Workshop
Here's a brief quiz to help you review this hour's terminology, as well as activities for you to try on your own.
Quiz
What is virtual memory?
What is the recommended amount of virtual memory on your local system to install and run Crystal Reports?
Where can you locate your local system's Temp variable configuration settings?
Quiz Answers
Virtual memory is the amount of space, in kilobytes, committed to memory for any process running on the workstation. Crystal Reports requires the use of such operating system resources, and it's important that enough virtual memory is available to support the processing of reports that are run locally on the report designer's workstation.
The recommended size for the system's virtual memory is equal to the amount of physical RAM on the machine plus 11MB.
To confirm that the Temp variable and directory is set up appropriately on your Windows system, you can locate the Temp variable settings within the System Properties dialog. Navigate to Start, Settings, Control Panel, System, and select the Environment Variables icon on the Advanced tab.
Activities
To further introduce report sections, open the Crystal Reports application and select Open from the File menu. Within the Open dialog, navigate to the following directory path and open the Inventory report that is installed with the Crystal Reports Samples:
C:\Program Files\Crystal Decisions\Crystal Reports 9\Samples\En\Reports\General Business
After you have opened the Inventory report, click the Design tab. Notice all the various report sections required to create this report. Each section contains specific objects, such as a corporate logo, product picture and numerous database fields (product description, product ID, and units in stock) necessary to achieve the desired report structure and format. If desired, right-click on any of the section listings on the left side of the design view. Various options are available from the resulting pop-up menuone of which is the Selection Expert item as discussed earlier in this hour. Select this option to open the Selection Expert dialog. At this point, you can explore the section properties.
After you have explored this report and feel that you have a basic understanding of report sections, close the report without saving any changes you might have made.