JasperReports Server's reporting features are built on the JasperReports Library, which is embedded in the server. Many of the options you can configure to change the server's functionality are actually JasperReports Library options. The configuration options can control many aspects of the server's behavior, from the way reports are exported into different file formats, to the default font.

These options can be set at different levels:

For more information about JasperReports Library configuration, see http://jasperreports.sourceforge.net/config.reference.html.

The following sections highlight a few of the available options:

Extending JasperReports Library

You can extend JasperReports Library by implementing the public interfaces it exposes.

Such an implementation is usually stored in a JAR (Java Archive) that contains a file called jasperreports_extension.properties, and specifies a factory class used to instantiate an extension registry. The extension registry specifies one or more extension objects, each of which corresponds to a JasperReports Library extension point represented by a Java interface.

Place this JAR on the JasperReports Library classpath, and your extension is automatically available.

For more information, refer to JasperReports Library Ultimate Guide.

Changing the Crosstab Limit

If you use crosstab reports, you may experience Out of Memory errors if the reports are very large or complex. You can configure JasperReports Server to return a message instead of memory errors when users run such crosstabs. To do so, enable the net.sf.jasperreports.crosstab.bucket.measure.limit property and set its maximum value in the following configuration file:

Setting a Global Chart Theme

Chart themes control the look and feel of the charts generated by JasperReports Server. Chart themes can be applied at the level of either the server or the individual report:

A chart theme is a JAR file that defines the look and feel of a chart. Once you have created the chart theme JAR file, copy it to the .../WEB-INF/lib directory. Chart themes in this location are available to any chart in the instance of the server. They can also be set as the global chart theme.

To set a theme as the default chart theme, edit the following configuration file:

We recommend that you create your chart themes in Jaspersoft Studio. Click File > New > Other > Chart Theme, then use Jaspersoft Studio to archive the new chart theme as a JAR.

Disabling Interactivity in the Report Viewer

By default, the report viewer's interactivity is enabled, and reports with interactive elements (such as the table component) are interactive when run in the web server and displayed in the viewer. If you don't want your reports to be interactive, you can disable interactivity across all reports by editing the following configuration file.

Disabling Chart Types in Dashboards

By default, interactivity is enabled in charts that appear in dashboards, and users can change the chart type by clicking on the chart type selector (gear icon). If you don't want users to modify the chart types, you can disable the chart type selector on all dashboard charts by editing the following configuration file.

Changing the Pro Charts Rendering Engine

By default, JasperReports Server renders Pro Charts (those based on Fusion Charts) using HTML5. If your browser doesn't support HTML5, the chart isn't be rendered unless you change the configuration. Though we don't recommend it, you can instead have these elements rendered by Adobe Flash; in some circumstances, Fusion's Flash solution may pose a security risk.

Note that Pro Charts are available only in the JasperReports Server Professional edition.

To render Pro Charts using HTML5, edit the following configuration file:

Note that this property applies only to reports that rely on Pro Charts and affects only the HTML preview and export.

Typically, this property is set at the server level; to override the server-level setting for a specific Pro Chart report, set this property at the report level, and also specify a second property as shown:

net.sf.jasperreports.print.transfer.fusion=com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.fusion

This allows the reporting engine, JasperReports Library, to recognize the Fusion settings. If this property isn't set, the com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.fusion.charts.render.type property is ignored at the report level.

Configuring a JavaScript Engine for Graphical Report Rendering

Depending on the circumstances, a given graphical element (such as a chart, a map, or a widget) in a report can be rendered in two ways:

By default, JasperReports Server's internal JavaScript engine is Rhino, which is an excellent solution for most cases; most JasperReports Server users can accept this default. However, you may want to investigate other engines if you encounter any of the following issues when scheduling chart-based reports or running them in the background:

An alternative engine is provided in our installers; PhantomJS executes JavaScript when generating graphical reports that are run in the background or scheduled. PhantomJS is a headless WebKit with JavaScript API. To use PhantomJS when JasperReports Server is installed from the WAR file, download the correct version for your environment from PhantomJS and install it on the computer hosting JasperReports Server. For installation instructions, refer to the documentation provided with PhantomJS.

Once PhantomJS is installed, point JasperReports Server to its location. You can configure several processes to use PhantomJS: HighCharts generation, Pro Charts generation (including Pro Widgets and Pro Maps), and exporting dashboards.

To configure JasperReports Server to use PhantomJS for HighCharts and Pro Charts, including Pro Widgets and Pro Maps, edit the following properties:

PhantomJS can also be used to render dashboards when exporting them to a PNG, PDF, ODT, or DOCX file. To support Japanese and Chinese fonts, as well as certain icons in dashboard output, Jaspersoft recommends using PhantomJS 2.0 or later.

To configure JasperReports Server to use PhantomJS for exporting dashboards, edit the following property:

After setting this property, restart JasperReports Server to enable it.

Static Export Properties for High Charts

When you create interactive JasperReports that use Highcharts, and those reports are exported to HTML, the <script> elements in the HTML must reference the correct JavaScript libraries. The following JasperReports Library properties define the library paths:

# Highcharts static export properties[/code]

com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.render.require.js$context.url[/code]

com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.jquery.js$context.url[/code]

com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.highcharts.js$context.url[/code]

com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.highcharts.more.js$context.url[/code]

com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.highcharts.heatmap.js$context.url[/code]

com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.data.service.js$context.url[/code]

com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.default.service.js$context.url[/code]

com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.item.hyperlink.service.js$context.url[/code]

com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.y.axis.service.js$context.url[/code]

com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.dual.pie.service.js$context.url[/code]

com.jaspersoft.ji.adhoc.highcharts.setting.service.js$context.url[/code]

com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.highcharts.chart.producer.js$context.url
[/code]                    

Each property that ends in $context.url may also have a similar property ending in $url. The $context.url property is used when a request object is available to resolve a context path for the HTML export, and the $url property is used as a fallback.

Not all library paths are defined in the jasperreports.properties file. Some are provided by the environment (such as com.jaspersoft.jasperreports.highcharts.jquery.ui.js), and others are set programmatically by the bean com.jaspersoft.ji.adhoc.jr.AdhocHighchartsSetting-ServiceBundle (in the .../WEB-INF/applicationContext-adhoc.xml file).

Enabling PDF Accessibility Features in Tables

JasperReports Library supports properties and metadata that allow people to create accessible PDF documents that can be read by screen readers. These properties help meet the requirements specified in the Section 508c of the United States Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

JasperReports Library provides the ability to automatically add 508c metadata to table components. When this features is enabled, tables such as those in Ad Hoc reports and your own JasperReports contain the necessary metadata when exported to PDF.

This property can also be set at the report level or table component level to control the automatically generated metadata.