Formatting Text Boxes

  1. To format a text box, highlight the required field on the Report Layout window. Right-click and select Format, or select the Format drop-down menu on the toolbar.
  2. Specify this information:
    Align
    If you have selected a single text box you can align it to the grid. If you have selected a number of text boxes (by holding down the Ctrl key), you can align them to the last one selected, left, right or centrally.
    Uwaga: You can change the last one selected by clicking any of the selected items. The control item is identified by black handles as opposed to white ones.
    Make Same Size

    Select more than one text box, ensuring the last one you select is the one to be used as the control. Choose whether you require the width, height or both to be made the same size as the control field.

    Horizontal/Vertical Spacing

    Select more than one text box, ensuring the last one you select is the one to be used as the control. Choose whether you require the horizontal or vertical spacing to be made equal, increased, decreased, or removed.

    Centre
    Select a single text box and choose whether it is to be centered horizontally or vertically within its section of the report.
    Font
    Select this option to display the Font tab of the TextBox Properties dialog. This dialog is also available if you right-click the text box and select properties. You can change the font, the font style, size and include effects, for example, underline, as required. Additionally you can click Fx for each font property to invoke the multiple conditional expression dialog. This can be used to define conditional formatting for font properties.
    Uwaga: You must ensure that the font you specify is present on the MSRS server at runtime. If not, reports are liable to be rendered incorrectly.
    Uwaga: To avoid display problems in the detail fields of reports designed for PDF output in Japanese or Chinese, the font size must not be greater than 10.
    Number
    Select this option to display the Number tab of the TextBox Properties dialog. You can select the Format Specifier from the drop-down menu and enter a format. If the Format Specifier is defined as Custom you can click Fx by the Format field to define conditional formatting for number.
    Font Colour/Background Colour
    Select this option to display the Choose Colour dialog. This allows you to select a predefined color from those listed on the Web tab, or to choose one from those available on the Custom tab. Click OK.
    Additional Layout Properties
    You can also use the following options, available from the Properties pane:
    CanGrow
    If the text box is required to expand to accommodate its content when the report is run, select True from the CanGrow drop-down box. The default is False.
    CanShrink
    Uwaga: When a text box shrinks, the containing rectangle or section does not shrink.
    If the text is required to shrink to fit its contents when the report is run, and thus save space, select True from the CanShrink drop-down box. The default is False.
    HideDuplicates
    If you want to hide fields of duplicate values when they are listed on the report, select Report from the HideDuplicates drop-down box. The default is blank.
    Duplicates are never hidden when printed on the top line of a page. Using Hide Duplicates is a simple way of creating an indented list.
    Uwaga: Alternatively you can view and edit most properties of a specific text box by right-clicking it and selecting Properties from the drop-down menu.
  3. Save your changes.