Crystal Reports: Pick List Tips

2005

Do you think maybe people waste a lot of time rebuilding, updating, or maintaining pick lists? And what about users, who get one set of selections one time and another set another time?

Or, what about inconsistencies? For example, let's consider a hypothetical auto parts dealer. There are two separate reports--one for inventory problems and one for parts sold.

Each has its own pick list.

Pick List #1 refers to Part # 6109 as Brake Pedal Cover. But Pick List #2 refers to Part #6109 as Rubber Cover. This scenario would come about if a report designer types in manual additions to the list, rather than choosing the values from a database table and field.

If you're going to wing it by typing in pick list values, then you should create a master pick list first and select from there so at least various lists are consistent. Store and maintain this list along with your other central resources for designing reports.

It's inefficient and potentially dangerous to work with Pick Lists and not have our cViewPICK utility. Get your copy, today.

2004

If you have the same parameter in several reports, the pick list of default values is frozen at design time. This means that the newer report may have a more current list of parameter values. You can open each report and rebuild the pick list manually. It may be easier to export the pick list from one report and import it into the other reports.

If you want to automate this, use our cViewPICK utility, which can update your folder of reports with more current values. This Crystal Reports utility allows you to rebuild the default pick list values in a folder of reports. It also allows you to manage pick lists.

• 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.

• Automate the update using the windows scheduler or one of our report schedulers.

cViewPICK is available in two versions (8.0 and 9.0). These use different Crystal Reports run time libraries.

• cViewPICK 9.0: If you are using CR9.0 or later, you will need version 9.0 of cViewPICK to open the reports, and to save them. If you are using a prior version of Crystal Reports, you will need Crystal Reports 9.0 to edit the reports you've repaired under cViewPICK.

• cViewPICK 8.0: cViewPICK version 8.0 can save reports as Crystal Reports version 8.0 or 7.0.

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