Microsoft Great Plains CRW: Crystal Reports

by Vincent Ong

Alba Spectrum Technologies

USA 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918

help@albaspectrum.com

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies as well as Navision (which has very good positions in Europe and emerging markets where it can be easily localized). 

Great Plains’ support for Crystal Reports (CRW) extends the information that can be reported from your Great Plains system. Crystal Reports is a powerful Third-Party reporting tool from Business Objects which compensates for the limitations posed by Great Plains Report Writer.

Crystal Reports allows for fast and easy creation of comprehensive reports by utilizing drag-and-drop functions. Formulas are also handy for making complex calculations or field manipulations for the report. Crystal Reports also supports graphs and tables which is not possible with Great Plains Report Writer. To top it all off, Crystal Reports integrates smoothly with Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and other MS Office applications as well as exporting to PDF.

Features:

• Report Design
  • Use the intuitive user interface and report creation wizards, as well as drag-and-drop operations, to create customized reports — including Gantt charts, cross-tab reports, drill-downs, summaries, new Gauge charts, customized views of OLAP grids, funnel charts, and others.
  • Create and apply a consistent look and feel across multiple reports by using the standardized formatting and logic of custom templates, or by using the format painter to apply formatting from one object to another object with a single click.
  • Store key report objects — including text objects, images, and custom functions — in Crystal Report’s repository for updating, sharing, and reuse across multiple reports, and quickly find the right object with new search and filter capabilities. Manage these objects in Crystal Reports for more secure, easier sharing.
  • Retrieve base data from Great Plains and other Microsoft Business Solutions data sources, including Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, XML, OLAP, and relational databases, before incorporating it into customized reports.
• Report Viewing and Interaction
  • Export data or publish formatted reports with images to Excel — with the ability to export page headers and footers, or choose whether to display gridlines or not — or to other formats, including XML, PDF, HTML, CSV, ODBC, or record-style formats.
  • Print reports from the DHTML viewer with just one click, or enable server side printing to print reports from any Windows machine.
  • Zoom in on charts, maps, and other images without affecting image quality.
  • Easily navigate to different parts of your reports in design view using the Report Explorer, and tailor your design environment using floatable Explorer windows.
  • Turn reports and data into interactive Web pages that connect to related information with charting, mapping, grouping, sorting, drill-down, and parameter prompts.

Good luck with implementation, customization and integration and if you have issues or concerns – we are here to help!  If you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

Vincent is a Great Plains specialist in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com  ) – USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, serving clients in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Miami, New Orleans, Toronto, Montreal and having locations in multiple states and internationally