For those of you who have a large amount of data to analyze, Millet Software may have something worth trying. They have added an integrated data visualization tool into the DataLink Viewer. This allows you to explore the data by creating advanced charts – going beyond what Crystal normally provides. The tool will automatically read through your detail report data (including formulas) and loads each column into an appropriate category. It extracts the numbers as “measures’, the dates as a possible grouping hierarchy and all other columns as potential analysis attributes. From there you can drag and drop the fields to see where patterns emerge.
Because it is easier to show these features than to describe them, Ido has published a video demo showing just what this tool can do. Try it out and let me know what you think.