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Version: 8.1

Report - Text Shape

The Text shape component creates a text area for static or data key bound content. It is used for report titles, customized page headers and footers, and of course, any additional text you want to add to a report. Select the Text Shape on the Report Component Palette to make it active, draw a rectangle in your Report Designer, and begin entering text. After it is created, you can move the Text component around, expand it, or shrink it by using the handles when the component is selected. The Text Shape component has two tabs; the Edit Text and Properties tabs.

The Edit Text tab has a set of functions on the right side of the tab to quickly edit the text, like changing the font type, size, style, and color. These same properties may also be modified from the Properties tab. Properties that are modified will usually affect all text in that object regardless of specific text selection. The Properties tab has a lot of properties associated with Text Shape component, including Data Key Format Properties for Date and Number formats by simply choosing a format from the list of available templates.

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Report Designb Component Icon

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Properties​

Property Inspector - Edit Text Tab​

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PropertyDescription
" "Insert data key
" "Select font and size
" "Bold
" "Italic
" "Underline
" "Superscript
" "Subscript
" "Choose font color

Property Inspector - Properties Tab​

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PropertyDescription
TextText to display in the shape.
Text ColorColor of the text.
Character SpacingAmount of extra spacing to add between characters. Negative spacing makes characters closer together.
Coalesce NewlinesIf true, consecutive line breaks will be merged into one.
FontFont to use for the text.
Horizontal AlignmentHorizontal alignment for text.
Line SpacingSpacing between lines of text. 1 is single spacing, 2 is double spacing, etc.
MarginMargin between text and bounds of shape in pixels. Format is top; left; bottom; right.
Overflow BehaviorHow text that overflows the bounds of the shape should be handled.
  • Paginate - text is pushed to the next page if the number of characters exceed the shape.
  • Shrink text to fit - text fits into the shape when expanded, and the font is smaller when previewed or printed.
  • Grow row - text fits into the shape and shows when the shape is expanded, previewed, or printed.
Changed in 8.1.19
The Grow row option has been removed, and the default value is now None.
UnderlinedIf true, use underlined text.
Vertical AlignmentVertical alignment for text.
Date FormatFormat to use for dates in this shape.
Null FormatFormat to use for null values in this shape.
Number FormatFormat to use for numbers in this shape.
Negative in RedIf true, show negative numbers in red.
FillIf true, the shape will fill its space with color.
Fill ColorIf Fill is selected, the color that will fill the shape.
OpacityHow opaque the Fill color is, between 0 and 1.
Stroke StyleWhat style of stroke or border to use: Hidden; Shape Outline; Border; Double. To learn more about stroke styles, refer to Stroke and Fill Properties.
StrokeDetails for the chosen stroke. Each Stroke has its own properties depending on the Stroke Style chosen.
RadiusAmount to radius the corners of this shape if using a Stroke.
RollNumber of degrees this shape is rotated clockwise.
Scale XAmount to scale the width of this shape. 1 is scale to 100%.
Scale YAmount to scale the height of this shape. 1 is scale to 100%.
URL
New in 8.1.19
A link to attach to this reporting component. Will be a clickable hyperlink if the report is exported as a PDF. You can use the values below to link to internal pages.
  • Page:Next - Navigates to the next page.
  • Page:Back - Navigates to the previous page.
  • Page:Number - Replace "Number" with a numeral. Navigates to the specified page.
VisibleIf true, the shape will be visible.
WidthWidth of this shape in pixels.
HeightHeight of this shape in pixels.
XHorizontal distance in pixels between the left edge of this shape and the left edge of the page.
YVertical distance in pixels between the upper edge of this shape and the top edge of the page.

Using HTML in the Edit Text Tab​

Text Shapes can render HTML tags, but only if the value of the Text property is referencing a report parameter that contains HTML. For example, if a parameter contained the following value, then you can assign an html parameter to the Text property of a Text shape.

"<html>some <br>text</html>"

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Then, in the Edit Text tab on the Text shape, enter @html@.

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Access the Preview tab to see how the key renders.

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Supported Tags​

Below is a listing of all tags. You don't need to include the closing formatting tag if the rest of the string should use the formatting.

Formatting OptionTagExample
Line Break<br><html>Hello <br>World</html>
Bold<b><html>Hello <b>World</b></html>
Italic<i><html>Hello <i>World</i></html>
Emphasis<em>
Displayed as italics.
<html>Hello <em>World</em></html>
Underline<u><html>Hello <u>World</u></html>
Font Size<font size='x'>

The possible values for x and related size modifier are listed below.
<html>Hello <font size=2>World</font size></html>
Font Color<font color='x'>
Where x is a named color, such as 'red' or a hex code ('#0000FF')
<html>Hello <font color='red'>World</font color></html>

<html>Hello <font color='#0000FF'>World</font color></html>
Superscript<sup><html>Hello <sup>World</sup></html>
Subscript<sub><html>Hello <sub>World</sup></html>
Alignment<left>, <center>, <right><html>Hello <center>World</center></html>

Font Size​

ValueSize Modifier
1.5
2.75
31.0
41.2
51.4
61.6
72.0

Example​

This example shows the property values used to create a heading for the Used Car Inventory report below.

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Used Car Inventory Settings​

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PropertyValue
TextUsed Car Inventory
Text ColorFFFFFF, Bold
Font Size24 pixels

April 2020 settings​

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PropertyValue
TextApril 2020
Text ColorFFFFFF
Font Size18 pixels