HP Intelligent Management Center Standard Software Platform - Manual (Page 102)

New report
The Blank Report option is used to create a report from scratch. This is useful
when you want the full flexibility and control of building a report from the
ground up, or when a report type is different from the many report types
available in the wizards.
Choosing data sources and database
fields
Crystal Reports makes it simple to select data sources and database fields
by providing easy-to-use functionality in the Database Expert dialog box and
the Field Explorer dialog box. Each of these dialog boxes uses the familiar
Windows tree structure to allow you to navigate through the possible choices.
The Database Expert
The Database Expert provides an integrated tree view of all data sources
you can use with Crystal Reports. In the Database Expert, you can select
from the following as a data source for your report:
• A currently connected data source.
• An SQL command that has been saved to the BusinessObjects Enterprise
Repository.
• A data source that has been added to your Favorites folder.
• A recently accessed data source (the Database Expert automatically
maintains a list of such data sources for you).
• An existing data source (for example, a data file residing locally, or an
ODBC data source that has already been set up).
In the Database Expert, you can also specify links between database tables
when you have selected more than one table for your report.
The Database Expert is made up of two tabs: the Data tab and the Links tab.
102 Crystal Reports 2008 SP3 User's Guide
Introduction to Reporting 6
Choosing data sources and database fields