Understanding Crystal Reports 2008 Compatibility Issues
This chapter provides an overview of Crystal Reports 2008 compatibility issues and discusses how to:
Configure Crystal Reports 2008.
Create and format reports in Crystal Reports 2008.
Run Crystal Reports 2008.
Understanding Crystal Reports 2008 Compatibility Issues
When you upgrade to Crystal Reports 2008, consider the following compatibility issues:
Crystal Reports 2008 can run a report that is saved in an earlier version of Crystal Reports format.
However, if you save the report definition from the Crystal Report 2008 designer, the report will be saved in Crystal Reports 2008 format and can not be opened by any version of Crystal Reports earlier than version 9. In addition, if you open a Crystal Reports 2008 report in Crystal Reports 9, you will be warned that the report is in a later format and certain features may not be supported.
When you run an earlier format Crystal Report in the Crystal Reports 2008 application or through the PeopleSoft Process Scheduler, the Crystal Reports application runs the Verify Database function, which picks up any errors—such as missing fields—in the report. If errors are detected, you must correct the report before you can run it successfully.
When you run reports using the PeopleSoft Process Scheduler in the PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture, they are created in the Crystal Reports 2008 .rpt format and you cannot open them using any version of Crystal Reports earlier than version 9.
You can use earlier format report templates to generate reports; however, to ensure compatibility, you should always create the reports in the Crystal Reports 2008 format.
See The Enterprise PeopleTools 8.51 Installation Guide for your database platform: “Installing and Configuring Software for Crystal Reports,” Converting Crystal Reports, Converting Existing Crystal Reports to Crystal Reports 2008 format.
If you use the PeopleSoft Process Scheduler to run Crystal Reports, do not install a version of Crystal Reports on the Process Scheduler server that is different from the version of the Crystal Runtime Redistributable already installed on the machine.
Crystal Reports 2008 is more particular than earlier versions of Crystal Reports about null values being passed to its in-built functions.
To prevent errors occurring in formulas, check that the values you are passing are not null. For example, instead of:
compare = toText({CUSTOMER_SALES.END_DATE});
use:
if (IsNull({CUSTOMER_SALES.END_DATE})) then chooseDate := ""; else chooseDate := {CUSTOMER_SALES.END_DATE};
If you are upgrading from previous versions of PeopleSoft PeopleTools, your pre-PeopleTools 8.50 Crystal reports need to be converted to the Crystal Reports 2008 format.
The PeopleTools RPT Conversion utility pscvtrpt.exe is a standalone program that converts your .rpt files from the format used in previous releases to the Crystal Reports 2008 format.
See The Enterprise PeopleTools 8.51 Installation Guide for your database platform: “Installing and Configuring Software for Crystal Reports,” Converting Crystal Reports, Converting Existing Crystal Reports to Crystal Reports 2008 format.
Configuring Crystal Reports 2008
This section discusses how to:
Specify Crystal/Business Interlink/JDeveloper options.
Specify the path for production of Crystal reports.
Install the PeopleSoft ODBC Driver and Crystal Runtime.
Sign in to a PeopleSoft Database.
Note. These configuration options are relevant only if you have installed Crystal Reports 2008.
See The Enterprise PeopleTools 8.51 Installation Guide for your database platform: “Installing and Configuring Software for Crystal Reports,” Installing Crystal Reports 2008.
Specifying Crystal/Business Interlink/JDeveloper Options
Access the PeopleTools Configuration Manager dialog box by:
Select Start, Programs, PeopleTools 8.5x, Configuration Manager.
Alternatively, go to <PS_HOME>\bin\client\winx86\ and launch pscfg.exe.
The Configuration Manager – Crystal/Bus. Interlink/JDeveloper tab appears.
The following example illustrates the Configuration Manager - Crystal/Bus. Interlink/JDeveloper tab:
Use the Crystal/Bus. Interlink/JDeveloper tab to specify the locations of Crystal Reports executables and the default location for Crystal Reports that are generated through PeopleSoft Query; the default location for Crystal Reports must be a directory to which the user has write access. This tab also enables you to specify the location of Business Interlink drivers and the JDeveloper Home Directory.
Note. PeopleSoft Business Interlinks is a deprecated product. These options currently exist for upgrade compatibility and transition.
Specifying the Path for Production of Crystal Reports
To access the PeopleSoft Configuration Manager and specify the path for production of Crystal Reports:
Select Start, Programs, PeopleTools 8.x, Configuration Manager:
Select the Profile tab, and select a profile to edit.
Select the Process Scheduler tab.
In the Crystal Reports [CRWRPTPATH] field, enter the path to your Crystal production reports.
Note. CRWRPTPATH is a read-only directory that is intended to hold production reports.
This example illustrates the Configuration Manager - Process Scheduler dialog box and the Crystal Reports (CRWRPTPATH) field is set to c:\ptdoc\pt851\crw.
See Configuring User Profiles, Configuration of Crystal Reports for Multilingual Environments, Translated Report Searches.
Installing the PeopleSoft ODBC Driver and Crystal Runtime
If you have installed Crystal Reports on your Microsoft Windows-based development workstation, refer to the Enterprise PeopleTools Installation Guide to install the PeopleSoft ODBC driver and Crystal runtime. This installation is required to successfully use Crystal Reports 2008 designer to create and run reports.
See The Enterprise PeopleTools 8.51 Installation Guide for your database platform: “Installing the PeopleSoft ODBC Driver and Crystal Runtime.”
Note. You can run two copies of the same version of PeopleTools on one machine; however, we support only one version of the PeopleSoft ODBC driver on one machine. This means that you cannot have PeopleTools 7.5 and PeopleTools 8 on the same machine and expect Crystal Reports to work with both PeopleTools builds. For instance, you cannot get PeopleTools 7.5 Crystal Reports to work with the PeopleTools 8.x PeopleSoft ODBC driver.
Signing In to a PeopleSoft Database
You must sign in to a PeopleSoft database before you can generate a PeopleSoft report from Crystal Reports. When you open Crystal Reports and create a new report, Crystal Reports prompts you to sign in to a PeopleSoft database using the Crystal Reports sign-in dialog. When you run a preexisting report, you sign in to a PeopleSoft database using the PeopleSoft sign-in dialog. After successfully signing in to a database, you have full reporting flexibility.
Creating and Formatting Reports in Crystal Reports 2008This section discusses how to:
Create reports in Crystal Reports 2008.
Format reports in Crystal Reports 2008.
Modify default settings in Crystal Reports 2008.
See Crystal Reports 2008 documentation.
Creating Reports in Crystal Reports 2008
To create reports in Crystal Reports 2008:
Select Start, Programs, Crystal Reports 2008.
The Crystal Reports start page appears.
Click the Report Wizard link under the Start a New Report section.
The Report Wizard guides you through the creation of a typical report.
Click the + (plus) sign to the left of the Create New Connection folder to display its contents.
Click the + (plus) sign to the left of the ODBC (RDO) folder.
The ODBC (RDO) dialog box appears.
Select PeopleSoft PeopleTools as the DSN.
Note. When signing in to two-tier, make sure that the Server Name and other three-tier fields are not populated in the PeopleSoft PeopleTools DSN. These will be picked up as defaults for the connection information that you enter.
Click the Finish button.
The PeopleSoft Signon window appears.
Enter the database name, user ID, and password.
Click the OK button.
If needed, click the + (plus) sign to the left of the PeopleSoft PeopleTools folder under ODBC (RDO), and then click the + (plus) sign to the left of QUERY to display a list of queries.
The list contains all of the queries from which you can create a report.
Highlight a query from the list, and click the next-in-list (>) button.
The query that you selected appears in the Selected Tables group box, indicating that it has been added.
You can select additional queries if necessary.
When you have completed your selections, click the Next button to navigate to the Fields dialog box.
Note. If you have selected multiple queries, clicking the Next button at this point takes you to the Link dialog box.
Highlight one or more fields and click the next-in-list (>) button, or click the last-in-list (>>) button to add all the fields from the query that you want to appear on your report.
When fields have been added, the previous-in-list (<) and the first-in-list (<<) buttons become active.
(Optional) Click the Next button, and select from the following dialog boxes:
Click the Finish button.
Select the Design tab or Preview tab to format your report.
Formatting Reports in Crystal Reports 2008
To format reports in Crystal Reports 2008:
Access Crystal Reports 2008 by selecting Start, Programs, Crystal Reports 2008.
Open the report that you want to format, and select the Design tab.
Enter the appropriate values:
Note. In most cases, you need to enter the appropriate field type (text field, and so on) before you can enter information.
Report Header: Enter the title of the report and other information that you want to appear at the top of the first page.
Page Header: Enter or modify the column headings and other identifying information that you want to appear at the top of each page.
Details: This is the main section of the report that includes the rows of data from your database.
Report Footer: Enter the information that you want in the footer of the report.
You can include a summary on the last page of your report.
Page Footer: Enter a page number or other information that you want to appear at the bottom of the page.
Select the Preview tab to preview your report.
The page orientation is portrait or landscape by default according to the number and width of the columns that are in your query. If the query columns do not fit in landscape, Crystal Reports displays as many columns as will fit on the page and does not display the others.
You adjust the formatting from within the print preview window. For example, you can resize headings or recenter the report title.
Select the Design tab to return to the report template.
Click the Refresh button to refresh your data after making changes.
Important! If your reports contain numeric fields that are formatted to have single-line or double-line borders at the top of the container, you may experience incorrect justification of numbers in the HTML output. To resolve this issue, either draw lines above the numeric fields using the line drawing tool or insert summary fields into a blank text object and then format the container text object to include borders above the text.
Modifying Default Settings in Crystal Reports 2008
You can set a number of different defaults in Crystal Reports 2008.
Note. If you modify a query to include additional fields, you need to modify the report definition in Crystal Reports 2008 to include the new fields in your report. To modify the report definition, select Database, Verify Database.
Changing Default Column Headings and Report Titles
Access your report in Crystal Reports 2008 by selecting Start, Programs, Crystal Reports 2008.
Select the Design tab and, in the Page Header section, double-click the column heading or report title that you want to change. (You can also click the text object and select Edit, Edit Text.)
A ruler appears above the text object and a box appears around the text. The Crystal text formatting features (such as font, bold, italics, and so on) are available in this mode.
Edit the text, and then click a blank area of the report to deselect the text object.
The system displays the new text in the display window.
Note. You can make the column headings as long as you want. However, if you make them much longer than the current heading, you will need to enlarge the text box to fit the heading.
Access your report in Crystal Reports 2008 by selecting Start, Programs, Crystal Reports 2008.
Open the report that you want to change fonts in the Design tab.
Select the items that you want to change, and select Format, Format Text.
The Format Editor dialog box appears.
Select the Font tab.
Select the appropriate font, style, size, and color.
Access your report in Crystal Reports 2008 by selecting Start, Programs, Crystal Reports 2008.
If the Field Explorer is not already displayed, select View, Field Explorer to display it.
If necessary, click the + (plus) sign to the left of Special Fields.
Drag the Print Date field from the Field Explorer to the appropriate area of the report.
The Print Date dialog box appears where you dragged the field.
To modify the format of the Print Date field, right-click the Print Date box and select the Format option.
Running Crystal 2008 Reports
This section discusses how to:
Run Crystal 2008 reports from PeopleSoft Process Scheduler.
Run standard reports from within Crystal Reports 2008.
Launch Crystal Reports 2008 with Microsoft Windows-based PeopleSoft Query.
Print Crystal 2008 reports.
Note. You can use the PeopleSoft RPT Conversion utility pscvtrpt.exe to repair .rpt files when you are experiencing problems with a report that has already been converted to the Crystal 2008 format as part of the upgrade procedure.
See The Enterprise PeopleTools 8.51 Installation Guide for your database platform: “Installing and Configuring Software for Crystal Reports,” Converting Crystal Reports, Converting existing Crystal Reports to Crystal Reports 2008 format.
Running Crystal 2008 Reports from PeopleSoft Process Scheduler
Crystal 2008 reports can be run from PeopleSoft Process Scheduler in the following ways:
As a process definition.
As part of a job.
As part of a scheduled jobset.
From an application page.
For any of these run methods, a process type and process definition must exist for each report. To run a process definition or a job, a system process request must be created. This request creates a run control to associate the selected items. After items are selected to be run and are queued in the PeopleSoft Process Scheduler, Process Monitor shows the status of the processes. You can view completed reports in the Report Manager.
If you submit a process request, you can run the report on a client workstation or on a Microsoft Windows server without having to quit the PeopleSoft system or use a third-party scheduling program. If you schedule processes to run on a Microsoft Windows server, you can run the report at a future date and time.
When Crystal reports are run through PeopleSoft Process Scheduler, you can do one of the following actions:
Specify an output file name.
Use the default file name.
The default file name is the report name concatenated with the process instance; this name guarantees uniqueness. You can also tie the default name to information about the process that generated the output by using the process instance as the key to the process request table.
Note. You cannot run alias Crystal reports from the Crystal Reports 2008 application or from PeopleSoft Process Scheduler if the alias name contains certain characters. If your alias Crystal report does not run, check the InvalidAliasCharList entry under the following registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Business Objects\Suite 12.0\Crystal Reports\Database\. If any of the characters in your alias tablename are listed in the entry, either change these characters to characters that are not listed in the entry or change the entry to remove any characters that you want to be able to include in your alias tablename. The entry must contain at least one character.
If you use PeopleSoft Process Scheduler to run a report and you select the File/XLS option, the totals may not align with the detail columns that the totals represent. In this event, you can address these alignment issues by following the guidelines that are available on the SAP Support Portal (service.sap.com/support).
See Submitting and Scheduling Process Requests.
Formatting Reports in PeopleSoft Process Scheduler
You can format Crystal reports that will be run through the PeopleSoft Process Scheduler by specifying output options for:
System settings
Process types
Process definitions
Scheduled JobSet items
Process requests
System settings are system defaults that are related to all processes.
To format system settings:
Select PeopleTools, Process Scheduler, System Settings.
Select the Process Output Type tab.
Define the active and default output types for each process type by selecting the appropriate Active and Default Output options.
Click the Save button to save your changes.
Note. The Process Output Format Settings page uses information about output types; therefore, save any changes made to output type settings before attempting to change an output format setting.
Click the Process Output Format tab.
Define the active and default output formats for each combination of process type and output destination type by selecting the desired Active and Default options.
Click the Save button to save your changes.
Formatting Process Type Definitions
Process type definitions globally define the command line, parameter list, working directory and other general parameters for a specific process type.
To format process type definitions:
Select PeopleTools, Process Scheduler, Process Types.
The Type Definition page appears.
In the Parameters List field, enter the %%OUTDESTTYPE%% value for the -OT variable and the %%OUTDESTFORMAT%% value for the -OF variable.
Click the Save button to save your changes.
See Defining Process Type Definitions.
Formatting Process Definitions
A process definition needs to exist for each Crystal report that is to be run or scheduled using PeopleSoft Process Scheduler.
To format process definitions:
Select PeopleTools, Process Scheduler, Processes.
The Process Definition page appears.
Select the Destination tab.
In the Output Destination Options region, select the output options in the Type and Format drop-down list boxes.
These drop-down list boxes display only those output types and output formats that were made active on the System Settings page. Output options set on the Process Definition page cannot be overridden on the Process Scheduler Request page.
Click the Save button to save your changes.
See Defining Process Definitions.
Formatting Scheduled JobSet Items
Jobs can be created if the user needs to run a series of processes.
To format scheduled JobSet items:
Select PeopleTools, Process Scheduler, Schedule JobSet Definitions.
The Schedule JobSet Definition page appears.
Select the Schedule JobSet Items tab.
Select the Output Settings tab.
Specify the output type and output format from the Type and Format drop-down list boxes.
To specify options for individual jobs or processes, expand the hierarchical view of the job and select the output type and output format for the required items from the Type and Format drop-down list boxes.
Note. Individual jobs and processes options override the output options that are specified for the parent job. Output options set at the job level apply to all items of that job.
Click the Save button to save your changes.
See Defining Scheduled JobSets.
To format process requests:
Select PeopleTools, Process Scheduler, System Process Requests.
Select a run control ID and click the Run button to submit a process request and be routed to the Process Scheduler Requests page.
Select the output type and output format from the Type and Format drop-down list boxes.
To specify output options for jobs or processes within a job, click the description of the main job to access the Job Detail page and select the output type and output format from the Type and Format drop-down list boxes.
Note. Individual jobs and processes options override the output options that are specified for the parent job. Output options set at the job level apply to all items of that job.
See Scheduling Process Requests.
When you are running a Crystal report that has runtime prompts in PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture, the prompt values need to be passed using the command line. You can do this either by hard-coding static values in the Process Definition page or by creating a PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture page to gather values from the users and dynamically pass them into the command line.
Note. The number and order of the prompt values must be exact. Prompt values for the date fields must be in YYYY-MM-DD format.
For example, if you have a report whose query prompts on business unit and you want the report to run only for business unit BU001, you could hard-code that prompt value in quotes into the Process Definition - Override Options page (PRCSDEFNOVRD) (select PeopleTools, Process Scheduler, Processes, Override Options) as shown in this illustration:
The resulting command line would look similar to this:
C:\PT851\BIN\CLIENT\WINX86\PSCRRUN.EXE -CTMICROSFT -CDPT851 -COUSER1 -CPOPRPSWD -I45 -RP"Employees by Department for BU001" -OT5 -OPDistribution List -LGENG -OF8 -ORIENTL "BU001"
Note. The executable program for Crystal Reports 2008 is PSCRRUN.EXE. The executable used with BusinessObjects Enterprise XI is PSBOERUN.EXE. The command line executable changes when you convert your reports to the Crystal XI format.
See The Enterprise PeopleTools 8.51 Installation Guide for your database platform: “Installing and Configuring Software for Crystal Reports,” Converting Crystal Reports, Converting Reports from Crystal Reports 2008 format to Crystal Reports XI format.
To enable users to dynamically select prompt values at runtime:
Select Start, PeopleTools 8.x, Application Designer to access PeopleSoft Application Designer.
Alternatively, if you have set up a shortcut on your desktop, you can open the application from there. At the PeopleSoft Signon dialog box, enter the Database Name or Application Server Name, (depending on your connection type) User ID, and Password. PeopleTools opens automatically to PeopleSoft Application Designer.
Using PeopleSoft Application Designer, create a PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture Run Control page.
Insert an edit box for each prompt field.
Click the newly inserted edit box to display the Edit Box Properties dialog box.
Use the drop-down list boxes to select the record and field that you are prompting on.
Save your changes.
Access PeopleSoft Process Scheduler by selecting PeopleTools, Process Scheduler, Processes, Process Definition, Override Options.
Modify the process definition parameter list to include your prompt field using the format :RECORD.FIELD.
Note. The resulting command line would look the same as the preceding example except, instead of BU001, it would contain the selected value.
This is an example of a PeopleSoft Pure Internet Architecture Run Control page in PeopleSoft Application Designer:
This is an example of the Override Options page, where you can modify the Process Scheduler Process Definition parameter list to include your prompt field:
Running Standard Reports from Within Crystal Reports 2008
To run standard reports from within Crystal Reports 2008, the system uses a query that is created in PeopleSoft Query and a report definition that is created in Crystal Reports. All the elements are predefined; you can only view and print the reports.
Use these steps to run standard reports from within Crystal Reports 2008:
Select Start, Programs, Crystal Reports 2008.
The Crystal Reports start page appears, including the My Recent Reports section that lists all recently opened files.
Click any of the files to open them.
If the report that you need is not listed, click the Open File link in the list, navigate to the crystal report that you want to open, and double-click it.
Select File, Print Preview or click the Print Preview button on the Crystal Reports toolbar to view the report before you print.
When you are signed in to your database, Crystal Reports displays a print preview containing the rows of data that will appear in the printed report. You can perform the following actions:
Select Report, Refresh Report Data, or click the Refresh button on the Crystal Reports toolbar to refresh the data and ensure that you see the most current information.
Optionally, adjust the fields and objects in the report so that the report prints properly on your printer.
Select File, Print, Printer, or click the Print button on the Crystal Report toolbar to print the report.
Select the appropriate options in the Print dialog box and click the OK button.
Launching Crystal Reports 2008 with Microsoft Windows-based PeopleSoft
Query
If you have access to the Microsoft Windows version of Query Designer, which means that if you have a Microsoft Windows-based workstation set up as a PeopleTools development environment, you can run queries directly to Crystal Reports 2008 from Query Designer. This option is not available from web-based Query Manager or Query Viewer. However, users who do not have access to Windows Query Designer can schedule a predefined Crystal Report to run on a Process Scheduler server, and the results can be routed to PeopleSoft Report Manager.
You can export queries to Crystal Reports 2008 to create default reports. When you create a default Crystal report from PeopleSoft Query, PeopleSoft Query creates a report using the file name (ACTQRY).RPT. PeopleSoft Query uses the selected column list to define the content of the default Crystal report.
If you want to run your report directly from Microsoft Windows-based PeopleSoft Query, the query and report names must match to use the formatting that you have created in Crystal Reports every time you print the report. If you always update and print the report from within Crystal Reports, name-matching is not a concern.
When using Microsoft Windows-based Query Designer, any modification to a previously saved query needs to be saved before downloading query results to Crystal Reports 2008. A message will appear in Query Designer reminding you to save your work to ensure accurate data are displayed.
Note. End users should create and maintain reports in Crystal Reports. PeopleSoft Query is used to create and maintain the queries that generate report contents.
To run a query with Crystal Reports output:
Launch Application Designer by selecting Start, PeopleTools 8.x, Application Designer.
Select Go, Query from the Application Designer toolbar.
Select File, Open or click the Open Query button to display the Open Query dialog box.
Click the down arrow to the right of the Name field to display a list of existing queries.
Highlight the name of the query that you want to base the report on and click the OK button.
If none of the saved queries meets your needs, you can create a new query.
Click the Run Query button to run the query.
Click the Run to Crystal Report button to run the query to Crystal Reports.
The system automatically opens the Crystal Reports application and creates a new Crystal report.
Use Crystal Reports to format your data, add a report title, modify column headings, and so on.
PeopleSoft Query cannot supply values to Crystal Reports at runtime. Crystal Reports stores the default values as NULL and does not allow you to change stored procedure values, so you must enter the prompt values twice.
When queries include prompts, you are prompted once at design time and once at runtime to enter the appropriate values. This behavior is related to the definition of a stored procedure.
Most databases can return any number of result-set columns based solely on the input to a stored procedure. For Crystal Reports to create a static report template, it must run the stored procedure with the default parameter values once before it can request the definition of the result set. Because of this, the stored procedure (the query) is run once at design time (to fill in the result set descriptions) and again at runtime (as expected).
Note. You are prompted when verifying the database in the report. The issue is the same as the design-time prompt followed by the runtime prompt issue just described. Enter the appropriate values after choosing to verify the database.
See Also
Creating and Running Simple Queries
Printing Crystal 2008 Reports
After running the Crystal 2008 report and saving the file, you can print the report by clicking the Print button or selecting File, Print, Printer. As with many Microsoft Windows applications, you can choose to print the entire report or only a few pages, specify the number of copies to print, and indicate whether you want the copies collated.
Note. If you want to run your report directly from Microsoft
Windows-based PeopleSoft Query, the query and report names must match to use
the formatting that you have just created in Crystal Reports every time you
print the report. If you always update and print the report from within Crystal
Reports, it does not matter if the query and report names match.
If you print reports
using the PeopleSoft Process Scheduler, you must have the Windows
service Oracle's BEA ProcMgr Log On value set to This
Account and the specified Windows user account should have printing
permission to the printer where the reports will be printed. You must also
define the appropriate paper size in the Crystal process type definition.
See Entering Global Definitions for Processes.
To print HTML reports from Crystal Reports, open the appropriate HTML file and print it from the browser. Crystal Reports uses the default page setting to print the report. Sometimes the right side of the report is cut off when it is sent to the printer, even though it appears in the Crystal Report viewer.
To change your default page settings to print HTML reports:
Select File, Page Setup.
Change the left and right margin settings to create smaller margins.