Page Comparison

Allows an object to be inserted into an existing sequence of objects after the selected object. It forces the sequence number of subsequent objects to be updated.

Inserts an object before the selected object and moves the following lines down.

Delete the object and all its related properties that are highlighted in the above grid.

Save the changes you have made to the user form or report selection window.

As each object is added to the form with its accompanying SQL syntax, the SQL query in the Crystal Report can be modified by the objects added. The Crystal Report is used to return the data in the report.
Select this option to view the basic query extracted from the report before the custom selections are applied.

Calls the report definition screen and allows it to be tested.

Type

Used to specify the type of object used on the form. That is, Label, ComboBox, GroupBox, Button and so on.

Parent

Parent field is a numeric field used to group objects together. GroupBoxes are objects that are used to group like objects together. The parent object for each GroupBox is generally the form, which is indicated by the parent number of 1. Objects contained inside this GroupBox have a parent number of 2. Each GroupBox is then given a sequential parent number and so objects included within these boxes are assigned that parent number.

For example, Synergetic Management Systems report definition screens generally group objects according to whether selections are required or optional. The first GroupBox, titled Required Selections, has a parent number of 1, and all objects inside have a parent number of 2. The second GroupBox, titled Optional Selections has a parent number of 1 and all objects within this GroupBox have a parent number of 3.

Top Rel & Left Rel Right Rel

Position of an object on a form is determined by its distance relative to the location of the preceding object. The sequence number therefore plays an important role in governing this.

The Top Rel field determines the vertical distance that an object is placed on the form below the preceding object in the sequence.

The Left Rel Right field determines the horizontal distance to the right that an object is placed on the screen relative to the rightmost edge of the previous object in the sequence.

Units of distance are measured in pixels.

Label Caption

Optional setting useful for describing objects on the form.
Some object types, such as labels and checkboxes, do not need a label caption here, as their captions are specified in the Additional Properties field.

luSQL or luTable

When a DBLookupComboBox control or similar object is selected from the Type drop-down list, these two fields become available.

The luTable option allows the selection of a lookup table from the Synergetic database to be linked to the DBLookupComboBox control. For example, luCampus.

The luSQL option allows you to query a table using an SQL statement to populate the DBLookupComboBox. This is useful for lookup tables that have more fields than a code and description, such as luYearLevel.

A simple statement, such as the one below, can be used to only show certain fields in the DBLookupComboBox.

_{SELECT DISTINCT Code, Description, YearLevelSort
FROM luYearLevel
ORDER BY YearLevelSort}

If you want to use a finance database as the source of your SQL query, you must add "[Finance]" to the start. For example:

_{[FINANCE] SELECT Code, Description
FROM luPayrollCategory
ORDER BY Code}

Additional Properties

Field Ref

Passed to Crystal Reports

Used to specify how the SQL Server statement from the Crystal Report is altered or if a Crystal Report parameter is being added to the form.

As

Where

The selection dynamically alters the WHERE clause in the SQL statement of the report being executed.

From

Alters (and adds to) the FROM clause. That is, the JOIN parameters.

Rep Para

Is passed to the Crystal report as a parameter to be manipulated used in the report. For example, this might be used to change the sorting in the report. See Designing User Forms.

Field Name

This field contains the name of the database field or parameter that is linked to the control object.

Field Type

Used to specify the data type of the field or parameter used. The possible data type values are Integer, Varchar, NVarChar, Bit and Date.

Note: NVarChar allows the field to contain unicode characters.

Default Value

This is an optional field that sets the default value for the field in question when the report definition screen is opened.

An example of a commonly used default value is for the leaving date of a student. That is, setting the default value of Student Leaving Date to Getdate sets the default value on the report definition screen to today's date whenever the report is run through a selection screen.

You can use a predefined value from the drop-down list, or type in the value manually.

Select Join

This is used to determine the logic that occurs between the selections made in the WHERE clause of the SQL Server statement. The available joins are:

• AND
• OR
• AND (
• AND (...)
• AND )
• OR (
• OR (...)
• OR ...)
• ).

By using the View SQL button the original logic of an SQL Server statement can be easily analysed to better understand how to adapt or add to it.

Select Operator

Select operators are available to be used in conjunction with the database field/parameters used in the SQL Server statement. The available select operators are:

• =
• >
• <
• <>
• >=
• <=
• LIKE
• IN
• IDTag.

Sort Order

The order the objects appear in. 

Clear All-able

If set, the selected database/parameter field value is cleared by the Clear All button on the selection grid.

Mandatory

If set, the database/parameter field must have a selected value before the report will open.