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Task Overview
Designing a report can be complicated, as there are many possible features. This list summarizes
the tasks involved. Some tasks are optional, and can be performed in a different order.
To…
Do this…
Create a report form
Choose Display>Design Form and select a form to start with—an
existing form, the Basic Report form, a blank form, a label form,
or a tabular form.
Change the page size and
margins
Choose Report Options>Set Up Page and select the page size,
margins, starting page number, and page breaks.
Add record information
With the Record Area active, choose Edit>Add>Form Box to add
a Record box. Define and format the box contents using
Tools>Box Properties. Repeat for each Record box you want in
the Record Area. Record boxes typically show field content.
Create column headings If a report includes columns of information, set up the boxes for
the column headings after adding and sizing the boxes for the
record information, so the boxes can be aligned vertically. With a
tabular report, the box labels function as column headings.
Specify a compulsory sort If you want information to be grouped and subtotaled by specific
fields, such as Region and
Customer, choose Report
Options>Compulsory Sort. If a compulsory sort is not specified,
users can sort records by any field they want. If your report
includes Sort Headers and Footers, consider using a compulsory
sort to prevent users from sorting records any other way.
Add Report Headers at the
beginning of the report
If you want to print information once at the beginning of the report
(for example, a report title, the textbase name, search criteria, or
prompted text), choose Report Options>Headers and Footers,
add a Report Header box, and specify its contents.
Add grand totals at the
end of the report
Choose Report Options>Headers and Footers, add a Report
Footer box, and specify its contents as a calculation.
Add headers before each
group of records
Choose Report Options>Headers and Footers, select Sort
Header, select a Sort Level, add the box, and specify its content as
a Sort Key and/or text.
Add subtotals after each
group of records
Choose Report Options>Headers and Footers, select Sort
Footer, select a Sort Level, add the box, and specify its content as
a calculation.
Print information in the
margin of every page
With the Margin Area active, choose Edit>Add>Form Box to
add a Margin box. Define the box contents using the subtab
options on the Contents tab (Tools>Box Properties>Contents).
For example, add the
TEXTBASE NAME
variable to show the
textbase name on every printed page.
You can add the record information (boxes with fields in them) before or after you add the
report-specific components, such as headers and footers.
Chapter 5: Working with Forms
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