Crystal Reports

Crystal Reports – Missing Template Preview

When applying a template to a report, it’s often preferred to “peek” inside the template to see what it has to offer prior to applying it to your report; to “take it for a test drive”, as it were.

If you have a vast template library, and many templates are similarly named, it can be of great benefit to see a preview of what you will receive if applied.  The Template Expert provides just such a preview.

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For those who prefer to create their own templates, and possibly add them to the library, the preview feature may not display if certain prerequisites have not been satisfied.

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Crystal Reports – Importing Values and Descriptions into Parameters

If you are creating a list of choices for a parameter drop-down list, you can acquire the choices from several sources:

  • Manually enter the choices in the list (static and least exciting of all of the options)
  • Append a unique list of choices derived from a field in the database (static)
  • Point to a database field for available existing choices (dynamic)
  • Import items from a text file (static)

Each of the options has their pros and cons.  If you are trying to generate a list that is unlikely to change (like a list of states in the USA) and you need to ensure all options are made available from Day 1, the first option of manually entering all of the choices is the typical approach.

But what if all of those choices exist in another report or file?  In this case, the ability to import list selections has great appeal.

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Crystal Reports Multi-Pass Processing Engine

Crystal Reports uses a three-pass reporting method to generate reports.  A pass is a process that Crystal Reports uses each time the data is read and manipulated.  Depending on the complexity of the report Crystal Reports may make 1, 2, or 3 passes over the data.  This feature allows for complex reporting and formula manipulation.

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Crystal Reports – Adding a Watermark to a Report

If you have ever looked for the watermark feature in Crystal Reports, you no doubt walked away smothered in soul-crushing despair wondering how Life could be so cruel.

True, there is no official tool in Crystal Reports that adds a watermark to a report, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.  Adding a watermark just takes a bit of creativity and a handful of mouse click and keystrokes.

The trick is to add a subsection and underlay the following sections in the report.  The steps are as follows:

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Crystal Reports Clear Recent Reports History

Crystal Reports – Clear Recent Reports History

As with most applications, Crystal Reports maintains a history of the last several reports opened so as to facilitate repeated access.

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This is a very helpful feature, but there comes a time in every report user’s life when they just want to clear the list and start clean.

Many applications contain a mechanism that allows the user to clear either individual entries or empty the entire list.  Sadly, Crystal Reports contains no such feature.

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Crystal Reports Training Courses

SkillForge offers a comprehensive line-up of Crystal Reports training courses. From introductory to more advanced topics our instructor-led, online and onsite Crystal Reports courses are delivered by expert instructors. Our Crystal Reports 2011 Training class – like all of our classes –  includes an in-depth …

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