"ttx" files are used to create an interface with the Crystal Reports® application.
These files describe the various fields that can be placed in reports; this description is simply the field name and its Crystal Reports type (plus the length, in the case of strings).
Column header and formatting data (edit word, edit code and number of decimals) and example values are not supported by Crystal Reports®, and are therefore lost. In some situations, however, certain details can be retrieved, either automatically (numeric data field formatting: number of decimals to be displayed), or at the user's request (using edit codes).
Generating the files that contain the fields
There are two ways to generate the fields of a future Crystal Reports report:
Generating n files:
- one file per entity, including its selected properties,
- one "_vars.ttx" file containing the work variables,
- one "_common.ttx" file for the *USER and *PGM reserved words.
All these files are linked together through the "_link" field created at the beginning of the files.
Generating one and a single file: "_data.ttx", containing all the fields that were selected in the tree view, as follows:
- AssociatedGuideWord.EntityName for the entities' properties,
- VariableName._data for the work variables,
- *USER._data and *PGM._data for the corresponding reserved words.
For each new report, when the Crystal Reports® application is opened for the first time, all these files are generated. You choose either solution when you include the first "ttx" file into the Crystal Reports® Designer.
Warning: If you choose the global file solution, associate the "_data.ttx" file only. On the other hand, if you choose the other solution, all the "ttx" files can be added to the report, except the "_data.ttx" file.
Afterwards, when the Crystal Reports Designer is reopened, only the files corresponding to the chosen solution will be generated.
To choose the solution best fitting the type of report you want to create, you need to assess the volume of data that is to move to the Crystal Reports Designer. For a large number of data (several dozens), you had better choose the global "_data.ttx" file solution.