Crystal Reports: Version 10 information

Here is a summarized set of highlights of CR 10. Our cView and other products that work with CR 9.0 also work with CR 10.0.

Crystal Reports developer improvements

• A 100% java based reporting component. This means you can use any java compliant platform to do report delivery. This makes great use of java as a platform independent report delivery mechanism.
• Simplified .NET merge modules
• Closer integration with Crystal Enterprise.
• Improved integration with the Report Application Server .

Report designer improvements

• A format painter (similar to the format painter in Microsoft Office)
• Improved navigation and management of the repository.
• Charts have been improved with the addition of "Funnel Charts." These are useful for sales prospecting reports.
• Data Access has been simplified to use "Business Views." This will remove the need to redefine reports as the underlying data structure changes.
• Automatic file compression seems to be part of CR 10, but there is no documentation for this.
• CR 10 has added back the ability to disable "Smart Linking" ( bug they call a feature). With CR9, the ability to disable this was removed. It's now coded back in, but you have to do a registry tweak to execute the disable! Obviously, this is in the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive. Go to the Software\Crystal Decisions\10.0\Crystal Reports\DatabaseOptions and you'll see where to make the change.

Some issues

In his 20APR2004 CR newsletter, Ken Hamady identified some issues with the CR 10 upgrade. Basically, he was complaining about the loss of the repository when upgrading from 9.0 to 10.0. Before upgrading to 10.0, discuss the implications with your CR sales rep. and get an agreement in writing. Failure to do so could be very costly.

Of course, we are now well past this version of Crystal Reports. Long-time users find it interesting to review articles like this. We generally leave them up once we put them up.

What's also interesting is how many report administrators aren't using the new features. This is a mistake. It's a mistake the typical user makes with Microsoft Word, too. Microsoft polled users on what features they'd like to see in Word, and nearly everything on the wish list was already in the program!

With Crystal Reports, a similar thing happens. Experienced users get set in their ways and don't use new features in an upgrade, while novice users just don't explore and find out what's there.

One reason for this is the sheer lack of time. But you can adjust for that. Just set aside 15 minutes twice a week to look at a feature you haven't used before. If you have Microsoft Outlook, make a couple of recurring appointments for this purpose. If the feature interests you, think of how you might use it. If this means doing a project, then schedule that in.

Sitting still while the world speeds by is generally not a good strategy in the information technology business. So stay on top of what new tools and tricks each new version of Crystal Reports brings to you.

This article is copyrighted by Crystalkeen, Mindconnection, and Chelsea Technologies Ltd. It may be freely copied and distributed as long as the original copyright is displayed and no modifications are made to this material. Extracts are permitted. The names Crystal Reports and Seagate Info are trademarks owned by Business Objects.