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WideBody
Newbie
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Location: United States
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Posts: 1
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   Topic: Compiling Crystal
Posted: 17 Dec 2006 at 10:27pm |
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Ok, Sorry for the possibly very dumb question.
The last time I worked on Crystal Reports, it was version 8 (or 8.5) I think.
I was a big fan of Crystal, in that I could compile the report and email, the "program" to the users. They could then install it, and run the report by clicking on an Icon on their desktop.
I am now working on a New project and they are using CR XI. I can't seem to figure out how to compile.
Also, is it possible to run Crystal Report from a command line? Including answering prompts?
TIA!
Given the scope of the new project, I intend to be a regular here :-)
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BrianBischof
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Joined: 09 Nov 2006
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Posted: 17 Dec 2006 at 11:33pm |
Glad to have you aboard! I hope this forum helps you (and that you can pitch in as well when possible). Re your questions, CR XI is such a beast now that it can't be installed with a simple email. I don't know the current file size, but you're looking at hundreds of megs for the Crystal Reports installation file. A couple options are to create a web interface (probably more complicated than you want to do), or export the report to a PDF file and let the user view it with Adobe. There are also third party companies that sell Crystal Report viewers for like $15+ per user and that is a pretty cheap alternative. You can buy copies for specific people if you know in advance who needs to view reports. Then you can just email them the .RPT file and they can open it with the viewer. Oh yeah - a FREE alternative is to sign up at http://www.CrystalReports.com and use their servers to host the reports. This makes it easy for you to distribute and share your reports to all your users over the web. They just announced this new benefit six months ago. Re the command line prompt, CR doesn't have that feature available. HTH, Brian
Edited by BrianBischof - 17 Dec 2006 at 11:35pm
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skriest
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Joined: 18 Jan 2007
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Posted: 19 Jan 2007 at 8:33am |
Crystal did away with the compile option that you are speaking about.
As indicated you can distribute the reports via using a Crystal viewer that you can create using VB, etc. in a program like Visual Studio and have the viewer call the report.
Hope this helps.
SKriest
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nboyd
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Joined: 01 Mar 2007
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Posted: 01 Mar 2007 at 2:45pm |
just so i am clear. being a new person to Crystal Reports. I can create reports using the XI developers package and license but no one else can use those reports unless they purchase a crystal reports viewer program.
The older versions had the ability to compile a report in a package and I could send that to a user and as long as they had a ODBC connection as defined in the report, they could run the report and get valid realtime output. The new XI version does not have that function.
I am assuming i need the viewer( which cost per user) or purchase crystal reoprt server. inquiring minds want to know 
sorry for the newbie question....
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BrianBischof
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Posted: 01 Mar 2007 at 3:32pm |
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True. There are freee viewers by third parties on the marker that you can download. You could also export to an HTML page and post that on a web server if you have access to a server. I understand that the reason they got rid of the compiler because they found out that most people just export to PDF and email that file to people. Much simpler.
If you have Visual Studio .NET, it's easy to create a viewer app (I've been thinking about doing it and giving it away on my site), but it's easier just to find one online and use it.
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nboyd
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Posted: 02 Mar 2007 at 6:32am |
where would i find a free viewer that will work with XI rpt files. these reports are ones that the user can enter parameters into and run againt the live database for current information. that is why we can not just distribute reports with pdf format.
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hilfy
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Joined: 20 Nov 2006
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Posted: 02 Mar 2007 at 10:21am |
Do a Google search on Free Crystal Report Viewer and you'll see a number of options.
-Dell
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nboyd
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Posted: 02 Mar 2007 at 2:31pm |
i tried that and i can find a lot of links for free downloads of trail versions but i have yet to find a link for a complete free and non trial working version of a report viewer that will work with XI. If anyone has a link to such a site i would love to see it.
everyone wants to sell a viewer and everyone says it is easy to make a viewer but for those of us who are not programmers......
Thanks in advance.
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BrianBischof
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Posted: 02 Mar 2007 at 2:50pm |
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Please support the forum! Tell others by linking to it on your blog or website:<a href="http://www.crystalreportsbook.com/forum/">Crystal Reports Forum</a>
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nboyd
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Posted: 05 Mar 2007 at 6:48am |
Thanks, that is what i was looking for. I can donate to this programmer...
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