How to Use Rulers and Page Margins in Bold Reports Designer
The Ruler and Page Margin features in Bold Reports Designer provide enhanced layout visualization, helping you position report items with greater precision. These features allow you to view the report structure, including margins and design boundaries, while dynamically adapting to section resizing, zoom levels, and page size constraints.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Enable the Ruler and Page Margin
The options to enable the ruler and page margins are available in the Report View menu.
- Open your report in the Bold Reports Designer.
- Click the Report View dropdown menu in the top toolbar.
- Select Ruler to display the horizontal and vertical rulers.
- Select Page Margin to highlight the report margins on the design surface.
Position Report Items Using the Ruler
The ruler helps you accurately position report items such as text boxes, images, and tablix controls.
- Drag a report item from the item panel onto the design surface.
- Use the horizontal and vertical rulers as guides to align the item according to your layout requirements.
Visualize Page Margins
When Page Margin is enabled, the report content area is clearly distinguished from the margin area.
- Enable Page Margin from the Report View menu.
- Observe the highlighted margin area, which helps identify the printable boundaries of the report.
- Modify the margin values in the Report Properties pane. The highlighted margin area updates automatically to reflect the changes.
Monitor Page Boundary Indicators
To help prevent content from being cut off during printing or export, Bold Reports displays a red indicator line when the report content exceeds the page width or height.
- Place a report item near the edge of the page.
- If the item extends beyond the available page area, a red indicator line appears.
- Use this visual cue to resize the item or adjust the page settings to ensure the content fits within the page boundaries.
Key Features
Dynamic Resizing and Zoom Support
The ruler dynamically adjusts based on changes made within the designer.
- Section Resizing: When the report header, body, or footer is resized, the ruler updates to reflect the new dimensions.
- Zoom Levels: The ruler scale automatically adjusts when zooming in or out.
- Header and Footer Changes: Enabling or disabling report headers and footers updates the available design area displayed by the ruler.
Margin Differentiation
The margin highlight improvement allows you to easily differentiate between the actual report content and the defined margins. By providing a distinct visual contrast (white background for margins), you can ensure that critical data is not placed in areas that might be clipped during document generation.
