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DBFields

Inserting DBFields in a report

Adding summaries for DBFields

Changing the display type of DBFields

Binding links to DBFields

Adding conditional formats to DBFields

Searching for DBFields in a report

In a query based report, the DBFields or database fields refer to fields directly from databases, user data sources, hierarchical data sources, or other data sources; in a business view based report, they are the group and details objects in the business view.

Inserting DBFields in a report

DBFields can be inserted in the report areas listed in Component placement.

• For a business view based report
  Select the group or detail object in the Data panel and drag it to the destination.
• For a query based report
  You have two ways to insert a DBField into a query based report.
  • By dragging and dropping
    Select a dataset from the dataset drop-down list in the Data panel, then select the required DBField and drag it to the destination.
  • Using dialog
    1. Position the mouse pointer at the destination where you want to insert the DBField and click Insert > DBField or Home > Insert > DBField.

       The Insert Fields dialog appears.

       

    2. Select a dataset from the dataset drop-down list, and all resources in the selected dataset will then be listed in the DBField List box.
    3. Select the required DBField and specify its layout in the Insert Layout box. You can select them one by one with the Ctrl key, or you can make a continuous selection with the Shift key.
    4. Click the Insert button to insert the DBField into the destination.

Adding summaries for DBFields

In a query based page report, you can add summaries for DBFields as follows:

1. Select a DBField, then do one of the following:
   • Click Insert > Summary.
   • Right-click the DBField and select Summary Function from the shortcut menu.

   The Insert Summary dialog appears.

   

2. From the Aggregate Function drop-down list, specify the function of the summary.
3. If the report is grouped, select to which group level the summary will be applied from the Group By drop-down list. If None is select, the summary will be added based on the whole report.
4. Click the Insert button.

   A summary with the default name Function_DBFieldName is then created in the current catalog and is available under the Summaries node in the Data panel. You can drag it to use in the report.

Changing the display type of DBFields

JReport Designer provides 13 kinds of display types: Text, Image, Barcode, Rank, Text Field, Hidden Field, Text Area, Checkbox, Radio Button, Image Button, Button, List, and Drop-down List. By changing the display type of a DBField, you can map the DBField to other value or image to be displayed instead.

A DBField in a page report created using query resources can be displayed as one of the following general types: Text, Image, Barcode and Rank. It can also be displayed as a basic web control, including Text Field, Password, Text Area, Checkbox, Radio Button, Image Button, and Button. While the DBFields in a web report or library component can only be displayed as Text.

The Display Type feature is not supported in page reports created using business views.

To edit the display type of a DBField:

1. Right-click it and click Display Type on the shortcut menu.
2. In the Display Type dialog, select the display type you want the DBField to display in.
3. If a general display type is selected, take the same procedure as Changing the Display Type of Labels to customize the DBField.

   If a basic web control type is selected, see Inserting basic web controls in a page report for details about how to make settings of the display type.

4. Click OK to accept the changes.

Binding links to DBFields

You can make the DBFields in a report link with other reports, locations specified by URLs, e-mail addresses, or Blob data type fields. The links can either be simple links or conditional links. With conditional links, different targets can be loaded based on different conditions.

To bind a link to a DBField, right-click it and click Link on the shortcut menu, then take the same procedure as described in Binding Links to Labels.

Adding conditional formats to DBFields

You can add conditional formats to DBFields in a report, then when a specified condition is fulfilled, the format defined on the condition will be applied to the field values automatically. This is very useful to highlight values that might need to be acted on by end users.

To add conditional formats to a DBField:

1. Select the DBField and then do one of the following:
   • Click the Conditional Formatting button on the Format tab.
   • Right-click the DBField and select Conditional Formatting from the shortcut menu.

   The Conditional Formatting dialog appears.

   

2. Click above the Condition box. The Edit Conditions dialog appears.

   

3. Click the Add Condition button to add a condition line.
4. From the field drop-down list, select the field on which the condition will be based. You can also select the special field User Name or Page Number to compose the condition. If Page Number is selected, the format will be applied to the field values on the pages meet the condition at runtime.
5. Choose the operator with which to compose the condition expression from the operator drop-down list.
6. From the value drop-down list, specify the value of how to build the condition. You can also type in the value manually.
7. Click Add Condition to add more condition lines and define the logic between the condition lines.

   To make some condition lines grouped, select them and click the Group button, then the selected condition lines will be added in one group and work as one line of filter expression. Conditions and groups together can be further grouped. To take any condition or group in a group out, select it and click Ungroup.

   To adjust the priority of the condition lines, select it and click the Up or Down button.

   To delete a condition line, select it and click the Delete button.

8. Click OK to save the condition.

   The newly added condition is then displayed and highlighted in the Condition box in the Conditional Formatting dialog.

9. In the Format box, set the format which will be applied to values of the DBField when the specified condition is fulfilled, such as the font face, font size, font color and so on. Check Blinking Text if you want to make the values blink, then in the Duration text box, set how long it takes the values to complete the transition from the foreground color to the transparent color, in seconds. The blink settings can work in Designer view mode, in the HTML result of the report and at server runtime.
10. Repeat the above steps to add more conditions and define the format for each condition.

    To edit a condition, select the condition from the Condition box, click , then edit the condition in the Edit Conditions dialog.

    To adjust the priority of the conditions, select a condition and click the High or Low button.

    To remove a condition and the corresponding format, select the condition from the Condition box and then click .

11. Click OK to save the settings.

Searching for DBFields in a report

When a report has many DBFields, you may find it difficult to locate where a certain field is. To easily find out the field you have lost track of in your report, you can make use of the Find DBField feature.

To find a DBField in a report:

1. Click Home> Find. The Find dialog appears.

   

2. Select the field you want to locate from the Find What drop-down list.

   Tip: Besides DBFields, formula fields used in the report will also be listed in the Find What drop-down list, so you can also use this dialog to locate a formula in a report.

3. Specifies the criteria with which to find the field.
   • Root
     Searches for the field from the top node.
   • Current Node
     Searches for the field from the current node.
4. Click the Find Next button and the specified field will be selected in the report.

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