7.

CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE

Copyright © 2013-2021 RIB Technologies Pty Ltd

All rights reserved.

This document may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without the express written authority
of RIB Technologies Pty Ltd.
CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE

Contents
1 Introduction 8
2 Getting Started 9
2.1 Fundamental
............................................................................................................................................
Concepts 9
Static..................................................................................................................................
Pages and Bands 9
Data..................................................................................................................................
Sets and Data Fields 10
Objects
.................................................................................................................................. 10
2.2 How
............................................................................................................................................
to Create a Custom Report Template 12
Creating
..................................................................................................................................
a New Template from Scratch 12
Creating
..................................................................................................................................
a New Template from an Existing Standard Template 13
Creating
..................................................................................................................................
a New Template from an Existing Custom Template 14
Insert
..................................................................................................................................
Report Fields - Workbooks 15
Insert
..................................................................................................................................
Report Fields - Databooks 17
2.3 How
............................................................................................................................................
to Start the Report Designer 19
3 Navigating the Custom Report Designer 20
3.1 Tabbed
............................................................................................................................................
Views 20
3.2 The
............................................................................................................................................
Report Design Workspace 21
Zooming
..................................................................................................................................
Pages 21
Panning
..................................................................................................................................
Pages 21
Changing
..................................................................................................................................
the Background Color 22
3.3 The
............................................................................................................................................
Report Tree Pane 23
3.4 The
............................................................................................................................................
Object Inspector 24
3.5 The
............................................................................................................................................
Data Tree Pane 25
Data..................................................................................................................................
Tab 25
Variables
..................................................................................................................................
Tab 27
Functions
..................................................................................................................................
Tab 27
Classes
..................................................................................................................................
Tab 27
3.6 Toolbars
............................................................................................................................................ 28
4 Basic Report Design 29
4.1 Managing
............................................................................................................................................
Pages 29
Adding
..................................................................................................................................
and Renaming a Page 29
Removing
..................................................................................................................................
a Page 30

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE

Rearranging
..................................................................................................................................
Pages 30
Page..................................................................................................................................
Setup 31
4.2 Composing
............................................................................................................................................
Static Pages 33
4.3 Using
............................................................................................................................................
Bands to Lay Out Report Pages 34
4.4 Adding
............................................................................................................................................
Static Text 35
Adding
..................................................................................................................................
Text Objects 35
Adding
..................................................................................................................................
Rich Text Objects 37
4.5 Adding
............................................................................................................................................
Graphical Elements 38
Adding
..................................................................................................................................
Pictures 38
Adding
..................................................................................................................................
Gradient Objects 40
Using
..................................................................................................................................
the Draw Tool 42
Adding
..................................................................................................................................
Check Boxes 43
4.6 Adding
............................................................................................................................................
Data Fields from a Workbook 44
4.7 Adding
............................................................................................................................................
System Variables 46
4.8 Using
............................................................................................................................................
Aggregate Functions 47
4.9 Using
............................................................................................................................................
the XGetNamedCell Function 50
4.10 Concatenating
............................................................................................................................................
Static Text and Expressions 51
4.11 Manipulating
............................................................................................................................................
Objects 52
Selecting
..................................................................................................................................
Objects 52
Moving
..................................................................................................................................
and Resizing Objects 52
Amending
..................................................................................................................................
Object Properties 53
Amending
..................................................................................................................................
Object Contents 53
4.12 Report
............................................................................................................................................
Settings 54
5 Report Bands 56
5.1 Types
............................................................................................................................................
of Bands 56
5.2 Using
............................................................................................................................................
Bands to Create Page Headers and Footers 58
5.3 Using
............................................................................................................................................
Data Bands to Include Workbook Details 59
5.4 Headers
............................................................................................................................................
and Footers of Data Bands 63
Header
..................................................................................................................................
Band 63
Footer
..................................................................................................................................
Band 64
5.5 Using
............................................................................................................................................
Bands to Group Data 65
Group
..................................................................................................................................
Header Band 65
Group
..................................................................................................................................
Footer Band 68

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE

5.6 Child
............................................................................................................................................
Band 69
5.7 Overlay
............................................................................................................................................
Band 70
5.8 Manipulating
............................................................................................................................................
Bands 71
Selecting
..................................................................................................................................
the Entire Band 71
Moving
..................................................................................................................................
a Band 71
Copying
..................................................................................................................................
and Pasting a Band 71
Resizing
..................................................................................................................................
a band 71
6 Formatting Reports 72
6.1 Aligning
............................................................................................................................................
Objects 72
Ruler
..................................................................................................................................
Guidance Lines 72
Automatic
..................................................................................................................................
Alignment Guides 72
Alignment
..................................................................................................................................
Palette 73
Direct
..................................................................................................................................
Coordinate Entry 74
6.2 Formatting
............................................................................................................................................
Memo Objects 75
Standard
..................................................................................................................................
Formatting 75
Number
..................................................................................................................................
Formatting 75
Conditional
..................................................................................................................................
Highlighting 77
Copying
..................................................................................................................................
Formatting between Memo Objects 79
Replicating
..................................................................................................................................
Workbook Fonts for a Data Field 80
6.3 Displaying
............................................................................................................................................
Data in Tabular Format 81
Changing
..................................................................................................................................
the Look of a Table 81
Adding
..................................................................................................................................
a Border Around a Table 82
Displaying
..................................................................................................................................
Multi-line Text 83
6.4 Applying
............................................................................................................................................
Shading to Alternate Rows 84
7 Customizing Reports with Scripts 85
7.1 Scripting
............................................................................................................................................
Basics 85
Structure
..................................................................................................................................
of a Pascal Program 86
Understanding
..................................................................................................................................
Procedures and Events 87
Using
..................................................................................................................................
Conditional Statements 89
Adding
..................................................................................................................................
Functions 90
Referencing
..................................................................................................................................
Data Fields and Variables 90
Accessing
..................................................................................................................................
Object Properties from a Script 91
7.2 Using
............................................................................................................................................
Scripts to Apply Workbook Formats to the Report 92

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE

7.3 Using
............................................................................................................................................
Scripts to Apply Conditional Formats 94
7.4 Using
............................................................................................................................................
Scripts to Filter the Report Output 96
8 Subreports (Nested Reports) 97
8.1 What
............................................................................................................................................
Are Subreports? 97
8.2 Adding
............................................................................................................................................
Subreports 97
8.3 Side-by-side
............................................................................................................................................
Subreports 98
8.4 'PrintOnParent'
............................................................................................................................................
Property 99
9 Charts 100
9.1 Adding
............................................................................................................................................
a Chart 100
9.2 Manipulating
............................................................................................................................................
a Chart 102
Sorting
..................................................................................................................................
Data 102
Limiting
..................................................................................................................................
the Number of Chart Values 104
Other
..................................................................................................................................
Useful Settings 105
9.3 Charts
............................................................................................................................................
with Manually Entered Values 106
10 Previewing and Printing 107
10.1 Previewing
............................................................................................................................................
a Report 107
10.2 Printing
............................................................................................................................................
a Report 108
11 Exporting a Report 109
11.1 Exporting
............................................................................................................................................
to PDF 110
11.2 Exporting
............................................................................................................................................
to Excel 97/2000/XP 112
Formatting
..................................................................................................................................
a Report for Export 112
Configuring
..................................................................................................................................
Export Options 116
Troubleshooting
..................................................................................................................................
Excel Export 117
11.3 Exporting
............................................................................................................................................
to RTF 118
11.4 Exporting
............................................................................................................................................
as Image Files 119
11.5 Sending
............................................................................................................................................
a Report via Email 120
12 Worked Examples 123
12.1 Basic
............................................................................................................................................
Editing 123
Adding
..................................................................................................................................
a Logo 123
Creating
..................................................................................................................................
a Cover Page 125
Removing
..................................................................................................................................
a Column from a Report 130
Adding
..................................................................................................................................
a Column to a Report 132

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE

12.2 Using
............................................................................................................................................
a Script to Insert AutoCodes 135
13 Appendixes 141
13.1 Appendix
............................................................................................................................................
A - Object Properties 141
Page
..................................................................................................................................
Objects 141
Band
..................................................................................................................................
Objects 145
Memo
..................................................................................................................................
(Text) Objects 151
Picture
..................................................................................................................................
Objects 161
Line
..................................................................................................................................
Objects 167
13.2 Appendix
............................................................................................................................................
B - Toolbar Control Buttons 171
Standard
..................................................................................................................................
Toolbar 171
Text
..................................................................................................................................
Toolbar 172
Frame
..................................................................................................................................
Toolbar 173
Alignment
..................................................................................................................................
Palette 174
13.3 Appendix
............................................................................................................................................
C - Controls in Dialog Boxes 175
Memo
..................................................................................................................................
Dialog 175
Rich
..................................................................................................................................
Editor Dialog 175
13.4 Appendix
............................................................................................................................................
D - Keyboard Shortcuts 177

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Introduction

1 Introduction
Estimates created in workbooks and Databooks can be printed to reports if required. You can control the
layout and the amount of information that appears in a report by using a report template. Report templates
can be selected from the Reports window, which can be accessed by clicking the Reports button located in
the Generate group on the Workbooks or Databooks ribbon. By editing the templates, it is possible to
manipulate the report output.

A report template can be used when generating a report using the Print Multiple Workbooks or Print
Workbook to Report option for workbooks, or the Print Datasheet to Report option for Databooks.

iTWO costX® ships with a selection of report templates which you can use as they are, or copy and edit to
suit your requirements. If these do not meet your needs, you can design your own report templates. There
are two types of report templates: Custom and Standard. Custom templates allow you to fully customize all
aspects of a report, whereas Standard templates only allow a degree of customization within defined
parameters. Standard templates can be converted to Custom templates, but not vice versa.

This manual does not address Standard templates. Refer to the iTWO costX® Help file and the iTWO costX®
Advanced Manual section 14 for more information about Standard report templates and how to edit them.

This manual provides detailed guidance for the creation and manipulation of Custom report templates,
however it does not address functions such as the use of vertical bands and some of the more specialist
object tools. FastReport VCL 6 is the underlying report builder engine. A comprehensive user’s manual for
FastReport VCL 6 is included as a PDF document in the iTWO costX® installation folder (the default path is C:
\Program Files\Exactal\CostX\Doc\CustomReports) and this provides additional information about how to
manipulate Custom reports.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Getting Started

2 Getting Started
2.1 Fundamental Concepts
Before you start using the iTWO costX® Custom Report Designer, you should understand the fundamentals
of report design. This section lays out the key concepts that will help you design effective reports. It is
recommended that you read through this section to acquaint yourself with the fundamental concepts
before designing or editing a template.

Static Pages and Bands

The Report Designer allows multiple pages to be created in a single report template. A template can
contain two kinds of pages: "static" pages and pages with "bands".

Static pages are intended only to occur once in the output report. They are usually not connected to the
data source and can be inserted before, between or after your workbook data pages - for example a cover
page for the overall report or a back page with additional notes. When designing a static page, objects (such
as images, text and geometric shapes) can be placed directly on the page.

If a report page is intended to include data fields (i.e., details derived from an iTWO costX® workbook),
then objects should be placed within bands. A “band” is a special box on a design page within which other
objects can be placed so that they appear in a specified location on the output page. For example, a
“PageHeader” band will determine the format of the header at the top of each page in the finished report.
Similarly, objects in the “PageFooter” band will be displayed at the bottom of each page. Bands are also
used to display data, and detailed reports which draw data from various places in the workbook may have
several data bands on a page.

Example of a Page Header band containing text objects for the report title and column titles, a picture object for a
company logo, and line objects for borders.

Pages with bands are dynamic and should be considered more as sections rather than the actual pages of a
report. If a design page contains data bands, the number of output pages is determined by the amount of
workbook data when previewing or printing the report. For example, a report template may be set up with
one static cover page and two pages with data bands - one for the cost summary (i.e., the group headings
and totals, etc. from the first level sheet of a workbook) and the other for the detailed cost breakdown
(i.e., the codes, descriptions, quantities totals, etc. from the second level sheets of a workbook). When the
report template is printed or previewed, the cover page will only be a single output page. As the summary
section is used to provide a concise presentation of the cost data, it may only have one or two output
pages. The detailed cost breakdown, however, may run to many output pages.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Getting Started

Data Sets and Data Fields

Workbook data included in a report is referred to by the terms "data set" and "data field". "Data set" refers
to the type of sheet in the workbook (Cost, Quantity or Rate sheet) in combination with their hierarchical
position in the workbook structure (level 1, level 2, etc.). Within each data set, the columns within the
workbook sheet containing the data are referred to as the "data fields". Data fields are listed under their
parent data sets in the Data Tree pane and can be added to the report by dragging the required data field
from the Data Tree pane into the appropriate data type band corresponding to its parent data set.

Objects

The format and content of each report section is defined by “objects” which are placed anywhere on the
report pages and are used to define the appearance of the report and to display various information such as
text, pictures, lines and charts. Available object types are outlined below.

Object Type Description

Band An area on a design page which behaves according to its type (e.g., Header
band, Data band).
Text Displays one or more lines of text within a rectangular area.
Picture Displays a graphic file in BMP, JPEG, ICO, WMF or EMF format.
Subreport Allows insertion of another report design page within the host page.
System text Displays either system information (date, time, page number, etc) or aggregate
values.
Gradient Displays a box with or without border lines which has two colors specified and
which graduates from one color to the other across the width and/or height of
the object.
CheckBox Displays a checkbox with either a tick or a cross.
Chart Displays data in various chart formats (pie chart, histogram, etc.).

Cross-tab Creates a table that can be filled with data.

DB Cross-tab Creates a table that can be connected to a data source to automatically display
data.
Rich Text Displays text in Rich Text Format (RTF).
Draw Opens a “Line” object to display a horizontal or vertical line, or displays
various geometrical shapes (diagonal line, rectangle, rounded rectangle,
ellipse, triangle and diamond).

All objects have contents and settings. For example, the content of a text object may include directly
entered text characters or references to particular data in the workbook. A picture object may include an
image. Some objects can contain other objects, for example a band object may contain text objects and

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Getting Started

picture objects. Examples of object settings would include the font and border line settings of a text object.
Essentially, the object contents determine what is included in the report output, and the object settings
determine how it is included in the outputted report.

Consequently each report section within a report template will contain a combination of objects that make
up the content and layout of that section. This could typically include:
· bands (band objects)
· text (memo objects)
· data – derived data from the iTWO costX® Workbook (also memo objects)
· images such as logos and pictures (picture objects)
· lines (line objects) for drawing lines and borders around portions of the page.

All of the settings for the various objects can be amended in the Object Inspector. Many of the more
common properties can also be set or amended using:
1) Options on the main menu (File/Page Settings allows the report page properties to be amended);
2) Options on the right click menu for band objects (various settings can be amended for different
object types such as stretching, start on new page);
3) Toolbar buttons for text and other objects (such as font, alignment, borders, shading, sizes, styles,
etc.).

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Getting Started

2.2 How to Create a Custom Report Template

iTWO costX® offers the possibility to create your own report templates in addition to those available from
the product as out-of-the-box templates (referred to as "System" templates). You can create a new
template either from scratch or from an existing template, including a System template.

To create a new template, use the Reports window. This can be opened by clicking the upper part of the
Reports button on the Workbooks or Databooks ribbon, depending on which estimating format you are
working with.

Creating a New Template from Scratch

1. In the Reports window, click the Insert button.

2. The Insert Report dialog is displayed, providing access to different settings depending on whether you
are inserting a report for workbooks or Databooks. In the Insert Report dialog, enter details for the new
report according to the appropriate section below.
· Insert Report Fields - Workbooks
· Insert Report Fields - Databooks

3. When the details have been entered, click Next. The new template will be added to the reports list and
the Report Designer screen will open showing a blank page.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Getting Started

Creating a New Template from an Existing Standard Template

Another way of creating a Custom template is to start with a Standard template, and then convert it to a
Custom template. This allows you to prepare the basic outline required such as columns, levels, titles,
footers and formatting using the Standard Report Writer interface, and then further tailor the appearance
and behavior of the output in the iTWO costX® Custom Report Designer.

To convert an existing Standard template to a Custom template, complete the following steps. You can
select a Standard template you already created or one of the Standard templates shipped with iTWO costX®
to use as the basis for editing. The Standard templates shipped with iTWO costX® are shown as “Standard
(System)" in the reports list.

NOTE: Standard templates with Qty and Rate sub-sheets cannot be converted to Custom templates.

1. In the Reports window, select the required Standard template from the list.

2. Click the Convert button on the right side of the window.

3. In the Insert Report dialog, rename the new template and click Next. The new template will appear in
the reports list as a Custom template.

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Creating a New Template from an Existing Custom Template

You can also create a new template based on any of the existing Custom templates. iTWO costX comes with
several Custom templates which you can use as they are, or copy and edit to suit your requirements. These
templates are shown as “Custom (System)” in the reports list. You may find it helpful to base a new
template on one of these System templates.

To use an existing Custom template as the basis for editing, complete the following steps:

1. In the Reports window, select the required Custom template from the list.

2. Click the Copy button on the right side of the window.

3. In the Insert Report box, enter details for the new report according to the appropriate section below.
· Insert Report Fields - Workbooks
· Insert Report Fields - Databooks

4. When the details have been entered, click Next. The copied report will appear in the reports list.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Getting Started

Insert Report Fields - Workbooks

Field Description
Name The name of the report that will be used in the report listing and in the EXF
table of contents if the report is exported.
Title The title of the report that will be available as the TITLE keyword. This value
can be adjusted by end users on the generate screen.
Type The type of the report – select Custom Report. This cannot be changed when
copying a report, but can be changed when inserting a new, blank report.
From Level The workbook level from which data will be available in the report. Select
level 1.
To Level The workbook level to which data will be available in the report excluding any
quantity or rate sheet. In a two level workbook, select Level 2; in a three level
workbook, select Level 3, and so on.

NOTE: In the Data Tree pane of the Report Designer, the top level cost sheet
will be available as a data set named ‘Workbook Level 1’, the second level cost
sheets will be available as a data set named ‘Workbook Level 2’and so on.

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Field Description
Include Rate Sheets Include the contents of the rate sheets in the report data. In the Custom Report
Designer, the rate sheets associated with the top level cost sheet will be
available as a data set named ‘Rates Level 1’, the rate sheets associated with
the second level cost sheets will be available as a data set named ‘Rates Level
2’and so on.
Include Qty Sheets Include the contents of the quantity sheets in the report data. In the Custom
Report Designer, the quantity sheets associated with the top level cost sheet
will be available as a data set named ‘Quantity Level 1’, the quantity sheets
associated with the second level cost sheets will be available as a data set
named ‘Quantity Level 2’and so on.
Previous Revision Include columns for the values of the fields at the previous revision, as well as
the variance from the previous revision, in the report data. In the Custom
Report Designer, the Workbook Level 1, Workbook Level 2, etc., data sets will
include additional data fields relating to Previous and Variance values.

The drop-down list allows you to select whether you want to include or
exclude rows that exist in the previous revision and have been deleted in the
current revision.
Subcontractor Include columns for the subcontractor comparison workbook reports. In the
Custom Report Designer, the Workbook Level 1, Workbook Level 2, etc., data
sets will include additional data fields relating to the additional subcontractor
columns in a subcontractor workbook.
Notes Include the contents of the workbook notes in the report data. In the Custom
Report Designer, the Workbook Level 1, Workbook Level 2, etc., data sets will
include additional data fields relating to the notes for each column.
Show Blank Lines To include empty rows from the workbook in the report, tick the Show Blank
Lines checkbox. The Show Zero Value Lines option must also be selected.
Show Empty Groups To include rows with no sub-sheets in the report, tick the Show Empty Groups
checkbox.

NOTE: To show empty groups for a band, the ‘PrintIfDetailEmpty’setting for

the band needs to be changed to ‘True’after the band is added to the report
page.
Show Zero Value Lines To include rows with no information in any of the Quantity, Rate, Subtotal and
Total columns, tick the Show Zero Value Lines checkbox.
Filter By Code If it is required to filter a report to show only rows of data which have been
Codes to Show assigned a code, this should be specified at the time the report is generated.
At this point, the Filter By Code and Codes to Show fields should be left blank.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Getting Started

Insert Report Fields - Databooks

Field Description
Name The name of the report that will be used in the report listing and in the EXF
table of contents if the report is exported.
Title The title of the report that will be available as the TITLE keyword. This value
can be adjusted by end users on the generate screen.
Type The type of the report – select Custom Report. This cannot be changed when
copying a report, but can be changed when inserting a new, blank report.
From Level/To Level If the data to be printed to the report is located on the Summary sheet or the
Items sheet, set both the From Level and To Level fields to 1.

If the data to be printed to the report is grouped data from a View, use the
From Level and To Level fields to select the levels in the hierarchy the report
should include data from. For example, to include the first three levels of data
in the report, set the From Level field to "1" and To Level field to "3".

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Getting Started

Field Description
Previous Revision This option is for workbooks only and does not apply to Databook reports.
Subcontractor/Notes The Subcontractor and Notes options are for workbooks only and do not apply
to Databook reports.
Summary Add-ons Use the Summary Add-ons drop-down menu to select whether to include add-
ons only when generating a report from the Summary sheet, or also append
add-ons to the end of the report when generating a report from other sheets.
Filter Use the Filter drop-down menu to select whether to include all add-ons in the
report, or exclude add-ons that have a zero value in the GrandTotal column of
the Summary sheet. The Exclude Add-ons with 0 in GrandTotal option is useful
when you wish to hide add-ons whose full amount has been spread to the
Items sheet.
Show Blank Lines To include empty rows from the Databook in the report, tick the Show Blank
Lines checkbox.
Show Empty Groups The Show Empty Groups, Show Zero Value Lines, Filter by Code, and Codes to
Show Zero Value Lines Show options are for workbooks only and do not apply to Databook reports.
Filter By Code
Codes to Show

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Getting Started

2.3 How to Start the Report Designer

To start the iTWO costX® Custom Report Designer in order to edit an existing Custom template, select the
required template from the reports list, and then click the Edit button. The Report Designer screen will
open enabling you to start configuring the report.

NOTE: You cannot edit the System templates shipped with iTWO costX®. To edit a System template, it
has to be copied. The copy can then be edited. For details on how to create a new Custom template based
on a System template, see How to Create a Custom Report Template.

TIP: For very large workbooks, you can edit the report template with only a sample subset of data instead
of loading all workbook data. This increases the speed of going into and out of report editing mode. To do
this, click the drop-down arrow of the Edit button and select the Edit Report Using Partial Workbook Data
option. The size of the data subset can be set in iTWO costX Options.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Navigating the Custom Report Designer

3 Navigating the Custom Report Designer

This section provides a comprehensive introduction to the user interface components that assist you in the
process of creating and customizing reports within the iTWO costX® Custom Report Designer. The user
interface of the Report Designer is shown below. Detailed information about the main components is
provided in the subsections that follow.

3.1 Tabbed Views

The Report Designer, as per the example below, displays the pages within a template as individual tabs.
You can conveniently switch between the tabs by clicking the tab you want to view. The Code and Data tabs
are special tabs that appear automatically in every Custom report and cannot be deleted or rearranged. The
remaining tabs are the report pages (sections) which can be removed or rearranged if necessary.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Navigating the Custom Report Designer

3.2 The Report Design Workspace

The Report Design Workspace, which is displayed in the center of the user interface by default, is where
the report layout is designed and displayed. You can pan to reposition or zoom to change the magnification
of the report page, as well as change the background color of the workspace.

Zooming Pages

To adjust the display size (zoom) of the report page, from the Objects toolbar at the leftmost area of the
interface, select the Zoom tool ( ), and then click with the left mouse button over the report page to
zoom in or click with the right mouse button to zoom out. Zooming is centered around the current mouse
cursor position on the page. If the current level of zoom is less than 100%, the zoom increment is 25%; if the
current level of zoom is more than 100%, the zoom increment is 100%.

The display size may also be adjusted using the Zoom selection tool ( ) on the Standard toolbar or by
holding the ‘Ctrl’ key down on the keyboard and rolling the scroll wheel of the mouse forward or
backwards. In each case zooming is centered around the top left corner of the Report Design Workspace.

Panning Pages

A report page can be panned if the current level of zoom is such that the whole of the page is not displayed
within the Report Design Workspace.

To pan a page, from the Objects toolbar at the leftmost area of the interface, select the ( ) Hand tool, then
hold the left mouse button down whilst the mouse cursor is positioned over the report page and move the
mouse in the required direction.

The report page may also be panned horizontally and vertically using the scroll bars located immediately
beneath and to the right of the Report Design Workspace. Providing the report page (or an object thereon)
has focus, it may also be panned vertically by rolling the scroll wheel on the mouse forwards or backwards.

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Changing the Background Color

If you wish to change the default workspace color from white to another color, complete the following
steps:

1. From the top menu, select View > Options.

2. In the Designer Options dialog, within the Colors section, click the Workspace button.

TIP: You can use the Tool Windows button to change the background color of the Report Tree Pane,
Object Inspector and Data Tree Pane.

3. In the Color dialog, choose your desired workspace background color, and then click the OK button.

4. Click the OK button in the Designer Options dialog to apply the color.

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3.3 The Report Tree Pane

The Report Tree pane shows the hierarchy of every element included in the report using a tree-like
structure. Once you add an element (such as a report page, a band or a picture object) to the workspace, it
will show up in the Report Tree. When an element is selected here, the relevant settings for the selected
element can be viewed and modified in the Object Inspector beneath.

At the top of the Report Tree is the ‘Report’ object which represents the whole report. Beneath and
indented from the ‘Report’ object are the report pages, listed in the order in which the page tabs are
arranged. The ‘Data’ report page which is usually listed directly beneath the ‘Report’ object is a special
report page in the report template which effectively contains the data required for the report. Beneath and
indented from each of the report pages are the bands included on the report page or report objects which
have been placed directly on the report page as opposed to having been placed within a band. The bands
are listed first and in the order in which they were added to the report page. Beneath (and indented from)
each of the bands are the report objects which have been placed within the band.

The objects under the Page level in the tree are displayed in the order that they will be printed, starting
from back towards the front. By default, this is the order in which they were added to the report page. The
printing order typically has little effect except in the case where you have objects such as a rectangle box
with a solid fill. If you want to show text in that box, the text object would need to be in front of the
rectangle box so that the solid fill of the box do not cover the text. To change the order of objects, right-
click the object in the Report Design Workspace and either “Bring to Front” or “Send to Back”.

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3.4 The Object Inspector

The Object Inspector displays and allows you to change the settings of the currently selected report
element. You can select the required element in the report design layout, from the Report Tree or using
the drop-down menu at the top of the Object Inspector.

NOTE: If multiple objects have been selected in the Report Design Workspace, only properties common
to all selected objects will be displayed. The property values displayed will be those of the first selected
object. Amending property values when multiple objects are selected will apply the new property value to
all selected objects, and therefore should only be undertaken when the property value being amended is
intended to be applied to all selected objects. For example, if all data fields arranged horizontally in a data
type band are selected, changing the Height value (i.e., the height of the data fields) will align their
heights, but changing the Left value (the horizontal position of the data fields from the left margin) will
cause the fields to overlay. Also, amending property values for multiple selected objects should generally
only be undertaken when objects of the same type are selected.

The Object Inspector has two tabs: Properties and Events.

The Properties tab (displayed by default) displays and allows editing of the display and print properties for
the currently selected element, such as horizontal and vertical position, height and width, name, color, etc.
The available properties vary between different element types (e.g., a line object has different properties
to a memo object), and also between elements of the same type but different function (e.g., the
ReportTitle band has different properties to the MasterData band). Appendix A provides detailed
information about the available properties for the more commonly used objects.

The Events tab is used in conjunction with the Code tab to call procedures (sub-programs) before or after
certain events during the course of the generation or printing of the report. For details, see Understanding
Procedures and Events.

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3.5 The Data Tree Pane

The Data Tree pane displays, amongst other information, the data fields (columns) from iTWO costX®
Workbooks (in the Data tab) and other iTWO costX® data, such as Project Name, Building Name, etc. (in the
Variables tab).

Data Tab

The Data tab displays the workbook data sets (e.g., Workbook Level 1, Workbook Level 2) selected when
the custom report was created (optionally this may also include the corresponding Rate and / or Quantity
sheet Data Set details if the Include Rate Sheets and / or Included Quantity Sheets checkboxes were ticked
when the custom report was created).

Listed beneath (and indented from) each of the listed data sets are the data fields (columns in the
workbook and additional system data fields) for the data set. These can be dragged and dropped from the
Data Tree pane into the Report Design Workspace. Normally these would be dropped into the appropriate
data type band corresponding to the same data set – the data set the band corresponds to is displayed on
the right side of the band header bar as shown below.

Further data sets pertaining to Collection Page and Final Collections Summary are displayed beneath the
workbook data sets. Use of these requires advanced functions, such as coding and Subreport objects.

The Data tab additionally displays at the bottom of the Data Tree pane list window the Drawing Register
data set pertaining to the drawing register information for the Building in iTWO costX®. These data fields
can be dragged and dropped from the Data Tree pane into the Report Design Workspace into a data type
band which has been added to correspond to the Drawing Register data set (the data set the band
corresponds to is displayed to the right hand side of the band header bar).

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Beneath the data tree pane list window are checkboxes for Create Field (which is ticked by default), Create
Caption (which is not ticked by default) and Sort by Name (which is not ticked by default). These options
have the following functions:

Checkbox Function
Create Field If ticked, a memo field will be created when the data field is dropped into the
Report Design Workspace containing an expression which will return the data from
the workbook for the selected data field.
Create Caption If ticked, a memo field will be created when the data field is dropped into the
Report Design Workspace containing a caption (the name of the data field as text)
for the selected data field.

NOTE: If both Create Field and Create Caption are ticked, the placement
position for the fields when dropped into the Report Design Workspace will be
that of the memo field containing the expression. The memo field for the caption
will be placed immediately above.
Sort by Name If ticked, the data fields will be displayed in alpha-numeric sort order in each of
the data sets displayed in the Data Tree pane.

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Variables Tab

The Variables tab displays data sets pertaining to other iTWO costX® data.

The iTWO costX Report Keywords data set contains data fields for the currently open Building which is not
derived specifically from the workbook details – for example Building Name, Building Code, Project Name,
Project Code, UOM, etc.

The iTWO costX Workbook User Column Headings data set contains data fields pertaining to the names of
the 50 User Columns of the currently selected Workbook (i.e., the workbook which was active when the
custom report was created or edited).

The System Variables data set includes system variable data fields – for example current date, current time,
page number, total number of pages in report, etc.

The data fields within the Variables tab can generally be dragged and dropped directly onto the Report
Design Workspace page or into bands as required for the report layout.

Functions Tab

The Functions tab contains mathematical, formatting and other functions which are generally used in
conjunction with the Code tab. Instructions for how to add functions to a code script and details about some
commonly used functions are provided in the Customizing Reports with Scripts section.

See also:
· Using Aggregate Functions
· Using the XGetNamedCell Function

Classes Tab

The Classes tab displays the internal system based data required for the report and is not covered in this
manual.

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3.6 Toolbars
The Standard, Text, and Frame toolbars, together with the Alignment Palette, are located at the top of the
user interface by default. These toolbars allow you to quickly perform common actions, such as previewing
a report or formatting the currently selected object. A complete reference guide to the control buttons
contained in these toolbars can be found in Appendix B.

You can reposition these toolbars to suit your work style or hide unused ones.

To show or hide a toolbar, from the top menu, select View > Toolbars > the desired toolbar.

To move a toolbar, select the toolbar that you want to move by clicking its anchor point, and then drag it to
the new position.

In addition to the top toolbars, an Objects toolbar (shown right) is provided at the
leftmost area of the interface and can be used to switch between Select, Pan, Zoom
and the various object insertion tools (e.g., for bands, pictures, lines, etc.).

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4 Basic Report Design

4.1 Managing Pages
When a new template is created, it has three report pages, each with a corresponding page tab. These are
Code, Data and Page 1.

The Code and Data report pages are special pages in the report template and are not directly included in
the outputted report. The Code page can have program code added to it to calculate additional data (which
isn’t itself included within the workbook directly), such as bill references, page and collection totals and
summaries and the like for inclusion within the outputted report. The Data page effectively contains the
data required for the report. It does not contain any user configurable settings or options and therefore
should not be amended. Both the Code and Data pages cannot be deleted or rearranged.

The Page 1 report page is a blank report page (report section) within which the report design can be
created. This page and other additionally added pages can be renamed, removed, or rearranged if
necessary.

Adding and Renaming a Page

1. On the Standard toolbar, click the (New Report Page) button. A blank page will appear on a new tab.

2. In the Object Inspector, rename the page by changing the ‘Name’setting.

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Removing a Page

1. Right-click the tab for the page that you want to delete.

2. From the context menu, select Delete Page.

Rearranging Pages

When the report is run, each report page (report section) is previewed or printed in the order in which the
page tabs are arranged from left to right (as they are displayed on the left of the user interface above the
report tree). You may sometimes need to rearrange the page tabs so that all sections appear in the correct
order when they are previewed or printed.

To rearrange the pages, perform the following steps:

1. Select the page tab that you want to move/reorder.

2. Press and hold the left mouse button and drag the selected tab left or right.
· To move a tab to the left, drag it onto the tab before which you want to insert the selected tab.
· To move a tab to the right, drag it onto the tab after which you want to insert the selected tab.

A page symbol will appear under the cursor as you drag the tab across other page tabs.

3. Release the left mouse button. The order of the page tabs will be amended accordingly.

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Page Setup

Before you start working on a page (e.g., after creating a new custom report or adding a new report page), it
may be beneficial to firstly set up the page according to the requirements for the outputted page in the
final report.

For a multi-page template, each page can have different page settings.

To change the settings for a single report page, open the page to which you wish to apply the settings, and
then click File > Page Settings or double-click over a blank region of the page.

NOTE: Page settings can also be configured in the Object Inspector.

In the Page Options dialog, with the Paper tab, set the paper size, margins, and page orientation.

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In the Other Options tab, you can set the number of columns for multi-column reports and configure the
following settings.

Option Description
Print to previous page Prints the report page to the blank space on the previous page instead of
starting on a new page.
Mirror margins Switches the left and right margins on even-numbered pages when
previewing or printing the report.
Endless page width/height Increases page size depending on the number of data records on the page
(when the report is run). If selected, the report will appear on one big
page in the preview window instead of on several standard size pages.
Large height in design mode Increases the page height in the Designer. This only affects the page
height in design mode and is useful when there are many bands on a page
or when working with overlay bands.

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4.2 Composing Static Pages

A static page is only intended to be a single page within the outputted report, such as a cover page for the
overall report or a back page with additional notes. Static pages do not include any repeating data from the
Workbook or Databook and can be constructed with the report objects being placed directly on the report
page (i.e., without using bands).

Creating a static page in the Report Designer is very similar to using a graphics program. You insert graphics
and text or draw lines and shapes to compose a page, and the page is printed just as you see it in the Report
Designer. You can use variables to insert some changing text, but basically the page you lay out in the
Designer will look like the final page in your printed report.

The following image shows a typical static page, which contains a graphic and a variable that inserts the
name of the building containing the data to be printed to the report.

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4.3 Using Bands to Lay Out Report Pages

If a report page is intended to include data from an iTWO costX® workbook, then objects should be placed
within bands. Bands allow you to control where and when data displays on the report. They divide the
report into logical sections (such as page header, workbook data, page footer, etc.) and show you how the
report will be laid out.

The type of a band determines how the objects located within the band are printed, their printing order
and how many times they are printed. For example, the Report Title band is only printed once at the
beginning of a report, whereas the Page Header band is repeated at the top of each page if the report spans
more than one page.

You can insert different types of bands using the Insert Band ( ) tool in the Objects toolbar, and then place
different types of objects in each band to present your data. For example, after a data band is inserted,
workbook data can be added by dragging data fields into the data band.

The gap between bands can be changed in Designer Options, which can be accessed by selecting View >
Options.

For detailed information about the various types of bands, see Report Bands.

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4.4 Adding Static Text

Static text is non-variable text which remains unchanged in the report output (i.e., it is printed as you see it
on the design page). You can add static text to the report layout by using either the Text Object or the Rich
Text Object tool.

NOTE: The Text Object and Rich Text Object tools can be used to add static or dynamic text, or a
combination of both. However, adding dynamic text (such as data fields or system variables) is generally
performed more easily by dragging and dropping the required data field or variable from the Data Tree
pane into the desired section of the report.

The text in a Text Object can only be formatted as a whole. If it is required to apply different formatting to
parts of a text string, use the Rich Text Object tool. The Rich Text Object tool also allows you to load
formatted text from an external RTF file and modify any part of the loaded content.

Adding Text Objects

To add static text using the Text Object Tool, complete the following steps:

1. In the Objects toolbar, click the (Text object) button.

2. Move the mouse cursor to the Report Design Workspace. A dashed rectangular outline will appear
under the cursor.

3. Position the top left corner of the dashed outline in the required top left position for the text object
and click the left mouse button. The Memo dialog is displayed with the Text tab selected, as shown
below.

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NOTES:
· If the Memo dialog (editor) does not open automatically, double-click the text object to open it.
The default open behavior of object editors is configurable. To display the editor each time an
object is inserted, from the top menu, select View > Options to open the Designer Options dialog,
and ensure that the "Show editor after insert" option is selected.
· In the Designer Options, you can also change the font and font size for the text in the Memo
dialog. If the "Use object's font settings" option is enabled, the font settings in the Memo dialog
will match those of the object being edited.

4. Enter the required text into the main part of the Memo dialog.

NOTE: The other tabs and buttons on the Memo dialog relate to memo fields containing expressions.
For details of the four buttons in the Text tab, see Memo Dialog in Appendix C; for details of the Format
and Highlight tabs, see Formatting Memo Objects.

5. Click the OK button to insert the text.

6. Move or resize the inserted text object, or format the text and text frames as required.

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Adding Rich Text Objects

To add static text using the Rich Text Object Tool, complete the following steps:

1. In the Objects toolbar, click the (Rich Text object) button.

2. Move the mouse cursor to the Report Design Workspace. A dashed rectangular outline will appear
under the cursor.

3. Position the top left corner of the dashed outline in the required top left position for the rich text
object and click the left mouse button. The Rich Editor dialog is displayed as shown below.

4. Enter the required text into the main part of the Memo dialog and format the text as required using the
formatting buttons on the toolbar, or use the (Open File) button to open an existing RTF file (this
overwrites any existing content).

NOTE: For details of the control buttons available on the toolbar, see the Rich Editor Dialog topic in
Appendix C. The usual operating system Control Key functions (Ctrl + B, U, I, Z, Y, C, X & P) may also be
used within the main part of the Rich editor dialog.

5. Click the (OK) button to insert the text.

6. Move or resize the inserted rich text object as required.

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4.5 Adding Graphical Elements

Graphical elements (such as pictures, gradient objects, and geometric shapes) can be added directly onto a
report page or into a band using the various tools in the Objects toolbar.

Adding Pictures

You can add pictures in a variety of formats, including BMP, JPEG, ICO, WMF and EMF. To add a picture to the
current report page, complete the following steps:

1. In the Objects toolbar, click the (Picture object) button.

2. Move the mouse cursor to the Report Design Workspace. A dashed rectangular outline will appear
under the cursor.

3. Position the top left corner of the dashed outline in the required top left position for the picture object
and click the left mouse button. The Picture dialog will open.

4. At the top of the Picture dialog, click the (Load picture) button and navigate to the location of the
picture file.

5. Select the required picture file, and then click the Open button. The picture will be displayed in the
main part of the Picture dialog, as shown below.

TIP: You can use the (Copy) button to copy the currently displayed picture to the system clipboard
(e.g., to edit it in a third party graphics editor), or use the (Paste) button to paste the contents of the
system clipboard into the Picture dialog (e.g., after editing a picture in a third party graphics editor). To
clear the currently displayed picture from the Picture dialog, click the (Clear) button. Clicking the
(Cancel) button will close the Picture dialog without applying any changes.

6. Click the (OK) button to insert the selected picture.

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Once added, the picture object can be moved or resized as required. If the picture object is inserted into a
band, its borders must fit entirely within the band borders.

You can also adjust the picture using the right-click menu options.

Option Description
Auto Size Resize the picture to its original size.
Stretch Stretch the picture to fit the picture object frame.
Center Centers the picture horizontally or vertically within the borders of the
picture object.
Keep Aspect Ratio When resizing the picture, maintain its aspect ratio to prevent distortion.
NOTE: This option is only valid when the Stretch option is enabled.

As the picture object will be displayed in front of the existing objects, it may obscure some of the existing
objects on the report page after it is inserted or resized. To use the picture as the background, right-click
the picture object and select the Send to Back option from the context menu. The picture object will be
moved behind all other existing objects.

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Adding Gradient Objects

A gradient object is a box with or without border lines which has two colors specified and which graduates
from one color to the second color across the width and/or height of the object.

To add a gradient object, complete the following steps:

1. In the Objects toolbar, click the (Gradient object) button.

2. Move the mouse cursor to the Report Design Workspace. A dashed rectangular outline will appear
under the cursor.

3. Position the top left corner of the dashed outline in the required top left position for the gradient
object and click the left mouse button. The gradient object will be inserted at the specified position.

Once the gradient object has been added, it can be moved or resized as required.

The various settings for a gradient object (such as colors and gradient style) can be amended in the Object
Inspector. Common settings that should be amended are outlined below.

Property Description
Align If the gradient object is to fill a band or report page (e.g., as a background), selecting
the ‘baClient’option will expand the gradient object to fill the band or report page.
The gradient object then cannot be repositioned or resized but it will automatically
resize with the band or report page. Other Align options work in the same way as for
a picture object (covered in more detail in the Picture Objects section of Appendix A).

TIP: After the gradient object is expanded, it may obscure some of the existing
objects. To redisplay the obscured objects, right-click the gradient object and select
the Send to Back option from the context menu. The gradient object will be moved
behind all other existing objects.

BeginColor Allows the beginning color for the gradient object to be selected from a palette of
available colors. The position from which the beginning color commences is
dependent on the specific gradient Style selected for the object.
EndColor Allows the ending color for the gradient object to be selected from a palette of
available colors, the position in which the ending color finishes is dependent on the
specific gradient Style selected for the object.

NOTE: The Color property adjusts automatically based on the selected begin and
end colors and cannot be amended.

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Style Allows the style for the gradient object to be selected from a range of available styles
(i.e., specifies how the two selected gradient colors are painted across the object).
Possible options are shown below (the examples below use a beginning color of
white and an ending color of grey).

gsEllipic

gsHorizCenter

gsHorizontal (default)

gsRectangle

gsVertCenter

gsVertical

NOTE: The remaining property settings for the gradient object in the Object Inspector are similar to
those for a Picture object (covered in more detail in the Picture Objects section of Appendix A).

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Using the Draw Tool

The Draw tool in the Objects toolbar allows lines, arrows, rectangles and other geometric shapes to be
selected from a menu, as shown below, for insertion into the currently displayed report page or a band.

Adding a vertical or horizontal line

1. Click the Draw button in the Objects toolbar.

2. From the menu that displays, select the (Line object) option.

3. Move the mouse cursor to the Report Design Workspace. A crosshair mouse cursor (together with a
pencil icon) will be displayed.

4. Position the crosshair where you want the line to begin, and then press and hold the left mouse button
and drag the mouse cursor horizontally or vertically to the end point.

5. Release the mouse button when done.

Adding a diagonal line

1. Click the Draw button in the Objects toolbar.

2. From the menu that displays, select the (Diagonal line) option.

3. Move the mouse cursor to the Report Design Workspace. A crosshair mouse cursor (together with a
pencil icon) will be displayed.

4. Position the crosshair where you want the line to begin, then press and hold the left mouse button and
drag the mouse cursor diagonally to the end point.

5. Release the mouse button when done.

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After a straight line is added, the line color, line style and line weight can be adjusted using the Frame
Color, Frame Style and Frame Width buttons in the Frame toolbar. These and other settings (including
whether to display arrow heads at the ends of the line) can also be adjusted in the Object Inspector. For
detailed information about the available settings for a Line object, refer to the Line Objects section of
Appendix A.

TIP: Diagonal lines with arrow heads can also be drawn by selecting one of the alternative diagonal line
options from the Draw button menu.

Adding a geometric shape

1. Click the Draw button in the Objects toolbar.

2. From the menu that displays, select the required shape (Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse,
Triangle or Diamond).

3. Move the mouse cursor to the Report Design Workspace. A dashed rectangular outline will appear
under the cursor.

4. Position the top left corner of the dashed outline in the required top left position for the shape, and
then click the left mouse button. The selected shape will be inserted.

Once added a shape object can be moved or resized as required. The background color, line color, line style
and line weight for the shape can be adjusted using the Background Color, Frame Color, Frame Style and
Frame Width buttons in the Frame toolbar. These and other settings can also be adjusted in the Object
Inspector.

Adding Checkboxes

Checkboxes can be added to display True/False or Checked/Unchecked states in a report, by displaying a

check mark or a cross mark.

To insert a checkbox onto the currently displayed report page or into a band, complete the following steps:

1. In the Objects toolbar, click the (CheckBox) button.

2. Move the mouse cursor to the Report Design Workspace. A dashed rectangular outline will appear
under the cursor.

3. Position the top left corner of the dashed outline in the required top left position for the checkbox and
click the left mouse button. The checkbox will be inserted at the specified position.

Once added the checkbox can be moved or resized as required. The settings for the checkbox can be
amended in the Object Inspector.

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4.6 Adding Data Fields from a Workbook

In the Report Designer, data fields (representing worksheet columns) from an iTWO costX® workbook are
displayed in the Data Tree pane located on the right side of the interface. To display workbook data in a
report, you need to add the required data fields into one or more data bands in the report layout.

IMPORTANT: When data fields are included within a data type band, data from each row of the selected
worksheet columns will be included in the outputted report. Conversely if data fields are placed directly on
the report page, only the first row of the selected worksheet columns will be included in the outputted
report.

Each data field that can contain a number appears in the Data Tree pane once as text and once as a number.
The “(as Text)“ values are the values that have the same number formatting as in the workbook with the
correct number of decimal places. If a column contains text such as “nil”, the “(as Text)” value will have this
text. The “(as Number)” values are there so that calculations can easily be done on the value from the
workbook. For example, you can calculate a sum of all the values in a particular column as a part of the
report.

Data fields are linked with a specific data set (e.g., Workbook Level 1 or Workbook Level 2) and listed under
the data set they belong to. You can add a data field to the report by dragging and dropping it from its
parent data set into the required data band as described below.

1. Ensure the required data band is visible in the Report Design Workspace.

NOTE: For detailed information on how to add a data band to the report layout, refer to the Using
Data Bands to Include Workbook Details section.

2. In the Data Tree pane, ensure the Create Field checkbox at the bottom of the pane is ticked and the
Create Caption checkbox is not ticked.

3. Navigate to the required data set in the Data Tree and select the required data field. (The example
below shows the ‘Description’data field being selected from the ‘Workbook Level 2’data set.)

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4. Press and hold the left mouse button and drag the selected data field into the required data band.

IMPORTANT: When dragging a data field into a data type band, the data set that the data field is
dragged from must correspond to the data set assigned to the data band (this is displayed on the right
side of the header bar for the band).

5. A dashed rectangular outline will appear under the cursor. Position the top left corner of the dashed
outline in the required top left position for the data field and release the left mouse button to insert
the data field.

Once added, the data field object can be moved or resized. If the right border of the data field object is not
visible (i.e., it is beyond the right border of the page), the ‘Width’setting for the object may be adjusted in
the Object Inspector to a smaller value to make it visible. Attributes, such as font and font styles (bold,
italic, underline), can be modified as required using the toolbars at the top of the interface or the Object
Inspector.

The text (expression) for the data field object is a reference to the data set and data field and is enclosed
within square brackets (e.g., [Workbook Level 2."Description"]). After adding a data field, you can easily
change it to a different one from the same data set by hovering the mouse over the existing data field, and
then clicking the drop-down arrow and selecting a new data field from the list.

NOTE: If the drop-down arrow does not appear when hovering the mouse over an existing data field,
select View > Options, and then in the Designer Options dialog, tick the "Show drop-down fields list"
option.

See also Displaying Data in Tabular Format.

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4.7 Adding System Variables

System variables are placeholders for system information (such as date, time, and page number) and can be
placed directly on a report page or within a band.

You can add a system variable either by dragging and dropping it from the Variables tab into the desired
section of the report, or using the System Text tool in the Objects toolbar.

To add a system variable using the System Text tool, complete the following steps:

1. In the Objects toolbar, click the (System Text) button.

2. Move the mouse cursor to the report design workspace. A dashed rectangular outline will appear under
the cursor.

3. Position the top left corner of the dashed outline in the required top left position for the system
variable, and click the left mouse button.

4. In the System Memo dialog, ensure the System variable radio button is selected, and then use the
drop-down arrow to select the required variable. Available options are outlined in the table below.

Variable Description
[DATE] The current system date.
[TIME] The current system time.
[PAGE#] The current page number.
[TOTALPAGES#] The total number of pages.
[PAGE#] of [TOTALPAGES#] The current page number and the total number of pages.
[LINE#] The row number from the workbook.

5. Click the OK button to insert the selected variable.

Once added the system variable object can be moved or resized. Refer to the Moving and Resizing Objects
section for detailed information.

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4.8 Using Aggregate Functions

An aggregate function is a function which performs a calculation on a set of values and returns a single
value. Aggregate functions allow you to summarize your data, for example, to show a summary total at the
bottom of each page in the outputted report.

iTWO costX® Custom Report Designer provides the following aggregate functions which can be used to
calculate the data in a single band.

Function Description
SUM Returns the sum of a set of numbers.
MIN Returns the minimum value in a set of values.
MAX Returns the maximum value in a set of values.
AVG Returns the average of a set of numbers.
COUNT Returns the number of rows in a set of rows.

Each function (except the COUNT function) takes three arguments:

§ The data field to be calculated and its hierarchical position in the workbook structure (Workbook
Level 1, Workbook Level 2, etc.);
§ (Optional) The name of the band which contains the data field to be calculated; and
§ (Optional) An integer from 1 to 3 to indicate the following:
· 1 - include invisible bands in the calculation.
· 2 - calculate the running total (cumulative sum).
· 3 - enable both options 1 and 2.

The COUNT function takes two arguments:

§ The name of the band which outputs the data rows to be counted; and
§ (Optional) An integer from 1 to 3 to indicate the following:
· 1 - include invisible bands in the calculation.
· 2 - calculate the running total (cumulative sum).
· 3 - enable both options 1 and 2.

When using aggregate functions, they should be placed in a footer band, such as a page footer, group footer
or column footer band.

The easiest way to insert an aggregate function is to use the Text or the System Text object, as you don't
need to worry about the syntax of the function when using these two methods. You can simply select the
type of function that you want to insert and fill in some required information. The inserted function will
automatically get the correct syntax.

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To insert a function using the Text object:

1. In the Objects toolbar, click the (Text object) button.

2. Move the mouse cursor to the report design workspace. A dashed rectangular outline will appear under
the cursor.

3. Position the top left corner of the dashed outline in the required top left position for the aggregate
function, and click the left mouse button.

4. In the Memo dialog, click the (Insert Aggregate) button.

5. In the Insert Aggregate dialog, select the appropriate options from the following fields:

Field Description
Function The type of function you want to use.
Data band The name of the data band which contains the field you want to calculate.
DataSet The data set that the selected data band corresponds to. This field is
automatically filled with the correct data set when a data band is selected.
DataField The data field that you want to apply the function to.
Count invisible bands Tick this option if you wish to calculate the data in a hidden band (a band with
the 'Visible' property set to False).
Running total Tick this option if you wish to calculate the running total (cumulative sum).

For example, to show the sum of the Total column on every page in a report which contains the
detailed cost breakdown at Workbook Level 2, the fields should be filled in as below.

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6. When the required options have been selected, click the OK button to add the function to the Memo
dialog.

7. Click the OK button on the Memo dialog to insert the function to the report.

To insert a function using the System Text object:

1. In the Objects toolbar, click the (System Text) button.

2. Move the mouse cursor to the report design workspace. A dashed rectangular outline will appear under
the cursor.

3. Position the top left corner of the dashed outline in the required top left position for the aggregate
function, and click the left mouse button.

4. In the System Memo dialog, select the Aggregate value radio button, and then fill in the relevant fields
as described above.

5. Click the OK button to insert the function.

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4.9 Using the XGetNamedCell Function

Listed under the Data category of the Functions Tab, the XGetNamedCell function is used to return a text or
numerical value from a named cell in the currently selected workbook into a memo field included either
directly on the report page or in a data type band. After the XGetNamedCell has been dragged and dropped
onto the Report Design Workspace, it will need to be edited to include the name of the named cell.

To edit the memo field created after adding the XGetNamedCell function, complete the following steps:

1. Double-click the memo field. The Memo dialog will open displaying the default blank XGetNamedCell
function, as shown below.

2. Delete the comma within the round brackets of the function and insert in lieu the name of the named
cell (case insensitive) enclosed within single quotation marks (apostrophes).

For example, to return the name (text) of the surveyor compiling the report if the surveyor's name has
been included in a named cell named as "Surveyor" within the workbook, the function in the memo
field would be: [XGetNamedCell(‘Surveyor’)].

NOTE: If the named cell contains a numerical value, you can select the desired number format in the
Format tab in the Memo dialog. For more information, see Number Formatting.

3. Once the required amendments have been made, click the OK button.

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4.10 Concatenating Static Text and Expressions

An expression is any combination of explicit values, fields, operators, variables, and functions that
evaluates to a single value. You can combine any number of static text entries and expressions in a single
Text object. When you surround text with square brackets [], the text is treated as an expression. During
the report generation process, the report engine will calculate the expressions enclosed in square brackets
and insert the values in place of the expressions.

For example, if you type the following in a Text object:

Today is [Date].

When running the report, you'll get something like this:

Today is 2018/3/9.

You can use brackets to create more complex expressions, such as [1+2*(3+4)].

In some situations it may be necessary to use the square brackets as static text. You can do this by either
disabling the 'AllowExpressions' property of the Text object, or using an alternative set of symbols to
denote expressions.

Disabling the 'AllowExpressions' property allows you to display square brackets as static text, but it also
disables handling of other expressions in the same Text object. If you wish to use the square brackets as
static text, while still maintaining the ability to use expressions in the same Text object, you can use the
'ExpressionDelimiters' property to specify a different set of symbols to denote expressions.

When specifying a new set of symbols, use a comma to separate the opening and closing symbols. For
example, to use angle brackets to denote expressions, type in the symbols "<,>". Another requirement is
that the opening and closing symbols cannot be identical, so "%,%" will not work. You can use more
complex symbols, such as "<%,%>" (in other words, the syntax of a date variable would be " ").

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4.11 Manipulating Objects

You can select, move, resize and align report objects (such as text, picture or line objects) on the report
page or within bands, as well as have their settings or contents amended.

Selecting Objects

Before you select any object, ensure the object selection tool ( ) in the Objects toolbar is enabled.

To select an individual report object, click the required object on the report page. Small black squares
appear around the object indicating that it has been selected.

To select multiple objects, press and hold the Shift key and click each of the objects you want to select.

To select all objects within a band, click on any object in the band, and then press Ctrl+A.

To select all objects within a rectangular area, with the Ctrl key pressed, press and hold the left mouse
button and drag a rectangle around the objects you wish to select.

To clear the selection, click anywhere outside the report objects.

Moving and Resizing Objects

To move an object, press and hold the left mouse button whilst the mouse cursor is positioned over the
required object, and then move the mouse in the required direction.

To resize an object, click to select the required object. Small black squares (adjustment handles) will appear
around the object. Move the mouse cursor over one of the adjustment handles, and then click and drag to
enlarge or reduce the size of the object.

When an object is being moved or resized, automatic alignment guides (in the form of blue lines) will
appear when the borders of the object align with the borders of nearby objects or with the page margins.
This helps you to line up objects quickly. For detailed information on other alignment tools, refer to the
Aligning Objects section.

TIP: You can also move or resize an object by defining the exact position and dimensions of the object
using Direct Coordinate Entry.

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Amending Object Properties

Once an object has been selected, its settings can be amended in the Object Inspector. Further details of
the settings for the commonly used object types are provided in Appendix A of this manual.

You can also use the toolbars located at the top of the user interface to modify some of the commonly used
formatting properties for an object.

Amending Object Contents

To modify the content of an object, ensure the object selection tool is enabled, and then double-click the
required object. The relevant dialog box will open allowing the content to be amended.

To edit a memo object in place on the report page, select the Edit Text Tool ( ) from the Objects toolbar or
press and hold the Alt key, and then click over the required memo object in the report layout. The content
of the memo object will be selected. The arrow keys on the keyboard can be used to select the required
insertion or editing point within the text string or expression. After you finish editing the content, click the
memo object once more to exit the Edit mode.

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4.12 Report Settings

The Report Settings dialog lets you configure a number of general properties for the report. To access the
dialog, from the top menu, select Report > Options.

General

In the General tab, you can tie the report to a particular printer. This means that the selected printer will
become the default when printing that report. This is useful if you have multiple printers installed on your
network. For example, reports consisting largely of text can be tied to a monochrome printer, whereas
reports with graphics can be tied to a color printer. The Default option is selected by default - when this is
selected, the report will not be tied to any printer and will be printed to the system default printer.

You can also specify the number of copies to print, and choose whether to collate or not. These settings will
become the default settings when printing the report.

If the Double pass option is selected, the report will be generated in two passes. This allows performing, in
the first pass, the calculation of important parameters that can be used in the second pass, for calculations
or display. This option is useful if you want to include the total number of pages in the report with each
page number - for example, "Page X of Y". The total number of pages is calculated during the first pass and
is made available via the "TOTALPAGES" system variable.

NOTE: If the "TOTALPAGES" variable is used in a single-pass report, the variable will return 0.

Another use of two passes is to display the sum in the group header instead of in the group footer.
Calculations of this type are accomplished by writing scripts in the "OnBeforePrint" event of an object.

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Print if empty allows printing reports without data bands. If this option is disabled, you cannot preview or
print a report that does not contain any data band.

The Password field allows you to set a password, which must be entered before the report can be opened.

Description

Descriptive information about the report can be entered in the Description tab. All fields in this tab are for
informational purposes only and will not be printed.

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5 Report Bands
Bands are available in vertical and horizontal orientations. This section addresses horizontal bands only.
Vertical bands are not covered in this manual.

5.1 Types of Bands

The following table summarizes the types of horizontal bands available. Because some bands can be moved
after they are added whereas others cannot, this table also tells you which band types can be repositioned.

Can be
Band type Description
repositioned
Report Title · Typically displays report title or unique header for first page. No
· Prints only once at the beginning of a report, before or after
the Page Header band, depending on the value of the
'TitleBeforeHeader' property of the report page.
NOTE: To modify the value of this property, click any blank
space on the report page, and then modify the value using the
Object Inspector.
· Can only be added once on each report page (section).

Report Summary · Typically displays report totals. No

· Prints only once immediately below the last row of data in the
body of the report.
· Can only be added once on each report page (section).

Page Header · Typically displays report title, company logo, column headings. No
· Prints at the top of each page, except the first page where it is
printed after the Report Title band.
· Can only be added once on each report page (section).

Page Footer · Typically displays page number, report date. No

· Prints at the bottom of each page.
· Can only be added once on each report page (section).

Header · Typically displays headings for the data in the data band that Yes
immediately follows it.
· The position and number of times that it prints are a function
of where it is positioned in relation to the data band(s).
· Can be added more than once on each report page (section).

Footer · Typically displays subtotals. Yes

· The position and number of times that it prints are a function
of where it is positioned in relation to the data band(s).
· Can be added more than once on each report page (section).

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Can be
Band type Description
repositioned
Data Displays data from an iTWO costX® workbook. Several types of Yes
data band are available, see Using Data Bands to Include
Workbook Details for more information.
Group Header · Typically displays group names. Yes
· Prints before the first detail row of a group.
· Can be added more than once on each report page (section).

Group Footer · Typically displays group totals. Yes

· Prints after the last detail row of a group.
· Can be added more than once on each report page (section).

Child · Must be associated with a parent band. Yes

· Typically used to supply additional information after each
record outputted from its parent band.
· Can be added more than once on each report page (section).

Column Header · Typically displays the column headings for the rows of data No
displayed in the report.
· Prints at the top of each column.
· Can only be added once on each report page (section).

Column Footer · Typically displays column totals. No

· Prints at the bottom of each column.
· Can only be added once on each report page (section).

Overlay · Typically displays watermark, background graphic or full page No

vertical lines.
· Overlays on top of the other bands.
· Can only be added once on each report page (section).

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5.2 Using Bands to Create Page Headers and Footers

When you want specific elements (such as text or pictures) to appear on every page in the report, use a
Page Header or Page Footer band. A page header appears at the top of every page, and a page footer
appears at the bottom of every page.

The Page Header band can be useful to include details such as report title, company logo, and column
headings, as the example shown below.

If you want a different header on the first page of your report. You can selectively hide the page header on
the first page, and use the Report Title band to add a unique header for this page only. To do so, perform
the following steps:

1. Select the Page Header band by clicking on the header bar for the band.

2. In the Object Inspector, select ‘False’for the PrintOnFirstPage setting.

3. Add the Report Title band and create the header for the first page in this band.

NOTE: When added the Report Title band is automatically placed at the top of the currently
displayed page above all other bands and cannot be repositioned (although can be resized). When the
report is printed or previewed, the report title band is only included on the first page even if the report
spans across multiple pages.

The Page Header band can also have line objects drawn from the page header towards the bottom of the
report page to include full page vertical lines. To do this firstly set up the required page header, in respect
to the vertical lines just draw them to the bottom border of the page header band at this stage. Once the
page header is as required, click the header bar of the page header band to select it, then expand the
Restrictions property group in the Object Inspector and change the setting for the rfDontSize property to
‘True’. Now extend the vertical lines to the required position at the bottom of the page. Alternatively an
Overlay band can be added to the report page and full page vertical lines drawn within the Overlay band.

The Page Footer band may be used in a similar manner to the page header band but to repeat at the bottom
of each page in the report section.

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5.3 Using Data Bands to Include Workbook Details

Data bands are used to include details from an iTWO costX® workbook. The Insert Band tool in the Objects
toolbar provides several data band options (shown below) which allow iTWO costX® workbook data to be
used in the report.

When adding a data band, you must select a data set (the type of workbook sheet and the level at which it
occurs) for the band so the system knows where to look for the workbook data. After a data set is assigned
to the data band, the band can only contain data fields from the selected data set or other non-data objects.
Although each of the above data bands can have any of the available data sets selected, they are intended
to be used as follows:

Band Used to include

Master Data Data from Workbook Level 1, Quantity Level 1 or Rate Level 1
Detail Data Data from Workbook Level 2, Quantity Level 2 or Rate Level 2
Subdetail Data Data from Workbook Level 3, Quantity Level 3 or Rate Level 3
Data 4th Level Data from Workbook Level 4, Quantity Level 4 or Rate Level 4
Data 5th Level Data from Workbook Level 5, Quantity Level 5 or Rate Level 5
Data 6th Level Data from Workbook Level 6, Quantity Level 6 or Rate Level 6

NOTE: In the Custom Report Designer, the Cost sheets in an iTWO costX® workbook are available as data
sets named Workbook Level 1, Workbook Level 2, etc. If the Rate or Quantity sheets are included when
creating the Custom report, the Rate/Quantity sheets associated with the top level Cost sheet will be
available as a data set named Rate Level 1/Quantity Level 1, the Rate/Quantity sheets associated with the
second level Cost sheets will be available as a data set named Rate Level 2/Quantity Level 2, and so on.

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To insert a data band into the currently displayed report page, complete the following steps:

1. In the Objects toolbar, click the Insert Band button.

2. Select the required type of data band. The band will be inserted into the report page and the Select
DataSet dialog box will appear.

3. In the Select DataSet dialog, select an appropriate data set as per the table above and leave the
Number of Records field at the default value of 0 (this will include all data from the selected data set).

NOTE: By clicking the square button to the right of the Filter field, you can open the Expression
Editor and define an expression to filter data rows in the output report. For example, if the expression
<Workbook Level 1."Total (as Number)">>1000 is used, the workbook level 1 data rows will be filtered
to show only rows whose total is greater than 1000.

4. Click the OK button to assign the selected data set to the data band.

If more than one data band is added to the report layout, the data bands must be arranged in the same
order from top to bottom of the report page as the hierarchy of the workbook. In other words, the band
relating to the highest workbook level (Workbook Level 1) should be placed at the top, whereas the band
relating to the lowest workbook level should be placed at the bottom.

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For example, to create a report which has each 'group' row from the top level Cost sheet as a summary line
immediately followed by its related ‘detail’ rows from level 2 Cost sheet (as shown in the first graphic
below), the report page should have the Master Data band placed first with the data set selected as
'Workbook Level 1' followed beneath by the Detail Data band with the data set selected as 'Workbook Level
2' (shown in the second graphic).

Data fields then need to be added into these two bands to specify which column(s) of the relevant Cost
sheet should be included in the report. By adding data fields as shown below, the contents in the
Description column of level 1 Cost sheet will be used as the summary lines (group headings), and the
contents in the Description, Quantity, Unit, Rate, and Total columns of level 2 Cost sheet will be displayed
as item details under each summary line. For detailed information on how to add data fields, see Adding
Data Fields from a Workbook.

IMPORTANT: If a report is only required to print the data fields from the Workbook Level 2 data set, it
still requires a ‘MasterData’band linked to the Workbook Level 1 data set, albeit that this band will be left
blank in this scenario.

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By default when several data bands are used on a report page using data from different levels of a
workbook, the rows from the higher levels of the workbook are only included in the outputted report if the
lowest level data band has data to display in the report for the associated higher levels (i.e., the lowest
level data band is not empty in the report). This is determined by the ‘PrintIfDetailEmpty’setting for each
data band, which by default is set to ‘False’. To include the rows from the higher level data bands even if
the lowest level data band is empty, select the required data band on the report page or from the report
tree to display the data band properties in the Object Inspector, and then change the ‘PrintIfDetailEmpty’
setting to ‘True’.

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5.4 Headers and Footers of Data Bands

Each data band (a band whose name starts or ends with the word Data) may have a header and a footer. You
generally use the Header band to display headings for the data outputted from the data band, and use the
Footer band for subtotals. The Header and Footer bands do not have to be added as a pair. If both of them
are used, they must have at least one data band separating them on the report page and they cannot have
other header or footer bands between them.

Header Band

A Header band can be added more than once on a report page (section) but each must be associated with a
different data band. In other words, they must have at least one data band separating them. Each Header
band must be placed directly above the data band it is to appear prior to in the outputted report, as shown
in the example below. When added this band may need to be repositioned above the required data band
and it can also be resized.

The content of the Header band appears once before all data (rows in a workbook) in the data band which
immediately follows it on the report page. Consequently the position of and the number of times which
the content of the Header band appears in the outputted report are a function of where it is positioned in
relation to the data band(s).

For example, if it is positioned above all data bands (or the report page only includes a single data band), it
will be included once at the beginning of the body of the outputted report. If the report page contains two
data bands (say representing the Level 1 Cost Sheet (termed MasterData) and Level 2 Cost Sheet (termed
DetailData) from an iTWO costX® Workbook) and the Header band is positioned between the two data
bands, it will be included after each grouping row from the Level 1 Cost Sheet (MasterData) and therefore
before each group of rows from the Level 2 Cost Sheets (DetailData) belonging to each of the grouping rows
from the Level 1 Cost Sheet.

In the example above, "Header 1" will appear once in the outputted report above the Workbook Level 1
data (i.e., above the first row from the level one workbook only as there is only one level one workbook
sheet). "Header 2" will appear in the outputted report above each set of the Workbook Level 2 data (i.e.,
above the first row from each level 2 worksheet), as indicated below.

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Footer Band

A Footer band can be added more than once on a report page (section) but each must be associated with a
different data band. In other words, they must have at least one data band separating them. Each Footer
band must be placed directly beneath the data band they are to appear after in the outputted report. When
added this band may need to be repositioned below the required data band and it can also be resized.

The content of the Footer band appears once after all data (rows in a workbook) in the data band which
immediately precedes it on the report page. If the report page only includes a single data band (say
representing the Level 1 Cost Sheet (termed MasterData) from an iTWO costX® Workbook) and the Footer
band is placed after this data band, the footer will be included once at the end of the body of the outputted
report (i.e., directly after the last row from the Level 1 Cost Sheet).

If the report page contains two data bands (say representing the Level 1 Cost Sheet (termed MasterData)
and Level 2 Cost Sheet (termed DetailData) from an iTWO costX® Workbook) and the Footer band is still
positioned after the first data band (as the example below for Footer 1), the content of the Footer band will
still be included once only at the end of the body of the outputted report - this time after all lower level
data and any footer associated with the lower level data. If the Footer band however is positioned after the
second data band on the report page, the footer will be included in the outputted report after the last row
from each lower level worksheet.

In the example above, "Footer 2" will appear in the outputted report beneath each set of Workbook Level 2
data, whereas "Footer 1" will appear once only in the outputted report beneath all of the Workbook Level 1
data and its associated Workbook Level 2 data (and the associated footer for the Level 2 data).

NOTE: It's possible to display "Footer 1" beneath each set of Workbook Level 2 data and the associated
footer for the Level 2 data (i.e., Footer 2) instead of displaying it once only at the end of the report. To do
this, set the 'FooterAfterEach' property of the MasterData band to TRUE, or right-click the MasterData band
and select "Footer After Each Row" from the context menu.

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5.5 Using Bands to Group Data

The Group Header band allows you to group data by a single field, or create more complex expressions as
the grouping criteria. It also contains objects that output group header information, such as group names. A
Group Footer band can be used along with the Group Header band to display additional summary
information at the bottom of each data group, such as group totals. A Group Header can be used without a
Group Footer, but a Group Footer must have an accompanying Group Header.

Group Header Band

To add a Group Header band, use the Insert Band tool in the Objects toolbar. After selecting the Group
Header band, the Group dialog is displayed, allowing you to specify a grouping condition. You can either
specify a data field as the grouping criterion, or create a new grouping expression. The use of grouping
expressions is an advanced function and is not covered in this manual.

To group data by a particular field, complete the following steps:

1. In the Break on section of the Group dialog, ensure the Data field radio button is selected, and then
specify the data field that you want to use as the grouping criterion.

For example, to group the data from an iTWO costX® workbook such that each 'Description' row from
Level 1 Cost sheet is displayed as a header immediately followed by the detail rows from its related
level 2 Cost sheet, the grouping criterion should be selected as the 'Description' data field from the
‘Workbook Level 1’dataset, as shown below.

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2. In the Options section, specify how you want to display the data groups. The available options are
explained in detail below.

Option Description
Keep Group Together If unchecked (and if the Start New Page option is also unchecked), the
group heading and the relevant group data (workbook rows) will
immediately follow the prior group on the same outputted report page.

If checked, the group heading and the relevant group data (workbook
rows) will only immediately follow the prior group on the same
outputted report page if the entire group will fit into the available space
at the bottom of that page, otherwise the group heading will start on a
new page in the outputted report.
Start New Page If unchecked, the group heading and the relevant group data (workbook
rows) will immediately follow the prior group on the same outputted
report page (See also Keep Group Together above).

If checked, it forces a page break at the end of each group and each
group heading will start on a new page in the outputted report.
Show in Outline If checked, each group heading will be displayed in the Outline Tree and
can be clicked to jump to its location when previewing the report.

NOTE: The Outline Tree can be displayed or hidden by clicking the

(Report Outline) button located at the top of the Preview screen.

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Option Description
Drill Down If checked, the group headings in the Preview screen can be clicked to
collapse or expand the data (workbook rows) within that group.

If unchecked, clicking the group heading has no effect.

NOTE: When this option is enabled, you can control whether all
groups are collapsed or expanded when the report first runs. By default,
all groups are collapsed. If you want them expanded, set the
'ExpandDrillDown' property to True. You can also use the context menu
in the Preview window to expand or collapse all groups at once.
Reset Page Numbers If unchecked, page numbering will be continuous.

If checked, resets the page number to 1 at the beginning of a new group.

IMPORTANT: To use the Reset Page Numbers option, the Start New
Page option also needs to be enabled and the page numbering variables
(System Variables) used on the report page should be the [Page] and
[TotalPages] variables, but not the [Page#] and [TotalPages#] variables.

TIP: A further option which may be useful is the Reprint On New Page option. When turned on, this
will repeat the group header on all pages if the group overflows a single page in the outputted report. If
turned off, the group header will only be displayed at the start of the group in the outputted report.
The Reprint On New Page option can be turned on or off by right-clicking over the title bar of the Group
Header band and selecting the Reprint On New Page option. It can also be turned on or off by changing
the ReprintOnNewPage setting in the Object Inspector to either ‘True’(On) or ‘False’(Off).

3. Once all required options have been selected, click the OK button to save the changes and close the
Group dialog.

4. Place objects (such as data fields) that output group header information into the Group Header band.
The band can be resized to accommodate the required objects.

In the example described in step 1, the [Workbook Level 1."Description"] data field should be placed
into the Group Header band.

5. Reposition the Group Header band (if necessary) so that it is above the required data band.

In the example described in step 1, the Group Header band should be positioned between the Master
Data band and the Detail Data band, and the Detail Data band should contain the required data fields
from the Workbook Level 2 data set.

NOTE: In this example, although the Master Data band is not used to output any workbook data (i.e.,
it is left blank), it is needed for the Detail Data band to output data properly. For the detailed rules on
how to add data bands, see Using Data Bands to Include Workbook Details.

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Group Footer Band

When added the Group Footer band may need to be repositioned below the required data band and it can
also be resized. The content of the Group Footer band appears after the last detail row of each data group.

A Group Footer band can be added more than once but each must have an associated Group Header band. If
several pairs of group headers and group footers have been added, the association between the group
headers and group footers is determined by their relative positions on the report page. For example, if two
pairs of group headers and group footers have been added, the first occurring group header at the top of
the report page will be associated with the last occurring group footer at the bottom of the report page, and
the last occurring group header will be associated with the first occurring group footer. This is illustrated in
the example below.

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5.6 Child Band

A Child band can be used to supply additional information after each record outputted from another band.

After a Child band has been added, it needs to be associated with one of the existing bands (also termed
the ‘parent’band). The content of the Child band will be included in the outputted report directly after
each instance of the Parent band. Consequently if a Child band is associated with a data type band (i.e., a
band which prints in turn data from the rows of a workbook), the content of the Child band will be included
after each row of data; if the Child band is associated with a Page Header band, the content of the Child
band will be included at the bottom of the page header on every page. When the Child band is associated
with a data type band, the child band repeats after every row from the workbook, therefore it can be useful
for including horizontal lines in the report to separate each row (although this can also be done by other
means e.g., a line object or border).

To assign a parent band to a Child band, firstly select the required parent band, and then in the Object
Inspector select the name of the required Child band using the drop down selection tool of the ‘Child’
property. Once the child and parent bands have been associated with one another as described above, the
Child band is automatically repositioned immediately beneath the Parent band.

To ensure that each instance of the Child band stays on the same page as its parent record, set the
'KeepChild' property of the parent band to True in the Object Inspector, or alternatively right-click the
parent band and enable the Keep Child Together option.

Child bands can be added more than once on a report page but each must be associated with a parent band.
If a Child band is not associated with a parent, it will not be included in the outputted report.

TIP: A faster and more convenient method of adding Child bands is to right click over the band with
which the Child band is to be associated and select the Add child band option. This will add the Child band
and automatically associate it with the parent band and will also automatically position it on the report
page.

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5.7 Overlay Band

The Overlay band may be used to include objects such as a watermark, background graphic or full page
vertical lines. It has one fundamental difference to the other types of bands: whereas all of the other band
types appear in the outputted report in turn in a specific order, the Overlay band does not - it ‘overlays’on
top of the other bands.

The vertical positions of the objects in the Overlay band can be amended by clicking the required object
within the band and in the Object Inspector selecting the required distance from the top of the page by
adjusting the ‘Top’Setting. The horizontal positions of the objects can be similarly adjusted by adjusting
the ‘Left’setting.

When working with Overlay bands, the Overlay band may need to be enlarged (by dragging down the
bottom border) perhaps even such that it is nearly the same size as the outputted report paper size. In such
circumstances the height/length of the Report Design Workspace can be enlarged also to accommodate
this, the outputted report paper size is not altered however.

To enlarge the height of the design workspace, select the Page Settings option from the File menu. When
the Page Options dialog is displayed, click the Other Options tab located at the top of the dialog, then place
a tick in the Large Height in Design Mode checkbox and click the OK button to close the dialog.

Only one Overlay band should be added for the currently selected report page.

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5.8 Manipulating Bands

You can select a band and all objects within the band, and then move or copy them as one unit. You can also
resize a band by adjusting its height.

Selecting the Entire Band

To select a band, click the colored header bar for the band. The contents of the band will also be selected.

Moving a Band

When added some bands are automatically placed in the appropriate location and cannot be re-positioned,
whereas others may need to be re-positioned by the user. The Band Types table includes information
about which types of bands can be repositioned.

If you need to reposition a band, perform the following steps:

1. Select the band that you want to move.
2. Press and hold the left mouse button and drag the selected band up or down the page to the desired
new position.
3. Release the left mouse button.

Copying and Pasting a Band

In a report template, certain bands (such as a Page Header band) may need to appear on several report
pages (sections). You can copy the entire band from an existing page and paste it onto other pages.

To copy a band and all objects within the band to another report page, perform the following steps:
1. Select the band that you want to copy by clicking the colored header bar for the band. The contents
of the band will also be selected.
2. Press Ctrl+C.
3. Switch to the report page onto which you want to paste the selected band.
4. Press Ctrl+V. A copy of the selected band will appear and move up and down with the cursor.
5. Click anywhere on the page and the pasted band will position itself on the page.

Resizing a band

Bands always occupy the entire width of the printable area, but their heights can be adjusted either by
changing the Height property in the Object Inspector, or by dragging the bottom edge of a band.

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6 Formatting Reports
6.1 Aligning Objects
Precisely aligning objects on a design page will give your final report a more polished and professional feel.
The Report Designer provides several useful tools to make this easier and more efficient. You may use one
or more of the following tools to quickly align objects on the design page.

Ruler Guidance Lines

When a report page is displayed, the rulers at the top and left of the page show the margins of the page and
the distances down and along the page (by default in cm) from the origin – the top left corner of the page
after the margins.

Guidance lines can be dragged from each of the rulers onto the Report Design Workspace to assist in
accurately positioning and aligning items within bands as well as items placed directly on the report page.
To drag a guidance line onto the Report Design Workspace, position the mouse cursor over the vertical or
horizontal ruler, press and hold the left mouse button and drag the mouse cursor over the Report Design
Workspace. When the required position is achieved, release the left mouse button. The guidance lines are
displayed on the workspace in blue, as shown below, and are not included in the printed or previewed
report.

1. Hold left mouse button. 2. Drag over to required position 3. Release left mouse button.
on Report Design Workspace.

Automatic Alignment Guides

When you resize or move an object with the mouse, automatic alignment guides, in the form of blue lines,
appear when the borders of the object align with the borders of nearby objects or with the page margins.
This makes it very easy to line up objects quickly when you are designing a page.

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Alignment Palette

The Alignment Palette allows the Show Grid and Align to Grid functions to be turned on or off as required
and allows the Fit to Grid function to be used. It also provides controls for quickly distributing and aligning
the currently selected objects. This toolbar is hidden by default. To display the Alignment Palette, select
View > Toolbars, and tick the Alignment Palette option.

You can use the Show Grid button to display or hide the grey reference grid on the workspace.

TIP: By enabling the "LCD grid color" option in the Designer Options, which can be opened by clicking
View > Options, the contrast of the gridlines can be increased. This will improve their visibility on LCD
monitors.

The reference grid is a fixed grid which shows the same spacing regardless of magnification. The default
grid spacing is 0.5 centimeter. You can change the layout units to inches or pixels in the Designer Options.
Alternatively, simply double-click the left part of the status bar where the current layout unit is displayed
to cycle through the units.

In the Designer Options dialog, you can also use the Size field to the right of the selected unit type to
specify the snap spacing on the grid.

NOTE: Snap spacing is used to control snap precision, whereas grid spacing is the distance between
gridlines shown on the workspace. Snap spacing and grid spacing can be different. For example, when using
Centimeters as the layout units, the grid spacing is maintained constant at 0.5 cm, but the snap spacing can
be changed at any time to make objects snap in smaller or larger increments (such as 0.25 cm or 1 cm). You
may make the snap spacing smaller as you zoom in and work on more detailed areas, and larger as you
zoom back out.

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If Align to Grid is enabled, when you move or resize an object on the grid, the object will snap in
increments defined in the Size field.

To use the Fit to Grid feature, firstly select the required object, and then click the Fit to Grid button on the
Standard toolbar. All four reference points / corners of the selected object will snap to the nearest
increment.

For detailed information about other controls on the Palette, refer to Appendix B.

Direct Coordinate Entry

You can also align objects precisely by entering the exact size and position coordinates. To do this, simply
select the required object with the mouse, and then in the Properties tab in the Object Inspector, enter the
size and position values in the Top, Left, Width and Height fields.

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6.2 Formatting Memo Objects

Memo objects are objects which have been created using the Text Object tool in the Objects toolbar or
have been created by dragging and dropping data fields from the Data Tree pane to the report layout.
Memo fields may therefore contain directly entered text, expressions, or a combination of both. Memo
fields may also include ‘Functions’such as If statements (and other functions displayed in the Functions tab
in the Data Tree pane).

You can apply various formats to Memo objects to make the outputted data easier to read.

Standard Formatting

All aesthetic aspects of a Memo object can be modified through the Object Inspector. However, commonly
used formatting options (such as font, font size, alignment, color and text frames) can be more easily
accessed from the Text and Frame toolbars located at the top of the user interface. These two toolbars
contain typical formatting controls found in nearly every text editor and word processor. For detailed
information on each control button in these toolbars, refer to the Text Toolbar and Frame Toolbar sections
in Appendix B.

Number Formatting

If the expression in a Memo object evaluates to a number, you can modify the number formatting using the
Format tab in the Memo dialog.

NOTE: The Format tab works with expressions evaluating to numbers rather than text. For example, if
1.00 is entered in the text field, it would be text; if the expression [Workbook Level 2."Total (as Number)"]
is entered into the text field, this would be an expression evaluating to a number.

The most common use of the Format tab is to select a number format for Rate and Total data fields after
they are dragged and dropped from the Data Tree pane into a data band. It also allows you to set the format
for a date/time or a Boolean value.

To select a number format, complete the following steps:

1. Double-click the required Memo object to open the Memo dialog.

2. In the Memo dialog, click the Format tab, and then select the Number Category.

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3. Select the required format from the formats list. Available options include:

Option Description
Format 1234.5 Number as it is calculated in the workbook (including all calculated
(Format String = %g) decimal places, the calculated decimal places in the workbook may be
different to the displayed decimal places in the workbook).
Format 1234.50 Number to a fixed number of decimal places (the number value after
(Format String = %2.2f) the full stop in the Format String field may be adjusted to increase or
decrease the fixed number of decimal places, e.g., %2.3f or %2.0f).
Format 1,234.50 Number to a fixed number of decimal places with a thousands
(Format String = %2.2n) separator (the number value after the full stop in the Format String
may be adjusted to increase or decrease the fixed number of decimal
places e.g., %2.3n or %2.0n).
Format $1,234.50 Number to a fixed number of decimal places with a thousands
(Format String = %2.2m) separator and a currency symbol (the number value after the full stop
in the Format String field may be adjusted to increase or decrease the
fixed number of decimal places e.g., %2.3n or %2.0n).

4. (Optional) Modify the Format string and Decimal separator fields if necessary.

Refer to the table above for detailed information on how to modify the format string.

To change the decimal separator from the default character, enter the required character in the Decimal
separator field.

5. Click the OK button to save the changes.

If you wish to use a different thousands separator from the default one, select the required memo object,
and then in the Object Inspector, expand the ‘DisplayFormat’ property group and enter the required
separator character in the ThousandsSeparator field.

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Conditional Highlighting

The Highlight tab in the Memo dialog allows you to highlight specific data outputted from a memo object
based on one or more conditions.

To create a condition, complete the following steps:

1. Double-click the required Memo object to open the Memo dialog.

2. In the Highlight tab of the Memo dialog, click the Add button at the right of the Conditions field.

3. In the Expression Editor dialog, create the required conditional expression in the Expression field.

As an example, if the Memo object contains an expression returning the value of the [Workbook Level
2. "Total (as Number)"] data field, to create a simple condition to highlight values more than 1000 in the
outputted report, expand the Workbook Level 2 data set in the Data tab and locate the "Total (as
Number)" data field, then double-click on it to insert it into the Expression field. Click at the end of the
expression and append it with >1000 and then click the OK button.

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4. Define the highlighting style to be applied to the data that meets the specified condition by using the
following settings: frame, fill, font, and object visibility. You may turn on and off each setting.

NOTE: It is possible to define a different style for each condition when multiple conditions are
created. Simply select the required condition and then customize the highlighting style using the style
settings.

5. Click the OK button to save the changes.

TIP: You can also use the Object Inspector to choose an alternative font or font size to highlight the
specified data. To do this, expand the ‘Highlight’property group and the ‘Font’ property group, and then
select the required font and/or font size.

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Copying Formatting between Memo Objects

You can copy the formatting (font, border, alignment, color, etc.) that you have applied to a Memo object
and add it to another Memo object. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Select the required source Memo object (i.e., the object having the formatting which is to be applied to
other objects).

2. In the Objects toolbar, click the (Copy Format) button.

3. Click over the destination memo object(s) (i.e., the object(s) to which the formatting is to applied).

NOTE: Data fields relating to an iTWO costX® workbook can be set up to inherit font formatting from the
workbook. For more information, see Replicating Workbook Fonts for a Data Field.

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Replicating Workbook Fonts for a Data Field

It is possible in the report to replicate the font and font style (bold, italic, underline, etc.) selected in the
iTWO costX® workbook for each data field on each row (i.e., for each row of data in the worksheet column
specified by the data field).

To achieve this, a formatting command needs to be inserted in front of the expression created
automatically by dragging and dropping the data field into a band. The detailed procedure is as follows:

1. In the Report Design Workspace, double-click the required data field.

2. In the Memo dialog, insert the following formatting expression before the start of the existing
expression. The colored elements shown below will need to be specific for the actual data field. The
example below is the formatting string for the [Workbook Level 2."Description"] data field (the
Description column from the Level 2 Cost Sheet of a workbook).

[ApplyFormat(<Workbook Level 2."Line Format">, 'Description', WorkbookLevel2Description)]

NOTE: When using the above expression, you can find the values of the green and red elements for
each data field in the Object Inspector. The Green element is the name of the data set (this is the value
shown in the ‘DataSet’property field for the data field, shown below), and the red element is the name
of the data field itself (this is the value shown in the ‘Name’ property field, shown below). The cyan
element is the name of the column from the workbook (e.g., Code, Description, Quantity, etc.).

3. Click the OK button to save the modified expression.

TIP: In addition to the ApplyFormat function, several other functions can also be used in the same way to
take some of the formatting from the workbook and apply it to the report. For details of these functions,
see Using Scripts to Apply Workbook Formats to the Report.

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6.3 Displaying Data in Tabular Format

To display data in tabular format, align the memo objects in the data band side by side so that there is no
space between them, and then set the data band and memo objects to the same height. An example is
shown below.

Changing the Look of a Table

The look of a table can be changed by adding or removing borders around the objects within the data band.

In the example above, if the three memo objects within the data band only have a border at the bottom,
the outputted table will look like below:

Adding a border around all four sides of the objects will result in a table similar to the following:

The color, weight, and line style of a border, as well as the background color of the table can be changed
using the Frame Toolbar.

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Adding a Border Around a Table

To put a border around the outside of a table and leave the cells inside borderless, complete the following
steps:

1. Add a Page Header band and a Report Summary band. Both bands will be automatically placed at the
appropriate position on the report page.

2. In the Page Header band, add a blank Text object, set the Text object and the Page Header band to the
same height, and add a bottom border to the Text object.

3. In the Report Summary band, add a blank Text object, set the Text object and the Report Summary band
to the same height, and add a top border to the Text object.

4. In the Data band, add a left border to the leftmost object, and add a right border to the rightmost
object.

5. Preview the report. A border around the table should now be displayed.

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Displaying Multi-line Text

Sometimes the text in some cells of a table can be too long to fit inside the cell. Turning on Word Wrap will
get the text to wrap around within the cell, but it will not automatically adjust the height of a cell to fit all
the text in the cell.

To enable the cell height to adjust automatically when the text wraps into multiple lines, you can use one
of the following two methods.

Method 1: Enable the 'Stretch' property for both the data band and memo object(s) that output long text.
1. Right-click the band and select Stretch from the context menu; or alternatively select the band, and
then in the Object Inspector, set the 'Stretched' property to 'True'.
2. Right-click the relevant memo object(s) and select Stretch from the context menu; or alternatively
select the object(s), and then in the Object Inspector, set the 'StretchMode' property to
'smActualHeight'.
When using method 1, cell heights are adjusted to match the size of the data in the cells. This is generally
only useful when creating a table without visible lines dividing the rows and columns. If the table has cell
borders and cells in the same row contain data of different lengths, the vertical cell borders will have
different heights, as shown in the example below. In such a case, method 2 should be used.

Method 2: Enable the 'Stretch' property for the data band and the 'Stretch to Max Height' property for all
objects within the band.
1. Right-click the band and select Stretch from the context menu; or alternatively select the band, and
then in the Object Inspector, set the 'Stretched' property to 'True'.
2. Select all objects within the data band, and then right-click and select Stretch to Max Height from
the context menu, or alternatively set the 'StretchMode' property to 'smMaxHeight' using the Object
Inspector.
When using this method, all cells in the same row will stretch vertically to occupy the same height as the
tallest cell. Using the same example, the cell borders will now display properly as below.

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6.4 Applying Shading to Alternate Rows

If you are working with large tables of data, you can highlight odd or even (alternate) rows of data with
colors to improve the readability of your report. This can be done using conditional formatting as follows:

1. Move the existing objects outside of the data band.

2. Add a blank Text object into the data band.

3. In the Memo dialog, select the Highlight tab, and then do one of the following:
· To shade all odd rows, type <Line> mod 2 = 1 in the Condition field.
· To shade all even rows, type <Line> mod 2 = 0 in the Condition field.

NOTE: The MOD function divides the row number by 2 and returns the remainder. For example, for
the fifth row, 5 mod 2 equals 1 (5 is divided by 2 to give a remainder of 1); for the sixth row, 6 mod 2
equals 0. As a result, either all odd rows or all even rows meet the condition and will be shaded.

4. In the Background section of the Highlight tab, click Other and select the color that you want to use to
shade every other row, and then click the OK button.

5. Click the OK button on the Memo dialog to apply the condition.

6. Resize the blank Text object to fit the band space.

7. Right-click the blank Text object and select Stretch to Max Height from the context menu.

NOTE: Stretch to Max Height automatically stretches the shading to the bottom of each row, thus
ensuring that the entire row is shaded even if a specific row contains multiple lines of text and has
larger row height.

8. Add back the objects that were previously moved out of the data band.

Preview the report. Alternate rows in the data table should now be shaded with the chosen fill color.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Customizing Reports with Scripts

7 Customizing Reports with Scripts

A script is a list of commands that are executed by a certain program or scripting engine. The iTWO costX®
Custom Report Designer includes a built-in scripting engine to allow for advanced, programmatic
customization of reports. By using scripts, you can manipulate data in ways that are not possible using the
normal operations of reports. For example, scripts can be used to hide unwanted data based on predefined
conditions.

A script can be written in any one of the following languages:

· PascalScript
· C++Script
· BasicScript
· Jscript

This section is intended for users who have no prior knowledge of any programming language, and
therefore will only focus on the use of Pascal, which is a relatively easy language.

7.1 Scripting Basics

To access the scripting interface, simply click the Code tab. Pascal is selected by default as the
programming language . You can add or modify scripts using the Script Editor .

TIP: The font and font size used in the Script Editor can be changed in the Designer Options, which can be
accessed by selecting View > Options.

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Structure of a Pascal Program

The basic structure of a Pascal Program is:

PROGRAM ProgramName; // optional

declarations // optional
BEGIN
executable statement 1;
executable statement 2;
END.

The first line of the program is the heading which can be optionally added to indicate the name of the
program. The heading is followed by declarations (also optional), statements that define the terms used in
the program. The word BEGIN signals the start of the actual instructions (executable statements). Each
instruction is separated by a semicolon. The end of the program is indicated by the word END, followed by a
period.

The scripting language is not case sensitive, so "Begin" and "begin", or "End" and "end" mean exactly the
same thing. Indenting each Pascal statement is not required, but is a generally accepted good practice
because it helps to make the program clearer.

To demonstrate a simple example of a Pascal program, enter the following script in the editor.

Preview the report. A message box with the text entered will appear.

Once you click the OK button, the report preview will generate as usual.

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Understanding Procedures and Events

Before we dive into further details of Pascal scripting, it is important to first understand what are
"procedures" and "events".

Procedures can be thought of as small programs. Sometimes they are called sub-programs. A procedure in
Pascal starts with a begin and ends with an end just like a program. The example script in the previous
section contains only a main procedure, which is executed at the very start of running the report. In the
main procedure initial settings can be made. However, this is not enough for total control over the process
of report generation. To enable as much control as possible over report generation, every object has
several events which procedures can be assigned to.

Events make it possible to control at which stage of the report generation process a procedure is executed.
Each event of an object relates to a separate timing in the production of that object. By using the different
events of different objects, practically every step of the report creation process can be managed. To access
the events of an object, select the required object, and then click the Events tab in the Object Inspector.
The following shows the four events of a MasterData band.

To add a new procedure, double-click in the empty field adjacent to the relevant event, the field will
automatically be filled with the name of the procedure whose execution will be triggered by that event,
and the Code tab will open with the cursor positioned between the begin and end keywords of the new
procedure that has been automatically created. You can then write code to specify what happens when the
event occurs.

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A procedure can be tied to the events of more than one object. To assign an existing procedure to an event,
either type the name of the procedure directly into the Object Inspector, or select it from the drop-down
list, as shown below.

To be able to manipulate report data with procedures, you must tie the procedures to the correct events.
To do this, it is particularly important to understand the output process of a data band, which is outlined
below.

1. The “OnBeforePrint” event of the data band is called (i.e., the procedure associated with this event
is executed).
2. The “OnBeforePrint” event of each object within the band is called.
3. Each object is filled with data (for example with values from the workbook).
4. The “OnAfterData” event of each object is called.
5. Actions such as positioning objects in the band (if there are stretchable objects among them),
calculating band height and stretching the band (if it is stretchable) are performed.
6. The “OnAfterCalcHeight” event of the band is called.
7. A new output page is created if data in the band cannot fit into the available space of a page.
8. The band and all of its objects are displayed on the output page.
9. The “OnAfterPrint” event of each object within the band is called.
10. The “OnAfterPrint” event of the band itself is called.

In general, most actions can be performed using the “OnBeforePrint” event of the data band. As this event
is called at the beginning of the band output process, modifications made to an object are displayed
immediately. One situation where the “OnBeforePrint” event cannot be used is when the procedure
involves stretching the band. At the time the "OnBeforePrint" event of the data band is called, it is still
unknown which page the band will be printed to, because calculation of the band height is performed in
step 5. Procedures involving stretching the band should therefore be tied either to the
“OnAfterCalcHeight” event in step 6 or to the “OnAfterPrint” event in step 9. Note that when the last event
is called, the band will already have been output, so applying modifications to any object using this event
will not have any visible effect.

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Using Conditional Statements

After an empty procedure is inserted and tied to the appropriate event, you can start writing code to
specify what happens when the event occurs. Very often you will want to manipulate the report output
based on different conditions. You can do this by using conditional statements in combination with
functions.

This section explains the use of the following conditional statements. Details on how to add functions are
provided in the section that follow.

· if...then
· if...then...else

When you want your program to execute a statement only if a certain condition is met, you use:

if boolean_condition then
statement

A Boolean condition returns a Boolean value True or False. If the Boolean condition is True, the statement
after then is executed.

When you want your program to execute one statement if a certain condition is met, and another
statement if the condition is not met, you use:

if boolean_condition then
true_statement
else
false_statement;

A semicolon is not required before the else keyword if there is only one True statement.

If you need two or more True or False statements, the group of statements must be placed within a "begin
... end" block, and each statement must be separated by a semicolon, as shown in the examples below.

if boolean_condition then if boolean_condition then

begin begin
statement 1; statement 1;
statement 2; statement 2;
statement 3; end
end; else
begin
statement 3;
statement 4;
end;

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Adding Functions

iTWO costX® provides a wide range of functions that can be used for various purposes, such as performing
calculations, applying specified formatting and evaluating conditions. The functions are available in the
Functions tab in the Data Tree pane.

To add a function to your code, place the cursor where you want the function to be inserted, and then
double-click the required function in the Functions tab. iTWO costX® will insert the function name followed
by a pair of parentheses. You can then enter the arguments in the parentheses. A short description of what
the function does will be displayed in the hint box at the bottom right.

NOTE: Aggregate functions cannot be used independently in a script. To use an aggregate function in
your code, it must already be inserted to the report page and connected to a band. If an aggregate function
only appears in the script, an error will occur when generating the report.

Referencing Data Fields and Variables

To reference a data field or variable in your code, the correct syntax must be used. For example, a data field
uses the following syntax, with the name of the field and its hierarchical position in the workbook structure
enclosed in angle brackets.

<Workbook Level #."Field">

You generally don't need to worry about the syntax, unless you type the name of the data field or variable
directly in your code. To insert a data field or variable into your code, simply place the cursor where you
want it to be inserted, and then in the Data tab or Variables tab, double-click the required data field or
variable. The inserted item will automatically get the correct syntax.

EXAMPLE
if <Workbook Level 1."Total (as Number)"> =0 then
(*Execute some code*)

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Accessing Object Properties from a Script

In some cases, the script code may need to read or modify the value of an object property. You can access
all of the object properties available in the Object Inspector from the script. To modify the value of a
property in your script, use the following syntax:

ObjectName.ObjectProperty := PropertyValue

"ObjectName" is the name of an object shown in the 'Name' property field of the Object Inspector.
"ObjectProperty" is the name of the property, such as color, width, and height. In the following example,
the color of an object called "Memo1" is set to red. When running the report, this object will be displayed
with a red fill color.

begin
Memo1.Color := clRed
end.

NOTE: The values that can be used for the 'Color' property are displayed in the Color drop-down list in
the Object Inspector.

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7.2 Using Scripts to Apply Workbook Formats to the Report

In the report output, the formatting of workbook data is determined by formatting settings of the data
fields on the report page, but not by formatting settings in the workbook. For example, the following
workbook contains a mixture of plain and bold text. This will not be reflected on the report output as each
column in the outputted report will consist entirely of either bold or plain text, depending on which font
style the corresponding data field on the report page uses.

By using the following functions in your script, you can overwrite this and take some, or all, of the
formatting from the workbook and apply it to your report. These functions are available under the
Formatting category of the Functions tab.

Function Description
ApplyAlignment Applies the alignment (left, center, right) defined in the workbook to the
corresponding fields of the report.
ApplyColor Applies the font colors defined in the workbook to the corresponding fields
of the report.
ApplyFont Applies the fonts (Arial, Calibri, etc.) selected in the workbook to the
corresponding fields of the report.
ApplyFormat Applies all formatting defined in the workbook to the corresponding fields
of the report.
ApplyStyle Applies the font styles (bold, italic, underline) selected in the workbook to
the corresponding fields of the report.

Each of these functions takes three arguments:

1. The format you want to take;

2. Where you want to take it from; and
3. Where you want to apply it to.

Suppose we want to apply the font styles used in the Description column of the workbook to the report so
that the Description column on the report output also has a mixture of plain and bold text as shown above.
We can do this by inserting a procedure tied to the "OnBeforePrint" event of the relevant data band, and
then using the ApplyStyle function with the following three arguments in the code.

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The first argument specifies that we want to take the line formatting defined in Workbook Level 1. This
value can be inserted by double-clicking the Line Format data variable under the Workbook Level 1 folder
in the Data tab.

The second argument specifies that we want to take the formatting from the Description column. The
column name must be enclosed in single quotation marks.

The third argument identifies which data field on the report page to which we want to apply the style of
formatting (from the Workbook Level 1 Description column). In this example, the name of the data field is
'WorkbookLevel1Description1' - this is the value shown in the ‘Name’ property field of the Object
Inspector.

TIP: To quickly insert the name of a data field, simply select the required data field on the report page,
copy the value from the Name field in the Object Inspector, and then paste it into your code.

Similarly, we can use the same function to apply the style of formatting from other columns in the
workbook to the corresponding columns in the report. The following shows the script which applies the
style of formatting from the Workbook Level 1 Description, Quantity, Unit, Rate, and Total columns to the
report.

NOTE: The same result can be achieved by inserting the required formatting function in the Memo dialog
of the relevant data field. For details, see Replicating Workbook Fonts for a Data Field.

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7.3 Using Scripts to Apply Conditional Formats

With conditional formatting, you can apply formatting to selected cells based on criteria that you choose. In
this section, we'll look at how to indent items based on a certain condition.

The workbook shown on the left below has a mixture of bold text sub-headings and plain text item
descriptions in the Description column, but after the data is outputted to the report, both sub-headings and
item descriptions are displayed in plain text, which makes it difficult to read. One way to make the sub-
headings stand out is to bold them by applying workbook formats to the report. Another way is to indent
the item descriptions.

To indent item descriptions, we must tell the Report Designer how to identify the rows containing item
descriptions, and how much to indent. In the workbook, all sub-headings have bold style, while all item
descriptions are in normal font style. We can therefore use the HasBoldStyle function to check if a row is
bolded and identify rows that are not bolded as item descriptions.

The HasBoldStyle function takes two arguments:

1. The formatting you want to check; and

2. The field (column) you want to check.

In this example, both the sub-headings and item descriptions are located at Workbook Level 2 and we only
want to check the line formatting in the Description column, we can therefore insert a new procedure tied
to the "OnBeforePrint" event of the [Workbook Level 2."Description"] data field and use the HasBoldStyle
function in combination with the if...then conditional statement as follows:

In the code shown above, the first argument of the HasBoldStyle function specifies that we want to check
the line formatting in Workbook Level 2. This value can be inserted by double-clicking the Line Format data
variable under the Workbook Level 2 folder in the Data tab. The second argument specifies that we want to
check the formatting in the Description column. The column name must be enclosed in single quotation
marks.

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So far, we haven't specified the amount of indentation required. To do this, we need to modify the 'Left'
and 'Width' properties of the [Workbook Level 2."Description"] data field. The current values of these two
properties are:

· Left (left coordinate of the Description column) = 0 cm

· Width (column width) = 8 cm

Suppose we want to indent the item descriptions by 0.5 cm. We can do this by changing the left coordinate
to 0.5 cm, and the width to 7.5 cm. The purpose for reducing the width by the same amount is to prevent
some entries from extending beyond the right boundary of the Description column. By following the syntax
described in Using Conditional Statements and Accessing Object Properties from a Script, we can add the
rest of the code as below.

NOTE: “fr1cm” is equivalent to 1 cm and is used in Custom Report scripts to set the unit to centimeter.

The following shows how the report looks after the code is applied.

See also Conditional Highlighting.

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7.4 Using Scripts to Filter the Report Output

After data fields are placed into a data band, data from each row of the selected worksheet columns will be
included in the report output. In some cases, it may be desirable to hide some of the rows. For example,
you may want to exclude rows without any quantities, such as rows 2 and 5 shown below, from being
outputted to the report.

By using conditional statements and the 'Visible' property of the data band, you can show or hide a row
based on whether the data in the row meets a certain condition.

Suppose in the example above, the columns are located at Workbook Level 1 and the corresponding data
fields on the report page are placed in a MasterData band called "MasterData3". To hide the rows without
quantities, we can insert a new procedure tied to the "OnBeforeEvent" of the MasterData band and add the
following code:

This code will check if the Total in each row of Workbook Level 1 is greater than zero. If yes, it sets the
'Visible' property of the MasterData band to True. Otherwise, the 'Visible' property is set to False.

NOTE: To learn more about the different types of syntax used in the above code, see Using Conditional
Statements, Referencing Data Fields and Variables and Accessing Object Properties from a Script.

Generating or previewing the report will now give the following output where only those workbook items
with a value in the Total column are included in the report.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Subreports (Nested Reports)

8 Subreports (Nested Reports)

8.1 What Are Subreports?
A subreport is a regular report page that is inserted in another report page (the host page). It allows the
creation of very complex reports which contain blocks of additional data inserted at particular points in the
design. Although many of these reports can be designed using bands, sometimes it just becomes too
complicated. In such circumstances it is necessary to use subreports.

Subreports are added to the host page using the Subreport Object tool. The subreport object acts as a
placeholder for data from the subreport page. When the report is previewed or printed, the contents of the
subreport page will be included in the report in place of the subreport object. In other words, the contents
of the host page before the subreport object will be shown first, then the contents of the subreport page,
and then the contents of the host page after the subreport object.

A subreport object can be added to another subreport. This allows you to use more levels of nesting than
you can with data bands, which can only be six levels deep.

An example of using a subreport object/page can be seen in the "Bill of Quantities (Classic)" report
template which is installed by default and is intended to work with a two level workbook structure. To view
this example, make a copy of the "Bill of Quantities (Classic)" report template and edit the copy of the
report. The WorkbookDataLayout page contains a subreport object named SectionCollectionPageSubreport
located at the bottom of the second child band. This subreport object is connected to the
SectionCollectionPageSubreport page. When the report is previewed or printed, the subreport object/page
includes a collection page at the end of section.

8.2 Adding Subreports

To add a subreport to a band on the current report page, complete the following steps:

1. In the Objects toolbar, click the (Subreport object) button.

2. Move the mouse cursor to the Report Design Workspace. A dashed rectangular outline will appear
under the cursor.

3. Position the top left corner of the dashed outline in the required top left position for the subreport
object within the required band, and then click the left mouse button to insert the subreport object.

The subreport object should be positioned at the bottom of the required band and no objects should be
placed within the same band beneath the subreport object. This is because the contents of the subreport
will overlay everything placed beneath the subreport object.

To display objects immediately below a subreport, add a Child band below the subreport object and place
the required objects in the Child band. This method can also be used to place several subreports one below
the other. Use a Child band for each subreport and link them together by setting the 'Child' property of
Child 1 to Child 2, and so on.

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After a subreport object is inserted, it can be moved or resized if necessary, and a new report page will be
created automatically and will be displayed for editing (the subreport page). The new subreport page is
connected to the subreport object. As the contents of the subreport page are effectively included within
the host page when the report is previewed or printed, the subreport page should not include a report title
or report summary band, a page header or page footer band, a column header or column footer band or an
overlay band. For the same reason, there is no point in changing any subreport page options, as the options
of the host page override those of subreport pages.

8.3 Side-by-side Subreports

Two or more subreport objects can be placed side by side in the same data band.

You can add subreports with rows/records of different lengths, heights or degrees of stretching.

As illustrated above, the Report Designer continues to output the host design page only after the data of
the longest subreport has been outputted. The 'VAlign' (Vertical Alignment) property can be used to adjust
Text object alignment within each subreport.

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8.4 'PrintOnParent' Property

The subreport object has a 'PrintOnParent' property which can sometimes be useful. This property is set to
False by default.

Usually a subreport is outputted as a set of bands on the host page. In this case, the height of the parent
band containing the subreport object is not controlled by the bands in the subreport (i.e., it cannot be
stretched). If the 'PrintOnParent' property of the subreport is set to True, either through the Object
Inspector or the context menu, the objects in the subreport will be printed as if they are objects within the
band which contains the subreport object. This band can then be made to stretch and can contain stretched
objects.

As an example, suppose in the "Bill of Quantities (Classic)" report template, we want to add shading to the
band containing the subreport object. We can do this by adding a colored blank Text object, as shown
below, and enabling the 'Stretch to Max Height' property of the Text object.

If the 'PrintOnParent' property of the subreport object is set to False, in the report output, the height of the
shading will be the same as that on the design page.

On the contrary, if we set the 'PrintOnParent' property of the subreport object to True, in the report output,
the height of the shading will automatically stretch downwards with the subreport data.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Charts

9 Charts
To make it easy for users to see comparisons, patterns, and trends in data, the iTWO costX® Custom Report
Designer allows you to add charts to your report to summarize data in a visual format.

9.1 Adding a Chart

1. In the Objects toolbar, click the (Chart Object) button.

2. Move the mouse cursor to the report design workspace. A dashed rectangular outline will appear under
the cursor.

3. Position the top left corner of the dashed outline in the required top left position for the chart, and
click the left mouse button.

4. In the Chart Editor, click the Add Series button.

5. Select your desired chart type and style from the Gallery, and then click the OK button.

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6. The selected chart type and style will be added to a new chart series, in which you can specify what
data you want to use to plot the chart using the fields located in the right half of the Chart Editor. You
can also modify the chart properties using the Object Inspector in the bottom left section of the Editor
(see Other Useful Settings for more details).

Suppose we have a workbook that contains the estimated total costs for different trades at Workbook
Level 1, and we want to create a pie chart to illustrate the proportions of costs for different trades. We
can set the DataSet, Label and Pie fields as below.

NOTE: A chart can contain one or more series. To change the name of a series, select the series, and
then one second later click on it again (note that this is not a double-click).

7. Click the OK button to insert the Chart object, and then preview the report to see the chart.

NOTE: The chart is only displayed when previewing the report. You will need to adjust the Chart
object to the appropriate size after previewing the report.

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9.2 Manipulating a Chart

Sorting Data

You can sort the data in a chart without having to sort the original data source. This can be done as follows:

1. Double-click the Chart object to open the Chart Editor.

2. From the top-left pane, select the required chart series.

3. In the right pane, within the Other options section, select either Ascending or Descending from the Sort
order drop-down list.

4. Click the OK button to apply the change.

In the following example, the order in which the pie slices and legend entries are displayed is the same as
the order of the data in the workbook.

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By setting the Sort order to Descending, both the pie slices and legend entries will be presented in order of
magnitude from largest to smallest.

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Limiting the Number of Chart Values

When a chart is overcrowded with many small values, it makes comparisons on the chart difficult to see and
read. The Report Designer allows you to limit the number of values displayed in a chart. If a chart has more
values than the specified limit, the smaller values will be summed up together to produce a single
composite value.

To set a limit on the number of values displayed in a chart, use the TopN values field in the Other options
section of the Chart Editor. If this field is set to 0, there will be no limits to how many values a chart can
display.

A name can be entered in the TopN caption field to label the aggregated value so that it is identified
correctly in the pie and legend.

Using the example shown in the previous section, if we set the TopN values to 9 and TopN caption as
"Others", the pie chart which originally contains 15 values will be displayed as below:

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Other Useful Settings

The Object Inspector in the Chart Editor contains some useful settings for controlling the appearance of a
chart.

The following properties are available when the 'Chart' node is selected.

Property Description
Gradient Used to apply a gradient background to the Chart object. Set the 'Visible'
property to True to show the gradient background.
Legend Used to configure various aspects of the legend. To hide the legend, set the
'Visible' property to False. To change the position of the legend, use the
'Alignment' property.

The following properties are available when a series is selected.

Property Description
ColorEachPoint If set to True, each value in the chart is displayed in a different color.
ExplodeBiggest Move or "explode" the biggest slice out of the rest of the pie chart to make it
(Only applies to pie charts) stand out. Enter a number to define the distance to push the slice away. The
higher the value you enter, the more distant it is from the center of the pie.
Marks Used to control the appearance of the labels on the chart.
ValueFormat Used to modify the number formatting for the chart.

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9.3 Charts with Manually Entered Values

In addition to charts using data from iTWO costX® workbooks, you can also create charts from manually
entered data. This method is useful when you only need to insert a simple chart.

To insert a chart using manually entered values, perform steps 1 to 5 as described in Adding a Chart. Then in
the Chart Editor, select Fixed data in the Data Source section, and enter the required values in the Values
section. Use a semicolon to separate values in the same field.

For example, by selecting bar chart as the chart type and enter the values as above, the resulting chart will
look like the one shown below.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Previewing and Printing

10 Previewing and Printing

10.1 Previewing a Report
When making changes to a report template, you can preview the report at any time to see how the changes
affect the final result.

To preview a report, click the Preview button in the Standard toolbar, or press Ctrl+P.

You can also preview a report by selecting Preview from the File menu.

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10.2 Printing a Report

To print a report, complete the following steps:

1. Do one of the following to open the Print dialog:

· Select the required template from the Reports list, and then click Generate. In the Generate
Report dialog, click the Print button.
· In the Preview window, click the Print button, or press Ctrl+P.

2. In the Print dialog, select a printer and a print mode, and specify other printing options.

Print Mode Description

Default Prints on sheets in the size defined in the report. Each preview page is
printed on one sheet.
Split big pages This mode is useful when printing an A3 report on A4 sheets. One
preview page is printed on more than one sheet. If this mode is
selected, the sheet size must be specified in the Print on sheet field.
Join small pages This mode is useful when printing an A4 report on A3 sheets. Two or
more preview pages are printed on one sheet. If this mode is
selected, the sheet size must be specified in the Print on sheet field.
Scale Print the report on specified size of sheet. The entire report is scaled.
One preview page is printed on one sheet. If this mode is selected,
the sheet size must be specified in the Print on sheet field.

3. Click the OK button to print the report.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Exporting a Report

11 Exporting a Report

After creating a report, you can export it to a number of different formats to suit the needs of the recipient,
or for further editing or archiving.

To export a report, complete the following steps:

1. Preview the report.

2. In the report Preview window, click the Save button and select your desired export format.

3. Configure the export settings for your report, and then click the OK button and save the exported file to
an appropriate location.

NOTE: For more detailed information about the settings that can be configured when exporting to
the commonly used formats, including PDF, Excel, RTF, and image files, see the relevant topics.

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11.1 Exporting to PDF

When exporting a report to PDF, the following dialog appears allowing you to configure various settings for
your PDF output.

In the Export tab, within the Export settings section, you can select one or more of the following options,
which control how your report is exported to Adobe PDF.

Option Description
PDF/A Export the file in PDF/A compliant format for archiving purposes.
Embedded fonts Embed all fonts used in the report in the PDF file. This ensures that the
report is displayed correctly on computers where the fonts are absent,
but the size of the PDF file will be increased.
Background Export background page pictures to the PDF file. This may increase the
size of the PDF file considerably.
Print optimized Output graphic images in high resolution for accurate printing. This
option is only necessary when a document contains graphics and will be
printed. Output file size will be considerably increased.
NOTE: When exporting to PDF, Rich Text objects are exported as
graphics.

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Option Description
Outline Export the report outline to the PDF file. This option is enabled only
when the report contains an outline.
Transparency Preserves the transparency of objects without flattening when creating
the PDF file.

A password can also be specified for the exported file using the Security tab.

To open the report after it has been exported, tick the Open after export checkbox.

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11.2 Exporting to Excel 97/2000/XP

Exporting a report to Excel is easy, but optimizing the report for export to Excel requires a little more effort
and know-how. This section provides some guidelines to help you get better results when exporting to
Excel.

Formatting a Report for Export

The following are some tips on how to format your report before exporting. These tips cover three areas:
· Report Page Layout
· Page Header and Footer When Exporting to a Single Sheet
· Vertical Column Lines

Report Page Layout

To minimize layout issues in the export file, you need to carefully structure the layout of Memo objects,
pictures, and other items that you insert into the report bands. The items inserted into the report bands
must be sized and aligned horizontally to be in ‘columns’. This will ensure that when the report output is
exported to Excel, the minimum number of columns will be created in the Excel workbook.

To structure the report with columns, you can make use of the blue guidance lines when moving report
items in the Designer. The following shows an example.

Report Designer Columns

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Excel Output

Overlapping Memo objects or other items inside the bands can cause the report to export to Excel
incorrectly. This is due to the way the export works - each item in the band is exported to a single cell in
Excel. Therefore, one of the overlapped items will not appear in the Excel export.

Page Header and Footer When Exporting to a Single Sheet

When exporting a multi-page report to Excel using the "All in one page" setting, all pages will be exported
to a single Excel sheet but the Page Header and Page Footer bands will print only at the beginning and end
of the sheet. To have a page heading and footer on each page when using the “All in one page” setting, you
need to structure the report in a special way, which is detailed below.

NOTE: The settings described below will not affect the output of the "like the report" setting.

· Use a normal Header or Group Header band to replace the Page Header band. Right click on the added
Header band and select the “Reprint On New Page” option.

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· To add a Footer to the bottom of the page and ensure that every page outputs to the same height, you
must add an Overlay band onto the page with the same height as the report Page minus the margins
(i.e. Page Height = 29.70cm, less 1.00cm Top Margin and 1.00cm Bottom Margin = 27.70cm).
a. Add the page footer information to the bottom of the Overlay band.
b. Add a Page Footer band that is the same height as the footer information. This will prevent the
reports data flowing to the very bottom of the page.

Vertical Column Lines

Getting vertical column lines to extend to the end of the page in an Excel export can be troublesome. The
following methods have been proven to work in most cases.

If you have not followed the “All in one page” setting layout outlined above, then perform the following
steps:

1. Add an Overlay band onto the page with the same height as the report page minus the margins (i.e.
Page Height = 29.70cm, less 1.00cm Top Margin and 1.00cm Bottom Margin = 27.70cm).

2. Add into the Overlay band memo items that mimic the page columns.
a. Stretch the memo items to the height of the overlay band.
b. Leave a gap the same height as your Header content at the top of the Overlay band.

NOTE: If you have not followed the “All in one page” setting layout and you have a Footer band filled
with content, then you must leave a gap the same height as the Footer content at the bottom of the
Overlay band.

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If you have followed the above steps and all or some of the column lines are still not exported properly,
then you can try the following tips to get it work:

· Delete and re-create the offending columns.

· Decrease the Overlay band height by a small margin (0.1) – you may need to adjust position of the
Overlay items after this change.

If the above two points don’t work for you, then a very advanced solution is to use a script to calculate the
remaining page height after your detail band, detect when a new page is going to be generated and fill the
remaining space with an unattached child band stretched to the remaining page height.

1. Add a Child band with memo items that reflect the columns (leave the Child band unattached).

2. In the code you must set the Child band and memo items to the same height of the remaining page
height whenever a new page is going to be generated. For example, if the next line to be printed by a
Master data band is larger than the remaining page height then we will need to show the Child band.

NOTE: If it is working but an extra blank page is being generated, then you will need to reduce the
height of the Child band and memo items by a small margin. Removing 1.4 should work (if it doesn’t
work, try removing 10 to 100 or more and seeing what happens).

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Configuring Export Options

When exporting a report to Excel 97/2000/XP, the following dialog appears allowing you to configure
various settings for the Excel file.

In the General tab, within the Data Grouping section, you can select one of the following options, which
control how your report is exported to Excel.

Option Description
Like the report Each page of the report is exported to a separate Excel sheet.
All in one page Generate continuous document without page breaks and page
headers/footers.
Chunks. Each chunk has (rows): You can specify how many rows each chunk consists of. Each chunk is
exported to a separate Excel sheet.

NOTE: When exporting a report to Excel 97/2000/XP, Rich Text objects are transferred as simple text.
Graphic image transfer is supported.

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Troubleshooting Excel Export

Below is a small list of problems you may encounter and how to resolve them.

Problem: The picture object (in this example the RIB logo) is causing an additional blank page to be printed
in the Excel output.

Solution: Move the picture away from the right edge of the page. If that doesn’t work then adding a memo
object to either side of each picture object should resolve the problem.

Problem: Text is cut off when previewing or printing the report.

Solution: Make sure the following settings are set to false: Auto Width, Shift, and Shift When Overlapped.
Once those settings are disabled, the solution requires trial and error adjustment of the following settings:
· Line Spacing
· Font Size
· GapY
NOTE: Excel cannot have rows higher than 409.5 Excel units. Having long text output that exceeds this
limit has been noted to cause text clipping. However, when the export handles this case properly it will
overflow the text into the next row and not cause any problems.

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11.3 Exporting to RTF

When exporting a report to an RTF (Rich Text Format) file, the following dialog appears allowing you to
configure various settings.

In the Export settings section, you can specify the following settings, which control how your report is
exported to RTF.

Option Description
Pictures Include graphics in the exported file.
Page breaks Enable page breaks in the exported file.
WYSIWYG Export the report as you see it in the Preview window. If this option is
disabled, optimization will be performed to reduce the number of lines and
columns in the exported file.
Continuous Export the report as a continuous document, without page breaks and page
headers/footers.
NOTE: To export a continuous document, the "Page breaks" option should
also be disabled.
Page Header/Footer Header/footer export mode. Available options include:
· Text - export headers and footers as normal text.
· Header/Footer - export headers and footers.
· None - do not export headers and footers.

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11.4 Exporting as Image Files

You can export a report to different image formats, including JPEG, BMP, GIF and TIFF. During the export,
the following dialog will appear allowing you to configure various settings for the image file.

To export each report page to a separate file, ensure the Separate files option is ticked. The exported files
will be named using your specified file name suffixed by a page number. If this option is unticked, all
report pages will be joined into a single long image after export.

In the Image settings section, you can specify the following settings, which control how your report is
exported to an image format.

Option Description
Monochrome Export the report pages as black and white images.
Crop pages Crop the blank space around the edges of a page.
JPEG quality Only enabled when exporting to JPEG.
JPEG quality is in the range of 1-100 (1 being the lowest quality and 100 being the
highest). In general, quality levels of 90 or higher are considered high quality, 80-
90 is medium quality, and 70-80 is low quality. Anything below 70 is typically a
very low quality image.
Resolution (dpi) Resolution of exported images.

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11.5 Sending a Report via Email

iTWO costX® allows you to send a finished report in any format required via email, without the need for a
separate mail application.

To send a report via email directly from within iTWO costX®, complete the following steps:

1. In the report Preview window, click the (Send by E-Mail) button.

2. In the Send by E-Mail dialog, click the Account tab and enter the relevant email account details for the
sender, as described below.

TIP: If you don't want to add these details again the next time you send a report by email, they can
be stored so that they can be used again later. To do this, tick the Remember properties checkbox.

Field Description
From Name The name of the sender.
From Address The sender’s email address.
Organization The sender’s organization. This field is optional.

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Field Description
Signature A signature for the email, which can be created either by clicking the Build
button, or by entering the desired text.
Host The name of the SMTP server service.
Port The port used by the SMTP server.
Login The access name, if required. The login information is used for
authorization on the specified SMTP server.
Password The authorization password, if required. The password is used for
authorization on the specified SMTP server.

3. Click the Email tab and enter the relevant email account details for the recipient.

Field Description
The email address of the recipient. Note that previously used addresses
Address
can be selected from the drop-down list.

Subject The subject of the message. Note that previously used subject text can be
selected from the drop-down list.

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Field Description
Text The message text.
Confirmation Reading Tick this checkbox to request a read receipt from the recipient.
Format The format of exported report attached to the email. Select one of the
available export formats from the drop-down list.

Mail transport Select the transport format you wish to use, which can be SMTP, MAPI or
MS Outlook.
Advanced export settings When enabled, the settings dialog for the appropriate export format will
be displayed after you click the OK button. When disabled, the default
export settings are used.
Note that this option is only available when plain authentication is
Export via email features
supported on the SMTP server. In this case, authentication is not required
and it is not necessary to enter the Login and Password details in the
Account tab.

4. Click the OK button to send the report via email.

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CUSTOM REPORTS GUIDE Worked Examples

12 Worked Examples

This section provides two worked examples to help you get started. As you work through these examples,
you can preview your changes at any time to see how they affect the final result.

12.1 Basic Editing

Some typical simple edits are described below. These have been applied to a copy of the System report
template called Elemental Summary.

Adding a Logo

To add a logo, you need to add a Picture object.

1. Click the (Image) button in the Objects toolbar.

2. Move your mouse above the PageHeader band in the design workspace. You will see a box with dotted
lines showing you where the picture object will be placed. Click to create the Picture object inside the
PageHeader band.

3. The picture selection dialog will now pop-up. Click the (Load picture) button and browse to the file
containing your logo, then click Open.

4. Click the (OK) button to accept the image you have selected. Your selected logo will now appear on
the report.

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5. To increase the size of the logo, use the resize boxes in the corners to resize the picture object to
display the logo appropriately.

6. By default, the logo is not shown with the highest possible quality. To change this, use the Object
Inspector to turn on the HighQuality option for this image by setting the HighQuality property to True.

7. We can also make it easier to find the logo later by renaming the picture object to “CompanyLogo”. To
do this, select the Name property in the Object Inspector and set it to “CompanyLogo”.

8. If you preview the report, you will now see the logo displayed in the report header.

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Creating a Cover Page

The Custom reports allow you to create multiple pages in a report. Let’s add a cover page to our report to
illustrate the basics of this functionality.

1. Select File > New Page from the menu to create the new page.

2. This will add the new page as “Page2”, appearing after the existing “Page1” of our report.

3. The order in which the tabs for the pages are displayed controls the order in which the pages will be
printed. Drag the tab for Page2 to a position between Data and Page1 so that it will print before the rest
of the report.

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4. Now let’s change its name from Page2 to CoverPage by using the Object Inspector. Names must begin
with a letter, and cannot contain any punctuation or spaces.

Notice that updating the name in the object inspector has updated the name of the page in the tabs at
the top, and in the report tree.

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5. We can select a background image for the cover page. To set the image, click on the BackPicture
property in the Object Inspector, and then click on the ellipsis (… ) button. Select the image in the same
way as previously described with the logo. In the example shown below, an image with the iTWO
costX® logo has been selected as the background image.

6. Now that we have the background image for the cover page, let’s add some text to the cover page. On
the data tree, select the Variables tab. The first set of values contains items that correspond to the
report keywords available in the standard reports. Drag the TITLE keyword in to the report to bring the
title on to the report. The custom reports use square brackets to indicate a keyword, rather than the
percentage signs used by the standard reports.

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7. To give the title a different font to the detail, use the font options on the toolbar to change the
settings. You can use the Font section of the object inspector to make the same changes if you prefer.
You may also want to resize the text object that was created for the title to a more appropriate size.

8. Let’s also add the details of the project to the cover page. First add a text object that will serve as the
label by clicking on the (Text Object) button in the object toolbar, and then clicking on the position
you want to place the label in the design workspace.

9. A box will appear prompting you for the text that should go in to this text object. Enter “Project:” and
click the OK button. Notice that the font settings we chose for the title are being applied to this new
text object. Whatever font settings are active in the toolbar are applied to all new text objects. Adjust
the font settings to suit your report.

10. Now drag in the PROJECT variable from the data tree to add the details of the project. Notice that when
you have lined up the text object for the PROJECT variable with the text object we created for the label
blue guide lines are displayed. The text will only be displayed within the area we define the text object
for, so increase the width of the project table to the full width you’d like the project to be displayed in.

11. Add text objects for the building in the same way as those for the project, using the blue guide lines to
line the building text objects up with those for the project.

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12. If you now preview the report, you will see that it prints the cover page before the rest of the report,
and includes the project and building details.

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Removing a Column from a Report

Let’s remove the Cost/m2 column from our Elemental Summary template.

1. Use the report tree to select the CostPerUnitColumnHeading.

2. Press the Delete key on your keyboard to remove this text object from the report template. Continue
on and select the WorkbookLevel1CostPerUnit text object and delete it. It is found under
WorkbookLevel1Data in the report tree. Our report now has a gap where the column used to be.

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3. Adjust the position and widths of the other columns to fill the gap left by the removal of the column. In
this example we have increased the width of the description column and moved the %BC column to the
right to fill the gap.

4. The Elemental Summary sample report brings in the formatting from the workbook for each column.
We need to remove the code that applies the formatting to the Cost/m2 column. To access the code for
the report click on the Code tab above the report tree.

5. The report object we removed from the MasterData band had the name of
“WorkbookLevel1CostPerUnit”. Look for the line in the code that refers to that text object and delete it.

6. If you preview the report, you should now see that the Cost/m2 column has been removed from the
report.

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Adding a Column to a Report

Assume that the workbook contains codes in the User 4 column, so we will add this column to the report to
show the codes in the left hand “Code” column.

1. The Elemental Summary report doesn’t have a lot of space, so use the “Removing a Column”
instructions to remove the %BC column (in addition to the Cost/m2 column previously removed) from
the report to provide more space. Arrange the remaining columns to leave some space for the codes to
the left of the Description column.

2. Select the vertical line that is after the Code column by clicking on it, and then copy it to the clipboard
by pressing Ctrl+C.

3. Press Ctrl+V to paste a copy of the line and use your mouse to position it to the left of the description
column.

4. Drag in “User4 (as Text)” from the Data tree in to the design workspace between the Code and
Description columns to add the data from this column to your report. Size it so that it fits neatly in to
the gap.

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5. Create a new text object for the column heading by clicking on the Text object button in the Object
Toolbar, and then clicking in the shaded area. Enter the text you want to use for the heading, resize the
text object as needed, and adjust the font settings as desired. See the Creating a Cover Page section for
more information about adjusting the settings of a text object if required.

6. To bring in the formatting for this column from the workbook, we need to switch to the Code tab. Click
on the “Code” tab above the report tree.

7. Look for portion of code with “// Apply the format from the workbook” above it. The code below this
comment instructs the report engine to use the formatting for a particular workbook column to format a
particular report text object. Copy one of the lines and modify it to bring the formatting through for the
User4 column as shown below.

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If you select the Functions tab above the data tree, and then
select the ApplyFormat function, you can see a help message
about this function in the lower right hand corner of the
report designer window.

The first parameter to the ApplyFormat function needs to be

the column in the report data that contains the formatting
information for the line. For level 1 of the workbook, this will
be <Workbook Level 1."Line Format">; for level 2, it is
<Workbook Level 2."Line Format">.

The second parameter is the standard name of column from

which the formatting should be taken. The user columns all
need to have to be referred to as “User1”, “User2”, etc. This
value is not case sensitive.

The third parameter is the text object to which the

formatting should be applied.

The ApplyFormat function applies all the saved formatting to

the specified text object. iTWO costX saves the font family
and size, the text horizontal alignment, and the font style
(bold, italic, and underline). If you only want to apply some
of the formatting, you can use one of the other functions
whose names begin with Apply instead of ApplyFormat.

ApplyAlignment will apply only the horizontal alignment

from the workbook cell.

ApplyFont will apply only the font family and size.

ApplyStyle will apply only the font style.

You can also call multiple functions on the same text object
to apply a combination of the above. For example to only
bring the alignment and style from the workbook use:

By applying only the alignment and style, the user is able to control the font family and size for all data
completely within the report template.

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12.2 Using a Script to Insert AutoCodes

A script can be used to generate auto-codes to reference each item that appears on the report in one of any
number of user-defined formats.

In the two-level workbook below, the element and sub-element codes have been entered in the A:Code
column however it is desired to have each item referenced on a report with the page and item number as a
letter instead (i.e., 3/A, 3/B, etc.).

Therefore, in the Custom Report Writer the Text Object tool (below) has been used to add a text object
containing a memo into the appropriate report band in the desired location . When the Memo dialog
appears, a reference to a variable called [AutoCode] has been entered as the required contents of the
report field. The Name of this report field is assigned by default, in this case Memo35, however this can be
amended if desired by over-typing the Name in the Properties tab .

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We now have to define, using code script, how the content of the AutoCode variable will be created and
appear on the report output.

Clicking the Code tab opens the script editor with any existing code visible in the script editor pane .

On the first row of script (above) enter the following code:

As the annotation (preceded by the ‘//’ characters) for each row enunciates this code names two new
variables and defines the type of information that they can hold from the following list:

Integer: any integer (whole number)

Real: any real number (a number which can have decimal points)
Char: a single character
String: a word, phrase or set of characters up to a set length
Boolean: a value of either True or False

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It is now necessary to set when the AutoCode will be incremented and in what format it will appear.

To produce an auto-code the report must first be set to run a double pass. On the first pass the script will
determine and save the auto-code, and on the second it will be retrieved and printed on to the report. By
clicking on the Report level of the report tree the Properties tab will display the various options
available. Expanding the EngineOptions folder allows the DoublePass property to be set to True .

In the case of this report, the text object containing a memo (Memo15) in which the reference to the
AutoCode variable has been positioned is in the DetailData1 report band. Therefore the incrementing and
formatting of the AutoCode variable can be linked to the events triggered by this band.

Clicking on the relevant tab re-opens the report page containing the required band.

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To assign the action of incrementing and formatting the AutoCode to the particular report band, firstly the
band needs to be selected by clicking on the appropriate branch of the tree or by clicking on the orange
band header . Opening the Events tab for the selected band will outline the list of available events that
trigger running of the code script.

Double clicking on the empty cell adjacent to the OnAfterPrint event (above) opens the Code tab and
creates the outline of a procedure which will run after each time the DetailData1 band is printed.

In between the begin and end statements in the new script procedure, entering the following code will
check on the first report pass to see whether the workbook line item being printed has a quantity
associated with it (i.e., is not a heading or a blank row) and, if so, fills and saves the AutoCode variable with
the page number, a backslash, and the item as a letter (excluding the letters I and O).

Re-opening the report page and double-clicking on the empty cell adjacent to the OnBeforePrint event will
create another new procedure which will run before each time the DetailData1 band is printed.

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In between the begin and end statements in the new script procedure, entering the following code will
check on the last report pass to see whether the workbook line item being printed has a quantity
associated with it and, if so retrieves the saved AutoCode, or else sets it to being empty.

If it is required to re-start numbering each item starting from A at the top of each new page then it will also
be necessary to reset the ItemCount variable accordingly. The event that could be used to trigger resetting
the ItemCount variable could, in this case, be the printing of the PageHeader2 report band at the top of
each new page.

By re-opening the appropriate report page, selecting the PageHeader2 report band, opening the Events tab
and double-clicking on the empty cell adjacent to the OnAfterPrint event will open the code script editor
and create another new procedure allied with the completion of printing the page header band.

Entering the following lines of code ensures that once the PageHeader2 band has printed the ItemCount
variable is reset to zero for the new output page.

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Running a Preview of the report gives the following output where, for each item in the report that has a
quantity, the elemental coding in the A:Code column of the workbook has been replaced by a code based
on the report page number followed by a backslash and then the item letter, starting at A on each page.

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13 Appendixes
13.1 Appendix A - Object Properties
Page Objects

To select a Page object, locate it within the Report Tree Pane and click on its name. A Page object is
displayed with a icon in the Report Tree Pane. Alternatively click on the required page tab.

An example of the Properties tab for a page object is displayed below:

The properties and settings have the following functions:

BackPicture Allows an image file to be selected which will be stretched to fit within the
page margins of the report page (report section).

BackPicturePrintable If ‘True’the selected BackPicture will be included in the printed output, if

‘False’the selected BackPicture will not be included in the printed output.

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BackPicturePrintable If ‘True’the selected BackPicture will be included in the previewed output,

if ‘False’ the selected BackPicture will not be included in the previewed
output.

BottomMargin Specifies the distance from the bottom of the page to bottom of the
printable area of the page (by default in cm), this may also be adjusted for
the currently displayed page in the Page Options dialog (select the Page
Settings option from the File menu).

Color Specifies the background color for the report design workspace, the
selected color neither prints nor previews.

Columns Generally should be left at the default value of 0. Splits the page vertically
into the specified number of columns on the report page, when data
exceeds the length of the first column on the outputted page it continues in
the next column, etc., when the data exceeds the length of the last column
on the outputted page it continues in the first column on the next page of
the report section.

Dataset Allows selection of a data set for the page. Not commonly used – Use Data
Type Bands instead.

Duplex Allows selection of a default duplex option for the page. Not commonly
used – Use duplex option on print dialog instead.

EndlessHeight If ‘false’ (default) the PaperSize is observed splitting the report page
(report section) onto multiple pages as needed for the length of report
section. If ‘True’ignores the PaperSize and extends the paper size vertically
to accommodate the length of the report section. Using the ‘True’values is
not commonly used as page headers and footers would only appear once
for each report section.

EndlessWidth If ‘false’ (default) the PaperSize is observed (this is the usual scenario as
data fields would normally be in columns and set to wrap and stretch as
needed). If ‘True’ ignores the PaperSize and extends the paper size
horizontally if needed (e.g., if certain other properties are selected in
combination e.g., WordWrap false, ShiftMode if overlapped and Autowidth
true) to accommodate the width of the report section. Using the ‘True’
values is not commonly used as described above.

Font (Expandable List) Allows selection of the font attributes for the page (color, font, font size,
bold, italic, underline and strikeout) - Not commonly used – Font attributes
are normally set for memo objects and are more easily selected using the
control buttons on the Toolbar.

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Frame (Expandable List) Allows selection of the frame (page border) and shadow attributes for the
printable area of the page - Not commonly used – Frame attributes are
more easily selected using the control buttons on the Toolbar, the
exception to this is where different attributes (Color, Line Style and/or Line
Width) are required for individual frame lines, in which case the
BottomLine, LeftLine, etc., expandable lists can be expanded and the
required attributes selected using the Color, Style and Width parameters.

LargeDesignHeight If ‘False’(default) the report design workspace size mirrors the PageSize for
the report page. If ‘True’ the report design workspace for the page is
enlarged to accommodate for situations where bands cannot all be viewed
in the report design workspace, for example if the overlay band is used or
there are a large number of bands, if the report design workspace is
enlarged the outputted report paper size is not altered however.

LeftMargin Specifies the distance from the left of the page to left of the printable area
of the page (by default in cm), this may also be adjusted for the currently
displayed page in the Page Options dialog (select the Page Settings option
from the File menu).

MirrorMargins If ‘False’(default) the specified LeftMargin & RightMargin are observed on

(Not commonly used) all outputted pages for the report page (section). If ‘True’the LeftMargin &
RightMargin are switched for even numbered pages (e.g., for a binding
offset).

Name Displays and allows the name for the page to be amended, the selected
name is also displayed on the Report Page Tab and within the Report Tree
Pane for the page.

Orientation If ‘poPortrait’the page is displayed and outputted in portrait orientation. If

‘poLandscape’ the page is displayed and outputted in landscape
orientation. This may also be adjusted for the currently displayed page in
the Page Options dialog (select the Page Settings option from the File
menu).

OutlineText Blank by default, allows an expression to be specified to generate an

outline list (report tree) in the print preview window – Not commonly used,
use Group Header bands in conjunction with the ‘Show in Outline’ option
instead.

PageCount Generally should be left at the default value of 1. Specifies the number of
(Not commonly used) the times the outputted report section is replicated in the overall report.

PaperHeight Displays (by default in cm) and allows the height of the page to be
amended, adjusting the paper height will cause the PaperSize to change to
‘Custom’. This may also be adjusted for the currently displayed page in the
Page Options dialog (select the Page Settings option from the File menu).

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PaperSize Displays and allows the paper size to be selected, changing the currently
selected paper size (except to ‘Custom’) will cause the PaperHeight &
PaperWidth to change to correspond with the new paper size. This may also
be adjusted for the currently displayed page in the Page Options dialog
(select the Page Settings option from the File menu).

PaperWidth Displays (by default in cm) and allows the width of the page to be amended,
adjusting the paper width will cause the PaperSize to change to ‘Custom’.
This may also be adjusted for the currently displayed page in the Page
Options dialog (select the Page Settings option from the File menu).

PrintIfEmpty If ‘True’the report page will be included in the outputted report even if all
of its associated data sets are empty. If ‘False’the page will not be included
in the outputted report if all of its associated data sets are empty. Not
commonly used.

PrintOnPreviousPage If ‘False’(Default) the report page (section) will always start on a new page
(Not commonly used) in the outputted report. If ‘True’the report page (section) will start in the
free space of the last outputted page of the previous report page (section).

ResetPageNumbers If ‘False’page numbering for the first page in the outputted report for the
{Needs to be used in report page (section) is continuous from last page in the outputted report
conjunction with the for the previous report page (section). If ‘True’ page numbering resets for
StartNewPage option set to the first page in the outputted report for the report page (section). Can also
‘True’for the associated Group be used in conjunction with the ResetPageNumbers option set to ‘True’ for
Header band on the page}
the associated Group Header band on the page.

RightMargin Specifies the distance from the right of the page to right of the printable
area of the page (by default in cm), this may also be adjusted for the
currently displayed page in the Page Options dialog (select the Page
Settings option from the File menu).

Tag (Not commonly used) Allows a numerical tag to be specified for the page object.

TitleBeforeHeader Generally should be left at the default value of ‘False’. If ‘False’the Report
(Not commonly used) Title band is displayed prior to the Page Header band (and hence printed
prior to it). If ‘True’the Page Header band is displayed prior to the Report
Title band (and hence printed prior to it).

TopMargin Specifies the distance from the top of the page to top of the printable area
of the page (by default in cm), this may also be adjusted for the currently
displayed page in the Page Options dialog (select the Page Settings option
from the File menu).

Visible If ‘True’ (default) the report page is previewed and included in the
outputted report. If ‘False’ the report page remains visible in the report
editor screen but is not included in the preview or the outputted report.

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Band Objects

To select a Band object, locate it within the Report Design Workspace and click on its header bar.
Alternatively locate it within Report Tree Pane and click on its name. A Band object is displayed with a
icon in the Report Tree Pane. Bands with different functions display different sets of properties,
consequently not all of the properties noted below will be displayed for every type of band.

An example of the Properties tab for the MasterData band object is displayed below:

The properties and settings have the following functions:

AllowSplit If ‘False’(default) the content of the band will start on a new page in
the outputted report if it cannot entirely fit within the free space at the
bottom of the previous outputted page. If ‘True’ the content of the
band will start in the free space at the bottom of the page in the
outputted report and continue at the top of the next page.

Child Displays and allows selected of the child band. Note the child band
needs have been created on the report page before it can be selected.

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ColumnGap Specifies the spacing distance (by default in cm) between columns in
the band if two or more columns have been specified in the Columns
property. Not commonly used.

Columns Generally should be left at the default value of 0. Specifies the number
of columns to be included in the band. Splits the band vertically into the
specified number of columns, when columns are used the data fields
for the band should only be placed in the first column, the data is then
printed sequentially across the columns in that row, when the last
column is encountered on a row the data then recommences
sequentially across the columns on the next row of the outputted
report. Not commonly used.

ColumnWidth Specifies the column width (by default in cm) for the columns in the
band if two or more columns have been specified in the Columns
property. Not commonly used.

Condition For the GroupHeader band, displays (and allows editing of) the
grouping criteria selected when the group header band was added. The
property value is an ‘expression’relating to a data field (e.g., Workbook
Level 1."Description" ). An easier method to edit the grouping criteria
‘expression’ is to double click on the GroupHeader header bar in the
report design workspace to redisplay the Group dialog then the
grouping criteria can be amended using the ‘Data Field’ drop down
selection fields.

DataSet Displays and allows selection of the data set (e.g., Workbook Level 1,
Workbook Level 2, etc.) for the band.

Description Allows a text description to be specified for the band. Not commonly
used.

DrillDown For the GroupHeader band and works in conjunction with the report
preview window. If ‘True’ the rows of the group header band can be
drilled down (expanded and collapsed) in the preview window. If
‘False’(default) no drill down is possible. Not commonly used.

ExpandDrillDown For the GroupHeader band and if the DrillDown property is selected as
‘True’. If ‘False’ (default) the group header band rows are collapsed
when the report preview is displayed. If ‘True’the group header band
rows are expanded when the report preview is displayed. Not
commonly used.

Font (Expandable List) Allows selection of the font attributes for the band (color, font, font
size, bold, italic, underline and strikeout) - Not commonly used – Font
attributes are normally set for memo objects and are more easily
selected using the control buttons on the Toolbar.

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FooterAfterEach If ‘False’ a footer band associated with the currently selected band is
only printed after the last row of data from the band. If ‘True’a footer
band associated with the currently selected band is printed after each
row of data from the band.

Height Displays and allows the height for the band to be amended. The band
height can also be adjusted directly in the report design workspace by
dragging the size adjustment handle (a small black square located in the
center of the bottom border of the selected band) either up or down.

HideIfSingleDataRecord For the GroupFooter band if ‘False’ (default) the group footer is
included in outputted report for the report page (section) if the
associated band has one or more records in the data set (i.e., one or
more rows in the workbook sheet for the associated data set). If ‘True’
the group footer is included in the outputted report for the report page
(section) only if the associated band has two or more records in the data
set (i.e., two or more rows in the workbook sheet for the associated
data set), in other words the group footer is not included if the
associated data set only has one record (i.e., one row in the workbook
sheet).

KeepChild If ‘False’(default) the content of the child band will start on a new page
in the outputted report if it cannot entirely fit with its parent band
within the free space at the bottom of the previous outputted page. If
‘True’the content of the parent band will start on a new page in the
outputted report if it cannot entirely fit with its child band within the
free space at the bottom of the previous outputted page.

KeepFooter If ‘False’ (default) the content of the footer band will start on a new
page in the outputted report if it cannot entirely fit with its parent band
within the free space at the bottom of the previous outputted page. If
‘True’the content of the parent band will start on a new page in the
outputted report if it cannot entirely fit with its footer band within the
free space at the bottom of the previous outputted page.

KeepHeader If ‘False’(default) the content of the band associated with the header
will start on a new page in the outputted report if it cannot entirely fit
with its header band within the free space at the bottom of the
previous outputted page. If ‘True’the content of the header band will
start on a new page in the outputted report if it cannot entirely fit with
its associated band within the free space at the bottom of the previous
outputted page.

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KeepTogether If ‘False’(default) the content of a subband for the currently selected

band will start on a new page in the outputted report if it cannot
entirely fit with the band within the free space at the bottom of the
previous outputted page. If ‘True’the content of the currently selected
band will start on a new page in the outputted report if it cannot
entirely fit with its associated subband within the free space at the
bottom of the previous outputted page.

Left This should be left at the default value of 0 as bands are tied to the left
and right margins. (The left property is only used with vertical bands
which are not covered in this introductory manual).

Name Displays and allows the name for the band to be amended, the selected
name is also displayed on the band header bar and within Report Tree
Pane for the band.

OutlineText Generally blank by default, allows an ‘expression’ relating to a data

field (e.g., Workbook Level 1."Description" ) to be specified to generate
an outline list (report tree) in the print preview window – Not
commonly used other than with the GroupHeader band, use Group
Header bands in conjunction with the ‘Show in Outline’option instead.
For the GroupHeader band, displays (and allows editing of) the outline
text ‘expression’ (i.e., the grouping criteria selected when the group
header band was added if the ‘Show in Outline’ option was also
selected). The outline text ‘expression’would normally be the same as
the grouping criteria as shown in the Condition property field. An easier
method to create or edit the outline text is to double click on the
GroupHeader header bar in the report design workspace to redisplay
the Group dialog then tick the ‘Show in Outline’checkbox, the grouping
criteria can also be amended using the ‘Data Field’drop down selection
fields if required – this will also update the Condition property.

ParentFont If ‘True’ is selected the band will inherit its font settings from the
parent object, if the font settings are subsequently adjusted the
ParentFont property will revert to ‘False’. If ‘False’ the band font
settings do not necessarily match the font settings for the parent
object. Not commonly used.

PrintChildIfInvisable If ‘False’ (default) a child band associated with the currently selected
band will not be printed if the currently selected band’s Visible
property is set to ‘False’. If ‘True’ a child band associated with the
currently selected band will be. Not commonly used.

PrintIfDetailEmpty If ‘True’ (default) the band will be included in the outputted report
even if the associated subband is empty. If ‘False’the band will not be
included in the outputted report if the subband is empty.

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PrintOnFirstPage For the PageHeader and PageFooter bands if ‘True’ the band will be
included on the first page (and subsequent pages) of the outputted
report for the report section. If ‘False’the band will be included on the
second page (and subsequent pages) of the outputted report for the
report section.

PrintOnLastPage For the PageFooter band if ‘True’the band will be included on the last
page (and previous pages) of the outputted report for the report
section. If ‘False’ the band will be included on the penultimate page
(and previous pages) of the outputted report for the report section.

ReprintOnNewPage For the Header and GroupHeader bands if ‘False’(default) the band will
only appear once above all the rows in the band with which it is
associated irrespective of how many pages that band spans across
within in the outputted report. If ‘True’ the band will be reprinted in
the same location on each page within the outputted report when the
rows in the band with which it is associated span across multiple pages
within in the outputted report.

PrintOnTop For the Overlay band if ‘False’ (default) the contents of the overlay
band are printed behind all other objects in the outputted report. If
‘True’the contents of the overlay band are printed over (on top of) all
other objects in the outputted report.

ResetPageNumbers For the GroupHeader band if ‘False’ (default) page numbering for the
pages in the outputted report for the report page (section) are
{Needs to be used in conjunction
with the StartNewPage option set
continuous. If ‘True’page numbering resets for the second, third, fourth
to ‘True’for the Group Header time, etc., which the Group Header is printed in the outputted report
band on the page} for the report page (section) (i.e., for the second, third, fourth, etc. ,row
from the workbook sheet specified as the ‘Condition’ for the group
header band).
To reset the page number for the first time the Group Header is printed
in the outputted report for the report page (section) (i.e., for the first
row from the workbook sheet specified as the ‘Condition’for the group
header band) the ResetPageNumbers option for the report page object
will need to be set to ‘True’.

Restrictions Allows editing restrictions to be selected for the band object. If

‘False’ (default) the specified action can be performed. If ‘True’ the
(Expandable List) specified action cannot be performed. Specified actions are Modify,
Size, Move, Delete & Edit. For example if the rfDontDelete property is
set to ‘True’ the object cannot be deleted from the report design
workspace.

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RowCount This should be left at the default value of 0. If 0 all data rows for the
band will be included in the outputted report. If an alternate value is
specified only the specified number of data rows will be included in the
outputted report. For example if a value of 5 was specified only the first
5 data rows would be included, any others would be skipped.

ShowChildIfDrillDown For the GroupHeader band and works in conjunction with the Drill Down
feature in the report preview window. If ‘True’an associated child band
{Used in conjunction with the
DrillDown option set to ‘True’for will be displayed when the group header band is expanded in the
the Group Header band on the preview window. If ‘False’(default) the child band will not be displayed
page} in the preview window. Not commonly used.

ShowFooterIfDrillDown For the GroupHeader band and works in conjunction with the Drill Down
feature in the report preview window. If ‘True’ an associated group
{Used in conjunction with the
DrillDown option set to ‘True’for footer band will be displayed when the group header band is expanded
the Group Header band on the in the preview window. If ‘False’ (default) the group footer band will
page} not be displayed in the preview window. Not commonly used.

StartNewPage If ‘False’(default) the contents of the band will immediately follow the
preceding band in the outputted report. If ‘True’the band will start on a
new page in the outputted report. Note if a data type band has a group
header band the StartNewPage property would generally be set on the
group header band.

Stretched If ‘True’(default) allows the band to be expanded vertically (larger than

the Height property if necessary) to accommodate the data for each row
in the outputted report. If ‘False’the band size will be that specified by
the Height property.

Tag Allows a numerical tag to be specified for the band object. Not
commonly used.

Top Displays the top coordinate (the distance from the top page margin to
the top of the band) for the band object. The top property is generally
not editable as the top value is a function of the band relative position
on the report design workspace and the heights of the preceding bands.

Visible If ‘True’(default) the band is previewed and included in the outputted

report. If ‘False’ the band remains visible in the report design
workspace but is not included in the preview or the outputted report.

Width Displays the width of the band object. The width property is generally
not editable as bands are tied to the left and right margins.

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Memo (Text) Objects

To select a Memo object, locate it within the Report Design Workspace and click on it. Alternatively locate it
within the Report Tree Pane and click on its name. A Memo object is displayed with a icon in the Report
Tree Pane.

System Text objects share many of the same properties as Memo objects and their settings have the same
function.

An example of the Properties tab for a Memo object is displayed below:

The properties and settings have the following functions:

Align Specifies the alignment of the memo object with reference to the band or
report page within which it is included or with reference to other memo
objects:
‘baNone’(default) allows the memo object to be moved and sized as required.
‘baBottom’pins the bottom of the memo object to the bottom border of the
band/report page, the memo object can only be repositioned horizontally.

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‘baCenter’pins the vertical center of the memo object to the vertical center of
the band/report page, the memo object can only be repositioned vertically.
‘baClient’expands the memo object to fill the band/report page, the memo
object cannot be repositioned or resized. If the host band/report page is
resized the memo object is resized with it. If the band/report page contains
other objects these may be obscured using this option.
‘baLeft’ either 1) pins the left of the memo object to the left border of the
band/report page, or, 2) if there is another memo or picture object (wholly or
partially sharing a common vertical alignment) in between the memo object
being edited and the left border of the band/report the memo object will be
pinned to the right border of the other object. The memo object can be
repositioned vertically or horizontally. If the memo object is repositioned it
will either be pinned to the left border of the band/report page or to the right
border of another object as described above.
‘baRight’either 1) pins the right of the memo object to the right border of the
band/report page, or, 2) if there is another memo or picture object (wholly or
partially sharing a common vertical alignment) in between the memo object
being edited and the right border of the band/report the memo object will be
pinned to the left border of the other object. The memo object can be
repositioned vertically or horizontally. If the memo object is repositioned it
will either be pinned to the right border of the band/report page or to the left
border of another object as described above.
‘baWidth’pins the left of the memo object as described above for ‘baLeft’and
pins the right of the memo object as described above for ‘baRight’. The memo
object can be repositioned vertically.

AllowExpressions Specifies whether the memo object can contain expressions (e.g., a reference
to a data set data field such as Workbook Level 2."Description") and or Text. If
‘True’then text contained within the specified ExpressionDelimeters (default
= square brackets) in the memo will be evaluated as an expression and the
result output on the report i.e., ‘Area: [GFA]m2’ will output ‘Area: 957m2’. If
‘False’(default) the outputted report will display all text in the memo exactly
as entered i.e., ‘Area: [GFA]m2’ will output ‘Area: [GFA]m2’.See also
ExpressionDelimeters.

AllowHTMLTags Specifies whether a memo object containing HTML tags will display the HTML
tags as text or resolve them and apply the HTML formatting.
If ‘False’(default) the HTML tags will be displayed in the outputted report as if
they were text. If ‘True’ the HTML tags will be used to modify the text
formatting accordingly (assuming the HTML Tag is valid, otherwise will be
treated as text).
Valid HTML Tags are:
<b> = Formats text as Bold, </b> = Cancels Bold format

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<i> = Formats text as Italic, </i> = Cancels Italic format

<u> = Formats text as Underline, </u> = Cancels Underline format
_{= Formats text as Subscript,} = Cancels Subscript format
^{= Formats text as Superscript,} = Cancels Superscript format
<font color=xxx> = colors text as specified color where xxx represents name of
the color (black, maroon, green, olive, navy, purple, teal, grey, silver, red,
lime, yellow, blue, fuchsia, aqua, white, moneygreen, skyblue, cream or
medgrey)
<nowrap> = Overrides ‘WordWrap’if enabled, the whole text is shifted to the
next line, </nowrap> Re-enables ‘WordWrap’
For example if the memo field contain the following HTML Tagged text:
<b><i><u><font color=red>This is some text</b></i></u><font color=blue> This
is some more text
If ‘True’was selected for the property the text would appear as:
This is some text This is some more text
If ‘False’was selected for the property the text would appear as:
<b><i><u><font color=red>This is some text</b></i></u><font color=blue>
This is some more text
Not commonly used - It is generally easier to amend the font properties using
the control buttons on the toolbar.

AutoWidth Specifies whether a memo object should expand or contract its width to
accommodate the outputted content. If ‘False’ (default) the memo object’s
width will be observed in the outputted report, often used in conjunction with
the ‘StretchMode’ property set to ‘smActualHeight’ or ‘smMaxHeight’ and
‘WordWrap’ property set to ‘True’ for the memo object. If ‘True’ the memo
object’s width will be adjusted automatically (expanded or contracted as
needed) to accommodate the outputted content for the memo object, often
used with horizontally adjoining memo fields where the adjoining memo
field’s ‘Align’ property is set to ‘baLeft’. If AutoWidth is selected as ‘True’
certain other properties which would be in contradiction such as
‘StretchMode’and ‘WordWrap’are generally overridden.

BrushStyle Allows selection of a brush style (hatching pattern) from several available
styles, the selected style will applied to the background of the memo object to
the extremity of its borders.

CharSpacing Specifies the number of pixels between each text or numeric, etc., character.
The default value is 0. Not commonly used.

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Clipped Specifies whether the contents of the memo object are allowed to continue
below the bottom border of the memo object in the outputted report if the
text length in the memo object exceeds the space available within it or
whether the contents are truncated (clipped) within the memo object borders.
If ‘True’(default) the contents of the memo object will be clipped, i.e., the
memo object in the outputted report will display as much of the contents that
can be displayed within the borders. If ‘False’ the contents will continue (if
necessary) beneath the bottom border. Not commonly used as text from one
row may merge into the text from the following rows – Instead setting the
‘StretchMode’ property to smActualHeight and the ‘WordWrap’ property to
True for the memo field and setting the ‘Stretched’ property for the band
containing the memo object to True will allow the memo field to expand (if
necessary) to accommodate its contents, other memo objects in the same
vertical alignment in the band (i.e., other memo objects to be included on the
same row in the outputted report) may also need their ‘StretchMode’property
set to smMaxHeight.

Color Allows selection of a background color for the memo object from several
available colors, the selected color is displayed in the preview and in the
outputted report.

Cursor Allows the mouse cursor shape to be selected for the memo object, the
selected mouse cursor shape is displayed in the preview window when the
mouse is moved over the memo object. Not commonly used.

DataField Displays and allows selection of the data field (i.e., the column name from the
iTWO costX® workbook from which workbook data will be included in the
outputted report) from the data set specified in the ‘DataSet’property for the
memo object. If the memo object contains text, or if the memo object has
been edited after it was created (i.e., created by dragging a dropping a data
field from the Data Tree Pane) the DataField property will be blank. If the
memo object was created using the Text Tool on the Object Toolbar and it is
required to set it up as a data field select the required ‘DataSet’ prior to
selecting the required ‘DataField’.

DataSet Displays and allows selection of the data set (e.g., Workbook Level 1,
Workbook Level 2, etc.) for the memo object, usually also used in conjunction
with the DataField property for the memo object allowing data from the iTWO
costX® workbook to be included in the outputted report. If the memo object
was created using the Text Tool on the Object Toolbar the DataSet property
will be displayed as ‘(Not assigned)’ unless it has been subsequently
amended.

Description Allows a text description to be specified for the memo object. Not commonly
used.

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DisplayFormat Displays the current formatting parameters for the memo object. It is usually
easier to set the required format by double clicking on the memo object to
(Expandable List)
display the Memo dialog, then select the Format tab and choose the required
formatting options from those displayed, when the OK button is clicked the
DisplayFormat properties will be updated.

ExpressionDelimiters When a memo field contains an expression, for example the names of a data
set and data field e.g., [Workbook Level 2."Description"], to return iTWO
costX® workbook data in the outputted report it must be recognized by the
system as an ‘expression’as opposed to text, this is achieved by enclosing the
‘expression’within delimiter characters. By default square brackets are used
in which case the ExpressionDelimiters property is [,] This can be amended if
required however it is generally unnecessary.

FlowTo If the contents of the memo object in the outputted report are too long to fit
entirely within the borders of the memo object the contents can be continued
in another memo field in the same band. The memo object into which the
contents continue is selected using the FlowTo property’s drop down selection
field.
If the FlowTo property is selected certain other properties which would be in
contradiction such as ‘Clipped’ and ‘StretchMode’ are generally overridden.
Not commonly used.

Font Allows selection of the font attributes for the memo object (color, font, font
size, bold, italic, underline and strikeout). Font attributes for the currently
(Expandable List)
selected memo object are more easily selected using the control buttons on
the Toolbar.

Frame Allows selection of the frame (border) and shadow attributes for the memo
object – Frame attributes are more easily selected using the control buttons on
(Expandable List)
the Toolbar, the exception to this is where different attributes (Color, Line
Style and/or Line Width) are required for individual frame lines, in which case
the BottomLine, LeftLine, etc., expandable lists can be expanded and the
required attributes selected using the Color, Style and Width parameters.

GapX Specifies (in pixels) a vertical margin to the memo field, the margin is applied
to both the left and right of the memo field. Default value is 2.

GapY Specifies (in pixels) a horizontal margin to the memo field, the margin is
applied to both the top and bottom of the memo field. Default value is 1.

HAlign Specifies the horizontal alignment for the contents of the memo object
(options are haBlock = Justify, haLeft = Left aligned, haCenter = Centered and
haRight = Right aligned). Horizontal alignment selection is more easily
undertaken using the control buttons on the Toolbar.

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Height Displays and allows the height for the memo object to be amended. The
memo object height can also be adjusted directly in the report design
workspace by dragging the size adjustment handle (a small black square
located in the center of the top and bottom borders of the selected memo
object) either up or down.

HideZeros Specifies for a memo object which would result in a zero value in the
outputted report whether the zero value should be displayed or whether it
should be suppressed (blank). If ‘False’ zero values will be included in the
outputted report. If ‘True’zero values will be omitted. Note this property only
effects memo objects with ‘expressions’ returning numerical values for
example a memo object using the (as Number) variant of a data field.

Highlight Allows conditional formatting (highlighting) of the memo field (font color,
background color, etc.) depending on the calculated result of a specified
condition. Basic highlighting attributes (Condition, Font Color, Bold, Italic,
Underline and Background Color) for the currently selected memo object are
more easily specified and selected by double clicking on the memo object to
display the Memo dialog, then select the Highlight tab.
See Conditional Formatting for detailed information.

Hint When previewing a report it is possible to display a pop up hint when the
mouse cursor is moved over a memo field in the preview. The text for the pop
up hint should be entered in the ‘Hint’property field and the feature turned
on by changing the ‘ShowHint’property to True. Not commonly used.

Left Displays (by default in cm) the distance between the left border of the page
and the left border of the memo object. The property can in most
circumstances be edited to move the object, the memo object’s left border
can also be adjusted directly in the report design workspace by dragging the
size adjustment handle (a small black square located in the center of the left
border of the selected memo object) either left or right. In some
circumstances for example if the ‘Align’ property has been used to fix the
objects horizontal alignment the object will not move if the Left property is
updated or the size adjustment handle moved and the property value will
revert.

LineSpacing Specifies (in pixels) the vertical space between each line of text within the
memo object in the outputted report. Default value is 2.

Memo This is a system field and cannot be amended by the user.

Name Displays and allows the name for the memo object to be amended, the
selected name is also displayed within Report Tree Pane for the band/page.

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ParagraphGap Specifies (in pixels) the indent applied to the first line of text within the
memo object in the outputted report. Default value is 0.

ParentFont Allows the font settings from the parent object (band or page as the case may
be) to be inherited for the memo object. If ‘True’ is selected the band will
inherit its font settings from the parent object, if the font settings are
subsequently adjusted the ParentFont property will revert to ‘False’. If ‘False’
the object font settings do not necessarily match the font settings for the
parent object. Not commonly used.

Printable Specifies if the memo object will be included in the outputted report. If
‘True’(default) the memo object will be shown in the preview window and
will be included in the printed or exported report. If ‘False’the memo object
will be shown in the preview window but will not be included in the printed or
exported report. Not commonly used.

Restrictions Allows editing restrictions to be selected for the memo object. If

‘False’(default) the specified action can be performed. If ‘True’the specified
(Expandable List)
action cannot be performed. Specified actions are Modify, Size, Move, Delete
& Edit. For example if the rfDontDelete property is set to ‘True’ the object
cannot be deleted from the report design workspace.

Rotation Specifies (in degrees counter-clockwise) the rotation of the memo field
contents. Default value is 0. Not commonly used.

RTLReading Specifies if the memo object will display its text in right-to-left direction. Not
commonly used.

ShiftMode Specifies if the memo object will move (shift) downwards to accommodate a
preceding memo object elongating to fit its contents (i.e., if the preceding
memo object has StretchMode enabled). For the memo object to be shifted it
must wholly or partially share a common vertical alignment).
‘ShiftMode’options are:
smAlways (default) - The memo object will always move (if required), the
space/distance between the memo object and the preceding memo object
will be observed.
smDontShift – The memo objects ‘Top’property will be observed, the memo
object will not move.
smWhenOverlapped – The memo object will only be moved if the preceding
memo object overlaps it in the outputted report, the space/distance between
the memo object and the preceding memo object will be removed.
Normally the ‘Stretched’ property for the band containing the memo object
should be set to True. Not commonly used.

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ShowHint When previewing a report it is possible to display a pop up hint when the
{Us ed i n conjuncti on wi th
mouse cursor is moved over a memo field in the preview. The text for the pop
the Hi nt property for the up hint should be entered in the ‘Hint’ property field and the feature turned
memo object} on by changing the ‘ShowHint’ property to True. If ‘False’ (default) a hint
entered in the ‘Hint’property is not displayed. If ‘True’a hint entered in the
‘Hint’property is displayed when the mouse cursor is moved over the memo
object in the report preview. Not commonly used.

StretchMode Often in an iTWO costX® workbook the length of descriptions (particularly) can
vary within a single workbook. The Custom Report Builder therefore
accommodates for this by allowing a memo object to a have a height
representing one line of text but additionally allowing it to expand
automatically to display its entire contents. As reports in iTWO costX® usually
include the description as well as other memo objects for quantity unit, rate,
total, etc., in the same alignment within a band (i.e., to represent the
workbook rows within the outputted report) the horizontally adjacent memo
objects can also be expanded by the same amount (for example, so that the
quantity unit, rate, total, etc., if the contents are vertically aligned to the
bottom can be included against the last line of the description in the
outputted report). The default value for the ‘StretchMode’ property is
smDontStretch, with this setting the memo object’s ‘Height’ property will be
observed in the outputted report (i.e., the memo object will not resize).
If the smActualHeight setting is selected the memo object will expand
vertically automatically to accommodate its contents (the WordWrap property
for the memo object also needs to be set to True).
If the smMaxHeight setting is selected the memo object will expand vertically
automatically to match the height of the tallest horizontally adjacent memo
object in the outputted report.
For example, if a band has separate memo objects for Code, Description, Qty,
Unit, Rate & Total, all of the same height and all with a common alignment,
i.e., their top and bottom borders line through. The Description memo object
would be set to smActualHeight and the other memo objects would be set to
smMaxHeight.
When stretch mode is enabled the ‘Stretched’ property for the band
containing the memo object should be set to True.

Style Allows a user defined style (e.g., font, borders & cell color) to be applied to
the memo object. NB. Styles may be defined/amended by selecting ‘Styles’
from the ‘Report’ drop down menu. If a user defined style is updated (as
described previously) the changes will be applied to all memo objects in the
report template which have that style name selected in the Style property
field. When a style is selected all other related formatting properties for the
memo object (e.g., color, frame, etc.) are automatically updated.

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SuppressRepeated Specifies for a memo object which would result in a value the same as the last
instance of the memo object in the outputted report whether the repeated
value should be displayed or whether it should be suppressed (blank). If
‘False’(default) the values will be included in the outputted report. If ‘True’
the values will be omitted (suppressed). Not commonly used.

Tag Allows a numerical tag to be specified for the memo object. Not commonly
used.

TagStr Allows a text tag to be specified for the memo object. Not commonly used.

Top Displays (by default in cm) the distance between the top page margin or the
top of the band as the case may be to the top of the memo object. The
property can in most circumstances be edited to move the object, the memo
object’s top border can also be adjusted directly in the report design
workspace by dragging the size adjustment handle (a small black square
located in the center of the top border of the selected memo object) either up
or down. In some circumstances for example if the ‘Align’ property has been
used to fix the objects vertical alignment the object will not move if the Top
property is updated or the size adjustment handle moved and the property
value will revert.

Underlines Specifies whether a full width line is shown beneath each row of text for the
memo object in the outputted report. If ‘False’ no lines are included in the
outputted report. If ‘True’ a line extending from the left to right border is
drawn beneath each row of text in the memo field. Not commonly used.

URL Allows a URL (internet web link) to be specified for the object. If a URL is
specified clicking on the memo field in the preview window will open the
computers default browser window and open the specified URL link. Not
commonly used.

UseDefaultCharset Specifies whether the default character set or the character set specified in
the ‘Font’ property should be used. If ‘False’ (default) the character set
specified in the ‘Font’ property is used. If ‘True’ the default character set is
used. Not commonly used, most users would not need to change the character
set.

VAlign Specifies the vertical alignment for the contents of the memo object (options
are vaBottom = Bottom aligned, vaCenter = Centered and vaTop = Top aligned).
Vertical alignment selection is more easily undertaken using the control
buttons on the Toolbar.

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Visible Specifies if the memo object will be included in the preview and outputted
report. If ‘True’(default) the memo object is previewed and included in the
outputted report (providing the ‘Printable’ property is also set to ‘True’). If
‘False’the memo object remains visible in the report design workspace but is
not included in the preview or the outputted report.

Width Displays and allows the width for the memo object to be amended. The memo
object width can also be adjusted directly in the report design workspace by
dragging the size adjustment handle (a small black square located in the center
of the left and right borders of the selected memo object) either left or right.

WordBreak Specifies if Russian words may be broken. Default value is ‘False’. Not
commonly used.

WordWrap Specifies whether the contents of the memo object, if they are too long to fit
entirely within the width of the memo object, can wrap (continue on the next
line) at the right border. If ‘True’(default) the contents will wrap at the right
border. If ‘False’ the contents will not wrap at the right border and may be
truncated in the outputted report.
If ‘True’ is selected it is often used with the ‘StretchMode’ property set to
smActualHeight.

WYSIWYG Specifies if text for the memo field is displayed in WYSIWYG mode. Default
value is ‘True’and shouldn’t normally be changed.

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Picture Objects

To select a Picture object, locate it within the Report Design Workspace and click on it. Alternatively locate
it within Report Tree Pane and click on its name. A Picture object is displayed with a icon in the Report
Tree Pane.

An example of the Properties tab for a Picture object is displayed below:

The properties and settings have the following functions:

Align Specifies the alignment of the picture memo object with reference to the
band or report page within which it is included or with reference to other
memo fields:
‘baNone’ (default) allows the picture object to be moved and sized as
required.
‘baBottom’pins the bottom of the picture object to the bottom border of
the band/report page, the picture object can only be repositioned
horizontally.

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‘baCenter’ pins the vertical center of the picture object to the vertical
center of the band/report page, the picture object can only be repositioned
vertically.
‘baClient’ expands the picture object to fill the band/report page, the
picture object cannot be repositioned or resized. If the host band/report
page is resized the picture object is resized with it. If the band/report page
contains other objects these may be obscured using this option.
‘baLeft’either 1) pins the left of the picture object to the left border of the
band/report page, or, 2) if there is another picture or memo object (wholly
or partially sharing a common vertical alignment) in between the picture
object being edited and the left border of the band/report the picture
object will be pinned to the right border of the other object. The picture
object can be repositioned vertically or horizontally. If the picture object is
repositioned it will either be pinned to the left border of the band/report
page or to the right border of another object as described above.
‘baRight’either 1) pins the right of the picture object to the right border of
the band/report page, or, 2) if there is another picture or memo object
(wholly or partially sharing a common vertical alignment) in between the
picture object being edited and the right border of the band/report the
picture object will be pinned to the left border of the other object. The
picture object can be repositioned vertically or horizontally. If the picture
object is repositioned it will either be pinned to the right border of the
band/report page or to the left border of another object as described
above.
‘baWidth’pins the left of the picture object as described above for ‘baLeft’
and pins the right of the picture object as described above for ‘baRight’. The
picture object can be repositioned vertically.

AutoSize Specifies if the picture object should be resized to the original size in the
outputted report. If ‘False’(default) the picture object will be displayed in
the outputted report at the size it has been expanded or contracted to in
the report design workspace. If ‘True’ the object will be resized to its
original size in the outputted report. If ‘True’ is selected and the picture
object subsequently resized in the report design workspace it will revert to
its original size when the report is previewed.

Center Specifies if the picture should be centered horizontally and or vertically

within the borders of the picture object. If ‘False’(default) the picture will
not be centered. If ‘True’ the picture will be centered. Note if the
‘Stretched’property is set to True and the ‘KeepAspectRatio’property is set
to True for the picture object the picture will be expanded to the maximum
size possible (whilst maintaining its aspect ratio) to fit within the left and
right or top and bottom picture objects borders, if the ‘Stretched’property
is set to True and the ‘KeepAspectRatio’property is set to False the picture
will be expanded to fill the picture objects borders.

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Cursor Allows the mouse cursor shape to be selected for the picture object, the
selected mouse cursor shape is displayed in the preview window when the
mouse is moved over the picture object. Not commonly used.

DataField Not Used.

DataSet Not Used.

Description Allows a text description to be specified for the picture object. Not
commonly used.

FileLink Allows a picture file to be loaded from a file stored on an attached disk
drive when the report is previewed/outputted. The property should have
the Drive Letter then the File Path then the File Name in the normal
notation e.g., C:\LOGOS\CLIENT X\LOGO1.BMP The property can also have
an expression which resolves to a files location (this is an advanced function
and is not covered in this introductory manual). If a ‘FileLink’ is specified
the linked file will override any currently selected picture for the picture
object when the report is previewed/output.

Frame Allows selection of the frame (border) and shadow attributes for the
picture object – Frame attributes are more easily selected using the control
(Expandable List) buttons on the Toolbar, the exception to this is where different attributes
(Color, Line Style and/or Line Width) are required for individual frame lines,
in which case the BottomLine, LeftLine, etc., expandable lists can be
expanded and the required attributes selected using the Color, Style and
Width parameters.

Height Displays and allows the height for the picture object to be amended. The
picture object height can also be adjusted directly in the report design
workspace by dragging the size adjustment handle (a small black square
located in the center of the top and bottom borders of the selected picture
object) either up or down.

HighQuality If selected as ‘True’ will attempt to improve the quality of previewed

pictures. If selected as ‘False’(default) pictures will be previewed as they
are displayed in the report design workspace. The quality of images in a
printed output will be determined by the printer settings. Not commonly
used – A picture file of the appropriate size and resolution should be used.

Hint When previewing a report it is possible to display a hint at the bottom of

the preview window when the mouse cursor is moved over a picture object
field in the preview. The text for the hint should be entered in the ‘Hint’
property field and the feature turned on by changing the ‘ShowHint’
property to True. Not commonly used.

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KeepAspectRatio When a picture object is enlarged or reduced in size from its original size
(the ‘Stretched’property needs to set to True) it is usually done observing
the pictures aspect ratio (i.e., keeping the picture in proportion horizontally
and vertically) in which case the ‘KeepAspectRatio’property needs to be set
to ‘True’ (default). To ignore the pictures aspect ratio (i.e., allow it to be
stretched or compressed differently horizontally and vertically) set the
property to ‘False’. Not commonly used.

Left Displays (by default in cm) the distance between the left border of the page
and the left border of the picture object. The property can in most
circumstances be edited to move the object, the picture object’s left border
can also be adjusted directly in the report design workspace by dragging the
size adjustment handle (a small black square located in the center of the
left border of the selected picture object) either left or right. In some
circumstances for example if the ‘Align’property has been used to fix the
objects horizontal alignment the object will not move if the Left property is
updated or the size adjustment handle moved and the property value will
revert.

Name Displays and allows the name for the picture object to be amended, the
selected name is also displayed within Report Tree Pane for the
band/page.

Picture This is a system field and cannot be amended by the user.

Printable Specifies if the picture object will be included in the outputted report. If
‘True’(default) the picture object will be shown in the preview window and
will be included in the printed or exported report. If ‘False’ the picture
object will be shown in the preview window but will not be included in the
printed or exported report. Not commonly used.

Restrictions Allows editing restrictions to be selected for the picture object. If

(Expandable List) ‘False’ (default) the specified action can be performed. If ‘True’ the
specified action cannot be performed. Specified actions are Modify, Size,
Move, Delete & Edit. For example if the rfDontDelete property is set to
‘True’the object cannot be deleted from the report design workspace.

ShiftMode Specifies if the picture object will move (shift) downwards to accommodate
a preceding memo object elongating to fit its contents (i.e., if the preceding
memo object has StretchMode enabled). For the picture object to be
shifted it must wholly or partially share a common vertical alignment).
‘ShiftMode’options are:
smAlways (default) - The picture object will always move (if required), the
space/distance between the picture object and the preceding memo object
will be observed.
smDontShift – The picture objects ‘Top’ property will be observed, the
picture object will not move.

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smWhenOverlapped – The picture object will only be moved if the

preceding memo object overlaps it in the outputted report, the
space/distance between the picture object and the preceding memo object
will be removed.
Normally the ‘Stretched’property for the band containing the picture object
should be set to True. Not commonly used.

ShowHint When previewing a report it is possible to display a hint at the bottom of

the preview window when the mouse cursor is moved over a picture object
{Us ed i n conjuncti on wi th the field in the preview. The text for the hint should be entered in the ‘Hint’
Hi nt property for the pi cture
object} property field and the feature turned on by changing the ‘ShowHint’
property to True. If ‘False’(default) a hint entered in the ‘Hint’property is
not displayed. If ‘True’ a hint entered in the ‘Hint’ property is displayed
when the mouse cursor is moved over the picture object in the report
preview. Not commonly used.

Stretched Specifies whether the picture is stretched or compressed within the picture
object borders. If ‘True’ (default) the picture is stretched/compressed as
necessary if the picture object is resized. If ‘False’the picture is displayed at
its actual size within the picture object, if the picture size is larger than the
picture object the picture will be cropped when viewed.

When a picture is stretched/compressed from its original size it is usually

done observing the pictures aspect ratio (i.e., keeping the picture in
proportion horizontally and vertically) in which case the ‘KeepAspectRatio’
property needs to be set to ‘True’ (default). To ignore the pictures aspect
ratio (i.e., allow it to be stretched or compressed differently horizontally
and vertically) the ‘KeepAspectRatio’property needs to be set ‘False’.

Tag Allows a numerical tag to be specified for the picture object. Not commonly
used.

TagStr Allows a text tag to be specified for the picture object. Not commonly used.

Top Displays (by default in cm) the distance between the top page margin or the
top of the band as the case may be to the top of the picture object. The
property can in most circumstances be edited to move the object, the
picture object’s top border can also be adjusted directly in the report design
workspace by dragging the size adjustment handle (a small black square
located in the center of the top border of the selected picture object) either
up or down. In some circumstances for example if the ‘Align’ property has
been used to fix the objects vertical alignment the object will not move if
the Top property is updated or the size adjustment handle moved and the
property value will revert.

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Transparent Specifies whether the selected ‘TransparentColor’ is shown or suppressed

in the previewed and outputted report, e.g., to hide a solid colored
{Us ed i n conjuncti on wi th the background to a picture file. If ‘False’ (default) the picture is
Tra ns pa rentCol or property for
the pi cture object} previewed/outputted as per the source picture file. If ‘True’ any pixels in
the source picture file which exactly match the color selected in the
‘TransparentColor’property will be transparent.

URL Allows a URL (internet web link) to be specified for the object. If a URL is
specified clicking on the picture object in the preview window will open the
computers default browser window and open the specified URL link. Not
commonly used.

Visible Specifies if the picture object will be included in the preview and outputted
report. If ‘True’ (default) the picture object is previewed and included in
the outputted report (providing the ‘Printable’ property is also set to
‘True’). If ‘False’ the picture object remains visible in the report design
workspace but is not included in the preview or the outputted report.

Width Displays and allows the width for the picture object to be amended. The
picture object width can also be adjusted directly in the report design
workspace by dragging the size adjustment handle (a small black square
located in the center of the left and right borders of the selected picture
object) either left or right.

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Line Objects

To select a Line object, locate it within the Report Design Workspace and click on it. Alternatively locate it
within Report Tree Pane and click on its name. A Line object is displayed with a icon in the Report Tree
Pane.

An example of the Properties tab for a Line object is displayed below:

The properties and settings have the following functions:

Align Specifies the alignment of the line object with reference to the band
or report page within which it is included or with reference to other
objects, the alignment options work in a very similar manner to memo
and picture objects. Not commonly used – Lines are normally
positioned directly in fixed locations.

ArrowEnd / ArrowStart Specifies whether the start or end of the line is to be displayed with
an arrow head. If ‘False’ (default) the line does not have an arrow
head. If ‘True’the line does have an arrow head.

ArrowLength Specifies (in pixels) the length of a displayed arrow head.

ArrowSolid Specifies whether a displayed arrow head is solid or not. If

‘False’ (default) the arrow head is depicted with lines. If ‘True’ the
arrow head is depicted with a solid shape.

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ArrowWidth Specifies (in pixels) the width of a displayed arrow head.

Description Allows a text description to be specified for the line object. Not
commonly used.

Diagonal Specifies whether the line is fixed in a horizontal or vertical alignment

or whether it can be diagonal. If ‘True’the line is either horizontal or
vertical and cannot be dragged into a diagonal alignment. If ‘False’the
line can be into any alignment.

Frame (Expandable List) The Frame attributes display a number of fields for compatibility with
other ‘drawn’objects as such a number of properties do not apply to
line objects. The attributes for the line (Color, Style & Width) should
be adjusted using the control buttons on the Toolbar.

Height Displays and allows the vertical height for the line object to be
amended. The line object height can also be amended directly in the
report design workspace by dragging the size adjustment handle (a
small black square located at each end of the line) either up or down.
Note if the ‘Height’property is amended for a line which is horizontal
(and the ‘Diagonal’ property is set to False) it will be changed to a
vertical line providing the new height is longer than the current width.
Also in such circumstances the height cannot be amended by dragging
the size adjustment handles.

Hint When previewing a report it is possible to display a hint at the bottom

of the preview window when the mouse cursor is moved over a line
object in the preview. The text for the hint should be entered in the
‘Hint’ property field and the feature turned on by changing the
‘ShowHint’property to True. Not commonly used.

Left Displays and allows the left position (the distance between the left
border of the page and the start end of the line object) for the line
object to be amended. The left position (of the start or end of the
line) can also be amended directly in the report design workspace by
dragging the size adjustment handle (a small black square located at
each end of the line) either left or right. Note the left position cannot
be amended by dragging the size adjustment handle if the line is a
vertical line and the ‘Diagonal’property is set to False.

Name Displays and allows the name for the line object to be amended, the
selected name is also displayed within Report Tree Pane for the
band/page.

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Printable Specifies if the line object will be included in the outputted report. If
‘True’(default) the line object will be shown in the preview window
and will be included in the printed or exported report. If ‘False’ the
line object will be shown in the preview window but will not be
included in the printed or exported report. Not commonly used.

Restrictions (Expandable List) Allows editing restrictions to be selected for the line object. If
‘False’ (default) the specified action can be performed. If ‘True’ the
specified action cannot be performed. Specified actions are Modify,
Size, Move, Delete & Edit. For example if the rfDontDelete property is
set to ‘True’ the object cannot be deleted from the report design
workspace.

ShiftMode Specifies if the line object will move (shift) downwards to

accommodate a preceding memo object elongating to fit its contents
(i.e., if the preceding memo object has StretchMode enabled). For the
line object to be shifted it must wholly or partially share a common
vertical alignment).
‘ShiftMode’options are:
smAlways (default) - The line object will always move (if required).
smDontShift – The line objects ‘Top’ property will be observed, the
line object will not move.
smWhenOverlapped – The line object will only be moved if the
preceding memo object overlaps its start end it in the outputted
report.
Normally the ‘Stretched’ property for the band containing the line
object should be set to True. Not commonly used.

ShowHint When previewing a report it is possible to display a hint at the bottom

{Us ed i n conjuncti on wi th the Hi nt of the preview window when the mouse cursor is moved over a line
property for the l i ne object} object in the preview. The text for the hint should be entered in the
‘Hint’ property field and the feature turned on by changing the
‘ShowHint’property to True. If ‘False’(default) a hint entered in the
‘Hint’property is not displayed. If ‘True’ a hint entered in the ‘Hint’
property is displayed when the mouse cursor is moved over the
picture object in the report preview. Not commonly used.

StretchMode Allows line objects to be stretched with memo objects in the same
horizontal alignment within a band (Please refer to the StretchMode
property listed under the Memo Objects section for further details).
For line objects the default value for the ‘StretchMode’ property is
smDontStretch, with this setting the line object’s ‘Height’ property
will be observed in the outputted report (i.e., the line object will not
resize).

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If the smMaxHeight setting is selected the line object will expand

vertically automatically to match the height of the tallest horizontally
adjacent memo object in the outputted report.
The smActualHeight setting has the same effect as the smDontStretch
setting.
When stretch mode is enabled the ‘Stretched’ property for the band
containing the memo object should be set to True.

Tag Allows a numerical tag to be specified for the line object. Not
commonly used.

TagStr Allows a text tag to be specified for the line object. Not commonly
used.

Top Displays and allows the top position (the distance between the top
page margin or the top of the band as the case may be and the start
end of the line object) for the line object to be amended. The top
position (of the start or end of the line) can also be amended directly
in the report design workspace by dragging the size adjustment
handle (a small black square located at each end of the line) either up
or down. Note the top position cannot be amended by dragging the
size adjustment handle if the line is a horizontal line and the
‘Diagonal’property is set to False.

Visible Specifies if the line object will be included in the preview and
outputted report. If ‘True’(default) the line object is previewed and
included in the outputted report (providing the ‘Printable’property is
also set to ‘True’). If ‘False’ the line object remains visible in the
report design workspace but is not included in the preview or the
outputted report.

Width Displays and allows the horizontal length for the line object to be
amended. The line object width can also be amended directly in the
report design workspace by dragging the size adjustment handle (a
small black square located at each end of the line) either left or right.
Note if the ‘Width’ property is amended for a line which is vertical
(and the ‘Diagonal’ property is set to False) it will be changed to a
horizontal line providing the new width is longer than the current
height. Also in such circumstances the width cannot be amended by
dragging the size adjustment handles.

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13.2 Appendix B - Toolbar Control Buttons

Standard Toolbar

Preview – Previews the entire report. (Ctrl + P)

New Report Page – Adds a new report page and displays it in a new tab.

New Dialog Page – Adds a new dialog form to the report. This is an advanced function
and is not covered in this manual.
NOTE: If the button is clicked in error and a Dialog Page together with its associated
‘DialogPage X’ page tab is created, right-click over the ‘DialogPage X’ page tab and
select the Delete Page option, or select the ‘DialogPage X’in the Report Tree and click
on the Delete Page button to delete it.

Delete Page – Deletes the currently active page.

NOTE: If you click this button in error, click the Undo button to restore the page
prior to undertaking any further action.

Page Settings – Opens the Page Options dialog allowing selection of page size,
orientation and margins.

Cut – Cuts the currently selected object(s) to clipboard. (Ctrl + X)

Copy – Copies the currently selected object(s) to clipboard. (Ctrl + C)

Paste – Pastes the contents of the clipboard. (Ctrl + V)

Undo – Reverses/Undoes the last action performed. (Ctrl + Z)

Redo – Reverses/Redoes the last Undo action performed. (Ctrl + Y)

Group – Groups the currently selected objects together e.g., to enable them to be
moved on the page simultaneously and maintain their relative positions.
NOTE: Grouping objects together, especially dissimilar objects, may alter the
settings which can be reviewed and amended for objects in the Object Inspector.

Ungroup – Splits the currently selected group object into individual objects once more.

Zoom – Selects the display size (zoom) of the report page in the Report Design
Workspace.

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Text Toolbar

Text Format Options – These will be applied to the currently selected object and will be applied to any
new data or text object subsequently inserted into the report design workspace.

Style – Applies a user defined style (e.g., font, borders & cell color). Styles may be
edited by selecting the Report menu, and then selecting Styles.

Font Name – Selects the Font family or typeface.

Font Size - Selects the text size.

Bold – Toggles Bold text weight.

Italic – Toggles Italic text style.

Underline – Toggles text Underlining.

Font Settings – Opens the Font dialog allowing the Font type, style, size, color and
other effects to be chosen.

Font Color – Selects the Font color.

Highlight – Opens the Highlight dialog allowing conditional formatting to be

specified.

Text Rotation – Selects the rotation of the text in a text object as either 0, 45, 90,
180 or 270 degrees.

Alignment – Aligns the cell contents of the currently selected data or text object and will be applied to any
new object subsequently inserted into the Report Design Workspace.

Align Left

Align Center

Align Right

Justify

Align Top

Align Middle

Align Bottom

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Frame Toolbar

Borders – Toggles a border line to the cell(s) of the currently selected data or text object(s) will be applied
to any new object(s) inserted into the Report Design Workspace.

Top Line*

Bottom Line*

Left Line*

Right Line*

All Frame Lines* – Adds border lines to all edges.

No Frame Lines – Removes all border lines.

Shadow – Toggles a Shadow (also referred to as a Drop Shadow) effect for the
cell(s) of the currently selected data or text object(s). The color and width of the
shadow can be amended in the Object Settings Pane. Expand the ‘Frame’ item
group and select the required settings using the drop down fields of the
‘ShadowColor‘and ‘ShadowWidth’setting fields.

Background Color – Selects the Background (shading) color for the cell(s) of the
currently selected data or text object(s), and will be applied to any new data or
text object(s) inserted into the Report Design Workspace.

Frame Color* – Selects the color for all border lines of the cell(s) of the currently
selected data or text object(s), NB. The last selection will be used as the default
setting for any new data or text object(s) inserted into the Report Design
Workspace.

Frame Style* – Selects the line style for all border lines of the cell(s) of the
currently selected data or text object(s), NB. The last selection will be used as the
default setting for any new data or text object(s) inserted into the Report Design
Workspace.

Frame Width* – Selects the width for all border lines of the cell(s) of the currently
selected data or text object(s), NB. The last selection will be used as the default
setting for any new data or text object(s) inserted into the Report Design
Workspace.

* The color, style and width of the border lines can be amended in the Object Inspector. Expand the ‘Frame’
item group and select the required settings using the drop-down buttons of the ‘Color’, ‘Style’and ‘Width’
setting fields. Individual border lines can also be amended to have different settings. Expand the ‘Frame’
item group and the required ‘Line’ item group (either ‘BottomLine’, ‘LeftLine’, ‘RightLine’ or ‘TopLine’),
then select the required settings using the drop-down buttons of the ‘Color’, ‘Style’ and ‘Width’ setting
fields.

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Alignment Palette

Show Grid – Toggles the display of the grid on the workspace between on and off.

Align To Grid – Toggles the alignment to grid feature between on and off. If Align
to Grid is 'on', when you move or resize an object on the grid, the object will snap
in increments defined in the Size field of Designer Options.

Fit To Grid – Moves all four corners of the currently selected data or text object(s)
to the nearest snap increment.

Align Left – Aligns objects to the left edge of the first selected object.

Align Middle – Moves objects horizontally so their centers are aligned with the
center of the first selected object.

Align Right – Aligns objects to the right edge of the first selected object.

Align Top – Aligns objects to the top edge of the first selected object.

Align Center – Moves objects vertically so their centers are aligned with the center
of the first selected object.

Align Bottom – Aligns objects to the bottom edge of the first selected object.

Space Horizontally – Horizontally spaces the selected objects evenly.

Space Vertically – Vertically spaces the selected objects evenly.

Center Horizontally in Band – Centers a selected object horizontally within a band.

Center Vertically in Band – Centers a selected object vertically within a band.

Same Width – Set the widths of all selected objects to be the same as the width of
the first selected object.

Same Height – Set the heights of all selected objects to be the same as the height
of the first selected object.

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13.3 Appendix C - Controls in Dialog Boxes

Memo Dialog

Insert Expression – Opens the Expression Editor dialog allowing, for example, a data
field from a data set to be selected which returns data from an iTWO costX®
workbook. It is generally easier however to drag and drop a data field from the Data
Tree Pane to create a Memo object which returns data from an iTWO costX®
workbook, as described above within this section of the manual.

Insert Aggregate – Opens the Insert Aggregate dialog allowing aggregating

expressions to be used, this is an advanced function and is not covered in this
introductory manual.

Insert Formatting – Opens the Display Format dialog allowing formatting commands
to be included within the text of complex expressions, this is an advanced function
and is not covered in this introductory manual. To set a number format for the memo
object use the Format Tab instead, as described above within this section of the
manual.

Word Wrap – Turns on or off a word warp feature for the contents of the main part of
the Text tab in the Memo dialog.

Rich Editor Dialog

Open File – allows an existing .RTF (Rich Text File) to be opened in the Rich Editor
dialog.
NOTE: This overwrites any existing contents.

Save File – allows the content of the Rich Editor dialog to be saved to a .RTF (Rich
Text File).

Undo – Reverses/Undoes the last action performed. (Ctrl + Z).

Font – opens the Font dialog allowing a selection from a range of font settings. Click
the OK button to close the dialog and apply the selected settings or the Cancel
button to close the dialog without applying the settings. The selected font settings
are applied to the text which was highlighted prior clicking on the Font button (if no
text was highlighted prior to clicking the font button, the font settings are applied
to new text typed immediately after closing the dialog).

Insert Expression – opens the Expression Editor dialog allowing, for example, a data
field from a data set to be selected which returns data from an iTWO costX®
workbook. It is generally easier however to drag and drop a data field from the Data
Tree Pane into the report, as described in the Dragging a Data Field into a Band
section.

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Cancel – closes the Rich Editor dialog without applying any changes.

OK – closes the Rich Editor dialog and updates the rich text object with the changes
made.

Font Name – allows a font to be selected from a range of fonts. The selected font is
applied to the text which was highlighted prior to selecting the font (if no text was
highlighted at the time the font was selected, the font is applied to new text typed
immediately after selecting the font).

Font Size – allows a font size to be selected. The selected font size is applied to the
text which was highlighted prior to selecting the font size (if no text was
highlighted at the time the font size was selected, the Tab key can be pressed on
the keyboard to return focus to the main part of the dialog. The new font size is
then applied to new text typed immediately following pressing the Tab key).

Bold – toggles the bold style between on and off for the text which was highlighted
prior to clicking on the Bold button (if no text was highlighted at the time the
button was clicked, the bold/normal style is applied to new text typed immediately
after clicking the button).

Italic – toggles the italic style between on and off for the text which was
highlighted prior to clicking on the Italic button (if no text was highlighted at the
time the button was clicked, the italic/normal style is applied to new text typed
immediately after clicking the button).

Underline – toggles the underline style between on and off for the text which was
highlighted prior to clicking on the Underline button (if no text was highlighted at
the time the button was clicked, the underline/normal style is applied to new text
typed immediately after clicking the button).

Left, Center & Right Align and Justify – aligns the current row or rows (i.e., the row
the insertion point is currently on or rows which are highlighted or partially
highlighted) either to the left, center or right or justified across the width. The
alignment is applied to both the editor window and to the rich text object.

Bullets – toggles bullet point(s) for the current row(s) (i.e., the row the insertion
point is currently on or rows which are highlighted or partially highlighted).

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13.4 Appendix D - Keyboard Shortcuts

The Report Designer supports the following keyboard shortcuts.

Description Key Combination

Preview a report. CTRL+P
Undo CTRL+Z
Copy CTRL+C
Cut CTRL+X
Paste CTRL+V
Select all. CTRL+A
Move between objects within a band. TAB
Delete selected object(s). DELETE
Open the editor for the selected object. ENTER
Resize the selected object(s). SHIFT with an arrow key
Move the selected object(s) in small increments. CTRL with an arrow key
Snap the selected object to the nearest object in the specified direction. ALT with an arrow key

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