Microsoft Navision and Crystal Reports - An Overview

Microsoft Business Solutions ? Navision is an integrated solution for small and midsize companies looking to expand their business operations without much interruption to its existing processes. Microsoft Navision enables businesses to alter as much or as little of its existing system, integrate add-ons and vertical segments of its development. It integrates every aspect of your organization, from customers to suppliers, from accounting to supply chain, increasing your productivity and competitive edge. Microsoft Navision has an open environment architecture making it fully customizable and easy to use and maintain. It can also be implemented rapidly so that there is only a minimal disruption to business operations.

Microsoft Navision was originally written by Denmark-based Navision Software in its own proprietary language C/SIDE (Client/Server Integrated Development Environment). Both European and North American markets have benefited from its use. Its launch in the global market will help organizations scale up their development and add value to their business.

One of the primary reporting tools used today is Crystal Reports. With its ability to call up information from SQL commands, using Crystal Reports adds extensive functionality in your reporting procedure. The following is an overview of Crystal Reports as it relates to Microsoft Navision:

C/SIDE

C/SIDE is Microsoft Navision's graphical integrated development environment that provides customization tools for developing customer specific solutions to be applied to a business process.

Inside Crystal Reports, use C/ODBC to create a connection to the database needed for report generation. Links are done inside Crystal Reports. However, this connection technique tends to be inflexible if you want to modify your database mapping or links inside the report. You may want to redo the database mapping of that report or use a Crystal Report query.

Microsoft SQL Server

Using Microsoft SQL Server in Microsoft Navision will help a great deal since SQL has the ability to integrate Navision to third-party products. SQL Server has a virtual table that you can access to minimize the complexity of looking at links in Crystal Reports itself. By referencing the view name in a Transact-SQL statement, a user can access this virtual table and retrieve the data for future selection to be applied into Crystal Reports. You also have the option of creating Stored Procedures to execute a number of Transact-SQL statements into a single command. Furthermore, SQL Query Analyzer can copy existing database objects and locate, view or work with these objects within the database.

Reports on Heterogeneous Database

If Microsoft Navision sits in an SQL Server, you have the ability to create a link from your database server to another third party database (Oracle, DB2, Unidata, Ingress, Sybase, Pervasive, Ctree, MS Access) for report creation in Crystal Reports. For example, if you are on a C/SIDE Database, create a link server to it with C/ODBC. You then create additional linked servers to your legacy database. These links will serve as your pool for creating one Crystal Report using a number of databases. Knowledge about OPENROWSET keyword in SQL Server is useful for this kind of execution.

Microsoft Navision is a powerful analytical tool for your business performance. Adding Crystal Reports to its functionalities will provide a more systematic way of measuring your organization's competence.

Need more information?

Contact us: 1-866-528-0577 help@albaspectrum.com

For customization work and advice, please contact Andrew Karasev, Alba Spectrum Chief Technology Officer. His works include development of applications with the use of Dexterity, SQL, C# .NET, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK.

© Feb 2005 Alba Spectrum Technologies USA. All rights reserved.

Divine Rigor is the Technical Writer for Alba Spectrum Technologies USA ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), a Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company. We are based in Chicago with locations in California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York and contacts in international markets.

---

Accounts Payable: A Powerful Document Management and Workflow Solution

Accounts payable is just one area of office management where... Read More

Quick Summary of Basic and Common Linux Commands

There are many commands that are used in linux on... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains FA: Fixed Assets ? Overview For Consultant

Great Plains Fixed Assets Management module is a robust tool... Read More

Microsoft CRM Customization

Microsoft CRM customization techniques are very diversified and based on... Read More

Linux Vs. Windows

This article will not attempt to advocate the use of... Read More

Demand More From Your Lead Tracking Software

An integral part of any quality CRM system is lead... Read More

What is a Document Manager without Version History?

Document Manager and Version HistoryIn previous articles I have discussed... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Partner Selection: Overview

Microsoft Great Plains, Navision, Solomon and Axapta are Microsoft Business... Read More

Begun, The Browser Wars Have

As Mozilla Firefox nears 10% market share, with well over... Read More

Ukraine: a Prospective Player on the World Software Outsourcing Market

The destruction of the Soviet Union about 15 years ago,... Read More

International Support - Microsoft Great Plains VAR/Partner Selection ? Overview for V.P. IT

Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More

Microsoft CRM Data Import FAQ

Microsoft CRM has built-in conversion tool, however you should probably... Read More

Microsoft CRM Customization: Integration with Third Party SQL Application/Database

Microsoft CRM ? Client Relationship Management package from Microsoft Business... Read More

Best Practices In Choosing Network Monitoring Software

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Hawaii (HMSA) found itself... Read More

The Top 5 Wrong Reasons For Not Hiring Testers

Considering whether or not your software company should hire a... Read More

CRM 101: Customer Relationship Management for Beginners

Customer Relationship Management, abbreviated "CRM," is the term for a... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: Annual Enhancement Program ? How To Be Re-Enrolled

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is mid and even corporate... Read More

Things You Can Do With Windows XP!

Did you ever give a thought to the number of... Read More

Software Piracy

SOFTWARE PIRACY We regularly hear reports... Read More

5 Easy File Management Tips in Microsoft Word

How many steps does it take you to locate and... Read More

Cisco Certification: Introduction To ISDN, Part IV

In part III of this ISDN primer, we learned that... Read More

Great Plains Accounting Migration to Microsoft Great Plains - Overview for IT Specialist

This is a short article, written in question/answer/FAQ style to... Read More

A Simple Guide To Wikis

A wiki is an editable text-based website. But you don't... Read More

Microsoft CRM Implementation & Customization: MS CRM Fax Gateway

With this small article we are continuing Microsoft Business Solutions... Read More

What You Must Know About Spyware Right Now

Spyware is like the new technological nuclear weapon on the... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains: carpet, textile, fabric, felt distributor ? implementation overview

In this small article we will show you the possible... Read More

Microsoft CRM Development

Microsoft CRM is CRM answer from Microsoft Business Solutions.The whole... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Oil & Gas ? Implementation & Customization Highlights

Microsoft Great Plains serves the wide spectrum of horizontal markets.... Read More

Artificial Intelligence And Intuition

The intuitive algorithm.Roger Penrose considered it impossible. Thinking could never... Read More

Online PowerPoint Presentation ? Convert PowerPoint to Flash

Although we don't know whether Microsoft ever envisioned such a... Read More

Reporting for Microsoft Great Plains/Dynamics/eEnterprise: RW ? ReportWriter ? Tips for Developer

Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is written in Great Plains... Read More

Spyware Definitions List

The adware and spyware definitions list is very long. But... Read More

Benefits of Integrating Online Chat Software with CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy and processes used... Read More