Learning Crystal Reports Part II

Ken Hamady’s Unofficial Guide to Learning Crystal Reports® Part II:

This course is designed to expand your understanding of Crystal Reports and its more powerful features. It is designed for students that have taken the Intro class or that have equivalent experience. The lessons are illustrated by exercises that use Xtreme.MDB, the sample database that comes with Crystal. The course was designed by Ken Hamady, a recognized expert in Crystal Reports. Ken is an independent trainer and consultant and is not affiliated with Business Objects. Most of his customers appreciate this independence. Crystal Reports is registered trademark of Business Objects. This course can be taught on versions 3 through 11.

These books are also available for purchase by instructors.

Parameter fields:
    Adding a parameter
    Common uses of parameters
    Selecting all including Nulls
    Using a parameter to affect sorting, formatting, and detail level of a report
    Range and Multiple Parameters.
    Lists of default values
    Response Restrictions
    Dynamic and cascading parameters (only v11)

Alerts:
    Adding an Alert
    Viewing Alert records
    Modifying an Alert

SubReports:
    Situations that call for SubReports
    Unlinked SubReports
    Linked SubReports
    Editing a SubReport
    Tips for working with SubReports

Running Total Fields:
    Running Grand Totals
    Using the "Reset" setting to create Running Subtotals
    Using the "Evaluate" setting to Sum a value once per group

Variables:
    Variables overview
    The Declaration Statement
    Variable Scopes
    The Assignment Operator
    Setting the Evaluation time
    Variables and Formula punctuation
    Controlling the timing of variable assignment
    Displaying a Variable without incrementing it
    Other uses of variables
    Creating Running Totals with Variables

Conditional Formatting:
    Check box attributes
    Pull-down list of options attributes
    Number or text string attributes

Specific Order Grouping :
    How to set a Specified Order
    How to create a Multi-Value Group
    Including and excluding "Others"

Advanced Boolean Operators:
    4 uses for the word IN
    StartsWith
    Like

Advanced Formula Functions
    InStr(), Length(), Val(), ToText(),
    OnFirstRecord, OnLastRecord, InRepeatedGroupHeader

Managing Null Values:
    Null in the data tables
    Formulas that encounter null values
    Nulls in the selection formula

Split Sections:
    Adding a subsection
    Deleting a subsection
    Rearranging subsections
    How to make a section conditional
    Different options for "Keep Together"

Underlay a Section:
    Example uses of Underlay
    How to make it work

Advanced Cross-Tabs:
    Steps to create a Cross-Tab
    Cross-Tab placement
    Making changes to a Cross-Tab
    Advanced Cross-tabs

Advanced Charts and Maps:
    Inserting a Group Chart
    Two-Dimensional Charts
    Using Advanced Graphs
    Using the Analyzer for Advanced Formatting
    Using the Mapping feature

Exporting:
    Spreadsheets such as Excel or Lotus 123
    Word Processing Documents such as Word for Windows
    CSV (Comma separated values), also known as comma delimited or Flat ASCII
    HTML Exports

Using SQL within Crystal Reports:
    Displaying the SQL Statement
    Understanding SQL and ODBC
    Creating a simple DSN
    Adding SQL Expressions for performance

Optional Topics:
All Versions:
    Saving Data with a Report
    Printing Reports Consistently in Different PC Environments
    Other Crystal Resources
    Overview of deployment Options (Client, Server or Web Based)
    Overview of Licenses, Fees and Royalties
    Launching reports from Visual Basic or .NET

For versions 9 through 11:
    Using the Repository in Crystal Reports
    Adding Custom Functions
    Adding SQL Commands

For versions up to and including v8.5:
    Using the Compile Feature
    Using Crystal Dictionary
    Using the SQL Designer