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Overview
This 2-day workshop is designed for experienced Crystal Report users. The intent of the course is to increase the design skills and expand into the expert features and powerful functionality of Crystal Reports. This workshop delves into the most complex techniques used for creating reports and solving reporting problems, as well as hands-on practice time with formula solutions.
Prerequisites
Working knowledge of Windows 9X-2000 environment, and a thorough understanding of relational database (tables, fields and records) and reporting concepts are required. Successful completion of the Quick Start Workshop.
Audience
Administrators, developers and end-users who need to create dynamic reports from varying data sources.
Course duration
2 Days
Course outline
- Refresher Exercise
- Review of Planning a Report
- Creating the Report
- Placing Fields on the Report
- Creating the Formulas
- Advanced Grouping
- Selecting Certain Records
- Helpful Hints for Formatting the Report
- Adding and Working with Text Objects
- Hiding and Suppressing Sections
- Guidelines
- Power Formatting with Multiple Sections
- Using Multiple Sections in Reports
- Using the Section Expert to Work with Sections
- Conditionally Formatting Multiple Sections
- Advanced Drill Down Group Level
- Challenge Exercise - Formatting with Multiple Sections
- Challenge Exercise - Conditionally Formatting Multiple Sections
- Using the Running Totals Feature
- Understanding Running Totals
- Creating Running Totals for a List of Numbers
- Conditional Running Totals
- Callenge Exercise - Creating Running Totals
- Challenge Exercise - Creating a Conditional Running Total
- Prompting with Parameters
- Parameter Field Considerations
- Creating a Parameter Field
- Using a Parameter to Select Records
- Using a Parameter Field
- Creating a Pick List for Parameter Values
- Importing a Pick List
- Adding Parameter Values to Text Objects
- Allowing Multiple Values in Parameters
- Using Multiple Parameter Fields in Reports
- Specifying and Limiting a Range for a Parameter
- Limiting the Range for a Parameter
- Using Parameters in Conditional Formatting
- Using an Edit Mask to Limit String Parameters
- Sorting with a Parameter
- Challenge Exercise - Using Parameters
- Using Advanced Formula Features
- Understanding How Crystal Reports Processes the Data
- What Is a Pass?
- Using Evaluation Time Functions
- Working with Variables
- Declaring a Variable
- Assigning a Value to a Variable
- Using a Variable in a Formula
- Variable Scope
- Separating Statements in Complex Formulas
- Working with Arrays
- Challenge Exercise - Understand and Set Up the YTD Comparison Report
- Challenge Exercise - Declare Variables and Conditionally Assign Values to Them
- Using Subreporting as a Workaround Solution
- Understanding Subreports
- Unlinked versus Linked Subreports
- Creating an Unlinked Subreport
- Linking a Subreport
- Database Links versus Subreports in One-to-Many Situations
- Creating On-Demand Subreports
- Creating Hyperlinks
- Using Subreports to Link "Unlinkable" Data
- Challenge Exercise - Creating Reports with Linked Subreports
- Creating Powerful Groups
- Using the Group Expert
- Using a Field Name to Customize the Group Name
- Using a Formula to Customize the Group Name Field
- Creating Custom Groups
- Grouping on a Formula Field
- Using Group Selection to Filter the Records in the Report
- Grouping Hierarchically
- Additional Practice Exercise - Create Customized Grouping
- Brain Teaser - Using Group Selection
- Challenge Exercise - Creating a Group Using a Formula
- Working with Cross-Tab Reports
- Understanding How Cross-Tabs Affect Your Data
- Creating a Cross-Tab Report
- Creating a Cross-Tab with Multiple Rows or Column
- Applying a Formatting Style to the Cross-Tab
- Customizing the Cross-Tab Format
- Changing Background Colors
- Formatting Individual Cells
- Changing the Summary Operation
- Suppressing Rows, Columns or Totals
- Repeating Row Heading for Multi-Page Cross-Tabs
- Using Alias Names for Column and Row Headings
- Charting Cross-Tabs
- Challenge Exercise - Cross-Tab Reports
- The Repository
- Understanding the Repository
- Getting to know the Crystal Repository
- Creating your own Repository
- Repository and Text Objects/Images
- Repository and SQL Commands
- Repository and Custom Functions
- Challenge Exercise - Creating a Report using the Crystal Repository
- Report Templates
- Understanding Report Templates
- Applying Report Templates
- Creating your own Report Template
- Rules for Report Templates
- Challenge Exercise - Creating a Report Template and Applying it.
- Introduction to Custom Functions
- Understanding Custom Functions
- Using a Custom Function
- Basic modification of a Custom Function
- Sharing a Custom Function
- Advanced Formula Syntax
- Select Case Statement
- For Loop
- While Do loop
- Join and Split
- Challenge Exercise - Using the above syntax in a report
- Crystal Reports, Data Access and SQL
- What is SQL
- Direct Database Driver
- ODBC
- OLE DB
- Viewing the SQL
- SQL Commands
- Creating a SQL Command
- Adding a Parameter to the Command
- Creating a Report from a SQL Command
- SQL Expressions
- Creating a SQL Expression
- Advanced Database Concepts
- Using the Database Expert
- Adding and Removing Databases from the Report
- Remapping Database Fields
- Set Database Location
- Using the Map Fields Dialog Box to Remap Fields
- Adding Tables to a Report Multiple Times
- Changing the Join Type for a Link
- Appendix A - Creating Report Alerts
- What are Report Alerts
- Creating Report Alerts
- Challenge Exercise - Using Report Alerts with Parameter
- Appendix B - Running Reports Efficiently
- Understanding What Crystal Can Pass to the Database and How That Affects Report Performance
- Strategies for Efficient Report Performance
- Interpreting the SQL Query
- Using an SQL Statement to Make a Report More Efficient
- Using the Switch Function to Pass a Conditional Statement to the Database
- Challenge Exercise - Using a Switch Function to Push Conditional Selection to the Database
- Appendix C - Using the Excel and Access Add-Ins
- Understanding the Crystal Reports Add-Ins
- Installing the Microsoft Excel Add-In
- Installing the Microsoft Access Add-In
- Creating a Report in Excel
- Creating a Report in Access
- Appendix D - Custom Functions in the Crystal Repository
- Date Custom Functions
- Finance Custom Funtions
- Format Functions
- Geographic
- Math
- Appendix E - The Xtreme Sample Database 9
- Appendix F - Function and Operator Locations
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