Operation Manual

Introduction to Reporting
Creating a new report
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102 Crystal Reports User’s Guide
2. Select the desired picture file from the file list and click Open to return to
the report.
An object frame appears with the picture inside, ready to be positioned.
3. Position the picture object where you want it to appear in the report and
left-click once.
BLOB (Binary Large Object) fields
A BLOB field is a database field whose data consists of Binary Large
Objects—such as bitmap graphics, images, OLE objects, metafiles, and so
on. Inserting a BLOB field into your report allows you to access these binary
objects as you would other data types.
Note: Crystal Reports can also access BLOB objects by reference (that is,
dynamically through a file path), so that you do not need to store the BLOB
objects in your database. For more information, see “To make a static OLE
object dynamic” on page 324.
In general, Crystal Reports allows you to access BLOB fields containing:
• Device-independent bitmaps (DIB).
• JPEG, TIFF, or PNG images.
In addition, if your data resides in a Microsoft Access database, then Crystal
Reports enables you to report on BLOB fields containing OLE 1 and 2 objects
and metafiles.
You insert BLOB fields as you would any other database field. For details, see
“To insert a database field” on page 98.
A BLOB field object differs from other database field objects in that it offers
options to control cropping, scaling, and sizing—just like an inserted picture
or OLE object. To access these options, right-click the BLOB field object,
select Format Graphic from the shortcut menu, and click the Picture tab.
Note: To retain the ability to activate and edit an OLE object with its server
application, you should insert the object into your report independently, either
by linking or by embedding, rather than inserting it in a BLOB field. For more
information about inserting linked and embedded OLE objects, see “Inserting
OLE objects into reports” on page 320.