Open Crystal Reports and open a new report (or in an existing report, click on ‘Database’ > ‘Database Expert’)
A window will open to setup the database connection. Click on ‘Create New Connection’ and then on ‘OLE DB (ADO)’
Select the ‘Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server’ option and click ‘Next’
A window will open for the connection details, enter the details you have been provided with, and click ‘Next’:
On the next window, just click ‘Finish’.
Crystal should now be connected to your database. On the Data table, use the tree structure to find the ‘Views’ folder:
The views pre-fixed with CR_ are the ones that can be used within Crystal Reports. Select the views you wish to use within your report:
Then click next. Clear the links between the tables (as they are often not correct intially) and then connect the tables as required.
At this point you can either click ‘Finish’ to continue building the report yourself or ‘Next’ to continue using the ‘Report Creation Wizard’.
Clicking ‘Next’ will lead you through adding fields, groups, summaries and charts to your report.