Categories
General IIS Ripplestone Tips

Change the File or Report Upload Size

When you publish a Crystal Report file or document to Ripplestone you are moving the physical file from the local storage to the web server. Ripplestone has a default file size of 20 MB, so report files that are larger than 20 MB will not upload.

With some documents and reports the file can be larger than 20 MB and the limit will need to be increased.

This size can be changed in the web.config file located in C:SitesRipplestone. The web.config file is an XML file that can be edited with any text editor or XML reader (we use Notepad++ to edit our files and love it). Look for the httpRuntime section and change the maxRequestLength to whatever value you would like (1024 = 1MB).

Below is an example of the httpRuntime section with the default values that come with Ripplestone.

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Categories
Crystal Reports General Performance Tips Ripplestone Ripplestone Tips

Ripplestone Performance Tips

When publishing Crystal Reports to Ripplestone; there are a few simple options within the Crystal Reports designer that can be checked to increase the performance of the reports when they are run from within Ripplestone.

Page Setup

The first is to set the No Printer option on the Page Setup dialog box. This will stop the report from looking for the selected printer each time the report is run. It also has the added bonus of making the report look better within the web viewer. Open the Page Setup by clicking on Files and then Page Setup

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Figure 1 – Page Setup Dialog Box

 

Report Options

The report option dialog box has several options that can help the report process quicker. Open the Report Option by clicking on File and then Report Options.

  • Perform Grouping On Server – This works with the “Use Indexes Or Server For Speed” option to allow the server to perform much of the processing for the report. This reduces the processing and memory used by the Ripplestone server.
  • Use Indexes Or Server For Speed – Using this option will allow the SQL query to use the database indexes and can increase the speed when selecting large amounts of data.
  • Verify on First Refresh –Unchecking this option will stop the report from first checking the database to refresh the schema. This will save a trip to the database.
  • Verify Stored Procedure on First Refresh – Unchecking this option will stop the report from first checking the stored procedure to refresh the schema. This will save a trip to the database.
  • Save Data With Report – Unchecking this option will keep the file size small and will allow the report to be loaded by the Crystal Report engine quicker.
  • Perform Query Asynchronously – Check this box to allow the report to execute the SQL statement without requiring Ripplestone to wait for the select statement to finish.

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Categories
Crystal Reports General new release Ripplestone Ripplestone Tips Tutorial

Ripplestone 3 – Home Page Tour

With the release of Ripplestone version 3, we have added many new features to the home page and to how you view and interact with Crystal Reports.

Below is a quick tour of the new features.

 

Performance and Usability Improvements

 

Two new links have been added to the top menu bar.

  • Favorites allows users to quickly get to the documents marked as favorites. The favorites view loads quicker than the home page and is simpler to use.  There is an option to have the Favorites view be the default view when starting Ripplestone.
  • Scheduled History give the users a quick way to view all the scheduled history without needing to click on each Crystal Report on the home page.  This is helpful for the users that need to check the history of many reports.
    The navigation tree on the home page has been updated with AJAX and Data Caching to allow a smoother and quicker navigation experience.  The page will no longer flash as the user is clicking on the folders and documents in the tree.

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          Multiple Reports

        With the new version of Ripplestone users can open multiple reports from the home page and then switch between them using the tabs.  The reports also open within the home page and not as a new browser window allowing the user to view the report more easily.  The reports new feel more integrated in the Ripplestone application.

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      New Crystal Reports Viewer

       

      Ripplestone 3 is using a new web viewer and new parameter page for running Crystal Reports.  Below is an example of the new parameter page, this opens within the home page and not as a separate web browser window.  It has a more integrated feel and a new indicator is displayed to let the user know that the report is being run.

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      The new web viewer allows the user to refresh the report and they will be prompted to enter new parameter values or if the report is written in Crystal Reports 2008 or 2011 they will have the option to open the Parameter Panel shown below.  This new panel will allow the user to view and change the parameter values without closing the report.

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      With these new features the home page of Ripplestone has become easier to use and more productive in viewing your Crystal Reports and Office Documents.

      Categories
      Crystal Reports General new release Ripplestone

      Ripplestone Release 2.9.12

       

      Overview

       

      With version 2.9.12, Ripplestone continues to improve Crystal Reports Parameters Page and the Scheduler.

      Report parameters

       
      Fixed issue with parameters with no value

      If a parameter has no value the parameter will still be sent to the report.

      Additional Improvements For Stored Procedure Parameters

      This version continued improvements, started in version 2.9.11, for parameters that are coming from a Stored Procedure and when to display the Set to Null checkbox.

      Fixed Issue for Parameter Default Values

      Added code to check if a Crystal Report parameter has any default values; if the parameter doesn’t have any default values Ripplestone will display a text box for the user to enter a value.

      Fixed Issue for Parameters That Allow Multiple Values

      This version improved the code that displays the parameters values that were saved for a scheduled job.

       

      Scheduler Changes

       
      A bug was Fixed to Check if the Scheduled Job Has Saved Parameters

      Fixed a bug where a Crystal Report was saved into the Scheduler without parameter values and then opened at a later time and the program would try to fill the report parameters with values. The page would get an error because there were no parameter values found in the Ripplestone database.

      A Bug Was Fixed During Saving of Parameter Values

      If a Crystal Report was scheduled in the Ripplestone Scheduler and it had parameters the parameter values were saved in the Ripplestone database. If the report was then changed and the number of parameters was changed the application would not be able match the parameter values in the database with the new parameters in the report. This fix will now attempt to match the parameters in the database with the updated parameters in the Crystal Report.

       

      General items

       
      Changed the Format for Dates

      This version changes the format for dates to allows store the dates in the database in the format of yyyy/mm/dd hh:mm:ss. This will help with countries that don’t follow the USA standard of mm/dd/yyyy.

      Added Logging When A Report Or Folder Gets Deleted Or Moved

      Added code to log in the trace logs anytime a Crystal Report, Document or Folder gets deleted or moved. With this feature there is an audit of when items are moved or deleted.

      Added new RS Express tab to the edit document page

      A new tab was added to the Edit Document page that will display the RS Express values needed to use the RS Express feature.

      Added new RS Express Option to enable the feature

      A new option was added to enable or disable the RS Express feature.

      Added new RS Express Option to enable the Unique Key Feature

      A new option was added to enable or disable using the RS Express Unique Key feature.

      Categories
      Crystal Reports General new release Ripplestone

      Ripplestone Release 2.9.11

       

      Overview

       

      With version 2.9.11, Ripplestone continues to improve the scheduler and add features to give you more information about the reports and users within Ripplestone.

      We will continually strive to look for ways to make Ripplestone the easiest tool for managing Crystal Reports and Microsoft Office Documents.

       

      Report parameters

       
      Fixed issue when Report is getting a parameter from a Stored procedure

      The parameter display was updated when a report is getting parameters from a store procedure it displays a “Set to Null” checkbox on the parameter page.

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      Fixed issue with date parameters with default values

      If a parameter is of type Date or DateTime and it has a list of values, the parameter page will display a list of the date values.

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      Fixed issue with text parameters with no default value

      If a parameter has no default value the parameter page will display a text box to allow the user to enter a value.

       

      Scheduler Changes

       
      Added option to Use the users within a role for row level security

      This allows the scheduler to loop through the users within a role and use the UserID or User ID tokens for the Row Level Security value. This simulates the process of when a user runs the report. When this report is run from the scheduler, it will be run once for each user in the role using the Row Level Security information to filter the report data for each user.

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      Adding option to use the email address stored in the user profile to send report

      This allows the scheduler to loop though the users within a role and use their email address to send the report. This allows the administrator to manage the users in the role and saves them from managing the email list in the scheduler. Additional email addresses can still be entered into the To box for people that are not in the Role.

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      General items

       
      Added field on the edit document page to display the document id

      A new field was added on the Edit Document page to display the Document ID field. This is useful when using the RS Express feature.

       
      Added new usage tab to the edit document page

      A new tab was added to the Edit Document page that will display usage statistic for that document. The tab will display the number of times that the Crystal Report or document was run, the date that it was last run, display information on the last 10 runs and the top 10 users that run this Crystal Report or document.

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      Added new usage tab to the edit user page

      A new tab was added to the Edit User page that will display usage statistic for that user. The tab will display the last date the user logged into Ripplestone, how many times they has logged in, display the last 10 Crystal Reports or document they have run and the top 10 Crystal Reports or document they run.

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      Changed the system setup & configuration page for administrator

      Permissions were changed on the System Setup and Configuration page for Administrators. Users that are in a Role with Administrator permissions can now only change the Troubleshooting Tab. Users that are in a Role with Super User permissions can change the other options.

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      Bug Fixes

       
      Adding a new report will use the default viewer

      When publishing a new Crystal Report, the system will use the default viewer set in the System Setup & Configuration page.

      Fixed issue with logging into crystal reports that have a sub report

      Fixed an issue on some reports that had sub reports where they would not correctly login to the data for the sub report.

      Fixed issue with System using Access for the Ripplestone database

      Fixed an issue that occurred when an Administrator was creating a new Folder and needed to assign the security to the administrator and the Ripplestone application was using Access for the database.

      Fixed issue with security for administrator

      Fixed a bug when Administrators where getting a list of users that the administrator is allow to see. They were able to see all the users in the system and this is only available to the Super User.

      Fixed issue with Folder security for administrator

      Fixed a bug when Administrators where opening or viewing a folder where they didn’t have permissions to view the folder.

      Categories
      General IIS Ripplestone Ripplestone Tips

      How to Change the File Upload Size in Ripplestone

      When you publish a Crystal Report file or document to Ripplestone you are moving the physical file from the local storage to the web server. Ripplestone has a default file size of 10 MB, so report files that are larger than 10 MB will not upload.

      This size can be changed in the web.config file located in C:SitesRipplestone. The web.config file is an XML file that can be edited with any text editor or XML reader. Look for the httpRuntime section and change the maxRequestLength to whatever value you would like (1024 = 1MB).

      Below is an example of the httpRuntime section with the default values that come with Ripplestone.

      <!—Sets the max size for file uploads: 102400 = 10MB and 3600 = 1 hour –>

      <httpRuntime maxRequestLength="10240" executionTimeout="900" requestValidationMode="2.0"/>

      Categories
      General

      Welcome to All About Reports

      Welcome to the All About Report site.  This site is devoted to writing, training, discussing and anything else about reports.  We will be concentrating on Crystal Reports, Microsoft Access, SQL Reporting Services, DevExpress Xtra Reports and any other reporting packages that come across the desk.

      We look forword to hearing comments and suggestions.