How to compile Crystal Report into an executable

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RUN CRYSTAL REPORTS AUTOMATICALLY
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In the "good old days" you could compile Crystal reports into executable files and simply email them to people who needed them. Or, you could web-enable any number of reports using the freely available tools and ASP code. Or you could use Crystal Info which would give you the added benefit of generating the reports automatically and saving date-stamped versions.

But those days are gone. Now the people that publish Crystal prefer that you distribute your reports using Crystal Enterprise. And Crystal Enterprise requires a serious expenditure of funds.

There is a solution: Crystal Report Distributor (CRD). The newly released version 5 provides even more functionality at the still very nominal price. CRD provides a way to automate report production and delivery.

CRD is an elegant and affordable alternative. CRD is a desktop application that merely needs a way to connect to your database. You must have a properly licensed copy of Crystal installed on the same machine. Here are some of the things you can do with CRD:

* Step through a database table, use field(s) from the table to select records from the main report and then use a field containing the email address of the proper recipient to send the output of the report.
* Reports can be exported in any of the forms supported by Crystal. They can also be Faxed automatically.
* Reports can be scheduled to run repeatedly at a given time and reports can be triggered by other events (such as closing the books).
* The new Dynamic Group Bursting will send just the pages relevant to a group to the contact associated with that group.
* Output can be automatically named with the date and time to create an archive of results.
* CRD support custom dates such as "second Tuesday of odd-numbered months".
* Output can be directed to printers listed in a database table or to multiple printers.
* Multiple copies can be sent to multiple printers or to a FAX driver.
* You can run a program or update a database field before or after the report is run.
* You can specify the actions to be taken if the report does not run.
* Reports can be triggered by an event (a change in a file for example).

CRD has eight different editions ranging from very affordable, single-user editions up to highly-scalable, enterprise-level solutions.

Download the free 30-day evaluation version today.