DOVICO - time tracking, time management, project management software and time and attendance.

Tips & Whitepapers
Designing a Custom Report using Crystal Reports

 

NOTE: The information in this article applies to:

DOVICO Timesheet™ version 8.x or higher

DOVICO Track-IT® Suite version 8.x or higher

No matter how many reports there are in the software our clients are always interested in adding new ones or customizing existing reports to their needs. In this example article, we will show you how to create a new report and save it in the software for future use.

* Editors Note: It is much easier to modify our existing reports or the ones published on this web site vs creating a brand new report from scratch. However if you would like to learn the inner workings of Crystal Reports then read on..

Purchase Crystal Reports® to create your own custom reports directly from Crystal Decisions.

 

Objective

To create an employee list sorted by start date.

Your will need the correct version of Crystal Reports !!


DOVICO Timesheet™ version

Crystal Reports® version

- v8.x

- v9 Professional Edition or higher

DOVICO Track-IT® Suite version

Crystal Reports® version

- v10.x
- v11.x
- v12.x

- v9 Professional Edition or higher

- v9.x

- v9

- v8.x

- v8

You will also need:

  • Name of the server where the DOVICO software database is stored
  • Name of the database(s)
  • The login account, and the password. (This information can be obtained from your administrator)
  • MDAC (Microsoft Data Access Components) preferably 2.1 or higher.

 

Steps to create the Client List Report:

Follow the instructions below, or copy the code from our web site (.rpt)


  • Start Crystal Reports.
  • Select the New icon to create a new report. Choose the Using a Report Wizard and choose the Standard Wizard. Click OK.
  • From the Data page under the Create New Connection folder select OLE DB (ADO).
  • In the OLE DB Provider window select Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server. Click Next.
  • Enter the Server name for the DOVICO Software your are using.
  • Enter login account information. This information was created when the software was installed.
  • If the above information is correct, the drop-down list in the Select the database on the server box will list your existing databases. Select the applicable database from the list. Click Finish.
  • A list of tables and views will be displayed under the database you connected to in the data wizard window.
  • Expand the Views under the database connection you just made and double-click DOVREP_LIST_EMPLOYEE to add the view to the report. Click Next.
  • From Fields choose Employee_Last_First, Employee_Start and Employee_End, Click Finish.
  • You should now see a bare list of employees and dates.
    • To sort this list based on employee start dates choose the Record Sort Expert icon.
    • From the Record Sort Order window select the report field Employee_Start. Choose OK.
  • In order to run this report from; you will need to add a parameter to the report. Right click on Parameter Fields in the Fields Explorer and choose Add. In the Name field enter REPORTID and in the Value Type field choose Number. Click OK.
  • The report is now finished except for basic formatting which you may want to apply according to your specific needs.
  • Save the report in an apporpriate directory.

 

To add this report:

  • Open the DOVICO software you are using.
  • Select the Reports Explorer
  • Select the Folder that you would like to add a report to. Or right click and select Add Folder to create a new folder.
  • Within the right window containing the reports, right click and select Add Report.
  • Enter the Report Name.
  • Enter a brief description for the report.
  • Browse to the .RPT file and select open.
  • Click OK.

    * Note: You have now added the report, however the specific report query boxes (parameters) need to be added. Please Click Here for information.

The example above was a very simple exercise to get you started using Crystal Reports. Needless to say there are all kinds of Business Intelligence tools that you can use with our software to extract data (i.e. Excel™, MS Access™ for example).

  • Final Thought... Be patient, Crystal Reports has quite a learning curve, especially when linking with a complex database. If you find you are still having problems, and cannot get the results you want, it may be a good idea to hire DOVICO for the speciifc report, or try to acquire some training on the Crystal Reports software.

Database Schema's, Visio Documents etc. are available in our Developers Center
Keywords:  Crystal Reports, Business Intelligence, Crystal Integration, Custom Reports, Track-IT Custom Reports, DOVICO Timesheet Custom Reports, Report Creation.

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