Report Field Attribute Descriptions

Size

The database definition determines the size, or length, of a field. You can change this attribute for a report. If you decrease a field size, the report truncates the value. A report truncates a field from either the right or the left depending on whether the field is right-justified or left-justified. For example, the report truncates a left-justified numeric field from the left. If the value of the field is 256,000.50 and you change the size from 8.2 to 6.2, the report prints 6,000.50.

Value

During database definition you can define a value list for a field. A value list, also called an edit list, is a group of values and value ranges, along with their translations (descriptions). A value list defines the possible values a field can have.

You can print the value or translation of a field on a report. For example, the valid values of the Sex field are M and F. The translation for M is Male, the translation for F is Female. On the report, you can print the value (M, F), the translation (Male, Female), or both value and translation.

Duplicating Key Fields

If the value of a key field remains the same on consecutive lines of a report, you can print the value on each line or you can print the value only the first time it appears.

In the following example, both boxes show the same report. The right box, however, prints the value in the Vendor field only when it changes.

Vendor	Invoice	Amount		Vendor	Invoice	Amount
1	11	100.00		1	11	100.00
1	12	150.00			12	150.00
1	13	125.00			13	125.00
1	14	200.00			14	200.00
2	21	1000.00		2	21	1000.00
2	22	600.00			22	600.00

Numeric Display Options

You can print numeric fields in several ways. The default is leading zeroes suppressed. The following table shows the print options.

Print option	Example
Commas	1,900
Dollar sign	$1,900
Percent sign	87%
Negative sign	100-
CR sign for negative	100CR
Parentheses for negative	(100)
Leading zeroes displayed	000100
Leading zeroes suppressed	100
Leading asterisks	***100