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FPReport Designer: what changed

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11## The FPReport Visual report designer
22
33The FPReport visual report designer has the following features:
44
55- Design a report from scratch using a visual editor.
66- Define variables
77- Load/Save report to/from a JSON file
88- Connect data to the report
99
1010:* CSV data
1111
1212:* JSON data
1313
1414:* SQLDB data
1515
1616:* DBF Data
1717
1818- Preview data
1919- Export data to known exporters (PDF, Image, HTML)
2020
2121The following is how it will look when working on a report:
2222
23-<figure>
24-<img src="fpreport_designer_main.png" title="fpreport_designer_main.png" />
25-<figcaption>fpreport_designer_main.png</figcaption>
26-</figure>
23+![](/wiki-images/a/ad/Fpreport_designer_main.png)
2724
2825## usage
2926
3027The Visual report designer is intended to be intuitive, and as such does not require a lot of explanation
3128
3229- To add a data field to a band: drag and drop ot from the data tree view no the right.
3330- Same for functions
3431- ctrl-drag will create a selection rectangle
3532- shift-click can be used to select multiple elements
3633- Move the selection using arrow keys (shift to use bigger step)
3734- Resize the selection using ctrl-arrow keys (shift to use bigger step)
3835
3936Quick explanation of the menu
4037
4138### File
4239
4340The file menu starts a new report or loads/saves a report from disk.
4441
4542- New - speaks for itself
4643- Open report - load a JSON file with a report from disk.
4744- Save Report - save report to a JSON file.
4845- Quit - exit the report designer
4946
5047### Edit
5148
5249- Delete - delete the selection
5350
5451Copy & Paste are in the works.
5552
5653### Report
5754
5855- Add Page : Add a new page to the report.
5956- Properties: set author, 2-pass, title.
6057- Report data : To manage data sources.
6158- Variables: define variables which can be used in expressions
6259
6360### Bands
6461
6562This can be used to add various types of bands to the report.
6663
6764### Elements
6865
6966The elements menu can be used to add various types of elements to the report. Currently the following types are supported:
7067
7168- Memo
7269- Shape
7370- Image
7471- Checkbox
7572
7673### Align objects
7774
7875When multiple objects are selected, this menu can be used to align them:
7976
8077- Align will show the align dialog
8178- All other elements just perform the requested alignment on the selection
8279
8380### Resize objects
8481
8582When multiple objects are selected, this menu can be used to resize them:
8683
8784- Resize dialog will show the resize dialog
8885- All other elements just perform the requested resize operation on the selection.
8986
9087## Data
9188
9289The Report - report data menu can be used to define data sources for the report
9390
94-<figure>
95-<img src="fpreport_design_data.png" title="fpreport_design_data.png" />
96-<figcaption>fpreport_design_data.png</figcaption>
97-</figure>
91+![](/wiki-images/b/ba/Fpreport_design_data.png)
9892
9993The left side shows a list of available data sources.
10094
10195The buttons above the list will (from left to right):
10296
10397- Clone the currently selected data source.
10498- Add a new data source.
10599- Delete the currently selected data source.
106100
107101At the right, the configuration details of the data source are shown. This means the name, and type of data.
108102
109103Depending on the type, more details can be configured.
110104
111105The "preview" button at the top right can be used to show the dataset in a grid:
112106
113-<figure>
114-<img src="fpreport_design_data_preview.png" title="fpreport_design_data_preview.png" />
115-<figcaption>fpreport_design_data_preview.png</figcaption>
116-</figure>
107+![](/wiki-images/4/46/Fpreport_design_data_preview.png)
117108
118109### DBF
119110
120111Only the filename can be set for a DBF data source.
121112
122-<figure>
123-<img src="fpreport_design_data.png" title="fpreport_design_data.png" />
124-<figcaption>fpreport_design_data.png</figcaption>
125-</figure>
113+![](/wiki-images/b/ba/Fpreport_design_data.png)
126114
127115### CSV
128116
129117For CSV data, some more details can be set:
130118
131119- FileName
132120- Quote character for string fields
133121- separator character between fields
134122- First line contanins fieldsnames:
135123
136124
137125if checked, the first line of the CSV file is expected to contain the field names.
138126
139127- Use the following field names:
140128
141129
142130If checked, the first line is expected to contain data, and the names of the fields must be entered, one per line, in the memo below the radiobutton.
143131
144-<figure>
145-<img src="fpreport_design_data_csv.png" title="fpreport_design_data_csv.png" />
146-<figcaption>fpreport_design_data_csv.png</figcaption>
147-</figure>
132+![](/wiki-images/7/74/Fpreport_design_data_csv.png)
148133
149134### JSON
150135
151136For JSON data, there are 2 possibilities for the data source:
152137
153138- A file on disk
154139- A URL
155140
156141Depending on what is chosen, the dialog will load the file from the indicated file or download it from the URL.
157142
158143The following options are still possible:
159144
160145- Path to data array.
161146
162147
163148If the data is not an array, but the actuall data is in some sub-element of the data, then here a path can be entered.
164149
165150The designer will make an intelligent guess at where the data is, when the file/url is opened
166151
167152- Array based records
168153
169154
170155By default, the JSON support expects an array of objects. An array of arrays is also supported.
171156
172157The grid below allows to enter the data type for each of the fields.
173158
174159
175160The designer will make an intelligent guess based on the first row in the array, but e.g. null fields will not be detected correctly.
176161
177162valid types are string, integer, float and boolean
178163
179-<figure>
180-<img src="fpreport_design_data_json.png" title="fpreport_design_data_json.png" />
181-<figcaption>fpreport_design_data_json.png</figcaption>
182-</figure>
164+![](/wiki-images/b/bf/Fpreport_design_data_json.png)
183165
184166### SQLDB
185167
186168Any database reachable by SQLDB can be used as a data source for a report. The configuration needs 2 things:
187169
188170- Connection details. These must be entered using the button, which opens the connection editor dialog
189171- SQL Command. Here an SQL Select command can be entered.
190172- The "Test connection" button can be used to verify that the connection is reachable.
191173
192-<figure>
193-<img src="fpreport_design_data_sqldb.png" title="fpreport_design_data_sqldb.png" />
194-<figcaption>fpreport_design_data_sqldb.png</figcaption>
195-</figure>
174+![](/wiki-images/c/cf/Fpreport_design_data_sqldb.png)
196175
197176The connection editor allows to edit the connection settings as they exist in SQLDB:
198177
199178- Type: the list depends on the compiled-in SQLDB connections
200179- Hostname: SQL server hostname
201180- Database: DatabaseName
202181- user: username for connection
203182- Password: password of the user
204183- Role: user role
205184- chr.set: character set (UTF8 is recommended)
206185- Additional parameters:
207186
208187
209188here, additional connection-specific parameters can be entered (port no. etc)
210189
211190Again, there is a button to test the connection.
212191
213-<figure>
214-<img src="fpreport_design_sqldb_connection.png" title="fpreport_design_sqldb_connection.png" />
215-<figcaption>fpreport_design_sqldb_connection.png</figcaption>
216-</figure>
192+![](/wiki-images/7/7f/Fpreport_design_sqldb_connection.png)
217193
218194---
219195*From the Free Pascal wiki, page "FPReport Designer", as it stood on 2018-03-08 after a change by Djzepi, out of the wiki's dump of 2024-05-26. Copyright stays with the author who wrote it, according to the old wiki's [[Licensing]] page. If you have concerns about this material, [message the admin](/wiki-contact).*

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