Crystal Reports: Tabbed View in Crystal Reports Explorer

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Crystal Reports: Tabbed View in Explorer

There are now four explorers you can use inside the Crystal Reports Designer. The Field Explorer is frequently used, but the Report Explorer, Workbench, and Repository Explorer all have their uses.

They can be anchored to the left or right of your workspace, and in Crystal Reports XI and 2008 you can pin them in place or get them to scroll out of the way. Click the Drawing Pin to select that feature.

You can also control the positioning of the explorers.

By carefully dragging each explorer window you can get the tabbed view of the explorers at right.

Click to enlarge

Or by dragging them into a different position you can get the vertical placement you see here on the right.

Which is better? That depends on which ones you use often.

Crystal Reports Server or Business Objects Enterprise users will make frequent use of the Repository Explorer, unlike those of us who don’t have such a server on our network.

So keep that close at hand, maybe with a vertical position all of its own.

The Field Explorer and the Report Explorer are needed at different times, so a tabbed view might be a more useful arrangement.

And of course you can always close it to remove it completely from your screen then use the toolbar to retrieve it when you need it.

Click to enlarge

Why these changes to the interface?

It's part of keeping Crystal Reports consistent with other programs, and most notably those produced by Microsoft. We've gone from simple dropdown menus to ribbons and tabs. The idea is to make more of an object-oriented environment.

This is going to be more pronounced, in the future. In 2011, several things happened to push the UI into a newer look. For example:

Mobile really took off. Mobile UIs are stripped down, and more users are becoming accustomed to that kind of interface.
Windows 7, bad as it was, gained installed base. This was primarily because users didn't realistically have a choice. This moved many users from the XP interface to a more confusing, less-informative graphics-based interface. Expect more of this in the future.
The preview of Windows 8 became available. Its UI seeks to emulate the Apple drag and slide way of interacting with the computer. This doesn't help someone who wants to do anything text-intensive. But that's the way things are headed.

Will Business Objects lean toward the entertainment mode or the business mode as its developers consider UI changes in upcoming versions of Crystal Reports? Considering their track record, they will likely put the business user first. They'll make changes only when such changes can actually help someone get work done easier than if the changes aren't made. That's the prediction, anyhow.

And you can influence that outcome. Join a local User Group (Business Objects actually helps coordinate these, so visit their Website for info). BO gives input from User Group members very serious attention. You can also send BO your product feedback.

Generally, interface changes have been good. But there is a point where paths diverge. Consider, for example, what Microsoft did with those folder icons in Windows Explorer. Not only are these useless, this view is the default. These icons give you no information about the file. So to see what you're doing, you have to change the defaults in multiple places.

The thinking (such as it was) behind this "enhancement" was that new users don't "get" the idea that a computer filing system is analogous to a paper one and labels and organization are important. Microsoft decided to "simplify" the system, and existing users would figure out how to fix the resultant mess.

You can prevent similar annoyance with Crystal Reports, simply by providing your feedback to Business Objects. Just be clear and concise when you do.

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.