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Paper Layout view

The Report Editor's Paper Layout view is a work area in which you can define the format of your report output. To do this, you work with layout objects (boilerplate text and graphic objects, frames, repeating frames, graphs, fields, anchors, file links, and report blocks).   In this view, objects and their property settings are represented symbolically to highlight their types and relationships.

When you run a report, Reports Builder uses the Paper Layout as a default template for the report output. This template will grow or shrink based on the data fetched and the PL/SQL logic assigned to the layout objects.

Access

To display the Paper Layout view:

Painting region

The painting region is the area in which you can create, modify, position, or delete objects while viewing their graphical representations on the screen. There are three report regions in the Paper Layout view:

The body contains the majority of the report's text, graphics, data, and computations. A top and bottom margin appear on each page, until all data within the body has been formatted. A margin may include text, graphics, page numbers, page totals, and grand totals. The default margin size is one half inch each for the top and bottom margins and zero for the left and right margins.

Object representation

The layout objects that you can create in the painting region include boilerplate text and graphic objects, frames, repeating frames, graphs, fields, anchors, file links, and report blocks . Objects have their sizes, relative positions, patterns, colors, and fonts graphically represented in the editor.

Graphic representations (or icons) indicate the type of object being represented and, in some cases, its settings. The figure illustrates the meaning of these icons in the layout model.

graphic depicting situation described above

To see an object's settings, you must open its Property Inspector by double-clicking the object.

Rulers

Rulers are located around the left and top edges of the painting region. Rulers are initially hidden in the Paper Layout view. To show rulers, choose Viewright arrowRulers.

Units

You can set the unit of measurement of the ruler to any of the following, by selecting Formatright arrowLayout Optionsright arrowRulers:

When you change a report's Unit of Measurement property, the ruler units are updated to reflect the Unit of Measurement. When you set Design in Character Units to Yes, the ruler units are changed to character cells.

Markers

Markers move along both of the rulers to track your cursor location in the painting region. The rulers scroll along with the painting region. Likewise, when you magnify part of the painting region, the rulers are updated to reflect the magnification.

Ruler guides

Ruler guides provide you with a point of reference for creating and modifying objects. To create a ruler guide, click one of the rulers and drag into the painting region. To show ruler guides, choose Viewright arrowRuler Guides.

Grid

Inside the painting region is a grid to help you position objects in the viewing region. The grid is drawn in relationship to the rulers. In the Ruler Settings dialog box, you specify the interval at which grid lines appear per unit on the ruler.  For example, if you have a Unit of inches and a Grid Spacing of 0.5, there will be one grid line per half-inch on the ruler.   Choose Viewright arrowGrid to display the grid.

Toolbar

To use the tools in the toolbar, click the desired tool to perform the action.   If the tool is designed to perform an action on objects, it appears grayed out until one or more objects are selected.   Then clicking the tool performs the action on the selected object(s).

Stylebar

To use the tools in the stylebar, select one or more objects, then click the desired tool. The action represented by the tool will be performed on the selected objects. Tools typically available on the stylebar let you change the font, font style, size and justification of the selected object.

Tool palette

The tool palette is a set of tools you can use to create and manipulate objects. Click a tool to activate it for a single operation, or double-click a tool to "lock" it for multiple operations.

The tools in the tool palette vary depending on the Report Editor view.

Status bar

In the Paper Layout view, the status bar displays the following information: