Using the Merge Tool
You modify the data generated in an existing Financials report by updating the native report file. To make a system-wide change to the format of all Financials reports—for example, adding or changing a company logo—you update the template report. In both cases, you use Designer to make the change and the Crystal Reports Merge Tool to re-apply the template to the report (or to all reports in the case of a format change).
The Merge Tool interface has two areas:
• Conversion
• Options
Conversion
The Conversion area has two sections: Input Paths and Batch Conversion.
Input Paths
Use the fields in this section to identify the component files for the merge.
Native Report.
Specify the full path of the native report to be merged.
Template Report.
Specify the full path of the template report to be merged.
Path to Subreports.
The sub-reports option is not implemented in this release.
Output File.
Specify the full path of the final merged report. Final reports are saved in the \FinalReports root directory. This directory path is specified in the ReportFolder section of QadFinlauncher.exe.config file, which is located in the \QadFinLauncher\bin\Debug folder.
Note: The UIDebugEnabled parameter in the QadFinlauncher.exe.config file lets you save the contents of the last generated report data in an .xml file for analysis. This file is stored as lastreport.xml in the \QadFinLauncher\bin\Debug folder, and is overwritten by each newly generated report.
Important: The name of the final report must be the same name as the report method in the business component.
Dataset Name.
Specify the full path of the data source file. This is the dataset schema .xsd file that is the source of the report data, and is located in the \Components\Remoting\QADFinancialsIF folder.
When you have set the path parameters, click Merge to run a merge on a single native report, or M to run a batch merge on all native reports.
Batch Processing
Use the Batch Processing option to apply a change in a template report to all native reports. The system retrieves the native report and template report locations from the Input Paths section.
For example, to change the logo on all reports, you:
1 Update the template report.
2 Identify the native report and template report directories in Input Paths.
3 Click the M button to start the batch process.
The system creates a batch file in a default location for analysis. The updated template is reapplied to all reports in the \NativeReports directory.
Options
The Options section of the tool interface displays date, number, format, formula, and translation settings for the merge. These settings are retrieved from the code for the Report component. You do not normally modify these settings.
Note: When you complete your Input Paths settings and click Options, you are prompted to save your path settings.
You can overwrite the following merge options by specifying different values in Report Options before running the final report:
• Date format
• Date separator
• Decimal point
Merge Tool Configuration File
These merge settings are also displayed in the configuration file CRMergeTool.xml, which is located in the root of the merge tool installation directory. This file is updated after every merge.
The following code illustrates a sample CRMergeTool.xmlfile:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<FileOptions>
<NativeFile value="C:\Develop\Production\QADFinForms\QADFinForms\Reports\NativeReports\NativeReport.rpt" />
<TemplateFile value="C:\Develop\Production\QADFinForms\QADFinForms\Reports\TemplateReports\TemplateReport.rpt" />
<SubreportDir value="C:\Develop\Production\QADFinForms\QADFinForms\Reports\TemplateReports\" />
<OutputFile value="C:\Develop\Production\QADFinForms\QADFinForms\Reports\ActualReport.rpt" />
<DatasetName value="" />
<AutomaticDataset value="true" />
<BatchFile value="C:\Sc5Develop\dev05\utils\SC CR Merge Tool\SCCRTool\bin\Debug\Batch(GL).xml" />
</FileOptions>
<DateOptions>
<DateOrder value=" Select Left (ucase({tqHeader.tcDateFormat}),3)

Case "YMD" : 0

Case "DMY" : 1

Case "MDY" : 2;" />
<DateSeparator value="Mid ({tqHeader.tcDateFormat},4,1)" />
<DateTimeOrder value="2" />
</DateOptions>
<NumberOptions>
<DecimalSeparator value="{tqHeader.tcDecimalFormat}" />
<ThousandsSeparator value="if {tqHeader.tcDecimalFormat} = "," 
then "."
else ","" />
</NumberOptions>
<FormatOptions>
<FieldFormat value="F" />
<LabelFormat value="L" />
<NonTranslatableFormat value="NF" />
<BoxFormat value="B" />
<Standard value="T" />
<Specific value="P" />
<Column value="C" />
<Side value="S" />
<StandardPrefix value="0-" />
<SpecificPrefix value="" />
<ColumnPrefix value="CoLbl" />
<SidePrefix value="SiLbl" />
</FormatOptions>
<FormulaOptions>
<FormulaPrefix value="" />
<TranslationFormula value="WhilePrintingRecords; 
Shared StringVar &prefix&fieldName; " />
</FormulaOptions>
<Other>
<DatasetPath value="C:\Program Files\Common Files\SCBA5\" />
</Other>
</configuration>