Crystal Reports 8.5 export to PDF problem

[Former Member]

Hi Guys,

I have an application developed in VB6 using a crystal reports 8.5 version and I'm having some problems to export to PDF. If I see the data on the Crystal Reports 8.5 designer It will export just fine, but if I try to do the same thing it will export only some information to the pdf file.

This problem is just happening on rpt with Image Object and I can't export the reports where image do not exist. This image is being loaded from an access 97 database. It is a 10 years old program.

Hope to get this issue solved.

Kind Regards,

Manuel Rocha

[former_member183750 · Accepted solution]

Hello Manuel

The issue is resolved - in CR 9 and newer...

CR 8.5 has been out of support for over 10 years, so getting a fix will not be possible. E.g.; you're working with Model T Ford here....

Your only option is to upgrade to CR XI R2A. Note that CR XI R2A is also out of support now - has been since end of June this year, but you should still be able to obtain it by calling sales (866-681-3435). Also, please note that the SDK you are most likely using in the app (RDC) has been retired in CR XI R2 - but the app may be using the OCX (retired in CR 8.5) or the Print Engine APIs (retired in CR 9).

The upshot of all of this is; you are using an ancient technology. If your app uses OCX or Print Engine APIs, you're out of luck. If you are using the RDC, upgrade to CR XI R2A.

Recommendation:

Obtain either CR 2008 or CRVS2010 and port your app to .NET.

Further recommended reading;

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

[Short history and resources for Crystal Reports Software Developer Kits (SDK)|http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/17870] [original link is broken];

[Crystal Reports Legacy SDKs Upgrade Options|http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/25398] [original link is broken];

Ludek

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

Got Enhancement ideas? Try the [SAP Idea Place|https://ideas.sap.com/community/products_and_solutions/crystalreports]

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Hi Ludek,

Thanks for your response. The problem is that this software is installed for over 400 portuguese firefighters. We do not have time to develop a entirely new solution in .NET.

Initially I was getting the same problem on the Crystal Reports 8.5 designer version but after install the SP3 of CR85 I get the problem solved there but not on the application. It seems to be also resolved on the CR85 version, but apparently I'm missing some kind of dll on the client. I'm I right?

Kind Regards,

Manuel Rocha

[former_member183750 · Accepted solution]

Use [Modules|https://smpdl.sap-ag.de/~sapidp/012002523100006252802008E/modules.zip] to compare dlls loading on the working computers and non working computers.

- Ludek

[ido_millet · Accepted solution]

Can you make the rpt available to us with saved data? I would then be able to test rendering it in a CR 8.5 RDC viewer application.

[former_member11696 · Accepted solution]

And then what ever CR DLL's are not the same, keep track just in case, you should be able to simply rename the existing and copy ones from the good PC to the bad PC's. CR 8.5 never had a distribution package so you had to deploy the runtime manually anyways.

Just remember to close everything and KEEP the originals by renaming them. A re-boot may be required also.

Don

[Former Member]

There is misinformation in one of the replies. I'm running full Crystal 8.5 on Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 8 with no problems installing and running the basic Crystal Reports program! My problem is similar to some of the others. For over 10 years in many different configurations I run my Delphi 5 program and run a Crystal embedded report - no problem. I can export to any format including PDF. However when I distribute the C:\Program Files (x86)\Seagate Software\Shared without the Crystal Report writer installed but the correct DLL's I get the following:

After clicking the Export button on a displayed report in a window, after the second dialog box pops up, I get no file manager dialog to save the file, also no error codes, no hanging. If I install the Crystal Reports program but don't run it - no problem. So it must be a DLL or registry issue.

I've checked the registry and the DLL's called by my programs but this is a needle in a hay stack!

Also, I've confirmed that I have the correct version of crfx_pdf.dll.

Any suggestions?

[former_member183750]

Hello Thomas

See my reply to Manuel.

My tips:

Use the Modules utility to find out differences in dlls loaded when you install the CR designer vs. when you install the runtime.

I'd also recommend using Process Monitor to do the same as this will tell you info re. registries and more. Possibly some of this info will be useful.

Other than that, honestly, going to a supported environment would be advisable. E.g.; you may spend inordinate amounts of time on this and never get it to work.

- Ludek

[Former Member]

Hi Dear,

Here I m also facing the similar problem with the crystal report 8.5 :

Crystal Report (8.5) is not working on win7/windows 2008 64 bit system

My application is a vb application and I am using Crystal report 8.5. It is working fine on 32 bit system and 64 bit system of Windows 2003 server. When I run the same application either on win7 64 bit or on 2008 64 bit, report does not open.

I am using vb script to access the database.

Part of the code written in the VB script file is as follows:

Dim objrsRecordSet                 'As RecordSet

    Dim strSQL                         'As String

    '**** Open Database Connection using the parameters passed from the main program

    Set dbConnection = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")

    dbConnection.ConnectionString = "Provider=SQLOLEDB;Server=" & mstrServer & ";uid=" & mstrUserName _

                                    & ";pwd=" & mstrPassword & ";Database=" & mstrDatabase & ";"

    dbConnection.Open

    dbConnection.CommandTimeout = 200

    dbConnection.Properties("Enable Fastload").Value = True

Basically we have two visual basic projects developed in VB 6.0 language: let’s say 

  1. Diapp (we consume the report.dll in this application, in order to generating the reports)

  2. Adacrystalapp (which is used for making the report.dll)

Diapp application generating the reports on windows-XP(32 bit machines) without any problems but when I run the same application on 64 bit machines(win7/Vista…etc) report is not generating.

If I run the both applications (Diapp, Adacrystalapp) in debug mode then reports are generating on 64 bit machines (win7/vista) also without any problems.

Please help me out with this issue, i will appreciate for your response.

[former_member183750]

Crystal Report (8.5) is not working on win7/windows 2008 64 bit system

CR 8.5 shipped in 1999... almost 15 years ago when WIN 7 was not even in it's concept stages. And 64 bit OS was a dream of some mad computer scientist in a  University. E.g.; CR 8.5 does not support WIN 7 and I doubt you will ever get it going on WIN 7, particularly 64 bit...

It really is time to get in from the Computer Archean time period and to the present era; SDK for .NET or Java in the latest version of CR.

Else, your other option is to stay on a supported Operating System like WIN XP.

- Ludek

Senior Support Engineer AGS Product Support, Global Support Center Canada

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Message was edited by: Ludek Uher

[Former Member]

That's not true...

We have an application with more than 15 years of existence working on machines with windows 7/8 32/64bits that use CR85.

Maybe is something else...

[Former Member]

What is the error that you get?

[former_member183750]

Hello Manuel

There is a difference between supported and possibly working or not working;

Not supported means that it may work, or not...

If it does work, great.

If it does not work, there will be no fixes. There will be no support.  You will get get best effort help. This does not mean that we will run off and find a CD with CR 8.5 on it and test it on an unsupported OS. It means we may provide ideas / tips / shots in the dark. But in the end, if the app has problems, you're on your own.

- Ludek

[mary_couette]

I find that the dlls need to be registered. Other applications come along and unregisters them.

[Former Member]

Problem partially solved. Just replace the ExportModeller.dll (my program was using one that were at the folder C:\Program Files\Seagate Software\Shared and the Crystal Designer were using a newer one that has come from the CR85 SP3 that were at the folder C:\Program Files\Common Files\Crystal Decisions\2.0\bin ) and the CRXF_PDF.dll (my program was using one that were at the folder C:\Windows\System32 and the Crystal Designer were using a newer one that has come from the CR85 SP3 that were at the folder C:\Windows\Crystal ).

With this I have now a little problem that I think it's simple to solve. Before making this changes when I click the export button I choose the file type (in this case PDF) and then appear a small window asking if I want to export all pages or only some of them. After I made this replacement this windows do not appear anymore. Can you help with this situation?

Kind Regards,

Manuel Rocha

Edited by: rei007 on Sep 6, 2011 11:54 PM

Edited by: rei007 on Sep 6, 2011 11:55 PM

[former_member183750]

Problem here is that you are mixing at least two versions of CR;

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Crystal Decisions\2.0\bin ) and the CRXF_PDF.dll are from version 10 of Crystal Reports

C:\Program Files\Seagate Software\Shared is from CR 8.5

Make sure all your dlls are of one version or the other. Mixing these things up is not a good idea as it tends to result in unanticipated behavior...

- Ludek

[Former Member]

But Crystal Reports 8.5 designer is using that dlls that you say that they are from version 10 of Crystal Reports.

Other thing I have consulted the install files from the CR85 CD and the CRXF_PDF.dll is there so I think this is a CR85 dll version and not from version 10.

Other thing is we do not have a version 10 of Crystal Reports. We only have the version 7, 8.5 and 11. And on my computer I only have de 8.5 version installed. Other computer I have seen that when the version 11 is installed the Crystal Decisions common files folder is C:\Program Files\Common Files\Crystal Decisions\3.0\bin and not C:\Program Files\Common Files\Crystal Decisions\2.0\bin. The C:\Program Files\Common Files\Crystal Decisions\2.0\bin only appear on computers that have only the 8.5 version installed.

I don't think if this can help but I'm post here a zip file with the BAS modules from VB6 in order to help someone to help me to force the Export Options to Show on Export to PDF.

Link: [VB6 modules of CR85 API|http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1725058/iffire/iffire.zip]

Regards,

Manuel Rocha

[former_member183750]

The following stands;

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Crystal Decisions\2.0\bin ) and the CRXF_PDF.dll are from version 10 of Crystal Reports

C:\Program Files\Seagate Software\Shared is from CR 8.5

Do a Modules log. Look at the log, you will find that any dll loading from the ...\2.0\bin directory is version 9.x

- Ludek

[Former Member]

Thats a little bit strange because I only have CR85 installed on my machine and all dlls from C:\Program Files\Common Files\Crystal Decisions\2.0\bin are version 8.x as you can see on this [Image|http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1725058/iffire/CR85.png].

As I have already said I do not have any other version of CR installed on my machine. At company we only have license to CR7, CR85 and CR11.

Crystal Reports 8.5 designer and my program are now using the same DLLs. Why on the CR designer when I export to PDF the export options appear and on my program doesn't?

Regards,

Manuel Rocha

Edited by: rei007 on Sep 7, 2011 3:34 PM

Edited by: rei007 on Sep 7, 2011 3:35 PM

[former_member11696]

Hi Manuel,

You are correct. There was a time when we first replaced the legacy export dll's with the new ExportModeller and crxf PDF and XL files. A the time, And Ludek likely recalls this now, we did create those new folders just for those 3 dll's when it was first introduced...

The problem was the other ones also existed. I think, and it's been along time now, if you rename u2fpdf.dll to *.old ( and I'm not completely sure what we used to call it, then the prompt should show up again...

It's been so long now I don't recall exactly what mix of new and legacy dll's would work so you'll have to test.

Also, you may want to try using regsvr32 on the exportmodeller.dll using the unregister switch "-u" also.

Thanks

Don

[Former Member]

Problem Solve.

Crystal Reports 8.5 do not show database object fields when we go to the formula editor but we can use it if we write them manually. So I just have to go to the suppress option of the object field and put the ISNULL instruction there with the required field in it.

This is quite stupid because the field do not appear there and we think that we couldn't put there the object field to check if it is null or not.

So the problem of not exporting was because of the object field sometimes is null.

Same thing for the memo fields.

Problem solved.

Kind Regards,

Manuel Rocha