Patching CR8 to CR XI

Question

OK. I have a VB6 application that uses CR8.0, I need to patch those files on 1500 remote systems up to CRXI.  I understand the use of merge modules, but the problem here is my current version of InstallSheild(2.0) does not support merge modules either. 
Can anyone give me a list of files that will need to be included to properly patch up to to CRXI.  I know this is not an ideal way of doing this, and I'm not ahppy either, but managament is not giving me alot of choices here. 
Thanks in advance.
Dave

Answer 1

Hello Dave,
Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. You can't "patch up" a v8 app to v11.5 by just installing the newer runtime files. You'll have to update you VB 6 development machine to work with CR XI R2 (v11.5) and then upgrade your application to use the new v11.5 components and references.
Some things to consider:
If your application isn't using the Report Designer Component (RDC) you'll have to convert your code to use this component. The Crystal OCX (crystl32.ocx) and direct CRPE calls (PEOpenPrintEngine) were retired a long time ago and the code won't work.
If your application is using the RDC you'll have to update your code for changes to the RDC object model. There was a significant rewrite to Crystal Reports with the release of CR9. While most of the RDC object model is essentially the same, your database connection code would be obsolete now, and will have to be rewritten using the new ConnectionProperties method.
Manual deployment of the CR XI R2 runtime files is not supported. Unlike CR8, there's no "list" available to build your own deployment package. You'll have to use the v11.5 merge modules when you get to the point of deploying your updated application. If you don't have a deployment program that supports merge modules you'll have to get one. Microsoft's Installer, Installshield, and Wise Installer all support the use of merge modules. You may be able to use the "trial" versions to complete your installer package rebuild.
It is also important to note that CR XI R2 (v11.5) has reached End of Life for patch support and complete support for CR XI R2 ends at the end of June, 2011 - in about 3 months. CR XI R2 (v11.5) is the last version of Crystal that is shipping with COM components. The RDC has been retired, and is not available with newer versions of Crystal Reports.
Since you're going to be involved in a major rewrite to move from CR8 to CR XIR2 you may want to consider moving to the CR.NET SDK instead. Both Crystal Reports 2008 and Crystal Reports for VS2010 can be used to create CR.NET Windows or Web applications. Additional information about the CR.NET SDK is available in the CR.NET forum.
Let me know if you need clarification on any of this information. If you decide to go ahead with your migration to the RDC with CR XI R2 (v11.5) please make sure to post any questions into new forum threads. There is RDC resource information posted to the beginning of this forum in a sticky post. You'll want to look there first, or search the forums for answers to any questions you might have.
Good luck!
Sincerely,
Dan Kelleher