Building on the discussion of Crystal Reports as a content creation application for designing interactive, actionable reports, it's now time to install and explore the Crystal Reports designer application. The installation of Crystal Reports is a very straightforward process, making installation simple for even novice users with limited technical experience. The Crystal Reports Installation Wizard presents various options throughout the installation process that will affect the function of the designer. This hour covers the planning considerations prior to the installation of Crystal Reports, options available during the install, and minimum systems requirements necessary to run Crystal Reports 9.0. As an introduction to the Crystal Reports designer, this hour also provides a high-level review of the more important and immediately useful components within the Crystal Reports application. Although brief, this introduction to the Crystal Reports design environment will prepare you for the subsequent hours and activities you will complete throughout the book. In this hour, we will cover the following topics:
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