August 2011

Tech Info

Graphics and Form Overlays

Did you know the SEQUEL ViewPoint Report Writer lets you include graphics and form overlays in reports formatted for PDF output? It’s true—you can include image files in a report and position them where you want them to display. Here are a couple of examples.

Confidential Report

The following example includes two images: a company logo and a background image that reads “CONFIDENTIAL”.

Order Acknowledgement Report

In the second example, we use a single JPG image file as an Order Acknowledgement “form overlay” that appears behind the report detail. (You can create a form overlay image with almost any vector graphics software, such as Adobe Photoshop®). Now, let’s see how to create this report.

Example: Creating an Order Acknowledgement Report

In this example, we’ll create the Order Acknowledgement Report. To create this report, we added PDF overlay images during the design process (we’ll demonstrate that in this example). You also can add the images after a report is saved by changing the report’s properties.

Step 1: Create a View and a Report

The first step in the process is to create the SEQUEL view that extracts the necessary data. When the view is complete, you've saved it, and you’re still in Design View, click File\New\SEQUEL Report to display the New Report Wizard.

Specify the length, width, lines per inch, and characters per inch. The parameters shown above correspond to an 8.5" x 11" portrait page, with .25" margins, printed at 15 characters per inch.

Then, follow the remaining report design wizards and complete the design of your report.

Step 2: Add Images for PDF Output

Next, select File\Properties and select the PDF tab. Then, select the (report) option from the Page Size drop-down menu (below). This forces the report to comply with the character and lines per inch settings you entered earlier in the Report Wizard.

Important:If you skip this step, the print driver may attempt to fit your report to the available space and your report may not align properly with your underlying image or form.

Click the Edit Image Layout button near the bottom of the PDF panel.

In the Change PDF Image Overlay window, select File\Import Images as shown below. This displays a standard Windows Browse window you can use to find and select your background image.

Note: As you select your image, you may see a warning message, Image File is too Large. You can ignore this message.

The Import function displays a placeholder that lets you “drop” the image at the location you want in the Report Layout panel. When you’re done, the image appears in both the panel and a thumbnail list to the left (shown below).

To adjust the location and appearance of the image, right-click the image in the layout to display a pop-up menu (above) and select Properties.

When you click Properties, the Image Properties window displays, allowing you to fine-tune the location and size of the image.

After you’re done, click OK and save the report design.

Step 3: Test the Output

To test your results, click the Send Results to an Email Recipient button (below).

In the Send Email results window, specify your e-mail address in the To: field and specify an Attachment Type of Adobe PDF (below).

That’s all there is to it! When you run this example, the PDF should look like the Order Acknowledgement report shown at the beginning of the article.

By Steven Smith, Technical Consultant

NEW! SEQUEL Supports Excel .xlsx Format for Enhanced Spreadsheet Output

SEQUEL R10M13 and higher now can create Excel files in .xlsx file format. This change means that you enjoy greater data flexibility, faster conversion times, and more compact files when you convert data to spreadsheet format:

• For .xlsx files, the maximum size increases from 160 MB to 4 GB; the number of rows per worksheet increases from 65,535 to 1,048,576; and the maximum number of columns per worksheet increases from 256 to 16,384.
• The conversion time for .xlsx files is much faster. For example, SEQUEL can create an .xlsx file in approximately one-fifth the time that it takes to create a similar .xls file.
• Comparable .xlsx files are much smaller because they are compressed. For example, a 157 MB .xls file reduces to 2.5 MB as an .xlsx file.