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Help / Editors / Report editor / Types of reports
  • Overview
  • Creating a Form report
  • Creation
  • Information specific to the form
  • Including a form in a report
  • Including a form in a report
  • Notes
  • Form image
  • Multipage report (based on a PDF file)
  • Remarks: Using a PDF file in page background
  • Including input fields in a report based on a form
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Stored procedures
Overview
The report editor gives you the ability to print reports on pre-printed forms (image file or PDF file). For example, the products ordered by the customers can be directly printed on an order form.
In edit, the form is displayed in background image of the report: therefore, the controls can be positioned to the precision of a millimeter.
For example:
Form report (editor)
At runtime, you can specify whether the image of the form must be printed or not. The image of the form is not printed by default.
For example:
Form report (execution)
Remark: To print reports on pre-printed forms, you can:
  • create a "Form" report.
  • include a form in an existing report.
Creating a Form report

Creation

To create a "Form" report:
  • Click New in the quick access buttons.
  • The new element window appears: click "Report" then "Report".
  • The report creation wizard starts.
In the wizard, select "Report based on form" and validate. In this wizard, you must specify:
  • the data source of the report (data file, query, ...). For more details, see Report data source.
  • the information specific to the form (see the paragraph below).
Remark: Before creating the "Form" report, you must scan the entire form and save it as an image file. The following image formats are supported in Windows:
  • Bitmap (*.BMP)
  • Graphics Interchange Format (*.gif)
  • Joint Picture Experts Group (*.jpg ; *.jpeg)
  • Kodak Photo CD (*.pcd)
  • PaintBrush (*.pcx)
  • Adobe Photoshop Format (*.psd)
  • TrueVision TARGA (*.tga)
  • Tagged Image File Format (*.tif ; *.tiff)
    Remark: the "tiled tiff" option of tiff 6.0 standard is not supported. In this case, we advise you to save the image in tiff 5.0 standard.
  • Portable Network Graphics (*.png)
  • Windows MetaFiles (*.emf ; *.wmf)
  • Icons (*.ico ; *.icw)
    Remarks:
    • HQ display (High Quality) available.
    • Management of sheets in transparent BMP format (32 bits).
  • Cursors (*.cur)
  • Portable Document Format (*.pdf)
  • Scalable Vector Graphics (*.svg)
  • WINDEV images (generated by the image editor, *.WDPIC).
Android The supported image formats are:
  • Joint Picture Experts Group (*.jpg;*.jpeg)
  • Portable Network Graphics (*.png)

Information specific to the form

The information specific to the form is as follows:
  • the file containing the image of the form. The size of the report is automatically calculated according to the size of the form image.
    For the A4 format, the size of an image in 75 DPI must be set to 595 x 842 pixels. For an A4 format, the size of an image in 150 DPI must be set to 1275 x 1753 pixels.
    If the image of the form corresponds to a PDF file containing several pages, you can:
    • print all the pages found in the PDF file. A report made of several pages is created in the report editor.
    • specify the number of the page that must be used as report background. The report will print a single page of the PDF file.
  • whether the image of the form must be printed or not.
    Remark: If the image of the form is printed, this image will not be printed beyond the physical margins of the printer.
  • the division of the form according to the number of records printed per page:
    • for example, if the form contains the characteristics of a single customer, a single record must be printed per page.
      In this case, the created report will only contain the Body block.
    • for example, if the form contains the characteristics of several customers, several records must be printed per page.
      In this case, the created report contains a Page header block, a Body block and a Page footer block. The Body block will be repeated for each record printed on the page. To print the report properly, you must modify the position of the report controls and the position of the form image in the Body block.
      See "Image of the form" for more details.
Including a form in a report
Creating (if necessary) the file corresponding to the form. If you only have a paper copy of the form, we advise you to scan the form at 100% and to save it as an image.
For an A4 format, the size of an image in 75 DPI must be set to 595 x 842 pixels.
For an A4 format, the size of an image in 150 DPI must be set to 1275 x 1753 pixels. The following image formats are supported in Windows:
  • Bitmap (*.BMP)
  • Graphics Interchange Format (*.gif)
  • Joint Picture Experts Group (*.jpg ; *.jpeg)
  • Kodak Photo CD (*.pcd)
  • PaintBrush (*.pcx)
  • Adobe Photoshop Format (*.psd)
  • TrueVision TARGA (*.tga)
  • Tagged Image File Format (*.tif ; *.tiff)
    Remark: the "tiled tiff" option of tiff 6.0 standard is not supported. In this case, we advise you to save the image in tiff 5.0 standard.
  • Portable Network Graphics (*.png)
  • Windows MetaFiles (*.emf ; *.wmf)
  • Icons (*.ico ; *.icw)
    Remarks:
    • HQ display (High Quality) available.
    • Management of sheets in transparent BMP format (32 bits).
  • Cursors (*.cur)
  • Portable Document Format (*.pdf)
  • Scalable Vector Graphics (*.svg)
  • WINDEV images (generated by the image editor, *.WDPIC).
Android The supported image formats are:
  • Joint Picture Experts Group (*.jpg;*.jpeg)
  • Portable Network Graphics (*.png)

Including a form in a report

To include a form in a report:
  1. Go to the "Background" tab of the report description ("Report description" in the context menu of the report).
  2. Select the image of the form or the PDF file corresponding to the form.
  3. If the form is a PDF file containing several pages, specify:
    • whether all the pages found in the PDF file must be printed. The report editor will display all the pages of the PDF file. The controls required by the report can be positioned on the different pages of the report in the editor.
    • the page containing the form to use. This page number can be changed using the PageNumber property. The report displayed in the report editor will contain a single page.
  4. Specify whether the image of the form must be printed or not.
    • If the image of the form is printed, this image will not be printed beyond the physical margins of the printer. To print the entire image of the form, we advise you to check "Ignore the physical margins of the printer".
    • If the image of the form must not be printed with the report (print on a pre-printed form for example), the option "Ignore the physical margins of the printer" must not be checked. Otherwise, the printed controls will be shifted in relation to the pre-printed form.
Notes

Form image

The image of the form is displayed in the report background. The image is displayed in the background of each report block.
If there are several blocks in the page, you can position the image correctly in each one of the blocks.
To move the form image displayed in each block:
  1. On the "Modification" tab, in the "Depth and alignment" group, click "Move background". The mouse cursor becomes a hand.
  2. Click the block where the image of the form must be moved.
  3. To move the image of a form for a block:
    • to the top or to the bottom: keep the mouse button down and move the mouse.
    • to the left or to the right: hold the mouse button and the Shift key down and move the mouse.
  4. To disable the move mode for moving the image of the form, go to the "Modification" tab, "Depth and alignment" group, and click "Move background" again.
Remark: The cursor must be moved inside the block area in order to be taken into account.

Multipage report (based on a PDF file)

In order for the report to display all the pages of a PDF file, if the report is based on a data file or on a query, the different pages will be printed for each record of the data source used.
Caution: This type of report can consume a large amount of memory resources (especially during the print preview).
Android Feature not available.

Remarks: Using a PDF file in page background

  • Using a PDF file in page background requires the GDI+ framework.
  • In the editor, it is recommended to use a zoom less than or equal to 100% to correctly view the PDF file used as a background for the report.
Android Feature not available.

Including input fields in a report based on a form

You can integrate different controls into a form to allow user input. Users will then be able enter information directly in the report viewer (WINDEV) or in the generated PDF file. The available controls are:
  • Edit control,
  • Check Box control.
  • Combo Box control.
For more details, see Editable reports.
Minimum version required
  • Version 9
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Last update: 11/20/2023

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