Crystal Reports Interface Overview

The Crystal Reports Editor can be used to alter an existing report or create a completely new report.

In this article

Getting Started | Features | Enhancements | Sample Reports | Related Content

Getting Started

EBMS allows the user to customize a report using the following methods:

• EBMS Settings:  Review Form Configuration for various EBMS form options.   

• Simple:   Save prompt and report setting defaults.  Review the Report Query and Save as Default instructions in Printing a Report to set a user defined report query.

• Intermediate:  Complete the following steps to set multiple defaults for the same report.  This step is useful to set user defined query, prompts, and other settings for same report.  

  1. Export report from EBMS:  Review the Export a Report section within Report Menu for instructions.

  2. Rename the report (*.RPT) file to a unique report name with a RPT extension.   Name the file to clarify the reason for the duplicate report file.

  3. Import the new report (standard report with new name) into EBMS.  Review the Adding Reports or Reports Folders section within Report Menu for instructions.

  4. Set report defaults for the new report which should not affect the original report since they have different report names.   Review the Save as Default section within Printing a Report for save as default instructions.

• Advanced: use Crystal Reports Editor to alter an existing report or create a completely new report. All EBMS reports are created using the Business Objects Crystal Reports software. This popular third-party report writer can be used to manipulate existing reports or to create new reports and can be purchased from Eagle Solutions. Crystal Reports requires programming knowledge to create new or complicated reports but may be useful to change appearance such as font style, additional data, or other basic changes to an existing report. Go to the Crystal Reports Module page for more information on Crystal Reports and EBMS.  

• Eagle Solutions offers a service to alter or change  existing reports according to the needs and specifications of individual clients. Contact Eagle Business Software for information on needed reports that are not included within EBMS.

All customization methods require the user to export the report file (*.rpt) from EBMS, edit the report, and re-import it. Complete the following steps for any type of report customization:

1. Select File > Reports from the main EBMS menu to open the following reports window:
   

2. Identify the report that you wish to alter and click on the Save as File button. This step will export the report from within EBMS into an RPT file, which will be used by the Crystal Reports software.
   Skip the next 2 steps if you are using the simple customization method using report queries and defaults.

3. Make changes to RPT file using Crystal Reports and save a copy of the custom report in a directory or drive in case EBMS must be reinstalled because of data loss or corruption. See Crystal Reports manual for details on editing or changing report parameters. Eagle Solutions offers training classes for Crystal Reports training but can not offer free phone support for reports that were customized by the user or other third party services.   

4. RENAME FILE  It is very important to rename this edited file if the original was a standard EBMS file. If a custom report is identified with the same file name as a standard EBMS file, the report will be overwritten the next time EBMS reports are updated.

5. Click on the New Report button from within the Reports menu window and open the RPT file that was edited or changed.
   

6. Click on the Open dialog to add the report and the following message will appear if the report file is not unique:
   

7. Click on the No button if the new report is not a replacement for an original custom report and cancel the wizard.
   

8. Rename the Displayed Report Name in order to identify the custom report from the original standard EBMS report.

9. Set the appropriate security settings.  Click the OK button to complete the process.

10. Click on Set Query to define a query for the report. This powerful feature can be used to set user defined queries. For example, the user may want to print only invoices with a specific ship date or other criteria not listed within the Report Options. Review the Features > Advanced Query Options section from the Main EBMS documentation for details on configuring a query for your report. Click on the Save as Default button at the bottom of the print dialog to save the query for future printings. Review the Printing a Report section for more details on defaults and other print dialog options.

Common use cases

Create and Alter Reports

The Crystal Reports Editor can be used to alter an existing report or create a completely new report. This popular third-party report writer can be used to manipulate existing reports or to create new reports.

Crystal Reports requires programming knowledge to create new or complicated reports but may be useful to change appearance such as font style, additional data, or other basic changes to an existing report. Additional custom reports can also be purchased from Eagle Business Software.

Features

Customizable