Crystal Reports: export datasource with report definition - crystal-reports

I am stepping into a new reporting environment and I don't have a lot of background info yet. But my company utilizes a series of crystal reports.
I want to compare two reports that are identical except that they connect to different data sources. I can click on both reports in the Crystal Reports viewer, go to Database > Set Database Location and I am able to see the data source. If I do this for both reports in question, I can see that they both connect to different data sources, as expected.
However, when I export the two Crystal Reports as text files and then compare them using Notepad++, I don't see the datasource / connection string in the report files, so when I do a compare, they are exactly the same.
If the exported text files are exactly the same, how does Crystal Reports Viewer know to point one report towards a prod data source and another report towards the dev data source? It does not appear to be embedded in the exported metadata / report definition file.
Thank you!!

The connection info is simply not part of the exported report definition text.
But, obviously, it is part of the report definition.
If you need to export more detailed report definition information, including connection properties, consider getting a documentation utility. Ken Hamady maintains a list of those here.

Related

Crystal Report "Error Detected by Export DLL" - Only Excel (Win7)

when I use crystal report export to Excel, below error throw out "Error in file XXXXX. Error detected by Export DLL.
This error only shown when export to excel, others like words/pdf working perfectly.
I'm using win7
I have seen this in two situations:
Situation #1
A long time ago, this was a known issue in Crystal Reports... 11 i think, not sure.
The solution was to install an update of ExporMoldeller.dll and crxf_pdf.dll.
It used to be available in this link
Situation #2
If you are using .NET Datasets as the data source of the report, it can occur is something is wrong with the datasets. I've seen this happen when columns have no types defined explicitly, when there are multiple tables in the dataset and one of them is empty or the link definitions in Crystal Reports are worng, or when there is an empty cell in one table that was supposed to contain an image.

crystal report 8.5 filter records

I am new to this position (production support) and asked to look into a problem in a crystal report 8.5. I am new to crystal report as well with some basic training only.
The report seems to be missing some records. It uses a SQL Server 2005 procedure as data source. I tested with same parameters the report used on the procedure and the it returns all records including the missing records in the report. So I think the report must filter the records. Then I checked Record Selection Formula, I saw something in there but it seems not related to the missing records. For testing, I commented them all, run the report but the records are still missing.
So I guess there may be something else that filters the data?
It turns out to be something in top N group expert. The report only lists top 50 items for a group based on sales units.
You might benefit from exporting the report definition into a .txt file by clicking file > export > export report > report definition txt ( you have to scroll for it). I believe this functionality existed back in 8.5.
What it does is display the underlying formatting, filtering and formulas in an easy to read format. You should be able to pick out what is happening much more quickly than clicking through all the potential places for something to be hidden. I see that you answered your own question but seeing that you're new to this position this is a troubleshooting tip I found invaluable.

How to Query a Web Service (XML) From a Subreport?

I apologize if this has been already asked but my searches have had little luck. I've also tried MSDN forum's, but its obvious that I need the big guns for this one ;)
I am using VS2008 (SSRS 2008 R2) to create a series of subreports. Each Subreport queries 1 or more Web Methods from a WCF Web Service.
When I run an rdl as a stand-alone report, everything renders properly. When I run that rdl as a subreport, I receive an error recommending that I check the log (details, and steps to reproduce below.)
Simple Test (No Subreports):
Using the instructions found in the article Reporting Services: Using XML and Web Service Data Sources I was able to create the necessary Shared Datasets for each web method.
I successfully created a report (SubTest.rdl) utilizing a Shared Dataset for a Table.
The dataset's underlying web method contains no parameters (trying to keep it simple).
SubTest.rdl renders correctly!
So far so good.
Test 2: Master/Subreport structure
created a Parent/Master report (MasterTest.rdl)
added a Subreport Report Item, and specified "SubTest.rdl"
Note: No Report parameters are specified, as SubTest does not have any parameters defined.
I receive the following error during the rendering of the MasterTest.rdl report:
Warning 1 [rsErrorExecutingSubreport] An error occurred while executing the subreport 'Subreport1' (Instance: 5iS0): Data retrieval failed for the subreport, 'Subreport1', located at: /SubTest. Please check the log files for more information.
Additional Testing:
To ensure that my subreport is properly defined in MasterTest.rdl, I altered SubTest.rdl. In SubTest I removed the DataSource, DataSet, and Table from "SubTest.rdl" and insterted a TextBox filled with the words "Output From Subreport". This rendered properly in the Master report, indicating that the problem specifically relates to my Web Service Datasource/DataSet.
Questions: :(
Is there a way to accomplish this task?
If this is not possible, can anyone suggest a workaround for providing Web Service xml to a subreport?
Also, per the error message: Any idea where I can find this log? (because this is running in Visual Studio, checking the SSRS logs folder on my local machine did not help, nor did running VS with logging enabled.)
A workaround that I could not get to work:
I tried to follow the instructions in the linked article for passing XML to a subreport as a parameter, but
The master passes the xml as a scalar string. Because I am querying
a web service and not using a data set where each row contains a col holding the XML, I only have the resultant dataset to work with. Basically I need to convert a data set to a scalar.
I had difficulty following the instructions (even if I could solve problem
1, I'm not even sure that I properly defined the dataset and
parameter - how do I get fields when the data is not known until
runtime?)
Thank you for any help you can give. This has been driving nuts for days!

Reporting Service: Change reports based on format

I have a report that will be viewed from SSRS report manager and scheduled to send a flat file as well. The problem is that the rich display, summation rows, and some other elements that are perferred when viewing the report online or as a PDF are not wanted when the report is viewed in Excel or when it is exported to CVS. The solution I proposed was to simply have two reports. One that was nicely formated and the other that was more of a raw data feed but they want only one report meaning that I need a way to show one thing if it is viewd online or saved to a PDF and something different when it is saved to CVS or XLS. Is this possible and if so how?
When exporting to .csv format, many fields are stripped. Have you looked at what the existing functionality does to your report?
If that's not adequate, you can use the new SSRS 2008R2 global variable to change item visibility. For example set the hidden function to:
=(Globals!RenderFormat.Name = "EXCEL")
This would hide something when exported to Excel format. (This is only available since SSRS 2008 R2.)
More info on this at:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/robertbruckner/archive/2010/05/02/globals-renderformat-aka-renderer-dependent-report-layout.aspx

Crystal Reports: Using Business Objects xi Datasource

I'm a total Crystal Reports/Business Objects newbie...
I've been tasked with going through 100 or so Crystal Reports to determine which reports are using an 'embedded' connection string vs. one supplied by the BOXi server.
I've installed Crystal Reports and accessed a sampling of the reports, but haven't been able to locate any references to a Repository based connection string/datasource.
Can anyone point me towards where this configuration is managed?
Thanks!
Richard
I don't know if you've already tried this or even if it's too basic for you, but it's been 24 hours, so here's my 2 cents:
To see the data source of each report, open them up and go to the Database at menu at top. There, you'll want to browse through the "Database Expert", "Set Datasource Location", and "Show SQL Query" options. Look at the properties of each data source.
You may also want to make a practice report pulling data from your sources of interest. That can help you get used to CR.
when you deploy the report to BO, you use the CMC (central management console) to set the database connection information. it is here that you will find the answer to your connection-string question.