Simple Containers

The Simple Containers section of the toolbox contains those containers that do not propagate. These containers are used to group and organize objects on a page.

Horizontal Box, Vertical Box (Layout Node)

Container: A Layout Node is a rectangular area in the Report Design page. A Layout Node does not propagate; the content is not allowed to overflow the container. As a result, a Layout Node can be used for content that should be kept together on the page.

The Horizontal Box is a Layout Node with the Layout Direction property set lefttoright; elements in the box are laid out across the page. The Vertical Box is a Layout Node with the layout direction property set toptobottom; elements in the box are laid out down the page.

Properties

Select the object on the Report Design page to display its properties in the Properties View.

You can change the object's default appearance by setting the values of these properties:

name, color, bgColor, fontName, fontSize, X-SizeAdjustment, Y-SizeAdjustment, fontBold, fontItalic

Some specific properties allow you to define borders, margins, and padding for the boxes:

Margin width properties,Border width properties, Padding width properties, Border style properties, Border color properties

The x-Size and y-Size properties specify the INNER size of the box. Adding borders, for example, increases the overall size.

Layout Nodes can be used as a container for content that must print at a specific part of the Mini Page, a page header, for example, by setting its section property.

The clip property can be used to clip the object box and its content along the sides. This property applies to all layout nodes.

Other properties have values that are derived from the type and position on the page, adjust automatically if the object is moved or re-sized, and need not be changed manually:

type, baselineType, layoutDirection, swapX, alignment, scaleX, scaleY, x, y, anchorX, anchorY, floatingBehavior