Other formula conventions

Group field values

Formula comments

●via the Fields box, or

●by typing them in manually.

See HOW TO INSERT FIELDS IN YOUR FORMULA, Page 328.

NOTE: Be sure to review the correct syntax for using formula fields in your formula. See Formula syntax, Page 334.

Group field values are values that summarize a group (a group subtotal, a group average, etc.). You can use them in formulas for many reasons. A typical reason would be to find out the percentage of the grand total that each group contributes. For example, what percentage of the $2,300,000 US sales figure did the Western Region contribute?

HOW TO INSERT GROUP FIELD VALUES IN FORMULAS

You can insert group field values into your formulas in the same manner as you did other fields:

●via the Fields box, or

●by typing them in manually.

NOTE: Due to the syntax complexity of some group fields, it is highly recommended that you enter group fields by selecting them from the Fields list box versus manually typing them in. See

Formula syntax, Page 334.

Formula comments are notes that you include with a formula to explain its design and operation.

Comments do not print and they do not affect the formula, but they appear in the Formula Editor. It is always a good idea to include comments with complex formulas for other users of your reports, especially those formulas that will be used again and again over time.

HOW TO INSERT COMMENTS IN FORMULAS

Type your comments in the Formula text box in the Formula Editor. A comment must be preceded by two slashes (//). The comment can be above or below the formula, or it can even follow the formula on the same line.

Formula

comment considerations

Any of the following three placements are acceptable:

//This is an acceptable //position for a comment.

//Note that when you forcethe line break, //you have to begin each new line

//with double slashes. These comments //refer to the formula below.

If {orders.ORDER AMOUNT} in (100.00 to 250.00) Then

.10 * {orders.ORDER AMOUNT} Else

0

//This is also an acceptable comment position //for detailing the formula above.

If {orders.ORDER AMOUNT} > 10.00 Then

“” //This position is also acceptable. Else

“Flag”

The following are considerations when including comments with formulas:

●The proper syntax for a comment is two forward slashes (//) followed by the comment. When the program sees the two slashes, it realizes that the text that follows for the rest of the line is comment only and not to be evaluated as part of the formula itself.

●Seagate Crystal Reports treats everything that follows the slashes on the same line as a comment.

●If your comment is long and automatically wraps to the next line, no additional slashes are necessary; the program treats it as one continuous comment.

●If you break your comment into two or more lines using the Enter key, you must begin each new line with two slashes. If you do not begin each new line with two slashes (//), the program treats each unslashed line as part of the formula itself and displays an error message when you check the formula syntax.

Operators

Functions

Brackets in formulas

EXAMPLE

{customer.REGION}

This identifies the Region field from the Customer table.

1+1

When using operators in formulas, you simply type in the operator where desired. You may place a space before and after the operator if you desire, but to do so is optional (i.e., 1 + 1).

FunctionName(x)

When using functions in formulas, you simply type the function and supply the arguments (if any) as specified in the parentheses. For example, the Average (x) function requires a field or formula as its (x) argument.

EXAMPLE

Average({order.AMOUNT})

This formula will calculate the average of all values in the Amount field.

Seagate Crystal Reports uses three different types of brackets in writing formulas. Each one has a specific purpose and can be used only with certain formula elements.

●{ } are called French braces and are placed around database, formula, and parameter fields:

{customer.REGION}, {@sum}, {?Region}

●[ ] are called Square brackets and are placed when using the Subscript or Array Operator:

{customer.CUSTOMER NAME} [1]

●( ) are called Parentheses and are placed around the arguments of a function:

Round(x, # places), Abs(x)