Report Designer

With the Report Designer, you may modify or edit the looks and design of a report. This modified report can then be saved as a Default or Custom Report for future use.

 

Making Simple Modifications to a Report

With Report Designer, you may modify or edit the looks and design of a report. This modified report can then be saved as a Default or Custom Report for future use. As with any type of software, simple modifications to a report require a basic understanding of programming. Although the complex changes or development of a new complex report require extensive programming knowledge. It is recommended that complex reports be developed by a knowledgeable IT professional.

 

Advanced Reports Design View

Format

A report section contains a group of controls that are processed and printed at the same time as a single unit. Advanced Reports defines the following section types:

 

Report Header

A report can have one report header section that prints at the beginning of the report. It is generally used to print a report title, a summary table, a chart or any information that needs to appear only once at the report's start.

 

Report Footer

A report can have one report footer section that prints at the end of the report. It is used to print a summary of the report, grand totals or any information that needs to print once at the report's end.

 

Page Header

A report can have one page header section that prints at the top of each page. It is the first section that prints on the page except when the page contains a report header section. The page header section is used to print column headers, page numbers, a page title or any information that needs to appear at the top of each page.

 

Page Footer

A report can have one page footer section that prints at the bottom of each page. It is used to print page totals, page numbers or any other information that needs to appear at the bottom of each page.

 

Group Header, Group Footer

A report can consist of single or multiple (nested) groups, with each group having its own header and footer sections. The header section(s) are inserted and printed immediately before the detail section. The footer section(s) are inserted and printed immediately after the detail section.

 

The number of times each group section prints depends on how the data is grouped. Advanced Reports starts a new group (Header, Detail, and Footer) when the data to which the group is bound changes.

 

Detail

A report has one detail section. The detail section is the body of the report and one instance is created for each record in the report.

 

Toolbars buttons

Advanced Reports has several toolbars. Each of the toolbars is described below.

 

Standard

New - opens a blank layout page.

Save - saves the report layout.

Print - prints the report layout.

Print Preview - will run the report on your screen without sending it directly to your printer.

View Grid Lines - will show or hide grid lines.

Report Settings - opens the Report Settings form where you can configure the Page Setup, Printer Settings, Styles and Global Settings.

Undo - will cancel out the last change/s done to the record reverting it to its older state.

Redo - will redo several changes that you undid.

Cut – cuts the selected controls to the clipboard.

Copy – copies the selected controls to the clipboard.

Paste – pastes the contents of the clipboard into the current selected section.

Delete - Deletes the current selected section from the report. This option does not apply to the Detail section in the report.

 

Align

Align Left – aligns selected controls to the same left coordinate of the last selected control.

Align Center – aligns selected controls to the same center coordinate of the last selected control.

Align Right – aligns selected controls to the same right coordinate of the first selected control.

Align Top – aligns selected controls to the same top coordinate of the last selected control.

Align Middle - aligns selected controls to the same middle coordinate of the last selected control

Align Bottom - aligns selected controls to the same bottom coordinate of the last selected control

Make Same Width – makes all selected controls the same width as the last selected control.

Make Same Height – makes all selected controls the same height as the last selected control.

Make Same Size – makes all selected controls of the same height and width as the last selected control.

Set Horizontal Spacing Equal

Increase Horizontal Spacing

Decrease Horizontal Spacing

Remove Horizontal Spacing

Make Vertical Spacing Equal

Increase Vertical Spacing Equal

Decrease Vertical Spacing Equal

Remove Vertical Spacing Equal

Center Vertically

Center Horizontally

Bring to Front – Brings the selected controls to the top Z-Order

Send to Back – Sends the selected controls to the bottom Z-Order

Reorder Groups

Lock Controls

 

Format

Font Settings

Bold – sets the bold typeface on or off.

Italic –sets the italic typeface on or off.

Underline – sets the underline typeface on or off.

Left Align  – aligns the text left within the control area.

Center Align  – align the text centered within the control area.

Right Align  – aligns the text right within the control area.

Justify

Format Bullets

Outdent

Indent

Backcolor

Fontcolor

Line Color

Line Style

Format Border

 

ToolBox

Pointer – Allows you select controls on the report.

Label – Insert a new static label control.

TextBox – Insert a field textbox, bound to a database field or unbound.

Checkbox – Insert a field checkbox, bound to a database field or unbound.

Picture – insert a picture, loaded from a file.

Shape – Insert a rectangle, circle or square shape.

Line – Insert a line control.

RichTextBox

Sub Report

PageBreak – Insert a page break within a section.

Barcode Control – Inserts Advanced Reports Barcode control.

Chart - Opens the Chart Wizard form where you can configure the chart to go with your custom report.

 

Context Menus

Context Menus can be accessed by right clicking on the report.

 

 

Reports Explorer

Report Designer provides easy navigation through your report sections and controls by using the report explorer. To access the report explorer, click on the explorer icon in the main toolbar. You can navigate by clicking on the tree nodes representing the sections and controls on your report; Report Designer will select each section or control as you click in the tree.

 

Fields List

The second pane in the report explorer view displays a list of data source fields. The fields list is based on the data control in your report. Once the data control has been set up to connect to a database, the list is populated by clicking on the populate fields button located in this pane. You can drag and drop fields from the fields list to any section on your report. Advanced Reports will automatically create a textbox control for the field you dropped and bind it to the data source for you.

 

Adding Controls to Your Report

To add controls to a report complete the following steps:

1.Click the control you want to add in the toolbox.

2.Move the mouse pointer to the section where you want to add the control; the mouse pointer will change to a cross hair.

3.Click and drag the mouse to size the rubber band to the desired size of the control.

4.The control is placed at the specified location and the toolbox current selection changes back to a Select pointer .

Note: To add multiple copies of the same control, you can hold the Ctrl key while selecting the control from the toolbox and placing the controls in the section.

 

Note: Line controls can be set to draw horizontally or vertically by holding the Ctrl (horizontal) or Shift (vertical) key while clicking and dragging the mouse.

 

Moving & Sizing Controls

 

To move a control or a set of selected controls: select the controls you need to move and drag them with the mouse.  You can also adjust a control's size and location by specifying its coordinate properties in Visual Basic's property editor.

 

Note: When you size a control beyond the boundaries of a section, the section will adjust to contain the control's new size.

 

Sizing Sections

You can change the width and height of the sections in your report. The height of each section can be modified individually. However, the width of all sections will change at the same time. Changing the width of sections will change the Print/Width of the report.

 

To change the width of the sections, place the pointer at the right edge of the section. Click and drag the pointer left or right to expand or shrink the width of the section.

To change the height of a section, place the pointer at the bottom edge of the section. Click and drag the pointer up or down to expand or shrink the height of the section.

You can change the section height by using the vertical ruler thumb and dragging it up or down to adjust the height.

Double clicking on the section thumb allows you to quickly set the section height to precisely fit its contents.

To change both width and height of a section, place the pointer at the lower-right corner of the section and drag it diagonally to change the size.

Control Alignment & Sizing

Control alignment and sizing toolbar buttons make it easy to organize the layout of your report and make sure that controls are sized and aligned precisely.

Select multiple controls in your report, making sure that the control you want to use as a template for aligning and sizing against is selected last.

Click the Align Left , Center or Right to align the controls.

Follow similar steps to vertically align or size the selected controls.

Formatting Controls

 

Setting Font Properties

To format the text of a label or a field control, click on the Ellipse button (…) of the Font property in Visual Basic's property window. You can set the typeface name, size and other font settings from the standard Font dialog.

 

In addition, you can use the Format toolbar button and combo-boxes to set those properties for any selected control or controls.

 

When working with non-English fonts, the language's script must be selected in the font property window and the language must be available in the system's regional settings.

 

Setting Foreground and Background Colors

Foreground and background colors can be set using the color drop-down in either Visual Basic's property window or the color palette toolboxes in the Format toolbar.

 

The Format toolbar background color palette sets both the BackStyle property of the control to Normal and the BackColor property to the specified color. Background colors will not show if the BackStyle of the control is set to Transparent.

 

The color palette toolboxes can be dragged and floated or docked to any of the window edges for quick access.

 

Selecting a Border Style

1.Report Designer allows you to set the border of most controls to a variety of line styles and options. You can set these border styles using the Borders property sheet available from the control's context menu. You can set the borders of a single or multiple controls at the same time.

2.Select a control such as a label or field on your report.

3.Click the right mouse button for the context menu.

4.Select Format Border from the menu.

5.You can set the border on each side of the control by selecting the line style and color then clicking the side (between the + signs) you wish to set. Presets contains a list of common border settings, you can click any of the buttons to set the border to the style shown.

Setting Output Formats

Report Designer provides an easy to use Number Format dialog box. You can use this dialog to set the Output Format property of field controls to a valid formatting mask.

 

To access this dialog, click on the ellipse button (…) of the Output Format property in Visual Basic's property window.

 

Adding a Label and corresponding Field Textbox

If you would like to add a Label and Field Textbox to a report, you select the print button from various areas of the program. This opens the Print Form.

 

Step 1 – Design View

Highlight the Report you would like to modify and click the customize report button. The report opens up in Design View of Report Designer.

 

Step 2 – Adding a Label

Click the Label Button on the Toolbox toolbar.

Move the mouse pointer to the section where you want to add the label; the mouse pointer will change to a cross hair.

Click and drag the mouse to size to the desired size of the label.

New Control Wizard form opens up.

 Caption – letters or numbers with no spaces

Click the OK Button.

Step 4 – Adding the Field Textbox

Click the Field Textbox Button on the Toolbox toolbar.

Move the mouse pointer to the section where you want to add the label; the mouse pointer will change to a cross hair.

Click and drag the mouse to size to the desired size of the Field Textbox.

New Control Wizard form opens up to the Textbox Control Properties.

 Text – name of textbox; letters or numbers with no spaces

 Data Field - select the data field that the textbox is based on from the drop down box.

 Can Grow – determines whether to increase the height of the field based on its value.

 Can Shrink – determines whether to decrease the height of the control based on the value of the field

 Click the OK Button.

 

Step 5 – Saving the Modified Report

Whether you are in Design View or Print Preview, you will need to save the report for future use or modification. Select File and Save As. A Save Report As form will open up. Enter the Report Name and hit Tab and the Report Description will be entered as the report name, but you may change this as necessary. The Report Type Drop Down box defaults the area the report will be saved as a Custom Report (Invoices, Reports – Accounts Receivable, etc.). Click Save and the report will be saved as part of your company data file.

 

Adding a Barcode

If you would like to add a barcode to a report, you select the print button from various areas of the program. This opens the Print Form.

 

Step 1 – Design View

Highlight the Report you would like to modify and click the Customize Report Button. The report opens up in Design View of Report Designer.

 

Step 2 – Adding a Barcode

Click the Barcode Button on the Toolbox toolbar.

         Move the mouse pointer to the section where you want to add the control.

         Click and drag the mouse to size to the desired size of the barcode.

         New Control Wizard form opens up.

Caption – letters or numbers with no spaces

Barcode Style – look at the options from the drop down box and select one.

Data Field – select the data field that the barcode is based on from the drop down box

Caption Position – select the position of the caption.

Click the OK Button.

 

Step 3 – Saving the Modified Report

Whether you are in Design View or Print Preview, you will need to save the report for future use or modification. Select File and Save As. A Save Report As form will open up. Enter the Report Name and hit Tab and the Report Description will be entered as the report name, but you may change this as necessary. The Report Type Drop Down box defaults the area the report will be saved as a Custom Report (Invoices, Reports – Accounts Receivable, etc.). Click Save and the report will be saved as part of your company data file.

 

Making Complex Changes to a Report

With Report Designer, you may modify or edit the features of a report. This modified report can then be saved as a Custom Report for future use. As with any type of software, simple modifications to a report require a basic understanding of programming. Although the complex changes or development of a new complex report require extensive programming knowledge. It is recommended that complex reports be developed by a knowledgeable IT professional.