The Select Expert allows you to define limitations to record selection criteria. It works similar to the WHERE clause of an SQL query statement. The Customer report created in the previous chapter provided information on all customers worldwide. The following set of procedures shows how to narrow that list to a specific subset.
To define a record selection criterion:
1. Click Report > Select Expert. The Choose Field dialog box appears:
2. Click State and then OK. The Select Expert dialog box appears:
3. From the drop down menu of the Customer.State tab, select is one of. A drop down menu for the states appears:
4. The revised report will feature information on the New England States exclusively. Select CT, MA, ME, NH, RI and VT. The Customer. State tab is now complete:
5. If the report is designed to provide information on customers with outstanding balances, you can eliminate the customers who do not fit this profile. Click the <New> tab.
The Choose Field dialog box appears:
6. Select the Balance field and click OK. The Customer.Balance tab appears in the Select Expert dialog box:
7. Select is not equal to from the drop down list. An adjacent drop down list will appear to the right. Select 0.00 and click OK. Crystal Reports displays a warning that there has been a change to the selection criteria:
8. Click Refresh Data. The number of records displayed in the report drops from 1,117 worldwide customers to just 53 New England customers with outstanding accounts.
