Using Crystal Reports with SAP

... Acknowledgments ... 11

... Introduction ... 13

1 ... SAP BI for the Rest of Us ... 21
... 1.1 ... The Aging Information Age ... 21
... 1.2 ... The Good and Bad of the Relational Database ... 22
... 1.3 ... Set Your Data Free -- the Data Warehouse ... 28
... 1.4 ... Finding Relief for Information Constipation ... 30
... 1.5 ... Just-in-Time Report Design ... 33
... 1.6 ... So Why Not ... SAP BI for the Rest of Us ... 39
... 1.7 ... I Can Do It Myself ... 42
... 1.8 ... Summary ... 43

2 ... Understanding the New SAP BI Toolset ... 45
... 2.1 ... The Job of the Knowledge Worker ... 45
... 2.2 ... The Information Processing Continuum ... 47
... 2.3 ... Information and the Conservation of Complexity ... 49
... 2.4 ... Introducing the New SAP BI Tools ... 52
... 2.5 ... Comparing the New SAP BI Tools ... 58
... 2.6 ... Making the Transition ... 70
... 2.7 ... Summary ... 80

3 ... SAP BW as a Crystal Reports Data Source ... 83
... 3.1 ... SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse 101 ... 83
... 3.2 ... A Short Course on SAP NetWeaver BW Terminology ... 84
... 3.3 ... Handle with Care: The Exploding Data Warehouse ... 87
... 3.4 ... The BW Query: Bedrock of SAP BEx ... 92
... 3.5 ... Summary ... 101

4 ... Creating the Crystal Reports Template ... 103
... 4.1 ... Creating a Template for Your Master Query ... 104
... 4.2 ... The Alias Formula ... 131
... 4.3 ... Summary ... 143

5 ... Getting Started with Crystal Reports and SAP NetWeaver BW ... 145
... 5.1 ... Getting Set Up ... 145
... 5.2 ... A Simplified Approach to Reporting ... 146
... 5.3 ... Starting with the Big Picture ... 149
... 5.4 ... Your First SAP BW Crystal Report ... 151
... 5.5 ... Making It All Look Pretty -- Formatting 101 ... 169
... 5.6 ... Sharing with Others ... 193
... 5.7 ... Summary ... 195

6 ... Summing It All Up ... 197
... 6.1 ... Creating Groups ... 197
... 6.2 ... Conditional Summaries Using Running Totals ... 252
... 6.3 ... Conditional Summaries Using a Formula ... 261
... 6.4 ... Summary ... 270

7 ... Picking and Choosing ... 273
... 7.1 ... Filtering Data with a BW Variable ... 273
... 7.2 ... Filtering Data with a Crystal Reports Parameter ... 289
... 7.3 ... Summary ... 305

8 ... Flexible Formatting ... 307
... 8.1 ... Using the Highlighting Expert ... 308
... 8.2 ... Applying Conditional Formatting Using a Formula ... 313
... 8.3 ... Stretching Your Reports with Conditional Suppression ... 324
... 8.4 ... Summary ... 355

9 ... Handling Hierarchies ... 357
... 9.1 ... Building a Hierarchy Using Hierarchical Grouping ... 358
... 9.2 ... Custom Formatting for Hierarchies ... 365
... 9.3 ... Taking Hierarchies to the Next Level ... 376
... 9.4 ... Summary ... 379

10 ... Extending Reports Using Subreports ... 381
... 10.1 ... The Query to Query Subreport ... 383
... 10.2 ... The Query to SAP ERP Central Component (SAP R/3) Subreport ... 403
... 10.3 ... Summary ... 414

11 ... Getting Published ... 415
... 11.1 ... How Not to Get Noticed ... 415
... 11.2 ... Publishing Reports to SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise ... 417
... 11.3 ... Fast-Track Publishing ... 420
... 11.4 ... Summary ... 425

12 ... Moving On ... 427
... 12.1 ... A Personal Report Development Game Plan ... 428
... 12.2 ... Putting it All Together -- The ReportMart ... 429

... The Author ... 433

... Index ... 435