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The reporting tool for the Avalonia UI framework will be released soon
Fri, 01 Sep 2023 01:00:00 -0400

Today, we are excited to announce an upcoming addition to our product lineup for report creation - Stimulsoft Reports.AVALONIA. This new product will soon be integrated into our ecosystem.

What is Avalonia UI?

Avalonia UI is a .NET-based framework utilized for developing cross-platform user interfaces. Avalonia employs a universal API for constructing applications, providing support for all major platforms and runtimes, and boasting its distinctive interface. Thanks to these attributes, Avalonia UI facilitates the creation of scalable applications with native performance, a consistent interface, and abundant functionality. These attributes extend to the components used for report management within Avalonia UI applications, offering extensive capabilities, an appealing aesthetic, and customizable options to align with your business objectives.

Product “ingredients”

The reporting tool for the Avalonia UI framework comprises a robust data processing engine and an interactive viewer that offers support for multi-level drill-down options, sorting, data grouping, and a lot of additional features. Furthermore, within this new product, all export formats for the generated reports are accessible, including PDF, Excel, MS Word, and etc. Additionally, it incorporates support for all the data formats used in Stimulsoft for connection, such as MS SQL, Firebird, MySQL, PostgreSQL, XML, JSON, and various others.

Features of Stimulsoft Reports.AVALONIA

Our new product can be integrated into applications and services developed using Avalonia technology on the .NET Core, .NET 6, and .NET 7 platforms. Leveraging the capabilities of the framework, our reporting components offer extensive functionality, an appealing appearance, and the potential for customization and scalability in alignment with your objectives.

Stimulsoft Reports.AVALONIA is an ideal fit for your project if:

  • you are building a product on contemporary platforms, including .NET Core, Avalonia UI, .NET 6, and .NET 7;
  • you seek swift attainment of desired outcomes, allowing you to select from a wide array of pre-designed solutions and use them to meet your specifications;
  • your requirements involve tight integration of reporting tools within your application, accompanied by flexible component settings and visual design;
  • you aim to complete control over user interactions and all stages of report handling;
  • your solution should combine two critical dimensions: maximum functionality and high speed.

Integration and features

Utilizing Reports.AVALONIA enables you to view, export, and share reports within your application. Furthermore, any interactions with the report can be executed using C# code. For enhanced integration, we provide a multitude of properties and events within both components and the reporting tool. Additionally, the product features specialized functionality for report viewing within Avalonia applications.
We have done our best to ease the integration process to make it as straightforward as possible for your project. Simply download the dedicated, free extension for Visual Studio & JetBrains Rider. No supplementary modules or specialized add-ons are required – everything you need is already encompassed within the product. The report writer for the Avalonia framework is compatible with .NET Core 3.1, .NET 5, .NET 6, and .NET 7.

Part of Stimulsoft Ultimate

The reporting tool Stimulsoft Reports.AVALONIA is included in a subscription to the Stimulsoft Ultimate product, an all-in-one collection of components designed for analytics and data visualization across contemporary platforms. Stimulsoft Ultimate suite spans JavaScript, ASP.NET, .NET Core, Java, PHP, Blazor, Angular, WPF, WinForms, and several others.

Data analysis in dashboards using SumIf and CountIf functions
Thu, 17 Aug 2023 07:19:33 -0400

In today's article, we will discuss the functionality of data analysis utilizing the SumIf() and CountIf() functions within dashboards. These functions serve to either sum data field values or count the occurrences of values based on specific conditions. In this article, our focus will be on the application of these functions in the Table element. However, it's important to note that they are equally applicable in other dashboard elements where data analysis is performed. Before a comprehensive review, let's take a moment to refresh our understanding of how data field values are processed in dashboards.

Data analysis in dashboards

When a data column is introduced to an element (as in our case, a Table element), functions can be applied to the values within. By default, numeric values employ the sum function, while non-numeric values utilize the function for counting occurrences. This discussion pertains specifically to fields of the Measure type; Dimension fields lack predefined functions. Additionally, Measure field values are organized according to the values of Dimension type fields. In simpler terms, if categories constitute a Dimension field and products constitute a Measure, the products are grouped by category. Consequently, one of the functions - Sum, Count, Min, Max, Avg, or another—is then applied to the field containing the product list. Thus, the SumIf() and CountIf() functions find application in grouping solely those values that adhere to a specified condition.Important!
It is essential to note that these functions are not listed among the fundamental data field functions. However, you have the capability to manually specify them by altering the data field function.

Analysis by conditions

The condition for considering a value is passed as the second argument to the SumIf() and CountIf() functions. When the condition is set to true, the corresponding value is added to the sum, or the respective data row contributes to the total row count. On the other hand, if the condition yields false, the value is disregarded. Let's illustrate this concept with a few examples of conditional analysis.
  • Consider a scenario where the Table element contains a data field named "products," used for calculating the product count. In essence, the Count() function is employed for value computation. In such cases, data filtration can be achieved using the CountIf() function, wherein the condition is passed as the second argument.
    For instance: CountIf(Products.ProductName, Products.CategoryID == 1).
    Subsequently, the computation of quantity will encompass only those products associated with a category ID of 1.

  • Within the Table element, there exists a compilation of continents along with their corresponding populations. Additionally, the values within the population column undergo processing via the Sum() function. Consider a scenario wherein, during the summation of Europe's population, the population of the United Kingdom should be excluded. In this context, the SumIf function comes into play for the population column.
    Here, the condition is incorporated, with the second argument taking the form of SumIf(Statistics.Population, Statistics.Country != "United Kingdom").
    Consequently, the summation will encompass values from the population column where the associated Country is not equivalent to the United Kingdom.

Below is an illustrative example of a dashboard that employs the SumIf() and CountIf() functions. In this instance, the condition is contingent upon the variable "continent," and solely values corresponding to the chosen continent undergo processing. Within the Table element, for comparative purposes, duplicate columns featuring both summation and summation by condition functions are presented. Notably, the contrast becomes apparent in the cumulative totals displayed within the table.

This approach allows for data filtration within dashboard elements. It's important to note that filtering through functions exclusively affects a particular data field. Simultaneously, a filter applied to an element or a filter integrated into an element's data transformation pertains to all fields within that element.

Integrating Reports.JS into Python applications
Wed, 02 Aug 2023 07:38:47 -0400

The reporting tool Stimulsoft Reports.JS is a universal tool for designing reports. It can be used with any web server and run on any platform. Today, we will look at an example of integrating Reports.JS using the popular Django web framework written in the Python programming language.

Integration Process - Preparatory Stage

To get started, ensure that you have installed the latest version of the Python 3 interpreter and that the environment variables are correctly set. For creating the project, we will utilize the Visual Studio Code development environment. In case you do not have a Django web application ready yet, you will need to create one. More details on this can be found in the documentation at the following link.

Page templates

To integrate the report viewer (or designer), you need to create a new page template. Templates are HTML pages located in the "templates" folder. Let's name the new template file "viewer.html" and add all the necessary code to load and display the component on it:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>

<head>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
    <title>Showing a Report in the Viewer</title>

    <!-- Stimulsoft Reports.JS -->
    {% load static %}
    <script src="https://www.stimulsoft.com/{% static 'scripts/stimulsoft.reports.js' %}" type="text/javascript"></script>
    <script src="https://www.stimulsoft.com/{% static 'scripts/stimulsoft.viewer.js' %}" type="text/javascript"></script>

    <!-- Report viewer scripts, may be external -->
    <script type="text/javascript">
        // Create the report viewer with default options
        var viewer = new Stimulsoft.Viewer.StiViewer(null, "StiViewer", false);
        // Create a new report instance
        var report = new Stimulsoft.Report.StiReport();
        // Load report from url
        report.loadFile("{% static 'reports/SimpleList.mrt' %}");
        // Assign report to the viewer, the report will be built automatically after rendering the viewer
        viewer.report = report;
    </script>
</head>

<body>
    <div>
        <script type="text/javascript">
            // Show the report viewer in this block
            viewer.renderHtml();
        </script>
    </div>
</body>

</html>

View and Link Handlers

The next step is to add the function call of the created template to the "views.py" view handler and define a link to call the function in the "urls.py" link handler.
views.py:
def viewer(request):
    return render(request, 'viewer.html')
urls.py:
urlpatterns = [
    path("", views.home, name="home"),
    path("viewer", views.viewer, name="viewer"),
]

Static files

The view code uses static files - component scripts and reports. Let's create two directories for them in the "static" folder of the web application's content. We will name these folders "scripts" and "reports". To set up, copy all the ".js" files of the Stimulsoft Reports.JS product into the "scripts" folder, and copy the required reports into the "reports" folder. For this example template, we will be using a report named "SimpleList.mrt".
All is ready! Now, let's run the project using Visual Studio Code or through the operating system console using the "python manage.py runserver" command. Once the server is running, open the application URL in your browser and navigate to the view we created: http://127.0.0.1:8000/viewer.
If everything has been done correctly, the viewer with the loaded report will be displayed, and you can start exploring your reports.

Ready-made samples are available in the GitHub repository at the following link.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to contact us. We are here to help!

Stimulsoft Reports, Dashboards, and Forms version 2023.3 now available!
Wed, 26 Jul 2023 04:27:24 -0400

Let us announce today the release of version 2023.3 of Stimulsoft products. This update brings several exciting enhancements and introduces a new product - Stimulsoft Forms, a powerful tool for creating fillable PDF forms. To reflect this significant innovation, we have incorporated the word "Forms" into the name of our versions. But that's not all! The new release includes several other noteworthy features and improvements, such as enhanced support for processing Rich Text format, expanded functionality for creating dashboards, implementation of smart guides, compatibility with the Laravel framework, and much more. Let's dive into the details.

A list of the new features in version 2023.3


Stimulsoft Forms

We have released the new product: Stimulsoft Forms! This tool can be used for creating, editing, filling out, publishing, distributing interactive PDF forms, and collecting results. Stimulsoft Forms can be embedded into ASP.NET with Angular, and ASP.NET Core with Angular applications, allowing you to create a variety of templates for user filling. Its rich functionality enables you to make the template truly interactive. The user receives a fillable form in PDF format, which can be modified in any program that supports this format.
Read more on the product page.

RTF support in .NET Core

We have added the ability to display Rich Text for .NET Core libraries. This functionality has long been present in Stimulsoft products for the .NET Framework; however, text formatting for .NET Core components was only possible using HTML tags. Now you can utilize the Rich Text component in your reports, albeit with some restrictions. For instance, the Can Break property is currently not implemented.

Data pagination in the Table element

We have added the ability to paginate data in the Table element. To do this, you can specify the number of data rows per page by setting the value of the Rows per Page property. After doing this, the Table element will divide all data rows into pages, and a navigation bar for these pages will be located under the summary panel of the Table element. Additionally, we have introduced the ability to automatically switch between pages of the element after a certain period of time when viewing the dashboard. The duration for page switching is determined using the Page Turn Time property.

Number Box - the new dashboard element

We have added a new filtering element in dashboards called the Number Box. This element is used to filter dashboard data based on numeric values, including both integers and fractions. You can perform data filtering using a single value or a range of values.

3D Line chart

We have added a new chart type for data analysis and visualization in reports and dashboards called the 3D Line. This type of chart displays a series of data points in space connected by lines, providing a visually appealing representation. It is a valuable tool for tracking trends and performing trend analysis. The 3D Line chart is now available as a separate option in the chart selection menu.

Smart guides

In release 2023.3, a new feature called Smart Guides has been added for editing reports or dashboards. By default, components on the page or dashboard are anchored to grid nodes. However, when the Align to Grid mode is disabled, it can be challenging to position components vertically and horizontally in relation to each other. This is where smart guides come in, helping you align components while maintaining vertical and horizontal lines relative to other components. Smart guides are displayed not only when components are placed on the page but also when they are placed within other components, such as panels, bands, or even when a component is nested inside another component.

Support for Laravel

The ability to integrate into applications written in Laravel, a popular open-source PHP framework for creating services and websites, has been added to the Reports.PHP and Dashboards.PHP products. This support for Laravel by Stimulsoft reporting and dashboard products simplifies embedding Stimulsoft components into applications, making it effortless. You can find more information about this new functionality and usage examples here.

JSON and OData request headers

The ability to specify Request Headers has been added for JSON and OData data sources. This feature allows you to provide additional information when making data requests. To specify request headers while creating a data source, click the Browse button in the Headers parameter field. In the menu that opens, fill the corresponding Key and Value fields.

Initial values for lists

We have added the ability to define initial values for the List Box and Combo Box dashboard elements. The initial values can be taken from the Key data field of these elements. You can specify the initial values from the element editor in the Init Value field using the ";" delimiter. For List and Drop-down list elements in single selection mode, there can be only one initial value.

Dashboard snapshots

In this release, we have added the ability to create snapshots for dashboards in the Stimulsoft BI Server product. This can be achieved by using the Run command and setting the Type parameter to Report Snapshot.

Search in data dictionary and list of cultures

For the data dictionary, we have added the ability to search for its elements. You can now enter the search query in the search bar. You can enable or disable the search string in the Settings menu of the data dictionary. The search can be conducted using both partial and exact matches of the search query. Additionally, in the string editor, we have included a search string for cultures when adding a new culture to the list.

Access to compiled reports

We have made significant improvements to the security policy regarding compiled reports. You now have the ability to define the action when opening a report or dashboard with the calculation mode set to Compile in both the designer and viewer. This action can be defined using the Compilation Access option found in the report designer Options menu under the Main tab.

Blanks in dashboards

In the 2023.3 release, we introduced the ability to disable the (Blanks) state for dashboard items. Previously, when viewing a dashboard with missing element data, the state (Blanks) would be displayed for those elements. To disable this state, simply set the element's Show Blanks property to false.

Custom color

We have added the ability to use any color for customizing the design of the report designer. To choose a color, navigate to the Options menu in the report designer and go to the GUI tab. Set the Color Accent parameter to Custom and select the desired shade using the Color parameter.

Support for CData Connect Cloud

Starting from this release, we have introduced the capability to connect to the CData Connect Cloud platform directly from the report designer. To accomplish this, navigate to the data source creation window and select the CData Connect Cloud type from the Online Services tab. Then, provide the connection string required to access the data store. Once the data is obtained, you can proceed to design reports and dashboards based on it.

Stimulsoft.Svg.NetCore

In the 2023.3 release, we have included the Stimulsoft.Svg.NetCore NuGet library. As a result, SVG rendering on report pages now functions on various platforms including .NET Standard, .NET Core, and .NET frameworks. It is also compatible with Blazor Server and Blazor WebAssembly. Moreover, our library supports multiple operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Introducing the upcoming version of Stimulsoft Reports, Dashboards, and Forms 2023.3
Mon, 17 Jul 2023 04:15:58 -0400

We are excited to announce the upcoming release of Stimulsoft Reports, Dashboards, and Forms 2023.3, packed with innovative features and improvements. Let's dive into what is in store for the future version and what has already been implemented.
First, we are introducing the new product - Stimulsoft Forms.

Stimulsoft Forms is a powerful tool for creating fillable PDF forms. With this product, you can design interactive forms that allow users to provide input while collecting and managing the submitted results within your service. Whether you integrate it into Angular, .NET Core, or ASP.NET applications or use it as a standalone desktop or online application, Stimulsoft Forms offers a comprehensive set of components for form creation, PDF and PDF/A export, robust document security, electronic signatures, and more.
To learn more about this exciting new product, please visit this page.
Additionally, the new version includes a significant expansion of functionality for working with dashboards.
Number box
Announcing a new element that enables filtering dashboard data by numeric values.

3D Line chart
Explore the new type of 3D line chart, adding visual depth and enhancing data representation.

Pagination of data in Table
Enjoy the flexibility of data pagination in tables, allowing navigation across multiple pages. You can enable automatic page switching after a specified interval, enhancing the viewing experience of your dashboards.

Moreover, we are thrilled to announce our support for the Laravel framework.
By integrating Stimulsoft Reports.PHP and Dashboards.PHP into applications built with Laravel, a popular open-source PHP framework for website and service development, you gain access to even more possibilities.
Discover the new functionality and explore usage examples by reading this article.
Stay tuned for the release of Stimulsoft Reports, Dashboards, and Forms 2023.3, where we bring you plenty of exciting features and enhancements. For more information and updates, keep an eye on our website and follow us on social media.