The RESTful web service Text Control ReportingCloud is a Web API powered reporting platform that provides the mail merge and reporting functionality of the powerful .NET component TX Text Control. The web service exposes these powerful reporting features using easy-to-use HTTP methods.

This article explains the typical scenarios and functions of ReportingCloud.

Merging Templates

http://api.reporting.cloud/v1/document/merge

The most typical application of ReportingCloud is to merge MS Word compatible templates with JSON data. These templates contain merge fields and repeating blocks that get populated with hierarchical data. ReportingCloud is matching the fields and merge blocks automatically with data from your JSON data in form of arrays.

Templates can be uploaded and used from the ReportingCloud template storage and they can be send with the HTTP request including the merge data. Additionally, a variety of settings can be adjusted to control the merge process or to set the document properties:

Output formats of resulting documents are DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML, PDF and PDF/A.

Master-detail Nested Blocks

A master-detail relationship is a 1:n (one-to-many) type relationship. A typical example for such a relationship is a purchase order and a set of items that belongs to each purchase order. This allows you to create complex nested reports in a very easy way. ReportingCloud's repeating blocks can be nested in unlimited levels. Those nested blocks can be inserted in the same way like usual merge blocks.

These blocks can be easily inserted using the HTML5 based online template designer that exposes usable merge blocks automatically based on your data source excerpt fields.

Converting Documents

http://api.reporting.cloud/v1/document/convert

ReportingCloud can be also used to convert documents from and to industry standard formats including the binary MS Word format DOC, the Office Open XML format DOCX, Adobe PDF and Rich Text Format (RTF) documents. Using a simple HTTP call, source documents can be send to the service in order to retrieve the converted document.

Create Images or Thumbnail Images from Documents

http://api.reporting.cloud/v1/templates/thumbnails

The Web API also supports rendering document pages to a variety of image formats such as PNG, JPG, BMP and GIF with the highest available accuracy and quality.

Besides powerful reporting and conversion processes, the API method /v1/templates/thumbnails creates and returns images of document pages. It can be used for templates and resulting documents. If a document has been created using /v1/document/merge or /v1/document/convert, you can upload the document to your template storage in order to create the images using /v1/templates/thumbnails.

Creating Documents with 1D and 2D Barcodes

In today's processes, barcodes are included everywhere: Invoices, delivery notes or boarding passes. Barcodes are used to store digital data on paper that can be acquired easily for further processing using laser-based scanners, cameras or mobile phones.

Using ReportingCloud, adding dynamic barcodes is as easy as inserting merge fields into a template. A barcode placeholder will be added to the template and sized to your preferred dimension and location. The barcode object gets a name just like any other merge field. ReportingCloud is encrypting the matching data string from your JSON data in order to render the resulting barcode into your document.

All industry format barcode types are supported including QR Code, Maxicode, PDF417, EAN and Postnet. More than 20 formats are supported out-of-the-box.

Adding Charts to Your Reports

Powerful data visualizations in a report or any other document are essential to get the "big picture". Charts indicate trends and can be used to attractively visualize large volumes of data.

Bars, donuts, pies or financial series - more than 30 fully programmble diagram types can added to the template in the same way like a barcode object. ReportingCloud is filling the chart series automatically with the matching data of your JSON array.

These are just some possibilities of the ReportingCloud platform. Whether you need to create invoices, quotes, tickets, stickers, labels or any other dynamic document - ReportingCloud is your Web API powered platform to create those documents for your desktop, web or mobile application.

Start today with ReportingCloud and sign up for a free trial account.