The Report Viewer
Here's a quick overview of a few of the many features:
Be sure to checkout these related pages:
Most every report (.rpt file) will reference a data-source. This reference is often in the form of a Data Source Name (DSN), a path to an Excel spreadsheet (.xls file), or a reference to a custom database driver. To make things easy, you should configure the client PCs to use these references.
If your report connects using ODBC, it may reference an ODBC driver "sales_db.udd." That reference will be hardcoded inside the report. If you open that report using report viewer, and you do not override the settings, it's going to look on the system for that database driver. Successfully running the report depends on the existence of that database driver.
If it cannot find that database driver, you may get a message that says "failed to load report." You could also get a message saying that permission was denied, because it may think it cannot find the driver because the Windows user does not have the right to use it.
If it can find the database driver, it will use it, but that does not mean all worry is over. Is that database driver configured correctly? Does the user referenced in that driver have rights to use the database? Does the user even exist in the database? Is the driver even pointing to the database you think it's pointing towards? If The Report Viewer gives you a message that a specific table or field does not exist in your database, it is not a problem with The Report Viewer; most likely, that specific table or field does not exist in the database referenced in the driver, or the user doesn't have permission to view it. It could even be that the driver is pointing to test data. It could be that the database is down. Don't fall into the trap of blaming the messenger; try to understand the message.
Some reports will connect to Excel spreadsheets or .xls files. If your name is Bob, and you create a report that uses a spreadsheet stored at "C:\Users\Bob\Documents\sales.xls," and you give that report to another user, you should expect to get a message that it could not load the report. That's because that sales spreadsheet won't exist on the other users PC at that path. When you are including XLS, MDB, or some other external file, you have a few options to make the report portable. You could use the ODBC driver to access those data-sources. Or, you could save those data-sources on some network attached storage, and then map those network drives the same way for each user. If they were referenced at the path "N:\SalesData\sales.xls" and every user had the network drive mapped as the letter 'N,' your reports would be much more portable.
In some cases you will want users to have access to different data-sources with the same report. You could give out multiple reports with different data-source references, or you could override the database reference in the report using The Report Viewer. Important Note: The data-source reference override feature in The Report Viewer will only work on reports that only reference one data-source. If your report references both an ODBC database and an Excel spreadsheet, the override feature will override both databases, and that's not what you want.
Also note when overriding the databases, The Report Viewer can not generally connect directly to your database. You need to override it to connect to a driver. So, if your data-source is an ODBC database, set the server and database fields to the DSN of the ODBC driver.
In almost all cases you will want to use the the connection that is embedded in the report. That is, you will want to check the box that says "Use Report Settings."
In some cases you will want users to have access to different data-sources with the same report. You could give out multiple reports with different data-source references, or you could override the database reference in the report using The Report Viewer. Important Note: The data-source reference override feature in The Report Viewer will only work on reports that only reference one data-source. If your report references both an ODBC database and an Excel spreadsheet, the override feature will override both databases, and that's not what you want.
Also note when overriding the databases, The Report Viewer can not generally connect directly to your database. You need to override it to connect to a driver. So, if your data-source is an ODBC database, set the server and database fields to the DSN of the ODBC driver. Overriding a database connection takes some trial and error to get it correct. It helps if you understand how to create database connection strings.
If you are sure you want to override a reports database connection settings, uncheck the box that says "Use Report Settings," and highlight the connection setting you want to use. Then, open the report. The connection settings are overridden for all databases in that report, and in all subreports.
When you click the "scan for system odbc sources" command button, the software will search the Windows registry for odbc data sources that are configured in your system, and it will attempt to set them up for you.
The Control tab on the Report Viewer software allows easy access to all of your reports.
It offers a list view of all the reports, which can be sorted by the report name, the file path, the file size, or the report that was last accessed.
It also offers a tree view of the reports. The tree view allows you to add groups or directories to help organize the reports. When you add a report into the tree view, you get the option of creating a nickname for the report. The reports, and the groups or directories, are sorted in alphabetical order.
You can add the reports to the list in two different ways. You can scan a directory for reports and you can add the report files one at a time. You can also clear the list all at once, or remove reports from the list, one at a time. To open a selected report, you can double click on the report you would like to view, choose the View Report button, or chhose the View Formula button. You can also use the combo box at the top of the report viewer to select a report you would like to view, while you have another tab open. Their are two buttons next to the combo box. One is to view reports, and the other is to view the formula before opening the report.
The Report Viewer allows you to work with multiple reports at one time. When you open more than one report, you will see that each new report gets opened in a new tab. You can also open the same report more than once. This allows you to view the same report with a different selection formula applied to it. The toolbar give the end user an easy way to open additional reports, and to switch between the ones they have open.
The report viewer allows you to refresh live data from your server. You are not limited to viewing static copies of reports. You are able to refresh the live data in real time.
You can choose to view and modify the record selection formula, or to run the report with the formua that is embedded in the report. If you don't use the record selection and their is a record selection formula embedded in the report, that will still run. If you choose to use them, the existing formula is auto loaded for you.
One of the best features of the report viewer, is that it will load all the table and field names that the report has access to. This makes writing formulas much easier.
You will need to know how to write the record selection formulas, but if you do already know how to, you will find this program to be a big help. It auto loads the table and field names for you, so writing formulas is easy. It also gives you common boolean expressions used in these formulas. And, it gives you an area to finish the expression. Note, this is an advanced feature, which may require advanced skills to use. We try to make it easier, but the formulas do not write themselves, though they are auto loaded for you.
Once a report is opened, you will see a command button that will allow you to display the SQL commands that are embedded in, and used by, the report to fetch the data. At this time, you cannot modify the sql through the report viewer.
The report must use a relational database with standard language queries for this to work. Otherwise, the SQL form will display a message saying something like the data source cannot be found. For an example, this happens when using a report with an XML data source.
You may not be able to run the SQL that is displayed in this form without modification. If your report uses parameters, the show SQL form will display the parameters variables in the form. You will have to edit these by hand. For instance, the show SQL form may display a clause that says WHERE sales.data == {?date}. You would want to replace the {?date} parameter with a specific date that is in valid format for your database, before you are able to run it without error against your database.
If you click the button on the tool bar that looks like a floppy disk, you will be able to export your reports to many different formats. You can save the report as a Crystal Report document with the updated data. That would give the file the rpt extension. You may export the report to an Excel Spreadsheet, with or without the formatting, which has the xls extension. You may export the report to a Portable Document File, which has the PDF extension. You can export to a Rich Text document with the doc extension, which can be used in your favorite word processor. The report viewer also supports multiple Hyper Text formats, so you can export the report as an HTML document, directly to you web server.
The following formats are supported:
You currently cannot set all the options available in the Crystal Reports designer; however, you can save your preferred export settings in your report. In Crystal Reports, go to the "File" menu and choose "Export" and the "Report Export Options." That will display a screen titled "Set Default Export Options." Choose the format you want to make the changes for, make those changes, and then save the report. After that, The Report Viewer will respect your default export settings.
It's not common, but some users will get an error when exporting to Excel. The message will read "invalid export DLL or format." This page describes the fix to the export in Excel problem.
Report viewer allows you to quickly email the report you are viewing as an attachment to an email. The Report Viewer email works using SMTP, so 99.9% of email users are supported. You will be able to enter a custom message and subject. Get the email account settings form your administrator or your service provider.
The following formats are supported:
You are able to print your reports using the same method of printing you are used to in your Windows environment. No additional set up is required for this program to work with you existing printers. All options are available.