>
>As Craig says, it really depends on the complexity of the report. There are a few things that are easier with VFP reports than crystal. Printing pictures is one of them. Overall, Crystal is a far more powerfull reportwriter than the VFP one. Even if you'll compare with the new VFP report writer in VFP 9.0, Crystal is far more advanced. However integrating crystal into your VFP project is not that easy if you want to do it well, and distribution of the runtimes for crystal is also one to consider (DLL hell).

Distribution was easier with Crystal 9 than previous versions. WIth CR 10, Business Objects has made it even easier.

>
>The decision to wait for VFP 9.0 or to go for Crystal Reports IMO depends on the value of having sophisticated reports. If you're building an in house application, VFP reports might be adequate, if you're selling commercially, crystal indeed might show more professional.

Based on the current VFP release, Crystal does look more professional. However, the VFP 9 report mechanism is greatly improved. I can't get into specifics, but as far as the quality of the preview and printed report, IMO, VFP 9 rivals Crystal. Crystal still has many more capabilities over VFP 9, so you need to judge the decisions based on your needs.

>
>Personally I've choosen crystal about 5 or 6 years ago. I've build supporting classes to handle crystal reports as easy as you do with VFP reports. Making a crystal reports generally does not take more time to do than VFP reports. For me the choice was an easy one. I had to deliver commercial applications with graphs and subreports, something rather impossible with VFP reports.

That's pretty much why I went with Crystal Reports.