Crystal Reports 10 Power User Workshop

Course Outline

Duration: 2 Days

Prerequisites: Successful Completion of either the Quick Start Workshop or the Pre-qualification exercise is strongly recommended.

Description: This two- to three-day workshop is designed to enhance your basic report writing skills and move you into creating more complex reports. Time will be spent walking you through the tips and tricks of advanced report writing along with a good amount of hands on practice. In addition, you will cover the Crystal Reports 10 Architecture, Custom Functions, Professional Design, Report Efficiency and Advanced Formulas. This course incorporates a number of hands on exercises that reinforce the learning process.

Course Outline

Power Formatting and Formulas

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

· Challenge 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 Power Tools to Create Advanced Reports

Using Sub reporting as a Workaround Solution

· Understanding Sub reports

· Unlinked versus Linked Subreports

· Creating an Unlinked Sub report

· 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

· 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 Columns

· 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

Report Alerts

· What are Report Alerts

· Creating Report Alerts

· Challenge Exercise - Using Report Alerts with Parameter

Report Templates

· What is a Report template

· Standard Report Creation Wizard and Templates

· The Template Expert

· Applying a Template and the consequences

· Template Considerations

· Creating Your Own Templates

· Inserting Template Fields

· Formatting Template Fields

· Giving Template Fields a Value

Custom Functions

· Understanding Custom Functions

· Using a Custom Function

· Custom Function Arguments

· 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

For After the Class

APPENDIX A - 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 B - 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 C - The Xtreme Sample Database

• A relational diagram of tables existing the Xtreme Sample Database provided on the Crystal Reports Installation CD

APPENDIX D - Function and Operator Locations

• A complete listing of all the available Formula Functions and an explanation of the new Custom Functions

APPENDIX E - Glossary

• A complete glossary of terms used throughout the book