Crystal Reports: Shaded Reports

We saw a request recently for a report with gradual shading as the report printed down the page. The original request was for shades of grey, but we have extended the technique for any color shading you like.

We created such an effect by setting the background color of the details section conditionally using the formula:

WhilePrintingRecords; 
numbervar colorband := colorband + 3; 
Color (colorband,46,123) 

The color function asks you to set the color as a combination of red, green, and blue. Each value can be between 0 and 255 to set a specific windows color. 

The colorband variable can be any one of the three arguments of the Color function, and you can use any value between 0 and 255 for the other values. You also need a reset formula in the page header:

WhilePrintingRecords; 
numbervar colorband := 0 

While we wouldn’t recommend this approach for lots of printed pages, it does look great on the screen or a Web page. 

Thanks to Naith, contributor to www.tek-tips.com

But suppose you want a colored band across the report. And suppose you want it to be relatively narrow. We have a solution.

1. Create a second section and move it the above the original section.

2. Set this new section to “Underlay”

3. Make the section slightly larger than the subsequent section

4. Insert a box in this section, change the Border Style to “None” and set a fill color

This can be a very effective formatting technique to add some color to your report.

You want to use the formatting to accomplish such goals as:

• Present a clean but compelling appearance.
• Guide the reader's eye to what's important. That means very little highlighting or bolding.
• Separate information or visually group it.
• Make the report consistent with other company literature. For example, use company colors, company logo, and the official font (if there is one).
• Create a different flavor or appearance for each type of report. For example, financial reports have a green border, sales reports have a salmon border, production reports have a blue border, and so on.
• Show what has changed.
• Highlight problem areas.

Avoid common color usage errors

• Don't just add colors gratuitously. Think of them as spices. They need to bring out the flavor of the report, not bury it. And they need to work together. Some spices clash when used together, and so do some colors.
• A common mistake with colors is to use large blocks of colored text on the page. For example, yellow on a black background. You get maximum readability with black text on a white background. You can use colored text to emphasize or to bring out headings (or subheadings). But when used for the main body of the text, it actually detracts from the report.
• Don't use colored page backgrounds. When people try to print these out, the page becomes saturated with ink and paper jams result. With duplex printers, the problem is twice as bad.
• Use contrasting colors. Many people can't see the difference between two closely related light blues, for example. Variations in printing also cause confusion. Then there's the issue of referring to the color. Bob in Accounting is discussing the report. He can easily ask Beverly compare the total that appears in dark blue text to the total that appears in dark brown text. But how can he refer to the total in tan versus the one in light brown?
• Avoid red backgrounds. These irritate the eye.
• Remember, color costs money. Use it where there's a return on that investment (no need to calculate ROI).
• If there's no particular reason to use color, don't use it.

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