Crystal Reports: Long parameter pick list

Keep your parameter pick list current with this free utility. When you create a parameter in a report it’s great to help your user select from a list of valid values. But what happens when your database has some new values and you want to use the latest values? The other limitation with the Report Designer is that it does a browse of only 500 values. You might want a longer list and it would be unpleasant to enter it manually.

There is a free utility called PLG (available from infotrain) which can create a pick list (text file) which you can then import into your report designer.

It needs an ODBC DSN to prepare the list, so doesn’t work with DBF and MDB files via native database drivers. This could be a useful addition to your collection of tools.

Full instructions and more comments are available at http://www.hammerman.com/techtips90.html

Another tool for working with pick lists is cViewPICK, which allows you to rebuild a corrupted pick list and/or restore lost pick list information.

It's easy to use:

• Select a folder of Crystal Reports.
• Examine all the reports in that folder and identify all the parameters used.
• Select a parameter and identify the source of data for that pick list.
• Update parameter pick lists to include the latest values in all the reports in the folder where it is used.

With cViewPICK, you avoid the pain of creating pick lists all over again. And you eliminate the need to spend time writing and debugging a UFL for sending mail.

Speaking of parameters, here's some useful information for you.

Sometimes, you use a parameter in a report then decide you don’t want it after all. After carefully removing the parameter from everywhere you can find it in the report, you discover that it is still being used somewhere.

Apart from checking every field and every conditional format, here is an easier way to find where it is being used. Use the field explorer and edit the parameter – change it to a different data type (string, date, number, etc.).

Then refresh your report. Because your parameter has changed data type, any formula using it will very likely now be invalid. So just amend or delete each error as it appears.

Thanks to Bob Holmes of Massachusetts for this suggestion. His suggestion was originally published on the microsoft.public.vb.crystal newsgroup, where Bob is frequent contributor.

A second method: Use File/Print/Export and select Report Definition as the format, and save as a disk file. The option creates report documentation. Search the text file for the parameter and see where it has been used.

A third method: Use Report Analyzer. This is a tool you should have, anyhow, as it will show you all kinds of things about your reports. Report Analyzer automatically detects potential performance issues in your Crystal Report design settings--including record selection formulas, grouping options, and database options. Using Report Analyzer, you can end the frustration, the "surprise" overtime, and the fruitless troubleshooting. In addition to saving time in your work, you can improve infrastructure utilization by ferreting out waste and optimizing resources.

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.