This chapter contains the following topics:
Sections, column headings, column variables, runtime fields, and constants have their own set of properties.
Some properties affect the report section layout. For example, you can modify the format of the report by changing column and row spacing and object alignment.
Using the features of Oracle's JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Report Design Aid (RDA), you can change the appearance of report sections by:
Changing the description of sections that appear on the section tile.
Hiding report sections conditionally and unconditionally.
Aligning fields within and across sections.
Wrapping the text of fields that are fetched from the database.
Changing column and row spacing.
Reprinting data from one page to the succeeding page.
Inserting page breaks manually.
This section provides an overview of section descriptions, lists the prerequisites, and discusses how to change section descriptions.
The RDA workspace uses a grid to present all sections that are included in the report template. The exception might be a section that you set up as invisible. The grid is white and typically displays dots that aid you in positioning fields within a section. To the left of each section is a gray tone tile. This tile displays section descriptions that typically represent either the section type, such as page header, or the name of the attached business view.
A level break section is typically named after the level break field on which it is based. For example, On Search Type is the description for a level break header section that breaks on the Search Type field.
If you do not want to view these section tiles, you can hide them in User Options.
When you create a custom section and attach the same business view that you attached to the level one section, both sections have the same description. To tell the sections apart in Event Rules Design, rename one of the sections. You can change the section description on the appropriate section properties form. Adding a prefix to the custom section to indicate that it is the custom section is helpful.
A group section that is created to hold grand totals is untitled because it does not have a business view attached. On the appropriate section properties form, you can modify the section description to read Grand Totals.
Before you begin changing section descriptions, ensure that you:
Create a batch application object.
Complete the design of the report template.
Open a report template in RDA.
Double-click the section that you want to change.
On the appropriate section properties form, enter a new name (or modify the existing name) in the Description field on the General tab, and click OK.
This section provides an overview of how to hide report sections, lists the prerequisites, and discusses how to hide and display report sections unconditionally.
You can hide a report section if the sole purpose of the section is to provide logic to be used by another section. The information that is contained in an invisible section does not print on the report. Hiding report sections in this manner is referred to as unconditional. The section is never meant to appear in the report.
You could open a report template that includes an invisible section and not know that the section exists. So that you can see invisible sections of reports in the RDA grid, select the Show Invisible Sections At Startup option in User Options.
You can also hide a report section based on specific criteria. Hiding report sections in this manner is referred to as conditional because the section appears only when the stated condition is met. You can create event rules that show the section only when a field value reaches a certain amount. Another condition might be when the user requests, through processing options, that the section be included in the report.
Before you begin hiding report sections, ensure that you:
Create a batch application object.
Complete the design of the report template.
Open a report template in RDA.
Double-click the report section that you want to affect.
On the appropriate section properties form, select the Advanced tab.
Select the Visible option to display the report section, or clear the Visible option to hide the report section, and then click OK.
This section provides an overview of how to align fields and columns, lists the prerequisites, and discusses how to:
Align fields within sections.
Align fields and columns across sections.
When you initially create a report section, fields and columns might not line up properly. RDA provides alignment options to enable you to precisely adjust the appearance of the report output. For example, you create a group section and need to align fields under other fields. Or you create a columnar report with a level break footer that calculates totals. You change the size of the columns in the columnar section, and the total in the level break footer no longer aligns with the column that it is totaling.
When you align fields, you are presented with options based on your selection to align objects within a section or across sections. On the Align Objects form, options are listed under these headings:
| Alignment Options | Description |
|---|---|
| Left to Right | Available for aligning objects within sections and across sections. |
| Top to Bottom | Available for aligning fields across sections only. |
When you align data fields, use these guidelines:
Clear the focus of the cursor in all report sections before you select the objects for alignment.
Click an empty portion of each report section to clear the focus of the cursor. You could have the cursor focused on a field in a section, such as the page header, and not realize it. When you align a field without clearing the focus, a field from another section, such as the page header, will be aligned with the selected field.
Designate one object as an anchor to which other objects are aligned.
The anchor field is indicated by a black border; the objects to be aligned with it are indicated by a gray border. The anchor field is the last field that you select during the alignment process.
The black border indicates the currently selected field.
The entire object must be selected for alignment, not just the constant text or variable.
The anchor can be a disconnected constant or variable object.
The objects that are selected can be within the same section or across sections.
The fields are aligned rather than the text within the fields.
This is especially noteworthy when you center-align fields. Objects are centered based on field length and not on the length of the text within the fields.
The alignment process cannot be used on tabular rows.
When you align columns from tabular and columnar sections, use these guidelines:
Before you begin aligning fields and columns, ensure that you:
Create a batch application object.
Complete the design of the report template using a columnar section.
Include a level break footer with a label.
Open a columnar report template in RDA that includes a level break footer.
Click the aggregate label in the level break footer.
Hold down the Ctrl key and click the total field.
The rectangle around the aggregate label lightens in color while the rectangle around the total is dark in color.
From the Layout menu, select Align.
Select the Current Section option under the Apply to heading.
Select one of these options under the Top to Bottom heading:
Top Edges
Middle
Bottom Edges
No Changes
Click Apply to view the changes without leaving the form.
Open a columnar report template in RDA that includes a level break footer.
Click the total in the level break footer.
Hold down the Ctrl key and, in the columnar section, click the column variable that is associated with the total.
From the Layout menu, select Align.
Select the All Sections option under the Apply to heading.
On the Align Objects form, select one of these options under the Left to Right heading:
Left Edges
Center
Right Edges
Typically, when aligning numeric values, you want to align by the right edges so that the decimal places line up properly.
No Changes.
Click Apply to view the changes without leaving the form.
When the alignment is complete, click OK.
This section provides an overview of absolute position, lists the prerequisites, and discusses how to activate absolute position.
The Absolute Position option enables you to wrap text that is fetched from the database, business view columns, and media object text. This option does not affect text that is supplied through event rules or entered into constant fields.
When you select the Absolute Position option, text is truncated in fields where the display length is too short. The system leaves the text in its absolute position. When you clear the Absolute Position option, the text is wrapped to the next line of the field.
Note:
You cannot define text wrapping for individual fields; you must apply text wrapping to an entire detail section.Before you begin activating absolute position, ensure that you:
Create a batch application object.
Complete the design of the report template.
Open a report template in RDA.
Double-click the section in which you want to wrap text.
On the appropriate section properties form, select the Advanced tab.
Select the Absolute Position option to inactivate text wrapping or clear the option to activate text wrapping, and then click OK.
If the Advanced tab does not include an Absolute Position option, you cannot affect text wrapping for the section.
Note:
The Absolute Position option is cleared by default.This section provides an overview of column and row spacing, lists the prerequisites, and discusses how to:
Modify column spacing.
Modify row spacing in columnar sections.
Modify row spacing in tabular row sections.
You can modify the space between columns and the space between rows in columnar and tabular report sections.
In the Spacing menu option, which is available only for columnar and tabular sections, two tabs are available:
Column Spacing
Row Spacing
The Column Spacing options enable you to:
Center the report under the page header information.
Modify the spacing among all columns of the section.
Modify the spacing between individual columns.
Bring attention to the data in a specific column by adding spaces to set the column apart from the other columns.
On the Column Spacing tab, you can select all columns or indicate specific columns that you want to affect. You enter a value in the Space before selected columns field to indicate the amount of space that you want between the columns. Click Apply to view the new spacing before leaving the form to ensure that the new spacing meets your needs.
You can also change the spacing of rows to improve the appearance of a report. From the Row Spacing tab, you can modify the spacing between:
The page header and the detail section.
The rows in the detail section.
Your choices for the row spacing of a tabular or columnar section are:
Single
Single + Half
Double
Note:
Only single spacing is supported for CSV files. Only single and double spacing are supported for line printers.In a tabular row report, you can change the space before a row. This is defined on the Options tab of the Row Properties form.
Before you begin changing column spacing, ensure that you:
Create two batch application objects.
Complete the design of the first report template using a columnar section.
Complete the design of the second report template using tabular rows.
Open a columnar section report in RDA.
Click the columnar or tabular section in which you want to modify column spacing.
From the Layout menu, select Spacing.
On the Column Spacing tab, perform one of these actions to affect the column spacing:
Click the Select All Columns button to apply the spacing to all columns in the section.
Select specific columns from the list to which you want to apply the spacing.
In the Space before selected columns field, enter the number of spaces that you want to appear before the selected columns, and click OK.
The default value is set at five spaces.
Open a columnar section report in RDA.
Select the columnar section in which you want to modify row spacing.
From the Layout menu, select Spacing.
On the Columnar Section Spacing form, select the Row Spacing tab.
Select a Header to Detail option and a Detail to Detail option.
Note:
Only single spacing is supported for CSV files. Only single and double spacing is supported for line printers.Click Apply, and then click OK.
This section provides an overview of Reprint After Page Break, lists the prerequisites, and discusses how to reprint information on the succeeding page.
In some instances, you might need information from one page to appear on the succeeding page. You can define a detail section to reprint the last line of a page as the first line on the succeeding page. Use the Reprint After Page Break option on the Advanced tab of the appropriate section properties form to accomplish this.
Occasionally, the information for a specific level of data continues onto the succeeding page. If you have level break headers defined in the report, the level break header appears on the previous page. You can define the level break header to reprint on the succeeding page using the Reprint After Page Break option on the Advanced tab of the appropriate section properties form.
Before you begin printing the last line of a page as the first line of the succeeding page, ensure that you:
Create a batch application object.
Complete the design of the report template using a group or columnar section.
Include a level break header in the report.
Open a columnar or group section report template that includes a level break header in RDA.
Double-click the group, columnar, or level break header section that you want to affect.
On the appropriate section properties form, select the Advanced tab.
Select the Reprint At Page Break option, and click OK.
This section provides an overview of manual page breaks, lists the prerequisites, and discusses how to insert manual page breaks.
You can insert manual page breaks (that is, cause the report to stop printing on the current page and start printing on the next page) after report headers, detail sections, and level break footers. You cannot use the page break feature for all three section types in the same report. However, you can use the page break feature in the report header and level break footer simultaneously.
Before you begin inserting manual page breaks, ensure that you:
Create a batch application object.
Complete the design of the report template.