Configuring Report Formatting

The process of configuring the report's formatting adjusts the appearance of the finished report.

Report Style Settings

  • Alternative Row Colors: By default, all non-heading rows in a report are the same color. Check the Alternative Row Colors box to alternate row colors.

  • Use Super-Headers: Super-Headers are used to group columns to make the report more readable. They appear above the standard headers in a report. Click View to open the Super-Header Designer.

Super-Header Designer

Users can add and edit Super-Headers in the report using the Super-Header designer. The Preview tab shows the Super-Headers as they appear in the finished report. If a cell is shown in red this indicates that its details are not permitted by the system. For example, if a cell has the same name as another but cannot be merged it is shown in red. Hover the mouse pointer over the cell to see what the problem is.

Upon making changes to the Super-Headers, the Super-Header Designer can be closed and changes are saved automatically.

Adding Rows of Super-Headers

A Super-Header is not required for each cell. Cells for which a Super-Header has not been set are shown with a blank header in the final report.

To add a row of Super-Headers:

  • Click one of the green arrows. The up-arrow adds a row above the existing rows, while the down-arrow adds a row beneath the existing rows.

Editing Individual Super-Headers

To edit individual Super-Headers:

  1. Double-click on a cell to open the Super-Header Cell Editor, which enables you to set details for the new Super-Headers as follows:

    • Title: The header text to be shown on the cell. Multiple Super-Headers may have the same title. This field can also be left blank.

    • Help: An explanation of the header. This is shown to users running the report if they hover their mouse pointers over the header.

    • Column Span: Sets the number of columns to be grouped beneath this Super-Header. Spanning multiple columns overwrites cells to the right with this cell’s details.

      Cells cannot be merged vertically. Merged cells continue to appear separately in the Designer view, but clicking the Preview tab shows a single cell spanning multiple columns.

    • Apply a Style: Select colors for the header from the drop-down list of preset color combinations.

    • Column: Shows the name of the column beneath the cell, such as Skill Group or Duration, and cannot be changed.

  2. Use the Previous and Next links to scroll through individual header cells from left to right.

  3. Click Save.

Deleting Rows of Super-Headers

To delete a row of Super-Headers:

  • Click one of the cells in that row and click the Delete Row option in the Super-Header Cell Editor pop-up.

Printing Settings

By default, the report is sized for display on a computer screen of resolution 1024x768, but this can be changed to a different paper size. If you change this, the red vertical line shown on the Table Designer below moves to indicate the new position of the right hand side of the page.

Select Stylesheet

Users can choose a stylesheet when building the report. The organizational default stylesheet is selected by default. If multiple stylesheets are available, you can select a different one from the Select Stylesheet dropdown list.

Upon changing the stylesheet, any manual formatting changes or column width modifications are lost.

For more information about stylesheets, see About Managing Report Stylesheets.

Table Designer

Users can edit the report table to change the colors and fonts of individual cells or entire rows, or alter column widths. The red vertical line shown indicates the position of the right hand side of the page relative to the report. If the report spans multiple pages horizontally, multiple red lines are shown.

Changing the Width of the Table and Columns

To change the width of the table and columns: 

  1. Click the border of the header cell and drag to the preferred position.

  2. Select the "Lock Table Width" check box above the table to prevent adjustment of the table width while changing the width of columns. This means that when column widths are adjusted, the overall table width is not affected.

  3. Right-click within the header cell to access further column width options, such as making all the columns in the table the same width as the one selected.

These widths are not honored by the enhanced renderer, which is used for real-time reports. The widths of the table and columns in real-time reports are dynamically set to best fit the content of the report.

Changing the Colors and Fonts in a Cell

To change the colors or fonts in a cell:

  1. Double-click the cell to open the Cell Formatting window.

  2. Click on the Forecolor color box (this is black by default). A color chart appears.

  3. Select your desired text color from the color chart. Once a color is selected the chart closes automatically.

  4. Change the background color in the same way.

    • You can see how your chosen color combination looks in the Preview pane on the right.

    • You can also choose from a number of preset color combinations using the Presets drop-down at the upper right of the window. Some of these change your font settings.

Changing the Appearance of Cell Text

To change the appearance of the cell text:

  1. Use the first Font Settings drop-down to pick the font you wish to use in that cell. You can choose from:

    • Default: This is normally Tahoma, which is the Windows default font.

    • Verdana: A modern-looking font specifically designed for on-screen display.

    • Arial: A font similar to Tahoma, but with thinner letters and slightly narrower letter spacing.

    • Fixed Font: Your computer's default fixed width or monospace font. This is a category of font where each letter takes up the same amount of horizontal space, such as Courier New.

    • Serif: Your computer's default serif font. Serif is a category of font with flares at the ends of some of the strokes that make up its letters. Most fonts used in printed material are serif fonts, such as Times New Roman or Georgia.

    • Script: Your computer's default script font. Script is a category of diverse fonts, all intended to simulate handwriting.

  2. Use the second Font Settings drop-down to pick the size of the font. Available sizes range from the default of 8pt, which is also the smallest, to 18pt.

  3. Use the third Font Settings drop-down to choose the horizontal alignment of the text in the cell. You can choose from:

    • Left: The text is shown on the left hand side of the cell.

    • Right: The text is shown on the right-hand side of the cell.

    • Centered: The text is shown in the center of the cell.

  4. Select one or more Style Settings. You can specify the text in the cell to be:

    • Bold

    • Italic

    • Underlined

    • A combination of two or more styles, such as bold italic.

  5. You can choose to apply your formatting to the entire row or to adjacent cells, as well as the cell selected, by choosing the appropriate option from the Apply formatting drop-down at the top of the window.

  6. Click Save to save your changes and return to the Report Builder page.