General Instructions for Independent Students:

When you receive your books:

1) Binding
The book will seem to be bound backwards but this is intentional.  This is to make it easier for most students to take notes along side the material.

2) Suggested study method
Each Lesson in the book lists a corresponding exercise number and these exercises are found in the back of the book.  These exercises are the illustrations that I use in class to demonstrate the material.  I recommend that you read one lesson, and then follow the steps in the corresponding exercise.  I then recommend that you read the same lesson a second time after completing the exercise.  If you have trouble completing the exercise, or if it doesn't make sense, then you can use your prepaid time to either give me a call or send me an Email with a question.  I have a minimum response charge of 15 minutes so it probably makes sense to save up a couple of questions when possible. 

Once you have done the exercise in the sample data it is a great idea to try and adapt the exercises to your live data.  However, I recommend that you do each exercise in the sample data first.  The reason for this is that the exercises are designed to make the lesson obvious visually.  The result may not be as obvious in your live data.

3) Screenshots
There are no screenshots in the book because without them I can more easily cover multiple Crystal versions in the same book.  I also prefer step-by-step written instructions since a picture can only show you one point of a process.  My experience has been that while some people expect screen shots, few students actually miss the pictures when given clear, step-by-step written exercises.  So my exercises are written in a manner that allows you to complete them without an instructor.  If you have questions about an exercises, or feel it is unclear, please let me know.

4) Wizards
I use the standard wizard to create the first draft of most reports (in class and also in my work).  All the steps of the wizard are also covered as lessons in the material, including how to use the corresponding menu item for each wizard feature..

5) Report design worksheet
The loose pages of the Intro material include 2 copies of my 'report design worksheet'.  These are copies of page 28 in the Intro book.  Pages 26 and 27 explain how the sheet is filled out and how to use the worksheet when walking through the wizard.  You can decide if you think this worksheet is useful for you.

6) Quizzes
There are sample quiz questions on my web site's LIBRARY page if you want to test yourself.  There is an Email address that you can use to automatically send you the answers.

7) Labs
The labs on the worksheets are typically only used in public classes.  You should try to design a few simple reports from your live data.

8) Crossloop
For most students it helps if they set up hosting for a remote session (so we can share control of your PC).   If you have something already (Webex, GoToMeeting, etc) then we can use that.  Otherwise there is a simple and free tool I like called Cross-loop that allows you to host a remote session.  You can download and install this tool before your first session with me or during that session.  It usually takes about 3 minutes to setup.