VittixReport

A modern, dependency-free reporting framework and standalone visual designer for Delphi VCL applications.

VittixReport is a comprehensive reporting suite built entirely from the ground up for Delphi. It provides developers with a robust runtime engine, a band-oriented report model, and a full-featured visual designer.

Unlike legacy reporting tools, VittixReport relies entirely on standard Delphi RTL and VCL components—zero third-party dependencies required. Reports are serialized into a clean, source-control-friendly JSON format (.vrt).

Features

• 🎨 Standalone Visual Designer: A powerful desktop application featuring drag-and-drop object placement, a property inspector, band management, and a live print preview.
• ⚡ Dependency-Free Core: The core runtime framework is built strictly with Delphi 12.2 RTL and VCL with no external component packs to install. (Note: The standalone visual designer application does require third-party libraries such as madExcept, FireDAC, ADO, and SVG icon components.)
• 🔄 Unlimited Undo/Redo: The designer implements a deep undo/redo stack for every action, including complex multi-object alignments, property changes, and band management.
• 📄 JSON Report Format (.vrt): Say goodbye to binary blobs. Reports are stored in a human-readable, easily diffable JSON format.
• 🧩 Rich Object Library: Out-of-the-box support for text labels, data fields, rich text, images, shapes, lines, barcodes, tables, and nested sub-reports.
• 🚀 Runtime Event Scripting: Hook into the engine's rendering pipeline with OnBeforePrint / OnAfterPrint events at both the band and object level, driven by your host application's Delphi code.
• 📊 Band-Oriented Layout: Supports standard structural bands including Report Title, Page Header/Footer, Master Data (with runtime TDataSet binding), and Report Summary.
• 🖨️ Print & Export: Built-in PDF export (via Windows Print to PDF) and native system printing capabilities.

Project Structure

• source/ — The core framework (engine, object model, serializer, components, and designer UI controls).
• vittixdesigner/ — The standalone Windows report designer application.
• packages/ — Delphi runtime and design-time package files (.dpk).
• docs/ — Additional technical documentation (e.g., Event Scripting Rules).

Requirements

• Delphi 12.2 or later
• VCL application target
• Windows 10 or later
• Win32 or Win64 target platform

PDF export currently relies on the Windows printing system, such as Microsoft Print to PDF.

Getting Started

Building the Standalone Designer

1. Open the project: vittixdesigner/VittixDesigner.dproj
2. Build the project in Delphi.
3. Run the designer.

Use the designer to:

• Create reports
• Add bands
• Place report objects
• Bind fields
• Edit properties
• Preview reports
• Save .vrt files

Using the Runtime Components

To use VittixReport in your own Delphi VCL application:

1. Add the source/ folder to your Delphi library/search path.
2. Install the runtime/design-time packages from packages/, if required.
3. Load a .vrt report file using TReportSerializer.
4. Attach your dataset.
5. Prepare and preview, print, or export the report.

Example: Export a Report to PDF

uses
  Vittix.Report.Model,
  Vittix.Report.Engine,
  Vittix.Report.Serializer,
  Vittix.Report.Export.PDF;

procedure GenerateInvoicePDF;
var
  Report: TReportModel;
  Engine: TReportEngine;
begin
  Report := TReportSerializer.LoadFromFile('C:\Reports\Invoice.vrt');
  try
    Engine := TReportEngine.Create(Report, qryInvoiceData);
    try
      Engine.Prepare;

      TReportPDFExporter.ExportToFile(
        Engine.Pages,
        'C:\Output\Invoice_001.pdf'
      );
    finally
      Engine.Free;
    end;
  finally
    Report.Free;
  end;
end;

File Format

• Reports are saved as JSON (.vrt). See Vittix.Report.Serializer for details.

License

See LICENSE.

Documentation

• See USER_MANUAL.md for end-user instructions
• See DEVELOPER_MANUAL.md for developer integration and extension