Highlighting records

You can highlight records with different background colors based on custom conditions. As an alternative or in addition to background color, records can be highlighted by text formatting such as font style, font color, size, etc.

You set up highlighting by defining conditional formatting rules. A rule consists of a highlighting condition, a highlighting format (background color and/or text properties) and a highlighting scope (row, column or first column). Conditional formatting rules are listed on the Conditional Formatting tab of the Customize View window. If a record satisfies a condition, it is highlighted using the format defined in the rule. If a record satisfies the condition of two or more rules, it is highlighted in accordance with the first (uppermost) rule in the list.

To create a rule:

1. Select View > Customize View from the main menu to bring up the Customize View window.

2. Click the Conditional Formatting tab.

3. Click Add. The Conditional Formatting Rulewindow opens.

4. Type in a rule name.

5. Select the scope for conditional formatting: Row, First column or Column.

6. Under Condition, define a condition in either of two modes:

• Design Mode - allows to use the graphical Filter Builder. The Design mode is set by default. You can change the mode by clicking Switch to SQL Mode.

• To add a condition:

  1. Click Add Condition.

  2. Define the condition: choose the field to compare, the comparison operator and value to compare with (if applicable to the chosen operator). For details, see Using operators in the Filter Builder. If the comparison operator is either like or not like, in the value you can use the wildcards: "_" representing any single character or "%" representing any sequence of characters.

• To add a group of conditions:

  1. Click Add Group.

  2. In the new group row, choose the operator to combine the conditions within the group (the default operator is AND, you can also choose OR, NOT AND, or NOT OR). For details, see Using operators in the Filter Builder.

  3. Define the conditions in the group.

• To remove a condition or a group of conditions:

  • Click Delete Row in the corresponding row.

• SQL Mode - allows you to directly specify the SQL WHERE clause. This mode is recommended for advanced SQL users only. You can change the mode by clicking Switch to Design Mode. However, all the data entered in the SQL Mode will be lost.

• Examples of SQL WHERE clauses for the Computers grid:

Meaning	WHERE clause
Show computers with Windows 7 OS.	[Info_OS] Like N'%Windows 7%'
Show Windows 7 computers with CPU speed that is greater than 3 GB.	([Info_OS] Like N'%Windows 7%') and ([Info_CPU_Speed] > 3)
Show Windows 7 computers with CPU Speed that is greater than 3 GB located either in the ZEUS or NJ Domain.	([Info_OS] Like N'%Windows 7%') and ([Info_CPU_Speed] > 3) and ([Machine_Domain] IN ( N'ZEUS', N'NJ'))

6. In the Apply Style section, define the background color for the records that satisfy the rule condition. As an alternative or in addition to background color, you can specify font formatting for those records.

• To specify a background color, select the desired color from the Background color drop-down list. Alternatively, you can click the ellipsis button and select one of standard colors or define a custom one using the Color window.

• To specify font color, select the desired color from the Font color drop-down list. Alternatively, you can click the ellipsis button and select one of standard colors or define a custom one using the Color window.

• To specify font name, select the desired name from the Fontname drop-down list.

• To specify font size, select the desired size from the Font size drop-down list.

• To specify font style, use the following check boxes: Bold, Italic, Strikeout and Underline.

NOTE: You can preview your highlighting format at the bottom of the window.

7. Click OK.

To disable or enable a rule:

• On the Conditional Formatting tab, right-click the rule in the list and select Disable from the pop-up menu. To enable a disabled rule, select Enable.

To modify a rule:

1. Double-click the rule. The Conditional Formatting Rule window opens.

2. Modify the rule as needed.

3. Click OK.

To copy a rule:

1. Select the rule on the Conditional Formatting tab and click Copy.

2. In the Conditional Formatting Rule window, specify the parameters as needed and click OK.

To change the priority of rules:

• The Conditional Formatting tab displays rules in order of priority: if a record satisfies the condition of more than one rule, the first (uppermost) rule in the list is applied. To change a rule priority, select that rule and move it to the desired position by clicking Move Up or Move Down.

To remove a rule:

1. Select the rule on the Conditional Formatting tab.

2. Click Delete.

Related Information:

Creating and saving custom views