Museum checklists and databases use boolean values, but, currently, there is no way to graphically represent this information in Crystal Reports. Here’s a quick work around to display checkboxes. In this example we will create a graphical checkbox to display if the object record is set for public access.

In this example, we will create a graphical checkbox that displays when the object record has public access selected. This technique is included in Advanced Crystal Reports, which was presented at Collective Imagination 2009.

Crystal Reports

Select “Add New Formula” under the Formula Fields section of the Field Explorer.

Name your field whatever you want, in this case: checkbox_publicAccess.

Edit the formula. You can utilize any field that you desire, and set the operator as any criteria that meets your individual needs, however the outcome must be either CHR(254) or CHR(168). Our example uses the following:

IF {Objects.PublicAccess} = 1 THEN CHR(254) ELSE CHR(168)

Insert {@checkbox_publicAccess} into your report. Select “Format Field” from the right-click menu. In the dialogue, change the font to Wingdings, and adjust the size and weight to your needs.

Voila, now your report displays a boolean value as a graphical checkbox. If your computer does not have the Wingdings font, you can download a copy from Fonts.com

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