How do I upgrade my Crystal Report libraries in a .NET 3.5 project to CR XI R2?

Question

Our project currently uses Crystal Reports for Visual Studio 2008. We need to upgrade to XI R2, but I'm having problems doing so. Here are the steps I followed:

1. Install Crystal Reports XI R2.
2. Collect updated assemblies from the GAC. I did this because I couldn't find version XI libraries in the "Add References..." dialog. I verified that these assemblies were of version 11.5.*. The libraries I gathered were:
   • CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine
   • CrystalDecisions.Enterprise.Framework
   • CrystalDecisions.Enterprise.InfoStore
   • CrystalDecisions.ReportSource
   • CrystalDecisions.Shared
   • CrystalDecisions.Windows.Forms
3. Replace all references in my projects to version 10.5 Crystal libraries with references to the newer assemblies.

Everything builds fine, but when I try to instantiate a ReportDocument, I get this error:

The type initializer for 'CrystalDecisions.CrystalReports.Engine.ReportDocument' threw an exception.

Is there anything I'm missing? Will this just not work?

Answer 1

-Uninstall Crytal Report 2008 from conttrol panel programs.

-Reboot your PC

-Then Add the Reference Tab browse to this path C:\Program Files\Business Objects\Common\3.5\managed\dotnet2 and select the Dll for the solution

-Add this code to test de references

Private Sub Form1_Load(ByVal sender As System.Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load

    Dim rptDocument As ReportDocument
    rptDocument = New ReportDocument()

    Dim reportPath As String = Application.StartupPath & "\" & "CrystalReport1.rpt"
    rptDocument.Load(reportPath)

    Me.myCrystalReportViewer.ReportSource = rptDocument

End Sub


Private Sub myCrystalReportViewer_ClickPage(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As CrystalDecisions.Windows.Forms.PageMouseEventArgs) Handles myCrystalReportViewer.ClickPage
    Debug.Print(e.ObjectInfo.Text)
End Sub

Answer 2

If I understand your question, you can't upgrade to CR XI R2 and use it with VS 2008. The highest supported version for XI R2 is VS 2005. I think you will have to upgrade the CR product to CR 2008.