Report Studio

Report Layout Recommendations

The challenge in laying out a report is in performing a mental translation of a desired layout to the layout objects available in Report Studio. To work efficiently in Report Studio, follow these guidelines when formatting reports:

Define the page structure.

Determine what goes into the page header, body, and footer. The page header contains information that appears at the top of each page. The page body contains information that starts on the first instance of the page. If there is too much data to fit on a single page, it continues across all instances of the page. The page footer is similar to the page header, except the information appears at the bottom of each page.
Identify horizontal bands of information.

Look for natural bands of information running across the page. Each of these bands typically translates into a block. See Inserting Other Objects.
Identify vertical bands of information.

In each horizontal band of information, look for bands that run up and down the page. Each of these bands typically translates into table cells . See Using Tables to Control Where Objects Appear.
Decide which data frames to use to lay out the data.

Choose a list, crosstab, chart, repeater, or text frame.
Set properties at the highest level item possible.

By setting properties at the highest level, you set them once instead of setting them for each child object. For example, if you want all text items in a report to appear in a specific font, set the font for the page.

Note: When setting properties for an object, click the select ancestor button in the Properties pane title bar to see the different levels available.
Use padding and margins to create white space.

Do not user fixed object sizing unless it is absolutely necessary. When you specify that an object has a fixed size, your layout becomes less flexible.