Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop

Transcription

1 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop FastPlanet Technologies Published March 6, 2003 i

2 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop 2003 FastPlanet Technologies 2003 FastPlanet Technologies ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ISBN This course covers Crystal Reports 9.0 No part of this manual may be copied, photocopied, or reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Author - FastPlanet Technologies and the Publisher - FastPlanet Technologies. All other trademarks, service marks, products or services are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. This course and all materials supplied to the student are designed to familiarize the student with the operation of the software programs. We urge each student to review the manuals provided by the software publisher regarding specific questions as to the operation of the programs. THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MADE WITH RESPECT TO THESE MATERIALS OR ANY OTHER INFORMATION PROVIDED TO THE STUDENT. ANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN FICTITIOUS COMPANIES, THEIR DOMAIN NAMES, OR PERSONS WITH REAL COMPANIES OR PERSONS IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL AND IS NOT INTENDED OT PROMOTE, ENDORSE OR REFER TO SUCH EXISTING COMPANIES OR PERSONS. This courseware is published, printed and bound by FastPlanet Technologies, FastPlanet Technologies Courseware is available at special quantity discounts to training companies and corporate training departments. Please contact sales@fastplanet.com or contact your preferred courseware provider. ii

3 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Table Of Contents Introduction... 1 Introduction Objectives... 2 About Crystal Reports... 3 Training Philosophy... 3 Pre-Qualification Exercise for the Power User Workshop... 4 Why Should You Pre-qualify Yourself for the Power User Workshop?... 4 Pre-qualification Exercise... 5 Class Objectives... 7 Class Objectives... 8 About This Manual... 9 Tips, Notes, and Warnings Section 1: Power Formatting and Formulas Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise Lesson Objectives Review of Planning a Report Creating the Report Placing Fields on the Report Creating the Formulas Advanced Grouping Selecting Certain Records Helpful Hints for Formatting the Report Adding and Working with Text Objects Hiding and Suppressing Sections Guidelines Lesson 2: Power Formatting with Multiple Sections Lesson Objectives Using Multiple Sections in Reports Using the Section Expert to Work with Sections Conditionally Formatting Multiple Sections Challenge Exercise Formatting with Multiple Sections Challenge Exercise Conditionally Formatting Using DrillDownGroupLevel Challenge Exercise Conditionally Formatting Multiple Sections Lesson 3: Using the Running Totals Feature Lesson Objectives Understanding Running Totals Creating Running Totals for a List of Numbers Conditional Running Totals Challenge Exercise Creating Running Totals Challenge Exercise Creating a Conditional Running Total Lesson 4: Prompting with Parameters Lesson Objectives Parameter Fields Overview Parameter Field Considerations Creating a Parameter Field iii

4 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Using a Parameter to Select Records Using a Parameter Field Creating a Pick List for Parameter Values Importing a Pick List Adding Parameter Values to Text Objects Allowing Multiple Values in Parameters Using Multiple Parameter Fields in Reports Specifying and Limiting a Range for a Parameter Limiting the Range for a Parameter Using Parameters in Conditional Formatting Using an Edit Mask to Limit String Parameters Sorting with a Parameter Displaying Parameter Fields Challenge Exercise Using Parameters Challenge Exercise Displaying Parameters Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Lesson Objectives Understanding How Crystal Reports Processes the Data What Is a Pass? Using Evaluation Time Functions Working with Variables Declaring a Variable Assigning a Value to a Variable Using a Variable in a Formula Variable Scope Separating Statements in Complex Formulas Working with Arrays Understanding the Formula Evaluation Time Debugger Challenge Exercise Understand and Set Up the YTD Comparison Report Challenge Exercise Declare Variables and Conditionally Assign Values to Them Challenge Exercise Add a formula to YTD Comparision that divides by zero to see the debugger Section 2: Using Power Tools to Create Advanced Reports Lesson 6: Using Subreporting as a Workaround Solution Lesson Objectives Understanding Subreports Unlinked versus Linked Subreports Creating an Unlinked Subreport Linking a Subreport Database Links versus Subreports in One-to-Many Situations Formatting the Subreport Passing Data from the Main Report into a Subreport Creating On-Demand Subreports Creating Hyperlinks Using Subreports to Link "Unlinkable" Data Challenge Exercise Creating Reports with Linked Subreports iv

5 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Lesson 7: Creating Powerful Groups Lesson Objectives Customizing the Group Name Field Using a Field Name to Customize the Group Name Using a Formula to Customize the Group Name Field Creating Custom Groups Grouping on a Formula Field Using Group Selection to Filter the Records in the Report Grouping Hierarchically Challenge Exercise Create Customized Grouping Challenge Exercise - Using Group Selection Challenge Exercise Creating a Group Using a Formula Lesson 8: Working with Cross-Tab Reports Lesson Objectives Understanding How Cross-Tabs Affect Your Data Creating a Cross-Tab Report Creating a Cross-Tab with Multiple Rows or Columns Applying a Formatting Style to the Cross-Tab Customizing the Cross-Tab Format Changing Background Colors Formatting Individual Cells Changing the Summary Operation Suppressing Rows, Columns or Totals Repeating Row Heading for Multi-Page Cross-Tabs Using Alias Names for Column and Row Headings Charting Cross-Tabs CurrentFieldValue Challenge Exercise Cross-Tab Reports Lesson 9: The Repository Lesson Objectives The Repository Explorer Working with the Repository Explorer Adding, Renaming & Deleting Folders Adding Text Objects or Images Adding SQL Commands Adding Custom Functions Changing Repository Objects on Your Report Disconnecting Text Objects and Images Reattaching Text Objects and Images Editing SQL Commands Editing Custom Functions Editing Repository Objects Summary Update of Report Objects Linked to the Repository The Repository Database Configuring the Repository Repository Security v

6 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Section 3: Advanced Report Development Tools Lesson 10: Report Templates Lesson Objectives What is a Report Template Standard Report Creation Wizard and Templates The Template Expert Applying a Template and the consequences Template Considerations Creating Your Own Templates Inserting Template Fields Formatting Template Fields Giving Template Fields a Value Lesson 11: Custom Functions Lesson Objectives What is a Custom Function Custom Function Arguments When to use a Custom Function Crystal Repository Custom Functions Using the Formula Expert and Custom Functions Creating Custom Functions Using the Formula Extractor Custom Functions Properties Creating a Custom Function using the Custom Function Editor Using Crystal Syntax Using Basic Syntax Sharing Custom Functions Custom Function Limitations Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax Lesson Objectives Advanced Formula Syntax Review of If then else Expressions Select Case Statement Immediate If Function IIF (expression, truepart, falsepart) For Loops Exit For While Do Loops Join Function The Split Function Lesson 13: Crystal Reports, Data Access and SQL Lesson Objectives What is SQL? Direct Database Driver ODBC OLE DB Viewing the SQL SQL Commands vi

7 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Creating a SQL Command Adding a Parameter to the Command Creating a Report from a SQL Command SQL Expressions Creating a SQL Expression Lesson 14: Advanced Database Concepts Lesson Objectives Using the Database Expert for Linking Order Links Dialog Index Legend Dialog Link Options Dialog Adding and Removing Databases/Tables from the Report Adding Tables to a Report Multiple Times Changing the Join Type for a Link Database Changes Database Verification Set DataSource Location Re-mapping Database Fields Appendix A: Report Alerts What are Report Alerts Creating Report Alerts Basing Report Formulas or Conditional Formatting on Report Alerts Appendix B: Running Reports Efficiently Understanding What Crystal Can Pass to the Database and How That Affects Report Performance Strategies for Efficient Report Performance Interpreting the SQL Query Using an SQL Statement to Make a Report More Efficient Performance Information Report Definition Saved Data Saved Data Processing Latest Report Changes Performance Timing Server Based Grouping Requirements for Server Based Grouping Select Distinct Command Appendix C: Using the Excel and Access Add-Ins Understanding the Crystal Reports Add-Ins Installing the Microsoft Excel Add-In Installing the Microsoft Access Add-In Creating a Report in Excel Creating a Report in Access Appendix D: Custom Functions in the Crystal Repository Custom Functions in the Crystal Repository Date Custom Functions vii

8 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Finance Custom Functions Format Functions Geographic Math Appendix E: The Xtreme Sample Database Appendix F: Function and Operator Locations Appendix G: Glossary INDEX viii

9 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Introduction 2003 FastPlanet Technologies ntroduction 1

10 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Introduction 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Introduction Objectives This manual is written to give you a step-by-step guide for your classroom training and a handy reference for your daily work. In this Introduction, you will learn how to use this training guide effectively. This section covers the following topics: An introduction to the Crystal Reports application Pre-Qualification Exercise Class objectives Help with using this training guide Information on how to start the program 2

11 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Introduction 2003 FastPlanet Technologies About Crystal Reports In today's information intensive environment, every business has a database of some sort. After all, business today is all about information and databases give you a handle on the massive amounts of information you must deal with. Therefore, your business has a database and from that database, you need reports. The problem is, most reporting capabilities that come with database programs are limited. They only report on data from that program. Many users need to report on data from multiple sources, even databases that are in SQL (Structured Query Language), such as Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, Informix or Sybase. Crystal Reports is one of the most powerful reporting programs available with the ability to pull data from all types of data sources. You can use Crystal Reports to generate reports from any of the standard PC database programs, Access, Paradox, or FoxPro, as well as from a mainframe or server database. Crystal also has a powerful web-reporting server that allows you to distribute your reports over the web. Crystal Reports is bundled with more than 160 other programs including Visual Basic, some medical applications, many accounting packages and several ERP solutions. It makes report generation easy without requiring you to be a programmer or a database expert. If you know how to work in a Windows environment and are familiar with the data you want to use, you can create a Crystal Report that looks professional and makes sense. Training Philosophy Studies show that people retain 10% of information they see, 20% of information they hear, 50% of what they see and hear, and 80% of what they see, hear and do. In line with this, this class utilizes a hands-on method of training. You will see the effects of new procedures on the screen, hear the instructor explain how and why to use features, and perform the actions yourself as you learn. In addition, this class focuses on your ability to perform tasks using the most productive techniques. The manual may contain several methods of accomplishing a certain task. However, class time does not allow for practice of all methods for each task. Your instructor will guide you in the most effective method of performing a task, but inform you of other methods that are available. Questions are encouraged. While we give our best effort to explain new concepts in understandable terms, you may need to hear the concept again or have it explained more thoroughly. Please let the instructor know when you need more information! 3

12 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Introduction 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Pre-Qualification Exercise for the Power User Workshop Why Should You Pre-qualify Yourself for the Power User Workshop? The Crystal Reports Power User Workshop is designed for the experienced Crystal Reports user. It covers the more complex and powerful features of the program. The class discusses very technical issues and includes several fast-paced, comprehensive exercises. Our instructors have years of experience helping students to get the most out of their training. However, it is not always possible in a high level workshop to assist students with basic tasks. In order to maximize the benefit you receive from the Crystal Reports Power User Workshop, you should come into the training with a certain skill level. We assume all students who sign up for this workshop have a comfortable level of understanding regarding relational databases. Students should also be able to perform the following tasks in Crystal Reports: Create a new report, insert fields, save the report and refresh the data. Add multiple tables to the report using the Data Explorer. Use the select expert to pull only the data needed from the database. Insert groups and summarize fields within the group. Perform formatting tasks. Create, save and use formulas in the report. If you would like to evaluate for yourself whether this is the correct level course, take our self-evaluation exercise. The exercise consists of writing a report in Crystal Reports. When you are finished, compare your report to the one our experts have done to see how well you understand the basic features of Crystal Reports. You can obtain the exercise and the results report from the VisionHarvest web site, or by ing us at training@visionharvest.com. If you have trouble creating the report or getting the correct results, or if you cannot perform some of the above-mentioned tasks, then we strongly recommend that you take the Crystal Reports Quick Start Workshop before attending the Power User Workshop. By assuring that you are well prepared for the Power User Workshop, you maximize the benefits you receive from this in-depth look at advanced report writing. 4

13 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Introduction Pre-qualification Exercise 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Using the Xtreme sample database that ships with Crystal Reports, create a report that invoices customers for each order. The report needs to show the customer billing address, the PO#, the sales person, the order date, the requested date, the ship date and company that shipped the order. The Details section should list the product ID, the product name, the description, the unit price, the quantity, and the line item total. Select only those orders with an Order Amount greater than zero and with a ship date between January 1, 2001 and March 31, Group on the Customer ID, then on the Order ID. Display each order on its own page. Sum the line item total amount for each Order ID. Calculate the sales tax for the order at 6% and total the subtotal and sales tax. You will need to pull data from the following tables: Customer Orders Orders Detail Product Product Type Employee You will need to create the following formulas: Line Item Total that multiplies the unit price times the quantity for each product ordered. Sales Tax that multiplies the sum of each line item total times 6%. Order Total that adds the sum of each line item total and the sales tax. Product Description that contains nested if then.else statements to show the Size field if the Color field is empty, the Color field if the Size field is empty, and both fields, separated by a comma, if both contain data. You will need to create the following text boxes: An address box with the text To: then the company name, the address, the city, region postal code and country. An employee box with the employee first name, a space, then the last name. Format the report to look like the illustrations on the following pages: 5

14 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Introduction 2003 FastPlanet Technologies 6

15 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Introduction 2003 FastPlanet Technologies 7

16 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Introduction 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Class Objectives This class is a performance based instructional system. It is geared to provide you with the tools you need to build and distribute reports the quickest, most efficient way. After completing this course, you will be able to perform the following tasks: Plan and organize a report Create a new report Save and preview a report Navigate through the report Format and edit report objects Use a report style for formatting Add text objects to reports Add lines, boxes, and graphics images to reports Select specific data from a database Group, sort and summarize reports Use a Report Expert to create a report Set default options for the Crystal Reports program Create reports that pull data from multiple tables Use the Formula Editor to perform number calculations Create formulas that manipulate dates Modify string fields using powerful text functions. Conditionally format numbers with the Highlighting Expert Format sections on the report Use formulas to conditionally format any type of field Create summary reports for efficient analysis of data Add charts and customize how they look Distribute reports throughout your organization with Crystal s export feature Create geographical maps for charting Set up an ODBC connection to your database 8

17 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Introduction 2003 FastPlanet Technologies About This Manual Each section of this manual contains objectives to provide you with the overall goals for the lesson. Lessons have descriptions of features and concepts followed by systematic directions for completing a specific task. Each section ends with a challenge exercise to help you practice the skills you learned in the lesson. Challenge exercises provide you with tasks to accomplish. Try to complete these exercises on your own. As you work in this Training Guide, certain conventions are used to identify specific procedures. Use the following table as a guide: TRAINING GUIDE CONVENTIONS Item Menu Commands Command Buttons Illustrated As Underlined letters for accessing menu commands are shown: Example: File/Open Commands in dialog boxes are shown as buttons: Example: ENTER Categories, Radio Buttons, Text Boxes, Check Boxes Keystrokes All options within dialog boxes are listed in italicized text: Example: the Keep Group Together check box the Other radio button Keyboard keys are indicated by uppercase text: Example: press ENTER Keyboard combinations are shown in uppercase text with a plus sign (+) between the keys that need to be pressed simultaneously. Toolbar Buttons Typing or File Selections Exercises Example: press CTRL + S to save Toolbar buttons are indicated by the button name and a graphic image of the button: Example: click the Print button Text to be typed or file names to be selected are printed in bold letters: Example: type Henry select grouping.rpt Step-by-Step exercises in the text are indicated by bold text and the symbol. For example: Exercise - Format Objects 9

18 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Introduction 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Tips, Notes, and Warnings Tips, notes and warnings display with the following icons. Text for these additional comments display in bold and italics. This icon indicates a TIP or shortcut. This icon points out a NOTE of additional information. This icon calls attention to a WARNING or very important note. 10

19 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Section 1: Power Formatting and Formulas Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise Lesson 2: Power Formatting with Multiple Sections Lesson 3: Using the Running Totals Feature Lesson 4: Prompting with Parameters Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features 11

20 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop 2003 FastPlanet Technologies NOTES 12

21 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Lesson Refresher Exercise 13

22 Crystal Reports 9.0 Power User Workshop Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise 2003 FastPlanet Technologies Lesson Objectives After completing this lesson, you will be able to: Plan and Create a report from a set of business requirements Review the techniques needed to plan and create a report. Add multiple groups to reports Create groups within groups to subdivide your reports how you want. Summarize different group levels You can effectively summarize information at any group level or all group levels. Insert simple lines and boxes for formatting Make reports professional and attractive with graphical features. Utilize the Repeated Group Header feature Add a "Continued " message when a group prints across pages 14

23 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise Review of Planning a Report To make the report creation process efficient, you must plan the report. A little work up front before you ever open Crystal Reports can save you a lot of time putting the report together. It can also save problems caused by adding more tables to the report that can change the number of records displayed. You must look at the business requirements for the report and decide what fields you need and the tables in which they are located. It is also helpful to look at things such as groupings, whether you need Cross-Tabs and what fields they contain, fields needed for formulas and selection criteria. Suppose someone asks you to create a report based on the Xtreme Sample Database 9. Below are the business requirements for the report: The person requesting the report needs to see monthly customer sales by Supplier and Product Type. They want the Order ID, the Product Name, the line item Unit Price and Quantity and a total for the line items. They want the sales amounts summarized for each supplier, product type and month. They only need to see sales for Some of the groups are large enough to display on more than one page. They want the Supplier Name and Product Type repeated at the top of each page. If the group continues from the previous page, they want the word "Continued " to print. The person requesting the report has supplied you with a printout of what the report should look like. See the sample on the next page. 15

24 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise To create this report, first determine which fields you need. For the Detail section, you need the Order ID field, Product Name field, the Unit Price field and the Quantity field. For the Line Total formula, you need to multiply the Unit Price field and the Quantity field. For grouping, you need the Supplier Name, the Product Type Name, and the Order Date. Finally, you need to select orders from 2002 based on the Order Date. Next, decide which tables you need to add to get the required fields. The Supplier Name field is in the Suppliers table. The Product Name field is in the Products table. The Order ID and Order Date fields are in Orders. The Unit Price and Quantity fields are in Orders Detail. The Product Type Name field is in the Product Type table. 16

25 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise Since the Supplier Name is the main grouping, the Suppliers table should be the Primary table. From there you want to link Suppliers to Products with the Supplier ID field, link Products to Orders Detail with the Product ID field, link Orders Detail to Orders using the Order ID field, and, finally link Products to Product Type using the Product Type ID field. Creating the Report Since you have given this some thought and figured out the tables and the links, adding the tables in the correct order and creating the links is easy. The links should look like the following illustration: Remember that you can add multiple tables to a report from the Database Expert. You work with links using the Links tab on the Database Expert. The Database Expert is accessed under the Database menu or by selecting the Database Expert button on the Expert Tools toolbar. The order in which the tables are displayed in the Link tab is partly determined by the order they are displayed in the Selected Tables section of the Data tab in the Database Expert. Order and links of the tables can be manually changed once they are displayed in the Link tab. 17

26 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise Placing Fields on the Report Remember that you have five ways of placing fields on a report. Select the field in the Field Explorer, then: Click the Insert button, then click in the report Double click the field, then click in the report Press ENTER, then click in the report Drag the field to the report Right mouse click, choose Insert to Report from the short cut menu, then click in the report Remember, when you place a field in the Details section, Crystal Reports adds a detail field title in the Page Header section and aligns the field and field title with a guideline. You can drag the guideline marker in the ruler to move the field and its title together. Now that you have planned the report, you are ready to use Crystal Reports to create the report. Exercise Begin the Monthly Sales by Supplier and Product Type Report and Link the Tables Needed 1. Start a new report as a blank report. Open the Create a New Connection folder then the ODBC (RDO) data sources and the Xtreme Sample Database 9 data source. No password is needed to access this database. Add the tables indicated by the business requirements. Right click on the data source and select Add to Favorites as we shall be using this database throughout the class. 2. The Auto-Link feature should link the tables automatically. Clear the links and do them yourself. When you are finished the links should look like the illustration on the previous page. 3. Add the appropriate fields to the Details section. 4. Change the Printer Setup to a Portrait page layout, if necessary. Change the margins to be.5 on all four sides. 18

27 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise Creating the Formulas You are also going to need two formulas for this report. It can be helpful to write out the formulas during the planning stage to be sure that you have accounted for all necessary fields. The formulas you need for this report are as Total {Orders_Detail.Unit Price} * If InRepeatedGroupHeader then Continued..." Remember that formulas are created from the Field Explorer dialog box. Select Formula Fields, and then click the New button. After naming the formula, the Formula Editor dialog box opens providing you with three lists to select fields, functions and operators. Exercise 1.1 Create the Formulas and Add to the Report 1. Select Formula Fields: in the Field Explorer dialog box, then click the button. 2. Name the formula Line Total and select the Use Editor button. 3. Create the formula shown above. 4. Add the formula to the report Details section after the Quantity field. 5. Create the Continued formula, but do not add it to the report yet. You will add this formula later to display a "Continued" message in the group header. NOTE: the InRepeatedGroupHeader function is a function in the Print State category. Click the + sign to the left of Print State in the middle list in the Formula Editor, and then scroll to find the function. Double click the function to add it to the formula. 19

28 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise Advanced Grouping You can group data by using the Insert/Group command or by clicking the Insert Group button on the Insert Tools toolbar or the Group Expert button on the Expert Tools toolbar. This report requires an Order Date group nested inside a Product Name group, nested inside a Supplier Name group as shown in the Group Expert illustration below. As you create groups, Crystal Reports nests each group inside the previous one you created. However, you can reorder groups in any order you want. To reorder groups, click the Group Header section name at the left of the Design screen, for the group you want to move. The group header and footer sections are highlighted. Drag the group to the new location. The mouse pointer changes to a grabbing hand as you drag. In the Group Expert shown above you simply move the group headers using the arrows in the top right of the window 20

29 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise TIP: When you group on a date field, Crystal Reports allows you to define the period for which the date is broken down; i.e. monthly, yearly, quarterly, etc. A third drop-down list appears automatically in the Insert Group options dialog box allowing you to specify when the group is printed. Remember that you can summarize any field by RIGHT clicking it, then choosing Insert Summary You must specify the type of calculation you want Crystal Reports to perform and the group at which you want the summary to appear. Exercise 1.2 Create groups and summarize the Line Total field 1. Open the Group Expert window using the Group Expert button. Create a group on the Product Type Name field. Turn on the Repeat group header on each new page feature by selecting the Options button 2. Create a second group on the Supplier Name field. Also, turn on the Repeat group header on each new page feature. 3. The report requirements call for the report to display information by Supplier Name and then Product Type. You need to change the order of the groups. Select the Product Type Name field in the Group By window of the Group Expert. Select the Down Arrow to reorder the groups. The Supplier Name should be the first group in the Group Expertt with the Product Type name nested underneath. 21

30 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise 4. Create a third group on the Order Date. Using the Options button and choose to print the section for each month. 5. Create a summary for the Line Total column. You will need to do this three times, once for each group. All the summary fields should automatically line up on the guideline to which the field is attached. Selecting Certain Records Remember that Crystal Reports pulls all records from the database unless you filter the records based on some criteria. The business requirements for this report requests only records from the year To specify this, use the between operator and specify all records with an order date range beginning 01/01/02 and ending 12/31/02. Exercise 1.3 Select records with an Order Date in Make sure there are no fields selected on the report, and then click the Select Expert button on the Expert Tools toolbar. 2. Choose the Order Date field. 22

31 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise 3. Choose the is between operator. 4. In the first drop-down list, select 1/1/ :00:00AM 5. In the second drop-down list notice that 12/31/2002 is not available for selection. Choose any date and change the entry to read 12/31/ :00:00AM. 6. At this point save and preview the report. Name the report Monthly Sales By Supplier & Product Type. Helpful Hints for Formatting the Report Adding and Working with Text Objects Once you have created a group, you can delete the group name field from the group header without affecting the grouping. You can delete the Supplier Name and Product Type Name fields from Group Headers #1 and #2, then create a text object in Group Header #2 that contains the Supplier Name and Product Type. Remember that text objects can contain text you type and fields from the report. You can add a field to a text object by dragging the field from the Field Explorer dialog box into the text object. Once you have a field selected, the mouse pointer changes to an arrow with a + sign when you are pointing into a text object. You can also move a field from the report into a text object. The text object must be in Edit Mode (flashing insertion bar in the text box and a small ruler in the horizontal ruler at the top of the report). Also remember that you can format all or part of a text object: To format the entire text object select the object (there are handles around the object) then apply the formatting. To format part of a text object, double click the object to enter Edit Mode, and then select the part you want to format. When the part is highlighted, apply the formatting. To format a field inside a text object, double click the object to enter Edit Mode, and then click on the field. Once the field is highlighted, apply the formatting. 23

32 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise Hiding and Suppressing Sections Remember that you can hide or suppress sections in a report by RIGHT clicking on the section name in Design view and choosing the appropriate command. Hiding a section causes the section details to not display in the Preview tab. However, users can double click summaries to display hidden details. Suppressing a section causes the section to not display without any options for viewing it. A hidden or suppressed section will be grayed out in the Design tab. Guidelines As a reminder, you can add horizontal guidelines to the rulers at the left of each section and snap the tops or bottoms of objects to the guidelines to horizontally align them. Exercise Format the Report 1. Return to the Design view. It is easier to add and format objects from Design view. 2. Add the title and format as you see it in the sample report on page on page 16. Add the Xtreme logo to the right side of the Report Header. You may add it from the Repository. If the Repository Explorer is not showing click on the explorer button and insert the image from the Repository Explorer. 24

33 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise 3. Delete the Group #1 Name and Group #2 Name fields from Group Headers #1 and #2. 4. Using the sample report, create a text box in Group Header #2. Type the text Supplier Name: then add the Group #1 Name: Supplier Name field from the Group Name fields in the Field Explorer. On the second line of the text object type type the text Product Type: then add the Group #2 Name: Product Type Name field. Format all objects in the text box to Bold. You may need to resize the text box. See the sample on the next page for final formatting. HINT: Format the text object border rather than drawing a box around the object. It is easier and you only have one object to deal with plus if you resize the text object the border will grow with it whereas a box will not. 5. Hide Group Header #1. It no longer contains anything you need to see in the report. 6. Add a text box to the Group Footer #1 with the text Total for this supplier:. Move the summary field into the text object. Format the entire object to be Bold, 14 pt., and right aligned. 7. Add a text box to the Group Footer #2 with the text Total for this product type:. Move the summary field into the text object. Format the entire object to be Bold and right aligned. 8. Format the summary field in the Group Footer #3 section to have a top double line border. Make sure the summary field and text boxes are all snapped to the guideline on their right edges so they line up. 9. Snap the field titles to a horizontal guideline. Use the guideline to move the field names from the Page Header section to the Group Header #3 section under the Group #3 Name field. Format the titles so they have no underline. By placing the titles in this section, the titles will reprint with each month s data. 10. Format the Order ID field to display without a comma. Format the Unit Price field, the Line Total formula, and all the summary fields to have a floating $. HINT: Refer to the bullets on page 19 for directions on how to format the summary fields inside the text boxes. 11. Depending on how you have the default formats set for Date/Time fields; you may need to reformat the Group #3 Name fields. The date should look like this: January

34 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise 12. Add a text box to the left of the Page Footer. Use Special Fields to indicate Page N of M. Add another text box to the right of the page footer that reads Order information as of. Add the Data Date special field after the text. Format both boxes to be italics. 13. To add the word "Continued " for a product or supplier group that is continued on an additional page, place formula field in the text object that contains the Supplier and Product Names. 14. Save and preview the report. Do not forget that you can navigate easily through the report using the Group Tree section at the left of the screen. Just click the group you want to view. Close the report. The Design view of the report should be similar to the following illustration: 26

35 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise NOTES 27

36 Lesson 1: Refresher Exercise NOTES 28

37 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Lesson Using Advanced Formula Features 91

38 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Lesson Objectives After completing this lesson, you will be able to: Understand how Crystal Reports reads the records when it creates the report An understanding of the background process Crystal Reports uses when it creates a report makes you an intelligent report writer. Know which Evaluation Period to apply to run a formula Now, you have the control to make Crystal Reports work for you to create complex formulas and perform powerful evaluations. Declare variables, assign values to them and use them Increase your reporting power by performing calculations then holding them in memory for later use. Crystal Reports can then calculate running totals, perform calculations on changing data, or run very complex formulas. Use multiple statements in a formula Expand the complexity of formulas by using several statements in one formula. Manipulate arrays containing multiple values Learn what an array is and how to store values in arrays. Also, discover how to pull values from arrays. Multiple value parameters work because of arrays. Learn how to use them. Review conditional statements Practice using multiple nested if then else statements and review how they work. Use the Formula Debugger Sometimes you come across run time errors in formulas such as division by zero. The debugger helps you determine where the error is occurring. 92

39 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Understanding How Crystal Reports Processes the Data Sometimes the complexity of the report you need to create requires that you understand how Crystal Reports processes data for the report and when it performs certain tasks. If you become familiar with the two-pass method of Crystal Reports, you have the ability to do complex reporting and formula manipulation. You will have the capability to do many previously impossible complex formulas. What Is a Pass? A pass is a process by which Crystal Reports reads the data from the database. During each pass, Crystal Reports reads and manipulates the records. Depending on the features used in the report, Crystal Reports may make from 1 to 3 passes over the data. This allows for complex reporting and formula manipulation. Pre-Pass#1 Before Crystal Reports ever contacts the database, it evaluates flat formulas. A flat formula is a formula that does not contain any fields from the database; for example, 100 * 25 would be a flat formula. Special fields that put in the print date, formulas that calculate dates from the current date or times from the current date or times, and formulas that contain just numbers, are good examples of flat formulas. During this time, Crystal Reports also identifies parameters and reads text objects in the report. This evaluation time is known as the Before Reading Records process. Pass #1 During the first pass, Crystal Reports begins reading the database records. This evaluation period goes through several processes: Retrieving records This is a rather simplified statement. In reality, many things occur to send a query to the database and then get data back. Crystal evaluates the fields and tables you need and selection criteria, then generates an SQL query, sends it to the database and retrieves the data. Evaluating recurring formulas These are formulas that contain database fields, but do not contain any references to summaries. This process is iterative, that is, it repeats over and over for each record pulled from the database. Applying the Record Selection Formula If the record selection statement contains summaries or comparisons, then Crystal does not pass that portion of the statement directly to the database. These statements are evaluated and applied to the saved records at this point. 93

40 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features WARNING: Crystal Reports may not always provide the entire selection criteria to the database. For example, {Orders.Ship Date} > ({Orders.Order Date} + 5) is a test to find only records where the ship date is greater than five days after the product was ordered. If you looked at the query sent to the database, you would see that this test would be missing. It is missing because Crystal Reports cannot bundle the test as part of the SQL query and therefore, must wait for the data to return, and then apply the test. However, you can use SQL expressions to overcome performance issues like this one. Also, new to Crystal Reports 9 is the ability to develop your own SQL statement as the data source. Grouping, Sorting and Totaling - Now that the data is retrieved, formulas processed and records evaluated, Crystal Reports organizes the records according to specified groups and sorts them. It also summarizes or totals all the appropriate records. This is an extremely important step for consideration in formulas. If you are going to create a formula that is based on specified groups, sorting or summaries, you must force the formula to run after this process is complete. Remember that most formulas have already been run at this point. Generating Cross-tabs Crystal generates all cross-tabs here. Storing All Saved Records Crystal stores all the saved records and summary totals in memory and to temporary files. Crystal does not read the database again, but instead uses this saved data for all further processing. This evaluation time is known as While Reading Records. Pre-Pass #2 The Group Sort Expert process runs as an intermediate process before the second pass on the data. Hierarchical grouping also occurs here. These features do not actually require the records to be read. Instead, they look at the grouping and order the groups as specified. Pass #2 The second pass is devoted to a report s formatting selections for previewing and printing. This evaluation time is knows as While Printing Records. This period goes through the following processes: Reading saved records Crystal Reports reads the saved records one at a time together with their subtotals. The records are now evaluated for display purposes. 94

41 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Applying group selection formula The group selection formula is evaluated at this point because it relies on the grouping and summarizing which is performed in the first pass. Executing running totals-the running total fields usually rely on the report being grouped and sorted first, so they are run during the second pass. Processing Print Time formulas Formulas that include the WhilePrintingRecords function or subtotals or summaries are evaluated at this time. These formulas have been specifically defined by the report creator for evaluation after the first pass. Some examples of print time formulas are formulas that calculate: - Percent of subtotals - Manual running totals or running averages - Formulas using RecordNumber, GroupNumber, Previous, or Next functions Generating charts and maps All graphs and maps are evaluated here. Running subreports Subreports have to be evaluated during the second pass because they are not really read until Crystal formats the page on which they occur. On demand subreports are run when the user clicks on them. Generating Pages on Demand Crystal generates reports with Page on Demand technology. This means, as you request to view a particular page, it reads the records, formats them and generates the page. This evaluation time is known as While Printing Records Using Evaluation Time Functions Crystal Reports has four functions that you can use to specify when a particular formula is run. Three of the functions have the names of the evaluation periods. You can find these functions in the Functions list (middle list in the Format Editor) in the Evaluation Time category. BeforeReadingRecords specifies that a formula run before the first pass. Crystal Reports returns an error message if you attempt to include elements in the formula that must be evaluated at a later time, such as database fields, groups, etc. WhileReadingRecords forces the formula to be processed while the program is reading database records. Crystal Reports again returns an error message if you attempt to include elements in the formula that must be evaluated later, such as groups. 95

42 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features WhilePrintingRecords defines that the formula be evaluated after the first pass. For formulas that depend upon the first pass processes being performed before the formula is evaluated, this function is valuable. By including this function at the beginning of the formula, you ensure that the formula is processed after the first pass, when grouping, summarizing and sorting have already been done. EvaluateAfter() - If two formulas are going to be run during the same evaluation time, and the order in which they are run makes a difference in the report, you can use this function to control the order in which they are run. Working with Variables Variables are useful temporary fields that can carry their values from record to record. Unlike a constant value, which is fixed, variables can hold values that change from time to time. Variables also allow you to store information for use later, or in another formula. There are three steps required for using a variable: Declare it Set the value Use it in a formula Declaring a Variable The first step to using a variable is to declare or name it. When you declare a variable, you give it a name and tell Crystal Reports what type of variable it is. The variable name must follow these rules: The name can contain up to 254 characters. The name cannot begin with a number, but can contain numbers. No spaces are allowed in the name. The name cannot be the same as a CR operator or built-in function. Variable names ARE case-sensitive. NOTE: If you declare a variable with the same name and data type in more than a single formula, then the formulas share the variable. This ability lets you carry the value in a variable from one formula to another. The variable needs to be defined with the correct scope. TIP: Keep variable names short, unique and easy to remember. Do not use similar names for different variables if it will cause confusion. 96

43 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features The type of variable defines the type of data the variable can contain. There are 26 variable types: NumberVar contains numeric values which can be calculated CurrencyVar contains currency values which can be calculated StringVar contains any character, alpha, numeric or special characters as text BooleanVar contains the values True or False DateVar contains dates which can be calculated TimeVar contains times which can be calculated DateTimeVar contains both date and time and can be calculated Six range variable types that contain the data type indicated and can hold range values (there is no Boolean range variable type) Seven array variable types that contain the data type indicated and can hold an array of multiple values, separated by commas Six range array variable types that contain the data type indicated and can hold multiple ranges, separated by commas The syntax for declaring a variable includes the variable type, then a space, and then the variable name. For example, you might want to create a date variable that contains the date that is 14 days after the Order Date and call it DateDue. To declare the variable, you would type: DateVar DateDue Assigning a Value to a Variable Once a variable is declared, it needs to be assigned a value. If no value is assigned, the variable assumes a default value of zero or blank depending on the variable type. To assign a value, you use the assignment operator :=. For example, to assign the DateDue variable a value equal to the date 14 days after the Order Date, you would type: DateDue := {Orders.Order Date} + 14 This statement sets the variable to the current record's Order Date value plus 14 days and can be used for further calculations. TIP: You can declare a variable and assign it a value in one statement by using the variable type operator then the variable name followed by the assignment operator and the value you want assigned to the variable. For example to declare the DateDue variable and assign its value in one statement, you would type: DateVar DateDue := {Orders.Order Date} + 14 NOTE: Variable declarations such as StringVar x := y are listed in the Formula Editor at the bottom of the Operators list. 97

44 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Using a Variable in a Formula Once declared, a variable's name and current value is stored in memory and can be used in the current formula or by other formulas for calculations. You can use a variable within a formula. If the formula declares several variables, the last variable that was referenced in the formula displays when you put the formula field in the report. This is important to remember as formulas get more complex. Suppose you created the following formula: DateTimeVar DateDue; DateTimeVar OverDueDate; DateDue := {Orders.Order Date} + 14; OverDueDate := {Orders.Order Date} + 60; When you place this formula field in the report, ONLY the value in the OverDueDate variable displays. To display any variable's value, you can create a simple formula that contains the variable type and the variable name, and then insert that formula as a field in the report. For example, to display the DateDue in the report, create a formula DateDue with the following in the formula. DateTimeVar DateDue Then place this formula field in the report. If this formula does not show any values then it needs to be evaluated at a later pass, the display formula needs to be evaluated after the formula that sets the values. In this case the first line needs to read: EvaluateAfter ({@DateDue}); Variable Scope Variable scopes define the how variables in one formula are made available to other formulas throughout the report. There are three levels of scope in Crystal Reports: local, global and shared. Every variable has a scope, and this scope is specified when the variable is declared. Global - The variable is available to formulas throughout the entire current report. Shared - The variable can be shared with a subreport as well as the entire current report. Local - The variable is specific and can only be used in the formula in which it is defined. 98

45 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features You define the scope of a variable by including the scope type before the variable declaration. For example, a local variable would be declared like this: Local DateVar DueDate := {Orders.Order Date} + 14; Global variables are the default type. If you do not declare a scope for a variable, it automatically becomes a Global variable. One final note about variables; once it is declared and assigned a value, a variable's contents remain in memory and available to other formulas in the report, as long as you do not define it as a Local variable. However, to use the variable in another formula, it must be re-declared in that formula. To re-declare it, simply type the variable type, a space, and then the name of the variable. For example, to reuse the DateDue variable, you would type DateTimeVar DateDue. Separating Statements in Complex Formulas WARNING: In order for a variable to work in a report, it MUST be physically placed in the Design view of the report. Crystal requires this so that it can evaluate the variable calculations and store them in temporary memory for future display. If you do not need to display the calculations in Preview, simply suppress the variable in the Design view. Now that you have the knowledge to use variables and evaluation times in formulas, there is one more thing you need to consider. Your formulas are becoming more complex. Instead of being composed of a single, simple statement, your formulas are going to contain multiple statements. Crystal Reports requires an indicator to tell it where one statement ends and another begins. This indicator is the semicolon ;. Without semicolons, Crystal Reports treats the entire formula as a single statement. For example, look at the following formula: WhilePrintingRecords NumberVar OrderQuantity If you check the above formula, Crystal Reports displays an error message indicating that, as a single statement, this does not make sense. In order to make these two statements distinct and separate, you must use the end of statement operator, the semicolon. WhilePrintingRecords; NumberVar OrderQuantity; Crystal Reports reads the above statements with no errors. 99

46 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features One of the common uses for Evaluation Time functions and Variables are those rare situations when you need to calculate a running total manually. Usually, the automatic Running Total feature does all that you want and does it much more easily than you can do it mannually. However, if you ever need to use the results of one running total to calculate another running total, you will find that you cannot do so using the Running Total dialog box. Running totals are available to be used in other formulas, but they are not available to be used in other running total calculations. You are presented with this situation in this exercise. It has been observed in large complex reports, performance is severely diminished when using several running total fields. The fix in these reports has been to build manual running total formulas utilizing the WhilePrintingRecords function. Running totals are useful when used in a limited fashion for smaller datasets. Remember the Recent Orders report you created earlier in the class. That report lists the most recent x number of orders for each employee. You used a running count field and conditionally suppressed the Details section to display a particular number of orders. Now you would like to total the order amounts for those orders. You cannot use the Insert Summary feature because that works during the first pass (before the section is conditionally suppressed) and would total all orders. What you have to do to calculate the total is create a formula with a running total that sums the Order Amounts only if the running total Line Count is less than or equal to whatever number you want. (Remember you have a parameter set to let you enter the number of orders you want to see.) You need to create a condition for this running total that is dependent on the value contained in another running total. If you try to do this using the Running Total dialog box, you can see that the {#Line Count} running total field is not available. Exercise 5.0 Try to Create the Order Amount Running Total with the Running Totals Feature 1. Open the Recent Orders (with Parameters).rpt report and go to Design view. 2. Open the Field Explorer dialog box and select Running Total Fields: 3. You are going to try to create a running total called Order Total that will be evaluated based on a formula that indicates the {#Line Count} running total value is less than or equal to the parameter value. Click the button. 4. Name the field Order Total. Then add the {Order Amount} field to the Field to summarize box. The Type of summary box should automatically say sum. 5. In the Evaluate section, click the Use a formula radio button, then click the button. 100

47 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features 6. Look in the Fields list. Notice that the {#Line Count} running total is not visible anywhere. You cannot use it to specify the condition on which to base this running total. 7. Click the button to cancel out of the dialog box. Since you cannot create a running total based on another running total, you must create the Order Total running total manually, using a variable to hold the sum from record to record. Also, since this formula requires the report be grouped and sorted before it runs, it must run as a Print Time formula. So you have to start it with the WhilePrintingRecords function. Exercise 5.1 Use the Evaluation Time Functions and Variables to Create a Manual Running Total 1. Create a new formula called Sum of Orders. 2. Click the in front of the Evaluation Time category in the Functions list. Add the WhilePrintingRecords function by double clicking it. 3. Type a semicolon then press ENTER. 4. Click the in front of the Variables Declarations category in the Operators list. Add the CurrencyVar x := y operator by double clicking it. 5. The Formula Editor leaves the flashing insertion bar right where it needs to be to type the variable name. Type OrderTotal. NOTE: The OrderTotal name should have NO spaces 6. Delete the := In this statement you are simply going to declare the variable, not assign a value to it. 7. Move the flashing insertion bar to the end of the line, after the semicolon, then press ENTER. 8. Next you want to add an If statement to indicate that if the running total field #Line Count is less than or equal to {?Last Transactions} parameter then the formula should add the {Order Amount} field to the variable. Look in the Fields list. Notice the field. This is the running total. 9. Type If then a space, then double click the #Line Count field to add it to the formula. 101

48 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features 10. Type <=, then double click the {?Last Transactions} parameter to add it to the formula. Type then OrderTotal := OrderTotal +, then add the {Orders.Order Amount} field to the formula. The final formula should look like the following: WhilePrintingRecords; CurrencyVar OrderTotal; if {#Line Count} <= {?Last Transactions} then OrderTotal := OrderTotal + {Orders.Order Amount} 11. Save and close the formula. 12. of Orders formula must be placed in the Details section so it is evaluated for each record in the report. Place the fields after the {#Line Count} field and preview the report to see if it is working correctly. You should noticethe formula works, but is not resetting at each group. When you create a manual running total, you must reset it manually as well. The reset formula simply declares the variable and assigns it a value of zero. Since this variable is not going to be assigned a value conditionally, you can do the variable declaration and assignment in a single statement. In addition, since variables are Global by default you can use the same variable in another formula by simply re-declaring it. Exercise 5.2 Reset a Variable 1. Return to Design view. Create a new formula called Reset. Add the WhilePrintingRecords function, then a semicolon. Press ENTER. 2. Add a CurrencyVar, and then name the variable OrderTotal. 3. Move the flashing insertion bar after the :=, then type 0. The formula should look like the following: WhilePrintingRecords; CurrencyVar OrderTotal := 0; 4. Place this formula in the Group Header so the OrderTotal variable resets to zero at the beginning of each group. 5. Preview the report to see if the Reset formula works. The Sum of Orders formula, was placed in the Details section so that it processes each time a new record is evaluated. However, you do not want to see the results after each record. You only want to see the OrderTotal at the end of each group, under the Order Amount column. To do this, create a simple display formula that displays the value currently contained in the variable. The display formula simply spills out the value by re-declaring the variable name. 102

49 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features The report should look like the following illustration: Exercise 5.3 Create a Formula to Show the Value in the Variable 1. Create a new formula called Display OrderTotal. 2. Add the WhilePrintingRecords function and a semicolon. Then redeclare the CurrencyVar OrderTotal. 3. Put this in the Group Footer and format with a top double line border. 4. Finally, you no longer need to see the Sum of Orders, Reset or Line Count fields. Select them and their titles and suppress them. 5. Save and preview the report. When finished, close the report. 103

50 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Working with Arrays In our Parameter fields lesson we learnt about creating parameters that hold a range of values or parameters that held multiple values. Crystal stores these multiple values in a structure called an array. An array is simply an ordered list of values that are all of the same data type. The values in an array are known as the elements. For example, an array of number values might look like this: [10, 20, 30, 40, 50] Element 1 has the value 10, Element 2 has the value 20 etc Anytime you create a parameter with a range of values or one that allows multiple values, you create an array. For example, in the Recent Orders (with parameters).rpt report, you set up a parameter to specify a date range for orders. When you run the report with a beginning date of 01/01/2002 and an ending date of 03/31/2002, you create an array were the first element is 01/01/2002 and the last element is 3/31/2002. The power of the parameter is increased, but how can you indicate in the report the range of dates that it covers? You cannot simply place the parameter on the report because it would only display the first value, 01/01/2002, because it is an array parameter. The solution is to utilize two key array functions that Crystal provides; the Minimum( ) function and the Maximum( ) function. You can use these to pull the lowest and highest values from an array of dates. Exercise 5.4 Use Array Functions to Pull Values from an Array 1. Open the Recent Orders (with Parameters).rpt report and return to Design view. 2. To get the values from the array, you need to create a formula. Start a new formula named Date Range. 3. This formula is going to pull the minimum and maximum values from the parameter, covert them to text, and then concatenate them to some type text. To begin, type in the Formula Editor For the Period then type a + to concatenate. 4. Double click the ToText(x,y) function from the Strings category to add it to the formula. 5. Double click the Minimum function from the Arrays category, then double click the {?Date} parameter. 6. Move the insertion bar after the comma, then type MMMM d, yyyy. This argument defines the format for the date when it is converted. 104

51 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features 7. Move the cursor to the outside of the closing parentheses, then concatenate and type to then concatenate again. 8. Add the ToText(x,y) function, then the Maximum function. Double click on the {?Date} parameter in the x position. 9. Again, set the format to MMMM d, yyyy. The final formula should look like this: "For the Period " + ToText (Minimum ({?Date}),"MMMM d, yyyy")+ " to " + ToText (Maximum ({?Date}),"MMMM d, yyyy") 10. Place the formula in Last Transaction text object in the Report Header. 11. Save and preview the report. The title should look like the following illustration: Last 5 Transactions For the Period January 1, 2002 to March 31, 2002 This text might look better if it printed on two lines, but you cannot just go into the formula and add a hard return. Crystal ignores hard returns when it is processing the formula. You can, however, use a function called Chr( ). The Chr function lets you add ASCII character codes into any formula. The ASCII character code for a carriage return is Chr(10) or Chr(13). Exercise 5.5 Add a Carriage Return that the Formula Processes 1. Select the formula in the Field Explorer and then the edit the formula. 2. Position the insertion bar after the first block of text, concatenate, then open the Strings category in the Functions list and add the Chr(x) function. Type 10 in the parentheses. The first line should look like this: "For the Period " + Chr (10) + 3. Save and close the formula. Format the text object so that it can grow. 4. Save the report and preview. 105

52 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features This report also allows the user to input a specific employee, list of employees or all employees. Suppose you want to display the list of employees or the words All Employees depending on the user s choice. If the user selects more than one employee, but not the ALL option, then the values are stored in an array. In order to display the employees, a formula is needed to display them. With version 9 there is a custom function that will do just that kind of display. You need to take it from the repository and add it to the report in order to use it. Exercise 5.6 Using the cdformatstringrangearray Function 1. Open the Formula Workshop and expand the Repository folders until you see the cdformatstringrangearray function as shown below. Right click on the function and choose the option Add to Report. 2. Create a new formula named Display Employee as shown below: If {?Employee Name} = "ALL" then "All Employees" else cdformatstringrangearray ({?Employee Name}) 3. Add this field to the text object displaying the last transactions. 106

53 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features 4. Save the report. 5. Run the report selecting all employees; last 3 transactions and a date range of 1/1/2002 and 3/31/2002. Your report should look like the following: 107

54 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features 6. Run the report again keeping the same dates and transaction number but selecting Peacock and Suyama as the employees. Your report should look like the following: 108

55 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Understanding the Formula Evaluation Time Debugger Anytime you work with creating formulas in Crystal Reports, there is a risk of having an error in the formula when the report is run. Although Crystal checks the construction of the formula for syntax errors when you save it, some errors occur during the evaluation period as data is extracted from the database. The most common error is a division by zero. This error occurs when a formula containing one object divided by another object containing a zero or a null value. The result is failure of the report to fully execute. In earlier versions of Crystal Reports, when an error such as this occurred, you see the error but it was difficult to determine the error resolution. Often a report contains many formulas; so attempting to locate the error could be tedious. In version 9, Crystal displays the Formula Workshop with detailed information if an evaluation time error occurs. The Formula Workshop will display a folder tree on the left side of the screen. The top folder, root folder, provides a description of the error that occurred. The next level in the tree structure provides the names of the formulas that were being evaluated at the time the error occurred. The last level of the tree provides the functions, formulas or fields that are contained in the main formula with the error. Also displayed are the values of each at the time the error occurred. Formula Name with Error Values fields or formulas contained at runtime when error occurred 109

56 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features This Debugger function is critical in assisting you with detecting problems within your reports. Exercise 5.7 Add a formula that divides by zero to see the Debugger function 1. Open the Customer LYS TopN.rpt report. 2. Add a formula called Debug Test with the following syntax: {#Sales 30K}/0 In a real situation, you would not intentionally divide by zero. You need to in this example, because this database does not contain fields with zero values. 3. Check the formula by clicking the button. Crystal Reports should not detect any errors. 4. Place the formula in the Group Footer #1 section. 5. Preview the report. When the report executes the Formula Workshop displays with details of the error. 6. Close the report without saving. TIP: If a division by zero error occurs in your report, the formula with the error needs to include a test for this condition to prevent the error from occurring again. Use a simple If Then Else statement to test for a zero condition. A sample formula would look like the following: If {field 2} = 0 Then 0 Else {field 1}/{field 2} 110

57 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Challenge Exercise Understand and Set Up the YTD Comparison Report Suppose you need a report that displays a year-to-date sales comparison by product class and product type. You need to see the YTD quantity sold for each product type along with the YTD sales amount. You also want to see the YTD sales amount for last year. Finally, you need to see a comparison percentage of this year s sales to last year s sales. The report might look something like this: To create this report, you are going to use the Product, Orders Detail, Orders and Product Type tables. Getting the initial data is easy. You will create groups on the Product Class field (Accessory and Bicycle) and on the Product Type field (Gloves, Locks, etc.). Since you only want order information from the current year (2002) and last year (2001) you must add selection criteria to select only orders greater than January 1,

58 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features You will add the Product Name field and Order Date to the Details, then create some formulas. To get the YTD quantity, you need a formula that indicates to only display the Quantity field if the year is 2002 and the date is less than today s date. The YTD sales formula displays Quantity times Unit Price under the same conditions. The Last Year s YTD Sales formula displays the Quantity times the Unit Price if the year is 2001 and the date is less than today s date. The Percent of Change formula is where you need to use Evaluation Time functions and variables to perform a complex calculation. The formula calculates the percent of change between this year and last year sales by subtracting the sum of last year s sales from the sum of this year s sales, then dividing by last year s sales. You could calculate the formula without variables, but variables simplify the formula so it is easier to read and work with. Compare the two formulas listed below and see what you think. The formula without variables: WhilePrintingRecords; if Sum ({@YTD Quantity}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name}) = 0 then "--- " else if Sum ({@YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name}) - Sum ({@Last YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name}) > 0 then "+" + ToText ((Sum ({@YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name}) - Sum ({@Last YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name})) % Sum ({@YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name})) + "%" else ToText ((Sum ({@YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name}) - Sum ({@Last YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name})) % Sum ({@YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name})) + "%" The formula with variables: WhilePrintingRecords; numbervar CurrentYTDSales := Sum ({@YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name}); numbervar LastYTDSales := Sum ({@Last YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name}); numbervar Difference := CurrentYTDSales LastYTDSales; if Sum ({@YTD Quantity}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name})=0 then "--- " else if Difference > 0 then "+" + ToText (Difference % CurrentYTDSales) + "%" else ToText (Difference % CurrentYTDSales) + "%" 112

59 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Even with variables the formula is complex, but the use of variables makes the formula less difficult to read. The formula creates three variables: the CurrentYTDSales variable contains the sum of the current year s sales and the LastYTDSales variable contains the sum of the last year s sales. The Difference variable contains Current Year s Sales sum minus the Last Year s Sales sum. The formula then uses a conditional statement to tell Crystal that if the sum of the Quantity is zero to just type dashes. If the current year s sales is greater than last year s, then type + and the percentage. If the current year s sales is less than last year s, just type the percentage (the minus sign is added automatically). You must use the WhilePrintingRecords function because the calculation depends upon the groups being formed before it can work correctly. Now that you know what the report is intended to do, follow the exercise to create it. 1. Begin a new report as a blank report. Add the Product, Orders Detail, Orders and Product Type tables in that order. The links will look like the following: 2. Select only records with an Order Date greater than or equal to January 1, Group by Product Class, then by Product Type Name. Use the Group Expert. 4. Add the Product Name and Order Date fields to the Details section. 113

60 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features 5. Add the title, line, logo graphic and Print Date special field to the Report Header and format them like the example on the next page. Use the Repository to add the Xtreme logo. 6. Next, you want to add the formula for calculating the YTD Quantity. This formula does not need an evaluation time function. It will simply process for each record. Create a new formula called YTD Quantity, then type the following formula: if year ({Orders.Order Date}) = 2002 and {Orders.Order Date} <= Date(2002, month (currentdate), Day (currentdate)) then {Orders_Detail.Quantity} 7. Add this formula to the Details section after the Order Date. 8. Save the report as YTD Comparison, and then preview it. You should be able to see that the quantity does not display unless the date is in 2002 and before the current date. For any date that does not meet the condition, Crystal displays a zero. HINT: it is easier to check this if you format the field to suppress the zeros. 9. Return to Design view and create a formula for YTD Net Sales. The formula is as follows: if year ({Orders.Order Date}) = 2002 and {Orders.Order Date} <= Date(2002, month (currentdate), Day (currentdate)) then {Orders_Detail.Quantity}* {Orders_Detail.Unit Price} HINT: This formula is easier to create if you copy/paste the original formula. Edit the previous formula; select all of it, and then copy. Then start a new formula from within the Editor, paste the text, then add the * {Orders_Detail.Unit Price} field at the end. 10. Add this formula to the Details section after the YTD Quantity formula. 11. Create the Last YTD Net Sales formula. This formula is the same as YTD Net Sales except the year you should indicate is Here s the formula: if year ({Orders.Order Date}) = 2001 and {Orders.Order Date} <= Date(2001, month (currentdate), Day (currentdate)) then {Orders_Detail.Quantity}* {Orders_Detail.Unit Price} Again, it is easier to copy the formula. Copy the YTD Net Sales formula, and then change the year to Add this formula to the Details section after the YTD Net Sales formula. 13. Summarize the YTD Quantity formula using the sum operator and the Product Type Name field. 114

61 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features The summary field should be in Group Footer # Move the Group #2 Name field from the header to the Group Footer # Summarize YTD Net Sales and Last YTD Net Sales formulas using the sum operator and the Product Type Name field. The summary field should be in Group Footer # Now hide the Details section. Delete the Product Name and Order Date column titles (you no longer need them). Preview the report. The report should look similar to the following illustration. The values displayed in the sample will be different than your report due to using the current date as a basis for calculations.. 115

62 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Steps are all one formula: 17. Now you are ready to add the print time formula. Begin a new formula named Percent of Change. 18. Click the symbol before the Evaluation Time category in the Functions: list. The Evaluation Time functions displays. 19. Double click the WhilePrintingRecords function to add it to the formula. Type a semicolon ; and then press ENTER. The semicolon separates this function from the rest of the statements in the formula. Challenge Exercise Declare Variables and Conditionally Assign Values to Them 20. You need to declare two number variables to hold the sum of YTD Net Sales and the sum of Last YTD Net Sales. At the same time that you declare the variables, you are also going to assign them the values. The formula statements look like this: currencyvar CurrentYTDSales := Sum ({@YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name}); currencyvar LastYTDSales := Sum ({@Last YTD Net Sales}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name}); 21. Now, declare a number variable to hold the difference between the Current YTD Sales and the Last YTD Sales. The formula statement looks like this: currencyvar Difference := CurrentYTDSales LastYTDSales; 22. Next, you need to put in the conditional statement that tells the Formula Editor what to do with the variable values. If the sum of the YTDQuantity formula is zero, then you only want to display dashes. However, if it is not zero, then there is a YTD sales amount and you want to calculate the percent of change by dividing the Difference variable amount by Current Sales. The % operator takes the place of divide then multiply by 100. You must use the ToText function to covert the calculation to text so you can concatenate it with the % symbol for the display. This is the formula: if Sum ({@YTD Quantity}, {Product_Type.Product Type Name})=0 then "--- " else if Difference >0 then "+" + ToText (Difference % CurrentYTDSales) + "%" else ToText (Difference % CurrentYTDSales) + "%" 116

63 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features Hint: the above summaries can be found in the fields list of the Formula Editor and do not need to be typed in. 23. Place this field in the Group Footer #2 section to the right of the Last YTD Net Sales column. Resize the field so it is smaller and make it bold. 24. To check the numbers with the picture below, change the report date to May 31, 2002, with the Report/Set Print Date/Time command. 25. Save and preview the report. The report should look like the following illustration: 117

64 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features All that s left now is the formatting. 26. Delete the column titles. In the Page Header, place two text objects which say Year-to-Date and Last Year-to-Date. Format the boxes with a background color and center the text in the boxes. Make the boxes touch to get the look of a solid bar. 27. In the Group Header #1, add text objects for the individual column titles. Format the text so it looks good to you. 28. Format the Group #1 Name field to be Arial, bold, 14 pt. and colored. Format the Group #2 Name field to be Arial, bold, 12 pt. and colored. 29. To get the background for the group names, draw a box that surrounds them. Format the box with a background color, but no border. 30. Draw a line to divide the current year information from the last year information. The Design view of the report should be similar to the following illustration: 118

65 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features NOTE: If the tools in Crystal Reports do not do what you want, you can expand on the formula language by creating new functions. You can add new functions to the Formula Editor by writing the functions in either Visual Basic 5/6 or C programming language and compiling and linking the functions into a user DLL, called a UFL (User Defined Function Library). This is a high-level process that requires familiarity with Windows DLL programming, but gives Crystal Reports the power and flexibility to meet all your complex reporting needs. To get more information about UFLs, ask about the FastPlanet Crystal Reports for Developers workshop. Subreporting, used in conjunction with the Formula Editor, provides users with a powerful tool for performing complex tasks. Challenge Exercise Add a formula to YTD Comparision that divides by zero to see the debugger 1. Open the YTD Comparision report 2. Add a formula called Debug Test with the following syntax: {@YTD Net Sales}/{@YTD Quantity} 3. Check the formula by clicking on button and you should see the following: 4. Place in the Details section. 5. Preview the report and you should see the following screen. 119

66 Lesson 5: Using Advanced Formula Features NOTES 120

67 Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax Lesson Advanced Formula Syntax 285

68 Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax Lesson Objectives After completing this lesson, you will be able to: Use the IIF statement The IIF statement is a shortened version of the IF statement and in this lesson you will learn when you can use it and how to use it. Use the Select Case statement Learn when and how to use the Select statement Use the For Loop and While Loop construct Learn when and how to use the For and While loop syntax. Understand Join and Split Use the JOIN function to create a string variable from an array of string values. Use the SPLIT. 286

69 Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax Advanced Formula Syntax In this lesson we shall look at the advanced features of the Crystal Reports formula language that enables you to code some complex logic and go beyond the basic If Then Else logic. In certain situations If Then Else statements can become tedious to code and prone to error, functions such as the Select Case statements and Loop statements make this logic more concise and easier to code. Before we look at these control structures let s have a quick review. Review of If then else Expressions You have already used one control structure, the If then else expression. This expression contains some type of test to be evaluated. The formula then does different things based on the outcome of the test. Here are some things to remember regarding If then else statements: The If part of the expression can include text, numbers, or formulas (if the result is True or False). The Then and the Else parts of the expression must both be of the same data type: (Then text, Else text; Then number, Else number). Mixing text and number actions will result in an error message. When the test in the If part of the expression evaluates to be true, Crystal never acknowledges the Else part of the expression. Likewise, if the test evaluates to be false, Crystal skips the Then part of the expression. This is important when evaluating multiple conditions with a nested If then else statement. For practice, and to test your skills with a multiple nested If then else formula, you are going to edit the Product Sales report you created earlier. At this point, you have defined the group name to include a description based on the {Color} and {Size} fields. The formula looks like this: Totext({Product.Product Name}) + " " + if (isnull({product.color}) and isnull({product.size})) then " " else if isnull({product.color}) then {Product.Size} else if isnull({product.size}) then {Product.Color} else {Product.Color} + " / " + {Product.Size} Suppose you want to add another field, the {M/F} field to the descriptions. In some records, the {M/F} field is blank, so you need to add to this formula to accommodate all the instances. Here s the problem in English: If Color, Size and M/F are all blank, then you only want to show the Product Name. If they all contain data, then you want to print all three fields separated by slashes (/). If Color and Size are both blank, you want to print M/F. If Color and M/F are both 287

70 Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax blank you want to print Size. If Size and M/F are both blank, you want to print Color. If only Color is blank, you want to print Size and M/F with a slash. If only Size is blank; you want to print Color and M/F with a slash. In addition, if only M/F is blank, you want to print Color and Size with a slash. This all may seem very complicated, but it is just a series of simple if then else statements nested inside one another. The trick is to remember which process is run under which conditions. Exercise 12.0 Use Multiple Nested If Then Else Statements 1. Open the Product Sales.rpt report and return to Design view. 2. RIGHT click the Group Header #1 section and choose Change Group Click the button. 3. Edit the formula to account for all the conditions. Try to complete the formula on your own, but if you need help, refer to the answer on the next page. 4. Save and preview the report. You might want to add the three fields to the Details section to see if it is working correctly. When finished, delete the fields again. The report should look like the followin g illustration (scroll through the groups to see various descriptions): NOTE: The last group in the report has all three fields for a description. 288

71 Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax The completed formula should look like this: ToText ({Product.Product Name}) + " (" + (if (IsNull({Product.Color}) and IsNull({Product.Size}) and IsNull({Product.M/F})) then " " else if (IsNull({Product.Color}) and IsNull({Product.M/F})) then {Product.Size} else if (IsNull({Product.Size}) and IsNull({Product.M/F})) then {Product.Color} else if (IsNull({Product.Color}) and IsNull({Product.Size})) then {Product.M/F} else if IsNull({Product.Color}) then {Product.Size} + "/" + {Product.M/F} else if IsNull({Product.Size}) then {Product.Color} + "/" + {Product.M/F} else if IsNull({Product.M/F}) then {Product.Color} + "/" + {Product.Size} else {Product.Color} + " / " + {Product.Size}) + ")" Selec t Case Statement The Select expression (sometimes known as a Case expression) is similar to the If then else expression. However, if you have multiple conditions it can be simpler to understand and easier to write. Suppose you have a conditional formula that contains several possibilities. A multiple nested if then else expression can be very complex and difficult to understand. A select expression, on the other hand, can simplify matters considerably. A select expression looks like this: Select x Case ConditionA : CommandA Case ConditionB : CommandB Case ConditionC : CommandC Default : D After the select keyword, you enter the expression you want to evaluate. This is called the select condition. For example, if you were creating regions of the world from countries, you would enter the {Customer.Country} field. After each case keyword, you add the condition to evaluate. For example let s say we want to modify country so that USA and Canada are grouped as North America and other countries are left without further grouping. The complete Case statement would look as follows: select {Customer.Country} case "USA" : "North America" case "Canada" : "North America" default: {Customer.Country} 289

72 Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax After the default keyword, you tell Crystal what to do as the default. It is used only if the select condition does not match any of the specified cases. TIP: You can add multiple specific conditions by separating them with a comma. You can add comparative conditions by using the keyword is, for example, is < 1000, is <> New York, etc. To use the case statement, you are going to create a report on sales of bicycles, separated by product. You want to see the quantity and total sales for each type of bicycle and you want an evaluation of the sales of each bicycle. You already have a product sales report. You can make this into the bicycle sales report with a few modifications. Exercise 12.1 Use a Select Expression to Evaluate Sales 1. Open the Product Sales report and return to Design view. 2. Add selection criteria on the {Product.Product Class} field. Set this to be equal to Bicycle. 3. This is going to be a summary report, so you need to summarize the Quantity and the Extended Price fields. 4. Move the Group #1 Name field from the Group Header #1 section into the Group Footer. Then, hide the Details and Group Header #1 sections. 5. Add a title with the text Bicycle Sales Overview. Format the title so it looks good to you. 6. Save the report and rename it to Bicycles Sales Overview. Preview the report. From Preview view, format the Quantity sum to have no decimals. Also, format the Extended Cost sum to show a currency symbol. 7. Now you are ready to create the case statement to evaluate the sales for each product. Return to Design view, open the Field Explorer, and start a new formula named Sales Evaluation. Choose to use the editor 8. In the Operators list on the right, click the for Control Structures, then double click the select x case a: y default : z 9. After the select keyword, double click the Group #1 Product.Product ID A: Sum of Orders_Detail.Quantity summary field, then press ENTER. 290

73 Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax 10. Select statements are easier to read if you put each case statement on its own line and indent it. Type three spaces, then move the insertion bar after the case keyword. Type is < Move after the colon (:) then type ***Needs Attention*** 12. Enter in the additional case statements, each on its own line as follows (y ou can either type the statements or copy the one that is already there and modify it): case Is < 60: "Poor" case Is < 70: "Fair" case Is < 80: "Good" case Is < 90: "Excellent" 13. Move the insertion bar after the colon on the default line, Superior. then enter 14. Check the formula for errors, then save and close it. The final formula should look like this: select Sum ({Orders_Detail.Quantity}, {Product.Product ID}) case Is < 50: "***Needs Attention***" case Is < 60: "Poor" case Is < 70: "Fair" case Is < 80: "Good" case Is < 90: "Excellent" default: "Superior" 15. Insert the formula into the Group Footer #1 section after the summary fields. Make the formula bold. 16. Save and preview the report. When finished, close the report. 291

74 Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax The report should look like the following illustration. Immediate If Function The Immediate If Function or IIF function is simply a shortened version of the If Then Else construct. It is a function under the Programming Functions folder in the function tree and requires 3 arguments. IIF (expression, truepart, falsepart) expression is a Boolean expression. truepart is the value returned if expression is True. It can be any simple type (Number, Currency, String, Boolean, Date, Time or DateTime) or range type (Number Range, Currency Range, String Range, Date Range, Time Range or DateTime Range), but it may not be an array. falsepart is the value returned if expression is False. It must be of the same type as truepart. Consider the following If Then Else statement to determine large and small orders. If {Orders.OrderAmount} > then Large Order Else Standard Order 292

75 Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax This can be written using the IIF function as follows: IIF ({Orders.OrderAmount} > 10000, Large Order, Standard Order ) Exercise 12.2 using IIF Functions 1. Open the Employee Salary Listing report. 2. Add a formula that determines if an employee should have a pay raise or not. If they earn less than $50,000 then the field should say Pay Raise Suggested, if not it should say No Pay Raise. Your formula should read as follows: IIF ({Employee.Salary} < 50000, Pay Raise Suggested, No Pay Raise ) 3. Place the formula in the Details section and preview the report. 4. Save and close the report. For Loops With the If and Select Case expressions, Crystal passes through each expression at the most once (and sometimes not at all if the condition is met) during the formula s evaluation. For loops enable you to evaluate a sequence of expressions multiple numbers of times. For Loops are very good for cycling through arrays and picking out values. For example, a multi value parameter field places values in an array and a For Loop would be useful for displaying these values. To use the For Loop you need to declare a counter variable for example: NumberVar Counter; We then need to set the beginning and ending values of the counter variable. So for example the For clause would look as follows: For Counte r := 1 to a number (here we need to set the end value which could be a count of el ements of an array or we could use the Ubound function which returns the number of elements in an array). We then have a n optional clause of how to increment the counter variable, the default is 1 which would be coded as follows: Step 1 Do And then we add our statements in parentheses with multiple statements separated by a semicolon. The statements will be executed once for every increment of the counter variable. 293

76 Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax Let s consider that we have an array of employee names either in a parameter variable or in this case we have a hard coded array [ Mark, Tony, Julia ] called {?Name} We would like to display these in a report as follows Employees Selected Are Mark, Tony, Julia Using the For Loop our formula would look as follows: First declare the variables needed: NumberVar Counter; StringVar DisplayEmployees : = Employees Selected Are ; Now set up the For Loop For Counter : = 1 to Ubound (?Name) Step 1 Do Now we build our display variable (DisplayEmployees := DisplayEmployees + {?Name}[Counter] +, Display Employees) Exercise 12.2 Using the For Loop 1. Open the Employee Salary Listing Report and add a Parameter field called EmployeeNames which can have multiple values. Use the Last Name field from the Employees table to set default value for the parameter. 2. Set the Record Selection to only select chosen employees in the Parameter field. 3. In our title box we would like to see a list of employees selected so let s use a formula and the For Loop to do just that. Create a formula named Display Employees Selected. Refer to the example in the lesson if you need help or use the formula below: NumberVar Counter; StringVar DisplayEmployees := "Employees Selected "; For Counter := 1 to UBound ({?EmployeeNames}) Step 1 Do (DisplayEmployees := DisplayEmployees + {?EmployeeNames}[Counter] + ", "); DisplayEmployees It s a good idea to make comments about the formula for when you need to review the formulas weeks or months from now. Refer to the example below: 294

77 Lesson 12: Advanced Formula Syntax 4. You may notice that there is an extra comma space at the end of your formula. To prevent this from displaying we can display the string with the last two characters stripped off. You can do this using the Left function which displays the left characters of a string up to a certain point which in this case would be length of the string minus 2. Our last line of the formula would read: Exit For Left (DisplayEmployees, Length (DisplayEmployees)-2) Another part of the loop syntax that you may want to use is the Exit For this would typically be used when you have an If Then Else construct within your For Loop. For example in our previous exercise we are putting together a string for which there is a size limit. In earlier versions of Crystal Reports that limit was 254 cha racters so this test would be very important. In version 9 the limit is characters so the test is probably less important but it is good coding practice to put it in. In our previous example we would simply add the following If statement to the loop. If length (DisplayEmployees) > then (DisplayEmployees := "variable length exceeded "; Exit For)); 295