In this chapter, selected properties and methods of fundamental classes of the report component are presented and described. The selection was made primarily from the point of view of use when creating a report without the Report Designer.

The class implements an object that represents the border of a report control. You can create the class. The class behaves like a read-only static array.

The ReportBorder class has the following properties:

Table 22.11.1.1.1 : Properties of the ReportBorder class

The class has only one method: ToString() of data type String. It returns a formatted string containing the complete border description of the report control.

To create a new border object:

Dim hReportBorder As ReportBorder
hReportBorder = ReportBorder[sValue As String]

The value of hReportBorder is a string array. Its content is a semicolon-separated list of the properties of the border or part of the border. You can define each border property globally or for its parts (Top, Right, Left, Bottom and optionally for the (rounded) corners TopLeftCorner, TopRightCorner, BottomLeftCorner and BottomRightCorner).

The border or a part of it is separated from its individual property values by a colon.

• Specify the size in the permitted unit (mm, cm, in, ft, px, pt). For the frame, the property values are separated by spaces.
• For corners, the values can be specified by one value or by 2 values separated by spaces.
• The brush is defined by a ReportBrush string (optional).

Examples:

' The ReportLabel1 frame (left, top, right and bottom) is set to a width of 1 pixel
 
  ReportLabel1.Border = ReportBorder["border:1px"]
 
' The border of HBox1 is set to a width of 2 pixels and the color black.
' The top left and top right corners are rounded.
 
  Report.HBox1.Border = Top:2px #000000;Bottom:2px #000000;Left:2px #000000;Right:2px #000000; TopLeftCorner:2mm;TopRightCorner:2mm

To define a border around a ReportPanel1 (left, right, top and bottom 5 mm, top left and bottom right corner additionally rounded with a radius of 5 mm) with a linear colour gradient black-red-yellow (linear gradient), you need this value assignment of the ReportPanel1.Border property:

ReportPanel.Border = ReportBorder["Top:5mm LinearGradient(0,0.04,0,1,[#000000,#FFFF00,#FF0000],[0,1,0.5]);
Bottom:5mm LinearGradient(0,0.04,0,1,[#000000,#FFFF00,#FF0000],[0,1,0.5]);
Left:5mm LinearGradient(0,0.04,0,1,[#000000,#FFFF00,#FF0000],[0,1,0.5]);
Right:5mm LinearGradient(0,0.04,0,1,[#000000,#FFFF00,#FF0000],[0,1,0.5]);
TopLeftCorner:5mm;TopRightCorner:0mm;BottomRightCorner:5mm;BottomLeftCorner:0mm"]

For a simple black border with a thickness of 1 pixel, the source text is much shorter:

ReportPanel.Border = ReportBorder["Top:1px #000000;Bottom:1px #000000;Left:1px #000000;Right:1px #000000"]

The class represents a shadow of a report control of type ReportFrame (→ http://www.gambaswiki.org/wiki/comp/gb.report2/reportframe).

You can create the class:

Dim hReportBoxShadow As ReportBoxShadow
hReportBoxShadow = New ReportBoxShadow ( )

The class behaves like a read-only static array:

Dim hReportBoxShadow As ReportBoxShadow
hReportBoxShadow = ReportBoxShadow [ sValue As String ]

The ReportBoxShadow class has the following properties:

Table 22.11.1.2.1 : Properties of the ReportBoxShadow class

Example

The values for the shadow around a ReportHBox1 are first assigned individually:

ReportHBox1.BoxShadow.XOffset = "1mm"
ReportHBox1.BoxShadow.YOffset = "1mm"
ReportHBox1.BoxShadow.Blur = "8px"
ReportHBox1.BoxShadow.Spread = "3px"
ReportHBox1.BoxShadow.Color = "#A5A5A5"

The values can also be assigned compactly:

ReportHBox1.BoxShadow = ReportBoxShadow["1mm 1mm 10px 3px #A5A5A5"]'[XOffset, Yoffset, Blur, Spread, Color]

You can also define the shadow for ReportHBox1 in the dialogue in the Report Designer. This is quick and easy. First you must select the BoxShadow property for a report control in the properties window and call up the BoxShadow configuration dialogue via the […] button box:

Figure 22.11.1.2.1: Dialogue for defining shadow properties

The result is the same in three cases.

The class represents the inner border of some report controls. The Padding property returns an instance to a ReportPadding object. This object has 4 properties: Left, Right, Top and Bottom. It defines the distance between the content of the report control and its (outer) edge. Each side can be set independently. The values can be defined via the corresponding dialogue in the IDE or via source code. The class can be created and behaves like a static array:

Dim hReportPadding As ReportPadding
hReportPadding = ReportPadding [ Value As String ]

The ReportPadding class has the following properties:

Table 22.11.1.3.1 : Properties of the ReportPadding class

The class only has the ReportPadding.IsActive() method. The function returns True if the set padding properties are active.

Example 1

All values are set to the same padding value of 2mm:

ReportLabel1.Padding.Top = "2mm"
ReportLabel1.Padding.Bottom = "2mm"
ReportLabel1.Padding.Left = "2mm"
ReportLabel1.Padding.Right = "2mm"

ReportLabel1.Padding = ReportPadding["2mm"] ' Alternative 1
ReportLabel.Padding = ReportPadding["Top:2mm;Bottom:2mm;Left:2mm;Right:2mm"] ' Alternative 2

Example 2

Only an upper, inner margin is set around the ReportLabel1 text:

ReportLabel1.Padding.Top = "3mm"
ReportLabel1.Padding = ReportPadding["Top:3mm"] ' Alternative

The padding properties can be conveniently defined in the dialogue:

Figure 22.11.1.3.1: Dialogue for defining padding properties

The padding property (!) returns an instance of a ReportMargin object. This object has 4 properties: Left, Right, Top and Bottom. It defines the space between the border of a report control and its report container and other report controls that are in the same report container. This is a minimum space requirement. This means that two consecutive elements in a container are separated by the largest distance defined by the report controls or by the distance value of the container if this is higher. Each property can be set independently of each other. The values can be defined via the corresponding dialogue in the IDE or via source code. The class can be created and behaves like a static array:

Dim hReportPadding As ReportPadding
hReportPadding = ReportPadding [ Value As String ]

The ReportMargin class has the following properties:

Table 22.11.1.4.1 : Properties of the ReportPadding class

The class only has the ReportMargin.IsActive() method. The function returns True if the set padding properties are active.

Example 1

All values are set to the same margin value of 2mm:

ReportHBox1.Margin.Top = "2mm"
ReportHBox1.Margin.Bottom = "2mm"
ReportHBox1.Margin.Left = "2mm"
ReportHBox1.Margin.Right = "2mm"

ReportHBox1.Margin = ReportPadding["2mm"] ' Alternative 1
ReportHBoxl.Margin = ReportPadding["Top:2mm;Bottom:2mm;Left:2mm;Right:2mm"] ' Alternative 2

Example 2

Only an upper inner margin is set around the report controls in the report container ReportHBox1:

ReportHBox1.Margin.Top = "3mm"
ReportHBox1.Margin = ReportPadding["Top:3mm"] ' Alternative

It is easy to define the properties for a margin object in the dialogue for other values:

Figure 22.11.1.4.1: Dialogue for defining padding properties for a margin object

The class represents the brush tool with which you can draw margins or various contents. This can be a single colour, but also a colour gradient or an image. You can create the class and it behaves like a read-only static array. The following source code creates a new ReportBrush object from a brush description in sValue and returns it:

Dim hReportBrush As ReportBrush
hReportBrush = ReportBrush [ sValue As String ]

The ReportBrush class has the following static properties:

Table 22.11.1.5.1 : Properties of the ReportBrush class

Example 1

' Setzt eine Zeichenfarbe
  MyBrush = ReportBrush["#00FF00"]
 
' Setzt ein Bild als Zeichenwerkzeug
  MyBrush = ReportBrush["image(\"icon.png\")"] oder MyBrush = ReportBrush["image(icon.png)"]
 
' Setzt einen linearen Farbverlauf
' Alle Werte liegen zwischen 0 und 1 - auch für die Größe und den Gradientenstop.
' Syntax:
' relleft,reltop,relwidth,relheight,[colorstop1,colorstop2,...],[colorstopRelPos1,colorstopRelPos2,...])
  MyBrush = ReportBrush["LinearGradient(0,0,1,1,[#000000,#FFFFFF,#0000FF],[0,1,0.5])"]
 
' Setzt einen radialen Farbverlauf
' Alle Werte liegen zwischen 0 und 1 - auch für die Größe und den Gradientenstop.
' Syntax:
' relCenterX,relCenterY,relRadius,relFX,RelFY,[colorstop1,colorstop2,...],[colorstopRelPos1,colorstopRelPos2,...])
  MyBrush = ReportBrush["RadialGradient(0.53,0.53,0.5,0.88,0.18,[#000000,#FFFFFF,#0000FF],[0,1,0.5])"

An example of the use of a brush with a linear colour gradient can be seen in Figure 22.11.1.5.2.

It is much easier to create a colour gradient in the corresponding dialogue. First you must select the Brush property for a report control in the properties window and call up the dialogue for brush configuration via the […] button box:

1. Select 'Linear gradient' in the combo box
2. Add gradient breakpoint (click on the +)
3. Double-click on the first gradient breakpoint → Select colour black with OK
4. Double-click on the second gradient breakpoint → select colour red with OK
5. Double-click on the third gradient breakpoint → Select colour yellow with OK
6. Click on the handle * in the colour field (top left) and drag to the bottom right corner
7. Drag the now visible second handle to the bottom left-hand corner
8. Drag the handle * from the bottom right-hand corner to the top left-hand corner

Figure 22.11.1.5.1: ReportPanel1 border

Click OK to accept the configured brush with the vertical black-red-yellow colour gradient:

Figure 22.11.1.5.2: ReportPanel1 border 2