Has anyone ever deployed Crystal reports components on an ISP Web server?

[djj66]

Hi all,

We've developed a web application using .NET, and have installed this on our LAN web server. Part of the application uses Crystal Reports, and we've got this working using the "Merge Modules". All OK so far.

 

But we would now like to deploy the application onto an ISP Webserver running IIS. Obviously we don't manage the web server, we can only upload our application.

At the moment we're getting the error "Cannot find KeycodeV2.dll, or invalid keycode." when we try to open the Crystal reports components on the ISP Webserver.

 

We don't have permission to install the merge modules onto the webserver - we can only upload the code via FTP...

 

 

Can anybody offer any advice on how to get Crystal report web components running on an ISP webserver, and exactly what do we need to ask the ISP to do.

 

Thanks very much, hope to hear some replies soon!

[robplatt]

You ever figure this out? of if it can even be done?

[kcwallace]

My ISP offers the following advice

 

http://www.edthosting.com/Knowledgebase_Article.aspx?id=122

 

and

 

http://www.edthosting.com/Knowledgebase_Article.aspx?id=123

[TheWizardofInt]

I just had to do this, on a web farm with a 32 bit processor, so before someone ELSE wastes 3 hours doing research, here you go:

 

1. You will need cr_net_2005_mergemodules_mlb_x86.msm on your LOCAL computer where you plan to compile the program for deployment. You can get it here:

 

http://support.businessobjects.com/communityCS/FilesAndUpdates/cr_net_2005_mergemodules_mlb_x86.zip.asp

 

2. Download the zip and store it in the c:\program files\merge modules section of your PC

 

3. Open your project for the site you want to deploy, and add a new project to it, which will be a Web Setup Project. Do NOT install the new project under folder for the existing project, pick some other location on your hard drive for it

 

4. In the solution explorer, under the project you just added for deployment, right-mouse-click on the project name and select Properties and then Add, then Project output, and add the Content Files

 

5. Right-mouse-click on the Project again and select Add/Merge Modules, and add that cr_net_2005_mergemodules_mlb_x86.msm, which will automatically add 2 other modules that you need.

 

6. Right mouse click on the Project AGAIN, select properies, then the Dependencies button, and check the Crystal Reports option

 

Now you can deploy. Select the project and then Build. If it goes really fast and doesn't put a new deployment MSI in the Debug folder, go to the main project, rebuild THAT, and try again.

 

In a regular web server environment, you can then just move the .msi to the server and install, overwriting your existing web site if you need to

 

In a web farm, the .MSI is going to install a new directory under the existing, configured web site, and the existing web site still won't want to run Crystal.

 

What you do is:

 

1. Install the website under the existing web site, like the MSI wants to do. If you try to run the program now, it will tell you that it can't find the right files to run Crystal

 

2. Write all of the files to the main directory for the web site, from the sub directory.

 

3. Now you'll get an error telling you that you mis-configured the web site with an App_Code folder, which of course is not what you want. Go back to your development computer, select the MAIN project, and deploy it like you normally would.

 

Now that the files are in the right root, you can deploy and find them, even though the deployment tool is telling you that it is overwriting the existing site.