Creating Formulas with the Formula Expert

The Formula Expert is used to create formulas based on existing custom functionseither from the current report or the Crystal Repository. The expert appears when you click the Use Expert button in the Formula Name dialog during the formula creation process or click on the Formula Expert/Editor toggle button (the magic wand). The Formula Expert leverages the power of the custom functions and repository functionality introduced first in version 9. Figure 4.22 displays the Formula Expert dialog.

Figure 4.22. The Formula Expert dialog enables rapid creation of formulas through a wizard type interface.

To use the Formula Expert, follow this simple three-step process:

1. Find the custom function that meets your formula requirements by searching through the Report and Repository Custom Function libraries. The supporting Help description and More Info button can aid in this search.

    

2. For each parameter of the selected function, select a field from your report data source or enter a constant.

    

3. Save the new formula using the Save button.

    

The created formula is now accessible through the Formula Editor and can be enhanced or edited with that tool.