Report Designer Menu Bar

The Report Designer menu bar has the following menus:

File Menu

Select this menu if you wish to open or save a report or if you wish to print or preview it. You can also exit the Report Designer from this menu. Click here for more details.

 Open - Opens the Select Report Type window and allows you to open a different report.

Save - Saves the current report using its current name. If the report that you are modifying is a read only report, you must save it using a different name. In this case, this option is the same as the Save As option.

Save As - Saves the current report design. If the report is read only, it must be renamed before a modified design can be saved. This means that you cannot overwrite the pre-designed reports. You will be asked to confirm that you wish to save the report under a different name. Select the No button to return to the Report Designer window without saving the report. Select the Yes button to proceed to the Save Report As window. Enter a name for the report in the box and select the OK button. Select the Cancel button to abort saving the report.

Preview - Allows you to preview the report. The Report Settings window opens.

Print - Prints the report according to the settings that you have made in the Print window. This window can be opened by selecting Printer setup from the File menu.

Exit - Closes the Report Designer window and returns you to the Select Report Type window. If you have modified the report but not saved it, you will be asked if you wish to save the report before exiting.

Edit Menu

From this menu you can add new elements to the report or cut, copy, paste or delete existing elements. You can also use the Edit menu to align report elements. Click here for more details.

Add Report Element - Opens a sub-menu, which allows you to select a report element type to place on the report. The sub-menu has the following options

  • Label
  • Data field
  • System field

Cut - Cuts the currently selected element(s) from the report and stores them on the Clipboard.

Copy - Copies the currently selected element(s) from the report and stores them on the Clipboard.

Paste - Pastes any elements that you have cut or copied on to the Clipboard back on to the report.

Delete - Deletes the currently selected element(s) from the report. Pressing the Delete key has the same effect.

Undo - Undoes the last change you made to the report design.

Align Elements - Opens a sub-menu, which contains options that allow you to align one edge of selected multiple report elements:

  • Left edges
  • Right edges
  • Top edges
  • Bottom edges

This option is not available unless you have selected multiple report elements.

Centre on Band - Opens a sub-which allows you to centre selected element(s) on a band. You can centre the element(s) horizontally or vertically by selecting Horizontal or Vertical from the sub-menu. This option is not available unless you have selected one or more report elements.

View Menu

Use this menu to turn the Status line on or off and increase or decrease the magnification of the report. You can also access Report options, which opens the Report Page Setup window. Click for more details.

Show Status Panel - Turns the status bar at the bottom of the Report Designer window on and off. 

Zoom Report - Opens a sub-menu which has three options:

  • Default size - Returns the report to its original size.
  • Increase - Increases the magnification of the report by a factor of two.
  • Decrease - Decreases the magnification of the report by a factor of two.

These options do not affect the appearance of the report when it is printed or previewed. It only affects the magnification of the report in the Report Designer window.

Report Options - Opens the Report Page Setup window. This contains options that allow you to edit the appearance of the final report when it is printed or previewed.