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To copy a composite design objects properties to the Toolbar 1Click the design object to select it. 2Right-click the object and click Copy T o T oolbar. To copy page properties to the Toolbar 1Click the background of the page to select the page. 2Right-click the page (anywhere in the background), and click Properties. 3Click Edit, Copy T o T oolbar. 4T o make the changes permanent, save the design to a style sheet: right-click the Design Window Title Bar, click Style Sheet, and save thecurrent style sheet as a new style sheet. Design Window rulers Both the Form Design and Report Design Windows have horizontal andvertical rulers you can use to place, resize, or move design objects. They alsohave an expanded ruler (used in combination with the horizontal ruler) youcan use to edit and format text objects. When you select a design object, the rulers change color to indicate the objects placement and size. Using the Design Window rulers After you set preferences, every time you open a new form or report, thedefault rulers are displayed. You can override these settings for the currentdocument after you are in a form or report. To display rulers With a form or report open in the Design Window, click View, Ruler toplace a check mark beside the option. This menu option toggles between show and hide. To set default rulers and their grid settings for all design documents 1Click T ools, Settings, Preferences. 2Click the Designer page. 3Enable or disable options as appropriate. For a complete explanation of the available options, click Help. Forms and reports 195 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To override the default ruler-display for the current document With a form or report selected in the Design Window, click Format, Design Setup and enable the rulers you want to display. This change only affects the current document. To change the grid settings to set the units of measure for both the grid and the rulers 1Click T ools, Settings, Preferences. 2Click the Designer page. 3Do one or more of the following: T o choose the unit of measure, choose Inches or Centimeters from the Units list box. T ype a number in the Major Division box to specify the spacingbetween major grid lines (in the specified unit of measure). T ype a number in the Minor Division box to specify the number oftick marks, or minor divisions between major grid lines. You can also display rulers when you run a form. Click Format, Design Setup and enable the check box beside each ruler you want to display. T odisplay the enabled rulers, click View, Rulers so that a check markappears beside the option. You can override grid settings for the current document by clicking Format, Design Setup and changing the settings as appropriate. Using the expanded ruler The expanded ruler, used in conjunction with the horizontal ruler, is anediting and layout tool for use with a text object. Use it to adjust margins,tabs, line spacing, and text alignment. The expanded ruler applies to only onetext object at a time. It is displayed regardless of the object selected, but thetab, indent, and margin markers appear only when you place an insertionpoint in a text object (not when you select the object as a whole). The tab,indent, and margin markers apply only to the text object in which you areworking. Selecting text for formatting When you select the entire text object, the expanded rulers settingsapply to all the text within it. 196 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
When you select specific text and change the settings, the changes apply only to the selected text (except for spacing and alignment settings, whichalways apply to all the text within a paragraph). When you position the insertion point in the text object without selectingany text, changes to that paragraph take effect. To display the expanded ruler 1Click Format, Design Setup. 2Enable the Expanded Ruler check box. 3In the Design Window, click View, Ruler so that a check mark appearsbeside the option. To specify which rulers display by default in the Design Window Click T ools, Settings, Preferences. On the Designer page, enable therulers you want to display each time you open the Design Window. Horizontal Ruler is enabled by default. Using the buttons on the expanded ruler to lay out text in a text object, you can adjust alignment, tabs, and line spacing. For text formatting, you can also use a special T ext Formatting T oolbar. T odisplay this T oolbar, click View, T oolbars, and enable the T ext Formatting T oolbar. You can also right-click the T oolbar and enable T ext Formatting. Placing tabs If you dont place any tabs, Paradox uses default tab settings to place tabsthat you cant move or delete. When you place a tab, all default tabs to its leftare removed. T o delete all default tabs, place a tab near the right margin. Youcan move and delete the tabs you place. If you delete all the tabs you place,Paradox returns to its default tab settings. Tabs can be set on the horizontal ruler, but to change the type of tab, you need to use the expanded ruler. Default tabs in the ruler and expanded rulerare a half inch apart. The following types of tabs are available: Left: Text following the tab is pushed right so that its left edge lines upunder the tab marker. This is the most typical tab type. Forms and reports197 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Right: Text following the tab is pushed left so that its right edge lines up under the tab marker. Center: Text following the tab is centered under the tab marker. Decimal: Decimal points line up under the tab marker. Use a decimal tab to align columns of figures at the decimal point. To add a tab marker 1Place a text object on a form or report in the Design Window and turn onthe expanded ruler. 2Click View, Ruler. 3Click inside the text object. The insertion point must be in a text object. 4Click a Tab button on the expanded ruler. 5Click the tab well to place the tab marker. To move a tab Drag it to a new location. To delete a tab Drag it away from the ruler. T o display the expanded ruler, enable the Expanded Ruler check box onthe Design Setup dialog box. Adding indentations Use indent markers in the ruler or expanded ruler to place indents and createhanging paragraphs in the selected text object. To place an indent From inside a text object, drag the indent marker in the tab well to thelocation you want. When the indent marker is to the right of the margin marker, the paragraph is indented. When the indent marker is to the left of the marginmarker, the paragraph is outdented. 198 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To move an indent marker Drag the indent marker to a new location. Changing margins and text alignment Change margins for a text object in the ruler or expanded ruler. The default margins of your text are the left and right borders of the selected text object. Paradox establishes the default margins of text by the location of the textobject. By default, text is aligned along the left edge of the object. You canalign text at the left or right margin, down the center of the text object, or atboth the left and right margins. Use the alignment buttons in the expanded ruler to align text objects. The alignment buttons are left, centered, right, and justified. To change a margin Drag the margin icon to the tab well location you want. To change text alignment Click the alignment button you want before you begin typing. If no text is selected, the next text you type will be aligned the way you chose. (Youcan also select the text and then click the appropriate alignment button. ) Changing vertical line spacing Using the expanded ruler to change spacing is faster than changing anobjects properties. To change vertical line spacing Click the line spacing button for the selected text. Choose 1 for single-spaced text, 2 for double-spaced, and so on. The default spacing issingle-spaced. If no text is selected, the next text you type will be spaced the way you chose. Using the Design Window grid The grid is a background of horizontal and vertical lines that help you alignthe placement of design objects on the page. Paradox displays major gridlines and minor grid ticks. Lines show the grids major divisions, and dotsshow the grids minor divisions. Showing the grid helps you line things up byeye, or see where design objects are snapping if you have enabled the Snap T o Grid property (Format menu). Forms and reports 199 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
The unit of measurement used by the grid is the same as the unit of measurement displayed in the ruler. For example, if metric measurementsare used in the ruler, the grid increments are metric as well. Units: Choose inches or centimeters as the unit of measure. Major Division: Specify the distance (in the units chosen) between major grid lines. Minor Division: Specify the number of minor divisions (shown bytickmarks) between major grid lines. To display the grid With a form or report open in the Design Window, click View, Grid so thata check mark appears beside the option. Paradox displays major grid lines and minor grid ticks. To change the scale or unit of measurement of the grid Click T ools, Settings, Preferences to set the default grid settings for all forms and reports. If the grid is visible in the Report Design Window, you can right-click aband and choose Move Grid T o Band to reorient the grid at the top leftcorner of the band. The grid does not have to be visible for you to use it. Setting Designer preferences The Designer preferences affect the behavior and display of Design Windows, and are common to both Form Design and Report Design Windows. These preferences can be set as defaults when you click T ools,Settings, Preferences, or changed as settings in the current Design Window. Preferences set become the default settings for both Design Windows. Eachtime you open the Form Design or Report Design Window, Paradox usesthese settings. The Designer page contains the following Design Window preferences:Select From Inside on page 201 specifies how to select design objects contained by other objects. Frame Objects on page 202 specifies whether to display design objectswith or without frames. 200 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Flicker-Free Draw on page 202 suppresses screen flashes when you move or resize design objects. Outlined Move/Resize on page 203 specifies what you see when youmove or resize a design object: the object itself or an outline of the object. Grid measurements specifies the unit of measure and the distancebetween major grid lines and minor tick marks between grid lines for agrid or a ruler. Ruler specifies which rulers to display in the Design Window. Changing the default Designer preferences has no effect on an open formor report. You must close the document, then re-open it to use the newdefault preference settings. On the General page of the Preferences dialog box, you can activate ordeactivate hyperlinks for fields on a form from a table. This is useful whenyou are designing forms and you do not wish to launch the Internetapplication. Select From Inside When you click an object that is contained by another object, the Select From Inside option on the Designer properties page specifies how Paradox selectsthe object. Suppose you have an ellipse contained in a box. When you click the ellipse, what do you want selected the box or the ellipse? If Select From Inside is disabled, Paradox selects the outermost object first. This means, even though you click inside, Paradox selects the outerobject first. The second click selects the ellipse. Similarly, if a field is contained in an ellipse contained in a box, and youclick the field, the first click selects the box, the second click selects theellipse, and the third click selects the field. If Select From Inside is enabled, Paradox selects the object you click. Forexample, if you have a field contained in an ellipse contained in a box, youcan click the field to select the field, click the ellipse to select the ellipse,and click the box to select the box. Forms and reports 201 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To select a contained object on first click 1Click T ools, Settings, Preferences. 2Click the Designer page. 3Enable the Select From Inside check box. Double-click an object contained by another object to select it immediately, regardless of whether Select From Inside is enabled. When you have selected an object contained by another object, you canpress ESC to select the next outermost object. For example, if you selectan ellipse within a box, press ESC to select the box. Frame Objects You can display objects on your screen with or without frames by using the Frame Objects option on the Designer properties page. To see objects on the screen with frames 1Click T ools, Settings, Preferences. 2Click the Designer page. 3Enable the Frame Objects check box. Flicker-Free Draw Sometimes the screen flashes a bit when you move or resize objects. This isespecially noticeable when your design has a dark background. T o suppressthis behavior, you can enable the Flicker-Free Draw option. Turning Flicker-Free Draw on eliminates some screen flickering, but it can cause themovement or resizing of objects to be slower. Experiment by turning theoption on and off to see which works best for you. To keep your screen from flickering when you resize or move objects. 1Click T ools, Settings, Preferences. 2Click the Designer page. 3Enable the Flicker-Free Draw check box. 202 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Outlined Move/Resize You can specify how you want Paradox to display objects when you move or resize them. You can have Paradox display the object itself move, expand, orshrink as you move and resize it. Or, to move and resize objects faster, youcan have Paradox display only the outline of the object as you move, expand,or shrink it. To specify how you want Paradox to display objects as you move/resize them 1Click T ools, Settings, Preferences. 2Click the Designer page, and enable or disable the following check box: Outlined Move/Resizewhen enabled, displays an outline of an object as you move or resize, and displays the object itself as you move orresize it when disabled. Setting default Design Window preferences You can specify how Paradox creates new forms and reports, whether formsand reports open in Design Mode, the size of the form screen page, and thestyle sheet for the initial appearance of design objects. After selecting formand report default preferences, every form or report you open will use thesesettings. To set form and report default preferences 1Click T ools, Settings, Preferences. 2In the Preferences dialog box, click the Forms/Reports page. 3Enable preferences as appropriate. For an explanation of each option click Help in the dialog box. Style sheets If you are creating multiple forms and reports, you may want them have aconsistent appearance. For example, you may want all text in the form to begreen and all boxes to be blue. Instead of creating these objects and thenmodifying their properties manually each time you create a new form orreport, you can use a style sheet that applies these properties as you createthe objects. Normally, if you change the properties of a design object, these properties remain as youve changed them until you exit Paradox. Style sheets allowyou to save these changes so that you can create forms and reports with aconsistent look. Forms and reports 203 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Creating or saving a style sheet Paradox provides several style sheets. You can also create and save your own style sheets. To create or save a style sheet 1Create your form or report, modifying the properties of the design toolswhere appropriate. 2With a form or report open in the Design Window, click Format, Style Sheet. 3In the Style Sheet dialog box, do one of the following: T o modify an existing style sheet, select that style sheet from the list and click Save. T o create a new style sheet, click Save As from the Save File Asdialog box, and type the filename and path of the new style sheet inthe File Name box. The extension of the style sheet (. FT or. FP) depends on whether yourdesign document is designed for the screen (. FT) or for the printer (. FP). Applying a style sheet You can apply a style sheet to a form or report at any time. When you apply astyle sheet, all changes you make to the form or report thereafter willconform to the style sheet. Objects already on the form or report retain theiroriginal properties. If you want to change previously created objects on yourform or report to a new style, you have to change the style sheet in the Design Layout dialog box. To apply a style sheet 1Right-click the form or report title bar, and click Style Sheet. 2In the Style Sheet dialog box, select a style sheet. To change to a different style sheet 1While in Design Mode, click Format, Layout. 2In the Style Sheet list box, select a different style sheet. 204 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Changing to a different style sheet will replace the changes you have manually made to the form or report (such as adding design objects, ormoving fields). Therefore it is better to change to a new style sheet beforeyou have made any changes to the form or report. You can change the default style sheet using the Preferences command(T ools, Settings menu). Or, you can choose a different style sheet in the Design Layout dialog box. Specifying a default style sheet If you want all of your forms and reports to have a uniform look, you can setthe default style sheet, which Paradox will use to create all forms andreports. To specify a default style sheet 1Click T ools, Settings, Preferences. 2In the Preferences dialog box, click the Forms/Reports page. 3Do one or both of the following: T o specify a default style sheet for the screen, choose a style from the Screen Style Sheets list box. T o specify a default style sheet designed for the printer, choose a stylefrom the Printer Style Sheets list box. The extension of the style sheet (. FT or. FP) depends on whether yourdesign document is designed for the screen (. FT) or for the printer (. FP). Accessing a style sheet from any working directory When you save a style sheet, Paradox stores it in the current workingdirectory. You can, however, make the style sheet available from any projectby saving it to the root Paradox directory. To move the style sheet to the Paradox root directory 1Click T ools, Utilities, Rename. 2Choose Screen Style Sheets from the Files Of T ype list box. Forms and reports 205 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
3T ype the name of the appropriate style sheet in the File Name box. 4Click OK to display the Rename T o dialog box. 5T ype the new path for the style sheet in the File Name text box. 6Click Rename. Saving a design When you save a form or report, you save the design, not the data itself. Paradox always saves data to the appropriate table when you leave eachrecord. Not only do you save the properties of the document, but also thelayout of the document. To save a form or report design 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, click File, Save. 2T ype a name for the form or report in the File Name box and click Save. It isnt necessary to type a file extension when you save a designdocument. Paradox automatically gives design documents the appropriateextension so Paradox can access them by their type. Using design objects in forms and reports Design objects are objects you place in forms and reports in a Design Window. You create design objects with T oolbar tools. Design objects include text objects boxes, lines, and ellipses fields and table frames crosstabs and charts multi-record objects buttons graphics OLE objects notebook objects Active X (OLE) and native Windows controls 206 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Some objects (like buttons and notebooks) and Active X controls can be used only in forms, and other objects, such as bands and page breaks, are usedonly in reports. All design objects, except for the text object, have a default size. Click the appropriate tool on the T oolbar, then click in the form or report to place theobject. Paradox creates the object at its default size. You can resize any objectby dragging the sizing handles that surround the object. Selecting design objects By default, you can select any object in a Design Window. When an object ismade unselectable, you can select any object it contains, but you cannotselect the container object. This means you cannot move the object orperform any other action that requires the object to be selected. Selecting and deselecting design objects You must select a design object in order to alter its properties. To select a design object With a form or report open in the Design Window, do one of the following: T o select a field, click the object. T o select specific text, click and then click again to place the cursor in the text then drag to select the text. T o select multiple objects, hold down SHIFT or CTRL and click theobjects. T o select adjacent objects, hold down SHIFT and click and drag tosurround the objects with a box. Handles appear around the selected object(s) and the name of the object appears on the Status Bar in the lower-right of your screen. To deselect a design object Hold down SHIFT or CTRL and click the object you want to deselect. Making a design object selectable or unselectable Occasionally you may want to set an object so that it cannot be moved orchange shape. You can achieve this by making the object unselectable. Forms and reports207 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To prevent an object from being selected 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, right-click the object and click Properties. 2Click the Design page. 3Disable the Selectable check box. To make an unselectable object selectable 1Open the Object Explorer. 2Right-click the unselectable object in the Object Explorer tree, and click Properties. 3Click the Design page. 4Enable the Selectable check box. You can still change an unselectable objects properties by right-clicking itin the Object Explorer tree and clicking Properties. Placing, grouping, and stacking design objects You can use the toolbar to place a design object on your form or report. Byconstraining objects as you place them, you can create perfect circles,squares, and vertical or horizontal lines. Once you have an object on yourform or report with properties that you like, you can duplicate this object. Grouping design objects You can group objects to have them behave as one object during certainoperations. When you select a group, a single set of handles forms a rectangle that surrounds the whole group. You can move or delete the group as a whole. Groups act like other containers, except they contain only the objects youselected. They are especially useful if you want some, but not all, closeobjects to act like a unit. Use groups to create a collection of objects that you want to use as a one object preserve the relative positions of design objects when you move or resize them influence tab order in forms You can view or change a groups properties, and you can attach Object PALmethods to the group. 208 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Stacking design objects Objects in a design document can be on top of or underneath other objects. You can change the layering of objects or groups of objects. Tab order in the Design Windows corresponds to stacking order (back to front). You can usethe stacking commands to adjust your form or report design. Stacking orderdoes not affect tab order at run time which is controlled by Choose the Next Tab Stop,and Tab Stop properties. Placing a design object on a form or report You can place any design object at any position on a form or report. You canconstrain lines, boxes, and ellipses if you hold down SHIFT when you clickor click and drag. When you constrain a box, it becomes a square; an ellipsebecomes a circle; a line is forced to be horizontal, vertical, or at a 45-degreeangle. To place a design object on a form or report 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, click the tool you wantto use. 2Do one of the following: Click the form or report to place the object at its default size. Drag to size the object as you place it. To keep a tool active so you can create multiple objects of the same type Hold down SHIFT when you click the tool you want from the T oolbar. The tool remains active until you click another tool, or click the Selection Arrow. Duplicating a design object You can place a duplicate of an object adjacent to the original object. Theduplicated object is a completely independent object, just as if you had copiedthe original to the Clipboard and then pasted it into your report or form, orcreated it using the tool on the T oolbar. The object is not placed on the Clipboard. If the object you are duplicating is a table or multi-record object, a duplicate would violate the rule that a report cannot have two objects of the same typethat represent the same table in the data model. When you duplicate anobject of this type, Paradox creates the object with an undefined table thathas the same table-level properties (for example color and column positions)but in which the fields are replaced by undefined fields. Forms and reports 209 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To duplicate a design object 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, select the object you want to duplicate. 2Click Edit, Duplicate. Paradox puts a copy of the selected design object just below the original design object. You can move and resize the copy. You can duplicate objects only within the same Design Window, not fromone window to another. Grouping design objects You can group objects to have them behave as one object during certainoperations. To group design objects 1Hold down SHIFT and select the objects you want to group. 2Click Format, Group. To ungroup design objects 1Select the group. 2Click Format, Ungroup. Groups can exist within other groups. You can select a group and selectother design objects, then group all of them together. The first groupremains intact within the larger group. You can view or change a groups properties, and you can attach Object PAL methods to the group. Stacking design objects Objects in a design document can be on top of or underneath other objects. You can change the layering of objects or groups of objects. To stack design objects 1Select the object you want to stack. 210 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
2Click Format, Order, and then click one of the following: Bring T o Frontmoves the selected object in front of all other objects. Send T o Backmoves the selected object behind all other objects. Bring T o Front and Send T o Back change the order only within a container. If objects have transparent colors, it might be difficult to determine theirorder. If you select a group of objects and click Bring T o Front, the internalordering of the group is maintained and the entire group is brought to thefront. Viewing design objects Not only can you change the run time properties of design objects such asshape, position, and color Paradox allows you to change the way in whichyou view design objects as you are creating a form or report. For example,you can choose to see the frame of an object as you move or resize it, or youcan choose to display the size and position of the object on the Status Bar ofthe Design Window. Displaying frames for design objects You can display objects on your screen with or without frames. To display frames for design objects 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, click Format, Design Setup. 2In the Settings dialog box, enable the Frame Objects check box. When you enable the Frame Objects check box, objects without a clearframe or outline are outlined by dotted lines to help you see them. If youhave many of these objects, you might want to disable this option. When you disable the Frame Objects check box, Paradox shows a frameonly if you have changed the objects Frame property (the frames color,style, or thickness). These frames appear only in Design Windows. Forms and reports 211 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Displaying outlines for design objects while moving or resizing You can specify what you see when you move or resize an object. When you enable the Outlined Move/Resize check box, Paradox displays the outline ofthe object whenever you move or resize the object. To display outlines for design objects while moving or resizing 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, click Format, Design Setup. 2In the Settings dialog box, enable the Outlined Move/Resize check box. When you disable the Outlined Move/Resize check box, Paradox displaysthe object itself whenever you move or resize it. Most moving andresizing operations are faster when you enable the option because Paradox does not redraw the screen image until the operation is complete. However, some operations are clearer when you can see what ishappening throughout the operation. Displaying design object size and position on the status bar When you move or resize an object, the left side of the Status Bar tells youwhich object is moving and gives its position. This can help you move orresize objects more accurately. When you finish moving or resizing, the sizeand position at the right of the Status Bar are updated. To display design object size and position on the Status Bar Click View, Size And Position. The right end of the Status Bar displays the position (based on an XY axis) and size of the selected object. On the View menu, Ruler, Grid, and Size And Position are settings, notproperties or preferences. Moving and aligning design objects You can move objects in a form or report using either the mouse or thekeyboard. You can also move objects indirectly using the Align and Adjust Spacing commands (Design menu). 212 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
You can align design objects to the left, right, and center horizontally, and to the top, bottom, and middle vertically. Paradox can align all design objectsdirectly on the grid lines (major or minor) whenever you place, resize, ormove them. Moving design objects You can move an object to any position on the form or report, as long as theobject isnt pinned. To move a design object 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, select the object youwant to move. 2Drag the object or use the arrow keys to move the object to its newposition. When you move an object, holding down SHIFT while you drag forces theobject to move only horizontally or only vertically. If you move the mousealong a diagonal line that is flatter than 45 degrees, the object moveshorizontally; otherwise, the object moves vertically. Aligning design objects When a design object snaps to the grid, its top left corner is moved to thenearest intersection of grid lines. An object aligns by its upper left corner orby the edge you are resizing. If an object cannot move to that position(because it is blocked by the edge of its container, for example), it will get asclose as possible. The grid has no influence on the position of objectscontained in text. To align design objects 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, hold down SHIFT andclick to select the objects you want to align. 2Click Format, Alignment and click one of the following options: Align Leftaligns the left side of each object with the left side of the left-most object. Align Centeraligns the midpoints of the objects vertically. Align Rightaligns the right side of each object with the right side ofthe right-most object. Forms and reports 213 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Align T opaligns the right side of each object with the top of the highest object. Align Middlealigns the midpoints of the objects horizontally. Align Bottomaligns the bottom of each object with the bottom ofthe lowest object. To snap objects to the grid With a form or report open in the Design Window, click Format, Snap T o Grid so that a check mark appears beside the option. Objects move to the closest grid point if the Snap T o Grid property is enabled. Objects that are inside a table align within their column. Objects never leave their containers to align; the objects move as far asthey can in the indicated direction. Aligning objects does not break thecontainer relationship. Objects that are in different bands in a report cannot be aligned verticallyusing the Format, Alignment command. Internally generated resizes (such as when you add text to a text object ordefine a field object) do not snap to the grid. Adjusting the spacing of design objects You can adjust design objects so that the space between the objects is exactlythe same. To adjust the spacing of design objects 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, hold down SHIFT andclick to select the design objects you want to adjust. 2Click Format, Spacing, and one or both of the following: Horizontaladjusts the horizontal spacing between the objects. Verticaladjusts the vertical spacing between the objects. Pinning design objects in place T o make sure an object in a form or report does not get moved accidentally in the Design Window, pin the object to the design. You can move pinned 214 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
objects by actions such as Design, Align. Pinning only prevents you from inadvertently moving an object with the mouse. You pin an object relative to its container. You can move a pinned objects container as long as the container itself is not pinned. Moving or resizing anobject to surround a pinned object does not cause the pinned object tobecome contained, even if it is fully within the resized objects boundaries. To pin design objects on a form or report 1With the form or report open in the Design Window, right-click the objectand click Properties. 2Click the Design page. 3On the Design page of the Properties dialog box, enable one or both of thefollowing check boxes: Pin Horizontalif you want to be able to move the object up or down, but not left or right. Pin Verticalif you want to be able to move the object left or right, butnot up or down. Pinning has no influence on objects that contain text. In addition to pinning objects in the Design Window, you can also pin themwhen you run (print or view) a report. Enable both Pin Horizontal and Pin Vertical to keep an object from movingin any direction. Sizing and shaping design objects Although design objects have a default size and shape, you can modify theseproperties at any time while in Design mode. You can also change the shapeand spacing of an object relative to other design objects on the form orreport, or set a field so that it contracts and expands to fit the size of itscontents. Changing the size and shape of a design object You can make design objects larger or smaller, as well as constrain them sothat they take on a fixed shape or stretch them so that they take on any shapethat suits your needs. You can make a field expand or contract in the Design Window when its contents get larger or smaller. (This can happen when you Forms and reports 215 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
make changes to the field-object properties such as display type, font, or size. ) To change the size or shape of a design object 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, click the object youwant to resize. 2Do one of the following: Drag the objects handles. Hold down SHIFT and drag a corner handle to constrain the object. When you constrain an object, all objects except lines maintain their current proportions. Lines are forced to be horizontal, vertical, or 45-degree angles. To size a field object 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, right-click the fieldobject and choose Properties. 2Click the Design page. 3Enable the Size T o Fit check box. If a text object does not resize with the handles, try right-clicking the textobject and clicking Properties. Change the size of the text using the Fontpage of the Properties dialog box. If an OLE object or bitmap does not resize with handles, turn off its Size T o Fit property. (Right-click the object, click Properties, and disable the Size T o Fit check box on the Design page of the Properties dialog box. ) Adjusting the size and spacing of multiple design objects You can adjust the size and spacing of design objects to achieve asymmetrical look. For example, if you create a group of buttons you can makethem all exactly the same width and height. If Paradox cannot resize anobject, it disregards that object and resizes all other objects. To adjust the size and spacing of multiple design objects 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, hold down SHIFT andclick to select the objects you want to adjust. 2Click Format, Size, and then click one or more of the following: 216 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Minimum Widthresizes all objects to the width of the narrowest object Maximum Widthresizes all objects to the width of the widest object Minimum Heightresizes all objects to the height of the shortestobject Maximum Heightresizes all objects to the height of the tallest object Magnifying the display of a graphic or OLE field By default, Paradox displays a graphic or OLE object at 100% of its originalsize. To change the magnification of a graphic or OLE field 1Open a form. 2Right-click the graphic or OLE field and click Properties. 3Click the Magnification page and then click one of the following:. 25% or 50%shrinks the displayed object 100%displays the object in its original size 200% or 400%magnifies the displayed object Best Fitshrinks the object to fit in the field while retaining the proportions of the original object. When you click Best Fit, changingthe column width or row height changes the size of the object. For fastest performance, display graphic and OLE objects at 100%. Best Fit usually provides the slowest performance. Containing design objects When one object exists completely within the borders of another, it can becontained by the outside object. Contained objects move when you movetheir containers and are deleted when you delete their containers. T o be acontainer, an object must have the Contain Objects property enabled on its Design page. Otherwise, objects within its borders remain independent. If you disable the Contain Objects property for an object, the object moves independently of any objects within its boundaries. When enabled, all objectswithin the objects boundaries become contained by the object. You cannot change the Contain Objects property on some objects (table frames, records, fields, pages, bands in reports, multi-record objects, Forms and reports 217 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
crosstabs, and pages in forms). The contents of these objects can exist only as part of the object. For example, a record cannot exist apart from the tableframe within which it is contained. Tab order The containership hierarchy influences default tab order because you musttab to all objects within a container before you can tab out of the container. You can alter the tab order more effectively from the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box. T o examine the containership hierarchy of your design, use the Object Explorer. Unbreakable contained relationships You cannot move certain objects out of their containers under certaincircumstances. For example, if you are working with a labeled field object,you cannot move either the field label (a text object) or the field edit regionout of the container. This is because the labeled field object, by definition,includes all three parts in a contained relationship. Creating a contained design object By default, all objects that can use the Contain Objects property have thatproperty enabled on the Design page of the Properties dialog box (right-clickobject, click Properties, and enable the Contain Objects check box on the Design page of the Properties dialog box). To create a contained design object 1With a form or report opened in the Design Window, select the containerobject. 2Right-click the object and click Properties. 3Click the Design page. 4Enable the Contain Objects check box. 5Place the object you want to contain inside the container object by doingone of the following: create a new object within the borders of an existing object move an existing object completely within the borders of another object move or resize a container around an object paste an object into another object 218 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
The contained object must be completely within the borders of the container object. If the container object has a frame, the contained objectmust be completely within the frame. You can contain objects in tables only if they fit fully within a column androw. If you remove a field from a table, it can be very difficult to put thefield back if the cell the field left was exactly sized to fit (as they are bydefault). In such a case, try widening the column slightly and making therow slightly larger. If Snap T o Grid is enabled, it may be difficult to contain one object inanother because both objects might try to align on the same grid line. Inthis case, resize one or both of the objects so they snap to different gridlines, or turn off Snap T o Grid. Selecting a contained design object Suppose you have an ellipse contained in a box. By default, when you clickthe ellipse, Paradox selects the outermost object first. Therefore, althoughyou click inside the ellipse, Paradox selects the box. A second click selectsthe ellipse. To have Paradox permanently select a contained object on the first click 1With a form or report opened in the Design Window, click T ools, Settings, Preferences. 2Click the Designer page. 3Enable the Select From Inside on page 201 check box. To have Paradox temporarily select a contained object on the first click 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, click Format, Design Setup. 2Enable the Select From Inside check box. Deleting a contained design object If you delete an object that has the Contain Object property enabled, Paradoxdeletes the object and everything it contains. Keep these rules in mind when you delete objects in container relationships: Forms and reports219 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Deleting a container deletes any objects in the container. Deleting a contained object does not affect its container. To delete a contained design object 1Select the contained object you want to delete. 2Click Edit, Delete. Breaking a container relationship In order to delete a container but not its contained objects, you must first break the container relationship. To break a container relationship Right-click the container object, click Properties and disable the Contain Objects check box on the Design page of the Properties dialog box. (Youcan also select the contained object and move it outside the border of thecontainer. ) You do not need to move the contained object completely outside the container borders. The relationship is broken when part of the containedobject is moved outside the container frame. To delete a container but not its contained objects 1Follow the above procedure. 2Select the container, and click Edit, Delete. Alternatively, you can multi-select the contents and move them out of thecontainer or cut them to the Clipboard, delete the container, and move orpaste the objects back into position. Naming design objects When the object is selected, its name appears on the Status Bar. Paradoxautomatically names an object with its type and a number. For example,#ellipse32 or #box3. You can replace these names with names of your ownchoice at any time. 220 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Why name objects? The name of a selected object appears on the Status Bar and in some error messages. Naming objects can help you determine which object is selected ina complicated design. In a form, all design objects can have Object PAL methods attached to them. Object PAL refers to objects by name. In a report, you can use object names in defining calculated fields. Naming a design object Object names can be up to 32 characters long and cannot begin with a number or symbol. To name or rename a design object in the Properties dialog box 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, right-click the objectand click Properties. 2On the General page of the Properties dialog box, type the new name forthe object in the Name Of Object box. To name or rename a design object in the Object Explorer 1Open the Object Explorer. 2Select the object that you want to name or rename. 3Click the current name three times until the cursor appears. 4Enter the new name. If you name an object in a function or a method and change its name, yourmethod or function will fail. Only letters, numbers, the underscore character (_), and the pound sign(#) can be used in an object name. Object names cannot contain spaces. Placing scroll bars on design objects Objects in forms and reports can have scroll bars, but the scroll bars differ informs and reports. Forms and reports221 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
About scroll bars in forms When you place a scroll bar on an object in a form design, the scroll bar appears when the form runs, and the user can scroll through the object. Youcan add scroll bars to the following object types: text objects (vertical scroll bar only) graphic objects OLE objects field objects table frames (Paradox automatically places a horizontal scroll bar along the bottom of a table frame if you define a table that is too large to fit on thepage when the Size T o Fit check box is enabled on the Design page of the Properties dialog box. ) multi-record objects notebook objects (For more information, see Placing a scroll bar on anotebook on page 440. ) form pages report pages in the Design Window About scroll bars in reports Some objects in reports can have scroll bars, but the scroll bars do not appearwhen the report is being previewed or printed. You use the scroll bars in a Report Design Window to view text and graphics that dont fit in theirallocated space. At run time, the object expands to fit its contents and thescroll bars disappear. When the object expands, it may push other objects thatare beneath it or to the right. Text objects When you work with a text object in the Report Design Window, you canplace a vertical scroll bar along its right side. You can then enter largeamounts of text in the Design Window without resizing the text object. When you run the report, Paradox can expand the text object vertically down the page to display its entire contents. The expansion of the text object maypush objects that are beneath the text object. You can control the effects ofobject expansion by setting run time properties on the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box. 222 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Graphic and OLE objects If you resize a graphic or OLE object container to be smaller than its contents, you can place scroll bars across its bottom or along its right side. Use the scroll bars to view different sections of the object. Use thistechnique to crop the object to show only part of it. When you preview or print the report, the objects Size T o Fit property on the Run Time page determines whether the frame expands to fit the contentsor remains fixed and shows only part of the graphic or OLE object. Tables and multi-record objects You can place a horizontal scroll bar on a table frame in a report to allow youto scroll through the table frame in the Report Design Window. When yourun the report, Paradox deletes the scroll bar and expands the table frame todisplay its entire contents. The expansion may push objects that are beneaththe table frame. You can control the effects of object expansion by setting therun time properties on the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box. If atables contents are too wide to fit on the page, you can indicate in the Print File dialog box how to handle data that do not fit on the page. Placing a scroll bar You can place either a vertical or horizontal scroll bar on your designdocument using the Properties dialog box. Paradoxs default scroll bar widthis narrow. To place a scroll bar on an object 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, right-click the objectclick Properties. 2On the General Page of the Properties dialog box, enable one of thefollowing check boxes: Horizontal Scroll Barplaces a scroll bar along the bottom of the object. Vertical Scroll Barplaces a scroll bar along the right side of theobject. To display a standard-width scroll bar 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, right-click the objectand click Properties. Forms and reports223 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
2On the General page of the Properties dialog box, enable the Wide Scroll Bar check box. This setting affects both the horizontal and vertical scroll bars for the selected design object. The scroll-bar properties vary depending on what object you haveselected. For example, text objects do not have Horizontal scroll bars. Changing design object properties You can change the properties of any object on your form or report. Bychanging the properties of objects you can customize your forms and reportsso that they best suit your requirements. By right-clicking on any object in adesign document, and then clicking Properties, you can display anobject-specific dialog box that allows you to alter the properties of thatspecific object. You can also change an objects properties in the Object Explorer. Changing properties using the Object Explorer If your form or report contains many objects, and especially if you attach Object PAL code to them, you might forget what something does or its name. Paradox provides a way to view the design and see all objects you haveplaced. The object tree of the Object Explorer displays a schematic diagram of your form or report design. This diagram shows you the design objects and theirrelationship to one another. The object tree is especially useful if you have alarge design and do not want to use the scroll bars to navigate around yourdesign. To change the properties of a design object 1Display the Object Explorer in one of the following ways: Press CTRL + SPACEBAR. Click T ools, Object Explorer. Right-click an object and click Object Explorer. 2Click an object in the object tree. 3Use one of the following methods to change an objects properties: 224 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
In the object tree, right-click the object and click Properties. Change the properties on the appropriate property page (you can use the arrowkeys to move from object to object in the object tree). In the tabbed Property page, right-click the property and click Edit. Press ENTER and type the name of the new property. 4Click File, Close to close the object-tree window. Changing penetrating properties Penetrating properties are properties that Paradox can apply to any object ina selected group and to any objects contained by a selected object. You canuse the penetrating properties to change the properties that multiple objectshave in common in a form or report. For example, if, after creating a formwith multiple fields on a page, you want to change the color of the edit regionfor all the fields, you can select all of the edit regions and change the colorproperty one time. Or, if you have multiple objects that are different butcontain common properties, you can select all objects and Paradox appliesyour property choices to the objects for which the property is valid. This cansave you a lot of time when you design a form or report To change penetrating properties for different objects with common properties on a form or report 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, hold down CTRL and select the appropriate objects, hold down CTRL and right-click one object. 2Use the Objects in Selection Properties dialog box to change properties asappropriate. Paradox applies your property choices to all objects for which the property is valid and to any objects contained by the selected object. To change penetrating properties of same type objects on a form or report 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, hold down SHIFT and select the appropriate objects, right-click one of the objects and select Properties from the list box. 2Use the Properties dialog box to change the properties as appropriate. If you select a contained object, Paradox applies the changes to eachobject within the contained object. T o change properties for the containeronly, select the container, right-click and choose Properties. Forms and reports 225 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Changing penetrating properties of all objects You can change the properties for either the form or the report document itself, or for the form or report document and all the objects it contains. To change penetrating properties of all objects 1With a form or report open in the Design Window, press ESC until thelower-right corner of the Status Bar indicates that the Form or Report isselected. 2Choose one of the following: T o change only the design document itself, press F6 and click Properties. T o change the design document and all the objects it contains, press SHIFT + F6. To change the penetrating properties for everything in a form If you select nothing and right-click, youll see the pages property menu. Paradox applies your property choice only to the page. If you select nothing and hold down CTRL and right-click, youll see thepenetrating properties of the page. Paradox applies your property choiceto the page and all objects on the page for which the property is valid. If you select nothing and hold down CTRL and right-click the windows Title Bar, youll see penetrating properties for all pages of a multi-pageform. To change the penetrating properties for everything in a report If you select nothing and right-click, youll see the selected bandsproperty menu. Paradox applies your property choice only to that band. If you select nothing and hold down CTRL and right-click, youll see thepenetrating properties of the selected band. Paradox applies your propertychoice to the band and all objects in the band for which the property isvalid. If you select nothing and hold down CTRL and right-click the windows Title Bar, youll see the penetrating properties for all bands of the report. Attaching methods to design objects Object PAL is Paradoxs database-application development language. You use Object PAL by attaching methods, which are pieces of Object PAL code, to 226 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
objects on a form. You can create methods that manipulate data, respond to actions, and perform functions. All objects in a form, including the underlying page of the form, have Object Explorer available from their right-click menus. Click this option to definethe Object PAL methods you want to attach to the object. For information about creating methods, see Creating a custom method in the Object PAL Reference Guide. Refer to your Object PAL documentation for information about using Object PAL. Designing forms Forms are a good tool for data entry. You design a form to display the datafrom one or more tables and use the form to enter and edit the data in thetables. Any change you make to the data in the form is reflected in the table. Use the Form Design Window to create a form. This window does not display a tables data. T o see the data, run the form. When you design a form you canadd or remove design objects, such as boxes, fields, tables, and charts change the properties of any design object on the form add Object PAL methods to the design objects to customize their functionality add, delete, or rearrange pages customize a default form run a form to view and edit data Creating and opening a form Paradox allows you to either create a form from scratch, or to use an expertwhich will assist you in developing a form that meets your demands. You canalso modify an existing form, if you have already developed a form that suitsyour needs, or you can create a form based on a previously created report. Creating a new form You can create a new form in three ways: by creating the form from scratch,by modifying an existing form, or by copying an existing form and renamingit. Forms and reports 227 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To create a blank form 1Click File, New, Form. 2Click Blank. Paradox opens a blank Design Window that is not bound to a table, and that contains only a single page for forms or, a report header and footer,page header and footer, and record band for reports. To modify an existing form 1Click File, Open, Form to open a form. 2In the Open dialog box, use the Look In list box to locate the form youwant to open. 3T ype the name of the form in the File Name box. 4Enable Edit The Form Design. 5Click Open. To make a copy of a form from the Project Viewer 1Click T ools, Project Viewer. 2Click the Forms icon to view forms. 3Right-click a form in the right-hand panel of the Project Viewer and click Copy. 4In the Copy T o dialog box, type the name of the new form in the File Name text box. 5Click Copy. Paradox creates a copy of the form with the specified name. Designing a form from a report You can open a form as a report or a report as a form. If a reports data model and layout are just what you want for a form, you can open the report as aform without recreating the design. Paradox determines the forms layoutfrom the record band of the report. Because forms do not use the bandedlayout that reports do, objects in group, page, or report bands are notincluded in the new form design. Some objects behave differently in forms and reports. Calculated fields and summary fields, for example, look at data differently; therefore, you mightneed to modify them to get the correct results. Summary fields located in therecord band of a report work correctly in a form. If the report design includesa page break in the record band, Paradox creates a multi-page form. 228 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To design a form from a report 1Click File, Open, Report. 2From the Open Report dialog box, choose the report you want to use. 3Enable Open As A Form. Paradox creates and opens a new form based on the contents of the reports record band, including design properties and page breaks. Paradox does not change the existing report. Opening an existing form You can open an existing form in either design mode where you canchange the appearance of the form or run mode where you view andedit the data in the form. To open an existing form 1Click File, Open, Form. 2In the Open Form dialog box, select the form you want to open. 3Enable one of the following check boxes: View the Formto display the form Edit the Form Designto modify the form design Open As A Reportto open the form as a report (this is a quick way to use a form layout to specify the layout of a report) 4T o use a form design with a different table, click Change Table and select adifferent table. 5Click Open. Page size and layout (forms) Page layout specifies the page size for a form. You can use a predefined pagesize, or you can specify a custom width and height. Designing for the screen By default, Paradox designs forms for the screen. You can use any screenfonts that are installed on your system. If these fonts are not available onyour printer, documents you create for the screen might not be identical totheir printed versions. Forms and reports 229 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
When you design for the screen, Paradox uses your systems current screen driver size (in pixels) in the Screen Size panel of the Page Layout dialog box. You can change the size and specify the unit of measurement for a customsize. When you design a form for others to use, consider the screen display with which users will view the form. Its best to use standard color and fontchoices, as well as standard sizes for form windows, to ensure the usability ofthe finished form. Designing for a printer If you design for a printer: Paradox makes available only fonts that are currently installed on your active printer. This may limit your onscreen display, but it ensures asimilar document for onscreen viewing and printed output. Paradox attempts to match the onscreen view with the printed output. This means that the screen fonts might not match the printer fontsexactly in height or width. Size-to-fit objects are sized based on theprinters font sizes. On the screen, this might cause clipping or textobjects that seem to wrap too soon, but on paper they will look correct. When you design for a printer, be careful not to cause unwanted clippingby sizing objects to a screen font. You can design the form using portrait or landscape orientation. If you choose landscape in the Page Layout dialog box, Paradox will print the form from left to right along the longest side of the paper. However,you still need to set the printer for the desired printing orientation. If youchoose portrait for both the Paradox and printer settings, the form willprint from left to right across the shorter side of the paper. If you choose landscape for both the Paradox and printer settings, theform will print across the longest side of the paper. If you choose landscape in Paradox, and portrait in the printer settings,then tile the form by setting Create Horizontal Overflow Pages As Needed in the Print File dialog box, the form prints across as manyportrait-oriented sheets as necessary. These settings are useful if, forexample, you want to bind a form with wide pages in a normal 8. 5x11format (book-like). Changing the page layout for a form You can specify that all documents default to a certain onscreen size, or youcan change the page layout for a single form. 230 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To change the page layout for a form 1With a form open in the Design Window, click File, Page Setup. 2In the Page Setup dialog box, enable one of the following buttons in the Design for section: Printerto design for the printer (primarily used for reports). Screento design for the screen (primarily used for forms). 3Select the desired units of measure. 4Select a predefined page size, or type a custom size in the Width and Height boxes. 5If you are designing the form for the printer, enable the desired paperorientation. To specify a default onscreen size 1Click T ools, Setting, Preferences. 2Click the Forms/Reports tab. 3Disable the Size T o Desktop check box. 4Choose the appropriate unit of measurement. 5T ype values in the Width and Height boxes. Every time you create a form, Paradox will create it with the specified default size. Working with multi-page forms If the objects on your form do not fit on a single screen, you can createmultiple pages for the form. You place design objects on each page, and theuser views the different pages while running the form. You may design amulti-page form so that the pages are side-by-side or stacked on top of oneanother, as is described in Tiling form pages on page 233. You can also create a form with multiple images by placing a Notebook object on the form. When you work with a multi-page form, you must add each page. You cannot place a page break on a form the way you would in a report. Object PAL applications that are designed using a multi-page form areoften faster than applications that open and close multiple forms. Forms and reports231 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Adding a form page You cannot add a blank page between existing pages, but you can add a blank page and then rotate or move pages to rearrange their order. To add a form page With a form open in the Design Window, click Insert, Page. Paradox adds a blank page to the form at the end of the existing pages. When you work with multi-page forms, you might want to click View, Zoom, Best Fit to see all the pages of the form on the screen at the sametime. Cutting, copying, pasting, or deleting a form page Once you have created the basic format for your multi-page form, you cancut, copy, paste, or delete pages to make your form conform to your needs. To cut a page 1With a form open in the Design Window, select the page you want to cut. 2Click Edit, Cut. Paradox removes the page and all objects on the page. To copy a page 1With a form open in the Design Window, select the page you want to copy. 2Click Edit, Copy. Paradox copies the page and all objects on the page. To paste a page 1Copy or Cut the page in the Design Window. 2Select the page that will follow the pasted page. 3Click Edit, Paste. Paradox inserts the pasted page before the selected page. For example, if you cut page 2 of a five-page report, select the last page, and paste page 2,Paradox inserts the page as page 4. 232 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To delete a form page 1With a form open in the Design Window, select the page you want to delete. 2Do one of the following: Press DELETE. Click Edit, Delete. Click Edit, Cut. Cut overwrites the Clipboard, DELETE does not. Rotating form pages Paradox allows you to move a selected page to the last pages position. For example, if you select page 2 of a five-page form and click Format, Rotate Pages, Paradox moves page 2 to the end of the form (page 5) and movespages 3, 4, and 5 up one position. To rotate form pages 1With a form open in the Design Window, select the page you want torotate. 2Click Format, Rotate Pages. Tiling form pages Use tiling to control the onscreen display of form pages when you areworking with a multi-page form. Display only one page at a time (stacked) orarrange pages either across or down the screen. To tile form pages With a form open in the Design Window, click View, Tile Pages, and click oneof the following options: Stack Pagesdisplays the pages one at a time, one on top of another. T op And Bottomdisplays the page vertically down the screen (default option). Side By Sidedisplays the pages horizontally across the screen. Forms and reports233 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Specifying the form window style You can create a form that is either a window or a dialog box. Within the Window Style dialog box, you can choose which window style you want, aswell as alter frame properties, title bar properties, and window properties. Forms as windows If you specify Window in the Window Style dialog box, Paradox opens theform as a window when it is run. This means the form acts like any other window in Paradox. can be altered by the user. Forms as dialog boxes If you specify Dialog Box in the Window Style dialog box, Paradox opens the form as a dialog box when it is run. This means the form appears in the center of your screen. appears on top of all open windows. can be moved like any other dialog box. cannot be resized by the user. Frame properties The Dialog Frame property displays the dialog box as a standard Windows dialog box frame. The border, colors, and other settings are set from the Windows Control Panel. The Border property displays the dialog box with aborder instead of the default Windows style. The Thick Frame propertydisplays the dialog box with a thick black border instead of the normal Windows style. Thick Frame is unavailable if you choose Dialog Frame. Title Bar properties The Control Menu property places the standard Window Control menu in thetop-left corner of the dialog box. If you open a form as a dialog box and it doesnot have a Control menu, you can close the dialog by pressing ALT + F4. The Minimize Button property places a Minimize button on the top-rightcorner of the dialog box. The Maximize Button property places a Maximizebutton on the top-right corner of the dialog box. Window properties The Title Bar property places a title bar across the top of the dialog box. Enter the text you want to appear on the dialog boxs title bar in the Titlebox. 234 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
T o display horizontal or vertical scroll bars on the dialog box, enable either the Vertical Scroll Bar check box, the Horizontal Scroll Bar check box, orboth. Enable the Size T o Fit check box to have Paradox automatically size the window to fit the page size of the form. The effect of choosing Size T o Fitmay not be apparent unless your page size is smaller than the size of yourscreen display. Adjust your page size to be as small as it can be withoutremoving any existing objects, then enable Size T o Fit. Enable the Modal check box to prevent users from working anywhere else in Paradox until the dialog box is closed. Disable the Mouse Activates check box to allow users to click the dialog box to activate it without changing the focus to it. For example, if youve createda customized T oolbar using Object PAL, and you want to use the tools on that T oolbar in your dialog box, disabling the Mouse Activates property willprevent Paradox from activating the T oolbar window every time a user clicksone of its tools. The Standard Menu option is enabled by default. If you create a menu using Object PAL, and want your form to use it, disable the Standard Menu checkbox. This applies mainly to multi-form applications. See your Object PALdocumentation for information on customizing forms. For the settings you choose in the Window Style dialog box to take effect,you must save the form, close the Form Design Window, and open theform in the Form window. Specifying the form window style You can specify whether the form appears as a window or as a dialog box, andyou can specify the style of the forms title and border. To specify form window style 1In the Form Design Window, click Format, Window Style. 2Choose the desired window style. 3Use the Windows Style dialog box to change the forms frame properties,title bar properties, and window properties. Forms and reports235 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
The forms Title Bar is not visible if the form is maximized. After you change the window properties of a form, you must save the form and reopen it to see the changes. Moving around a form Paradox provides you with several ways to move around a form. Using the navigation buttons on the Toolbar Click the navigation buttons on the T oolbar to move quickly among a tablesrecords in a Form window. Move to the first record of the table. Move up one record set (the number of records displayed in the table window ). Move to the previous record of the table. Move to the next record of the table. Move down one record set (the number of records displayed in the table window). Move to the last record of the table. Using the scroll bars Use the scroll bars to scroll quickly through the entire form. You cannot use the scroll bars to select objects on the form. Using the cursor-control keys The cursor-control keys are the most reliable ways to move among recordson a form. Pg Up and Pg Dn scroll to the prior or next record respectively,while the arrow keys move from field to field. 236 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Setting the tab order of form design objects When you run a form, you can press TAB to move from object to object. Tab order is the order in which objects become active as you press TAB. You canmodify the tab order on the Run Time page of the Object Properties dialogbox. Select an object, and click Format, Properties. In d BASE tables, the vertical scroll box is always centered vertically when Table, Show Deleted is not checked. Moving among fields, records, and table objects on a form The TAB key is reliable and predictable in simple forms. As a form becomesmore complex because it contains more objects, tab order can becomeconfusing. You can always use the mouse or the cursor-control keys to movequickly to an object. To move among fields on a form Do one or more of the following: Click the field to which you want to move. Use the arrow keys. Press TAB or SHIFT + TAB. To move among records on a form Click Record, Go T o, and click First, Last, Next, Previous, Next Set, or Previous Set. Each of these menu choices has an equivalent shortcut keydisplayed next to it on the menu. You can also use the T oolbar navigationbuttons or the appropriate keyboard keys (such as Pg Up or Pg Dn). To move among table objects on a multi-table form Do any of the following: Press F4 (Super Tab) to move forward among the table objects. Press F3 (Super Back Tab) to move backward among the table objects. Press SHIFT + F3 and SHIFT + F4 to move between pages of a multi-page form. Forms and reports 237 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Moving among form pages When you are working with a multi-page form you can move to the first, last, next, or previous page. To move among form pages Click View, Page, and click the page you want to display. When you move to a page, Paradox selects it. To go to a specific page 1Click View, Page, Go T o. 2T ype a number in the Page Number box. Use SHIFT + F4 to move quickly to the next page and SHIFT + F3 to move to the previous page. In the Form Design Window, you can also use the scroll bars to movethrough the pages of a form, unless you have the pages stacked. After youscroll to a page, you must select the page to make it active. Changing the Design Window tab order When you are designing a form, objects tab in the order in which you placedthem. After you move the objects around, this order might no longer makesense or you may want to avoid all objects except for the object you areworking with. Paradox allows you to change the tab order while creating yourform or report. To change the tab order while designing a form 1Select the object you want to be first in the tab sequence. 2Click Format, Order, Bring T o Front. 3Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each object on the form in the order you want theuser to move through the form. T o view the changes you make, open the Object Explorer. 238 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
The tab order that is set while designing a form is not the tab order used when you run the form. For information on how to change the run timetab order see Changing the run time tab order on page 239. Changing the run time tab order You can change the tab order from the default tab order of left to right, andtop to bottom. For multipage forms, you can customize the tab order for eachpage. To change the run time tab order 1With a form open in the Design Window, right-click an object and click Properties. 2Click the Run Time page. 3Enable the Next Tab Stop check box. 4From the list of objects under Choose The Next Tab stop, choose theobject you want next in the tab sequence. To include buttons which are not included in the tab sequence at run time in the tab sequence 1With a form open in the Design Window, right-click an object and click Properties. 2Click the Run Time page. 3Enable the Next Tab Stop check box. If you do not enable the Tab Stop check box, Paradox bypasses the object in the tab sequence. Users of your form can still use the mouse to select abutton, OLE object, or graph, but they cannot use the mouse to select afield object. Changing the run time tab order is different from changing the Design Window tab order. The tab order for run time is the same as the tab orderset when designing the form. For more information on changing thedesign window tab order, see Changing the Design Window tab order onpage 238. Forms and reports 239 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Change the tab order once your form is near completion. This will ensure all objects are included in the tab order. However, you may add objects atany time. Delivering a form Delivery gives you a way to let others use your form, but not change thedesign or source code. A delivered form cannot be opened in a Design Window, and therefore cannot be changed. When others use your form, they must also have access to all tables in the data model, along with any indexes and referential integrity files. The easiestway to make a set of tables, forms, and related files portable is to use an alias. Delivering a form When you deliver a form, Paradox creates a copy of the form with all sourcecode removed. Buttons and other objects still work exactly the way youdesigned them. To deliver a form With a form open in the Design Window, click Format, Deliver. Paradox saves a copy of the form with an. FDL extension. The D stands for delivered. You can still change the original form (the one with the. FSL extension),and then deliver the form again. Your code is not lost its protected. Form and page properties The form, as a whole, has properties just like a design object that can bechanged. You can change the color, pattern, transparency, scroll bar, and sizeof a page on a form by using the Properties dialog box. To change a forms properties 1With a form open in the Design Window, click Format, Properties. 2Change the form properties as appropriate in the General and Patternpages of the Properties dialog box. 240 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To change a form pages properties Right-click the page, and click Properties. When changing the color or pattern of a form, the pages color is not transparent by default. You can make the page a different color than theform by disabling the Transparent check box in the General page of the Properties dialog box. If you enable the Transparent check box, the pagewill pick up the forms color and pattern properties. T o view the changes in form color and pattern when the page is nottransparent, zoom out far enough to see the area of the form beyond theedge of the form page. Using forms Sometimes its more convenient to work with the data from your tables onerecord at a time, rather than with an entire table full of data. Forms let yousee as much (or as little) of your data as you want in the format you prefer. When you view data in a form, you see the same data as in the table, but Paradox arranges the data differently. If you edit data in the form, Paradoxupdates the data in the table. Forms are a good tool for data entry. You can design a form to display several records from a table, or even records from several tables at the same time. You can then run the form to enter and edit the data in the tables. Running forms You use the Form window to run, or view, a form. When you run a form:Fields show the values in the tables. Calculated and summary fields show computations on data in the forms tables (read-only). Charts and crosstabs can be used to summarize data (read-only). Multi-record objects can display more than one record of a table at a timein a non-tabular format. Table frames display as many records of each table as fit in the space youallotted. However, you can navigate through the records to show any thatdont fit in the display. You can move from one page to another in forms and notebook objectscontaining multiple pages. Forms and reports 241 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Object PAL code that is attached to buttons is executed when you push the buttons. Object PAL can also be triggered at other times, for example, in Active X controls. Running a form In the Form Design Window, you view a forms design. T o view or edit theforms data, you must run the form. To run a form 1Click File, Open, Form. 2In the Open Form dialog box, select the file from the list box, or type thefilename in the File Name box. 3Enable View The Form. To run a form from the Form Design Window Do one of the following: Press F8 to run the form and view the data. Click View, View Data to run the form and view the data. Click View, Edit Data to run the form and edit the data. Running a form with a different table Forms allow you to view the data stored in a table that is not part of the data model. That is, you can open a form created on one table by using the datafrom another table or from a query. For example, suppose you have two typesof vendors that you want to keep separate, but the table structure for eachvendor is identical. You can design a form for the first vendor table, andinstead of creating an identical form for the second table, you can open theform with the second table. To run a form with a different table 1Click File, Open, Form. 2In the Open Form dialog box, select the form you want to open. 3Click Change Table. 4In the Select Replacement Table dialog box, select the table you want toview and choose OK to return to the Open Form dialog box. 5Click Open. 242 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
If a field in the form does not have a corresponding field in the table, Paradox warns you and makes these fields undefined. Undefined fields aregiven the name LABEL, and no data appear in these fields. 6T o redefine undefined fields, switch to Design mode. T o keep the original form intact, save the new form with a different name. Viewing the Form window Paradox allows you to customize the way in which you view the form window,and to save your changes so that they become the default view. You can alsochange the magnification of the form or report, either by zooming in or out,or by sizing the form to the screen size. Zooming forms You can change the scale of a form on screen. You can zoom out (decrease thescale and see a larger area) or zoom in (increase the scale and see part of thedocument up close). To zoom forms and reports With a form open in the Design Window, click View, Zoom and click one ofthe following: 25% or 50%takes a step back from your document. 200% or 400%takes a closer look at your document. Fit Widthfits the width to the window. Fit Heightfits the height to the window. Best Fitfits the entire document to the window. Preventing screen flashing Sometimes the screen flashes a bit when you move from field to field. This is especially noticeable when the form youre working with has a darkbackground. To prevent screen flashing Click Format, Design Setup and disable the Flicker-Free Draw check box. Forms and reports 243 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Enabling Flicker-Free Draw eliminates some screen flickering, but it may cause the movement from one field to another to be somewhat slower onsome graphic adapters. Experiment with Flicker-Free Draw enabled anddisabled to see what works best for you. Displaying a memo while running a form When you run a form with a memo field, youll see only as many charactersdisplayed in the memo as are specified in the fields size. These charactersare followed by an ellipsis (... ) to indicate that there is more information. Youcan display the entire contents of memo fields in a form. Click the field toselect it and click View, Field View. Paradox locates the rest of the memo inthe. MB file and displays it. If you are entering data in a Form window, the text in a memo field should wrap automatically at the right side of the field object as you type. If the textdoes not wrap automatically, the Word Wrap property of the field object hasbeen turned off. To switch Word Wrap back on 1Click View, Design form to switch to Design mode. 2Right-click the field and click Properties. 3Click the T ext page. 4Enable the Word Wrap text box. Saving Form window settings You can save the ruler, grid, and other Designer settings as preferences thatare used as default settings in all Form windows. To set default Form window settings Click T ools, Settings, Preferences, and make the appropriate changes onthe Designer page of the Preferences dialog box. Viewing a forms source table When youre running a form, you can view the table on which the form wasbuilt. 244 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To view a forms source table Click View, Table View. Paradox opens a Table window to show the source table of a single-table form or the master table of a multi-table form. Printing a form Although forms are intended for use primarily as screen-based documents, itis possible to print a form. If you are planning on printing your form youshould keep this in mind when designing it. When you print a form, Paradox prints only the current record; use a report to print every record. If you open the form as a report and print the report,the pages of your report will be in the format of the form. See Page size andlayout (forms) on page 229 for more information about designing forms forthe printer. To print a forms design 1Open a form. 2Click View, Design Window. 3Click File, Print. 4Specify a page range or select All to print every page. 5Specify the number of copies. 6Enable the Collate check box if you are printing more than one copy andyou want the pages collated. If your form page is larger than the printer paper, Paradox trims the form design. To print a forms records 1Open a form. 2Click View, Edit Data or View Data. 3Click File, Print. 4Specify a page range or select All to print every page. 5Enter the number you want printed on the first page. 6Specify the number of copies. 7Enable the Collate check box if you are printing more than one copy andyou want the pages collated. Forms and reports245 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Form pages wont be numbered unless you put the Page Number, and/or Number Of Pages fields on each page. If you designed the form for the screen, the fonts that appear on theprinted output might not match those that you see onscreen. Thisdepends on whether your screen fonts and printer fonts match. You can modify print options or select a different printer using the Printdialog box. Designing reports Reports are printing tools. Use them to format and print your data. Forexample, you can use reports to create form letters, mailing labels, invoices,and presentations. Use the Report Design Window to create a report. This window does not display a tables data. T o see the data, either print or preview the report. When you design a report you canadd or remove design objects, such as boxes, fields, tables, and charts change the properties of any design object on the report add, delete, or rearrange pages customize a default report run a report to preview or print data Creating and opening a report Paradox allows you to either create a report from scratch, or to use an expert which will assist you in developing a report that meets your demands. Youcan also modify an existing report, if you have already developed a reportthat suits your needs, or you can create a report based on a previouslycreated form. Creating a new report You can create a new report in a variety of ways, including creating a blankreport or modifying an existing report. To create a blank report 1Click File, New, Report. 246 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
2Click Blank. Paradox opens a blank Design Window that is not bound to a table and contains only a single page for forms and reports, the report header andfooter, page header and footer, and record band for reports. To open an existing report 1Click File, Open, Report. 2In the Open Report dialog box, select the report you want to open. 3Enable one of the following check boxes: View The Reportto display the report Edit The Report Designerto modify the report design Open As A Formto open the report as a form (this is a quick way to use a report to specify the layout of a form) Print The Reportto send the document directly to the printer 4T o use a report design with a different table, click Change Table and selecta different table. 5Click Open. To modify an existing report 1Click File, Open, Report to open a report. 2In the Open dialog box, use the Look In list box to locate the report youwant to open. 3T ype the name of the report in the File Name box. 4Enable Edit The Report Design. 5Click Open. Designing a report from a form You can open a form as a report or a report as a form. If a forms data modeland layout are just what you want for a report, you can open the form as areport without recreating the design. Paradox uses the forms layout in therecord band of the report. Some objects behave differently in forms and reports:Calculated and summary fields look at data differently in forms and reports; therefore, you might need to modify them to get the correctresults. Forms and reports 247 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
If you use a multi-page form, Paradox inserts page breaks at the appropriate places in the record band. Buttons, notebooks, and Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) controlsare not available in reports. OLE fields. Non-nested multi-record form-design layouts are not valid for reports. They will produce undefined objects. To design a report from a form 1Click File, Open, Form. 2From the Open Form dialog box, choose the form you want to use. 3Enable Open As Report. 4T o open the report in the Design Window, enable Edit The Report Design. 5Click Open. Paradox inserts the forms layout in the record band of the report. Creating mailing labels using the Report Design Window The Mailing Label expert can automatically create mailing labels for most standard label sizes. It is recommended that you use the Expert when youdesign mailing labels. If you do not want to use the Expert, follow these steps: To create mailing labels using the Report Design Window 1With a report open in the Design Window, click the Multi-record tool and then click the record band area of the report to create the object. 2Place the fields you want, in the order you want (including spacing andpunctuation) in the master record region of the multi-record object. 3Resize the record region to match the width and height of one label. 4Adjust the width of the record band to reflect the spacing between eachlabel. 5Right-click the multi-record object and click Properties. 6Specify the number of records across the page on the Record Layout page. 248 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Merging data using the Merge Expert The Merge expert helps you merge data from a table into a form letter created in another application such as a word processor or a Paradox report. You can choose the tables fields to include, specify a sort order, and choose aformat for the data. To use the Merge Expert 1Click T ools, Experts. 2Click the Merge Expert icon. 3Follow the step-by-step instructions provided by the Expert. Opening an existing report You can open an existing report in either Design mode, where you canchange the appearance of the report, or Run mode, where you view and editthe data in the report. To open an existing report 1Click File, Open, Report. 2In the Open Report dialog box, select the report you want to open. 3Enable one of the following check boxes: View The Reportto display the report Edit The Report Designto modify the report design Open As A Formto open the report as a form (this is a quick way to use a report layout to specify the layout of a form) 4T o use a report design with a different table, click Change Table and selecta different table. 5Click Open. Page size and layout (reports) Page layout specifies the page size for a report. You can use a predefinedpage size, or you can specify a custom width and height. Forms and reports249 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Designing for a printer By default, Paradox designs reports for the printer. If you design for a printer: Paradox makes available only fonts that are currently installed on your active printer. This may limit your onscreen display, but it ensures asimilar document for onscreen viewing and printed output. Paradox attempts to match the onscreen view with the printed output. This means that the screen fonts might not match the printer fontsexactly in height or width. Size-to-fit objects are sized based on theprinters font sizes. On the screen, this might cause clipping or textobjects that seem to wrap too soon, but on paper they will look correct. When you design for a printer, be careful that you do not cause unwantedclipping by sizing objects to a screen font. You can design the report using portrait or landscape orientation. If you choose landscape in the Page Layout dialog box, Paradox will print the report from left to right along the longest side of the paper. However,you still need to set the printer for the desired printing orientation. If youchoose portrait for both the Paradox and printer settings, the report willprint from left to right across the shorter side of the paper. If you choose landscape for both the Paradox and printer settings, thereport will print across the longest side of the paper. If you choose landscape in Paradox, and portrait in the printer settings,then tile the report by setting Create Horizontal Overflow Pages As Needed in the Print File dialog box, the report prints across as manyportrait-oriented sheets as necessary. These settings are useful if, forexample, you want to bind a report with wide pages in a normal 8. 5x11format (book-like). Designing for the screen You can use any screen fonts that are installed on your system. If these fontsare not available on your printer, documents you create for the screen mightnot be identical to their printed versions. When you design for the screen,Paradox uses your systems current screen driver size (in pixels) in the Screen Size panel of the Page Layout dialog box. You can change the size andspecify the unit of measurement for a custom size. You can choose fromstandard page sizes, or you can enter your own measurements. You must useportrait orientation. Changing the page layout for a report You can specify that all documents default to a certain onscreen size, or youcan change the page layout for a single report. 250 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To change the page layout for a report 1With a report open in the Design Window, click File, Page Setup. 2In the Page Setup dialog box, enable one of the following buttons: Printerto design for the printer (primarily reports). Screento design for the screen (primarily forms). 3Select the desired units of measure. 4Select a predefined page size, or type a custom size in the Width and Height boxes. 5For printed reports, enable either portrait or landscape orientation, anddefine the margins. To specify a default onscreen size 1Click T ools, Setting, Preferences. 2In the Preferences dialog box, click the Forms/Reports page. 3Disable the Size T o Desktop check box. 4Choose the appropriate unit of measurement. 5T ype values in the Width and Height boxes. Every time you create a report, Paradox will create it with the specifieddefault size. Bands Paradox uses bands to control how sections of a report repeat. Bands runhorizontally across the page and define logical sections for your report. Forms and reports251 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Reports have four types of bands: The report band prints information at the beginning and end of the report. The header appears at the beginning of the report and the footer appearsat the end. The page band prints information at the top and bottom of each page in thereport. The header appears at the top of each page and the footer appearsat the bottom. The record band prints information for every record in the table(s) onwhich the report is based. If the record band contains a table or amulti-record object, the band appears once for every set of records in themaster table. Group bands define sets of records based on certain criteria. They appearat the beginning and end of each group of records. Unless you choose theheader property On Group Only, the header appears at the top of any pagewhere a group continues from the previous page. You define the groupcriteria. Group bands are optional. When you design a report, Paradox places the page, report, and record bandsfor you. You cannot remove these three bands, although you can leave themblank and collapse their height by selecting the band and pressing DELETE. Working with bands You can change the properties of each of the bands in either the Design Window or the Object Explorer. In the Report Design Window, right-click aband and click Properties. T o display the Object Explorer, press CTRL +SPACEBAR. The thick lines that separate each region of a report design are boundary lines that indicate the placement of report bands. Band regions printsomething (even white space) if their boundary lines do not touchneighboring boundary lines. Each boundary line contains a band label with a text description and an arrow pointing toward the report region affected by that line. For example, thearrow in the boundary line of the band on the top page points down becausethe page header is below that boundary line. Showing band labels If band labels are showing, you can more easily select and manipulate bandswith the mouse. Turning them off, on the other hand, can make it easier toline up objects as you design the report. Band labels are shown onscreen onlyin the Report Design Window (not in the report itself), and turning the band 252 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
labels on or off does not affect the layout or presentation of your printed or previewed report. To show band labels With a report open in the Design Window, click View, Band Labels. A check mark will appear beside the menu option. If any bands are sized to zero height, you cannot see them unless the band labels are visible. Selecting a band You can tell which band is selected by the following means: If you click View, Band Labels so that a check mark appears beside the option, the selected bands label will change color. In the sidebar along the left side of the Report Design Window, theselected band (and any bands within it) is highlighted. The Status Bar at the bottom of the desktop tells which band is selected. To select a band Click the band label or click any white (or unused) area inside the band. Resizing a band You can add or remove white space in your report by resizing the bands. To resize a band 1With a report open in the Design Window, click any white or unused areainside the band to select the band. 2Place the cursor on the edge of the selected band. The cursor changes to atwo-headed arrow. 3Drag the top or bottom edge of the band up or down to change the size ofthe band. 4When there is an object in a band, do one or more of the following: Drag the top band line to add or remove space above the object. Drag the bottom band line to add or remove space below the object. Forms and reports 253 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
You must resize bands by using the mouse. There is no keyboard equivalent. You cannot resize a band to be smaller than the objects it contains. You can also condense the band to zero height by deleting it. All objects inthe band will also be deleted, and the band will not appear on the report. If you want to see more of your design on the screen, you can turn bandlabels off by clicking View, Band Labels so that no check mark appearsbeside the option. Deleting a band For all bands except group bands, deleting a band in Paradox meansminimizing its size to zero so it will not appear in a report. Deleting a bandalso removes any objects in the band. The only type of band that can actually be removed from a report is the group band. To delete a band Open a report in the Design Window, select a band and click Edit, Delete. You can also select the band and press DELETE to remove a band. If you delete a band by mistake, click Edit, Undo. Report bands The report band defines the report header and report footer areas. Paradoxprints the report header once, at the beginning of the report, and the reportfooter once, at the end of the report. T ypical information found in a report header would be the company letterhead or report title. A report footer might be an end of file statement. You place the objects that should appear as report headers or footers in theappropriate report band. 254 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Summaries and calculated fields that are placed in the report header or footer and that summarize data for the entire table. The report header can come either before or after the page header on the first page. Right-click the report band and click Properties, and enable the Precede Page Header check box on the General page of the Properties dialogbox. The report footer always precedes the page footer on the last page. You can place a page break in a report header to produce a multi-page report header or to separate the header from the first page of the rest ofthe report. Changing the header order By default Paradox prints the report header (the contents of the top reportband) before the page header (the contents of the top page band). You canreverse this order. To change the header order 1With a report open in the Design Window, right-click the report band andclick Properties. 2On the General page of the Properties dialog box, disable the Precede Page Header check box. Paradox will print the report header after the page header. You will not see this change in the Report Design Window because the bands themselvesdo not move, but when you preview or print the report, the change takeseffect. Forms and reports 255 An example of agraphic object thatcontains thecompany logo in thereport header area. | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Page bands The page band defines the header and footer areas of each page. Paradox prints the page header and footer on every page of the report. Paradox places three objects in the top page band (the page header):The T oday field that shows the print date of the report. Paradox places this field at the left margin of the page header. A field that contains the default title for the report. In a single-tablereport, Paradox uses the name of the table as the default title. In amulti-table report, Paradox uses the name of the master table as thedefault title. Paradox places the title in the center of the page header;however, if a field that grows in width (such as a date) is included in theheader, the title be off-center when the report is printed. T o ensure thatthe title is always centered, enable the Pin Horizontal Property on thetitles Run Time property page. The Page field that shows the page number of each page. Paradox placesthis field at the right margin of the page header. You can keep, delete, or change any object Paradox places for you. Unlike other bands, the page bands dont expand vertically when you viewor print the report. This means Paradox will clip expanded objects (liketables) to fit them inside the band. If you want your header or footer to show the first or last records on thepage, place fields in the page bands. Fields placed in the page header showthe first record on your page. Fields placed in the page footer show thelast record on your page. Summaries and calculated fields summarize andare calculated from all records that appear on the page. Suppressing the header or footer on the first page You can suppress the contents of the page header, the page footer, or both onthe first page of your report. 256 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To suppress the header or footer on the first page 1With a report open in the Design Window, right-click the header or footer and click Properties. 2On the General page of the Properties dialog box, disable the Print on First Page check box. Printing the page footer only on the last page Information located in the page footer area of a report prints at the bottom ofevery page. Sometimes it may be desirable to print information only on thelast page of the report. You can place this information in the report footer;however, it will appear above the page footer. If you want this information toappear in the page footer, follow the steps outlined below. The technique presented here involves placing three fields in the page footer (one calculated field and two special fields for Record Number and Number of Records). T o use this technique:Your report must be attached to a data model. You must have View, Band Labels enabled in the Report Design Window. Make sure that you have some white space in the page footer to allow youto place fields in that position. To print in the page footer only on the last page 1Create a field in the page footer for the special field Record Number in themaster table. Open the master tables list box to display the field list that contains <Record Number>. 2Create a second field in the page footer for the master tables special field Number Of Records. 3Select both the Record Number and Number Of Records fields, right-clickthe selected fields and click Properties, and do the following: on the General page, choose Unlabeled from the Display T ype list box. on the Font page, change the font color to match the pages background color and click Apply. Step 3 makes the values for Record Number and Number Of Recordsinvisible when you print your report. Forms and reports 257 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
4Create a third field in the page footer. This field will be a calculated field. 5Enable the Calculated check box in the Define Field Object dialog box and type the following expression: iif(Record_Number = Number_of_Records, fi You Valuefl fif Your Value is the value that you want to print only on the last page ofyour report. Record_Number and Number_Of_Records are special fields that contain data about the table as a whole. 6Click OK. 7If you want the calculated field to be unlabeled, right-click the field andchoose Unlabeled from the Display T ype list box on the General page. Otherwise, change the text of the field by clicking the word LABEL untilthe cursor is inside the text, and then edit the text object. 8Press F8 to run the report. The value in the calculated field that is placed in the page footer should onlyappear on the last page of the report. Record bands The record band contains the body of the report the records of the tableon which you are reporting. You can place data elements such as fields, charts, crosstabs, multi-record objects, and table frames in the record band. These elements contain the datafrom your table. Paradox automatically places objects in the record band. Where Paradox places the objects depends on the type of report. Report type Objects placed Tabular The records of the table to which the report is bound appear within atable frame in the record band. Single-record Paradox automatically places field objects in the record band. Multi-record Paradox places field objects within a multi-record object in the recordband. Blank Paradox does not automatically place any objects. You can move, resize, or delete the objects that Paradox places. The record band repeats once for every record in the master table, unless the record band contains a table, multi-record object, crosstab, or tabular chart onthe master table. In that case, the contents of the record band appear once forevery set of records in the master table. 258 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
For example, if you place a crosstab on the master table in the record band, it will be printed once for each record in the table. Usually, you should put acrosstab on the master table in either the header or footer of the report band. With a one-to-many relationship in your data model, it is often appropriate toput a crosstab in the record band of the detail table to generate a crosstab foreach masters detail set. Starting page numbers at one when a band is reached You can begin a new page and reset the page number to one when the recordband or group band is reached. To start page numbers at one when a band is reached 1With a report open in the Design Window, right-click the record band andclick Properties. 2On the General page of the Properties dialog box, enable the Start Page Numbers check box. When you choose to restart page numbers for each group, Paradox changes to a page number format that shows the page number within thegroup (1-1, 1-2, 1-3,... 2-1, 2-2, 2-3... ). You cannot modify this format. Sorting records in a record band You have a choice when it comes to sorting the record band. You can add agroup band to force a sort, filter the records, or sort the records using Sort Record Band, or if its a detail table, take the sort order that the link implies. To sort the records using Sort Record Band 1With the report open in the Design Window, right-click the record bandand click Sort. 2In the Sort Record Band dialog box, specify the fields to sort on, theirorder, and their sort direction. Different types of sorts are available for different data models and producedifferent results. The main advantages of Sort Record Band is that you arenot limited to existing indexes and you dont get a break in the table eachtime the sort key changes. Forms and reports 259 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Group bands You can place group bands in a report to break information into groups of data. You can base groups on the value of a field, a range of values, or aspecified number of records. For example, you could group records bycountry so that all records with the same country appear together. Paradox always places group bands between the page band and the record band. Group header and footer The group header appears at the start of every group. The group footer appears at the end of every group. You may want to place some sort of divider, such as a line, within the groupfooter to clearly show when one group ends and another begins. If you placea page break at the bottom of a group footer, you can be sure that all newgroups begin on a new page. If you do this, dont leave white space after thepage break at the bottom of the band. Displaying repeated group values You can suppress repeated group values in the record band of a report. Right-click the record band and click Properties. On the General page of the Properties dialog box, enable the Remove Group Repeat check box. Multiple group bands You can create more than one group band. Add group bands so that thelargest data group is above all smaller data groups. For example, group by Country first, then by City. Start with the broadest category, then narrow thegrouping. Changing the position of the group bands You can change the position of a group band relative to other group bands byselecting a group band and dragging it above or below another group band. Exchanging group header and footer You can exchange the group header and footer by selecting one and draggingit toward the other. The information in the selected one will be transferred tothe other. 260 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Scope of a group band Summaries and calculated fields in the group band use the entire group as their scope. Other objects show different data depending on whether they arein the group header or the group footer. In the group header, fields show thefirst field in the group. Crosstabs on detail tables correspond to the first fieldin the group of the master table. In the group footer, fields show the last field in the group. Crosstabs on detail tables correspond to the last field in the group of the master table. Use two group bands when you want to group by a number of recordswithin a given range, or group by a range within a given number ofrecords. Grouping by a range When you define a group in a report, you can specify a range of values to bemet in the field on which you are grouping. For example, you might want togroup the records in the Orders table by month or quarter or to group therecords in the Lineitem table by the units in the Qty field. You can specifyonly one range group in a single report. Also, you cannot place a field groupband within a range group band. Records in a group are in sequence lowest to highest for numbers, alphabetical order for alpha fields, and chronological for date and timestampfields. When you group by range, the only real difference is in how often thegroup breaks occur. Number fields When you group by a range on a numeric field, groups are determined byintervals; for example, 1-5, 6-10,11-15. The first group begins with zero andincreases by the range size you specify. Paradox accepts fractions when you define a range in number or money fields. Ranges in short, long integer, and autoincrement fields require wholenumbers. You cannot define a range in Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) or timefields. Date or timestamp fields When you group by a range on a date or timestamp field, groups aredetermined by day, week, month, quarter, or year. Daygroups records that have the same date. Forms and reports261 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Weekgroups records with dates that fall in the same week (Sunday to Saturday). Monthgroups records with dates that fall in the same month. Quartergroups records with dates that fall in the same quarter of theyear. Y eargroups records with dates that fall in the same year. Grouping is always chronological. For example, when you group by month,April 1998 and April 1999 appear as separate groups. Alpha fields When you group by a range on a Paradox alpha or a d BASE character field,you specify the number of characters on which to group in the Range Grouptext box (the number of characters that must match to be in the same group). For example, if the field youre grouping by is Last Name, a range of 3 wouldensure that Simmons and Simpson were in the same group and that Sidneywas in a different group. A Range Group size of 1 tells Paradox to group all records that start with the same character. A Range Group size of 2 tells Paradox to group all recordsthat start with the same two characters. Logical Ranges are not allowed on logical fields. Adding or defining a group band You can add a group band to your report if the report is bound to a table. When you create a group band, Paradox places both a group header and groupfooter. You may want to place some sort of divider, such as a line, within thegroup footer to clearly show when one group ends and another begins. If youplace a page break in the group footer, you can be sure that all new groupsbegin on a new page. To add a group band With a report open in the Design Window, click Insert, Group Band. Paradox places the first group band between the page band and the record band. When you place more group bands, Paradox places them closest tothe record band. 262 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To define a group band 1With a report open in the Design Window, right-click a group band and click Define Group. 2In the Define Group dialog box, enable one of the following: Group By Field Valuespecifies the table, fields, and range for the group. Group By Recordspecifies the number of records you want to appearin each group. You cannot add a group band to reports that have a data model thatcontains d BASE tables. You can rearrange group bands by dragging them with the mouse. Grouping by a field value, number of records, or range If you group the records of your report based on the value of a field, you canarrange the data into meaningful sets. For example, you can view yourcustomers grouped by their country or state, view orders grouped by amethod of payment or shipment, or view stock items grouped by equipmentclassification. You can also group the report into sets of records by defining anumber to specify the set you want. This is useful if you want to grouprecords for easy viewing without sorting them in any particular way. To group by a field value 1With a report open in the Design Window, click Insert, Group Band to adda group band to the report. 2In the Define Group dialog box, choose the value of a field, a range ofvalues, or a specified number of records by which to group. Paradox places a field object for the field by which you are grouping in the header of the new group. You can delete this field. To group by a number of records 1With a report open in the Design Window, right-click the band and click Define Group. 2In the Define Group dialog box, enable Group By Record. 3In the Number Of Records box, type the number of records you want ineach group. Forms and reports 263 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To group by a range 1With the report open in the Define Group dialog box, right-click the group and click Define Group. 2In the Define Group dialog box, choose the field you want from the Fieldbox. Paradox shows the master table, any table linked to it in a one-to-one relationship in the Table list, and all available fields in the Field list. Because you cannot create a group on a Binary Large Object (BLOB)field, Paradox doesnt show them in the Field list. 3Enable the Range Group check box. The interval of the range depends on the data type of the field. When you group by the value of a field, you apply a sorting specification to your data. If, for example, you group on the Country field of the Customertable, the records from Customer appear in the report sorted by thevalues in their Country field. You cannot place a field group band within a range group band. If you do not specify a range, a new group begins every time the fieldvalue changes. You can place two group bands on a report to use a field or range groupingin combination with a grouping by a number of records. Rearranging group bands If your report has multiple group bands, you can rearrange their order. If youmove a band, the order of the grouping changes. To rearrange group bands With a report open in the Design Window, select the band and drag it to itsnew location. You can drag from anywhere within the band. With the band selected, youcan also use the Up and Down arrow keys to move the band. You cannot group by a field within a range group. 264 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Specifying the sort order for a group You can sort records in ascending or descending order. To specify the sort order for a group 1With the report open in the Design Window, right-click a group band and click Properties. 2On the General page of the Properties dialog box, enable one of thefollowing buttons in the Sort Order section: Ascendingprints the groups in either A to Z or numeric order. Descendingprints the groups in either Z to A or reverse numeric order. Suppressing repeated group values When you group records on a field value, Paradox usually prints that fieldvalue in every record although it is the same throughout the group. You cansuppress repeated field values that a group is based on by enabling the Remove Group Repeats property for the report. The following example shows a report for the sample Orders table that has a group defined on the Customer No field. Remove Group Repeats is checked. As you can see, only the first record in each group actually shows thecustomer number. Forms and reports 265 Enabling the Remove Group Repeatsproperty omitsunnecessary values,resulting in a moreorganized report. | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To suppress repeated group values With a report open in the Design Window, click Format, Properties. On the General page of the Properties dialog box, enable the Remove Group Repeats check box. When Remove Group Repeats is disabled, Paradox displays the value ofthe grouped field for each record, including duplicates, in the record band. When Remove Group Repeats is enabled, Paradox only prints the valuefor the first record of the group. Setting printing preferences for group headers You can print a group header either at the beginning of each group or at thetop of the page when the group continues across a page break. You can print a specific object in a reports group header at the beginning of each group, at the top of the page when the group continues across a pagebreak, or both. These options are available for field objects, records in a tableframe, or records in a multi-record object. To set printing preferences for group headers 1With a report open in the Design Window, right-click a group band andclick Properties. 2On the General page of the Properties dialog box, enable one of thefollowing check boxes: On Page And Groupprints the group heading at the beginning of each group and at the top of a page when the group is continued across pagebreaks. On Group Onlyprints the group heading at the beginning of eachgroup, but not at the top of a page when the group is continued acrosspage breaks. To set printing preferences for objects in group headers 1With a report open in the Design Window, right-click an object and click Properties. 2On the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box, enable one of thefollowing check boxes: 266 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Print At Groupdisplays the object at the beginning of each group but not at the top of each page (unless a group begins at the top of thepage). Print At Pagedisplays the object at the top of the page whenever agroup breaks across pages. The object never appears on the first pageof the report. The header property affects the entire group band. T o control how aspecific object prints, use its conditional property. The conditional property affects only the specified object. T o control howan entire group band prints, use its header property. Page breaks In order to insert or delete page breaks in a report you need to use thesidebar. The sidebar is located between the ruler and the windows frame onthe left side of the Report Design Window. Inserting, moving, or removing a page break in a report You need to display the sidebar in order to add or remove page breaks. Whenyou add a page break, follow these rules: You can place a page break in any band except the page band. A page break cannot cross an object in a band. It must fall either above or below any existing objects. To display the sidebar With a report open in the Design Window, click View, Ruler. You can use the sidebar to view the selected band and to insert, move, or delete page breaks. Forms and reports 267 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To insert a page break in a report In the Report Design Window, do one of the following: Click Insert Page Break then click in the document where you want the page break to appear. Click in the sidebar where you want the page break to appear. A line appears across your document, and a page break marker appears in the sidebar. To move a page break 1Move the mouse cursor over the page break. The cursor changes to avertical double-headed arrow. 2Drag the page break marker to a new location. To delete a page break Do one of the following: Click the page break in the sidebar, and drag the marker out of the sidebar. Move the mouse cursor over the page break (the cursor changes to a vertical double-headed arrow), and press DELETE. Expanded and pushed objects When you preview or print a report, some objects (such as fields, tables,multi-record objects, and charts) fill with data. This may cause them to growor shrink. Tables and multi-record objects expand or contract vertically, to fill as many pages as needed to print all records (unless you have changed the layout orthe Show All Records property of the multi-record object). 268 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 1) Side bar2) Page Break | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Fields, when placed individually or as part of a table or multi-record object, expand or contract horizontally to display all the data they contain (unless Word Wrap is enabled on the objects T ext Property page). Fields that expandin tables and multi-record objects cause the whole table or multi-recordobject to expand with them. Fields in which Word Wrap is enabled are fixed inwidth and expand vertically. Even if they contain less data than a single line,they remain fixed in width. Objects that contain tables, multi-record objects, or fields can grow as the contained objects grow. If the objects are scrollable, they expand to show allthe contents (for example, graphic objects, record objects, and text objects). When Size T o Fit is set, objects on which you can place scroll bars in forms expand to their full size in reports. How expanding objects push and pull surrounding objects When objects expand, they push surrounding objects, and maintain thespacing between them. When they contract (when there is too little data tofill the object) they pull in surrounding objects. Vertically expanding objectspush other objects down the page. Horizontally expanding objects push otherobjects across the page to the right. Changing how objects expand and push When you work with objects that expand and contract, you can use severalproperties to control run time behavior. You can prevent an object fromexpanding or contracting by setting its Fit Width and Fit Height properties. See Preventing expanding and contracting when running a report on page270. You can prevent an object from being pushed or pulled by setting its Pin Horizontal and Pin Vertical properties. See Pinning design objects at runtime on page 271. Run time errors If the records in your table or multi-record object contain too much data (aretoo big) to fit on a page, a run time error occurs. If you make the recordsfixed size (Fit Height disabled) they will clip the data but not generate anerror. If you do not want clipping, enable the Breakable property of the recordas well as the table frame or multi-record object in which it is contained. Forms and reports 269 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Multi-record objects often cannot be broken; therefore, you are forced to clip the data. You could design the report using a different approach:instead of placing small objects and letting them grow, you could makeobjects as large as they are allowed to be, and make it impossible for themto shrink. However, you may end up wasting a lot of paper just to print areport containing a few large records that cause clipping. Controlling pushed objects with lines T o maintain the alignment of multiple objects on a report as they are pushedor pulled by expanding or contracting objects, draw a line between theexpanding or contracting object and the objects that are being pushed orpulled. The expanding or contracting object pushes or pulls the line, whichsubsequently pushes or pulls all the objects to maintain their alignment witheach other. To hide a line used to control pushed objects 1Right-click the line and click Properties. 2On the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box, disable the Visiblecheck box. You will be able to see the line when you design the report but not when you view or print the data. Use invisible boxes to surround several objects that you want to keeptogether on a page. If the box is unbreakable, the objects push to the nextpage rather than splitting over two pages. Preventing expanding and contracting when running a report When you preview or print a report, some objects fill with data. This maycause them to grow or shrink. As objects resize, they push or pull otherobjects on the page. You can prevent the automatic resizing of these objects(and of objects that contain such objects). To prevent expanding and contracting when you run a report 1With a report open in the Design Window, right-click the object and click Properties. 270 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
2On the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box, disable the Fit Width and Fit Height check boxes. When these properties are disabled, the objects retain their size and shape when printed or previewed. Paradox trims data that are too large to fitinside the objects. Pinning design objects at run time When you preview or print a report, some objects fill with data. This maycause the objects to grow or shrink. As objects resize, they push or pull otherobjects on the page. You can prevent an object from being pushed or pulled. To pin design objects at run time 1With a report open in the Design Window, right-click the object and click Properties. 2On the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box, do one or both of thefollowing: Enable the Pin Horizontal check box to prevent the object from moving back and forth. Enable the Pin Vertical check box to prevent the object from moving upor down. An object that expands can obscure a pinned object. Example of preventing pushing and pulling When you preview or print a report, some objects fill with data. This maycause the objects to grow or shrink. As objects resize, they push or pull otherobjects on the page. For example, suppose you place the Name field from Customer in a report. When you are working in the Report Design Window, the field object isalways the same size. When you run the report, the values displayed in thefield object differ in size and, by default, the field object grows or shrinks tofit the data. Forms and reports 271 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Now suppose you have a graphic object to the right of the Name field. The following figure shows how the graphic can be pushed or pulled by the Namefield. The size of the data in the Name field causes the field object to expand or contract. When the field expands, it pushes the graphic to the right. When itcontracts, it pulls the graphic to the left. You can do one of two things to prevent the movement of the graphic due to the pushing or pulling of other objects. Select both the field and the graphic and click Format, Group. Right-click the graphic object, click Properties. On the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box, enable the Pin Horizontal check box. The following figure shows how the pinning of the graphic at run time affectsthe report. When you enable Pin Horizontal, the size of the data in the Name field does not affect the graphic. Because it is pinned, the graphic is neither pushed norpulled as the data changes. 272 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
One possible consequence of pinning an object, which might otherwise be pushed, is that an object that expands can obscure a pinned object. Example of invisible lines aligning pushed objects When you preview or print a report, some objects fill with data. This maycause the objects to grow or shrink. As objects resize, they push or pull otherobjects on the page. Suppose you align objects in the Report Design Window and find that one of them is pushed by another object when you run the report. You can useinvisible lines or boxes to group and control the alignment of multiple pushedobjects, or you can select the objects and group them by clicking Format,Group. For example, suppose you had objects like this on the report design: When you run the report, the Vendor Name field pushes or pulls the box, but not the ellipse. Forms and reports 273 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
If you place a vertical line between the field and the other two objects, the field that expands pushes the line, which subsequently pushes both objects. If you dont want to see the line, right-click the line and click Properties. On the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box, enable the Invisible checkbox. You can achieve the same results by grouping the box and the ellipse so they move together. You can accomplish the same results by grouping the pushed objects byselecting the objects and clicking Format, Group. Right-click the groupand click Properties and disable the Breakable check box on the Run Timepage of the Properties dialog box. Example of a container keeping objects together When you preview or print a report, some objects fill with data. This maycause the objects to grow or shrink. As objects resize, they push or pull otherobjects on the page. 274 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
You can use a container to keep a group of objects on the same page. For example, suppose you have the following report design. The objects are surrounded by an invisible container object (box). On the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box, the containers Breakableproperty is disabled. Therefore, the objects stay together on a page in Runmode. Its possible, whether you use a line or a box to control the horizontal movement of the box and ellipse, that Paradox could separate the box fromthe ellipse at a page break. This happens if you use a line to align the objectsor you use a box for which the Breakable check box is enabled in the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box. T o prevent a group of objects from becoming separated at a page break, you must surround them with a box disabled on the Run Time page of the Properties dialog box. You can accomplish the same results by selecting the objects and clicking Format, Group. Select the group and click Properties. On the Run Timepage of the Properties dialog box, disable the Breakable check box. Forms and reports 275 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Delivering a report Delivery gives you a way to let others use your report, but not change the design or source code. A delivered report cannot be opened in a Design Window, and therefore cannot be changed. When others use your report, they must also have access to all tables in the data model, along with any indexes and referential integrity files. The easiestway to make a set of tables, forms, and related files portable is to use an alias. When you design a report for others to use, consider the screen display with which users will view the report. Its best to use standard color and fontchoices, as well as standard sizes for form windows, to ensure the usability ofthe finished report. Delivering a report When you deliver a report, Paradox creates a copy of the report with allsource code removed. Buttons and other objects still work exactly the wayyou designed them. To deliver a report With a report open in the Design Window, click Format, Deliver. Paradox saves a copy of the report with an. RDL extension. The D stands for delivered. You can still change the original report (the one with the. RSL extension),and then deliver the report again. Your code is not lost its protected. Report and band properties The report, as a whole, has properties that can be changed. These include Scroll bars Size to fit Standard menu Controlling group repeats All bands except page bands have run time Breakable and Shrinkable properties. 276 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Breakable means that if the contents of the band dont fit on one page, Paradox can divide them across pages. Shrinkable means that if the contents of the band will fit on the page, butthe band itself is too big to fit (including white space), Paradox can discardwhite space below the bottom object in a band to make the band fit on thepage. Changing report and band properties Use the Properties dialog box to alter a reports or bands properties. To change a reports properties 1With a report open in the Design Window, and click Format, Properties. 2Change the properties on the General and Pattern pages. To change a bands properties Right-click the band or the band label and click Properties. Paradox displays the property choices for the band. To change a bands properties using the keyboard 1Use Tab to select the band you want. 2Press F6 to display the bands menu. Using reports Reports are printing tools that allow you to format and print your data. Since they cannot be used to change the data that exists in a table, they should bedesigned simply to display data in a variety of ways. You can also use a reportto display the data that exists in another table. Previewing reports Previewing (running) a report shows what the printed report will look likewhen it contains data. Whether the report is in Run mode or Design mode,you cannot enter or edit data in a report. Previewing (running) a report In the Report Design Window, you view a reports design. T o view thereports data, you must run the report. Paradox can automatically size the Report window to fit the design. Forms and reports 277 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To preview (run) a report In the Report Design Window, click View, Run Report. Paradox displays the report in the Report window. Navigation buttons appear on the T oolbar. Click the buttons to move among pages of thereport. T o return to the Report Design Window, click View, Design Report. To size the Report window to fit the reports design 1Open a report in the Design Window and click Format, Properties. 2On the General page of the Properties dialog box, enable the Size T o Fitcheck box. T o speed up the preview of a report, right-click an object and click Properties; on the Run Time page, disable both the Fit Height and Fit Width check boxes. Press F8 to toggle between Run Report and Design Report. Displaying a custom menu when previewing a report Paradox displays the standard menu in the Report window when you previewa report. If you create a custom menu using Object PAL your report can usethat custom menu at run time. To display a custom menu when previewing a report 1Click View, Design report to open the report in the Design Window. 2Click Format, Properties. 3On the General page of the Properties dialog box, disable the Standard Menu check box. The standard menu is enabled by default. Using a report with a different table Suppose you design a report and like the layout, colors, and other attributes so much that you want to display the data from another form in the samestyle. Instead of recreating the report on the new table, you can open thereport using the new table. This feature also allows you to use an existingreport layout to print or view the Answer table of a query. 278 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
The following rules apply when you use a report with a different table: The master table is the only table that can be changed. If the original table and the new table have identical field names and table structures, Paradox automatically rebinds the fields in the report to thenew table. If the report contains field objects that cannot be rebound to the new table(because there is no corresponding field in the new table), Paradoxdisplays those field objects as undefined. If the report has calculated fields that reference missing fields, thecalculated fields will have invalid expressions and must be redefined withthe new table. Edit the calculated expression, remove all field referencesto the original table, and replace those field references with fields from thenew table. Do not use the data model to change the table being used with the report. Although it is possible to add a new table to the data model and to deletethe original table from the data model, this causes all fields in the report todisplay as undefined, or to be removed, along with any group bandsdefined from the deleted tables. You can use the data model to change the table used with the report byusing table aliases. Paradox then knows you want both tables to representthe same thing. For more information on table aliases see Aliases onpage 46. Printing or viewing a report using a different table You can open a report created on one table by using the data from anothertable or from a saved query or saved Structured Query Language (SQL) file. To print or view a report using a different table 1Click File, Open, Report. 2In the Open Report dialog box, select the appropriate report. 3Click Change Table. 4In the Select Replacement Table dialog box, select the table, saved query,or saved Structured Query Language (SQL) file to use in the report. 5Click OK to Return to the Open Report dialog box. Forms and reports279 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
6Enable one of the following buttons: View The Reportdisplays the report. Print the Reportprints the report. 7Click Open. If a field in the report does not have a corresponding field in the table, Paradox warns you. Paradox opens the report. Any undefined fields aregiven the name LABEL, and no data appear in them. T o redefine undefined fields, click View, Design report to return to the Design Window where you can define the fields. T o keep the originalreport intact, save the new report with a different name. Return to the Design Window and click File, Save As. Give the report a new name. (Youcannot do this if your document is a delivered report. ) Printing reports Paradox allows you several printing options for reports. You can print thereport with its data, or you can simply print the reports design. You can alsoprint to a file so that you can take the file to a printing service, or translatethe form to HTML so that you can publish the report to the web. Printing a report You can print the report with its data, or just the reports design. When yourun a report on shared data, you run the risk of reporting on changing data. For example, if you print a report on the Customer table while another useris editing the table, your report might be out of date by the time it prints. To print a report 1Do one of the following: In the Report window, click File, Print. In the Report Design Window, click File, Print, Report. 2In the Print dialog box, choose the pages to print, the number of copies to print, and whether to collate multiple copies. 3In the Overflow Handling options area, specify how to treat data that aretoo wide to fit on the printed page. For more information, click Help in the Print File dialog box. 280 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To print a reports design With a report open in the Design Window, click File, Print, Design. To print a report when another user is changing the data In the Report Design Window, click Report, Restart Options. Paradox opens the Restart Options dialog box. The reports page layout affects how the report prints. If you designed the report for the screen, the fonts that appear on the printed output might not match those that you see onscreen. Thisdepends on whether your screen fonts and printer fonts match. Printing to a file Sometimes, you might want to print the report to a file so you can take it to aprinting service or transfer it to another computer. T o print a report to a file,you must add a printer through the Windows Control Panel and set its outputto a file. Select that printer as the active printer before you print your report. You can click File, Write As T ext File to print a report to a text file. You can click File, HTML Publish to publish a table or report as a static or dynamic HTML file. To print to a file 1With a report open, click File, Printer Setup. 2Use the Printer Setup dialog box to choose the appropriate printer. 3Enable Print T o File. 4T ype a name for the file in the Print T o File box. 5Click Print. Each time you print a report, you can choose which printer to use from the Printer Setup dialog box. Whatever printer was last selected is thecurrent printer. Forms and reports281 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
To add a printer for printing to a file 1Open the Windows Control Panel. (See your Windows Help for more information. ) 2Open the Printers folder and double-click Add Printer. 3Use the Add Printer wizard to install a new printer using an existingprinter driver. 4Do one of the following: If you want the file to print as text-only (no formatting), click the Generic/T ext Only printer. (Dont worry if the report looks incorrectonscreen it will print correctly to a file. You can prevent this bydesigning the report for the screen. ) If you want the file to print with formatting, choose a graphics printerdriver, such as a Post Script printer. 5Choose File as the port to use for the active printer, then complete thewizard as directed. To write a report to a text file 1With a report open, click File, Write As T ext File. 2In the Save File As dialog box, type the full path and new filename in the File Name box. 3Click Save. Publishing reports Paradox lets you publish your report to a variety of file formats, including T ext (. TXT), Word Perfect (WPD), Microsoft Word (. DOC), Rich T ext Format(RTF), and HTML. To publish a report 1Click File, Open, Report. 2Double-click the report you want to open. 282 Paradox 9: Chapter 5 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
3Click File, Publish As, and choose one of the following: TEXT RTF HTML WPD DOC 4Choose the drive where you want to save the file from the Save In list box. 5Double-click the folder in which you want to save the file. 6T ype the file name in the File Name box. Forms and reports 283 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Charts and crosstabs 285CHARTS AND CROSSTABS 6 Paradox allows you to place charts and crosstabs in your forms and reports. By exposing hidden data, charts and crosstabs help you to analyze your data. Using a chart or crosstab in your forms and reports enables you to break data into categories you specify summarize the data within those categories sort the summarized information For example, when you break down a companys sales data by year and quarter, you can study trends. Break the data down further by product typeand regional sales, and your analysis becomes more sophisticated. Queries behind charts and crosstabs The summarized data for a chart or crosstab is created by a query. Crosstabsautomatically create and run queries; therefore, defining a query is not partof creating a crosstab. Working with charts Charts can show you the overall view of your data. They can reveal trendsand patterns and show how different parts contribute to a whole. You can usecharts to draw conclusions quickly and to see relationships in your data thatyou might otherwise miss. You can also view different types of charts as youwork with your data. | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Charts must be in a form or a report. Each chart is based on the tables in the data model of the form or report. When you create a chart, Paradox first cross-tabulates the data before generating the chart. Understanding crosstabs might help you work withcharts. Chart basics Use a chart to analyze the following types of data: Tabular (no categories) Paradoxs default (and most simple) chart type is tabular. Because a tabularchart displays data without summarizing it, there is no crosstab equivalent. For a tabular chart, you can specify either one field for x-axis values ormultiple fields for the y-axis. Each represents a series of values plotted as agroup on the chart. A tabular chart measures the values in one numeric field within each category represented by the values in another field. These values are uniqueonly if the x-value field is a key field. T o make x-values unique when the fieldis not a key field, choose a one-dimensional summary chart. The following example shows a tabular chart created on the sample Orders table. When both the chart and a table frame are in a form, you can movethrough the tables records and the chart updates to reflect the currentrecord. For example, if you move past the Customer No 1510 in the tableframe, the chart updates to show the next set of records. One-dimensional (1-D) summary (one category) A 1-D chart has one category. A 1-D summary chart differs from a tabularchart because Paradox lets you choose a summary operation to define they-axis values. It also guarantees that x-values are unique. 286 Paradox 9: Chapter 6 1) The current record2) The chart updatesto show the next setof records. 3) Data from the Orders table. | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Two-dimensional (2-D) summary (two categories) A 2-D summary chart categorizes, or groups the summary data being charted by the unique values of two fields. The data is grouped by the x axis values. Multi-table charts If you want to analyze (cross-tabulate) data contained in two or more tables,the tables must be linked. A chart can draw information from any number of tables that are linked in a single-value (one one or many one) relationship. For example, if you want to view the number of items in stock by equipment class and thevendor that supplies them, you can link the Stock and Vendors tables. Youcan then define the x-axis, y-axis, and summary data using any field fromeither table. T o create the table relationship, use the Data Model dialog box to create a data model that links the tables. When you place a chart in a form or report,the chart uses the data model of that design document. You can combine fields from linked tables in the same chart only if the link is a single-value (one-to-one) relationship. You cannot chart information from combined fields of tables linked in multi-value (one many) relationships. You can chart information from the detail table only in a one many relationship. The chart is grouped by values in the Equipment Class field of the Stock table. The x-axis is defined as the Vendor Name field of the Vendors table. The y-axis is defined as a count of the Stock No field from the Stock table. The legend shows the colors and patterns that represent each equipmentclass value in the chart. Charts and crosstabs 287 An example of a 2-Dsummary chart. | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Fields used in the y-axis must be numeric. Charts of detail tables Suppose you have a linked multi-value (one many) relationship and you want to see a summary chart of only those records in the detail table thatapply to a record of the master table. For example, you might want to define achart of the Orders detail table that sums the T otal Invoice field by month foreach customer, as shown in the following figure: In the relationship between the Customer and Orders tables, each customer can have many orders. You can link the two tables and create a chart on thedetail table, Orders. You can then place the Customer No or Name field (orboth) from the master table, Customer, on the page. Paradox knows from the data model that the information in the chart applies only to the current record of the master table. In this example, the Namefield at the top comes from the Customer table. As you scroll through Customer, the chart is updated to show each customers order information. Creating a chart on a form or report Place a chart on a form or report using the chart tool. You can create thechart to any size. To place a chart in a form or report 1Open a form or report in the Design window, click the Chart tool. 2Drag the area of the form or report where you want to place the chart. An empty tabular chart object appears with undefined x-axis, y-axis, and charted data. 3Drag the sizing handles to resize the chart. 288 Paradox 9: Chapter 6 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
In a report, the scope of a chart is determined in part by the section of the report in which it is placed. Defining a chart Tabular charts takes their data directly from a table, rather than summarizingthe data in the table. 1-D Summary charts analyze one data type in relation to another. 2-D Summary charts summarize information by more than one category. When you place a new chart object in a form or report, undefined data series appear in the charts x-axis. A data series is one row or column of data in agroup used to draw one or more objects on a chart (such as the bars or boxesused to indicate the data points on the chart). You must define this series tocreate a chart. Defining a chart You cannot use the same field for x-axis values and y-value data. If you havealready chosen a field to supply the x-axis values or additional groupingvalues, or are creating a 2-D summary chart that field is dimmed. Formore information, see Changing a charts y-axis on page 294. To define a chart 1Right-click the chart, and click Define Chart. 2In the Data T ype panel, enable one of the following (for more informationsee Chart basics on page 286): Tabular. 1-D Summary. 2-D Summary. 3Choose from the table list box the field that contains the values you want to use for x-axis values. 4Choose from the table list box the field that contains the values you wantcharted according to the y-axis measure. 5Define a field by which to group your data if you enabled the 2-Dsummary. Charts and crosstabs 289 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
You can customize the chart by formatting the series, specifying titles, and changing the properties of different areas of the chart. Defining a series When you place a new chart object in a form or report, undefined data seriesappear in the charts x-axis. You can define the series and format theirdisplay. If you have more than one series of data in your chart, you can format them differently. For example, in a chart that shows two lines of data, you maywant the bars of one series red and the other series blue. In particular, youcan choose T ype Override with some chart types to make one series adifferent type from the rest. For example, in a two-dimensional (2-D) Barchart you might make one series a 2-D Line. Use the right-click menu to define the color, pattern and style of the background and data points (for example, bars, boxes, or circles) of the chart. You can also use the right-click menu to redefine the Y-value for the series. To define a series Open a form or report in the Design window, right-click a data point (forexample, a bar or box) in the chart and click the appropriate menuselection. When the data type of the chart is tabular or one-dimensional (1-D)summary, you can add more series to the original undefined series bychoosing additional fields for Define Y-Value. When the data type of the chart is 2-D summary, you can choose only onefield for the single series allowed for this data type. Specifying an additional group field in a 2-D summary chart For 2-D summary charts, you can choose any of the available and valid fieldsby which to group the summary data. The data is also grouped by the x-axiscategories. Specifying an additional group field is like having a secondary x-axis. For example, a chart might show sales by quarter. The quarters are listed alongthe x-axis and sales along the y-axis. You could break the data down, forexample, to show sales by quarter and, within each quarter, sales by product. In this new chart, the x-axis and y-axis would be the same, but each point on 290 Paradox 9: Chapter 6 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
the x-axis would have multiple summaries one for each product. The legend shows how each product summary is represented in the chart. By default, Paradox displays 8 groups (series) in a 2-D summary chart. You can control the number of groups displayed. For example, if your data has toomany groups to display clearly, you might want to see only the first fewgroups. To specify an additional group field in a 2-D summary chart 1Open a form or report in the Design window, right-click the upper-lefthand corner of the chart and click Define Chart. 2Enable the 2-D Summary button in the Define Chart dialog box. 3Enable the Grouped By button. 4Choose the field by which you want to group the summary data from atables list box. You cannot choose the same field for x-axis values, y-value data, and an additional grouping. If you have already chosen fields from this table tosupply the x-axis value and the y-axis data, those fields are dimmed. To control the number of groups (series) a that 2-D summary chart displays 1Open a form or report in the Design window, right-click the 2-D summary chart and click Max Groups. 2Choose a number from the list, or click the ellipsis (... ) at the top of thelist to open a dialog box, and type a higher number. You can also define a group by right-clicking the charts title and clicking Define Group. Modifying a chart Chart properties A chart object has many parts. Each part of the chart object has a uniqueproperty menu in addition to the property menu of the chart as a whole. Right-click a corner of the chart to select the chart as a whole, or right-clickan area of the chart to select that area. Click Properties to display theproperty pages. T o change other aspects of the chart, click an item from theright-click menu: Charts and crosstabs 291 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Menu Item Description Properties Displays the Properties dialog box with tabbed pages for changing properties. These include the standard Color, Pattern, Frame, Design, and Run Time properties used by other design objects. For Help on theseproperty pages, select them and press F1. Object Explorer Displays the Object Explorer for editing Object PAL methods, events, andobject properties (forms only). Define Chart Displays the Define Chart dialog box, where you can choose the fields foreach axis of the chart as well as the data type of the chart. Data Type Specifies Tabular, 1-D Summary, or 2-D Summary. Chart Type Displays a listing of 2-D and 3-D chart types. Max Groups Controls the number of groups (series) a 2-D Summary chart displays. Min x-values Sets the minimum number of chart series. Max x-values Sets the maximum number of chart series. Options Customizes the chart using these options: Show Titletoggles the display of the title on and off. On by default Show Legendtoggles the legend on and off. Off by default Show Gridtoggles the display of the grid on and off. On by default Show Axestoggles the display of axes on and off. On by default Show Labels:tggles the display of labels on and off. Off by default Rotationturns a chart around its vertical axis by the number ofdegrees you choose. This option is available for all 3-D charts except 3-DPie and 3-D Columns Elevationchanges the angle from which you view a 3-D chart. Thisoption is available for all 3-D charts except 3-D Pie and 3-D Columns See the Object property reference in the online help for more informationon specific chart properties. Chart area properties You can change properties of each area of a chart. When the pointer changesto a small vertical arrow, right-click to see a list of properties for that area. For the areas of X-Axis, Y-Axis, and Grouped By, you can specify field, scale, grid, ticks, and title. In a 2-D summary chart. You can also define the groupby right-clicking the chart title and clicking Properties. You can set the following options for series labels: 292 Paradox 9: Chapter 6 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
Property Description Define Y-Value Specifies the field whose values you want to chart on the y-axis. You can also click the top of the list to open the Define Field Object dialog box,where you can choose a field from another table in the data model. You can specify more than one y-value if you right-click the y-axis area instead of just a series. Title Specifies Text and Font or Use Default. Color Displays the standard Paradox Color palette. Pattern Changes the color and style of the pattern. Remove This Y-Value Removes a series from a chart. The field is also removed from the Y-Valuefields list in the Define Chart dialog box. This option is available with Tabular and 1-D Summary data types. Type Override Changes the selected series to a different display type from the rest of the chart. Choose None, 2-D Bar, 2-D Line, or 2-D Area. Type Override isavailable for any 2-D Bar, 2-D Line, 2-D Area, or 2-D Rotated Bar chart. Changing a charts type or data type A wide variety of chart types, such as bar, area, line and pie charts, areavailable. Changing the data type causes the chart object to change. The choices on the objects property pages also change according to data type. To change a charts type 1Open a form or report in the Design window, right-click the upper-leftcorner of the chart and click Chart T ype. 2Choose a chart type from the list. To change a charts data type 1Open a form or report in the Design window, right-click the upper leftcorner of the chart and click Data T ype. 2In the Data T ype panel of the Define Chart dialog box, enable one of thefollowing: Tabular One-dimensional (1-D) Summary T wo-dimensional (2-D) Summary Charts and crosstabs 293 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
For more information on data types, see Chart basics on page 286. Changing a charts x-axis As well as deciding what data to use for your charts x-axis, you can also decide the minimum and maximum x-axis values, and the scale used for thex-axis. To change a charts x-axis 1Open a form or report in the Design window, right-click the charts X-axisand click Define X-Value. 2Choose a field from a tables list box. To choose the minimum and maximum number of values to include in the x-axis Right-click the upper-left corner of the chart and choose Min X-Values or Max X-Values. Choose a number, or click the ellipsis (... ) at the top of themenu to specify your own values. To format the x-axis title and ticks (and scale for XY charts) Right-click the area around the x-axis and click one or more of the following: Click Title and T ext or Font to specify the text or font typeface, size,style, color, or script. Click Ticks to specify the number format, font typeface, style, color orscript of the tick marks and numbers along the x-axis. Click Scale to specify the type of scale you want to use (for example,logarithmic). Changing a charts y-axis With a tabular chart, you can only choose numeric fields for the y-value. Fields that are not numeric are dimmed. With a 1-D summary chart, you can choose any available and valid field(s) to define the y-axis. When you choose a y-axis field, Paradox couples it with adefault summary operation. By default, Paradox sums number, money, short integer, long integer, autoincrement, and Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) field data counts alpha, date, time, timestamp, or logical field data 294 Paradox 9: Chapter 6 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |
These default summary operations appear in the Summary list box of the Define Chart dialog box when you highlight each field in the Summariespanel. With a 2-D summary chart, you can choose any one of the available and valid fields to define the y-axis. When you choose the y-axis field, Paradox couplesit with a default summary operation. To change a charts y-axis 1Open a form or report in the Design window, right-click the charts y-axisor an individual series, click Define Y-Value. 2In the Define Field Object dialog box, choose a field(s) for the y-axis fromthe a list box. To format the y-axis title, scale, and ticks Right-click the y-axis area and click one or more of the following: Click Title and T ext or Font to specify the text or font typeface, size,style, color, or script. Click Ticks to specify the number format, font typeface, style, color, orscript of the tick marks and numbers along the X-axis Click Scale to specify the type of scale you want to use (for example,logarithmic). Changing the order of y-value fields on a chart With tabular and one-dimensional (1-D) summary charts, you can choosemore than one field to define the y-axis. These fields appear in the order youchoose them in the Define Chart dialog box. Their order determines theorder of the data series in the chart: the first fields values will be the firstseries, the second fields values will be the second series, and so on. To change the order of y-value fields on a chart 1Open a form or report in the Design window, right-click the upper-leftcorner of the chart and click Define Chart. 2Use the Change Order arrows at the bottom of the Field Used In area tochange the order; these arrows become active when you define a tabularor 1-D summary chart, when you select a Y-Value, and when you havemore than one field in the Y-Value box. Charts and crosstabs 295 | 292806769-Paradox-9-Eng.pdf |