Crystal Tools > Analysis > Report Analyzer

Works with Crystal Reports versions 6 and higher.

The few minutes you invest to learn about Report Analyzer here could make a huge difference in the value of your company's reporting system.

• Simplify and optimize. Use the complexity matrix to remove unnecessary complexity. Remember, as complexity goes up, reliability and performance usually go down.

• Identify, analyze, and record the attributes of design objects. Over 700 kinds of them! Report Analyzer will provide you with detailed information, so that you aren't operating in the dark. Know what you need to know about report databases, SQL codes, fields, formulas, and various design elements. How many times have you pulled an all-nighter trying to do the same thing manually? Get it right and do it fast, with Report Analyzer.
   
• Perform cross-referencing of Objects, Fields, and Formulas. Let Report Analyzer's comprehensive cross-referencing show you where and how all objects, tables, fields, parameters, and formulas are used throughout your entire report. You can examine this information by using any of the cross- reference reports, or by using the XRef feature.
   
• Perform detailed formula analysis. Wouldn't it be great if someone came up with a way for you to have formula flow diagrams that show how your formulas call or reference each other? Well, guess what? Report Analyzer provides that functionality! Report Analyzer's comprehensive formula analysis will document formula code, functions, fields/parameters referenced, and section formulas. Formula flow diagrams will show you exactly how formulas call or reference each other.
   
• Generate user-friendly error analysis. Report Analyzer examines your report code for errors. So far, so good, right? What will blow you away is how you can see these errors. In the Formula window, they'll be underlined in red! Not only that, they'll have design suggestions.
   
• Detect and correct. Detect potential design errors and common report setting mistakes, including unused objects, invalid database server settings, invalid printing settings, use of heavy weight objects such as OLE objects and Sub Reports, using special fields such as TotalPageCount (requiring extra passes over data) and many others.
   
• Do a cleanup. Let Report Analyzer identify unused formulas, inappropriate use of formulas for grouping/sorting and record selection, and data type conversions in record selection. You'll get complete function cross referencing, call tree diagrams, and have the ability to produce professionally-formatted printouts of all code.
   
• Find things. You can search any report object or settings across all reports including text, formulas, tables, fields, parameters, running totals, and subreports.
   
• Export. Report Analyzer allows you to export report layouts and specifications to Word, Excel, HTML, XML, PDF and Ascii formats. You can export drawing files in the jpg or bmp format. You can export entire Worbenches or folders as HTML documentation to share over the network or intranet.

• Suggestions to improve your report performance.
• Powerful viewing and reporting of documentation.
• An included library of standard documentation reports written in Crystal Report format
• Documentation Explorer, which includes property information, diagrams (report layouts), formula code, suggestions, cross referencing and complexity for the currently nominated design object in the explorer.

Large report projects have numerous design elements and complex relationships between data and code. Consistent, automated documentation and analysis reduces development time and maintenance costs. Report Analyzer is designed to provide automated solutions. Do you really want any other kind of solution?

• You can generate summary and detailed documentation.
• Easy to use documentation explorer to browse and compare report design settings.
• Print report design diagrams.
• Print report data dictionaries.
• Extensive formula printouts including call trees, object cross references, formatted listing, and conditional formulas.
• All documentation can be exported in a variety of formats including PDF, HTML and Word.

1. Search and find objects quickly.
2. Find cross references easily.
3. View documentation reports.
4. Analyze your forumlas.
5. Export and share your documentation.
6. View design and performance suggestions.
7. Document which reports are on your Enterprise Server (requires RA Enterprise Edition).

More detail on these:

1. Search and find objects quickly. Find over 20 report objects quickly, using the Search function. For example, find which reports are using a particular table or find which reports contain subreports.
   
2. Find cross references easily. The Cross Reference feature shows you where and how all objects are used throughout your entire report. For example, select a formula and see which design objects are referencing it - such as another formula or a report section.
   
3. View documentation reports. Report Analyzer comes with a library of presentation-quality reports that provide a wealth of information about your Crystal Reports projects. For example, the Database Dictionary report lists all database tables and fields used in each of your reports. You can also add your own customised reports to the library
   
4. Analyze your forumlas. You can view the report formulas in the Formulas window along with potential errors and design suggestions. Also view formula properties, formula call trees, conditional formulas, formula variables, and more.
   
5. Export and share your documentation. You can export report documentation to Word, Excel, HTML, XML, PDF, and ASCII formats. Report blueprints can be exported as JPEG or Bitmap image files. You can also export entire Workbenches (defined, below) or folders as HTML documentation to share over the network or intranet.
   
6. View design and performance suggestions. Report Analyzer automatically detects potential performance issues in your report design settings and provides suggestions to correct design errors and common report setting mistakes such as including unused objects or invalid database server settings
   
7. Document which reports are your Enterprise Server (requires RA Enterprise Edition). Report Analyzer Enterprise Edition allows you to document reports located on your Enterprise server (supports Crystal Enterprise 10 and Business Objects Enterprise XI).

A Workbench is an organized group of Crystal Reports. Creating groups of reports better organizes your documentation database, making it easier to find specific reports as your database grows. You can also import your folder hierarchies into a Workbench.

Use Report Analyzer, so things run smoothly.

If you want a list of all your reports from your Crystal Enterprise 10 or Business Objects Enterprise XI environment, then you need Report Analyzer Enterprise.

Report Analyzer Enterprise Edition allows you to login to Enterprise and query your folder list. The list of folders that you see within Business Objects or Crystal Enterprise will depend on your permissions. You can specify a single report or an entire folder to import and analyze. RA also imports your subfolders to preserve folder hierarchy.

If you have multiple folders (with subfolders) in your environment you can import them into RA Enterprise under a new workbench.