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Crystal Reports Training 2013- How to Create a Report Template

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How to create a report template

You can create a report template that has no defined connection to data sources, but can be used to apply report formatting and layout. To do this, first create a new blank report that has no connection to an underlying data source. To do this, click the “Blank Report” hyperlink in the “Start Page.” When the “Database Expert” dialog box appears, click the “Cancel” button.

You can add the report elements that you would like into the template. Text objects, logos and other images, and other non-data related objects (like “Special Fields”) can be placed into the report. In a template, you do not place actual fields of information, but rather place “template fields” which act as placeholders for the data- to determine the appearance and placement of the fields. When you are ready to set the placement of the template fields, select “Insert| Template Field Object” from the Menu Bar. Then click into the section of the report where you want to place the template field. This will then place a detail entry and column heading that you can move and format as desired. Also notice that the template field is actually a “Formula Field” and you can see it under that section of the “Field Explorer” pane.

In order to save the report and have it appear in the future as a template which can be selected through the “Template Expert” dialog box, you will need to make some more modifications beyond simply placing the desired report objects, special fields, and template fields into the report design view. When you select a template to apply in the “Template Expert” dialog box, you can see the name of the template and a preview of the template to be applied. This information, such as the “name” of the template and the “preview” picture, is entered into the document before saving it as a template so that it will appear in the future when you select this template through the “Template Expert” dialog box.

To create the document properties, which allows you to enter this type of information, select “File| Summary Info…” from the Menu Bar to launch the “Document Properties” dialog box. This dialog box consists of two tabs: “Summary” and “Statistics.” Click the “Summary” tab to enter the document information for the report template. In the “Author:” text box, you can enter the name of the creator of the template, if desired. Under “Keywords:,” you can enter any keywords that identify this template. This can be used for file searching in the future. You can type a description of the report, or any other information you want, into the “Comments:” text box. The first 256 characters of this box can be displayed through the use of the “Report Comments” special field within a report. Type a title for the report into the “Title:” text box. Whatever title is entered here can be displayed through the use of the “Report Title” special field in a report. This will also be the name of the template displayed within the “Template Expert.” You can click into the “Subject:” text box and type in the overall subject of your report. Then you can click into the “Template:” text box and type in an identifying name for the template, if desired. Then check the “Save Preview Picture” to save a preview of the first page of the content of the template. Ensure that you do not have sensitive data displayed in the first page if you check this checkbox. When you have finished entering the document properties, click “OK” to save and close the “Document Properties” dialog box.

You can save the report template by choosing “File| Save As…” from the Menu Bar. This will open the “Save As” dialog box. In order to save the report as a template, use the “Save in:” drop-down to save the file into the default template directory. Assuming that you installed to your “C:\” drive, for Crystal Reports 2013 this is usually “C:\Program Files\SAP BusinessObjects\Crystal Reports\Templates\en.”

 

 

Exporting Report Results

When it comes time to allow access to the report data generated by Crystal Reports, you have a few options for exporting the results. In this lesson you will examine the options that you have for exporting report results to the users that need to view that data. When it comes time to export the report results, you can first open the report which you wish to export, and then choose either “File| Export| Export Report” from the Menu Bar or click the “Export” button in the Standard toolbar.

This will then launch the “Export” dialog box, which is used to export the selected report to a chosen destination in the format you prefer. Use the “Format:” drop-down to select the desired format to which you would like to export the selected report. Then use the “Destination:” drop-down to select one of the possible report destinations to which you could export the report. When you have made the desired selections from the drop-down, click “OK” to begin the exporting process.

Note that if you wish to export to one of the e-mail systems listed, you will log-in to the selected system and send the email to the designated recipients after clicking “OK.” If using the “Lotus Domino” system, ensure that you read the help file in Crystal Reports about exporting to this destination, as it requires additional setup.

If you select the “Application” option, Crystal will export the report to the application used to open the type of file format you selected. For example, if you selected “MS Word” from the “Format:” drop-down and then chose “Application” for the “Destination:,” Crystal Reports would open Microsoft Word and export the report as a new file in that application.

If you choose “Disk file” from the “Destination:” drop-down, then you can select the folder on your network to which you want to export the report. If you have Microsoft Exchange Server available and wish to save the report to a selected exchange folder, you can select that option to save it into a public or private folder which is then accessible through Microsoft Outlook.

The types of formats which are available for export will vary depending on the DLL files installed on your system. Depending on which format and destination you select, you may have to make additional choices in the ensuing dialog boxes which appear.

 

 

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