I have had several users contact me for support recently because they are frustrated with the changes at SAP. One user tried for a week just to open a support ticket, then gave up and gave me a call. And SAP continues to modify the Business Objects support system. Starting November 1, 2008:

Crystal Reports desktop software:
The two free support cases you would get with each license will be replaced with complimentary access to support engineer moderated forums. The forums can be accessed through the Crystal Reports Support area on SAP’s site. Note that these are open peer-to-peer forums and most of the responses are from other users.

Customers who require interactive assistance from an engineer can purchase Single Case Support, but only through the eStore.

Software maintenance (one year of software updates) is no longer available on desktop products.

Crystal Reports Server Products:

Maintenance and support were often included in the price, but now customers must purchase them separately. Maintenance at 20% of the license price is now 22% of the license price (the SAP standard price).

The annual BO user conference is being held in Dallas this year, October 20-22. The session schedule is also available. PC World is also reporting that the conference marks the beginning of the Global Business Objects Network - “a new global community for customers”. This is to replace the “Business Objects Community Alliance” but it appears that it is primarily a name change.

Speaking of viewers, Business Objects has just released Crystal Reports Viewer 2008. This is very similar to CR Viewer XI with 2 significant additions:

1) You can now use the interactive parameters and sort controls of CR 2008.
2) You can refresh reports - but only if the reports are already hosted in BO Enterprise or CR Server.

I haven’t tried it.  Nor have I explored the mechanics of how Continue Reading »
Crystal Reports Viewer 2008

There is a new viewer available from Origin Software and the developer is looking for people to try it and provide feedback. The product is called the Crystal iViewer. All new users get a 45 day free trial of the full version of the software. If you decide not to purchase it after 45 days it, downgrades automatically to the ‘free’ version. This means you lose refresh capability and a few other features. Along with the ability to run reports without Crystal Reports installed you can also: Continue Reading »
New free viewer looking for user feedback

For the past 2 years I have been helping customers find expert independent instructors and consultants to help them with Crystal Reports projects. Some have asked about getting help with other Business Objects Software products. So I am pleased to announce that my newest associate is not only an expert in Crystal Reports, but is also an expert in Business Objects Enterprise and Crystal Reports Server. One of my customers sent the following feedback: Continue Reading »
Consultants for BO Enterprise and CR Server

Crystal Reports 2008 (v12) has a handful of new features that affect parameters. There is now an Interactive parameters panel that allows the user to change parameter choices interactively, without requiring the user to refresh the data. There are also sort controls that allow the sorting and grouping order to be changed by the user in preview mode.

I have just updated the Expert’s Guide to Subreports, Parameters and Alerts with a short addendum that explains how to use these new features. If you recelty purchased the guide and you are using CR 2008 (v12) drop me a note and I will send you a copy of the addendum at no charge.

As I mentioned last month, the promotional price of Crystal Reports Server XI was a clear indication that CR Server 2008 was about to be released. The official release of Crystal Reports Server 2008 came on 7/16 and there is a 30 day free trial now available on the Business Objects web site.

The main improvement Continue Reading »
Crystal Reports Server 2008 (& prices)

I have updated my course books to cover the new features of Crystal Reports 2008. So if you are using this newest version of Crystal, and are looking to have on-site training, I can help. The new features include interactive parameters, sort controls and inserting calculated rows and columns into cross-tabs. I also have a full review of new features in CR 2008.

There are now 2 editions of my courseware. The new edition covers versions 9 through 12 while the older edition covers versions 6 - 8.5. If you are looking for reasonably priced courseware you can read more about what makes my books different.

Last year I published the “Expert’s Guide to SQL Expressions, Options and Commands“, just as CR 12 was coming out. In the Guide I explained the workaround for passing multi-value parameters to SQL Commands. Up until today I had missed a new (but little noticed) feature of CR 12. Commands parameters in CR 12 have a new option that allows multi-value parameters. No workaround needed. And, because you can launch stored procedures from a command object, you can now pass true multi-value parameters directly to your stored procedures.

You will see this feature at the bottom of the window when you add a new parameter to a Command. However, if you are using versions 9 - 11 you will not have this feature.

I recently read a good article in Information Week. It discusses the recent consolidation in the BI market and compares the primary vendors, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each. The article mentions SAP’s decision:

“to let Business Objects–the BI tools industry leader–operate autonomously”

The article considers this commitment as one of SAP’s strengths.