MS Access VS. Crystal Reports

[mike14]

My point of sale software allows me to access my data files with these two products to create additional reports. My question is: which is easier to learn? I have limited Access reporting experience, and no Crystal reports experience.

All reponses are appreciated.

Thanks

 

[mikey69]

Don't know whether you've had a reply. If you have Access, suggest you use this. The Access query into report cycle is intuitive and you'll find that learning Access gives you an ability to manipulate data to a greater extent than Crystal Reports will. With Access, if you learn how to use Visual Basic, you can do most anything.

hope this helps

 

[mymou]

On the whole I agree with the above. Access is more versatile (as it is not just a reporting tool).

However, you might want to look into Seagate Info. This is the Crystal reporting solution. This helps to solve the problem of distribution of information in a very easy way. If you are churning out hundreds of reports - Access doesn't have a way to handle this well. With Seagate Info you would have a dedicated server doing everything for you.

If you just have a data source that a few people need to run or make reports then access is adequate. If it is more complicated than this then check out Seagate Info - but be aware that it does come with a price tag - so I suggest that this is for serious reporting solutions only.

Both are easy to learn for those inclined to do so, but I would say that Access appears more daunting to non-technical people.


Stew