RDC and Windows Server 7

[Former Member]

Hi!

We have a classic ASP solution where we are using RDC to show "crystal report" reports on the net. This has been working for year now without any problems! The webservers have been mostly windows Server 2003, but also recently Windows Server 2008.

Now there is another operation system out there, namely WINDOWS 7, but here the crystal report viewer just shows the viewer, but without any report result. Exporting from the code to for instance PDF, Word, Excel it works fine.

The viewer work fine on Windows Server 2008, which i presume has many similarities to Windows 7.

The viewer is a active x control. Does anyone know what to do, because i assume that this maybe is a security issue....

Sincerly Jan, Denmark

[former_member183750 · Accepted solution]

Only Crystal Reports Basic for Visual Studio 2008 (CR 10.5) and CR 2008 (12.x) are supported on WIN 2008 Server. Neither of these ships with the RDC. SO your app will not work on WIN 2008. For more info see;

[Crystal Reports v. 9.1 to 12.x ; VS .NET Runtime Distribution & Supported Operating Systems|https://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=56787567]

[Report Designer Component - Past, Present & Future|https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/11624] [original link is broken] [original link is broken] [original link is broken];

Ludek

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/SAPCRNetSup

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

hi

RDC will work on windows server 2008. We have running customer who are using windows server 2008 without no problem,

and RDC is actually working on windows server 2008.

My question is more if it is possible to get it to work also on windows 7. I think the reason why i get a blank report in the report viewer on a windows 7 operating system is some kinda permission issue, which i am hoping very much someone can help us to solve with some good suggestions:)

Sincerly Jan, denmark

[former_member183750 · Accepted solution]

Use Process Monitor, see what it tells ya:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-ca/sysinternals/bb896645.aspx

Search the notes database;

https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/advancedsearch?cat=sdn_ossnotes&query=&adv=true

Make sure you have the latest runtime;

https://websmp130.sap-ag.de/sap(bD1lbiZjPTAwMQ==)/bc/bsp/spn/bobj_download/main.htm

Search Google.

Other than that, all I can do is wish you good luck. I can not try it here as it is not a tested scenario by QA, and thus not supported and there is way too much work with supported environments as it is.

If you do find an answer, please do share it with the community.

Ludek

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

I have also this problem, I am searching for a solution since weeks. I know the problem is not a 64 bit issue, the problem occurs on Windows 7 x86 and x64 and on Windows Server 2008 R2, Vista and Server 2008 is OK.

We use Crystal Reports XI Release 2 with the latest Service Pack (Version 11.5.12.1838).

I found http error 401.2 in the IIS log file, but I am not sure if this is the reason for the problem. Does anybody know changes between IIS 7.0 and IIS 7.5 that might cause the problem ? Or are there changes in Windows 7 concerning security and ActiveX controls ? I also used process monitor as suggested but I could not identify a problem. Is there any suggestion for a workaround e.g. to use a different viewer, that could be used instead of the ActiveX viewer. Any help on this issue is really appreciated.

Thanks Matthias

Edited by: herzi68 on Mar 4, 2010 9:16 PM

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

yes! this is correct. I have tested, and it is excactly the same problem we have. If anyone have a solution or suggestions to this, PLEASE reply back on this thread!:)

[Former Member]

Hello,

Perhaps, I don't fully understand the issue, because

we have XI R1 RDC running on both Vista and Windows 7.

After reading a few more posts, I think the part that I

was confused about was the "Viewer" component.

We do not use the "Viewer" component, We export our

reports using the HTML format, and then we view the

reports with the CHTMLView class.

JC

[Former Member]

Hello Former Member,

how do you display in HTML or PDF instead of the viewer? Thank you!

[Former Member]

We also have this problem using Crystal Reports XI Release 2 with the latest Service Pack.

With our next release we have to support Windows 7.

Are there any statements from SAP to this problem?

If anyone knows a solution please reply on this thread.

Thanks

Michael

[former_member183750]

Your best option is to create a phone case and discuss the issue with a support rep. These are community forums only, not TS as such. A phone support case will provide you with better help. We try our best on these forums but we have to prioritize our work day much like everyone else...

Phone cases can be created here:

http://store.businessobjects.com/store/bobjamer/DisplayProductByTypePage&parentCategoryID=&categoryI...

Ludek

[Former Member]

Well - I understand that a forum isn't a technical support.

But I (and the other guys posting here) don't ask for a technical how-to - we are reporting an error / a problem with the Crystal ActiveX viewer.

The problem occurs on Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 only - one and the same source code runs fine on other operating systems.

I have tested with a sample (bundle ASP MPS 115 - beginhere - simplepreviewreport.asp) that is provided by your company and got the same result. Neither the ActiveX-viewer nor the Java viewer works.

I see two options:

1) You officially state that you don't support Windows 7 (and possible Server 2008 R2). Then I (and your other customers) will have to look for a different solution.

2) If you support these operating systems then you need to find the problem cause and provide a fix.

Needless to say that I have paid for an official Crystal license...

Thanks,

Michael

[former_member183750]

Understood. However normally, your best bet is to report issues via a phone case (it will be refunded if it is indeed found to be a defect). And while we try on these forums, understandably, phone cases do get priority.... E.g.; busy with phone cases = less time for forums, be it for answers, research or duplication of bugs.

Ludek

[Former Member]

I am having the exact same problem with a Windows deployment.

It is an application that was created in VB 6 and recently updated to XI R2.

Since it is VB 6 there is no option to use CR 2008 and since we are a tiny company of 2 people we cannot afford to re-write in .NET (it would take about 18 months anyway).

This problem (the Crystal viewer is completely blank) will mean we cannot sell our software to anyone upgrading to Windows 7 which is a complete nightmare. If anyone has a solution, please post !

[dave_smith2]

The problem probably occurs because the ActiveX viewer and its components are not installing properly.

Try the following:

1. You will need the ActiveXviewer.cab file that is part of the Crystal XI Developer install.

2. Transfer the .cab file to the local machine and open it. It is simply a compressed archive.

3. Copy the enclosed dlls to a folder on the local machine (ie, %WINDIR%\Crystal).

4. Manually register each dll (regsvr32 .....)

It should then work. You can probably create a batch or script file that would automate this.

[Former Member]

Thanks.

Have just ried that with no luck unfortunately, still the same.

However a couple of dlls failed to unregister and couldn't re-register them either - reportparameterdialog.dll and usp10.dll

Am banging head against the wall in frustration.

I guess we are going to have to shell out the NZ$320 + for a support call, which may or may not resolve the problem.

Oh, and the app is running under administrator rights with XP SP 3 compatibility in Windows 7

[Former Member]

For anyone else with the same problems and using vb 6, I have found a workaround that I will go with for the moment , since none of my reports are interactive, so it will do the job.

1.Export the report to pdf directly which doesnlt appear to be a problem.

2.Add a pdf viewer to your program (this article shows how, and it works fine with the latest Acrobat reader - http://www.pscode.com/vb/scripts/ShowCode.asp?txtCodeId=69282&lngWId=1)

3. Open with the pdf viewer. The pdf 9 viewer also looks better than the CR XI Viewer. Bonus !

[Former Member]

I am also having problem with this. The problem is the active x viewer on Windows 7. So your solution sound ok, but we cant get it to work. We are also having problem re-installing gdiplus.dll and the ups10.dll. (regsvr32 /u and regsvr32 /v).

How did you get it to work? This is also very important to our company that RDC will work on Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 where we have the problems:(

[former_member183750]

Hello all.

So I went around here and shook a few trees to see what nuggets of wisdom fall out; It is not good.

While the designer is supported on WIN 7, it is not supported on WIN 2008 server. And. The RDC, be it in a win or web app is not supported on either OS.

So, at least something definitive for everyone. Now, I'm not saying this will not work, but we can not test it here, or do any escalations to QA for a fix. If anyone finds a solution / work-around, please do share.

Finally, one piece of info re. troubleshooting viewers in ASP apps:

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/boc/index?rid=/library/uuid/c015b080-871e-2b10-d9b1-f89bc4d84965

The above is an older article, but the ideas should apply irrespective.

Your best option (as bad as it may be) is to port your apps to .NET or Java and preferably with CR 2008. Before I get much flak for suggesting a port to .NET or Java, please do realize that CR XI r2 was originally released in 2005, so we're asking for a 3+ year forward compatibility...

Ludek

Oh, supported platforms doc for CR XI r2, SP6 click [here|http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/e0fbebaf-07e0-2c10-ad9a-d45810ae7109?quicklink=index&overridelayout=true]

[Former Member]

Thanks for your time Ludek and for getting a definitive answer.

I have to say that is pretty disappointing. There must be thousands of VB 6 apps still out there that are way too big or costly to port over to .NET. Everything else in our app works fine, so it would also not make sense to re-write the whole thing just to view reports.

VB 6 is officially supported on Windows 7, and that is way older than 3+ years, so to expect the RDC to be supported (which is the only version that can be used with VB 6) is not too much of a stretch of the imagination. Luckily everything seems to work OK apart from the viewer, so I will use the PDF viewer workaround I posted earlier.

Another option (although probably not for ASP) is to export the report as a Crystal Report and open it with the Stand alone Crystal 2008 Viewer which will view older versions of the report. It means the user has to flick between applications which is a pain, but you do then get the fucntionality of any drill downs , parameter settings etc. in the report.

Cheers

Paul

[dave_smith2]

You only need to register the following dlls:

CRViewer.dll

sviewhlp.dll

swebrs.dll

reportparameterdialog,dll

The others will not register but drop them into the same folder anyway. I would reboot the client after registering the dlls. This worked for us (Windows 7/ActiveX viewer).

[Former Member]

Please describe your solution that worked under Windows 7 in detail.

Which Windows 7 version did you use ?

Which version of Crystal Reports/ActiveXViewer ?

Can you post your ASP source ?

I just tried with latest version SP6.1 (11.5.12.1917) but still without success.

[Former Member]

Yesterday I was able to finally get asp classic working on Windows 7 for both Crystal Reports 11.5 and 8.5.

In the RDCrptserver115.asp (for 11.5) and rptserver.asp (for 8.5) files, I changed the 1st occurance of the line:

response.addheader "CONTENT-LENGTH", lenb(temp)

to

response.addheader "CONTENT-LENGTH", lenb(temp + 0)

See the threaded entitled "Record Limit Issue II" for more info. Maybe this will also work for you. Might want to check that thread anyways in case there is major ramifications from doing this mod.

[Former Member]

Hello Mike,

your suggestion solved our problem, I tested it with Windows Server 2008 and with Windows 7 x32 and x64 and also with Windows Server 2003 to ensure that the solution also works on other Windows OS where we had no problems with the Crystal viewer.

Thank you

Matthias

[Former Member]

hello mike

i had the exact same problem on win2008 R2 IIS 7.5, and your suggestion solved my problem too.

thanks a lot.

ron

[Former Member]

Just an update to this, I have got the viewer working on Windows 7 and various versions of Vista.

The problem seems to be as mentioned before of registering the dlls correctly.

I found that if I ran the install under administrator then tried to run the program under a normal user it did not work, but running the install under the user, then running the application as normal (without "run as administrator") worked fine. If I ran the application "as administrator" in Vista, viewer did not work.

Note that I created the install package using Visual Studio installer and added the Crystal XI R2 merge modules to it.

Another strange quirk I found was that the vb 6 form I added the viewer to was initially maximised when shown. When this was the case, the viewer was blank, but when the form was shown normally to stat with , it looked fine.

Hope that will help anyone who is still having problems.

Cheers

Paul

[Former Member]

sorry to come back to this, but what exactly did you do?

I have the same problem (although I'm not using ASP but use the Viewer and designer directly in our desktop app) on Windows 7 and Vista.

I made an installer with the CR provided merge modules in it.

I am administrator on my machine so both installation and running are with administrator rights...

Did you manually register some dlls?

If so, which ones?

Thanks,

Bart

[Former Member]

To be honest I tried a bunch of things on one machine, including registering the dlls manually, so not sure what did it.

The dlls were CRViewer.dll,gdiplus.dll,mfc42U.dll,reportparameterdialog.dll,sviewhlp.dll,swebrs.dll and usp10.dll

Now a couple of this don't register , but I can't remebmer which, possibly gdiplus & usp10.dll, but I might be wrong there. Just try them and see.

On the Vista machine, even though I was using a login that was an administrator, if I ran the program using the "Run as Administrator" menu option, it didn't work correctly. Go figure.

Hope that helps.

[Former Member]

Thanks Paul for your reply...

In the mean time we got it working (although with something we don't really want to do...)

In our case it is apparently DEP that causes the problem.

If we turn it off globally on the system with following command (+ reboot afterwards)

bcdedit /set Nx AlwaysOff

then the Viewer (and Designer) work in our application!

Of course as this is a system wide turning off, this is not really something we want to do...

We tried turning it off only for our exe, but then we got Windows telling us that we can't turn it off for some reason!

Anyway, probably a step further towards a good solution...

[Former Member]

probably the reason why we couldn't turn it off is that we also have .NET code in our exe.

However with

editbin.exe /NXCOMPAT:NO myExe.exe

you can turn it off!

[Former Member]

Hello ronjac,

I've issues with Crystal Report 9 on windows server 2008 R2. We are using classic ASP to call the report. Everything is working fine with Windows Server 2003 (32 bit). I'm testing this as we are in the process to migrate application to Windows Server 2008 R2 (64 bit). I did set up Application pool to 32 bit. We've installed Crystal Report 9 Advanced and Crystal Report Application Server 9. The issue is, Application is not displaying anything not even gray area.

You have mentioned that it is working for you. I have not tried to change "rptserver.asp" file you guys are mentioning. What is the location of this file? Is this correct location (C:\Program Files (x86)\Crystal Decisions\Crystal Reports 9\Samples\En\Code\Web\Report Designer Component)?

Can you please let me know what am I missing?

Thanks,

sdshah