Crystal Reports: A Reporting Tool for Power Users

Are you struggling to design, create, and publish reports from multiple data sources? Look no further than Crystal Reports. If you’re interested in using this reporting tool in Visual Studio 2019, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we will provide step-by-step instructions on how to install Crystal Reports in Visual Studio 2019.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, it is essential to have the following prerequisites installed:

• Visual Studio 2019 Community, Professional or Enterprise edition
• .NET Framework (version 4.6.2 or higher)
• SAP Crystal Reports for Visual Studio (version 13.0.22 or higher)

If you do not have these prerequisites installed, please take care of them before proceeding.

Step 1: Download and Install Crystal Reports for Visual Studio

The first step is to download and install the SAP Crystal Reports for Visual Studio. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to the SAP Crystal Reports for Visual Studio download page.
2. Scroll down the page until you see the heading “Files to download.”
3. Click on the link labeled “Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2019 – MSI Installer.”
4. A dialog box will appear. You may need to enter your user name and password to proceed.
5. Once downloaded, open the .msi file and follow the wizard to install Crystal Reports.

Step 2: Install the Crystal Reports Runtime Component

After installing the SAP Crystal Reports for Visual Studio, you need to install the Crystal Reports runtime component. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to the SAP Support Portal and log in to your account.
2. Once logged in, navigate to the Downloads section.
3. Under the “Support Packages & Patches” tab, search for “SAP Crystal Reports runtime engine for .NET Framework” and download the latest version.
4. Once downloaded, run the .exe file and follow the wizard to install the runtime component.

Step 3: Add Crystal Reports to Your Visual Studio Project

Now that you have installed the necessary components, you can add Crystal Reports to your Visual Studio project. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open your Visual Studio project.
2. From the menu bar, select “Project” > “Add New Item.”
3. In the “Add New Item” dialog box, select “Reporting” > “Crystal Reports.”
4. A wizard will open to help you create your first Crystal report. Follow the prompts to create your report.

Step 4: Configure Crystal Reports for Your Project

Now that you’ve added Crystal Reports to your Visual Studio project, you need to configure it for your specific project. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Crystal Report in your project to open it.
2. From the menu bar, select “Report” > “Crystal Reports Configuration.”
3. In the “Crystal Reports Configuration” dialog box, select “Database Configuration.”
4. Follow the prompts to configure your database for use with Crystal Reports.

Step 5: Run Your Crystal Report

Now that you’ve installed Crystal Reports, added it to your Visual Studio project, and configured it for your project, you are ready to run your report. To do this, follow these steps:

1. From the menu bar, select “Debug” > “Start Debugging” (or press F5 on your keyboard).
2. Once your project has loaded in the browser, navigate to the page that displays your Crystal Report.
3. Your report should now appear on the page.

In conclusion, adding Crystal Reports to your Visual Studio 2019 project can make your reporting tasks easier and more streamlined. With a little patience and following the steps outlined in this article, you can easily install and configure Crystal Reports in your project.