Most of the detail of your report is usually derived from database fields. The database fields that are visible in the Catalog of Available Fields dialog depend on the reporting view on which this report is based.
For details about assigning a reporting view, see "Opening a New or Existing Report Design", earlier in this chapter. For details about creating a reporting view, see Chapter 3.
In the Catalog of Available Fields dialog, view all of the database fields that are available by opening up any folders that have a box to the left that contains a plus sign (+). Click the box to open up the folder. The field items in the folder are then displayed and the plus sign (+) in the box is replaced with a minus sign (-).
To insert a database field
Click the database field that you want to add to your report and then hold down the mouse button.
While continuing to hold down the mouse button, move the mouse across the layout (that is, drag). The cursor becomes a dotted rectangle that you can place accurately.
Release the mouse button (that is, drop) when your field is in the required position.
The database field is inserted at the point where you released the mouse button, or dropped it.
Database fields are displayed on the layout in their maximum length format and their format types are displayed, as shown in the following image.
In this example, the field containing a line of X characters is a string field and the number of X characters indicates the maximum length of the field. The 9 characters indicate numeric fields and currency fields. Currency fields are preceded by a dollar sign ($).
You can change numeric and currency field formats by using the Report Formats dialog. For example, you may want periods instead of commas to delineate the thousands in numbers (for European systems) or you may want the dollar sign in a different position for currency fields (or another currency symbol entirely). For details changing field formats, see "Setting Report Formats" under "Using Administrative Functions", earlier in this chapter.
