Tuesday, August 13, 2002
From The Edge: Suppressing Repeated Values in Reports
Section: Report Designer
Chapter: Running R:BASE Your Way!
Platform: R:BASE 7.0 for Windows
Build: 1.855xRT03 and Higher
R:BASE 7.0 for Windows Report Designer includes the option of
"SuppressRepeatedValues" for Data Field objects. The default is
set to False.
When the value of a field (as determined by the Data Field property)
is the same across several records, the SuppressRepeatedValues
property allows you to print the value only once each time the field
value changes. This can be useful in reports where a highly redundant
field has been included in the Detail band (for example, the City field
in a report containing addresses.) If the Detail band overflows onto a
new page, you can force the suppressed value to print again by using
the "ReprintOnSubsequent" property.
You can use the "ResetBreak" property to further control the behavior
of SuppressRepeatedValues. Normally the "DB Text" object tracks
the text value of the field, suppressing any repeated values. It does
this without any regard to breaks which may have occurred. By
associating a DB Text object with a break, you can force values to
reprint whenever there is a break, regardless of whether the text value
was the same for the previous record.
To set the SuppressRepeatedValues property in the Report Designer,
position your mouse cursor over the DB Text object and click the right
mouse button. The SuppressRepeatedValues option will be displayed
in the speedmenu. If it is checked, SuppressRepeatedValues is on.
Selecting the SuppressRepeatedValues option from this menu will
toggle its value.
The "ReprintOnSubsequent" property is used in conjunction with the
"SuppressRepeatedValues" property. When SuppressRepeatedValues
is set to True, and detail lines have overflowed onto a new page, you
can force Data Field to reprint on the first detail line of the new page
by setting ReprintOnSubsequent to True. The defaults is set to False.
To set the ReprintOnSubsequent property in the Report Designer,
position your mouse cursor over the component and click the right
mouse button. The ReprintOnSubsequent option will be displayed
in the speedmenu. If it is checked, ReprintOnSubsequent is on.
Selecting the ReprintOnSubsequent option from this menu will
toggle its value
The ResetBreak property is used to specify a control break for a
report calculation. Each time the data value of the field specified
by the Break's BreakName property changes, the calculated value
of the "DB Calc" control is reset to zero, and the calculation begins
again. When the ResetBreak property is NULL, it can be set by
dragging the report control into a BreakHeader or a BreakFooter
band. This property can also be set by accessing the calculations
dialog from the speed menu for the report control.
Notes:
For "DB Text" objects, the ResetBreak property can be used to
control the behavior of the SuppressRepeatedValues property.
Normally the DB Text object tracks the text value of a field,
suppressing any repeated values. It does this without any regard
to breaks which may have a occurred. By associating a DB Text
object with break, you can force a DB Text object to reprint when
the break value changes.
PDF version of this technical document is also available at:
From The Edge: http://www.razzak.com/fte (Reports and Labels)
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Enjoy and make sure to have fun!
Very Best Regards,
Razzak.
