[.ca] Crystal Reports 8.5 Quick Start Workshop (ISBN 1930026218)

Not what it seems:
After reading the other reviews, I decided to give this manual a try. I have never written a review myself, but this one drove me to it. I found this title to be a poor choice, based on the following factors: -The content of the book is little more than what is in Crystal's own training course. It looks like they copied it verbatim. -There are gaps in the presentation of material covering commonly used features. -I would not call it a "book" per-se as it is photo-copied and spiral bound -The content is designed for a training course and is not well-written. Having said that, I did set my monitor on it (along with an old DOS manual) and now it is just the right height.

Excellent Training and Subsequent Reference Material:
As a Systems Consultant and Educator for the past 21 years, with experience in Crystal Reports since version 1.0, I came upon Fastplanet's courseware for our Crystal Reports Training Courses. I do not need to tell you about the quality of their materials because I have the achievements of our students to prove it. Fastplanet's books are straight to the point, roll up your sleeves type materials which take you through the steps of becoming proficient at the use of Crystal Reports. Heavy on the practice side and with good coverage of the material. In short, you WILL learn Crystal with them.

Excellent Training and Subsequent Reference Material:
As a Systems Consultant and Educator for the past 21 years, with experience in Crystal Reports since version 1.0, I came upon Fastplanet's courseware for our Crystal Reports Training Courses. I do not need to tell you about the quality of their materials because I have the achievements of our students to prove it. Fastplanet's books are straight to the point, roll up your sleeves type materials which take you through the steps of becoming proficient at the use of Crystal Reports. Heavy on the practice side and with good coverage of the material. In short, you WILL learn Crystal with them.

Can't beat 'em... then join 'em!:
As an independent technical trainer, I must say that I was a little concerned after reading such positive reviews, then read one that was so contradictory. Since I was under the gun to provide some Crystal Training I thought that I'd give it a try. I've always considered myself one to not follow the crowd when it comes to teaching. However after reviewing an initial copy of this book and subsequently using it in the classroom, consider me converted! The courseware - and that's what it is, not a coffee table book - is exactly what FastPlanet said it would be. My students raved about the book and all of the hands-on-real-life-exercises. I enjoyed the fact that the class was cohesive and relatively simple to deploy. One of the things I found in the first copy I purchased was that FastPlanet offers all of the exercise results as free downloads from their website. Note to FastPlanet - you should mention that, it's important to the training community. I can now pursue other Crystal Reports training opportunities with confidence!