Properties Window
- 3 minutes to read
This document describes how to use the Properties window to access and customize report/report element settings.
Select a Report Element
Perform one of the following actions to select an element and show its properties in the Properties window:
Select an element in the drop-down list at the top of the Properties window.
Click an element in the design surface.
- Select an element in the Report Explorer.
Properties Window Tabs
The Properties window displays properties in tabs. The active tab is stored in C:\Users\[User]\AppData\Local\Developer Express Inc\XtraReports Suite\UserDesigner.settings and is activated at the application’s next start.
Refer to the following topic for details on how to move a property to another tab or create a new tab and place specific properties in it: Customize the Properties Window in the End-User Report Designer.
Favorite Properties
The Favorites tab displays favorite or most frequently used properties.
See the following topic for more information on how to customize the favorite property list: Use Favorite Properties in the Report Designer.
Change Property Values
The Properties window adds a blue property marker to properties when their default values change.
Right-click a property’s editor to reset the value.
Specify Expressions
The Properties window allows you to set expressions that specify property values. Click the ‘f’ button to specify an expression in the invoked Expression Editor.
The f button changes its color to blue if an expression is specified for a property.
Search Properties
The Properties window’s search box allows you to search for a property. When you type within the search box, the Properties window shows the properties that match the typed string.
If you type two substrings separated by a space character, these substrings are considered as individual search criteria. The Properties window shows the properties that match either of these substrings. To find properties that contain both substrings, enclose the typed string in quotation marks.
Switch to the Non-Tabbed View
Do the following to enable the Properties window’s non-tabbed view:
If you add the Report Designer component to the form, select the PropertyGridDockPanel (propertyGridDockPanel1) element on the component surface, press F4 to invoke the Properties window, and set the UseTabbedView property to false.
If you invoke the Report Designer from code (for example, when you use the ReportDesignTool class), specify the UseTabbedView property as shown below.
using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI; using DevExpress.XtraReports.UserDesigner; // ... ReportDesignTool designTool = new ReportDesignTool(new XtraReport()); PropertyGridDockPanel propertyGrid = (PropertyGridDockPanel)designTool.DesignRibbonForm.DesignDockManager[DesignDockPanelType.PropertyGrid]; propertyGrid.UseTabbedView = false; designTool.ShowRibbonDesigner();
The non-tabbed view allows users to switch between categorized and alphabetical modes.
In categorized mode, properties are listed in a tree-like form.
In alphabetical mode, all properties are displayed in a single list and are sorted alphabetically by name.
This mode is not available when the classic view is enabled.
Switch to the Classic View
Do the following to switch back to the Properties window’s classic appearance:
If you add the Report Designer component to the form, select the PropertyGridDockPanel (propertyGridDockPanel1) element on the component surface, press F4 to invoke the Properties window, and set the UseOfficeInspiredView property to false:
If you invoke the Report Designer from code (for example, when you use the ReportDesignTool class), specify the UseOfficeInspiredView property as shown below.
using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI; // ... ReportDesignTool designTool = new ReportDesignTool(new XtraReport()); PropertyGridDockPanel propertyGrid = (PropertyGridDockPanel)designtool.DesignRibbonForm.DesignDockManager[DesignDockPanelType.PropertyGrid]; propertyGrid.UseOfficeInspiredView = false; designTool.ShowRibbonDesigner();