many of which are aimed at increasing productivity.

To create a report, you begin by specifying a data source, which in the Standard Edition can be any of the established desktop database types including Microsoft Access, Microsoft FoxPro, dBase and even Microsoft SQL Server via OLE DB. From here you choose which tables and fields you use via a point-and-click interface. More advanced users can choose to directly edit SQL to select the data they require.

The report can then be designed using a comprehensive set of tools offering more than 100 formatting options. These can include different fonts, text rotation and images as well as sub-reports and special functions that can control report formatting, data selection and more. New to Crystal Reports is the ability to handle Unicode. This allows you to produce reports in almost any language including those that write from right to left. You can even mix and match multiple languages within the same report.

However, this power doesn't come cheaply. Crystal Reports is an extremely complex program and new users may struggle initially to get to grips with it. Luckily there are a number of books and courses available to get you up to speed if you feel you need a little extra help. That said, the online help is extremely comprehensive. As well as covering each and every function in detail, it also includes a Quick Start guide plus information on design concepts and an introduction to reporting. The publisher's Web site includes further help and examples.