Crystal Reports 2008: Level 1

Crystal Reports® 2008: Level 1

Course Specifications

Course number: 085167
Software: Crystal Reports® 2008
Course length: 2.0 day(s)

Course Description

Organizations use reporting tools to access data sources and generate customized reports. Crystal Reports® 2008 enhances report building and report processing techniques with a slew of features that add value to your presentation. In this course, you will create a basic report by connecting to a database and modifying its presentation.

Course Objective:
You will connect to a database to extract data and present it as a report.
Target Student:
This course is designed for persons who need output from a database. In some cases, database programs have limited reporting tools, and/or such tools may not be accessible. Students may or may not have programming and/or SQL experience.
Prerequisites:
Before taking this course, students should be familiar with the basic functions of Windows, such as creating and navigating folders, opening programs, manipulating windows, copying and pasting objects, formatting text, and saving files. In addition, students should have taken the Microsoft® Office Access 2007: Level 1 course or have equivalent experience with basic database concepts.
Delivery Method:
Instructor led, group-paced, classroom-delivery learning model with structured hands-on activities.

Hardware Requirements

For this course, you will need one computer for each student and one for the instructor. Each computer will need the following minimum hardware configuration:

• Intel® Pentium® II or higher (Pentium® III/IV-class recommended).
• 256 MB RAM (512 MB RAM recommended).
• 5 GB hard disk or higher if you use Windows XP Professional as your operating system. You should have at least 600 MB free hard-disk space for Microsoft Office installation.
• Access to one of the following: a local CD-ROM drive, a local DVD drive, or access to a networked CD-ROM drive.
• Mouse or other pointing device.
• Network cards and cabling for local network access.
• Internet access (see your local network administrator).
• Printer (optional).
• Projection system to display the instructor's computer screen.

Platform Requirements

• Microsoft® Windows® 2000 SP4, XP, or Vista.

Software Requirements

• Microsoft® Windows® 2000 SP4, XP, or Vista.
• Custom installation of Crystal Reports® 2008.
• Default installation of Microsoft® Office® 2007.
• Printer driver. (Printers are not required; however, each PC must have an installed printer driver to use Print Preview.)
• Adobe® Reader® 8.0 and above.

Performance-Based Objectives

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• explore the Crystal Reports interface.
• create a basic report and modify it.
• use formulas for filtering data.
• build a parameterized report.
• group report data.
• enhance a report.
• create a report using data sourced from an Excel database.
• distribute data.

Course Content

Lesson 1: Exploring the Crystal Reports 2008 InterfaceTopic 1A: Explore the Crystal Reports InterfaceTopic 1B: Use the Crystal Reports HelpTopic 1C: Customize the Report Settings

Lesson 2: Working with ReportsTopic 2A: Create a ReportTopic 2B: Modify a ReportTopic 2C: Display Specific Report DataTopic 2D: Work with Report Sections

Lesson 3: Using Formulas in ReportsTopic 3A: Create a FormulaTopic 3B: Edit a FormulaTopic 3C: Filter Data Using a FormulaTopic 3D: Work with Advanced Formulas and FunctionsTopic 3E: Handle Null Values

Lesson 4: Building Parameterized ReportsTopic 4A: Create a Parameter FieldTopic 4B: Use a Range Parameter in a ReportTopic 4C: Create a Prompt

Lesson 5: Grouping Report DataTopic 5A: Group Report DataTopic 5B: Modify a Group ReportTopic 5C: Group Using ParametersTopic 5D: Create a Parameterized Top N Report

Lesson 6: Enhancing a ReportTopic 6A: Format a ReportTopic 6B: Insert Objects in a ReportTopic 6C: Suppress Report SectionsTopic 6D: Use Report Templates

Lesson 7: Creating a Report from Excel DataTopic 7A: Create a Report Based on Excel DataTopic 7B: Modify a Report Generated from Excel DataTopic 7C: Update Data in a Report Based on Excel Data

Lesson 8: Distributing DataTopic 8A: Export DataTopic 8B: Creating Mailing Labels

Appendix A: Setting Up and Configuring Data Sources

Appendix B: Using Report Processing Techniques

Appendix C: Using Functions in Formulas