by Guy Vaccaro | Publisher: Infinite Skills | Release Date: December 2009 | ISBN: 9780981317021

Crystal Reports 2008 is the market leading report writing package that allows users to create custom reports from a massive array of data storage systems.This Crystal Reports 2008 Tutorial Video is presented by Guy Vaccaro, who has many years experience with database report writing, with and without Crystal Reports. He will help you traverse through the report writing process and build your skills so that you too can create your very own custom reports that actually tell you what you need to know rather than relying on anything supplied by any database provider. By the end of this Crystal Reports training video you will understand the concepts involved and feel fully able to connect to databases of all kinds, from text files such as Excel to server based databases such as Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle. You will be able to extract the requisite information from your databases by filtering and sorting the data as needed, and then present it in a meaningful and concise format, making full use of Crystal Reports formatting, drawing and graphics import tools. Guy helps to explain the processes involved in a very straightforward way without the use of IT jargon, which makes the learning process as painless and fruitful as possible.By the conclusion of this Crystal Reports tutorial you will have gained the skills required to design and create reports that present information in a pleasing and informative manner, and be able to use Crystal Reports confidently in a commercial environment. Working files accompany the training, allowing you to follow along with the trainer at your own pace.

1. Getting Started
   • What To Expect From Crystal Reports 00:03:46
   • Opening And Viewing Different Crystal Report Types 00:03:59
   • Tour Of The Crystal Reports Interface 00:03:09
   • Crystal Reports Toolbars 00:03:16
   • What Will I Be Able To Do? 00:04:31
2. Setting Up A New Report
   • Starting The Report Creation Process 00:01:33
   • Setting The Page Size/Orientation For The Report 00:01:13
   • Making A Connection To An Access Database 00:01:10
   • Making A Connection To An Excel File 00:00:43
   • Making A Connection To A SQL Server Database 00:02:01
   • Selecting The Correct Tables/Views 00:00:58
   • The Sections Of A Report 00:00:41
   • Adding Fields To The Report 00:02:01
   • Removing Fields From A Report 00:00:43
   • Field Masks And Column Header Control 00:01:35
   • Browsing The Data Before Insertion 00:01:09
   • Previewing The Report For The First Time 00:01:00
   • Refreshing The Data 00:00:37
   • Saving The Report 00:01:06
   • Saving The Report With The Data 00:01:12
   • Creating A New Report - The Whole Process 00:02:46
   • Setting Up A User DSN 00:02:55
   • Changing A Reports Data Source 00:03:12
3. Report Navigation
   • Paging Through The Report 00:01:13
   • Searching For Text Within The Report 00:01:09
   • Group Navigation 00:00:49
   • Changing The Zoom In Preview And Design Mode 00:01:30
4. Formatting The Report
   • Selecting Objects For Formatting Or Resizing 00:01:58
   • Moving Objects 00:01:22
   • Resizing Objects 00:01:45
   • Using The Guides 00:02:13
   • Using The Grid 00:02:05
   • Changing The Font Style, Size And Colour Part 1 00:03:23
   • Changing The Font Style, Size And Colour Part 2 00:01:07
   • Adding A Colour Border Or Background To Controls 00:02:17
   • Adding A Hyperlink To A Control 00:01:55
   • Changing The Paragraph Settings 00:01:07
   • Number Formatting For Numerical Data Fields 00:02:27
   • Currency Formatting For Money Data Fields 00:01:12
   • Date Formatting For Date Data Fields 00:01:57
   • Using The Format Painter 00:01:38
   • Aligning And Resizing Multiple Controls On A Report 00:02:42
   • Setting Default Formatting For Reports 00:03:48
   • Editing The Layout Default Options 00:01:46
5. Using The Special Data Fields
   • Adding Data Date And Data Time Fields 00:04:46
   • Using The Print Date And Print Time Fields 00:01:33
   • Inserting Page Numbering 00:02:41
   • Adding The File Path To The Page Footer 00:01:28
   • Overview Of The Remaining Special Fields 00:03:01
6. Adding Non Data Items To A Report
   • Inserting And Editing Text Objects 00:02:40
   • Format Options For A Text Box 00:01:58
   • Adding Labels To Special Fields 00:02:32
   • Adding A Horizontal Line 00:02:18
   • Adding A Vertical Line 00:02:06
   • Formatting A Line 00:02:43
   • Controlling A Lines Behaviour 00:02:55
   • Controlling A Lines Position 00:03:13
   • Adding A Box 00:00:52
   • Adding A Box That Crosses Section Boundaries 00:01:21
   • Formatting A Box 00:02:17
   • Controlling A Box's Behaviour 00:01:59
   • Controlling The Size And Position Of A Box 00:01:55
   • Adding A Company Logo Or Other Image 00:03:27
   • Removing A Non Data Item 00:00:52
7. Sorting Data In A Report
   • How To Sort By A Field On The Report 00:02:19
   • Sorting By More Than One Field 00:02:33
   • Sorting By Data Fields Not Visible On The Report 00:01:58
   • Removing Or Changing The Sort Criteria 00:01:27
8. Filtering The Data That A Report Is Using
   • The Basics Of Filtering The Data 00:02:36
   • Filtering A Field By Existing Values 00:03:14
   • Filtering A Field By More Than One Value 00:02:51
   • Filtering The Data By Dates 00:05:27
   • Filtering Numeric Fields 00:03:38
   • Filtering Field Criteria Using And 00:03:09
   • Filtering Field Criteria Using Or 00:03:03
   • Editing Filters With The Select Expert 00:03:25
   • Removing Filters From The Report 00:01:25
   • Other Text Data Field Filter Options 00:03:01
   • Filtering For Nulls 00:04:01
   • Using A Wildcard In Filter Criteria 00:04:19
9. Reporting By Groups
   • Understanding Grouping 00:02:10
   • How To Add A Group 00:03:59
   • Group Labels And Headings 00:02:32
   • Creating A Multiple Level Group 00:03:38
   • Removing A Group 00:01:51
   • Changing The Group Sort Order 00:03:24
   • Changing The Group Name That Is Displayed 00:02:08
   • Group Preview Options 00:04:06
   • Utilizing The Group Tree Navigation Panel 00:02:19
   • Specifying Your Own Groups 00:05:49
   • Swapping The Data Field For A Group 00:02:36
10. Summarizing Data
    • Insert A Grand Total Field 00:03:51
    • Insert A Sub Total Field 00:02:25
    • Moving Summary Fields Within The Report 00:02:43
    • Displaying Sub Totals As A Percentage Of Grand Totals 00:03:45
    • Summary Fields Using Average, Min Or Max 00:04:20
    • Creating A Summary Report By Hiding Details 00:03:12
    • Creating A Drilldown Report 00:03:29
    • Refreshing A Drilldown Report 00:01:51
    • Sorting A Group With Summary Fields 00:02:40
    • Using Top N To Filter Summary Data 00:03:25
    • Creating A Top 10 List Of Products 00:04:18
11. Using Parameters In Reports
    • The Benefits Of Using Parameters 00:01:31
    • How To Add A Free Text Parameter Field 00:04:53
    • Using A String Parameter To Filter Data Records 00:03:18
    • Using A Numeric Parameter To Filter Data Records 00:03:48
    • Using A Date Parameter To Filter Data Records 00:04:31
    • Using A Parameter Field With Wildcards 00:04:02
    • Creating And Using A Pick List Parameter Field 00:05:17
    • Creating A Dynamic Pick List 00:03:24
    • Deleting A Parameter Field 00:02:11
    • Controlling The Request Order For Parameters 00:01:39
    • The Parameter View Panel 00:02:32
12. Formula Fields
    • How To Create Your Own Fields 00:05:13
    • A Basic Formula To Enhance The Report 00:05:35
    • Altering Or Renaming A Formula Field 00:02:35
    • Deleting A Formula 00:02:03
    • Creating A Formula To Concatenate Part 1 00:03:50
    • Creating A Formula To Concatenate Part 2 00:01:56
    • String Manipulation Formulas In Action 00:07:58
    • Date Formulas At Their Best 00:06:27
    • Calculating Age With Crystal Reports 00:05:13
    • Using Formula Fields In The Sort Expert And The Select Expert 00:02:35
    • Using Formula Fields While Grouping 00:05:33
    • Making The Formula Field Work With If And Else 00:06:49
    • Converting Datetime To Date Format To Improve Parameters 00:03:30
    • Creating An Address Formula With Carriage Returns 00:09:13
13. Section Formatting
    • The Report Header And Report Footer Options 00:05:29
    • Exploring The Formatting Options Of The Page Header And Footer 00:03:07
    • The Details Section Expert 00:05:14
    • How To Add A Watermark To A Report 00:03:19
    • Improving Headings In Drilldowns Using The Section Expert 00:04:59
14. The Standard Report Wizard
    • The Steps Involved In The Standard Report Wizard 00:05:28
    • The Report Template Expert 00:04:08
15. Data Table Linking
    • Quick Overview Of Relational Databases 00:12:50
    • Visual Linking In Crystal Reports 00:05:38
    • How To Identify Key Fields 00:03:05
    • Link Types And Their Effects When Used 00:05:15
    • Removing Links And Tables From The Report 00:02:04
16. Distributing The Report
    • Choosing Your Export Format 00:03:43
    • Export Directly To An Email 00:01:53
    • Export Directly To Microsoft Excel 00:04:00
    • Other Export Destinations 00:03:11
17. The Workbench
    • Opening The Workbench 00:01:02
    • Adding Projects To The Workbench 00:01:11
    • Managing Your Reports Using The Workbench 00:02:03
    • Removing Reports From The Workbench 00:01:22
18. Credits And Beyond
    • About The Author 00:01:26
    • Using The Files Included With This Course 00:00:44
    • Further Practice Part 1 00:04:43
    • Further Practice Part 2 00:04:32
    • What's Next? 00:02:21