Reuse in the report
The most demanding and most time-consuming part of the report design process is to format all your report format into a unified look. Many companies require reporting designers to comply with corporate standards, such as the header or some requirements of the GAAP / SEC specification.
In the ideal world, this requires less work, and if the report designer is allowed to focus on a report and use it as a guide to all required visualization and demonstration quality. Why don't you apply its contents and formats to other reports after a report completes its contents and formats? In Crystal Report 10, it is very simple to apply the layout of existing reports to other reports. This will become possible by customized report template functions.
This white paper is intended to help you learn more about the report template function in Crystal Report 10, and how to use it improve the efficiency and productivity of report design in your organization.
table of Contents
Using the Report Table Template Use the Report Template to use the existing crystal report as a template. Template is better than the previous version. StYLES Create a valid report template Design Efficient template Precautions Use Template Field Objects Use Report Templates Simplified Reports Created workload application multiple template summary
Understand the report template
Report templates can be considered to be marriage between data (original report) and layout (template report). The template contains the basic structure - how to display and format the report when the corresponding fields are added to the report.
The report template is actually a usual report file (RPT). This means you can use any RPT files as a report template. The template can be applied to other reports, so their formatting and layout can be used as the basis for other reports. Apply template to other reports, layout, etc. will be applied to the report. This example is a report that has four fields in the detailed information feature. Before applying the quality template, all the fees are squeezed together. After the template is applied, the position of the field in the template force forces the fields in the existing report extends and the font is applied.
Use report templates
Templates can store many types of objects. These objects can be applied to the report after the centralized data part of the report design process is completed. Apply existing templates to the report to save hours, or even a few days, normal formatting tasks.
Some tasks that can be done by applying templates to the report, some of the tasks that can be completed are:
● Adding a corporate identity and other images ● Format a consistent page number ● Apply font styles / color / font to data field ● Format field border and background ● Adjust field size ● Formatting a team of team ● Format summary Field ● Add Watermark ● Apply other complex formatting ● Insert line ● Insert box ● Use the reserve object ● Add report title ● Maintenance website link ● Formatting based on the type of data field
Choosing the template does not have any restrictions.
Why is the template better than the style in the previous version (Styles)
Prior to Crystal Report 9, the user can use the style of the crystal report (STYLES). Style features allow designers to apply a set of formatted styles to the report. The role of statements is quite limited because they cannot be customized. For example, you can't even change the color of the group name field, because there is no way to open the style for modification.
Report-style is also limited to data and group fields. No image or static text object is not included. The style is hardly encoded into the crystal report designer, so it is not possible to use any external RPT file.
With the report template of the Crystal Report 10, you can use any report objects or formats as an applicationable style at the report object level. In this way, the template adopts the style characteristics of the previous version and enhances it so that it can be applied to more object types and applications.
Use an existing crystal report as a template
Many report formatting tasks can be completed by applying templates. If you are done by manual, many of the tasks will spend a few hours of reporting designers. For example, apply a "confidential" sample template from the template subfolder of the crystal report 10.
before after:
By applying customized templates, you can automate the following tasks:
● Add the Powered By Crystal ID to the report (along with its tooltips and hyperlink) ● Add a "confidential" image, as the substrate of each page ● Modify the font and location of all database fields ● Display record selected formula in the report ● Add a broken line between all items of the detail section ● Add a rounded box around the record selected formula ● Use the rounded frame to display the start and end points of the group ● Each data Fields of fields are moving to a hobbrow, and using two-wire formatting one of the most useful features in their templates, even if there are more fields in the details of the target report, it still copies data fields for these additional fields. format. Templates put them in a separate detailed information feature (usually named "Details B"), so they will appear together, but will not cover each other. There is no need to worry about the same format of manual applications, and the field can be moved to around.
Create a valid report template
Because any report can be used as a formwork basis, the report designer may only need to refine a few functions or formatted features, it will make the existing report more robust and can be used as a formal template.
Design efficient template precautions
As previously mentioned, the data acquisition is completed, the template can complete the formatted task at a faster speed. Because any report can be used as a template, the report designer may already have a creative report library.
If each report is completely different in the architecture, structure, or content in terms of architecture, structure, or content, the layout of the report may cause some questions. However, using appropriate design, template reports can overcome these issues.
For example, a formula may have problems. Because most formulas require a database field to run, they are closely related to the actual database and data structures in the report. However, use some tools to minimize this consequence. Using custom functions replaces the preparation formula to mitigate some data dependencies, such as using the CurrentFieldValue evaluation program as a formatting formula.
Sometimes, only focus on header or footer, you can greatly contribute to the design of the high-efficiency report template. You can improve the productivity of report design by reducing the repetitability required for normal page formatting.
Use template field object
During the design of the report template, a requirement may be produced, which provides some specific formats for fields, not based on their location, but in contrast, field-based types. For example, the company may need all date / time values to display in a 24-hour format, regardless of the default setting of the operating system, "6:02 p.m. ON MARCH 31, 2004" must be displayed as "03/31/04 18:02".
These requirements belong to common groups or industrial standards, such as ISO 9000 standards. When you create a template, the location or quantity of these fields in the report is unknown. Report designers can use template field objects to facilitate this effort.
When the design report is used as a template, the template field object will replace the regular database field in the report and can be placed anywhere. They can even be used as a group field.
Template field object is a special type of formula field that does not contain data, but allows usually to format it, just like all other data types. Template field object has a special dialog that provides all formatted labels for the formatting editor, regardless of the type. This provides a one-stop service studio that meets all your formatted needs, and is independent of the data type of the field specified in the report.
Tip: The Cancel Template is a useful option provided in the crystal report. If you don't like the appearance of the application template to the report, simply return template experts and select the cancel command at the bottom of the dialog. By selecting this option, then click OK, the crystal report recovers the original report before the template application. The crystal report is saved by opening the temporary backup RPT in front of the template application.
Simplify the workload of creation reports using report templates
Templates can complete many-related tasks, including:
● Conditional format ● Highlight field ● Header / Footer ● Chart Standard ● Line / Border / Border ● Color Standard ● Identification and Image ● Website / Hyperlink / Email Address ● Standard Custom Function ● Reserve Object ● Lock Object size or position ● Special field
These are just some typical tasks that the template can be automatically completed.
Apply multiple templates
Because any report can be used as a template, you can apply multiple templates to a report.
This is proven to be very useful if these templates are used for different things. For example, a template can apply standard headers and footers to all reports in the company, but another template can apply the color based on the department to the details section. Because both templates are packaged separately, they can be applied separately and will not interact; they increase the value of the report. The generated report will have a business style (headbrows and footer), and the color of a specific department (in the details festival).
Tip: Single template can not be applied to the same report multiple times, even after the initial application template, the report adds a new field. As long as you choose to reapply a template in a template expert, you can apply the template to any new field.
to sum up
Report templates can increase productivity during the report design, and designers complete the formatted operation at once, and then click the button to apply these modifications to multiple reports.
Creating a template does not require special knowledge, because they are just a report file. However, template field objects can be used to improve the level of creating templates.
With template experts, one step can be applied directly to an existing report. Experts can also give the appearance preview of the final result report - eliminating the guess behavior when formatting. By customizing templates, report designers can now focus on getting correct information from data, rather than spend countless time formatting and reformatting their reports.
