Operation Manual

Introduction to Reporting
About the report design environment
6
Crystal Reports User’s Guide 93
• The Preview tab has a single vertical ruler at the left of the tab rather than
the individual section rulers seen in the Design tab. The functionality of
the ruler is the same.
• The Preview tab identifies report sections in the shaded area to the left of
the data. With a quick look you can tell which report section the data is
printing from. While section names appear only once in the Design tab,
they print each time a section prints in the Preview tab.
• The Record counter, the Data Age indicator (see “The Data Age
indicator” on page 91), and the Page Forward/Page Back controls (see
“Preview tab” on page 90), are all active in the Preview tab.
• The Preview tab highlights every value when you select a field; whereas,
only the field frame is highlighted in the Design tab.
Working in the Preview tab has a different feel from working in the Design tab.
Each field in a database contains dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of
values, depending on the number of records in the database. When you place
a field in the Design tab, a single field frame represents all those values.
When you highlight the field, sizing handles appear on the frame and the
frame changes color.
In the Preview tab, however, you are working with the actual data. Instead of
a field frame representing many field values, the values themselves appear.
Some additional things to consider are:
• When you highlight a field or formula field value, you are actually
selecting every value in the field:
• The program places a sizing frame around the specific value you
select.
• It highlights every other value in the field.
• Likewise, when you select a summary value, you are actually selecting all
the related summary values:
• The program places a sizing frame around the specific value you
select.
• It highlights all the related summary values.
Aside from the differences in appearance, the process of building and
modifying a report is the same in both the Design tab and the Preview tab.
You should find it easy to work with your reports in both places.