Drawing Tools

With the exception of the Pointer Tool, ReportPro's Drawing Tools are used to create the report objects that generate the printed output of your report. ReportPro provides several different drawing tools, one for each report object type. To select a drawing tool, use the Tools, Drawing Tools menu, or select the tool directly from ReportPro's toolbar.

A report object is created by selecting the proper drawing tool and using the tool to draw the object on the report surface. The object is drawn by pressing the left mouse button at the desired origin of the object, and while holding down the left mouse button, dragging the mouse until the desired object size is reached. When the left mouse button is released, the object is created at the location and size you specified.

In some cases, ReportPro will prompt you for additional information before the object is created. For example, when you create a field object, ReportPro prompts for the expression used by the field object to extract data from the data source.

Pointer Tool

The Pointer Tool allows you to manipulate other report objects. The following table lists the tasks that can be performed with the pointer tool. Also provided is a brief description on how to perform the task.

Function	Description
Selecting an Object	To select an object, point at the object with the mouse and click the left mouse button.
Selecting Multiple Objects	To select multiple objects, first select a single object, then select additional objects by holding down the Shift key and clicking the desired object with the left mouse button.Multiple objects can also be selected by drawing a rectangle area with the pointer. All objects touched by the rectangle will be selected.
Moving Objects	To move an object, point the pointer tool at the object and drag the object while holding down the left mouse button. It is also possible to move multiple objects.
Sizing Objects	To size an object, first select the object you wish to size, then point the pointer tool at the sizing boxes located along the object's bounding box. Stretch the object to the new size while holding down the left mouse button.

Line Tool

The Line tool is used to add straight lines to the report.

Rectangle Tool

Use the Rectangle tool to add squares and rectangles to your reports.

Ellipse Tool

Use the Ellipse tool to add circles and ellipses to your reports.

Field Tool

Use the Field tool to create objects that retrieve information from your data source. You can also use the field objects to access user-defined variables or perform an arithmetic operation that is then printed on the report.

After you draw the field object on your report, ReportPro's Expression Builder appears. Before the field object is created, you must define an expression that is used to retrieve or calculate the information that is printed by the field object. If you cancel out of the Expression Builder, the field object will not be created.

Text Tool

To add text to a report, use the Text Tool. After you draw the text box, the text object will be displayed in the Edit mode. Type the desired text into the text object. When you select a menu option or another report object, the text object will exit the edit mode. To return to the edit mode, select the Text Tool, point the mouse pointer at the text object and click the left mouse button.

Picture Tool

To add images to your report, use the Picture Tool. After you draw the picture object, you are presented with the Picture Style dialog where you specify the source of the image.

ReportPro supports a variety of image formats including BMP, PCX, PNG, JPG and TGA.

Embedded Section Tool

This tool allows you to create an Embedded section. An Embedded section is a section that prints inside a rectangular area in another section. Embedded sections are useful for placing information from another unrelated data source inside of a section.

After you draw the bounding box of the Embedded section, you will be prompted to specify information about the data source that will be used by the Embedded section.

After you specify the section information, the section will be created on the report surface. A new section tab is also added to the work window's section tab bar. You cannot edit the Embedded section object from the parent section. You must first select the Embedded section by clicking on its tab on the Section Tab Bar. Once the section is selected, you can manipulate the section like any other report section.

Graph Tool

The Graph tool allows you to create graphs on your report. After you create a graph object, the Graph Wizard is displayed.

Also See:

Configuring Report Objects