Online Help | Desktop App

Customizing report design

You can customize the way that your quick report appears using the Format Report window. Here you adjust which elements to display in the report, add the report title, decide how to group the records, and apply style sheets.

To access this window from the Print Preview window, select File > Design from the menu or click the Design Report icon on the toolbar.

NOTE: All changes made to the report design are applied only for the current quick report generated in the current Alloy Navigator Express session. After you exit the Desktop App, the Format Report window restores its default settings.

Format Report window

The Format Report window contains the following tabs and controls:

  • View tab - allows you to show or hide certain fixed elements of the grid, including filter bars, footers, etc.

  • Behaviors tab - lets you choose how to process record selection and grouping.

  • Styles tab - allows you to control the printout format by defining and applying style sheets.

  • Formatting tab - allows you to control grid formatting on the page.

  • Preview tab (not supported)

  • Cards tab (not supported)

  • Charts tab (not supported)

  • Title Properties button - brings up the Report Title window, where you can specify the report title and customize its appearance.

View tab

The View tab allows you to control visual elements of report pages.

  • Show - determines which visual elements are displayed on report pages:

    • Caption (not supported)

    • Bands (not supported)

    • Headers - displays column headers.

    • Footers- displays the grid footer with record statistics.

    • Group Footers - displays group footers when your report contains grouped records and shows group footers.

    • Expand Buttons - displays the expand buttons when your report contains grouped records.

    • Filter Bar - displays the filter bar at the bottom of the report page.

  • On Every Page - determines which visual elements are displayed on every printout page. When a check box for a particular element is clear, the element is displayed only on the first report page.

    • Caption (not supported)

    • Bands (not supported)

    • Headers - displays column headers on every printout page.

    • Footers - displays the grid footer on every printout page. You can select this option only if either or both of the following conditions are met:

      • The Filter Bar check box under On Every Page is selected.

      • The Filter Bar check box under Show is clear.

    • Filter Bar - displays the filter bar at the bottom of every printout page.

Related Information:

Print Preview window

Showing and hiding footers

Behaviors tab

The Behaviors tab lets you control the behavior of report elements.

  • Selection - specifies how to process record selection in the grid:

    • Process Selection - includes in the printout only the records selected in the grid. If the check box is clear, all grid records are printed.

    • Process Exact Selection - when your report contains grouped records, includes in the printout only the exact records selected in groups. If the check box is clear, all groups containing selected records are entirely printed.

  • Expanding - specifies how to print grouped records:

    • Groups - when your report contains grouped records, expands all collapsed groups to make the group records visible. If the check box is clear, only the group title is printed for collapsed groups.

    • Details (not supported)

    • Cards (not supported)

  • Sizes - specifies the printout width:

    • Auto Width - automatically adjusts the width of every report column in the printout to display as many columns as possible.

Related Information:

Selecting multiple records

Print Preview window

Formatting tab

The Formatting tab lets you control grid formatting for your printout as follows:

  • Look And Feel - specifies the cell appearance within the printout: Flat, Standard, or UltraFlat.

  • Refinements - provides the following settings that allow to reduce the report size:

    • Transparent Graphics (not supported)

    • Display Graphic As Text (not supported)

    • Flat CheckMarks (not supported)

    • Suppress Background Textures - suppresses the background texture specified on the Styles tab.

    • Consume Selection Style - consumes the style settings specified for the selection on the Styles tab.

  • Pagination - allows you to control how to split the printout into pages when your report contains grouped records:

    • By Top Level Groups - keeps grouped records together on a page; applies for top level groups only.

    • One Group Per Page - inserts a page break before each top level group. If the check box is clear, the printout may contain several top level groups on one page.

Related Information:

Print Preview window

Setting up page properties

Styles tab

The Styles tab lets you control the printout format using styles. A style sheet is applicable only to the grid for which it was created.

  • Use Native Styles - enables using native Windows styles and lets you customize each element:

    • List of printout elements - displays font and background settings for each printout element.

    • Font - allows you to specify font properties for the selected element using the standard Font window.

    • Color - allows you to specify the background color for the selected element using the standard Color window.

    • Texture - allows you to choose an image and apply it as background texture to the selected element.

    • Clear - removes the texture applied to the selected element.

    • Restore Defaults - restores the default style properties for the selected element.

    • Save As - saves the current settings as a user-defined style sheet.

  • Style Sheets - allows you to manage style sheets:

    • Drop-down list - allows you to switch between style sheets (if any).

    • New - creates a new style sheet based on the default settings.

    • Copy - creates a copy of the selected style sheet.

    • Delete - deletes the selected style sheet.

    • Rename - allows you to change the name of the chosen style sheet.

NOTE: As all the report design options, style sheets are stored only during the current Alloy Navigator Express session. After you exit Alloy Navigator Express and then reopen the Desktop App and generate the report again, style sheets created during the previous session are no longer available.

Related Information:

Setting up page properties

Print Preview window

Report Title window

You use the Report Title window to specify the report title and set its properties. Clicking the Title Properties button brings up the Report Title window. You can also open this window by selecting Format > Title from the Print Preview window.

The Report Title window contains the following controls and tabs:

  • Mode - specifies where to display the report title: On First Page, On Every Top Page, or None (does not display the title).

  • Text tab - the report title text.

  • Properties tab - lets you specify the title properties: the background color, font properties, and alignment.

    • Restore Defaults - restores the default title properties.

Related Information:

Print Preview window

Using the Print Preview toolbars