iReport Ultimate Guide - Nimsoft Library

7.3 Other Group OptionsBands and GroupsIn the previous example, we learned how to create a group using the group wizard, we set the group name, and we set thegroup expression. There are many other options that you can set to control how a group is displayed. By selecting a group bandin the outline view (header or footer), in the property sheet you will see all these options (Figure 7-16):Figure 7-16Group optionsGroup ExpressionStart on a New ColumnStart on a New PageReset Page NumberReprint headerMin Height to Start New PageThis is the expression that UR will evaluate against each record. Whenthe expression changes in value, a new group is created. If this expression isempty, it is equal to null, and since a null expression will never change in value,the result is a single group header and a single group footer, respectively, after thefirst column header and before the last column footer.If this option is selected, it forces a column break at the end of the group (that is, atthe beginning of a new group); if in the report there is only one column, a columnbreak becomes a page break.If this option is selected, it forces a page break at the end of the group (that is, atthe beginning of a new group).This option resets the number of pages at the beginning of a new group.If this option is selected, it prints the Group Header band on all the pages on whichthe group’s content is printed (if the content requires more than one page for theprinted report).If the value is other than 0, UR will start to print this group on a newpage if the space remaining on the current page is less than the minimum specified.This option is usually used to avoid splitting a report section composed of fieldsthat we want to remain together (such as a title followed by the text of aparagraph).121