History

In 1995, Smithware, Inc. the makers of Crystal Reports for Btrieve, became an OEM partner with Seagate Software, the developers of Crystal Reports. Because Crystal Reports requires DDFs (Data Dictionary Files) to connect to Btrieve data, Smithware realized that they could make Crystal Reports a comprehensive report writing solution for Btrieve-based applications by bundling their DDF tools and everything one would need in order to report on Btrieve data. This is how Crystal Reports for Btrieve was born. The bundle includes: Btrieve client engines, DDF tools and utilities, High-Performance Drivers for Crystal Reports that support Magic Data Types, all in a single installation with the Crystal Reports Professional version report writer.

Smithware has for some time supported Magic Data Types (also called Extended Data Types) in their DDF tools and utilities. So now, by adding Magic Data Type support into the High-Performance Drivers for Crystal Reports, this makes Crystal Reports for Btrieve the logical report writing solution for Magic applications. This is the primary difference between other versions of Crystal Reports and Crystal Reports for Btrieve.

In 1997, Smithware began shipping Crystal Reports for Btrieve -- Magic Edition, a specialized version of Crystal Reports for Btrieve that was to support a direct connection between Crystal Reports and Magic 7x control files, eliminating the need for DDFs. Initially the product worked directly with v7.1a CTL files. While the company had the best of intentions and was endeavoring to work closely with MSE on delivering a solid product that would work directly with CTL files from any 7x or 8x version of Magic, it became apparent that the idea of a direct CTL file/Crystal Reports connection was not going to be implemented due to continual API changes that were being released with each version of Magic. Consequently, Smithware decided to discontinue support for the direct control file connection.

As you might expect, this little journey through history brings us to where we are today and the bottom line -- Magic users and developers can take full advantage of the power of Crystal Reports for Btrieve by simply using DDFs (Data Dictionary Files) with their Magic applicaitons.

A Word On DDFs

DDFs can be created easily by using the "Make DDF Utility" in Magic 7x and 8x (Win95/NT and documented in the read-me). If the DDFs created with the "Make DDF Utility" need to be edited, don't worry. Crystal Reports for Btrieve includes DDF Builder, which allows Magic developers to build, edit and maintain DDFs easily.

For earlier versions of Magic, developers can build DDFs from scratch by keying in the table definitions with DDF Builder. This can be a time consuming project but typically its only done once. If changes are made to the record layout they can be reflected in the DDFs easily by using DDF Builder.

Smithware has a utility that can automatically create a DDF from a Magic Export File. Now this is truly a big "pain reliever" for Magic developers that are considering using Crystal Reports. For further information, contact Smithware.

The inclusion of DDF tools with Crystal Reports for Btrieve is another reason it's a complete report writing option for any Magic developer. Once you've got DDFs, using the report writer is simple. Just point the report writer to the DDF files and you're ready to rock and report!

Crystal Clear Credibility With Developers

Crystal Reports is widely recognized as the reporting tool of choice for developers, as evidenced by its inclusion with Microsoft development products, Oracle Power Objects, and numerous other development environments. Over 160 independent software vendors rely exclusively on Crystal Reports to meet the reporting requirements of their shrink-wrapped software applications. Crystal Reports has some major credibility from the developers point of view! Here's why...

Freely Distribute Compiled Reports -- Crystal Reports for Btrieve allows Magic Developers to freely distribute "compiled reports" (an executable report) that will run on any Windows workstation without the Crystal Report designer being present. Even when working with Magic/Btrieve/DOS based applications, all users need is a Windows workstation and they can launch the compiled reports. Compiled reports can be run on demand and can include several print options like allowing users to define date ranges for reports. Notably, these compiled reports can be distributed royalty free.

Use Crystal Reports Within Your Magic Application -- Crystal Reports is clearly designed with developers in mind as it includes a royalty free runtime license for the Crystal Report Engine. This allows developers to incorporate the reporting capabilities of Crystal into Magic applications with royalty free distribution.

There are a couple of options for Magic developers who want this kind of integration. Synopsis Systems, a Magic related development company, has developed what they call The Crystal Reports -- Magic Link. This Interface DLL lets Magic developers connect to the features of Crystal and run reports from within the Magic environment by utilizing Magic's User Defined Functions (UDFs).

Normally, reports created by Crystal Reports have to be compiled and then executed as a stand-alone application. This means that any parameters required by the report need to be entered by the user manually. Moreover, the look-and-feel of the report's user interface is fixed and may not be compatible with the rest of the application.

Because of these limitations, Crystal Reports has been perceived as an end-user tool and not as a tool for the Magic developer. The reality though, is that many of Crystal Reports features are very difficult to attain in Magic; graphical charts, cross-tab reports, drill-down reports to name a few. Now, with The Crystal Reports -- Magic Link DLL acting as an interface between Magic and the Crystal Reports engine, parameters and other control commands can be passed directly from the Magic application to the report engine. In the Magic environment the interface is seen as a set of Magic UDFs. Using this interface DLL, Crystal Reports can be integrated in a Magic application in a way that is transparent to the end-user. This means Magic applications can now produce presentation quality reports that include graphs, charts, web reporting and more. The Magic Link DLL works with Magic version 7.x and 8. For further information, contact Synopsis System, Ltd.

Beyond The Developer

Crystal Reports for Btrieve not only provides Magic developers flexibility, but it also provides sales and marketing flexibility in the presentation of the report writing solution for Magic applications. This means developers have lots of options in determining the best way to take care of the end users reporting requirements. There are significant value-adding and revenue generating opportunities for developers that take advantage of presenting Crystal Reports for Btrieve. Contact Smithware for more information.

A Few Noteworthy Specifications

Crystal Reports for Btrieve includes the fully functional version of Crystal Reports Professional edition which is optimized for performance with Btrieve-based applications. It also supports database formats in addition to Btrieve. So even if you use Magic with Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server, you can still use Smithware Crystal Reports for Btrieve to access your data. In fact, you can even combine data from different database sources into a single report. For example, you can create a single report that reads your accounting department's Magic/Btrieve data and your sales department's ACT! data. You can also design reports for other popular data formats, accessing data from virtually any PC, SQL or ODBC-compliant data source. The SQL Query editor tool lets you create your own SQL statements too.

There is a standard version of Crystal Reports available (not from Smithware). However, the standard version of Crystal Reports does not include all the developer related features or support for Magic Data Types. Also worth noting is Crystal Reports for Btrieve will work with any version of Magic/Btrieve data (with DDFs). Crystal Reports for Btrieve includes 16 and 32 bit versions and has optional network installations and configurations.

So, as it turns out, Magic users and developers have more than a few good reasons to consider Crystal Reports for Btrieve as part of their report writing strategy. If you're finding yourself wanting to know more, you'll find a list of resources below that will help you. Thanks for reading and happy reporting!