The Crystal Reports Underground News - Volume 2006.05 (May 2006)
an independent source for Crystal Reports Information by Ken Hamady
Contents for May, 2006:
** BO hosts free Crystal Reports portal
** Google OneBox partners with Cognos, SAS, Oracle and FINALLY BO
** Associate Trainers for NYC, Philly, Chicago, L.A. and Toronto
** Former partner sues BO over commissions
** Crystal extends support for older versions
** My Library of Crystal Reports Guides
** New viewer adds scheduling and email distribution
** Viewer that allows "in-place" drill-down and one-click resort
** Setting section height numerically
** Can't copy parameters in XI
** Read back issues at http://www.kenhamady.com/news.html
BO hosts free Crystal Reports portal:
Business Objects has launched a portal service for Crystal. It allows any licensed user of CRvXI to publish up to 60 reports to a server at CrystalReports.com. The user can then invite up to 9 people to view those reports. The users viewing reports don't need a Crystal Reports license or any software at all, just an Email address and a browser. They can even be notified of report updates automatically. All of this is free, so what is the catch?
1) These are static reports with saved data. They cannot be refreshed by the users.
2) The reports can't be exported to local formats (without additional fees).
3) You can't restrict users to seeing only certain reports (without additional fees).
4) Users have to provide an Email address and BO terms allow them to send them ads. You can't opt out of this 'service'.
In the near future you will be able to upgrade to the "Premium" version for $299 a month. (This price is tentative). Premium will allow unlimited reports, folder level security, and the ability to export to a local file. Additional users will be available in packs of 10 for an additional $299 per month.
Personally, I think "client based" viewer programs are a better value. All of the third party viewers I list on my site allow the user to either refresh the data or read saved data. All provide export capabilities. One new viewer (described below) will even distribute the reports via Email for you. While they aren't free they are inexpensive, have no monthly fees, and most are easy to use. Contact me if you have questions about the viewers or if you would like a recommendation.
Google OneBox partners with Cognos, SAS, Oracle and FINALLY BO:
Google has been using its ubiquitous presence to cement partnerships with established BI vendors. Recently Cognos, SAS and Oracle have announced extensions to their applications that allow the Google "OneBox" feature to locate and display data from within business applications. I thought the Cognos partnership was interesting seeing that Cognos is one of the primary competitors to BO Enterprise. Cognos has already introduced their Go! Search Service which uses the Google engine to organize and search report instances, dashboards and alert messages in addition to Emails and other documents on the system. Just this month (May 2006) BO announced their partnership with an application due later this year.
Associate Trainers for NYC, Philly, Chicago, L.A. and Toronto:
I have found a new way to make on-site training more affordable for folks who aren't in the DC area. I have been putting together a team of experienced Crystal Reports instructors who are based in major cities throughout the US and Canada. These folks have excellent references and can provide a class at a significant savings. So far I have associates in and around Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Chicago, New York City, Philadelphia and Toronto. These instructors all use my materials and anyone who takes their class gets my Email address and phone number for questions after class.
And if you still can't afford your own private class, come to my public classes in Frederick, MD. These are very small classes (usually 3-5 students) and people come from all over to attend. The mid-May class included 2 students from Texas. Next round is June 26-29
For more information you can call me at (540) 338-0194.
Former partner sues BO over commissions:
There is a great article in the CRN.com webzine. It discusses an unhappy former partner that has decided to sue Business Objects over unpaid commissions on sales. The article goes on to mention other unhappy partners who have left the BO "family" and how BO has in some cases threatened legal action to prevent them from staying in the Crystal market. As far as I know, this is the first partner to actually file a suit. Business Objects promptly filed a detailed countersuit claiming various licensing violations, dredging up all of the fine print in their partnership agreement. Some of the countersuit complaints will sound familiar to those of you who have been following my campaign regarding licensing. I have posted a link to the article as well as copies of both the suit and the countersuit on my campaign page (see below).
The suit is being filed by Creative Technology & Training Solutions located in Michigan. One of the senior partners, Michael Ward, stresses that they have attempted many times to resolve this short of litigation but was not successful. Mr. Ward feels confident that he has adequate written documentation to support his claims but he thinks some other BO partners may not be as prepared. I recommend that all current partners read the about the disagreement so that they can avoid a similar situation.
http://www.kenhamady.com/licensingissues.html
Crystal extends support for older versions:
Two years ago on the Crystal web site I read that Crystal Reports v8.5 was scheduled to lose all technical support by September 2005. Version 9 was scheduled to end support in April of 2006. This schedule was probably intended to help speed people down the upgrade path by making them build earlier upgrades into their long range plans.
However, it seems that the customers may have had the final say by simply holding onto their older versions. Many realized that independent providers would be happy to provide training and support if BO turned out the lights on an older product. BO has decided to quietly 'adjust' the support schedule to reflect the versions being used. Now v8.5 is listed as being supported until September 2006 while v9 has been extended until April 2007.
So next time your sales rep starts talking about the end of support, remind him that these dates seem to be flexible. The SUPPORT page on Business Objects web site has a link to the current life cycles of all products.
My complete Library of Crystal Reports Materials:
Let a master teacher help you understand these Crystal Topics. Each guide comes with clear explanations and sample files to illustrate each concept.
Expert's Guide to Formulas ($36)
Expert's Guide to Subreports, Parameters and Alerts ($28)
Expert's Guide to Totals ($24)
Expert Techniques Vol. I ($19)
Expert Techniques Vol. II ($19)
Quick Reference to Crystal Reports in Visual Basic ($16)
Quick Reference to Crystal Reports in .NET ($14)
http:/www.kenhamady.com/tools.html
New Viewer also does Scheduling and Email:
I have just added a new viewer to the list on my web site. "Easy View" by Easy Street Software is an unusual viewer. It is priced at the low end of the viewer list but it provides several features that are typically reserved for higher end report managers.
Like any viewer program it allows a user to view, print and export reports without having to have a full CR designer license. But Easy View adds a built in scheduler, and the ability to do Email distribution to a fixed recipient list. Easy View even has a command line interface which allows you to launch reports from a batch file or a Windows shortcut or even from within another application.
You can try Easy View for free for 30 days. If you decide to buy it the price is $35 per seat. And you get a 5% discount if you use the promotional code listed on the LINKS page of my web site.
In-place drill down and one-click resorting:
Ido Millet of Millet software has done it again. He has given the Data Link Viewer two new features for preview mode that can't be duplicated within Crystal Reports:
1) Users can now do drill downs "in-place", which means a drill-down without switching tabs or screens. This lets the user expand and collapse individual groups simply by clicking in the preview screen.
2) Users can now resort the records in preview mode, with one click, without having to refreshing the report. If you set up your formulas correctly, your users can click on a column heading and sort the records by that column.
If you would like a free trial of the new functionality, drop me a line.
Setting Section Heights Numerically:
If you have ever tried to get two different sections to be exactly the same height you quickly realize that the section height in Crystal is an analog setting, not a digital setting. In other words you can't go into a section anywhere and set the height to be exactly 1.25 inches. You have to go by the ruler on the side and make the adjustments visually. But if you know the secret, there is a way to force the section to be exactly the size you want. It relies on the fact that field objects have both a size setting and a position setting that you can set digitally. Here are the steps:
1) Make the section smaller than your target size.
2) Place an extra field anywhere within the section.
3) Right click on the field and select "Object Size and Position".
4) Set the "Y" property to zero which puts the object at the top of the section.
5) Set the height of the object to be the height you want for your section.
6) Click 'OK'
7) Delete the object (optional).
When you click OK, the object will grow vertically to the desired height, forcing the section to grow. And, since the object is starting at position zero the section will be exactly the same height as the object.
Can't copy Parameters in XI:
Last month I explained how easy it was to move a formula or parameter object from one report to another by copying and pasting the object. Then I heard from Jim Johncox of Epic Systems Corporation who pointed out an exception. Version XI of Crystal doesn't allow the transfer of Parameter fields from one report to another, although it does allow formulas. It isn't clear if this was a bug or an intentional change on the part of BO but I have confirmed that it doesn't work.
Contact Information:
Ken Hamady, MS
525K East Market St.
PMB 299
Leesburg, VA 20176
(540) 338-0194
ken@kenhamady.com
http://www.kenhamady.com
Copyright 2006 by Ken Hamady
All rights reserved - Republishing this material requires written permission