Report Server 27: New Features and Improvements

The most popular customer requests mainly focused on the adaptability of the surface. The goal was always the same: integrating the Report Server optically into an existing infrastructure (application). This feature is known as “white labeling”, “white label support” or “custom branding”. This new feature can be found in the administration under “Optics/Appearance”. Various colors and logos/banners can be adjusted here or being reset to their original settings.

SFTP Action

There’s a new action available for scheduled reports. The SSH “File Transfer Protocol” ensures the secure transfer of data to a server. The SFTP is an alternative to the existing FTP with improved security.

Language Settings for Report Templates

In the report templates, you can now select a language that  List & Label is supposed to use when printing. For example, if you have a German system language (server), you can print the report template in English. This will automatically adapt the formatting, or you can also manage dependent translations with a formula.

By default, a report template always uses the system language (from the server), unless otherwise selected. You can restore this standard with the corresponding “System Language” entry. The list has a simple search function to find the language you want.

An example in the  Designer:

LangCase$("Hello (Default)", "de=Hallo|en=Hello|es=Hola")

Language and region can also be set using the the query LL.CurrentLanguage 

More functions:

LocCurr$, LocNumber$, LocVal, LocDate$ and so on

Formula in the Parameter Wizard

The parameter wizard for data source parameters now offers the option of entering a formula for the displayed value, under the condition that a table or predefined values ​​have been selected as the source. The name must be used exactly as in List & Label with @ParameterName. If the field is empty, the standard is used.

Improvements when importing users from the Active Directory

• After selecting the group, users are now called up directly. Previously the button “Query user” had to be selected.
• Only activated users are offered.
• Selected users can be removed quickly – by clicking on the corresponding Recycle Bin icon.

Enhanced Excel Export

New settings for excel export:

• The worksheet name can be set. Also, placeholders can be used at this point.
• Grid lines can be switched on or off.
• Endless pages can be generated.

New Interface Languages (l10n)

The Report Server’s interface now also comes in Spanish or Italian.

Pre-assign Export parameters

For the “normal”, interactive export with report parameters, those parameters can now be pre-assigned, similar to our REST API. This is helpful if you want to forward a link to someone, or if you want to integrate the export from the Report Server into your own application. So far, it was only possible calling the export page for a specific report template, e.g .:

https://<myserver>/Report/Export/0762CEA0-1929-4C8D-9FAD-1CA17654DEF6

Now, report parameters can be attached to the URL. The structure is similar to our REST API. You’d have to attach the name of the parameter (without “@”) beginning with a “$” as an URL parameter. After the “=” symbol sits the value that needs to be pre-assigned. In case of selection fields, the text actually displayed in the selection box (LL: “Displayed value”) must be used for the value of the transfer. You can have multiple values, separated ​​with a “;” (multi-select). Date and time information are generally transferred in ISO format. Exception: the drop-down list of date values. These have to be indicated with the corresponding displayed text, e.g .:

https://<myserver>/Report/Export/B2D6B8E3-FF08-4913-B723-4A0C4BAE98F0?$DatasourceSingle=Seafood&$DatasourceMultiple=1;2;3&$Numeric=892&$Text=suhasuh&$Boolean=False&$NonRequiredBoolean=True&$Date=2020-07-02T15:00:00.000Z

Import

After the import, you’ll receive detailed information about created or skipped objects. This provides an improved overview of the process.

REST API

We added a few things to the REST API as well: 

• Query of product version
• Import
• Export

The detailed documentation can be found in the manual or the interactive documentation:

https://<myserver>/rs27/doc/v1/index.html?url=/rs27/swagger/v1/swagger.json

System Requirements

The Report Server is based on .NET 5 now, and can also be used with the following operating systems: 

• Windows Server 2022
• Windows 11

New Viewer (Preview)

From Service Pack 27.001 on, a completely new preview will be available. This preview will adapt to the set visual appearance (custom branding) and is based on React.

The functionality stays the same as with the “old” viewer, but we added one feature: now you can enter report parameters via URL for the preview (similar to the export).

Schema in JSON/REST Data Sources

As of Service Pack 27.001, it’s now possible for a JSON and REST data source to specify a schema via URL or file path. A schema defines the exact structure and data types of a JSON file. This new optional property is useful in case the JSON files differ each time they are called. For example, the CreationTime entry is sometimes a date, but sometimes a null or simply non-existent. Before, it wasn’t possible to define the field’s data type from the beginning, if this field did not have the correct field content in the first data record. Further information on the subject:

https://json-schema.org/specification
https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-bhutton-json-schema-00
https://www.jsonschema.net/

Limitation:

Currently only a “FirstSingleSchema” is supported, which means the scheme is not specified as AnyOf, but is only one fixed scheme. In addition to all these new features, the new Designer features of List & Label 27 are available as well.

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