Parallel Crystal Installation Validation: (outside of the Web/Portal Server)

Download PDF version of this faq: InstallValidation.pdf

Details: When installing Parallel Crystal for the first time it is important to validate the installation on the local report server before you begin developing your own applications. For versions of Parallel Crystal earlier than v2.5 these validation steps were done manually. Installation validation tools have been built into Parallel Crystal v2.6+ for both COM and Java clients. By validating the PCRE installation you are verifying that it is installed and operating correctly outside of the Web/Portal server.

1. To Validate a Parallel Crystal v2.6 or later installation:

1. Go to the start menu> Programs>Parallel Crystal>Testers>Validate Install
   
2. This will run our box.rpt to HTML and PDF files and place the completed reports in the following directory: C:\Program Files\Dynalivery\PCRE\Validate
   

2. COM clients validate install outside of Web/Portal server

1. Go to the start menu> Programs>Parallel Crystal>Testers>COM Tester
   
2. Choose your output type.
   
3. Enter the report server name.
   
4. Enter number of reports.
   
5. Choose an .rpt file.
   
6. Enter output path.
   
7. Click run.
   
8. To view the completed report you should click the View Output button. This will show the contents of the output directory that you selected above. You can then double click on the completed report and it will open in the appropriate viewer.
   
   

3. Java clients validate install in raw JDK outside of Web/Portal server

1. Go to the start menu> Programs>Parallel Crystal>Testers>Java test.
   
2. Choose your output type.
   
3. Enter the report server name.
   
4. Enter number of reports.
   
5. Choose an .rpt file.
   
6. Select the output path. (highlight the directory name and hit the select button)
   
7. Click run.
   
8. To view the completed report you should click the View Output button. This will show the contents of the output directory that you selected above. You can then double click on the completed report and it will open in the appropriate viewer.
   

4. To test from a remote client NT machine:

1. Use the source code for COM Tester and Java Tester provided on the PCRE v2.5 Install CD. They can be found in the following directory: C:\Program Files\Dynalivery\PCRE\Docs\SampleSource

To Validate a Parallel Crystal v2.4 or earlier installation:

1. Is the PCRE service running? We recommend that you launch the Parallel Crystal in desktop mode for debugging purposes.
   
   
2. However when running PCRE as a service you must verify that the PCRE service is running under a user account, with administrator privileges, *not* a system or Administrator account?
   
   
3. Is the PCRE Printer driver (for PDF) installed? (See page 13 of the v2.4 Installation Guide)
   
   
4. Confirm that the only copy of Crystal Reports Designer and run-time, on this machine, is the copy of Crystal Reports 7.0.1 on Dynalivery's CD. It is an option at the end of our install shield. Did you install it?
   
   
5. Does box.rpt (saved data - no database access) work in the Crystal Designer on the report server with export to HTML? Does a simple report that you have designed, perhaps with access to your database and no run-time parameters work?
   
   
6. Try locally connecting to PCRE.
   
   
   Java clients can use the following simple Java Test to test in the JDK and outside of your web/portal server using: http://www.dynalivery.com/customersupport/faq/Javatest.zip
   
   In case you want to generate HTML instead of PDF, substitute these two lines of code for the single line containing the ExportToPDF method:
   
   PCREHTMLJobExportInfo info = new PCREHTMLJobExportInfo(output);
   job.ExportTo(info);
   
   If your Web/Portal Server is remote, move the Test Application to that machine and rerun it, still in the raw JDK.
   
   Run the JSP version of JavaTest inside your Web/Portal Server.
   
   Check the Customer Support section on Dynalivery’s Web site for the latest information on JDK compatibility, database drivers, and other source code samples.
   
   Com clients can use the following simple Com Test (PCREtest) to test using the com library outside of the Web/Portal server using http//www.dynalivery.com/customersupport/PCREtest.zip. For this test to be effective it requires our ActiveX and C++ libraries to be present as well as the creation of the PCRE Printer. This will require a full rather than partial installation of Parallel Crystal, including Crystal Reports Designer. Please refer to our installation guide for specific installation instructions, which will include how to create the PCRE Printer. For remote clients we have provided these libraries with this download. Unzip the file and place the MobileApps directory inside the Program Files directory on each client machine.
   

   Steps in Running the PCRE test
   1. Perform a full install of PCRE on your local NT server.
   2. Create the PCRE Printer (v2.4 Installation Guide p. 13)
   3. Create a test directory. It should contain:
   a. PCRE Test
   b. box.rpt
   4. Open box.rpt in Crystal Reports Designer:
   a. Perform a Print preview (you should see our saved data)
   5. Run box.rpt in PCRE test:
   a. Output to .html
   b. Output to .pdf
   6. Open "your" .rpt file in Crystal Reports:
   a. Perform a Print Preview (you should see your data)
   7. Place a copy of your .rpt file into the test directory
   8. Run your .rpt file in PCRE test:
   a. Output to .html
   b. Output to .pdf