Crossing Over from Canned to Custom to Crystal Reports in The

Raiser’s Edge PRESENTED BY

JOSHUA BEKERMAN, bCRE & SEAN PUGLISI #BBCON #CONQUERINGCRYSTAL

Crystal Reports don’t have to be scary, they just require time and

patience. #bbcon @tentwentytoo

@superpuglisi

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Canned Reports

DO YOU EVER USE THEM? DO THEY WORK FOR YOU?

WHAT IF THEY DON’T?

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WE’VE OFTEN LOOKED AROUND IN REPORTS, AND FOUND MANY… THAT DON’T QUITE FIT.

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EITHER THE INPUT IS TOO SIMPLE, OR THE OUTPUT IS

COMPLICATED AND OVERABUNDANT.

(THIS IS ACTUALLY THE ONE THAT’S TOO SIMPLE)

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HAVING SUCH COMPLEX CRITERIA FOR EVEN THE SIMPLE REPORTS WILL CAUSE SOME TO PANIC AND SHUT OFF RIGHT AWAY.

THERE IS NO NEED TO FEAR.

SOME OF THE MOST COMPLEX REPORTS CAN BE PULLED BASED ON YOUR QUERY, AND ASSEMBLED QUICKLY ACCORDING TO YOUR NEEDS. FOR EXAMPLE: REPORTS>PIVOT REPORTS>NEW.

JUST PLUG IN THE QUERY YOU MADE AND GENERATE

WITH THE OUTPUTS YOU WANT

FIELD LIST THE REPORT APPEARS DRAG & DROP

• BONUS! BUILDING A PIVOT REPORT WILL TEACH YOU THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF CRYSTAL REPORTS.

• PLAYING WITH ONE WILL ACTUALLY PREPARE YOU FOR THE COMPLEXITIES OF CRYSTAL REPORTS.

WHERE DO CRYSTAL REPORTS START?

1. BUILD A QUERY YOU EXPECT TO REMAIN STATIC. 2. TIE IT TO AN EXPORT AND DEFINE YOUR OUTPUTS.

3. EXPORT YOUR DATA IN MDB FORMAT.

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MY FAVORITE REPORT WRITING TOOL

1. Open Crystal Reports

Review: 1. Query and collect the outputs you want to use.

2. Practice with pivot reports. 3. Use that query for your crystal report.

4. Don’t be afraid to play with crystal reports. 5. There is a whole department dedicated to help with this at

crystalsupport@blackbaud.com

Crystal Reports can be infinitely simple or

infinitely complex, the variations are up to you.

IF YOU’VE GOTTEN THIS FAR

YOU MOST LIKELY CAN CONTINUE TO LEARN ON YOUR OWN.

IF YOU FIND WHAT YOU NEED IS MORE COMPLEX,

DON’T BE AFRAID TO HIRE A CONSULTANT. WE CAN’T ALL BE AUTODIDACTS.

Who, What, Where, Why?

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YOU CAN DO IT, AND ONCE YOU DO…

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Don’t forget to complete a session survey! Each completed survey enters you into a drawing to win a complimentary registration to bbcon 2015 in Austin, Texas*.

*Blackbaud reserves the right to change or withdraw this promotion at any time, without advance notice. Promotion has no cash value and may not be exchanged, applied to, or combined with any other offer.

Was this session the reboot you needed?