SAP Crystal Reports Valuable Features

MVD Prasad - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant General Manager at Soma Enterprise

SAP Crystal Reports offers a plethora of features, many of which were available much earlier than in the Crystal Reports we previously used. We extensively use its capabilities for generating general reports, working with Kaspersky data, and even incorporating images into our reports. The range of functions available in SAP Crystal Reports is diverse, and we leverage them across various systems for our needs.                

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Pralhad Yesare - PeerSpot reviewer
Microsoft Dynamics GP Consultant at Deloitte

We can pull the data from different tables in one form from other data like BigData. It is user-friendly and easy to export data.

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Alain Vanhaeght - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Project leader at a construction company with 10,001+ employees

We use SAP Crystal Reports for operational reporting. We have two types of operational reporting. Commercial documents like quotations, order confirmations, delivery notes, and invoices are made in SAP Crystal Reports. We also have listings and operational reports used in our company's commercial or logistic part.

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Buyer's Guide
SAP Crystals
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about SAP Crystal Reports. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
MohammadShafiullah - PeerSpot reviewer
MANAGER - IT SYSTEMS at Fabtech

Almost all the features of the solution are good, including its connectivity to the database. Also, JDBC connectivity, performance, data storage capability, the dashboard, its chart capability, and the extensive library of the function are quite impressive about the solution.

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AB
Software Development Head at a retailer with 11-50 employees

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a fantastic way of generating reports. My only issue with the solution is that it is a bit complicated, though I admit that it is also a very sophisticated product at the same time with which you can do almost everything you want. My only grievance is that the product is not compatible with the latest platforms provided by Microsoft.

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NR
IT Manager at AE POWER

It is an user-friendly solution. 

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JB
Director of Business Intelligence, Allstate Investments at The Allstate Corporation
  • Pixel-perfect formatting
  • It's extremely customizable.
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it_user448413 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Application Analyst at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The ability to connect to most databases, be it Lawson, PeopleSoft, Excel or Access and that is only to name a few. The customization for clients is the absolute favorite feature, not to mention that I can do more formulas and bring in more data than most other reporting software that I have used. This includes using and tying in multiple databases.

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it_user185778 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Specialist - Crystal Reports / SQL Server at a construction company with 10,001+ employees

The ability to plug into multiple data sources and present consistent formatted reports for our internal and external clients. We work for multiple clients around the country and this allows us to present standardized reports. Crystal Reports also allows us to pull SAP and present it as an analytical tool rather than downloading data and manipulating it in Excel.

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Patryk Golabek - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at Translucent Computing Inc

The most valuable feature is that from a user's point of view, it is easy to use and requires just a simple click to generate a report.

It has the ability to export to different formats including Excel and PDF, so there is value there when you consider that it's a nice report that can be accessed on different platforms.

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Syed Fahad Anwar - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal System Developer at HHRC

Performance

Drill-down reporting functionality

Report wizard

Variable

Built in Formulas

Presentation Options like Charts, Cross tab reports etc.

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it_user581817 - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder & CEO at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

I appreciate the ability to connect to just about any structured data source. This makes it very flexible. We can use it in any Windows-based technical environment, but now we specialize with reports for just one data source, QuickBooks via QQube. Since we have Crystal Reports viewers available for our customers to use, they don't need to purchase the product, but can run the reports that we build for them.

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it_user435318 - PeerSpot reviewer
Database Administrator/Application Manager at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
  • You can write very complex formulas
  • Field conditional formatting
  • Subreports
  • Specific formatting for report sections (headers, footers, etc.)
  • Crosstab reports
  • Coders can write their own custom SQL statement
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it_user6606 - PeerSpot reviewer
BI Expert at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees
Great Flexibility - the limitations in how or what the report will look & feel is really limited by the developer. Formulas can be placed on virtually any field or level. Data can be conditionally suppressed, fonts changed, splashes of color added all dependent on the data provided.Data sources options - whether you're connecting via DB2, MySQL, MS SQL, Oracle, a WebService, or any other number of connection types - there are tons of inherent connections to the tool. Configuring a connection is done easily with a wizard, and changing the connection (say during an upgrade of the source system or a server change) can be done very easily as well while retaining the report fields.Sub-Reports - many times a complex report may report on many different aspects of the data, tethering tying together lots of different data together into a nice little report. Using sub-reports allows the different reports and their SQL to be compartmentalized, while still allowing the reports fields and the variables to be shared between the main report and the sub-report(s).Formulas - Once you get the hang of the formulas in Crystal Reports, they are very powerful. Different flags and indicators can be constructed, suppression based on the formula fields, or formula fields based on other formula fields in conjunction with the source data. Creative formula construction is just one of the many tools in Crystal Reports that allows this tool to be so flexible and robust. View full review »
DS
Senior Manager at a tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The fact that I can write my own SQL command to pull data for a report. You can just select tables and join them together and get a report, but there are times when you need to do something more complex than just a simple query. I have used this to do things such as getting just the most recent records in a set of data, all of the procedures for a patient where the patient had a specific procedure, pivoting data so that I don’t have to use a cross-tab, and much more. At this point, if a report is going to use more than two tables, I’ll generally write the SQL for it so that I can tune it to make it run faster. I’ve written a blog about the best practices for working with commands, which can be found here: http://scn.sap.com/community/crystal-reports/blog/2015/04/01/best-practices-when-using-commands-with-crystal-reports.

Also, the ability to export reports to a variety of formats, even though there are limited options for formatting that output.

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it_user269151 - PeerSpot reviewer
Business Integration Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

The most valuable feature is the ability to create reports easily. End users and non-technical users can learn the product with ease.

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it_user432762 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Business Intelligence Tools Administrator at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

The most valuable features for us are its ability to provide reports on what's going on in the database and to schedule reports for end users.

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it_user167046 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager - Healh IT Systems, HIPAA and Compliance - Meaningful Use Analyst at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees

Report Wizards and Sample Reports are very useful for us, and I'd say they're the most valuable features as well. I only wish there were more reports to choose from because the wizards make it easier to create a quick report.

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it_user5802 - PeerSpot reviewer
BI Expert at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
We use the InfoView web based interface to host the enterprise reports. The Crystal Reports is a good standard reporting product from any single data source. WEBI allows us to use multiple data sources to produce one WEBI document that can have many reports. If the Universes are designed with cross data source linking in mind, the Webi documents can be used as a great tool to relate data from multiple data sources and environments. View full review »
it_user448308 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Reports Programmer at a university with 10,001+ employees

The ability to able to write your own SQL commands, parameterizing reports and putting them online.

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it_user456375 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Senior Programmer Analyst at a transportation company with 1,001-5,000 employees

It’s ability to connect to multiple data sources, use SQL or individual tables, views or stored procedures, data formatting options, ability to handle and display various date formats and the ability to use VB or Crystal Syntax (or both) within a report.

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it_user448305 - PeerSpot reviewer
Programmer / Reports Designer at a printing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The ability to connect to IDAPI files. I have to use Paradox (Borland) as my database and this version of Crystal Reports is the latest one that still works with IDAPI files. I also rely heavily on the ability to run the reports in the viewer.

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it_user432603 - PeerSpot reviewer
Town Clerk's Office: General IT, Crystal Reports, Laserfiche Admin, Granicus Admin at a local government with 501-1,000 employees

It allows me to pull data from multiple data sources without coding SQL. Creating SQL code to copy is one of my favorite uses.

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it_user449409 - PeerSpot reviewer
Corporate Trainer/Consultant at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees

It can gather data from many sources and consolidate that data.

It is easy to get quick results, but also allows you to create more in-depth reports.

It contains a relational database that allows you to join tables from different tables in the same report.

It can export to Excel, text files, or PDF and many other formats.

A non-IT person can create some reports, and an IT person can take it much further.

If you have Crystal Reports, it can import Excel files that were made in Excel 2003, files with a .xls file extension and file format. It does not yet recognize files with a .xlsx file extension, which would be from Excel 2007, 2010, 2013 or 2016. With Access files, Crystal Reports can import databases with a .mdb format, but not the newer format if .accdb.

This was true as of Crystal Reports 2013. They may have changed it since
then.

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it_user434991 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager Data Sciences at a tech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
  • Version 2008 – SQL & report scheduling
  • Version 2013 – XLSX workbooks
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it_user446937 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Development at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

One valuable feature is the ability to integrate seamlessly with the Business Objects Enterprise Software solution.

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it_user161895 - PeerSpot reviewer
Database Expert at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

I like that Crystal Reports can easily connect to a multitude of datasource types, handling all with aplomb. It has a feature-rich toolset that allows me to shape and present the data to suit any report requirement thrown my way. Enterprise is simply the best report delivery product on the market.

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it_user224157 - PeerSpot reviewer
AVP at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
  • Rapid report development, since the design interface makes coding easier.
  • We can extend it to complicated reports with interactive charts and enhance the understanding of business models.
  • Exposes a report object model that can interact with other controls on the ASP.NET Web form.
  • It can be programmed to export the reports into widely used formats such as PDF, Word, Excel, HTML, and RTF.
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it_user448422 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Developer at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees

Ease of extracting data from various sources and displaying in such a way that user can’t tell the difference.

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JC
Senior MIS Project Manager at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees

I find Crystal Reports very easy to use, even for a non-technical person.

The drag-and-drop capability is good.

It is easy to change between different file types.

The reports scheduler is helpful.

It provides a lot of flexibility.

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it_user174756 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Data Analyst at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

The ability to create reports via the GUI with click and drag at the table level as well as from SQL via Command objects.

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it_user456381 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant on Health Care Reporting and Analytics at a tech company with 501-1,000 employees

In my experience, the strongest feature of Crystal Reports is in developing automated business intelligence reports which convert raw data into actionable business intelligence.

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GE
Manager of Architecture/Design at a government with 501-1,000 employees

What I like about it is that it's easy to use and it provides good connectivity to various databases.

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it_user140493 - PeerSpot reviewer
Developer at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

One of the most valuable features is the ability to precisely place data fields and labels on the report canvas either in Design Mode or Preview Mode. This is a great feature because when a report page requires many data fields, each item needs to be as close as possible.

Another valuable feature is the ability to select and format or align multiple data fields and labels because there are times when a group of fields needs a smaller font or to be moved together across the page.

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it_user163092 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Reporting Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Pixel perfect static reporting.

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it_user446715 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant Commercial & ShipConnect / VRS at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees

The ease of making simple reports. The facts that many people use it, hence a lot of expertise can be found on the internet and trainings are available.

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it_user628023 - PeerSpot reviewer
Microsoft Nokia Service Manager at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees

It is easy to use and it connects to the major databases.

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it_user173745 - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Analyst at a healthcare company with 51-200 employees

It has a lot of flexibility and can be used with a variety of data sources. A lot can be done with grouping and sub-reports.

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it_user431850 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at a tech consulting company with 51-200 employees

The ability to set parameters, especially the cascading parameters, is the most valuable features for us.

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it_user142782 - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Analytics and Integration at a wellness & fitness company with 501-1,000 employees

The way it allows formatting, that is, the ability to organize the display and fields as we like, are the key elements for us. Presentation for end users is always the big concern for us, so the formatting is an important feature the we find most useful.

We're also able to drag-and-drop tables, joins, and fields, which expedites very basic data pulls. Sometimes, though, a SQL query and export to .xls suffices.

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it_user448395 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr BOBJ/HANA Consultant at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees

Native connection, Subreports, pixel free formatting, free hand SQL, multiple sources, supports most databases

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it_user448683 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Programmer - DB Mgt & Crystal Reports at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Versatility between platforms.

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it_user449433 - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead - Report Development at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

I value it's ability to satisfy most demanding reporting requirements with ease. No complex programming or tweaking of properties. It can be learned by a power user to satisfy their analytical needs without IT support and, the expert developer can deliver advanced functionality with ease. Mature and works as expected.

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it_user448401 - PeerSpot reviewer
Programador C#, MVC, Entity Framework, Crystal Reports, ORACLE at a transportation company with 501-1,000 employees

I use all the features and there is nothing that is more important than the other.

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it_user186273 - PeerSpot reviewer
Crystal Reports Developer / DBA at a non-profit with 51-200 employees
  • Ease of creating custom reports
  • Being able to edit in design view without having to refresh the data
  • Ease of linking tables
  • Ability to create union queries
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Buyer's Guide
SAP Crystals
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about SAP Crystal Reports. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.