Modifying a Report Form

When you press the Edit form button in the Report Setup dialog, you will be taken to the report design window.

While in this window, you can customize many aspects of your report using the following tools.

The Report Controls Toolbar

The Report Controls Toolbar provides a set of tools for modifying your report form. To open this toolbar, pull down the View menu (Alt+V) and click on the Report Controls Toolbar menu option. These tools include:

	Tool name	Action Performed by Tool
	Section pointer Text tool Field tool Line tool Rectangle tool Rounded-rectangle tool Picture/OLE tool Lock button down	Lets you to select objects in the report form. Adds text to the report form. Adds a field or expression to the form. Draws a line. Draws a rectangle. Draws a rounded rectangle or circle. Adds a picture or OLE object to the report form. Keeps above tool button pushed down for multiple uses

Tool name

Action Performed by Tool

Section pointer

Text tool

Field tool

Line tool

Rectangle tool

Rounded-rectangle tool

Picture/OLE tool

Lock button down

Lets you to select objects in the report form.

Adds text to the report form.

Adds a field or expression to the form.

Draws a line.

Draws a rectangle.

Draws a rounded rectangle or circle.

Adds a picture or OLE object to the report form.

Keeps above tool button pushed down for multiple uses

Adding and Modifying Report Objects

Editing Action	How to Perform
Editing text	To add or edit text in your report such as a label or description, first mouse click the text tool. Next, click in the Report Design window where you want to add or edit the text. Type in the desired text.
Drawing lines	To draw a line in your report, first click the line tool. Next, position the cursor where you want the end of the line to be and drag until the line is the desired length, then release the mouse button.
Drawing rectangles	To draw a rectangle in your report, click the rectangle tool. Next, position the cursor where you want a corner of the box to be, and drag until the box is of the desired size, then release the mouse button.
Drawing rounded rectangles	To draw a rectangle with rounded corners in your report, first click the Rounded-Rectangle tool. Next, position the cursor where you want a corner of the rounded rectangle to be, and drag until the rounded rectangle is the desired size. To indicate how rounded your rectangle should be, double-click on the rounded-rectangle object to open the Round Rectangle dialog. In this dialog, you can pick the shape of the rounded rectangle, from slightly rounded to completely oval.
Inserting more fields or expressions	To add a new field or expression to your report, first click the Field tool. Next, click in the form where you want the field to appear. Do not add fields to the report that are missing from the OT2 Query Maker dialog named Select Fields to Show in Query. Reports will not work unless the fields they contain are part of the query.
Inserting pictures	To insert a picture or graphic in your report, first click the Picture tool. Next, click and drag a marquee to the desired size in the Report Layout window. The Report Picture dialog will then open.

Editing Action

How to Perform

Editing text

To add or edit text in your report such as a label or description, first mouse click the text tool. Next, click in the Report Design window where you want to add or edit the text. Type in the desired text.

Drawing lines

To draw a line in your report, first click the line tool. Next, position the cursor where you want the end of the line to be and drag until the line is the desired length, then release the mouse button.

Drawing rectangles

To draw a rectangle in your report, click the rectangle tool. Next, position the cursor where you want a corner of the box to be, and drag until the box is of the desired size, then release the mouse button.

Drawing rounded rectangles

To draw a rectangle with rounded corners in your report, first click the Rounded-Rectangle tool. Next, position the cursor where you want a corner of the rounded rectangle to be, and drag until the rounded rectangle is the desired size. To indicate how rounded your rectangle should be, double-click on the rounded-rectangle object to open the Round Rectangle dialog. In this dialog, you can pick the shape of the rounded rectangle, from slightly rounded to completely oval.

Inserting more fields or expressions

To add a new field or expression to your report, first click the Field tool. Next, click in the form where you want the field to appear. Do not add fields to the report that are missing from the OT2 Query Maker dialog named Select Fields to Show in Query. Reports will not work unless the fields they contain are part of the query.

Inserting pictures

To insert a picture or graphic in your report, first click the Picture tool. Next, click and drag a marquee to the desired size in the Report Layout window. The Report Picture dialog will then open.

Notes on Selecting Objects

1. Mouse click on an object to select it.

2. Click and drag the selection marquee around several objects to select them as a set.

3. Shift+click on multiple objects to select them together as a set.

4. When objects are selected, you can move them or resize them with the mouse. You can also change their font, and color by choosing menu options from the Format (Alt+O) pull-down menu.

5. Double-click on objects to open dialogs that let you change their attributes.

6. When finished changing selected objects, press the selection pointer , to unselect them.

7. To exit and save your changes, press Control+W. To exit without saving changes, press the Esc key. In either case, you will be returned to the Report Setup dialog.

Report Band Types

The horizontal bars that span the column width of your report separate the report into band types. The various types of bands you can modify include:

Band Type

Title band: Contains text that appears before main report begins.

Page Header band: Displayed at top of each page of the report.

Group Header band: Displayed at top of each data group.

Detail band: Makes up the report's body & contains output fields.

Group footer band: Displayed at bottom of each data group.

Page Footer Band: Displayed at bottom of each report page.

Summary Band: Displayed at the end of the main report.

To adjust the vertical location of the various bands, mouse click on them and while holding the mouse button down, drag them up or down. All report forms start out with only a Page Header band and a Detail band. If you want additional bands, you must add them by selecting them from the Report pull-down menu explained on the next page.

OurTown2000 Query Handbook - Creating Reports