So, does anyone actually use Crystal
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Reports, that is? I hated in when I tried it a few years ago, and I use my own report generator anyways, so what do y'all think about Crystal Reports? What do you use for report generation? Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka
Microsoft deliberately adds arbitrary layers of complexity to make it difficult to deliver Windows features on non-Windows platforms--Microsoft's "Halloween files"Yes. Please, pity me. :(( Crystal is slow, buggy, and horrible to distribute as there are far too many DLLs to get lost or replaced with an incorrect version. Unfortunately, it also happens to have a lot of features that are difficult to get in one place otherwise... and once you're using it, the proprietary nature tends to lock you in. XSL/FO looks like it's shaping up to be a good replacement, but it's not quite there yet. Crystal is a great example of a product that looks better on paper than in practice. A few searches through their support database will backup this statement. If you value your sanity, do everything possible to find an alternative before picking Crystal as a solution. [Edit: Oh yes, i should also mention - i have no knowledge of their COM or .NET APIs... their C API sucks hairy donkey balls however. Let me reiterate: unless you happen to be a hairy donkey, avoid CR like the plague.]
- Shog9 -
I'd show a smile but I'm too weak I'd share with you, could I only speak
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Reports, that is? I hated in when I tried it a few years ago, and I use my own report generator anyways, so what do y'all think about Crystal Reports? What do you use for report generation? Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka
Microsoft deliberately adds arbitrary layers of complexity to make it difficult to deliver Windows features on non-Windows platforms--Microsoft's "Halloween files"As a former BO employee, I might be a little biased with the reporting tool I choose...Well now you know...;)
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Reports, that is? I hated in when I tried it a few years ago, and I use my own report generator anyways, so what do y'all think about Crystal Reports? What do you use for report generation? Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka
Microsoft deliberately adds arbitrary layers of complexity to make it difficult to deliver Windows features on non-Windows platforms--Microsoft's "Halloween files"Try Report Sharp-Shooter http://www.9rays.net/cgi-bin/components.cgi?act=1&cid=93 - Unlimited level of master-detail bands in single report - Compatible with ADO.NET, supports hierarchical data model with relations - comes with the source code. - Full rendering customization using C#/VB scripting with full access to all .NET Framework capabilities (including imports of any project namespaces, local variables, procedures and functions etc.) - Fully managed, document object model(Report DOM), easy to understand, unique for report templates and ready documents - Package includes royalty free runtime designer for ready documents and report-templates - Manual build mode is supported. - Natural cross reports generation using of cross-bands - Use of GDI+ advantages: gradient fills, alpha blending, custom shapes etc. - Scripting support with C# or VB.NET, as well as any language supported by .NET Framework. Best regard, Eugene
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Try Report Sharp-Shooter http://www.9rays.net/cgi-bin/components.cgi?act=1&cid=93 - Unlimited level of master-detail bands in single report - Compatible with ADO.NET, supports hierarchical data model with relations - comes with the source code. - Full rendering customization using C#/VB scripting with full access to all .NET Framework capabilities (including imports of any project namespaces, local variables, procedures and functions etc.) - Fully managed, document object model(Report DOM), easy to understand, unique for report templates and ready documents - Package includes royalty free runtime designer for ready documents and report-templates - Manual build mode is supported. - Natural cross reports generation using of cross-bands - Use of GDI+ advantages: gradient fills, alpha blending, custom shapes etc. - Scripting support with C# or VB.NET, as well as any language supported by .NET Framework. Best regard, Eugene
Yeah but does it make the tea? Davy Blog for Software Testing, Bugs, Quality, Security and Stability - www.latedecember.com
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Reports, that is? I hated in when I tried it a few years ago, and I use my own report generator anyways, so what do y'all think about Crystal Reports? What do you use for report generation? Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka
Microsoft deliberately adds arbitrary layers of complexity to make it difficult to deliver Windows features on non-Windows platforms--Microsoft's "Halloween files"My first ever job as a junior was writing the the reports section of an application using CR in the mid nineties. I still have the nightmares and since then have always managed to avoid companies that looked like they were going to be big on reports Judging from everyone elses reponses it hasn;t gotten any better with time. Anthony www.TonysOpenSource.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk
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yah their api sux eggs ... especially nested sub reports ... but like u said its sometimes the only thing that will do the job i so was tempted to write my own but then i realised what an enomous job it actually is ... not that that excuses the sukiness of crystal reports but it does the job
l a u r e n wrote: sux eggs l a u r e n wrote: u said Do u snd lts f txt msgs ? ;P Elaine :rose: The tigress is here :-D
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Rocky Moore wrote: They only work with VB in anything prior to .NET Not true, they work in VC++ prior to .NET. -Nick Parker
Nick Parker wrote: Not true, they work in VC++ prior to .NET. I was just going by their site for the product which says: ActiveReports combines the power and ease of Microsoft Visual basic with advanced ActiveX Designer Component technology to provide the ultimate report designer for Visual Basic developers. ActiveReports is fully integrated in the Visual Basic programming environment. I guess you can use the ActiveX control but how would you lay anything out since it is bound to the VB IDE? Rocky Moore <><
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Reports, that is? I hated in when I tried it a few years ago, and I use my own report generator anyways, so what do y'all think about Crystal Reports? What do you use for report generation? Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka
Microsoft deliberately adds arbitrary layers of complexity to make it difficult to deliver Windows features on non-Windows platforms--Microsoft's "Halloween files"Tried, and almost failed - I ended up doing most of the text format processing in the stored procedure because it was easier. I've also currently got a bug report with CrystalDecisions where a random combination of mouse clicks, movements and report reloading in the .NET report control will cause the application to quit (usually without any exception or error being reported) - I managed to get a call stack out of it where their control posts WM_CLOSE to my app.... After we shipped the project (close bug still intact), I learnt ASP.NET and wrote a test report in ASP.NET (just using the normal stuff, not the Crystal Web Control) in less time than it took to get Crystal stuff to work even vaguely. So I reckon we'll likely be doing that in future - where I work we're sick to death of Crystal :-) -- Ian Darling
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Reports, that is? I hated in when I tried it a few years ago, and I use my own report generator anyways, so what do y'all think about Crystal Reports? What do you use for report generation? Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka
Microsoft deliberately adds arbitrary layers of complexity to make it difficult to deliver Windows features on non-Windows platforms--Microsoft's "Halloween files"Without a doubt, Crystal Reports must be one of the most frustrating pieces of software that I've ever had to work with... How a product like this can be at version 8.5 (now v9) and still have several repeatable GPFs is beyond me... Crystal's Developers must live in a cave, and not be aware or take advantage of modern software development tools. I bet that they never even heard of CodeProject... The code must be written in Assembly Language or Forth or some other un-maintainable language... and have been put together by a group of monkeys... there's really no other excuse for it... I've lost days trying to recover from attempting to perform the simplest of tasks with the product, such as saving the modified report with it crashing... I wish that I had the phone number of the product manager... Steven J. Ackerman, Consultant ACS, Sarasota, FL http://www.acscontrol.com steve@acscontrol.com sja@gte.net
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Nick Parker wrote: Not true, they work in VC++ prior to .NET. I was just going by their site for the product which says: ActiveReports combines the power and ease of Microsoft Visual basic with advanced ActiveX Designer Component technology to provide the ultimate report designer for Visual Basic developers. ActiveReports is fully integrated in the Visual Basic programming environment. I guess you can use the ActiveX control but how would you lay anything out since it is bound to the VB IDE? Rocky Moore <><
Rocky Moore wrote: I guess you can use the ActiveX control but how would you lay anything out since it is bound to the VB IDE? They have a designer that integrates right into VB. -Nick Parker
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Without a doubt, Crystal Reports must be one of the most frustrating pieces of software that I've ever had to work with... How a product like this can be at version 8.5 (now v9) and still have several repeatable GPFs is beyond me... Crystal's Developers must live in a cave, and not be aware or take advantage of modern software development tools. I bet that they never even heard of CodeProject... The code must be written in Assembly Language or Forth or some other un-maintainable language... and have been put together by a group of monkeys... there's really no other excuse for it... I've lost days trying to recover from attempting to perform the simplest of tasks with the product, such as saving the modified report with it crashing... I wish that I had the phone number of the product manager... Steven J. Ackerman, Consultant ACS, Sarasota, FL http://www.acscontrol.com steve@acscontrol.com sja@gte.net
Steven J. Ackerman wrote: How a product like this can be at version 8.5 (now v9) and still have several repeatable GPFs is beyond me... Not to mention that all string evaluations cannot be any longer than 255 bytes! Lame! Cost a lot work last year building custom UFL's to work around the issue. Rocky Moore <><
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Tried, and almost failed - I ended up doing most of the text format processing in the stored procedure because it was easier. I've also currently got a bug report with CrystalDecisions where a random combination of mouse clicks, movements and report reloading in the .NET report control will cause the application to quit (usually without any exception or error being reported) - I managed to get a call stack out of it where their control posts WM_CLOSE to my app.... After we shipped the project (close bug still intact), I learnt ASP.NET and wrote a test report in ASP.NET (just using the normal stuff, not the Crystal Web Control) in less time than it took to get Crystal stuff to work even vaguely. So I reckon we'll likely be doing that in future - where I work we're sick to death of Crystal :-) -- Ian Darling
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Without a doubt, Crystal Reports must be one of the most frustrating pieces of software that I've ever had to work with... How a product like this can be at version 8.5 (now v9) and still have several repeatable GPFs is beyond me... Crystal's Developers must live in a cave, and not be aware or take advantage of modern software development tools. I bet that they never even heard of CodeProject... The code must be written in Assembly Language or Forth or some other un-maintainable language... and have been put together by a group of monkeys... there's really no other excuse for it... I've lost days trying to recover from attempting to perform the simplest of tasks with the product, such as saving the modified report with it crashing... I wish that I had the phone number of the product manager... Steven J. Ackerman, Consultant ACS, Sarasota, FL http://www.acscontrol.com steve@acscontrol.com sja@gte.net
Steven J. Ackerman wrote: How a product like this can be at version 8.5 (now v9) 100% marketing reasons.
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Reports, that is? I hated in when I tried it a few years ago, and I use my own report generator anyways, so what do y'all think about Crystal Reports? What do you use for report generation? Marc Help! I'm an AI running around in someone's f*cked up universe simulator.
Sensitivity and ethnic diversity means celebrating difference, not hiding from it. - Christian Graus
Every line of code is a liability - Taka Muraoka
Microsoft deliberately adds arbitrary layers of complexity to make it difficult to deliver Windows features on non-Windows platforms--Microsoft's "Halloween files" -
Stephane Rodriguez. wrote: Especially when you know the availability of the reports starter kit[^]. Looks spiffy. I'll have to remember that. Ta :-) -- Ian Darling
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Did not like the licensing with Crystal reports and have been evaluating Active Reports from Data Dynamics. They only work with VB in anything prior to .NET. That kept me from evaluating it earlier. For .NET though, they work with C# and that is all I use any more. It handles things a little differently than Crystal but thier licensing is not near as bad as Cystal reports. Rocky Moore <><
Funny you mention Active Reports; I just bought the Standard Edition last night after evaluating it for a month. I've had numerous problems with Crystal in the past, not to mention DLL hell. Active Reports on the other hand is much more flexible, and makes distribution a lot easier. John. www.silveronion.com[^]