Run external program from Crystal Reports

[#1]

is that possible to run external program from Crystal Reports?

I want to protect the reports with a dongle (hardware), I can create a small program in Java, CBuilder or Delphi to detect the dongle and send the return value. From the return value I can decide to proceed with the report.

[ido_millet · Accepted solution]

It is possible using your own viewer application of a 3rd-party viewer app.

But your use case (given that you need not only to call but also receive a return value) is a better fit for creating a User Function Library (UFL). A function in the UFL can then call & return the result via a Crystal formula.
In general, I would advise you to rethink what you are doing. The direction you are taking doesn't sound like a good one.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

It will be a small module to get the return value (checking with the dongle is exist)