Released on = August 31, 2007, 3:38 pm

Press Release Author = Alba Spectrum Group

Industry = Computers

Press Release Summary = Microsoft Great Plains has long tradition to deploy Crystal
Reports, where it's embedded reporting tool ReportWriter does not provide required
reporting flexibility, especially for high quality reports with graphical elements,
such as logos

Press Release Body = Alba Spectrum Group, http://www.albaspectrum.com
help@albaspectrum.com 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918

Microsoft Great Plains has long tradition to deploy Crystal Reports, where it's
embedded reporting tool ReportWriter does not provide required reporting
flexibility, especially for high quality reports with graphical elements, such as
logos, advanced fonts, plus where you need advanced reporting logic. Report Writer
can only deal with Dexterity tables from one GP module. Crystal Reports allows you
to build any SQL query you need and join "cross-modules" tables, including custom
tables and tables and data in heterogeneous databases environments: Oracle, DBII,
Pervasive SQL, Ctree, MySQL, and other ODBC compliant platforms. Let's review
Crystal Reports design techniques:
1. Designing Report vs. Query Building. If you are new to Crystal Reports design,
we certainly understand the temptation to use wizard to create report.
Unfortunately, we saw the results, when programmer was very disappointed and ended
up complaining that report shows "duplicate" records, doesn't show "all the
records", etc. You should probably think about what report designer is and what it
is not. Crystal Reports is excellent report designer, but in order to provide
report designer the records set you should use other tools. Let's move to the next
paragraph
2. Stored Procedures and SQL Views; unions. The most flexible query building
instrument is stored procedure. Crystal Report should submit parameters to stored
procedure and so create relevant records set for the report. In SQL View you can
use Crystal Report parameters for limiting view results to be included in the
report. Stored procedure, comparing to the SQL view, allows you to use internal
temporary tables to build the most sophisticated result set - in view you can not
use temp tables. Unions allows you to combine Work, Posted and Historical
transactions, for example to be included in report
3. Example One. Imagine you would like to display SOP work and historical invoices
in the same report. You should create SQL view, where you will unionize SOP10100
and SOP30200 tables, assuming that you would like to show each invoice total in the
report
4. Example Two. Imagine, you are selling serialized items and you would like to
show the report on Item history: from whom and when it was purchased, to whom and
when it was sold. In this case you create cross modules SQL view, where you join
POP receiving lines and SOP historical tables

Andrew Karasev, Alba Spectrum Group, http://www.albaspectrum.com
help@albaspectrum.com 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918, serving Microsoft Dynamics GP
USA and Canada nationwide: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Windsor, New York,
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Pittsburg, Toledo, Indianapolis,
Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, Seattle, San Diego, Phoenix, Austin.
Local service is available in Chicago and Houston metros: Rosenberg, Katy, Richmond,
Dallas, Galveston, Sugar Land, Naperville, Wheaton, Plainfield, Aurora, Wheaton,
Downers Grove, Lisle, Oakbrook, Morris, Marseilles, Joliet, Montgomery, Oswego,
DeKalb. With reasonable travel we serve Springfield, Bloomington, Normal, Peoria,
LaSalle, Ottawa, Dixon




Web Site = http://www.albaspectrum.com

Contact Details = Andrew Karasev, Alba Spectrum Group, http://www.albaspectrum.com
help@albaspectrum.com 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918