Generate Master-Detail Reports Leave feedback

Overview

Master-detail reports display hierarchical data where each master record (parent) has associated detail records (children). GroupDocs.Assembly for .NET supports master-detail reports through nested foreach data bands, allowing you to display parent records with their related child records.

The main classes involved are:

DocumentAssembler - assembles documents
DataSourceInfo - wraps data sources

Here are the steps to generate master-detail reports:

Define data structures with parent-child relationships
Create a template with nested foreach data bands
Outer foreach iterates over master records
Inner foreach iterates over detail records for each master
Assemble the document with your hierarchical data

Note
Nested foreach data bands allow you to create complex hierarchical reports. The outer band processes master records, while inner bands process related detail records.

Define Master-Detail Data Structure

Start by defining classes with parent-child relationships:

public class Order
{
    public int OrderId { get; set; }
    public DateTime OrderDate { get; set; }
    public string CustomerName { get; set; }
    public List<OrderItem> Items { get; set; }
}

public class OrderItem
{
    public string ProductName { get; set; }
    public int Quantity { get; set; }
    public decimal Price { get; set; }
}

Generate Master-Detail Report

Create a master-detail report from hierarchical data:

using GroupDocs.Assembly;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public static void GenerateMasterDetailReport()
{
    // Create sample data with master-detail relationship
    List<Order> orders = new List<Order>
    {
        new Order
        {
            OrderId = 1001,
            OrderDate = new DateTime(2024, 1, 15),
            CustomerName = "John Doe",
            Items = new List<OrderItem>
            {
                new OrderItem { ProductName = "Laptop", Quantity = 1, Price = 999.99m },
                new OrderItem { ProductName = "Mouse", Quantity = 2, Price = 29.99m }
            }
        },
        new Order
        {
            OrderId = 1002,
            OrderDate = new DateTime(2024, 1, 16),
            CustomerName = "Jane Smith",
            Items = new List<OrderItem>
            {
                new OrderItem { ProductName = "Keyboard", Quantity = 1, Price = 79.99m }
            }
        }
    };
    
    // Assemble document
    DocumentAssembler assembler = new DocumentAssembler();
    assembler.AssembleDocument("MasterDetailTemplate.docx", "MasterDetailOutput.docx", 
        new DataSourceInfo(orders, "orders"));
    
    Console.WriteLine("Master-detail report generated successfully.");
}

Template Structure for Master-Detail

In your template (MasterDetailTemplate.docx), use nested foreach data bands:

<<foreach [in orders]>>
Order #<<[OrderId]>>
Date: <<[OrderDate]:"yyyy-MM-dd">>
Customer: <<[CustomerName]>>

Items:
<<foreach [in Items]>>
  - <<[ProductName]>> (Qty: <<[Quantity]>>, Price: <<[Price]:"C">>)
<</foreach>>

Total: <<[Items.Sum(i => i.Price * i.Quantity)]:"C">>

<</foreach>>

After assembly, you’ll get:

Order #1001
Date: 2024-01-15
Customer: John Doe

Items:
  - Laptop (Qty: 1, Price: $999.99)
  - Mouse (Qty: 2, Price: $29.99)

Total: $1,059.97

Order #1002
Date: 2024-01-16
Customer: Jane Smith

Items:
  - Keyboard (Qty: 1, Price: $79.99)

Total: $79.99

Master-Detail in Tables

You can also create master-detail reports in table format:

using GroupDocs.Assembly;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public static void GenerateMasterDetailTable()
{
    List<Order> orders = new List<Order>
    {
        new Order
        {
            OrderId = 1001,
            CustomerName = "John Doe",
            Items = new List<OrderItem>
            {
                new OrderItem { ProductName = "Laptop", Quantity = 1, Price = 999.99m },
                new OrderItem { ProductName = "Mouse", Quantity = 2, Price = 29.99m }
            }
        }
    };
    
    DocumentAssembler assembler = new DocumentAssembler();
    assembler.AssembleDocument("MasterDetailTableTemplate.docx", "MasterDetailTableOutput.docx", 
        new DataSourceInfo(orders, "orders"));
    
    Console.WriteLine("Master-detail table generated successfully.");
}

Template table structure:

Order ID	Customer	Product	Quantity	Price
`<<foreach [in orders]>>`
`<<[OrderId]>>`	`<<[CustomerName]>>`	`<<foreach [in Items]>>`
		`<<[ProductName]>>`	`<<[Quantity]>>`	`<<[Price]:"C">>`
		`<<foreach>>`
`<<foreach>>`

Using Aggregates in Master-Detail

Calculate totals and aggregates for each master record:

using GroupDocs.Assembly;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public static void GenerateMasterDetailWithAggregates()
{
    List<Order> orders = new List<Order>
    {
        new Order
        {
            OrderId = 1001,
            CustomerName = "John Doe",
            Items = new List<OrderItem>
            {
                new OrderItem { ProductName = "Laptop", Quantity = 1, Price = 999.99m },
                new OrderItem { ProductName = "Mouse", Quantity = 2, Price = 29.99m }
            }
        }
    };
    
    DocumentAssembler assembler = new DocumentAssembler();
    assembler.AssembleDocument("MasterDetailTemplate.docx", "MasterDetailOutput.docx", 
        new DataSourceInfo(orders, "orders"));
    
    Console.WriteLine("Master-detail report with aggregates generated successfully.");
}

Template with aggregates:

<<foreach [in orders]>>
Order #<<[OrderId]>> - <<[CustomerName]>>

Items:
<<foreach [in Items]>>
  <<[ProductName]>> - <<[Quantity]>> x <<[Price]:"C">> = <<[Quantity * Price]:"C">>
<</foreach>>

Subtotal: <<[Items.Sum(i => i.Price * i.Quantity)]:"C">>
Item Count: <<[Items.Count()]>>
<</foreach>>

Warning
When using nested foreach data bands, ensure proper closing tags. Each opening <<foreach>> must have a corresponding closing <<foreach>>.

Advanced Usage Topics

To learn more about complex hierarchical structures, multiple levels of nesting, and advanced master-detail patterns, please refer to the advanced usage section.

More resources

GitHub Examples

You may easily run the code above and see the feature in action in our GitHub examples:

Free Online Apps

Along with the full-featured .NET library, we provide simple but powerful free online apps.

To assemble documents from templates and data sources, you can use the online apps from the GroupDocs.Assembly App Product Family.

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