Report Objects

Six types of objects can exist on a report:

• Label: literal text such as "My Company Name."

• Field: a field from the database or a calculation.

• Line: a horizontal or vertical line.

• Rectangle: a box.

• Rounded Rectangle: a box with rounded corners or an ellipse or circle.

• Picture: an image such as a company logo.

Objects are added to a report using the Report Controls toolbar. Click the appropriate button in the toolbar, then click and drag in the report window to specify where the object goes and its size. In the case of a field or picture, the Properties dialog appears since you must specify the expression for the field or source for the picture.

To do something with an object, you must first select it. Ensure the Select Objects item in the Report Control toolbar is selected, then click the desired object. To select more than one object, hold down the Shift key while you select objects. You can also select multiple objects by clicking outside one of the desired objects and dragging a "marquee" rectangle around the desired objects; any object even partially inside the marquee is selected. To select all the objects in a band, hold down the Shift key and double-click the grey bar for the band. To unselect a selected object, hold down the Shift key and click it.

Once an object is selected, you can do many things to it:

• Move: drag it to the desired position or press the arrow keys to move in smaller increments. You can even move an object to a different report band if necessary.

• Resize: click one of the tiny black squares at the edge of the object and drag it until the object is the desired size. To adjust the size of an object in smaller steps, hold down the Shift key while you adjust the size of the object with the arrow keys on your keyboard.

• Size or position: use one of the options in the Layout toolbar or Format menu to align or size selected objects, move them in front or behind other objects, etc.

• Edit: double-click an object to edit its properties.

• Remove: press the DELETE key.

Different objects have different types of properties. To see the Properties dialog for an object, double-click it. The properties in these dialogs are described in the topic for each object.