Business View Manager - Dynamic Data Connections

[Former Member]

Dear Experts,

I am using CR 2008 - BOXI 3.1.

CR has a main + 2 sub reports. The report queries are 3 different Business Views on Business View Manager. Here are the issues:

1     In the data foundation, when I paste my sql code it dosent copy the entire code. It appears there is a character / file size limit. Is that true? Anyways to change it?

2     Since there are 3 views, I get the connection choice 3 times (1 for each view). Is there a way to pass the selection choice from one parameter to the other 2 & that way the user dosent have to select it 3 times?

3 I tried to avoid the sub reports by adding multiple connections in the main report & Crystal will not like it. Throws out this error:

"Business View connections cannot be mixed with other connections"

I do have 3 connections but then they are all Business View connections. Any workarounds?

Thanks

-Sunil

[DellSC · Accepted solution]

Are your business views connecting to three different databases?  If not, then you should use the same connection for all three - they don't require separate connections.

-Dell

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Dell,

Thank you for the reply.

All 3 queries for the business views are pointing to the same database. The business views uses the same dynamic data connections too. However, once I select a business view thru my repository connection, I am unable to add another business view to the same connection.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there a way to avoid multiple data connections on rpt file?

Also please let me know if there is a character / file size limit that the sql code cannot exceed in a DF.

Thanks

Sunil

[DellSC · Accepted solution]

The SQL size limit that I've run into in Crystal itself is about 65K characters.  I've been able to get around it to some extent by deleting extra spaces and some of the carriage returns.  However, for the largest queries I've had to work with, I've had to do either views or, in one case, an Oracle Package.

There's no way that I know of to use multiple business views in a report.  For this type of situation I usually recommend that my clients do one of two things:

1.  Create views in the database which can then be consolidated together either in a command or as linked tables either in a business view or in the report itself.

2.  Create a single view in the database which will pull all of the data for the report.  This can then be used as a single table in the report or in a business view.

Also, I've heard that SAP has plans to deprecate the Business View Manager in the future and have users work business views through the Information Design Tool instead.  This is similar, but not the same and it creates .unx universes which require the new Crystal for Enterprise and cannot be accessed through "classic" Crystal.

Another thing I'd to mention is that using Business Views can cause some problems when upgrading and migrating from 3.1 to 4.x.  I do a LOT of these types of migrations for my clients and I've never had a "clean" migration with objects from the Business View Manager - there are always challenges with them.

-Dell

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thank you Dell.

Appreciate your inputs. I guess, for now we will create 2 versions each pointing to a distinct sql server.

--Sunil