Report Properties Window

The Report Properties window allows for further report formatting. It can be accessed from the Page Layout window.

Make changes to the settings and click Done to save. The following describes the settings on the window:

  • Output file name: Lets you use the same output file for reports always sent to a file. This way you won't have to enter it each time, and Batch reports can send different reports to different files. AbacusLaw is one of few Windows programs that lets you output reports as an ASCII text file (not a graphical image) so you can edit them in a word processor or send as email.

  • "Continued" expr.: When a record has too many lines to print on the page and "breaks" to print the rest on the next page, this setting indicates the record's ID or main fields at the top of the second page. For example, a Names report can have this set to:

    trim(LastFirst()) + " (continued...)"

    so the new page will say, for example: Smith, John (continued...)

    For more information about expressions

  • Keep lines together: For block reports, this setting controls whether a record will print partially at the end of a page, then "break" and print the rest on the next page. A setting of 0 means the report will NOT print partial records. Instead, the space at the bottom of the page is left blank and the full record is printed on the next page.

    If the layout of a record is many lines but it has a natural breaking point, you may want to allow breaks there to save paper. For example, a Names report may print 4 lines of data, then have a blank line, then 4 more rows of data. A setting of 4 would allow page breaks at that blank line.

  • AutoHeads for Groups: If the report has group expressions defined, then special lines are printed at the beginning and end of each group (these are called group headers and footers). The default "AutoHead" prints the group expression itself, preceded by one or more asterisks to indicate the group level. If you defined custom group headers, you can turn this setting OFF to avoid these automatic headers.

  • Summary Only: When checked, produces a summary report. A summary report ONLY prints group headers and footers. It does not print the data for individual records. This is useful for reports with numeric fields with totals set, so you can see the totals for the groups without wading through the data.