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Creating a quick sales report using Crystal Reports is easy. The product includes a series of "Report Experts" that walk you through report creation.
Select the Tables to be Used in the Report. The first step is to select which Btrieve database tables to use. This report will use the COMPANY table and the order HEADER table shown in the Tables screen above.
Review Links Between Related Tables. Since all orders are linked to a particular company, use Links screen to have Crystal link the "CUSTNUM" field from the order header to the "CUSTOMER" field in the company table. With this link defined, whenever the report engine looks at an order HEADER for a particular company, the correct company will be selected from the COMPANY table.
Choose Which Fields to Print. The Fields screen allows the selection of fields to be printed on the report. For this sales report, the selected fields as shown above are ORDERNUM, DATE, and AMOUNT from the HEADER table, and CONAME and STATE from the COMPANY table. Column headings that for each field on the report can be also specified.
Choose Fields to Sort and Group by. Since the goal is to generate a report that shows sales by state, the Sort screen can be used to group the report by the STATE field from the COMPANY table. The sort direction may also be specified for the selected groups.
Choose the Fields That Control Totaling. This screen is used to tell the report designer which fields will control subtotal calculations. For the sales report by state, the STATE field from the COMPANY table is chosen. When the STATE field changes on the report, a subtotal line will be drawn and the report will display the sum of the AMOUNT fields from the HEADER table for the state.
Choose the TopN. You can tell the report designer to display only the top values in the database by setting the TopN.
Choose a Graph. Choose from several preset graph styles to improve the quality and clarity of your report..
Select the Correct Records for the Report. If, for example, you wished to view information for only certain states, you could select just for those states using the this screen. This tab is especially useful when a report is being generated from a lot of data.
Select the Report Style from among the Predefined Report Styles. Crystal Reports provides a number of commonly used report styles as templates in the Report Expert. Creating a professional-looking report layout is as easy as picking the right style for the information you're presenting.
Customizing a Report
Once a report is generated, the report design screen provides a vast array of reporting options. You can choose from several pre-defined report styles and specify fonts, colors, shading and graphics. By hiding the detail portion of the report, you can quickly convert our detail report into a summary report, and use Crystal's "Drill-Down" facility to zoom into the underlying data. Changing fonts or colors and adding bitmap images and special header text is simple. Crystal also comes with a complete set of integrated graphs that can add to the visual impact of a report.
Report Compilation and Distribution
One of the best features of Crystal Reports is the ability to distribute reports to the people who need the information. Once a report is defined, it can be compiled into an EXE file, exported, or even e-mailed. There is a "Report Distribution Expert" that helps distribute all of the necessary DLLs, EXEs, and configuration files required by compiled reports. Since Crystal Reports is MAPI enabled, you can easily e-mail reports to various recipients. You can also export report data to one of many different formats including Excel and Lotus spreadsheets, and various others.
Back to Smithware Crystal Reports for Btrieve Product Information.
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