Crystal changes from MSDE to SQL Server

[Robert Schuldenfrei]

Hi NG,

I have about a dozen Crystal Reports (CR) reports running in "Pull" mode on
a MSDE database. I am leaving the development phase and I believed that I
could easily switch from a MSDE connection to a SQL Server connection. It
was a snap to change my C# code as I had placed the connection string in a
..txt file. CR is a different matter. I have tried to change the
ConnectionString property of the SqlConnection1 and the report still "sees"
the MSDE database and not the SQL Server database. If I create a report
from scratch, there is no problem connecting with SQL. I would rather not
go to the effort of developing new .rpt files. It is not a big deal to
construct a new form for the .cs files. The best solution is to find a way
to tell CR to look "here" rather than "there." TIA

Cheers,

Bob
--
Robert Schuldenfrei
S. I. Inc.
32 Ridley Road
Dedham, MA 02026
(e-mail address removed)
781/329-4828

 

[Kevin Yu [MSFT]]

Hi Robert,

First of all, I would like to confirm my understanding of your issue. From
your description, I understand that when you have changed the database from
MSDE to SQL Server, the Crystal Report is still looking into the MSDE
database. If there is any misunderstanding, please feel free to let me know.

Here I would like to know, how you assigned the data source for the crystal
report. Are you using a DataSet as the data source? If so, I think we have
to first check if the DataSet has changed according to the new SQL Server
database. You needn't create new .rpt files.

Since Crystal Report is not supported by Microsoft currently, besides
posting here, I suggest you also try the support from Business Objects. For
more information, please check the following link.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;317789

Kevin Yu
=======
"This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights."

 

[Robert Schuldenfrei]

Hi Kevin,

First, thank you very much for responding to this and past issues I have had
with C#, SQL, ADO.NET, and Crystal Reports (CR). My biggest problem with CR
is that lack of a textbook. The best I can find is Brian Bischof, Crystal
Reports .NET Programming. It has errors, unclear explanations, poor
examples, and a desire to stay away from the driving .NET language (either
VB or C#). In addition to this problem, I am having trouble learning how to
do "Push" programming. I think my lack of clear understanding of the
"dataset" is the root of my trouble. I understand that you, and Microsoft,
are not responsible for CR, but you are the only person who seems to have
the right answers to CR questions. I am testing Microsoft Reporting
Services at the same time, but that is geared to large organization report
distribution with .pdf used for printed reports. This does not fit my
business model yet. Enough of the background... On to the problem.

In answer to your question: Are you using a DataSet as the data source? I
THINK so. I used the Report Expert in VS to generate, and then regenerate,
the connection and I believe the DataSet. All of the reports are in a VS
project called Reports. Each report has a form (Form1301.cs for example)
and a CR file (rpt1301.rpt). If I start fresh, the Report Expert connects
to the proper SQL database on my server named ANUBIS. If I try to recompile
the existing project the report prints data from the MSDE machine named
Beowulf. BTW, Beowulf is my client workstation in both cases. The
ConnectionString property of the sqlConnection1 object is:
workstation id=BEOWULF;packet size=4096;integrated security=SSPI;data
source=ANUBIS;persist security info=False;initial catalog=MCS3

This string looks correct to me. How can I tell what the DataSet is showing
or even if a DataSet is being used?

Thank you for your help and concern,

Bob
--
Robert Schuldenfrei
S. I. Inc.
32 Ridley Road
Dedham, MA 02026
(e-mail address removed)
781/329-4828

 

[Robert Schuldenfrei]

Dear NG,

The issue has been resolved and I have learned about how CR attaches itself
to a SQL database. If you use the "Pull" mode, the database is attached to
the .rpt file. Thus, it does not matter what you do to the Form, the report
is still going to look where its internal references point. This is in
stark contrast to the "Push" mode where you send a dataset to the report.
The bottom line is that I need to rework every SQL column in every report.
Sigh... In the final product, I am going to use "Push" mode, so this is
probably wasted time. However, I do not yet have push working. Thank you
Kevin for your help and interest.

Sincerely,

Bob

 

[Kevin Yu [MSFT]]

You're welcome, Bob.

Thanks for sharing your experience with all the people here. If you have
any questions, please feel free to post them in the community.

Kevin Yu
=======
"This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no
rights."