Adding a Multi-Lingual Static List to an Input Control

This documentation is an older version of JasperReports Server User Guide. View the latest documentation.

Adding a Multi-Lingual Static List to an Input Control

The server provides linguistic support for the list of values that these input control can present to users:

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Single-select list of values

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Single-select list of values (radio)

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Multi-select list of values

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Multi-select list of values (check box)

The following example shows how to localize an input control that presents a single-select list of values. These tasks are explained step-by-step:

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Add a multi-lingual static list of values to a list input control.

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Create a new resource bundle for the French translations.

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Upload the French resource bundle.

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Create a new resource bundle for the English translations.

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Replace the existing English resource bundle with the new one.

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Remove unwanted parameters from the sample report design.

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Run the report that uses a multi-lingual list of values in an input control.

To add a multi-lingual static list of values to a list input control:

Log into the server as administrator and add a folder named Temp to the repository.

Locate the report named 11. Sales By Month Report in the Samples > Reports folder of the repository. Select it and click Copy.

Navigate to the Temp folder and choose Paste from the menu at the top of the repository. The Sales By Month report appears in the Temp folder.

Right-click the report and select Edit. The JasperReport wizard appears.

Click Controls & Resources.

Click Add Input Control....

In Locate Input Control, select Define an Input Control in the next step and click Next.

On the Create Input Control page, perform the following tasks:

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From the Type drop-down menu, select Single-select List of Values.

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In the Prompt Text field, enter $R{department_multi}.

In “A $R Expression in the Prompt Text Field”, the $R expression is in the Prompt Text field.

A $R Expression in the Prompt Text Field

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In the Parameter Name field, enter ListInput.

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Click the Mandatory and Visible checkboxes.

Click Next.

10.

On the Locate List of Values page, click Next. The Add List of Values page appears.

11.

On the Add List of Values page, perform the following tasks:

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Enter the name List of Values label.

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Add these name-value pairs:

Name	Value
$R{department_1}	1
$R{department_2}	2
$R{department_3}	3

“The Revised List of Values Containing $R Expressions” shows the edited list of values containing the $R expressions in the name fields.

The Revised List of Values Containing $R Expressions

12.

Click Submit. The Controls & Resources page shows the new input control prompt, $R{department_multi}.

13.

Click Submit again to save your work.

To create a new resource bundle for the French translations:

In a text editor, create a new file for French translations and enter these name-value pairs for the input control:

At the bottom of the file, enter these field and property translations to localize the report:

Save the file as sales_fr.properties to your hard drive.

To upload the French resource bundle:

Assuming you are still logged into the server, select the Sales By Month report and click Edit.

On the Controls & Resources page, click Add Resource.

Select Upload a Local File, click Browse, and locate the sales_fr.properties file on your hard drive. Select the file, and click Open.

In Locate File Resource, click Next.

On the Add a Report Resource page, sales_fr.properties appears as the Selected Resource, indicating that the server automatically detected it as a resource bundle.

On the Add a Report Resource page, enter this information:

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Name – sales_fr.properties

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Resource ID – sales_fr.properties

Click Next. The Controls & Resources page appears.

To create a new resource bundle for the English translations:

In a text editor, create a new file for English translations and enter these input control name-value pairs in the file:

At the bottom of the file, enter these field and property translations to localize the report:

Save the file as sales.properties to your hard drive.

To replace the English resource bundle in the repository with the new one:

Assuming you are still logged into the server and editing the Sales By Month report, remove the old sales.properties resource bundle:

On the Controls & Resources page select sales.properties.

Click Remove.

Click Add Resource.

On the Locate File Resource page, select Upload a Local File, click Browse, and locate the new sales.properties file that you created in the previous procedure. Click Open.

Click Next.

On the Add a Report Resource page, sales.properties appears as the Selected Resource, indicating that the server automatically detected it as a resource bundle.

On the Add a Report Resource page enter this information:

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Name – sales.properties

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Resource ID – sales.properties

Click Next.

On Controls & Resources click Submit.

At this point, the report does not run because the sales.properties file does not contain name-value pairs for all parameters that the JRXML defines. In the next procedure, you remove these parameters from the report.

To remove unwanted parameters from the sample report design:

This procedure assumes you finished procedures in Adding Multi-lingual Prompts to Input Controls and are connected to the server from iReport using the JasperReports Server Plug-in. In this procedure, you remove elements in the title band that list parameter names and settings in the report output header.

In the Repository Navigator, expand the Temp and Sales By Month Report folders, then double-click

The JRXML report appears in the Designer tab.

Ctrl-click to select all elements in the title band except $R{title}, $R{param.list}, and $P{ListInput}.

In “Selecting Elements to Remove from the Title Band”, the selected elements are in the title band.

Selecting Elements to Remove from the Title Band

Right-click an empty area in the Designer tab, and choose Delete. If you have empty elements after the last step, delete them.

In “Elements Remaining in the Title Band”, the remaining elements are displayed.

Elements Remaining in the Title Band

There’s too much white space in the title band.

To remove excess white space:

Drag a selection box around the $R{param.list} and $P{ListInput} elements.

Press the Arrow key on the keyboard to move the elements upward.

Drag the bottom margin of the title band upward to reduce its height.

Remove the actual parameters from the report:

Choose Window > Report Inspector.

In the Report Inspector, expand Parameters, scroll to the bottom of the parameter list, and Ctrl-click to select these parameters:

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TextInput

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CheckboxInput

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DateInput

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QueryInput

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LoggedInUser

Right-click the selected parameters and select Delete.

Deleting Unwanted Parameters From the JRXML

Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the items.

From iReport, remove the input control resources from the report unit in the repository.

In the Repository Navigator, expand Input Controls in the report unit Sales By Month Report.

Expanding the Input Controls Folder

Ctrl-click to select these input control resources:

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Text Input Control

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Checkbox Input Control

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DateInput_label

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QueryInput_label

Right-click the selected resources and click Delete

Answer Yes to each prompt to confirm the deletion of the resource.

Right-click the Sales By Month Jasper Report JRXML, and choose Replace with Current Document.

Saving the Modified JRXML to the Repository from iReport

Click Yes when asked if you want to save the file before sending its content to the server.

10.

Click View > Repository, navigate to the Temp folder, and select the Sales By Month Report. Click Edit.

In “Controls & Resources Listing Only One Input Control”, the JasperReport wizard on the server, only one input control remains in the report.

Controls & Resources Listing Only One Input Control

To run the report that uses a multi-lingual list of values:

Click LogOut. On the server login page, click Show locale & time zone, select the en_US-English (United States) locale, and log into the server as an administrator.

Navigate to the Temp folder of the repository, and click the name of the Sales By Month Report to run the report.

The report viewer presents the report using English field and property names in the report.

Click Options, and select the drop-down.

The prompt and list of values appear in English, as shown in A List of Values in English and French.

Logout, on the server login page, click Show locale & time zone, select the fr_French locale, and log into the server as an administrator.

Navigate to the Temp folder of the repository, and click the name of the Sales By Month Report to run the report.

In “Viewing Report Output for the French Locale”, the report output displays: the French report title, field, and property names defined in the resource bundle. The server formats the currency using a comma instead of a decimal point to separate Euro cents from dollars. Translation packs and resource bundles installed with the server for the French locale are used to format currency and dates and to translate web interface components.

Viewing Report Output for the French Locale