Report Creation that will get you Awards with Crystal Reports
Updated November 04, 2014
Report Creation that will get you Awards with Crystal Reports
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
XI Release 2
Modules Used
- Crystal Reports
- InfoView
- Central Management Console
Overall Satisfaction with Crystal Reports
Crystal Reports is a reporting tool that is utilized by numerous departments across our organization. Our department, in particular, uses Crystal Reports to develop reports from data in the numerous systems that we support. Our systems run on several types of databases, such as Oracle, SQL and Sybase, to name a few. Using Crystal Reports, we are able to quickly and easily develop reports and house them in our InfoView Reports Server, for easy access by our clients.
Pros
- It is incredibly easy to design a report with minimal database experience. The system is very intuitive and it makes presenting the information you need to a breeze.
- The system has a terrific interface for linking different tables together.
- The ability to create parameters quickly and easily is a huge help. Having that sort of interactivity within a report has been received very well by our users.
- Creating subreports and having the ability to drill down on data makes the reports even more interactive and allows the designer to get creative with the types of reports they can create.
- Inserting charts into a report is very straightforward and easy to use.
Cons
- I think that the design view could be a little cleaner. Sometimes it is difficult moving some of the sections up and down
- It would be nice if the Text Objects would automatically adjust to the size of the text entered, so we do not have to manually size each text object. Very time consuming.
- A more intuitive interface for linking databases and database tables would be helpful for those that are new to databases and report writing.
Crystal Reports is far and away the easiest reporting engine that I have used to date. There is less of a learning curve than with IBM Cognos. To me, Cognos is a bear when it comes to designing the report, however, it is very powerful once the reports are created and made available to the staff.
Using Crystal Reports
100 - Crystal Reports is utilized by numerous departments across campus from Administration to IT to Campus Operations, all of these departments and more have a need for reporting and they get the best reports from Crystal. Crystal Reports continues to be the main report writer used by the campus and I do not foresee that changing anytime soon.
3 - We do not necessarily have a dedicated Crystal Reports support person, per se, but some of the power users tend to take on the role of supporting other users with the creation and designing of reports. I am the subject matter expert for our department, so I am the one most people go to for help before contacting SAP Support.
- Users create reports to obtain data based upon what is entered into their database
- Users reach out to IT with their report specifications and IT develops the reports on behalf of their department
- IT supplies base reports for each system for users to access
- We have been able to create links in some of our systems that will bring up a specific report (created in Crystal) automatically
- We have a report schedule created that will send out reports via email on an scheduled basis to users of the report
- Ideally, i'd like to see all systems have enough reports to meet the needs of 99% of the campus community and IT offers a dashboard type system where users can pick and choose what data they need all in one place.
Using Crystal Reports
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- The design section is very easy to use. It is basically just drag and drop
- The formula section is easy to use and has a wide variety of formulas that can be used
- Sometimes moving some items around the designer or re-sizing items is a bit of a burden, but not too much.
Comments
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