After installing SQL Server 2008 R2 Express, I went into Report Configuration Manager to see what the Reporting Manager URL was confifured as. I clicked on the link and got a “page could not be found” error. I noticed that when I clicked on the HTTP:\\servername\reports URL, it took me to the SSL URL https:\\servername\reports. However, because there was an SSL Certificate on the machine that I installed SQL Server, the SSL URL was something like https:\\mail.clientname.com\reports.

How to fix this problem

Notice how the the SSL URL https:\\mail.clientname.com\reports is different than the SSL URL that was clicked on: http:\\servername\reports.

To resolve this problem with in the Report Configuration Manager for SQL Server R2 Express, you need to go into the advanced settings and make the SSL URL match the location of where you installed the server. In the specific case above, the URL would have to match the following: http:\\servername\reports.

• Use Crystal Syntax
• Develop SQL Queries

The path that you choose will depend on your experience.  We recommend using SQL Queries to aggregate the data and pull into your Crystal Report versus using complex Crystal Syntax.  SQL Queries are better for performance, scalability, migration..etc.

If you need Crystal Report Help, we are just a phone call or click away!!

The first thing a Crystal Report Writer must do is to gather the report requirements from the end user.  Mockups, screen shots, parameter specifications, ..etc are very helpful.  A general understanding of what information and questions the report answers for the end user is a must. 

Next, the technical work begins.  Crystal Developer is the application that Crystal reports are produced in.  The file is a .rpt file.  After this file is produced, you can view the report on your local machine; however, what if you want others to view the report?  You must have a place a place to publish the report too for others to view it (unless you just send them a pdf or the rpt file for them to view in their copy of Crystal Developer).  Normally, Crystal is embedded in an application, so you just publish it to that particular app.  There is also Crystal Enterprise which provides a web portal to publish your reports too, but this software costs extra.  SQL Server Reporting Services is an alternative that comes with SQL Server a no additional cost.

Within Crystal, you have to create a dataset that must connect to a datasource (such as SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, ..etc).  After you are connected, the you can pull in your tables so that you can write logic against them to produce a proper report dataset.  If you bring in more than one table, you have to “link” or join the tables together properly.  Crystal will try to do this for you, but it is no always correct.

Now that you have your dataset, you can begin writing Crystal syntax for formulas, fomating, ..etc for you report.  Reporting Guru recommends that you put as much logic as possible down at the database level.  This allows you to reuse logic on different Crystal reports or different report engines such as SQL Server Reporting Services.  You can arrange he columns as needed on the report palette or use Crystal objects such as crosstabs.

Now that the report is complete (rpt file), you must publish to a location.  As previously stated, you must have a custom application or Crystal Enterprise to publish the report too.

If you need help, a Reporting Guru is always available to be your Crystal Report Writer.

• –knowledge of writing Transaction SQL Statements
• –knowledge of  SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)

SQL Report Writing also requires good communication skills along with a general understanding of business practices. The Report Writer must be able to gather requirements from end users so that report specifications can be created.  It is important to understand what is desired from a report and what it will be used for.  Screen shots, mockups, ..etc are very helpful.

After the specifications are created, the technical work begins for the SQL Report Writer.  A data set must be created and connected to the database.  You can embed your SQL in the dataset, but Reporting Guru recommends that you connect the dataset to a database object such as a view or stored procedure.  Creating a view or stored procedure with your SQL gives you the flexibility of then being able to reuse it on other SSRS reports, Crystal Reports, ..etc.

Now that you have your dataset, it is time to create the report itself.  This is a matter of putting the proper columns onto the report palette.  You can use different SSRS objects such as a matrix or chart.  You can also add complex logic for calculating columns, hiding, ..etc, but again, Reporting Guru recommends that you put as much logic as possible in the SQL.

Finally, after the report is complete, you must publish the RDL file to the report server which is essentially a web portal.  This allows other users to conviniently view and run the report you created from a web page.

Good luck with SQL Report Writing and remember that getting help is always a click away!!

What do you do if you need SQL reporting help?

Getting Help From SQL Report Experts

For help with SQL Reports, you have a few resources and options such as:

• Call Microsoft or a tech support company and pay for support
• Dig through the internet and try to find answers to your questions
• Hire a consultant to help you
• or Calling an SQL Support Line

Finding the right support system is helpful for getting answers when you get stuck. Support systems can be expensive. When searching for the right support system, it is important to take into account the billing method. SQL reporting help can be bought at an incident based support fee or a flat fee support contract.

Beyond the expense, phone based support can be somewhat tedious to deal with. When you have to walk through your problem and describe your situation it can require patience and be very time consuming. Some people find it frustrating because some companies have several levels of support agents and you often have to go through your problem and through troubleshooting at several levels before you get some help. Sometimes you have to deal with a support call centre overseas and so effective communication can be cumbersome, to say the least.

SQL Reporting Problems: Figuring it Out Yourself

Sometimes you can figure things out yourself. You can read manuals, search knowledgebases on the internet, pose questions in community forums or hunt through the program itself and fiddle around until you fix it. Sometimes the fiddling can backfire and you could make problems worse. Sometimes you find advice online but it’s not the best advice. And sometimes, you just don’t have the time to wait and go on a scavenger hunt for info.

Are you in need of an SQL reports developer or other resources?

Hire a SQL Report BI Consultant

Another way to get qualitySQL reporting help is to hire a professional services consultant, like Reporting Guru. A business intelligence consultant gets to know your business, your wants, your needs and your goals and often helps you implement a reporting solution. So, when you have problems with reporting or problems with your SQL databases, that consultant already knows your business and knows your infrastructure really well so and is therefore very likely the best equipped person to help you.

A lot of people who hire consultants to help them with their business reporting tools don’t need them forever. While a consultant typically has a cost associated, there’s definitely a benefit to having an expert as part of your staff even if it’s just temporarily.

Not only can having a consultant help you with reporting problems, but they can also help with training needs to provide as smooth an implementation as possible. Beyond this, a consultant can help you make the most of the data you pull from your SQL databases resulting in faster, accurate, professional reports.

SQL reporting help is one of the Consulting Services offered by Reporting Guru. While there are various ways to get help, what is most important is that you gather data effectively and correctly in order to analyze it and make solid business decisions.

SQL reports can reveal a lot about your business and an SQL reports developer can help you get the reports you need.

Any database can give you information – getting the information in an understandable format is the tricky part. How do you get the information you need from your database(s)?

Database Reporting Tools

There are reporting tools that can help you. Some reporting tools are simple enough that even a novice user can figure out how to use them. Data has names and can be brought into specific fields and simple math can determine whether you display data or not and in which order. But what if your report requires a higher level skill set?

What can SQL reports do for you? – The Possibilities

A business needs facts. Facts about how a business is doing, where it can do better, and where resources are being used can all help a business make an improvement plan. Constant self improvement is necessary with businesses so that the business can survive and be sustainable. Complacency equals certain death in today’s world and there’s no better way to continuously improve your business than to analyze your results and data.

Writing a report can help you see items that are greater than a number, equal to a number, or lesser than a number or answer. Data can be sorted and displayed in a preferred format. Data can be captured in a basic way from a single system and you can pull it from various systems as well.

The SQL Reports Developer

If you’re not adept at data management and reporting you might want an SQL reports developer to help you. Skilled developers can write SQL reports for you, prepare data so that you can easily access it in an SQL report and can implement solutions so that the right information can be easily pulled from multiple sources and databases into a central SQL report. While some reporting solutions could be easy to find, you might need a developer to work on prepping a SQL Reporting system customized to fit your needs. An SQL Report that is easy to run.

Odds are, your business could benefit from an SQL reports writer.

Should you hire your own SQL expert or a consultant?

A skilled SQL reports developer can help you make sense of the data in SQL Reports. You can find a developer through a consultancy firm so that you don’t have to have someone on staff full time. Hiring a consultant is something that’s increasingly popular, instead of hiring developers and paying them all the time. Regardless of your existing and upcoming projects, hiring a consultant enables a company to get the reports they need done while saving money on office space, benefits, and other overhead expenses. This relieves resources and services to be used when you need to instead of paying for reporting staff alone.

As much as an SQL reports developer can do for you on a regular basis, it might make sense for your company to utilize a service instead of a single staff member. This way you can access skilled resources when they are needed and choose the skill set you need on a per project basis. While you might want help today with SQL Database Reports, tomorrow it might be Oracle Reports. A skilled consultant or consulting company can bring the expertise you need for each scenario.

If you want to write reports, you can use many tools for SQL reports writer software. Some of these tools include boxed software reporting tools as well as open source tools that can be customized. Which type of tool is right for you? That question depends on many factors. Let’s look at some of your potential considerations as well as some up and down sides to using open source reporting software.

Pros and Cons of Different Reporting Tools

Of course a boxed product comes in a pretty box (most of the time) with a manual and a 1 – 800 # for support. You won’t get that with open source unless you’re prepared to work with a consultant or developer. So what are the benefits of using open source reporting software?

What is open source software?

Open source software is free and is software that you are allowed to modify to suit your own purposes. Open source typically comes with a general public license and this allows you to use it and develop it without your having to worry about intellectual property rights or software licensing. One of the great things about open source software is that people who use it can share tips and information on modifications and features. So, if you have an open source report writing software package, you can share modifications to it with other people and they can share their modifications with you as well.

A downside to open source software is that you cannot typically get official support for the software. This type of software is ideal if you like to dabble on your own. While there is no company support, for open source software there is always a community of people using the tool that share information. You can get help from others and you can give help to others. You can also read through plenty of literature by other users who have successfully configured the tool as well as read through any frequently asked questions and answers (FAQ).

Does your business need an SQL reporting consultant or other analytical help?

Open source software can often be made for several platforms including Windows, Linux and MAC OSx and you can often find such a wealth of information that it might seem like a great and inexpensive way to get the software and fulfill your reporting needs. Some modifications are designed in a way that will let you talk between several databases including: SQL, Oracle, IBM DB/2 and others.

Should you use open source software for SQL reports?

Some people who are technical in nature do successfully use open source software. Others find it too difficult because they’d much rather use something that has a 1 – 800 number that they can call for help. However if you do choose to adapt the flexibility of an open source Reporting Tool, you can always hire an SQL Reports Consultant or other Reporting Consultant to be your line of technical support for your report writing software (wether it’s boxed or open source!).

Some Reporting Solutions Consultants, such as Reporting Guru, allow businesses to purchase support or turnkey solutions from their consultants and developers so that you can get the best of both worlds including:

1. The ability to modify and customize the software
2. The ability to get help if you need it and have it customized to your own requirements.

Your options are wide and varied when it comes to SQL reporting tools. Wether you choose open source reporting tools or boxed software reporting toos, an SQL reports writer software can provide you with a lot of details about your data that can ultimately have a positive impact on your business.

You might think an SQL reporting consultant is something only large companies need. That’s just not true. Today, there are a lot of small and even home based businesses that are using technology just as much as larger companies. Report consulting services could definitely benefit your business by providing analysis through reports that can help you make the right decisions for your business.

What kind of reporting do you need?

As a small business owner who works from home, you know that technology can help you with the way you do business. Your reports can help you analyse trends in the past so you can plan for the future. You can figure out how long it takes you to process an order so you can shorten that cycle. You can also figure out what percentage of your customers are repeat customers and work to increase that number. Then there are individual product sales reports and other reports including your web site statistics and you can even work on other areas such as your shipping fees and more.

Are you looking for a Business objects consultant and other resources?

As you can see, there are a lot of different reporting possibilities for a small business. The above list doesn’t even scratch the surface. Extracting data from your business will help you with various areas including: getting more customers, communicating with your customers, reducing workload, cutting costs. All this translates to making more money.

An SQL reporting consultant could look at your existing processes and your systems and recommend infrastructure tweaks so that you can get more out of your data. You might even have the right tools in place today and need a simple software solution to help you extract the data.

How can you get data from your business transactions?

If you have an automated system, you can extract data either through software or through the internet. You can write reports, have custom reports written or purchase a solution that’s designed to give you the precise reporting you want on a regular or ad hoc basis. A consultant can look at your specific business wants and needs and equip you with the right tools to improve your business.

Everything can always use improvement and having the right information at your fingertips can help you put an action plan together. Your Oracle, DB/2 or SQL reporting consultant can even help you capture data from multiple systems. This could be great in the case of a system transition, a merger or an acquisition and can help when you grow your business.

If you are a business with more than one employee, you can get various reports delivered to various parts of the business. Your purchasing agent could get reports on historical stocking information. Your sales person could get customer lists and reports that show average delivery cycles for orders or average purchases per month. From a compensation perspective, SQL reporting can help you pay employee’s commission and from an HR perspective you can also see who deserves a promotion or a raise in your team. Reporting can definitely help your business and a specialized SQL reporting consultant can show you just how.

Do you need a consultant’s help with MicrosoftSoft SharePoint? Consulting services can help you understand the full scope and functionality of MicroSoft SharePoint. Consulting services for MS SharePoint can also help you implement solutions seamlessly into your business.

Microsoft SharePoint Server: Collaborate and Manage Documents Effectively

When you decide to utilize new tools that will help your business, you want to be able to integrate with minimal interruption. SharePoint can be integrated into your business in a way that doesn’t totally disrupt everything. A new software package should enhance a business instead of being a thorn in the sides of staff. If you utilize professional services to help you implement this type of solution the disruption to your business can really be minimal.

Very often, you roll out that solution slowly so you impact staff and customers in a minimal way. While people can be a bit startled and fearful due to changes, statistics show that companies that evolve and grow retain their employees better than those who don’t embrace change. People want career development and technology development. Today’s business person is savvy and knows when their employer is using archaic systems. The latest and greatest tools are essential for servicing your customers properly and retaining your best talent.

Consultant services can look at all the bells and whistles of a particular suite of products and help you decide how to best implement that solution within your existing infrastructure. You probably won’t want to deploy a robust program like SharePoint to your entire user base at once. Instead, you might have training and a slow rollout so that your business is minimally impacted.

Are you looking for a good SharePoint consultant and other resources?

Today’s software tools can help businesses do better at everything they do. When people are trained and shown how to best make use of those systems, the return on investment is that much greater.

Document management is important in a company and so is collaboration and SharePoint can be utilized for many things. The suite of products includes: SharePoint Services, SharePoint Server, Search Server and SharePoint Designer. A consultant can not only help a company determine which tools are most beneficial and how to use them to their full capabilities but can help staff get going so that their jobs are easier, they’re more productive and that the entire company is communicating more effectively.

Finding a SharePoint Consulting company isn’t difficult but it’s important to find a company with the right skills and right business model to help you get the most out of this product as well as other business tools. Today, a lot of companies are using consulting services to help them implement new products. This can shorten the learning curve and help the staff adapt more easily to new procedures. If you’re looking for help with SharePoint, you’ve come to the right place. SharePoint consulting services are offered by Reporting Guru.