如何使水晶报表的 Access 数据库数据源路径动态化？

Question

I have developed a Windows Form App using C# & Microsoft Access Database (.accdb) . I have created a Crystal Report. In Crystal Report there is an option called "Database Expert" . Using "Database Expert" option I have attached my Access database file with Crystal Report using OLE DB (ADO) like below picture:

Now I have created another form and bind a Crystal Report Viewer with this form. I have coded these code on Form Load Event:

private void BillingInvoiceForm_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    int BillPrint = Billing_Form.BillNoToPrint;
    ReportDocument crypt = new ReportDocument();
    crypt.Load(@"Report\BillingReport.rpt");
    crypt.RecordSelectionFormula = "{Bill_Master.Bill_No} =  " + BillPrint + "";
    crystalReportViewer1.ReportSource = crypt;
    crystalReportViewer1.Show();
}

As you can see there is a path like "F:\Visual Studio Projects\BillingSystem\db\My_Database.accdb"

When I run this app into my machine, everything works fine but when I deploy this app into another machine it gets stuck. Because app can not find path like "F:\Visual Studio Projects\BillingSystem\db\My_Database.accdb".

So my question is that how can I make Crystal Report data source path dynamic so that this app can be run on every computer.

Answer 1

Best option is to switch to ODBC as the data source. That way, the same ODBC DSN on different machines can point at different physical locations.

It is possible to change the data source in code but that requires more advanced knowledge of the Crystal runtime and comes with other challenges as well. There are 3rd-party Crystal Reports viewers that handle that challenge but I would advise you to go with the simpler solution of using ODBC.