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Properties Panel

This section details how to utilize the Properties panel to access and personalize the properties of both the report and its elements.

Select a Report Element

To access an element's properties, you can do one of the following:

  • Choose the element from the drop-down list located at the top of the Properties panel.

  • Click on the element directly on the Design Surface and then navigate to the Properties panel using the tab on the side panel.
  • Select the element within the Report Explorer panel and click the button.
  • Alternatively, you can click on the smart tag of the element to access a panel showcasing the most commonly used properties.

Switch Between Display Modes

You can choose to display element settings either alphabetically or categorized based on their purpose. Simply use the buttons located next to the selected element to switch between these display modes.

Display Property Descriptions

The Properties panel provides hints with descriptions for properties. To view the description, select the property and click the information symbol (i) located to the left of the property editor. If needed, you can localize property descriptions.

Change Property Values

Each record comprises a property's caption, a value editor, and an optional property marker. To modify a property's value, simply select the property and input the desired value in the editor.

Some properties contain nested properties that you can access by clicking on the header.

The property marker indicates the status of the property's value:

  • If a property stores a default value, its property marker appears gray.

  • When a property's value has been altered, the property marker turns white.

  • If a report style overrides a property's value, the marker appears light blue. This typically applies to appearance properties like an element's BackColor, Font, or Borders.

Reset Property Values

To restore default property values, click on the property marker located to the right of the editor. Then, select "Reset" from the popup menu that appears.

Note: The "Reset" command clears both the expression and the value you have specified in the property's editor, reverting it to the default value.

Specify Expressions

You can specify expressions in the Properties panel, enabling calculation of values at runtime when a document is generated. Click on the f-marker to open the Expression Editor.

Specify an expression in the invoked Expression Editor.

The Properties panel highlights properties that have an assigned expression.

Search Properties

To show the search box, click on the button. Once activated, type in the search box to filter the list of available properties. The Properties panel will then highlight the search string in the records.

Use Actions

In categorized mode, the Properties panel features the context-sensitive Actions group, offering commonly used actions for the selected report element:

  • If a report is selected, options to add new bands are available.

  • For table elements, actions for managing cells, rows, and columns are provided.

  • Alignment and positioning tools are accessible for individual or multiple selected report elements. These include aligning and resizing elements to the snap grid, as well as specifying horizontal and vertical alignments.