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MS Access is fantastic as a stand-alone reporting tool, and even decent as a front-end GUI for a MySQL back-end (Access has been very good to me and my odd-shaped career), but it was never designed to run as a server. Also, Microsoft really, really hates it when you do it anyway.
After searching for alternatives to the previously mentioned heresy, I noticed that if the commercial Reporting product required Java, it was a proprietary fork of Jasper Reports.
Ultimately, we ended up rolling our own with node, a smattering of npm modules and a whole lot of pounding forehead to keyboard. The WordprocessingML spec is definitely taking up far too much real estate in my brain that could be otherwise used for more worthwhile things like cat videos and dread puns.
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No recommendation - I used SSRS in my day but I have to laugh, you think your user (power or not) is going to create or modify reports. Never happened in 30+ years of building solutions.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity -
RAH
I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
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DevExpress' report designer is amazing but it seems like you have to write a WinForm app that wraps it as from what I'm reading, they don't have a separate stand-alone designer anymore. But the post I was reading is five years old. Still, you'd think they would provide something.
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Some years since I used it and I haven't kept up to date as the project was pulled, but I used Jasper Reports in the past with some success. Not sure if it fits what you want but it runs on its own server (so can be cloud hosted) and doesn't tie itself to any particular back-end.
Just a thought!
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Take a look at DataFlex Reports which from usage persective is quite similar to Crystal Reports.
See this link
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I was in the same situation as you. I ended up making my own solution. The user can create new reports and decide who has the right to see them. The internal test demo is at https:
(www.mymetric.net is under construction)
If you have additional questions, let me know igor.laktic@gmail.com.
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I'm using Bolt.
This is made by Syncfusion.
So far I am happy with it.
The main issue with a reporting tool is that you are locked in.
A report created in one tool doesn't work in another.
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I have been using Crystal Reports for 20 years of developing desktop applications. I really liked the ability to create just about any type of report I needed and the ability to keep the report definitions separate from the application. However, since it is COM based, .Net 6 forced me to look for an alternative. I am currently testing Telerik Reporting. Like Crystal Reports, it has a stand-alone designer (as well as a VS extension). Also, like Crystal Reports, it allows me to keep the report definitions separate from the application allowing me to simply distribute TRDP files when reports change. It does an OK job on converting your existing RPT files to TRDP format. The interface is not as user friendly as CR but I'm getting used to it.
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You should try FastReport it's amazing, I switched to it about 10 years ago.
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We are updating an app with 120 CR reports to a web app.
Progress (formally Telerik) makes a viable solution. It is also capable of importing simple CR reports. Their support is rather good. Depending on the option purchased, they have immediate phone support.
We are testing Progress, DevExpress, Grapevine, and a homegrown solution.
DevExpress has good support. I haven't tried Grapevine's.
Even old versions of CR (8.5) have conditional formatted abilities that none of the current solutions offer. An example is splitting a "section" into A,B,C, etc. with each having its own logic.
Let us know what you decide, if you don't mind.
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Telerik Reporting => .NET Reporting - Core, Blazor, WPF, Angular | Telerik Reporting[^]
- Native Report Viewers for all platforms like WPF, Winforms, Blazor, etc.
- Fantastic HTML5 ReportViewer for everything else, which includes a powerful REST service that is a drop in for your web project (just add a 5 line controller and a DLL)
- Standalone desktop Report Designer
- Visual Studio Report Designer (but only useful if you're going the old school PITA C#-only reports)
- Web Report Designer that can be embedded in your application
- Report Server, which is a prebuilt one-stop shop if you do not want to have build an application aroud the viewers. It has user management, data management, etc
[full disclosure, I work for Progress... but I have also tried many other Reporting solutions and this is still the best]
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What an interesting thread. I investigated these technologies many years ago and am surprised by how little has changed based on the responses provided.
After thinking through why, I speculate that the only two potential reasons are that either the solution space has been perfected OR the demand for the service was waned. Based on the responses to this thread, I don't think it is because it has been perfected. It having waned makes perfect sense since there are far fewer places where anyone needs or wants paper.
But clearly you found a few. Thinking through how I would solve those scenarios without using a hated report writer, I might create a domain specific solution if applicable. Have you considered a document editor, such as MS word, that either supports templating out of the gate, provides an "addin" infrastructure where you can perform your own template application, or uses a file format that can easily be modified programmatically to insert data from the source into template fields. Modifying and printing a document where the format can be changed by the author using tools they already know how to use might be appreciated. Of course this ignores the entire specification of the datasets the reports are run against. But if those are fixed or can be controlled in another manner, then this might work out.
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From what I hear, crystal meth is superior
"If we don't change direction, we'll end up where we're going"
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if you want to convert to something easy to use i would use SSRS with Sql Server Report Builder. I have implemented the reports for several clients into web applications. the report builder can connect to the web based apis and push and pull from the report server.
Shaun
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Telerik maybe? Reasonable price, good licensing model, active product, and actual support.
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Tibco Jasper Reports. Its java, there are open source community versions (server or studio), and as far as throughput goes it handles large amount of data way better than Crystal Reports.
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Sander,
I did a project a little while ago now, that needed a similar thing.
After much flitting around we settled on Bold Reports from Syncfusion.. BUT with a bit of a twist.
We realised that we could use the original Microsoft Reports Designer tool used to create reports for Report Server (Rather than the Bold Reports tool, which at the time was still quite flaky and buggy), then use the "bold reports stand alone assembly" to load those report files, and programmatically combine them with our own data at run time.
Hit me up off piste (You can find my contact details in any of the Succinctly Series books I've written  ) if your interested, I've probably still got some sample code somewhere.
Shawty
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Sorry for the late reply but I really like ActiveReports from GrapeCity. I don't think I saw that mentioned by others.
ActiveReports[^]
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a perilous trek under the COM surface by desperate visionaries seeking mates, sticky tentacles, global warming: [^]
«The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled» Plutarch
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Phenomenal current is reliable! (10)
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Wordle 597 4/6
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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Wordle 597 3/6
⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛
⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
Lack of options turned out good for me! 
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I'm not posting my score today... 
Yes it was that bad.
Jeremy Falcon
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Wordle 597 4/6
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟩⬜🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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Wordle 597 3/6*
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
That starter word was excellent - and the second guess gave me just one option I could think of!
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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