Before the report runs, if there are any ask at runtime filter conditions for the report, a dialog will appear asking you to specify the values for those conditions. If you choose Cancel in this dialog, the report will not run.

At any point during the report run, you can stop the report by pressing the Esc key.

While the report runs, the status bar of Reports Explorer displays the following messages:

• Running report: this message displays as the report layout is being finalized.

• Selecting records: this message displays while the records to appear in the report are selected from the total set of records. If records with invalid date values are found, Stonefield Query prompts whether you wish to see these records; see the Handling Invalid Dates topic for details. The report will not continue in this case.

• <n> records selected: this message displays for a few seconds after the records have been selected, indicating the number of records that were selected. If no records were found that match the specified filter, a message to that effect displays and the report is not printed.

• Processing records: this message displays while the records selected for the report are processed so they are formatted properly for the report.

• <n> records processed: this message displays for a few seconds after the records have been processed.

• Running report; press Esc to cancel...: this message displays while the report pages are output to the printer or queued for display in the Preview window.
  

The report then appears in the Preview window, which can be moved or sized as desired. You can also scroll in this window to see other parts of the report.

The Report Preview toolbar provides the following functions:

• First page: displays the first page of the report; this button is disabled when the first page is displayed.

• Previous page: displays the previous page of the report; this button is disabled when the first page is displayed.

• Go to page: displays a dialog in which you can enter the page number to display.

• Next page: displays the next page of the report; this button is disabled when the last page is displayed.

• Last page: displays the last page of the report; this button is disabled when the last page is displayed.

• Zoom: this drop-down list allows you to scale the report to different sizes, from 10% to 300%. You can also choose Fit in Window, which fits the entire page into the Preview window, or Fit to Width, which adjusts the page so its entire width fits in the Preview window.

• Pages to display: allows you to specify how many pages the Preview window displays at a time. The choices are:
  • 1x1 displays a single page at a time in the Preview window.

  • 2x1 displays two pages in one row.

  • 2x2 displays two pages in two rows for a total of four pages.

  • 3x1 displays three pages in one row.

  • 3x2 displays three pages in two rows for a total of six pages.

  • 4x2 displays four pages in two rows for a total of eight pages.
    

• Find: choose this function to locate text in the report. The Find dialog appears with the following options:

  

  • Look for: enter the text to locate. To look for text you previously entered, choose it from the list.

  • Match case: if you want to locate text using the exact case you entered (for example, "Test" will not match "test"), turn on this option.

  • Use wildcard: this setting allows you to search for text that may contain unknown characters. The % character represents any sequence of unknown characters in the text. The _ character represents a single unknown character in the text. For example, "mo_se" matches "mouse" and "moose."
    

  When you click the Find button in this dialog, the Preview window locates all instances of that text and highlights them in yellow. The Preview window displays a new pane at the left listing all instances of the found text, including the page number it appears on, with links you can click to jump to that instance. The Close link closes the pane.

• Print: displays a dialog so you can print the report. This dialog has the following options:

  

  • Printer: use this to select the printer to print to.

  • Properties: click this button to display the properties dialog for the selected printer, which allows you to do things such as changing the selected paper tray or print quality.

  • Page range: All prints all pages or you can enter a list of page numbers to print, separated by commas. For example, 2, 4, 7-9 prints pages 2, 4, 7, 8, and 9.

  • Include: this option allows you to specify all pages, even pages only, or odd pages only. The latter two settings are handy when you print a report bound into a book.

  • Number of copies: the number of copies to print.

  • Pages per sheet: this option allows you to specify how many report pages are printed on each sheet of paper. For example, "4 pages" means the printer prints four pages of the report, each 1/4 their normal size, on each sheet.
    

• Export report: displays a dialog so you can export the report to a file. This dialog has the following options:

  

  • Output type: select the desired output type. The list displays a subset of the options available on the Output page of the Reports Explorer.

  • File name: the name of the file to output to. The extension defaults to the appropriate value for the selected output type; for example, the extension defaults to "doc" if you choose Word as the output type.

  • Page range: All outputs all pages or you can enter a list of page numbers to print, separated by commas. For example, 2, 4, 7-9 outputs pages 2, 4, 7, 8, and 9.

  • Include: this option allows you to specify all pages, even pages only, or odd pages only. The latter two settings are handy when you output a report bound into a book. This setting is only available when you output to an image file.

  • Number of copies: the number of copies to output. This setting is only available when you output to an image file.

  • Pages per sheet: this option allows you to specify how many report pages are output on each page of the image. For example, "4 pages" means the each image page contains four pages of the report, each 1/4 their normal size. This setting is only available when you output to an image file.

  • Image DPI: the resolution of the image in Dots Per Inch (DPI). This setting is only available when you output to an image file.
    

• Email report: emails the report as a PDF attachment. See the Output Options help topic for information on the Email dialog that appears.

• Close: closes the Preview window. You can also click the Close box for the Preview window or press Esc.
  

If a field is linked, it will appear similar to links in Web pages: underlined and colored either blue (for email or Web links) or green (for report links). Clicking the link takes the appropriate action, such as opening your browser to the appropriate Web page. If the link runs a linked report, it will appear in the Preview window in its own tab. Click the tab to display the desired report. To close the selected tab, click the button with the black X in the upper right corner of the Preview window.

If one of the fields in the report has the Create bookmarks on this field setting turned on in the Field Properties dialog, a table of contents appears at the left, showing each of values in that field. Clicking an item in the table moves the preview window to the page where that value appears.

A shortcut menu is available; right-click anywhere in the Preview window to see some of the options available in the toolbar.

Certain keys can also be used to control the window:

• Esc: closes the Preview window.

• Right arrow: scrolls toward the right side of the page.

• Left arrow: scrolls toward the left side of the page.

• Up arrow: scrolls toward to top of the page.

• Down arrow: scrolls towards the bottom of the page.

• Page Up: moves to the previous page.

• Page Down: moves to the next page.

• Home: moves to the first page.

• End: moves to the last page.

• Ctrl-F: displays the Find dialog.

• Ctrl-G: displays the Go to Page dialog.