File Output

A File Output is used to export a report to a file using one of the export formats supported by Crystal Reports.

A File Output uses the report parameters specified in the Output Group it belongs to. You can have several File Outputs under one Output Group if you need to export the report to different formats using the same parameters. You can also have a mix of print and file outputs in the same Output Group.

To add a new File Output to an Output Group, select the Output Group in the Project Navigator and click the Add File Output button () on the main toolbar.

Once you have exported a report using a File Output, you can optionally e-mail the file using an E-Mail Task or upload it to a remote server using an Upload Task.

File Output Property Panel

To reach this panel, select the Output name in the Project Navigator and click the Settings () button in the main toolbar.

Test Output

Once you have configured your output settings you can test this export by clicking the Generate button () on the panel toolbar. When you click this button Report Commander will load the report and export it to the specified export file.

When testing the output using the Generate button you should make sure the Export to temporary file option is not checked; if it is, the export will be deleted after processing and you will not be able to review it.

Properties

Format

Report Commander supports the same export formats as Crystal Reports, generally with all the same export options. Consult the Crystal Reports documentation for more information about formats.

Select the file format to export to:

Crystal Report

Crystal Report format. Similar to using the "Save Data with Report" option in the Crystal Reports designer.

CSV

CSV (Comma-Separated Values). Additional export settings

HTML 4.0

HTML 4.0 standard. Additional export settings

HTML 3.2

HTML 3.2. Provides backward compatibility with older browsers and e-mail clients that do not support DHTML. Additional export settings

PDF

Adobe Portable Document Format ("Acrobat"). Additional export settings

Excel Workbook (XLSX)

Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet (newer XLSX format with support for larger number of rows). Additional export settings

Excel 97-2003 Workbook (XLS)

Microsoft Excel 97-2003 Spreadsheet (older format). Additional export settings

Excel Data Only

Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet (Data Only). Additional export settings

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word

Editable Word/Rich Text

Microsoft Word/RTF - Editable. Additional export settings

Text

Plain text. Additional export settings

XML

XML format. Additional export settings

Name

Enter the name (including path and extension) that the report should be exported to.

• If you do not include a path, the file is written to the working directory that Report Commander is run from. If you use a relative path, the path is resolved relative to the working directory.
• If you want to write the file to the folder where the Project is located, use the Project.Path variable: ${Project.Path}\salesreport.pdf. To write to the folder where the report is located, use the Report.Path variable: ${Report.Path}\salesreport.pdf.
• If the file already exists, it will be overwritten. If you want to use a unique file name each time the report is exported, use the now function to include the date and/or time in the file name:  ${Project.Path}\salesreport-@now("yyyy-MM-dd").pdf.pdf

This field can contain variables and functions that are replaced at runtime. More... Click the {} button to display the text editor, which helps you insert variables and functions into the text. When you hover your mouse pointer over the field for a second, a preview of the "expanded" text will be displayed so you can confirm your variables and functions are working correctly.

In Report Commander 1.x, you could upload your export file by specifying upload information as part of the export file name. Beginning with Report Commander 2, you use a separate Upload Task instead, and the file name should not include the upload information.

Export to temporary file

Check Export to temporary file if you are e-mailing or uploading the file with a Task, and don't want to keep a local copy of the file afterward. When you check this option, you still need to provide a Name for the file, but you do not need to include a path (any path you include will be ignored anyway). The report will be exported to a file in a temporary folder, which will be deleted when project execution finishes.

Export Page Range

Select the range of pages to export. This option is not available for all formats.

Enabled

Check this box to enable processing for the output. If you want to temporarily stop producing this export without deleting it from the project, uncheck the box and the output will be skipped when the project is executed.

Export Settings

Additional settings are available for most export formats. Follow the "Additional export settings" links in the export format list above for more information about the additional settings.

Enabled

Determines whether this task is enabled. If you want to temporarily prevent Report Commander from executing this task, uncheck the Enabled box.

ID Code

The ID Code is used to identify this item when filtering is applied on the Project Runner command line.