3. The designer workspace

The workspace has five areas:

1. Toolbar (top): file, edit, arrange, zoom and view commands, plus Preview PDF.
2. Left panel: three tabs, Insert, Fields and Layers.
3. Canvas (center): the page, with rulers, margin guides and bands.
4. Right panel: two tabs, Properties and Report.
5. Status bar (bottom): the current band and selection, the page size and the zoom level.

The toolbar

Hover over any button to see its name and shortcut.

Tip: The align commands line elements up with the edge of the whole selection. For example, Align left edges moves every element to the left-most edge. Match width and Match height copy the size of the element you Shift-clicked last.

The left panel

Insert tab

The Insert tab holds the element palette: Text, Field, Image, Line, Rectangle, Ellipse, Barcode, QR Code, Checkbox, Table, Repeater, Page Break and Page No.

• Drag a tile onto any band to place the element where you drop it.
• Click a tile to add the element to the band that is currently selected (shown in the status bar).

The Elements reference explains each element type. The Tips box at the bottom of the tab is a reminder of the main mouse and keyboard tricks.

Fields tab

The Fields tab shows the data contract, the fields your system sends for this kind of document. Each field shows its type and its title, and you can hover over a field to see its description.

When the data contract gives an example value, the new binding uses it as preview text automatically.

Note: If your application doesn't provide a data contract, the Fields tab shows Fields used in this template instead. You can type bindings by hand at any time.

Layers tab

The Layers tab lists every element, grouped by band, in drawing order (the last one is on top).

• Click a row to select the element. This is useful when elements overlap or are hidden behind a rectangle.
• The lock icon (Lock / Unlock) stops an element from being moved or resized by accident.
• The eye icon (Hide in the designer / Show in the designer) hides an element in the designer only. Hidden elements still print.

The canvas

• Rulers along the top and left show the position in the unit set on the Report tab (inches, millimeters or points).
• Margin guides show where the printable area starts.
• Bands are labeled on the left, for example PAGE HEADER 0.89 in. Drag the bottom edge of a band to change its height.
• Dashed outlines show element boxes, so you can see empty text boxes and image frames.

Selecting. Click an element to select it. Shift-click (or Ctrl/Cmd-click) adds or removes elements from the selection. Drag across an empty area to draw a selection box. Ctrl/Cmd+A selects everything. Esc clears the selection.

Moving and resizing.

• Drag an element to move it. Hold Shift to move only horizontally or vertically. Drag it into another band to move it there.
• Drag one of the eight handles to resize. Hold Shift on a corner handle to keep the proportions.
• For a Line, drag either end. Hold Shift to keep it perfectly horizontal or vertical.
• Arrow keys nudge by 1 pt. Shift+Arrow nudges by one grid step.
• While you drag, smart guides (thin lines) show when an edge or center lines up with another element.
• Hold Alt while dragging to turn snapping off temporarily.

The right panel

The Properties tab

Shows the settings of the selected element. The sections depend on the element type (see the Elements reference), but most elements have:

• Position & size: X, Y, W, H, Rotation (degrees) and Opacity (%). Values are in the unit shown at the top right of the section.
• Style: font, size, color, alignment, padding, borders and background.
• Behavior: Visible if, Link, Pinned and Locked in the designer.

With several elements selected, the panel shows the shared settings. A change applies to all of them (3 elements selected — edits apply to all).

With nothing selected, the Properties tab shows the selected band: its Height and, for page headers and footers, Print on.

Expression boxes check what you type as you type. An error message appears under the box when an expression can't be read, and Preview shows: … tells you what the designer preview will display.

The Report panel

Settings for the whole document:

The status bar

From left to right:

• The selected band, for example Body, and the selection: No selection, or the element type with its position and size.
• Page information, for example Letter portrait · 8.5 × 11 in, and the zoom level.

Getting help inside the designer

Press F1, or click Help (F1) in the toolbar, to open this guide in a panel on the right side of the designer. It opens at the topic for what you are doing:

• with a table selected, the Tables chapter,
• with a barcode selected, Barcodes,
• in the Report tab, the Report panel section,
• while typing an expression, Data binding and expressions,
• otherwise, this workspace tour.

In the help panel:

• Use Back and Forward to retrace your steps, and Contents for the table of contents.
• Type in Search help to find a topic.
• Drag the panel's left edge to resize it, and click Open in new window to read the guide side by side with the designer.
• Close help (or Esc) closes it.

The help is built into the designer and works without an internet connection. It is in English. In other designer languages, the panel shows the note Help is available in English.

Designer language and theme

The designer's own menus and labels are available in English, Español, Français, Deutsch, Português (Brasil), 简体中文, 繁體中文, 日本語 and 한국어. Your application chooses the language, usually from your browser or user profile settings. Changing the designer's language does not change your documents. For document language, see International documents.

Toggle dark theme switches the workspace between light and dark. The page itself always stays white, as it will print.