also save the report to your FastReport Cloud server if you work in the designer.   Connecting to a server When you open the file manager, if the user is not authorized, an authorization window will open to log in to your FastReport ID account. (You can open the window yourself by going to the following path Help - Account).   If you need to connect to a server different than fastreport.cloud, you will need to enter the server address and the corresponding api key. Moreover, the api key can also be used when connecting to fastreport.cloud as an alternative to the standard account login.   The file manager will open if the connection to the server was successfully established.   For comparison, let's open FastReport Cloud in the browser.   As you can see, the file manager displays the same files as in the web version of Cloud.   File manager functions The file manager supports: Selecting and downloading a report to the designer;   Search for necessary reports by their name;   Using context menu with folders and reports;     File sorting by: name, creation time, type, and size;   Button use: go back to the directory, copy the path, and add the folder at the top of the window;   Ability to navigate through the directory by clicking on the folder name in the address bar;   Switching between workspaces;   You can also manually write the name of the desired file in the bottom panel to open it. However, you will see a warning if this file does not exist in the current directory.   If you need to rename the saved report, then change its current name in the bottom panel. In this case, the file extension .frx or fpx is optional. It is important to note that several people can work with reports from the Cloud. If the downloaded report has already been modified on the server, for example, another person finished working with it before you, then you will see the corresponding window. You can either overwrite the report on the server or cancel your changes. Are there any restrictions on working with the reports opened in the Cloud? No. A report opened from the cloud supports the full functionality of the designer. Moreover, Ctrl+S (Save) will update the report in your workspace. Web Preview When viewing a report from the Cloud, the user could see inconsistencies in the file prepared in the desktop application. That’s why we have added a new web preview feature. The web preview button will be active if the report is opened from Cloud. When clicked, it will open a page with a prepared report in a standard browser. Working with data sources Data connections are stored in Cloud. Now it is possible to use these connections in your report in the desktop application. To add a data source located in Cloud, go to Data→ New data source…→ Select connection from server. A window with all available connections will be shown after clicking on the button. It will also specify the connection name, connection type, and connection status. After selecting a connection, you can view the connection string, enter the desired name, and select the tables that you want to use. Loading and updating a data source The context menu of data sources now has a new item "Update connection on Cloud" (for Cloud connections) and "Upload Data Source to server" (for local connections). You will be able to update the connection if you have changed, for example, the name of the connection and/or the connection string. And of course, upload the data source to Cloud. The respective window will be shown in case of a successful or unsuccessful task. It is important to note that you will not be able to upload to Cloud only XML and CSV, which are connected locally, and not through a string. Welcome window and list of recently opened items The welcome window now offers the option to open a report from Cloud that you have recently worked on. Just click on it in the list. However, you will receive a notification if you try to open the report while being authorized with a subscription that does not contain this file or if you will be unauthorized. To avoid this, you can go to your account directly from the welcome window. This way, you have an ultimate tool that will streamline cloud reporting. Now you don’t have to do manipulations and manually download the report from the server, then open it in the designer, and set up connections. It will also help to avoid problems during the report preview.