The problem with using the last modified time or a hash value is that we would need to modify our code each time we modified our report file.
Signing a file in some fashion (not necessarily using a certificate) would allow us to use a consistent check mechanism for all our reports that would not need to be modified each time a report is modified.
My understanding the that trdp file is basically a zip file. A possible, but potentially unsafe workaround would be for us to inject something into that zip file that we could extract and read. The concern is 3 fold - Would adding this corrupt the trdp file, would it remain in the file when it is modified, and could someone else extract that item and inject it into their file. If we could password protect that item, then it should prevent the last issue, but that adds even more complexity to the check mechanism, and still leaves the other concerns.
One of the concerns here about doing this is that some higher ups would not like us to invest the time required to do anything other than a simple check that we create once and that does not require maintenance.
Enhancing Telerik reports to sign them with a certificate, a strong name, or something else I still feel would be a good idea in the long run, and is not something that I would expect Telerik to add immediately.
Should I submit an enhancement request in another manner, and if so, how?
Thank you for your time, Silviya.
I look forward to hearing your reply.