Bitnova Reports - a lightweight C# WinForms library designed to help you create, customize, and export HTML-based reports with ease.

Bitnova Reports is a lightweight C# WinForms library designed to help you create, customize, and export HTML-based reports with ease. It supports embedding images, tables, charts, formatted text, lists, and automatic integration with form controls.

Overview

With BitnovaReports, you can:

• Construct reports using an intuitive, chainable builder pattern.
• Include headers, styled text, tables from DataGridView, charts with multiple series, images, lists, page breaks, and footers.
• Automatically pull content from WinForms controls like PictureBox, DataGridView, and Chart.
• Preview reports in a modal window with a toolbar for saving to PDF, exporting to HTML, printing, and dynamically adjusting fonts.
• Export to PDF with iText (defaulting to A4, with customizable page sizes) or as raw HTML.
• Enhance user experience with a loading overlay during save operations.

The library generates self-contained HTML with embedded base64-encoded images and charts, ensuring your reports are portable and ready to share.

Key Features:

• Fluent API chaining (e.g., .AddHeader().AddText().AddTable()).
• Customizable global styling options.
• Interactive preview with a feature-rich toolbar.
• Multi-page report support with page breaks.
• Dynamic font adjustments in the preview interface to avoid assembly conflicts.

Installation

To get started with Bitnova Reports in your project:

1. Set Up Your Environment: Ensure your project targets .NET Framework 4.8 (or .NET 6+ with System.Drawing.Common) and uses WinForms.
2. Install Required Packages: Add the following NuGet packages to your project:

• Microsoft.Windows.Compatibility (for WinForms and charting support).
• System.Windows.Forms.DataVisualization (for chart functionality).
• itext7 (version 7.2.5 or a compatible version).
• itext7.pdfhtml (for HTML-to-PDF conversion).
• itext7.bouncy-castle-adapter (to handle PDF encryption requirements).

1. You can install these packages using the NuGet Package Manager in Visual Studio or the Package Manager Console with commands like:
2. text
3. 
   
4. Install-Package itext7
5. Install-Package itext7.pdfhtml
6. Install-Package itext7.bouncy-castle-adapter
7. Add BitnovaReports: Include the BitnovaReports library in your project by referencing the provided package or assembly (consult your package manager or project documentation for details).
8. Project References: Verify that your project includes references to System.Windows.Forms, System.Drawing, and System.Data.

Core Concepts

• Fluent Builder Pattern: Chain methods to build your report step-by-step, with each method returning the builder instance for further calls.
• HTML Generation: Reports are constructed as HTML strings, with images and charts embedded as base64 data for portability.
• Preview Interface: A modal Form with an embedded WebBrowser control provides an interactive preview, complete with a toolbar.
• PDF Export: Leverages iText to convert HTML to PDF, supporting A4 as the default page size with optional customization.
• Form Integration: The AddForm method automatically detects and includes supported controls from a specified Form.
• Styling: Apply global styles via the SetStyle method, and adjust fonts dynamically in the preview using CSS injection.
• Loading Overlay: A semi-transparent panel appears during save operations to indicate progress.

API Reference

Classes

• ChartSeriesData: A data structure for defining chart series.
• Properties:
• Name (string): The series name (optional, defaults to "SeriesX").
• Labels (List<string>): Labels for data points (e.g., months).
• Values (List<double>): Numerical values for the series.
• ChartType (SeriesChartType): Chart type (e.g., Line, Column, Bar; defaults to Line).
• ReportStyle: Configures the global appearance of the report.
• Properties:
• FontFamily (string, default "Segoe UI"): Font family for text.
• FontSize (int, default 12): Base font size in pixels.
• FontColor (string, default "#222"): Text color in hex.
• HeaderColor (string, default "#444"): Header text color.
• TableBorderColor (string, default "#ccc"): Table border color.
• TableHeaderBg (string, default "#f4f4f4"): Table header background color.

ReportBuilder Methods

• ReportBuilder(): Creates a new report builder instance, initializing the HTML structure.
• SetStyle(Action<ReportStyle> config): Applies global styling options before adding content.
• Example: .SetStyle(s => s.FontFamily = "Arial").
• AddHeader(string title, string subtitle, PictureBox logo = null): Adds a header section with an optional logo image.
• AddImage(PictureBox pb): Embeds an image from a PictureBox as a base64-encoded PNG.
• AddText(string text, bool bold = false, bool italic = false, int fontSize = 0, string color = ""): Adds a paragraph with optional formatting.
• AddTable(DataGridView grid): Converts a DataGridView into an HTML table.
• AddChart(string title, IEnumerable<ChartSeriesData> seriesData, int width = 600, int height = 300): Generates a chart as a PNG image and embeds it.
• Note: All series in a single call must use compatible chart types (e.g., Column and Line; avoid mixing Bar and Pie).
• AddForm(Form form): Automatically includes supported controls (e.g., PictureBox, DataGridView, Chart) from the specified form.
• AddList(IEnumerable<string> items, bool ordered = false): Creates an ordered (ol) or unordered (ul) list.
• AddPageBreak(): Inserts a page break for multi-page PDF layouts.
• AddFooter(string text): Adds a centered footer at the bottom of the report.
• GetHtml(): Returns the complete HTML string of the report.
• ShowPreview(string title = "Report Preview"): Displays the report in a preview window with a toolbar.
• SaveToPdf(string filePath, PageSize pageSize = null): Exports the report to a PDF file (defaults to A4 size).

Preview Toolbar Features

• 💾 Save to PDF: Opens a file dialog to save the report as a PDF.
• 🖨 Print: Launches a print dialog to print the report.
• 🖋 Font Settings: Opens a font dialog to dynamically change font family, size, and color in the preview.
• 📄 Export to HTML: Saves the raw HTML to a file.
• Loader: Displays a "Saving... Please wait" overlay during PDF or HTML exports.