Talk with the Author: New non-IT Crystal User

New non-IT Crystal User

Printed From: Crystal Reports Book
Category: General Information
Forum Name: Talk with the Author
Forum Discription: Ask Brian questions about his books and give him your comments. Like the book? Hate the book? Have suggestions? Let me know!
URL: http://www.crystalreportsbook.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4104
Printed Date: 20 Apr 2025 at 12:58am

Topic: New non-IT Crystal User

Posted By: JamesAlkenInd
Subject: New non-IT Crystal User
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2008 at 6:49am

I am not an IT person by any means neccessary, just to give you alittle background about my IT experience, I work for an aerospace manufacturing company, I started writing op sheets and working in the shop operating the machines, I started going to school for mechanical engineering and they took me out of the shop and one of the things this company is trying to get me to learn is to make crystal reports.

I basically have NO experience with any kind of programming besides CNC and using formuals in Excel, and I'm struggling to learn crystal reports. I simply fail to see how it works. I've created a few extremely simple reports, but thats it.

Will your books help me become a good report writer in a short amount of time? Are there any other programming books I should look into that will help me in my crystal endeavors?

Hopefully something that displays information in a simple easy to learn manner and will get me up to speed quickly, as trying to learn the material for my mech eng degree is hard enough.

Replies:

Posted By: BrianBischof
Date Posted: 28 Aug 2008 at 4:53pm

Hi James,

Sorry to hear that you are having such a tough time learning Crystal. My Crystal Reports Encyclopedia book is written using a 'tutorial' format so that it walks you through the different steps of building different types of reports. I did it this way because many people learning best by doing. However, everyone does have different learning styles and I can't say for sure whether this will be best for you. I think it would be best for you to go to a book store and look at the different books out there. I know that the Dummies series also has a book for Crystal Reports and that might work for you as well. There books are very short and only show the highlights, so you won't learn all the features. But being short also gives you the benefit of hitting the major topics quickly and that might be just what you need. Again, its best to get some books in front of you and see what suits you best.

You can find out more about my books at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0974953601/bischofsystem-20 - Amazon.com or reading the http://members.crystalreportsbook.com - Crystal Reports eBooks online.

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