Outputting Crystal Reports to PDF

A recent project at work called for outputting an HTML formatted document from a database directly to PDF. During some initial testing, I tried using Crystal Reports to accomplish this. Though it did not work (my version of Crystal Reports had extremely limited support for rendering HTML in a report field) , I did find out how to export a report directly to PDF without the need of a report control.

Firstly, add the imports:

Imports CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine
Imports CrystalDecisions.Shared

Then, create a ReportDocument instance and point it to your report (.rpt) file.

Dim rptFilePath As String = Server.MapPath(REPORTPATH)
Dim rptDoc As New ReportDocument
rptDoc.Load(rptFilePath)
rptDoc.SetDataSource(ds)

Use the ReportDocument ExportToHttpResponse method to send your report directly to PDF.


Response.Buffer = False
Response.ClearContent()
Response.ClearHeaders()
rptDoc.ExportToHttpResponse(ExportFormatType.PortableDocFormat, Response, True, "contract")

So Say We All!

I want to play! - Year of Play

We have not gamed seriously since June. Our previous game, They Walk Among Us, just kind of fell apart, I guess. The gaming group has not been in contact with us for some time now. To be fair, our attendance was erratic at best and I am sure they have moved on to other games.

I miss gaming. I have run a few D&D-style sessions with my young son, but those are more for his enjoyment than mine. Now, I very much enjoy watching my son get into the little stories I tell and he navigates through, but it is not a replacement for the satisfaction I feel after having played a more mature game. By 'mature', I mean a game with a more meaningful scenario than 'slay the monster endangering the village.'

So, in an effort to game more, I have announced to my wife that 2009 is the Year of Play.

What is the 'Year of Play'?

The Year of Play is a resolution of sorts (of my own design) to get some of the RPGs off my bookshelf and onto the gaming table. Of all the games in my collection, we have played only a handful. The Year of Play is here to change that. Hopefully.

The Year of Play resolution is this:

Play a new game (one that we have never played previously) every month.

I hope to get at least two sessions a month so we can get a least a passing familiarity with the system and play style of the chosen game. While playing one game, I will be preparing for the next month's game.

Year of Play Season 1 Collection

Since the plan is to play one new game a month, I must select twelve games. In order to be ready for the first game in January, I want to begin preparing in December. So, I need to generate a list of games we intend to play. Here is what I have so far:

• Hollow Earth Expedition
• Trail of Cthulhu
• Monsters and Other Childish Things
• Burning Wheel
• Dogs In The Vineyard
• In A Wicked Age
• Hero's Banner
• Primetime Adventures
• Cthulhutech
• Don't Rest Your Head
• Sorcerer

The list is in no particular order. I will put them in an order of play at a later date. So far I have chosen eleven games and am still considering the twelfth.

Thoughts

Since the Year of Play encompasses only myself and my wife, and I will be GMing, I am a little concerned at the playability of a few of my selections. For instance, I am not sure if Primetime Adventures is very conducive to a play environment consisting of one GM/Producer and one player. We'll see I guess. Perhaps someone over at The Forge or Story Games has something to say on the matter. I will have to investigate further.

What do you think of the Year of Play? Would you be willing to start your own Year of Play resolution? If so, which games would you incude in your season one collection?

UFC Licensing Toys, Lighters and Watches

UFC Gets Major Boost with Industry-Shaking Merchandise Deals

I have to admit, though at first the announcement seemed semi-ridiculous, a Michael "The Count" Bisping figure on my office desk would look pretty damn cool next to my Battlestar Galactica die-cast Viper.

Waiting for 4e

I received notice today that my D&D 4e gift set has shipped from Amazon.com. I did not expect to be as excited to have them as I am. I do enjoy reading RPGs, even if I end up never playing them. (Something my wife teases me about.)

My wife and I have recently begun playing D&D with our eight year-old. The games have been our first experience with 3e, so to be moving on to 4e so soon may seem a little weird. It may work out for the best though, as we can acclimate to the rules changes without carrying over some of the system baggage others seem to be lugging.

I read the 24 hours on the Shadowfell over at the Game Design is about Structure blog and learned something interesting. In the 4e introductory adventure, the PCs are journeying to the town of Winterhaven. This is interesting because, you see, I live in Winter Haven.

View Larger Map

What is this thing?

I have had this blog sitting empty here for quite some time because I haven't quite figured out what to do with it. I considered posting articles concerning RPGs and boardgames my family and I play, the MMA I watch, or about my eight year-old soon recently diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome.

After some consideration, I decided to write about all of the above and more. I hope to post about whatever is on my mind and in my thoughts.

I have never kept a journal of any kind before so this will be very new to me. Hopefully I can stick with it. My (all consuming) interests seem to change by the day. (I am an air sign, you know.) I know most blogs do not make past the first dozen or so entries, but the act of getting my thoughts out in some form may help me focus on things I want to accomplish and care about.

Following is a summary of a few of the topics on which I would like to post:

Roleplaying

I have been playing RPGs since grade-school. My first RPG game was at a (very) small Christian school with the Principle as DM. (I know...crazy!) We played Dungeons & Dragons in the classroom during lunch, at least until the whole "D&D is satan-worshipping" thing put a stop to it.

Since then I have played tons of different systems and games. My wife (whom I will call T) and I have started playing D&D with our son (named B). He loves it. His favorite thing to do now if "hunt kobolds."

One of my goals is to go through every (ok...some, if we must be realistic) RPG on the bookshelf and, if not play it, at least post my thoughts on it after a good read through.

Mixed Martial Arts

I am crazy for MMA! I am wild about the UFC and WEC and I enjoyed the recent debut of primetime MMA on CBS. There are many great sites covering MMA, probably best among them is MMAjunkie.com. I get all my MMA news from this site and, if you love MMA, I encourage you to check it out.

Other Stuff

Alright, I've been at this thing for too long and I really should go veg in front of the television. (See, it is starting already. My attention span is already waning.) Other topics I hope to post on:

Boardgames
Movies
Books (novels and comics)
General Life Stuff

See you all later.