How do I add a variable inside a string in Crystal Reports

Question

I am a newbie to Crystal Reports. I need to insert a variable calculated at runtime inside a string.

Example:

"You have $[VARIABLE] dollars left in your account"

Do I need to have three elements: the first part of the string "You have $", the variable, and the last part of the string "dollars left in your account"?

Or can I do something like String.Format, where I can insert the value during report generation?

b.pell · Accepted Answer · 2012-05-01 18:29:38Z

2

Is this in a parameter or just laid out on the form? There are two ways to do it.

First way, you can drag a label onto your report. Inside the label, you put "You have " then drag the field you want to move from the field explorer onto the label, then finish with " dollars left in your account.". That is assuming the database field doesn't need formatting. If it does, you can create a formula to format it (then drag the formula field in the same way). I like this way because you can kind see on your design view what it's going to look like, handy for large reports.

Second way, create a formula field to get the text and then drag it onto the form. You can use either "Crystal" or "Basic" syntax. I typically use basic just because I'm good at it and familiar with it. Example:

' Basic Syntax
If IsNull(zip_code) = false Then
    formula = "Your zip code is " & {zip_code.zip_code}
Else
    formula = "There is no zip code available."
End If

enter image description here

answered May 1, 2012 at 18:29

b.pell

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4 Comments

Shai Cohen Over a year ago

OK. I think I understand. So the first way you are suggesting is having 3 different fields, like in my question. Is that correct?

b.pell Over a year ago

Not exactly no. It's 1 label, you're just typing text into it, and then dragging the database field into that 1 label. The benefit of that is, there will be only the space you allocate so it will line up like it's all together. If you use 3 fields, you may have awkward white space. The first method uses 1 label. The second method is a field itself, so you drag just that one field out. Neither of these use 3 labels (that would work, but you have the potential white space issue and it's a little more of a pain to deal with).

Shai Cohen Over a year ago

Ah. Got it. So I can drag a db field into the label. Correct?

b.pell Over a year ago

Yes, that is correct. You can drag most fields from the "Field Explorer" into the label.

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