Crystal Reports XI Official Guide [Paperback]

Neil Fitzgerald (Author), et al. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0672329174 | ISBN-13: 978-0672329173 | Publication Date: November 11, 2006 | Edition: 1

The authorized guide to the latest edition of the #1 business intelligence software product - Crystal Reports. More than 16 million licenses of Crystal Reports have been shipped to date.  This book is a reference designed to provide hands-on guidance for the latest release of the product suite. The latest version of Crystal Reports and the Business Objects enterprise reporting suite delivers vast product enhancements and a tighter integration that will drive upgrades from licensees. Brand new features (e.g. Dynamic and Cascading Parameter Generation) will also appeal to new audiences. Over 1 million new Business Intelligence licensees will be migrating to the Crystal Enterprise Reporting platform, as this is the first release of the software with the existing Business Objects (BO) products being integrated into the Crystal infrastructure. As Business Objects insiders, the authors bring unique and valuable real-world perspectives on implementations and uses of the Crystal Reports product. The book also includes content, tutorials and samples for reporting within the Microsoft Visual Studio.NET and J2EE development environments and also on top of the SAP Business Information Warehouse (BW) and the Peoplesoft platform. Advanced content on report distribution and integration into the secured managed reporting solution known as Business Objects Enterprise XI, is also now included in this definitive user guide with coverage on the new Web Services SDK.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

About the Lead Author

 

Neil FitzGerald has recently founded Longtop International (www.longtopinternational.com), a global sourcing firm specializing in Business Intelligence (BI) and Enterprise Reporting solutions for firms around the globe. With major onshore offices in Canada and the U.S., and almost 700 offshore engineers in China, Longtop can provide world-class reporting and BI solutions and content creation for unbeatable value to clients around the world. Before founding Longtop, Neil combined his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada and his MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario with his more than 8 years of experience at Business Objects in a variety of senior roles to help provide information solutions to Fortune 500 companies across North America. He has cumulatively spent more than 11 years in the Information Delivery domain, and is available for onsite or remote consulting. Neil can be contacted at [e-mail].

 

About the Contributing Authors

 

James Edkins is a senior presales consultant for Business Objects. He holds a bachelor’s degree in information technology and a post graduate diploma in marketing management. He has been in the information technology sector for more than 11 years and has experience working with Fortune 500 companies in an ERP, product development, and business intelligence capacity.

 

Annette Jonker has worked as a consultant helping customers implement Business Objects since 1995. During this time, she has had the privilege of working for Business Objects for six years, starting as an Associate Consultant and working her way up to Regional Resource Manager. Annette left Business Objects in 2003 and partnered with Monica Allen to start a consulting firm, Innovative Business Solutions, LLC (www.ibsllcusa.com) where she continues to help customers deploy Business Objects throughout their organizations. When not working, sleeping or eating, Annette spends her time training for triathlons.

 

Michael Voloshko is a senior pre-sales consultant for the financial services team at Business Objects. Michael has been with Business Objects for six years and is based in New York City.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Foreword

It is fitting that the first book published by Business Objects Press, the new publishing partnership between Business Objects and Pearson Technology Group, is one of the most comprehensive guides ever published on Business Objects Crystal Reports. Crystal Reports XI Official Guide represents the high quality and usability that will be the standard for Business Objects Press books.

Fostering the creation and distribution of such high-quality books for the Business Objects community is the mission of Business Objects Press. Business Objects Press will ensure the broadest access to an official line of technical, training, and business titles, including the most helpful, accurate, and timely support books for Business Objects tools, technologies, and platforms.

Our partner, the Pearson Technology Group, is one of the top publishers in the world. By partnering with Pearson, we can ensure the highest-quality standards and the greatest accessibility for our books. Pearson products are available in virtually every retail distribution outlet worldwide, ensuring that our customers have access to the titles they need, no matter where in the world they reside.

Another important goal at Business Objects Press is to find the brightest business intelligence experts in the industry and help them through the publishing process, which in turn will help Business Objects end users and consultants better understand our products and be more successful using them.

Meanwhile, enjoy Crystal Reports XI Official Guide, the ultimate Crystal Reports XI reference guide. The authors have created a highly readable text that leads you step-by-step through a comprehensive set of tasks, from basic report design to customizing the Crystal Reports Viewers and web-based report distribution using BusinessObjects Enterprise and Crystal Reports Server. It also offers an excellent overview and tips on key concepts and features, which can save you time in planning your projects and help you avoid pitfalls. Crystal Reports XI Official Guide is appropriate for users at both public and private organizations of every size.

When you finish reading Crystal Reports XI Official Guide, keep it close by to ensure you maximize the value and minimize the effort of every Crystal Reports project, while continuing to build the skills and experience you need to increase the benefits of business intelligence at your organization.

—Dan Klein
Vice President, Global Education, Business Objects

© Copyright Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 960 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 1 edition (November 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672329174
• ISBN-13: 978-0672329173
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #852,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Should have come with the software..., January 8, 2007

By 

Clark B. Timmins "q-25" (West Jordan, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crystal Reports XI Official Guide (Paperback)

Remember back in the "good old days" of shrinkwrapped software when the box was mostly full with a big printed reference manual? Well, this is the book that should have come inside the now-nearly-empty box. The book is a standard reference-type manual designed to provide an overview of every feature within the product including the newest features such as Dynamic and Cascading Parameter Generation. Besides the standard overview type stuff, it includes some basic tutorials on often-confusing topics such as report integration (in .NET and J2EE environments); you won't become an expert using these tutorials, however. The book also includes a lot of information on how Crystal Reports integrates with Business Objects' larger software platforms (which, I suspect, will be a useless topic for 99% of users).

Beginning users will find the manual easy to use and full of interesting information. Intermediate users will find solid suggestions here and there. Advanced users will probably give it a flip-through and stuff it on the shelf next to all the other references where it will be used for occasional consultation. All in all a solid offering in a fairly crowded field, but one that is authoratative and complete. But I just can't shake the feeling that the manual should have come in the box. Heck, it even looks and feels just like the typical software documentation of days gone by...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, April 13, 2008

By 

Learner (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crystal Reports XI Official Guide (Paperback)

This is a valuable book for learning and using Crystal Reports. I found lots of useful information in it. The explanations are clear and practical.

However, be aware that about half the book is on other topics than creating reports - such as Crystal Reports Server, BusinessObjects Enterprise, etc.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid For Novice/Intermediate Users, December 6, 2007

By 

Ror Meister "rormeister" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crystal Reports XI Official Guide (Paperback)

This text presents a thorough look at every facet of Crystal Report creation. It is very helpful for beginning and intermediate users. However, for more experienced users the authors fail to provide a useful summary of the built-in functions which are heavily used for manipulating the reports.