| | Report Designer - the menu bar |
| 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 menuThe 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 menuThe 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 menuThe 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 menuThis 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 menuThis 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 menuThis 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 menuThe 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 menuThe 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 menuThis 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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