Crystal Reports Administration: Images in Report

cViewIMAGE allows you to dynamically include images in your report. Why would you want to do this? There are many scenarios under which this is highly advisable. Look through the list below, and see if this gets you thinking.

In all of these scenarios, we are assuming you are using Crystal Reports to achieve the primary function. For example, you generate newsletters, invoices, and reports via Crystal Reports. And, we are assuming that you save key image files in a database.

• The VP of the Widget Division concludes from his staff's extensive research that customers want the product catalog to display a picture of each item. Note: An early user of cViewIMAGE had thousands of kitchen objects each with its own picture.
   
• To help build customer relationships, the Sales Director has asked that the company logos of client firms be shown on the outgoing invoices.
   
• An international sales report could include the flag of each country, or a photo of the office or local sales manager in report header.
   
• A database used by an accounting system serves multiple companies. Each company logo can be displayed dynamically on the invoice.
   
• A problem with bulk check printing is getting a the right signatures on so many pieces of paper. Due to security concerns, the signature stamp has been removed and destroyed. Use cViewIMAGE to display a signature on each page.
   
• HR wants to run an Employee of the Month feature in your company newsletter.
   
• HR wants a report that generates name badges for staff, including each person's photo. The head of security likes the idea, and seconds the request.
   
• Your QA department wants to include photos of quality problems in quality assurance reports, which you generate via CR.
   
• Your Safety Director wants photos to illustrate safety violations.
   
• Your Sales Training Director wants customer contact names and photos to be available to new sales people.
   
• You want customers to see the product of the month, not just read about it.
   
• Your Customer Service Manager wants all the techs to see "before" and "after" photos in a monthly Tech Tips report.
   
• A local user has a report with ex-rental equipment for sale. This PDF is generated from a Crystal Report (the whole pdf is a report) and the pictures use cViewIMAGE from a folder of product images.
• At a recent hospital staff meeting, someone suggested generating a report that shows the patient's photo along with the name, and placing this with the patient's chart.
   
• Your head of security wants to photograph all site visitors, store the photos in a database, and be able to generate a report with visit information and the person's photo.
   
• Sales of Product X have dropped dramatically. The problem is the competition's Product Y is displacing it on the market due to lower price. An analysis shows your sales force isn't adequately addressing the value proposition. Product X is superior to Product Y, and this is obvious when you look at them side by side. Your sales people need a quick way to provide this comparison, because the specs shown in your standard sales literature just don't make that very clear.