Reference Box

A Reference Box allows you to print layout-dependent text output, such as the total value from the previous page.

Reference Box (ReferenceBox type) is a layout container, found in the References group in the Tool Box view.

The Reference Box prints the (last) value set for an Info Node. In other words, you print the last stored value of an Info Node by placing a Reference Box on the report and specifying which Info Node to print. It will always print the immediately previous occurrence of the Info Node as located in the layout of the final document. For further details about how Reference Boxes and Info Nodes work together, see Print a value from the previous page.

Properties

Select the object on the Report Design page to display its properties in the Properties View. You can change the object's default appearance by setting the values of its properties.

This object works in conjunction with an Info Node object, and its specific properties reference the Info Node:

  • InfoNode Name - the name of the Info Node to be referenced.
  • Default - text to be displayed if the reference cannot be resolved. The default string is "-".
  • Text - the space to be allocated. The space to be allocated may not be known until the report is run; you must ensure there is enough space available to display any possible text. Use the Text property to provide an example, based on the underlying data type of the Info Node. This is only used to determine the maximum space to set aside. For example:
    • Data types that are numeric - "000,000,000.00"
    • Data types that are strings, for example CHAR(8) - "MMMMMMMM"

Additional properties are inherited from PageNo Box and Word Box.