Templates allow you to apply predefined formatting,
fields, and other items to a report using another report that you have already
created. For example, you could create a report that has common features all
your reports share, such as common hyperlinks, company letter head, and so on.
To apply a template, you must have a report that
will act as a template. You then use the
ReportTemplateEngine class to amalgamate the
template report with any other report.
Note: Applying a template to a report
is similar to applying a style. The difference lies in the flexibility that
templates offer. Styles are fixed and predefined, while templates may be
customized to meet your needs.
Example:
The following code applies a report template from
an existing report to a target report.
Note: This example uses the
applyToDocument method of the
ReportTemplate class. You may also use the
applyTo method which allows you to pass in a
file path to the target report rather than opening it as a
ReportClientDocument object.
void applyTemplate(ReportClientDocument targetReportClientDocument,
ReportClientDocument templateReportClientDocument)
{
ReportTemplateEngine templateEngine = new ReportTemplateEngine();
ReportTemplate reportTemplate;
reportTemplate = templateEngine.createTemplateFromDocument(templateReportClientDocument);
reportTemplate.applyToDocument(targetReportClientDocument);
}