Articles with this tag assume a beginner knowledge within this category.
Constructing derived values through combining strings. Combining string values is one of the most common requirements when building reports. In this example, I will illustrate how to concatenate string values together to build a simple Contact field. I’ll begin with a simple dataset containing Supplier data. As you can see, the data contains four fields,…
Providing filters to report users. This article demonstrates providing dropdown choices to users to use as filters on the report. First I’ll start with two sprocs, one to populate choices for the filter, the other to populate the report based on the user’s choice in the filter. . Now I’ll create a new report, and…
Integrating drill-down capability so users can expand/collapse grouped records. As I illustrated in my Nested Groups article, it’s important to provide grouping of records where such groups naturally exist within a dataset. Equally important to the user will be their ability to expand/collapse those groups to conserve screen real estate when viewing large reports containing…
Integrating custom information into the footer of reports. When deploying multiple reports for user consumption, it’s helpful to users if they have helpful information when traversing the data and that data remains in a consistent location in every report. To illustrate how to accomplish this goal, I’ll begin where the Calculation – Field Formatting article…
Applying a custom format to date values. Since most date values returned in a dataset aren’t very intuitive due to their default precision, applying a custom format helps the user to understand them better. To illustrate how to accomplish this task, I’ll begin where the Global Collections article ended. As you can see, the report…
Applying sort ability to columns. When report data exceeded many pages, it’s important to provide a mechanism for users to easily change the sequence of the rows. I’l begin with an existing report which displays 7 pages of data concerning employee sick hours. To apply a sort to the Title column, I’ll configure Interactive Sorting…
Domains of Consistency Since I began developing web sites in ’96, this must be one of the most under-valued, overlooked, and most expensive concept to ignore. I once read statistics regarding the amount of time planning a web site up front as opposed to “figuring it out” as the project dragged on, they were quite…
Making Search Easier to Use. Visual Studio’s “Quick Find/Replace” (F/R) is a common staple for many web developers seeking to make batch replacements of strings within their code. However, one often overlooked feature within the IDE is “Incremental Search” (IR). This handy utility provides find capabilities similar to that of many “web developer” toolbars provided…
Please see my other C# articles. Integrating flexibility into class behavior. When designing class behavior, knowing ahead of time how that function will need to be used is sometimes difficult. For example, when defining the function signature how do you know in what order the parameters should be arranged and what if that makes a difference to…
Please see my other Test Driven Development articles. Adding flexibility to return values using Stub methods. Continuing on my “Testing with Dummy objects” article, you might have noticed a limitation with regards to the return value – only one was allowed. In situations where multiple return values are needed, Stub methods provide an alternative. In…
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