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Crystal Reports: Displaying a Range Parameter

One of the improvements in Crystal Reports v7 was that a parameter could be a range or be multiple values. But whereas it was easy to display a single value parameter in a report heading, the Crystal Report doesn’t display anything if the parameter is a range value.

You can display the range values of the parameter by using a formula as follows (for a date range parameter):

Totext(Minimum ({?ReportDate}),"dd-MMM-yyyy") +

" to " +

Totext(Maximum ({?ReportDate}),"dd-MMM-yyyy")

Numeric or string parameters can be handled in a similar way.

Also note that the formula automatically displays the heading in ascending sequence. Thanks to Steve Dowse of Seagate Software in Sydney for reminding us about this.

Here's a 2004 update. The original article (above) first appeared in February 2000. Now we can set a "No Upper Bound" or "No Lower Bound" on a parameter,

The formula for your date heading now looks like

if HasLowerBound ({?Date Range}) and HasUpperBound ({?Date Range}) then

"Date Range:" + ToText(Minimum({?Date Range}),"dd-MMM-yyyy") + " to " +

ToText(Maximum({?Date Range}),"dd-MMM-yyyy")

Else if HasLowerBound ({?Date Range}) then

"Date Range: After " + ToText(Minimum({?Date Range}),"dd-MMM-yyyy")

else "Date Range: Before " + ToText(Maximum({?Date Range}),"dd-MMM-yyyy")

This uses the new functions "HasLowerBound" and "HasUpperBound". They are available only in Crystal Reports version 9 and 10. You find them in the function list under "Ranges."

Another option which may work for you is to forego numbers altogether and use graphs instead. Since the purpose of a Crystal Report is to provide business intelligence rather than raw data, this is usually the better way to go.

We have a tool that can help you make extremely useful charts. It's called CR Chart.

Pricing
Screenshots

With this outstanding product, you can:

Set chart properties at runtime
Create boxplots, Pareto Charts, error bars, and waterfall charts
Use pivot functions--swap series/group, data reversal, and so on.
Use conditional logic
Create wow factor with drop shadow and alpha channel transparency effects.

Have superior control over:

Axis labels: skipping, decimal precision, scale range, etc...
Color of markers and risers.

Take advantage of user-programmable:

Lines on any axis (or free floating)
Markers/labels at any point on the chart
Label names and user-defined datasets.

And, of course, you can use this along with some good formatting to achieve stunning look. Thoughtful formatting enhances the usability of your Crystal Reports. For even more functionality, you can use third-party programs, such as the ones available here.

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.