I have been testing out a handy little utility called Phrase Express for a few months and some colleagues just pointed out to me how this tool can be used with Crystal Reports. Phrase Express stores your commonly typed phrases. You can then paste them, on demand, into Email messages and other documents. I have been using it primarily to help with Email phrases that I type several times a day (common questions, links, etc) and it is great. It works with any Continue Reading »
Creating a formula library in Phrase Express

One of the most popular pages on my site is the LINKS page where I have a comprehensive list of third party utilities that are available for Crystal Reports. These include Viewers and Schedulers as well as tools that do Email, Bursting and host of other useful services. You can also request a short review of my favorite utilities and the tasks for which they are best suited.

This past week I ran into some issues I started using my Vista laptop. Not all of the utilities are are fully compatible with Vista. Some just need to have their compatibility settings adjusted to be run in XP mode. Some need to be run as Administrator. Some do not run at all. For example, currently PDF eXPLODE does not work on Vista (but they are working on it).

If you run into any compatibility issues with Vista and Crystal or a Crystal utility, I would love to hear about it.

I wrote 2 months ago about the BETA program for the ‘new’ Crystal Reports Viewer XI. Well it was officially released today and my opinion hasn’t changed. The primary complaint that just about everyone has is that it won’t refresh a report. It only works with reports that have saved data. Granted the BO viewer is free, but there are other free Crystal Reports viewers available and many nearly free viewers as well. All of the non-BO viewers have the ability to refresh a report. None of these non-BO viewers require that you own Crystal Reports to run or refresh reports. Some add some really nifty features. See the list of Crystal Reports viewers on my LINKS page.

David Martinko of Redeemed Software has just released two specialized for Crystal Reports users.

The first is called SpellCheck and is pretty self explanatory. It lets you spell check all the labels, text fields, formula fields, and report properties (report name, description, etc.). This fills a gap in the Crystal Reports product line. This tool costs $150 per user but there is a 10% discount for my readers.

The second is called Mass Verify. It performs the “Verify Database”? step for multiple reports in one step. It will create a backup of each report first, verifies and saves after verification. A list of reports which have been verified is generated. This tool is $100 but again, my readers get a 10% discount.

To purchase these tools you download the EXE and then purchase an ‘unlock’ code to install the software. The download won’t work at all without the code. If you decide to try one of these these tools please let me know what you think.

Many of my readers contact me for recommendations on which 3rd-party utility to use in their situation. The most common requests are for viewers, schedulers and Email distribution utilities, probably because there are several choices available in each category. So I have written up a short comparison of my favorite utilities and when I would recommend that you consider each one. If you are interested in reading this, send an Email to favorites@kenhamady.com and you will receive a link to the material automatically.

I spoke recently with a software developer who is working on 2 utilities for Crystal Reports users.

The first lets you spell check all the labels, text fields, formula fields, and report properties (report name, description, etc.)

The second performs the “Verify Database” step for a batch of reports. It will create a backup of each report first, verifies and saves after verification. A list of reports which have been verified is generated.

The Beta for these products is completed and the products have been released - see this entry for details)

Ido Millet has added 2 new features to Visual Cut - his Scheduling/Emailing/Bursting/Exporting tool.

You can now import multi-page TIFF files into your pdf exports. For instance you could combine scanned documents (like shipping documents) into your exported report (like an invoice) before emailing it to your customers.

Also, the PDF Export can now generate Form Fields based on formulas placed on the report. This means that you can use Crystal Reports to design pdf forms, and Visual CUT to generate and distribute these forms for your users to fill out.

Contact me if you want more information on Visual Cut or other third party tools. Tell me what you need to do and I can recommend the correct tool.

One of my colleagues is developing a new report viewer that he plans on distributing as freeware. He would like some volunteers to help Beta test the viewer in different environments and against different databases. (This viewer is now completed. See my LINKS page for more info.)

Those of you who have considered switching from Crystal Reports to SQL Server Reporting Services may have been cowed by the thought of recreating all of your existing Crystal Reports RPT files in SSRS XML format. If so you should check out a new tool published by KTL Solutions in Frederick, MD. Continue Reading »
Crystal Converter converts RPT files into SSRS XML files

I was recently shown a new utility that allows you to burst reports into sections and e-mail each section as a separate PDF attachment to a different Email address. The tool is called PDF-eXPLODE and it makes bursting and Emailing your reports as simple as printing them.

Say you have a report that prints 30 invoices and each invoice should be Emailed to a different person. All you do is put the Email Address at the top of each page Continue Reading »
Bursting and Emailing made simple.