On this page you will find introductory information for Customizing Reports, and how to access them:
Customize Reports
Now that you know how to setup the Custom Report Module, and link to a report that you can customize, it's time to begin customizing your report. From our example above of linking to the Sales Order Quote Report, click the Print Quote button from the Projects Line Items screen. This opens the Custom Report Module with the Sales Order Quote report in preview mode. Go to the "View" menu at the top of the Custom Report Module screen and click the "View Design" link from that menu, as pictured below:
Another way to get to the Design View is to maximize the report to fill the screen. Then you can click the View button at the top left of the screen, as pictured below (if it is not present when you do this, then go to the View Menu and click the "View Design" link, as discussed above):
Now you should see the report in Design View as pictured below:
Once in Design View, you can begin customizing the report to your liking. You can change the text, colors and fonts. You can insert graphics. You can resize boxes and fields, and/or move them around. You can edit what data is retrieved from BusinessMaster, etc. It is beyond the scope of this document to attempt to show you all the ways a report can be customized with the Custom Reports Module. Purchase of the Module usually requires the purchase of an hour or so of training with us to acquaint you with the inherent tools unless you have a decent familiarity working with Microsoft Access. Below are a couple basic tips to help you begin customizing your reports:
Toolbox
Turn on the Toolbox by going to the View menu and clicking the "Toolbox" link:
The toolbox makes different Access tools available that assist in adding and editing the different fields and boxes on the report. Here are the ones on the Toolbox by default:
Object Selector (Select Objects)
Control Wizards
Label (Add Labels)
Text Box (Add Text Boxes)
Option Group (Add an Option Group)
Toggle Button (Add a Toggle Button)
Option Button (Add an Option Button)
Check Box (Add a Check Box)
Combo Box (Add a Combo Box)
List Box (Add a List Box)
Command Button (Add a Command Button)
Image (Add an Image)
Unbound Object Frame (Add an Unbound Object Frame)
Bound Object Frame (Add a Bound Object Frame)
Page Break (Add and Option Group)
Tab Control (Add a Page Break)
Subform (Add a Subform)
Line (Add a Line)
Rectangle (Add a Rectangle)
Here is a screenshot of the Toolbox when it isn't attached:
Properties
If you right-click on any of the fields or boxes on the report when in Design View, and click the properties link from the menu that pops up, you will gain access to many different options for customizing. Here is a screenshot example when going into the properties of a text box:
Opening Custom Reports
There are 4 ways you can access your customized reports:
1. Forms: You can customize the reports that are accessed directly from the forms themselves (such as the Sales Order Quote Report from the example above).
2. External Items Database: You can open the External Items Database and open the reports directly from the Object/Report Manager.
3. External Items Manager/PrintItem Check: You can go to the External Items Manager that's accessed from the Utilities Manager, click the report you wish to open, and the click the Print Item Check button.
4. Report Manager: In version 5.74 of BusinessMaster and newer, you can go to the Report Listing in the Report Manager and open the report from there. The only limiter in this case is that you will not be able to use the Advanced Selection Criteria that is available in the built in versions of the reports.
Disclaimer
Using the Custom Report Module to edit the layout and design of BusinessMaster reports is a safe and supported undertaking. In the event you go outside that function, it is possible to interact with live data which could potentially result in data corruption. In the event this occurs, Master Solutions will not be held liable for such data corruption, and any repair will be billed accordingly as training.
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