Bulk Report Generation in DOT Format via C#

Generate reports in DOT format using data source & a template.

How to Generate DOT based Reports Using C#

In order to create DOT reports, we’ll use

Aspose.Words for .NET

API which is a feature-rich, powerful and easy to use report generation API for C# platform. Open

NuGet

package manager, search for Aspose.Words and install. You may also use the following command from the Package Manager Console.

Package Manager Console Command
PM> Install-Package Aspose.Words

Steps to Assemble DOT via C#

Load template in an instance of Document class
Create an object of ReportingEngine
Set engine options
Call ReportingEngine.BuildReport method
Pass the template, data source as perameters
Save the result with Doucment.Save method

System Requirements

Before integrating the code, make sure that you have the following prerequisites.

Microsoft Windows or a compatible OS with .NET Framework, .NET Core, Windows Azure, Mono or Xamarin Platforms
Development environment like Microsoft Visual Studio
Aspose.Words for .NET referenced in your project

Generate DOT Reports using C# example code
    // build data source
    var xml = JsonConvert.DeserializeXmlNode(File.ReadAllText("filenameDocx"), "RootElement");
    var dataSet = new DataSet("datasourceName");
    dataSet.ReadXml(new MemoryStream(Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(xml.InnerXml)));
    var dataTable = dataSet.Tables["datasourceName"];
    
    // load template for report
    var doc = new Document("template.dot");
    // create ReportingEngine
    var engine = new Reporting.ReportingEngine 
    {
    // set appropriate options
    Options = Reporting.ReportBuildOptions.AllowMissingMembers 
    };
    // build report using template & data source
    engine.BuildReport(doc, dataTable, "datasourceName");
    // save the report
    doc.Save("output.dot", SaveFormat.Doc);

.NET Words API can be used to load, view and convert Microsoft Word and OpenDocument Formats like DOC, DOCX, ODT to PDF, XPS, HTML and various other formats. You can also create new documents from scratch and save them in the supported formats. It is a standalone API that is suitable for server side and backend systems where high performance is required. It does not depend on any software like Microsoft or OpenOffice. ‎

Free App to Assemble DOT

Check our live demos to create DOT files with following benefits.

No need to download or setup anything

No need to write or compile code

Just upload DOT file and hit the "Assemble" button

Download the resultant DOT file from the link

DOT What is DOT File Format

Files with .DOT extension are template files created by Microsoft Word to have pre-formatted settings for generation of further DOC or DOCX files. A template file is created in order to have specific user settings that should be applied to subsequent files created from these. These settings include page margins, borders, headers, footers, and other page settings. Such templates are used in official documents such as company letterheads and standardized forms. The DOT file format is specific to Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier, but is supported by higher versions as well. Microsoft Word by default opens every new document based on normal.dot file. If modified, all the new files created will result in same settings as from the template file. In Microsoft Word 2007, the DOT file format has been replaced with Office OpenXML based DOTX file format.

Other Supported Report Generation Formats

Using C#, one can easily generate reports of multiple formats including.

DOC (Microsoft Word Binary Format)

DOCX (Office 2007+ Words Document)

DOTX (Microsoft Word Template File)

HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language)

ODT (OpenDocument Text File Format)

OTT (OpenDocument Standard Format)

RTF (Rich Text Format)

TXT (Text Document)

XHTML (XML Text Based Markup)