FAQs for Using Crystal Reports with NorthStar
Crystal Reports is used to created all NorthStar reports that are distributed and supported by Technical Support Services / IT Business Office.
How do I access the NorthStar reporting web site?
How do I install of Crystal Reports on my computer?
How do I link to the standard IT reports posted on Planet?
How do I open a Crystal Reports report file?
How do I populate the Crystal Report with data?
How do I request new or customized reports?
How do I get the links to the reports when they're updated on Planet?
How do I access the NorthStar reporting web site?
The NorthStar reporting web site is accessible within Planet PeopleSoft (click here for navigation to the site). The software you need to install to use these reports is Crystal Reports. Click here for installation instructions for Crystal Reports.
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How do I install of Crystal Reports 7 on my computer?
Click on the link for the appropriate installation mechanism for your situation:
Installation using the Lotus Notes Software Library
The software you need to install to use these Crystal Reports for NorthStar reporting is Crystal Reports for PeopleSoft in the Software Library, using the steps below. Crystal Reports also requires a SQL Server client to connect to the database to populate information into the Crystal Reports for NorthStar.
If you don't have the Software Library bookmark see Eureka! document 16250 — How to add the Software Library database link to Lotus Notes.
Click the Standard Software Package Installs icon.
Scroll until you see the entry Crystal Reports for PeopleSoft and double-click on it to open it.
Click into the section Crystal Reports 7.0 for PeopleSoft and press the first button to install ("Crystal Reports 7.0 for PeopleSoft").
Once the install completes, exit the Crystal Reports for PeopleSoft page, and scroll until you see the entry Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and double-click on it to open it.
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To request an SMS install of Crystal Reports:
Launch NorthStar web. Log on, if necessary.
Click Log Service Ticket.
Enter your contact information and click Next.
Choose Software Applications and click Next.
For "What application are you using?" choose SMS Software Installations.
For "What problem are you experiencing?" choose I need to have a software package delivered to my machine.
Enter your Operating System and Connection information.
See Eureka! document 55002 — How to find out your computer's name for assistance in determining your computer's name.
Your request for the package is entered.
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How do I link to the standard IT reports posted on Planet?
The standard IT reports are posted to Planet, under Communities > Information Technology > IT Processes > ESP link. On the ESP page is an ESP Reporting link at the upper right-hand corner to take you to the generally available IT reports.
Alternately, you may click here to be redirected to the IT Resources page. (If you are not a part of IT, you may not be able to access this page.)
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How do I open a Crystal Reports report file?
If you have the report file stored on your machine or on a network share, use these steps to open the file:
Launch Crystal Reports ( click here for installation instructions to get the correct version of Crystal Reports).
Select File, Open to open the report. You will see a window to locate the file to open.
Browse to the location of the file (on your machine or on a network share), highlight the file, and click OK.
If the report was previously saved with the results data, the data will be shown in the Preview tab. If no data is present, click here for steps to populate the Crystal Report with data.
If you are opening the report file from the Planet page, use these steps to open the file:
Single-click on the icon to the left of the report you want to open. A File Download window will appear.
Select Open this file from its current location to run the report. Click OK.
Crystal Reports should automatically launch with the report shown in the Design tab.
All of the reports saved on the Planet page are templates, and stored without data. Click here for steps to populate the Crystal Report with data.
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How do I populate the Crystal Report with data?
All of the Crystal Reports posted on the reporting web page are saved without data pre-populated in the report. This is done to reduce the size of the files being stored and copied on the network. You may run any report (with one exception, noted below) and define your own date range for each report using the steps below.
Open the Crystal Report. Click here for steps to open a Crystal Report.
Press the {F5} button to run the report (or if data was included in the report, to refresh the data or change the date ranges).
You will be prompted to enter a Start Date and End Date for the report, as well as asked any report-specific questions needed to process your request.
The User ID ("readonly"), server name ("nsclussql") and database name ("van_prim_prod") are pre-populated in all standard IT reports.
Note: The server name changed to "nsclussql" on November 21, 2003. All reports posted to Planet have been updated, however, if you have a copy of a report, or a report template, saved to your machine or a share drive, you will need to manually update the server name when you run the report. (The server name is displayed on the top field of the username and password prompt box.) If you do not update the server location, your report will not show any data after November 21, 2003.
The results will appear in the Preview tab when complete. The time to run the report may vary from a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on the date ranges and complexity of the report.
Note: The IT Aging Tickets report will recalculate all tickets 30 days or greater from the current date. Example: If you run the report — press the { F5} button — on May 1, you will see all tickets that are still open and created before April 1. If you then press the { F5}button again on May 5, the report will list all tickets that are still open and created before April 5.
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How do I request new or customized reports?
All reporting requests are handled by the IT Business Office. To request a new report, or a customization to an existing report (add or modify displayed columns, prompts for filter criteria, etc.), please log a NorthStar ticket from the NorthStar client.
Create a ticket and describe the nature of your request. Categorize your ticket as Service Area = NorthStar, Service Type and Service Detail = Reporting. The ticket will default to the IT Business Office to be addressed.
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How do I get the links to the reports when they're updated on Planet?
The report distribution is handled via the public distribution list NorthStar Reporting. Reports are distributed on both a weekly basis (customer satisfaction surveys and P1/P2 tickets resolved beyond SLA), and monthly basis (performance against SLAs , aging tickets, ticket volumne metrics, et cetera).
You can add yourself to this d-list at any time via the "Group Modification" link on NorthStar web. See Eureka! document 12052 — How to use Group Modifications in NorthStar web for information on how to use group modification on NorthStar web to self-service joining this or other distribution lists.
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Created by the PeopleSoft Knowledge Management Team.
Copyright © 2004
All rights reserved.
Created: pmg 04/24/2002
Revised: pmg 09/07/2004