The Visual Layout Editor
The visual layout editor is the canvas where you design what each section of your report prints. This page explains the tools, the properties panel, data binding, and the full-page background canvas.
Opening the Editor
From the Report Layout Designer, choose Edit Report Layout. The editor opens with:
- A toolbar at the top (tools and actions)
- The canvas showing the layout's sections as horizontal bands
- A properties panel on the right
- The Report Builder Agent chat in a FactBox (see Report Builder Agent)
- A status bar at the bottom
Toolbar Tools
Each tool places a different element type on the canvas. The letter in parentheses is the keyboard shortcut:
| Tool | Shortcut | Places |
|---|---|---|
| Select | V | Select and move elements |
| Text | T | Static text |
| Data Field | D | A dataset column, printed at run time |
| Multi Field | M | Several data fields at once (opens a selection dialog) |
| Line | L | A straight line |
| Box | B | A rectangle (optionally filled, with rounded corners) |
| Circle | C | A circle |
| Image Field | I | An image (uploaded image or an image column from the dataset) |
| Chart | H | A chart (Column, Bar, Line, Area, Pie, Donut) |
| SVG | S | Scalable vector graphics markup |
| QR Code | Q | A QR code (static text or data-bound) |
Toolbar Actions
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Copy / Paste | Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V |
| Undo / Redo | Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y |
| Bring to Front / Send to Back | Ctrl+] / Ctrl+[ |
| Zoom in / Zoom out / Reset zoom to fit width | Ctrl++ / Ctrl+- / Ctrl+0 |
| Toggle WYSIWYG preview | Shows the layout with example data and without grid decorations |
| Save | Persist the layout |
Other useful keys: Escape deselects, Delete removes the selected elements, and the arrow keys nudge selected elements.
Closing the editor with unsaved changes shows a confirmation prompt first.
The Properties Panel
The panel shows properties for whatever is selected.
Nothing Selected — Layout Properties
Page width/height and margins (shown in millimeters), the computed content width (shown in the unit chosen in Layout Settings), and the number of sections.
A Section Selected
Section type, Description, DataItem, Height, Function, Print on, Page Break, and the "Print this section if" condition — the same settings described in Creating and Managing Layouts, plus an Edit triggers… button for advanced per-section code.
An Element Selected
Properties depend on the element type. All positions and sizes are in millimeters.
| Element | Key Properties |
|---|---|
| Text | Text, Font, Size (pt), Align, Color, X/Y, W/H, Underline, Strikethrough |
| Data Field | Field (picked from the dataset), Font, Size, Align, Color, position/size, Blank if zero |
| Line | X1/Y1/X2/Y2, Stroke color, Width, Opacity |
| Box | X/Y/W/H, corner Radius, Fill on/off, Stroke color, Fill Color, Line Width, stroke/fill opacity |
| Circle | Center X/Y, Radius, Fill, Stroke, Fill Color, Line Width, opacities |
| Image | Source (a named uploaded image or an image column), X/Y/W/H |
| Chart | Type, Title, Data scope (dataset or element), Aggregate (sum/avg/count), Category, Series columns, Legend, Grid lines, Value labels, Stacked, position/size |
| SVG | X/Y/W/H, Opacity, Edit SVG… (live preview), raw SVG markup |
| QR Code | Content (text, may contain [Column] tokens), error-correction level, Transparent background, X/Y, Size |
| Hyperlink | URL, X/Y/W/H |
Multiple Elements Selected
Common properties (font, size, alignment, colors, line width, fill, radius, underline, strike) can be changed for all selected elements at once. Mixed values are shown as "mixed".
Data Binding
Data fields and text content bind to the report dataset using square-bracket tokens:
[FieldName]— a column of the section's own data item[Element.FieldName]— a column from another data item (resolves to the most recently printed value of that field)[<DataItem><Field>GroupTotal]— a configured running total, reset per group[_TransportTotal]— the running total for transport (carried-forward) sections
The Field dropdown on a data field lists all available columns, including element-qualified ones, so you rarely need to type tokens by hand. Example values captured during Learn Report are used by the WYSIWYG preview.
The Full Page Canvas (Page Backgrounds)
The Edit Page Background action opens the Full Page Canvas — a single page-sized, edge-to-edge canvas whose content is drawn on every page of the report. Use it for:
- Watermarks (e.g. "DRAFT", "COPY")
- Page borders and background colors
- Pre-printed stationery reproductions
- Company branding that must appear behind the report content
The Full Page Canvas uses the same editor but has no data fields, no per-section triggers, and no print-on or page-break options — it is purely static drawing.
Tips and Best Practices
- Turn on the WYSIWYG preview regularly — it substitutes example data so you can judge the real output without printing
- Use Test Print early and often; it saves your work first and renders the actual PDF with live data
- Give each section a realistic Height — sections are stacked bands, and too-small heights clip content
- Use Multi Field to lay out a block of fields quickly, then fine-tune positions
- Keep column layouts aligned by nudging with the arrow keys
- For values that repeat on continuation pages ("carried forward"), use TransportHeader/TransportFooter sections with
[_TransportTotal]
Advanced: Layout Code
Every section is stored as drawing code that the visual editor generates for you. Advanced users can edit this code directly (Edit Layout Code, Edit Element Triggers, Edit Initialization Code). Two things to know:
- Each statement must stay on a single line — a statement wrapped across lines makes the visual editor lock that section as uneditable custom code
- Per-section trigger code (run before/after an element prints) enables logic such as skipping elements or accumulating custom totals
Most layouts never need hand-written code; the visual editor and the AI assistant cover the normal cases.