Creating lists
List objects serve as containers for data.
This means that they are similar to Grid objects but unlike them, lists arrange data in groups vertically.
Structure of a list
As a container, every list has a header, a footer, and a main body (called Detail).
Headers and footers are secondary elements. You can fill them with some information by adding labels or text-fields or leave them empty (in this case, you generated list will not have a header, or a footer, or both).
Detail = the main body of the list - is a compulsory element because it is the actual data added to the list.
Data are not added to the list directly - they are organized in a form of an abstract container called group. When creating a list, you have to create this group and add it to the main body of the list (= Detail) your self as the group is not created automatically.
The group as an abstract container for data has its own header (GH), footer (GF), and detail (= main body of the group i.e. the data added to the list from the data set).
Group headers and footers (GF and GH) are secondary elements (as well as list headers and footers). If added, they will serve as sub-headers and/or sub-footers in the generated list.
Below is the simple diagram if the structure of the list:
Creating a list: Steps to follow
To create a list, please follow these steps.
Step 1. Drag and drop the List item from the Palette to your report open in the Report editor.
An empty grid will appear:
Step 2. Now you have to bind your list to the data set.
To bind your list to the data set, select Edit Data Binding from the context menu:
This brings up this dialog box:
To add data binding, you can select one of these options:
Data Set - to create a list based on the data set columns, or
Report Item - to add the data binding for the report element (if available).
If necessary, you can view the data set parameter binding by pressing the Data Set Parameter Binding button after selecting any data set.
Step 3. To set the data binding, select the necessary data set from the drop-down list.
After you select the data set, the Data Set Binding window will open automatically:
Step 5. Now your list is bound to the data set and you will see it in the Data Binding window.
You can manipulate the bound columns with these buttons:
| Add.. |
opens the New Data Binding window:
|
| Add Aggregation... | allows adding aggregation for the selected columns. |
| Edit... |
opens the Edit Data Binding window:
|
| Remove... |
removes the bound columns: 
|
| Move Up |
allows moving the bound columns up in the list:
|
Step 6. When you click OK your group is created.
You can have as many groups in your list as you need. All of them are created and added to the list in the same way.
Step 7. Once the group is created, you can add it to the list.
To add the group to the list, right-click the list area and select Insert Group from the context menu:
This brings up this window:
Step 9. In the Group On drop-down list, select the column to group the values on
The list of the items in the drop-down is the list of columns you have selected in Step 3:
You can also press JavaScript Syntax
button and set values manually in Expression Builder.
Usually, only these two fields are used when creating groups. Other fields are auxiliary and are used only if you want to add some specific properties to your lists.
You can read about other available fields below.
Step 10. Press OK to finish creating the list.
In the editor, our list looks like this:
If necessary, you can add header and footers to your list and/or its group/groups.
All headers and footers are created in the same way - from the context menu of the necessary field:
After you have added the label text, your list will look like this in the report editor:
When you generate the output for you report, your list will look like this:
You can use headers and footers (as well as group headers and footers) to display the aggregation results.
New Group window
The New Group window is used for creating groups:
Usually, only two fields are used when creating groups - Name (in Step 8 above) and Group On (in Step 9 above):
Other fields are auxiliary and are used only if you want to add some specific properties to your lists (like page breaks or bookmarks).
In the Sort Direction field, you can organize the items in the list in ascending or descending order by checking the corresponding option:
In the Page Break field, you can
- add page breaks before, after or inside the list,
- specify when to add page breaks in the drop-down (see the screenshot), and
- choose to repeat the list header after page breaks by checking the Repeat Header checkbox.
In the Bookmark field, you can set bookmarks in the list:
In the Table of Contents field, you can add expressions and apply styles to the table of contents:
In the Filters and Sorting tabs, you can filter and sort data in your list.
