Showing posts with label Reports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reports. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Difference OpenDocument Crystal Reports and WebI
Posted on 14 April 2010 9:53 am.Femke
I experienced some frustations when trying to open 2 different reports (Crystal Reports and WebI), however both were built on same universe and used same objects, from the same URL button in Xcelsius.
The OpenDocument statement for the WebI report was quickly set up, however the Crystal Reports took some time. Even after consulting chapter 3 Crystal Reports in the PDF Viewing Reports and Documents using URLs (for BOXI 3.1) I could not get it to work.
Finally I figured it out by reading several forum topics, in the end the URL was built as follows:
../../../OpenDocument/opendoc/openDocument.jsp?
Identifies Crystal Reports reportH stands for HTML, unfortunately in 3.1 pdf is not supported anymoreforces reports to open in new windowKeeps Xcelsius dashboard “alive”CustomerCode is name of prompt, 0019 is customer code value, note “” to identify stringfoldername in Infoview, don’t forget []identification type, preferred in OTAP streetsforces reports to open in new windowKeeps Xcelsius dashboard “alive”CustomerCode is name of prompt, 0019 is customer code valueYou can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.Conditional Formatting in Crystal Reports
What exactly is Conditional Formatting in Crystal Reports?
Conditional formatting, put simply, is formatting (e.g, font color, font style, etc.) applied to data that meets certain rules or conditions. For example, the person requesting the report would like the Total Sales field to have a green background if the amount is greater than $5000.
But how is this conditional formatting magic done?
Select the field to be formatted.Right-click and choose the border tab – background color is in the center of that tab.Do not click in the color checkbox, rather click on the X+2 box directly to the right of the background color. The Formula Editor will open.In the Operators column choose Control Structures for the If Then Else.Double-click to bring that down to the work area. At the top of the functions column, you’ll see two new categories associated with formatting text/numbers: Formatting FunctionsColor ConstantsNow the tricky part: you have to construct a formula. I’ve included a couple of examples below.if Sum ({Orders.Order Amount}, {@GroupSort})>5000 then crGreen else crNoColorNote that the colors are preceded by cr in lower case – Crystal Reports needs this, so do not enter a color name without it. Also note that the else argument is followed by crNoColor. The else could also be followed by DefaultAttribute, like so:
if Sum ({Orders.Order Amount}, {@GroupSort})>5000 then crGreen else DefaultAttributeThe results would be the same but the second formula would revert back to whatever the formatting color was that did not meet the condition. Of course, the formulas could be much more complex but the logic remains the same. If the formula returns true do this othewise do something else.
Happy formatting!
We cover conditional formatting in our Introduction to Crystal Reports class.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Open document statement opens only in html viewer Crystal Reports
Posted on 14 April 2010 8:54 am.Femke
In BOXI 3.1 the opendocument statement for Crystal Reports opens the reports only in the html-viewer.
The commands are thus:
&sType=rpt&sOutputFormat=H
Monday, December 6, 2010
Integrating Xcelsius into Crystal Reports Series – 1 of 3
Before getting started, I want to provide a quick update on the Reportapalooza competition:
Unfortunately, I fell a bit behind while attending 2 SAP Conferences back to back this month. Sorry if I let anyone down but I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the support. I also want to give a huge CONGRATS to our current leader David Deitch who is an Xcelsius beginner turned Guru in this competition!
Now to Challenge #5. Labeled the ‘Report Remix’ challenge, I am tasked with learning more about Crystal Reports 2008 and sharing it with YOU the community, hence the ‘remix’ which is to take you on the journey with me of learning a new Crystal product 
. Below is my official public statement:
So let’s get started with a few simple questions?
Q. How can you integrate Xcelsius flash files into your Crystal Reports?
A. It’s a 2 step process. You first have to configure the Crystal Reports Data Consumer connection in Xcelsius (seen below) and then use the .swf button in Crystal Reports to embed the Xcelsius flash file. (More details on how to setup each will be provided in the next article)
Q. What are the Pros and Cons?
A. Pros – It is no secret that Xcelsius’ ability to handle large amounts of data is VERY limited. By embedding your Xcelsius flash file into Crystal Reports you get to leverage the power of the Crystal engine while utilizing the beautiful graphics in Xcelsius. It’s like having the best of both worlds. In fact, in my next blog posts I am going to show how to integrate a map in Xcelsius into a Crystal Report.
A. Cons – If your not as familiar with Xcelsius you may have some issues using the ‘Crystal Reports Data Consumer’ connection. It could use some fine tuning (note to the Product Team )
One more thing! This is your last week to submit your dashboards to the community Reportapalooza competition. Hope you read this far down, because if you have something worth seeing I am opening the door to review any entries that you send via email to gurus at everythingxcelsius.com and provide feedback if sent by 10/31 @ 12am EST.
Mico Yuk is a 2010 SAP Mentor and the founder of the Xcelsius Guru Network and the Everything Xcelsius blog. To learn more about her, please visit our About Us page.
Tags: Business Objects, Reportapalooza, SAP Crystal Dashboard Design, Xcelsius 2008
Crystal Reports: Using the Highlighting Expert
Have you ever used the Highlighting Expert in Crystal Reports? Chances are your response is no, and you are wondering what it is. The Highlighting Expert is a button on the Experts Toolbar. The button looks like this: 
.
The Highlighting Expert is also on the shortcut menu of the right-click. Once you choose this Expert, this dialog box opens:
Try it out, the Highlighting Expert is fast and easy to use!! It gives the “wow” to your report.
Happy Reporting!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Integrating Xcelsius into Crystal Reports Series – 2 of 3
As usual, before getting started I want to provide a quick recap of where we are with the Reportapalooza competition. This is the last week of voting before the final winner is announced on Nov 22th!
Challenge #1 (Done) – Winner , Mico Yuk (Check out my Coffee Consumption Calculator)Challenge #2 (Done) – Winner, Mico Yuk (based on traffic sent to Report a Hero Page)Challenge #3 (Done) – Winner, Brian Durning (voted best Crystal Reports Video by Community)Challenge #4 (Done) – Winner, David Deitch (voted best Charity Dashboard by Community)Challenge #5 (In Progress) – What this series of blog post is about.Community Dashboard Challenge (In Progress) – Vote until Nov 12th, 2010 for your favorite community dashboard.In Part 1 of this series I went over some Q&A on what it would take to embed your Xcelsius visualization (in this case a map) into your Crystal Report, as well as some pros and cons. In Part 2 I am going to cover how to set up your map in Xcelsius so that it can be consumed by Crystal Reports. For this example we will be using Google Maps (compliments of Centigon Solutions) as it much more robust than the out of box maps in Xcelsius.
1. Install Google Maps Plug-in for Xcelsius (more details on how to do this here)
2. Add the GMaps Plugin to your Xcelsius dashboard
3. Configure your Excel spreadsheet to hold 2 columns of data for the Google Map: 1) Map Address 2) Map Labels
4. Go to Data Connections in Xcelsius -> Add the ‘Crystal Reports Data Consumer’ Connection
5. Configure the ‘Crystal Reports Data Consumer’ Connection so that the ‘Row Headers’ are bound to the Excel cell area you created in Step #3
In Part 3 I will focus on the final step: Bringing your Xcelsius Map into Crystal Reports.
One last thing, please don’t forget to cast your votes on the 3 dashboards that were submitted by the community to show your support.
Mico Yuk is a 2010 SAP Mentor and the founder of the Xcelsius Guru Network and the Everything Xcelsius blog. To learn more about her, please visit our About Us page.
Tags: Business Objects, BusinessObjects, Centigon Solutions, Reportapalooza, SAP Crystal Dashboard Design, Xcelsius 2008, Xcelsius 2008 Tips
Difference OpenDocument Crystal Reports and WebI
Posted on 14 April 2010 9:53 am.Femke
I experienced some frustations when trying to open 2 different reports (Crystal Reports and WebI), however both were built on same universe and used same objects, from the same URL button in Xcelsius.
The OpenDocument statement for the WebI report was quickly set up, however the Crystal Reports took some time. Even after consulting chapter 3 Crystal Reports in the PDF Viewing Reports and Documents using URLs (for BOXI 3.1) I could not get it to work.
Finally I figured it out by reading several forum topics, in the end the URL was built as follows:
../../../OpenDocument/opendoc/openDocument.jsp?
Identifies Crystal Reports reportH stands for HTML, unfortunately in 3.1 pdf is not supported anymoreforces reports to open in new windowKeeps Xcelsius dashboard “alive”CustomerCode is name of prompt, 0019 is customer code value, note “” to identify stringfoldername in Infoview, don’t forget []identification type, preferred in OTAP streetsforces reports to open in new windowKeeps Xcelsius dashboard “alive”CustomerCode is name of prompt, 0019 is customer code valueYou can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.Conditional Formatting in Crystal Reports
What exactly is Conditional Formatting in Crystal Reports?
Conditional formatting, put simply, is formatting (e.g, font color, font style, etc.) applied to data that meets certain rules or conditions. For example, the person requesting the report would like the Total Sales field to have a green background if the amount is greater than $5000.
But how is this conditional formatting magic done?
Select the field to be formatted.Right-click and choose the border tab – background color is in the center of that tab.Do not click in the color checkbox, rather click on the X+2 box directly to the right of the background color. The Formula Editor will open.In the Operators column choose Control Structures for the If Then Else.Double-click to bring that down to the work area. At the top of the functions column, you’ll see two new categories associated with formatting text/numbers: Formatting FunctionsColor ConstantsNow the tricky part: you have to construct a formula. I’ve included a couple of examples below.if Sum ({Orders.Order Amount}, {@GroupSort})>5000 then crGreen else crNoColorNote that the colors are preceded by cr in lower case – Crystal Reports needs this, so do not enter a color name without it. Also note that the else argument is followed by crNoColor. The else could also be followed by DefaultAttribute, like so:
if Sum ({Orders.Order Amount}, {@GroupSort})>5000 then crGreen else DefaultAttributeThe results would be the same but the second formula would revert back to whatever the formatting color was that did not meet the condition. Of course, the formulas could be much more complex but the logic remains the same. If the formula returns true do this othewise do something else.
Happy formatting!
We cover conditional formatting in our Introduction to Crystal Reports class.
Report Bursting with SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008
(Post #3 of 3 for Reportapalooza – Focused on SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008).
The idea to write about Report Bursting in SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008 came to me on the shuttle bus on the way to the airport in Orlando after a very successful (and one shiny iPad later) ASUG SAP BusinessObjects User Conference. The idea came by way of friend and fellow Reportapalooza expert – Brian Durning.
We were having a conversation about the “Reporting Remix” challenge and I asked his opinion on topics to discuss when writing about SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008. Brian is a highly accomplished SAP Crystal solutions expert and his immediate recommendation was Report Bursting. After some investigation, I now know why he made this suggestion. Report Bursting is a really powerful, convenient, and efficient process that minimizes the need for excessive individual report scheduling.
As the previous paragraph suggests, the inclusion of Report Bursting is one of the most anticipated enhancements to SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008. If setup correctly, this elusive feature is an SAP Crystal and BOE administrator’s dream. But if setup incorrectly, it will quickly become a DBA’s nightmare. That’s why Report Bursting should be carefully researched and tested before implementing in a production environment. Once you’re ready, scheduling reports will never be the same (in a GOOD way).
What is Report Bursting?
Report Bursting in SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008 allows multiple groups of reports (known as Publications) to be scheduled and distributed to personalized groups of recipients with each group receiving reports containing data filtered differently. This is accomplished when the SQL statement is submitted to the database by the individual SAP Crystal Reports multiple times with different filtered values fetching different data values for each group.
This process provides the most efficient way of scheduling and distributing reports to a large number of users who require the same or similar reports but filtered by different parameters.
The reason that Report Bursting should be entered into cautiously is because of the potential impact on system resources. If the option “One database fetch per recipient” is selected when creating a Publication, the SQL statement of each report will query the database one time for each recipient. This option will almost definitely catch the eye of the DBAs if the recipient list is of significant size. But one database fetch per “batch” of recipients might be much less expensive and fly well below the DBA’s radar.
Creating a New Publication for Report Scheduling
To create a new Publication, begin by selecting a folder from the file menu in InfoView. Once you’ve done this, click New in the default toolbar and select Publication. This is displayed in the screenshot below.
Once “Publication” is selected from the list of choices, you’ll have three options when the “New Publication” window opens.
SummaryGeneral PropertiesSource DocumentsIn the General Properties section, give your new Publication a name, description (optional), keywords (optional), and then select the Source Documents option. Next click Add to select the reports that will become a part of the Publication that will “Refresh at Runtime”. Multiple reports can be selected as part of a single Publication.
As soon as reports are added, six new options are made available. The “New Publication” now has the following property sections.
SummaryGeneral PropertiesSource DocumentsEnterprise RecipientsDynamic RecipientsPersonalizationFormatsDestinationsAdditional Options
The “Additional Options” section contains eight different options:
Print SettingsDelivery RulesMerged PDF OptionsDatabase LogonRecurrenceEventsScheduling Server GroupAdvancedSelect the Advanced category and you’ll see settings in three different groups:
Profile ResolutionPersonalizationReport Bursting MethodThe Report Bursting Methods section provides three choices for bursting:
One database fetch for all recipients (recommended for minimizing the number of database queries)One database fetch for each batch of recipients (recommended for high-volume scenarios)One database fetch per recipient (recommended when using row level security within Universes or Business Views)
Report Bursting Methods Described
One database fetch for all recipients – This option will submit the SQL statement of each report to the database once per report then deliver the data in the specified format to each recipient. This method uses the database logon credentials of the publisher.One database fetch for each batch of recipients – This is the default option when scheduling Crystal Reports. Batches can run concurrently on different servers to reduce the load on the system (keeping the DBAs happy). The size of the batches depends on the specified personalization. This method uses the database logon credentials of the publisher.One database fetch per recipient – This method uses the data source logon credentials of each recipient as the query is submitted to the database once per report for each recipient in the publication. This option provides the greatest level of security but also produces the greatest load on the system if the recipient list is large.Publications
In addition to Report Bursting, Publications provide an extensive set of options. Among the options that you’ll want to pay special attention to are the: Print Settings, Delivery Rules, Database Logon Credentials, Recurrence, and Events. Settings such as: Personalization, Formats, and Destinations should also be configured completely before saving and implementing a Publication.
Be sure to view the Summary option and review your selections before finalizing your Publication. You should also test your Publication before making it live. Refer to official SAP documentation for a more in-depth discussion of Publications and information regarding the various other options to configure, save, schedule, and view publication results.
Summary
After finally experiencing SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008, I am surprised at the great deal of sophisticated methods of delivering reports to users across the enterprise. Whether through the convenience of the portal , the use of automated report scheduling, or the use of personalized Publications for Report Bursting, SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008 is an excellent product for sharing information with users.
Questions? Please contact me.
Jim.Brogden@daugherty.com
Crystal Reports Rounding Function
In general, Crystal Reports users set up the default formatting to display the data in the way it is to be used most often. However, when it is necessary to be able to switch quickly to another format – right-clicking to format the field is usually the solution.
If the data field comes down to Crystal Reports with several decimal points, one solution would be to use the remove decimal places button on the tool formatting bar. That button actually rounds up on decimal place numbers greater than 5 and rounds down on decimal place numbers less than 5.
If that data is included in a formula, the Round function could be used on the number to be formatted. To give the report designer more control there are actually two functions for rounding numbers: Round and RoundUp. Each of these rounding functions have two sub-functions, which we will see below.
The syntax is simply Round (x), with x being the numeric or currency field to be rounded. Here are some examples of the Round function:
Round(1.234) = 1Round(1.4999) = 1Round(1.5000) = 2You can also add a second argument to the Round function to indicate how many places to be rounded to as represented by y here: Round(x, y). Some more examples:
Round(1.234,2) = 1.23Round(1234.2345,2) = 1234.23Round(2345.23456,0) = 2345The syntax is RoundUp(x), again with x being the numeric or currency field to be rounded. Here are some examples of the RoundUp function:
RoundUp(4.234) = 5RoundUp(1.4999) = 2RoundUp(1.25000) =2Again, you can also add a second argument to the RoundUp function to indicate how many places to be rounded to as represented by y here: RoundUp(x, y). Some more examples:
RoundUp(1.234,2) = 1.25RoundUp(6.36521,3) = 6.366RoundUp(2345.23456,0) = 2345If the second argument is left blank then the function rounds up to the nearest integer. In other words, 0 is the default for the second argument.
All this sounds complex, but it really isn’t. I would suggest that you try it on simple numbers with decimals first. Then, when you have the expected results, place it in your Crystal Report using it with the database field.
Taking it a step further, as in Arne’s comment – an if-then-else operator would have to be incorporated using syntax similar to this example:
If region in[CA, MA, FL] then Round({orderdetails.orderamount},2)Else Round({orderdetails.orderamount},0)Happy Rounding with Crystal Reports!!
Crystal Reports Customized Groups
Did you know that in Crystal Reports you can design your own customized groups for your reports? All you need to do is to decide what the new groups will be called and what the rules or criteria are for the different groups. You are ready to go!
Let’s say that you have a list report containing 250 companies and the total sales amount for the year to date. The Sales Manager would like to see them grouped as follows:
Gold Star Customers (Total Sales Amount greater than $100,000)Silver Star Customers (Total Sales Amount between $50,000. and $99,999)Bronze Star Customers (Total Sales Amount between $10,000. and $49,999)Must Contact Customers (Total Sales Amount less than $9,999)Here’s how you customize the grouping in Crystal Reports:
Insert a group on the Total Sales Amount field.Select Group from the Insert menuIn the order drop down (second drop-down on Common Tab)—choose Specified Order.A New Tab will open with the label Specified Order.
Select the tab Others – notice the radio button is already there, just change the name in the text box from ‘Others’ to “Must Contact Customers”.You now click on OK and you are done!!
You have now made your first custom grouping for your report! Congratulations.
Happy Reporting!
Sharing Reports in SAP Crystal Reports Server
In this post, the 2nd in a three part series for the Reportapalooza “Reporting Remix” challenge, I will describe my observations of SAP Crystal Reports Server after logging on with Internet Explorer into the Java Infoview portal.I logged into SAP Crystal Reports Server as the Administrator and was given two categories of options: Navigate and Personalize. Beneath the Personalize category was a Preferences selection. I’ve never been the type of person to pass on the opportunity to tweak a couple settings, so I clicked Preferences. Below is a screenshot of the initial screen displayed after I logged into the system.
Preferences are available in four categories:GeneralChange PasswordCrystal ReportsDashboard and Analytics
Preferences are available in four categories:GeneralChange PasswordCrystal ReportsDashboard and AnalyticsThe General section was expanded by default and the first setting provides the option to change the InfoView Start Page. I modified this selection by clicking the option button beside Folder then browsing to the “Report Samples” folder. By making this selection, all of my subsequent logons to the SAP Crystal Reports Server will no longer display the Navigate and Personalize categories as previously described. Instead, I would be taken directly to the Report Sample folder.
This option saves time and allows me to get right to the folder that contains the reports I’m most interested in analyzing.
Browsing BusinessObjects InfoView
The contents of the Java Infoview portal, (or BUSINESSOBJECTS INFOVIEW as it’s titled in the upper left corner of the page header), delivers Crystal Reports and other local document types to users in a similar format as Windows Explorer. Users have the ease of navigating through a folder structure on the left side of the page while viewing the contents of the selected folder on the right side of the page.
This basic style should be very familiar to anyone that has spent any time working with a PC. The simplicity in navigation seems like it would lead to a very productive user experience.
Adding Reports to the Portal
To begin sharing reports with other users, I will need to add them to the portal. Will this be difficult or easy? Should I right-click or look for something like “Add”? The answer is: either.
If you want to add a report to the portal, just click Add in the toolbar located across the top of the folder structure. After clicking Add, two choices will be available – Crystal Reports and Local Document. If Local Document is selected, you’ll have the opportunity to browse for a Microsoft Office document (Excel, Word, or PowerPoint), PDF, Text file, or other file type. If Crystal Reports is selected, you’ll be taken to a screen prompting you to select a Crystal Report. The screenshot below shows the Add button in action.
Another way of adding a report to the portal is by right-clicking on a folder and selecting Add. This option is available in the tree of folders on the left side of the screen. You can also right-click on a folders displayed on the right side of the screen to add a Crystal Report to the portal. Picture below is this example.
Sharing Reports with Folders and Categories
Reports can be shared or delivered to authorized users in either folders, categories, or both. Folders are the primary structure for storing published report objects while categories seem to work as custom views that may contain reports from different folders.
My Favorites and Inbox
The My Favorites folder in the Java Infoview portal allows users to save their own personal copies of reports. This is a great place for storing report variations or reports that are still in the development and verification phase.
The Inbox is an extremely useful feature for passing around instances of reports to other authorized users. Also, the Infoview Inbox is a common destination for sending the results of scheduled report instances. Any user with Schedule rights can send refreshed report instances to other users with a valid logon by selecting “Business Objects Inbox” as the scheduled destination while scheduling a report to refresh.
Enterprise Convenience
After spending a short amount of time with SAP Crystal Reports Server, it has become very obvious how powerful this product can be to an organization. A report developer in Mobile can create a report, publish it to the portal, and then have users in Portland, New York, and Atlanta all view it within seconds of publishing it. With this type of collaborative environment, someone in another city can see a report quicker than someone four cubicles away can walk to your desk. Now that is cool!
Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. Thank you!
Jim Brogden
jim.brogden@daugherty.com
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!Changing Default Field Settings in Crystal Reports
When you design your reports in Crystal Reports, Crystal Reports uses the database format for the database fields. It also uses the database fonts as I discussed in Setting Default Fonts in Crystal Reports. This, again, requires that you format these fields every time you want to use them in you report.
I recommend you take the time upfront to change these default settings in Crystal Report so that you won’t have to change the settings on each new report you create. Here’s how you change the default field settings in Crystal Reports:
From the File Menu, select Options.Choose the Fields tab.For each field category, select the format you would use regularly. (For example; for Numbers you may like the comma format and 2 decimal places.)Currency could be the same as Number, but with the currency symbol: Floating places the symbol directly to the left of the number, e.g. $456.87.Fixed places the symbol several spaces away from the number, e.g. $ 456.87.Date is often in the database as Date and Time, but your organization does not use the time part! Format it so that Crystal Reports fixes that so it appears the way you want it on your report. You can include the leading zero (05/05/2010) or not (5/5/2010.) Pick the preferred format for your organization.Date and Time should be the same as Date, if your organization does not use the Time part. Otherwise, format according to the preference of your organization.Keep in mind, Crystal Reports is considered a presentational report designing tool. While your report should always look professional, it does not mean the report designer needs to spend hours formatting it. The report designer needs to present the correct data in a professional manner, but with Crystal Reports, that processt does not have to be difficult!
Getting Started with SAP Crystal Reports Server
In the fifth and final challenge of Reportapalooza, I’ll be writing a three part series of blog posts about the product at the heart of the SAP Crystal product line – SAP Crystal Reports Server.
My experience with BusinessObjects software goes back to versions 6.1 and 6.5 and the days of Application Foundation and the BOMain.key. Then in 2006, I had the good fortune of being introduced to BusinessObjects XI and the new CORBA architecture. This led to an ongoing string of (mostly) enjoyable experiences installing, deploying, migrating to, and administering BusinessObjects XI R2, XI 3.0, and XI 3.1. These experiences also included many years of developing Universes, building Desktop Intelligence reports, Web Intelligence documents, and finally Xcelsius 4.5 and 2008 dashboards. But my experience with SAP Crystal Reports only goes back to version XI and I’ve never had the opportunity to even see SAP Crystal Reports Server. So I jumped at the opportunity to install and peruse SAP Crystal Reports Server as part of the “Reporting Remix” and Reportapalooza.
Diving right in, I installed “SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008 V1” on my favorite box. My first attempt failed though because I tried to install it on a machine that already had SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.1 installed. My mistake, I should’ve known better. Not a problem, I moved to another PC.
As the installation began, I started noticing some very familiar screens. These were some of the same exact windows and options that are offered when SAP BusinessObjects XI 3.x is installed. Below is a description of a few of the dialog screens presented during installation.
Install Type selection – Provides the option to install a MySQL Database Server.Server Component Configuration – CMS Port selection and administrator account setup.Server Intelligence Agent – An “umbrella” service that helps manage services (or servers) by automating starting, restarting, and stopping of servers.Web Application Server selection – Java Web Application Server is the default and “WACS” is recommended deployment type. However, the option to install a Tomcat server and deploy to it is provided. Additional options are also provided, such as:Allowing you to deploy to a pre-installed Web App ServerThe option to manually deploy the WAR file web components after installationInstall an IIS Web App Server (assuming ASP.NET v1.1 already exists)MySQL Database Configuration – Used for storing system data.Web Application Container Server Configuration – HTTP port setting. 6405 is the default.After making it through the initial series of settings, installation is ready to begin. The screens continue to remind me of installing BOE but they all say “Crystal Reports Server 2008 V1 Setup”. Pictured below is the Server Intelligence Agent dialog screen showing the option to rename the Node Name and manually adjust the Port number. I changed the Node Name but kept the default Port #.
The screenshot below shows the Web Application Server deployment options.
The two screen shots below show the installation in progress. Expect installation to take from 30 minutes to 1 hour.
As my installation moved very close to completion, I was prompted (on Vista) by my Windows Firewall to either Keep Blocking or Unblock “BusinessObjects Enterprise”. “BusinessObjects Enterprise”? Wow, so far, it’s almost exactly like BOE!
Suddenly I remembered the driving force behind the architecture change from BusinessObjects 6.5 to the smooth, elegant, and .WAR filled CORBA architecture in XI. It was because of the powerful and stable SAP Crystal Reports Server.
Installation complete! It’s time to click Start and have a look at what was installed. The screen shot below shows full list of tools installed. The items that jumped out to me are:
Central Configuration Manger (CCM) – Windows based server management utilityCentral Management Console (CMC) – Web based administrative consoleImport Wizard – Tool for migrating objects from one environment to anotherJava Infoview – The reporting portal (and same favicon used by InfoView in BusinessObjects)
The first thing I did was click “Java Infoview” and logon as the administrator. At first glance, it’s identical to SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1. But within minutes I began to notice a couple subtle differences. For one, there were a couple key products missing that I’m used to seeing. Such as:
Universe DesignerWeb IntelligenceThen I realized how long Crystal Reports has been around. And how many clients use Crystal Reports to develop highly refined pixel perfect reports. What is the best method for delivering reports to users in a zero-client environment and not requiring the installation of Crystal Reports on every users PC? The answer is SAP Crystal Reports Server.
In my next two posts I will begin describing some of the common features and primary functions in SAP Crystal Reports and how it relates to an enhanced user experience.
Thank you,
Jim Brogden
jim.brogden@daugherty.com
Integrating Xcelsius into Crystal Reports Series – 3 of 3
Thanks to everyone who attended the Reportapalooza “Behind the Reports” webinar yesterday! Below is a quick recap of where we are with the Reportapalooza competition. The final winner will be announced on Nov 22th.
Challenge #1 (Done) – Winner , Mico Yuk (Check out my Coffee Consumption Calculator)Challenge #2 (Done) – Winner, Mico Yuk (based on traffic sent to Report a Hero Page)Challenge #3 (Done) – Winner, Brian Durning (voted best Crystal Reports Video by Community)Challenge #4 (Done) – Winner, David Deitch (voted best Charity Dashboard by Community) Challenge #5 (In Progress) – “Reporting Remix” (What this series of blog post is about).Community Dashboard Challenge (In Progress) – Voting end tomorrow Nov 12th for your favorite community dashboard.Experts Webinar- ”Behind the Reports” (Recording should be available soon) – You don’t want to miss the important tips and answered questions by the experts!Now for a quick recap of the last 2 posts:
Part 1 – I went over some Q&A on what it would take on a high level to embed your Xcelsius charts and maps into a Crystal Report, as well as some pros and cons of both.Part 2 – I went over how to set up your map in Xcelsius so that it can be consumed by Crystal Reports. I used Google Maps (compliments of Centigon Solutions) for this example as it much more robust than the out box maps in Xcelsius.Part 3 (the last one) – I am going to show you the step-by-step process on how to embed your Xcelsius .swf file into your Crystal Reports.6 Simple Steps to embed your Xcelsius .swf file into your Crystal Report!
1. Open Crystal Reports 2008 -> Click on blue icon to Embed Flash file
2. The Google Map should appear in your dashboard
3. Right click on the Google Map -> Click ‘Flash Data Expert’ to bind the Crystal Report Data
4. Drag the Label field, in this case ‘Sheet1_.Label’ into the 2nd row in the ‘Insert Row Labels’ section
5. Drag the Address field, in this case ‘Lat,Long’ into the 1st row in the ‘Insert Row Labels’ section -> Select ‘OK’. (Note: The map is now connected, so you can see the heat map data display in the preview.)
6. Voila! Your data and your map now appears in your Crystal Report.
As a BONUS, I attached the files that I used for the series. Click here to download.
Again, just a quick reminder to cast your final votes by tomorrow (11/12) on the 3 dashboards that were submitted by the community to show your support.
Mico Yuk is a 2010 SAP Mentor and the founder of the Xcelsius Guru Network and the Everything Xcelsius blog. To learn more about her, please visit our About Us page
Tags: Business Objects, BusinessObjects, Centigon Solutions, Reportapalooza, SAP Crystal Dashboard Design, Xcelsius 2008
Report Distribution Options in Crystal Reports
There are various ways you can distribute the reports you designed in Crystal Reports even if you aren’t using Crystal Reports Server or any other Enterprise Servers. Some of the ways are the old standby methods such as PDF and MSWord. These methods work fine, as they definitively meet the needs of the organizations report readers.
Some designers choose to Export the reports to Excel or other applications. There are two methods of exporting to Excel – one has the suffix ‘Data-only’ in the Export box.
This particular Export Format allows the designer to include “Worksheet Functions” to the Export allowing more calculations on the report data. The other Export Format to Excel does not offer that option: it is more like a photograph of the report.
Other Export options include:
HTMLODBCRecord Style (columns with or without spaces)Comma Separated TextTab Separated TextRich Text Format and XMLAll of these are accessed through the Export dialog box above under the File Menu.
Aside from the Export, the report designer can assist a user in downloading the Crystal Reports Viewer. This is a free download sent to local machines. When the user wants to view the report, the user opens the Viewer and opens the report in the Viewer. The report is displayed as the designer intended it to be seen. The Viewer can also display any ‘drilldowns’ that were designed into the report, which many other formats cannot.
The last method I will mention here is crystalreports.com. This is a secure report hosting service available at crystalreports.com; for those that simply need to see reports. The user logs into specific URLs to view specific reports within the folders you have created. No need for hard copies or email attachments. This is available with free trial for three named users at above website. It offers several different options, with a monthly structured plan.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Difference OpenDocument Crystal Reports and WebI
Posted on 14 April 2010 9:53 am.Femke
I experienced some frustations when trying to open 2 different reports (Crystal Reports and WebI), however both were built on same universe and used same objects, from the same URL button in Xcelsius.
The OpenDocument statement for the WebI report was quickly set up, however the Crystal Reports took some time. Even after consulting chapter 3 Crystal Reports in the PDF Viewing Reports and Documents using URLs (for BOXI 3.1) I could not get it to work.
Finally I figured it out by reading several forum topics, in the end the URL was built as follows:
../../../OpenDocument/opendoc/openDocument.jsp?
Identifies Crystal Reports reportH stands for HTML, unfortunately in 3.1 pdf is not supported anymoreforces reports to open in new windowKeeps Xcelsius dashboard “alive”CustomerCode is name of prompt, 0019 is customer code value, note “” to identify stringfoldername in Infoview, don’t forget []identification type, preferred in OTAP streetsforces reports to open in new windowKeeps Xcelsius dashboard “alive”CustomerCode is name of prompt, 0019 is customer code valueYou can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.Open document statement opens only in html viewer Crystal Reports
Posted on 14 April 2010 8:54 am.Femke
In BOXI 3.1 the opendocument statement for Crystal Reports opens the reports only in the html-viewer.
The commands are thus:
&sType=rpt&sOutputFormat=H
Friday, November 26, 2010
Report Bursting with SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008
(Post #3 of 3 for Reportapalooza – Focused on SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008).
The idea to write about Report Bursting in SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008 came to me on the shuttle bus on the way to the airport in Orlando after a very successful (and one shiny iPad later) ASUG SAP BusinessObjects User Conference. The idea came by way of friend and fellow Reportapalooza expert – Brian Durning.
We were having a conversation about the “Reporting Remix” challenge and I asked his opinion on topics to discuss when writing about SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008. Brian is a highly accomplished SAP Crystal solutions expert and his immediate recommendation was Report Bursting. After some investigation, I now know why he made this suggestion. Report Bursting is a really powerful, convenient, and efficient process that minimizes the need for excessive individual report scheduling.
As the previous paragraph suggests, the inclusion of Report Bursting is one of the most anticipated enhancements to SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008. If setup correctly, this elusive feature is an SAP Crystal and BOE administrator’s dream. But if setup incorrectly, it will quickly become a DBA’s nightmare. That’s why Report Bursting should be carefully researched and tested before implementing in a production environment. Once you’re ready, scheduling reports will never be the same (in a GOOD way).
What is Report Bursting?
Report Bursting in SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008 allows multiple groups of reports (known as Publications) to be scheduled and distributed to personalized groups of recipients with each group receiving reports containing data filtered differently. This is accomplished when the SQL statement is submitted to the database by the individual SAP Crystal Reports multiple times with different filtered values fetching different data values for each group.
This process provides the most efficient way of scheduling and distributing reports to a large number of users who require the same or similar reports but filtered by different parameters.
The reason that Report Bursting should be entered into cautiously is because of the potential impact on system resources. If the option “One database fetch per recipient” is selected when creating a Publication, the SQL statement of each report will query the database one time for each recipient. This option will almost definitely catch the eye of the DBAs if the recipient list is of significant size. But one database fetch per “batch” of recipients might be much less expensive and fly well below the DBA’s radar.
Creating a New Publication for Report Scheduling
To create a new Publication, begin by selecting a folder from the file menu in InfoView. Once you’ve done this, click New in the default toolbar and select Publication. This is displayed in the screenshot below.
Once “Publication” is selected from the list of choices, you’ll have three options when the “New Publication” window opens.
SummaryGeneral PropertiesSource DocumentsIn the General Properties section, give your new Publication a name, description (optional), keywords (optional), and then select the Source Documents option. Next click Add to select the reports that will become a part of the Publication that will “Refresh at Runtime”. Multiple reports can be selected as part of a single Publication.
As soon as reports are added, six new options are made available. The “New Publication” now has the following property sections.
SummaryGeneral PropertiesSource DocumentsEnterprise RecipientsDynamic RecipientsPersonalizationFormatsDestinationsAdditional Options
The “Additional Options” section contains eight different options:
Print SettingsDelivery RulesMerged PDF OptionsDatabase LogonRecurrenceEventsScheduling Server GroupAdvancedSelect the Advanced category and you’ll see settings in three different groups:
Profile ResolutionPersonalizationReport Bursting MethodThe Report Bursting Methods section provides three choices for bursting:
One database fetch for all recipients (recommended for minimizing the number of database queries)One database fetch for each batch of recipients (recommended for high-volume scenarios)One database fetch per recipient (recommended when using row level security within Universes or Business Views)
Report Bursting Methods Described
One database fetch for all recipients – This option will submit the SQL statement of each report to the database once per report then deliver the data in the specified format to each recipient. This method uses the database logon credentials of the publisher.One database fetch for each batch of recipients – This is the default option when scheduling Crystal Reports. Batches can run concurrently on different servers to reduce the load on the system (keeping the DBAs happy). The size of the batches depends on the specified personalization. This method uses the database logon credentials of the publisher.One database fetch per recipient – This method uses the data source logon credentials of each recipient as the query is submitted to the database once per report for each recipient in the publication. This option provides the greatest level of security but also produces the greatest load on the system if the recipient list is large.Publications
In addition to Report Bursting, Publications provide an extensive set of options. Among the options that you’ll want to pay special attention to are the: Print Settings, Delivery Rules, Database Logon Credentials, Recurrence, and Events. Settings such as: Personalization, Formats, and Destinations should also be configured completely before saving and implementing a Publication.
Be sure to view the Summary option and review your selections before finalizing your Publication. You should also test your Publication before making it live. Refer to official SAP documentation for a more in-depth discussion of Publications and information regarding the various other options to configure, save, schedule, and view publication results.
Summary
After finally experiencing SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008, I am surprised at the great deal of sophisticated methods of delivering reports to users across the enterprise. Whether through the convenience of the portal , the use of automated report scheduling, or the use of personalized Publications for Report Bursting, SAP Crystal Reports Server 2008 is an excellent product for sharing information with users.
Questions? Please contact me.
Jim.Brogden@daugherty.com
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