I have just updated my comparison of server-based scheduling tools for 2012. These tools are similar to the desktop-based scheduling tools I write about every March, but these are designed to be run on server. This allows multiple people to schedule reports for automated delivery by Email, FTP or network folder.

There are 8 products on the list again this year with a few feature updates and price changes since last year.  The article provides a brief overview of each product.  It also links to a feature matrix that compares roughly 70 features of these tools.  There is even a feature glossary that defines all the terms. So if you need a short course in automating Crystal Reports delivery, you have come to the right place.

I recently needed a selection formula that automatically selected the last “half month”.   In other words if the report was run in the first half of a month it should return the last half of the previous month.  If the report was run in the last half of a month then the report should return the first half of that same month.     So I wrote the following selection formula:

if Day (CurrentDate) > 15
then ( day ({charges.date}) <=15 and {charges.date} in MonthToDate)
else (day ({charges.date}) >15 and {charges.date} in LastFullMonth)

This worked correctly, but I knew that it would not be very fast, because it would not pass the date criteria Continue Reading »
Using formula fields and calculations in the selection formula

One of my customers has reports scheduled to run every weekday. The rule is that all month long it should pull the dates for the current month. But once a month, at the beginning of the month, they want to run the entire previous month. So I wrote their selection formula to say “If today is the first of the month, then run LastFullMonth, otherwise run MonthToDate:

If Day (currentDate) = 1
then {DateField} in LastFullMonth
else {DateField} in MonthToDate

This worked fine for several months until we got to April.  Because the report only Continue Reading »
Calculating the first weekday of the month

The folks at R-Tag.com have just released a new tool called CR Data Source which is designed to do just one thing. It lets you perform a “Set Location” on a folder full of reports, all in one stroke. The tool does just this one task, but then again it only costs $29, so it will probably be a popular choice for certain users. If you look at my review of RPT management utilities you will only find one other tool that does this, and that tool does lots of other things and costs about $400.

The current limitations are:

• It only works with ODBC/OLEDB
• It can only be used on reports that have a single data source.

But even with these restrictions, the tool will still work on most reports.  And, if the tool catches on I am sure the folks at R-tag would be open to suggested improvements.  As always, if you try this tool please let me know what you thought.