Crystal Reports 2016 and SQL Server 2012 upgrade

[adameron]

I am prepping for a major upgrade haul and trying to get all my ducks in a row. I appreciate any advice or resources that could assist me with my questions below.

Currently we use Crystal Reports 2016 and SQL Server 2012. We will be upgrading to Crystal Reports 2020 and SQL Server 2022 at the same time. 

If I keep all the databases the same during the SQL Server Upgrade, will this affect any of the reports when I upgrade to Crystal Reports? We currently have reports schedules via email, will these need to be set up again once the upgrades are complete?

We also use a Crystal Reports extension on Visual Studio for applications that we use in house. Will anything be affected by these applications after this upgrades?

[DellSC · Accepted solution]

The thing to remember is that Crystal 2016 is 32-bit and Crystal 2020 is 64-bit.  So, you'll need to make sure that you have the 64-bit SQL Server client installed.  Also, if you're using ODBC, you'll need to create 64-bit ODBC DSNs to work with Crystal 2020. 

My experience has been that if the DSNs have the same names in both 32-bit and 64-bit, the reports work without updating.  However, that was where the SQL Server version didn't change.  Since you're changing versions of SQL Server and also changing the version of the driver to match, you will probably have to go through the exercise of changing the data source in the reports to get them to work.

As for your code, which version of the SDK are you using and is your application 32-bit or 64-bit?  If you're using a much older version of the SDK, it probably won't work with the newer version of SQL Server.  As Don stated, you'll want to check the supported platforms document to find out.  If that's the case, you'll need to do the following:

1.  Uninstall your current version of the SDK integration with Visual Studio.

2.  Download and install the latest version of the integration with Visual Studio - be sure to right-click on the .exe and select "Run as Administrator" for it to install correctly.

3.  Update the CrystalReports references in you application to use the new version of the SDK and compile the app.

4.  After testing locally, you'll need to uninstall the old version of the SDK Runtime on the server and install the version of the runtime that matches the one used for development.  Then deploy your application.

Since you're setting the database login information in the application (or should be!) everything should work at that point.

If you're using Crystal Server and upgrading it (you'll need to upgrade for the new version of Crystal Reports) and you have applications written using the .NET SDK for Crystal Server, those will have to be updated to use the new version of the BI Platform SDK (found in the Client Tools install.)  There have been MAJOR updates to the security functionality that require the upgrade and rebuild.

-Dell

[DonWilliams]

You can always check the latest supported platforms for DB Server and client support here:

https://www.sap.com/documents/2020/06/b2ec5eaa-9d7d-0010-87a3-c30de2ffd8ff.html

Check the version of CR you are using and download any patches required.

Be aware that MS will often have issues in their Clients, sometimes ODBC works and OLE dB doesn't or OLE DB works and ODBC doesn't.

You'll have to confirm by opening each report in CR 2020, Note CR 2020 is 64 bit so Clients and other third party dependencies must also be 64 bits.

Once the report is opened click on Database, Set Location... and choose your new Client, either ODBC or OLE DB. Then click on Verify Database, this updates the info saved in the RPT file. Preview to confirm it all works and save in a new folder, or back up your originals first.

As for the software you are using in your app you can get the latest SP 35 from here:

https://help.sap.com/docs/SUPPORT_CONTENT/crystalreports/3354091173.html

See my blog on upgrading:

https://community.sap.com/t5/technology-blogs-by-sap/upgrading-a-visual-studio-2008-gt-2022-net-proj...

You will need to upgrade your project because the newer MS Server may not be supported in the old runtime you used.