David,
We have exported the info we need into an Excel table first, then imported that into an Access table. It's an extra step but it works.
 
Laurie Hicks
High Museum of Art
-----Original Message-----
From: David Lower [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2003 3:42 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Alternatives to Crystal Reports


Does anyone use a database reporting tool other than Crystal Reports?  We at Emory University have been trying to make a slide label report for about a year now, and we just can't overcome some of the formatting limitations in Crystal Reports to make labels that are satisfactory.  We print a lot of information on each slide label, which requires a very flexible database reporting tool and good formatting controls.  We have an old slide label printing program called VRMS that works extremely well and has flexible formatting, but we can not replicate its usefulness in Crystal, despite a lot of training and time spent.
 
Microsoft Access does have the kind of flexibility we need, but does not communicate with an Oracle database well (which is what we are working with).  If there are other useful database reporting tools that you know of, particularly if there are any that are specialized in the area of slide cataloguing, I would welcome your guidance.  
 
Sincerely, 
 
David Lower
Business Analyst, Emory ITD
404-727-5115