Reports Guidelines

This page contains guidelines on how the reports should be designed and tips on implementations.

This is applicable to all new reports and subreports and also for existing reports which are going through maintenance/rebranding.

Before starting
Please make sure to do a get latest on your PB12\PAS folder, to have access to the following files:
 * smhs_default_report_header.png
 * smhs_default_report_header_landscape.png

Report header
The standard header should only be displayed on the 2nd page onwards and should display the report's title with the following format: The text object width should cover the report's width, as seen on the image below.
 * Powerbuilder text object
 * Font type: Arial
 * Font size: 11
 * Font style: italics
 * Height: 80
 * Portrait width: 3301
 * Boder style: Underline (4)



Report footer
The footer should contain the following elements:
 * Text saying "©Silverlink Software"
 * Font type: Arial
 * Font size: 8
 * Location: left side
 * Page count expression, containing "Page X of Y"
 * Font type: Arial
 * Font size: 8
 * Location: center
 * Name of the main report datawindow
 * Font type: Arial
 * Font size: 8
 * Location: right
 * Background box, covering all elements of the footer
 * Colour: Silver
 * Height: 80
 * Portrait width: 3319

Report branding
Each report should have a "fake header" that allows sites to brand the reports with their own logos.

The fake header is an image that should only be displayed on the first page of the report. Ideally, this image should not be on the header band since the header band cannot change its height dynamically.

The image object should contain one of the files below, without any path being specified. Below the image, you should display the report's main title name formatted as: The title should be over a box defined as: For reports where the title cover more than one line, make the height 120 x number of lines.
 * Portrait reports: smhs_default_report_header.png
 * Landscape reports: smhs_default_report_header_landscape.png
 * The image should be defined as Original size.
 * Powerbuilder text object
 * Font type: Arial
 * Font size: 16
 * Font style: bold
 * Colour: silver
 * Height: 120
 * Width: 3291

On the top right corner of the title, the Printed at text should be displayed, containing the date and full time. For the displayed date and time:
 * Powerbuilder text object
 * Font type: Arial
 * Font size: 8
 * Font style: bold
 * Powerbuidler computed column
 * Font type: Arial
 * Font size: 8
 * Font style: none

Best practice for the report:
 * 1) Create a main composite report with:
 * 2) The second-page header on the header band
 * 3) All sub-report objects on the details band
 * 4) Create a sub-report containing the first page header only
 * 5) The actual content of the report should go on one or more separate sub-reports, as needed.

Alternated row background

Any report displaying multiple rows should display alternated background colour. To implement the alternated row you must follow the steps below.

Set the datawindow properties


Go to the datawindow properties >> Print Specifications

Tick the option Print Shows Background

Tick the option Preview Shows Background

Add the alternated column expression
Right mouse click on the detail band to view its properties

Go to the Background properties >> Color

Enter the expression below: if ( Mod( GetRow, 2 ) = 0, 553648127, RGB(245, 245,245) )



Set the properties for nested reports
- This step is only applicable if you the report with alternated background is a sub/nested report. - Repeat step 1 for the main composite report, where the the sub-report is located.

- Open the Properties of the nested report and tick the Show background box.



Applied example: