Part 1 - Introduction

Report Runner Event Server is a service that monitors an input queue for an "instructional" Crystal Reports file, and automatically processes it. It accomplishes this by watching for a Report Runner Batch (Enterprise Version Only) XML input files to 'hit' a designated input directory. This is a great option for applications or websites looking to allow users to create batches of reports and process them on-the-fly. If the batch file is processed successfully, it is moved to a "Processed" directory. If there is a problem, it is moved to an "Error" directory. Combined with our Report Runner Batch software, this add-on allows you to automate any kind of report processing of your own.

We have many customers utilizing it for custom web-based applications as well as custom software and needs in-house. Here are just a few examples of what our customers have used this solution for is:

1. Automatically generating and printing helpdesk tickets to helpdesk users, printing it on their local printer at their desk, and triggering all of it using a database trigger each time the helpdesk user opens a ticket
2. Generating books, catalogs, and proposals on demand (using our bursting and PDF combining technology)
3. Automatically emailing an invoice in PDF format each time an order record is created in an online web store
4. Auto-printing PDFs from printer-named folders
5. Running a report based on an incoming email (and replying to email automatically with report attached)

We also support event-based triggers via email, files, or SQL. Imagine setting up an email portal for Crystal Reports requests. How cool would it be if someone could simply email a request for a report to be run and it happen automatically? We can do it! Using our Mail Rules for Event Server, you can set up email parsing rules so when a user emails a special email account (like reportrequest@yourcompany.com), Event Server will read the request, run the report, and send the user the report requested via email. We can also trigger batches and reports to run based on File Rules triggers (like a nightly incoming FTP file) and SQL triggers. The SQL Rules triggers would simply monitor for certain "flags" to be set in a table and trigger batches and reports once that flag is set. Afterwards, the SQL Rules triggers can optionally set a flag back to another value (or mark that process "Complete").

If you're looking for a way to add a ton of functionality to your own software (whether in-house or commercial), using our Event Server will give you extended capabilities to offer your customers a multitude of exporting features, and posting reports to their web server, to Twitter, emailing the reports, or printing to multiple printers. Don't reinvent the wheel! Let us help you!

Event Server installs easily and runs as a service. Depending on the power of the machine it's running on, you can process up to 20 Crystal Reports at a time.