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Giving a SQL query a title in C#

I'm building a console application to push out several different reports via email and including the report attached in a .CSV file.
The reports are coming from SQL Server, some are Stored Proc's, others are (lazily) statically typed for now.
However I was wondering if there was a way to give a name / title dynamically to a query table based on what was being returned? Reason being is that the Report Email subject and attachment will be based off of that query and I would like it to dynamically reflect the query the was being run.
I'm aware I could within the Proc's/Query add a column with blank data, name the column the title of the report and then remove the column from the results presented, but this seems a bit hacked together and I wondered if there was a better way?
Thanks!

In the end, the easiest and quickest answer was just to create a temporary column in the Stored Proc and then use that when labelling the excel tab.
Views probably could have done the job, but required more effort for reasonably little benefit.
Thanks!

How can I retrieve the SQL SELECT statement used in an Crystal Report?

I am currently working on a program in C# that allows our users to run, view and export a batch of Crystal Reports. The reports were made using the Crystal Reports 2008 GUI. One of the main reasons for doing this is to allow us to preserve hyperlinks when the Crystal Report is exported to PDF. My program does this by exporting to rtf, then converting the rtf to a pdf. If anyone knows of a less convoluted method of preserving hyperlinks when converting to PDf I'd love to hear it, but that's not my current question.
I have done a lot of tests on how to optimize my program to make the export take as little time as possible. From what I've seen, having the application query for the data, then binding the resultset to the Crystal Report is by far the fastest method. My problem is that I can't hard-code the queries into the program, they need to be retreived from the Crystal Report itself.
In Crystal Reports 2008, there is an option called "Show SQL Query" under the Database menu. This brings up a window with the SQL query used for the given report. This is exactly what I need to get my hands on from within my application. I've loaded a crystal report and, while debugging, traversed the ReportDocument object trying to find the query, but no luck.
So, my question is; is there any method available that would allow me to pull out the query used by a given Crystal Report?

I realize this is a very old question, but thought I would offer an alternative for those who stumble across this but need a framework target of 3.5 (dynamic is not available in 3.5).
You will need the following references for this solution to work.
using CrystalDecisions.ReportAppServer.DataDefModel;
using CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine;
Then just access the ClientDoc interface with the following and return a list of Command Text strings.
private static List<string> GetCommandText(CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.ReportDocument report)
{
var rptClientDoc = report.ReportClientDocument;
return rptClientDoc.DatabaseController.Database.Tables.OfType<CommandTable>()
.Select(cmdTbl => cmdTbl.CommandText).ToList();
}

Alright, so dotjoe gave me all of the hints that I needed to work this out. The following code can be used to pull the command text from a crystal report.
public string getCommandText(ReportDocument rd)
{
if (!rd.IsLoaded)
throw new ArgumentException("Please ensure that the reportDocument has been loaded before being passed to getCommandText");
PropertyInfo pi = rd.Database.Tables.GetType().GetProperty("RasTables", BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Instance);
return ((dynamic)pi.GetValue(rd.Database.Tables, pi.GetIndexParameters()))[0].CommandText;
}
It looks a bit messy, but it makes some sort of sense when you start wading through it. Basically, it uses reflection to get the value of the CommandText property, with a little dynamics thrown in to get past the dynamic properties in the ReportDocument.
This is pulling the command text for me, but I have had no time to do any tests on the code. I'm sure I'll be making some tweaks once I've had the time to work with this. I have no clue what happens with reports that do not use "SQL Commands". I'll post a comment once I've tested this further.
Scott
P.S. This requires that you reference the standard reflection/dynamic libraries, as well as the following Crystal Report libraries:
crystaldecisions.reportappserver.datadefmodel
crystaldecisions.crystalreports.engine
crystaldecisions.shared

Retrieve Crystal Report Stored Procedure

I have a Crystal Report File and I want to know what's the name of the Stored Procedure that is being used on the Report. How can I retrieve it through the code behind. Is this possible?
C# code would be better since I do coding in C#.

Assuming that you're just interested in getting the name of the SP, then there are a couple different ways to tackle this:
If you have Crystal Reports...
Open the Set Datasource Location dialog. On the bottom pane will be a tree-view of the available database objects, including the list of stored procedures. The highlighted SP will be the one it is calling to retrieve data for the report.
If that doesn't help (ie: there's no highlighted Stored Procedure), then ight-click in the report designer area, select Database -> Show SQL Query. This will display the query used to retrieve data from your database. It will possibly have the name of a stored procedure in it.
If you DON'T have Crystal Reports...
Use this code from Code Project to load your report into C# and traverse the report from there. http://www.codeproject.com/KB/cs/loadingcrystalreport.aspx
If that doesn't help (ie: you're not ready to tackle the C# aspect of Crystal Reports), then you can use your database's profiling tool to spy on the calls from your report to see which SP(s) it is calling to get the data it needs to run the report. SQL Server's SQL Profiler is a good tool for just that purpose. Here are some tutorials to help get you going:
Microsoft MSDN: ARTICLE http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187929.aspx
Tech Republic: ARTICLE http://www.techrepublic.com/article/step-by-step-an-introduction-to-sql-server-profiler/5054787
SQLServerPedia: VIDEO http://sqlserverpedia.com/wiki/Using_SQL_Server_Profiler

Unfortunately there is not a way to do this programmatically. You can see the datasource, set the datasource, but you cannot retrieve the actual SQL being used to generate the report other than through the Crystal Reports designer.

Crystal 2008 - Can I access the SQL statement programatically at runtime?

We've created a Crystal Report viewer application to house all of our company reports. It's built in such a way that any time we add, modify or delete a report, the viewer application itself does not need to change. The viewer app is completely driven by an XML configure file that tells it what reports are available, where they are, connection information etc. We want to keep it this way too. When we add a new report, we don't want to have to update everyone's viewer application.
The problem is that Crystal talks to our DB directly and we would prefer it didn't. Therefore, for each report, the viewer needs to query the database to retrieve the data each report needs. The problem is that many of our reports allow the user to enter a large number of filter criteria. Ideally, what we would like to be able to do is to have Crystal prompt the user to enter their filter criteria, like it currently does, and then be able to somehow get the SQL statement it would send on to the DB, pass it on to the DB ourselves, and tell Crystal not to. the viewer would then supply the report with data.
Does anyone know if this can be done? An alternative we've considered is to have the viewer prompt the user for the filter criteria, and then build the SQL statement. However, then each report becomes a C# coding project with an update to the viewer. We're trying to avoid that.
Thanks.

Interesting approach. I have only ever done the opposite.
Normally people like to build their own reports using a Crystal client. The report connects to a datasource specified in the report itself.
Using .NET to query the reports needs, set parameters and formulas then view the report is a piece of cake.
Anyway, there are only two methods that I know of called "pull" and "push". Pull is what I just described above. Push is what you described as a solution that you considered but it would involve coding for each report.
I'm afraid what you are trying to do has never been done before. However, I would recommend the "pull" method. It has worked very well for me with a client with dozens of users and hundreds of reports.

Using Crystal Reports in Visual Studio 2005 (C# .NET Windows App)

I need to create reports in a C# .NET Windows app. I've got an SQL Server 2005 database, Visual Studio 2005 and am quite OK with creating stored procedures and datasets.
Can someone please point me in the right direction for creating reports? I just can't seem work it out. Some examples would be a good start, or a simple How-to tutorial... anything really that is a bit better explained than the MSDN docs.
I'm using the CrystalDecisions.Windows.Forms.CrystalReportViewer control to display the reports, I presume this is correct.
If I'm about to embark on a long and complex journey, what's the simplest way to create and display reports that can also be printed?

I have managed to make this work now.
Brief Overview
It works by having a 'data class' which is just a regular C# class containing variables and no code. This is then instantiated and filled with data and then placed inside an ArrayList. The ArrayList is bound to the report viewer, along with the name of the report to load. In the report designer '.Net Objects' are used, rather than communicating with the database.
Explanation
I created a class to hold the data for my report. This class is manually filled by me by manually retrieving data from the database. How you do this doesn't matter, but here's an example:
DataSet ds = GeneratePickingNoteDataSet(id);
foreach (DataRow row in ds.Tables[0].Rows) {
CPickingNoteData pickingNoteData = new CPickingNoteData();
pickingNoteData.delivery_date = (DateTime)row["delivery_date"];
pickingNoteData.cust_po = (int)row["CustomerPONumber"];
pickingNoteData.address = row["CustomerAddress"].ToString();
// ... and so on ...
rptData.Add(pickingNoteData);
}
The class is then put inside an ArrayList. Each element in the arraylist corresponds to one 'row' in the finished report.
The first element in the list can also hold the report header data, and the last element in the list can hold the report footer data. And because this is an ArrayList, normal Array access can be used to get at them:
((CPickingNoteData)rptData[0]).header_date = DateTime.Now;
((CPickingNoteData)rptData[rptData.Count-1]).footer_serial = GenerateSerialNumber();
Once you have an arraylist full of data, bind it to your report viewer like this, where 'rptData' is of type 'ArrayList'
ReportDocument reportDoc = new ReportDocument();
reportDoc.Load(reportPath);
reportDoc.SetDataSource(rptData);
crystalReportViewer.ReportSource = reportDoc;
Now you will need to bind your data class to the report itself. You do this inside the designer:
Open the Field Explorer tab (which might be under the 'View' menu), and right-click "Database Fields"
Click on 'Project Data'
Click on '.NET Objects'
Scroll down the list to find your
data class (if it isn't there,
compile your application)
Press '>>' and then OK
You can now drag the class members
onto the report and arrange them as
you want.

Crystal is one possible option for creating reports. It has been around a long time and a lot of people seem to like it.
You might want to take a look at SQL reporting services. I have used both but my preferance is SQL reporting services. Its pretty well integrated into studio and works similar to the other microsoft projects. Its also free with the sql express etc.
This is a good article on beginning reporting services:
http://www.simple-talk.com/sql/learn-sql-server/beginning-sql-server-2005-reporting-services-part-1/

You can use the report viewer with client side reporting built into vs.net (ReportBuilder/ReportViewer control). You can create reports the same way as you do for sql reporting services, except you dont need sql server(nor asp.net). Plus you have complete control over them(how you present, how you collect data, what layer they are generated in, what you do with them after generating, such as mailing them, sending to ftp, etc). You can also export as PDF and excel.
And in your case building up a report from data and user input, this may work great as you can build up your own datasource and data as you go along. Once your data is ready to be reported on, bind it to your report.
The reports can easily be built in Visual Studio 2005 (Add a report to your project), and be shown in a Winforms app using the ReportViewer control.
Here is a great book i recommend to everyone to look at if interested in client side reports. It gives a lot of great info and many different scenarios and ways to use client side reporting.
http://www.apress.com/book/view/9781590598542

I second alex's recommendation to look at sql reporting services - if you have a sql developer license, then you probably already have reporting services
i don't like crystal reports, too much tedium in the designer (editing expressions all the time) too many server-deployment issues (check those license files!)

I use Crystal. I will outline my method briefly, but be aware that I'm a one man shop and it may not translate to your environment.
First, create a form with a CR Viewer. Then:
1) Figure out what data you need, and create a view that retrieves the desired columns.
2) Create a new Crystal report using the wizard giving your view as the source of the data.
3) Drag, drop, insert, delete, and whatever to rough your report into shape. Yes, it's tedious.
4) Create the necessary button click or whatever, and create the function in which to generate the report.
5) Retrieve the data to a DataTable (probably in a DataSet). You do not have to use the view.
6) Create the report object. Set the DataTable to be the DataSource. Assign the report object to the CR Viewer. This is one part for which there are examples.
Comments:
If you lose the window with the database fields, etc (Field Explorer), go to View/Document Outline. (It's my fantasy to have Bill Gates on a stage and ask him to find it.)
The reason for setting up the view is that if you want to add a column, you revise the view, and the Field Explorer will update automatically. I've had all sorts of trouble doing it other ways. This method also is a work-around for a bug that requires scanning through all the tables resetting which table they point to. You want to hand Crystal a single table. You do not want to try to get Crystal to join tables, etc. I don't say it doesn't work; I say it's harder.
There is (or was) documentation for the VS implementation of Crystal on the Business Objects web site, but I believe that it has disappeared behind a register/login screen. (I could stand more info on that myself.)
I've had trouble getting Crystal to page break when I want, and not page break when I don't want, etc. It's far from the best report writer I've ever used and I do not understand why it seems to have put so many others out of business. In addition, their licensing policies are very difficult to deal with in a small, fluid organization.
Edited to add example:
AcctStatement oRpt = new AcctStatement() ;
oRpt.Database.Tables[0].SetDataSource(dsRpt.Tables[0]);
oRpt.SetParameterValue("plan_title",sPlanName) ;
crViewer.ReportSource = oRpt ;

I found the following websites solved my problems. Included here for future reference.
CrystalReportViewer Object Model Tutorials for the tutorial on how to make the whole thing work. And also Setting up a project to use Crystal Reports
and specifically preparing the form and adding the control

i think this may help you out
http://infynet.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/crystal-report-in-c/

I strongly recommend trying an alternative reporting solution - I have a lot of experience with Crystal, and have managed to do some funky things with it in .Net, but quite honestly the integration of Crystal and .Net is an absolute pig for anything but the simplest cases.

I have tried RS. I am converting from RS back to Crystal. RS is just too heavy and slow (or something). There is no reason to have to wait 30 seconds for a report to render is RS when Crystal does it in under a second.