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March 2004
 Welcome to our newsletter!
The Repository comes out every six to eight
weeks. It features Crystal tools tips and tricks, news about Crystal
Reports, Crystal Enterprise and Crystal Info. Check our Promotions
sections for education and solutions offerings. This month's highlights:
- Business Objects 2004
Global Announcement - February, 2004 - During Business Objects 'The Future of Business
Intelligence' Crystal Reports, Crystal Enterprise and Crystal Analysis
were declared 'core products'. Visit our News section for this
story.
- CDUGNA 2004, New Orleans,
May 26th - 28th -
Crystal Decisions User Group North America 2004. Come to the Big Easy
for CDUGNA 2004. Spend the week. Pre-Conference Training on Monday &
Tuesday, May 24th & 25th. User Conference Wednesday through Friday,
May 26th - 28th. More information in our News Section.
- Crystal Reports 10: The
Complete Reference - ready this Spring! - What's new in Crystal Reports v10? Read this
month's Promotions.
- Crystal Reports
Professional Results - the ultimate tips & tricks
collection - The
little book that's full of big ideas. Visit our Promotions section and
take a look at the book.
- I Didn't
Know... - our Crystal
knowledge techniques toolbox. Tips and tricks come from George Peck's
Crystal Reports Professional Results and from you, our
subscribers.
Newsletter suggestions? Crystal questions?
email
us - we'd like to hear from you.
... the way to work
around the Crystal Enterprise "No Subreport Within a Subreport"
limitation
As you probably know, you can't place a subreport
within another subreport in Crystal Reports. However, by adding a text
object (or any other object for that matter) with a hyperlink, you can
call another report from a subreport in Crystal Enterprise. By adding one
or more parameter fields to the "called" report, you can link the other
report to the subreport.
Just follow these steps:
- Place the report you want to
hyperlink TO into Crystal Enterprise and view it by itself. You'll need
to do this to get the Crystal Enterprise internal report ID.
- Once you've viewed the report
in the Crystal Enterprise HTML viewer, right click somewhere on the
report (not on a drill-down chart or group, though) and choose
Properties from the pop-up menu. Look at the Address (URL) portion of
the properties window. The very last part of the URL will be a number
following the "id=" text. This number is the internal Crystal Enterprise
report ID.
- Open the report that you want
to hyperlink FROM in Crystal Reports. Click on the object that you want
to hyperlink FROM, right click and choose Format Field.
- Click on the Hyperlink
tab.
- Check the box "a web site on
the Internet".
- Click on the x+2
button.
- Type in the following string
formula, replacing [REPORTID] with the report number you obtained
earlier:
"reportviewer.csp?reportNumber=[REPORTID]&customSF=
(continued...)
%26promptex-ParameterName=" + CStr({table.field},"#")
Note: The report parameter name must be
identical between the two reports. Also, in this example, the parameter
in numeric (hence the "#" sign at the end).
- Preview the report and click
the object you added the hyperlink to (you may need to add the report to
Crystal Enterprise and log on to Crystal Enterprise for this to work
properly).
Note: This technique will work for Crystal Enterprise 8.5 and 9. To
use this technique for CE 10, look at the URL format for a CE 10 report
and replicate it in your hyperlink formula.
Thanks to Michelle Forgette, Wisconsin Public Service, for this
tip.
...about
turning off Smart Linking in Crystal Reports 9 and 10
In the Crystal Reports Database Expert,
you'll find that tables are automatically linked when you first add them
to your report. You'll find that this automatic linking often results in
incorrect link lines being drawn. You then are forced to delete the
incorrect links and draw in the correct ones. While Crystal Reports 8.5
and earlier allowed you to turn this auto linking option off with a dialog
box choice, you must use the Windows registry in later versions. For
example, with Crystal Reports 10, you'll need to modify the registry key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Crystal Decisions/10.0/Crystal Reports/Database
Options/DoAutoSmartLinking to make this change. Make sure you fully
understand how to modify Windows registry settings before attempting this
change.
...how to show
Selection Criteria on a Report
When displaying a report on the screen, web page or printed on
paper, it's a good idea to annotate the report with the record selection
that's being used. This informs the report viewer of the limited set of
data that appears on the report. By using a Crystal Reports Special Field
- Record Selection Formula special field - you can display the contents of
the Crystal Reports record selection formula on the report (perhaps in the
header or footer). The Record Selection Formula special field will change
automatically whenever you make a change to the Select Expert.
- Open or create the report
that you wish to add the Record Selection special field to.
- Display the Field Explorer.
- Open the Special Fields
category by clicking the plus sign next to it.
- Scroll through the Special
Fields category until you find the Record Selection Formula special
field. Drag and drop it to the desired place on the report.
- If necessary, resize the
field to show its entire contents. If it can potentially become fairly
large, use the Can Grow formatting option on the Common tab of the
Format Editor to allow it to grow vertically as much as necessary.
Tips and
tricks came to The Repository from Crystal
Reports Professional Results and you, our readers. You can win a
copy of Crystal Reports Professional Results or Crystal Reports:
The Complete Reference and see YOUR name here. How? Just submit your
favorite Crystal tip, trick or technique. If it's selected we'll include
it and your name in the next release of The Repository and we'll send you
a copy of either Crystal Reports Professional Results or Crystal
Reports: The Complete Reference.
Crystal Reports, Crystal
Enterprise, Crystal Analysis declared 'core products' during Business
Objects 'The Future of Business Intelligence'
Business Objects announces to
the world. Business
Objects packed up their show and took it on the road to announce that
Crystal Reports, Crystal Enterprise and Crystal Analysis were not only
being continued but will be thrust to the forefront of Business Objects
reporting tools.
- Report Authoring - Crystal
Reports
- Analysis - Crystal
Analysis
- Information Infrastructure -
Crystal Enterprise and Business Views.
Business Objects conducted their sessions across the
US this February and March. The events featured discussions given by
Business Objects marketing teams and a video presentation from Bernard
Liautaud, CEO & Chairman. Presentations concentrated on product
integration and roadmap, timelines and pricing packaging. Related
documents are available on the Business Objects web site or just click the
link at the end of this article.
Our President, George Peck, concedes that his prediction in an earlier
newsletter about the future of Crystal Analysis may have been misplaced.
However, we're still wondering if OLAP analysis might not largely be a
"solution looking for a problem." Comments from our readers? email
us.
View
the documents.
CDUGNA 2004, New Orleans, May 26th -
28th
Come on down to the Big Easy
for training and the conference. Crystal Decisions User Group of North America, CDUGNA takes place this year in the
Crescent City, at the Sheraton New Orleans. Earmark the entire week.
Monday and Tuesday are pre-conference training days. Wednesday through
Friday are the user conference featuring keynote speakers, breakout and
general sessions, vendor fair and networking with Crystal users. A wise
investment of time and money? You bet! Come join us in New Orleans at
CDUGNA 2004!
Learn more.
George Peck featured at RMOUG
Training Days 2004
George Peck presented
Crystal Reports on the Web during Rocky Mountain Oracle Users Group
Training Days Crystal
Reports on the Web was the hot ticket to experience three industry
pros in action: George Peck, Crystal Reports and Crystal Enterprise. After
the session, visitors to The Ablaze Group booth enjoyed one-on-one time
with George, CR and CE. RMOUG is the largest Oracle user group in the US.
Over 800 Oracle users enjoyed RMOUG Training Days 2004 at the Denver
Convention Center. Training Days were Wednesday, February 12th, and
Thursday, February 13th. Mornings featured keynote speakers and breakfast
before digging in to the training sessions. Over 20 vendors exhibited this
year. Live and/or work in the West? Make plans now to attend RMOUG 2005!
Learn
more. 
Our
Books
Crystal Reports 10: The
Complete Reference in stores Spring 2004. Crystal Reports 10: The Complete Reference
will be published Spring 2004. Highlighting new Crystal Version 10
coverage, George Peck's 6th book includes:
- New Crystal Enterprise 10
features
- Business Views
- Java Reporting
Component
- Expanded .NET
materials
- Complete coverage of new
Crystal Reports 10 features.
Call or email
for details.
Crystal Reports
Professional Results the ultimate Tips & Tricks collection.
Open this little book to get
BIG results from Crystal Reports. It's a wealth of techniques from the
simple to the sophisticated. Call or email
for details.
Take a look at the book. Ablaze Group Consulting &
Support
Making the move to Crystal
Enterprise? Call on The
Ablaze Group and our Crystal Enterprise experts for a smooth migration
from Crystal Info to Crystal Enterprise. Using Crystal Enterprise for the
first time? No worries there either. Our CE experts will get you up and
running, conduct training and come back for fine-tuning. Telephone and
email support are available, too. Are you unsure of what you really need?
Count on us to advise and guide you in the acquisition of this powerful
tool. Interested in custom CE demos? Call or email
for details.
Ablaze Group Support - Buy It
By The Block! We're
offering blocks of Ablaze Group Support. Enjoy blocks of our technical
support, report design and/or modification, workshops, contact via our
(800) number or email. Buy blocks of support for special projects, to
strengthen your team or as an additional knowledge resource. Call or email
for details. Ablaze
Group Education
Onsite? Webinars? Custom
courses? Workshops? It's your choice!
The Ablaze Group offers Crystal Reports, Crystal
Enterprise and Crystal Info courses. Courseware can be customized to your
organization's needs.
- Pick & Choose - build
your own courseware
- Introductory
- Intermediate
- Header to Footer - Crystal
Reports Fine Points
Call or email us for
details.
"Crystal Reports: The
Complete Reference" attends class!
Our courseware
includes "Crystal Reports: The Complete Reference". Use it during class -
rely on it at work. This is an Ablaze Group exclusive. Call us at (800)
773 3472 for details.
Learn
more.
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