Frequently Asked Questions

Synopsis

I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key.
How do I de-activate my license or MOVE/TRANSFER the license once it's been activated?

Solution

As noted on your order receipt, in the section called "PRODUCT ACTIVATION" and as detailed in the I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license FAQ, Once a Purchase Key has been activated, the Purchase Key is locked to the system on which it is activated on.

The process below is referred to as the MOVE/TRANSFER license process, and will DE-ACTIVATE your Purchase Key (license) on your existing system.

Once this process is completed and the license has been de-activated, you must install the trial of the product on the destination workstation and go through the SAME process of activating your Purchase Key (license) as you previously did on the original workstation. The instructions are the same ones you followed from your order receipt, and are also outlined in the I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license FAQ.

The process of MOVE/TRANSFER license from the existing system is ONLY available via an Internet Connection and requires these steps on the system where the license is currently activated:

DE-ACTIVATION
1 open the SF Product Manager
2 select the product
3 select the option to MOVE/TRANSFER your license
4 specify the PURCHASE KEY
5 specify the contact information
6 specify the account logon
7 specify the notification options
8 proceed with the remainder of the wizard

Problems with De-Activation / MOVE/TRANSFER license due to Proxy/Firewall
Review: www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Activation-or-Deactivation-Proxy-or-Firewall-...

Synopsis

I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. I've reviewed the I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license FAQ but I'm having an problem with the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard" communicating through our Proxy or Firewall. What can I do?

Solution

There are a lot of different vendors out there that make Proxy / Firewall products. Not all of them work the same. While we make every effort to ensure compatibility with the popular ones, we can't test them all.

The Internet Connection we make during the activation or de-activation is done via the standard HTTP (port 80) protocol and HTTPS / SSL (port 443) protocol. You use HTTP via port 80 every time you visit a web site. And when making purchases in on-line stores those are typically secured with HTTPS / SSL on port 443.

We do not use any proprietary non-standard ports. However, some Proxy / Firewall systems require for the application or browser to have the user login or re-login (typically after a certain idle period). Some monitor the actual communications and content that is being sent or received.

If you're tried to use the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard" and left the setting "Automatically detect" in the Proxy / Firewall area of the Internet Activation process then try un-checking this option and specifying the requested information and try making the connection. If however you've previously un-checked the "Automatically detect" setting, then try to check it and making the connection.

If both of above suggestions fail, we've also seen the following help:
1. On the "Connection Info" screen, before proceeding further, start your Internet Explorer (IE). And yes, it should be Internet Explorer not another browser.
2. Then when it loads up, go to a web site that is outside of your company and is not likely to be cached (i.e. www.SoftwareForces.com).
3. Proceed with the remainder of the wizard.

Step 2 above opens a browser session that the wizard will try to reuse.

If above suggestions fail
If above suggestions fail, then you should try doing an E-mail activation as described in I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license or contact your Administrator to assist, perhaps allowing your workstation to be temporarily moved outside of the Proxy / Firewall.

Note that DE-ACTIVATION / MOVE/TRANSFER license does require an internet connection to work properly in the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard".

Synopsis

I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license?

Solution

To convert your installation from trial mode to licensed mode you must first purchase a license from one of our authorized partners. You will then be e-mailed a 16 alpha-numeric Purchase Key which you will use to activate your license using the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard".

Refer to the instructions received in your e-mail that contained your Purchase Key and information below.

Starting the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard"
1. Click on Start (refers to the Microsoft Windows Start button)
2. Click on Programs (refers to the Microsoft Windows Programs listing)
3. Click on Software Forces
4. Click on SF Shared
5. Click on SF Product Manager
6. Select product to activate from the drop-down and click next.
7. Put bullet in - "Activate my copy of the Software (I've purchased and received my Purchase Key)" and click on next.
8. Put in the Purchase Key you received and click on next
9. Fill in the required information on this and the next screen
10. Uncheck any unwanted boxes

You can activate your license using either an internet connection (uses port 80 and port 443 for SSL) or via e-mail. Follow step 11 below from either the "Internet Activation" instructions or "E-mail Activation" instructions.

INTERNET ACTIVATION
11. Put bullet in - Continue registration using Internet and click on next
12. If you use a Proxy/Firewall and do not wish to have the information automatically detected, uncheck Automatically detect (see bottom if having issues with Proxy/Firewall for suggestions)
13. Review summary information and click next to make the connection
14. If there were no errors, the product's trial installation has been converted to licensed and your product has been activated.

Be sure to follow the de-activation procedures to MOVE/TRANSFER your license.

E-MAIL ACTIVATION (part 1)
11. Put bullet in - Continue registration using E-mail
12. Review summary information
13. If we detect your E-mail client, we will launch it and attach a file to it with an extension .DAT, otherwise you will be prompted for a path where this file should be created
14. If we were not able to detect and launch your E-mail, launch it manually now
15. Copy the Mail To address to your client's To field
16. Copy the Subject to your client's Subject field (make sure to have nothing else on the subject except the text you copied, otherwise the process will fail)
17. Attach the file specified in the Attachment path to your E-mail client
18. Send the E-mail
19. Wait for a response to your E-mail (processing may take as long as thirty (30) minutes)
20. Once you receive a response, proceed to part 2 below.

E-MAIL ACTIVATION
AFTER FILE IS SENT TO CUSTOMER (part 2)
If you do not receive a response to your E-mail and you have waited at least an hour, please contact technical support.

Once you complete part 1 of the E-mail Activation process, a response will be sent back to you. If the E-mail you sent to us had a valid file attached to it, and we were able to process it successfully, the response will contain an attachment that allows you to complete the E-mail Activation.

The attachment will have a .SFL extension. Please save this attachment to the SFShared directory (the same location as the SF Product Manager).

Then you...
1. Click on Start (refers to the Microsoft Windows Start button)
2. Click on Programs (refers to the Microsoft Windows Programs listing)
3. Click on Software Forces
4. Click on SF Shared
5. Click on SF Product Manager  
6. Select product to activate from the drop-down and click next.
7. Put bullet in - "Install the Software Product License I received through E-mail activation" and click on next
8. Set location where you placed the license file (usually under SFShared directory)
9. Click next
10. If there were no errors, the product's trial installation has been converted to licensed and your product has been activated.

Be sure to follow the de-activation procedures to MOVE/TRANSFER your license.

Problems with Internet Activation due to Proxy/Firewall
Review: www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Activation-or-Deactivation-Proxy-or-Firewall-...

Software Forces is the leading manufacturer of business intelligence / enterprise reporting tools and solutions for SAP Business Objects (formerly Crystal Decisions) Business Intelligence (BI) and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) products.

Software Forces products for SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI (formerly Crystal Enterprise and Seagate Info) and Crystal Reports are used by over 1,000 organizations in over 60 countries.

Our .rpt Inspector product has been called the "must-have" tool by anyone that has multiple Crystal Reports to manage.

Synopsis

There are numerous service packs and fix packs for each version of Crystal Reports. How can you tell which version(s) you have installed?

Solution

If you open your Crystal Reports designer and go to HELP|ABOUT, you'll see a version number listed. But how do you tell the service pack level installed?

We've compiled a table of Crystal Reports versions and their Service Pack / Fix Pack levels.

Also available:
Known BusinessObjects Enterprise versions and service pack levels
Known Crystal Enterprise versions and service pack levels (coming soon)

SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise

Original (RTM) 	14.0.2.364_v20110603

SAP Crystal Reports 2011

Original (RTM) 	14.0.2.364

Crystal Reports 2008

Original (RTM) 	12.0.0.549

Service Pack 0 	12.0.0.683

Fix Pack 1 	12.0.0.796

Fix Pack 2 	12.0.0.840

Service Pack 1 	12.0.0.892

Fix Pack 1.1 	12.1.1.957

Fix Pack 1.2 	12.1.2.996

Fix Pack 1.3 	12.1.3.1028

Fix Pack 1.4 	12.1.4.1068

Fix Pack 1.5 	12.1.5.1096

Fix Pack 1.6 	12.1.6.116

Fix Pack 1.7 	12.1.7.114

Fix Pack 1.8 	12.1.8.1176

Fix Pack 1.9 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Fix Pack 1.10 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Fix Pack 1.11 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Fix Pack 1.12 	12.1.12.1458

Service Pack 2	12.2.0.290

Fix Pack 2.1 	12.2.1.412

Fix Pack 2.2 	12.2.2.453

Fix Pack 2.3 	12.2.3.467

Fix Pack 2.4 	12.2.4.507

Fix Pack 2.5 	12.2.5.537

Fix Pack 2.6 	12.2.6.567

Fix Pack 2.7 	12.2.7.598

Fix Pack 2.8	12.2.8.638

Fix Pack 2.9	12.2.9.698

Fix Pack 2.10	12.2.10.810

Fix Pack 2.11	12.2.11.906

Fix Pack 2.12	12.2.12.979

Service Pack 3	12.3.0.601

Fix Pack 3.1	12.3.1.684

Fix Pack 3.2	12.3.2.753

Fix Pack 3.3	12.3.3.812

Fix Pack 3.4	12.3.4.895

Fix Pack 3.5 	12.3.5.925

Fix Pack 3.6 	12.3.6.1006

Fix Pack 3.7 	12.3.7.1198

Service Pack 4	12.4.0.996

Fix Pack 4.1 	12.4.1.1188

Service Pack 5	12.5.0.1190

Crystal Reports XI (Release 2)

Original (RTM)	11.5.0.313

SP 1 		11.5.3.417

SP 2 		11.5.8.826

SP 3 		11.5.9.1076

SP 4 		11.5.10.1263

SP 5 		11.5.11.1470

SP 6 		11.5.12.1838

If you have a license to Crystal Reports XI (Release 1) you can download Crystal Reports XI Release 2 with Service Pack 2 (a 1.03GB ZIP download) directly from SAP BusinessObjects for FREE: http://resources.businessobjects.com/support/additional_downloads/servic...

Crystal Reports XI (Release 1)

Original (RTM) 	11.0.0.895

SP 1 		11.0.0.1282

SP 2 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 3 		11.0.0.2269

SP 4 		11.0.0.2495

SP ? 		11.0.0.89327 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP ? 		11.0.0.89527 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Crystal Reports 10

Original (RTM) 	10.0.0.533

SP ? 		10.0.0.53327 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP ? 		10.0.0.5335 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 1 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 2 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 3 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 4 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 5 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 6 	 	10.0.5.1506

Crystal Reports 9

Original (RTM) 	

SP 1 	 	

SP ? 		9.2.0.448 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 2 	 	9.2.2.693

SP 3 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 5 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 6 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 7 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Crystal Reports 8.5

Original		8.5.0.217
(Misc info in HELP|ABOUT, shows Seagate Software logo; Created:2/9/2001;CRW32 8.5.0.217;Size 7585847 bytes; Copyright 1991-2000 Seagate Softawre, Inc.)

SP 1 ???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 2		8.5.3.936
(Misc info in HELP|ABOUT, shows Crystal Reports logo; Copyright 1991-2002 Crystal Decisions Inc.)

SP 3		8.5.3.975
(Misc info in HELP|ABOUT, shows Crystal Reports logo; Copyright 1991-2002 Crystal Decisions Inc.)

Additional sources:
From: http://blog.crystalreportsbook.com/crystal-reports-version-numbers-by-pr...
From: http://victoriayudin.com/2009/05/25/crystal-reports-service-packs-and-ve...
http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/BOBJ/Crystal+Reports+2008+-+Version...

From: http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/com.sap.km.cm.docs/oss_...

From: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms225607(VS.80).aspx

Synopsis

I am using the CR 8.5 edition of .rpt Inspector with Crystal Reports 8.5 installed on my system and when I click on "Save" or "Save As" in .rpt Inspector, I'm not seeing those changed committed to the report.

I am using the CR 9 edition of .rpt Inspector with Crystal Reports 9 installed on my system and when I click on "Save" or "Save As" in .rpt Inspector, I'm not seeing those changed committed to the report.

Solution

This is a known issue with Crystal Reports 8.5 (prior to service pack 2) and Crystal Reports 9 (prior to service pack 2). .rpt Inspector makes certain API calls to Crystal Reports. The API for Save is broken in Crystal Reports 8.5 prior to service pack 2, and in Crystal Reports 9 prior to service pack 2.

To solve the problem:

Synopsis

There are several suites in the .rpt Inspector™ brand, with each having multiple editions. This document describes how to understand the difference and naming convention(s) used.

Definition

Question: What is a version?
Answer: When a product is released to the public it is given a unique number to identify the release. If this is the first release of the product, it will typically be labeled as 1 (can also be written as 1.00 or 1.0 or 1.0.0 -- which all mean the same). A version number can contain one or more elements: Major revision, moderate revision, and minor revision.

Major revision: This is usually the first number (#.x)- a new major revision of a software generally brings significant change, such as a new user interface, lots of bug fixes or added functionality.

Moderate revision: This is usually the second number (x.#), and an increase signals a somewhat noticeable but not necessarily major change.

Minor revision: When minor revision is included in a version number, it is usually either in a number of its own (x.x.#) or together with the moderate revision (x.x#), leading to version numbers like 3.02. The minor revision is also referred to as "point update" or "corrective patch" and are typically a collection of bug fixes, but can contain new feature(s) or can change functionality of existing feature(s).

Question: What is a build?
Answer: A build is usually three- or four-digit, which refers to the revision of the program's internal code. During the development cycle and/or fix cycle, there may be several builds released to testers and/or QA (Quality Assurance) people before it is felt that the product is ready for public release. Therefore, the build that is listed on a publicly released product refers to the revision of the program's internal code at the time of release.

Question: What is an edition?
Answer: An edition specifies the version of Crystal Reports and/or BusinessObjects Enterprise and/or Crystal Enterprise that the product has been designed to be used with. This means that you must have that version of Crystal Reports installed on your system prior to installing an edition of .rpt Inspector. You may also need to have a specific service pack installed, so please refer the .rpt Inspector requirements for the edition you're interested in (links follow below).

Solution

There are currently 2 product suites in the .rpt Inspector brand:

.rpt Inspector Professional Suite
Intended for use by those that need to access Crystal Reports which are located on a file system or network share. More information about this product can be found here: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Products/rpt-Inspector-Professional-Suite-...

The diagram below shows the naming convention used for this product and how to decode the product name, version, suite type, and edition.

       +-- product name
       |          +-- version
       |          |           +-- suite type
       |          |           |                  +-- edition
       |          |           |                  |
.------V-------. .V. .--------V---------. .------V------.
|.rpt Inspector| |3| |Professional Suite| |(for CR XIr2)|

.rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite
Intended for use by those that need to access Crystal Reports® which are located in an enterprise environment such as BusinessObjects Enterprise or Crystal Enterprise. Because it has all the features of .rpt Inspector Professional Suite, it can also be used to access Crystal Reports on a file system or network share. More information about this product can be found here: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Products/rpt-Inspector-Enterprise-Suite-fo...

The diagram below shows the naming convention used for this product and how to decode the product name, version, suite type, and edition.

       +-- product name
       |           +-- version
       |           |           +-- suite type
       |           |           |                      +-- edition
       |           |           |                      |
.------V-------. .-V-. .-------V--------. .-----------V-----------.
|.rpt Inspector| |3.1| |Enterprise Suite| |(for BO XIr2 / CR XIr2)|

Synopsis

I need to add a new formula, parameter, or other object. Can I do this with .rpt Inspector?

Solution

rpt Inspectorâ„¢ currently supports changes to existing formulas, parameters and objects only.

We are working on the ability to add formulas and parameters as well as the ability to copy an object from one report to another.

These abilities should be available in a future release of .rpt Inspector.

Synopsis

When opening a report, you receive an error message "could not establish connection to database"

Solution

This is a known issue in .rpt Inspector™ 1 pre-release and in .rpt Inspector™ 1 release -- as there was no ability to pass a specific ID and Password in ODBC to the database.

.rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite now allows a user ID and password to be passed to all supported database drivers.

Synopsis

You've opened multiple reports, selected those reports, and have changed a property (i.e. Author) across the selected reports. In the property list, some of these reports are marked in red (the default color used to show a changed property -- until the report(s) are saved). Why?

Solution

With .rpt Inspectorâ„¢ 2 Professional Suite, we've added support for sub-reports. The behavior of properties in sub-reports is not always the same as that of a regular report.

Some sub-report properties are automatically inherited from the parent report. So if one of the selected reports was a main report, depending on the property, it may automatically push this property down to the sub-report.

In this case, if you are modifying such a property, even if you've selected the main report and its sub-report, the moment you change the main report, the sub-report changes automatically and when we do a compare we see that there has been no change and therefore do not flag it in red.

However, undo still works in those cases as it will undo the main report and automatically the sub-report.

Synopsis

Which Crystal Reports (CR) file versions / file formats can .rpt Inspector save / write the report in?

Note: We maintain a list of Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels

Solution

Click for a Version, build, suite type, and edition naming explanation FAQ

.rpt Inspector 1:

can read the following file formats (CR5.x-CR8.5):
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

 can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 9 and Crystal Reports 10 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10

can read the following file formats
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
can write / save in the following file formats
Crystal Reports XI Release 2

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9

can read the following file formats:

Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10

can read the following file formats:

Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
Crystal Reports 2008
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
Crystal Reports XI 2008
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1

Synopsis

I need to add a new formula, parameter, or other object. Can I do this with .rpt Inspector?

Solution

.rpt Inspector™ currently supports changes to existing formulas, parameters and objects only.
We are working on the ability to add formulas and parameters as well as the ability to copy an object from one report to another. These abilities should be available in a future release of .rpt Inspector™.

Synopsis

What is the difference between a key code, Install Key, and Purchase Key?

Solution

A key code is a set of numbers and characters used by our products. There are two types of key codes that are used:

• Install Key
• Purchase Key

An Install Key is used to unlock or activate a product in to trial mode.

A Purchase Key is used to unlock or activate a product in to the fully licensed mode.

The length of the two key codes are not the same. So if you have a shorter or longer key code than what you're being prompted for, then you're using the wrong key code.

Synopsis

I would like to see a list of changes (a "diff") between reports. Can I do this with .rpt Inspector?

Solution

While you can do comparisons between the various objects and use combinations of filters (in common / not in common) and our patent pending "Drag and Group" feature, there currently is no fast and easy wizard like functionality to see a list of differences.

We are working on that feature now and it should be included in a future release of .rpt Inspector™. A future release will provide both version control and a set of reports that detail what is contained in each report. You will be able to see what has changed between one report and another.

Synopsis

Some of my objects contain hyperlinks. Can I remove them or modify them with .rpt Inspector™?

Solution

Currently .rpt Inspector™ can not remove or modify hyperlinks. This is due to a limitation in the Crystal Reports SDK. As soon as the API is properly added by the manufacturer of Crystal Reports, we will add support for this.

Synopsis

1. You are interested in evaluating a trial of our product(s). How do you download a trial?

2. You are interested in purchasing or have purchased our product(s) and want to download the licensed version.

Solution

The trial version of .rpt Inspector or SPL (Smart Pick Lists) is the same download and install as the full release version.

If the FREE trial you installed was the latest release version (latest version listed here: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Products/Latest-Version) then there is no need to download and install it again.

You can always confirm the version, build, and/or edition of your product by going to HELP|ABOUT. For an explanation of the .rpt Inspector version and edition concepts, visit: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Version-Build-Suite-type-and-Edition-N...

If you need to convert your installation from trial mode to licensed mode after you've purchased a license, review details here: www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Purchased-license-and-received-Purchase-Key-H...

Synopsis

Which Crystal Reports (CR) file versions / file formats can .rpt Inspector open / read the report in?

Note: We maintain a list of Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels

Solution

Click for a Version, build, suite type, and edition naming explanation FAQ

.rpt Inspector 1:

can read the following file formats (CR5.x-CR8.5):
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

 can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 9 and Crystal Reports 10 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10

can read the following file formats
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
can write / save in the following file formats
Crystal Reports XI Release 2

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9

can read the following file formats:

Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10

can read the following file formats:

Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
Crystal Reports 2008
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
Crystal Reports XI 2008
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1

Synopsis

My connectivity uses OLE DB. Does .rpt Inspector support this?

Solution

Unlike Crystal Reports®, .rpt Inspector™ does not require connectivity for the majority of actions that you'll perform. You can make changes to the various properties without connectivity because your are modifying the report template. However, if you'd like to see a preview, that requires combining the template with data and that is when we need to make a connection to your database. The other time we need connectivity is when working with the data source / database wizard, as we must be able to connect to the destination for the process to work.

For .rpt Inspector™ 1 (all builds): .rpt Inspector™ version 1 only supports ODBC connections to generate a preview. And the Datasource wizard only supports ODBC connections as well. However, if an ODBC connection requires a password, this version of .rpt Inspector does not prompt for one. The work around has been to establish a connection to the data source outside of .rpt Inspector first.

For .rpt Inspector™ 2 (all builds) and beyond: .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite has full support for ODBC / OLE DB / Native DB2 / Native Informix / Native Oracle / Native SQL Server / Native Sybase. When making connections to a database that requires authentication, you will be prompted for a user ID and password.

Synopsis

My connectivity uses ODBC. Does .rpt Inspector™ support ODBC connectivity?

Solution

Unlike Crystal Reports®, .rpt Inspector™ does not require connectivity for the majority of actions that you'll perform. You can make changes to the various properties without connectivity because you are are modifying the report template's existing objects and their properties.

There are two exceptions:

Version specific notes / restrictions / guidelines

.rpt Inspector™ 1 (all builds): .rpt Inspector™ version 1 only supports ODBC connections to generate a preview. And the Datasource wizard only supports ODBC connections as well. However, if an ODBC connection requires a password, this version of .rpt Inspector does not prompt for one. The work around has been to establish a connection to the data source outside of .rpt Inspector first.

Starting with .rpt Inspector™ 2 (all builds) and beyond: There is now support for ODBC / OLE DB / Native DB2 / Native Informix / Native Oracle / Native SQL Server / Native Sybase. When making connections to a database that requires authentication, you will be prompted for a user ID and password.

Synopsis

When opening a report, you receive an error message "could not establish connection to database"

Solution

This is a known issue in .rpt Inspector™ 1 pre-release and in .rpt Inspector™ 1 release -- as there was no ability to pass a specific ID and Password in ODBC to the database.

.rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite now allows a user ID and password to be passed to all supported database drivers.

Synopsis

When opening a Crystal Report file you receive an error dialog titled Critical Error - Error Reading Report with text inside the dialog that states Report is damaged and can not be read.

Why and what can you do?

Solution

In .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite and .rpt Inspector 3.1 Enterprise Suite, this error can happen for the following reason(s):

The Crystal Report file is in fact damaged.

In this case try opening it in Crystal Reports to confirm. If it opens fine in Crystal Reports, review the next possible reason below.

The Crystal Report file was saved with a newer version of Crystal Reports than the edition of .rpt Inspector that you're trying to open with.

As explained in the product's minimum requirements (.rpt Inspector Professional Suite or .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite) and the FAQ on editions, there is a 1:1 match of the edition of .rpt Inspector and Crystal Reports version that is installed on your system. So for example, if you're trying to open a Crystal Report file that was saved in Crystal Reports 9 using .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 8.5) edition, this error is normal to happen as .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 8.5) edition does not know how to properly work with a Crystal Reports version 9 file.

Another possibility is that the report was created with Crystal Reports that comes with Visual Studio .NET, Visual Studio .NET 2003, Visual Studio 2005, Visual Studio 2008, or Visual Studio 2010.

The Crystal Reports that come bundled with Visual Studio in most cases (there are some exceptions) create a slightly newer version of the Crystal Report file and this could therefore result in you receiving this error.

For example, a Crystal Report created with Visual Studio .NET 2005 is version 10.2.51014.0 while Crystal Reports 10 files would be version 10.0.x.x (the last two digits could be different depending on the service pack / fix pack applied) and if you try to open that report with .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 10) edition, it may have issues as the file format version is newer in Visual Studio and result in that error. However, .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR XI) will open that file without any problems.

Review our Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels FAQ to determine if this may be your issue.

If information in this reason doesn't apply to you, review the next possible reason below.

The report is built with BusinessViews.

.rpt Inspector currently can't open reports that contain BusinessViews as SAP / BusinessObjects has not exposed the APIs to us. Therefore, the APIs used to open the Crystal Report containing BusinessViews wrongly identify the report as being a damaged report, resulting in this error and preventing .rpt Inspector from being able to open those reports.

In .rpt Inspector 1 (all builds) and in .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR5.x-CR8.5), this error can happen for the following reason(s):

The Crystal Report file is in fact damaged.

In this case try opening it in Crystal Reports to confirm. If it opens fine in Crystal Reports, review the next possible reason below.

You don't have the required version of Crystal Reports installed.

.rpt Inspector 1 (all builds) and in .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR5.x-CR8.5) require that you have Crystal Reports 8.5 and service pack 2 or higher installed on the same system where .rpt Inspector is installed for proper use.

The Crystal Report file was saved with a newer version of Crystal Reports than the version of .rpt Inspector that you're trying to open with.

For example, if you're trying to open a Crystal Report file that was saved in Crystal Reports 9 using .rpt Inspector 1 (all builds) or .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR5.x-CR8.5), this error is normal to happen as neither of these .rpt Inspector versions know how to properly work with a Crystal Reports version 9 file.

Another possibility is that the report was created with Visual Studio .NET (which creates a slightly newer version than 8.5). In this case, you should be able to open the report using .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x) or .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite editions other than CR 8.5.

Review our Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels FAQ to determine if this may be your issue.

In .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x), this error can happen for the following reason(s):

The Crystal Report file is in fact damaged.

In this case try opening it in Crystal Reports to confirm. If it opens fine in Crystal Reports, review the next possible reason below.

You don't have the required version of Crystal Reports installed.

.rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x) requires that you have Crystal Reports 9 installed on the same system where .rpt Inspector is installed for proper use.

While the file format of Crystal Reports 9 and 10 are that of Crystal Reports 9, .rpt Inspector has been compiled with dependancies on libraries and APIs to us. Therefore, the APIs that are based on Crystal Reports 9. However, it is fully supported for you to have both Crystal Reports 9 and Crystal Reports 10 on your computer at the same time.

The Crystal Report file was saved with a newer version of Crystal Reports than the version of .rpt Inspector that you're trying to open with.

For example, if you're trying to open a Crystal Report file that was saved in Crystal Reports 2008 using .rpt Inspector 2 (for for CR9.x-CR10.x), this error is normal to happen as .rpt Inspector does not know how to properly work with a Crystal Reports version 2008 file.

Another possibility is that the report was created with Visual Studio .NET 2003 (which creates a slightly newer version than 9). In this case, you should be able to open the report using .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite editions CR 10, CR XI, or CR XIr2.

Review our Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels FAQ to determine if this may be your issue.

Synopsis

My connectivity uses Native Drivers. Does .rpt Inspector support this?

Solution

Unlike Crystal Reports, .rpt Inspector does not require connectivity for the majority of actions that you'll perform. You can make changes to the various properties without connectivity because your are modifying the report template. However, if you'd like to see a preview, that requires combining the template with data and that is when we need to make a connection to your database. The other time we need connectivity is when working with the data source / database wizard, as we must be able to connect to the destination for the process to work.

.rpt Inspector 1 (all builds)
Supported only ODBC connections to generate a preview. And the Datasource wizard only supports ODBC connections as well. However, if an ODBC connection requires a password, this version of .rpt Inspector does not prompt for one. The work around has been to establish a connection to the data source outside of .rpt Inspector first.

.rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (all builds)
Full support for ODBC / OLE DB / Native DB2 / Native Informix / Native Oracle / Native SQL Server / Native Sybase. When making connections to a database that requires authentication, you will be prompted for a user ID and password.

.rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (all builds)
In addition to above supported connectivity methods of previous versions, added DAO support for Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel.

Synopsis

Some of my Crystal Reports objects are images or embedded OLE objects. Can I remove them or modify them with .rpt Inspector?

Solution

You can modify some of their properties (i.e. size, position, etc.) but currently .rpt Inspector can not remove or modify images or OLE objects. This is due to a limitation in the Crystal Reports SDK for Crystal Reports 8.5, Crystal Reports 9, Crystal Reports 10, Crystal Reports XI, Crystal Reports XI Release 2, Crystal Reports 2008. As soon as the API is properly added, we will add support for this.

Synopsis

How does one receive a key code to unlock a product?

Solution

To evaluate .rpt Inspector or SPL, you can download a FREE 15 Day trial. You start by filling out a short trial download form which will then allow you to download a trial. An Install Key will be sent to the e-mail you provided on the trial download form which will be necessary to start your trial. You can download from: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Download

After you've finished your evaluation of the trial, you can purchase a license to the product by visiting our purchase page: www.SoftwareForces.com/Purchase ).

When you purchase a license, you will receive a Purchase Key. This Purchase Key will be entered in to our "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard", which will guide you through the process of unlocking your trial in to a fully licensed mode.

Synopsis

You've filled out the trial form during download but did not receive an install key. Why? What can you do about it?

Solution

An install key is automatically e-mailed to the e-mail address you provided when you filled out the trial form. You should typically receive this install key in your e-mail by the time your download completes (this varies by speed of your connection and mail servers -- but on average it should be only a few minutes before you receive this key in e-mail).

If you are sure that you provided a valid e-mail address, and you've waited at least half an hour (in case of congestion, etc.), then this means that your mail server blocked our e-mail (perhaps your admin allows only servers they know about, or your admin subscribes to unregulated spam blocking services that block servers at will, etc.).

In this case, if you send us an e-mail, we will have no way of responding to you via e-mail. You must either provide us with an e-mail address that we can respond to (one that you know is not configured with any kind of blockers), or provide us your telephone contact information.

Synopsis

When opening a report, you receive an error message "could not establish connection to database"

Solution

This is a known issue in .rpt Inspector 1 pre-release and in .rpt Inspector release -- as there was no ability to pass a specific ID and Password in ODBC to the database.

.rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite now allows a user ID and password to be passed to all supported database drivers.

Synopsis

I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key.
How do I de-activate my license or MOVE/TRANSFER the license once it's been activated?

Solution

As noted on your order receipt, in the section called "PRODUCT ACTIVATION" and as detailed in the I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license FAQ, Once a Purchase Key has been activated, the Purchase Key is locked to the system on which it is activated on.

The process below is referred to as the MOVE/TRANSFER license process, and will DE-ACTIVATE your Purchase Key (license) on your existing system.

Once this process is completed and the license has been de-activated, you must install the trial of the product on the destination workstation and go through the SAME process of activating your Purchase Key (license) as you previously did on the original workstation. The instructions are the same ones you followed from your order receipt, and are also outlined in the I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license FAQ.

The process of MOVE/TRANSFER license from the existing system is ONLY available via an Internet Connection and requires these steps on the system where the license is currently activated:

DE-ACTIVATION
1 open the SF Product Manager
2 select the product
3 select the option to MOVE/TRANSFER your license
4 specify the PURCHASE KEY
5 specify the contact information
6 specify the account logon
7 specify the notification options
8 proceed with the remainder of the wizard

Problems with De-Activation / MOVE/TRANSFER license due to Proxy/Firewall
Review: www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Activation-or-Deactivation-Proxy-or-Firewall-...

Synopsis

The Data source / Database Migration and Conversion Wizard has two methods in which you can work with reports.

What are they?
When / how do you use them?

Solution

There are two ways in which the Change Data source / Database Migration and Conversion Wizard can be used.

Method 1 - working with reports opened in the main application, where the reports are in-memory. See details below and a two screen shots describing this method.

Method 2 - working with reports opened directly by the wizard from a local file system / network share / Enterprise folders. See details below and a screen shot describing this method.

Method 1: This is the recommended method.

With this method, reports are first opened in the main application prior to starting the wizard. All reports that are opened in the main application are opened to memory and therefore all changes that are done to the reports, including in the wizard -- are done to memory until you commit them by saving the reports.

Therefore this is the safest approach -- since you can always confirm the changes on the Database tab (click here for an explanation of the various tabs on the Objects pane) and decide not to commit the changes.

1. Start .rpt Inspector
2. Open your report(s) in the main application
3. Start the Change Data source / Database Migration and Conversion Wizard
4. From the upper left pane, click on Opened Reports node
5. Select the report(s) you want the wizard to work with from the bottom left pane
6. Go through the rest of the wizard
7. When wizard finishes, you can go to the Database tab and review the changes that were made in memory or click on SAVE and select the report(s) to commit the changes to

If you're using .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite, then you can open report(s) directly from the enterprise environment as well as from the local file system / network share.

If you're using .rpt Inspector Professional Suite, then you can only open report(s) from the local file system / nework share.

Method 2: This is not our recommended method.

With this method, reports are opened directly by the wizard as it processes them and the changes are committed immediately.

Therefore safer approach is using method 1.

1. Start .rpt Inspector
2. You do not need to open any report(s) in the main application
3. Start the Change Data source / Database Migration and Conversion Wizard
4. From the upper left pane, click on the drive and folder node and navigate to where your report(s) reside or click on the Enterprise Folders node (this is only available if you are using .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite) and navigate your enterprise environment
5. Select the report(s) you want the wizard to work with from the bottom left pane
6. Go through the rest of the wizard
7. When wizard shows the finish screen, the changes were automatically committed and saved to the reports

If you're using .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite, then you can open report(s) directly from the enterprise environment as well as from the local file system / network share.

If you're using .rpt Inspector Professional Suite, then you can only open report(s) from the local file system / nework share.

Synopsis

I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. I've reviewed the I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license FAQ but I'm having an problem with the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard" communicating through our Proxy or Firewall. What can I do?

Solution

There are a lot of different vendors out there that make Proxy / Firewall products. Not all of them work the same. While we make every effort to ensure compatibility with the popular ones, we can't test them all.

The Internet Connection we make during the activation or de-activation is done via the standard HTTP (port 80) protocol and HTTPS / SSL (port 443) protocol. You use HTTP via port 80 every time you visit a web site. And when making purchases in on-line stores those are typically secured with HTTPS / SSL on port 443.

We do not use any proprietary non-standard ports. However, some Proxy / Firewall systems require for the application or browser to have the user login or re-login (typically after a certain idle period). Some monitor the actual communications and content that is being sent or received.

If you're tried to use the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard" and left the setting "Automatically detect" in the Proxy / Firewall area of the Internet Activation process then try un-checking this option and specifying the requested information and try making the connection. If however you've previously un-checked the "Automatically detect" setting, then try to check it and making the connection.

If both of above suggestions fail, we've also seen the following help:
1. On the "Connection Info" screen, before proceeding further, start your Internet Explorer (IE). And yes, it should be Internet Explorer not another browser.
2. Then when it loads up, go to a web site that is outside of your company and is not likely to be cached (i.e. www.SoftwareForces.com).
3. Proceed with the remainder of the wizard.

Step 2 above opens a browser session that the wizard will try to reuse.

If above suggestions fail
If above suggestions fail, then you should try doing an E-mail activation as described in I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license or contact your Administrator to assist, perhaps allowing your workstation to be temporarily moved outside of the Proxy / Firewall.

Note that DE-ACTIVATION / MOVE/TRANSFER license does require an internet connection to work properly in the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard".

Synopsis

I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license?

Solution

To convert your installation from trial mode to licensed mode you must first purchase a license from one of our authorized partners. You will then be e-mailed a 16 alpha-numeric Purchase Key which you will use to activate your license using the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard".

Refer to the instructions received in your e-mail that contained your Purchase Key and information below.

Starting the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard"
1. Click on Start (refers to the Microsoft Windows Start button)
2. Click on Programs (refers to the Microsoft Windows Programs listing)
3. Click on Software Forces
4. Click on SF Shared
5. Click on SF Product Manager
6. Select product to activate from the drop-down and click next.
7. Put bullet in - "Activate my copy of the Software (I've purchased and received my Purchase Key)" and click on next.
8. Put in the Purchase Key you received and click on next
9. Fill in the required information on this and the next screen
10. Uncheck any unwanted boxes

You can activate your license using either an internet connection (uses port 80 and port 443 for SSL) or via e-mail. Follow step 11 below from either the "Internet Activation" instructions or "E-mail Activation" instructions.

INTERNET ACTIVATION
11. Put bullet in - Continue registration using Internet and click on next
12. If you use a Proxy/Firewall and do not wish to have the information automatically detected, uncheck Automatically detect (see bottom if having issues with Proxy/Firewall for suggestions)
13. Review summary information and click next to make the connection
14. If there were no errors, the product's trial installation has been converted to licensed and your product has been activated.

Be sure to follow the de-activation procedures to MOVE/TRANSFER your license.

E-MAIL ACTIVATION (part 1)
11. Put bullet in - Continue registration using E-mail
12. Review summary information
13. If we detect your E-mail client, we will launch it and attach a file to it with an extension .DAT, otherwise you will be prompted for a path where this file should be created
14. If we were not able to detect and launch your E-mail, launch it manually now
15. Copy the Mail To address to your client's To field
16. Copy the Subject to your client's Subject field (make sure to have nothing else on the subject except the text you copied, otherwise the process will fail)
17. Attach the file specified in the Attachment path to your E-mail client
18. Send the E-mail
19. Wait for a response to your E-mail (processing may take as long as thirty (30) minutes)
20. Once you receive a response, proceed to part 2 below.

E-MAIL ACTIVATION
AFTER FILE IS SENT TO CUSTOMER (part 2)
If you do not receive a response to your E-mail and you have waited at least an hour, please contact technical support.

Once you complete part 1 of the E-mail Activation process, a response will be sent back to you. If the E-mail you sent to us had a valid file attached to it, and we were able to process it successfully, the response will contain an attachment that allows you to complete the E-mail Activation.

The attachment will have a .SFL extension. Please save this attachment to the SFShared directory (the same location as the SF Product Manager).

Then you...
1. Click on Start (refers to the Microsoft Windows Start button)
2. Click on Programs (refers to the Microsoft Windows Programs listing)
3. Click on Software Forces
4. Click on SF Shared
5. Click on SF Product Manager  
6. Select product to activate from the drop-down and click next.
7. Put bullet in - "Install the Software Product License I received through E-mail activation" and click on next
8. Set location where you placed the license file (usually under SFShared directory)
9. Click next
10. If there were no errors, the product's trial installation has been converted to licensed and your product has been activated.

Be sure to follow the de-activation procedures to MOVE/TRANSFER your license.

Problems with Internet Activation due to Proxy/Firewall
Review: www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Activation-or-Deactivation-Proxy-or-Firewall-...

Software Forces is the leading manufacturer of business intelligence / enterprise reporting tools and solutions for SAP Business Objects (formerly Crystal Decisions) Business Intelligence (BI) and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) products.

Software Forces products for SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI (formerly Crystal Enterprise and Seagate Info) and Crystal Reports are used by over 1,000 organizations in over 60 countries.

Our .rpt Inspector product has been called the "must-have" tool by anyone that has multiple Crystal Reports to manage.

Synopsis

There are numerous service packs and fix packs for each version of Crystal Reports. How can you tell which version(s) you have installed?

Solution

If you open your Crystal Reports designer and go to HELP|ABOUT, you'll see a version number listed. But how do you tell the service pack level installed?

We've compiled a table of Crystal Reports versions and their Service Pack / Fix Pack levels.

Also available:
Known BusinessObjects Enterprise versions and service pack levels
Known Crystal Enterprise versions and service pack levels (coming soon)

SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise

Original (RTM) 	14.0.2.364_v20110603

SAP Crystal Reports 2011

Original (RTM) 	14.0.2.364

Crystal Reports 2008

Original (RTM) 	12.0.0.549

Service Pack 0 	12.0.0.683

Fix Pack 1 	12.0.0.796

Fix Pack 2 	12.0.0.840

Service Pack 1 	12.0.0.892

Fix Pack 1.1 	12.1.1.957

Fix Pack 1.2 	12.1.2.996

Fix Pack 1.3 	12.1.3.1028

Fix Pack 1.4 	12.1.4.1068

Fix Pack 1.5 	12.1.5.1096

Fix Pack 1.6 	12.1.6.116

Fix Pack 1.7 	12.1.7.114

Fix Pack 1.8 	12.1.8.1176

Fix Pack 1.9 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Fix Pack 1.10 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Fix Pack 1.11 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Fix Pack 1.12 	12.1.12.1458

Service Pack 2	12.2.0.290

Fix Pack 2.1 	12.2.1.412

Fix Pack 2.2 	12.2.2.453

Fix Pack 2.3 	12.2.3.467

Fix Pack 2.4 	12.2.4.507

Fix Pack 2.5 	12.2.5.537

Fix Pack 2.6 	12.2.6.567

Fix Pack 2.7 	12.2.7.598

Fix Pack 2.8	12.2.8.638

Fix Pack 2.9	12.2.9.698

Fix Pack 2.10	12.2.10.810

Fix Pack 2.11	12.2.11.906

Fix Pack 2.12	12.2.12.979

Service Pack 3	12.3.0.601

Fix Pack 3.1	12.3.1.684

Fix Pack 3.2	12.3.2.753

Fix Pack 3.3	12.3.3.812

Fix Pack 3.4	12.3.4.895

Fix Pack 3.5 	12.3.5.925

Fix Pack 3.6 	12.3.6.1006

Fix Pack 3.7 	12.3.7.1198

Service Pack 4	12.4.0.996

Fix Pack 4.1 	12.4.1.1188

Service Pack 5	12.5.0.1190

Crystal Reports XI (Release 2)

Original (RTM)	11.5.0.313

SP 1 		11.5.3.417

SP 2 		11.5.8.826

SP 3 		11.5.9.1076

SP 4 		11.5.10.1263

SP 5 		11.5.11.1470

SP 6 		11.5.12.1838

If you have a license to Crystal Reports XI (Release 1) you can download Crystal Reports XI Release 2 with Service Pack 2 (a 1.03GB ZIP download) directly from SAP BusinessObjects for FREE: http://resources.businessobjects.com/support/additional_downloads/servic...

Crystal Reports XI (Release 1)

Original (RTM) 	11.0.0.895

SP 1 		11.0.0.1282

SP 2 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 3 		11.0.0.2269

SP 4 		11.0.0.2495

SP ? 		11.0.0.89327 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP ? 		11.0.0.89527 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Crystal Reports 10

Original (RTM) 	10.0.0.533

SP ? 		10.0.0.53327 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP ? 		10.0.0.5335 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 1 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 2 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 3 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 4 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 5 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 6 	 	10.0.5.1506

Crystal Reports 9

Original (RTM) 	

SP 1 	 	

SP ? 		9.2.0.448 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 2 	 	9.2.2.693

SP 3 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 5 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 6 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 7 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Crystal Reports 8.5

Original		8.5.0.217
(Misc info in HELP|ABOUT, shows Seagate Software logo; Created:2/9/2001;CRW32 8.5.0.217;Size 7585847 bytes; Copyright 1991-2000 Seagate Softawre, Inc.)

SP 1 ???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 2		8.5.3.936
(Misc info in HELP|ABOUT, shows Crystal Reports logo; Copyright 1991-2002 Crystal Decisions Inc.)

SP 3		8.5.3.975
(Misc info in HELP|ABOUT, shows Crystal Reports logo; Copyright 1991-2002 Crystal Decisions Inc.)

Additional sources:
From: http://blog.crystalreportsbook.com/crystal-reports-version-numbers-by-pr...
From: http://victoriayudin.com/2009/05/25/crystal-reports-service-packs-and-ve...
http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/BOBJ/Crystal+Reports+2008+-+Version...

From: http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/com.sap.km.cm.docs/oss_...

From: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms225607(VS.80).aspx

Synopsis

I am using the CR 8.5 edition of .rpt Inspector with Crystal Reports 8.5 installed on my system and when I click on "Save" or "Save As" in .rpt Inspector, I'm not seeing those changed committed to the report.

I am using the CR 9 edition of .rpt Inspector with Crystal Reports 9 installed on my system and when I click on "Save" or "Save As" in .rpt Inspector, I'm not seeing those changed committed to the report.

Solution

This is a known issue with Crystal Reports 8.5 (prior to service pack 2) and Crystal Reports 9 (prior to service pack 2). .rpt Inspector makes certain API calls to Crystal Reports. The API for Save is broken in Crystal Reports 8.5 prior to service pack 2, and in Crystal Reports 9 prior to service pack 2.

To solve the problem:

Synopsis

There are several suites in the .rpt Inspector™ brand, with each having multiple editions. This document describes how to understand the difference and naming convention(s) used.

Definition

Question: What is a version?
Answer: When a product is released to the public it is given a unique number to identify the release. If this is the first release of the product, it will typically be labeled as 1 (can also be written as 1.00 or 1.0 or 1.0.0 -- which all mean the same). A version number can contain one or more elements: Major revision, moderate revision, and minor revision.

Major revision: This is usually the first number (#.x)- a new major revision of a software generally brings significant change, such as a new user interface, lots of bug fixes or added functionality.

Moderate revision: This is usually the second number (x.#), and an increase signals a somewhat noticeable but not necessarily major change.

Minor revision: When minor revision is included in a version number, it is usually either in a number of its own (x.x.#) or together with the moderate revision (x.x#), leading to version numbers like 3.02. The minor revision is also referred to as "point update" or "corrective patch" and are typically a collection of bug fixes, but can contain new feature(s) or can change functionality of existing feature(s).

Question: What is a build?
Answer: A build is usually three- or four-digit, which refers to the revision of the program's internal code. During the development cycle and/or fix cycle, there may be several builds released to testers and/or QA (Quality Assurance) people before it is felt that the product is ready for public release. Therefore, the build that is listed on a publicly released product refers to the revision of the program's internal code at the time of release.

Question: What is an edition?
Answer: An edition specifies the version of Crystal Reports and/or BusinessObjects Enterprise and/or Crystal Enterprise that the product has been designed to be used with. This means that you must have that version of Crystal Reports installed on your system prior to installing an edition of .rpt Inspector. You may also need to have a specific service pack installed, so please refer the .rpt Inspector requirements for the edition you're interested in (links follow below).

Solution

There are currently 2 product suites in the .rpt Inspector brand:

.rpt Inspector Professional Suite
Intended for use by those that need to access Crystal Reports which are located on a file system or network share. More information about this product can be found here: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Products/rpt-Inspector-Professional-Suite-...

The diagram below shows the naming convention used for this product and how to decode the product name, version, suite type, and edition.

       +-- product name
       |          +-- version
       |          |           +-- suite type
       |          |           |                  +-- edition
       |          |           |                  |
.------V-------. .V. .--------V---------. .------V------.
|.rpt Inspector| |3| |Professional Suite| |(for CR XIr2)|

.rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite
Intended for use by those that need to access Crystal Reports® which are located in an enterprise environment such as BusinessObjects Enterprise or Crystal Enterprise. Because it has all the features of .rpt Inspector Professional Suite, it can also be used to access Crystal Reports on a file system or network share. More information about this product can be found here: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Products/rpt-Inspector-Enterprise-Suite-fo...

The diagram below shows the naming convention used for this product and how to decode the product name, version, suite type, and edition.

       +-- product name
       |           +-- version
       |           |           +-- suite type
       |           |           |                      +-- edition
       |           |           |                      |
.------V-------. .-V-. .-------V--------. .-----------V-----------.
|.rpt Inspector| |3.1| |Enterprise Suite| |(for BO XIr2 / CR XIr2)|

Synopsis

I need to add a new formula, parameter, or other object. Can I do this with .rpt Inspector?

Solution

rpt Inspectorâ„¢ currently supports changes to existing formulas, parameters and objects only.

We are working on the ability to add formulas and parameters as well as the ability to copy an object from one report to another.

These abilities should be available in a future release of .rpt Inspector.

Synopsis

How does one receive a key code to unlock a product?

Solution

To evaluate .rpt Inspector or SPL, you can download a FREE 15 Day trial. You start by filling out a short trial download form which will then allow you to download a trial. An Install Key will be sent to the e-mail you provided on the trial download form which will be necessary to start your trial. You can download from: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Download

After you've finished your evaluation of the trial, you can purchase a license to the product by visiting our purchase page: www.SoftwareForces.com/Purchase ).

When you purchase a license, you will receive a Purchase Key. This Purchase Key will be entered in to our "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard", which will guide you through the process of unlocking your trial in to a fully licensed mode.

Synopsis

You've opened multiple reports, selected those reports, and have changed a property (i.e. Author) across the selected reports. In the property list, some of these reports are marked in red (the default color used to show a changed property -- until the report(s) are saved). Why?

Solution

With .rpt Inspectorâ„¢ 2 Professional Suite, we've added support for sub-reports. The behavior of properties in sub-reports is not always the same as that of a regular report.

Some sub-report properties are automatically inherited from the parent report. So if one of the selected reports was a main report, depending on the property, it may automatically push this property down to the sub-report.

In this case, if you are modifying such a property, even if you've selected the main report and its sub-report, the moment you change the main report, the sub-report changes automatically and when we do a compare we see that there has been no change and therefore do not flag it in red.

However, undo still works in those cases as it will undo the main report and automatically the sub-report.

Synopsis

You've filled out the trial form during download but did not receive an install key. Why? What can you do about it?

Solution

An install key is automatically e-mailed to the e-mail address you provided when you filled out the trial form. You should typically receive this install key in your e-mail by the time your download completes (this varies by speed of your connection and mail servers -- but on average it should be only a few minutes before you receive this key in e-mail).

If you are sure that you provided a valid e-mail address, and you've waited at least half an hour (in case of congestion, etc.), then this means that your mail server blocked our e-mail (perhaps your admin allows only servers they know about, or your admin subscribes to unregulated spam blocking services that block servers at will, etc.).

In this case, if you send us an e-mail, we will have no way of responding to you via e-mail. You must either provide us with an e-mail address that we can respond to (one that you know is not configured with any kind of blockers), or provide us your telephone contact information.

Synopsis

You'd like to use the wildcards, or other pattern matching in the search and replace. How do you use it?

Solution

Our pattern matching mechanism uses the power of regular expressions. You can enter a valid regular expression in both the Search and Replace edit boxes.

For an explanation of regular expression syntax and an example, see the table below:

A regular expression is a pattern of text that consists of ordinary characters (for example, letters a through z) and special characters, known as metacharacters. The pattern describes one or more strings to match when searching a body of text. The regular expression serves as a template for matching a character pattern to the string being searched.

Here are some examples of regular expression you might encounter: JScript VBScript Matches /^\s[ \t]*$/ "^\s*$" Match a blank line. /\d{2}-\d{5}/ "\d{2}-\d{5}" Validate an ID number consisting of 2 digits, a hyphen, and another 5 digits. The following table contains the complete list of metacharacters and their behavior in the context of regular expressions: Character Description \ Marks the next character as either a special character, a literal, a backreference, or an octal escape. For example, 'n' matches the character "n". '\n' matches a newline character. The sequence '\\' matches "\" and "\(" matches "(". ^ Matches the position at the beginning of the input string. If the RegExp object's Multiline property is set, ^ also matches the position following '\n' or '\r'. $ Matches the position at the end of the input string. If the RegExp object's Multiline property is set, $ also matches the position preceding '\n' or '\r'. * Matches the preceding character or subexpression zero or more times. For example, zo* matches "z" and "zoo". * is equivalent to {0,}. + Matches the preceding character or subexpression one or more times. For example, 'zo+' matches "zo" and "zoo", but not "z". + is equivalent to {1,}. ? Matches the preceding character or subexpression zero or one time. For example, "do(es)?" matches the "do" in "do" or "does". ? is equivalent to {0,1} {n} n is a nonnegative integer. Matches exactly n times. For example, 'o{2}' does not match the 'o' in "Bob," but matches the two o's in "food". {n,} n is a nonnegative integer. Matches at least n times. For example, 'o{2,}' does not match the "o" in "Bob" and matches all the o's in "foooood". 'o{1,}' is equivalent to 'o+'. 'o{0,}' is equivalent to 'o*'. {n,m} m and n are nonnegative integers, where n <= m. Matches at least n and at most m times. For example, "o{1,3}" matches the first three o's in "fooooood". 'o{0,1}' is equivalent to 'o?'. Note that you cannot put a space between the comma and the numbers. ? When this character immediately follows any of the other quantifiers (*, +, ?, {n}, {n,}, {n,m}), the matching pattern is non-greedy. A non-greedy pattern matches as little of the searched string as possible, whereas the default greedy pattern matches as much of the searched string as possible. For example, in the string "oooo", 'o+?' matches a single "o", while 'o+' matches all 'o's. . Matches any single character except "\n". To match any character including the '\n', use a pattern such as '[\s\S]'. (pattern) Matches pattern and captures the match. The captured match can be retrieved from the resulting Matches collection, using the SubMatches collection in VBScript or the $0…$9 properties in JScript. To match parentheses characters ( ), use '\(' or '\)'. (?:pattern) Matches pattern but does not capture the match, that is, it is a non-capturing match that is not stored for possible later use. This is useful for combining parts of a pattern with the "or" character (|). For example, 'industr(?:y|ies) is a more economical expression than 'industry|industries'. (?=pattern) Positive lookahead matches the search string at any point where a string matching pattern begins. This is a non-capturing match, that is, the match is not captured for possible later use. For example 'Windows (?=95|98|NT|2000)' matches "Windows" in "Windows 2000" but not "Windows" in "Windows 3.1". Lookaheads do not consume characters, that is, after a match occurs, the search for the next match begins immediately following the last match, not after the characters that comprised the lookahead. (?!pattern) Negative lookahead matches the search string at any point where a string not matching pattern begins. This is a non-capturing match, that is, the match is not captured for possible later use. For example 'Windows (?!95|98|NT|2000)' matches "Windows" in "Windows 3.1" but does not match "Windows" in "Windows 2000". Lookaheads do not consume characters, that is, after a match occurs, the search for the next match begins immediately following the last match, not after the characters that comprised the lookahead. x|y Matches either x or y. For example, 'z|food' matches "z" or "food". '(z|f)ood' matches "zood" or "food". [xyz] A character set. Matches any one of the enclosed characters. For example, '[abc]' matches the 'a' in "plain". [^xyz] A negative character set. Matches any character not enclosed. For example, '[^abc]' matches the 'p' in "plain". [a-z] A range of characters. Matches any character in the specified range. For example, '[a-z]' matches any lowercase alphabetic character in the range 'a' through 'z'. [^a-z] A negative range characters. Matches any character not in the specified range. For example, '[^a-z]' matches any character not in the range 'a' through 'z'. \b Matches a word boundary, that is, the position between a word and a space. For example, 'er\b' matches the 'er' in "never" but not the 'er' in "verb". \B Matches a nonword boundary. 'er\B' matches the 'er' in "verb" but not the 'er' in "never". \cx Matches the control character indicated by x. For example, \cM matches a Control-M or carriage return character. The value of x must be in the range of A-Z or a-z. If not, c is assumed to be a literal 'c' character. \d Matches a digit character. Equivalent to [0-9]. \D Matches a nondigit character. Equivalent to [^0-9]. \f Matches a form-feed character. Equivalent to \x0c and \cL. \n Matches a newline character. Equivalent to \x0a and \cJ. \r Matches a carriage return character. Equivalent to \x0d and \cM. \s Matches any whitespace character including space, tab, form-feed, etc. Equivalent to [ \f\n\r\t\v]. \S Matches any non-white space character. Equivalent to [^ \f\n\r\t\v]. \t Matches a tab character. Equivalent to \x09 and \cI. \v Matches a vertical tab character. Equivalent to \x0b and \cK. \w Matches any word character including underscore. Equivalent to '[A-Za-z0-9_]'. \W Matches any nonword character. Equivalent to '[^A-Za-z0-9_]'. \xn Matches n, where n is a hexadecimal escape value. Hexadecimal escape values must be exactly two digits long. For example, '\x41' matches "A". '\x041' is equivalent to '\x04' & "1". Allows ASCII codes to be used in regular expressions. \num Matches num, where num is a positive integer. A reference back to captured matches. For example, '(.)\1' matches two consecutive identical characters. \n Identifies either an octal escape value or a backreference. If \n is preceded by at least n captured subexpressions, n is a backreference. Otherwise, n is an octal escape value if n is an octal digit (0-7). \nm Identifies either an octal escape value or a backreference. If \nm is preceded by at least nm captured subexpressions, nm is a backreference. If \nm is preceded by at least n captures, n is a backreference followed by literal m. If neither of the preceding conditions exists, \nm matches octal escape value nm when n and m are octal digits (0-7). \nml Matches octal escape value nml when n is an octal digit (0-3) and m and l are octal digits (0-7). \un Matches n, where n is a Unicode character expressed as four hexadecimal digits. For example, \u00A9 matches the copyright symbol (©).

Synopsis

I need to work with Crystal Reports® (CR) 10. Does .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x) support this?

Solution

The short answer is... Yes!

.rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x) as of version 2.01 has been renamed to .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x).

When we released .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x) in Feb. 2004, we had not yet completed our testing of CR10 reports. However, after its release and several months of extensive testing, we are pleased to announce that .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x) was able to work with reports saved by CR10.

The file format of CR10 is the same as that of CR9. However, .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x) is currently compiled with dependancies on CR9 libraries and APIs and therefore requires that CR9 be installed on the same system as .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x).

You can easily have both CR9 and CR10 installed on the same system to support this. A future version of .rpt Inspector™ Professional Suite will be recompiled around CR10 libraries and APIs.

Additionally, you should be aware of two features that are introduced in CR10 that are now support in CR9, however according to Business Objects information, CR9 should still open such reports but suppress such features. These features are Funnel charts and Business Views.

Synopsis

You'd like to use the wildcards, or other pattern matching in the search and replace.

Solution

Question: How do you use it?
Answer: Our pattern matching mechanism uses the power of regular expressions. You can enter a valid regular expression only in Search edit box. A future version will support the Replace edit box as well. For an explanation of regular expression syntax and an example, see the table below:

A regular expression is a pattern of text that consists of ordinary characters (for example, letters a through z) and special characters, known as metacharacters. The pattern describes one or more strings to match when searching a body of text. The regular expression serves as a template for matching a character pattern to the string being searched.

Here are some examples of regular expression you might encounter:

The following table contains the complete list of metacharacters and their behavior in the context of regular expressions:

Synopsis

When opening a report, you receive an error message "could not establish connection to database"

Solution

This is a known issue in .rpt Inspector 1 pre-release and in .rpt Inspector release -- as there was no ability to pass a specific ID and Password in ODBC to the database.

.rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite now allows a user ID and password to be passed to all supported database drivers.

Synopsis

I need to add a new formula, parameter, or other object. Can I do this with .rpt Inspector?

Solution

.rpt Inspector™ currently supports changes to existing formulas, parameters and objects only.
We are working on the ability to add formulas and parameters as well as the ability to copy an object from one report to another. These abilities should be available in a future release of .rpt Inspector™.

Synopsis

When opening a report, you receive an error message "could not establish connection to database"

Solution

This is a known issue in .rpt Inspector™ 1 pre-release and in .rpt Inspector™ 1 release -- as there was no ability to pass a specific ID and Password in ODBC to the database.

.rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite now allows a user ID and password to be passed to all supported database drivers.

Synopsis

I would like to see a list of changes (a "diff") between reports. Can I do this with .rpt Inspector?

Solution

While you can do comparisons between the various objects and use combinations of filters (in common / not in common) and our patent pending "Drag and Group" feature, there currently is no fast and easy wizard like functionality to see a list of differences.

We are working on that feature now and it should be included in a future release of .rpt Inspector™. A future release will provide both version control and a set of reports that detail what is contained in each report. You will be able to see what has changed between one report and another.

Synopsis

Which Crystal Reports (CR) file versions / file formats can .rpt Inspector save / write the report in?

Note: We maintain a list of Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels

Solution

Click for a Version, build, suite type, and edition naming explanation FAQ

.rpt Inspector 1:

can read the following file formats (CR5.x-CR8.5):
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

 can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 9 and Crystal Reports 10 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10

can read the following file formats
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
can write / save in the following file formats
Crystal Reports XI Release 2

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9

can read the following file formats:

Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10

can read the following file formats:

Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
Crystal Reports 2008
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
Crystal Reports XI 2008
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1

Synopsis

Some of my objects contain hyperlinks. Can I remove them or modify them with .rpt Inspector™?

Solution

Currently .rpt Inspector™ can not remove or modify hyperlinks. This is due to a limitation in the Crystal Reports SDK. As soon as the API is properly added by the manufacturer of Crystal Reports, we will add support for this.

Synopsis

What is the difference between a key code, Install Key, and Purchase Key?

Solution

A key code is a set of numbers and characters used by our products. There are two types of key codes that are used:

• Install Key
• Purchase Key

An Install Key is used to unlock or activate a product in to trial mode.

A Purchase Key is used to unlock or activate a product in to the fully licensed mode.

The length of the two key codes are not the same. So if you have a shorter or longer key code than what you're being prompted for, then you're using the wrong key code.

Synopsis

1. You are interested in evaluating a trial of our product(s). How do you download a trial?

2. You are interested in purchasing or have purchased our product(s) and want to download the licensed version.

Solution

The trial version of .rpt Inspector or SPL (Smart Pick Lists) is the same download and install as the full release version.

If the FREE trial you installed was the latest release version (latest version listed here: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Products/Latest-Version) then there is no need to download and install it again.

You can always confirm the version, build, and/or edition of your product by going to HELP|ABOUT. For an explanation of the .rpt Inspector version and edition concepts, visit: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Version-Build-Suite-type-and-Edition-N...

If you need to convert your installation from trial mode to licensed mode after you've purchased a license, review details here: www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Purchased-license-and-received-Purchase-Key-H...

Synopsis

Which Crystal Reports (CR) file versions / file formats can .rpt Inspector open / read the report in?

Note: We maintain a list of Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels

Solution

Click for a Version, build, suite type, and edition naming explanation FAQ

.rpt Inspector 1:

can read the following file formats (CR5.x-CR8.5):
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

 can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 9 and Crystal Reports 10 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10

can read the following file formats
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
can write / save in the following file formats
Crystal Reports XI Release 2

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9

can read the following file formats:

Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10

can read the following file formats:

Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
Crystal Reports 2008
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
Crystal Reports XI 2008
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1

Synopsis

My connectivity uses OLE DB. Does .rpt Inspector support this?

Solution

Unlike Crystal Reports®, .rpt Inspector™ does not require connectivity for the majority of actions that you'll perform. You can make changes to the various properties without connectivity because your are modifying the report template. However, if you'd like to see a preview, that requires combining the template with data and that is when we need to make a connection to your database. The other time we need connectivity is when working with the data source / database wizard, as we must be able to connect to the destination for the process to work.

For .rpt Inspector™ 1 (all builds): .rpt Inspector™ version 1 only supports ODBC connections to generate a preview. And the Datasource wizard only supports ODBC connections as well. However, if an ODBC connection requires a password, this version of .rpt Inspector does not prompt for one. The work around has been to establish a connection to the data source outside of .rpt Inspector first.

For .rpt Inspector™ 2 (all builds) and beyond: .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite has full support for ODBC / OLE DB / Native DB2 / Native Informix / Native Oracle / Native SQL Server / Native Sybase. When making connections to a database that requires authentication, you will be prompted for a user ID and password.

Synopsis

My connectivity uses ODBC. Does .rpt Inspector™ support ODBC connectivity?

Solution

Unlike Crystal Reports®, .rpt Inspector™ does not require connectivity for the majority of actions that you'll perform. You can make changes to the various properties without connectivity because you are are modifying the report template's existing objects and their properties.

There are two exceptions:

Version specific notes / restrictions / guidelines

.rpt Inspector™ 1 (all builds): .rpt Inspector™ version 1 only supports ODBC connections to generate a preview. And the Datasource wizard only supports ODBC connections as well. However, if an ODBC connection requires a password, this version of .rpt Inspector does not prompt for one. The work around has been to establish a connection to the data source outside of .rpt Inspector first.

Starting with .rpt Inspector™ 2 (all builds) and beyond: There is now support for ODBC / OLE DB / Native DB2 / Native Informix / Native Oracle / Native SQL Server / Native Sybase. When making connections to a database that requires authentication, you will be prompted for a user ID and password.

Synopsis

When opening a report, you receive an error message "could not establish connection to database"

Solution

This is a known issue in .rpt Inspector™ 1 pre-release and in .rpt Inspector™ 1 release -- as there was no ability to pass a specific ID and Password in ODBC to the database.

.rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite now allows a user ID and password to be passed to all supported database drivers.

Synopsis

I have made changes to one or more properties but when I click save and review those changes, they appear to not take affect.

Solution

There are two causes for this problems.

1. If you are using .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x) either the trial or a licensed version, and you have Crystal Reports® 9 prior to service pack 2, this is a known issue. There is a bug in one of the RDC APIs. To resolve this: * with CR9 installed, install .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x) * download and install service pack 2 (or later) for CR9 from Business * unless you have the Developer Edition of CR9, service pack 2 (or later) will not update the necessary file which has the API we reference but you need to install service pack 2 (or later) before applying the update to the API for best stability * download and install the "Merge Modules for Crystal Reports 9 RDC Deployments" available from Business Objects

2. With the trial version of .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite we have introduced a save limit. This save limit is not per session, but rather the total number of saves during your trial. The limit is set to 10 saves total. However, due to a bug, in some cases this save limit has allowed only a few saves and in some cases no saves at all. This issue has been reported to engineering and version 2.01 (a free point update to all 2.00 licensed users) will address this issue. for issues 1 & 2 above: Version 2.01 of .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR5.x-CR8.5) and .rpt Inspector™ 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x) will come with an updated version of the RDC API in which the API has been fixed. However, for stability, after installing 2.01 it is recommended that you install the lastest CR service pack.

Synopsis

When opening a Crystal Report file you receive an error dialog titled Critical Error - Error Reading Report with text inside the dialog that states Report is damaged and can not be read.

Why and what can you do?

Solution

In .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite and .rpt Inspector 3.1 Enterprise Suite, this error can happen for the following reason(s):

The Crystal Report file is in fact damaged.

In this case try opening it in Crystal Reports to confirm. If it opens fine in Crystal Reports, review the next possible reason below.

The Crystal Report file was saved with a newer version of Crystal Reports than the edition of .rpt Inspector that you're trying to open with.

As explained in the product's minimum requirements (.rpt Inspector Professional Suite or .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite) and the FAQ on editions, there is a 1:1 match of the edition of .rpt Inspector and Crystal Reports version that is installed on your system. So for example, if you're trying to open a Crystal Report file that was saved in Crystal Reports 9 using .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 8.5) edition, this error is normal to happen as .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 8.5) edition does not know how to properly work with a Crystal Reports version 9 file.

Another possibility is that the report was created with Crystal Reports that comes with Visual Studio .NET, Visual Studio .NET 2003, Visual Studio 2005, Visual Studio 2008, or Visual Studio 2010.

The Crystal Reports that come bundled with Visual Studio in most cases (there are some exceptions) create a slightly newer version of the Crystal Report file and this could therefore result in you receiving this error.

For example, a Crystal Report created with Visual Studio .NET 2005 is version 10.2.51014.0 while Crystal Reports 10 files would be version 10.0.x.x (the last two digits could be different depending on the service pack / fix pack applied) and if you try to open that report with .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 10) edition, it may have issues as the file format version is newer in Visual Studio and result in that error. However, .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR XI) will open that file without any problems.

Review our Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels FAQ to determine if this may be your issue.

If information in this reason doesn't apply to you, review the next possible reason below.

The report is built with BusinessViews.

.rpt Inspector currently can't open reports that contain BusinessViews as SAP / BusinessObjects has not exposed the APIs to us. Therefore, the APIs used to open the Crystal Report containing BusinessViews wrongly identify the report as being a damaged report, resulting in this error and preventing .rpt Inspector from being able to open those reports.

In .rpt Inspector 1 (all builds) and in .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR5.x-CR8.5), this error can happen for the following reason(s):

The Crystal Report file is in fact damaged.

In this case try opening it in Crystal Reports to confirm. If it opens fine in Crystal Reports, review the next possible reason below.

You don't have the required version of Crystal Reports installed.

.rpt Inspector 1 (all builds) and in .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR5.x-CR8.5) require that you have Crystal Reports 8.5 and service pack 2 or higher installed on the same system where .rpt Inspector is installed for proper use.

The Crystal Report file was saved with a newer version of Crystal Reports than the version of .rpt Inspector that you're trying to open with.

For example, if you're trying to open a Crystal Report file that was saved in Crystal Reports 9 using .rpt Inspector 1 (all builds) or .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR5.x-CR8.5), this error is normal to happen as neither of these .rpt Inspector versions know how to properly work with a Crystal Reports version 9 file.

Another possibility is that the report was created with Visual Studio .NET (which creates a slightly newer version than 8.5). In this case, you should be able to open the report using .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x) or .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite editions other than CR 8.5.

Review our Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels FAQ to determine if this may be your issue.

In .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x), this error can happen for the following reason(s):

The Crystal Report file is in fact damaged.

In this case try opening it in Crystal Reports to confirm. If it opens fine in Crystal Reports, review the next possible reason below.

You don't have the required version of Crystal Reports installed.

.rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x) requires that you have Crystal Reports 9 installed on the same system where .rpt Inspector is installed for proper use.

While the file format of Crystal Reports 9 and 10 are that of Crystal Reports 9, .rpt Inspector has been compiled with dependancies on libraries and APIs to us. Therefore, the APIs that are based on Crystal Reports 9. However, it is fully supported for you to have both Crystal Reports 9 and Crystal Reports 10 on your computer at the same time.

The Crystal Report file was saved with a newer version of Crystal Reports than the version of .rpt Inspector that you're trying to open with.

For example, if you're trying to open a Crystal Report file that was saved in Crystal Reports 2008 using .rpt Inspector 2 (for for CR9.x-CR10.x), this error is normal to happen as .rpt Inspector does not know how to properly work with a Crystal Reports version 2008 file.

Another possibility is that the report was created with Visual Studio .NET 2003 (which creates a slightly newer version than 9). In this case, you should be able to open the report using .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite editions CR 10, CR XI, or CR XIr2.

Review our Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels FAQ to determine if this may be your issue.

Synopsis

My connectivity uses Native Drivers. Does .rpt Inspector support this?

Solution

Unlike Crystal Reports, .rpt Inspector does not require connectivity for the majority of actions that you'll perform. You can make changes to the various properties without connectivity because your are modifying the report template. However, if you'd like to see a preview, that requires combining the template with data and that is when we need to make a connection to your database. The other time we need connectivity is when working with the data source / database wizard, as we must be able to connect to the destination for the process to work.

.rpt Inspector 1 (all builds)
Supported only ODBC connections to generate a preview. And the Datasource wizard only supports ODBC connections as well. However, if an ODBC connection requires a password, this version of .rpt Inspector does not prompt for one. The work around has been to establish a connection to the data source outside of .rpt Inspector first.

.rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (all builds)
Full support for ODBC / OLE DB / Native DB2 / Native Informix / Native Oracle / Native SQL Server / Native Sybase. When making connections to a database that requires authentication, you will be prompted for a user ID and password.

.rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (all builds)
In addition to above supported connectivity methods of previous versions, added DAO support for Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel.

Synopsis

Some of my Crystal Reports objects are images or embedded OLE objects. Can I remove them or modify them with .rpt Inspector?

Solution

You can modify some of their properties (i.e. size, position, etc.) but currently .rpt Inspector can not remove or modify images or OLE objects. This is due to a limitation in the Crystal Reports SDK for Crystal Reports 8.5, Crystal Reports 9, Crystal Reports 10, Crystal Reports XI, Crystal Reports XI Release 2, Crystal Reports 2008. As soon as the API is properly added, we will add support for this.

Synopsis

During the installation of .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite or .rpt Inspector 3.1 Enterprise Suite you receive an error that states: "Unable to register the DLL/OCX: LoadLibrary failed; code 998"

Solution

Starting with Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft introduced a technology called Data Execution Prevention (DEP) which is enabled by default. This technology was intended to protect your computer's memory by preventing certain applications from executing in certain memory regions.

DEP is also installed and enabled in later versions of Windows. The information and resolution
listed below still apply.

While the default configuration of DEP is designed to protect your computer with minimal impact to application compatibility, depending on your DEP configuration it may interfere with some of the components that .rpt Inspector needs to install.

Please review Microsoft's DEP knowledge document on how to disable DEP or add the .rpt Inspector installation and components to the DEP exclusion list: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/prodtech/windowsxp/depcnfxp.mspx

If you are trying to install .rpt Inspector 3.1 Enterprise Suite (any edition) on your
BusinessObjects Enterprise or Crystal Enterprise server -- please review this FAQ

Synopsis

Each of the tabs in the "Objects" pane (bottom pane) has a grid which columns of properties. You can dynamically add specific properties that you're interested in to analyze, modify, and standardize. But you'd like to export the contents to Excel or a CSV (comma separated values) file to analyze and/or document further.

Can this be done with .rpt Inspector?

Click here for a visual explanation of the .rpt Inspector user interface

Click here for an explanation of tabs and the Objects pane

Solution

Yes you can!

The contents of each of the tab's (click here for an explanation of tabs and the Objects pane) grids can be exported to either Excel or a CSV (comma separated values) file.

When you export to Excel, the .XLS file created will look one to one as it does in the tab's grid. Meaning that if you've created groupings using our Drag and Group concept (click here for a step by step guide on dynamically adding columns and using the Drag and Group concept to create pivot like hierarchies) and rows are collapsed then they will be hidden in Excel, etc.

When you export to a CSV file, you'll only get the data but no formatting. Which means that you can then take this CSV file and create a Crystal Report from it, import in to Excel, or any other application that supports CSV file format and fine tune your own look and feel as well as information you're interested in seeing.

To export:
1. Go to the tab that contains the information you're interested in exporting (i.e. to see Database information you'd go to the "Database" tab, to see Formula information you'd go to the "Formulas" tab, to see Fonts or Colors or Graphics used in the design of the Crystal Report you'd go to the "Objects" tab, to see Schedule information you'd go to the "Schedules" tab, etc. -- click here for an explanation of tabs and the Objects pane)

2. Add to the tab's grid the columns of properties (click here for a step by step guide on dynamically adding columns and using the Drag and Group concept to create pivot like hierarchies) you're interested in exporting.

If you plan to export to Excel, and you've created grouping(s), you may wish to first expand all the groupings before you export.

Otherwise, all collapsed grouping rows will be exported to Excel as hidden and you'll have to unhide them manually in Excel.


To expand all grouping rows -- right click on one of the rows in the tab's grid and from the pop-up menu select "Expand All" or you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+E

3. Right click on one of the rows in the tab's grid

4. From the pop-up menu, select the "Export" menu

5. In the "Export" menu, select either to export to "CSV" or "Excel"

6. Provide the location and file name for the exported file

Synopsis

The .rpt Inspector interface is made up of multiple panes. The Objects pane (bottom pane) has on it multiple tabs.

What do these tabs mean and how do I use them?

Click here for a visual explanation of the .rpt Inspector user interface

Solution

The bottom pane of .rpt Inspector is the Objects pane which contains various tabs. The tabs are organized by object categories that exist in a Crystal Report.

Here are a few examples of object categories that exist in a Crystal Report:

• Report
• Section
• Formula
• Parameter
• Database
• etc.

Each of the object categories has properties:

• Report object would have a property for Report Title
• Section object would have a property for Section Name
• Formula object would have a property for Formula Definition Text
• Parameter object would have a property for Default Values
• Database object would have a property for Table Name
• etc.

Since each of the objects typically have multiple properties, .rpt Inspector organizes the objects and their properties by having each tab represent an object category.

So therefore in .rpt Inspector, the following representations are created using tabs which are displayed on the Objects pane:

• Reports tab represents various properties of the Crystal Report -- Report object
• Sections tab represents various properties of the Sections in the Crystal Report
• Objects tab represents ALL that are used in the design of the report. This means that you'll see objects listed here that may also be listed in other tabs. However, the properties exposed for those objects on this tab are specific to formatting (i.e. font, color, conditional formulas) which will not be shown on the other tabs
• Formulas tab represents various properties of the Formulas object
• SQL Expressions tab represents various properties of the SQL Expressions object
• Parameters tab represents various properties of the Parameters object
• Running Totals tab represents various properties of the Running Totals object
• Database tab represents various properties of the Database object
• Instances tab (can only be accessed in .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite) represents historical Instance meta-data retrieved from Crystal Report objects opened from an enterprise environment
• Schedules tab (can only be accessed in .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite) represents Schedules / recurring Instances (you can set defaults for how schedules will work, create new schedules, or modify existing schedules) meta-data retrieved from Crystal Report objects opened from an enterprise environment

Each of the tabs contain grids. Each grid has a preset number of default columns. Each of the columns represents a property of the object category. You can dynamically add additional properties to the grid which will create additional columns.

All tabs to the right of the Reports tab depend on the Crystal Reports you select on the grid of the Reports tab (or what you selected on the Reports Tree pane as it shows what's selected on the Reports tab and vice versa). So if you select 5 reports on the Reports tab, then each of the other tabs will display the objects of only those 5 selected reports. By default, only one Crystal Report (the first one opened) is selected on the Reports tab.

When you click on a row on the grid of any of the tabs, the item in the row will have its properties exposed in the Properties pane (which is the top middle pane). If you select multiple rows, .rpt Inspector will automatically analyze which properties two or more of the items selected have in common and display those accordingly in the Properties pane.

There are a two minor exceptions to the behavior of tabs as discussed above:
1. As mentioned above, the Objects tab represents the Crystal Reports "Design" -- meaning that ALL the objects that you would see on the "Design" of the report, and therefore that means that everything here is in use. - which means that all of these are the ones that are in use.

2. The Database tab has Read-Only properties. This is done on purpose because in order to make changes to these properties properly, there are usually several properties that need to be touched correctly and in the correct order, etc. For that reason, you can make various database and data source changes using a wizard called "Change data source / database" conversion and migration wizard in TOOLS|WIZARDS menu.

Database tab is still very powerful for documenting and analysis (i.e. finding which tables, fields, drivers, users, etc. are used for documentation or for impact analysis prior to using the above mentioned wizard).

Synopsis

Using Crystal Reports designer, you can go to the "Database" menu and select "Show SQL Query" to see the exact SQL that will be used for the report based on your design. How can you see this SQL Query using .rpt Inspector on one or multiple reports?

Solution

.rpt Inspector has a property called "SQLQueryString" which is part of the Report object and is therefore shown for objects in "Reports" tab.

1. Open your Crystal Reports in .rpt Inspector

2. By default you'll be on the "Reports" tab of the "Objects" pane (bottom pane) -- click here for a visual explanation of the .rpt Inspector user interface

3. The grid on the "Reports" tab shows rows of objects. Click on one or more rows to have the properties exposed for the selected object(s) in the "Properties" pane (top middle pane)

4. Scroll through the list of properties in the "Properties" pane (top middle pane) until you get to the "Database" section -- you'll see listed there a property called "SQLQueryString".

5. If the value of the property is blank, then you need to enable "Allow Dynamic Generation of SQLQueryString" in .rpt Inspector. See below explanation.

Allow Dynamic Generation of SQLQueryString explanation:
The SQLQueryString property is dynamically generated. Meaning that .rpt Inspector will need to make a connection to the Crystal Report's database to generate the value properly.

By default, the dynamic generation of the SQLQueryString is disabled to increase performance. Since .rpt Inspector doesn't need to connect to the Crystal Report's database when working with various objects and properties (only for preview and making changes to the data source / database) this setting off by default.

To turn on the dynamic generation of the SQLQueryString, you'll need to go to the "Tools" menu, and select "Options" from there. You'll then see on the "Display" tab an option to turn on "Allow Dynamic Generation of SQLQueryString".

Once enabled, if your Crystal Reports contain parameters, you'll be prompted to provide values for them and .rpt Inspector will connect to each Crystal Report's database -- so you may also be prompted to provide login information as needed.

Synopsis

I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key.
How do I de-activate my license or MOVE/TRANSFER the license once it's been activated?

Solution

As noted on your order receipt, in the section called "PRODUCT ACTIVATION" and as detailed in the I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license FAQ, Once a Purchase Key has been activated, the Purchase Key is locked to the system on which it is activated on.

The process below is referred to as the MOVE/TRANSFER license process, and will DE-ACTIVATE your Purchase Key (license) on your existing system.

Once this process is completed and the license has been de-activated, you must install the trial of the product on the destination workstation and go through the SAME process of activating your Purchase Key (license) as you previously did on the original workstation. The instructions are the same ones you followed from your order receipt, and are also outlined in the I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license FAQ.

The process of MOVE/TRANSFER license from the existing system is ONLY available via an Internet Connection and requires these steps on the system where the license is currently activated:

DE-ACTIVATION
1 open the SF Product Manager
2 select the product
3 select the option to MOVE/TRANSFER your license
4 specify the PURCHASE KEY
5 specify the contact information
6 specify the account logon
7 specify the notification options
8 proceed with the remainder of the wizard

Problems with De-Activation / MOVE/TRANSFER license due to Proxy/Firewall
Review: www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Activation-or-Deactivation-Proxy-or-Firewall-...

Synopsis

The Data source / Database Migration and Conversion Wizard has two methods in which you can work with reports.

What are they?
When / how do you use them?

Solution

There are two ways in which the Change Data source / Database Migration and Conversion Wizard can be used.

Method 1 - working with reports opened in the main application, where the reports are in-memory. See details below and a two screen shots describing this method.

Method 2 - working with reports opened directly by the wizard from a local file system / network share / Enterprise folders. See details below and a screen shot describing this method.

Method 1: This is the recommended method.

With this method, reports are first opened in the main application prior to starting the wizard. All reports that are opened in the main application are opened to memory and therefore all changes that are done to the reports, including in the wizard -- are done to memory until you commit them by saving the reports.

Therefore this is the safest approach -- since you can always confirm the changes on the Database tab (click here for an explanation of the various tabs on the Objects pane) and decide not to commit the changes.

1. Start .rpt Inspector
2. Open your report(s) in the main application
3. Start the Change Data source / Database Migration and Conversion Wizard
4. From the upper left pane, click on Opened Reports node
5. Select the report(s) you want the wizard to work with from the bottom left pane
6. Go through the rest of the wizard
7. When wizard finishes, you can go to the Database tab and review the changes that were made in memory or click on SAVE and select the report(s) to commit the changes to

If you're using .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite, then you can open report(s) directly from the enterprise environment as well as from the local file system / network share.

If you're using .rpt Inspector Professional Suite, then you can only open report(s) from the local file system / nework share.

Method 2: This is not our recommended method.

With this method, reports are opened directly by the wizard as it processes them and the changes are committed immediately.

Therefore safer approach is using method 1.

1. Start .rpt Inspector
2. You do not need to open any report(s) in the main application
3. Start the Change Data source / Database Migration and Conversion Wizard
4. From the upper left pane, click on the drive and folder node and navigate to where your report(s) reside or click on the Enterprise Folders node (this is only available if you are using .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite) and navigate your enterprise environment
5. Select the report(s) you want the wizard to work with from the bottom left pane
6. Go through the rest of the wizard
7. When wizard shows the finish screen, the changes were automatically committed and saved to the reports

If you're using .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite, then you can open report(s) directly from the enterprise environment as well as from the local file system / network share.

If you're using .rpt Inspector Professional Suite, then you can only open report(s) from the local file system / nework share.

Synopsis

I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. I've reviewed the I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license FAQ but I'm having an problem with the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard" communicating through our Proxy or Firewall. What can I do?

Solution

There are a lot of different vendors out there that make Proxy / Firewall products. Not all of them work the same. While we make every effort to ensure compatibility with the popular ones, we can't test them all.

The Internet Connection we make during the activation or de-activation is done via the standard HTTP (port 80) protocol and HTTPS / SSL (port 443) protocol. You use HTTP via port 80 every time you visit a web site. And when making purchases in on-line stores those are typically secured with HTTPS / SSL on port 443.

We do not use any proprietary non-standard ports. However, some Proxy / Firewall systems require for the application or browser to have the user login or re-login (typically after a certain idle period). Some monitor the actual communications and content that is being sent or received.

If you're tried to use the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard" and left the setting "Automatically detect" in the Proxy / Firewall area of the Internet Activation process then try un-checking this option and specifying the requested information and try making the connection. If however you've previously un-checked the "Automatically detect" setting, then try to check it and making the connection.

If both of above suggestions fail, we've also seen the following help:
1. On the "Connection Info" screen, before proceeding further, start your Internet Explorer (IE). And yes, it should be Internet Explorer not another browser.
2. Then when it loads up, go to a web site that is outside of your company and is not likely to be cached (i.e. www.SoftwareForces.com).
3. Proceed with the remainder of the wizard.

Step 2 above opens a browser session that the wizard will try to reuse.

If above suggestions fail
If above suggestions fail, then you should try doing an E-mail activation as described in I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license or contact your Administrator to assist, perhaps allowing your workstation to be temporarily moved outside of the Proxy / Firewall.

Note that DE-ACTIVATION / MOVE/TRANSFER license does require an internet connection to work properly in the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard".

Synopsis

I've purchased a license and received a Purchase Key. How do I activate my license?

Solution

To convert your installation from trial mode to licensed mode you must first purchase a license from one of our authorized partners. You will then be e-mailed a 16 alpha-numeric Purchase Key which you will use to activate your license using the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard".

Refer to the instructions received in your e-mail that contained your Purchase Key and information below.

Starting the "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard"
1. Click on Start (refers to the Microsoft Windows Start button)
2. Click on Programs (refers to the Microsoft Windows Programs listing)
3. Click on Software Forces
4. Click on SF Shared
5. Click on SF Product Manager
6. Select product to activate from the drop-down and click next.
7. Put bullet in - "Activate my copy of the Software (I've purchased and received my Purchase Key)" and click on next.
8. Put in the Purchase Key you received and click on next
9. Fill in the required information on this and the next screen
10. Uncheck any unwanted boxes

You can activate your license using either an internet connection (uses port 80 and port 443 for SSL) or via e-mail. Follow step 11 below from either the "Internet Activation" instructions or "E-mail Activation" instructions.

INTERNET ACTIVATION
11. Put bullet in - Continue registration using Internet and click on next
12. If you use a Proxy/Firewall and do not wish to have the information automatically detected, uncheck Automatically detect (see bottom if having issues with Proxy/Firewall for suggestions)
13. Review summary information and click next to make the connection
14. If there were no errors, the product's trial installation has been converted to licensed and your product has been activated.

Be sure to follow the de-activation procedures to MOVE/TRANSFER your license.

E-MAIL ACTIVATION (part 1)
11. Put bullet in - Continue registration using E-mail
12. Review summary information
13. If we detect your E-mail client, we will launch it and attach a file to it with an extension .DAT, otherwise you will be prompted for a path where this file should be created
14. If we were not able to detect and launch your E-mail, launch it manually now
15. Copy the Mail To address to your client's To field
16. Copy the Subject to your client's Subject field (make sure to have nothing else on the subject except the text you copied, otherwise the process will fail)
17. Attach the file specified in the Attachment path to your E-mail client
18. Send the E-mail
19. Wait for a response to your E-mail (processing may take as long as thirty (30) minutes)
20. Once you receive a response, proceed to part 2 below.

E-MAIL ACTIVATION
AFTER FILE IS SENT TO CUSTOMER (part 2)
If you do not receive a response to your E-mail and you have waited at least an hour, please contact technical support.

Once you complete part 1 of the E-mail Activation process, a response will be sent back to you. If the E-mail you sent to us had a valid file attached to it, and we were able to process it successfully, the response will contain an attachment that allows you to complete the E-mail Activation.

The attachment will have a .SFL extension. Please save this attachment to the SFShared directory (the same location as the SF Product Manager).

Then you...
1. Click on Start (refers to the Microsoft Windows Start button)
2. Click on Programs (refers to the Microsoft Windows Programs listing)
3. Click on Software Forces
4. Click on SF Shared
5. Click on SF Product Manager  
6. Select product to activate from the drop-down and click next.
7. Put bullet in - "Install the Software Product License I received through E-mail activation" and click on next
8. Set location where you placed the license file (usually under SFShared directory)
9. Click next
10. If there were no errors, the product's trial installation has been converted to licensed and your product has been activated.

Be sure to follow the de-activation procedures to MOVE/TRANSFER your license.

Problems with Internet Activation due to Proxy/Firewall
Review: www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Activation-or-Deactivation-Proxy-or-Firewall-...

Synopsis

What is a Connection / Connecitivity Method and which ones does .rpt Inspector support?

Solution

A connection / connecitivity method is a standard agreed upon specification to communicate with a database. .rpt Inspector supports a subset of the connectivity methods are available in Crystal Reports.

The reason: We had to write our own database routines and selected the most common connectivity methods our users are using. With each new version of .rpt Inspector we survey our users, and review support incidents for additional connectivity methods to support.

So if your connectivity method isn't listed below, be sure to let us know you'd like us to support it.

Synopsis

Which databases does .rpt Inspector support?

Solution

.rpt Inspector supports a subset of the databases that are available in Crystal Reports.

The reason: We had to write our own database routines and selected the most common databases our users are using. With each new version of .rpt Inspector we survey our users, and review support incidents for additional databases to support.

So if your database isn't listed below, be sure to let us know you'd like us to support it.

Software Forces is the leading manufacturer of business intelligence / enterprise reporting tools and solutions for SAP Business Objects (formerly Crystal Decisions) Business Intelligence (BI) and Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) products.

Software Forces products for SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI (formerly Crystal Enterprise and Seagate Info) and Crystal Reports are used by over 1,000 organizations in over 60 countries.

Our .rpt Inspector product has been called the "must-have" tool by anyone that has multiple Crystal Reports to manage.

Synopsis

There are numerous service packs and fix packs for each version of Crystal Reports. How can you tell which version(s) you have installed?

Solution

If you open your Crystal Reports designer and go to HELP|ABOUT, you'll see a version number listed. But how do you tell the service pack level installed?

We've compiled a table of Crystal Reports versions and their Service Pack / Fix Pack levels.

Also available:
Known BusinessObjects Enterprise versions and service pack levels
Known Crystal Enterprise versions and service pack levels (coming soon)

SAP Crystal Reports for Enterprise

Original (RTM) 	14.0.2.364_v20110603

SAP Crystal Reports 2011

Original (RTM) 	14.0.2.364

Crystal Reports 2008

Original (RTM) 	12.0.0.549

Service Pack 0 	12.0.0.683

Fix Pack 1 	12.0.0.796

Fix Pack 2 	12.0.0.840

Service Pack 1 	12.0.0.892

Fix Pack 1.1 	12.1.1.957

Fix Pack 1.2 	12.1.2.996

Fix Pack 1.3 	12.1.3.1028

Fix Pack 1.4 	12.1.4.1068

Fix Pack 1.5 	12.1.5.1096

Fix Pack 1.6 	12.1.6.116

Fix Pack 1.7 	12.1.7.114

Fix Pack 1.8 	12.1.8.1176

Fix Pack 1.9 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Fix Pack 1.10 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Fix Pack 1.11 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Fix Pack 1.12 	12.1.12.1458

Service Pack 2	12.2.0.290

Fix Pack 2.1 	12.2.1.412

Fix Pack 2.2 	12.2.2.453

Fix Pack 2.3 	12.2.3.467

Fix Pack 2.4 	12.2.4.507

Fix Pack 2.5 	12.2.5.537

Fix Pack 2.6 	12.2.6.567

Fix Pack 2.7 	12.2.7.598

Fix Pack 2.8	12.2.8.638

Fix Pack 2.9	12.2.9.698

Fix Pack 2.10	12.2.10.810

Fix Pack 2.11	12.2.11.906

Fix Pack 2.12	12.2.12.979

Service Pack 3	12.3.0.601

Fix Pack 3.1	12.3.1.684

Fix Pack 3.2	12.3.2.753

Fix Pack 3.3	12.3.3.812

Fix Pack 3.4	12.3.4.895

Fix Pack 3.5 	12.3.5.925

Fix Pack 3.6 	12.3.6.1006

Fix Pack 3.7 	12.3.7.1198

Service Pack 4	12.4.0.996

Fix Pack 4.1 	12.4.1.1188

Service Pack 5	12.5.0.1190

Crystal Reports XI (Release 2)

Original (RTM)	11.5.0.313

SP 1 		11.5.3.417

SP 2 		11.5.8.826

SP 3 		11.5.9.1076

SP 4 		11.5.10.1263

SP 5 		11.5.11.1470

SP 6 		11.5.12.1838

If you have a license to Crystal Reports XI (Release 1) you can download Crystal Reports XI Release 2 with Service Pack 2 (a 1.03GB ZIP download) directly from SAP BusinessObjects for FREE: http://resources.businessobjects.com/support/additional_downloads/servic...

Crystal Reports XI (Release 1)

Original (RTM) 	11.0.0.895

SP 1 		11.0.0.1282

SP 2 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 3 		11.0.0.2269

SP 4 		11.0.0.2495

SP ? 		11.0.0.89327 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP ? 		11.0.0.89527 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Crystal Reports 10

Original (RTM) 	10.0.0.533

SP ? 		10.0.0.53327 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP ? 		10.0.0.5335 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 1 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 2 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 3 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 4 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 5 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 6 	 	10.0.5.1506

Crystal Reports 9

Original (RTM) 	

SP 1 	 	

SP ? 		9.2.0.448 - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 2 	 	9.2.2.693

SP 3 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 5 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 6 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 7 	 	???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

Crystal Reports 8.5

Original		8.5.0.217
(Misc info in HELP|ABOUT, shows Seagate Software logo; Created:2/9/2001;CRW32 8.5.0.217;Size 7585847 bytes; Copyright 1991-2000 Seagate Softawre, Inc.)

SP 1 ???? - please contact us if you can assist with details on this

SP 2		8.5.3.936
(Misc info in HELP|ABOUT, shows Crystal Reports logo; Copyright 1991-2002 Crystal Decisions Inc.)

SP 3		8.5.3.975
(Misc info in HELP|ABOUT, shows Crystal Reports logo; Copyright 1991-2002 Crystal Decisions Inc.)

Additional sources:
From: http://blog.crystalreportsbook.com/crystal-reports-version-numbers-by-pr...
From: http://victoriayudin.com/2009/05/25/crystal-reports-service-packs-and-ve...
http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/BOBJ/Crystal+Reports+2008+-+Version...

From: http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/com.sap.km.cm.docs/oss_...

From: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms225607(VS.80).aspx

Synopsis

During the installation of .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite you receive an error that states: "This application has failed to start because cslibu-2-0-0.dll was not found"

Solution

You didn't follow the minimum requirements for the edition of .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite you installed.

There are currently 5 editions (explanation of what editions are) of .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite, each is compiled for a specific version of the Crystal Reports API, and therefore prior to installing .rpt Inspector Professional Suite, you must have an appropriate version of Crystal Reports installed first.

If you are evaluating .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR XI), as stated in the specifications and requirements, for this edition of .rpt Inspector to function, you must first have Crystal Reports XI installed on the system before installing .rpt Inspector.

If you are evaluating .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR XIr2), as stated in the specifications and requirements, for this edition of .rpt Inspector to function, you must first have Crystal Reports XI Release 2 installed on the system before installing .rpt Inspector.

You can see more information about the specifications for each edition here: Specifications
You can see more information about the requirements for each edition here: Requirements

Synopsis

My connectivity uses DAO. Does .rpt Inspector™ support DAO connectivity?

Solution

Now supported, starting with .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (all editions) versions 3.02 and higher and .rpt Inspector 3.1 Enterprise Suite (all editions) versions 3.12 and higher.

However, unlike Crystal Reports®, .rpt Inspector™ does not require connectivity for the majority of actions that you'll perform. You can make changes to the various properties without connectivity because you are are modifying the report template's existing objects and their properties.

There are two exceptions:

Synopsis

I am using the CR 8.5 edition of .rpt Inspector with Crystal Reports 8.5 installed on my system and when I click on "Save" or "Save As" in .rpt Inspector, I'm not seeing those changed committed to the report.

I am using the CR 9 edition of .rpt Inspector with Crystal Reports 9 installed on my system and when I click on "Save" or "Save As" in .rpt Inspector, I'm not seeing those changed committed to the report.

Solution

This is a known issue with Crystal Reports 8.5 (prior to service pack 2) and Crystal Reports 9 (prior to service pack 2). .rpt Inspector makes certain API calls to Crystal Reports. The API for Save is broken in Crystal Reports 8.5 prior to service pack 2, and in Crystal Reports 9 prior to service pack 2.

To solve the problem:

Synopsis

There are several suites in the .rpt Inspector™ brand, with each having multiple editions. This document describes how to understand the difference and naming convention(s) used.

Definition

Question: What is a version?
Answer: When a product is released to the public it is given a unique number to identify the release. If this is the first release of the product, it will typically be labeled as 1 (can also be written as 1.00 or 1.0 or 1.0.0 -- which all mean the same). A version number can contain one or more elements: Major revision, moderate revision, and minor revision.

Major revision: This is usually the first number (#.x)- a new major revision of a software generally brings significant change, such as a new user interface, lots of bug fixes or added functionality.

Moderate revision: This is usually the second number (x.#), and an increase signals a somewhat noticeable but not necessarily major change.

Minor revision: When minor revision is included in a version number, it is usually either in a number of its own (x.x.#) or together with the moderate revision (x.x#), leading to version numbers like 3.02. The minor revision is also referred to as "point update" or "corrective patch" and are typically a collection of bug fixes, but can contain new feature(s) or can change functionality of existing feature(s).

Question: What is a build?
Answer: A build is usually three- or four-digit, which refers to the revision of the program's internal code. During the development cycle and/or fix cycle, there may be several builds released to testers and/or QA (Quality Assurance) people before it is felt that the product is ready for public release. Therefore, the build that is listed on a publicly released product refers to the revision of the program's internal code at the time of release.

Question: What is an edition?
Answer: An edition specifies the version of Crystal Reports and/or BusinessObjects Enterprise and/or Crystal Enterprise that the product has been designed to be used with. This means that you must have that version of Crystal Reports installed on your system prior to installing an edition of .rpt Inspector. You may also need to have a specific service pack installed, so please refer the .rpt Inspector requirements for the edition you're interested in (links follow below).

Solution

There are currently 2 product suites in the .rpt Inspector brand:

.rpt Inspector Professional Suite
Intended for use by those that need to access Crystal Reports which are located on a file system or network share. More information about this product can be found here: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Products/rpt-Inspector-Professional-Suite-...

The diagram below shows the naming convention used for this product and how to decode the product name, version, suite type, and edition.

       +-- product name
       |          +-- version
       |          |           +-- suite type
       |          |           |                  +-- edition
       |          |           |                  |
.------V-------. .V. .--------V---------. .------V------.
|.rpt Inspector| |3| |Professional Suite| |(for CR XIr2)|

.rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite
Intended for use by those that need to access Crystal Reports® which are located in an enterprise environment such as BusinessObjects Enterprise or Crystal Enterprise. Because it has all the features of .rpt Inspector Professional Suite, it can also be used to access Crystal Reports on a file system or network share. More information about this product can be found here: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Products/rpt-Inspector-Enterprise-Suite-fo...

The diagram below shows the naming convention used for this product and how to decode the product name, version, suite type, and edition.

       +-- product name
       |           +-- version
       |           |           +-- suite type
       |           |           |                      +-- edition
       |           |           |                      |
.------V-------. .-V-. .-------V--------. .-----------V-----------.
|.rpt Inspector| |3.1| |Enterprise Suite| |(for BO XIr2 / CR XIr2)|

Synopsis

I need to add a new formula, parameter, or other object. Can I do this with .rpt Inspector?

Solution

rpt Inspectorâ„¢ currently supports changes to existing formulas, parameters and objects only.

We are working on the ability to add formulas and parameters as well as the ability to copy an object from one report to another.

These abilities should be available in a future release of .rpt Inspector.

Synopsis

You've opened multiple reports, selected those reports, and have changed a property (i.e. Author) across the selected reports. In the property list, some of these reports are marked in red (the default color used to show a changed property -- until the report(s) are saved). Why?

Solution

With .rpt Inspectorâ„¢ 2 Professional Suite, we've added support for sub-reports. The behavior of properties in sub-reports is not always the same as that of a regular report.

Some sub-report properties are automatically inherited from the parent report. So if one of the selected reports was a main report, depending on the property, it may automatically push this property down to the sub-report.

In this case, if you are modifying such a property, even if you've selected the main report and its sub-report, the moment you change the main report, the sub-report changes automatically and when we do a compare we see that there has been no change and therefore do not flag it in red.

However, undo still works in those cases as it will undo the main report and automatically the sub-report.

Synopsis

You'd like to use the wildcards, or other pattern matching in the search and replace.

Solution

Question: How do you use it?
Answer: Our pattern matching mechanism uses the power of regular expressions. You can enter a valid regular expression only in Search edit box. A future version will support the Replace edit box as well. For an explanation of regular expression syntax and an example, see the table below:

A regular expression is a pattern of text that consists of ordinary characters (for example, letters a through z) and special characters, known as metacharacters. The pattern describes one or more strings to match when searching a body of text. The regular expression serves as a template for matching a character pattern to the string being searched.

Here are some examples of regular expression you might encounter:

The following table contains the complete list of metacharacters and their behavior in the context of regular expressions:

Synopsis

Some of my objects contain hyperlinks. Can I remove them or modify them with .rpt Inspector™?

Solution

Currently .rpt Inspector™ can not remove or modify hyperlinks. This is due to a limitation in the Crystal Reports SDK. As soon as the API is properly added by the manufacturer of Crystal Reports, we will add support for this.

Synopsis

1. You are interested in evaluating a trial of our product(s). How do you download a trial?

2. You are interested in purchasing or have purchased our product(s) and want to download the licensed version.

Solution

The trial version of .rpt Inspector or SPL (Smart Pick Lists) is the same download and install as the full release version.

If the FREE trial you installed was the latest release version (latest version listed here: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Products/Latest-Version) then there is no need to download and install it again.

You can always confirm the version, build, and/or edition of your product by going to HELP|ABOUT. For an explanation of the .rpt Inspector version and edition concepts, visit: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Version-Build-Suite-type-and-Edition-N...

If you need to convert your installation from trial mode to licensed mode after you've purchased a license, review details here: www.SoftwareForces.com/FAQ/Purchased-license-and-received-Purchase-Key-H...

Synopsis

Which Crystal Reports (CR) file versions / file formats can .rpt Inspector open / read the report in?

Note: We maintain a list of Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels

Solution

Click for a Version, build, suite type, and edition naming explanation FAQ

.rpt Inspector 1:

can read the following file formats (CR5.x-CR8.5):
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

 can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 9 and Crystal Reports 10 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10

can read the following file formats
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
can write / save in the following file formats
Crystal Reports XI Release 2

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9

can read the following file formats:

Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10

can read the following file formats:

Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Enterprise 9

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Enterprise 10

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
Crystal Reports 2008
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports XI
Crystal Reports XI Release 2
Crystal Reports XI 2008
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3
BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 3.1

Synopsis

My connectivity uses ODBC. Does .rpt Inspector™ support ODBC connectivity?

Solution

Unlike Crystal Reports®, .rpt Inspector™ does not require connectivity for the majority of actions that you'll perform. You can make changes to the various properties without connectivity because you are are modifying the report template's existing objects and their properties.

There are two exceptions:

Version specific notes / restrictions / guidelines

.rpt Inspector™ 1 (all builds): .rpt Inspector™ version 1 only supports ODBC connections to generate a preview. And the Datasource wizard only supports ODBC connections as well. However, if an ODBC connection requires a password, this version of .rpt Inspector does not prompt for one. The work around has been to establish a connection to the data source outside of .rpt Inspector first.

Starting with .rpt Inspector™ 2 (all builds) and beyond: There is now support for ODBC / OLE DB / Native DB2 / Native Informix / Native Oracle / Native SQL Server / Native Sybase. When making connections to a database that requires authentication, you will be prompted for a user ID and password.

Synopsis

When opening a Crystal Report file you receive an error dialog titled Critical Error - Error Reading Report with text inside the dialog that states Report is damaged and can not be read.

Why and what can you do?

Solution

In .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite and .rpt Inspector 3.1 Enterprise Suite, this error can happen for the following reason(s):

The Crystal Report file is in fact damaged.

In this case try opening it in Crystal Reports to confirm. If it opens fine in Crystal Reports, review the next possible reason below.

The Crystal Report file was saved with a newer version of Crystal Reports than the edition of .rpt Inspector that you're trying to open with.

As explained in the product's minimum requirements (.rpt Inspector Professional Suite or .rpt Inspector Enterprise Suite) and the FAQ on editions, there is a 1:1 match of the edition of .rpt Inspector and Crystal Reports version that is installed on your system. So for example, if you're trying to open a Crystal Report file that was saved in Crystal Reports 9 using .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 8.5) edition, this error is normal to happen as .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 8.5) edition does not know how to properly work with a Crystal Reports version 9 file.

Another possibility is that the report was created with Crystal Reports that comes with Visual Studio .NET, Visual Studio .NET 2003, Visual Studio 2005, Visual Studio 2008, or Visual Studio 2010.

The Crystal Reports that come bundled with Visual Studio in most cases (there are some exceptions) create a slightly newer version of the Crystal Report file and this could therefore result in you receiving this error.

For example, a Crystal Report created with Visual Studio .NET 2005 is version 10.2.51014.0 while Crystal Reports 10 files would be version 10.0.x.x (the last two digits could be different depending on the service pack / fix pack applied) and if you try to open that report with .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR 10) edition, it may have issues as the file format version is newer in Visual Studio and result in that error. However, .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (for CR XI) will open that file without any problems.

Review our Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels FAQ to determine if this may be your issue.

If information in this reason doesn't apply to you, review the next possible reason below.

The report is built with BusinessViews.

.rpt Inspector currently can't open reports that contain BusinessViews as SAP / BusinessObjects has not exposed the APIs to us. Therefore, the APIs used to open the Crystal Report containing BusinessViews wrongly identify the report as being a damaged report, resulting in this error and preventing .rpt Inspector from being able to open those reports.

In .rpt Inspector 1 (all builds) and in .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR5.x-CR8.5), this error can happen for the following reason(s):

The Crystal Report file is in fact damaged.

In this case try opening it in Crystal Reports to confirm. If it opens fine in Crystal Reports, review the next possible reason below.

You don't have the required version of Crystal Reports installed.

.rpt Inspector 1 (all builds) and in .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR5.x-CR8.5) require that you have Crystal Reports 8.5 and service pack 2 or higher installed on the same system where .rpt Inspector is installed for proper use.

The Crystal Report file was saved with a newer version of Crystal Reports than the version of .rpt Inspector that you're trying to open with.

For example, if you're trying to open a Crystal Report file that was saved in Crystal Reports 9 using .rpt Inspector 1 (all builds) or .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR5.x-CR8.5), this error is normal to happen as neither of these .rpt Inspector versions know how to properly work with a Crystal Reports version 9 file.

Another possibility is that the report was created with Visual Studio .NET (which creates a slightly newer version than 8.5). In this case, you should be able to open the report using .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x) or .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite editions other than CR 8.5.

Review our Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels FAQ to determine if this may be your issue.

In .rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x), this error can happen for the following reason(s):

The Crystal Report file is in fact damaged.

In this case try opening it in Crystal Reports to confirm. If it opens fine in Crystal Reports, review the next possible reason below.

You don't have the required version of Crystal Reports installed.

.rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (for CR9.x-CR10.x) requires that you have Crystal Reports 9 installed on the same system where .rpt Inspector is installed for proper use.

While the file format of Crystal Reports 9 and 10 are that of Crystal Reports 9, .rpt Inspector has been compiled with dependancies on libraries and APIs to us. Therefore, the APIs that are based on Crystal Reports 9. However, it is fully supported for you to have both Crystal Reports 9 and Crystal Reports 10 on your computer at the same time.

The Crystal Report file was saved with a newer version of Crystal Reports than the version of .rpt Inspector that you're trying to open with.

For example, if you're trying to open a Crystal Report file that was saved in Crystal Reports 2008 using .rpt Inspector 2 (for for CR9.x-CR10.x), this error is normal to happen as .rpt Inspector does not know how to properly work with a Crystal Reports version 2008 file.

Another possibility is that the report was created with Visual Studio .NET 2003 (which creates a slightly newer version than 9). In this case, you should be able to open the report using .rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite editions CR 10, CR XI, or CR XIr2.

Review our Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels FAQ to determine if this may be your issue.

Synopsis

My connectivity uses Native Drivers. Does .rpt Inspector support this?

Solution

Unlike Crystal Reports, .rpt Inspector does not require connectivity for the majority of actions that you'll perform. You can make changes to the various properties without connectivity because your are modifying the report template. However, if you'd like to see a preview, that requires combining the template with data and that is when we need to make a connection to your database. The other time we need connectivity is when working with the data source / database wizard, as we must be able to connect to the destination for the process to work.

.rpt Inspector 1 (all builds)
Supported only ODBC connections to generate a preview. And the Datasource wizard only supports ODBC connections as well. However, if an ODBC connection requires a password, this version of .rpt Inspector does not prompt for one. The work around has been to establish a connection to the data source outside of .rpt Inspector first.

.rpt Inspector 2 Professional Suite (all builds)
Full support for ODBC / OLE DB / Native DB2 / Native Informix / Native Oracle / Native SQL Server / Native Sybase. When making connections to a database that requires authentication, you will be prompted for a user ID and password.

.rpt Inspector 3 Professional Suite (all builds)
In addition to above supported connectivity methods of previous versions, added DAO support for Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel.

Synopsis

Some of my Crystal Reports objects are images or embedded OLE objects. Can I remove them or modify them with .rpt Inspector?

Solution

You can modify some of their properties (i.e. size, position, etc.) but currently .rpt Inspector can not remove or modify images or OLE objects. This is due to a limitation in the Crystal Reports SDK for Crystal Reports 8.5, Crystal Reports 9, Crystal Reports 10, Crystal Reports XI, Crystal Reports XI Release 2, Crystal Reports 2008. As soon as the API is properly added, we will add support for this.

Synopsis

How does one receive a key code to unlock a product?

Solution

To evaluate .rpt Inspector or SPL, you can download a FREE 15 Day trial. You start by filling out a short trial download form which will then allow you to download a trial. An Install Key will be sent to the e-mail you provided on the trial download form which will be necessary to start your trial. You can download from: http://www.SoftwareForces.com/Download

After you've finished your evaluation of the trial, you can purchase a license to the product by visiting our purchase page: www.SoftwareForces.com/Purchase ).

When you purchase a license, you will receive a Purchase Key. This Purchase Key will be entered in to our "SF Product Manager" / "Activation Wizard", which will guide you through the process of unlocking your trial in to a fully licensed mode.

Synopsis

Which Crystal Reports (CR) file versions / file formats can .rpt Inspector save / write the report in?

Note: We maintain a list of Known Crystal Reports versions and service pack levels

Solution

Click for a Version, build, suite type, and edition naming explanation FAQ

.rpt Inspector 1:

can read the following file formats (CR5.x-CR8.5):
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

 can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats (CR8.x):
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 9
Crystal Reports 10
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 9 and Crystal Reports 10 is the same.

can read the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 5
Crystal Reports 6
Crystal Reports 7
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
can write / save in the following file formats:
Crystal Reports 8
Crystal Reports 8.5
Note: The file format of Crystal Reports 8 and Crystal Reports 8.5 is the same.