Setting User Preferences

Use the User Preferences command from the File menu to change the defaults that apply to your JADE Report Writer Designer work session.

To display the User Preferences dialog, perform one of the following actions

• Select the User Preferences command from the File menu

• Press Ctrl+U

The Options sheet of the User Preferences dialog, shown in the following image, is then displayed.

To change your report options on the Options sheet of the User Preferences dialog

1. To automatically align your report fields so that they are attached to the nearest point on the grid, check the Snap to Grid check box from the Grid Options group box. By default, report fields are not aligned to the nearest grid point and this option is not activated.

   Use the grid to facilitate the precise placement of items on your layout. The controls in the Grid Options group box (see steps 1 through 5) provide options that enable you to align to the grid, show or hide the grid, or customize the appearance of the grid.

   Although you can use the grid to help you place items on your layout, the grid display is optional.

2. To disable the grid lines on your report design layout, uncheck the Show Grid Lines check box. By default, the grid lines are not displayed.

3. In the Grid Width text box, enter the width in pixels of your grid columns, if required. The default value is 8 pixels.

4. In the Grid Height text box, enter the height in pixels of your grid rows, if required. The default value is 22 pixels.

   A pixel is a picture element and is the smallest element that can be displayed on the screen.

5. In the Grid Style list box, select a style for your grid lines, if required.

   The grid styles are listed and described in the following table.

   Grid Style	The grid is…
   Dot at Grid Intersection	Formed from dots
   Cross at Grid Intersection	Formed from crosses
   Grid Lines	Solid lines

   The default value is Dot at Grid Intersection.

6. To remove the horizontal ruler from the display, uncheck the Show Horizontal Ruler check box from the General group box. By default, the horizontal ruler is displayed.

7. To remove the vertical ruler from the display, uncheck the Show Vertical Ruler check box. By default, the vertical ruler is displayed.

8. To display bubble help captions in your JADE Report Writer Configuration window, check the Show View bubble help check box.

   When bubble help is displayed for reporting views, resting the cursor on a class or feature for a few seconds displays a description of the class, property, method, or collection. For details, see "Viewing Bubble Help", in Chapter 3.

9. To display section (frame) names inside the sections of the report design layout, check the Show Watermark check box. You would do this to provide a wider layout on which to design your report.

   By default, the display shows the section (frame) names to the left of the report design layout.

10. In the Keep Last Used # text box, enter the number of entries for recently opened report designs to be displayed at the bottom of the File menu, if required.

    The last-used list provides you with a quick way of opening a recently used report design.

11. To display the field description instead of the text field captions within the field delimiters on your report design layout, uncheck the Show Text Field Caption, instead of Description check box.

    This check box is checked by default, indicating that text field captions are displayed. Text field captions show the basic format of the field; that is, a series of X characters for string fields and a series of 9 characters for numeric fields.

    The number of characters that is displayed reflects the maximum length of the field.

    The following image on the left shows two database fields with their text field captions displayed. (The top field is a currency field that shows the dollar currency symbol.) In the image on the right, the field descriptions are displayed within field delimiters.

    

12. To bypass the Welcome dialog when you start your JADE Report Writer Designer session, uncheck the Show the Welcome dialog when Report Designer is initiated check box.

    This check box is checked by default, indicating that the Welcome dialog is displayed when you start your JADE Report Writer Designer session. For details about using the Welcome dialog, see "Opening an Existing Report" or "Starting a Report from Scratch", earlier in this chapter.

13. To change the way toolbars are displayed, click the Toolbars tab to display the Toolbar sheet. The Toolbar sheet, shown in the following image, is then displayed.

    

To use the Toolbar sheet to change the way the toolbars are displayed

• In the Toolbars list box, click one of the toolbar titles to change the display status of the toolbar.

  Highlighted (white on blue background) toolbars are visible on the JADE Report Designer window. Non-highlighted toolbars (for example, the Alignment Tools in the previous image) are hidden. By default, all toolbars are displayed.

For details about using the toolbars, see "Using the Layout Commands", later in this chapter. For details about using the Quick Launch Tools toolbar, see "Using the Quick Launch Tools", later in this chapter.

To apply your user preferences changes

1. Click the Apply button.

2. Click the Close button if you have no more changes to make.

Your user preferences are then applied.