"Increasingly, businesses are discovering the advantages of using third-party, graphically-driven reporting packages.
Crystal Decisions' Crystal Reports is an excellent example of this type of software.
Using Baan drivers, Crystal is able to access the database (all controlled via Baan's own security) directly to retrieve
the data and to present the results in the desired format, along with company logos, photographs etc. if
required.
Crystal can also access multiple databases simultaneously to retrieve data from various sources."
Crystal Reports offers an extension to an organisation's reporting capabilities, alongside
Baan's own report writer. Where interactive 'drill-down' type reports are desired, where multiple databases need to be accessed or where more extensive use of graphics is necessary, then Crystal provides an excellent solution.
Brookdale will be happy to discuss your requirements and offer help and advice, or design and write your reports for you.
Some features of Crystal are shown below:
Data Selection
Data Output
1) Crystal can report on data from many different sources. Once your Baan drivers have been installed, the selection appears
as a standard choice when commencing the design of a report.
2) Choosing Baan as the data source will offer the user a logon screen that will select the relevant server, user and
Baan company.
3) Next, the tables that hold the data required for reporting need to be selected - only the tables that the Baan user
has authorisation to access will be available - this is controlled via Baan's security.
4) Having selected the relevant tables, the fields that are to appear on the report are then selected.
Where multiple tables are selected, table linking is automatically performed. This can be modified manually if necessary. Once all Baan data is selected, data can be retrieved from other sources if required. Once selection is
complete, grouping, sorting, totalling and the output format of the report are then determined!
Crystal has great flexibility in the way it can output data. It is also fully interactive, allowing 'drilling-down' to
retrieve more detailed information by group. Shown below is just a selection of examples of alternative ways of presenting
the same data.
Crystal Reports