Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .Net

 

 

 

This 3 day course uses Professional Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .NET 2nd Edition by David McAmis.

 

 

 

 

 

Student Quote: “Keith has a very good presentation manner. He is knowledgeable and has a very positive attitude, great sense of humor and very willing to work with us even with the heckling we were giving him. This was one of the best classes I have taken.” M. Doucette

 

 

 

Target Audience

This course is designed for students that have some experience with relational databases, SQL and .Net.  The course comprehensively explores the functionality provided by Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .Net.  Note: This is the integrated version of Crystal Reports included with Visual Studio .Net.

 

This course expands the sample code in the book into hands on labs for the students.  Students should expect to spend approximately 3 hours each day engaged in hands on practice with the instructor or structured lab work. The majority of the reports used in lab work are built from an Access database installed when you install Crystal Reports for Visual Studio.NET. The name of this database is XTREME.MDB and an ODBC driver is automatically created during the setup process, named "Xtreme Sample Database 2003". Some of the reports are created using the Northwind database which is one of the two sample databases included with SQL Server.

 


Breakdown of Topics by Day

 

Day 1

 

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .Net Overview

Brief History of the Product

A Comparison between the Different Versions of Crystal Reports

Benefits of Using Crystal Reports for Visual Studio .Net

Installing Crystal Reports

Exploring the Sample Applications

 

Getting Started with Crystal Reports

          Planning a Report

          Creating a Report (Adding and Using a Report Expert)

          Working in the Design Environment

          Report Design Basics

                   Report Sections and Formatting

                   Using Field Objects

                   Sorting and Grouping

                   Record Selection and Filtering

 

Advanced Report Design Techniques

          Charting and Graphing

          Cross-Tabs

          Sub Reports

 

Optimization and Best Practices

 

Integrating Reports with Windows Based Applications

 

          Planning a .Net Windows Application

          Determining the Correct Object Model

          Understanding the CrystalDecisions.Windows.Forms Namespace

 

Using the Report Viewer

Customizing the Layout and Appearance of the Report Viewer for Windows Reports

 


Day 2

 

Report Integration for Web Based Applications

 

Planning a .Net Web Application

Determining the Correct Object Model

Understanding the CrystalDecisions.Web Namespace

Using the Report Viewer for Web Forms

Customizing the Layout and Appearance of the Report Viewer for Web Reports

 

Creating XML Report Web Services

          Overview of XML Report Web Services

          Creating XML Report Web Services

          Consuming XML Report Web Services

 

Working with .Net Data

          Data Access with Crystal Reports .Net

                   Database Files, Relational Data and OLAP Databases

                   Crystal Dictionaries, Queries and Info Views

                   Other Data Sources

 

          Working with Data Sources

 

          Working with SQL Commands and Expressions

                   Defining Virtual Tables

                   Creating SQL Expressions

 

          Working with ADO .Net

                   Overview of ADO .Net

                   Viewing Dataset Contents

                   Creating a Report from a Dataset

                   Viewing Reports that contain Datasets

 

 


 

Day 3

 

Formulas and Logic

          Integrating Formulas and Logic into a Report

          Working with the Formula Editor

          Creating Formulas with using BASIC and Crystal Syntax

          Creating Record Selection Formulas

          Working with Conditional Formatting

 

Working with the Crystal Reports Engine

          Understanding the CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine Namespace

          Customizing Reports using the Report Engine

 

Report Application Distribution

          Getting Started (Setup, Web Setup, Merge Modules, and Setup Wizard)

          Basic Deployment Requirements

          Deploying Windows Applications

          Deploying Web Applications

 

Troubleshooting and Migration Issues

 

 

 

About Your Instructor

 

Keith Nicholson, MCT, MCSD .Net, MCAD, MCP + SB

Microsoft MVP, Visual Studio .Net

President, Oklahoma City .Net Developers Group

 

 

Keith presents highly technical information in a clear, understandable, engaging and entertaining way in which novice and advanced programmers can benefit. Through colorful illustrations, and easy to understand analogies, each student will leave the class understanding the material and concepts.

 

Drawing on years of business experience, Keith assists developers in understanding not only the technology, but the business implications and how to put their knowledge into practical use. His reach extends nationally as he travels doing training in .NET products, SQL Server, Crystal Reports, SharePoint Portal Server, and Content Management Server. Keith was awarded Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professional. He encourages his students to form communities and to drawn on each other’s skills. He is able to share his enthusiasm and help others gain a love for technology and its uses.