R – Autogenerate ReportClass for Crystal Report

Here's a .Net example of code that grabs the Command Sql from all Crystal Reports in a given directory. It requires the Crystal 2008 .Net SDK to be installed (you can download a trial from SAP):

foreach (string file in Directory.GetFiles("c:\\projects\\Reports", "*.rpt"))
{
    Console.WriteLine(String.Format("Processing {0}...", file));
    var doc = new CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.ReportDocument();
    doc.Load(file);

    foreach (dynamic table in doc.ReportClientDocument.DatabaseController.Database.Tables)
    {
        if (table.ClassName == "CrystalReports.CommandTable")
        {
            string commandSql = table.CommandText;

            //TODO: do something with commandSql
        }
    }
}

To get the SQL as Crystal would build it when running a report, see this link: SAP Note 1280515 - How to extract SQL query from Crystal reports using RAS sdk.

I believe to do this, you need to supply the report parameter values so that Crystal can connect to the database in order to build the SQL. In the example, since a Report Viewer control is used, Crystal can prompt the user for the parameters.

I suspect the file-type association for .RPT is broken. You may have tried opening the .RPT before you had Crystal Reports installed and accidentally selected something else to open it. Now it probably automatically opens them incorrectly.

This article describes changes between Windows versions and how to edit them: http://www.technize.com/advanced-file-types-association-in-windows-7/

That said, there is a quicker easier way to do a quick test to confirm if those .RPT files are valid.

In Visual Studio, inside your C# project, do an 'Add New Item > Reporting > Crystal Reports' and it will start a wizard for adding reports to your project. When this happens, you'll be prompted to 'create a new report' or to 'open from existing file'. Choose open existing and browse to your .RPT file. This should force Crystal Reports to attempt to open this file in the Visual Studio based Crystal Report designer.

Best of luck with it.