4.1Three Ways to Edit Report Items

Chapter 4 - Formatting Reports

Chapter 4 - Formatting Reports

4.1Three Ways to Edit Report Items

As a general rule, there are 3 ways to format any parts of a report: using the Report Builder ribbon, using the Property Pages or using the Properties toolbar.

Formatting using the Toolbar(s)

The easiest way to apply formatting is to select one or more report items, then use the ribbon:

Formatting Using Property Pages

Another way to apply formatting is to right-click on a report item and show its properties:

Formatting Using the Properties Window

The Properties window gives the full range of all of the possible properties for a report item:

Note that you can view properties either alphabetically or by category – on balance, we’d probably recommend the categorised view in the long run.

4.2Changing Fonts and Colours

This manual would be 1,000 pages long if it included all of the font and background changes that you could make! Here are a few of the commonly used tools:

Changing Fonts

Remember to expand the Font property to see all of the parts of it that you can set:

Changing Colours

When choosing colours, there is more choice available than there may at first seem:

4.3Aligning and Sizing

You can align a report item horizontally or vertically, either relative to the report it belongs to or relative to other items on the report, as well as sizing and spacing report items.

Changing the Horizontal Alignment of Report Items

To align the text within a report item, change the TextAlign property:

Alternatively, just use the alignment tools:

Vertically Aligning Report Items

Similarly, you can align text vertically within its containing box:

Aligning Report Items to Each Other

To align report items, select them and align them as shown below:

1)Select the report items you want to align, choosing the control you want to dominate first (see overleaf for what this means):

2)Choose to align the report items:

3)Report Builder will align the selected items:

Changing the Dominant Report Item

When you align, size or distribute report items relative to each other, the first one you click on is always dominant (it’s shown with white handles). Here are some before and after examples:

Sizing Report Items to Each Other

To make two or more report items the same width or height as each other:

1)Select the report items:

2)Right-click on either item, and choose to match them by width or height:

4.4Padding

How Padding Works

You can use padding to space out items in a report:

Changing Padding

You can change the padding for any report item using the Properties window:

4.5Borders

The easiest way to change borders is using the formatting toolbar:

You may (will?) find it easier to launch the border properties page of the selected item:

Removing a Border

Removing a border is much easier – regardless of what other border settings you have selected, just choose None for the edges as shown on the right.

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