Crystal Reports Tutorial
Introduction to Crystal Reports
Crystal Reports is developed by SAP. Crystal Reports is a Windows-based report writer solution. SAP Crystal Reports is a Business Intelligence tool. It is used by developers to create report and dashboards using both SAP and non-SAP data sources with less line of codes.This Business Intelligence tool enables the end users to generate a report that has visualizations and implement new business requirements. It reduces dependency on report developers.
What is Crystal Reports?
SAP Crystal Reports can be connected to any relational database. Simple as well as advance reports can be generated for end users. It is mostly used by the CEO and Managers for pixel perfect report.
Data visualization tools such as geographic maps and graphs communicate helps in understanding data analysis.
Crystal Reports can be generated of many formats like Microsoft Word and Excel, e-mail and over the web. Advanced Web reporting allows members to view and update shared reports inside a web browser.
Application and web developers can save time by generating reports in their applications. Adding a report to an application is supported by .NET and JAVA.
History of Crystal Report
- In 1991, Crystal report was originated by Terry Cunningham and the Cunningham Group. Crystal report was originally called as “Quik Reports”. This report generator was basically brought when there was no commercial report writing tool for their accounting software.
- In 1994, version 1.0 was created. Crystal Services was owned by Seagate Technology. To form the Information Management Group of Seagate Software, Crystal Services was combined with Holistic Systems and later it was named as Crystal Decisions and also a version 4.0 was produced through 9.0.
- In 2003, Crystal Decisions was owned by BusinessObjects. It also produces version 10, 11 and 12.
- In 2007, SAP-owned Business Objects.
- In 2011 version 14 was released as released Crystal Reports 2011.
Versions and editions
Version | Release Date | Ownership | Edition |
1 | Crystal Services | ||
2 | 1992 | Crystal Services | |
3 | 1994 | Crystal Services | |
4 | 1995 | Crystal Decisions | |
5 | 1996 | Crystal Decisions | |
6 | 1997 | Crystal Decisions | |
7 | 1998 | Crystal Decisions | |
8 | 2000 | Crystal Decisions | D,P,S |
8.5 | 2001 | Crystal Decisions | A,D,P,S |
9 | 2002 | Crystal Decisions | A,D,P,S |
10 | 2003 | Business Objects | A,D,P,S |
XI (11) | 2004 | Business Objects | D,P,S |
XI R2 (11.5) | Nov 24, 2005 | Business Objects | D,P,S |
2008 (12) | Mar 31, 2008 | Business Objects | D |
2011 (14.0.x) | Aug 31, 2011 | SAP SE | D |
2013 (14.1.x) | Aug 29, 2013 | SAP SE | D |
2016 (14.2.x) | Mar 08, 2016 | SAP SE | D |
- A=Advanced Developer, D=Developer, P=Professional, S=Standard
Features of Crystal report
It has an interactive design environment.• Data can be mashed-up. • For creating a report, Wizards can be used. • It can Drill down in runtime. • Autosave the work. • It has an Editable preview window. • It can move, resize, and multi-select objects. • It has many Custom templates. • A component can be reused.Installation Requirements for Crystal Reports
- PC with AMD or Intel-based processors, Dual Core CPU, 2 GB RAM.
- 4GB hard drive space for English and 8 GB for all languages.
- Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012.
Languages available
English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Chinese simplified, Chinese traditional, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Slovakian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Romanian, Russian.Technical Specifications
- Hardware Requirements
- Intel Pentium III or equivalent processor
- Minimum 512 MB RAM
- Disk Space –
- 2 GB for default installation with the English language
- 4 GB for default installation with all languages installed
Advantages of Crystal report
- Flexible and customized report
- Powerful report delivery options
- Data source connectivity
- Expanded support for Excel
- Windows operating system compatibility
- Mobile compatibility
- SAP Crystal Reports, Adobe Flash and HTML 5 integration
Disadvantage Crystal Reports
- Must Upgrade to Crystal Reports Server for Advanced Functions
- Not Business User-Friendly
- Weak Data Security and data governance
- Licensing Model is Confusing- and Costly