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How to create a formatting rule

  1. In layout editor, select the report element that you want to conditionally format.
  2. Choose Highlights on Property Editor.
  3. The Highlights page appears. It is empty if you have not yet specified any formatting rules for the selected element.

  4. Choose Add to add a new formatting rule.
  5. New Highlight appears. It prompts you to specify the condition, or rule, for applying a particular format to the report element.

  6. Create the rule for applying a particular format to the report element by completing the following steps:
    1. Think of the rule in plain English first. For example:
    2. If the order total is greater than $50,000.00, then set the font color to blue 
      and the font style to bold. 
      
      There are two parts to the rule: If and Then.
      The New Highlight dialog helps you specify the If and Then parts of the rule by breaking them down to more specific parts.
    3. Specify the If part of the rule by completing the following steps:
      1. In the first field, specify the first part of the If expression. Using the example rule, this is order total.
        • If the order total values come directly from the selected element, choose "Value of this data item" from the drop-down list.
        • If the order total values come from another element, specify the name of the field or an expression if the values are calculated. The following expressions are two such examples:
        •     row["OrderTotal"] 
              Total.sum(row["pricequote"]*row["quantity"]) 
           

        If you want help constructing the expression, use Expression Builder by choosing the ellipsis (...) button.
      2. In the second field, specify the second part of the If expression by selecting an option from the list. Using our example rule, this is "Larger than."
      3. In the third field, specify the third part of the If expression. Using our example rule, this is a value of 50000.
      You completed the If part of the rule, which specifies:
      If row["OrderTotal"] is greater than 50000 
      
    4. Specify the Then part of your rule, which is "then set the font color to blue and the font style to bold," by completing the following steps:
      • Choose Color, then select a color from the color picker.
      • Choose B to select the Bold format.
      Choose OK.
    The formatting rule you just created appears in the Highlight list. The rule takes effect the next time you run the report.

  7. Preview the report to test your formatting rule.

(c) Copyright Actuate Corporation 2006

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