Question

I need to generate a report file from my don net app. i need to put the data in tabulated format. ordinarily, you would expect me to use the Microsoft report viewer control. but am using sqlite, and cannot generate the report automatically. Also my report is based on a multiple tables, not on a specific table. so i decided to use RichTextFormat or Word .doc.

i need to create a report that looks like this

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
|    Column 1     |    Column 2     |    Column 3     |    Column 4     |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
|                 |                 |                 |                 |
|                 |                 |                 |                 |
|                 |                 |                 |                 |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

An of course the rows are not fixed but can be smaller of more. can you please guid me on the best way to do this.

Thanks

Answer 1

You can use interop library and write directly to Word document as well. Especially if document structure is quite simple. Disadvantages: Word must be installed on machine which will be generating report. Example below, remember to add assemblies: Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word (…\Office12\Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word.dll), Office (…\Office12\Office.dll).

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.Office.Interop.Word;
using Microsoft.Office.Core;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
using System.IO;
using System.Diagnostics;

namespace WriteToWordSO
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            _Application app = null;
            Documents docs = null;
            Document doc = null;
            Range range = null;
            Tables tables = null;
            Table table = null;

            object oMissing = System.Reflection.Missing.Value;
            object oFalse = false;
            object oTrue = true;
            object fileName = Path.Combine(Path.GetDirectoryName(System.Reflection.Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location), "tmp.doc");
            object fileFormat = WdSaveFormat.wdFormatDocument;

            FileInfo fi = new FileInfo(fileName.ToString());
            if (fi.Exists) fi.Delete();

            int rows = 4, cols = 5;

            try
            {
                app = new ApplicationClass();
                app.Visible = false;
                app.DisplayAlerts = WdAlertLevel.wdAlertsNone;
                app.AutomationSecurity = MsoAutomationSecurity.msoAutomationSecurityForceDisable;

                docs = app.Documents;
                doc = docs.Add(ref oMissing, ref oMissing, ref oMissing, ref oMissing);

                range = doc.Range(ref oMissing, ref oMissing);

                tables = doc.Tables;

                object oAutoFitCell = WdDefaultTableBehavior.wdWord9TableBehavior;
                object oAutoFitWindow = WdAutoFitBehavior.wdAutoFitWindow;

                table = tables.Add(range, rows, cols, ref oAutoFitCell, ref oAutoFitWindow);

                Cell c = null;
                Range cellRange = null;

                // header row
                for (int i = 1; i < cols + 1; i++)
                {
                    c = table.Cell(1, i);
                    cellRange = c.Range;
                    cellRange.Text = "Header " + i.ToString();
                    cellRange.Bold = 1;
                    Marshal.ReleaseComObject(c);
                    Marshal.ReleaseComObject(cellRange);
                }

                // data rows
                for (int i = 1; i < cols + 1; i++)
                {
                    for (int j = 1; j < rows; j++)
                    {
                        c = table.Cell(j + 1, i);
                        cellRange = c.Range;
                        cellRange.Text = "Cell " + i.ToString() + j.ToString();
                        Marshal.ReleaseComObject(c);
                        Marshal.ReleaseComObject(cellRange);
                    }
                }

                doc.SaveAs(ref fileName, ref fileFormat, ref oMissing, ref oMissing, ref oMissing, ref oMissing,
                    ref oMissing, ref oMissing, ref oMissing, ref oMissing, ref oMissing, ref oMissing, ref oMissing,
                    ref oMissing, ref oMissing, ref oMissing);

                ((_Document)doc).Close(ref oFalse, ref oMissing, ref oMissing);

                ((_Application)app).Quit(ref oFalse, ref oMissing, ref oMissing);

                Process.Start(fileName.ToString());
            }
            finally
            {
                // frees memory

                GC.Collect();
                GC.WaitForPendingFinalizers();
                GC.Collect();
                GC.WaitForPendingFinalizers();

                // its very important to release all used object,
                // otherwise some complications may appear
                if (table != null) Marshal.ReleaseComObject(table);
                table = null;

                if (tables != null) Marshal.ReleaseComObject(tables);
                tables = null;

                if (range == null) Marshal.ReleaseComObject(range);
                range = null;

                if (doc != null) Marshal.ReleaseComObject(doc);
                doc = null;

                if (docs != null) Marshal.ReleaseComObject(docs);
                docs = null;

                if (app != null) Marshal.ReleaseComObject(app);
                app = null;
            }
        }
    }
}