How to: Protect Report Layouts
You can protect a report or label layout from being modified by end users in undesirable ways by setting editing restrictions with report protection flags, and letting your users edit report layouts via the MODIFY REPORT … PROTECTED command.
To set protection for reports
Open the report or label in the appropriate designer.
On the Report menu, click Properties, or right-click on the layout and select Properties from the context menu.
The Report Properties dialog box opens.
Note
If the _REPORTBUILDER system variable is not set to the default Report Builder, the Report Page Setup dialog box opens instead. If _REPORTBUILDER is set to a third-party builder, a different dialog box might display. . There is no way to set protection flags using the native report dialog boxes. For more information, see _REPORTBUILDER System Variable and Report Page Setup Dialog Box.
In the Report Properties dialog box, click the Protection tab.
On the Protection tab, select a combination of the following protection options:
The user will not be able to run the report from within the designer, or use the Print… option on the File menu.
The user will not be able to preview the report from within the designer.
The user will not be able to modify the report's Data Environment.
The user will not be able to access the page layout dialog box.
The user will not be able to configure the layout's optional bands (in other words, they will not be optional for the user).
The user will not be able to access the data grouping dialog box.
The user will not be able to change the settings of the report variables.
When you are finished, click OK.
For more information, see Protection Tab, Report Properties Dialog Box (Report Builder) and Report Properties Dialog Box (Report Builder).
See Also
Tasks
How to: Protect Report Bands
How to: Protect Report Controls