Visual Studio Tools and Features 

This section of the table of contents contains miscellaneous tools available in Visual Studio 2005.

In This Section

ReportViewer Controls in Visual Studio 2005

Describes Microsoft's new report design functionality and viewer controls that allow you to add rich reports to custom applications.

Crystal Reports Overview

Briefly describes Crystal Reports for Visual Studio and provides links to further information.

XML Tools in Visual Studio

Discusses the XML Editor, XSLT debugger, and XML schema designer.

Visio for Enterprise Architects

Describes how to install Visio for Enterprise Architects and how to access the associated documentation.

Dotfuscator 3.0

Discusses how Dotfuscator helps protect programs against reverse engineering while making them smaller and more efficient.

Related Sections

Microsoft.Reporting.WebForms

Contains classes for Web-related ReportViewer programming.

Microsoft.Reporting.WinForms

Contains classes for Windows Forms-related ReportViewer programming.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

Why Use a Reporting Tool? 

It isn't difficult to retrieve data. You could write code to loop through record sets and print them in your Windows or Web application. In the .NET Framework, you could go further and bind that data to a control, such as a Repeater, DataList or DataGrid.

But to present this data in a formal report format is far more complex. Report features, such as consolidations, multiple level totals, charting, conditional formatting, and page-based output are difficult 737k1024h and time-consuming to program.

Crystal Reports makes it easy to create and distribute complex reports.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

What is Crystal Reports? 

Crystal Reports has been part of Visual Studio since 1993, and is now the standard for reporting in Visual Studio 2005. It ships with every copy of Visual Studio 2005 and is integrated directly into the development environment.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 brings the ability to create interactive, presentation-quality content to the Windows environment. With Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005, you can create complex and professional reports in a GUI-based program. Then you can connect your report to almost any database source, as well as to proxy data, such as a result set (for example, an ADO.NET DataSet). With the wizards included in the GUI designer, you can easily set formatting, grouping, charting, and other criteria.

You can host your report in either a Web or Windows application, with one of the Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 viewer controls. Report presentation in both Windows and HTML 3.2 or 4.0 clients is highly interactive and provides you with features such as chart drill down, report navigation, and text search.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 ships with an extensive SDK. You can use the SDK to interact with the report programmatically at runtime, by use of one of four possible object models:

• CrystalReportViewer, the simplest object model.
• ReportDocument, the more extensive object model.
• Object models available through upgrade:
• ReportClientDocument, the most extensive object model.
• InfoObject, a powerful object model for scheduling and configuring reports within the Crystal Reports Server or BusinessObjects Enterprise framework.

Note   The ReportClientDocument object model and InfoObject object model are part of the Report Application Server (RAS). These solutions require upgraded licensing. See Upgrade Options.

Your reports can be related to your Visual Studio 2005 project in many ways:

• Embed your reports directly into the project.
• Access them externally, from a file directory.
• Access them as a Report Web Service from a remote server.
• Connect to them as Crystal Services.
• With an upgrade to Crystal Reports Server you can access them through the RAS Server.
• With an upgrade to BusinessObjects Enterprise, you can access them through the Page server or the RAS server contained within the BusinessObjects Enterprise framework.
• You can access them through a legacy enterprise solution, such as Crystal Enterprise or an unmanaged RAS server.

An Example

Here is an example of how reports might operate within a Visual Studio 2005 project:

Crystal Reports is used to design a report that enables users to drill down on a chart and filter information, in accordance with their needs. That report has been included in an ASP.NET project, and then displayed in a Web Form with a CrystalReportViewer control that is bound to that report. The report can be interacted with by use of the ReportDocument object model.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

What is Crystal Reports for Visual Studio? 

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio is the custom version of Crystal Reports that is available as part of the default installation in most versions of Microsoft Visual Studio (see Visual Studio Versions).

If you upgrade to Crystal Reports Developer, you have access to additional features and an updated reporting component within Visual Studio.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET 2002 or 2003 and Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 include many of the features of Crystal Reports Developer. These include the ability to create reports, connect them to a CrystalReportViewer control, and programmatically interact with these reports using the Crystal Reports SDK.

Note   For a comparison of features between Crystal Reports for Visual Studio and Crystal Reports Developer, see Upgrade Options.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

Features of Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 comes with powerful features. For a list of features that are new to Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005, see New Features in Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005.

• A common standard file format allows for feature-rich reports that contain data retrieval criteria, grouping, summary, parameter, drill down, and subreport linking information. See Common Standard File Format.
• An embedded Crystal Reports designer, assisted by wizards and experts, builds complex report files easily. See Embedded Crystal Reports Designer.
• Data and .NET DataSet connections use the Database Expert to easily interact with a wide variety of database protocols, as well as proxy data in the form of ADO.NET DataSets. See Data and .NET DataSet Connections.
• DataSet processing speed has been significantly improved in Crystal Reports 10 and Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005. See DataSet Processing Improvements.
• Report viewers display Crystal reports on forms, in both Web and Windows applications. See Report Viewers.
• A Crystal Reports SDK interacts with and modifies reports programmatically. Use one of four different object models, each with increasing levels of complexity and power. See Crystal Reports SDK.
• An exporting feature exports data from the CrystalReportViewer control to Word, Excel, PDF, and HTML, and Crystal Reports formats. See Exporting.
• The ability to print from the CrystalReportViewer control enables page-based report printing from any Web or Windows application. See Printing.
• Prompts for missing parameters and database logons from the CrystalReportViewer control allow reports, which have missing parameters or database information, to be easily corrected and displayed. See Prompts for Missing Parameters and Database Logons.
• Multilingual client support allows you to configure the CrystalReportViewer control so that other languages can be displayed in the Tool Tips, determined by the client browser, the ASPX page, or the environment settings for the machine. See Multilingual Client Support.
• Report Web Services, from an ASP.NET Web Service project, allow you to create a project, add a Crystal Report, and publish it as a Web service. See Report Web Services.
• Crystal Services allows programmatic access to your reports through a web service. See Crystal Services.
• Merge module deployment ensures the correct Crystal Reports' components and assemblies are added to a Web or Windows application that is created in Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005. See Merge Module Deployment.
• Scalability is offered through optimizations that are available within Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005, or by upgrading to another solution in the Crystal product family. See Scalability.
• Seamless migration is possible from previous versions of Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005. See Migration.
• Projects created in previous versions of Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET are supported at runtime without requiring design-time modifications. See Runtime Support for Previous Versions.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

New Features in Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 has many new features.

• Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 projects are supported on 64-bit machines. See 64-Bit Support.
• Crystal Reports fully supports the new ClickOnce deployment of Windows applications introduced in Visual Studio 2005. See ClickOnce Deployment of Windows Applications.
• Code snippets for Crystal Reports are available when building Web Sites or Windows projects using Visual Basic. See Code Snippets.
• Several improvements have been made to the CrystalReportViewer control. See CrystalReportViewer Controls.
• Accessibility has been improved in Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005. See Enhanced Accessibility Support.
• Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 supports international characters through Unicode and GB18030-2000, the Chinese character encoding standard. See International Character Support (Unicode and GB18030).
• In Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005, the Preview tab has been added to the embedded Crystal Reports Designer to enable you to preview reports at design time. See Preview Tab.
• Project templates can be selected when creating a new Web Site or Windows project, to view an example of a Crystal report displayed within the CrystalReportViewer control. See Project Templates.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

64-Bit Support 

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 projects can be built on a 32-bit or a 64-bit machine. In addition, the projects' code can be ported to and updated on a 64-bit machine. Itanium and x64 64-bit architectures are supported.

Building a 64-bit application

A 64-bit application can be built under the following scenarios:

• The 32-bit Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 IDE on a 32-bit Windows operating system.
• The 32-bit Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 IDE against a Windows 64-bit server. The server administrator must install the 64-bit common language runtime and the 64-bit Crystal Reports components on the server.
• The 32-bit Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 IDE under WOW64 (the x86 emulator that runs 32-bit applications on a 64-bit machine) on a Windows 64-bit server or workstation. The 32-bit and 64-bit components must be installed on the same machine, but in different directories. This scenario requires additional setup, see 64-Bit Development Configuration.

Deploying a 64-bit application

To deploy .NET Framework applications on a 64-bit machine, merge modules that support 64-bit machines must be added to the deployment project.

For Web Sites, the 64-bit Crystal Reports runtime components must be installed on the Web server.

To learn how to deploy Web Sites or Windows projects to a 64-bit machine, see Merge Modules Deployment for Visual Studio 2005.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

ClickOnce Deployment of Windows Applications 

ClickOnce deployment allows easy installation and updates for Windows applications that are published to a Web site.

The following core scenarios describes how ClickOnce deployment is supported:

• On the development machine, the Windows application is published to a Web site.
• On the client machine, the published Web site provides the option to install the Windows application.
• The client automatically receives updates to the Windows application.

Windows applications that use Crystal reports are not only publishable to Web sites, but also FTP servers, shared network servers (through File Share), and disk drives. To deploy the application, the Crystal Reports .NET runtime components and the .NET Framework version 2.0 must be installed on the client machines.

For a tutorial about ClickOnce deployment, see ClickOnce Deployment Tutorial.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

Code Snippets 

In Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005, code snippets are provided when coding in Visual Basic, for both Web Sites and Windows projects. A subfolder of Crystal Reports code snippets are included within the larger set of Visual Studio 2005 code snippets.

Code snippets provided with Crystal Reports

The code snippets provided with Crystal Reports enable you to do the following tasks:

• Change the Server name and Database name.
• Export a Crystal report to a file.
• Export a Crystal report to a PDF file with custom export format options.
• Print a Crystal Report.
• Set a Discrete Parameter Value to a Crystal Report.
• Set a Range Parameter Value to a Crystal Report.
• Set Database Logon to a Crystal report and its subreports.

Additional code snippets may also be included.

To add a Crystal Reports code snippet to your Visual Basic Web Site or Windows project

Note   This procedure works only with a project that has been created from Project Setup. Project Setup contains specific namespace references and code configuration that is required for this procedure, and you will be unable to complete the procedure without that configuration. Therefore, before you begin this procedure, you must first follow the steps in Project Setup.

1. Open the Web or Windows form for a Visual Basic Web Site or Windows project.
2. From the View menu, click Code.
3. Right-click anywhere within the ConfigureCrystalReports method, and then click Insert Snippet...

Note   You created the ConfigureCrystalReports method in Project Setup.

4. Double-click the Accessing Data code-snippet folder.
5. Scroll down to the crystal reports code-snippet folder, and then double-click it.
6. Read over the list of Crystal Reports snippets, choose one, and double-click that snippet.

The code snippet appears within the ConfigureCrystalReports method.

7. Customize the code snippet for your Web Site or Windows project.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

CrystalReportViewer Controls 

Several improvements have been made to the CrystalReportViewer control.

• New CrystalReportViewer Error event.

When the Error event is handled, the CrystalReportViewer control displays exception messages at the top of the CrystalReportViewer control and leaves all operations uninterrupted. Any exceptions that go uncaught do not cause disruption. For more information, see Error Events.

• A ToolTip Disable Option.

Now, you have the option to globally disable the ToolTip feature. For more information, see ToolTip Disable Option.

• Smart Tasks.

In Visual Studio 2005, when you add a .NET control to a Web or Windows Form, a Smart Task panel appears. Smart Task is a small panel that is attached to the upper right-hand corner of the .NET control. When the panel is opened, it contains checkboxes and combo boxes that allow developers to select connectivity and other options for the control. This feature can significantly reduce the amount of code that the developer needs to write. For more information, see Smart Tasks.

• Tag Based Application Development

ASP.NET version 2.0 has brought many changes that enhance Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005. One of the most significant changes is an expanded use of XML in the ASPX page to become a complete tag-based application development model. For more information, see Tag-based Application Development Model.

• Easier control over the look and feel of a web site.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio allows you to use either Cascading Style Sheets or ASP.NET 2.0 Themes to easily control the look and feel of your web site. For more information, see either Cascading Style Sheets for Customizing the CrystalReportViewer Control or CrystalReportViewer Control Themes.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

Crystal Reports Deployment 

You can deploy applications that use Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 with Windows Installer (recommended) or with Merge Modules.

Deployment in Visual Studio 2005 is based on Windows Installer technology. The setup project builds installer files with .exe and .msi extensions. Those files can be distributed for installation on computers that do not have Crystal Reports or Visual Studio 2005 installed. It is recommended to distribute project files using the .msi Windows Installer technology. See Windows Installer (recommended) for more information.

• Windows Installer Deployment

You can use the Windows Installer in place of Merge Modules for deployment projects. The Windows Installer allows for smaller deployment projects and reduced installation time. You can use the Windows Installer when many deployment projects are installed on the same target computer. In this case, Crystal Reports runtime files are installed once. If Merge Modules are used, the Crystal Reports runtime is installed each time a deployment project is installed on the target computer.

• Merge Module Deployment

Merge Modules provide the set of components that are merged with the Windows installer for applications that need these components. With all related application components stored in a single container, the installer can eliminate version conflicts and other common installation problems. Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 has simplified the process of selection of the appropriate Merge Module for a particular project. Now, you add Merge Modules based on the machine type of the target computer. Merge Modules for Web Sites and Windows applications that use Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 are the same.

Also, Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 simplifies Windows application deployment through the use of ClickOnce deployment. With ClickOnce, Windows applications are deployed to Web Sites, where target computers access the installation files and receive application updates. See ClickOnce Deployment Tutorials for more information.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

Crystal Reports Merge Modules 

Crystal Reports uses merge modules to ensure the correct report components and assemblies are installed with your deployment project.

A merge module is a set of components that are merged with a Windows installer for applications that need them. The components may include a .dll file, resources, registry entries, setup logic, and related files. With all related components stored in a single container, the installer eliminates version conflicts and other common installation problems.

Click the appropriate link to jump to that section:

• Merge Modules Summary
• Crystal Reports Merge Modules for Visual Studio .NET 2002 or 2003
• Crystal Reports Merge Modules for Visual Studio 2005

In Crystal Reports 10 and Visual Studio .NET 2002 or 2003, each merge module is designed for different scenarios. For details, see Deployment Scenarios.

In Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005, each merge module is designed for different machine types and project types

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

Crystal Reports for .NET Framework 2.0 Windows Installer 

You can use Windows Installer in place of merge modules for deployment projects. The Windows Installer allows for smaller deployment projects and reduced installation time.

When you create an installer for an application that uses Crystal Reports for Visual Studio, a setup package is made. This setup package installs Crystal Reports for .NET Framework 2.0 runtime files on target machines. It creates two setup files: an .exe and an .msi. In the .exe setup file, merge modules are included in a deployment project because they install the Crystal Reports runtime. However, if the Crystal Reports for .NET Framework 2.0 Windows Installer .msi file is used for installation on target machines, merge modules do not need to be added.

You can use the Windows Installer when many deployment projects are installed on the same target computer. In this case, Crystal Reports runtime files are installed once. If merge modules are used, the Crystal Reports runtime is installed each time a deployment project is installed on the target computer.

In Crystal Reports 10 and Visual Studio .NET 2002 or 2003, the Windows Installer includes CrystalReports10_NET_EmbeddedReporting.msm and CrystalReports10_maps.msm merge modules. All database drivers and map objects are installed when you run the Windows Installer. Merge modules provide the flexibility to choose whether the mapping merge module is required and to decide which database driver to include in the deployment project.

Note   In Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005, map objects are not supported; therefore, there is no mapping merge module.

To use the Windows Installer for Crystal Reports 10 and Visual Studio .NET 2002 or 2003, you need a Crystal Reports keycode. For more information, see Crystal Reports Registration and Keycode.

Deploying a Visual Studio project that uses Crystal Reports

To deploy a project that uses Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 with Windows Installer:

• To learn to deploy a Web or Windows application that uses Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005, or to migrate merge modules deployment projects to Windows Installer projects that use Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005, see Windows Installer Deployment for Visual Studio 2005.

The following tutorial gives you the option to use either a Windows Installer, or merge modules to deploy your application:

• To learn to deploy a Web or Windows application that uses Crystal Reports 10 and Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET 2002 or 2003, see Merge Modules Deployment for Visual Studio .NET 2002 or 2003.

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 

Windows Installer Deployment for Visual Studio 2005 

In this section, you learn to deploy projects that use Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 with Windows Installer. You also learn to migrate deployment projects that use merge modules to projects that use Windows Installer. For more information about Windows Installer technology, see Crystal Reports for .NET Framework 2.0 Windows Installer.

Click the appropriate link to jump to that section:

• Windows Installer Requirements
• Creating a new Web Site Deployment Project with Windows Installer
• Creating a new Windows Application Deployment Project with Windows Installer
• Migrating a Project that Uses Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET 2002 or 2003 Merge Modules Deployment
• Migrating a Project that Uses Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2005 Merge Modules Deployment
• Performing a Silent Installation with a Windows Installer