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March 2009

Welcome to our newsletter!
The Repository comes out every 6 - 10 weeks. You'll find Business Objects tools tips and tricks, news about Crystal Reports, Crystal Reports Server, Xcelsius and BusinessObjects Edge/Enterprise. Check our Promotions section for upgrades, implementations and training. This month's highlights:

I Didn't Know... - your Business Objects, and Crystal knowledge resource. Look for tips and tricks from Crystal Reports Professional Results.
Announcing the winner of the iPod Touch! - During Q4 2008 we hosted three 30-minute webinars. As an incentive to attend we announced a drawing to give away an iPod Touch. Everyone who attended had a chance to win. One name was randomly drawn. Want to know who? Check out our News section.
User Groups - your technical lifeline. - Looking to learn? Need to network? Seeking socializing? Want to talk and hear "tech"? You need a user group - and they need YOU! See our News section to find, and to tell us about national and local organizations.
Save your job - be indispensable. - "Individuals who are savvy... update their skills so that they will be indispensable...." - Tahira Probst, industrial organizational psychology at Washington State University. Find out how in our Promotions section.

Questions? Suggestions? email us - we look forward to hearing from you.
Visit our newsletter archive for past issues.

...how to avoid divide by zero errors. Sometimes you'll encounter runtime formula errors after the report starts running - not when you initially check the formula with the check button. One of the most common runtime formula errors is when a division formula encounters a zero in the database field or formula formula being used as the divisor. Solving this problem is as simple as adding a test for a zero divisor with an If-Then-Else statement:

Edit the formula that will potentially cause the division by zero error (the Formula Editor may already be displaying the formula if a divide by zero runtime formula error has occurred.

Add the test with an If-Then-Else statement. The If portion should test the divisor for a zero value. The Then portion should simply return a zero. The Else portion should perform the division. For example:

If{Orders.Quantity} = 0 Then
0
Else
{Orders.Total Price} / {Orders.Quantity}

NOTE: Eliminating records that contain a zero value in the divisor with record selection may still result in divide by zero errors. This is because formula evaluation may happen before record selection eliminates records. To avoid this situation, place the specific If-Then-Else test in the formula itself, as outlined previously.

Tips and tricks are brought to you by 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 email 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.

email your favorite Business Objects, or Crystal tip, trick or technique.

And the winner of the 2008 Q4 30-Minute Webinar series iPod Touch random drawing is Nichole McCrary of Memphis, TN. She's currently working on an SAP project for the Global Supply Chain division at a Fortune 500 company.
During Q4 of 2008 George Peck hosted three 30-minute webinars: Crystal Reports Server 2008, BusinessObjects Edge, and Xcelsius 2008. Everyone who attended came away with free, valuable knowledge about these cutting-edge tools. Look for more 30-minute webinars in 2009.
What products do you want to learn about? email us today.

User Groups - your professional and social lifeline.
Looking for a morning or an afternoon away from work, but you're afraid to ask the boss? Try this.

You: Hi (Boss Name Here), the local Crystal BusinessObjects user group meets this month. At AnyCorp. Couple consultants, trainers, product demo, prizes, food. Meets once a quarter, 3 - 4 hours.

Boss: (phone on shoulder, reading email) What's it cost? You busy that day?

You: Not much - TPS reports and covers, ready for QA. It's all free, meeting, lunch, parking.

Boss: (phone still on shoulder, replying to email) OK, uh huh. Free? Send a meeting invitation. Great, yeah. Anything else? OK - yeah, great!

Seriously, user groups, local, national, and global, are valuable resources. Free lunch? Yes. OOO PTO? Right.
Learn: consultant case studies, trainer 'how to' sessions, vendor product demos.
Network: trade work war-stories, fill open positions, meet local professionals, talk about the latest hot fix, find out who you can help and who can help you.
Socialize: meet your peers, make new contacts.

Check out what's happening
Globally
Global BusinessObjects Network
Locally
The Bay Area
Dallas/Fort Worth
DC
Denver
Portland, OR.
email us about your favorite user group.

Save your job - be indispensable.
"Individuals who are savvy about the current economic climate...are going to constantly seek out those new training opportunities...to update their skills so that they will be more indispensable to the organization, and that's not something that just happens by itself...you have to constantly be making the case for why you and why your position is critical for the success of the organization." - Tahira Probst, Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Washington State University, Vancouver, WA, was heard on National Public Radio Weekend Edition, Sunday, February 8, 2009.

How do you become indispensable?
Be open to new technology - learn it, use it, recommend it to key decision-makers.
Establish yourself as your organization's technical "go to" person.
Educate yourself about top training providers - people will respect your opinion and the resulting success.

Explore the options:
Workshops
Mentoring - "learn as you go" packages
Group Training - Onsite and Online
Ablaze Group Monthly Online Learning
(12 months - under $150/month, pricing guaranteed through April 2009)

Ablaze Group Monthly Online Learning 2009
2009 Q1 Topics:

January - Crystal Reports/Enterprise Repository archived

February - Ask Anything! archived

March - Dashboard Builder Overview

April - Creating Custom Functions

May - Advanced Functions/Arrays and Loops

June - Enterprise Family Scheduling Fine Points

Test-drive a demo session and check out the companion learning materials today. Call 800 773 3472 for details and to enroll.

Training - Onsite and Online
Look at our course outlines.

Consulting/Support - Buy It By the Block!
Onsite and Remote consulting packages.

Call 800 773 3472 or email for training and consulting information.