4 Creating RTF Templates

This chapter describes the concepts of associating XML data to layout elements in an RTF report template. It describes basic and advanced techniques for creating complex and highly conditionalized report formats.

This chapter includes the following topics:

• Getting Started

• Associating the XML Data to the Template Layout

• Adding Markup to the Template Layout

• Defining Groups

• Defining Headers and Footers

• Inserting Images and Charts

• Adding Drawings, Shapes, and Clip Art

• Supported Formatting Features of Microsoft Word

• Template Features

• Using Conditional Formatting

• Inserting Page-Level Calculations

• Handling Data

• Setting Variables, Parameters, and Properties

• Using Advanced Report Layouts

• Formatting Numbers, Dates, and Currencies

• Supporting Calendars and Time Zones

• Using External Fonts

• Controlling the Placement of Instructions Using the Context Commands

• Using XPath Commands

• Declaring Namespaces

• Using FO Elements and XSL Elements

• Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft PowerPoint Output

• Guidelines for Designing RTF Templates for Microsoft Excel 2007 Output

• Rendering HTML Formatted Data in a Report

• Embedding PCL Commands for Check Printing