Crystal vs Reportbuilder

Yahoo Archive
1
I definitely use Crystal extensively and primarily. It's much quicker to design a report and has HUGE feature pluses (such as subreports) that allow you to do great things.

I have only run into the performance issue that I mentioned when accessing the aforementioned tables. In those cases, Report Builder was MUCH faster in bringing in the required records. (I always attempt to link on the indexes too).

Troy Funte
Liberty Electronics
----- Original Message -----
From: Eddy, Warren
To: 'vantage@yahoogroups.com'
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2001 5:34 PM
Subject: RE: [Vantage] Crystal vs Reportbuilder


Using Crystal vs. Reportbuilder - We use Crystal more extensively than
Report Builder. I have more experience with C.R. and find it a more
powerful tool. Though you have to install the ODBC driver on each
workstation we deploy complied C.R.'s, which can ask the user for input
rather than providing all filters available to the user (to mess up). I did
notice one response indicated R. B. to be faster than Crystal, I don't
necessarily believe that, most reporting tools run better when using the
indexes. I was trying to link some file once that did not have linkable
indexes, it was pointed out to me, we added an additional file (unrelated)
but it had the necessary indexes and the report just popped up. Many things
can go into making a decision regarding which tool to use but in the end the
tool you are most comfortable with and knowledge about is your best bet.

Warren R. Eddy
Information Services Manager
National Tube Form, LLC
Phone: (219) 478-2363 ext 217
Fax: (219) 478-1043
Warren.Eddy@...

-----Original Message-----
From: Thad Jacobs [mailto:tjacobs@...]
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2001 12:36 PM
To: 'vantage@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: [Vantage] Crystal vs Reportbuilder

For all you Report Writers out there:

We are running Vantage 3, Crystal 7, and Progress 8.3A. We do not have an
ODBC connection so our Crystal reports are limited to the Vantage trigger
points accessible in report style maintainance.

I've done little work with ReportBuilder, but my first impression is that I
like Crystal better.

>From what I've gathered, ReportBuilder has full access to the Progress
Database, and requires the Progress Client to be installed. Epicor has
informed me how to lock down report builder so users can print but not
modify reports, though I haven't heard back from them on how to lock down
the rest of the Progress Client to eliminate possible tampering with the DB,
or unauthorized read access.

I can also gather that Crystal Reports requires an ODBC connection to read
reports, with which comes certain security risks if the ODBC client is
installed on every machine. I am aware of the option of setting up a web
server to post reports.

However, our company has less than 20 vantage users, and I'm not certain if
the web server approach is cost-effective for us.

My questions are:

What is the best way to lock down the Progress Client for end-user access?

Can the ODBC client be locked down for end-user use?

Is there any advantage of using ReportBuilder over Crystal w/ ODBC?

We are planning to upgrade to V5 soon, but are currently on 3, so info on
both versions would be helpful.




To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/. Note: You must have already
linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Yahoo! Groups Sponsor

Click for Details


To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/. Note: You must have already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
2
For all you Report Writers out there:

We are running Vantage 3, Crystal 7, and Progress 8.3A. We do not have an
ODBC connection so our Crystal reports are limited to the Vantage trigger
points accessible in report style maintainance.

I've done little work with ReportBuilder, but my first impression is that I
like Crystal better.

From what I've gathered, ReportBuilder has full access to the Progress
Database, and requires the Progress Client to be installed. Epicor has
informed me how to lock down report builder so users can print but not
modify reports, though I haven't heard back from them on how to lock down
the rest of the Progress Client to eliminate possible tampering with the DB,
or unauthorized read access.

I can also gather that Crystal Reports requires an ODBC connection to read
reports, with which comes certain security risks if the ODBC client is
installed on every machine. I am aware of the option of setting up a web
server to post reports.

However, our company has less than 20 vantage users, and I'm not certain if
the web server approach is cost-effective for us.

My questions are:

What is the best way to lock down the Progress Client for end-user access?

Can the ODBC client be locked down for end-user use?

Is there any advantage of using ReportBuilder over Crystal w/ ODBC?

We are planning to upgrade to V5 soon, but are currently on 3, so info on
both versions would be helpful.
3
"Is there any advantage of using ReportBuilder over Crystal w/ ODBC?"

Yes, RB is MUCH faster than Crystal (because of the ODBC middleman) on reports reading many records (ie. PartTran reports or Labor Detail reports with thousands of records).

Troy Funte
Liberty Electronics





Yahoo! Groups Sponsor




To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/. Note: You must have already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
4
Delete report builder from the client and add your reports to the vantage
menu structure. The only thing users can modify then is the filter, you can
print that at the beginning or end of the report. Some reports you may want
them to modify the filter in order to save you from creating similar
versions, either way you need the filter to help you track down there
questions on why something did/didn't appear on a report.

Patrick

-----Original Message-----
From: Thad Jacobs [mailto:tjacobs@...]
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2001 12:36 PM
To: 'vantage@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: [Vantage] Crystal vs Reportbuilder


For all you Report Writers out there:

We are running Vantage 3, Crystal 7, and Progress 8.3A. We do not have an
ODBC connection so our Crystal reports are limited to the Vantage trigger
points accessible in report style maintainance.

I've done little work with ReportBuilder, but my first impression is that I
like Crystal better.

From what I've gathered, ReportBuilder has full access to the Progress
Database, and requires the Progress Client to be installed. Epicor has
informed me how to lock down report builder so users can print but not
modify reports, though I haven't heard back from them on how to lock down
the rest of the Progress Client to eliminate possible tampering with the DB,
or unauthorized read access.

I can also gather that Crystal Reports requires an ODBC connection to read
reports, with which comes certain security risks if the ODBC client is
installed on every machine. I am aware of the option of setting up a web
server to post reports.

However, our company has less than 20 vantage users, and I'm not certain if
the web server approach is cost-effective for us.

My questions are:

What is the best way to lock down the Progress Client for end-user access?

Can the ODBC client be locked down for end-user use?

Is there any advantage of using ReportBuilder over Crystal w/ ODBC?

We are planning to upgrade to V5 soon, but are currently on 3, so info on
both versions would be helpful.




To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/. Note: You must have already
linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
5
Using Crystal vs. Reportbuilder - We use Crystal more extensively than
Report Builder. I have more experience with C.R. and find it a more
powerful tool. Though you have to install the ODBC driver on each
workstation we deploy complied C.R.'s, which can ask the user for input
rather than providing all filters available to the user (to mess up). I did
notice one response indicated R. B. to be faster than Crystal, I don't
necessarily believe that, most reporting tools run better when using the
indexes. I was trying to link some file once that did not have linkable
indexes, it was pointed out to me, we added an additional file (unrelated)
but it had the necessary indexes and the report just popped up. Many things
can go into making a decision regarding which tool to use but in the end the
tool you are most comfortable with and knowledge about is your best bet.

Warren R. Eddy
Information Services Manager
National Tube Form, LLC
Phone: (219) 478-2363 ext 217
Fax: (219) 478-1043
Warren.Eddy@...

-----Original Message-----
From: Thad Jacobs [mailto:tjacobs@...]
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2001 12:36 PM
To: 'vantage@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: [Vantage] Crystal vs Reportbuilder

For all you Report Writers out there:

We are running Vantage 3, Crystal 7, and Progress 8.3A. We do not have an
ODBC connection so our Crystal reports are limited to the Vantage trigger
points accessible in report style maintainance.

I've done little work with ReportBuilder, but my first impression is that I
like Crystal better.

From what I've gathered, ReportBuilder has full access to the Progress
Database, and requires the Progress Client to be installed. Epicor has
informed me how to lock down report builder so users can print but not
modify reports, though I haven't heard back from them on how to lock down
the rest of the Progress Client to eliminate possible tampering with the DB,
or unauthorized read access.

I can also gather that Crystal Reports requires an ODBC connection to read
reports, with which comes certain security risks if the ODBC client is
installed on every machine. I am aware of the option of setting up a web
server to post reports.

However, our company has less than 20 vantage users, and I'm not certain if
the web server approach is cost-effective for us.

My questions are:

What is the best way to lock down the Progress Client for end-user access?

Can the ODBC client be locked down for end-user use?

Is there any advantage of using ReportBuilder over Crystal w/ ODBC?

We are planning to upgrade to V5 soon, but are currently on 3, so info on
both versions would be helpful.




To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/. Note: You must have already
linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
6
I definitely use Crystal extensively and primarily. It's much quicker to design a report and has HUGE feature pluses (such as subreports) that allow you to do great things.

I have only run into the performance issue that I mentioned when accessing the aforementioned tables. In those cases, Report Builder was MUCH faster in bringing in the required records. (I always attempt to link on the indexes too).

Troy Funte
Liberty Electronics



----- Original Message -----
From: Eddy, Warren
To: 'vantage@yahoogroups.com'
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2001 5:34 PM
Subject: RE: [Vantage] Crystal vs Reportbuilder


Using Crystal vs. Reportbuilder - We use Crystal more extensively than
Report Builder. I have more experience with C.R. and find it a more
powerful tool. Though you have to install the ODBC driver on each
workstation we deploy complied C.R.'s, which can ask the user for input
rather than providing all filters available to the user (to mess up). I did
notice one response indicated R. B. to be faster than Crystal, I don't
necessarily believe that, most reporting tools run better when using the
indexes. I was trying to link some file once that did not have linkable
indexes, it was pointed out to me, we added an additional file (unrelated)
but it had the necessary indexes and the report just popped up. Many things
can go into making a decision regarding which tool to use but in the end the
tool you are most comfortable with and knowledge about is your best bet.

Warren R. Eddy
Information Services Manager
National Tube Form, LLC
Phone: (219) 478-2363 ext 217
Fax: (219) 478-1043
Warren.Eddy@...

-----Original Message-----
From: Thad Jacobs [mailto:tjacobs@...]
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2001 12:36 PM
To: 'vantage@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: [Vantage] Crystal vs Reportbuilder

For all you Report Writers out there:

We are running Vantage 3, Crystal 7, and Progress 8.3A. We do not have an
ODBC connection so our Crystal reports are limited to the Vantage trigger
points accessible in report style maintainance.

I've done little work with ReportBuilder, but my first impression is that I
like Crystal better.

>From what I've gathered, ReportBuilder has full access to the Progress
Database, and requires the Progress Client to be installed. Epicor has
informed me how to lock down report builder so users can print but not
modify reports, though I haven't heard back from them on how to lock down
the rest of the Progress Client to eliminate possible tampering with the DB,
or unauthorized read access.

I can also gather that Crystal Reports requires an ODBC connection to read
reports, with which comes certain security risks if the ODBC client is
installed on every machine. I am aware of the option of setting up a web
server to post reports.

However, our company has less than 20 vantage users, and I'm not certain if
the web server approach is cost-effective for us.

My questions are:

What is the best way to lock down the Progress Client for end-user access?

Can the ODBC client be locked down for end-user use?

Is there any advantage of using ReportBuilder over Crystal w/ ODBC?

We are planning to upgrade to V5 soon, but are currently on 3, so info on
both versions would be helpful.




To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and
Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/. Note: You must have already
linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/

Yahoo! Groups Sponsor

Click for Details


To access the Files Section of our Yahoo!Group for Report Builder and Crystal Reports and other 'goodies', please go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vantage/files/. Note: You must have already linked your email address to a yahoo id to enable access.

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]