iReport Ultimate Guide - Nimsoft Library

Report StructureThe page margin dimensions are set by means of the four fields in the Margins section of the window.To more easily set the page properties, click Format → Page Format to open the Page Format dialog (Figure 4-3).Figure 4-3Page Format dialogThe Format drop-down contains all the presets listed in Table 4-1. The Unit selector at the bottom of the window allows youto change the unit of the measures.4.1.2 ColumnsAs we have seen (4.1, “Bands,” on page 45), a report is divided into horizontal sections, that is, bands.The page, which comprises the report, presents portions which are independent of the records coming from the data source(such as the title section, or the page footers), as well as other sections that are driven by those records (such as the groupheaders/footers and the detail). These last portions can be divided into vertical columns in order to optimize the availablespace.In this context, the concept of “column” can be easily confused with that of “field”. A column is not connected to arecord field; we are just defining the layout of the page, not a table or something tied to the format of the data to print.This means that if you want to print records having, for instance, ten fields, and you want to create a report that lookslike a table, you don’t need ten report columns, but you’ll have to place the report elements (labels and textfields) in asingle column report in order to get the table effect.Use columns when you need a layout similar to that of newspapers, where the text rows are presented on severalcolumns to improve readability and make better use of the space on the page.49