Crystal Reports 5 for Dummies

If you want a great Tutorial on how to use Crystal Reports 8.0 or 8.5 this is the book for you. Once you get a good feel for the product and you need to delve into more complex reporting needs and scenarios the product manual would be your next step... or other reference books such as CRYSTAL REPORTS 8.5 - The Complete Reference, published by McGraw Hill/Osborne.

Continuing the high standards set in "Crystal Reports 6," Wolf makes fast work of learning and using Crystal Reports. The updates in the books clearly coincide with updates to the software while giving beginners immediately useful tips and tools.

I am a consultant. I went to a client sight never having seen this program before with this book. I had things up and running in a few days using this book.

It is definately well written, but it is what the title says it is, a book written for dummies. If you are new to Crystal, this book is perfect for you. I can't wait until the "Essentials" book comes out. I think it's called "Essential Crystal Reports X (or 7). Writting formulas, especially complex formulas, is a difficult task. This book barely covers formulas.

You know a computer software package has hit the big time when a "For Dummies" book is written about it! I enjoyed the light reading of this book. For a total novice to Seagate Software's report writing Crystal Reports, it would be a relatively painless experience. If you have performed even rudimentary functions in Crystal before, consider the Seagate Software tech manuals that come with the licensed product. I wish the author had given more examples on how to snazz up reports. What is really needed for Crystal is a graphics oriented guide on how to make a user's Crystal reports shine.