How to Hide Background Images in Excel Exports in Bold Reports

Bold Reports Designer lets you add background images such as watermarks or company logos to enhance report branding, especially in PDF exports. However, these images may clutter Excel or Word outputs. This guide explains how to show background images in PDF exports and viewer previews while hiding them in Excel exports using conditional visibility.

Step-by-Step Implementation

Step 1: Add a Rectangle as a Container

Open your report in Bold Reports Designer.
From the widget panel, drag and drop a Rectangle onto the report body.
Resize and position the rectangle to cover the desired background area.

Step 2: Insert and Configure the Background Image

Inside the rectangle, add an Image report item.
In the Properties panel, set the Source to one of the following:
- Embedded (for images stored within the report)
- External (for URL-based images)
- Database (for dynamic images)
Select the required image (such as a logo or watermark).

Step 3: Send the Image to the Background

Select the Image item.
Right-click and choose Send to Back (or use the toolbar) to place it behind other report elements.

Step 4: Apply Conditional Visibility (Hide in Excel)

Select the Rectangle (or the Image item directly).
In the Properties panel, go to Visibility → Hidden.
Click the expression (fx) button and enter:
```
=IIF(Globals!RenderFormat.Name = "EXCEL", True, False)
```
How it works:
- True → the item is hidden.
- False → the item is visible.
- When RenderFormat.Name = "EXCEL" → the background image is hidden.
- For PDF, Viewer, and other formats → the image remains visible.