Symptom
- Flash not displayed.
- Blank space where Flash object should have been located in a PDF document.
- When exporting a report that contains a linked Flash object from Crystal Reports to PDF format, the PDF document does not contains the Flash object.
- If the Flash content is incorporated using the 'Embed' option in Crystal Reports, it displayed correctly in the generated PDF document.
- Important Note: Adobe ended Flash support on 2020/12/31. The information in this SAP Knowledge Base Article was valid prior to Flash suppot ended. The recommendation is to remove Flash objects from the report.
Environment
- SAP Crystal Reports 2011
- SAP Crystal Reports 2013
- SAP Crystal Reports 2016
Reproducing the Issue
- In Crystal Reports, create a report based on any data source.
- Under the menu "Insert", select "Flash..."
- In the "Insert Flash Object" window, click on "Browse " and select a Flash object. ( .SWF file )
- Then select the "Link" option, and click "OK"
- Preview the report, and notice the Flash object displays successfully on the report.
- Export the report to PDF format.
When viewing the exported PDF document in a PDF Reader, notice the Flash content is not displayed.
Cause
- Locally linked flash object are not shown in a PDF document because the PDF specification does not support locally linked SWF files.
- Notes:
- Linked flash file feature is only support in Crystal Reports.
- Viewing a report that contains a linked flash document is not supported when viewed outside of Crystal Reports designer, like in SAP BI LaunchPad or the Central Management Console.
Resolution
- Embed the Flash object in the report, in order to be able to export it to PDF format.
- In Crystal Reports, open the report that contains a linked Flash object.
- Ensure you know the source of the linked Flash object on the report, then delete it.
- Insert the Flash object again, and ensure the option "Embed" is selected
- Under the menu "Insert", select "Flash..."
- In the "Insert Flash Object" window, click on "Browse " and select the same Flash object. ( .SWF file )
- Then ensure the option "Embed" is selected, and click "OK"
- Now, when exporting the report to PDF format, it will embed the Flash object in the PDF document.
Keywords
KBA , BI-RA-CR , Crystal Reports designer or Business View Manager , Product Enhancement
Product
SAP Crystal Reports 2011 ; SAP Crystal Reports 2013 ; SAP Crystal Reports 2016