For everyone looking for reporting help (Devexpress)

Question

Here is a new video on using the free DevExpress reporting engine with LightSwitch.

http://tv.devexpress.com/#LightSwitchReportsGetStarted

 

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Bill

http://www.wcm-consulting.com

Answer 1

Thanks Bill!

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Yann

(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!)

Answer 2

Bill, in that video Seth mentions a "special installer that deals with LightSwitch" & I can see it on his desktop, but I can't for the life of me find it anywhere on the DX site. I've searched their "Customer Support", I've searched their "Downloads Section" I can't find an explicit mention of it anywhere!

Does it exists as a download, do you know? Or is it only available in the trial bundle that you get to download with *everything* in it?

Why on earth mention something in a video & then make it impossible for anyone to find?!!

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Yann

(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!)

Answer 3

I found it difficult to find what to install before also.  Also, have they updates in last month or so and fixed any of the bugs (i.e. VS crash, etc)?

 

Answer 4

That's a nice video. I'd be interested to see how it works 'in broswer'.

I'll see if any of my DevExpress contacts know about the 'special installer'.

Answer 5

Here's the reply that I've had back from DevExpress. They encourage us to get in touch with [e-mail] if we experience problems with the installer.

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DevExpress LightSwitch Reporting Extensions are currently available in beta (as is the current Microsoft LightSwitch product).
 
The LightSwitch Reporting Extensions ship with the main DXperience Installer (available on our downloads page https://www.devexpress.com/ClientCenter/Downloads/#Trials). In order for the installer to highlight them as an option for you, you must have Microsoft LightSwitch installed on your machine. The installer will detect LightSwitch and automatically enable the DevExpress LightSwitch Reporting extensions as an optional component for you to install.
 
You can find more information on LightSwitch Reporting Extensions deployment in this documentation article.

http://documentation.devexpress.com/#XtraReports/CustomDocument9819

Answer 6

I haven't been able to get this to "work" yet. When I get to the point of choosing a data source for the report that I've added, the "ApplicationData" that's supposed to "magically" be there isn't.

I'm currently uninstalling v2011 vol 1.5 & I'll try again.

I was appalled to find that just to use this reporting solution, it introduces dependencies on 17 DX DLL's! From the video, it looks like a nice way to create & display reports, but SEVENTEEN DX DLL's???

I still don't understand why there's not a simple SilverLight SSRS Report control, like there is for WinForms & WPF (& ASP.NET?). We wouldn't need all this "extra" stuff being installed all over the place.

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Yann

(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!)

Answer 7

Yann, when I tested this a few weeks ago I also could not get access to the LS data sources. In the end I created a new SQL datasource directly inside the report editor and that worked fine. I didn't spend too much time investigating the data source issue as I felt at the time that a direct SQL data source was an acceptable solution for me.

I've not tried it again since they've fixed it to support passing parameters.The many DLLs do sound a bit much.

I preferred the Xtra report designer compared with ReportBuilder 3.0. However, I would not put writing reports as falling into my expertise, so may well have missed something.

I'll be getting back into report writing in a couple of weeks.

Regards

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Xander

Answer 8

Well, I uninstalled, then reinstalled (still ended up with a whole bunch of "Trial" stuff, even though this time I tried to make sure ALL it was installing was the XtraReports for LightSwitch), & I couldn't get it to work for me.

The "demo" app that you load & compile from the "Demo Center" works fine, I just don't see the same thing as what is displayed in the video when I try to do it in my own project. Maybe it only works properly with that "special installer" that nobody can seem to find anywhere.

Any time I tried to add a data source myself, the report editor kept trying to add a WinForms data binding control, which of course the compiler didn't like very much (no DX controls were in my toolbox either).

So I thought I'd be "clever", & copy & paste the data binding control from the working demo app, then just "fix" what it was pointing to. That part "kind of" worked. Again it wasn't the same as in the video, but I could see fields in the field list & was able to drag some to designer surface. The app compiled, but the barfed when I tried to run it, hanging the app completely. The error message indicated that it couldn't find version 11.1.5.5 of the DevExpress.Xpf.Printing.v11.1.Core assembly, & sure enough, when I looked in the file location for the assembly reference in the Server project, the version number was 11.1.5.0, so no surprise there except *why*?

When I tried to remove all traces from my project (to get it to at least run again), I had even more problems, but I'm willing to admit that it may have been the order I did the "ripping out".

All-in-all, NOT a good experience! Certainly NOT as simple as the video made it look. I doubt I'll be wasting my time trying it again, until *somebody* mentions that they were able to get it to work. I don't have the time to fiddle around with it tbh.

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Yann

(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!)

Answer 9

Like you Yann I have spent many hours trying to get this to work.

The issue for me at  the moment is it cant see the ReportPreview even though I have tried adding all the references manually.

The most frustrating thing for me is that Devexpress appear to be ignoring any questions most folk who have issues are asking.

 

 

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martin

Answer 10

I contacted DevXpress "support" to see what they had to say, got the usual "can't reproduce" excuse, was told to "rebuild my project", & was given a screencast to watch that didn't even match what I stated that I was trying to do.

http://www.devexpress.com/Support/Center/p/B202981.aspx

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Yann

(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!)

Answer 11

Yes I have had that too, I guess the underlying reason for this is that Lightswitch is stepping on the toes of XAF.

Hence the reluctance (from my point of view) to seriously develop their components to work with  Lightswitch.

 Edited to Add

I had your issue too , check your config.xml for rogue entries in your lightswitch project.

Martin

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martin

<ExtensionAssemblies>
  <ExtensionAssembly>Microsoft.LightSwitch.Extensions.Client, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>Spursoft.LightSwitch.Client, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>Spursoft.LightSwitch.Common, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>LightSwitchFilter.Common, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>LightSwitchUtilities.Common, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>Microsoft.LightSwitch.SDKProxy, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31BF3856AD364E35</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>LightSwitchFilter.Client, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>DevExpress.Xpf.Printing.v11.1.Core, Version=11.1.5.5, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=B88D1754D700E49A</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>DevExpress.Printing.v11.1.Core, Version=11.1.5.5, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=B88D1754D700E49A</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>DevExpress.Data.v11.1, Version=11.1.5.5, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=B88D1754D700E49A</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>DevExpress.Xpf.Core.v11.1, Version=11.1.5.5, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=B88D1754D700E49A</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>DevExpress.Xpf.Docking.v11.1, Version=11.1.5.5, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=B88D1754D700E49A</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>DevExpress.Xpf.Layout.v11.1.Core, Version=11.1.5.5, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=B88D1754D700E49A</ExtensionAssembly>
  <ExtensionAssembly>DevExpress.Xpf.Printing.v11.1, Version=11.1.5.5, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=B88D1754D700E49A</ExtensionAssembly>
 </ExtensionAssemblies>

Answer 12

Few questions,

1)Is it really free or beta now then later have to pay?

2)In the webpage given above, which one to download ? Visual Control downloads? It say free 30 days trial ???

3) Does it work? I see some or your guys are having problem installing it.

4)Why lightswitch got no reporting component. Reporting is a very import part of any business app not just excel. 

Answer 13

Yann:

  Thanks so much for bringing the challenges you've had with getting the LightSwitch things to work properly. The video I put out was more of a preview of the kinds of things that you can do with reporting in LightSwitch. We do indeed have a separate installer for the earlier versions of the LS reporting feature (I am happy to link it here if you wish). The problem is that our reporting toolset is currently in beta and things have been continuously changing. Even the bits from  video we posted do not have all the features we've added recently (we have since added support for LightSwitch queries as a data source). We are currently working on creating a new installer that will have the final bits ready in anticipation of the July 26th release. I am happy to walk you through the process myself by doing some sort of screenshare etc. via gotomeeting if that helps. My email address is sethj AT devexpress.com. Thanks again for your patience!

Answer 14

Martin:

   The reason why we include those dll's is because we have a common codebase for WPF/Silverlight which we call XPF. When you load up a report in LS it is actually using our Silverlight Report Viewer. This report viewer uses our printing assemblies (a core one as well as an XPF one). Additionally it uses some of our layout features in our other assemblies. In order to provide the highest quality components we like to separate functionality as much as possible in order to have our components be highly testable. I hope this helps!

Answer 15

Yann:

   We have added a new blog post explaining how to get the bits working correctly: http://community.devexpress.com/blogs/seth/archive/2011/07/14/how-to-install-xtrareports-for-lightswitch.aspx

   Let me know if this helps!

Answer 16

Hi Seth,

Of course I understand about the beta status of both LS & XtraReports for LS, but there's just too much disparity between what the video gives you the impression you can do, & the reality of the actual experience.

Seeing as you've made the effort to get involved personally, I'm happy to give this another try. I'll contact you at your email address & we can set something up.

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Yann

(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!)

Answer 17

Seth,

I appreciate the effort you've made to post on installation steps, but I think the whole process is going to confuse many of the users that LS is likely to attract. I'm actually used to the "unified installer" that you guys use, but even I found the experience frustrating & unplesant.

I'm happy to discuss this with you in more detail when we talk.

Thanks,

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Yann

(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!)

Answer 18

Hi Bill

Thank you for sharing this information with the community. Unfortunately, neither I could disfrutrar for the same reasons that have been discussed.

Jaime

Answer 19

to my me works very well

Answer 20

Seth thanks for replying .

I understand why you provide the dlls .the issue I had was that when I installed the hotfix for the cross threading issue my config file was littered with remenants of the 11.1.0.0?? assemblies which caused the application not to run.

As I said Seth thanks for taking the time to reply ,hopefully we can fire some issues in your direction without getting the stock "closed-can't reproduce " answer

Martin

 

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martin

Answer 21

Is it 30 day trial or free ?

Answer 22

free 

Answer 23

It is not free.  It is $99 including some nice Silverlight controls that can be used in your LS applications.  Here is the link.

http://devexpress.com/Products/NET/Controls/LightSwitch/

 

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Bill

http://www.wcm-consulting.com

Answer 24

Well that's a bit of a turn around! Where did this $99 suddenly come from. We've been being told that it's free, right from the outset.

DevXpress has provided a series of free controls for WinForms for a while now. The controls themselves are quite nice, but all the properties are so "different", that if you start using them you're pretty much locked into continuing to use them (I guess they're hoping you'll end up buying the whole suite), unless you want to rewrite your application if you decide NOT to use a specific control, so I decided not to use them. If they had been a one-to-one swap with MS's controls I definitely would have used them.

To specifically work with LS, a control has to be able to be interface with LS in a certain way, so I wonder if there's anything "different" about this new "offering".

But I'm *not* impressed that something that was supposedly going to be free suddenly now costs $99 (it's not the amount, even *I* can afford that,it's the principle). Was anyone under the impression that this control was going to become a paid offering?

I guess not everyone learned from RedGate's public relations gaff with the Reflector saga.

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Yann

(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!)

Answer 25

Yah. That was a total 180 turn by DevExpress. 

Answer 26

Filtering Report Data using LightSwitch Query Parameters

 

http://community.devexpress.com/blogs/seth/archive/2011/07/15/passing-parameter-to-reports-using-lightswitch-queries.aspx

 

do not believe that it's worth ami me solved a lot of things ?

Answer 27

Good, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that was the case.

Here's the reply I got from DX:

The control was always free for existing subscribers. I am sorry that this did not come across properly. We have added this feature to our existing reporting customers as a thank you for their business. Those that do not have any of our tools and simply wanted to do reporting in LightSwitch is a different matter. We felt that $99 for a robust product was not too much to ask. 

Our reporting tool for LS was also in beta. Just like you can download and install LS for free during the beta period, we felt we everyone should be able to do the same. After the beta period LS was never intended to be free (like out reporting tools).

I for one am NOT impressed! And before *anyone* starts on about $99 not being an excessive price, it's NOT about the money, it's about DX not being up front from the start about this being a paid product.

 

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Yann

(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!)

Answer 28

I knew I wasn't dreaming, or "assuming".

In this post, DevExpress announced Lightswitch Reporting support, Monday May 30, Supreet reports back a reply from DX support:

"Thank you for contacting us. XtraReports for LightSwitch is shipped with the newest DXperience v2011 vol 1 beta version of our DevExpress controls. Currently, it is only available for our registered customers. If everything goes as expected, we will release the DXperience v2011 vol 1 version of our controls in a few weeks, so you will be able to download it. Also, I should mention that XtraReports for LightSwitch is a free product."

In a DX blog post, LightSwitch Reporting Preview, Seth himself says:

The first question you might have is “how much will it cost?” A great question! This is one of those details we are still working out. Stay tuned for more information!

No confirmation that it would in fact be a *paid* product ( with just the eventual price currently unknown), & no indication that the previously stated "free" (by DX themselves) referred only to existing customers.

Do I mind that DX wants to charge for one of their products? No, not really (but I *do* believe that they would have had far more success if they had made it freely available, but that's just my opinion).

Do I mind that we've potentially been "mislead", or left to believe something that wasn't true? Absolutely I do!

At best, this has just been extremely badly handled by DX, leaving LightSwitch users with the apparently erroneous impression that this was something that DX was doing for the LS community (that was *my* impression from all I'd read).

At worst, well, you make up your own mind..

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Yann

(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!)

Answer 29

So its not free after all. :(  

Does it comes with the runtime designer?

Answer 30

Yann:

  We certainly appreciate and value your opinion. The LightSwitch reporting product was always intended to be completely free for those who already had a subscription to our toolset. The first *official* post I made regarding our LightSwitch reporting tool (see: http://community.devexpress.com/blogs/seth/archive/2011/06/13/lightswitch-reporting-preview.aspx) specifically states that we were still in the process of deciding cost (in particular for those who were not already our customers). The fact of the matter is that at that time we were still deciding what it is that we were going to do in this regard. Any other unofficial channel which provided information was just that: unofficial. I am happy to spend some time with you showing you how to use the product. We feel it will be a great addition to the already rich toolset you will have for LightSwitch.

  The video I posted should still be valid. The process of creating reports is still the same (1. activate the extension, 2. add the service, 3. design the report, 4. hook up the report to a screen) and has not changed since the first video. In fact, we have added a couple of new and exciting features: 1. Create a report from a LightSwitch Query and 2. Have an in tab report within the LightSwitch interface.

  Perhaps we can schedule a webinar (any suggestions as to dates/times?) so we can all get together and take a look at reporting in LightSwitch. We are tremendously excited about the tremendous value reporting will add to the growing number of things that you can do with LightSwitch.

  In all of this I hope I have not been offensive in any way. I am happy to stay up late (or get up early) in order to ensure you have the best experience with tooling and our support. If anyone else here is interested in having spending a minute with me demonstrating our reporting toolset please do let me know! You can find my contact information over at http://www.devexpress.com/seth

  Thanks again!

Answer 31

So its not free after all. :(  

Does it comes with the runtime designer?

Great question! There will not be a runtime designer in this release for LightSwitch. We are working on a general purpose Silverlight Report Designer that is projected to be completed at the end of the year. I hope this helps!

Answer 32

Okay all, as a moderator I feel like I need to jump in and moderate.

In reviewing this thread, there is obviously a misunderstanding. The way I interpret this is that DevExpress assumed that they are talking to their existing subscribers when they implied that the product would be free - to their existing customers. The fact that what was intended to be a private communication was publicly exposed here in the forum has led some people to believe that their product would be free to everyone - which was clearly not their intent.

In my opinion, they are simply asking new customers to pay a modest amount for the no doubt considerable amount of time and effort they have put into producing this, while rewarding their existing customers for their loyalty. What's wrong with that? Were you mislead, or did you simply assume that the communication applied to you?

Are you willing to put in the time and effort to create a reporting solution for LightSwitch and give it away for free? Open source, anyone? Please, go for it :-)

We should be embracing DevExpress and the other third-party vendors for putting their weight behind LightSwitch, and ultimately let the market decide the winners or losers on the merits of their offerings.

Again, my personal opinion, not reflecting the "official" Microsoft position.

Regards,

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Steve Hoag Microsoft aka the V-Bee

Answer 33

 

I for one am NOT impressed! And before *anyone* starts on about $99 not being an excessive price, it's NOT about the money, it's about DX not being up front from the start about this being a paid product.

(plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose!)

Hi Yann,

 

I think you got off on a bad start. I always was under the impression that it was a feature that has been added to the DXeperience package which is not free. I am a subscriber to their package, so I was very happy to hear that they will support LS in the future.

Thus, it was always clear to me that it will not be free in the future as I knew it was part of the whole DXexperience Suite. However, DX is quite good that they offer all their components seperately that you do not have to budy the whole suite. I would not be surprised if they offered some sort of LS subscription in the future if they update more of their controls to be used with LS.

Regards,

Holger

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-- Holger Flick

Answer 34

Hello Steve and Seth.

I understand. Thats why i ask if its a trail or free. I am looking for a printing component because any business apps will need a printing component cause were not at a stage where we are totally paperless. These are normal questions i will ask before considering using or purchasing any thing. Seth, I too hope my questions have not been offensive in any way. I have read up your product on your website and was very impressed with the runtime designer feature that comes with it. Thats why i ask about it. I will be looking forward for the comming Silverlight Report Designer.

 

Answer 35

 

Edited because I didnt read the new tutorial properly !

 

 

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martin