Suppose you are an SSRS user looking for a more modern and flexible replacement. In that case, ActiveReports.NET is an enterprise reporting solution that comes with an updated utility to convert your existing reports to ActiveReports.NET. That means you don't need to recreate your reports from scratch. This blog walks you through the ease of using the ActiveReports.NET Import Wizard to convert your reports.

ActiveReports.NET installation creates some shortcuts in your Start Menu, including an ActiveReports 16 Import item.

When you launch the Import Wizard, you are presented with:

This wizard is also used to convert Access and Crystal reports and turn an Excel sheet into a report. Select the Crystal Reports* option and click Next. 

You select the source directory where your *.rdl(c) files are stored on this screen. The wizard will recognize and list your files. You have the option to convert some or all of them:

You are asked to do two things on the following screen: provide the output directory and choose your TextBox Conversion Type.  

The TextBox Conversion option allows you to choose whether you want the text boxes in your RDL reports to be converted to basic TextBoxes or FormattedText Control in ActiveReports.NET. A TextBox control is self-explanatory. The FormattedText control supports HTML text. Therefore, if you have any HTML styling or tags in your existing reports, you will want them converted to FormattedText. The options available in this dropdown are:

• All - All textbox controls are converted to FormattedText
• None - All textbox controls are converted to TextBox, and paragraph settings are lost
• Smart (default) - Textbox controls with more than one paragraph or TextRun is converted to FormattedText

Clicking Next will start the conversion process. When we look at the output directory, all our files are converted. 

 If the Wizard finds any inconsistencies or limitations in the conversion, it will be noted in the associated log file. 

General Limitations

Due to differences between products, the extent to which your reports are converted depends on your specific report layout. In particular, the chart model and implementation in ActiveReports.NET is different from that of SSRS. Therefore, you may need to adjust some properties to get a one-to-one conversion. Along the same lines, the following chart types are not supported: 

• Sunburst
• Treemap
• ErrorBar
• Map
• Range
• Gauge

If you are in the market for a powerful yet flexible reporting solution, learn more about ActiveReports.NET features by visiting our Online Demos.