================================================================= UPDATES AND NEW FEATURES IN 3.02: ================================================================= This is a brief list and may not be complete and is written in chronological order. Newest build is always detailed at the bottom of the list (newest build is GA build 1215 02/20/06): 2.00 as of GA build 865 02/11/2004 ... -------------------------------------- .rpt Inspector(TM) Professional Suite (for CR5.x-CR8.5) GA (general availability) release build differs from previous versions in many ways. The entire product went through a "foundation" overhaul and many parts of the product have been redesigned and optimized further. This now gives us a solid foundation to build on. .rpt Inspector(TM) Professional Suite is now available in two editions that can run on the same computer at the same time. One edition supports Crystal Reports(R) .rpt file formats 5.x through 8.5 and the other edition supports Crystal Reports(R) .rpt file format 9.x (CR9.x & CR10.x use CR9.x file format). o Redesigned internal structures and logic - resulting in performance increases in many areas of 50% to 200% o Redesigned main UI - window panes are now dockable and undockable, and with the exception of the Viewer pane, all can be closed. Those that can be docked, can also be grouped together, resulting in a tab for each grouped window. All window panes that support docking can also float. o Support for Sub-Reports o Support for CR9.x/CR10.x (only in .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x) edition) o Window Layout Manager - allows Customization to the UI layout can to now be saved (including size, position, and which windows are docked, etc.). In fact you can save a virtually unlimited number of UI layouts to switch to. You can always revert to the default layout. o Toolbars are now detachable and can either float or be docked. o Redesigned Formula Editor - now floatable and dockable. o Formula Editor also now has a new toolbar that supports "Save", "Save & Close", "Spell Check" (YES! You can spell check your formulas and even add words to the dictionary), "Indent", "Outdent", and drop-down to change from "Crystal Syntax" to "VB Syntax" and vice versa. o Formulas now also have a Preview window which is also floatable and dockable. In fact, while only one Formula Editor can be opened at a time, you can have lots of Formula Preview windows open. This makes it easy to compare different formulas of one report or many. o Redesigned Text Editor - now dockable and floatable, new toolbar, new spell checker, supports "Text Objects" that you can drag and drop from a list that is opened on the left side that displays the available objects. o Redesigned Property List - new color picker, date & date/time picker, spinner, font style preview picker. Support for Sub-Reports (when sub-report is selected, also displays a collapsed parent report) o Fonts in the Properties pane when set to display in Combobox now display not just the font name, but also a 3 character preview of what that font will look like. The 3 characters are configurable by you. o Many numeric properties in the Properties pane now have a spinner. o Redesigned color selector in Properties pane. Now is displayed as a drop-down like control that does not take a lot of room but still displays the same basic colors, with an option to see more colors that opens a full color dialog. o Redesigned Preview pane - support for Sub-Reports. Support opening an unlimited number of viewers (right click on report to open report in a new viewer window). Drag a report (from report tab) to another open viewer window's tab strip and you can now group different reports in different viewer windows, with each window being able to be minimized, maximized, and closed. o Added support for OLE-DB and Native SQL Server, Native Oracle, Native Access driver (DB2, Sybase, Informix expected soon) based reports to be displayed in viewer and support for same sources in Data source wizard o Redesigned Parameter Editor (default values editor) - Now floatable and dockable. o Parameter Editor (default values editor) also now has a new toolbar that supports "Add" default value, "Delete" default value(s), "Select All" default value(s), "Deselect All" default value(s), "Move Up" default value(s), "Move Down" default value(s), "Spell Check" default value(s) description, "Append / Overwrite" toggle, as well as a display on the kind of value supported by this parameter (i.e. Text, Numeric, etc.). Addition options are available via a right-mouse click pop-up menu (just like other areas of the product) o Added support to edit multiple parameters and add multiple parameters across one report or many (as long as the value type is the same - i.e. string) o Added support for copying Parameter default values from one to another (make one a master and copy to ...) o The Filter on the Objects pane can now be hidden to conserve screen space. o The Filter on the Objects pane now has a sensitivity threshold slider. With 3 or more reports selected, and enable the filter to display "In Common", this will only show if all 3 or more reports have something in common. With this new sensitivity threshold slider, you can now set it be at least n in common, where n could be perhaps at least 1 in common. This feature certainly becomes more useful when working with a lot more reports than 3 at a time. o New Datasource / Database wizard with support for DataSource, Set Location, Convert DB, Verify - now supports ODBC / OLE-DB / Native DB2 / Native Informix / Native Oracle / Native SQL Server / Native Sybase. o Set Datasource Wizard now changed to a Data source / Database Conversion and Migration Wizard. o Data source / Database Conversion and Migration Wizard is now radically different than what the Set Datasource Wizard was. Not only does it now support sub-reports, but it now allows you to work ODBC / OLE DB / Native DB2 / Native Informix / Native Oracle / Native SQL Server / Native Sybase. And unlike the Set Datasource Wizard which only allowed you to change the ODBC DSN, this new wizard allows you to also now do in batch: Change data source, Set Location, Verify. So now you can for example move from ODBC to Native SQL Server, or ODBC to OLE DB, or Native Oracle to OLE DB, etc. o Data source / Database Conversion and Migration Wizard also now allows you to see all of your ODBC DSNs. You can make connections to your OLE DB or Native Driver directly in this wizard. And with the appropriate authentication, and you can even drill-down in to the connection to show you tables and fields including details like driver, type, size, whether it supports NULLs, and descriptions. This all helps you determine if your source and destinations are really what you thought they are. o New Search & Replace dialog - search selected report(s) for a value and replace with a value with support for selecting which objects (text, parameters, formulas, db fields, etc.) to search in. Supports pattern matches (wildcards) such as search for "*.Cus*.Fax" (* for database, starting table with Cus and anything else for table, with field name of Fax) and replace with "*.*.Phone" (keep original database name, keep original table name, change the field name to Phone). Report Object, SQL Expression, and Database Object can all be searched. o Updated Wizards (Formula, Printer) to support Sub-Reports o Redesigned Tools | Options - need to support new toggles and control features added through different areas of the program. This also resulted in a reorganization of some of the tabs. Added two new tabs ("Viewer Data", "File 2"). "Undo / Redo" tab has been renamed "Misc". "Measurement conversion" added to "Misc" tab "Allow Dynamic Generation of SQLQueryString" added on "Display" tab "When viewer refreshed" options have moved to "Viewer Data" tab "Save in" format has moved to "File 2" tab o Report Play-List - allow user that works on the same reports over and over to put together several play-lists of reports. When play-list is opened, all reports in play-list are opened o Preview Viewer can be turned off o Option to toggle display of Preview Viewer on program startup. o Option to display a tab on the Preview pane for sub-reports. o A virtually unlimited number of Preview windows. With multiple reports open, if you right click on a tab on the Preview pane, you will now get an option to "Open in New Window". Selecting this option will open this report in another Preview window. This helps you compare two or more Preview windows. o If you have multiple Preview windows open, you can drag and drop the Preview window tabs from one Preview window to another. So some of the reports you are working with can be Preview window "grouped". o Option to automatically open reports in a different Viewer when they are opened. o Option when moving a report from one viewer window to another, if there is an associated sub-report, to automatically move them together. o when opening report(s) which require a log on to the database (in order for the viewer to render the data if it is not saved as part of the report, a connection to the database is needed), we can retrieve the database name and user name from the report, but not the password. In 1.00 this caused great heart ache to users because we didn't give them a way to enter that password (nor did we support anything but ODBC for that connection). In 2.00 with all the work we've done with databases (ODBC, OLE DB, and Native Driver for DB2, Informix, Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase), we've also given you the ability to specify the password when making that connection. If we detect that the connection is to an ODBC data source, then we offer you: 1.) Edit this data source (if we find the data source on the system); 2.) Select a different data source and try to make the connection with that; 3.) Create a new data source and try to make the connection with it; 4.) log on with credentials (if you know your data source is correct and all you want to specify is the db server, user name, and password). If it is an OLE DB or one of the Native Drivers we support, then only 4.) log on with credentials is available and you get another dialog where you can specify necessary info to make the connection (for example if it is an OLE DB connection, then you'll specify the provider, etc.) o splash screen no longer disappears while loading, instead it stays and now has "Initializing" and a progress bar next to that. Once progress bar gets to the end, it disappears and .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite main UI is available. Depending on the CPU, it would some times seem that it was frozen when during the time that the splash screen disappeared and the main UI appeared. This should now resolve that. o With all the optimization, we have increased the number of reports you can open at the same time. Usually double or triple of what was possible in the previous version. o Evolved the license and activation system to support multiple products and versions as well as the Move / Transfer of license (requires an internet connection). o Software Forces Product Management Wizard now supports Move / Transfer of license after activation. So after you have activated a product, and you plan to uninstall (due to reformat and install of another operating system, or you want to install it on your laptop or another desktop) then you must first go through the "Move License" procedure before you uninstall. This will then allow you to install and activate on another computer. Note that Move is only available via an Internet connection. o File Size in grids supports sorting as normal number. Previously would sort like a string in some grids. o Fixed issue with handling of "System Default Short Format" / "Windows Default Short Format". If in .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite you were to change the "DateWindowsDefaultType" property of a date object, it would show up in Crystal Reports as a "Custom" date. o Improved logic on the "Prompt for parameters" toggle. o "Drag and Group" groupings colors and font style can now be customized. o "Drag and Group" groupings can now automatically refresh when there is a change to the grouping (can degrade performance with large amounts of items). o Editors (Text, Formula, Parameter) colors and font style can now be customized. o Editors (Text, Formula, Parameter) tab stops can now be customized. o Editors (Text, Formula, Parameter) can support automatic spell checking. o Editors (Text, Formula, Parameter) can now display line numbers and show a line number in a tooltip when scrolling the scroller thumb. o Now supports a spell checker in Editors (Text, Formula, Parameter) to which you can add custom words o Now you don´t need to think in Twips anymore. You can choose to see all measurements in either "Twips", "Inches", "Centimeters", "Millimeters", or "Pixels". o Added support for dynamic generation of "SQLQueryString" o various bug fixes and much more! 2.01 as of GA build 905 06/09/2004 ... -------------------------------------- o [Save] fixed save limit in trial version from invoking immediately or earlier than it was supposed to. o [Viewer] improved Show Viewer On/Off behavior. o [DB Wizard] for reports opened from .rpt Inspector when in the wizard (as opposed to reports opened from the file system in the DB Wizard), changes to those reports were not being shown as changed when exiting from the DB Wizard. o [Parameters] in some cases even though prompt for parameters was enabled it would not prompt, and in some cases when it was disabled it would prompt. o [Viewer] in some cases tooltips/hints were not being displayed on the viewer tabs. o Resolved issue with not being able to load on a Win98SE system. o [Property Pane] added IsUsedInReport property (which is a read-only property) to Formulas, Parameters, Database tabs and their items so that in addition to visually seeing whether items are used via the green check mark on the icon, you can now group by this property to see a True/False value. o [Objects Pane - Parameters Tab] changed Copy Default Values feature on right click pop-up menu to only be enabled if the parameter has at least one default value, otherwise it is disabled. o [File Open, Report Lists] added support to open an entire folder of reports, including any sub-folders. o [Activation Wizard] fixed issue that prevented running under NT 4.0 3.00 as of GA build 1135 06/21/2005 ... --------------------------------------- o .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite is now available in 4 editions: o .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 8.5) - executable compiled around CR 8.5 API and therefore requires CR 8.5 with service pack 2 or higher to be installed. Reads CR 5 - CR 8.5 file formats and Writes CR 7.x/8.x file formats o .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 9) - executable compiled around CR 9 API and therefore requires CR 9 with service pack 2 or higher to be installed. Reads CR 5 - CR 9 file formats and Writes CR 9 file format. o .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 10) - executable compiled around CR 10 API and therefore requires CR 10 to be installed. Reads CR 5 - CR 10 file formats and Writes CR 10 file format. o .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR XI) - executable compiled around CR XI API and therefore requires CR XI to be installed. Reads CR 5 - CR XI file formats and Writes CR XI file format. o The code base is now shared with .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite. As a result you will see in the various menus and panes some options and/or features (i.e. tabs, nodes, etc.) displayed from the Enterprise Suite. However, please note that these features are ONLY available in the Enterprise Suite and selecting them in the Professional Suite will yield a dialog notifying you that the feature you selected is only available in the Enterprise Suite. Because of this shared code base, we are able to bring fixes and new features to both suites in most cases at the same time -- therefore reducing the development cycle and getting the product(s) in your hands sooner. o [General] Fixed keyboard accelerators not working in various parts of the program. o [Objects Pane - SQL Expressions Tab] This is a new tab that was added. While we always did display "SQL Expression" objects on the "Objects Tab" -- on the "Objects Tab" we only display those objects that are on the Report's design. Any other objects are not displayed. Therefore the "SQL Expressions" tab will display all (those that are on the report design as well as those that are not). o [Objects Pane - Running Totals Tab] This is a new tab that was added. While we always did display "Running Totals" objects on the "Objects Tab" -- on the "Objects Tab" we only display those objects that are on the Report's design. Any other objects are not displayed. Therefore the "Running Totals" tab will display all (those that are on the report design as well as those that are not). o [Report(s) Tree - Pane] Added node for "SQL Expressions" and the number of items. This works like other nodes, in that it is expandable and when expanded will reveal the SQL Expressions. Clicking on one of SQL Expressions will automatically take you the "SQL Expressions Tab" and highlight the same SQL Expression on that tab. o [Report(s) Tree - Pane] Added node for "Running Totals" and the number of items. This works like other nodes, in that it is expandable and when expanded will reveal the Running Totals. Clicking on one of Running Totals will automatically take you the "Running Totals Tab" and highlight the same Running Total on that tab. o [EDIT - Search and Replace] - Reduced height of dialog to better fit on lower resolutions. o [EDIT - Search and Replace] - Added "All" item to Objects list. Checking on / Checking off "All" will Check on / Check off all items in list. o [EDIT - Search and Replace] - Added to "Replace With" edit box Pattern Matching support. Previously only "Search For" supported Pattern Matching. o [EDIT - Search and Replace] - Added in "Search options" ability to better control where search is performed. Now you can select to search in either "All properties" or "Text only" for the objects included in the search. o [EDIT - Search and Replace] - Added in "Search options" ability to better control what is recorded in to the "History" list. Previously only "Replaces" were recorded. Now you can select to record "finds" and/or "replaces". This is especially useful for when you don't wish to make a change but rather wish to find where certain text or formula (or other) reside (in which report, object, etc.). o [EDIT - Search and Replace] - Added in "History" list support for right click pop up menu. This pop up menu now has 3 choices: "Copy", "Select All" and "Export". "Export" is a sub menu which has 2 options for your to export the contents of the "History" list: "As CSV" or "As XML" o [EDIT - Search and Replace] - Added a percentage counter and progress bar on "Object Information" in addition to changing the mouse cursor to an hour glass to display how many objects have been searched. o [EDIT - Search and Replace] - Implemented several optimizations to improve search performance. o [Wizards - Change data source / database] Improved "ALL" filter results on page 3. In some cases it was not displaying everything. o [Wizards - Change data source / database] Added on page 4 a row at the top of the list that allows you to globally (for all below this row) set the "Action(s)" and/or "Destination". This is optional and you can still set the "Action(s)" and/or "Destinations" per each report's table/view/stored procedure. o [Wizards - Change data source / database] Added on page 4 support on each report level the ability to set for all below this row (only for this report) the "Action(s)" and/or "Destination". This is optional and you can still set the "Action(s)" and/or "Destinations" per each report table/view/stored procedure. o [Wizards - Change data source / database] Added "processing" / "progress" dialog that is displayed once the wizard starts working on your requested Actions / Destinations. This shows the Report and Table/View that it's currently working on. 3.01 as of GA build 1155 11/01/2005 ... --------------------------------------- o [Objects Pane - ALL TABS] - Added new Export to Excel and Export to CSV feature. This is available on all grids by right click pop-up menu. The export works 1 to 1 on what you have in the grid, so if you've grouped columns be sure to expand them (or use expand all) to have the information exported. Another tip is to add additional columns from the property list to get more information exported for you to use. o [Wizards - Change data source / database] - Fixed mapping dialog not coming up in certain cases. o [Text Editors] - Fixed all text editors (Text, Formula, SQL Expressions, etc.) for cursor skipping two spaces when keyboard cursor/arrow keys are used. o [EDIT - Search and Replace] - Fixed an issue where some properties were not searched. This often happened on non-text objects (i.e. DatabaseFieldName). o [EDIT - Search and Replace] - Fixed an issue where searching most object properties for reports open from Enterprise (CE/BO) would yield little or no results. o [Objects Pane - Parameters Tab] - Fixed refresh issue with "Default Values" property. When updating the default values for a parameter, the number of items displayed would previously not change. Now the property will change in the property list and if pulled out as a column if the number of items change. 3.12 as of GA build 1215 02/20/2006 ... --------------------------------------- o [Objects Pane - ALL TABS] - Fixed issue with Export to Excel in certain cases resulting in "#VALUE!" / invalid values in cells. o [Wizards - Change data source / database] - Added support of DAO (Data Access Object) connectivity for Access and Excel to supported destinations. Listed in the wizard as "Access/Excel (DAO)" in the list of available destinations (on page 3 of the wizard). o [TOOLS|OPTIONS - Misc] - Added option to "Use Schema Nodes in Database Wizard". Defaults to enabled. Necessary when working with destination connections which have same named tables in multiple schemas -- in which case you must select the schema name, not just the connection in the wizard. o [Wizards - Change data source / database] - Added new child node to destination connection. If "Use Schema Nodes in Database Wizard" is enabled in "TOOLS|OPTIONS - Misc", and if the destination connection type supports schemas, then you'll see listed under the destination connection node (as a child node) the schema (on page 3 of the wizard). In which case you must now select the schema in the destination connection before the wizard will allow you to continue. However, if this option is disabled, it is enough to select the destination connection (as was the case in previous builds) before the wizard will allow you to continue. o [Wizards - Change data source / database] - Fixed issue with File DSN for ODBC connection destination, not being saved properly. o [File - OPEN] - Added option in "TOOLS|OPTIONS - File" an option to set the default Open dialog. The choices are "File System Dialog", "Folders Dialog". Defaults to "File System Dialog" o [TOOLS|OPTIONS - Viewer] - Fixed issue where even though "Display Viewer on Startup" was off, viewer was still displayed. o [Wizards - Change data source / database] - Fixed "Verify Database" appearing each time and requiring you to click on "OK" during processing. o [Objects Pane - ALL TABS] - Fixed issue with improperly sorting date columns. o [Objects Pane - ALL TABS] - Fixed checkbox selection on grouped rows. In certain cases, clicking the checkbox on some rows would not result in a selection. o [File - SAVE] - Fixed issue in trial mode which would complain that the "SAVE LIMIT EXCEEDED", even if you've never saved before, and result in a non-save.