Crystal Reports: Text Interpretation in Crystal Reports

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Crystal Reports: Text Interpretation

Use Text Interpretation on those HTML and RTF fields.

This feature has been around for a few versions now. If you have a memo field in your database, you can store HTML or Rich Text formatted characters in that field. This means that your Crystal Report can display the field fully formatted in the way it is held in your database.

Select the field, Right Click and Format Field. On the Paragraph Tag you can select the Text Interpretation of that field. This is available in Crystal Reports versions 7 and later.

For even more flexibility, you can use our cViewTEXT utility to retrieve the data from an external file. Simply calculate a file name in a formula, link the formula from your main report and the contents of the text file will appear in your report.

This avoids two main problems with storing the text in a database field:

The storage requirements in the database are a lot lower
It is easier to maintain the formatted file with an external editor rather than inside your database application.

Any report that requires large areas of custom formatted text on the page is a good candidate for including cViewTEXT as part of your reporting solution. cViewTEXT can even retrieve multiple files from a folder using a filename wild card. So just create specific folders for each record, and all the documents relating to that record can be displayed, formatted as originally required on the page.

cViewTEXT works with Crystal Reports 8.5 or later. Read more about it, and Download the trail version, today.

Try the free trial of this text file lookup function.

With this ULF, you can search texts and return individual lines or columns. Our Text Lookup User Function Library is a set of seven functions that enable you to search through a text file and extract lines and columns to display in your report. It allows you to search text documents and return individual lines or columns. Free 30-day trial.

The Text Lookup User Function Library is a set of seven functions enables you to search through a text file and extract lines and columns to display in your report. It allows you to search text documents and return individual lines or columns.

For example, you may not have a database table with descriptions of your codes. By creating a text file with those codes and descriptions, this UFL will read the text file like a table. This avoids your needing to have repeated if..then ..else in multiple formulas.

This UFL supports multiple text files.

This User Function Library installs seven new functions in the Additional Functions list inside Crystal Reports.

TextLookupLine( FileName, Search). Open and search FileName for the Search text. The function returns the entire line where the search was found. If the Search is not in the file, an empty string is returned.

TextLookupColumn( FileName, Search, Col). Open and search FileName. This function assumes that the file is a series of values on a line with a tab or comma to separate the values into columns. The Search is made on the first column (which is regarded as column 0). The values are viewed as additional columns. If a column number of less than 0 or beyond the end of the line is requested a blank value is returned. If the search is not found a blank value is returned.

TextLookupColumnCount( FileName, Row). Open and search FileName for a specific row (or line). Count the columns in that line and return the number of columns. The values on the line can be tab or comma delimited.

TextLookupColumnSeperator( FileName). Open and search FileName. Examine the columns in that line and whether it is tab or comma delimited. The function will return Commas or Tabs and is intended for diagnostic use.

TextLookupLineNumber( FileName, LineNo). Open and search FileName and return a specific line number from the file. If the line number is beyond the end of the file, a blank is returned.

TextLookupCount( FileName). Open and search FileName and return the number of lines in the file.

TextLookupConfirm( FileName). Look for FileName and identify if the file is found or not. This is intended for diagnostic purposes.

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.