Report Viewer Needed

[LadyJaguar]

I have been searching for a report viewer for my clients.
I have read through the previous posts on here, done searches and gone through Ken Hamady's complete list. (Thank you very much by the way, great resources).

I am still at a loss on a report viewer to distribute.
I dont think I am asking too much, I just want a decent, nice user interface that allows the database user name and password to be SAVED. My clients cannot know the username and password for the report nor be expected to type it in every time. So far all the viewers I have found that I like dont seem to save the database login setting or dont offer it at all.

On the interface, the only thing I really need is the ability to view print or export and of course its nice to be able to group your reports or run from a command line but not absolutely necessary at this point.

My analysis has concluded this:

ReportViewer 9.0 - VERY nice, I love the interface and the ability to view, print or export right from the main screen. (I hate having to view when I just want to export)
Cannot find a way to save the database login settings?

CRW Reporting
Seems quite comprehensive but a bit much for some of the users and perhaps my own ignorance but I cant seem to figure out which piece to install on client machines that just need to view. Ive tried different options, got it to work for a manager or setup scenario.

DataLinkViewer
Looks good but the manual says nothing about saving database login values for the next time the report is run. I realize it was mentioned it does this so maybe i need to request a trial download and try this one.

Jeff-Net Report Runner
Pretty decent but doesnt save the database password again. Also you have to view in order to export.

Pacific Ridge Report Runner Lite
Nice interface, grouping etc. But I cannot find anything about connecting to a database and saving those settings.

rptViewer
1.0 didnt save db. 2.0 I cannot even get to run properly. As soon as I try to add a report to a group, it locks up and never responds.

Hammerlaunch
Simple basic interface, again no database settings

CView
Very simple interface and YES saves database settings. However, you cannot export without viewing. <sigh> Many of my reports are never intended for viewing, just to be run and exporting to comma delimited for other uses by the client.

I went through the report managers as well and came up with similar scenarios. If it had a nice interface, then no way to save the database login info.

Does anyone have any ideas?
I am ready to purchase software like yesterday, but cannot find one I am happy with.

Thanks for your input.
Hannah
Jaguar Internet
hannah@jaguarinternet.com Hannah Amentler
Jaguar Internet Solutions

http://www.jaguarinternet.com

 

[bdjb]

Hi Hannah,
Have you tried Crystal Passage? I've used it to do automatic exports in CSV format, and it stores the user ID / password as well.

http://www.softandco.com/Business/c/2/a/8688/Crystal Passage.html

It seems to be a pretty good program, and is freeware as well.

Bob

 

[IdoMillet]

Hannah,

DataLink Viewer allows you invoke viewing of a Crystal report from a desktop shortcut, a batch file, or any other program that can invoke a RUN command.

The Command Line arguments supported by it include not only the report you want to open, but also optional arguments (including User ID, Password, and Parameters).

In short, if you give your users a launching mechanism such as desktop shortcuts, you have a working solution for hiding the authentication process from the user.

An even simpler alternative is to specify the User ID & Password in the ODBC setup.

All of the above leaves open questions about compromising security...

hth,
- Ido CUT, Visual CUT, and DataLink Viewer:
view, e-mail, export, burst, distribute, and schedule Crystal Reports.

http://www.MilletSoftware.com

 

[LadyJaguar]

First, thank you for the feedback and the two suggestions.

The crystal passage I cannot get to, their website is not responding. I have looked at in the past though and it did not really provide a way for users to scroll through a list of available reports and print them on demand.

Same problem with running just a shortcut...that will be good for just one of my reports, the one I need to have them run as an export without viewing it.

But I am still stuck with the same dilemma.
I need a report viewer that allows the user to see a list of reports, choose either export, view or print and not have to enter the username and password for the sql server.

Perhaps I am missing something when you said set up the username and password in the ODBC. I did put the user name and password in the DSN and thought I did it right in Crystal but all my reports always ask for it again before running.

Still need a good client viewer.
<sigh>

Hannah Amentler
Jaguar Internet Solutions

http://www.jaguarinternet.com

 

[LadyJaguar]

Ok...well now I am thinking about purchasing reCrystalize and simply publishing all the reports on the intranet website for my client.

Anyone have any feedback? I have both a copy of CR 8.0 and 8.5 developer editions. I tried once before to set up web based reports with the crystal enterprise and couldnt get it to work for anyone other than the administrator account.

Should I just stick with installing version 8.0? we are only talking about maybe 15-20 users in an office that are trying to share reports.

Please point me in the right direction for setting it up on the web server since I cannot seem to get a good client app. The web server is win2k with IIS 5.

Thank you!

Hannah Amentler
Jaguar Internet Solutions

http://www.jaguarinternet.com

 

[chelseatech]

Contact me direct at bruce@chelseatech.co.nz about my cView product line.

I'm about to add a &quot;Create Instance&quot; option to cView and I can also add an &quot;export&quot; command to cView if that's all you want? I'm always happy to find new features to keep ahead of the competition.

Or we also have cViewMANAGER which can automate the scheduling of reports, and cViewBATCH which can run a scheduled report from the command line.

Thanks for your review of the products above.

Editor and Publisher of Crystal Clear

http://www.chelseatech.co.nz/pubs.htm

 

[outthere]

You may also want to check out a product I came across in my searching that was not mentioned in your testing.

Crystal Ease is available at SurfingGeckoSoftware.com

We have a user base of around 40 or so and a limited budget and this fit with what we needed very nicely with an easy license model.