Use template reports to improve productivity, and use crystal report 10 template Technology

Reuse in reports

The most demanding and time-consuming part of the report design process is to format all your reports into a uniform appearance. Many companies require report designers to comply with corporate standards, such as headers or certain requirements of GAAP/sec specifications.

In the ideal world, this requires less work. If you allow the report designer to concentrate on formatting a report and use it as a guide to all other reports that require visualization and quality of presentation. After a report is formatted, why not apply its content and format to other reports? In crystal report 10, it is very concise to apply the existing report layout to other reports. This is possible through the customized report template function.

This White Paper aims to help you learn more about the report template function in crystal report 10 and how to use it to improve the efficiency and productivity of report design in your organization.

Directory

Reuse in reports
Understanding Report Templates
Use a Report Template
Use existing Crystal Reports as templates
Why is the template better than styles in previous versions)
Create a valid Report Template
Considerations for designing efficient templates
Use the template Field object
Simplify the workload of creating a report using a Report Template
Apply multiple templates
Summary

Understanding Report Templates

A report template can be considered as a marriage between data (in the original report) and layout (in the template Report. The template contains the basic structure-how to display and format the report when the corresponding fields are added to the report.

A report template is actually a common report file (RPT ). This means that you can use any real rpt file as a report template. Templates can be applied to other reports, so their formatting and layout can be used as the basis for other reports. Apply the template to other reports, layout, and other formatting will be applied to reports. This example is a report with four fields in the details section. Before the template that displays the quality of the application, all the sections are squashed together. After the template is applied, the position of fields in the template forces the fields in the existing report to extend and the font is applied.

Use a Report Template

Templates can store many types of objects. After the centralized data section is complete during the report design process, these objects can be applied to the report. Applying existing templates to reports can save hours or even days for common formatting tasks.

By applying a template to a report, you can complete the following task types:

● Add the enterprise logo and other images
● Format it into a consistent page number
● Apply the font style, color, and font to data fields
● Format the field border and background
● Adjust the field size
● Format the group eyebrow and group foot
● Format the summary Field
● Add a watermark
● Apply other complex formatting Methods
● Insert line
● Insert box
● Use a repository object
● Add Report title
● Maintain website links
● Format data fields

There are actually no restrictions on using the template.

Why is the template better than styles in previous versions)

Before report 9, you can use the style feature of the report. Style Features allow designers to apply a set of formatting styles to reports. Report styles have limited functions because they cannot be customized. For example, you cannot even change the color of the group name segment, because there is no way to change the style.

The report style is also restricted for data and group fields. Does not include any image or static text objects. The style is hardcoded into the crystal report designer, so it cannot use any external rpt file.

With the report template of Crystal Report 10, you can use any report object or format as an applicable style at the report object level. In this way, the template adopts the style features of the previous version and enhances it so that it can be applied to more object types and applications.

Use existing Crystal Reports as templates

You can use an application template to complete many report formatting tasks. If you do this manually, many of the tasks will take the report designer several hours. For example, apply the "confidential" sample template from the template sub-folder of Crystal Report 10.

Before: after:

You can use a custom template to automatically complete the following tasks:

● Add the powered by crystal Identifier from the crystal repository to the report (along with its tooltip and hyperlink)
● Add an image that shows "confidential" as the substrate for each report page
● Modify the font and position of all database fields
● Show the selected record formula in the report
● Add a dotted line between all the items in the details section
● Add a circle around the selected record formula
● Use the rounded corner box to display the start and end points of the Group
● Move the field titles of each data field to the group eyebrow and format them with two lines

One of the most useful features of the template is that, even if there are more fields in the detailed data section of the target report, it still copies the formatting of data fields for these additional fields. Templates place them in a separated detail section (usually named "details B"), so they will appear together, but will not overlap with each other. You do not need to worry about manually applying the same format, and the fields can be moved around.

Create a valid Report Template

Because any report can be used as the basis of a template, the report designer may only need to extract a few features or format features to make the existing report more robust and can be used as a formal template.

Considerations for designing efficient templates

As previously mentioned, after data collection is complete, the template can complete the formatting task at a faster speed. Since any report can be used as a template, the report designer may already have a creative report library.

If the database associated with each report has a completely different architecture, structure, or content, using the report layout as a template for other reports may cause some problems. However, with proper design, template reports can overcome these problems.

For example, formulas may have problems. Because most formulas require database fields to run, they are closely related to the actual database and data structure in the report. However, some tools can minimize such consequences. Using a user-defined function instead of a pre-written formula can reduce some data dependencies, for example, using currentfieldvalue as the formatting formula.

Sometimes, simply focusing on the header or footer can greatly benefit the design of an efficient report template. By reducing the repetitive work required for common page formatting, you can improve the productivity of report design.

Use the template Field object

When designing a report template, you may need to provide some specific formatting for fields, not based on their position in the report, but on the contrary, based on the field type. For example, the company may need to display all date/time values in the 24-hour format, regardless of the default Operating System settings, "P. m. on March 31,200 4 "must be displayed as" 03/31/04 ".

These requirements are common requirements for group or industrial standards, such as ISO 9000. When creating a template, the position or quantity of these fields in the report is unknown. The report designer can use the template Field object to facilitate this effort.

When a design report is used as a template, the template Field object replaces the common database fields in the report and can be placed anywhere. They can even be used as group fields.

The template Field object is a special type of formula field, which does not contain data, but allows formatting to be applied on it, just like all other data types. The template Field object has a special dialog box that provides all the formatting tags of the formatting Editor, regardless of the type. This provides an all-in-one service studio that meets all your formatting needs and is irrelevant to the Data Type of fields specified in the report.

Tip: canceling a template is a useful option in the crystal report. If you do not like the appearance of a report from an application template, you only need to return to the template expert and select the cancel command at the bottom of the dialog box. Select this option and click OK to restore the crystal report to the original report before the template is applied. Before opening the template application, the Crystal Report saves the temporary backup Rpt.

Simplify the workload of creating a report using a Report Template

Templates can complete many design-related tasks, including:

● Conditional Formatting
● Highlight Fields
● Header/footer
● Chart standards
● Line/frame/border
● Color standard
● Logo and Image
● Website/hyperlink/email address
● Standard user-defined functions
● Repository object
● Lock Object size or location
● Special fields

These are only typical tasks that can be automatically completed by the Application Template.

Apply multiple templates

Because any report can be used as a template, you can apply multiple templates to one report.

This proves useful if these templates are used to do different things. For example, one template can apply the standard header and footer to all reports in the company, but the other template can apply the color changed by department to the details section. Because the two templates are independently encapsulated, they can be applied separately without affecting each other. They increase the value of reports. The generated report will have the Enterprise style (header and footer), and the color of the Specific Department (in the details section ).

Tip: A single template cannot be applied to the same report multiple times. Even after the template is applied for the first time, a new field is added to the report. You only need to re-apply the previous template in the template expert to apply any new fields to the template.

Summary

A report template can improve the productivity during the report design process. The designer completes the formatting operation at one time, and then click the button to apply these modifications to multiple reports.

Creating templates does not require special knowledge, because they are just report files. However, the template Field object can be used to improve the template creation level.

Template experts can directly apply the template to existing reports in one step. Experts can also preview the appearance of the final result report-eliminating the speculation during formatting. By using custom templates, report designers can now focus on obtaining correct information from data, rather than spending countless times formatting and reformatting their reports.