Eclipse BIRT Report Object Model (ROM)

Image Element

# Element Overview

Displays an image within the report.

### Details

Display Name: | Image
Since: | 1.0
XML Element: | `image`
Extends: | ReportItem
Extendable: | Yes
Abstract: | No
Name Space: | Report Items
Name Requirement: | Optional
Allows User Properties: | Yes
Has Style: | Yes
Default Style: | image

### Property Summary

action
  An optional hyperlink for this image.
altText
  An optional text message to display in place of the image in a web browser.
altTextID
  Resource key for the altText property.
helpText
  An optional help text for the image.
helpTextID
imageName
  The name of an embedded image if the Source type is Embedded.
scale
size
  How to manage the relationship between image and item size.
source
  The kind of image reference.
typeExpr
  An expression that returns the type of the image expressed as a MIME type.
uri
  The identifier for the image if the type is File or URL.
valueExpr
  An expression which returns the image contents.

### Method Summary

onCreate
  Script executed when the element is created in the Factory.
onPageBreak
onPrepare
  It is for a script startup phase. No data binding yet. The design of an element can be changed here.
onRender
  Script executed when the element is prepared for rendering in the Presentation engine.

### Inherited Properties

bookmark, boundDataColumns, comments, customXml, dataSet, displayName, displayNameID, eventHandlerClass, extends, height, name, paramBindings, propertyMasks, refTemplateParameter, style, toc, userProperties, viewAction, visibility, width, x, y

### Inherited Property Notes

dataSet
  Allows the user to fetch the image from a data set. The image is in the first row of the data set.
toc
  While the image can appear in the TOC, it is generally not very useful to do so.

### Style Properties

backgroundColor, borderBottomColor, borderBottomStyle, borderBottomWidth, borderLeftColor, borderLeftStyle, borderLeftWidth, borderRightColor, borderRightStyle, borderRightWidth, borderTopColor, borderTopStyle, borderTopWidth, color, display, fontFamily, fontSize, fontStyle, fontVariant, fontWeight, highlightRules, marginBottom, marginLeft, marginRight, marginTop, masterPage, paddingBottom, paddingLeft, paddingRight, paddingTop, pageBreakAfter, pageBreakBefore, showIfBlank, textAlign, textLineThrough, textOverline, textUnderline, verticalAlign

### Description

Reports often display images in various formats: corporate logos, product images, icons, and so on. Popular image formats are JPEG for photographs, and GIF, PNG and SVG for computer-generated graphics such as logos.

The image item provides an image in one of a number of formats. The image can come from a number of sources. The image item can be sized to the image (in which case the height and width attributes are ignored), or the image can be sized or clipped to fit the item. Images are always scaled proportionately.

The image item is similar to the Image report element in RDL, the image control in AFC and the picture item in Crystal. Key features include:

- Store the image as part of the report design, obtain the image at run time, or reference the image at view time.
- Allow the image to come from a BLOB field in the query.
- Associate a hyperlink with the image.
- Support line images. This is an image that is repeated to form a line. For example, a slice of an image can repeat to form a custom border along the top or side of a report. Allow repetition across or down.

The image element should provide a number of options for handling images that are larger or smaller than the size of the element itself:

- Clip the image to fit the element. Provide options of clipping all four edges so the image remains centered in the element, or clipping the bottom and left edges.
- Expand or shrink the element to fit the image size. This is the default, and works well for reports that use the power-assist form of layout (see below.)
- Adjust the element size to fit the image.

The following table shows which properties are used for each image source type.

Property | Embedded | File | URL | Computed
Image Name | X |  |  |
URI |  | X | X |
Value Expression |  |  |  | X
Type Expression |  |  |  | X
Size | X | X | X | X

# Property Detail

## action Property

An optional hyperlink for this image.

### Details

Type: | Action Structure
Since: | 1.0
Required: | No
Display Name: | Action
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | None
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | No
Property Sheet Visibility: | Hidden
Property Sheet Group: | Top

### Description

Provides a hyperlink from this image.

## altText Property

An optional text message to display in place of the image in a web browser.

### Details

Type: | string
Since: | 1.0
Required: | No
Display Name: | Alternative text
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | None
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | No
Property Sheet Visibility: | Visible
Property Sheet Group: | Top

### Description

An optional text message to display in place of the image in a web browser.

### See Also

altTextID property

## altTextID Property

Resource key for the altText property.

### Details

Type: | resourceKey
Since: | 1.0
Required: | No
Display Name: | Alternative text key
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | None
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | Yes
Property Sheet Visibility: | Visible
Property Sheet Group: | Top

### Description

Resource key that allows externalizing and localizing the value of the altText property.

### See Also

altText property

## helpText Property

An optional help text for the image.

### Details

Type: | string
Since: | 1.0
Required: | No
Display Name: | Help text
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | None
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | No
Property Sheet Visibility: | Visible
Property Sheet Group: | Top

### Description

An optional help text for the image. The help text can contain HTML formatting and can be externalized. The web viewer shows this as "balloon help."

### See Also

helpTextID property

## helpTextID Property

### Details

Type: | resourceKey
Since: | 1.0
Required: | No
Display Name: | Help text key
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | None
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | Yes
Property Sheet Visibility: | Visible
Property Sheet Group: | Top

## imageName Property

The name of an embedded image if the Source type is Embedded.

### Details

Type: | structRef
Since: | 1.0
Required: | No
Display Name: | Image name
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | None
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | No
Property Sheet Visibility: | Visible
Property Sheet Group: | Top

### Description

The name of an embedded image if the Source type is Embedded.

## scale Property

### Details

Type: | float
Since: | 1.0
Required: | No
Display Name: | Scale
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | 1.0
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | Yes
Property Sheet Visibility: | Visible
Property Sheet Group: | Top

## size Property

How to manage the relationship between image and item size.

### Details

Type: | choice (imageSize)
Since: | 1.0
Required: | No
Display Name: | Size
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | size-to-image
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | Yes
Property Sheet Visibility: | Visible
Property Sheet Group: | Top

### Choices

Name | Display Name | Value | Description
size-to-image | Size to Image | size-to-image |
scale-to-item | Scale to Item | scale-to-item |
clip | Clip | clip |

## source Property

The kind of image reference.

### Details

Type: | choice (imageRefType)
Since: | 1.0
Required: | Yes
Display Name: | Source
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | none
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | No
Property Sheet Visibility: | Visible
Property Sheet Group: | Top

### Choices

Name | Display Name | Value | Description
none | No image | none |
url | URL | url | image is given by a URL to be evaluated at presentation time.
file | FILE | file | The image is in a file.
expr | Expression | expr | The image is returned by an expression. (Not in the first release.)
embed | Embedded Image | embed | The image is embedded within the design.

### Description

The image can be provided in a number of formats. The choice here determines which of the other properties that BIRT will consider when obtaining the image value.

The expr option is not available in Release 1.0. That is, the image cannot be retrieved from a database in Release 1.0.

## typeExpr Property

An expression that returns the type of the image expressed as a MIME type.

### Details

Type: | expression
Context: |
Expression Type: | string
Since: | 2.0
Required: | No
Display Name: | Type exprssion
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | None
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | No
Property Sheet Visibility: | Visible
Property Sheet Group: | Top

### Description

An expression that returns the type of the image expressed as a MIME type: image/jpeg, image/png, image/gif, etc. If omitted, BIRT will attempt to infer the image type from the data in the image itself.

## uri Property

The identifier for the image if the type is File or URL.

### Details

Type: | expression
Context: |
Expression Type: | string
Since: | 1.0
Required: | No
Display Name: | URI
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | None
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | No
Property Sheet Visibility: | Visible
Property Sheet Group: | Top

### Description

The identifier for the image if the type is File or URL. The type of image is inferred from the image file content or HTTP response.

## valueExpr Property

An expression which returns the image contents.

### Details

Type: | expression
Context: |
Expression Type: | blob
Since: | 2.0
Required: | No
Display Name: | Value exprssion
JavaScript Type: |
Default Value: | None
Inherited: | Yes
Runtime Settable: | Yes
Property Sheet Visibility: | Visible
Property Sheet Group: | Top

### Description

An expression which returns the image contents.

# Method Detail

## onCreate Method

Script executed when the element is created in the Factory.

### Synopsis

`None obj.onCreate( )`

### Details

Since: | 1.0
Context: | factory
Arguments: | None
Return Type: | None

### Description

Executed when the element is created in the Factory. Called after the item is created, but before the item is saved to the report document file. See the scripting spec for additional information about this script. Applications should perform visual customization in the on-render script instead.

## onPageBreak Method

### Synopsis

`None obj.onPageBreak( )`

### Details

Since: | 2.1
Context: | presentation
Arguments: | None
Return Type: | None

## onPrepare Method

It is for a script startup phase. No data binding yet. The design of an element can be changed here.

### Synopsis

`None obj.onPrepare( )`

### Details

Since: | 2.0
Context: | startup
Arguments: | None
Return Type: | None

### Description

It is for a script startup phase. No data binding yet. The design of an element can be changed here.

## onRender Method

Script executed when the element is prepared for rendering in the Presentation engine.

### Synopsis

`None obj.onRender( )`

### Details

Since: | 1.0
Context: | presentation
Arguments: | None
Return Type: | None

### Description

Executed when the element is prepared for rendering in the Presentation engine. Changes made to the element are written to the target output format, but not saved to the report document file. This is the preferred place for visual customizations.