AppGini Community Forums

Any software (which is compatible with AppGini) for generating reports, invoice and vouchers ?

Any software that can handle MySQL databases generally would work ... have a look on mysqlreports.com ... regarding handling invoices and vouchers specifically, I guess the easiest approach for this is to use an ecommerce application like Magento, osCommerce, PrestaShop, ... etc.

Smart Report Maker looks interesting, but I think I'd rather see a similar product designed by Ahmad to integrate flawlessly with AppGini. Many database projects require reporting and it's very unprofessional to tell your client your product only does part of the job. It's a bit like having a word processor that requires a third party print option.

If you go for an eCommerce package, I can highly recommend Zen Cart. http://www.zen-cart.com/

It's similar to oscommerce, but the code is easier to read, it's tighter and the add-ons are easy to apply. Everything is free. I have a huge catalogue running on it, but it's closed for maintenance at the moment and I can't point you to it.

Johnk wrote:but I think I'd rather see a similar product designed by Ahmad to integrate flawlessly with AppGini.

Yes, I forgot to mention that I'm indeed working on a reporting add-on for AppGini that should be available within a few months.

Now you have my interest!

I would be very interested TOO.
Any news about that?

Not yet Ahmed unfortunately ... time flies by .. I hope I'll be able to finish a reporting add-on before the end of this year.

The report add-on would be great. The sooner the better. Is there an easy way to incorporate and solution like the Smart Report Maker so that the user only has one login? I would prefer to buy your add-on than another one but I have a customer that has a solution that only needs the reporting to be complete.

Thanks

Bobby

Hmm ... a dirty work-around is to check for session variables at the top of the third-party script(s):

In the mean time I have been using Reportico.org.. it is a fabulous report maker! Enjoy.

I would also be very interested in a report add-on. I hope this is in the works.

Thought I'd post some brief comments about Reportico as a php reporting tool for running against an appGini (or other) db; it may be helpful to others looking for a reporting solution. My evaluation is not quite as positive as a previous poster's.

I've just spent a good chunk of time configuring two relatively simple summary reports for my database, requiring a couple of header and footer lines, and two groupings with column number summary totals. In a mature reporting tool (e.g. Crystal Reports, Microsoft Reporting Services, dbForge, etc.) this would be a pretty simple task and wouldn't take much time to get to a decent first report output. However, I found Reportico (v.3.2 "beta") to be just barely adequate. Because I'm looking for a free solution, and one that runs directly online without requiring remote db access (Reportico is itself, in part, a php application), Reportico seems to be the only free app that approaches the above-mentioned licensed programs in flexibility of report programming and formatting. Nonetheless, Reportico still has a ways to go as a complete report solution (acknowledging its open-source origin).

Some pros and cons important to me (YMMV):
PROS:
- accepts SQL queries for building fields, filters, etc.
- groups data and provides basic numerical summery lines by group
- allows HTML formatting of some aspects of page & group headers, footers
- parameters feature lets users enter one or more criteria before running report
- has password-protection for project
- comes with a tutorial project db+reports, with lessons
- flexible command-line interface for building HTML-links into web pages

CONS:
- some parts of application are non-intuitive and error-prone, i.e. poorly designed report-designer interface
- header and footer formatting is limited to certain designated lines
- I never could get the embedded-webpage calling functions to work (supposed to contain more options than the simpler link interface mentioned in PROS above)
- Help text for all parts of the application needs substantial editing for both content and grammar

i used mpdf, to generate pdf invoices...

works ok, and highly configurable due to
css and templates

mPdf is a "A PHP class for rendering HTML content as PDF output", and looks like a useful tool for converting HTML pages. As such, it's not a replacment for a report designer such as Reportico.
I neglected to mention that Reportico does have an option to output to PDF, and this feature is working quite well for me.

I've looked at reportico and Smart Report Maker briefly. What I need to know though is which reporting tool would be able to add images from appgini? If, for instance, I have a picture of every product and I uploaded the images, how can they be displayed on my reports? (eg. list of products).

According to Reportico documentation: "Tutorial 1 Stage 5 - Including database graphics into the report". Let us know if you get it to work for you...

I share your opinion of Reportico. It takes too long to design the most simple reports. I see Smart Report Maker costs $48 so I would like to be sure it works and the demo doesn't show much. Ideal would be the appgini add-on discussed already but I'm really pressed for time. Any idea if it's on its way yet?

If you decide to get the full version of Smart Report, I'd be very interested to know what you think. Now that I'm modifying my Reportico formats from last month, I'm finding that it's just not ready for intensive production use.

I use Reportico for about 340 reports right now and use it for everything from embedding/iframing in reports onto dashboards and even integrated the report output with google charts for sophisticated colors and interative charting on the dashhboards. I have done nice headers and trailers and even did little red and green and yellow lights in place of status outputs.. it is FAB and I love it.. PM me if you need help with anything Reportico.. I have become, quite the expert at it lately.

Thanks, Tina

toconnell wrote:I use Reportico for about 340 reports right now and use it for everything from embedding/iframing in reports onto dashboards and even integrated the report output with google charts for sophisticated colors and interative charting on the dashhboards. I have done nice headers and trailers and even did little red and green and yellow lights in place of status outputs.. it is FAB and I love it.. PM me if you need help with anything Reportico.. I have become, quite the expert at it lately.

Thanks, Tina

Thanks Tina for encouraging us to use Reportico; I am now willing to give it a try. I will let you know how I am doing.

I looked at Reportico and whilst it will do the job I think there is quite a learning curve. So well done to Tina for persisting with it - must be a veritable expert by now. I also tried the full version of Smart Report Maker. Regrettably, I found it too simplistic and not robust enough for my needs. So not good value for my $48. I then discovered Reports Maestro (http://reportsmaestro.com). This produces tidy looking reports and charts with a minimal learning curve. It comes at a cost though - $79 which in reality is a small outlay compared to the cost of time. There is a demo at http://reportsmaestro.com/demo/login.php I have no connection with ReportsMaestro - other than being a user.

dssc wrote:I looked at Reportico and whilst it will do the job I think there is quite a learning curve. So well done to Tina for persisting with it - must be a veritable expert by now. I also tried the full version of Smart Report Maker. Regrettably, I found it too simplistic and not robust enough for my needs. So not good value for my $48. I then discovered Reports Maestro (http://reportsmaestro.com). This produces tidy looking reports and charts with a minimal learning curve. It comes at a cost though - $79 which in reality is a small outlay compared to the cost of time. There is a demo at http://reportsmaestro.com/demo/login.php I have no connection with ReportsMaestro - other than being a user.

Also thanks "dssc". I bought the "PHP Report Maker" about a year ago, (they have a demo here: http://www.hkvstore.com/phpreportmaker/demo.asp). It is quite expensive compared to others and specially to open source like Reportico; it is $159. and it solved for me some report issues I had to take care then. But I found it to be quite complex and I was hoping to find a simpler solution. That is why I was browsing for "solutions" or report-apps. All in all, when one evaluates an app, it is imperative to take into consideration the learning curve, since this is the thing that will establish the appealing and value of an specific app for each and every one,

Any news on this Ahmed?

Yes an integrated report maker would make this program A LOT more useful. I need to add reports now to my application and have not found a suitable program to do what I need. Appgini is perfect for making forms just no reports.

Reports is in progress and should be available in a couple of months ... it has been delayed for too long.. sorry for that, but we're finally working on it