Crystal Reports XI Official Guide (Business Objects Press)

• Cover Type: Paperback with 960 pages
• Published by: Sams
• Edition: 1st Edition November 11, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0672329174
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0672329173
• Book Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 2 inches
• Weighs: 3.3 pounds

The authorized guide to the latest edition of the #1 business intelligence software product - Crystal Reports. More than 16 million licenses of Crystal Reports have been shipped to date.  This book is a reference designed to provide hands-on guidance for the latest release of the product suite. The latest version of Crystal Reports and the Business Objects enterprise reporting suite delivers vast product enhancements and a tighter integration that will drive upgrades from licensees. Brand new features (e.g. Dynamic and Cascading Parameter Generation) will also appeal to new audiences. Over 1 million new Business Intelligence licensees will be migrating to the Crystal Enterprise Reporting platform, as this is the first release of the software with the existing Business Objects (BO) products being integrated into the Crystal infrastructure. As Business Objects insiders, the authors bring unique and valuable real-world perspectives on implementations and uses of the Crystal Reports product. The book also includes content, tutorials and samples for reporting within the Microsoft Visual Studio.NET and J2EE development environments and also on top of the SAP Business Information Warehouse (BW) and the Peoplesoft platform. Advanced content on report distribution and integration into the secured managed reporting solution known as Business Objects Enterprise XI, is also now included in this definitive user guide with coverage on the new Web Services SDK.

About The Author
About the Lead Author

Neil FitzGerald has recently founded Longtop International (www.longtopinternational.com), a global sourcing firm specializing in Business Intelligence (BI) and Enterprise Reporting solutions for firms around the globe. With major onshore offices in Canada and the U.S., and almost 700 offshore engineers in China, Longtop can provide world-class reporting and BI solutions and content creation for unbeatable value to clients around the world. Before founding Longtop, Neil combined his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada and his MBA from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario with his more than 8 years of experience at Business Objects in a variety of senior roles to help provide information solutions to Fortune 500 companies across North America. He has cumulatively spent more than 11 years in the Information Delivery domain, and is available for onsite or remote consulting. Neil can be contacted at nfitzgerald@longtop.com.

About the Contributing Authors

James Edkins is a senior presales consultant for Business Objects. He holds a bachelor’s degree in information technology and a post graduate diploma in marketing management. He has been in the information technology sector for more than 11 years and has experience working with Fortune 500 companies in an ERP, product development, and business intelligence capacity.

Annette Jonker has worked as a consultant helping customers implement Business Objects since 1995. During this time, she has had the privilege of working for Business Objects for six years, starting as an Associate Consultant and working her way up to Regional Resource Manager. Annette left Business Objects in 2003 and partnered with Monica Allen to start a consulting firm, Innovative Business Solutions, LLC (www.ibsllcusa.com) where she continues to help customers deploy Business Objects throughout their organizations. When not working, sleeping or eating, Annette spends her time training for triathlons.

Michael Voloshko is a senior pre-sales consultant for the financial services team at Business Objects. Michael has been with Business Objects for six years and is based in New York City.

Reader Reviews
Remember back in the "good old days" of shrinkwrapped software when the box was mostly full with a big printed reference manual? Well, this is the book that should have come inside the now-nearly-empty box. The book is a standard reference-type manual designed to provide an overview of every feature within the product including the newest features such as Dynamic and Cascading Parameter Generation. Besides the standard overview type stuff, it includes some basic tutorials on often-confusing topics such as report integration (in .NET and J2EE environments); you won't become an expert using these tutorials, however. The book also includes a lot of information on how Crystal Reports integrates with Business Objects' larger software platforms (which, I suspect, will be a useless topic for 99% of users). Beginning users will find the manual easy to use and full of interesting information. Intermediate users will find solid suggestions here and there. Advanced users will probably give it a flip-through and stuff it on the shelf next to all the other references where it will be used for occasional consultation. All in all a solid offering in a fairly crowded field, but one that is authoratative and complete. But I just can't shake the feeling that the manual should have come in the box. Heck, it even looks and feels just like the typical software documentation of days gone by... Comment | | (Report this)