PerfectApps ® Help Guide

Save

(Ctrl+s)

Saves any changes that have been made to the report since it was opened. Alternatively, press Ctrl+s to perform this same action from the keyboard.

Save as New Version

Creates a new version of your report. This is helpful if you want to design multiple versions of a report before publishing (for example, when you are in the early stages of development).

Deploying your Report

Save as New Report

Saves your report as an entirely new report.

Publish

Publishes your report to make it available for use, or to update a previously published version.

Preview

The preview option enables you to preview your report to see how it will look and behave in a Web browser once published.

Previewing a Report

Debug

Loads a preview of the report with an additional details panel. This panel shows behaviors and their results as each one is initiated by events in the report.

Close

Closes the report. You will be prompted to save your report if you have not saved changes prior to selecting close.

Undo

(Ctrl+z)

Allows you to undo changes made to the report. Depending upon the change made, it may read Undo Property Change, Undo Resize, Undo Delete, etc. Alternatively, press Ctrl+z to perform this same action from the keyboard.

For the Undo option to be available, at least one change must have been made to the report.

Redo

(Ctrl+y)

Allows you to redo the change you just undid. Alternatively, press Ctrl+y to perform this same action from the keyboard.

For the Redo option to be available, at least one change must have had the Undo action performed.

Cut

(Ctrl+x)

Cuts the selected text, object, or group of objects and places them on your clipboard for pasting later. Alternatively, press Ctrl+x to perform this same action from the keyboard.

For this option to be available, at least one object or detail within an object must be selected.

Copy

(Ctrl+c)

Copies the selected text or object to your clipboard for later pasting. Alternatively, press Ctrl+c to perform this same action from the keyboard.

For this option to be available, at least one object or detail within an object must be selected.

Paste

(Ctrl+v)

Takes the selected objects that were previously cut or copied from the report and pastes them into another location on the app. Alternatively, press Ctrl+v to perform this same action from the keyboard.

For this option to be available, an object or detail within an object must have been cut or copied.

Delete

Deletes or removes the selected item from the report. You can delete objects, detail within objects or an entire page.

Select All

(Ctrl+a)

Allows you to quickly select all objects on a report page. Alternatively, press Ctrl+v to perform this same action from the keyboard.

This can make the process of cutting, copying or moving items much faster.

Align

Aligns objects to the top, right, bottom, left, vertical center, or horizontal center. Align menu options apply to both objects and text labels. This option is disabled unless at least two objects are selected.

Additional Align options are available through the right-click menu on the canvas.

Aligning, Spacing and Layering Objects

Make Same

Sets the width, height or size of one or more objects to be equal to another specified object. This option is disabled unless at least two objects are selected.

Additional Make Same options are available through the right-click menu on the canvas.

Aligning, Spacing and Layering Objects

Space Evenly

Sets three or more objects to be spaced evenly across, down or both across and down on the report. The Space Evenly menu option requires that you have at least three objects selected.  

Additional Space Evenly options are available through the right-click menu on the canvas.

Aligning, Spacing and Layering Objects

Layer

Allows you to position an object so that it fully or partially covers another object. Select Top to bring the selected object to the front layer. Select Bottom to send the selected object to the back layer. Select Up to bring the selected object forward a layer. Select Down to send the selected object backward a layer.

Additional Layer options are available through the right-click menu on the canvas.

Aligning, Spacing and Layering Objects

Add New Page

Adds a new page to the report.

Add Group

Groups any selected objects on the page into a new group. This can also be done through a right-click menu selection.

Grouping Objects Together

Grid (On/Off)

Hides or shows the formatting grid in the background of the canvas. The grid can help with appropriate vertical and horizontal alignment of objects on the report.

Aligning, Spacing and Layering Objects

Object Markers (On/Off)

Hides or shows the state markers for each object. State markers are visual indicators of the state of an object. The state of an object can affect whether the object is presented to the user (as with a hidden state) or the manner in which it  is displayed (as with a read-only state).

Snap to Grid (On/Off)

Toggles on or off the function of snapping objects to the formatting grid. This ensures that when you drag an object onto a report, the top left corner will snap to a grid intersection. This option aids object alignment on a page.

Aligning, Spacing and Layering Objects

Snap Text to Neighbor

Toggles on or off the function of snapping text to its neighbor. This only applies to text labels. When turned on, this option automatically aligns the label with the middle of the nearest report object (e.g., text input field, button, check box) as you move the text label onto the page.

Aligning, Spacing and Layering Objects

Help Center

Launches the Help Center dialog on top of the Report Designer. The Help Center contains links to support documentation as well as how-to videos.

Help Links and Help Center

Help Guide

Launches a separate browser window which displays the PerfectApps help guide.  

Help Links and Help Center

The Quick Help icon in the Report Designer opens a menu with links to the online Report Help guide and the Help Center.