Report Miner Suite
RptDiff
The Report Miner RptDiff tool compares two Crystal Report files and provides an analysis of all of the report design differences - without the need to open each report in Crystal Report Designer!
The two Crystal Report files to be compared may be two versions or revisions of the same report or two entirely different reports. Differences in the Crystal Report designs are highlighted in color and you can jump to the next change to identify differences quickly.
RptDiff Sample Comparison
In addition to identifying the changes visually on the screen, a report can be produced showing the changes made.
RptDiff is invaluable. Consider a case when you open a report with Crystal Report Designer, make absolutely no changes, and then save it. Even though you have made no changes to the Crystal Report, the files are different! This is because Crystal Reports unpacks the .rpt file in the designer when it opens and then re-packs it when you saving, incrementing the revision number, updating the 'Last Saved By' field and the 'Last Saved Date'. While this can be useful information, it drives developers crazy because there is no easy way to determine if a change was actually made to the Crystal Report, without opening both report versions in the Crystal Reports Designer, trying to tile the windows and trying to identify any changes. Until now!
How can I use RptDiff?
The RptDiff tool reports provide three major benefits--all without the need for the Crystal Report Designer:
- Identifies differences between an 'old' copy and 'new' copy of a report--what did the report designer change?
- Identifies differences between two similar but separate Crystal Reports.
- Quickly determines which is the most current version of a Crystal Report.
Who can use RptDiff?
RptDiff is intended for anyone who needs to identify and document report file changes. RptDiff users may include developers, managers, audit teams, quality control teams, end users and who need to determine what has changed in a Crystal Report file.