The Crystal Reports Underground News:

 Back Issues:

Volume 2008.03

• BO refuses to fund UG meetings based on the speaker
• PeachTree 2008 table changes
• Cascading parameters that lose values
• Cascading parameters with duplicate field names
• Converting a decimal to a fraction
• Recent Blog Articles:
  
• Convert Nulls and Selecting Nulls
• Appending Strings in v8.5 when going over 256 Chars
• Trouble with Business Objects ESD licensing system
• Mystery calendar for date parameters in v10 on Vista
• Business Objects releases Viewer XI for Linux
• Recent Upgrades for third party utilities

Volume 2008.01

• NEW - The Expert's Guide to SQL Expressions, Options and Commands
• Things you wont find in Crystal Reports 2008:
• RDC (COM) integration  
• Xtreme sample MDB
• VB UFL functions
• BO price increases
  
• The index that ate my data
• Getting vertical lines to stop at the bottom of a group
• Suppressing vertical lines based on a condition
  

Volume 2007.11

• Crystal Reports 2008 (Version 12)
• SAP purchases BO/IBM Purchases Cognos
• Free Crystal Reports Viewer with scheduling and Email (Logicity)
• Free Trial of "Mass Verify"
• PDF eXPLODE fails on Vista
• Coming - The Expert's Guide to SQL Expressions, Options and Commands
• Create a formula library in Phrase Express
• Free MICR font turns blank security paper into check stock (GnuMICR)
• Store a value today and use it in a different report tomorrow (CUT Light/Share DLL)

Volume 2007.09

• Understanding "named user" licensing for Crystal Reports 
• The new Authorized Consulting Partner (ACP) designation
• Spell check or "verify database" for a batch of reports
• Don't rouse sleeping tables
• Multi-page cross-tabs missing page numbers
• Blog highlights:
      Crystal Reports admin position in Richmond
      Crystal Reports v8.x and Vista
      Crystal Reports Viewer XI officially released
      An Introduction to Eclipse for Visual Studio users
      Calculating periods in 5-4-4
      Printing check marks and other symbols from formulas
  
  
  

Volume 2007.07

• Expert Techniques for Crystal Reports Volume III
• User Group takeover attempt in the Detroit area
• BO updates the Offline viewer
• My favorite utilities 
• Canadian holidays formula
• New - Certified associates to teach your on-site classes
• Free options for desktop sharing
• Finding a stray formula or parameter in your report
• ToNumber ()  vs Val ()

Volume 2007.05

• Expert Techniques for Crystal Reports Volume III
• User Group takeover attempt in the Detroit area
• Launching reports from MS Access (VBA)
• BO settles with Michigan former partner
• $99 XI Upgrade offer extended
• Independent Cognos instructor available
• Using table inflation to generate multiple labels
• Recent BLOG articles
• Creating a Bill of Materials with Crystal Reports
• Installing Crystal 7 on Vista
• Creating VERY wide Crystal Reports
• Help Beta test 2 new Crystal Reports utilities
• New features of Visual Cut
  

Volume 2007.03

• Expert Techniques for Crystal Reports Volume III 
• Upgrade to Crystal Reports XI for only $99
• Convert Crystal Reports to SSRS XML files
• Recent BLOG articles
  
  • Daylight Saving Time this weekend!
  • Are you LinkedIn?
  • Oracle buys Hyperion
  • Crystal Decisions is back - BO Enterprise 'lite'
  • Crystal Reports Web App licensing & throughput clarified
  • Business Objects XIr2 wins a "prestigious" CODiE award
• Help Beta test a new viewer
• Side by Side running Totals give different values

Volume 2007.01

• Email reports and other documents by "printing" them
• Stop struggling with your reports, let me help
• BO cuts off support for an independent consulting firm
• I am now Ken Hamady, LLC
• Business Objects acquires Nsite Software
• My Library of Crystal Reports Guides
• Linking tables vs Appending tables
• Correction for Holidays formula
  

Volume 2006.11

• Visit the Crystal Reports Underground BLOG
• New Data Dictionary builder (MyDataDictionary) is released
• Keep up with my BLOG via Email
• New Associate Trainers in Vancouver/Seattle and Detroit
• BO partners with IBM 
• Recover a corrupted RPT File
• Best FREE utilities recommended by Ian "Gizmo" Richards
• Formula naming tips

Volume 2006.09

• Visit the Crystal Reports Underground BLOG
• Deploy Crystal on the Web using RippleStone
• New Associate Trainers in Boston, Phoenix and Indianapolis:
• Crystal Reports for Eclipse Update:
• "Official" v8.5 support scheduled to end this month
• A line that grows based on a condition
• When "Repeat Group Header" won't repeat

Volume 2006.07

• NEW - The Expert's Guide to Cross-Tabs
• Depositions start this week in the BO commissions lawsuit
• BO loses SAP as on OEM Reseller
• Associate Trainers for Boston, NYC, Philly, Chicago, L.A. and Toronto:
• BO starts to look at 'mid-size' business.
• BO (finally) announces plans for Google OneBox partnership
• Build a Data Dictionary, automatically from your reports
• Printing "Continued on Next Page"
• Date parameters in a command with DateTime Fields
• One parameter for 2 different commands

Volume 2006.05

• 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
• 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
  

Volume 2006.03

• Crystal Reports XI and Cold Fusion
• Update to my "Don't Pay Twice" Campaign
• Buying Older Versions of Crystal
• Mapping by County or Zip Code
• Copying Objects Within a Report
• Copying Objects to Another Report
  

Volume 2006.01

• Crystal Reports Plug-In for Eclipse (released)
  
• DC Area User Group Meeting
• Crystal Reports for Eclipse preview release
• BO Leasing Software
• Crystal Excelsius
• CUT and CUT Light now prompt for comments after the report is run
• Crystal Translator 3.01
• Conditional Drill-Down
• Cross-tab percentages simplified

Volume 2005.11

• Crystal Reports Plug-In for Eclipse
• Course Books Available
• An Independent Crystal Instructor in Canada
• Crystal Reports for Eclipse
• Updates on the "Don't Pay Twice" campaign:
• BO Conference in November
• Data Link Viewer 5.1001 with print scheduling
• How to format a paragraph with a "hanging indent"
• Online Faxing solutions
  

Volume 2005.09

• Crystal Reports Plug-In for Eclipse
• BO Loses Patent Lawsuit against Microstrategy
• Updates on the "Don't Pay Twice" campaign:
• BO Conference in November
• Using Formulas that rely on Subtotals in your Cross-tabs
• Chart on a Parameter Value

Volume 2005.08

• The Expert's Guide to Totals in Crystal Reports
• Crystal Reports Server XI for Linux
• Security Vulnerability for XI Web Deployments
• Updates on the "Don't Pay Twice" campaign
• BO official response contradicts Dan Klein's letter
• Article in ITBusiness.ca
• OEM classes to be targeted next
• Crystal Experts weigh in at Tek-Tips.com
• Free Mailing Label templates from WorldLabel
• Business Objects conference in November
• No way to default TODAY for XI date parameters
• Formula for finding the first and last day of a month

Volume 2005.07

• Updates on the "Don't Pay Twice" campaign
• Why I fight a policy that could increase my own revenue
• DC Users Group responds in writing to BO's new policies   
  
• Companies that have decided to ignore BO's new license fees
• BO refuses to clarify the existing Crystal license   
  
• Court ruling allows use of Screenshots without permission
• Article in ITBusiness.CA about BO's new policy
  
• Watch out for overpriced training manuals
• Inexpensive Web Deployment using Reportal CR
• A New MS Access Report Converter
• Force groups to start on the odd page number
• Suppress column headings on the last page when there are no details
• New Page After" on group 2 orphans group footer 1

Volume 2005.06

• BO attempts to restrict user group speakers
• The "Don't Pay Twice" campaign to educate Crystal and Enterprise users
• Business Objects Enterprise XI configurations and prices
• Crystal Reports Server vs building your own application
• Crystal Wizard official download
• New XI features added to the Expert's Guide to Subreports, Parameters and Alerts
• Eliminating extra rows and columns in Excel exports
• Copying and pasting cross-tabs to Excel

Volume 2005.05

• Are independent training and consulting license violations?
• CDUGNA is no more
• CrystalWizard was gone in v11, but is available again
• Enhanced ODBC export in Visual Cut
• More complaints about v11 parameters
• Some tricks I learned from my students
  

Volume 2005.03

• Crystal Reports Server
• BO Enterprise XI
• No Broadcast License?
• Another complaint about CR XI
• Another comparison of SSRS and CR
• A formula that finds Easter for any year
• An improved formula for getting the report file name

Volume 2005.02

• Detailed list of new features in CR XI
• Is CR/CE too expensive for small/medium size businesses?
• Are independent courses/courseware a violation of BO's license?
• A new comparison of CE and SSRS
• Another free Bar-Code Font
• .rpt Inspector 3 Enterprise Suite, and 25% off for my readers
• Getting reports from spreadsheet data

Volume 2005.01

• Highlights of Crystal Reports 11
• The end of concurrent licenses
  
• Expert's Guide to Subreports, Parameters and Alerts (New)
• Selecting an ODBC Connection at runtime
• Data Link Viewer 4.5001 Released
  

Volume 2004.11

• Class Action Suit Against Business Objects
• The end of concurrent licenses?
• Security issue with JPEG files
• Reportal v3
• SQL Expressions that do Correlated Subqueries
• When using a Command can Slow Things Down
  

Volume 2004.10

• Distinct Sum when the duplicates are not consecutive
• Registry key to turn off auto linking in v9
• Free and Simple Bar Code Fonts
• Tricks to using the Mailing Label Wizard
• Finding the First or Last Friday of the Month (or any weekday)
• How many Mondays in a date range
  

Volume 2004.09

• Spam Filters and this Newsletter
• When Crystal tries to be "helpful" (and how to avoid it)
• A New Access Report Converter
  
• A New Report Translation Management Tool
• Improved Rounding to the nearest 5 cents
• Alternate Method for Splitting a Section

Volume 2004.08

• Actuate offers a Crystal 'converter' service
• Using the Performance Info in v9 and v10
• Finding groups where the last record meets a criteria
• Export to a secured PDF (no Printing, Changing, etc w/o password)
• Rounding to the nearest 5 cents
  

Volume 2004.07

• Free Support for Crystal Reports
• Crystal ends free support for v8.5
• Putting Percentages in a cross-tab
• Aligning Text objects with Fields in v10
• Experiences with Crystal Support

Volume 2004.06

• Security Flaw in Crystal Enterprise
  
• SQL Server Native Client and syntax changes
• Other reasons to keep a copy v8.5 around 
• Parameter for ALL including Nulls (Improved)
• Export to PDF and color code the PDF Bookmarks
• Changing a command causes CRv10 to shut down
• PrintDate vs DataDate (and another bug in v10)

Volume 2004.05

• Broadcast License restrictions removed from CRv10
• New shareware viewer/manager "Crystal Delivery"
• Why you should turn off "Field Clipping" in any version of Crystal
• How to use "OR" and still pass a WHERE clause to your SQL statement
•  Visual Cut Exports to specific Excel tabs
• "Keep Group Together" in v10

Volume 2004.04

•  Lose your Repository when you 'upgrade' to CRv10
•  Running Crystal Enterprise and Crystal Reports in Linux
• Getting CR and CE Certifications from BO for $450
• Crystal v11 to be released in late 2004?
• CRv9 and CRv10 report files are already 'zipped'
• Shutting of Smart Linking in CRv10
• CRv9 and CRv10 can't use SQL Server native client
• CRV9 Service Pack 3 released
  

Volume 2004.03

• Summary of Crystal Enterprise v10 Options and Pricing
• New "Business Days" Formulas:
• Special Offer on SPL 2 and rpt Inspector 2
• Visual Cut 3.0
• Parameter remembers last choice in v10
• Locking the size of a Box by going past the margin
• New formula for 6-digit number to date.
• Changing the Btrieve DAT file used by a report

Volume 2004.02

• Summary of Crystal Reports v10 Editions
• Comparison of Crystal to SQL Server Reporting Services
• Free ODBC driver/Data Schema for QuickBooks
• PeachTree SalesRep field moved 
• OLE image objects glitch
• Visual FoxPro file Name glitch
• CDUGNA 2004 Conference
• British Columbia Users Group Meeting
• Dallas/Ft. Worth Users Group Meeting

Volume 2004.01

• Review of Crystal Reports v10
• License Changes in CRv10 
• New Certification options for CR/CE v10
• Bug in HTML Text Interpretation (v9)
• Who might switch to SQL Server Reporting Services
• CDUGNA 2004 Conference
• Business Objects makes it official

Volume 2003.12

• Using Bar Code Fonts in Crystal:
• A description of SQL Server Reporting Services
• Find a date based on Year and ISO Standard Date
• Doing a SELECT in a SQL Expression field
• Automatically Updating Repository Objects in Reports
• Reinstall fixes bug?

Volume 2003.11

• Crystal Reports v10
• Business Objects User Conference
• Discount on ICB Reports
• Change Paper Tray / Orientation with DataLink Viewer 
• Crystal Info looses support in 2004
• The chart changes based on parameter values chosen?
• Column Heading bug in v9
• Some Functions not allowed when writing custom Functions
• Custom Functions update only when you change File Options

Volume 2003.10

• NEW! Quick Reference to Crystal Reports in VB.NET 
• User Contributions:
•     > RAS sample code
•     > Displaying Multiple Range Parameters
• Octoburst and OctoPDF
• Crystal Command 
• User Name Security in DataLink Viewer 
• When "Select Distinct" doesn't work
• "Convert Null to Default" is disabled?
• Specifying Chart Colors by Group
• Email Delays from Verio

Volume 2003.09

• NEW! Expert Techniques for Crystal Reports Vol II - (more favorite Tips and Tricks)
• Free copy of Crystal Enterprise 9 Professional
• Encrypting RPT files (protect your source code)
• Enhancements to Crystal Ease
• An "Open Source" version of a Crystal Reports viewer
• Bugs in v9 with .NET
• Adding repository folders for Custom Functions
• New PDFs on Crystal object models
• Business Objects user Conference
• Getting Column Breaks in a multi-column report
• Discourage Identity Theft for 7 years (for free)
  

Volume 2003.08

• NEW! Expert Techniques for Crystal Reports Vol I - (my favorite Tips and Tricks)
• Some new details about SQL Server Reporting Services
• Crystal Decisions bought by Business Objects
• Crystal Enterprise Add-In for Microsoft Excel
• Visual Cut now exports to PDF with Bookmarks
• New Search feature on Crystal's website
• Chart bug when using "Side by Side" install of Crystal
• Mozilla - the browser without Pop-Up windows

Volume 2003.07

• CR Advanced Free Trial 
• Shopping Around for Crystal Services and Software
• Crystal Passage includes Email
• Charting Enhancements by 3D Graphics
• Crystal Ease 3  
• Using "Unlisted" Functions in SQL Expressions

Volume 2003.06

• Response from CD to Broadcast Scenarios 
• Microsoft Reporting Services Beta program
• Crystal Decisions Going Public?
• Parameter Fields with an Up-To-Date Pick List
• CView Pick
• DataLink Viewer
  
• RAS ePortfolio parameter limits
• BC Users Group
• Report File Name without the path in v7

Volume 2003.05

• Surprise Change in Crystal v9 Licensing
• Broadcast Scenarios Update
• Microsoft Gets Into Reporting?
• Third Party Product Updates
• Visual Cut
• Cut Light
• Reportal
• Fax Distribution Tools
• Crystal Partners Opt Out

Volume 2003.04

• Crystal Broadcast License now $100,000
• Crystal Broadcast scenarios
• Preventing Unwanted Drill-Down
• Section Background Color that fades gradually.
• Third Party Product Update
• Crystal Reports Distributor 3.0
• rptViewer
• DataLink Viewer
• A New 3rd Party Report Distribution System

Volume 2003.03

• My list of 3rd Party Products for Crystal Reports
• Folder and Row level security for Crystal Enterprise Standard
• Report Shield
• ICB Viewer
• Row Level Security for Crystal Enterprise Professional
• APOS
• Crystal Enterprise Prices
• February Case Study Follow Up - CE9 RAS Advanced Edition
• Using Currency Symbol Codes (Euro,Pounds Yen) in your Reports

Volume 2003.02

• Crystal Enterprise v9 is Released
• Free Download of VB.NET Book
• User Group Meetings in British Columbia
• National CDUGNA conference in British Columbia
• Report on User Group meeting in DC
• February Case Study - CE9 RAS Advanced Edition
• Free Download of Crystal Passage Scheduler
• Special Offer on Crystal Desk Report Scheduler Pro v9 
• The Complete Reference for Crystal Reports v9 

Volume 2003.01

• User Group meetings in DC and Central Virginia
• Test your self with my Crystal Reports Skills Test
• New Service Pack for Crystal Reports v8.5 
• Report directly from COBOL data files, without ODBC drivers (Data2CR) 
• Choose an Ascending or Descending sort with a parameter 
• CRv8.5 Help files don't install on PCs with IEv6 
• Bug in the Reimport Subreport feature

Volume 2002.12

• NEW! The Expert's Guide to Crystal Reports Formulas
• Download a complete list of all of Crystal's Technical Briefs
• Converting MS Access Reports to Crystal Reports, automatically
• Crystal Desk 3.0 Scheduler and a New Report Viewer
• Using Cross-tabs to Increment Running Totals
• A New Formula Debug/Trace Window in Crystal v9 
• Warning! Crystal v9 Commands can now Read and Write

Volume 2002.11

• First Hot Fix for v9
• Stripping all punctuation from a string
• Useful PDF files from Crystal Decisions
• New Third-Party Products
• Missing License Information
• Displaying Range Parameters with "No Lower/Upper Bound"

Volume 2002.10

• Web Deployment Options for CRv9 and RAS
• Download the SQL designer and the Dictionary Editor for CRv9
• Broadcast License clarified (some good news)
• "Cloaking" a group in a report
• New third-party products
• Timberline incompatible with Crystal v9
• Goldmine and Crystal v9 Standard

Volume 2002.09

• Crystal Reports Version 9 New Features (Good and Bad)
• Important License Changes in v9
• Other small improvements in v9
• Recommended improvements NOT made in v9
• Features removed or made worse in v9
  
• Washington DC Area User Group Meeting
• Does your User Group Board Represent You?
• Dallas-Fort Worth User Group Meeting

Volume 2002.08

• Evaluating your Crystal Instructor
• New Utility to Search/Modify an entire batch of Crystal Reports in one step
• Reporting on Data that Isn't There
• Additional CALs now affect Broadcast License
• CUT Utility goes visual
• Is there a subreport hidden in this report 

Volume 2002.07

• Update of the VB Quick Reference Guide
• Crystal and Actuate settle lawsuit
• Why can't I total this formula?
• Reading an external logo file at runtime
• Mysterious shifting objects
• Taking the owner out of a SQL server database connection
• v8 Hot fix affects compiled reports

Volume 2002.06

• Sneak Peek at Crystal Reports Version 9
• Summary of Crystal Enterprise configuration options
• Crystal Reports user groups
• New version of Crystal Desk scheduler
• CUT Email UFL does electronic bursting
• How to move values from the last record to the Report Header
• Carving a memo field into smaller pieces

Volume 2002.05

• A new report viewer for only $35
• A new "Hot Fix" for Crystal v8.5
• Crystal presents evidence in lawsuit against Actuate
• Using PeachTree UFL functions for Crystal Reports
  
• Formula for adding a specific number of business days to a date
• Formula for finding the last Friday (or any day) of month

Volume 2002.04

• Distributing reports via Email
• How to print "continued on NEXT page"
• New tech articles on CD web-site
• Converting IF-THEN criteria to a WHERE clause
• CRv9 and Unicode support
• How to improve the resolution when exporting to PDF
• Printing check boxes and other symbols from formulas

Volume 2002.03

• Crystal v9 going into Beta testing
• Adding Functions to Crystal with UFLs
• Checking your SQL statements against the ISO standard
• Crystal Decisions Sues Actuate for false advertising
• New add-on products for Crystal Reports
• Page numbers for Cross-tabs
• The effect of dashes on the VAL() function

Volume 2002.02  

• Questions to ask while planning a Crystal Reports deployment
• Understanding the Crystal Reports licenses and fees
• Options for deploying Crystal Reports to multiple users
• An even *better* place to buy Crystal on the Web
• Washington DC Area User's Group Meeting in February
• Finding a stray formula so that it can be deleted
• Compile feature is now only for Developer's Edition

Volume 2002.01

• Where to buy Crystal Reports on the Web
• CR Upgrade Policy
• Buying Crystal Reports on Ebay
• Expanding the design area of Crystal Reports
• Calculating the Quartile from the percentile

Volume 2001.12

• The new Protege program
• The Crystal Reports "HotFix" update for v8.5
• Crystal, the Registry and INI files
• Formula for finding the first Monday of the current month
• Using "OR" for selection when you may have Null values

Volume 2001.11

• Crystal Authorization vs. Certification
• Email support from Crystal Decisions
• Active DLLs
• Forcing Table Inflation to create duplicate records
• The Stealth Subreport

Volume 2001.10

• Bugs in v8.5
• CrystalDesk
• Default Settings
• Mystery DLL names in CR
•  DateTime fields in QRY Files

Volume 2001.09  

• Support from Crystal, Tek-Tips and other resources
• Putting a Title onto a Cross-tab
• The Saved Data trap
• Calculating the number of "Work Days" between two dates
• Using the Compile feature in Versions 8 and 8.5