TheEducationEdge

Crystal Reports Tutorial

102111
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Contents
CRYSTAL REPORTS TUTORIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Step 1: Creating an Export File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Step 2: Linking the Export File to a New Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Step 3: Adding and Organizing Report Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Step 4: Formatting the Appearance of the Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Step 5: Saving the Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S TU T O R I A L 1

Crystal Reports Tutorial

Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Step 1: Creating an Export File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Step 2: Linking the Export File to a New Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Step 3: Adding and Organizing Report Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Inserting Data Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Resizing Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Moving Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Editing Field Headings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Sorting Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Grouping Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Adding Subtotals, Summaries, and Grand Totals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Filtering Report Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Suppressing Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Step 4: Formatting the Appearance of the Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Inserting Text Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Inserting Special Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Formatting Fields Using the Format Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Adding Lines and Borders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Step 5: Saving the Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Refreshing a Report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Setting the Database Location for a Saved Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
 2 CHAPTER

The Education Edge contains many standard reports to help you quickly produce information you need.
However, for unique reporting needs, you can use Crystal Reports to create custom report designs that contain
data from The Education Edge.

Note: A Crystal Reports Professional license is required to use Crystal Reports to run reports directly from a
SQL Server database running SQL Server Standard or Enterprise, or MSDE with Read-Only Database Assistance.
The Education Edge includes one license for Crystal Reports XI. You need a license for each person who creates
custom reports. In addition, each license is associated with a particular product, which means if one person is
reporting for both The Education Edge and The Raiser’s Edge, that individual needs two Crystal Reports XI
licenses. For information about purchasing additional Crystal Reports XI licenses, contact your account
representative or send an email request to [email protected].

Getting Started
This tutorial guides you through the steps necessary to create a basic Crystal report. We create a custom report
that presents Admissions Office applicant information grouped by grade and includes the total number of
applicants for the specified time period. We also use formatting features, such as lines, borders, and color, to
draw attention to certain areas of the report. The finished report appears as shown here:

Weekly Applicant Statistics

Grade Apply Applicant Present School Ethnicity Current Status Date Applied

KG Allen Wilkins Peabody Elementary African American K Applicant 3/6/06

Fiona Watkins Lafayette Caucasian K Applicant 3/6/06
Gerard King NCRC Caucasian K Applicant 3/6/06
Madison Little Lone Oak Montessori Asian K Applicant 3/6/06
Peter Jones Concord St. Andrews Cooperative N Caucasian K Applicant 3/6/06
Sam Riggs Jr. NCRC African American K Applicant 3/4/06

Total by grade 6

1 Dylan Reid Waterfront Montessori African American 1 & 4 Applicant 3/6/06

Lisa Fitzpatrick Washington International Multiracial 1 & 4 Applicant 3/6/06
Madison Smith John Eaton Caucasian 1 & 4 Applicant 3/6/06
Michael Kerr Janney Latino 1 & 4 Applicant 3/6/06
Robert Witt British School Caucasian 1 & 4 Applicant 3/6/06

Total by grade 5

2 Aja Owens Aidan Montessori African American 2 & 3 Applicant 3/4/06

Julian Edwards Caucasian 2 & 3 Applicant 3/5/06
Michael Miller St. Augustines Multiracial K Applicant 3/4/06

Total by grade 3

3 Abigail Davis Lafayette Caucasian 2 & 3 Applicant 3/6/06

Allison Turner American School of Brasillia Caucasian 2 & 3 Applicant 3/4/06
Ari Little Haddenfield Friends Caucasian 2 & 3 Applicant 3/6/06
Blake Abernathy Rock Creek International Multiracial (AfAm/H 2 & 3 Applicant 3/2/06

Total by grade 4

4 Brian Botts Academy For Ideal Education African American 1 & 4 Applicant 3/4/06
Cameron Bright St. Anns African American 1 & 4 Applicant 3/4/06
Grace Davis Concord Hill Caucasian 1 & 4 Applicant 3/4/06

Total by grade 3

5 Aisha Peterson Kipp Academy African American 5, 6, 8 Applicant 3/6/06

Jacob Presley Lowell Caucasian 5, 6, 8 Applicant 3/3/06
Nathaniel Wright Friends Community Caucasian 5, 6, 8 Applicant 3/6/06

Total by grade 3

6 Amber Rollins Bunker Hill African American 5, 6, 8 Applicant 3/6/06

Jonathan Cross Farmland Elementary Caucasian 5, 6, 8 Applicant 3/4/06
Maynard Mills St. Augustines Multiracial 5, 6, 8 Applicant 3/4/06

Total by grade 3

Total Applicants 27

03/20/2006
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S TU T O R I A L 3

Each step of the report process is broken down into individual procedures. For information about Crystal Reports
not addressed in this tutorial, see the Crystal Reports help file. To access the help file, from the Crystal Reports
menu bar, select Help, Crystal Reports Help.

Step 1: Creating an Export File

Before creating a custom report, you need to decide what kind of information you want to present on the report
and which fields you need from The Education Edge to produce these results. We recommend drawing the report
on paper first to help you think through your design. Once you have a clear idea of the data you need, you can
create the export file.
When setting up your export, keep in mind that once you are working in Crystal Reports, only Education Edge
fields included in the export file are available for the report. We recommend including all the fields you may
need, including any you are not sure about. If you are missing a field, you have to update the export and refresh
the report.
For our sample report, we create an export that includes applicant fields. For more information about creating
export files, see the Export Guide for The Education Edge.

 Creating a new export file

1. On the navigation bar in Admissions Office, click Export. The Export page appears.
2. On the action bar, click New. The Create a New Export screen appears.
3. In the What type of export do you want to create? box, select “Applicant”.

Note: Save export files in one of these *.mdb formats: Blackbaud Report Writer Database, Microsoft Access
2.x Database, Microsoft Access 95 Database, Microsoft Access 97 Database, or Microsoft Access 2000
Database.
4. In the Export format field, select “Blackbaud Report Writer Database (MDB)”.
4 CHAPTER

5. Click Create Now. The New Applicant Export screen appears.

6. We filter the export results with a query so only those who applied during the selected dates are
included. On the Filters tab, choose “Selected” in the Include field for Applicants. The Selected Applicants
screen appears.
7. Mark Query.

8. In the Query name field, enter “Applicants by Date” and click OK. You return to the Filters tab and
“Applicants by Date” appears in the Selected Filters field for Applicants.

9. Select the Output tab.

 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S TU T O R I A L 5

10. In the Available Fields box, a tree view lists all the criteria groups available for the Applicant export type.
Click the plus sign next to the Applicant criteria group to view all of the fields available.

11. To add a field from the tree view to the Output box, double-click the field or select the field and click
Select. The field moves to the Output box.

Tip: You can click Find to quickly locate a field.

For this example, we add the Applicant name, Grade apply, Ethnicity, and Current status fields.
6 CHAPTER

12. We then expand the Applications and Education/School criteria groups and add the Application date and
Name fields.

13. To print or preview a control report listing the selected criteria groups, output fields, and field header
names for the export, mark Create Control Report and select Print or Preview. The control report prints
or previews after the export processes.

Note: Remember where you save the *.mdb database file because you will need to access it again when you
create the Crystal report.
14. Click Export Now to run the export. The Export file name screen appears.
15. Browse to the location where you want to save the database file and enter “Weekly Applicant Statistics”
in the File name field.

16. Click Save. You return to the export record and processing screens appear. When the export finishes, a
screen appears telling you the number of rows exported and the time elapsed.

Note: If you selected to preview a control report, the control report screen appears. Click X to exit and return
to the export record.
17. Click OK. You return to the export record.
18. Click Save and Close. The Save Export As screen appears.
19. Enter a name and description for the export record and mark if other users can run or modify this export.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S TU T O R I A L 7

20. Click Save. You return to the Export page.

Step 2: Linking the Export File to a New Report

After you create the export, you are ready to start building your custom report. In this procedure, you link the
database file you created in Export to a new Crystal report.

 Linking a Education Edge export file with a new Crystal report

1. From the Windows taskbar, click Start. Select Programs, Crystal Reports 11.
Crystal Reports opens and the Getting Started screen appears.
8 CHAPTER

2. In the Getting Started frame, click Blank Report. The Database Expert screen appears.

3. Click the plus beside Create New Connection to expand the tree view.
4. Click the plus beside Database Files. The Open screen appears so you can find your Education Edge
databse file.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S TU T O R I A L 9

5. Highlight the .mdb file you created in The Education Edge, and click Open. You return to the Database
Expert screen. Notice all your database fields are listed in the tree view.

6. Highlight the path to your .mdb file in the Available Data Sources box.
10 C H A P T E R

Note: When you select the export format Blackbaud Report Writer Database (MDB) in Export, linking tables
are included in the data file (in addition to the fields you select). Typically, you may not use this data in your
Crystal report. However, it is best to select all data for your report in these beginning steps. By doing this, you
avoid repeating steps if you leave intended fields for your report beind.
7. To move all of the fields in the .mdb file to the Selected Tables box, click the right double arrow button.
The fields appear in the box to indicate they have been included for your Crystal report.

Note: The Visual Linking Expert screen shows the tables in the export file, and how they link together. For
most reports, you do not need to alter these tables or their links manually. When you click OK, Crystal Reports
automatically links the tables correctly.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 11

8. Click OK. The Visual Linking Export on the Links tab appears.

9. Click OK.

Note: The Workbench appears on the right side of the screen. You use the Workbench to contain projects
that have one or more reports. For more information, see the Crystal Reports XI help file. To remove the
Workbench from your screen, click the X in the top right corner of the screen.
10. The blank Crystal report is now available.
12 C H A P T E R

11. To display the Field Explorer frame, select View, Field Explorer from the menu bar. The frame appears on
the right side of the screen.

12. This frame contains all the fields you exported from The Education Edge. You will use these fields to build
your report.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 13

Step 3: Adding and Organizing Report Data

You are now ready to start adding data to the report. The Design tab is divided into five major sections to help
you organize your report.

Note: To create more or less space in sections, move the bar separating the sections up or down.
Report Header. The Report Header appears at the top of the first page of the report. It includes information
such as the title page, company logo, or introductory information.
Page Header. Information in the Page Header section, such as the print date/time or report title, appears at the
top of each page of the report.
Details. The Details section is the largest area of the report and holds the bulk of the data. You place database
fields and formulas in this section.
Report Footer. The Report Footer appears at the bottom of the last page of the report. You can insert grand
totals or summary data in this section.
Page Footer. The Page Footer appears at the bottom of each page of the report. This is a good place for page
numbers and explanations about figures in the report.
If you add a group, summary, or subtotal to the report, the program creates a Group Header and Group Footer.
Group Header. The Group Header holds the group name field. It appears once at the beginning of a group,
directly above the details section.
Group Footer. If you add a summary, the summary value appears in the Group Footer. It appears once at the
end of a group, directly below the details section.

Inserting Data Fields

You use the Field Explorer to add data fields to the report. The Field Explorer contains all the Education Edge data
fields you included in the export.
For this example, we insert these fields:
14 C H A P T E R

• ApptsAppt_Applicantname
• ApptsEdu_1_01_Sch_Name
• ApptsAppt_Ethnicity
• ApptsAppt_Currentstatus
• ApptsAppls_1_01_Applicationdate

 Inserting fields into a new report

1. From the new report, on the Field Explorer screen, click the plus sign next to Database Fields. The data
tables from The Education Edge appear.

Note: The export process adds links and identifier keys to the database file, in addition to the data fields. Make
sure to insert only fields in the report, not LINKs or IDKEYs.
2. Click the plus sign next to each of the tables. The data fields from each table appear.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 15

3. Select ApptsAppt_Applicantname. Click and drag it to the left side of the Details section. Release your
mouse to drop the field in place.

When you add a field to the Details section, Crystal Reports automatically adds the field name to the Page
Header section above the field. You can change the field heading text to make it more reader-friendly.
For more information see, “Editing Field Headings” on page 18.
4. Click and drag ApptsEdu_1_01_Sch_Name into the Details section next to ApptsAppt_Applicantname.
5. Continue adding fields. For this example, we also add the ApptsAppt_Age, ApptsAppt_Ethnicity,
ApptsAppt_Currentstatus, and ApptsAppls_1_01_Applicationdate fields to the Details section.

6. When finished inserting fields on the report, close the Field Explorer screen.
16 C H A P T E R

Note: Once you preview your report for the first time, the Preview tab appears at the top left of the screen
with the Design tab. You can move back and forth between these two tabs as you make changes to preview the
results.
7. To preview the report, click the Print Preview button on the toolbar. The Preview tab appears displaying
the report.

Resizing Fields
If the standard length or height of a field is too large or too small to display your information correctly, you can
adjust its size after you place it on the report. If the field’s frame is too small, the data will be truncated. If the
frame is too large, there will be too much white space between fields.
For this example, we resize the ApptsAppt_Applicantname field.

 Resizing fields in a report

Note: You may need to resize and move fields several times during the report creation process.
1. On the Design tab, click on the ApptsAppt_Applicantname to select it.
2. Move your cursor over the small black square on the right side of the selected frame until it changes to a
double arrow.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 17

3. Using the double arrow, click and drag the frame to the left to shorten the field size, or to the right to
lengthen the field.

4. To save time, you can resize multiple fields at one time. Select a field and then press and hold the CRTL
key while selecting the other fields.
5. Release the CRTL key and using the double arrow, shorten or lengthen one of the selected fields. As you
resize the field, the size adjustments are made to the other selected fields too.

Moving Fields
Once you insert fields, you can move them around on the report to adjust the spacing and improve the layout.
You can use guidelines on the Design and Preview tabs to help you align and size fields precisely. To view
guidelines, from the View menu, select Guidelines in Design and Guidelines in Preview. While some guidelines
are added automatically when you insert a field, you can also add additional guidelines by clicking on the ruler at
the top or left side of the Design and Preview tabs.
For this example, we move the ApptsEdu_1Sch_Name field.

 Moving fields in a report

Note: You may need to resize and move fields several times during the report creation process.
1. On the Design tab, click on the ApptsEdu_1Sch_Name to select it.
18 C H A P T E R

2. Drag it to the left closer to the ApptsAppt_Applicantname field.

Note: To create more or less space in sections, move the bar separating the sections up or down.
3. To save time, you can move multiple fields at one time. Select a field and then press and hold the CRTL
key while selecting the other fields.
4. Release the CRTL key and drag the selected fields to the new location.

Editing Field Headings

The Education Edge exports program field names whose meanings are often not intuitive to your report’s
audience. You can change the name of a field heading on your report to make it more reader-friendly; for
example, you can change “ApptsAppt_Applicantname” to “Applicant”.
For the sample report, we update all the field headings in the Page Header section.

 Editing field headings

1. On the Design tab, in the Page Header section, select the ApptsAppt_Applicantname field heading.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 19

2. Right-click and select Edit Text Object from the submenu. An active cursor appears in the field header
frame.

3. Replace the “ApptsAppt_Applicantname” with “Applicant” and then click once outside the frame.

4. Continue by updating the other field headings.

20 C H A P T E R

5. Select the Preview tab to view the updated headings.

Sorting Records
You can sort the order records appear in the Details section of the report. The type of data field you sort by
determines the sorting method. For example, if you sort by a text field, the data sorts alphabetically, while a date
field sorts in chronological order.
For this example, we sort by applicant name.

 Sorting records
1. On the Preview tab of the report, click on a name in the Applicant column. All names in the column
become selected and are treated as one field.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 21

2. On the toolbar, click the Sort Order button. The Record Sort Order screen appears.
3. In the Report Fields box on the left, select the ApptsAppt_Applicantname field and click Add to move it
into the Sort Fields box on the right.
4. In the Sort Direction box, select Ascending.

5. Click OK. Applicants are now sorted according to name.

Grouping Records
You can use groups to sort data and break it up into meaningful sections. You can also add summary information
to groups, such as subtotals, counts, or averages.
When you create a group, the program adds a group header section above the group for the group name field
and a group footer section below for any subtotals or summary values.
If you create multiple groups, on the Preview tab, you can use the group tree on the left to view your groups in an
outline form. Using the group tree, you can quickly jump to the beginning of a group by clicking on the group
name. If the group tree is not visible, click the Toggle Group Tree button on the toolbar.
For this sample report, we group applicants by the grade level.
22 C H A P T E R

 Grouping records
1. On the Design tab of the report, select Insert, Group from the menu bar. The Insert Group screen
appears.

2. In the first field, select the field to group the data by. For this example, we select ApptsAppt_Gradeapply.
3. In the second field, select the sort direction. You can sort in ascending, descending, specified, or original
order. Original order groups records in the order they appear in the database file. If you select specified
order, you can create custom groups based on database fields.

Note: In most instances you would use the ascending or descending order, but in this case*** the Grade
Apply fields are text values rather than numbers so Crystal does not order them numerically as you would
expect.
For our example we want applicants grouped and sorted by grade level in ascending order starting with
KG (Kindergarten). Because KG begins with a letter rather than a number, it is placed at the end of the
group. Grades 10, 11, and 12 are also out of order. For this example, we sort in specified order to move
KG to the beginning of the report and 10, 11, and 12 to the end.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 23

a. Select “in specified order”. The Specified Order tab appears.

b. In the Named Group field, select “KG”, and then “1” through “12”.

c. Select the Others tab that appears.

24 C H A P T E R

d. Select Leave in their own groups.

e. Return to the Common tab.

4. If you sorted by ascending, descending, or original order, in the Group Options frame, you can select a
group name. The default group name is the field you are grouping by. Mark the Customize Group Name
Field checkbox to use a different field value. You can select one of these options:
• Choose From Existing Field — Select this option to select a different field for the group name. For
example, your report is grouped by School ID, but you would rather display the School name.
• Use a Formula as Group Name — Select this option to create a formula for the group name. Click the
Group Name Formula button and the Group Name Formula Editor screen appears. For more
information about creating formulas, see the Crystal Reports help file.
Because we sorted in specified order, these options are disabled and we use the default group name.
5. You can mark Keep Group Together to prevent groups from breaking at the end of a page. If there is not
enough room for the entire group on a page, the program prints the group on the next page rather than
splitting it into parts across two pages. We mark this option for our report.

Note: To hide the group header name, right-click the group header, select Format Field, and click Suppress on
the Common tab of the Format Editor.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 25

6. You can mark Repeat Group Header on Each Page to print a new group header at the top of each page if
a group is spread over several pages. Otherwise, a group header prints only at the beginning of the group.
We leave this option unmarked.

7. Click OK to close the Insert Group screen and return to the report. A group header section appears.
26 C H A P T E R

8. For our example, we also move the grade level group to the Details section so it aligns with the other
fields. For more information about moving fields, see “Moving fields in a report” on page 17. We also add
a field heading for the group. For more information, see “Inserting Text Fields” on page 32.

9. Select the Preview tab to view the report.

Adding Subtotals, Summaries, and Grand Totals

Once you create groups, you can add summaries and subtotals in the Group Footer. You can also add grand totals
to the end of the report in the Report Footer. You can create subtotals for numeric or currency fields only.
For our sample report, we add a summary count of applicants for each grade level group and a grand total of all
applicants at the end of the report.

 Adding summary counts

1. To add a count of applicants per grade level, from the menu bar on the Design tab, select Insert,
Summary. The Insert Summary screen appears.
2. In the Insert a field which calculates the [ ] field, select “count”.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 27

3. In the second field, select the field to count. For this example, we select “ApptsAppt_Applicantname”.
4. In the When the report is printed, the records will be sorted and grouped by [ ] field, select the group or
field to sort and group by. In this case, we use the default,
“Group #1:ApptsAppt.ApptsAppt_GradeApply”.

5. Click OK. You return to the Design tab of your report and the count appears in the Group Footer #1
section.
28 C H A P T E R

 Adding grand totals

1. To add a grand total of all applicants, from the Preview tab, click on an applicant name in the Applicant
column. All names in the column become selected and are treated as one field.

2. Right-click and select Insert, Grand Total from the submenu. The Insert Grand Total screen appears.
3. Select “count” in the first field.
4. In the second field, we use the default field, ApptsAppt_Applicantname.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 29

5. Click OK. You return to the Preview Tab. A new grand total appears in the Report Footer section.

Filtering Report Results

The Select Records Expert is a filtering tool in Crystal Reports you can use to limit the results of your report
without having to change your report or export design. For this example, we filter the results of our report to
show only applicants in grades KG through 6.

 Using the Select Records Expert in a report

1. From the Preview tab, from the menu bar select Report, Select Expert. The Choose Field screen appears.

2. Select the field to filter by and click OK. For this example, we select ApptsAppt.ApptsAppt_GradeApply.
The Select Expert screen appears.
3. In the first field, select “is not one of.” A second field appears.

Note: In most instances you can use an easier formula value, such as “is between” or “is not between”, or “is
greater than” or “is less than”, but in this case, the Grade Apply fields are text values rather than numbers so
Crystal does not order them numerically as you would expect.
30 C H A P T E R

4. Select “7” through “12” in the field. This equation tells the program to show only applicants in grades KG
through 6 on the report.

5. Click OK. A screen appears asking if you want to use data saved from the last time you made a change or
if you want to refresh the data.
6. Click Refresh Data. You return to the Preview screen of your report. Only applicants in grades KG through
6 appear on the report.

Suppressing Fields
You can use the suppress fields options to hide values you do not want to appear in the report. You can hide all
instances of a field or, if a field is followed directly by its duplicate, you can suppress duplicates so the value
displays just once. For example, our sample report is grouped by grade level. Each grade level has several
applicants so the grade level in the Grade Apply column appears multiple times — once for each applicant. When
we suppress duplicates, the grade level appears just once for the first applicant and a blank space appears in that
column for every other applicant.

 Suppressing duplicate fields

1. To suppress duplicate grade levels, from the Preview tab, click on a grade level in the Grade Apply
column. All grade levels in the column become selected and are treated as one field.

2. Right-click and select Format Field from the submenu. The Format Editor appears displaying the Common
tab.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 31

Note: Be careful not to mark the Suppress checkbox at the top of the screen. Marking this checkbox excludes
all the selected data.
3. Mark Suppress If Duplicated at the bottom of the screen.

4. Click OK. The Grade Apply column now displays each grade level only once.
32 C H A P T E R

Step 4: Formatting the Appearance of the

Report
Note: You can also select default format settings that apply each time you create a report. From the File
menu, select Options.
After you add data to the report, you can format the report’s appearance. Crystal Reports offers a variety of
formatting options to help you create a professional report. You can format the font, size, style, and color of fields
and select the format for dates, numbers, and other values. You can also insert lines, borders, and graphics to
draw attention to data and you can insert text fields for titles or labels. Most design and format changes can be
made from both the Design and Preview tabs.

Inserting Text Fields

You can insert text fields for titles, labels, notes, callouts, and mail merge letters. You can also combine text fields
with database, formula, and special fields so you can manipulate these as one entity. For example, if you have
separate fields for the Student First Name and Student Last Name, you can insert these in a text field so the
fields are formatted, sized, and moved as one item. Also, when a field is combined with a text field, the program
automatically adjusts the field’s size so there is no extra white space on either side.
For our sample report, we insert a report title and add labels for the grand total and subtotal fields.

 Inserting a report title

1. From the Design tab of the report, click the Insert Text Object button on the toolbar. A text box appears
with your pointer.
2. Drag the box down into the Report Header section and click once to place the text box. An active cursor
appears in the text box.

3. In the text box, enter “Weekly Applicant Statistics” and then click once outside the box, or press the ESC
key on your keyboard.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 33

Note: To create more or less space in sections, move the bar separating the sections up or down.
4. To center the title across the report, select the title and using the black squares on either side of the box,
stretch the field to the left and right across the entire length of the Report Header section.
5. On the toolbar, click the Align Center button. The title moves to the center of the report.

6. Select the Preview tab to view the new title.

 Inserting field labels

Note: As you make formatting changes, you may need to resize and move fields. For more information, see
“Resizing fields in a report ” on page 16 and “Moving fields in a report” on page 17.
1. From the Design tab of the report, click the ab button on the toolbar. A text box appears with your
pointer.
2. Drag the box to the Group Footer #1 section and drop it next to the summary count field. An active cursor
appears in the text box.
3. In the text box, enter “Total by grade” and then click once outside the box, or press the ESC key on your
keyboard.
34 C H A P T E R

4. To add a label for the grand total field, we repeat these steps and insert the text field in the Report Footer
section.

5. Select the Preview tab to view the new labels.

Inserting Special Fields

You can insert special fields in the report that update automatically as information changes, such as page
numbers, record numbers, group numbers, print dates, and total page counts. You can also combine special fields
with text fields so you can manipulate these as one entity. For more information about combining fields, see
“Inserting Text Fields” on page 32.
For this example, we insert a print date field that updates with the current date each time you print the report.
For more information about other special fields, see the Crystal Reports help file.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 35

 Inserting a date field

1. From the Design tab of the report, on the menu bar, select Insert, Field Object. The Field Explorer screen
appears.
2. Expand the Special Fields group.

3. Click and drag the Print Date field to the bottom right of the report and drop it in the Page Footer section.
36 C H A P T E R

4. Select the Preview tab. The report now displays the print date.

Formatting Fields Using the Format Editor

You can use the Format Editor for a variety of tasks, such as formatting text, lines, borders, numbers, dates, and
graphics. The tabs and options available on the Format Editor change depending on the type of field you select.
For example, if you select a date field, the Date/Time tab appears.
For our sample report, we use the Format Editor to change the font style, size, and color of text. We also change
the date format. For more information about other Format Editor options, see the Crystal Reports help file.

 Formatting text
1. From the Design tab of your report, select a field heading and right-click.
2. Select Font from the submenu. The Format Editor screen appears displaying the Font tab.
3. In the Font field, select “Verdana”.

Note: As you make formatting changes, you may need to resize and move fields. For more information, see
“Resizing fields in a report ” on page 16 and “Moving fields in a report” on page 17.
4. In the Style field, select Bold”.
5. In the Size field, select “10”.
6. In the Color field, select “Navy”.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 37

7. Mark the Underline checkbox.

8. Click OK. The Format Editor closes and you return to the report.
9. We continue until all report text is formatted. To make changes to multiple fields at once, press the CTRL
key on the keyboard while selecting each field on the Design tab. Right-click and select Format Objects.
10. Select the Preview tab to view the changes.

 Formatting date fields

Note: As you make formatting changes, you may need to resize and move fields. For more information, see
“Resizing fields in a report ” on page 16 and “Moving fields in a report” on page 17.
38 C H A P T E R

1. From the Preview tab, click on a date in the Date Applied column. All dates in the column become
selected and are treated as one field.
2. Right-click and select Format Field from the submenu. The Format Editor screen appears displaying the
Date/Time tab.
3. In the Style box, select “3/1/99”.

4. Click OK. The Format Editor closes and you return to the report. The Date column now displays
reformatted application dates.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 39

Adding Lines and Borders

You can add lines and borders to separate or draw attention to data and headings. You can add a border using the
Format Editor or you can draw a box around the area or item and format it as a border. When you use the Format
Editor, the program fits the border around the field’s frame and you can not resize the border without resizing
the field. To prevent this issue, you should draw the border using the box tool.
For this example we add lines between each grade level group and add a border to the report grand total.

 Adding lines

Note: To create more or less space in sections, move the bar separating the sections up or down.
1. On the Design tab, select Insert, Line from the menu bar. Your cursor becomes a pencil you can use to
draw the line.
2. In the Group Footer # 1 section, click and drag the pencil to draw a line under the subtotal field from the
left margin to the right.

3. Select the line and right-click. A submenu appears.

4. Select Format Line. The Format Editor appears.
5. In the Style field, select “Single”.
6. In the Width field, select “1 pt”.
40 C H A P T E R

7. In the Color field, select “Red”.

8. Click OK. You return to the report.

9. Select the Preview tab. A red line appears under each grade level group.

 Adding borders
1. On the Preview tab, select the Insert, Box from the menu bar. Your cursor becomes a pencil you can use
to draw the border.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 41

2. Click and drag the pencil diagonally across the grand total field. As you drag the pencil, a box is drawn
around the field.

3. To format the border, right-click on the box. A submenu appears.

4. Select Format Box. The Format Editor appears.
5. In the Style field, select “Single”.
6. In the Width field, select “1 pt”.
7. In the Color field, select “Navy”.
8. Mark Drop Shadow.
9. In the Fill frame, mark Color and select “Silver” in the field that appears.
42 C H A P T E R

10. Click OK and you return to the report. The border is now formatted.

Step 5: Saving the Report

Note: Use Save Data with Report option if you plan to distribute the report to users who do not have access to
the original database.
You can save your report with data or save only the report parameters. If you select the Save Data with Report
option, the program saves a static version of your data with your report. The next time you open the report, the
data appears exactly as it existed when you saved the report — any changes in the database since that time do
not appear. Use the Save Data with Report option if you plan to distribute the report to users who do not have
access to the original database. You can always later refresh the report to update the data. For more information
about refreshing reports, see “Refreshing a Crystal report ” on page 44.
If you save the report parameters without data, each time you open the report the data refreshes automatically
so it displays the most recent data available from the database. This is helpful for reports you run on a regular
basis using the same parameters.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 43

 Saving a Crystal report

1. From the menu bar of the open report, select File, Save Data with Report to save your report with data
or File, Save to save only the report layout. A check mark appears next to the option you select.

2. On the toolbar, click the Save button. The Save As screen appears.
3. In the File name field, enter the name of your report, for example, “Applicant Statistics Report”.
4. In the Save as type field, select “Crystal Reports for Blackbaud”.

5. Click Save.
6. To close your report, click the X button in the top right corner.

Refreshing a Report
You can refresh a report to include the current data. To do this, update the export in The Education Edge to get
the latest data and then refresh the saved *.rpt file.
44 C H A P T E R

 Refreshing a Crystal report

1. In Export, open the export to update.

Note: If your export uses a static query to filter, you need to refresh the query before you refresh the export.
2. Make any changes and then click Export Now to refresh the results. The Export File Name screen
appears.

3. Save the *.mdb file using the same file name. A message appears asking if you want to replace the
existing file. Click Yes.
4. In Crystal Reports, open the saved *.rpt file you want to refresh.
5. Click the Refresh button on the toolbar. The report refreshes and the newest data appears.

Setting the Database Location for a Saved Report

If the file name or location changes for the database attached to your report (for example, you move the
database to a different drive or need to attach a different database file to the report parameters), you can use Set
Location to point the report to the database’s new location.
 C R Y S T A L R E P O R T S T U T O R I A L 45

Note: You must save the report before you can use the Same as Report button.
You can also click the Same as Report button on the Set Location screen to set the location of the selected
database to the same path as the report. This feature makes it easier to distribute the report to other users
because they can place the report and database in any location they choose and the report will always find the
database if it is in same folder as the report.

 Setting the location for an existing Crystal report

1. Open the saved *.rpt file.
2. Select Database, Set Location from the menu bar. The Set Location screen appears.

3. Click Set Location. The Data Explorer screen appears.

4. In the tree view, click the plus sign next to the Database Files folder.
5. Select Find Database File, and click Set. The Open screen appears.
46 C H A P T E R

6. Browse to the *.mdb file’s new location and click Open. You return to the Set Location screen. (The
original *.mdb file path still appears in the File field. This changes after you complete the following steps.)

7. Select the first table in the list and click Set Location. The Data Explorer screen appears again.
8. Click Set. A message appears asking if you want to apply these changes to the other tables with the same
original information.
9. Click Yes. You return to the Set Location screen. The new *.mdb file path appears in the File field.
10. Click Done. You return to your Crystal report.