Group Data

After designing the basic layout of your Designer Report, you might decide that you want to group the records according to certain fields or other criteria. Grouping lets you separate groups of records visually and display introductory and summary data for each group.  You can also use grouping to sort the data.

To add or edit the groups in the report, click the Sorting and Grouping button in the Design ribbon. The Sorting and Groupingwindow opens. Use the dialog box to create, edit, reorder, and delete groups.

To create a group

To create a group, follow these steps.

1. Click the Sorting and Grouping button. The Sorting and Grouping dialog box opens.

2. Click the Add button and set the properties for the new group.

   The Group By field defines how the records will be grouped in the report. For simple grouping, you can select fields directly from the drop-down menu. For more complex grouping, you can type grouping expressions.

3. Click the type of sorting you want (None, Ascending or Descending).

4. In the Keep Together drop-down menu, specify whether the group should be rendered together on a page.

5. In the Header Section check box and the Footer Section check box, you can also specify whether the new group will have visible Header and Footer sections.

6. Click OK.

   You can view your changes in the Designer Window. You can expand your new sections by dragging the edges with your mouse.  

If you add more fields, you can change their order using the arrow buttons on the right of the group list.

To delete a field, use the Delete button.