Field Properties (Label Report)

The Properties dialog allows you to specify how the field is formatted in the report. You can display this dialog for the field highlighted in the Selected list in Step 2 of the Label Wizard by clicking the Properties button, double-clicking the field, or selecting the field and pressing Enter.

The options in the Format page of this dialog are:

• Display this field in the report: if this option is turned off (it's on by default), the field will be retrieved from the database but not displayed in the report. This is useful when you want to sort on the field or include it in the query so you can link on it, but not print it.

• Alignment: text alignment options for field headings and field contents. By default, numeric fields are right-aligned and all others are left-aligned.

• Width: this is used as the width for the field in the report. Normally, Stonefield Query will automatically size the field appropriately.

• Use default format: if this option is turned on, which it is by default, Stonefield Query uses the defined format for the field. If the format for the field changes in the future, the report uses the new format automatically. If you wish to change any of the formatting options, turn this setting off.

• Show commas: if this option is turned on, the data in the field is formatted with the thousands separator defined in the Regional Settings applet of the Windows Control Panel. This option is only available for numeric fields.

• Display zero as blank: if this option is turned on, a blank is displayed rather than a zero value. This option is only available for numeric fields.

• Display $ (the appropriate currency symbol for your system is displayed in place of "$"): turning this option on displays the currency symbol defined in the Regional Settings applet of the Windows Control Panel in front of the field's value. This option is only available for numeric fields.

• Display empty date as blank: if this option is turned on, a blank is displayed rather than " / / " for blank dates. This option is only available for date/time fields.

• Display date only: turning this option on displays only the date portion of the field's value. This option is only available for date/time fields.

• Decimal places: the number of decimals to display for numeric fields.
  

The options in the Style page of this dialog are:

• Use default font: if this option is turned on, which it is by default, this field uses the default font for the report, even if the default font is changed after the field is added to the report. To change the font, turn this option off.

• Font: the font name, size, and style to use for this field. To change any of these, click the font selection button (which appears as "...") and select the desired font name, size, and style from the Font dialog that appears.

• Use dynamic expression for font style: if you want the font name, size, or style of the field to change depending on the contents of this or some other field, turn this setting on and click the Expression Builder button (the one with "..."). The following dialog appears:

  

  In this dialog, enter the expression you wish to look for (you can click the Expression Builder button to launch the Expression Builder, which makes it easier to enter the expression) and the font style to use when that expression is true. You can use "{VALUE}" as a placeholder for the value of the current field being output rather than specifying the field name. You can enter up to three expressions to change the font style. If none of the expressions is true, the font style specified for the field is used.

  Note that using this option significantly increases report generation time, so use it only when required.

• Color: the color for the contents of the field. The default color is black; to change it, click this button and select the color from the Color dialog that appears.

• Use dynamic expression for color: if you want the color of the field to change depending on the contents of this or some other field, turn this setting on and click the Expression Builder button. The following dialog appears:

  

  In this dialog, enter the expression you wish to look for (you can click the Expression Builder button to launch the Expression Builder, which makes it easier to enter the expression) and the color to use when that expression is true. You can use "{VALUE}" as a placeholder for the value of the current field being output rather than specifying the field name. You can enter up to three expressions to change the color. If none of the expressions is true, the color specified for the field is used.

  Note that using this option significantly increases report generation time, so use it only when required.
  

The Comments page shows any comments about the field, which is often used to provide a description of the field's contents.