Font Setting Options in User-Defined Reports

This feature allows for the application of fonts to text and data items within the control blocks.Unlike the Document Design or Label prints application of fonts is not on an individual basis but on a region basis which should allow for quicker design changes.

Converting a User Defined Report

As an existing report definition is opened within the design side of ProFiler you will be prompted to convert the report into the new style.

To convert the report into the new format select ‘Enable New Format’ otherwise to amend in the old format select ‘Retain Old Format’.

If you convert a report then a backup file is created as ‘filename.OLD’, if you wish to revert to this file you would need to delete two files – filename.PFL and filename.INL – before renaming the OLD file to PFL

Page Set-Up

After selecting to convert a document you will be prompted for the page set-up.

Paper Size

This option offers a drop-down list of paper sizes available. Select the paper size required or, if not listed, select the Custom page size and define your own.

Paper Width

Paper Height

If you select a pre-defined page size these are set automatically for you, if you select a custom page size you can key in the page size (in millimetres) required.

Print in Landscape

Set whether the report is to be printed in landscape, leave blank to print in portrait.

Columns across Document

Lines down Document

This defaults to the values previously defined on the report (or if a new report to 132 columns across / 66 lines down). If converting a report you would typically leave these as set.

The values can be amended up to 255 columns across and 132 lines down. The columns and line values form a ‘design grid’ on the report with the number of columns set controlling the number of grid start points across the page, the lines down controlling the grid points down the page (think graph paper).Text and data items must start at a grid point.

Left Margin

Right Margin

Top Margin

Bottom Margin

Set the page border, in millimetres, as required.

After setting the page details you will be taken to the report mask. As you will notice the designer mask view is unchanged, the application of fonts to the report does not affect the design display. To see the effect of font application within the report design you can select the ‘Print Preview’ option from the File pull-down.

Setting Default and Allowed Fonts

The ProFiler designer allows for the setting of a default font and a further 16 fonts that can be applied to the report design. This is achieved through the ‘Font Settings’ option available on the Control pull-down.

If no default is set then a font of Courier New 10 point is applied during print preview and at run-time.

To update the default font or create a new font setting highlight the entry and double-click (or click the UPDATE button or press the <ENTER> key).

Description

Enter the description of the font to be used. You might use this to describe the areas the font is to be used – ‘Report Title’, ‘Column Headings’ etc. For the default font leave this as set.

Alignment

Set the alignment to be used for text and data items the font is applied to. Select from Left, Right and Centre. Each text and data item starts and finishes at a particular column, left alignment ensures starts print at the start column, right alignment ensures ends print at the end column and centre alignment centres the text / data value within the start and end column positions.

Exceptions: Right Align Numerics

Even when left aligning text and data generally it would be usual to right align numeric values so that the decimal points on data aligns correctly for ease of reading.

Exceptions: Don’t Split Text

When printing text the system interprets a gap of two or more columns between text items as being separate text labels which can cause larger gaps between words than you’d like when printing continuous text. Setting this option treats all the text within the defined area as one continuous block – you could set this for report title areas but usually it would be left unset.

After confirming the parameter details the font dialog is displayed for you to select the font, font style, size and colour to be used.

Select the font and attributes required and then click the OK button, on return to the font entry details press OK to save the entry and return to the font list.

From the font list you can select to define / update another font, or use the OK button to return to the report design. The Enquire button displays where in the report the highlighted font is used, if the font is unused then the system will offer to delete the entry at this point.

Applying Fonts to Control Blocks / Selected Areas

The designer allows for the application of fonts to a control block as a whole or to defined areas within the block. To apply a font right-click on the control block and select ‘Print Properties’.

The Print Properties block only applies to the selected control block and you define up to ten separate font areas. Any area within the block left undefined applies the default font.

Font No

Select, via <F4-Select> if required, the font to be applied. You can, at this point, use the <F7-Option> key to define a new font entry.

Text

Data

Set as required whether the font is to be applied to text and/or data items within the set area.

Left

Right

Top

Bottom

Define in Column (left/right) and Row (top/bottom) positions where the font is to be applied. If leave values as zero then this font will apply to all items within the control block overriding the default, although this in turn can be overridden by a font entry that is applied to a particular region.Note that the Top/Bottom row entries relate to rows within the control block and not the report as a whole.When on the document mask the system will show the current control block row number in brackets within the status line.

Applying a Background Colour

To apply a background colour to a control block right-click against the control block and select ‘Background Colour’.

The current colour is displayed within the pop-up form and you can amend this by clicking the COLOUR button.

You can select one of the predefined basic colours or create up to sixteen custom colours that can be used as the background. Note that custom colours are defined for the report as a whole (i.e. sixteen custom colours per report not per block). Once selected click OK to return to the Background Colour form (which will have the selected background colour displayed) and then click OK to apply to the control block.

Note that the background colour is applied to the control block as a whole (no defined regions) and that data items and text labels are applied as transparent items upon this.

Print Preview

To view how the report will look select the ‘Print Preview’ option on the File pull-down menu.

Save and Exit

To save the report changes select ‘Save’ from the File pull-down, to exit out of the report definition select ‘Exit’ from the same menu.

Running the Report

When running the report available options are unchanged except that when printing the ‘Alias’ option to select a Datafile printer to match to the operating system printer is disabled.