Sometimes the location of a formula can change the way things work, especially with variables. So I sometimes spend a few minutes trying to find where a formula was placed within a crowded report. My last resort has been to export the report to a “Report Definition” file and then do a text search for the field name to see which section contains that field. So while writing the last post (More ways to find where a field is in use) I had originally included a sentence that said:

“It would be really nice if they added a simple way to find where a field was sitting in the layout of the report.”

As I wrote that sentence I thought about how I would implement that feature in Crystal.  I would use the existing “find” feature but allow users to search while in design mode.  And then I realized that after using the find feature (binoculars) for 20 years I had never thought to try it in design mode. (Doh!) Yes, the feature I wanted has been there a long time – since v8.5(2001) or earlier.

So, if you are in design mode and and do a ‘Find’ for the text Qty you will find every text object or field name that contains those characters.  Or if you search for the word Sum you will find every text object and field name that has the word Sum, including summary fields that do a Sum of another field. It even works when the field is so narrow that the text you are searching for is truncated and not visible. And if you use the ‘Mark All’ button instead of ‘Find Next’ it will select all of the objects at once.

One note – a few times my ‘find’ did not see matches that were obviously there.  If that happens just click anywhere in the design screen before you do the ‘Find Next’.  This seems to fix the ‘lost focus’ and allows it to work.