How Does RentalPoint Support Crystal Reports?
- RentalPoint Software only supports Crystal Reports written by RentalPoint Software.
- There are significant differences between Rentalpointv10 and Rentalpointv11 integration with Crystal Reports. Your version of Rentalpoint can be determined via clicking HelpàAbout off the main Rentalpoint menu.
- Custom templates can be written for a fee which is determined once a spec is provided by the client.
- The spec would consist of a draft of what the report should look like in Excel and any other notes pertinent to providing a clear understanding of what is required.
RentalPoint v10 and Crystal Reports
- RentalPoint has the runtime files and a Crystal Report Viewer for Crystal Version 8.5 behind it therefore RentalPoint Version 10.x and higher can run Crystal Report templates that are built in Version 8.0 or Version 8.5 of Crystal Reports.
- If you create a report template in Version 8.5 of Crystal, you can run it inside RentalPoint without requiring the Crystal Reports program HOWEVER you may need an ODBC driver on your machine in order to run those reports. Please see ODBC Instructions for RentalPoint for further details.
Database Connection (ODBC) Instructions for RentalPoint v10
Why Can’t I Run a Later Version of Crystal Reports Inside RentalPoint v10?
- Since Version 8.5 of Crystal Reports (at time of this document writing) there are
- Crystal Reports Version 9, Version 10, Version 11 (XI),
- Crystal Reports Version 12 which is labelled Crystal Reports 2008
- Crystal Reports Version 14 which is labelled as Crystal Reports 2011
- Everything from Version 9 onwards uses a different formatted file for the report format. So a Version 9+ report file cannot be run by the run time files in Version 8.5 or even opened in Crystal Reports Version 8.5. Also Crystal Reports Version 9 onwards has no way of saving back into a Crystal Reports Version 8.x file format.
Are Reports Created in Crystal Reports Version 9+ Useable in RentalPoint v10?
- If you have created your own custom crystal report templates for your reporting needs and have done this in Crystal Reports Version 9 or higher then you can’t add that template to the Crystal Report Menu in RentalPointv10 and have it run. This will produce an error BUT you can still use the report template outside of RentalPoint with an external viewer quite successfully. Consider upgrading to Rentalpointv11 which will accommodate your needs.
RentalPoint v11 and Crystal Reports
- Rentalpointv11 Crystal viewer supports any 32-bit version of Crystal Reports Runtime. Crystal Reports Runtime has functions and libraries that need to exist on your Rentalpoint Workstation in order for reports to display in Rentalpoint. Therefore you need to install the Crystal Report Runtime Engine on your workstation.
- To check if Crystal Reports Runtime is already installed, go to Add/Remove Programs on your workstation and look for the following installation:
Installing Crystal Reports Runtime for RentalPoint v11
- There is Crystal Report run time 32bit_13_0_16 in your Rentalpoint installation, alternatively you can source the latest 32-bit version from the link provided here http://downloads.businessobjects.com/akdlm/cr4vs2010/CRforVS_redist_install_32bit_13_0_17.zip
- To find the installation file provided by Rentalpoint, navigate to your live Rentalpoint system directory (usually c:\Rentalpointv11\sys)
- Double click on the CrystalInstaller folder
- Run the msi installer to install Crystal Reports software
Database Connections for Crystal Reports in RentalPoint v11
- While Old versions of RPCrystalViewer worked with User DSN ODBC alias, Rentalpoint v11.1.7 version and higher will use your Rentalpoint configuration file c:\rentalpointv11\sys\rpini.ini for database connection details. This means if you can successfully run Rentalpoint, then you should have no issues connecting to the database when running Crystal Reports.
Running Crystal Reports in RentalPoint (v10 and v11)
Launch the reports via Crystal Reports menu option off the main Rentalpoint menu
Rentalpoint provides four standard Crystal Reports which by default can be found in the c:\Rentalpointv11\Reports directory (configured in your c:\rentalpointv11\sys\rpini.ini configuration file.
Click ADD to add these reports
A ‘Report not found’ message could mean the report cannot be located in the reports directory OR the Crystal Reports Runtime engine is not installed
Export a Crystal Report to Excel
Follow these instructions to export Crystal Reports to Excel or PDF.
Download the Export_CR_To_Excel.zip file from rentp.com support downloads page
Extract the information from the zip file into your RentalPoint\sys directory. Replace all existing files.
Navigate to your RentalPoint\sys directory.
Double click on rp-pdf.bat. This will register the files on your computer.
Now when you run a Crystal Report, you can use the envelope button in the viewer to export to Excel and PDF.