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Links Provides a list of any OLE2 objects linked to the report.
Object Provides a menu for an OLE2 server when there are OLE2 objects linked to the report.

Figure 18.2 shows the Edit menu options.

FIG. 18.2
Edit Menu Options.


View Menu Options

The View menu options govern the way things appear as well as what appears on the Layout Editor. Figure 18.3 shows the View Menu options.

The first set of options changes the way objects appear in the Layout Editor. The first option, Zoom In, magnifies the objects to twice their original size. Zoom Out resizes the objects to one half their original size. Normal Size returns the objects to their original size. Fit to Window sizes the layout window to fit the entire Report Designer window. These options only change the way the objects appear when viewed in the layout editor; it does not change the actual sizing of the objects.

The next section of options are all things that you can have displayed on the Layout Editor. The options being displayed have a check mark next to them, and things not displayed do not have a check mark next to them. Rulers are the rulers that display at the top and along the side of the layout. Their purpose is to help with the positioning of objects on the layout. Ruler Guides are dotted lines that you can activate by clicking the ruler and dragging either down or to the right. These help with the aligning of objects on the layout. Grid either displays the grid lines or doesn't display them. The grid is most helpful when doing character-mode reports. Snap to

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Grid causes objects to snap to the closest grid points to them. This is used when you are using the grid. Page Breaks displays where the physical page breaks are on the layout. Tool Palette, Status Line and Toolbar can be displayed for ease of use or you can turn them off. The Status Line displays the zoom status of the layout editor as well as the X and Y coordinates of the cursor.

FIG. 18.3
View Menu options.


The last section, View Options, has two choices: Rulers and Layout. Figure 18.4 shows the two dialog boxes for these options.

Rulers enable you to set specifics for the grid. You can specify its units of measure, Size, Spacing, and Snap Points. The units of measure should be the same as the reports' units of measure. Size is the vertical and horizontal space between the grid lines. Snap Points are the number of points between the grid lines to which objects can snap.

Layout enables you to set specific properties for the layout in general. There are four views that you can look at when editing the layout of the report. Each view controls a part of the report. The views are Body, Margin, Header, and Trailer. Body is where you create the body of the report. Margin is where you can visually set the margins of the report as well as add fields for display. Header and Trailer are where you create header or trailer pages for the report. You can chose to display fields as their masks, or just an outline. You can also set the layout to be in either confine or flex modes. Confine mode does not allow you to move any objects in a way that would cause the layout not to work. You can't move a field out of its parent-repeating frame. Flex mode allows you to move an object, its parent object, and all objects in the direction of the move, its push path. This ensures that the layout stays in working order.

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FIG. 18.4
Rulers and Layout
Dialog boxes from the
View Options menu.


Format Menu Options

The Format Menu enables you to change the display properties of objects. Figure 18.5 shows the Format Menu options.

FIG. 18.5
Format Menu options.


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The first option is Font. It opens a standard windows font dialog box shown in Figure 18.6. The dialog box enables you to choose a font style, size, and color.

FIG. 18.6
Font dialog box.


Spacing enables you to select a line spacing for the report, either single, double, one and a half, or custom.

Arrange Menu Options

The Arrange Menu gives you the ability to arrange and size the objects on the layout. Figure 18.7 shows the Arrange Menu options.

The first set of options gives you control over the objects on the layout and how they are displayed.

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FIG. 18.7
Arrange Menu options.



FIG. 18.8
Align Objects dialog box.



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