Data Access
Crystal Reports provides broad data connectivity options making it easy to access enterprise data and satisfy end user information requirements. Whether you require access to databases, files, logs, application systems (CRM, ERP, etc.), or program elements, you can use Crystal Reports.
 | More than 35 data drivers. Access virtually any data with native, ODBC, OLE DB, and JDBC connectivity to relational, OLAP, XML, legacy, and enterprise data sources including, Oracle, IBM DB2, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server, and Informix. |
| Custom data. Access user-defined (in-memory) application data by connecting to JavaBeans, ADO.NET, and COM Data Providers. |
| Tight control over database connectivity. Write your own SQL commands or use the Crystal Reports proven query generation capabilities for flexible control over database connectivity. |
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 Write
your own SQL commands or use the Crystal Reports proven
query generation capabilities for flexible control over
database connectivity. |
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Multi-data source access.
Connect to a unique data source or combine multiple data
sources in one report.
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XML support.
Integrate Crystal Reports with your B2B or B2C applications
via XML data access or export.
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Unicode support.
Use Unicode strings to display data stored in almost any
language and present multiple languages in a single report.
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Use
Unicode strings to display data stored in almost any
language and present multiple languages in a single report.
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Formatting and Design
Crystal Reports offers a high degree of flexibility and control over how data is presented and formatted.
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Visual report designer.
Quickly design interactive reports using an intuitive,
drag-and-drop interface and object-oriented explorers.
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Experts and wizards.
Use optional experts and wizards to simplify common
reporting tasks such as connecting to a data source,
selecting, grouping, sorting, and summarizing data.
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Any report type.
Create virtually any report you need including cross-tab,
conditional, top N/bottom N, summary/drill-down, form,
mailing label, OLAP, and subreport.
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Charting and mapping.
Increase the graphical impact of your reports by choosing
from a wide variety of map and chart types including bar/3D
bar, pie/doughnut, line, Gantt, gauge, funnel, XY scatter,
ranged map, dot density map, and more.
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Increase
the graphical impact of your reports by choosing from a wide
variety of map and chart types. |
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Reusable report objects.
Expedite the report design process by storing key report
objects—including text objects, SQL commands, bitmaps, and
custom functions (formulas)—in a central managed library
(provided in Crystal Enterprise) for sharing, reuse, and
single-point updating across multiple reports.
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Customizable templates.
Spend less time formatting individual reports. Design and
apply customized templates that specify standards in
formatting and logic—including data access operations—to
ensure design consistency across reports. You can even use
existing reports as templates.
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Powerful formula language.
Use the extensive formula language in Crystal Reports with
over 160 built-in and user-defined functions and operators
to tightly control report formatting, complex logic, and
data selection. A call-stack makes debugging data-level
errors easy. A formula extractor and formula workshop are
also included.
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Use
the extensive formula language in Crystal Reports with over
160 built-in and user-defined functions and operators to
tightly control report formatting, complex logic and data
selection. |
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Custom functions.
Eliminate redundant formula creation. Extract business logic
from formulas to create custom functions so you can use them
across multiple reports.
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Asymmetric reporting.
Provide a customized view of OLAP grids. With asymmetric
reporting, you can hide specific dimensions of data so that
end users only see relevant and valuable data.
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Access and Excel add-ins.
Use an intuitive wizard to easily design a Crystal report
right from within Microsoft Access or Excel.
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Report Viewing and Interaction
Crystal Reports provides flexible options that let end users view and interact with information in familiar formats and via familiar environments.
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Multiple export formats.
Provide end users with reports in the format they prefer.
Export reports to popular formats, including Excel, PDF,
XML, HTML, RTF, and more.
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Customizable report viewers.
Choose from a variety of server-side and thin-client report
viewer controls, including DHTML page (WebForms) viewer,
.NET WinForms viewer, Java viewer, ActiveX, and Report Part
viewer (mobile viewer), to render reports into various
output formats without additional coding. End user report
interactivity options—including page forward/back, drill
up/down, export, and print—are automatically included and
can be customized based on your requirements.
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Parameters.
Let users view the same data in different ways without
creating multiple reports. End users can select predefined
parameters in a single report to receive a subset of
customized data.
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Alerting.
Highlight specific information for your end users with
report alerts—user-defined messages that appear when certain
conditions are met by the data in a report. Use this feature
with Crystal Enterprise so that alerts can be sent out to
end users with direct links back to the original report.
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Guided navigation.
Define specific navigation paths between report objects
within the same or different reports for easier end user
navigation.
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Hyperlinks.
Use hyperlinks to turn reports into interactive web
documents that connect to related information, including web
sites and other reports.
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Drill-down.
Without additional coding, create reports that allow end
users to drill down on relational and OLAP data to uncover
details that might otherwise go unnoticed.
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Report parts.
Repurpose existing reports for use with wireless devices and
corporate portals. Provide end users with access to charts,
summary tables, specific records, and other key report
information via portals, WML phones, RIM Blackberry, and
Compaq iPAQ devices.
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Support for Microsoft Office XP Smart
Tags. Insert key report
objects—including charts and tables—into Microsoft Outlook,
Word, or Excel for instant viewing and refreshing from
within an Office document.
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Application Integration
Crystal Reports provides a range of proven Java, .NET, and COM components that help reduce the complexity of integrating dynamic reporting functionality into your applications. Whether you need to build a web, windows, XML web services, or mobile application, you can use Crystal Reports for your data presentation requirements.
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Interface SDKs.
Use the Crystal Reports comprehensive interface SDKs in
J2EE, .NET, and COM applications for flexible control over
how end users interact with reports. Choose from a variety
of report viewing, creation, and modification APIs to
implement a range of interactivity capabilities—from static
report processing/viewing to complex runtime report
creation/modification.
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Reporting components.
Embed the Crystal Reports powerful Java, .NET, and COM
reporting components in your application for powerful report
processing and rendering.
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Custom tag library.
Reduce the amount of coding required to embed report
templates into JSP pages. Using custom JSP tags, you can now
easily add a customized viewer to your web applications,
dramatically reducing the amount of code required.
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Customizable report viewers.
Choose from a variety of server-side and thin-client report
viewer controls, including a Java viewer, DHTML (WebForms)
Viewer, WinForms Viewer, ActiveX, and Report Part Viewer
(mobile viewer), to render reports into various output
formats without additional coding. End user report
interactivity options—including page forward/back, drill
up/down, export, and print are automatically included. Plus,
you can customize and implement most viewer options based on
your requirements.
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IDE integration.
Use a custom bundled edition of Crystal Reports from within
leading Java and .NET IDEs for report integration from
within a familiar environment. You can currently access
Crystal Reports technology from within Microsoft Visual
Studio .NET, BEA WebLogic Workshop, Borland JBuilder, and
Borland C#Builder. Upgrade from these bundles to Crystal
Reports 10 for additional functionality and scalability.
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Visual control library.
Integrate reports into Delphi and C++Builder applications
using the Crystal Reports Visual Control Library (VCL).
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Royalty-free runtime.
Integrate hundreds of royalty-free runtime properties,
methods, and events into thick-client applications for
deployment at no extra cost.
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