1 web-enabled decision support systems crystal reports prof. name [email protected] position (123)...

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Web-Enabled Decision Support Systems

Crystal Reports

Prof. Name [email protected] (123) 456-7890University Name

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Overview

16.1 Introduction 16.2 Crystal Report Primer: A Simple Student Report 16.3 Crystal Report Sections 16.4 Customizing Reports: Exploring the Design Environment 16.5 Properties of a CrystalReportViewer Control 16.6 Hands-On Tutorial: Creating a Pie-Chart to Display Salaries 16.7 Hands-On Tutorial: Creating a Report from Multiple Tables 16.8 Hands-On Tutorial: Creating Parameterized Crystal Reports 16.9 In-Class Assignments 16.10 Summary

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Introduction

Crystal Reports is one of the world’s leading software packages for creating interactive reports – Allow us to compare, summarize, group, and present data to users in a

variety of formats: Invoices, bills, charts, graphs, and more

– Provides a rich collection of features: Grouping, sorting, summarizing, analyzing, applying selection criteria, selecting

display styles, and graphically presenting data using charts

– Integrated and distributed along with the Visual Studio package

– We utilize the Visual Studio IDE to design reports and integrate them in database applications

Display charts and summarized information on Windows forms or web forms Built on existing or new data sources or on other ADO .NET objects

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Sample Crystal Reports

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Overview


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A Simple Student Report

The report should display:– Contact information (name, email, and phone) of students in the Industrial

Engineering (ISE) department, grouped by student classes

– Bar chart for the number of ISE students in each of the five student classes

The Student Report

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Application, DB Connection, and Data Source

How-to: Create a Simple Student Report1. Create a new Windows application named CrystalReports, using the New

Project dialog box.

2. Choose the Data | Show Data Sources option from the Main menu to open the Data Sources Window. Click Add New Data Source to start the Data Source Configuration wizard.

3. Create a new connection to the University database; copy the database to the current project folder when prompted; choose the student, department, college, and faculty tables from the table’s nodes on the last page. Click Finish.

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Adding a Report to the Application

4. Choose Project | Add New Item from the Main menu to open the Add New Item dialog box. Locate and select the Crystal Report option. Name the report as StudentReport.rpt in the Name TextBox and click Add.

Adding a Crystal Report to the Application

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Using the Report Expert Wizard

We choose the mode of the Crystal Report creation in the Crystal Reports Gallery dialog box from the following options:– Using the Report Wizard

Choose from a variety of Experts in the bottom half of the dialog box Experts create different types of reports and are, arguably, the most popular

methods of creating new reports

– As a Blank Report Advanced users can build reports from a blank report No Expert wizards are available for this option

– From an Existing Report Imports an existing report, which is used as the basis for a new report Again, Experts wizards are unavailable with this option

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Using the Report Expert Wizard (cont.)

Selecting the Using the Report Wizard option allows us to choose from three different Experts as shown in the table below:

Expert Description

Standard It is the most generic and frequently used Expert. It is used to create columnar

reports. It has features such as grouping, sorting, summary options, filtering, and

charts. We can also choose from pre-defined styles for new reports.

Cross-Tab This row-column grid report looks similar to a spreadsheet. It summarizes grouped

data across rows and columns similar to cross-tab queries in the MS Access DBMS.

Mail Label As the name suggests, this Expert prints multi-column mail labels and can combine

the text object and database fields.

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Using the Report Expert Wizard (cont.)

5. For the student report example, keep the default selections, Using the Report Wizard and Standard Expert. Click OK.

The Crystal Reports Gallery Dialog Box

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Specifying Source of the Report Data

6. On the Data page, collapse the Project Data | ADO .NET DataSets | CrystalReports.UniversityDataSet nodes to see the list of data tables.

7. Add the student table from the Available Data Sources pane to the Selected Tables pane. Click Next.

Specifying Data Sources

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Selecting the Fields of the Report

8. On the Fields page, collapse the tblStudent node to view its available fields. Add the StudentID, DeptID, Name, Class, Email, and Phone fields of the student table from the Available Fields pane to the Fields to Display pane. Click Next .

Selecting Relevant Fields for the Report

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Performing Grouping Operations

9. On the Grouping page, add the tblStudent.Class field from the Available Fields pane to the Group By pane. Accept the default “in ascending order” sorting order at the bottom of the wizard page and click Next.

Group By Field of the Report

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Performing Summary Operations

10.On the Summary page, add the tblStudent.StudentID field from the Available Fields pane to the Summarized Fields pane.

11. Select the StudentID summary field from the Summarized Fields pane and choose the Count operation from the drop-down list below. Click Next.

Counting the Number of Students

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Using the Group Sorting Feature

12.On the Group Sorting page, accept the default None option for the Class group and click Next.

Group Sorting Options

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Using the Chart Option

Chart is one of the most attractive features of the Crystal Reports – On the Chart page of the Expert wizard, we can specify:

Chart type Chart title Chart data

Chart types:– Bar Chart

Uses vertical or horizontal bars to show the relationship between data

– Line Chart Uses lines along a grid to present the data

– Pie Chart A circle divided into segments, with each piece of the pie representing the data

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Using the Chart Option (cont.)

13.On the Chart page, select the Bar Chart radio button. Select tblStudent.Class as the “On change of” field (X-axis) and Count of tblStudent.StudentID as the “Show summary” field (Y-axis). Name the chart title as shown in below. Click Next.

Selecting the Chart Type as a Bar Chart

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Filtering the Report

14.On the Record Selection page, move the tblStudent.DeptID field from the Available Fields pane to the Filter Fields pane.

15.Select the DeptID field in the Filter Fields pane, and choose the “is equal to” item from the drop-down list. Assign the value of the expression “ISE” in the second drop-down list and click Next.

Applying Filtering Criteria

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Selecting the Report Style

16.On the Report Style page, select the Red/Blue Border style for the student report. Click Finish to add the report to the application.

Selecting the Report Style

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Selecting the Report Style (cont.)

17.Select the bar chart object from the report header and right-click the selection. Choose the Chart Options | Template option from the short-cut menu to open the Chart Option dialog box. Select the Use Depth option and click OK.

The Crystal Report’s Design Environment

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Adding a CrystalReportViewer

18.Open Form1 in the Design Window. Drag and drop the CrystalReportViewer control under the Crystal Reports tab in the Toolbox on Form1.

Adding a CrystalReportViewer Control to a Windows Form

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Binding the Report and Running

19.Double-click on the Form1 to open the Code Window. Replace Form1’s Form_Load event with the code below. Press Ctrl + F5 to run the application.

Crystal Report Binding Code

Getting Data

Binding Report

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Overview


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Crystal Report Sections

A Crystal Report consists of a number of sections:– Report Header/Footer:

Appear once at the beginning/end of the report

– Page Header/Footer: Appear on each page of the report Footer includes page number by default

– Group Header/Footer: Appear automatically for each group

– Details: Core section of a report Appears once for each record

Crystal Report Sections

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Overview


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Formatting Charts and Fields

We format charts to make them look more appealing– Includes modifying the chart type, editing its title, layout, data labels, axis

labels, and grid lines settings

– There are four different options available in the Chart Options menu to format a chart:

Chart options Description

Template We can choose different chart types using this option or enhance existing type settings

such as selecting 3D riser and using chart depth, etc.

General We can alter general options such as data labels and chart layout.

Titles We can modify chart title and axis labels using this option.

Grid This is one of the most effective formatting options. We can decide between major or

minor grid lines and scale of the axes with this option.

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Formatting Charts and Fields (cont.)

How-to: Format Charts and Fields1. Open the StudentReport.rpt file from the Solution Explorer to view the

report’s design.

2. Right-click on the chart object in the report header (Section 1) to display its formatting options. Choose the Chart Options item.

Chart Options Item for Chart Formatting

Properties of Report Charts and Fields

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Editing Chart Design

To edit any of the Expert wizard options:– Right-click outside the chart object in the report header section and choose

the appropriate option from the short-cut menu.

Editing Chart Design

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Overview


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Properties of a CrystalReportViewer Control

We can further enhance report appearance and behavior by manipulating properties of the CrystalReportViewer control:

Property Description

BackColor Gets/Sets the background color used to display text and graphics in the

control.

DisplayGroupTree Indicates whether the group tree on the left-hand side should be visible or

hidden.

DisplayToolbar Indicates whether the toolbar at the top should be visible or hidden.

ShowCloseButton

ShowExportButton

ShowPrintButton

Indicates whether the viewer toolbar should contain buttons (Close,

Export, and Print) to perform actions.

Name Gets/Sets the name used in the code to identify the control.

ReportSource Determines which report to display inside the viewer control.

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Overview


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Creating the Report

How-to: Create a Pie-Chart to Display Faculty Salaries1. Add Form2 to the CrystalReports application.

2. Choose the Project | Add New Item option from the Main menu to invoke the Add New Item dialog box. Choose the Crystal Report item, and name the report FacultySalary.rpt. Click Add to create a new Crystal Report.

3. Select the default Using the Report Wizard option with the Standard Expert selection in the Crystal Reports Gallery dialog box. Click OK.

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Creating the Report (cont.)

4. On the Data page of the wizard, select the tblFaculty data table under Project Data | ADO.NET Datasets in the Available Data Sources pane, and add it to the Selected Tables pane. Click Next.

5. On the Fields page, select and add the FacultyID, DeptID, and Salary fields to the Fields to Display pane. Click Next.

6. On the Grouping page, select and add the DeptID field to the Group By pane. Click Next.

Choosing Tables on the Data Page

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7. On the Summaries page, remove the Sum of tblFaculty.FacultyID field from the Summarized Fields pane. For the tblFaculty.Salary field, choose the Average summary option from the drop-down list at the bottom of the page. Click Next.

Using the Summary Page

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8. On the Group Sorting page, select the None ordering option and click Next.

9. On the Chart page, choose the Pie Chart option. Change the Chart Title box as shown below. Accept default values for the On Change of and Show summary drop-down lists. Click Finish.

Setting up a Pie Chart

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10. In the FacultyReport.rpt’s design view, remove all the fields in the various report sections except for the chart object in the report header.

11. Select the chart object and right-click the selection. Choose Chart Options | General item from the short-cut menu to open the Chart Options dialog box.

12.Navigate to the Data Labels tab and configure it as shown below.

Configuring Data Labels on the Pie Chart

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Binding the Report

13.Add a CrystalReportViewer control from the ToolBox on Form2.

14.Using the Properties Window of the control, change its Dock property from Fill to None, and set its DisplayGroupTree property to False. Adjust its length and width on the form.

Un-docking the CrystalReportViewer Control

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Binding the Report (cont.)

15.Drag and drop the tblFaculty data table from the Data Sources Window on Form2.

16.Remove the auto-created DataGridView control and the ToolStrip control from Form2.

17.Replace the form’s Form_Load event with the code shown below.

Binding Code

Component Tray

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18.Set the Form2 as the start-up form and run the application.

Running Application: Average Faculty Salaries on a Pie Chart

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Overview


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Creating a Report Based on Multiple Tables

We often need to create a Crystal Report based on the data from the join of two or more tables

Desired report:– “Plot a line chart of average student grades for each calendar year.”

In the University database:– Grade information is stored in the transcript table for student-section pairs

– The year in which the sections are offered is stored in the section table

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Setting up the Data Table

How-to: Create a Crystal Report Based on Multiple Tables1. Open the Dataset Designer. Right-click anywhere in the designer, and

choose the Add TableAdapter option from the short-cut menu to open the TableAdapter Configuration wizard.

2. On the Enter a SQL Statement page of the wizard, build the SQL query as shown below, and finish the wizard.

Average Grade Line Chart’s Base Query

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Setting up the Data Table (cont.)

3. The wizard adds a DataTable and TableAdapter in the Data Sources Window. Rename these objects as tblGrades and tblGradesTableAdapter as shown below.

TableAdapter and DataTable Objects for the Join Query

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Creating the Report

4. Add Form3 to the CrystalReports application.

5. Add an AverageGrades.rpt report to the application.

6. Accept the default selections in the Crystal Reports Gallery dialog box.

7. Select the tblGrades data table under the Project Data | ADO.NET Datasets item and add it to the Selected Tables pane.

Choosing Data for the Grades Report

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8. On the Fields page, select and add the Year and Grade fields to the Fields to Display pane. Click Next.

9. On the Grouping page, add the Year field to the Group By pane. Click Next.

10.On the Summaries page, remove any additional fields from the Summarized Fields pane. For the tblSection.Grade field, choose the Average summary option. Click Next.

Choosing Average Function for the Grade Field

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11. On the Group Sorting page, accept the None ordering option and click Next.

12.On the Chart page, choose the Line Chart option. Change the Chart Title box as shown. Accept default values for the “On change of” and “Show summary” drop-down lists. Click Finish.

Setting up the Line Chart

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13. In the report’s design view, remove all the fields in the various report sections except the chart object in the report header.

14.Select the chart object from the report header and right-click the selection. Choose Chart Options | Template from the short-cut menu to open the Chart Option dialog box. Check the Use Depth option and click OK.

15.Now choose Chart Options | Titles from the same short-cut menu, and change the Y-axis title to Average Grade. Click OK to accept changes.

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16.Choose the Chart Options | Grid option, and navigate to the Scales tab in the Numeric Axis Grids & Scales dialog box. Set up the scales as shown.

17. In the same dialog box, navigate to the Grids tab and check the Use Manual Grid option. Set the interval value to 0.5.

Adjusting Y-axis Scales

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Binding the Report

18.Open Form3 in the Design Window, and add a CrystalReportViewer control. Change the control’s Dock property from Fill to None. Adjust its length and width. Also use the Property Window to set the DisplayGroupTree property to False.

19.Drag and drop the newly created tblGrades data table from the Data Sources Window on Form3.

20.Remove the auto-created DataGridView control and the ToolStrip control.

TableAdapter and Dataset Components for Chart Data

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21.Replace the form’s Form_Load event with the code below.

22.Set Form3 as the start-up form

and run the application.

Running Application: Line Chart

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Overview


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Creating Parameterized Crystal Reports

Static reports are designed to display information with certain fixed characteristics

We can use parameterized Crystal Reports to display information based on parameter values

Desired report:– “Display contact information and a class bar chart for any user-selected

department.” The department selected by the user becomes a parameter for the report query The query result is displayed on the report dynamically

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Edit a Copy of an Existing Report

How-to: Create Parameterized Crystal Reports1. Select the previously created StudentReport.rpt. Choose Edit | Copy and

Edit | Paste from the Main menu. Rename it as ParamStudentReport.rpt.

2. Double-click on ParamStudentReport.rpt to open it in the Design Window. Right-click outside the chart object, and choose Report | Select Expert from the short-cut menu to open the Select Expert dialog box.

3. Click Delete to remove the existing selection criterion, “is equal to” ISE. Click OK to accept the changes.

Removing SelectionCriteria from an Existing Report

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Adding a Parameter Query

4. Open the Dataset Designer, select the TblStudentTableAdapter, and right-click to choose the Add Query option to open the TableAdapter Query Configuration wizard.

5. On the page Specify a SQL SELECT Statement, enter the SQL query as shown below and click Next.

6. Name the methods FillByDeptID and GetDataByDeptID, and click Finish.

Parameterized Query for the Student Report

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Adding a ToolStrip Control

7. Add a new form, Form4, to the CrystalReports application. Drag and drop the CrystalReportViewer control onto the form.

8. Set the Dock property of the control to None. Add a ToolStrip control from the All Windows Forms tab of the Toolbox on Form4.

9. Position the ToolStrip on top of the page. Use the drop-down list on the ToolStrip control to add a Label control.

Adding Controls to the ToolStrip Control

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Adding a ToolStrip Control (cont.)

10.Select the newly added Label control and alter its Text property using the Property Window.

11. Similarly, add a TextBox and Button controls to the ToolStrip. Manipulate their properties as shown in the table below.

Control Property Value

Label Text Enter Dept ID

TextBox Name tspDeptID

Name tspShowReport

Text Show Report

Button

Display Style Text

Property Values for Controls in the ToolStrip

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Binding the Report

12.Enter the code shown below for Form4.

Form_Load Event Code for a Parametric Student Report

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12.Enter the code shown below for the Click event of the command button in the ToolStrip.

Click Event Code for a Parametric Student Report

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13.Set Form4 as the start-up form and run the application. Test the application by entering different DeptIDs in the ToolStrip’s TextBox control.

Running application: A Parameterized Student Report

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Overview


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In-Class Assignment

In this section we assign a simple problem that covers most of the features we have discussed in this chapter.

Create an application that plots a bar chart for the number of students in each department. – Do not display any record fields in the report, the chart being the only

requirement.

Further, users should be able to view the bar chart for any college they select from a drop-down list of all colleges in the university.

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Overview


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Summary

Reports are the best way to create a printed copy of information. – They allow us to compare, summarize, and subtotal large data sets in well-

designed and professional forms: Invoices, purchase orders, mailing orders, monthly bills, etc.

Crystal Reports is one of the world’s leading software packages for creating interactive reports. – Crystal Reports are widely used and have set the standard for reports.

We can also build a report based on the TableAdapter that has a join of multiple tables. – We introduce a powerful technique to parameterize reports, and we display

reports based on the results of parameterized queries.

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Summary (cont.)

Adding Crystal Reports on a Windows form involves the following steps:1. Add a Crystal Report to the application.

2. Use the Report Expert to specify the report: Data source, report fields, group-by fields, aggregate function, selection fields,

and filtering criteria

3. In the Expert wizard, specify a chart type, chart titles, and chart data.

4. Add a CrystalReportViewer control on the Windows form.

5. Add the data source used for report design: Either in the Component tray or create it programmatically at run-time.

6. Bind the report to the viewer control.

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Additional Links

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1 web-enabled decision support systems crystal reports prof. name [email protected] position (123)...

Documents

crystal report primer

crystal report sections

crystal report option

crystal report creation

report wizard

simple student report

introduction crystal

parameterized crystal