Specify Style Options

After selecting the component you want to modify from the style editor, you can define options for the component’s font, margins, background colors, and borders.

You can access all the style options for the selected component from the window that displays when you select a component and click Edit.

Tip: You can also select common style options for the selected component using the buttons on the explorer’s ribbon.

1. Open the Style editor window for the component you have selected.
   By default, the window opens on the Font tab if the selected component includes text. See Change Font Attributes from the Font Tab for information about this tab.
2. Click the Margins tab to define the amount of space surrounding the component when used in reports.
3. Enter the number of pixels between the text and the left, right, top, and bottom margins.
4. If you’re editing a style for a report section, such as the report header, enter the number of pixels you want between the section’s contents in the Spacing field.
5. Click the Fill tab to modify the background fill colors for the selected component.
6. Enter field information.

   Fill Tab

   Field	Description
   Color/Top Color/Left Color	Click this box to select a primary color as the background. The text description for this option varies depending on the Gradient Mode you select.
   No Fill	Select this check box to clear any fill colors previously selected. If this check box is selected, the other options on the Fill tab are disabled, except Color. Selecting a color automatically clears the No Fill check box, enabling the other options.
   Gradient Mode	Select the positioning of the primary and secondary colors for the background from the Gradient Mode drop-down menu. Using gradient coloring lets you merge two colors. The following options are available. None—Select this option to use only the primary color as the fill color. If you select None, the Gradient Color field is disabled. Top to Bottom—Select this option to merge the colors from the top of the background to the bottom. Left to Right—Select this option to merge the colors from the left of the background to the right.
   Gradient Color/Bottom Color/Right Color	Click this box to select a secondary color to merge with the primary color. The fill colors then merge using the method defined in the Gradient Mode menu. The text description for this option varies depending on the gradient mode you select.
   Transparency (%)	Select a percentage to define how intense the fill colors are. A setting of 100% is completely transparent, which prevents the fill colors from displaying. A setting of 0% has no transparency, resulting in intense background colors. The selected percentage is immediately reflected in the Preview field, so you can easily scroll through the transparency percentages to find a value that best suits your needs.
   Preview	This area provides a sample of how the fill colors you select will appear on the report background.

7. Click the Borders tab to modify the borders of a component.
8. Enter field information.

   Borders Tab

   Field	Description
   Color	Click this box to select a color for the border.
   Style	Click this drop-down menu to select one of the following border styles: Solid, Dashed, Dotted, Inset, Outset, Double, Groove, Ridge, Rounded, or Separator. The Separator option lets you add space around the component.
   Weight	Click this drop-down menu to select the pixel size of the border. You can select a number between 1 and 10 pixels.
   Preview	Use this area to define the placement of the borders. Select any of the following buttons to place the borders, or click the area in the Preview white space where you want the border.
   Border buttons	Click a button to add the selected border attributes to the top, bottom, left, right, or all sides of the component. You can also add or remove borders from all sides of the component.

9. Click Preview to preview the style with the changes you have made to fonts, margins, fill, and borders.
10. Click OK.