Introduction
gg_crystal_rpts.docx Page | 3
Introduction
Crystal Reports is a popular, commercially-available report generator. Since it works with databases and
data stored in spreadsheets, it can be used to design reports using GRIN-Global data.
This document does not provide a step-by-step tutorial on creating the actual report within the Crystal
Reports application. Rather, this document discusses how to extract sample data from GRIN-Global as a
basis for a report design and then how to eventually connect the report with GRIN-Global for ongoing
use.
When you design a report with the Crystal Reports Report designer,
you are not just designing a report for one-time use, but rather one
that will work with new data as it becomes available within GRIN-
Global. As the GG data changes, the report can be applied to the
relevant data and the results can be viewed or printed.
Besides data reports, packing labels and other labels can be made
this way and then accessed on an ongoing basis by the Curator Tool
users. Users do not need to know how to design the reports, but how
to access them via the Curator Tool.
If you are not familiar with Crystal Reports, there are many online resources on how to create
reports using Crystal Reports – one helpful resource is the YouTube Crystal Reports channel. In
google, search for crystal reports + youtube.
There are four basic steps to coordinating Crystal Reports and GRIN-Global:
1. In the Curator Tool, select sample data as the basis for the report
2. Using Crystal Reports, use the data from step 1 to design the report
3. Name and save the report (.rpt) file; copy the .rpt file into the GRIN-Global “Reports” folder
4. Using the CT, select data to be included in the report; select the corresponding report