Crystal SQL Designer, not responding error

[SPSmedical]

I'm new to crystal. I developed a Crystal SQL Designer file. However, when I try to refresh the report, it hangs. When I do a "Ctrl Alt Del" it tells me that the task is "not responding".
I tried running this report just in crystal reports 8.5 earlier and I got the same error message. I thought that perhaps the data download to the PC was too big, so I tried doing the data sort on the server first. But I still get the "not responding" error on my PC.
What kind of information do I need to provide in order for someone to find out what might be wrong?
Thanks for your help.

 

[RJFost]

1. What type of database are you connecting to?
2. Did the query process correctly in the SQL Designer?
3. How big is the returned/expected dataset?

 

[SPSmedical]

I am connecting to an Omnis database. The query did not process. It also gave me a "not responding" error message. I am afraid I don't know how to quantify the expected output. I'm not an IT person, I'm just trying to get data out of my data base.

 

[RJFost]

I've not worked with Omnis, but it sounds as though you're never getting the connection to the database to begin with. Check & see if there's a "test connection" feature in the ODBC DSN for the database. Once that's working, you'll have to have someone work up the query syntax, then paste the query into the Query Designer & test it there.

 

[SPSmedical]

I tried doing a small record data search and that one worked fine. I was able to then select the query for my crystal report and that worked. I think I am either trying to get too many records and either my computer can't handle the work load, or I am too impatient and I kill the search before it has time to process when I do the "CTRL ALT DEL".

 

[RJFost]

If the query is likely to return a large # of records, it can take a goodish while in some cases. I've got a report that runs almost an hour.

Another suggestion- open the report, then go to File -> Report Options. If your report does any grouping or sorting, you might see a performance boost by pushing these functions back onto the server. Try enabling the "Perform grouping on server" & "Use indexes on server for speed" options; since I'm not familiar with your RDBMS, changing these may or may not have an effect. Also, unless you're wanting to include duplicate records in the report, I'd recommend enabling the "Select distinct records" option (puts a DISTINCT operator in the behind-the-scenes query).