Parameter fields in the CR 2011 report viewer

Question

hello,
i'm trying to figure out how to get paramter fields to work in the cr 2011 viewer.
the help file for the viewer says to type in the value in the paramter panel or select parameters from a list. neither of these options works for me.
there is also a "change" button, but it is disabled.
if it helps my laptop has windows 7.
any help would be greatly appreciated.
thank you
tracy

Answer 1

Hi Tracy,
Crystal Reports Viewer as the name suggests is just a 'viewer' and can do nothing more than 'view' a report with saved data. It does possess the capability to refresh the report ONLY when the viewer is connected to a Business Objects Enterprise flavor.
Since, the change button on the viewer is disabled, I'm guessing the parameter has been used in the Record Selection Formula? If it has been then again it boils down to what I mentioned above - the Viewer cannot refresh data because it cannot send a db request.
On the other hand if the parameter does not affect the data in any way and does not send a db request, you should be able to 'change' the value.
In order to make this work i.e to enable the 'change' button to refresh the report, you need to make sure the parameter is not being used in the Record Selection Formula. Open the report in the CR designer and move the Record Selection formula to the 'Saved Data' area (Report > Selection formula > Saved data).
That should do the trick!
P.S: Make sure the selection criteria is in the Saved data and not the Record
-Abhilash