Crystal Reports is designed for presenting database information in the form of reports - visualized lists, summaries, or charts depicting data from tables in a useful RPT format.

Reports are drafted in the graphically-orientated Design view, representing form objects like text or shapes as individual objects. This allows information to be arranged into a more familiar format as opposed to reading directly from the datasource.

Crystal Reports boasts connectivity with SQL tables, Oracle, Access databases, and Excel spreadsheets. Crystal itself has become partially integrated with Visual Studio over time. Reports can be exported as PDFs or text documents.

Shared variables allow values to be used at any point in the processing of the report. Similar to a global variable, the shared values can also be accessed by subreports. This allows for a more direct method of comparison and allows the developer to circumvent the strict nature of the top-to-bottom report evaluation.

A shared variable can be defined, set, or recalled in any valid formula field. Their most common use is to store information that would otherwise be forgotten or inaccessible at a later stage in the report.