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pamh_cfcausa

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Problem passing parameters/SQL Connection from C# .Net application to embedded Crystal Report

I am having trouble passing the database connection information and possibly parameters into an embedded crystal report in a C# application.  Here is the info:

I have a Crystal Report that I developed in Crystal Reports 10.  It gets its data from a stored procedure in SQL Server 2005 using two parameters.  It also contains a subreport that uses the same two parameters, but a different stored procedure.  It works with each of our 3 SQL Servers inside Crystal: Development, Test and Production.

Using Visual Studio 2005, I created a C# .NET Windows application where a user can select the entries for the two parameters, and then click submit to generate the report.  The above report is embedded in the application (I added an existing item to the windows application to embed my report).  The application is supposed to pass the parameters to the embedded CR report, then read a configuration file for the correct SQL Server, database, user ID and password, and then use that information for the connection to the database.

The application works in our development environment.  It passes the parameters and reads the database using the entered parameters and creates the report and sub report. But, then I changed the configuration file to point to the Test SQL server, and it does not work properly.  It does not throw an error, but it instead continues to use both the old parameters and SQL connection that were used when developing the report and testing it inside of Crystal.  I was hoping that by fixing the database connection problem it would also fix the parameter problem, but maybe they are two different problems.

Any help you can give would be appreciated.

//
        // this routine will get the database connections from the app.config file
        // and pass it to Crystal
        //
        internal static void SetConnection(ReportDocument report)
        {
            try
            {
                CrystalDecisions.Shared.TableLogOnInfo MyLogonInfo;
                foreach (CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.Table MyTable in report.Database.Tables)
                {
                    MyLogonInfo = MyTable.LogOnInfo;
 
                    string sServerName = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["ServerName"];
                    string sDatabaseName = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["DatabaseName"];
                    string sUserID = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["UserID"];
                    string sPassword = ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["Password"];
 
                    MyLogonInfo.ConnectionInfo.ServerName = sServerName;
                    MyLogonInfo.ConnectionInfo.DatabaseName = sDatabaseName;
                    MyLogonInfo.ConnectionInfo.UserID = sUserID;
                    MyLogonInfo.ConnectionInfo.Password = sPassword;
 
                    //MyTable.Location = MyTable.Location.Substring(MyTable.Location.LastIndexOf(".") + 1);
                    MyTable.ApplyLogOnInfo(MyLogonInfo);
 
                }
            }
            catch (Exception logonInfoException)
            {
                throw logonInfoException;
            }
        }
 
        //
        // the main routine for crystal reports!!
        // this will call the routine to set up the parameters to add to the crystal reports
        // and bind the crystal viewer to the report
        //
        private bool ConfigureCrystalReports()
        {
            bool bSuccess = false;
            try
            {
                // here put in the requested date
                string sDate = this.calDatePicker.SelectionStart.ToString();
 
                int nShowAll = 0;
                if (this.chkShowAll.Checked)
                {
                    nShowAll = 1;
                }
 
                rOnlineRequestsReport = new OnlineRequests();
                SetCurrentValuesForParameterFields(rOnlineRequestsReport, sDate, nShowAll);
                SetConnection(rOnlineRequestsReport);
                rCrystalReportViewer.ReportSource = rOnlineRequestsReport;
                bSuccess = true;
 
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                bSuccess = false;
                MessageBox.Show(this, ex.Message.ToString(), "Error", MessageBoxButtons.OK,
                    MessageBoxIcon.Error);
            }
            return bSuccess;
        }
 
        //
        // this routine adds the parameters to the crystal report
        //
        private void SetCurrentValuesForParameterFields(ReportDocument reportDocument, string psDate, int pnShowAll)
        {
            ParameterValues currentParameterValues = new ParameterValues();
            ParameterDiscreteValue parameterDiscreteValue1 = new ParameterDiscreteValue();
            parameterDiscreteValue1.Value = psDate;
            currentParameterValues.Add(parameterDiscreteValue1);
            ParameterFieldDefinitions parameterFieldDefinitions = reportDocument.DataDefinition.ParameterFields;
            ParameterFieldDefinition parameterFieldDefinition1 = parameterFieldDefinitions[PARAMETER_FIELD_NAME_1];
            parameterFieldDefinition1.ApplyCurrentValues(currentParameterValues);
 
            ParameterDiscreteValue parameterDiscreteValue2 = new ParameterDiscreteValue();
            parameterDiscreteValue2.Value = pnShowAll.ToString();
            currentParameterValues.Add(parameterDiscreteValue2);
            ParameterFieldDefinition parameterFieldDefinition2 = parameterFieldDefinitions[PARAMETER_FIELD_NAME_2];
            parameterFieldDefinition2.ApplyCurrentValues(currentParameterValues);
 
        }

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Avatar of Mike McCracken
Mike McCracken

You also have to set the tables for the subreport.

mlmcc
Avatar of pamh_cfcausa

ASKER

I'm not sure what you mean.  The main report is not accessing the test database either.  The subreport is linked inside of the main report making it part of the report, so I did not add it to the C# program.  
It may be linked but you still have to open each subreport as a report and set the tables in the same manner.  crystal treats it as a separate report and doesn't link the tables.

Check this document starting on page 141
http://www.businessobjects.com/global/pdf/dev_zone/VS2005_Walkthroughs.pdf

mlmcc
Thank you for the document. It was a long document, and it was helpful, but it is still not fixing my problem.  
I removed the subreport from the report, and I still cannot connect to another server, even when running with only a report.
I changed it from an embedded report to a non-embedded report, and I still cannot connect to another server.
I debugged the code, going line by line, and looked at the CR Table right after the ApplyLogOnInfo method executed, and the default server (from when I was developing the report in Crystal) was still there.  It also defaults to the parameters that were there when developing the report.
I am wondering if Visual Studio 2005 has some kind of bug in it?  It just doesn't seem to want to change to another server.
Is the date parameter a date or a string?

mlmcc
the data parameter is passed as a string.  As I mentioned before, it does work in my development environment as long as the non-embedded report has a datasource that is pointing to the same server/database as the config file.  
The more I try different things, the more I am convinced there is a bug In Visual Studio 2005 where it does not handle changing the datasource on non-embedded reports.  It seemed to work okay in Visual Studio 2003, but that version does not have the new crystal viewer component in it.
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