This 2-day workshop is designed for beginning users with little or no exposure to Crystal Reports. The intent of the course is to familiarize the students with the Crystal Reports environment and get them up and reporting quickly. The workshop provides the basic steps for creating, modifying, saving and viewing reports to more flexible tasks such as basic formulas and the powerful automated features.

Prerequisites

Working knowledge of Windows 9x environment is required. Familiarity with relational database concepts (tables, fields and records) is strongly recommended.

Audience

Administrators, developers and end-users who need to create dynamic reports from varying data sources.

Course duration

2 days

Course outline

• Before you begin
• Defining the Purpose of the Report
• Determining the Layout of the Report
• Finding the Data
• Organizing the Data for the Report
• Creating A Simple Report
• Starting the Crystal Reports Program
• Starting a New Report
• Choosing a Data Source
• The Main Components of the Design Window
• Exploring the Toolbars
• Using the Field Explorer
• Placing Fields on the Report
• Selecting and Sizing Objects
• Browsing Field Data
• Moving and Aligning Objects
• Using Guides and Guidelines to Move and Align Objects
• Creating Text Objects
• Saving the Report
• Autosaving the Report
• Previewing the Report
• Refreshing the Data
• Getting Help
• Formatting Features
• Quick Formatting with the Report Style Expert
• Formatting Objects
• Inserting Lines and Boxes
• Drawing a Line
• Drawing a Box
• Inserting Graphics
• Auto-Arranging the Report
• Working with the Page Commands
• Changing Page Orientation
• Changing Margins
• Working with Text Objects
• Adding Fields into a Text Object
• Placing Multi-Line Text Objects
• Formatting Part or All of an Object
• Inserting Special Fields
• Formatting Features
• Selecting Specific Records From the Database
• Filtering Data with the Select Expert
• Selecting Records with Multiple Criteria
• Viewing and Editing the Select Formula
• Case Sensitive vs. Case Insensitive
• Record Selection Formula Templates
• Selecting a Range of Values
• Grouping and Sorting Data For Summary Purposes
• When and Why to Group Records
• Creating a Group
• Group and Sort Direction
• Customize Group Name Field
• Modifying Groups
• Creating Multiple Groups in a Report
• Using the Group Tree to Navigate the Report
• Reordering Groups
• Sorting Records Within a Group
• Summarizing Groups
• Additional Summary Options
• Adding a Grand Total to Reports
• Grouping Data in Date/Time Intervals
• Calculating Percentages
• Ordering Groups Based on Their Subtotals Using the Top N Expert
• Combining Tables Using The Visual Linking Expert
• Understanding Tables, Records, and Fields
• Learning About Linking
• Adding Multiple Tables to a Report
• Creating and Using Formulas
• Understanding Crystal Formula Syntax Without Being a Programmer
• Using the Formula Editor
• Performing Simple Number Calculations
• Manipulating Dates with Formulas
• Creating Boolean (True/False) Formulas
• Creating String Formulas
• Using Bookmarks to Navigate Through Formulas
• Conditional Formatting
• The Highlighting Expert
• Setting Highlighting Priorities
• Formatting Sections
• Formatting Sections Conditionally
• Conditionally Formatting Fields
• Creating Summary Reports and Graphs
• Creating a Summary Report
• Applying the Drill Down Feature
• Producing Graphs
• Editing Charts
• Formatting Charts
• Applying Chart Templates
• Editing the Titles
• Using the General Chart Options
• Analyzing Charts
• Exporting Report Results Within Your Organization
• Understanding Export Formats and Destinations
• Using an HTML Format for Crystal Reports
• Exporting to an Application
• Exporting to a Report Definition Format
• Setting Default and Report Options
• Setting the Default Layout for Design and Preview Views
• Setting the Database File Location
• Setting the Database and Reporting Options
• Setting Field Defaults
• Setting the Default Font
• Using the Report Experts
• What are the Report Experts?
• Create a Report Using the Standard Report Expert
• Modifying a Report Using the Report Expert
• Appendix A - Mapping
• Understanding Maps
• Map Layouts
• Map Types
• Formatting the Map
• Drilling Down on Maps
• Using the Analyzer Tab for Advanced Mapping
• Changing the Geographic Map
• Using the Map Navigator
• Changing Map Layers
• Resolving Data Mismatches
• Appendix B - Creating an ODBC Data Source to Attach to a Database
• Appendix C - Pre-Qualification Exercise for Power User workshop