A Report Design file defines the format and layout for a report. The easiest way to create a Report Design file is to use the Report Wizard. For more information, see Creating a Report Design File Using the Report Wizard. After you complete the wizard, the newly created Report Design file opens in the Report Designer.

You can also use standard methods for creating and opening files to create and open Report Design files in the Report Designer. For example, you can use New and Open commands. Additionally, in the Project Navigator, you can use the Create new file command. However, to open a Report Design or Report Binder file from the Project Navigator, you must right-click it and select Edit File because clicking the file would automatically generate the report and open it in the Preview window.

When a Report Design file is open in the Report Designer, the objects inserted in it appear in a WYSIWYG format. WYSIWYG is an acronym for “What You See Is What You Get.” In the Report Designer, you can modify the report layout and objects to suit your special requirements. For more information, see:

During installation, the default Report Design and Report Binder files for System files are copied from the Supplied folder on the application server into the Common Library so that they are immediately available for use. For more information, see Common Library.

When you insert Attachments fields in Report Design files, any image files or Microsoft Word document files that have been added to these fields are outputted to the report. The Text alignment property for the Attachments field indicates how to align the content of the attached file within the space allocated for the field.