Sunset Reports is a reporting tool, report designer, report server, report generator, report manager, cloud service, document delivery system, web page designer, data conversion tool, add-on to Microsoft Office and so much more.

Browse through the Categories to learn more. This website is updated frequently with news, helpful tips, articles, and other information from our sales and support staff.

Quick Introduction

Sunset Reports is based on award winning components and proven technology, and provides users an alternative to such software as Crystal Reports, SSRS, and others.  The report designer handles all types of content.   And you can even import report designs from other software as well.  The report queue allows for scheduling of reports, file and document distribution including recurring schedules and provides easy to use list and calendar views.  Besides using Sunset Reports as a reporting tool, it is perfect for information management, data analysis, business analytics, visualizations, web site design, making labels, data conversion, document management, document distribution, and lots more.

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BIG Advantages

So a company in the construction business is using accounting software like QuickBooks or Timberline which have built in reports.   The reports can be customized to a certain extent and most of them produce the output that is needed for the standard needs of a company.    Using a product like Sunset Reports can take it to a new level with custom reports from scratch where the user has complete control over the content.   Plus, the ability to schedule reports and distribute them in a variety of ways is something almost no accounting software can do.   Two big advantages.

But there is more….  The same company is also using a project scheduling package like Microsoft Project and another package to manage contracts, subcontractors, communications, change orders, etc., and then another software program to do take-offs and estimates.   Each one is perfect for the function it performs, and each one creates reports as necessary.    But you cannot combine the information from all these software packages to produce reports that tie it all together unless you use a program like Sunset Reports.   A really BIG advantage.

Sunset Reports not only can connect to almost any software package to use as a data source, but it can combine the data sources onto one report.   A single reporting solution that will provide consistency across all applications and is fully customizable with the ability to schedule the reports as well as send them or publish them to a variety of destinations and in a variety of formats.

This scenario is not only applicable to the construction industry, but also to materials, consumer goods, financial, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, publishing, technology, utility industries, etc..

Window View – The Next BIG thing in Sunset Reports

Coming in the next version of Sunset Reports is “Window View”.   Currently you can print, export, and print preview a report.  With “Window View”, your report becomes a window for viewing on the screen only.   The features of this new view include:

1. Display your report as a window on the screen
2. The window can be interactive using the scripts you design in the report designer.   There are numerous possibilities here.  Drilldown reports, menus, etc.   This can be your user interface to the reports you want to give to a user.   Users don’t even have to see the functions of Sunset Reports to see the reports they want or you want to give them.  You can launch other reports in Window View or Print Preview.
3. The window is automatically sized to the page size of the report design so you can control the window size.  Make it as small or large as you want.  Include any of the report objects.   Use a Label with a OnClick script to create a button.
4. You can set a time for the window to refresh.  This means your report will be updated periodically automatically.  The update time can be as little as 1 second.  So now your report will update in real time showing real time data.
5. If your report has more than one page, and if you set an window refresh time, the pages of the report will cycle to that time, and when the first page comes back up, the report will be refreshed with new data.   This feature can be used for slide shows with real time data.

The following figure shows a Window View of a report design.  This design is intended to work as a menu system.   It has a clock that is updated every second.   The five items on the right are labels with click events to perform functions.   This example is included in the sample reports file included with the product.   You can actually create your own application with this feature.

15 Things Sunset Reports can do with Microsoft Office

If you are a Microsoft Office user, you will be interested to know that Sunset Reports can:

1. connect to Microsoft Access databases
2. replace the query designer in Access
3. replace the report designer in Access
4. import report designs from Access
5. connect to Microsoft Excel worksheet ranges as a data source for reports
6. import Excel worksheet ranges as report designs
7. export reports to Excel
8. import Microsoft Word documents as RTF files into a report design
9. export reports to RTF files that can be loaded into Microsoft Word
10. distribute any Microsoft Office file as part of a report definition utilizing the queue and delivery service.  This includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Visio, Project, etc.
11. create reports from Outlook data.   If you have synchronized your Outlook with iCloud, you can create reports from iCloud data.
12. using OneNote, link to a report file
13. using OneNote, attach a report file
14. using OneNote, insert a report printout
15. integrate with InfoPath to create a custom application

So if you are working with Microsoft Office, Sunset Reports is a great add-on.

Alternative to Reporting Services (SSRS)

SQL Server Reporting Services is a popular choice for creating, deploying, and managing reports.  But there are many occasions when it is an overkill or the data source is not SQL Server.  Sunset Reports provides an attractive alternative that provides most of the features of SSRS and many features that SSRS doesn’t provide.  Sunset Reports is easier to learn, is simple to install and use, and is less expensive.

Sunset Reports provides a great award winning Report Designer, a powerful visual query builder, the ability to connect to almost any database, a huge list of export and file formats, and numerous features to deliver the reports to the user.   Sunset Reports can act as a report server with a true Windows based process running in the background.  As a report server it can push reports to users, but it can also respond to emails when a user wants to pull a report.   With the ability to schedule reports and have them queued up, you have everything you need to manage document delivery.  And since reports can also be saved as a web page, Sunset Reports can build web pages and FTP them directly to your website.

So if you are looking for another option besides SSRS, or any other report designer, then look carefully at Sunset Reports.

Not Just Reports

Yes, Sunset Reports is a great report writer, designer, etc. based on the general understanding of what a report writer is.   But the definition of a report in the software goes far beyond the general understanding.   A report can be a…

• standard report usually based on some data source
• document (you can do what most word processors can do)
• presentation (create a slide presentation where each page is a slide)
• web page (save to an HTML file and post on a website)
• Windows form (using the new Windows View)
• interactive interface (using the new Windows View, you can have the user interact with the window with buttons, etc., make a menu)
• data converter (define an output format to export to based on an input data source)
• a software program (using scripts, you can write software in VB.NET C#, JScript .net)

We will explore a couple of these in more detail in future posts.

Additional Samples

With the release of 1.95, we have included a second set of samples in the Samples2 file.   These samples are more advanced and demonstrate the powerful features of Windows mode and scripts.  You can copy these reports and modify them as you want. Included are:

• Digital Clock – This report when viewed in Window View will show the current time and update each second.
• Current US Radar – This report will display the current US radar map.   If viewed in Window View, it will update automatically every 60 seconds by the use of the numeric parameter, WindowViewTimer.  The report can be easily modified to show a different region.
• Disk Space – This report uses gauges and a script that reads the drive space on disk C and shows disk space used and disk space free.
• Edit Global and User Parameters – This unique report is actually an interactive form showing how you can change data and update the global and user parameters.  Reports are not read only anymore.
• Get IP – This report will get your current Internet IP address.   It will check it against a previous value created by this report and stored in a Global Parameter.   If the IP is different, the report runs.  If it is the same, the report will not produce any output.   This is useful if you want to email or text yourself if your IP changes.  This shows you how you can save data to the parameters.  Solves dynamic IP issues.
• Get Web Page – This report shows you how easy it is to capture a Web Page and load the HTML into a Rich Text Control.
• Hurricane Report – Captures an image from the internet.
• Main Menu – The report is actually a customizable main menu for Sunset Reports.   You can use this as a starting point for your own menu.   Make sure you set the preference for the starting form to be “Main Menu Report Definition”.   If you need to get back to the regular program interface, close this menu holding down the Ctrl key.
• Photo Album Slide Show – This report shows you how to display all the images in a folder in a report.   The script contains the code to create a file list from the parameter “Picture Folder”.  The file list is stored in a file named Index.XML.  This file is then used as the data source by using the report parameter XML Data Path.  You can change the design of the report to show one picture on a page.  Then using Window View, the pictures will cycle.

Updated Documentation

The Sunset Reports User Manual has been updated to the latest version and includes 229 pages of detail information for reference on all the aspects of the product.   This includes:  Installation, Starting the Program, Setup, Data Sources, Report Design, Report Definitions, Report Distribution, a Tutorial, and Technical Support.Preview it Here

Connections.xml Error

If you have used the Report Wizard and get this message after selecting your data source….

then what you need to do is create a file named “Connections.xml” if it doesn’t exist in the folder listed in the report.  You can create a blank text document and rename the file.   Then you need to change the permissions on the file as shown in the following figure.

You should then be able to run the Report Wizard without any issues.

 

 

 

So you want to learn programming…

Sunset Reports provides so many features and one of them is being able to write your own programs in VB.net, Jscript .net, or C#.   Yes that means that you do not need Microsoft Visual Studio to learn programming.   You can write a .net program as a script for a report and have an empty report if you only want to run the code.   To execute the code you simply run the empty report.   Previewing the report will execute the code as well or you can schedule the report to run in the queue.   So you can write program and then schedule it’s execution.   Or with the opening arguments capability in Sunset Reports, you can launch a report (your code) directly from a shortcut on your desktop.   What a great way to learn to program with minimal cost.   And don’t forget you can validate your code while you design it to find errors in syntax.  And in addition to that your code can be part of creating a document/report, or be the logic behind an interactive report/form in Window View.

Interactive Reporting

The Report Preview screen displays your report and you can choose to print, export, email the report along with several other features.   But did you know that the report in the preview window can be interactive.   Scripts in the report can respond to mouse actions including clicks, double clicks, mouse down, mouse move, and mouse up events.   These scripts can be assigned to any control on the report.  This opens up many possibilities including creating drill down reports and drill though reports.  In fact, you can have a user click on a control in print preview and open another report, open a file, go to a website, open a form, message box, input box, and more.  You can even create a menu and have the menu launch reports and more.

More to come on this exciting topic….

Coming

This version focuses on the look and feel aspects of the product.

1. New preference added to choose a skin theme for all forms.  42 different skins available
2. New preference added to select the background color or the Tiled Main Menu
3. The docking of the panels in the tabbed/ribbon report designer will be saved and restored the next time the form is opened
4. The position and size of the tabbed/ribbon report designer will be saved and restored the next time the form is opened
5. The changes made to the various list forms including grouping, sorting, filtering, column selection, etc. will be saved and restored the next time the form is opened.   This includes the data source list, report design list, report definition list, report list, and queue list.

Here is a YouTube video showing all 42 skins in just over a minute – Watch Now

New Features

Another great update to Sunset Reports is here.   This version introduces two new major features:

• Start the program with “opening arguments”.   Create your own shortcuts or even open Sunset Reports with another program.  Up to 4 opening arguments will put the software in one of 8 modes.
• A new menu interface inspired by the Windows 8 Metro interface.   Now it will be easier to use our software with your touch screens.

Here are the 8 modes:  (Note: Modes 2 thru 8 all require Arg1 being a specified report storage file)

1. No arguments – normal mode connecting to default user report storage file
2. Normal mode connecting to arg1 instead of the default user report storage file.
3. With Arg2 a positive number – run in BATCH mode with arg2 = run queue time
4. With Arg2 = -1, show report list and if Arg3 then filter by category = Arg3 and if Arg 4 then filter by userid = Arg4
5. With Arg2 = -2, show report carousel and if Arg3 then filter by category = Arg3 and if Arg 4 then filter by userid = Arg4
6. With Arg2 = a Report Definition Name and if no Arg3 then print preview the report definition by that name.
7. With Arg2 = a Report Definition Name and if Arg3 = 1 then print to default printer directly
8. With Arg2 = a Report Definition Name and if Arg3 = 2 then print with prompt for printer

Here is the new menu….

All In One Software

As we continue to see how people use Sunset Reports, we are amazed to find out that the product can do so much.   In surveying our current user base, we have found the functionality of the software going beyond what we originally intended.   Here is a small list of how the software has been used (The first few were obvious, but included here to make the list as complete as possible.)

• Reporting Tool
• Data Analysis
• Business Analytics
• Management Dashboards
• Charting
• Visualizations
• Business Graphics
• Web Site Design
• Web Page Designer
• Label Maker
• Word Processor
• Dunning Letters
• Data Conversion Tool
• Document Management
• Document Distribution
• FTP Client
• File Backup Manager
• Report Server
• Report Subscriptions
• Meeting Presentations
• Report Scheduler
• Model What-if Scenarios
• Email Blasts

If you are using the product for something not on this list, drop us a line, we would love to hear from you.

Changes

If you are an existing Sunset Reports customer, upgrade to this version for FREE!

Here is a summary of the changes in this new version of Sunset Reports:

• New Report Designer with ribbon and tabbed reports
• Preference added to choose standard report designer or ribbon/tabbed report designer
• PDF Page Burst (see below for details)
• PDF Bookmark Burst (see below for details)
• MHT Bookmark Burst (see below for details)
• [Run Now] button added to Report Queue List
• Expanded status field of Report Queue
• Send a report to multiple email addresses
• Include a report as the body of the email message using HTML
• Improvements in the performance of the Report Processor
• Updated to the lastest DevExpress controls
• Fixed issues with samples

These special formats are used for report bursting which is also referred to as report splitting or report exploding.  They are also useful for email blasts or email broadcasting.

PDF Page Burst:  If you select this format, a single report will be broken up into multiple files, each file containing one page.  The filename will be the report definition name followed by a dash and the page number.

PDF Bookmark Burst:  The PDF Bookmark Burst is a little more tricky than the simple page burst.   This format requires that you include a label control in your report design named exactly “BurstFileName”.  This control’s bookmark property needs to be bound to a data source that will determine the name of the file.  A good example of this might be invoice number, customer name, or a combination of similar items.   It wants to be something that will uniquely name the file and give you a description of what the file is.  So as an example, you could end up with a folder full of PDF files for your invoices.  When you preview the report, all the invoices will be in one report, but when the report is processed from the queue, it is separated into multiple files. Exactly which pages of the big report go into which files is controlled by the placement of the control in the report design.  The best place to put it is in a group band, and then you set the group to start on a new page.  This insures that pages are separated properly for each report file.

There is also another twist to this format.   If you also include a control name exactly “BurstEmailAddress” and bind the value of that control to your data source that contains email addresses, the reports will be created as separate files, but also emailed as attachements.   The subject and body of the email is controlled by the specific queue entry.  With this powerful feature, you can now send out multiple emails with different attachments with a single report and queue entry.

MHT Bookmark Burst:  This format is a variation of the PDF Bookmark Burst, except for the following.   The report format for the separate files is not a PDF, but instead an MHT file.  This is a referred to as a MIME HTML file where the page format combines what might be multiple files for HTML.

If you include the control named “BurstEmailAddress” as described in the PDF Bookmark Burst section, then the report will become the body of the email instead of the attachment.   This is perfect for email blasts or email broadcasting.   Graphics will work and the email is sent with the body as HTML.

Feature List

Data Connectivity	Data Sources	MS Access (all versions), SQL Server, MS Excel, Oracle, OLEDB, ODBC, MS Outlook, MySQL, and more
	Visual Query Builder	Grouping, Sorting, Filtering, Sub-queries, derived tables, Union queriesAdvanced properties: Aliases, Virtual fields, Various SQL Dialects, Visual representation modes
Report Design	Contents	grouping, filters, sorting, bands, sub-reports, styles, summaries, calculated fields, watermarks, backgrounds, bookmarks, parameters
	Controls	text boxes, lines, shapes. barcodes, checkboxes, page info, panels, images, page breaks, tables, postal codes, rich text controls, cross-band controls, hyperlinks, multi-columns, cross-references, gauges, map control
	Pivot Tables	OLAP, Key Performance Indicators, (KPI) Graphics
	Charts & Graphs	56 Types with many options2D, 3D, Regression and Trends
	plus	Parameters, scripts, wizards, labels, mail merge, Drilldown, Drillthrough, Document Map, Multiple reports within a single reportImport from Crystal Reports, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Data Dynamics Active Reports, and DevExpress
Report Definitions	Parameters	Select from a data sourceText, Numeric, Static Dates, Dynamic Dates, Fixed and Prompted
	plus	Multiple definitions using the same design, Descriptions, Titles, External files (treat a file from other software as a report), Print/Preview, Export, Email
Distribution & Delivery	Report Processor	Runs as a service in the background Similar functionality to a Report Server Has the functionality of a server without an operating system server, database server, or web server Handles report subscriptions Report Bursting, Report Exploding, Report Splitting, Email Blasts, Email Broadcasting
	Report Queue	Schedule one time, Schedule recurring, List and Calendar views
	Email Requests	Monitor email requests, Reply to emails with attached reports/documents
	FTP	Transfer reports to FTP Site
	Website	Semi-Static Website, Automatic Index page creation for reports including nested folders
	File Formats	Document: pdf, html, mht, rtf, txt Data: txt, csv, xls, xlxs Graphic: bmp, emf, gif, jpeg, png, tiff, wmf PDF’s can be password protected

Report Bursting

The concept is to print one report definition and have multiple report files like PDF’s creating with individual files for multiple recipients.   For example, you have a report definition for invoices to send to all your customers, but you obviously want to send just one invoice to each customer.  With standard report processing, you will end up with multiple invoices in one big PDF.  With Report Bursting (also referred to as report splitting or report exploding), you can have a single file for each customer/invoice.  Each file is a subset of the report results.

This new feature is in the works with our development team and testing is in progress.   And with our report distribution system, each report can go to a different email address too.

This new feature will be valuable for order confirmations, invoices, contracts, purchase orders, dunning letters, employee statements, billing statements, promotional mailing, sales letters, appointment confirmations, etc. or any report you design.

Poster – Large Format Pictures

If you have ever wanted to take a picture, image, or photo and blow it up and print it on a large format paper, or multiple sheets of paper and tape it together, you might have a hard time finding the right tools.  Sunset Reports can be easily used to print posters, or simpye your picture or photo on multiple sheets of paper.   Choose as many sheets wide and tall you want, and print them out.   This concept works well too for signs.  For a sign, you can use the label or rich text control.  And you can also use any other combination of controls for both text and images.

Here are the steps to follow to print a picture across multiple pages:

1 – Create a new report design

2 – Select the paper size you want to print to and the orientation (Landscape or Portrait)

3 – Add a picture box control.

4 – Select your picture using the Image URL Property

5 – Size your picture by changing the size properties of the Picture Box control.  The size is set usually by hundreds of an inch(or tenths of a millimeter).   For example 2000 = 20 inches.

6 – Change the sizing property to “Stretch Image”

7 – Size the TopMargin and BottomMargin to something compatible with your printer.  (50 works good in most cases)

8 – Go to Print Preview to see your result.   Then either print it, or go back to Report Design to tweak your document.

Here is a print preview of an image that was stretched to 3 pages wide by 4 pages high.

Compare Toolbars with Crystal Reports

In the following figure we have compared the report designer toolbars between Crystal Reports and Sunset Reports.

Crystal Reports vs Sunset Reports Toolbar

The red arrows show a match with the toolbar items between the two software programs.  Crystal Reports only has a rectangle as a shape while Sunset Reports provides 23 shapes.

The items on the bottom of the figure with a blue callout show items that Sunset Reports has and Crystal Reports does not have.

For the items on the top toolbar with a green callout:

1 – Insert Group (This is handled differently in Sunset Reports)

Compare Toolbars with SQL Server

In the following figure we have compared the report designer toolbars between SQl Server Report Builder and Sunset Reports.

SQL Server vs Sunset Reports Toolbar

The red arrows show a match with the toolbar items between the two software programs.  SQL Server only a rectangle as a shape while Sunset Reports provides 23 shapes.

The items on the bottom of the figure with a blue callout show items that Sunset Reports has and SQL Server does not have.

For the items on the top toolbar with a green callout:

1 – List (This is the default report format in Sunset Reports and does not need a button)

2 – Data Bar (This is a new control coming in an upcoming release of Sunset Reports.  In the meantime, you can use a horizontal bar chart or a horizontal bar gauge)

3 – Sparkline (This is a new control coming in an upcoming release of Sunset Reports.  In the meantime, you can use a line chart)