Sams teach yourself Crystal Reports 9

Sams Teach Yourself Crystal Reports® 9 in 24 Hours......Page 2
Copyright © 2003 by Sams Publishing......Page 3
Contents at a Glance......Page 4
Contents......Page 6
Foreword......Page 17
About the Lead Author......Page 19
We Want to Hear from You!......Page 24
Introduction......Page 26
What’s in This Book?......Page 27
PART I Introduction to Crystal Reports 9.0......Page 36
HOUR 1 The Value of Crystal Reports 9......Page 38
Transforming Data into Information with Crystal Reports......Page 40
Key Benefits of Crystal Reports......Page 44
Crystal Reports as a Content Creation Application......Page 47
New Features in Crystal Reports 9......Page 48
Summary......Page 52
Workshop......Page 53
HOUR 2 Getting Started with Crystal Reports 9......Page 54
Preparing for the Installation......Page 55
Installation and Configuration of Crystal Reports......Page 59
Introduction to the Crystal Reports Designer......Page 66
Workshop......Page 72
Understanding the Different Types of Data Sources......Page 74
Introduction to the Data Explorer......Page 77
Adding Database Objects to Your Report......Page 80
Joining Database Objects Together......Page 84
Summary......Page 87
Workshop......Page 88
HOUR 4 Using the Default Report Wizards......Page 90
Understanding the Crystal Reports Gallery......Page 91
Using the Standard Report Creation Wizard......Page 92
Working with the Report Design Explorers......Page 103
Summary......Page 107
Workshop......Page 108
PART II Fundamentals of the Crystal Reports Design Environment......Page 110
HOUR 5 Creating and Designing Basic Reports......Page 112
Planning a Report......Page 113
Creating a Report Storyboard......Page 117
Designing a Crystal Report......Page 119
Creating a Report......Page 120
Summary......Page 129
Workshop......Page 130
HOUR 6 Selecting and Grouping Data......Page 132
Understanding Field Objects......Page 133
Working with Groups......Page 143
Understanding Drill-down Reports......Page 150
Workshop......Page 154
HOUR 7 Filtering, Sorting, and Summarizing Data......Page 156
Filtering the Data in Your Report......Page 157
Learning to Sort Records......Page 162
Creating Effective Summaries......Page 164
Workshop......Page 169
PART III Formatting Reports......Page 172
HOUR 8 Fundamentals of Report Formatting......Page 174
Positioning and Sizing Report Objects......Page 175
Modifying Object Properties for Formatting Purposes......Page 180
Combining and Layering Report Objects......Page 185
Configuring Report Page and Margin Properties......Page 189
Summary......Page 190
Workshop......Page 191
HOUR 9 Working with Report Sections......Page 194
Formatting Report Sections......Page 195
Modifying Report Section Properties......Page 199
Using Multiple Report Sections......Page 204
Workshop......Page 212
HOUR 10 Understanding and Implementing Formulas......Page 214
Using the Formula Workshop......Page 215
Workshop Formula Editor......Page 219
Formula Expert......Page 238
Formula Extractor......Page 239
Q&A......Page 241
Workshop......Page 242
HOUR 11 Visualizing Your Data with Charts and Maps......Page 244
Using the Chart Expert......Page 245
Using the Map Expert......Page 256
Modifying Chart and Map Properties......Page 264
Q&A......Page 266
Workshop......Page 267
HOUR 12 Implementing Parameters for Dynamic Reporting......Page 268
Understanding the Value of Parameters......Page 269
Creating and Implementing Parameters Fields......Page 270
Using Parameters with Record Selections......Page 279
Workshop......Page 282
PART IV Enhancing Crystal Reports......Page 284
Making Presentation-Quality Reports......Page 286
Common Formatting Features......Page 287
Conditional Formatting—Using Data to Drive the Look of a Report......Page 294
Workshop......Page 295
What Is a Cross-Tab?......Page 298
Benefits of Using Cross-Tabs......Page 299
Using the Cross-Tab Wizard......Page 301
Using Top N with Cross-Tabs Reports......Page 304
Using Advanced Cross-Tab Features......Page 305
Summary......Page 312
Workshop......Page 313
HOUR 15 Using Record Selections and Alerts for Interactive Reporting......Page 314
Creating Advanced Record Selection Formulas......Page 315
Adding Alerting to Your Reports......Page 322
Workshop......Page 325
HOUR 16 Using Subreports......Page 328
Understanding Subreports......Page 329
Understanding Linked Versus Unlinked Subreports......Page 333
Considering Subreport Execution Time and Performance......Page 336
Using Variables to Pass Data Between Reports......Page 338
Q&A......Page 342
Workshop......Page 343
HOUR 17 Using Formulas and Custom Functions to Implement Complex Business Logic......Page 344
Choosing a Formula Language: Crystal Versus Basic Syntax......Page 345
Brackets Have Meaning......Page 346
New in Crystal Reports Version 9......Page 347
Summary......Page 356
Workshop......Page 357
HOUR 18 Working with the Report Component Repository......Page 358
Understanding the Repository......Page 359
Sharing of Report Objects......Page 360
Understanding the Repository Explorer......Page 361
Adding Objects to the Repository......Page 362
Editing Repository Objects......Page 364
Workshop......Page 368
HOUR 19 Designing Effective Report Templates......Page 370
Understanding Report Templates......Page 371
Using Existing Crystal Reports as Templates......Page 372
Creating Useful Report Templates......Page 376
Using Template Field Objects......Page 379
Using Report Templates to Reduce Report Creation Effort......Page 385
Summary......Page 386
Workshop......Page 387
PART V Advanced Report Design Concepts......Page 388
HOUR 20 Multidimensional Reporting Against OLAP Data......Page 390
Introduction to OLAP Concepts and OLAP Reporting......Page 391
New OLAP Features in Crystal Reports 9......Page 392
OLAP Report Creation Wizard and OLAP Expert......Page 394
Advanced OLAP Reporting......Page 407
Introduction to Crystal Analysis......Page 411
Summary......Page 412
Workshop......Page 413
HOUR 21 Additional Data Sources for Crystal Reports......Page 416
COM-based Data Sources......Page 417
Java-based Data Sources......Page 421
XML as a Data Source......Page 423
Workshop......Page 424
Review of SQL Commands......Page 426
An Introduction to the SQL Language......Page 427
Workshop......Page 434
PART VI Sharing and Distributing Crystal Reports......Page 436
HOUR 23 Distributing Crystal Reports......Page 438
Reviewing Report Distribution Options......Page 439
Q&A......Page 454
Workshop......Page 455
HOUR 24 Crystal Reports in Applications—a Developer’s Perspective......Page 456
Desktop Applications......Page 457
Creating Simple Web Applications......Page 462
Building Advanced Web Applications......Page 468
Workshop......Page 470
PART VII Supplemental Crystal Reports Technologies......Page 472
APPENDIXA Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET......Page 474
Overview of Microsoft .NET and Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET......Page 475
Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET Feature Set......Page 477
Feature Set Comparison—Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET and Crystal Reports 9......Page 478
Creating Reports in Visual Studio .NET......Page 482
Additional Resources on Crystal Reports for Visual Studio for .NET......Page 486
APPENDIX B Common Crystal Reports FAQs and Tips......Page 488
Report Design FAQs and Resources......Page 489
Common Report Distribution Questions......Page 490
Resources for Additional Support......Page 494
INDEX......Page 498