File - Reports Menu
Page Setup controls many aspects of the currently viewed report. The settings you choose directly affect, and are stored with, the report. The following paragraphs discuss the various sections found in the Page Setup dialog box.
When you first open the Page Setup window, you will see the default headers and footers that make your name, session information, page numbers, etc. appear. Most users will not find a need to change these settings, but for the eccentric among you, a brief discussion follows. For a detailed description of Header and Footer Format Codes available, click here.
This section allows the creation and formatting of a special text heading that will appear on each report page. Its content is independent of the actual report as seen on the screen. It is supplemental information that is placed on each page of the printed report. Typically, a header might be used to place the time and date that the report is printed near the top of the report page.
The formatting codes mentioned above can be used to control the horizontal positioning of information on the header line, the font size and the content. Vertical positioning of a header is discussed in the Margins section below.
As an example of where a header might be used, entering the following into the header field will produce a heading on the printed report with the date on the left in 8 point font, and the time of printing on the right in 8 point font again.
&l&d&c&r&08&t
Like a header, a footer contains a single line of text that is not actually part of the report that is viewable in normal mode on the screen. Rather, the text is applied to the report as it is sent to the printer. It can contain any text you wish. Its horizontal positioning and appearance is controlled via format codes, in a manner similar to that of the header. Its vertical positioning is discussed in the Margins section below.
Typically, footers are used to number the report pages. For example, the following entry in the Footer field will place "Page # of ##" on the bottom right of the page, using 8 point fonts:
&r&08Page &p of &n
The main body of the report is positioned according to the values entered into the Top, Left, Bottom and Right fields in the Margin section. The values represent the distance from the printed page edge to the relevant edge of the main report. The Units selection box allows this measurement to be in Inches or Centimeters. Even if page header and/or footer text is not used, all margins must be within the physically printable area of the print page. (A laser printer typically cannot print within a 1/4" of the top or bottom of the physical page.)
Header - This is the distance from the page edge to the header line. It is independent of the position of the main report. This value must fall within the printable area of the page, even if no page header had been entered. The header information can be on the same physical line as the first line (or title) of the report itself, but is generally placed above it by at least one line (approx 0.16"). For example, a Header margin might be set to 0.5" and the Top (line of the main report) to 0.67", if a relatively narrow top margin is desired with the header line one (12 point) line above the main report.
Footer - The footer margin specifies the distance from the footer line of text to the bottom of the physical print page. It must fall within the physically printable area of the page. When including page numbers in a report footer, the Footer margin should not be less than about 0.3" with the Bottom (of report) margin set above it by 0.2" or more. The Footer margin can overlap (be equal to) the report's Bottom margin, but should be at least 0.16" less, to avoid overwriting the report data.
These four check boxes are independent of each other. Normally, these are all clear but can be turned on (checked) for special effects.
Grid Lines -- Places grid lines on the report for easier viewing of widely spaced columnar data.
Black & White -- Removes all color and patterns from the printed report. Use if you do not have a color printer and find the gray-scale equivalent hard to read.
Row Heading -- Use if you have created a special Worksheet tab report with information you wish to have appear at the left of the report on each page. This can also be used to show the row numbers associated with the data cells on any of the standard data forms or reports.
Column Heading -- Use if you have created a special Worksheet tab report with information you wish to have appear at the top of each column in the report on each page. This can also be used to show the column letters associated with the data cells on any of the standard data forms or reports.
This set of radio buttons controls the order in which pages are sent to the printer if the form or report being viewed cannot be printed on a single page.
The Top To Bottom option prints the report vertically, including as much data across the page as will fit. Once the bottom of the report is reached, printing resumes at the top of the report, commencing with the first column that would not fit on the prior page(s).
The Left To Right option prints all columns across the report, using as many pages as required and including as many rows as will fit on the page. Then printing resumes at the left- hand margin again beginning with the first row that would not fit vertically on the prior page(s).
By default, a report begins at the top left corner specified in the Margins section of the Page Setup dialog box. The following two options relieve you of the need to specify exact margins.
Use the Center Horizontally option to over-ride (ignore) the margins settings so that the report is centered horizontally on the page. (This does not affect the width of the report, just its position.)
Use the Center Vertically option to ignore the Bottom and Top margin settings so that the report is vertically centered on the page. This does not affect the Header and Footer margins however.
This powerful option set allows resizing the entire report and/or forcing the report to fit into a specific number of pages.
Fit to Page(s) -- This option overrides page breaks set via the Format menu, and any Scale percentage field value set in this section of the Page Setup dialog box. The Fit To Page option forces the report to fit in not more than the number of horizontal and vertical pages specified in this section of the dialog box. The forced fit is done by proportionally compressing the report until it will fit within the pages specified. The relative width versus height of the report is maintained during the compression and printing. Page breaks occur automatically.
Pages Wide -- The report will be compressed proportionally until it will fit horizontally into the specified number of pages.
Pages High -- The report will be compressed proportionally until it will fit vertically into the specified number of pages.
Scale (Percentage) -- IF the Fit To Page(s) check box is not set, this field can be used to expand or compress the entire report proportionally. The Header and Footer lines are also adjusted and page breaks are inserted if required.
If the report print font is difficult to read, a simple solution is to increase the size of the entire report by increasing the scale to 120% or 150%. Conversely, if the report does not quite fit on the page, try reducing its scale to 90% or 80%.
The Printer Setup command opens the Printer Setup window for use in setting default printer options. These will be in effect the next time you print anything, and will stay in effect until you change them again. See Print Setup on the File Menu for more details.
The Print Preview command opens the Print Preview window which displays the current report as it will appear when printed. Detail is not readable, but general layout on the page can be viewed so you can decided what adjustments may be needed on the Printer Setup page.
Selecting the Print command prints the report according to the settings you have chose on the Printer Setup window.
Closes the report.