Shorts Version 2.0.9

BKeeney Software (Lenexa, KS) has released version 2.0 of it’s Xojo reporting tool, BKS Shorts, today. BKS Shorts is the premier reporting tool for Xojo desktop and web applications and comes with an integrated Designer and Viewer components to make it easy for Xojo developers to get advanced reporting in their desktop and web applications.

Within a few minutes Xojo developers can incorporate the Report Designer component in their desktop applications and create rich, dynamic reports. Grouping on a field is easy as well as creating complex queries to filter data. It’s possible to ask for query parameters at runtime so end-users can filter data how they choose. Using XojoScript it’s easy to create incredibly complex reports that can vary text, visibility, and formatting at runtime based on field values.

The Report Viewer component is available for desktop and web applications. The viewer allows users to view their reports but also can ask them for parameters for the reports at runtime. For example it would be easy to allow users to specify their own date range for their reports. Reports in the viewer are searchable and with can be configured to allow for ‘drill down’ reports.

Reports can be printed and are resolution independent. They can also be exported to PDF (requires MBS DynaPDF Starter Edition), HTML, and CSV.

Shorts supports SQLite, MySQL, Postgres, CubeSQL, MS SQL Server, Informix (requires the SQL plugin from MBS), and ODBC.

Version 2 Highlights
• Added Report Header
• Added Report Footer
• Now allow database fields in Report and Page Headers and Footers
• Rewritten SQL engine that makes reports with a lot of groups faster
• Field aggregates (sum, min, max, average, count) are now handled by the report rather than queried.
• Barcode Fields (requires BarcodeGeneratorMBS from Monkeybread Software)
• Project comes with a converter for On-Target Reports
• Numerous bug fixes and tweaks

The normal price for Shorts is $300 USD and you receive the package in 100% unencrypted source code. Existing users receive a 50% discount and if they’ve not already received an email should contact support.

Requirements: Shorts 2.0 requires Xojo 2016 R1 and better. Windows users should avoid using Xojo 2016 R4 as there is a bug in the Xojo printing framework. Shorts works on macOS, Windows desktop environments (Linux is untested and unsupported). Shorts report viewer does work in web applications running on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Because of XojoScript 64-bit applications are not supported yet (though XojoScript can be removed to make it so)

More information at the Shorts page at http://www.bkeeney.com/allproducts/bkeeney-shorts/

Can’t believe I forgot to mention this. Shorts no long requires a database connection!

You can supply your own data and pass it into to the report. What you can’t do is supply your own data and have Shorts do a runtime query on it. So your data has to come in pre-filtered.

This is a major enhancement of Shorts. @Bob Keeney and team has done a wonderful job at making Shorts better.

The first update to Shorts 2.0 is out. Version 2.0.1 is a bug fixes only release.

Fixes:

  • CSVRenderer now part of the project again
  • “Create Multiple Fields on Right” works again
  • Text items (and fields) now draw in the designer if there is no Data (they will use their UID instead)
  • Text items that are supposed to be invisible are now invisible on alternating backgrounds
  • Fixed rare issue with multiple selected items and the property list saying “No Selection”
  • Fixed issue with multiple-level deep break bands starting over prematurely
  • Fixed issue with SC_GetCount XojoScript function

Version 2.0.2 Released today.

New:

  • Added an EMail PDF example.

Changes:

  • Duplicate suppressing is now handled through BKS_Shorts.TextItem.FieldName instead of the Tag
  • Changes made to DynaPDF renderer to allow it to email a PDF.

Fixes:

  • Band scripts work again
  • PostgreSQL databases work again

BKS Shorts version 2.0.3 was released today.

Release Notes:
New:

  • Designer: Wrap lines without allowing the item to grow (#3419)
  • Designer: Text fields can now have borders (#3486 #3437)

Changes:

  • Database Type detection moved in to SQLGeneratorBKS.Generator
  • Removed global PAF_DatabaseKit.bIsPostgres
  • GroupItemPF.HasItems no longer counts empty text items
  • Report template now only stores the database fields used (#3281)
  • Designer is no longer tied to App object with constants and methods (#3487)
  • Designer can now discern the app name by itself
  • Designer propery list now scrolls when it’s too long

Fixes:

  • Body Band Limit works (#3505)
  • Line wrap drawing code in the designer now wraps properly
  • SQL Generator no longer chokes on more than 2 data filters (#3501)
  • Suppress duplicates no longer suppressing fields it shouldn’t
  • Previewing a report in the Designer no longer briefly shows the last report run
  • Connection window no longer shows the same error message twice when SQLite fails to connect

Existing Users Should Note:
The App.AppDataDirectory, App.AppIcon, and App.AppImageDirectory methods have been moved to PreferencesModule to make Shorts easier to install. Please be aware that you may need to update the PreferencesModule.AppIcon method with your existing App.AppIcon code.

The App.kAppName constant has also been moved into the PreferencesModule. The value now comes from the PreferencesModule.AppName method, which can automatically discern the app name, or you can have it return a string of your choosing. The later approach may be more desirable if you used a value in the kAppName constant that was not the actual value of your app’s file name when built.

For best results when updating, delete the three methods and constant from the App object. This will highlight any spots you may have referenced these methods (and will need to update them)

BKS Shorts version 2.0.4 was released today.

Release Notes:

New:

  • Super Simple Example project demonstrates the basics of using the core classes
  • Checkbox field type for boolean data

Changes:

  • Various improvements to the Property List for ease of use
  • Updated PrintField SerializeJSON to use UInteger in preparation for 64bit
  • BKS_Shorts.Settings.kUseBarcodePlugin now defaults as False
  • OrderBy is now a menu to prevent malformed data (#3519)

Fixes:

  • Checkboxes in the property list are now much easier to click on Windows (#3535)
  • Property list text fields no longer float when the property list scrolls
  • AlternatingList now draws properly on Linux, and code was simplified
  • Removed Special/Any filter on select file dialogs, this fixes selection on Linux
  • Removed AutoAlias from AddField method, this was creating invalid Aliases as we changed the way we use Alias in Shorts 2.0
  • Multiple fields in ORDER BY handled properly in the schema identification process (#3537)
  • Report Header with PageBreak no longer adds extra headers on the second page (#3538)

Hey Bob,

Is it still possible to create Shorts reports from a console applications? I am using one of the first or second release of shorts and currently considering upgrading to the latest.

thanks again.

[quote=341540:@Rich Hatfield]Hey Bob,

Is it still possible to create Shorts reports from a console applications? I am using one of the first or second release of shorts and currently considering upgrading to the latest.

thanks again.[/quote]
Yup. The underlying reporting engine hasn’t changed much. 2.0 is mostly enhancements to the Report Designer. Contact me at support for an upgrade coupon.

BKeeney Software has released Shorts 2.0.5 today. This maintenance release is recommended for all users and is a free update to those that have purchased a license for version 2.

New:

  • PreviewCC now has a ReportFinished event
  • Report Designer Help menu item that goes to the documentation
  • BandType constants in PAF_PrintBand
  • Datestamps in the header and footer can now be formatted individually (#3572)

Changes:

  • Ease of installation improvements
  • Code demo window order of operations, design, and reports improved
  • BKS_Shorts.ImageItem constructor copies over aspect ratio boolean
  • Moved the PAF_PrintKit.StylesLoad call from App.Open event to winReportDesigner.Open event
  • Moved Designer Constant “Page Placeholders” (Timestamp, PageNumber, PageCount) into constants of ReportBKS
  • Property list uses shared disclosure triangle drawing method now
  • Property list draws backgrounds for disclosure triangle and ellipsis to fix overlap issues
  • Removed workaround for 64 bit text splitting as the issue has been marked as fixed in 2017r2 (#3567)
  • Removed “ReportRun” notification sent through pfDispatcher, replaced with ReportFinished event on the ContainerControl
  • Removed global setting for date formatting for header and footer, fields can now be individually formatted
  • winReportDesigner.HandlePrint will now properly show the printer dialog for each print, as a user expects.
  • winDBConnection Password no longer a required field to attempt a connection
  • Added constant to recognize, or ignore, MS SQL Server (for future release).

Fixes:

  • DynaPDF Renderer now draws images properly in high resolution
  • Enum properties in the property list no longer have empty first value (causing KeyNotFoundException when selected)
  • Report Designer no longer leaves on an extra “g” when finding the app name automatically (only affects Debug environments)
  • Email PDF example protected against bad SSL settings
  • Constants no longer get drawn several times in the designer (#3578)
  • Error properly reported if no rows are returned from a SQL error
  • winDBConnection will no longer show an empty MsgBox when connecting to some database types
  • Image scaling no longer refuses to scale up, this improves how low resolution images are handled
  • SC_GetCount works again
  • Aggregates with body rows of repeating data (i.e. 2nd row data the same as the first and so on) works properly now

BKeeney Software has released Shorts 2.0.6 today. This maintenance release is recommended for all users and is a free update to those that have purchased a license for version 2. Existing users should get notifications today from BKS File Share.

Info on demo’s and pricing available at the product page at https://www.bkeeney.com/allproducts/bkeeney-shorts/

New:

  • Report Designer items can now be locked in place
  • Selecting an object in the designer will now select it in the “navigator”
  • Can now check if the user has set any manual foriegn keys

Changes:

  • BKS_Shorts.ImageItem now handles being given an ImageSet instead of a Picture
  • Report Designer: Filter Conditions window workflow now more straightforward
  • Dynamic Parameters request window now sizes properly, and can have a maximum height
  • Dynamic Parameters setup maintains selection when updating (Issue #3631)
  • Refactored to simplify a lot of PAF code
  • Removed redundancies and unnecessary copypasta code
  • Moved BuildSchemaMenuCompact to PAF_DatabaseKit.DBWrapper

Removed:

  • pfDispatcher has been removed. It’s functionality has been implemented as Events

Fixes:

  • Tabbing through the property list works!
  • Designer can get data from case sensitive MySQL and PostgreSQL databases
  • Designer no longer completely fails to connect to PostgreSQL with the above fix
  • PostgreSQL no longer chokes on reports with filters (#3584)
  • Static images that can’t be resolved are no longer rendered in PDF (Issue #3589)
  • DynaPDF renderer now respects transparent images (Issue #3585)
  • Report Footer no longer loaded as a header (Issue #3595)
  • QueryCondition strings now handle Boolean field types
  • Dynamic Filter Edit button now properly draws if the row is selected on the Filter Conditions editor
  • Dynamic date filters now work properly by date and not datetime
  • Fixed issue with SQL generator that resulted in an extra “(”
  • Updating dynamic filter conditions no longer loses optional setting
  • Data filter conditions will no longer ungroup themselves at random
  • ORDER BY clauses are less likely to destroy a column name with the string of characters: “desc”
  • Setting a non-date value as a default for a dynamic parameter that’s a date will no longer cause an exception
  • Selecting a SQLite favorite no longer leaves server connection details open
  • Fixed an issue that would cause the schema to be slimmed to only report tables after running in the designer
  • Database Connection window no longer allows connection to an unsupported database type by selecting a favorite
  • Where conditions are no longer destroyed by running the report while designing
  • Can adjust properties on multiple items again (#3582)
  • Alternating rows no longer have color bleed (#3635)
  • Can now properly generate SQL with MS SQL Server through ODBC

BKeeney Software has released Shorts 2.0.7 today. This maintenance release is recommended for all users and is a free update to those that have purchased a license for version 2. Existing users should get notifications today from BKS File Share.

Info on demo’s and pricing available at the product page at https://www.bkeeney.com/allproducts/bkeeney-shorts/

Fixes:

  • Mouse offset handling fixed
  • Lines can be nudged up with arrow keys
  • Layer change contextual menu items now enabled / disabled as appropriate
  • Layer changes no longer occasionally cause OutOfBoundsException
  • Designer will offer to fix some malformed report templates
  • Report Templates now contain the full Shorts version
  • Workspace bounds no longer incorrect toward the bottom of the report

BKeeney Software has released Shorts 2.0.8 today. This maintenance release is recommended for all users and is a free update to those that have purchased a license for version 2. Existing users should get notifications today from BKS File Share. This version fixes an issue when compiling for Xojo 2018 R3.

Info on demo’s and pricing available at the product page at https://www.bkeeney.com/allproducts/bkeeney-shorts/

New:

  • DesignerCC.OpenReport now returns its success as a Boolean

Changes:

  • Removed FTC and RTF support from Shorts (#3716)
  • winReportDesigner.Visible is now default False
  • Improvements to winReportDesigner toolbar / tool item handling
  • DefaultStyle is now a function returning a consistent default style
  • DesignerCC will no longer override the window title - it now raises an event
  • Can no longer delete bands outside the band editor by defualt
  • PrinterSetup simplifed to fix a UX issue (#3672)
  • HandleExportHTML method rewritten to be sandbox friendly
  • ReportBKS.ScrubSQLArray replaces conditions with RegEx for consistency
  • DBWrapper ensures it’s DBInfo child has an instance of the DB (#3679)
  • Designer window now has a File > Close (cmd-w) menu item (#3652)
  • Report Template version number incremented due to a JSON change with styles
  • Localizations updated

Fixes:

  • SetToolbarItem can no longer cause OutOfBoundsException
  • French translation of “Text” is no longer “Send a SMS”
  • Navigator selection is not lost in rare cases (#3670)
  • Changing paper setup no longer creates too many undo levels
  • Can no longer enter negative page numbers in the report viewer (#3673)
  • Contextual clicking outside of a single selection no longer causes NOE (#3676)
  • Reports can no longer be run with no Database Fields to request data, preventing SQL errors
  • Fixed image resolving issue (#3687)
  • Fixed constant editor window title
  • HandleExportHTML no longer causes uncaught exception when cancelling (#3698)
  • Filter conditions no longer cause SQL errors with unescaped characters
  • Backward compatible styles loading now more robust
  • Corrected an issue with server constants and plugins
  • Fixed a couple of Mojave drawing glitches.

BKeeney Software has released Shorts 2.0.9 today. This maintenance release is recommended for all users and is a free update to those that have purchased a license for version 2. Existing users should get notifications today from BKS File Share.

Info on demo’s and pricing available at the product page at https://www.bkeeney.com/allproducts/bkeeney-shorts/

New:

  • Align: Justify text! (#3627)
  • Report Designer can now copy and paste! (#3691)
  • Method to tell the DynaPDF renderer where to look for custom fonts
  • Report Designer bands with a Band Script now offer an indication in the designer (#3701)
  • Schema Zapper will remove the DB schema from the JSON for manual template changes (#3632)

Changes:

  • Running in HiDPI in Windows using Xojo 2018 R3 now shows report preview in proper clarity
  • Report Designer no longer nags about deleting items that can be undone
  • Designer window positioning suggested by container event for better scoping
  • Standardized naming on winReportDesigner
  • DesignCanvas.GetUniqueName is now more smart
  • DBWrapper.DatabaseFile is now DBWrapper.SQLiteDatabaseFile for consistency
  • ReportBKS no longer redundantly loads styles to the global styles dictionary
  • PAF_PrintKit.DictStyles is now protected for clarity in code

Fixes:

  • PreviewCC Mojave / 2018R3 & R4 graphical glitch workaround
  • Reports where the page header is empty no longer have multiple page positioning issues
  • Added Numeric and Decimal datatypes for PostgreSQL, maps to Double
  • Views now show up in the Manual Relations editor (#3731)
  • Designer window will no longer reposition if the report template positioning doesn’t fit onscreen (#3651)
  • Fixed localization mismatch in the navigator (#3851)
  • DBWrapper no longer assumes SQLite databases have a database file (#3694)

Removed:

  • PAFConfirm function, please use the modGlobals.Alert function instead
  • winReportDesigner no longer has a Placard control
  • PAF_DatabaseKit.CreateDatabaseFile function, it served no purpose in the Shorts project