Shape

The Shape control is used to add simple graphics to a report.

On the Properties window, the Shape control properties are divided into the following tabs:

Appearance

Background Color

Specifies the background colour of controls. The functionality is also available on the Report Designer tab ().

Border Color, Border Dash Style, Border Width and Borders

Specifies border settings for controls.

Fill Color

Specifies the fill color for the shape contour. The default fill color is transparent.

Foreground Color

Specifies the text colour for controls. The functionality is also available on the Report Designer tab ().

Formatting Rules

Displays the Formatting Rules Editor window, used to choose which rules are applied to a report during report generation, and to define the priority of the applied rules.

Line Style

Specifies the style of the shape contour, for example, solid or dashed.

Line Width

Specifies the width of the shape contour in report measurement units.

Location

Specifies the location of the control in report measurement units.

Padding

Specifies indent values used to render the contents of the controls.

Size

Specifies the size of the control in report measurement units.

Style Priority

Defines the priority of various styles (for example, background colour or border colour).

Styles

Defines odd and even styles for the controls, as well as assigning an existing style to the them (or a newly created one).

Behavior

Anchor Horizontally

Specifies the horizontal anchoring style of the control, so that after page rendering it stays attached to the left control, right control, or both. The property setting is useful for data-bound controls located between controls, which are able to resize depending on their contents.

Anchor Vertically

Specifies the vertical anchoring style of the control, so that after page rendering it stays attached to the top control, bottom control, or both. The property setting is useful for data-bound controls located between upper and lower controls, which are able to resize depending on their contents.

Angle

Specifies the shape rotation angle. The measurement unit is a degree, and the orientation is counterclockwise.

Can Publish

Specifies whether or not the control can be printed or exported.

Scripts

Contains events which can be handled with scripts.

Shape

Determines which of the various built-in shapes to use within the control.

Certain shapes have their own unique set of properties. The following list is intended to give a brief overview of the special properties specific to a certain shape:

Stretch

If a shape is rotated to some degree (the Angle property is not zero), the Stretch property can also be used. The Shape image is stretched to cover the maximum space within the control borders.

Visible

Specifies whether the control is visible when using the print preview.

Data

(Data Bindings)

If the current report is bound to data, the property is used to bind control properties (Tag) to a data field obtained from the report data source, and to apply a format string.

Tag

Adds additional information to a control; for example, the Id, by which the control can then be accessed via scripts.

If the current report has a data source, the Tag property can be bound to a data field obtained from the data source. To do this, expand the (Data Bindings) property and from the Tag > Binding drop-down list, select the required data field.

Miscellaneous

(Name)

Determines the name of the control, by which it can be accessed in the Report Explorer, Properties window or via scripts.

Bookmark and Parent Bookmark

These properties are used to create a hierarchical structure within a report called a document map.

If the current report has a data source, the Bookmark property can be bound to a data field, obtained from the data source. To do this, expand the Data > Data Bindings drop-down list and select the required data field.

Navigation URL and Navigation Target

Use the Navigation URL property to specify a URL for web browser navigation when the control is clicked. The web browser displays a page in a window or a frame as specified in the Navigation Target property.

Note: A URL must have an appropriate prefix for example, 'http://'). Cross-references can be created within the report by assigning the name of the target control to the Navigation URL property, and setting the Navigation Target property to ‘_self'.

If the current report has a data source, the Navigation URL property can be bound to a data field obtained from the data source. To do this, expand the Data > Data Bindings drop-down list and select the required data field.

Snap Line Margins

Specifies the margins for the control, which are maintained when the control is aligned using snap lines.

Favorites

Right-click on the Favorites tab and select Edit Favorite Property List to display the Favorite Properties Editor, which is used to customise the available properties on the Favorites tab.

Refer to Conditionally Modify Control Display, Styles Concepts, Handle Events via Scripts, Display Values from a Database (Bind Report, Controls to Data), Add Bookmarks and Create Hyperlinks for further information.