Crystal Reports: Display String

Crystal Reports v9.0 has an interesting option for field formatting. You can change the way your report data are displayed in your report by using the “Display String” format property. 

You will find it at the bottom of the “Common” tab under format field.

The display string can be any calculation you like, but it must return a string or text value.

Use it for a weather report to say 
If CurrentFieldValue < 0 then “Freezing” else 
If CurrentFieldValue <10 then “Cold” else 
If CurrentFieldValue <25 then “Pleasant” else “Hot” 

(The above temperatures are in Celsius and refer to Auckland, NZ conditions. Use your own temperature scale and descriptions in your local report) We have an interesting application of this in a crosstab suggestion. 

Use a variables to interrogate data during the processing of the crosstab.

Ken Hamady found an interesting way to calculate additional totals while processing a crosstab. Ken describes in his newsletter how to use the conditional formatting functions of cells to reset and load variables inside a crosstab. Ken describes in detail how to use the cell formatting with variables. Check out his newsletter at  http://www.kenhamady.com

Luqman from Pakistan takes technique a step further to calculate ratios of summaries inside a crosstab. His crosstab has three summary fields, a Quantity total, a Sales total, and the third displays the average selling price.

Luqman uses the Display String conditional formatting to store the Sales total in a formula with 
GLOBAL NUMBERVAR MYVALUE;
MYVALUE:=TONUMBER(CURRENTFIELDVALUE);
TOTEXT(MYVALUE,2)

All this formula does is store the CurrentFieldValue in a global variable MyValue, and then display the summary. The ToText function is needed because the Display String property has to be a string value.

Then in the third summary is the Quantity summary again, but he uses the previously saved variable to calculate the ratio of the Sales/Quantity with 
GLOBAL NUMBERVAR MYVALUE;
IF MYVALUE>0 AND CURRENTFIELDVALUE>0 THEN
totext(MYVALUE/currentfieldvalue)

These two techniques display the real power of the crosstab objects. 

And what about that formatting we mentioned, earlier? Formatting enhances the usability of your Crystal Reports. For even more functionality, you can use third-party programs, such as the ones available here.

Instead, you want to use the formatting to accomplish such goals as:

• Present a clean but compelling appearance.
• Guide the reader's eye to what's important. That means very little highlighting or bolding.
• Separate information or visually group it.
• Make the report consistent with other company literature. For example, use company colors, company logo, and the official font (if there is one).
• Create a different flavor or appearance for each type of report. For example, financial reports have a green border, sales reports have a salmon border, production reports have a blue border, and so on.
• Show what has changed.
• Highlight problem areas.

Avoid common color usage errors

• Don't just add colors gratuitously. Think of them as spices. They need to bring out the flavor of the report, not bury it. And they need to work together. Some spices clash when used together, and so do some colors.
• A common mistake with colors is to use large blocks of colored text on the page. For example, yellow on a black background. You get maximum readability with black text on a white background. You can use colored text to emphasize or to bring out headings (or subheadings). But when used for the main body of the text, it actually detracts from the report.
• Don't use colored page backgrounds. When people try to print these out, the page becomes saturated with ink and paper jams result. With duplex printers, the problem is twice as bad.
• Use contrasting colors. Many people can't see the difference between two closely related light blues, for example. Variations in printing also cause confusion. Then there's the issue of referring to the color. Bob in Accounting is discussing the report. He can easily ask Beverly compare the total that appears in dark blue text to the total that appears in dark brown text. But how can he refer to the total in tan versus the one in light brown?
• Avoid red backgrounds. These irritate the eye.
• Remember, color costs money. Use it where there's a return on that investment (no need to calculate ROI).
• If there's no particular reason to use color, don't use it.

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