Ribbons

You can switch between features in Designer using the following ribbons: Home, File, View , Insert, Format, Report, and Window. This topic introduces the options in each ribbon.

Ribbon	Option	Suboptions	Description
Home	Catalog Manager		Select to open the Catalog Manager.
	New	Page Report	Select to create a page report.
		Page Report Tab	Select to create a report tab in the current page report.
		Web Report	Select to create a blank web report.
		Library Component	Select to create a library component.
		Query	Select to create a query.
		Business View	Select to create a business view.
		Data Source	Select to create a data source in the current catalog which connects to the specified connection. For more information, see Connecting to Your Data Sources.
	Open		Select to display the Open Report dialog box to open a report.
	Save		Select to save the active report.
	Page Setup		Select to open the Page Setup dialog box to set up page properties.
	Print		Select to print the current report.
	Preview As		Select to preview the report in the specified format.
	Paste		Select to take an object from the clipboard and place it into the report.
	Cut		Select to erase an object and place it in the clipboard.
	Copy		Select to copy an object and place it in the clipboard.
	Delete		Select to erase an object from the report.
	Undo		Select to reverse a previous action.
	Redo		Select to redo an action. It is the counter-operation of Undo.
	Find		Select to find a specific DBField in the current report.
	Freeze		Select to freeze fields in a table. After you select the option, Designer stops the fields in a table from accepting any mouse or keyboard events.
	Split/Merge		This option works for cells in a table or tabular. When you select one cell, Designer enables the Split option for splitting the cell into two or more cells, when you select two or more cells, Designer enables the Merge opton for merging the cells into one cell.
	Font Face		Select the font face of the text in the specified objects.
	Font Size		Select the font size of the text in the specified objects.
	Style		Select the style group to apply to the specified objects.
	Bold		Select to apply bold formatting to the text in the specified objects.
	Italic		Select to italicize the text in the specified objects.
	Underline		Select to add a horizontal line under the text in the specified objects.
	Strikethrough		Select to draw a line through the text in the specified objects.
	Background Color		Select to specify the background color of the selected objects in the color palette.
	Foreground Color		Select to specify the foreground color of the selected objects in the color palette.
	Conditional Formatting		Select to open the Conditional Formatting dialog box to add conditional formatting to the specified object.
	Insert		Select to insert the specified object into the current report. The objects are also available on the Insert tab.
	Align	Align Left	Select to shift the specified objects to the left.
		Align Right	Select to shift the specified objects to the right.
		Align Top	Select to shift the specified objects to the top.
		Align Bottom	Select to shift the specified objects to the bottom.
		Vertical Center	Select to align the specified objects in the center vertically.
		Horizontal Center	Select to align the specified objects in the center horizontally.
		Distribute Vertical	Select to space the specified objects evenly in a vertical direction.
		Distribute Horizontal	Select to space the specified objects evenly in a horizontal direction.
	Arrange	Move Backward	Select to place the specified objects that overlap one or more objects behind the current overlapping object.
		Move To Back	Select to place the specified objects that overlap one or more objects behind all the overlapping objects.
		Move Forward	Select to bring the specified objects that overlap one or more objects to the front of the current overlapping object.
		Move To Front	Select to bring the specified objects that overlap one or more objects to the front of all the overlapping objects.
	Position	Static	Select to place the specified objects to the default location. Similar to "flow" since it does not overlap objects, Designer lays out the objects one after the other in the order you insert them.
		Relative	Select to place the specified objects to "flow" relating to its surrounding objects.
		Absolute	Select to place the specified objects to the location that you specify by dragging and dropping or setting the X and Y properties.
	Zoom		Select to zoom in or out the current report using the specified percentage.
	Data		Select to show the Data panel.
	Components		Select to show the Components panel.
	Inspector		Select show the Inspector panel.
	Language	<view mode language>	Select the language to preview the report in Designer.
		NLS Editor	Select to edit NLS for the current report and catalog.
	CSS Editor		Select to manage CSS styles.
File	New	Page Report	Select to create a page report.
		Page Report Tab	Select to create a report tab in the current page report.
		Web Report	Select to create a blank web report.
		Library Component	Select to create a library component.
		Query	Select to create a query.
		Business View	Select to create a business view.
		Data Source	Select to create a data source in the current catalog which connects to the specified connection. For more information, see Connecting to Your Data Sources.
	Open Recent		Select to open a recently accessed report.
	Close		Select to close the active report.
	Close All		Select to close all open reports.
	Save		Select to save the active report.
	Save As		Select to save the active report with a different name in the current directory.
	Save To		Select to save the active report with a different name to another directory. This command also merges the report's resources to the other directory by either creating a new .cat file (if there is no .cat file in that directory), or merging with the existing .cat file (if a .cat file already exists in that directory).
	New Catalog		Select to create a catalog file.
	Open Catalog		Select to open a catalog file.
	Save Catalog		Select to save the open catalog file.
	Save Catalog As		Select to save the open catalog file with a different name to another directory.
	Export Security		Select to export the security of the open catalog into a security file.
	Import	Page Report	Select to import report tabs to a page report from another page report in the same catalog.
	Export		Select to export the current report to the specified format: Report Result, HTML, PDF, Excel, Text, RTF, XML, PostScript, Mail, or Fax.
	Publish	Publish Report to Server	Select to publish reports from their original location to Server.
		Publish Component to Server	Select to publish library components from their original location to Server.
		Publish Other Files to Server	Select to publish other resources from their original location to Server.
		Publish to Local Directory	Select to publish resources from their original location to a local directory.
	Download	Download Report from Server	Select to download reports on Server to a local directory.
		Download Component from Server	Select to download library components on Server to a local directory.
		Download Customized Control from Server	Select to download customized controls on Server to a local directory.
	Options		Select to open the Options dialog box to configure Designer to suit your requirements.
	Information Bus		Select to open the Information Bus dialog box to edit the Information Bus content saved with user information in the current catalog.
	Page Setup		Select to open the Page Setup dialog box to set up page properties.
	Print Preview		Select to switch to the view mode to preview the report.
	Print		Select to print the current report.
	Exit		Select to close Designer. If there are any files unsaved, Designer prompts you to save them.
View	Catalog Manager		Select to open the Catalog Manager.
	Preview As		Select to preview the report in the specified format.
	Data		Select to show the Data panel.
	Components		Select to show the Components panel.
	Inspector		Select to show the Inspector panel.
	Hidden Objects		Select to show the invisible objects in design mode. If you select this option, Designer shows all the hidden objects (with the Invisible property value being "true") in design mode however marks them with two triangles. Selecting this option may result in that you are not able to see the complete report in design mode.
	Status Bar		Select to show the status bar.
	Page Header		Select to show the page header.
	Page Footer		Select to show the page footer.
	Page Layout		Select to show the report using page layout style, which displays the page margins and enables multiple pages.
	Rulers		Select to show the vertical and horizontal rulers.
	Guidelines		Select to show guidelines.
	Margin		Select to show page margins.
	Display Attributes		Select to open the Display Attribute dialog box to specify the precision of fractional data, the unit of measurement in the report, and the resolution.
	High Precision View		Select to display reports in high precision when shifting from design mode to view mode. If you do not select the option, Designer adopts low precision. For more information about high/low precision, see Precision Sensitive. Designer selects this option by default. You can also set its default value in the Options dialog box.
	Data Buffer		Select to open the Data Buffer Information dialog box to view the information about data buffer usage in the current report and its subreports.
	Language	<view mode language>	Select the language to preview the report in Designer.
		NLS Editor	Select to edit NLS for the current report and catalog.
	CSS Editor		Select to manage CSS styles.
Insert	DBField		Select to insert a DBField into the current report.
	Formula		Select to insert a formula field into the current report.
	Summary		Select to insert a summary field into the current report.
	Parameter		Select to insert a parameter field into the current report.
	Group		Select to create and edit the criteria by which to group the fields of a table or banded object. You can access the same dialog box by right-clicking the table or banded object and selecting the wizard for it. For more information, see Grouping the Data.
	Label		Select to insert a label into the current report.
	Text Box		Select to insert a text box into the current report.
	Image		Select to insert an image into the current report.
	Barcode		Select to insert a barcode into the current report.
	Rank		Select to insert a rank object into the current report.
	Table		Select to insert a table into the current report.
	Crosstab		Select to insert a crosstab into the current report.
	Chart		Select to insert a chart into the current report.
	KPI		Select to insert a KPI into the current report.
	Tabular		Select to insert a tabular into the current report.
	Banded Object		Select to insert a banded object into the current report.
	Subreport		Select to insert a subreport into the current report.
	Map	Shape Map	Select to insert a shape map into the current report.
		Geographic Map	Select to insert a geographic map into the current report.
	UDO		Select to insert a user-defined object (UDO) into the current report. Designer provides two built-in UDOs, JRotator and JHyperLink.
	Special Fields		Select to insert the specified special field which is not fetched from the database into the current report.
	Drawing Objects		Select to draw a line, box, arc, oval, or round box in the current report.
	Web Controls		Select to insert the specified web control into the current report.
	Multimedia Objects		Select to insert the specified multimedia object into the current report. You can insert applets, Windows Media files, and RealMedia files.
	Page Break		Select to insert a page break before or after the current page.
	Page Panel		Select to insert a page panel in the current report.
	TOC Page		Select to add a table of contents in the current report.
Format	Align Left		Select to shift the specified objects to the left.
	Align Right		Select to shift the specified objects to the right.
	Align Top		Select to shift the specified objects to the top.
	Align Bottom		Select to shift the specified objects to the bottom.
	Vertical Center		Select to align the specified objects in the center vertically.
	Horizontal Center		Select to align the specified objects in the center horizontally.
	Distribute Vertical		Select to space the specified objects evenly in a vertical direction.
	Distribute Horizontal		Select to space the specified objects evenly in a horizontal direction.
	Align Box		Select how to align the content in the specified objects.
	Move Backward		Select to place the specified objects that overlap one or more objects behind the current overlapping object.
	Move To Back		Select to place the specified objects that overlap one or more objects behind all the overlapping objects.
	Move Forward		Select to bring the specified objects that overlap one or more objects to the front of the current overlapping object.
	Move To Front		Select to bring the specified objects that overlap one or more objects to the front of all the overlapping objects.
	Position		Select the position of the specified objects.
	Font Face		Select the font face of the text in the specified objects.
	Font Size		Select the font size of the text in the specified objects.
	Style		Select the style group to apply to the specified objects.
	Bold		Select to apply bold formatting to the text in the specified objects.
	Italic		Select to italicize the text in the specified objects.
	Underline		Select to add a horizontal line under the text in the specified objects.
	Strikethrough		Select to draw a line through the text in the specified objects.
	Background Color		Select to specify the background color of the selected objects in the color palette.
	Foreground Color		Select to specify the foreground color of the selected objects in the color palette.
	Conditional Formatting		Select to open the Conditional Formatting dialog box to add conditional formatting to the specified object.
	Left		Select to align the content of the specified objects to the left border of the objects.
	Center		Select to align the content of the specified objects in the center of the objects.
	Right		Select to align the content of the specified objects to the right border of the objects.
	Justify		Select to adjust the horizontal spacing of the specified objects so as to align the content evenly along both the left and right margins in the objects.
	Select All		Select to select all the objects in the current report.
Report	Manage Dataset		Select to manage the datasets in the current page report.
	Edit Display Name		Select to customize the display names of data fields in datasets created on query resources in the current page report.
	Edit Sort & Filter		Select to predefine sort and filter conditions for tables, charts, crosstabs, and banded objects that use query resources in the current page report.
	Bursting		Select to edit the current page report to become a bursting report. The page report must have groups to enable bursting.
	Manage Page Reports		Select to manage the page reports in the current catalog by organizing them into folders.
	Parameter Order		Select to customize the display order of parameters at report level.
	Bind Data		Select to bind a data resource to the current report body.
	Manage Customized Control		Select to manage customized controls.
Window	Cascade		Select to cascade the design windows of the open reports.
	Tile Horizontally		Select to tile the design windows of the open reports horizontally.
	Tile Vertically		Select to tile the design windows of the open reports vertically.
	Switch Windows		Select to open the design window of the specified report. Designer marks the name of the currently open report with a tick. You can select another report to activate its design window.

Color Palette

When editing the color of an object in Designer, you work with the color palette.

Color palette

The color palette contains several color swatches and three buttons: Automatic, More Colors, and More Fill Effects. The Automatic button indicates the default color of the selected object. Selecting it restores the color of the object to its default value. The More Fill Effects button is not always available in the color palette. It appears when the selected object supports fill effect.

To specify a color using the color palette

Select a color swatch.
If you want to customize a color for a wider range, select More Colors and specify the color in the Pick a Color dialog box.
When the More Fill Effects button is available, you can select it to specify a fill effect using the Fill Effects dialog box.

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