Configuring Bands

Each band type has certain options that affect how and when it is printed. The band options are accessible by clicking the right mouse button over the band or the band's button on the band bar. Each band option is discussed below.

Force Page Eject

This option is a toggle that causes ReportPro to eject a page after the band prints. This feature is useful if you wish the next band to print at the top of a page. This option is not available for the Page Header and Page Footer bands.

Force Eject When...

This option allows you to specify a conditional page eject. When you select this option, you are presented with the Expression Builder to allow you to enter the expression that will be used to determine if the page should be ejected.

After all objects in the band are printed, the expression is evaluated. If the expression returns true, the page is ejected; otherwise printing continues normally. This option is not available for Page Header and Page Footer bands.

Print When...

This option allows you to set a condition for which the band will be printed. When you select this option the Expression Builder is displayed. The expression you define is evaluated before the band is printed. If the expression evaluates true, the objects in the band are printed; otherwise the band is skipped.

Fixed Size

This option forces the band to occupy the same size on the report as it does in the work window. By default, ReportPro dynamically sizes bands during printing based on the objects in the band. Normally, the printed band height is the height of the largest object plus the distance between the band bottom and the bottom of the lowest object in the band.

When you set the Fixed Size option, the band is always the same size regardless of the size of the objects in the band. Be careful when using this feature with field objects that have the Vertical Size option selected. It is possible to have an object print outside its band and into another band's print area.

Skip if Empty

This option causes the band to be skipped altogether if no information is printed in the band. A band is considered empty when none of the objects in the band print. A band is not considered empty if a field or text object prints an empty string of characters even though it may appear as if nothing was printed.

Print On Every Page

This option is only available for Group Header bands. It forces the Group Header band to be printed on every page of its section. This feature is useful when a group contains a large amount of information and spans several pages. By printing the Group Header on every page, you can easily determine the group you are looking at without having to flip through several pages of information to find the Group Header information.

Select All In Band

This option is an editing feature. When you select this option, ReportPro will automatically select each object in the band. This feature is useful when you wish to set an attribute for all objects in a band.

Band Size

This option allows you to manually set a band's height. This feature is useful when you want to size a band to an exact height. When you select this option, you are presented with a dialog that allows you to enter the desired height.

You can also set a band's height by pressing the left mouse button over the button directly adjacent to the band and while holding down the mouse button, sliding the button to the desired height.

Padding

This option allows you to specify the amount of extra white space that must be available on the current page before the band will print. When you select this option you are presented with a dialog that allows you to specify the desired padding.

This feature is particularly useful when used in the Group Header band. Often you do not want the Group Header band to print at the bottom of a page only to have the page eject and the first Body Band print at the top of the next page. By setting a padding value equal to that of the Body Band height, you can ensure that at least one Body Band will print below the Group Header band before the page ejects.

Also See:

Bands