Report Designer

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The report designer consists of several managers, each with their own job function. The primary, or top level manager, is the Report View Manager. All other managers, with the exception of the Work View Manager, can be accessed through the Report View Manager. So we recommend that you use the Report View Manager when making any changes to a report layout. Reason being is that by looking at the bigger picture, i.e. the whole report layout, you will not inadvertently change the wrong chapter or topic layout for example. The properties shown in the Report View Manager tell you exactly which layout, hint, RapidRemark View, etc. are being referenced for any given chapter or topic.

As mentioned in the Welcome Overview...

"...think of a report view as a book. In this book contains chapters, and within each chapter are topics. For example: a report, (think "book") might be titled "Home Inspection Report", with one chapter in the book being "Structural Systems", and within that chapter would be related topics such as Foundations, Roofing, Walls, etc. in which you would enter your findings."

With this in mind, here's a quick overview of what is in the Report Designer...

Report View Manager

Basically assembles the components that were created with the other managers into a presentable report.

Work View Manager

Creates an alternate navigation structure that allows you to create a structure that more closely resembles the sequence in which you perform an inspection, such as room-by-room, without affecting the overall report structure.

Chapter Layout Manager

Creates the way a chapter will look if printed, and defines the page layout.

Topic Layout Manager

Creates the way a topic will look if printed.

Topic Manager

Creates the data field that will be used to store the comment for a particular topic.

Checkbox Group Manager

Allows you to create a set of topic checkboxes that apply to one or more topic layouts.

Hint Manager

Creates hints that can be displayed in the lower hint panel of the main application window for a particular topic.