Web Reporting w/ CR 8.5 without extra licenses

[masonf]

I am trying to display a simple form created in Crystal Reports 8.5 (Developer Edition) and display it in a web page with data populated from a single database record. I am using the CRViewer.ocx to display the report.

I have found that occasionally, I get the message saying that the 5 concurrent user licenses are used up and we need to purchase more.

Of course Crystal wants to sell you more licenses that cost more than a new Mercedes...is there a way to bypass this? We aren't using Crystal Enterprise for anything other than these simple reports (we aren't even publishing anything) and we also own CR 7.0 and CR 8.0.

CR 8.5 and Crystal Enterprise are currently installed on our web server. If we were to go to a prior version, what problems would there be?

Or are there other ways to display data like I want to? The only requirements is that the form with data needs to be generated on the fly and cannot be exported, only printed. The data behind it will be stored in a database so the users can come back at any time and re-print it.

 

[HowardHammerman]

Start shopping for the Mercedes!

If you un-install Enterprise and install Crystal 8.0 you avoid the metering that is bothering you but you still have a licensing problem. The license for 8.0 is the same as for 8.5, it is just that 8.5 (enterprise) has the metering built in.

You could go all the way back to Crystal Version 7.0 That means you will have to create your reports in 7.0 or use a later version and the 'save as' 7.0. We have tried this with mixed results. Some of the formating (lines, boxes in particular) just don't translate. That is, reports created in 8.0 or 8.5 that are saved as 7.0 are just not the same (in some cases) as 'real' 7.0 reports.

We have had good results abandoning Crystal all together and writing the reports completly in Active Server Page (ASP) script. Working with an MS-SQL database of 250,000 records we have had faster response time with ASP. Of course, the result is not as flexible as with Crystal.
I have been told that ASP will not "scale" as well as Crystal does. That is if I had many users. But I only have a dozen or so at a time, so it is not a problem.

Howard Hammerman,

Crystal Reports training, consulting, books, training material, software, and support. Scheduled training in 8 cities.
howard@hammerman.com

http://www.hammerman.com

800-783-2269