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			Version: 1.0.4 Support Eclipse Version: 3.3/3.2 License: Commercial Development Status: Production/Stable Company: Business Objects		Home Page Plugin Support Discussion Forum
Update Site URL: http://www.businessobjects.com/products/dev_zone/eclipse/

Crystal Reports for Eclipse - FREE for Eclipse developers

Crystal Reports for Eclipse is a set of free plugins provided by the makers of Crystal Reports, the world's #1 Report Designer. Crystal Reports for Eclipse will provide Eclipse developers with an embedded report designer as well as a number of development tools to assist them with building applications.

Below is a list of features available with the Crystal Reports for Eclipse product.

Report Design

• New Report Designer built on the Eclipse Framework - built from the ground up using Business Objects' award winning Java Reporting Component (JRC) engine
• Drag & Drop Report Design - drag objects from the Palette or Field Explorer on to the report design pane
• Free form placement - don't be bound to nesting HTML tables in your report. Drag and drop your report objects exactly where you want them to show up on your report
• Auto-generate SQL statements - SQL query is auto-generated based on the database fields added to the report
• Design off of POJOs - drag and drop your Java classes on to your report to use the class definition in your report design
• Cross-Tab reports - design cross-tab reports to easily visualize grouped data
• Java User Function Library (UFL) support - access external Java logic from within your Crystal Reports formulas
• Multiple Data Source support - use the visual database pane to easily create links between multiple data sources
• Integrated Code Assist - Use the built-in Eclipse Code Assist feature when building Crystal Reports formulas. Crystal syntax will display errors and display code assist within the Formulas pane

Development Tools

• Crystal Reports Web Project- enables developers to create a web project which includes all of the required runtime configurations. Additionally, developers can optionally choose to add a sample database and reports to the project to get up and running in no time
• JSP Page Wizard-Drag 'n' drop a report onto a JSP page, or create a new JSP page via the context menu of a report. This wizard will provide developers with a dialog page allowing them to choose a number of different stub code which will be custom generated based on the selected report. Does your report require parameters, do you want to change the database at runtime, or export directly to PDF...the wizard will generate all of the required code to complete the requested actions, all custom to the specific report. You can literally get away with never having to write a line of reporting code again
• Java Reporting Component facet-easily add the Crystal Reports runtime environment to any new or existing web application. Now you will never have to worry about ensuring that all your JAR files have been added
• Deployment Assistance - Never have to worry about ensuring the proper JDBC drivers are available at runtime. When a report is added to a project, the tooling will ensure that the required runtime libraries are present (including database libraries) when the application is built.
• Update your projects with the latest runtime-have you just downloaded a hot fix, but are not too sure if you have already added it to an existing project. Use the Crystal Reports File Versions feature accessed via the Properties Menu of a project to quickly and easily see which file versions are currently in your project and compare this with the file versions installed in the tooling. If they are out of synch click the Update button to easily update your application to the latest version.
• Global Property Settings-do you find that you are always turning off the logo on the viewer, or enabling the refresh button? Well, now Developers can set their global settings for the Crystal Report viewers within their workspace preferences. Each time a viewer is added to a JSP page these preferences will be honored and the appropriate code modifications will be added
• Java User Function Library wizard-this feature enables developers to expose Java logic to their Crystal Reports formulas. Does your organization have a large amount of code already invested into calculating a discount ratio? Don't fret, wrap this logic up in a User Function Library using this easy wizard and your Crystal Reports files will be able to access this same logic
• Built-in pointers to the Business Objects' Update Site-never have to worry about whether you have the latest version or not. Use the existing Eclipse Update Manager mechanism to check for updates and install them automatically. This feature also has built-in rollback capabilities in case you opt to go back to a previous version
• Integrated Help-Access a complete and robust report designer guide as well as developer walkthroughs, API docs and Best Practices via the built-in Eclipse Help System

On top of all this developers will find a large amount of resources (including free forums, video tutorials and whitepaper tutorials) available at our Developer Community Site (http://diamond.businessobjects.com/eclipse)

All of these features are completely free for developers to download and deploy in production. However, if you need more out of the runtime engine, Business Objects also has a Professional version of Crystal Reports for Eclipse. This version is available on the Business Objects' e-store and offers the following upgrades for the Eclipse developer:

• More Power - a runtime engine that provides up to 5X more report processing power
• Technical Support- each copy of Crystal Reports for Eclipse Professional includes 2 support incidents. Allowing the Developer to contact Business Objects' world class support organization directly
• License for Multiple Server Deployments - if you need to distribute your application on multiple servers (e.g. web farms, web gardens, etc.) then you will require the Professional license