InetSoft Reporting Software: Report Structure

A report consists of a sequence of report elements. The elements are processed sequentially during formatting and printing in the order they are added to the report. There are three types of elements in the report: inline elements, float elements, and block elements. Each type of element is laid out differently. The elements in each category are listed in the chart below.

Table 1. Element Category and Element Type

Float Elements

Float elements are a special class of inline elements. A float element always takes up a rectangular area on the report. Float elements are printed in the same flow as inline elements, but they may alter the flow depending on their anchor and wrapping settings. Because all float elements are implemented internally as painters, the term “painter” is sometimes used interchangeably with float elements in this document. Painter properties are shared by all float elements. They share the following characteristics:

• Float elements can have a fixed size specified by a program. • Float elements can be anchored horizontally and/or vertically. If a float element is anchored, it changes the flow of the inline elements by creating sub-areas between the float elements. Inline elements flow horizontally and vertically inside these sub-areas.
• Float elements can have a margin around the rectangular area.
• Float elements share the rules of the layout, regarding whether the elements can be broken up in pieces when they do not fit on the remaining space of a page.
• Float elements use wrapping rules to control how other inline elements can be positioned next to the float elements.

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