Verifying the Current Data Source

Since a report is separate from the data source, it is very possible that someone can make changes to a database without you knowing it. For example, changing a field’s name causes the report to lose its reference to that field. Modifying a field’s data type can also affect how the report formats the data. If you are working on a large project, someone could modify a table and not realize that you are using it on an existing report. If a change is made to either the database location or the table structure since the last time you modified the report, this will impact the reports that use that data source. Either the report won’t be able to find the tables, or some of the fields will be missing.

Crystal Reports has a Verify Database function that checks the data source to see if it has changed since the report was created. This should be done whenever you suspect that the tables have been modified since the last time the report was updated. Access this function by selecting the menu options Database > Verify Database. It will display a confirmation box if the database is up to date. If Crystal Reports determines that the fields in your report have changed in some way, it lets you re-map them to their equivalent fields in the new table structure. This is discussed in the next section.

If you want Crystal Reports to verify your database each time you open the report, select the menu options Report > Options to open the Database Options dialog box. Then select the appropriate Verify properties.