Using the Tabbed Dialog Boxes

Each report expert uses a combination of different tabbed dialog boxes to question you about how to build your report. Each expert presents a slightly different combination of these tabs. This section describes how to use each tab and explains any aspects of it that may not be obvious. The report expert tabs are called Data, Links, Fields, Group, Total, TopN, Chart, and Select.

The Data Tab

The Data tab is the first dialog box presented after you select which type of report you want. It lets you select the database and tables that store your data. The database can be a standard data source such as SQL Server or a non-standard data source such as an Excel spreadsheet.

Figure 2-2. The Data tab of the report experts.

The Links Tab

Reports that use two or more tables need to have the tables linked so that data can be pulled from both of them. The Links tab lets you set the fields for creating relationships between the tables. Crystal Reports automatically attempts to link the tables together by using common field names. If two tables have a field with the same name and the data types are compatible, then Crystal will link them using this field.

Figure 2-3. The Links tab of the report experts.

The Fields Tab

After selecting which tables you want to use for your report, the Fields tab allows you to select which fields will be shown. . Adding and deleting fields is done in the standard manner of dragging and dropping them between windows or selecting a field and clicking on the appropriate arrow button.

Figure 2-4. The Fields tab of the report experts.

After you add all the necessary fields to your report, you are free to reorder them by using the arrow buttons above the window. Select the field to move and click the up or down arrow to reposition it.