Design an RDL report using a textbox in Bold Reports^®

To design an RDL report with a textbox in the Bold Reports^® Web Report Designer, add textboxes to the report header, body, and footer, then display static or dynamic text.

How do I add a textbox to the report?

You can add a Bold Reports^® textbox report item to the header, footer, and body area of the report.

1. See the Add a textbox to the report section and add a textbox in the report header, body, and footer section.
2. In the following image, the textbox in the report header displays a title text. The textbox in the report body displays static fields, and the textbox in the report footer displays a label for the signature field.

Display dynamic text using expression

A Bold Reports^® textbox displays dynamic values from parameters and dataset fields through expressions. In the following steps, you assign a report parameter in the textbox to display a dynamic value:

1. See the Create Parameter section and create a new report parameter.
2. See the Add a textbox to the report section and add a textbox to the report.
3. Focus the textbox and right-click in the text area. The textbox context menu appears.
4. Select the Expression option in the menu list. The expression editor opens.
5. Choose or specify the expression you need in the text area. In this example, an InvoiceID parameter appended with the # symbol is assigned as the expression.

   To learn more about handling expressions in the report designer, see the Expressions section.

6. The expression is displayed in the text area at the cursor position.

   Note: If the expression’s character length exceeds 18, it will be displayed in a shortened format.

7. When you hover over the expression tag, the actual expression is displayed in a tooltip.

How do I edit the expression?

To edit an expression in a Bold Reports^® textbox, follow these steps:

1. Select the expression in the textbox that you want to edit.
2. Right-click the tag to open the context menu.
3. Select the Expression option in the menu list. The expression editor opens.
4. Modify the expression and click the OK button.

How do I associate a textbox with a dataset?

You bind a Bold Reports^® textbox to a dataset field by dragging the field from the DATA panel or by using the expression editor. To create a dataset in the Web Report Designer, see the Create Data section.

Drag and drop dataset field

To add a dataset field as a textbox, follow these steps:

1. Open the DATA panel and expand the dataset fields you need.
2. Drag and drop the dataset field into the design area.
3. A new textbox is added to the design area, as shown in the following image.

Assign the field using expression editor

You can also associate a dataset field with a textbox in the Web Report Designer expression editor. See the Dataset Fields in Expression section.

How do I associate a textbox with a parameter?

You bind a Bold Reports^® textbox to a report parameter by dragging the parameter from the PARAMETERS panel or by using the expression editor. To create a report parameter in the Web Report Designer, see the Create Parameter section.

Drag and drop parameter field

To add a parameter as a textbox, follow these steps:

1. Open the PARAMETERS panel. The panel lists the available parameters in the report.
2. Drag and drop the parameter into the design area.
3. A new textbox is added to the design area, as shown in the following image.

Assign the parameter using expression editor

You can also associate a parameter with a textbox in the Web Report Designer expression editor. See the Dataset Fields in Expression section.

How do I configure and format textbox content?

You configure a Bold Reports^® textbox in two ways:

• Focus the overall textbox element to configure properties for whole textbox content.
• Select the specific text to configure properties for selected text.

Position and Sizing

The textbox Position and Sizing properties improve report readability and design.

The following image shows the report design view after sizing the textboxes.

How do I style textbox content?

You style a Bold Reports^® textbox either as a whole or for selected text only.

Over all textbox

To style the whole textbox, select the textbox and open the properties panel. Set the font and alignment properties under the Basic Settings and Appearance categories.

Selected text

To style part of the text, select the text in the textbox and open the properties panel. The properties panel displays the Selected Text properties.

Set the font and alignment properties for the selected text under the Basic Settings and Paragraph Settings categories.

How do I format a value in a textbox?

You can apply a format to the whole Bold Reports^® textbox value or to selected text in a textbox.

Format overall textbox

To format the whole textbox value, follow these steps:

1. Select a textbox in the design area. In the following image, the textbox that contains the UnitPrice dataset field is selected.
2. In the properties pane, click the highlighted button under the Basic Settings category to set the format.
3. The format dialog opens. See the Format Data section to set different formats on the data. In this example, the Currency format is applied to the Unit Price dataset field.
4. After you set the format, the properties panel shows it, as in the following image.
5. On report preview, the Unit Price field value is displayed as shown in the following image.

Format selected text

To format selected text in a textbox, follow these steps:

1. Select specific text in the textbox.
2. In the properties pane, click the highlighted button under the Basic Settings category to set the format.
3. The format dialog opens. See the Format Data section to set different formats on the data. In this example, the Currency format is applied to the Unit Price dataset field.
4. After you set the format, the properties panel shows it, as in the following image.
5. On report preview, the Unit Price field value is displayed as shown in the following image.

How do I link a report from a textbox?

A Bold Reports^® textbox can link to another report. When you click the linked text, the report viewer displays the target report.

Over all textbox

To link the whole textbox to a report, follow these steps:

1. Select a textbox in the design area.
2. In the properties view, enable the Enable Link option under the Link category.
3. See the Report Linking section and set the report path in the textbox.
4. On report preview, clicking anywhere in the textbox displays the SalesOrderDetail report in the report viewer.
5. After you click the textbox, the target report is displayed as shown in the following image.

Selected text

To link selected text in a textbox to a report, follow these steps:

1. Select specific text in the textbox.
2. In the properties view, enable the Enable Link option under the Link category.
3. See the Report Linking section and set the report path in the textbox.
4. On report preview, clicking the here text in the textbox displays the SalesOrderDetail report in the report viewer.
5. After you click the textbox, the target report is displayed as shown in the following image.

How do I add a hyperlink to a textbox?

A Bold Reports^® textbox hyperlink defines what happens when users click the text box or a certain area displayed on a report.

Over all textbox

To add a hyperlink to the whole textbox, follow these steps:

1. Select a textbox in the design area.
2. In the properties view, enable the Enable Link option under the Link category.
3. See the Hyperlink section and set the URL in the textbox.
4. On report preview, clicking anywhere in the textbox displays the SalesOrderDetail report in the report viewer in a new browser tab.

Selected text

To add a hyperlink to selected text in a textbox, follow these steps:

1. Select specific text in the textbox.
2. In the properties view, enable the Enable Link option under the Link category.
3. See the Hyperlink section and set the URL in the textbox.
4. On report preview, clicking the here text in the textbox displays the SalesOrderDetail report in the report viewer in a new browser tab.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my expression shown in a shortened format?

In the Bold Reports^® Web Report Designer, an expression longer than 18 characters is displayed in a shortened format. Hover over the expression tag to see the actual expression in a tooltip.

Can I format only part of the text in a textbox?

Yes. Select the specific text in the textbox and set its format or style in the properties panel.

See also

• Textbox report item
• Add HTML in to a report
• Add a report parameter