Report Designer at a Glance

 Back Top Previous Next

Report Designer works in a similar way to many Windows-based applications.

 

toolsreportdesigner

 

Report Designer provides:

Menu

Pull down selections with File, Edit, View, Report and Help options.

ToolBar

Contains editing tools and components (objects).

Tabs

Shows the Report Data, Calc, Design and Preview screens.

 

Info

As Report Designer requires programming skills as well as Microsoft SQL knowledge, the information in this section is limited. For more detailed information regarding Report Designer please refer to www.digital-metaphors.com (copy and paste into a web browser).

 

For the purpose of this Help file, familiarity with RAP (Report Application Pascal) is necessary.

 

warning1

System reports should never be modified – make a copy of the existing system report and make changes to that copy. This ensures that reports don't become broken during upgrades. A warning will pop to screen that system reports cannot be edited.

 

reportwarning

 

reportdesignerscreen

 

Info

Should any areas disappear, go to the View tab to reinstate them. It is also recommended to not delete things, as this can cause the report to crash. See warning1 below.

 

viewtab

 

hmtoggle_arrow1Design

Report Designer uses standard edit options (such as cut, copy, paste, bring to front, send to back, etc.), toolbar functions (functions to draw, align, nudge, change size, toolbar rulers, grids, etc.), toolbar objects (components), and report options (page style, portrait, landscape, pixel sizes), drag and drop ability within the report layout, as well as dropping objects or design components into reports.

 

warning1

When placing images, do not tick Direct Draw if the report is to be printed. Images will not print as expected.

 

Do not delete fields/objects within reports – select the field, right click and untick Visible or colour the information white.

 

untickvisible

 

hmtoggle_arrow1OnCalc

This is where RAP (Report Application Pascal) functions are applied. The RAP code is executed when an event occurs. Each report object or component will fire one or more events. The code itself will be executed when any associated event occurs.

 

hmtoggle_arrow1Preview
reportpreview

 

The report being designed can be previewed to see roughly how it will be printed. Scripts will automatically provide dummy data for the RAP, so that a preview will show data results as it appears within the report design layout. When editing a report, choices are to use design data or use live data. Design data will populate with dummy data as just mentioned. Live data will populate from the associated object in Jim2.

 

Info

If live data is selected, the object must be open within Jim2. For example, editing a Job Picking Slip. To ensure the ability to preview changes, there must be a job open in Jim2 to allow Report Designer to use the live data from that object. If not, a warning will appear:

 

reportwarning1

 

To overcome this error, ensure the correct object is open in Jim2, otherwise select Design Data from the right click option when opening the report.

 

hmtoggle_arrow1Data

In relation to use within Jim2, the data used for this report is replaced by Jim2 Scripts. This screen will therefore normally be empty.

 

Further information

Report Explorer

Report Explorer Functions

Report Designer Menus

Report Designer Toolbar

Report Designer Errors

Signable Reports

Trackable Reports

Add a Signable Report for Jim2 Mobile

Add Logo to Sticker Report

Add Text to Reports

Change Sticker Report Size

Display Company Logo in Reports

Export a Report

Import a Report

Locate Reports to Export

Make a report Inactive

Open a Report for Redesign

Set up Back of Page Text on Invoice

 

For more detailed information regarding Report Designer please refer to www.digital-metaphors.com (copy and paste into a web browser).