SAP Knowledge Base Article - Public

1219409 - Suppressed or hidden section shrink in the design mode of the report in Crystal Reports

Symptom

  • Section shrink when suppressed.
  • Unable to edit sections of the report, since it is shrinked, and cannot be resized.
  • Section name disappears when suppressing or hiding the section in Crystal Reports.
  • How to avoid shrinking a suppressed or hidden section in Crystal Reports, and display it with a shade of gray instead?

Environment

  • SAP Crystal Reports 2016
  • SAP Crystal Reports 2020
  • SAP Crystal Reports 2025

Reproducing the Issue

  1. In Crystal Reports, create a report off any data source, or open an existing report.
  2. In the "design" mode, hide or suppress a section.
      
    Notice the section name disappears and the section shrink.
      
    Suppressed-01.png  
        
      
    Instead of being grayed out like the following screenshot:
     
    Suppressed-02.png
     

Cause

  • The Crystal Reports Layout option: "Show Hidden Sections" is unchecked, and this is why it is shrinking the section name.

Resolution

  • To display the suppressed or hidden section in the design view of a report in Crystal Reports, check the Layout option: "Show Hidden Sections"
         
    1. In Crystal Reports, under the menu "File", select "Options..."
    2. In the "Options" window, under the tab "Layout", check the option: "Show Hidden Sections", and click "OK"
         
       Suppressed-03.png  
        
      Now, it will display the hidden or suppressed sections in the design view of the report.

Keywords

CR, suppress, hidden, section, disappear, collapse, gray out, unavailable , KBA , BI-RA-CR , Crystal Reports designer or Business View Manager , Problem

Product

SAP Crystal Reports 2016 ; SAP Crystal Reports 2020 ; SAP Crystal Reports 2025