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WinCan VX includes a very flexible Report Designer which is used to customize and edit the way in which the PDF reports appear. Access to this area is only available to users with Administrator login credentials. These various report designs are read from the installation folder and copied into the project subfolder \Misc\Reports when you create a new project.
Once the software is installed, the predefined report templates for all countries are available in the Windows directory C:\Users\Public Documents\CDLAB\Common\Reports:
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Depending on the country, language and project standard selected, the required report templates in the project directory are applied when printing the survey data.
Launch the Editor from the Printing > Report Designer button:
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Once launched, the menu dialog for editing the layouts opens. It is possible to edit the individual report for the current project only, or to customize the default report in order to get the change for all future projects.
The report editor first shows the user a list of all available report types:123
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Select this option to modify only a predefined report template of the group _WinCanVX_Default_ in the project directory Misc\Reports and to apply these changes also for future projects.
Select this option to modify any other predefined report template (out of the group _WinCanVX_Default) in the project directory _ Misc\Reports and to apply these changes also for future projects.
This option allows the user to modify also the country specific report templates (not recommended).
Leaving all three options unselected will result in any amendments only be made in the current project.
Hit the EDIT button in order to run the report designer taking into account the options you may have checked or unchecked in the panel above.
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Important note: |
Report Designer Interface
The different types of report are managed under the name Projects. In addition to the actual information defined in the WinCan VX project, the report also carries layout information such as page size and orientation, fonts, colors, frames, circles, lines and graphics. The report Editor recognizes three types of Projects; lists, labels, and cards.
The individual components of these Projects are called 'Objects'. So, for example a Project can contain text objects, image objects and a report container object.
New objects can be added using the Insert tab controls by selecting an object type and right-clicking and/or dragging on the workspace. The Report Editor provides different types of objects, which can be freely positioned and resized in the workspace. 1234567
1.) The tab Report Structure is showing the parts, which the current report page shown in the center is sub-divided into. In this example the page is split into a Header and a Table part.
2.) The Objects tab displays the individual objects contained within the structure of the report:
In the example, the Objects present include a line, watermark, logo image, text area and the actual report container.
These objects can be clicked on once to highlight the corresponding item in the layout, and double-clicked to open the object editor.
The Layers tab allows the user to choose how different versions of the same Project design may be used.
The Preview tab demonstrates how the final output will present to the user.
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The Layout tab option shows the page with its corresponding code.
Layout Preview shows the locations of the elements.
Preview is much the same as the previously described Preview tab, but it shows in the large window view area.
Moving and Deleting Objects
To move an object within the report, first select it (1) in the register of Objects (i.e. the object Watermark (2) in this example). In the editing area, the object will be marked with an edge and handles (3). Now, the object can be moved with the mouse as required. 123
The object can deleted by pressing the Delete key while the object is selected and showing edges and handles.
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To change the font, color or font size of an object, first double click the object name to open the Object Editor.
The Edit menu opens and now the user can change the appearance of the object in the right half of the menu. Clicking on the font editing button opens the edit buttons for the font. Here, the appearance of the font can be changed and saved by clicking OK.
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The Report Editor is a powerful tool that can be used to make all kinds of changes to the printing layouts including adding new fields relating to databases in the WinCan VX report. The process of adding new fields to the reports is complex and detailed, and should only be attempted by suitably trained advanced users or by the local reseller teams. This section is giving an example of all the steps needed to complete a report page with specific fields.
To get the caption as well as the content of the field Section Type shown open the report designer, select the inspection report and drag the corresponding field from the panel Variables/Field list at the right directly into the report header view.
As the report designer works with the original database field names you must make sure you really have selected the correct field. To do so open the input mask and hover with the mouse pointer over the filed Section Type (Section Usage) until the original database field name pops up in a direct help box.
The report designer is always showing two text boxes for each database field. Open the context menu to the field caption box and select the command Edit field to check whether the field name used in the function corresponds to that one provided by the direct help box in the input mask:
Click OK to confirm any modification.
To show the content of the database field right click on the field content box right to the field caption box and select the context menu command Edit field to check again whether the field name used in the function corresponds to that one provided by the direct help box in the input mask:
Click OK to confirm any modification.
In order to avoid syntax errors it's recommended to copy existing function or function parts into new text boxes and to change just the field name. The report designer mainly works with the following functions:
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The caption as well as the content of the selected database filed finally appear in the header of the inspection report at the preferred location, as illustrated below:
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