Modify
the Report Layout to Accommodate Our Focus
Next,
we will make some changes to the report layout to more easily accommodate the
focus of our practice session. We
will start with a larger report canvas.
1.
Click the Layout
tab atop the Report Designer.
2.
Click the report
body at some point below the matrix data region that is in place.
The Body
bar assumes the focus (becomes darker). Body also appears in the Properties
pane (by default to the lower right of the design environment). The point
here is to ascertain that the report body is, indeed, selected.
3.
Pass the
cursor over the lower edge of the report body, until it becomes a
“two-headed arrow.”
4.
Enlarge the
report canvas to about the 2-1/2 point on the scale on the left side of
the Layout tab, stretching it downward to create empty space below the matrix
data region on the report body, as depicted in Illustration 6.
Illustration 6:
Stretch the Canvas Downward to Create Empty Space in the Report Body
Because,
from this point, we will be performing procedures that relate only to the chart
type with which we are working in this article, and because we create similar
files for different chart types in other articles, let’s rename the .rdl file
to clearly associate it with this article and the simple Column chart
type.
5.
Select File
from the main menu.
6.
Select Save
DBJ_OLAP_Report.rdl As ....
7.
Type the
following into the File name box of the Save File As box that
appears next:
RS059_Column_Chart
8.
Click the Save
button in the lower right corner of the Save File As box.
The Save
File As box is dismissed and we see the new name appear in the Solution
Explorer. We are now ready to begin the procedural section of our practice
session.
Procedure: Create a Column Chart within the Report
Add
a Chart Control to the Report Canvas
At
this point, we will
drag the Chart item from the Report Items listed within the Toolbox
pane (the position of which is defaulted to the left of the Layout tab).
Once the general
control is placed on the report canvas, we will adjust it, setting properties
as appropriate to meet the report specifications.
1.
Select View
from the main menu.
2.
Select Toolbox from the menu, which appears as partially shown in Illustration 7, to place
the Toolbox within easy reach (if it already appears, simply disregard
this step).
Illustration 7:
Calling the Toolbox to View (Partial View Menu Shown)
The toolbox
window should appear similar to that depicted in Illustration 8. Mine
is pinned to the upper left corner of the design environment, where I find it
most convenient. This is, of course, subject to your own choices. (Note also
that I dock my Fields and Server Explorer panes in this area to
maximize design real estate, as an aside.)
Illustration 8:
The Toolbox, Pinned to the Upper Left Corner of the Design Environment
3.
Click the Chart
item (at the bottom of the Toolbox pane).
The
cursor becomes a small chart icon in combination with crosshairs when held
above the layout. This indicates that we can click to “anchor” the point, from
which we wish to draw the box that the chart will inhabit.
4.
Click on the
canvas, below the existing matrix, approximately as shown in Illustration 9.
Illustration 9:
Placing the Chart Selection onto the Report Campus ...
The chart item appears, in its generic manifestation,
as depicted in Illustration 10.
Illustration 10: The
Generic Chart Item Appears
NOTE: Should you accidentally place or drop the chart item
into a position that is not satisfactory, you can simply move the item by
clicking inside the chart item, then pointing to the now shaded border
of the chart item, to drag it to a new location.
Clicking again on the border will also allow you to expand /
contract the chart shape. (The nuances are easy to learn with a little
practice.) Double-clicking the chart item will make the “drop regions,” seen
above, appear.
5.
Pass the
cursor over the left border of the chart item, until it becomes a four-arrow
icon.
6.
Click and drag
the chart item to the left side of the report canvas.
7.
Pass the
cursor over the right border, and over the small square that appears about
midway down the right side, until the cursor becomes a simple double-headed
arrow.
8.
Click and drag
the right border of the chart item, widening the chart (along with the
underlying canvas) to approximately the “11”
point on the ruler appearing atop the Layout tab.
The
chart item is now in place, and we are ready to specify its “simple Column
chart” nature, as well as to populate it with the primary dataset that is
already in place.
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