Crystal Reports previews come up as blank black fields
Problem:
Crystal Reports will not preview on a display whose color settings are 16-bit (256 color) or lower.
Solution 1:
Change the color depth in Windows' Display settings to at least 24-bit.
Solution 2:
In the case that the problem is occurring in Remote Desktop sessions, the server likely has a limit in place for color depth on Remote Desktop Sessions. This can be corrected by following these steps on the server:
To create a Local Computer Policy console, first open mmc. Hit Win+R or Start\Run, and type mmc (enter). Once the MMC windows opens, you need to select File\Add/Remove Snap-in.
When the Add/Remove Snap-in dialog opens, chose Add. In the next dialog, scroll down to “Group Policy Object Editor”. Accept the default of “Local Computer Policy”, and OK or close all of the dialogs until the main MMC window is left. At this point, you can select File\Save As and name it and save it as you chose.
The policy setting you are looking for is called Limit maximum color depth. It will be under “Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Terminal Services”. In XP or Server 2003, it will be right in that “folder”. In Vista or Server 2008, you have to drill down to “Terminal Server\Remote Session Environment”.
You would want to set at 8 bit, of course. With Group Policy editor in Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2, 8 bit is not available here either.
If you need to connect from Windows 7 to Windows 7, you would need to set the policy at the domain level. You could create a new policy and enable it only on a group of computers, if you want.
Solution 3:
If the color on the machine cannot be raised above 16-bit, the display adapter's driver likely needs correction or updating.