CRYSTAL REPORTS XI R2

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Introduction to Crystal Reports

• Allows you to produce the report you want from virtually any data source.

• Designed to help analyze and interpret important information.

• Used to produce simple, complex or specialized reports

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Competency of Crystal Reports

• Create any report you can imagine• Can be used for windows as well as web based

applications• Runtime Customization (Reports generated

dynamically based on parameters/formulas)

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Benefits of Crystal Reports XI R2

• Improved usability• Expanded Application Development Capabilities• Integration with Business Objects Enterprise XI R2

5.

Phases of Report Design

There are five phases of report design.• Define the concept• Sourcing the data• Creating the design• Developing and testing the design• Deploying and operating the report

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Defining the concept

• Beginning with the end in mind• Have some idea to the final report to look like(i.e a

Prototype)• Prototype can be a simple Crystal Report or Excel

sheet or Word Document

7.

Sourcing the data

• Determine where the data for your report resides

(a database, file etc)• Determine relations between data• A common problem here is that the data you want to

include does not exist or relation do not exist

8.

Creating the Design

• The best report is one that is completed on paper and is then recreated using Crystal Reports

• Revisit your prototype and decide which of the fields in the report are– Directly from database

– Calculated from database fields

– Formula fields

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Developing and Testing the Design

• Input your data and test the report on different platforms

• Any performance issues, revisit your report design– Check relations/constraints (for any cartesian)

– Check query for performance improvement

– Put option of Grouping on Server

– Eliminate Unused Formulas

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Deploying and operating the report

• The last step in this process is to consider how your report is going to be used

• Will it be exported ? If yes, where ?– Excel (.xls)– Word (.doc)– Acrobat (.pdf)– Rich Text Format (.RTF)– XML– Text– Separated Values (.CSV)

• Will the generated report be mailed/stored in centralized location/web-based ?

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Creating a Report

• Connect to a data source• Connect to database• Adding tables & Linking Tables• Defining the design environment• Inserting objects on a report• Positioning and sizing objects• Formatting objects• Previewing and saving the report

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Opening Crystal Reports

• In windows click start, go to programs then select Crystal Reports

• Click ‘Standard Report Wizard’ or ‘Blank Report’

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Selecting Data

Click

Standard Report creation wizard opens.

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Selecting Data (Continued)

Standard Report creation wizard has five sections.• Current connections

List of currently connected data sources• Favorites

List of commonly used data sources, maintained in favorites

• History

List of the five recently used data sources

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• Create New connection

Shows sub folders for various data sources you can connect to.

• Repository

Contents of your repository through the Crystal Enterprise explorer

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Select Tables

Click

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Selected Table

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Design Area

Click

Field

Explorer

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Design Area (Continued)

• Click Field Explorer on the Standard toolbar. The Field Explorer dialog box appears

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Field Explorer

Column

Names

Table Name

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Design Tab

• Design Tab is the place where you do most of the initial work when creating the report

• It designates and labels the various part of the report• It has the structure and instruction for creating the

final report

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Design Tab AreasCrystal Reports automatically creates five sections in the

design tab when you begin creating the report

• Report HeaderUsed for Report title and other information which you want to appear at

the beginning of the report• Page Header

Information what you want to appear at the top of each page• Details

Body of the Report• Report Footer

Information appear only once at the end of the report• Page Footer

Page number and other information you want to appear on the bottom of each page.

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Design Tab Areas (Continued)

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Design Tab Areas (Continued)

Two additional sections

• Group HeaderHolds the Group name fieldPrinted once at the beginning of the group

• Group FooterHolds the summary valuePrinted once at the end of the group

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Inserting Field

• Expand the Database field node• Expand a table• Click the field which you want to display in the report• Drag into Details section of the report

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Inserting Field (Continued)

Object Frame

appears when

you drag a field

into the Report

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Inserting Field (Continued)

Inserted field

View of Design Area

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Resizing Field

• Click the field which you want to resize • Move the cursor over the resizing handle until the

cursor turns into a resizing cursor• Resize the field

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Resizing Field

Resizing

Cursor

Resizing

Handle

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Review the work

Click print preview on the toolbar to activate preview tab

Click

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Review the work(Continued)

Preview of the Design should look similar to this

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Adding Summary Info

Enter the

Information

Used to find information related to the report quickly

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Adding a title

• Click the design tab• Go to field explorer• Expand Special fields• Choose Report Title• Drag the cursor over the report• Place the Title in the Report Header

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Adding a title (Continued)

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Adding a title (Continued)

Title

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Formatting Object

• Select the object which you want to format• Right click and select format field from the drop

down menu• Format Editor will open• You can change the format for the object

- You can add borders, colors and shading to a field

- You can add hyperlinks to the objects

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Formatting Object (Continued)

Selected Object

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Formatted

Object

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• Use the Format Painter to copy absolute or conditional formatting properties from one report object to one or more target objects.

• Select a source object or field in your report and click Format Painter.

• Click the target object or field you want to apply the formatting to.


40.

Record Selection

• Used to restrict the records in the report

• It is like a filter applied in report

• Click Select Expert on the Expert Tools toolbar

• Select the field to which you wish to restrict the data(Eg.Cutomer.Country)

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Record Selection (Continued)

Select the

condition

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Record Selection (Continued)

Select the name of the country

This selection will return only those records for which the

country is equal to England

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Deleting a Field

Select the Field

Press Delete Key

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Sorting Records

• Click Sort Record Expert

• Select the field on which you want to apply sort

• Select sort direction

Click

Select

the field

Select the sort order

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Sorting Records (Continued)

Sorted Output

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Grouping the Report

• It provides flexibility for customizing the report

• While on the Design tab,Click insert group

Select the field for

grouping

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Grouping the Report (Continued)

Groups

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Adding image file to the report

Click insert

picture

Browse and Select

Image file

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Adding image file to the report (Continued)

Final Report looks like this:

Image

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HANDS ON WORKSHOP

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Exercise 1

• Create a report using Blank Report• Select Employee Table• Select Employee ID,First name,Position,Salary• Add Summary info for the report• Give Title to the report• Group the report by Employee position• Apply sort on Employee Name• Insert image to the report• View the report

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Report Creation Using Report wizard

• There are four report creation wizardsStandardCross-TabMail LabelOLAP

• Click any one on the start page as per your requirement• Then it asks you to select the data

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Report Creation Using Standard Report Wizard (Continued)

Select

Database

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Select Required

Fields

Click

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Select the field on

which you want to

Group the Data

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Select the field to

apply Summary

Info in the Report

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Apply Group

sorting If You

need

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Apply Filter

Condition, If

required

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Select a

Template

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Locking an Object size and position

• Used to lock the position of the selected report object

• Select the object whose size and position you want to lock

• Click lock size/position button in the Formatting Toolbar

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Making a Report Read-only (Continued)

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Making a Object Read-only (Continued)

Right Click object you want to make read-only

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Adding Lines to Report

• Click Insert Line on the insert Toolbar

• Use the pencil cursor to draw the line where required

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Editing Lines on a Report

Right click the Line you want to format

Make

Desire

Changes

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Adding Boxes to Report

• Click Insert Box

• Use the pencil cursor to draw the box where required

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Adding Shapes to Report

• You can insert shapes such as circles,elipses and boxes with rounded corners

• To add shapes to your report, you need to add a box • Right click the box, then click Format Box• In Format Editor Click the Rounding Tab

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Adding Shapes to Report (Continued)

Select a number or move the slider to the right to increase the curvature

of the box corners until you obtain appropriate shape.

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HANDS ON WORKSHOP

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• Create a Report using Report wizard• Use the Employee table• Add Shapes to Report• Make this report as read only

Exercise 2

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Charts

• You can insert charts for the following:Summary and Subtotal fieldsDetail, formula and Running Total fieldsCross-Tab SummariesOLAP Data

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Chart Layouts

• Advanced• Group• Cross-Tab• OLAP

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Types of Charts in Crystal Reports

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Hiding Report Sections

• Hide (Drill-Down OK)

Hides the section when you run the report• Suppress (No Drill Down)

Condition is applied by formulas• Suppress Blank section

Hides a section whenever nothing is in it

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SubReports

• A subreport is a report within a report• Subreports are used to

– To combine unrelated reports into a single report – To coordinate data that cannot otherwise be linked – To present different views of the same data within

a single report.

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Difference b/w Primary Report and SubReport

SubReport• Is inserted as an object into a primary report • Can be placed in any report section • Cannot contain another subreport. • Does not have Page Header or Page Footer sections.

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Inserting SubReports

• On the insert menu Click Subreport

Insert Sub Report Name

Click Report Wizard to create Sub Report

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HANDS ON WORKSHOP

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Exercise 3

• Create a report• Create Subreport in the primary report• Create on-demand Subreport in the primary report• Identify the difference

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Summary Functions

• The Summary functions are all used to summarize field data

• Examples:SumAverageMinimum MaximumCountDistinct count etc.

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Summary Functions(Continued)

Click ‘Insert Summary’ on the Insert Menu

Select the Summary

function

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Linking Tables

• When you add multiple database tables to your report, you need to link the tables on a common field so that records from one table match related records from another

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Linking Tables (Continued)

Primary

Table

Lookup Table

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• Auto Link

Automatically chooses links for your tables based on common fields in tables or indexed fields (if your database supports indexed fields).

• Link Processing Order

Specify the link processing order using Order Links option in the Database Expert.

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Cross-tab Table

• On File menu click New

• Select a Cross-tab Report from the drop down menu

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Cross-tab Table (Continued)

Locate the data source and select the table you want to use

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Check the Linking between the tables

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Add fields to the Rows, Column and Summary field

areas

Select the

Summary

operation

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If you want chart in the Report, Select the type of chart

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Select the fields on which you want to apply filter conditions

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Select a

Grid Style

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Cross-tab Table (Continued)Typical Cross-tab Report

Product Name Region

Sum of Product Amount in Abu Dhabi

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HANDS ON WORKSHOP

95.

Exercise 4

• Create a Cross-Tab Report from the available data source

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Parameter Fields

• Used to Prompt the user to enter the information• Information entered by the user determines what

appears in the report • Parameter fields support the following data types

BooleanCurrencyDateDate TimeNumberStringTime

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Creating Parameter Fields

• Make sure your report is in Design Tab

• Click ‘Field Explorer’ on the Standard Toolbar

• Select Parameters fields and click New

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Creating Parameter Fields (Continued)

Select a field

Click Actions,

Select Append

All Database

values

Enter Parameter

Name

Enter Prompt

Text

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Select ‘Selection Expert’ on the Expert Tools menu

In the ‘Choose Field’ box select the field

Apply the condition on the field and select the parameter as the value

Using Parameter Fields

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Running Total

• Running totals are totals that can be displayed on a record by record basis

• It totals all records up to and including the current record.

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Creating Running Total Field

• Select Running Total Fields in Field Explorer and Click New

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HANDS ON WORKSHOP

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Exercise 5

• Create a report using Customer and Order Tables• Include the fields Customer Name, Order ID,Order

Amount• Create a Running total for Order Amount on the

change of Order ID• Add Running total field in to design Area.• View the Report

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Creating Report AlertsSelect Alerts on the Report Menu then Click Create or Modify Alert

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Creating Report Alerts (Continued)

•Name the alert.

•Create the message you want to appear when the alert is triggered (optional).

•Define the condition that triggers the alert.

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HANDS ON WORKSHOP

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Exercise 6

• Create a Report using Customer Table • Include Country, Last Year’s sales, City• Create a Alerter to indicate the countries with last

year’s sales greater than $15000

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Dynamic and Cascading Prompts

• Prompt values can be populated from values in Database

• Prompts can be arranged in a cascade, where one value in the prompt constraints values in subsequent pick lists

• Report designers no longer maintain static prompt lists in individual reports. A single prompt definition can be stored in the repository and shared among multiple reports, improving both runtime scalability and design-time productivity

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Creating Dynamic and Cascading PromptsOpen the sample report called Group.rpt

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Creating Dynamic and Cascading Prompts (Continued)

Click Field

Explorer

Select parameter Fields and then Click New

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From the Value List, select country

From the List of Values, select

Dynamic

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Click the blank field under country and select region

Click the blank field under region and select city

In the parameter binding area, click country and Region to clear the binding (only the field associated with the City value should be bound).

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Select City in the choose expert box

Assign a condition and select the

dynamic prompt from the values list

Click Selection Expert

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Select the values for the Prompt and then Click OK

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• This is optimized for ease of editing the files that it generates

In the File Menu Select ‘Export’ and click on ‘Export

Report’

RTF Export Format

Select Editable (RTF) from the drop

down

Select location to store the report

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RTF Export Format (Continued)

Select the Options as you need

Select the location

where you want to

save

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Parameterized Sorting

• Group sort order can now have their sort values driven by formula

• This feature allows you to use parameters to control sort order

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Creating Parameterized Sorting

• Create a simple report with the country, Region and City field from the Customer Table in the Xtreme sample Database 11

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Creating Parameterized Sorting (Continued)

• Create a parameter called Sort Order that has two values: Ascending and Descending

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Click the

Conditional

formula button


• On the insert Menu Click Group and select the field that you want to group on( Ex: Country)

• Select Use a formula as Group Sort Order

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• In the Formula Workshop enter your conditional formula text

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• When you prompted to select a Sort Order, select the Option that you want , and click OK.

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• Now the Report appears with groups for the field that you selected in the Insert Group Dialog box and sorted in the order that you selected in your parameter prompt.

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HTML Preview

• Crystal reports can now be previewed in HTML format thus showing how reports will look when published to the web

• In Crystal Reports design environment an additional VIEW tab is added to support this functionality

• The advantage of this feature is time saved in iterative task of publishing reports to the web as they are designed

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Updated Repository Explorer

• The new repository Explorer makes it easier to navigate within the Business Objects Enterprise system

• Better able to share reporting components with other users through the repository

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Updated Repository Explorer (Continued)

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Updated Repository Explorer (Continued)

Give User Name and Password Credentials

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Workbench

• Lets you keep Projects organized and allows you to group reports in folders according to your preference

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Business Objects Universes

• Crystal reports based on Business Objects Universes can now support Universe run-time security and union queries

• These enhancements allow for most overloads defined in the Universe to be supported in Crystal reports

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Creating Reports from Business Objects Universes

• Go to Standard Report wizard• Create New Connection• Universes Make New Connection Double

Click

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Creating Reports from Business Objects Universes (Continued)

• Select the objects whatever you want in to the Result Objects Pane

and Query Filters then say OK

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• Select the Query in to the Selected Tables

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• Your Report will looks like in the below Screenshot

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Advanced ReportingReport Processing Strategy

135

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The model determines the order in which data is accessed and manipulated during Report generation.

• Crystal reports uses “Three Pass” Reporting Methodology to generate reports.

• Understanding Report Processing Model facilitates, effective report design and faster debugging.

Multi-Pass Reporting Process of the Crystal Reports Engine

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A pass is a process that Crystal Reports uses each time the data is read or manipulated.

• Depending on the complexity of the report, Crystal Reports may make 1, 2, or 3 passes over the data.

What is a “Pass”?

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Crystal Reports Processing Engine – Pre-Pass # 1:

• Evaluation Time – “Before Reading Records”

• Constant Formulas

Crystal Reports Processing Engine – Pass # 1:

• Evaluation Time – “While Reading Records”

• Database connection and Record retrieval

• Recurring formulas

• Local Record Selection

• Sorting, Grouping & Summarizing

• Saved data storage

Report Processing

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• Process Flow : Pass # 1

Report Processing

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Crystal Reports Processing Engine – Pre-Pass # 2:

• Group Sorting Top/Bottom N• Hierarchical Grouping

Crystal Reports Processing Engine – Pass # 2:

• Evaluation Time – “While Printing Records”• Print-time formulas• Running total Calculations• Charts, maps, Cross-tabs & OLAP grids• Subreports

Report Processing

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• Process Flow : Pass # 2

Report Processing

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Crystal Reports Processing Engine –Pass # 3:• Total Page Count

Report Processing

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Multi-Pass Report Engine Flow

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Thank You

Documents

CRYSTAL REPORTS XI R2