# ReportDesigner

The ZeeBORN Report Designer is an in-house tool for preparing the layouts for printouts to be used by the print and reporting functions of the ZeeBORN modules and applications.

All data of a report will be stored in .report files. In addition there is a .layout file containing the visual presentation of a report.

The Report Designer is used for creating .report and .layout file. Usually you will have to take care about the .report files - the .layout files will be maintained automatically by the designer.

# General Data

The General Data screen allows a short description of the purpose of a report. None of the information entered here affect the operation of the report.

# Variables

The Report Designer allows the usage of variables for a higher flexibility in using this module. Report variables can be used in the database root value of the report (e.g. providing the IMO number of a vessel for accessing the related database) and in the SQL query.

Each variable defined in a report can have a default value. This value will be used if the calling application doesn't provide a value for this variable. It's also a good practice to enter a value that will provide suitable data for the preview function of the layout editor.

# Data

In the Data screen you can define the database root to be used by the report and you can define the SQL query to be used for retrieving the report data from the database.

You can use the Test Query function to see the results of the query before starting the layout editor.

# Designing the Layout

The layout of the report can be designed in a WYSIWYG editor. On the left side of the editor you have access to all elements that create the structure of the report (e.g. master bands, details bands, headers, footers etc.) and you also access to the properties of the currently selected element in the design view.

The right side of the editor gives you access to the data the result from the query defined in Data screen of the editor. The data of the query will be presented as the columns that are in the result of the query.

# Testing a Report

A report can be tested by using the preview function in the layout editor or by using the Print function or the Create PDF File function.

The Create PDF File function uses an improved PDF creation module for the file creation and is exactly the same function the will be used by ZeeBORN applications for creating PDF files.