Report Designer - the menu bar

Summary

This guide provides information on the options available in the menu bar of Sage Report Designer.

Description

Sage Report Designer is a powerful tool to help you amend and design reports.

There are a lot of options available to help you navigate within Report Designer.

Resolution

The File menu

The following options are available from the File menu:

Option	Description
New	Opens the Report Wizard to create a new report.
Open	Open an existing Sage Accounts report.
Close	Closes the current report.
Close All	Closes all open reports.
Save	This option saves the current report with the same file name. NOTE: You cannot save over a fixed report, so if you are editing a fixed report, this option is unavailable.
Save As	This option opens the Save As window for you to save the current report as a new file.
Save All	This saves all open reports with their original file names. NOTE: You cannot save over a fixed report, so if you are editing a fixed report, this option is unavailable.
Import	Open a report file from Sage Accounts v12, and convert it into the correct format for use in the new Report Designer.
Export	Export the current report to one of the available file formats.
Email	Send the report by email.
Print	Print the current report as it currently appears on the Designer window.
Report to Excel	Generate the report and export a formatted copy to Microsoft Excel.
Data to Excel	Generate the report data to Microsoft Excel.
Page Setup	Change the printer settings, paper sizes and margins for your report.
Watermark	Add text or an image as a watermark on the report.
Recent Files	Open one of the five most recent files you've edited in Report Designer.
Exit	Closes all open reports and exits Report Designer.

The Edit menu

The following options are available from the Edit menu:

Option	Description
Undo	Undo the previous action. You can use this option several times to step backward in the editing process.
Redo	Redoes an action that you have previously undone. You can use this option several times.
Cut	Take a copy of the selected item to the clipboard and removes the existing item from the document.
Copy	Take a copy of the selected item to the clipboard, but leaves the existing item on the document.
Paste	Insert a previously cut or copied item into the selected location.
Delete	Delete the currently selected item.
Select All	Select all items on the report.
Unselect All	Deselect all selected items.

The View menu

The following options are available from the View menu:

Option	Description
Report Wizard	Opens the Report Wizard with details of the current report. You can then move through the Report Wizard to change the current report.
Designer	Closes any preview and returns you to the main Report Designer window.
Preview	Previews the current report. You can use this option to preview the report before you save it.
Rulers	Shows or hides the rulers along the top and left-hand sides of the Report Designer window.
File Explorer	Shows or hides the File Explorer pane. You can use the File Explorer pane to navigate to an existing report.
Toolbox	Shows or hides the Toolbox pane. The Toolbox pane contains options you can use to amend and format the report. You can also find these options under the Toolbox menu.
Report Explorer	Shows or hides the Report Explorer pane. The Report Explorer pane contains full details of the contents of the report and includes any hidden items.
Properties	Shows or hides the Properties pane. The Properties pane contains information about the selected item within Report Designer. If no item is selected, it contains information about the whole report.
Margins	Shows or hides the shaded grey margins on the report.
Variables	Shows or hides the Variables pane. You can use the Variables pane to add new information from your Sage Accounts software to your report.
Dynamic Help	Shows or hides the Dynamic Help pane. The Dynamic Help pane takes you through common report changes, such as adding images or text, step by step.
Zoom	Zoom in or out of the report.
Reset Default View	Set the Report Designer panes and toolbars back to the default settings.

The Toolbox menu

This menu contains the options for amending and formatting your report. The following options are available:

Option	Description
Pointer	Switch from another option, for example Expression, back to the mouse pointer.
Add Text	Add a text box to your report.
Draw Line	Add a line to your report.
Draw Box	Add a box to your report.
Add Image/Logo	You can use this option to add an image to your report.
Add Data Field	Add a data field, or variable, to your report.
Add Barcode	Add a barcode to your report.
Add Expression	Add an expression to your report.
Add Subreport	Add a sub report to your report. A sub report is a separate self contained report that runs within another report.

The Sections menu

This menu contains options for re-grouping your report. The following options are available:

Option	Description
Add Section	You can use this option to add a new section to your document.
Delete Section	Delete the currently selected section. NOTE: If you delete a header or footer section, this also deletes the corresponding header or footer section.
Move Section Up	Move the currently selected section up the page. NOTE: If you move a header or footer section, the corresponding header or footer section also moves.
Move Section Down	Move the currently selected section down the page. NOTE: If you move a header or footer section, the corresponding header or footer section also moves.

The Report menu

This menu contains options for filtering and controlling the data available on your report. The following options are available:

Option	Description
Report Properties	Change the name and description of your report.
Email Settings	Access the email settings for this report.
Joins	Add additional Report Designer tables to your document in order to access additional database information.
Sorts	Sort the data on the report based on a variable or expression.
Filters	Limit the information that appears on the report.
Criteria	Enable criteria that you can then enter when you run the report.
Change Report Data Source	Change the data source used within Report Designer.

The Format menu

The Format menu contains options for aligning and presenting your reports. The following options are available:

Option	Description
Alignment	Align the selected items to each other. The first selected item, which appears surrounded by white squares, remains in place and any additional items are aligned to this object.
Make Same Size	This option makes all selected items the same size. The size to use is taken from the first selected item, which appears surrounded by white squares.
Centre In Section	Place all selected items centrally within the current section.
Order	Change the stacking order of the currently selected items.
Grouping	Group the selected items together. If items are grouped, when you select, move or resize one item, all of the items in the group change.
Locking	You can use this option to lock the selected items. If items are locked, they cannot be moved, deleted or changed.

The Tools menu

The Tools menu contains additional options for working with your reports. The following options are available:

Option	Description
Check Spelling	Run a spell check on the text items within the report.
Expression Snippets Manager	Open the Expression Snippets Manager for you to add, remove or change the snippets.
Data Sources	This option shows the data sources available to Report Designer.
Options	This opens the Options window which contains Report Designer appearance settings, default printer offsets, and email settings.

The Help menu

This menu contains options for accessing the various types of help available to you. The following options are available:

Options	Description
Search	Opens the built-in Report Designer help files, and defaults to the Search tab so that you can search for the required information.
Contents	Opens the built-in Report Designer help files, and defaults to the Contents tab so that you can view the contents table.
Index	Opens the built-in Report Designer help files, and defaults to the Index tab so that you can view the information alphabetically.
Help Centre	Opens the Sage Help Centre, our online support system. You can then search for the information you need.
Help Centre - Report Designer index	Opens an index of useful articles to help you with Report Designer.
Remote support	Opens our Sage Remote Support website. This can be used when speaking to a Sage Technical Support technician to set up a remote support session.
Report Design Request	Opens our Report Design Service page. This page contains information about the Report Design Service, with details about how you can submit a request for a new customised report or layout.
About	Shows the Report Designer version and system information.
Check for updates	Checks for any Report Designer updates available to install.

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