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Get the Report →Publish Reports with MongoDB Data in SAP Crystal Reports
Use the Report Wizard to design a report based on up-to-date MongoDB data.
Crystal Reports has many options for offloading data processing to remote data; this enables real-time reporting. With the support for JDBC in Crystal Reports, the CData JDBC Driver for MongoDB brings this capability to Crystal Reports. This article shows how to create a report on MongoDB data that refreshes when you run the report.
About MongoDB Data Integration
Accessing and integrating live data from MongoDB has never been easier with CData. Customers rely on CData connectivity to:
- Access data from MongoDB 2.6 and above, ensuring broad usability across various MongoDB versions.
- Easily manage unstructured data thanks to flexible NoSQL (learn more here: Leading-Edge Drivers for NoSQL Integration).
- Leverage feature advantages over other NoSQL drivers and realize functional benefits when working with MongoDB data (learn more here: A Feature Comparison of Drivers for NoSQL).
MongoDB's flexibility means that it can be used as a transactional, operational, or analytical database. That means CData customers use our solutions to integrate their business data with MongoDB or integrate their MongoDB data with their data warehouse (or both). Customers also leverage our live connectivity options to analyze and report on MongoDB directly from their preferred tools, like Power BI and Tableau.
For more details on MongoDB use case and how CData enhances your MongoDB experience, check out our blog post: The Top 10 Real-World MongoDB Use Cases You Should Know in 2024.
Getting Started
Refer to the given table for the tools and their versions used in this article:
Application Name | Version |
---|---|
SAP Crystal Reports 2020 | SP3 |
JDBC Driver | 23.0.8565 |
Deploy the JDBC Driver
Install the CData JDBC Driver for MongoDB by including the driver JAR in the Crystal Reports classpath: Add the full file path, including the .jar, to the paths in the ClassPath element under the DataDriverCommonElement.
The default location for the CRConfig.xml file is C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP BusinessObjects\SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI 4.0\java — the path might be slightly different based on your installation. The driver JAR is located in the lib subfolder of the installation directory.
After you have added the JAR to the ClassPath, restart Crystal Reports.
Connect to MongoDB Data
After deploying the JDBC driver for MongoDB, you can use the Report Wizard to add MongoDB data to a new report.
- Click File -> New -> Standard Report.
- Expand the JDBC (JNDI) under Create New Connection and double-click Make a New Connection.
- Create a connection string using CData JDBC Driver for MongoDB.
In the wizard, enter the JDBC connection URL:
jdbc:mongodb:Server=MyServer;Port=27017;Database=test;User=test;Password=Password;
Set the driver class name:
cdata.jdbc.mongodb.MongoDBDriver
- Select the tables needed in the report.
- You can also link tables from the MongoDB data in SAP Crystal Reports. Click on NEXT after adding the links between tables.
- After the tables are selected, select the fields you want displayed in the report from the selected table, followed by NEXT.
- Select the "Group By" field to group the information on the report.
- Sort the groups based on summarised totals and click on NEXT.
For assistance constructing the JDBC URL, use the connection string designer built into the MongoDB JDBC Driver. Double-click the JAR file or execute the jar file from the command line.
java -jar cdata.jdbc.mongodb.jar
Set the Server, Database, User, and Password connection properties to connect to MongoDB. To access MongoDB collections as tables you can use automatic schema discovery or write your own schema definitions. Schemas are defined in .rsd files, which have a simple format. You can also execute free-form queries that are not tied to the schema.
Fill in the connection properties and copy the connection string to the clipboard.
When configuring the JDBC URL, you may also want to set the Max Rows connection property. This will limit the number of rows returned, which is especially helpful for improving performance when designing reports and visualizations.
You can then configure grouping, sorting, and summaries. See the following section to use the aggregate and summary to create a chart.
Create a Chart
After selecting a column to group by, the Standard Report Creation Wizard presents the option to create a chart. Follow the steps below to create a chart aggregating the borough column's values.
- In the Standard Report Creation Wizard, select the Bar Chart option and select the column you grouped by in the "On change of" menu.
- In the Show Summary menu, select the summary you created.
- Select filters and a template, as needed, to finish the wizard.
Select a template for the report to preview the finished report and view the chart populated with your data.
The Final Report
You can now see that the report contains all the fields initially specified.
Working with Remote Data
To ensure that you see updates to the data, click File and clear the "Save Data with Report" option. As you interact with the report, for example, drilling down to hidden details, Crystal Reports executes SQL queries to retrieve the data needed to display the report. To reload data you have already retrieved, refresh or rerun the report.
You can offload processing onto the driver by hiding details elements and enabling server-side grouping. To do this, you need to select a column to group by in the report creation wizard.
- Click File -> Report Options and select the "Perform Grouping On Server" option.
- Click Report -> Section Expert and select the Details section of your report. Select the "Hide (Drill-Down OK)" option.
When you preview your report with the hidden details, Crystal Reports executes a GROUP BY query. When you double-click a column in the chart to drill down to details, Crystal Reports executes a SELECT WHERE query that decreases load times by retrieving only the data needed.
At this point, you have created a SAP Crystal report built on top of live MongoDB data using SAP Crystal Reports and a CData JDBC Driver. Learn more about the CData JDBC Driver for MongoDB and download a free trial from the MongoDB JDBC Driver page. Let our Support Team know if you have any questions.