This window allows you to customize every aspect of a template. In the context of the designer, a template is called a report.
The report designer is virtually a program in its own right - this is only a summary of some of the features of the report designer. For more help, consult the pop-up tips that appear when you hover your mouse over anything in the designer.
The template designer gives you total control over your templates. You can change sections, layout, fonts, and even perform advanced functions such as scripting.
Each tab represents a different group of related buttons.
This is the tab you will use most frequently. It contains all of the formatting options for text and appearance.
These buttons let you open, save, and create a new template.
Note: is is recommended that you use Save As to save your customized templates with a different name. The built-in templates may be updated from time to time, which will overwrite your changes if you do not save them under a different name.
These buttons let you perform the standard editing functions, such as cut, copy, and paste - as well as undo and redo.
These buttons control the appearance of the font of whatever object you have selected. You can choose font type and size, as well as styles such as bold, italics, and underline. You can also align text using the standard alignments, as well as change the color of the font, and its background.
These buttons control the way objects are aligned in the template.
These buttons control the way groups of objects are laid out relative to one another.
These buttons allow you to zoom in and out on the template. They only affect your view of the template, not how it will be printed.
This button allows you to switch the way you view the template in the designer.
This tab is the same as the tab seen in the print preview window.
This tab contains buttons for controlling the view of the template as an HTML (web) page. It is for advanced use only.
This is the view of your template (also called a report in the context of the designer).
A template is made up of several different sections, called bands, which constitute the entire report. In the example shown above, these sections are (from top to bottom):
Some bands are repeated on every page of the report - so if your report is one page long, you will only have one band, but if your report is three pages long, you will have 3 bands, one on each page. Other bands only appear once per report.
For example, the Report Header only appears once per report - you would only want the heading to appear once, even if a bill or template spanned many pages.
These buttons along the left-hand side of the designer window represent the different objects you can place in a template.
Clicking this will return your mouse pointer to normal, allowing you to click on other objects in the template and select them.
This is a special type of object which represents a postal bar code. It can be used to help the post office route your mail more effectively.
In most cases, you will not need to use this object.
This is a chart, such as a bar graph or pie chart, that can be placed in your template (if desired).
In most cases, you will not need to use this object.
This is a check box, and can be either checked or unchecked.
In most cases, you will not need to use this object.
This is a box that can span multiple sections (bands) of the template (such as the header and the body).
In most cases, you will not need to use this object.
This is a line that can span multiple sections (bands) of the template.
In most cases, you will not need to use this object.
This is a simple text label that can be placed anywhere in your template. It is a very commonly used item.
This is a simple line. It has two end points, and you can position it any way you like. Other than its appearance, it is purely for decoration.
This will insert a page break into the template, which causes a new page to be created when printed.
In most cases, you will not need to use this object.
This is an object to display information about the current page, such as page number, or the title of the document. It is commonly used in the footer of a template.
This is an object onto which you can place other objects, so they can be moved and arranged as a single group.
In most cases, you will not need to use this object.
This is an object that lets you put a picture (such as a logo) in your template.
This is an object that lets you place a large amount of formatted text into the template.
In most cases, you will not need to use this object.
This allows you to place a simple shape in the template.
In most cases, you will not need to use this object.
This allows you to make a sub-section to the main report (template).
In most cases, you will not need to use this object.
This allows you to add a table to the template, which you can use to arrange objects or text in a grid-like layout.
This is a special form of label that can understand postal zip codes and display them properly.
In most cases, you will not need to use this object.
This section on the right-hand side of the window allows you to navigate among the various parts of the report, including the different sections (bands).
You can also access the Field List, which is only useful if you are editing a template from the Bill window or the Create Statements window. The field list will show you the fields which are used to add data into the template. If needed, you can drag these fields onto the template to cause information to be entered there when the final document is created.
In most cases, it is best to leave the existing fields in the template as provided, and simply move them, rather than try to re-create them using the field list.
This section on the lower right-hand side of the window allows you to edit the various properties of whatever object is currently selected.
Each object in a template has many different properties - some of which cannot always be edited. Many of these properties (such as font and color) can be adjusted more easily by using the toolbar at the top of the screen.
See also: