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Introduction

What is Flex2Crystal?

Flex2Crystal allows DataFlex developers to continue using the latest versions of SAP Crystal Reports with their DataFlex based applications. It supports most of the features available in the older RDC-based versions of Crystal Reports while also giving you access to the latest and greatest features provided by newer versions of Crystal Reports. It even works with 64-bit Dataflex and the 64-bit Crystal

The History

Reports created with Crystal Report Designer were integrated into DataFlex applications by means of the Crystal Reports Designer Control (RDC) interface. The RDC is a COM component, which uses ActiveX controls to allow developers to run a report and dynamically control report settings.

In 2006, Business Objects (acquired by SAP in 2007) announced that the RDC interface would no longer be enhanced or delivered in future Crystal Reports products and that new versions of Crystal Reports would instead have a .NET interface. This decision signaled the demise of Crystal Reports as a reporting tool for DataFlex users since DataFlex does not support the use of .NET-based components. As a result, even though new versions of Crystal Reports are being made available by SAP, DataFlex users cannot use them.

The Solution

Flex2Crystal solves this problem by providing a bridge between the .NET version of Crystal Reports and DataFlex. Migrating your reports to Flex2Crystal requires just a few simple code changes in most cases.

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Prerequisites

Flex2Crystal has the following installation requirements:

Product

Release

Operating System

Windows 10 or later for desktop operating systems and Windows 2016 or later for server OS

.NET Framework

.NET Framework 4.6

DataFlex

DataFlex 15 or later including 64-bit editions

Database

All databases supported by Crystal Reports also work with Flex2Crystal. All Mertech SQL database drivers are supported. DataFlex data files are not supported, but you can convert these reports to connect to a database server with just a few additional lines of code.