Crystal Reports Training by Ken Hamady, MS, Reporting and Training Nationwide
The
Crystal Reports Underground News - Volume 2003.04 (April 2003)
an independent source
for Crystal Reports Information by Ken Hamady
Contents for April, 2003:
** Crystal Broadcast License now $100,000
** Crystal Broadcast scenarios
** Finally, Credit Cards without PayPa1
** Expert Training in Leesburg, Philadelphia and now Frederick, MD
** Preventing Unwanted Drill-Down
** Section Background Color that fades gradually.
** Expert On-site Training and Consulting
** Third Party Product Updates
** The Expert's Guide to Crystal Reports Formulas
** A New 3rd Party Report Distribution System
** My Quick Reference to Crystal Reports in Visual Basic
** Read back issues at http://www.kenhamady.com/news.html
Crystal Broadcast License now costs $100,000:
The
Crystal
Broadcast License (CBL) is starting to remind me of a buried
landmine.
The road looks clear, but...
I just found out this past month that the CBL price went from $35,000
to
$100,000. If you would rather pay an annual license fee the cost
is
"only" $25,000 per year.
With prices this high, you might expect clear criteria for invoking
this
license. But the wording of the v8.5 license, when taken
literally,
covers a broad area of fairly common activities. The wording is
so
broad that Crystal has had to post a clarification on their site.
Without
this clarification, exporting a weekly report to a web site requires a
CBL,
and therefore a fee of $100,000. I explained this to Crystal
Decisions
2 years ago, and received several clarifications. You can read this
dialogue
at:
http://www.kenhamady.com/license.html
So when v9 was released last year, I expected clearer wording. To
my
surprise the scope is now boader. I wrote an article to highlight
the
problem - quoting the license and highlighting what it actually
said.
I took the words literally, which is how you should approach a legal
document.
In response, the management at CD contacted me to say they were
"disappointed"
in my article and hinted that it included "incorrect or unclear
information".
They suggested a conference call to clarify the CBL. I agreed on
the
condition that the clarification would be sent to me in writing, so
that
I could confidently publish the clarification.
During our call Crystal Management told me that the license was "not as
clear
as it could be". I was also told that CD intended only fully
automated
"processes" to require a CBL. I asked them to clarify that this
"process"
included both the "generation and distribution" of the report.
After the call, as promised, one of the managers at CD sent me a clear
written
response which summarized the call. I used the wording from that
response
to explain the CBL in my newsletter and on my web site. I was
told
that CD would post a similar clarification on the CD web-site. I
thought
the issue was settled.
In March 2003, I asked the same manager to compare a specific user's
distribution
method to the wording she sent me after our call. Within a few
days,
this same manager informed me that I should no longer use the wording
she
had used, because it was not correct. Maybe I am old fashioned,
but
I think customers have a right to rely on written statements provided
by
the management of Crystal Decisions. This is especially important
when
a customer makes a business decision based on that information.
To
back up my position, I have posted all of the relevant correspondence
on
this topic since September 2002:
http://www.kenhamady.com/cbl9.html
Let me know if you share my concern, or if you have another
opinion.
I am currently working on a dozen or so distribution scenarios that I
plan
to submit to CD for their review. I want to see exactly how they
intend
to (re)define compliance with the CBL. I will let you know if I
think
the line is being moved significantly.
Crystal Broadcast scenarios:
I
recently
was asked by a user to review a report distribution scenario. A
CD
Representative had told him he would need a CBL, but it didn't look
that
way to me. So, I sent it to the Product Manager who had clarified
the
CBL for me. She initially agreed that it didn't look like a CBL
case,
but she did some follow-up. I don't know the internal process,
but
eventually the CD legal team ruled it to be a CBL scenario, which
called
into question the written clarification that I had received. If
you
are curious, you can read a description of the actual scenario in my
Email
dialogue:
http://www.kenhamady.com/cbl9.html
This was exactly what I have been trying to avoid - someone making a
significant
investment and THEN they are told that they need a CBL. So, I am
putting
together some hypothetical distribution scenarios for CD to
review.
My goal is to define specific criteria for CBL violation. If you
have
a scenario that you would like to share with me (actual, potential or
theoretical)
I will consider including it in the list. Email or call if you
have
questions.
Finally, Credit Cards without PayPa1:
I
finally
took the plunge and setup a merchant account. So, if you need to
pay
for a class or buy some consulting time, you can now pay by Credit Card
without
the extra steps required for PayPa1. You can use Visa, MasterCard
or
Discover today. I add AMEX in about a week.
I have also updated my site to allow for Credit Card payments via
secure
server. I learned some nifty little PERL script in the
process.
So, if anyone wants a crash course in the basics of PERL scripting or
setting
up merchant accounts - call me soon. I will probably forget it
all
in a few weeks.
New Classroom Location in Frederick, MD:
I
am
going to try an experiment and hold my Baltimore classes in Frederick,
MD.
The locations are now:
Leesburg, VA
Frederick, MD
Philadelphia, PA
Each 2-day class is $675 per student, and includes email and phone
support
after the class. Dates, course outlines and registration info are
on
my website at:
http://www.kenhamady.com/public.html
Or, call for more information at (540) 338-0194.
Preventing unwanted Drill-Downs:
Drill-Down
is a wonderful feature, but it can confuse those who don't expect
it.
Even with suppressed sections, users can drill-down to an empty screen
and
not realize what they have done. Or they will accidentally drill
down
when the details are not hidden, launching an unwanted window.
When this came up in Tek-Tips, Brian Reed from ICTI shared a great
solution.
Take each field in the Group Header or Group Footer, and drop it into
an
empty text object. Crystal won't allow drill-down from a text
object,
even if there are fields embedded in the text.
Background Color that fades Gradually:
The
formulas
below were inspired by Naith, another Tek-Tips member, who posted a
technique
for getting the background color of a section to fade slowly as you go
down
the page. I have modified it so that each group fades at a
different
rate, depending on how many details there are in the group.
1) Add a summary field that counts the records in the
group.
2) Place the following formula in the background color property for the
details
section:
WhilePrintingRecords;
NumberVar Counter;
NumberVar Inc := Truncate (255 / Count ( {Field} , {GroupField} ) ) ; // Your summary field goes in this line
If Counter + Inc >= 255
Then Counter := 255
Else Counter := Counter + Inc;
Color( Counter, 255, Counter )
3) Put the following formula in the Group header:
WhilePrintingRecords;
NumberVar Counter:= 0
What you will see is a green background that starts darker, and then
fades
evenly to the end of the group. Longer groups will fade slower
than
shorter groups. If you prefer other colors you can use
Color( 255, counter, counter ) for Red
Color( 255, 255, counter ) for Yellow
Color( counter, counter, 255 ) for Blue
With some experimenting, other colors are possible.
Expert On-Site Training or Consulting:
I
have
personally taught 1500 satisfied students in more than 30 states.
Training
with your data is my specialty, and I charge about half of the "List
Price"
for Crystal Training.
Do I know my stuff? Check out the Crystal Reports Forum at
Tek-Tips.com
and you will find me listed as the top Crystal Reports expert out of
over
23,000 members:
http://www.tek-tips.com/gthreadminder.cfm/lev2/4/lev3/100/pid/149
Can I teach? Many students have said that my classes are among
the
best technical classes they have taken. Ask to speak to a recent
customer
as a reference. Call for more information at (540) 338-0194.
Third Party Product Updates:
One
of
my readers, Thomas Biernat, pointed me to the new version of the
ChristionSteven
application. This report manager is now called Crystal Reports
Distributor
3.0, and allows you to schedule a batch or "package" of reports to run
at
once. They have also added fax distribution capabilities.
Another reader, John Kirkman, pointed out that rptViewer has been
released
in beta for Version 9. You can download the beta version for free
with
no time limits.
The Data Link Viewer has also been recently updated to make it easier
to
do fax distribution.
The Expert's Guide to Crystal Reports Formulas:
Learn
to write and understand formulas like a Pro, with "The Expert's Guide
to
Crystal Reports Formulas". I take you from the basics all the way
through
variables, arrays and looping logic. I explain HOW, WHY and WHEN
to
use these techniques and provide tips and tricks that are rarely taught
in
classes.
The guide includes 28 annotated reports and 45 no-nonsense pages of
detailed
explanations. The cost is only $36 and you can download it
immediately
with most Credit Cards. For more details, visit my website at:
http://www.kenhamady.com/form00.html
A Brand New Report Manager Application:
Ariel
Corporation has released an application called Ariel Alerts. This
is
an enterprise level viewing/distribution system that can launch reports
based
on scheduled times or system events, like the end of a database
update.
It can also monitor the reports that are run, and generate alerts to
user
or to a designated Email address whenever conditions in the report meet
predetermined
criteria. It is compatible with both v8.5 and v9 and costs
$5,500.
Check out the on-line demo on their web site.
VB Quick Reference
Guide,
updated for v9:
If
you
use Crystal Reports in VB applications, you should get my Quick
Reference
Guide. It gives an overview of the different integration methods,
syntax
examples for the most common commands and troubleshooting tips.
It
also comes with source code examples including a simple report
viewer.
It is only $16 and you can usually have it within an hour. Follow
the
link below for more details:
http://www.kenhamady.com/vbref.html
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instructions:
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Contact Information
Ken Hamady, MS
525K East Market St. PMB 299
Leesburg, VA 20176
(540) 338-0194
ken@kenhamady.com
http://www.kenhamady.com
Copyright 2003 by Ken Hamady
All rights reserved - Republishing this material requires written
permission