Report Designer
Use the Report Designer to create and modify reports. When the Report Designer window is active, Visual FoxPro displays the Report menu and the Report Controls toolbar.
To quickly create a simple report layout, click Quick Report on the Report menu. Quick Report prompts you for input on the fields and layout you want for your report.
When the Report Designer is open, you can manage foreground and background colors of report elements through additions to the Format menu, according to the following table:
| Control | Foreground Color | Background Color |
|---|---|---|
| Label | Enabled | Disabled |
| Field | Enabled | Enabled |
| Line | Enabled | Enabled |
| Rectangle | Enabled | Enabled |
| Rounded Rectangle | Enabled | Enabled |
| Picture / Activex Bound | Disabled | Disabled |
For detailed information on using the Report Designer, see "Formatting Options for Report Controls" in Formatting Field Controls in a Report.
The Report Designer uses bands and controls to manage the layout of data in a form.
Bands
By default, the Report Designer displays three bands; Page Header, Detail, and Page Footer. A separator bar is located at the bottom of each band. The name of the band type appears on the bar next to a blue arrow, which indicates that the band is above, not below, the bar.
Bands are added to the list of bands in the Bands option of the Report menu as you add them to your report by selecting Report menu options.
| Band | Printed | Typical Contents |
|---|---|---|
| Column Header | Once per column | Column title |
| Column Footer | Once per column | Summary, totals |
| Group Header | Once per group | Preface to following data |
| Group Footer | Once per group | Calculated values for group data |
| Title | Once per report | Title Date or page number Company logo Box around the title |
| Summary | Once per report | Grand totals Text such as Grand Totals |
Insert Control
This menu option displays controls of associated Report Controls Toolbar. When you select from this palette, Visual FoxPro places the report in tab mode and adds the control to the upper left corner of the report. Then, you can move or resize the control and tab from one control to the next. Use CTRL+tab to unselect the control, Use Alt+Enter to open the Properties window.
Ruler
The Report Designer has a vertical and horizontal ruler you use to more precisely position objects in the bands. Use the ruler in conjunction with the View menu Show Position command to help you position objects.
The scale for the ruler is determined by your system measurement settings. You can change from the system default scale (inches or centimeters) to pixels from within Visual FoxPro. If you want to change to the system default, change the measurement setting for your operating system.
To change the ruler scale to pixels
Change this to pixels as follows:
On the Format menu, click Set Grid Scale. The Set Grid Scale dialog box is displayed.
In the Set Grid Scale dialog box, select Pixels and click OK.
The ruler scale is set to pixels, and the position indicator in the status bar, if Show Position is selected on the View menu, displays the position in pixels.
You can move easily between objects in the report while in Tab mode. To enter tab mode, press TAB to move to the next object or SHIFT+TAB to move to the previous object.
To edit labels, press CTRL+E to enter Edit mode. If you need specify high ASCII characters using the CTRL key, exit Edit mode by pressing the ESC key. Other Designer navigation keys apply.
To edit a report field, press ALT+ENTER to open the appropriate properties dialog box for that field.
For more information, see Keyboard Shortcuts.
See Also
Quick Report Dialog Box | Report Wizard | Set Grid Scale Dialog Box | Table Designer | Controlling Report and Label Output | Formatting Field Controls in a Report