Using the Layout Commands

The JADE Report Writer Designer application provides a number of commands to enable you to refine the positions of your report fields.

The layout commands, listed in the following table, are available from the toolbar and from the Layout menu.

Layout Menu	Commands	Enables you to …
Not applicable		Move fields to the left
Not applicable		Move fields to the right
Not applicable		Move fields up
Not applicable		Move fields down
Not applicable		Make fields thinner
Not applicable		Make fields wider
Not applicable		Make fields shallower
Not applicable		Make fields deeper
Alignment:	Center Vertically	Center the selected fields vertically
	Center Horizontally	Center the selected fields horizontally
	Bottom	Align fields to the top edge of the selected master field
	Top	Align fields to the top edge of the selected master field
	Left	Align fields to the left edge of the selected master field
	Right	Align fields to the right edge of the selected master field
Size:	Same Width	Make selected fields the same width
	Same Height	Make selected fields the same height
	Same Height and Width	Make selected fields the same height and width
Spacing:	Space Evenly Down	Space fields evenly down the frame
	Space Evenly Across	Space fields evenly across the frame
	Spread Down Container	Spread fields down the frame
	Spread Across Container	Spread fields across the frame
	Horizontally Adjacent	Attach fields horizontally
	Vertically Adjacent	Attach fields vertically

The following subsections describe the layout commands in more detail.

Under the Spacing commands, the Spread subcommands differ from the Space Evenly subcommands in that they spread fields evenly in relation to the section or frame boundaries while the Space Evenly subcommands spread fields evenly in relation to each other.

After executing a Spread subcommand, the space between the fields and the section or frame boundaries may change. After executing a Space Evenly subcommand, the space between the fields and the section or frame boundaries always remains unchanged.

To select multiple fields, perform one of the following actions

Using the right mouse button, click on an empty area in a section; that is, do not click on a field or shape. While holding the mouse button down, drag a rectangle over an area of the report, even across section boundaries. When you release the mouse button, all fields, lines, and boxes within the rectangle are selected.
Using the left mouse button, click the first field, hold down the Shift key or the Ctrl key and click the other fields on the report. Clicking on a field a second time deselects it.
Using the right mouse button, click on an empty area in a section; that is, do not click on a field. Select the Select All command from the popup menu that is displayed, to select all fields, lines, and boxes in the section.
Select the Edit menu Select All command, to select all fields, lines, and boxes in the report.

A control that is already selected in the frame remains the master control, for alignment and sizing purposes. In addition, right-clicking on an item makes it the new master item, without changing the list of previously selected items. When you then apply a layout command, it is applied to all selected fields.

To specify the master field, perform one of the following actions

Select the master field last when selecting multiple fields.
After selecting a group of fields, right-click on the field that is to be the master field.

The Alignment commands then align your selected fields relative to the last field that you selected and the Size commands resize fields relative to the last field that you selected.