Using the Wizard’s Dialog Boxes

Each report wizard uses a combination of different dialog boxes to question you about how to build your report. Each wizard presents a slightly different combination of these dialog boxes. This section describes how to use each dialog box and explains any aspects of it that may not be obvious. The report wizard dialogs are called Data, Links, Fields, Grouping, Summaries, Group Sorting, Chart, Record Selection, Template, Drill and Mailing Labels.

The Data Dialog Box

The Data dialog box is the first one presented. 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 1-10. The Data dialog of the report wizards.

The Links Dialog Box

Reports that use two or more tables need to have the tables linked so that data can be pulled from all of them. The Links dialog box lets you set the fields for creating relationships between the tables. Crystal Reports does its best to attempts to automatically link the tables together. If the links are not what you need, you can always delete them and add your own

Figure 1-11. The Links dialog of the report wizards.

The Fields Dialog Box

After selecting which tables you want to use for your report, the Fields dialog box 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 1-12. The Fields dialog of the report wizards.

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. The order that the fields are listed in is the order in which the report wizard places them on the report.

The Grouping Dialog Box

Some reports have so much data that they can be a little hard to understand. When reports are dozens or even hundreds of pages long, you need to organize the information in a way that makes it easier to absorb the data in smaller pieces. You do this by creating groups within the report. Some examples are grouping on months of the year or the names of the different branch offices for a company.

Figure 1-13. The Groups dialog of the Report Wizard.

The Summaries Dialog Box

It is very common for reports to calculate sub-totals and other summary calculations on the numeric fields. The Summaries dialog box, shown in Figure 1-14, is where you define the summary calculations for the different fields. The left list box shows all the available fields. The right list box shows the fields that will have summary functions calculated for them.

Figure 1-14. The Total dialog of the Report Wizard.

You have to be careful because the report wizard automatically places all numeric fields in the Summarized Fields list. Many numeric fields hold non-quantitative data and you don’t want to perform any summary calculations on them. For example, in the figure above you wouldn’t want to sum the Supervisor ID field. Be sure to review this default list created by the report wizard and delete all unwanted summary calculations.

The Group Sorting Dialog Box

When adding a group to a report, you probably assume that every record within the group will be displayed. In most circumstances, this is the case. However, you can tell Crystal Reports to only display a certain number of records based upon their rank. For example, you could have a top salesperson report, where you show the top 10 salespeople in your office. You could also have another report that shows the 10 worst salespeople. The Group Sorting dialog box lets you do this by sorting the groups based on a summary field

Figure 1-15. The Top N dialog from the Report Wizard.

The Chart Dialog Box

This dialog box lets you add a chart to your report. You can also set a variety of options for what type of chart to display and how to display it.

Figure 1-16. The Chart dialog from the Report Wizard.

The Record Selection Dialog Box

Some reports need to only show a sub-set of all the data that is in a table. For example, a financial report may only show the corporate data for a single quarter or a range of quarters. To filter out certain data so that you limit how much information is shown on a report, use the Record Selection dialog shown in Figure 1-17.

Figure 1-17. The Select dialog from the Report Wizard.

The Template Dialog Box

After specifying the report details, use the Template dialog box to format everything so that the report has a professional look to it. This dialog, shown in Figure 1-18, lists over a dozen different pre-determined templates that can be applied to your report. These templates make it easy for you to take some raw data and spice it up enough to make everyone think you worked really hard to create the report!

Figure 1-18. The Style dialog from the Report Wizard.

The Label Dialog Box

The Label dialog box is used when you select the Mailing Labels report wizard. After selecting the database tables and fields to display, it lets you select the label size. You can choose from a list of the standard Avery labels or choose a User Defined Label.

Figure 1-19. Mailing Labels dialog of the Report Wizard

In the middle of the dialog box are the various settings of how the labels are sized and the gaps between each label. At the bottom, you select whether you want the labels to go across the page or down the page in a column. The bottom right corner gives you a general idea of whether you entered the parameters properly by calculating how many labels are printed per page. Creating mailing labels is discussed in Chapter 8.

The Cross-Tab and Customize Style Dialog Boxes

The Cross-Tab and Customize Style dialogs are only available when using the Cross-Tab Wizard. They let you modify the cross-tab data for what appears in the rows and columns. Modifying these tabs is very involved and is explained in detail in Chapter 13.

The Drill Dialog Box

The Drill dialog is only available when using the Drill-Down Wizard. When creating drill-down reports, you allow the user to see a summarized view of their data. If they want to examine the data in more detail, they can expand a record to see more detail relating to the summarized information. The summarized fields are listed on this tab. When you click on the field’s name, it will toggle back and forth between “Show” and “Hide”. This will alternate the default of whether it gets displayed or not.